Often described as the most haunted village in Britain, Pluckley – near Ashford in Kent – is said to be frequented by at least a dozen ghosts. Ghoulish attractions include Fright Corner, where a highwayman met his untimely demise, and the Screaming Woods, where it is rumoured you can still hear the chilling cries of the dead. Many of Pluckley's residents have become fed up with its ghoulish reputation, however, and the hordes of ghost-hunters that flock here every Hallowe'en.
Xochimilco is a district of Mexico City that contains an extensive system of canals and artificial islands, or chinampas, the most famous of which belonged to a man named Julian Santana Barrera. After he discovered the body of a dead girl in a nearby canal, he began collecting discarded dolls and doll parts, which he would hang from the trees on his island in an attempt to ward off evil spirits. Mr Barrera died in 2001, but the dolls remain, and the creepy island can be visited by boat.
Found around 15km from Nagasaki, Hashima was used as a coal mining facility between 1887 and 1974, with its population reaching a peak of 5,259 people in 1959, or 216,264 per square mile. After petroleum replaced coal throughout Japan in the 1960s, Hashima was abandoned, and is now known as "Ghost Island". A small portion of the island was reopened to tourists in 2009, and sightseeing boat trips often stop here.
London's imposing stone tower is, according to legend, haunted by dozens of regal souls, many of whom met their end within its grey walls. They include Thomas Becket, whose ghost has reportedly been sighted here; Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury (the Princes in the Tower), who were probably murdered here in 1483; Anne Boleyn, beheaded at Tower Green in 1536; and Catherine Howard, who was executed six years later.
This forest at the base of Mount Fuji is like something out of The Blair Witch Project. It has an historic association with demons in Japanese mythology, and is the second most popular place in the world for suicides, after San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. More than 50 people took their own lives here in 2010 alone, and an annual body hunt is undertaken by volunteers. The forest is also noted for its quietness, thanks to the wind-blocking density of the trees. Hikers are advised to use plastic tape to mark their route and avoid getting lost.
This forest at the base of Mount Fuji is like something out of The Blair Witch Project. It has an historic association with demons in Japanese mythology, and is the second most popular place in the world for suicides, after San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. More than 50 people took their own lives here in 2010 alone, and an annual body hunt is undertaken by volunteers. The forest is also noted for its quietness, thanks to the wind-blocking density of the trees. Hikers are advised to use plastic tape to mark their route and avoid getting lost.
This underground ossuary contains the remains of some six million people. Its countless caverns and tunnels extend for 280km beneath the city and were used by the French Resistance during the Second World War. They are open to tourists in search of the macabre - an entrance can be found at Place Denfert Rochereau. Similar catacombs can also be found in Rome and Palermo.
One of Scotland’s most haunted sites, Edinburgh Castle is said to be home to a phantom piper, a headless drummer and a spectral dog. In 2001, the castle vaults and chambers were subjected to a rigorous 10-day scientific survey, using night-vision equipment, digital cameras, thermal imaging, and 240 carefully-screened volunteers. Nearly half of those who took part reported ghost sightings and spooky phenomena, including sudden drops in temperature and the sensation of unseen presences tugging at their clothes.
There is something undeniably disconcerting about a ghost town, and it's not just the name. Prypiat, within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, was founded in 1970 to house workers at the doomed power plant, and was subsequently abandoned in 1986 after the disaster. Tourists can now visit.
Also known as El Camino de la Muerte or "Death Road", this 60km track was built by Paraguayan prisoners in the 1930s and takes fearless motorists from the Bolivian capital of La Paz to the town of Corioco. Traffic travels in both directions, but the road is rarely more than three metres wide and there are no guard rails. Heavy rain and fog often add to the danger, and one minor miscalculation can mean a fall of up to 600 metres. The road has claimed thousands of lives, and crosses mark many of the spots where vehicles have fallen. The high death toll and spectacular setting has also encouraged fearless cyclists to attempt the journey on two wheels. The road has been improved in recent years, and a new section now bypasses one of the most dangerous parts of the old route.
Described as the most haunted house in Britain, Borley Rectory was built in 1863 on the site of a 12th century church and monastery. A popular legend claims that a monk from Borley fell in love with a nun from a nearby convent. They planned to elope, but the monastery's elders discovered their plans. He was hanged, while she was buried alive in the vaults beneath the rectory – and their ghosts have haunted the site ever since.
