Why Was Idlewild Hall Abandoned In 'The Broken Girls'?

2025-07-01 22:53:10 73

3 Answers

Victoria
Victoria
2025-07-07 19:34:59
In 'The Broken Girls', Idlewild Hall's abandonment stems from a perfect storm of neglect and tragedy. The school for troubled girls operated under horrific conditions—abuse was rampant, funding dried up, and authorities turned a blind eye. When student Mary Hand died under suspicious circumstances in the 1950s, her ghost allegedly haunted the grounds, accelerating the school's decline. By the 1970s, the administration couldn't cover up the disappearances and deaths anymore. The final straw was a high-profile scandal involving a missing teacher, which forced closure. The decaying buildings became a magnet for urban explorers and true crime enthusiasts, cementing its reputation as Vermont's most infamous ruins.
Lincoln
Lincoln
2025-07-07 23:01:34
As someone who analyzed 'The Broken Girls' chapter by chapter, I found Idlewild Hall's abandonment layers deeper than just supernatural rumors. The school's isolation played a key role—built far from town, it became a dumping ground for 'problem girls' society wanted to forget. Financial records show the state gradually withdrew support after WWII, leaving underpaid staff to manage overcrowded dorms. Student diaries reveal escalating violence between cliques, with minimal adult intervention. The 1950 disappearance of Sonia Gallipeau wasn't properly investigated, breeding systemic distrust.

The Mary Hand legend worsened existing problems. Staff reported hearing footsteps and seeing shadows, making retention impossible. When journalist Fiona Sheridan's sister was murdered near the grounds in 1994, the ghost story gained modern traction. Forensic details suggest the killer exploited the location's eerie reputation to stage the crime. The book implies the school's physical decay mirrors the moral rot of those who ran it—peeling paint hiding bloodstains, broken windows failing to mask screams. Its abandonment wasn't sudden collapse but slow suffocation by secrets.
Nathan
Nathan
2025-07-02 13:27:04
Idlewild Hall's fate in 'The Broken Girls' chilled me because it mirrors real reform school horrors. The abandonment wasn't just about ghosts—it was about complicity. Powerful families paid to hide 'embarrassing' daughters there, then looked away when abuse claims surfaced. The 1940s fire that killed three girls was ruled accidental, but charred diary pages hinted at locked exits. Every decade added new wounds: a teacher's affair with a student in the 1960s, a suicide pact in 1972. The final closure paperwork cited 'structural unsoundness,' but everyone knew the truth.

What fascinates me is how Simone St. James uses the setting. The ruins become a character—crumbling walls whisper past crimes, the overgrown quad hides unmarked graves. Modern-day Fiona discovers the school's darkest secret wasn't supernatural, but human: live girls were buried in the same cemetery as dead ones. That revelation makes the abandonment feel inevitable; some places are too stained by evil to remain open.
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