5 of the Creepiest Castles in the World

Bodelwyddan Castle in Wales

Whispering ghosts, shadowy figures and phantom soldiers is enough to propel Bodelwyddan Castle to the top of the world’s scariest castles list, add in the fact that the walls were built around human bones and this creepy castle just got creepier.

In 1829, current Bodelwyddan Castle owner, Sir John Hay Williams noted the discovery of human bones near one of the chimneys. Since the castle was currently undergoing restoration, they continued to rebuild the castle around the bones.

Over the years, this 15th Century manor house has served as a private residence, a World War I recuperation hospital, a private girls’ school and a museum.

In 2004 the castle was featured as a location for the British TV program, Most Haunted.

20 Scariest Places to go for Halloween Countdown

With Halloween just around the corner, you may be wondering where some of the spookiest, creepiest, eeriest, most haunted and/or best places to visit on Halloween are located around the world. Places where mummies stare back at you or ghosts roam the hallways, caves where witches hide from the world or dungeons where people were once imprisoned and tortured are scattered throughout the world, giving the heebie jeebies to travelers and residents alike.
So, in honor of this spooky holiday, here is a list of the 20 creepiest Halloween destinations around the world. And, we’re not talking fake haunted houses and corn mazes with paid actors. We’re talking downright terrifying places where mysterious happenings occur year-round and which are guaranteed to give you goose bumps. From haunted prisons to caves to catacombs, these bone chilling places will scare the daylights out of you, and may just give you nightmares for weeks.

2. St. Michan’s Church, Dublin, Ireland

Although St. Michan’s church in Dublin, Ireland was founded in the mid 16th century and has the oldest organ still in use in the entire country, this next creepy destination is much more known for the vault that lies beneath the church. Down a limestone and mortar tunnel that extends below the church is a series of galleries for placing coffins.

Some galleries have been sealed off with wooden or iron doors, others have been left open. Through the iron doors of some, visitors can take a peek at a multitude of coffins laying helter skelter, the occasional arm or leg poking from the coffin lid. Then, in one of the open chambers, deep in the dark, damp tunnels below the church are 4 caskets with the lids completely removed, exposing mysteriously mummified remains—corpses partly covered with a layer of taut, leathery skin. Three of the four coffins lie in a row with a woman on the right, a man with a hand cut off and both feet missing in the center and a nun on the left. Some hypothesize the corpse is missing limbs because he was a thief and was punished by having them cut off, others believe he was simply too large to fit in the casket.

The final mummy in the vaults of St. Michan’s is a man believed to have been a soldier returned from the crusades, whose body is cut in half to fit in the casket and whose hand lifts eerily into the air. If visitors are brave enough to venture further into the underground vaults, they can see the caskets of the Sheare brothers, who were hanged, drawn and quartered in punishment for treason after an uprising in 1798. The most mysterious thing about the mummies of St. Michan is that no one understands why these bodies have not decomposed like others in surrounding areas. Maybe it’s the climate in the underground vaults, maybe it’s the high concentration of lime in the soil, or maybe it’s just something a little more paranormal and a lot spookier. It’s up to you to decide.

5 of the World’s Most Haunted Places

Some people love a good scare; after all, there’s a reason that haunted tours, ghost-hunter shows, and horror movies find such success around the world. If you love being spooked, there are countless ways to incorporate a little bit of mystery and mayhem into your travels, if you dare.
Some of these places – haunted vaults, cities of voodoo witches, creepy crime scenes and suicidal forests  – are enough to make even the most fearless travelers reconsider their trip for “safer” destinations. Put them together and you have got yourself one heck of a fright fest. So grab your flashlight and running shoes and get ready because here are five of the most haunted and bloodcurdling tours in the world. Are you brave enough to take one?

Aokigahara Forest in Japan

 Aokigahara Forest is a thick, dark woodland filled with Japanese moss and volcanic rock that borders Mount Fuji in Japan. However, it is better known throughout much of The Land of the Rising Sun as Suicide Forest.

With around 80 successful suicides a year, this sea of trees is intent on living up to its name. It is not uncommon for hikers to stumble upon bodies, propped against a tree with a gun or razor blade in their hand. Some visitors find corpses swinging from a tree limb, and other times all that is found is a mound of possessions, a few torn photos or a letter.
Legends claim massive underground iron deposits interfere with compasses, catching innocent hikers in the forests’ grasp, while spiritualists claim the trees have absorbed the malicious energy that has accumulated from centuries of unsettled souls who ended their lives too soon. Some of the most profound evidence of paranormal existence has been documented in these woods. Visitors can enter Aokigahara Forest at will.

