Is Your Holiday Destination Haunted? A Guide to Dark Tourism
Dark tourism explores humanity's morbid fascination with death and disaster. From concentration camps to cemeteries, thrill-seeking travelers visit sites of tragedy and macabre attractions. Driven by a need for unique experiences, some seek "slum tourism" or "trips of no return".
There’s a peculiar thing about humans: we have this insatiable appetite for the dark and dreadful. Tell us not to look at something grim, and what do we do? We rubberneck. We crane our necks at car crashes. We binge-watch documentaries about serial killers and plane crashes. And then, because we’re gluttons for punishment, we hop on a flight and pay good money to visit the very spots where humanity has been at its absolute worst. Welcome to dark tourism.
Now, you might think dark tourism is some edgy, modern phenomenon. You’d be wrong. We’ve been doing it since cavemen stood around pointing at where Ugg tripped over a rock and died. Humans are wired to stare death in the face and whisper, “Glad it wasn’t me.” It’s the same reason people love haunted houses or parachuting out of planes. There’s a morbid thrill to dancing around death without actually stepping on its toes. It’s risky business, minus the actual risk.
