Not All Vacations Are Spent At The Beach

More and more, tourists are opting for melancholy and macabre over carefree and relaxing. Dark tourism is when people go places where horrific things in human history have happened. Whether to satisfy some morbid curiosity, pay respects, or get a different take on history, visiting these places is chilling, unsettling, and oddly irresistible. Here are the world's most popular dark tourism destinations that'll surely creep you out.

United States Department of Defense on Wikimedia Commons

1. Auschwitz, Poland

Perhaps the most famous dark tourism destination, Auschwitz was the largest Nazi concentration camp during World War II where millions of people were killed. Now it's a memorial and a museum where visitors can see preserved barracks, gas chambers, and personal effects from people who died there.

xiquinhosilva on Wikimedia Commons

2. Pompeii, Italy

Certainly one of the most popular dark tourism spots in the world, Pompeii was an ancient Roman city that was covered in volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius exploded in 79 CE. The whole city perished but was preserved under the ash, running for their lives.

Jebulon on Wikimedia Commons

3. Chernobyl, Ukraine

Chernobyl is the site of the world's worst nuclear accident which occurred in 1986. The explosion spewed radioactive materials into the environment, making the whole area uninhabitable. The darkly curious enjoy traveling to the 20 mile exclusion zone around the site of the nuclear plant.

IAEA Imagebank on Wikimedia Commons

4. Peace Memorial Park - Hiroshima

Hiroshima was the first city to be completely devastated by a nuclear bomb in World War II.

One building that was totally burned out in the explosion now serves as a memorial where visitors can see personal items from the victims, pictures, and other mementos. 

Netherzone on Wikimedia Commons

5. Catacombs of Paris, France

The catacombs are a giant underground tomb housing the remains of thousands of Parisians. They were built in the 18th century in response to the city's cemeteries being overcrowded. Now, visitors can walk through eerie underground tunnels displaying thousands of neatly-stacked human bones. 

Dale Cruse on Wikimedia Commons

6. Ground Zero, USA

Ground Zero in New York City is where the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 took place. The location now serves as a memorial and museum to pay tribute to the thousands who lost their lives that day. 

FaceMePLS on Wikimedia Commons

7. Murambi Genocide Memorial, Rwanda

The Murambi Genocide Memorial is a former technical college where 50,000 of Rwanda's Tutsi ethnic minority sought refuge during the horrific Rwandan genocide. They were found by Hutu extremists who slaughtered them all. Now, this post serves as a memorial where visitors can see victims' bodies preserved in lime. 

Diego Tirira on Wikimedia Commons

8. Alcatraz Island, USA

Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay was once the most notorious prisons in the USA, infamous for its terrible living conditions and high-profile inmates. It's now a museum where visitors can check out the cells, isolation ward, and learn about the lives of the people who were kept there.

9. Sedlec Ossuary, Czech Republic

A short train ride from Prague sits the Sedlec Ossuary, a cathedral constructed from human bones. The original church was built in the 13th century but got embellished with the bones in 1870. Despite its creepiness, it's considered a very holy site for the Czech and you have to appreciate the artistry.

Interfase on Wikimedia Commons

10. Cellular Jail, India

Cellular Jail was a notoriously inhumane British colonial prison in India on some remote islands about 600 miles away from India's coast. Anyone fighting for the country's independence would be shipped off here to contain revolutionary ideas. It now serves as a memorial, museum, and art gallery.

Jomesh at Malayalam on Wikimedia Commons

11. Robben Island, South Africa

Robben Island is the site a maximum security prison 8 miles off the coast of Cape Town that famously housed Nelson Mandela. Since the abolition of Apartheid, the island has served as a memorial and can be visited through tours guided by ex-prisoners. 

© Moheen Reeyad on Wikimedia Commons

12. Jallian Wala Bagh, India

India's Jallian Wala Bagh was the site of a horrific massacre that occurred in 1919 when British soldiers fired without warning into a crowd of peaceful protesters, killing hundreds. It now stands as a memorial where visitors can still see bullet holes in the walls. 

Iramuthusamy on Wikimedia Commons

13. Choeung Ek, Cambodia

Located around six miles from the country's capital is a former orchard turned mass grave holding the bodies of over 20,000 victims of the notorious Khmer Rouge regime's brutal torture.

There now sits a large glass Buddhist stupa holding about 5,000 skulls excavated from the graves. 

Jakub Hałun on Wikimedia Commons

14. Ijen Crater, Java

This 2000-foot wide, 650-foot deep crater is the site of the world's largest acid crater lake where visitors can see striking turquoise waters and blue flames at night caused by fuming gases. It's also the site of a labour-intensive sulfur mining operation where workers toil in hazardous conditions for low pay. 

Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas on Wikimedia Commons

15. Aokigahara Forest, Japan

Aokigahara Forest on Mount Fiji in Japan is also referred to as "suicide forest". It's a gorgeous forest but unfortunately, it's not famous for its natural beauty but instead for the thousands of people who have taken their own lives here. 

Guilhem Vellut on Wikimedia Commons

16. The Museum of Free Derry, Ireland

The Museum of Free Derry in Northern Ireland was the site of the Bloody Sunday Massacre in which 13 Irish protesters were shot by British troops. The museum focuses on the nationalist movement referred to as "The Troubles" that lasted from the 1960s to the 1990s in Ireland and was rife with violence.

Kenneth Allen on Wikimedia Commons

17. Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands

This group of islands surrounding a lagoon is where the US military detonated over 20 nuclear devices in the Cold War era. The radioactive fallout from one of the nuclear tests sank ten ships and displaced the island's inhabitants. Scuba diving enthusiasts visit the site for some of the best shipwreck diving in the world.

United States Department of Defense on Wikimedia Commons

18. Titanic Quarter, Ireland

Belfast's number one tourist attraction is where the infamous Titanic was built and launched. The museum tells the story of the ship from its creation to its tragic sinking in which over 1,500 people died.

Joseph Mischyshyn on Wikimedia Commons

19. Londres 38, Chile

In Chile, there are a number of sites to commemorate all the lives lost during the brutal rule of dictator Augusto Pinochet, one of the most famous being Londres 38 torture house, where Pinochet's opponents were detained and tortured. It's now open to the public and offers guided discussions aimed at educating visitors about what transpired there.

Ursula Eggers G on Wikimedia Commons

20. Magadan, Russia

Soviet-era Siberia is synonymous with gulags, the most famous of which is Magadan. Located in an extremely remote area of Eastern Siberia, just the journey to get here isn't for the faint of heart and entails driving on the world's longest road "The Road of Bones". But for anyone with a morbid curiosity and fascination with communist history, it's a must-see. 

Missy Leone on Wikimedia Commons