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Hans-Petter Fjeld


Halloween is once again upon us! It´s a haunted world we live in (in more ways than one), and lots of people travel to experience the adventurous and spooky - and not just around All Hallow´s Eve, either, but all year round . Abandoned houses/hospitals, ancient palaces and fortresses, old cemeteries, dense forests – many of these have a strange, peculiar feeling about them, and more than a few are the sites of tragic events and present-day ghost sightings. Here are ten of the most intriguing:

Akershus Castle - Oslo, Norway

Given the past of the oldest remaining structure in Norway´s capital (dating back to the late 1290s), it´s nort surprising that this fortress (top) is considered to be one of Europe´s most haunted places, with tragic stories to tell as among other things it was a notorious prison which took the lives of uncountable inmates, and the site many executions - most recently by the occupying Germans during World War II (as well as that after the war of Norway´s Nazi puppet ruler Vidkun Quisling. Notable ghosts reported include the Malcanisen, the vicious ghost of a guard dog purportedly buried alive, and the Mantelgeisten, a woman who regularly manifests in the castle´s Margaret Hall. You can of course take a ghost tour.

Ancient Ram Inn - Gloucestershire, United Kingdom

Built at least 800 years ago in the town of Wotton-under-Edge (three hours west of London), England´s purportedly most haunted spot, now dedicated solely to paranormal tours and events,  has plenty of foreboding atmosphere - including winding oak staircases, drooping wooden beams, creaky old floorboard - and spectral experiences including the crying of a ghostly baby, a mysterious white mist, and phantoms of monks, a cavalier, and a shepherd and his dog. A new owner of inn once reported being snatched out of the bed by an invisible force on his very first night in the house, and a medium was once flung across a corridor. It´s open for daytime tours and even overnight stays. Come visit if you dare!

Visit Melbourne

Aradale Lunatic Asylum - Victoria, Australia

This hulking complex of more than 60 buildings in the town of Ararat (2½ hours west of Melbourne) operated first as a county jail, then as an insane asylum from 1867 all the way until 1998; since 2001 it´s been a campus of Melbourne Polytechnic. As one might imagine, that adds up to 131 years of pain, suffering, tortured souls, and more than 13,000 deaths over the years. It´s open for tours of its notorious, deliciously spooky J Ward as well as tours focusing on the paranormal, which include stories of the ghost of Nurse Kerry and reports of nausea, fainting and strange odors and tastes, banging sounds, footsteps, shadows, even tickling (!).

Bhangarh Fort - Rajasthan, India

Built in 1573 (one of Rajasthan´s oldest forst) and located near the village of Gola Ka Blas, two hours from Jaipur, this partially ruined stone complex of temples, palaces, marketplaces, and havelis (townhouses) makes for a fascinating visit. And notable legends surrounding Bhangarh include a sadhu who cursed the fort because against his wishes one of its rulers unacceptably raised its height and another involving a local princess and a black-magic wizard, whose attempt to slip her a love potion resulted in his death, but who before dying cursed the fort, declaring it would soon be wiped out - a prediction which came true when the following year Mughal invaders slaughtered all of its inhabitants, including the princess.  It´s open to visitors during the day visitors are warned against entering after dark.

Fern Hills Royal Palace Hotel - Tamil Nadu, India

Located in the refreshing "hill station" town of Ooty, three hours from the city of Coimbatore and a minimum four hours from Tamil Nadu´s state capital Chennai (formerly known as Madras), this former residence of the king of Mysore (the southern kingdom founded in 1399) was built in 1844 and is now a boutique luxury hotel on a 50-acre spread with just 19 rooms. Reports of apparitions, strange noises, and inexplicable occurrences (like flickering lights and sudden drops in temperature) abound here, rooted in the tale of a British officer killed during a hunting accident and whose spirit still lingers, manifesting as a wispy figure gliding through the corridors or gazing out windows. It´s become popular with Bollywood as a spooky location setting, and famously, during the shooting of the 2002 horror film Raaz, lead actress reported an eerie presence in her room, objects moving on their own, and temperature drops, while the director spoke of unexplained whispers.

