Rachel

I voraciously study the infinitely appealing fields of plant identification, freak show culture, plagues & diseases, mental illness, fringe groups, conspiracy theories, and serial killer statistics. I have a collection of rare books, most of which I own purely because no one else would want them, and I really like tortoises.

Stats	30 days	All time
New places added	6	52
Edits to places	313	1234
Comments	2	5

Places I have been to

I have been to Reggie The Alligator, Gold Bug, Venice Beach Freakshow, Old Zoo Picnic Area, Alameda Point Antique and Collectibles Fair, The Museum of Death, Gothic Rose Antiques & Curiosities, Loved To Death, La Isla de los Alcatraces: Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate Park Bison, Kinetic Steam Works, Mountain View Cemetery, John Sowden House, The Bone Room, Urban Ore, East Bay Vivarium, Cesar Chavez Park, Exploratorium, Cabazon Dinosaurs, Watts Towers , Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Necromance, Disneyland's Club 33, The Bunny Museum, The Integratron, Holyland Exhibition, The Echo Park Time Travel Mart, Hicksville Trailer Palace, The Curio Emporium, Nevada County Hospital, Renz Women's Penitentiary, Sacramento Old City Cemetery, The Flintstone House, Empire Mine State Park, Raygun Gothic Rocket Ship and Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon

Places I like

I like Youngwood Court, Los Feliz Murder Mansion, Pneumatic System of the New York Public Library, The Eden Project: The World’s Largest Greenhouse, Victoria Amazonica, Wieliczka Salt Mine, Grip the Raven, Turtle Playground, The Integratron, Giant Viking beer can, Dragon Escalator, Holyland Exhibition, Maman, Labyrint Drielandenpunt, Galleta Meadows Estate, Tree Cathedral, Hicksville Trailer Palace, Sacred Crocodile Ponds of Paga, Tom Mankiewicz Conservation Carousel, Nevada County Hospital, Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden , Nightingale-Olympic, Athena the Owl at the Florence Nightingale Museum, Oak Island Money Pit, Neptune Memorial Reef, Raygun Gothic Rocket Ship, Big Brutus, The Corpus Clock & Chronophage and Moynaq

Recent Activity

May 25, 2012 Rachel updated the Frankenstein Cliff

Frankenstein Cliff

Rock face that shares a name with Mary Shelley's famous doctor

Frankenstein Cliff is not named after who you might think. Not an uncommon name in Germany, the cliff itself was named after a German immigrant landscape painter named Godfrey Frankenstein... »

Natural Wonders, Geological Oddities | Edited by JWOcker, Rachel and others
May 25, 2012 Rachel updated the The Apatani Tribal Village of Ziro

Ziro, India

The Apatani Tribal Village of Ziro

Hidden in the rain-forests of Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India lies the village of Ziro, home to the Apatanis

An old village of the Apatani Tribe, Ziro is found in the mysterious state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. The area is famous for having pine hills, mountain rice cultivation and for its... »

Cultures and Civilizations , Rites and Rituals, Lost Tribes | Edited by vatoad, Rachel and others
May 25, 2012 Rachel updated the Kyrk Gyz Cave

Koytendag, Turkmenistan

Kyrk Gyz Cave

A cave covered with bizarre stalactites of cloth

In the Köytendag Mountains, a dirt trail leads to the remote Kyrk Gyz Cave. Inside the cave is a something which looks familiar but slowly reveals itself to be bizarre. The ceilings of the... »

Curious Caves, Cultures and Civilizations , Rites and Rituals, Curious Places of Worship | Edited by Tawsam, Rachel and 2 others
May 25, 2012 Rachel updated the Fan Tan Alley

Fan Tan Alley

The narrowest street in Canada was once a spot for dastardly doings, now a historic piece of Chinatown

Fan Tan Alley holds the record for narrowest street in Canada and is a central piece to Canada's oldest Chinatown. Just 0.9m wide (about 4 feet) at the narrowest point, it is filled with... »

Architectural Oddities, Outsider Architecture | Edited by RogueTowel, Rachel and others
May 25, 2012 Rachel updated the Pet Sematary Filming Sites

Pet Sematary Filming Sites

The house and graveyard used in the horror movie "Pet Sematary"

One of the many film adaptations of Stephen King’s work, the 1989 film "Pet Sematary" focuses on a father who loses his two-year-old child, and then attempts to bring him back to life by burying... »

Memento Mori, Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries | Edited by JWOcker and Rachel
May 25, 2012 Rachel updated the Gongs of the Phibun Mangsahan Village

Ban Tunglung, Thailand

Gongs of the Phibun Mangsahan Village

Thailand's country villages continue the tradition of gong-making, and invite visitors to watch the process.

