Most Haunted Travel Hotspots Around the World
Tourists seeking a thrill this Halloween have been told to visit the Catacombs of Paris, Edinburgh Castle, or eight other haunted travel hotspots around the world.
Brits with wanderlust should use the spooky season as an opportunity to visit these creepy and historic locations across the globe, according to travel experts at MyBaggage.com.
From Scotland and Germany to Sweden and the USA, visitor to certain parts of these countries can also check in at some notorious scary locations.
A spokesperson for My Baggage said: “Some of us love nothing more than a good scare, and if you’ve got a trip booked to any of the areas listed below around Halloween – or in fact, any time of the year – there are certain destinations that are a must for fans of the supernatural.
“From castles and prisons to old WWII barracks and even an entire Italian island, these creepy hotspots are guaranteed to spook even the most sceptical of travellers.”
1. Catacombs of Paris, France
After a massive bout of heavy rain flooded and unearthed the overcrowded Les Innocents cemetery in the spring of 1780, a surge of rotting corpses fell onto the property next door. This event kickstarted a 12-year project to move bodies from Paris’s cemeteries down into the city’s former limestone quarries, and eventually the underground tunnels were packed with around 6 million bodies. Today, part of the tunnels is open to visitors, so you can tour the displays of bones.
2. Conn Barracks, Germany
In the central German town of Schweinfurt, Conn Barracks holds some of the eeriest remains of WWII. This place functioned as a Nazi psyche ward and hospital, and was subsequently used by U.S. army personnel as living quarters. In the room situated above the former drainage room where Nazis stored bodies before embalming them, multiple hauntings have been reported. On two separate occasions, American soldiers staying in the room woke in the night to see a Nazi soldier and a nurse covered in blood standing over the bed, studying the sleeping soldiers.
3. St. Augustine Lighthouse, Florida, USA
The St. Augustine Lighthouse is visited by nearly hundreds of thousands of people every year, but it’s just as well-known for its otherworldly visitors. Several tragic events have occurred at the now-historic site, contributing to the alleged paranormal activity. The ghost of a lighthouse keeper who fell to his death while painting the tower has been spotted watching over the grounds, and ever since the death of three young girls who drowned when the cart they were playing in broke and fell into the ocean, visitors have claimed to hear the sounds of children in and around the lighthouse.
4. Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
One of the most popular attractions in Scotland’s capital city is also considered to be one of its most haunted. With sections of the building dating back more than 900 years, visitors to the historic fortress’s ancient dungeons have reported sightings of colonial prisoners from the American Revolutionary War, French prisoners from the Seven Years War, and even the ghost of a dog wandering the castle’s dog cemetery.
5. Poveglia Island, Venice, Italy
Less than half a mile from the canals of Venice, Poveglia Island has served as a quarantine zone for bubonic plague victims, storage space for Napoleon’s weapons, and the site of an early 20th-century insane asylum – which apparently played host to horrific medical experiments. Locals still claim to hear echoing chimes from the island, even though the bell was removed years ago. It’s illegal to visit Poveglia today, but you can see the island and crumbling hospital from the beaches of nearby Lido.
6. Isla de la Munecas (Island of the Dolls), Mexico
Despite its status as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the neighbourhood of Xochimilco has earned a reputation for its Island of the Dolls. Hidden among the region’s canals, the site is famous for the hundreds of dolls hanging from trees and scattered across the ground. While it might look more like a horror movie set, the island used to be the residence of a now-deceased man named Julian Santa Barrera. After finding a dead girl’s body in a nearby canal, Barrera collected and displayed the toys in the hopes of warding off evil spirits. Daring souls can hire their own boat and view the island safely from the water.
7. Alcatraz, San Francisco, USA
Alcatraz has imprisoned some pretty infamous characters, including mobster Al Capone, and has had reports of paranormal activity from visitors, former prisoners and guards. Leon ‘Whitey’ Thompson, a former inmate who later conducted tours of the prison, was waiting for a tour group in the 1980s when he claimed he saw a large, looming figure at the end of “Michigan Avenue”, and swore it was the ghost of an inmate he had been friendly with called Johnny Haus. Other visitors have heard crying and screams, and recently the figure of a woman was snapped through a cell window by holidaymakers in San Francisco.
8. Leap Castle, Ireland
Built between the 13th and 15th century, this Irish castle has seen countless gruesome deaths. As legend has it, during a struggle for power within the O’Carroll clan, one member plunged a sword into his brother—a priest—as he was holding mass in the castle’s chapel. The room is now called “The Bloody Chapel,” and the priest is said to haunt the church at night. Also, during renovations in the early 1900s, workmen found a secret dungeon in the Bloody Chapel with so many human skeletons, they filled three cartloads when hauled away. The dungeon was designed so that prisoners would fall through a trap door, have their lungs punctured by wooden spikes on the ground, and die a slow, horrific death within earshot of the sinister clan members above.
9. Aokigahara Forest, Japan
This seemingly serene forest at the foot of Mount Fuji has a troubling reputation. Colloquially known as “Suicide Forest,” Aokigahara has been the site of more than 500 reported suicides since the 1950s. Some blame this trend on the forest’s association with demons in Japanese mythology, whilst others point towards large underground deposits of iron, which apparently interfere with compasses and make it easy to get lost. As such, many hikers will mark their path with tape or string to make it easier to find their way back out again.
10. Borgvattnet Haunted Vicarage, Sweden
Originally built in 1876, strange occurrences have been recorded in this parsonage since the 1960s. The building now serves as a bed and breakfast in a rural area with snowmobiling and fishing, and guests have claimed to hear footsteps, music, and the sound of three crying ladies coming from the inn.
