Do you get scared easily? Or do you welcome the thrill and anticipation of a scary experience?
If so, then we suggest you search out the scariest places in the world to get your adrenalin flowing.
To help you in your quest, our Life Daily team has put together a “must see” list of the very scariest.
What makes the locations really spooky is that the legends surrounding them are not myths, but are based on true – if sometimes unbelievable – stories.
These are some of the scariest places you can find on Earth:
1. The Island Of Dolls – Mexico
The Island of the Dolls (Isla de las Munecas) is situated in Xochimico, just south of Mexico City.
A little girl who had drowned was once found in the the river. A little later a doll was also found floating on the water. The doll was hung on a nearby tree to honor her memory. Over the years, other dolls were found and hung on the tree branches; each doll supposedly representing the spirit of the dead girl.
Today, hundreds of headless, tattered and torn dolls hang in the trees; the man who first discovered the girl’s body was found dead in the same place he had found her.
2. The Sedlec Ossuary – Czech Republic
The Sedlec Ossuary, also known as the Church of the Bones, holds the bones of more than 40,000 human skeletons artistically placed inside this small chapel. In 1278 the abbot of the church brought back a container of “Holy Soil” from Jerusalem and scattered it around the church. People subsequently brought their dead family members to be buried next to the soil.
3. Hunyad Castle, Transylvania – Romania
Some say this is the most frightening castle in Europe because of its association with one of the most bloodthirsty leaders in history – Vlad the Impaler. Although most of the other castles in the area were destroyed, invaders through history never came near Hunyad Castle.
4. The Catacombs – Paris
The Catacombs of Paris are an underground ossuary holding the remains of about 7 million people. The city decided to store the human remains from its overcrowded cemeteries underground. The tunnels run for more than 150 miles below ground, and 1 mile is open to the public.
5. The Abandoned Takakanonuma Amusement Park – Japan
Built in 1973, this park was initially only open for two years It then closed, and then reopened in 1986 only to close again in 1999. Instead of dissembling everything, the park was simply abandoned. It is now covered with vegetation. Rumor has it there were several deaths during the time it was functioning, so perhaps the ghosts still linger in the park.
6. Pripyat – Ukraine
This was a town of 49,000 inhabitants that was destroyed after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. The residents abandoned everything in terror, so now it is a ghost town where there are decaying vehicles, go-karts, weathered dolls, and everything in between.
7. Body Farm in Knoxville, Tennessee – USA
Behind the University of Tennessee is a place known as the “Body Farm.” This is where decomposing human remains are studied for forensic science. More than 100 bodies are donated to the facility every year, and then they are left there to rot and decompose. What is really scary is that 1300 people pre-register themselves before they die!
8. Aokigahara Suicide Forest – Japan
Over 500 people have committed suicide in this forest since 1950. This is the place people go to kill themselves. There are signs everywhere with uplifting and encouraging messages in Japanese saying things like “Life is a precious thing! Please reconsider!”
People blame the deaths on the 1960 novel by Seicho Matsumoto where he describes the forest as the “perfect place to die.” In the book, a couple commit suicide in this forest.
9. Tuol Sleng – Cambodia
This famous Security Prison 21 has been turned in to museum and is located in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Formerly a school, the classrooms were converted into torture chambers and tiny prison cells with the windows covered in barbed wire and iron bars. This was a place where prisoners were tortured and some 20,000 inmates died.
Today, the museum’s walls are lined with photos of some of the victims, cabinets are filled with human skulls, and photos of some of the tortured prisoners are also available to the public
10. Stanley Hotel, Colorado – USA
Stephen King stayed at The Stanley Hotel when he wrote The Shining. It is reputed that the hotel had been haunted for years – which is often given as the reason he chose it. Parts of the movie The Shining were filmed here. The TV show Ghost Hunters investigated the hotel and many uncanny incidents occurred during the taping.
These were some of the scariest places on Earth, but there are others.
Do you know of them? Have you ever visited any of the places on our list?
Feel free to share your experiences with our readers by making use of the comments feed below.
