13 Scariest Places on Earth

Do you still remember the nights when a really scary story was told before falling asleep? These stories were popular on school trips. In the evening, you sat around the campfire with your classmates, and everyone told their best scary story. A crack in the wood or the gurgling of rusty pipes – your heart was already beating to your neck! Here is the list of the 13 scariest places in the world. Whether in Scotland, Germany, or Japan – almost every country has a place that is best to avoid in the dark. Even if you do not believe in these stories, you are guaranteed to get goosebumps in some places.

Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh, Scotland

The ancient Scottish Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh is one of the scariest places on earth. There is a unique cemetery in the middle of the beautiful city, which is a bit eerie even in daylight. The deceased have been buried here since the 16th century. The most incredible stories have grown up around this gloomy place ever since.

People report real attacks that they claim to have experienced in the dark near the ” Covenanters’ Prison “. It is a cordoned-off section in the southern part of the Kirkyard. This served as a prison in 1679 for all those who had signed a pact against the Stuart royal family in 1638 and had been defeated. Some of them were released or could be rescued, but a thousand detainees died miserably or were executed. And the man who ordered these and many other executions is also buried in this cemetery.

According to legend, one day, a homeless man went into his mausoleum for protection and crashed through a wooden hatch on the floor. So he is said to have awakened the cruel commander from his rigor mortis. Since then, stories have been told of visitors who were injured or passed out near the grave. The Scots are not worried about this and even offer nightly horror tours of the haunted cemetery. Scary prospects, right?

Undead Gongers on Sylt

The beautiful north German island of Sylt is said to have regular visits from undead seafarers, who are called Gongers on the island. A drowned seafarer returns to his family, but only in the third or fourth generation. Allegedly he returns from the sea at dusk or night in the clothes in which he drowned. In the night, he opens the door of his relatives’ house, turns off the light, and lies down on the blanket of a sleeping offspring. The next morning, the gonger’s relatives found a puddle of saltwater in the kitchen that was taken from the returnee’s clothes. The gonger keeps coming back until the family remembers his terrible death and remembered him. Sounds scary, does not it?

Dragsholm Castle in Hørve, Denmark

Dragsholm Castle in Hørve is a real beauty in daylight. In the Middle Ages, it not only served as a fortress but also as a prison. The lord’s daughter is said to have been locked up by her father for an unfortunate and forbidden love affair. She starved to death behind the thick walls of the castle and has been wandering the corridors of the castle ever since. During renovation work around 70 years ago, the skeleton of a girl was discovered who was wearing a white dress. So it may well be that this is the girl who is being held, a prisoner.

But not only the white young lady sneaks through the castle – a former prisoner, Count von Bothwell, regularly appears on the castle grounds and is up to mischief. Guests of the castle claim to have heard the pounding of his horses very carefully. Ghost hunters from all over the world come to Dragsholm Castle to explore the unusual vibrations and learn more about the unusual processes.

Courtyard to Hell: Centralia in Pennsylvania

Apart from a few brave residents who do not want to give up their homes, the small town of Centralia in the US is a ghost town. A fire in the coal mines has been smoldering under the city for more than 50 years and envelops the abandoned houses and streets in acrid smoke. There were 2,500 people still living in the city in 1981, and today there are only 11.

When the sun goes down and the smoke billows through the streets, the city looks like a courtyard to hell. The tar seems to be almost torn apart in entire streets. In 1981, a 12-year-old boy sank into the soft, warm soil of his grandmother’s garden. The heat of the glowing coals had softened the ground so much that he could no longer support the boy’s weight. Then the city’s mayor was hospitalized for gas poisoning. Even if you just drive along the streets of the city with Google Maps, you can see the smoke billowing through the deserted streets. Only a few houses are still standing. A creepy place – especially in the evenings and on Halloween.

Chernobyl – The ghost town of Pripyat in Ukraine

The gondolas of the Ferris wheel are rusty, the individual cars of the bumper car are overgrown with grass. When the wind blows over the area, it crunches and groans from all directions. Empty houses with broken window panes and some of them already collapsed. Every step, every movement reverberates. If you let your eyes wander over the scenery, decay and emptiness are the only things that can be admired there. That is the creepy description of the ghost town of Pripyat near Chernobyl. Not exactly a dream destination for the next vacation. But you can still do tours here.

Witching hour on the Queen Mary

There are some gruesome stories about the magnificent passenger ship RMS Queen Mary. A good 150 ghosts are said to have been hanging around here and have driven more than 40 people to their deaths on the Queen Mary since the ship was built. So it is no wonder that many myths are gathering around the sister ship of the similarly unfortunate Titanic.

Aside from the pools that are not used today, ghosts have allegedly been sighted again and again. Room B340 has not been rented to guests for some time. The incidents in this room are too unusual. Water flows out of the pipes without turning on the faucets, the duvet covers are suddenly no longer in place. The ship, which operated from 1936 to 1967, is now a hotel in Long Beach, California. So if you want to go looking for paranormal activity, you can do so without any problems.

