Woody Guthrie at Greystone Asylum

[quad1000]

Wow, that wasn't depressing...

[pewtercatmumbojumbo]

Cool video.

[RiverSolitaire]

Woody Guthrie was the Jack Kerouac of music? Who the hell wrote this shit? Woody Guthrie was performing and writing music years before Kerouac was born, if anything Jack Kerouac was the Woody Guthrie of writing, which is still bs.

[XCSurfr]

Are there any abandoned buildings still up?

[kenjohan]

Beacause of the horrible background music it's almost impossible to hear what people say at times. :-(

[omgwtfwhoami]

Grew up near this place. So creepy.

[woodysalcove]

Some sad Woody Guthrie history. His misdiagnosed Huntington's Disease landed him in Greystone Asylum where they thought he had schizophrenia. If you ever watch the movie Bound for Glory, it is a good history of his life and struggles. There is also a movie on Pete Seeger's life which is a must for any folk fans to watch.

[airsoftsol]

Is this private property?

[brokentwice78]

I remember visiting this place a few years back in the middle of the night. Most of it is still in use, but there are buildings that were abandoned.

[Sakja]

Didn't they tear down the old buildings in 2008? They built a smaller facility on the same grounds.

[WeirdNJTV]

No, the tore down some buildings, but not the main building.

[1canyonguy]

I remember the magicky trees-

[christineb74]

i was actually a patient at gs after my boyfriend commited suicide. i have to say, it was refreshing to see a documentary portraying the talent of an icon in a historical setting instead of the usual old ghost stories. i never saw any "ghosts" while i was there, but i did go exploring in the old buildings before they were torn down. i actually have a sheet from 1930 or so with a list of the patient's meds. interesting stuff!

[sk8erFORlater]

i live like 2 minutes from this place... its freaky lol, also theres like a swamp net to greystone and theres fences all around it with barb wire and signs that say the waters contaminated

[SIDESHOWSIT0]

hey guys .. do you know if this is still worth visiting ? im going to NJ and wanted to check it out .. if so ... is there a way in from the back ? or ?

[quack447]

There is a lot of security there. You could sneak in, but your going to get caught. Not to mention that many of the buildings are condemed and it would be extremely dangerous.

[ariannaaaaaaaaaaa]

Did you get permission to go inside? Or did you just sneak in? Haha :] I want to go!

[gadesmcp]

hey woody guthrie i wrote you a song..

[andyclaire]

oh woody. :(

[gamoonbat]

I believe that the song he got paid the $10,000 for would have been "Roll on, Columbia"?

[joebeans1954]

worked for the state of NJ......Used to get gas there

[x0Zomg0x]

its sad its all run down i hope they keep it i went there to go take pictures and 3 rude ass cops kicked us out can't even go look at it anymore

[the3pic1]

that kinda like the snuff factory in helmetta nj.. although my friends and i may have tore down a door and gottin in.. but u get kicked out for just bein on the property

[thurintheelf]

it says it never aired, but i remember watching this on the History Channel in Venezuela

[spear224]

greystone is creepy. i remember a couple of years ago that a patient supposedly escaped from the new building. scared the hell out of me. =P

[smichael90]

Wow! Urban exploration and music history in the same clip!

[crazypictureguy]

Cool Video

[87cadillachearse]

This land is your land. Nice.

[WhatKindaPower]

this place is crazy, there are also underground tunnels which connect the buildings. marlboro is crazy too.

[darkdeadsage]

is this place still standing

[quack447]

yeah

[AssMunch123456]

were in nj is this

[harpervalleypta123]

sad

[checkyalaterman]

That place is huge!

I'm from Morris Plains, and everytime I go back, I drive along Greystone.

There are some really, really old buildings.

[tubecraft5]

My grandmas sis in law was in Marlboro asylum...she had early onset Alzheimers before they knew what alzhiemers was. So they locked her up in Marlboro...grandma said when she went to visit her, she was in a high chair for adults and they kept her in a gigantic crib and did shock treatments on her head.

[90steenager]

As an editor, I'd advise you against the spooky music and gratuitous old film effect. Interesting all the same though.

[Queen0fCups]

And the reason there are so many less people in mental institutions is because we no longer require people who cannot care for themselves because of mental capacity to be confined - we let them be homeless. And we no longer lovingly call them hobos.

