One of literature’s greatest gifts is its ability to transport us to other worlds: some utopian and fantastical, others dark and unnerving, scary and supernatural …
This guide is all about the latter (which are, arguably, much more fun). These are the novels, short stories, and novellas that get under your skin, that stay in your psyche long after you’ve put them down and returned to the world of the living. Little do folks know that many of these works were inspired by — or, in a few cases, explicitly based on — real-life places that you can still visit today.
Whether you’re a proud horror nerd or a self-proclaimed scaredy cat, there’s something indescribably special about visiting places that affected authors so deeply they simply had to put them down on paper. From the various historic structures that inspired Count Dracula’s castle, to the isolated island ruins that tugged at Lovecraft’s imagination, to the Maine water tower that was immortalized in “It,” these eerie places around the world are unforgettable stops for book lovers to explore during spooky season. Journey to one (or all) of these horror-coded locales this fall for scary stories that leap off the page.
1. Ruins of Whitby Abbey – Whitby, England
It was at this dilapidated monastery that Bram Stoker first learned of Vlad Dracula (a.k.a. Vlad the Impaler), the Wallachian prince who would inspire his most famous novel, Dracula. As Stoker read about Vlad in a book he had checked out from the local library, he was no doubt inspired by his setting: a Gothic church destroyed during anti-Catholic rampages during the English Reformation. In fact, it is in the town of Whitby that the character of Count Dracula first lands in his ghost ship, the Demeter.
Today, the ruins are a popular destination for Gothic lit fans from around the world. Visitors can roam through the ancient structures or learn more about the site’s centuries of folkloric history in the Whitby Abbey Museum. In the days just before Halloween, the Abbey hosts a family-friendly costume contest and Great Pumpkin Party; it even set the world record for “largest gathering of people dressed as vampires” in 2022, with 1,369 Dracula-inspired participants.
2. Bran Castle – Bran, Romania
Built in the late 14th century, this towering medieval castle is supposedly where Vlad Dracula was imprisoned for two months in 1462 after being captured by the Hungarians. While it’s more likely that Vlad only ever saw this building while passing through Bran, it’s still easy to imagine the blood-thirsty ruler behind bars in its underground passages or, perhaps at the very top of a twisting spire.
Now a museum, the castle fully embraces its legendary status as both Vlad’s one-time prison and the home of Stoker’s Count Dracula, who is described as “a Transylvanian count, owner of a castle built somewhere on top of a high cliff, from where he watches over the river valley.” The castle’s annual Halloween event, “The Legend of Dracul,” takes visitors on an immersive tour of the building, with eerie special effects and actors who blur the lines between fiction and reality.
3. Stephen King’s Former House – Bangor, Maine
Stephen King, a born-and-raised Mainer, spent many of his most fruitful writing years in this mansion, whose spider and dragon-adorned front gate is the only clue to its former owner’s identity. The house is now an archive of King’s work which — though not open to the public — can be booked by appointment for scholarly purposes. However, even if you don’t go inside the house, it’s still well-worth a visit, with red wood walls and stately trees that recall many of the Maine neighborhoods from King’s books. Walking through Bangor’s Whitney Park Historic District, you’ll feel transported to the author’s fictional Maine towns, from Castle Rock to Derry.
4. Bradford College – Haverhill, Massachusetts
This former liberal arts school closed in 2000 but rumors about it still remain; namely, that it was here where H.P. Lovecraft hid his “Necronomicon,” or book of the dead, while he was dating a student at the college. It may or may not still sit somewhere beneath the school’s Tupelo Pond, in a tunnel just waiting to be unsealed. (While the book’s existence is questionable, the tunnels are almost certainly real, having been built for students to get around during inclement weather.)
While there are no traces of Lovecraft left today (the property is now Northpoint Bible College), the challenge to find the “Necronomicon” remains. Plus, it’s worth a visit simply for the spooky lore that surrounds the campus: stories of a young woman drowning in the pond and rumors of restless spirits roaming the halls.
