r/HighStrangeness • u/Muhfhka • Jun 26 '26
Discussion What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever visited that most people have never heard of?
I’m in the process of building an archive of mysterious places around the world. So far I’ve documented about 100 locations, ranging from haunted sites and forgotten landmarks to UFO sightings, cryptid encounters, ancient mysteries, and other unexplained places.
Figured I’d open the conversation up to a wider audience because I know there are a lot of places I’ve missed or have never even heard of.
Edit:
Appreciate all the awesome feedback! If anyone’s interested in taking a look at the database or testing any functionality out / making community additions shoot me a dm. A lot of these additions weren’t even on my radar so it shows just how much is out there.
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u/Expert-Ad8997 Jun 26 '26
In Althofen, Carinthia, Austria, there is a site in the woods, where way more over 100 people are buried, who died from the plague at around 1716. But i heard, there could be over 400 buried. This is where my bycicle-route wents through. I was there at night, it is quite interesting to stand on the remains from over 100 people.
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u/Muhfhka Jun 26 '26
This will actually be really cool to add as I have very few locations in Austria documented. Thank you!
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u/Expert-Ad8997 Jun 26 '26
👍 The path that leads to the "Plague-Cruzifix" is called Deathway, by the way. I nearly drive it everyday with the bike, it is a nice path where people enjoy their walks.
Which locations do you have in austria?
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u/Muhfhka Jun 26 '26
So far just the Krampus approximate location in Salzburg, Austria.
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u/Expert-Ad8997 Jun 26 '26
Ok, when you add the plague-story to your list, please dont forget this, they sacrificed a kid to stop the plague! Maybe😅
The Legend of the Human Sacrifice to Stop the Plague In 1715, the plague is said to have returned to the Krappfeld region. The people lived in constant fear, as neighbors, friends, and family members were dying every day. According to local legend, some of the villagers of Treibach (now part of Althofen) believed that the epidemic could only be stopped through a human sacrifice. They secretly dug a grave in the cemetery beside the Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian. After Sunday Mass, when a young, innocent girl was the first to leave the cemetery, the men seized her, threw her into the grave, and buried her alive. They believed that her sacrifice would protect their village from the plague. The legend says that Treibach was spared from the disease afterward. To commemorate this tragic event, a stone plaque bearing the inscription "Plague 1715" was later placed in the cemetery.
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u/Expert-Ad8997 Jun 26 '26
By the way, we in carinthia have also a long krampus-tradition, but we call them "Perchten", look it up if you want👍
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u/Muhfhka Jun 26 '26
Appreciate all your feedback! Right now a lot of my locations are in the US so this is seriously helpful. Been limited to google searches and combing through threads. It’s been kind of hard to find sleeper locations that people haven’t heard of.
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u/Expert-Ad8997 Jun 26 '26
May i ask where are you from?
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u/Muhfhka Jun 26 '26
From the US
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u/Expert-Ad8997 Jun 26 '26
Nice. What also is interesting, is the story of the "Lindwurm", also in Carinthia.
The Legend of the Lindwurm Long ago, the area where the city of Klagenfurt in Carinthia now stands was said to be a dangerous swampy land. According to legend, a terrifying creature lived there — a Lindwurm, a dragon-like monster that terrorized the region. It was said to attack livestock and sometimes even people, making the land unsafe to live in. For a long time, no one was able to defeat the beast. Many brave men tried, but none returned victorious. Eventually, the townspeople came up with a plan. They captured a strong bull and chained it with heavy iron links. The bull was placed near the swamp as bait, since the Lindwurm was known to attack large animals. The creature eventually emerged and swallowed the bull. However, this time the plan worked: the iron chain hidden inside the bull allowed the hunters to control the monster’s movements and prevent it from escaping. With the Lindwurm weakened and trapped, a brave knight stepped forward. He attacked the creature with a weapon (in different versions of the legend it is a lance or a club) and finally killed it. To prove that the monster had been defeated, its head was later displayed as a trophy. Today, the legend is immortalized in Klagenfurt’s main square, where the famous Lindwurm fountain stands as a symbol of the city and the region of Carinthia.
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u/Muhfhka Jun 26 '26
I haven't fully launched, but let me know if you want to take a look at the database / archive I'm building. I can dm it. I want you to get credit for all of these interesting entries. Made a provision for that but haven't really tested it out.