Beelitz-Heilstätten near Potsdam

The 140-hectare site, which once served as a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients in Berlin, is empty today and is now one of the scariest places in the world. Time and again, amateur photographers roam the sanatorium’s grounds with their cameras, looking for a perfect subject. The dilapidated halls and the impressive architecture are eerie even by day – at night you feel like you are in a horror film. Staying without a permit is prohibited and entry will be punished with a report. This does not prevent youth groups and danger seekers from illegally celebrating secret parties on Halloween and looking for a special thrill in the former hospital buildings. Those who are not so adventurous can take a look at the Beelitz Heilstätten on the Baumkronenweg from above or take part in an official guided tour.

Discovery Island in Disney World

Disney World in Florida is the vacation destination for families, here you can be close to your idols and immerse yourself in the stories of Mickey and Co. But this park has a dark secret: Discovery Island. Have you heard of this island? Discovery Island was the zoo in Disney World for a long time, here visitors could admire numerous exotic animals. But there were dark clouds over the island because there were always rumors that animals were not treated appropriately on this island. An investigation uncovered 16 cases of severe animal cruelty. Disney had to pay a fine of 95,000 dollars. The visitors stayed away because of the negative headlines and so it was decided in 1999 to close the island to visitors.

Now bizarre scenes are taking place on the once so lively island, from far away you can see at night that the lights are on on the island, although no one has set foot on Discovery Island for years. Nature has regained its habitat and so the bird cages, which housed rare bird species in the island’s heyday, are gradually decaying. The island is said to be a cursed place. Alligators now live in the lake, and the water park on the island at that time is said to be contaminated by bacteria. Visitors who secretly and illegally sneaked onto the island say that you can hear strange noises and bird cries on the island.

Myrtles Plantation in Louisiana

The Myrtles Plantation in Louisiana bears the title of one of the most haunted houses in the USA. The reason for this is a photo from 1992. It shows two buildings, the General’s Store and the Butler’s Pantry. Between the buildings, you can see a figure leaning against the wall with folded arms. The more people looked at the photo, the more theories spun about the ghost of a slave girl.

It is generally believed that the slave girl is Chloe, the plantation owner’s young lover, who, out of jealousy, poisoned the owner’s daughter and wife. She had only wanted to make them both sick and then miraculously save them, but both died. Fearing the man’s revenge, the other slaves hung Chloe from a tree and then threw her body into the Mississippi.

Isla de las Muñecas doll island in Mexico

To the south of the Mexican capital Mexico City, one of the largest cities in the world, horror fans will find an island that gives every visitor goosebumps. Originally intended as a retreat for tourists, the island of the dolls, Isla de las Muñecas, is now a creepy hotspot for everyone looking for thrills and excitement. According to legend, a young girl drowned under mysterious circumstances on the island. The administrator of the island, Don Julian Santana Barrera, was still trying to save the child – but any help came too late. A short time later he found a doll in the water near the island and hung it in the trees. 

Don Julian died in 2001 – he drowned on his island. Since then, the island has been a popular place for everyone looking for a thrill. Even in broad daylight, the place bristling with scary dolls with soulless eyes is awesome to look at – but in the dark, it gets a bit harder.

Suicide Forest Aokigahara Forest in Japan

The perfect place to die is said to be at the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan. Up to 78 people commit suicide each year amid the Japanese forests of Aokigahara Forest. A novel from the 1960s is said to be responsible for the steadily rising suicide rate. In the novel Kuroi Jukai, two of the protagonists end their lives precisely in this dense and opaque forest.

Since then, crowds of those who are weary of life have made the pilgrimage to the foot of Mount Fuji. The Japanese government cannot do anything about it. They are putting up signs appealing to the common sense of those who visit the forest. Here you can read things like “Life is a precious gift that your parents gave you” or “Please contact the police if you have the wish to die”. In the parking lot at the edge of the forest, there are some abandoned cars whose owners have gone into the forest and never come out. A scary place.

Craco ghost village in Italy

Italy is known for its beautiful old villages and towns that enchant every visitor. For example, walking through the old streets and alleys of Siena makes you feel like you are in a wonderful dream. Laundry hangs out of the windows, and residents gesticulate loudly as they greet the postman and talk about the weather.

These typical street scenes have been a thing of the past in Craco, southern Italy, for several decades. Several devastating earthquakes between 1959 and 1972 caused the city to be almost destroyed . Many of the residents looked for a new home, so dilapidated buildings, deserted streets, and scattered remnants of the residents make the village a popular destination for ghost hunters. Goosebumps are inevitable here, especially at night.

The abandoned Spreepark in Berlin

One of the scariest places in the world is located in the idyllic Plänterwald in Berlin. The Spreepark was once the showcase project of the GDR. There is not much left of it today, as the park has been fallow for 16 years. Nature is taking back its place, and many of the former attractions are already overgrown with ivy and weeds.

Visitors with cameras climb over old dinosaurs and up to the disused roller coasters. Then the Ferris wheel squeaks in the wind and the animals rustling in the undergrowth. You are just waiting for one of the roller coasters to suddenly slide over the rails again. There is a security service that patrols the park and ensures law and order.