What is the most haunted city in the world

We all like to go on holiday to experience the weird and wonderful. And what could be weirder and more wonderful than a haunted site? Here in the UK, there are hundreds of historical landmarks that are apparently occupied by the undead.

But the UK is far from alone when it comes to spooky places to visit.

So, where should you go to see some of the most haunted places in the world? These spook-tacular destinations should definitely be on your bucket list.

1. The Tower of London

The Tower of London, one of London’s bloodiest execution sites, is said to be haunted by the ghosts of dozens of prisoners who were held in the Tower. The most famous of its ghostly residents is Anne Boleyn; former Queen of England and wife of King Henry VIII. Beheaded by order of the King in 1536, she has often been seen – sometimes without her head – on Tower Green and inside the chapel located within the White Tower

2. Aradale Lunatic Asylum, Australia

Opened in 1867 to accommodate the increasing number of so-called “lunatics” in Victoria, the asylum has been the site of an estimated 13,000 deaths. Particularly barbaric treatments, such as electroshock therapy and lobotomy, were frequently performed on-site. Given its brutal past, it should come as no surprise that visitors report hearing voices, seeing ethereal beings throughout the asylum and being overcome with nausea and dizziness.

If you ever plan a trip to Victoria, add an adventure to the Aradale Lunatic Asylum to your bucket list.

3. Stirling Castle, Scotland

Once home to Scotland’s Kings and Queens, Stirling Castle is said to be haunted by several ghosts. Legend has it that a spectral Highlander solider can be seen wearing full traditional attire wandering the castle grounds. Then there’s the Green Lady – the castle’s most feared ghost – who is considered a harbinger of bad events and an omen of misfortune.

4. Moundsville Penitentiary, West Virginia

The Moundsville Penitentiary served as a correctional facility for over a century. It was usually the final stop for some of America’s most violent criminals, many of whom met their end here – usually hanging or the electric chair. It’s considered to be one of the most haunted prisons in the United States, with ghost stories originating as early as the 1930s.

5. Hoia-Baciu Forest, Romania

Forget Count Dracula and Bran Castle – Hoia-Baciu Forest is Transylvania’s most eerie site. A thin layer of mist blankets the forest floor and obscures the warped skeletal figures of ancient trees, while a deathly silence fills the air. Local legend says that spirits and ghosts lurk among the crooked trees, while a local shepherd, along with his flock of sheep, is said to have vanished within the woods.

6.Tangarakau, New Zealand

The widespread reports of hauntings in this town have earned it the nickname of ‘Ghost Town’. You’ll find this secluded and more-or-less abandoned settlement in a section of the Forgotten World Highway in the North Island. Back in the railway and tunnelling days, 1,200 people resided in Tangarakau. Of course, with hazardous jobs come many unfortunate accidents, hence why this NZ town is considered the most haunted place in the nation.

Show captionThe desert is slowly reclaiming Kolmanskop ... but will it take the ghosts with it? Photograph: Jerome Delay/AP

Extreme cities

In Australia, ghosts are mysteriously appearing in photographs; in the US, a city police chief has called in a team of paranormal investigators. And then there are the clowns ... But which city will be the most haunted this Halloween?

Fri 28 Oct 2016 02.30 EDT

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Sand in itself is not spooky (unless you are frightened by beaches), but desert sand slowly filling a ghost town does rather chill the spirits. This former German mining town was founded a century ago by diamond hunters, and once sported a ballroom, skittle alley, casino and tram. But the diamonds dried up and the town was abandoned to the elements in 1954. To this day, it is supposedly haunted by the ghosts of miners who died in the brutal heat of the desert. A TV crew for Destination Truth once locked themselves in the meat locker of the old butcher’s shop, and recorded some “electronic voice phenomena” of ghosts whispering in their ears – which is certainly a better story than travelling all the way to the desert and finding nothing supernatural at all.

Considered by many aficionados to be the most haunted city in Europe, Prague is known for its headless Templar Knight, who is often spotted trotting down the cobbled streets at night gripping his head in one hand. To release the knight from this ghastly doom, a living bystander must grab his sword and stab him in the heart – a feat that, unsurprisingly, has not yet been accomplished. To the north of the city lies Houska Castle, where Nazi officers supposedly conducted occult experiments during the war; in its grounds lies a building that was allegedly constructed to cover a hole full of demons. Given the way this year is going, it’s tempting to suspect that some of them have managed to leak out.

There’s no shortage of allegedly haunted cities in the US. The alarmingly named Helltown, Ohio swirls with rumours of chemical spills and Satanists, while Salem, Massachusetts still trades on its notorious witch trials (though it has perhaps gone a bit too “ghostertainment” now). However, weird things have long been reported in Shepherdstown. In the Entler Hotel, now the town’s visitor centre, guests have claimed hearing the cries of a young man killed by his best friend in a gambling duel in the early 19th century. This year the town’s police chief went so far as to call in a team of paranormal investigators for a Destination America and TLC series called Ghosts of Shepherdstown – either out of concern for the volume of ghost sightings, or as a brilliant marketing ploy to bring in more tourists.

