Monson State Hospital

This is just a short post to explain my absence.  Due to family problems I was unable to keep the blog going, but now I'm going to try my best to get back into the swing of things!!  Sorry for being so lost...

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Mme. Sherri's Castle in West Chesterfield, New Hampsire

Mme. Sherri

The Mme. Sherri Castle is nestled in at the base of Rattlesnake Mountain in West Chesterfield, New Hampshire.  The Castle is part of (of course) Mme. Sherri Forest; a 513 acre national forest.  It was a little under two hours to get there, but I'm so glad that we did!  Julie and I headed up there this afternoon and it was gorgeous!  The "castle" is actually the ruins of an eccentric house built in the 1920's by Mme. Antoinette Sherri, a costume designer from New York.  

The castle was built as a summer home for Sherri, who loved throwing bizarre and eccentric parties up in her little mountain mansion.  A victim of her own motto "Only the Best!" Sherri ended up drying up her money faster than she'd intended.  

Sherri abandoned the property after falling on hard times and the property was left to rot into disrepair.  The forgotten edifice burned down in a fire in 1962 leaving only the field

stone foundation.  Of the original structure, only part of the basement and first floor are still standing.  A special part of the ruins is the aptly named "stairway to heaven".  It was part of a full, sweeping staircase that curled around the front of the house.

Of course, we always go on the trips that involve ghost stories, and this time wasn't any different.  The grounds of Mme. Sherri's Forest are purportedly haunted my Mme. Sherri herself.  She is seen, for the most part, on top of the ruins of the sweeping staircase.  Other reports say that if you listen carefully, you'll be able to hear the memories of the parties from the past.  Faint music and distant laughs are noted as being the most experienced in the paranormal side of things.

While Julie and I didn't see anything "haunted" (apart for the spooky basement section of the ruins) I still highly recommend taking a trip up if you're in the area!!  

Stay Spooky!!

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Click here for a link to the pictures of the ruins!

The Slenderman

It's been far too long since I posted here.  Life got the better of me, and I apologize for not keeping up with my duties.  I figured a fun little interesting post would be a good way to begin again, and Amusmental was the perfect counterpart for just such a post.  Your eyes did not deceive you; this post is indeed about The Slenderman.  Most people I know have at least heard of Slenderman.  Slenderman is an internet joke about a being who hunts children.  There's an entire world of supposed "sightings" and happenings, but the man who created the myth is steadfast that it's just that; a myth.  That's what makes this next picture so damn creepy.

I'm well aware that this has nothing to do with asylums, but I have to show this off. Amusmental took this photo with her mobile phone, and didn't notice the image until earlier today.  I'd jokingly made a comment about using an iPhone app I have to make it look like Slenderman is in a picture, and when she looked at the original image again, she thought I'd used the app already.  I'm probably explaining this wrong.  The easiest way to explain it is this: the following picture was NOT doctored with my iPhone app, and this is still what we saw. 

I'm not trying to jump into the hype of the Slenderman.  At the same time, I'm not going to say this ISN'T him, either.  I have an affinity for spooky things, and this is right up my alley.  So, yes.  I've been wanting to do some night photography at the Old North Bridge, where this picture was taken, and this is just another reason to do it!  I think a terrifying forest dweller who hunts children is the perfect way to bring Asylum Obscura back, don't you?!

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Happy Thanksgiving!!

Just a warning...  This is going to be one of those mushy posts.  It's Thanksgiving in the USA today, and I just want to say what I'm thankful for.  First off, I'm thankful for my amazing friends and family, who puts up with me even though we all know I should actually be in the institutions I investigate rather than just investigating them.  I'm also thankful for my husband; Tergg.  He's been sick for about five years, and he almost gave up.  I'm so thankful for the fact that he didn't.  He's my best friend in the whole world, and I'd have died without him.  So, this Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for him toughing it out.  I'm thankful for the life we live, no matter how hard it can be sometimes.  

Stay Spooky,

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Medfield State Hospital

Medfield State Hospital, located in Medfield, Massachusetts, was built in 1892.  At the height of the hospital's reign, the property boasted 58 buildings on 900 acres of land.  Unlike now, where every complex needs town power and other immenities, Medfield generated it's own heat, light, and power.  This concept, to me at least, is amazing, thinking of how long ago the complex was built.  It's absolutely massive, and I had the privillage of walking the grounds all by myself on November 17, 2012.  

The photo to the right is Googlemaps' aerial view of the Medfield grounds.  The bottom-most building is gone now, part of the construction that's slowly beginning.  I just pray that Avalon isn't going to take this away as well.  I'm afraid to look it up because if I see that it is, I'm going to have a brain bleed.  

The Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge built asylum was brought into the National Register of Historic Places in 1994, and closed down in April of 2003.  That same month, the shuttering of all the buildings began.  The hospital was finally closed down due to a decline in patients.  The buildings are currently defunct, but oh so lovely.  I was able to grab a piece of a brick, two large nails, and pieces of a large pillar from one of the first buildings I came to.  The pieces of pillar may or may not be asbestos, but I'm not worried.  As I've said before, out of everyone I know, I'd be the one that died of mesothelioma.  

An interesting piece of information on the asylum is that the grounds were used for filming in two big Hollywood movies.  The 2009 cult film The Box was filmed on the grounds, as well as the movie Shutter Island.  Shutter Island did quite a bit of their filming on the Medfield grounds.  Scenes in Cawley's office were shot on the second floor of the chapel during the late evening; lights were shone through the windows to make it look like it was daytime. The surrounding brick walls in the outside hospital scenes were actually painted plywood which served the dual purpose of acting as scenery and blocking the set from view of a local road; Hospital Rd. Originally, scenes were going to be shot at the old Worcester State Hospital grounds, but the filming would have gone on during the demolition of the surrounding buildings, which was impractical.

I know that the grounds will be demolished soon, although not the exact date.  Because of this, I'm going to try to get up there as much as I can.  I'm hoping to head up to the grounds the weekend after Thanksgiving, though I'm not sure if I'll be able to.  I've found some old and rusty pieces on the grounds, and I've already promised to grab some for my badass friend, Steph Sciullo.  She's an amazingly talented artist, and I can't wait to see what she does with them!! 

Stay Spooky!!

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Week Obscura!

A few months ago, Amusmental, myself, and my cousin went on a little hauntventure.  Amusmental had heard of a cemetery in New Hampshire called Vale End.  Now the geek in me immediately thought of Bag End... but I soon learned one had nothing at all to do with the other.  

I've read some things online about the "things" that supposedly haunt the place, and while the one time I was there and didn't see anything, I want to cover it.  I think it sounds pretty interesting, to say the least.  Now, I understand that two ghosts supposedly haunt the grounds.  There aren't any 100% credible sources about the situation, but from what I've read, it sounds intriguing.  I'll get into all that later, as this Friday, I'm heading there with Amusmental again, barring any blocking situations.  

This Saturday, Mum and I are heading back to Waltham to go gallivanting through Metropolitan State (again) and also to check out Fernald.  I'm calling it just Fernald, because typing out Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center, previously known as the Walter E. Fernald State School, is just too fucking long.  Hopefully we can get some more pictures!

I'm lucky enough to have people around me who want to help me with my bizarre obsessions.  If I was alone, it wouldn't be nearly as fun.  Plus... I'd probably get arrested because other people are my filter.  Now, American Horror Story is on... and I have a boner for it!!

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Metropolitan State

Metropolitan State Hospital, located in Waltham, Massachusetts, was built in 1927.  It was once known as the state's largest and modern facility of it's type.  The Gaebler Children's Center for mentally ill youths was also on the grounds.  Now, most the 330 acres has been converted into apartment buildings, but the administration building (The Dr. William F. McLaughlin Building) and the hospital's cemetery are all that remain of the original layout.  When we were there, we weren't able to make it to the cemetery, but the next time we head up there, I'll be getting plenty of pictures for you all! 

Metro was shut down in the early 1990's, another victim of the country's reformation of mental institutions, however in my opinion, it would have been only a matter of time, with or without the reformation.  In 1978, inmate Melvin W. Wilson murdered and dismembered another inmate; a woman named Anne Marie Davee.  Wilson was caught with seven of Davee's teeth.  The macabre trophy was what would bring Wilson's demise.  The murder was slightly investigated, but nothing was really done about it until State Senator Jack Backman came into office.

Backman ordered a more thorough investigation, and when one was done, at least three burial spots and other tell tale signs of the murder were found.  The Davee murder case was added to 19 more reports of neglect in the hospital.  After this, the hospital was on the fast track for closing.  It shut down officially in January of 1992, and unlike most of the other state hospitals of New England, not all of the land was sold to apartment developers.
While a lot of the land is now modern apartments, a great deal is part of land protected from further development.  The administration building is next to the wooded area accessible by the public, and while its posted that entering is forbidden, you're more than welcome to walk around and take a good look.  The corner stone of the building is stolen (a fact that lead me to sticking my head inside to see...) But the rest of the building is quite well kept.  There are trails near the grounds connecting to the Western Greenway; a link to Rock Meadow, conservation land found in the neighboring town of Belmont.  According to plans, as I've not been able to confirm it, the rest of the land is going to be connected to the Middlesex County Hospital.  
Mum and I will be heading back to Metropolitan to check on the cemetery, and I have to admit that while Danvers is still my ultimate favorite, I've developed quite the soft spot for this old institution.  

Stay spooky!
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