Rhenderelli Asylum

Rhenderelli Asylum
Rhenderelli circa 1935
Geography
Location	New Prairie, Wisconsin, United States
Organization
Care system	Private
Funding	Non-profit hospital
Hospital type	Inpatient / Outpatient Psychiatric
Services
Helipad	Yes (circa 2025)
Beds	1,500 (1929) 40 (2002) 200 (2025)
History
Founded	1929
Demolished	2021 (original structure)
Links
Lists	Hospitals in the United States

Rhenderelli Asylum is a mental institution built on the northwest side of New Prairie during the town's early days.

History

Early Days

Purposely put on plot of land measuring some 5 miles wide, surrounded by tall fences that would prevent, or at least considerably slow down, anyone attempting to escape the asylum. The Asylum itself is named after Dr. Bruno Rhenderelli, one of New Prairie’s first official doctors. Rhenderelli treated all the residents of New Prairie since it’s start in the early part of the 20th century. As the city grew, his demand became higher and more stressful. Soon, Rhenderelli needed more to aid him. Hiring on 4 hands to help him out, he slowly formed the first hospital located downtown New Prairie in 1924.

Rhenderelli and the Dark Killer

Over the course of the next few years, Rhenderelli and his associates started getting calls of help from citizens claiming to have seen or been visited by a man in black. The cases were strange and the victims of the so-called “Dark Man” were simply deemed restless and stressed. Sleep was prescribed and usually no more was heard from them.

It wasn’t until 1929 that Mayor Nucci Balfone was found bleeding outside the town’s church on a Sunday morning. Balfone later told Rhenderelli that a man “dressed entirely in black” came to his house late at night, brutally murdered his wife and children, and proceeded to kill him until he turned like hearing something in the distance. The bodies of Balfone's family were in fact found in his house, but many doubted his story of a “Dark Killer” as he called him, and felt that instead, Balfone had simply snapped due to the constant pressure of being mayor. It was then that Rhenderelli, afraid to admit that something MIGHT actually is going on around New Prairie, simply announced Balfone had snapped under pressure and decided to build a location to house him for further treatments.

Using the money he made from his visits to the town, plus state funding, Rhenderelli built the main house of the Asylum, which was finished in 1930. Rhenderelli himself lived on the top floor of the house, in a room set off and away from any other rooms, hidden behind a bookcase in his office. Balfone stayed at the Asylum for further examinations in Cell 17, however, he never strayed from the same story. Late one night in the summer of 1936, Rhenderelli was awoken by nurses and orderlies saying they had found Balfone's mangled body lying on his cot. Muddy footprints led into and out of his room, down the hall to the wall outside of Rhenderelli's office where they stopped. Following the footsteps leading into the Asylum, a few of the doctors/nurses found that they came from the backdoor of the building and out onto the lawn of the grounds.

The following morning, Rhenderelli personally set out to follow the tracks in the grass. As he did, he noticed that they occasionally vanished for a few feet and reappeared further along, as if the person had simply skipped that part of the land. Continuing to follow them, they led right to the huge cement wall surrounding the perimeter of the asylum, where one track appeared to be halfway through the wall as if the person simply walked through it. Confused about what he was seeing, Rhenderelli started back to the building only to, as he states, “come face to face with a man dressed in black, who abruptly tried to squeeze me to death with his hands.” Rhenderelli passed out in the process and was found some 2 days later by the nurses of his asylum.

Rhenderelli did nothing but rant about the man in black and his attempt to kill him for days on end. Eventually, his own people committed him to the very asylum he built, claiming he too had gone crazy. He also was put in Cell 17. A new doctor from Milwaukee came in and took charge of the Asylum. Rhenderelli remained quiet in his room, saying only that the Dark Killer would return to prove he wasn’t crazy until he died quietly in his room in 1968.

The Middle Years & Cell 17

The Asylum itself has housed many over the years and has been expanded numerous times. In 1955, a western wing was built to house up to 200 more patients and included a new medical lab for testing. In 1974, an eastern wing was built, again adding 200 more patient rooms and a morgue. In the summer of 1992, the asylum was struck by lightning and lost power for 3 days. When the lightning struck, it not only blew out the power but also struck an inmate looking out his barred window. The inmate awoke, ranting about the Dark Killer coming after him. His rants recalled the ancient stories that Rhenderelli and Balfone once told.

Rhenderelli from the air in 2001

Later, it was found that he was in the exact room that both of them once stayed (and died) in, Cell 17. The inmate got more and more vicious and eventually broke free of his cell and caused havoc through the asylum. He escaped outside and was chased by the security guards all the way to the concrete barrier. As the guards reached the barrier, all claimed to have watched the inmate run straight through the wall without stopping. The inmate was never found again, though the remains of a tattered outfit he was last seen wearing were found near Martini Farm in early 1997.

The Teen Massacres of 1995

In August 1995, Sarah Cole was sent to Rhenderelli to undergo a 60 day psychiatric evaluation after she was charged with the murders of her friends at the Martini Farm.

After the second set of Teen Killings, a few weeks later, Amanda Mendel was also committed as the mastermind behind said killings, having claimed to be the Dark Killer. She was put into Cell 17 and is still there today, mumbling to herself and drawing pictures about the same thing that its three previous occupants did: the Dark Killer.

Later Years

In May 2002, Rhenderelli Asylum was forced to close its two wings due to increasing heating and maintenance costs. During this change, it shifts its focus primarily to outpatient services for the community. It maintained enough rooms for only 40 patients, a drastic cut from its original 1,500. At this time, they rebranded to Rhenderelli Crest Psychiatric Center.

On August 14, 2007, the building's abandoned left wing suddenly collapsed on its own. Further investigation could not identify a single cause for the collapse and instead attributed it to the building's age and corrosion of its footings over the years.

As the years went on, the crumbling right wing led developers to the decision to rebuild and update the complex to serve a new generation of citizens. In 2021, a plan to demolish the remaining wing, gut the core building (while maintaining its original exterior), and add a new glass-and-metal expansion would help rid the complex of its dark past.

On May 22, 2025, construction was complete and the Rhenderelli Behavioral Wellness Institute opened its doors.

Notable Patients

Besides being the house of many of New Prairie’s crazier residents, Rhenderelli Asylum also doubles as the town’s leading help with mental and physical disorders. Vincenzo Sporteino meets with Dr. Louis Sonei for help with grief over his wife’s death and feelings of hatred towards his daughter. Leon Portman visit’s the same doctor as well. Prudence Tracey visit’s the hospital for help with her asthma. Dr. Carol Richie treated Sarah Cole and Amanda Mendel, as well as those patients who have come in contact with the Dark Killer. And in 2027, Jack Rupert even checked himself in for a few months until claiming he was better and checked out, only to be found dead later that evening in his apartment.

Doctors & Other Employees

• Dr. Bruno Rhenderelli
• Dr. Carol Richie
• Dr. Louis Sonei (1976 - 2012)
• Dr. Dallas Stevenson
• Dr. Marshal Strapp (Psychiatrist)