5 spooky places to visit for Halloween

If you're looking for the right place to spend the scariest Halloween ever, this October 31 try to visit one of these 5 of the creepiest and most spooky places in the world!
 

1- Bran Castle, Romania

Home of Vlad the Impaler, better known as Dracula, the bloodthirsty ruler upon whom the legends are based. Here you can visit the Count's castle, sleep in a hotel, and eat at a Dracula-themed restaurant. 

For Halloween, you can visit Bran Castle on a midnight tour and attend the famous Halloween party in the citadel of Sighisoara, Vlad's birthplace. The Sighisoara festival, one of the most unique Halloween celebrations in the world, includes a magic show, a costume contest, and a spectacular howling-at-the-moon contest!

Closest airport: Tirgu Mures

2- Samhain Fire Festival, Scotland

Halloween comes from a Celtic festival called Samhain, which marks the transition from summer to winter. It is still celebrated every year in Edinburgh with the Samhain Fire Festival.

The festival is a unique spectacle: mythical creatures parade around beating drums and spitting fire as they make their way down Edinburgh's historic Royal Mile to West Parliament Square, where the battle between summer and winter takes place. No tickets are required, but if you'd like to leave a donation for the demons passing through the crowd they'll appreciate it.

Closest airport: Edinburgh

 

3- Yue Lan, Hong Kong

Halloween is a hit in Hong Kong because it coincides with Yue Lan, the "Festival of Hungry Ghosts." Yue Lan is an ancient Buddhist festival that honors the ancestors and marks a time when the world of the living and the dead are open to each other. During the night, Hong Kong is littered with altars, incense, and lamps, left as offerings to appease the ghosts of the ancestors. The city then takes on a creepy look, only to return to normal with fun and themed parties throughout the rest of Halloween night.

Closest airport: Hong Kong

4- Sedlec Ossuary, Czech Republic

The Sedlec Ossuary, on the outskirts of Kutná Hora, is called the "Church of Bones." Indeed, the interior is adorned with between 40,000 and 70,000 human skeletons dating back to the 1200s, artistically arranged and carved in 1870 by František Rint, a local woodcarver. In the center of the church looms the most famous work: an impressively structured chandelier made of almost every bone in the human body. The church can only be visited during the day, but if you want to prepare for Halloween night with a visit to a scary place, this is the place to be!

Closest airport: Pardubice

5- Sleepy Hollow, USA

The setting of the scary story of the headless horseman, by Washington Irving. Known the world over thanks in part to Tim Burton's 1999 film, locals honor the Sleepy Hollow legend with events throughout October, including street fairs and parades.

On evening lantern-lit tours you'll be taken through Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, the final resting place of Washington Irving and alleged vampire Barnabas Collins. Lyndhurst Castle, on the other hand, offers a more family-friendly haunted tour.

Closest airport: Westchester County