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Most people outside of Massachusetts think of ghosts and demons when they hear the name of Danvers State Hospital. The old brick building, now being torn down, is one of the paranormal hot spots of the state and the holy grail of investigations. In thinking about Danvers, too often the great tragedies that took place are thought of just as the cause of the disturbances felt today. The pain left by the people there, and the great stories of recovery, are lost among EVP’s and EMF readings.

But the heart and soul of Danvers has been preserved by Michael Ramseur in his book, the Eye of Danvers. Told through historical records and first hand accounts, it chronicles the rise and fall of a place once considered the crowning jewel of the mental health system and now stands as a representative of all that went wrong with it. The hospital was more than stone and mental and glass. Danvers was built on people, some who suffered greatly there. Ramseur is able to convey the power of the emotion felt by those who called the institution home.

The ultimate power of the book lies in the breathtaking artwork of Ramseur. As an artist looking at the buildings and the people behind the walls for decades, he brings a unique view of the landscape and the inner emotion of the place. If the book had no words, his paintings would still connect the people, trapped in time, and the emotions they dealt with.

As they slowly replace Danvers State Hospital with condos and playgrounds, what happened there will be lost. The people touched, in a positive and a negative way, will slowly die off and their stories lost. All we will have left are written accounts, and The Eye of Danvers will be the complete record, told through words and pictures, of a history many want to forget.