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
haunted
At a Haunted Grocery Store, Trying to Explain the Unexplained Has Consequences
In rural Norway, flying potatoes and other strange events troubled staff and customers for years. What happened when people shared their stories?
ancient
In Ancient Egypt, Human Sacrifice and Shabti Figures Ensured an Afterlife of Servitude
Clay figurines and murdered retainers provided plenty of company—and a workforce—for the dead.
haunted
The Best Halloween Songs To Usher in the Spooky Season
From The Exorcist's "Tubular Bells" to a murder ballad by Tom Waits.
science
When You Die, Your Necrobiome Recycles You
An environmental microbiologist explains why an individual's death is a new lease on life for an entire ecosystem.
horror
The Twisty Tale of the BBC Show Supposedly So Terrifying That It Was Destroyed
"Late Night Horror" was weird, innovative, and—mostly—will never be seen again.
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