Hey guys! This week I turned 18 and I visited multiple asylums (honestly my favorite part). So far, I have taken two trips total to the Western Lunatic Asylum that is a short walk from my dorm and one to the Dejarnette Center for Human Development or the Commonwealth Center of Virginia.
These first pictures were taken of me on my 18th birthday. It was just an ordinary day of school and a little trip to Harrisonberg.
So one of my favorite things about the Western Lunatic Asylum is, someone went through floor by floor to talk about their dad. One of my favorites is writing on the window of a bathroom which says, "Thanks for the water, dad. I was parched." I know, heavily un-reverent but then again, I have a twisted sense of humor.
Ok, ok. This one is my ultimate favorite. It says, "Dad, you left the door unlocked. Love, JR."
I hope everyone has a great week and I can't wait until Friday!
These first pictures were taken of me on my 18th birthday. It was just an ordinary day of school and a little trip to Harrisonberg.
There are two abandoned asylums in Staunton. One is the Western Lunatic Asylum that opened in the 1800's and has had the surrounding buildings renovated into apartments. The main asylum is currently having work done and therefore, many of the rooms have been torn down. Nevertheless, I went in and discovered it anyways:
This was the beginning of my first expedition which was a result of my birthday. My roommate Kate went with me.
So one of my favorite things about the Western Lunatic Asylum is, someone went through floor by floor to talk about their dad. One of my favorites is writing on the window of a bathroom which says, "Thanks for the water, dad. I was parched." I know, heavily un-reverent but then again, I have a twisted sense of humor.
Ok, ok. This one is my ultimate favorite. It says, "Dad, you left the door unlocked. Love, JR."
The orderly watch box over the common room.
Again, the Dad problems continue...
So, I was looking for some fun pictures to take do to the lack of rooms and supplies when I found this upturned fork on the ground. Then, this picture was born.
Remember that post a couple of months ago when I took a spontaneous trip to VA? I mentioned visiting the asylum and one thing a found was a closet with a wall of painted scissors that had patient's names underneath them? Well, here it is!
The attic.
Across the street there was an abandoned mill and I went in there for just a bit, too:
All in all, the experience was still eerie and fun regardless of the torn down rooms and lack of supplies to gather information. I also took another trip yesterday with some other girls from my dorm:
My souvenir. I think it is pretty cool.
After my first trip tomorrow, I was talking with some other girls from the dorm about another asylum, the Dejarnette Center for Human Developement/ Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents. It is just a short drive from campus, right past the local Walmart:
Now, this asylum is like a walk-in horror movie. There is only one entrance and exit due to all the windows and other created entrances being boarded up. With everything else being boarded up, it is pitch black inside. This is a great place to gather information. There are patient files (which I might have taken with me), old flashcards and children's books that are used scattered on the floor. There are plenty of rooms and left behind evidence. It was a really fun experience for as long as the other girls would allow it.
We started by going inside and decided that we would search for another entrance and thus walked around both buildings and crawled through a hole in a fence to the original entrance. There is also a crematorium and we walked over and peeked through a broken window, Due to "noises" the other girls decided it was time to leave until I begged to venture back in. Therefore, we had a very short trip inside the building and again due to "noises" we all left.
Luckily, I have someone who is awesome and who will be happy to go with me this Friday! I am so stoked even though it will be dark. The only thing I am wary of is venturing too far (I'm still very much tempted too) from the one exit and entrance.
Here is what I learned: Both asylums were ruled by Dr. Dejarnette who heavily believed in eugenics, the forced sterilization of patients in the name of natural selection. The original location, The Western Lunatic Asylum was originally and for some time a very well respected, relaxing place to be admitted to, until Dejarnette. As eugenics was inflicted on the patients, eventually came the lobotomy (most notably the pre-frontal), shock therapy, high and low temperature baths, ect.
Dr. Joseph S. Dejarnette
His Ode to Eugenics:
This is the law of Mendel,
And often he makes it plain,
Defectives will breed defectives,
And the insane breed insane.
Oh why do we allow these people
To breed back to the monkey's nest,
To increase our country's burdens,
When we should only breed the best?
I hope everyone has a great week and I can't wait until Friday!
