The Southern Campus here is abandoned, but was once a recovery center for people with the Spanish Flu. Victims were buried in a nearby field and said to still be as well as victims of polio, the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, a flood in the 1930’s, and a secretary who jumped to her death. Full-bodied apparitions are seen walking around here.
(Submitted by Chris Berglund)
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Geographic Information
- Address:
- 7601 East Imperial Highway
Downey, CA 90242
United States
Get Directions » - GPS:
- 33.9290965, -118.15798469999999
- County:
- Los Angeles County, California
- Nearest Towns:
- Downey, CA (1.6 mi.)
Bell Gardens, CA (2.5 mi.)
Cudahy, CA (2.7 mi.)
Paramount, CA (2.7 mi.)
East Rancho Dominguez, CA (3.0 mi.)
Lynwood, CA (3.1 mi.)
South Gate, CA (3.6 mi.)
Bell, CA (3.7 mi.)
Bellflower, CA (4.0 mi.)
Compton, CA (4.2 mi.)
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Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. The vast majority of information provided on this web site is anecdotal, and as such, should be viewed in the same light as local folklore and urban legends.
Our relative is an L.A Sheriff & was on Patrol around this Old Hospital. He had been doing this for about one year and had several paranormal experiences. The one that really shook him was the night he was approached by a petite older lady about 5 feet tall in an older looking style of clothes & she was hiding her face with a wrap she had around her upper body.He did not hear any foot steps she just appeared. He asked what she was doing on the property at 3 A.M. He told her that there are a lot of crazy weirdos & drug addict’s that squat there & that he would hate for something to happen to her. Being the Gentlemen that he is he offered to give her a ride & she refused it & thanked him for his concern. He then watches her slowly walk away & gets into his patrol car & starts to drive away he slowly he passes her & says be safe. As he drives away he looks in the rear view mirror he notices she is not walking on the sidewalk but actually floating inches above it! Curiosity was to much & he makes a U turn & she is nowhere to be found! She had disappeared. He said that he got this creepy feeling and he took off like a rocket!
whoa. didn’t that older lady ghost demon look transparent? did it look like a human that’s why your relative was talking to it and treating it like a human?
oh btw, 3am is the darkest hours which is known as the bewitching hours when demons come out at nights more. they chose 3am because it is the opposite time of 3pm that Jesus was crucified at.
demons aka pretended ghosts/spirits tend to start roaming around after the sun goes down. so it is best to stay away/run away from them. they can harm and possess too easily.
NOT EVERY GHOST IS A DEMON OK!?! SO SHUT UP ABOUT IT!!!
I had an experience as taking pics , I have sent them to a few paranormal groups and they can’t see anything they are crazy because I know I can see something what do you think ?
I remembered this day, it was me my two sisters and my sisters boyfriend one night all of us were bored so we decided to do something for fun. My sisters boyfriend had told us about this place while my sister searched for the directions. When we arrived we had to go another way because the security was right there. We had took a quick cruise around the abandoned area the strange thing was one of the lights were on in one of the big buildings we started thinking that it was the security but the security was in front. I wasn’t sure if it was a ghost or a mental patient but some guy had stopped to ask us for directions, while he was asking us he was shaking his hands in a weird way. we had went to take a quick turn about 10 seconds later he disappeared. :\ the place may be scary even though it’s extremely fun exploring abandoned places especially asylums
Me nd my friend are looking for something to do,would this place be ok just to drive around it???
I live walking distance.. about 4 minutes of a walk. Honestly it’s very rare to see or experience anything. Answering your question, yes you can.. they might ask you to leave if you stay for too long but just driving by is okay… you actually can drive through the buildings.
As 12 year old kids, my cousins and I would skate through the building and we went into every abandoned building recording with my camcorder. This was way before security got tight. The gates were always open. It’s was around December because our mothers always volunteered us to help build the City of Downey Rose Parade Float. Wasn’t very fun, so we always ditched and went to visit the asylum. Never got caught, was very easy to get in. We never believed in ghost and haunting places, and we still do not. This place was so creepy, we loved every minute of it. It was so much fun. Crazy how a place can be abandoned like that, with the office supplies, beds, and medical records dating back to the 1950ths. Although, I will never believe in ghost or anything like that, walking through that place was scary just like that.
This place was pretty trippy a while back I went my buddies we drove from Anaheim to downey what made us want to go is because grave encounters haha Yea pretty dumb but we wanted to see what was it like being in a asylum knowing that people died in that hospital. As we got there it was around 1 we got in and jumped over the fences it was just really dark no lights but never seen anything all of the rooms are thrashed but I would recommend taking a mask
I went with my buddies this Friday (July 15) and Saturday (July 16) we stopped by on the way home from a 2 day event in la, on Friday we got in easy by walking through a hole in the fence, we explored the outsides and found a open door for a building(this is at 3am by the way) we walk in the building about 15feet point the light down the long hallway all the doors opened trashed desks, then suddenly we hear a loud bang as if someone dropped a brick and it startled us so we run out as fast as we can and go home, that was Friday, the next day going back home from la my buddies say let’s go again and we go this time the fence all around is patched up having no easy way in unless you jump over but we were still freaked about the sound from yesterday so we just walk around between the other abandoned building and we hear a loud windy whisper and ignore it at first so we keep walking and as we get near the building with the water tower we hear a weird scraping sound and we hear it again so we look at where the sound is coming from and we see what we thought was a human like shadow near the abandoned house on the other side of the asylum so we just ran back to the car, and again this was also at 3am, so if you want to go and experience something go at 3am
I use to fix the copier in one of the buildings back in the mid 90’s. The place looks like a WWll fight scene. I asked one of the employees if the place was haunted and he said yes. He said he saw a man standing in the room and when he asked the man what he was doing there, the man looked at him and than walked into a closet, so he walked over to see where the man went and the man was gone. When you are there it just feels weird.
