There’s something about an abandoned building that can make you feel in awe while giving you the creeps at the same time. What was once a vibrant and lively environment has since been deserted, left to deteriorate, or even become a site for a ghost-hunting adventure.

There are apparently many of those sites all over the world, and here are some photos courtesy of the Freaktography subreddit. While most of these snapshots are of neglected homes and commercial buildings, with furnishings included, some are of local landmarks that once held significance.

We’ve compiled a list of those photos for you to enjoy. Be sure to upvote those that catch your eye!

#1 Abandoned Historic Church In Stonehenge, Saskatchewan

#2 What Remains Of The Hydroelectric Power Plant In The Ghost Town Of Anyox British Columbia

#3 Historic Abandoned Theatre

Here's a bit of insight into Freaktography. According to Google, it’s a pseudonym for a Canadian photographer who specializes in urban exploration. He has quite a social media presence with tens of thousands of followers on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, to name a few.

#4 200 Year Old Abandoned House

#5 Abandoned St Agnes Church And School - Detroit

#6 The Abandoned Grow Op Mansion: King City, Ontario Canada

Clearly, Freaktography’s work resonates with people. But what is it about abandoned buildings that draws attention? One of them is the place's history, where you get a deeper backstory about how it got to where it is.

#7 Abandoned Time Capsule House Filled With Vintage Treasures

Shot this abandoned time capsule house on one of the coldest days I’ve ever been out exploring, but it paid off. Every room was packed with vintage treasures like the owners just walked away and never came back.

#8 Very Old Abandoned House In Port Royal, Ontario

#9 Abandoned Luxury Hotel

“Abandoned places are like stories that have been cut short,” real estate expert and Waterfront Homes LLC founder Chris Murphy told Bored Panda. “A hotel lobby with peeling wallpaper, a deserted school hallway, or a seaside cottage left to the effects of the weather. It makes you wonder what happened there. The building is still standing, but the life inside it has disappeared.”

#10 Explored The Abandoned Loretto Convent In Niagara Falls, An Eerie Historic School Sitting Empty Despite Huge Redevelopment Plans

#11 Abandoned State Hospital For The Insane

#12 Rainbow Over An Abandoned Cabin In Rumsey, Alberta

An abandoned place can also tap into something within us. According to clinical psychologist Dr. Daniel Glazer, it has to do with what he calls the “frozen story concept.”

#13 Inside A 1969 Mid Century Time Capsule House Left Untouched For 50+ Years

#14 The Abandoned "Splatalot" Game Show Set - Ontario, Canada

The Abandoned Splatalot Game Show Set was the site of a hilarious medieval-themed physical game show geared to the tween audience, featuring an extreme obstacle course with heaps and loads of splats and spills.

Each episode features a different group of thrill-seeking teen contestants, dubbed Attackers, competing in three hilarious rounds: Cross the Moat, Escape the Stockade, and Capture the Crown.

The Defenders of Splatalot, an international squad of medieval-themed gladiators, do their best to protect the castle from the Attackers – leaving only one to be crowned King or Queen of Splatalot.

The filming of Splatalot began in Amaranth Ontario back in September of 2010. The show, which was aired on YTV, ABC Australia, the BBC in England as well as Disney and Nickelodeon in the United States, lasted two seasons.

Each episode featured 12 contestants, known as the Attackers, facing off against gladiators, the Defenders of Splatalot, over three stages — cross the moat, escaping the stockades and finally, capturing the crown.

However, the castle’s spinning mace wheel, giant foam axes, water engulfed floor, water guns and walls are now a shell of what they once were as the show stopped filming in 2015 leaving the set vacant and open to the elements, also very visible to curious passers by on the local road way.

#15 A Tour Through The Now Demolished London Psychiatric Hospital

“A frozen story refers to a space (place) where life was clearly present but has now stopped. Our brains have a natural desire to complete the missing narrative,” Dr. Glazer noted, adding that an abandoned place fascinates people because of their potential to “evoke both our imagination and our mortality.”

#16 Exploring Abandoned Essex County Jail

#17 Grandma's Abandoned Time Capsule House

#18 Pics From Abandoned Insane Asylum In New York State

Dr. Glazer also mentioned “controlled unease” and projection as reasons why we are drawn to deserted places. As he explained, controlled unease is the ability to allow oneself to be uncomfortable or scared while feeling safe from harm.

