I couldn’t edit most of these because I don’t get home from work til late at night. Alone at my computer, with the early dark of fall outside and cold chills coming in, I felt more scared and paranoid while looking over these images in Lightroom than I did on site. While there, it felt peaceful, as if the place was ready to die. The bulldozers had come, there was rubbish and construction everywhere. And even though we heard strange noises, they weren’t frightening.

Before we slept my friend told me a story about a previous shoot he did, at an abandoned house that was known to be the site of a murder-suicide. When my friend got the photos developed and home, he heard a knocking, then forceful rattling at his door. He went to investigate and came back to find all the developed photos scattered across his room.

This scene played in my head on repeat and plays still as I type this. I think it’s easier to be afraid of ideas than things.

Also seen on Worldly: https://www.worldly.com/@leemilby/abandoned-mental-asylum-in-jersey