The creepiest places on Earth 🧵
1. Vezio Castle, Italy
2. The Island of the Dolls, located south of Mexico City, is filled with old dolls of various styles and colors.
Legends about the dolls and the island's former owner, Don Julián Santana Barrera, have made it a popular dark tourism destination.
3. The Paris catacombs
It took the "City of Light" 12 years to empty its cemeteries and transfer the bones of an estimated 6 to 7 million bodies into the catacombs.
Some of the oldest date back as far as the Merovingian era, more than 1,200 years ago.
This is Le Passe-muraille (Passer-Through-Walls) sculpture by Jean Marais in the Paris catacombs, along with an eerie "bone throne".
4. The Bone Church of Sedlec Ossuary, Czech Republic
The ossuary is estimated to contain the skeletons of between 40,000 and 70,000 people, whose bones have, in many cases, been artistically arranged to form decorations and furnishings for the chapel.
5. Eltz Castle can be found in the hills of the German town Wierschem.
After rejecting the Knight of Braunsberg, Agnes Eltz died defending this medieval marvel against his vengeful attack.
Today, her spirit is believed to linger in the Countess Room of Eltz Castle.
6. Due to the declining fertility rate, the village of Nagoro in Japan has less than 30 living residents.
Tsukimi Ayano began creating life-sized dolls to represent the townspeople who had either moved or passed away, filling the empty homes and streets with these figures.
7. The origin of the crosses on the hill is uncertain but likely began after the 1831 Uprising.
Over time, pilgrims added crosses, Virgin Mary statues, and carvings of Lithuanian patriots.
By 1990, there were about 55,000 crosses, rising to roughly 100,000 by 2006.
8. Hue's abandoned dragon water park, Vietnam
9. The "Door to Hell" in Derweze, Turkmenistan, is a burning natural gas crater formed in 1971 when a gas field collapsed.
Geologists reportedly set it on fire to curb the spread of methane gas, but it continues to burn to this day.
10. Bran Castle, or "Dracula's Castle," is a Romanian landmark tied to vampire lore due to Bram Stoker's Dracula and its brutal historical ruler, Vlad the Impaler.
11. Hanging coffins are cliff-placed burials found in parts of China, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
12. At the time of discovery, the "Elephant's Foot" in Chernobyl was capable of inducing a lethal dose of radiation in 5 minutes.
Today, it is still an extremely radioactive object, though the radiation has decreased to much safer levels due to radioactive decay.
13. "Snake Island" is an island off the coast of Brazil, estimated to have one snake per square meter.
It is home to the extremely deadly and highly endangered golden lancehead viper, and the island is completely off-limits to humans.
14. Built in 1898 as a treatment center for tuberculosis, the Beelitz Heilstätten hospital complex was the largest of its kind and a pioneer in research and treatment. It has been abandoned since 1995.
15. Centralia, Pennsylvania, a former coal mining town, has been burning for nearly 60 years. In 1962, a landfill fire ignited an underground coal seam, which continues to smolder.
After spending $7 million to extinguish it, Pennsylvania gave up in the 1990s.
16. McDermott's Castle, Ireland
17. Aokigahara, or the Sea of Trees, is historically known as a home to yūrei, or ghosts, in Japanese mythology and has been associated with suicide since the 1960s, becoming known in English by the nickname "Suicide Forest".
18. Edinburgh Castle is known as one of the most haunted places in Scotland.
19. This Colombian hotel is called Hotel del Salto, which literally translates to “Hotel of the Leap.” Given its location, I think you can guess why.
20. The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Italy
Initially for friars, being buried here became a status symbol, with families requesting specific burial attire and even regular changes of clothing. Bodies remained on display as long as donations continued.
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