9 of the eeriest abandoned cities and ghost towns that you can actually visit – Screen Shot
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9 of the eeriest abandoned cities and ghost towns that you can actually visit

Several towns and cities have been abandoned, some as fast as overnight due to a myriad of factors including war, erosion, nuclear disaster, industry collapse and sometimes even ‘bad design’. Could these places be a blank canvas for the rest of us to play with? Here are a few of the most fascinating abandoned towns and cities that we can all visit, and the reasons behind their derelict.

1. Hashima Island, Japan

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A fortress, surrounded by sea, for your imagination to run wild—known as the ‘villain’s base in the Bond film Skyfall’—might just scoot its way up your bucket list of places to visit as it has mine.  Though Hashima Island, located in Japan, has been abandoned for 45 years or so, it was once the most densely populated place on Earth—housing over 5,000 people on just 16 acres of land, mining coal. From the mid 19th to early 20th centuries, Japan went through a period of drastic industrialisation, mostly to supply fuel for the country’s fleet of ships. One of these mines was based on Hashima Island—also known as ‘Battleship Island’—and first opened in 1890, but by 1974, its coal reserves were depleted and everyone left to find work elsewhere, leaving a concrete wasteland in their wake.

You can actually visit the island via a multitude of ferry tour options out of Nagasaki Port, but due to the lack of maintenance that, unsurprisingly, abandoned buildings experience, you can’t stray from the instructed pathways. Also, your physical condition will come into consideration for safety reasons.

2. Plymouth, Montserrat

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A particularly interesting ghost town, despite its abandonment, it is the only city that is still the capital of its political territory. Located in the inner arc of the West Indies, southwest of Antigua, this tiny British Overseas Territory called Montserrat changed forever in the 1990s, when the Soufrière Hills (complex stratovolcano) cataclysmically awoke after centuries of dormancy and swamped almost two-thirds of the island in its ashes. Hundreds of successive outbursts continued to devastate the little island with the entire population living in the majority of the island’s lower region having to be removed from their homes. This is what led to the abandonment of the capital, Plymouth.

Scientists at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory keep track of the volcano to this day which, might I add, is often included on tours of the ‘Exclusion Zone’, if you ever felt so inclined to snoop around a danger zone. Otherwise, stick to the North of the island which is still as lush as it ever was.

3. Centralia, Pennsylvania

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This ghost town holds a mine fire that still burns to this day, 50 years later. Centralia is understandably one of the state’s least popular tourist attractions, however, it does draw in a curious few. In the early 1960s, Centralia was much like many other coal mining towns in Pennsylvania. Missing the vampire lore you’re probably used to hearing, fires were lit in the town’s landfill, which spread beneath the valley and through the coal tunnels thousands of feet below the surface. However, the full extent of the danger remained unknown. That was until experts who owned the mine met to discuss how to extinguish the fire. Before they reached their decision to snuff out the flames, sensors detected lethal levels of carbon monoxide, which resulted in all the Centralia area mines being shut down immediately. Phew.

There currently isn’t anything to stop visitors from driving into the mining town, though hardly a house is left standing, leaving just an empty street grid in their wake. Eerie, to know you’re walking on fire.

4. Poggioreale, Sicily

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Picture this: It’s 1968 as a quaint Sicilian town, Poggioreale, is suddenly wrought by catastrophe as it is hit by an earthquake causing its complete desertion. Buildings remained standing, but most crumbled and scared the townspeople off. It has since become one of Italy’s largest ghost towns, completely frozen in time. Instead of rebuilding the houses that were ruined by the earthquake, the Italian government tried something new by hiring architects to design and build new cities from scratch, one being just four kilometres from Poggioreale. Visit on foot to experience the unsettling beauty of a past living in a tug of war with the future.

5. Bodie, California

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If there ever were a pin-up example of a ghost town, other than the infamous Chernobyl, this would be it. Bodie is a former gold mining town in California, near the Nevada border. Abandoned in the early 1940s because gold (the livelihood of the residents) ran out, it is now recognised as a National Historic Landmark. Taking a trip to Bodie is quite literally like stepping onto a spooky film set. Machines used to separate rocks and dirt from the gold still sit solidly in their positions, home furnishings and dining sets were left as they were, as if waiting for their owners to return home. Worth a visit, I’d say.

6. Kayaköy, Turkey

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Located on a hillside, Kayaköy was built in a Grecian design to accommodate the vast majority of the population living there, who were, you guessed it, Greek. However, during the unfortunate events of the Greco-Turkish War in 1922, the town all but disappeared, leaving behind its infamous stone structures and the ever-present essence of what was once a bustling city. There are many tours that operate from neighbouring town Fethiye, but be sure to delve into the rich history of the ghost town yourself anyway.

