This abandoned iron furnace was one of the first to use coke—a type of high-carbon fuel—to make iron.

An abandoned stretch of highway, deteriorating next to the operational one.

A mine fire has been burning under the deserted town since 1962, but this church is still going strong.

An underground blaze turned this village into a ghost town.

A toxic ghost town sitting atop a massive coal fire.

This lush forest valley was once mined for lumber to the extent that it was once nicknamed "The Pennsylvania Desert."

A rock maze opens up to a panoramic viewpoint at an abandoned mine full of ghost stories.

A wildlife-filled oasis just off the coast of Myrtle Beach.

This town at the north edge of Myrtle Beach holds a wealth of Black history.

Dine on superb local staples in a converted historic church.

A famous—but endangered—plant is on view at an unassuming nature preserve a quick drive from Myrtle Beach.

The two locations of this landmark ice cream shop scream pure Americana nostalgia.

Once a safe haven for Black patrons and performers—including Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington—during the Jim Crow era, portions of this nightclub and motel have been restored to welcome a new kind of visitor.

This small museum dedicated to the painful memory of segregation is essentially a time capsule.

If Myrtle Beach is the mini golf capital of the world, this is its crowning glory.

This maze-like, oceanfront gift shop—the nation’s largest— has been serving kitsch to the Myrtle Beach community for over 80 years.

Take in some Air Force history—and ogle some beautiful planes—at this little-known park near Myrtle Beach’s seashore.

This Myrtle Beach art museum features a rotating display of pieces by artists from James Audubon to Frank Lloyd Wright, but it’s their collection of Southern works that truly impresses.

Visitors come from all over to bring gifts and tokens to the grave of Alice, who is thought to have died of a broken heart.

Nine of the very few concrete ships ever made in the U.S. are beautifully decaying off a Virginia pier.

Giant busts of 42 U.S. presidents are sitting in a field in Virginia.

This stately mansion, built in 1787 by America's first Secretary of the Navy, is rumored to be one of the most haunted buildings in Washington, DC.

Home to items never before seen by the public.

Franciscan monks created a facsimile of the Holy Land for North Americans who couldn’t afford the trip overseas.