Posts Tagged ‘Abandoned Massachusetts’

Cape Cod’s Psycho 2 – Return to Bates Motel

Posted: July 6, 2016 by Hidden Wonders Photography in #postaday, Abandoned, Abandoned Attractions, Abandoned Business, Abandoned Cabin, Abandoned Cape Cod, abandoned home, Abandoned House, Abandoned Massachusetts, abandoned new england, Abandoned Resort, Abandoned USA, Abandoned Wonders, Bates Motel, Beaches, Birds, Broken, Cabin, Cape Cod, Closed, commercial, darkness, Death, Destruction, empty, Exploration, exploring the abandoned, Forgotten, forgotten beauty, forgotten home, Ghosts, Graveyard, Haunting, Hiking, History, House, Information, left behind, lost, Massachusetts, Movies, Mystery, nature, new england, nightmares, Ocean, Ocean View, overgrown, photography, Ruins, Safety First, Searching, seaside, Stories, time, Truro, Uncategorized, Urban Decay, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploring, Urbex, writing
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Cape Cod’s Psycho 2

Return to Bates Motel

Written by: Sean L.

Photographs by: Amanda H.

Every great Hollywood movie ends up getting a sequel. Especially horror movies. Jaws. Saw. Halloween. Friday the 13th. Scream. Yes, even Psycho. While the sequels are not as wisely known or as fondly remembered as Alfred Hitchcock’s original classic, they set a precedent as far as horror sequels would go. In an effort to outdo their predecessors, most horror sequels end up being much darker, brutal, and more sinister than what came before them. Most of these films fail to meet these expectations. But some go a little bit too far. This is our first “sequel.”

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Over three years ago, we visited an abandoned landmark along the white sandy beaches of Cape Cod – Bates Motel. It has stood silently amongst the bustling vacation community of North Truro, Massachusetts, for over two decades. It’s origins are a mystery. Nobody anywhere seems to know just what this place was or how it came to be in its present state. We wrote a piece on it about a year ago, and it went on to become one of our most popular articles. A few weeks ago, while on vacation in Cape Cod, we decided to stop by to see how our old friend was doing.

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Let’s just say that the years have not been kind to the Bates Motel. Where once rusty old padlocks kept people out of the rooms, not everything is boarded up. The windows. The doors. The office. Everything. The tall seagrass has grown wild and uncontrollable. The pavement of the old parking lot lies in jagged chunks mixed among the scorching hot sand. The gulls still soar overhead, cawing at the misery of this sad place. On either side, happy vacationing families pay no heed to the Bates Motel. They simply ignore it, like a stray dog lying wounded in their summer paradise.

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We don’t break in to places. We never have, and we never will. But someone, or something, had broken into the Bates Motel before our visit. The old plywood covering the maid’s closet had been busted open, so we popped in to take a few pictures. While it was damn near pitch black inside, plenty of stuff has been left inside. Small beams of sunlight peaked through the cracks in the wooden planks. We even found the entrance to the basement, but it was much too dark to get any good photographs. Though we were unable to get inside the office, plenty of furniture is still sitting in there as well. It is almost as if Bates Motel just up and closed one day. Never to re-open.

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Our first visit to the abandoned Bates Motel was much like the first film in a great horror franchise. It was shocking, fascinating, and highly recommendable. Our second visit was much like the sequel. While it was unavoidable, it was much darker than the original. It was much like Psycho II: it left us feeling like we had never come back, that we could just remember the Bates Motel how it was. The slow rate of decay on this place is a bit depressing. The place looked like it was about to just collapse in on itself at any moment. Will there be a Part III for us at the abandoned Bates Motel? Only time will tell.

