10 Islands So Cursed No One Wants Them, Even for Free
When we think of islands, images like swaying palm trees, white sand, and beautiful oceans come to our mind. But are all islands really like this? Not really. Some islands are so cursed they come with deadly creatures, ghosts, and mysteries no one wants to solve.
Throughout history, these islands have been abandoned due to disease, war, bizarre disasters, or legends too terrifying to ignore. Intrigued? So, without further ado, let’s learn more facts about these cursed islands.
Poveglia Island, Italy
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Venice has gondolas, romance… and one of the most haunted islands on Earth. Poveglia’s dark past still lingers as it was once a dumping ground for plague victims and later a brutal insane asylum. Locals refuse to step foot here, and buyers have backed out after hearing the whispers—literally.
North Brother Island, USA
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This abandoned island in the East River once housed a hospital for the sick and quarantined—including “Typhoid Mary.” A tragic shipwreck claimed over 1,000 lives here. Now, it’s a bird sanctuary, but some say the spirits never left.
Okunoshima, Japan
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Thousands of fluffy rabbits roam this island, and you can also spot tourists—but few realize its sinister history. During World War II, this place was a secret chemical weapons facility. The labs are gone, but the eerie feelings are hard to ignore. Authorities insist it’s safe, but let’s just say no one’s moving in.
Ramree Island, Myanmar
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During World War II, hundreds of Japanese soldiers fled into Ramree’s swamps—and were reportedly torn apart by saltwater crocodiles. Survivors were rare. The Guinness Book of World Records calls it the deadliest crocodile attack in history. It’s still mostly uninhabited today.
Hashima Island, Japan
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Hashima was abandoned when the industry collapsed, even though it was once a booming coal mining hub. What’s left are crumbling buildings, deserted alleyways, and a place so unsettling that filmmakers used it as a villain’s hideout in Skyfall. It’s open for tours, but don’t expect to see a lot of people.
Bouvet Island, Norway
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Bouvet is an ice-covered island with no permanent inhabitants. It’s one of the most isolated spots on Earth. Yet in the 1960s, a lifeboat mysteriously appeared on its shore with no sign of passengers. No one knows how it got there. No one wants to find out.
Clipperton Island, Pacific Ocean
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Once a French colony, Clipperton became a scene of horror after residents were stranded for years. Starvation, madness, and murder followed. When the few remaining survivors were rescued, the island was abandoned—and to this day, it remains empty, except for seabirds and ghosts.
Ilha da Queimada Grande, Brazil
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This island feels like you’re walking into a nightmare. Every square meter is crawling with golden lancehead vipers—one of the deadliest snakes in the world. The Brazilian government bans visitors, and even researchers visit with extreme caution (and anti-venom).
Vozrozhdeniya Island, Uzbekistan/Kazakhstan
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This island was used as a Soviet testing site for biological weapons and was once filled with anthrax, smallpox, and other deadly pathogens. Though scientists claim it has been decontaminated, few are willing to take the risk. Some things are better left buried.
Bermeja, Mexico
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Maps once marked Bermeja off Mexico’s coast, but when researchers went to confirm its location—it was gone. Some say it sank. Others believe it never existed. Conspiracy theorists suspect something more sinister. Either way, no one’s laying claim to it now.
Rapa Nui, Chile
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Easter Island’s massive stone heads draw tourists, but few stay long. The island that once thrived with life was stripped bare centuries ago. It was left a barren and windswept land. Theories of environmental collapse and overpopulation still haunt its legacy. Today, it’s quiet—almost too quiet.
Palmyra Atoll, USA
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Palm trees, turquoise waters, and a long history of unexplained deaths. This isolated atoll has seen shipwrecks, a gruesome murder in the 1970s, and a creepy sense that something isn’t quite right. The U.S. government controls it, but no one’s rushing to move in.
Antipodes Island, New Zealand
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Antipodes Island is the last place anyone would want to live. This completely uninhabited island is cold and windswept. It’s so remote that when a group of shipwrecked sailors got stranded there in 1893, they had to survive on raw penguin meat for months.
Daksa Island, Croatia
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This tiny island near Dubrovnik became infamous in 1944 when dozens of suspected Nazi collaborators were executed without trial. Their bodies were never properly buried, and locals believe their spirits haunt the island. Buyers have tried to purchase it—but none have followed through.
Suwarrow, Cook Islands
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For most people, living alone on an uninhabited island would be a nightmare. This is not the case for Tom Neale, who chose to live on Suwarrow for a total of 16 years intermittently. But aside from the occasional sailor or conservationist, no one else stays here long. Maybe the silence gets to them.