When people are looking for a spooky destination, they usually pick famous castles like Bran, Romania, where Dracula supposedly lived, or the Paris Catacombs, but there are so many other, less known creepy locations, just waiting to be discovered. Let’s take a look at 5 of them:

5. Centralia, USA

Centralia Town

Located in the state of Pennsylvania, Centralia was a small town, abandoned after a fire started burning right under it. The local authorities ignited a landfill just atop an unsealed coal-mine and thus the fire spread underground. The population was evacuated when the gas inside the gas-stations’ fuel tanks exceeded safe temperatures.

Now Centralia is one of America’s most popular ghost towns, complete with smoking cracks in the roads, the occasional explosions and disturbing silence. Just what you’d expect a town to look like after a nuclear attack.

4. The Hill of Crosses, Lithuania

The Hill of Crosses

Contrary to popular belief, the crosses placed on the hill neighboring the Lithuanian city of Siauliai, are not a symbol of death and pain, but of love and unconditional faith. Still the very sight of The Hill of Crosses can give anyone goosebumps.

First recorded in 1850, the ritual of placing crosses on this hill is believed to date from 1831 as a symbol of the rebellion against the tsarist regime. During the Soviet period, the hill of crosses were considered a harmful symbol and have been destroyed more than once. But as soon as the crosses were taken away, other appeared in their place, over night.

The peoples’ faith endured through the hard times and the number of crosses has grown from 130 recorded in 1900 to 14,387 big crosses and 41,000 small crosses, with the number constantly growing.

3. Dilmun Burial Mounds, Bahrain

Dilmun Mounds

Uncovered by a Danish archaeological team while searching the former capital of the Bronze Age, The Dilmun Burial Mound field of Bahrain, is one of the oldest necropolis on Earth. It dates back to the time of the Dilmun, a very old civilization that prospered around 3000 BC, but that ultimately faded away.

The mounds are of different sizes containing one or more chambers, bodies of the Dilmun and some of their items. The fact that it lies so close to modern settlements in Bahrain and that the tombs are not of Islamic origin, has caused a lot of controversy. Although they are a grand archaeological find, the Dilmun Mounds of Bahrain are not something the locals are proud of. They actually want to pour concrete over them and create housing.

The way the Dilmun buried their young in clay jars is very spooky to the current inhabitants of these lands.

2. Fort Riley, USA

Fort Riley

Located on the north bank of Kansas River, Fort Riley was established in the fall of 1852 and remains an active military facility today. It had a crucial role in patrolling the Santa Fe Trail and the surroundings against Indian attacks. The famous general Custer was stationed here.

Another interesting thing about Fort Riley are its many reports of haunting. Practically every part of the compound has its own ghost stories. From the Artillery Parade Field, where a woman all wrapped in chains can be noticed, to the hospital, where the alarm continues to sound even though it was disconnected by the fire marshal, or the stables where an old-fashioned dressed gentleman rides his horse then disappears, it’s all a big horror story.

1. Halstatt Ossuary, Austria

Painted Skulls

Known by many as one of the oldest settlements on the planet, with archaeological finds dating back to 5000 BC, Halstatt is also one of Europe’s most beautiful winter destinations.

But the archaeological value of this place and the fantastic scenery are not the main reason tourists visit Halstatt. The main attraction of this small mountain town is the Ossuary of Painted Skulls. Human skulls to be precise, dried in the sun, bleached and painted by the families of the deceased. This tradition began in the 12^th century, when burial places were no longer available and the remains of the dead were dug-up after a few years to make more room.

The skulls were then bleached, painted and deposited in the ossuary. These proceedings are no longer necessary but if someone requests it, they can have the skull of their relatives deposited there.

Photo Credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5