St. Elizabeths Hospital and reported hauntings

St. Elizabeths Hospital, established in 1855 in Southeast Washington, D.C., served as a federal psychiatric hospital and housed notable patients including poet Ezra Pound and John Hinckley Jr. The hospital's historic buildings and long history of psychiatric care have made it a subject of local ghost stories and paranormal tours that recount alleged sightings and unexplained phenomena. These accounts appear in guidebooks and local media, but they are presented as folklore and anecdote and are debated among historians and staff. The hospital's role in federal psychiatric care and its documented patient history are well established.