25 Most Terrifying Places On Earth

Ilha da Queimada Grande is an island off the coast of Brazil, and though it has beautiful jungle scenery and potential majestic beachside sunset views, you wouldn't want to be close enough to find out. There's a good chance you've heard of Ilha da Queimada Grande already, but you probably know it by its more common name: Snake Island.

It doesn't really matter if you have a fear of snakes at all, if you have any semblance of our ancient forefathers' survival instincts left, you'll be terrified of Snake Island. This island is home to thousands of, as the late Steve Irwin would put it, "absolute beauties" or "deadly venomous snakes." The golden lancehead viper can kill a person with a single bite, and they're at the top of the food chain on Ilha da Queimada Grande. There's literally nothing on the ground capable of eating these slithering predators.

Due to the danger Snake Island and its vipers pose, visitors can't touch shore without approval from the Brazilian government and marking off a checklist of credentials. But unless you're a very specified herpetologist, you probably wouldn't want to go near the island to begin with.

If there's one thing people think of when they hear the words "Southeast Asia," it's pirates. Okay, maybe not, but in the 500 miles of water that separates Indonesia and Malaysia, known as The Strait of Malacca, pirates should definitely be on your mind. The pirates of today aren't all peg legs, eye patches, and yo-ho like the pirates of yesteryear, but they're certainly just as much of a danger to civilian crafts and shipping vessels. Maybe more so since our modern technology means modern navigation methods and modern weapons.

The strait was the site of nearly 70 acts of piracy or attempted acts of piracy in 2021 alone, according to Statista. That accounts for more than half the pirate attacks worldwide. Malacca Strait pirates aren't exactly after gold and treasure, but they've been known to steal millions of dollars worth of fuel from tankers, cash, any equipment that might be worth a buck, and, of course, cargo.

Aolkigahara Forest on the main island of Honshu, Japan, is both an eerie place and a tragically sad one. Located at the foot of the majestic Mt. Fuji, one of the world's greatest mountains, the beauty of this forest stands arguably unrivaled. And maybe it's that beauty that's drawn so many to take their lives in the wood colloquially named "Suicide Forest."

The first thing you'll notice upon entering Aokigahara is a sign that talks about the precious nature of life, reminding those set on ending their existence about the loved ones they'd be leaving behind. The sign was posted due to the number of suicides that happened in the forest. In the two years between 2013 and 2015, more than 100 victims have succumbed to their dark thoughts in Aokigahara, and it's not entirely uncommon for visitors to find others when visiting the forest today.

The cause of the tragic phenomenon isn't known for certain. It could be that those unfortunate souls wanted to move on in peace, undisturbed in their act. Maybe they felt like a forest away from town would remove much of the burden that comes with stumbling upon the scene or provide camaraderie with those who'd taken their lives in the forest previously. Or maybe, there's something else at work we don't yet understand. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.

The Sedlec Ossuary in Kutná Hora, Czech Republic, which is only about an hour's drive from Prague, is a place of macabre fascination and horror. There's a certain beauty in the artistry at Sedlec Ossuary if you happen to have a fascination with death, dark tourism, or artwork drawn from the creepiest part of the human mind. However, if you get chills in graveyards or at mortuaries, you may be absolutely scared to death. Or scared by death, if you catch our drift.

Imagine entering a Roman Catholic chapel where the archways were made of real human remains, with the empty wells of sockets that once housed living eyes staring down at you from chandeliers constructed of bone and skull, and you'll get a pretty good sense of Sedlec Ossuary. Cherubs blowing golden trumpets sit upon pedestals of what appears to the imagination as a collection of skulls from their conquered adversaries. The prominently displayed coat of arms is likewise constructed of human remains, as are the ornate crosses, decorative garlands, and wall fixtures. Death is the theme of this Church of Bones.

If you were ever so inclined to feel our nomadic ancestors' primal fear when they hiked across miles of empty country in search of migrating game or fresh resources, Skeleton Coast is the place you want to be. This place is truly eerie. The area on the northern coast of Namibia, known as Skeleton Coast, is 300 miles deep of nothingness. To complete the scene, uncountable animal bones are scattered around the ocean shore. It's uncertain whether they were washed up from the current or left by dying animals on a desperate search for lifesaving water or food that was never fulfilled.

