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Haleakalā National Park’s summit region, shrouded in the pre-dawn fog.
national parks

Beware the Legends Behind These National Park Souvenirs

Removing items from national parks is illegal—and at these sites, legend says, it can also come with paranormal consequences.
Ellery Weil May 16, 2025
Close-up of the cursed stain
List

9 Creepy Cursed Objects

From stolen stones to chained up trees, don't mess with any of these items.
Roxanne Hoorn October 18, 2024
Forres, Scotland

Forres Witches Stone

A reminder of the gruesome punishments delivered to those who were found guilty during Scotland's witchcraft trials.
Chigasaki, Japan

Ochobamba

An old woman cured cholera in the 1820s and now her grave is said to be the city’s most cursed object.
Witch Rock of Montmartre
Paris, France

Witch Rock of Montmartre

This oddly shaped boulder in Paris is rumored to be cursed.
More people are mounting horse heads on poles throughout Iceland.
vikings

Impaled Horse Heads Are Appearing More and More Around Iceland

The rise of paganism in the country is reigniting a macabre ritual from the Viking Age.
Olivia Young October 25, 2023
Sepp Kipfstuhl of the East Greenland Ice-Core Project examines a sample taken from where fast-moving and slow-moving ice meet in the Greenland Ice Sheet.
science

Wonder Is Everywhere: The New Tornado Alley, the Coolest Library in the World, and More From Around the Web

Get a peek into what we’re obsessed with right now.
April White June 23, 2023
Robert the Doll has inspired a horror movie and regularly gets letters from those who fear they have offended the vindictive toy.
paintings

6 Cursed Objects, and the Legends Behind Them

Maybe it's best to just steer clear of white lighters, medieval books, and Robert the Doll.
April White October 26, 2022
Alton, England

The Chained Oak

A creepy tree with a local legend that inspired a nearby theme park ride.
Swansea, Wales

Swansea Devil

A turn-of-the-century prophecy comes true when a mischievous wooden Devil watches the neighboring church burn to the ground
Here's looking at you, dandy horse.
cursed objects

4 Vaguely Historic Anniversaries We Overlooked in 2018

Our bad.
Matthew Taub December 26, 2018
Engineers Tradition Stone Plaque.
Fairbanks, Alaska

Engineers Tradition Stone

A sarcastic monument threatens to curse any "idiot" who dares remove it.
One of the crying child artworks by Giovanni Bragolin.
art

A Painting of a Crying Boy Was Blamed for a Series of Fires in the '80s

The artwork, said UK tabloids at the time, was haunted.
Natalie Zarrelli April 21, 2017
Saint Andrews, Scotland

Saint Salvator's Unlucky PH

Every St. Andrews student knows to avoid this inscription for fear of a martyr's curse.
Scribes often penned dramatic curses at the beginning or end of books in the Middle Ages.
libraries

Protect Your Library the Medieval Way, With Horrifying Book Curses

Medieval scribes protected their work by threatening death—or worse.
Sarah Laskow November 9, 2016
Permanently Closed
Michael's statue in Fulham during his glory days
Manchester, England

Statue of Michael Jackson

Fulham F.C. imploded once everyone excised its giant, hated tribute to the King of Pop.
Key West, Florida

Robert the Doll

This legendary "evil" doll has been haunting the citizens of Key West for over 100 years.
museums

The Curse of the Stolen Amethyst

Is this gemstone responsible for more than a century of tragedy?
Allison Meier October 18, 2022