Reefton · The Town After the Gold Ran Out

Reefton is a gold-mining town on the West Coast; at its height it held more than ten thousand people, dozens of pubs and a newspaper of its own. When the gold was worked out the miners left and the buildings stayed, and only a few hundred people remain.

The old buildings in town now serve as a museum and bars, and the signs on the street still carry the old names; in the hills around are abandoned mine tunnels and disused lamp frames. There were accidents in the mines, and the list of the dead hangs in the museum.

Locals run shops, fix the roads and hold festivals. When visitors ask whether the place is haunted, the answer is usually this: depends which version you want.

Haunted Ruins / West Coast · New Zealand / 1876