As Halloween is just around the corner, we’ve put together some of Europe‘s spookiest attractions which may be of interest to you. Whether you’re a fan of dark tourism, or just fancy getting spooked during your next adventure, there are some eerily good destinations that are well worth a visit. So, get your passports at the ready, and prepare to get well and truly spooked….

The Catacombs of Palermo, Sicily, Italy

Image copyright: Gandolfo Cannatella

With around 8000 mummified bodies in various stages of preservation and decay, it’s hard not to feel on edge at this strange Sicilian tourist attraction. Around 400 years ago, when local monks ran out of space in the monastery graveyard, it was decided that bodies would be kept below the church. The corpses were dressed in their Sunday best and hung upright against the walls – if that’s not scary enough, dead babies were also placed in transparent coffins. In an attempt to preserve the bodies the corpses were opened shortly after death and all the vital organs removed. The shell was then stuffed with hay and left in the sun to dry. Despite this, the corpses are in various states of decay and half-decomposed flaky skeletons really are the stuff of nightmares. Visit if you dare!

Hoia Baciu Forest, Romania

Located in Dracula’s Transylvania, this mysterious wood has been dubbed the Bermuda Triangle of Eastern Europe, and rightly so. Local villagers are convinced that the forest is haunted, with reports of mysterious burns, migraines, rashes and anxiety attacks taking place on those who dare enter its realms. There have also been plenty of strange sightings with photos of UFOS and lights, plus misshapen trees, charred branches and a mysterious circular clearing in the centre of the forest. With so many reports, it’s enough to chill the spine of even the most sceptical visitor – enter at your peril!

Pripyat, Ukraine

This ghost town in Northern Ukraine has an atmosphere lifted straight from a post-apocalyptic horror film. Deserted since the infamous nuclear accident that took place on 26 April 1986, a morbid twist of fate has meant that 30 years on, this eerie town is now an alternative tourist destination. Contained inside a forest, the town remains untouched since the day it was evacuated – its buildings in varying states of decay, like a strange, living museum. With radiation levels still questionable, brave visitors must be granted access and scanned for absorbed doses of radiation upon leaving. If the ‘safe’ level is exceeded, then visitors are given a chemical shower! Despite this, the town attracts many artists and photographers keen to embrace the peculiar atmosphere.

The SS America, Fuerteventura, Spain

Dating back to 1939, this vessel spent half a century serving the Royal Navy before being sold to a Thai company who planned to renovate it into a floating hotel in the popular holiday resort of Phuket. However, while being towed from Greece, the vessel was caught in a thunderstorm, which led to it being wrecked off the coast of Fuerteventura. Its remains were never salvaged, and to this day it remains upright in the unforgiving Atlantic, an eerie spectacle and an ode to the unearthly power of the sea.

Bran Castle, Transylvania, Romania

Back to Romania, this spooky castle is located in the world-renowned region of Transylvania, and features in Bram Stoker’s Dracula which is synonymous with blood-hungry vampires. Although mostly fictional, the novel is inspired by history, and the area was once home to the infamous Romanian ruler Vlad III who was known for impaling 20,000 of his own people and positioning their lifeless bodies around the town to deter an opposing army. The area’s bloody history combined with folklore make this castle an incredibly frightening attraction.