Halloween season is here and what says Halloween more than ghosts! Here are some fascinating and creepy places that just might give you the chills. My favorite is the very last one!
Michigan Theater Detroit
Originally constructed in 1925, the theater could seat 4050 patrons and held all kinds of productions from movie screenings to performances by groups like the Marx Brothers and Bob Hope. It closed its doors in 1976 after running a night club called The Michigan Palace and the entire place was gutted and turned into a parking garage. However, the entire theater could not be demolished as it was integral to the structure of the building that is why columns and ornate ceilings can still be found in the parking garage today.
The Island of the Dolls, Xochimilco, Mexico
The Island of Dolls is located in the channels of Xochimilco just south of Mexico City. It was originally owned by Julián Santana Barrera and was given its name in the 1950s when he started hanging dolls from the trees as a way to protect his home from evil spirits. "According to legend, a young woman drowned entangled among the lilies of the canal and her body was found on the banks of the Santampa chinampas. Don Julián began to experience inexplicable situations so, terrified, he placed dolls that he found in the garbage or in the canals of Cuemanco with the idea that they would scare the soul of the young woman who would cry out "I want my doll". He also found a doll floating nearby and, assuming it belonged to the deceased girl, hung it from a tree as a sign of respect. (Isladelasmunecas.com.)" After t his he started hearing whispers and for the next fifty years continued to hang more dolls for protection. The creepiest part of the entire thing was that his body was found in 2001 in the same place the girl's body had been found.
Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia
Eastern State Penitentiary ran its operations from 1821 until 1979. It held notorious criminals such as Al Capone and bank robber Willie Sutton. At its completion, it was the largest and most expensive structure in the United States. It began the revolutionary new prison operating system that focused more on reform rather than punishment. However, in reality, the facility designed and performed psychological and physical torture regimes such as dousing prisoners in freezing water outside during frigid winter months. After it's closing the penitentiary opened as a historic museum. But the entire structure still remains broken and crumbling making it all the creepier especially if you knew the kinds of things that happened inside the walls.
Hashima Island, Nagasaki, Japan
Hashima Island lays about 9 miles south of the center of Nagasaki and is one of 505 abandoned islands in the Nagasaki Prefecture. The island's main purpose was coal production and was inhabited from 1887 to 1974. Beginning in the 1930s until the end of WWII conscripted Korean and Chinese prisoners were forced to work on the island under extreme and tough conditions. It is estimated that over 1300 of those prisoners died on the island. With the expansion of petroleum, the island was shut down and cleared of all people by 1974. The island has been noted for the creepy beauty of the abandoned buildings and its distinctive shape.
Beelitz-Heilstätten Hospital, Germany
The hospital was built in 1898 as a tuberculoisis center and nursing home with continued expansion over the years. In 1914 it was taken over by the Red Cross as a hospital for injured soldiers and over 12,000 were served during the war. In 1920 the hospital went back to serving civilians and continued to grow in size. During WWII Russia took over the hospital and it became the largest Russian hospital out of the country itself. Since 1994 when Russia finally let the hospital go it has become a horrific site for various crimes many involving murder.
Ponyhenge, Lincoln, Massachusetts
By far the strangest and most random site on this list. The area (15 miles west of Boston) is filled with broken down and rusting ponies (like the kind of carousels or parks) that started randomly appearing sometime in 2010. As of late more and more ponies have been appearing - the numbers keep doubling. And the strange thing is every time someone arrives on site the arrangement of the ponies has changed. No one knows who (or what) moves them around.
Creepy right? Which one gave you chills and goosebumps? And if this is your cup of tea and your craving more check out this article which includes 40 (yes 40) other abandoned places that are sure to have ghosts.
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C.G.Harrisis the author of the sci-fi series, The Rax and the urban fantasy series, The Judas Files.. The Nine, book one in the series, is now available as an audiobook narrated by the talented, MacLeod Andrews.