The deadliest places on earth
From Darvaza crater in Turkmenistan to the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania, these unnerving spots on earth look like they're straight out of a nightmare.
Island of the Dolls, Mexico City, Mexico
The popular destination for tourists was initially home to a man named Julian Santana Barrera who decided to live in a remote area in Xochimilco. When he moved to the place about 50 years ago, he discovered the corpse of a young girl near a canal. The man believed that he could hear footsteps and the sound of a girl crying. He began hanging dolls as a vigil of the deceased girl and continued doing so until his death in 2011. Presently, tourists who visit the place hang their dolls on the trees.
Hodge Close Quarry, Cumbria, UK
A slate quarry known as the Hodge Close, near Coniston in Lake District, is a spot for brave divers. Many divers and climbers have lost their lives in the area. The cave can be accessed only through underwater passages. But what makes this place more eerie is the 2011 image by a photographer which shows that the shape of the cave forms a skull. The water in the lake remains chilly throughout the year.
Gomantong Caves, Malaysia
Simud Hitam (Black Cave) and Simud Putih (White Cave) are the two dark cave complexes in the Gomantong cave system. Simud Hitam is up to 295 feet (90 meters) high and is more accessible than Simud Putih. The caves are surrounded by a forest having various animals, including orangutans. However, the thousands of live bats, Malaysian cockroaches and huge Scutigera centipedes give way to layers of waste and remains of dead creatures, with rats feeding on them, making this space extremely mucky.
Oradour-sur-Glane, France
The Oradour-sur-Glane was the site of the infamous 1944 massacre of hundreds of people by Nazi forces. It is believed that women and children were locked in a church and houses were ransacked, even as the men were taken to sheds, where Nazi forces opened fire on them. The church was set ablaze, and when people tried to escape, they were shot. The ruins of the village are still present as a memorial to the dead, and many believe Oradour-sur-Glane to be a ghost village with the presence of spirits of those who were killed.
Hoia Baciu forest, Transylvania, Romania
The eerie forest, which is known as the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania, is ill-famed for mysterious and unexplained happenings. The Hoia Baciu forest was named after a shepherd who disappeared with his flock of 200 sheep. It became more notorious after a military technician clicked a picture of what looked like a UFO in 1968. And many people have wandered off in the woods, emerging later often with an apparent missense of time or unexplained wounds. The twisted shape of the trees only adds to the horror.
Mütter Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
This medical museum was founded when Dr. Thomas Dent Mütter donated various pathological specimens and medical anomalies in 1858 for biomedical research and education. The museum houses strange artifacts such as picked human skin, slice of a human face, fetuses, skeletal specimens, tumors and cysts, section of an intestine, bedbugs extracted from a human, plaster death cast of conjoined twins and a book bound in human skin by a physician in the 1880s.
The Catacombs, Paris, France
The ossuary, established in 1738 in the ancient Mines of Paris underground tunnel network, holds the remains of over six million people. This huge collection of bones and skulls depict a darker side of “The City of Light.” Some areas of the Catacombs can be visited by tourists however, there is a section that cannot be accessed and consists of an unpoliced second city which spreads for miles. Even if you do manage to venture into this area, the chances of getting lost in the deathly silence of the gruesome environs are immense.
Leap Castle, Coolderry, Ireland
This castle is believed to be one of the most haunted spots in the world. It was visited by paranormal investigators from the reality television series “Scariest Places on Earth.” Leap Castle earned such a reputation because of various acｃounts, including the historic slaughter of a priest in the 1530s and because it was built over a torture pit. Some say the renovations carried out over the centuries caused the human remains to be removed from the castle, leading to paranormal stir-ups.
Darvaza crater, Karakum Desert, Turkmenistan
This crater on fire is nicknamed "door to hell." Although the origin of the 69-meter-wide and 30-meter-deep crater is disputed, it is widely believed that it came into existence during a Soviet expedition for gas. According to a Turkmen geologist, the borehole was set on fire in 1971 following the concern that it was emitting poisonous gases. More than 40 years later, it’s still burning.