Living a city over i have always loved this place but recently we meaning my friends about 6 of us, found a hole in the back gate near the railroad and went inside the gated area at about 2 am we walked around found a trailer full of spent and unspent shotgun shells and while walking through an alley from under i guessing the basment there was a lil window that was shatter we heard a evil growl loud as hell we flipped out and ran in more we where on a i guess a over pass/walkway above the alley and found a open door we where about to go in and heard a loud metal on metal banging not being idiots we didnt go in we found a catwalk to the roof and went up we where overseeing the alleyway and a courtyard near a basket ball court and spotted what looked like a man leaning up agianst the basket we called out but it didnt move and it just simply dissappeared after we turned to look through a broken skylight after that we left and while walking across the huge empty field in the back we seen a man kinda tall with a black drench coat on and he ducked down behind the overgrown grass and wasent seen agian we stood there about a good 10 mins trynaa found out where he went but left in fear of if he was a junky and tried to hurt us. Another time i went there in the day alone and was exploring the craftsman home in the middle and i recored two vids which are on my insta follow me to see them! @joseph556 anyway once your gear a plane over head it sounds like something mutterd a word and i caught it on vid the second vid is more chilling i was walking away from the house down the stairs and very clearly you hear me name (joseph) help me i didnt hear the voices till i got home and reviewed the video. I been there and there is a security guard but inside the fence but technicaly you can walk around the area that isnt fenced off 2 cops rolled uo i said how it going officer he said good but i am gonna have to ask you guys to leave i said of course but there are no sighns saying we cant be here he said yea its open but we try to keep people away i said thats understandable thanks and left we have also been inside a building where there are med supplies everywhere and the lights where on we had to get out quick because my brother seen the alarm system panel saying alarmed triped we booked it out another time ive been inside the craftsman home it wasent all that scary just spooky and we heard movement up stairs we didnt dare walk up those stairs but if you wanna see the vids on instagram let me know ill show u its @joseph556
A time my sister and I were walking around the hospital while my mother was with my grandpa in his room. We saw a window, and curtains, but in the outside. It looked old and rusty, so my sister said
¨do you see anything?” and I stared at it and saw a little girl with a dress and brown hair staring outside the window. My sister did not see it, but I saw it, and it was scary. We then went back to my mother and my grandpa.
Well, years ago, late 70’s, my mother would take me here. I was all of maybe 4,5 years old. I remember being very uncomfortable, felt being watched, very very cold spots in a short hallway where it would be hot further down. I have asked my mother why she took me there, family members, noone has an answer.
I am in my mid 40’s, have raised my own children, have had somewhat of a normal life. Nothing out of the ordinary where I would think a small child had to be out through.
I am curious of the medical record room, it still has tons of people’s history there.
I am open to any thoughts or help. thanks
This was a city within a city in its heyday. It opened in 1888, and became a one of a kind & largest rehab facility for patients transferred from lL.A. County hospital. It was a “poor farm”. The craftsman house was the doctor’s house who was famous but can’t remember the name. Lots of history. The iron Lung for polio victims was invented there. During ww2, the bldgs. We’re painted camaflouged, the globes on overhead lights were painted half black. I guess the military used the facility in later times & found a package of mummified body parts. I heard the place can never be torn down because of the chemicals used. I entered the lab about 15 years ago to find it suspended in time. Old brown medicine bottles and the oven where they would heat specimens. It had its own power plant, maintenance yard, theater, it’s own street signs. I guess it now houses part of the Downey pd. Yes, there is a road that goes right thru it from imperial Hwy. to Gardendale st. It has the biggest tree i have ever seen, some type of Chinese fig.
No paranormal comment. My dad lost his legs and went for rehab there. Many amputees have this place’s amazing staff to thank for being able to walk again. It was a incredible place.
I work in the area and have walked clients near the abandoned businesses. It feels creepy but no sightings at all. Theyre building alot of new mental health businesses and no one has reported anything.
I did a photo shoot here for a clothing company. All records and beds. Patient files. EVERYTHING was still here. Have to sneak in and out for security.
It’s definitely haunted as I took my husband back a few days later. He was actually scratched SUBER BAD ALL THE way down his right arm 3 long deep bloody scratches.
Is this place still there or did the demo happen. I have moved to New York but I would love to go back just to go again before it’s gone.