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Top 10 spooky stays for those Halloween weekend road trips

<p>It's the spookiest time of year, and there are plenty of ghoulish places to discover around Australia. To help you plan your next spooky road trip, Toyota Australia has compiled a frightful list of ten top stays for a Halloween-themed road trip like no other.</p> <p><strong>1. <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.montecristo.com.au/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZb_k4JCv$" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Monte Cristo Homestead</a>, Junee NSW</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/monte-cristo-homestead2.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></strong></p> <p><em>Images: Monte Cristo Homestead (Facebook)</em></p> <p>Dubbed “Australia’s most haunted homestead”, Monte Cristo – only two-and-a-half hours’ drive from Canberra – is said to be haunted by at least ten ghosts, most significantly its original owners Christopher and Elizabeth Crawley. Christopher still haunts the room in which he passed, as kind a spirit as he was in life – Elizabeth, however, is not so nice; if she doesn’t like you, she’ll cause a chill across your skin to scare you off. Don’t believe us? For the thrill seekers and sceptics out there, Monte Cristo offers accommodation for you to sleep – or stare at the ceiling wide awake in terror all night.</p> <p><strong>2. </strong> <a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.georgeiv.com.au/accommodation/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZYG9SB7T$"><strong>George IV Inn</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;">, Picton NSW</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/george-iv-inn.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Images: George IV Inn (Facebook)</em></p> <p><span style="text-align: center;">If you’re game, how about a night or two at the century-old George IV hotel in Picton? The eerily stripped-back interior couldn’t be more fitting for accommodation located in what is considered Australia’s most haunted town. Picton in NSW – an hour’s drive from Sydney – is host to a variety of ghostly locations. If you dare, venture down to the Redbank Range Railway tunnel, where it is claimed the spirit of Emily Bollard, who was killed by a train in 1916 – stay on the lookout for a pale, faceless figure of a woman. That’s not all - according to residents, the cries of babies can be heard from Picton’s now-defunct Old Maternity Hospital, three ghosts haunt the Wollondilly Shire Hall, and the jukebox has been known to start playing while unplugged at the Imperial Hotel.</span></p> <p><strong><span style="text-align: center;">3. </span></strong><a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.qstation.com.au/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZemwu4JL$"><strong>Quarantine Station</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;">, Manly NSW</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/quarantine-station.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Images: Quarantine Station Ghost Tours (Facebook)</em></p> <p>Q Station in Manly – only half an hour’s drive from the Sydney CBD – is a stunning venue with accommodation ranging from guest lounges, suites, and cottages, and multiple on-site harborside fine dining restaurants and bars. Yet, the station also has a dark history as a quarantine station for the unwell, first operating over 150 years ago and only closing in 1984, where it has since been the site of almost 600 deaths. As a result, the place is allegedly riddled with ghosts – that’s why Q Station also offers a range of ghost tours around the property, including through the onsite cemetery and morgue.</p> <p><strong>4. </strong><a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.jenolancaves.org.au/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZac_sEC_$"><strong>Caves House Hotel</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;">, Blue Mountains NSW</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/caves-house-hotel.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Image: Caves House Hotel (Facebook)</em></p> <p>Described on its website as a “romantic and relaxing place to stay overnight”, you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise if you knew the haunted history of the Jenolan Caves. From disembodied screams and unexplained shoulder taps within the caves to sightings of ghostly arms and the sounds of playing children deep into the night in Caves House, the official website has been sure to <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.jenolancaves.org.au/about/blog/spinechilling-stories-from-the-underworld/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZVr10l2I$">document</a> any stories and sightings of spirits and spectres of those brave enough to stay the night in their stunning – but spooky – Blue Mountains lodgings, a three hour’s drive from Sydney.</p> <p><strong>5. </strong><a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.booking.com/hotel/au/castlemaine-gardens-luxury-safari-tents.en-gb.html?aid=356980&label=gog235jc-1DCAsoD0InY2FzdGxlbWFpbmUtZ2FyZGVucy1sdXh1cnktc2FmYXJpLXRlbnRzSDNYA2gPiAEBmAEJuAEXyAEM2AED6AEBiAIBqAIDuALvvsqZBsACAdICJGM1YWMzNWExLWNmOWMtNDMwZS04MDg5LWUwZjM3ZjIyMzQ4ONgCBOACAQ&sid=7840f168f5ccfb8a42fa50883655b5f2&dist=0&group_adults=2&group_children=0&keep_landing=1&no_rooms=1&sb_price_type=total&type=total&__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZaDDH6o3$"><strong>Castlemaine Gardens Luxury Safari Tents</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;">, Castlemaine VIC</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/castlemaine-gardens.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Image: </em><em>BIG4 Castlemaine Gardens Holiday Park (Facebook)</em></p> <p>Glamp in style at the Castlemaine Gardens Luxury Safari Tents, a semi-open-air accommodation tucked away in beautiful gardens in outer north-west Victoria – only an hour and a half’s drive from Melbourne. With an exposed wood interior and white tulle mosquito nets draped over the four-poster beds, the tents are reminiscent of the gold rush era. To further your historical-themed getaway, you could perhaps consider a trip to Old Castlemaine Gaol – a colonial-era prison famed for housing some of the time’s most violent criminals, many of whom are said to still haunt the hallways. If you’re too scared to go back to your tent, how about sticking it out for one of their infamous 12-hour overnight ghost tours?