Top 5 Spooky Halloween Destinations
With Halloween just around the corner, the Gomingo team has deep-dived into the fiery pits of hell itself to bring you the spookiest destinations around the world for your Halloween travel fix.
Get ready for haunted houses, blood-curdling experiences and deserted disaster sites guaranteed to give you the chills this Spooktober.
Grab a pillow, dim the lights and let’s begin…
Suicide Forest
JAPAN
The suicide forest (traditionally known as Aokigahara), is a tremendously controversial attraction aptly named for an obvious reason – this is where troubled souls go to get lost and never return. But, it’s also weirdly enchanting. Many adventurous tourists claim to have experienced some pretty intense and ghostly goings-on while venturing through this fairytale-like forest.
Despite the number of tourists who deviate from the beaten path, the forest is still thriving and growing stronger – the moss-covered roots of the towering trees mixed with the odd and unsettling silence create a weirdly surreal atmosphere. It’s a magnificent spectacle to witness if you ever dare to visit – a truly beautiful place with an unfortunate history.
The journey is arduous, not easy to get to but if you’re into your alternative tourism then it’ll be well worth the trek for a once-in-a-lifetime spook.
Word of warning, you might see a few ropes cordoning off parts of the forest, or even – although rare- a few other unpleasant eery surprises. We highly recommend that you be respectful and vigilant at all times. Whatever you do don’t get lost!
You can arrange guided tours from the amazing people who venture into the forest to help those troubled enough to enter on their own will. They’ll keep you safe from spirits and make sure you don’t stray from the path.
Chernobyl
UKRAINE
I’m sure we’ve all heard about the hit series Chernobyl and how it’s making everyone crave some Dark Tourism.
But, did you know Chernobyl is a real-life natural disaster? Some background history for those who don’t know, Chernobyl in Pripyat, Ukraine is known to be one of the worst nuclear disasters in history.
However, Ukraine is taking hold of its history with both hands and turning it into something worthwhile. With Dark Tourism in mind, the Ukrainian government and tourism body establishments have put in place routes, checkpoints and even a map dedicated to other dark tourism attractions around the area.
Have you seen this place? It’s insane 👇🏽
The beauty of Chernobyl is how it’s being taken over by the wilderness. Overgrown forests reclaim the deserted buildings and theme park once home to those who were unlucky enough to live there at the time of the disaster.
You’ll see all sorts of animals and plants at this spooky attraction. But… for the love of all things nontoxic, don’t touch the animals, no matter how cute they are. Radiation still lurks within every nook and cranny of this destination. Radiation poisoning is all but impossible/ highly unlikely to contract, as long as you stick to the designated paths and don’t touch anything.
Would you dare to walk the streets of the worlds largest nuclear disaster?
Island of Dolls
MEXICO
Introducing, hands down, the creepiest experience on our list, this eery site is the Island of Dolls in Mexico. Just seeing images of this haunting Island brings a collective shiver down the Gomingo teams spine.
Don’t Believe us? Don’t say we didn’t warn you…
Creepy right? The story behind it isn’t for the lighthearted either…
Broken, deteriorated and unbelievable creepy dolls of various styles and colours are found throughout the island, originally placed by the former owner of the island, Julián Santana Barrera. Julián believed that dolls helped to chase away the spirit of a girl who drowned in the surrounding river years ago. Santana died in 2001 of a heart attack, close to the same spot where the girl drowned.
The Stephen King esque story caught the attention of tourists near and far who were simultaneously intrigued & terrified by this man’s story. If this attraction doesn’t scare you, then we honestly don’t know what will…
The Darvaza Gas Crater
TURKMENISTAN
The name Darvaza Gas Crater may sound boring, but its alternative name is most definitely not. Nicknamed the Gates of Hell (yep), this devilishly dark attraction is exactly what it sounds like. A pit of fire embedded deep in the wild resembling the entrance to hell itself.
Located in Turkmenistan, this cavern of despair has been burning for 40 years and we don’t see it flickering out any time soon. Could this really be the entrance to hell? No, it’s actually just a hole which leaks methane so some scientists set it on fire to stop it spreading and it just won’t stop burning.
Luring over 50k visitors to its location each year, this attraction is surrounded by copious camping sites so you can tag it along to some star watching in the desert. Kind of cute for a hellish attraction.
Would you venture into the wilderness for a look at this otherworldy destination?
The Ancient Ram Inn in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire
UK
Looking to be bewitched? Then look no further. The definition of haunting is The Ancient Ram Inn in Gloucestershire, UK.
This legendary soul-shaking attraction has a deep-rooted history that links witches, demons and another world all in one building.
Countless ghost sightings and ankle-grabbing demons have made this creepy little Inn the most haunted building in the UK. Some even say that the aura is so exceptionally chilling they’ve had to leave immediately. Could it just be an exaggerated draft or is it genuinely the atmosphere created by this buildings relentless haunting?
We hope it’s the latter. But, you’re more than welcome to go and find out for sure. If you manage to stay the whole night we’d be impressed.
So, there you have it. Haunted buildings, the gates of hell, creepy toy dolls on an island and chilling nuclear disaster sites.
Feeling the heebie-jeebies after reading our top hellish attractions? Tell us about it in the comments below! Been to any of these places? Let us know how it went and if you got possessed by any demons along the way.