Fengdu Ghost City, Chongqing, China
The legend of this place dates back to the Han dynasty when two court officials, Yin Changsheng and Wang Fangping, came to Ming mountain to practice Taoism and became immortals. Yinwang, the combination of their surnames, means “King of Hell.” Many of the temples and sculptures in the city depict people being tortured in hell for their sins. “The Ghost King,” a giant face on the hill, holds a Guinness World Records title for being the biggest sculpture carved on a rock. It is 452 feet (138 meters) tall and 712 feet (217 meters) wide.
Hellam Township, Pennsylvania, US
This quaint town is often called a modern-day hell gate, thanks to various urban legends dating back to the 19th Century. According to one of the myths, an asylum in the outskirts of the town was burnt down in the 19th century the ruined site is referred to locally as the doorway to hell. Another legend says that an eccentric Hellam doctor constructed seven gates around his property. Only the first gate can be seen during the daylight and the rest appear at night. It’s believed that those who pass through all these gates will be transported to the underworld.
Diros Caves, Peloponnese, Greece
These eerie caves, covered with jagged rock formations, are a site for archaeological researches. Their resemblance to the "mouth of the underworld" from Greek mythology, coupled with the fact that they may have been used as a place of burial in Neolithic times, makes them really unnerving.
Chinoike Jigoku, Beppu City, Japan
This city features as many as nine hot springs, each with a different color and composition. One of the pools, named Chinoike Jigoku, or Bloody Hell Pond, is a bubbling pit of red slime due to natural iron oxide deposits. It’s said that the pond, with its 78° Celsius temperature, was sometimes used to torture prisoners. Today, people can purchase skin products made with the mud from Chinoike Jigoku.
Cave of Sibyl, Naples, Italy
Roman poet Virgil in his “Aeneid” has vividly described this cave, with a hundred entrances that lead to the netherworld. According to legend, Trojan hero Aeneas enｃountered the Cumaean Sybil, a 700-year-old oracle, fortune-teller and priestess, who guided him to the hell below. The Antro della Sibilla cave was discovered in 1932.
Mount Hekla, Iceland
The fiery pit of lava in this stratovolcano has long been associated with the fiery pit of Christian tradition. While most superstitions regarding the volcano died out by the 19th century, local folklore still tells of witches who gather around the volcano's peak every Easter.
Actun Tunichil Muknal cave, Belize
The Mayans believed that a network of caves in modern-day Belize led to their underworld, Xibalba. The cave of Actun Tunichil Muknal, which was rediscovered in 1989, was once believed to be a place filled with blood and scorpions. The present scenario is no less frightening with skeletons of humans, believed to have been ritualistically murdered as a sacrifice to the Death Gods, scattered across the network of caves.
Pluto's Gate, Turkey
Pluto’s Gate is located in Hierapolis, a World Heritage Site. According to Greco-Roman mythology and tradition, the site, dedicated to underworld gods Pluto and Kore, was used as a place of sacrifice. The deadly vapors emitting from the cave killed animals, fortifying the belief that it was the entrance to Pluto's world.
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VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Eerie (adj.) ~ strange and frightening
2. Ransack (v.) ~ search through (a place or receptacle) to find something, especially in such a way as to cause disorder and damage
3. Ossuary (n.) ~ a container or room into which the bones of dead people are placed
4. Venture (v.) ~ dare to do something or go somewhere that may be dangerous or unpleasant
5. Quaint (adj.) ~ attractively unusual or old-fashioned
6. Fortify (v.) ~ strengthen or invigorate (someone) mentally or physically
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. Why do you think people like visiting these eerie and scary places? Explain your opinion.
2. Choose three of the aforementioned places that you would like to see in person? Why are you interested in those areas?
3. Are there some sites in Korea which are considered scary? Where are they? Discuss their history.
