“Many Soldiers Never Left”: Man Shares Eerie Findings After Visiting “Haunted” Hospital in the Karoo

• A content creator explored an abandoned military hospital in Deelfontein in the Northern Cape
• The video shows crumbling hallways, rotting floorboards, and collapsing ceilings
• South Africans wished the building could be restored and turned into a museum to preserve the history

A content creator who explores forgotten and abandoned places across South Africa has shared a fascinating video of a "haunted" hospital in the Karoo. The clip was posted on 17 December 2025 and shows the man walking through the crumbling building in Deelfontein in the Northern Cape.

In the video, the man explains that he heard rumours about a haunted hospital in the middle of the Karoo and decided to visit it. He confirmed that it exists and is located in Deelfontein, explaining that it looks abandoned now but was once a major military hospital during the Anglo-Boer War. Trains arrived at the site carrying wounded soldiers, and thousands were treated there. He mentioned it was one of the largest medical hospitals on the planet at the time. The footage shows the old decor still intact but fading away, with the man being careful not to put his foot through the rotting wood.

Read also

"The material used is for 5 kids": Mthatha school uniform sparks online debate

He explained that the building used to be a hospital and believed it changed into a hotel over time. The boiler room had collapsed completely, and in places where medical teams once stood, nothing remains today. The man says that many soldiers to be honest never left, adding an eerie element to the already spooky atmosphere. When the war ended, the hospital closed, the railway slowed, and people moved away. The town of Deelfontein is not famous, but it's not empty either.

History of Deelfontein hospital

According to Business Day, Deelfontein is located 45 kilometres from the railway junction town of De Aar and sits just off the mainline from Cape Town to Pretoria. Due to its good underground water supply, it was once an important water stop for steam trains. Today, Deelfontein is considered a ghost town.

Watch the Instagram clip here.

SA wants building preserved

Social media users shared their thoughts on Instagram user @adamspiresvlog's clip, stating:

@flyingpope wrote:

"Wow, Adam, this is epic! Sorry, I couldn't join you on this reveal… Maybe one day!"

Read also

"What a beautiful soul": Throwback video of Thomas Sithole during happy days moves SA

@jennymur8 gushed:

"Wish someone could do something with this, saving what is still there. If only walls could talk 🤔"

@kayla_moonsamy_ said:

"I love these old buildings. We have so little of them left in this country, it's a pity."

@lucylugoose70 added:

"Pity it's not a museum, and restored! So much history!"

@anriathomaswonder stated:

"There exists a really good book about all of this!"

More about abandoned buildings

• Briefly News recently reported on a Johannesburg man who explained how inherited buildings often become targets for hijackings.
• City of Johannesburg officials raided a second hijacked property in the Bryanston area.
• A Johannesburg content creator shared a video listing five South African malls with high vacancy rates.

Source: Briefly News