Original subtitles

[narrator] A beachside resort

built upon deception and dirty money.

This is one of those cases where fact is stranger than fiction.

A windswept outpost

hiding a once life-saving technology.

[Claire Barratt] From the outside,

none of these buildings are anything special.

But one in particular, when you get inside it is just phenomenal.

And a shadowy site in Iowa

plagued by its checkered life.

plagued by its checkered life.

[Polly Ha] This place is haunted by stories.

It began as an idyllic home set in green pastures

until it turned into something else.

Decaying relics,

ruins of lost worlds,

sites haunted by the past,

their secrets waiting to be revealed.

In Scotland, looking across the cold waters of the Firth of Forth,

lies a facility that was once ahead of its time.

Well, this place has a apocalyptic feel to it.

Kind of a Mad Max era thing.

You've got these abandoned buildings

with rusty tin roofs and all the glass is gone.

with rusty tin roofs and all the glass is gone.

It has a real institutional feel to it.

[Claire] There's not a single pane of glass left in the place,

by the look of it.

Most of the doors are missing.

It's had its time and it's moved on.

[narrator] Other features here

clearly point to its original purpose.

Instead of one or maybe two long runways,

this site has loads of them.

Crisscrossing each other in a spaghetti junction.

[Geoff Wawro] You're used to seeing this kind of jumble of runways

[Geoff Wawro] You're used to seeing this kind of jumble of runways

in modern day airports.

But to find a runway this complex in remotest Scotland

is quite strange.

[narrator] Inside one nondescript building

lies a strange construction.

It's theatrical on its scale, it's round, it's white.

It's quite impressive. There's things hanging up above you.

It's clearly incredibly specialized.

It's clearly incredibly specialized.

[Geoff] The upper half is painted white,

and the lower half is painted blue,

and this must have some significance.

[narrator] These crumbling remains

tell a story of remarkable ingenuity and ambition

at a time of national peril.

But was it all in vain?

In 1940, these ramshackle structures on this exposed coastline

went by a surprising name.

[Claire] The name of the location is HMS Jackdaw,

His Majesty's Ship Jackdaw.

And that is your clue to what this place is.

[Geoff] This was not a RAF, Royal Air Force Base.

This was a Royal Navy Air Base.

The British Navy, in its infinite wisdom,

thought that all land-based airfields that serve the Royal Navy

thought that all land-based airfields that serve the Royal Navy

had to have naval designations.

Her Majesty's Ship this, Her Majesty Ship that.

[narrator] Soon after the start of the Second World War,

pilots here were training to operate not from land bases,

but from those on the sea.

[David Hobbs] By 1940, it was appreciated

that no battle at sea could be won without using aircraft.

that no battle at sea could be won without using aircraft.

[narrator] Commander David Hobbs is a former naval pilot

who spent decades flying from aircraft carriers.

The Navy kept its runways small

because it wanted pilots to get used to the idea

of operating from a confined space.

[narrator] Even the layout of the runways

prepared pilots for a life at sea.

[David] With an aircraft carrier,

your pilots are always going to land into wind

your pilots are always going to land into wind

heading along the line of the flight deck

with the carrier steaming into wind.

So one of the ideas of having four runways

is you've more often got a runway that points into wind.

[narrator] But learning to take off and land

was only the first part of the training.

Away from the runways, the Navy were developing a secret weapon

that would revolutionize the fight on the high seas.

[Dominic Selwood] The floor is covered in debris and bits of metal.

[Dominic Selwood] The floor is covered in debris and bits of metal.

And when you look up, you see this bizarre contraction,

only half of which is left.

This machine was going to help the Allies win the war.

[narrator] As war broke out,

the German Navy launched

their largest and most advanced battleship yet.

Germany went in with one of the biggest battleships

anyone had ever seen, the Bismarck.

[Geoff] This thing is a behemoth.

[Geoff] This thing is a behemoth.

It displaces 50,000 tons.

It has an armament of eight big main guns, 12 secondary guns,

anti-aircraft guns.

It's an absolutely awe-inspiring floating battery.

