Centralia is one of the original dark tourism destinations located in Colombia County, Pennsylvania. Commonly known as “Silent Hill Pennsylvania,” it is an abandoned ghost town that I spent the day exploring; a ghost town that’s sitting atop of a raging underground mine fire that caused the town’s evacuation (almost) overnight.
The fire started in 1962 next to the Odd Fellows Cemetery when the local fire department was burning trash for an upcoming holiday celebration. None of these geniuses realized that the burning trash fire would ignite a nearby coal seam and begin to burn underground. Once fully involved, multiple, unsuccessful attempts were made to extinguish the underground mine fire, all at enormous cost to the taxpayers.
The town co-existed with the mine fire for some time while the government tried to find a solution to the disaster. It wasn’t until conditions became hazardous, forcing the local gas station to close and a young boy falling into a sinkhole that forced the government to take action.
In 1984, the government authorized the relocation of the remaining residents to nearby towns, and the remaining structures destroyed. Oddly, the infrastructure (roads and sidewalks) were left in-tact; all you see are remnants of a town that used to exist.
In 2002, the US Post Office revoked Centralia’s zip code, and today an estimated ten people are living there (down from its peak of 2,400 residents in the 1940’s).
While the town doesn’t technically exist, it is very much still a dark tourism destination for many people. Highway 61 had to be re-routed around the mine fire because the heat from the fire caused the ground to begin to collapse and the road to crack and follow. Walking around the town, you’ll find monitoring boreholes and gas vents – all signs of the evil demon below.
In modern-day movies, Silent Hill was partially inspired by Centralia’s ghost town, and you’ll find graffiti throughout referencing “the real silent hill.”
Centralia Uncensored
The Odd Fellows Cemetery is located on the East side of Highway 61, adjacent to the landfill. The cemetery is open to the public as an unofficial tribute to a town that tragically died.
There’s not much history in Centralia, PA aside from the coal fire. The cemetery has generations of inhabitants who made a working wage in the mines that ultimately killed the town.
Old Highway 61 is pretty easy to miss the first time you visit. Park at the cemetery, and you’ll see a curve in the road and grass berm. Walk around it, and you’re now on old highway 61.
If you don’t know, now you know…
In April 2020, the owner of the property began covering the road with dirt to deter visitors from trespassing on private property.
The first thing you’ll notice is graffiti EVERYWHERE. This place has turned into a haven of graffiti artists, taggers and amateurs who like to spray paint penises everywhere.
A few hundred yards down the road and you’ll begin to see surface cracks and [maybe] steam. Old Highway 61 is slowly collapsing from the intense heat of the underground mine fire eroding the road underlayment and ultimately causing the stability of the land to begin to slump.
Throughout the years, government agencies have installed ventilation pipes to help monitor the progression of the mine fire. These geniuses didn’t realize that the same ventilation pipes used to monitor the fire’s progression also provided oxygen to keep the fire raging.
Silent Hill (Centralia) Mine Fire Maps
Centralia Frequently Asked Questions
Centralia through the viewfinder
Cameron Rogers says:
Silent hill being inspired by Centralia is only partially true. The video games themselves were not inspired by Centralia what so ever. The town was abandoned in the games due to cults and other religious issues. In the movies, Centralia only served as the inspiration for why the town was abandoned, a mine fire, but that’s it. Silent hill wasn’t inspired by Centralia.
Also, as of 2022 there are 6 people living there ever since Carl died in 2014 and his daughter Kathi moved in 2017. There are at my last count 7 structures standing in town. A few homes, the town hall/municipal building, a garage and the church overlooking the town going toward Aristies. The graffiti Highway is no more. The current owners of the strip completely covered it up and removed all traces of it. The side streets left in town are in a horrible state of disrepair right now full of major potholes and other issues. Some streets are so badly overgrown by brush it’s impossible to drive down them. State Police now patrol the area, mainly concerning themselves with stopping people from trespassing on the now covered graffiti Highway and stopping people from dumping garbage.
The town at night is very dark unless you are on locust or centre st which are the main roads. The street lights on the side streets that are still in existence seem to have burned out or stopped working because they no longer shine at night. It’s VERY dark in Centralia at night. Honestly with the covering of the graffiti Highway and the streets being impassible due to brush and potholes there’s really nothing left to see in Centralia. It basically now just resembles a wooded area with some houses and cemeteries. Nothing fantastic anymore.
joshua says:
is there any creatures like monsters
Rhys says:
yes, they come out of the crack in the highway. the demogorgon and the demodogs crawl out and eat anyone in sight. i just barely escaped
joshua says:
is there another world?
JD says:
😁😁😁😂😂😂😂