There's a good reason that Hollywood is obsessed with the idea of Earth after humanity leaves: the image of once flourishing cities, once bristling with life abandoned by the human who defined their purpose and overrun by the relentless march of nature is a compelling allegory for the fleeting nature of life. And of course it helps reinforce the idea that humankind is no more than a whisper on the wind: and nobody likes to be reminded of their own mortality.
Thanks in part to the intrepid spirit of urban explorers, some of the monuments of lost lives and abandoned cultures have been captured forever in photographs to help remind everyone that even things as permanent and impenetrable as bricks, mortar and steel will fall to tide and time eventually. And those images stand as stark revelations of just how creepy a change of context - and the total removal of life - can make something as enchanting as a theme park or a once cherished home.
So with that in mind take a look through the oddest and most haunting abandoned monuments around the world, all horribly strange and beautiful in equal measure...
22. Ridge Lane Tramway Tunnel
This 400 yards long tunnel in the North East of England probably isn't somewhere you'd like to spend a lonely night.
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No trams have run through it since 1916 when a new section was built and made it redundant.