Continuing with our look at the forgotten places of the world, we now turn to something that is pretty unique: Hashima Island. It is perhaps better known by it's colloquial name, "Battleship Island". The concept of an abandoned island city it indeed a romantic one for the urban explorer or abandoned site enthusiast. But, like many of the places left behind, it has an overwhelmingly dark history.
The island serves as a singularly perfect microcosm of Japan's hurried progress during the industrial revolution. When coal suddenly became an in-demand resource the owners of the island wasted no time in getting a rudimentary mining operation running. Over time, with the help of foreign advisers and merchants, the island both enjoyed and suffered the ravages of extreme progress without forethought or regard for the human side of business.
All of the workers on the island were subjected to poor conditions and insanely crowded conditions. In point of fact, workers suffered through living in the most densely populated area in recorded history. 83,500/km2 people lived in each square kilometer. To compare, the current population density of downtown New York is 10,429.6/km2
Forcibly recruited workers toiled under conditions so horrible that many decided to kill themselves rather than continue to work. by August of 1945 over 1,300 workers had perished on the island. The operation continued to function until 1974. The Japanese government has decided to re-open a small portion of the island to tourists by constructing a walkway from which the interior of the island can be viewed. The structures within are considered too unsafe to allow people back inside.
For links with a full account of the fascinating history of the island as well as pictures and first hand accounts, click "Read More".
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Abandoned Places: Swift and Co. Meat Packing Plant
Today, I bring you an abandoned location right from my own backyard: The Swift and Company Meat Packing Plant in Fort Worth, Texas. I've driven past this location numerous times but never thought of entering the grounds. I must admit that my lack of inspiration to go urban exploring has led me to a lot of regrets now that I don't live in an area that has much opportunity for it. I would urge anyone reading this to look into UrbEx and see if it's something in which they would be interested. Note that I'm not recommending any illegal activity!
Anyway, I am very much interested in the concept of energy imprints. It's a catch-all term for what I think is the explanation behind hauntings and repeated odd phenomena that are associated with a specific location. I believe that when certain energies exist within a certain location they leave a lasting impact on that location. The intensity of these energies dictates the length of time required to leave an imprint.
As an example: a loving family home that houses two generations of general happiness and familial warmth will have an air of friendliness and a certain 'home' quality. Perhaps an odd event or two may occur but they are generally harmless or well-meaning. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum a house that was the site of a violent crime like murder or rape may only need one single occurrence of the act to leave a significant mark on the location.
So, how does this apply to a meat packing plant? Well, all kinds of energies can be left behind. It doesn't have to be human-on-human love or violence. There was a large slaughterhouse constructed and used on the grounds of the now abandoned Swift plant. Thousands upon thousands of cows were killed within a single building. Quite literally a murder factory. I would find it hard to believe that it didn't have a long-term effect on the building itself. Perhaps it is just the knowledge of what happens in meat plants but people are generally creeped out by them. In fact, Cutting Edge Haunted House in the very same city is housed in an old meat packing plant. It's the largest haunted house in the world, in point of fact.
There are no guided tours of the plant these days. There is a chain link fence and even a full time guard to cover the grounds. The site was shut down after not one, but two deliberately set fires decimated the facility. A burnt-out meat factory with a full time guard that isn't an historical site feels oddly suspicious to me. Maybe there is something to find within the walls of the Swift plant. Or perhaps something that is better kept hidden.
Click 'Read More' for links to background on the plant, lots of pictures and a link to the Cutting Edge website!
Anyway, I am very much interested in the concept of energy imprints. It's a catch-all term for what I think is the explanation behind hauntings and repeated odd phenomena that are associated with a specific location. I believe that when certain energies exist within a certain location they leave a lasting impact on that location. The intensity of these energies dictates the length of time required to leave an imprint.
As an example: a loving family home that houses two generations of general happiness and familial warmth will have an air of friendliness and a certain 'home' quality. Perhaps an odd event or two may occur but they are generally harmless or well-meaning. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum a house that was the site of a violent crime like murder or rape may only need one single occurrence of the act to leave a significant mark on the location.
So, how does this apply to a meat packing plant? Well, all kinds of energies can be left behind. It doesn't have to be human-on-human love or violence. There was a large slaughterhouse constructed and used on the grounds of the now abandoned Swift plant. Thousands upon thousands of cows were killed within a single building. Quite literally a murder factory. I would find it hard to believe that it didn't have a long-term effect on the building itself. Perhaps it is just the knowledge of what happens in meat plants but people are generally creeped out by them. In fact, Cutting Edge Haunted House in the very same city is housed in an old meat packing plant. It's the largest haunted house in the world, in point of fact.
There are no guided tours of the plant these days. There is a chain link fence and even a full time guard to cover the grounds. The site was shut down after not one, but two deliberately set fires decimated the facility. A burnt-out meat factory with a full time guard that isn't an historical site feels oddly suspicious to me. Maybe there is something to find within the walls of the Swift plant. Or perhaps something that is better kept hidden.
Click 'Read More' for links to background on the plant, lots of pictures and a link to the Cutting Edge website!
The New Hotness
It may shock you to learn that I do not believe fully in the 'paranormal'. I don't believe ghosts exist as entities unto themselves. I don't believe that there is an afterlife. I don't believe in God or gods or what have you. What I do believe in is science. And science has afforded us amazing new insights into how and why we experience the odd things that we experience every day. A growing understanding of magnetic fields, light, and how they manipulate our senses has dispelled a lot of the clearly bullshit urban legends that have tormented people for so many years.
