There’s nothing like an abandoned house to get our imaginations racing. Monuments to the past, these empty structures have witnessed history unfold and their crumbling walls are steeped in spine-tingling secrets. Would you be brave enough to venture near these languishing landmarks on a dark night? Click or scroll on to discover some of the creepiest empty homes from around the world – if you dare...
In 2020, Leland Kent of Abandoned Southeast braved the grounds of Moulthrop House, close to Lake Eufaula, Alabama. The eerie family home was completed in 1837 and had everything from lavish interior spaces, to its very own cemetery. The Moulthrop family owned the property until the 1980s, but with no living heirs to take on ownership, it was sold to a real estate developer. Plans to restore the property never materialised and it quickly fell into a state of disrepair.
No place quite has the same Gothic allure as Transylvania in Romania and this amazing historic castle can be found in the very heart of Dracula land. Finished at the end of the 18th century, it was the summer residence of count Géza Teleki and later his son, Pál Teleki, a controversial figure with strong anti-Semitic views. The day the German troops crossed Hungarian territory in 1941, Pál died from suicide and sadly Teleki Castle fell into a state of decay.
Considered one of the greatest surviving Gilded Age mansions in America, Lynnewood Hall in Pennsylvania, USA, harbours its fair share of secrets. US tycoon, Peter Arrell Browne Widener, decided to build the house after his wife Hannah passed away in 1896, but tragedy would follow Widener to his new home. In 1915, he died after persistent spells of ill health, just three years after losing his heirs on the ill-fated Titanic. Lynnewood Hall has been left vacant since around 1948.
Speaking of cursed millionaire mansions, Castelo da Dona Chica in Palmeira, Portugal, is full of secrets. Construction began in 1915 and was commissioned by João José Ferreira do Rego and his wealthy heiress wife, Francisca. But the project was halted in 1919, when the couple ran out of funds and separated. Francisca is said to have cursed the castle, vowing it would never be finished or lived in. Whether this folklore is true or not, her hex appears to have done the trick...
Once the home of a wealthy Irish family in the 1800s, Mayfield House stood empty for three decades. It was commissioned in the 1740s by David Malcomson, but changed hands numerous times over the decades before being abandoned in 1985. With overgrown greenery, smashed windows and crumbling brickwork, the property is crying out to be restored. In late 2021 it landed on the market for €790,000 (£697k / $772k) and is said to be being transformed into a luxurious hotel. Let's hope it isn't haunted!
That isn't the only ill-fated self-build though. Rockwell House in Georgia was left vacant following a fire in 1969. It was built in 1838 for Colonel Samuel Rockwell, who is said to have died of a heart attack in 1841 when he saw the bill for his new wrought-iron fence (pictured here). It's rumoured to have cost the same amount as the house to create, around $2,600 (£2.4k), which is approximately $88,510 (£82.4k) in today's money. Take a tour of Rockwell House, courtesy of Abandoned Southeast.
According to the REA Group, Summer Hill house was "full of cobwebs and abandoned furniture" when it landed on the real estate market in late 2019. Billed by some as a ghost house, the deserted pad was strewn with dusty crockery, old rope and empty bottles – not to mention the front door was barely accessibly due to overgrown weeds. Despite this, and its creepy aesthetic, the property sold for AUD$1.7 million (£1m/$1.1m).
This ruined plantation mansion near the town of Lowndesboro, Alabama, dates back to 1830 but was remodelled in the Greek Revival style during the 1850s. The property passed through numerous prominent local families, before being bought in 1901 by Robert Dickson. Sadly, the building was destroyed by fire. A new mansion was built in its place and the pad was deemed fireproof, until the second incarnation of the house burned to the ground in 1964. It's sat like this ever since.
The former home of a Confederate colonel, this antebellum house in northern Virginia, USA, was mysteriously abandoned many years ago. It's thought to have been built between 1853 and 1856, with 300,000 bricks used to build the basement and chimneys alone. Sadly, the house is a shadow of its former self, with creeper vines covering its exterior and its once-ornate rooms scattered with dust and long-forgotten belongings. Luckily for us, renowned urbex photographer, Bryan Sansivero, gave us the chance to peek inside. Are you brave enough?
Not only has this dilapidated villa on Carleton Island, New York, been left vacant since 1927, it's also said to be haunted by the ghost of its former owner, typewriter entrepreneur William Wyckoff and his family. The expensive abandoned mansion was commissioned by Wyckoff in the 1890s but sadly, he's rumoured to have died of a heart attack on his first night in the mansion, just a month after his wife passed away unexpectedly. Make of that what you will...
