Fact or Folklore: Is State Hospital South haunted?
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EDITOR’S NOTE: For the third and final story in EastIdahoNews.com’s Fact or Folklore series on Blackfoot, we saved the best for last, exploring an age-old question that continues to captivate the community: Is State Hospital South haunted?
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BLACKFOOT — One of Blackfoot’s most notorious rumors refuses to stay buried. Pun fully intended. The question remains: Is State Hospital South haunted?
For decades, reports of ghost sightings and other unexplained experiences in and around the hospital, including its tunnels and old cemetery, have circulated and been debated. Together, they continue to drive that question that still fascinates locals today.
The facility first opened in 1886 as the Idaho State Insane Asylum and has served thousands of patients over the past century. In its early years, patients were often referred to as inmates and even lunatics, as seen in old newspaper articles.
Over time, the hospital’s age and secluded setting, along with decades marked by mental illness, tragedy, and loneliness, have helped stir up tales of hauntings. One of the earliest events often cited is a devastating fire in 1889 that destroyed much of the hospital. According to South Fork Companion – Idaho History, up to seven patients were reported missing, and at least two bodies were found in the ruins.
Today, State Hospital South is a large, fully accredited psychiatric hospital with units for patients aged 18 and up focused on treatment, care, and recovery. However, the spooky stories persist.
EastIdahoNews.com asked the community to share any unexplained or paranormal experiences connected to State Hospital South, and the response was overwhelming. Stories poured in from former employees, patients, contractors, psychics, and neighbors, many describing what they believed, without a doubt, were firsthand paranormal encounters.
Strange happenings reported by staff
Darla Siler Johnson, a former employee at State Hospital South, said she witnessed several unsettling incidents during her time working on the Blackfoot campus.
On one occasion, Johnson said she walked into the security office and noticed staff members gathered around surveillance footage from one of the medical rooms. As they watched, a small box, roughly twice the size of a deck of cards, suddenly flew off a shelf and landed in the middle of the room.
“There was no one in the room at the time,” she said.
Johnson also described a moment while walking through the Patient Treatment Facility (PTF) when she briefly saw what appeared to be blood on the floor.
“It was only there for a fraction of a second,” she said. “Then it was gone.”
Another incident occurred earlier this winter, when Johnson was walking along a sidewalk near the PTF building. She said yellow caution tape lining the area began to vibrate, but only alongside the section of sidewalk she was passing.
“I was at least three feet away from the tape,” she said. “It wasn’t moving anywhere else.”
While working at reception, Johnson said she frequently heard unexplained noises coming through the microphone in the visiting area.
“If the microphone were on, there would be scratching or tapping sounds,” she said. “I would ask whoever was there to please stop. If it didn’t stop, I would go and turn the microphone off.”
A patient’s ghostly encounter
One former patient, who EastIdahoNews.com will not identify, said they experienced what they believe was an apparition while staying at State Hospital South.
The patient said they saw what appeared to be a woman dressed in a long, dirty white dress inside the hospital. They later heard that a woman may have died by suicide in the same room where they had been placed, though they said they cannot confirm that information.
During their stay, the patient shared the room with a roommate who, they said, woke up one night in a panic.
“The roommate said they heard a woman calling their name, right in their ear,” the patient said. “It was similar to what I was hearing.”
While the patient said they were never called by name, they described other unsettling experiences.
“I swear I felt someone touching my hair while I was sleeping one night,” the patient said. “Then a woman whispered in my ear. I was half asleep, so I didn’t catch what she said.”
The patient added that even during the day, the atmosphere inside the building felt unsettling.
“Just walking those hallways is scary,” they said.
What some neighbors experienced
Some residents living near the hospital say the reported activity is not confined to the campus, reporting unexplained events in their homes.
Brittany Day, who once lived next door to State Hospital South, said she believes the alleged activity extended beyond the hospital grounds and into her family’s home.
“We would hear and see things we couldn’t explain,” Day said. “My brothers and I were terrified to sleep downstairs. My dad would set us up in the living room upstairs so he could sleep near us because we were so scared.”
One night, Day said her father woke up and told her younger brother to lie down after seeing him standing in the living room near the television.
Moments later, her father woke Day and asked her to help her brother back to bed. When she looked beside her, she said her brother was already asleep.
“I told my dad, ‘He’s right here. What is that?” Day said.
Her father sat up and turned on the light, and the figure disappeared.
Day said experiences like that happened frequently while they lived there, and what they saw never felt ambiguous.
