Eye On Travel: Spooktacular places to put the real Shock into Tober

Be Afraid

Be Very Afraid

October is a month with an identity crisis. It can be Stoptober- to give up smoking- or Notsober if you wish to take up drinking.

But most commonly it’s Shocktober due to Halloween when a use is found for pumpkins and people wear scary masks. If however you really want an authentic fright, try visiting these places.

Bone Church: Remains of the Day

The Czech Republic makes rather good beer. That’s not all they make. Back in the 1300s in the town of Kutna Hora, the burial site was so popular they ran out of room. So they built the Sedlec Ossuary - The Bone Church - using excess human bones.

More than 40,000 human bones have been used to ‘decorate' the church - there was obviously a shortage of magnolia paint - including the main chandelier which uses nearly every bone in the human body. You might need a beer after visiting here.

GET THERE: Kutna Hora is located an hour by train from capital Prague, an ideal weekend break with reasonable prices. There are regular flights from across the UK to Prague.

Brazil: Snakes on an Island

Sometimes our perception of animals creates fear, especially in Hollywood. So if you happen to be shipwrecked and seeking land 90 miles off the coast of Brazil, you probably want to avoid Ilha de Queimada Grande, known locally as Snake Island.

This place is inhabited by golden lancehead vipers (up to 5 per square meter) which have evolved to live up trees and use their uniquely strong venom to catch birds. Frankly you would be better off taking your chances with the sharks than heading into this place. It’s actually illegal to visit anyway although you shouldn’t need to be told that.

GET THERE: Fly to Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro and there are plenty of exciting places to visit in Brazil. For a healthier wildlife experience, head to the western Pantanal region.

Mexico Chucky: It’s a Doll’s Life

Mexico already outdoes Halloween with the Dia de los Muertes - the Day if the Dead - but a genuinely frightening place has to the Isla de las Muñecas - Island of the Dolls - which is full of hundreds of abandoned dolls.

The collection was started by a local man who found a drowned girl’s body and put the dolls up to ward off evil spirits. He was subsequently found drowned in the same spot years later. Hire a boat and driver to visit the island - if you dare - just make sure they come back for you before dark...

GET THERE: The island is located in the Xochimico suburb in the south of Mexico City. Catch a football match at the nearby Azteca stadium for an alternative scary experience.

Antartica: Bloody global warming

Any remote wilderness area can create a psychological scare and a look at the price tag for a cruise to the Antarctic will certainly give you a fright. Whilst cabin fever is likely to be limited to the sea conditions of the Southern Ocean, a visit to the Ross Sea will allow a view of the unsettling waterfall on the Taylor Glacier known as the Blood Falls.

Ok, it’s not actually blood but iron rich high salt content water that is starved of oxygen underground. It certainly looks the part and if you are a long way from anywhere and you see this, good luck sleeping soundly. Helpfully, the nearby peak is called Mount Terror...

GET THERE: Antarctic cruises depart from Ushuaia in southern Argentina or Bluff in New Zealand’s South Island. You will need plenty of time, good sea legs and a healthy bank balance.

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