Institutional folklore

Rolling Hills Asylum historic former poorhouse building in rural New York associated with institutional ghost legends

Rolling Hills Asylum (New York)

by Elizabeth Fabowale

February 16, 2026

American Ghost Stories·American Haunted Places

In the rural landscape of western New York, surrounded by open farmland and long quiet roads, stands a large brick building that once served as a county poorhouse. Today it is widely known as Rolling Hills Asylum. Though peaceful fields stretch around it, the structure carries a heavy history shaped by poverty, institutional care, and social reform. Over time, that

Parchment-style illustration of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox in snowy woods, American folktale.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox: An American Folktale that Teaches Lessons on Strength, Teamwork, and the Power of Legend

Long ago, in the rugged northern forests of America, where towering pines whispered to the wind and the snow stretched farther than

Parchment-style artwork of Davy Crockett firing into the sunrise on a frosty Tennessee hill, American folktale scene.

Davy Crockett and the Frozen Dawn: An American Folktale that Teaches Lessons on Boasting and Humor

In the early days of the American frontier, when the land stretched wild and untamed across Tennessee, there lived a man whose

A realistic painting of an American alligator resting on a muddy riverbank at dawn, surrounded by misty wetlands and tall grasses under soft golden light.

The American Alligator Legend

In the vast marshes and slow-moving rivers of the southern United States, where the air hangs heavy with mist and the reeds

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Institutional folklore

Rolling Hills Asylum (New York)

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Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox: An American Folktale that Teaches Lessons on Strength, Teamwork, and the Power of Legend

Davy Crockett and the Frozen Dawn: An American Folktale that Teaches Lessons on Boasting and Humor

The American Alligator Legend