“The apparition was very clearly human,” she said. “It wasn’t an orb or a shadow. It was a little boy, and he disappeared into thin air.”
Rebecca Baker agreed, adding, “Yes, it is haunted. I used to live in that area, and I had ghosts appear in the place where we were living.”
A newspaper carrier’s scare
Whitney Sorensen said she was about 10 years old around 1997 when she delivered newspapers for The Morning News, a route that took her onto the grounds of State Hospital South in the early morning hours.
At the time, she said the farthest building on campus, which she believes may have housed geriatric patients, was part of her route. Papers had to be delivered before 6 a.m., and because this stop came first, it was usually between 4:30 a.m. and 5 a.m.
Most mornings, Sorensen said she rode her bike or walked down the long sidewalk through the center of the campus, surrounded by multiple buildings.
“It was creepy all the time. I usually ran the whole way or rode my bike as fast as I could,” she said.
One frigid morning, well below zero, her mother drove her on the route. They parked near the back left side of the campus, and Sorensen walked between two buildings toward the one she needed to deliver to.
The building was mostly dark, she said, except for a light above the steps, the glow from the hallway through the front doors, and a dimly lit room that appeared to have its door open. However, there were no signs of patients or staff anywhere nearby.
As she delivered the papers, Sorensen said she heard rustling at a window and looked up, but saw nothing. It happened a second time with the same result.
“The third time, I looked up and saw what looked like a hand dragging down the window,” she said.
She didn’t stay to investigate.
“That’s still the fastest I’ve ever run,” Sorensen said.
When she reached the car, her mother told her she looked pale and out of breath. Sorensen explained what she had seen, but at the time, her mother told her she was imagining it. Years later, her mother admitted she believed Sorensen had seen something but didn’t want to frighten her further.
The infamous tunnels
The underground tunnels at State Hospital South were never used as treatment areas. Instead, they were part of the hospital’s infrastructure, serving practical purposes common to large institutional campuses built in the early 1900s.
The tunnels carried steam heat, hot water, electrical lines, and other utilities between buildings. Staff also used them to move supplies, laundry, food, and maintenance equipment, especially during the winter months.
Over time, the tunnels became the subject of darker rumors, including stories of patients being moved underground, bodies being hidden, waterboarding, or secret procedures like lobotomies taking place below the surface.
While such tales are common in asylum folklore across the country, EastIdahoNews.com found no documented evidence that medical procedures or punishments occurred in the tunnels themselves.
Though the tunnels are now sealed and no longer in use, some longtime residents say the memories of what they experienced there have never quite faded.
Julie Felt of Blackfoot, who has lived in the community for 66 years, said she accessed the tunnels years ago through a friend whose father served as a hospital administrator.
“Day or night, if you went into those tunnels, it felt haunted,” Felt said. “That’s where broken furniture was stored, but rocking chairs would move on their own. There was no draft, no windows, no fans, nothing. I saw toys roll by themselves, and once I felt something brush past me. I know I’m not the only one.”
Felt also said she has witnessed unexplained activity near the hospital’s unmarked cemetery.
“Every once in a while, you can see figures walking around,” she said. “Damn right the place is haunted. I swear it’s true.”
A paranormal investigator’s tunnel experience
Well-known local psychic medium Liz Rivera, known as the Gem State Medium, has participated in paranormal investigations at alleged haunted sites across Idaho. Rivera said she was granted permission in the early 2000s to investigate the underground tunnels at State Hospital South.
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Her experience was later documented in a YouTube video titled “My Visit Through the Abandoned Building and Tunnels of Blackfoot South Mental Hospital.”
When asked by EastIdahoNews.com whether she believes the site is truly haunted, Rivera did not hesitate.
“Oh, my! Yes!” she said. “It’s the most haunted place I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
Rivera’s video “My visit through the abandoned building and tunnels of State Hospital South” can be viewed here.
Not everyone believes
While EastIdahoNews.com received numerous accounts from people who believe State Hospital South is haunted, not everyone agrees.
Les Scott of Blackfoot, who said he both worked at the hospital and lived in apartments adjacent to the campus, dismissed the claims.
“These comments are funny,” Scott said. “I worked there, and I lived right next to it. I went into the tunnels every day. They don’t run all over town, and no, there aren’t any ghosts. It’s just funny to hear this.”
As with many tales tied to historic places, the accounts surrounding State Hospital South remain speculative and cannot be definitively confirmed as either fact or folklore. We’ll let you decide.
