STUDENTS’ASSOCIATION
AT UNITEC
usu
horrort h e
i s s u e
great
to save someideasmoney
diy
Editor: ashley smith
Graphic dEsiGn: mark lovatt
advErtisinG and Editorial inquirEs ph. (09) 815 4321 ext 7927
6
30 34
9 10
26e d i t o r i a l
a s t o r y o f m i s s .
f o r t u n e
G h o s t s t o r y V o x
P o P s
h e l l o f r o m
s h a n n o n
a s o l e m n s t o r y
y o u s a y C r a z y , i
s a y B e a u t i f u l
nExt issuE: mind Body soul 21 May 2012
contributors: shannon Pennefather, andrea stills, harsha Goonewardana, abbey
yule, ellen Chitty, Jeremy haxton, steve ellmers, tessa robertson, Jayne king
spEcial thank you to: auCkland museum and Gordon maitland
advErtisinG and Editorial inquirEs ph. (09) 815 4321 ext 7927
Disclaimer Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Submissions and contributors are welcome, but the publisher reserves the right to select and edit the material submitted. Materials submitted will remain property of the publisher unless alternative arrangements are made.
contents7 m a y 2 0 1 2
34 38
10 23
G h o s t s t o r y V o x
P o P s
f a r f r o m t h e
m a d d e n i n G C r o w d
a s o l e m n s t o r y o V e r n i G h t i n
B u i l d i n G o n e
nExt issuE: mind Body soul 21 May 2012
spEcial thank you to: auCkland museum and Gordon maitland
STUDENTS’ASSOCIATION
AT UNITEC
usu
STUDENTS’ASSOCIATION
AT UNITEC
usu
ghostsgoblins
oh my!I wIll be the fIrst to admIt It; I go out of my way to avoId the horror sectIon of the dvd rental store, cry In haunted houses and drIve way beyond the speed lImIt when I’m by myself In the car In the mIddle of the nIght. I am an absolute scaredy cat when It comes to anythIng InclusIve of pop-out scenes In movIes or talk of drIftIng reckless spIrIts. so as you could ImagIne, puttIng together thIs Issue was a bIt of a challenge.
6 HORROR ISSUE ED ITOR IAL
goblins
oh my!
In the past couple of weeks, I’ve been
up until the late hours of the night
reading about murder cases and lunatic
debauchery. Needless to say, it’s left me
a bit unsettled. My poor flatmates have
fallen victim to my extreme case of nerves. I’ve
been an absolute spaz walking to the kitchen
at any hour after sunset.
to be honest, the history of Unitec in its
day as auckland’s leading lunatic asylum has
really caught my interest. there are so many
incredible stories, scandals and controversies
that create a massive archive of Carrington
Psychiatric Hospital’s past. Within the pages of
this issue, you’ll find many historical accounts
of real stories from 1865 onward. some of my
favourite stories include: the night of the 1877
fire, accounts of missing inmates…never to be
found or heard from again and the desperate
pleas for dismissal heard from “imprisoned”
inmates.
So the next time you find yourself studying
late night in Building one and get that cold
shiver down your spine, go ahead an dismiss it
away as the drafty old building. You’ll be lying
to yourself and you know it.
If you’re in for a bit of fun join us at Fright
Night in the Building one Chapel on may 8 for
the screening of Paranormal activity. see you
there!
godsPeed,
ashley
I wIll be the fIrst to admIt It; I go out of my way to avoId the horror sectIon of the dvd rental store, cry In haunted houses and drIve way beyond the speed lImIt when I’m by myself In the car In the mIddle of the nIght. I am an absolute scaredy cat when It comes to anythIng InclusIve of pop-out scenes In movIes or talk of drIftIng reckless spIrIts. so as you could ImagIne, puttIng together thIs Issue was a bIt of a challenge.
7HORROR ISSUEED ITOR IAL
DAY
INTERNATIONALFOOD
DAY
i n t he Hub (bldg 180)
10am - 2pm
OrRun a stall and represent your country by selling your national delicaciesTo register a stall please email [email protected]
Come along and tantalise
your tastebuds with the
variety of food on offer
from countries all around
the world
Thursday 17 May
usu Students’Associationat Unitec
www.usu.cO.Nzwww.FAcEbOOk.cOm/sTuDENTsATuNITEc
9HORROR ISSUETHATS SO SHANNON
Kiaora
I sometimes feel that our super natural
friends on campus get a bum deal. Haunting
is not the carrier opportunity it used to be.
