Inside Malaysia’s RADIOACTIVE abandoned ghost town
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Deep in the heart of Malaysia, hidden behind dense jungle and abandoned structures, lies Papan—an eerie ghost town with a radioactive past. Once a thriving tin mining town, Papan now stands frozen in time, its ruins echoing whispers of the past and stories of unexplained phenomena. This place is more than just abandoned buildings—it’s a chilling reminder of history, radiation, and the supernatural.
Here’s what’s happening:
☢ The Ghost Town of Papan – Walk through the crumbling remains of a once-bustling town, where rusted-out structures and forgotten streets tell the story of a silent catastrophe.
👻 Haunted and Abandoned – Locals believe spirits still linger in Papan, with reports of eerie figures, unexplained noises, and shadows moving through empty buildings.
💀 The Radiation Legacy – Explore the connection between Papan and Bukit Merah’s rare earth refinery, whose radioactive waste left a dark stain on the town’s fate.
📜 History Buried in Time – From its role in Malaysia’s tin mining boom to its haunting decline, uncover the history that turned Papan into a ghost town.
🌿 Nature Reclaiming the Past – See how the jungle has slowly consumed the town, with vines creeping through homes, trees breaking through rooftops, and wildlife reclaiming the ruins.
Why this video is worth watching:
👁 A Forgotten Chapter of Malaysia’s History – Papan isn’t just another ghost town—it’s a place with a story of industry, disaster, and the unknown.
🔦 Urban Exploration Meets the Paranormal – Experience the unease of stepping into buildings where time stands still, and spirits may still roam.
☢ The Reality of Radiation – Understand the impact of rare earth mining and its lingering consequences in Malaysia.
🕵️ Legends and Mystery – What really happened in Papan? We dive into the stories, myths, and chilling encounters that surround this town.
This is Papan—Malaysia’s Radioactive Ghost Town. A place where history, radiation, and the supernatural collide.
Travel Date: January 2025
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0:00 – Intro;
0.29 – History:
1:20 – Abandoned houses;
9 29 – Health problems;
10:00 – Urbex castle + mosque,
13:11 – Activism against big corporations;
14:43- Meeting a local
17:12 – sybil kathigasu;
18:41 – Radioactive waste,
20:19 – Permanent disposal site;
20:42 – What about the future?
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Hi, I’m Jonathan Le Blanc. I’m a full-time traveler who wants to show the human side of traveling and give another perspective on how the mass media portrays certain locations to us.
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💟Edited by: @Ajjouche on IG
#Papan #GhostTown #Malaysia #UrbanExploration #AbandonedPlaces #Radiation #Haunted #Mystery #LostPlaces #Paranormal #ExploringMalaysia #DarkTourism #ForgottenHistory #Eerie #Radioactive #TinMining #HauntedMalaysia #Decay #Urbex #GhostStories
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33 Comments
The information is not true. The please you mention is Bukit Merah not the papan mining town. Misleading. Please provide with fact and document support please.The trees would grow so healthy if the mentioned area are polluted by radiation. Actually this little town is tin mines town. Please get more information from Ipoh travel information center.
The bunker is a long term storage build with EC1 and 2 type of storage. The rare earth is not exactly the uranium or plutonium radioactive by product from nuclear plants. It was a Thorium by products which exist naturally which is hazardous if exposed after process. So keeping in such EC storage if pretty safe unless the storage is system is broken or damaged.
As a Malaysian, this is why I don't want rare earth mining in Malaysia eventho it worth like RM700 billions. Not worth it
How come I don't even know bout this, but this foreigner does. Baffling cover up
Thank you for sharing. I'm from Malaysia, , first time i heard about this story.
Come to highland tower
yesterday? didn't expect that
Malaysia government ehm, that is it.
wanted to skip from one scene to another on this video but ended up watching the whole thing.
Good content!
I am a Chinese Malaysian. Let me explain those things that was a wrong assumption:
1) That piece of cardboard on the door is actually the census done by the government.
2) Those holes you said are for bbq, is actually for claypots for making Chinese medicine.. So that could be a chinese medical shop
3) Those cabinets u said are book shelves, those are actually used to store cooked food for other family members who are still yet to be home for their meal.
4) Perpustakaan is Library in Bahasa Malaysia, so that is a school.
Welcome to M’sia, Perak, Papan…. Those dilapidate shop lots buildings are abandoned such about almost 4 decades ago, now it is becoming one of tourists spot, not much of tourist on the normal days, it’s a chance to get knowing the place….. I’ve been there for numerous times and taken lots of photos including the last year event relived the past history with the antic cars and motorcycles, also they replay the times of emergency….. A lot more to comment so, just enjoy….
it's already forgotten 😂
Amazing sharing. I’m a malaysian and never know about this place until i watching this video. Very informative. Thanks for sharing. Like comment & subscribe done. Greeting from Malaysia
This is complete and total bullshit! Radioactive is not the main reason that makes Papan a "ghost town". Do your homework before posting these misleading information!
6:15 that tiny card, that's a resident census card. We used to have that pinned to our wall/door, I think the government officials come once a year to record census… those were in the olden days.
8:05 not bookcases, that's a cupboard where we store our food or cooking ingredients. Most traditional homes have this sort of cupboard, we still have 1! 😂
Thanks for the info as a Malaysian it nice to know.
No one in Malaysia bring out this case study on Papan for lessons learnt for Lynas, Kuantan. I bet if someone bring it up, Lynas would not have been started.
guess which corrupt minister back then has close link to Mitsubishi
When Money On The Top, All People Will Be Blind And Deaf… This Is A Tragic History…😢
By The Way, The White Cat In This Video Was So Cute…😍👏🏻
Although It Is Inhabitant By A Humans, But It Is Heaven For A Floras And Faunas.. Such A Beautiful World…😊
이포에 파판이란 곳, 희토류로 피해를 본 지역이군요. 말레이시아 사람들도 이런 것에 세심한 관심을 가져야 합니다. 고마워, 조나단.
@The Absurdist 1:47 thats chinese cooking wine
"did you know malaysia has a radioactive town? and im in it" bro 😭😭😭😭
Stop misleading people about Papan. Get facts right.
That is a shop building not a house
I hope you continue to make more videos like this. There are many more abdominal places in Malaysia. Thanks for the video, sir
The note on the wall at 6:30 is an old census form.
Thorium? Radioactive?
Must've been processed. Thorium – 232 by itself is not fissile and has a very, very long half life, over 14 trillion years. Unless it is pure Thorium – 230, or Th – 228, then it will be EXTREMELY RADIOACTIVE.
But the again in the beginning, there was already a mention of rare earth element (REE), so I assume it was monazite?
Then that explains the Thorium radioactivity.
3:48 actually looked like straight out from the apocalypse season films THE LAST OF US , a Play Station zombie fungus game movie 😂😂 also the beautiful cute gardens inside the house exactly Looked like from THE LAST OF US scene..so I think the next season films, this place will be very great for them, because they already done in Jakarta scene, so Malaysia will be next 😂😂😂
Brother you should bring radiation detector to check inside the house
You were talking to my dad at the Yee Hin coffee shop, I’m glad you could dig something out from there. Keep it going, man.
me🤚
The building with fan at 12.45 was masjid…
Thorium has a radioactive half-life of 14 billion years. People should really consider living here if this ghost town is to be redeveloped. I wouldnt touch anything there or even breathe the air. When the sun sets…it's Silent Hill.