Ransom Riggs
Haunting Footage of Appalachia’s Lost Coal Towns
by Ransom Riggs - March 25, 2010 - 7:00 AM

Photographer Jim LoScalzo went to rediscover the lost coal mining towns of Appalachia, but instead of just taking pictures, he shot video. I love the way he blends sound and images with subtle editing to create mood you can’t get with a photo slideshow alone. And even though most of his shots are of still objects, with the camera set on a tripod, the subtlest bits of movement in the frame, like a gentle snow falling, give the images a life they wouldn’t have had otherwise. Mesmerizing and haunting.

Ghosts in the Hollow from Jim Lo Scalzo on Vimeo.

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Comments (25)

  1. Looks like home! I was born in a coal town, owned by International Harvester. My parents rented a house from IH for $2 a month per room -they only had two rooms. My grandparents paid $3 per room, because they had running water. That town came close to being abandoned when HI pulled out, but instead the residents made it into a kind of museum town. The high school became a hotel and the company store my grandpa worked in is now a coal mine museum.

    http://www.benhamky.org/Museum/

    posted by Miss Cellania on 3-25-2010 at 8:12 am

  2. Looks like most of what I’ve seen in West Virginia.

    posted by Joel on 3-25-2010 at 8:47 am

  3. as far as i can see only the footage until 00:57 is shot on video, the rest is stills (with added nature-sounds from garage band on top of the song). he also obviously didnt use a tripod, otherwise the film-pictures wouldnt be shaking.

    posted by aeiou on 3-25-2010 at 9:17 am

  4. looks like eastern Kentucky, too. Some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, and some of it raped horribly by strip coal mining.

    posted by old hippy chick on 3-25-2010 at 9:52 am

  5. I’m with Miss C. – looks like home to me! :-) My hometown of Virgie was an old coal town, as were pretty much all the other communities around Pikeville. My Dad and all my uncles are retired coal miners, as were both of my grandfathers. My father-in-law is retired from the railroad.

    I know the abandoned structures are a lot more fascinating (and there’s no shortage), but the last few decades there’s been considerable progress in fixing them up and, like Miss C. pointed out, showcasing the unique history of the region.

    Fascinating article – thanks!!!

    posted by Roger on 3-25-2010 at 10:08 am

  6. Thank you. I really enjoyed this.

    posted by peterg on 3-25-2010 at 11:18 am

  7. There are areas like this here in Canada as well. I think that those of us who never live near or in areas where large mining projects take place forget they exist. Thank you for the post reminding us that they do.

    posted by Eden on 3-25-2010 at 11:33 am

  8. Haha… Miss C’s story reminds me a lot of my own, only I was born in a Logging town near the foot of Mt. Hood outside of Portland, Oregon. We had dirt floors in our bathroom and no hot water. A big cast iron fire burning stove, and another cast iron fireplace in the family room. The creek in the back of our property was used for chute-ing logs downriver from way up on the mountain, and down the creek a ways was the sawmill that employed some 80% of our little town’s population. We didn’t get a TV until my parents divorced and my Mom moved us to a different town. The sad part is that I was born in 1986.

    posted by Kate on 3-25-2010 at 11:33 am

  9. At 1:32…what would that room have been?
    Beautiful…

    posted by Helenann on 3-25-2010 at 12:53 pm

  10. Looks like home for me, too.

    I have lived in West Virginia my whole life. The area is so beautiful.

    Wild and Wonderful! :)

    posted by Heather on 3-25-2010 at 1:13 pm

  11. I was born 45 minutes from mental_floss HQ in what was once the largest coal producing town in the world.
    It has now been overrun with strip malls, rather than strip mining.

    posted by Beau on 3-25-2010 at 1:22 pm

  12. @Kate: I’m sure you have an interesting life story. Most of us born in the 1980′s have never even seen a house with dirt floors, forget even lived in one.

    Beautiful look at a ghost town.

    posted by Jess on 3-25-2010 at 3:25 pm

  13. This actually is/was home to me

    Most of the video footage is taken in Fayette and Greene Counties in WV. The shot at 0:25 of the bridge is of the bridge that once connected Rt. 88 in Greene to (my hometown of) Point Marion in Fayette County. Other shots near Greensboro, Martin, and Bobtown can be found in the video.

    posted by Matt on 3-25-2010 at 3:46 pm

  14. Fayette and Greene Countines are in Pennsylvania NOT West Virginia. As someone from Point Marion you should know that PA is above the Mason-Dixon Line and WV below.

    posted by Cheryl on 3-25-2010 at 5:37 pm

  15. I actually think some of this stuff was shot near my hometown is East Central PA. I’m almost positive the steam coming from the road is in Centrailia,PA. Love this kinda stuff though. My brother and I would often go for random drives to find these places and take photographs of our own.

    posted by Jonathan on 3-25-2010 at 5:58 pm

  16. Some of this is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania

    The shot of the burning tarmac i have certainly seen before (photos of the same area).

    posted by James on 3-25-2010 at 7:15 pm

  17. The footage of the broken road looks very much like something from the area here – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania

    posted by James on 3-25-2010 at 7:16 pm

  18. Green(e) is the most common county name in the country; West Virginia does indeed have a Fayette and a Greene county. I lived for a while in Beckley, and spent many Sunday afternoons riding through the beautiful countryside, looking at ruins like this. This montage is lovely tribute to the blood, sweat and tears of the coal miners and their families.

    posted by Joan on 3-26-2010 at 12:39 pm

  19. This definitley reminds me of Pennsylvania, where I grew up. However, after seeing those pictures, is it no wonder why I wanted out so badly?

    posted by Clover on 3-26-2010 at 12:42 pm

  20. Yes, there are Fayette and Greene counties in WV, too.

    The shot of steam/smoke coming out of the road looks almost like New Straitsville, Ohio.
    Any idea how to find out shooting locations?

    posted by WVMountaineer on 3-26-2010 at 1:03 pm

  21. Two things: first…of the 55 counties, there most certainly is NOT a Greene County in WV. Greenbrier, but not Greene.

    Second, and more importantly, Jim LoScalzo, this is a wonderfully done video. It’s interesting that we don’t know where it was shot at – be it KY, WV, PA, OH or wherever. It could be any one of those states because the look and feel of a coal town is universal. The music you choose was also a perfect touch. Great job.

    posted by Cindy on 3-26-2010 at 1:54 pm

  22. Irregardless of where it was shot – It shows the plight of Coal – I see ghost when I watch this video – and if it sparked any curious thoughts in you that are not from the part of the Country – consider that in many of these areas there are People alive today living with their coal heritage all around them.

    America DOES have extremely poor areas – and they are not all inner city ghettos. Before you blindly throw money at Haiti – or wherever – consider we have people in our own country in need of clean water and food. and clothes and books and coats and shoes etc etc If you wish to help out people in areas like this – google “red bird mission” and follow links.

    posted by latanea on 3-28-2010 at 10:28 am

  23. Coming from a long line of coal miners (first in England/Wales/Scotland, and later in PA/OH), this hits home. Very, very well done.

    posted by MS on 5-11-2010 at 8:16 pm

  24. What a great video, and some great photos as well. I actually have visited a few of the places that were pictured in this video. It always gives me a jolt to see somewhere I recognize.
    And no, I’m not saying where they are. Half the fun is finding them on your own. ;)

    posted by Mollie on 11-25-2010 at 11:46 pm

  25. Wow.

    posted by Lauryn on 4-19-2011 at 9:14 am

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