Abandoned towns you can actually visit

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

Desolate landscapes, abandoned houses, and dilapidated buildings aren't just the settings of horror movies—they're also somewhat commonly found all over the world. Once bustling locations can become ghost towns for various reasons.

Curious to discover some of them? Then click through and take a look at the world's eeriest ghost towns that were left to rot.

Virginia City, USA

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

The former gold mining town, which is now frozen in time, was once inhabited by 10,000 residents.

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

This town in Montana was founded in 1863, and was preserved as a National Historic Landmark in 1961. Although Virginia City is uninhabited, hobbyists still search for remaining gold to this day.

Craco, Italy

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

After various natural disasters, this hilltop town, which was once an educational center, got completely evacuated in the '80s.

Terlingua, USA

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

Terlingua, Texas used to be a real quicksilver mining town with workers and relocated families. But by 2010, the population was only 58.

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

Nowadays, it's the most visited ghost town in Texas, although there's not much to see besides abandoned cars, an old church, and a cemetery with real dead people.

Hashima Island, Japan

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

Japan's mysterious ghost island was home to as many as 5,000 people until the '70s (it was actually the most densely populated place in the world at one point).

Kennecott, USA

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

The ghost mining camp of Kennecott is a very popular tourist attraction located in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area in Alaska. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

Kolmanskop, Namibia

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

This ghost town is located about 420 miles (675 km) southwest of Windhoek, Namibia, and used to be a prime location for those seeking diamonds in the early 1900s.

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

What once was a bustling town with large and elegant houses would soon get engulfed by the desert after all the residents left following WWI.

Animas Forks, USA

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

This mining town on Colorado's Alpine Loop was founded in 1873 and originally called "Three Forks of the Animas" because of the three rivers that meet nearby.

Ross Island, India

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

Located in the South Andaman district, Ross Island has seen better days. The island was a British settlement in the 19th century, but was emptied after an earthquake in 1940.

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

Nowadays, it's possible to visit the abandoned ghost island that once had a rich history.

Rhyolite, USA

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

Thousands of people called Rhyolite, Nevada home at the start of the 1900s, when miners and their families moved here in the hopes of finding gold.

Oradour-sur-Glane, France

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

This Nazi-occupied French town met its horrible downfall during a massacre that killed 642 of its habitants on June 10, 1944.

Calico, USA

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

This ancient mining town was once home to 3,000 residents. But after silver lost much of its value in the mid-1890s, miners and other habitants packed up their belongings and left the California town.

Bodie, USA

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

If you're looking for an authentic ghost town experience, then Bodie in California is the real deal. The former gold mining town is one of best preserved ghost towns in the Western United States.

Glenrio, USA

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

Glenrio was a railroad town located on a former alignment of US Route 66. It was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007, and was also used as a film location for the movie 'Grapes of Wrath' (1940). The town sits on the Texas–New Mexico state line.

Garnet, USA

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

This former gold mining town dates from the 1860s and was home to 1,000 people. It's now known as the best preserved ghost town in Montana.

Kayaköy, Turkey

Virginia City, USA, Craco, Italy, Terlingua, USA, Hashima Island, Japan, Kennecott, USA, Kolmanskop, Namibia, Animas Forks, USA, Ross Island, India, Rhyolite, USA, Oradour-sur-Glane, France, Calico, USA, Bodie, USA, Glenrio, USA, Garnet, USA, Kayaköy, Turkey

Empty streets and crumbling houses is all you'll find in this eerie place. The lifeless Kayaköy was once in full bloom at the beginning of the 19th century, but the two million Greeks who lived here were forced to leave during the Greco-Turkish War in 1922.

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