With a more cynical population and a lack
of old buildings it is getting harder and
harder to find the time and opportunity for
a troubled soul to scare the jizzwollop out
of some one. Just the other day I was told
about a 3rd year architecture student working late
who had a run in with a ghost. this student did not
have the common decency to wet herself and run
away screaming however. No, instead she chose this
moment to critique one of our oldest friends from the
other side on his out dated appearance and clichéd
scare tactics. thanks to this insensitive hipster the
ghoul in question has lost all self confidence and
spends his days haunting a disused broom cupboard.
the time has come to stop ignoring this problem
and denying it even exists and start giving Unitec’s
haunting spirits the respect they deserve. they have
been here longer than you and will be here when you
are gone.
so next time you get shivers down your spine walking
through a dark corridor or hear a bump in the night
maybe give a sharp inhale and walk a bit quicker to
show your fear. If you actually see a ghost Jazz hands
+ scream + run is the proper response.
stay cool
shannon
Unitec
storya solemn
10 HORROR ISSUE FEATURE
all of the black and whIte photographs In thIs feature were taken by margaret matIlda whIte (1868-1910). she Is speculated to have been part of the nursIng staff at carrIngtons psychIatrIc asylum In the 1890s. these photos are part of a serIes she took durIng that tIme perIod that reflects on the condItIons of the hospItal staff themselves at that tIme. thank you to the auckland museum and gordon maItland for provIdIng these tImeless Images.
there Is a deep dark hIstory that haunts the corrIdors
of some of our old unItec buIldIngs. where we now drag
our feet to class or slump our way to long black café
for a mornIng coffee, auckland’s top mental patIents once
loomed. the buIldIng was desIgned and then buIlt In 1865. It
was funded wIth a loan from the provIncIal councIl In an
effort to erect more publIc buIldIngs In auckland. there
were a growIng amount of mental patIents In the cIty who
needed more space, hence the constructIon of carrIngton
psychIatrIc asylum. from 1867 onward to 1992 the buIldIng
was the home to scandal, mystery and controversy.
11HORROR ISSUEFEATURE
Female assIstaNt, aUCklaNd meNtal HosPItal
groUP oF Female assIstaNts, aUCklaNd meNtal HosPItal
12 HORROR ISSUE FEATURE
The Unitec that we know and
love today has undergone
a remarkable change since
it’s heyday as auckland’s
scandalous insane asylum. the
campus, specifically Building
1, 6 and 76, was the quarters for “lunatics”
and nursing staff. the asylum existed
during a time where mental illnesses were
conditions taken more lightly. sorts of
behaviour that deviated from ‘the norm’
risked time sent away to the “loonie bin”.
the asylum underwent many changes,
upgrades, renovations and renames when
it was active. over its near 120 years of
service it was known as, “the auckland
mental Hospital”, “oakley Hospital” “Whau
lunatic Hospital” “avondale asylum” and
more familiarly as “Carrington Psychiatric
Asylum”. The Asylum saw its final days at
the start of the 90s when the building was
sold, and the patients were moved out.
over its years, Carrington Psychiatric
asylum saw its fair share of scandal.
Within the first couple of decades, the
hospital admitted far too many patients
for the capacity of the facility. at one
point, it is remembered that crowds of
patients were sent to sleep in the Chapel
to free up space. there were constant
discussions surrounding the overcrowding
at the asylum within the House of
representatives.
Female assIstaNt, aUCklaNd meNtal HosPItal
13HORROR ISSUEFEATURE
groUP oF male assIstaNts, aUCklaNd meNtal HosPItal
Hawera & NormaNby Star, Volume lXII, 27 December 1911, Page 5:
there were also many conversations in the
media and political spectrum regarding
the amount of available staff. the staff
nurses and guards often complained
about working conditions, hours and
expectations. there were not nearly
enough people employed at the hospital to
keep up with the stressful demand of the
job.
Whether the patient to staff ratio played
into the next set of scandals or not, we
can not be sure. there are many accounts
of escaped or “cured and released”
patients who claim that the treatment of
“lunatics” within the hospital was totally
unethical and at times unwarranted.
often, patients who were brought to the
hospital were admitted under unconfirmed
circumstances of insanity. Here, we find an
example of a man who was admitted for
being “found wandering aimlessly around
epsom”. surely, there are quite a few of us
who are guilty of much more speculative
behaviour than some aimless wandering.
there were multiple accounts of the wrong
patients being withheld at the hospital as
well as those being released into public
again. the lack of a “half-house system” at
the time caused a major stir throughout the
discussion of asylums all across the span of
New Zealand.
on the night over 20 september 1877, the
hospital saw its first tragic fire. This fire
left the entire first floor of the east wing in
ruins. a man by the name of Philip Herapath
was brought in to redesign the wing of
the hospital. He drew up plans for the
extension of the hospital soon thereafter.
