This alley off Edinburgh's Royal Mile contains remnants of the city's seedier history.

Small museum dedicated to the founder of electromagnetic theory.

Touching this 18th-century Scottish philosopher’s toe allegedly conjures good fortune.

This obscure walkway links Edinburgh’s Old Town with one of the city's prime vantage points.

This otherwise ordinary close on the Royal Mile constituted the end of the world for Edinburgh’s poorest residents.

The tomb of one of Scotland's bloody historic villains is a magnet for bumbling desecrators.

Overlooked by many, the two famous Scottish warriors guard the main gate of Edinburgh Castle.

Protecting the dead from opportunistic body snatchers.

A sweet symbol marks the place where torturous executions were once carried out.

Near the former site of numerous witch burnings, this lavish Edinburgh mainstay pays homage to Scotland's brutal history.

A book bound in the skin of an infamous criminal, along with countless other specimens.

A 18th century graveyard and its astonishing cortege of macabre iconography.

A friendly monster lurks outside the State Library Victoria.

These mythological giants take time out of their busy day guarding a Victorian market to let you know what time it is.

Brisbane's manmade urban beach has enough water to fill five Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The picturesque birthplace of Icelandic democracy is drenched in the blood of its brutal past.

This tiny museum's sizable collection is jammed into a former underground public toilet.

A Jenga-style cylindrical tower of books that appears to go on forever.

Macabre astrological automaton clock dating to the late 1400s.

Increasingly decayed figures stand as a powerful reminder of the human costs of Czech Communism.

This quaint museum tells about more than just the birth of Jesus: "betlémy" are an important piece of Czech history.

Hidden in an Italian forest is a completely homemade amusement park that has taken a lifetime to create.

The last moments of the ill-fated Pompeiians, frozen forever in plaster.

An Italian crevasse filled with abandoned buildings gives visitors a look at the world without humans.