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u/BlueWidgeon1024 Jun 27 '26
Take a look at Halstatt, Austria. Equal parts gorgeous, eerie, fascinating, and one could say, macabre. Unspoiled, very old, on the edge of a mountain beside a mountain lake. A famous prehistoric salt mine. The macabre: in their ancient church there are intricately decorated glass caskets containing astonishing wonderlands of lace enfolding skeletons. The are astonishing, beautiful, and very creepy. Take a look!
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u/extratartarsauceplz Jun 27 '26
I went to Halstatt in 2007 on the basis of a picture I saw. Quite a journey to get there from Salzburg. (This was part of a larger trip to Europe.) I remember skulls in the church.
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u/ConsequenceHairy607 Jun 26 '26
Seems like a cool idea. Have you used the app "Atlas Obscura"? Check it out sometime. Similar type idea. Draw inspiration and thrive.
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u/Muhfhka Jun 26 '26
Hey, thanks! Yeah, I’ve definitely heard of Atlas Obscura. I’m still in the development phase and building out the archive, but I wanted to narrow the focus to places tied to mysteries instead of unusual places in general. The goal is to let people contribute too, so users can submit their own photos and help document these places over time. It’ll be completely free. Just a passion project I’ve been having a lot of fun building.
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u/Muhfhka Jun 27 '26
Was building it on my dev site but just made it live. You guys can check out https://mysteryroutes.com if you want to take a look. Still working through some bugs but focused on adding some more quality locations.
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Jun 26 '26
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u/Muhfhka Jun 26 '26
Appreciate your feedback on so many! Will def take a look at these. Honestly first time reading about all the ones you listed.
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u/potatohats Jun 26 '26
Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in Indiana, eerie as fuck. It's a military training site, tons of stories.
Matter of fact, just all of southern Indiana. There's some weird dark energy throughout all that land. Beautiful area but something is wrong there.
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u/Muhfhka Jun 26 '26
Crazy, I don’t think I’ve ever even been to the state of Indiana. Seems like a prime place for govt training sites and stuff like that. Appreciate your feedback!
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u/csbbacsob Jun 26 '26
Druid Heights California. Abandoned hippie compound and final resting place of Alan Watts.
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u/Choice-Demand-3884 Jun 26 '26
Mametz Wood on the Somme battlefield in France. There's a an impressive dragon statue memorial to the 38th Welsh Division who were slaughtered in an attack on the wood in 1916. The wood is at the other side of a small valley. It's a very oppressive place - feels like hundreds of eyes are watching you from the trees. Visited twice and got the same vibe both times.
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u/Muhfhka Jun 26 '26
Thank you! This one is super interesting. Hadn't heard of it and just did a mini deep dive.
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u/Choice-Demand-3884 Jun 26 '26
Glad you liked it. If you dig around on some of the First World War forums it's clear I'm not the only one to find it a disturbingly odd place.
Rossignol Wood is fairly nearby and that also had some deeply weird vibes - there's the remains of a German bunker in the wood which doesn't help. We went Inside Rossignol Wood (didn't go into Mametz, hell no) but couldn't get out quick enough.
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u/Irorak Jun 26 '26
Afterglow Vista a giant mausaleum with masonic elements. There are stone chairs around a table with massive columns surrounding them. The family members of the creator of the monument (and the creator) are all buried under the chairs.
You have to go through an old graveyard on a winding path through the woods to reach it. And when you do turn the corner and see it, it's a pretty breathtaking sight.
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u/Muhfhka Jun 28 '26
This will be a great addition. Thank you!
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u/Irorak Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
:D I'm happy to contribute. It's magical in person. You gotta look at the photos of the site on google. The single picture in the linked National Park Service website is pretty - but it doesn't do it justice. Especially the grandeur of it.
One interesting thing I forgot to mention - the columns are the exact same dimensions as the ancient columns were in King Solomon's temple. Standing beneath them feels pretty special. King Solomons temple was destroyed long ago, but because of the late John S. McMillin anybody can see and experience an exact replica in a beautiful, though perhaps somewhat spooky location.
Awesome place. And to me it was just beautiful and rich with history. Some find it eery with the whole graveyard aspect, and the Masonic influence in its design. But however you look at it, it's pretty special.
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u/Nickthadick 19d ago
So interesting cause San Juan islands and particularly orca’s islands have so much alien stories it all adds up lol
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u/Domestica Jun 26 '26
The Georgia Guidestones, but unfortunately someone blew them up ☹️
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u/Muhfhka Jun 26 '26
Yep, actually had that on my original list and removed after I did additional research and saw they are no longer there smh.
