There’s something so sad, yet strangely beautiful, about these abandoned places of
worship. Sad, majestic, and spooky. Churches CAN be spooky, even when they aren’t abandoned. Have you ever walked around inside one at night, with no one else around and all the lights off? I’m talking about your big cathedral type churches. Your footsteps echo, the sounds rattling around up in the rafters of the nave. The ghostly hint of incense still lingers in the air, and the deep shadows seem to envelop you, comforting but cold. Then you find the light switch and all the magic and mood dissipates, but that’s neither here nor there.
How much more inviting would that darkened church house be if there were bodies interred therein, as there often are in the ancient cathedrals of Europe? One day I will visit Snagov Monastery in Romania, the reputed resting place of Vlad the Impaler—at least it was at one time. When his grave was opened in the early 20th Century, it was empty—and if possible at night, to absorb the ambiance. I’d gladly spend the night alone in any of these derelict houses of worship, though. In that respect, insomuch as they can inspire such a sense of mystery and quiet awe, these places have not lost their usefulness.
