Ghost Towns Of The World (PHOTOS)

[Dana Monsour]

Ghost Towns Of The World (PHOTOS)

First Posted: 10/18/11 01:24 PM ET   Updated: 12/18/11 05:12 AM ET

It's one thing to share space with a haunted hotel. It's quite another to encounter an entirely abandoned town, perfectly and oddly preserved.

In the new book "Secret Journeys Of A Lifetime," due out Tuesday, National Geographic examines 10 such eerie towns.

The coffee table book details journeys far and wide, breaking down NatGeo's favorite ghost towns that are worth a visit. Some, like Italy's Herculaneum, are more famous than others. But, with this being Halloween month, every spooky town will enjoy this time in the spotlight.

And, if these 10 have your interest piqued, check out "Visiting 10 Of The Most Interesting Abandoned Places On Earth."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/15/visiting-10-of-the-most-i_0_n_927417.html

[Dana Monsour]

St. Elmo, Colorado



Getting there: St. Elmo is in Gunnison National Forest. Numerous trails for hiking and off-road driving are easily accessible from town.

[Dana Monsour]

Chaco Canyon, New Mexico




Getting there: A 9-mile paved loop road runs through the canyon.

[Dana Monsour]

Bodie, California



Getting there: Bodie is a California Historic State Park, 7 miles south of the town of Bridgeport.

[Dana Monsour]

Humberstone & Santa Laura, Atacama Desert, Chile



Getting there: Humerstone and Santa Laura are close to the town of Pozo Almonte, 30 miles east of Iquique, which is the nearest city with places to stay and an airport.

[Dana Monsour]

Bhangarh, Rajasthan, India



Getting there: Bhangarh is 18 miles northeast of Jaipuir. Tours of the haunted city are available.

[Dana Monsour]

Kayakoy, Anatolia, Turkey



Getting there: Fethiye, approximately 2.5 miles north of Kayakoy, is the closest town.

[Dana Monsour]

Herculaneum, Naples, Italy


Getting there: Herculaneum, 5 miles south of Naples, can be reached from the city by bus or train at the Ercolano station.

[Dana Monsour]

Belchite, Zaragoza Province, Spain




Getting there: The remains of the old town are .5 miles from modern Belchite.

[Dana Monsour]

Kolmanskop, Namibia


Getting there: The nearby city of Luderitz is a good base for exploring Kolmaskop and other abandoned mining towns in the area.

[Dana Monsour]

Fayette, Michigan



Geoffrey Pelkey:
Fayette was one of the typical 19th century "boom towns." The Jackson Iron Company founded the town in 1867

The site was chosen for the limestone, the small but deep natural harbor, and the immense stands of hardwood on the entire length of the Garden Peninsula. (The hardwood was used to make charcoal, which together with limestone, was essential to the iron smelting process.)

By 1891 the hardwood on the peninsula was gone and soft coal was replacing charcoal in the smelting process. It was no longer profitable for the company to run Fayette. The furnaces went cold and the town slowly became deserted.

[Dana Monsour]

Hancock, Michigan



emcd:
In the great UP of Michigan, old buinding at the abandoned Quincy Copper Mine museum.

[Dana Monsour]

Tunisian desert

[Dana Monsour]

Tunisian desert city (proprely cropped)

[Dana Monsour]

Jerome, Arizona



azfooddude:
The Grand Hotel in Jerome, AZ use to be an insame assylum during the copper mining days.