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- Philbert, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11I had another article about Centralia on the frontpage a while back. Fascinating story.
- TheGrinReaper, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Yeah,
I've grown up in an old coal mining town in NorthEast PA and it's no exaggeration to say that this land was raped. Centralia is a neo-modern ghost down. A flamed out (no pun intend) economy drove the people out of this town. In the West, the economy dried up and people deserted but with the coal mines disaster seems to be that usual outcome. Look at my hometown, Wilkes-Barre. The grand Susquehanna runs through it but since the mines have collapsed and flooded it has become a dangerous, contaminated body of water. Centralia is no joke and it is a depressing and direct reminder of the damage humans are able to do. - WPLXB70, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Here is link to a small yes marginally cool video some people made, kind of giving a tour of the place:
http://www.offroaders.com/album/centralia/Garrett_Rhodes/Centralia-GR-m.WMV
I have known about this for over a year, and it still kinda freaks me out - the town is burning. Just BURNING! - Zipko, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I go to school at Bloomsburg, about a half hour from Centralia. It's definatly an interesting place to drive though. Although I've heard there's still a few people who refuse to move out, I can't say I've ever seen any of them in the times I've been through town.
Aproaching from the south, there's a sign someone put up that says 'Welcome to Hell'. I first saw it when I was driving north to Bloomsburg to see the University for the first time. When I pointed it out to my dad who was driving he said we were going through Centralia and told me about its history. It was the strangest thing I've ever seen. There were only a few cinderblock building frames still standing. Everything around looked burnt. In the hills alongside the road there was smoke rising out of the ground from the fires below. I don't know how anyone could want to live in a place where so much smoke rises up like that. Definatly creepy. - mcbean, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Silent Hill is loosely based on the Centralia story, so naturally it seems familiar.
- SilentBob417, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I live close to centralia also and it just seems like your driving though the rest of PA of forest then you come into a small town that looks like it was from the 50's then you start to ascend a mountain and it seems like everything is dead you can't really see the fire. At one or two spots you can see smoke but the place doesn't smell(well i was never out of the car when we drive through centralia but in the car you can't smell it) but yet cow manure in fields you can smell. It can be an eerie looking place but if you have never been there it can be interesting. I think the actual underground fire is off the main road and either has been blocked since the evacuation or was recently blocked off with a chain-link fence. The fence just kinda adds to the effect of wow this is not right that this town has been ablaze underground all this time.
- loomis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Centralia has always been a fascinating story. And there is more to it than just the fire.
The government bought everyone out and basically wiped the historic and once-thriving town from the face of the earth, even though many areas were determined to never be at risk of fire.
Some people remained, and continue to live there in the town that no longer exists. If you do go to Centralia, do not bother those who remain or disrespect the area.
Then and now pictures: http://www.offroaders.com/album/centralia/the-visit.htm - Wolfghost, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4There is a chance that the fire would have suffocated or have been contained better, but the state and federal government drilled holes to investigate the fire. The holes fed fresh air to the fire for years before the morons thought to seal the holes.
- Flyer00, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5It's amazing that people would still want to live in there! I read that they feel there is more to the story that what people know -- but still when the ground is collapsing around your house, wouldn't you feel it's time to go? For the 15 or so people that live there, I wonder how things work? Does the US Post Office still deliver their mail? Who supplies the power to their houses or is there no longer power? One of the sources said they still pay property tax, so is the government required to provide them with the basics like water and sewage? What about phone service? So many questions... very fascinating indeed!
- linkvx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5maybe the fires were already there, and its just the gateway into hell, ahhh!!!
- afpunk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Its actually an interesting place to visit. I grew up about a half an hour drive away. It was always a topic of projects for social studies classes. It can definitely be as spooky as it sounds, but its more intriguing than anything else.
If you're interested in visiting it, the directions are pretty simple. Just take I-80 through PA and take the Buckhorn exit and follow route 42 south for about half an hour, you'll run right into it. If you're anywhere nearby at all, check it out. You won't regret it. - Wamzlee, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7seems we found the source of Global Warming.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3An underground fire that's been burning for decades and will continue to burn for many more decades, wtf? Who would've thought that was even possible? I'm puzzled why the fires haven't suffocated itself out.
