10. Poveglia in Venice
Definitely one of, if not the creepiest place in Italy (and maybe even Europe), is the island of Poveglia. Closed to tourists, and therefore known as ‘The Forbidden Island,’ it’s located in the Venetian lagoon.
The famous legend has it that a healer (or witch as many believed) cursed the island, proclaiming it to never be inhabited again; and people refused to live there. Eventually, it was used as a mass burial ground during the Black Death and other plagues. When ships entering the Lagoon were found to carry the plague, passengers were quarantined on Poveglia.
Poveglia legend tells of a particularly demented doctor who worked at the island’s mental hospital in the early 20th century. His notorious experiments on patients are still shocking when told today. For instance, he believed that lobotomies were a great way to treat and cure mental illness, so he performed lobotomies on numerous patients, usually against their will. The procedures were heinously wicked, and painful, too. He used hammers, chisels, and drills with no anesthesia or concern for sanitation.
He supposedly saved his darkest experiments for special patients, whom he took to the hospital’s bell tower. Whatever he did in there, the screams from those being tortured could be heard across the island.Karma eventually caught up with the wicked doctor. According to the story, the doctor began to suffer his own mental torture and was pursued by the island’s multitude of ghosts. Eventually, he lost his mind and climbed to the top of the bell tower and flung himself to his death below. There are varying accounts of his death, though. Some say he may have actually been pushed, either by an angry island spirit or by some of his furious patients.
9. Berry Pomeroy Castle
The shell of a once stunning castle is all that’s left today. It sits completely empty and often leaves visitors feeling unsettled. Said to be the most haunted castle in Britain, a number of ghostly stories and encounters have been reported – most notably that of the Blue Lady, the White Lady and the child Isabella
Story – Blue Lady
The Blue Lady is thought to be a daughter of the Pomeroy family. The poor girl was forced into an incestuous relationship with her father. When she gave birth, she killed the innocent child by strangling it. Perhaps she wanted to save the child from a fate like hers. Whatever the truth of the matter, she now wanders the castle of a night. The Blue Lady is mainly witnessed by men. Dressed in a long blue cape, she calls for help. Those that respond to her are lured to the most dangerous parts of the castle where she attempts to push them to their deaths. On one night of the year a blue light is seen glowing near St. Margaret’s Tower. The wailing of a baby has been heard around the tower. Interestingly the tower is dedicated to St. Margaret of Antioch, the patron saint of pregnancy
Story – White Lady
The White Lady is said to be the ‘restless soul of Margaret Pomeroy’, who haunts the dungeons at St. Margaret’s Tower. She was held captive in the dungeons by her own family and consequently starved to death. Visitors have claimed Margaret has waved to them or eerily stared at them during their visit.
Story – The Child Isabella
The ghost of the child Isabella is thought to frequent the kitchens of Berry Pomeroy Castle. Estimated to be about nine years old she is rumoured to be the illegitimate daughter of a Pomeroy noble and a servant. On entering the kitchen one evening, she witnessed her mother being attacked by a group of visiting noblemen. In a desperate bid to save her mother the child intervened. The story goes that both her and her mother died in the attack. The child’s presence has been felt about the kitchens ever since and is thought to inspire intense fear. Desperately seeking help for her mother, the little girl is rumoured to have followed friendly visitors home
8. Whaley House
Thomas Whaley built this family estate in 1857 in San Diego, on the former site of the city’s first public gallows. Shortly after he moved in, he reported hearing the heavy footsteps of “Yankee” Jim Robinson, a drifter and thief who was hanged on the site four years before the house was built. Whaley’s family history ended up being filled with tragic deaths and suicides, many of which occurred inside the home itself. Some of the family members reportedly still haunt the landmark, often accompanied by cigar smoke and the smell of heavy perfume.
7. Devils Pool
A natural pool nestled among boulders, Devil’s Pool is thought to have been cursed by an Aboriginal woman who tragically drowned herself after her lover was taken away from her.
The native people of the area have long shunned the deceptively quiet pool, and one Aboriginal legend is particularly tragic. According to the dark tale, there was once a young, beautiful woman from the Yidinji tribe named Oolana, and this maiden married a respected tribal elder named Waroonoo. When she met a handsome younger man from another tribe she set forth into a torrid affair, running off away into the wilderness with her newfound lover. Unfortunately for her, Oolana’s husband was a powerful man within her tribe, and he sent out search parties to hunt the pair down to put an end to their adulterous tryst. When they were finally surrounded and separated at the Babinda Boulders, Oolana is then said to have thrown herself into the water and drowned rather than face a bleak life without her true love. According to the Aboriginal tales, she has never really left, and still prowls these waters, looking to lure young men to a watery grave.
This legend has become notable in light of the fact that over the years a large number of young men have mysteriously met their deaths here, and since 1959 at least 17 people, and more still in old newspaper clippings, have drowned here under decidedly strange circumstances. In many cases the victims are said to be forcefully pulled and held under as if by unseen hands. The site is said to be particularly aggressive towards men and those that disrespect the pool in any way.
6. Bhangarh Fort
The Bhangarh Fort is a 17th-century fort built in the Rajasthan state of India. It was built by Bhagwant Das for his younger son Madho Singh I
Located in the Alwar region, the uninhabited town of Bhangarh is one of the eeriest places imaginable and is unanimously considered as one of India’s most haunted places. It is considered to be so dangerous that even the Archaeological Survey of India has legally prohibited anyone from entering the Bhangarh Fort after dark.