By 1880, the extension of the hospital was
completed in order to properly house and
accommodate for the growing amount of
14 HORROR ISSUE FEATURE
groUP oF male assIstaNts, aUCklaNd meNtal HosPItal
Female assIstaNt leaNINg agaINst tree, aUCklaNd meNtal HosPItalHosPItal
coloNISt, Volume lV, ISSue 13809, 25 auguSt 1913, Page 4
15HORROR ISSUEFEATURE
NUrses take tHeIr Break From tHe asYlUm For aN aFterNooN PHoto sHoot. From tHe looks oF It, someoNe deCIded
to JoIN tHem IN tHe BaCkgroUNd...
patients. Unfortunately, the extension only
exacerbated the overcrowding issue as
more and more patients were admitted to
the hospital due to its increased space.
at the tail end of 1879, the Crown
purchased the farm land behind the
Hospital. the farm introduced a new
set of ‘leisure activities’ for the patients
that focused their attention on physical
activities outdoors. Patients worked to
maintain and cultivate the property.
alternative medicines, treatments and
activities were experimented with over the
next hundred years for treating patients
at Carrington Psychiatric asylum. It is
rumoured that the electric shock therapy
room was located directly under where
long Black Cafe now stands. during the
early 20th century, there were also many
stories leaked to the media about patients
being mistreated and even abused at
times.
throughout the remaining years of the
asylum’s existence there were countless
deaths on account of murder, suicide and
“accident”. these deaths included those
of both patients and staff members. It has
been speculated that on certain nights,
the ghosts of these tortured souls still visit
the corridors of Building one.
16 HORROR ISSUE FEATURE
tWo male assIstaNts, aUCklaNd meNtal HosPItal
tHameS Star, Volume XlIII, ISSue 10465, 5 aPrIl 1906, Page 1
17HORROR ISSUEFEATURE
Asylum Scandals from the Archives
Asylums C a n d a l s f r o m t h e a r C h i V e s
18 HORROR ISSUE FEATURE
Asylum Scandals from the Archives
Asylums C a n d a l s f r o m t h e a r C h i V e s
19HORROR ISSUEFEATURE
20 HORROR ISSUE FEATURE
21HORROR ISSUEFEATURE
Or in 2mins, yOu cOuld
make a change tO
yOur cOurse!
yOu cOuld ....
www.ratemycourse.co.nz Creating positive Change in your Course
have a break
really ConneCt with somebody
find Coinage for the bus
Cram for your exam
indulge in some quality entertainment
win 1 Of 3 skinny smart phOnes
STUDENTS’ASSOCIATION
AT UNITEC
usu
rate your Course online now and go in the draw to
wOrth $500!
in 2 mins
make a nutritious meal prepare for a booty Call22 HORROR ISSUE FEATURE
Or in 2mins, yOu cOuld
make a change tO
yOur cOurse!
yOu cOuld ....
www.ratemycourse.co.nz Creating positive Change in your Course
have a break
really ConneCt with somebody
find Coinage for the bus
Cram for your exam
indulge in some quality entertainment
win 1 Of 3 skinny smart phOnes
STUDENTS’ASSOCIATION
AT UNITEC
usu
rate your Course online now and go in the draw to
wOrth $500!
in 2 mins
make a nutritious meal prepare for a booty Call
OVERNIGHTBUILDINGIN
23 HORROR ISSUE FEATURE
on 19 aprIl, 2012 fIve student volunteered to stay overnIght In unItec’s most haunted of buIldIngs, buIldIng one! the old carrIngton psychIatrIc asylum Is rumoured to stIll receIve ghostly vIsItors In the wee hours of the nIght. watch the footage now to see what the students dIscovered about the buIldIng.
>CLICK HERE IF YOU DARE!