[stillrob420]

is this still standing?

[Prettyflowerchild]

1954 is the year my big sister was born... and this video made my heart beat really fast, and my stomach go in knots........ Scary flashback, Wierdnj, or something...... RIP, Woody.

[chezaswulf]

poor acting, but that's ok. ^.^;;; hehe. NJ rocks, weird nj is coolllllllll. cheza

[camoboy1]

Greystone Property is now currently being used again as of July 2008 for mental health. As for this gigantic builiding.... i have no clue if it is being demolished yet. I know it's still there... reminds me of the silence of the lambs asylum.

[KafkaCrow]

This video is a little sensationalist, but it's good otherwise.

[Ninyae1]

Let's not forget the part Joe Hill played in the line of hobo protest singers. These people were the true Americans; the America I like to think still exists beneath that veneer of artificiality so blindly supplied by the Corporations.

[Giovannisenzaterra]

God bless you Ninyae1.Now here in Italy we have the fascists came back!

Thanks to that mobster named barlusconi

[lonelywan]

Some people have threatened to have me committed after hearing me sing, but I keep playin' that old time folk music all the same.

See our version of "Come On Day" at my youtube page.

[Ragsdolly]

Woody, sadly, inherited Huntington's Disease and degenerated severely during the last years of his life. Hospitalization was necessary.

[seanamundson]

I've heard that Woody didn't really belong there. Now a days its hard to say what might've happened.

[TheCanyonguy]

well he wasent nuts at least in the conventional way, perhaps a head of his time in a unconventional way

[ffej980]

greystone was a warehouse for "mental" patients...they used shock treatments...thorazine...etc..­.i knew someone who suffered threw that place...ironicaly at the same time as woody guthrie

[rlanantelope]

Woody is still not even truely nationaly known. The US goverment even stole his one song, American the Beatuiful. Now called this land is your land

[llfrance]

I don't agree; maybe it's just your age but I knew Woody long before Arlo. And he had hundreds of songs! Ilfrance

[bce5150]

The land is your land and American the beautiful are totally different songs.

[bigboehmboy]

hahaha how ignorant. Guthrie wrote "This Land is Your Land" partially because of his expressed dislike for "God Bless America". He is one of the most influential early folk singers, in addition to being a mentor to Bob Dylan.

[thegriffin88]

Well I think the rest of the commenters can all agree that you FAIL.

[IBMeddling]

Was Woody Guthrie nationally known? Or was he better known after he died?

[robatrhema]

He was huge while he was still alive

[TheCanyonguy]

What are you talking about ? Dude he and his legacy are now larger then ever was!

[proffromgview]

both

[eksdem]

Very interesting tour.

We used to hold "hootenannies" at my high school in the early 60's. Groups of us would play guitars and sing folk songs like "This Land is Your Land" and "If I had a Hammer." Though we didn't sing "God Bless America" at the Hootenannies, we had no problem with appreciating its beauty.

[marykmusic]

"This Land is Your Land" was one of Woody's greatest protest song; the tag line originally was "Is this land made for you and me?" He wrote it as a reaction to "God Bless America" which he saw as imperialist propaganda. Which it was.

[damianmann]

I spent a bit of my youth there. My parents sent me there cause they caught me with pot. Another rumour i heard was that James Taylor wrote "Fire and Rain" about a woman who spent time there

[lonelyboy03]

Wished the hell they had kept James Taylor.

[AcePilot101]

Woody Guthrie (deceased), son Arlo Guthrie still alive. Pete Seeger, still alive.

Bob Dylan, still alive. Folk era, Woody wrote "This land is your land, this land is my land".

People before Profits!!

[craigowl]

Woody told it as it was, that great American dream, the too few rich got richer, the too many got poorer. 1956 was in the height of the McArthy era communist witch hunt.

[Queen0fCups]

"Woody told it as it was, that great American dream, the too few rich got richer, the too many got poorer."

That is complete crap - people in general are wealthier than ever - and poor people enjoy a standard of living historically unprecedented - microwaves, cell phone, cable, etc.

[paraisokoto]

The fascist destroyed him.

