The world's creepiest places

By Ralph Martin

updated 12:24 p.m. ET Oct. 29, 2008

Step away from that pumpkin! While we're more than happy to get into the swing of Halloween, we refuse to do a roundup of the trite and not-so-true haunted hotels around the world. Nonetheless, in our travels we've happened upon a number of places that are genuinely creepy, from a dive site among WWII wrecks in Micronesia to a tour through the eerie, abandoned town near Chernobyl in the Ukraine. You'd be wrong to dismiss these destinations as merely spooky stop-offs, too. Many have true historical significance (the Paris Catacombs and its links to the French Revolution), while others are destinations of great beauty (the Easter Islands in the Pacific Ocean). So in the spirit (sorry) of the season, here are 13 (sorry again) of the world's weirdest destinations. Sensitive souls should read on with caution.

For a complete slideshow of the World’s Creepiest Places, click here.

1. Bhangarh, India
India's Bhangarh, in the Rajasthan region north of Jaipur, is a town with a mysterious history. Built in the 1630s, it was abruptly abandoned ten years later for reasons that are still unclear. Legend has it that after a convoluted series of events involving a princess and a jar of enchanted oil, a massacre occurred and the town was never repopulated. Nowadays there are tourists aplenty by day, but no one stays at night. This might have something to do with the supposed curse placed on the town by a jealous shaman. Even the local archeological office is located half a mile away (better safe than sorry). But the magnificent ruins—not to mention the Palace of Prostitutes—imply that Bhangarh was something of a Gomorrah of extravagant goings-on. Perhaps that history—and not the ghost stories—is why a sign at the entrance reads, "Staying here after sunset is strictly prohibited." Either way, we're happy to rest our heads at the ultra-luxe Amanbagh resort six miles away.

Amanbagh
Tel: 800 477 9180 (toll free)

2. Mütter Museum, Philadelphia
From the sliced human head floating in a glass case, à la Damien Hirst, to the gruesome collection of preserved presidential tumors and a plaster cast of Siamese twins Chang and Eng (as well as their actual conjoined livers), Philadelphia's Mütter museum is a must-see, especially for those who found the movie "Dead Ringers" oddly compelling. Part of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the oldest medical school complex in North America, it combines exhibits of pathological objects, surgical tools, and anatomical curiosities. Other wonders on display include the tallest skeleton in North America and a collection of 2,000 objects removed from people's throats, each with its own case history. There is an almost gleeful disconnection between the museum's mission—"to advance the cause of health, and uphold the ideals and heritage of medicine"—and the often shocking displays. High on the ugh-list are the painted papier-mâché models of the effects of gangrene and the wax faces with various eye injuries; the air outside is bound to seem fresh afterward, no matter what the weather.

Mütter Museum
Tel: 215 563 3737

3. Truk Lagoon, Chuuk, Micronesia
A ship ripped neatly in half offers a perfect cutaway view of life and death on the high seas. Everything is encrusted with barnacles, from cabins and boiler rooms to onboard assault tanks and airplanes. Much of the Japanese Navy's WWII fleet lies in the shallow Truk Lagoon in a volcanic valley in Micronesia, part of the Caroline Islands 3,200 miles southwest of Hawaii. Now a deep-blue diver's paradise (it was the subject of a Jacques Cousteau documentary in 1971), this was where the Allies sunk more than 60 battleships and aircraft carriers in 1944, many going down with their crews trapped inside. While swimming through the wrecks, you can spot gas masks, sake cups, and the odd "human remain." The ships are corroding fast and many have become full-fledged coral reefs, but they still provide a jaw-dropping testimony to the ravages of war. Tour companies, including the Blue Lagoon Dive Shop, offer excursions for experienced divers.

Blue Lagoon Dive Shop
Tel: 691 330 2796

4. Sonora Witchcraft Market, Mexico City, Mexico
Witches packed into tightly spaced stalls proffer advice and spells for $10, promising quick ends to poverty and spousal infidelity, while some rather unhappy-looking exotic animals—iguanas, frogs, and wild birds—are for sale in cages. This is the Sonora Witchcraft Market, open daily to pilgrims from Mexico City and far beyond who come to have their fortunes read and attempt to find a shortcut to a better life.

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The market is a labyrinth of stalls that cover a few city blocks, and it's the regional source for "spiritual" stuff ranging from potions derived from ancient Aztec recipes to Buddha statues. For hard-core enthusiasts, perhaps some rattlesnake blood or a dried hummingbird will give your fortunes a jolt. But you should be aware that witchcraft in Mexico is no joke: The National Association of Sorcerers has weighed in on presidential elections, casting spells to make them free and fair. And of course there's a dark side, such as bad-luck charms from the Santería;—a religion that scares the daylights out of locals—and don't give anyone in Mexico a black candle unless you really, really mean it.

