Back to the Future: the Sanzhi UFO Houses in Taiwan

A Series of Hauntings

The freaky but futuristic pod-shaped buildings followed two basic architectural designs: the flying saucer-shaped Futuro and the Venturo, a curved rectangle, both of which were made famous by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen. But two years after construction began in 1978, all development was suddenly – -and mysteriously — halted.

Government spokespeople claimed that investment losses were to blame. Others, however, insisted that the complex was doomed after workers damaged a Chinese dragon statue next to the entrance gate. Their reason was that the approach road needed widening and the dragon was in the way, but on the Chinese bad luck scale, defacing the statue was the equivalent of smashing a thousand mirrors. There were also whispers that over 20,000 skeletons, the remains of fifteenth century Dutch colonists, were unearthed when construction began, causing their angry spirits to retaliate.

Whatever triggered the problems, disaster followed fast. A number of fatal car accidents took place on the nearby highway, and at least one worker committed suicide. There were supposedly more deaths, but the Taiwanese government never released any numbers and refused to discuss the subject, even decades later. Site records were destroyed, which fanned the flames of speculation over Sanzhi’s mysterious collapse. Within a few years, the futuristic vacation spot deteriorated into an eerie ghost town.

Carrie Kellenberger