As Halloween quickly approaches, students at The University of Alabama begin the popular annual pilgrimage to the state-owned “Old Bryce” facility in Northport, Ala., hoping to experience the rumored hauntings for themselves.
The unofficial term “Old Bryce” refers to a pair of abandoned buildings in a rural area of Northport that served as early establishments in the history of mental health in the state of Alabama. The S.D. Allen Intermediate Care Facility was open from 1977 to 2003 to serve patients older than 65 years old, said Jeff Shackelford, the public information officer for the Department of Mental Health.
Shackelford said the second building, known as the Jemison building, served as a dormitory for high-functioning patients of the Partlow Developmental Center in Tuscaloosa. The last patients of the facility were served in the 1970s, he said.
“It is well-documented that the conditions at the Jemison building were not good at the time,” Shackelford said, referring to the landmark Wyatt v. Stickney lawsuit that stretched from 1971 to 2003. The case brought the atrocities of the mental health system of the state to light. Eventually, it was decided that patients had the right to appropriate care and led to the switch from state institutions to community-based care.
Shackelford referred to a description of the Jemison building from journalist Paul Davis in The Tuscaloosa News in 1970. Davis wrote, “Human feces were caked on the toilets and walls; urine saturated the aging oak floors; many beds lacked linen; some patients slept on floors. Archaic shower stalls had cracked and spewing shower heads. One tiny shower closet served 131 male patients; the 75 women patients also had but one shower. Most of the patients at Jemison were highly tranquilized and had not been bathed in days. All appeared to lack any semblance of treatment. The stench was almost unbearable.”
Today, the Jemison building is dilapidated and painted with graffiti. Rumors circle among Tuscaloosa citizens that the buildings that comprise “Old Bryce” are now haunted.
“I had a distant relative in it, and I know some of the ways they treated the patients were horrific,” said Katie Fogg, a junior majoring in electrical engineering who has explored the area twice. “Rumor has it it’s haunted.”
However, the haunting only propels student activity.
“I love doing adventurous stuff, like going out and exploring scary stuff,” said Allison Roberts, a junior majoring in chemical engineering who has traveled to “Old Bryce” three times. “It’s on every college kid’s bucket list.”
The Department of Mental Health owns the two vacant buildings and the land on which they sit, Shackelford said. It is illegal for students to trespass on the property.
“We parked behind an abandoned church and then walked a quarter mile in the woods,” said Roberts, who, on her third trip, explored the basement and third floor of the Jemison building. “Police are out there a lot on weekends and around Halloween.”
“It was a combination of knowing what went on there combined with the thought of getting caught that made it so scary,” Fogg said.
Fogg’s first attempt to explore the area was stopped prematurely by police patrolling the area. On her second trip, unknown people with flashlights chased her and her friends. They hid in bushes and ditches for nearly an hour.
“It was scarier than any haunted attraction because it was real,” she said. “I would not go back. I was scared to death.”
Editors’ note: This article was revised to remove an error. The Crimson White regrets the error and is happy to set the record straight.
Editor’s note: This story is historical in nature and refers to “Old Bryce” colloquially. It does not refer to any currently operating mental hospital. This story was written due to Old Bryce’s place in the folklore of University of Alabama students, especially around Halloween.
