A retirement community for circus freaks, a village of Chinese dwarves and a gated community for people who claim to speak to the dead are among the world’s weirdest settlements. Going beyond mere unlikely locations for human habitation, these towns are intentional communities devoted to the strange and unusual.

Dwarf City: Mountain Home for Little People Only

Is an amusement park full of little people dressed up to amuse paying visitors exploitative? Maybe. But the nearly 100 people who reside at Dwarf Empire have come from all over China for guaranteed housing and, reportedly, fair wages. They live and work in tiny castles, dress up as fairies and medieval soldiers and put on shows for hundreds of guests each day, and receive dance training and English lessons. The park owners hope that many more little people – who often have difficulty finding work in China, and end up living on the streets – will help the village expand to 800-1,000 residents in the near future.

Lily Dale: Gated Community for Spiritualists

A group of spiritual mediums came together at the height of the spiritualist movement in the late 19th century to found their very own village, where only people who can read minds and communicate with spirits (and their families) could reside. Established in 1879 on the shady banks of a New York lake, the town of Lily Dale has been the setting for seances, ‘automatic messages’ that appeared on chalkboards and other such phenomena ever since. Visitors still flock to Lily Dale to talk to dead relatives or marvel at the gated-off ‘Inspiration Stump’ where mediums once called upon spirits to show themselves. Mediums who want to work in the town must pass three 30-minute test readings evaluated by officials of the Lily Dale Assembly.

Retirement Community for Carnies

Where do carnival workers go when they’re not on the road? Many live in ordinary houses in ordinary towns just like anyone else, but in the mid-20th century, some sought a refuge where they could get away from the civilians who gawk at the unusual physical features that drew them to become a part of the carnival life. Gibsonton, Florida was a small town of fishermen and lumber workers before carnival legends like Al “The Giant” Tomiani (who was 7’11” tall) and his wife Jeanie “The Half-Woman” (2’6″ tall) bought property there. The town ultimately drew many more so-called ‘circus freaks,’ including Grady Stiles Jr., known as Lobster Boy for his claw-like hands, whose infamy was enhanced by the fact that he murdered his daughter’s fiance on the night before their wedding and was subsequently murdered in a hit taken out by his ex-wife and stepson. The town has a museum-like meeting hall with old photos of the carnivals and their stars, and features its own retirement village.

No Laws, No Utilities: Slab City, CA

An unforgiving stretch of the Colorado Desert near an active bombing range in southeastern California is the unlikely location for a lawless ‘alternative living community’. Slab City started as Camp Dunlop, a World War II training ground preparing United States Marines for combat duty. The camp was abandoned after the war, but a handful of chemical company workers set up trailers there in the early 1960s, and when Riverside County ordered people to leave a camping area at nearby Painted Canyon, the community grew. Today, it’s half squatter haven, half off-grid experiment, taking up some 600 acres. Home to RVs, trailers, vans, campers and shacks, the “Last Free Place in America” is home to anywhere from several hundred to a few thousand people depending on the time of year (only the hardiest can withstand the summers.) The state of California generally turns a blind eye to the community despite issues with trash and human waste. Slab City’s entrance is marked by ‘Salvation Mountain,’ a colorful hill covered in bible quotes.

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Bizarre Cities 7 More Strange Urban Wonders Of The World

How does a parent introduce a love of architecture and urban planning into a child’s life? The Popville pop-up book might be the perfect accessory. The book, by Anouk Boisrobert and Louis Rigaud, tells the story of a single house that over time becomes the center of an entire bustling town.

The book begins with a single pop-up house at the end of a street. With every turn of a page, more buildings and streets begin surrounding the house. Eventually, a town begins to form.

By the end of the pictorial story, a town complete with electrical wires, a railroad, and plenty of buildings adorns the open book. The transformation from single house to whole village is a sweet and calm journey that could inspire just about anyone to be more interested in the urban growth happening all around us.

