Enjoy this guest post by blogger and freelance writer, Ashley Williamson!

Hotels are supposed to be teeming with life and human activity. There are, however, hotels around the world that have long been abandoned and have never been refurbished for other uses. These places may be haunted or they may not. Either way, they’re creepy as heck; the desolate ambiance evokes nothing short of spine-chilling fear.

Bokor Palace Hotel and Casino – Bokor Mountains, Cambodia

In the last century, there were many casinos that thrived. There were also casinos that never opened that bear the same creepiness factor. Bokor Palace Hotel and Casino fell into the former and flourished until the 1940s when the area was abandoned due to the Vietnam conflict. The location is believed to be actively haunted by the ghosts of the estimated 1,000 workers that perished while constructing the facility in the 1920s. Today, the spot is a famous tourist attraction. Despite not even being 100 years old, the ruins and decaying state make Bokor Palace appear older than it really is.

Igloo City – Cantwell, Alaska

Igloo City is just as bizarre as it is creepy. As suggested in its name, the facility is built to resemble a giant igloo. The building is fairly recent, having only been built in the 1970s. However, the place never got into business due to it not conforming to building codes. Today, it sits completely abandoned. While there have never been any reported haunts, the place is still really creepy due to the remoteness of the location. Those who dare venture into the building interior also risk running into dangerous Alaskan wildlife that have taken refuge in the dome-shaped structure.

Lee Plaza – Detroit, Michigan

Detroit has an estimated 80,000 abandoned structures. Lee Plaza is one of the more notable. Lee Plaza is unrecognizable today from what it was in the 1920s when it flourished as a hotel complete with a daycare, library, and beauty parlor. In the 1970s, when the facility was converted to a low-income housing center, one elderly resident was brutally murdered. Since its closing in 1997, the place is frequented by vandals and is a secret location for drug dealers. For this reason, explorers are recommended to keep out.

Diplomat Hotel – Dominican Hill, Philippines

Diplomat Hotel has been abandoned since 1982. Up until then, the hotel underwent various changes of owners and renovations. Its dark history, though, occurred during World War II when it was stormed by Japanese troops who slaughtered hundreds of civilians taking refuge at the hotel. Today, some visitors swear hearing echoing screams of anguish, purportedly the death cries of the refugees as they were shot point blank or stabbed with bayonets.

HundSeck Hotel – Black Forest, Germany

Hundseck Hotel is located in Black Forest, the very location that inspired the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. The eeriness of the forest makes the abandoned facility that much creepier, despite the hotel being fairly well preserved since closing in 2001. Reaching the hotel is just as terrifying, as the lodge must be accessed through the Black Forest High Street, a notoriously dangerous mountain infamous for its thin and winding roads.

There are many hotels today that lay abandoned despite flourishing during a bygone era. These places are now visited by explorers hoping to get a good scare and see the remnants of a majestic-turned macabre location.