Spooky Travel Diaries – A Conversation with Louise from The Morbid Tourist

I absolutely love uncovering the mysterious and eerie corners of the world, which is why I was thrilled to connect with Louise from The Morbid Tourist. Her blog is a fascinating deep dive into haunted locations, folklore rich sites, and the weird and wonderful destinations that many of us dream about. I reached out to Louise to ask her a few questions about her blog, her passion for spooky travel, and some of her most memorable experiences. Here is what Louise had to say…..

Morbid Tourist profile pic

What inspired you to start The Morbid Tourist, and how did you discover your passion for spooky travel?

So the short version of it is that I’ve always been fascinated with the paranormal from a young age. I was always reading about things like world mysteries or reading books with ghost photos in them. Then when I started watching Most Haunted when I was younger, I realised that these stories weren’t just in the books you read – you can actually visit these places and investigate things yourself. I discovered a passion for travel in my 20s and then when I hit my 30s, I started to regress back around to all the stuff I loved when I was younger. I found my love for the spooky side of life again and realised I could combine my two passions of the paranormal/alt side of life and travel!

The longer version is the same as the above, but what actually inspired me to start The Morbid Tourist was thanks to a travel conference I went to. I’ve been blogging for around 15 years and have another blog which is about budget travel and hidden gems, but it’s changed direction in so many years. I attended a fab presentation at this travel conference which was all about niching down in the travel industry and how, despite the rise of apps like TikTok and the industry favouring short-form video content, there is still a space for blogs! By this point, I’d already set up an Instagram account for The Morbid Tourist and was toying with the idea of launching it as a full website and not just a hobby. Especially taking all the knowledge of SEO and writing from my other blog. That talk inspired me though and as soon as I flew home from the conference, I bought my domain and the rest was history!

What’s been your most memorable experience visiting a haunted house or spooky site?

I think it may have been when I visited Rendlesham Forest, as this was the first place I visited specifically for The Morbid Tourist. It was my first location on my list of top 50 spooky locations, and it was the first time I actually planned a trip with the sole purpose of doing something spooky/alternative and getting content. Even though I’d visited lots of spooky places before for fun! So it was a real turning point for me. I remember sitting in the car, driving to Rendlesham and feeling so excited to go on a spooky adventure.

Another one would be investigating Delapre Abbey with the Most Haunted Experience team. Unfortunately on this occasion it wasn’t with any of the main stars of the show (one day I’d LOVE to investigate with Yvette Fielding it’s my dream) but being able to investigate with the team that is involved with Most Haunted was amazing. I grew up watching Most Haunted with my mum and know she’d be so proud of me for doing that.

How do you choose which locations to explore, and what’s the research process like?

So the first thing I do is consult my Folklore & Superstition Map from Marvellous Maps. At the moment, I’m trying to complete their Top 50 Folklore & Superstition locations, so that’s the first thing I’ll do to see if it’s possible to visit any of those places. If I just have time to visit somewhere for the day, it has to be close by so I’ll see what other places are on the map.

I’ll then do some research on each place, especially if it’s a top 50 location, and list out things to do there on my handy little spreadsheet (yes, I have a spreadsheet, haha). If I’m generally just in the mood to do something spooky, I’ll scroll through TikTok for ideas or look through some books I have. I have quite a few old books about haunted locations, most of which aren’t really found online, so this is useful. But because the books are old, some of the information is out of date and places might not exist anymore.

I’ll also generally look online for stuff to do in each area I plan to visit.

Another way I look at it is if I’m travelling somewhere anyway, I can sometimes tick off a few things that way. I attended my friend’s wedding in Lancashire earlier this year and because of the weird check-in times at the hotel, I decided to book a hotel the night before and visit Pendle Hill whilst I was in the area.

I’m always looking for opportunities to visit new places and have two or three books I always leaf through just to see if there’s something worth visiting.

Is there one place that’s surprised you in terms of its history or level of creepiness?

Definitely the Galleries of Justice in Nottingham (and probably Nottingham overall). I’d heard so many times that the Galleries of Justice were really haunted and really spooky to visit, but I put off going because their website doesn’t showcase that at all. Their website is obviously great and highlights it as a great place for history but I just didn’t think it was spooky in the slightest and thought if I was going to visit, my best bet would be to book onto an actual paranormal investigation there.