It's very sad in a lot of ways. In other ways, it's incredibly exciting. Think about it: We're human beings. We'll never not find a way to scare the bejeesus out of ourselves. It's just what we do. These advancements in understanding are only serving to evolve our legends and myths. Nothing is being lost in this exchange. The old things, the vampires and zombies and ghosts in the mirror will continue to scare us. Now we also get to be afraid of things like immortality, manipulation, brainwashing and ghosts in the machine. I'm excited to see how our culture will continue to adapt to our new knowledge.
I realize that this is a lame post. More Abandoned Places are coming tomorrow and in future updates!
It's very sad in a lot of ways. In other ways, it's incredibly exciting. Think about it: We're human beings. We'll never not find a way to scare the bejeesus out of ourselves. It's just what we do. These advancements in understanding are only serving to evolve our legends and myths. Nothing is being lost in this exchange. The old things, the vampires and zombies and ghosts in the mirror will continue to scare us. Now we also get to be afraid of things like immortality, manipulation, brainwashing and ghosts in the machine. I'm excited to see how our culture will continue to adapt to our new knowledge.
I realize that this is a lame post. More Abandoned Places are coming tomorrow and in future updates!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
A Few Links
A simple link dump for today concerning a famous unsolved murder case in Germany, a mysterious body found in England, and an organization dedicated to protecting us from the unknown.
Click "Read More" to find the links.
Click "Read More" to find the links.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Abandoned Places: Okpo Land
I'm usually entranced by abandoned places. I love to see the pictures and imagine being there, surrounded by vengeful overgrowth and lingering ghosts of happy families or bustling industry. Most the of the time these places were left behind because of simple economics or a changing world. It makes sense and there's nothing eerie about it other than the emptiness of a once busy place.
Okpo land is different. This South Korean "fun park" was quite successful in its time. There was, however, a tragic accident that claimed the life of at least one guest of which we're aware. This was not the accident that closed the park. In fact, according to Wikipedia, no apology was ever issued and the ride continued to operate without interruption. Then, in 1999, another patron was killed on the same ride. This time it was a young girl. The owner of the park, again, never issued an apology nor gave any money to the victim's family. The park was simply closed and left to rot.
Check the links after the break to see the duck ride that claimed the lives of two (and maybe more) people.
Click "Read More" to find links to more information and plenty of pictures.
Okpo land is different. This South Korean "fun park" was quite successful in its time. There was, however, a tragic accident that claimed the life of at least one guest of which we're aware. This was not the accident that closed the park. In fact, according to Wikipedia, no apology was ever issued and the ride continued to operate without interruption. Then, in 1999, another patron was killed on the same ride. This time it was a young girl. The owner of the park, again, never issued an apology nor gave any money to the victim's family. The park was simply closed and left to rot.
Check the links after the break to see the duck ride that claimed the lives of two (and maybe more) people.
Click "Read More" to find links to more information and plenty of pictures.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Boundaries
What makes you afraid?
What gives you the jumps? The shakes? The heebie-jeebies? Really think about it and be honest. Pick the one thing that frightens you the most. Hold it in your mind and then think about whether you've run toward or away from that thing in your life. Have you looked into it? Have you researched the phenomena/animal/serial killer psychology that frightens you so? Have you tried to recreate experiences that terrified you in order to deal with them? The answer determines the way that you deal with fear.
I have Selachophobia. It developed over years and years and I don't know how it got to be so bad that I consider it a real phobia. If I am in any body of water (lake, ocean, even backyard pool) and I am alone I start to panic. I start to vividly imagine sea creatures emerging from the blue around me and eating or attacking me. I've woken up screaming from dreams where I'm being attacked by sharks. It is completely irrational and I am an otherwise mentally healthy person.
I've loved sharks my entire life. I think, given the chance, I would swim with them. So what frightens me? It's not the animals themselves but being alone in water. Something about having no one else there gives me panic attacks. Which, in water, is actually quite dangerous. There is no name for this so I've settled on Selachophobia to make things easy.
So how do I deal with this bizarre and often crippling fear?
What gives you the jumps? The shakes? The heebie-jeebies? Really think about it and be honest. Pick the one thing that frightens you the most. Hold it in your mind and then think about whether you've run toward or away from that thing in your life. Have you looked into it? Have you researched the phenomena/animal/serial killer psychology that frightens you so? Have you tried to recreate experiences that terrified you in order to deal with them? The answer determines the way that you deal with fear.
I have Selachophobia. It developed over years and years and I don't know how it got to be so bad that I consider it a real phobia. If I am in any body of water (lake, ocean, even backyard pool) and I am alone I start to panic. I start to vividly imagine sea creatures emerging from the blue around me and eating or attacking me. I've woken up screaming from dreams where I'm being attacked by sharks. It is completely irrational and I am an otherwise mentally healthy person.
I've loved sharks my entire life. I think, given the chance, I would swim with them. So what frightens me? It's not the animals themselves but being alone in water. Something about having no one else there gives me panic attacks. Which, in water, is actually quite dangerous. There is no name for this so I've settled on Selachophobia to make things easy.
So how do I deal with this bizarre and often crippling fear?
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