The top nine destinations for Halloween
From Mexico's Day of the Dead to Dracula's castle in Romania, there are different destinations that are well-suited for celebrating Halloween around the world. DW takes a look at the scariest places.
America's most haunted town
In 1692, 20 people were tried and executed for witchcraft Salem, Massachusetts. And they weren't the only people executed for being witches in the town. Today, Salem dedicates its Halloween celebrations to witchcraft. Visitors can go to the "Official Salem Witches' Halloween Ball" or the "Witch Museum" where the trials were held.
A celebration of death?
From October 31 to November 2, Mexicans celebrate "The Day of of the Dead." Families go to the cemetery and celebrate this day by chanting to their dead relatives. In San Andrés Mixquic, on November 1 a parade of a cardboard coffin guides people to the cemetery, where someone at the end jumps out of the coffin to scare people.
Dark passages and dungeons
With its dark hidden alleyways, eerie atmosphere and bloody past, London comes to life on Halloween. Visit the London Dungeons, famous murder sites on a midnight ghost walk with the author of "Haunted London" Richard Jones, or Jack the Ripper's old haunts with a crime historian.
The birthplace of Halloween
In Ireland, October 31 used to be a medieval festival celebrating the end of harvest when the dead came back to visit the living. The celebration already starts on October 26 in some cities like Galway with carnivals and ghost tours. Ireland definitely knows how to thrill its visitors.
Vampires in Romania
Home to Bram Stoker's Dracula, Bran castle in Romania is a Halloween haunt. What a better way to spend Halloween than the home of "Vlad," Stoker's fictional character. You can spend Halloween tracing the footsteps of Dracula and discovering the truths behind the bloody horror story.
Prague's skeletons
It has been said that Prague is one of the most haunted cities in Europe. A famous site is the Oslany cemetery, which is the biggest graveyard in Prague. And around 70 kilometers outside the Czech capital, the "Sedlec Ossuary," a chapel that contains the bones of more than 40,000 people, is a top haunt.
A romantic Halloween
Paris is known as one of the most romantic and beautiful places in Europe, but it is also very haunted. You can find the names of several famous people on tombstones at the "Père Lachaise," where Chopin, Edith Piaf and Oscar Wilde are buried.
Voodoo at Halloween
Some people believe "Rose Hall" in Jamaica is haunted because it used to be the home of Annee Palmer, who killed her three husbands. It is a leading tourist attraction on Halloween, and visitors can be taken on a guided tour of the house.
The moving coffins of Chase Vault
Christchurch, Barbados is home to the legend of the moving coffins in the "Chase family" vault. Legends state that every time the door to the tomb was opened to bury another member of the Chase family, the positions of the coffins had changed. Now each family member is buried separately.