I’m reading Chris Mooney’s The Secret Friend, a book that I got for Christmas. Part of the way through I realized that the mental hospital that he uses as a backdrop for part of the story is an actual location that I used to pass by when out running. This place creeped me out big time but I still loved to run by there, because I’m weird I guess. It was out of the way and hard to find, hidden amongst twisting roads, tall trees and at the top of a hill. The structure had the same type of sinister appeal that you get when looking at the hotel in The Shining.
The photos below are a small sample from what I found on the official site for The Danvers State Insane Asylum. There are so many other amazing shots there, including some from the tunnels underneath the building.
I was sad to hear, via wikipedia, that the building was torn down a few years ago. Subsequently, as it was being turned into an apartment complex, it burned down.
