On every block there is a house with a dark tale and every city hosts hundreds of ghost stories. Whether spawned from rumors or truth, these tales spin into truly horrifying legends with each retelling. However, there are three that should stand out in every traveler’s mind, three legends that echo from a terrifying, historic site.

Dracula’s Castle

The famous Count Dracula has been the focal point of numerous chilling thrillers over time.  But what most people fail to recognize is that many of these morbid accounts were based on true depictions of real life characters from the 1500’s.  The gothic personality of Count Dracula was based on Vlad Tepes  (also known as Vlad the Impaler),  an evil prince who reigned over the dark forested mountains of Eastern Europe.  He was known for finding a twisted gratification in impaling his victims and drinking their blood.  While several haunting stories in the past have been vastly distorted over time in order to capture and intrigue an audience, little exaggeration was necessary when it came to the telling of the frightful tales of Count Dracula. Some say the imposing Bran Castle in Romania inspired Bram Stroker to fictionalize Vlad’s ghastly legend.

Apache Trail

Any place that has been in existence for an extensive amount of time certainly has a story behind it.  Humans aren’t the only ones that possess a personality- places can develop one as well.  The Apache Trail was where gold was first struck in 1892 during the famous gold rush.  The quaint little ghost town of Goldfield died a painful death back in the early 1890’s when the vein faulted and the grade of ore came smashing down.  The Mystery Shack (located in goldfield ghost town) is well known for its tales of haunting mystery within the Superstition Mountains.  In 1893, tons of gold was mined in this area but alas it had to be shut down a year later due to complaints about the occurrence of unusual spooky events.  Even to this very day, this spot still creates a vortex that defies the laws of gravity and is thus named the Mystery Shack.

Salem

The Witchy City of Salem, Massachusetts has always had an eerie air to it especially due to its violent history which dates back to the late 1600’s.  The Salem Witch Trials took place in this town where numerous individuals were wrongfully accused of witchcraft and subsequently hung to their deaths.   Many others were subjected to a life in prison where they spent their dwindling last years.  Salem was always know to be a “quarrelsome” town according to it’s neighboring cities.  With a past like this, no wonder the presence of the innocent people previously persecuted still roam the town.  Maybe they have unfinished business there?  Or maybe they just don’t want to leave their home? Come find out…

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