#MacabroTurístico: 13 HAUNTED PLACES IN THE WORLD

By: Casandra Vicario

Stories about haunted places draw us in because of their macabre nature, the events that turned them into scenes of terror, pain, and death, the memories they hold, and the nightmares they conjure. Casandra Vicario put together a list of 13 haunted places around the world for Macabro—would you dare visit them?

1.- Amityville. A lot is known about this place thanks to the films and books that recount what happened there to the DeFeo family, in which one of its members murdered the rest of the family, claiming he was following instructions that voices in his head had given him. Ever since, the place has been said to be haunted.

2.- 1140 Royal Street, New Orleans. This house was home to the most important figure in New Orleans voodoo, Madame La Laurie, and her husband, notorious for abusing their enslaved people. Neighbors reported screams and were aware of servants suddenly disappearing. After a fire, a torture chamber was discovered in the attic, and the La Lauries fled the city before facing justice. Ever since, there has been talk of a great deal of paranormal activity in the house and its surroundings.

3.- The Colosseum, Rome, Italy. Considered one of the most haunted places. In the site's now-exposed pits, visitors talk about spots where it feels extremely cold, the sensation of being touched or pushed, and even the sound of clashing swords and roaring lions.

4.- Chicago Cemeteries. There are reports of paranormal activity at Bachelor's Grove Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois: the ghosts of gangster victims from the 1920s, women, ghostly lights, two-headed men, and phantom cars. Chicago's cemeteries are famous for being haunted places.

5.- Mütter Museum of Medical History. This museum, open to the public daily, displays the human body and its deformities in rather chilling fashion—visitors can see the bodies of conjoined twins, half-faces, human intestines, skeletons hanging from the ceilings, and jars full of formaldehyde housing deformed specimens. Those who visit say they hear screams coming from some of the rooms. Could it be true?

6.- Aokigahara Forest. Located in the shadow of Mount Fuji, it is considered one of the most chilling places in Japan. It is also a site where many suicides occur—so many, in fact, that there are even ceremonies known as “body hunts,” in which groups of people go into the forest searching for the bodies of those who took their own lives.

7.- Screaming Tunnel, Niagara Falls, Canada. The tunnel was built for the Grand Trunk Railway in the early twentieth century as part of a larger project that was never completed. Legend has it that a young woman was burned to death inside the tunnel, and if you light a match there at night, the sound of her screams will echo around you and the flame will suddenly go out.

8.- Tower of London, Great Britain. Due to the number of people who died there, it is described as one of the most terrifying sites in England. However, no one talks about it, since there is said to be a curse on anyone who mentions or discusses the subject with tourists.

9.- Catacombs of Paris, France. The remains of approximately six million people are believed to lie there. Visitors say they feel touched by invisible hands and have the sensation of being followed. In extreme and very rare cases, some people have had hysterical fits and claim to have been strangled.

10.- Vale do Anhangabau, Brazil. Its name means “Valley of the Spirits.” The area has seen two major paranormal events: the first in a government building in 1999, involving ghostly voices and footsteps and persistent phone calls—and, in 1959, the famous Sao Paulo Poltergeist, in which a rain of stones battered the family living at Hacienda Ulhoa for 48 hours, along with a series of phenomena that continued for 40 days.

11.- CHERNOBYL. After a nuclear disaster in 1986 at the city's plant, everyone had to leave quickly and without looking back, all at once. Over the years, high levels of radioactivity are still present, and the spaces have become even more chilling. Both Lupine Travel in Great Britain and Solo East Travel in Ukraine organize tours to Chernobyl.

12.- Manchac Swamp. At first glance, it seems like a beautiful place. It is located very close to New Orleans, and it is said that Marie Laveau, the voodoo queen, cursed the site. There is also another Cajun belief that a werewolf lives in the swamp; others say this area is where all tormented souls or voodoo victims wander forever. What is certain is that, year after year, many fishermen and people of all kinds disappear into its depths.

13.- Sedlec Ossuary, Czech Republic. It is a small Catholic chapel that contains the remains of nearly 40,000 human bones scattered throughout the interior, arranged artistically, although their real purpose was to save space.