Some of our greatest buildings have endured for centuries to become the heavily visited and treasured wonders they are today. Many of the most impressive creations from history, however, didn’t make it to modern day. For example, consider the original Seven Wonders of the World, all of which (save the pyramids at Giza) were destroyed by either war, natural erosion, or neglect.

The survivors are protected in modern times but were not always so safe. Several escaped at the last minute from being nothing more than the memory of a great idea. Others never would have existed at all had forward-thinking individuals not intervened on their behalf.

10The Eiffel Tower
Petitioned For Destruction

The French people were not always in love with their most famous building. In fact, many still aren’t, but public opinion has shifted in favor of the iconic Tour Eiffel.

When the tower was planned to commemorate the French Revolution for the 1889 World’s Fair, a public outcry erupted even before the foundation was set. Parisians of the time considered Eiffel’s proposed tower an eyesore and a blight on the scenic vistas of Champ de Mars. Petitions were circulated attempting to ban the project from even starting.

With the understanding that the tower would be disassembled within 20 years after the celebrations concluded, a reluctant community allowed the tower to be built. Despite a change of heart by citizens who began to appreciate the tower (and because the antenna tower proved to be an invaluable wartime resource), it narrowly escaped the worst again during World War II when Hitler ordered its destruction. The order was never carried out.

Today, the tower accepts visitors numbering over seven million per year, making it the most visited pay-for-entry monument in the world. It houses restaurants and gift shops on the second level and enjoys possibly the best view of the city from over 275 meters (900 ft) at the third level. Over 500 people work in and on the tower to maintain and run the monument every day, ensuring that the image will continue to grace the Paris skyline.

9The Sphinx
Lost Beneath The Sands

The Sphinx, one of the world’s most popular and easily recognized landmarks, was for centuries neither of those things. It has also suffered from neglect, vandalism, political turmoil, and natural erosion.

At over 4,500 years old, the Sphinx has seen much of human history unfold from its place near the famous Valley of the Kings. It was erected in connection with the Egyptian god Harmakhis, but the popularity of the cult that worshiped the deity waned, and the colossal sculpture was left unattended. It was buried beneath the shifting sands, and only the head remained visible, inspiring the moniker “father of fear” from locals who were disturbed by the unusual silhouette.

Over the centuries, the sands were removed and then left to overtake the monument again and again. One undocumented attack damaged the statue and destroyed the nose. Seeking gold and other treasures, the Sphinx was again unburied in 1817, but archaeologists found nothing and had to battle back the corrosive sands time after time. Worse, it was discovered that salt leaking up from the base was destroying the foundation of the Sphinx and compromising its stability.

The concrete used by the Egyptians had eroded, and the entire structure was in peril. Conservation efforts have replaced the original mortar with a stronger material, and the Sphinx is safe, for now.

8Statue Of Liberty
Stuffed In Storage

Millions of immigrants came from around the world to pass under Lady Liberty’s torch and find new lives in a nation that promised a better future. She has stood in the harbor attracting thousands of new visitors every year and representing the idealism of her country and its people.

You may know that the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France. This is both true and completely false. The artist, Auguste Bartholdi, originally approached Egyptian leaders during the World’s Fair with hopes of designing a massive statue to sit at the entrance of the Suez Canal. He was ultimately denied and searched for an alternative, turning to America with the hook of celebrating the young country’s independence.

It took 15 years and extensive fundraising to complete the statue, which was fully constructed in a Paris neighborhood with no significant funding from either government. In the end, Joseph Pulitzer saved the day by promising to print the names of every single contributor in his magazine. The plan worked. The gift was packed and shipped on the French ship Isere in 300 pieces in 241 crates across the Atlantic Ocean.

The cargo was nearly lost in rough seas. Once she reached the harbor, America’s icon was placed in storage for over a year. There it stayed, and there it would have remained indefinitely until it was de-mothballed and made the centerpiece of a publicity stunt, in which every person who donated to the cause of putting Liberty on her island got their name printed in New York World newspaper. Who could resist?

So bribery, luck, and good old-fashioned commercialism established America’s symbol in her current home.

7The Alamo
Bowie’s Blow-Up Plan

Remember the Alamo? Texas does, Mexico does, and Bowie sure did (Jim, not David).

The location that now stands as little more than the adobe facade of a once great building served many roles. Originally constructed as the chapel of the Mission San Antonio de Valero in 1718, it consisted of a few huts and a stone tower that was destroyed by a storm in 1724. The stone church building was constructed around 1744. It collapsed in 1756.

A second stone chapel, the one we see today, was started in 1758 and was slated to include two large towers and a domed ceiling, covering over four acres. It was never completed. Epidemics had reduced the population of Valero so much that not enough people were left to tend the building.

It was converted to a self-sustaining parish in 1793. It was stripped of its doors and windows and served as a parish for soldiers, eventually becoming San Antonio’s first hospital. A military unit—the Second Flying Company of San Jose and Santiago of the Alamo of Parras—gave the parish its modern name when they were stationed there for nearly 10 years starting in 1801 or 1802. Meaning “cottonwood,” the name has lasted for centuries.

The Alamo changed hands more than 16 times during battles between the Texan, Spanish, Mexican, Union, and Confederate forces that all fought for the land. What was left of the Alamo (probably only the first 7 meters (23 ft) of the walls that stand today) was almost completely destroyed for the last time when Sam Houston requested permission from Governor Henry Smith to remove valuable items and blow up the Alamo to keep it out of enemy hands. Smith refused, Houston left, Bowie stayed, and history was made. Bowie wrote to Smith on February 2, 1836 and stated, “Col. Neill & Myself have come to the solemn resolution that we will rather die in these ditches than give it up to the enemy.”

6The Washington Monument
Earthquake

The Washington Monument was almost a lost treasure before it even began. As the result of early financial troubles in young America, Washington himself pulled the plug on efforts to immortalize him with the massive and expensive monument. Instead, he founded the city that would one day bear his name. Due to a succession of political blunders and the inability to finance it, nearly 75 years passed before any significant construction began, and even that was eventually abandoned.

Though a pared-down and far less expensive monument was finally constructed, it contained a substandard base structure. In 2011, the integrity of that structure was put to the test. A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck near Washington, D.C., causing extensive structural damage that required the monument to be closed to the public.

According to a report requested by the National Parks Service, the monument suffered several broken marble panels that adorned the outside of the structure, particularly at the pyramid section. Vertical supports that ran inside the monument cracked, and pieces broke off. Portions of the exterior facade cracked and fell off due to twisting during the earthquake. The keystones were damaged, and pieces had to be completely removed. Structural supports known as ribbing inside the monument cracked at crucial joints, and gaps in the mortar became so extensive that daylight could be seen through them, leading to leaking and water damage.

Repairs were completed to the extent needed for it to reopen to visitors. At over 130 years old, the Washington Monument was not designed for earthquake resistance. Though it was patched and approved by the NPS, another incident could prove disastrous for the landmark.

5The White House
Tornado

Historians remember with regret that the White House that stands today is actually only a shell of the original building, which has been burned, gutted, and restored many times throughout history. The worst destructive act on the country’s most famous residence was in 1814, when British soldiers invaded Washington, expelled all the residents, and set fire to the Capitol and the White House along with other public buildings.

The story of how the White House barely escaped complete ruin at the hands of the British army defies logic, common sense, and even science. Union forces were scattered in the wake of the attack, and Washington appeared to be lost. Then came one of the most remarkable and unseasonable weather events in American history.

On August 25, 1814, two days after the siege began, a tornado hit downtown Washington, D.C. Its torrential rains doused the fires and disrupted British forces, slamming their ships and throwing their cannons into the air. More British troops were killed by the storm than by gunfire.

Following the unexpected gale, the invading army retreated to its ships to regroup, left harbor, and never returned. Up to three tornadoes hit that day—quite an oddity, considering that only seven made landfall in the following 200 years.

4Taj Mahal
Military Armament

It’s shocking to hear the lengths former leaders and the public of Agra went to disgrace their country’s most famous monument. The Taj is now considered a must-see for travelers to India, a priceless remnant of the past, and a testimony to the enduring power of love. But it was nearly destroyed several times, defaced for decades, and the object of scorn by many former leaders.

Built as a tomb for the wife of former leader Shah Jahan, the monument was one of the grandest achievements of its time. After the emperor’s death, the memorial was ignored and fell into disrepair. The British intervened and converted the monument into a military compound. Marble facades were destroyed, barracks were built on the grounds, and the forts were converted into garrisons. In an effort to impress the Prince of Wales, the hall was painted in a coat of whitewash.

After their departure, plans were submitted to have the Taj destroyed and a government building erected in its place. Those plans were abandoned, but the destruction continued. Picnics, fairs, and other events were held on the grounds, where revelers would chisel away pieces of the adornments to take as souvenirs.

In 1828, Lord William Bentinck declared that many landmarks were to be destroyed and sold off in pieces in London. Several pavilions of the Taj were stripped to the brick and shipped off to Europe, some going to King George IV himself. Wrecking equipment was moved into place, and the Taj was ordered to be destroyed. Luckily, just as the crews began, auction attempts in London were declared a failure, and the project was abandoned.

In the early 1900s, Lord Curzon was shocked by the monument’s condition. He had it restored to its current state along many other mosques and tombs that had been turned into kitchens, police stations, and ticket offices. In 1983, the Taj was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

3The Colosseum
Struggles Against Time

The Colosseum in Rome, also known as the Amphitheatrum Flavium, has undergone as much structural damage as any building could while remaining standing. It’s nearly 2,000 years old, and the remaining two-thirds of the original Colosseum is a testament as much to the engineering prowess of ancient Romans as it is to conservation efforts.

The Colosseum has suffered not one but two direct lightning strikes that burned out the wood support structures and gutted the basement added by Titus’s brother Domitian. It took every firefighting official and member of the naval fleet to put out the flames and barely avert complete destruction. The fires also greatly damaged the stones and mortar holding the amphitheater together. It was decades before repairs were complete.

The greatest damage has come from people and time. The Colosseum narrowly escaped destruction at the hands of Christian emperors due to its significance as the death place of many Christian martyrs. This did not prevent it from being stripped bare of its impressive marble facade to be used in monuments and houses of the new elite class. The iron supports were stolen by robbers who sold them as scrap, and centuries of turbulent ground shifting has cracked and crumbled the remaining stones into certain peril. It was recently discovered that, a lot like a neighboring attraction in Pisa, the Colosseum leans—it’s 40 centimeters (16 in) higher at one end.

A conservation effort aims to reverse the damage caused not only by years of neglect but by subways and traffic whose vibrations compromise the Colosseum’s structural integrity. The initial effort was postponed several months as pieces of the Colosseum were already being found to fall from its walls.

2The Golden Gate Bridge
High Winds

On the 50th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge in May 1987, 300,000 people marched across the asphalt. Witnesses experienced motion sickness as the bridge swayed in the wind and the deck dropped by more than 2 meters (7 ft). Though no one made a big deal out of it at the time, saving a scene of mass panic, the bridge itself, normally curved, appeared to completely flatten from the side.

Engineers stated that there was no real danger. Each foot of the Golden Gate Bridge can comfortably withstand 2,600 kilograms (5,700 lb) of weight, while the marchers only exerted about 2,450 kilograms (5,400 lb) of weight on each foot of the bridge.

The bridge was actually more endangered (but never quite destroyed ) during its construction than it was that day. Scaffolding and dangerous tide problems during the foundation’s construction killed 911 workers. Then in 1951, the entire road was closed down for several hours when winds reached 113 kilometers (70 mi) per hour, causing the bridge to flutter. A sister bridge from the same designer as the Golden Gate, the Tacoma Narrows, had collapsed on film from winds reaching 65 kilometers (40 mi) per hour 10 years before this incident.

Structural damage occurred on the Golden Gate, while the winds bent the bridge so much that the light standards near the center touched the support cables. The bridge was almost destroyed, according to former Golden Gate chief engineer Daniel Mohn. The added weight of traffic could have resulted in catastrophe had officials not acted quickly.

1The Leaning Tower Of Pisa
War Orders

Many of wonders of the ancient world met their demise during intense battles. In modern times, countless artistic treasures are still missing after being misplaced during the height of war.

The famous Leaning Tower of Pisa nearly became one of those casualties. But it wasn’t bombings or the collateral damage normally experienced during firefights that nearly reduced to the tower to rubble. It was an order given to Sgt. Leon Weckstein by higher-ups during World War II.

The troops battling back Nazis in Pisa were ordered to eliminate all buildings that may have potentially served as sniper nests for German soldiers. Weckstein says that he received the command to blow up the tower and nearly did so except for overbearing heat. The heat was so intense that it was impossible to properly aim. After delay, he finally did take aim on the monument, but the troops were bombarded by enemy fire and forced to retreat. Military brass approved the fallback and spared the tower.

Whether the German soldiers had ever been in the tower is not known, but Weckstein’s procrastination bought the landmark just enough time to be spared a violent and unnecessary end. Today, efforts are underway to maintain the leaning tower, which has to be corrected every so many years to keep it from simply toppling over.

