Growing up, most of our parents told us that there was nothing to be scared of out there in the dark... Oh, how things change. The world can be a terrifying place in many different ways, but are ghosts real? Do they truly remain behind to haunt the living? Is there really a door to hell located here on earth?

Here are the five most terrifying places on earth.

1. Island of the Dolls - Mexico

The Island of the Dolls, located roughly two hours down the river channels from Mexico City, is without a doubt, one of the creepiest places on earth. Even without the ghost stories attached to the island's legend, an island covered in dolls hung from trees, nailed to walls, sitting in the grass, and pretty much anywhere else they can be left, is bloody terrifying for even the most staunch of individuals.

The legend is that the island is haunted by the spirit of a little girl who had been found dead on the shores of the river. A local man found a doll in the river and hung it up on the island as a tribute to the drowned girl and over the years the collection of dolls has grown by the 1000s, including random limbs and decapitated doll heads, anything to keep the little girl's spirit happy.

It is said that the little girl can posses the dolls and people have said that they have seen the dolls turn their heads and limbs, and have even opened their eyes to stare you down as you visit her resting place.

The island has been featured in numerous paranormal television shows, and was even the inspiration for a particularly terrifying episode of Steven Spielberg's show The River.

2. Catacombs of Paris - France

Being underground makes most people wildly uncomfortable. Being underground in a maze the size of a city, even worse. When most of that city's walls are constructed completely out of human remains, specifically bones, why in hell would you decide to set foot there.

The catacombs beneath the city streets of Paris are a maze of 300 kilometers of tunnels created using the remains of over six million people. The catacombs are primarily off limits to the public unless you have been granted access which usually includes a tour from someone who knows the layout, but that doesn't mean that people don't try and get down there on their own. In fact in the late 1700s a man named Philibert Aspairt disappeared from his post at a local hospital. His body was found 11 years later just a few strides from the exit.

3. Hellfire Club - Ireland

From the 1600s all the way through to present day society, the world has been filled with secret societies in one form or another. The Hellfire club was a secret society within a secret society. Many of the members were Masons who branched off down their own avenues. Montpelier Hill where the remains of the Hellfire Club still stand, has had numerous paranormal events historically associated with it.

There is an unsubstantiated claim that before construction of what started out as a hunting lodge, a grave cairn was found on top of the hill. The legend is that stones from the grave cairn were used in the original construction of the lodge that would later become the base of operation for the Hellfire Club.

Who knows what actions were undertaking on the grounds of this historic site over the years?

4. Stull Cemetery - Kansas

Stull Cemetery is such a terrifying place that it even earned itself a guest appearance on the season five finale of the hit show Supernatural.

One of the oldest "bone-yards" in the United States, Stull Cemetery is steeped in legend. There have been numerous reports of paranormal occurrences over the years. Though the population of the town of Stull has started to dip down towards single digits over the last couple of decades, the town is said to be inhabited by spirits of those long dead. Most of the paranormal legends and stories are attached to the abandoned church attached to the cemetery.

Possibly the most startling accusation against Stull Cemetery is that it's one of the earthly gates to Hell?  

5. Bran Castle - Romania

The legend of Dracula has inspired its own genre of horror, complete with it's own brand of monster, the vampire. Bram Stoker's historic tale was based on a real man, Vlad Tepes, or as he is more commonly known, Vlad the Impaler. He ruled with an iron fist (on three separate occasions).

He was particularly known for his sadistic forms of torture and execution. He is said to have impaled two monks in an effort to help them on their way to heaven. He would also impale the bodies of his enemies in front of his lands in order to intimidate an opposing forces from challenging him.

One famous (yet unsubstantiated story) is that when two foreign dignitaries came to visit him they refused to remove their hats from their heads, stating it was against their customs to do so. Vlad decided to help them keep with their customs when he had their hats nailed to their heads.