Visit the haunted Wildwood Sanitarium in Salamanca, New York

Something about a historic sanitarium automatically gives me the chills. The stories, the atrocities, and the health problems all combine to create a morbid history. Add to that a building that had been abandoned for years where some walls are crumbling and it’s the perfect setting for a ghost tour. That’s exactly what you’ll find at the haunted Wildwood Sanitarium in Salamanca, New York.

Thank you to Cattaraugus County for organizing my visit to the Wildwood Sanitarium and to Zach for giving us a tour.

The history of the Wildwood Sanitarium

As a private, holistic hospital and a tuberculosis clinic

Built in 1900, the building was purchase by two doctors in 1903. Dr. John Henderson and Dr. Carol Perry planned to use the facility to practice osteopathy, a type of medicine that treated ailment through manipulation of bones, joints, and muscles. Together with their three nurses — Bertha, Agnes, and Sue (remember them for later in the story) — they spent years preparing the building before opening as a holistic private hospital in 1909.

With a bathhouse in the basement, the hospital used a variety of techniques to treat their patients – both full-time and by appointment. Metal ring marks on the concrete floor in the basement remind visitors of the tubs that once were there. Those tubs were used to treat patients with hot & cold baths, electric battery baths, light therapy, and other homeopathic therapies.

Although they originally only treated patients with non-contagious diseases, the state forced them to open up as a tuberculosis clinic in 1923.

Both doctors passed away in 1941. Henderson is buried in section J of Wildwood Cemetery; Perry is buried in Hinsdale Cemetery. But do their spirits still linger on the property?

As an apartment building

After the doctors’ deaths, the building went to Dr. Henderson’s family. In the 1950s it became an apartment building containing three apartments. The apartments were there for roughly 30 years before the property changed ownership a handful more times.

As a haunted historic site

Eventually the building was abandoned, sitting vacant for years. It deteriorated so much that it was condemned. But that didn’t stop the current owners from purchasing the property in 2017 with the dream to restore it and save its history. Brooke (Wagatha) Przystal and her mother Laurie were drawn to the property. As a reiki master and psychic medium, Brooke has the perfect mindset to honor the legacy of the sanitarium. In 2020 Brooke’s husband Zachary joined the restoration project as a co-owner of the property.

Since purchasing the property, the couple has restored several of the rooms in the sanitarium, with more progress to go. I admire their determination to make the building structurally sound while still keeping its history. Evidence of the building’s age is visible in the torn wallpaper, aged doors, and original wooden floors. And there’s something particularly eerie about the stone silhouette looming over the village of Salamanca.

The ghosts of the Wildwood Sanitarium

Many different spirits have been reported as seen, heard, or felt in the building. Footsteps, knocking on the doors, objects moving when no one is around, unexpected scents… There have been many indications of spirits within the stone walls of the building. Several ouija boards and a sand pendulum are regularly used to try to communicate with the spirits.

Dr. Henderson & Dr. Perry

While the doctors are not buried on the property, they had such strong ties to their business and the building that people believe they still linger in the hallways.

Nurses Bertha, Agnes, and Sue

A doctor’s practice is truly incomplete without the hard work and dedication of its nurses. So it’s not surprising to hear that Bertha, Agnes, and Sue have all been reported to be wandering throughout the building. A framed old postcard addressed to Bertha can be found hanging on the wall on the second floor.

Tommy

After the building had been converted into apartments, a little boy named Tommy lived upstairs. Unfortunately he died in a river nearby. Today he remains to be the most active spirit in the building.

Anna

One of the rooms on the second floor is lovingly referred to as the “doll room”. Why? Exactly why you’d think: it’s filled with dolls. And I mean filled. Dolls adorn every surface of the room, including shelves, furniture, and the floor. There’s even a pink wicker carriage filled with various Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls. It nearly goes without saying that this is the room that a little girl spirit named Anna spends all of the time.

Charlie the alcoholic

Another one of the apartment tenants, Charlie, is also still lingering on the third floor. Of all the spirits, he has the darkest energy. Which tracks with his history of alcoholism. Multiple visitors (including Sam from Cattaraugus County Tourism) experience an uneasy feeling when they’ve climbed the stairs to the third floor. There is a door at the top of the stairs, and Zachary knocks on the door as if asking permission to enter every time he goes to the third floor.

Visiting Wildwood Sanitarium

Today, the Wildwood Sanitarium is open to visitors for tours and overnight paranormal investigations.

Daytime tours & investigations

Depending on what you are looking for, there are a variety of tour options available during the daytime. A daytime investigation offers up to 6 visitors private access to the building from noon til 5pm for $150. But if you’re interested in a guided tour, that’s available too. A history tour is available for $20 per person. This does not include any paranormal investigating, but covers access to the property and an opportunity to learn about the building’s history. Lastly, there is a compromise between the former two options: a ghost tour. At $35, this tour is a little longer because it includes both the history tour and a short window of time for investigating.

Overnight investigations

Should you be brave enough to spend the night in the haunted Wildwood Sanitarium, you’re in luck. Because that’s one of their most popular experiences. For $350, up to 6 guests will have private access to the property from 7pm until 10am the following morning. (Additional guests can be added for $50 per person.) Guests have access to six beds spread throughout the rooms of the building, free coffee, and an outdoor fire pit. The entire building has heating and air conditioning as well as electricity and wifi. Guests are actually encouraged to create content and even live stream from the property.

There are two sites in Cattaraugus County on the Haunted History Trail of New York. The Hinsdale House is the second. Discounts are available for folks planning to visit both properties.