Post by bluefedish on Jun 24, 2007 15:34:36 GMT -5
When looking at the hauntings at Metro State Hospital, it is important to separate the facts from the legends that now surround them. The rundown buildings lie in Waltham, Belmont and Lexington, Massachusetts, cutting into the landscape of three very different communities. It was originally opened in 1930 in Waltham, Massachusetts and functioned successfully for decades.. Although many mental health treatments in the past century seem ludicrous to us today, Metro was always on the cutting edge of the field. As methods changed, Metro changed with them, and when severe financial cutbacks hit the state in the 1980’s, Metro felt them as much as the other institutions in the state. The buildings were plagued with overcrowding and understaffing. Unlike other hospitals that could be converted to prisons or juvenile detention facilities, Metro State was hampered by the design that had made it unique. The building was finally closed in the early nineties.
During the time it acted as a functioning hospital, its residents suffered horrible conditions and saw the worst of human sorrow. Lost souls filled the rooms, giving in to homicide and suicide by its residents. Doctors tinkered with experimental treatments like mind-altering drugs and electroshock therapy. The poor died without family around them to grieve. The psychic energy amassed in within its walls makes the hospital a prime area for the appearance of ghosts.
The reports started while the building was still open. Several employees spoke of shadowy figures seen at night. Described as a looking like a tall slender man but having no solid form, the unknown visitors would walk through walls or appear in locked rooms. Residents reported the same shadow, but the reports were ignored as delusion. Then nurses and security officers began seeing them too. One woman described at least three different men who all walked differently. She stated it became common knowledge around the main buildings and were talked about but ignored.
Other residents reported hearing the screams of residents who had passed, especially those who had suffered electroshock treatment at the hospital. One employee went to assist a certain patient he had had a close relationship with. The man was screaming about his mother, but when the worker, recently back from a vacation, went into the room a different man was there. His resident had died over the week.
Underneath the hospital runs a network of tunnels once used to travel to different parts of the 23 acre grounds. The tunnels were lit by intermittent bare light bulbs, and patients were often found in them after having wandered off. There were also reports of deviant workers would take willing and unwilling patients down there for sex. Whispers were often heard down in the tunnels although no people could be found. One man described always feeling as if there was someone behind him or in front of him, but he never saw anyone there.
The reports continued after Metro State’s closing. The longer it remained closed, the more the main building looked like a stereotypical haunted house. What was once a beautiful and intriguing piece of architecture was became covered with graffiti with broken windows and crooked doors. Adventure seekers and paranormal investigators found their way in. Inspired by their own fears and the media coverage of the asylum, they broke in. Equipment has registered activity such as EMF readings, bizarre changes in temperature and ghostly photographs. They have experienced the same shadows and screams reported while it was still open, but they have also felt sudden sadness and depression hit them and seen objects in plain sight move by themselves.
The ghosts are not confined to the buildings. There have been numerous sightings made on the grounds. Designers envisioned a active yard where patients would received occupational therapy and grow their own crops. Touch and sensory treatment was also utilized. This positive energy has also been imprinted at Metro State. In the daytime there have been reports of people with a glowing aura picking flowers with smiles on their faces. These people disappear when approached and have even been seen floating slightly off the ground.
Not all the spirits in the yard are happy. Poorer patients without families were buried on the site. Hundreds of bodies were laid to rest in unhallowed ground with nothing but a marker stating their religion and a number. Although there have been recent attempts to find their identities and give them a proper burial, their souls seem trapped. Glowing red and green figures have been seen in the areas of the old and new cemeteries. The emotions of these people are felt throughout the grounds. People have heard whispers and footsteps and one woman stopped walking near the grounds after she continuously saw visions of the patients while near the building. Although she walked without really thinking about what went on there, she would see them inside her head and feel what they had felt.