+The Kremlin
Blown Up

The Kremlin in Russia is considered to be of the most architecturally significant landmarks in the country. Home to the ruling family from its inception, the Kremlin (“the town”) marks the spot where Moscow was founded in the 11th century. Protected by a fortifying wall and moat, the Kremlin became the center of development for what would become the future capital city.

During the battle of 1812, the Kremlin was captured by Napoleon and nearly became his residence prior to the French retreat. On his departure, Napoleon ordered that the Kremlin be blown up. His plan nearly succeeded. However, a timely rainstorm dampened many of the fuses. Other explosive caches were discovered by residents who put out fires.

Still, the building did not escape unharmed. Five explosions rang out, destroying much of the structure and causing lasting damage. Two of the fortifying towers were demolished, the arsenal was partially collapsed, and several government buildings were damaged in the explosions. The initial blast, the strongest of the five, was so powerful that not only were all of the windows and glass in the Kremlin and neighboring buildings shattered—the window frames themselves were blown out.

Though the building was badly damaged and extensively burned, the residents of Moscow dedicated themselves to resurrecting the iconic landmark. It took decades of restructuring to finish the repairs, but today, the Kremlin stands a testament to the resolve of a centuries-old city and its proud inhabitants.

Twitter: @JSGestalt

Nearly every city on Earth has them—derelict ruins, the cracked shells of concrete titans long vanquished and forgotten but for their towering silhouettes outlined against the setting Sun. Decades-old factories, abandoned train stations reclaimed by nature, even whole islands that once vibrated with the lives and dreams of generations, all cast by the wayside and left to rot.

But sometimes, the entropy of decay gives way to something breathtaking. Whether at the hand of man or by the slow creep of nature’s tenacious grip, some ruins end up in a surreal twilight between ash and phoenix, poised for something greater than anyone could have imagined.

10Kolmanskop

The story of Kolmanskop begins, as so many African tragedies do, with a diamond. In 1908, German settlers were trying to build a railway across the Namib Desert to connect the coast with the Namibian town of Keetmanshoop. One of the workers, Zacharius Lewala, stumbled across a rough diamond in the desert sands, and he brought it to his supervisor. News of the find spread like wildfire across the German colonies, and miners were soon pouring into the desert by the hundreds.

Diamonds on the surface are rare, but legend has it that in Kolmanskop you could walk the desert at night and pick the glittering stones off the sand by moonlight. A makeshift city was built right on the windswept dunes, and at the height of its boom, there were over 1,200 people living in Kolmanskop. Times change, however, and with the combination of dropping diamond prices following World War I and the discovery of more diamonds farther south, Kolmanskop’s popularity dwindled. Miners and their families packed their bags, abandoned their homes, and left the desert.

Less than 50 years after Zacharius Lewala found his diamond, Kolmanskop was a ghost town. But wooden homes in the desert don’t rot. Within a few years, sand had begun to drift into the open windows and doorways of the buildings as the Namib sought to reclaim its own. The entire complex is now a popular tourist destination, with half a century’s worth of dunes piled up inside the residences, ballrooms, theaters, and hospitals.

9Teufelsberg Listening Post

An artificial dome atop an artificial hill from a time of artificial fears, this abandoned Cold War–era radar post outside Berlin, Germany, rises from the forests like a phallic beacon shining its turgid light upon the pages of a confused history. Built in 1963, the listening post was used by the US National Security Agency to allegedly intercept military and diplomatic communications during the Cold War. Records are vague as to the exact nature of the work performed there, and with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1991, the place was gutted, and the station was abandoned to the elements.

Perhaps even more interesting than the station itself is the history of the Teufelsberg hill on which it stands. The hill—the highest point in Berlin—is actually a massive heap of the city’s rubble from World War II, all dumped over a Nazi military college that’s still intact somewhere beneath all those tons of debris.

Since the listening station powered down in 1991, the facility has changed hands frequently. Each new buyer begins with an ambitious goal to convert the bulbous radomes into a hotel or resort or museum or what have you, but so far, every plan has fallen through, leaving the odd structures to serve merely as gravestones for the corpse of a past Berlin. The facility is currently off-limits, but trespassers say the view of the city from the top is incredible.

8Boston’s Long Island

Boston’s Long Island doesn’t want to be inhabited. Not to be confused with the similarly named island in New York, this 2.8-kilometer (1.75 mi) stretch of land in the Boston Harbor has been the site of numerous failed projects since its original colonization in the 17th century. Its rocky shores and overgrown hills host a derelict military fort, vacant hospitals, mysterious graves, and a laundry list of alleged government secrets.

The region’s violent history began in 1675, when English settlers shipped hundreds of Native Americans to the islands in the harbor and left them to fend for themselves on the barren rocks over the harsh winter of 1675–1676. Most of them died of starvation. In World War II, Nazi scientists were smuggled onto Long Island by the federal government as part of Operation Paperclip. In fact, the island is believed to be the inspiration for the novel Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane.

Most recently, the island housed a shelter for Boston’s homeless, but that was hurriedly closed down in 2014, leaving rows of empty bunks inside the old tuberculosis ward. Citing safety concerns as the reason for the island’s evacuation, Boston’s Mayor Martin J. Walsh closed down the Long Island Bridge and transported every inhabitant to the mainland, turning the island once again into a ghost town.

7Paris’s Hidden Railroad

In 1841, Paris was just wrapping its head around the idea of rail transport. It had recently finished a massive fortification project that ran around the perimeter of the city, and the military was looking for ways to get troops and supplies from the center of the city out to the strongholds. Strapped for cash, they turned to private companies to foot the bill for the railways, which soon radiated from Paris’s center to the outskirts in a star-shaped pattern.

The result was a mess. Each line was operated by a different company, and nary did any two lines connect. Passengers from the perimeter had to travel into the heart of Paris just to catch a different train at a different station that would take them back out to a different point in the perimeter—sometimes just a short distance from their original departure point.

So Paris decided to create the Petite Ceinture, or “little belt.” This line would form a circle just inside the city’s fortified perimeter and connect the other railways. It was a smashing success, and for nearly 100 years, it served as one of the main transport methods in Paris. Then, in the early 20th century, its rails and stations began to see less and less traffic, until it was practically abandoned by 1934.

In the intervening years, the line has remained nearly untouched. It’s now grown over with moss and ivy, and few Parisians even know it exists. Via tunnels, bridges, and man-made gorges, the Petite Ceinture winds and twists through nearly 32 kilometers (20 mi) of modern-day Paris, a hidden natural belt in the midst of urban sprawl.

6Holland Island

Nearly 400 people once called Holland Island home. Mostly fishermen and their families, the island’s occupants carved a living straight from waters of the Chesapeake Bay for centuries. But eventually, the sea stopped giving and started taking.

What was once an 8-kilometer-long (5 mi) island began to recede as erosion ate into the shoreline. Like many of the islands in the Chesapeake Bay, Holland Island is made mostly of silt and clay rather than rock, making it easy prey for the ceaseless force of wind and waves. The last inhabitants fled in 1922, leaving their homes and churches as bleak monuments to the people who once walked the island. Even those slowly fell into the sea.

All but one, that is.

The last house on Holland Island outlived its brethren by years, tenaciously holding its own on a wispy strip of land that goes completely underwater every high tide. It had help—for 15 years, a retired minister dedicated his life to preserving the two-story Victorian by surrounding it with timber, stones, and sandbags in a futile attempt to hold back the sea. Despite his best efforts, though, this strange landmark finally gave up the ghost and collapsed in 2010.

5Russia’s Tesla Towers

Reliable sources of information about these bizarre structures are few and far between. Located in the middle of a Russian forest, they’ve been dubbed “Russian Tesla towers” by most websites on which they’re featured. The towers are actually Marx generators, built to convert a low-voltage direct current into a high-voltage pulse. Systems similar to these Russian behemoths—although on a much smaller scale—are commonly used today to simulate lightning on industrial equipment.

The Russian generator complex was built by the Soviet Union in the ’70s to test insulation for aircraft. When the Iron Curtain lifted in the early ’90s, the rest of the world got their first glimpse of the hidden testing facility, and it’s been in and out of the public eye ever since. Technically, it’s not abandoned, since periodically over the years it’s been put back into temporary use by private research companies.

4California’s Glass Beach

Near Fort Bragg, California, is a secluded beach awash in the bright colors of emeralds, rubies, turquoise, and diamonds. But these aren’t gemstones littering the sand—they’re bits of polished glass from 100 years of dumping in the area. Starting around 1906, the community of Fort Bragg—along with other cities along the coast—took to dumping their garbage straight into the Pacific. While the paper was churned to mush, and the plastic presumably floated to climes distant and unknown, the glass remained.

It wasn’t until 1967 that Fort Bragg put the pinch on ocean dumping, but the seeds of transformation were already sown. Worked for a century by rolling waves and abrasive sand, the razor shards of glass eventually took on rounded edges and washed back up to shore as iridescent glass pebbles. Although glass isn’t a rarity, there are bona fide historic relics strewn along the beach: After World War II, auto companies switched from glass to plastic for the manufacture of taillights, which makes the odd ruby-colored glass pebble something of a collector’s item. However, Glass Beach is now a part of MacKerricher State Park, so it’s illegal to pocket any of the sea glass.

3Angola’s Ghost City

On an isolated swath of countryside a few miles outside of the capital city of Angola is a modern high-rise ghost town. Nova Cidade de Kilamba—usually shortened to just “Kilamba”—contains 2,800 apartments split between 750 high-rise buildings. It was built to house close to half a million people and comes complete with its own schools and retail section.

And it’s almost completely empty.

The miniature city was financed by a Chinese construction company and went from scrub land to completed project in less than three years. But rather than the influx of residents they probably expected, the only life to be seen in the entire 12,000-acre complex are a few Chinese workers (who live off-site) and a scattering of disoriented animals. According to the BBC, the problem is that Angola’s class structure consists of “the very poor and the very rich,” so there’s nobody in the market for a $200,000 apartment.

2The Maunsell Forts

Like metal beasts risen from the murky depths, the Maunsell Forts stand guard at the mouth of the Thames to this day. Although they aren’t quite as useful as they used to be, they serve as silent reminders of our turbulent past.

As the threat of German air raids over Britain in World War II abruptly became reality, the Ministry of Defence commissioned several sea forts to protect the country’s airspace. In addition to four naval forts, the army also built six forts for anti-aircraft defense. Three of these were dropped in the Mersey River, and three were put in the mouth of the Thames estuary. Of the three Thames forts, only two are still around—Red Sands Fort (pictured above) and Shivering Sands Fort.

The forts were decommissioned after the war and abandoned after their guns were removed. Most of them are now derelicts, leftover curiosities from a time of war, although one of the naval forts was later invaded by a lone Englishman, who declared it the newly minted Principality of Sealand.

1The SS Ayrfield

If you swim out past the mangroves of Homebush Bay in Sydney, Australia, and look to the northwest, you’ll see something incredible: the rusted hull of a 100-year-old steamer bursting with its own isolated forest sprouting from its decks like a post-apocalyptic chia pet.

The SS Ayrfield was built in 1911 and put to use as a collier, transporting coal from the mainland to coal-fired ships stationed out at sea. During World War II, the Commonwealth requisitioned the Ayrfield as a cargo ship to get supplies out to Allied troops in the Pacific theater. After the war, it returned to its domestic duties under the care of the Miller Steamship Company until it was retired in 1972 and sent to its grave in Homebush Bay.

For years, Homebush Bay has been the place where ships go to die. In fact, it’s where everything goes to die. From DDT to heavy metals to dioxin, the body of water has served as a chemical dumping ground for decades, choking out the native mangroves and turning a once thriving fishing ground into an industrial mistake.

It’s since been cleaned up to a degree, and now only a few rusted ships are visible above the waterline. The SS Ayrfield is one of the remaining relics of the bay’s turgid past, a poetic reminder that not everything that dies has to stay dead.

Eli Nixon is the author of Son of Tesla, a sci-fi novel about love, friendship, and Nikola Tesla’s army of cyberclones. He also has a Twitter.

Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. But it seems that people will always prefer myth and mystery over the truth. Legends evoke a sense of wonder and fascination, especially when they mention famous places or even people. On this list are 10 famous landmarks surrounded by awesome legends.

10The Sphinx

Some of the only facts agreed upon by experts regarding the Great Sphinx of Giza are that it is one of the biggest and most ancient statues in the world and that it has the body of a lion and the head of a man resembling an Egyptian pharaoh. The rest all comes down to speculation and legend.

One of the most retold legends of the Sphinx is the one about a prince of Egypt, known as Prince Thutmose. The prince’s grandfather was Thutmose III who descended from Queen Hatshepsut. According to the legend, Prince Thutmose was the apple of his father’s eye, making him the target of extreme jealousy when it came to his siblings. Some even plotted to murder him.

Because of the turmoil in his personal life, Thutmose preferred to be away from home and started spending a lot of time in upper Egypt and the desert. Being a strong and skilled man, he enjoyed hunting and archery. One particular day during a hunt, Thutmose left his two servants behind in the heat of the day to go say his prayers near the pyramids.

