Mountain View Hospital Reviews
Gadsden, AL 35904
Reviews By Year
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
| Would Recommend | No |
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
| Would Recommend | Unsure |
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
| Would Recommend | Unsure |
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
| Would Recommend | No |
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
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
| Would Recommend | Yes |
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
| Would Recommend | No |
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful
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
| Would Recommend | Yes |
0 out of 3 people found this review helpful
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
| Would Recommend | Yes |
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
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
| Would Recommend | No |
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
| Would Recommend | No |
I was at mountainveiw hospital for 6 months and ive seen all of the things on these comments
September 2022
| Would Recommend | No |
I was visiting my husband in the hospital back in 2010. I am sensitive to spirits. I can see the dead, speak to the dead, and I can feel what they felt when they passed on in life. I saw several spirits roaming the halls. There was a black mass that's keeping these spirits there. I saw it and felt it. I felt cold patches of air in the visitation room. I heard voices and screams. I also heard crying coming from a bathroom down in the lobby. At Halloween 2021 I did a ghost cam and caught a ghost nurse standing on the outside in the front. Her body was whole except for no legs. Something is definitely there...
February 2022
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
There is an old school in Attalla that i did not know about until recently, i had went the first time at night with a group of friends, it is rumored to be haunted and the rumors are very true. There is graffiti everywhere and no electricity, it is abandoned, the windows are now busted out and it is kinda falling apart. So when my friends and i got there i did not think it was haunted, it looked very creepy tho, so we was all in the school just looking around and exploring when all of a sudden one of our friends starts going crazy and running super fast throughout the whole school. My boyfriend and i was walking out of the school when our friend “the one who was acting weird” says that there are other people in the school , he meant that our friend group wasn’t the only “people” in the school. So my boyfriend starts yelling at our other friends to tell them about it, Some of them went in and some of us stayed out but my boyfriend and i stayed out , at this time our friend was going crazy still. He finally runs out of the school and just like passed out on the grass , he was breathing heavy and was just shocked. Everyone was trying to figure out what was wrong with him but then he stands back up and try’s to run back into the school but some of our friends were holding him back , while this was happening i told my boyfriend that some kind of spirit or entity was messing with his head. So this dude hits both of the guys holding him back and runs right back in , his friend ran into the school trying to help him , at this point we are all scared but we couldn’t just leave our friends there so we are kinda just standing outside trying to figure out what is happening and here comes the dudes friend he immediately falls to the ground and starts breathing real heavy his face was as white as could be. He raises up and starts throwing up blood at this point i knew something was up with the school. This dude was so spooked by what he saw that he was just trying to leave his friend there , our other friends had left so it was only me , my boyfriend and the 2 dudes so we are in the car about to takeoff and leave the other dude there so this dude finally came out and he got into the car crying and other stuff. After we got to where we was going they both explained what they saw , the dude that first started going crazy saw a tall black figure with sharp fingers and horns , and the other dude saw what appeared to be that the hallway kept getting longer and there was a red light in the end of the hallway ( there is no electricity) he also had said to see a little girl. After that night i didn’t want to go back but i told my mom about it and she does witchcraft so she knows about this stuff and she can talk to spirits and etc. A couple nights later we went back with my mom and as she was about to walk into a big room that i believe is the auditorium or a lunch room she sees the same thing one of the the dudes had saw the night before the black figure thing. My mom isn’t scared or spirits but she said this thing was so scary that the only words she could get out of her mouth was “just go” she was telling us to get out of the school . My mom won’t talk about what this demon or spirit said to her but she did say that it wanted all of us dead. As we were walking out of the school all you could hear was a girl screaming. We have this on video. so if you do decide to go to the school just be careful and don’t go by yourself.
December 2020
| Would Recommend | Unsure |
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful
It was an okay experience. They did call code blue 3 times (someone stopped breathing) I felt someone sit on my bed,i had a bunch of nightmares, i saw a young boy on the basketball court at night, and kept seeing a shadow of a man on the childs unit stair case. I was admitted here Jan. 27th 2020 and was discharged Feb. 2nd 2020. I was there for Anxiety, Anger and Depression.
October 2020
| Would Recommend | No |
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
I stayed there summer of 2019. I was on the 3rd floor. i didn’t have a roommate due to the girls passing lice around. at night, i always saw someone walking back and fourth in the bathroom. (the bathrooms are very tiny and kept locked so i was confused). other nights i would hear something whispering my name. i would look out my window at night because i was bored and saw a little boy playing on the basketball courts. also, i had a dream that i was sitting in the middle of a star with a circle around it with candles lit, the next morning i saw someone had written their snapchat name underneath my mattress on the wooden bed frame, so i pulled it back to see if there was more. and in the middle of the bed frame there lies the same star with a circle around it with “666” around it. it was a great experience and very helpful, just super creepy and uneasy. i was so uneasy i left after 5 days of being there, i didn’t care if i got help or not at that point.
