Disclaimer:  I do not promote trespassing on grounds that is off limits to the public.  If you wish to visit an abandoned place, for your safety, please reach out to the property owners to gain access.  If you don’t, I am not held accountable for the fines that may occur.

Sometimes I wonder if there is such thing as luck, and if I have it?  Just like the South Junior High in Bloomfield, NJ, I took my chances, and luck, and revisited Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Morris Plains, NJ again.  Knowing that this place has a short lifespan left till it is tore down, my friends and I thought why not visit again.  Yes, why don’t we, in the snow and the cold no less!  Might be one of dumbest things I do, but I have a full life ahead me and Greystone doesn’t.

This visit was different for many reasons.  First off, there is now a fence wrapped around the hospital.  This isn’t a huge fence or barbed wire fence, but a fence no less which comes with a security car.  On top of that, cops now sit in front of the hospital, but do leave every so often.  I believe the fence and heightened security has to be because of the approaching demolition and knowing people like me want to get one last look inside.  However, like I said, it is just a fence and my entrance is still there.  If you plan it right, you can sneak in, but I stress, if you get caught it isn’t fines anymore but arrests.  I should write a post in here about trespassing because I feel if you aren’t destroying, taking, or doing illegal things you should be fine.  For me it is to just take photos and I guess “preserve” places in a form of an image.  I don’t think my comment would go over with a cop though.

Once inside we took our risky way by climbing on machines in the generator room and then crossing ceiling beams.  Again, not safe by any means since these could break and send me to a paralyzing fall.  Alas, we make it across into what seems like the maintenance corridors.  Since I took pictures of this area last time and it was extremely cold I decided to move along.

My main goal of this visit was to photograph the chairs and beds where unnecessary procedures took place.  I saw photos online, but could never find the area.  Sadly on this visit I still didn’t find it because paranoia got the best of me.  While leaving the chapel area, we decided to go to the women’s ward.  Walking the walk ways, we saw a cop outside with someone talking.  Being paranoid we decided to go through the men’s ward which brought on an hour of confusion.  For some reason I couldn’t get back to the locations we were at last time.  We just kept ending back where we started.  Eventually the cop left, and we decided to just go straight to the basement.  Greystone is a massive place and without a map it isn’t easy to find your way around.

In the basement we saw things we never saw before on our last visit.  We found tunnels that lead to every direction.  Somehow though we made it through to the spot where we entered, which is just crazy.  Being the person I am though, we decided to not press our “luck” and leave.  While leaving a security car passed us on the hill but thankfully didn’t stop.  Getting to my car we joked about if we dropped something inside, and we did.  My keys.  Going back though, they were right at the fence in the snow.  I think I had a lot of luck with me this day.

I wish I got better pictures, but with the cold, the cop, and loosing sunlight I did the best I could.  I hope to get back into Greystone before it is too late, but I don’t know.  That and I hope to have a wide angle lens.  This winter is lasting for what seems like forever and the hospital has a lot of security now.  Maybe I will try my luck out one more time, but if I don’t, Greystone, may you rest and take your secrets with you.