Friday, October 16, 2015

Poveglia


Near beautiful and romantic Venice, Italy, there is an island. The shores of this island are strewn with polished human bones. It is reported to be so frightening that torrests aren't allowed to set foot on the island.

In 1576, Venice was in the midst of the plague. The streets were lined with rotting corpses. The stench was growing worse by the day. Something had to be done. The bodies were gathered and sent to Proveglia, where they were either thrown into pits or burned.

But it wasn't enough. The plague got worse. People were beginning to panic. It got to where those who showed symptoms of plague were hauled out of their homes. They were sent to Poveglia and thrown into the pits to die in agony. Among them were young children and infants. Around 160K tormented souls were disposed of on the island over the years.

A thin layer of ash from the burned corpses still remains on the island's surface. It wasn't long before eerie sounds could be heard and ghostly figures could be seen on the island. It became known as "The Haunted Island".

Despite all the hauntings, a mental hospital was built upon the island. Because, you know, that is always a good idea. The patient of the hospital immediately started reporting strange sounds and said ththat they saw plague victims. However, because they were already considered insane, no one believed their claims.

The hospital was run by a weird doctor. He used live patients in his twisted experiments to discover what caused insanity. His methods were crude, and that's putting it nicely. He took his "patients" to the hospital's tower to perform lobotomies, sometimes with a hand drill, other times with a simple hammer and chisel. Those poor victims were tortures instead of given help.

After years of performing these disgusting acts, the doctor himself began seeing the ghosts of the plague. It is said that the angry spirits rose from their grave and dragged the doctor to the top of the tower. They tormented him, for coming to jump from the tower window, falling to his death.

As he lay there, taking his last breaths, a mist formed around him. It entered his body and suffocated him. The patients then bricked up the body inside the tower, trapping his spirit there for all time. On quiet nights, you can still the bell tower ring from across the bay.

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