5. New Slains Castle Ruins – Cruden Bay, Scotland
Along with Bran Castle and Whitby Abbey, these ruins may have inspired Bram Stoker’s iconic vampire abode. The author is said to have visited the 16th-century castle during one of his many trips to Cruden Bay between 1892 and 1910 — the crumbling turrets, broken staircases, and dank walls surely feeding his imagination. In fact, New Slains is mentioned by name in two of Stoker’s lesser-known novels, “The Watter’s Mou’” and “The Mystery of the Sea.”
At the nearby Kilmarnock Arms, visitors can still see Stoker’s name penned in the guest ledger, with the hotel noting that, at the time of his stay, “nobody paid much attention to the red-haired and bearded six footer … yet he was soon to thrill and terrify the world with his creation.”
6. Corvin Castle – Hunedoara, Romania
Vlad the Impaler rears his beastly head yet again at this elaborate 15th-century castle, where it’s said that he lost his mind during his seven years imprisoned in the dungeon. Whether Vlad ever even set foot in the castle is, admittedly, up in the air, but it nevertheless fits the bill for a horror novel: split into three sections — the Knight’s Hall, the Diet Hall, and circular stairways — the castle is surrounded by hulking towers that were used for both defense and as a prison.
Today, this eerie structure is open daily for tours that pass over the castle’s iconic wooden bridge and continue through flowered courtyards and grand banquet halls. There’s even the occasional Dracula-inspired event, such as a “Vampires on the Edge”: a summer masquerade ball where “dark cabaret performances blur the line between art and temptation.”
7. Grip the Raven – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
In the Rare Books section of Philadelphia’s Free Library sits a taxidermied raven in a glass box. His name is Grip, and he belonged to Charles Dickens, even making an appearance in Dickens’s 1841 book, “Barnaby Rudge.” Edgar Allan Poe — a critic at the time — panned the book, which meant that later, when his poem “The Raven” received wide acclaim, others in the literary world couldn’t help but point out his hypocrisy. “Here comes Poe with his Raven, like Barnaby Rudge, / Three fifths of him genius, two fifths sheer fudge,” went one mocking refrain.
Grip (who has also been called Grip the Clever, Grip the Wicked, and Grip the Knowing) was named a Literary Landmark by the American Library Association in 1999 and enjoys a tranquil existence just steps away from the only complete copy of The Raven in Poe’s hand, a manuscript of “Murders in the Rue Morgue” and first editions of all Poe’s works. Those wishing to pay their respects to this most famous (and creepy) of birds can do so any time the Free Library is open.
8. Nan Madol Ruins – Nanwei, Micronesia
HP Lovecraft’s fictional sunken “corpse-city,’ R’lyeh, is believed to have been inspired by these Micronesian ruins — the remnants of megalithic structures built between the 12th and 13th centuries atop nearly a hundred artificial islands. In Lovecraft’s short story, “The Call of Cthulhu,” the site is characterized as “built in measureless eons behind history by the vast, loathsome shapes that seeped down from the dark stars.”
Nan Madol is perhaps even more eerie than Lovecraft’s R’lyeh; it’s still a mystery how its massive stones were rolled into place, and at the center of the complex sits a royal mortuary, called “Mouth of the High Chief.” Though it is possible to visit the site, it’s still quite undeveloped (definitely no visitors center!), so hiring a local guide is recommended.
9. Jennings Hall – North Bennington, Vermont
Shirley Jackson moved to the sleepy town of North Bennington in 1940, where she remained for the rest of her life. While her husband taught at the nearby Bennington College, Jackson wrote short stories and novels that would become staples of the horror genre, from “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” to the “The Haunting of Hill House.” The latter, published in 1959, is rumored to be based on Jennings Hall, a secluded, gray-stoned mansion on the Bennington College campus that — sure enough — is perched on a hill. Jennings is now the home of the school’s music department, so you may just hear beautiful melodies coming from inside on your visit.
