Is dark tourism a growing trend among travelers around the world? Visitors seeking out attractions and locations that are associated with death, tragedy, bizarreness, and the macabre. Dark tourism includes visiting sites that are considered to be unordinary, tragic, and sometimes even scary. I myself have always been fascinated by dark tourism, even before it was a thing. I enjoy learning about the darker side of history and realizing that travel is not always pretty and perfect. This post we’ll take a look at some of the dark tourism sites I’ve visited around the world. **This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one of the links or banners throughout the page, whether it be TripAdvisor, Booking.com. Agoda.com, or any other affiliate, I might receive commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, you can visit my affiliate link page here. Thanks for the support! ***Warning*** There are images and topics in this post some viewers might find disturbing. What is Dark Tourism? To me, dark tourism is defined as visiting attractions and places that involve some sort of tragedy or unusual place of interest.  Everyone has their own version of what dark tourism truly is. To some it might be visiting a war museum and to others it can mean visiting a site of immense tragedy.  Dark tourism generally involves traveling to places or visiting attractions that are associated with death, catastrophe, haunted places, locations where horrific events occurred, or even places with bizarre artifacts and unusual oddities.  When it comes down to it, every traveler has visited a dark tourist spot whether it be the catacombs in Paris and ruins of Pompeii in Italy or the atomic bomb dome in Hiroshima.  Dark Tourism Sites We’ve Visited I’ve always been fascinated by dark tourism. I’d say I have morbid curiosity when it comes to traveling. I enjoy learning and seeing as much as possible, both good and bad. Traveling is not always pretty. Many people travel to Poland just to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau or maybe to the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology to catch a glimpse of Ötzi the Iceman.  I’ve found myself traveling to destinations specifically for a dark tourist attraction, like the Mummies of Guanajuato in Mexico or paying a visit to the Yde Girl in Assen, Netherlands. If you are like me and curious about dark tourism, here is a list of  dark tourism sites  around the world that I have personally visited broken down by region.  Asia Cambodia Siem Reap Killing Fields The Siem Reap Killing Fields are a tragic reminder about Cambodia’s dark history under the Khmer Rouge regime.  Located between downtown Siem Reap and Angkor Wat is the Killing Fields of Siem Reap and this museum serves as a memorial to the victims of the Cambodia genocide.  Today, visitors can go to the Killing Fields and learn about the atrocities that took place here. Some of the information and depictions are pretty graphic. There is well here on the site where upwards to 50 to 60 bodies were recovered from. There is also a mass grave site.  Japan Aokigahara Forest (Japan’s Suicide Forest) When it comes to dark tourism, Japan’s Aokigahara Forest or informally known as Japan’s “Suicide Forest” is probably one of the world’s most famous sites.  Known around the world as the “Suicide Forest,” Aokigahara Forest unfortunately received this name due to the high volume of suicides that occur at this location. Aokigahara Forest has been the subject of many horror films, folklore, and stories.  Today, anyone can visit Japan’s “Suicide Forest.” Honestly, the forest is quite beautiful. There are hiking trails throughout the forest and visitors can even explore Narusawa Ice Cave and Wind Cave.  Okinawa Battle Sites During the Battle of Okinawa, anywhere from 12,000 Americans and over 100,000 Japanese lost their lives.  The island of Okinawa has a long history, unfortunately WWII is one of the most notable historical events that occurred on and around Okinawa.  Some of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific occurred on Okinawa. There are many sites in Southern Okinawa related to the war that can be visited today.  I’m surprised dark tourists don’t flock to Okinawa. Some of the famous sites include Hacksaw Ridge, the Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters, and the Peace Memorial Museum.  The Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters is not to be missed especially if seeking out the darker side of history. Visitors can walk through the tunnels and view some of the special rooms. One room that stood out to me had holes all over the walls and ceiling from a grenade that was used by an officer to end their life.   Hiroshima and Nagasaki Besides visiting Aokigahara Forest, dark tourists will most likely find themselves visiting either the cities of Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Both cities were devastated by atomic bombs during WWII and there are still remnants remaining around each city left as a reminder of the devastation that took place.  If visiting Hiroshima, you can pay a visit to the hypo center, A-Bomb Dome, Peace Memorial Park and Museum, Honkawa Elementary School, and Bank of Japan.  Although Nagasaki is less visited then Hiroshima, there are many sites related to the war that are of interest. Visitors can go to the Atomic Bomb Museum and Peace Park. Sokushin-Butsu (Buddhist Mummies in Japan) Japan might be one of the last countries you’d think would have mummies. But in northern Japan in Yamagata Prefecture, there are Sokushin-Butsu, which is a Buddhist Mummy.  I am definitely interested in visiting dark tourist sites in Japan. I visited the Buddhist Temple of Dainichibou while on a road trip through the Prefecture of Yamagata.  This temple has the mummified remains of Shinnyokai-Shounin. According to information at the temple, Shinnyokai-Shounin was a Buddhist Monk during the Edo period who became a Sokushin-Butsu. These monks sacrificed their lives and practiced ascetic disciplines according to the temple. The monks would not eat grain, instead they ate nuts, tree roots, bark, wild plants, among other natural edibles. They then fasted on saltwater for 42 days and drank Urushi (An ingredient in lacquer) basically beginning the mummify process while still alive.  