[narrator] As an island nation,

Britain relied on imports by sea to fuel its war effort,

and the Bismarck posed a huge threat to those vital supply lines.

But attacking it would not be easy.

But attacking it would not be easy.

There's an old adage among fliers

that, you know, dive-bombing a ship,

you're going to put holes in the deck.

If you want to sink it, you have to fire a torpedo at it.

[narrator] With its powerful anti-aircraft guns,

getting a plane close enough to launch a torpedo

required a difficult and often deadly aerial maneuver.

The young pilots would have to perform

an almost two-mile near-vertical dive

in just 30 seconds.

in just 30 seconds.

It was from bases like this

that the dangerous training for the mission took place.

They would take off and they would practice

with dummy torpedoes against dummy targets.

[Dominic] It's hard enough on a dry clear day.

But this is Scotland, it's wet and windy.

And, of course, they had to train at night as well.

[Geoff] All of them were at risk of blacking out

because the blood would be sloshing around

from their head to their feet and then back up again.

from their head to their feet and then back up again.

[airplane engines rumbling]

[Dominic] Accidents were common.

Good pilots were lost in the Firth of Forth,

miles away from the front line.

[narrator] Despite the tragic loss of life,

it was still believed that perfecting this maneuver

could make all the difference in battle.

But the Navy needed a safer way for pilots

to master this tactic.

And the solution came from a rather unlikely source.

And the solution came from a rather unlikely source.

A firm called Fitups that made theatrical lighting

asked the Admiralty

if there was anything they could do for the war effort.

[Dominic] They explained to them this training issue

and they came up with a radical solution.

One of the world's first immersive flight simulators.

[narrator] This is the torpedo attack trainer.

The structure and equipment were centered

around a replica cockpit

around a replica cockpit

where the trainee would take the stick.

It could roll up to 30 degrees either way,

and it could pitch, I think it was 15 degrees nose up or nose down.

Obviously it didn't move, but when you opened the throttle,

a noise, sounded like an engine revving up

and the effect of the lighting

sweeping across the blue painted floor

gave him the impression of speed.

[narrator] But would it work?

Could this new technology help swing the war on the seas

Could this new technology help swing the war on the seas

in Britain's favor?

[narrator] On an exposed section of Scotland's coast

are the remains of a once innovative piece of technology.

The torpedo attack trainer.

It was designed to allow airmen to practice a deadly maneuver

that could help turn the tide of war.

You can see the horizon painted on here.

So, this is giving you the effect of sea.

So, this is giving you the effect of sea.

The area above here is painted off-white,

because it was the perfect color

on which the lighting gantry up here

could transmit the effect of clouds, rain, snow, sleet passing, etcetera.

[narrator] A target ship was projected onto the wall.

By changing its size and position,

the different stages of an attack were simulated.

The pilot would find and line up his target,

The pilot would find and line up his target,

dive towards the water and level off, aim and fire.

A beam of light showed whether he had hit his mark.

[loud popping]

This would have operated all day every day

with a team of instructors running it

and student pilot after student pilot coming in here.

It was the first of its kind.

When this opened, there was literally nothing like it.

Undoubtedly, a number of lives

Undoubtedly, a number of lives

were saved by this technology.

[narrator] Not long before the torpedo attack trainer came online,

the devastating effectiveness

of the Navy's torpedo bombers

would become clear.

[Geoff] So on May 24th, 1941,

the Bismarck is set upon by two British warships,

the Hood and the Prince of Wales in a big naval battle.

the Hood and the Prince of Wales in a big naval battle.

[Claire] The Bismarck managed to get a shell

right into the ammunition locker of the HMS Hood,

and the subsequent fire tore the ship apart.

The Bismarck was damaged but managed to get away

and the Prince of Wales had no chance to catch it up by itself.

Fortunately, the Royal Navy's torpedo planes were ready.

[narrator] Two days later,

a torpedo bomber launched from the HMS Ark Royal

intercepted the fleeing Bismarck.

intercepted the fleeing Bismarck.

