✦ The day that celebrates all things scary is fast approaching so we thought we would throw forward five suggestions that are guaranteed to scare you out of your wits on Halloween!
They are not all thematically-linked to the famous October 31st date but we are pretty confident each one in its own right will induce that combination of uneasy nausea, wobbly legs and hairs standing on the back of your neck!
Visit a haunted house or take a ghost tour
Let’s be honest, there’s not much scarier than the concept of a haunted house! The staple of spooky stories and horror movies since the genre began, haunted houses are literally the bricks and mortar that are guaranteed to chill you to the bone, be it the comedic variety at a fun fair or the more serious and sinister types that carry far more credibility. McKamey Manor in Summertown, Tennessee, USA claims to be the world’s scariest haunted house demanding an exhaustive list of prerequisite requirements prior to entry and even offering a US$20,000 reward to people who manage to survive over 10 hours within its confines. Their website states that “Each guest will be mentally and physically challenged until you reach your personal breaking point” so maybe actually managing to claim the dosh will be harder than initially anticipated!
Wanderlust lists 10 different haunted sites throughout the world, including in France, England,
India, South Africa, Monte Cristo Homestead in New South Wales and The Separate Prison at Port Arthur in Tasmania. Similarly, there are a variety of chilling ghost tours accessible throughout the world such as an after-dark walking tour of New Orleans, widely regarded as the most haunted city in the USA, a bus tour of the sinister streets of London including visits to Sweeney Todd’s and Jack the Ripper’s old haunts, a walking tour of old town Prague’s spooky spots, a tour of the Catacombs of Paris and the Rose Hall night-tour in Montego Bay, Jamaica where the White Witch is said to linger. Viator and Afar both provide a great list of options that are guaranteed to offer something that will scare, whether you actually believe in ghosts or not!
Go for a walk in the woods
Forests are a perplexing phenomena in that they can be devastatingly beautiful demonstrations of nature while also appearing like the creepiest places on earth! There are a couple of extra creepy infamous forests that you could visit if you felt brave enough, especially on Halloween. The first is the Aokigahara Forest northwest of Mount Fuji in Japan, almost 14 square miles of forest so thick it is known as the “sea of trees.” Unfortunately, after the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA, the location sees the second-highest rate of suicides in the world and as such has taken on a sinister reputation as being haunted. Add to the mix that the forest is also believed to contain centuries-old mythological Japanese ghosts filled with anger and vengefulness known as yūrei, it is a brave person that takes a hike in these woods.
However, our next destination even out-spooks the renowned Aokigahara Forest.
The Hoia Baciu Forest in Romania is considered the most haunted forest in the world. The fact it sits in Transylvania, the mythical home of Dracula merely adds to the terror!
Named after a shepherd and his 200 sheep that went missing in the forest and were never seen again, Hoia Baciu Forest has a reputation for intense paranormal activity and unexplained events. These include ghost sightings, images appearing in photographs that were not visible to the naked eye, the failure of electronic devices, reported sightings of UFOs and a five-year-old girl who disappeared there only to reappear exactly five years later wearing the same clothes but who had not aged a single day and could not recall where she had been! Creepy!! Visitors tell of strange feelings and symptoms being induced such as severe anxiety, nausea, high fever, rashes, headaches and the feeling of being watched. The large, looming trees, twisted at the trunk into images that are enough to scare on their own, set a landscape that is truly bizarre and often inexplicable, in fitting with its tag of one of the most paranormal sites in the world. Visit if you dare and at your own peril!
Take a leap of faith
For those suffering from acrophobia, why not use Halloween as a positive to conquer your fear of heights by taking a bungee jump or even a skydive? Jumping from a high structure such as a bridge while attached to an elastic rope is all but certain to eliminate those jitters and there are options to do exactly this in many places all over the world although if you want to jump from what is currently officially the highest commercial bungee jump site in the world at 260 metres above sea level then you will have to head to the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge in Hunan Province.
If that doesn’t do the trick then why not take things even higher and opt for a parachute jump from an aircraft. Tandem parachute jumps are available the world over and are extremely safe. It is a thrilling experience and will guarantee to end your fear of heights once and for all!
Cage dive with sharks – or even crocs!
Sharks have installed deep routed fear into countless people over the generations, mainly due to Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster ‘Jaws’. There’s no doubt these awe-inspiring creatures generate a primeval fear so the chance to get up close and personal with one seems too good to miss. There are numerous options to do so with places like South Africa and Mexico popular destinations although Bluewater Travel cites the Neptune Islands just off Port Lincoln in South Australia as the world’s best option.
Alternatively, you could opt to dive with a crocodile. Yep, that’s right, the chance to take to the waters and come face to face with the terrifying scaly reptiles is out there, with the best option reported to be Crocosaurus Cove in Darwin. “Experience the ultimate face-to-face encounter as you are carefully lowered in to the water with a large saltwater crocodile for 15 minutes,” their website says.
“Take in his intimidating gaze, feel the sheer power of his 3 tonne bite force, and learn to appreciate his true strength and resilience as a modern-day dinosaur.”
Ummm, personally I think I will pass although, it must be said, it is somewhat refreshing to see humans rather than animals in cages!
Watch a scary movie
A scary movie is exactly that at the best of times but there is something extra spooky about taking in such a movie on Halloween night. Dim or better still turn off the lights, light a candle or two or maybe a jack o’ lantern for added effect and settle down with your loved ones for a night of frights in front of the TV! Of course, the choice of flick is subjective and there are many, many films in the scary or horror genre that would fit the bill. How about revisiting Freddy Kreuger in ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ or Jason Voorhees in ‘Friday the Thirteenth’? ‘The Exorcist’ is guaranteed to shock, as is the chilling ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, likewise ‘The Hills Have Eyes’. More recent offerings include ‘The Blair Witch Project’, ‘The Ring’, ‘Saw’, ‘Paranormal Activity’ and Aussie outback shocker ‘Wolf Creek’.
Personally, however, nothing beats John Carpenter’s 1978 original Halloween, a film that defined the slasher genre and spawned countless poor imitations over generations. Expertly crafted without excess gore, it is the perfect exercise in spooky film making and guaranteed to send chills down your spine! Whichever movie you decide to select, make sure you have a cushion or a decent sized sofa to hide behind when the shocks get too much! And if you’re feeling ultra brave, why not make it a horror movie marathon!?
Failing all that, if none of these suggestions stimulate sufficient levels of fear into you then you could always just book up on a holiday or roadtrip with the in-laws - something generally guaranteed to scare even the most hardened of souls!!!
Read about the history of Halloween and how it is celebrated around the world here.
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