Off the coast of Japan are a series of volcanic islands
where the sulfur in the air became so heavy that evacuations were mandated by
the government. Despite the still-lethal levels of sulfur polluting the air,
people have actually moved back to
the islands. However, they must wear gas masks when going outside; which has
prompted a group of scientists to study their daily lives and the effects that
the debilitating environment has on their physical conditions.
2. Pripyat, Ukraine
On the 26th of April, 1986, a failed systems test caused a
massive rupture in the reactor vessel of the Chernobyl power plant. As the
result from plumes of radiation blanketing a huge geographical area with deadly
radiation, nearby Pripyat had to be evacuated; forcing 49,400 residents to abandon
their homes. Pripyat is, to this day, covered in lethal pockets of radiation.
This ghost town has been the backdrop of several pieces of fiction literature
and most recently provided part of the setting for the popular
first-person-shooter Call of Duty: Modern
Warfare.
3. Coober Pedy, Australia
Coober Pedy is an Australian mining town where scorching hot
temperatures inspired residents to build underground "dugouts" --
parts of the town where people reside when above ground becomes too hot. Some
of the main attractions are an underground chapel and a golf course open only
at night because of the intense daytime heat. In fact, the only real building above ground is the town's post office--which has been blown up several times by bored miners playing with excess TNT.
4. Centralia, Pennsylvania
During the summer of 1962, a massive coal fire ignited in the mine running underneath the town of Centralia, PA. Sinkholes and deadly eruptions of steam and fire occur at random from underneath the city's streets, even to this day. Despite this, the town was still populated until 1981, when the government ordered a mandatory evacuation. You may think that this looks like the real life Silent Hill, and you would be right; the creator of the series has cited Centralia, PA as one of his inspirations for its setting.
5. Karni Mata's Temple at Deshnoke, India.
This temple in India (known locally as The Temple of The
Rats) believes that when someone is reincarnated, they come back as a rat. The
people who worship at Deshnoke not only let rats come and go as they please,
they even feed and worship with them. Unlike other temples that
worship Karni Mata, this one has no statues or major symbols, only an imprint
of what is said to be the Goddesses footprint, so all who enter must
go bare-footed.
6. The Island of The Dolls, Mexico City, Mexico
Known as "La Isla de la Munecas" by the Spanish,
this mysterious island is located in a series of canals south of Mexico City. A
hermit named Don Julian Santana moved to the island and lived there alone for 50
years. Don Julian used to claim that he was haunted by the ghost of a
little girl who drowned in one of the canals. He hung these mutilated dolls on every
single tree on the island to commemorate the memory of the spirit that
tormented him. In 2001, Don Julian was found dead by his nephew via drowning,
floating in the same canal that the little girl drowned in years earlier. Given
its uniqueness, this place should be a more popular tourist attraction in
Mexico, but people are so convinced it is haunted that it actually deters
most tourists from visiting.
7. Hashima Island, Japan
Hashima is an island located near Japan that was a coal
mining facility from 1887 to 1974. When the coal mine was ordered to be shut
down, the island was abandoned and rapidly fell into a state of disrepair.
Several buildings have collapsed as the island has not been given any form of
maintenance since its closing. Rumours circulate that the reason it has never
been revisited is because of superstitions. These stem from people who claim that the ghosts of several
ill-fated coal miners who died on-site while the mine was still operating having
said to appear to any who come near Hashima Island. This superstition is so
strong that government officials refuse to allow interested parties access to
the island.
8. Sedlec Ossuary, Czech Republic
The Sedlec Ossuary is a Roman Catholic chapel located in the
Czech Republic. After one thousand years acting as a burial site, the church began
to run out of room to store the bones of the deceased. In 1870, a man was hired
to find a solution to the bone overflow problem. His solution? Reinforce the
inside walls, pillars, coat of arms, benches, and lamps, with decorations made
from human bones. The Sedlec Ossuary is said to house the bones of
nearly 70,000 people, who are now resting peacefully as decorative footstools
and chandeliers.
9. Thames Town, China
Thames Town is a fully functioning re-creation of how the
Chinese view a typical market town from England, located just outside of
Shanghai, China. Thames Town is just the beginning of other-country themed
towns, as the Chinese government plans to build re-creations of towns themed after
Sweden, USA, Italy, Spain, traditional Chinese, and Germany.
10. Manshiyat Naser, Egypt
Manshiyat Naser (also known as "Garbage City") is located near
Cairo, and its entire economic system revolves around collecting and recycling
garbage. The city has shops, streets, apartments, and the largest church in all
of the Middle East, but it lacks any real infrastructure,
and has no running water, no sewage, and no electricity. This place is ripe for
the picking if you're looking for a unique locale for a shoot-out scene in a
sci-fi movie.
11. The Mummy Museum at Guanajuato, Mexico
The "Mummies of Guanajuato" are naturally mummified
bodies that are the result of a cholera outbreak in 1833. Due to the deadliness
of the outbreak, bodies were put into the ground immediately after death, with
some people being accidentally buried while they are still alive;
which sheds light on why several mummies have horrific expressions on their
faces. The museum at Guanajuato was once visited by famous sci-fi author Ray
Bradbury, who later wrote the short story Next in Line about his "wounding
and terrifying experience" at the museum.
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