16. Centralia, Pennsylvania has gradually melted away
An underground coal fire which began in 1962 has been burning beneath the town of Centralia ever since, and is expected to continue for another two and a half centuries. Smoke and steam erupt through chasms created by the heat and the atmosphere is filled with sulphur fumes. Lethal amounts of carbon monoxide billows from sinkholes. In 1981 a twelve year old boy felt the ground dissolve beneath his feet, and a sinkhole which grew to more than 150 feet deep opened. His cousin saved his life by pulling him out of the abyss. More than one thousand residents relocated from the town during the decade of the 1980s, assisted by funds provided by the federal government. The fire spread beneath other nearby communities, requiring that they, too, be abandoned.
Almost incredibly, despite the dangers presented by the uncontrollable subterranean blaze, some residents of the town refused to leave, and were allowed to remain in what was left of the village for the rest of their lives. Upon their deaths their property would revert to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under eminent domain. By the end of 2017 five residents remained in the town which had a population of more than one thousand according to the 1980 census. They exist in a community in which the ground beneath their feet can dissolve at any time, yet refuse to vacate their homes. Living above a fire which was and is a living depiction of the flames of hell was too much for most people, yet some choose to remain in a situation which frightened away most of their neighbors and friends.
Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“Our Governor’s Mansions”. Cathy Keating. 1997
“Lizzie Borden’s house to be B & B crime scene”. Lois Shea, the Baltimore Sun. October 29, 1995
“Once a den of prostitution and drugs, the Cecil Hotel in downtown L.A. is set to undergo a $100 million renovation”. Andrew Khouri, The Los Angeles Times. June 1, 2016
“Buxton Inn”. The Ghosts of Ohio. Online
“Madame LaLaurie. Mistress of the Haunted House”. Carolyn Morrow Long. 2012
“Haunted Guide to the Omni Parker House”. Ghosts and Gravestones/Boston. Online
“Spindrift: Spray from a Psychic Sea”. Jan Bryant Bartell. 1974
“The City of Phenomena: Ghosts in Brooklyn”. The New York Times. December 20, 1878
“The Tornado: Nature’s Ulitmate Windstorm”. Thomas P. Grazulis. 2003
“Fire in the hole”. Kevin Krajick, Smithsonian Magazine. May, 2005