</p> <p><strong>6. </strong><a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/craigsroyal.com.au/accommodation/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZb3Qyc0y$"><strong>Craig’s Royal Hotel,</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;"> Ballarat VIC</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/craigs-royal-hotel.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Images: Craig's Royal Hotel (Facebook)</em></p> <p>You know it’s worth the drive if the whole city has a dedicated website to ghost tours in the area. That’s the case with Ballarat’s <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.eerietours.com.au/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZW8NcLBZ$">Eerie Tours</a>, which offers a variety of historic ghost tours across both Ballarat, including its Old Cemetery and the Town Hall, and the nearby infamous Aradale Lunatic Asylum in Ararat – known as one of the most hostile haunted locations in Australia. After a night of frights (or two), it’s only fitting to retire in somewhere as grand as the heritage-listed, Victorian-designed Craig’s Royal Hotel – only an hour and a half’s drive from Melbourne.</p> <p><strong>7. </strong><a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.spencersuitesalbany.com.au/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZZpDd-oj$"><strong>Spencer Suites</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;">, Albany WA</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/spencer-suites.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Image: Spencer Suites (Facebook)</em></p> <p>Far down south in WA – five hours away from Perth if you drive – is the former colonial settlement of Albany, a seaside town rich with tales of ghost stories. From the ruins of a lighthouse said to be haunted by its keeper, a former hospital with doors closing on its own, a 150-year-old quarantine station and an old gaol, Albany offers so many spooky experiences you’ll just have to spend a couple nights – how about checking out Spencer Suites, where “heritage meets chic”? The refreshing modernity of the self-contained apartments would be a welcome change from the haunted colonial-era ruins.</p> <p><strong>8. </strong><a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.babindaquarters.com/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZS_cs8AM$"><strong>Babinda Quarters</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;">, Babinda QLD</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/barbinda-quarters.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Image: Babinda Quarters (Facebook)</em></p> <p>Most of the locations on this list so far have been colonial man-made institutions housing spirits of those who passed within their four walls, yet, a short drive from the beautiful tropical town of Babinda are the Babinda Boulders – a stunning and tranquil swimming and picnic area with a particularly treacherous stretch of the creek aptly named Devil’s Pool. According to local Indigenous legend, a young widow named Oolana came to the pool to grieve her husband, ultimately drowning herself to overcome her sorrows. It is said she still haunts the pool, with unexplained tides and sudden rushing torrents. Morbidly curious travellers beware: this creek has claimed many lives, something expressed on a sign as you approach it; most of them young men a similar age to the Oolana’s husband. If staying in Babinda to explore the rainforest (both haunted and not), Babinda Quarters, a recently refurbished art deco homestead offers stunning and quirky accommodation with a rainforest twist less than an hour’s drive from Cairns.</p> <p><strong>9. </strong><a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/www.fothergills.net.au/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZXtl3Uxs$"><strong>Fothergills of Fremantle,</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;"> WA</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/fothergills-fremantle.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Image: Fothergills of Fremantle (Facebook)</em></p> <p>Just half an hour’s drive from the heart of Perth CBD, Forthergills of Fremantle is a stunning 19th century heritage listed building, with rooms filled featuring local craftwork and fitted with on-theme colonial furniture – lit quite eerily in their official photos. Fittingly, Fremantle is home to one of the most infamous haunted locations in WA – the Fremantle Arts Centre. The former lunatic asylum is claimed to be one of the most haunted buildings in the state, with reports of faces being seen in windows, strange bouts of cold air, and doors opening and closing on their own.</p> <p><strong>10. </strong><a style="text-align: center;" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.thestationkapunda.com/__;!!IHJ3XrWN4X8!Ngc0COUlXfvAPcWa76VI_T27Ce9juwK-Y7cUZh4HcjW0O7Lv9maA12KJkUIyW9mqjnZreRPe2Jy4IZ1YHy1xZZZ0jA3h$"><strong>The Station</strong></a><strong style="text-align: center;">, Kapunda SA</strong></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/station-kapunda.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Images: The Station Kapunda (Facebook)</em></p> <p>While the most haunted hotel in Australia might not be available for bookings, we thought it’d be more advisable to stay in a nicer, considerably less-ghostly accommodation such as The Station at Kapunda, a stunning and modern escape in a 162-year-old renovated railway station, only an hour by car from Adelaide. That way you can escape from The North Kapunda Hotel should the spirits cause you too much distress. Kapunda is also known as an extremely haunted town, with tours across the town available for any thrill seekers out there.</p> <p><em>Images: Facebook</em></p>

