12 Mysterious Islands That Time Forgot

Some of the most terrifying places on earth are islands. Because they are isolated from the mainland, anything that happens on an island is a secret to the rest of the world.

Some of the most terrifying movies take place on islands. Movies like “Shudder Island,” “Escape From Alcatraz,” and “Castaway” are a few examples of scary and horrible things that have happened on islands.

Here’s a list of the most mysterious islands that time forgot and why they are still abandoned today.

1. Devon Island

This is the largest uninhabited island in the world. At 21,331 square miles, it is roughly the size of West Virginia (the 10th smallest state). According to scientists, this island doesn’t look like anything on Earth. In fact, it’s more comparable to Mars!

On Beechey Island, which is right off the coast of Devon Island, there are three graves of sailors whose deaths are unknown. They were sailing from London to Asia in the mid-1800s, trying to find a faster trade route across the North American continent. In July 1845, the crew came into contact with a couple of whaling boats in Baffin Bay. This was the last time the crew of 129 sailors was seen alive.

2. Ilha da Queimada Grande

This small island is 20 miles off the coast of São Paulo, Brazil, known as “Snake Island”. No people live on this island, but there are 2,000-4,000 of the most venomous snakes in South America! This island is home to the endangered golden lancehead vipers. The island is only 0.2 square miles, which means there’s about one snake per square meter of the island. No, thank you!

The lancehead viper species are responsible for over 90 percent of Brazilian snakebite fatalities! There are lots of tales of fishermen getting lost at sea and ending up on this island and let’s just say these stories don’t have a happy ending…

3. Bouvet Island

Bouvet Island is the most remote island in the world. It technically depends on Norway, but that’s just because no one else wants it. It’s 1,400 mi from the closest inhabited location, but the closest land mass to the island is Antarctica, at 994 miles away.

If you still think this island isn’t the worst place to live, think again. At the center of the island is a volcano—an extinct volcano, but a volcano nonetheless. Just because the last time it erupted was 2,000 BC doesn’t mean it won’t erupt again. About three major earthquakes happen on this island every year, so yeah, this place is as uninhabitable as they come.

4. Hashima Island

This is one of the most famous uninhabited islands in the world. Just 8 miles offshore from Nagasaki in Japan, this island has 30 concrete buildings 8 stories tall, and all of them are abandoned. In 1887, they discovered coal on the island and began mining. In 1916, the first building was erected, and the first inhabitants of the island permanently moved onto the island. The population continued to grow until World War 2 when they started to bring prisoners of war to work on the island.

It’s estimated that between 130 and 1,300 prisoners were worked to death on this island during the war. This leads many to believe that this is one of the most haunted places on earth. The inhabitants were cleared off the island in 1974 after petroleum replaced the need for coal. You can tour the island to explore it for yourself and walk through the abandoned buildings.

5. Gaiola Island

This small island off the coast of Napoli, Italy, was used in the 17th century for multiple Roman factories. Then, in the 19th century, a villa was built that can still be seen today. The building of this villa seems like it caused the curse that remains on the island to this day. Every one of the island’s owners has either been murdered, committed suicide or has had people in their family murdered or commit suicide.

Something about this island drives the people who live here crazy. The last owner moved out in 2009 and since then it’s been owned by Italy.The island is just a quick swim from the shore, so you can either swim or take a kayak tour to see the decaying villa and hopefully not catch the island’s curse!

6. Poveglia Island

Regarding the most haunted island in the world, this one is the winner. In 1793, two ships were forced to dock at this island after discovering that several people on board were infected with the plague. From then on, the island was the quarantine zone for any plague-related illnesses. It’s estimated that around 100,000 died while quarantining on the island and legend has it that 50% of the island’s land is made of human ash.

Then in the 1900s, the island was turned into a psychiatric hospital (of course). The doctor in charge of the hospital is said to have been a bit… odd. He would perform lobotomies and human experiments on his patients, and legend has it that he was eventually driven mad by the ghosts of his victims and jumped off the top of the island’s lighthouse to his death.

7. Ukivok Island

This island off the coast of Alaska was home to the Aseuluk, a small group of native Alaskans who used to fish from the island. They built their houses on stilts on the side of a steep cliff overlooking the ocean.

Then, in the 1950s, the school they had set up on the island was closed down, forcing them back to the mainland. However, this island has a happy ending. They’re giving the island back to the natives, and they have actually started to move back! This island won’t be uninhabited for long!

8. Nikumaroro Island

We’ve all heard the story of Amelia Earhart, right? She was trying to become the first woman to fly around the world, but her plane ended up going down somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. For decades, no one could find her body or any trace of her plane.

That was until the 2000s when beauty products from before the 1930s and photos of her plane were found on Nikumaroro Island. It’s not 100% certain that this is the place where her plane crashed, but it’s the closest that researchers have come to finding her remains.

9. Holland Island

Located in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, this small island was first inhabited by an early colonist in the 1600s. By the 1850s, there was a small fishing village on the island, and by 1910, the island had almost 400 residents and 70 homes. Then, in 1914, the wind and current eroded the island.

The island’s residents tried everything to protect their homes from the rising water but to no avail. In 1918, the last remaining occupants were forced to leave and relocate to the mainland. Almost 90 years later, in 2010, the last house on the island collapsed, leaving nothing left of the island.

10. Suakin Island

This island was meant to serve as the main port of Sudan. It was first mentioned in the 10th century, but the person writing about it said that the island was already ancient. During medieval times, many luxury buildings were built here for rich merchants who resided there.

The last use of the island was the slave trade in the 1800s, and then it was abandoned. You can now tour the island and see the ancient ruins, which are quickly crumbling. The island has now been leased to Turkey so that they can restore the ruins and make it a tourist hub.

11. Spinalonga

Here is another island used for quarantine, but this time for lepers. It was used for this from 1903 to 1957 (that seems pretty recent, don’t you think?) It’s a beautiful Greek island located just off the coast of Crete. This island has been used for centuries for salt mining. However, in 1578, they build a fortress on the island because of the constant threat of pirates. Then, in 1715, it was captured by the Ottomans and remained under their control until 1903.

When the last of the Turkish left the island, it was turned into leper island. The lepers of the island were well taken care of and received all the food and care they needed here. Once the leper colony was dissolved, the island was abandoned. You can still take tours of the island and see the fortress that surrounds it and the houses where the lepers used to live.

12. Alcatraz

This is probably the most famous abandoned island in the US. Located right off the coast of San Francisco, it served as a prison from 1934 to 1963. Multiple movies have been made about and even filmed on it. Some of the most famous are “Escape from Alcatraz,” “Point Blank,” “The Enforcer,” and many more.

When it was still a prison, it held some of the most infamous prisoners in America, Al Capone being the most popular. The island became abandoned after the prison shut down, and all the prisoners were relocated. You can take tours of the old prison and see the conditions and way of life of the prisoners who once served here.