Some of the best horror media draws on real life for inspiration - and some places seem pre-made for tales of terror. Take a look at...
La Isla de las Muñecas, Island of the DollsSitting amongst the canals of Xochimico just south of Mexico City is a small island known as La Isla de las Muñecas - Island of the Dolls. The story begins with a tragedy - Don Julian Santana Barrera (the caretaker of the island) discovered the body of a young girl washed up on the shore. Shortly afterwards, a doll (possibly belonging to the drowned girl) floated to the island... prompting Barrera to collect it and place it in one of the island's trees.
It seems that Barrera came to believe he was being haunted by the drowned girl, and took to collecting and posing hundreds of dolls throughout the island to appease her spirit. This would be eerie enough by itself, but local legend claims that the dolls sometimes seem to move of their own volition, opening their eyes and even whispering to each other.
It's not actually clear that the drowned girl ever really existed. Barrera himself eventually drowned after 50 years of collecting, allegedly in the same spot he originally discovered the girl. Whether you believe his story or not, the island remains home to hundreds of dolls... which you can visit, if you have the nerve!
Things took a turn for the strange when preparations were made to move the old bodies, as forty-five of the friars had become naturally-occurring mummies. Taking this as a sign, the friars chose to treat the undecayed bodies as relics and place them on display in niches at the entrance of the new tomb.
The friars took it upon themselves to mummify other bodies (including non-friars, for a generous donation) with the catacombs now being filled with a mixture of natural and artificial mummies. The tomb plays host to Giovanni Paterniti (an American Vice-Consul) and Rosalia Lombardo, considered the world's most beautiful mummy. Though they are not accepting any more bodies, visitors can still enter and view the tomb.
The Soviet Union was attempting to modernize and portray itself as a forwards-thinking modern nation, with part of that make-over being the production of comfortable housing for the populace. Building 7 of the new Kramatorsk apartments was one such residence it even featured hot water and an elevator. Crucially, it was also made using concrete containing gravel from a quarry in Donetsk.
Around a year after moving in, residents began to be struck down with leukemia. Baffled officials wrote it off as the unfortunate result of genetic predisposition - but when a new family was moved in, several of them developed leukemia as well. In 1989 experts discovered appallingly high levels of radiation inside the building. Having identified a wall as being the most contaminated part of the structure, researchers removed and dismantled it... only to find the tiny capsule of highly radioactive caesium-137.
The quarry was using cesium-137 to measure the density of mined materials because it puts out a lot of gamma radiation, something stopped only by several inches of a dense material like lead or a few feet of concrete. Nestled in the wall, the capsule is thought to have quietly inflicted lethal doses to four people and harmful doses to a further seventeen. Building 7 still stands (minus the offending wall) in modern day Ukraine.
It's thought that the fire started when an old mine working was used as a burn pit for residential waste. Normally these pits would be lined with a fire-proof shale barrier to prevent any potential spread... but in this case, the barrier was not properly constructed. The burning trash ignited the small bits of coal left behind in the workings, which carried the fire to adjacent seams of coal.
Because coal burns slowly (and actually contains oxygen) the fires have never burnt out. In fact, the Centralia coal fire is thought to currently cover around six square miles and continues to grow each year. Centralia itself was condemned in 1992, with the government warning of sinkholes and deadly gasses seeping to the surface. The eerie deserted town filled with hidden danger and plumes of toxic smoke actually served as inspiration for the setting of Silent Hill!
- La Isla de las Muñecas, Island of the Dolls
- The Mummy-Filled Capuchin Catacombs
- The Deadly Building 7 of Kramatorsk
- The Town Over Hell
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| Would you want to visit a river island covered in these? (mikaelelmgren) |
La Isla de las Muñecas, Island of the DollsSitting amongst the canals of Xochimico just south of Mexico City is a small island known as La Isla de las Muñecas - Island of the Dolls. The story begins with a tragedy - Don Julian Santana Barrera (the caretaker of the island) discovered the body of a young girl washed up on the shore. Shortly afterwards, a doll (possibly belonging to the drowned girl) floated to the island... prompting Barrera to collect it and place it in one of the island's trees.
