Some of you may think that the term “Urban Exploration” means to just explore around urban areas. In the literal sense you’d be right, but the term is actually applied a little differently. Urban exploration is the act of exploring man-made structures. These structures are most commonly either abandoned or aren't normally seen. On occasion I've gone “UE,” because I’m interested in the structure itself, what used to take place there, but usually I’m just trying to find a good picture.
Urban exploration can be a very dangerous hobby. Places are sometimes not easily accessible, because it’s either very remote, structurally unsound, or just flat out off limits. I don’t ever recommend trespassing, but this hobby often involves it. If you do it enough, chances are you’re going to get caught.
There’s a place not very far from me called “Overbook Insane Asylum.” It was built in 1895 and started off with just a couple of buildings, but it quickly became over populated, so the facility expanded. It wasn't long before the buildings covered 120 acres. The facility even had its own power plant, fire house, theater, and the patients were even fed with food from their own little farm. The farm had animals and they produced their own dairy products as well.
The asylum constantly housed thousands of “Inmates,” until newer and more modern treatments became available. Since around 1975 the numbers started to decline to only a few hundred and even less when its official close occurred in 2007.
After reading up on the facility, I started to identify it as a place you’d see in horror movies. Sub-standard care, abuse, and even negligent deaths were reported to have happened. It’s estimated that 10,000 people died there. In the winter of 1917 the facility suffered boiler complications that resulted in 24 patients freezing to death in 20 days. There is absolutely no way this would be allowed to happen in a hospital or prison today.
The facility has been featured in several paranormal TV shows, Weird NJ, and The movie “Choke” (supposedly crew and actors reported seeing ghosts there.)
Today, this facility is both structurally unsound and off limits. Although people were still there in 2007, most of the other buildings were long abandoned. Police patrol the grounds frequently and the entry points are constantly being boarded and bolted shut.
It’s easy to get lost in there, because so much looks the same. All the walls have pealed paint and plant life even grows inside. Exam rooms have needles and medication just lying around, a few beds are still made, and closets still have old clothes in them. It looks like people just suddenly left one day. The underground tunnels are probably the most dangerous place to be though. The ceiling is low, pipes hang down, there’s asbestos, and you can’t see anything without a flashlight. I remember opening a door and when I took a step I felt my feet hit something. I looked down with my flashlight and just saw legs. My heart skipped a beat for a moment until I realized it was a rescue Annie doll. Fittingly after that, I found the morgue.
Creepy Place!
