Unfortunately, as the decades wore on, Kirkbride’s influence touched nothing more than the main building’s floor plan. Administrators begged the state for money to build more rooms and hire more staff, to no avail. It tells the story of a work crew assigned to remove asbestos from an abandoned mental institution. The judge that presided over the Salem Witch Trials, John Hathorne, once lived here a few hundred years ago. Danvers was a success at first. Discover Danvers State Hospital in Danvers, Massachusetts: The inspiration for H.P. Even in death, administrators at Danvers State Hospital did not dignify their patients. Danvers State Hospital - Danvers, MA. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Discover some of the worlds strangest ancient places. The Danvers State Hospital, also known as the State Lunatic Hospital at Danvers, The Danvers Lunatic Asylum, and The Danvers State Insane Asylum, was a psychiatric hospital located in Danvers, Massachusetts.It was built in 1874, and opened in 1878, under the supervision of prominent Boston architect Nathaniel Jeremiah Bradlee, on an isolated site in rural Massachusetts. Lovecraft’s Arkham Sanatorium (Danvers is also mentioned in Lovecraft’s stories “Pickman’s Model” and “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”) and it served as the setting for the film Session 9. The lack of funding continued. But while Danvers was meant to be an appealing place whose interiors promoted the health and wellbeing of its patients, its gothic design has captured the imagination of many a lover of horror. 2) The Danvers State Asylum was also featured in the 1958 film Home Before Dark. It spanned several acres and was a massive institution originally intended to be a beacon of modernity and progress in … on History of Danvers State Hospital. Danvers State Hospital first opened in 1878. The American Horror Story: Asylum inspired story covers the following haunted asylums that may or may have not inspired Briarcliff Manor: Worcester State Hospital - Worcester, MA. Unexplained Mysteries and Strange Things, Cool Interesting stuff has been online since early 2011. Photo Credit: Patrick Rohe / Flickr (CC) Haunted Hospitals. Lovecraft's horror stories and Batman's Arkham Asylum is now a condominium complex. It was designed to be self-contained and somewhat self-sufficient in wintertime, thanks to its own steam power plant at the bottom of the hill. Although the building looked beautiful on the outside, inside was a different matter. Season 2 of FX's American Horror Story centers around the patients and staff of a Massachusetts mental institution, Briarcliff Manor, said to be inspired by Danvers State Hospital. Ghost Hunting at Danvers State Hospital Soon after its closure, Danvers State Hospital would become the haunted house on the hill where kids dared one another to sneak in. It's no surprise, then, that best sex scenes from AHS get us hot, skeeze us out, and make us think—sometimes all at once! In the rear is the boiler house … Danvers State Hospital was a psychiatric hospital built in 1874 on Hathorne Hill, where the … The Massachusetts facility, the State Lunatic Hospital at Danvers is actually quite famous in horror. Construction faced delays in 2007 when a mysterious fire broke out and burned a majority of the new construction and some trailers. Walter Jackson Freeman II (an American physician) conducted numerous lobotomy procedures in the hospital. uncanny, eerie, unnatural, preternatural, supernatural, unearthly, other-worldly, unreal, ghostly, mysterious, mystifying, strange, abnormal, unusual. The story of Danvers State Hospital, however, is so horrifying that it inspired the Hollywood movie Session 9. Finally, the state intervened. Danvers State Hospital was originally called the State Lunatic Asylum at Danvers (a cheerful name, for sure). It’s said to have been an inspiration for H.P. actress Frances Farmer and her involuntary commitment to a mental hospital. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Danvers had previously been called Salem Village and was the site of the famous Salem Witch Trials of 1690, the name having been changed to distance itself from the events of the past. Fairfield Hills State Hospital. At least the patients didn’t complain, because many of them just stared blankly at walls. In 2005, a development company bought the rundown property and tore down a large portion of the buildings. Looking for a ghoulish true story this Halloween? The remaining and lasting impression of Danvers State Hospital was that it was a snake pit where the mentally ill went to languish and often die. We’ve weeded through the darkest histories to find the former asylums that make American Horror Story feel like Saturday morning cartoons. At its peak, the facility had 40 buildings and maxed out at 450 patients. 1) The Danvers State Hospital is believed to be an inspiration behind the infamous Arkham Sanatorium from H.P. Over the next 20 years, the population of the hospital swelled to more than 2,000 patients despite its official capacity of 450. The Myrtles Plantation, haunting evidence? That is, if patients could express their thoughts after having a portion of their brain ripped out during surgery. Get our eeriest tales and best book deals delivered straight to your inbox. Lovecraft’s Arkham Sanatorium, Danvers has a gothic design that has captured the imagination of horror aficionados. We are happy to work with other website publishers, Get your podcast featured for free – email us. When asked about filming Session 9 at the Danvers State Hospital, David Caruso said, Visitors to the hospital in the late 1940s described the patients as aimlessly wandering the halls, or vacantly staring at walls, perhaps a result of both their poor treatment by the staff and their various medical interventions. It’s said to have been an inspiration for H.P. Click on my other videos in the video response section down below. contact us to submit an unexplained mystery article, or to join the team on the email address below. Portions of the hospital were shuttered starting in 1969, with most of it closed by 1985, and the entire campus shut down in 1992. Portions of Danvers State Hospital were shut down in 1969. Some of the campus’ tunnels, the cemetery, and facades of a couple of the other buildings remain, but the “modern ruins” version of Danvers State now exists only in photographs and videos. Constructed at a cost of $1.5 million, with the estimated yearly per capita cost of patients being $3,000 the hospital originally consisted of two main center buildings, housing the administration, with four radiating wings. As you can imagine, they don’t find him in their truck outside. Danvers State Mental Hospital was built by prominent architect Nathaniel Jeremiah Bradlee from Boston, in an extremely rural, out-of-the-way location called Hathorne Hill. The American Horror Story: Asylum inspired story covers the following haunted asylums that may or may have not inspired Briarcliff Manor: Worcester State Hospital - Worcester, MA Danvers State Hospital - Danvers… American Horror: 5 Most Haunted ... the facility was shortly renamed the Pennhurst State School and Hospital. “American Horror Story” set its second (and best) season within the walls of a ‘60s asylum. William DeLong is a freelance wordsmith. By 1900, Danvers State Hospital employed 125 people and had treated more than 9,500 patients since opening. Bizarre Travel. Wikimedia Commons Danvers as it stands today, a much more cheerful place. Weston, WV. Danvers State Hospital - Danvers, MA. Lovecraft used Danvers as the inspiration for his Arkham Sanitarium. Danvers is often given the dubious title of the “birthplace of the prefrontal lobotomy” for its use and refinement of the procedure. Cool interesting stuff features everything odd, weird, bizzare, strange or unusual. Foxborough State Hospital - Foxboro, MA - Tom Brady's favorite insane asylum. Construction on Danvers State Hospital started in 1874 and the first patients moved in sometime in 1878. Buildings fell into disrepair, which made conditions worse. Neurology experts often called Danvers State Hospital the “birthplace of the prefrontal lobotomy.” The moniker came from its widespread use, but also from the procedures refinement at the hospital. When shock therapy failed, the lobotomies started. The facility that once housed Danvers State Hospital is now home to a residential community featuring fully renovated apartments. Michael grows desperate when his warlock allies are slaughtered and enlists the help of unlikely allies in his quest to start the apocalypse. Were shut down in 1969 similar to the channel: https: //www.youtube.com/c/OnlyDepression Wikimedia Commons ; Trans-Allegheny Aslyum... S said to have been an inspiration for H.P and Batman 's Arkham Asylum people and treated. 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