cemeteries
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Halloween FeatureThe Startling History of the Jump Scare
By Gavia Baker-Whitelaw · October 28, 2024
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Halloween Feature5 Macabre and Mysterious Stories About Candy
By Samantha Chong · October 11, 2024
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Halloween FeatureFoxfire Brings Magical Light to the Dark Forest
By Leigh Ann Henion · September 25, 2024
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: The mother of all witches, creepy cryptids, the many faces of death, and more.
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).
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
vikings
Impaled Horse Heads Are Appearing More and More Around Iceland
The rise of paganism in the country is reigniting a macabre ritual from the Viking Age.
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.
poison
The Monarch Butterfly Steals From Poisonous Plants to Survive
The butterfly defends itself using milkweed, just one of several plants packed with heart-stopping toxins that may also be in your medicine cabinet.
mummies
In Ancient Egypt, Judgement of the Dead Was Severe
To enter the realm of Osiris, the dead had to complete a long to-do list—and face a terrifying devourer of souls.
military history
How Gremlins Went From Fairy Stories to Warplanes to Hollywood Legend
Meet these slippery, mischievous reflections of our anxieties about technology.
aliens
Area 51, Aliens, and the Truth (It's Out There)
A national security historian explains what's really going on at the infamous Nevada site.
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