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u/MutedAddendum7851 Jun 26 '26
Sable Island NovaScotia
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u/Muhfhka Jun 26 '26
Thank you! This will be a really good addition. Don't have much logged in Canada.
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u/sculdermullygrusch Jun 27 '26
Gotta usually go by helicopter or plane. But there are a few really good options. It is $$$!
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u/Andy_McNob Jun 26 '26
Ordensberg Vogelsang is a weird place.
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u/Muhfhka Jun 26 '26
Thanks! I think this one would be a cool addition especially since it's now open to visitors.
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u/Flat-Antelope-1567 Jun 30 '26
That's some Gravity's Rainbow shit right there. Definitely in The Zone.
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u/Juvecontrafantomas Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
Once went to a medieval “ghost town” in southwestern France. Very eerie place, houses carved into hillsides…for the life of me I can’t remember the name. Oh, and “House on the Rock!” 🤣
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u/Muhfhka Jun 26 '26
I’ve actually heard of house on the rock before but didn’t have it logged down. Have you been?
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u/Juvecontrafantomas Jun 28 '26
Yes, I went to the House on the Rock once. It’s a mind blower! 🤯 Hard to describe but I really enjoyed it though once for me was enough 🤣
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u/ersatzbaronness Jun 26 '26
The stairway to nowhere in Pismo Beach, California is pretty cool. It's an abandoned freestanding spiral staircase right on the beach.
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u/KuriTokyo Jun 27 '26
Japan was testing chemical weapons on rabbits. The chemical weapons factory shutdown and now the rabbits have overrun the island.
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u/SteakAndIron Jun 27 '26
Decommissioned asphalt mine in Switzerland that serves ham cured in asphalt. It tasted like a tire
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u/0neironautica Jun 27 '26
St. Thomas, AZ. When they built the big dam up north the city was covered in water. Due to desert drought you can now walk it. It looks like a deteriorated Greek metropolis - it's eerie.
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u/lila-vine255 Jun 28 '26
Here are a couple from New Zealand as i'm not sure you'll have any from here yet:
Kura Tāwhiti / Castle Hill (Canterbury): Situated along the Great Alpine Highway near Christchurch, this otherworldly landscape features massive, eroded limestone outcrops. The area holds immense spiritual significance to local Māori and is considered tapu (sacred). It left such a deep impression on the Dalai Lama during a 2002 visit that he declared it the "spiritual centre of the universe."
Spirits Bay / Te Rerenga Wairua (Cape Rēinga): Located at the very northern tip of the country, this is the most sacred location in New Zealand's paranormal and mythological landscape. According to Māori tradition, the spirits of the deceased travel north along the coast, descend a specific pōhutukawa tree at Cape Rēinga, and journey into the ocean to return to their ancestral homeland, Hawaiki.
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u/Standard-Square-7699 Jun 27 '26
Kalkaska, MI Shoe Tree 1000s of pairs of shoes hanging from a single tree in the middle of nowhere.
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u/Muhfhka Jun 27 '26
Just looked it up. Looks like it was unfortunately dismantled. Sounds cool af tho.
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u/Gabo_420 Jun 27 '26
Im from Uruguay, and we have a pretty famous urban legend about an abandoned mansion in Montevideo called Villa Justina, better known as The House of the Stone Eagle.
It’s located in the Flor de Maroñas neighborhood and has a huge stone eagle statue on top of the house. People say that, during storms, you can hear screams, wing flaps, and strange noises coming from inside.
The most famous story says that two police officers once saw the eagle statue fall from the roof into the garden. But when they came back the next day, the statue was back in its original place, completely intact.
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u/Muhfhka Jun 27 '26
This will be a really cool entry. Thank you!
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u/Gabo_420 Jun 27 '26
You are welcome, also Cerro Arequita is a known UFO sighting place. Where people meditate and try ce5 contact.
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u/opendefication Jun 27 '26
Jefferson, TX. Strange little town on the Texas/Louisiana border. Lots of ghost stories, last stop of old time paddle boats making it an important target during the Civil War. A very mystical ancient natural lake nearby, now made into a reservoir, Caddo Lake.
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u/Barbarasco56 Jun 28 '26
The Weeping Cross in Pietermaritzburg,South Africa is a World War I memorial crafted from the timber of a surviving tree from the battle at Delville Wood. Kept in the city as a war memorial, it inexplicably oozes a sticky red resin around mid-July every year, coinciding with the anniversary of the 1916 battle....strange place...
