Great Barrington Fairgrounds Great Barrington, MA He is curious by default, and that makes me curious about him. The first time we shake hands, we picnic on top of an abandoned quarry shaft, a stone’s throw from my house near-ish the foot of the Catskill Mountains. It’s my private island…

A new podcast series from All-American Ruins! — Hi, folks. I’m so excited to share my new project with you. Here’s the synopsis: abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast is a bi-weekly episodic audio series. abandoned takes listeners through sonic fantasies, recreating host Blake Pfeil’s experiences exploring abandoned spaces across the United States. Along the way, abandoned asks critical…

Miradouro Panorâmico de Monsanto Lisbon, Portugal ** Note: On February 24, Russia began its aggressive invasion of Ukraine, sounding an alarm that sparked a global consciousness the likes of which I haven’t seen since 9/11. Russia’s mounting war crimes prove to be yet another imminent consequence of power’s firm grip…

The Lehigh Valley Dairy Allentown, PA Isabel notices everything. Everything. She notices feelings before they’re revealed. She notices details before they’re missed. She notices vibes before they’ve reverberated. Energies that may (or may not) be there, floating above us and among us. It can be a blessing and a curse…

(or, PANIC like the house is on fire) The House at the Demolished Drive-In Movie Theatre Kingston, NY I hear about the house from an online acquaintance. It’s one of those rare moments when doom scrolling pays off. A photograph of the sky-blue, four-story ruin goes from south to north…

Highway 209 Mansion Hurley, NY The people who used to live here Knew I drove for a mountain car service Because a friend of a friend Of a neighbor of a brother told them it was so

An Interview with Jimmy Buff, Executive Director at Radio Kingston/WKNY Kings Park Psychiatric Center Kings Park, NY The fortress is foreboding, intimidating, and sparks terror in my bones. The tingles I so rarely feel in these abandoned spaces begin to quake before I even start my approach up the long, curved driveway to the first of (literally) hundreds of structures…

Letchworth Village Thiells, NY Cedar Springs was often the butt of a joke. If you misbehaved, your parents might threaten in jest: “Keep it up, and we’re gonna put you in Cedar Springs.” If you had an unreasonable crush on someone, your friends might say: “Let it go, or…

AFI Packaging Plant Port Jervis, NY I’ve only played Silent Hill once, and I couldn’t even tell you when. I remember gripping the controller and watching the terrifying interstitials, produced like a B horror film, but I couldn’t tell you anything about where I was or who I was with…