A tantrik’s curse
The legend goes that during the 16th century, a tantric named Singhia fell in love with Ratnavati, the beautiful princess of Bhangarh.
Tales of her beauty and delightful temperament spread far and wide and she received many marriage proposals. A tantrik priest, who was well versed in black magic, fell in love with her. But knowing that he didn’t stand a chance with the beautiful princess, he tried to cast a spell on her. Seeing the princess’ maid buying perfume for her in the village, he cast a spell on it so that Ratnavati would fall in love with him. Ratnavati came to know of this and threw the bottle. Before his death, enraged by the turn of events, he cursed the palace to doom and the town to be roofless and miserable forever. The next year, a battle was fought between the forces of Bhangarh and Ajabgarh, which led to the death of Ratnavati and most of the army. Nearby locals believe that anyone who goes into the fort after dark won’t make it back.It is forever condemned to desolation and is inhabited by ghosts. If any villager tries to build a roof, it apparently mysteriously collapses.
5. The Stanley Hotel
One night in this hotel nestled in Colorado’s mountain wilderness inspired Stephen King’s best-selling novel turned horror film, The Shining. Massachusetts couple F.O. and Flora Stanley opened the isolated resort in 1909—and reportedly never left The Stanley Hotel inspired Stephen King’s best-selling novel turned horror film, The Shining.
According to staff, Mrs. Stanley can be heard playing her Steinway piano in the music room at night, and Mr. Stanley occasionally shows up in photographs. There have also been reports of bags being unpacked, lights turning off and on, and echoes of children’s laughter heard in the hallways. Paranormal experts hail the Stanley Hotel as one of the nation’s most active ghost sites in the U.S. Guest bedrooms have a TV channel that plays The Shining on a 24-hour loop.
4. Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
Built in 1888 to encourage tourism and sell train tickets, this chateau-style hotel sits pretty by the Rocky Mountains in Banff National Park. But it gets a tad more Gothic once you get inside—and we aren’t talking about the architecture. The Calgary Herald has reported several resident ghosts, including a bride who supposedly fell down the stone staircase during her wedding. But there’s a less tragic spirit, too: Sam the bellman, who worked at the hotel until 1975 and claimed he’d come back to haunt the joint. His spirit supposedly pulls shifts helping people with their bags before disappearing.
3. Winchester Mystery House
Following the death of her husband and child, Sarah Winchester (the wife of a rifle-maker’s son) was informed by a seer that her family was killed by the ghosts of gunshot victims. To keep away the vengeful spirits, she commissioned the Victorian fun house-turned-macabre dwelling that you see today. Some of the creepier features include staircases that lead directly into the ceiling, doors that open onto brick walls, and windows that can take you to secret passages.
Hall of Fires
Some employees who worked at the mansion for Mrs. Winchester are said to have stayed on after their deaths. There are footsteps heard shuffling to and from Mrs. Winchester’s room. Her servants? There’s an apparition with black hair who is frequently spotted pushing a wheelbarrow. Perhaps that laborer is what a present-day worker encountered in the Hall of Fires, so named for its many fireplaces. Prior to the mansion opening for tours one day, the worker was on a ladder. He felt a tap on his shoulder, turned and — no one was there. The worker refocused his attention on his task. That’s when he felt what seemed like a hand pressing against his back. He was still the only one in the room. But not for long — that worker got out of there fast, leaving the otherworldly laborer alone to handle the job.
2. Plas Mawr
Right in the centre of the historic, walled town of Conwy stand Plas Mawr, one of the most magnificent Elizabeth townhouses in the UK. The home of Robert Wynn and his family, the households tragic, spooky tales of the family’s turbulent past.
It’s believed that Robert’s pregnant wife, Dorothy, along with her young son, was waiting for him to return one evening when Dorothy lost her balance on the stairwell, leading to the serious injury of her and her son. The household called the family doctor but a young, unfamiliar man turned up to assist them. He was unable to treat the injuries – but the household refused to allow him to leave, locking him in a room with Dorothy and her son. The Wynns died, and in fear of his life, the doctor fled into the chimney and was never to be seen again. When Robert Wynn returned, he was grief-stricken and heartbroken, vowing to have his revenge on the supposed doctor who took his beloved family away from him.Robert Wynn, Lady Wynn and the doctor are said to haunt the house to this day. Strange noises, sights and sounds have often been reported, as well as mysterious sightings of misty, black faces in the windows and doors violently swinging open and shut of their own accord.
1. Hoia-Baciu Forest
From the moment a military technician captured a photograph of a “UFO” hovering over the forest in 1968, Hoia-Baciu has gained paranormal notoriety around the world, with some believing it to be a portal that causes visitors to disappear. Those who have passed through the forest without being zapped into another realm have reported rashes, nausea, and feelings of anxiety, according to The Independent. Known as the “Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania,” the spooky curved trees that populate the forest just add to the eerie atmosphere.
One of the more famous stories recounts the tale of a young, five-year-old girl. She is said to have wandered off into the forest and disappeared without a trace. Strangely, five years later she wandered out from the forest in a confused daze. She was still dressed in the same clothing she had worn the day she went missing and had no recollection of where she had been or what had happened to her. The little girl’s story remains a mystery, as do the countless others who have similar stories. Many believe that Hoia Baciu Forest contains some sort of portal to another dimension. Explaining the disappearances of so many and earning it the nickname of The Bermuda Triangle of Romania.
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