PARA CON IS COMING

Metropolitan State Hospital

treatment we’d rather not think about.  To hear the word conjures up images we try and block out.  The 
buildings, designed to be inviting and practical, fit into our worst visions of these asylums, and as they fell into 
ruin they became more and more intimidating.  The torment that went on in them and the patients who died 
without names and without peace create a settling ripe for ghosts and ghost stories.

Although not as famous as its nearby cousin Danvers State Hospital, Metropolitan State Hospital in Middlesex 
County, Massachusetts has become known itself for the type of ghosts and ghostly legends that give people 
nightmares.  No one knows what went on behind the cement walls of that building, but our imagination has 
created its resident’s lives.  When reports started to come out about the strange happenings on its grounds, 
Metro State was labeled as haunted, and since its closure in 1992 those rumors have been confirmed time and 
time again.  Trespassers inside the building and people just interested in the beauty of the land say the same 
things doctors and mental health workers had said for decades.  Metro State is haunted.

" ASYLUMS IN THE 1800'S

 people where so mis treated back in the 1800's .doctors where trying new treatments on these people all the time . whether it killed them or not . i think most of the doctors where more insane the the people in the asylums .

Abandoned Mental Hospitals

Mental disorder has always had its share of fear and stigma which is still evident in the walls of many asylums. The abandoned buildings have their tales of being haunted by the ghosts of their past. More so when we realise that the once inhabitants had been declared to be clinically insane by the society. Having been inhabited by the mentally challenged, their bad memories magnifies within the walls of the architecture. Yet asylums stand still to great character, rare solace, and irresistible magnetism for urban explorers. The era of old lunatic asylums is over as many of the modern psychiatric hospitals were closed down during the late 20th century, as the British society shunned the practice of isolating people suffering from mentally illness in secure institutions. The Care in the Community Act of 1980 has marked the transition in the way these people are being treated. We are showing you the ten creepiest yet most fascinating abandoned asylums in the UK AND THE US 

Mt. Vernon Insane Hospital

The plans for a state hospital for the mentally ill in Alabama began in 1852. The new facility was planned from the start to utilize the "moral architecture" concepts of 1830s activists Thomas Story Kirkbride and Dorothea Dix. Dix's reformist ideas, in particular, are credited as the driving force behind the construction of the hospital. Architect Samuel Sloan designed the Italianate building using the Kirkbride Plan. Construction of the building began in 1853 but was not completed until 1859. The hospital was the first building in Tuscaloosa with gas lighting and central heat,[4] "all clad in a fashionable Italianate exterior."[2] The Alabama Insane Hospital opened in 1861. It was later renamed for its first superintendent, Peter Bryce, a 27-year-old psychiatric pioneer from South Carolina. Bryce had been brought to the attention of the hospital trustees by Dix. He had studied mental health care in Europe and worked in psychiatric hospitals in New Jersey as well as his native South Carolina.[4] His tenure was marked by absolute discipline among the staff of the hospital. He demanded that patients be given courtesy, kindness and respect at all times. The use of shackles, straitjackets and other restraints was discouraged, and finally abandoned altogether in 1882. Various work programs and other activities were encouraged, including farming, sewing, maintenance and crafts. Between 1872 and the early 1880s, some of the patients wrote and edited their own newspaper, called The Meteor. These writings provide a rare inside look at life in a progressive mental institution in the late 19th century. At that time, Bryce's management and commitment to "scientific treatments" was recognized around the country as in a class of its own. [edit]Decline During the 20th century, the patient population expanded while standards of care fell to abysmal levels. Alabama Governor Lurleen Wallace viewed the facility in February 1967, and was moved to tears after an overweight, mentally challenged nine-year old attempted to hug her, crying "Mama! Mama!" She lobbied her husband, George Wallace (who held the actual power of her governorship) for more funds for the institution.[5] In 1970, Alabama ranked last among U.S. states in funding for mental health. Bryce Hospital at that time had 5,200 patients living in conditions that a Montgomery Advertiser editor likened to a concentration camp. That same year, a cigarette tax earmarked for mental health treatment was cut. One hundred Bryce employees were laid off, including twenty professional staff. Members of the Department of Psychology at the University of Alabama attempted to file suit on behalf of the laid-off workers, but Federal Judge Frank M. Johnson ruled that the courts had no standing to intervene on behalf of fired employees. He left open, however, the possibility of a suit filed on behalf of patients, whose quality of care was affected. [edit]Wyatt v. Stickney In October 1970, Ricky Wyatt, a fifteen-year-old who had always been labeled a "juvenile delinquent" and housed at Bryce despite not being indicated with a mental illness, became the named plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit.[6] His aunt, W. C. Rawlins, was one of the employees that had been laid off. Together they testified about intolerable conditions and improper treatments designed only to make the patients more manageable. In 1971 the plaintiff class was expanded to include patients at Alabama's two other inpatient mental health facilities, Searcy Hospital (Mt. Vernon) and Camp Partlow (Coker). The resulting court-ordered agreements formed the basis for federal minimum standards for the care of people with mental illness or mental retardations who reside in institutional settings. In 1999 a new settlement agreement was made recognizing a great deal of progress. The case was finally dismissed on December 5, 2003, with the finding by Judge Myron Thompson that Alabama was in compliance with the agreement. The standards elaborated in that agreement have served as a model nationwide. Known as the "Wyatt Standards," they are founded on four criteria for evaluation of care: Humane psychological and physical environment Qualified and sufficient staff for administration of treatment Individualized treatment plans Minimum restriction of patient freedom. The case of Wyatt v. Stickney came to a conclusion after 33 years, through the tenure of nine Alabama governors and fourteen state mental health commissioners, the longest mental health case in national history. The State of Alabama estimates its litigation expenses at over $15 million.[6] [edit]Future of Bryce Hospital Gov. Bob Riley announced on December 30, 2009 that Bryce Hospital will relocate into a newly constructed facility across McFarland Boulevard in Tuscaloosa, and the University of Alabama will take over the current Bryce campus. For several years the university had sought the 180-acre (73 ha) parcel of land, which is adjacent to its landlocked campus.[7] Riley said that a hospital for about 268 patients has been envisioned but the final size has yet to be determined. The deal, approved by Gov. Bob Riley and the Alabama Department of Mental Health on December 30, is worth $72 million in cash for Mental Health to build a replacement hospital. The university will pay $50 million in cash and Mental Health will get another $22 million in state bond money. The university has pledged another $10 million to clean up environmental problems on the Bryce grounds and restore the main hospital building, construction of which started in 1853.[7] The state had explored other options to replace Bryce, including possibly renovating vacant Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham and moving Bryce clients there, or contracting with a private company to construct and operate a new facility

