hey all, I am a local Social Worker who lives near pennhurst now. A few years ago I managed a caseload of mentally disabled individuals who had resided at pennhurst. They where part of a class action suit who were moved out of there into nice community living arrangments and given government funding to live a comfortable life. There were some horrible things that happened there. My post is this. These spirts are quite possibly mental retarded.....and need to be approached as such. The dolly was a awesome idea. Some of the individuals who did reside there may have only been able to vocalize but not actually speak. Or some the individuals the lived there couldn't even walk but in the afterlife they might be pretty happy to show off. There is a odd possibility that on some level quality of life issues of the folks improved in the afterlife. Remember that this was literally home to these folks for a majority of there lives and they might not want to leave. For instance,some of the residence that where able to leave upon closing of Pennhurst choose to remain too.......
it's such a shame that this sort of treatment was allowed to go on for so long. And I'll bet that there's STILL this sort of thing going on, that we just don't hear about...
I have been to most of the (freaky lookin')state institution in PA. Same junk happen at them all.Imagine not being able to talk or walk and having to lay in your own filth. Workers would hose you down like a zoo animal and then you would lay there and rot from the moisture. The US is pretty now good with the handicapped...image the folks over in third world countries that get tied to trees while the family works the crops. Glad the guys went to check this spot. looking forward to somemore.
OMG, this is making me sad all over again.That reporter who broke the story and shed light on the atrocitys that were happening there deserves a Pulitzer, I hope he got one. Padude (since you said you've been to alot) or anyone else, Does anyone know why they don't tear all these old buildings/prisons/mental institutions down? I mean why leave them standing vacant? Maybe it's a dumb question.
I live on the other end of PA from "padude". I'm sure that one possible reason these places are left standing is because a developer hasn't come and proposed something new to be built on the sites yet. It must cost a fortune to tear down a place of this size, so somebody would have to undertake all that. There was a former mental institution in the Pittsburgh area that was torn down so that they could put in a new Walmart. They had all kinds of issues with subsidence - the ground was unstable. I'm not sure what happened with that. Also, some of these places have such architectural and historical significance that the communities will try to preserve them - like Eastern State Penitentiary. I often wonder what will ultimately happen to these places, because you can't make enough money doing ghost tours to renovate or maintain these buildings. They will have to be torn down eventually, I would think.
Originally posted by padude: hey all, I am a local Social Worker who lives near pennhurst now. A few years ago I managed a caseload of mentally disabled individuals who had resided at pennhurst. They where part of a class action suit who were moved out of there into nice community living arrangments and given government funding to live a comfortable life. There were some horrible things that happened there. My post is this. These spirts are quite possibly mental retarded.....and need to be approached as such. The dolly was a awesome idea. Some of the individuals who did reside there may have only been able to vocalize but not actually speak. Or some the individuals the lived there couldn't even walk but in the afterlife they might be pretty happy to show off. There is a odd possibility that on some level quality of life issues of the folks improved in the afterlife. Remember that this was literally home to these folks for a majority of there lives and they might not want to leave. For instance,some of the residence that where able to leave upon closing of Pennhurst choose to remain too.......
Welcome padude- your post is very insightful. I never thought about the patients who had passed there wanting to stay there. Most spirits that do stay earthbound usually do so for various reasons, attachment to property, to be near a loved one or unexpected death and they do not realize they are dead. It really is a heartbreaking situation. And I too hope that the after life is so much happier for them. It has to be because I do not believe in a cruel God.
Originally posted by lucygirl: Aahhh, OK, that makes sense. They just seem so unsafe to be left laying around, but what you said makes sense.
I agree. I often think of how dangerous these locations are when I watch the show. When Nick got cut on broken glass the other night...and the asbestos in the air...all the debris lying around...it's very dangerous!
I know, right? I've wondered that ALOT about those old abandoned sites. But, I am sure it must be very expensive to tear down. We don't have anything like that here, Tombstone I guess, and there's old hotels around in Jerome that are supposed to be haunted but they are tourist spots, not just sitting around abandoned. So it was kind of weird to me!
