Underground tunnels used to travel between
buildings at Metropolitan State Hospital, also
used in the filming of “Girl Interrupted”.
Waltham Metropolitan State Mental Hospital or Met State as locals refer to it has become known as one of the most haunted places in Massachusetts. This year marks 11 years since Met State has closed. During its operation and in the years since, people have reported hearing voices, seeing apparitions, and finding blood spattered on the walls. The approximate 400 acre grounds are home to some 40 buildings that house different wards, many of which are connected with underground tunnels. The tunnels themselves were even used in movies such as Girl Interrupted. The buildings range in age, the oldest dating back to 1927, just 6 years before the hospital itself was opened. There are two separate hospitals on the grounds: the main hospital and the Gaebler Children's Hospital.
The terrible patient conditions can only contribute to the feeling of fear associated with this place. In 1990 the horrible treatment of patients was finally made known to the public. Here is an except from an article in a March 1991 edition of the Boston Globe:
Michael Bogosian, a 32-year-old supervisory investigator
for the department, recalled a case in which
one patient was discovered to have mysterious burn marks
around his mouth.
"The first clue came from a nursing supervisor," Bogosian explained. "When she raised her hand to smooth her hair, the patient shrank back into a corner in a show of dread." Other patients in the unit exhibited similar reactions.
Investigators learned that two patients in the unit suffered from an illness that compelled them to eat cigarettes. From interviews with reluctant staff members, Bogosian learned that several staff workers would throw lighted cigarettes on the floor and watch the patients leap to swallow them.
Outside of the Pathology building at
Metropolitan State Hospital
The investigation revealed that some half-dozen
staff members were also involved in punching and kicking
the patients, while another half-dozen knew about the
abuse but failed to report it.
In another case, a mental health worker forced a blind patient to strip and painted a swastika on his buttocks.
In the most recent highly publicized case of patient abuse, investigators spent about seven months and interviewed more than 100 people to find out who was involved in a pattern of sexual abuse of female patients at Metropolitan State Hospital. In November, department officials announced the firing of four hospital workers in connection with the sexual abuse of five female patients. The department also disciplined 31 other staff members for failing to report their knowledge or suspicions about sexual abuse at the facility.
There have also been a multitude of suicides and even a murder on the property. In 1978 Ann Marie Davee, a patient of the facility, was murdered by a co-patient Melvin Wilson. Soon after her disappearance, hospital staff found another patient in possession of seven of Miss Davee's teeth, giving the hospital the nickname of "The Hospital of Seven Teeth". Miss Davee's fate remained a mystery until her dismembered body was found two years later, buried in "three or four holes", said Kenneth Wayne, an attorney general's spokesman.
"The first clue came from a nursing supervisor," Bogosian explained. "When she raised her hand to smooth her hair, the patient shrank back into a corner in a show of dread." Other patients in the unit exhibited similar reactions.
Investigators learned that two patients in the unit suffered from an illness that compelled them to eat cigarettes. From interviews with reluctant staff members, Bogosian learned that several staff workers would throw lighted cigarettes on the floor and watch the patients leap to swallow them.
Outside of the Pathology building at
Metropolitan State Hospital
In another case, a mental health worker forced a blind patient to strip and painted a swastika on his buttocks.
In the most recent highly publicized case of patient abuse, investigators spent about seven months and interviewed more than 100 people to find out who was involved in a pattern of sexual abuse of female patients at Metropolitan State Hospital. In November, department officials announced the firing of four hospital workers in connection with the sexual abuse of five female patients. The department also disciplined 31 other staff members for failing to report their knowledge or suspicions about sexual abuse at the facility.
There have also been a multitude of suicides and even a murder on the property. In 1978 Ann Marie Davee, a patient of the facility, was murdered by a co-patient Melvin Wilson. Soon after her disappearance, hospital staff found another patient in possession of seven of Miss Davee's teeth, giving the hospital the nickname of "The Hospital of Seven Teeth". Miss Davee's fate remained a mystery until her dismembered body was found two years later, buried in "three or four holes", said Kenneth Wayne, an attorney general's spokesman.
The cadaver holding cells inside the morgue at
Metropolitan State Hospital
All in all the Metropolitan State Mental Hospital, with its furtive history and exciting happenings, certainly isn't a happy place. I for one wouldn't want to work there night after night and I commend those that put up with the harassment from visitors alive and dead.
Originally published in Acrimony Magazine Issue #4 November 2003
