it takes true nerves of steel to spend time in these spooky places prepare yourself for a journey through the cursed and the downright terrifying as we explore 15 scary and haunted buildings
number fifteen sednach ossuary kutna hora czech republic located in the suburb of the town of kutnahora in the czech republic the sidnak ossuary could well be the creepiest building on earth it's actually one of the most visited tourist attractions in the country drawing people from around the world who want to see the unusual decorations that adorn the interior where it's thought the bones of as many as 70 000 people have been displayed during the 13th century an abbott brought a small amount of earth back from the holy land and sprinkled it on the site that the ossuary now occupies and it soon became one of the most famous burial sites in europe it was forced to expand over the following centuries particularly as so many thousands of people died as a result of the black death and by the 1500s there was no room left one of the monks at the time was given the job of exhuming as many skeletons as he could and to arrange their bones inside the ossuary and this was the origin of the macabre site that you see there today it was only in the late 19th century however that a local wood carver was hired to arrange the bones in the decorative display that it's so well known for and he built a chandelier that contains at least one of each type of human bone along with various peers monstrances an altar a coat of arms and even his own signature which are also made entirely from bones that were dug up from the surrounding burial plots
number 14 castle of good hope south africa the castle of good hope which is in cape town in south africa was first built by the dutch east india company between 1666 and 1679 which makes it the oldest building that's still standing in the whole country used as a fortress to defend the region against attacks from other nations as well as being the locus of control over the local population it originally was self-sustaining with a church bakery and numerous living quarters and shops as time passed the castle was used for a variety of purposes but it was at the turn of the 20th century that large parts of the building were converted into cells to hold prisoners from the second boer war the countless abuses that took place there throughout history have led it to being one of the most haunted places in the southern hemisphere with a number of ghosts and strange happenings being reported there is for example a ghoulish black dog that sometimes appears and walks up to strangers the ghost of a former resident who greets vips when they arrive the ghost of one of the castle's governors who is said to have been cursed by a soldier he's sentenced to hang and even a bell that mysteriously rings in a tower where a soldier supposedly killed himself
number 13 first world hotel pahang malaysia first opened in 2001 the first world hotel in pahang malaysia currently holds the record for being the largest hotel in the world in terms of number of rooms with a whopping 8 584 across its three towers it also contains a huge shopping center a casino and even an entirely indoors amusement park but it's the gambling culture associated with the hotel that led to it being believed to be haunted unfortunately there have been thousands of cases of people losing so much money in the casino that they've ended their own lives inside the resort and it's said that their specters still roam the corridors according to local stories the 21st floor of the main building is the most problematic sometimes the elevators will bypass it entirely even if that's where you were trying to go the countless stories of ghosts and hauntings in the hotel have led to a number of superstitions that guests are supposed to adhere to in order to protect themselves upon checking in you're meant to switch the tv on open the curtains pull back the covers on the bed fill the bath and flush the toilet all in order to announce your presence and to encourage the spirits to move elsewhere
number 12 chateau du brezek france found in the berserk lua albans commune of western france the chateau du brezek so named because it's owned by the duke of brazak is an old building that was first constructed in the 11th century significant renovations in the 17th century are what turned it into what we see today and at the time it became the tallest chateau in france despite being ransacked during the french revolution it was restored in the mid-19th century and is now adorned with various artworks and treasures as well as having a lavishly gilded theater but it's perhaps best known locally for the ghosts that haunt the corridors according to legend a former owner of the chateau jacques de breze returned home after a long trip and found his wife spending time with her young lover enraged by the betrayal debreze murdered them both and buried them somewhere on the castle's grounds and it's the souls of this unfaithful couple that are said to still roam the grounds and make themselves known to visitors around the anniversary of their death it's more than likely that several other violent deaths occurred on site too with some believing that in one of the children's rooms you can still hear the echoes of their screams after meeting a particularly bloody end
number 11 charleville castle ireland the gothic-style charleville castle can be found in county offaly ireland it's widely regarded as one of the greatest examples of this kind of architecture in the whole country the first record of residents on the site dates back to the 1640s but the castle that stands there today was built between 1800 and 1812. as you can imagine the costs of construction were enormous and left the owner in so much debt they couldn't even afford to live there it went through extended periods of being abandoned over the following century and each time someone managed to move in they would redecorate and redevelop areas meaning it now has many more rooms and features than it originally did there were periods when it was at the center of high society in the region often hosting parties for lord byron and other well-known historical figures but today it's most known for being one of the most haunted buildings in europe being at such a historical location it's no surprise that the site has seen its fair share of tragedy over the years and it's these victims that are still believed to be present the most famous at charleville castle is that of a young girl called harriet who is believed to have died after falling down one of the staircases her laughter and screams can be heard echoing around the hallways on a quiet night and she's often seen playing in the castle's grounds
number 10 gondjam psychiatric hospital south korea historical psychiatric hospitals are usually scary enough at the best of times but gonjiam which is in guangzhou south korea takes this to a completely different level no one's entirely sure when it was first built but during the latter part of the 20th century it became the most prolific institution near seoul people were sent there for a variety of different and questionable reasons and weren't exactly kept in the lap of luxury there were numerous tales of experiments being conducted on patients and the fact that once someone had entered there was virtually no chance they'd ever leave again this led to the belief that the place was being consumed by dark spirits of its own making the hospital finally closed in 1995 but the circumstances surrounding this remains a mystery the official reason was lack of funds to keep the institution running but in the previous decade there had supposedly been an unusual number of deaths linked to the place not just of those being kept there but also of visitors and contractors many believe they were the act of ghosts seeking revenge for their own poor treatment and even though most of the hospital has now been demolished there are still parts that remain and are as frightening as ever
number nine casa de la puerta bogota colombia translating to mean the poet's house the casa de la poisia is in the candelaria neighborhood of bogota colombia and was once the residence of famed poet jose asuncion silva to commemorate his work following his death the property has now been converted into a library and bookshop and it's the home to a non-profit organization that helps to bring new poetry to places around the world but it's not just literary fans who travel to visit because it's also become a popular place with paranormal investigators too as is often the case with successful creative writers silva was a tortured man and he killed himself in 1896 by shooting himself in the heart his troubles began a few years earlier when he lost several manuscripts in a shipwreck this led to a severe deterioration of his mental health something that only got significantly worse within a year with the death of his beloved sister it's his spirit that's believed to still be present in the house and a number of visitors have reported being in one of the upstairs rooms in absolute silence and being able to hear the faint whisperings of the poet who according to local stories is still trying to recreate his lost works
number eight fairmont banff springs hotel canada first opened by the canadian pacific railway in 1888 the banff springs hotel was one of canada's first grand railway hotels that provided luxurious stopovers for the wealthier passengers traveling across the country now featuring 757 guest rooms as well as a large number of event spaces it remains one of the most impressive venues in alberta and is even surrounded by the banff national park which means it's situated in stunning surroundings despite being in such a beautiful place and having welcomed millions of guests in more than a century of operation there are a number of rumors of several ghosts that haunt the grounds all of whom are people that died on site with countless stories of murders suicide and horrific accidents there seems to be a particular focus on room 873 where a man supposedly once murdered his wife and child before turning a gun on himself after so many complaints of strange happenings in the room it's now sealed off permanently but that hasn't stopped strange experiences from taking place elsewhere there's also said to be the ghost of a bride who was believed to have died in the hotel in the 1920s after tripping on the stairs and you may even see the ghost of sam the bellman who's apparently so friendly and helpful that he's often mistaken for a living member of hotel staff
number 7 larnock castle new zealand located close to the city of dunedin in new zealand lorna castle was built in the late 19th century from its architecture you'd possibly have expected it to be older than that but the man behind it william larnock specifically wanted a gothic inspired mock castle and today it's one of only two castles in the whole country things didn't exactly go well for larnick however as he borrowed huge sums of money to construct his dream getaway which included methane-powered chandeliers a man-made waterfall and a huge ballroom after finally moving in however he lost his daughter and first wife and his second wife to illness that they contracted while living there and then found out that after marrying his third wife she was having an affair with his son surrounding by spiraling debts larnick decided that he couldn't go on any longer and ended his life with a revolver it's no surprise then that the castle is believed to be haunted but something happened in 1994 that elevated this to something far greater than the occasional ghost in that year a new play based on larnex life was premiered in the castle's ballroom and things soon took an unexpected turn once the guests had sat down a huge storm began to develop outside the wind blew the smoke back down the fireplace chimneys covered the entire room in a thin layer of white soot and the heavy rain and hail could be heard crashing down on the iron roof with drapes flying everywhere the scene where lorna kills himself will forever be etched in the minds of the people that were present because a huge flash of lightning burst through the room it was so startling that everyone was convinced it was a stage effect but the stage manager hadn't been allowed to use any flammable materials at all because of the danger of doing that in such an old building
number six morgan house kalimpong india the morgan house was first built in the 1930s in kalimpong india as a private home with british colonial architecture and was designed to commemorate the wedding between an english jute baron and a local plantation owner said within 16 acres of stunning countryside you'd think life there would have been perfect but problems soon developed for the couple the baron is said to have become bitter and treated his wife terribly to the point where he tortured her in such a way that she died following the tragic event he left the region and fled back to england and the house was taken over by a trust that now runs it as a hotel it's believed that his wife's spirit is still present in the building and while there have been no direct sightings of her there have always been a number of instances where guests have reported hearing whispering in footsteps due to the nature of the place these aren't any ordinary visitors either because the morgan house has been a popular retreat for some of the country's most famous film stars and celebrities and they too have experienced paranormal happenings while at the house it's now considered to be one of the most haunted buildings in the whole of india and it's almost certain to send shivers down the spine of anyone who spends a night there