OVERNIGHTBUILDING1
24HORROR ISSUEFEATURE
on 19 aprIl, 2012 fIve student volunteered to stay overnIght In unItec’s most haunted of buIldIngs, buIldIng one! the old carrIngton psychIatrIc asylum Is rumoured to stIll receIve ghostly vIsItors In the wee hours of the nIght. watch the footage now to see what the students dIscovered about the buIldIng.
>CLICK HERE IF YOU DARE!
WHATS THERE TO BE
AFRAID OF?
26 HORROR ISSUE FEATURE
on fIrst thought for the horror Issue, I consIdered the hIstory of carrIngton hospItal, whIch was known over the years by varIous names IncludIng whau lunatIc asylum, auckland lunatIc hospItal, avondale hospItal and oakley hospItal. however, It became apparent to me that the allure of hearIng about ‘mental asylums’ or as they are perhaps more commonly, and InapproprIately, referred to ‘nut houses’, was that mental Illness Is largely unknown, and what we don’t know, we fear. sInce I personally have several close famIly members who suffer from schIzophrenIa, It made sense to talk about what I know about mental Illness, gIven our mt albert campus’s hIstory and what IrrItates me In relatIon to the way the Illness Is perceIved.
27HORROR ISSUEFEATURE
Occasionally we may hear of
someone who has schizo-
phrenia murdering some-
one, or perhaps several
people as was the case with
aramoana and raurimu.
However, even though the murder of in-
nocent people is undoubtedly a tragedy;
the pain and suffering of the person who is
unwell, delusional and paranoid, is largely
ignored. this may seem like a sensational
claim, after all, how can anyone feel sym-
pathy for a murderer? I suppose if you are
a close family member of someone with
schizophrenia, or other mental illnesses,
there is a greater understanding of how
mental illness impacts a person. I empa-
thise with the families of those who have
been victims of people who are mentally
ill; however I also empathise with the fami-
lies of those who are mentally ill and have
committed violent acts. more often than
not, these violent acts are against them-
selves; however these often go unreport-
ed as there is sensitivity around reporting
such matters in the press.
Previously people who were mentally ill
would have been institutionalised in facili-
ties like Carrington Hospital, they would
have had eCt, or electric shock therapy
as it is more commonly known. often
times this would happen without their
consent and sometimes used as punish-
ment. they were put in straight jackets,
at times to pacify them, or punish them,
or simply because the institutions were
understaffed. the patients were locked
in cells, abused by staff and other pa-
tients in worst case scenarios, and heavily
medicated, with little consultation with
families or the other patients themselves.
someone I loved very much was a patient
at Carrington Hospital who in the later
stages of her life she suffered from de-
mentia. despite many of her memories
fading and not being able to recognise
family and people she once knew, she re-
membered the hospital and suffered from
a fear of the area when she would drive
past Unitec. she would beg ‘please don’t
take me there’.
thankfully there has been progress in the
care of psychiatric patients; people who
suffer from mental illnesses have been
more involved in their treatment these
days and medication is not the only assis-
tance they receive. steps toward a more
holistic approach have been taken, with
diet, exercise and trying to get people
with mental illness to do things that may
be simple for the rest of us, in an attempt
to encourage independent living. It is
now acknowledged that mental illness af-
fects mind, body and spirit, and there is
a need to address all these issues, rather
than just the physical symptoms of the ill-
ness. Charitable trusts in the community
help with everyday things like shopping,
hygiene and social interaction. these or-
ganisations such as Walsh trust and Chal-
lenge trust receive some funding from
the government; however they also rely
on donations and other forms of funding.
they encourage social interaction and
have regular physical activities for clients
to attend.
although the media only seems to pick up
on issues surrounding mental illness when
things go wrong in the wider community,
there are many instances of personal suf-
fering among people who suffer from
mental illness which go unre-
ported. a family member
of mine, who suffers from
schizophrenia has had
the armed offend-
ers squad called out
when false claims
were made by
another tenant
in assisted ac-
commodation.
He has had to
seek medical
assistance for
tissues that
he had put
in his ears
to stop the
voices that
taunted him.
