Video Perpetuates Rumor That Abandoned KY Dept. Store Will Reopen

I have always found large abandoned places to be very creepy. Actually, they don't even have to be abandoned; if they're just CLOSED, they give off the vibe. For example, in the off-season, Holiday World is very eerie. No, I've never been there when it's closed, but I can get that feeling just driving past it.

Churches and schools are two more. When they're empty, they're just a little unsettling.

But when a property IS abandoned, that just elevates the "creepy factor" tenfold. And there are plenty of examples all across Kentucky. Clearly, not all of them are available for touring. In fact, many if not MOST of them come with a "No Trespassing" sign out front. If you see one of those, I suggest you resist the urge, unless you've been given permission.

An Abandoned Kentucky Department Store

In Radcliff KY, there's a strip mall that, like so many others across the country, features an "anchor" store that has long since been abandoned. It was home to a popular national discount chain called Ames Department Store until bankruptcy ended its run in 2002.

But a couple of videos--one from 2020 and, more significantly, one from December of 2022--seem to have perpetuated rumors that the company is about to enjoy a resurgence. In the earlier of the two, the store was still full of fixtures and old merchandise.

In the more recent video, the old Ames Department Store is emptied out with the exception of some piles of junk and a few now-eerie full-size ads.

Rumors Abound that Ames Department Store Will Reopen

Seeing as how it's a bit suspect that a curious YouTuber could imply a comeback by giving his video that title, the good folks at Snopes, the world-renowned fact-checking website, stepped in to investigate. The Snopes research was also fueled by a stark online pronouncement about the company that somehow ALSO made folks believe that Ames would reopen.

So...what was Snopes' conclusion? Well, I guess you could say there isn't one, based on a follow-up report in July of 2023 in which the site updated its rating on the Ames story to "unproven", stating the following:

What I find interesting about cases like this one can be seen in the "comments" section of those videos. And it's not just Ames; there are similar ones on every post you see about something closing down. And they all seem to indicate that shoppers LOVED these stores, which always makes me wonder what happened to caused them to go away.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Under no circumstances do we recommend or advise investigating abandoned property without the permission of the property's owner.