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Poveglia (Italy's Most haunted Island)


Beren Erchamion

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OK So I'm sitting here watching Scariest PLaces On Earth on the Sci-Fi channel and they are doing somthing on this island called "Poveglia". I got curious and dug up some imformation on it. It is one of the most haunted places in Italy, It is an island that was used during the Black Death to dump plague victims. Some of them still alive. There is a pit in the center of the island that is filled with the ashes of burnt humans, and it is about 15 feet deep.

From WIkipedia

The island was home to a small community until it was abandoned around 1380, during the War of Chioggia between Venice and Genoa. In 1922, a mental hospital was built on the island. Local lore states that a particular mental health doctor tortured and killed many of the patients, before being thrown to his death from a bell tower. According to that same legend, he survived the fall, but was 'strangled by a mist that came up from the ground. It's ruins remain to this day.

From http://www.qassia.com/italys-most-haunted-...sland-of-horror

Poveglia is a small island floating in the lagoons of Venice. In stark contrast to the beauty of its surroundings, the island is a festering blemish. The waves reluctantly lapping its darkened shores will often carry away the polished remains of human bones.

When the first outbreak of bubonic plague swept through Europe, the number of dead and dying in the city of Venice became unbearable. The bodies were piling up, the stench was oppressive, and something had to be done. The local authorities decided to use Poveglia as a dumping ground for the diseased bodies. The dead were hauled to the island and dumped in large pits or burned on huge bonfires. As the plague tightened its grip, people panicked, and those showing the slightest symptoms of the Black Death were dragged screaming from their homes. These living victims, including children and babies, were taken to the island and thrown into the pits of rotting corpses, where they were left to die in agony. As many as 160,00 tormented bodies were disposed of over the years.

The soil on the island, combined with the charred remains of some of the bodies, formed a layer of sticky ash on the land. The top layer of ash has dried in the sun to form a fine dust that swirls in the breeze and catches in lungs. Part of the island core consists of a layer of human remains. Fishermen avoid this area, as the chances of catching a body part or two are high.

In 1922, a psychiatric hospital was built. It was an imposing building with a magnificent bell tower. The patients immediately reported seeing the ghosts of rotting plague victims and of hearing whispers echoing off the walls. Their harrowing reports were dismissed; they were already deemed demented and mad.

The hospital was run by a doctor who was a little too ambitious. He decided to make a name for himself by experimenting on his patients in a bid to discover the cause of their insanity. His methods were crude, to say the least. Lobotomies were performed using a basic hand drill or just a hammer and chisel. The already deluded patients were taken to the observation tower, where they were subjected to the most hideous of tortures.

After years of performing these horrible acts, the doctor himself began seeing the ghosts of harrowed plague victims. It is said they led him to the bell tower, where he threw himself off. Miraculously he did not die immediately, but according to a nurse, as he lay writhing in agony, a fine mist swirled up around him, entered his body, and choked him to death. It is rumored that he is bricked up in the bell tower, and on a still night the bell can be heard tolling across the bay.

The hospital has since closed down, and the island is uninhabited. It is not open to tourist, and its ashy beaches remain deserted. Recently a family sought permission to visit the island, hoping to buy it cheaply and build a vacation home. The left before the night was over and have refused to comment on the reason for their abrupt departure, The only fact known is that their daughter’s face was ripped open by “something” and needed twenty stitches.

A few people have dodged the light police patrol that guards the island, and all have sworn never to return. They say the moans and screams that reverberate around the island are unbearable. There is a feeling of the most intense evil, and one misguided thrill-seeker, upon entering the deserted hospital, was told, “Leave immediately and do not return.”

To quote the guy on Scariest Places On Earth, "I wouldn't send an enemy to this place."

I have heard of many messed up places, but this is by far in my opinion right up there with Auschwitz.

Edited by Steven (The Fallen Angel)
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This must have been the inspiration for "Dr Satan" in Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses ;)

In 1922, a psychiatric hospital was built. It was an imposing building with a magnificent bell tower. The patients immediately reported seeing the ghosts of rotting plague victims and of hearing whispers echoing off the walls. Their harrowing reports were dismissed; they were already deemed demented and mad.

