10 Chilling Google Street View Places To Explore
As we approach the close of “Circuit Breaker”, you might find yourself on the cusp of boredom-induced insanity.
Well we’ve got a solution for all you thrill-seekers out there disappointed at the postponement of A Quiet Place Part 2. Google Street View has got you covered.
Here are 10 places you can explore through your screens that are bound to send chills down your spine.
1. Old Changi Hospital, Singapore
We’re going to start off our harrowing journey a little closer to home.
While Changi Hospital first started off as a British owned Royal Air Force hospital, WWII eventually led the Japanese to take control of it.
Secret police known as the Kempeitai had occupied the hospital, with sordid stories of their victims’ suffering filling the white halls.
After the war, the hospital’s gruesome past clung on to its facade as many who stepped foot in Old Changi Hospital experienced the supernatural.
Piercing screams and spectral presences barely scratch the surface of the paranormal nightmares that await in the foreboding abandoned structure.
While deathly afraid, many people just can’t seem to quell the curious, exploratory sides of them. We have a simple solution for you if you’re one of those people.
Google Street View will bring you into the 4 walls of arguably “the most haunted place in Singapore”, without having to come face-to-face with whatever allegedly lies within.
Better still, the Google capture is in broad daylight, so if you just wish to admire the rustic architecture, you can do so too without the fear factor.
In spite of this, there’s still something incredibly chilling we can’t quite put our fingers on, so proceed here if you dare.
2. Phnom Penh Killing Fields, Cambodia
The infamous killing fields — where the Khmer Rouge regime killed and buried millions of people in the Cambodian genocide of 1970-1975.
The notorious regime was incredibly xenophobic, and ruled with an iron fist — a.k.a. getting rid of anyone who stood in their way to “national purity”.
With Google Street View, you can wander around the memorial compound and the exact fields where so many lost their lives. Just drop the little yellow man where there’s a path or photo-sphere.
Many children and infants fell victim to the regime with reports of soldiers bashing their heads into the trunks of Chankiri trees, rationalising that they needed to prevent these children from “growing up and avenging their parents’ deaths“.
Tourists have reportedly heard the faint wails of the children while standing in front of the very trees that these killings happened.
Take a virtual step into a very dark chapter in history here.
3. Nagoro Scarecrow Village, Japan
Many of us have fears and a big one we have is actually that of dolls.
So, trigger warning to all those who do, because in the remote Iya Valley, Japan, there’s a whole village of them.
Birthed from craft hobbyist Tsukimi Ayano, these expressionless dolls can be seen across the village doing mundane day-to-day tasks.
Ayano started off by making a functional scarecrow to deter birds from raiding her family’s crops. However, it quickly turned into a memorial project in which Ayano created a doll every time someone left the village or passed away.
These effigies of former residents help somewhat preserve the slowly dwindling population of villagers, as many move out from the suburbs to the city.
Each doll actually takes 3 days to make. However, as a whole, seeing inanimate dolls fishing from an empty stream still kinda gives us the heebie jeebies.
Click here to experience the company of the past residents of Nagoro.
4. Island Of Hashima, Japan
Picture the massive helicarrier S.H.I.E.L.D used in the Avengers. Now place an abandoned version of it offshore of Nagasaki and you’ve got the abandoned island of Hashima, otherwise known as the Battleship Island.
Completed uninhabited except by Mother Nature, the island is close to the remnants of Nagasaki’s post atomic bomb remains.
The cold dank buildings on Hashima are a grim reminder of yet another historical horror.
Korean and Chinese POWs were forced to work there for about 2 decades until the end of WWII.
Other than being featured in the popular Bond Movie Skyfall, Hashima has a rich and extensive history.
The city fallen into a state of disrepair seems like something out of the Avengers Chitauri invasion.
Experience that same intensity of utter desolation here.
5. Winchester Mystery House, USA
The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California, was once the residence of widow Sarah Winchester. Sarah’s life was turbulent to say the least, as she married into a family that created renowned rifles & firearms.
Between her husband passing from tuberculosis in 1881 and losing her daughter to disease, she began round-the-clock constructions on her mansion. Many attributed this to her debilitating mental health.
During this time, a medium allegedly delivered some ominous advice – that she would have to build upon her home non-stop for the countless souls who had fallen to the Winchester rifles.
Thus was born the convoluted hallways of the Wincester Mystery House. From doors opening off a ledge to staircases leading nowhere, many started concocting more theories behind the oddity.
Some say Sarah conducted nightly seances to communicate with the spirits as to how to build the house to their liking. Others said the nonsensical placements of otherwise ordinary household features were actually to escape the haunting spirits by confusing them to no end — literally.
Head on down here to be awed by the architecture like this kid — or whatever else you find in this crazy house.
6. Isla de las Munecas Xochimilco, Mexico
Yet again, trigger warning for those who can’t watch Annabelle without screaming non-stop.