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Remember the Magic – The Abandoned Enchanted Forest Theme Park

Posted: March 16, 2016 by kingleser in #postaday, Abandoned, Abandoned Amusement Park, Abandoned Attractions, Abandoned Business, abandoned new england, Abandoned Rhode Island, Abandoned USA, Abandoned Wonders, Broken, Children, Closed, commercial, darkness, Death, Destruction, dreams, empty, Exploration, exploring the abandoned, fantasy, for sale, Forgotten, forgotten beauty, Haunting, Hiking, History, Information, left behind, lost, Magic, Mystery, nature, new england, overgrown, photography, research, Rhode Island, Ruins, Safety First, Searching, Stories, The Enchanted Forest, time, Uncategorized, Urban Decay, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploring, Urbex, writing
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Remember the Magic

The Abandoned Enchanted Forest Theme Park

Written by: Wilk
Photographs by: Lassie

Do you feel that? The wind through the trees? The current through the mountain streams? The rays of sunshine peeping through the dark clouds? It’s something that we don’t appreciate enough anymore. They are, dare I say, magic. Our ancestors lived and died with these elemental beings. But magic is something that disappears a little more each day. We’ve forgotten about it. It can be argued that we don’t need it anymore, that it has outlived its purpose. People walk around lost in the screens of their cell phones as opposed to appreciating the natural beauty of our own world. Even as it slowly shrinks from the corners of our universe. But what happens when there’s no more magic? What happens when all that makes the world wondrous and green is gone? What would the world be like without magic? We found out: in the Enchanted Forest.

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It is one of the darker and more ominous places we have ever visited. The Enchanted Forest was a fantasy styled amusement park that opened in 1971. Based out of Hopkinton, Rhode Island, The Enchanted Forest was always more oriented towards children and families with its fairy tale style theme. The main attractions of the park included a live petting zoo, go-cart tracks, a mini-golf course, and a few rides geared more towards its younger audience. For years the park was a mainstay attraction of the local area, with people coming far and wide to visit this fairy tale place. But as time wore on, the magic began to fade. In her final years, attendance and interest in the park began to wane. Finally, in the year 2005, The Enchanted Forest closed forever under financial strain. Though technically still for sale, the park has been left abandoned ever since.

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We made the long journey to The Enchanted Forest on a sunny day during the tail end of winter 2016. She’s not too difficult to find, the only problem is that what’s left of the park sits along a heavily trafficked road. There old parking lot has also been blocked off by large bricks of cement. And to top it all off, the neighbors of this old park do not take kindly to strangers and have no hesitation when it comes to reporting trespassers to the local police. We had heard many stories in our travels of explorers being caught and arrested for trying to sneak into this place. Getting inside is not the difficult part. Slipping inside the park without being noticed and where to park your car are the difficult parts. But, through some strange form of luck, we managed to get inside this former wonderland.

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Regrettably, there isn’t too much to see here. The old rides that once were the star attractions of The Enchanted Forest were sold off to neighboring theme parks long ago. But the large sign still sits out front, bearing a few scars from the elements and the local vandals. Buried in the brush behind the parking lot are the remains of the old petting zoo and mini golf course. Even deeper into the woods is all that is left of the old go-cart track. A couple of old buildings are still standing, though they are clearly very heavily used by the local teenagers. Mountains of trash and liter coat the ground, and the walls have all been defaced by cruel and unusual graffiti. There may have been more left behind here, but it has long since been lost to the think brush and unflinching grasp of the woods.

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If you ever plan on visiting The Enchanted Forest, do not take this journey lightly. It is a dangerous and risky mission, unless of course you know someone in the area. It is a remarkable sight, indeed. Besides the fact it is a local legend, there is just something about this place. Dare I say, enchanting? Or perhaps the better word is magical. You see, whether we acknowledge it or not, there is still magic in this world. And it can be felt strongly here in The Enchanted Forest. You can almost still hear the laughter of the children and families who once frolicked down these old paths. You can almost still see the colorful rides and attractions swirling through the trees. You can almost still feel all of the love and joy that this place must have felt all of those years ago. Though all of that is gone, the magic is still here. You just have to look for it.

