Rolling Hills Asylum

You should be afraid, very afraid of a place in E. Bethany, New York called the Rolling Hills Asylum located between the cities of Buffalo and Rochester, New York. The brick building itself is huge, 53,000+ sq. ft. To understand how a building may or may not become haunted or evil or why the dead won’t rest it is usually best to begin with its history.

Genesee County Poor Farm

This place started out as The Genesee County Poor Farm. in the 19th and early 20th century It was common to establish poor farms in the United States in the 19th and early 20th century. Able-bodied residents were required to work on these farms. Who was housed there? The unlucky were orphaned children, families with no place to go, the elderly and destitute, those who were physically handicapped, the mentally unstable, those who were morally corrupt, and even criminals. A poorhouse was also referred to as an almshouse or asylum and was run by the local government of the county or municipality in which the poorhouse was located. This was all prior to the 1930s when the Social Security program was adopted.

So the Genesee County Board of Supervisors met in Bethany on December 4, 1826, to discuss establishing a County Poorhouse. The site they selected was a brick building that had previously been a stagecoach tavern. It was located on the corner of Bethany Center Road and Raymond Road and it represented the geographical center of the county. The poorhouse was to open its doors on January 1, 1827. The Genesee County Poor Farm or The County Home became a self-sufficient working farm and woods that provided food and fuel. In 1871 it cost about $1.08 to care for each person per week.

The farm residents were known as inmates. Those who were able to worked on the farm and there were those who built and made wares to sell so as to help with living expenses. Part of the chores included raising Holsteins, pigs, draft horses, chickens, and ducks. Vegetables and fruit were grown. Jams, jellies, and meats were canned. There was even a bakery and a wood shop where coffins were made to be used when needed and to sell to the local mortuaries.

Those who had no family would be buried by the County and at one time there was a cemetery on the property but no records of it exist. As it often happens the cemetery faded away, stones crumpled, grass grew and the forest was replanted. On June 6, 2004, a memorial site was created in the Genesee County Park when five headstones dating from 1887 to 1888 were returned to the County. A historical marker was dedicated by the Genesee County Historians to honor those who died while living in the County Home from 1827 until the facility closed in 1974. Residents who were still living there in 1974 were relocated to new facilities in Batavia.

Unusual Occurrences

This place became known as The Old County Home & Infirmary in the 1950s and in the 1990s after it had already closed shops were set up here and later an antiques mall. This was when the unusual started happening. Property owners, vendors, and shoppers started noticing strange occurrences. There were reports of disembodied voices, doors that were mysteriously held shut, screams heard in the night, shadows of people, and more. A paranormal group was called in to investigate and the spooky reputation of Rolling Hills was born. In 2002 the Carlsons purchased the property and began noticing paranormal activity such as doors slamming of their own accord, voices that called names, and misty apparitions.

The Christmas Room

In September of 2007. the Rolling Hills resident investigator had a chilling experience. While working a public hunt there was a gentleman who at that time was filming a documentary about the building. He wanted to conduct an experiment in one of the rooms. His chosen room was in the basement and is known as The Christmas Room. His experiment involved sitting in this room with no lights or equipment turned on. The only light that they would use would be a pink glow stick in the middle of a circle of people. Placed in the circle were a small ball and a toddler-sized rocking horse. The gentleman who was conducting the experiment requested that only the investigator speak and try to make contact with the spirits. As she continued to talk more and more strange occurrences began to happen.

The glow stick began to move back and forth and the rocking horse began to rock slowly. Then a few of the guests in the circle as well as the investigator saw a hand and arm come out of nowhere reaching for the ball in the circle. Then just as quickly the hand and arm vanished. She said that the most exciting part of the experiment for her was when she began talking to the many young children’s spirits which were around her. She asked them to come into the circle and play with the toys there. She put her open palm over her shoulder and asked the children to take her hand. She then would help them into the circle.

As each child took her hand her hand would begin to tingle and as she lowered her hand into the circle the other people sitting about would say that they could see what looked like glitter floating above her hand. This continued for about 30 minutes when there was a bang on the closed door of the room and a voice yelled “It is time to close!” It was then that they all realized that they had been in that room for about three hours. The Christmas Room is so named because it is permanently decorated for Christmas. There is a Christmas tree and in this room, toys are often moved from place to place as if someone were playing with them. Apparitions of children have been seen here and orbs have shown up on photographs taken in this room.

Spooky Shadows

On the 1st and 2nd floors in the East Wing shadows are often seen between 3 and 5 AM. Also on the 2nd floor of the East Wing, there have been sounds of footsteps and sliding sounds heard from above. The only problem here is that there is no 3rd floor. In the corridors of the East Wing, a ghostly man has been seen with a goatee beard and mustache walking about. From the Music Room in the West Wing music has been heard but upon investigation, the room is always empty.

Paranormal investigators and historical buffs were worried that this institution might be closed. But then around 2009 the founder of the Journey Paranormal Society and Start the Journey – a Paranormal Meet-up Group which are both based in southern California and her husband purchased this extremely haunted property.

Rolling Hills Asylum appears to be the most haunted location in the northeast. The investigations continue and it is no wonder that there are spirits of the dead here as more than 1,750 occupants died on the premises and many of them were buried on the property as well. They still roam the halls of the asylum and you can go to visit. You never know who or what you might bump into.