I read this book about two or even three years ago. I remember it well. I've been trying to find more books by Ekaterina Sedia since reading "The Secret History of Moscow" but so far I have been out of luck. When I find a book it isn't available for delivery to my location. I would especially like to read "The Alchemy of Stone" which is about history and gargoyles. I have a long standing interest in gargoyles and grotesques and the old buildings they are part of.

Ekaterina Sedia writes fiction about Russian history, legend and lore.

She writes urban fantasy mingled with a fairy tale for modern readers. Her writing is unclear in that good way that pulls you into the story and makes you think about what you are reading, think about how it all fits together and where it is all going. I love a book that assumes I have a brain!

The Secret History of Moscow is...

• a little creepy but not actually scary
• about crows and ravens stealing people away
• about a secret, underground sort of world
• are you really not yet tempted to read the book?

Reading "The Secret History of Moscow" made me wish I had paid more attention to what I do know about Russian history. I don't know a lot but I did think I had absorbed or researched enough to find my way around. I was not as clever as I thought. As I read I found out about individual people and events and I wrote notes to find out more. But, the book is not a dry historical tome. There is life in the history she writes. There is romance, mystery and seduction in her story.

This is not the standard story you read from standard romance or fantasy or science fiction writers coming from the US. You will find a difference in the writing style and the way the story is told too. But, we need some shaking up and the chance to explore another culture through it's works of fiction. You can read about another country, another culture but you can't see between the cracks, read the minds, hearts and souls of the people until you wander past the non-fiction section and read about more than the facts and statics written for tourists.

I'm not going to rehash the story. You can read the preview and reviews on Amazon. But don't read too much there. Read the book for yourself and form your own fresh opinions and ideas.

Savour the adventure and mystery of a culture you may never see from this depth and perspective again.

Postcard "Forgotten Moscow"

Why do we assume historical places are haunted?

I would not say I don’t believe in ghosts. But, in my experience there are far less hauntings and haunted places than people would have you think.

I like to visit old buildings. Usually, living in a rural area of Ontario, I explore abandoned farms and farm houses. I like the houses in particular. I have explored at least 50 different old homes in various states of ruin and I have never had an experience which made me feel spooky, scared or consider any place to be haunted.

At most I think I once accidentally stepped on a toad in the long grass. That was gross enough. I get shudders just remembering. But, that was far from being ghost related.

Terry Boyle writes about local history and ghosts in Ontario, Canada.

I have quickly picked up each of his books as I find them. I don’t look for ghost stories but I do want to know about my own local history. (I consider all of Ontario to be at least somewhat local for me). Also, I will visit (and/ or have already seen) the places Terry Boyle has written about. I even have the photographs I’ve taken from my travels and adventures.

Maybe ghost lore and stories of haunted places come about from the loneliness of the locations and not the actual presence of anything spooky. Just the feeling that something was lost there, something has been abandoned and left to fall into ruin. Abandoned houses are sad. Old ruins are mysterious and that would be enough to make them seem haunted to anyone who wanted to find something more than just a sad, lonely and neglected place.

You can’t find the history of a place just from a visit there. I love finding a new (old) place. There is history and mystery to any old, ruined place. But, you need to research, talk to people and dig a bit to get more than photos and your own first impressions.

History is all about the story.

Terry Boyle Interview with Bookends TV

When you don't live in the city you can call yourself a rural explorer.

Chances are you already know the first place you want to explore. There's something that catches your eye on the way home from work every day, each time you drive to visit your Mother, when you go on the backroad into the next town... There's a place out there which you'd like to stop and get a look at, if only you dared. Let's not say you need to find the time. The time is there. It's not easy to stop the car, get out with your camera and make that first step into being an urban explorer.

Or, a rural explorer, as I see it. I don't live in the city. I've lived in the city, in a small city and a range of towns around Ontario. I started exploring abandoned farm houses with my Mother and my Aunt, before I ever knew other people were doing the same thing. I didn't go looking for antiques, old hardware or anything like that. I wasn't hoping to see a ghost or wanting to get creeped out. I wanted to see a relic from the past, the old woodwork, the way the bricks had weathered and whatever mysteries might be lost, forgotten and buried under dust, debris and wild plants. The best thing I found myself was an old iron key. I still have it in my jewelry box.

The first time I explored on my own was years later. Right after I got my first digital camera. No co-incidence there. The digital camera is a wonder for anyone into exploring. Now you can take all the photos you want and not think twice about the cost of getting them developed or how many rolls of film you had packed into your purse.

The photo in this introduction is the very first house I explored, alone. Just my digital camera and me. That was the year 2006.