Only needed to get one hit, one hit in a key place.

And it managed it.

A torpedo strike jammed the Bismarck's rudder,

and now all she could do was spin in circles.

That gave the Royal Navy time to catch up and sink her.

[cannons firing]

[narrator] Having proved that this technique was crucial

[narrator] Having proved that this technique was crucial

against this seemingly impenetrable Bismarck,

this new technology helped ensure

that torpedo bombers continued to play a vital role

in numerous Allied victories.

They were a force that achieved more with not very much

than a lot of others in the Second World War.

[narrator] When the war ended, however,

the miraculous torpedo attack trainer was no longer needed.

the miraculous torpedo attack trainer was no longer needed.

[David] It was locked up, they threw the key away,

and basically it was just left to fall apart.

So what you see here is 80 years' worth of neglect.

[narrator] Although HMS Jackdaw now lies forgotten,

the training techniques that began here

are still being used by the Royal Navy today.

That training has been the foundation for the Fleet Air on ever since.

That training has been the foundation for the Fleet Air on ever since.

With some airplanes, like the F-35 Lightning,

over 60% is carried out in a simulator,

because you can't do it with the real weapon

in the real airplane, in the real world.

[narrator] On Bulgaria's coastline,

where the white sand meets the blue waters,

lies an empty complex of epic proportions.

[Sascha Auerbach] This is a site you can't miss.

It commands a view of the entire landscape.

These huge concrete structures

climb up and down the cliffs.

It is massive.

[Lynette Nusbacher] They say the property development

is about location, location and location.

Well, look at this location. It's gorgeous.

Why would you invest so much in building here

Why would you invest so much in building here

only to walk away?

[narrator] The answer to that question

is not just down to the money drying up.

[Sascha] This is one of those cases where fact is stranger than fiction.

You've got money laundering,

you've got the Russian Mafia,

you've got international intrigue,

and they all culminate in this massive site

being abandoned before it was finished.

[narrator] This area of the Black Sea

is a famous holiday destination

where property is relatively cheap, the views stunning,

and for developers, there is serious money to be made.

[Sascha] In 2006, Laudis,

a somewhat mysterious development company

bought land from the local government.

And they did it with the announced intention

of building a holiday resort complex.

of building a holiday resort complex.

[Jim Meigs] They were going to have 5,000 units,

thirteen swimming pools, pubs, restaurants, a theater,

underground streets, underground parking.

[narrator] This luxury resort

was to be called Costa del Croco.

And to help fund the project,

huge swathes of the apartments were sold on spec.

[Sascha] Some of the folks who bought them were investors,

but a lot of them just went to ordinary individuals.

but a lot of them just went to ordinary individuals.

[narrator] One of those individuals was Anna Ivanova.

For Anna though, it wasn't just money she was investing,

but also land she owned near the site.

[translator] I heard the name Costa del Croco

for the first time back in 2005

when I was invited to a meeting

at a real estate agent's office.

This was promised to us as the dream city.

This was promised to us as the dream city.

[narrator] Like many others,

Anna was sold on the idea almost immediately.

[Jim] The construction started in 2007.

And they just poured everything into it.

The crews worked day and night,

they brought in tons of cement.

All of these buildings went up extremely quickly.

[narrator] The project was due to be worth around $150 million.

[narrator] The project was due to be worth around $150 million.

And the plans were hugely ambitious.

[speaking in foreign language]

[translator] Some beautiful fountains were planned for here.

And quite a few playgrounds were on the original plans.

Gardens, bars and restaurants.

[narrator] But unbeknownst to Anna,

this development was hiding a very dirty secret.

[Lynette] This is a story about people building here

[Lynette] This is a story about people building here

for the purpose of turning money they can't spend

into clean money that they can take anywhere.

[narrator] This is Costa del Croco.

It was sold to thousands as a dream holiday complex.

But not long after construction began,

a dark and dangerous secret began to surface.

[speaking in foreign language]

[translator] We had no suspicions in the beginning.

As we witnessed how fast the building works were going.

