The Stain of Margaret Schilling
The stain left behind by Margaret Schilling’s Body. Photo: Paranorms
A permanent chalk-like stain has been left behind by Margaret Schilling's decaying body at the Athens Lunatic Asylum. Numerous efforts to eliminate the stain have proven unsuccessful.
Who was Margaret Schilling
A photo of Margaret Schilling. Photo: Historic Mysteries
Margaret Schilling was a deaf-mute who was taken care of at the Athens Lunatic Asylum in the 1960s and 1970s.
Margaret was 53 years old, she was married and reportedly a mother as per one local historian.
On December 1, 1978, a nurse patrolling the wards reported Margaret Schilling missing. Typically, asylum caretakers are able to locate patients who wander off into the woods or other buildings, but in Schilling's case, she remained missing for a staggering six weeks.
In the midst of an extremely cold and snowy winter, specifically in early January of 1979, there was an extraordinary amount of snowfall totalling 34 inches, setting a new record. It was a very cold winter.
On January 12, 1979, the discovery of a lifeless body in an abandoned ward of a tower formerly used for tuberculosis patients revealed the unfortunate fate of Margaret Schilling.
The discovery was peculiar because Schilling was found naked and her neatly folded garments were located beside her remains. After an autopsy, it was determined that her death was due to heart failure, which was likely caused by prolonged exposure to the cold.
Margaret Schilling was buried in a small cemetery situated in a county in Southern Ohio.
Margaret Schilling’s Body Stain
The most chilling aspect of Margaret Schilling's story is the indelible chalk-like mark left by her decomposing body. Despite numerous attempts to eradicate the stain using cleaning products, it proved impossible to remove.
Experts speculate that a highly hazardous cleaning agent previously used in the room may have combined with Schilling's bodily fluids and penetrated the floor, producing an impression that could not be washed away.
In 2008, the Journal of Forensic Science published research that suggested Schilling's body fats had decayed, creating soap that seeped into the concrete floor's cracks. The Margaret Schilling body stain remains visible to this day.
The History of the Athens Lunatic Asylum
Built in 1874, the Athens Mental Health and Development Center, now known as The Ridges, once housed over 1,800 patients in its towering brick structure.
The initial patients were Civil War veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and farm women grappling with the demands of raising large families.
Originally, the structure was designed to accommodate patients in separate wings based on gender. The architect drew inspiration from the principles espoused by physician Thomas Story Kirkbride, who emphasized the significance of natural light and air circulation in treating mental illness, as detailed in his book "On the Construction, Organization and General Arrangements of Hospitals for the Insane".
This approach resulted in a bat-wing design that extended in two directions across the property, with towers crowning each end that were only accessible via a service stairway. One December night, Margaret Schilling unfortunately stumbled upon this stairway, which had been left open by workers maintaining the aging building.
Historians remember The Ridges for its controversial use of lobotomy and electro-shock therapies, which were later condemned for their irreversible effects.
A cemetery located behind the facility served as the final resting place for those who died as patients of the hospital. Unclaimed residents were buried in an unmarked plot with a small headstone displaying a number in place of their name.
The Curse of Margaret Schilling
According to local legends, touching The Stain is believed to result in a long-lasting curse that brings about unhappiness, bad luck, and premature death to the unfortunate individual who does so.
A widespread rumor in town, mostly circulated by college students, was that someone from the college broke into the abandoned asylum (which had shut down in 1993), touched a stain, and was haunted by a ghost that drove them to commit suicide.
Have you ever been to the Athens Asylum and seen the stain of Margaret Schilling? Let us know in the comments.
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