Domestic Travel

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14 historic places that are now abandoned

<p><strong>Abandoned places</strong></p> <p>From train stations to hotels to entire islands, there are a surprising number of abandoned locales around the world. Some are even on par with the <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/travel/destinations/15-of-the-worlds-spookiest-travel-destinations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world’s spookiest travel destinations.</a></p> <p><strong>City Hall Subway, New York, USA</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/02-new-york-usa-january-30-2016-city-hall-subway-station-in-manhattan-landmark-station-built-in-1904-to-inaugurate-the-nyc-subway-system-770.jpg" alt="" width="770" height="513" /></strong></p> <p>New York City’s very first subway station opened underneath City Hall in downtown Manhattan in 1904, with gorgeous vaulted, tiled ceilings and even leaded-glass skylights. But this Gilded-Age treasure closed in 1945 due to safety concerns with new, longer trains – and never opened again. You can catch a glimpse of the City Hall station if you ride the downtown 6 train past its terminal stop, as trains still use the City Hall track as a turn-around before heading back uptown. But for a better look, the New York Transit Museum offers guided tours for members.</p> <p><strong>Sarajevo Olympic Venues, Bosnia and Herzegovina</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/03-shutterstock_1146065324-1-scaled-770.jpg" alt="" width="770" height="513" /></strong></p> <p>Once the place gold medal dreams came true, the 1984 Olympic venues in Sarajevo now stand as more of a memorial of civil unrest than a tribute to athletic achievement. The first Communist state to hold a Winter Games, Yugoslavia broke up in the 1990s amid a devastating war in Bosnia. Some of the Olympic sites, including the bobsled track and ski jump, were used as battlements and strongholds during the Siege of Sarajevo, and still bear bullet holes. Today, tours are offered as part of a look back at the devastation of war; some of the venues, such as Zetra Olympic Hall, are being rebuilt.</p> <p><strong>Garnet, Montana, USA</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/04-shutterstock_704394976-scaled-770.jpg" alt="" width="770" height="513" /></strong></p> <p>You can actually visit a real-life ghost town in remote Garnet, Montana, near Missoula in the US. Now just a memory of the Old West, this place was once a bustling gold mining town, attracting miners in the late 19th century who hastily constructed buildings to live in. At its height in 1898, 1,000 people lived in Garnet – but by 1905, the gold ran out, and the population shrunk to 150. Then in 1912, a fire destroyed half the town. By the 1940s, no one was left, and everything, including furniture, had been left behind. Now a walk-through museum, visitors can help support the preservation efforts for this piece of history.</p> <p><strong>Maunsell Sea Forts, United Kingdom</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/05-346697708-scaled-770.jpg" alt="" width="770" height="513" /></strong></p> <p>These other-worldly, rusting structures still stand sentinel at the mouth of England’s Thames River, protecting the island from a long-past threat. During World War II, the anti-aircraft sea forts guarded the country, shooting down Nazi planes and sinking a submarine. After being decommissioned in the 1950s, they served as the base of a pirate radio station in the ’60s. Now abandoned, the forts were possibly going to become a spa hotel, but those plans are now on the rocks. So for now, you’ll have to settle for getting a glimpse as you pass by via boat.</p> <p><strong>Pripyat, Ukraine</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/06-1368054212-scaled-770.jpg" alt="" width="770" height="513" /></strong></p> <p>This town close to the site of the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster has provided some of the most chilling photos of abandoned places in the world. Thirty-six hours after the explosion, the city was evacuated, with nearly 50,000 people fleeing for their lives and leaving almost everything behind. What’s left are the desolate remains of schools, houses and communities, with clocks frozen at 11:55, the time the power went out. It looks positively post-apocalyptic. Although it may not be safe for humans to live there again due to radioactivity (well, at least not for 24,000 years at the actual disaster site, according to some estimates), a brief visit arranged by tour operators to certain areas is – reportedly – okay. These tours have seen a huge boost in popularity thanks to HBO’s recent mini-series <em>Chernobyl</em>.</p> <p><strong>Ta Prohm Temple, Angkor, Cambodia</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/07-1163637748-scaled-770.jpg" alt="" width="770" height="513" /></strong></p> <p>Not all abandoned places are spooky. Those from hundreds of years ago reflect a more natural cycle of human civilisation on Earth, with historical ruins reminding us how we used to live, work and worship. Take the Ta Prohm Temple, built in the 12th century: Unlike the other better-preserved temples in the Angkor area, such as the famous Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm was left to ruin in the 14th century, after which it was reclaimed by the jungle. Today, with vines and tree roots climbing over the building, this beautiful mix of human architecture and nature looks like something out of a movie – and in fact was used in the filming of <em>Lara Croft: Tomb Raider</em>. Happily for us, it’s open to tourists.</p> <p><strong>Catskills Resorts, New York, USA</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/08-735515071-scaled-770.jpg" alt="" width="770" height="513" /></strong></p> <p>In the heyday of the 1950s, the Catskills were home to over 500 resorts catering to New York’s Jewish families, and the “Borscht Belt” continues to live on in movies and shows like <em>Dirty Dancing</em> and <em>The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel</em>. But in real life, many of these hotels, including The Pines (pictured) – once a sprawling resort with an indoor skating rink, pool with a huge concrete arch spanning across it, and “sky bridge” to the restaurant – declined in popularity and now dot the countryside in a state of ruin, ghostly remnants of the joy they were once filled with.