Between the Phibun Mangsahan Bridge and Khong Chiam in Thailand, there are a number of eccentric villages famed for forging iron and bronze gongs. These instruments are used for temples and... »

Unique Collections, Musical Wonders, Purveyors of Curiosities | Edited by katiebaker4 and Rachel
May 25, 2012 Rachel updated the Shanghai's Bird, Flower and Insect Market

Shanghai, China

Shanghai's Bird, Flower and Insect Market

One of the weirdest of China's fast-fading traditional marketplaces.

Shanghai epitomizes high-falutin internationalism, while simultaneously adhering to Chinese tradition. Traditional xialongbao, Shanghai soup dumplings, shops are made modern by ￥80 cocktails.... »

Purveyors of Curiosities | Edited by style_challenge1 and Rachel
May 25, 2012 Rachel updated the Köw Ata Underground Lake

Baherden, Turkmenistan

Köw Ata Underground Lake

The city of Bakharden has a most unusual swimming spot that doubles as a home to the largest known colony of bats in Central Asia

In landlocked countries, finding a place to swim can often be a challenge. This is especially true for places like Turkmenistan, a sun scorched Central Asian country, of which over 80% of the land... »

Natural Wonders, Watery Wonders, Curious Caves | Edited by Tawsam and Rachel
May 25, 2012 Rachel updated the Musée, Archives et Bibliothèque de la Grande Loge de France

Paris, France

Musée, Archives et Bibliothèque de la Grande Loge de France

One of the oldest masonic museums in Paris

The Grande Loge de France , together with the Grand Orient de France, is one of the major masonic courants in french free masonry. Even if both of them had derived from the ancient and accepted... »

Rites and Rituals | Edited by Laetitia and Rachel
May 25, 2012 Rachel updated the STF Kolarbyn Eco Lodges

Skarsjon, Sweden

STF Kolarbyn Eco Lodges

Bring your hiking shoes, wool socks, and thermal underwear for a stay in these cozy forest huts.

The STF Kolarbyn eco-lodges are located in the thick of Sweden's woods and are not your typical hostels. For anyone who's always dreamed of living inside the trunk of an actual tree, these... »

Extraordinary Flora, Commercial Curiosities, Odd Accommodations, Architectural Oddities, Outsider Architecture | Edited by katiebaker4, Mark_Casey and 2 others
May 25, 2012 Rachel updated the Cursed Memorial of Colonel Buck

Cursed Memorial of Colonel Buck

Stone monument honoring a town founder has a witch-boot shaped stain and a curse to go with it

During the early years of Bucksport, ME, its founder, Colonel Jonathan Buck, had a witch executed, as they did in that time. Before she died at the bad end of a hangman’s noose, she cursed Buck to... »

Unusual Monuments, Memento Mori, Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries | Edited by JWOcker and Rachel
May 24, 2012 Rachel updated the Roger Williams Root

Roger Williams Root

The vaguely man-shaped root that ate the body of the founder of Rhode Island

Roger Williams is the founder of Providence. He died in 1683, and was buried three times. Once at his death, again in 1860, and then a third time in the late 1930s to mark the 300th anniversary of... »

Natural Wonders, Extraordinary Flora | Edited by JWOcker and Rachel
May 24, 2012 Rachel updated the "The Bug Pit" at Zindon Prison

Buxoro, Uzbekistan

"The Bug Pit" at Zindon Prison

Where Stoddart and Connolly suffered in the infamous Bug Pit

In 1842, the British soldiers Stoddart and Connolly were executed in front of the Ark Fortress of Bukhara. It was the finale in a year-long torture (in the case of Stoddart it actually lasted four... »

Museums and Collections, Crime and Punishment, Memento Mori, Dead Explorers | Edited by Tawsam, Mark_Casey and others
May 24, 2012 Rachel updated the Tham Sakkarin Savannakuha

Louangphrabang, Laos

Tham Sakkarin Savannakuha

Abandoned limestone cave was once a sacred place of worship

The Tham Sakkarin Savannakuha is an abandoned limestone cave founded in 1889 that holds the Wat Tham Xieng Maen, where local worshipers used to pay homage and cleanse Buddha images. Nowadays only... »

Curious Caves, Relics and Reliquaries, Rites and Rituals, Curious Places of Worship, Incredible Ruins, Giant Buddhas | Edited by katiebaker4 and Rachel
May 24, 2012 Rachel updated the Moynaq

Muynoq, Uzbekistan

Moynaq

Once a bustling fishing port, this semi-ghost town is now more than 150km away from the shore

