An urban explorer revealed how he discovered a long-neglected cemetery in an creepy abandoned ghost town - and its enough to make anyone uneasy.
Known by his online username Freaktography, Dave, explores abandoned, derelict and uninhabited locations across the world and shares his findings with fans on his YouTube channel and website. His latest adventure to Anyox, in British Columbia, Canada, however, is particularly spine-chilling.
Anyox is a former copper mining town and was in operation for just a few decades, from 1914 to 1935. During its brief existence, spanning over just 20 years, the town witnessed 480 births, 320 deaths, and 160 marriages, according to What's The Jam.
Intrigued by what remained of the once thriving settlement, Dave embarked on a journey to visit the town, which he described as "one of the most surreal experiences" of his life. During his exploration, hidden deep inside a forest where bears can be seen wandering freely, he came across the town's abandoned cemetery.
The graveyard in Anyox, a mining village in British Colombia, Canada, now lays abandoned and overgrown (Jam Press/https://freaktography.com/)A path to the graveyard has been cleared by rangers and the town’s two lone inhabitants, who also maintain the area. Most strikingly, the cemetery is filled with gravestones of once cherished loved ones, now covered in moss and overgrown foliage, deserted and left to decay under the forest's canopy.
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Dave explained that many of these graves belong to veterans of the First World War and stand out from the others. He said: "Each veteran's gravesite is marked with a rectangular cement outline with four corner posts and a commemorative concrete-cast helmet. Some civilian graves are marked with tombstones, but many are simply mounds of earth with no marker to identify the dead."
The veterans' graves are marked distinctly with four small pillars and a commemorative concrete-cast helmet (Jam Press/https://freaktography.com/)The site also serves as the final resting place for young children, with one tragic story standing out. Wilfred Sheldon Teabo drowned after falling into the cyanide-contaminated Falls Creek while throwing rocks. His brother, desperate to save him, attempted to jump into the water after him but was held back by men who knew how toxic that water was.
When World War One broke out, the mining company who owned the town, Granby Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company, promised jobs to all of the men leaving to fight in the war upon their return. They promised veterans they would be looked after and given dignified burials and special graves commemorating their service. Tragically, of the 400 who left to serve, less that 60 made it home again.
Many of the graves are unmarked or so run down that the names of the dead are illegible (Jam Press/https://freaktography.com/)Now, those veterans' graves, along with the others in the deserted cemetery, are neglected and covered in overgrown greenery and surrounded by thriving nature. One particularly striking grave is that of Julia Omar. She died on December 7, 1925, and when her husband fled Anyox for Spain, her casket was exhumed and sent to his homeland, leaving a hollow grave with a still-standing tilted headstone.
Several deaths in the town were caused by toxic cyanide emissions, tragically affecting infants and causing stillbirths. The Spanish flu epidemic of 1918 also took its toll, brought in by passengers on incoming ships.
People in the town of Anyox who died of cyanide poisoning and the Spanish flu were buried in the graveyard (Jam Press Vid/https://freaktography.com/)Dave’s eerie visit to Anyox ended abruptly with a chilling sign. He said: "Just as I considered staying longer, a widowmaker dropped from a tree behind me. A widowmaker is a large dead branch that falls from tall trees, potentially striking and killing anyone below. This was my sign to leave."
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