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America is littered with spooky, deserted places that will send a shiver up your spine. From frozen-in-time ghost towns to churches, schools and prisons that have been left to decay, we reveal the most incredible abandoned places in each state. We’ll let you know which sites are open to visitors, but otherwise assume you shouldn’t enter for your own safety.
The owners were unable to pay for the extensive repairs and the house was abandoned, but not forgotten. Over the years, the exterior of the crumbling mansion has featured in movies (including Tim Burton's Big Fish) and fashion shoots. These days the grounds are also available to hire for weddings and other events.
The last train departed that same year, leaving Kennecott a ghost town – literally. Visitors and locals alike have reported many sightings of apparitions over the decades, especially since the 1980s when tourists began to flock here.
However, the public sadly didn't muster the same enthusiasm as Sperber and low visitor numbers caused the park to close in 1952. Now the weathered relics of the abandoned park are scattered about Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens, which is open to the public.
The mill changed hands a number of times during the 20th century, and eventually shut down in 1996. Today, though out of the bounds to the public and covered in overgrowth, structures evoking the mill's heyday still stand.
Old Idaho State Penitentiary was eventually shut down following major riots over the appalling conditions. Now it's open daily to visitors, who can learn what life must have been like for the inmates on a guided tour.
Nevertheless, the prison survived until 2002, when it was finally closed for financial reasons. Regular guided tours of the prison campus are offered to the public, and the building has also been used as a location for film and television shoots, including popular TV series Prison Break.
The township survived until the 1940s, but the Great Depression took a toll and a vital ferry service was also discontinued. Perkins was eventually abandoned and, today, just a handful of deserted houses remain – though thankfully they've been preserved for posterity.
Later on in the 19th century, the mills eventually closed, but their abandoned remnants remain preserved as part of the Mill Ruins Park. Visitors can walk among the imposing factory walls and put their discoveries into context at the nearby Mill City Museum.
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The castle was finished by Snyder's sons, but they eventually ran into financial difficulties and were forced to move on. It served as a hotel for a time before it was destroyed by fire in 1942. Today visitors can spend time exploring the ruins during a trip to Ha Ha Tonka State Park.
In the early 20th century, Bannack entered into decline and most residents had left by the 1950s. Today, some 60 brick, log and frame buildings remain and the town is a popular tourist attraction.
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By the 1920s, the town had been all but abandoned and now very little of it is left. Visitors can expect to see the historic cemetery, plus a restored schoolhouse and a general store.
However, Bannerman passed away in 1918 and a series of tragic incidents ensued, including an explosion which destroyed part of the castle shortly after Bannerman's death. The property has been abandoned since the 1950s, though today tourists come to see the once glorious castle's crumbling remains.
Located in the semi-abandoned town of Ardoch, the Mondry Grain Elevator was built in 1881 when the town was a thriving center of agriculture.
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The reformatory has been spared the wrecking ball and was even the location for famous prison movie The Shawshank Redemption. Unsurprisingly, tales of ghost and ghouls lurking within these walls abound. As well as regular guided tours, visitors can today explore the facility on a ghost hunt.
During the Second World War, the Huntingtons lent the mansion to the United States Army Air Corps for use as a barracks. They returned after the war but eventually left the property in 1947, with Anna returning just a couple of times after Archer's death in 1955. Today, public tours are available of the grounds and the deserted buildings.
The prison was terribly overcrowded – at times holding 300 more than its maximum capacity – and diseases were rife, leading to the deaths of many inmates. A new and bigger facility was built (though ultimately conditions did not improve) and it went on to house some of America's most notorious criminals. James Earl Ray, who was convicted of assassinating Dr Martin Luther King Jr, is among the most famous inmates to walk through the gates. Despite its chequered history, the facility would not close until 2009 – now it's open for historical and paranormal tours.
Over the decades, the home fell into dire disrepair, its façade soiled and crumbling and overgrowth springing up around it. Work has been carried out to repair parts of the decrepit mansion, but its future remains unknown.
Moran Municipal Generation Station has been vacant since the 1980s. Over the past decade, the striking structure has been both threatened with demolition and earmarked for ambitious redevelopment plans. Currently, it's hoped the power station's metal skeleton will be turned into the 'Moran Frame', a park and cultural space.
A lack of visitors heralded the end of the attraction, however. After just a few years in operation it was relocated to Wisconsin. Many of the buildings remain and. left to the mercy of nature, they are increasingly overgrown.
The ghost town stayed standing until 1971 when most of the buildings were razed to the ground due to safety concerns. Only the ruins of the bulldozed town and its cemetery remain – they make for a particularly bleak sight on the prairie landscape.