Don't Pass up a Great Chance to Explore

Access All Areas: A User's Guide to the Art of Urban Exploration I bought this book just after the author died. Not from falling off a building or any kind of exploring accident. I met his wife when I bought the book, at a zine fair in downtown Toronto, Ontario. I still have Access All Areas, even though I have not visited all the places he did. Mostly because I live farther north now. The book is a guide to taking a chance, some risks and visiting places mostly unknown, unseen or where you may not be welcome. I hope people continue to buy Access All Areas for all the same reasons I did years ago.

Photo taken in 2007. This house is now gone. Burned down by vandals, then demolished.

The Real Dangers of Urban Exploration

You may expect the top danger for explorers to be people. It's not!

I've been exploring, often alone, and the biggest danger I've found is from wild animals. Not that I have been attacked by wolves, raccoons, rabid squirrels... no. I've been threatened by birds and attacked by bees. I've had toads and frogs scare the pee out of me - I still think I stepped on one poor toad when I was walking through very long grass and couldn't see where my feet were stepping.

Birds can be territorial and may dive bomb you. The only solution is to tolerate it or hide. I've yet to have one actually strike me. But, the closest to do so were blackbirds (those smaller versions of crows) and hummingbirds. Don't laugh!

Bees are pretty self explanatory. Rule number 1: don't step in between the flight path of two beehives. Just don't do it. If you really must, duck down low and make sure your hair is covered. There is nothing like having a bee lost in your long, curly hair - near enough to your ear so you know you're in danger of being stung and you're not really keen on finding it with your fingers.

People will sometimes ask you what you are doing. In all but one case I have never had any trouble at all with people. They are curious. If they know something about the history of the house/ building/ location they will usually tell you about it. Volunteering all kinds of historical information. Which is great. I do like to hear it. Sometimes people want to talk more than I want to keep listening, but I do appreciate their time, their interest in the place I'm looking at and... the fact that I'm a woman and they are likely telling me all this because I don't seem like someone who would be getting into trouble, or making trouble.

Only once, I had a woman who was suspicious. But, it turned out she was the owner of the house I was photographing - it was a ruin but not abandoned. In that case I liked it for the ruined look. But, there are cases where you will find out (later hopefully) that the abandoned house you're photographing isn't actually abandoned after all. It's kind of funny, later.

Getting back to animals... watch for animal holes. You might hurt your leg if you step into one. It is a good idea not to go alone just in case you do get hurt and need help. I do not explore inside the houses, hardly ever actually. I will go inside if I'm with a group, or at least one other person. Safety in numbers, when it comes to injury or... getting caught as a trespasser.

This has not happened to me. But, it is on my mind each time I stop and get out of the car at a location I want to explore. I feel I am keeping myself out of trouble by not entering the premises. If I just walk around outside taking my photos I'm not breaking into the property. Also, I just don't feel right about entering a home this way. Most often they are pretty gutted by other explorers or people looking for hardware and such to steal and sell as vintage. So, in theory, I feel I am not trespassing, or really missing much.

I was asked to leave one location by the security people. This was a time I was not alone so that was nice for me. I had already taken the photos I wanted too. I think they left me alone to wander around for awhile before they finally approached me. But, I'm sure they would have come on the run if I had been trying to do more than take outside photos.

If you do enter any abandoned, derelict or ruined building you must know you are at risk. You can not be 100% sure about anything in that building. Even a place which does not look badly derelict can have structural damage. Don't be an idiot about exploring inside. Wear decent footwear, bring a flashlight (even in daylight). Have someone with you or at least make sure your phone is charged and with you so you can call for help.

Taken outside of Barrie, Ontario. 2011.

Shipwreck on Lake Ontario, 2007.

How to Find Locations for Urban Exploring

I find places to explore by driving around and looking out the car window. These are the times it's important to have someone else driving the car. You can't navigate the car and have most of your attention focused on catching sight of weathered wood, boarded windows or a driveway overgrown with plants.

Urban Exploration Photography Tips

My new (new 2 years ago) digital camera has a great feature for urban and rural explorers, zoom. I've got 10x zoom. This makes a big difference in what I can get into a photo without having to be physically closer. You can't always get close up when there are fences, animals, and etc in the way.

Frame your photo and use the rule of thirds. I like to photograph a foreground of weeds/ wildflowers in front of a house. Sometimes I scoot down to the ground so the house appears to be on a hill. (It helps if it actually is on a bit of a rise). I like to get trees on the sides of my photos. It gives the photo a real, living edge. Then I take a photo where the house fills the frame.

Be creative, try different angles, try getting high (the roof of another building, a tree?) then get down low for a different view. Using a tripod is nice, if you have one. I did buy one but I have yet to actually take it with me.

I do have a camera strap. I always keep it on my wrist when I am using the camera. It is so easy to have some little thing trip you up and next thing you drop the camera. If you have that strap over your wrist, your camera has a much better survival rate.

