Abandoned building stories
Traces left after people depart: stories beyond the doors of empty homes and abandoned buildings.
The Forgotten School in Gwangju
Gwangju
I have a story for you today — something I heard from someone over in Gwangju. I can't say for certain it's true. I heard it from someone who heard it from someone else. It's just the kind of story that gets passed around. On the outskirts of Gwangju, if you follow the slope up into the hills, there's a narrow dirt path — the kind that barely shows up on any map. About fifteen minutes up that pa
The Shadow of Dotonbori
Osaka
This is a story I heard in Dotonbori, down in Osaka. Well, I heard it from a friend of a friend, so there's no way to verify any of it. But it's a strange enough tale that I thought you might want to hear it all the same. His name was Kenji (健二). Second year of university, apparently. It happened at the end of autumn, on a rainy night. He'd been out drinking with friends in Namba, and on the wa
The Cursed Tower of Fukuoka
Fukuoka
In the heart of Fukuoka lies Nakasu, a district that draws crowds well into the small hours, alive with noise and neon. Yet a short distance from all that clamour, half-hidden from the street, stands an old building. The locals who know of it call it the Red Tower, and they speak of it in lowered voices. The Red Tower was once a place of commerce and ambition. Shops and offices filled its floors,
The Vengeful Spirit of Gwangju
Gwangju
Let me tell you a story about Gwangju. I can't say for certain, but… somewhere on the outskirts of the city, there's a building they say is still slowly falling apart. It used to be a psychiatric hospital — closed down suddenly, about twenty years ago. There are all kinds of rumors as to why. That they did terrible things to the patients. That records were falsified. Things like that. Nobody know
The Strange Presence in the Back Alley Behind Tapgol Park
Back alleys of Tapgol Park
Ah, this one… I don't know if I should even say it. It's something I heard firsthand, but it's been going around between some older friends of mine, so I can't swear to it. Still, every time I hear it, the goosebumps just come. You know Tapgol Park in Jongno — the alley behind it. In the daytime it's just a perfectly ordinary neighborhood lane, old men playing baduk and drinking makgeolli… but at
The Two-Top City Ruins
A certain abandoned building in Toegye-dong, Chuncheon
Ah, this one… I don't know if I should say it. But I heard it straight from someone I actually know. In Toeye-dong, Chuncheon, there's this place called Two-Top City — people who know the area know it. An old abandoned building. Apparently it was supposed to be some big landmark over a decade ago, then the developer went bankrupt and they just… left it standing. Construction frozen mid-frame, not
The Haunted House of Samcheon-dong, Chuncheon
Chuncheon Samcheon-dong (site of a former haunted house)
Today I want to share a story that's been circulating around the Chuncheon area. It's about a house that used to stand in Samcheon-dong. They say it's been demolished now, but the people who know exactly where it stood still tend to avoid that stretch of road. Ask them why, and they all trail off without finishing their answer. From what I've heard, the house started getting a reputation about t
The Village Erased from the Map
Sugisawa Village (around Kohatazawa Kosugi, Aomori City)
This is something I heard from someone, you understand, so I can't vouch for any of it — but I'd like to tell it all the same. It comes from deep in the mountains of Aomori. Have you ever heard the rumour — that there is a village which appears on no map? It's called Sugisawa Village. In terms of present-day landmarks, some say it lies not far from Aomori Airport, somewhere around the Kobatasawa
The Cursed Ruins of Kamome-sō
Kamome-sō (Hinomisaki, Taisha-chō, Izumo City)
Would you hear me out for a moment? In Shimane, west of Izumo Grand Shrine — there's a road that runs toward Hinomisaki, out near the cape — and somewhere along that far edge, there's said to be an abandoned inn called Kamome-sō. I only know this secondhand, so I can't vouch for any of it. Apparently it was an ordinary inn once. Some people say the sea was visible from the rooms, that the sunse
What Lurks in the Ruin
Abandoned hotel cluster of Kinugawa Onsen
…This is a story I heard from someone. I cannot vouch for its truth. Only that such a thing is said to have happened — along that river. Along the hot spring stretch of the Kinugawa, there are still several large hotels standing as they were left — built during the bubble years, neither demolished nor restored, simply… remaining there, looking down over the river. The outer walls have gone dark w
The Restless Dead of the Back Alley Behind Tapgol Park
The back alley of Tapgol Park
What time is it right now, everyone? It's all right. I just felt like asking. Today I'd like to talk about Tapgol Park — not the park itself, but the alley that winds around behind it. Those of you who know the area will understand what I mean when I say that the moment you step into that alley, the air changes. Even in the middle of the day. Even when the sun is blazing straight overhead, there