From an old church populated by tangible ghosts to a prison of unspeakable suffering, today
we look at the Creepiest Abandoned Places.
Number 10.
Kolmanskop Once a rich diamond field in the Namib desert
of Southern Namibia , the town of Kolmanskop is now a half-submerged shadow of the past.
Originally settled by the German Empire in the early 20th century upon the discovery
of the region's hidden riches.
After the depletion of the town's surrounding resources, though, the majority moved on to
another diamond deposit 167 miles south of the town.
Over time, Kolmanskop would transform into a ghost town, with mounds of sand naturally
overtaking various buildings and giving the place an aura of ruins lost to time.
Number 9.
Valley of the Mills The coastal town of Sorrento, Italy is home
to an emerald green valley known as the Vallone dei Mulini , or the Valley of the Mills.
This gorgeous attraction draws visitors for its majestic view of the valley's luscious
ferns and the unique plants that grow among them.
But this destination boasts more than pretty plants.
Flour and saw mills once called this valley home, with these multi-story stone structures
dating back as far as the 13th century.
The valley supplied Sorrento with ground grains and sawn wood for decades until the nearby
central square of Piazza Tasso was erected, drawing business away from the mills.
The buildings of the valley were closed and abandoned by 1940, allowing nature to take
over.
Now these haunting stone edifices look like the remains of a lost jungle temple among
the foliage, enticing visitors with a foreboding sense of mystery.
Number 8.
Maunsell Sea Forts Isolated in the estuaries surrounding the
United Kingdom are a series of sea-bound towers that were at one time meant to help defend
the nation against foreign attack.
But after the late 1950s, these stalwart forts were decommissioned from military use.
Since then, the Maunsell Forts have hosted a number of odd visitors including the founders
of a micronation called Sealand and a variety of pirate radio stations.
In an attempt to commemorate these unlicensed stations of the past, one station named Red
Sands Radio attempted to take up residence at a series of forts of the same name.
But after just two summers here, Red Sands Radio was shut down amid safety concerns.
Only a few of the forts across the UK remain, as many have been demolished due to instability.
Those still standing are considered a hazard to board structurally, but perhaps more frightening
is the mystery of what could be lurking among these steel citadels.
Number 7.
Beelitz-Heilstätten Nearly sixty buildings compose the legendary
Soviet hospital complex known as Beelitz-Heilstatten . Historically, this property served various
military causes.
It was originally meant to be a sanatorium for the workers' health insurance corporation
of Berlin, but would be taken over by the Imperial German Army in subsequent years amid
international turmoil.
Then, in 1945, the Red Army would take the hospital to serve Soviet forces for the next
five decades!
Well after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany, it wasn't until
1995 that the Beelitz-Heilstatten was open once more to public interest.
A few of the hospital wards were taken over by private parties, utilizing the centers
for neurological rehabilitation and Parkinson's research.
The rest of the complex, though, remained abandoned and unsecured.
The ghastly ambience surrounding this old military hospital is so spooky that the location
has earned a spot in films, like 2002's The Pianist, and even a music video due to its
tendency to emanate an air of dread.
Number 6.
Czech Ghost Church Plagued by sporadic fires since its creation
in the 14th century, St. George's Church in the village of Lukova has a long history of
unfortunate catastrophes.
After years of rebuilding, the final straw came when the roof collapsed in the middle
of a funeral service in 1968.
From this point onward, the local congregation would refuse to enter the church under the
impression the building was undeniably haunted.
Instead they would opt to hold service outside, away from the supposedly cursed structure.
This creepy case didn't attract much attention as Czechoslovakia was still under Communist
rule at the time, and that system didn't exactly mesh well with religion.
The church fell victim to looters and vandals that stripped the building of most of its
possessions as the walls slowly decayed.
There it sat in the forested areas surrounding Lukova until one art student had an idea for
how to give the church new life...sort of.
As an ode to the supposedly haunted building and the harrowing history of the region, Jakub
Hadrava went on to sculpt 30 ghosts based off of peers he used as models.
These sculptures now checker the pews in the church, their spectral forms sitting creepily
cloaked, drawing visitors from all over and bolstering the local Lukova economy.
Number 5.
Chateau Miranda Like something ripped from the pages of a
fairy tale, the Chateau Miranda stood tall behind the trees of its courtyard for decades
before being abandoned in 1991 due to mounting maintenance costs.
