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You should visit these places…if you aren’t too scared…
There are some truly breathtaking places in the world. From natural wonders like the Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef, to man-made metropolises like New York and Tokyo that bustle with life, these beautiful places attract countless visitors each year. There are other…less lively places that offer some spectacularly spooky sights to tourists who want a different kind of thrill (and chill) in their vacation.
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1.“Door to Hell” – Derweze, Turkmenistan |
A natural gas field that Soviet engineers tried to burn off in 1971 has been burning constantly since then, and doesn’t appear that it will ever stop. When the Devil comes to Earth, it’ll probably be through here.
 The town of almost 50,000 was quickly evacuated in the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster which was nearby. Visit their famed amusement park, and you’ll come back glowing! |
2.The Island of the Dolls – Mexico |
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Pripyat, Ukraine |
This tiny island near Mexico City was inhabited by a recluse named Julián Santana Barrera who hung up the discarded dolls he found floating in surrounding river for 50 years to appease the spirit of a girl who drowned nearby which he said haunted him until he died of a heart attack near the same river. Can’t imagine why he was scared to death…
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3.Capela dos Ossos – Évora, Portugal |
The “Chapel of Bones” was built by a (super weird) monk in the 1500’s who decorated the building with the bones of an estimated 5,000 of his fellow monks. If that’s not creepy enough, two bodies hang from the ceiling, and one them is a child. Jesus would be proud.
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4.Grand Hotel Prishtina – Pristina, Kosovo |
The marquee hotel in in Kosovo’s capital isn’t so “grand” anymore. During the brutal Balkan Wars of the 90’s, Serbian militants used the hotel as a place for the torture and execution of their prisoners. Their Trip Adviser rating took quite the hit.
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Catacombs of Paris |
The network of tunnels under the City of Lights is over 200 miles long and is home to an estimated over 6 million bodies. Some parts of the catacombs are open to the public as an official museum, but other sections are off limits, yet are visited illegally by thousands of curious tourists and local troublemakers
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5.Aokigahara Forest – Japan |
The beauty of this forest near the base of Mount Fuji, belies its nickname as the Suicide Forest. For over 60 years, about 100 people have killed themselves in the forest each year. It’s a severe problem in Japan that local authorities aren’t sure how to stop
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6.Hanging Coffins – Sagada, Philippines |
Local tribes practice the custom of mounting their dead’s coffins on a cliff-face in hopes that they will be closer to heaven. And what a view!
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7.Old Jewish Cemetary – Prague |
The cemetery is nearly 600 years old, and has about 12,000 tombstones packed in it. Per Jewish tradition, no bodies have ever been moved, so when they ran out of room, the bodies were put in layers, now 12 deep. There are an estimated 100,000 bodies in this one graveyard.
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8.Roosevelt Hotel – Hollywood, Los Angeles |
For some close to home hauntings, visit the Roosevelt Hotel in LA. The hotel was a staple of Old Hollywood, and Marilyn Monroe supposedly still visits her favorite room, Suite 1200.
 9.Ilha da Queimada Grande, Brazil
Another small island, but with much scarier inhabitants. Off the coast of Brazil, the tiny “Snake Island” is home to an estimated 4,000 Golden Lancehead Vipers, and is the only place in the world these extremely venomous snakes can be found. The only people who dare visit the uninhabited island are the occasional scientists who are truly brave souls.
 10.House of the Bulgarian Communist Party
Tucked away in the Balkan Mountains is this now abandoned monument to the Eastern Bloc. Graffiti marks the walls of the former seat of Bulgaria’s Communist Party. The place looks like a crashed spaceship. Completely otherworldly.
to be continued....in page 2 |
