An architectural blueprint of a building reveals dimensions and measurements of long corridors, a hydro therapy room ...and a morgue. An omniscient voice asks someone, “Do you remember what it sounded like at Pennhurst?” Another voice replies “Um, it sounded like… vibrations. That something’s not right. It was a frightening, scary place. It sounded like… fear.”

What used to be a state school and hospital for disabled people is now the site of “Pennhurst Asylum,” a controversial haunted house run by many performers with disabilities. Autumn, one of the performers who manages the ghost haunts, is a contortionist who encourages the new “haunters” that she trains to reclaim their disabilities and incorporate them into their haunter personas. As we see the performers embody their twisted and scary characters at the attraction, a sobering picture of what Pennhurst used to be comes into starker detail — an institution that promoted “segregation of all deficients” and became a site of profound neglect, abuse and deprivation.

Filmmakers Nathan Stenberg, Mike Attie, and Katarina Poljak infuse their socially-resonant exploration with haunting archival footage and a horror genre undercurrent. By bringing past and present together, the filmmakers potently scrutinize America’s historically problematic treatment of the disabled community.—Jose Rodriguez