Places Edited by Samantha Chong

The "stairway to heaven" lookout tower was built to resist weather, arson, and the laws of physics.

The White House Situation Room was taken apart in 2006 and shipped to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

On the Oregon coast is a natural hole that seems to be draining the sea.

One of New York's best collections of pinball is hidden in a secret bar in the back of this laundromat.

Off-limits and full of venomous pit vipers, Brazil’s Snake Island has a frighteningly apt nickname.

Nature took her revenge on the "Wickedest City in the World."

Designed by Buckminster Fuller, this relic of the 67 Expo survived fire and ice.

These termites have an large and deadly abode—impressive by day, dazzling by night.

The "original web site," this farm in Northern Vermont encourages orb-weaver spiders to build their daily webs, and then sells the preserved masterpieces.

Explore the dark underground corridors of this graffiti-covered former military fortification.

A local prank turned town icon.

What remains of the summer palace of King Kamehameha III.

Inspired by a music box, a small town Vietnam vet carved an entire carousel full of animals by hand.

A trio of giant wooden megaphones turn up nature's volume in this Estonian forest.

A literally moving statue of stacked metal giants just continually trying (and failing) to find love.

This is not only one of the oldest collections in Europe, but also possibly the most beautiful.

This whimsical stacked cabin looks like something out of a children's book.

This Welsh village gave itself a ridiculous name in a publicity stunt a century ahead of its time.

Mind-blowing carvings and fantasy ice scenes grace the largest year-round ice environment in the world.

This empty Victorian manse on Staten Island is said to be haunted but is actually a real life crime scene.

A part of the world's largest marsh seems to be growing bright red Martian grass.

Staves, storm-calling, and of course, necropants.

One of Catholicism's four major basilicas has a series of papal portraits that are said to predict the end of the world.

The oldest pub in Ireland may also be the oldest surviving bar in the entire world.