3,287 Comments for Danvers State Hospital

i can see myself spending the night there in that room, sleeping bag rolled out and a bottle of corona half filled with cigarette butts,

That's great, Navi!

Florida Jen, I think that's why some of us in the field get a little cranky sometimes - while it is certainly true that there were (and still are) places where horrible things happened, it usually wasn't the norm, or if it was, it was due to the fact that there was no money, few staff (always overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated - and I'm talking direct care staff here, not people like me), no support, and a public that didn't want to know about what happened until the events became exciting newspaper scandals (and died away a month or two later to be replaced by other "exciting" news).

But I am also unhappy because the stories present a bizarre side to the people who lived at these places and makes them all either deranged dangerous psychotic murderers or else innocent trapped souls who were scooped off the street for no reason. In fact there HAVE been deranged dangerous psychotic murderers at these places and there HAVE been some people who were scooped off the street for no reason. That's just a fact. But they were always the minority. It's more exciting to hear about murderers, innocent & wrongly labeled people, suicides, and abusive staff. If I thought anyone would read a book about how boring these places were most of the time I could write one in a week - it would be just what I used to read/write in the charts for year after year for some people - "No problems today - all was well. Ate, went to programs, came home, had dinner, watched TV or went out to an activity, went to sleep." This would be punctuated by "Suzie hit Freda in the mouth - we separated them - Freda was fine - Suzie calmed down in her room" or some other such "interesting" tidbit.

There's a lot of hard work in assisting people with intellectual disabilities to learn specific skills they need to get by, there's a lot of hard work in assisting people with physical rehabilitation to learn skills or regain function, there's a lot of hard work in assisting people in coping with psychiatric illness, but most of it is the same boring day after day routine. Sure it gets exciting some days when people are having problems and need extra support, but it's not more exciting than what people who work with straight medical problems deal with - in fact, it's less so because our work is with people who generally have long-term, chronic issues where medical hospital issues are usually acute.

My personal belief is that the lure of stories of on-going abuse, terror, and entrapment are a sort of "ghost story" for some people who don't want to look provincial by believing in ghosts - it's easier to believe in the cruelty of your fellow human being (and there's plenty more evidence of it). There's a thin line between wanting to get involved to get rid of abuse and wanting to get involved because you get a secret thrill out of thinking that this is happening - a sort of voyeurism that always makes me decidedly uncomfortable. Some people who are excited by stories of abuse and neglect seem to get a sick cheap thrill out of it. Anyone who is obsessed by it and talks about it ad nauseam but doesn't try to do something about it falls into my "voyeur" category. THOSE are the people who make ME nervous - they don't have the intellectual honesty to admit they enjoy peeping at others' pain and they can be superior to others by pointing out that THEY don't injure others. My personal experience has been that once you get someone like that in the system and they find out how hard the work is and what you have to put up with on a day by day basis from people who are truly unable to control their problem behavior, these advocates for reform have sometimes ended becoming perpetrators themselves or having absolutely NO tolerance for unusual behavior. Funny old world, isn't it?

Just so every one knows. The wire mesh was installed there to stop 2 things. #1 suicides by jumping. #2 to prevent escapes. DSH was a dedicated lunatic asylum. Medical care was provided, but it was not the prime concern of the hospitals staff. Hand me my soap box someone.

For the last 30 years at least, you had to earn a spot in the hospital. The court had to send you, You had to go there yourself and ask to be admitted. The cops could bring you if a psychiatrist examined you and thought you'd benefit from an involuntary 10 day commitment. It took some real effort to get in. Oh lest I forget your insurance at a private booby hatch had run out and you were in need of care still.

Gone were the days of two medicaql docs signing you in. Families can't commit you without court involvement. Not to say the court involvement was difficult to obtain. It's gotten even harder to get in these last few years We actually have waiting lists. People are diverted to community hospitals for acute treatment and if a 6 week stay in a community hospital, then a trip to the state is indicated. It is now a very legalistic process to get into a state mental hospital. One where there is an advocte for the patient at each step.

omg that is a-maz-ing...very creepy shot... but among the best...great work...<3

ewwww. i would hate to be carried away on that...lolz

wow.....thatz all i have to say...<3

omg i totally just got the chills looking at this picture... i would NOT go in there even if ...well i just wouldnt go in there...<3

yet again another a-maz-ing chair pic...<3

The state of these places now make them look scary and as if they would drive someone insane, but that definitely wasn't the case when they were open. The people who had to live there *did* have problems - that's why they had to live there. They were much better off here than out on the streets.

hey motts, if your out there, what type of effect do you use on your camera, i suppose you are using digital, i have some issues with mine with motion

thats a couple of months b4 i was born, lol

this pic is extremely morbid if you think about it...wow...i would have hated to be examined in that room.

omfg that is the most amazing picture ive ever seen....it is soooo sad...i love it!

very good photo...your chair ones are your best...<3<3<3 it!!!

very very VERY scary photo....i would hate to half to walk down there alone.....