Welcome to a journey through 10 strange terrifying shrines across Asia, where ancient rites, ghostly legends, and jaw‑dropping architecture collide. From subterranean tunnels that plunge you into darkness to cliff‑side tea houses that test your courage, each stop on this list will make you question what lies beyond the ordinary.

10 Strange Terrifying Highlights

10 Dongyue Temple China

Dating back to 1319, Dongyue Temple stands as one of Beijing’s grandest Taoist complexes, and perhaps its most unsettling. Home to the Beijing Folklore Museum since 1999, the site buzzes with year‑round festivals, blessing ceremonies, and cultural demonstrations that draw crowds seeking good fortune.

While the blessings are generous, the temple also offers a stark reminder of what awaits the wayward. The main courtyard, reachable via Happiness Road, features two towering pavilions honoring Qing Dynasty emperors, plus 72 miniature chambers representing the various departments of hell. The very name “Dongyue” refers to the deity overseeing all 18 layers of the underworld and its 76 subdivisions.

Inside, bureaucracy meets the supernatural: visitors can peek into the Department of Pity and Sympathy, where tiny clay beggars wait for appeals, or the Department of Accumulating Wealth, and even the Department for Implementing 15 Kinds of Violent Death. Each cubicle is guarded by garishly painted, terrifying statues, and donation boxes sit outside, inviting you to contribute a token for the overseers’ goodwill.

9 Goa Lawah Temple Indonesia

If the sound of fluttering wings makes you uneasy, you’ll want to steer clear of Bali’s Goa Lawah Temple, better known as the Bat Cave. Established in the 11th century, this Hindu sanctuary is among the island’s earliest, expanding over centuries into a sprawling complex where travelers offer fruit and prayers before embarking on journeys.

The legend tells of a hidden prince who escaped pursuers by seeking refuge within the cave’s labyrinthine tunnels, later emerging at Mount Agung’s Besakih Temple. Supposedly, every time Mount Agung erupts, ash rains down from Goa Lawah. Beyond the bats, the cavern is rumored to house the serpent Vasuki, Shiva’s companion, who guards a pool of healing waters deep within the darkness and occasionally feasts on the resident bats.

8 Wat Phumin Thailand

Wat Phumin, nestled in Nan, Thailand, dazzles visitors with four Buddha‑flanked entrances, intricate murals, and a two‑story library of sacred texts. Yet hidden behind its serene façade lies a squat, domed chamber that feels like a portal to the underworld.

Inside, life‑size dioramas depict vivid scenes of Buddhist hell: animal‑headed figures boiled in cauldrons, victims drenched in scorching oil, and a woman impaled on a tree while a bird gnaws at her severed head. An overseer perched atop a pile of skulls watches the torment. These macabre displays starkly contrast the heavenly murals elsewhere in the temple, which portray everyday life, music, and love, sending a clear message about the consequences of straying from the path.

7 Huashan Teahouse China

While Huashan Teahouse lacks graphic depictions of damnation, its terror lies in the climb itself. Mount Huashan, a sacred Taoist site for centuries, hosts a series of shrines and temples that celebrate wealth through the diversity of its flora and fauna—474 species of medicinal plants alone.

The ascent begins with gentle stairs, but quickly devolves into a heart‑pounding scramble across broken planks nailed to sheer cliff faces, held only by a single chain. In some sections, there are no boards at all—just narrow iron bars or sheer rock faces with chiseled footholds. Those who survive the climb are rewarded with tea in a converted monastery atop the southern peak, offering arguably the most breathtaking views in China. The descent, however, remains a perilous challenge.

6 Zenkoji Temple Japan

Dating back to the 6th century, Nagano’s Zenkoji Temple witnessed Buddhism’s early, clandestine days. In 654, a statue carved in India was secretly installed as a “hibutsu” (hidden Buddha). Over time, the original was replaced by a replica displayed every seven years, while the authentic figure remains concealed.

The mystery deepens beneath the altar: a pitch‑black tunnel, symbolizing the soul’s journey through death and rebirth, offers laypeople a chance to experience the induction of new priests. After removing shoes, visitors crawl through the darkness, searching for a hidden “key to paradise.” The experience is unnerving, especially for those unaccustomed to total sensory deprivation.