</p> <p><strong>Michigan Central Station, Detroit, USA</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/09-1055756234-scaled-770.jpg" alt="" width="770" height="513" /></strong></p> <p>See this historic train station in its abandoned state (safely from the outside) while you can: Last year, Ford Motor Co. announced a $740 million project to redevelop the area. When it opened in 1913, the gorgeous building, with an interior featuring huge arches and marble pillars, was the tallest train station in the world. The station was Detroit’s main depot but declined in use in the 1950s until finally closing in 1988. Although its historic status saved it from demolition, the building was considered an eyesore, plundered by looters and defaced by vandals. For the people of Detroit, the station served as a metaphor for the rise and fall of the city – but hopefully, the new project can bring it back to its former glory.</p> <p><strong>Bombay Beach, California, USA</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/10-63100468-scaled-770.jpg" alt="" width="770" height="513" /></strong></p> <p>This short-lived resort area and its abandoned hotels that will give you the chills have to have one of the most bizarre histories ever. The Salton Sea, California’s largest lake, was accidentally created in 1905 after man-made canals from the Colorado River flooded over into the valley. In the 1950s, it seemed like the perfect spot for a holiday, and the Bombay Beach community popped up. But soon, increasing salinity in the lake rendered life unsustainable, resulting in dead fish washing up onshore and a horrendous stench; the lake also became polluted from agricultural runoff. So, Bombay Beach was abandoned, although a few salty souls (get it?) still live in the area. Littered with fish skeletons and the detritus of beach living, this place is a paradise lost.</p> <p><strong>Hashima Island, Japan</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/11-1179676483-scaled-770.jpg" alt="" width="770" height="513" /></strong></p> <p>It’s no surprise why this island of concrete and steel is nicknamed “Ghost Island”: No one lives here anymore. Also called “Battleship Island” for its shape, the site stands as a monument to Japan’s rapid industrialisation. With more than 5000 people crowded into high-rise apartment buildings in the mid-20th century, Hashima was one of the most densely populated places on earth. Most of those who lived here were coal miners and their families, although the island’s place in history is controversial because it was also the site of forced labour. In 1974, the mine was closed, and everyone up and left. Tours of Hashima to see the crumbling buildings are available; you can also catch the island in the 2012 James Bond film <em>Skyfall</em>.</p> <p><strong>Cahawba, Alabama, USA</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/12-1228163863-scaled-770.jpg" alt="" width="770" height="513" /></strong></p> <p>It’s hard to believe, but this site of decomposing cabins was once the capital of Alabama. Now, it’s one of the creepy but real ghost towns around the world. The history of Old Cahawba (also spelled Cahaba) goes in fits and starts: Chosen as the state capital in 1820, the town was abandoned after flooding and the capital moved in 1826, but it reemerged as a distribution point for cotton shipping. During the Civil War, though, its railroad tracks were ripped up and the town was host to a prison for Union soldiers; after the war, another flood drove the remaining residents out. However, the town again found new life as a community for former slave families – at least until around 1900. Since then, the town has been in ruins but is now enjoying yet another rebirth as an archaeological park.</p> <p><strong>Castle Frankenstein, Germany</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/13-81631069-scaled-770.jpg" alt="" width="770" height="513" /></strong></p> <p>Abandoned castle ruins can be seen all over Europe, but the history of 13th century Castle Frankenstein is creepily curious because of its connection to the hidden origins of one of Halloween’s spookiest creatures. A real-life scientist named Johann Konrad Dippel conducted strange experiments here in the early 18th century – including, reportedly, on corpses. Could Dippel have inspired the fictional scientist who shares the castle’s name, and his monster? Although Frankenstein author Mary Shelley never mentioned the castle in her journals, she did pass by on a trip down the Rhine in 1814. Did she hear stories about Dippel from locals? Or perhaps her stepmother, a translator for the Brothers Grimm, read the tale and passed it on? In any case, after being abandoned in the 18th century and rumoured to be the home of a dragon, the ruins of the castle are now open to tourists.</p> <p><strong>Iron Goat Trail, Washington, USA</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/14-748018750-scaled-770.jpg" alt="" width="770" height="513" /></strong></p> <p>This lovely hiking trail passes by the site of one of the worst train accidents and the deadliest avalanche in US history. Known as the Wellington Avalanche Disaster, the incident occurred when two snowed-in trains on the Great Northern Railroad were knocked off the tracks by what one witness described as “white death.” The snow buried the trains in the canyon below and killed nearly 100 people. Afterward, safer tracks and tunnels were built, but the old abandoned ones remain – some say they’re haunted, with hikers hearing screams and sounds around the crash site. It’s not safe to go into the tunnels, so don’t try it, but you can take a peek from outside.</p> <p><strong>SS Ayrfield, Australia</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/15-shutterstock_1327747472-scaled-770.jpg" alt="" width="770" height="513" /></strong></p> <p>This is not your average shipwreck. The SS Ayrfield, built in 1911 and used as a supply ship during World War II, was left to rot where it was moored in Homebush Bay after being decommissioned in 1972, one of many wrecks in the bay. This industrial area was contaminated with toxic waste, but eventually cleaned up, revitalised for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and now home to suburbs. But the ship had been reclaimed by mangrove trees, and so the “floating forest,” as it’s now known, was kept as it was – a strange juxtaposition of the man-made and the natural.</p> <p><em><span id="docs-internal-guid-56d0b486-7fff-c15a-bea7-34513cdbf9c9">Written by Tina Donovito. This article first appeared in <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/travel/14-historic-places-that-are-now-abandoned" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=articles&utm_campaign=RDSUB&keycode=WRA87V" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here’s our best subscription offer.</a></span></em></p> <p><em>Images: Getty Images, Shutterstock</em></p>

