SIGHTS
Crusty paint peels and rippled wallpaper, colorful graffiti (tags, pictures, racial slurs, random numbers and messages), floors strewn with litter (broken drywall and glass, empty beer cans, alcohol bottles, trash, rags, old dirty mattresses, cigarette butts, used needles), ragged holes in the walls bleeding mouse-chewed insulation, broken plaster, doors hanging from broken hinges, rats or mice skittering through debris, squatters using the space to sleep or party, trash-covered stairwells, rusty or dented mailboxes near the entrance, spiderwebs hanging off old light fixtures, a broken elevator, exposed pipes and loops of loose wiring hanging through holes in the ceiling, torn-up flooring, old chewed rugs or carpet, dirty windows (missing panes, with rusted grates, or with boards over them), condom wrappers, crumbled brick and other rubble, yellowed newspaper and smashed mirrors, dirty toilets, refuse-filled bathtubs, dirt smudges and footprints on the walls from a previous occupant’s kicking, broken furniture, abandoned personal items (such as broken vacuums, smashed TV sets, mugs, appliances, ugly paintings hanging askew or lying on the floor, magazines, an old couch or chair missing its cushions), wall vents furry with dust, cupboard doors hanging open, shelves covered in rat feces and dead flies, holes in the walls that provide a view into the next room, dirt-streaked stairwells, exposed rebar, missing light switches and doorknobs, drawers open or missing, cockroaches, smashed bookcases and counters, dead animal skeletons, abandoned nests, rot and black mildew splotches on the walls, weeds growing on window ledges and balconies
SOUNDS
Doors that creak when they’re pushed open, the wind whistling through broken window panes, flies buzzing, rats or mice chewing insulation and skittering behind the walls, the crunch of glass and debris underfoot, voices from people within, groans and creaks from the building, footsteps crossing the floor above, someone nearby smashing the walls or dragging furniture, water dripping during a storm, traffic noises from outside
SMELLS
Rotten carpet, mildew, musty cushions and fabric, dirt, pot being smoked, urine and feces, body odor, dead things, wet dog fur, a rancid smell from the fridge
TASTES
The burn of cheap alcohol, the pull of smoke into one’s lungs, the acrid and bitter taste of chemicals or drugs being huffed to get high, cheap fast food, food dug out of dumpsters, dusty air
TEXTURES AND SENSATIONS
Taking careful steps through a room scattered with broken furniture and pieces of plaster, glass crunching underfoot, dust from a countertop coating one’s fingers and streaking one’s clothing, slamming a length of wood or pipe into an old couch to see if anything is nesting inside, sleeping on a threadbare bed of rags and old cushions, shoving a door open with one’s shoulder, the slight give of a soft spot in the floor as one steps on it, the squish of soaked carpet that has been exposed to the elements, a rusty fire escape railing, a fire escape that shifts and sways under one’s weight, a cold draft sliding in through a broken window and chilling one’s skin
POSSIBLE SOURCES OF CONFLICT
The state of the building becoming dangerous (floors that give way, stairwells that are crumbling and rickety)
Discovering something disturbing inside (blood, a dead body, signs of a blood ritual)
The building being in disputed gang territory, putting those who use it in jeopardy
Being attacked by someone while inside
Hearing a baby crying
Injuring oneself in a fall and not being able to get help
Experiencing something paranormal while inside
Police officers showing up frequently to toss squatters out of the building
PEOPLE COMMONLY FOUND HERE
Building inspectors, drug users, firefighters, gangs, paramedics, police, squatters
RELATED SETTINGS THAT MAY TIE IN WITH THIS ONE
Alley, ambulance, homeless shelter, police car, run-down apartment
SETTING NOTES AND TIPS
The level of decay will depend on how long the building has been abandoned and whether it was closed up properly before it became condemned (boarded up windows, doors that were chained shut, water pipes emptied, etc.). Anything of value will likely have been looted and removed, but it’s always possible that an unusual item might be found squirrelled away in one of the rooms. Condemned buildings often become crack houses, where strangers will come to buy, sell, and share drugs, and then get high together; this gathering of desperate people with little to lose can create a volatile environment for your characters.
SETTING DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE
Weak, tea-stained light lit the stairwell and debris clouded the steps. I picked a path through the litter and rat feces, avoiding the wires spilling from the broken wall like a corpse’s innards. Every few steps I would stop and listen, praying to hear nothing but building creaks and loose paper shifting in the drafts. Empty, these old buildings made a good place to get some rest, but rarely were they vacant. And all too often others would come, not to sleep, but to use the rooms and anyone in them as a destructive release.
Techniques and Devices Used: Light and shadow, multisensory descriptions, simile
Resulting Effects: Establishing mood, tension and conflict