28 Comments Posted by Icewall42

I LOVE the color/quality of the light. So peaceful!

Haha! Too perfect. It's strange how these spaces can change with the presence of a person, as opposed to the bleak absence...

Nice shot, though I passionately hate Philly. Excessive begging and wandering crazies (especially in Center City), exceptionally rude people. Touristy areas work to keep these out in order to present a better face to visitors.

I was thinking the exact same thing when I saw this photo--I really hope no one vandalizes this window. It would be a loss beyond words if it broke because of some kid's idiocy...

What a fantastic room! I hope someday it is put to some use again--seems too beautiful to simply leave to decay (though I'm guessing it would make an equally beautiful ruin).

Ugh... don't care about pigeons one way or the other, but I can only imagine what sorts of diseases must be lurking in all of that mess...

The colors in this one are just... so... perfect!

So cold, empty, and lonely... I love that quality/color of light. There's just something about it that touches the soul.

lol. Well, not afraid of clowns, but I really don't like them. They annoy the heck out of me.

This room is about the same size as the horrible one I had in college, however briefly. And I had to share it. I can see myself feeling claustrophobic in this one.

It's pretty amazing how nature takes back human creation, isn't it? Part of the reason why I enjoy urbex photography so much.

Breathtakingly beautiful. I have always found the light and colors of dawn and dusk to hold their own sort of magic...

Such clean lines... I really like this one.

Now, I'm not saying that anyone's supernatural stories are wrong, exactly. But what I will say is that the human brain is enormously powerful, and its creative ability almost limitless. We still can't build a CPU with more than a small fraction of the brain's computing power.

Bear this in mind, too: Everything we see, hear, taste, touch, and smell is a signal processed by the brain. You could say that it is impossible for us to know the REAL universe outside of these senses and brain signals. It exists. At least, we THINK it does. But does it really? What, exactly, does happen along the pathway between our senses and our brains? ARE there supernatural elements in the real world that we simply can't perceive, or barely perceive? Or are our brains processing signals incorrectly, or creatively adding onto them?

Abuse and "torture" are not so surprising when you realize that institutions like these had very lax regulation. Many were overcrowded and understaffed, making it very easy for abuse to take place. There weren't enough people to oversee the staff, and ensure that people were being treated humanely. When you've got easy avenues for things to happen without repercussion, invariably they will happen. People with such free-reign are very, very tempted to follow these dark avenues. As much as I'd like to believe that people have basic morality, there are plenty who will allow their darkest selves to come to light without any laws or supervision hanging over them and telling them how to behave. This is the exact situation in Lord of the Flies. And much as that book disgusts me, it holds a certain truth regarding human behavior.

So, were there bad things happening at these mental institutions? It's very likely. Does this history make a place creepy? Possibly, if you're susceptible to that sort of thing. There's a definite atmosphere in many of these photos, but I find it more depressingly beautiful than creepy. The stories do add flavor, and sometimes it's interesting to fantasize, but coming back to reality--these places aren't haunted. Scary because of unseen dangers (bad floors or asbestos) and potentially violent bums, but that's all.