Sunday, February 24, 2008

Zombies in Ancient Egypt

Zombie attacks are a very, very serious matter. So it’s only right that the Archaeology, a publication of the always serious Archaeological Institute of America, delved into the evidence of a zombie attack, caused by the Solanum virus, in 3000 BC Egypt:

… in 1892, a British dig at Hierakonpolis unearthed a nondescript tomb containing a partially decomposed body, whose brain had been infected with the virus (Solanum) that turns people into zombies. In addition, thousands of scratch marks adorned every surface of the tomb, as if the corpse had tried to claw its way out!

Source: Neatorama's ZOMG! Archaeologists found evidence of Zombie attack in Ancient Egypt!

Haunted Hospitals

Glenn Dale Hospital
morgue
photo from The Glenn Dale Hospital Mission
Glenn Dale opened in the same era as Fairfield State – the 1930s was a popular time for mental institutes, apparently. Well, actually, Glenn Dale wasn’t originally used for that purpose – it was a tuberculosis hospital with one building for adults and one for children. Eventually the tuberculosis problem died down and Glenn Dale was repurposed. It closed in 1982 due to asbestos and structural problems, but before it closed it was (supposedly) home to the criminally insane. As with Fairfield State, the buildings are connected via underground passageways, which people have been exploring since the day Glenn Dale officially closed its doors.

Exploration might not be the best idea, though, and not just because of the asbestos (although that should be an obvious deterrent). One rumor says that when the hospital closed, the remaining patients were just turned loose. Having nowhere else to go, many of them simply broke back into the abandoned buildings and lurk there even today.

Another story goes that a police officer went to check out the buildings himself after getting a call that the buildings were being vandalized by a bunch of kids. After he went in, someone in the vicinity heard gun shots and called the police. When the police arrived, they found the first officer standing in one of the rooms, staring straight ahead at nothing. He had emptied his gun firing at something that no one ever found.

Source: Neatorama's Five hospitals you don't want to check into