Food is scarce on Skeleton Coast, to say the least, but so is everything else other than dirt and sand. The idea of breaking down here with no contact, left in the vast emptiness with no one to save you, no food to eat, no fresh water to drink, and hundreds of miles to hike to the nearest human settlement is absolute terror. The only thing to keep you company would be the Sun-whitened bones and the wreckage of ships that couldn't tame the Atlantic you found along the beach.

Haw Par Villa in Singapore is a Chinese cultural museum that showcases traditional Chinese mythology with statuesque scenes and exhibits that are pure artistry. It's also home to Hell's Museum, which serves intentionally or unintentionally as a way to revisit traditional spiritual morality. Hell's Museum — again, intentionally or unintentionally — has the added benefit of being absolutely terrifying, a perfect way to trick children into minding their Ps and Qs.

Some of the exhibits you'll find in cavern-like displays include a court of judgment, where sinners' souls are sent to one of 18 levels of Hell, depending upon the level of their indiscretions; bodies impaled on the pikes of demons while roasting over hellish flames; and creatures chucking the damned into pits of spikes and beating them. Children will surely be horrified by the statues partially stripped of clothing while having body parts removed and butchered bodies on a chopping block, all while being reminded that this Hell awaits those who refuse to properly behave. But when it's all said and done, you can play a fun little tug-of-war game between a scene of heavenly clouds and one of hellfire. That's a bright side, right?

In the middle of Pennyslvania is an old mining town by the name of Centralia that once lived and breathed everything coal. These days, Centralia is basically a ghost town, and for good reason, and it's scary enough to have inspired the Silent Hill franchise. Centralia comes with all the usual creepy qualities of an abandoned town, but it has some other unique ones as well. One thing you'll notice if you ever visit, which you probably shouldn't, is the random smoke wafting against a backdrop of rundown and missing buildings. Why? The same coal that once was the town's lifeblood was also its undoing.

In 1962, the mines caught fire. Though the origin of this fire is debated, the results were the same. The mine was alit and filled with toxic smoke, killing jobs for much of Centralia's workforce. That's enough of a reason for people to abandon a town, but it gets worse. The fire is still burning beneath the town today and could continue to do so for the next 500 years, according to WGAL News. The flames heated underground gas storage for pump stations, opened sinkholes filled with deadly gasses, and began to swallow the town. The people left and never returned, listening to the signs posted warning visitors to turn back under fear of injury or death. This may be one of America's most chilling abandoned places.

The abandoned ghost town of Pripyat in Ukraine is directly linked to the Chornobyl incident discussed above. The city is only about a ten-minute drive from the power plant and was one of the first places evacuated during the Chornobyl Accident due to that proximity. The townspeople departed in a hurry, leaving behind their belongings as a snapshot of life that seemed to have rotted away. Very much like a 20th-century Roanoke, minus the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree, of course.

One of the creepier sights to behold is the abandoned Farris wheel standing in a vacant parking lot, rusting in its loneliness. The silence where life should be will bring you goosebumps, and the dolls placed in bedrooms from their last play with the children who abandoned them in the pursuit of safety will supply the chills. Buildings are degrading with the flow of time, and the wild is beginning to consume the evidence of humanity at Pripyat one brick at a time. Standing in the town will make you feel like you're witnessing the aftermath of an apocalypse, and for the people who once lived here, it was basically just that.

Around the village of Sagada in the Philippines, you'll notice what some may deem a horrifying sight. Instead of burning their dead in the ground, out of view, the locals hang their deceased in coffins along the cliffsides, one above another. This can be quite eerie to those from Western cultures, where we prefer the dead to be hidden in the ground or in stone mausoleums. The superstitious might find it difficult to hang around Sagada at all, and those still uneasy about their mortality may become more so in the presence of the deceased above them.

These coffins are typically weathered, which seems to add to the eeriness. Tied with rope or hung with nails, these resting places aren't the most secure, and though it probably doesn't happen often, there's always a chance of one tumbling down. So, add the possibility of a jump scare to the list.

