How Safe is it to Explore Abandoned Places?

Written by Kate Brame

Many people may think it’s fun to explore and discover abandoned buildings, but exploring them sometimes comes with a price. It’s not always safe to explore these places due to a number of things such as mold or the owner of the building. It’s important to be safe and aware when going somewhere abandoned. 

If you do decide to go to an abandoned building, it’s best to watch out for security or the possible owner of the building. They aren’t always friendly especially if you’re trespassing on their property. Security is usually hired for abandoned buildings that are on land owned by companies or someone who just wants to stop people from trespassing.

The owner of the building or buildings is more likely to act if they see someone trespassing. Sometimes they are armed and aren’t going to hesitate if they have to use force. The stand your ground law is a form of self defense that states, “individuals have the right to use reasonable, including deadly force, to protect themselves against an intruder in their home.”

This law also applies if someone is on your general property, which isn’t in an urban explorer's favor. But that varies depending on which state you are in. 

Security could also be hired to patrol empty or abandoned areas to prevent other crimes like theft, arson, and vandalism. If they come across someone by themselves who is just walking around, they will most likely just tell that person to leave unless they are armed or have bad intentions. In that case, security is allowed to use deadly force.

An example of an abandoned building.

Squatters are people who move into a property without consent from the owner. Squatters usually do this because they are homeless.

Squatters that find a home in abandoned buildings usually, not always, have some relation with substance abuse. But this isn’t always the case, sometimes they are just homeless and don’t have anywhere else to go. Although most squatters are hostile towards urban explorers on their territory.

Mold is also a big problem. Black mold is a type of fungus that can cause symptoms such as sneezing, coughing, eye irritation, and congestion. It can also worsen asthma symptoms.

Black mold usually grows on paper products, drywall, and wood products and it is common in water-damaged or damp areas of a building. Water damage is common in many abandoned places which makes them nearly the perfect place for black mold to grow. Black mold also produces spores that float around in the air so wearing a mask would help to not be as exposed to them.

There is also the possibility of finding a past or even active crime scene in one of these buildings. There are even some instances of this happening from many channels on YouTube.

In conclusion, going urban exploring has its fair share of dangers to look out for. Exploring could be fun or exciting but you still have to be careful if you do decide to go to an abandoned building. It would be wise to watch out for people in general when going urban exploring.