With some abandoned places in truly far-flung locations, the mystery is less about why they were abandoned – it is how there were people there in the first place. Take these seven wondrous examples of human stubbornness in the face of extreme environmental conditions, from one temperature extreme to another – and marvel at our ability to leave our mark in the remotest corners of the world, for good or ill.

1. St. Kilda, Scotland

(Image via: Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division)

Forty miles into the Atlantic Ocean, the archipelago of St. Kilda is the western tip of the the Scottish Outer Hebrides – and the most windswept, storm-tossed part of Britain with waves up to 5 meters high and recorded windspeeds as high as 130 mph.

(Images via: Daily Mail and Guideliner)

Its terrain is monstrously rugged (containing the sheerest drop to sea level in the whole of the UK). The climate is unsympathetic. In short, anyone would be mad to want to live there.

(Images via: National Trust for Scotland)

Tell that to its previous inhabitants. Not only are there traces of various prehistoric communities, they also appear to have endured, culminating in continuous human settlement for 2,000 years – ending in 1930 when a combination of factors including accidental pollution of the land, crop failure and an unsustainably low population drove the remaining St. Kildans off the inhabited main island (Hirta) and back to mainland Scotland. The archipelago has been uninhabited ever since.

(Images via: CaptainOates and Wikimedia Commons)

While there is no permanent population, St. Kilda still enjoys a wealth of scientific and cultural attention. In 1986 the islands became Scotland’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is now administered by the National Trust for Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Ministry of Defense. In addition to the rangers, archaeologists and conservationist visiting and working on the islands, a number of cruise ships and charter boats bring tourists (and their charitable donations) in ever-increasing quantities. Some of the more substantial ruins are being rebuilt to provide tourist attractions – not to mention shelters, when the weather sweeps in.

2. Ballarat, California

(Image via: Wikimedia Commons)

Three and a half miles off California 178 and a short, dusty drive from Death Valley, Ballarat is a town on the verge of abandonment – and of disappearing altogether.

(Images via: Harry Helms)

Named after the Australian town where the largest gold nugget in history was discovered (a whopping 143 pounds), Ballarat attracted enough gold miners to swell its population to 500 souls in the first years of the 20th Century. It was a relaxation station and a watering-hole (all supplies shipped in from afar) for all those seeking their fortunes in the area, particularly at the Ratcliff Mine just to the east of town. When the mine closed, the town began to die – and today, the sun-baked ruins of the town contain just two permanent residents.

3. Dallol, Ethiopia

(Image via: Volcano Discovery via Artificial Owl)

Fancy living and working somewhere with an average yearly temperature of 34°C (94°F), where summer days never drop below a toasty 40°C? Then you may understand why Dallol in a remote corner of northern Ethiopia’s Afar Depression is an uninhabited, uninhabitable ghost town.

(Image via: Volcano Discovery and Photovolcanica via Artificial Owl)

Even getting there is a tall order – it is extraordinarily remote with no connecting roads. It owes its existence to the local production of potash, enabled in 1918 by the construction of a railway terminal 28km away to shuttle raw materials to Mersa Fatuma. After its short-lived heyday, the settlement fell into decline when demand for potassium salts was met by overseas markets – and when the British dismantled the railway after the Second World War, Dallol’s fate was sealed.

(Image via: Photovolcanica via Artificial Owl)

Today, the settlement is little more than a series of shattered, crumbling walls of salt-block bricking, littered with rusting vehicles and pieces of mining machinery – and apart from the occasional intrepid visitor, it is out of human influence, out of sight and out of mind.

4. Múli, Faroe

(Image via: FaroeIslands)

Don’t let the intact townhouses fool you – because Múli (population 4) is heading for the history books.

(Images via: FaroeIslands)

Lying on the bleak northern tip of the Faroese island of Borðoy, Múli has stubbornly clung to existence since the 13th Century, despite lacking a good road and basic utilities (it only acquired an electricity supply in 1970). The road came, but the people left – and while the summer months see a few previous inhabitants returning for a nostalgic vacation, the town is now considered derelict.

