Beyond our known world of scientific triumphs, operates a shadowy zone that no one has been able to fully crack, fathom or ignore till date. People, throughout the ages, have been untiring in carefully presenting thought out explanations, theories, assumptions, yet for the most part, they have remained elusively obscure. The 10 scariest places discussed below are a faithful compilation of such sinister nooks and corners of our planet that are bound to turn even the most skeptic ones ponder for a while about the eternal debate, “Do ghosts exist?”
The history of this small Italian island between Venice and Lido is too ghastly to even contemplate when compared to one’s worst nightmares. Back in 1348, when the devastating Bubonic plague relentlessly claimed the lives of 1 out of 3 Europeans, many of the unfortunate citizens with noticeable symptoms were dumped off at Proveglia. An incredibly inhuman end awaited them as they were heaped up along with dead patients and burnt on giant pyres. Moreover, such mass annihilation was not a singular event; in 1630 the same procedure was adopted when the city was similarly ravaged by the incurable Black Death. And then, there are the sinister happenings of an age-old asylum that in the later part of 1800, served as an exile for mentally ill patients. In 1930, a doctor, who had been notoriously involved in carrying strange experiments on helpless patients, jumped off the asylum’s towering bell tower and killed himself. Since then, though the bell no longer exists, people can still hear an ominous chime!
In 1904, when the inhabitants of Clifton, Virginia, petitioned for shutting down the local asylum, it was duly acknowledged by passing an order for transporting the inmates to another facility. Alarmingly, tragedy struck after the transportation crashed and several of the prisoners escaped, for, though most were traced, one remained free and treacherous. An eeriness generated as half-eaten carcasses of rabbits were discovered hanging from trees as well as the Colchester Overpass. A few days later, the maimed body of an individual named, Marcus Wallster was found hanging from the Underpass. A careful investigation soon chased down the culprit that was none other than a man named Douglas A. Grifin, who had allegedly killed his entire family on Easter. Nonetheless, fate did not seem to support a confrontation between the police and Douglas since the latter, while attempting to flee, was hit by a train. The Colchester Overpass has witnessed several uncanny happenings since then. Apart from hanging carcasses of rabbits, locals have reported seeing a shadowy figure specifically on Halloween nights. So, no one dares to walk beneath the Overpass, for Bunny Man is supposed to spare neither rabbits nor men.
This medieval castle of the 13th century in the village of Chillingham, Northumberland, houses some distressed spirits. At the stroke of midnight, the desolate corridors of the castle’s “Pink Room” seem to come alive with the desperate cries of a childish phantom, famously referred to as “Radiant Boy”. Soon, the moaning gives way to a bright halo of light, outlining a young boy, clad in blue, out to arouse those in peaceful sleep. Another restless soul, belonging to Lord Grey’s wife, Lady Berkeley, roams about the castle with her baby daughter, prominently in search of her disloyal husband, who had abandoned her for her sister, Lady Henrietta. The faint rustle of her dress exudes a cold chill that is intrinsically disturbing and inescapable.
What is your wildest imagination of hell? A bottomless pit of ceaseless fire? Well, in the middle of Turkmenistan’s Karakum Desert, you would actually come across a 230-foot-wide crater broiling with never-ending fire. The story of its discovery goes back to 1971, when a group of Soviet scientists, seeking oil, accidentally hit a methane reserve. With the collapse of their drilling platform, emerged a gaping crater, releasing dangerous gases. The puzzled scientists set the crater on fire, with hopes to burn off the methane gas. But the weird crater did not stop, and till today, with an abyss of fire, flames and boiling mud, it continues to burn, thereby earning the name, “The door to hell” by locals. Take utmost care before visiting this scariest natural place on earth.
The underground secret tunnels of this castle connected to the Royal Mile, narrate a series of ghostly occurrences. According to local legends, a lone piper was made to go down through a tunnel to gauge its extent, during the time of its first discovery. Till some time, the people gathered could hear the sound of his bagpipe, but suddenly the music could be heard no more. The piper was never found, but till now, his shadowy form accompanied by an equally uncanny sound of his bagpipe is seen or heard within the castle. Nonetheless, the piper is not the sole apparition out on his unearthly ramblings; the disembodied ghost of Lady Janet Dougal of Glamis, who was burnt alive for conspiring to kill King James V, is also a recurrent visitor. Many have heard her weep too.
