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Vacation Time: Get Your Spook On!

Updated: 14 minutes ago

Ghost Hunting! Scary places to haunt on October 31


Stone castle with towers set against a backdrop of trees. Two cars parked in front on a grassy lawn. Overcast sky, serene atmosphere.

MEET THE PENITENT GHOST of Lord Richard Nugent at 16th-century Ross Castle in County Meath, now a five-bedroom B&B. As the story goes, Richard separated his daughter Sabrina from her husband, and she starved herself to death. In addition to the sightings, raised voices are heard and doors slam shut on their own. Sabrina’s livid!


A raven perches on a green cannon outside a stone castle with a clock tower in the background. The sky is partly cloudy.

GET FREAKED OUT AT THE TOWER OF LONDON: one of the spookiest places in Britain. Edward V and his younger brother, Richard, Duke of York play outside the Bloody Tower, and Anne Boleyn, the ill-fated second wife of Henry VIII, wanders the grounds – you might also spot the ghosts of Thomas Becket, Sir Walter Raleigh and Lady Jane Grey.


Dimly lit prison corridor with aged yellow walls, metal railings, and barred windows, evoking an eerie and somber atmosphere.

TOUR GRUESOME BOGGO ROAD GAOL to spot the ghost of Ernest Austin, the last man to be executed in Brisbane. The prison, which closed in 1989 and reopened as a museum in 1992, was notorious for its inhumane living conditions and was the scene of roughly 100 deaths, including 42 hangings. Austin’s ghost is said to have menaced both prisoners and guards.


Dimly lit hotel hallway with green carpet, patterned walls, wooden doors, and framed artwork. Mood is quiet and serene.

STAY IN ROOM 2022 at the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg and you might wake to see blood dripping down the walls – and an apparition of a cloaked woman, who is said to have committed suicide in the room on hearing of her husband’s death. The horror movie 1408, starring John Cusack, is loosely based on the unnatural occurrences reported at the Fort Garry.


Illuminated building with red-lit windows on a corner at night. Dark sky with scattered clouds. Parked cars line the street.

ENTER THE DIABOLIC WORLD of sadist and socialite Madame Delphine LaLaurie, who committed her atrocities at her New Orleans home in the 1830s – the slaves she tortured and killed haunt the property to this day. In a city known for paranormal activity, voodoo and vampires, the LaLaurie Mansion Ghost Tour is rated the most terrifying.


Foggy forest with tall, dense trees and orange-brown leaves. The mist creates a mystical ambiance, with a faint light in the distance.

WALK WITH LOST SOULS at Aokigahara on the northwestern flank of Mount Fuji, where 100+ people commit suicide each year. The ghost-filled woodland, now known as ‘Suicide Forest’, is one of the world’s most-used suicide sites. Signs are in place urging suicidal visitors to think of their families and seek help.


Worn dolls with missing limbs and aged clothing hang and stand in a dim setting, casting an eerie mood with greenish lighting.

AT ISLAND OF THE DOLLS just south of Mexico City, you’ll see thousands of dolls moving their heads and arms, opening and closing their eyes, and whispering to each other. The dolls reportedly began to wash ashore after a local girl drowned off the island. Visitors bring dolls to add to the collection, hanging them in the trees to appease restless spirits.

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