5. Cook, South Australia

(Image via: Rudolph Veldsman)

If you are lucky to find yourself travelling the 4,352 km of the Indian Pacific railroad in South Australia, be sure to look out for the town of Cook. Don’t blink – you might miss it.

(Image via: Bigted27 via TripAdvisor)

Midway along the longest stretch of straight railway in the world (478 km) and the Indian Pacific’s only scheduled stop across the Nullarbor Plain section of its route, Cook is tiny and remote, offering little more than occasional overnight accommodation and shopping supplies for train passengers. All supplies, including fresh water, arrive by train – but that isn’t a problem as there are only 4 residents, officially making Cook a ghost town.

6. South Georgia, South Atlantic

(Image via: Wikimedia Commons)

If you thought there was nowhere habitable in the Southern Atlantic beyond the Falkland Islands…well, you are almost right. The British-owned isle of South Georgia may cover a thousand square miles, but every one of them is cold, windy and prone to sleet and snow whatever the time of year. Not somewhere to linger.

(Image via: Expeditions.com and Wikimedia Commons)

During the 19th Century, South Georgia was the home to a number of sealing and whaling communities containing factory ships, land stations and repair yards. In 1916, it was to South Georgia that Shackleton sailed in an open lifeboat from Elephant Island, 800 miles to the south – a staggering feat of not just endurance but also navigation, as Shackleton’s crew was only able to take four nautical sightings during the entire 17-day voyage.

(Image via: Wofratz via Dark Roasted Blend)

The longest-running station operated out of South Georgia’s best harbor at Grytviken – established in 1904, it even housed a permanent population until its closure in December 1966. Shackleton used the town to launch his rescue of the members of his crew he’d left behind on Elephant Island – and it was here that he was buried in 1922. His grave still attracts tourists from the cruise ships heading towards Antarctica, and the town’s church is still used to conduct remembrance services.

(Image via: Antarctic Diary and Richard Harrington)

Grytviken is South Georgia in miniature: once thriving with marine industry, now rusting and derelict but enjoying significant through-traffic of tourists, scientists, fishing boats and a British military presence. The latter was ousted on April 3rd 1982 when Argentinian forces attacked and occupied Grytviken. On April 25th, the British returned, bombarded the neighboring hillside with naval artillery to signal their intent, and unleashed a small group of Special Forces and Royal Marines on the town. After 15 minutes, the Argentinians surrendered.

(Image via: Dark Roasted Blend)

The enduring Argentinian claim on South Georgia led to a heightened military presence in the years after the Falklands War, finally scaling back and handing over their base at King Edward Point over to the British Antarctic Survey, who now staff the base for much of the year – the closest that South Georgia now has to a resident population.

7. Northern Siberia

(Image via: Adventure Travel)

There are few words that evoke such strong memories – and stronger opinions – as Gulag. The name of a branch of the Soviet State Security, it has instead become better associated with its detention and forced labor camps positioned along the fringes of the Soviet Union, some of them in arctic or subarctic environments.

(Images via: kiddofspeed)

Of the many hundreds of camps operating during Stalinist Russia, many still remain as ruined memorials to the 18 million people who passed through them – and the estimated million who died there, victims of cold, hunger and inhumanly hard labor.

(Image via: kiddofspeed)

Most of the camps were positioned in the remotest parts of northeastern Siberia and southeastern Khazakstan, in places of sparse population and few connections. The more remote the location, the less that security was a problem, as the severity of the environment worked as a better deterrent than any fence or guard-tower.

(Image via: Wikimedia Commons)

This final instance of remote abandonment is unique from the preceding examples – because it is abandonment without regret. It is unlikely that anyone will look nostalgically back to the days when Soviet gulag camps were operating. The inhabitants certainly didn’t choose to be there, and gained little or nothing from the experience. For those reasons, these were places where people lived and died – but probably never regarded as home.

Also check Out these Other Abandoned Wonders of the World.

