The creepiest abandoned buildings are filled with history, sadness, and beauty, and give you a glimpse of time what used to be in the world.
Abandoned buildings spread out through the world offer an insight to deep history in many cases. Spooky places around the world like ghost towns have been long forgotten all over the world.
Their reasons are varied whether it’s valuable minerals that ran dry or some sort of disaster. The history can be felt in these places, and they are fascinating. Imagine the feeling of being in an abandoned building with the natural elements taking over and trees pushing their way through broken windows.
Read this guide to see and learn about abandoned buildings and places around the world.
12 Creepiest Abandoned Buildings Around the World
Let’s discover the historic and creepiest abandoned buildings around the world that still exist.
1 – Gunkanjima, Japan
It was the petroleum replacing coal that turned Hashima Island into “ghost island.” Close to Nagasaki, it was a populated island from 1887 to 1974. Families made this their home and worked to extract coal which was a Mitsubishi project.
In its heyday, Mitsubishi built Japan’s first concrete buildings in 1916. The workers were recruited by force to build concrete buildings in all areas of Asia. It served as an apartment for the coal workers and protected against typhoons.
They were taking coal from the sea floor until the mind closed in 1974 which is the reason it is called Ghost Island today. In 2009, it became possible to visit Hashima to observe this abandoned island.
2 – San Zhi, Taiwan
Big dreams for a resort development in the 80’s were happening in San Zhi but after many fatal accidents occurred, the project and place was abandoned. On the norther coast of Taiwan, San Zhi began a futuristic resort with pod-style buildings as part of a tourist attraction.
They were color coded based on their location within the resort. It never opened it’s doors but today it’s possible to tour the area.
3 – Pripyat, Ukraine
Pripyat is one of the creepiest abandoned cities in the world as it was the city that house those who worked at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. It sits in the zone of alienation in northern Ukraine and was abandoned in 1986 due to the Chernobyl nuclear explosion. At the time, 50,000 people lived there but it was evacuated within two days.
The contamination is still said to be high, but you can enter the Exclusion Zone. Documents are necessary but not difficult to obtain, and the city is bordered by guards and police. The city of Chernobyl offers accommodations which is within the Exclusion Zone. If you go, they will check you for radiation contamination, and guards will sweep it from you if there’s a detection.
4 – Kadykchan, Russia
The ghost town of Kadykchan was built for coal miners and their family during World War II. It was built by gulag prisoners during the war. The dissolution of the Soviet Union happened about the same time six men lost their lives in a coal mine explosion there.
Coal mining was becoming unprofitable and it was closed in 1996. The 12,000 residents were subsidized by the government to move. The town evacuated and became depopulated entirely by 2012.
5 – Centralia, United States
A Pennsylvanian ghost town was slowly abandoned starting from the coal mine being closed and abandoned. People stayed but eventually fell victim to a mine fire below the ground. The fire burned underground that eventually lead it to the abandoned coal mines below the town.
It burnt for decades, which caused adverse health effects for residents that remained there. Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide along with a lack of oxygen in the air caused people to abandon this area. Finally, in 1984 Congress came up with $42 million to assist residents in relocating. Some families decided to stay despite the warnings from experts. Most took the buyout and moved on.
6 – Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong
The Walled City of Kowloon once had a population of 35,000 people in the 80’s. It was a vibrant city known for it’s brothels, opium dens, cocaine parlors, food courts, secretive factories and dog meat as a meal. The streets were illuminated in order to offer light in the day.
So many modifications had been made that the city became monolithic with the only rules being electricity must be provided and building could be no more than fourteen stories high. At the time, it was demolished, and 50,000 people lived there.
One of the most densely populated areas in the world at 1,923,077/km² was demolished in 1984. Residents resettled elsewhere and a park was eventually put there to replace it in 1994.
7 – Oradour-sur-Glane, France
In West Central France, the village of Oradour-sur-Glan was destroyed in World War II. The German Waffen-SS company murdered 642 residents was destroyed on June 10, 1944, when 642 of its inhabitants were murdered by a German Waffen-SS company.
Today, there are household items strewn on the streets, and the village is a memorial for the victims who lost their lives.
8 – Kolmanskuppe, Namibia
The ghost town of Kolmannskuppe in Namibia was a small mining village. It was developed in 1908 due to discovery of diamonds and was the place workers lived. It served as a shelter from sand storms coming off the Namib Desert. The town was fully equipped with a hospital, power station, theater and casino.
It boasted the first X-Ray Station in the Southern Hemisphere also. After World War I, the price is diamonds dramatically crashed and operations moved elsewhere. By 1956, it was completely abandoned but is now partly restored and a popular tourist area which is run in part by De Beers.
9 – Humberstone, Chile
Two saltpeter refineries were founded in 1872, the Guillermo Wendell Nitrate Extraction Company and the Peru Nitrate Company. These companies built bussling towns as they grew at rapid speed and were designed in a lovely English style.
Economic collapse occurred during the late 20s, also known as the Great Depression. The model of the companies lost value due to the synthesis of ammonia, created by Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch, which led to the production of fertilizers. Both of the companies and towns were abandoned during the 60’s and 70’s. In 2005, they were declared World Heritage sites by UNESCO.
10 – Wittenoom, Australia
The town of Wittenoom in the region of Pilbara in Western Australia was once the largest town in the region. It was completely shut down in 1966 due to major health concerns from nearly asbestos mines. Nowadays, there are a mere eight residents there with no municipal services.
They no longer acknowledge the town with a name, and it was removed from road maps. They still have roads to the contaminated areas, but it is said they will soon be closed off for good.
11 – Agdam, Azerbaijan
Agdam and its ghost town status are the products of the Nagorno-Karabakh War. After heavy fighting in 1993, Agdam was captured. There were 30,000 residents at the time, and they all fled the city.
The town was destroyed by Armenian forces and, through time, was looted, leaving it secluded and with almost no remnants to prove it ever existed. The mosque in the town still stands, but it is dilapidated.
12 – Varosha, Cyprus
Varosha, a quarter of the town of Famagusta, once stood as the most popular destination in the world for the wealthy during the 70s. Big stars such as Brigette Bardot, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. High rises were built, and high-end hotels were constructed to meet the demands of the huge amount of tourists vacationing there.
The Turkish Invasion of Cyprus saw the end of this flourishing tourist spot in 1974. Everyone fled the city in hopes of coming back once the Turks left. The resort was fenced off by the Turkish military, and in 1984, the UN resolved to prohibit anyone from resettling. This stunning location sits guarded and fenced off.
Closing Remarks
Abandoned cities, villages and workplaces are strewn all over the world. Each has its story, which is often tragic, and nobody dares to rebuild out of some strange respect or perhaps fear. Some of the creepiest abandoned places include Gunkanjima, Pripryat, San Zhi, and Oradour-sur-Glan was once populated with people but now a days these places looks like horror movies scence.
History lovers and adventure tourists visit these places due to the history and eerie beauty of their abandoned structures.
