5 Ghost-Towns Around the World

San-Zhi

Designed as a luxurious tourist resort in Northern Taiwan, the futuristic town of San Zhi was abandoned before it was even completed. Stories say that many workers died while working on the pod-houses and the government decided to pull the plug on the project. So now, instead of an expensive tourist destination for the richest people in Taiwan, San Zhi is just a ghost town left at the mercy of the elements.

Locals say San Zhi is now haunted by the ghosts of those who died here during construction.

Pripyat

The city of Pripyat was the home of Chernobyl workers before the terrible nuclear accident but after 1986 it was completely deserted. Because the residents were not allowed to take anything but a suitcase of uncontaminated clothes when Pripyat was evacuated, it had the look of a quiet museum. But that all changed when authorities announced that the area was relatively safe, that’s when scavengers made their appearance, taking even the toilet-seats from some apartments.

Although access to the city is not completely restricted, I don’t know why anyone would want to visit such a spooky location where there are still some traces of radiation.

Hashima Island

Also known as Gunkanjima or Battleship Island because of its shape, Hashima is one of many deserted islands on the Japanese coast. In 1890 a coal-mining company started building facilities here and the island was surrounded by a tall concrete wall to protect it from hurricanes. At one point Hashima had one of the highest population densities in history, but as petroleum began to replace coal, in 1974 the facilities were shut-down and the population evacuated. Access to Hashima Island has been restricted ever since it was abandoned and rumors say it is haunted.

Bodie, USA

Bodie

Once a flourishing gold-mining town with a population of nearly 10,000 souls, Bodie is now a decaying ghost town left at the mercy of the elements. Founded in 1859 as a mining camp by gold prospector W. Bodye, the town attracted gold diggers from all over the world but because it had little groundwater resources it was deserted at the beginning of the 20th century.


Bodie is recognized as a National Historic Landmark and the remaining houses have been preserved with their original interiors.

Centralia

Centralia was never a large town, at its peak it only had about 2,000 residents out of which just 18 remain today. The downfall of this American borough started in 1962 when the authorities ignited a town landfill that was atop an unsealed coal mine. The coal started burning underground causing damage and endangering the lives of locals.

Centralia was literally sitting on a powder keg and when gas stations started registering high temperatures in their fuel tanks the authorities decided to evacuate the town. The underground fire still burns and scientists say it could be burning for another 250 years.