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Heard a crazy rumor about someone who moved to Camarillo, and is now working there. Camarillo is a very nice city in Ventura County, on the coast. There used to be a mental hospital there, and due to its proximity to Hollywood, a lot of musicians and actors have stayed there. Charlie "Yardbird" Parker, or "Bird" checked in and wrote a song called "Relaxin' At Camarillo." And Frank Zappa has a song called "Camarillo Brillo." Wikipedia has even more stuff, like a rumor that the Eagles' song, "Hotel California" is about it. "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."

History of the Camarillo State Hospital

The Camarillo State Hospital was located 3 miles south of the city of Camarillo, California and was in use from 1936 to 1997. During its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, the hospital was at the forefront of treating conditions that in previously had been thought of as un-treatable. An example of this was the drugs and therapy procedures doctors at that institution developed for schizophrenia. Many of these programs initiated at Camarillo helped patients formerly relegated to a lifetime of warehousing in an institution or lobotomies be able to leave the hospital and move to less restrictive group homes or become (at least nearly) independent. The hospital continued to be a leader in the research of drugs and therapies in subsequent years. They also had one of the first units of any hospital to deal with autism.

Violent criminals were typically housed at Atascadero State Hospital and not at Camarillo State Hospital.

Camarillo State Hospital in movies and music

Due to the proximity to the media center of Los Angeles, the hospital has been referred to in movies, television, and music. Some famous persons suffering from mental illnesses,tuberculosis, or detoxing from drugs or alcohol stayed there to recover in Ventura County's mild climate. Jazzman Charlie Parker's "Relaxin' at Camarillo," written while he was detoxing from heroin addiction, as a tribute to the facility. The song "Camarillo" by punk outfit Fear is also written about the facility. The band Ambrosia released a song called "Ready for Camarillo" on their 1978 Life Beyond L.A. album. "Ready for Camarillo" also appeared as the single B side of their hit "How Much I Feel." Camarillo Brillo by Frank Zappa is also a reference to the institution.

Perhaps the most famous song associated with the facility was "Hotel California," by The Eagles, which was rumored to be about a stay in a mental hospital. A popular rumor, especially among residents of Ventura County, but this is most likely not true. Don Henley said in a 1995 interview that it was written about "the zeitgeist of the time", meaning about their lifestyle as celebrity musicians in L.A. in the 70s. Those who believe the rumor about it being about the hospital point to lyrics such as "You can check out anytime you want but you can never leave". In addition, Camarillo State Hospital has a "mission bell" tower which is referenced in the song, and The Beverly Hills Hotel towers on the cover of the album look similar to that of CSH. Also, there are other lyrics to point out that the song may have been referencing the hospital such as: "the voices down the corridor", "we are programmed to receive." While these things could in theory refer to a mental hospital, they could also refer to being trapped in a certain lifestyle.

The opening scene from the Wes Anderson film "Bottle Rocket" in which Owen Wilson's character Dignan helps his friend Luke Wilson's character Anthony escape from a voluntary mental hospital was filmed at the Camarillo State Mental Hospital.

'N Sync's mental hospital-set video for "I Drive Myself Crazy" was filmed at Camarillo after the hospital closed.

After it closed, Camarillo was a popular destination for ghost hunters alleging that the hospital is haunted. A destination on the grounds for Ventura County youth was an allegedly haunted dairy used by the hospital known to locals as "Scary Dairy".

A well is located on the property that was used in the movie, "The Ring." This no doubt adds to the mystery and ghost stories surrounding the property

During the dénouement of some television episodes of the Dragnet series, there were references to captured criminals being sentenced to Camarillo State Hospital.