5 Forgotten Places People Still Live In: The Strange Survival of Living Ghost Towns
Picture this: a rusting saloon sign creaks in the desert wind. A dirt road, empty for miles, suddenly reveals a lone cabin with smoke rising from its chimney. You thought you had wandered into one of those ghost towns—but then, someone steps out to wave at you.
These are the forgotten places people still live in. Once-bustling settlements turned into abandoned towns, they now survive as fragile yet fascinating living ghost towns. In these abandoned places, the line between past and present blurs. Who stays behind in the ruins? Why do they hold on when everyone else has left?
The answers lie buried in stories of resilience, strange happenings, and mysteries that time refuses to erase.
What Are Forgotten Places People Still Live In?
At their core, these are ghost towns still inhabited—settlements left behind by industry, war, or disaster but never fully erased. While most of the world sees them as forgotten places still inhabited only by memory, a handful of residents carry on daily life among weathered buildings and fading histories.
Some are abandoned towns with residents who maintain bars, post offices, or even schools.
Others are semi-abandoned historic towns, where preservationists fight to keep structures standing.
A few are tiny towns with mysterious history, famous for eerie legends and unexplained strange happenings.
These communities defy the assumption that abandonment equals death. Instead, they create paradoxical realities: living ghost towns where the present survives inside the husk of the past.
The Strange History of Living Ghost Towns
Most abandoned towns followed a familiar pattern: discovery of resources, a population boom, then collapse. Forgotten mining towns still inhabited are especially common in the American West, where silver or gold fueled explosive growth in the 1800s before bust cycles emptied them.
But history rarely leaves clean endings.
In some places, families refused to move, creating haunted towns that are not fully abandoned. In others, governments evacuated populations, promising return—but the return never came, leaving historic ruins with current residents caring for churches, schools, and homes long after.
Tourism added another twist. Visitors now flock to almost abandoned towns tourists visit, curious about what happens when time seems frozen yet life still flickers.
This strange endurance creates layered histories. They are not simply ruins. They are not fully thriving. They are eerie small towns still occupied, both relics and realities.
📊 Quick Comparison Table
| Town | Location | Reason Abandoned | Residents Today | Unique Feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cerro Gordo | California, USA | Silver mines closed | 1+ caretaker/owner | Revival project |
| Cleator | Arizona, USA | Mining decline | ~8 residents | Desert bar & tourist stop |
| Portlock | Alaska, USA | Mysterious vanishings | Uninhabited (legend lingers) | Nantiinaq stories |
| Tyneham | Dorset, UK | WWII evacuation | No residents (volunteers) | Preserved ghost village |
| Ashton | Michigan, USA | Economic decline | Small handful | Quiet resilience |
Case Studies: Five Forgotten Places Still Inhabited
1. Cerro Gordo, California – Once a Silver Empire, Now a Living Ghost Town
High in the Inyo Mountains, Cerro Gordo boomed in the 1860s when silver veins drew thousands of miners. At its peak, the town had nearly 5,000 people and shipped millions in silver to Los Angeles—helping fuel the city’s rise.
As the 20th century began, the mines were abandoned and the bustling community slowly dispersed. Yet Cerro Gordo never truly died. In 2018, entrepreneur Brent Underwood purchased the ghost town and moved in to restore it (Los Angeles Times). In June 2020, a fire destroyed the historic American Hotel, intensifying the rebuild effort (Los Angeles Times). Today, Underwood documents daily life and the restoration on his Ghost Town Living channel—repairing buildings, braving storms, and keeping the town’s story alive (YouTube).
Cerro Gordo is now one of America’s best-known living ghost towns—a modern revival that shows how memory, money, and determination can bring a place back from the brink.
2. Cleator, Arizona – Where a Lone Bar Keeps the Town Alive
Founded in 1864 as the Turkey Creek mining district, this small Bradshaw Mountain settlement grew to include a railroad station and post office. In 1925, after taking full control, James P. Cleator renamed the community in his honor. (Wikipedia, Arizona Highways). The post office finally closed in 1954, and by the mid-20th century, most residents had left.
