Danvers State Insane Asylum Memoir

[jasmin11263]

I also read (don't quote me on this part) that before it became a hospital it was an Indian tribal ground. I know fires happen all the time but one has to wonder about this particular fire.

I do believe in spirits, I do believe that one's soul can be restless when they pass in a violent manner and I do believe Danvers is haunted. I can't find any where that officials found the cause of the fire either.

[jasmin11263]

A lot of patients' bodies that went unclaimed by family were buried there in Danvers own cemetery by staff. Yes some people that went there got better but a lot were abused by staff & used as guinea pigs & a lot of them died, patients that now would never be committed to a hospital, but that's science (not the part about abuse obviously) A lot of them went there for mild illness or TB that went undiagnosed & being there made them worse than when they went there....continued...

[134dGE]

if i knew

[ROCKERGIRL7081]

:'( this is so sad :'( why would they burn it downn :((

[infinitesimotel]

I hope that scum company avalon and all those employees responsible for this atrocity go bankrupt and get tossed on the street. I read that back before it started to shut down, the heating was turned off which caused the pipes to break and spill water all over it (for no reason), thus starting the decay. The power used to heat it is just being blown off as excess... Figure that. I bet some fat scummers had their plans set a long time ago. Watch Session 9 for a good feature of this beauty

[phantasm5185]

There is a movie made about Danvers. It`s called Session 9. Pretty scary movie i would definitely reccomend it

[jbinvader]

I am unhappy they have turned it into condos. It was a part of history,it had a story. No matter it will always haunt people,looking down at you from that hill. I used to go up there and yes it was scary but sad at the same time,thinking about how many people lived and died up there. Most of them where not mentally ill,they had learning disabilities and their parents just dumped them there!

[jbinvader]

I wish they had just left it the way it was. I used to go up there and walk around and think how sad it was,what happened to all those people. Most of them where not insane,they had learning disabilities and where dumped off there and spent most of their lives there,died there. I went up there when they where building and took a few bricks from the original building. I am happy part of the original building is preserved. I wonder if people ever see or feel things?

[SuperAuschwitz]

My brother and his friends managed to get in the asylum in the late 90s.They grabbed old patient files that were in there they wanted to look around more but were chased out by the state police.I always wanted to go in there and i had a chance but my idiot friend at the time chickend out.Though i knew of a few spots where you could get a perfect up close look at it without worrying about getting arrested for tresspasing.

[ElectricShark]

@SuperAuschwitz,

Danvers State Asylum is an interesting place.

They converted one of the buildings into condos.

My friend lives there and it's rumored to be haunted.

Somewhere there's a graveyard but we can't find it.

If we could get a blueprint of the entire hospital, that would be good.

[MrSnowplowa]

loboguara1 you are so stupid its not an asylum again they were made illegal and first of all shut up if you dont live 2 blocks away from it like me its now gone only some of the frame is still up stfu

[Nikkinatasha13]

@MrSnowplowa god, anger issues much?

[thEannoyingE]

@Nikkinatasha13 i know right? this guy is nuts as much as he is ignorant about the history of mental institutions.

[loboguara1]

Apparently now, the condos are mostly rentals filled with Section 8s. Lots of police visits, people being drunk and all. It's now an asylum again!

[turbochrissie]

it was a curse

[wubblebutt]

i always wanted to see this place, it sounds weird but i used to always look up that hill from RT1 and wonder what was in that building, its were i got into abandoned places =) but when i heard that they were going to take i down to build @#$%ing condos i was out raged... danvers however will always be in my memory and i still look up that hill today.lol

[Nikkinatasha13]

lol yeah tru dat

[Moc1Productions]

ha sorry but what hill is it?

[boycrazy7412]

Danvers was shut down due to overcrowding and budget cut.

not just because they wanted to.

and some patients were moved. but the ones that werent as dangerous werent.

[SuperCereal15]

was it arsen?

[Nikkinatasha13]

idk i dont think they ever found out

[Thimmmyyy]

when someone purposely sets something on fire...a house or building for example

[hi5534]

just today, in michigan, 3 fires broke out, weird. lol

[hellsmaw84]

its really morbid and disgusting to turn a well-loved hospital into apartments or whatever they were creating. they should of kept the place in operation and completely up-to-date. there was nothing wrong with that hospital till they shut it down. i feel bad for all those that lost thier jobs and the patients that got booted out onto the street with nowhere to go. its completely sad

[Infuzija35]

Danvers asylum was great.I love it:DD.

[BabyCC12]

thats what they get

for messing with Danvers.

[Nikkinatasha13]

lol

[northvilletunnels]

Dont get to broken up it was the crappy new stuff that burned down.

[Nikkinatasha13]

"dont get too broken up"??

[northvilletunnels]

I was replying to GMJSSC's comment

The truth is the state allowed the building to become damaged by alowing the roof to leak. There were dozen of collapsed sections. It was a cool building and the developer ruined the part he saved. Only the shell was saved from the admin. It is also the location of the home of the judge that run the salem witch trials, it used to be Salem MA then they changed the name to Danvers.

[lilshane93]

yeah, Salem used to also be Lynn, Peabody, and part of Revere

[Nikkinatasha13]

ooohh =D

[insanekid321]

Why was the Danvers State Insane Asylum so famous?

[Nikkinatasha13]

Mainly because it held, in the beginnings of the 1900's, "insane" people in which they treated harshly. Some would get electricuted, and for the routine 'baths' they all stood outside naked and got sprayed down with a firefighter hose. It was just a piece of Danvers that should have been turned into a museum or atleast stayed as was but instead they had to turn it into condominiums - like we really need more of those.

