Never been to Ohio myself but this thread caught my eye. Places like old sanitariums are interesting because the history does a lot of the heavy lifting before you even walk through the door - your brain is already primed to interpret every creak and shadow as something sinister. Not dismissing experiences people have there, just saying the context matters.
That said I've read enough accounts from Briarwood specifically that there does seem to be a pattern to what people report, which is harder to explain away. When multiple unconnected visitors describe the same thing in the same location of a building, that gets my attention.
Anyone who's been there - did you go with a group or solo, and did it make a difference to what you picked up? Genuinely curious whether the solo accounts differ from the group ones. I've noticed with other locations that groups tend to amplify each other and you end up with a kind of collective hysteria situation, whereas solo visitors sometimes report quieter but more unsettling stuff.