5 of the scariest places you can actually visit

By Marcus Wade | October 28, 2016

There is something oddly enjoyable in scaring the living daylights out of yourself, maybe it’s the rush of adrenaline after you’ve been scared or maybe it’s testing yourself to see how far you can go. Either way, it’s thrilling to come in contact with something that haunts you and is unforgettable, for better or worse. If you want to visit the scariest places that will really get you, continue reading to find one that tickles your fancy!

Here are the scariest places you can actually visit.

Capuchin Catacombs

The extreme eeriness of the Capuchin Catacombs will haunt you long after you visit. In the city of Palermo, Italy, 8,000 mummies are displayed and stored in these rooms, most of them being either monks or children. Each body is in a different state of decomposition, some with the skin still peeling off their faces or hair still in tact. Walking through, you will feel the inevitability of death surround you as all these bodies look down on you and watch you wander around. This museum is open every day for the public and is a truly chilling experience.

Hashima Island

This small island in Japan was once the site of a booming coal-mining town, at least until 1974. Within a week, everyone left the island as there was no more money in the coal business and petroleum became the primary fuel. Everything was left in tact so walking around it easily feels like living in a post-apocalyptic world. If being alone spooks you out, this is the place to give you a thrill. Who knows what could be lurking in an abandoned city like this?

Island of the Dolls

If you are easily spooked by the uncanny, the Island of the Dolls in Mexico is going to terrify you. Legend has it that the only inhabitant on the island spent his life hanging up dolls anywhere they would fit to ward off the evil spirits after finding the body of a young girl who had drowned in the water nearby. Apparently, the man was found dead in the same exact spot as the young girl, which only makes the island creepier. Getting to the island is difficult, you have to get a boat taxi to take you out of the main course, but once you are, the spine chilling experience is well worth all the trouble.

West Virginia State Penitentiary

Walking through the halls that were once filled with convicts in one of the most horrific prisons will easily keep you up at night. West Virginia State Penitentiary was shut down in the 90s for having inhumane conditions for its inmates and is notorious for being one of the most violent prisons in the country. Now, it is a tourist attraction that also puts on ghost-hunting events at night. If you’re into haunted houses, this will really get you going. Along with other visitors, you tour the facilities with only the light of a flashlight in search of ghosts. You can see where other inmates have been killed, mistreated, and tortured. An unforgettable experience that will haunt you for nights to come!

Sedlec Ossuary

The Sedlec Ossuary will have a similar effect on you as the Capuchin Catacombs will. Here, death completely surrounds you, except this time it is in a more decorative and less morbid sense. The ossuary is a daytrip away from Prague and consists of anywhere between 40,000 and 70,000 people’s skeletons, and the Black Plague caused most of the deaths. Diseased or not, bones are used for everything, from words to chandeliers, to make this place ornate. If the eminence of death daunts you in the slightest, this is the spot to really drill it into your head.