Parsons State Insane Asylum

The Parsons State Insane Asylum is a location in the Commonwealth in Fallout 4.

Background
The Parsons State Insane Asylum was built by the Cabot family. As the name suggests, the building was an institution for the care of people deemed 'mentally ill'. Subterranean rooms were constructed to house the most difficult cases, including Lorenzo Cabot.

Layout
A multi-level building. There are a number of locked doors and safes to be found.

Inhabitants

 * Captain Maria
 * Lorenzo Cabot
 * Lefty

Notable loot

 * Charisma bobblehead - On Jack Cabot's office desk, close to elevator, administration area. If missed during the initial visit to the room, grab it on the way out after taking the elevator in the control room for Lorenzo's cell.
 * A Syringer rifle - In the last room on the left at the end of the block of cells in the basement (before reaching Lorenzo by dropping down through a square hole full of exposed rebar in the floor).
 * Mysterious serum - Lefty has four syringes, and three are on a surgical tray on a table outside Lorenzo's cell.
 * Overdue book - There are potentially two in the filing cabinets in the Control Room. Check the loose drawer on top of the cabinets by jumping up a bit, where one book may be found, otherwise hidden out of view. Another book found in the small room access through the short brick tunnel out of the Control room towards the lift used to enter. Also in an open filing cabinet to the west side (left on entering).
 * Massachusetts Surgical Journal issue #1 (+2% damage dealt to limbs) - On a table in Lorenzo Cabot's cell, possibly barely visible beneath a vase.
 * A Vault-Tec lunchbox - On a shelf to the left of the ramp in the room just before the control room. There is another on the end of a bench on the right side of the first raider-filled hallway.
 * Cell key - in two file cabinets in the administration; one in the large room near the exit, the other near Jack's office terminal.

Related quests

 * Special Delivery
 * The Secret of Cabot House

Appearances
The Parsons State Insane Asylum appears only in Fallout 4.

Behind the scenes

 * The Parsons State Insane Asylum is based on the real life Danvers State Insane Asylum. This can also be considered another H.P. Lovecraft reference, as Danvers State Insane Asylum is mentioned by name in at least 2 of his works.  Furthermore, H.P. Lovecraft's Arkham Sanitarium was believed to be inspired by Danvers State, which in turn was the inspiration for Batman's Arkham Asylum.  Danvers State has appeared in at least one other video game, it was a level in 2004's Painkiller.
 * The patients records found on Jack's office terminal show that the asylum once held a vigilante named "Nightwar", a woman only who wore black leather, and a ten year old murderer who was always laughing. This might be a reference to the characters of Batman, Catwoman, and the Joker. The latter may also refer to the Pint-Sized Slasher.
 * The "Abremalin field" imprisoning Lorenzo appears to be a reference to a historical occult work, The Book of Abramelin.

Bugs

 * If the player has not yet taken any quest related to this location, the raider and mercenary corpses will despawn, but new mercenaries will spawn (at specific locations around the exterior of the building, but all within the walled 'courtyard' areas or just outside one gate) every time the location is visited. Some of these enemies may spawn while the player is already within the area, especially at the door to the administration building.  This can make the use of stealth much more difficult, and the Sole Survivor can quickly attract multiple enemies if engaged in a firefight, even where it appeared only few enemies were present.  Due to the virtually constant spawning, traveling back and forth between the asylum and a nearby settlement may allow the player to relatively quickly accumulate numerous pieces of leveled gear.
 * Mercenaries in the bug described above may be spawned clipped beneath the grounds or building. They can appear in random orientations, such as inverted or standing horizontally, and some or all parts of their bodies may be totally concealed by the landscape.  Though these enemies may not be able to hit the Sole Survivor when firing their weapon if it is concealed by the clipped landscape, they may still be able to detect a sneaking player and alert other nearby enemies.  If they are totally concealed, it may be impossible to target the enemy in VATS or attack them at all.  This can typically be resolved by quicksaving and reloading or moving far enough away and fast traveling out of the area.  Be aware, though, that all enemies will spawn again upon return when taking the latter option.