Our planet is wild, filled with nooks and crannies yet to be explored. Some unexplored frontiers can be terrifying, but it’s hard to beat the human imagination for sheer creep factor.
People have loved the macabre and disturbing for centuries, ascribing myth and lore to places where bad things happened. Lacking a disaster, death, or a weird natural occurrence, humans like to craft strange stories, dark structures, and weird artifacts to create that creepy vibe.
Twenty of the world’s creepiest places are gathered here for your enjoyment, both naturally occurring and human-built.
1. Hoia-Baciu Forest
Called ‘The Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania,’ Hoia-Baciu Forest in Romania shot to prominence in 1968 when a military technician snapped a photo of a UFO.
Visitors are believed to disappear, and those who don’t, report rashes, nausea, and anxiety.
2. Valley of the Kings
The final resting place of pharaohs from the 16th to 11th centuries BC, the Valley of Kings in Egypt became one of the most important archeological sites in the world when King Tut’s tomb was discovered in 1922.
Birthplace of the modern tale of “the pharaoh’s curse”, visitors to the Valley of Kings occasionally claim to see an apparition of a pharaoh in a phantom chariot drawn by black horses.
3. Isla de las Munecas
A UNESCO World Heritage Site preserving Aztec artifacts is the best-known draw of Xochimilco, Mexico. But the Isle of Dolls is hard to top for paranormalists and aficionados of the weird.
The former home of DonJulián Santana Barrera, the artificial island is sited in one of the area’s canals. Barerra festooned his home with hundreds of dolls and doll parts to ward off evil spirits after discovering the body of a young girl in a canal nearby.
4. Poveglia Island
Just half a mile from the Venetian canals lies Poveglia, a small island steeped in history. Once a quarantine zone during the bubonic plague, a storage site for Napoleon’s weapons, and an insane asylum, Poveglia is haunted by its past, if nothing else.
Rumor has it that the asylum was the site of appalling medical experiments that ended only when the presiding doctor hurled himself from the bell tower.
Visitors used to claim to hear the bells ringing, but it’s illegal to set foot on the island today.
5. Aokigahara Forest
The infamous “Su*cide Forest” of Japan is no ghostly tale but a genuine phenomenon. Over 500 people have taken their own lives in the seemingly peaceful woods since the 1950’s.
While some blame demons, the iron deposits that make compasses unreliable might also play a part. Visitors often mark their paths with string or tape to ensure safe passage back out.
6. Haw Par Villa
Singapore hosts a 1930s theme park, which makes Six Flags seem like a bore. People come not for the thrilling rides but for the 1,000 strange statues.
While all strange, the true centerpiece for lovers of all things chilling is the Ten Courts of Hell. A series of Underworld-themed dioramas, each depicts gruesome punishment to teach morality to children.
7. Catacombs of Paris
Home to 6 million bodies, the Catacombs of Paris were conceived in 1785 after a flood of water disturbed Les Innocents cemetery in 1780.
Due to the ensuing flood of corpses, a 12-year project relocated most of Paris’s cemeteries to the limestone tunnels carved as quarries.
One of the largest ossuaries in the world and one of few underground, visitors can enjoy artistic arrangements of bones and monuments in the Egyptian style placed in rooms with names like the Lachrymatory Sarcophagus or the Sepulchral Lamp.
8. St. George’s Church, Czech Republic
Built in 1352, this little Czech church developed a reputation for being haunted after a long string of disasters.
It has nearly burned down many times over the years, and when the roof collapsed during a funeral in 1968, parishioners declared a haunting and abandoned it to vandalism.
In 2012, an art student had a brilliant idea: to bring visitors back, why not lean into the haunting?
St. George’s is now home to 32 beautifully rendered statues of people in mourning shrouds. Visitors can sit among the ghostly congregation and pray every Saturday afternoon.
9. Village of Nagoro
Nagoro, Japan, is haunted not by ghosts but by a horde of life-sized and lifelike dolls.
When artist Ayano Tsukimi returned to her hometown, she discovered that the aging population and lack of young people meant it was on the verge of becoming a ghost town.
To breathe ‘life’ back into the place she loved, Tsukimi crafted dolls, placing them around the village in poses that suggest action.
There are over 350 unliving villagers, according to current reports.
10. Sedlec Ossuary
A Catholic chapel and part of the former Sedlec Abbey, Sedlec Ossuary is home to the skeletons of over 40,000 people.
The remains are arranged for peak artistry, used as ornamentation throughout the chapel, and used to create furnishings.
The breathtaking and spine-tingling display of ossuary art draws lovers of the macabre to the Czech Republic like moths to the flame.
11. Centralia
A former coal mining town in Pennsylvania, Centralia was a thriving community of 2,000 people in 1950.
But in 1962, the local firefighters set a controlled burn to clear the landfill for Memorial Day, and disaster struck. The fire entered the mine through an abandoned coal pit and set the coal ablaze.
The Centralia mine fire still burns today. Despite evacuation orders, the underground inferno, and the demolition of much of the town, a small population of eight residents remains. Each of these individuals won lawsuits allowing them to stay in their homes for the rest of their lives.
12. Bran Castle
Known better as Dracula’s Castle, this beautiful national monument in Romania is located in Transylvania. The castle and Transylvania are landmarks associated with vampire lore, thanks to Bram Stoker’s work.
The Draculesti Family ruled Transylvania centuries ago, and their most noted member—Vlad III—has gone down in infamy as both Stoker’s inspiration and ‘the Impaler,’ a brutal warlord who committed atrocities against his enemies.
13. Skeleton Coast
Stretching 300 miles along Namibia’s northern coast, this desolate area is a haunting place to visit. There is no life to be found there and no resources to sustain it.
Driving home the point that Skeleton Coast is not for the living, endless bones are scattered along the shoreline.
Whether from beached sea life or the unfortunate land creatures who wandered in and couldn’t escape, the bones remind visitors not to linger.
14. Pripyat
Located a once-convenient 10 minutes from the Chernobyl Power plant, Pripyat was once a thriving community.
When the Chernobyl nuclear accident posed the threat of widespread fallout, Pripyat was among the first locations to be evacuated.
The townspeople left everything behind, and it shows.
The town is trapped in the moment of evacuation, everything in its place, yet rotting away without people.
From the abandoned Ferris wheel to the forgotten children’s toys and the encroaching greenery reclaiming everything, Pripyat offers a haunting glimpse into the aftermath of a town’s nuclear apocalypse.
15. Lake Natron
Lake Natron is a gorgeous red lake in Tanzania with many hazards and intrigues. The water is alkaline and caustic as ammonia, capable of burning human skin.
On top of that, it can reach temperatures of up to 100F. Known as the Deadly Red Lake, Natron received attention when photographer Nick Brandt took photos of animals calcified by the high levels of sodium bicarbonate in the waters.
Far from instantly petrifying all life that touches the water, Natron has a thriving algae colony that gives the lake its signature red and pink hues.
The algae and toxicity also make Natron a primary nesting ground for lesser flamingos, who can survive the deadly waters that keep their predators at bay.
16. Tower of London
Home to the Crown Jewels of England and the famous Tower Ravens, the Tower of London has a long and storied history dating back to the construction of its central structure, the White Tower, in 1066.
While its role in English history is long and storied, those seeking a dark chill can visit to learn about the many royal and common people imprisoned, tortured, and executed there.
17. Queen Mary
Launched in 1936 by Cunard White Star, the Queen Mary spent three decades in service before retiring to Long Beach, California.
After docking permanently, the Queen Mary developed a darkly glamorous reputation all her own.
Estimated to hold 100 restless spirits, visitors especially report sightings of The Lady in White; William Eric Stark, an officer dead of accidental poisoning; and Leonard Horsborough, a cook who died on the Queen Mary’s last voyage.
18. Old Jewish Cemetery of Prague
One of the two most important sites in the Prague Jewish Town, the aptly named Old Jewish Cemetery, is the oldest surviving Jewish burial ground.
Founded in the early 15th century, the oldest tombstone is from 1439, while the last was placed 348 years later.
Due to scarcity of space, bodies were buried atop each other, creating a layer of graves ten deep.
The cemetery is covered with 12,000 densely packed gravestones and markers, many with beautiful animal and plant motifs.
19. Elkmont Historic District
Nestled in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, the former vacation community known as the Appalachian Club and its sister complex, the Wonderland Hotel, lie abandoned and in ruins.
A thriving retreat in the 1910s, the 1920s saw the rise of the National Park System and certain doom for the community. Houses were bought at half price in exchange for lifetime leases.
When the leases expired in 1992, the Park Service claimed ownership. While demolition was discussed, the National Register of Historic Places claimed Wonderland Hotel and several others, protecting the decaying ruins of a once-happy community now consumed by the wild.
20. Renwick Smallpox Hospital
Built between 1854-1856, the Renwick Smallpox Hospital was a 100-bed facility for treating the eponymous disease.
Located on the currently-named Roosevelt Island in New York City, its Gothic Revival stylings were the work of James Renwick, Jr., who also contributed to Manhattan’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Treating 7,000 patients yearly, the hospital closed in 1875. It was converted to a training facility for nurses, operating in that capacity till the 1950s.
At that point, everyone agreed it was worthless and simply abandoned it. Since then, the lovely Gothic architecture has decayed into a ruin so iconically creepy that it has been featured in ‘Grand Theft Auto IV’ and 2002’s ‘Spider-Man.’
Caitriona Maria is an education writer and owner of The Facts Institute. A teacher for seven years, she has been committed to providing students with the best learning opportunities possible, both domestically and abroad. Dedicated to unlocking students' potential, Caitriona has taught English in several countries and continues to explore new cultures through her travels.