Creepy Scottish street, stalked by ghosts of plague victims, named the world’s most haunted place
IF you’re a fan of Halloween season and love being scared out of your wits, trick and treated and generally have a frightfully fun time then you’ll be dying to head to some of the world’s most haunted places.
In the last 30 days searches for ‘the ten most haunted places in the world’ have seen a rise in 129 per cent on the internet, so you are not alone as thrill-seekers and ghost hunters plan spooky adventures.
The travel experts at Planet Cruise delved into TripAdvisor data to reveal the most haunted destinations from all corners of the globe.
And Scotland came out top in the terror stakes!
With the greatest number of ‘scary’ and ‘spooky’ mentions on Tripadvisor and a scare rating of 4.5, as well as clocking up 1.4 million views on TikTok alone, Mary King’s Close in Edinburgh has emerged as the most haunted hotspot in the world.
Situated under Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, Mary King’s Close was where the poor people lived and worked between the 1600-1800s and was badly hit during the deadly plague.
Unbelievably the close was boarded up with the people trapped inside, left to die.
It’s well known for the ghostly appearances of many of the victims, with lots of visitors reporting seeing apparitions of Annie, a little ghost girl.
A medium claimed to see the little girl crying in the corner, saying she had lost her life to the plague and talking about a doll she had lost and ever since, visitors have been leaving dolls and gifts in that corner of the room.
One TikTok user replied: “My top got tugged on each side in the vaults, I told my friend afterwards it was like a child trying to get my attention.”
Halloween lovers need to take a tour with The Real Mary King’s Close (rated on TripAdvisor as being in the top-10 of all experiences in the UK), the perfect way to celebrate the ominous side of Edinburgh’s past with both Lantern Led and True Crimes Tours on offer.
On the “True Crimes Tour” a guide will lead visitors on a journey through Edinburgh’s forgotten streets and the dark details of many criminal misdemeanours and will delve into the reign of James VI, the rise of the witch trials and the link that Mary King’s Close has to the infamous character that likely inspired The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
For those brave enough to descend underground onto Mary King’s Close at night, the Lantern Led Tours will shine a light (or lack of) onto Edinburgh’s history, illuminating the lives and deaths of former residents throughout time.
Guests will descend into complete darkness, with the only light source being the flicker of their lanterns.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of The Real Mary King’s Close. The visitor attraction has welcomed over 3.5 million guests, providing scare and frights galore. See realmarykingsclose
Second on the spooky list is Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. One of the world’s most famous prisons it saw suicides, murders and torture taking place. If you’re lucky enough to visit at Halloween, you can scare yourself silly at one of the five pop-up haunted houses.
The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado was third and was the hotel which initially sparked inspiration for Stephen King’s book, The Shining. Flickering lights, objects moving by themselves, and shadowy figures have all been reported.
Room 217 in particular is said to be haunted by a ghost called Mrs. Wilson, who was one of the housekeepers back in the early 1900s.
See here for the world’s top ten most haunted hotspots.
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