As Halloween approaches, let's follow the balls to visit these so-called "world's scariest ghost towns"! Don't be intimidated
17th place: Spinalonga, Greece
Until 1957, the island remained an isolation area for leprosy patients. Five years later, the island was abandoned. Visitors can now land on the island to view the ruins and gaze at the spectacular seascape.
Sixteenth place: Norway, a ghost town in the Soviet Union
Polar bears are now the first inhabitants of Soviet ghost towns. This ghost town is actually a Soviet-era mining city. The Soviets bought the land from Sweden in 1927 and ended their mission in 1998, but most of the city's buildings remain intact. Today, its owner, a Russian company, is working to transform it into a resort.
Fifteenth place: Brazil, Fordlandia
Ford founder Henry Ford's semi-finished product. In 1928, he had planned to build a rubber plantation in the Brazilian rainforest, but natural disasters and cultural barriers brought the building to an abrupt end, and the project had to be abandoned at the end of World War II, leaving behind the desolation and ruins of today.
14th place: Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia
On Tasmania, Australia's only island state, there is a prison town, Port Arthur. In 1833, it became a punishment ground for exiles from all Australian colonies, and it was not until 1877 that the communities around it were reborn. But the infamous massacre of April 1996 plunged it into darkness. Freedom and imprisonment, despair and struggle, destruction and rebirth alternate here, except for the eternal nature.
Thirteenth place: Namibia, Kamansko
Located in the Namib Desert, Kamansko was a diamond mining town in 1908 and is full of German-style buildings. After the depletion of the minerals, Kamansko became increasingly desolate, and by 1954 it had become a completely abandoned city.
Twelfth place: Inbe Town, England, United Kingdom
In December 1943, as the Allies were preparing to liberate Europe, all the inhabitants of the town of Inbe were evacuated and not allowed to return to the area. Today, there is only a training ground for British soldiers, which is open many times a year and is usually visited on statutory holidays and Christmas.
Eleventh place: Oradour-sur-Granne, France
Oradour-sur-Glane is still engraved with history. During World War II, the German Nazis carried out a massacre here in June 1944, and 642 residents were brutally killed. After the massacre, in order to remember the history, the village was never changed, and people simply built a new village around it.
Tenth place: Berthi, California
Founded in 1876, The Authentic American Ghost Town originated from the gold rush and collapsed after the tide receded. Although the surrounding area attracts thousands of people because of its mineral abundance, it started out as a small mining city. In 1880, The Berthi miners grew to about 10,000 men – that was its heyday. At its peak, there were 65 salons lined up on the main road, and there was even a Chinatown with hundreds of Chinese.
However, the depletion of resources dealt a fatal blow to Bodi. In 1961, the town was designed as a National Historic Landmark. In 1962, the last residents also left. Since then, it has been declared a Bodi State Historical Park. Today, Bodi is maintained with a concept of "suppressing decomposition", and the building still has the decorations and furniture left by its former owners. People with strong hearts can come and see.
9th place: Taiwan, Sanzhi
Located in Sanzhi, this new-wave spacecraft separable capsule-like town is an abandoned city in northern Taiwan. Originally, it was intended to be built as a luxury resort for the wealthy, but during the construction, there were a number of accidental deaths and the construction was stranded.
A plan that lacks both money and attractiveness means it will stand still forever. But these extraterrestrial constructions now seem to be a nostalgia for the deceased. In fact, there are rumors nearby that the city is really haunted.
Afterwards, the truth of the whole thing was covered up, and the government that first commissioned the project tried to dissociate itself from these strange events. Because of this, these buildings have no name. More and more haunted rumors have prevented the project from starting over. Moreover, there is no value in being reopened here. Maybe it's just because people think that destroying the House of The Lone Soul is not a good thing.
8th place: Varosha, Cyprus
Varosha is located in Famagusta, Cyprus, and is occupied by the Turks. It was originally a modern sightseeing city and is one of the most luxurious resorts in the world. In 1974, Turkey attacked Cyprus, splitting the island. Local residents fled, looking forward to one day returning to their homeland.
But the Turkish army surrounded it with barbed wire and took full control of the city. No one but their own people and United Nations staff were allowed to enter the city. The city began to slowly collapse. On the bright side, though, this deserted beach has become a habitat for rare sea turtles.
Later, Annan proposed a plan to hand over Varosha to Greek Cypriot control, but was rejected by Greek Cypriot voters, so the transfer did not materialize. But the story is not over, and governments are working together in the hope of restoring Vasaro's former beauty.
7th place: Japan, Nagasaki Nagasaki City Hashima (Gunkanjima) coal mine site
Hashima is one of the 505 desert islands in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, located 15 kilometers from Nagasaki City. The island resembles a battleship in appearance, hence the name Warship Island. In 1890, Mitsubishi bought the island and exploited the coal resources on the seabed here, which attracted attention.
In 1959, the island's population exploded, with an average population density of 835 people per hectare (1,391 people per hectare in residential areas), making it one of the recorded high population density areas in world history.
In 1961, they were forced to build Japan's largest concrete building on the island. The building houses all sea workers and protects them from hurricanes.
In the 1960s, Japan's oil replaced coal, and coal mines across the country closed, and Mitsubishi Corporation was not spared. In 1974, Mitsubishi officially announced the closure of the coal mine, so it is now empty and forbidden to visit. It was also the filming location for 2003's Battle Royale 2: Townscape and the inspiration for the computer game Hitman 7, which swept Asia.