[gmjssc]

Although it is bad the building burned because of historical significance, I still don't feel too bad about it, that place was just to creepy for me to coexist with.

[Nikkinatasha13]

Yeah true. I would have liked to visit it but I'd probably be scared to hell...lol.

[northvilletunnels]

It was the new construction that burned down. The part of the kirkbride that was saved didnt burn.

[gangstahboi1]

well its something ill never forget i live near that area really close luckily no1 was hurt

[Nikkinatasha13]

Yeah, me too.

[lilshane93]

they should have left the buildings alone! or signed a petition to say thats a historic land-mark so they couldnt tear it down or build condos up there... 2 late now tho =[

[Nikkinatasha13]

Yeah, I wish it was turned redone and turned into a museum about the insane asylum....rather than condominiums.

[northvilletunnels]

Many petitions where sent out. Theere were delays duw to preservationist lawsuits. In the end big money always wins. Avalon Bay destroyed the kirkbride.

[InfamousNYC]

Can you believe they made this place into Condominiums, who would want to live in a place with a history like this. Just my opinion

[Nikkinatasha13]

I agree. Whoever decided to knock a historical site to create condominiums was evidently a dumbass lol.

[phantomgirl2006]

There goes another histicorian bulding!!

[Nikkinatasha13]

Yeah, sadly =[

[igottaname]

What does the site look like now? How much of the Kirkbride still remains? I haven't been able to find any pictures of the place aside from the construction pics.

Such a shame that beautiful building wasn't restored.

[Nikkinatasha13]

I'm not quite sure, I've never been up there before.

[ghtp11]

yes only kirbride buildind an wards d,g

[bcbp14]

Anything left of it?

[Nikkinatasha13]

Yes, I believe that they began to repair the damaged buildings. They fire only occured in unoccupied buildings that had no sprinklers, so they just repaired what was ruined and rebuilt - from my understanding.

[apey22]

ok so what are they doing with this place now making it into something else or what

[Nikkinatasha13]

No, it's still condos.

[D00Gi3xfuck]

so sad to see danvers go.....i miss that place...~RiP~

[wubblebutt]

when i saw this on the news i was pissed but i was a little relieved that avalon lost alot of their condos

[Smedhammer]

Any relation to Mike ?

[Nikkinatasha13]

Mike...?

[sunra67]

the people who buy condos there are fools, there are so many bad vibes attached to that place, they are going to be haunted in their sleep, serves the yuppies right!

[Nikkinatasha13]

I wouldn't entirely insult them...I know a woman who lived near the Bates Street/Danvers site of the explosion and she moved to those apartments and then the fire happened there. Her kids are entirely horrified now.

[MattTrakker]

The logic that since Boston has historic properties it is okay to tear down most of them is ludicrous. It's thinking like that which will lead to nothing but shitty vinyl sided crap on every street corner. Shortsighted ideas that are contributing to the dissolution of the country, just like people who are proud to own Toyotas and don't mind sending money overseas.

[dnaut123]

Being the son of an Avalon Bay emplyoee and all, I can truthfully tell you that arson was commited at the scence. The ground is historic in all, but in Boston you've got so much historic buildings alreadly, the property is perfect for a top notch apartment complex. The 15 million dollar property has now been torched and rebuilding will go under way soon.

[Nikkinatasha13]

I don't rather favor the opinion in which there should be condos there. I rather lean to the side of the historic background of the land and believe it should have been preserved and the money actually spent to save these rather interesting buildings. But, what's done is done.

[88M325TC]

if you know anything about who did this call the MA Fire Marshals Office at (800) 682-9229, 6 Firefighters were hurt putting this fire out and we would like to see the person(s) who are at fault into jail (yes, it was arson)

[Nikkinatasha13]

I truthfully have no idea. I just saw when the fire began because my boyfriends mother was driving me home. I saw the smoke beginning when pulling onto route 1 south, and asked what it could be. Of course, at that time, I saw no embers. But, by the time we pulled into the Endicott Green, I saw it on the hill, and quickly called the police. They said they weren't aware of it and we were the first to call.

[MattTrakker]

It's still up in the air at this point, could have been electrical, kids, insurance fraud, etc. That building was a tinderbox because it had no sheetrock or sprinklers.

I was indifferent to this when I first woke up to the news because DSH "died" as soon as the tore down 2/3 of the Kirkbride and gutted the rest. Either way, all that got seriously damaged was a bunch of crappy condos that look like the Toyota Corolla of architecture, and one original spire from Danvers State was scorched.

[Nikkinatasha13]

Yeah. I truthfully don't think they should have built condos there. But, that's just my opinion.

[wubblebutt]

sorry i said that twice i didn't see itt get in

[Nikkinatasha13]

I don't know, but my family thought it was some lunatic who didn't want the new buildings built there because it was historic ground and what not.

[wubblebutt]

that could be possible too, if that was it i think their stupid by getting the hospital on fire

[Nikkinatasha13]

Yeah, but today my family was talking and they all said that it was arson. I think this will be a rather interesting subject to read about in the news, in my opinion.

[wubblebutt]

i was pissed when i heard it on the news i believe the company cimmited arson

[ghtp11]

most likly they ran out of money and thought they could get some more by setting it on fire i agree with

you

[wubblebutt]

that sucked i was pist when i saw it on the news....i think it was arsen