What is it with abandoned places? They're morbidly charming, sitting (sometimes for ages) and gathering dust, hinting at a time bygone. Exploring them would be a dream. And the perfect escapade for date night, if I do say so myself.
However, real-life urban exploring is dangerous and occasionally illegal. So instead, here are 5 eerie abandoned places you can relish in from the comfort of your home.
1. The Overgrown Palace in Poland
This once decadent palace was constructed in 1910 as a home for Polish royalty. It was converted into an agricultural school during WWI. During the 1970's, the estate was a center for the mentally handicapped, and then, by the 1980's, a home for "disturbed" children. Creepy.
The building was abandoned in 1997 where it now sits in a state of overgrowth and decay, a crumbling vision of its former self.
2. The New Bedford Orpheum Theatre, U.S.A.
The Orpheum Theatre is a movie house and theatre located in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The theatre opened its grand doors in the spring of 1912, the same day as the Titanic sinking. The Orpheum housed 1,500 velvet-lined seats, where people once came to be entertained by feature films, serials and vaudeville performances.
The theatre was closed in 1959 and is privately owned, although it has remained unused. The Orpheum Rising project is currently attempting to restore the aged building.
3. Chateau Miranda, Belguim
This abandoned, Neo-Gothic chateau has been called a "ghost hunters paradise." It was built in 1886 by English architect Edward Milner for the Liedekerke-De Beaufort family, who were fleeing the guillotine of the French Revolution. Milner died before the building was finished. The construction was eventually completed in 1907, and the French family inhabited the house until WWII, during which it was occupied by Nazis.
By the 1950's, the Miranda was re-titled "Chateau de Noisy" and converted into an orphanage and a holiday camp for sick children.
The chateau was officially abandoned in 1991 and remains in an ethereal state of disrepair. A mysterious fire claimed part of the chateau's roof in 1995, and a storm destroyed the roof further in 2006.
4. Irish Ghost Town
Although these identical, Stepford wives-esque homes may look like your run-of-the-mill suburban residence, they were never occupied. Aptly titled "ghost estates," these homes were built during a period of economic growth, but left unoccupied due to the recession in 2008.
5. English Manor, U.K.
Photographer and urban explorer Josephine Pugh came across this otherworldly manor by happenstance, and thankfully documented it. The house was built in 1848 (relatively young by English standards) and had been rented out to the poet John Milton, of Paradise Lost fame. The identities of the following tenants remain a mystery, although one can speculate. The house is frozen in time, virtually untouched by man. The former occupants' effects are still very much in place, which includes a rusted birdcage with a mummified bird corpse inside, taxidermic deer, typewriter, antique baby carriage, vanity and a piano with the sheet music poised to be read.
There's little hope in finding this hauntingly intimate relic, as those who know its exact location refuse to disclose it.
