Pilgrim State Asylum (updated pics 6/20)

Located in Brentwood, NY, Pilgrim State Asylum was first built back in the 1920's. A large number of the buildings were closed back in the 60's to make way for more modern structures and while some of the old structures have been demolished (and still remain as mounds of rubble), several of the abandoned buildings still remain intact and in various states of decay and disrepair.

They're also really easy to get into and wander around in. A few weeks ago a friend and I went in armed with a flashlight, a digital camera, and a weapon or two (you never know who or what you'll find in huge multi-story medical buildings that have been abandoned for over 40 years) and set out in search of photo opportunities.

Overall, it was fairly creepy (at one point we swore we heard bats on the floor above us) but facinating. It would make a good setting for a Silent Hill movie...

nice, any history of fucked up shit at this one?

if it was an asylum active in the 20s and 30s I'm sure there had to be some messed up things going on.

You should have went at night. :D

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Originally Posted by portnoyd

You should have went at night. :D

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I would have.

There are a handful of abandoned sites in Colorado, one of the areas I plan on visiting is an abandoned Titan missile silo. Though, I'm not sure when that's exactly going to happen.

When I do go, I'll be sure to post some pictures up.

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Originally Posted by portnoyd

You should have went at night. :D

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word.

report back

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Originally Posted by portnoyd

You should have went at night. :D

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Wouldn't have made much of a difference, any part of the building not near a window was pitch black anyway.

But yeah, night would have been much freakier.

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Originally Posted by U K Narayan

I would have.

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I'm trying to come up with an idea for a short film to make there one night...the place is too creepy and cool-looking to pass up such a thing.

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Aside from this, Pilgrim also has another somewhat well-known history and tragically, it's one that has been described as having "nightmarish" violations of human rights. Stories of mistreatment of patients, forced electro shock therapy, lobotomies, and other scandals have originated here, allegedly worse than the ones that surround other institutions of this caliber. While doing research on the internet about these scandals, I discovered by reading articles that a few did indeed happen. In 1987, twenty workers were fired and/or suspended for patient abuse and drug and alcohol use. Then in 1996, an article in the New York Times deemed the treatment of patients at Pilgrim "unconstitutional". It was only in 2000 that Newsday exposed the institution for all of the investigations of deaths that occurred there. Now that I've learned these things, part of me is a bit glad that I did this disturbing research AFTER exploring Pilgrim!

Many of the rooms inside of Pilgrim were empty with the exception of a few leftover bed frames, dressers, medical equipment, and rubble. It's apparent that these buildings could very well be knocked down soon by the piles of crumbled cinderblock and asbestos in the rooms and hallways. There are also gaping holes in the walls and pipes exposed, which makes me believe even more that Pilgrim is being prepared for demolition. This belief isn't too farfetched, considering that about twenty buildings have already met the wrecking ball.

As with every abandoned asylum we investigate, we weren't leaving until we saw the morgue. And I must say, Pilgrim's morgue was no disappointment. It had sixteen body freezers from floor to ceiling, complete with the table on which the autopsies were performed. Above this table on the wall, the quote, "Let conversations cease. Let laughter flee. This is the place where death delights to help the living." was painted. We couldn't determine what the entire quote was at the time since part of the wall it was painted on was knocked out, but a quick search on the internet told me that it was a motto posted on the wall of the autopsy room of Dr. Milton Helpern, the medical examiner of New York City in the 1960's.

As we were about to leave the autopsy room, we looked behind the door and discovered the hook that was used to pull the body trays out from the freezers hanging on the wall. I was surprised that no one had moved it during the entire time that Pilgrim was closed. Of course, we left it where we found it in hopes that others who discover it will let it be as well.

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"Let conversations cease. Let laughter flee. This is the place where death delights to help the living."
creepy.

did you see the hook?

I like color pictures better, but nice pics anyway. Looks pretty creepy. I bet you kept thinking about what it was like while it was open, or what weird things happened there...

(I don't ascribe to the whole "It's B&W so it is more artsy/dramatic/sad etc. etc.)

The fourth picture with the spider web in the hallway is a great shot. Good work.

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Originally Posted by Shakey

"Let conversations cease. Let laughter flee. This is the place where death delights to help the living."
creepy.

did you see the hook?

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Wow, that's some crazy shit. Nice piece of investigating, Shakey.

No, didn't see the hook. We only explored for 45 minuts or so. I plan on taking another run out there, maybe this weekend. There's a lot I didn't cover. I want to find that morgue...