Poveglia, Italy - 'The Haunted Island' by

Background Information

heidi_lee_c — 2014-02-23 19:44:28 UTC

Poveglia is an island off the coast of Venice. Many tourists and paranormal enthusiasts have made the trip and comeback with horrific stories as this island is said to be haunted. Poveglia has a rich and twisted amount of reasons to be haunted.

In 1379 Venice was attacked by the Genoan fleet. The Venetian government built on the island a permanent fortification, called "the Octagon," still visible today.

Then in 1776, Napoleon Bonaparte was in rule and designated this island as a dump yard for plague victims to be quarantined. Then again was used for quarantine in 1793. Mass graves have been dug up on islands close by that were also used for quarantine, finding 1,500 human remains.

Lastly, in 1922-1968 "The Octagon" was put into use as a mental institution. Rumors are the head doctor was performing torturous brain surgeries.

The island was finally abandoned and is now guarded and only visitable by documentation from the Venetian Government.

Mass Graves Discovered

heidi_lee_c — 2014-02-23 20:10:21 UTC

Very close by, on the island of Lazzaretto Vecchio, the Venetian government was building a museum and came across a disturbing finding of mass graves. The graves dated back to time of the bubonic plague.

Relevant because It is thought that Poveglia would have similar graves due to the history and similar disposing of bodies.

Significant because it contains photo images of the graves and estimating body counts. Provides a strong level of critical thinking and insight as to why Poveglia might have the same mass grave burials.

Here is an article National Geographic wrote on the discovery.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/08/070829-venice-plague.html

Ghost Hunters Investigation Part 1

heidi_lee_c — 2014-02-23 20:16:01 UTC

Zak Bagans, Nick Groff, and Aaron Goodwin are ghost hunters and run an American television series documenting their experiences.

Relevant: documented Poveglia haunted experiences and visit

Significant: Interesting and entertaining take on the topic

I do think that these men arrive at the stes skeptical and do try and debunk noises heard by eyewitnesses. However, they are bias towards ghosts being real.

Part 2

heidi_lee_c — 2014-02-23 20:21:49 UTC

Part 2 of Ghost Hunters

Scariest Places on Earth - Poveglia Edition Part 1

heidi_lee_c — 2014-02-23 20:29:58 UTC

Scariest Places on Earth is another American television series that documents adventures into haunted places.

This is a video of a family being taken to Poveglia and sharing their own experiences. I believe they came into Poveglia with bias's of whether or not ghosts are real or not and failed to apply skepticism and critical thinking skills.

Part 2

heidi_lee_c — 2014-02-23 20:35:12 UTC

Robin Saikia

heidi_lee_c — 2014-02-23 21:19:43 UTC

Robin Saikia is a British traveler and published author of many books. This video is relevant because it is Robin boating to Poveglia and stating facts while exploring the perimeter. Significant and interesting to see it up close.

You can read more at www.RobinSaikia.com

Video Comparison

heidi_lee_c — 2014-02-23 21:24:45 UTC

You can notice after watching these three videos that the cause of death to the mental doctor who tortured and did experiments has changed. Each person has different understanding.

1. 'Ghost Hunters' thinks he hung himself in the lighthouse.

2. 'Scariest Places on Earth' think that ghost appirations came and killed him from beyond the grave.

3. Robin Saikia thinks that the doctor's mental patients broke out of their rooms and collaborated in murdering the doctor.

Strange Geographies

heidi_lee_c — 2014-02-23 21:33:43 UTC

Strange Geographies is the site where i found this great Poveglia article. It is written from the perspective of Ransom Riggs. Ransom Riggs is an author of alternative books, mostly paranormal phenomenon in fictional novels. It is interesting, has a lot of interesting photos of the island and documents his own personal experience of Proveglia.

I do not think that Ransom had any bias's entering Poveglia and I do think he was skeptical.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/24658/strange-geographies-happy-haunted-island-poveglia

Early Brain Experiments

heidi_lee_c — 2014-02-23 21:53:33 UTC

The doctor has been rumored by many to have been experimenting on the brains of the mental patients. We know from watching "The Dark Side of the Mind' video that back in the day doctors actually did use to conduct brain research by dissection and autopsy, as well removing the skull and poking at the brain while patient is awake. At this time it was not deemed torture to preform research this way as long as the applicants were willing. The only torturous nature seen here is that he was performing this method of research on non-willing applicants. He was performing it on mental patients that cannot write their rights away for research. This is unethical but not considered torturous at this time.

Here is a website further explaining how brain research is done now a days through surgical procedures called "Craniotomy' and is very similar to the way the doctor in Poveglia was performing brain research. It is relevant to the history behind Poveglia. It is a significant part of Poveglia's story about how the head doctor was mad and how he may have died.

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/specialty_areas/brain_tumor/treatment/surgery/craniotomy.html

Pictures of Poveglia

heidi_lee_c — 2014-02-23 22:19:39 UTC

Picture of Poveglia

heidi_lee_c — 2014-02-23 22:21:05 UTC

This one is good because it shows the shadow of someone

Picture of Poveglia

heidi_lee_c — 2014-02-23 22:23:00 UTC

The mental institution parts of Poveglia

Word Document with Answered Topic Questions

heidi_lee_c — 2014-02-23 22:42:00 UTC

Four Questions were were told to answer along with this Padlet wall.