It was only later on when there were rumors about the connection

between the investors and the Russian Mafia, and so on.

But, of course, we didn't know for sure.

[Jim] Information began to come out

about who were the real investors behind it.

Turned out one of them was a guy named Constantin Tsiganov,

a notorious Russian mobster

a notorious Russian mobster

who was part of a criminal gang called Uralmash.

[narrator] In the 1980s,

Tsiganov had been a founding member of the gang.

This was back when the Soviet Union was falling to pieces

and the old Soviet government and the new Russian government

could not maintain control.

So gangsters like Tsiganov and his friends,

they became like The Godfather.

they became like The Godfather.

[narrator] Tsiganov soon had tens of millions of euros in illegal money

gained through violent crime.

But before long, the authorities were onto him.

[Lynette] So as Russia starts to sort itself out

in the 1990s and early 2000s,

Tsiganov has got to leave Russia.

[narrator] Tsiganov claimed Bulgarian citizenship through his ancestry,

[narrator] Tsiganov claimed Bulgarian citizenship through his ancestry,

but he still had a major problem.

How to clean his dirty money.

You can't just go to a bank and say here's $50 million

or euros or whatever.

I don't know where I got it, I never paid taxes on it,

but I want you to keep it for me.

[Sascha] Money laundering is a very, very common activity

across criminal enterprise internationally.

And one of the most common ways to do it

is by investing in legal businesses.

is by investing in legal businesses.

[narrator] This skeletal site appears to have been one such front.

Tsiganov had started making investments in various enterprises.

One of those was the Laudis Property Group

and its investment in Costa del Croco.

Now, these millions, which came

from Tsiganov's multiple criminal enterprises,

they really should have flagged him up to the police.

But mysteriously, he got away with it.

But mysteriously, he got away with it.

We don't know exactly what his relationship was

with the man who is now the president of Bulgaria.

We don't know what his relationship was

with the former head of the Bulgarian Secret Service.

But what we do know is that they all played soccer together.

And I guess that shows there was a network of relationships

And I guess that shows there was a network of relationships

that Constantin Tsiganov was able to use

to advantage for a while.

[narrator] Tsiganov's fortunes, however,

were about to take a turn for the worse.

In 2008, the global financial crisis hit.

[dramatic music playing]

[Sascha] So it starts in the United States,

but the consequences are going to ripple outwards,

but the consequences are going to ripple outwards,

like a stone thrown in a pond.

[Jim] All of a sudden, nobody had extra money to invest in anything,

especially not anything related to real estate,

because real estate values were collapsing all over the world.

[Anna speaking in foreign language]

[translator] We had no idea what was happening,

we could only see that all the building work had stopped.

We received no official information

on the reasons behind the holdup.

on the reasons behind the holdup.

It was only later on that we were able to see the real situation.

[narrator] For Tsiganov, the financial crisis wasn't his only problem.

[Lynette] It appears that there was a shift in power in Bulgaria.

And that shift in power meant that Tsiganov's highly-placed friends

could not help him anymore.

[Sascha] A year after the halt of construction at Costa del Croco

[Sascha] A year after the halt of construction at Costa del Croco

in April 2010, Tsiganov, his business partner,

and a number of other dangerous Russian mobsters

were arrested and expelled from Bulgaria.

At that point, Tsiganov seems to have disappeared.

And there's no way to trace what happened

to the millions that were invested in Costa del Croco.

[narrator] For those left behind,

this vast site is a constant reminder of what might have been.

[speaking in foreign language]

[translator] Welcome to our home.

You can see for yourself what it looks like.

We had great dreams,

but now we look at this skeleton of concrete and steel.

And I've lost all hope that this will be our home one day.

[narrator] In Central Switzerland, at the foot of the Alps

lies the medieval city of Lucerne.

[Fran Scott] It's a tranquil place

[Fran Scott] It's a tranquil place

surrounded by the most breathtaking scenery.

You've got mountains, forests, and gorgeous lakes.

[Claire] It is a fantastic place to go.

But as you're traveling in in your car,

and you go through a couple of tunnels,

just have a look around because they are not what you think.

[narrator] In a quiet suburb nearby

is a scene that appears unrelated.

But is it?

But is it?

Tucked in amongst a block of flats

there's this unassuming door set in a wall of concrete.

It peeks out just below this mound of grass

right next to a children's playground.

When you open the door, it exposes an underground labyrinth.

Inside is a whole world of passages and rooms and spaces.

Inside is a whole world of passages and rooms and spaces.

[narrator] The hidden domain extends all the way

to the busy freeway tunnels connecting the two sites.

This underground world was built with one thing in mind

and at phenomenal expense.

But there were rumors that it couldn't actually do the job it was designed for.

[narrator] In Lucerne, Switzerland,

the A2 freeway runs directly through the city,

carrying over 85,000 vehicles a day.

But these tunnels weren't only designed for handling traffic.

[Fran] When this tunnel was opened in 1976,

it had a much bigger purpose.

One that was supposed to protect the people of this city

One that was supposed to protect the people of this city

in a time of national emergency.

[narrator] Zora Schelbert is an expert on the site's ulterior use.

And one room in particular

reveals how it might have been employed.

This is a dorm where 64 people would have slept

with bunk beds four layers high.

Not a lot of space.

[Dougal Jerram] There is some sort of military element to it

in terms of communications and medical facilities.

in terms of communications and medical facilities.

But this was something bigger.

This was bigger than what would house an army.

[narrator] The key to understanding this buried structure

is the era in which it was created.

[Fran] At the time this structure was built,

the world was staring down the barrel of the deadliest threat

that it faced since the end of World War Two.

The Cold War brought an urgent need

to protect the population from a nuclear strike.

to protect the population from a nuclear strike.

[Zora] It is important to realize

that the fear was not to be under direct attack during the Cold War.

The fear was always to become collateral damage

between the Soviets and the US.

[Fran] So the Swiss introduced a law

that required nuclear shelters for the entire population.

And in some places, this meant thinking big.

[narrator] This is the Sonnenberg shelter,

[narrator] This is the Sonnenberg shelter,

completed at a cost of over $450 million in today's money.

The price of protecting a city's people doesn't come cheap.

The mountain hides the true engineering in this particular location.

You will never ever know how much work has gone into this.

But it's there and it was expensive.

[narrator] The two motorway tunnels

[narrator] The two motorway tunnels

stretch on for nearly one mile.

At their heart,

a seven-story logistics center was constructed.

If called upon, the intention was

that the entire complex could be transformed

into the world's largest civilian nuclear bunker.

[narrator] If the alarm sounded, 20,000 of the city's residents

would descend on the fortified fallout shelter.

With the doors closed, the road would then be converted

into a vast makeshift accommodation block.

This building here is not where the 20,000 would have been living.

This building here is not where the 20,000 would have been living.

But in here, this is one of the two motorway tunnels.

This would have been filled with beds and toilet areas for 10,000 people each.

450 tons of flat-packed structures, beds and bathrooms

were all stored ready for assembly.

And to ensure life underground ran smoothly,

And to ensure life underground ran smoothly,

the bunker contained a command room, hospital, prison, radio station,

and when operating, could house a staff of 700 in the logistics center.

[narrator] State of the art technology made certain

the tunnel's occupants had a clean supply of breathable oxygen.

[Zora] Those air filters were vital for the tunnel inhabitants

because during the Cold War,

the threats were nuclear threats mostly,

the threats were nuclear threats mostly,

so they needed a very powerful air filtration system

to protect the tunnel inhabitants.

[narrator] But if the doomsday bunker

was ever called into action,

would it all have worked as planned?

[Fran] In 1987, the system was put to the test,

but the result was a little less than perfect.

[narrator] In Switzerland is a vast underground bunker

designed to protect its citizens from a nuclear attack.

In 1987, it was put to the test.

Operation Ant had begun.

The Swiss might be known for their timekeeping.

But this particular operation didn't run like clockwork.

[Dougal] First of all, it took 24 hours to shut the doors.

