Haunting Halloween Holidays

Looking for a terrifying trip? Here are our tips for some of the most haunting destinations worldwide.

Sedlec Ossuary, near Prague, Czechia

A couple of hours from Prague, just outside the city of Kutná Hora, find Sedlec Ossuary, where the bones of more than 50,000 people form an eerily stunning display.

Inside the 15th century Church of Bones and its basement ossuary see garlands, sculptures and coats of arms formed from human skeletons. There’s even a chandelier made from every bone in the body.

Prague travel guide >

Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland

Perched atop an extinct volcano, Scotland's most famous tourist attraction has a decidedly dark history. While the battlements give spectacular panoramic views of the city, the castle’s deep dungeons whisper of years of gruesome torture and gloomy imprisonment.

Edinburgh Castle became the country’s most significant castle in the Middle Ages, and the ancient buildings within the fortress include a 12th century chapel, and the grand Great Hall, completed in 1511.

Edinburgh travel guide >

Salem, Massachusetts, USA

Today’s Salem may be filled with high rises and urban modernity, but this coastal city is at the heart of America’s supernatural history. Salem was the location of the infamous 17th century witch trials, where almost 20 people were executed on the grounds of being involved in witchcraft.

October’s visitors can revel in extensive Halloween festivities going on throughout the month, including a witchcraft exhibition and the Official Salem Witches' Annual Ball.

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The Catacombs, Paris, France

The final resting place of some six million Parisians in in an ancient network of caves, quarries and tunnels that runs beneath the Montparnasse area of Paris.

This 320km (200-mile) subterranean labyrinth is renowned as being the world’s biggest mass grave, and includes the remains of people who perished during the French Revolution. Breathtakingly macabre walls of skulls and bones make it a unique if somewhat unnerving spectacle.

Paris travel guide >

Chateau de Brissac, France

France’s tallest castle, situated just over an hours drive from both Tours and Nantes, also has another defining feature. It is said that roaming within these noble walls is the Green Lady – la Dame Verte: the ghost of a lady murdered inside the castle back in the 15th century, and whose spirit never left.

There have been many sightings from somewhat alarmed guests, and the Green Lady’s moans are said to echo through the ancient walls during the night.

Book a trip to Nantes >