13 Shocking Reasons People were Committed to Asylums
by Sarah Ballance
If you thought you had to get your crazy on to land in a place
like Ruby Hill, you’d better think again. The following list of reasons folks
were locked up for “treatment” between 1864 and 1889 at the RUBY HILL-esque yet
very real Trans-Alleghany Lunatic Asylum is absolutely true. (My commentary,
however, may be prone to exaggeration.)
1.
Bad Whiskey – I don’t know if this guy drank bad whiskey, sold bad
whiskey, or manufactured bad whiskey, but you’ve got to feel for anyone forced
to sober up a lunatic asylum. I’m pretty sure that type of residence is exactly
where I’d most need whiskey, bad or otherwise.
2.
Drospy – I admit I had to look this one up. It’s the old word for
edema, which is what happens when you carry excess fluid. Basically this
means if you’ve ever taken off your socks to find they’ve left dents in your
legs, you could have been committed. Now THAT is lunacy.
3.
Fighting Fire – Not setting them, but fighting them.
Apparently firefighting in the 1800s wasn’t always considered the heroic
profession we know it as today. And someone at the admissions desk is a
pyromaniac.
4.
Menstrual Deranged – What does that mean,
exactly? Aside the menstrual part – we get that. Monthly, even. But deranged? We probably don’t want to know, but what do
you want to bet a man came up with that one?
5.
Masturbation for 30 Years – Erm, okay. But
why THIS GUY and not EVERY OTHER GUY ON THE PLANET? I’m just sayin’….
6.
Suppressed Masturbation – So what we’ve
just learned is there is clearly a target zone for this particular
activity—somewhere between once and 30 years’ worth. Good luck with that, boys.
7.
Ill Treatment by Husband – Okay, so he’s a
jerk so they lock HER up? I bet a man thought of that one, too. (I’m gaining a
whole new appreciation for my fabulous husband, who—in over 16 years of
marriage—has not once sent me to an asylum.)
8.
Seduction and Disappointment – I’m not sure
who was seduced in this scenario and who was disappointed, but apparently this
was not the time to oversell oneself. (No wonder that one guy just stuck
to masturbation for 30 years.)
9.
Scarlatina (Scarlet Fever) – You there, with
the contagious disease. Into the criminally over-crowded asylum. Yep, that’ll
fix you. That will fix all of you. Muahahaha.
10. Medicine to Prevent
Conception –
To be fair, all forms of contraception were made illegal in the United States
in 1873, so this was at least technically a crime. By the 1880s, though, there
was a handy-dandy sausage casing device (yes, that would be animal intestine)
alternative. Might have been worth a shot because…
11. Dissipation of Nerves – There’s nothing
to indicate the dissipation of nerves was in any way related to conception
rates, but my husband and I have six children (one of whom was conceived after
I was surgically sterilized) and I’m telling you, asylum people. YOU CAN’T HAVE
IT BOTH WAYS. It a classic inverse proportion, and if you don’t believe me just
ask all those people who see me with six kids and immediately assume I’m crazy.
But I digress.
12. Carbonic Acid Gas – I’m not sure of
the particulars here, but just so y’all know, this is a byproduct of breathing.
BREATHING WAS A CRIME.
13. Novel Reading – ERMAGERD, YOU
GUYS. First we can’t breathe, and now they take away our novels! But fear not,
for RUBY HILL is not a novel, but a novella. Which can
only mean READING RUBY HILL WILL KEEP YOU OUT OF
AN INSANE ASYLUM!
Okay, so my logic might be a bit flawed, LOL, but I’m going to
distract you quickly so you won’t notice. :-) Here’s a related little historical
twist that blew my mind. In September, Entangled Scandalous released my
historical romance, HER WICKED SIN, which is set during the Salem Witch Trials.
Back then, the Salem in question was actually Salem Village, which has since
been renamed Danvers. Danvers is home to the Danvers State Lunatic Asylum
(reportedly one of the most haunted places in the world, and they turned it
into APARTMENTS, y’all!), which sits on Hawthorne Hill, the very site of the
gallows where the Salem witches were hanged. Nice little coincidence, right?
But it gets better. Back in 2011—long before I’d given any thought to writing
about the Salem Witch Trials or a haunted lunatic asylum—I had out there a
little novella about a haunted house. Its name? HAWTHORNE.
Mind. Blown.