He has been
on medication
that made him
pace inces-
santly, sleep
for more than
24 hours at a
time, gain exces-
sive amounts of
weight, and various
other side effects
that these powerful
and largely ineffective,
drugs have for many pa-
tients. He currently takes
the ‘last-stop’ medication
Clozaril (Clozapine), which is re-
served for patients who have tried
all the other antipsychotic medication
available. It is restricted due to risks as-
sociated with the medication, which has
included deaths in the past. Clozapine
28 HORROR ISSUE FEATURE
"Thankfully there has been progress in the care of
psychiatric patients; people who suffer from mental illnesses have been more involved in their treatment these days
and medication is not the only assistance they receive. Steps
toward a more holistic approach have been taken with diet and
exercise"
has several side effects and is
available only with regular
blood tests to monitor
white blood cells. on the
whole it can take years
to get medication
right, for my fam-
ily member it took
about 15, which
can lead to con-
stant upheaval
for the person
suffering from
mental illness
and their fam-
ily/support
people. If
the medica-
tion works
however, it
gives back to
people who
suffer from
schizophrenia
some of what
the illness took
from them. It’s
kind of a best
case, worst case
scenario.
over the years I have
heard and seen so
many misconceptions
surrounding the illness:
that someone who is mental-
ly ill could ‘flip’ at any moment,
the idea that they are all scary
and violent and should be avoided,
the common perception that people with
schizophrenia have two, or more person-
alities, which is simply not true. there are
many more, you know: the funny cartoons
with the person talking to himself. Hilari-
ous! (Not!) In fact some people like to
say schizophrenic (not PC, don’t say it)
a lot, for any and everything. the ‘know
me before you judge me’ campaign had a
good point however it essentially failed to
educate people about the illness itself.
People with mental illness are like you
and me, they have hopes and dreams and
fears. they need love and support and
consideration, in larger doses than the rest
of us at times. However, they also have a
lot to offer in return. Having a close fam-
ily member with schizophrenia has been
painful at times; this person has said hurt-
ful things, done things I will never under-
stand, and heard and seen things that do
not exist in my world. However, this per-
son is also generous and kind; is intelligent
and caring, and although their illness is
a curse, I would not change the fact that
they are my family member for anything in
this world. People should not be defined
by an illness they happen to have, hence
my irritation at the term ‘schizophrenic’.
this illness is something which happened
to them, through no fault of their own.
they did not deserve it, nor did they want
it, however it is the everyday reality for
some people and at the very least they
deserve our consideration.
so next time you think about the history
of our campus, or see someone who you
think is ‘mental’, please be considerate of
the people who suffer from these illnesses
everyday of their lives. they are the ones
who really suffer. For us it is merely an
imposition.
29HORROR ISSUEFEATURE
"Thankfully there has been progress in the care of
psychiatric patients; people who suffer from mental illnesses have been more involved in their treatment these days
and medication is not the only assistance they receive. Steps
toward a more holistic approach have been taken with diet and
exercise"
Miss. Fortune
AStoryof
30 HORROR ISSUE FEATURE
Miss. Fortune
Story
It certaInly was not the fIrst tIme that she had threatened It. only last week durIng her bathIng hour, mary ann had screamed straIght Into cynthIa’s face, “I’m goIng to do It. I’m goIng to burn thIs mother fucker down”. afterwards, she’d had a slIght feelIng of remorse; cynthIa was actually one of the nIcer nurses on the ward. she’d never stepped out of lIne the way some of the others had. she just happened to be In the wrong place at the wrong tIme; dear cynthIa.
This story is based upon true events that occurred before the1877 fire at Carrington Asylum.
By: ASHLEY SMITH
31HORROR ISSUEFEATURE
32 HORROR ISSUE FEATURE
Regardless, miss. mary ann
B. Fortune meant what she
said this time. the dreaded
isolation within her cell had
to come to an end. the only
company she knew was
that of the plate of undistinguished slop
shoved in her direction at 8 am, noon and
5 pm; like clockwork. mary ann had grown
so accustomed to the near silence and
seasonal lighting shed from the nearby
window, that she’d began to manifest an
internal clock in which she could nearly
predict the moment that the door at the
end of the corridor would swing open and
the food trolley wheels would squeak their
way down the narrow hallway.
she’d mulled over the reasons. Was it the
monotony that had aCtUallY driven her
to the near point of insanity? or was it the
dreadful scream of neighbouring patients
at midnight as they were jacketed and
escorted to the basement? mary ann had
once suffered from severe nightmares.
she would wake in the wee hours of the
night screaming and sweating, sometimes
bleeding from her shoulders where her
sharp nails had dug so deep in to a self
offensive embrace. Within four months at
the asylum, mary ann’s nightmares had
subsided; soon after, the hygiene nurse
discovered the etching near the floor of
her cell that read, “sleep yields no fear.
these walls contain all the dread one will
ever know”.
mary ann knew how to walk the line in this
place. she knew where and with whom to
bite her tongue to avoid a midnight visit
from lars. lars had a reputation for his
brute strength and empty soul. mary ann
reckoned that the 20 years employed at
the asylum would damn right steal the soul
from anyone, she couldn’t exactly blame
him. only last week on her way to the bath
room, she spotted lars out on his cigarette
break under the front tree. she could have
sworn she caught a glimmer in his eye that
indicated the bit of heart he had left in him.
