Places Edited by Rachel James

An abandoned castle owned and ignored by Masons carries a cursed history.

A beautiful 62-acre Catholic shrine and botanical garden.

The Vatican of the movie industry turned into an actual church.

A Bed-Stuy gymnasium that hosts expansive raves, performances, dance parties, and more.

Largest cave system in Africa.

From scholastic to sepulchral - now under reconstruction.

A giant "X" symbolizes the blood spilled from the brutal Juárez drug wars.

An annual celebration of the infamous, unsolved skyjacking.

Tucked away on a hilltop in the backwoods of Mississippi lies the remains of a blues legend.

The seamy, underground secrets of Portland's criminal past.

A curious blend of taxidermy, antique tools, creationism, and a purported antediluvian rock.

Limestone caves with spectacular showcase chambers.

Beijing's version of Disneyland, completely abandoned, mostly destroyed.

Display that gathers the basic elements of the universe in one convenient location.

Hundreds of protractors affixed to surfaces all over the city.

A marvel of Byzantine engineering under the streets of Istanbul.

The largest underground church in Europe.

An island in the middle of a lake, in the middle of a volcano, in the middle of a bigger lake, in the middle of a bigger island, in an archipelago, in the Pacific Ocean.

Home on the Hillside, and home of the first breakfast cereal.

The largest ancient burial mound in Ohio.

A wonder of natural limestone formations etched by millions of years of natural interaction between rainfall and rock and air.

World-famous, Pink's still manages to keep its prized cult fetish status.

38-story baroque tower reflecting Detroit's rise, fall, and possible rise again.

The forgotten mummies of Dakhla oasis.