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The World's Creepiest Places
There are some places in the world where humans quite simply should not go. Not just haunted places, but sites where ancient forces still hold sway. We can recognize such locations by the responses they evoke within us--that feeling we call "the creeps."
But just where are these places, and why do they terrify us?
In The World's Creepiest Places , Dr. Curran visits some of these sites, looking at their history and traditions and exploring the creepy feeling they evoke in people who have been there. His travels range widely--from his native Ireland and through the empty deserts of the Middle East, to the misty hills of Tibet and back through Europe to America. He's not only looking for ghosts, but also for sinister people, vampires, the living dead, doorways to other worlds--even venturing close to the Gates of Hell itself!
This is not just a ghostly travel book. It's for those who want to explore the weird, out-of-the-way locations of our planet and test the boundaries of the reality many of us take for granted.
We dare you to take the journey with us!
But just where are these places, and why do they terrify us?
In The World's Creepiest Places , Dr. Curran visits some of these sites, looking at their history and traditions and exploring the creepy feeling they evoke in people who have been there. His travels range widely--from his native Ireland and through the empty deserts of the Middle East, to the misty hills of Tibet and back through Europe to America. He's not only looking for ghosts, but also for sinister people, vampires, the living dead, doorways to other worlds--even venturing close to the Gates of Hell itself!
This is not just a ghostly travel book. It's for those who want to explore the weird, out-of-the-way locations of our planet and test the boundaries of the reality many of us take for granted.
We dare you to take the journey with us!
208 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2011
8 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Bob Curran
53 books53 followersBOB CURRAN is an educational psychologist in Coleraine University. His interests are broad-ranging but are focused especially on history and story. He has written several books, including The Field Guide to Irish Fairies, The Wolfhound Guide to the Shamrock, Creatures of Celtic Myth, The Truth about the Leprechaun.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 10, 2014
DNF at page 166. SO. BORING. This was 99% droning, boring, history of menial buildings, and 1% "hey one person said they thought they saw a shadow!". Even the history portion I can usually appreciate, but this was completely blah. I just couldn't finish.
May 28, 2014
This was just an OK read for me. Not what I was expecting.
May 29, 2018
I was expecting creepy ghost stories, and that is not what this book is at all.
It's actually a pretty informative book about some cemeteries, crypts, etc. around the world. But there are only short mentions of the ghost stories surrounding these (some don't mention hauntings at all either) so I didn't get the "creepy" factor here. In fact the stories were rather bland and factual, so I didn't enjoy most of them.
It's actually a pretty informative book about some cemeteries, crypts, etc. around the world. But there are only short mentions of the ghost stories surrounding these (some don't mention hauntings at all either) so I didn't get the "creepy" factor here. In fact the stories were rather bland and factual, so I didn't enjoy most of them.
Read
July 25, 2022A collection of stories/facts/sketches from different places around the world. Thought it was a fun read. I just read out of curiosity.
There are some sources listed. Not sure if that is helpful for those looking for real facts.
There are some sources listed. Not sure if that is helpful for those looking for real facts.
July 5, 2018
Some interesting stories but I was expecting a wider geographical range of places; many of the stories were from Ireland.
November 24, 2020
It was okay, but not as spooky as I hoped. Good read for the season though!
March 29, 2021
Did not finish. Just did NOT hold my interest like I hoped.
April 17, 2024
Review to come.
December 9, 2011
When we think of creepy places like graveyards, decrepit churches and abandoned castles, we often feel a chill run down our spines. We ask ourselves if ghosts, goblins, vampires and demons really exist. Do people that visit these places really see these things or is it just a figment of their imagination? Dr. Bob Curran traveled all around the world to find places where hauntings and tales of the night are told from one generation to the next. Readers are enlightened by his tales of discovery.
