Starbody

Northampton State Hospital, originally uploaded by Kirkbride.

With Halloween only weeks away, I’ve been putting up decorations on the house and planning some of the festivities to come. In keeping with the spooky atmosphere, I ask you, what could be spookier than an abandoned insane asylum?

Awhile back I’d seen a movie called Session 9 which was actually pretty crappy (you can’t expect much from a movie with David Caruso in it) except for the fact that it was filmed in the decaying ruins of Danvers State Insane Asylum in Massachusetts. Just the idea of being there gave me the chills and led me to the eerie and beautiful photography of John Gray. His talent is clearly capturing abandoned buildings and spaces that seem to take on a life of their own in his images.

And if you haven’t given yourself enough of the spooks, head over to Ethan McElroy’s Flickr stream for more fantastic shots of asylums and other architecture including a beautiful set documenting The Great Western Staircase in the New York State Capital Building. Who knew?

Get your spook on