Great ghost towns

It’s that time of year when ghosts and all manner of mysterious things pique our curiosity. For me, it doesn’t matter what time of year it is — I’ve always been drawn to crumbling, old, vacant, dusty buildings wherever I travel. They speak volumes about the lives of the people who once inhabited them, and can help you get a clearer sense of life in another era.

In America we are blessed with the remnants of boomtowns created by the gold, silver and ore stampedes of the 1800s and early 1900s. Towns sprung up out of nowhere, thrived and disappeared, sometimes all within the span of a decade. What’s left behind is tourist gold: Fabulous evocative streets lined with saloons, dance halls, banks, jails and more. You can almost feel the tumbleweeds rolling by!

In the new Bing Travel slideshow, Great Ghost Towns, we went in search of some of the best examples of ghost towns in the United States. We also found a few overseas that were too good to pass up. Check them out, then tell us what cool abandoned towns you’ve visited on your travels!