Some destinations are known to be particularly creepy, such as London’s Tower of London with its longstanding history of torture and execution dating back nearly 900 years, or Lizzie Borden House in Fall River with its chilling tale of her murderous parents.
Waverly Hills Sanatorium, which served as a tuberculosis hospital during its most dangerous days, is notoriously haunted. Both guests and staff members have reported hearing footsteps treading across their own flooring as well as voices whispering close by.
Alcatraz
San Francisco Bay was home to one of America’s most notorious prisons – once home to some of its most dangerous criminals. Due to its design and location, this federal penitentiary was one of the toughest ever constructed.
Visitors, staff, and paranormal investigators have reported hearing and feeling the ghosts of prisoners once incarcerated here. Crashing sounds, slamming cell doors, banjo music and other unexplained noises have been heard across the island.
Richard Senate and a psychic spent the night on Alcatraz for a KGO radio promotion in 1992, experiencing unusual vibrations of abuse, mistreatment and fear as they explored its hallowed halls.
Tour Alcatraz by day or night to experience its haunted tales for yourself; just catch a ferry at Pier 33 in San Francisco and ride across choppy waters until reaching Alcatraz Island. Make sure you visit A, B and C cell blocks where most reported activity can be found.
Mystery Island
Mystery Island in Vanuatu’s clear blue waters has long been an oasis for generations of Australian cruisers cruising into its waters, but its history is more disturbing than any typical vacation spot.
After Queen Elizabeth visited in 1974, locals believed that after dark Inyeug became haunted and was given its current name of Aneityum Island. Not completely deserted though; when cruise ships dock, locals from Aneityum set up small display stalls along the beach offering traditional souvenirs like postcards and T-shirts as well as more unusual services like story telling or hair braiding for sale to visitors.
Alongside its market stalls, the island also provides opportunities to snorkel in clear water, take photos of its unique flora and fauna, relax on its beaches, enjoy string band music as well as various foods and beverages available for purchase, participate in cultural activities as well as take part in other cultural activities.
The Galapagos Islands
Galapagos Island Archipelago may not boast iconic species like tigers and orangutans, but that doesn’t diminish its beauty as an island archipelago. Boasting 97% national parks on its land area and an abundance of wildlife to observe despite being easily observed from an observation platform, wildlife here remains remarkable and challenging to study at times.
Climate change is not the only threat facing Galapagos animals – humans pose another formidable challenge to its inhabitants as pirates used the islands as bases for raiding Spanish ships, bringing with them goats and black rats that disrupted ecosystems on these remote islands.
New Orleans
New Orleans is known to be home to many ghostly stories, given its long history of natural disasters, famines and warfare – giving rise to ghostly presences that refuse to rest in peace.
The French Quarter is famously filled with haunted spots, but none is more haunted than Hotel Monteleone. Once known as Convent of Holy Family, in 1964 this luxury hotel underwent transformation and became Hotel Monteleone – which boasts haunting events at night when people sleep there alone under its chandelier! If you visit at night you may even spot one or more ghost dancers moving their bodies.
This 1872 house has an especially macabre past. Once owned by a Sultan who held lavish parties on the premises, as well as being home to an outbreak of yellow fever that resulted in thousands of deaths. Since then, ghostly residents such as a mischievous boy and former mortician still wander this building today – making paranormal tours available here a popular attraction.
