History & local legend
West Mountain Sanatorium, outside Scranton, treated tuberculosis patients beginning in 1903. Long after the hospital closed, its grounds attracted paranormal investigators, including the NEPA Paranormal team.
Co-founder Katie Christopher recalled an investigation in the basement of the former men's quarters. After someone asked how a person there had died, the group smelled smoke and saw it approaching with flames behind it. They ran outside. When they turned around from the main path, the fire was gone. Christopher said she could still feel smoke in her lungs, even though none remained visible.
Sources
- NEPA Scene, interview with investigator Katie Christopher about the basement fire
- NEPA Paranormal, West Mountain Sanitarium, archived original investigation and porch photographs
- Russell Sage Foundation, The Campaign Against Tuberculosis in the United States, West Mountain Sanatorium entry
- U.S. Geological Survey, 1947 Scranton quadrangle with named West Mountain Sanatorium footprint