It’s akin to enjoying a slasher film in the comfort of your home without worrying about the dangers of dealing with a knife-wielding attacker.

#19 A Disgraced Abandoned Religious Boarding School

#20 Abandoned 1950s Era Diner

#21 Abandoned Hotel Pub With Everything Still Inside

Then, there’s projection, which, according to Dr. Glazer, is usually done without realizing it.

“Many people subconsciously project their own emotions onto abandoned areas, including grief, nostalgia, burnout, isolation, and/or fear of being forgotten, which creates a sense of familiarity or emotional connection to the space,” he explained.

#22 Canada's Largest Abandoned Mansion

#23 Abandoned Mid Century Modern Mansion In Ontario, Built In The 1960s And Now Waiting For Its Fate

This abandoned house was built in the late 1960s as a mid century modern residence, it was designed to integrate with its surroundings rather than dominate them. The house is listed on the city’s heritage inventory, but it is not fully protected, and its future remains uncertain.

I documented the house and focused on its architecture, history, and current condition rather than myths or exaggeration.

#24 282 Meters Over The Ground In Germany, Abandoned Coal Powerplant Demolished Now

#25 Abandoned Private Eyes Strip Club - St Catharines, Ontario

#26 Abandoned House With 1970s Decor And Full Of Antique Furniture

#27 The Abandoned Wedding Dress House

#28 Probably My Favourite Abandoned House Staircase Ever!

#29 $14 Million Dollar Abandoned Mansion To Be Demolished

#30 Highway Book Store

#31 Abandoned St Catharines YMCA. $100,000s Of $1,000 In Equipment Wasted

#32 Inside Ontario’s Brockville Psychiatric Hospital Before It’s Gone Forever

#33 Last Look Inside The Abandoned Niagara Square Mall Before Demolition

#34 Bikers House Abandoned For Over 30 Years

#35 This $4,000,000 Mansion Was Only Built 17 Years Ago? Why Demolish It?

#36 Exploring An Abandoned Newspaper Headquarters

#37 Buffalo State Asylum - Then And Now

#38 Abandoned Farmhouse That Time Forgot

#39 An Abandoned 1800s Farmhouse On $70,000,000 Of Land

#40 Abandoned Piano

#41 It's Like Two Abandoned Houses, But It's One House

#42 Crazy Decayed Abandoned House Filled With 1980s Toys

#43 Abandoned St Thomas Psychiatric Hospital In Ontario, Canada To Be Entirely Demolished

#44 Old Weathered Wooden Hut Standing Alone In A Green Field Under A Cloudy Sky In Alberta, Canada

#45 Abandoned Century Home, Ontario Canada

#46 Abandoned House In Dahinda, Saskatchewan

#47 The Canadian Niagara Power Station, Before It Became A Tourist Destination

July 3rd is a pretty special day, it was this day in 2019 that I spent several hours exploring and navigating the many halls, rooms and different levels of the former Canadian Niagara Power Station in Niagara Falls.

Opened in 1905, closed 100 years later in 2005 and officially decommissioned in 2006, this was one of three power plants in Niagara Falls that were left vacant and unused.

The station saw quite a bit of activity in the early 2000's, with several urban explorers documenting their trips into the plant and into the tailrace. Many told stories of having to rappel down into the tailrace, or, make a very sketchy trek along the shores of the lower Niagara River to get up and into the tailrace from below.

My opportunity came in 2019 when a good friend of mine, and a very seasoned explorer, had a successful trip into the plant and let me know.

I have documented this all on my website for those who wish to read the story.

During the time of this visit, the Niagara Parks Commission were in the process of evaluating the facility for potential use as a tourist destination, museum and experience.

These plans became a reality on July 1st, 2021 when Phase One of the plan officially opened - the main hall opened as a tourist destination. Then, one year later in July 2022, Phase Two saw the opening of "The Tunnel", taking tourists down a glass elevator into the dark and damp tailrace tunnel for an experience and a view of Niagara Falls that had previously only been reserved for few.

I took that tour in the summer of 2021 with my daughter, Victoria, closing the loop on this whole experience!