Thanks to their bold architecture, some buildings look genuinely intimidating, creepy, or, as some people claim — straight-up evil. They aren’t actually haunted, but their dramatic shapes and shadowy angles certainly make them look the part.
For example, the central post office in Skopje, North Macedonia, resembles a giant spaceship that crash-landed in the city center. Even iconic landmarks like the Empire State Building in New York City can give off serious dystopian fortress energy if you catch them on a foggy night.
But you do not have to travel the globe or trek through bad weather to see them for yourself — because Bored Panda has gathered a collection of the strangest, coolest, and most fascinating structures from r/evilbuildings right here.
Step inside the lair, because when it comes to concrete, some architects clearly had a few sketchy plans up their sleeves.
#1 Building In Liuzhou, China
Image source: Ok_Chain841
#2 Sauron’s Shanghai Hq
Image source: polaczeck
#3 You Can Always Tell When A Villain Owns The Penthouse
Image source: lopix
Most of the structures on this list are textbook examples of famous design movements. Some are towering Gothic masterpieces, recognized immediately by their iconic pointed arches, soaring spires, flying buttresses, and intricate stained glass.
When medieval builders put those together, they were trying to reach toward the heavens and inspire awe — never to scare anyone.
#4 Albany’s Government Building Is Red Tonight
Image source: s_suter_t
#5 Georgia, Originally Housed The Ministry Of Highways Of Soviet Union
Image source: thegreatws
#6 Minster Court, City Of London
Image source: EssayPatient769
Research shows that 18th-century Romantic literature and 20th-century Hollywood rewired much of our perception of Gothic architecture. Filmmakers realized that soaring spires, jagged silhouettes, and cavernous interiors were perfect for creating tension. Horror and fantasy classics like Dracula and Harry Potter consistently cast Gothic spaces as the ultimate backdrop for danger and mystery.
“The idea of Gothic buildings being scary or haunted is fairly recent. In the early to mid-20th century, there were a lot of Gothic buildings in movies that showed them as haunted places,” says architect and professor Michael Crosbie.
#7 Former Yugoslavia, Tuzla Bank
Image source: thegreatws
#8 Another Communication Center In Skopje
Image source: thegreatws
#9 Washington D.c. Church Of Lds Temple
Image source: Samsky
Other photos feature Expressionist skyscrapers. They achieve their evil-lair status through deliberate design choices: towering height, sharp angular forms, tinted reflective glass, and cold, sterile materials like polished steel. These pristine structures feel unapproachable and imposing, almost like high-tech headquarters built to monitor everything below.
Sci-fi thrillers, post-apocalyptic films, and video games routinely use sleek high-tech towers and bleak concrete blocks to represent dystopian futures, ruthless mega-corporations, and authoritarian regimes.
#10 SIS Building In London
Image source: Goat_the_Kid
#11 A Brutalist Church In Bettlach, Switzerland
Image source: Falabella_Stallion
#12 Mormon Temple In Rome, Italy
Image source: Ezer_Pavle
Then there is Brutalism, the undisputed king of villain-lair architecture, built from bare, unpainted concrete and massive geometric blocks.
The story began back in 1928, when top European architects formed the International Congresses of Modern Architecture (CIAM).
Their mission was radical: throw out centuries of ornate, classical styles and rethink architecture from the ground up to solve pressing post-war urban problems. In 1933, they published the famous Athens Charter, which argued that modern cities should be strictly divided into functional zones — living, working, recreation, and circulation — and that housing should take the form of high-density, multi-story tower blocks surrounded by open green spaces.
#13 Unnamed Tower – Dublin City University, Ireland
Image source: Skeknir
#14 One Of Erdogan’s Favorite Projects: Istanbul Financial Center Yesterday
Image source: gergedansever
#15 I Felt Menaced Tonight In NYC
Image source: Citation_Needed1790
CIAM prioritized mass-scale efficiency over decorative details. Instead of traditional human-scaled streetscapes, they championed massive, self-contained concrete blocks designed to hold entire communities or government operations under one roof. When viewed out of context today, the scale and repetitive geometry can feel overwhelmingly monolithic and imposing.
When CIAM eventually disbanded in 1959 after younger members pushed for even rawer, more expressive designs, the floodgates opened for full-scale Brutalism.
Architects Alison and Peter Smithson popularized it, believing in showing “the woodness of wood and the sandiness of sand.”