He paused in front of the Sphinx, known in those days as Harmachis—god of the rising sun. The massive stone statue was up to its shoulders in desert sand. Thutmose stared up at the Sphinx, praying that it would take away all his problems. Suddenly, the great big statue seemed to come to life and a loud voice sounded up from it.

The Sphinx beseeched Thutmose to release it from the sand that was weighing it down. As it spoke, the Sphinx’s eyes grew so bright that as Thutmose looked into them he couldn’t bear it and fainted. When he woke, the day had already started growing long. Thutmose rose slowly and then made an oath to the Sphinx as he stood before it. He promised that if he became the next Pharaoh, he would rid the Sphinx of all the sand covering it and immortalize the event in stone. He went on to do exactly this.

As all good legends would have it, Thutmose indeed became the next ruler of Egypt, his problems long left behind him. The story gained notoriety as little as 150 years ago when an archaeologist cleared away the sand from the Sphinx and found a stone tablet between its paws describing the story of Prince Thutmose and the oath he made to the great Sphinx of Giza.

9The Great Wall Of China

A tragic romance is just one of the many legends associated with the Great Wall of China. The story of Meng Jiangnu is one of the most infamous tales and heartbreaking right from the start. It is said that a man and woman with the family name of Meng lived next to another couple who went by the family name of Jiang. Both of these couples were very happy, but neither had children. As the years went by, the Meng couple decided to plant a gourd vine. The vine grew successfully and ended up sprouting a gourd on the property of the Jiang couple.

Having been friends for a long time, the two couples decided to share the gourd. To their absolute amazement, when they split the gourd in the middle they found a baby inside it. It was a beautiful little girl. Just as with everything else, the two amazed couples decided they would share the upbringing of the little baby. They called her Meng Jiangnu.

Meng Jiangnu grew up to be a very beautiful young woman. She married a young man named Fan Xiliang after finding him hiding away from officials who were trying to force young men to start building the Great Wall. However, he couldn’t hide forever, and a mere three days after they wed, Xiliang was taken away to help others with the construction of the wall.

Meng was alone for an entire year, having received no news of progress on the wall nor of her husband’s well-being. After having a disturbing nightmare about Xiliang, Meng decided she couldn’t bear the silence anymore and went looking for him. After a long journey that saw her trawling through rivers and climbing hills and mountains, Meng reached the wall only to hear that Xiliang died of pure exhaustion and his final resting place was underneath the wall.

Meng could not control her grief and, after crying for three days straight, the part of the wall she was next to crumbled and collapsed. The emperor at the time felt that Meng needed to be punished for damaging the wall, but once he saw her beautiful face he asked for her hand in marriage instead. She agreed but requested three things from the Emperor in return. She wished mourning for her husband Xiliang (including the emperor himself as well as his servants). She wanted a burial arranged for Xiliang, and she expressed the need to see the sea.

Meng Jiangnu never married again. After she attended the burial of Xiliang, she committed suicide by throwing herself into the ocean.

Another version of the legend says that as Meng Jiangnu cried and cried, the wall collapsed to the point where the skeletons of those workers who died were protruding from the ground below. Knowing that her husband was down there somewhere, Meng cut her fingers until they bled profusely and watched as the blood dripped over the bones of the dead. When her blood suddenly started centering around a particular skeleton and flowed into it, Meng knew she had found her husband. She then had him buried and ended her own life by jumping into the ocean.

8Forbidden City

Back in the day, you couldn’t just show up at the Forbidden City. If you did, you’d most likely have left without your head. Literally. The Forbidden City consists of several ancient building and palaces and is the largest of its kind in the world. It couldn’t be visited under Qing rule, and no one but emperors and their servants saw the inside of the city for over 500 years.

At least in modern times, visitors are allowed to explore the ancient complex and perhaps hear about some of the legends surrounding it. One such legend has it that the four watchtowers in the Forbidden City were built as the result of a dream.

Allegedly, the Forbidden City under Ming rule had only very high walls, but not a watchtower in sight. The Yongle emperor was in charge in the 15th century and, at one point, had a vivid dream about the city. In his dream, he saw fantastic watchtowers decorating the four corners of the city. When the emperor awoke from his dream, he immediately set his builders to task to transform the dream into reality.

The tale goes on to say that after a failed attempt by two sets of builders (and their eventual execution by beheading), the master builder of the third set of builders was very nervous about taking on the job. However, after modeling the watchtowers after a grasshopper cage he had seen, the emperor could not be happier.

The master builder also took care to include the number nine in the design of the building in order to please the emperor even more. The number nine is said to represent emperors. Also, the old man selling the grasshopper cages that inspired the master builder of the watchtowers was said to be Lu Ban, who just happened to be the grandfather of all Chinese carpenters.

7Niagara Falls

The legend of “The Maiden Of The Mist” may have been the inspiration for a boat ride being launched with the same name at Niagara Falls. This legend, as is the case with most legends, has many different versions.

The most well-known one, however, tells of a Native girl named Lelawala who was offered to the gods in order to appease and please them. The offering came in the form of the girl being thrown down Niagara Falls. One of the original legends states that Lelawala was out in a canoe when she was swept down the waterfall by accident.

She was then rescued from certain death by the thunder god named Hinum, who afterward gave her a lesson in defeating the huge monstrous snake that inhabited the river. She relayed the message to her village, with the people then declaring war against the snake. Many believed that the fighting that ensued caused the Niagara Falls to form in the way it is seen today.

Misdirected versions of this legend have been in print since the 17th century, with many blaming the several flaws on one Robert Cavelier de La Salle, who was an explorer from Europe. Robert made fantastic claims such as that he visited the Haudenosaunee people and witnessed the chief’s virgin daughter being sacrificed, with the chief falling victim to his own conscience at the very last minute and then falling to his own death alongside her. The daughter, Lelawala, then became “The Maid of the Mist.”

However, Robert’s own wife turned against him and accused him of depicting the Haudenosaunee people as ignorant so that he could take their land from them.

6Devil’s Peak And Table Mountain

Devil’s Peak is one of the most infamous mountain spires in South Africa. And it has a great legend to tell (so to speak) every time fog rolls in from the ocean and covers it along with Table Mountain. Capetonians and others from around South Africa still relay the tale to their children and grandchildren.

It is said that a pipe-smoking pirate by the name of Jan van Hunks settled in the Cape in the 1700s, eager to leave his pirating ways behind him. He married and then found himself a house at the foot of the mountain. His wife hated his pipe-smoking habit and would chase him out of the house whenever he lit his pipe.

Van Hunks got into the habit of going some ways up the mountain and then finding a good spot to smoke in peace. On a perfectly normal day, van Hunks started up the mountain again only to find a strange man sitting on his usual spot. He couldn’t see the man’s face as he was wearing a very large hat and was dressed in all black.

Before van Hunks could say anything, the stranger greeted him by name. Van Hunks then sat down next to the man, and they started up a conversation that inevitably led to Jan’s smoking habit. Jan van Hunks liked to boast about the amount of tobacco he could handle, and he did so with the stranger as well after he asked van Hunks for some tobacco.

The stranger mentioned to van Hunks that he could very easily smoke more than the pirate could, and this immediately led van Hunks to challenge him in proving who could smoke the longest without getting sick.

With massive plumes of smoke surrounding the two men and much of the mountain, the stranger suddenly became agitated and couldn’t go on smoking. As his hat fell from his head, van Hunks suddenly gasped. He was facing the Devil himself. Being very annoyed that a mere mortal had showed him up, the Devil snatched both himself and van Hunks away in a lightning flash to an unknown destination.

Now, every time fog rolls over Devil’s Peak and Table Mountain, it is said that van Hunks and the Devil have retaken their spots on the mountain and are gearing up for another go at the smoking competition.

5Mount Etna

Mount Etna, located on the eastern coast of Sicily, is one of the highest and most active volcanoes in Europe. The first recorded eruption occurred in 1500 B.C., and the volcano has erupted at least 200 times since then. In a single eruption that lasted four months in 1669, the lava covered 12 villages and destroyed surrounding areas.

Greek legend has it that the eruptions are caused by none other than a 100-headed monster (the heads resemble dragon heads) that spews massive fire columns from one of its heads when it becomes angry. Apparently, this huge monster was known as Typhon and was the son of Gaia, the goddess of Earth. Typhon became quite the rebellious kid and was then banned by Zeus to live under Mount Etna. So, every now and then, his anger takes the form of boiling hot lava that shoots into the sky.

Another version has a terrible one-eyed monster known as Cyclops that lived inside the mountain. Odysseus was sent to battle the monster and he managed to reach Cyclops even though the monster threw huge boulders at him from the top of the mountain. Odysseus also managed to defeat Cyclops by lancing him in his only eye sending him into the depths of the mountain. The legend further states that the Mount Etna crater is actually the damaged eye of Cyclops and the lava spewing forth from it is the flowing blood of the monster.

4Avenue Of Baobabs

It is not just the lemurs in Madagascar that make the island resonate with people around the world. The island’s main claim to fame is the breathtaking Avenue of Baobabs situated in its western part. Known as the “mother of the forest,” 25 massive baobab trees line a dirt road on the island. They are indigenous to Madagascar and also the largest of the baobab trees. Naturally, their strange appearance has paved the way for legends and myths aplenty.

One of the legends surrounding the Avenue of Baobabs is that the trees kept running off while God was making them, so God decided to plant them upside-down. This would explain their root-like branches. Others tell a different story. Apparently, baobabs started out as really magnificently beautiful trees. However, they became so full of themselves and bragged so much about their beauty that God promptly turned them upside-down so only their roots would show. It is also said that, for this reason, baobabs only have flowers and leaves for a couple of weeks every year.

Legend or not, six of the baobab species belong in Madagascar alone. However, deforestation poses a serious threat even amid all the conservation and reforestation efforts implemented there. If more isn’t done to protect them, the subjects of these legends will disappear, likely forever.

3Giant’s Causeway

Picking a fight with a giant led to the inadvertent creation of the Giant’s Causeway, located in northern Ireland. Or so legend would have you believe, anyway. Whereas scientists believe that the perfectly formed hexagonal basalt columns are the result of 60 million years worth of lava, the legend of Benandonner the Scottish giant is a little more entertaining.

The legend tells of Irish giant Finn McCool, who had a long-standing feud with Scottish giant Benandonner. On one particular day, the two giants were yelling at each other over the Sea of Moyle when McCool became so enraged he grabbed a handful of earth and tossed it at the Scottish giant. The clump of earth landed in the sea and is now known as the Isle of Man while the spot where McCool dug into the ground is known as Lough Neagh.

The feud grew between the two giants and Finn McCool decided to build a causeway for the Benandonner to reach him since the Scottish giant couldn’t swim. This way they could have a real fight and see who was the bigger giant. After spending some time on building the causeway, Finn was tired and he fell asleep easily.

At some point while he was sleeping, Finn’s wife heard extremely loud thundering sounds outside and she realized she was hearing Benandonner’s footsteps coming closer and closer. When the Scottish giant reached the couple’s house, Finn’s wife immediately saw that Benandonner would spell the end for her husband as he was much bigger than Finn. Thinking fast, she wrapped a massive blanket around Finn and placed the biggest bonnet she could find on his head. Then she opened the front door.

Benandonner yelled into the house for Finn to come out, but the woman shushed him, warning that her “baby” would wake up. Legend has it that when Benandonner saw the size of the “baby,” he didn’t care to stick around to see the size of its father. He swiftly ran back to his own home, destroying some of the causeway as he went along, so that no one could go after him.

2Mount Fuji

Mount Fuji is a massive volcano located in Japan. It is not only a huge landmark, but it has become intertwined with Japanese culture, so much so that it is the subject of many songs, movies, and of course, legends and myths. In what is believed to be the oldest story originating from Japan, an explanation is also given for the fires of Mount Fuji.

A bamboo cutter was going about his daily task when he stumbled across something very strange and unusual. A tiny baby no bigger than his own thumb was gazing up at him from inside the bamboo he was busy cutting. Seeing how beautiful the tiny baby was, he took her home to his wife so that they could raise her as their own.

Soon after, the bamboo cutter started making more discoveries while working. Every time he cut a piece of bamboo, he found a gold nugget inside it. After a short while, the bamboo cutter and his family were very rich. The little girl grew into a stunning young woman. The bamboo cutter and his wife had learned in the meantime that the girl named Kaguya-hime was sent from the Moon to Earth so that she would be protected from a war raging there.

Because of her beauty, Kaguya-hime had several marriage proposals, even from the emperor, but she declined all of them in her quest to get back home to the Moon. When her own Moon people finally came to take her home, the emperor was so distressed at the prospect of losing her that he sent his own men to fight Kaguya-hime’s true family. However, a blinding light sent them reeling.

As a parting gift, Kaguya-hime (the Moon princess) sent the emperor a special letter and an immortality elixir which he refused to drink. He, in turn, wrote her a letter and requested that his men take it to the highest peak in all of Japan and burn it and the elixir together on it, in the hopes of it reaching the Moon.

