Carousel

I don't know what to say about this.It makes you feel something.The saddness of them trying to give bright and cheerful images to children trapped in this nightmare world.If this place isn't haunted I would be very,very shocked.All the suffering and negative energy in those walls.

Why even bother... Reminds me of another photo I saw somewhere else of Byberry, some goofy paintings someone did of some girl with dolls in her pockets (the photographer joked that he couldn't tell actually if they were dolls or kids) and of some hot dog vendor with a "Cinzano" umbrella over his cart with the letters arranged so that it looked like it said "inzano"... Was there any sincerity in any of these paintings, or a trace of mockery, both??

provocative photo makes you think doesnt it

SEEING THIS AND JUST WONDERING WHAT YOU FIRST FELT WHEN YOU CAME UPON THIS..SADDNESS... LIKE A LITTLE CHILD IS JUST LEFT THERE WITH NOBODY TO PUSH HIM. THE SADDEST PICTURE SO FAR.

For me, it looks more like a release from the suffering. Leaving a wheelchair (which if you're not used to manoevreing, it can be a tough thing to do), going to the fair, riding the carousel, and finally being at peace.

Why am I even up looking at this site at 4am? Now I have to go to bed with unwanted images of this horrible place etched into my mind. How can something so seemingly picturesque and innocent as a fairground carousel take on such a sinister appearance? The horse and elephant look positively evil for some reason. Were these.... things meant to calm those who had to live here, or to add to their considerable torment? This picture and the previous one have, for some reason, affected me in ways I didn't think I could be touched. Rich.

If that last one was Shoggoth's playroom, this one must be Cthulhu's. That green thing *does* kind of resemble him if you tilt your head and squint...

where abouts would you see this sort of decoration these days?No where.It, in my opinion just would not fit modern day facilities,where traditional recreation, to certain extents has been replaced maybe with computers and such like.I think that this one such theory may help to clarify the seemingly disturbing apprearence of such murals.

Out of all the photos on this site the ones of this playroom of horrors were the ones that I found truly creepy and disturbing.Pennhurst I think might be the one location covered here that gives off the biggest feeling of dread.

This photo conjures a wide range of emotions for me. I cannot place a single one. When I see this picture I wonder about all of the people that sat in that wheelchair and all of the people that passed that mural in the hall. Did it make them happy?? Did it make them smile?? Was this just to appease the visitors and not the permanent residents?? This is just really sad.

I . . . er . . . that is to say . . . well . . . . . .

Aw, nuttin'. Yeah, it is sad. :-(

Yay Lynne! Head Banging Therapy is working, huh?

Dang proud of you girl!

(sarcasm, shh)

Too comatose to get to the keyboard . . . [mutter mutter mutter]

Okay there is something definitely amiss here. Look at the painting: why does that horse appear to being savagely attacked by that lion as the elephant looks on gleefully?
Whoever drew these things DID NOT like children.

Hrmmph...Its a carousel folks. Nothing is amiss here. If anything you could make an argument that the horse is pursuing the lion! Since they are both carousel animals and the horse is behind the tiger. Way too much is read into what are simple pictures. In this case a common carousel combination...elephants, horses, tigers, and perhaps...in the background a Kangaroo.

I do believe that is the picture of the horse I mentioned earlier. I think, and this is me, that at that time maybe the caregivers thought they were doing what they could to help the kids. This I think was to depict a carnival. It is sad though, the place standing alone and empty and no more children's voices to be heard. That, I think what gets me.

does anyone else notice the barbapapa next to the horse? remember those things from the 70's early80's? i was a barbapapa freak when i was a kid but i have to sat its a bit freaky in the setting its in -shudder-

this photo makes me want to scream!! It brings back old memories from when me and my friends got lost in there. OMG never again will i go in there.

i have that same mural on my wall and im 15 yrs old

Yes, the painting is crude, but I bet whoever painted it felt s/he was adding something cheerful to a room that was perhaps plain. I'm sure the colors were brighter before years of abandonment dulled them. If the walls weren't chipping away and if the floors were swept and there was real light in the room it may have been a fun room for the kids to hang out in. And who knows, there may have been toys around back then. I'll bet the "artist" was trying to do a good thing at the time, attempting to cheer the place up.

I think back then they tried to do the best they could with what they had. I don't care where you go, you have good nurses or people, and bad nurses or people; even today. I think under the circumstances with what they had to work with and any knowledge they had, they just did the best they could. Even today, mental illness is a very very serious illness and very complicated to treat at times. Anyone ever read a boy named IT and all the sequels to it. Good book.

That elephant looks so evil in the light.

Can You Say CREEPY?

I live a few miles from the place. Having moved here after it had closed, I had no idea of the nature of the institution. My god, I thought it was just a reform school. How I wish that were the case...

It looks creepy now, but back then it must've looked quite nice back in the day, I imagine. It's a shame the children didn't receive the same level of care that the paintings did when they were being composed...

hmm, yes it does appear very disturbing. I was there when it was a functioning facility quite often .(more then I cared to) My Mother worked there for many years. It wasn't as creepy then. Still creepy. I was a kid and was more afraid of the patients. Not everyone who worked there abused them just remember that. Not saying my mom did or didn't. (wasn't there)

There is something about a merry go round that just makes you smile, no matter what your age is. But this painting is down right creepy!

That wheelchair has been moved to a completely different location recently...

It now resides in that weird ass 'candy cane' room in Devon Hall.

Weird. Last time i saw it it was in the blue hallway near Devon. Makes sense i suppose.

wow thats old !!!!

seem like a childs room

I like the elephant!

For some reason, this photo (and the comments) made me think of the giant carousel at House on the Rock... Maybe because this mural seems innocent and yet somehow "off" and disturbing due to the age and decay...and the carousel (and other exhibits) at House on the Rock have a similar strange vibe.

I think this room in the building could vary well be hunted I was in that room before as soon as i got there i wanted to leave I went at midnight but it wasn't the greatest idea i'v ever had..... I went through the one door and it shut knocking down alot of stuff i think it scared the crap out of me and my group of freinds

That's one creepy looking wheel chair.

Wow...
I almost started crying.
Powerful shot to say the least.

I'm gonna draw myself riding on the horsey if I go here.

This picture and the other one of the children on the wall evoke so much emotion for me. I Currently am a county case worker and use to work with mentaly and physicaly challanged individuals. I recently heard about this place via ghost hunters. It is heart breaking that people could treat others, and most importaly children this way. I understand that some people are not capable for caring for those with disablilities, but to mal-treat them is just unacceptable. God Bless those that had compassion for these poor children and cared for them. For those that were so heartless as to do harm to them... your time will come. Some day you will have to explain your actions, and NO explaination will we acceptable.

I use to live right by this place growing up when i got older a bunch of us would go there and it is definatly haunted

Watch the episode of Ghost Adventures when they went to Pennhurst and you'll see why this place is considered one of the most haunted places in America

this wheels has springs on the seat. eire pic. . .

talk about silly-for a minute, I couldn't quite figure out that it's a blue elephant on the carousel and not an octopus.