Athens Lunatic Asylum

ATHENS, OH - March 17,2014

Athens Lunatic Asylum, also known as The Ridges, was once known as the Athens State Hospital. The structure was established in 1868.
This place gave off a very eerie vibe. Even though the place is now partially an art museum you still can't get over the history of what sort of things happened and all the people who suffered in this place. As you walk around the building the walls talk to you without saying a word. 
Silence. An eerie silence surrounds the structure. Even though part of it is now gone, it won't make the history and story of this Asylum be forgotten. Many patients would scratch messages on the walls, wishing someone would hear their cries for help. The bars on the windows turned to hospital into a prison. A cold, lonely, depressing prison. 
The police watch this building very carefully. Many people come to go inside and get very disappointed that they cannot. But the outside is worth seeing even if you can't go inside. The inside is too deteriorated to explore. Even parts of it have been torn down. There is also a rumor, I'm saying rumor because I don't know the whole truth, there was a woman who escaped and locked herself in the tuberculosis ward only to be found dead from freezing to death. Her body left a white stain on the concrete. I didn't get to see this because it was torn down. But I can't imagine how horrifying it must have been.

The walls on the outside have some messages that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But the patients must have meant something by it. It looked really difficult to reach through the bars to write these messages, but it was possible. The walls are like a diary of the patients who suffered in this dreadful place. 

Maybe they scratched the walls out of anger? Who wouldn't? Wouldn't you be angry if you were trapped in this place of misery? 

The vultures were obsessed with this place. I wonder what it is about it. Maybe the variety of places to perch on? Or maybe it's the nearby cemetery that attract them. Who knows but they always seem to be circling.

The bars on the windows may have a beautiful design but imagine being trapped behind them day after day until finally your death. It would be difficult for me since I'm always wanting to change things around. These people didn't have that option.

IF WALLS COULD TALK