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0:00
This is Villa in Argentina. It's one of
0:03
the creepiest places on Earth. It's a
0:06
lakeside resort town that was entirely
0:08
submerged for over 60 years. And when
0:10
the waters finally receded, it
0:12
reappeared as a salty, sandy ghost town.
0:15
In the 1920s, this area was developed
0:18
into a tourist destination with hotels,
0:20
casinos, and restaurants. But in 1935,
0:24
plans were made to turn the small town
0:26
into a bigger city. They were going to
0:29
expand the port and build a railway
0:31
line. But then something unexpected
0:33
happened. There were devastating floods
0:36
and the construction plans were quickly
0:38
abandoned. The flooded town was
0:40
completely forgotten about until 1985
0:43
when the water levels went down for some
0:45
reason. Now, what they found was
0:46
shocking. The entire town was still
0:49
there, preserved in a layer of salt. It
0:52
looked like a scene from a horror movie
0:54
or an abandoned water park. The thing
0:57
is, since the water had receded,
0:59
tourists started showing up again. They
1:01
would take boats out onto the lake to
1:03
explore the ruins and take home creepy
1:05
souvenirs like glass jars filled with
1:07
sand and salt. But this caused even more
1:10
problems because people started fighting
1:12
over who owned the buildings and who got
1:14
to keep the artifacts. So, the
1:16
government stepped in and basically
1:18
said, "No one owns this place, at least
1:20
not yet." They decided to open up villa
1:24
to the public and charge people a fee to
1:26
go there and do whatever they wanted.
1:28
People could come here to take pictures,
1:30
swim in the salty lake, party, camp,
1:33
basically anything. Many people have
1:36
compared it to going to an abandoned
1:37
water park. It's kind of like that.
1:40
There are these long run-down wooden
1:41
docks that stretch out into the water.
1:44
You can see old buildings that were once
1:46
bustling with life and now are just
1:48
crumbling piles of bricks. It's hard to
1:50
imagine that this place used to be a
1:52
thriving community. It almost feels
1:54
wrong to laugh at how eerie the whole
1:56
thing is, but it's also impossible not
1:58
to. It looks like a set from a
2:00
post-apocalyptic movie. If you walk
2:03
around, you'll find all sorts of creepy
2:05
things like old shoes, bottles, kitchen
2:07
wear, tools, toys, all kinds of stuff
2:10
left behind when the town was evacuated.
2:13
What makes this place even more bizarre
2:15
is that occasionally someone will show
2:17
up claiming that the house they
2:18
restanding in front of is theirs. They
2:21
all say that their family had to leave
2:23
in a hurry and they all start digging
2:25
through the sand and rubble to prove it.
2:27
But so far, no one has found any human
2:30
remains. Duh. The only bones that have
2:33
been found belong to dogs. Since the
2:35
town is completely abandoned, mother
2:37
nature has reclaimed the land. Vines and
2:40
trees are growing everywhere. There are
2:42
tons of bugs and birds everywhere. It
2:44
really is like an untouched ecosystem.
2:47
There are several theories as to why the
2:49
water level dropped so drastically in
2:51
1985, allowing people to rediscover
2:53
Villa. Some say it was a combination of
2:55
climate change and a volcanic eruption
2:58
in Chile. Others say it was part of a
3:00
secret government experiment. But
3:02
really, we don't know. Every year, more
3:05
and more sand gets blown into the lake,
3:07
which makes it harder and harder to see
3:08
the ruins. Soon there may not be
3:10
anything left to see at all, but for now
3:12
it's a popular day trip from Buenos
3:14
Aries. About 50,000 people visit each
3:17
year. I've always wanted to go, but I
3:20
think it would be extra creepy if you
3:21
went at night. Imagine walking around in
3:23
the pitch black darkness and listening
3:25
to the waves lapping at your feet while
3:26
the wind blows through the trees. You'd
3:29
probably run into some creepy things.
3:31
Maybe you'd even see a ghost. Who knows?
3:34
Thanks for watching. See you next time
3:35
on Wild True with me, Malcolm Walker.