Just in time for Halloween, History Professor Troy Rondinone joined Connecticut Public Radio’s “Where We Live” for an episode exploring Connecticut’s haunted history and cultural fascination with all things spooky.
Rondinone, author of Nightmare Factories: The Asylum in the American Imagination, discussed how abandoned asylums became central to American ghost stories — and what that says about the ways we view mental health and institutional care. Drawing from more than 250 films, archival records, and firsthand site visits, Rondinone’s research traces how cultural depictions — from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to American Horror Story — have shaped public perception of mental illness.
On “Where We Live,” he also reflected on how popular “haunted asylum” attractions are slowly shifting away from harmful stereotypes. “Every now and then, I’ll come across haunted houses around Halloween that are starting to take away the haunted asylum theme — the people running around with straitjackets. That kind of thing is beginning to go away,” he said.
Listeners can stream the full episode, “CT Haunted Happenings, Plus a Look at Our Favorite Halloween Nostalgia,” on Connecticut Public’s “Where We Live” or wherever podcasts are available.
