Posted on Thursday, 10 October 2019

Goose pimples and shivers are assured as we approach the 31st of October - and no, we're not talking about the Brexit deadline. If you enjoy being spooked, there are a plethora of destinations where 'chilling on holiday' has an entirely different meaning to your average Spanish beach break. Here are some of our favourite terrifying getaway hotspots.

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, USA

From 1864 to 1994, West Virginia's Trans-Allegheny lunatic asylum was home to thousands of patients. By the 1950s, 2,400 people occupied a space designed for 250. You can book a tour of this spooky complex, where you just might see the ghost of a little girl called Lily.

World's Tallest Glass-Bottomed Bridge, China

Opened in 2016 in Zhangjiajie, this lofty glass-bottomed bridge offers dizzying views down a 300 metre ravine. A truly terrifying experience for vertigo sufferers, it's almost half a kilometre long.

Snake Island, Brazil

This one is actually off-limits to visitors - but you might be able to view it from a distance on a boat trip. It has been colonised by the rather venomous golden lance head pit viper. Ilha da Queimada Grande (Snake Island) in Brazil is one of the few places this endangered snake can flourish.

Dracula's Castle, Romania

Bran Castle in Romania reputedly provided the inspiration for Dracula's castle in Bram Stoker's classic novel. The picturesque fortress is enveloped in dense forest and guards one of the most important passages of the Carpathian Mountains. It was built by the Teutonic knights in the 13th Century. You can buy a ticket and explore its spooky interiors for yourself from as little as 10 LEI.

Hanging Hotel, Peru

You open your eyes one morning and discover you're dangling hundreds of metres over a cliff - then you remember you booked into a hanging hotel in Peru. Head to the Peruvian Andes near Cusco if you fancy such a lofty stay - but beware, you'll have to climb a 123 metre ladder to reach your bed!

Catacombs of San Gennaro, Naples, Italy

Paris gets a lot of attention for its catacombs (where the remains of six million people are stored), but Naples' catacombs deserve a look too. There aren't so many skulls here, but the atmosphere is palpably spooky.

Death Road, Bolivia

They don't call it Camino de los Yungas (Death Road) for nothing. Located north of Paz, this mostly-single-tracked road edges vertiginous cliffs with no barriers whatsoever. It's the kind of place high-speed overtaking is very much looked down upon. While fatalities have thankfully reduced a lot these days, in the 1990s between 200 and 300 people succumbed to this road annually.

Salem, Massachusetts, USA

Infamous for the witch trials of 1692 where 20 suspected witches were hanged, Salem still attracts witch hunters to this very day. The town is far from abashed about its chilling past - even the police cars feature witch emblems; and residents can send their kids to the Witchcraft Heights School.

The Island of the Dolls, Mexico

Isla de las Muñecas (Island of the Dolls) is located among the pretty canals of Xochimilco near Mexico City. But it's not all pretty: visitors are treated to the sight of hundreds of dolls hanging from trees and buildings - most with missing limbs or eyes, or missing bodies, or missing heads - you get the idea. It is believed that a young girl drowned near here many years ago and the island's caretaker hung up a doll in remembrance. Over the years many other people have added their own dolls - creating a truly spine-tingling scene.

Japan's Village of Dolls

More dolls, more fear: Tsukimi Ayano returned to her Japanese village after a long absence and found that most of its inhabitants had died or moved away. Her reaction? To install scores of homemade dolls to remember them by. At time of writing she's made more than 400 dolls, including an entire classroom of children - located in an abandoned school.

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