Focus on details. There will be little details you miss, You will notice them once you upload the photos from your camera. As you get practice you start noticing details easier, while you are still on the site. Train your mind to look for small things, the trimmings, the cracks. There will be details which especially appeal to you of course.

Don't be stingy with your photos. Take extra. You can delete any you don't need later. Or, you might find one of your extras just happened to catch the light and the angle just right.

Try different times of day, different seasons too. Sunset adds a glow to your photos outside. Winter makes everything look mysterious and silent. You should explore night photography too, what works for taking photos in darkness. Bring a flashlight, shine it on a window and get a photo of the beam inside the house.

From 2009. Car and house in the background. Ruined by fire.

Another idea is to join Flickr. You can get a free account. Search for local groups with explorers who are already adding photos. Some of them will put directions and locations on the photos. Not everyone will. I tend to leave it ambiguous. I like to protect the places from vandals and people who just want to grab whatever they can sell. So, I am cautious about giving directions. But, that doesn't mean I hoard them all. If you can join the local group, get involved in a discussion, share any photos from old places you already have - you might find a place in the group. Try to attend when people plan an event - meeting at one site. It's a lot of fun plus you make real contacts and become someone they will share information with.

Flickr has a lot of local groups but it isn't the only source. Search online and see what you find.

Read local history. Read the news. See which buildings in your own town are historical and may be in danger of being demolished. Read about the history fo your area and see what has already been lost and what is still left.

Check real estate listings. Some places have been for sale for years, empty. Some of them are being sold due to fire or damage from something else. Some are being sold in order to be knocked down so the land can be farmed or have housing developments built over them.

On a busy road into the town, in 2008. A baby deer was also at the house when I began photographing.

UER Huge site for urban explorers. Having an active membership gives you some prestige and access to extra features. Membership is free, but donations are accepted.

Painting by Michelle Basic Hendry

Women Urban and Rural Explorers - I have met the women explorers on this list through my years of running the Flickr group: Ontario Rural Ruins. If you are a woman urban or rural explorer send me a note and I will check your links and photos and add you to the list.

Flickr: Female Urban Explorers "This group is a place for UE girls to get together to talk about our explores and experiences and a place to share our images. Let's celebrate the fact that we are female Urban Explorers....and proud of it!"

msDeKay Ontario urban and rural explorer. Lots of photos, not all locations in Ontario.

KateKnevil Ontario rural explorer. Not a lot of photos but very good photos.

Lee-Ann Licini Ontario rural and urban explorer. She also runs the Creepy Ontario group on Flickr.

The Navigator Ontario urban and rural explorer. I've actually met Carla, face to face once.

Michelle Ontario rural explorer and artist. Now moved away from Ontario and living in the US. Her paintings of rural ruins are available on her site.

Abandoned on a Lake, 2010

Take only photos; leave only footprints.

I read Beautiful Joe as a kid. I can still remember having the book with me for a sneak read at night. I’d go into the bathroom and sit on the side of the tub cause I could stretch my legs out there. Beautiful Joe was one of the books I most remember from my childhood. Much later I found out the story was from right here in Ontario and the story was not fictional.

Beautiful Joe was a Real Dog

Beautiful Joe was a real dog, a puppy in 1890, from the town of Meaford, in Ontario, Canada. The dog was a mongrel (or a mutt as we call them) and owned by a milkman who beat and starved the dog nearly to death.

The young dog was rescued by Walter Moore, a local miller. His daughter, Louise Moore, kept the dog and gave it a much different life and named him Beautiful Joe because of how less than beautiful he looked. The dog’s ears and tail had been cut off at some point. The dog grew old and eventually died still living with the family in Meaford.

Joe became famous and never knew a thing about it.

Margaret Marshall Saunders (1861 – 1947) met the dog while visiting her brother and his fiancée, Louise Moore, in 1892. The story inspired her to write a novel from the dog’s point of view.

However, she changed the location of the story to Maine (in the US) in order to enter a literary contest sponsored by the American Humane Education Society. She also changed names in the story and she wrote the story under the name Marshall Saunders because she thought a woman writer would not be taken seriously. She did win the contest and the book was first published in 1893.

Beautiful Joe was the first Canadian book to sell over a million copies. By the 1930′s the book had sold over 7 million copies around the world. Beautiful Joe has appeared in several editions, been translated into ten different languages.

The sequel, Beautiful Joe’s Paradise, was published by Marshall Saunders in 1902.

The book contributed to worldwide awareness of animal cruelty. The Beautiful Joe Heritage Society was started in 1994 and continues to run . You can find the Beautiful Joe Park and monument if you visit the town of Meaford.

Urban exploration is about exploring the modern world, as it is. This includes infiltration (going where you are not really wanted or allowed) documenting abandoned and derelict places and being an actual explorer - with ethics.

