Crumbling roof
The old Plymouth County Hospital, originally named the Hanson TB Hospital, is a favorite venue for ghost hunters, risk takers, and troublemakers in my home- town of Rockland. Built in 1923, the structure served as an isolation and treatment center for tuber- culosis. It was eventually converted into a general-purpose hospital. After it closed in 1992, the building remained aban- doned. Abandoned by the living, that is. Some friends of mine have reported hearing strange, unexplainable sounds at the hospital, and a few even claim to have seen apparitions, if only for a moment. This is a pretty old building, and it is a verified fact that people have died there. Together with the plethora of eyewitness accounts, I felt I had enough ground to launch my own investigation. I must stress that my activities during this investigation were illegal and should not be attempted at home. The building is condemned, boarded up, and fenced off. Going inside, or even over the surround- ing fence, is trespassing and the police take it very seriously. But I had to find out. If any building looks haunted, it’s the old Plymouth County Hospital. Standing in front of the foreboding structure, I must confess that I hesitated for a while before walking in. Once inside the creepiness factor sky- rocketed. I had to reign in the urge to flee. All about the place were hospital beds in various states of disarray, some made up with sheets and pillows, and others with- out a mattress. The curtains used to par- tition patients from each other still hung from the ceiling. But although I looked for them, no ghosts exposed themselves to me. Upon entering the old X-ray room, I felt a strange sensation. It was as if I had barged in and disrupted something. There was table in the middle with lights and knobs, and a walled off area in the corner where the technician would have stood to be protected from the radiation. Walking into that room felt something like walking into the wrong classroom. I felt self-conscious and embarrassed. It was a strange feeling to have in an empty room. For a second, I felt that there were surprised and confused eyes on me, but nothing moved, and the feel- ing passed. Is the old Plymouth County Hospital as haunted as people say? I cannot give a de- finitive answer. I explored the area pretty thoroughly, venturing into the basement, and top floors trying to evoke the wrath or the presence of the spirits. Alas I could not muster a response from the other world. However I would not dismiss the validity of the claims based on this. The building does seem to radiate discomfort, and cer- tainly gets your nerves on end and ready for Halloween.