International Travel

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8 spooky real life horror movie locations

<p><span>You’ve watched these creepy flicks from the comfort of your couch, but would you have the guts to visit the filming locations in real life?</span></p> <p><strong>Camp No Be Bo Sco, Blairstown, New Jersey, from <em>Friday The 13th</em></strong></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844829/horror-spot1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/3d2ff623ee7f4d9e99d53fe9e7f4645f" /></p> <p><em>Image: <span>Enzo Arcamone/Wikimedia Commons</span></em></p> <p><span>Well, what do you know? The kids’ summer camp terrorised by Mrs Vorhees in one of the most iconic horror movies of all time – and then her son, Jason, in umpteen sequels – actually exists. And it actually offers a summer camp program. For kids. Kind of boggles the mind, doesn’t it? The only real difference is that the creepy camp known in the movies as Camp Crystal Lake is actually called Camp No Be Bo Sco. And, of course, it isn’t the location of countless murders. It’s a good thing most of the kids that go to the camp aren’t old enough to have watched </span><em>Friday The 13th</em><span> or any of its sequels. Makes you wonder about the parents though.</span></p> <p><strong>Seneca Creek State Park, Maryland – <em>Blair Witch Project</em></strong></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844830/horror-spot2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/3c329314a1ac40bf8cbbb254309578b1" /></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><span>Ever since the release of this now infamous “found footage” horror movie, tourists have flocked to the small town of Burkittsville, Maryland in search of the fabled Blair Witch. For an authentic experience, however, you should travel about 60 kilometres south of the small town to Seneca Creek State Park – that’s where most of the movie was actually filmed. Considering Burkittsville has a population of just 200 people, and probably not much of a night life, getting lost in the woods might just be the best way to spend your time anyway. If you do decide to pitch a tent and spend the night in the woods, make sure to wear bright clothes and watch out for hunters – the type that shoot deer, not the type that ritualistically murder you in the basement of abandoned houses.</span></p> <p><strong>Toms River, New Jersey – <em>Amityville Horror</em> house</strong></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844831/horror-spot3.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/ce24cea19367413998741acc6e7874af" /></p> <p><em>Image: <span>Seulatr/Wikimedia Commons</span></em></p> <p><span>It’s a true story: a man killed five members of his family before killing himself in his home. About a year later, the home’s new inhabitants claimed to be terrorised by ghosts, inspiring </span><em>The Amityville Horror</em><span>. The movie, however, was not actually filmed in the supposedly haunted house in Amityville, New York. Presumably looking to avoid shelling out money to otherworldly extras, </span><em>The Amityville Horror</em><span> was actually shot at a non-haunted home in Toms River, New Jersey. It makes sense. The Amityville home – a former crime scene – is one scary spot you might genuinely want to avoid.</span></p> <p><strong>Timberline Lodge, Mount Hood, Oregon – <em>The Shining</em></strong></p> <p><strong><em><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844832/horror-spot4.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/56941ce8f3474375b477b365425a99d2" /></em></strong></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><span>All work and no play making you, well, ready for a holiday? Why not visit the Timberline Lodge in Mount Hood, Oregon? The now notorious hotel – known in Stanley Kubrick’s </span><em>The Shining</em><span> as The Overlook Hotel – is a favourite destination among horror movie fans hoping to catch a glimpse of ghostly twins or get lost in a hedge maze. Movie buffs should note, however, that the hotel was only actually used for some exterior shots in the movie. The rest was filmed at a studio. And Stephen King, author of the book that inspired the movie, actually pictured a different hotel when he wrote his spooky story: The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.</span></p> <p><strong>“The Exorcist Steps,” Washington, D.C.</strong></p> <p><strong><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844833/horror-spot5.