July 2020
| Would Recommend | No |
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
I’ve never seen anything there personally, but I does however, have the creepiness of somewhere sinister. It’s very well known here that tons of people died here from sickness. It’s very old, and not pleasing to look at
July 2020
| Would Recommend | Yes |
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
My mom worked in this hospital when it was a TB hospital with a nursing home floor. Later they added an addiction unit too. She worked there for 35 years. Well I can remember as a kid how weird I felt when I would go with mom to pick up a check or something she had left. She had some stories to tell too. I wish I could remember them but I can tell you that hospital has a lot of history. For anyone that doesn't know the hospital also was across the street at one time. Then they made some living units from that. Also there were odd things that use to go on there too. When the hospital had was a TB sanatorium they had wood crafts for the patients to do while they were there. I still have somethings that was made and given to my mother from her patients. I wish she was alive so I could ask her more about the experiences she and others had. Just because a person doesn't experience anything odd doesn't mean others didn't.
June 2020
| Would Recommend | Yes |
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
There is a woman that walks the gate on the edge of dark shes kinda see through and dressed in white ive been told there is more than just her there. I was actually treated in that hospital for depression and anxiety yrs ago and always felt like i was being watched. I hadnt seen anything until after i left from there and me and a few friends drove passed there one night as the sun started to set
May 2020
| Would Recommend | Yes |
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
I was there earlier this year and I saw and heard multiple things. at night I would see a small boy on the basketball court and I saw the fifth-floor doctor. I heard the tapping on the window at night and it was as if a man was trying to sit on my chest at night.
December 2019
| Would Recommend | No |
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
I stayed in Mountain View hospital for 10 days to treat depression and anxiety. I never saw or heard anything unusual. The nurses walked the halls, day and night, all bathrooms and wards were kept locked. No one gets in or out without the knowledge of the staff. All-in-all, it was a pleasant and helpful stay.
October 2019
| Would Recommend | Yes |
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful
I never seen anything nor have I heard anything. The only thing I’ve seen that was scary was a kid with issues threaten to kill me with a pencil in the Children’s Unit. I’ve been there two different times. Same reasons and never experienced anything scary. Just kids and adults having issues.
October 2019
| Would Recommend | No |
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful
I was admitted for depression, let's get that out there. Keep in mind that this is an active mental hospital, the people that go there are getting help with their brains. The thing that made people freak out was because of the TB thing and the burning of bodies and shit. I never saw anything. Never heard anything. Never even felt energies. This place is not haunted and you should never be scared to go in there. The woods behind it though were pretty off but it was probably me being unsettled by the events of that day.
February 2019
| Would Recommend | Unsure |
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
I've been in this hospital three different times and each time I was there I would hear screaming crying footsteps and the third floor stairwell at night there was a man and a kid wearing paper sacks and also the shadows are unreal I can't imagine going back ever again!!!!
August 2018
| Would Recommend | No |
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful
I was admitted to the hospital 3 times and each time things would happen...the 3rd time was by far the scariest. I was in the girls adolescent unit and I stayed at the end of the hall next to the stairwell with my friend who was also a patient. We would always see a shadow of a man coming in and out of the stairwell at night. Then we could hear screaming in there.
December 2017
| Would Recommend | No |
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful
I stayed there for an entire month right before Halloween. Just laying there in the bed I would hear footsteps in my room and I would hear crying from the bathroom. Sometimes it felt like someone was trying to sit on my bed while I was trying to sleep. I would ask the nurses and techs if they were walking in my room or if they sat on my bed, they all said no. It seems like every weekend we would hear screams from the staircase at the end of the hall. The third floor adolescent unit was definitely creepy place to live for a month. Whatever you do, if you are admitted to Mountain view hospital do not play Christian music over the radio or you won't be able to sleep at night.(this is coming from someone who enjoys all music). I was discharged on 10/10 ( Erie). But something's always drawing me back to that place. Maybe because it felt like a home I never had, or its the spirits that danced over my body while other spirts took my patient ID bracelet off my arm during my slumber wanting to feed off my energy again to feel alive.
November 2017
| Would Recommend | No |
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
I work here and see a black mass and a woman in white hospital gown. The 5th floor is where they burned bodies infected with TB. We here footsteps and get hair pulled. We have sinks with the water come on ny itself... its seriously haunted. Im night shift VERY ACTIVE!
July 2017
| Would Recommend | Yes |
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
But I did see a shadowy mass
June 2017
| Would Recommend | No |
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
I have stayed here before, with many people whom experience hallucinations because of a psychiatric problem. I only have depression ocd and anxiety so I can promise you, I never seen or heard anything unusual. But nurses are up all night and do roam the halls. Not scary at all.
April 2017
| Would Recommend | Yes |
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
