Weather:
Temperature: 43 degrees F
Wind: calm
Humidity: 72%
Pressure: 30.37 inches and rising
Dew Point: 34 degrees F
Visibility: 10 miles

Location:
The former Metropolitan State Hospital is located at 475 Trapelo Road in Waltham, Massachusetts. The site occupies over four hundred acres of hilly and forested land that is roughly divided into two sections. The north side contains the hospital itself, several very large wards, dormitories, administrative buildings, and community structures (chapel, auditorium, ect.). The south side contains several dormitory buildings and some recreational facilities (basketball courts, ball field, playground, ect.). In between there is a large water tower.

Map of Main Facility (north side)

Satellite View of the Entire Property

The graveyard sits in a densely wooded area behind the water tower and alongside a dirt road that connects the site to the old morgue building (now demolished). It is best accessed by a path leading from behind the dormitory buildings on the south side of the property. The site is enclosed by three field stone walls. A plastic orange fence now lines the front edge

Background:
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts built the Metropolitan State Hospital as an insane asylum in 1928. During its heyday in the 1930s it housed upwards of thirty-five thousand residents.

The hospital closed in January 1992. Before long the abandoned buildings and the tunnel system connecting them came to attract neighborhood kids, drinking parties, homeless people, and would-be Satanists. Security guards reported seeing black-clothed figures roaming the property at night, even after significant efforts had been made to board-up and secure the buildings in the late 1990s.

The graveyard is approximately three-hundred feet wide and one-hundred feet deep and is surrounded on three sides by a low field stone wall. A pedestal supporting the remains of a now destroyed statue is situated at the middle of the rear wall. Although it has been cleaned-up somewhat, much of the area remains overgrown and many of the markers are concealed by tall grass and scrub. There are supposed to be in excess of three hundred and fifty people buried in the cemetery, although many of the markers are not visible. It is rumored that there are in fact many more bodies buried at the site in unmarked communal graves. There are a few flat marble grave stones with full names engraved on them. Most of the markers, however, are brick-sized concrete blocks that simply bear a number and a letter ("C" for Catholic, or "P" for Protestant).

First Impressions:
During an initial walk-thru, Jim reported spiritual activity which he described as unsettled or troubled. He also sensed that while curious and somewhat juvenile-minded, the resident entities were not malevolent. Kurt reported an anxious sensation and increased sinus pressure.

Investigation:
This investigation was conducted in a less regimented manner than our previous trip to Gilson. Individual members were allowed to more or less pursue their own interests and instincts.

Jim reported seeing a blue fog or mist hovering over several grave markers which Kurt then photographed. The results, photos of a substantial blue ectomist and a ball of blue ectoplasm sitting on top of a grave marker, are exceptionally interesting. Nothing was visible to Kurt at the time the photos were taken. No one was smoking, the ten point temperature dew point spread did not favor fog and none was visible, and it was not cold enough for people's to see their own breath.

Some interesting orb photos were also obtained that seem to be unlikely candidates for either dust or insects.

Several EVP recording were obtained.

No EMF, radiological, or magnetic anomalies were observed. During an EVP recording session with Jim, however, Kurt experienced an interesting temperature anomaly. He had one hand resting on a grave marker as Jim attempted to establish contact with the grave's occupant, John Vensky. After approximately one minute Kurt felt a wave of intense cold shoot-up his arm. The cold dissipated after the conversation was terminated. Kurt could not replicate the experience at either the Vensky grave marker or others nearby.

Kurt placed two AA batteries on a grave marker at the beginning of the investigation. These were fresh from the package and were tested with a voltmeter to determine that they were at full strength. They were collected at the end of the evening. After being given an opportunity to warm-up overnight, they were again tested with a voltmeter the following morning and found to be completely drained. Kurt performed this experiment several weeks before during a reconnaissance of the graveyard and obtained an identical result.

Paranormal Activity:
The hospital itself has a well-deserved reputation for being a terrible place. Over the years thousands of mentally ill people were locked away there and left to die. The staff published a newsletter (The Met State Disconnection) that bemoaned the poor conditions at the facility and lack of any real treatment. During the 1950s, MIT researchers are alleged to have conducted a program that involved introducing small amounts of plutonium into the cereal of resident children.

In 1978 a patient named Melvin Wilson murdered co-patient Anne Marie Davee, dismembered her body, and buried her in several shallow graves on the grounds of the property. Wilson kept seven of Ms.Davee's teeth in his possession. These were later found on him by staff, giving the institution the nickname "The Hospital of Seven Teeth." Pieces of Wilson's clothing and the presumed murder weapon (a hatchet) were also found two-months after Davee's disappearance. Despite these disturbing discoveries, an investigation was not made until nineteen reports of negligence by state mental health workers were looked into along with the Davee case. Two years after Ms. Davee had gone missing, Wilson himself led investigators to the graves.

Subjective Evidence:
Some investigators reported a feeling of anxiousness or change in pressure at the site. After leaving the site both Jim and Ron reported seeing shapes moving on top of the nearby water tower and a feeling of being watched. 

Conclusions:
Jim is convinced that some of the entities at the graveyard have stories to tell, particularly John Vensky. He advises returning to conduct further EVP research.

The less regimented nature of this investigation caused some organizational problems. Independent wandering around complicated EVP recording attempts and most members of the group expressed a preference for greater centralized control and a formal division of labor.

Paranormal Activity Rating: (scale of 1 to 4):