Mysteries of the Abandoned

You want to see some of the most mysterious places around the world that have been abandoned? This article will show you some of the most spooky and interesting places around the globe that have been left by everyone and now find themselves as part of history in a creepy and fascinating manner. Let’s take a look at some of the places on our list of “Mysteries of the Abandoned”.

mysteries of the abandoned
  • Craco

  • Hotel Del Salto

  • Poveglia Island

  • Maunsell Forts

  • Bodie


Craco

 

Settled around the year 540 AD

 

Before Abandonment:

mysteries of the abandoned

This location is found within Italy and at one point was home to well over 2,000 individuals. During the 1200s a higher education platform was built and established giving the citizens a way to acquire collegiate level learning.

 

Why It’s Abandoned:

In the mid 1600s a plague wrecked the population of Craco, and later in the 1800s civil unrest brought an enormous amount of trouble to the future outlook of the city. The aforementioned issue paired with a major landslide in the mid 1900s finally broke the civilization and proved to be too much for the citizens to bare any longer.

 

mysteries of the abandoned

Now-a-days:

Now this location is known to be a cite for cinematic ventures, as it has been used in several movie shoots by Hollywood. Quantum of Solace and The Passion of Christ being a couple of the more well known films that were done in this location. It has been fully abandoned for more than 40 years and seemingly will be for the near future to come.


Hotel Del Salto

 

Before Abandonment:

This large hotel was built in Columbia to be used a luxurious location to get away for consumers visiting the area. This exclusive luxury hotel was built by a well-known and respected architect in Columbia in the early 1900s. The location had a beautiful view overlooking the nearby falls and was said to be in the works for a considerable size increase to over 18 floors total.

mysteries of the abandoned

 

Why It’s Abandoned:

The major issues with pollution within the Bogota river near the hotel proved to be a major factor in its demise. In the 1990s the fancy upscale hotel was forced to go under and was abandoned due to a lack of clientele. The falls that this location was built on, Del Tequendama Falls,  is a known suicide hot spot, thus rumors of hauntings have spread about the abandoned location among those living in the surrounding areas.

 

Now-a-days:

The once fancy hotel that was meant for high rolling individuals to relax and rest their heads at is now home to a museum for the nearby falls. It shows the change from the successful nature that once was into the abandoned and apparently haunted outcome that is the reality of today.


Poveglia Island

 

mysteries of the abandoned

Before it was abandoned:

This small island is in Italy near Venice and has specific written records of being established with citizens since at least 420 A.D. It could very well be that the location was established before then however.

 

Why it was abandoned:

In the year 1340 war forced out most of the citizens in order to avoid being inadvertently killed in the violent action. After this time period it was used as a quarantine area for individuals afflicted by a plague. This began in the mid 1770s and continued as the norm for over 100 years. After this time period it was used as a mental hospital until the year of 1968.

 

Now-a-days:

This island is avoided by local residents and for seemingly good reasons. With so much history of a dark and ominous variety, there certainly is a great deal of painful past still attached to this area. It was shown as a visiting location on a tv show about ghost hunting in recent years.


Maunsell Forts:

 

Before it was abandoned:

This location was established during world war 2 in England as a defensive area against the advancements of German forces. These small forts rise from the water of the river and look as if they are something straight out of a science fiction movie. These forts were built with the understanding that they would not last forever, and thus were not even meant to.

mysteries of the abandoned

 

Why they are abandoned:

In the 1950s there was no further use for these forts and they were fully decommissioned by the armed forces of England.

 

Now-a-days:

After these small world war 2 fortresses were put out of commission, the structural make up and technology used to build them was put into use to erect oil drilling structures off shore. Most of the structures are still up today even though some of them have been taken down by humans and nature alike. During the 1960s pirate radio stations used these fortresses as locations to broadcast their messages.

 

Currently there are several different ideas on how to restore them and turn them into different things. One idea being proposed is to renovate them into luxury apartment buildings for those looking to live in something with a little bit of history… and danger. For the near future, however, this is a completely abandoned and isolated location from the rest of the world.


Bodie

 

mysteries of the abandoned

Before it was abandoned:

Bodie was built in the 1850s as a town to support individuals and families attached mostly to the gold rush in California. In 1880 Bodie was said to have had a total population of just under 10,000 individuals. This town was a bustling location for many years. While the official census shows a much smaller number, it is reported that there were many more people living in and around the area that were not officially reported.

 

Why it is abandoned:

In the earlier 1900s the gold had begun to dry up and thus the population dwindled. During the mid-1920s it was said to be nearly abandoned with only a couple hundred people left. Within the next few years the town was completely abandoned all together.

mysteries of the abandoned

 

Now-a-days:

For the foreseeable future Bodie is being protected as a historical landmark by the U.S. Department of Interior. The national historic park is visited by well over 200,000 people a year and is kept exactly as it was back when good ol’ cowboys roamed the ground.

Bodie's Population (1880 - Present)

By Year According to the Official Census

This is one of the most interesting places in the United States of America, and definitely warrants a visit by anyone that loves history and cowboys.


Recap:

 

These locations are unique and interesting for sure. From entire islands to fortresses standing up out of the water, these locations are mysterious and abandoned making them cut off from normality. Being a human being, we are innately drawn to things that are different and we want to learn about things that are difficult to wrap our minds around. We see it with conspiracy theories and aliens, but with locations such as these we find interest in the solitude and scariness of a once inhabited location being bare from human existence.

 

Now you know some of the more interesting and weird locations around the world that have been fully abandoned. Maybe you can take a trip and visit some of these odd places for yourself.

 Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this article! : )
Christopher Knox

Christopher is a Doctorate student for Psychoanalysis and therapy. He runs the website as the webmaster and creates all content for the oddities blog.

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