November 24, 2006: The Massachusetts Department of Public Safety, Massachusetts Department of Public Safety Police Department, Massachusetts Environmental Conservation Police and Massachusetts State Police state: Recently in the past week, there has been severe vandalism to construction equipment and one suicide on the grounds. The buildings are half gone and VERY unsafe. There is now construction workers there all day, and a uniformed Police officer (no more security) for 12 hour shifts. Please add this new information and/or remove your Met State entry. Thank You. - MA DPS Police
Selected Sources:
www.theshadowlands.net/places/massachusetts.htm
www.masscrossroads.com/metrostate
During the time it acted as a functioning hospital, its residents suffered horrible conditions and saw the worst of human sorrow. Lost souls filled the rooms, giving in to homicide and suicide by its residents. Doctors tinkered with experimental treatments like mind-altering drugs and electroshock therapy. The poor died without family around them to grieve. The psychic energy amassed in within its walls makes the hospital a prime area for the appearance of ghosts.
The reports started while the building was still open. Several employees spoke of shadowy figures seen at night. Described as a looking like a tall slender man but having no solid form, the unknown visitors would walk through walls or appear in locked rooms. Residents reported the same shadow, but the reports were ignored as delusion. Then nurses and security officers began seeing them too. One woman described at least three different men who all walked differently. She stated it became common knowledge around the main buildings and were talked about but ignored.
Other residents reported hearing the screams of residents who had passed, especially those who had suffered electroshock treatment at the hospital. One employee went to assist a certain patient he had had a close relationship with. The man was screaming about his mother, but when the worker, recently back from a vacation, went into the room a different man was there. His resident had died over the week.
Underneath the hospital runs a network of tunnels once used to travel to different parts of the 23 acre grounds. The tunnels were lit by intermittent bare light bulbs, and patients were often found in them after having wandered off. There were also reports of deviant workers would take willing and unwilling patients down there for sex. Whispers were often heard down in the tunnels although no people could be found. One man described always feeling as if there was someone behind him or in front of him, but he never saw anyone there.
The reports continued after Metro State’s closing. The longer it remained closed, the more the main building looked like a stereotypical haunted house. What was once a beautiful and intriguing piece of architecture was became covered with graffiti with broken windows and crooked doors. Adventure seekers and paranormal investigators found their way in. Inspired by their own fears and the media coverage of the asylum, they broke in. Equipment has registered activity such as EMF readings, bizarre changes in temperature and ghostly photographs. They have experienced the same shadows and screams reported while it was still open, but they have also felt sudden sadness and depression hit them and seen objects in plain sight move by themselves.
The ghosts are not confined to the buildings. There have been numerous sightings made on the grounds. Designers envisioned a active yard where patients would received occupational therapy and grow their own crops. Touch and sensory treatment was also utilized. This positive energy has also been imprinted at Metro State. In the daytime there have been reports of people with a glowing aura picking flowers with smiles on their faces. These people disappear when approached and have even been seen floating slightly off the ground.
Not all the spirits in the yard are happy. Poorer patients without families were buried on the site. Hundreds of bodies were laid to rest in unhallowed ground with nothing but a marker stating their religion and a number. Although there have been recent attempts to find their identities and give them a proper burial, their souls seem trapped. Glowing red and green figures have been seen in the areas of the old and new cemeteries. The emotions of these people are felt throughout the grounds. People have heard whispers and footsteps and one woman stopped walking near the grounds after she continuously saw visions of the patients while near the building. Although she walked without really thinking about what went on there, she would see them inside her head and feel what they had felt.
November 24, 2006: The Massachusetts Department of Public Safety, Massachusetts Department of Public Safety Police Department, Massachusetts Environmental Conservation Police and Massachusetts State Police state: Recently in the past week, there has been severe vandalism to construction equipment and one suicide on the grounds. The buildings are half gone and VERY unsafe. There is now construction workers there all day, and a uniformed Police officer (no more security) for 12 hour shifts. Please add this new information and/or remove your Met State entry. Thank You. - MA DPS Police
Selected Sources:
www.theshadowlands.net/places/massachusetts.htm
www.masscrossroads.com/metrostate
