This document provides a list and brief descriptions of 39 of the most haunting abandoned places around the world. These abandoned sites include entire ghost towns like Pripyat, Ukraine that was abandoned after the Chernobyl disaster; massive industrial sites like the Mirny Diamond Mine in Siberia; and failed development projects like the unfinished Ryugyong Hotel in North Korea. Other abandoned places mentioned are asylums, amusement parks, lighthouses, factories, hotels, churches, and more - each offering a glimpse into a world without humans and inspiring a sense of wonder and eeriness.

1. The 39 Most Haunting
Abandoned Places On Earth
These real life ruins offer an eerie
glimpse into a world without humans.
Their dark walls inspire a sense of
wonder like never felt before

2. Pripyat, Ukraine

3. Pripyat, a city of nearly 50,000, was totally abandoned after the nearby Chernobyl
nuclear disaster in 1986. Due to radiation, it has been left untouched ever since the
incident and will be for many thousands of years into the future. Nature now rules the
city in what resembles an apocalyptic movie

4. Abandoned building in Vallone dei Mulini,
near Sorrento - Italy

5. Mirny Diamond Mine
Eastern Siberia, Russia
The world's second largest man-made hole, Mirny was constructed by Stalin to satisfy
the Soviet Union's demand for industrial diamond. Further digging efforts were
eventually abandoned when it became too difficult to continue digging this massive hole

6. Farmhouse - Seneca Lake, New York

7. This abandoned farmhouse in New York state also acts as a graveyard for many vintage
cars which are now empty shells of their former selves

8. Ryugyong Hotel - Pyongyang,
North Korea
The Ryugyong Hotel is a true
display of North Korea's
madness. Work started on this
105 story hotel only a few years
before a massive famine plagued
the country. Abandoned for 16
years, work once again began in
2008, when it was coated in
$150 million worth of glass.
Foreign guests have reported
that although the structure now
looks complete on the outside, a
lot of the interior is still
abandoned and incomplete

9. Willard Asylum - Willard, New York

10. Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane was built in 1869 and closed in 1995. Housing 4000
patients at its peak, more than half of the 50,000 patients who called Willard Asylum their
home died within its walls. This makes the asylums morgue (pictured above) one of the
creepiest places we can imagine. By its closure, most patients were eventually integrated
back into society, but in the early days "people didn't leave unless it was in a box."

11. Sanzhi UFO Houses - San Zhi, Taiwan
T
These homes were intended to be sold to U.S. military officers when
construction began in 1978. In 1980, work was halted due to loss of investment

12. Six Flags Jazzland - New
Orleans, Louisiana

13. Severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina, Six Flags Jazzland has been
abandoned since. Several of the rides still stand, a testimony to the resilience
of New Orleans. Several companies have plans to develop the park, but until
then it will remain as the perfect setting for a horror movie

14. Gulliver’s Travels Park
Kawaguchi, Japan
Constructed in the shadow of Mt Fuji, this theme park opened
in 1997. Despite financial help from the Japanese government,
it lasted only 10 years before being abandoned

15. Bannerman Castle - Pollepel Island,
New York
Bannerman Castle's owner, Francis Bannerman VI, built the structure as storage space after
buying the American military surplus from the war with the Spanish. After 200lbs of
ammunition exploded in 1920, much of the castle was destroyed and the rest abandoned

16. Disney’s Discovery Island
Lake Buena Vista, Florida
A former wildlife attraction in the heart of Disney World, it is
rumoured that the island was left to run wild after bacteria capable
of killing humans was discovered in the surrounding water

17. Aniva Rock Lighthouse
Sakhalinskaya Oblast, Russia
A formal penal island used by the Russians, Aniva was once sought after by
both the Russia and Japan. This now Russian controlled territory sits
uninhabited in the seas between Japan and the eastern coast of Russia

18. Canfranc Railway Station, Spain
Canfranc Rail Station was part of an international railway route through Spain
and France. An accident in 1970 destroyed a nearby bridge and ended
international rail links between the two countries, leaving Canfranc deserted