Fake severed heads in Haw Par Villa ... or are they real? Photograph: Alamy

Beachcombers at Singapore’s Changi Beach have reported hearing the cries of Chinese soldiers massacred here by Japanese forces during the second world war, and the former military hospital of Changi was said to be ghost-ridden from the 1940s. Some say it is the most haunted place in Asia. Yet perhaps the city’s freakiest sight is Haw Par Villa, a theme park built in 1937 to illustrate Chinese folklore, and which some people say conceals one of the actual gates of hell. Security guards report weird nocturnal screams, and the exhibits feature creepy waxwork people torturing each other in gruesome detail. Some say these models are actual dead humans covered in wax, which would certainly explain a lot.

This monumental Mayan city in Yucatan, built around the sixth century, boasts an enormous pyramid, a ball game court, and towering stone statuary and temples. Some pretty amazing things still happen here: for instance, the pyramidal Temple of Kukulcan, devoted to a snake deity, is designed so that on the spring equinox, the sun strikes the stones in such a way as to make it seem as though a serpent is crawling down the pyramid’s side. Chichen Itza also supposedly hosted mass human sacrifices, and tourists and guides now report seeing the ghosts of those killed, and of old priests doomed to wander the city forever. Or, perhaps the world really did end in 2012 as they prophesied, and we are all ghosts in a ruined Mayan universe?

Toowoomba might be haunted, but at least they have their own dedicated ghost chasers. Photograph: Alamy

This garden city in southern Queensland has lately seen a remarkable spate of the paranormal phenomenon in which people take photographs of scenes, then draw red circles around fuzzy shadows that are – maybe, definitely – ghosts. Such is the practice of the Toowoomba Ghost Chasers, who have their own Facebook page and “photographic proof” of the existence of a ghost who hops over the tombstones in a graveyard – not to mention images of some “supernatural blue mist” and the town’s famous “lady in the red dress” (the ghost of a local woman who died in 1944). Exactly what the chasers plan to do if they ever actually catch up with a ghost is unclear.

The genre of Japanese ghostly horror has taken over the world in recent decades, through video games such as the Silent Hill series, and films including the terrifying Ring. So it’s no surprise that Tokyo should have such a rich assortment of spooky legends. A woman staying at the Akasaka Mansion hotel once reported that an unseen “thing” dragged her across the room by her hair. Meanwhile, visitors to Doryodo Ruins in Otukayama Park claim to hear the screams of at least two murder victims whose bodies were found there – including a student who was killed in 1973 by the professor she was having an affair with. A decade later, the authorities dismantled the temple on the site (probably not a bad idea).

The penitentiary at Port Arthur, apparently still haunted by its dead prisoners. Photograph: Auscape/UIG via Getty Images

You’d be right in thinking an old penal colony would be the perfect place to hunt ghosts. From 1833, the most vicious criminal recidivists were transported to Port Arthur from Britain. A decade later, a panopticon-style prison – inspired by the writings of Jeremy Bentham – was built to house them, and its regime induced such despair that many prisoners committed murder in order to escape it by being sentenced to death. It followed the “Silent System” where prisoners were not allowed to talk, were held in solitary confinement, and had to wear hoods when in the company of other prisoners. The reportedly ghost-ridden building still stands, and does a brisk business in gruesome tours.

Though London has its fair share of ghost stories – most famously around the Tower – and the ancient Ram Inn in the village of Wooten-under-Edge is supposedly the most haunted place in England, in 2002 the ancient city of York was named the most haunted metropolis in Europe. A wraith that used to haunt the Golden Fleece pub allegedly followed an American visitor home to tug at her hair every night. York is still home to such colourful spooks as Mad Alice, a rather unsympathetically nicknamed young woman who was executed in 1825 for “dangerous insanity”, and the Grey Lady, a medieval nun who had an affair with a handsome young local chap and was bricked up alive in a room that now forms part of the structure of the Theatre Royal. Sit in the dress circle, it is said, and she will tickle your neck. I don’t know about you, but I’ll take the stalls.

The creepy clown craze all started in Greenville. Photograph: Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters

In mid-August, the people of this fast-growing, yuppie-friendly city heard disturbing rumours that a group of clowns had begun loitering in the woods near an apartment complex. The first alleged sighting was made by a little boy, who apparently saw two clowns: one sporting a red wig, the other a black star on his face. It was reported the clowns were attempting to lure him (and subsequently other children) into the woods with money. But Greenville’s deputy sheriff and his fellow officers were nonplussed: “Every time we have gone out there,” he said, “we have not seen any clowns.” It was, nonetheless, the start of an extraordinary global phenomenon that – despite widespread costume bans – means Halloween will be overrun by scary clowns this year.

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Topics

• Halloween
• Horror films
• Clowns

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