Every place has a scary spot – spots that are, usually, the setting of stories that can make the hair at the back of our necks rise and haunt our dreams. From ghosts to poltergeists to witches and haunted tombs, these places are home to the mysterious and the unexplained, which made them infamous and favorite story subjects.

Here are some of the scariest places on earth according to US News. Compare these places to the scary spots you’ve heard before and decide which has a more compelling and frightening tale.

The Paris Catacombs
The Parisians had a putrefaction problem in the 1800s. People kept dying, and the cemeteries were overstocked with decomposing bodies, so the French government moved them to an abandoned quarry, now the Paris Catacombs. Those who tour the Paris Catacombs had best be prepared to look death in the face. Literally.

Edinburgh Underground
Just south of the Royal Mile and underneath the arches of the South Bridge is a series of vaults, which witnessed murder, mayhem and more in the 1800s. Today, visitors can tour the vaults but are told to beware the active poltergeists.

Tower of London
Take a twilight tour of the Tower of London, and you might just find yourself face to face with a long-dead tortured soul -- that is if the face is still intact. Many prisoners of the Crown were decapitated here, including Henry VIII's second wife, the notorious Anne Boleyn.

The Lizzie Borden B&B
You don't want to sing this rhyme to the kids in the nursery: "Lizzie Borden took an axe, and gave her mother 40 whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father 41." Although she was acquitted of all charges, fingers still point to Miss Lizzie after the murder of her parents.

Transylvania, Romania
Transylvania is one creepy place. You can almost imagine the fictional Jonathan Harker coming up the road to meet his fate in Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel. But real-life sadist, Vlad the Impaler, also hiked these mountains.

Read More: US News Travel