#16 Russian Academy Of Sciences In Moscow
Image source: adventmix
#17 Japan’s Supreme Court Building
Image source: memes-forever
#18 Salvation Army Hq, London
Image source: Bravelobsters
After World War II, this low-cost style exploded in popularity. It was heavily used for public housing, universities, courts, and city halls. Socialist and communist nations embraced it because concrete felt democratic and equal, unlike the ornate styles historically tied to the wealthy elite.
For instance, in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, a bank was built with massive, raw concrete slabs to project financial stability and modern progress. To locals then, it meant safety and strength. To us today, it looks like an impenetrable sci-fi bunker.
#19 Mormon Temple, La Jolla
Image source: WolfsToothDogFood
#20 Evil Lair
Image source: 420Eski-Grim
Sometimes, whole cities were rebuilt around this brutalist vision. After a devastating earthquake flattened Skopje, North Macedonia, in 1963, over 80 countries teamed up under the United Nations to rebuild it. They turned the capital into one of the densest collections of Brutalist architecture, a futuristic concrete metropolis designed to withstand future disasters.
Similar projects also popped up across London — like the famous Barbican Estate and Hayward Gallery — and throughout Eastern Europe.
#21 Hotel Uzbekistan, Tashkent
Image source: Frequent-Chain-6082
#22 Hannover Telemax
Image source: According_South_2500
So why do these brutalist designs look so menacing to us now?
Part of it comes down to simple age and neglect. Decades of harsh weather, poor maintenance, and slashed budgets have left many concrete facades stained, crumbling, and dark.
Studies also indicate that, with the rise of social media platforms and global tourism, modern Brutalist buildings have gained a new wave of popularity, especially as many of them face demolition or neglect.
In countries such as the Czech Republic and the UK, to name a few, Brutalist buildings have faced criticism — as many people associate the style with socialist ideals or the welfare state.
At the same time, movements like #SOSBrutalism have emerged online, advocating for preserving these striking buildings. Supporters argue that beyond their imposing appearance, they also hold historical and architectural significance.
#23 Looking Like A Villain’s Lair
Image source: Desperate_Set_7708
#24 Times Square Building In Rochester, New York
Image source: Chemical-Charity8333
What makes these structures so captivating is the way they force us to stop and look twice.
Whether it’s a centuries-old church shrouded in fog or a weird-looking skyscraper, these buildings refuse to blend into the background. They spark passionate debates, inspire viral online communities, and occasionally rally locals to protect forgotten history from the wrecking ball.
So the next time you pass an “evil-looking” building, remember that it might just hold far more secrets than sinister appearances.
#25 Chaoyang Park Plaza In Beijing
Image source: Chemical-Charity8333
#26 Haukilahti Water Tower, Espoo, Finland. (1968)
Image source: StephenMcGannon
#27 Former Research Institutes For Experimental Medicine Building In Berlin, Germany, Commonly Known As The Mäusebunker (Mouse Bunker)
Image source: Chemical-Charity8333
#28 Observatory, Japan
Image source: quick_justice
#29 Ryugyong Hotel, An Unfinished Pyramid-Shaped Skyscraper In Pyongyang, North Korea
Image source: Chemical-Charity8333
#30 The Villain’s Condo
Image source: EntirePomegranate511
#31 The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Image source: Upstairs_Building686
#32 Lakhta Centre, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Image source: Sawelly_Ognew
#33 Chinese Academy Of History
Image source: RicardoBorriquero
#34 Needle House, Toshima Japan
Image source: Otherwise_Wrangler11
#35 Nuclear Pyramid
Image source: [deleted]
#36 Reich Concept Of Germania, Mid- 1930s
Image source: Falabella_Stallion
#37 The Obama Presidential Center In Chicago, Referred To As The ‘Obamalisk’ By Some
Image source: EssoEssex
#38 Proaza Powerplant, 1965, Spain. Dr. Evil Interior
Image source: caligari1973
#39 Abandoned Cooling Tower, Belgium
Image source: caligari1973
#40 Tours Aillaud, France
Image source: Fun-Raisin2575