The hospital was run by a doctor who was a little too ambitious. He decided to make a name for himself by experimenting on his patients in a bid to discover the cause of their insanity. His methods were crude, to say the least. Lobotomies were performed using a basic hand drill or just a hammer and chisel. The already deluded patients were taken to the observation tower, where they were subjected to the most hideous of tortures.

Edited by BorisTheSpider2
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Oh wow I wanna go there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks-- nice post!

Sorry Barkeep, but I'm pretty sure the island is off limits...

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  • 4 weeks later...
I've heard a bunch of stuff going on about the island. Like, that farmers still live on the island and such. I just wanted to know if that's true. Email me back please.
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  • 1 year later...

Yeah, I've heard alot about Poveglia too. Apparently when the Black Plague was in Italy, they ran out of place to put the decaying bodies. They removed the small village that lived on Poveglia and dumped the bodies there. Later on, they brought alive infected people, dumping them in the pit that were filled with bones. Childeren and babies all went there.

In 1930 they built a mental hospital on the grounds of where the people had died. The patients claimed seeing the ghosts of the plague infected people, but as they were insane no one took them seriously. The docter started getting interested in what they saw, and as someone said previously, he tortured them in the tower. Soon the doctor started to see the ghosts too. He jumped (or was thrown...?) off the clock tower. I've heard a rumour that the patients shoved him into the wall.

Apparently the locals are terrified of the place. Won't go any where near it. The fishermen don't fish near there, as they regulary pick up bones. The Italian police, (carabinieri...-?-) patrol the island in the day, but leave as soon as it gets dark.

Everything above is from memory, I probably (most definetly) have some of my facts wrong....LOL. I'm just glad I could help! :lol:

Oh, and I don't think you can get close to the island, like I said, most of the locals avoid the place, and I've heard they don't even want to talk about it...

So yeah... :tu:

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Same here. The island is apparently off-limits to anyone, and even the citizens won't go near the place.

Frankly, I think the history of the island is quite interesting (although terrible). I've had some sort of weird affection for it since I heard about it in middle school :rofl:

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Same here. The island is apparently off-limits to anyone, and even the citizens won't go near the place.

Frankly, I think the history of the island is quite interesting (although terrible). I've had some sort of weird affection for it since I heard about it in middle school :rofl:

No, it isn't

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That's the place those guys in Ghost Adventures went to, isn't it? I couldn't decide if they were all stoned or drunk.

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I'm not entirely sure whether its off bounds or not. The police patrol the area during day, (or so I've heard) so I'm guessing you can't. But then again, I've heard of some people got a Russian taxi driver (who didn't know about the history) to take them there, and they've got heaps of pictures on the place. If you want, I can try and send a link?

:lol:

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How can something be called " The most haunted place on earth" , when a "haunting" has not ever been proven or confirmed.( Other than on TV Shows , ya , those are real scientific proof )....

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wow, wouldnt mind going to this place

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*removed as i was thinking of a different island and dont want to confuse the thread with the wrong info :D

Edited by tipsy_munchkin
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No, it isn't

Hence why I didn't say I knew for sure. Only going by what I've read--unless my sources have all failed me.

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That's the place those guys in Ghost Adventures went to, isn't it? I couldn't decide if they were all stoned or drunk.

Haha they had to be both!

"DUDE DID YOU HEAR THAT!" Hilarious! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obEam0SN4rE

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This is pretty funny, I went to Venice at the beginning of last year and they were doing trips around the island but I didnt go. The whole of Venice is weird and really creappy especially in the old cathedral in the square. No point in going to the island, just stay in Venice itself it has plenty of creepy places and you can enjoy the beauty of the city at the same time :)

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Yeah that's the one! :lol:

Ghost Adventures is one of the best comedies on TV. :D

I watch it just to see how funny they get--Zak's so bro it hurts. My sister and I always do spin-offs on what the assumed ghosts are really saying. One of the times we got "Want your babies."

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

Yes it is off limits, the people of venice dont even like to talk about the place and fishermen wouldnt fish anywhere near it becuase the frequently pull bodies up which where buried on the island but over years water as eroded the earth and bodies fell into the water.

You cant go to the island at all now the police do patrol the waters around it to stop you getting there

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