7. Kolmanskop, Namibia

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The town of Kolmanskop lies in southern Namibia and was first put on the map for its discovery of diamonds. When a Namibian railway worker was shovelling the tracks of encroaching sand dunes, glittering stones were spotted and identified as the valuable assets we now know as diamonds. The worker did not get paid or rewarded for his find. By 1912, the town was in full spring and produced 11.7 per cent of the world’s diamond production.

During its heyday, residents became rich overnight, but the intensity of mining depleted the area by the 1930s. What determined the town’s downfall though was the discovery of the richest diamond fields ever known just South of Kolmanskop. And so, all homes and possessions were abandoned for the next best thing. The Namib Desert crept into the houses reclaiming its place, and left behind one of the most surreal abandoned landscapes in the world.

8. Villa Epecuén, Argentina

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The exclusive tourist town Villa Epecuén, just 540 kilometres South West of Buenos Aires, disappeared without a trace in the mid-1980s, drowned by flooding from Lake Epecuén. The waters of which were often likened to that of the Dead Sea and were proclaimed to be “miraculous,” which is why it proved so popular. The town actually remained a hidden gem until 2009, when it unbelievably resurfaced as the tides ebbed out.

The derelict town is now accessible again after 25 years and can be reached via a rough salty track, lined with fossilised looking trees. There is no sign of commercial activity and it seems the town might stay the way it is for the foreseeable future. Although, it’s surprisingly easy to get to with the reliable transport services in place.

9. North Brother Island, New York

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Last, but by no means least, this next one is up there with the creepiest of the lot. North Brother Island in New York is around 20 acres in perimeter, lies between the notorious prison Rikers Island and the Bronx and is home to no being—well, none without feathers, that is. Up until 1964, the island was dedicated to diseased, highly contagious, quarantined patients in its Riverside Hospital, including the infamous “Typhoid Mary” Mallon—whose asymptomatic typhoid infection caused many of the people she worked for to die of the disease. She was forced into isolation on the island for a total of 26 years until the time of her death.

Now, it is illegal to visit the island unless you have official permission from the city of New York and a legitimate reason to go, due to the hazardous and weak ruins on site. North Brother Island also holds a unique status as a bird sanctuary—the island is strictly for birds only between 21 March and 21 September, due to the shorebird breeding season.

Meet Piper ZY, the creator behind the AR manicure city that went viral on TikTok

From the infamous, endless stream of new metaverses to the advancing sector of augmented reality (AR), we see the continuing deep saturation of virtual reality as part of our new normal. One artist leaning into this rapidly expanding world is popular TikTok AR creator Piper ZY. As part of her series, 100 days of Augmented Reality Art, Piper ZY debuted her unique ‘Day 12’ creation that sent the platform into a frenzy: AR nails. 

That’s right, move over duck nails, it looks like AR nails could be the next big thing. The Chicago-based artist and self-declared futurist sat down with Screen Shot to breakdown her latest creation as well as all things AR in art and fashion.

@piperzy

the tiny car and headlights get me every time😍. Follow to see the result. #artist#3dartist#augmentedreality#sparkar#metaverse#foryou#manicure#nailart#fyp

♬ NEW MAGIC WAND - Tyler, The Creator

Why get real fake nails when you can get fake fake nails?

The AR manicure which features an animated little city on the nail—complete with miniature cars, skyscrapers and even an orbiting moon—was the latest concept of an artist who is not bound by the material obstacles of the real world. In fact, it was the limitless potential of the virtual space that inspired Piper ZY to develop the ‘City Nail Project’. “I think a new form of visual luxury will be the level of detail that is possible outside of physical restraints,” she said.

She brought up the notion of the metaverse in her explanation for the inspiration behind her AR manicure, citing that she imagines it as a space where there would be a changing sense of scale, easily distortable materials and endless room for detail. “There is so much amazing and detailed nail, makeup jewellery, [fashion], and hair artistry out there, and I realised it can be detailed with AR as well, and then animated,” the artist continued.

It is the expansiveness of such virtual realities, for expressive and inspired creativity, that has led Piper ZY to describe herself as a futurist—a person deeply fascinated and dedicated to the possibilities of the future—and fuelled the creative flow behind the AR manicure, “I have a constant feeling of an alternative realm, just slightly different from reality, and I always want to materialise it.”

“I love to create things I have never seen before and that I imagine are based far into the future. There is something poetic to me that faraway realms we can’t [possibly] imagine do exist, but time is the distance. My goal is to express a feeling and a moment in time, whether that is in the year 2021 or supposed to be 2221,” she continued. This fascination with the distortion of reality became Piper ZY’s artistic calling even before her entanglement with AR.