#41 Barack Obama Presidential Library
Image source: SubtractAd
#42 This Is Where I Work
Image source: petrdolezal
#43 Sutyagin’s House, Built By A Russian Racketeer In 90s
Image source: Qhezywv
#44 The Marriott Marquis In Atlanta
Image source: Substantial_Step_975
#45 The Batman House In Bloomington, Indiana. Built For Ira C. Batman And His Wife
Image source: Lepke2011
#46 The Salk Institute For Biological Studies
Image source: A_Very_Horny_Zed
#47 Petrova Gora
Image source: 420Eski-Grim
#48 Just An Office Building In Culver City
Image source: seraephan
#49 Shanghai
Image source: [deleted]
#50 Abandoned Wanli District UFO Houses (Taiwan)
Image source: kovactv
#51 Looks Like A Villain’s Headquarters
Image source: Chemical-Charity8333
#52 Riverside Museum In Glasgow, Scotland
Image source: Chemical-Charity8333
#53 Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building In Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Image source: Chemical-Charity8333
#54 The Centennial Memorial Tower In A Forest East Of Central Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Image source: Chemical-Charity8333
#55 Sculpture Le Guetteur (The Watcher) By Artist Sacha Sosno, Located Within The Polygone Riviera Shopping Center In Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France
Image source: Chemical-Charity8333
#56 TV Tower In Vilnius, Lithuania
Image source: jpw0w
#57 Office Tower, Shenzhen
Image source: OkPsychology3717
#58 Digital Beijing Building, China
Image source: Chemical-Charity8333
#59 A Monument In Croatia
Image source: quick_justice
#60 Guangdong Museum In Guangzhou, China
Image source: Chemical-Charity8333
#61 Vanke Yuncheng, Shenzhen
Image source: BumblebeeFantastic40
#62 Monument In The Snow
Image source: quick_justice
#63 Tc Energy Center (Formerly Bank Of America Center) In Downtown Houston, Texas
Image source: Chemical-Charity8333
#64 A Street In Macao. The Towering Building In The Back Is The Grand Lisboa Hotel Casino. (2018)
Image source: StephenMcGannon
#65 Some Experimental Equipment In The Forest
Image source: quick_justice
#66 Hotel Panorama (Slovakia)
Image source: Forsaken-Peak8496
#67 Vancouver House. During Foggy Weather I Find It Imposingly Menacing
Image source: hashtagmiata
#68 M1 Tower (Mississauga, Ontario)
Image source: Forsaken-Peak8496
#69 A Fire Station In Italy. Hail Hydrant!
Image source: immanuellalala
#70 The House Of The Five Senses, Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands
Image source: Velocifapper69
#71 Graz, Austria
Image source: Beneficial_Wear_7630
#72 Chaoyang Park Plaza, Beijing
Image source: Currency_Anxious
#73 Salem Witch Museum
Image source: Chaunc2020
#74 I Love Brutalism In Some Areas, But Here I Just Don’t Know What To Say
Image source: -_Redan_-
#75 A Lighthouse
Image source: quick_justice
#76 Wwii Era German “Eierbunker” (Egg Bunker)
Image source: elojole
#77 Radio Kootwijk (Apeldoorn, Netherlands)
Image source: Forsaken-Peak8496
#78 Zaria Water Tower, Nigerija
Image source: leopnd
#79 The Oriental Pearl Tower Viewed From A Historical District In Shanghai, China
Image source: HarveySdebest
#80 Friedrich Gösling – Reichstag
Image source: RandomBlackMetalFan
#81 The Maze Tower, Dubai, Uae
Image source: immanuellalala
#82 Intempo Tower, Benidorm. The Tallest Residential Building In The European Union
Image source: ianjm
#83 Hamburger Flakturm Iv Mit Bergpfad – Hamburg Flak Tower Iv With Mountain Path
Image source: ordalic
#84 Sometimes Architecture Is Just Angle, Photography Or Weather
Image source: Appropriate-Eye-1227
#85 New Building Of A University In Milan
Image source: koGhe
#86 The Mitsubishi Ube Cement Factory
Image source: ThatOneBritishGirly
#87 Hancock Building (Chicago) Looked Absolutely Menacing In The Fog From Lsd This Evening
Image source: exonomix
#88 Tribune Tower Last Night
Image source: VeryAmusedADM
#89 Katara Crescent Tower At Lusail, Qatar
Image source: Upstairs_Building686
#90 Avala Tower (Belgrade, Serbia)
Image source: Forsaken-Peak8496
#91 Don’t Know The Building But Very Evil
Image source: Necessary-Win-8730
#92 Toktogul Hydroelectric Power Station, Kyrgyzstan
Image source: OkRespect8490
#93 Premier Tower – Melbourne, Australia
Image source: Toni_PWNeroni
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