However, all that happened when they burned the letter and the elixir on Mount Fuji is that the fire they started could not be extinguished. And this is, according to legend, how Mount Fuji became a volcano.

1Yosemite

Half Dome at Yosemite is a major challenge when it comes to hiking, but hikers and rock climbers absolutely love it. When the Native Americans lived close to Half Dome, they named it Cleft Rock. At some point due to the repetitive thawing and freezing of the rock, a large chunk of it fell away, which gave it the look it has today.

The origin of Half Dome has been the subject of a great legend still being told today: the legend of Tis-sa-ack. The tale also seeks to explain the strange silhouette of what looks like a face that can be seen on the side of Half Dome.

The legend tells of an old Native woman and her husband who made the journey to a valley called Ahwahnee. All the while, the woman carried a heavy basket made from grass and reeds while her husband simply swung his walking stick around. This was tradition in those days, and no one would have thought it strange that the husband didn’t offer to carry the basket.

The woman, called Tis-sa-ack, was very thirsty by the time they reached the lake at the mountain because of her heavy burden and the hot sun beating down on her. Therefore, she wasted no time in rushing to the lake and drinking gulping mouthfuls of the water.

To her husband’s dismay, he found that his wife had drunk so much that the entire lake had dried up by the time he got there. And things got worse from that point on. Due to the lack of water, a drought struck the area and all things green withered away. Her husband was so angry that he picked up his walking stick and aimed to strike Tis-sa-ack.

She burst into tears and started running away from him, her basket in her hands. She turned around at one point and threw the basket at him so that she could get away. It was as she looked at him that the Great Spirit residing in the valley turned them both into stone.

Today, they are known as Half Dome and Washington Column. It is said that if you look closely at Half Dome you can see the woman’s face on it, her tears still flowing silently.

Estelle lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. She loves myths and legends of all kinds. She also kinda wishes giants were still around because of their sheer awesomeness.

Landmarks call out to tourists worldwide. People love taking selfies at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Colosseum, the Eiffel Tower, Disney World and hundreds more. Many a tourist find something extra in their pictures once they start reviewing them. A face staring up at them from the water where the USS Arizona was sunk. Or shadows on a war memorial that resemble soldiers carrying their gear. Since Halloween is upon us, it’s time to dust off some lesser-known ghost stories surrounding landmarks, for those cold eerie nights.

SEE ALSO: 10 Celebrities Who Had A Terrifying Ghostly Experience

10 Central Park

Janet and Rosetta Van Der Voort were two sisters born to very wealthy parents in Central Park South, NY, in the 1800s. So protective were their parents of them, the two girls could rarely leave the house without them. One of the only sources of entertainment for Janet and Rosetta came in the form of ice skating on the Central Park Pond during winter. It was one of the few places they could go by themselves.

Janet and Rosetta were extremely close, to the point where they rebuffed any and all romantic advances from the opposite sex. In 1880, they died a few months apart, both never having married.
During World War I, sightings of a ghostly pair of skaters on Central Park Pond were reported for the first time. It was said the spirits of the sisters couldn’t leave their beloved hobby behind and returned to the pond wearing the same outfits they wore when they skated there a century ago.

More sightings followed with people reporting seeing the sisters skating in summertime; their skates cutting through the air just above the surface of the water in the pond.^[1]

9 Casa Loma

Casa Loma is a Gothic Revival style mansion with a massive garden in Toronto. It resides at 460 ft above sea level and was designed by architect E.J. Lennox. The mansion has been used for filming several movie and TV scenes and is an extremely popular wedding venue.

Casa Loma is also known for its eerie ghost stories. Guests and staff alike have reported seeing a lady in white, believed to be the spirit of a maid who worked on the premises in the 1900s and who may have died of influenza. There have also been reports of children’s laughter and talking while no kids were around.

Some even claim to have seen the restless spirit of Sir Henry Pellatt who commissioned the building of the mansion as well as his wife, Lady Mary Pellatt.

Even the tunnel that leads to the stables on the mansion’s grounds is believed to be haunted. Many visitors claim to have had their hair pulled or feeling like something has grabbed hold of them.^[2]

8 Dover Castle

Every bit the medieval marvel, Dover Castle resides in Dover, Kent, England. Not only is it the largest castle in the country, it is also referred to as the ‘Key to England’ based on its historical defensive significance. On the Dover Castle grounds, stand one of three Roman-era lighthouses left in the world. During the Second World War, tunnels underneath the castle (built more than 100 years prior), were converted into an air-raid shelter and eventually an underground hospital.

It is no wonder that with such a rich history, Dover Castle built up quite the ghastly reputation for paranormal activity. When the war ended, the army stayed at the castle until 1958. Five years later, the Ministry of Works took possession of the building for preservation.

Soon after, the ghost sightings started. It has been said that in the King’s bedroom, the lower half of a person walks through the door before disappearing into thin air. Staff members have reported seeing the same apparition and following it to try and find out where it wanders to, only to have it disappear before their eyes.

Other spooky reports state that visitors have heard drumming sounds coming from the battlements while a headless ghost walks the halls. It is thought that this ghost might be that of 15-year old Sean Flynn, a drummer boy who was decapitated by two soldiers. In addition to banging doors and screams, there have been several sightings of servicemen in their uniform in the WW2 section of the tunnels that run underneath Dover Castle.^[3]

7 Arc de Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe is a monument erected to honor the brave souls who died for France during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Beneath it lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The Arc De Triomphe is one of the most well-known landmarks in the world. It is unfortunately also a suicide magnet. In 1878, a man jumped over the parapet of the monument and died instantly as he hit the ground below. In 1908, a woman jumped from the monument and her dress got caught on a cornice. She hung there for several minutes before her seam finally gave way and she fell to her death.
On Bastille Day in 1914, a young woman named Rose had a quarrel with her lover. In a fit of rage, Rose ascended the Arc de Triomphe and jumped, narrowly missing tourists as she fell. Now, each time a parade passes the monument, Rose repeats her death jump, to the horror of those who witness it.^[4]

6 Valley of the Kings

The Valley of the Kings in Egypt holds the tombs of pharaohs and other nobles of the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Dynasties. To date the valley contains 63 tombs and chambers, including the tomb of Tutankhamun. It is one of the most famous sites in the world and became a World Heritage Site in 1979.

This site is no stranger to paranormal tales. It is said that archaeologists are led to discover tombs under the guidance of the restless spirits of the ancient royals and noblemen in the Valley of the Kings. Arguably however, the most popular spooky tale to come from the valley, is the vision of an Egyptian pharaoh riding a chariot at midnight. It has been reported that the spectre wears a golden collar and ancient headdress and his chariot is pulled along by black horses.^[5]

5 Breytenbach Theatre

The Breytenbach Theatre in Pretoria, South Africa started out as a German club and was eventually taken over by Emily Hobhouse who started a craft school. When the deadly global influenza epidemic struck down millions in 1918, the building was used as a temporary hospital. Those who didn’t survive the disease were buried below what is now the stage of the theatre.

A nurse named Heather took care of the ill children in the makeshift hospital until she too caught the virus and died. An urban legend was born when Heather lost her life. It is said that the nurse never left her post in life, nor in death, to make sure that whenever a child needed her she would be ready and waiting to help. Another version of the legend has the ghost of Heather asking “where are my children? The spirits of the children remained as well.

A group of paranormal investigators were so interested in this story that they took it upon themselves to investigate the theatre. They claimed to have encountered poltergeist activity, heard an unseen piano being played and witnessed the ghosts of children running over the stage. Some of the investigators reported feeling someone watching and following them as well as feeling inexplicably ill. They also claimed to have an EVP of a disembodied voice calling for help.

Moreover, it is said that a monk also haunts the theatre and caused an accident in which two drama students fell ten metres far from the ceiling of the stage. It is alleged that the monk doesn’t like the productions presented at the theatre and likes messing around with the sound and lighting and following people to the restrooms to flush the toilets and freak them out.^[6]

4 Sydney Harbor Bridge and Middle Creek Bridge

Also known as “The Coathanger”, the Sydney Harbour Bridge is an iconic landmark that was opened in 1932. It is the tallest steel arch bridge and the sixth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world.
According to legend, safety measures during construction of the bridge were not up to standard. During this time 16 deaths were recorded with a further 3 deaths covered up. It is said that 3 contractors fell into the pylons, but their absence wasn’t noticed for several weeks. When the tragedy was finally discovered, it was decided that it would be too difficult and costly to try and retrieve their bodies. Therefore, their remains are still embedded in the bridge today.

One spooky bridge isn’t all there is to talk about in Australia though: On Middle Creek Bridge near the Wakehurst Parkway, many travellers have reported seeing the spirit of Kelly, a girl in a white dress that telekinetically causes cars to crash unless the occupants explicitly state she is not wanted in the vehicle. A couple of years ago, a documentary was made about Kelly, and several crew members got sick during filming as a reaction to the terrifying tale.^[7]

3 Shaniwarwada Fort

Shaniwarwada was built in 1732 as a fortification in Pune, Maharashtra, India. After the rise of the Maratha Empire, the site was mainly used for Indian politics in the 18th century. In 1828, the fort was almost completely obliterated in a mysterious fire. The remaining walls now host tourists from all over the world.

As with most ancient structures, Shaniwarwada has its fair share of creepy legends. One of which tells of a young prince named Narayanrao that was murdered by a relative inside the fort. It is said that during the murder the boy screamed and shrieked at the top of his lungs. Now, during a full moon, if you camp out on the fort grounds, you will apparently hear the ghost of the prince screaming loudly for help. Another version of the legend says that the screaming can only be heard during new moon nights, as the brutal murder and dismemberment of the prince replays within the ruined walls of Shaniwarwada.^[8]

2 Stockholm’s Old Town

In 1520, after Danish King Kristian II invaded Sweden, 82 members of the Swedish nobility who wouldn’t swear off the opposition were beheaded or hanged in Stortorget; the Old Town’s main square. This horrific event became known as the Stockholm Bloodbath.

Legend has it that if you happen to wander through the square specifically on the nights of November 7th to 9th, you may just see the blood of the nobles slowly creeping over the cobblestones. It is also alleged that there are 82 white stones embedded in a red building in the square which were placed there in remembrance of those who died such a terrible death, centuries ago. (Some versions of the story states that 92 people were murdered and 92 stones are included in the red building) Since each stone represents a victim, it is believed that should one of the stones ever be removed, the soul of that specific person will rise from its grave and forevermore haunt Stockholm.^[9]

1 The Highland Towers

Technically no longer a landmark, the Highland Towers once formed three blocks of a 12-storey apartment in Ulu Klang, Selangor. The blocks were built between 1974 and 1982 and eventually became the new home of many expatriates.

On 11 December 1993, a combination of overloaded water pipes and monsoon rains led to an unimaginable tragedy. Block 1 of the Highland Towers resounded with a loud explosion after which it collapsed. 48 bodies were recovered during search and rescue operations.

Naturally, ghost stories and urban legends abounded in the aftermath of the terrible incident. In 1994, a taxi driver claimed to have picked up a female passenger in the middle of the night who insisted that she needed to go to Highland Towers. Arriving at the desolate site, the driver asked the woman why she needed to be there that time of the night. The woman said, “I left several of my belongings here.” When the driver enquired what could be so important that it couldn’t wait a couple of hours, the woman answered “My body and my life. I died here last year” before vanishing into thin air.

A similar story has it that a paranormal researcher was looking for evidence of ghostly activity at the site, when he ran into a little boy going up a flight of stairs. Startled, the man asked the child what he was doing there, to which the child answered, “I’m looking for my other arm, I lost it in that building there.”

In 2018, plans were announced to re-develop the now abandoned site into a recreational park. These plans are still being discussed in 2019 with the aim to start construction in 2020.^[10]

It can takes years and years of hard work, along with millions of dollars, to complete a building, landmark, or monument. Despite all that effort, sometimes, landmarks are left unfinished. The reasons can include lack of manpower, lack of funds, or even the deaths of those involved with the construction.

Some of the world’s unfinished landmarks are beautiful just the way they were left, and they deserve a visit. What is can be just as good as what was supposed to be. Here are ten famous unfinished landmarks from around the world.

10 Crazy Horse Memorial

When most people think of a gigantic mountain carving in South Dakota, they think of the famous Mount Rushmore. But there is another carving in the mountains of South Dakota that will dwarf Mount Rushmore—if it is ever completed. High in the Black Hills of South Dakota sits the Crazy Horse Memorial.

The project was started in 1948 by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, and he worked on it until he died in 1982. Chief Henry Standing Bear was an Oglala Lakota Chief and invited him to carve a memorial honoring all native North Americans. The carving is supposed to be a representation of the Lakota leader Crazy Horse.

By the 1990s, Crazy Horse’s head had begun to emerge from the Black Hills. Most of the time spent carving so far has been on the head, which stands at 22 stories tall.^[1] Over the last seven decades, crews have blasted and hauled millions of tons of rock from the site. The entire carving will be more than 64 stories tall, and Crazy Horse’s eyes alone are 5 meters (17 ft) wide. Money from the project comes from admission fees and donations only, and it could take another several years just to finish carving his arm.