5 The Snake Pagoda Myanmar

Snakes not your thing? The pagoda at Paleik, officially Yadana Labamuni Hsu‑taungpye Paya, will test your resolve. Though its origins trace back to the 11th or 15th century, the true spectacle began in the 1970s when three pythons slithered into the sanctuary, coiling around Buddha images.

Monks embraced the serpents, especially a massive five‑meter python revered as the reincarnation of an abbot. Today, the snakes are a major tourist draw among the 325 stupas surrounding the site. They are well‑fed, harmless, and visitors can pose for photos or watch daily ceremonies where the reptiles are bathed and fed.

4 Mount Osore Japan

Mount Osore, a volcanic plain in Japan, serves as a literal gateway to the afterlife. Sulfur‑laden air, steaming vents, and lakes tinged with sickly hues echo classic depictions of hell. The site is ringed by a river and eight mountains, with pebbles along the banks said to be placed by the souls of deceased infants attempting to construct a bridge to the afterworld.

Statues of Jizo, the protector of children, dot the area, while parents leave offerings—pinwheels, coins, candy, toys, and shoes—to aid the spirits. During festivals, women known as itako act as mediums, channeling the dead’s messages despite lacking formal religious training. Tradition holds that the bridge across the river determines one’s destiny: the virtuous cross easily, while the wicked cannot see it.

3 Tanah Lot Indonesia

Tanah Lot, perched on a rocky outcrop off Bali’s coast, is a stunning Hindu shrine—if you can tolerate its resident sea snakes. Legend says wanderer Danghyang Nirartha, after being expelled by a jealous king, transformed his shawl into a legion of silver‑and‑black sea snakes to guard the temple.

Today, daring visitors can approach the snakes during low tide, but the snakes remain potentially lethal. The temple also faces a slow erosion battle; in the 1980s, engineers reinforced the site with artificial rock to prevent it from slipping into the sea.

2 Preah Vihear Cambodia

Preah Vihear, perched near the Thailand‑Cambodia border, is a pristine 11th‑century Khmer masterpiece dedicated to Shiva. Though a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its location sparked a deadly dispute between the two nations, with gunfire echoing around the temple and casualties reported in 2011.

The contention stems from vague 1904 border demarcations, leading to a century‑long tug‑of‑war that even reached The Hague. In 2013, the International Court awarded the site to Cambodia, but the peace remains fragile. The temple’s intricate stone carvings and architectural grandeur rival Angkor Wat, making it an awe‑inspiring yet perilous destination.

1 Awashima Jinja Japan

Dolls hold a sacred place in Japanese culture, serving as ritual objects for purification, prayer, and gifts ranging from newborns to diplomats. At Awashima Jinja, women pray for health and fertility, often leaving behind dolls their daughters have outgrown, fearing that improperly discarded dolls may haunt families.

The shrine is a sea of dolls, statues, and figurines—thousands in total—each believed to house a human spirit. Annually, some dolls are placed in boats and set adrift, sinking to the ocean floor and, according to belief, taking misfortune with them. Others are offered for blessings related to childbirth, while many are ceremonially burned after priests absolve them of sin.

+ Bullet Baba India

Since its creation in 1988, the Bullet Baba shrine has attracted thousands. The story began when Om Singh Rathore died in a motorcycle crash; his Royal Enfield Bullet mysteriously returned to the crash site, prompting locals to erect a shrine. Om’s pride in his bike turned into a spiritual legend, with the bike’s “spirit” refusing to be separated from its metal steed.

Today, the shrine—featuring the Bullet and a tree adorned with offerings—hosts pilgrimages and an annual celebration on Om’s birthday, complete with opium and alcohol. The shrine also serves a sobering purpose: a reminder of the region’s high traffic‑fatality rate, reportedly helping to reduce accidents. Om’s son, born two months after his death, frequently visits, underscoring the shrine’s lasting impact.

It’s not every day that you run across a shrine in the Western or secular worlds but there are plenty of them out there. Many people in the modern world use the word in a joking fashion, like if someone is a fan of a certain celebrity or athlete they may have a shrine in their home full of that person’s memorabilia. But real shrines with religious significance exist all around the globe. That being said, some of them are maybe a little more esoteric or downright weird than others.