Now that you’ve been
properly wooed (yes-I-said-wooed), are you ready to
dive into the dust, abandonment, terror—and yes, romance—of an abandoned mental institution? (Come
on—you’ve got to see how the romance
fits in there, right?) If so, I hope you’ll consider a dark, dangerous trek
(or, you know, just click over) to your favorite e-tailer for the scoop on RUBY
HILL!
Find it @ Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes | Goodreads
~ * ~
RUBY
HILL
by Sarah Ballance
by Sarah Ballance
(supernatural
romance)
One
reunion. One ghost. One night that will change everything…
From
her earliest memories, Ashley Pearce has been drawn to Ruby Hill Lunatic
Asylum, and she’s not the only one. Decades after the abandoned hospital
ended its institutional reign of torture and neglect, something lurks in the
shadows. Since she’s a paranormal investigator, it’s Ashley’s job to find
out what.
Crime
scene expert Corbin Malone doesn’t believe in ghosts. A born skeptic, he has no
interest in entertaining the hype surrounding the mysterious deaths
at Ruby Hill, but he won’t turn his back while more women
die. He agrees to an overnight investigation, never expecting his first
encounter would be with the woman he pushed away a year ago. But when
he discovers Ashley is a target, he learns his
greatest fear isn’t living with his own demons, but losing her for good.
**99
cents** Find it @ Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes | Goodreads
~
* ~
Excerpt:
Visions of the crime scene photos made an unwelcome reappearance
in his mind’s eye. Young women—beautiful young women. Death hadn’t changed
that. “In both cases, heart stopped. Sudden cardiac arrest. No known cause. No
family history. No leads.”
She nodded, unimpressed. But then again, she subscribed to the
boogieman camp. “So a ghost did it.”
He expected her to claim victory with that sentiment, but
instead her words harbored bitter undertones. The shift threw him off balance.
The whole damn place had that effect on him. The air felt as if it bred illness
rather than oxygen—darkness gathering like rain clouds, too fat with their
wares to find the sky.
He’d choke on the toxicity.
Is that what Cash had done?
Though the air boiled, inexplicable cold sluiced Corbin’s spine.
He glanced toward a window. Dusty and broken, it had a morbid effect on the
sunshine attempting to filter through from outside, where the world lazed deep
orange. The thought of darkness on the other side made him shudder. When he
turned to shut the front door, he realized the darkness on the inside was far
worse.
~ * ~
Review quotes
“Ballance gives us lovely, spooky writing – the kind where the sentences
feel good in your mouth while they send shivers down your spine … Ballance
does a pitch perfect job of crafting a horror story in Ruby Hill. ” – Tori MacAllister
“Ruby Hill is a truly chilling account of ghost hunting at an asylum
after dark.” –Sapphyria’s Book Reviews
“Ruby Hill by Sarah Ballance was deliciously
creepy. I loved every spooky minute of it.” - Becky on Books … and Quilts
~
* ~
About Sarah Ballance:
Sarah and her husband of what he
calls “many long, long years” live on the mid-Atlantic coast with their six
young children, all of whom are perfectly adorable when they’re asleep. She
never dreamed of becoming an author, but as a homeschooling mom, she often
jokes she writes fiction because if she wants anyone to listen to her, she has
to make them up. (As it turns out, her characters aren’t much better than the
kids). When not buried under piles of laundry, she may be found adrift in the
Atlantic (preferably on a boat) or seeking that ever-elusive perfect writing
spot where not even the kids can find her.
She loves creating unforgettable stories while putting
her characters through an unkind amount of torture—a hobby that has nothing to
do with living with six children. (Really.) Though she adores nail-biting
mystery and edge-of-your-seat thrillers, Sarah writes in many genres including
contemporary and ghostly paranormal romance. Her ever-growing roster of
releases may be found at http://sarahballance.com
Website: http://www.sarahballance.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahBallance
So basically, it was a bad time to be alive in this century lol Thank you so much for stopping by, Sarah. It sounds like you have fun with your research for this book, which sounds fab by the way. Adding it to my tbr pile. :-) xx
ReplyDeleteLOL! So, so true. Thanks so much for featuring RUBY HILL. It's always an honor to be here, and certainly to be on your TBR list!
DeleteYour books sound amazing. I can't wait to read one. Love your blob
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Paula! :)
ReplyDelete