The tourists shell out for a giddy but ultimately safe experience. The destinations featured on our list below are less about the sort of commercial scare that you can buy at an amusement park. This is the real deal. These sites are authentically and unintentionally spooky, weird, macabre, and mysterious.
For many, Halloween is just about dressing up and searching for candy. But for others, it’s the perfect time to feed our fascination for the paranormal at some of the world’s most spooky and haunted destinations. From a park in Tokyo haunted by the trapped souls of prisoners of war to the corpse-lined catacombs beneath Paris, we’ve rounded up some of the most haunted places in the world. Read on – if you dare.
Aokigahara Forest, Japan
Also known as Suicide Forest, Aokigahara lies at the bottom of Mount Fuji in Japan. There have been more than 500 reported suicides in the forest since the 1950s, BBC reports. Some people say it’s because of big underground deposits of iron that interfere with compasses and make people get lost. Others blame the forest’s association with demons in Japanese mythology. Who knows what spirits are lurking?
The Catacombs, Paris
Buried 20 metres underground, the Paris Catacombs are a (literal) bone-chilling labyrinth filled with the remains of millions of Parisians. The tunnels, which were the result of 13th-century mining, became a mass grave in the 18th century when the cemeteries in Paris began to overflow. Descend into the catacombs, and the air takes on a noticeable chill. A haunting inscription about the entrance to the catacombs reads: Arrête, c’est ici l’empire de la mort! – ‘Stop! This is the empire of Death!’ The Catacombs are open for tours, but we’d advise you don’t get lost. It’s said that if you’re inside the tunnels after midnight, the walls begin to speak…
Poveglia Spooky Island – Venice, Italy
This beautiful isle is haunted by its eerie past – it was once a quarantine zone for plague sufferers in the late 1700s. Later, in the 1920s, it became an asylum for the mentally unwell. Allegedly, the island is haunted by the spirits of the patients from the psychiatric hospital. Legend says a sadistic doctor, plagued by visions of the patients he had tortured, threw himself off the bell tower. The building remains an abandoned, rusty structure – it’s spine-chilling.
In 2014, it nearly became a luxury hotel, but the deal fell through, and it remains a macabre reminder of its terrible past. It’s not supposed to be visited by anyone, let alone tourists – but you might be able to persuade a boat operator in Venice to take you there.
Spooky Castle of Good Hope; Cape Town, South Africa
Originally a ship replenishment station built by the Dutch East India Company. This castle also served as a military fortress and prison during the Second Boer War from 1899 to 1902. The castle’s official website lays out its gruesome past involving men being hanged. One of them put a curse on governor Pieter van Noodt who condemned them to death, and the governor died of a heart attack the next day. If you’re up for it, you can tour the castle’s many rooms—including the torture chamber.
Salem, United States
Much of the cultural identity of this New England town revolves around its history. As the site of the infamous Salem Witch Trials, the deadliest witch hunt to have occurred in the United States. Immortalized in literature such as Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Salem, Massachusetts, continues to draw travelers transfixed by the story of its past hysteria.