Troels Myrup

Island of the Dolls - Mexico City

One of the manmade islets of Xochimilco, a UNESCO World Heritage group of pre-Columbian canals set up for agriculture, in the 1940s a local man who was unable to save a girl from drowning, and subsequently claimed he would see shadows and hear cries on the island from a soul in torment. In the belief that it would ward them off, he began collectingcastaway dolls - especially those that were old, deformed, or multilated - and festooning them around the island. These days La Isla de las Muñecas (above) certainly makes for a spooky sight for visitors, and is arguably a highlight of any Xochimilco cruise - and many have reported that even so, voices can still be heard to this day, laughing, crying, and moaning. If you want to be creeped out, add Xochimilco to your Mexico City bucket list - which apart from the Isle of Dolls is a delightful experience, with flower-festooned boats plying the canals.

Highgate Cemetery - London, United Kingdom

Situated in Camden, North London, covering 37 overgrown acres with 53,000 graves of some 170,000 people, was established in 1839, and it´s open daily to visitors, with several guided tours offered of architectural highlights as well as tombs of famous denizens such as author Radclyffe Hall, actor Bob Hoskins, Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko (poisoned on the order of Vladimir Putin in 2006), Karl Marx, fashion designer Malclm McLaren, and 80s pop singer George Michael..And apart from the spooky, gloomy, sepulchral vibe amidst the neo-Gothic headstones, tombs, and mausoleums, the cemetery has long had reports black-magic and Satanic rituals practiced here, of ghostly apparitions, including a tall man in a hat, a spectral cyclist, a woman in white, a face scowling through the bars of a gate, a figure wading into a pond; and various ringing bells  and calling voices. Furthermore, there´s the legend of the "Highgate Vampire," supposedly an aristocratic Romanian black magician whose corpse was awakened by occult rituals and who is a tall, dark figure capable of stopping clocks and suddenly making the temperature plunge.

Mary King’s Close - Edinburgh, United Kingdom

A close is a warren of streets, alleyways, and underground tunnels connecting carious homes and business houses, and this one, under the Edinburgh City Chambers building on the Royal Mile in the Old Town, is the most notorious in Scotland´s capital, named after a notable local merchant of the 17th century, and it was sealed off after the plague ravaged this district. Apart from its extremely claustrophobic and creepy vibe, its supernatural reputation dates back to that era as well, with reports for sightings of among other things the ghosts of an old lady, a woman in a black, and young girl named Annie. Read more about it in this Tripatini blog post.

St. Augustine Lighthouse - St. Augustine, Florida, USA

Still functioning not far from St. Augustine´s historic core and 164 feet tall, the current black-and-white-striped structure was built in the early 1870s, and these days is open to climb and visit the adjoining museum. People have reported paranormal sightings, for example the spirits of a woman in blue velvet and the lingering odor of a dead lighthouse keeper´s cigar. Children´s laughter. Read our Tripatini blog post about St. Augustine ghost tours here.

Screaming Tunnel - Niagara Falls, Canada

On the edge of Niagara Falls and just 125 feet long, this limestone-brick drainage tunnel built in the early 20th century, and its supernatural reputation comes from the legend of a young girl who died from burns in here; there are variations on the story - that she was set ablaze in a nearby farmhouse fire and died of her burns after fleeing here, that she was set on fire by her own father here as a result of a vicious divorce and custody battle, that she was raped in here and her body burned to destroy the evidence. Regardless, the tunnel is held to be haunted by her spirit, and if you strike a wooden match off the tunnel´s wall around midnight, you can hear her scream. The tunnerl´s mystique and creepy led it to be used as one of the settings for David Cronenberg´s 1983 film adaptation of Stephen King´s The Dead Zone., and of course it´s a staple on local tours.

There are of course hundreds if not thousands more. What´s your favorite, and what have we missed? Please tell us in the comments below!

(And to explore all these and more, get your cheap flights here)