This is one residence we wouldn't want to stumble upon after nightfall. Located in Sparta, Georgia, the original bones of the ornate Pendleton-Graves House date all the way back to the 1820s. Once a landmark home in the area, the grand structure, with its turrets, cornicing and elegant porch, has been long-abandoned and left to the elements. It makes a haunting sight, but it's clear the property could be something really special if only it could be rescued...
Located in the town of Dobele, within the district of Zemgale in Latvia, this eerie home is enough to send shivers down your spine. Framed by gnarled trees, the derelict woodland residence could easily be the backdrop of a horror film. It's unclear how long ago the house was abandoned, but given the broken windows and moss-covered roof, it looks as though it's been for some time. Would you step inside?
Despite its decrepit state, it's hard not to be enchanted by this once-extravagant home in Kojori, Georgia. From the exquisite porch gable to the diamond-tiled roof and intricate windows, we'd love to have seen this remarkable residence in its heyday. Sadly, years of neglect have taken their toll, leaving shattered glass and rotting woodwork in their wake. These days, all that remains is a haunting structure, alone in a desolate clearing.
Once part of a small community of shacks and cabins that used to house miners, this haunting abandoned tiny home has been left open to the elements. Surrounded by the rugged shrublands and mountains in Utah, rusted, bullet-riddled furniture has been discarded outside the cabin, including a fridge. Could this have been the scene of a shoot-out?
Judging from the broken windows and crumbling brickwork, it's been decades since anyone called this empty brick mansion home. With a tree-lined drive and grand pedimented façade, it was no doubt once a spectacular residence in the distant past. Now a shadow of its former self, the derelict shell looms out between the branches, more eerie than elegant.
Few places in the world are as eerie or as heartbreaking as Chernobyl, the location of the catastrophic nuclear disaster in 1986. As a result of history’s most disastrous power plant accident, the city was evacuated and entry is strictly regulated by the Ukrainian government. This abandoned mansion is just one of the many dilapidated houses that remain in the toxic town, a lingering reminder of the thousands who have died since the disaster.
Located in Natchez, Mississippi, this once-grand residence is now desolate and forlorn, despite being considered one of the most important heritage buildings in the region. Shrouded in mystery, the home's first owners, John Hampton White and his wife, Jane, both passed away within close succession. In fact, John is said to have died roughly at the same time the building was completed in 1819. Leland Kent of Abandoned Southeast gave us a glimpse inside the antebellum house. Take a look...
This spooky house stands empty and deserted in the middle of the Swedish countryside after it was inexplicably deserted by its owner. Surrounded by trees and situated in a remote location, the rundown wooden house gives us the heebie-jeebies. No matter the story that lies behind its demise, it's certainly far from an idyllic holiday retreat!
Once a busy diamond mining town, Kolmanskop was deserted in the 1950s when the supply of precious gems started to deplete. But while Kolmanskop might be a ghost town, its former residents left behind some intriguing houses, not least this desolate property. Totally ravaged by sand, the site is now a tourist destination run by the world-famous diamond company De Beers and is used as a movie location for TV, film and fashion shoots.
Benton Hot Springs in California was once a thriving mining town in the 19th century. But with the decline of heavy industry, the town’s population fast dwindled and plenty of homes, such as this old miner’s cabin, fell by the wayside. The creepy cabin has begun to crumble after years of neglect, just one of many in this desert ghost town.
Built in the mid-19th century, Bissingen Castle in Vlajkovac, Serbia, is a fairytale castle that’s falling into ruin. Once home to local nobility, it's now a far cry from its regal heyday. While investors intended to turn the structure into a hotel, there are no signs of progress and the grand estate continues to languish. Perhaps it already has guests...
Everything about this abandoned home in Transylvania, Romania, fits all the creepy haunted house tropes. The steps are covered in moss, there are gaping holes where windows used to be and the façade has been reduced to a crumbling mess of materials as time takes its toll. All it needs now is a resident vampire!
It's not hard to imagine just how luxurious this Vietnamese villa would have been once upon a time. Đà Lạt was developed as a resort by the French in the early 1900s, and many ghosts of its colonial past remain. Despite its picturesque lake setting, the eerie home, with its bricked-up door and windows, is slowly falling to pieces.
Looking as if it’s straight out of a horror film, this abandoned house in Tallinn would need more than a lick of paint to make it liveable again. A property nightmare, the windows have shattered, it’s plagued with structural problems and its façade is covered in rotting wood, graffiti and crumbling brickwork.