I decided to visit one day anyway and it was fascinating. It’s a shame they don’t showcase it in that light because there are so many creepy or spooky things to see and do there. There’s a cool exhibition all about crime, which you can actually visit for free without a ticket to the rest of the museum! There are also gallows you can visit and original trap doors from the Wandsworth Gallows. You’re invited to stand on them and think about all the people who have stood in the same spot, waiting to be hung. It’s really eerie and thought-provoking. I spent hours there and could easily go back and spend more time there as there really is so much to see and do.

How do you handle the balance between historical accuracy and folklore when telling the stories of the places you visit?

I think you just have to put the research in. There are always going to be some inaccuracies when you hear stories throughout history, especially when a paranormal element is involved. And I guess the same goes for folklore too a lot of people don’t believe in folklore stories or ghosts, for example, but they still enjoy reading or hearing about them! Including folklore elements in a story is also a great way to give it an interesting twist.

I think also you just have to be clear that everyone has different beliefs. I 100% believe in ghosts and sometimes I do wonder about the language I use in my videos should I preface them by saying these are retellings or that I’m not claiming stories to be entirely true? But at the end of the day, I believe them, and I think it’s clear that I’m obviously not trying to push my beliefs on someone or offend them. They can take my videos with a grain of salt.

Morbid Tourist, Shambles, York

Have you ever had a truly paranormal experience during one of your trips?

Sadly, I haven’t yet! I’ve had a couple of experiences that suggested they could be paranormal, but luckily I did my research and realized they weren’t. I think it’s important to be honest about these things, as much as you want the experience to be down to the paranormal!

It does make for funny stories though. I woke up screaming at the top of my lungs at 3am in a haunted hotel in Essex once because I thought a ghost was sitting on the end of my bed. It turns out I was just half asleep and my partner had walked past and bumped into the bed and made it move.

There have been a few smaller instances though, like cold spots, weird feelings etc. But sadly, I’ve yet to see an actual ghost. I’m 80% sure I want to, and the other 20% is too scared to see one, haha.

What’s your opinion on the rise of paranormal tourism? Do you think it’s changed how people view these types of destinations?

Yes, absolutely! I think dark tourism, for example, has expanded and grown so much in recent years that it’s evolved into something so much more it includes paranormal tourism, graveyard tourism, and so many other things now, which I think is great. It’s absolutely fascinating to see this style of travel becoming more well-known and people starting to realize that it’s not all doom and gloom you can have fun with it. And not everyone is a really dark and morbid person for enjoying this type of travel. Like I said before, everyone loves a good ghost story!

Nottingham Haunted Pub

Do you have a favourite scare attraction or spooky museum, and what made it stand out to you?

That’s a tough question. I have so many already and so many more to visit and add to the list! I really love Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein in Bath, it’s really immersive and kitschy and unlike any museum I’ve ever been to. I’m also a big fan of the Dungeons wherever I go, I love how it combines horror and humour but you do genuinely come away from it having learned about a city’s dark history.

The ghost bus tours are really fun and different as well. In terms of scare attractions, my favourite (so far!) is definitely Tulleys Shocktober Fest. It’s so much fun—the scare mazes/haunts are genuinely really scary and I LOVE that they have a haunted hayride. It’s something I’d seen before on American TV shows but never thought I’d get to experience one here in the UK.

The Round Up….

Louise’s passion for exploring eerie and mysterious destinations offers a unique blend of history, folklore, and the paranormal. From haunted forests to creepy museums, The Morbid Tourist opens the door to thrilling adventures that few dare to embark on. Whether you’re an experienced paranormal enthusiast or simply curious about the darker side of travel, her blog is a must-follow.

If you’re intrigued by spooky sites and want to discover more haunted locations, be sure to check out The Morbid Tourist. You can follow Louise’s journey on her blog and social media for the latest eerie explorations and tips for planning your own ghostly getaways.

Links

Website: https://themorbidtourist.com

Socials: InstagramTikTokFacebook

And don’t forget to follow the Mystic Realm Blog exclusive interviews page for more interviews, myths, and stories about the supernatural here.

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