Ghost Tourism: Time to Get Scared

If the names Lizzie Borden or Count Dracula give your spine a few pleasant tingles, ghost tourism may be beckoning.

Also called ghost travel or paranormal tourism, this type of travel takes you to places that are in some way seen as... haunted.

Some people - like Lizzie or the Count - need little introduction. Others may be less famous, but their homes, towns or resting places are magnets for thousands of visitors.

A fan of the vampire author Anne Rice? New Orleans awaits.

17th century witchcraft trials? Salem, Massachusetts, of course.

Some streets of London are said to still be haunted by Jack the Ripper.

The Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast? This is where she axe-murdered her parents and you can sleep in the room where it happened.

And then there's Bran Castle in Transylvania, Romania, home of the vampires, and supposedly the inspiration for Count Dracula.

As interest in the supernatural becomes more widespread, ghost or paranormal tourism has skyrocketed - few cities are without their own ghost tourism attraction.

No one quite knows why - although the increasing number of horror movies and ghost literature might be partly to blame. Remember Ghostbusters? I certainly remember the Amityville Horror!

Others believe the popularity of ghost travel may be due to interest in matters spiritual.

Many cities have ghost tours led by so-called ghost hunters, who know the local folklore and are steeped in the secrets of the paranormal. They'll tell you that ghosts can be taped and seen or heard, or will show you how to photograph them so their 'orbs' appear in the shot.

Some even lead courses, filled with history and know-how about ghost hunting and with such arcane sciences as dowsing or electronic voice detection (or EVP). In addition to guided tours, haunted tourism may involve investigation - an opportunity to investigate or experience a paranormal event, perhaps in a location known for apparitions or other similar events.

A tour might be far simpler - just a guided walk through a city's more 'haunted' venues, the cemetary perhaps, or some old historical buildings.

If something is experienced, it simply adds to the folklore and authenticity of the next tour.

Believer or not, these unusual experiences make for fascinating travel.

After all, even a scientist like Thomas Edison thought there might be life after death and that you could communicate with the spirits.

If you like unusual destinations, you might also be interested in dark tourism, movie tourism, slum tourism or disaster tourism.

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