Mysteries of The Abandoned: Season 3 Review: The Beauty of Decay Has A Poetry All Its Own

"Mysteries Of The Abandoned" is currently viewable on the Discovery channel. There are 10 seasons total. The final season was renamed "Mysteries Of The Abandoned: Hidden America". See my previous reviews here

Each episode visits three (or more) abandoned structures. The number of episodes per season varies from 7 to 22 (so it's sometimes hard to keep track of). For instance season 8 is listed on the Discovery website as having 9 episodes, on Wikipedia as having 11 episodes and it's lists 10 episodes when streaming. 

Season 3: I've included some of favorite segments below:

1. Doomsday At Dragon's Teeth- Tuberculosis (also called consumption or "white death") has been around for many thousands of years. It peaked in the 18th and 19th centuries primarily in cities due to overcrowding and poor living conditions. By then TB killed one in seven people worldwide (due to it's high rate of transmissibility). The solution for many governments was to create sanitariums in areas when people could get lots of sun and fresh air. Beelitz Heilstatten (located in the forests south of Pottsdam Germany) became one of the largest tuberculosis hospitals in the world. It was later turned into a military hospital. Hitler was there during WWI after he got a grenade to the leg. After WWII the facility came under Russian control. Thanks to the introduction of antibiotics, the rates of tuberculosis was greatly reduced in many countries (including Germany and the US). Today some 1.2 million people still die each year from TB-- primarily in developing countries. It is still considered the world's most deadly infection (having more deaths than AIDS/HIV and malaria combined). A recent outbreak in Kansas highlights our need to remain vigilant against this terrible disease. 
2. Nightmare on Blood Mountain- the Baha Honda Rail Bridge in Key West Florida was an ambitious project by the Florida East Coast Railway to connect the Bahia Honda Key with the Spanish Harbor Key. The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 destroyed much of the railway. This hurricane was one of only four Category 5 hurricanes to ever hit the lower 48. There were 423 deaths per Wikipedia--but over 700 by other accounts. Many of the dead were working on the railway. There was $100 million dollars in damage (and 42 miles of the 156 mile track was washed away). The project was abandoned and sold to the state of Florida. They built an automotive bridge right next to the abandoned railroad bridge. 
3. Tower of Death- Oddball is an open pit excavator used in mining. It was the second largest piece of machinery in the world at that time. It was a gift from the US to the UK to jump start their mining industry. This rusting giant can still be seen outside of Leeds. 
4. Underwater Ghost Prison- Murru Prison in Estonia was operated by the Soviets. The prison was created in the 1938. Prisoners (many jailed for social causes) were forced to work under horrible conditions--trying to extract limestone from the nearby quarry.  In 1961 part of Murra was changed to an autonomous prison named Rummu Prison. Now part of the prison lies underwater. There is no one left to pump out the water left from pits they created while excavating. 
5. America's Doomsday Town- The rupture of the Gleno Dam in Bergamo, Italy in 1923 wiped out three villages, 5 power stations and killed some 350 people who lived below the dam. The blame was placed on the Vigano family who is said to have used substandard materials to cut costs during the dams construction. However years later new evidence was uncovered that pointed to anarchists/terrorists who were placing bombs throughout the area. 
6. City of the Damned- In 1937, the Spanish Civil War was raging between the Nationalists (led by General Franco) and the Republicans. The Nationalists included the military, Falangists (fascists), monarchists and conservatives. They were supported by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany (although Spain never officially took sides during WWII). The Republicans included those loyal to the left leaning Popular Front government, socials, communists and anarchists. They were supported by the Soviet Union and Mexico. Other countries (including the US) had a non-intervention policy. However they still helped some. The US had a military united called the Abraham Lincoln Brigade that fought on the side of the Republicans. The two armies were on a head on collision and the town of Belchite, Spain and its  innocent civilians (some 3800) were stuck in the middle. After battling for 2 weeks, the Republicans took control (but by then 3000 civilians were killed). Was anything accomplished? Not really since the fascists again took control a short time later. Franco wouldnt let the survivors rebuild the town so they just rebuilt next door and kept the same name. The Nationalists (with Franco) won the war and he ruled Spain until his death in 1975. Then king Juan Carlos (who was hand picked by Franco) took over and moved the country from a dictatorship towards a democracy. 
7. The Town That Disappeared- Tyneham, England was a small isolated village. In 1943 the UK government told the residents to evacuate. They needed places for military training (specially tank training) during WWII. 225 people (whose families had lived there for generations) were displaced. They hoped to return but the area has remained under government control since then. 
8. Nazi Death Star- La Couple (translated "dome") is a massive underground bunker outside of Saint-Omer in northern France. It was built in 1943/1944 by the Nazis as a V-2 rocket launch facility. Rockets could reach some 200 miles away (which meant they could hit the UK including London). The facility included a vast network of underground galleries, a dome to protect the launch chamber, and tracks to transport rockets. It is the earliest known precursor to modern underground missile silos. Luckily for us, thanks to the Normandy invasion and Allied bombing no rockets were ever launched from La Couple. If they had been, the outcome of WWII would have been far different. The site is currently a museum. 
9. The Real Shawshank- Ohio State Reformatory was built in the mid 1880s and is located in Mansfield, Ohio. The original goal was redemption for prisoners but, as with other facilities, it became overcrowded and extremely violent. Some 200 people were killed there (including two prison guards). Some were thrown off the top of the five story tiers. The prison had the largest free standing cell blocks in the world.  A fire in 1930 killed another 322 inmates. The building was slated for demolition after it closed in 1990. It was saved due to the filming of the Shawshank Redemption and other movies. I have been there many times for both tours and haunted houses. It is a fascinating building. 
10. Secret of Alien Stonehinge- Shanghai was the sixth largest city in the world leading up to WWII. A mysterious circular building lied in the heart of the city. It looks like something creaed b MC Escher. It turns out to be the 1933 slaughterhouse. It all seems very efficient and I know people have to eat... but I'd rather not think about it. In 1941 Japanese forces invaded the city. But the building somehow survived unscathed. After being abandoned it has been transformed. It's now called 1933 Old Millfun. It is now a commercial hub with design studios, luxury boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, theaters and bars. 

Photo Credits: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/mysteries_of_the_abandoned/s03/e03

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TV: Heavy On Sci Fi, Horror & Adventure; Light On Reality

March 22, 2025

7:18 PM