Centralia Pennsylvania: The Town That Inspired Silent Hill

Posted: 03.07.2025 | Updated: 03.07.2025

One who has walked among the smoky vacancy of what was once the town of Centralia knows something unsettling lies below the surface. Wisps of smoke wind up from cracks in the ground, and the earth occasionally hisses as if Hell itself might open underfoot. 

Legends have circled about visitors hearing peculiar sounds and odd voices and seeing strange figures in the hazy, curling smoke. Might these be other tourists drawn to this empty and spooky town, or might something stranger lurk in the otherworldly reaches of this abandoned ghost town?

Journey on to uncover the mystery behind this haunting town erased from time, but be wary of entering its boundaries, or you may not leave. 

Interested in more tales of the sinister and strange? Book a Gettysburg ghost tour with Civil War Ghosts. 

What Happened in ​​Centralia, Pennsylvania? 

Centralia emerged as a coal-mining boomtown around the latter part of the 19th century, spurring decades of underground mining to excavate its mineral-rich fossil fuel. Sadly, its success was not to last, and Centralia, PA, would soon become known for a very different reason. 

In the 1960s, a fire started, eventually catching a string of coal alight below the earth. The flames dispersed through the town’s extensive mines, now long abandoned. Unable to be extinguished, the inferno spread further, wreaking havoc above ground as it radiated below. The fire still burns today and likely will for a century more. 

Centralia: The Town That Fire Erased

Officially founded in 1866, the city of Centralia has a strong mining legacy, drawing people far and wide for one reason: carbon-rich anthracite coal. By 1890, the modest boomtown had 14 mines within its bounds. 

By the late 1800s, Centralia bore a population of more than 2,700 people, almost all of which were miners or family members of miners. Centralia’s mining industry peaked in 1917, slowly declining in the 1920s when heating oil replaced hard coal. 

Still, it survived the woes of 1929’s financial collapse, seeing a brief resurgence in coal mining amidst World War II. Yet by the 1950s, the coal industry had fallen off, and the mines were soon abandoned. 

The devastating blaze first began just shy of the town’s centennial celebration. No one is quite sure how the fire started, though most accounts attribute it to the Centralia landfill.

This abandoned mine pit turned garbage heap was quite the town eyesore, attracting rats and emitting unwanted odors throughout the area. 

The city council decided to address the issue, hoping to eliminate the problem before Centralia’s Memorial Day celebration. Their method was somewhat strange, but they elected to burn the dump.

The events that followed give new meaning to the word dumpster fire. This fire above ground soon became a subterranean inferno, likely by accessing an underground coal seam. From here, it fanned out, spreading to the maze of mine tunnels that snaked their way throughout the town. 

The local coal mines were closed due to dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide. Efforts to extinguish the fire failed, ultimately unaddressing the problem. Years rolled by, and conditions in the town only worsened. 

The Residents of Silent Hill Pennsylvania

By the late 1970s, the fire had advanced to residential areas, and smoke began to bleed out from rifts in various sidewalks and backyards. 

The ground below the city streets increased in temperature, with some sites reaching scorching numbers. Sinkholes opened, releasing billowing plumes of smoke, and homes became filled with dangerous gases. Several Centralians installed carbon monoxide detectors to monitor the issue. Others bought canaries. 

In 1981, a young boy nearly succumbed to a fiery fate after falling into a 150-foot-deep sinkhole that perilously opened up before him. All that saved him from death were a bundle of tree roots and his 15-year-old cousin quickly pulling him back above ground. 

It was apparent the problem was only growing. Reports spread, and media coverage brought the issue to national awareness. As attention on the town’s precarious nature increased, the government decided to step in. 

Congress bought out the residents, issuing them payment to move in 1984. In 1992, more drastic measures were taken. All structures in Centralia were condemned, and their zip code discarded, as if the town never existed. Only seven residents refused to leave. 

Forbidden from selling their homes or passing them down, a handful of these residents remain to this day, and they clearly don’t like visitors. What remains of Centralia itself is even less. Only a church, some graveyards, and a few homes dot the landscape, leaving this “ghost town” surprisingly un-town-like. 

The strange ghost town of Centralia shrouded in smoke and legend, inspired the atmosphere of the 2006 Silent Hill film. Although set in West Virginia, Screenwriter Roger Avary cites Centralia as a creative influence.

Centralia, PA: An Uncanny Tourist Stop

For years, people have found themselves drawn to this dark destination. The sign marking the town has done little to dissuade those from entering. It reads: 

“Warning — Danger. Underground Mine Fire. Walking or driving in this area could result in serious injury or death. Dangerous gases are present. The ground is prone to sudden collapse.”

The site of Old Highway 61 was long an object for macabre travelers. The closed road lay covered in graffiti, plastered with strange and colorful images, earning it the nickname Graffiti Highway.

Further down, a large fissure yawned in the road, where tendrils of smoke oozed out casually. The smell exuded from the crack was said to be rank, likely influenced by the variety of items people tossed in, curious if they would burn. 

Exasperated by the influx of visitors to the site, the owners of the poverty began covering the road in dirt to thwart the onslaught of trespassers. As a result, Graffiti Highway no longer exists. Now, it lies buried—erased like the rest of the town. 

To the east of Highway 61, one other remnant of Centralia remains: Odd Fellows Cemetery. Visitors who walk the ground claim it to be ominously soundless, save for the random hisses of steam emanating from the earth. 

Is Centralia haunted? Many legends have sprouted from the ashes of Centralia’s continually burning fires. Some nearby the cemetery have heard muffled voices urging, “Leave this place.” 

The smell of sulfur, or rotting eggs, has also been experienced around the area. 

Although no one on record died as a result of the mine’s fires, the town itself has suffered immensely, rendering this Centralia ghost town a seemingly very different type of haunted. Perhaps it remains inhabited not by the spirits of the dead but by the displaced. 

Haunted Gettysburg

Silent Hill, Pennsylvania, may remain a macabre tourist destination for sinister enthusiasts and thrillseekers, but it remains just as perilous as it is eerie. To date, no deaths have been recorded as a result of the fire, but seeing as the inferno is likely to burn for another 100 years or more, that may not always remain the case. 

As such, those fascinated by the bizarre and uncanny may wish instead to pursue a less hazardous excursion than the Centralia ghost town. 

Perhaps one closer to the safety of the city. Civil War Ghosts offers a variety of delightfully spine-tingling Gettysburg ghost tours to satiate your hunger for haunting history and ghostly lore. 

Until then, keep reading our blog, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok to fill your feed with all manner of spooky content. 

Sources:

• https://www.history.com/news/mine-fire-burning-more-50-years-ghost-town
• https://www.wbal.com/go-inside-one-of-the-most-infamous-abandoned-places-on-earth
• https://www.abc27.com/digital-originals/history-of-centralia-a-pennsylvania-ghost-town
• https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/centralia-graffiti-highway-buried
• https://destinationsunknown.com/travel-directory/centralia/
• https://www.offroaders.com/album/centralia/haunted.htm