Last Wednesday I found a Bath and Body Works still fully stocked inside the Hawthorn Mall in Illinois

The place has been closed since 2019 but the shelves still had Pumpkin Pecan Waffles lotion bottles sitting there like nobody ever showed up for work that day. Does anybody else ever find sealed products in dead malls that make you wonder if the employees just walked out mid-shift?

3 comments

3 Comments

grant_ross271mo ago

Found a fully stocked Spencer's in a dead mall once, shrink wrap still on the lava lamps.

valgibson1mo agoMost Upvoted

Found a similar thing at a Spencer's in a dead mall near Peoria once. Walked in and there were still price tags on the lava lamps from like 2005. You half expect to see a skeleton in a uniform behind the counter. Probably mid shift they just said forget it and walked out. I like to think that's what happened because the alternative is just too sad. Makes me wonder if the employees clocked out for lunch and never looked back.

rivershah13d ago

Man, that's wild! I found something similar at a dead mall in Joliet once, a Hot Topic with all the band tees still on the racks from like 2010. @grant_ross27, that Spencer's find you mentioned sounds just like what I saw - it's like the whole place just froze in time. My best guess is the company just locked the doors and walked, leaving the inventory to rot.