5 of the Creepiest Castles in the World

Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland

 This imposing castle towers above the Princess Street Gardens in what is often called the most haunted city in Europe …

Edinburgh, Scotland. The 900+ year-old fortress was built on the remains of an ancient volcano and is home to some of the most interesting ghosts in the world.
Although visitors and guests report hearing the droning beat of a drum, few people have ever actually seen the drummer, who is reportedly a headless boy who only reveals himself before the castle is attacked.
The castle’s dog cemetery is allegedly prowled by a phantom four-legged friend and the dungeons are haunted by a special phenomenon that has been scientifically proven to be unexplainable.

20 Scariest Places to go for Halloween Countdown

With Halloween just around the corner, you may be wondering where some of the spookiest, creepiest, eeriest, most haunted and/or best places to visit on Halloween are located around the world. Places where mummies stare back at you or ghosts roam the hallways, caves where witches hide from the world or dungeons where people were once imprisoned and tortured are scattered throughout the world, giving the heebie jeebies to travelers and residents alike.
So, in honor of this spooky holiday, here is a list of the 20 creepiest Halloween destinations around the world. And, we’re not talking fake haunted houses and corn mazes with paid actors. We’re talking downright terrifying places where mysterious happenings occur year-round and which are guaranteed to give you goose bumps. From haunted prisons to caves to catacombs, these bone chilling places will scare the daylights out of you, and may just give you nightmares for weeks.

3. Catacombs of Paris, France

Although a popular tourist attraction year-round, the famous catacombs of Paris are a particularly good place to visit in honor of Halloween. The underground ossuary, which was organized in a section of the city’s vast network of underground tunnels in the 18th century, were designated as a place to store the remains from condemned cemeteries in the Paris city limits. In the late 1700s, bodies from several burial grounds in Paris were moved into the underground tunnels. The result is the mass stacking of bones you see today, with skulls and femurs lining the walls like decorations.

The creepy Parisian catacombs have also inspired ghostly stories for generations. King of creepy, Edgar Allen Poe uses the Paris catacombs as a reference in his story the “Cask of Amontillado” and there have been several books written about vampires who seek refuge among the bones and dead in the catacombs. Who knows, maybe the next time you are roaming the bone filled tunnels below Paris you may just see a monster living among the dead.

5 of the World’s Most Haunted Places

Some people love a good scare; after all, there’s a reason that haunted tours, ghost-hunter shows, and horror movies find such success around the world. If you love being spooked, there are countless ways to incorporate a little bit of mystery and mayhem into your travels, if you dare.
Some of these places – haunted vaults, cities of voodoo witches, creepy crime scenes and suicidal forests  – are enough to make even the most fearless travelers reconsider their trip for “safer” destinations. Put them together and you have got yourself one heck of a fright fest. So grab your flashlight and running shoes and get ready because here are five of the most haunted and bloodcurdling tours in the world. Are you brave enough to take one?

The LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

 Vampires, Voodoo queens and spell-casting witches are enough to make any thrill-seeker head to the Big Easy, add in a few Civil War ghosts and a Turkish sultan and it is easy to see how New Orleans claims the title of “Most Haunted City in America.”

One of the most famous haunted houses in the city sits at 1140 Royal Street in the French Quarter. The mansion was owned in the 1800s by Madame LaLaurie and her physician husband who purchased slaves and conducted unimaginable medical experiments on them.
These gruesome acts continued for many years until a fire led investigators to the home. Inside the attic they found people chained to the walls, many with exposed internal organs. The LaLauries fled New Orleans and although their home has been sold several times, occupants still report seeing ghosts of murdered slaves roaming the attic. Haunted New Orleans tours cost around $20.00 per person.

5 of the Creepiest Castles in the World

Whether it is the heroic medieval knight, the adoring love-struck princess or simply the idea of a fantasy-ridden past, castles capture our hearts and tempt our imaginations. We long to explore their narrow passages, climb their dimly-lit stairwells and peer from inside their soaring stone towers. And when the castle’s past includes impaling enemies, forgotten prisoners and vindictive spirits … well, that is even better.
Here are 5 of the creepiest castles in the world where a traveler is more likely to get brushed by a 16th Century knight than Cinderella’s Prince Charming.

Berry Pomeroy in Devon, England

 Touted as the most haunted castle in the UK, the 12th Century Berry Pomeroy Castle has its own White Lady ghost … and this one is even sadder.

Berry Pomeroy’s White Lady is said to be the ghost of Lady Margaret Pomeroy who was starved to death by her jealous sister, Lady Eleanor. Castle rumors claim Eleanor was always jealous of her younger and prettier sister and locked her inside the castle dungeon for nearly two decades. Her ghost is said to be all white-from her wildly flowing hair to her ghostly white feet and she often is seen rising from the top of St. Margaret’s Tower.
She is a fixture inside the dungeons and people who see her report feeling intense depression, fear and anger.