haunted
Haunted Halloween Harvest
Atlas Obscura Scares Up the Best of the Season
October is our favorite month to celebrate the macabre, the mysterious, and the monstrous. Join us on a wild ride through a landscape of unsolved hauntings, terrifying legends, and hidden places almost too creepy to be real. It’s going to be ghoulish good fun.
Tales of Terror: Ominous animals, a dinner to die for, exploring an ancient netherworld, and more.
astronomy
In October, Our Night Sky is Full of Scary Stories
Stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere can find the demon star Algol, a murdered monster, and victims of vengeful gods.
military history
How Gremlins Went From Fairy Stories to Warplanes to Hollywood Legend
Meet these slippery, mischievous reflections of our anxieties about technology.
An Extra-Creepy Atlas: Create your own Road Trip of the Damned with these unsettling Places you can visit IRL (in this life or the next).
Gardner, Massachusetts
S.K. Pierce Mansion
This historic Victorian mansion is allegedly so haunted that a signed waiver is required to enter.
New Delhi, India
Feroz Shah Kotla
The ruins of a medieval citadel believed to be haunted by a ministry of wish-granting djinns.
Paris, France
Catacombes de Paris
The vast, legendary catacombs hold secrets much stranger than stacked bones.
You Are Fearless. You Have Scrolled Deep Into the Atlas Obscura Crypt.
Venture even deeper into the shadows for more spine-tingling Stories, positively paranormal Places, and other spooky surprises.
Scroll down at your own risk
mazes
Get Lost in the Catacombs With Our Latest Maze
A new, Paris-inspired challenge from a record-holding maze-maker.
witchcraft
The Long, Extremely Witchy History of Telling the Future With Eggs
From ancient Greece to the Salem Witch Trials.
haunted
7 Ghost Stories That Will Haunt You
From a real-life ghost buster to a murder solved with testimony from the great beyond.
cryptozoology
Beware the Wendigo, the Frostbitten Flesheater of North America’s Chilly Heartland
This terrifying creature has evolved over millennia—but never lost the need to feed.
bones
In Malta, ‘Dead Men’s Bones’ Are a Sweet, Spiritual Tradition
The cookies are just one way that the island nation remembers the dead.
San Francisco, California
William Westerfeld House
This Alamo Square mansion is rumored to have hosted satanic rituals and other occult practices.
Still hungry for more mischief and mayhem?
Satisfy your appetite for all things Halloween, from tasty treats to unsolved mysteries, with these classics from years past.
Explore now