There are many truly bizarre places that can be found all over the world. Some are known for their strange natural occurrences, while others are man-made. If you’re looking to visit a strange place or two, you might want to consider some of the following.
La Isla de las Muñecas in Mexico
La Isla de las Muñecas, also known as the Island of the Dolls, is located south of Mexico City in Xochimico. Its creepy decor can be traced back to a legend about a little girl that drowned in one of the canals. The locals claim that the dolls are possessed by the spirit of the girl and that they’ve seen them turn their heads, move their limbs, and even heard them whispering to one another. The island belonged to Don Julián Santana Barrera, who is also responsible for gathering all the dolls.
According to legend, one day he found a little girl who had drowned in one of the Xochiomico canals. He also found a doll floating in the canal and assumed it had belonged to the girl. He hung the doll from a tree as a sign of respect. Shortly after, he began hearing whispers and footsteps, even though he was alone on the island. He believed that the spirit of the drowned girl is responsible and so he spent the next 50 years gathering dolls and hanging them all around the island in order to appease her. In 2001, Julián was found dead in the same place where the little girl had drowned.
The Hoia Baciu Forest in Romania
The Hoia Baciu Forest is sometimes called the Romanian Bermuda Triangle. It’s located west of the town of Cluj-Napoca and has quite the reputation for its alleged paranormal phenomena. In 1968, Emil Barnea took his famous photograph of a UFO here. Since then, several people have claimed to have seen UFOs in the area.
In 1960, a professor of biology by the name of Alexandru Sift studied the phenomenon of light and magnetism in the forest. Most of the photos were lost shortly after Sift’s death but Adrian Pătruț has continued Sift’s work and published some of the remaining photos in his books.
There have also been accounts of people entering the forest and never returning. We can’t say if any of this is true or not but if you’re brave enough, you can visit the forest for yourself and then message us with your experiences.
The Door to Hell in Turkmenistan
The Door to Hell is a crater in the desert near the village of Derweze in Turkmenistan. It’s over 60 meters wide and more than 20 meters deep. In 1971, the crater was accidentally created by Soviet scientists who were looking for natural gas reserves. As they were drilling, the ground collapsed and methane gas began escaping out of the newly-created crater. The scientists realized the danger of methane gas and decided to set the crater on fire, believing that the gas will burn out in a while. 45 years have passed since then and the crater is still burning.
The Bosnian Pyramids
Some say that the largest pyramids in the world are located in Bosnia near the town of Visoko, northwest of Sarajevo. Semir Osmanagić, an amateur archaeologist, is one of those people. He discovered the pyramids in 2005 and gave them poetic names. Visočica hill was named Pyramid of the Sun and the nearby mountains were given names such as Pyramid of the Moon, Pyramid of the Earth, etc. Semir has changed his story several times but he claims that the pyramid in Bosnia might be the “mother of all pyramids”. However, top scientists from all over the world see the Bosnian Pyramids as a hoax. That doesn’t seem to deter tourists of souvenir vendors.
Pripyat in Ukraine
Pripyat is an abandoned town in the east of the Ukraine, near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The town was built in 1970 and housed around 50 000 employees of the power plant. After the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, the town was abandoned and became a ghost town. The disaster took place on the 26th of April at 01:23 AM, but the citizens of Pripyat weren’t informed until the 27th of April when the evacuation of the town began. They were told that they’ll be only gone for a short time but none of them ever returned to Pripyat. The town still shows levels of radiation and may be dangerous to visit.
The Catacombs of Paris
The Paris Catacombs are a network of over 190 kilometers of underground tunnels that run underneath the entire city. The first tunnels were dug in the 18th Century and their walls were blessed. At the time, the cemeteries of Paris were at their full capacity and so the bodies of the deceased were brought down to the catacombs. It’s estimated that around 7 million bodies were brought there by the year 1814. Today, only 2 kilometers of the tunnels are available to tourists. If you ever find yourself visiting the catacombs, be sure to bring a jacket. You’ll be going 20 meters underground and, even though it’s warm outside, the catacombs will be cold. The entrance to the catacombs is located near the Denfert-Rochereau station.