Don't get the idea urban exploration is all about trespassing, goofing around and leaving your mark. That is entirely the wrong way to get started. Urban explorers have a respect for the locations they explore. "Take only photographs; leave only footprints" is the motto for people who are true urban explorers. We value history and we want to continue visiting the places as they decay and change.

Demolition is the sad fact of urban exploration - photograph history today because it may be gone tomorrow. This is very literally true! However, don't think of demolition as the enemy, this just makes you bitter. Change happens and we need change - everything can't just stay the same forever. So, be sad, but be glad you got the photographs while you could. Photographs of place now gone are treasures.

Rephotography

You can also get into rephotography. Take an old photo and photograph it again, included in the original location as it has evolved now. Look for rephotography for some really exceptional examples online, or on photography sites like Flickr.

Where to Explore

There are endless places to explore in the modern world. Not all urban explorers look at old buildings. There are industrial ruins, tunnels and drains and tall buildings where you can get photos of the whole city as you stand looking out over it (rooftopping). There are also ghost signs - faded signs from shops and advertising on the sides of buildings. There are ghost towns, if you can find much left of them. Urban explorers also like cemeteries - the old gravestones. You may be a rural urban explorer (like myself) and look at abandoned farm houses, barns, farm machinery, old cars too.

How to Explore

Before you begin exploring you will need some basic equipment: sturdy footwear, a map and a camera. These are the basics, you can certainly have more and will need more gear if you are exploring tunnels and other risky locations. But, for the average or new explorer you should stick to less risky places where you just need a good pair of boots to keep you safe.

Be aware, there are risks in most places. When exploring old farms I have been attacked by birds dive bombing me, I've made the mistake of walking in the flight path of a beehive and I worry about where I step each time I put my foot down. Always watch were you are stepping - you could find a deep trench under tall grass, an abandoned well which was not properly covered or marked or a big rusty nail which came from the house or something dumped there by someone else. If you explore consider yourself responsible for your own safety.

How do you Find Places to Explore

The question people usually as is how do I find places I have explored. I look for them! It really is that simple. You can get in the car and drive around and find places. I highly recommend you have someone else drive while you navigate and watch for signs of an old house. I have tried solo exploring while driving and it is not that great. The extra pair of eyes watching for old houses is great but - one of you needs to be watching the road as well. (No, I didn't actually drive off the road but I was not a safe driver on the road).

You can also check the Internet for locations. Not every explorer will share the locations they find. We can be cautious about giving away information when we don't know you or your intentions. Some people like to find abandoned places to salvage them for parts, some just want to find something to destroy and vandalize. Urban explorers don't vandalize, we don't leave trash on the site and we don't salvage parts or take anything (though I make an exception for garden plants because I like to save a living thing from dying in the weeds).

Pay attention to the news too. If you listen to the news or read the newspaper you will sometimes hear about a business, school or other location being closed or abandoned. A place up for sale is not really abandoned but may be interesting to explore. An old school or factory being closed and likely to be demolished is technically abandoned and really nice to explore and document  in your photographs (before it's gone).

Read about local history. Find out about the old buildings, places and locations in your area. Chances are there are great places to explore right under your nose - you just haven't found out about them. What was the first house built in your town - is it still standing? What was the first industry or business in your town - where is it now? Visit your local museums and libraries, you will find a lot of local history there. Join your local historical society. Not only does this give you access to more resources but you will have a membership card to give you validation as a local historian. Keep your membership card with you when you explore. If someone doesn't like you being there you can at least prove your interest in history rather than being labelled a troublemaker.

What do you do After Exploring

What I like best, once I've scraped some of the muck off my shoes or boots and cleaned the rest of me up as well as I can, is a good coffee. I seem to pick rainy days to wander around taking photographs. Good for the photos but the leave me (and my camera) damp or right soaked through at times. I stop for coffee somewhere, visit the washroom to clean my hands and tidy up a bit.

The best part about after exploring is seeing your own photos and sharing them online (not all of them - I tend to pick the best and save the rest). I've been posting my photos to Flickr for a few years. I began a group for other explorers in my area. You can search the site and see if there are local explorers in your area. Share your photos and as you get feedback and get to know them you can begin asking them where they have been and what they have seen. Share tips, and locations. Let them know what you found when you were there. (Was there a dog, a dive bombing bird, an abandoned swing set in the back, something else interesting or useful to watch for?).

*Originally, I wrote this for h2g2 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition ( the Unconventional Guide to Life, the Universe and Everything). But, they don't want illustrations added to the posts unless you have approval from a peer review, or more credentials from past work on the site. I don't know if I want to write for their site on top of the work I'm already doing so I'm just going to keep the post for here instead. *