What in the world could cause an entire city to be abandoned? Some become unlivable due to environmental disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis to nuclear meltdowns (as with Pripyat, shown below). Others become the center of military activity and remain contested and uninhabited as a result – or are simply left as memorials to the terrible events that took place in them. Still others are simply deserted when they outlive their usefulness as trade outposts or mining towns.

This Halloween, forget the plastic cape and cheesy costume. Why not find and explore the real relics and strange structures of an actual ghost town or abandoned city instead? From Azerbaijan to Japan, Italy to Siberia and Cyprus to China, here are twenty-four haunting real-life ghost villages, towns and cities from around the world. Click below to learn more: