Places and Locations are almost intrinsically linked to that emotion or reaction that they elicit, these places in that manner have left a lasting sense of dread and eerie coldness in the minds of those who have visited them, with each location boasting a harrowing story of its own, respectively earning their titles as Haunted Locations. Let’s take a look at some of the most haunted places around the world, to take a deeper look into the twisted stories of these locations that have instilled fear and horror into the masses.
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1. Aokigahara Forest, Japan
The Forest is very well known around the world due to its frightening reputation as Japan’s suicide forest. Mentioned in works such as “Tower of waves” and the controversial “The Complete Manual of Suicide”, it has gained notoriety in the public conscience as a place that is intrinsically linked to death and suicide. The forest itself gives a macabre feeling to any visitors having a dense and lush forest cover with winding trees and roots lining the rocky terrain that serves as host to the mountain’s base and a number of caves. Moreover, the forest is dead silent with packed greenery and minimal wildlife, adding to the dread.
The area was previously known for disturbing folklore surrounding the form of euthanasia called ‘Ubasute’ and the vengeful spirits ‘Yurei’ that supposedly spawn from it to prey on the sad and abandoned. However, even knowing this, it’s hard to imagine the amount of suicide that takes place here with very conservative estimates reaching 100 per year, very evident in visuals through personal belonging and remains scattered throughout the dense forest being remnants of many who die here, therefore, justifying the amount of terrible buzz around the forest and serving as a reminder to its eerie nature.
2. Poveglia Island, Venice, Italy
The island of Poveglia is located between Venice and Lido, in the region of northern Italy and acts as an eerie destination with a gruesome past. Now permanently closed for any visitors, whether local or tourists, the island is uninhabited and permanently closed off. Initially a refuge during 421, it transitioned to being empty after things dies down, until the 1300s and the arrival of the Bubonic/Black Plague that made it the dumping ground for those infected and left to rot. However, the island’s history continues to the late 1800s when it housed the Poveglia Asylum which was used to hold the mentally ill but was poorly constructed and used mere place of exile rather than rehabilitation with rumours of strange experiments being performed on the patients circulating around the 1930s.
The nickname ‘Island of ghosts’ is fighting when looking at the horrors it has held, with the 7-hectare plot used to house mass burial grounds, the asylum and the previously up bell tower that somehow still rings today according to locals. It houses a complete sense of dread and desolation and is a site people rightfully stay clear of, whether be fishermen, builders or visitors.
3. Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, USA
In 1933, the US government decided to open a maximum-security, minimum-privilege prison, this was Alcatraz and it served to ‘break spirits’. Cell Blocks are littered with moans and cries heard by visitors with some even sensing malevolent entities during their visit. However, the strip cells are some of the most brutal sites there, where prisoners were stripped naked and kept in complete darkness with nothing else as a way to drain them of any hope.
The cells are still to this day marred with raw coldness when entering. All this to say that the Island houses a haunted experience from beginning to end and is chilling to anyone who has visited it.
4. Isle of Wight, England
The Isle of Wight is one of the spookiest places in the UK and is often cited by enthusiasts as the“Ghost Island” or the “Isle of Fright”. A heavenly visit during the day having amazing scenery, sparkling coastlines and spanning hills , it’s far more known for the haunted nature it serves as the sun goes down, filled with myths and legend.
In terms of location, there isn’t a singular terror site on the island, but in fact a collection of areas that each have their own reputation, some being the ghostly gardens, spooky lighthouse, disappearing house, ghost train and more. The moniker of a ghostly island is therefore entirely accurate, as the above-mentioned places have gotten constant sightings to this day, upholding the island’s eerie reputation.
5. Norfolk Island, Australia
A picturesque remote location occupying a little more than 34sq km, The Island of the damned can fool the eye at a distance, but look just a bit closer and the isolated walkways, deserted beaches, scattered headstones and chilling ruins will tell you otherwise. This hell hidden in heaven has borne witness to various atrocities committed against the worst of felons to some of the pettiest as well, torture, lashings, lonely confinement and prolonged hunger were common was those that had the misfortune of finding themselves here. From inscriptions of gruesome deaths lining the cemetery stones to its remote location far away from warmth or comfort, chilling is the only thing that can be used to describe the island.
6. Island of Dolls, Mexico City, Mexico
La Isla de las Muñecas is haunting in its ties to the story of Santana Barrera, a man of not sound mind who on discovering a drowned young girl and a doll in the canal, dedicated his life to populating the island with similar dolls in an effort to appease the dead girl, but ended up dying under spine-chilling similarity when he himself drowned later in life. While Santana was gone, the lasting memory of tattered and run-down discarded dolls remained, often added to by visitors in memory of both him and the girl.
As the area is covered in lifeless but seemingly endless amounts of dolls that are coupled with macabre history, it’s been regarded highly as a very haunted location and is an eerie visit.
7. Bhangarh Fort, India
An architectural beauty during the light hours, the fort is widely known as one of the most haunted locations in India due to what it holds in its shadows as the light fades away. Allowance into the fort after sunset or before sunrise is prohibited and for good reasons, as the locals swear to stories describing the paranormal that constantly inhabits the Fort after dark, roaming ghosts, strange noises, and feeling heavy/dizzy or strange in general, as if being watched are part of the experience. The landscape itself feels hollow and gloomy, with few that defied the rules going missing or not being to recall properly, the fort remains terrifying in its mystery and deadly allure
8. Mary King’s Close and Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
Mary King’s Close has in some manner been linked to hauntings since the 17th century, it is been bounded by tales and urban legend. But, many are quick to debunk these “myths” as they put it, chalking them up to hallucinations. However, the close has become well known worldwide for its wide variety of ghostly phenomena, due to its proximity to the plague and the destruction it caused along with the sewage and waste that is dumped nearby being contributing factors to the amount of deceased that are bounded to it.
Edinburgh Castle, like most medieval structures, is fascinating in design but extremely dark and menacing in structure. The castle’s dreaded ambience is only further bolstered by the stories of multiple apparitions and spirits. In actuality, there is a sense of hollow nothing throughout the castle that just builds a sense of unease.
9. Paris Catacombs, France
1.5km of underground tunnels, carved from limestone, lined with the remains of millions of corpses being the tiny section open to the public. The catacombs capture the morbid fascination. An unfortunate memorial ground to those millions, displaying their femurs, skulls, and other bones, piled in an eerily ornate and neat fashion, with narrations and poetry of death underlining them. Beautiful and efficient as it may be in terms of storing remains, the site is still terrifying as the walls hold human vestiges lost to time, an apt reminder of mortality and the mortal need to manage the dead and how we approach it, here creating a monument none too different from the depictions of the underworld.
10. Changi Beach, Singapore
Said to be an accursed location, having witnessed the likes of invasion, bombardment and slaughter during World War II, it’s also the location of the Chinese Massacre where many people were butchered.
The area is bloodied by its history and is, therefore, unsurprisingly the home of various anomalies, such as those of ghosts lingering on and headless bodies roaming the beach, coupled with sightings of executions and blood-stained areas. Most blood curdling of all though is the constant screams of terrors, crying and torture permeating the air as noise that has been reported by multiple people. In essence, the curse on Changi beach can rightly be equated as a ghastly reminder of the sins committed on its grounds.
Be it the thrills of terror or the serenity of relaxation you prefer, Aertrip has every type of Holiday Plan ready for you! So head over to the holidays page to seek your next eerie adventure! But take care that nothing follows you back home…