[Dougal] First of all, it took 24 hours to shut the doors.

There were some problems with the door mechanisms.

[Fran] Although officially this part of the test did work,

there were numerous people involved

that say that one of the doors

didn't actually close properly.

And if this was not a test

that would have been fatal for everyone inside.

[narrator] Malfunctioning doors, however,

weren't the only life-threatening issue.

[Fran] Not only could the 20,000 beds

[Fran] Not only could the 20,000 beds

not be assembled quickly enough,

even if that had gone to plan,

they'd have run out of water within just two weeks anyway.

So operation Ant was probably the beginning of the end of this facility,

of the idea of housing 20,000 people

in the two motorway tunnels,

because the drill showed that it would have taken way too long

to get everything ready in case of a nuclear problem.

[narrator] The scope and scale of the site's use as a nuclear bunker

[narrator] The scope and scale of the site's use as a nuclear bunker

was reduced over the years.

And eventually, the two road tunnels

became single-purpose structures.

[Fran] In 2006, the grand plan was abandoned.

Traffic does still flow through the tunnel 24/7,

but its days as a nuclear bunker are long gone.

[narrator] Today, one section of the central complex remains on standby

[narrator] Today, one section of the central complex remains on standby

as an emergency bunker ready to house 2,000 people.

Just 10% of the original number.

In the eastern Iowa stands a solitary building

filled with memories of a troubled life.

[Alicia] This building is a really large impressive structure.

And, back in the day, this probably would have been

something that caught people's attention.

[Polly] It's surrounded by acres of countryside,

like a refuge away from the industrial world.

But that picture starts to change as soon as you step through the door.

[Fran] So yes, there's peeling paint

and there's rust and there's mold.

But there's also these really long corridors

with door after door after door.

with door after door after door.

There's just so many places

someone or something could be hiding.

[narrator] What haunted tales

still echo through these halls?

And what finally brought this place to its knees?

[Alicia] There's a lot of stories that took place here.

But unfortunately, a lot of those stories are tragic.

But unfortunately, a lot of those stories are tragic.

[out-of-tune piano playing]

[narrator] While uninhabited today,

evidence remains of the property's final use

as a home to a few dozen individuals.

And as Cindy Anderson, the site's manager, has discovered,

much of this is of a personal nature.

[Cindy] One of the sad realities of living in an institution

is that sometimes when you left,

is that sometimes when you left,

your things didn't get to come with you.

And people's belongings were left behind.

We don't know who they belong to.

[narrator] But worldly possessions

weren't necessarily the only things that didn't leave.

[Cindy] There's an energy that seems to be, you know, swirling,

or when you walk into a place, you kind of get a little tingle feeling.

[narrator] Numerous reports of paranormal activity

[narrator] Numerous reports of paranormal activity

emanate from the shadowy rooms below.

The most famous story belongs to a supposed spirit

called the Joker

and he roams the basement.

It's said that he hung himself down there

and has stalked the corridors ever since.

[Cindy] He has thrown things, I have been pushed,

I have had my hair pulled.

And he likes to also be a little intimidating.

So he might get up close to you

So he might get up close to you

so that he can overwhelm you at some point.

[Polly] This place is haunted by stories that are linked to its past.

It began as an idyllic home set in green pastures

until it turned into something else.

[narrator] Established in the mid-1800s,

the oldest traces of the site can be found at the rear of the property,

like the old machine shop.

like the old machine shop.

[Fran] This is now in pieces.

But originally, it would have stood up near the main house

and it wasn't alone.

There would have been a number of other structures as well.

[Cindy] There was a corn crib on site,

there was a big barn.

They farmed, they had animals, cows, pigs, chickens.

In the original system when it was first created,

this property had over 200 acres.

[bell tolling]

[narrator] But this was no ordinary farm.

[narrator] But this was no ordinary farm.

This place had another specific purpose.

The state of Iowa passed the Poor Laws.

And under these laws,

the counties created homes for the poor.

These were designed to be benevolent charitable institutions.

