Halloween may be over, but plenty of creepy things and places exist around the world to give you the heebie-jeebies, no matter the time of year.
Click start to play today’s Spell It, where we go on a journey of the world’s most ‘eerie’ locations.
A fascination with the unknown often drives many tourists to travel off the beaten path. Several places exist around the world, that seem distinct from the rest, and that call our attention to the transient nature of life, or the relentless passage of time.
Here are a few to note, even if you’re not inclined to travel there to learn more:
1. Darvaza, Turkmenistan
Imagine walking in a desert plain and stumbling upon a giant, flaming crater. Also known as the ‘Door to the Underworld’, Darvaza is a terrifying, gaping pit, full of fire, that could easily look like a portal to another dimension. Scientifically, however, Darvaza is a burning natural gas field that has collapsed into a cavern.
2. Paris Catacombs, France
Could anything be creepier than walls full of skulls? The Catacombs of Paris were created in 1810 to provide relief to the city’s overflowing cemeteries. Today, the bones of more than six million people lie in the labyrinthine tunnels beneath the capital of France. Many of the remains have been stacked in elaborate arrangements throughout the catacombs, which are open to travellers who dare to visit the Parisian underworld.
3. Hoia-Baciu Forest, Romania
This particular forest has become notorious for paranormal activity, and it all began with a military technician’s photograph of an unidentified flying object (UFO) hovering over the forest in 1968. Known as the ‘Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania’, it’s thought that people who enter the area are likely to disappear. The forest is populated with disturbingly curved trees and is often enveloped in an eerie mist, adding to the spooky atmosphere.
4. Chuuk Lagoon, Micronesia
A haunted graveyard may be frightening, but a haunted graveyard that sits 50 feet underwater is terrifying! Welcome to Micronesia’s Cuuk Lagoon, which was once a fortified base for Japan’s Navy during World War II. It was destroyed by American forces in 1944, causing dozens of warships, planes, tanks and railroad cars to sink to the bottom. Today, the wartime vessels are known as the ‘Ghost Fleet of Chuuk Lagoon’, and attract scuba divers, who can swim up close and view the wrecks, which are littered with gas masks and weapons.
5. Isla de las Munecas, Mexico
Although it enjoys the status of a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) World Heritage site for its many preserved examples of Aztec life, Xochimilco in Mexico has a creepy side, too. Welcome to the Island of the Dolls – Isla de las Munecas – where you can find hundreds of doll parts and dolls hanging from trees and lying on the grass. According to National Geographic, the area used to be the residence of a man named Julian Santa Barrera, who, after finding the body of a deceased girl in a nearby canal, collected and exhibited the dolls to ward off evil spirits.
What do you think of these eerie sites? Play today’s Spell It and tell us at games@gulfnews.com.
