American ghost town where Billy the Kid hid

Eerie images and video footage have revealed the abandoned American ghost town where notorious gunslinger Billy the Kid is said to have hid during the 1800s.

The haunting pictures and video show what little remains of the town, which has been uninhabited for nearly 50 years. Now, only a few heavily-graffiti-ed buildings dot the desert landscape.

Other stunning shots show the neglected camp ground and forgotten petrol station beneath a spectacular Milkyway sky.

Jeff Hagerman, of Georgia, visited Arizona and photographed the ghost town where Old West gunslinger Billy the Kid is said to have hid in the late 1800s

Today, the site is dotted with heavily graffiti-ed buildings such as an old gas station and a campground. The site has been uninhabited for 50 years

Today, the site is dotted with heavily graffiti-ed buildings such as an old gas station and a campground. The site has been uninhabited for 50 years

'This is a ghost town called Two Guns in Arizona that was once a popular stop along old Route 66, but has now been abandoned for almost 50 years,' Hagerman said

‘This is a ghost town called Two Guns in Arizona that was once a popular stop along old Route 66, but has now been abandoned for almost 50 years,’ Hagerman said

He added: 'I love abandoned places because there's usually an interesting story behind why it's been abandoned. It makes you wonder what's happened there and to me it looks beautiful in photographs'

He added: ‘I love abandoned places because there’s usually an interesting story behind why it’s been abandoned. It makes you wonder what’s happened there and to me it looks beautiful in photographs’

The photographs were taken in Two Guns, Arizona, USA by photographer Jeff Hagerman, 36, from Atlanta, Georgia.

‘This is a ghost town called Two Guns in Arizona that was once a popular stop along old Route 66, but has now been abandoned for almost 50 years,’ he told Media Drum World.

‘Left standing there are a gas station, a campground, and a few other empty buildings, all covered in graffiti.

‘I love abandoned places because there’s usually an interesting story behind why it’s been abandoned. It makes you wonder what’s happened there and to me it looks beautiful in photographs.

‘This location actually contained Native American artifacts dating all the way back to 1050. There was a mass murder there between rival Native American tribes, and they even say Billy the Kid used it as a hideout in the 1800s.’

Hagerman described the history of the site: 'This location actually contained Native American artifacts dating all the way back to 1050. There was a mass murder there between rival Native American tribes, and they even say Billy the Kid used it as a hideout in the 1800s'

Hagerman described the history of the site: ‘This location actually contained Native American artifacts dating all the way back to 1050. There was a mass murder there between rival Native American tribes, and they even say Billy the Kid used it as a hideout in the 1800s’

Billy the Kid (1859-1881) is known to have killed at least eight men, and he was set to be executed in 1881 but he escaped from jail

Billy the Kid (1859-1881) is known to have killed at least eight men, and he was set to be executed in 1881 but he escaped from jail

He was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner, New Mexico on July 14, 1881. He had evaded capture for more than two months

He was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner, New Mexico on July 14, 1881. He had evaded capture for more than two months

Hagerman said: 'I just happened to be staying at a hotel a few miles away and a friend told me about [the site]'

Hagerman said: ‘I just happened to be staying at a hotel a few miles away and a friend told me about [the site]’

Billy the Kid, born Henry McCarty in 1859, was an American Old West gunfighter who participated in the New Mexico Territory’s Lincoln County War of 1878. He is known to have killed eight men.

In April 1881, Billy was tried and convicted of the murder of Lincoln County Sherriff William J Brady, and was sentenced to hang in May of that year. He escaped from jail on April 28, 1881, killing two sheriff’s deputies in the process and evading capture for more than two months.

Sheriff Pat Garrett shot and killed Billy, aged 21, in Fort Sumner, New Mexico on July 14, 1881. During the following decades, legends that he had survived that night grew, and a number of men claimed to be him.

Jeff, who took the pictures with a Canon 5D Mark III, was staying in a nearby hotel and explained why he ventured out to Two Guns.

He continued: 'I was prepared to try astrophotography on the trip, but once I saw this place, I knew it would be the place I tried it'

He continued: ‘I was prepared to try astrophotography on the trip, but once I saw this place, I knew it would be the place I tried it’

He added: 'I just want to show how beautiful abandoned places can be and maybe inspire other people to go out and explore places they've never been'

He added: ‘I just want to show how beautiful abandoned places can be and maybe inspire other people to go out and explore places they’ve never been’

Two Guns, Arizona is about two and a half hours by car from Phoenix, the capital of the southwestern state

Two Guns, Arizona is about two and a half hours by car from Phoenix, the capital of the southwestern state

Hagerman said: 'A lot of people wonder if the sky is photoshopped (it's not) and people obviously are curious about where it's located'

Hagerman said: ‘A lot of people wonder if the sky is photoshopped (it’s not) and people obviously are curious about where it’s located’

‘I just happened to be staying at a hotel a few miles away and a friend told me about it,’ he said.

‘I was prepared to try astrophotography on the trip, but once I saw this place, I knew it would be the place I tried it.

‘I just want to show how beautiful abandoned places can be and maybe inspire other people to go out and explore places they’ve never been.

‘A lot of people wonder if the sky is photoshopped (it’s not) and people obviously are curious about where it’s located.’

Billy the Kid was a notorious gunslinger in the American southwest in the late 1880s

Billy the Kid was a notorious gunslinger in the American southwest in the late 1880s

Read more about American ghost towns to visit

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