Carstairs: Hospital for Horrors

by David Leslie

*** INTRODUCTORY OFFER PRICE ***Carstairs, the State Hospital in Lanarkshire, Scotland, is a hospital like no other. Effectively a prison for some of the most violent and insane criminals in our society, it houses men who have committed the most horrific and frightening crimes imaginable. And despite being an expensive, taxpayer-funded facility, the workings of Carstairs remain subject to intense state Hospital for Horrors, author David Leslie examines the history of the institution, the crimes that have led patients to be committed to the State Hospital and highlights the risks of the brave and dedicated staff who work there. This shocking account delves into the nightmarish minds of men who have killed, raped and attacked family members, lovers, children and innocent bystanders.For many patients, there is little hope of ever being released. But for others, including some considered to be amongst the most dangerous in society, release can become a reality. Carstairs features an exclusive, first-hand account of a bloody escape in 1976, when Robert Mone, along with Thomas McCulloch, escaped and went on the run. Three men died and now, for the very first time, Robert Mone gives his own account of an event which shocked the nation. And it is a telling insight into one of the most high-profile yet secretive institutions there is.

Genres: Unfinished, Mental Health, True Crime

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 5, 2015

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had hoped the book would be as interesting as Broadmoor Revealed: Victorian Crime and the Lunatic Asylum but it wasn't. This wasn't entirely the author's fault as Carstairs refused any form of collaboration, wouldn't answer any questions and had previously silenced staff that had spoken about treatment methods, the inmates' life or anything at all.

So what the book was about was men who were violent usually murderous criminals that at least at the time of the commission of the crime(s) were not sane. I understand how the alternative reality of psychosis could drive someone to do the most terrible things, but then rob them of money and go off down the pub? That's not mad, that's criminal. So the book detailed a lot of crimes, mostly committed by men. A lot of men who were let out of Carstairs and then committed more crimes. A few men who escaped sometimes whilst being taken out for a visit by nurses, and committed more crimes. Men who had raped and murdered children and then were allowed to be near them, or allowed to work in hotels and other places where they would have easy access to victims.

Carstairs would not keep people it could not treat. Psychopaths. It's not an illness it's a personality disorder, a birth defect. So that was another truck load of evil men, often rapists, torturers, paedophiles, very often men who hated women out on the street again.

A catalogue of crimes and the men who committed them who were sent to Carstairs instead of prison and let out when they had successfully completed treatment and rejoined the community to rape and murder some more. That's what the book is about. If the author had been able to penetrate Carstairs modus operandi, it would probably have been a good book, but he was unable to get any information at all and so it was dry and not very interesting. Reading of endless stabbings, strangulations, rapes in an age where every other tv program features them doesnt perhaps engender the horror it ought to.

What did I learn? Nothing except that publicly-funded institutions like Carstairs should have more of a duty of protection of the public than treatment of individuals and that their methods should be transparent, there is no need for secrecy, it's not state secrets, it's a hospital. 3.5 stars, not rounded up.
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Notes on Reading I know I shouldn't laugh, but... "Ann McKean was sixty, a spinster and teacher who was admitted to the asylum in September 1864 suffering from dementia. The cause was listed as 'Excitement from anticipated marriage'. It was a wedding that should have taken place thiry years earlier!

I had read Broadmoor Revealed: Victorian Crime and the Lunatic Asylum which is set in England, so I wanted to read this book, to see how the criminally insane were treated in Scotland, where Carstairs is located.

[Chelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting subject, and it's clear a lot of research went into it, but the writing is disjointed and difficult to follow. Would really benefit from a decent edit to tidy up the writing and add more of a cohesive narrative - it reads too much like a first draft to be as informative as it potentially could.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ooft. Reading the relentlessly catalogued violent crimes took its toll on this reader. However, it was eye-opening for someone with an interest in mental health and how we diagnose, treat, care for and punish people. Just not a very engagingly told tale; I got to the last page and wasn't sure what the writer intended for us to take away from his extensive research.

[DaisyDoesBooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the few books I haven't finished. Horribly written - I'm not surprised the hospital didn't want to get involved in this book, it's the worst kind of tabloid scare mongering. Avoid.

[Hazel Went · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is both poorly written and has an extreme bias which comes out in so many situations. The narrative is not coherent, such that the statements at the beginning of a chapter do not correlate with the content of the chapter. The text rambles and in many cases the chronology is very dodgy.

