Five of the World’s Scariest Destinations for Culture-Seekers

By Sarah Lafontaine

If there’s something we can all appreciate, it’s the weird and wonderful ways that cultures around the world honor life and death. Halloween is quickly coming upon us, and if you’re as into Halloween as we are, you’ll be looking for the best spots for a good scare. Here’s our list of the World’s Scariest Destinations:

Beelitz-Heilstätten Hospital, Beelitz, Germany

Beelitz-Heilstätten Hospital is a former TB Clinic and sanatorium that is famous for having treated Erich Honecker and Adolf Hitler from wounds sustained in World War I. It was built between 1898 and 1930 and became a Military Hospital in World War II. It was finally abandoned in 2000 and remains in various states of ruin.

Poveglia, Italy

Well known as one of the scariest place in Italy, Poveglia Island has a long history of frightening proportions. It starts with the Bubonic Plague when the Romans shipped those affected to Poveglia Island to die off. A psychiatric hospital was built and a horrible doctor took a position there. This doctor performed all sorts of terrifying “treatments” on his patients, eventually losing his mind and taking his own life. The haunting history of Poveglia Island is prevalent, as you step onto its earth, sinking into the soil and ash of those buried and burned in mass graves. Spooky!

Nagoro, Japan

If dolls aren’t your thing, you’re going to hate this. Nagoro, Japan is home to more than 350 dolls, each representative of a former resident. When the residents of Nagoro left to look for employment, it left the town a ghost town. A woman named Tsukimi Ayano returned years later and due to loneliness, began crafting the dolls. She started with a likeness of her father, and years later, visitors can find dolls in the schools, riding bikes, and more. It’s kind of sweet if you like that sort of thing, but definitely in our books as one of the scariest destinations!

The Hanging Coffins in Sagada, Philippines

While the history of the hanging coffins is actually quite beautiful, few can deny the shock of it when you see it in person. People of the tribe Igorot in the northern Philippines have traditionally nailed coffins into the sides of cliffs high above the ground. This tradition started more than two thousand years ago and is thought to bring the dead closer to their ancestors. Other reasons may be that the elders worried about being buried in the earth. It was thought that rainwater would seep into the coffins and their bodies would rot quickly. The ritual is not practised as often now, but every few years a new coffin appears on the side of a cliff.

Isla de las Muñecas (Island of the Dolls), Xochimilco, Mexico

South of Mexico City, is Xochimilco, and another of the scariest destinations, La Isla de las Muñecas. Decades ago, a man named Don Julian Santana moved to the island on Teshuilo Lake. He had left his wife and son and relocated himself to the island. Apparently, Santana found a young girl drowned in the lake, or possibly that he had imagined discovering her body. Later, he discovered a doll floating in the lake and hung it from a tree in respect of the young girl. The legend is that the little girl haunted Santana. He then began collecting and hanging dolls from the trees in order to please her spirit. Santana would trade produce he grew for other dolls had a collection in his home on the island.

In 2001, Don Julian Santana drowned in the same place believed to be where the little girl also drowned. The island is now a tourist attraction for those who dare!