The ruins of happiness

Now I know why some places are considered "haunted" - not just because they look creepy, but because past joy and vibrant life have fled. People see shapes moving about in these places, feel creepiness and cold spots where normal physics has caved in. This does not happen by itself. People leave for all kinds of reasons, but a lot of it (like those abandoned malls popping up everywhere) is financial. These places just don't pay any more, or are out of date or too expensive to keep up. So people move on to some other playground, which in turn will also be abandoned. The human race gobbles through pleasure and resources until it all collapses, wonders what could have happened, then moves on to some newer, finer place to exploit.