Sixth place: Italy, Vallestrino
There is hardly any decent information about Balestrino, at least as an abandoned city, and no one can be sure when the city was founded.
However, there are records dating back to the 11th century, when Balestreno was owned by the Pannornheim Monastery in Pietro dei Monti. As you can see from these pictures, the upper end of the city consists of a large castle (the Marquis's castle) and at the lower end there is a parish church (the church of Sant'Andrea).
Around 1860, there were population records here – about 800 to 850 people lived there, mainly some farmers who planted olive trees.
In the late 19th century, Italy's north coast was frequently hit by earthquakes. Records show that an earthquake of 1887 (magnitude 6.7) destroyed a number of villages in Savona. Although there are no official records that Balestrino was also hit by the earthquake, there happens to be a record of extensive restoration work and population decline at this time.
Eventually, in 1953, the town was abandoned due to "geographical instability" and the remaining residents (around 400) were safely transferred to the west. The abandoned area of Valletrino has been left untouched for the next 50 years, but plans are now being made to redevelop it. About 500 people now live in the new district of the town. The traffic from the new district to the outside is very convenient.
5th place: Taiwan, Carrido Amusement Park
Anyone who has seen "A Thousand Miles" will know: In the beginning, a family stumbled upon an old theme park. The park was built in the 80s but has become obsolete and in ruins. In Asia, this is a common occurrence, and one can find many fun but abandoned parks, and the Carrido Amusement Park is one of them.
Located in the Tai Hang Scenic Area outside Taichung City, the Kadori Amusement Park, which opened in the mid-1980s, is a fairly successful theme park on the island of Taiwan with a roller coaster (some say two). On September 21, 1999, the park was forced to close due to a major earthquake.
Thousands of people were killed in the earthquake when the park closed its doors, but no one was killed in the park. Most of the props in the park were destroyed and forced to close. A place that was once full of laughter and laughter is now slowly becoming a ruin.
Fourth place: Pennsylvania, abandoned mines
In 1841, Johnathan Faust opened the Bull's Head Tavern in Centralia. In 1866, Centralia was merged into an autonomous town. The main local industry is anthracite coal, and in 1962, an open-pit coal mine was accidentally ignited due to the weekly burning of garbage, resulting in a fire in the underground coal mine. The fires could not be extinguished and continued to burn in the 1960s and 1970s. Since the combustion process produces carbon monoxide, many people say that there are serious problems with health.
In 1979, a local refueling station reported oil temperatures of 172 degrees Fahrenheit (77.8 degrees Celsius), and people began to notice the severity of the problem. In 1981, a 12-year-old child was nearly killed when a 4-foot-wide, 150-foot-deep sewage tank suddenly cracked open under his feet. This incident has brought more attention to the problem.
The town had more than 1,000 inhabitants at the time, and now there are very few left, most of whom are priests. In 1984, the government spent $42 million on relocation, and most residents moved to nearby Mount Carmel and Ashland. In 1992, the Pennsylvania government declared the town's homes in danger, meaning that what was left would have to be removed. The fire continued to burn. Experts say the fire will burn for at least 250 years.
3rd place: Japan, Yashima
Yashima is a beautiful plateau in the northeast of Takamatsu (the second largest city in Shikoku, one of Japan's major islands), and was the battlefield of the famous Genpei War on March 22, 1185. At the highest point of Hachishima is the Hachishima Temple, a famous pilgrimage site in Shikoku.
In the mid-1980s, when Japan's economy was developing at a high speed, takamatsu people considered the highlands to be a great place to develop tourism, so they invested heavily in the development of this sacred land, built 6 hotels, opened many parks and routes, and even had an aquarium. But some people think that Yashima is not fascinating, especially those quartz. The number of tourists began to decline, and several million yen were lost heavily due to the bubble economy. All hotels and shops were forced to close, and the cable car to the high point of Yashima was stopped.
2nd place: Ukraine, Pripy asia and
The abandoned city of Pripyat is an evacuation zone north of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, near the Border of Belarus. The city has a population of about 50,000 people and is home to most Chernobyl nuclear power plant workers. The 1986 Chernobyl disaster created a threat of nuclear radiation and forced the city to abandon it.
For a long time thereafter, Pripy asia was preserved like a museum, showing a complete part of Soviet life. But in the early 21st century, the area was so badly looted that there was nothing left, including toilet seats.
1st place: Italy, Craco
Craco, a city that has disappeared due to earthquakes and wars, is located in matera, in the Baslicata region, about 25 miles from the gulf of Taranto, in the foot section of boot-shaped Italy. This medieval town is typical of the villages and towns in this area, surrounded by rolling hills suitable for growing wheat and other crops.
The history of Craco dates back to 1060, when it was under the jurisdiction of the bishop Arnaldo Triarico. As a result, the inhabitants here are deeply influenced by the Church. In 1891, Craco's population remained above 2,000. Although there have been many problems here, poor farming conditions have caused people here to despair several times.
In the 30 years from 1892 to 1922, more than 1,300 people moved to North America. The main reasons are crop failures, earthquakes, landslides and wars. Among them, earthquakes and landslides between 1959 and 1972 were particularly frequent, and people were miserable. In 1963, the remaining 1,800 residents were relocated to a nearby village, Craco Peschiera. Today, the original Croco is in ruins.