Abandoned America

Historic - and Haunted? Ghost Towns

By Katrina McDowell on Oct 11, 2024 in News

It’s the season to be a little spooked with thrills and shrills! Let’s explore why some cities in America have become ghost towns, and if being drawn to the mystery piques your interest, gather with some friends and uncover some real estate mysteries this fall.

Many abandoned cities in America are due to the Gold Rush and industrial sites founded in the Gilded Age. Some began as lucrative mining communities that vanished almost overnight, and some are victims of new railways and infrastructure. Others were hit with natural disasters like tornados that flattened out the entire town. Hollywood movie producers and writers have been inspired and even filmed in a few.

Pennsylvania. Being one of the most populous states in the country, Pennsylvania is home to many ghost towns and abandoned cities. On the western side of the state, in a suburb of Pittsburgh, Lincoln Way is an eerie little abandoned neighborhood that has become an attraction for urban explorers. Legend states that a “Beast of Lincoln Way,” a mysterious creature with glowing eyes and a haunting howl, terrorized residents, leading to the abandonment of the homes. In reality, it’s gloomier, with most residents moving away due to pollution from the emissions of the steel plant and older residents passing on. Still, many fascinating stories date back to the early 1900s, and in its final days, it is indeed an eerie, post-apocalyptic street.

In eastern PA, Centralia was a thriving coal-mining town, but now, only a handful of people live there, mainly due to the coal mine that caught fire in 1962. The coal seen fueling the fire is expected to last another 250 years. This burning ghost town would not have even been recognized had it not been the inspiration for the 2006 horror movie Silent Hill.

Bodie, California, one of America’s most famous ghost towns, is a unique sight. After discovering gold in the hills of the east side of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Bodie experienced rapid growth, but by the 1940s, only a few residents remained. Today, the town is a National Historic Site protected by the California Parks System. The buildings are in a state of “arrested decay,” meaning they receive only necessary maintenance to prevent them from deteriorating and collapsing. Visitors can witness a snapshot of life in Bodie, with inns still containing pool tables, assorted chairs, and cutlery that rest precisely where they were left more than half a century ago.

Dawson, New Mexico. The tragic past of this ghost town is primarily due to exploding coal mines with more ghosts than a town. The only notable landmark left is the Dawson Cemetery, where a sea of white crosses represents the nearly 400 people who died in the mine explosions. Many mass casualty sites breed paranormal activity, explaining how the desolate land that once held up Dawson is now one of the most haunted places in America! Visitors have reported seeing lights like those on a mining helmet dancing around and untraceable moans and voices. Some even claim to have seen the ghost of a miner, still covered in soot and carrying a pickaxe, wandering the streets. So explore at your own risk!

Santa Claus, AZ, this holiday horror site, was a town that once lived as a mecca for Saint Nick-themed holiday joy in the middle of the Mojave Desert. A California real estate agent had a goal for the 80-acre town to transform it into a Christmas resort. In the late 1930s, the city built a Swiss chalet-esque doll house, a post office for children to send letters to Santa, and the Santa Claus Inn, which served its famous rum pie within its air-conditioned restaurant. There was also a resident Santa Claus for children to meet all year round. Unfortunately, the vision never fully blossomed into an entire town. By the 1970s, the city was declining despite being a novel stop on Route 66 and was removed from the Arizona State Map shortly after.

Tourists stopped to see the spooky, derailed pink children’s train called the “Old 1225,” which was rumored to be haunted by the spirits of the children who once rode it, and the dilapidated red-and-white buildings, which were said to emit ghostly whispers at night. However, according to NBC News, it was officially torn down in late 2021 or early 2022.

Many consider neglected spaces fair game for unused utilization and entertainment, but they are often a crystallization of enormous losses real people suffer—gravesites. So always be careful and respectful when exploring these ghostly towns.