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Many years ago, my best friend at school developed a problem in her right knee. I can't remember the medical term but it was a type of degenerative disease. She started to wear a knee support, but a few months later she told me, very upset, that she was going to have to wear a full leg brace. It was ugly - leather and steel - and kept both her ankle and knee straight, and she had to wear it whenever she stood up. As she had very little pain when she walked without it, being good friends, we soon hatched a pot that she would come to my house using the back enterence, take her brace off in my shed, and creep out to catch a bus to the next town. I worked for months.

Then, and I can remember this so well, she came over crying her eyes out - she had been told she would need a similar brace on her other leg. Whilst there was little or no pain an exray showed bone damage. Two weeks later she was fitted, and given under arm crutches which she know needed to walk, as she had strict instructions not to swing her legs.

Then the school said because of her disability she could no longer attend - so we began to lose contact. However, whilst she had trouble getting up stairs to my bedroom we met in hers - now on the ground floor. I knew her braces real well - I even tried them on - it was weird.

We then planned to again go out together without her wearing them as we had before. It worked real well for a couple of times, we met boys, she was very preety and it was great.

Then one evening at the bus stop her father passed in his car, came back, picked us up and gave us hell. Her for walking without her braces and me for aiding. He stopped her from coming over, I was afraid to go there and as we were now at different schools we did not meet for weeks.

Then we met in a local shop. She was in her braces and on crutches and seeming to have more trouble moving. Her mother said it was ok for me to come back with them. On the way home I knew she was having real difficulty moving and when home we went to her room and she took her dress off. Not only were both her legs in braces but now the braces were attached to a solid corset type belt. Apparently this both restricted her hip movement but also made it near impossible for her to remove her braces. Shortly afterwards her family moved and we lost touch - I often wonder how it worked out, and regret I was not a better friend.

it's defentlyy hauntedd becausee i honestlyy went there withh 2 fo my friends and i brought my dog with me and sonn after we went in my dog justt started burging butt i wasn't really paying attention to him till we go to up to 2nd floor and when we enter a room and we hear breathing close to us and we just all run outt .......

Dreams in the witchhouse., wow love those odd angles.

might be rehab stuff its def. old and junkieish with the eye dropper used as plunger at the end. Kinda makes ya think.

First, thanks for the great photos, I was trying to explain this place to my wife, but your pictures did a far better job than my descriptions.

I grew up in Whitman, right next door to Hanson and while I was in college, my girlfriend (who was a Hanson girl) told me about this place. We visited twice. The first time was summer 1998. She and I plus one of her friends went in the late afternoon and were able to get in and explore the buildings a bit. Understanding tuberculosis and the painful way that it causes death makes you appreciate how many lives ended in an awful way in this building. I am a hard-core atheist and skeptic, but I could not help feeling uncomfortable the whole time we were there. I found myself constantly looking over my shoulder. We left when one of the girls thought she saw something move in front of her and freaked out - so we had to go.

We decided to go back a few weeks later at night. This time we wanted to bring a video camera and record the experience. It was a different group this time, myself, my brother, my girlfriend and another of our friends.

Unfortunately we didn't even make it into the building this time, nor did I have the camera going. As we approached the building a light came on in the room that is on the second floor of the central structure. Its the center window in the straight-on picture in this gallery.

In the light there was clearly someone standing in the window looking at us. Now, I'm not claiming it was anything "spiritual", most likely it was other kids who got there before us, but the light was definitely a light in the ceiling, not a flashlight and as far as I knew at the time, there was no live electricity running to the building. Whatever it was, it freaked us all out royally and we decided to leave.

I don't think that any of us ever went back, but I'd love to go back and check it out again someday, although the police presence seems a lot more common than it was back in the late 90's.

Thanks for the pictures though and letting me rant about the "good-old-days".

Some of it seems to be Japanese. "Kira" roughly translates to "Killer" in English. I think we all know what "Satan" and "Vampire" and "Tiger" is.

LOL yaz!

ACKKKK!!!!! I pooked!!!!!

What an interesting door.

This is really quite chilling...

And i'd just like to say thank you.
I rented the book "Project 17" from my high school library a few weeks ago, and ever since i've been entranced by this place. Your work has really helped me appriciate this place more. It's really a shame i'll never get to see it.

I try to pass by this place every time I head through Detroit. Your photography really did bring out the interesting and beautiful aspects of such a tired building.

Awesome perspective. Nice shot!

Man you're quite brave to go to that section of the building. Awesome shot!