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/0c9d32e142da4d8db0ad7d280734a2f0" /></strong></p> <p><span><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></span></p> <p><span>Think it’s hard enough to get through </span><em>The Exorcist</em><span> with your eyes open? Try living in the neighbourhood where the movie many consider to be the “scariest of all time” was filmed. The house itself actually exists in a regular neighbourhood just steps from Georgetown University, but it isn’t quite as seen in the movie. For one thing, you won’t be able to see the window into Regan MacNeil’s room, where the possessed little girl famously terrorised her visitors – the interior of the house was actually filmed in a studio. Nearby, you’ll also find the stone steps down which Father Damien Karras plunged in a bid to purge the demon from his body. On October 30, 2015, the steps were graced with a plaque in honour of the location’s legendary status among horror movie buffs.</span></p> <p><strong>Monroeville Mall, Pennsylvania – <em>Dawn of the Dead</em></strong></p> <p><strong><em><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844834/horror-spot6.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/ced6a8eea24b4290ba121d1b5afc5e57" /></em></strong></p> <p><span><em>Image: Daveynin/Wikimedia Commons</em></span></p> <p><span>It’s a mall that inspired a mega-horror hit. While walking through the Monroeville Mall – one of the biggest of its kind at the time – horror movie legend George A. Romero supposedly came up with the idea to pit humans against zombies in this temple of consumerism. Production of </span><em>Dawn of the Dead</em><span> took place in the mall, during closing hours, in the winter of 1977. One can only imagine what shoppers must have thought about all the fake blood-soaked rags and severed limbs stuffed in the garbage cans. The actual mall is now home to stores like Macy’s, American Eagle and Forever 21, but it pays homage to its role in horror movie history with annual zombie-themed events – including the occasional zombie walk (above).</span></p> <p><strong>Simi Valley, California – <em>Poltergeist</em></strong></p> <p><strong><em><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844835/horror-spot7.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/8db0dd4778274c17adcb7bc0f522d01e" /></em></strong></p> <p><span><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></span></p> <p><span>As if </span><em>Poltergeist</em><span> wasn’t scary enough, some believe the movie, itself, is cursed. Since the making of the first movie in the trilogy, four cast-members have died. Most notably Heather O’Rourke, who played young Carol Anne in all three movies, died of septic shock from bacterial toxins in her bloodstream at the age of 12. The house the movie was filmed in – in Simi Valley, California – was not actually built on an ancient Indian burial ground, however.</span></p> <p><strong>Santa Cruz Boardwalk, California – <em>The Lost Boys</em></strong></p> <p><strong><em><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844836/horror-spot8.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/8ca23b0d8bd54d528ba2eb05fc966053" /></em></strong></p> <p><span><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></span></p> <p><span>In order to avoid demonising real places with unsavoury plots, horror movie makers usually opt to invent fake settings for their films. When it came to the Joel Schumaker-directed ’80s favourite </span><em>The Lost Boys</em><span>, however, moviemakers didn’t work very hard to disguise the fact that the movie was shot in Santa Cruz, California. The movie takes place in a fictional city called Santa Carla and, in many scenes, clearly depicts the flashy Santa Cruz boardwalk, which offered a perfect contrast to the dark deeds of the vampires. If you visit the boardwalk in real life, however, you’re more likely to encounter a pickpocket than a neck-biter.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Written by Daniel Reid. This article first appeared in </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/culture/8-spooky-real-life-horror-movie-locations" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reader’s Digest</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, </span><a rel="noopener" href="http://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_campaign=RDSUB&amp;keycode=WRA87V" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here’s our best subscription offer.</span></a></em></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Getty Images</span></em></p> <p><img style="width: 100px !important; height: 100px !important;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7820640/1.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f30947086c8e47b89cb076eb5bb9b3e2" /></p>

