Since our founding, Urban Ghosts has sought to document the world’s most beautiful, historic and compelling abandoned building and places, vehicles and vessels, not to mention a multitude of offbeat travel destinations and other assorted oddities. This article features just a small number of those haunting abandonments, and invites the reader to discover more through the act of virtual urban exploration from the comfort of your home computer. Simply click the links within each entry to find out more about these creepy and in some cases awe-inspiring places.
NASA Launch Complex 34, Florida, USA
(Image: Jud McCranie)
The abandoned launch pad known as Complex 34 lies within a vast, desolate stretch of land within the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, punctuated by the occasional concrete slab or foundation from long-forgotten structures that once played a crucial role in the history of scientific and space exploration. Abandoned in 1968 after the tragic deaths of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee in the Apollo 1 fire, the concrete launch pad at Complex 34 remains a sobering reminder of the event and a monument to the lives of the fallen astronauts. The site was open until recently, enabling visitors to immerse themselves in the facts and folklore that surrounds the tragic NASA launch pad.
Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse, Denmark
(Image: David Reimann)
This breathtaking Danish lighthouse sits all but engulfed by the sands that have threatened to overwhelm it for more than two decades. Perilously situated on the Lønstrup Klint, close to the North Sea, Rubjerg Knude served as a lighthouse from 1900 to 1968, then as a museum and coffee shop before the facility and its surrounding buildings were deserted in 2002. The shifting sands, the burial of the abandoned lighthouse and the degradation of surrounding coastal buildings such as Mårup Church have been attributed to serious coastal erosion. Today, only the upper half of Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse emerges from the landscape, which seethes with a distinctly post-apocalyptic atmosphere.
Homebush Bay Shipwrecks, Australia
(Image: Steve Dorman; long-abandoned hulk of SS Ayrfield)
This former ship breaking yard has become a well-known ship graveyard, where the ghostly vessels of the past slowly rust away. Home to such decaying hulks as the SS Ayrfield, built in 1912, the battle-damaged SS Mortlake Bank, which was built in 1924 and succumbed to Japanese torpedo fire in 1942, and the SS Heroic, which arrived in 1970 to be stripped for parts, Sydney’s Homebush Bay is littered with various abandoned ships, barges and dredges. The rusting carcasses of these assorted maritime ghosts are now being colonised by an assortment of plant life and birds which are resourcefully making the unusual man-made islands their home.
Dunalastair House, Perthshire, Scotland
(Image: ~V~ { Fox Maule II })
Constructed in 1850, this haunting abandoned mansion known as Dunalastair House was once the family seat of the Struan Robertsons. The Scottish Baronial home was an elegant structure in its day, and even after years of dereliction, the old building remains a noticeably grand shell. Abandoned in the 1950s after serving as a school for Polish refugees, the historic building is now in an advanced state of decay, its roof and floors giving way in recent decades. The exterior masonry of Dunalastair House is still relatively intact, though partially obscured by overgrown trees. Despite the ravages that time and damage inflicted by the elements on the internal structure, the abandoned mansion stands in relatively stable condition.
Villa de Vecchi – the ‘Ghost Mansion’, Italy
(Image: Fabrizio)
The beautiful abandoned house eerily known as Villa de Vecchi – the Ghost Mansion’ – sits quietly in the mountains to the east of the gorgeous Lake Como. The mysterious old house has experienced its fair share of tragedy and has served as the focal point for local urban legend. The stunning family villa was built in the 1800s and was renowned for being the setting of many a glamorous summer party. But despite the elegance and prestige of Villa de Vecchi, the grisly murder of his wife and alleged disappearance of his daughter are said to have led to the suicide of Count Felix de Vecchi. This heartbreaking story of family tragedy has unsurprisingly left the Ghost Mansion with a haunting air of deep sorrow, not to mention a creepy reputation.
Chateau de Noisy, Belgium
(Image: Tom Blackwell – Lucid Dreams)
This well documented and heavily explored abandoned building has arguably become one of Europe’s top urban exploration locations in rent years. Built in 1866, Chateau de Noisy, aka Miranda Castle has a mysterious history as captivating as its stunning Gothic architecture. The rather sinister and ominous structure was reportedly occupied by the Nazis during the Second World War, then serving as an orphanage until it finally closed its doors for good in 1991. Relatively well preserved both inside and out, the eerily beautiful abandoned building lies relatively close to civilisation amid the verdant expanses of Belgium’s vast Ardennes forest.
Michigan Theater, Detroit, USA
(Image: Bob Jagendorf)
The glamorous and record-breaking Michigan Theatre cost a whopping $5 million when it opened in 1926, and incorporated a traditional theatre with a more modern movie house. The once-elegant Detroit venue’s bizarre condition today is a sharp contrast to its glorious opening. Gutted in the 1970s and abandoned soon after, the old theatre is a literal shell of its former self, the 10 foot crystal chandeliers and strikingly ornate features having been replaced with peeling paint and plaster. Although much of the rich upholstery and plush furnishing have long since perished, there’s still a visible section of red curtain still hanging from the stage in what now serves as one of the world’s most beautiful – and saddest – car parks.
Eastown Theater, Detroit, USA
(Image: Mike Boening Photography – website)
Another stunning Detroit theatre built within a golden era of growth and cinematic boom, the now-abandoned Eastown Theater was opened in 1931 amid significant local enthusiasm. But sadly economic downturn in the area saw the theatre close briefly in 1967 then reopened as a concert hall. In its incarnation as a concert hall the Eastown was notorious for drugs and violence, causing community outrage and the forced closure of the venue in the 1970s. The Eastown has been revived and reopened a few times as everything from a rave venue to church housing, but all were relatively unsuccessful and the venue fell into decay and was eventually all but consumed by fire in 2010.
Wreck of SS America (American Star), Fuerteventura, Canary Islands
(Image: Wollex)
This iconic and eerily beautiful shipwreck is all that remains of the once-majestic SS America. Poised to be scrapped, the luxurious ocean liner ran aground off the coast of Fuerteventura in the mid-1990s while under tow, and is now in an advanced state of decay. Once one of the Canary Islands’ most offbeat travel attractions and tourist draws that the beautiful coastline had to offer, the wreck of SS America (later known as SS American Star) is now almost completely unrecognisable due to the extreme conditions that the abandoned ship’s been exposed to over the 20 years since it foundered. The incredible and devastating impact of the Atlantic waves and currents on the twisted wreck of the SS America have caused it to literally collapse into the sea, to the point where little of the landmark wreck remains to be seen above the surface.
Abandoned Bunker at Cape May, New Jersey, USA
(Image: James Simard)
This former defensive bunker at Cape May, New Jersey was once manned by military personnel on the lookout for any signs of German invasion during the Second World War. Completely outfitted for purpose during its operational life, the eerie relic of another age is surrounded by water at high tide and is unsafe for even the most intrepid urban explorers at the Atlantic waves consume it. A pair of binoculars are one of the last remaining clues to the abandoned bunker’s former purpose. Though supposedly inaccessible, the wartime structure forms an unmistakable landmark witin the Cape May Point State Park. The old bunker is also a focal point of local superstition and hearsay with many believing that the ghosts of its wartime occupants still haunt its thick concrete walls.
Related – Modern Ruins: 20 Weirdly Haunting Abandonments of the World
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