10. The Shrine to Dobby The House Elf

The world of Harry Potter is firmly entrenched in pop culture and there are millions of fans who have both read the books and seen the movies. It became a cultural phenomenon in a way no one could have expected and to appreciate just how firm a grip it has, you just need to head to Pembrokeshire.

In the Harry Potter films, the character of Dobby the house elf proves to be somewhat of a nuisance and somewhat of a helper for Harry and his friends. Eventually Harry frees the elf and it becomes a still vaguely annoying but helpful ally right up until his untimely death. 

On screen, Dobby died at a place called Freshwater Beach west in Pembrokeshire. In real life, fans have continued to visit the place to mark the grave of the entirely fictional and computer generated character, building shrines to honor his memory.

Dobby’s shrine is not all that in depth, rather it’s a pile of stones to mark the place of his death. One stone reads “Here lies Dobby, a free elf.” The stones are also intermingled with stray socks since it was a sock that was given to Dobby which allowed him to become free.

The area is actually a protected conservation area and the National Trust, which takes care of it, has asked people to stop leaving rocks and socks there because of the danger they could pose to the native wildlife. 

9. The Japanese Shrine to Hemorrhoids

If you were to make a list of all the things you never really wanted to honor and pay reverence to, where do you think hemorrhoids might fall? If you’re in Japan and visiting the Kunigami Shrine in Tochigi Prefecture those swollen little pains in the backside might not make your list at all considering that’s where you’ll find a shrine to hemorrhoids.

By way of explanation, in the Shinto system of belief, the various gods known as kami are the kind of entities that like a good laugh. Also, a good butt joke, it seems. The shrine is for those who want to banish their backside bugaboos by eating egg offerings and washing their rear end in what seems to be a ritualistic fashion. If that fails, some people literally shake their butts at the shrine itself. 

The specific ritual requires one to bathe in a holy river, then visit the shrine, butt pointed towards a holy egg, while you say a prayer. Though there are literally thousands upon thousands of Shinto shrines in Japan, this is the only one dedicated to curing hemorrhoids.

8. A Shrine to an Indian Motorcycle God

Like most places in the world, India has endured far too many drunk driving accidents over the years. People there will often leave something at the site of an accident to memorialize those who have died but the Bullet Baba Shrine in Jodhpur took things to the next level. 

The legend of this shrine tells of a man who crashed his motorcycle at the site in 1988. Police came to clean up the scene and took the bike back to their station but the next day it was somehow at the crash site once more. So the police emptied the gas tank and chained it up but when they returned the chains were broken and the bike was at the crash site once more. 

It was decided that the bike should remain at the site, and a shrine was built around it. The bike sits on a stone dais encased in glass. People who pass by offer a quick prayer to the Motorcycle God known as Om Banna or Bullet Baba, owing to the bike being a Royal Enfield Bullet. Some just honk their horns, befitting a motorcycle deity.

People will leave flowers and even full bottles of alcohol at the site in the hopes of gaining the god’s blessing and having safe travels. A priest works there and performs daily rituals and upkeep.

7. Shrine of the Miracle Tortilla

If you were to witness an honest to goodness miracle, you might be inclined to build a shrine on that spot yourself. But you have to clarify ahead of time, what exactly qualifies as a miracle? For Maria Rubio that question was answered back in 1977 when she was going to make a bean burrito and saw the face of Jesus in her tortilla. 

Maria was one of the first people ever to have this moment of seeing the face of Jesus in food. It’s sort of a cliche these days, but it was novel and new in 1977. So new, in fact, that she and her family ended up on TV and became famous if not infamous as a result.

While some people mocked Rubio, others believed. The house itself became a shrine for the tortilla and many visitors came to see the tortilla over the years. The family preserved it for about 30 years until it finally fell apart as ancient tortillas are prone to do. 

6. A North Korean Escalator

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died in 2011 paving the way for his son to take the reins. But before he finally passed away, the infamous leader had his final photo taken in a Pyongyang supermarket as he descended an escalator.

Because that was the final image of the man it became inextricably linked to him and his legacy. The result of which was the escalator itself becoming a shrine to the fallen ruler. Video that was presumably released by the regime in the aftermath showed mourners crying and falling over the escalator while one one lamented “if only he could ride it again.”