But unlike the cotton stuffed scarecrows made in loving memory of ex-residents like in Nagoya, these Mexican dolls didn’t come to play.
Isla de las Munecas – aka The Island of the Dolls – sees dolls hanging and sitting in every crevice of this plot of land. And not just any dolls — broken, disintegrating dolls that are essentially the stuff of nightmares.
These dolls were originally placed on the island by former owner, Mr Julian Santana Barrera. He believed these morbid playthings helped placate the spirit of a young girl who had drowned there.
Santana allegedly found a doll floating in the water after hearing what he thought was the young girl crying “I want my doll”. Understandably freaked, he began hanging dolls all around the island.
All in hopes of warding away the tormented cries, spine-chilling whispers and pitter-patter of footsteps he constantly heard.
Legend has it that dolls here turn their heads, move their limbs and even open their eyes when no one’s looking.
With claims of doll whispers, experience the chills here without scaring yourself to bits — or so we hope.
7. Eastern State Penitentiary, USA
What do notorious Chicago crime boss Al Capone and bank robber Willie Sutton have in common? They’ve both spent time at Eastern State Penitentiary.
Intended for hardened criminals, this jail-turned-museum made its mark on the US prison system as we know it today.
This penitentiary saw some inhumane physical and psychological torture, contrary to the positive penitence effects people believed it served.
Reports of prisoners pulling against chains from their tongues to wrists were just some stories of alleged abuse within its walls.
The dark, dingy compound with cell blocks that seem to go on forever never fails to produce tales of strange sightings.
Save yourself the $15 to get spooked and hop onto Street View to check it out here.
8. Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Poland
When asked about WWII atrocities, the Auschwitz concentration camps would probably come to mind. Its metal gates saw nearly 1.3 million people passing through for unspeakable treatment within its four walls.
Young and old were not spared — and the infamous gas chambers have been preserved at the original sites as a tribute to those who had given their lives.
Accounts of death by starvation, disease, executions and even medical experiments are just some of the reasons why Auschwitz is number 8 on this list.
We can only imagine the emotions and hair-raising feelings you might feel standing where so many people had suffered.
Take a minute to step out of your history books and come as close to experiencing Auschwitz IRL as possible here.
9. Chernobyl Abandoned Pripyat, Russia
Whether you know Chernobyl from being a stellar history student, or from the award winning HBO-series, this town is bound to intrigue.
Evacuated a day after the Chernobyl disaster, Pripyat is nothing short of a ghost town.
Since then, the town has been declared too dangerous for living — not at least for the next 24,000 years. While some elderly folk have been allowed to move back, the town is still pretty much a desolate wasteland.
Now for the eerie part. Around this dilapidated town, you can catch glimpses of the panic that might have been that fateful day in 1986.
If you really do pluck up the courage to venture into this town on Google Street View here, see if you can find the most chilling room of all.
A room filled with child-sized gas masks littered all over the floor. The scariest thing? A doll wearing a similar mask on a chair, dead centre of the room.
10. Bran Castle, Romania
Nestled in the rolling hills of Transylvanian Romania, is the gloomy Bran Castle. Immediately, the stereotypical image of a bolt of lightning streaking across the sky accompanied by a crack of thunder comes to mind.
Serving as inspiration for the Dracula’s Castle, we the interior of the castle can be viewed on Google Maps, a beautiful contrast to the darker history that belies these walls.
Used as a fortress early 15th century wars, its impeccable architectural features are stunning to say the least.
Interestingly enough, the facade of the castle wasn’t the only inspiration for the novel Dracula. Ruler of Wallachia, Vlad III Dracula, gave rise to the titular character himself.
Known for his brutality, even his own citizens couldn’t escape being impaled on spikes for all to see.
With a darker past that is non-fiction, dawdling through the medieval styled facade of the compound is lowkey scary.
Sink your fangs into this tantalising age-old tale with the help of Google Street View here.
Bonus: Area 51 (Satellite View)
Area 51 needs no further introduction — it’s the layman name for a highly classified US Air Force research facility, and prime subject of many alien conspiracies.
While the facility can’t be seen via Street View — because you know, it’s a secret army base — appreciation of its clinical layout is still in order via Google’s Satellite View.
One thing that might entertain you more though, is a subtle detail Google has introduced. For all searches related to alien lore, the tiny yellow man you use for Street View will become an adorable little UFO.
Keying in “Area 51” in Google Maps might bring you to a tourist truck stop. Instead, enter these coordinates into the search bar to get there — 37°14′0″N 115°48′30″W.
How very mysterious indeed. 👽👽👽
The world is your creepy oyster
There you go — 10 eerie AF places you can visit from the comforts of your homes. While we guarantee entertainment, we can’t guarantee that you won’t experience the chills we did even just through your computers.
With Street View, you can travel all around the world with our handy yellow friend.
Let us know where else you’d like us to recce for you to explore during “Circuit Breaker”.
Featured image adapted from Google Maps, Google Maps & Google Maps.
