Into The Closed World of State Mental Hospitals

Mental institutions - especially the palatial old ones - are some of the creepiest places on Earth. At the same time, they're institutional design and unusual contents make for beautiful photographic opportunities. Christopher Payne chronicles many of the late 19th and early 20th century buildings in his new book, Asylum. As the synopsis on the book states, "in the second half of the twentieth century, after the introduction of psychotropic drugs and policy shifts toward community-based care, patient populations declined dramatically, leaving many of these beautiful, massive buildings—and the patients who lived in them—neglected and abandoned." Maddeningly beautiful shots: