Halloween Feature

The Startling History of the Jump Scare

By Gavia Baker-Whitelaw · October 28, 2024
Halloween Feature

5 Macabre and Mysterious Stories About Candy

By Samantha Chong · October 11, 2024
Halloween Feature

Foxfire 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.

With chattering squirrels, chirping birds, and often lush vegetation, cemeteries are full of life—including multiple lichen species.

cemeteries

A Cemetery's Immortal Residents and the Scientist Who Studies Them

Lichens growing on gravestones appear immune to aging. What does their life cycle teach us about death?

In Mexico, today's teyollohcuani is a terrifying, shape-shifting, vampire-like witch, but the figure has deep precolonial roots and a complex evolution.

vampires

Mexico's Vampire Witch Has a Twisted Origin Story

The terrifying teyollohcuani is a shape-shifter of ancient indigenous lore, dark colonial history, and pop culture.

Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle.

witchcraft

The Greatest Witch Movie Ever Made

Why do modern witches embrace "The Wicker Man"?

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).

Alishan, Taiwan

Pagoda of the Tree Spirit

A monument to placate the spirits of an ancient forest.

Mask of the Bat God

Mexico City, Mexico

Mask of the Bat God

This ancient jade mask depicting the Zapotec bat god was found in the ruins of the pyramids of Monte Alban.

Odesa, Ukraine

Odesa Catacombs

The largest catacomb system in the world.

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

All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura

monsters

The Atlas Obscura Crossword: Monster Mashup

The city of Pontianak was named after a ghost.

statues

The Time a Town Was in an Uproar Over a 300-Foot Ghost Statue

Cast your votes on the “nightmare Statue of Liberty.”

Thomas Hill Standpipe

List

A Journey Into the Mind of Stephen King

Nine places connected to the stories of one of America's greatest horror writers.

Elvira (above) is one of the most recognizable horror hosts of all time. Played by American actress Cassandra Peterson, Elvira hosted Elvira’s Movie Macabre from 1981 to 1986.

horror

From Elvira to Svengoolie, Local Horror Hosts' Frightfully Fun History

Every night across the U.S. local horror hosts don masks and costumes to tell jokes and revel in the absurdity of classic horror films.

You must not say the town's name aloud.

List

13 Unlucky Places to Avoid on Friday the 13th

From a “killing stone” to a town too cursed to speak its name, superstition surrounds these places.

The deathwatch beetle found in the United Kingdom, Xestobium rufovillosum, was once considered an omen of death.

science

The Truth Behind the Deathwatch Beetle's Creepy Tap-Tap-Tapping

In the United Kingdom, the insects were once considered omens of death—they're actually much more destructive.

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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.