This book feels as though it has been written by someone with a grudge. It berates "the NHS" throughout, portraying the establishment - including at some points judges and others unconnected with the NHS - as an evil which exists to keep secrets from the population. The author appears equally angry at the system back in the 40's, 50's and 60's and now. The hospital, according to the author, is keeping its secrets from a public who deserve to know - despite the potential for breaches of security and confidentiality. But no, let's try and get them to tell all to sell a book.

I would not recommend this book. I seriously don't blame the hospital for not wanting to be involved.

[Ruthy lavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have been written better. Too much higgledy piggledy information crammed in, and without much formation. A fascinating subject matter that could have been so much more interesting, shame that I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to.

[ARLENE STURROCK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read

Fantastic honest read ,things you may have never heard off before .Still many unanswered questions though ..The secrecy is appalling .Well worth a read it was hard to put down .

[Zoë · Rating 2 out of 5]

Awful book, poorly written. Often went off on one starting with one case and rambling on about an other. Really disappointed.

[Mrs Karen A Haswell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dire

I read the first ten chapters. It is basically a list of crimes and criminals of Scotland, who on being sentenced to life were either not treated or escaped. Absolute rubbish

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

*2.5 *

Strapped “Hospital for Horrors”, this is a history of Carstairs State hospital in Lanarkshire, Scotland - effectively a prison for some of the most violent and insane criminals in our society, it houses men who have committed the most horrific and frightening crimes imaginable.

Carstairs refused any form of collaboration with this book, wouldn't answer any questions and had previously silenced staff that had spoken about treatment methods, the inmates' life or anything at all, so the author’s sources range from records of other hospitals and Press archives to a long statement from a former Carstairs inmate.

Intelligent and manipulative, barbaric killer Robert Mone is given a platform on which to speak, (something that didn’t sit well with me) - Mone, together with fellow patient Thomas McCulloch, slaughtered their way out of Carstairs on November 30 1976, leaving a hideous trail of murderous destruction. Nurse Neil McLellan, 46, and patient Iain Simpson, 40, died under ferocious axe blows. Simpson even had his ears cut off. Through conjecture and speculation, the one fact that is indisputable is that too many of its patients, released as being of no further risk to society, came out to kill again.

A disturbing read that leaves the reader exhausted, smeared with the despair of the unbalanced and the anger of the desperate. It wasn’t particularly well written, and it has to be said that the catalogued violent crimes did take its toll on this reader.

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not the book I was wanting to read. Other than all the persons at some time resided in Carstairs, this could have been written about any hospital or secure unit. My father worked as nurse in Carstairs for over a year and as a child I recall the break out in 1972 when the nearby staff living quarters went into lockdown. Unfortunately I never thought to ask him about his experience of working there while he was alive, so thought I would do some research. Honestly this just read as shock jock journalism and nothing of substance about the hospital. Giving Mone a platform to speak and provide his pathetic attempt to blame everything on his ‘partner in crime’ was beyond me… talk about padding out the word count!If you want to read about repetitive abuse, and hideous crime after crime then this is the book for you. If you want to know the goings on of Carstairs don’t waste your money… I’m none the wiser.

[Elaine Mclachlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read!

I enjoyed this book very much it was a really interesting read! I did notice a geographical error. The Erskine bridge motel is actually called the Erskine bridge hotel and is not in Clydebank. It's in Erskine which is the opposite side of the Clyde, facing Clydebank.

[Anouska Loves to Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good book but not great. But still a pretty good insight into the horror that is Carstairs. It tells you the stories of the patients and how they ended up in what is basically a prison for the criminally insane

[Donna Jeffrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a fascinating subject. I had previously voiced an almost perverse interest in the lives and history of the inmates of Carstairs. The State Hospital in Scotland is an enigma, people want to know about the institution, the cases, the individuals. It is all in here, however the writing style is poor, the case studies randomly arranged with sensationalist and somewhat misogynist tabloid language and disappointing conclusions. Apparently there aren't many books about Carstairs, this book highlights how secretive it is as an institution and gives a series of case studies to illustrate its lack of efficacy as part of the criminal justice system in Scotland. If there were more books about Carstairs, they would probably be better than this one.