Bachelors Grove in Chicago Illinois has a cemetery with a very interesting history. This site is haunted by a phantom known as “White Lady.” She wanders the cemetery at night, sometimes with an infant in her arms. Actual photos of this mysterious phantom do exist. Bachelors Grove is also known as a dumping ground for bodies during the Gangster Era. Several of Al Capone's victims had been dumped in the lake by the cemetery. Many other mysteries are tied to this cemetery and the lake.
Germany hosted towns where witches were sought out and burned. Towns like Coburg, Herborn and Hoffhiem Idstein and many more. At Wildensen Castle near Leibertingen, witches burned at the top of the towers. Many of the towers were prisons predominately aimed at women. These sites are haunted by supernatural beings. Some visitors claimed to hear screams and shouting. Some claim to see figures that vanish quickly.
At Wexford Hall in Ireland, exorcisms were performed. Stories have been told of a dark stormy night and a strange visitor. The devil had played cards with an unknowing family. When discovered he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Strange incidents occurred so regularly the family had an exorcism to rid them of the demon. Father Thomas Broaders fought against the demonic force. The majority of exorcisms in Ireland have gone unrecorded.
As you can tell, Curran's visits to various sites around the globe uncover the folklore of these creepy sites. He also researches the history of the eras and lists facts about these various sites and the people that lived there. Readers will be surprised to find that some of these locations are closer to them than they might have thought. Immediately readers will be pulled into these tales and find themselves looking over their shoulders. The illustrations by Ian Daniels are eery and give great insight on what many might have seen.
Bachelors Grove in Chicago Illinois has a cemetery with a very interesting history. This site is haunted by a phantom known as “White Lady.” She wanders the cemetery at night, sometimes with an infant in her arms. Actual photos of this mysterious phantom do exist. Bachelors Grove is also known as a dumping ground for bodies during the Gangster Era. Several of Al Capone's victims had been dumped in the lake by the cemetery. Many other mysteries are tied to this cemetery and the lake.
Germany hosted towns where witches were sought out and burned. Towns like Coburg, Herborn and Hoffhiem Idstein and many more. At Wildensen Castle near Leibertingen, witches burned at the top of the towers. Many of the towers were prisons predominately aimed at women. These sites are haunted by supernatural beings. Some visitors claimed to hear screams and shouting. Some claim to see figures that vanish quickly.
At Wexford Hall in Ireland, exorcisms were performed. Stories have been told of a dark stormy night and a strange visitor. The devil had played cards with an unknowing family. When discovered he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Strange incidents occurred so regularly the family had an exorcism to rid them of the demon. Father Thomas Broaders fought against the demonic force. The majority of exorcisms in Ireland have gone unrecorded.
As you can tell, Curran's visits to various sites around the globe uncover the folklore of these creepy sites. He also researches the history of the eras and lists facts about these various sites and the people that lived there. Readers will be surprised to find that some of these locations are closer to them than they might have thought. Immediately readers will be pulled into these tales and find themselves looking over their shoulders. The illustrations by Ian Daniels are eery and give great insight on what many might have seen.
June 16, 2012
Originally Reviewed at: Mother/Gamer/Writer
Rating:4.5 out of 5 Controllers
Review Source:NetGalley
Reviewer:Heather
The World’s Creepiest Places is a rather fun, and interesting compilation of, you guessed it, the world’s creepiest places. This has been rather exciting for me to read, because I love both the paranormal as well as history. Even if you’re not a heavy reader, each place is about a chapter long, so you can read up at your own pace.
What I really enjoyed was the perspective the author took. He doesn’t just tell you about the places. No, he goes in depth into the history surrounding the eerie feelings, or sightings at each location. If psychics, myth-busters, or the like have done studies, he also includes their findings too.
Travel back into time as the legends, myths, and ghost stories are retold from a fresh angle. You will not be disappointed. If you’re like me, you’ll also find yourself planning your bucket list around the fabulously haunted lands, buildings, and ruins.