Taking treehouses to a whole new level, this house in Hemsedal, Norway took an unusual course when it was abandoned. Instead of the cosy rooms it once offered, it’s now home to the spruces that have forced their way through the house’s roof. It's a mystery how they got there, as the area around the structure seems to be tree-free.
You might ask yourself the obvious question: if you had such a regal residence in Tuscany, one of the most beautiful regions in the world, why would you ever abandon it? Whatever the answer, this dilapidated dream home has been uninhabited for decades and has gradually fallen into a sad state of disrepair.
Many homes become shadows of their former selves once they are abandoned, but not this house in Aomori, Japan. It comes into its own every year in autumn, after the summer when the leaves of the vines that have slowly crept up the sides burst into beautiful rich colour.
If you were lucky enough to have a treehouse as a child, it was probably a small wooden box perched in a tree in your garden. But this amazing treehouse takes some beating: the enormous home, complete with kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms, was built by a wealthy Florida industrialist for his grandchildren in the 1980s. Since his death in the early 2000s, the dilapidated treehouse has become an eerie shadow of its former self and a sad reminder of what once was, known affectionately by locals as Honky Ranch Treehouse.
Captured by Leland Kent of Abandoned Southeast, this spooky Greek Revival residence hides a haunting secret within its crumbling walls. Decimated by two storms that have left the home open to the elements, the abandoned Alabama mansion once housed a family funeral business. Even spookier, some of the rooms are still littered with coffins and undertaker's equipment...
This majestic château dates all the way back to the 13th century, but the years haven't been kind to the abandoned stately home. Crippled by devastating fires and severely damaged during the French Revolution, today it stands as a derelict shell, but this property may fare better than the others on this list: a crowdfunding campaign has raised funds to restore the castle to its former glory.
It might look impossibly picturesque at first glance, but this abandoned river house in Phatthalung, Thailand, is far from idyllic. Long neglected, its walls are rotting to pieces, the roof is crumbling, while the ground below it is slowly being swallowed up by the water.
Imagine the plot of a scary movie that involves a bunch of students, a terrifying ghoul and a rundown student property, and you’ll be able to picture the backdrop: this abandoned property in Dunedin, New Zealand. The childlike graffiti across the exterior adds an even eerier feel to the forlorn residence: this is one home you’d want to steer well clear of.
Although this seven-bedroom Georgian parsonage enjoys a peaceful setting in five acres of Devonshire countryside, it’s not the sort of place you’d want to retire to. There are no modern amenities such as running water, the walls are crumbling and both the interior and exterior have a decidedly spooky atmosphere, with overgrown plant life decorating the walls and an unsettling sense of quiet permeating the property.
Maryland’s Holland Island was once five miles long and home to hundreds of residents and over 60 residential properties before dramatic erosion and rising sea levels forced the community to relocate in the 1920s. This was the last surviving home on the island, desperately clinging onto existence and battling against the sea, before it eventually collapsed in 2010.
What was once intended to be a glorious neo-classical palace now lies in ruins. Darul Aman Palace in Kabul was built in the early 20th century but never realised its full potential thanks to decades of war and bloodshed. Today, it stands as an eerie shell and a symbol of what could have been.
For a home haunted by the past, look no further than this cabin in Bodie, a gold-mining town that came alive in the late 19th century. Its population of nearly 10,000 people soon dwindled after the initial boom, however, and Bodie became an abandoned ghost town in the mid-20th century. You can wander through the eerily deserted streets and visit houses such as this one, which has been empty for over a century.
Wandering around a forest by yourself during the day might not seem scary, but come nightfall it’s the last place you’d want to be. Especially if you stumbled across this mysterious wooden house, complete with cobweb-laced windows. Hidden in the middle of a protected nature reserve in the Owl Mountains in Poland, this rundown shack of a home has a distinctly sinister air.
While it may look like a fairytale castle from the outside, this abandoned château certainly hasn’t had a happy ending. The medieval property was built in the 19th century and was occupied by the Nazis during the Second World War, before being turned into an orphanage and holiday camp. But the crumbling palace became too expensive to run and was closed up for good in 1991, suffering a devastating fire a few years later. Sadly, the grand home has since been demolished, but its iconic, eerie façade will never be forgotten.
Known as Orr Manor, this amazing home was influenced by Gothic Revival and Italianate architecture, and was built in around 1865 by a local judge. While we have no idea why the once-elegant abode was left abandoned, it's clear the last owners left in a hurry. Amazingly, the once-grand home sold in 2021 for a mere $90,000 (£83.7k), so here's hoping the new owner is planning to return the manor back to its former glory.
Loved this? See more abandoned homes from across the world...