9 Mingun Pahtodawgyi

In the small town of Mingun, which lies in the Sagaing region in Northwestern Burma, you will find Mingun Pahtodawgyi. King Bodawpaya wanted to build the largest pagoda in the world. The gigantic construction process began in 1790, but the project was never completed.

King Bodawpaya acquired thousands of prisoners and slaves during his war campaigns, and he used them for the construction of this large project. The construction process started taking a toll on the state’s finances, and people created a prophecy which stated that the kingdom would perish as soon as the pagoda was completed. Variations of the prophecy also said that the king would also perish with the kingdom.

The unfinished pagoda is 50 meters (164 ft) high, which is one third of the proposed height, and its base is about 42 square meters (450 ft²). Huge cracks can be seen on Mingun Pahtodawgyi because of an earthquake in 1839. It is known as one of the largest piles of stone and brickwork in the world.^[2]

8 Hassan Tower

The Hassan Tower, also known as Tour Hassan, is a massive minaret in Rabat, the capital of Morocco. The project, ordered by Yaqub al-Mansur in the 12th century, was supposed to be the tallest minaret in the world, and the mosque it was to be part of would have been the largest. Construction of the project came to an end, though, four years after the death of al-Mansur.

The huge mosque was going to be the centerpiece of the new capital and a celebration of the sultan’s victory over the Spanish Christians. The tower currently stands at 44 meters (144 ft) high, which is just over half of the intended height. There are about 200 columns scattered across the marble floor that indicate just how large the mosque would have been if finished—it would have been able to hold 20,000 worshipers at once. In 2012, the Hassan Tower was granted World Heritage Status.^[3]

7 Cathedral Of St. John The Divine

One of the largest churches in the world is an unfinished masterpiece. A guide to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine from 1921 proposed that it may take 700 years to complete the building due to the true Gothic building methods and the lack of a wealthy backing.

Right Reverend Horatio Potter helped start the movement to have the cathedral built, but he passed away in 1887, before any construction was started. His nephew, Henry Codman Potter, began to solicit financial support for the construction of the cathedral, and a 13-acre site was eventually purchased. The cornerstone was laid in 1892, the first service was held in 1899, and ground was broken for the nave in 1916.

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is located on Amsterdam Avenue in New York City. It is currently over a century old, and it will continue to be constructed over the coming decades. There is no timetable for when it will reach its completion because funding is currently being prioritized to serve the community in various ways.^[4]

6 Ta Keo

Ta Keo is a temple-mountain located in the ancient city of Angkor, and it contains five sanctuary towers arranged in a pyramid. It could have been one of the greatest temples ever constructed, and one of the largest, but it was never completed. Even though it is unfinished, the structure is large enough to see from afar. The main temple is five tiers high, and the final pyramid rises 14 meters (46 ft) higher than the second terrace. The five large towers are arranged to form a quincunx, and the outer walls are surrounded by a moat.

The large landmark is constructed from sandstone, and the reason for it not being completed is unknown. Recovered inscriptions suggest that construction was halted after lightning struck the temple, which is considered an evil omen. Some experts believe that the child king Jayavarman V struggled to maintain his throne, causing construction to never be finished.^[5] Even unfinished, the temple is a magnificent sight to see.

5 Pyramid Of Neferefre

The ancient Egyptian pharaoh Neferefre built a pyramid in the necropolis of Abusir. He died before the pyramid was completed, and it was soon converted into a mastaba and mortuary temple. The pyramid started with a large base approximately the size of the Pyramid of Sahure. Builders dug a pit in the middle of the base where the burial chamber would be located.

An entrance corridor was constructed on the north side, and a trench led from the entrance to the pit. Few remains were found of the pharaoh’s body, and they indicated that he died at the early age of 22 or 23. Only one step of the core of the pyramid was completed, giving it the shape of a mastaba. The mortuary temple was completed in three phases, and it consisted of an open vestibule and three chambers.^[6]

4 National Monument Of Scotland

The National Monument of Scotland sits high up on Calton Hill in Edinburgh. Instead of being a national treasure as was hoped, it is often referred to as “Scotland’s shame” instead due to the amount of unfinished construction.^[7] The monument was going to be a memorial to Scottish soldiers and sailors who died in the Napoleonic Wars, but it was never completed.

The foundations for the monument were laid in 1824, but construction came to a quick halt in 1829, when the money provided by public subscription ran out. There have been several attempts to finish the large monument, but it still remains very much unfinished. A completed version of the National Monument would have resembled the Parthenon in Athens, but the current structure only features 12 pillars.

3 La Sagrada Familia

La Sagrada Familia, which was inspired by nature and faith, has been under construction since 1882. The basilica is currently 70-percent completed, and they are working on building the six central towers. After more than 130 years of construction, the site could be less than a decade away from reaching completion.

The total construction cost of the large Roman Catholic church located in Barcelona is almost impossible to figure, but the annual budget now is around $27 million and is paid by entrance fees and private donations. The tallest new tower will rise to 172 meters (564 ft), making it one of the tallest religious structures in Europe. The structure is on track to be finished by 2026, but some extra time could be needed for decorative elements.^[8]

2 Bara Kaman

Bara Kaman is the unfinished mausoleum of Ali Adil Shah II, who was the eighth and second-to-last king of the Adil Shah dynasty in Bijapur (also known as Vijayapura) in India. The goal was to build a mausoleum more beautiful and large than anyone had ever seen. Bara Kaman means “12 arches” in English, and the building was supposed to consist of 12 arches built horizontally and vertically surrounding the tomb of Ali Adil Shah II.^[9]

Construction on the mausoleum began in 1672, but it was never completed. Ali Adil Shah was murdered by his own father before the work could be finished. It is said that once the mausoleum was completed, the shadow would haved touched Gol Gumbaz. Ali’s father did not want Bara Kaman to take away from Gol Gumbaz, so he killed his son to prevent him from completing the project.

The Archaeological Survey of India now takes care of the property. The garden in front is well-maintained, and visitors can enjoy the architectural skill of the arches and pillars that make the monument.

1 Ryugyong Hotel

The Ryugyong Hotel in North Korea should have been opened in 1989, but the structure was never completed. At that time, it would have been the seventh-largest skyscraper and the tallest hotel in the world. Construction of the large hotel began in 1987, but an economic depression halted work. The hotel was supposed to consist of 3,000 rooms, seven revolving restaurants, casinos, nightclubs, and lounges.

The pyramid-shaped hotel has yet to host a guest, but construction may soon resume on the 105-story building. There have been various times throughout the years where work was done on the hotel, but it has yet to open. There have been recent pictures showing cranes and construction vehicles outside the building, which may prove that construction will restart.^[10] The Ryugyong Hotel would be one of the most amazing places to visit if it ever sees a completion date.

I’m just another bearded guy trying to write my way through life.
www.MDavidScott.com

Millions of people travel across the world to experience the beauty, grandeur, and heritage of some of the planet’s most popular landmarks. However, there is often more than meets the eye to many historic attractions, things most tourists will never realize are there. For example, many famous landmarks house hidden spaces you may not notice at first glance.

Here are ten secret places inside the world’s most famous landmarks. Some of them can be visited by those with sufficient funds or the right connections. Others are entirely off-limits.

10 Mount Rushmore
South Dakota, US

Mount Rushmore is easily one of the most recognizable landmarks in the United States, as it depicts four of the arguably most famous presidents in US history: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Yet, many people might not be aware that behind the chiseled sculpture of Abraham Lincoln is a hidden room, which is known as the Hall of Records. The secret room is roughly lined up with Lincoln’s forehead, and it contains text from some of America’s most important documents.

The designer of the famous political monument, Gutzon Borglum, originally wanted the room to serve as a vault for a selection of US documents. In fact, his vision was to install an 240-meter (800 ft) stairway that would lead to the grand hall, which would measure 24 meters by 30 meters (80 ft x 100 ft) and would be directly behind the US presidents’ sculpted faces. Inside the hall would be busts of great Americans from history, as well as a list of US contributions to industry, science, and the arts. Tragically, Borglum’s vision was halted due to his death in 1941. However, in 1998, monument officials chose to make Borglum’s dream a reality by maintaining records from American history in the secret hall.^[1]

9 The Eiffel Tower
Paris, France

The Eiffel Tower is one of the most famous landmarks in the world, which is why the city of Paris welcomes millions of tourists year after year. You might, however, be surprised to learn that the historic landmark features a secret apartment. Those who are lucky enough to visit the top of the structure will not only absorb the mesmerizing views of the French capital, but they might also enjoy a glimpse inside the secret apartment and office, which has only recently been opened to the public.

Gustave Eiffel, the structure’s engineer, built a private apartment for himself inside the landmark in 1889, and only he had access to this hidden room throughout his lifetime. In fact, many Parisians offered to rent the apartment for one night only, but he always refused, wanting to keep the space all to himself and the occasional guest. Visitors can now finally take a step inside the private apartment, which has been restored to its original condition. They can also view mannequins of Gustave, his daughter, and Thomas Edison, who he regularly entertained at the apartment.^[2]

8 Waldorf Astoria
New York City, US

The Waldorf Astoria is deemed one of the most luxurious hotels in New York. While many more modern hotels have emerged over the ensuing decades, it has continued to welcome every sitting US president, from Hoover to Obama. Many people might, however, be unaware that there is a secret train station located below the hotel, as the secluded platform was introduced to help President Franklin D. Roosevelt to inconspicuously travel from the presidential suite to Hyde Park, which was his childhood home. Track 61 was an integral mode of transportation during World War II, as the president’s private railway car could pull up inside the station, and he could take an elevator to gain direct access to the hotel. It is also believed that FDR used the train to hide his paralysis from the public.

The platform remains in use today, and it can be reached within minutes from JFK Airport. The Secret Service has been sworn to secrecy regarding some of its features. While the platform is still in working order, FDR’s custom locomotive now sits abandoned under the hotel.^[3]

7 The Statue Of Liberty
New York City, US

Millions of people visit the Statue of Liberty every year, with many tourists stepping inside the structure’s crown to enjoy beautiful views of New York City. Yet, many people might be unaware that it is possible to climb higher within the structure. Until June 30, 1916, tourists were able to enter a room located inside the Statue of Liberty’s torch, which offered breathtaking panoramic views of the city.

However, access was denied to the public when the pier between Jersey City and Black Tom Island was blown up by German agents. Sadly, the explosion ripped through various buildings nearby, which caused serious or fatal injuries for hundreds of people. Debris from the explosion became embedded within the Statue of Liberty’s arm, which made the route to the panoramic room unsafe for the public. The arm was repaired, but only National Park Service staff can enter the torch, and they must climb a narrow 12-meter (40 ft) ladder to gain access to the torch and maintain the floodlights.^[4]

6 Leonardo Da Vinci Statue
Rome, Italy

Travelers are welcomed into Rome by the Leonardo da Vinci statue located at Fiumicino-Leonardo da Vinci Airport. Yet, there is more to the structure than you might realize at first glance. Despite the 18-meter (60 ft) bronze statue being unveiled in 1960, the hidden hatch located halfway up the structure was not found until its renovation in 2006.

Workers found two parchments inside the statue. One parchment detailed the area’s history in classical Latin, while the other listed the attendees from the opening ceremony. It is believed both the hatch and parchments were the brainchild of Assen Peikov, the Bulgarian artist who won the competition to design the work of art.^[5]

5 Disneyland
Anaheim, California, US

You will not find a drop of alcohol in Disneyland unless you step inside the exclusive Club 33. It would be easy to walk past the club, as it sits behind an unmarked door in New Orleans Square. It was originally created as a place for Walt Disney to entertain his guests and business associates. Unfortunately, he died five months before Club 33 was officially opened.

Only those who become a member can now step inside the club, which offers both a restaurant and jazz lounge, known as Le Salon Nouveau, as well as access to the 1901 Lounge in California Adventure. Membership is not cheap; depending on the level of membership, the initiation fee reportedly costs between $25,000 and $100,000, followed by a $12,500 to $30,000 annual fee. The waiting list is reportedly years long.^[6]

4 Niagara Falls
New York, US

Niagara Falls is the umbrella name of the three waterfalls located along the international border between the state of New York and the province Ontario. Located a stone’s throw away from Niagara Falls is Devil’s Hole State Park, which many people visit to experience the beauty of the waterfalls. A cave inside the park was given the nickname “the Cave of the Evil Spirit” by the Seneca due to their belief that an evil spirit was trapped inside. It was believed that only warriors who were ready for battle would enter the cave.

The Devil’s Hole Massacre was a battle that took place between the Seneca and British soldiers in 1763.^[7] After the Seneca won the battle, they warned the British of the cave to prevent them from trespassing on the land. There is also a superstition that anyone who steals a rock from the cave will experience bad luck.