[Polly] The idea was that the able-bodied poor

who were unable to find employment

could find shelter and work here.

could find shelter and work here.

[narrator] The structure standing here, however,

is not the original building.

This is Edinburgh Manor.

Completed in 1911,

it signaled a whole new direction for the site.

As soon as this new building was constructed,

a committee was established

to look into mental illness in the county.

And with that, a number of patients who had mental illness

were transferred to this new site.

were transferred to this new site.

It was becoming almost a catch-all

for all these social problems in one place.

You end up with the vulnerable, weak and elderly

cohabiting with the violent and threatening.

It's like throwing in foxes into the henhouse.

[narrator] In Iowa stands a forlorn building, Edinburgh Manor,

built to continue the work of the original poor farms main house.

Its opening would actually usher in an era of change.

The use of some rooms may have been altered over the years,

but the design laid the foundation

for a more institutionalized approach to social care.

for a more institutionalized approach to social care.

On the women's wing on the first floor has some resident rooms,

but you have a room that contained your medications.

The majority of residents would have been medicated.

On the opposite side, on the men's wing, very similar as well,

you have some offices, you have some resident rooms,

there's a game room at the end of the hall.

They tried very, very hard

to make it a comfortable place for people to be.

[narrator] Reflecting changes taking place

[narrator] Reflecting changes taking place

across the country in the care system,

some of the old establishing ideas here would soon be lost.

[Cindy] When it was a poor farm the people were required to work.

They did not want lazy people.

After the transition to this building,

it was still considered that way.

But over time, the poor farm system collapsed.

[narrator] Global events like the First World War and the Great Depression

[narrator] Global events like the First World War and the Great Depression

conspired to increase the pressure on the care system,

leading some to champion a controversial new approach

known as eugenics.

[Alicia] You have social scientists looking at county homes

and homes for the incurably ill

to say what is it about these people

that makes them so.

The United States takes some of this early charge in the eugenics movement

and the movement for compulsory sterilization

and the movement for compulsory sterilization

of those who were deemed genetically unfit or institutionalized.

[Cindy] This facility does not have as negative of a history

as some of the others.

There are some poor farms around the country

that people who were in charge were not nice people.

They did not take care of the residents.

[narrator] While this site escaped that horror,

it would still face struggles

that plagued similar facilities across the US.

Sadly, over the years, with this place being under such strain,

Sadly, over the years, with this place being under such strain,

there were reports of violence, assaults,

and even suicides at the property.

[Cindy] In the 1950s, we've learned of a gentleman

who didn't like it here.

It wasn't a locked facility,

he could have walked out the front door anytime he wanted.

Instead, he chose to leave by hanging himself,

and he did hang himself in a small room

at the end of the hall on the first floor.

[Alicia] When you have a stressed infrastructure

[Alicia] When you have a stressed infrastructure

that is caring for so many different people

with so many different needs,

it unfortunately means that most of these people aren't getting

the kind of care that they need, that's individualized to them.

[narrator] One room found in the basement, added in the late 1960s,

speaks to those troubling times.

[Cindy] This room here was the original padded room.

Back then, if you were out of control,

they would grab you and put you in a straitjacket

and then they'd put you in a room like this.

and then they'd put you in a room like this.

And then you would have sat here

until you could calm yourself down,

and then they would let you out.

[narrator] For almost 100 years,

this building moved with the times,

accepting new patients,

adapting its layout and trialing new approaches.

But finally, in 2010, Edinburgh Manor's days were numbered.

While advances

and improvements to the care system continue,

many issues remain to be confronted.

[Alicia] We still have a legacy of those institutions today.

We have hospice care, we have nursing homes,

we have all of these other institutions

where we put people who cannot care for themselves.

But we also have a history of mass incarceration in our country.

And depending on what source you look at,

10% to 30% of those inmates have mental illness.

10% to 30% of those inmates have mental illness.

So have we reformed our institutions,

or are we just reshaping them in new forms?

[Polly] I think the stories that are linked to this house

about its haunted past, still haunt us today,

because we're still dealing with so many of the same problems.