Yet Cleator never entirely disappeared. Into the late 20th century, it remained home to a small handful of people—around eight by 2020—many descended from the Cleator family (Wikipedia, City Sun Times, 12 News).
Its lifeline? The irreverently named Cleator Bar & Yacht Club—a desert watering hole decorated with boats, surfboards, and jet skis, despite being miles from water (KJZZ, 12 News, Home Stratosphere). This quirky saloon draws off-roaders, bikers, and day-trippers looking for a surreal slice of Arizona charm.
As of 2020, the town—even offered for sale—still maintains the bar as its social heart. As one local put it: “Where everybody knows your name—that’s Cleator.” (12 News).
Cleator is a classic example of a semi-abandoned historic town: most buildings are sun-bleached and weathered, some still occupied, while the bar stands as a living testament to stubborn resilience and dry humor. It’s an inhabited ruin where the past meets the present in one dusty desert crossroads.
3. Portlock, Alaska – The Village That Vanished in Fear
Portlock—once a salmon cannery town on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula and called Arrulaa’ik by the Sugpiaq—flourished briefly in the early 1900s. The closing of its post office in the early 1950s marked the end of daily life there, leaving behind one of Alaska’s most enduring ghost town legends (Wikipedia).
Official accounts point to economic and logistical reasons for its abandonment—most notably, the construction of Alaska Route 1, which diverted commerce and accessibility away from Portlock (All That’s Interesting). Yet for locals, economics alone did not explain why people fled so suddenly. Folklore offers a far more unsettling explanation.
According to oral history, Portlock was haunted by a Bigfoot-like being called Nantiinaq, meaning “those who steal people” in the Sugpiaq tongue (WavyDestinations, All That’s Interesting). Locals spoke of hunters and loggers who vanished or were found mutilated in ways no wild animal could explain, alongside reports of 18-inch footprints deep in the forest (American Urban Legends, All That’s Interesting).
Eyewitnesses added to the legend. Tom Larsen claimed the creature once stood silently watching him on the shoreline, leaving him too shaken to fire his gun (13 Society). Another resident, Malania Kehl, said her godfather was killed in 1931—supposedly by a force no human could withstand (American Urban Legends).
Despite these chilling stories, many historians and longtime Alaskans doubt their authenticity. They argue the Nantiinaq legend gained traction only after the town’s decline, amplified by hearsay and sensational retellings. As one skeptic put it: “That’s the folklore … People say Bigfoot attacks, but none of that is correct” (Reddit).
Still, the mystery of Portlock endures. Its reputation has been revived in books, articles, and television. In 2021, Discovery+ aired the series Alaskan Killer Bigfoot, sending investigators into the abandoned settlement in search of answers. Though no definitive evidence was found, the show cemented Portlock’s place as one of Alaska’s most chilling and unforgettable ghost town legends Wikipedia.
4. Tyneham, United Kingdom – A Village Frozen in Time
In late 1943, the people of Tyneham, a small Dorset village in the Purbeck Hills, were told they had less than a month to leave their homes. The land was requisitioned for Allied training ahead of D-Day—a move that was supposed to be temporary. A note pinned to the church door read:
As they departed, the people of Tyneham left a heartfelt notice asking future visitors to treat their homes and church with respect. They reminded readers that their families had lived there for generations and expressed hope that they might someday come back. (Country Life, Dorsets.co.uk).
But the villagers never returned.By 1948, Tyneham’s fate was sealed—the War Office kept the village under military control, folding it into the Ministry of Defence’s Lulworth Ranges. (Wikipedia).
Now, Tyneham remains a village without residents, watched over by caretakers who keep its church, gardens, and echoes of the past alive. The schoolroom and St Mary’s Church—both Grade II listed—have been preserved as exhibitions, displaying children’s handwriting, original desks, and panels recounting life before evacuation (Swanage.co.uk). The church occasionally holds symbolic services, while volunteers maintain the site and guide visitors through this uncanny time capsule.