3 Empire State Building
New York City, US

The Empire State Building has been a tourist hot spot for nearly a century, as visitors have been enjoying the New York skyline since 1931. While most people can view the city from the observation deck on the 86th floor and the top deck on the 102nd floor, you might be surprised to learn that some visitors can experience an even better view on the private 103rd floor.^[8]

The secret deck offers only a knee-high ledge with a low railing, and visitors need to take a series of escalators to reach it. The elevator ride alone will be a unique experience, as visitors will pass the inner workings of the building on their journey up to the secret floor. It is an experience often only available to VIP guests, such as celebrities and dignitaries. For example, Taylor Swift had the pleasure of experiencing the VIP observation deck back in 2014.

2 Colosseum
Rome, Italy

The Colosseum welcomes four million tourists annually, who visit the landmark to view the Flavian Amphitheatre, which dates back to AD 80. Yet, many people might not realize that there is a network of (now exposed) underground tunnels below street level, called the Hypogeum, which were used to house various animals, such as lions and bears, which were then lifted into the gladiator arena via a pulley.^[9]

The maze was hailed as a superb archaeological discovery when it was initially uncovered. The Hypogeum is now open to the public, but tours are limited to a maximum of 25 people each time. Archaeologists have, however, criticized the tours, as they believe they could put the structure at risk.

1 Trafalgar Square
London, England

Trafalgar Square might be well-regarded for its remarkable architecture and beautiful fountains, but it also features a hidden room you could easily miss. The public square is the home of Britain’s smallest police station, which is located on the southeast corner of Trafalgar Square.

The tiny station was built in 1926 to serve as a watch post, as the square was often the location of many protests, riots, and marches. It therefore only offers enough space for one police officer or two prisoners. The box is no longer in use by the police and is now simply used as a broom closet for Westminster Council cleaners.^[10]

Elisabeth Sedgwick is An English freelance writer. You can view her growing portfolio at clippings.me/elisabethsedgwick.

Just kidding. Obviously, there is a lot more to countries around the world other than their landmarks, but it cannot be disputed that they are a big part of the reason people choose to travel to certain locations. Some of these landmarks have amazing backstories, while others have fantastic legends surrounding them, drawing in visitors who want to try and uncover its secrets.

Top 10 Iconic Places Pictured From Behind

10 Hidden messages

Towering above Rio de Janeiro, the Christ the Redeemer Art Deco statue is one of the largest statues of Jesus in the world and one of its New Seven Wonders. The statue’s open arms are a symbol of peace and it is the most famous landmark in Brazil. The right arm points to south Rio and the left to north Rio.

In the 1850s a local priest dreamt up the idea of creating a Christian monument on Mount Corcovado. A request to Princess Isabel for funding fell through after Brazil separated church from state in 1889. The priest’s dream was eventually realized after the First World War when, after a handful of designers crafted the statue, it was opened to the public on 12 October 1931.

Workers who made and glued the 6 million soapstone tiles that cover the statue, are said to have written messages on the back in the form of wishes or simply their lover’s name. One of the workers, Lygia Maria Avila da Veiga, was immensely proud to have her personalized tiles displayed on the statue, saying: “I wrote many wishes on the soapstones. They are up there, up there on top.”^[1]

9 70 years and counting

In South Dakota lies what is supposed to be the world’s biggest monument. ‘Supposed to be’, because after 70 years it is still not finished. In 1948, Polish American sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski started work on Crazy Horse, a depiction of a Native American warrior on horseback, believing it would take 30 years to complete. He started the project with less than $200 in his pocket, no electricity, water, or functional roads to speak of. He climbed a 741-step wooden staircase to scale Thunderhead Mountain and start work on the monument. Having no money to pay workers, Ziolkowski worked alone for many years. He died in 1982, with his last wish being that his family commit to completing the monument.

Crazy Horse is a famous figure in Native American culture and the sculpture is meant to be a monument in his honor. The granite mountain into which it is being carved sports a symbolic depiction of Crazy Horse, since no photographs of the warrior exist. When the landmark is finally completed, Crazy Horse will point southeast towards a plot where many Native Americans have been buried. The plan for the memorial came in ‘retaliation’ of the tribute to white American leaders on the nearby Mount Rushmore. When completed, the Crazy Horse memorial will make all four faces on Mount Rushmore seem tiny. In the meantime, visitors to South Dakota can explore the top of the unfinished memorial and explore the area that hopefully one day will sport Crazy Horse’s outstretched arm.^[2]

8 A tree of contention

Maungakiekie is Maori for “mountain of the kiekie vine.” Also known as One Tree Hill, this volcanic peak in Auckland, New Zealand, holds a dear spot in the history of the country. After a battle in 1740, a fortified Maori village was abandoned when their chief was killed in action. The village sat on top of the volcano and only one native tree remained after it was abandoned, hence the name One Tree Hill.

Unfortunately, a settler cut down the lone tree in 1852, after which businessman John Logan Campbell decided to plant a grove of pine trees in its place. Of this grove only one tree survived. Campbell’s gravesite is located at the peak alongside a bronze statue of Chief Tamaki as well as an obelisk dedicated to the Maori people.

In 1994, the surviving pine tree was partially cut up with a chainsaw by Maori activists and then destroyed by other activists in 2000 in retaliation of the New Zealand government’s treatment of the Maori.

In 2016 nine new trees were planted to replace the pine and these are now surrounded by a fence. Once they are strong enough, arborists will pick the hardiest of the bunch to remain, once again returning the true meaning of the phrase One Tree Hill.^[3]

7 Misunderstanding

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is a major tourist attraction in Istanbul, Turkey. Nicknamed The Blue Mosque because of its interior colors, the place of worship was constructed between 1609 and 1616 as a proclamation of Ottoman power and is still in use today.^[4]

Sultan Ahmed I allegedly insisted that the mosque have six minarets, causing controversy in the Muslim community because only the great mosque in Mecca at the time had six minarets. The sultan wasn’t deterred and arranged for a 7th minaret to be added to the Mecca mosque so that he could have the six he desired for his own. Another version of this tale says that the sultan’s architect misunderstood his requirements regarding the minarets. The sultan wanted gold minarets, (altin minaret in Turkish), and the architect heard six minarets, alti minaret.

6 The Sea People

South Africa is perhaps most known for its varied wildlife and Table Mountain, but it has some spectacular beaches too. Along the Wild Coast lies Hole-in-the-Wall, one of SA’s most memorable landmarks. Hole-in-the-Wall is a massive, detached cliff with an opening through its centre that has been carved out by waves over time.

The cliff was named by Captain Vidal who headed the Barracouta vessel in 1823 when sent on an expedition to survey the coastline on which it stands. The locals, the Bomvana people, called the cliff ‘iziKhaleni’ which means ‘Place of the Sound’ or ‘Place of Thunder.’

Legend has it that the Mpako River once was a lagoon blocked off by the cliff. A young, beautiful girl sat on the cliff’s edge each day and stared out to sea, drawn to the overwhelming power of the waves. One day, one of the sea people came out to meet her. He had long hair and hands and feet like flippers, and when he approached the girl, he immediately asked her to marry him. However, when her father found out, he was enraged and warned her never to see the man from the sea again.

The girl disobeyed and ran to the man she had fallen in love with, telling him about her father’s warning. The man told her to wait until high tide. When she returned to the cliff during high tide, several sea people were standing on top of it, carrying a giant fish. They used the fish to carve a hole in the cliff, creating a passage from the lagoon to the sea. As the water gushed through the hole, pushed forward by the high tide, hundreds of sea people flowed through on the waves, led by the girl’s sea lover. She went to his side, and the entire group disappeared back through the hole in the rock and was never seen or heard from again.^[5]

To this day, the legend continues, and it is said that when the tide is high, the sea people can be heard singing above the sound of the waves surrounding Hole-in-the-Wall.

Top 10 Places Famous For Bizarre Reasons

5 Angel on top of the world

As the towers fell on 11 September 2001, some saw the devil’s face in the plumes of smoke. Most 9/11 devil face images circulating to this day were clearly photoshopped, but the most famous picture, dubbed ‘Satan in the smoke’, remains a point of contention with some firmly believing that the devil (or even an image of Osama bin Laden) appeared as the South Tower came down. Some are even convinced that Nostradamus predicted the evil that would befall Lower Manhattan that fateful day.

As part of the rebuilding of the World Trade Center Complex, the Freedom Tower, or One World Trade Center was constructed. The building opened on 3 November 2014 and its observatory opened on 29 May 2015. On 11 September 2016, the Tribute in Light Memorial lights shone brightly in the place where the two towers once stood. Photographer, Rich McCormack, took several photos of the lights and soon became aware of something unusual in the photographs once he went through them. High up in the sky, at the end of the light beam, was a figure that resembled an angel.

McCormack insisted that he hadn’t tampered with the photographs in any way and that he believed it may have been an angel or the Lord himself looking down on Manhattan.^[6] While some immediately called ‘pareidolia’ or ‘optical illusion’, others were encouraged by the image and believed it to be religious in nature.

4 The end of the world as we know it

Constructed as a small fortress in 889 AD, the Alhambra complex in Granada, Spain, was renovated and rebuilt in the middle of the 13th century to include a royal palace. Alhambra is the Spanish adaption of the Arabic ‘qa’lat al-Hamra which means ‘red castle.’ The complex also includes the Court of the Myrtles, Hall of the Ambassadors, Court of the Lions, and the Hall of the Abencerrajes. The royal palace is the only surviving palatine city of the Islamic Golden Age. Today it is visited by thousands of tourists every year and is one of the most famous historical sites in the whole of Spain.^[7]

As is the case with most historical sites, the Alhambra is surrounded with long-standing legends. One of the most popular being the one that alludes to the end of the world. On the Gate of Justice, one of the main entrances to the fortress, a hand has been carved into the arch stone and a key in the centre of the inner archway. Both are prominent Islamic symbols with the hand used to ward off the evil eye. Legend says that when the hand and the key join to become one, the world as we know it and the fortress itself will be destroyed simultaneously. It is also believed that fearful Catholics have put up a statue of the Virgin Mary over the door to the fortress, to prevent this calamity from happening.

3 A place of myth and legend

The Pena Palace is a castle located in the Sintra Mountains, Portugal. The castle was constructed on the site of a medieval chapel which was dedicated to “Our Lady of Pena.” After a reported sighting of the Virgin Mary at the chapel, many believers started pilgrimaging there. In 1493, King John II of Portugal and Queen Leonor ascended the Sintra mountains to pay homage to their patron and when the king saw how beautiful the location was, he ordered that a monastery be built there and donated to the Order of Saint Jerome. After a devasting earthquake in 1755, the monastery was shaken but the chapel was unscathed.

The town of Sintra itself is a major tourist destination because of the above-mentioned Pena Palace and a host of other castles and palaces. Sintra has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a picturesque landmark of Portugal. The town was named, according to legend, after its people built a temple that was rejected by Rome after its completion. The people then dedicated and consecrated it to Cinthia (the moon) and Sintra was derived from this.

Sintra is also the center of the Yellow Rock legend. In a remote area of Sintra, a large stone protrudes from the ground. It is believed that whoever can topple the stone will be allowed to take the treasure buried beneath it. The catch? The rock must be toppled by throwing eggs at it. A long time ago, an old woman approached the rock with a horde of eggs. She threw the whole lot of them at the rock but was unable to move it. To this day, the yellow moss that grows on the strange rock is said to be the egg yolks splashed over it by the unlucky old woman.^[8]

2 Ceremony of strength

To commemorate the landing of King-Emperor George V and Queen-Empress Mary at Apollo Bunder, Bombay (Mumbai today) in 1911, a massive arch-monument was erected and named the Gateway of India. George V was the first British monarch to visit India. The gateway faces the Arabian sea on one side and the Taj Mahal Palace hotel on the other and has over time become of the most photographed places in the world. It was also the place from which the last British troops departed India in 1948, after the country gained its independence the year before. Furthermore, the gateway was the place Mahatma Ghandi landed when he returned to India after his 22-year stay in South Africa.^[9]

Eleven years after the devasting terror attacks on Mumbai in 2008, the Gateway of India became host to the 26/11 Stories of Strength event. The monument was lit up and sported the fateful date at the top, while the Indian Navy band performed in front of it. Several government officials and celebrities, including veteran actor Amitabh Bachhan attended the emotional event and Bachhan closed the ceremony by reciting a powerful poem. The event also featured accounts of survivors and coincided with the 150th birthday year of Mahatma Ghandhi.

1 Last glimpse of freedom

Venice, Italy is a highly popular tourist attraction, in no small part due to the gondola rides visitors can take through the canals. Venice is also home to what was an infamous old prison in the Doges Palace. At one point a bridge was constructed to connect this old prison to a new prison across the river that divided them. This bridge, over time, became known as the Bridge of Sighs.

Theory has it that it is so called because those who were marched over it, were going to be jailed for a long time and they sighed as they glimpsed the river and what would be their last beautiful sight while still free. Poet, Lord Byron, mused in one of his poems that the bridge was the last point at which condemned criminals could see Venice before they were led to their executioner. As one sails down the river and approaches the bridge today, the prison cells can still be seen on the right.