Moynaq is a city, surrounded by the desert of western Uzbekistan. At first glance, this seems to be one of the many Soviet cities that fell into decline after the collapse of the Soviet Union. But... »

Ghost Towns, Disaster Areas, Cultures and Civilizations , Incredible Ruins | Edited by Tawsam, Mark_Casey and 2 others
May 24, 2012 Rachel updated the Seattle Peace Park

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Seattle Peace Park

Touching displays of wishes for peace from the Cold War era

In retrospect, one could argue that during the Cold War era, the world was much easier to comprehend than it is today. Today, the borders between friend and enemy are blurred, wars are no longer... »

Outsider Art, Unusual Monuments | Edited by Tawsam, Mark_Casey and others
May 24, 2012 Rachel updated the The Nature Museum Feejee Mermaid

The Nature Museum Feejee Mermaid

Antique gaffe kept in the basement of a small Vermont natural history museum

The Nature Museum in Grafton, VT, is a small natural history museum in a converted house that is dedicated to Vermont flora, fauna, and geology. It houses quite a few treasures in its handful of... »

Museums and Collections, Natural History, Hunting and Taxidermy | Edited by JWOcker and Rachel
May 23, 2012 Rachel updated the Moodus Noises

Moodus Noises

The Connecticut village named for its subterranean thunder

The small village of Moodus, CT, was name after the Native American term for the area, Machimoodus, which means “Place of Bad Noises” or “Place of Noises.” It’s located within the town of East... »

Natural Wonders, Geological Oddities | Edited by JWOcker and Rachel
May 23, 2012 Rachel updated the Dungeon Rock

Dungeon Rock

A cave dug by a man directed by ghosts to find pirate treasure

In the 2,200-acre Lynn Woods Reservation in Lynn, MA, is a rock formation called Dungeon Rock. It features a cave dug by a man directed by ghosts to search for a pirate treasure. The story starts... »

Curious Caves, Will-O-Wisps and Spooklights | Edited by JWOcker and Rachel
May 23, 2012 Rachel updated the Tomb of Daniel at Samarkand

Samarqand, Uzbekistan

Tomb of Daniel at Samarkand

18m long sarcophagus of a constantly growing dead prophet

Five domes adorn the long structure that holds an 18m long sarcophagus, reputedly holding the remains of the Old Testament prophet Daniel, revered by Muslims, Jews and Christians alike – although... »

Memento Mori, Relics and Reliquaries, Curious Places of Worship | Edited by Tawsam, Mark_Casey and others
May 23, 2012 Rachel updated the Wat Dane Soung Jungle Temple

Vientiane, Laos

Wat Dane Soung Jungle Temple

An ancient jungle temple carved into a rocky overhang of the Dane Soung Plateau.

The Dang Soung Plateau was once a spiritual epicenter in ancient Vientiane-Viengkham as evidenced by the numerious stone shrines scattered throughout. Apparently, today only a solitary monk by the... »

Disaster Areas, Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship, Incredible Ruins | Edited by katiebaker4 and Rachel
May 23, 2012 Rachel updated the Emily’s Bridge

Emily’s Bridge

New England covered bridge where a jilted lover is said to have hung herself before haunting it

Most of the covered bridges in New England are known for their picturesque qualities, but Emily’s Bridge in Stowe, VT, has a more infamous reputation. Built in 1844 to carry what came to be known... »

Memento Mori, Hoaxes and Pseudoscience, Architectural Oddities | Edited by JWOcker and Rachel
May 23, 2012 Rachel updated the Centralia

Centralia

A toxic ghost town sitting atop a massive coal fire

Though its exact cause has been disputed, the fire underneath Centralia, Pennsylvania ignited sometime in 1962 and has been burning ever since. The town sits on top of a rich vein of coal, and... »

Fiery Wonders, Ghost Towns, Disaster Areas | Edited by Dave, Josh and others
May 23, 2012 Rachel updated the Count Orlok’s Nightmare Gallery

Count Orlok’s Nightmare Gallery

A collection of full-size movie monsters opened to the public

Count Orlok’s Nightmare Gallery is a movie monster museum located in Salem, MA. This private collection of James Lurgio features full-size creature creations that are made of resin, latex, and... »

Museums and Collections, Unique Collections | Edited by JWOcker, Rachel and others
May 23, 2012 Rachel updated the British National Railway Museum

New York, United Kingdom

British National Railway Museum

The National Railway Museum in York is the largest railway museum in the world, attracting almost 1 million visitors per year

Collecting trains is a quaint, imaginative hobby. Collectors learn about and understand history as they study and obtain various models that illustrate different points in history, exhibit... »

Museums and Collections, Unique Collections, Purveyors of Curiosities | Edited by Tyke, Mark_Casey and others