Police bust alleged ghost hunters in Middletown
Police arrested 20 Orange County teenagers Wednesday for allegedly trying to enter a supposedly haunted former psychiatric center in Middletown. The alleged ghost hunters, ranging in age from 16 to 18
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May 27, 2014, 9:43 PM
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Updated 3,865 days ago
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Police arrested 20 Orange County teenagers Wednesday for allegedly trying to enter a supposedly haunted former psychiatric center in Middletown.
The alleged ghost hunters, ranging in age from 16 to 18 years old, were all charged with trespassing and given tickets to appear in Middletown City Court later this month.
Police say the teenagers told them they found out about the psychiatric center through a Google search of the scariest places in Orange County.
"There is a history to it, which I think has fueled this discussion about it being haunted," says Chief Matthew Byrne, of the Middletown Police Department.
The crumbling building that once housed mental patients has been fenced off for 10 years and is not considered to be structurally safe.
"I do know that if you go this building and you get arrested, you're probably lucky," Byrne says.
A new fence was erected around the building to keep future ghost hunters out.
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