Frequently Asked Questions

Is it true that Elvis lived in the water tower at the Kalamazoo State Hospital after his reported death?

No.  An account proclaimed that after the death of Elvis Presley, he had been “spotted” one night at a restaurant in Kalamazoo, and that he was living in the Tower at the State Hospital. The story unfolded claiming that the Medical Superintendent of the Hospital had entered into an agreement with Elvis, allowing him residence in the tower with the agreement that he exit and enter only at night and by way of a tunnel entrance in the courtyard of the quadrangle, thereby minimizing the likelihood of his comings and goings being noticed. 

The Towers medieval appearance has spawned many fantastical accounts over the years of its existence.  One such account declared that armed guards were positioned behind the crenellations at the top to prevent the escape of the insane.

My great grandmother was a patient at the Michigan Asylum for the Insane in Kalamazoo.  How can I get her records from the time she spent there?

Unfortunately, many of the patient records were destroyed years after their stay to protect the privacy of the patient.  Some records did manage to survive and are now housed at the Archives of Michigan at the Michigan History Center in Lansing. Michigan.  

To pursue finding records of a relative you believe was a patient, you must submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Legal Department of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services which can be found on their website. 

Once approval is granted, you may contact the Archivist for the Archives of Michigan at the Michigan History Center and they will begin the search process to let you know if any records of your family member exist in the archives.  If records exist, they will contact you to view the documents.  

Did the Michigan Asylum for the Insane conduct lobotomies on patients?

Doctors at the hospital performed what was known as a leucotomy, a surgical division of nerve tracts in a lobe of the brain. The first leucotomy was performed in 1943 at the Kalamazoo State Hospital by

Dr. Richard Light. A total of 10 leucotomies were performed at the hospital between 1941 and 1950 with mixed results. One patient was reported to show definite improvement with a legal restoration to “soundness of mind,” and who at the time was planning her marriage. The remainder of the group showed initially some improvement, but later a reversion to pre-surgery behavior.

What about shock therapy?

At the Kalamazoo State Hospital, “modified” treatments were given, starting with the injection of a small amount of atropine intramuscularly, approximately ½ hour prior to the treatment merit for the purpose of controlling secretions in the mouth. At treatment time, a small amount of a short acting anesthetic (Sodium pentothal or a similar agent), was injected intravenously. After the patient was asleep, a small amount of muscle relaxant and a small amount of contact jelly was applied to the patient’s temple and when the patient was asleep and muscles relaxed, a small current lasting a fraction of a second delivered.   The muscles tensed, and after 20 to 50 seconds relaxed, ending the treatment. Following the treatment, the patient was taken to the recovery room and kept under observation until he/she had recovered from the effects of the anesthetic. The treatment was painless and uneventful and oftentimes after recovery from the treatment, the patient would ask when they were going to get their treatment. A typical course of ECT treatment consisted of 8 to 10 treatments given on alternate days.

The use of electro-convulsive therapy was discontinued at Kalamazoo in 1971, because

of the effectiveness of the neuroleptic medications.

WARNING - Sensitive Content Below

Is it true that a nurse was murdered at the Kalamazoo State Hospital by a patient?

On November 5,1954, at 5:30 p.m., Marilyn Kraai was strangled to death by patient Louis

Maurice Smith. Marilyn was an affiliate student nurse from Mercy Central School of Nursing

in Grand Rapids. The evening of November 5, she was stationed on the second floor of Male Receiving Hospital where patient Louis Smith was. Earlier in the day, Louis had gone down to the hydrotherapy room in the pedestrian/service tunnel of the quadrangle building. That evening, he told Marilyn that some of the patients wanted to play cards, and he convinced her to take him down to the hydrotherapy room to retrieve a deck of cards which he told her that he had left there earlier in the day. Unfortunately, against hospital rules, she acceded to his request and the two left the ward without being seen by any of the employees.

When Marilyn failed to meet her classmates for the evening meal, a search of the quadrangle in

building was made for her. In the hallway immediately outside the door leading into the physiotherapy room white scuff marks those that might come from a nurse’s white shoes were seen. Upon entry to the room. 

The murder received national attention when it was reported in the February, 1955, issue of True Detective magazine.