Originally designed in 1866 by the architect Edward Milner, the construction of this majestic
castle wouldn't finish until 1907, nearly 23 years after his passing.
As a stone hallmark of Belgium the Chateau Miranda would serve the a wealth family along
with creating a storybook landscape for local Belgians at large.
But by the time the mid-1940s rolled around, this fortress found itself in the middle of
a skirmish at the Battle of the Bulge, leading to a seizure of the property by German forces.
After an era of combat, it was then transformed into an orphanage and seasonal camp for children
under the direction of the National Railway Company of Belgium, earning its nickname of
"Chateau de Noisy."
This would only last until the 1970s, though.
Within 20 years the castle was abandoned.
Unkempt and rotting, the grounds of the chateau slowly shifted from a Hans Christian Andersen
fantasy to a Bram Stoker nightmare.
Here it lasted, haunting local urban explorers, until its demolition between 2016 and 2017.
Number 4.
Berengaria Hotel On the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus
lies the once-lavish resort to the rich known as Berengaria Hotel.
First opened in 1931, this destination for the wealthy was nestled within the mountainous
Prodomos village.
Here it hosted such high profile guests as Winston Churchill, the King of Egypt, the
president of Israel, the Duke of Marlborough and numerous important CEOs and other businessmen.
The estate featured amenities like a casino, a night club and state of the art furniture,
entertaining locals and travelers alike for nearly 53 years.
The hotel fell into disarray after the passing of its owner, who left it to his sons.
Local legends say all three of the heirs would perish under mysterious and suspicious circumstances,
leading to its closure.
Since then, tales have swirled of the hotel being haunted with claims of ghost sightings
and the sound of screams echoing out of the Berengaria Hotel late at night.
Number 3.
Eastern State Penitentiary The pinnacle of criminal reform in its heyday,
Eastern State Penitentiary stood tall as both the most expensive and largest public building
ever constructed in America.
From 1829 to 1971, this prison operated as the model penitentiary in the nation, with
more than 300 prisons around the world following its lead.
This institution famously held criminals like the bank robber Willie Sutton and notorious
gangster Al Capone, while also attracting writers like Charles Dickens and Alexis de
Tocqueville to visit for inspiration.
A spiritual reformation process was exercised on prisoners, instituted by the Society for
Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons led by Philadelphia's Anglican bishop William
White.
But along with this publicized religious salvation came a hidden nightmarish damnation by way
of torturous punishments dealt for infractions.
These included extreme isolation, being doused with freezing water in the winter, having
one's tongue chained to their wrist, and worse.
The ghoulish halls of this building are now on display as a museum, with audio-assisted
tours and scavenger hunts taking place in this once-miserable prison.
Number 2.
Willard Asylum Among the gorgeous natural surroundings of
Seneca Lake, New York is a decrepit structure that radiates a grim atmosphere.
This mostly abandoned estate was once home to hundreds of patients as the Willard Asylum
for the Chronic Insane.
Constructed in 1869, this facility was meant to grant salvation to the mentally ill who
were, at the time, kept within prisons and poorhouses under poor conditions.
While many received much more civilized treatment here than other establishments, the Asylum
was still prison-like in many regards.
Understanding of mental health at the time was far behind modern times and as such some
patients were held there unrighteously.
Furthermore, the release of patients was wholly dependant on administrator approval — a
privilege that was denied to many.
This meant that some would spend the rest of their lives under this roof, with a morgue,
crematorium and cemetery all located on the property.
Even stranger, the graves here are all unmarked as having a family name attached to a mental
asylum was considered taboo in that era.
Number 1.
Pripyat Founded as a means to serve the nearby nuclear
power plant of Chernobyl , the city of Pripyat would only last 16 years before the entire
city would have to be evacuated.
When the infamous power plant ruptured in 1986, the city had grown to a population of
nearly fifty thousand!
Evacuation did not occur immediately and within just a few hours, dozens began experiencing
symptoms like headaches, uncontrollable coughing, a metallic taste in the mouth and vomiting.
The nuclear fallout had already begun to spread and dozens would go on to pass from the radiation
exposure, with others developing lifelong illnesses.
Today the city is overgrown with vegetation and largely sectioned off for the sake of
public safety.