Movies

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Spooky facts about the moon

<p><strong>There’s a graveyard on the moon</strong><br />Most of the 181,437 kilograms of garbage on the moon is space junk and ephemera crash-landed or left behind by the 12 astronauts who have visited since 1969: abandoned satellites, spent rockets, cameras, backpacks, and golf balls. But here’s one of the more morbid moon facts: Among the detritus on the moon are the ashes of Eugene Shoemaker, one of the founders of the field of planetary science, sent skyward by NASA in a polycarbonate capsule.</p> <p><strong>“Lunatics” can blame the moon</strong><br />One of the moon facts from the Middle Ages is that scientists and philosophers believed that a full moon caused seizures and influenced episodes of fever and rheumatism. Because of the connection between the moon and unusual behaviour, the afflicted were called lunatics, or, literally, “moon sick.”</p> <p><strong>The moon is disappearing</strong><br />Each year, the moon’s orbit moves about four centimetres away from the Earth, meaning that in a mere 500 million years, the moon will be 23,496 kilometres farther away than it is right now.</p> <p><strong>There are fresh footprints on the moon’s surface</strong><br />Man hasn’t set foot on the moon in more than four decades, and yet, fresh prints remain. Is this evidence of an alien life form? Is Bigfoot taking up extra-planetary residence? Nah, they’re just leftover astronaut footprints. Because there’s no wind or water on the moon, tracks can last millions of years.</p> <p><strong>A full moon might keep you awake</strong><br />In a small study from the University of Basel in Switzerland, subjects monitored closest to a full moon experienced less deep sleep, produced less melatonin, and took five minutes longer to fall asleep that those monitored during other times of the month. Sleep researcher Marie Dumont, who wasn’t involved in the study, suggests that the full moon could indirectly affect the internal body clock by increasing volunteers’ exposure to light in the evening.</p> <p><strong>The truth about the blood moon</strong><br />As many people witnessed in late September 2015, the moon really can turn an eerie shade of red under the right conditions. But despite werewolf warnings and apocalypse alerts, scientists define the so-called “blood” moon as a purely astronomical event when the earth casts a rust-coloured shadow on the moon’s surface.</p> <p><strong>Shadows are darker on the moon than on Earth</strong><br />Astronauts on the moon immediately noticed that their shadows were much darker there than on Earth. The atmosphere that scatters light to create shadows on Earth is absent on the moon. The sun and the Earth itself provide a little bit of light, enough for shadows to still appear, but the shadows are much harder to see.</p> <p><strong>The moon experiences earthquakes (or moonquakes)</strong><br />Just like the Earth, the moon has a crust that shifts and changes. Moonquakes can occur when the lunar crust warms and expands, or they can be triggered by meteorite impacts. While moonquakes don’t reach the same level of intensity as earthquakes, they can last much longer, because the moon has no water to combat seismic vibrations.</p> <p><strong>The moon has a time zone all its own</strong><br />It’s called “Lunar Standard Time,” but it doesn’t correspond simply with a time on Earth. Time is quite different on the moon than on Earth; a year on the moon is divided into twelve “days,” each about as long as an Earth month. Each “day” is named after a different astronaut who has walked on the moon. The “days” are divided into 30 “cycles,” which are then divided into hours, minutes, and seconds. Oh, and the calendar started the moment Neil Armstrong walked on the moon: Year 1, day 1, cycle 1 began at July 21st, 1969 at 02:56:15 Universal Time.</p> <p><strong>The moon experiences a huge range of temperatures</strong><br />You probably think of Earth as located in the habitable, moderate zone of our solar system. Planets closer to the sun are far hotter, while the planets farther away experience frigid temperatures. But the moon experiences some pretty intense temperatures, on both ends of the spectrum, considering how close it is to our life-friendly planet. During the day, temperatures can be as high as 93.33 degrees Celsius. By the moon’s poles, though, the temperature stays around minus 204 degrees Celsius. This disparity is thanks to the moon’s lack of an atmosphere.</p> <p class="p1"><em>Written by Beth Dreher. This article first appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/culture/spooky-facts-about-the-moon"><span class="s1">Reader’s Digest</span></a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.co.nz/subscribe"><span class="s1">here’s our best subscription offer</span></a>.</em></p>

Mind

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This is spook-tacular! Haunted Halloween house in Queensland bound to give you chills

