Dark Tourism

The eerie scene in the aftermath of the earthquake and subsequent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster that hit Japan in 2011

The term Dark Tourism,  may not be so widely known but the concept has been around longer then you or I. 

Dark Tourism has been defined as involving traveling to places associated with death and suffering. It’s also sometimes referred to as Black Tourism or Grief Tourism.

Chances are you’ve been to one of these locations on your travels as this includes locations such as natural disaster sites like the Twin Towers and war memorials like Gettysburg or Pearl Harbour. 

One of the oldest and most well known locations of Dark Tourism is the Paris Catacombs, the Empire of death. The ossuaries house the remains of more then 6 million souls. The oldest bones that were entombed at this location are estimated to be over 1200 years old. The city spent two years relocating the bones to the ancient underground mines in effort to eliminate the city's overflowing cemeteries and also to fix the crumbling ground and keep it from caving in on the ancient limestone mines beneath the city. Tours have been taking place at this location since the 1800’s. 

Hulton Archive / Getty Images

The Paris Morgue was also a location that was said to have seen up to 40 thousand visitors a day during the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. People began with going in hopes identify the bodies of loved ones but it became an obscure source of entertainment instead. The more gruesome or mysterious a person’s death, the more tourists showed up to see their body.

Other locations that are well known to the dark tourists of the world include Salem, home of the witch trials of the 1690’s, Chernobyl, Auschwitz, The suicide Forrest of Japan,  Oradour-sur-Glane in France, Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Rwanda, Pompeii, Leap Castle in Ireland where they say the Devil himself played a hand of cards before jumping up and exiting through the ceiling. All of these locations and more share dark histories which make them a curiosity for those who are brave enough to venture there. 

Tours are popping up all over the world that cater to our interest in death and the dark depraved history of the human race. 

Later this week Netflix is even releasing a new mini series on the subject, Dark Tourist. It follows journalists David Farrier as he visits unusual and macabre tourism spots from around the world. Going into war zoness and on tours such as one dedicated to one of the most notorious serial killers of all time - The Cream City Cannibal, Jeffery Dahmer.

Anyway you look at it the trend of visiting locations that hold a dark side isn’t going anywhere. If anything, there’s only been an increase in the subject and it’s gained more curiosity as we search ourselves and  the want to be up close and personal with death himself. 

Looking back in history people used to flock to public hangings and executions or to watch the gladiators battle to the death in Roman coliseums. But it’s not always just a dark desire that brings us to these places. Some go to pay respects and to honour those who came before us or those who passed tragically. The locations can also be reminders of the past and hope for the future to never let an atrocity of its kind surface again. These locations can hold many things for many different people of all walks of life. 

They are the graveyards of our mistakes, our tragedies and losses. They are reminders of what can happen and what has happened. May we learn from the past and honour all of those who’ve come before us. 

Kathryn