If you are a fan of the show Supernatural and everything those kooky Winchester brothers get into, then check in later this week as I attend the Supernatural Convention this Saturday in…Guess where?…Pittsburgh!
If you are goo goo gaa gaa about Dean and Sam then you will want to check back here or at my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FrankSayAuthor for up to date photos of celebs (maybe) and odd selfies that I end up in.
Why do I love The dark? From moody films, melodic music, intense novels and Halloween being my favorite Holiday, I love all things Dark. Most of the art in my apartment is black & white photography with high contrast. The above photo is from a recent road trip I made visiting my son at college and I happened upon an obsolete roadside amusement park that had been abandoned year before. I hopped the fence that held a “Do Not Enter” sign and took a few pics.
Why? I knew this may be my one and only chance to get a photo of this. I wasn’t about to pass that up.I am the only one in my family that leans towards the dark. Growing up I watched many a thriller or horror movie by myself. Not to be deterred, I ended up writing paranormal/suspense fiction as an adult. I myself am not depressed or moody (most of the time) I just get some type of weird peace from dark things.
My love is writing fiction about things that go bump in the night – or day! Recently I have been kicking around a new writing project that could place me into the world on non-fiction but, more to come on that note later. No worries! I will still be lurking about the dark corners of our consciousness; looking straight at things others only peek at from time to time. Hey, somebody’s got to do it.
It was a bucket list thing, simple as that.
The old Dixmont State Hospital for the Insane which, by the time I moved out to the western suburbs of Pittsburgh, had been demolished and the remaining land destabilized by developers for Walmart which caused a portion of the 407 acres to slide across route 65 and the Norfolk & Southern railway system.
photo posted on post-gazette.com
Why did I care?
The Dixmont asylum was closed in the mid-1980s and demolished in 2006. But the graves of the residents and some works still remain, approximately 1300.
Kewl!
My love of old, dilapidated things, including graveyards, drew me to the site. Early November proved a good time as the weeds and brush were gone from the wooded area that holds the remains of patients-some of which were soldiers from The American Civil War. The plots were still in relatively good condition. The graves were marked by small obelisk-like cement structures, numbered chronologically. A few had American flags placed in the ground next to the markers, indicating the person.
What strikes one after taking a Stroll among the nameless people that were laid to rest is a sense of sadness that these individuals were forgotten: Placed in a pine or wicker box and set in the ground with a marker of poured concrete and two metal stakes to hold it in place. The marker assigned and etched with the next number in line.
But these were different times.
Human life was not as highly valued as it is today in 2015. The cornerstone of the main building in Dixmont was laid in 1859, six years before the end of the Civil War. The country had a different reality. What is impressive is that the radical idea that the mentally ill should have a separate facility to care for them. Dorothea Lynde Dix (April 4, 1802 – July 17, 1887) was one of this country’s first female social reformers.
Forget about Betsey Ross: that was a fairy tale made up by her family to get their family name recognized! Dorothea Dix was the real deal! Check her out on Wikipedia.
What began as a facility for 113 patients in 1859 turned into 1500 patients in 1907; many of those patients were World War I veterans being treated for the first time of what would later be called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Unfortunately, from the 1950s to the 1970s the country was in the process of an ill-fated attempt to deinstitutionalize the mental health system.
The facility was slowly going bankrupt and in 1984 closed its doors. Many of the buildings stood for another twenty years to the benefit of ghost hunters, photographers, psychic investigators and vandals.
The cemetery is owned by the state and still has relatively good access if you know where to look. Over the years many volunteers has gave their time keeping the grounds clear. If you are so inclined, please pay a visit and your respects. Along with the photos I added a map of how to locate the cemetery. No, Google Maps does not have it listed on GPS.
So if a remote graveyard from a former psychiatric hospital in a wooded area of Western Pennsylvania is on your bucket list, you are in luck. And I have a map too! The Red “X” marks the spot!
I decided to compile a list of my top 20 spooky, scary, Halloween-ish type songs you will no doubt be assaulted with from now until the 31st.
I have a few classics in the list as well as TV and movie themes. Of the ones on my list, The Black Sabbath track scared the crap out of me when I was about8 years old and my big sister played it for me on the stereo in our basement. Brrrrrr!
saywhat13 