A Gothic Cabinet of Curiosities and Mysteries

A collection of gothic horror stories, urban legends, ghosts, haunted houses & other curiosities

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Gothic Travel Ratings

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Sure, I stole the idea from the film 1408, but giving a rating to gothic/haunted/downright creepy travel sites just makes sense to me. Obviously these rankings are highly subjective. One might visit a site and find not a single hair on their arms rises, while another might come face to face with the prince of darkness. It’s all a question of timing to a degree. But it’s also a question of imagination, how well the location is preserved and the general atmosphere which pervades the site. My suggestion is to look over the Gothic Cabinet of Curiosities and Mysteries, and in so doing, you’ll get a sense of where I’m at. And if that coincides with your own idea of fun travel, then you might find these ratings useful.

5 Crypts: So creepy you can’t wait to get the hell out of there, but want to stick around all the same. Involuntary excretion could occur at the slightest noise out of the ordinary. You decide your next trip will be a Disney cruise.

4 Crypts: You might want to fall asleep to the Sound of Music tonight because you’re not going to want to turn off the lights and close your eyes. Gothic moodiness drips from the place in buckets. You find yourself just listening, looking and catch yourself holding your breath.

3 Crypts: Tingly. If you use your imagination and the timing is right, you might notice a palpable quickening of the pulse. It’ll make a good story when you get home, which will only improve with age and lies. Good place to ponder your own mortality.

2 Crypts: You’ve wasted a trip, but take some time to come up with a good story and you might be able to impress a few friends with your determination, and that you were actually dogged enough in your travels that you actually went there.

1 Crypt: Look around, snap a picture and find a pub. Pray there’s a good horror flick on back at the hotel, cause there ain’t no chills here

 

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  12. […] The Old Gaol, or Old Jail to use the vulgate spelling, was built in 1690 and there are no doubts that conditions there were brutal. The scructure has been added onto over the years, remodeled and even partly burned, but when you get to the cells in the back, aside from the glaring lightbulbs, it’s distinctly 17th century colonial torture pit. I was one of the two who volunteered to take a seat in one of the cells itself, and the guide dutifully shut out the lights. As total darkness fell, she then began relating the ghost stories of the place, paying particular attention to the ones regarding the cell we were now in. She then played an EVP recorded in the same cell, which was certainly chilling. I’m a skeptic when it comes to EVPs, though with a caveat. I do believe at times they capture voices which are not easily explained, and are remarkably clear. This was one of them. Of course it’s easy to believe that it’s completely a fake. But not as easy to believe when sitting in a chair in total darkness and total silence in that very cell. For the tour of the jail we were joined by Derek Bartlett, who is the creator of Barnstable’s Haunted History Tours, who was actually waiting for us in the dark when our guide led us into the jail, scaring the living crap out of her. He added what I believe was a stroke of genius, just after the lights went down. When doing investigations of the Old Jail, and investigators are alone in the cells, they have reported on several occasions the sensation of someone brushing up against them. True or not, it was good fun hearing the sharp intake of breath of one of the female members of the tour, followed by “oh sorry” from one of the men who had accidently brushed against her in the darkness. Eventually the lights came on and everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the tour broke up. The guide, as well as Derek stuck around to talk and answer questions, and are quite knowledgable and eager to share. In addition, the Cape and Island Paranormal Research Society is responsible for care and upkeep of the Old Gaol, and I would presume at least some of the proceeds for the tour go to that, which is certainly worthwhile. And at $20 a pop for adults, and $10 for children 8-12, the fee is certainly reasonable. The tour made believers of some of our group, to be certain. And that’s a lot to ask of a ghost tour. There was enough history in the Haunted History tour to keep a hardcore history addict from jonesing, and enough discussion of paranormal investigations to keep those who are fans of the endlessly regurgitating ghost investigation shows currently polluting the airwaves quite happy. For those of us looking for good tales well-told, we went away happy as well. Of course the star of the show was the Cape Cod night, dark and tinkling with the sounds of leaves falling in the breeze, Halloween certainly brought along the atmosphere needed to make the evening complete. Gothic Travel Rating: I love a good ghost tour, and the Barnstable Haunted History tour ranks up there with some of the best. It’s long, clocking in at over two hours, with numerous stops, certainly more than related here. As stated, I’d prefer less of their own experience, and a bit more color in the other tales they told. But the Barnstable House and its eleven spirits is a good enough story to get the blood racing, and the house itself, stark and foreboding is an ideal setting. Coupled with the Old Gaol which was almost worth the price of a ticket itself, the tour deserved a solid four crypt rating. Click to learn more about Gothic Travel ratings and what they mean […]

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