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7 (More!) Abandoned Wonders of America
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7 (More!) Abandoned Wonders of the Former Soviet Union
7 Abandoned Wonders of the European Union

We’ve seen what our towns and cities look like when people move out and nature moves in – but why does abandonment happen? What factors turn towns into ghost-towns, city centres into wastelands and treasured homes into piles of crumbling debris? Here’s a look at eight modern urban settlements that are either in danger of or in the process of losing their inhabitants – places that might gives clues about how to keep our cities alive.

Detroit, Michigan

(Image via: Shane Gorski)

Symbolized by the gloriously atmospheric ruin of the Michigan Central Station, Detroit is a city fighting decline. A 20th century marvel of car production, the area has suffered decades of industrial loss (for example, between 1970 and 1980, Detroit shed 208,000 jobs) as the motor industry has waned – the city locked into a downward trajectory due to an apparent over-dependence on automobile manufacture.

(Images via: tronics and Shane Gorski and lhoon)

But the U.S.’s 11th most populous city seems set to endure – thanks to decentralization. While the old core remains an urban problem, the newer suburbs are attracting new investment. Whether it will be enough to eventually reverse the inner-city decline and lure back a healthy commercial sector remains to be seen.

(Image via: Shane Gorski)

St. Louis, Missouri

(Images via: joguldi, Shane Gorski and Ecology of Absence)

At the centre of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area, this impressively historical city (founded 1763) was hit hard by the decline in local industries. Since 1950, it has lost 59% of its population – the fastest rate of population loss of any American city.

(Images via: Ecology of Absence)

However, while the underlying factors causing this shrinking city appear to be broadly similar as with Detroit, the response is markedly different. Between 1999 and 2005, $3.3 billion has been invested in Downtown St.Louis, the core of the city – and with a recent slight rise in the population, the signs are encouraging.

Wittenberge, Germany

(Image via: Wikimedia Commons)

Defined by an impressive architectural style – as evidenced by the Rathaus building, above – Wittenberge is an East German town that has prospered for eight centuries, only to be dealt what may be a death-blow by German reunification in 1990. Of the 1.4 million Germans leaving for the West, 14,000 came from Wittenberge – reducing its population to a scant 24,000 today.

(Images via: Spiegel Online and Christhard Lapple)

With the rapid depopulation, large abandoned spaces have opened up in the historic town centre, leaving some streets completely empty. Where redevelopment is taking place, it does little to accomodate itself to Wittenberge’s architectural heritage.

Ivanovo, Russian Federation

(Images via: Shrinking Cities and Wikipedia)

Tied closely to the Soviet manufacturing machine, the town of Ivanovo (population 450,000) finds itself in the unenviable position of having to reboot its entire economy to serve a hugely inflated population – in 1920, the town had just 52,000 residents. With the closing down of the town’s major employer, a USSR-financed textile factory, Ivanovo has been hit with drastic losses of townwide production, infrastructure decline (including the loss of the citywide tram, pictured), falling birthrates, abandonment of the workforce and “unprecedented social polarisation and segregation“.

Kashgar, China

(Image via: taylorandayumi)

For thousands of years, Kashgar has acted as an oasis city for trade and commerce is far western China, an important part of the famous “Silk Road”. The oldest part of this modern city of 350,000 people is the Old City – or rather, was, because the Chinese authorities are currently destroying it. Deemed to be a safety hazard and eyesore, the old quarter has been forcibly evacuated of the bulk of the resident 13,000 families – and approximately 85% of it is being torn down, despite its inestimable cultural and archaeological value. In its place, a new Old City – but who will return, and will old Kashgar still remain in any shape or form?

Leipzig, Germany

(Image via: ShrinkingCities)

The largest city in the Saxony area of eastern Germany, Leipzig can boast a population of some 500,000 people – which is 100,000 less than its heyday before German unification. In the early ’90s, the city’s economy was severely run-down, sending investors and workers elsewhere.

(Image via: Slache and ShrinkingCities and New Geography)

As with Detroit and St. Louis, the suburbs of Leipzig have prospered as the inner city has declined – around half of the businesses in the suburbs have relocated from the city centre. Yet thanks to its prestigious Trade Fair and ongoing redevelopment investment, the prognosis for the city’s economy is good.

