Abandoned On PA Rt 100

Abandoned On PA Rt 100, a set on Flickr.

This place gave me the creeps the minute I started photographing it, more than any other place I've photographed like this to date.
Since most of the rooms are boarded up, it's pitch black throughout most of the place, especially upstairs on the 2nd floor.
As I was setting my camera for shots, I kept feeling like something bad had happened here, or like something odd was still going on.
At first I thought some rooms were damaged by fire, but didn't notice anything burned or even detect the slightest trace of smoke damage, and yet the walls still look like they were damaged in a fire.
After editing and looking closely at the pics, not only did I see that the rooms were painted black, but 2 of the rooms had pentagrams drawn on the floor.
Kids screwing around? Could be, but when you add in the creaking noises, occasional strange bangs and the air which was as dead as a morgue, it puts this place way up there on the creep factor chart....
Just sayin'

TFI- Filming With CBS: Special Feature- The Automaton

TFI- Filming With CBS: Special Feature- The Automaton , a set on Flickr.

More exclusive photos of Hugo author Brian Selznick at The Franklin Institute with "The Automaton" posted here:
flic.kr/s/aHsjwfWAbJ
In November of 1928, a truck pulled up to The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and unloaded the pieces of an interesting, complex, but totally ruined brass machine. The family who donated it kept it for many years because they understood that it had once been able to write and draw pictures. The machine, however, had been in a fire and needed significant work. After careful study and restoration by staff, the Franklin Institute began to realize the treasure it had been given...

During the 18th century, people were in a state of wonder over mechanism. The first complex machines produced by man were called "automata." The greatest and most fascinating mechanisms were those that could do things in imitation of living creatures. This Automaton, known as the "Draughtsman-Writer," is one such machine.

When they donated the Automaton to the Franklin Institute, the descendants of John Penn Brock knew it had been ruined in a fire and hadn't run for years. The Brock family's understanding was that the machine was made by a French inventor named Maelzel, and that it had been acquired in France. An Institute machinist began tinkering with the Automaton and eventually had it functioning.

The tattered uniform of a French soldier boy was discarded and the doll was clothed in an 18th century woman's dress. (Today, the doll is once again dressed in masculine clothing.) A stylographic fountain pen replaced the original writing instrument, which may have been either a quill or a brush. When the repairs were completed and the driving motors were set in motion, the Automaton came to life. It lowered its head, positioned its pen, and began to produce elaborate sketches. Four drawings and three poems later, in the border surrounding the final poem, the Automaton clearly wrote, "Ecrit par L'Automate de Maillardet." This translates to "Written by the Automaton of Maillardet." Amazingly, the first clue of the true history and identity of the machine had come from its own mechanical memory!

Philadelphia Eerie Skyline 2012

Philadelphia Eerie Skyline 2012, a set on Flickr.