Haunted places

There is not one single ‘proven’ haunting anywhere in the world. Even the Amityville house was exposed as a hoax. Nonetheless, this does not stop our persistent belief in the supernatural and even demonic possession. The movie Paranormal Activity (and its upcoming sequel) scared the bejesus out us in the same way that the Blair Witch Project and the Exorcist did. We can’t get enough of that peculiar feeling that something, or someone, is watching us from beyond the grave.

Even reputable science-type folk have reported feeling decidedly strange in certain places in the world, with difficult-to-explain drops in temperature, sounds that sound too much like voices to be coincidental, and things going ‘bump’ in the night. Strangely, the most haunted places on earth are places that most of us aren’t familiar with. Enter if you dare.

Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia
The first prison colony of Australia, Port Arthur was described as hell on earth. Quite simply, this was a place to break men’s spirits and to drive them mad. Visitors to Port Arthur, from different parts of the planet and often five or ten years apart, have reported seeing the same kinds of phenomena: Drifting mists that move with purpose in rooms that have no drafts, voices in the night, the cold ‘touch’ of long-dead prisoners, or even bruises left behind after being kicked in the leg by the ghost of a child-killer.

The Winchester House
Sarah Winchester (wife of the famous gun manufacturer) was left alone after the death of her husband and child. Convinced that spirits had cursed her family, she came to the conclusion that the only way to find peace was to confuse the ghosts by building a maze-like series of rooms in her mansion. Construction on her new house continued for 38 years, as the increasingly frightened and paranoid Sarah commissioned room after room to be tacked on the to sprawling estate. By the time she died, the mansion was more than 160 rooms, connected by a confusing tangle of hidden doors and corridors. We may never know if the house was hainted but eye-witness accounts by reputable folk do report hearing the distant screams of frustrated ghosts wandering, trapped, in the halls.

Tuol Sleng
This Cambodian prison was essentially a concentration camp during the Killing Fields of the Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge savagery of the 1970s. Out of more than twelve thousand political prisoners detained here (almost all of whom were innocent) that were tortured, starved, and raped, only twelve survived. This is one of the reputedly most haunted places on earth, with the unidentified souls of restless inmates reportedly wandering the grounds, crying for peace.

Empire of the Dead, Paris, France
When the city planners in Paris decided that the city needed more room, they looked at the grounds that were being used the most but were least likely to have residents complain about being moved. In other words, the dead folk. Cemetery space in eighteenth century was the most occupied land space and the bones of the former residents now line the deep catacombs under Paris. They had to put them somewhere, right? Tours of the catacombs are often cancelled as tour members become increasingly nervous and shaken by the incidents that regularly occur. Groups of silent shadows following groups of the living, people who head into the catacombs on a dare and are never seen again, cries in the night, sudden sharp drops in temperature, being grabbed by invisible hands when there are no other people around, and an often overwhelming sense of despair are all routine here in the catacombs. Renting apartments in Paris are often part of a haunted tour package, for those who dare to explore the dark underworld of this otherwise vibrant and lively city.