1,382 Comments for Dixmont State Hospital

wow... just wow.
I like the way you stretch your exposures, Mr. Mott, It brings out the detail..
As well as doing strange things to anyone in the frame.
Oh, yes, about the 'experiments' A lot were early attempts at making new treatments for the insane. A lot were basically wrong, and were misunderstood by laymen, thus hey became 'sadistic' and 'torture'. A lot were wrong, and a lot of people were hurt, but the controls we have now, nor the experiences gained from all of these older therapies, would be around except for this barbaric system of experimentation.
Look at the history of the lobotomy...

I agree with the tunnels extending to the Ohio River. A facility of this size would have probably needed a LOT of supplies in it's early years, before it became self-sufficient, and as anyone who lives in the area would know, winter is a bad time to move anything, with the ice and snow, this combined with the location, I would say that they got a lot of supplies off the river, especially in the colder months.

Every time I run into this painting, I freak out. I usually delve in Dixmont at night, with a muffled light, and these guys, if they aren't life sized, are damn close...
It always seems to happen after I hear the door banging, a freaky enough experience in itself..

A closer view of the exit from Hell.

Nice play with the light.

Oops, as I was about to say before I got on my soapbox..
Very nice work, Mr Motts, I like the way the light merges in the hall, and the greenery at the end, like an exit from hell.

The paint in the rooms is different from the stuff in the halls, more durable, tho keep the inmates from tearing it off / eating it. I think it was an enamel based paint used in the rooms, and a latex in the corridors.
But I may be backwards on that :)

Actually, it was a bad porno flick... Google "beyond the green door"

Naaah, it's a whatsamabobbin used in the '30s to connect to a bank of doohickeys that prevented oscillating back flow into the Cumezekyama so the whatchamacallit wouldn't pop the thingee into a overpressure. Simple science boys and girls!
These were designed to prevent the nasty eyebrow thing from happening!
(And they make a hell of a cup of coffee too!)

I visited Dixmont a week before they began moving in the earth movers... I spent 10 hours and 3 1GB memory sticks wandering the halls, tunnels, crevices, and crannies.
The strange things: I brought 3 flashlights in with me, 2- 3 cell maglights, and an old fashioned incandescent 2 cell in case of emergency. The maglights died extremely quickly, both were dead after an hour, and the old flashlight didn't even turn on. Fortunately, my 3LED keychain light led me to my cache of spare batteries, unfortunately, those too were drained. I bought the batteries an hour before I got to Dixmont... The LED light was my only source of illumination until I was picked up, and it was waning by 5AM. The pictures didn't come out either, the memory sticks were empty, as if formatted. since then I have used the camera, and all 3 sticks, and have never had a problem. The maglights are also healthy, as were the batteries I bought. weird.
I'll miss the old lady, I wish I had my own pics of her. Thanks, Mr Motts.

Wordology!

Arkitexture. I like that, it's all style.

Reminds me of Tony Shalhoub's head growing back in Men in Black:

"You insensitive prick! Do you have any idea how much that stings? "

Lynne regarding your articles you posted some time ago:

"Denise Bottorff's new job in 1976 terrified her....But that new, green Dodge Aspen she longed for wasn't free" I had a green 1976 Dodge Aspen. If you want my opinion she should have picked a better motovational vehicle. I can say that it would not have inspired me to work in a mental institution.

Now that I am behind the green door I don't see Linda Lovelace :-)

arkitexture ??? wtf?

can't you just see them billowing in some invisible wind. ugh creepy!