Ghost hunters and wizarding fans flock to this cemetery to seek out its bunch of sinister figures. Firstly, there’s the poltergeist, George MacKenzie, a ruthless persecutor of almost 18000 of King Charles II opponents, who is later believed to have caused the death of a local psychic. Its spirit was released in 1999 when a homeless man seeking a spot to sleep decided to sleep in the coffin and resulted in crumbling it on him. Since then, those out to tour this graveyard, invariably return with burns, broken bones or bloody noses. According to the local newspaper, The Scotsman, nearly 170 people have collapsed while exploring the cemetery. Naturally, detailed warnings are provided by tour guides before embarking on such a hazardous mission.
As you mount the stairs of this long deserted hotel in Nevada, your nostrils are going to be burned by a thick, aging dust. Your keen senses may warn you of an all-pervading presence; a host of unknown eyes, but before you can make any decisive move, an unreal world would swallow you in its eternal grasp. Yes, that’s the Goldfield hotel for you – a building that led to the steady deterioration of the once prosperous town of Goldfield, as soon as it was built. The doomed interiors also hide a ghastly past. A woman named Elizabeth, who had become pregnant with the hotel owner’s child, was mercilessly left for dead by being chained to a radiator in Room 109. Her unquiet soul hovers along the long corridors possibly seeking revenge. A series of fires, floods have ravaged the town, but till date, the hotel stands steadfast, as if ready to strike those who dare to meddle with its somber past.
It is sometimes believed that the very site of a building can be severely opposed to human settlement; the underlying presumption being that discontented spirits or ungodliness associated with the particular spot may have turned the place forever cursed. Hot Lake Hotel, constructed in Oregon in the late 1800’s, perhaps goes by this belief. A vacation spot, liked by many for its natural hot spring, it witnessed several disappointing events until its conversion into a sanatorium in 1917. But a massive fire destroyed it and again the mansion was made into a hotel. Business never flourished henceforth, and after its final closure in 1991, people have reported about numerous unusual occurrences. At times, footsteps can be heard, spectral individuals are seen; the last owners have also mentioned of hearing someone playing the piano!
Aokigahara Forest, at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan, is also hailed as suicide forest; nearly 100 people end their lives amidst the dense woods every year. Not even wind can penetrate the almost opaque trees. Naturally, no wildlife exists, thereby rendering the forest a deathlike stillness. Often, clothing or body parts are discovered here. Japanese mythology contends that the place abounds in “Yurei” or demons and ghosts.
The mysteries of this 15th-century castle, built by the O’Bannon family for the O’Carrolls’s ruling clan are many and terrifying. Almost 400 hundred years ago, a fierce fight between the brothers of the clan resulted in the brutal death of one, who was a priest. This led the castle to be dubbed as the “Bloody Chapel” since the ghost of the unfortunate priest was seen haunting the premises. Further, at the time of the castle’s renovation, the unearthing of a dungeon with spikes and a cartload of human bones led to the grim prospect of how those held guilty were thrown 8 feet down into the spikes to die. Needless to say, some of them are frequently encountered along its creepy zones. One such is a creature called, “It” that possessing the size of a sheep and a decaying face releases the smell of sulfur and decaying corpse on appearing. Another is the “Elemental” that bears a decomposed face and is followed by an appalling stench.
Apart from these, there are other places like Catacombs of Paris, Wilson Hotel, in Athens, Ohio, Charleville Castle in Ireland, Hunedoara Castle in Transylvania, Magnolia Lane Plantation in New Orleans, Kentucky Sanitorium in Kentucky and Mansfield Reformatory in Ohio that are equally frightening and full of unexplained riddles. Spare some time to check these too.
The unpleasant emotion, fear, largely rests upon our inability to grasp a situation. Being bound up with habitual mundane survival, we become alarmed when some unexpected happens. Yet, we also cannot pull ourselves away from such unexplained mysteries. They are unfamiliar and consequently alluring. The above-mentioned scary places resemble perfect domains of such inexplicable happenings. Come to live out any of them once.
Hello there! My name is Jay and I run this website. I'm a full-time traveler and freelance writer. This is where I share travel advice and help people pursue their traveling dreams.
You can learn more about me and my mission on the about me page.
It's nice to have you here :)
Please fix the broken link in this post “Top 12 Traditional Ukrainian Foods That Will Make Your Tastebuds. The recipe “Crispy Ukrainian Potato Pancake Recipe” is not linked back to my blog. Thanks