Her absolute mortification towards the man
was only gently outweighed by her deep
sorrow for him.
she had waited long enough. the time
had come, she knew it was right. she was
to begin her own personal revolution
to free herself from this prison. she had
no idea where she would end up, but it
would surely be a place free of torture and
belittlement and mania.
In the visiting hours three weeks prior,
mary ann had been released to the gardens
to enjoy a smoke with her brother. arno
was sweet. He was the only one who had
managed through the years to continue on
with regular conversation and behaviours.
He never visited with superficial gifts. Her
mother had made the mistake only the year
before. she handed the pearly parcel to
mary ann with a dreaded look of sympathy
and sadness, which bewildered mary ann;
wasn’t her mother the sole decisionary
force behind her confinement? Mary Ann
opened the package to find a shiny new
fascinator, reminiscent of her heyday at
the races she was sure. Her mother was
33HORROR ISSUEFEATURE
so kind. she really shouldn’t have. It was
then that mary ann actually lost her grip
and awareness; the world around her
faded to black inward and her inner ear
began to swell with the haunting sound
of accelerating eagle wings. she took the
fascinator and delicately attached it in her
short stringy hair. she looked up slowly and
meticulously right into her mothers eyes
and slapped her across the face as hard
as she could. mary ann doesn’t remember
much afterwards. she still couldn’t recall
if she had passed out immediately or been
swiftly tranquilized by one of the staff.
arno had not been there that day, but
surely he’d heard the stories. Nonetheless,
on his next visit, there was no mention of
the incident. He and mary ann enjoyed their
conversation of edgar allen Poe and eccles
Cake.
on this past visit, arno had seemed a
bit more jublilant than usual. mary ann
reckoned he had finally found some decent
sex. He was always involved with the most
humdrum of girls. as the two of them
strolled under the canopy of trees, arno
passed mary ann his pack of matches to
light her cigarette. He was so engulfed in
his recap of current events outside the
asylum, that his usual instinct to reach
back for the matches did not register. mary
ann slipped the matches into her brassiere
and took a long distracting drag from her
cigarette, nodding in submissive agreement
into his opinion on foreign trade.
since that day, the matches had not left
the underside of her breast. mary ann had
actually developed a slightly obsessive
compulsiveness about them, feeling
for their whereabouts nearly every five
minutes. It was for this very moment that
she had been musing over since that day
in the garden with arno. the pale half
light from the high-moon left just enough
light into her cell to find her bearings with
the matches. at 2 am on september 20,
1877, with a confident and sure hand, Mary
ann B. Fortune struck her match of death.
The immediate gleam from the flaming
match instinctively widened her eyes in
the dark cell. She held the flame close to
her face for a moment before she tossed
it to the opposite corner of the wooden
cell. Mary Ann sat calmly on floor, arms
wrapped around her bent knees watching
the flame erupt into a violent and hungry
fire. As the smoke began to fill her cell
and escape out the assistance window,
mary ann took a deep long breath, closed
her eyes and accepted the destiny of miss.
Fortune.
On the early hours of the morning on 20
September 1877, the entire first floor of
the East Wing of Carrington’s Asylum
was lost to the historical fire. All but one
patient were able to escape safely. The
only casualty listed in the Auckland Star
was Mary Ann Fortune.
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V o x P o P s
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f a r f r o m t h e
Ma38 HORROR ISSUE FEATURE
f a r f r o m t h e
MC r o w d
By: HArSHA GoonEwArdAnA
InsanIty and the physIcal manIfestatIon of It In the form of mental InstItutIons have been reoccurrIng themes In cInema; mostly In horror. even as the suburban baby gangstas gIvIng mad props to each other’s’ crazy rIdes to davId brent promIsIng after work festIvItIes to be mentally
In order to attract a shIny young temp, mental InstItutes are often portrayed In cInema as creepy
palaces where unspeakable acts take place (wIth a bIt of ghoulIshness
thrown In for good measure).
gnn
addE i39HORROR ISSUEFEATURE
only 40% sought any form of assistance.
