…and now for something macabre

 

The Island of the Dolls

Isla de las Munecas, or Island of the Dolls, is so called because it is littered with hundreds of dolls tied to its trees, hung from branches and scattered along its floor. What makes this even more disturbing is that all of this was done by one man, a hermit named Julian Santana Barrera, who according to legend discovered the remains of a young girl who had drowned off shore. Julian found her doll floating in the water nearby, and in memory of her tied it to a tree. He then began to decorate the island with more dolls he found in tips and the nearby canal, which he believed was appeasing the spirit of the dead girl he found. Julian died in 2001, with the prevailing theory behind his death being that he committed suicide after being driven insane. However, the Island of the Dolls is still accessible by boat.

The Sedlec Ossuary

Ever since soil from the Holy Land was sprinkled over this small town in the Czech Republic people from all over the world have claimed Sedlec as their final resting place. After hundreds of years though, the number of bones on this relatively small property began to get a bit out of control and the priests realized they had to do something. Their chosen course of action? Redecorate…using bones. If you go today you’ll be greeted by an entire church built from seemingly nothing but human bones.

Hellingly Hospital

Hellingly Hospital in East Sussex, England is a real life insane asylum straight out of a horror movie. It opened in 1903 and lobotomized and electrocuted it’s patients for 90 years until it was finally shut down. The building has been abandoned since 1994. Every year, a few photographers are brave enough to visit Hellingly Hospital. The pictures are right out a nightmare.

The Catacombs

Paris doesn’t immediately spring to mind when thinking about the creepiest places on earth. But underneath the croissants and cobblestone streets are miles of underground tunnels. And those tunnels are filled with the bones of dead Frenchmen. When Paris’ cemeteries began to fill up, the French simply began to shove corpses away underground. At last count, there were around 6 million bodies stored in the deep, dank passageways of Paris.

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