To Swim Or Not To Swim?
As breathtaking as some of these bodies of water are, they all have disturbing histories or legends associated with them. If you happen to visit any of these spine-chilling sites, swim if you dare.
Truk Lagoon
Location: Micronesia
Just one shipwreck is eerie enough, but Truk Lagoon is the home to so many wrecks—it's unbelievable. 25 American aircraft and 40 Japanese ships found their final resting place in Truk Lagoon during WWII.
Truk Lagoon: A "Ship Graveyard"
Operation Hailstone was the battle responsible for the enormous "ship graveyard" at Truk Lagoon. The unsettling underwater images make one consider the terrible human cost of war.
Matt Kieffer, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Devil’s Pool
Location: Australia
Picture a beautiful, natural pool fed by a waterfall and framed by large, granite boulders. Serene, right? Wrong. According to a chilling legend, this pool is cursed.
Devil’s Pool: A History Of Heartbreak
Allegedly, a heartbroken Aboriginal woman named Oolana drowned herself in the Devil's Pool because she couldn't be with her true love.
Lincoln Cooper, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Devil’s Pool: Too Many Fatalities
But though Oolana lost her life, some say she never left. Instead, her spirit continues to lead young men to their watery ends. In the last five decades, as many as 16 men have lost their lives at the Devil's Pool.
Steve Fitzgerald, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Manchac Swamp
Location: Louisiana
Manchac Swamp has a chilling backstory. As legend has it, a voodoo priestess named Julia Brown lived near the swamp. She'd often sit on her front porch, singing a disturbing lyric, "One day I'm gonna die, and I'm gonna take all of you with me." The craziest part of all? She spoke the truth.
Manchac Swamp: A Chilling Coincidence
After Julia Brown's passing in 1915, the day of her funeral quickly became a day of reckoning. Hundreds of people drowned when a strong hurricane barrelled across the land. It was a shocking coincidence—but that wasn't the end of Julia Brown.
Manchac Swamp: She's Still Around
Even today, people claim that they can hear Brown's spirit laughing near Manchac Swamp.
Lower Yellowstone Falls
Location: Wyoming
According to legend, back in 1870, Lower Yellowstone Falls became the site of a terrible tragedy. In the middle of the night, a group of Indigenous Americans decided to take pack horses that belonged to sleeping militiamen. But this ended badly.
Lower Yellowstone Falls: A Risky Crossing
When the militiamen awoke and discovered their horses had gone missing, they went after the Indigenous group. They managed to catch up, but at that point, the thieves were in the middle of riskily crossing the Lower Yellowstone Falls.
TigerScientist, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Lower Yellowstone Falls: Swept Over The Falls
In the end, the raft holding the men sank, sending them over the falls to their watery graves. However, there's a reason why the falls are considered haunted to this day.
Lower Yellowstone Falls: The Water Changes Color
Some visitors still claim to hear the Native American's chant. But even creepier? On multiple occasions, the river water has been known to change color... to red.
Saco River
Location: Maine
Saco River may be a vacation destination for some, but for others, it's the site of a haunting legend.
Saco River: A Fateful Meeting
The story dates all the way back to 1675. Apparently, the Saco Tribe's chief and family came into contact with some tipsy English sailors. But what these sailors did was unforgivable.
Saco River: A Chief's Revenge
The sailors threw the chief's baby in the water, hoping to see if it could swim. When the infant passed days later, the chief sought a terrible revenge. He cursed the Saco River so that every year, three white folks would perish in its waters.
Still feel like going for a swim?
Bride’s Pool
Location: Hong Kong
The Bride's Pool is a natural pool in Hong Kong. In fact, with its adjoining waterfall, the pool is so beautiful, it might be difficult to believe that it has a chilling legend associated with it.
Bride’s Pool: A Lost Bride
The story associated with the Bride's Pool claims that a bride was on her way to wedding when she toppled into its depths and lost her life. But that's not all.
Reportedly, visitors of the pool have seen a woman brushing her hair, decked out in a traditional red wedding dress.
White Rock Lake
Location: Texas
White Rock Lake in Dallas has its very own ghost—a woman wearing a drenched evening dress. According to Dallas News, “Apparently, the girl tells people she was involved in a boating accident and needs to get to an address on Gaston Avenue. When she gets into a car’s back seat, she disappears."
White Rock Lake: Her Story Is A Mystery
Since 1964, sightings of this ghostly woman have been reported. However, nobody has any clue who this spirit might be or what her story is. She remains a mystery.
Lake Superior
Location: Wisconsin
On November 10, 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank. It plummeted into the depths of Lake Superior, sinking 500 feet. 29 men tragically lost their lives. Over a decade later, however, the unthinkable happened.
Greenmars, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Lake Superior: A Ghost Ship
Reportedly, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald could be seen sailing the waters Lake Superior—a ghost ship. Though the news tried to explain the sighting away, many believe that this body of water is now haunted.
Manzanita Beach
Location: Oregon
Manzanita Beach has a spine-tingling story associated with it. Going back to the 16th century, Spanish sailors supposedly wrecked their ship off the coast. But what they did next was horrifying.
Manzanita Beach: There Was Blood On Their Hands
The sailors, wanting to secret their gold away, climbed Neahkahnie Mountain. However, their loot's final resting place was deranged. They marked the spot with the body of an African slave whose life they'd taken. It was supposed to be a warning.
Manzanita Beach: Haunted Trails
Additionally, some say that the Spanish sailors took more than just one life—the slain spirits still haunting the trails. But in the case of Manzanita Beach, there's a strange phenomenon that can't be ignored.
Manzanita Beach: An Unexplained Appearance
One of the beach's prevailing mysteries is the pile of stones that appears every morning. Chillingly, nobody knows who is responsible for them.
Alexey Olenchenko, Shutterstock
Higbee Beach
Location: New Jersey
Cape May seems like a tranquil seaside down, but it definitely has a dark side... Higbee Beach is haunted by its very own ghost.
Editorofthewiki, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Higbee Beach: A Ghostly Proprietor
The ghost that has been sighted on Higbee Beach is likely Thomas Higbee himself—a hotel proprietor for an institution destroyed back in 1940. However, it could also be is father, or even the man who guarded the family's burial sites.
Editorofthewiki, CC BY-SA 4.0 , Wikimedia Commons
Higbee Beach: Haunting The Shore
According to those who have supposedly seen the ghost on Higbee Beach, the spirit's laughter can be heard, while his garments are decidedly from the 19th century.
Loch Ness
Location: Scotland
The story of the Loch Ness Monster might be the most famous legend of all time. Sometimes called Nessie, it is rumored to be a plesiosaur or sea serpent.
Loch Ness: It's Monster Attracts Tourists
Hundreds of thousands of hopeful tourists travel to Loch Ness ever year in the hopes of catching a glimpse or snapping a photo of this infamous creature.
Changi Beach
Location: Singapore
The history of Changi Beach is all too real. In 1942, Japan occupied Singapore during WWII. Those who were believed to have anti-Japanese attitudes paid a terrible price.
Calvin Teo, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
Changi Beach: Lost Souls
At Changi Beach, thousands of Chinese men were pushed into the water and executed. According to superstition, their ghosts never left the shores. There have been many accounts of visitors hearing chilling cries and screams from the area.
The Bermuda Triangle
When it comes to haunted destination, the Bermuda Triangle will make the list every single time. So many ships and planes have entered the cursed area in the best possible conditions, only to vanish off the face of the earth.
Quite fittingly, it's also called the "Devil's Triangle."
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