What if the setting for your nightmare actually exists? Around the world, there are islands where people were quarantined during deadly epidemics, entire towns were abandoned overnight, and visitors are legally forbidden from setting foot on the shore. If you have a flair for the scary, these eight islands deserve a spot on your creepy islands list.
8 Creepy Islands Around The World With Chilling Histories
1. Poveglia Island, Italy : Was Once Used To Isolate People During Plague Outbreaks
Venice has gondolas, romantic canals and enough gorgeous architecture to make your camera roll unbearable. Then there is Poveglia, an island in the Venetian Lagoon with a history that takes a decidedly darker turn. During plague outbreaks, authorities used it to isolate people suspected of carrying the disease, separating them from the wider population. A psychiatric hospital later operated on the island, further contributing to its grim reputation.
Over time, stories of restless spirits, paranormal encounters and a supposedly sinister doctor became part of local lore, although many of the more sensational claims remain unverified. Access to Poveglia is restricted, so it is not a place to casually add to your Venice itinerary.
2. North Sentinel Island, India : Has A Rule That Could Save Lives
Forget haunted mansions. North Sentinel Island has something far more serious guarding its isolation: strict legal restrictions and a community that has repeatedly resisted outside contact. Located in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, it is home to the Sentinelese, an Indigenous people whose lives and traditions remain largely unknown to outsiders. Indian authorities prohibit unauthorised entry into the island’s protected territory and surrounding coastal waters.
These restrictions are essential because contact could expose the community to infectious diseases against which it may have little immunity, while also threatening its autonomy.
In 2018, American missionary John Allen Chau was killed after attempting to reach the island. The incident attracted global attention, but the Sentinelese are not characters in a horror story, and their home should not be treated as a forbidden tourist attraction.
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3. Hashima Island, Japan : Is A Concrete Ghost Town With A Troubled Past
There is something way too unsettling about a place designed for thousands of people becoming completely deserted. Hashima Island, off Nagasaki, experienced precisely that transformation. Once a thriving coal-mining community, the tiny island was packed with concrete apartment blocks, schools, shops and other facilities.
At its peak in 1959, approximately 5,300 people lived there. Then, in 1974, the coal mine closed, and the residents left. And what remains is a maze of deteriorating buildings battered by the sea and weather, giving the island its famous battleship-like silhouette.
Its history also includes the forced labour of Korean and Chinese workers during Japan’s wartime period, a painful legacy that should not be overshadowed by its ghost-town reputation. Today, visitors can explore designated sections on authorised tours, although dangerous structures remain off-limits.
4. Snake Island, Brazil : Has A Population That Makes Most People Want To Cancel Their Holiday
Some islands have peacocks. Others have penguins. Ilha da Queimada Grande, off the coast of southeastern Brazil, has the golden lancehead pit viper, a highly venomous snake found naturally only on this island. The species evolved in isolation and is now critically endangered, making the island significant for conservation as well as frightening for anyone with a serious snake phobia.
Stories claiming that there is one snake per square metre have helped turn the location into an internet legend, but that figure is not a reliable measurement of the island’s actual snake population.
The genuine danger is sufficient; the terrain is challenging, the snakes are venomous, and access is restricted to authorised personnel, including permitted researchers. So, if your plans involve watching a snake-filled horror film, perhaps keep Snake Island as your viewing inspiration rather than your next holiday destination.
5. Gruinard Island, Scotland : Was Contaminated During Secret Wartime Experiments
A remote Scottish island might sound like the perfect place to disappear from the world. Gruinard Island, however, spent decades associated with a threat that was invisible to the naked eye.
During the Second World War, British scientists conducted experiments involving anthrax there as part of biological warfare research. The tests contaminated the island with dangerous bacterial spores, leading authorities to quarantine it for decades.
A decontamination programme was carried out in the 1980s, and the government declared the island safe in 1990. Although the historical quarantine has ended, Gruinard remains uninhabited and is not a conventional tourist destination.
6. Spinalonga, Greece : Was A Place Where People With Leprosy Were Sent To Live
On the surface, Spinalonga looks like the sort of Mediterranean island people dream about visiting. Its stone fortifications overlook the blue waters near Crete, and its ruined buildings offer plenty of opportunities for atmospheric photographs. But between 1903 and 1957, the island served as a settlement for people with leprosy, who were separated from the wider community because of the stigma and fear surrounding the disease. Life there was not simply a story of abandonment.
Residents established homes, shops and social networks, building a community despite the circumstances that had brought them there. Today, visitors can explore the remains of the settlement and learn about the people who lived through this difficult chapter of history.
Spinalonga’s past is undeniably haunting, but reducing it to a ghost story would miss the point. Its most disturbing legacy is the way fear of illness shaped the lives of real people.
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7. Surtsey, Iceland : Is An Island Where Ordinary Tourists Cannot Simply Wander Around
Imagine watching an island emerge from the ocean and then being told you cannot freely explore it. That is the unusual reality of Surtsey, off Iceland’s southern coast. Volcanic eruptions created the island between 1963 and 1967, and scientists have since studied how life colonises land that begins as bare rock.
Plants, insects and birds have gradually established themselves there, turning Surtsey into a remarkable natural laboratory. To protect this fragile ecosystem, access is tightly controlled and generally limited to authorised scientific research. Visitors cannot simply arrive, pick up volcanic rocks or wander across the landscape.
Even seemingly harmless actions could introduce outside organisms and disrupt the environment scientists are trying to understand. Surtsey may not have an abandoned asylum or a population of venomous snakes, but there is something fascinatingly strange about an entire island being kept largely off-limits so nature can write its own origin story.
8. Ross Island, India : Has Ruins That Look Like Nature Is Slowly Swallowing History
At Ross Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, tree roots twist around old colonial buildings, vegetation spills across abandoned structures, and once-important spaces have become remnants of another era. Now known as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, the island served as a British administrative centre associated with the colonial penal settlement.
Its history is connected to the harsh treatment of Indian prisoners, while later upheavals, including the 1941 earthquake and the Japanese occupation during the Second World War, contributed to its decline.
The surviving ruins give the island an atmosphere that feels almost cinematic, but the history behind them is far more substantial than their spooky appearance. Unlike North Sentinel Island, Ross Island welcomes visitors under applicable tourism rules, allowing them to explore its historical remains.
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Some of these creepy islands are reminders of human cruelty, others of nature’s power, and a few of the boundaries we should never cross just for the sake of a spooky adventure.
Cover Image Courtesy: thaisriotto/Google Business
FAQs
What are some of the eeriest islands in the world?
Some eerie islands include Poveglia in Italy, Hashima in Japan, Snake Island in Brazil, Gruinard in Scotland and Spinalonga in Greece. Their histories involve disease quarantine, abandoned settlements, dangerous wildlife and wartime experiments.
Why is Poveglia Island considered mysterious?
Poveglia has a history of being used to isolate people during plague outbreaks. A psychiatric hospital later operated there, and stories of paranormal activity have contributed to its reputation, although many supernatural claims remain unverified.
Which islands around the world are restricted to visitors?
North Sentinel Island in India is protected by strict restrictions on unauthorised entry. Surtsey in Iceland limits access primarily to authorised scientific research, while Gruinard Island's historical quarantine has ended but it is not a conventional tourist destination.