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A Gold Coast family has turned their suburban house into a Stephen King-inspired mansion.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The homeowners, known to locals by pseudonyms Mr and Mrs Strapleberry, are once again opening the doors to their house of horror in Pacific Pines, just in time for Halloween.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The ‘Neibolt Well House’ was inspired by the abandoned home where IT lived and featured boarded-up windows, broken shutters, overgrown grass and vinces, and rusty metal fences as well as a life-size figure of Georgie from King’s story.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The couple first held the extravaganza last year, allowing children and adults to celebrate the festivities and try mazes with special effects and scares.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He spoke to </span><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7603803/Family-transforms-humble-property-incredible-horror-house-just-time-Halloween.html?fbclid=IwAR31j101Mj6zt6LXu3iNCnoT-JvjurCxXz4tdOdtpPu4MoAfRFOHf_jofWQ"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Daily Mail Australia</span></em></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> about how the creepy Halloween house all started.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We put out a smoke machine and some cheap spider webs a few years ago and noticed how many families and children were out trick-or-treating,” he explained.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It was wonderful to see excited kids out having fun, so we decided we could do more.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Due to the success of last year’s attempt, this year’s idea ended up snowballing quickly into “<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/Panic-on-Pandora-260293314625500/posts/?ref=page_internal">Panic on Pandora</a>”.</span></p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F260293314625500%2Fvideos%2F505896146632451%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We didn’t know if anybody would show, but ended up with more than 600 happy families and haunters,” said Mr Strapleberry.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We are firm believers to the idea that you should be the change you want to see in the world,” the father-of-one explained.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Seeing the streets filled with children and families enjoying time together.. children genuinely excited, neighbours talking/meeting each other.. it's just an incredible atmosphere of the community coming together.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While the Strapleberry family have kept quiet about just how much this all costs, Mr Strappleberry has joked that “it was either a jet-ski for me or a Halloween event for everyone”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The house has continued to bring joy to locals for two years in a row, and with the extensive effort gone into the designs, it’s easy to see why.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scroll through the gallery to see the spooky transformation. </span></p>

Domestic Travel

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Can you spot what’s spooky about this picture?

<p>A group of women who gathered by Loch Eck in Scotland, have been shocked to find an eerie sight in one of their photos.</p> <p>The women were celebrating a hen’s weekend and enjoyed taking snaps of their time together by the scenic surroundings.</p> <p>However, in only one of their photos there is a figure they were not expecting to see.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="500" height="375" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7267179/1_500x375.jpg" alt="1 (79)"/></p> <p>A young, dark-haired boy can be seen crouching on the ground behind a tree stump.</p> <p>After spotting the figure, the women researched online and discovered that the area is known for its legend of the “Blue Boy”, a small child who drowned in the lake in the 19th century.</p> <p>The old tale says the four-year-old haunts The Coylet Inn, a hostelry near the lake.</p> <p>The mysterious story was even the subject of a 1994 movie starring Emma Thompson.</p> <p>The screenwriter of the film Paul Murton previously said, “I was talking to the hotelier about it and he mentioned the Blue Boy.</p> <p>"This, he said, was a young child who had been on holiday with his parents in the hotel and he had been sleepwalking during the night. He had strayed outside, fallen into the loch and drowned. When they found his body it was blue with the cold.</p> <p>"Hotel staff had noticed that things like cutlery and plates were often out of place for no apparent reason – perhaps more sinister than that was the fact that they sometimes found wet footprints upstairs in the corridor."</p> <p>Have you ever heard of this myth before? Let us know in the comments below.</p>

Art

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Ghost appears at site of car crash

<p>A photo from the location of a car accident has gone viral, depicting what some believe to be a ghost rising up from the scene.</p> <p><img width="500" height="375" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/24321/2_500x375.jpg" alt="2 (133)"/></p> <p>The crash occurred in Stanton, Kentucky, and sadly the motorcyclist involved passed away in hospital shortly after. Saul Vazquez, a passer-by, captured the scene of the accident on camera. When he posted it to Facebook, it became clear that this was no ordinary photograph, appearing to capture a ghostly figure hovering above the deceased’s body. The image has since been shared almost 12,000 times.</p> <p>Tell us in the comments, do you think the figure is the motorcyclist’s spirit? Or just a trick of the light?</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/06/ghostly-object-hidden-in-this-photo-will-give-you-the-chills/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ghostly object hidden in this photo will give you the chills</span></em></strong></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/05/these-photos-will-make-you-believe-in-ghosts/"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>These photos will make you believe in ghosts</strong></span></em></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/international/2016/05/most-haunted-locations-in-australia/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>10 most-haunted locations in Australia</strong></em></span></a></p>

News