Another, more upbeat legend has it that if a couple sails in a gondola and kiss as they pass under the bridge, they will never be separated from one another.^[10]

Top 10 Creepiest Places On Earth (That You Probably Don’t Know)

We’re a good way into this whole ‘human’ experiment now, and the first phase—the age of explorers—is wrapping up. We have mapped every swath of land to some level of detail and we are prying away at the secrets of ancient civilizations. The untouched wilderness is becoming more and more touched, by more and more people, turning wilderness into landmarks.

As more people flock to these landmarks each year, it becomes increasingly obvious the difference between settling a region and taming it. Sometimes the land fights back and people die. Sometimes the people just fight each other and people die. Either way, after 300,000 years of settlement, there are many dead humans in a lot of really cool places. Here are ten of those landmarks, places of either natural or manmade wonder, and in either case- an abundance of corpses.

10 The Paris Catacombs

What do you do when you run one of the world’s biggest metropolises, and you realize that you’ve accrued 2,000 years worth of bodies within your borders with nowhere to put them? We’ve all been there. And so has the French government. 

By the 1700s, Paris was two millennia old, and some 6,000,000 people had lived and died within its borders. Its cemeteries were overflowing and to make more room, skeletons were being exhumed and stacked in cemetery walls. The (literal) tipping point came when sections of wall around Paris’s biggest cemetery Les Innocents collapsed, sending bones and bodies spilling into Paris streets. 

The solution: empty tunnels and quarries beneath the city. Six million bodies were placed in these tunnels, and now their bones line the walls in neat stacks or in some places, ornate sculptures. It is a magnificent and ghastly display of death, and about one mile of it is open for public exploration. The rest has been ruled unsafe and is off-limits, but a quick YouTube search will show how many cavers and ghost-hunters ignore that restriction.

9 Pompeii

The ancient Roman city of Pompeii was a wealthy community. Rich Roman men frequented its fine bathhouses and brothels, artists filled the city with grand statues and frescoes, and its (seemingly) idyllic location between Italy’s Tyrrhenian Sea and Mount Vesuvius made it a trade hub and tourist destination. That all changed in the Fall of AD 79 when Vesuvius revealed itself to be an active volcano and erupted for two days straight. It began with 18 hours of pumice rain—clouds of rock dust spewed out by the volcano that blanketed Pompeii and the surrounding region in a dark, choking haze. Luckily, this stage was relatively slow and visible and allowed most of the city’s 20,000 inhabitants to flee to safety.

For the 1,200 who remained in the city for whatever reason, a series of quick ejections of hot ash sealed their fate. What’s most interesting is that many of them left spaces in the ash that allowed archaeologists to create casts of their bodies. These revealed the citizens’ final locations and positions, and so we know, for example, which people huddled together in the end, which tried to run from the city, and which—in at least one case—just sat in a tavern, having one final drink.

8 The Golden Gate Bridge

The fact that “Suicides at the Golden Gate Bridge” is its own Wikipedia article speaks volumes. San Francisco’s iconic bay-spanning bridge is famous for attracting jumpers. It’s been called a suicide magnet, the world’s #1 suicide destination, and the world’s deadliest bridge. And its reputation comes mainly from officially documented cases. Official jumper statistics grossly underrepresent the actual amount of attempted suicides because, in its 80+ year existence, many people are believed to have jumped without any witnesses.

Untold thousands have died from leaping off the bridge, either from the impact of landing, inability to swim to shore, and/or hypothermia from the bay’s frigid waters. Perhaps the spookiest detail of the whole phenomenon is that, since many jumpers did so in secret, from time to time unknown bodies in various states of decomposition wash ashore around the San Francisco Bay and neighboring areas. The grim discoveries are frequent, and the bridge has gained an almost sinister reputation alongside its touristic appeal.

7 Niagara Falls

Alright, let’s keep going and get these unfortunate jumpers out of the way all at once. Niagara Falls is a truly awesome natural wonder and attracts thousands of people to its majestic rushing waters. Most are sightseers, naturalists, or parts of destination weddings, but two other groups visit the falls, and they both have little chance of ever returning. 

The first is suicidal. Estimates as to the number of people who have sought death by jumping over the falls vary wildly, but most are around 4,000 in the last century. 

The other group that makes steady pilgrimages to the falls to meet their end are the daredevils. Traveling down the falls, with or without a barrel, is one of the most daring feats in the world. Unfortunately, roughly a quarter of those who try the stunt perish in the attempt. About 20-30 people die going over the falls each year in one of these two ways, making Niagara Falls a grim eastern bookend to the continental U.S. alongside the west coast’s Golden Gate Bridge.

6 Death Road, Bolivia

North Yungas Road is a 69 km road that winds its way through Bolivia, snaking around cliffs and through jungles. Its width varies dramatically, and lanes are dubious and ever-changing. Due to inclement local weather, its placement alongside sheer peaks and gorges, and its unreliable composition, the road is often beset by heavy rains, thick fog, sudden waterfalls, mudslides, and tumbling rocks.

Most estimates claim that 200-300 people die on the road every year, most likely from falling off its side. The road’s history and reputation earned it the title of “Death Road.” Such dubious acclaim brought thrill-seekers, most attempting to bike its treacherous length, which only added to its death toll. Happily, much of the road has been modernized in the last few years, hopefully turning Death Road into Just-Bored-to-Death Road.

5 Mount Everest

Mount Everest is the world’s highest mountain and possibly its most famous natural landmark. This has made it the… well, the Mount Everest of mountaineering. It’s no secret that many have perished attempting to reach its peak (or any base partway up). Over 300 climbers and guides have died en route to some level of the mountain. What is more notable- and more grisly- is the current fate of all those bodies. Several expeditions have been mounted to remove corpses from parts of the trail, but these have been hindered because:

1. The mountain battles corpse retrievers the same way it battles any climbers;
2. Many climbers’ families have fought against retrieval, citing their deceased’s wishes to be left on the mountain.

In addition, in recent years, climate change has melted previously perennial snow cover, revealing lost bodies and further filling the trail with death, even between expeditions. Even more ghoulish, the more well-known bodies are now landmarks themselves; it’s not uncommon for climbers to plan their progress by reaching one of their dead precursors at a certain time. Further reading: Green Boots’ Cave.

4 Mont Blanc

Every mountain is inevitably in Everest’s shadow—many of them literally. But in terms of human death, Mont Blanc stands far, far taller than its Himalayan sibling. Compared to Mont Blanc’s casualty toll, which is now estimated to be around 10,000, Everest’s 300 seem like child’s play. So why is Everest so notorious worldwide and not Mont Blanc? There are many reasons, but perhaps most ironically, because Blanc is easier. No one sets out for Everest without preparing—hopefully enough.

But Mont Blanc, one of the Alps and shared between France and Italy, is seen as more of a tourist destination than an existential challenge. A pleasant gondola ride carries would-be climbers the first 9,000 feet of the mountain’s 20,000 foot total. The rest is billed as just a “long walk” to the summit. This attracts some 25,000 hikers each year, and- on pure statistic inevitably alone- makes Mont Blanc the world’s deadliest mountain. Corpses are discovered there… frequently.

3 Herxheim

Yes, Herxheim sounds like a realm Thor would visit, and really, we can’t say for sure he didn’t. If he did, even his mighty thunder-ness might feel a chill run up his spine. Herxheim is a roughly 7,000-year-old archaeological site discovered in Southwestern Germany in 1996. And yes- corpses were found, this time in a series of mass graves. Estimates from bones and bone fragments place the number of dead at Herxheim to be over 1,000. However, the ‘how many’ is less unusual than the ‘why.’

Short answer: we don’t know.

But there is evidence to suggest a number of disturbing answers. The site was occupied by early humans for hundreds of years. The deliberate shape and pattern of the gravesites suggest that the mass graves were planned out in advance and slowly carved out over decades. This, combined with the fact that bones come from all across Central Europe, suggests that the site was a necropolis of sorts, a place for the dying to make one last pilgrimage before burial. But the city is more sinister than restful. Hundreds of skulls were split neatly in half, tongues removed from their necks, and long bones broken in half and their marrow scooped out, suggesting a truly massive cannibalistic enterprise.

2 The Suicide Forest

A place that practically defines the word ‘infamy’, Aokigahara is a forest in the shadow of Mt. Fuji, Japan, that has come to be widely known as the Suicide Forest. Entering the forest, visitors are greeted with a sign reading roughly, “Quietly think once more about your parents, siblings or children. Please don’t suffer alone, and first, reach out.” The sign exists for good reason.

The forest has taken on an almost mythical reputation as a domain of ghosts, an evil wood with sinister intent, and most notably- one of the most popular places in the world to commit suicide. No exact tally of suicides within the forest exists for the same reason many choose to end their lives there- inside, one is exceptionally isolated and alone. Police have estimated hundreds of suicides within the forest on any given year, but the exact total will never be known.

1 St. Bartholomew’s Church

St. Bartholomew’s Church in Kudowa, Poland bears the very metal nickname Skull Church. From the outside, it looks unassuming; its relatively small, muted visage makes it seem like any other old little chapel in Europe. But inside, it is far from unassuming. No, you’re forced to assume a lot of things when you see what it contains. Its floor, walls, and ceiling are either covered by or partially made up of thousands of human skeletons. There are few surfaces in the whole building that aren’t completely covered by human bone. The 3,000 skeletons that line its surfaces are stacked neatly in places and elsewhere arranged into ornate sculptures and patterns. The cherry on this sundae of death is that the basement also holds bones of its own. Another 21,000 humans’ worth. I guess that’s more the whole sundae than the cherry.

Despite people traveling thousands of miles across the world to set eyes on a monument, there might be some locals who would gladly travel thousands of miles just to escape it. While you view a building or structure as a work of art, many locals may see it as a blight on their landscape or a cruel reminder of their history.

Here are ten landmarks originally hated by locals. Quite often, the reason for his enmity is the constructions in question being seen as eyesores. In some cases, they were also seen as egregiously expensive eyesores.

10 The Shard
London, England

The Shard, formerly called London Bridge Tower, is the tallest building in the UK, standing at an incredible 310 meters (1,016 ft) and offering 72 floors and an observation deck. Since its construction in 2009, it has become one of the most famous landmarks in the English capital; however, it wasn’t always loved by the public.

The building was designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, after he was inspired by the adjacent railway lines and the masts of sailing ships. However, it faced much criticism before it was even constructed, with the English Heritage organization stating it would be like “a spike through the heart of historic London.”^[1]

9 The Gate To The East
Suzhou, China

The Gate to the East (aka Gate of the Orient) is the largest conjoined skyscraper in the world and has received multiple awards and accolades since its completion in 2016, as it uses the most steel products and has been deemed the tallest gate on the planet. If all this wasn’t enough, it offers the deepest private wine cellar and tallest swimming pool in China.

It has, however, received much criticism. Locals reportedly described the building as “humiliating” and that walking through the arch was “like being forced to crawl between someone else’s legs.”^[2] The media also referred to the landmark as “a climactic icon on the 21st century architecture of spectacle.”

8 The Eiffel Tower
Paris, France

The Eiffel Tower is one of the most famous landmarks in the world and is often associated with elegance and romance. It might, therefore, be hard to believe that it wasn’t always so popular with Parisians. The iconic building was erected to serve as an entrance into the 1889 World’s Fair, which was celebrating the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution.

However, the steel structure looked out of place with the French capital’s classic architecture. Parisian academics and artists were not afraid to express their dislike for the landmark, stating: “We, writers, painters, sculptors, architects, passionate lovers of the beauty, until now intact, of Paris, hereby protest with all our might, with all our indignation, in the name of French taste gone unrecognized, in the name of French art and history under threat, against the construction, in the very heart of our capital, of the useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower.”

Despite the outcry and the threat of demolition, it now serves as an international symbol of love and romance.^[3]

7 Vittorio Emanuele II Monument
Rome, Italy

Construction began on the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument in Rome, Italy, in 1885 in honor of Victor Emmanuel II, who served as the first king of a unified Italy. The dominant building is flanked by Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill and is largely made from white marble.

However, despite the building’s grandeur and opulence, many locals disliked the architecture, giving it a variety of nicknames, such as “false teeth,” “wedding cake” and “the typewriter.” They also believed it was created from the wrong marble color and was far too large.^[4]

6 Sagrada Familia
Barcelona, Spain

Sagrada Familia is an unfinished Roman Catholic church and the most famous edifice in Spain. Construction began on the church in 1882, and it is expected to be completed in 2026. It is one of many architectural designs by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona, who also designed Park Guell and Casa Mila. There were, however, many people who would have preferred for the church to have been torn down.

Pablo Picasso once stated he wished for those responsible for the design to be “sent to Hell,” and George Orwell went as far as to say it was “one of the most hideous buildings in the world.”^[5]

5 Empire State Building
New York City, US

It is hard to imagine the Big Apple without the Empire State Building, which provides both locals and tourists with breathtaking views of the New York skyline. However, the 102-story skyscraper was not an instant hit with locals, who viewed its construction as a waste of money that was located too far away from public transport.

