State school

BARE USA MA - Abandoned Places in MA - Belchertown State School

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• published: 24 Sep 2015
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Visit http://BARE-USA.com #BAREUSA on social media Click on the timestamps below & skip to your favorite locations! Massachusetts didn't offer me a plethora of abandoned locations, but maybe I was just looking in the wrong places. In the end it didn't matter though because luck was on my side. The first location I scouted was the best location and this was a good thing because all the other locations didn't work out. My first stop was the Belchortown State School for the Feeble Minded and as you can tell by the name it was not the most inviting place to visit. The Belchertown State School was founded in 1922 and reports say that for most of its existence the school was a terrible place for its mentally handicapped and physically challenged patients. It was eventually shut down in 1992, brought to its knees by a number of high profile lawsuits. Some accounts report that staff routinely pulled teeth from patient's mouths to make feeding easier and as if that wasn’t enough, patients were known to be left in there own urine and feces soaked clothes for days. Today, Belchertown State School is known as one of the most haunted locations in Massachusetts. I didn't know the history at the time I explored the campus but in hindsight this is something I was thankful for. First I checked out the main auditorium, it was exactly what I was looking for. Entry was easy on account of the boards being pulled off the main entrance. And a lot of the roof had caved in letting plenty of natural light through to the rooms below. Next I explored what appeared to be Belchortowns hospital complex. All the windows were tightly boarded up making the inside pitch black. I think I'm a pretty adventurous guy, but wandering down the halls of an abandoned hospital was very uncomfortable. You can see in my footage that I rushed this exploration a bit passing each room hoping not to catch a glimpse of something unnatural out of the corner of my eye. For the most part, the rest of the campus was very well boarded up minus a few houses and other buildings I could access but in the end auditorium provided everything I needed and more. I knew this shoot was going to be special as I had the pleasure of working with not just one but two models, Arie and Rylie. They both brought a unique style and a natural beauty that contrasted nicely with they surrounding environment helping me to produce some amazing photos. When leaving the complex we were approached by an officer who asked if we had been in the facility and told us that we were not allowed to be back there. He also asked if there were others there and I said I could not speak for anyone else. As for myself, well, I guess this video will serve as my confession. If you like the prints at the end of the video they are available for purchase at http://bare-usa.com/category/massachusetts/ 0:00 Intro 0:10 Belchertown State School Auditorium 3:27 Belchertown State School Hospital Complex 6:14 Belchertown State School Dormitory 7:13 Belchertown State School Maintenance and Utilities 7:57 Belchertown State School Other / Unknown 9:33 Conclusion Music: "+++" by BL▲CK † CEILING (http://soundcloud.com/danocean)