The last surviving villager, Peter Wellman, made one final visit in 2024 to see the house where he was born and the school he attended. He passed away at 100 in April 2025—closing the chapter on living memory of Tyneham’s pre-war life (Wikipedia, Dorset View)
5. Ashton, Michigan – A Town in Slow Decline
Founded in the late 1800s—around 1870 by Joseph Ash—Ashton grew up alongside the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, becoming a bustling hub with mills, schools, hotels, stores, and churches. By 1884, its population was around 180–250 residents, supported by lumber, shingles, and tanbark industries.
Big Rapids Pioneer
But like many railway-dependent towns, Ashton slowly withered as industry faded. The post office, long a lifeline, closed in 1956 after decades of serving the community. Today, remnants include a general store, a fire department, a Methodist church, and the preserved cross honoring hymn composer George Bennard.
(Big Rapids Pioneer, migenweb.org)
There’s no dramatic legend or sensational revival here—just quiet tenacity. A few residents still call Ashton home, and each creaking structure and empty street speaks to resilience in decline.
Ashton shows that not all abandoned places are eerie or romantic. Some simply endure—simple living amid shadows of the past, where continuity is earned rather than declared.
Beyond These Five: Global Echoes
Forgotten places with residents aren’t unique to the U.S. or UK. Around the world, other ruins still cling to life:
- Craco, Italy – abandoned by nature, revived by tourism and the silver screen.
- Kolmanskop, Namibia – a diamond town swallowed by sand, with caretakers hosting tours.
- Hashima Island, Japan – once home to 5,000 coal miners, now partly open for guided visits.
These sites echo the same paradox: ruins that refuse to fully die.
Why Do People Stay in Forgotten Places?
Experts suggest a few reasons:
- Heritage & identity – Families feel leaving would erase their lineage.
- Economics – Staying is cheaper than starting anew elsewhere.
- Tourism & survival – Residents turn ruins into attractions (Cleator’s bar, Cerro Gordo’s tours).
- Belief & fear – In places like Portlock, myth keeps the town both alive and abandoned.
Scholars debate whether these rare inhabited ghost towns should be preserved, revitalized, or allowed to fade. The question lingers: are they relics of the past, or resilient forgotten towns still shaping our future?
Why Forgotten Places Still Matter
These sites are more than curiosities. They are warnings and inspirations:
- They show how strange inhabited ruins can survive collapse.
- They reveal the resilience of humans facing economic ruin, war, or fear.
- They pose unsettling questions: If climate change empties cities, will tomorrow’s metropolises become forgotten mining towns still inhabited by only a few?
The story of these ghost towns still inhabited is not just about history—it is about possibility.
Conclusion
Whether wandering through Cerro Gordo’s silver hills, Tyneham’s frozen village, Cleator’s quirky bar, or Portlock’s haunted coast, one sees that these forgotten places still inhabited keep history alive alongside modern life.
They are abandoned towns, yet also living ghost towns. They are abandoned places, yet full of fragile resilience.
Their silence asks louder questions than answers: What compels people to stay? What mysteries linger in empty streets? Could our own cities one day become resilient forgotten towns?
Until then, the world’s strange happenings continue—hidden in ruins where life still flickers, echoing the secrets of The Lost Labyrinth of Egypt, the chilling tales of The Haunting Mystery of the Reappearing Villages of Siberia, and the icy enigmas of Frozen Civilizations.
✍️ Author: Mubashir Razzaq
Founder of Strange Happenings, paranormal explorer, and researcher of hidden histories and mysterious phenomena. Mubashir dives deep into forgotten places, unexplained legends, and strange happenings across the world—bringing readers stories where history and mystery collide.
🔗 Follow more investigations at StrangeHappen.com