- jmcd088, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I live in Reading, PA where Rt. 61 begins going south to north. I've been up to Centralia twice. When I was a little kid it wasn't as bad I seen some smoke coming out of the ground and there was still a decent amount of houses around and stuff. When I went back up a few years ago there was barely nothing left and I could see alot more smoke. We pulled our car up next to a "smoke vent" in a observation area. I was a little scared about falling in and stuff but it was pretty cool. Since reading this it makes me wanna take the hour or two drive up there to see it again...
For some reason I was curious to see what their old zipcode was so I searched goole to find out and it happens to be 17927.
http://www.weather.com/weather/local/17927?lswe=17927&lwsa=WeatherLocalUndeclared&from=whatwhere
Suprised it still comes up on weather.com lol. - Phocion55, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Digg. Having family in Ashland, PA I've driven through here numerous times. Creepy as hell. Only person I saw in the town was an old man sitting on a bench overlooking the cemetary. There were rumors that a gypsy or something like that went to the priest in town before the fire and told him that she cursed it. Kinda creepy.
- recover82, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2there is a "centralia" in illinois too.. it's basically hell on earth as well. dirty ass town.
- xioner, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3a digg for you, for just being happy to get the news out there instead of screaming that you had already posted this.
:-) - nicepants, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Looks like a great place to build a power plant, as you've already got a HUGE supply of free, intense heat to generate power.
- EricAnderton, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Actually, that would be more like:
Steve: And for today's forecast, here's Bob.
Bob: Well if you're planning on taking a stroll down main street today, be sure to bring your gas mask. Carbon Monoxide and coal fumes are expected to be in the high ppm this morning, which should taper off by the afternoon; that front moving in from the northwest is going to clear a lot of that out of here. Scattered showers are expected later this week, so look out for that acid rain - as sulfur emissions are at an all time record high for this season.
[shows a bar graph showing last year's value with a simley face, and this year's with a "Mr. Yuck" face]
There are no road or school closures for today, sorry kids, but like we like to say: mind the mine, and keep a wide birth from that hole in the earth! (chuckles)
Back to you Steve. - addisonj, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I used to live in Centralia..... Washington that is. But the description is much the same including the smoldering ruins and the burning trash part, if only they would condemn that town.... the world might be a better place :D.
- WPLXB70, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3The wikipedia article states that "The odd history of Centralia is used in the upcoming movie Silent Hill." I wonder if they could film on location - it would probably seem too unrealistic, this hellish landscape of doom!
- webhead74, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Here's a satellite view:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Centralia,+PA&ll=40.800751,-76.333265&spn=0.041842,0.11879&t=h
Not great, but you can clearly see the overgrown streets. - JustKen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hometown Tales
A Podcast supporting the popular underground TV show about local legends, folklore, ghost stories and more. Hear the latest strange news, tales and stories from around the world.
Town on Fire
http://www.hometowntales.com/PA%20blog/123D5813-B5DA-408A-94BF-1153B5B58BC1.html
http://www.hometowntales.com/
http://www.hometowntales.com/htpodcast.xml
http://media.libsyn.com/media/hometowntales/HT_Vidcast_9_Town_on_Fire.mp4 - CorruptRay, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I live about 20minutes from Centralia. I've been through there several times... it's an odd, rundown, out of place town, kind of Texas Chainsaw Massacre-ish. Just hope your van doesn't break down while traveling through - just in case, don't ask some creepy old dude if you can use his phone.
- RobotCitizen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Holy cow! Centralians have internet access?
- absentmindedjwc, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3What do you know, Google Maps lists it, talk about a SMALL town... it looks to be 1.5 miles long and a quarter mile wide (sorry if your town is smaller or something, what can I say... I live in Chicago)
http://www.google.com/url?q=http://maps.google.com/maps%3Foi%3Dmap%26q%3DCentralia,%2BPA&sa=X&oi=map&ct=title - nic777, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Storing trash in an old mine results in town having to be moved......Simpsons anyone?!?! :]
- zechariahs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I grew up right around there in a small town named Shenandoah. There's also a small fire just outside of that town too. As was mentioned by previous posters, the mines raped this area. Stripping pits, mine fires, piles of "junk" coal, they totally ruined what would've been a nice area. Too bad the Molly Maguires (http://imdb.com/title/tt0066090/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Maguire) aren't around anymore.
