Mental Asylum was more of a circus back in the day.

And no, I don’t mean to make fun of the mentally ill. It’s just that asylums didn’t really treat their patients; they were more of a correctional facility to be honest. You see as prisons became overcrowded, many prisoners were sent to the asylum to complete their sentence.

And so it is understandable that many asylums needed more money to function. So rather than doing something humane, they started to parade around their patients like a circus. And people would pay to visit asylums. And following are some of the most haunting pictures of mental patients in the era of Victorian England.

Source: Bethlem Museum of the Mind

#1 Harriet Jordan.

She was admitted in 1858 and was diagnosed with acute mania.

#2 Captain George Johnston.

He was admitted in 1846 with mania and charged with homicide.

#3 Unknown patient.

#4 Esther Hannah Still.

She was admitted in 1858 and diagnosed with chronic mania with delusions.

#5 John Bailey and his son Thomas Bailey.

They were both admitted in 1858 with acute melancholia.

#6 Unknown patient.

#7 Eliza Camplin.

She was admitted in 1857 and diagnosed with acute mania.

#8 William Thomas Green.

He was admitted in 1857 and diagnosed with acute mania.

#9 A restrained criminal.

#10 Unidentified female with acute mania.

#11 A female with chronic mania.

#12 Eliza Camplin.

She was admitted in 1857 and diagnosed with acute mania.

#13 Unknown patient.

#14 Unknown patient in blankets.

#15 Admitted to West Riding Asylum with chronic mania.

#16 Eliza Josolyne.

She was admitted in 1856 and diagnosed with acute melancholia.

#17 Eliza Josolyne again.

Her picture was taken again in 1857 while in convalescence.

#18 Unidentified patient.

He was admitted to West Riding Asylum and diagnosed with mono-mania of pride.

#19 Unknown patient.

#20 Unidentified female patient with general paralysis.

#21 Unknown patient.

#22 Criminal prisoner.

#23 Female mental patient.

She was admitted to West Riding Asylum in 1858 with acute mania.

#24 Unknown patient.

#25 Unidentified female patient.

#26 Prisoner restrained by police.

#27 Unknown patient.

#28 Name unknown.

#29 Female patient.

#30 Fanny Barrett.

She was admitted in 1858 and diagnosed with intermittent mania.

#31 Eliza Griffin.

She was admitted in 1855 and diagnosed with acute mania.

#32 Unknown patient.

#33 Unidentified patient.

#34 Restrained female patient.

#35 Unknown patient.

#36 Vintage photo of a female mental patient.

Did you find these pictures as haunting as we did? Comment on below and let us know.