Happy Halloween! It's one of my favorite days of the year and in honor of this fun spookfest, here's a selection of some of the world's scariest places to spend the night. Which would you dare to stay at?
KAROSTA PRISON HOTEL- Latvia- This former military prison in Latvia is said to be haunted. Why? Because folks have reported lightbulbs unscrewing themselves from sockets, unexplained drops in temperature and doors that open by themselves. If that doesn't get you, the graffiti on the walls of former inmates will surely give you a chill.
HOTEL PROVINCIAL- New Orleans, Louisiana- There are so many things in New Orleans that can spook you if you let them, but here in this hotel, it is said that a former soldier haunts the grounds. Guests have reported hearing voices, seeing ghostly visions and sights of the actual soldier appearing in the closet before disappearing.
AKASAKA WEEKLY MANSION- Tokyo, Japan- Among the norm here are strange mists arising from the vents, flickering lights, and one urban legend of a woman being dragged across a room by a ghosts.
RUSSELL HOTEL- Sydney, Australia- This former hostel in Sydney's oldest district is supposedly haunted by sailors who stayed there in the past. Particularly spooky is Room #8 where its been said that a ghost of a sailor resides and stares at guests while another walks the halls at night. Maybe that's where the creaky floorboard sounds come from?
BALLYGALLY CASTLE HOTEL- Ballygally, Northern Ireland- The ghost of Lady Isobella Shaw haunts this retreat as long ago, she was once locked with her baby girl in a tower room after failing to provide a mail heir. Guests say they've seen Lady Isabella wandering the grounds while cries of a baby are said to be heard in the rooms.
http://www.hastingshotels.com/ballygally-castle
HOTEL BURCHIANTI- Florence, Italy- Seriously stuffed with ghosts, people have said to see everything from a woman knitting in a chair, a maid cleaning rooms, children skipping down the halls and in the Fresco Room it's perhaps most prominent. Guests of this room have said they've felt watched- but by whom? This was a room that Mussolini stayed in so it's said that perhaps there is a connection.
LA FONDA ON THE PLAZA HOTEL- Santa Fe, NM- When I think NM, I think Breaking Bad but now after learning about this property I'm even more intrigued. Many say that amongst the ghosts in residence, one of the most prominent is a panicked salesman who was said to have thrown himself into the well on property after he led his company into financial straits. Guests say the corner on the east side of the third floor is the best place for supernatural experiences.
AIRTH CASTLE- Stirlingshire, Scotland- Guests of this 14th century castle have reported ghost dogs nipping at their ankles, the sounds of children playing in Rooms 3, 9 and 23 and viewings of a nanny and two children who were said to have died there in a fire.
ELVEY FARM- Pluckley, England- The Guiness Book of Records calls this place England's most haunted village and Elvey Farm, with its "weeping wanderer" along the grounds fits right in along with the reported phantom coach and horses that have been seen nearby.