Here Are 15 Of The Scariest Abandoned Places

1 – Pripyat, Chernobyl, Ukraine

The nuclear city of Pripyat was established in the 1970s. Prior to the Chernobyl accident, over 49,000 people called it home. Radiation-induced cancer claimed the lives of numerous residents during the catastrophic nuclear accident. Pripyat is now a well-liked tourist destination and is accessible to the general public, but according to Ukrainian officials, the area won’t be habitable for another 20,000 years. You can read more about the history of the Chernobyl disaster here.

2 – Kolmanskop, Namibia

Following World War I, the once-thriving town of Kolmanskop began to disappear. When rich diamond-bearing deposits were discovered on a beach terrace 270 km south of Kolmanskop, German miners started to move south, leaving their homes and belongings behind. Photographers are now drawn to the abandoned town.

3 – Chateau Miranda in Celles, Belgium

The neo-gothic Miranda Castle in Celles was constructed in 1866. The Liedekerke-De Beaufort family, who had fled their former residence during the French Revolution, commissioned it. The project’s lead architect passed away before it was completed. Up until 1970, it functioned as both a holiday camp for ailing children and an orphanage. Since 1991, the castle has been abandoned because the upkeep would be too costly. The American television series Hannibal also has a scene set in the eerie-looking castle.

4 – Dhanushkodi, India

The ruins of this ancient city are situated between Sri Lanka and India on the southeast tip of Pamban Island. Dhanushkodi, which was once a part of Tamil Nadu, was devastated by a cyclone and has been abandoned since 1964.

5 – The Star Jet Rollercoaster, New Jersey, USA

When Hurricane Sandy struck the coasts of New York and New Jersey, the Casino Pier roller coaster in Seaside Heights, which was once completely operational, washed into the ocean. The Jet Star, which was standing in front of it, was replaced by the Star Jet. It serves as a reminder of the hurricane’s devastation and is located along the Atlantic Ocean coast. The Hydrus, a replacement roller coaster, debuted in 2017.

6 – Garh Kundar, India

Kundar is a small village in Madhya Pradesh’s Tikamgarh district, close to Jhansi. The Garh Kundar fort ruins are situated close to the village on a hill. They narrate the story of the Khangar emperors’ illustrious past. The Garh Kundar fort has been the subject of ghost stories for a number of decades. Restoring it is presently being considered.

7 – San Zhi Houses, Taiwan

The Sanzhi District of New Taipei City is home to these homes, which resemble flying saucers. Tourists like it because of its unique architecture, even though the buildings are completely deserted. The site is considered unlucky because many suicides and fatalities occurred there while construction was underway.

8 – La Isla de las Muñecas, Mexico

‘Island of Dolls’, located just outside Mexico City, is home to a large number of eerie and worn-out dolls. According to legend, the island’s caretaker discovered a dead girl’s body there, so he began hanging vintage dolls from trees all over the place to placate the girl’s ghost. The caretaker was later discovered dead in 2001 in the same location where he claimed to have discovered the girl’s corpse.

9 – Hotel del Salto, Colombia

When the mansion was constructed in 1928, it was meant to serve as a hotel for visitors to Tequendama Falls. With stunning French architecture, it was abandoned because the Bogotá River became contaminated, and there were rumors that it was haunted. In 2013, it was transformed into the Tequendama Falls Museum of Culture and Biodiversity.

10 – SS Ayrfield Shipwreck, Australia

Sydney’s Homebush Bay functioned as an industrial port during the 20th century, hosting a large number of ships carrying coal and oil. However, as the region’s industrial activity waned toward the century’s end, the bay turned into a decommissioned ships’ “ship-breaking ground.” Some of the abandoned freighters from 1911 that supplied American forces in the Pacific theater of World War II are still visible today across Homebush Bay. Among them is the SS Ayrfield. The boat, which is now floating in the bay and covered in mangrove trees, was deregistered in 1972.

11 – Hashima Island, Japan

This 16-acre island in Japan’s Nagasaki prefecture is also known as Gunkanjima, or Battleship Island due to its resemblance to a Japanese battleship. It was formerly a heavily populated location for underwater coal mining. From 1887 until the coal supply ran out in 1974, Hashima Island operated as a profitable coal facility. Following this, the island’s population swiftly departed. After being named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2015, groups of tourists can now take tours of the concrete “ghost island” for as little as $36 for adults and $29 for students with nearby businesses like the Gunkanjima Concierge Company.

12 – Burj Al Babas, Turkey

With its 732 châteaux villas, the Burj Al Babas resort was envisioned as a getaway with a European flair. Construction was put on hold in 2011 due to opposition from the community and further legal and financial issues. All that’s left is a ghost town straight out of a fairy tale.

13 – Nelson Ghost Town, Nevada

Once a hotspot for gold mining in the 1800s, the now-deserted region frequently saw fatal altercations between lawless cowboys. You can now take a guided tour of the ghost town, which has everything from antique cars to abandoned stores.

14 – Hoia Forest, Romania

This forest, known as the “Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania,” is thought to be a portal to a different reality. Since a number of people have vanished there over time, the area is off-limits to the general public. Those who survive the ordeal, however, have described strange rashes that last for a long time along with strange sensations. Over the forest, numerous UFO sightings have also been reported.

There have been a number of unexplained incidents, including a girl who vanished, was missing for five years, and then reappeared wearing the same clothes and not aged at all. The unusual growth of the trees in the area is quite striking, with tree trunks growing in an unearthly way and resembling human faces.

15 – Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Canada

Built in 1888 to encourage tourism and sell train tickets, this chateau-style hotel sits pretty by the Rocky Mountains in Canada’s Banff National Park. But it gets a tad more Gothic once you get inside – and we aren’t talking about the architecture. The Calgary Herald has reported several resident ghosts, including a bride who supposedly fell down the stone staircase during her wedding. But there’s a less tragic spirit, too: Sam the bellman, who worked at the hotel until 1975 and claimed he’d come back to haunt the joint. His spirit supposedly pulls shifts to help people with their bags before disappearing.