Bone Chilling Photos of Abandoned Places
A spiral staircase in a former children’s asylum in Staunton, Virginia
Whether they were once hospitals, office buildings, theme parks, or restaurants, a plethora of structures have been abandoned and left to decay around the world. While many of them are breathtaking, there are just as many that give viewers the shivers. Whether they were roller coasters or shacks in the woods, nature has reclaimed these abandoned structures, leaving nothing but a mystery as to who called these places home.
What will our architecture look like once we’ve progressed? Will it crumble into the void of a deserted city? Will our cars be covered in ivy like some of the photos on this page? Some of these images will give you goosebumps, while others will make you nostalgic for simpler times, but they will all make you want to take a closer look at the deserted architecture that surrounds you.
The patients at this former mental institution and asylum were said to be mostly children who have been kept under strict supervision. According to records, the asylum was built in 1932 as part of the Western State Hospital. Dr. Joseph DeJarnette, the asylum’s namesake, allegedly conducted eugenics tests in the hospital, where he performed tests on children to cure them of laziness. According to one story, he took blood from “hyperactive” children and injected it into sluggish children while walking the halls, quoting Adolf Hitler. Do you know how some places are just meant to be abandoned?
Need a chair? Have you tried looking in the pool at the University of Rochester?
It has to be one of the strangest sights in the world for anyone who visits this run-down swimming pool. For a few years, this 25-yard-long, six-lane swimming pool was connected to the Susan B. Anthony women’s dormitory and was a part of the Merle Spurrier Gymnasium. However, since the women’s gymnasium was relocated to the Robert B. Goergen Athletic Center in 1982, the pool has become a dump for unwanted items. When students are unsure where to put something, they throw it in the pool, which is why you can find chairs, desks, and televisions stacked in disarray where young women once swam laps.
Get comfortable, this exam looks like it’s going to take a while
These old-style examination chairs have never looked comfortable, but this chair in the middle of an abandoned hospital is particularly eerie. Perhaps it’s the decaying tile in a “calming” blue that surrounds the chair and dapples the floor, or perhaps it’s the psychotic-looking light that hangs from the ceiling. No, you already know what it is. It’s the holes in the wall that used to be cabinet doors. Whatever type of person you are, it’s safe to say that something about this terrifyingly empty examination room will haunt you in your dreams.
FDR’s secret train is still waiting for him in Grand Central Station
How could a massive train once belonging to FDR’s presidency be hunkered beneath Grand Central Station? It is too heavy to move, according to the FDR museum. The president commissioned the train in the 1930s because he didn’t want people to know he had polio. The president did not simply board the train and then wheel into town. He actually had a car built to fit his custom-built limo. When the train arrived at the station, FDR would get into the limo and drive away, so no one would see him in his wheelchair.
This abandoned cooling tower in Charleroi, Belgium looks like it’s ready for blast off
This isn’t a still from a long-forgotten sci-fi film; it’s a real-life structure in the Belgian village of Charleroi. Take a stroll through the Monceau-sur-Sambre neighborhood to find this decommissioned power station that was once used to cool the city. It’s no longer in use, but it towers over the city like a forlorn giant. This behemoth, which was built in 1921, was once one of the largest coal-burning power plants in the country, and while it was updated in the 1970s, it was finally shut down in 2007. Locals claim that looters ransacked the place, and it’s unclear whether there’s anything left to find inside.
Empty flat files, you don’t want to stick your hands in there
There’s something cool about an unnamed flat file or card catalog. Is it their Tetris-like design, or something more animalistic? It’s a shame that these files were abandoned in an abandoned building. These files appear to be either built into the building or too heavy to load into a truck. It’s fascinating to consider that when the inhabitants of this building left, they left all of the storage items behind. What could have compelled them to leave this place? Ghosts, it had to be ghosts.
Just one of the metal birds collected at the Soplata Airplane Sanctuary
There’s something cool about an unnamed flat file or card catalog. Is it their Tetris-like design, or something more animalistic? It’s a shame that these files were abandoned in an abandoned building. These files appear to be either built into the building or too heavy to load into a truck. It’s fascinating to consider that when the inhabitants of this building left, they left all of the storage items behind. What could have compelled them to leave this place? Ghosts, it had to be ghosts.
You too can live in an abandoned Italian castle
If you’ve always wanted to live like royalty, now is your chance. Abandoned castles are for sale all over Italy right now, thanks to a reduction in government subsidies for the preservation of historic properties. Because Italy cannot afford to maintain these castles, there is an opportunity for anyone interested in moving to the country and getting to work on the house. The current owners of these castles frequently inherit the buildings and are unable to pay for them. The inheritors are forced to sell due to a lack of government subsidies and the high cost of upkeep. Consider this: you can start a new life and still have room for your antique sword collection.
Is that a dragon on your aquarium or at you the Ho Thuy Tien waterpark?
The Ho Thuy Tien waterpark in Vietnam has no hotel or food vouchers. Most people in the country are unaware that it exists. To get there, visitors must trek to the land beyond Hue, which is surrounded by crocodiles and overgrown with local fauna. Even with its massive water slides and super cool dragon standing above the building, the park went out of business in a few years. The local government attempted to revitalize the water park, but as of this writing, the revitalization project had not been completed.