5 Most Eerie Deserted Places On The Planet

There is something about a deserted town or place that brings out the explorer in us all. Maybe it is the desire to find out what happened and why it is deserted that attracts us. Or maybe it is the opportunity to step back in time and see a place that was at one time booming before its fall. Whatever the fascination, it seems that deserted towns are somewhere that hold a real interest for most people.
Luckily for the truly curious, there are plenty of them dotted around the globe. We take a look at the ten most eerie deserted places you can check out, if you dare!

05 – Oradour-sur-Glane, France

Oradour sur Glane – By User:Dna-Dennis [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

This is a truly gruesome site but one that many flock too with around 300,000 visitors each year. Once a quaint and busy French village, it saw a terrible massacre in World War II that left it deserted. The occupying Nazi forces killed most of the people in the village in revenge for the capture of an SS Officer in the area. After this, they burned or destroyed most of it for good measure. Although rebuilt afterwards, it was to stand as a reminder of what happened rather than for people to return to live. Tourists can walk around the village though and take in the chilling atmosphere for themselves.

04 – Tyneham, England

Tyneham – By Tuuraan78 [CC BY 3.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

Although this may not be deserted for too much longer, the English village of Tyneham has stood abandoned for many years to date. Once a busy farming and fishing place, it was commandeered in world War II by the English Government to act as a firing range! After the war, it was never given back and the people who had lived there never returned. The houses and shops still stand as they were and at one time barbed wire kept it off limits. Recent years have seen visitors allowed to enter although no-one can actually live there still.

03 – Ruby, Arizona

Ruby – By PhilipC at Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/flissphil/8925761/) [CC BY 2.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons

Found close to Tucson, this was once a large mining town that dug up zinc, copper and silver. At its peak it had around 2,000 residents and housed schools and shops. As with a lot of mining towns, this came to an abrupt end though when the mine closed. The town soon fell into disrepair and saw its citizens leave for pastures new. The houses they once called home stayed behind though and can be visited now if you are in the Arizona area.

02 – Craco, Italy

Craco – By No machine-readable author provided. Idéfix~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY-SA 2.5 ], via Wikimedia Commons

If you want a truly stunning ghost town to visit, then try this one out! Found in Southern Italy, it sits high up on a mountain and was once a very popular place to live. Although plague and famine had affected it over the years, the real problem was the frequent landslides from the mountains above. After one such landslide killed around 1800 people in 1963, everyone left for their own safety. Interesting it is now a very popular movie setting for Hollywood producers.

01 – Pyramiden, Norway

Pyramiden – By Bjoertvedt [CC BY-SA 3.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

Originally, this icy settlement was founded by Sweden but they soon sold it to the Soviet Union in 1927. But what was so valuable about this cold, desolate place? The Soviets used it to mine for coal and did so until the operation there ended in 1998. After this, it was totally abandoned by the residents and is now home only to local wildlife. It can be visited but be careful – many wild animals like bears now roam the streets! It is thought that this town will stand as it is for around 500 years thanks to the Artic climate it is found in.
If you are interested in the most eerie deserted places in the world then the above are some of the best you can find. While not all can be visited, most can, and they give a real glimpse back in time when you go there. It just shows that things can change quickly and towns that are thriving now, may not be in 30 years’ time.