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Type: Hospital
Location:Woodstock
Hazards: Rubble, asbestos
Condition: Mostly gutted out inside, but structurally intact
Equipment: Flashlights (filtration masks and gloves recommended)
Agents: Capone, King Pie, Citizen-X, Jerry, Rug-Head
Status: Successful
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We stumbled upon the Oxford Regional Centre (ORC) by accident while following leads in Woodstock (mainly Capone's memory of an abandoned fire hall and factories), as well as a site on the Oxford House of Refuge (HOR). We were scared off of the HOR by cars and lights on(it is actually being demolished which is a shame). The Fire Station had been taken over, and the factories were gone, however we decided that we would not leave empty handed. The first building we found was a grey one-story structure about the size of two houses, it was in local areas lot. However it was completely boarded and in far too active a part of town.
Slightly discouraged at this point we decide to drive up along the tracks, due to Capone's memories of abandoned railway cars (we were getting desperate). Then we came across Highway 59, the first thing we saw was an abandoned house on the hill, which was a welcomed sight, as the previous hours had resulted in nothing. On a closer approach we noticed that also there was another house in behind that one, then we drove by the gate, which stated "Ontario Hospital". We quickly found a parking spot and grabbed our lights.
The first building we went to was the Power House, the inside was completely gutted, however we were able to view in through broken windows, it descended at least 1 floor into the ground, and the doors that used to be there where bricked shut. After looking around we decided the building was completely inaccessible since we did not have a ladder. We have a theory that the powerhouse went down another level, with a possibility of tunnels. But we cannot prove this, it's only speculation. Something slightly weird about the powerhouse was the presence of a straw dummy lying on the floor inside. Since there were no doorways in, somebody must have thrown it through the window. But for what possible reason?
Heading up the hill the first building up the hill we came across was the Administration Building; it was a large three-story structure resembling a house with a front overhang, which would allow a car to drive to the front steps. Inside the building the place was completely gutted, some of the walls were even gone (this was to become a reoccurring theme for the place). The staircase to the upper level was almost completely demolished, Rug-Head was able to boost Citizen-X and me to the upper level, which was basically like the rest of the building.
The next building was the one marked "Crestwood", which is what we had unofficially named the place at first. This building was identical to the "Cedarwood" building, which was opposite it. These two buildings were identical to each other; these were also the only buildings with any real graffiti. Each was three stories with multiple staircases, the insides completely gutted.
The next building was the main hospital ward, it was the largest building, the curious thing is that it lacked a basement, and a second floor, even though it could have easily have had the room, instead it had exceptionally high ceilings, there was one main hallway (with skylights in the ceiling), and a large empty room on one side, however the large room was sectioned off by half walls with huge windows, these walls could however be walked around on the far side from the hallway. This was not due to demolition, it appeared as if this was how it was designed. This section was apparently a Dining Hall, since not only is it the right size, but also the words "dining hall" had been printed inside a fuse box we found. Along the other wall of the main hallway were a series of small rooms, about 4ft x 6ft, which we took to be isolation cells based on their small size and the fact that there were several of them and all were identical. As well, in between the two sets of isolation cells, there was large open room with tile floors/walls. We took this to be a showering area, because of the tile and the places for shower fixtures on the walls. Also 2 sections of wall that had been removed at the back end of the building; these appeared to be part of demolished wings.
Behind the main building was the laundry building. This building had the main floor and a basement, it had a small elevator for laundry, and signs still tacked to the wall indicating different types of food. We believe it was the main storage area and laundry centre. In the back it also had a loading bay. An interesting feature in this building was a large metal sliding door. Also one room in this building was completely filled with brand new still in packaging bricks.
The last building on the grounds was the education building a three story building near the road. It was set up the most like a house, with narrow hallways and radiators and fireplaces. The basement was slightly curious, there was a room we like to call the "learning cell" there was a large door with a strong lock, to a very cell-ish part of the basement, in there the walls were all painted, on one side was a smiling face, on the other the alphabet with the letter "K" wiped out, then there was a small passage out the back to another part of the room, which was also cell-like with a large lock.
After this building we left, however we met someone on the way out who gave us some clues to the place. Although this amounted to little more than him telling us it was "the old pysch hospital" and sharing a story about an escape lunatic who was found hiding out at a campground in the nearby woods after a 200-man search.
- King Pie
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