Fall is a truly magical season and a perfect one to visit the scariest places in the world. Why? Because the weather gets cooler, leaves are turning yellow, orange, and red. But most importantly, of course, Halloween finally arrives. If the dinners and parties don’t get you excited anymore we recommend a good Halloween getaway to feel again those thrills and chills like you once did.

Our list has the most bucket list-worthy, creepy, and the scariest places in the world with real haunted places and some of the best haunted house stories. Take a look and choose your destination wisely.

Visiting these places can mean more than just having a good scare.We can see how humanity deals with loss, pain, and loneliness. And can give us something to think about how we treat each other and ourselves.

These creepy, often sad places and their dark past can teach us how we can be better, more loving, and be caring towards each other in the future. Probably, that’s one of the reasons why so many of us are drawn to these places, books, and movies.

Wow! This got dark pretty fast…  However, no need to worry! If you’re only looking to have some fun on your Haunted getaway you can also find what you’re looking for! These are some of the best geeky travel destinations for weirdo travelers who want to experience some creepy excitement on a holiday.

Grab the hands of your family, friends and hold on tight. Or go solo if you dare. But make no mistake it’s going to be a blood-curdling, nerve-racking, spine-tingling ride!

10 | Island of the Dolls in Mexico City, Mexico

Image Credit | Amusingplanet.com

Isla de las Muñecas or Island of the dolls can be found in the south of Mexico City. The legend says Don Julian Santana Barrera the Island’s caretaker discovered a drowned girl’s body. Shortly after the incident Julian found the girl’s doll and hung it on a tree to show respect to the girl’s spirit.

Locals say the dolls are haunted by the spirit of the girl. The dolls move their heads and arms and some even opened their eyes. A walk around the island is a guaranteed blood pressure raiser.

Can’t visit in person? Don’t you worry! You can still learn more about this place:
Read: Island of the Dolls by Jeremy Bates (2016)
Watch: Island of the Dolls (2018)

9 | Suicide Forest in Aokigahara Jukai, Japan

Image Credit | Disclose.tv

Japan’s magnificent Mount Fuji holds something really dark in its shadow. Aokigahara, a beautiful, lush forest, also known as the Sea of Trees is one of the most popular suicide destinations. With an estimated 100 suicides a year, it is deservedly included in our list.

It is creepy to think of your chances to encounter a hanging body during your trek, however, this sad place also has a somewhat even darker history. It is said that elderlies were sent to this forest to die by starvation or dehydration as an attempt to cut household costs.

Aokigahara is easily approachable from Tokyo. If you want to visit you can check out our guide and tips on what are the best things to do in Tokyo on a budget so you can easily plan your perfect trip to Japan.

It can be more than a spooky walk for you if you use this opportunity to think and talk about this big yet still taboo issue of our society.

Can’t visit in person? Don’t you worry! You can still learn more about this place:
Read: Suicide Forest by Jeremy Bates (2015)
Watch: Aokigahara (2012) | The Forest (2016)

8 | Bran Castle – Dracula’s castle, in Romania

Image Credit | Bran-Castle.com

Have you ever been to the misty mountains of Transylvania? The famed bloodthirsty Dracula’s castle is awaiting you to explore. In real life, he wasn’t a vampire, but cruel enough to be thought one. Vlad the Impaler was as brutal as his name suggests. He never shied away torturing and killing his opponents and people who wouldn’t obey his will often inhuman ways.

Did he eventually become a real bloodthirsty vampire? Go and try to trace down the clues buried in the castle’s hundreds of years of mistery.

Can’t visit in person? Don’t you worry! You can still learn more about this place:
Read: Vlad the Impaler: In Search of the Real Dracula (2003)  |
Dracula by Bram Stoker (1986)
Watch: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) | Vlad Tepes (1979)

7 | Sedlec Ossuary – Church Of Bones, in Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

Image Credit | Reddit.com

This small chapel is nothing special from the outside. If you don’t know what weirdness lies between the walls you would probably just pass by without even noticing it. And by weirdness I mean you would never guess that the tiny, sweet chapel is actually decorated with more than 40,000 human skeletons.

You can also see here probably the weirdest chandelier which contains at least one of every human bone. How did they get there? The story goes back to 1278 when Sedlec Cistercian Monastery’s abbot came back from Jerusalem with a jar of soil from the Golgotha also known as the “Holy Soil”.

Soon too many people wanted to be buried in Sedlec’s “Holy Soil” so the cemetery had to be expended and they even had to use a Gothic curch’s basement as an ossuary. The bones just laid there for centuries until one day in 1870 the towns woodcarver named Frantisek Rint was appointed to place the bones in order. He did such a good job that people were both impressed and shocked by the results.

And now you can be too! Kutna Hora is a lovely town to visit not far, only for about an hour ride by train from Prague. It’s a real Halloween getaway treat!

Can’t visit in person? Don’t you worry! You can still learn more about this place:
Read: The Eerie Bone Church of 40,000 Souls
Watch: Kostnice (2014) ENG SUB

6 | Auschwitz Concentration Camp, in Oświęcim, Poland

Image Credit | Irishnews.com

This one is probably the most serious one on our list. This destination is not for those who want an easy thrill but for those who got used to or want to try to celebrate the day of the dead in a calm, more thoughtful way.

Halloween can be also a good time to remember our passed loved ones, and our history’s darker sides as well. Remembering how easy it is to turn down on a road we may think is impossibly inhuman. Talk and think about these with our kids, family, and friends.

