Up on a hill, to the side of a desolate stretch of highway, stood a decaying house. The grass had grown waist-high and was hiding a car which was withering away from rust. Some windows were smashed and a loose hinged door swayed slowly in the wind.
Rotting boards were nailed in the shape of an “X” across the uninviting entrance. The doorknob was limp and cold to the touch, with a slight push the hesitant door opened. The last hours of sunlight flooded through the entrance exposing the remnants of what used to be a home.
To some this might be seen as trespassing, deviant or just plain snooping. But, for many, the act of sneaking into old homes and snapping some photos is called urban exploration. Every day we walk or drive to school or work on these already laid out paths and roads. Urban exploration is a way to break the rules and exist somewhere you’re not supposed to. This form of exploration is the documentation and the mapping of these forbidden spots. It’s an escape from reality, all you have to do is open a door, hop a fence or sneak through a window and you’re down the rabbit hole.
After ducking underneath the crisscrossing plywood, there is a front porch or what used to be
one. A gaping, soggy hole mimics what was floor. With a leap and some good luck for my clumsy soul, I’m in the kitchen. That old house smell with a mix of decomposing trash hits me, but the curiosity is pulsing too heavily to bother.
A lonely stove sits in a corner- no pies or loaves are coming its way anymore. An empty fridge accompanies the cupboards with their swung open doors and the scattered dishes waiting to be washed. A dining room table stands off to the side and waits for some guests, sitting on top is half of a bottle of wine, collecting dust and debris.
The living room is still furnished with out-dated arm chairs. Light fixtures sag down and the curtains are drawn in attempts to keep intruders out. Going up the stairs is a musical ordeal, every step has its own squeak or squeal. Meanwhile, you’re praying the top floor hasn’t rotted away beneath its exterior
Bedrooms host beds without dreary heads while children’s toys and paperback novels litter the floor, all forgotten novelties now.
Dusk sets in and it’s time to bail. We duck back under the boarded-off door and leave the place the way we found it, as respect towards our fellow explorers.
There are places like this one and the places in the pictures all over, you just have to be willing to seek them out. Just remember to be careful and not wreck the places- other spook-seekers want to enjoy them too.
