Pioneer Journalist Nellie Bly and "Ten Days in a Mad-House"

Pioneer Journalist Nellie Bly and "Ten Days in a Mad-House"

by Silicon Valley REALTOR Michelle Carr Crowe

I first remember reading a biography of Nellie Bly back at Kirk Elementary School in Willow Glen, San Jose.

Even though that book was a version for children, it was shocking the ugly truths about human nature that she uncovered.

In one of her pioneering articles, "Ten Days in a Mad-House," Bly revealed the Blackwell Asylum for Women was overrun by rats, had double the number of patients it was built for, and the patients there were tortured, rather than actually treated. Many were tied up together, forced to be naked or clad only in underwear, denied healthful food and taunted and beatan by the medical staff.

Had it not been for her lawyer, and the prestige of The World", her newspaper employer there was a real danger Nellie Bly could have ended up stuck forever in Blackwells's during her undercover operation.

It also became obvious that many men abused the system to admit women who "inconvenienced" them.

Bly later published her findings in a book, also titled, "Ten Days in a Mad-House".

In 2015, a movie on the subject titled, "Ten Days in a Mad-House"starring Kelly LeBrock and Christopher Lambert, was released.

On the experience, Bly wrote, "What, excepting torture, would produce insanity quicker than this treatment? Here is a class of women sent to be cured. I would like the expert physicians who are condemning me for my action, which has proven their ability, to take a perfectly sane and healthy woman, shut her up and make her sit from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. on straight-back benches, do not allow her to talk or move during these hours, give her no reading and let her know nothing of the world or its doings, give her bad food and harsh treatment, and see how long it will take to make her insane. Two months would make her a mental and physical wreck."

As a result, Blackwell's systems and processes were revamped, and included more stringent guidelines for determining insanity.

Images courtesy of www.wikipedia.com.

Thanks for reading about Pioneer Journalist Nellie Bly and "Ten Days in a Mad-House".