The White Sanitarium opened in 1926 under the direction of Frank S. White, a man who had been superintendent at the state asylum in Austin before the turn of the century. He first advocated providing a non-institutionalized lifestyle for his patients to diminish the effects of the asylum itself on their sanity. He ran the facility for just five years before retiring for health reasons.  Several others headed the asylum until its closing when it was damaged severely by a flood.

The building remained a local haunt for daring teens until 2002, when Gilbert Rios, who was 70 years old at the time and retired, purchased the building for $15,000, a measly price for such a vast estate. His purpose for buying the asylum was to repair and refurbish it into an apartment complex. The building now possesses a fresh coat of pink paint, a well-manicured lawn, and attractive landscaping.

There were so many tales of horror associated with the asylum that most investors wouldn't touch it. A group of Houston ghost hunters contacted Rios in August, 2002, requesting a visit to the asylum. They set up shop in the White building, monitoring it for any signs of supernatural activity. The results were inconclusive at that time. One MSU student told a tale of high school friends discovering abandoned manacles in the asylum's basement. Local residents tell stories of ghosts seen playing cards, as well as unexplained screams heard, coming from the direction of the asylum, in the dark hours of the night.

 TRIPP’s investigation of the White Sanitarium, known to many locals as “The Old Insane Asylum”, was an adventure. Judy’s grandmother Gracie Hall use to work at the asylum in the early 40’s. I was not aware she had worked there until we began this case. My mother had few memories of going to the asylum to visit her there.

 Many of the local people in Wichita know the asylum as one of Wichita’s oldest haunts. When the asylum was closed down, it sat for many years and the building became run down. Most everyone who had been to visit the asylum had some ghostly tale to tale.  Claims of seeing apparitions to hearing spooky voices was common. When Mary Rios (current owner) had the open house in October of 2008, many many people came out to see the asylum and share the stories they had about visiting it when they were younger. Even though the place has gone through a complete remodeling, TRIPP found that some of the tales that were told, most likely are true. TRIPP captured some EVP as well as video that have unexplained anomalies in it.  The video is currently being analyzed carefully and should be up on the sight soon. Check back to see what we saw.

Our first visit, KAUZ Channel 6  had sent a cameraman out to record the investigation. He had no more got his camera up and running well and began filming, when all the power in his camera, as well as voice recorders, cameras and other electronic devises we were using suddenly were all drained of power. Unfortunately he did not have a backup camera, so our investigation was not filmed.  Did the spirits there not want to be seen or filmed??

However, while doing an evp session down on the main floor in the living area, everyone there heard the voice of a young girl say something, including the cameraman. He was the first one to tell us where it came from. It had come from upstairs. All of us there heard it, yet none of the recorders or cameras with sound picked up her voice. However, when you listen to the evps we did capture, you will see that we did pick her up at another time.

 Some of the investigators had some personal experiences, but the one thing we noticed was when we were upstairs in the middle bedroom doing evp, it suddenly started getting very very cold and we ended up leaving that room because of the change.  I think that most evp and pictures are self explanatory; however, there is one picture an investigator got of something she felt down by her feet. We have run it through several filters and can not explain it. At first we thought it was a spot on the floor, but it was moving and the investigator could feel it. Once we get the video up, you will be able to see what we think this may be.

 So those of you who are lucky enough to be able to visit the sanitarium, know that there are still souls wandering those halls.

 A special thank you to Gilbert and Mary Rios who allowed us to investigate.  Also to Kathy Adams and Wendy Crosley , the realtors who joined in on our adventure and also gave us some great history on the place, as well as some pictures they shared with us they had taken.

 If you are a brave enough soul, the Asylum is for sale. What a great haunted Bed and Breakfast it would be. From what we discovered, the place would never actually be lacking occupants. You just may not be able to see them. Gilbert and Mary Rios have done a great job in remodeling and making the place feel welcoming. Contact Kathy Adams or Wendy Crosley at Strategic Realtors  if you are interested in purchasing this piece of history and one of the towns oldest haunts.

 KAUZ Channel 6  had sent a cameraman out to record the investigation. He had no more got his camera up and running well and began filming, when all the power in his camera, as well as voice recorders, cameras and other electronic devises we were using suddenly were all drained of power.

Some of the investigators had some personal experiences, but the one thing we noticed was when we were upstairs in the middle bedroom doing evp, it suddenly started getting very very cold and we ended up leaving that room because of the change. 

One investigator was doing an experiment upstairs and was touched by one of the entities. It was hair raising.

From the evidence we got on evp and having one of the team members being touched while doing an experiment, it would appear that the White Asylum is haunted.

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