The location of the last stand of Charles Manson's doomsday cult.

Ten 25-foot-tall, beehive-shaped kilns, abandoned in Death Valley.

Smooth basaltic rocks tell a tale of ancient glacial waterfalls.

Standing in a state of "arrested decay," this ghost town allows for a detailed peek into Gold Rush life in an unusually harsh climate.

Aqueducts have dramatically changed this old lake, now home to tufa towers and its very own species of tiny brine shrimp.

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

These millipedes glow not out of attraction, but as a not-too-subtle warning.

An underground mansion with fruit-bearing trees and grapes growing beneath the surface of central California.

One of the oldest reform schools in the United States, home to wayward boys such as Merle Haggard, now abandoned.

An old-timey medicine shop that once served Chinese laborers during the Gold Rush is still open for business to this day.

Eclectic collection of dark and macabre antiques.

This public square capitalized on a single Eagles reference to bring some life back to an Arizona town.

A fake town founded by Western movie stars is now becoming a hip desert community.

Dentist's hated concrete colossi are now beloved icons of the community.

No one messes with the Massachusetts sacred cod, not this time...

Ruins of an American Civil War iron forge still survive today.

This miniature feudal castle was built on a whim to honor a US Navy pioneer.

America's smallest town is run by its single citizen/mayor/librarian/bartender.

Hidden in plain sight on the Hudson River is an abandoned train station where nature has taken over.

This abandoned subway station beneath the Waldorf-Astoria hotel is allegedly used to secretly transport presidents.

It should come as no surprise that the best view of the Hollywood sign is from Batman's lair.

"You don't need a rocket scientist to build a steam engine, but we've got one." -Museum docent on the credentials of a restoration volunteer.

This Italianate Villa-style castle is pretty to look at, just keep off the private property.

The trials and tribulations of marking Poe's grave.