Motts Nah, most likely water damage seeping into the cracks of the plaster.

Location: Ospedale Bartolini  Gallery: Changes

	Motts Thanks - the breaker is easy to find - just West of Mahanoy City P.A. There were many of these facilities all over the state, many pretty impressive looking, now long gone. Here's a list of Schuylkill County alone: http://pagenweb.org/~schuylkill/castles.html

Location: Old Saint Nicholas Coal Breaker  Gallery: Men on Mars

	Motts It was about three stories tall, if I recall.

Location: Ospedale Bartolini  Gallery: Changes

	Motts It's been a while since this photo (7 years... wow) - I'd guess it was around four feet in diameter.

Location: Old Saint Nicholas Coal Breaker  Gallery: Men on Mars

	Motts You guys have some good eyes! Yes that's a fellow explorer in the shadows of the doorway :-)

Location: Ospedale Bartolini  Gallery: Changes

	Motts Thanks - while there are many places high on my personal list, it's just about impossible to pick a favorite!

Location: Ospedale Bartolini  Gallery: Changes

	Motts Yeah it was completely stripped of anything.

Location: Ospedale Bartolini  Gallery: Changes

	Motts Yeah I think they were storage cabinets.

Location: Ospedale Bartolini  Gallery: Changes

	Motts The doors were solid wood in this area of the hospital

Location: Ospedale Bartolini  Gallery: Changes

	Motts Unfortunately no, I was moving pretty fast to catch the place before the sun set.

Location: Ospedale Pedagogico di Aguscello  Gallery: Ruinous

Motts The central "attic" that sits directly underneath the towers mostly consists of a large, ornamental space, similar to a ballroom, chapel, or theater (sans stage). Definitely could have been a medical library. Yup the towers are "hollow" - a unfinished spaces with ladders that lead to multiple landings which ascend to the tops. Looks like something one would find in a church steeple, but of more substantial construction (stone arches, large beams). Thanks!!

Location: Buffalo State Hospital  Gallery: Night Photography

	Motts Cool, love stories like those!

Location: Kokerei Zollverein  Gallery: World of Texture

	Motts There was a graveyard nearby but I don't believe patients were buried there; it looked like any other public graveyard. Not sure where patients went after they passed away at this location.

Location: Manicomio Montedale  Gallery: The String Man

	Motts The metal bars, control station, pipes, fixtures, valves etc. are probably all missing because they were sent to the scrap yard for cash. The tub is a pretty standard style used in many hospitals for continuous baths. http://www.opacity.us/image5714_clean.htm http://www.opacity.us/...ontinuous_bath_time/

Location: Manteno State Hospital  Gallery: What Little Remains

	Motts I'd guess at 2 tubs, maybe 2 sinks outside the door (can be seen here: http://www.opacity.us/image8902_iron_pile.htm ), and a hose or shower fixture.

Location: Manicomio Montedale  Gallery: The String Man

	Motts No I do not wear a hard hat, I've never had an issue with stuff falling down on me. It's me falling through a floor that is often problematic.

Location: Ospedale Pedagogico di Aguscello  Gallery: Ruinous

	Motts I believe the owners are pretty diligent and serious. I'd guess that he was found and relocated when the property started being rehabilitated.

Location: Manicomio Montedale  Gallery: The String Man

	Motts It was on the top floor, so I'd guess at water damage or a stressed building foundation.

Location: Manicomio Montedale  Gallery: The String Man

	Motts Apparently reeds were sometimes used for lath and plaster walls in those days.

Location: Kahlenbergstift  Gallery: Shopping

	Motts Thanks - I'm not knocking paranormal investigation; it's simply a little jest at the stories that surround this place. Perhaps some bad things happened here (who knows), but to accuse the Red Cross of torturing children with ECT and burying them in a mass grave seems pretty far fetched.

Location: Ospedale Pedagogico di Aguscello  Gallery: Ruinous

	Motts I'm not too sure what happens in regards of giving birth in a psychiatric hospital - my guess is that the patient would be transferred to a general hospital, as the state institution probably didn't have the optimal facilities to help a woman give birth or to take care of newborns.

Location: Central Islip State Hospital  Gallery: All the Rectangular Rooms

	Motts I was standing on the last solid floor joist in the previous photo :)

Location: Ospedale Pedagogico di Aguscello  Gallery: Ruinous

	Motts Thanks - I used an infrared lens filter which blocks out most visible light waves, and allows the camera to capture wavelengths not visible to the human eye. The original photo is very red. Unfortunately my setup won't pull out much color, so they are usually monochromatic, and I add a tint during post-processing.

Location: Ospedale Pedagogico di Aguscello  Gallery: Ruinous

	Motts The film "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" features some stunning surrealistic backdrops reminiscent of the odd-angled window pane work at the top of this window.

Location: Manicomio Montedale  Gallery: The String Man

	Motts Boredom could certainly explain all those thousands of scratches in the plaster walls. Yeah the layout of this place was odd. I'm guessing that one floor was a huge dormitory and the other was a huge day room. I only recall a few "normal" sized rooms - toilet, hydrotherapy/washroom, nurse's station, closet, private bedroom/seclusion.

Location: Manicomio Montedale  Gallery: The String Man