This small chapel near Kutna Hora contains the remains of up to 70,000 people, and attracts around 200,000 tourists each year. That is largely down to the fact that the bones of those people have been arranged in a bizarrely artistic fashion. The interior contains such delights as a bone chandelier, and garlands of skulls.
The Toul Sleng Genocide Museum in the Phnom Penh occupies the site of a former high school, which was converted under the Khmer Rouge into the notorious Security Prison 21. Up to 20,000 people were imprisoned, tortured and murdered here between 1975 and 1979. The grim museum attracts hundreds of tourists each day, and contains photographs of inmates, skulls and instruments of torture
The scene of the last battle fought on British soil, a tussle between government forces and Jacobites loyal to Bonnie Prince Charlie, Culloden Moor is reputedly haunted by those who died during the bloody slaughter. Ghostly soldiers are said to appear on April 16, the anniversary of the battle, and cries of anguish and the sound of clashing swords have also been reported.
This island, close to Venice, was used as a "lazaretto" or "plague pit" during the height of the Black Death, and tens of thousands of people are thought to have died here. A building was constructed on the island in 1922, which, according to local legend, was used as a mental hospital. The doctor who ran the facility reputedly butchered and tortured many of his patients before going mad himself and committing suicide. The ruins of the building remain, but the island is closed to visitors.
During World War Two, 173 people were crushed to death while attempting to take shelter in Bethnal Green Tube Station during a suspected air raid. London Underground staff have reported hearing screams of women and children at the station.
Other spooky tube stations include Farringdon, supposedly haunted by Anne Naylor, a young girl murdered on the site in 1758; Bank, haunted by a ghost called "the Black Nun"; and Liverpool Street, home to the ghost of Rebecca Griffiths, a former resident of the Star of Bethlehem asylum, which used to exist on the site.
More than 90,000 labourers and 16,000 Allied prisoners of wars died during the construction of a 258-mile railway between Bangkok and Myanmar, a horrific episode that forms the backdrop for David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai. A ride on a surviving section of the route is now a popular activity for visitors to Kanchanaburi, to the northwest of the Thai capital. The train hugs the sides of sheer cliffs, and passes over a number of rickety wooden bridges.
Situated high in the Colorado Rockies, this reputedly haunted hotel was the inspiration for Stephen King’s spine-chilling novel The Shining. The idea came to King during a stay in room 217, but it’s room 418 – believed to be visited by the ghost of Lord Dunraven – that is considered to be the hotel’s most haunted. Guests and staff have also reported hearing children playing in the corridors late at night, and piano music coming from the empty ballroom.
In 1612, a dozen residents from the area surrounding Pendle Hill were accused of witchcraft after a series of mysterious deaths. All but one was found guilty and hanged. Today, the summit of Pendle Hill in Lancashire is a popular pilgrimage for ghost hunters and is frequently visited on Hallowe’en.
Bran Castle is known for its connections with Vlad the Impaler – better known as Count Dracula. Vlad was – even by the standards of the 15th century – an exceptionally cruel ruler, known to impale rather than behead his enemies, though not – like Dracula – resort to drinking their blood. Vampire masks, blood-red wine and wooden daggers jostle for prominence in the market below the castle. Inside, winding spiral staircases and low cavernous doorways increase the sense of menace.
Various urban legends refer to Stull Cemetery, in Douglas County, Kansas, as a meeting place for occult groups. Each Halloween, curious revellers flock to the cemetery, provoking the anger of local residents.
Formerly known as Boston, this village was largely abandoned after a number of houses were compulsarily purchased by the US National Parks Service. Locals theorised that authorities were attempting to conceal a chemical spill, with some even claiming that some kind of mutant monster had been created. Other legends suggest that Satanists carry out rituals in the village, and an escaped mental patient roams the woods at night. The cemetery is also supposedly haunted.
Eyam became famous during the plague of 1665. When the epidemic arrived in the village, residents chose to isolate themselves, rather than allow the infection to spread to neighbouring communities. The village's haunted locations include the Miner's Arms pub, where unexplained footsteps are sometimes heard, and Eyam Hall, where Sarah Mills, a young servant girl who drowned in the village well, has been sighted.
Overtoun House, a 19th-century estate in West Dunbartonshire (not pictured above), is perhaps best known for the bizarre phenomenon that affects the arched bridge that guards its entrance. Since the 1950s, dozens of dogs have leapt from the bridge to the waterfalls 50 feet below, at a rate of one every month. The most plausible explanation is that the strong smell of male mink urine, detected in the undergrowth beneath the bridge, has been luring dogs to their death.
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