As it draws nearer and nearer to our odd festival of Halloween, it is time to focus a little on things in this world that are “spooky”. I tend to steer away from all things scary and my children are still spooked relatively easy so we aren’t going to many haunted houses or wearing anything super freaky these days.
Yet there have been a few things that I’ve seen or experienced during my travels that I found spooky. Thanks to wonderfully creative Ailsa from Where’s my Backpack for getting me to rethink spooky this week with her spooky travel theme. Here are my top scariest shots along with why I found them spooky.
“Haunted House” – somewhere along the Costa Rican countryside
During a volunteer trip to Costa Rica a few years ago, we took a visit to the countryside to see a volcano and stopped at the infamous, legendary Haunted House. Per our local guide, legend has it that the “Haunted” House was once a hospital for Tuberculosis patients back in 1914, then was turned into a prison later on. After the volcano erupted in 1963 the place was abandoned and has become a major tourist attraction ever since because locals believe it is haunted. We tried to go in it but it was closed due to a movie being filmed. The house reminded me of the set of the movie “The Shining” (which still freaks me out). It was very spooky looking, and the fog made it even more frightening. I wouldn’t want to go in. I guess I’ve watched too many horror movies in my days.
Staying in a fenceless safari camp
In 2004, my dad and I went to a private game reserve in South Africa and spent three nights in a fenceless safari camp. We were not allowed to leave our tents at night for animals had free range of the reserve. One night we followed a pair of lions on a night safari which made me realize just how close these majestic, fierce animals were to my bed. It was a bit unnerving but amazing as well.
Hiking a volcano at 5 am
Last April, when I was in Guatemala I rose at 4 am to start my morning hike up a volcano. It was pitch black when we began and just me and my guide. It spooked me a bit as I’d heard some stories about attacks that had happened on tourists in this area. The agency told me it was “safe” yet my heart still skipped a beat every time I heard a noise. Once on top, I was stunned to see a live volcano directly across from me erupt. I had no idea it was active and would erupt so close by!
Here is how close it was….
Chinese Ghost Towns
I had heard about the “Chinese Ghost Towns” before visiting China last year. Due to an enormous real estate bubble, huge developments of cities in the middle of nowhere had been half-built and abandoned. We saw a startling amount of these ghost towns as we took the five hour train from Beijing to Shanghai. It was really really freaky for some reason. They didn’t even remove the cranes!
Hiking on a live glacier in Iceland and stepping over the “holes”
Growing up in Minnesota, land of over 10,000 lakes, has always made me have a fear of falling through the ice. I’ve heard countless horrifying stories of people being trapped under the ice. Thus when we hiked on a live glacier in Iceland I was a bit weary of the large crevasses that dotted the glacier. One slip and down you go hundreds of feet. No thanks!
What scares you?
This post is in response to Where’s my Backpack’s travel theme Spooky. To see more, click here.
amazing adventures!
Thanks!
Great Post and certainly some of these are spooky – like imagine hearing a lion in the pitch dark! I do not care for the 8-legged creatures – ha! Happy Weekend:)
Oh….I didn’t even mention those! I am freaked out by tarantulas. I saw my share in AZ where my parents live and almost stepped on one once. …..
Great pics for the theme, Nicole. You certainly done some things in your life that would have spooked me out, for sure.
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Wow – quite a variety of spooky shots – and a little spooky that you found yourself so close to an erupting volcano!
Thanks!
Great post,, love the lion shot! A spooky travel moment for me was arriving in Bucharest by car at night. We could hear children playing, but could not see them (or anything else…it was just after the revolution, and there wasn’t a bulb over 25 watts in the entire country…and none at all to light the streets).
Thanks Anita! That sounds very scary as well! I’ve never been to Romania but would love to go! Someday!!!
such great images…when i was in Africa we had to make sure the tents were far enough apart so the elephants would meander through instead of over you. One night we went out and sat listening the the lions purring – it scares me now when I think of how close we must have been to them
Wow, that is REALLY freaky! I would have not slept a wink!
I was an idjit back then and slept like a baby. A few months later a girl left her zipper open on her tent and a lion pulled her out by her legs and attacked.
That Costa Rican countryside looks really haunted. I get really scared with spooky stuff, I’m not a fan of halloween either.
Fantastic post! I found the African game reserves to be extremely spooky as well. The hiking on the live glacier; however, must have been amazing. That would totally freak me out (especially the whole “trapped under the ice” bit) *shivers*.
Thanks!
Great photos and wonderful stories of your adventure! Just looking at the Iceland “holes” freaks me out …
Thanks! Me too…..:)
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There were some scary moments while sleeping in tents in Africa, including one time when a couple of the guys on our safari pretended to be warthogs in the middle of the night
But one of the scariest places I’ve visited is Port Arthur in Tasmania, Australia, where I did the ‘ghost tour’. Port Arthur was established as a penal settlement in 1830 and for many convicts it was a living hell. There have been an unprecedented number of strange occurrences and unexplained sightings here since the 1870s, and some people believe that the spirits have been disturbed due to the restoration and archaeological work that has occurred there. Some of the ghost encounters have involved tragic figures, frequently angry or aggressive, and there have been strange reports of sudden drops in temperature in one building and of visitors inexplicably bursting into tears.
Funnily, I wrote an article about the ghost tour of Port Arthur and actually scared myself when I read the final draft
Great pics! Just thinking about The Shining gives me the creeps..
Thanks!
Fantastic photos and fascinating stories!
Thanks!