Mountain View Hospital

for context back when i was younger i was a patient at mountainview for 11 months, and in those 11 months i think the system itself was one of the scariest things. that may just be because i've had a lot of aparanormal experiences, though. however, there were a lot of encounters i'd had and fellow people on my units, i was on the first second and fourth floor. i've heard children and random noises in the stairways way past bedtime hours, i saw weird junk outside in the woods, and i had a poltergeist in one of my rooms that seemed to be a little boy spirit, he would play with a balloon and knock it around in response to my questions so i called him timmy. aside from that the energy was usually heavy and i think on the third floor? i heard about the nurse lady at the doors. plus the incenerator was interesting.

May 2026

The air in Gadsden always feels a little thicker when you head toward the hills. I’ve lived in Etowah County my whole life, so I’m used to the local legends. But Mountain View Hospital—the old, abandoned psychiatric facility—isn't just a legend to the people who grew up here. It’s a bruise on the landscape that never quite heals.
I went there last October. Not because I’m a "ghost hunter," but because I’m a skeptic who got dared into a late-night walk-through by friends who knew I needed the money.
The first thing that hits you isn't the cold; it’s the silence. It’s a heavy, pressurized silence, like being underwater. Most abandoned buildings have the sound of wind whistling through broken glass or the scuttle of rats. At Mountain View, the woods around the building seemed to stop breathing the moment I crossed the rusted perimeter.
I stepped through a side entrance where the plywood had been pried back. My flashlight beam was a surgical blade cutting through the rot. The walls were weeping—black mold and peeling lead paint curling like dead skin. I kept my breathing shallow; the air tasted like wet chalk and something metallic.
I made the mistake of heading toward the wing they used to call the "Children’s Unit." I’d heard the stories—the "Shadow Man" who supposedly patrolled the halls, and the unexplained giggling.
As I walked down the long, linoleum corridor, my boots made a wet, sucking sound on the floor. Then, I saw it: a small, plastic tricycle sitting perfectly in the middle of the hallway. It looked brand new. No dust. No rust.
I stopped. My heart was a frantic bird trapped in my chest.
Creak.
The tricycle didn’t move, but the floorboards behind me did. I spun around, my light darting wildly. The hallway was empty. But when I looked back at the tricycle, it was five feet closer to me. “Its just the floor sloping," I whispered to myself. “Gravity. Thats all.”But there is no gravity in the world that moves a plastic toy uphill.
I retreated, heading toward what I thought was the exit, but the layout of Mountain View is a labyrinth. I ended up in a room that felt... different. The walls were reinforced. There was a single, heavy steel door with a small observation window.
I made the mistake of looking through it.
Inside, the room was pitch black, but as my flashlight beam hit the back wall, I saw words scratched into the plaster. Thousands of them. Small, frantic marks that looked like they’d been carved with fingernails. They all said the same thing: HE IS WATCHING.
Suddenly, the temperature dropped so fast I could see my breath in thick, gray plumes. The smell of burning hair and ozone filled the tiny room. I felt a pressure behind me—not a hand, but a presence. It was like the air itself had become solid and hateful.
I didn't turn around. I didn't want to see what was standing in the doorway. I just ran.
I didn't care about the tripod or the bag I dropped. I sprinted toward the light of the moon visible through a shattered window. Behind me, I heard it—the sound of bare feet slapping against the wet linoleum. It wasn't a slow, cinematic walk. It was a fast, frantic scuttle, like something moving on too many limbs.
I dove through the broken window, the glass tearing at my jacket, and hit the gravel outside. I didn't stop until I reached my car.
I’m back in my apartment now, miles away from that hill in Gadsden. I’ve told myself a dozen times that it was just my imagination fueled by local folklore.
But this morning, I found a small, plastic wheel from a toy tricycle sitting on my passenger seat. And when I checked my reflection in the hallway mirror, I saw three faint, soot-colored bruises on the back of my neck—perfectly spaced, like the grip of someone who was trying to pull me back into the dark.
I don't go toward the mountains anymore. In Gadsden, some things are left abandoned for a reason.

April 2026

Besides a chart falling off the cart for no reason and it just so happened to open to the spot I needed (friendly spirit?) and a few blurry movements on the other side of a 4th floor window drop, it's actually peaceful. That is, once the real terrors go to sleep for the night. I have seen some 5 pumpkin scary s**t, but nothing paranormal about it. Oh, and watch your 6 when coming and going, as there has been occasional black bear sightings. It's just a creepy building, especially on night shift. I don't think much has changed since it was built, not for sure on that, but it is way past due for renovations. And the patients destroy whatever they can get their hands on, so I really don't blame management for not being on top of that. It's unfortunate how much history is lost by them. If a ghost did show itself, I would probably ask for a hug and emotional support. "I see dead people, I just tell them to get a life." -Master of lyrics, Lil Wayne

December 2025

So I am currently at Mountain View I am on a home pass right now and my first night their I herd the basement doors slamming open and shut I thought it was the wind in till I went up to fifth floor I will never forget this I saw a man figure and he rushed towards me

June 2025

Where would I begin? This place is definitely haunted. I was working on the boys' unit one evening when something walked by and tapped my shoulder, as I turned I could hear running away from me but saw nothing.

I was in the elevator one evening when something tapped my shoulder again and whispered "hey" into my ear.

I have seen things on the cameras in the quiet rooms as they walked by, mysterious shapes in the backyard, and even shapes downstairs in the old incinerator room. There was always something going on at night when we worked and you never knew what you may encounter. Would it bother me? Not really, and I never look back at the place in a bad way.

One has to remember that MVH is on Noccalula Mountain and near the old Tabor Community which has several local stories, legends and even hauntings. The Falls are nearby and it has it's own hauntings as well!

December 2024

I've worked here for a little over a month now. And have already had so much stuff happen. My second day a locked door flew open. There is two unused stair cases one on each side of hospital the one in parking lot I've heard a little girl crying from inside, the incentarater is always right next to this one, I accidentally found it, very creepy. The other stairs I've seen a tall black shadow and heard a man mumbling. There has been so much in the little time I've worked here. I also believe the part of hospital I work in used to be the old morgue because of the layout and there are so many drains in floor.

July 2024

I would love to visit here! But I'm sure I could only visit if I was a patient or employee. Most people probably experienced things due to low energy. Being depressed etc. spirits reveal themselves to people who are down and out. Overall, I hope this is a good hospital to get people the help they need.

December 2023

I was 13 when I went to mountain view I'm 36 now I never knew this hospital was haunted I never seen anything unusual

October 2023

I stayed here about 6-7 months. I was switched outta rooms multiple times and finally i was put in the last room near the stairwell, it was me and 2 others girls, late at night we was all sleeping when we heard loud banging and noises coming from the stairwell and was supposed to be closed off on every level due to something they didn’t tell us. We was shocked and all screaming. We told nurses but they didn’t believe us and sent us back to bed. I never slept right there and i was never comfortable. It gave me chills every night, there were so many things off about this place.

August 2023

I was put in mountain view hospital for 7 months and have you ever walked in a hospital and can see what happened to the people that died and how they died I've seen the dead nurse she had no legs and I saw a big black shadowy mass all throughout the lobby I've never been the same since there are dark forces real dark forces and I here to tell you they are real

November 2022