These buildings, however, cling to an aesthetic that makes them at best unsettling, and worst down-right spooky.
1. Black spires in Prague
Prague is an absolutely stunning city, and every square inch of it is picturesque. But along its idyllic skyline are a number of spooky black towers that look like they were definitely once inhabited by warlocks and witches.
2. Cube of Death
This is the headquarters of Lithuanian Prosecutors in Vilnius. World Architecture suggests that the cube shape "conceptually gives sense to order, stability, strength, rigour, etc. this form best reflects the specifics of the and creates an exceptionally suggestive and concentrated image of a law enforcement institution." Honestly, it looks like an experimental office where everything is slanted.
3. AT&T Building in Nashville, TN
Commenters have been quick to point out that this building bears an overwhelming resemblance to the ultimate evil building, the tower that holds the Eye of Sauron. There had to be a way to design this building without making it so that it looks like an evil wizard lives there when the fog rolls in.
4. Sinister Theater, Gdansk
5. Sharp art, Denver, CO
6. 4, Rynok Square
This house in Lviv, Ukraine is a 16th Century Gothic style manor, and although the statues are a little unsettling, they are actually of saints. The current building replaced a medieval structure that was destroyed in a fire in 1511 and is now part of a historical museum.
7. DC Tower, Vienna
Something about the design of this tower is deeply unsettling. No matter what kind of business is taking place inside, I would never want to be near one of those slanted windows. Talk about vertigo. This looks like a building you would find in the Matrix.
8. Super Villain Headquarters
This little hideout is in Lofoten, Norway, and it looks a lot like the entrance to a super villain's underground lair. The most impressive part of this evil little building is that it appears to be peeking out over a gorgeous field like a hunter.
9. Literal Haunted House
This list would be incomplete without at least one literally evil building. These spooky theme park attractions usually rely on jump scares and over-the-top gore to freak out their customers. The expectation that anything could pop out of any corner at any time frequently amounts to cruel and unusual psychological horror.
10. Three Gorges Dam
Structures made entirely out of concrete sort of lend themselves to looking like super villain hideouts. This is a particularly good shot of the Three Gorges Dam that makes it a little bit less obvious what it is.
10. Bank of America Plaza
This bank headquarters in Dallas, Texas, doesn't always look like the base of the bad guys in a cyberpunk dystopia. Sometimes those neon green lights are other colors, so it looks more like the headquarters of the good guys in a cyberpunk dystopia.
11. Duga radar array
This radar array is staggeringly huge. It looks like something we would build to try to trip up a Transformer. The array hasn't been in use for 40 years, but it certainly looks like it could be used for something evil in the future.
12. I see you
This is Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo. Despite looking like the host to a governmental agency that wants to know all of your dirty little secrets, the Federation of Industries is designed to protect workers in Brazil.
13. Halley Research Station
This research station is owned by the British Antarctic Survey and sits on a giant piece of ice floating in Antarctica. It's a good thing that it's so colorful, because if it weren't we'd be a lot more concerned about what kind of "research" was going on up there in such a super remote location.
14. Digital Beijing Building
This massive windowless building in Beijing looks a little bit like a factory that produces Terminators. It also looks like it could be a massive server complex that powers the AI that controls the Terminators. Either way, it doesn't look like anything good for humanity goes on in there.
15. 33 Thomas St., New York
Another windowless building. It's hard to believe anything besides treachery is happening inside a building with no windows, preventing people from seeing what's going on inside, and preventing the people inside from enjoying the warm bask of the sun or hearing the reassuring noises of the city down below.