Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Cave of Kelpius
Where America’s first doomsday cult awaited the end of the world.
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Places I've been
Places this traveler has marked as been there.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia
This little-known collection holds everything from "Dracula" notes, to the manuscript of "Ulysses," to the forged works of Shakespeare.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Irish Memorial at Penn's Landing
An Irish Memorial commemorating those who perished due to potato blight.
Trenton, New Jersey
Lower Trenton Bridge
This Delaware River bridge is emblazoned with a catty slogan from a more prosperous time.
Chatsworth, New Jersey
Apple Pie Hill Fire Tower
How this Pine Barrens hill got its name is uncertain, but on a good day the view from the fire tower is crystal clear.
Bomarzo, Italy
The Monsters of Bomarzo
A 16th-century horror show built in a lovely Italian garden.
Ercolano, Italy
Herculaneum
Pompeii's less famous neighbor is still revealing her secrets.
Permanently Closed
Naples, Italy
Fontanelle Cemetery Caves
Skulls from the plague of 1656 and World War II bombings are united by a cult dedicated to caring for the ancient dead.
Naples, Italy
Gabinetto Segreto
The once forbidden "secret cabinet" of erotic art from excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Naples, Italy
The Anatomical Machines of Cappella Sansevero
These "anatomical machines" are only one of the many strange items in this Italian crypt.
Rome, Italy
The Mouth of Truth
The yawning maw of this pagan visage is said to bite off the hands of liars.
Rome, Italy
Museum of the Holy Souls in Purgatory
A collection of objects supposedly singed by the hands of souls in purgatory.
Rome, Italy
St. Valentine's Skull
The skull of the patron saint of lovers lies in the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin—maybe.
Rome, Italy
Meridian Line of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs
Installed in an act of one-upsmanship, the annual sundial in this church is also a symbolic victory for the Gregorian calendar.
Rome, Italy
Porta Alchemica
An alchemist's “magic door” stands in the middle of a Roman park.
Rome, Italy
Basilica di San Clemente
A Nesting Doll of Churches.
Providence, Rhode Island
Stephen Harris House
A simple Colonial home with a past haunted by death and madness.
Providence, Rhode Island
Fleur-De-Lys Studio
An architectural statement of artistic intent smack in the middle of Providence, Rhode Island's Colonial uniformity.
East Providence, Rhode Island
Little Neck Cemetery
An ancient cemetery with some historic bodies underfoot.
Exeter, Rhode Island
Grave of Mercy Brown
The final resting place of New England's last "vampire."
New Haven, Connecticut
Grave of Midnight Mary
Final resting place of a New Haven urban legend.
New Haven, Connecticut
The Cushing Center
An archival collection of over 2,200 case studies which includes human brain specimens and tumor specimens.
New Haven, Connecticut
Crypt at Center Church-on-the-Green
137 graves holding New England's earliest residents.
La Vega, Dominican Republic
El Carnaval de la Vega
Largest pre-Lent festival in the Dominican Republic.