She described her childhood interactions with creativity, including one in which she would mentally produce music videos and fashion shows to the sound of her favourite songs. It was the seemingly revolutionary, reality-pushing artists she grew up with who inspired Piper ZY to make the shift herself, “I love artists who push the limits of reality and create a moment from an alternate timeline. After focusing on distortions of reality in oil painting, in 2016 I started making AR outfits and concepts for my own small music video projects, but with traditional editing software,” she shared.

For those of us who aren’t visionaries like Piper ZY, it can be hard to imagine such overwhelming future realities—I mean, every time I see a metaverse-related headline, I spiral. Not to mention, I am still not 100 per cent sure what NFTs are or how they work. So, it comes as no surprise that I’m bewildered by the skill and technical development of AR. And if you can relate to that too, don’t worry, the AR artist explained to us the complex process behind the physical development of the ‘City Nail Project’.

“The project uses a target tracker to place an AR element onto a real image or flat surface. Usually, the target image needs to be quite a bit larger than a nail and totally flat to work well,” she divulged. To overcome this, “I had to bring out acrylic paint to create an illusion of flatness on the target nail for it to work, and use a thumb,” Piper ZY continued. Once she had the tracker working effectively, she was then able to add the necessary details for her city: including the buildings, moving elements and any aspects that required animation. “From there, the city nail pops up when the camera is pointed at the original nail.”

The AR artist’s most popular creation thus far has amassed around one million views and swathes of support on TikTok—with many calling for more nail designs and suggestions for the creator to enter the realm of NFTs. But what makes the world of AR so enrapturing for users? What is the secret formula for its popularity? Well, Piper ZY thinks she has the answer.

Meet Piper ZY, the creator behind the AR manicure city that went viral on TikTok

Why is the world of AR so popular?

“AR expands what kind of statements we can make and assists us in delivering a mood. It brings a cinematic and dream-like element, and I think that is why a lot of people enjoyed this concept,” she stated. Piper ZY also noted that the balance between tech and concept is important, as not to alienate an audience, “I love art that can do [the above] without AR, and in AR I think the challenge is to not overuse the technology of the medium and to focus on the concept, especially when it is still a medium that is not totally understood or known.”

However, its anonymity might be short-lived, according to Piper ZY. For the creator, AR is absolutely the future of fashion and design—one she predicted almost six years ago. “I love science fiction and I wrote a short story in 2016 about an AR future with every aspect of our appearances, communication, and advertising able to be edited and changed, seen through a direct input taking over our mind’s visual cortex,” she revealed. 

Ahead of the curve, it felt like mere science fiction for the creator at the time, but since then, she noted, technology has accelerated so rapidly that it is fast becoming a very real phenomenon. Its increased use in the industry does bring to mind “layer[s] of ethical and philosophical questions in [both] tech and fashion,” she continued. However, for Piper ZY there is also undoubtable untapped potential for AR’s sustainability in the fashion world.

@piperzy

I’m in a handbag help #fyp #foryou #augmentedreality#digitalfashion#artist#artchallenge#art#3dart#handbag

♬ Charmander - Aminé

AR and the metaverse

Speaking of worlds, AR fashion and art will appear as a large presence in the virtual realm of the metaverse—I mean, even celebrities like Rihanna and Justin Bieber are getting official metaverse avatars. For Piper ZY, the metaverse provides a perfect environment of unexplored terrain  that will position artists at the forefront of this exciting new movement. “I think it’s a beautiful time in art history where the ideas of artists and developers are so needed as the designers and architects of the metaverses,” she explained.

Despite the wondrous potential, Piper ZY reminded us that the metaverses are not entirely a limitless utopia for artists and designers alike. Instead, there are risks involved in the protection of your work as well as the accessibility to even create AR art. She detailed those concerns to Screen Shot, “I hope that AR can stay focused on artists and creators as a resource… I think that making it possible for artists to protect their work and build their careers will be largely up to how tech giants organise that economy.”

There are promising signs though. The accessibility is there for those that have the tech. “I made the ‘City Nails Project’ with a total cost of one programme subscription, but that could have been avoided and it can be done for free with only a typical phone or computer, which I think is amazing,” she shared. Like the endless list of new career options that followed the rise of social media, Piper ZY predicts the same transformation will occur with the implementation of AR and VR.

So, that’s what the scarily big future holds. But where does this upcoming talent fit in? What’s Piper ZY’s plan? Well, she’s got some interesting ideas up her sleeve. “I want to scale up my concepts and create larger experiences, combining as many of my interests as possible,” she stated.

“I think we as AR creators have an amazing chance to form new immersive and interactive forms of artistic media—in ways that are too abstract to name now, but will become part of our daily lives in the coming decades.”