I just thought of something else. If that top part had a built-in reading light, it'd be a nice way to read in privacy. Your chair would also be a lamp! A positive version of an "electric chair"!

The best peeling paint I've ever seen! I couldn't figure out the chair, but now I think it's like blinders on a horse: you sit back and feel rather sheltered from the action/chaos around you. Your vision is limited, giving you a feeling of privacy. You're there in public, yet few people could actually see you. I like that idea!

I love this shot: the contrast of the mold and the blue, and the sculpture-like duct. Very cool and beautiful!

Well, I never had a thing for light fixtures before, but again, this one is so beautiful. It looks like an abstract mobile.

The skeletal remains of the lights hanging from the ceiling are incredible, both on their own and in the context of this beautiful room.

Truly beautiful. I almost wish I had been an inmate here. It's an asylum in the best sense of the word: a refuge or shelter from care/danger. Very peaceful.

Another possible title: Thairapy

Damn! I was just about to go to bed! My allergies are making me groggy and I"m feeling tired and cranky! And now I find this new gallery! Really, Motts, can't you put it up at MY convenience?? Must I be torn like this?? (Extremely cool though! I'll give it a quick overview, hit the hay, and have a very pleasurable morning exploring it in depth. Good night.)

Dark Angel- Sorry but I don't believe in sharing. My motto is "Cursed are the generous for they shall be bled dry."
Just kidding! Actually, I plan to go through all the Visceral Axis BSS photos and write comments about each individual photo (the ones I recognize anyway), which I'll probably post over in the Belchertown thread in the "Current Events" forum. Hopefully, I'll do that within a week, if you or anyone wats to check it out. By the way, someone emailed me today, saying how they strolled around the grounds and how interesting it was. They didn't say one word about problems with security. They simply took a leisurely walk!

CM- Where did you come across that site??? I've never found it and I've looked a lot. I recognize quite a few of the locations. Those large, white buildings were the "cottages". where higher-functioning people lived. There were 9 of them and they were referred to as Cottage 1, Cottage 2, etc. That big concrete bridge-like thing used to be used by trains delivering coal to BSS. It was sad to see the shell of the merry-go-round- i spent a lot of time riding that as part of my job.

Welcome, Jayson. If you join the Forum, I started a music thread there. I'd like to find out if you like those 3 bands. At this point, I've only met 1 person into this kind of music!

OK, I was partially mistaken. I called a friend who knows about the carousel and she told me that originally the town of Belchertown wanted to buy it, but could not raise the funds. The State then auctioned it off and it was bought by a Holyoke man who originally planned to repair it, then resell it to the Holyoke Heritage Park committee.This fell through and the owner decided to dismantle it and sell the individual horses/swans/ etc. to private collectors. I did a quick search to see what I could find and found this interesting reference. Sadly, I wish I had been right; the carousel almost made it to Heritage Park in one piece, but now no longer exists. Thanks for the up-to-date info, Kitty. http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~plalli/posters

Hi Kitty- Perhaps over the years merry-go-rounds got moved around, but I know the Belchertown State School carousel moved from there to Holyoke. At the time (the 70's, I believe) it made the news because the carousel had some historical value and there was pressure to find it a home and not see it lost. I remember Mountain Park too and have been there long ago. perhaps there are two carousels? Or the BSS one is now elsewhere? I'll try to research it.

"Old Main" at Northampton State Hospital was covered with ivy and other vines, then one day a groundskeeper went around cutting the vines off at their bases so they'd die. The place was abandoned so I don't understand it. Of course, they did grow back eventually. By the way, this kind of ivy stays green in the winter.

LLI- Thanks for the names- I'll do searches on them tomorrow. ( I've been on the web just a little too long and need to get out for a walk.) I can easily believe the stories you mention. Things do happen. At Belchertown State School people "escaped" fairly often. One guy from K Building ran out naked into the snow. They used to sound some kind of loud horn when there was an "escape"; I remember, as a kid, being scared whenever that horn blew. Years later, I myself was sometimes forced to stay late so that I could join a "search". Anyway, I'll check out that info tomorrow. Thanks again.

D- If you're kidding, what you say is amusing, considering all the urban legends that come up on this site
and that deserve to be laughed at. But if you're serious about what you are saying, let me say it's absolutely NOT TRUE. It NEVER happened. Even a bad horror flick would't go this far! (I wish those Smileys were available here, because there are a few I'd put to good use!) D, be careful in this world- it's full of lies and liars and it's best to figure that out. If anyone told me a story like this, I'd ask for proof: witnesses, articles, photos, anything!

In response to some of the above comments, there is a website that's all about carnival ride accidents and the details around them: www.rideaccidents.com.

While I stand by what I said above, I see that in this case they ARE private patients' records left for anyone to go through! That's definately wrong and I need to pay more attention to Motts' captions.

I've noticed enough comments about "patients' records being left behind to finally respond. Twice I've come upon files, like in this photo. And both times the files were actually collections of receipts of various purchases necessary to run a large institution. Or thousands of electric and phone bills, etc. I'm sure patients' records get left behind sometimes, but there are lots of other records more likely to be left behind. Every box of files on this site isn't necessarily patients' records left for prying eyes.

I love this photo because I have often looked up at this window from the outside and wondered what was behind it. Now I know!

"FeDz wuz heer" ?

Sketch- it's the way of the world. It's entropy. Everything starts out cool and original and creative and fun, then somewhere along the way it gets more popular and well-known and then all the trendies jump on board and then the media notices and makes it a big deal and then even more idiots jump on board, till the whole thing is ruined. Punk rock is a perfect example of this. Everything ends up corrupted. And gets ruined for those people who are sincerely into it. However, if you wait long enough, all the trendy crowds will move on to the next hip thing. (Cheerful, aren't I, so early in the morning?)

joshpine- if you hate drains, you'd really hate my favorite swimming hole. It's at the base of a big waterfall at an abandoned power station in Conway, MA. There is a big whirlpool under the falls, strong enough to drag you into it and to the bottom, but not so strong that you can't swim out of it when you need air. There's nothing so refreshing on a hot, humid day as to let a whirlpool suck you down to the bottom of a cold river! jasonpine, you also mention stepping into something gross in the lake. The same thing happened to me, except I was on these abandoned railroad tracks; I was looking ahead and suddenly my foot sank into something that immediately REEKED. I looked down and my foot was down inside a rotting dog! I can still remember it all too vividly!

AS- As noted above, the cabinet contains plumbing fixtures, not a painting. Do you really think staff would take (or have) the time to paint pictures designed to make patients even more anxious? If so, they'd be certifiable themselves! If staff were angry/unhappy/nasty, they would more likely vent it through verbal or physical abuse, not through involved plots to subtly torture people with psychological games involving art! Whatever the case, these are plumbing fixtures, not a malicious artpiece!

I forgot to mention that there are several scenes in "The Others" (a fantastic movie) about post-death photography.