[deanwil74]

your 2 doller shoes dont fit my feet

[sethsmom23]

Not sure if this was someones personal documentary but it was enjoyably knowledgable none the less

[reckonman]

woody went fucking crazy cause bob dylan wouldnt leave him alone

[marykmusic]

A bit simplistic... Huntingtons's disease is heriditary. Woody's mother had it and gradually had more and more psychotic episodes because of it. Several of Woody's children had it as well. Toward the end of Woody's life he was losing control over his body as well as his mind and couldn't speak clearly either. Dylan essentially was one of his visitors in the last days in a different facility, and it was reported that he sang many of Woody's songs back to him. Woody seemed to enjoy it.

[sonofsawdust]

Did you happen to run into Richard Kramer there?

[BEATNIKCASS]

nut houses were great in the 60S. full of characters and comeraderie. i was in one for while.these days governments are too mean to fund any, so now nuts live on your streets.

[dianebofoz]

I thimk Bob may have been simplifying things a bit. we've got to make nicer places though!

[xpdnc12]

where is this place?

[midnightmoonshine]

There is also a huge catacomb beneath the complex... hundreds of utility halls, and all the doors you come to are heavy and often will lock if closed. Creapiest place i've ever been

[Parry1990]

yes dylans exact words HE ONLY HAD THE JITTER'S this video is a lie

[DjonPompe]

Clowns, making light of tragedy. See "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" for context. That was real at the time Woody Died. These talkers are jerks.

[greenhornet59]

Great Videos!!

[lickableplum]

even bob dylan said guthrie just had the jitters

[phuddup]

went there the other night, and got shut down by the cops, guess i have to be famous/crazy to get in there.

[DanielINC]

WOW! Thats was interesting. Bob Dylan eh? Thanks!

[vmt1]

Last evening I saw Country Joe McDonald's tribute to Woody Guthrie in Berkeley, CA and told my friends about this part of Woody's life that Joe didn't mention. I am a native of Morris Plains and besides the imposing buildings, I remember Greystone's dairy barns and the cows grazing by rolling green hills- it's a beaucolic setting for a horrific place.

[kingofwhoville]

awsome video. keep up the good work

[gymnart]

Some of the pictures of Greystone kinda reminded me of another asylum, Marlboro.

Thanks for the interesting video guys!

[infamousdx]

marlboro has an asylum??? my cousin's live there... interesting.

[elise21315]

AHH, wow. I seriously live really close to this place (Less than a mile). My sister goes around the grounds with her friends sometimes and they hear and see some pretty creepy stuff. Let's not get into details.

[Berkeleyappho]

Greystone was hell on earth. Huntington's Disease is a neurological disorder, NOT a mental illness. My brother was put there for "an overreaction to childhood" and they wouldn't release him because my mother was single, even though it was a voluntary committal! He was fine when he went in, but having to constantly fight off pedophile attendants and pedophile patients took its toll.

[gerigurll]

The History Channel can't hold you guys back... here's to bigger and better things! Great story-- I loved reading about it in the magazine and now this video brings it to life. Looking forward to many more Weird NJ posts!

[ricklude]

I delivered a few patients there in my day and the place was always "overwhelming" in it's feel. Alot of the mistreatment stories are VERY true. There was a Dr. "G" who would put pt.s in a "holding room" (more like a padded solitary confinement cell)EVERYTIME we brought one to intake without cause. Thank God it's gone.

[loopypoopydoopy]

yea i just looked on the forum and did you guys reset it? because i had a couple topics and it seems to be that they are gone now, my name is unkkut on the forum and yes all of my topics are gone, but its the one in morrestown supposevly the best place to live in america even though there are ambulances and cops flying all over the place.

[loopypoopydoopy]

very nice video M&M you have any info on the bag lady? could you pm it to me because i did have it on the forum. Maybe you should check that out?

[WeirdNJTV]

Which bag lady are you referring to? I'm sorry, I must have missed that post on the forum. Could you let me know the link to it so I can check it out to see if perhaps we do have a file on her? -Mark M.

[roan22777]

Wow this place reminds me of the famed Byberry in Philadelphia, which is slowly being torn down. My father loved Woddy Guthrie. I wonder if he knew he had Huntington's disease.

[lextigrexattaque]

i love woody guthrie... and robert zimmerman!

[jgurbisz]

Very Interesting

[AnimeDykePhan]

awesome...Love this place.... thanks Mark and Mark :)