I think it’s plain as day that I’ve really enjoyed this book. I typically don’t read non-fiction, because in my opinion, it’s boring. I loved the short chapters, but they weren’t short on information either. If you enjoy real ghost stories, or even history, I think you’d enjoy this book. Just keep in mind it’s not meant to scare or freak you out. Instead it’s meant to inform, and make you think. Are these places really haunted? Or do we develop certain feelings around places because of their history?
Rating:4.5 out of 5 Controllers
Review Source:NetGalley
Reviewer:Heather
The World’s Creepiest Places is a rather fun, and interesting compilation of, you guessed it, the world’s creepiest places. This has been rather exciting for me to read, because I love both the paranormal as well as history. Even if you’re not a heavy reader, each place is about a chapter long, so you can read up at your own pace.
What I really enjoyed was the perspective the author took. He doesn’t just tell you about the places. No, he goes in depth into the history surrounding the eerie feelings, or sightings at each location. If psychics, myth-busters, or the like have done studies, he also includes their findings too.
Travel back into time as the legends, myths, and ghost stories are retold from a fresh angle. You will not be disappointed. If you’re like me, you’ll also find yourself planning your bucket list around the fabulously haunted lands, buildings, and ruins.
I think it’s plain as day that I’ve really enjoyed this book. I typically don’t read non-fiction, because in my opinion, it’s boring. I loved the short chapters, but they weren’t short on information either. If you enjoy real ghost stories, or even history, I think you’d enjoy this book. Just keep in mind it’s not meant to scare or freak you out. Instead it’s meant to inform, and make you think. Are these places really haunted? Or do we develop certain feelings around places because of their history?
June 3, 2012
Who does not like to be frightened? Why do we all stand in line to ride the 'thrill' rides at amusement parks?
This book does not disappoint. Bob Curran delivers a wonderful compilation of the 'creepiest places' around the world. He explains the folklore of each place in an objective manner.
He begins the book with a story of a decrepit home near his apartment. It is a worn down old house. He is led to believe a murder may have taken place there. After this information, the author explains that the house takes on a more sinister appearance. He later finds that no such murder occurs. Someone purchases the house and restores it. Point? Perception is everything.
The cover of this book alone is enough to put the reader into the right frame of mind to read this book. A creepy old home, surrounded by moonlight and fog. Love the cover. Loved the book. I love to read about scary places. As I read, I could almost hear a dark, deep voice reading along with me. Narrating the passages.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys folklore or just a fun creepy story. The book is broken into sections. Each section tells the story of a scary, spooky place. Cemeteries, houses, castles, and morbid, bizarre people. Some you may have heard of, some will be completely new to you. Read it on a dark night for the full effect! A fun and enjoyable read.
This book does not disappoint. Bob Curran delivers a wonderful compilation of the 'creepiest places' around the world. He explains the folklore of each place in an objective manner.
He begins the book with a story of a decrepit home near his apartment. It is a worn down old house. He is led to believe a murder may have taken place there. After this information, the author explains that the house takes on a more sinister appearance. He later finds that no such murder occurs. Someone purchases the house and restores it. Point? Perception is everything.
The cover of this book alone is enough to put the reader into the right frame of mind to read this book. A creepy old home, surrounded by moonlight and fog. Love the cover. Loved the book. I love to read about scary places. As I read, I could almost hear a dark, deep voice reading along with me. Narrating the passages.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys folklore or just a fun creepy story. The book is broken into sections. Each section tells the story of a scary, spooky place. Cemeteries, houses, castles, and morbid, bizarre people. Some you may have heard of, some will be completely new to you. Read it on a dark night for the full effect! A fun and enjoyable read.
October 4, 2012
Interesting stories, written in a somewhat meandering way. Marred by the lax editing common for books of this type, with missing commas changing the meaning of sentences, information repeated twice in the same paragraph, and other errors and sloppy stylistic choices that result in a book that is much harder to read than it needs to be.