The building’s construction came in $19 million under budget and was completed ahead of schedule, with the building officially opening on May 1, 1931. However, as the opening overlapped with the Great Depression, only 23 percent of the office space was rented in its first year, which led to it being dubbed the “Empty State Building.”^[6] However, new life was breathed into the landmark when the building was purchased, renovated, and aggressively marketed as the world’s tallest building. It was later selected as one of the greatest engineering achievements in US history by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

4 Centre Pompidou
Paris, France

It is easy to see why locals might not be too fond of Centre Pompidou, as the building looks as if it’s covered in scaffolding. The Centre was completed in 1977 and offered the first collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe.

The exoskeleton design is not only unsightly, but it clashes with the capital’s historic architecture, as it is surrounded by beautiful, old buildings, including the oldest surviving house in the city, which was built in 1407. The brains behind the building were Englishman Richard Rodgers and Italian Renzo Piano. Rodgers once commented that a Parisian woman was so infuriated by the building that she hit him on the head with her umbrella.^[7]

3 Valley Of The Fallen
Madrid, Spain

It is hard to believe locals could possibly hate a monument that commemorates those killed in Spain’s 1936–1939 civil war. That’s because it also serves as the grave site of General Francisco Franco, a brutal dictator who reportedly forced thousands of political prisoners to build the monument. Many believe Franco stated he would reduce a convict’s sentence if they volunteered to join the work detail; however, there have been allegations that he enforced labor. In fact, Jaume Basch, a Catalan politician, described the landmark as “something like a Nazi Concentration Camp” in 2017. The site reportedly holds 40,000 bodies, but only Franco and Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, the National Chief of the Falange Espanola de las JONS, are buried inside the church.

Security was tightened after the site was bombed by anti-fascists in 1999. While many people would happily pay the €9 admission fee to either lay flowers or spit on Franco’s grave, both actions are no longer permitted. It now serves as one of Spain’s most hated landmarks, which you can spot miles away on the A-6 motorway, as the large granite cross can be seen above the rock of the Sierra de Guadarrama.^[8]

2 Palace Of Parliament
Bucharest, Romania

Bucharest’s Palace of Parliament is the most hated building in the city. Thanks to its opulent architecture, which glows gold at night, it is now the most popular tourist attraction in Bucharest, attracting tourists from all over the world. However, locals despise the building, as it was originally built for Nicolae Ceausescu, a communist dictator. While the nation was forced to endure extreme poverty, Ceausescu was plunging the country’s wealth into building his palace. During this time, parents were unable to feed their children and were forced to place them in the state’s care.

Despite the country’s communist regime falling in 1989, residents across the city are reminded of their nation’s history every time they set eyes on the ostentatious house of Romania’s parliament.^[9]

1 Christ The King Statue
Swiebodzin, Poland

The Christ the King statue is the tallest statue of Jesus on the planet, standing at 33 meters (108 ft) and rivaling Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer. Despite being crowdfunded for $1.4 million by locals and other towns, it has become one of the most controversial landmarks in Poland.

The erection of the monument caused arguments between both Christians and atheists. It was also heavily criticized for its location, as it is situated near the German border by the Berlin-Warsaw motorway, near a large supermarket. However, one of the latest controversies is the recent installation of antennas within Jesus’s crown to broadcast an Internet signal for Divine Mercy Parish.^[10]

Most eerie tales are set in scary locations and include creepy details such as unseen fingers about to trace a burning image on your cheek or loud unexplained thumps sounding up from various parts of the house, making it impossible to fall asleep. Others are based on old urban legends about killers with hooks for hands or obscure small towns that never give up their dead.

However, famous places also have a scary tale or two to offer. Some of the most well-known landmarks around the world have a dark side, too, and their history often includes deeply disturbing and sometimes haunting stories.

Related: Top 10 Famous Haunted Landmarks You Didn’t Know Were Haunted

10 Ancient Ram Inn

In Wotton-under-Edge, around 40 minutes from Bristol, you will find the Ancient Ram Inn. It has been called the most haunted house in Britain and has existed since 1145. The building was constructed on a pagan burial ground and purportedly lies on ley lines that are connected to Stonehenge.

The Ancient Ram Inn was a home for workers and slaves who built the nearby St. Mary’s Church, and it is believed that because water streams had to be diverted around the church premises, a portal opened up for dark energy to be released. At one point, the house also belonged to a priest before being sold in 1968.

The new owner, John Humphries, had a rude awakening the first night he slept at the property. He claimed to have been grabbed and dragged across his bedroom by “demonic forces.” Afterward, he searched in and around the house for signs of what may have caused his terrifying experience. He found evidence of ritual sacrifices as well as the skeletal remains of children who’d possibly been murdered with daggers.

Humphries’s family left him, but he remained at the Ancient Ram Inn until his death in 2017. Several spirits, according to reports, still roam the house, however. They include a witch who had been burned at the stake, dark monks, and a Roman Centurion.^[1]

The Ancient Ram Inn is now owned by John Humphries’s daughter, Caroline. She now opens the doors to researchers, paranormal enthusiasts, and tourists willing to enter the centuries-old haunted building.

9 Africana Library

The Kimberley Public Library was opened on July 23, 1887. In 1984, it was converted to the Africana Research Library and soon became one of the best research libraries in Southern Africa. Situated in Kimberley in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, it has long since had the distinction of being one of the most haunted buildings in the country.

The first librarian at the library whiled away his days by cooking up a pricing scam but was soon caught. Bertrand Dyer dealt with the scandal by swallowing arsenic in 1908, and he endured a harrowing three days before succumbing to the poison.

He never left his post, however, with visitors to the library claiming that they’ve witnessed his ghost pacing the various halls and also rearranging some of the thousands of books that can be found there. It has also been said that if you cannot find a particular book, you should just shout out the title, and Dyer will find it for you.^[2]

8 Lawang Sewu

Lawang Sewu translates to “Thousand Doors” in Javanese and is a colonial-era building that served as the headquarters of the Dutch East Indies Railway Company in Semarang, Central Java. The structure has 600 windows and incorporates numerous doors and arcs within its design, making it somewhat of a labyrinth. The complex consists of a number of buildings named A, B, C, and D.

During World War II, Japanese soldiers occupied Lawang Sewu and turned the B building basement into a makeshift prison. Many prisoners held here were murdered, and it has been reported that their restless, headless spirits wander the buildings in the Lawang Sewu complex. The spirit of a Dutch woman who committed suicide has also reportedly been seen roaming the place. The Indonesian government made an effort to clean up the building and rehabilitate its reputation as a non-creepy tourist destination. But ghost tours still remain the most lucrative activity.^[3]

7 Masada Fortress

The King of Judea, Herod the Great, built Masada as a castle complex at the edge of the Judean Desert in the last century BC. In the first century AD, the ancient Romans took over Judea, and the complex became a fortress for the Jews. When the Romans finally took over Masada, most of the women and children who hid inside the fortress committed suicide.

During the Byzantine period, a group of monks built a hermetic monastery at the site, and afterward, the area remained uninhabited for around 13 centuries until it was rediscovered in 1828. The site was declared a national park in 1966, and a cable car came into operation in 1977. Today the Masada fortress is a beloved pilgrimage and tourist spot where visitors can take in sights such as the storerooms that held the Masada inhabitants’ food and weapon supplies as well as palaces, Roman bathhouses, and more.

However, those who committed suicide within the fortress walls are still making their presence known today. As people wander around, taking photographs and admiring the ancient structure, some hear the screams of those who died before the Romans could get hold of them. Others witness the apparitions of these unhappy souls, forever trapped in the place they died.^[4]

6 La Noria Ghost Town and Cemetery

In the Atacama Desert in Chile lies the long-abandoned ghost town, La Noria. In 1826 it was a flourishing saltpeter mining town and home to thousands of people who attended the local church, frequented the local shops, and sent their children to the local school.

Sadly, the town was severely affected by its competition, as well as a devastating fire that broke out in 1901. Then, during WWI, a synthetic alternative to saltpeter was discovered, which delivered the death knell to La Noria. Soon its inhabitants began leaving, many abandoning their possessions in search of a better future.

La Noria and its namesake cemetery were hit hard by looting after the town was abandoned and several coffins and human bones still lie exposed. A chilling urban legend has it that the souls connected to the disturbed coffins and bones have become angry at how their last resting place has been disrespected. As the sun sets, they rise from their broken graves and make their way to the lonely ghost town of La Noria in a silent protest. Visitors to the town ruins have reported witnessing this procession and hearing screams and disembodied voices echoing through the empty structures.^[5]

5 Hotel Union Øye

The village of Øye boasts one of the most beautiful hotels in the whole of Europe. The Hotel Union Øye is nestled in the Sunmmøre Alps in Norway and has seen many a famous visitor, including Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, King Haakon VII of Norway, and Arthur Conan Doyle.

The hotel is also well known for its Blue Room that is said to have been frequented by a young servant girl named Linda and a German officer in the 1800s. The officer was married, and when he asked his wife for a divorce, she refused, and he killed himself soon after. When Linda heard of the tragedy, she headed down to the nearby fjord and drowned herself.

Nowadays, patrons of the hotel have reported hearing loud sobbing and waking up to the ghost of Linda sitting in their room. Guests who wish to experience the Blue Room are given a silver bowl of garlic to ward off Linda’s ghost. However, if they are up for a ghostly adventure, they should leave the bowl outside the door.^[6]

4 Village of Ghostly Voices

In 1790, Obadiah Higginbotham and Johnathan Randall relocated their families from Rhode Island to the woods of the Ragged Hills section of Pomfret, Connecticut. They named the settlement Bara-Hack (which means breaking of bread) to celebrate their Welsh heritage.

The two men started a company called Higginbotham Linen Wheels that supplied the surrounding areas with flax spinning. Bara-Hack soon flourished and became a village in its own right, including a mill and waterwheel. It also had grand homes, slave quarters, and a graveyard. Soon after the deaths of the founding families, however, Bara-Hack was slowly abandoned. By the time the Civil War broke out, there was no one left.

Over the years that followed, the site became a popular paranormal investigation spot. Those brave enough to visit it at night reported seeing the ghost of a baby and a floating bearded face in the cemetery. There have also been reports of the sounds of horse-drawn buggies and long-dead farm animals echoing in the dark. Bara-Hack is now known as the “village of ghostly voices” and is currently closed to the public as it lies on private property.^[7]

3 Pousada Serra da Estrela

The Pousada Serra da Estrela is a stunning 5-star hotel in Portugal that offers all you could possibly want in a hotel visit as well as breathtaking views of the Serra da Estrela mountain range.

It wasn’t always the luxury holiday destination it is today, however. Built in 1936, the building started out as a treatment facility for railway workers who suffered from terminal illnesses. At one point, it was leased to the Portugal society of sanitoriums, and it became a facility for all patients who needed treatment. Unfortunately, by 1980, most of the patients had died, and the sanatorium was closed down. Soon rumors started making the rounds of the souls of the dead patients haunting the building.

The rumors still abound, with hotel patrons reportedly seeing the spirits of those who died of tuberculosis wandering the lush halls and corridors at night.^[8]

2 Witkowice Forest

Poland is well-known around the world for its stunning cities, castles, and a horrible remnant of Nazi Germany: Auschwitz. Here you will experience hospitability like just about nowhere else, along with fantastic food and great vodka.

The country also has a dark side in the form of several creepy and haunted buildings. These include the Skull Chapel, the haunted asylum in Warsaw, and the Wieliczka Salt Mine. The ghosts are not confined to buildings, though, as the many reports of spooky goings-on in the Witkowice forest attest.

In 2001, nine local students planned an overnight stay in the forest. At around 8:30 that night, they ran into an old man who warned them not to enter the forest, but the students scoffed at him and went into the woods anyway. They were never seen again. It has been rumored that friends of these students undertook their own search because the police were “reluctant” to start an investigation. During their search, they found a camera that allegedly belonged to the missing students. After developing the pictures, they saw the blurred figures of the students in the forest enveloped in a thick mist. The group of friends also discovered that the area of Witkowice was once the site of a massive fire and that many residents died in the forest under strange circumstances.

This story has been compared to the horror film The Blair Witch Project because of their similarities. The students remain missing to this day, with rumors swirling that a “deity” that lives in the forest and produces a thick green mist killed them.^[9]

1 Obvodny Canal

Obvodny Canal is the longest canal in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was dug between the late 1700s and early 1800s but eventually became too shallow for large crafts to navigate. These days, only small boats are allowed to use it, and it has garnered a solid reputation for being haunted. The concrete-lined canal has come to be known as the Suicide Canal because of the vast number of suicides and suicide attempts that take place there.

Those who survived a suicide attempt have reported feeling an invisible force pulling them into the water. Some even claimed to have seen a woman dressed in white floating below the surface of the water before vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Back in the late 18th century when the canal was in the early stages of being built, workers often complained of bad headaches, and some had sudden violent outbursts for no reason. Some believe that the workers were afflicted by a curse because they dug the canal through an ancient pagan graveyard. It is no wonder then that the canal is still regarded as one of the most haunted places in Russia.^[10]