I found the perfect word for the eerie feeling of Chapter 20 of Station Eleven, when Kirsten and a few others are exploring the abandoned school: kenopsia.
Kenopsia: (n) the eerie, forlorn atmosphere of a place that is usually bustling with people but is now abandoned and quiet.
While it may or may not be a real word (was on several “Obscure Words” websites but not in the OED), the word does encapsulate the aura surrounding an empty school. Even if the school isn’t abandoned, wandering around school after hours or during the summer leaves one feeling unsettled.*
The desolate environment is eerie, and everyone in the raiding party feels a little uneasy as they approach the school. Viola is really agitated: “Schools give me the creeps” and “Creepy as hell.” The group sees abandoned classrooms, remains of a fire, and no instruments but Jackson finds a skeleton in the men’s room. He’s troubled by this but Kirsten is unperturbed and August simply says a prayer over the remains, as per usual. As they walk out, Jackson asks Kirsten and August “how you two can stand going into these places” (130). August replies that they don’t go into public bathrooms because “someone always got executed in the bathroom” (130). My question is why. Why is there always a dead body in a public bathroom? The drains would make it easy to clean up spilled blood and since it’s a confined space, a person would be an easy target. But is there some other significance? The reasoning for this type of death could be linked to the symptoms of the Georgia Flu, which may be further revealed later in the book.
*unless you’re a teacher