Every year, non-traditional horror tourism is becoming more fashionable. Everyone knows about the wonderful Venice, Barcelona and the beautiful beaches of Thailand, but destinations considered forbidden and creepy attract travelers much more. Dark Tourism brings together a wide range of places, including natural disasters, ghost towns, battlefields, dungeons, and more.
Travelers should not treat dark tourist destinations as a trip to Disney World. After all, they are often scenes of deeply tragic memories for the local population, do not forget to always show respect - both during your visit and in the way you present your impressions of what you saw in photos on social networks.
Despite the emotionally charged character, dark tourist destinations are often visually vibrant, historically significant, and culturally rich. From the Czech chapel with chandeliers of human bones to the ghost of the Irish castle, we have collected the most fascinating dark tourist sites in the whole world.
The 7 most “terrible” tourist routes on the planet:
1
Pripyat, Ukraine
Pripyat is the site of the notorious 1986 Chernobyl disaster. The largest accident at a nuclear power plant in history, the Chernobyl disaster, killed 31 people and turned the Ukrainian city of Pripyat into a ghost town. In Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, as a result of the release of radioactive chemicals into the air, cancer and other diseases still claim thousands of lives.
Although trips to Chernobyl are very different from tropical Caribbean holidays, the now deserted city of Pripyat is an incredibly powerful experience even for an avid tourist. Do not expect to buy souvenirs with the words “Welcome to Pripyat!” Here. Now Ukraine allows tourists to make short excursions to the radioactive zone near the blown up reactor.
2
Leap Castle, Ireland
Photo by D. Brands / wikipedia.org
The Leap Castle in Offaly, Ireland has a particularly terrible past. The castle, built in the 13th century, was the site of a sinful fratricide committed in a chapel. The Bloody Chapel is known as the place where a man broke off the mass and stabbed his brother with a sword. According to legend, there are several spirits that, as locals say, protect the territory.
The most cruel spirit is known as the Elemental, recognizable by the smell of rotting flesh and sulfur. During one of the castle repairs, a secret dungeon was also discovered, in which there were three burials of human remains. Now Leap Castle serves as the private residence of musician Sen Ryan, who says he often hears ghosts moving around the house.
Do not miss on our site most-beauty.ru a fascinating article about 10 real families living in houses with ghosts.
3
Oradour-sur-Glane, France
Oradour-sur-Glane, now a ghost town located in the west-central region of France, was the site of one of the most brutal massacres of German occupation in 1944. After a successful invasion of Normandy, the German army decided to spread terror and send a powerful signal to the French resistance, killing the entire population of a small village.
Men were shot, and women and children were gathered in a church and burned. After that, the German army killed all possible witnesses, tried to destroy the church with explosives, and the bodies of the dead remained on this earth. At one point, 642 men, women and children were killed. Completely destroyed, the city was never restored, and now serves as a museum in memory of this bloody day.
4
Sedlec Ossuary, Czech Republic
According to most-beauty.ru, this is the most terrible place in all of Europe. Hotel Sedlec Ossuary is located in Kutna Hora, in the central part of the Czech Republic. The building is a small Roman Catholic chapel and, according to various estimates, contains from 40,000 to 70,000 skeletons. The chapel, which has become a popular tourist attraction, is dotted with bones, of which everything is stacked here - from decor to furniture.
Photo by: Thomas Ledl [CC BY-SA]
The unique “decoration” was made possible by local woodworker Frantisek Rint, who was commissioned in 1870 to use the bones from the graves near the chapel for creative use. He spent years digging, bleaching and installing unusual material, resulting in one of the most frightening churches in the world.
5
Fukushima, Japan
The city of Fukushima in Japan became the site of the worst nuclear accident in the world since Chernobyl. On March 11, 2011, the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant was exposed to the tsunami and began to release radioactive material into the air. The accident killed 1,600 people, and the tsunami devastated most of the city.
As in Chernobyl, attempts are being made to turn the city into a dark tourist destination. The construction of souvenir shops and a museum has begun; excursions are being prepared at facilities for the study of renewable energy sources. Of course, measures must also be taken to protect guests from increased levels of radiation, which continues to pose a significant threat.
6
Somme battlefield, France
Both lovers of history and gloomy tourism will find the Somme battlefield very interesting and exciting. Held between July and November, in 1916, the Battle of the Somme was one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War. In the conflict between the Allied forces and the German army, more than 1,000,000 men were injured or killed.
The battle was a significant turning point in the war, and serves as a reminder of its devastating losses. Now there are several state and private museums on the battlefield, as well as cemeteries in memory of those who fought and died in battle.
The famous Lokhnagar crater with a depth of 20 meters was created by landmine explosions intended to destroy parts of the German front line, and is now accessible to tourists. Also available are excursions on the battlefield and in all places related to this terrible event.
7
The Ridges, Ohio
According to the British Society for Psychical Research, The Ridges Castle is ranked 13th in the world among the most haunted buildings. The Ridges was formerly a mental hospital and sanctuary for the deranged in Ohio from 1874 to 1993.
A lobotomy procedure was often performed here, and it is also the site of countless alleged paranormal observations and experiments. In one of the most frightening stories of asylum, a female patient appears who escaped and went missing; searches for six weeks were unsuccessful.
She was later found dead in one of the unused wards. The woman’s naked body lay on concrete next to her neatly folded clothes. The stain left on the floor by her corpse, they say, can still be seen. Visitors to the site will also find a cemetery where anonymous patients were buried anonymously. Their graves are marked with nothing but a number.
It is reported that the circular formation of graves is a meeting place for witches. Now the building is owned by the nearby Ohio University, which provides guided tours of the facility.
Conclusion
So our short review of the most terrifying tourist sites has come to an end. If you decide to go to one of these places, take care first of all of your safety, including psychological! The editors of most-beauty.ru asks you to write in the comments about other no less “terrible” tourist routes in the world that you had to go through.