8 Scariest Ghost Towns in the World (4 of 5)

6. Hashima Island, Japan

Hashima, better known as Gunkanjima (Battleship Island), looks like a floating concrete fortress with a history too dark to imagine. Prior to WWII, this island was packed with coal miners and apartment blocks and was one of the top 10 most densely populated spots on the planet. Sadly, most of those people were basically slaves with some minimal rights. It was a site of forced labor until the mine shut down in 1974. The workers-slash-residents left, and the island became a giant slab of crumbling buildings surrounded by rough sea. Even from a distance, Hashima looks haunted but also quite fascinating.

7. Varosha, Cyprus

Varosha is not some 500-year-old ruin forgotten by people and gods. In fact, before 1974, it used to be a real paradise, a hot beach resort like no other, but then the Turkish invasion of Cyprus happened. People started fleeing the island until there was no one left. The town sat there fenced off and decaying for decades. Since 2017, parts of the island have reopened to the public, but it’s too little, too late. You’ve got beaches, hotels, apartment blocks, and storefronts all sitting in this weird half-life between luxury and ruin.