Abandoned Houses

I found this abandoned old house in the forest near my house [960x540] [OC] by logwater on Flickr.

A forgotten house in Hardin County.

Ryan Koopmans traveled through an area once known as the Russian Riviera to capture the haunting beauty of a bygone era

When a house has been abandoned, Joyce Carol Oates writes, you can be sure there’s a sad story.

Old abandoned houses tell a story. Even if the story is not documented in history, each abandoned home gives us a glimpse into a life once lived.

Most of us find architecture fascinating. The built environment around us reflects the history and culture of a place that can shape our experiences and perceptions of an area. However, not all the buildings stand the test of time and many are left to decay. For some, they become unwanted ghosts of the past; for others, they are objects of mystery and awe.

captured in the abandoned Seminário St. (2016)

When we call a place home, instead of a house, we’re ascribing a sort of positive emotion to it. But on the flip side, a windowless, empty house can evoke melancholy, sad, and even spooky emotions as our brains wonder why the people left in the first place. Mortgage costs are boring, it must be ghosts.

At the crossroads of memory and imagination, abandoned homes can comes back to life. You can practically smell the home-cooked meals, hear the faint murmur of bedtime stories, and taste the fare of dinner parties gone by.

There’s something so eerie and breathtaking about the places that haven’t seen a human for longer than they can remember. Sadly, in our increasingly urbanized world, there are not many corners left like this.