Youngstown, Ohio

(Images via: royalreview and stu spivack and Flint News)

Once it housed 180,000 – now it has less than half that number. But faced with a familiar story of industrial decline dragging down the commercial and the residential alike, Youngstown has looked afresh at the challenge of downsizing – and decided to embrace it. Under the name “Youngstown 2010“, the city is actively seeking a smaller, more sustainable urban footprint with a higher standard of living.

Venice, Italy

(Image via: lpiepiora)

And finally, the most famous declining city of them all. Once an independent nation and a major European maritime power, Venice is indisputably one of the loveliest cities in the world – all the more so because it’s disappearing under the waves, a little more every year.

(Images via: Dimitry B and Dan Kitwood )

The locals move upstairs: the politicians resort to experimental engineering – but even the most innovative efforts don’t promise to stay Venice’s inevitable abandonment for more than a century. Despite our best efforts, some places cannot be saved – and that makes them all the more precious while we still have them.

(WUltimate guides – Collecting the Very Best of WebUrbanist Past and Present)

WebUrbanist has covered everything from abandoned wonders of the world to the illicit art of exploring deserted places. These thirty-three core articles cover hundreds of abandoned buildings, vehicles, towns and cities from around the world – highly organized, summarized and collected for the very first time. Consider this our must-bookmark essential guide to the world of haunting abandoned places and daring urban exploration.

7 Abandoned Wonders of America (Part Two – Part Three): Most Americans don’t realize just how close their nearest abandonment might be. Some of these remarkable abandoned buildings and places – from prisons and asylums to entire islands – may be closer than you think.

7 Abandoned Wonders of the European Union: While American abandonments are impressive, European ones can be even more so. Some of them have long pasts and beautiful spaces filled with intrigue and many played critical roles during pivotal points of world history.

7 Abandoned Wonders of the Former Soviet Union (Part Two): The collapse of the Soviet Union left a dazzling array of abandoned buildings as well as entire cities. From modest towns to entire missile silos here are some of the most fascinating Soviet abandonments.

7 Abandoned Wonders of Asia: Asian design has long held fascination for those of us in the West. From a futuristic pod city to ornately decorated architecture to the failed opus of one of the world’s weirdest dictators here are some of the most amazing Asian abandonments.

24 Abandoned Cities and Ghost Towns: One of the most popular WebUrbanist articles of all time, this collection documents the most amazing abandoned villages, towns and cities from around the globe – from peacefully deserted to worn-torn abandonments.

24 Abandoned Buildings and Places: From shopping malls the school halls here is an overview, a visual sampling if you will, of some of the most common types of abandoned buildings that are spread throughout the world near and far, in urban and rural areas alike.

24 Abandoned Vehicles and Transit: Planes, trains and automobiles all wear down over time. Some of these are abandoned quite quickly while others are restored for decades before being deserted to the elements. From school buses to private jets, here are twenty-four examples.

24 Abandoned Places Shot in HDR: When applied to abandoned places in particular, HDR photography has a way of bringing out hauntingly vivid visual qualities that can otherwise be missed in photographic reproductions. These images bring abandonments back to life.

Abandoned Houses, Homes, Ghost Towns and Neighborhoods: When most people think of abandoned buildings the deserted places that come to mind most often are haunted houses and ghost towns. There are, however, even more haunting and ghostly examples.

Abandoned Institutions, Asylums, Hospitals, Hotels and Churches: Homes are one things but these homes-away-from-home can sometimes seem even more tragic and surreal. These are places with large spaces where people stayed for a time – resting, recovering or congregating.

Abandoned Theme Parks, Theaters, Schools and Pools: If institutions, hotels and churches are sober and somber places of gathering then theme parks and theaters are at the festive end of the spectrum – making their desertion a particularly poignant change of status.

Abandoned Factories, Mills and Mines: Workers once toiled in these spaces and the dirt and sweat of their labors can still be seen in the factory halls and on mine walls years later. Many are also cluttered with industrial remains from parts to whole machinery.

