With the boom of morbidly curious tourism, ghost towns in the US have never been hotter. With their preserved-in-time atmosphere, which may run the gamut from rickety old general stores to literally nothing but crumbling headstones, ghost towns offer a real-deal glimpse into the past, no matter how homey or how dangerous that past once was.

While abandoned ghost towns can be found in every state, much like cuisine and accents, each state's ghost towns feel decidedly characteristic. Most share a boom-to-bust trajectory, but what caused the initial influx of people and industry -- and what caused the subsequent desertion -- varies from place to place. Some towns once thrived on coal mines and ore, while others trafficked in oranges and wool. There's even a ghost town that was entirely constructed for a movie, while another started as a leper colony.

Whatever the narrative, ghost towns continue to captivate as singular destinations of Americana, especially for those undeterred by eerie silence, derelict train tracks, and entire communities wiped out by tuberculosis. From "largest living ghost town in America," to a once-thriving copper community in The Final Frontier, these are the creepiest and coolest ghost towns in every US state.