Some editing errors cause serious doubts about the author's credibility: how can I trust that he is relating the actual legends about a place when he makes claims as easily proved false as that 42 is a multiple of 13 (regarding the staircases in the Winchester Mystery House)?
The author can't seem to decide if he is being rational or sensational, and veers wildly between the two. This is not problem in itself, but combined with the continual editing errors it adds to the overall impression of sloppiness.
It isn't terrible. The stories are interesting and inspiring both to research more about them and as the starting point for other stories. The prose is clumsy at times, and sometimes a bit too much effort must be exerted to decipher what is meant, but it is generally enjoyable. I'm not upset to find it in the library.
Although I must complain about the illegible font used for the title of each section. It is certainly creepy, but useless as text.
Some editing errors cause serious doubts about the author's credibility: how can I trust that he is relating the actual legends about a place when he makes claims as easily proved false as that 42 is a multiple of 13 (regarding the staircases in the Winchester Mystery House)?
The author can't seem to decide if he is being rational or sensational, and veers wildly between the two. This is not problem in itself, but combined with the continual editing errors it adds to the overall impression of sloppiness.
It isn't terrible. The stories are interesting and inspiring both to research more about them and as the starting point for other stories. The prose is clumsy at times, and sometimes a bit too much effort must be exerted to decipher what is meant, but it is generally enjoyable. I'm not upset to find it in the library.
Although I must complain about the illegible font used for the title of each section. It is certainly creepy, but useless as text.
June 8, 2012
The book contains 25 scary destinations in 25 chapters. Out of those 25, only 5 take place in the USA. Now, I get it the book is titled “WORLD’s” Creepiest Places. But I assumed there would be more taking place in the USA. Why is this a big deal to me? Well, in my experience, when a scary story takes place in another country it usually takes place anywhere between the 1500’s - 1900 and includes in depth history lessons with tons of names of people and places I just cannot retain.
Out of the 25 stories I only enjoyed a handful. By the time I got to the end of the book I skimmed over a couple of the chapters because I just had lost all interest.
While the writing and stories are good, they just did not interest me, and for that alone I’m giving it the rating I’m giving it.
For a more in depth review please check out my horror movie/book review blog @ Shivers of Horror
Out of the 25 stories I only enjoyed a handful. By the time I got to the end of the book I skimmed over a couple of the chapters because I just had lost all interest.
While the writing and stories are good, they just did not interest me, and for that alone I’m giving it the rating I’m giving it.
For a more in depth review please check out my horror movie/book review blog @ Shivers of Horror
August 20, 2014
Book Review originally published here: http://www.iheartreading.net/mini-rev...
Intriguing book about, well, as the title suggests, the creepiest places in the world. The author goes into great detail, offering history and background story for each of the locations. I liked that the book didn’t limited itself to the USA, but instead focused on creepy places all over the world.
Intriguing book about, well, as the title suggests, the creepiest places in the world. The author goes into great detail, offering history and background story for each of the locations. I liked that the book didn’t limited itself to the USA, but instead focused on creepy places all over the world.
March 8, 2015
This was my bedtime book. I read a chapter a night, when I could. I had heard of many of the places mentioned but some were totally new to me. I love books like this. You may not want to read this at bedtime but I encourage to give it a try. There are some very interesting, creepy stories in here.
November 5, 2011
Very interesting! Focused on the history and folklore of the locations. The book itself was not creepy...
August 10, 2012
The cover and the title do not do this book justice.
October 30, 2012
I thought this read was OK...sort of your typical "haunted" book. Again, just a dime a dozen read. At least the writing was good on this one though.
August 6, 2014
I don't know why I didn't love this book - it's usually the kind of thing I love. It just didn't keep my interest.
August 25, 2013
Lots of fascinating stories - fun to read if only for the history.
November 11, 2014
Nothing overwhelmingly great but a fun book to read about areas of the world that I am curious about.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews