SmugMug > all-time keyword > psychological > Road Leading to the Possible Site of the MIlitary Hospital on Mount Misery
Melville, New York
SmugMug > all-time keyword > psychological > Possible Site of Mount Misery MIlitary Hospital
Melville, New York



Sometime in the 18th or 19th century there was an insane asylum on Mount Misery. Stories differ about exactly when, or if there was one which burned down, followed by a second which also burned down. It's also lost in time exactly where it was. What is generally agreed upon though is that the quality of care was horrifying, and that it was located in this out of the way area so that the screams of the patients wouldn't bother people living nearby. 

According to Bill Knell, www.homehighlight.org/authors/bill-knell, "Because workers were poorly compensated and lacked any training to deal with the insane or mentally disabled, the conditions were said to be atrocious. Patients were beaten or completely ignored. Everyone on the Mount and even farmers in areas surrounding it could hear the miserable cries of the mistreated and insane during the early part of each day and well into every night."

Supposedly, the building was burned down by one of the patients named Mary, the source of one of many Mary stories in the area, and that everyone inside, patients and workers alike perished in the flames. It is said that some nights, you can see a group of children walking along the road in clothes of the 1930s, who suddenly disappear at the site of the asylum.

Another legend tells of a military hospital build for returning soldiers from World War II, also on Mount Misery. Supposedly, there was never enough patients to keep it running and it fell into disuse till the 1950s, when it was suddenly pressed into service for more secret purposes.

Again, according to Knell, 

"In 1947 the hospital showed signs of reopening. Boards came off the windows and crews cleaned the place up. Cars and people came and went during all hours of the day and night, but no one in uniform could be seen. From 1947 until 1955, the hospital came under the control of some unknown government agency.

While investigating paranormal phenomenon in the area of the Mount during the 1970's, I started to look into its history. More then a few people mentioned and recalled the military hospital that existed there during the war, but all said it had been closed in 1945. A few recalled some unexplained government use of the facility from the late 1940's well into the 1950's, but could offer no details.. One man who has since passed away could. 


He told me that he became strangely ill while an Officer at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. He experienced bizarre hallucinations and went from being perfectly healthy to gravely ill. The Officer was transported to the hospital on Mount Misery. He recalls being there, but little else. "It was like being in a constant dream state. I never felt fully awake. I was constantly fatigued…tired. They kept giving me medicine." 


He was kept there for five months. Then in one twenty-hour period, he suddenly recovered. Restricted to just one small set of rooms in the facility, he never saw more then five people. "They were dressed like doctors and nurses, but had no insignia or military identification. When he was taken out of the hospital through a back service porch, he saw a sign that read, AREA 5. When the Officer arrived back at Fort Bragg, he made some very discreet inquiries. A friend and intelligence officer told him that Area 5 had something to do with Psychological Warfare experimentation and that he should not ask any more questions. 


A few years later, the Officer retired and decided to go back to Long Island to see if the hospital was still open. It had been closed and sealed by that time. But as he asked locals about the facility, they claimed to see lights and hear noises coming from the facility late at night and early in the morning. More then a few people phoned local Police saying that they heard men's voices coming from inside the old building and calling for help. I was told the same thing whenever I asked those living in the area about the old military hospital."

www.homehighlight.org/entertainment-and-recreation/travel...


None of the residents that I've asked has any knowledge of the place, and perhaps it never existed. However, with the aid of Google Earth I managed to track town a couple of spots.

This location caught my eye because in the midst of the forest, there appeared to be a clear space. Upon careful examination, one could just make out the foundation of a large, square building, not the type of structure used for housing such a swanky area. So I hiked my way in and found the spot. There is no way to reach the exact spot where the foundation lies. The whole area is covered with thick thorn bushes, not at all native to the area. And yet it's obvious some large structure stood on the spot. To the rear I found a long disused road which once led to the building, with a no trespassing sign still plainly visible. Near where the road ended, there was a couple of old out buildings, and while poking around the ground to the side, where a parking lot would be, I found a license plate dating from 1970. Oddly enough, it wasn't buried, or grown over, but was laying on top of the grass, as though waiting for me.

I've been in a lot of woods, and felt many strange feelings. But there's an oppressive weight to the area here, a sign that something once was here and now is lost. And maybe it's nothing. But it's odd that when they divided Mount Misery Road with Northern Expressway, the turn which led to the site was where they ended the road.

I could spend more time and find the truth perhaps. But somehow, I'd rather not know, and let my imagination be free.
SmugMug > all-time keyword > psychological > Outbuildings Near the Possible Site of Mount Misery MIlitary Hospital

Okay, so this place even gave me a bad case of the creeps. I had gotten off the trail, and found various strange trails leading into the thicket where the hospital might have been, and found myself fairly well lost. At last I came into a clearing and found these buildings still standing. The sun was beginning to go down and it was a long hike back through a supposedly haunted forest to the car.

I brought my little boy back here some time later, and he balked when he saw the buildings through the woods. I told him I just wanted to get some photos and he begged me not to go. I told him it was safe, and I'd be right back, and he could see me the whole time. "That's what you always say" he grumbled, and hid behind a tree so he didn't have to see me captured by the bogey man.
SmugMug > all-time keyword > psychological > Sweet Hollow Road and Mount Misery photo
SmugMug > all-time keyword > psychological > Sweet Hollow Road and Mount Misery photo
SmugMug > all-time keyword > psychological > http://www.stopalphotography.smugmug.com
SmugMug > all-time keyword > psychological > http://www.stopalphotography.smugmug.com
Road Leading to the Possible Site of the MIlitary Hospital on Mount Misery
Melville, New York
 > Road Leading to the Possible Site of the MIlitary Hospital on Mount Misery
Melville, New York
Road Leading to the Possible Site of the MIlitary Hospital on Mount Misery
Melville, New York
Photo by: toddatteberry • see photo in gallery