Creative character study- The Library of Dust

This is a story about The Library of Dust which was found in an madhouse in Salem, Oregon. The pictures are the cans of the cremated people that died there. My story is my interpretation of why i thought the personalities of these people based on the designs on the cans.The last person i write about, Drew Carter, is actually one of my teachers from last year. He was a surfer and he did have an imaginary friend named Harold who wore red and pink pants. My whole class would agree that Mr.Carter was a litle crazy, but thats what we loved about him.

Well i hope you enjoy!!!


“Hello inspector. Please, come in.”
The inspector walked into a stone hall with bare stone walls. It was quite chilly inside the hospital and the atmosphere was very uninviting. He was wearing a nice black suit and a top hat with shiny leather shoes. He looked quite out of place.
“Thank you. Now today, as you might already know, I will be inspecting Oregon State Hospital to make sure that all is right and that it is a safe place for the patients.”
“Well right this way then.”
“First I will ask you how long you have worked here?”
“Oh, I’ve worked here since it opened, which was five years ago”
“So this facility is fairly new?”
“Yes”
“Can you first show me where all the patients are?”
“Of course, just around the corner here is the place where they all get to interact so they are not lonely all the time. It is supervised at all times.”
“Can you tell me a little about some of the patients?”




“Sure, this here is Jeremy Garston. He is one of our first patients. He has Apert Syndrome. He has many mutinous characteristics as you can see. He can’t talk because his jaw is stuck together and he can’t open his mouth. His toes and fingers are stuck together. And as you can also see he has extremely bad acne. He suffers from various heart defects so its good that he stays here with us.

“But he doesn’t act strangely”
“Yes but his parents didn’t want him so they dropped him off here and he isn’t …..normal”









“Okay how about that woman over there”
“Oh that’s Martha Reynolds, she has an obsessive compulsive disorder.
“What is that exactly?”
“Well I think of it as a game that you are stuck in and you have to play by the rules your whole life unless you get special help which is why she is here. But unfortunately she has a very serious case. She has silly rules like she can’t look at the doors or she can’t touch anything unless someone has touched it first.
“That dosent seem that bad”
“You don’t understand she has to live by these rules. She can’t live without not looking at a door her whole life. They seem like minor things, but they come as a big disadvantage.
“I see. Now who is that over there he seems to be talking to himself”





“Oh he is Drew Carter he has schizophrenia. He has an imaginary friend named Harold. He always tells us that Harold always wears his red pants, but sometimes when they get dirty he has to wear his pink ones. He is in a totally different world when he is with Harold.
“How did he get this way?”
“He was in a surfing accident and broke his jaw. That’s why sometimes you can’t understand what he is saying”
“Well I think I’ve gotten a good enough view of the kinds of people that live here. Could you please show me the examining room.”
“Yes, right this way please.”