If you prefer your trips to skew more haunted than spiritual, here is the list of the 20 most haunted places in the world for you. But even if you’re not a fan of paranormal activities, some of the spookiest locations are still worth your time, whether for their beautiful architecture, jaw-dropping locations, or fascinating histories. We have abandoned islands, spookiest hotels, mysterious cemeteries and many more. So buckle up!
1. Château de brissac, brissac-quincé, France
One of the tallest castles in all of France, the seven-story Château de Brissac is perhaps best known as the home of “The Green Lady,” aka the ghost of Charlotte of France. She is seen in the tower room of the chapel with gaping holes in the place of nose and mouth wearing her green dress. Her moans in the early morning has scared quite a lot of guests.
2. Bhangarh Fort, India
Located just 100 miles southwest of Delhi, the lush ruins of Bhangarh Fort make for the most haunted site of India. To this day, the oasis remains largely uninhabited due to an alleged curse cast by a lovesick tantrik after his advances were rebuffed by the local princess, Ratnavati. The place is forever condemned to be isolated. If a villager tries to build a roof, It goes poof!! It collapses.
3.Ancient Ram Inn, Wotton-under-Edge, England
Built in 1145, England’s Ancient Ram Inn has played many roles over the centuries: a former priest’s residence, housing for masons and slaves, an inn, a place for devil worship and ritual sacrifices, and a public house. With ghostly children, a high priestess, and even an incubus, wandering the halls, guests have reportedly leapt from the windows in a frenzy to escape. The skeletal remains of children stabbed with daggers have been a common sight here.
4. Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town, South Africa
This oldest colonial building in South Africa dates back to 1666 and it certainly have a torturous history. In the 1700s, Governor Pieter van Noodt condemned several men to be hanged to death for desertion; one of the men cursed the governor from the gallows, and van Noodt died of a heart attack later that day. According to the Castle of Good Hope’s official website, his ghost has been haunting the battlements ever since.
5. Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Canada
This chateau-style hotel, built in 1888 sits pretty by the Rocky Mountains in Banff National Park. This holes’s package constitutes a ghost of a bride on the staircase who died here while going to get marry or in the ballroom where she longs to have her first dance with her husband, which she never had. Sam the Bellman, bless him, can also be met here helping people even after his death. And of course the haunted rooms where the pillow is yanked out from under your head and bloody hand prints on the mirror. Exciting! Isn’t it?
6. Poveglia Island, Venice, Italy
In the south lagoon beteen Venice and Lido sits an island that has been the refuge and place of exile for diseased, dying and deceased. In 1348 The Bubonic Plague led to the quarantine and later eradication of thousands of Venice citizens in giant pyres here. In late 1800s, a asylum was established here, in which the doctor performed strange experiments, himself went mad and jumped off the bell tower. Even after the removal of the bell, locals claim to hear its sound till date. It is now prohibited to visit to the island.
7. La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Recoleta is one of the world’s most famous cemetery. Here you can see beautiful tombstones and statues and also hear and feel the prescence of the caretaker. Alas, he is dead. David Alleno, a former grave-digger and caretaker who worked at the cemetery for 30 years before killing himself. Today, people report hearing Alleno’s keys jangling as his ghost walks the pathways at dawn.
8. Jazirat Al Hamra, United Arab Emirates
The nearly-abandoned town of Jazirat Al Hamra is about 14 miles southwest of Ras Al Khaimah in northern UAE. In 1968 , the thriving pearl fishing village was left by the around 200 inhabitants suddenly. People claim that visitors are bound to experience strange noises and chilling apparitions, usually genies in the form of animals. You can have the tour through this town without any ticket or cheesy guide.
9. The Langham Hotel, London, England
This 153 years old hotel is one of the most haunted hotels in the world. It has hosted many great personalities over the years like Oscar Wilde and Mark Twain; spooked away some like the national cricket team and is now home to elite spirits such as former resident Emperor Louis Napoleon III and a German prince who jumped to his death from his upper-level window. This place is sure to give you creeps.
10. Teatro Tapia, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Teatro Tapia is a theater in San Juan known for its plays, concerts, and paranormal activity. It organises frequent ballet and music performances, so purchase a ticket to see some local acts and maybe a local ghost while you’re at it. Yes! the local ghost of a dancer, who died while performing an act here, can be seen wandering the halls. Mysterious footsteps, doors swinging open and shut, and an unseen choir of voices coming from the stage are a common occurrence here.
11. Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, India
Located in the heart of Mumbai, one of the best hotels in India, the five-star Taj Mahal Palace is famous for its grandeur. But apparently its architecture has a huge mistake, the hotel happened to be constructed in the opposite side. This led to the suicide of the architect from its fifth floor. His spirit now roams the halls, runs into guests in the hallways and walks around the roof. Mistakes can sometimes prove to be fatal my friends!
12. Carl Beck House, Ontario, Canada
This house in Penetanguishene is known as one of the most haunted houses in Ontario. Here lived Beck and his family,after his wife passed away, the eldest daughter, Mary, was put in charge of the younger children. Years later, when Carl died, he inexplicably left Mary $1 in his will. Today, an angry, female ghost presumably Mary, who was paid just a dollar for her services is said to appear in the upstairs windows. Now you can book this house in $95 at Airbnb to stay for the night. The irony is not lost on anyone!
13. Isla de las Munecas (Island of the Dolls), Mexico
Xochimilco, a UNESCO World Heritage site for its well-preserved example of Aztec life is also famous for its neighborhood Island of the Dolls. Hidden among the region’s many canals, the site is famous for the hundreds of dolls and doll parts hanging from trees and scattered among the grass. Julian Santa Barrera, after finding a dead girl’s body in a nearby canal, collected and displayed the toys in the hopes of warding off evil spirits reports .Are you a daring souls? , then hire a boat and take a look of the island safely from the water.
14. Tower of London, England
This nearly 1000 year old castle has seen its fair share of torture, murder and execution. Here Henry VIII famously ordered the execution of his wife, Anne Boleyn because she gave birth to a stillborn son. Her ghosts can still be found here wandering and carrying her own severed head. The countess of Salisbury was also brutally hacked to death by the executioner here in 1541. Visitors have watched this terrifying scene reenacted by spirits. The show is available to all!!
15. Hoia-Baciu Forest, Romania
These 250 hectares spanned Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania is considered one of the most haunted places on Earth. The place is famous for its inhabitation by devil, ghosts and aliens. A UFO sighting was photographed, a shepherd and his 200 sheep were never found and a girl was found after 5 years of her disappearance in the same clothes and without being aged even a day.
16. Aokigahara Forest, Japan
Every beautiful thing has a shady past, and here it is. The Suicide forest of Japan flows with a negative energy and creepy silence. It has been a site of more than 500 suicides over the years. The Japanese government has put a board outside the forest which says “Think carefully about your children, your family.” and “Your life is a precious gift from your parents.” You have been cautioned.
17. The Forbidden City, Beijing, China
The staple of every tour to China, this 600 years old former imperial palace is a museum on this date, but has its fair share of murders, whether from jealous concubines poisoning one another or executions performed at the emperor’s behest. People have seen a woman dressed in white (typical ghost) sobbing while strolling the grounds.
18. Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, CO
This hotel in the rocky mountains was built by Freelan Oscar Stanley. Stanley came here and found the solace he wanted, and vowed to return every summer. He truly is the man of his words, as he still comes here! Many ghost sightings and some mysterious piano music have been connected to the hotel, and the Stanley Hotel leans into its reputation with nightly ghost tours and psychic consultations from the in-house Madame Vera.
19. Larnach Castle, New Zealand
Larnach, one of the most haunted castles in the world was built between 1871 and 1887 to serve as the residence of William Larnach, a prominent local politician. It is graced with a 3,000-square-foot ballroom, which Larnach had built as a 21st birthday present for his favorite daughter Kate, who later died of typhoid at age 26, who liked the Ballroom a lot and refused to leave it till date. It is not imagination my friends : The building has been featured on Ghost Hunters International.
20. Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, PA
The castle-like Eastern State Penitentiary was built in 1829. Here they took solitary confinement to new levels; prisoners lived alone, exercised alone, and ate alone. The prison had to abandon this system due to overcrowding in 1913, although the forms of punishment did not get any less severe for example chaining an inmate’s tongue to his wrists, before it closed for good in 1970. The site now welcomes thousands of visitors every year, both for its museum and Halloween celebrations. Disembodied laughter, shadowy figures, and pacing footsteps have also been reported here.
Now here was a whole lot of the world’s most haunted places for you to choose from, so make sure to add one of these in your travel bucket list and be sure to find some truth behind the stories. And don’t forget to pass on our greetings to all the ghosts you meet!!!
