GLENN DALE HOSPITAL

I will never forget the 3 a.m. adventure to this hollow graveyard of empty wards and endless hallways. The walk itself proved to be intense. Making our way through brush and fallen trees you don't expect the silent greeting from a building that seemed larger than life. It creeps up out of nowhere immediately setting the mood for falling into the unknown. We approached from dead on with many options on where to enter. Should we take one of the multiple doorways that will prove to be an obstacle or go through the heavy door slightly ajar that had stairs heading straight down to nowhere? An invitation that none of us could decline as we made our way into the pitch black. Water had covered over 3 inches of the floor and the air had a chill to it. The very first impression are the hallways that seemed to go on forever with dozens of rooms to explore. Trying to be quiet with a group of people and the sloshing of stirring water was all in vain. If anything lived here...it knew we were on our way to it. I took a quick picture of the hallway to my right and turned left and took another. It wasn't until I got home and looked at the pictures I noticed "it" coming toward me in one and leaving me in the other. The smell could have been the stagnant water or the mold or was it the souls of those who cant leave? There are an endless amount of ways to twist and turn into new domains and higher or lower levels. Room after room you can almost picture the hospital bed, the sun shining in the small windows and the sound of footsteps and soft nurse voices. The remains of those spaces was more sad than scary. A little more disturbing than horrifying. As we went through the lower level there were hidden tunnels to go even further down. None of us had the courage or the desire to go knee deep in the water. That will remain my mystery until I decide to venture back. I can't recall if we stumbled upon the morgue on the level where we entered or if it was on one of the many we climbed that night. All I know is that area was the worst. Spray painted with the doors opened and slabs pulled out as if to tempt you into laying on one. Old tables that held the body as it was emptied fluids were turned over. Large drains in the floor and parts of machines thrown about. A shower was behind a wall. I guess to wash up if your patient didn't cooperate. We all stood in complete quiet and darkness except for an occasional soft amber glow from a cigarette. Waiting. Of course nothing spoke to us. And although we all stood apart from each other it felt as if someone were right behind you. Aside from the main hospital there are other small buildings. For the excluded or quarantined. This building proved to be more creepy than the hospital itself. The larger rooms, corridors and large windows. Almost a comfy place to tuck yourself in at night. We didn't stay long enough to see all there is to see here. Just long enough to watch the sun peek over the horizon casting a blue blanket over the property. Just long enough to get a real glimpse of how huge and intimidating this place is. Little is known about Glenn Dale Hospital. It is believed the facility opened in 1934 as a Tuberculosis hospital for patients in the area. After outbreaks of the ailment dwindled the hospital was used as a hospice. It was shut down in 1984, like many other facilities, due to asbestos in the walls and ceilings. Urban legend has it that when the hospital was rife was Tuberculosis outbreaks the staff panicked and sealed the doors and windows with boards - trapping the patients and their souls within. A bill before the Maryland General Assembly in 2004 would have removed the open space designation for Glenn Dale Hospital and allowed the historic structures to be replaced with 250 new homes. The legislation was introduced into the House of Delegates, but died in committee. Currently the Maryland Department of Natural Resources in conjunction with the Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation is planning a 200-acre park and greenway trail at the Glenn Dale Hospital site. Words and Pictures by Melissa

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