The Anoka Insane Asylum is one of the creepiest places in Minnesota, and now it's coming back to life, but in a different way.

From roughly 1900 to 2000, the Anoka Asylum, renamed later to Anoka State Hospital, housed the worst cases of mentally ill people in the state of Minnesota.

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The stories that come out of that place are downright chilling. Thousands of people considered "mentally ill" died there. Controversial treatments like electro-shock therapy were used in the earlier days, before current laws of treating these types of patients were around.

The video below gives you a true feel of what the hospital was all about:

A few of the cottages that housed these patients have been torn down because they were in irreparable condition. There are a few still standing that remain in repairable condition, and there are plans to make them livable again.

The desire is to turn the remaining cottage structures into housing for veterans who need a place to call home. They can live in their "rooms" for as short, or long, as they wish - as long as they need to get on their feet. If they are struggling as a family, there are rooms large enough to stay with their small family.

They also have plans for each room to be dedicated to a Minnesota fallen soldier. The families of the fallen soldiers (called "Gold Star Families") will be able to memorialize their fallen loved one and decorate the room how they wish.

There's a LOT of work to be done to these buildings before any of this is possible to make them livable. There's also a lot of decisions to be made on the state, county, and city level on funding and services provided.

I love the idea for this, and as a former resident of the city, I think this is good for Anoka. The location is a spot for vandalism and some of Minnesota's spookiest tales. Here are some of those tales of the asylum...

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