Pennhurst "Haunted House" Plan Criticized as Insensitive
Plans to hold a "haunted house" attraction at the site of the old Pennhurst State Hospital in Spring City, Pa., have local advocates for the disabled outraged.
KYW's Lynne Adkins reports that Pennhurst was shut down in the 1980s after disclosure that residents there suffered years of physical and mental abuse.
Now, the owners of the site, on the border of Chester and Montgomery counties, are staging a haunted house called "Pennhurst Asylum."
Tom Earle, CEO of Liberty Resources, an agency that serves the handicapped (at lectern in photo above), calls it an outrage:
"It's disrespectful to be mocking or having a form of entertainment at a facility that's so notorious for abusing the residents who lived there. People died there!"
But property owner Richard Chakejian says it's only meant for family fun:
"We went way out of our way to make sure it doesn't mock or mimic the disabled in any way."
Although he's quick to admit that the place is... creepy.