number five akershus fortress oslo norway the arcasus fortress which is in norway's capital city oslo has its origins in the late 13th century and was instrumental in the protection of the region during countless invasion attempts particularly from sweden it's been used in a range of ways over seven centuries from military fortifications to a royal residence a prison and now the office of norway's prime minister as well as being a museum and with such a varied history it's perhaps no surprise that several people met a grizzly end there especially during the time it was used as a prison when inmates were tortured restrained with irons and chains starved and forced into physical labor there were a number of unexplained deaths many of which have since been attributed to horrendous conditions and it's the spirits of these people that are still believed to haunt anyone who steps foot on the property there are regular reports of whispers and scratching in the ancient hallways as well as strange cold breezes and a general sense of anxiety that's experienced by visitors in particular rooms all of which have made it the most notorious haunted building in the country
number four eastern state penitentiary philadelphia united states after first opening in 1829 the eastern state penitentiary became the main detention facility in philadelphia pennsylvania and was designed to take a different approach to how prisoners were treated with a focus on rehabilitation instead of solely as a means of punishment a number of infamous criminals were kept there over the years including al capone and willie sutter's and his perceived success meant that its design was replicated at more than 300 other prisons around the world looking more like a castle than a prison with walls that are up to 20 inches or half a meter thick the outside world may well have seen this as a revolutionary design but the experiences of many prisoners were far from that originally they were kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours per day even if they were being held for relatively minor crimes and when they were moved around the facility they were forced to wear hoods anyone caught speaking without permission was severely punished such as being kept in darkness with only bread to eat or by being forced to wear a straight jacket and having their mouths gagged and this led to an environment where the guards would routinely beat and torture inmates today since the prison closed in 1971 it's a national historical monument that's a rusted and decayed version of its former self and is run as a museum but every year there's a paranormal party that's held to give guests the chance to get up close and personal with a large number of ghosts that are believed to haunt the site
number three corvin castle hunadora romania it's one of the most famous scary castles in the world but despite most legends of corvin castle in romania being untrue it has a storied history of its own that means it's just as creepy as you'd expect built in the 13th century in a renaissance gothic style this is the castle it's known as being the home of dracula but in truth vlad the impaler isn't thought to have ever visited the place let alone live there and even bram stoker the author of the story isn't thought to have even known about the place corvin castle was however an important strategic site to defend against numerous attempts to invade the country over the centuries and featured holding cells in the towers for prisoners it became notorious for being a place where if you were sent there as punishment you'd never again be free there are countless rumors of what happened to enemies of the state within the castle's walls it's most likely that it was simply used to hold people ahead of their impending execution and if that's the case there will have been hundreds who lost their lives many of whom were innocent by today's standards it's said that you could feel death in the air as you walk around the ancient site today and according to local legend no one should ever consider staying the night there because if you do you'll never wake up the next day
number 2 zunantunich belize zunantunich is an incredible ancient maya site that's located in central belize built around 1400 years ago it became the center of society for the more than 200 000 people that lived in the belize valley and would have been where ceremonies sacrifices and worshiping took place archaeological surveys on the site began in the mid 19th century and a number of hidden structures have been found including a long forgotten ball court and a burial chamber the main structure known as the el castillo which measures 130 feet or 40 meters high is actually the second tallest structure in belize and it's this temple that's been associated with paranormal activity for more than a century the first reports of a ghost who was known as the stone woman were recorded in 1892 and she's believed to have been a victim of a sacrifice during the heyday of the site said to be dressed in white with eyes that glow a fiery red she's seen during spiritually significant dates of the calendar when she appears to walk up the stone steps and vanishes into one of the temple walls
number one bilitz heidelstadten hospital germany if you are looking for a truly frightening place to visit then the bilitz heidelstadten hospital is as creepy as it gets first built in 1898 in bilitz germany it was a hospital with around 60 buildings that was initially used to house people with fatal lung conditions such as tuberculosis during the first world war however it was used to treat soldiers who had been injured by the new types of weapons that were being used like machine guns and gas and was the place that helped a young adolf hitler recover from temporary blindness after battling british troops it again became a field hospital during the second world war where wounded nazis were sent and following that it was taken over by the soviet union who used it as a place to treat prisoners and communist party officials most buildings have however now been abandoned for more than 25 years and after falling into a state of decay are eerie and leave a sense of dread in the mind of anyone who visits while there aren't any ghost stories as such there's no doubt that the sense you get upon entering the hospital is a spooky one and you can't help but wonder just how people were treated there over the years and whether the spirits are waiting for the opportunity to make contact watch our scary playlist for more top 15 videos about the most scary subjects sit back relax and binge watch all of our best videos