Not all places are fun and beautiful to visit. There are many places and cities around the world with a dark and disturbing history.
And being that it is nearly Halloween, let’s take a trip and visit our 13 scariest places around the world.
1. Estes Park, Colorado- The Stanley Hotel
Stephen King’s inspiration for his novel turned movie The Shining. Also known as The Overlook Hotel.
2. Hellfire Club- Dublin, Ireland
Originally built as a passage tomb dating back to the Neolithic Period. Later destroyed and turned into a hunting lodge for the rich back in 1725, where rumors of black masses and animal sacrifices soon spread. The skeleton of a dwarf was also discovered in a shallow grave just outside the club.
3. Pluckley, England
Said to be home to at least 15 ghosts, Pluckley is a top destination for paranormal investigators. It’s even won the title of most haunted village according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
4. Isla de las Muñecas (Island of the Dolls) in Mexico
The Island of the Dolls was dedicated to the lost soul of a poor little girl who met her fate too soon over 50 years ago. It was never meant to be a tourist attraction. Getting to the island is a long and difficult task, but walking among the creepy dolls is an experience like no other.
5. Hashima Island, Japan
Also known as Battleship Island, at one point this island was the most densely populated island which now sits abandoned and empty for more than 40 years. It was once home to the Mitsubishi Corporation but since parting ways has been a ghost town from 1974-2009. As of 2015 it was approved for visitors and added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
6. Catacombs of Paris, France
Beneath Paris lies a dark subterranean world of caves and tunnels holding the remains of over 6 million Parians.
7. Pripyat, Ukraine
Abandoned and radioactive city where more than 49,000 people were evacuated after the Chernobyl Disaster in 1986.
8. Aokigahara Suicide Forest, Japan
A forest of approximately 12 square miles in the shadows of Mount Fuji, this forest is the 2nd most popular place in the world to go to, to commit suicide. The #1 destination is San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. The number of victims increases every year with over 100 bodies found in 2003 alone. Many say the victim’s spirits permeate the trees rendering compasses useless.
9. Hill of Crosses, Lithuania
A site of pilgrimage that dates back hundreds of years, where its visitors leave crosses and crucifix. There are an estimated 200,000 crosses in honor of the sick and fallen placed on this hill dating back to 1831.
10. The hanging coffins of Sagada, The Phillippines
In this region, the locals don’t bury their dead underground. Instead, they hang them. Quite literally, they hang them and their coffins alongside the cliffs. Although this tradition is rarely practiced in today’s society, it dates back thousands of years.
11. Beelitz-Heilstätten Hospital, Beelitz, Germany
Few scary places actually live up to their reputation. However, the Beelitz Hospital absolutely does. Between 1898 and 1930, this complex was a tuberculosis sanatorium. It also housed mustard gas and machine gun victims during World War I. If that wasn’t enough, it also housed a young wounded soldier named Adolf Hilter who later used this hospital as a treatment center for Nazi soldiers during WWII.
12. Nagoro, Japan
Nagoro is a tiny village in Japan with a shrinking human population of about 30 people. However, a local artist, Ayano Tsukimi, has found a way to keep the population steady. She creates life-size dolls to replace the people who have died or left the village for greener pastures. What makes these dolls so eerie is that the Tsukimi places these doppelgangers around town in the positions of their previous counterparts.
13. Snake Island, São Paulo, Brazil
Almost 93 miles off the coast of Sao Paulo lives lha da Queimada Grande, Snake Island. Definitely the place of nightmares for most people, especially those with ophidiophobia, or fear of snakes. It is said to house 1 to 5 snakes per square meter and this is no boring garden snake. No, they are a type of pit viper known as the Lancehead which is one of the most venomous vipers in the world. These snakes are so venomous that the Brazilian Navy has forbidden any visitors to this island. With good reason.
Sleep tight!