One reason I love traveling to Europe is the centuries old history you cannot find in American cities. Besides the amazing architecture from many eras, European cities and towns chronicle their histories as if they were recent. The plethora of Plague Monuments throughout the continent are testaments to the many who died eons ago, yet they are still remembered. Could it be because they never really left? There is a weight that can be sensed in the dark corners of many communities, maybe the weight of souls still with us. However, just because Europe has the age, and had the Plague, doesn’t mean that America is free from spectral inhabitants that raise the hairs on the back of one’s neck. There are many historic places in the U.S. that had their own troubling pasts. By no means a definitive list, these are the ten creepiest places that I have been to that I remember and haven’t blocked out of my memory from sheer terror:
Kutna Hora, Czech Republic- The Sedlec Ossuary. The infamous “Bone Church” is awesome. The remains of thousands of people from the Middle Ages (many of whom died from the Plague) decorate this small church in the Bohemian countryside. Everything from its coats of arms, chandeliers, etc. are made from human bones. There are even pyramids made of skulls bookending the Sanctuary. This is the ultimate creepy destination. (Please be respectful, too many tourists are not)
Vienna, Austria- This city does death like no other. The Stephansdom Crypt has the remains of many plague victims resting here in many cells. It is a dark place where you feel the spirits of the suffering around you. Plus if you are brave enough to reach inside a cell you’ll feel the ashes of the diseased dead. The Crypt beneath the Capuchin Church houses the remains of the Habsburgs. Their ridiculously ostentatious coffins are quite interesting to see. Apparently there is also a funeral museum that I have yet to see. Next visit!
Budapest, Hungary- Labyrinth Under Castle Hill. On the Buda side of the city there is an extensive maze of tunnels that go below the city. For added impact effects such as fog, dramatic lighting, and fountains of red water are staged throughout. With the ambient chill it makes a quite effective, if very touristy, spooky experience. However, there are still poorly lit paths to explore and really feel that otherworldy vibe.
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg- The remaining casements throughout the city (once called the Gibraltar of the North) includes miles and miles of tunnels that used to harbor thousands of soldiers. Many of the tunnels are lit, but it is very easy to go into a dark tunnel and get hopelessly lost. Moreover, who knows what soldier from beyond is lurking ahead of you?
Ghent, Belgium- Castle Gravensteen. This foreboding fortress, right in the heart of the city, is everything a scary medieval castle should be, complete with a huge torture chamber that still houses torture devices.
Wallachia, Romania- Poenari Citadel. The stronghold of the very infamous Vlad the Impaler, or Vlad Tepes Dracul as he is locally known, is an imposing ruin on a cliff overlooking the nicknamed Lady’s River. In case its connection to Vlad Dracula wasn’t enough for you, according to local legend, the nicknamesake river references his wife who threw herself from the cliff to avoid being a prisoner of the incoming Ottoman forces, turning the river red. Wallachia is also home to Vlad’s resting place and his princely court. Interestingly, adjacent Transylvania was not a scary place at all, quite beautiful actually.
Charleston, South Carolina. With its history that includes the slave trade, imprisoning pirates, and the Civil War, it should be no surprise that there are many disturbed souls lurking about. The city’s Battery has many buildings allegedly haunted by dead slaves, pirates, and soldiers. Notwithstanding, the graveyards located within the historic district are very eerie, with deteriorating headstones among weeping willows and Spanish moss lending an unearthly aura even in the daylight.
New Orleans, Louisiana- Saint Louis Cemetery. With all the debauchery that occurs in this city, I imagine it took a toll on many people! In all seriousness though, when a city is below sea level and vulnerable to flooding storms, above ground internment is the only option. Saint Louis is the most famous of the many cemeteries that entomb the deceased in marble monuments above ground creating a haunting city of the dead. Moreover, in the summer it feels as if this city is located in Hell.
Venice, Italy- Isola di San Michele. Facing a similar situation as New Orleans when facing the issue of how to “bury” the departed, Venice shipped them to a monastic island in the lagoon. The island feels very strange, eerily quiet in the midst of a tourist mecca. I guess my best friend and I are not your average traveler. There is one vaporetti stop on the edge of this island that can be seen from the main islands of Venice very easily, a constant reminder of one’s future I suppose. There is a grand church, a relic of it being the center of life for monks. It is now used for religious services. Yes you read right, this cemetery is still actively used. There are mausoleums and many above ground vaults, which act as graves. (The center of the island does have some buried graves). After 25 years the remains are removed and transported elsewhere in accordance with the family’s wishes. I guess that’s what happens when space is limited.
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania- Gettysburg National Battlefield. How can a place where approximately 50,000 men were killed in a very short period of time not be on this list? The enormity of the sacrifices of the bloodiest battlefield of the Civil War is still quite potent today. Although quite verdant I still sensed the fields awash in blood, and the souls who spilled that blood.
HONORARY MENTIONS:
Baltimore, Maryland- Westminster Cemetery. Now that I live in this city I hesitate to include it on travel lists. But the final resting place of America’s greatest writer of the Macabre, Edgar Allen Poe, has to get a mention.
Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Read my Travel Story “The Haunted Hotel”