1. Transylvania - It's been in countless books and movies, is the home of Count Duckula, and has been recounted about in songs by Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Rasputina, and Iron Maiden. So, how did a small district in Romania become almost synonymous with horror? One reason. Vampires. Transylvania is the home of Dracula, according to the book written by Bram Stoker, the tome that launched a thousand bloodsucking tales. Though the people of Transylvania would go very far out of their way to de-emphasize the horror aspect of their city, just the thought of rambling horse-pulled coaches riding through dark forests on the way to gothic castles where lightning illuminates the sky is enough to give most people the chills.

2. London - "There's a hole in the world like a great black pit, and the vermin of the world inhabit it, and it goes by the name of London."

If the venerable Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is to be believed, London is one great fertile ground for terror. Consider, for one, the story of Jack The Ripper, who spent years holding the city in terror by brutally slaying prostitutes in ways that turn most people's stomachs. How about Mr. Todd himself, a butcher of a barber who sliced his victims under the auspices of giving a shave? If you're visiting, you can always catch the ghosts of Anne Boleyn or Catherine Howard, two of the six wives of Henry VIII, or the two young sons of King Edward V, who were taken to the Tower and murdered by their uncle, Richard III. Yes, siree, London has some scare in it.

3. Detroit - Only one place on Earth could be the home of RoboCop, Kiss, and The Insane Clown Posse. Do I need to mention Iggy Pop or the MC5? How about Eminem? What's the common thread between all of them? They're all at least occasionally terrifying, and all come from Detroit, perhaps the most natively scary place in the United States. I don't know about you, but the mere prospect of meeting Bill Laimbeer in a dark alley makes me thankful for extra pants. Seriously, there's nothing haunted or mystical about the place, it's just that Detroit is where you should expect to die.

4. Sleepy Hollow - I have two words for you. Headless Horseman. Yes, the terror that Ichabod Crane felt will be yours, too, shoud you choose to visit this piece of upstate New York, just moments from the Hudson River and about 30 minutes from Manhattan. You would think, that close to the largest city in America, it wouldn't be possible for a town to rustle up a scary New England-style vibe, but it's the truth. From the barren lighthouses to the centuries-old docks and apple orchards, Sleepy Hollow is the perfect venue for the ride of the Headless Horseman. Just make sure you take company outside with you at night in the Fall and Winter.

5. Death Valley - A no-brainer. How can you name a place Death Valley and not anticipate its fright quotient will be through the roof. Also, it's the hottest place there is, so if your car breaks down there, you will likely fry to death, or turn to dust from lack of water, or you will be eaten by vultures who are just circling you all the time waiting for you to collapse. Hint: They call it Death Valley because things die there. The end.

6. New Orleans - With great boobs comes great responsibility. Yes, New Orleans is a brilliant place for you to visit and get "off the hook" as the kids say, and get rid of your personal collection of Mardi Gras beads by giving them up to willing young ladies who show you their lungs. However, don't forget that the entire city is haunted. Truly. From the above-ground mausoleums that get washed away, dead bodies included, with a particularly rough tide, to the ancient voodoo stores in the French Quarter, New Orleans is big on the surreal and spiritually scary. Also, there are vampires there, and Nine Inch Nails recorded The Downward Spiral there. It's fun, but is, in the best possible way, hell on Earth.

7. Parisian Catacombs - Dude. There are catacombs under the city of Paris, France, that are literally miles and miles of walls made from bones. HUMAN bones. Dead human bones. This place, turned from a Roman limestone quarry to a catacomb of tombs in the 18th Century, has the scary advantage of being old, underground, and full of dead things. Now, it might not be scary when you walk in, but the longer you linger among the remains of the thousands of dead souls, the longer you have to think about how scary it is. And it is.

8. Snoqualmie, Washington - If you're my age (mid 30's), and you watched television at all during the late 80's and early 90's, there will be something familiar about Snoqualmie from the moment you enter it. From the old metal bridge to the swinging red lights, from the diner to the Great Northern Hotel, you will find that you have entered the scary, surreal place that Twin Peaks was filmed in. The reason it was filmed there should be obvious. The city, and surrounding area, is gorgeous and terrifying all at once. Don't forget to enjoy some cherry pie at the Mar-T Cafe.

9. Hext, TX - This is a personal entry. Once, I went with some friends to the very center of Texas, a place called Shelby, for Halloween. This was because the place was supposed to be haunted and ringed with ghost towns and crazy cemetaries on all sides. True as advertised, this was certainly a place that time forgot. What we didn't count on, however, was a little ghost town called Hext. Imagine being hours into a culture of fear and then seeing a sign on the side of a road, in the middle of an abandoned cemetary, that reads, "Hext 13". We had to go. It was scary as hell.

10. The Pine Barrens, NJ - Not just a place where The Sopranos take their prey for the purposes of murdering them, the Pine Barrens of New Jersey are famous for their mystery, their seclusion, and for a legend called The Jersey Devil. One of the most mystifying things about the barrens is that you can walk a mile in and get lost for the rest of your life. The Jersey Devil is an extension of that mystery...and entity that traps you in the pine barrens and then kills you. Scary.