13 eerie photos that take you inside America's abandoned mental hospitals

Christopher Payne Massive mental hospitals, some of which once housed hundreds of thousands of patients, were the primary mode of treatment for those with mental illnesses for centuries. But by the 1960s, asylums all over the US were closing down in reaction to reports of abuse and neglect, as well as the passage of new healthcare laws that emphasized a community-based treatment approach. As a result, many formerly packed mental hospitals have been left standing totally vacant. Over the course o...