Places that are abandoned are usually left because of a larger cause. Perhaps the area was mass evacuated quickly and nobody ever returned or perhaps the decline of population was slow and eased out until nobody was left. Either way, abandoned places give off a creepy vibe no matter where they are. This is because they are usually rundown and dark on the inside since no one is maintaining power. Abandoned places have become a popular hot spot for risk takers and explorers in recent years in a genre known as urban exploring.

Urban exploring is a documented genre where one or several people go explore an abandoned place to see if they can find anything interesting. Usually they aren't in search of anything scary per say but sometimes the unexpected happens. These abandoned places are also filled with historical relevance and some untapped knowledge potential. If you are interested in urban exploring it can be a dangerous hobby and we recommend you take proper precautions before attempting it. Some of these precautions include making sure you have permits to be on the premises. Sometimes ghosts aren't the scariest things in these urban exploration videos as the police are.

25 Warner and Swasey Observatory

An observatory is something that many people wouldn't expect to be abandoned but there is one that is located in Cleveland, Ohio. The building itself was built in 1919 and was later sold to a person by the name of Nayyir Al Mahdi who was shortly after convicted of mortgage fraud likely leading to the place's abandonment. This happened in 2007 and has likely been abandoned ever since. A few urban explorers have been to the observatory and while none have caught any substantial evidence of the paranormal everyone who has been there had felt unwelcome and overall bad feelings when entering the place.

24 Armour Meatpacking Plant

This is probably one of the scariest places to be abandoned and potentially haunted as the plant looks like it is straight out of a Saw movie. This specific meat packing plant is located in East St. Louis, Illinois. The meat packing plant thrived for years until the Great Depression hit and the factory had to close down and was abandoned ever since. Some people who have been back to the plant claim to hear some of the equipment being banged on and strange footsteps on the debris left after it's abandonment.

23 Devils Nest Ski Resort

This may also seem like a strange place to be deserted but it can definitely happen. A ski resort located in Knox County, Nebraska called Devils Nest was abandoned in 1975 after the bank had to foreclose on the property. Therefore it has been abandoned for a few decades and it definitely looks like it has been abandoned for quite some time. The cable cars are still hanging in the same place they were left in and sometimes they even creak in the middle of the night. Who knows if it is because of the wind or something else entirely.

22 Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant

The Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant is one of the largest ammunition plants in the world and is located in Lexington, Kentucky. Parts of the plant are still in operation today but a huge sector of the plant was closed down due to inactivity. The facility was at its peak during World War II and was a huge supplier to the army during that time. Since then production has slowed down causing a large part of the eastern side of the plant to become abandoned. With people still working there, however, there are claims of people not wanting to go near the abandoned side of the plant claiming they get weird vibes.

21 Michigan Central Station

The Michigan railroad station is still the tallest railroad station in the world and first opened in 1913. Since the station has closed due to inactivity and it has almost been demolished several times. Many people have fought for the building to stay there for historical purposes but many think there is a darker reason they don't want the station to be torn down. Either way, the station is fully abandoned and is one of the most photographed abandoned buildings due to its architectural design on the outside of the building.

20 Carr School

Carr school may be one of the oldest schools still standing in St.Louis, Missouri. The building was built in 1908 and served the public until it was abandoned in 1983. The school since then has been vacant and it has definitely seen better days. The interior is mostly just debris and the outside has boarded up windows, graffiti on its walls and even vines growing around the building. While the building isn't confirmed to be haunted many people believe it is just by the look of the place. You can find a bunch of animals and vandalism inside the building taking refuge in what used to be a place of education.

19 Ha Ha Tonka Castle

That's right a largely abandoned castle can be found in the middle of nowhere in Missouri. Most of the castle's interior has fallen down making the site mostly and outside exhibit. It was originally built as a home but sadly the interior and exterior were destroyed by a house fire many years ago. This is all that remains of the castle and the original constructor of the house sadly passed in a car accident. Many say that he still roams his once completed castle but of course, these are just speculations. With the castle being mostly outside it is pretty easy to explore as well.

18 Bunge Grain Elevator

The Bunge Grain Elevator located in Minneapolis, Minnesota is a high elevator that has been shut down for a long time due to inactivity. It is now used by urban explorers and trespassers to get a great view of the Mill City skyline. The place is hard to get into and has several sealed entrances for good reason. The elevator is very risky to enter and climb due to its stability. Several urban explorers have sadly not come back out due to falling from high heights. The place is said to be haunted by those who have lost their lives to the building's height.

17 Searsboro Consolidated School

Speaking of grain elevators the reason this school in Searsboro Iowa may have been because the town's grain elevator was shut down. This led to most of the town's businesses becoming closed including this school. The school has been abandoned for some time and the inside of it looks like something straight from a horror movie. An urban explorer documented their findings in a blog post and found a few strange things that didn't really belong in a school. They also found it weird that there was no information on the school. With so little information it may seem something much darker is happening behind the walls of this school.

16 Eastern State Penitentiary

The Eastern State Penitentiary is one of the hot spots for ghost hunters and urban explorers alike. Back in the early 2000's, the show Ghost Hunters caught undeniable proof that something was lurking in the corridors of Eastern State. Since then many have made it their mission to travel to the penitentiary and find evidence of their own. However, due to its popularity among explorers, the place is heavily guarded and most don't even make it inside. Look's like you'll have to take the word of the Ghost Hunters on this one. By the looks of the inside of the penitentiary that is probably for the better!