19. Chateau Miranda - Celles, Belgium
The castle was originally built by French aristocrats fleeing the revolution. During
and after World War II, Miranda Castle was used as an orphanage. It was abandoned
in 1980, with the family refusing to allow authorities to care for the structure.
Because of its past, this haunting castle remains a favourite amongst ghost hunters

20. Abandoned Coal Plant - France

21. Eilean Donan - Loch Duich, Scotland
Located in the Highlands of Scotland, the Eilean Donan island sat abandoned until
1911, when it was restored by a prominent retired military officer

22. Hashima Island, Japan

23. In the past Hashima Island was rich in coal, with over 5000 miners once living on the island.
When petrol replaced coal as Japan's main source of fuel, the settlement was left abandoned.
Now the once thriving town is creepily abandoned, with only shadows remaining

24. Abandoned Mill
Western Quebec, Canada
A 100 year old Ontario mill

25. City Hall Station - New York City,
New York
City Hall Station was built in 1904 and closed in 1945 as only around
600 people used it only a daily basis

26. Orpheum Auditorium - New
Bedford, Massachusetts
This Auditorium
opened on the
same day that
the Titanic
sunk, April
15th, 1912. A
supermarket
now occupies
some of the
building, but the
rest remains
beautifully
deserted

27. Holy Land USA Waterbury, Connecticut

28. Holy Land USA was a theme park based on passages from the Bible. At its peak in the
1960s and 70s, the park attracted around 40,000 visitors annually. It was closed down
in 1984, though the grounds remain intact

29. Abandoned Power Plant - Belgium

30. Wreck of the SS America
Fuerteventura, Canary Islands

31. Underwater City - Shicheng, China
Shicheng has been under water for 53 years since the Xin'an River Hydro
Plant flooded the area. The city was founded 1,300 years ago

32. Abandoned Domino Sugar Factory
Brooklyn, New York

33. Red Sands Sea Forts Sealand, United Kingdom
Originally built during World War II to protect the River Thames, these
forts are now lifeless. Except for those that have been claimed by
Sealand, a micronation off the shore of England

34. Overgrown section of the
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall is 13,170 miles long and vast sections receive little maintenance
because of the enormous cost of caring for such a monumental structure

35. Michigan Central Station
Detroit, Michigan

36. Built through 1912 and 1913, Central Station served as the passenger rail depot
for Detroit and was the tallest train station in the world. With the closure of the
line in 1988, Central Station fell into disuse and all restoration plans have failed

37. Dadipark - Dadizel, Belgium
A simple playground, Dadipark opened in the 1950s and closed in 2002

38. Military Hospital - Beelitz, Germany

40. Abandoned church
with chairs still standing

41. Empty Organ Room
This church was left to decay with the chairs still standing and a baby's coffin still visible

42. Wonderland Amusement Park
Beijing, China
Designed to be the biggest amusement park in Asia, Wonderland was
never completed after financial issues. The land has since been
cultivated by local farmers

43. Częstochowa Train Depot - Poland

44. An Abandoned Rocket Factory
Russia

45. El Hotel del Salto - Colombia
Hotel del Salto
was built in 1928
for wealthy
tourists visiting
the nearby
Tequendama Falls.
Eventually, the
waterfall was
contaminated and
visitors lost
interest, leading
to the hotel’s
abandonment

46. Christ of the Abyss
San Fruttuoso, Italy
Guido Galletti built this statue of Christ in 1954 and placed it
into the water at a depth of 55 feet

47. Railroad in the Fall
Lebanon, Missouri

48. Eastern State Penitentiary
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

49. Operated from 1829 until 1971, Eastern State was one of the first modern
penitentiaries. Now a national landmark, the prison was designed in a revolutionary
wagon wheel shape which became a globally adopted style. Eastern State held the
likes of Willie Sutton and Al Capone. If only walls could talk!

50. Well, I’m abandoning
2013 and good
riddance, as far as I’m
concerned!
Here’s to a better
2014 for everyone!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! PF