It all started with a little boy. The last child of the Hayward line met a terrible fate, and his grief-stricken parents could never let go. The Hayward Foundation for research into the paranormal and supernatural was established with their vast fortune.


Twisted and turned, a gnarled and ancient tree haunts the poor, injured child.
Working late one night, Dr. Atwater learns the tragic and chilling story behind the sanitarium from the groundskeeper, Chester.
The building that is now the strange sanitarium was once the sprawling mansion of one wealthy family. The Haywards had a long and checkered history, building a considerable fortune on the seas in lucrative merchant shipping enterprises.
The last heir of a proud line, young James Atwater falls prey to a fever after climbing and falling from an ancient and gnarled tree . Just outside his bedroom where he’s recovering, the tree sways and brushes against the window. Maybe it is his imagination, maybe it is the laudanum the doctor has prescribed, or maybe the long, claw-like branches of the tree are really trying to get the helpless lad.

Episode 3: The Tree

Horrifying Audio Theater: Hayward Sanitarium is an original episodic drama that played on National Public Radio's NPR Playhouse. The cult classic features the adventures centered around an old sanitarium that studies patients who claim to be supernatural and paranormal. A new, young psychiatrist starts work there and uncovers a mystery that takes him into the the most frightening and darkest places of all - the human mind.

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The fate of Hayward Sanitarium, and of Dermott O’Brien, are in peril. Dr. Atwater and Justin Cardamon plot a rescue attempt, and the FBI arrives to pay a visit to Dr. Brooks.

The triskele symbolizes the mystery of the Fraternitas.
Whatever evil stalks the sanitarium may not matter for Dermott O’Brien. He’s scheduled for severe treatment following his violent escapade. Convinced that O’Brien isn’t really mad, Atwater and his faithful friend Cardamon hatch a desperate plot to free him.
As much as they’ve tried to keep things quiet, the security problems can’t escape the notice of the FBI, especially when violent criminals escape and staff are dying. The conditions at Hayward Sanitarium are definitely out of control.

Episode 10: Breakout

Maria begins to create hell for Dr. Atwater. He and Cardamon visit Robert in the County Jail, where a chill is cast over their futures.


Evil’s reach is long.
It can stretch into the seemingly safest places. It chills the bones and sends shivers up our spines. We feel its presence with shudders and quakes.
And we know the cost of the lives it takes.
Robert is arrested for his crimes. And all appears to be getting better. But when Atwater and Cardamon try to find out what the orderly knows about the rest of the mystery, something that can’t be explained rationally intervenes.
The skeptic in Dr. Atwater is fading fast. How did Maria escape her cell? And what new horrors are in store now that the “Vermont Vampire” is again on the loose?
Things are really getting out of control at the Sanitarium, or they are slipping deeper into a darker control. And there may be no escape from it.

Episode 9: The Arrest

Atwater and Cardamon go hunting for clues in Dr. Chandler’s office, and Maria escapes from the sanitarium, vowing revenge on Dr. Atwater.


Some bats in the belfry can be more of problem than others.
Things go from bad to worse for Dr. Richard Atwater, and now he’s gotten his best friend in the world into the deadly mystery with all of its unforeseen consequences.
Dr. Chandler seems to have practicing much more than psychiatric medicine at the sanitarium judging from the discoveries revealed as Atwater and Cardamon search his office.
As they bury the dead and send the spirits off, there’s terrifying news. Maria Cacador has somehow disappeared from her cell at the Sanitarium’s maximum security level and is nowhere to be found.

Episode 8: Exposure

Dermott O’Brien tries to escape the Sanitarium, taking a nurse hostage in a frightening episode. And Dr. Chandler becomes a victim of a brutal “accident.”

You really should try to drive more safely, Dr. Chandler. These dark roads can be deadly
The tension at the sanitarium can almost be cut with a knife. Ever closer to the edge of collapse, Dermott O’Brien tries a desperate act. Why can’t everyone see what he sees so clearly? Hopefully Dr. Atwater can gain his trust and talk some sense before someone gets hurt.
The winding, dark roads on the cliffs by the sea can be very dangerous under any conditions, and Dr. Chandler finds that they can be downright deadly.
For every clue discovered, the mystery at Hayward Sanitarium only deepens. Much like the roads on those cliffs, this dark and winding path seems only to lead to frightening and fateful places.

Episode 7: The Cliff

Dr. Atwater plays host to the sanitarium staff for a holiday dinner, but is one of the guests a killer? And who is the “secret admirer” who is stalking Halley Brooks. The plot thickens.


On a dark night, a housewarming for Dr. Atwater may reveal even more puzzles to the mystery he’s living through.
What could be more congenial than a dinner with respected coworkers as the holiday season starts? It has been a whirlwind fall as Dr. Atwater has settled into his new life at the sanitarium, but his adventures may have only just begun.
While Atwater may have tried to escape the daemons haunting his past, the life he dreamed about may be the worst nightmare imaginable.

Episode 3: The Tree

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