It’s good to remember how everything can change in just a blink of an eye. This can help us be more aware every day about how we treat each other. It’s definitely a harder, more serious visit but inevitable at some point. The Museum can be found on the outskirts Oświęcim which is about a two hours ride from Krakow.

Can’t visit in person? Don’t you worry! You can still learn more about this place:
Read: Survivors: True Stories of Children in the Holocaust by Allan Zullo
Watch: Auschwitz: The Nazis and the ‘Final Solution’ (2005)

5 | Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast Museum, in Fall River, MA, US

Image Credit | Hauntedhouses.com

The infamous Lizzie Borden Haunted house story started in 1892 when Mr. and Mrs. Borden have been brutally murdered with an ax.  A week later their daughter Lizzie Borden was stood trial for the murderers but in an era when female murderers were unheard of, she was quickly acquitted.

Since then the case remains unsolved and the Lizzie Borden mystery continued. Did she do it? You can actually stay at the hotel overnight or go on a ghost hunt with professional paranormal investigators to find out!

Can’t visit in person? Don’t you worry! You can still learn more about this place:
Read: Lizzie Borden: The Untold Story by Edward D. Radin (1961) |
See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt (2017)
Watch: The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975) | Lizzie Borden Took an Ax (2014) with Christina Ricci | Lizzie (2017) with Kristen Stewart

4 | Hanging Coffins of Sagada, in Sagada, Philippines

Image Credit | Primer.com

This one is a little less creepy and a lot more fun for the faint hearted ones. Because it’s more fun in the Philippines! Right?

In case you didn’t know there is a lot more to the Philippines than its turquoise paradise beaches, chocolate hills, and tarsiers. You can also visit colorful hanging coffins. The Igorot tribe’s long-standing tradition of burying their loved ones in hanging coffins nailed to the sides of a cliff can be traced back more than two millennia.

They believe that moving the bodies of the dead higher up brings them closer to their ancestral spirits while also slows down if not stops the bodies from rotting. This spooky getaway destination can be a fascinating exploration of a tribal culture and the beautiful Philippine islands.

You should also explore the beautiful islands of Cebu & Bohol to experience a little more of the Philippines.

Can’t visit in person? Don’t you worry! You can still learn more about this place:
Read: The hanging coffins of Sagada, Philippines
Watch: The hanging coffins of Sagada

3 | The Black Hills Forest – Blair Witch Forest, in Burkittsville, US

Image Credit | Wikia.com

In 1999 The Blair Witch Project stormed into our lives as the scariest low-budget horror movie ever and managed to keep the title ever since. What’s the truth behind the story? Well, the truth lies deep in the Black Hills Forest just outside of Burkittsville, Maryland.

The local Native tribes believed the woods were haunted long before Elly Kedward, who was banished from a colonial town of Blair, Maryland when she was accused of witchcraft. Another disturbing incident happened in the late 1800s when a child went missing in the forest, and after his return, one of the search parties was found dismembered.

Later in the 1940s, an old hermit named Rustin Parr killed seven children in his woodland home and blamed their deaths on the Blair Witch. Would you dare to camp out for a night in the woods of the Blair Witch? When is the best time if not Halloween’s evening?

Can’t visit in person? Don’t you worry! You can still learn more about this place:
Read: The Blair Witch Project (Devil’s Advocates) by Peter Turner |
Is The Blair Witch Urban Legend A True Story?
Watch: The Blair Witch Project (1999)

2 | Monte Cristo Homestead, New South Wales, Australia

Image Credit | Aminoapps.com

The most haunted house in Australia quietly sits in Junee, New South Wales. The homestead was built back in 1884 and had its fair share of a series of tragic events and deaths throughout the years.

Reportedly a maid has been pushed over a balcony, a stable boy was burned to death and a baby was thrown down the stairs, a mentally disabled man was tied up for 30 years and the home’s owner was killed by an infection caused by a starched collar, and a caretaker got murdered.

Lawrence Ryan and his wife Sophia are the mansion’s owners and believe the victim’s ghosts are haunting the house ever since.
You can even stay for the night and try to hunt for ghosts on one of the ghost tours.

Can’t visit in person? Don’t you worry! You can still learn more about this place:
Read: The Monte Cristo Homestead Ghosts
Watch: Muirhouse (2012)

1 | The Ancient Ram Inn, Gloucestershire, England

Image Credit | Youtube.com – Unknown Origins Paranormal

Witches, satanic rituals, sex demons, and devil worship. Oh, those lovely dark ages!

The Ancient Ram Inn was built on an ancient pagan burial ground in 1145 and was a home for many dark and horrific events. It is believed to be riddled with up to 20 ghosts and demons who often find pleasure in tormenting the Inn’s visitors.

Including a witch who was burned at the stake, a murdered young girl called Rosie, a high priestess, and even a male sex demon, known as an incubus. Over the centuries the Inn was also a scene of child sacrifices and devil worship.

You can visit the inn in a small village in England’s Wotton-Under-Edge. This Inn is another perfect place for a ghost hunt and you also have plenty of tour options to choose from.

In case you have a little more time and looking for other unique stays in you should check out one of the most amazing glamping sites in the UK. 

Can’t visit in person? Don’t you worry! You can still learn more about this place:
Read: The Ancient Ram Inn: A Visit to ‘England’s Most Haunted House’
Watch: Ancient Ram Inn Ghost Hunt S03E02