5 CREEPIEST GHOST Towns in the World

5. Chaiten, Chile

Considered a modern version of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, the small town of Chaiten in the Los Lagos Region of Chile is among the latest victims of an abrupt and deadly volcanic eruption.
A once thriving capital town, Chaiten’s destiny would change forever as the once quiet volcano nearby rumbled to life on May 2, 2008. The eruption grew increasingly violent and by May 5 it had spewed a deadly mixture of ash and sulfur 19 miles up into the Earth’s atmosphere – reaching across Patagonia and affecting infrastructure all the way in Argentina.

4. Pripyat, Ukraine
Sitting 3 kilometers away from Chernobyl, the town of Pripyat in the Ukraine was once home to more than 49,000 people. Pripyat was founded on February 4, 1970 and deemed “a nuclear city” – a type of town created to serve the nearby Chernobyl reactor. Unlike other nuclear plants, Chernobyl was proclaimed as a “safer” type compared to others. Hence, the city of Pripyat was open to the general public and people could come and visit as they pleased.

3. Centralia, Pennsylvania
In May of 1962, the lives of the residents of Centralia would forever change. It was the day before Memorial Day and the people were preparing for festivities However, they needed to settle one matter, how to clean up the town landfill. Although several options were offered, they settled on simply burning the trash in the 300 by 75-foot dumping ground After all, it was a common thing to do and it had been done many times before. According to the story, five volunteer firemen proceeded to light the trash on fire and let it burn for some time before extinguishing it.

2. Humberstone & La Noria
Considered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Humberstone and La Noria were former saltpeter refineries that sat in the middle of the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile.
Humberstone is named after British chemical engineer, James Humberstone. He emigrated to the country in 1875 and became a saltpeter mogul, digging his way through the nitrate-rich crust of the desert. Described as “white gold,” almost all of the world’s saltpetre had come from the Atacama Desert. It was in such a huge demand as fertilizer in fast industrializing countries that during the 1880s to the 1930s, it was the main product exported from Chile.

1. Hashima Island, Japan (Gukanjima)
Another mining facility on this list is the famous “Gukanjima,” known officially as Hashima – although few people call it that. In the Western World, it’s often known as “Battleship Island” because of its unusual shape. This abandoned island lies 20-minutes off the coast of Nagasaki- a city that once was considered the most densely populated on Earth. Now, it’s most visited structure is the Atomic Bomb Museum.