Have you ever thought of visiting an abandoned place when you go on holiday? Most vacationers would opt for a beach paradise getaway, but if you’re an urban explorer or you simply love straying off beaten paths, there are a bunch of creepy abandoned places that’ll give you some spine-tingling adventures. If you’re like me and you enjoy watching other people exploring abandoned places on TV or YouTube, then I’m sure you’re as excited as I am that we can soon explore some of these in person!
READ MORE: We look at the 10 weirdest places to visit in the world
Pompeii might be one of the most famous scary abandoned places in the world, but this selection is also pretty sinister. From unused and unfinished skyscrapers to remote islands, this list of abandoned places in the world will give you goosebumps just by reading it!
Must-visit abandoned places around the world
- Fukushima, Japan
- Jonestown, Guyana
- Tianducheng, China
- Hashima Island, Japan
- Simacem, Indonesia
- Ta Prohm Temple, Cambodia
- Burg Eltz, Germany
- Gereja Ayam, Indonesia
- Kolmanskop, Namibia
- RyuGyong Hotel, North Korea
10 creepy abandoned places you must explore
1. Fukushima, Japan
Discover deserted shops with items still on the shelves and scattered all over the floor in one of the most famous abandoned places in the world.
In 2011, an earthquake near Japan incited a tsunami that struck the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing the release of radioactive material. In the aftermath of the disaster, no radiation-related deaths were reported, but 100,000 homes were evacuated and remain desolate to this day.
What’s left is like a time capsule—everything has been frozen in time. The locals didn’t have enough time to evacuate, so they just had to drop everything and run.
Stores have fully stocked shelves; even a wedding dress shop still has its lush wedding dresses on the racks. The gyms and classrooms were abandoned with school bags left on the table, and dead fish and turtles can be found in the aquarium. People just left and never came back. Eerie!
2. Jonestown, Guyana
Now famously known as the Jonestown Massacre, this event makes this a scary abandoned place in my book. On the 18th November 1978, more than 900 members of People’s Temple, a religious sect, listened to their guru, the now infamous Jim Jones, and gathered at the Jonestown camp’s central pavilion.
It wasn’t a regular gathering; it was a final act of “revolutionary suicide” that would seal their fate. One by one, in the middle of the Guyanese jungle, both adults and children drank a lethal mixture of cyanide, valium, and Kool-Aid. The compound became eerily quiet within an hour, with bodies scattered all over the floor, and Jim Jones eventually shot himself on the podium.
Several structures the cult built still exist, although the village is now mostly covered in thick vegetation. Nevertheless, the tragic story behind the site will still give you a hair-raising experience.
3. Tianducheng, Hangzhou, China
This abandoned place was built in 2007 with the ambitious goal of becoming another Paris. However, this City of Light turned out to be more grim than romantic. Initially built as home to 10,000 houses, a few thousand residents remain, but the streets are typically empty.
In Tianducheng, you’ll feel more like you’ve entered Paris of a parallel universe, where everything is desolate, giving you post-apocalyptic feels. There’s the faux Eiffel Tower and Champs-Elysees, but hauntingly, no one is there to take selfies around it.
4. Hashima Island, Japan
Hashima island lies about 15 km from Nagasaki in southern Japan and came to life in 1887 as it became a coal mining town. Many buildings and facilities were built, such as swimming pools and apartment complexes with rooftop gardens.
Sadly, it joined the ranks of creepy abandoned places in 1974, and now all that is left is a magnificent concrete wasteland slowly being taken over by greenery.
5. Simacem and other villages, Indonesia
After 400 years of dormancy, Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung, on the island of North Sumatra, came to life in 2015, erupting and spreading deadly volcanic lava over its surroundings.
As it became too dangerous to inhabit, the people of Simacem, a village located on the slopes, and other nearby settlements, were forced to evacuate and have not returned to this day.
6. Ta Prohm Temple, Cambodia
Ta Prohm should, without a doubt, be the most attractive ruin in Angkor on every adventurer’s list. What’s left today is its crumbling towers and walls slowly being overtaken by the jungle as an extensive root system slowly envelops the building making it a note-worthy abandoned place.
A visit to Ta Prohm offers an other-worldly experience like no other. It tells a story of a poetic cycle where humans built over nature to create some civilisation. But years later, nature has begun reclaiming its rightful space.
7. Burg Eltz, Germany
No list of creepy abandoned places should be without a castle, and the Burg Eltz castle in Germany is one with haunting tales. Dating back to 1157, the mythology surrounding the castle is almost as long.
The castle sits in a thick mist surrounded by thick, fluffy trees, adding to its ghoulishness. Several rooms are still open to tourists, and one of them is apparently haunted by a countess who died defending the castle when it was under attack by an “undesirable” suitor.
8. Gereja Ayam, Indonesia
Gereja Ayam or “Chicken Church” in the jungles of central Java will leave you in awe…and a little confused. This weird abandoned place was intended to be in the shape of a dove, but as you can guess from the name, it turned out looking more like a chicken!
The building was operating in the 1990s as a rehabilitation and worship centre, but high construction costs soon caused the project (and the building) to be forsaken in 2000.
Today, it remains a tourist site as it has gorgeous murals decorating the interior and remarkable views of the surrounding forest when you stand at its beak.
9. Kolmanskop, Namibia
Back in 1908, Kolmanskop was a wealthy town known for diamond mining. But when its resources depleted, the village became a ghost town.
What remains is an odd but striking view—its buildings are filled to the brim with sand as the local desert reclaims the land giving it its creepy abandoned places status.
10. Ryugyong Hotel, North Korea
Construction of this 105-story pyramid building began in 1987 in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. Over 30 years and roughly US$750 million later, Ryugyong Hotel sits unfinished and has become known as the ‘Hotel of Doom’. The building remains an enigma for many, although there are reports that construction may soon resume.
The post-apocalyptic emptiness and eeriness of abandoned places can give you many layers of feelings.
While you’re taking everything in visually, your mind begins to drift to a time when the site was in its glory days and back to why it is deserted today. Some places have dark, haunting histories of wars or a much sinister past with massacres and other evil atrocities. Whereas some have just been left behind, withered by time and forgotten by the general population.
The only people seeking them out today are explorers like you and me. Which abandoned place are you planning to visit?
