Mental illness has always existed in the back of the horror genre’s exploits. Whether it be the psychotic mindset of Hannibal Lecter, or the monstrous killings of Jack the Ripper, the human race has proven itself to be the most frightening character in history, at least in our books.

But despite that, in real life the mentally ill aren’t dangerous at all. In fact, it’s because of how books and the media portray mental illness that people have become afraid of it. It wasn’t until recently that attitudes towards mental illness have started to change. But even so, behavior towards it has had a horrific past. This has been shown with works such as American Horror Story: Asylum, and the novel A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis. These works have stemmed from real life suffering and pain. And the most infamous example is that of the Royal Bethlem Hospital.

The Royal Bethlem Hospital was founded in 1247. It was meant to be a center that helped the impoverished, but because the population was marginalized, the hospital’s treatment combined both horrific punishments and religious loyalty. At some point in time, the monks at the center started accepting those with mental illness. This is when Bethlem became known as the Bedlam. 

Home to many unusual and vicious treatments, one example is rotational therapy. This treatment involves having a patient sit in a chair that was dangling from the ceiling. The doctor would then order the chair to be spun by an orderly. While this treatment doesn’t sound half bad, it caused vertigo, vomiting, pallor, and incontinence. Back then, people thought that vomiting could cure many aliments, though since then there have been absolutely no studies that have stated this opinion, and I doubt there ever will be. Patients were also usually victims of extreme bloodletting. Other brutal treatments included patients being starved and beaten.

The patients who often came through were poor, uneducated, and ousted by the very society they lived in. While some came to the Bedlam only for depression, others were committed because of crimes such as infanticide. Many patients were paraded around the asylum for the public to see, simply because many people thought they were freaks. The asylum slowly became less of a hospital and more of a freak show. What’s even more shocking was the fact that Bedlam relied on the money people would pay to see these freaks, so patients would more than likely be motivated to act insane. 

Nowadays, the hospital is at the forefront of mental health. There’s even a museum dedicated to showcasing artwork created by the patients. Even so, the hospital has had many years of dark, demented experience to draw from. From the unorthodox and often violent treatments to the almost miserable way they paraded those with mental illness, the Royal Bethlem Hospital has, indeed, come a long way. But even then, the hospital will forever remain one of the most infamous asylums in human history.