grammar - Which punctuation is correct in this case (colon, semicolon, or period)?



Inside the alley I found myself cornered by unpleasant sights: walls covered with cracks and peeling paint, storm drains clogged with moss, dumpsters overflowing with bags, cans, and rotten trash.


Inside the alley I found myself cornered by unpleasant sights: walls covered with cracks and peeling paint; storm drains clogged with moss; dumpsters overflowing with bags, cans, and rotten trash.


Inside the alley I found myself cornered by unpleasant sights. Walls covered with cracks and peeling paint. Storm drains clogged with moss. Dumpsters overflowing with bags, cans, and rotten trash.



Or maybe the three of them are grammatically correct in their respective contexts?


EDIT (based on dockeryZ's answer):


I think second example is right, regardless of the context. Explanation: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon.



Answer



The second one is more correct in my humble opinion, because it contains a list within a list. And in such situations, the semicolon is the way to go. It is used as a super-comma in this case.


The third one isn't grammatically correct at all. None of those subsequent sentences are actually (full) sentences. They all lack a verb.


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