14 Real Places That Haunt the Pages of Literature

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.

The Whitby Museum holds many strange items, from Victorian tempest prognosticators to an alleged “Glory Hand.” antony griffiths / CC BY 2.0 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 _._ An Explorer's Guide to the Hidden Wonders of the United States Introducing Our Newest Book: _America Obscura_. Available Nov 10, 2026 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. The castle is owned by the descendants of Queen Marie, to whom it was given 1920. Kyle Thayer/Public Domain 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. A daily dose of hidden gems to visit, extraordinary places to eat and wondrous stories from around the world. Your newsletter subscriptions with us are subject to Atlas Obscura's Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.