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Photograph: Mitch Diamond/Getty

Bodie, California, US

A gen-u-ine Californian gold-mining ghost
town, Bodie is a deserted locale preserved in a
spooky state of “arrested decay”. The town,
which once had a population of 10,000, was
created during the gold-rush era when W S
Bodey (after whom the town is named, albeit
with a different spelling) stumbled across the
deposits of the valuable metal nearby. Mining
went into decline from around 1913, eventually
shutting down in 1942. Now, over 100 deserted
buildings remain and visitors can peek inside
dusty interiors still preserved as they were
left all those years ago.