Even without evidence of ghosts or other paranormal activity, something about abandoned buildings just creeps people out.

Especially if these previously inhabited places look particularly desolate with remnants of their pre-abandonment time strewn around. Bonus creep points if there’s a particularly bizarre and unexplainable object.

The photography trend for finding abandoned places and taking eerie photos is big in Japan, a country with plenty of material to work with. In Japanese it’s called ‘haikyo'. Although the word literally means 'ruin' it has gained the meaning of exploration of abandoned areas as a hobby. If you happen to be in Nagoya there will be a photography exhibition in May showing some of the best shots from various places in Japan.

Perhaps it’s because they are usually supposed to be places of joy that abandoned theme park photos never fail to send a chill down our spines.

Looking at a disused apartment block you can glean information from the rooms about each resident who used to live there, it’s eerie to see such a place looking so desolate and empty.

Why is it that child ghosts are way creepier than adult ones? This classroom which has fell into a state of disrepair could easily be haunted by an ex-student. The sign above the blackboard urging everyone to get along adds an extra layer of eeriness.

Since public bathhouses are super popular in Japan there are also bound to be some which lay forgotten. Apart from the creepy aspects of these photos it’s also cool to see to what extent the space has been reclaimed by nature in the absence of humans.

Check out our past article for even more eerie abandoned places in Japan, or here’s a cute shiba inu playing in flowers in case you actually wanted to sleep tonight…