Comments
EchoRose wrote:
Beautiful shot. Absolutely captivating.
- Location: Norwich State Hospital (view comments)
- Gallery: November Chills
Alex J wrote:
Kind of interesting that they are referring to her as "resident" there (as opposed to patient, which is what I've seen generally used in 19th century records, not to mention what seem like a more natural term to use).
- Location: Norwich State Hospital (view comments)
- Gallery: November Chills
autoguy wrote:
Thnx for all the new posts Motts! I need to stop by more often.
A forum search might reveal past strings about this subject, including Icepick Wally, as I have dubbed him. Some of us have somewhat of a morbid curiosity of such subjects, and I am no exception to that. I do not recall every detail in this documentary, but I highly recommend viewing it.
*Icepick Wally is reported as using genuine icepicks from his own kitchen on his first victims.
*His partner, a legitimate surgeon in prefrontal lobotomy procedures, walked into Wally's office one time to find him pounding an icepick into somebody's head. That ended their association. Freeman was not a surgeon, nor is an office a proper operating theater.
*It's reported that during a prefrontal procedure with Dr. Watts, Wally let go of a heavy cutting instrument so he could step back and get a photo. This instrument then sunk deep into his victim's brain and killed them.
I am certainly no professional in the field, but I believe that lobotomy is a "heroic" procedure that is considered as a last resort. Icepick Wally roamed the countryside pounding icepicks into people's heads, slicing frontal lobes to shreds, as though he was curing the sniffles for everyone. This egotistical man felt his ability as a showman was far more valuable than human life. He was indeed a true madman.
But then, this is all just my opinion. I just call it as I see it. Your mileage may vary.
For more on this subject, the wayback machine on archive dot org might still cough up lobotomy dot info. There you can read the original instructional manual for the Freeman and Watts prefrontal lobotomy procedure. If you dare.
A forum search might reveal past strings about this subject, including Icepick Wally, as I have dubbed him. Some of us have somewhat of a morbid curiosity of such subjects, and I am no exception to that. I do not recall every detail in this documentary, but I highly recommend viewing it.
*Icepick Wally is reported as using genuine icepicks from his own kitchen on his first victims.
*His partner, a legitimate surgeon in prefrontal lobotomy procedures, walked into Wally's office one time to find him pounding an icepick into somebody's head. That ended their association. Freeman was not a surgeon, nor is an office a proper operating theater.
*It's reported that during a prefrontal procedure with Dr. Watts, Wally let go of a heavy cutting instrument so he could step back and get a photo. This instrument then sunk deep into his victim's brain and killed them.
I am certainly no professional in the field, but I believe that lobotomy is a "heroic" procedure that is considered as a last resort. Icepick Wally roamed the countryside pounding icepicks into people's heads, slicing frontal lobes to shreds, as though he was curing the sniffles for everyone. This egotistical man felt his ability as a showman was far more valuable than human life. He was indeed a true madman.
But then, this is all just my opinion. I just call it as I see it. Your mileage may vary.
For more on this subject, the wayback machine on archive dot org might still cough up lobotomy dot info. There you can read the original instructional manual for the Freeman and Watts prefrontal lobotomy procedure. If you dare.
Ephemera: The Lobotomist
Don 3459 wrote:
A walk on the dark side
- Location: Norwich State Hospital (view comments)
- Gallery: November Chills
Don 3459 wrote:
Nice Shot!
- Location: Norwich State Hospital (view comments)
- Gallery: November Chills
Don 3459 wrote:
For some there was no return once they entered this hallway!
- Location: Norwich State Hospital (view comments)
- Gallery: November Chills
Fla. Gator wrote:
Motts. Do you go it alone on your explorations or do you ever invite/bring along others?
- Location: Norwich State Hospital (view comments)
- Gallery: Fall Showers
Cindy wrote:
WORKED THERE UNTIL CLOSURE IN 1996. MANY FRIENDS, SOME STILL WITH ME. MANY MORE MEMORIES WILL BE WITH ME FOREVER. I GREW UP IN SO MANY WAYS THERE. i WILL ALWAYS TREASURE THE TIME SPENT THERE.
- Location: Central Islip State Hospital (view comments)
- Gallery: All the Rectangular Rooms
Fla. Gator wrote:
Do all psychiatric hospitals have upright pianos in them?
- Location: Norwich State Hospital (view comments)
- Gallery: November Chills
Rekrats wrote:
^^^^ Amen, Kath. You said it well. I, too, will never get the chance to see these awesome places. I am an urb-ex fanatic and must content myself with the amateur shots I can take of abandoned structures in my own area (I did recently come upon an abandoned theater that I'd love to infiltrate) but when the pickings seem slim, Motts' site always delivers the "fix" I need. In any case, I am extremely glad for his talent and his tenacity in securing these locations on film for posterity.
- Location: Norwich State Hospital (view comments)
- Gallery: Lockdown
Rekrats wrote:
After 4-1/2 years, we have had guesses for bread ovens, pizza ovens, food-service carts, egg incubators, chicken coops, rodent cages, mattress sterilizers, air exchange units, storage bins, patient restraint cages, modified Utica cribs, and an overwhelming number of incredibly silly assumptions that they were used to cremate patients.
Honestly, if Lynne could never find anyone who knew, and even readers who worked there or knew someone who worked there couldn't solve the mystery, my guess is that we'll never know for sure. In actuality, the answer is likely very benign and boring.
They were probably some sort of device that started as something else entirely and were modified for a specific use by a person who worked there or lived there (many psych patients are absolutely genius in other areas - the autistic are the perfect example of this). These machines may exist in only one spot (here) for only one thing (we don't know, but I'm positive it doesn't involve burning human bodies or restraining unruly patients) and therefore, the answer to the puzzle is as lost in time as the hospital itself.
Honestly, if Lynne could never find anyone who knew, and even readers who worked there or knew someone who worked there couldn't solve the mystery, my guess is that we'll never know for sure. In actuality, the answer is likely very benign and boring.
They were probably some sort of device that started as something else entirely and were modified for a specific use by a person who worked there or lived there (many psych patients are absolutely genius in other areas - the autistic are the perfect example of this). These machines may exist in only one spot (here) for only one thing (we don't know, but I'm positive it doesn't involve burning human bodies or restraining unruly patients) and therefore, the answer to the puzzle is as lost in time as the hospital itself.
- Location: Norwich State Hospital (view comments)
- Gallery: Lockdown
Fla. Gator wrote:
It depends on whether you're an optimist or pessimist. If you're the former the door is half open. If you're the latter, it is half closed.
- Location: Norwich State Hospital (view comments)
- Gallery: November Chills
Fla. Gator wrote:
Boy if the roof ever leaked just think how much rain water these diapers would be able to absorb !
- Location: Norwich State Hospital (view comments)
- Gallery: November Chills
- Location: The Pines Hotel (view comments)
- Gallery: Trip with Drie