Arguably one of the creepiest places in the world, the famed city of Centralia was all but abandoned when a coal mine underneath the city caught fire, releasing toxic fumes that made for a dangerous city and one creepy setting.
Fifty years later… the fires still burn.
Centralia served as the inspiration for Konami’s Silent Hill survival horror video game series.
According to the U.S. Census, its population has dwindled from over 1,000 residents in 1981 to 10 in 2010, as a result of a mine fire burning beneath the borough since 1962. Centralia is one of the least-populated municipalities in Pennsylvania.
Centralia is part of the Bloomsburg-Berwick micropolitan area. The borough is completely surrounded by Conyngham Township.
Centralia’s ZIP code was revoked by the Postal Service in 2002. The Smithsonian magazine reported back in 2005 that all properties in the borough were claimed under eminent domain by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1992 which means all buildings therein were condemned. Only a few residents continue to reside there in spite of the failure of a lawsuit to reverse the eminent domain claim.
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[alert type=”blue”]Check out the Wikipedia entry on Centralia, Pennsylvania.[/alert]
