Welcome!

Every Thursday I’ll be posting another strange, mysterious, or frightening true story. The world is full of wonders, despite our desire to understand everything with science and technology, there are still things that are left unknown. Come with me and let’s explore them together.

Have you ever played the game Silent Hill?

You know the creepy game where you walk through a haunted, fog filled town and try to hide from misshapen monsters that want to rip your skin off? Yeah, it’s a lot fun. But did you know that its based on a real place?

The town of Centralia, Pennsylvania has been burning for over 50 years. Underneath the nearly deserted town of Centralia is a coal mine, and in 1962 it caught on fire and was never put out. The town ordered a nearby landfill to be burned as a way of dealing with the strip mine dump, a hole was dug and it was lit on fire. Well somehow this pit fire traveled to the mines, the mines that the town is built on top of and set ablaze. The residents started to notice fissures of smoke and gas leaking up out of the road. Despite the fact that the gas was dangerous carbon monoxide, the residents didn’t immediately move out. It was only in 1981 when a young boy of 12 fell into a sinkhole that suddenly opened in his backyard that national attention started to happen.

Several community groups were formed to debate whether or not the town should relocate and in 1983, $42 million dollars was allocated to help the town’s residents move. In 1992 Pennsylvania governor Bob Casey declared “imminent domain” and took over ownership of all the property in the town. Finally in 2009, governor Ed Rendell began the formal eviction of the remaining residents.

Despite the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning and sinkholes opening up and swallowing residents and homes, there are still less than 10 people living in Centralia, PA to this day.