Lovers of Halloween and horror movies who want to see real haunted places won’t have to look far anymore. There are frightening spots all over the country to visit that will send shivers down the back of your neck. The Dominican Republic has a lot more to offer, from abandoned lunatic asylums to Historical castles with hidden dungeons.

Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Image by DANIEL SANDOVAL from Pixabay.

For people who want to relax and avoid the rigors of life in the passing lane, Saona Island would be the best option. It is ideal for everyone dreaming of a Caribbean adventure and longing to enjoy a laid-back and more tranquil lifestyle.

If you want to go to haunted places, the Dominican Republic is the ideal destination because it offers many things. You may drop by several creepy sites that will send shivers down your spine while you’re on tour. Here are a few destinations that have a spooky past.

1. FARO A COLON

The Faro a Colon is a massive skyscraper in Santo Domingo that is rumored to be the tomb where Columbus’ bones are stored. However, this remains debatable. Nevertheless, even without this feature, there is something strange and a little scary about this incredibly odd monster of a monument. It isn’t quite dark, but it is strange and slightly frightening.

Going in through the west, you’ll only get to see the skull, or top, of cross-shaped footprints so that you won’t realize the immense length of the structure right away. It grows broader and more significant next to you when you draw closer.

A little distance behind the statue is the entry to the monument/interior mausoleum — if approaching from the north, you must go completely across to the west front.

2. FORTALEZA SAN FELIPE

This haunted place is a tiny dark site in the Dominican Republic’s northernmost city of Puerto Plata. This seaside fort, erected by the Spaniards in the early 1600s and is the world’s oldest extant construction, is mainly featured here for its connection to the Trujillo government and the Mirabal siblings in specific. Their spouses were imprisoned in the castle, and the siblings were on the way back home on November 25, 1960, after visiting them. Criminals attacked their automobile in La Cumbre, and the Mirabal siblings were killed.

It’s no surprise that the museum features an oil picture of the guy in one of the corners with a traditional Dominican flag. His narrative’s background panels are even multilingual.

Apart from visiting the modest museum, visitors may climb on top of the central building for spectacular views over Puerto Plata’s sea and harbor, as well as the city’s mountain background. Inside the modest fort, you can examine the defended walls and tiny corner towers or wonder at several ancient cannons, a timber chest, and a collection of barrels.

3. MUSEO HERMANAS MIRABAL

It is the old residence of the famed Mirabal siblings, Dominican Republic patriotic heroes and victims. This property in Salcedo in Cibao was transformed into a shrine-like exhibit with souvenirs, period furnishings, and garments by the surviving fourth sister. While out in the gardens, the martyrs’ tombs have been moved. It was very much a spiritual destination.

The memorial on the roadside near the murder location of Mirabal appears to have been placed just around 2007 or 2008. It has since become a part of the “Mirabal sisters pilgrim path.” Three tall concrete spikes stand next to three plinths about which bronze statues of the three siblings rest.

The artwork isn’t precisely of the best standard. Maria Teresa’s bust appears to be bold. Patria, on the other hand, seems to be severely harmed. A big hole has occurred along the side of Patria’s neck as if an axe had hammered it in. It’s difficult to say if this is the consequence of natural deterioration or a purposeful act of vandalism.

Furthermore, it’s little more than a brief halt along the path that connects Santiago to the seaside, a pilgrimage site.

4. POMIER CAVES

This great Dominican Republic site is a vast labyrinth of underground caverns, along with an incredible bat cave. Still, its most excellent standout feature is its pre-Columbian pictographs and cave art made by the native Taino tribe approximately 2000 years ago.

Birds may be seen everywhere, especially when small passages split off the central cavern. According to how the bird’ beaks are decorated, you can tell what type of deep cave you could find if you go down those channels.

There are some petroglyphs, which are pictures etched into stone instead of drawn on them, and some of them appear to be highly eerie. There were bizarre monster insects, which seemed to be some spider-like animal adapted to cave living by elongating two of its front legs into slender feelers. There were both living ones on the sides and in the corners of the floor and dead ones’ corpses.

The bat cave is home to a snake that feeds on dead or unsuspecting living bats to finish it off. There are numerous more caverns to explore, some of which demand more strenuous effort, like squeezing through tight gaps to travel from one chamber to the next or descending a tunnel using ropes. You’ll almost certainly become dirty and tired.

5. CASA CAOBA

It is the remains of a property near San Cristobal that was formerly Trujillo’s favorite estate. This is where the Dominican ruler lived the most and committed most of his atrocities (i.e. raping virgins). As a result, visiting this now-abandoned property is particularly spooky.

The structure appears to be nothing more than a sad, concrete hollow shell from the entrance and gate. Nearly everything has been destroyed, possibly by vandals who have also left a trail of graffiti.

However, if you go inside and look attentively, you can still see signs of the past magnificence that this tyrant’s palace must have had. Much of the inside used to be mahogany wood-panelled. In fact, you may even still find parts of it in between.

Other remains of apparently numerous secondary buildings and the previous grounds around them can be seen, looking out the back windows of the main home. However, these are unkempt and difficult to reach presently. Glancing into the horizon, the buildings of Santo Domingo and the smokestacks of the city’s industrial fringes can be seen.

Overall, this is a rather unusual place to see. There is no commercialization, knowledge, or analysis, so you won’t get anything out of it unless someone tells you what is in it and you know the complete backstory of the place.

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