- Evil-Dragon, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Weather today... red hot.... weather tomorrow... red hot :D
- SideshowBob, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2This is nuts...saw something about this town on either the History or Discovery channel in the recent past. Amazing that the fire has been burning for so long. They tried all kinds of crazy things trying to put the fire out before the gov gave up and decided that everybody should move.
- PerfectCELL, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Kinda reminds me of Prypiat. Just without a nuclear plant whose barrier could break anyday and renuc the area.
- crackhead, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2That's so funny...I just finished reading "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0767902521/002-2243294-1717631?v=glance&n=283155) During a hike of the Appalachian Trail, he heads off to check this place out. His description of the town, as well as a run-in with local law enforcement, are pretty entertaining.
- rekrapt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Reminds me of Valkenvania (or something like that) from the Movie "Nothing But Trouble" with Chevy Chase, Dan Akroyd and Demi Moore.
- Half-Fast, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've been to Butler, PA several times for business and never realized it was that close to Centrailia. I'm gonna have to swing through there next time I'm up that way.
- Cowboy5995, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2"We don't go to Ravenholm.......I mean Centralia" I am serious in reminds me of Ravenholm from HL2. Well minus the zombies and crazy preacher guy. Nm I gess there is some crazy residents there yet.
- jguy584, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I saw this on the daily show once, except they portrayed it as a still inhabited town.
- DEIx15x8, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've visited and found that it felt like being on a studio back lot. A whole town that looks normal but no people.
- JEWigs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Jesus, does EVERYONE on Digg live within 30 minutes of Shamokin???
(Yes, I do, too.) - maklershed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Wow. I never knew so many people would be interested in a place like Centralia. I live 20 minutes from there and I go through it all the time and I never put much thought into it. There's actually not much to see.
- Ibanez0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1MrCoalRegion, if you see this msg what town do you live in, im in Mount Carmel which is also within walking distance
- xgraxe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've traveled through Centralia a few times and it's always interesting. Sometimes you end up driving through clouds of smoke and other times it's completely desolate and lifeless. A few years ago I poked around and found an area where you could actually hear the fires burning underground, a truely eery experience...
- capn_caveman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm that guy.
- MrCoalRegion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I live seriously within walkin distance of Centralia. i actually shot an amatuer movie in the town based kinda on the Silent Hill premisis, minus the dead children with butter knives and scary lookin maniquin legs that attack u. screw them guys. but my whole family, when they came here offa the boat in the 1880's moved to centralia, i could show u the 2 blocks that was entirely made up of my family. oh and there are some good parkin spots for u and ur guys/girls to go and "have some fun". the people that live there are not weirdos or mean, they are very open and nice and will talk to anybody who asks about the town. really friendly people, no weirdos at all, just people who do not want to see their town dug up and destroyed by the federal government. any questions at all, ill answer them cuz i consider myself, as do others, a centralia enthusiast and a type of historian of centralia, even doin a video documentary on it for my senior project when i was in high skool.
- TheWriteGuy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Silent Hill!
:-o - scotty588, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Extremely interesting read. I would like to go to this place.
- Dradien, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Centrailia is the next town next to me, Geocaching there is creepy...
- StudlyDego73, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Bloom U eh? And you're sober enough to type? IMPRESSIVE!
- Zipko, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Actually, that's exactly what driving through seems like. I can't believe how big coal mining was in PA back in the early 1900's. This state was built on towns like Centralia. With coal becoming too scarce/expensive all of these central PA towns are drying up. Centralia was the first, but there's a lot of desolate towns in PA that are fading along with the coal market.
- sfacets, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3That's really cool - or damn interesting anyway... hey free thermal power!
- moshguy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I live in PA and I went to Centralia. Like they said, it's a really creepy place.
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