Halloween is just around the corner and if you’re seeking chills and thrills, the world is full of mystical, mythical, spooky and downright terrifying destinations just waiting for you to visit – if you dare.
Whether you’re a supernatural buff or an adrenalin junkie, or maybe you just fancy swapping the regular tourist trail for something a little different, there are locations across the globe where you can indulge all kinds of weird and wonderful interests.
Some of these locations will leave you baffled, others will give you goosebumps, but they all promise intrigue and scares by the bucket load. Here’s our Halloween hit list of eight of the scariest places on Earth:
The Island Of The Dolls, Mexico
Near Mexico City, among the beautiful canals of Xochimico, is the spooky Isla de las Muñecas (Island of the Dolls), home to a sad tale of a missing girl and a permanent display of super creepy dolls. They hang from trees and buildings, often with missing limbs or empty eye sockets, looking like something from a scary movie. Not for the easily spooked.
Hanging Coffins of Sagada, Philippines
The Hanging Coffins of Sagada are just a few of the cliff-side burial sites in the world. The Sagada people are thought to have practiced such burials for more than 2,000 years, and some of the coffins still on display are well over a century old.
North Yungas Road, Bolivia
Nicknamed ‘The Death Road’ by locals, the treacherous North Yungas Road meanders through the Amazon rainforest at a precarious height of more than 15,000 feet. The 50-mile stretch is just a 12-foot-wide single lane and has no railings, which explains its high annual accident rate.
The Unexplained Crooked Forest, Poland
Near the town of Gryfino is a strange and eerie woodland of around 400 pine trees that grow with a 90-degree bend at their base. It is estimated that the trees were planted in the 1930s and that they were around ten years old when they experienced whatever force or damage that resulted in their wonky growth. Oddly, the surrounding forrest is totally normal.
Beelitz-Heilstätten Hospital, Germany
Between 1898 and 1930, this now deserted German hospital served as a tuberculosis sanatorium, before housing casualties during World War I. It later became a major treatment centre during World War II, and was used as a Soviet military hospital from 1945 until the fall of the Berlin Wall. If walls could talk. It’s been left to wrack and ruin and what remains is not an attraction for faint hearted visitors.
Highgate Cemetery, London, UK
Opened in 1839, London’s Highgate Cemetery has developed a reputation for being the city’s spookiest graveyard and has become a popular location for occult, paranormal and vampiric enthusiasts. The graveyard holds around 170,000 people and is the final resting place of Karl Marx, Lucien Freud, Christina Rossetti, and many others. The grounds are quite beautiful and well worth a visit.
The Stanley Hotel, Colorado
This eerie Colorado hotel was the inspiration behind author Stephen King’s The Shining. Built in 1907 by the founder of Stanley Steamer automobiles, today the hotel celebrates its spooky reputation by hosting ghost tours for visitors.
The Door to Hell, Turkmenistan
Located in the middle of the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan is the ‘Door to Hell,’ a 230-foot-wide crater that simply won’t stop burning. The crater was formed by scientists searching for oil, who lit the dangerous gas to burn it off, only the fire never went out.