15 Lemp Brewery

What remains of the Lemp Brewery is located in St. Louis, Missouri and was once a thriving brewery that served the city of St. Louis. However, now the place is in absolute shambles as most of its floors have collapsed and there is just debris left. However, this location has something interesting lying beneath its surface. There is said to be a set of naturally formed caves that are underneath the brewery. If you though getting into the Lemp Brewery the supposed caves are even harder to get to. Since most of the brewery has collapsed we can assume the entrance to the cave also went down.

14 Joyland Amusement Park

Perhaps the name of this now abandoned amusement park was named after Stephen King's book named Joyland, located in Wichita, Kansas. If not the coincidence is probably scarier than actually stepping foot in this place. Amusement Parks already have a scary undertone to them however when they become abandoned is when the real horrors come out. Joyland Amusement Park is located in Wichita Kansas. The park had a famous mascot that strangely went missing called Louie the Clown. A decade after the park was abandoned Louie the Clown was found in a man's house randomly one day after the man was arrested.

13 Savanna Army Depot

The Savanna Army Depot which is now abandoned is located in Savanna, Illinois. The place is probably the most dangerous place to go urban exploring on this list because of its immediate threats like barbed fences and land mines that never went off. The facility tested many weapons that caused some pollution to the surrounding areas. This is one of the main reasons the facility shut down, another being that a part of the facility is now under natural wildlife protection. There probably isn't much to find at the Savanna Army Depot beside harm to you or others so it is probably best to stay away from.

12 Muscatatuck State Developmental Center

Many health institutions when they are closed down are converted into something like apartment buildings or buildings for local government. However, in the case of Muscatatuck State Development Center, it was converted into the Indiana Army National Guard's training center. So this entry isn't technically abandoned but it still does hold some scary things inside. The training grounds are rumored to be haunted by participating military people. Who can blame the people who rumor this place to be haunted as it was one of the largest mental institutes for its time when it was still in operation.

11 Indianapolis Central State Hospital

The Central State Hospital is located in Indianapolis, Indiana and was in operation since 1848. The place housed the mentally ill for over a century before being closed down due to rumors of staff not treating the patients right and soon the government pulled the plug on the hospital. Most of the building became fully abandoned in 1994 but in recent times some parts of the facility have become a place of history. A large part of the building is now a museum for medicine. Another part of the building was surprisingly converted into a dorm room for college students attending a local college. This is where most of the haunting reports happen. They are kind of asking for it by bunking in an abandoned mental hospital.

10 Nike Missile Site C-47

The Nike Missile Site played a huge role and was at its peak during the cold war. The missile site was responsible for testing new and improved weapons if the war ever took off. Many of the weapons were tested on the testing ground and it even served as a place to protect Chicago and other surrounding areas if there was ever an actual attack. Now the base doesn't have much use and part of it was even converted into a paintball playing area. However, the few houses that are located on the premises are scary and the overall emptiness of the site makes local paintball players feel uneasy.

9 The Paris Catacombs (Off Limits)

The Paris Catacombs aren't exactly abandoned because you can take tours to see the main part of the catacombs. However, what many people don't know is the fact that there is a large portion of the catacombs that you can't see. This is mainly due to the fact that they aren't maintained and can be dangerous to the inexperienced public. This hasn't stopped many from entering the off-limits part of the catacombs. The eeriness of the catacombs makes many feel like they are haunted by something much darker than we know. Many people have claimed to see shadows roaming down the small corridors located deep in the catacombs.

8 San Haven Sanatorium

North Dakota is one of those places in America that many don't talk about. That is because the state as a whole is very unpopulated. This is because most of its towns are now ghost towns leaving a lot to be explored. The San Haven Sanatorium is one of these places. The San Haven Sanatorium used to be a specialty hospital for those living with a specific disease. Since then the sanatorium was converted into a mental hospital but shut down in the 80's and ever since it has been abandoned. Now if you walk up to the building most of the windows are broken and all that you can see inside is darkness.

7 Joliet Correctional Center

The Joliet Correctional Facility is a rather popular facility when it comes to television. The prison, located in Joliet, Illinois, was featured in The Blues Brothers and even made an appearance in the Prison Break TV series. However, that isn't to say it wasn't an actual prison beforehand. The prison was in operation from 1858 to 2002 when it was deemed unfit for prisoners. Some famous names like John Wayne Gacy were kept in this prison. The prison is now abandoned and is hard to get into because of all the things trying to keep prisoners in such as barbed wire and unbreakable glass windows.

6 Rolling Acres Mall

The Rolling Acres Mall, located in Akron, Ohio, is one of the most famous abandoned malls and is a hot spot for explorers whether they're just exploring or if they're looking for ghosts. The mall was nicknamed Rotting Acres Mall due to its rapidly deteriorating inside. Security cameras are put up in the mall so that the local police can catch anyone trespassing. While this may not scare many anyone who has documented trying to go into the mall has come out in handcuffs, like this guy. It is probably better to just watch videos of people exploring the mall before they get arrested to get a better idea of what you are up against.