Do you like horror movies and travel? Do you like to combine those two hobbies, leading to perpetual fear in a situation where your state of mind should be blissful and happy? I have some great news for you! You can now go on a horror trip and relive all your favorite fear-for-your-life moments from your favorite movies as if you were there! Because you would be there!
Am I selling it yet? I know, the concept pretty much sells itself. We’ve all wondered where that restroom from Saw really was. Which cabin it is that Leatherface uses to chainsaw people’s faces off. Where the event horizon lies after the crew turned insane due to prolonged periods of statis. Where the planet lies where the Nostromo crashed and the first xenomorph infestation spawned.
Anyway, I won’t tease you any further. Let’s take a look at the best horror travel destinations for all your death-defying traveling needs.
10. Isla de las Munecas (Mexico)
The “Island of the Dolls”, as they say in the Queen’s English, has a weird story attached to it. According to legend, a little girl died off the coast of this island over 50 years ago. After her death, dolls started washing up on the shore. The only permanent resident this island has decided he’d start hanging them all from trees. After a while, he just started collecting dolls at random and hung them. And now it’s a doll-infested island. Yay.
9. Chernobyl (Ukraine)
Remember when mommy told you to not push the buttons because it would screw things up? That’s what happened in the Chernobyl nuclear plant. Years later, the place is still deserted and to be avoided if you don’t want to die of radiation poisoning. But if that’s not a problem for you, this is the place to be! (Let’s be honest here: ghost towns are pretty damn awesome)
8. Auschwitz (Poland)
This one doesn’t need explaining. If you can take a tour through the Auschwitz camp without feeling a sense of dread and horror, I fear for your mental health. This is one of the places where one of the most horrible acts against a group of people was committed.
7. Erte Ale Volcano (Ethiopia)
Also known as the “Gateway to Hell” (although the literal translation is “smoking mountain”), it’s one of the only volcanoes with an actual lava lake. At night, this place looks like a genuine gateway to Hell, so I guess it’s accurately named if nothing else.
6. Poenari Castle (Romania)
While I am fully aware that this castle sounds an awful lot like a certain slang term used to refer to lady parts, this is actually where the legend of the one and only Dracula began. Vlad The Ever So Pleasant At Parties But Still An Impaler, used to live here according to the stories of old.
5. Valley of the Kings (Egypt)
Probably one of the oldest scary stories is the one of the curse of Tutankhamun. Since the opening of his eerily well-preserved tomb, 27 people associated with its excavation have died. It’s said Tutankhamun’s curse will only end when all his treasure has been returned to his tomb, so that leaves us with just one question: who the hell stole his boy-king bling?
4. Centralia (Pennsylvania, USA)
While this might not seem like much at first sight, this town was the inspiration for the Silent Hill movie. Also, this town is pretty much abandoned due to an underground landfill that caught on fire and burnt all the coal in the mines. It’s expected that the fire will burn for another 100 years, at least, creating sinkholes and dangerous gas emissions.
3. Highgate Cemetery (England)
The Highgate cemetery of North London is genuinely creepy. It’s essentially an overgrown cemetery that holds 53,000 graves and over 170,000 people buried, dating all the way back to the Victorian age.
2. Leap Castle (Ireland)
As if old castles aren’t creepy enough on their own, this one is known as the most haunted one in the world. Many tragic and bloody events have happened within its walls, and it’s also built on top of a torture pit. Because where else would you build a haunted castle?
1. Poveglia (Italy)
According to Venetian legend, when a bad man dies, he wakes up in Poveglia. This island south of Venice is one of the most haunted places on earth. Let me tell you why this is the winner on this list, without question. First of all, this is where Italians banished disease and plague victims because they couldn’t be kept on the mainland. After this, in the 1920s, a psychiatric center was built on the island where the director had some … creative therapies. He committed suicide by throwing himself off the tallest bell tower (the second tallest wouldn’t do, apparently). In an episode of Ghost Adventures, the crew experienced equipment malfunctions on the island. I say we leave the ghosts alone.
