Top 5: Unusual haunts for Halloween
Over 40,000 people are buried at the Sedlec Ossuary
Creative Commons / goldberg
Devils, ghosts and other unearthly beings abound at these five alternative Halloween haunts, for those who like a little kitsch with their creep.
Creative Commons / Usien 4
It may not be hell, but you’ll find the devil in many forms at the Devils’ Museum in Kaunas, Lithuania. The museum is part of the Mikalojus Konstantinas Čurlionis National Art Museum and home to almost 3,000 devil statues, carvings and paintings, many of which belonged to an artist and private collector.
Visitors can meet devils from a number of Eastern European countries, as well as some brought as ‘presents’ by other guests. No need to fear though; in Lithuanian folklore, the devil is more trickster than sadist.
Creative Commons / dizznan 2
This, in fact, is hell: a welcome sign at the entrance to Wat Wang Saen Suk reminds visitors of their departure from the living and descent toward eternal reckoning. At this Buddhist monastery and others, hell gardens depict the punishment of sinners with statues of men and women, appearing bloody and tortured by monsters and spears.
They’re an entertaining, if gruesome alternative to the traditional haunted house - many Thai families use the graphic visuals to teach their children about morality.
Sedlec Ossuary, ‘The Church of Bones,’ Sedlec, Czech Republic
Creative Commons / lyng883
Over 400 years later, a local woodcarver was commissioned to display the bones within the church. The result: skeletal columns, a coat of arms, and a chandelier made out of every bone in the body.
The Devil’s Tramping Ground, Chatham County, North Carolina, USA
Creative Commons / Jdhorne
According to legend, the dark lord emerges here every evening to conjure up evils against humanity. Believers claim anything left overnight within the circle’s bounds will be thrown out by morning—except the trash left over from the previous night’s teenage party.
The Ghost City, Fengdu, China
Creative Commons / JackZalium2
Visit the Nothing-To-Be-Done Bridge and the Ghost Torturing Pass where spirits are judged and tested for evil. The massive Ghost King (138m tall, 217m wide) presides over the city from the mountainside.
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