10. Thomas Hill Standpipe – Bangor, Maine
Not only does this storage facility control Bangor’s water pressure — it also lay the foundation for an important part of Stephen King’s “It”: the spot in Derry where Stan Uris first encounters Pennywise the clown. When King lived in his Bangor mansion just down the street, he would sit and write in a small park beneath the standpipe, letting its dark shadow shape his creepy opus.
The site also has its own bit of haunted history: In 1940, when two boys were playing on the interior stairwell, one of them fell 25 feet and passed away the next day from his injuries. Unsurprisingly, the facility was soon closed to the public; however, since 1991, Water District employees have led quarterly tours for horror and water regulation fans alike.
11. Strawberry Hill – London, England
This “little Gothic castle” on the River Thames inspired what many scholars believe to be the first Gothic novel: “The Castle of Otranto” by Horace Walpole. Walpole, who bought the property in the mid 18th century, once woke from a nightmare in which he saw a giant armored fist atop the home’s grand staircase, and this single, haunting image prompted him to write the book. With its delicate marriage of medievalism and terror, the “The Castle of Otranto” became a runaway success and is believed to have inspired Mary Shelley, Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, and more.
You can still walk in Walpole’s footsteps today, as the estate is now part of St. Mary’s University and open to the public five days a week. Around Halloween, Strawberry Hill fully embraces its spooky history, transforming into a “dark labyrinth of ancient hauntings,” with guides sharing the many ghosts and supernatural occurrences the home has seen over the years. The house even hosts nighttime “bat walks” and a Victorian Magic Lantern Show, that Walpole, the ultimate lover of doom and gloom, would have undoubtedly loved.
12. Villa Diodati – Cologny, Switzerland
Mary Shelley penned her first draft of “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus” inside this gorgeous, secluded mansion right next to Lake Geneva. In June 1816, tempestuous weather left Shelley and her husband and stepsister stranded here for three days while visiting its tenants, John William Polidori and Lord Byron. To pass the time, this impressive group of authors spent time spinning spooky yarns; this resulted not only in Shelley’s iconic work but also Polidori’s “The Vampyre,” a.k.a. the first modern vampire story.
Since the villa is privately owned, horror heads are, tragically, unable to step inside; however, dedicated pilgrims can walk along the Chemin de Ruth and take a peek at the home over a shoulder-high stone wall. You may even spot the plaque on its exterior that honors Lord Byron, “Poête Anglais.”
13. Fort Independence – Boston, Massachusetts
This former island was transformed into Fort Independence in the mid-19th century, a granite bastion fort that provided harbor defense for Boston. However, at the time Edgar Allan Poe served there, in 1827, it was still called by its original name: Castle Island. It’s said that Poe may have based his short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” on a despised army lieutenant who was walled up within a vault in the fort. Whether this legend is true or (more likely) the result of decades of telephone amongst army members, it’s easy to see how Poe would have latched onto its stone walls and relatively isolated location.
Today, the fort is open to the public as Fort Independence and Castle Island State Park, a 22-acre historic site where you can explore the fort, wander down nature paths, take in prime views of the Boston skyline, and even enjoy a good hot dog or lobster roll at Sullivan’s on Castle Island.
14. Stephen Harris House – Providence, Rhode Island
On one of Providence’s oldest streets, this seemingly normal yellow clapboard house is, in fact, home to some unsettling history. In 1763, merchant Stephen Harris constructed it over a former burial yard and was then plagued ceaselessly by misfortune: He fell into financial ruin, several of his children died, and his wife went mad, confining herself to the attic.
These events struck a chord with Providence resident H.P. Lovecraft, whose 1924 novella, “The Shunned House,” is a not-so-thinly-veiled retelling of Harris’s woes. (Coincidentally, Lovecraft’s aunt lived in the house for a short time as the companion to its then owner, Mrs. H. C. Babbit.) The house is not open to the public, but feel free to stroll by and let your imagination do the work as to all that happened inside …