After self mummification, Shinnyokai-Shounin buried himself alive. Again, according to the temple, after 1,000 days of being buried, the body would be exhumed.  Today, visitors can go to Dainichibou and see the mummified body of Shinnyokai-Shounin sitting there. You can partake in rituals. Just be warned, photographs of the mummy are not allowed. Vietnam Hoa Lo Prison No trip to Hanoi, Vietnam is complete without a visit to Hoa Lo Prison. Vietnam has many dark tourist sites, mainly around Ho Chi Minh City but Hanoi has its fair share like the Vietnam Military Museum or the notorious Hoa Lo Prison. Hoa Lo Prison, or “The Hanoi Hilton,” is a historical prison that was built in the late 1800’s during the French occupation.  First, the prison was built to house political prisoners. Then it was used by the Vietnamese as a prison for US prisoners of war.  During the French occupation, Hoa Lo Prison was a place of nightmares. Prisoners were kept in horrendous conditions where sickness spread, food was poor, and the prison was at max capacity.  Europe Croatia Froggyland More bizarre then dark is the Museum of Froggy Land in Split, Croatia.  While exploring Split, we stumbled upon this museum by accident and of course our curiosity led us to visit one of the more bizarre museums I’ve ever visited. Froggy Land is a museum in Split, Croatia. The museum has taxidermied frogs on display. Each display has several taxidermied frogs that appear to be doing human day to day activities like going to school, working in a shop, or getting into some sort of trouble.  According to the Froggy Land website, the collection consists of 507 stuffed frogs.  Germany Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall was a 155 Kilometer (96 Miles) long wall that separated West Berlin from East Berlin.  The Berlin Wall was nearly built overnight on August 13, 1961 separating neighborhoods and even families in an instant.  The Berlin Wall was heavily guarded and guards were ordered to shoot on sight if anyone attempted to flee into Western Germany. Overall, around 140 people lost their lives before it finally fell on November 9, 1989.  Today, there are portions of the Berlin Wall that still stand in certain parts of the city.  Medieval Crime Museum (Rothenburg Torture Museum) Who doesn’t love a good torture museum? Well, the Medieval Crime Museum in Rothenburg ob der Tauber has thousands of exhibits related to history, humiliation, punishment, and torture. You can spend hours at this museum viewing the shame masks, torture devices, and other historical artifacts. There is even an Iron Maiden on display and various types of axes and swords used for beheadings.  Italy Capuchin Crypt in Rome In Rome, visit the Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini. This is the site of the Museum and Crypt of the Capuchin Friars.  The museum itself was interesting, you get an audio guide and learn about the Capuchin Friars. But the reason I visited the church was to check out the crypt.  The crypt is decorated with the skeletal remains of over 4,000 Capuchin friars. In the crypt there are interesting displays from bone chandeliers to wall art made from the bones of the Capuchin friars. Rome Colosseum If you think of the Roman Colosseum, you probably would not think of it as a dark tourist site. In my opinion, it fits the whole concept of “Dark Tourism” based on the historical events that took place. Think about it, you are visiting a monumental site known around the world, the Roman Colosseum which was home to brutal gladiator battles, public executions, and animal hunts where at times tens of thousands of animals were slaughtered.  The colosseum although impressive is kind of a symbol of violence and human suffering.  Netherlands Bog Bodies of Europe I took a road trip from northern Germany to Assen, Netherlands, just to visit the Drents Museum and see the Yde Girl. The Netherlands has plenty of dark tourist sites and seeing the Yde Girl, a Bog Body is one of them. Bog bodies are mummified bodies that have been discovered in bogs, primarily in Northern Europe to include the United Kingdom.  Bog bodies can be thousands of years old. Many of them, so well preserved they have been mistaken for recent murder victims.  The Yde Girl is a well preserved bog body at Assen’s Drents Museum, in the Archaeology Department.  The Yde Girl was dug up in the Netherlands in 1897. Found with a noose around her neck, which appeared to be quite common among other bod bodies, she most likely died from being a victim of sacrifice or from wounds inflicted of being tortured.  Veenhuizen: National Prison Museum Another dark tourist site in the Netherlands is the National Prison Museum in Veenhuizen. We stopped at the prison museum while en route to the beautiful city of Groningen.  What we know and see today as the National Prison Museum in Veenhuizen was at one point an actual prison housing criminals. The prison is pretty interactive and starts off with torture and forms of punishments that date back hundreds of years. From here you can walk through the rest of the prison. Visitors can see what cells where like, get to know, more like read about some of the prisoners that stayed here in the past, and learn a little about the Netherlands past and current legal systems.  Poland Auschwitz-Birkenau One of the most intense, sad, and chilling places I’ve ever visited has to be Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland.  Auschwitz is huge, you can spend most the day here walking around the concentration camp. Visitors will see the “Arbeit Macht Frei” sign, Gate to Auschwitz, crematoriums, barracks, the “death wall,” gallows, and even the site where Josef Mengele performed medical experiments. Some of the rooms that really hit me hard were the evidence rooms showing piles among piles of items that