3 Haunted Abandoned Places

Halloween is right around the corner, and you know what that means- horror movies, candy, and haunted houses! This time of year, you see more and more urban legends popping up. Movies like The Conjuring and Anna Beth that are supposedly "based on a true story" send shivers down your spine and make your arms covered in a blanket of Goosebumps. Now, I could talk about horror movies all day, but this is about something more... real. Here are 5 places that are said to be haunted by the dead. Each with its own horrifying backstory and chilling past.


1. Metropolitan State Hospital *Gore Warning*
Located in Waltham, MA, this asylum definitely  has an interesting past. Constructed in the 1930's, Metropolitan Hospital housed insane people. Including children, adults, elderly, and criminally insane patients. Now, abandoned insane asylums can be creepy enough without any other reason. However, Metropolitan is said to be haunted by the sprit of Anne Marie Davee. She was murdered by another patient in 1978. The killer, Melvin W. Wilson, dismembered Davee's body and kept 7 of her teeth. Later on, employees came across the teeth but did nothing to punish or convict Wilson. Then, on August 12, 1980, a Senate investigation into the case along with 19 other reports of negligence forced Wilson to lead the investigators to three burial sites of Davee's body parts. They found little to no evidence. The evidence they did find included a "hut" in the woods where Davee and Wilson met, clothes and even sheets which hospital employees discovered the day after her disappearance. Nearly two months after her murder, another search by hospital staff yielded pieces of Davee's clothing and belongings. As well as a hatchet that was thought to be the murder weapon. No action was taken against Wilson. Although neglect, abuse, and mistreatment was prevalent in Metropolitan, this case is one of the most horrific things to happen in this Hospital.


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2. Eastern State Penitentiary

Opened on October 25, 1829, Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP), located in Philadelphia PA, is considered to be the world's first true penitentiary. ESP is said to be the first prison ever to use what is now called solitary confinement. Dubbed the "Pennsylvania system", inmates would be confined to their cell for days or weeks at a time. A black bag was placed over their head when they left the cell. This made sure the would have no human interaction other than the guards and warden. Due to the amount of time inmates spent alone, many of them began to become insane. With this and lack of secure borders, many inmates managed to escape from Eastern State. To name a just few, Al Capone, Victor "babe" Andreoli, Leo Callahan and Willie Sutton. Those who weren't so lucky spent the rest of their lives in the Jail. Cellblock 15 is nicknamed "death row", it held the worst of the worst. Murders, police killers, rapists, and psychopaths. This cellblock is where they spent the last months before they "got the chair". Although the place is not officially abandoned, it is falling apart. Tours are offered and there is an annual haunted house every Halloween.

 

Al Capone's cell

What's left of the barber shop



3. Willowbrook State School
Most of us are familiar with the hit TV series "American Horror Story". The Willowbrook State School, located in Staten Island NY, was a huge inspiration for the show. The maximum capacity of the building was 4,000- but in the end it help over 6,000 disabled people, mostly children. The Senator at the time, Robert Kennedy, said after he visited the institution that the people were, "living in filth and dirt, their clothing in rags, in rooms less comfortable and cheerful than the cages in which we put animals in a zoo". His statement only shone a dim light on the abuse and mistreatment that was going on in Willowbrook. Jane Kurtin was the first reporter to write a story about Willowbrook State School because she visited Willowbrook in order to cover a demonstration that social workers and parents of the residents had organized. Kurtin went on to write about the sexual abuse, neglect, and over all awful behaviors carried out by the staff there. Doctors overdosing people on insulin or other drugs, just to keep the population down. The number of deaths that happened in Willowbrook is said to be around 1,500-3,000 but because many death weren't recorded, we can never be sure. Willowbrook is said to be the most haunted school in America. It's horrible past has conjured up books, TV shows, movies, and urban legends. Willowbrook now remains nothing but ruins, serving as a graveyard to the many abused souls who ended up there.

Abandoned

Hurt

Neglected

 



Local Left Location

House from courtyard view. 

Another mistreated masterpiece from Brimfield, Ma. Located at 9 Sturbridge Rd, this white house and large lot has seen better days. The fairly large looking house is cluttered from floor to caved in roof with junk. The landscape is decorated with antiques of all sorts, a huge trailer with many items still inside, and a blue food truck that has been taken over by the nature surrounding it. My hypothesis is that the owner(s) of this property worked with the Brimfield Antique shot. There are old coke signs, rusted bikes, and vintage lamps all around this area. A friend of mine and I explored one warm day in October. Here's a birds eye view of the property. The food truck looks to be around a 1996 GMC diesel model. How's that food for thought? Off to the side of the house, truck, and trailer was a small shack. It was wood but had been ripped apart so that half of the side was gone. Inside was just an old fridge and some old windows. It was incredibly creepy  but when we opened the fridge, there was a jar in there! I was unable to snap a picture because a spider crawled out and I ran away, dropping my phone in knee high grass... After searching around this house, we found my phone but I was not about to go back in there!


 

The food truck from the side.



The food truck from the front

Inside of the trailer.

     

Old Fridge in the Cabin in the woods.

Place of the week #2

Late 1800's image of Garnet. Source

Last week we saw a glimpse into an abandoned city. This week were going to downsize a bit and focus on a ghost town in the Midwest. During the gold rush, many towns were built to accommodate travelers. When the rivers dried up or what was expected to be found wasn't, 49ers (people who looked for gold) would simply move out of these small towns into the next. Saloons and motels kept the towns somewhat lively but after larger cites began to erupt, small towns couldn't compete and eventually every resident made they way out.

This brings us to our place, Garnet, Montana. It was abandoned in the 1890s and has remained that way since. Instead of drawing in miners and travelers making their way west, it now draws the attention of photographers, paranormal enthusiast, and explores. With no wonder, this town looks enchanted at night with the high mountains surrounding it allowing a perfect amount of starlight.

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Place of the Week #1

There are so many amazing but forgotten places out there. Instead of just focusing on buildings, I'm going to cover something much bigger. How about an entire city? That's right! There's a place called Chernobyl, Ukraine. In 1986, a faulty nuclear reactor claimed the lives of 30 people and changed the lives of thousands. The accident caused the largest uncontrolled radioactive release into the environment ever recorded for any civilian operation, and large quantities of radioactive substances were released into the air for about 10 days after. In the early 2000's, Chernobyl became safer to visit. Meaning you could see an entire city that was just left there. A goal of mine is to visit this place. Tours are offered, but at a price, It is around $500 per person and there still is a small amount of radiation left, causing fear for many urban explores.



The famous abandoned fair ground.

View from the tallest building in Chernobyl.



Thousands of gas masks left.






Sources: Pictures and Info