It seems that Barrera came to believe he was being haunted by the drowned girl, and took to collecting and posing hundreds of dolls throughout the island to appease her spirit. This would be eerie enough by itself, but local legend claims that the dolls sometimes seem to move of their own volition, opening their eyes and even whispering to each other.
It's not actually clear that the drowned girl ever really existed. Barrera himself eventually drowned after 50 years of collecting, allegedly in the same spot he originally discovered the girl. Whether you believe his story or not, the island remains home to hundreds of dolls... which you can visit, if you have the nerve!
The Mummy-Filled Capuchin Catacombs
The Capuchin Friars of Palermo date back to 1534, when they were established at the church of Santa Maria della Pace. The friars had established a simple pit grave for their deceased brothers, but this soon proved insufficient for the growing Capuchin community. They decided to create a new tomb using an existing set of natural caves.Things took a turn for the strange when preparations were made to move the old bodies, as forty-five of the friars had become naturally-occurring mummies. Taking this as a sign, the friars chose to treat the undecayed bodies as relics and place them on display in niches at the entrance of the new tomb.
The friars took it upon themselves to mummify other bodies (including non-friars, for a generous donation) with the catacombs now being filled with a mixture of natural and artificial mummies. The tomb plays host to Giovanni Paterniti (an American Vice-Consul) and Rosalia Lombardo, considered the world's most beautiful mummy. Though they are not accepting any more bodies, visitors can still enter and view the tomb.
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| The gas seeping from below Centralia made it dangerous to stay... (ljlabarthe) |
The Deadly Building 7 of Kramatorsk
In the 1970s Soviet Union, a stone quarry in Donetsk misplaced a tiny, tiny capsule. This small bit of technology (used to help measure the density of mined material) fell into a shipment of gravel destined for use in construction.The Soviet Union was attempting to modernize and portray itself as a forwards-thinking modern nation, with part of that make-over being the production of comfortable housing for the populace. Building 7 of the new Kramatorsk apartments was one such residence it even featured hot water and an elevator. Crucially, it was also made using concrete containing gravel from a quarry in Donetsk.
Around a year after moving in, residents began to be struck down with leukemia. Baffled officials wrote it off as the unfortunate result of genetic predisposition - but when a new family was moved in, several of them developed leukemia as well. In 1989 experts discovered appallingly high levels of radiation inside the building. Having identified a wall as being the most contaminated part of the structure, researchers removed and dismantled it... only to find the tiny capsule of highly radioactive caesium-137.
The quarry was using cesium-137 to measure the density of mined materials because it puts out a lot of gamma radiation, something stopped only by several inches of a dense material like lead or a few feet of concrete. Nestled in the wall, the capsule is thought to have quietly inflicted lethal doses to four people and harmful doses to a further seventeen. Building 7 still stands (minus the offending wall) in modern day Ukraine.
The Town Over Hell
Coal was first mined in the town of Bull’s Head (later Centreville) in 1842, with the area eventually becoming incorporated as Centralia Borough in 1866. Though the location was once a rich source of coal, disaster struck in 1962 when the Buck Mountain Coal Bed caught fire... and it has burned ever since.It's thought that the fire started when an old mine working was used as a burn pit for residential waste. Normally these pits would be lined with a fire-proof shale barrier to prevent any potential spread... but in this case, the barrier was not properly constructed. The burning trash ignited the small bits of coal left behind in the workings, which carried the fire to adjacent seams of coal.
Because coal burns slowly (and actually contains oxygen) the fires have never burnt out. In fact, the Centralia coal fire is thought to currently cover around six square miles and continues to grow each year. Centralia itself was condemned in 1992, with the government warning of sinkholes and deadly gasses seeping to the surface. The eerie deserted town filled with hidden danger and plumes of toxic smoke actually served as inspiration for the setting of Silent Hill!
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