The 6 Creepiest Places in (the Wine Regions of) Europe

Let’s begin with a classic. Paris’ catacombs stretch out for miles and miles underneath the city; the public ossuary itself makes up only a small portion of the subterranean labyrinth, and constitutes the only section you can get into nowadays without facing some pretty hefty fines and a possible criminal conviction. This is known as the Denfert-Rochereau Ossuary, which is made up of just over four miles of caverns, and isn’t half creepy in itself – an endless array of carefully arranged human remains reach into the dark, lining the walls like macabre ornaments – but it’s that forbidden section that’s really fascinating. Known as the Mines of Paris, these 200 miles of caverns, many of which also act as mass graves, cover the entire underside of the city, and are still braved by cataphiles and urban explorers to this day (not that we could ever endorse that, of course – those fines just aren’t worth it). In the past, the mines have been used by the French Resistance, a number of Parisian art movements and clandestine organisations (one of which even set up a cinema beneath the Trocadéro) and most of the city’s criminal organisations. Most of the entrances are sealed, and those who do find a way in are advised to have with them somebody who knows their way around if they ever want to find a way out again.

Most cities have their fare share of horror about them if you’re willing to look for it. That said, Florence makes this list for a few reasons: firstly, because the city is not exactly lacking in morbid tales, from restless spirits waiting for their love to return to disembodied stone heads to even, allegedly, the ghosts of Dante and Mussolini. Secondly, because of a certain obsession held by the city’s most famous resident, one Leonardo da Vinci, about life and death – in the former, deformities, dysmorphia and other things deemed to be ‘unnatural’, and in the latter – well, he just quite liked dissecting people. Thirdly, and finally, because we’re actually offering a completely free trip to the city to celebrate the release of Season 3 of NBC’s Hannibal (who was also quite fond of the place) on DVD and Blu-Ray. Find out more here: Competition now closed.

The Castello di Poppi, located in Poppi, Tuscany, isn’t just a stunningly conserved example of medieval architecture. It’s also the final resting place of Matelda, a woman who was said to seduce local men and then murder them – via trapdoor onto razor-sharp blades, of all things – to cover up her affair from her powerful husband. Eventually, she did this so many times that the rest of Poppi decided that murdering everybody isn’t a hugely cool thing to do, and walled her up in the castle’s tower. Apparently, she can still be seen in the windows of the castle at night, dressed in white, as beautiful as she ever was. Just, you know, don’t say yes if she asks you out for a drink.

More catacombs – the dead spoil us. Located in Palermo in Sicily, these tombs – also open to the public – acted as a burial place from the late 16th century onwards, where residents of status – often mummified – would be laid to rest in their finest clothes. At last count, 8000 corpses and 1252 mummies populate the catacombs, ranging in quality of preservation from the unremarkable (think skeletons) to the full-on, I’m-never-coming-back-to-Italy-ever-again, absolutely relentlessly terrifying (think barely-decomposed mummies that look like they’re screaming). The Palermo Catacombs aren’t actually open at night (well, it’s technically a museum after all), which we note as being both moderately disappointing and a massive relief.