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Bring Me Back to Life – The Abandoned Great Barrington Fairgrounds

Posted: January 27, 2016 by kingleser in #postaday, Abandoned, Abandoned Attractions, Abandoned Business, Abandoned Fairgrounds, Abandoned Massachusetts, abandoned new england, Abandoned Racetrack, Abandoned USA, Abandoned Wonders, Berkshires, Broken, Closed, commercial, darkness, Destruction, empty, Exploration, exploring the abandoned, for sale, Forgotten, forgotten beauty, Ghosts, Graveyard, Great Barrington, Haunting, Hiking, History, Homeless, Horse Racing, Information, left behind, lost, Massachusetts, Movies, Mystery, nature, new england, nightmares, overgrown, photography, Public Parks, research, Ruins, Safety First, Searching, Stories, time, Uncategorized, Urban Decay, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploring, Urbex, writing
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Bring Me Back to Life
The Abandoned Great Barrington Fairgrounds

Written by: Wilk
Photographs by: Lassie

I first fell in love with the town of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in the fall of 2013. I was up there filming an action movie for a few weeks, and the town became like a second home to me. Nestled deep in the picturesque wilderness of the Berkshire Mountains, Great Barrington was the true personification of an old school New England town. Locally owned small businesses line the streets. There’s a farmer’s market once a week during the fall. An old mansion keeps watch over the center of town. It is a true community. But there is one place here in town that doesn’t quite fit in. In the shadow of the mountains, an old relic of the past slowly crumbles into the fertile New England ground. And though she may not look it anymore, she was once one of the crown jewels of the local community. This is the Great Barrington Fairgrounds, and she has been left to rot on and off for many years.

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The Great Barrington Fairgrounds opened during the late eighteen-hundreds. It began as a place for the local farmers to trade and showcase their goods with the rest of the community. Horse-racing was added in several years later, and quite literally took off. Over the next hundred years, the Great Barrington Fairgrounds became well known around the region as one of the biggest and best tracks around. They were even hosts to the longest running harvest fair in all of New England. She began to hit major prominence in the 1940’s when the interest in horse racing spiked to an all-time high. But as we all know, no good thing can last forever. Over the next few years, that very same frivolous interest that made the Great Barrington Fairgrounds so popular began to steadily decline. The grounds were finally shut down in 1983. There was an attempt to revive the facility in 1997, but it was short-lived. The grounds closed for good shortly after.

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We visited Great Barrington once again in the fall of 2015. The deserted fairgrounds were there to greet us as soon as we arrived in town. The old racetrack has become completely overgrown. The stands have been defaced with graffiti and vandalism. A rusty chain-link fence still surrounds the complex, though it doesn’t appear to do much good. Though the fairgrounds are in rough shape, there is currently a strong movement amongst the local community to restore the Great Barrington Fairgrounds to their former glory. While exploring the grounds, we encountered a few of their volunteers setting up for a wine tasting being held the next day. Since the property was purchased by the Elsbach family in 2012, they have been making an effort to redevelop the land for the good of the community. They are called GBFB, and their mission is to “preserve and restore the environmental health of the fairground site.” Though these grounds may be abandoned, there just might be hope to bring them back to life.

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If you are interested in donating, volunteering, or learning more about GBFB, please visit their website here – http://gbfg.org/

Cape Cod’s Psycho – The Abandoned Bates Motel

Posted: March 10, 2015 by Hidden Wonders Photography in #postaday, Abandoned, Abandoned Attractions, Abandoned Business, Abandoned Cabin, Abandoned Cape Cod, abandoned home, Abandoned Massachusetts, abandoned new england, Abandoned Resort, Abandoned USA, Abandoned Wonders, Bates Motel, Beaches, Bird Watching, Birds, Broken, Cabin, Cape Cod, Children, Closed, commercial, darkness, Death, Destruction, empty, Exploration, exploring the abandoned, for sale, Forgotten, forgotten beauty, forgotten home, Ghosts, Graveyard, Haunting, Hiking, History, Homeless, House, Information, left behind, lost, Love, Massachusetts, Movies, Mystery, nature, new england, Ocean, Ocean View, overgrown, photography, research, Ruins, Safety First, Searching, seaside, Stories, time, Truro, Uncategorized, Urban Decay, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploring, Urbex, writing
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Cape Cod’s Psycho

The Abandoned Bates Motel

 Written by: Wilk

Photographs by: Lassie

Cape Cod is a place of wonder and enjoyment for people all over New England. During the summertime, this place becomes the most popular hot spot for tourism in the entire region. Beach goers frolic in the rolling ocean waves. Families vacation in old school cottages. Tourists from around the globe get a taste of what New England life is all about. There’s fishing, sailing, whale watching tours, and even colonial history in Cape Cod. It is truly the crown jewel in the state of Massachusetts. But nestled deep in this vacation destination is a place saltier than the ocean air. It is the subject of many legends, and shares the name with one of the most feared places in Hollywood movie lore: The Bates Motel. Between the luxurious hotels and extravagant summer homes lies a place that would make even Psycho creator and horror master Alfred Hitchcock himself uneasy.