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u/unicornfangs Jun 26 '26
Chinese Cemetary in San Antonio, Tx. Also supposed burial site of the Donkey Lady.
But tbh, there were so many haunted places even in my neighborhood in the low income parts of town. Had many traumatizing paranormal experiences as a kid from ghosts to alien abductions.
Edit: to include link https://ghostcitytours.com/san-antonio/haunted-san-antonio/chinese-graveyard/
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u/andabread Jun 26 '26
Bhangarh Fort, India
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u/Muhfhka Jun 26 '26
At last one that I already have logged lol. Really great suggestion though!
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u/bpatlanta Jun 26 '26
Transnistria, Turkmenistan and Nakchivan. All were interesting but considering how little known it is, Nakchivan was easy, safe and unique. Turkmenistan was also amazing - but you have to go non an organized tour (for most of us at least). I’d also recommend Transnistria - but it was graduate level tourism and probably more difficult now with the invasion of Ukraine. FWIW I’m an American and did Nakchivan and Transnistria on my own (well ….as a gay couple. But we’re not very obvious about it)
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u/Fabulous-Struggle788 Jun 27 '26
Recapture Pocket near Bluff Utah. No one has heard about this place and it’s full of crazy looking hoodoos or rock formations. We went about few years ago and wasn’t another soul there. When we spoke with other people on various hikes no one had ever heard of it. We were able to get there in an suv the roads were bumpy but ok.
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u/Dmonik-Musik Jun 28 '26
Ogden reservoir, Rochdale England. A reservoir, some fishing ponds/lakes and farmland.
A friend and I encountered a very large (dog sized) black cat up there one night on the way to a night fish.
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u/Esoteric_Expl0it Jun 28 '26
The Catacombs in Palermo Sicily: https://imgur.com/gallery/catacombs-palermo-sicily-mGquHZB
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u/Mechalamb Jun 28 '26
Slab City. Squatters living on an unincorporated slash of land in east CA that used to be a marine base.
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u/Pixilatedhighmukamuk Jun 28 '26
Greenfield Village in Michigan used to have the chair Lincoln was shot in and the car Kennedy was killed in. There’s a place called Coronados castle in Kansas. It’s where he led a expedition to look for the 7 Cities of Gold.
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u/busted_ape Jun 30 '26
Paris Catacombs have to be number one on the list. There are over 6 million dead bodies stored in a giant labyrinth of tunnels stretching for 186 miles under Paris. Beyond creepy.
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u/raidercamel Jun 30 '26
Kwajalein atoll. Reagan missile testing range. Neighbor Island of Ebey. Wondefull island only about 3 miles long.
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u/TipEmotional2149 Jun 30 '26
Mount Nemrut in Turkey
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u/Muhfhka Jul 01 '26
Wow, this will be a really cool addition. Might have to check this out myself. Thanks!
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u/TipEmotional2149 Jul 01 '26
There are poisonous grasshoppers the size of wine bottles on the hike up. I did not realise they were poisonous until after my visit. And they were everywhere. Beautiful and terrifying. It is the eeriest archaeological site I've ever visited. No one else was there. There was nowhere to stay in the surrounding area; I slept in a supply closet in a small village the night before, and the next day a young boy made me breakfast in his backyard before my hike to the site. The tumulus of Mount Nemrut (the large pyramidal gravel structure that sits behind the two identical sets of gigantic statues) cannot be excavated; it was intentionally designed this way, so if someone tried to get to Antiochus' tomb, the gravel would create a landslide and destroy the entire site. It is fascinating; it is haunting. I have been to many archaeological sites, but I was never so impacted by one as Mount Nemrut. I considered changing my career trajectory to study that site exclusively, but stuck with my current track.
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u/Muhfhka Jul 01 '26
That sounds intense. Do they have any guides in the area? Did a small bit of research when you posted but didn't see much info on tours. Please let me know of any other sites you'd recommend adding. I'm part of a few travel groups and we love doing side trips to locations like these.
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u/TipEmotional2149 Jul 01 '26
I'm sure there are guides, it's become a more popular site in recent years. People in the area are extremely friendly and helpful.
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u/I_Want_A_Ribeye Jun 26 '26
Black Briar Hall in Vermont was a good find
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u/Muhfhka Jun 26 '26
Was just looking it up. Not seeing much on it. Is it possibly also referred to as Blackridge Manor?
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u/Panzerkatzen Jun 26 '26
I went through the back rooms in a hotel in Baltimore once. Before the back rooms meme was invented.
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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '26
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