Thorney Towers Home for the Disturbed

Warning! This article or section contains spoilers for Psychonauts and/or its sequels. Read with caution!

Thorney Towers

“There’s no telling how long this Insane Asylum has been non-operational, but that hasn’t stopped the inhabitants from sticking around. Raz gets to know each and every one of them on a personal level by entering their minds and helping them sort out their dilemmas.”

–Old Psychopedia description

Thorney Towers Home for the Disturbed was an abandoned mental asylum built on an island in Lake Oblongata off the shores of Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp. It was destroyed in an explosion triggered by Boyd Cooper who tossed a molotov cocktail during a gas leak.

History[]

The asylum was founded in the year 1905 (75 years before Psychonauts)^[1] by Houston Thorney, to house the disturbed population of Shaky Claim, who were driven mad by the underground Psitanium deposits. Within fifteen years' time, Thorney Towers was more populated than the town itself. Houston, either driven insane by the Psitanium or by the huge responsibility over the many patients, committed suicide by jumping off the highest tower. The asylum was officially closed in 1925. The asylum seems to have been built on a high point above the town, because when the government flooded the town to prevent further settlement, the asylum remained standing. The asylum was abandoned for fifty-five years, yet some of the residents still roam the grounds, though it is unknown if they were residents that refused to leave after being paid by the federal government, or if they were put there later by Dr. Loboto.

Psychonauts[]

Ttgrounds — Razputin Aquato, next to one of the Jarred Brains.

Flames scrubbed — The asylum going up in flames.

“Well, here I am, up in the tower of an abandoned insane asylum. Wearing a straitjacket. Talking to myself.”

–Razputin Aquato

Thorney Towers is the second main setting of Psychonauts. Coach Oleander uses Thorney Towers as his base of operations for his plot to take over the world. Dr. Loboto's lab resides in the highest point of the Asylum.

The Asylum has fallen into disrepair and is hardly safe to inhabit - it's filled with rats and crumbling stairways long exposed to the elements. Even though the asylum was abandoned decades ago, some inmates still remain. The remaining inmates were unaware that the asylum was closed due to their deteriorating mental health. After Raz helps the ex-residents regain their sanity, he climbs to the top of the tower and defeats Dr. Loboto. Thorney Towers is subsequently destroyed by Boyd Cooper using Molotov milk bottles, the flames of which spread to Edgar Teglee's flammable art studio. The asylum was quickly burned down. It is unknown how the inmates fled the asylum, but it is certain that most managed to get out before the destruction. However, it is not known if inmate Crispin Whytehead managed to flee the tower in time with the other asylum members.

Psychonauts 2[]

A mental recreation of the top floor of Thorney Towers appears as the final area in Loboto's Labyrinth in Psychonauts 2.

Sub-Locations[]

Ex-Residents[]

Trivia[]

The statue in the fountain in the middle of the Asylum courtyard is one of Houston Thorney, who is seemingly wearing 4 hats at once on his forked, branchlike hair.
- On top of the statue of Houston Thorney is the Gold Watch, a collectible item from the camp scavenger hunt.

References/Notes[]

↑ It is stated that Thorney Towers was founded 55 years ago on a stump in Whispering Rock.

[1] It is stated that Thorney Towers was founded 55 years ago on a stump in Whispering Rock.

[1]