To this day, we have found very little information at all on the Bates Motel. We cannot even be positive if that is its real name. It does in fact bear a striking resemblance to the fabled motel of the film Psycho and its contemporary series Bates Motel. From what we have gathered, the motel has been abandoned for at least twenty years, it has been the sight of many alleged hauntings, and it is smack dab in the middle of a very rich neighborhood. What we can tell you is that Bates Motel is located in the small town of Truro, Massachusetts. It is the second to last town on the furthest corner of Cape Cod, just slightly south of the beloved and lively Provincetown. It located right of Route 6A. Once called Old King’s Highway, this stretch of highway runs across the entire length of Cape Cod.

We made our pilgrimage to the abandoned Bates Motel on a hot summer day in early June. The school years were just coming to an end, so Cape Cod was just starting to wake up from its off-season slumber. It was far from being a ghost town, but it was nowhere near as busy or as crowded as it gets during the later summer months. The trip down 6A was about an hour from our hotel, which was in the heart of the Cape. The trip up was rather nice, as 6A is a beautiful road to travel on. The traffic was light, the sun was out, and there is always something to see while driving around Cape Cod. The closer you get to the edge of the Cape, the narrower the land becomes. So by the time we got to Truro, there was ocean on either side.

Finding the abandoned Bates Motel wasn’t too difficult. It is located quite literally right off of Route 6A. It is along a road heavily populated with beach houses, summer homes, small cottages, and big hotels. You get an excellent view of the ocean from this neighborhood. If you look closely, you can even see the bustling town of Provincetown from the road. Just a short stretch down through this rich vacation neighborhood, we found the abandoned motel. Though its ghastly state of disrepair sticks out like a sore thumb amongst these summer palaces, it somehow blends in with the buildings and the sand around it. It is almost as if the abandoned Bates Motel is still trying to fit in with these vacation homes that it once resembled, even though it has been many years since any guests passed through its doors.

The motel itself is truly a sight to see. Though all around it are busy and popular resorts, it is completely silent in front of the Bates Motel. The only sounds to be heard are the pesky seagulls soaring overheard and the steady lapping of the ocean up against the shores of Truro. The paintjob of the building seemed to once be a shade of white or yellow, it now has a strong brown tint to it. There are about twelve rooms total across the motel. Every window has been boarded up. Every door to every room has a sturdy padlock on it, guarding the former motel from any unwanted guests. There are NO TRESPASSING, NO PARKING, and KEEP OUT signs posted all over the grounds. Clearly, someone out there does not want the Bates Motel to have any visitors. And for good reason.

Not only is the building and the grounds in a harsh state of disrepair, there is a very strong and uneasy sense about this place. This once happy and fun filled place is now a place out of a nightmare. Strange and unsettling graffiti can be spotted along some of the walls and doors. Tall beach grass grows all along the sides of the building. The pavement of the parking lot is cracked and broken. Yet from the back of the motel, you can still get an excellent beachfront view of the ocean. It is strange to see this place the way that it is now, especially with the flourishing community surrounding it. Three small derelict cottages sit next to the motel, just as decrepit and abandoned. It is unclear whether they were a part of Bates Motel or were simply left behind for having the unfortunate bad luck of being neighbors with this dark place.

What makes Bates Motel so baffling and unsettling is its location. It is located beachside in a very busy and beautiful summer destination, yet it remains in a state of very poor disrepair. This property could be sold for millions if it was purchased by the right person and turned into a functioning hotel. It allegedly is for sale. Yet mysteriously, it remains abandoned. One rumor that we heard about the legendary motel is that the property became caught up in some sort of family legal battle, and eventually closed. Never to reopen. Though it bears a striking resemblance to Norman Bates and his beloved mother’s establishment from the films and television show, the connection between the cultural icon and the abandoned motel has yet to be made. It may not have any connection with the movie legend, but the real Bates Motel is definitely just as creepy.

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