The Isolation Hospital

After being unable to gain access to the first location we had hoped to explore that day, The Unknown Cameraman led us to a spot previously recommended by a fan. I pointed to an immense tan structure that stood isolated on a hill, commenting on its beauty. “Yup, that’s it,” my partner-in-crime replied. This would be the largest building we've had the pleasure of exploring.

We spent over an hour scouting the area, trying to find a point of entry where we would remain unseen. When the voices of neighbors died off, we sprinted toward the empty hospital and made our way inside.

The hallway we crawled into had been battered from years of neglect; layers of paint chips, dust, and glass covered the ground. Once we slipped the respirators over our faces, the exploring began. 

At the end of the hallway was a room with walls of old, molding brick. Stacks of boxes had been tipped, revealing unused hospital supplies.

Realizing the sun would begin setting soon, we hurried to see what the other floors had to offer. The reality of the hospital once being used to house the mentally ill became evident by the grating on a few of the windows.

Behind the doors of the next few levels were reminders of those who were treated here; we came across mattresses, plates, and even a half-finished crossword puzzle.

The next floor held a large room once used as a cafeteria, complete with several fascinating doors; it was obvious by their age that this wing of the building had not been used for decades.

 Curious as to what the other side of the hospital had to offer, we stealthily crossed the roof into a room filled with papers destroyed by a fire. The other parts of this floor, however, were much more pristine.  

Empty vials and broken glass were strewn across the floor of the newly abandoned hallway. An elevator, much newer than the one I had discovered in the left wing, stood next to a calendar which read "2010 Holiday Schedule."

A few rooms on this floor featured laboratory supplies and computers, but the darkroom, seemingly untouched, ended up being a favorite for both of us.

After maneuvering around a board blocking the next level, we found ourselves in a large open space prepped for remodeling. Oddly enough, we had stepped back in time again: pasted to the wall was a fire safety permit with the date "4-19-97."  

With rooftop shots in mind, we ascended the stairway where we were, once again, brought into a different decade. Yellow paint came off the walls like dead skin, exposing the colors that had come before it. 

At the top of the steps laid a small room with a doorway to the outside world.



A little bit of sunlight still hung over the horizon, convincing us to explore one last level on the way down. Machines from various time periods intrigued me, but this final floor displayed my favorite artifact of the day: biohazard bags.

The rooms were quickly turning black, signaling that it was time for us to head out. Retracing our footsteps led us into reality with the hospital at our backs. I smiled at The Unknown Cameraman, my heart still racing, "So when are we going back?"

The Unknown Cameraman in the left wing

Undercover Fox on the rooftop