24 Eerie Abandoned Places with Dark Pasts and Even Darker Secrets

17. The Red Sands Sea Forts: Rusting Giants in the Ocean

Standing in the Thames Estuary like relics from a dystopian future, the Red Sands Sea Forts were built during World War II to defend Britain from Nazi air raids. These bizarre metal towers, connected by catwalks, were decommissioned in the 1950s and left to rust in the open sea. Over time, they have become strange and haunting structures, with corroded staircases leading to nowhere and birds nesting in the once-active gun towers. Some of the forts were even briefly occupied by pirate radio stations in the 1960s. Today, they remain eerie, isolated remnants of wartime innovation.