The creepy horror movie locations you can actually visit
The great thing about horror movies is that once they’re over, they’re over. Thankfully, most horror movies are not based on the terrors of reality, with Freddy Krueger not likely to haunt your dreams anytime soon, nor is Candyman likely to appear behind you in the mirror. The unfortunate truth is, however, that even after the credits roll, the fear lingers like a thin smog, filling your living room until it eventually dissipates.
Depending on how badly a horror film affects you, most of us will be able to get over any given movie in a couple of hours, but for others, it could take much longer. For those people, in particular, we might recommend actually visiting the real-life locations where some of the most famous horror movies of all time were filmed, after all, it could make you realise ‘it’s only a movie’.
Delving into some of the most curious creepy horror spots from across the globe of cinema, take a look at our list below that charts five iconic locations from the genre that you can actually visit in real life.
Creepy horror movie locations to visit:
Isle of Skye and Anwoth, Scotland – The Wicker Man (1973)
Location plays a pivotal role in Robin Hardy’s iconic folk horror that follows Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward), who arrives on the fictional Scottish island of Summerisle to investigate the report of a missing child. Soon discovering that the town abides by several terrifying pagan rituals, folklore plays a significant part in the film as the protagonist is shunned as ‘the other’ of this fearful tale.
The Wicker Man’s remote setting makes it such a frightening piece of cinema. To capture the isolation of Summerisle, Hardy filmed all across rural Scotland, but focused much of his time on the churches of the Isle of Skye.
Seneca Creek State Park, Maryland – The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The 1999 independent film The Blair Witch Project is known for being one of the most compelling horror films ever told, so much so that when it was first released, directors Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick used the movie’s authenticity to sell the film as ‘real’. The intense found footage horror flick was filmed in and around Seneca Creek State Park, Maryland, with fans flocking to the site throughout the year.
Whilst much of the film’s earlier sequences are shot in Burkittsville, the later moments of horror are captured 60km away in the State Park. If you do go, make sure you don’t get lost…
Timberline Lodge, Oregon, USA – The Shining (1980)
The Overlook Hotel of Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror film, adapted from the novel by Stephen King, might be one of the most iconic movie locations of all time. An isolated hotel located in the Rocky Mountains, as stated in the film, the location is actually named Timberline Lodge and can be found on Mt. Hood in Oregon. First opened in 1937, the building is known for far more than just being ‘the Shining house’.
Open to skiers and snowboarders throughout the year, the gorgeous alpine location makes for extraordinary accommodation. To make matters even better, it’s impossible to stay in Room 237 because it doesn’t exist at all; the owners insisted that Kubrick change the hotel number so that guests wouldn’t be frightened to stay in Room 217 in the future.
Toms River, New Jersey – The Amityville Horror (1979)
Speaking of iconic horror movie locations, the exterior of the Amityville Horror is truly unmistakable, even for non-horror fans. A towering house with two quarter-circle windows on the top left, and right-hand sides of the building, the house from the famous 1979 ghost story seems to bulge with history. What makes this location even creepier is that the film is based on very true events.
Thankfully, the production team didn’t film in the real haunted house in New York, with the film actually captured in Toms River, New Jersey. Though it might not be the site of the real hauntings, we assure you the film location is authentic enough.
Wismar and Lübeck, Germany – Nosferatu (1922)
Recognised as one of the oldest horror films of all time, if not the oldest, F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu has inspired a countless range of films over its century-long reign. A silent German expressionist horror, Murnau used two cities in the northern part of the country to film his gothic vampire movie, travelling to Wismar and Lübeck back in 2022 with his barebones crew of early cinematic creatives.
Whilst the port city of Wismar was used as the primary setting for the fictional town of the film, further exterior shots were taken at Lübeck and the abandoned Salzspeicher.
