Connecticut paranormal investigators say the abandoned Seaside Sanatorium in Waterford is still active, and that its spirits have been talkative.
A recent Hartford Courant report by Gianni Salisbury follows Rose Porto, founder of the CT Spirit Investigators, back to the grounds. Porto says she feels sadness there, and also the sense that she is being watched. Believers say the ghosts of the many people who died at the site still linger, and Porto says her group has audio, photos, and video that back it up.
A Hospital With a Long, Heavy History
Seaside Sanatorium opened in 1934 as a hospital for children with tuberculosis, using sunlight and fresh sea air as part of their treatment. It became a geriatric hospital in 1959, then the Seaside Regional Center, a residential facility for people with developmental disabilities, in 1961. The center closed in 1996 following reports of abuse and neglect.
Paranormal historian and researcher Jean Saccavino Garcia says some patients who died in the later years were reportedly sent to the University of Connecticut for medical research. The land became Seaside State Park in 2014, but the buildings remain abandoned, fenced in, and covered in vines and graffiti.
What the Team Reports
In 20 years of visits, Porto says her group has reported shadows, voices, orbs, and photographic anomalies on the land around the buildings. During the recent visit, she placed a spirit box on the ground near the main entrance. That is a device that rapidly scans radio frequencies while investigators listen for responses. She asked, “Are there any children here? Could you tell us your name, please?”
No answers came through the static that day. But Porto and Garcia say they think children visited on earlier trips. “The last two times we were here,” Porto said, “it sounded like it was a group of people that were here and they had a lot to say.” She also says the team has heard the creak of swings, though the swings that once stood in front of the building are long gone.
The Skeptical View
Spirit boxes are controversial. Because they sweep through radio stations and static, skeptics argue that the bits of speech people hear are fragments of real broadcasts, filtered by the listener’s expectations. It is also worth noting that the day described in the article produced no responses at all.
In fairness, Porto says her team works to rule out ordinary causes first. The group of seven charges no fees, relying only on donations, and says it researches a location’s history and returns several times before drawing conclusions. At Seaside, she says, the work is not finished. Even after years of visits, there is still more to learn.
Whatever you make of spirit boxes, the history of the place makes it easy to see why people feel something there.
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