Abandoned Cars, Trucks, Buses, Tanks and Roads: Road vehicles are the first that come to mind for most people – and their abandonment is anything but uncommon as they rust and fall into disrepair. The roads that carry them are sometimes deserted as well.

Abandoned Railroads, Subways, Stations, Trains and Tunnels: Off the beaten path and often beneath the surface of the Earth, abandoned railroad and subway lines, stations and vehicles are frequently all the more eerie for their degree of preservation and remoteness of location.

Abandoned Ships, Shipyards, Boats and Docks: It is difficult to comprehend how something as big as a boat – let alone as massive as a ship or shipyard – can ever be worth abandoning. From small yachts to large steamers, however, there are many such examples.

Abandoned Airfields, Airplanes and Other Aircrafts: If deserted ships are difficult to believe then entire airstrips and air vehicles are even more amazing to behold. Go ahead, climb on board, fiddle with the controls, just don’t push buttons on jets with missiles still attached.

Beginner’s Guide to Building Infiltration and Urban Exploration: Just getting your feet wet when it comes to finding and exploring abandoned places? Here are some handy links to get you started on the right foot in terms of gear, approach, existing explorers and past explorations.

7 Tips for Legally Exploring Historical Abandonments: Not sure you want to take the plunge and break the law? That may be for the best and we certainly won’t endorse illegal activity. You could skip the thrill of sneaking in and be more straightforward about it.

30 Essential Websites, Forums and Galleries for Urban Explorers: Before you explore in the real world it might be worth looking at what others have already done. These resources are engaging even if you plan to remain on the sidelines but are also informative if you want to jump in.

42 Top Flickr Groups for Finding Urban Exploration Images: If you want to stay out of the game altogether there are still plenty of places to explore online. Flickr has dozens of photo groups dedicated to images of abandonments and organized into all kinds of niche categories.

Urban Exploration through Parkour and Free Running: One extreme way to explore an urban environment (though not recommended without training) is via parkour and free running – techniques for scaling the sides of and leaping between buildings in amazing ways.

10 Examples of Compelling Parkour and Free Running in Film: Parkour and free running have slowly made their way into popular culture video online videos and mainstream movies. Here are some incredible scripted examples of parkour and free running in feature films.

Urban Camouflage for the Cautious Urban Explorer: Urban exploration requires a fair degree of stealth. You may want to disguise your camera bag, have a handy portable place to hide or even modify your vehicle so that it fits in when you park at an abandoned place.

10 Examples of Creative Urban Camouflage in Context: Of course, urban camouflage can be fun as well as practical. These urban camo designs are in some cases useful, in others artistic but in many instances are simply interesting and offbeat artistic statements.

Abandoned Movies Theaters of the United States: Abandoned drive-in theaters are an increasingly common sight on the sides of long rural stretches of highway. However, there are many magnificent urban theaters that have also been tragically left to the mercy of the elements.

Infamous Abandoned Places Used in Famous Films: Abandoned places have been featured in some of the most famous films of modern times from Twelve Monkeys to The Abyss. Some are what you might expect while others look very different in the light of regular photography.

Supposedly Haunted Houses and Hotels of the World: Do ghosts exist or can supposedly paranormal phenomena be explained in other ways? Regardless of what you believe personally here are some of the most infamous locations purported to be haunted in the world.

Historical and Mysterious Shipwrecks of the World: Shipwrecks are the sources of legend, from high-seas piracy and sunken treasure to great and tragic crashes like that of the infamous Titanic. Here are some stories and images of shipwrecks from around the seas.

Haunting Ruins of War from Around the World: War is devastating to populations in so many ways. Often the details are forgotten or changed and rewritten over time but there is a certain tragic truth revealed through the ruined structures left behind after the devastation.

Deserted and Converted Abandoned Missile Silos: Missile silos around the world become disused and then deserted- but in some cases explorers still manage to find their way in. In other cases, wealthy buyers purchase and convert these into amazing homes.