7 Eerie Abandoned Places Around the World: Haunting Sites Worth Visiting
Abandoned places often evoke an eerie silence and a mysterious energy that taps into our innate curiosity. From derelict industrial islands to forgotten monuments, these sites continue to captivate travelers worldwide. Discover seven remarkable abandoned locations and how to experience them safely.
1. Gunkanjima (Battleship Island), Nagasaki, Japan
Nicknamed Battleship Island for its warship-like silhouette, Hashima Island was a bustling deep-sea coal-mining community off Nagasaki's coast, established in the late 1800s. This 16-acre site once housed over 5,000 residents before its permanent closure. Today, it features crumbling, weather-worn buildings, overgrown vegetation, and circling hawks. Recognizable from the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall as villain Raoul Silva's lair, guided tours from Nagasaki harbor offer safe access via installed walkways and railings.
2. Pripyat, Northern Ukraine
On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster forced the evacuation of nearly 50,000 people from Pripyat, the workers' nearby town. The exclusion zone remains a frozen-in-time ghost town with intact fairgrounds, hospitals, homes, and schools. Though radiation levels exceed normal, authorized tours provide safe exploration. The HBO series Chernobyl has boosted interest in this dark tourism site—visitors are urged to remain respectful.
3. Presidents' Heads, Croaker, Virginia, USA
In a quiet Virginia field stand 43 colossal busts of U.S. Presidents, each nearly 20 feet tall. Originally displayed at the now-closed Presidents Park in Colonial Williamsburg, these statues were rescued by landowner Howard Hankins. Photographer John Plashal now leads tours and photo walks, breathing new life into this surreal abandoned display.
4. Eastern State Penitentiary, Pennsylvania, USA
Once a world-famous prison that housed Al Capone in luxury, Eastern State Penitentiary is now a ruin of dilapidated cell blocks and guard towers. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., it offers guided tours, insights into the modern U.S. prison system, and art installations—tickets available online. From mid-September to Halloween, it becomes a thrilling haunted attraction.
5. Oradour-sur-Glane, France
Twenty kilometers from Limoges, this village was the site of a horrific 1944 Nazi massacre claiming 642 lives, including 193 children—only six survived. Left untouched, it preserves rusted cars, tram tracks, and wiring. The Centre de la Mémoire provides context through multimedia, survivor testimonies, and tributes, serving as a poignant historical lesson.
6. Dorasan Station, South Korea
Completed in 2002 near the Korean Demilitarized Zone, Dorasan Station symbolizes hopes for peninsula reunification. It features the Dorasan Unification Platform with a German reunification exhibit in a vintage train car and a division countdown clock. Often part of DMZ tours, no trains currently run.
7. Houtouwan Fishing Village, China
Forty miles from Shanghai, this once-thriving village on a steep bay slope was abandoned by 3,000 residents during the 1980s economic shift. Now overtaken by lush greenery, it's a hotspot for photographers and day-trippers seeking nature's reclamation.
Explore more amazing abandoned places around the world.
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