5. Easter Island, Chile
One of the most unnerving things about the 30-foot carved heads that dot Easter island is that they're not looking out at you as you arrive; the famous unsmiling moai sculptures look inward from the sea, as if guilty of some crime. Perhaps it has something to do with the virtual disappearance of the people who made them. At only 63 square miles, tiny Easter Island is home to more mystery for its size than just about anyplace else on earth. The Rapa Nui people, nearly extinct a century ago but flourishing now, kept no written records of how they moved the enormous moai around the island, sometimes as far as 14 miles, from the volcanic quarry where they were carved. We like the theory that UFOs were behind it all. It's said that the Rapa Nui grew so devoted to their stone heads that they sacrificed their civilization in the interest of bigger, better, and more perfect specimens. The island's now accessible via Chile (a five-and-a-half-hour flight), and the new Explora property offers a range of treks, as well as luxury accommodation.

Explora on Easter Island
Tel: 866 750 6699 (toll free)

6. Manchac Swamp, Louisiana
As your boat pushes out into the swamp by torchlight, ancient cypress trees and Spanish moss drape across the water. That far-off howl you hear might just be the Rougarou, the Cajun version of the Wolfman. The Manchac Swamp, a.k.a. the "haunted swamp," near New Orleans is a Southern Gothic fan's dream. An imprisoned voodoo queen is said to have cast a curse on these watery surroundings around the turn of the last century, resulting in the disappearance of three hamlets in a hurricane in 1915. The occasional corpse still surfaces in this otherwise untouched bird sanctuary, left alone by commercial development for more than 100 years. Torchlit nighttime boat tours are offered by the Old River Plantation Adventure. But beware: As anyone who has spent a night in the wild can tell you, nature can be anything but gentle, and the staring red-eyed alligators can give you a real fright as they watch your boat cruise slowly by.

Old River Road Plantation Adventure
Tel: 866 671 8687 (toll free)

7. Bran Castle, Bran, Romania
A vertiginous hilltop climb leads to a storybook castle that seems to have no horizontal surfaces: Endless stairways and towers are all that is visible. Inside, underground passageways connect dozens of rooms containing rococo antiques and suits of armor. All that's missing from Dracula's Castle, as Bran Castle is known, is a stormy night and a lightning bolt to illuminate the scene. A cloud of legend, local folklore, and literary pedigree hang over the dramatic fortress, perched 200 feet above the Romanian town of Bran.

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The castle has certainly reaped a PR bonanza as the setting for Bram Stoker's "Dracula", with a reported 450,000 visitors a year—not bad for an isolated spot in Eastern Europe. The name comes from the notoriously sadistic tyrant Vlad the Impaler, known as Vlad Dracula, who is said to have used the castle as an occasional base of operations. Vlad earned his nickname by hoisting tens of thousands of enemies on stakes; one engraving shows him feasting alone at a table surrounded by a veritable forest of his victims hanging on spikes. Bram Stoker got wind of Vlad's legend and, after a visit to Romania, modeled Count Dracula's castle on this one. The castle is quite tourist-friendly, but just be aware that it closes at 4 p.m., lest the sun set before visitors are safely away.

Bran Castle
Tel: 40 268 238 333

8. Paris Catacombs, Paris, France
Bones and skulls are stacked on either side of a narrow corridor like merchandise at a warehouse—a lot of merchandise. The air is close and cool, with just a hint of decomposition, and there's rude graffiti dating from the French Revolution, mainly about the king and the feeble nobility. Once inside, you can easily see why Victor Hugo and Anne Rice have set stories in Paris's famous Catacombs. Snaking some 187 miles through underground passages around the city, only a tiny portion is open to the public—it's said that the rest is patrolled by the legendary cataflics, a special underground police force.

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Though guided tours are available, it's more creepy and effective to go on your own, when it's just you and millions of bones lit by the occasional low-wattage bulb. The catacombs were originally a Roman-era quarry, but when the Innocents Cemetery in central Paris started overflowing to the point of being a public health hazard in 1785, the tunnels came into their present state. Bones were carted off in elaborate nighttime ceremonies, and until 1814 the catacombs filled up with Paris's dead. You can reach out and rattle the ivory yourself if you like, but the greatest chill is in wondering which of them didn't die of natural causes.

Paris Catacombs
Tel: 33 1 43 22 47 63

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