10 Abandoned Mansions and Houses Left to Decay | Urban Ghosts
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3/1/2015
(Image: James Dyas Davidson (see website ), reproduced with permission)
Abandoned mansions and decaying houses have proved popular with urban explorers and photographers, populating image sharing sites and often telling the stories of the residents who once occupied them. From relatively intact structures to crumbing homes that are literally collapsing into themselves, forgotten mansions are both haunting relics of the past and important reflections of changing times and circumstances. This article examines 10 diverse examples of derelict houses across the world.
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10 Abandoned Mansions and Houses Left to Decay | Urban Ghosts
(Image: James Dyas Davidson (see website ), reproduced with permission)
Deep in the forests of Aberdeenshire near the Scottish village of Inverkeithny, the mysterious ruin known as Haddo House is believed to have been abandoned after World War One. The mansion is said to have been owned by a young couple. But when the husband failed to return from the war, his wife allegedly packed up and left. The estate swiftly fell into decay and is now little more than an eerie relic of an elegant past.
3/1/2015
(Image: Adam Jones, Ph.D.
, ccsa-3.0
)
Situated on Ribeiro Lima in the sprawling Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, this abandoned house was clearly once an elegant home, decorated with a plethora of period features and sporting a crest proclaiming ‘non ducor duco’ towards the decaying roof. Its peeling, weed-covered and graffitied facade reflects years of apparent abandonment.
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10 Abandoned Mansions and Houses Left to Decay | Urban Ghosts 3/1/2015
(Image: Boreally.org
, ccnc-nd-3.0 FR )
Located in Lede, Belgium, the massive Castle of Mesen (Kasteel van Mesen) was a prominent local landmark until demolition began in 2010. The building has an interesting and varied history.
Dating to around 1628, Castle of Mesen was once a royal house and has been demolished and rebuilt several times over the years. At one point a strict boarding school for girls, the huge structure, which boasted its own chapel and theatre, was eventually taken over by the government and ultimately fell into disrepair. It had been abandoned for more than 30 years by the time demolition began.
(Image: Grant S , ccnc-sa-4.0
)
This old house may not be the largest ‘mansion’ around, but there’s no doubt the abandoned shell near Teluk Intan, Malaysia, was once an elegant home. According to the photographer, the grass around the derelict house was tidily cut, but inside the jungle had been left to flourish.
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10 Abandoned Mansions and Houses Left to Decay | Urban Ghosts
(Image: Ttamhew , ccsa-3.0
)
The beautiful Gothic Revival building that is Woodchester Mansion is unique on our list in that – aside from being abandoned – it was never completed to begin with. Built on the site of an older house called Spring Park, owned by the Ducie family, the mansion in Gloucestershire, England, is externally complete but lacks rooms and entire floors within. Construction began in 1858 and was abandoned in the mid-1870s.
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(Image: İhsan Deniz Kılıçoğlu , ccsa-3.0
)
This decrepit wooden house makes for an interesting sight within Istanbul’s street-scene.
Boasting some interesting period features that are literally rotting away, the ground floor nevertheless appears to remain in use, and a CCTV camera is mounted on the right side of the abandoned building.
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10 Abandoned Mansions and Houses Left to Decay | Urban Ghosts
(Image: Black.Doll
, cc4.0
)
Built in 1869 and set in 15 acres of grounds, the Victorian-era McPike Mansion dominates Mount
Lookout in Alton, Illinois, despite being abandoned for almost 70 years. The house, which has featured on various paranormal TV shows, has been empty since the death of its then-owner
Paul A. Laichinger in 1945. The current owners had plans to convert it into a hotel, but this reportedly fell through when they failed to secure restoration grant money from goverment agencies. Nevertheless, their efforts continue – support them here .
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(Image: Zach Frailey (website: UnrootedPhotographer.com
), ccnc-nd-4.0
)
According to photographer Zach Frailey, this abandoned home in North Carolina was described to him as the ‘Humphrey House’, but it’s unclear how official this name is. Regardless, the dilapidatedwood and brick structure, with prominent porch, sits on the road between New Bern and Kinston, NC, and likely witnessed the passing march of 12,000 Union soldiers during the
American Civil War. Another North Carolina mansion carries the name Humphrey-Williams
Plantation , which may account for the alleged name of this structure.
(Image: Harald Supfle , ccsa-4.0
)
Without a doubt one of the most impressive ghost towns of the African continent , the deserted
Namibian settlement of Kolmanskop boasts a variety of abandoned houses half consumed by http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2014/07/10-abandoned-mansions-grand-houses-decay/ 5 / 10

10 Abandoned Mansions and Houses Left to Decay | Urban Ghosts sand. A hangover from the diamond rush that gripped the region after 1908, Kolmanskop was developed in the style of a German town by miners from that country. But the settlement near the port of Luderitz ultimately became a ghost town when the diamond market dried up. Above, the former mine manager’s house is one of several remarkably intact buildings in the deserted town.
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(Image: Cody Kapcsos , ccsa-4.0
)
This abandoned farmstead in Alberta once belonged to Hungarian immigrant Steve Kapcsos, a carpenter who built the structure himself after arriving in Canada during the late 1920s. Last occupied around 1970, the old farm has now collapsed, leaving only the roof structure recognisable atop a pile of splintered timber. This photograph was taken in 2009 by Kapcsos’ great grandson, Cody .
Keep reading – explore more Mysterious Abandoned Mansions of the World .
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