Ghost towns, a chilling yet captivating testament to the ebb and flow of human history, exist on every continent. While the classic image of a Wild West ghost town lingers in the public imagination, these abandoned communities are born from a variety of circumstances, including economic collapse, natural disasters, war, and pollution. The 2026 edition of the Guinness World Records book shines a spotlight on three of these fascinating, forgotten places that have earned record titles for their unique stories.
In the heart of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Bodie stands as a remarkably preserved example of a gold-rush boomtown. At its peak in the late 1870s, the town swelled to a population of 7,000-10,000, bustling with over 2,000 buildings, 65 saloons, and a notorious reputation. The gold, however, didn’t last forever. By the 1890s, the population had dwindled, and the last of its original residents left in the 1940s. Now a state historic park, Bodie is preserved in a state of “arrested decay,” allowing visitors to walk down its main street and peer into the original buildings, where everyday items like food in pantries and furniture remain untouched.
On the remote island of Molokai, the Kalaupapa National Historical Park is a ghost town with a deeply tragic history. From 1865 to 1969, it was a segregated settlement for native Hawaiians who had been diagnosed with Hansen’s disease (leprosy). Anyone with the disease, regardless of age, was forcibly exiled to the remote peninsula and legally prohibited from leaving. At its peak in the late 19th century, the community housed more than 800 people. While the laws were repealed in 1969 after effective treatments became available, many residents chose to remain in the place they had come to know as home.
Located just 800 miles from the North Pole, the Soviet-era settlement of Pyramiden holds the record for the most northerly ghost town. Founded as a coal-mining village in 1936, the town was run by the Soviet Union until it was abruptly abandoned in 1998. The frigid Arctic climate has helped to preserve a chilling time capsule of Soviet life. Visitors can tour the abandoned community and see the world’s northernmost statue of Lenin, as well as an auditorium with a grand piano and a sports hall with the world’s northernmost swimming pool, all left as they were the day the last resident departed.
