Uncovering the Globe's Priciest Ghost Towns

9. Cody, Wyoming's Smith Mansion

Place: Cody, Wyoming Year: The 1980s Price: $500,000 (Purchase Price in 2020) The Smith Manson is a hallucinogenic structure that took five years to construct. Built by engineer Lee Smith, the house began as a locally harvested residence for Smith and his family. However, Smith's wife divorced him and took the children with her because of his fixation with the project.

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Cody, Wyoming's Smith Mansion @USC_07/Twitter Smith continued to invest thousands of dollars and keep expanding to the house. Tragically, Smith died after falling from a balcony while working on an upper level of the house. His bizarre, obsession-driven undertaking came to an end as a result, captivating residents of Wyoming for years.

10. Chicago, Illinois's abandoned Brach's Candy Factory

Place: Illinois's Chicago Year: 1923 Price: $5 million One of the most well-known candy companies in the US, Brach's Candy generates millions of dollars in sales annually. To keep up with the enormous demand for their candies, the company constructed a $5 million plant in Chicago, Illinois. That kind of money was unheard of in 1923.

Chicago, Illinois's abandoned Brach's Candy Factory @atlasobscura/Pinterest After the plant was completed, Brach's produced over 250 different types of confections. The vast confectionery enterprise was unsustainable when the cost of sugar soared in the 1980s and 1990s, even though the plant managed to endure the Great Depression. After the factory closed in 2000, it was left abandoned until 2014, when demolition got underway.