Wolfe House/Andleberry Estate, Clovis, CA

Now known alternately as the Wolfe House, Andleberry Estate, and the Clovis Sanitarium, this large, imposing house sits on Clovis Avenue in the city of Clovis, near Fresno, California. Built in the first half of the 20th century, the house is said to have served as a private home for two different owners, an insane asylum, and a convalescent hospital before finally closing. It was bought by Todd Wolfe, who decided to use the creepy old building as a Halloween "Haunted House" attraction. He created a new name and implied fictional history for the house, and i became "Andleberry Estate" founded in 1871. Local lore, and Wolfe's own stories, hold that he got a real haunted house and not just a Halloween attraction.

Lincoln Insane Asylum Lincoln, Nebraska Established 1870

"Prior to the location and building of the hospital at Lincoln, the insane of the State were sent to Iowa's insane asylum. The bill locating and appropriating funds for the hospital building was introduced in the Legislature and passed in 1868.
Joseph Ward, of Lincoln, received the contract September 15, 1869. The building was completed at a cost of $137,000 and accepted by the commissioners November 29, 1870.
The institution was opened December 22, 1870, Dr. Larsh as superintendent, with twenty-six inmates; but its usefulness was of short duration, for it was burned April 17, 1871, and three inmates are supposed to have perished, as that number was missing. The building was heated with hot air and it is thought the fire originated in a defective flue. June 6, 1871, a bill was approved in the Legislature providing for rebuilding the hospital, which was to cost not to exceed $70,000. The commissioners were William E. Hill, D. W. Scott and Samuel Maxwell. The insurance on the first building was nearly sufficient to build the second, which is of light gray sandstone from the Atchison quarries. The central or main building is four stories in height, the wings which extend north and south, are three stories. The ground dimensions are 328x54 feet. The coming year two additions are to built, one on the north and one on the south, each four stories, 44x56 feet on the ground, which will give the building a very fine appearance. These additions are needed, as there are now 232 inmates, nearly its full capacity. Total cost of buildings thus far, is $165,000.
The following are the several superintendents: Drs. N. B. Larsh, C. F. Stewart, D. W. Scott, F. G. Fuller and H. P. Mathewson, the present incumbent, who assumed control in the fall of 1877. The assistant physicians have been Drs. H. D. Gilbert, S. B. McGlumphy and J. F. Hay. Messrs. J. C. Shurts, O. M. Druse and L. F. Taylor have successfully held the position of steward. The Commissioners of Public Lands and Buildings, Secretary of State, Treasurer and Attorney General constitute the Board of Commissioners of this, as of every other charitable institution in the State.
The hospital owns 480 acres of land, by means of which it is nominally self-sustaining, or more nearly so than similar institutions of any other State. The cost per capita per week, has been reduced from $7.70 to $3.45. Nebraska provides for all of her insane and in a very generous manner. The building is commodious, the grounds are pleasant and well kept, and in a few years will be picturesque and inviting"
from the Andreas History of the State of Nebraska, a book first published in 1882 by The Western Historical Company, A. T. Andreas, Proprietor, Chicago, IL.

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