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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The Echos They Left Behind

Well, first and foremost, I'd like to apologize for the epic fail I had on my November 1 post.  I mistakenly said that November 1 was Guy Fawkes Day, when it's actually November 5.  A reader let me know about my error, and for that, thanks Swissy, for bringing it to my attention.  Now then... onto the creepy bits!

Finally, after so many years, I was able to see and to walk through the cemetery at Danvers State Hospital.  This past Saturday, Mum and I went to search for the resting spot of so many lost souls.  I'd gone to the Danvers grounds with Amusmental and Tergg a few times, and I'd thought I'd looked everywhere.  I couldn't find the cemetery anywhere, and I started to fear that the Avalon company had gotten rid of it.  

So, Saturday, with a cappuccino in hand, Mum and I headed off into the unknown.  Hawthorne Hill was so cold and windy, I thought Sandy had come back for a reminder of how horrible the weekend before had been...  We looked up and down the entire grounds, and couldn't see a thing.  More than discouraged, I used my phone to see if I could find any information on the place, and low and behold, I actually did!  Thanks to Odd Things I've Seen, Mum and I were able to finally located the secret cemetery.

If you want to know how to get there, here's an explanation (as best as I can explain...)

1. Looking at the Kirkbride, there is a little "monument" to your right. (It looks like a large podium, kinda...)

2. Start walking down the path from the monument, away from the Kirkbride building.

3. Stop walking when you're roughly right were Avalon Danvers ends, and Aria Condominiums begin.  There's a tiny, almost secret path down the hill there.

4. Head down the path, through overgrown weeds and what not, across a cornfield, and then finally... 
5. There's a rather large rock, engraved with the announcement as to what you're actually looking at.  Walk past that, and you've found it!

I was so happy.  I'd waited so long to see it, and I was finally standing in the middle of everything.  It was a bit overwhelming, honestly.  I took as many pictures as I could, and there's one that people might not understand.  There's a picture of a random stick.  It's not random, though.  After looking all over the grounds at least three times in total, I came back with Mum and on that one day, I just happened to notice a stick.  It was pointing away from the Kirkbride building, and for the hell of it, just because I could, I followed it.  I'm not Zac from Ghost Adventures, so I won't go into a huge speech, but I do think it was helping us along.  
There's so many more pictures, so I've made them their own page, which can easily be found towards the side here.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them!!

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Monson State Hospital

As some of you know, one of the main reasons for my obsession with asylums and dilapidated beauty is because of my aunt.  Bertha Alice Eddy died in 1958 from pneumonia.  Presumably, the pneumonia was caused by poor living conditions and her treatment at Monson State Hospital.  At the time she was there, the facility was known as the Massachusetts Hospital for Epileptics.  I’ve always felt a connection to her, and thank her for bringing my attention to this world.

My grandfather Jimmy, Bertha's brother, hasn't been feeling well recently, and when he found out that Tergg and I were planning on heading to Monson, he got excited.  He'd not seen his little sister, or her grave since 1958, when she was laid to rest.  She was only 22 when she died.  Her death certificate said the cause of death was pneumonia, but according to records, there were many deaths attributed to this.

I've been doing some research over the internet, and I've found that the pneumonia that is supposedly the cause of almost all deaths from the hospital.  The pneumonia is actually more or less a side effect of the torturous "treatments" the patients suffered.  Collapsed lungs and hours in freezing cold baths were just some of the pain that the poor wards of the hospital suffered.  It's a terrifying thought, to think that my aunt could have gone through such trouble.  It's also a fact that I'll never tell my grandfather.  He thinks that his sister died from the natural death that accompanied pneumonia in the 1950's. 

The State Almshouse at Monson in Palmer, Massachusetts was opened in 1852.  It’s name was changed to The Massachusetts Hospital for Epileptics in 1895, but the main name that it’s referred to as is Monson State Hospital.  According to the minimal accounts on the hospital, the care for the patients there was more than horrible.  Quite a few reports comment on the deplorable conditions.  Torture to the point of killing was quite the normal occurrence, according to several sources I researched.  Another odd point of interest is that some accounts say the hospital is located in Palmer, Massachusetts, while other accounts say it's located in Monson, Massachusetts.

Monson State Hospital is located on hundreds of acres in scenic Palmer Massachusetts, near the Quabog River.  The beautiful location of the hospital makes the stories of torture and death sound more like legends, but according to the survivors and the ex-employees, the hospital was a place of nightmares.  
Whether because of having no interest in the place, or following the local rumors of it being haunted, Tergg and I couldn't find one person in the towns of Palmer or Monson that knew too much about the land.  There are security cameras, gates, and no trespassing signs all over the grounds.  Because of this, only the last two photographs in this post have been attributed to Tergg and I.  The first few older looking ones are from antique post cards, and the fourth picture is an image I found on the internet a while ago.  We tried our best to find anything we could, but sadly, made the return trip with nothing.  We weren't able to find the correct cemetery, let alone the grave where my aunt is supposed to be laid to rest.  This doesn't discourage me though; it just fuels my need to find out more information!

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