5. The Oakland Median Buddha

The middle of Oakland, California may not seem like the natural place for a Buddhist shrine but that doesn’t change the fact there’s one there. The statue of Buddha and the accompanying shrine exist right in the median on a busy street. Complete with flowers and flags, members of the local Vietnamese community can be found praying there every day.

The shrine was never meant to be a shrine at all. Instead, a local resident who was annoyed with how much trash and vandalism kept happening in that spot went out and bought a cheap Buddha statue to put there in the hopes it would deter people. It was meant to be an aggravation at least, something to encourage people to move along.

While it may have worked for that purpose, it also started attracting Buddhists. Dozens of people started arriving to pray and make offerings while sprucing up the basic shrine into something a little fancier. It soon had a full enclosure and even a sound system to play soft music. Today it’s a tourist attraction as well as an active shrine and offerings are cleaned up every week.

4. Bangkok’s Naughty Beggar Shrine

In the north of Bangkok you’ll find the Chuchok Shrine, dedicated to a beggar who is said to have found good fortune as a result of actions in a past life. If you come to beg for the favor of Chuchok you need to appease him. And how do you do that? By getting a little dirty.

The way this kind of shrine works is you ask for a favor with a small offering. If the spirit grants it you have to return with a payment much bigger or else face the consequences. Chuchok is said to have been a lecherous man so the payments he likes include things like strippers doing dances. 

As the story goes, someone who begged Chuchok’s favor won the lottery years ago and returned with what are known as coyote dancers to put on a sexy show. Now it’s a standard thing for people to bring dancers hoping to get lucky, so to speak. 

3. The Mount Kemukus Sex Shrine

Any place colloquially known as Sex Mountain has to have an interesting story and that’s certainly true of Mount Kemukus. Muslim pilgrims travel to this Indonesian mountain in search of wealth, good fortune and all that sort of stuff. The way to get it is a little surprising, of course. 

Atop the mountain is a small shrine. Those who worship there are granted wealth and good fortune if they have sex every 35 days there for 7 consecutive times. The only catch is that they can’t be having sex with their spouse. Most people, it seems, just opt for anonymous fun.

As you can imagine, when this became internationally known it didn’t go over well for a lot of the more demure locals who don’t want to be known as sex pilgrim central. Attempts had been made to shut down the shrine or prohibit sex there which ended up destroying the local economy.

2. Mimizuka Ear Shrine

Not every shrine is goofy, sexy or weird, some are just plain grisly. The Mimizuka shrine in Kyoto, Japan is one of those ones. The shrine, a small hill with a stone structure on top, was built to house thousands and thousands of ears and noses which had been cut off of Korean soldiers during a 16th century war. 

Japan had tried invading Korea between 1592 and 1598. At the time it had been procedure to remove the head of an enemy as a trophy. But, since there was a lot of distance between the war and Japan, the decision was made to scale back and just take ears and noses as souvenirs of a kill.

The parts were returned to Japan, pickled to preserve them, and placed in the mound which literally translates to “Mound of Ears.” The remains of 38,000 Koreans are inside.

1. Thai Red Fanta Shrines

In Thailand belief in ghosts is par for the course. The people there often take a more active role with their spiritual leanings than they do in a country like the United States where a third of people admit to believing in ghosts. 

Believing in ghosts also means dealing with them for many Thai people. The easiest way to appease a spirit seems to be to keep it well fed. On the low end of the scale you can offer a ghost some water and rice but that’s pretty basic. Banana and coconut are a step up and will make a ghost happier. But the top shelf ghost treat seems to be Red Fanta. 

If you’re not familiar, Red Fanta is strawberry flavored soda. You can find cups and bottles of it at shrines all around Thailand. Bottles even have straws in them to make it easier for the spirits to get refreshed.

So why Red Fanta? It’s rather complicated and not fully understood. Offerings of “sweet water” for many spirits is common practice and soda fits that bill nicely. Red color is also something that draws inspiration from Chinese culture where red is a lucky color, not to mention blood which can represent both fertility and sacrifice in Thai culture. And at some point it seems like it just caught on, like being in the right place at the right time, and became the shrine offering of choice to the point that Thailand is the fourth largest market for Fanta in the world.