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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