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A BUSINESSMAN’S private island “made from human ash” and full of “deadly fog” has been built upon the remains of 160,000 corpses.
The abandoned island of Poveglia remains forbidden to visitors and is renowned for being the “most haunted place on Earth.”
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AlamyLocated between the picturesque cities of Venice and Lido in the north of Italy, it remains closed to visitors unless granted special permission.
But in 2014, an Italian businessman, Luigi Brugnaro, won an auction for the 18-acre plot of land, allowing him to lease the feared location for 99 years.
His spokesman claimed he was yet to decide what to do with the island but wanted it to have some form of public use.
It was initially estimated the restoration of the island’s derelict buildings would cost around £16.25million.
But with very few people setting foot on the island since the 1960s, finding keen investors and convincing the public to make the hop over the stretch of water was always set to be a challenge.
Even more so because of all the spine-chilling legends surrounding Poveglia.
For starters, it’s believed that 50 per cent of the island is made up of human ash from cremations.
Poveglia became used as a quarantine station from 1793 until 1814 for anyone who even remotely showed any signs of the plague.
To combat the spread of the disease, victims were rumoured to be burnt.
Others dispute this claim, and insist the 160,000 bodies remain intact in mass burial sites below ground.
Other stories involve a crazed doctor who experimented on his patients after the existing buildings were converted into a mental asylum.
Using crude lobotomies, he is said to have tortured and killed many patients with tools such as hand drills – which remain in the rooms to this day.
However, the sadistic man eventually threw himself off the bell tower, having claimed that he was being haunted by the spirits of those who had died on the island.
Nearby residents on the mainland claim to still hear the bell ringing, even though it was removed years ago.
However, other versions of the event claim the crazed doctor succumbed to the island’s mysterious and deadly fog.
One story details a nurse who witnessed the doctor survive from his fall, yet a fog-like mist surrounded him and choked him out.
But a fog that killed the doctor would point more towards paranormal influence than the natural low-lying cloud of tiny water droplets.
It’s unknown whether the island suffered from especially high levels of fog – and whether it still does to this day – but being surrounded by water and harsh weather conditions could back these claims up.
There are also endless paranormal stories connected with the island, whereby the patients of the psychiatric hospital would often see the ghosts of the plague and feel even more tortured by these visions.
The island has since featured on paranormal shows, including Ghost Adventures and Scariest Places on Earth.
As for the businessman and his plans with the island itself, not much is known.
But according to a 2014 report by the Travel Channel, some restoration work had begun.
However, it was “abruptly stopped without explanation”.
Elsewhere, an eerie island with a dark past of slavery is said to be the final resting place of up to 1,300 abused civilians and prisoners of war.
Hashima Island, abandoned for 40 years and now deemed too dangerous for exploration, is so spooky it made for the perfect lair of a James Bond villain in the iconic 2012 film Skyfall.
And an abandoned island that was full of poisonous gas and scratched off the map for top secret testing has been taken over by rabbits.
The small island of Okunoshima in the Inland Sea of Japan has become a haven for the small mammals and is totally unpopulated by humans.
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