It's important to remember that though these coffins may be horrifying to outside cultures, they serve a purpose for the Igorot tribe of Sagada and are meant to elevate their loved ones closer to the realm of their ancestors. If dark tourism ever drives you to visit the area, make sure to treat it with the same respect you would any other holy site.

The site of Pompeii in Campania, Italy, is both fascinating and terrifying. In A.D. 79, Mount Vesuvius, a rather large volcano, blew its top, so to speak. The eruption was massive, and the age was too early for any sort of accurate predictions of the timing of natural disasters or where they might strike. Ash and stone rained down from the sky. Toxic gasses filled the atmosphere. Citizens of Pompeii were wiped from life but not from the Earth. The colossal amount of ash released in the eruption buried the city, preserving it for more than a millennium and a half before it was rediscovered in the 1700s. Had the citizens of Pompeii known more about conventional geology, they would've known the city was built on the site of a previous eruption.

Human remains that decomposed in the debris would've virtually disappeared with any other deadly phenomena, but thanks to the ash formed around them, hollows were preserved that granted a window into their tragic deaths. Later, these hollows were cast in plaster and put on display, assuming the positions the living took in an attempt to brave the disaster. These displays, coupled with the history of Pompeii, are tragic and horrifying. The physical reminder of how quickly life can end is truly a grim thing to behold.

Once the seat of power for an entire kingdom in the 17th century, Bhangarh Fort in India was likely a beautiful place with a palace, stables, housing, the whole nine yards. Since those days, it's been reduced to weathered ruins, as typically happens when time moves forward and buildings are left with no one to preserve them. What isn't so typical is the fort's current inhabitants: restless spirits.

The fort is believed to be the most haunted place in India, and good luck convincing locals otherwise. Legend says that any visitor who goes into Bhangarh Fort after dark will perish, and the people in the area take this myth quite seriously. In fact, so does the government. It's actually illegal to enter the fort at night, and signs are posted everywhere warning potential victims of ghastly phenomena to turn back before the sun sets.

The story behind the hauntings goes as such: A queen who ruled the fort was cursed by a man who vied for her affections after she'd turned him down. The curse was meant to destroy the fort and all those inside, so some of them fled. The village was destroyed, and those who remained at Bhangarh are still there, plaguing the grounds, unable to move on.

This one goes out to everyone terrified of the creepy crawlers of the world. The Gomantong Caves in Borneo, Malaysia, are absolutely packed with some of the critters known to rub people the wrong way and invoke unjustified terror in certain folks. To add insult to injury, the cave system is just that, and we know there are those of you out there with fears of the dark or of enclosed, cramped spaces. But the real draw here (or aversion, in this case) is the animal life.

Inside the rocky cave, visitor's sensibilities are assaulted from every direction. Above, you can spot the countless bats clinging to the ceiling or flying overhead. Below, the swarms of giant cockroaches sift through the guano that lines the cave floor. According to Wildlife World, 27 different species of bats live within this cave, along with a handful of species of cave-dwelling birds known as swiftlets. While the number of species here is impressive, the sheer number of bats in the caves is insane, with an estimated 2 million of the winged mammals calling Gomantong home. The roaches likely number in the millions as well, but since they're so packed into tight droves that make the rocks seem to move of their accord, they're difficult to count.

Mount Hua, located in China's Shaanxi Province, is a jagged monstrosity of rock that rises high into the skyline. It's a beautiful mountain with religious significance tied to the Taoist temple at its base, which is probably a good stop for most people who don't want to go on the most terrifying hike of their lives up the mountainside.

To hike to the southern peak of Mount Hua, over 7,000 feet in the air, adventurers have to walk an uneasy path, literally. The way up is a walkway fastened to the sheer side of the mountain. Thin, old wooden planks separate you from a fall that guarantees your death if you don't choose to rent one of the safety harnesses. There's no guard rail, and it's easy to become disoriented while looking down. Nowadays, many hikers taking the mountain path are harnessed for their safety, but with the walkway being only a few feet wide, anchored in the way it is, and with people hiking in both directions, you don't have to be acrophobic to find this place horrifying. Drop a small pebble off the walkway, and you'll see why.