In the far reaches of the largest fjord in Norway, perched on the side of a mountain is a 16,000 square foot castle overlooking the town of Luster. For all its fairytale appearance, when it operated as the Lyster Sanatorium, this was the place where many came to die.
The sanitarium was constructed in 1902, to be used as a hospital for terminally ill tuberculosis patients. The location was chosen due to the risk of contamination posed by the tuberculosis bacterium.
The patients were isolated from the outside world and moved to the mountain because it was believed the fresh crisp air would lessen their symptoms. The sanitarium was accessible by a cable car.
In 1958, the sanitarium was closed due to the recent discovery of antibiotics used to permanently cure tuberculosis. It was converted into an insane asylum. Most of the patients were patients displaced from their hometown of Bergen due to a forced closure of the local asylum. Many patients tried to commit suicide due to their mental illness combined with inhumane treatment. They constructed a fence on the staircase to prevent patients from jumping down to their death.
The locals tell stories of doctors operating on patients for 12 hours straight without any from of anesthesia or pain medication, and that their screams could be heard throughout the structure during those hours. Whether this took place when it was a tuberculosis hospital or an asylum is not clear.
Another story witnessed by the locals is seeing a fenced off courtyard with patients wandering aimlessly around with their empty gazes focused on nothing but the ground in front of them.
The once modern thriving hospital has been left to the elements, the slow process of decay has long since taken its toll on the exterior and interior of the building. The building has been out of use for so long that it in a way it functions as a time capsule.
It is no surprise that the building is said to be replete with ghosts and residual hauntings from the time it would house those hoping for a treatment of a disease that was incurable, and then for those whose brain was diseased.
Screams are heard, mutterings and distant conversations. Footsteps are heard going up and down the staircase that had to be fenced off in order to prevent suicides.
Today, the sanitarium is inhabited by to people working on rehabilitating the old structure, however, its fate is uncertain. The local government has proposed to demolish the building.
Source - SteemIt
Stranger Than Fiction Stories by Marlene Pardo Pellicer