According to the Mental Health Foundation, 1 in 5
New Zealanders experience some form of mentaldisorder within the last year and
T he device commonly used
to invoke terror is the fear
of a sane person sent to an
asylum forcibly. Coupled with
a catch-22 scenario where the
patient asks to be released
because he is actually sane, thus he must
not be sane, and cannot leave. this creates
the perfect setting for terminal despair
and inescapable terror. In gothika (2003)
Halle Berry finds herself in an institution
after she blacks out during a car accident,
supposedly after murdering her husband.
although she has amnesia, miranda is
convinced a ‘not so holy ghost’ is the
main culprit. Yup tell that to medical
professionals for an early release.
another interesting take on the theme is
twelve monkeys (1995), set in the year
2035. Bruce Willis plays the thinking
man’s terminator, where he retuns to the
past to collect a sample of a killer virus
that devastates the earth in the future.
the good citizens of 1990 do not give his
amazing tales of time, travel and future
dystopia much credence and Bruce gets a
cookie and a one way ticket to an asylum.
girl Interrupted (1999) is based on an
autobiography of a teenager whose parent
thought the best cure for teenage angst
was electric shock therapy. the story is
related through a set of flashbacks by
Winona ryder, who is diagnosed with
a borderline personality disorder as
she reflects upon the despair of a sane
person treated as insane .The film is a
mishmash of crowded rooms, fists full
of hallucinogenic drugs, electroshocks,
senseless ranting, cold baths and wearing
handcuffs to bed; not far removed from a
typical kiwi oe experience in london.
a variation of this theme is when a sane
person pretends to be insane to infiltrate
an asylum. In shock Corridor (1963), a
reporter with everything going for him
(a steady job, stripper girlfriend, shot at
a Pulitzer) pretends to be crazy so he
can be admitted to an asylum to solve
a murder. Populated by a bizarre cast
of characters including a black college
dropout convinced he’s a ku-klux-klan
leader (surely there must be easier ways
to avoid student loan payments), the
movie documents Peter Breck’s journey
into insanity as he get closer to solving
the mystery and getting his mitts on the
Pulitzer.
the movie which features a man getting
transferred from a prison farm to hanging
out with the asylum “nuts” is initially
the best thing that ever happened to
Jack Nicholson in one Flew over the
Cuckoo’s Nest (1975). almost immediately,
he begins to sow chaos and disorder,
40
"HORROR ISSUE FEATURE
only 40% sought any form of assistance.
According to the Mental Health Foundation, 1 in 5
New Zealanders experience some form of mentaldisorder within the last year and
skirmishing with the deceptively sedate
Nurse ratched, who makes lucretia Borgia
look like Florence Nightingale. In this place,
revenge is best served via lobotomy.
Finally, based on the autobiography of
a certified New Zealand treasure, Jane
Campion, an angel at my table (1990),
provides an uncomfortably frank look at
mental illness in New Zealand society.
after a panic attack and an attempt to
swallow copious amounts of aspirin,
Jane played by the kerry Fox is treated
for schizophrenia for 8 long years at an
asylum.Finally, proving that the pen is
indeed mightier than the drill bit, she is
saved from a lobotomy by the timely
publication of her poems.
While we get a guilt free peek at Bdsm
complete with clichés of spooky settings,
creepy patients and deranged employees
secure in our own self-declared sanity,
it is important to acknowledge that
extent mental illness effects our own
society. according to the mental Health
Foundation, 1 in 5 New Zealanders
experience some form of mental disorder
within the last year and disturbingly only
40% sought any form of assistance. so if
you or some one you know is affected by
mental illness, go ahead and tell someone.
It’d be crazy not to.
"
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ExpoMonday 21 May
Unitec WaitakErE CaMpus
Yoga- 12:30 PM and Meditation- 12 PM classes in RooM 1041Free Massage
There wil l be
and Healthy Food Options on the day
check oUt WWW.usu.Co.nz foR the fUll schedUle.
STUDENTS’ASSOCIATION
AT UNITEC
usu
ExpoMonday 21 May
Unitec WaitakErE CaMpus
Yoga- 12:30 PM and Meditation- 12 PM classes in RooM 1041Free Massage
There wil l be
and Healthy Food Options on the day
check oUt WWW.usu.Co.nz foR the fUll schedUle.
STUDENTS’ASSOCIATION
AT UNITEC
usu
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