Every neighborhood has that one spot—a park, an abandoned house, or a railway bridge—that just gives you the creeps. It’s a fascinating phenomenon that has inspired countless storytellers. From Stephen King’s fictional towns to Harper Lee’s ‘Boo Radley’s house,’ some places are simply creepy, no logical explanation needed.
Here’s a list of ten real creepy places. Some will make you want to run away screaming, while others won’t seem so scary until you hear their chilling backstories.
Deadman’s Island, England
Off the coast of Kent, near the Isle of Sheppey, lies Deadman’s Island. As its name suggests, this island is off-limits to the public. Why is this place in the ‘Garden of England’ so creepy? Well, the name says it all.
Around 200 years ago, England faced a prison overcrowding crisis. They couldn’t just hang everyone, and with a vast empire, ships constantly sailed to and from Britain. Thus, prison hulks were born—large ships housing prisoners before sending them to far-off lands. Deadman’s Island is covered in the bones of these prisoners, many of whom died from diseases onboard. Among the rocks, sand, and shells, you might find a jawbone, femur, or a skull staring back at you.
Pearl’s Airport, Grenada
Graveyards are inherently creepy, but this one doesn’t house corpses underground. Instead, it’s an above-ground graveyard for Soviet-era Russian and Cuban aircraft.
Pearl’s Airport, Grenada’s first, opened in 1943 and was quickly taken over by Allied forces during World War II. By 1979, Grenada’s government was controlled by a Marxist-Leninist party, leading to corruption, coups, and extrajudicial murders. This prompted a US invasion. During the American occupation in the early ’80s, the airport was captured by the 8th Marine Regiment and used as their base.
The creepiness here lies in the disused airport serving as a reminder of a bloody invasion, a totalitarian regime, and a time when the world was on the brink of destruction.
Truby King Recreation Reserve, New Zealand
The name sounds lovely, like a perfect picnic spot. But this nature reserve used to be the Seacliff Lunatic Asylum. Creepier now? Good, because that’s exactly what makes this place unsettling.
There are many abandoned and renovated mental institutions worldwide, each with a disquieting atmosphere. This place feels sad, haunted by real pain and the crimes of patients long gone. One such patient was Edward Lionel Terry, who murdered a Chinese migrant in 1905. The asylum also suffered a fatal fire in 1942, killing all but two patients in ward 5. Little remains of the original building, adding to the eerie feeling, conjuring images of lost souls wandering the grounds.
Davelis Cave, Greece
Ancient cultures often have significant caves. Hellenic culture is closely tied to caves, using them for oracles who, fueled by mysterious gases, foretold the future. This cave in Penteli, north of Athens, is steeped in weirdness and history.
The cave was once a center for worshipping the god Pan and the nymphs, blurring the line between the temporal and otherworldly. Later, Orthodox Christians used it as a hermitage, founding a small church dedicated to Saint Spyridon and Saint Nicholas. In the 1800s, a bandit named Davelis used the cave as a base, supposedly hiding treasure there. The military also used it during the Cold War, adding to its Area 51-like mystique. Many legends, both old and new, surround the cave, with frequent reports of paranormal activity in this dark portal to the underworld.
Kuldhara, India
When you picture a ghost town, you likely imagine a deserted mining community in the American West. But what about a Brahmin settlement in Rajasthan?
Centered around a temple to the mother goddess, possibly Parvati, the village shows remnants of statues depicting various deities. Local legend says that the villagers were driven out by a lecherous man named Salim Singh who wanted to claim a local girl. The villagers cursed Kuldhara before they left, causing supernatural entities to plague anyone who tried to live there.
Alternatively, the village may have been gradually depopulated by the 1890s due to a dwindling water supply.
Himeji Castle, Japan
At first glance, this is a classic, magical Japanese castle, reminiscent of a Studio Ghibli film. But scratch the surface, and you’ll discover the creepy folklore associated with it. Like the horror classic ‘Ringu,’ there’s a creepy well on site.
The story involves an evil samurai named Tetsuzan whose plot to murder the castle’s lord was foiled by a beautiful servant named Okiku. She confided in her lover, Motonobu, who told Lord Norimoto. Tetsuzan’s evil servant, Danshir, discovered Okiku had leaked the plan. Danshir, captivated by her beauty, decided to claim her for himself. When she refused, Danshir killed her in a jealous rage and threw her body down the well. It’s said that if you’re near the well at night, you can hear her frantic whispers.
Bunce Island, Sierra Leone
This river island is horrific and creepy, but unlike Deadman’s Island, you can visit it. Instead of diseased prisoners, this island was a center for English slave traders. Located in Sierra Leone, it was often raided by pirates and the French during their wars with Britain.
Bunce Island was the main processing point for slaves destined for the British colonies of Georgia and South Carolina, where they worked on rice plantations. The powerful ‘slave castle’ on the island survived many raids but couldn’t withstand the abolition of slavery. By 1840, over 30 years after Britain abolished slavery, the island was abandoned. Today, a tragic air lingers, with funding allocated to renovate it as a tourist destination. Perhaps it should be left to nature; history has been recorded, and the ghosts of the past should rest.
Tommy Jones’ Obelisk, Wales
There’s a tragic beauty to this monument in the Brecon Beacons mountains of South Wales. The obelisk marks where the body of a little boy who got lost was found and now serves as a landmark for hikers.
Tommy Jones was a 5-year-old boy from the Rhondda valley visiting his grandparents in 1900. He set off with his 13-year-old cousin but got scared of the dark and turned back. He never made it back. After weeks of searching, his body was found where the monument now stands.
Old Franklin Park Zoo, USA
Seeing abandoned cages that once housed bears is almost as distressing as seeing bears still held inside them. This abandoned zoo in Boston serves as a sad reminder of how we used to treat these apex predators.
Within the dilapidated buildings of what was once a popular attraction, you can still see the steel cages and barred enclosures where the bears lived. If you find abandoned prisons creepy, you’ll likely find this abandoned animal jail just as unsettling.
Just a normal street in Paris, France…
It looks unassuming, but seldom do people look down and notice the five indentations on the Rue de la Roquette, just in front of a crosswalk. What could they be?
These indentations mark the spot where the Paris guillotine stood within the long-gone Prison de la Roquette. This death machine publicly beheaded 69 convicts between 1851 and the prison’s closure in 1899. The markings once housed the support stones for ‘Madame Guillotine’. It’s said that standing in the center of the indentations for too long dooms you to die… mainly because you’d be standing in the middle of the road.
These places, each with its unique and unsettling history, remind us that the world is full of hidden stories waiting to be discovered. From islands filled with bones to silent ghost towns, these locations offer a glimpse into the darker corners of our planet.
Which of these creepy places would you dare to visit? Leave your comment below!
