Popular media portrays mental asylums as dark, twisted places with a horrid past. However, the mental asylum in West Virginia had a different, more pressing issue - overcapacity. Built to accommodate 250 people, the facility was stretched beyond its limits, housing over 2500 patients. That means the facility was overrun with patients who needed severe help, with no supervision or enough staff to attend to anyone. It became a place where people ran around wild.
Today, the asylum stands as a tourist spot, offering visitors a glimpse into the lives of people who struggled to survive in this place.