Island of Death: Haunted by Madness
Welcome to Hell
If you think to yourself - where is the world's most haunted place?
You might picture old castles,
creepy cemeteries,
or battlefields.
You might not immediately think of an island,
but the island of Poveglia in Venice, Italy
has certainly gained a reputation as the most haunted island on Earth.
Poveglia is a small island located between Venice and Lido in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy.
In this documentary
we will look into its dark history
so that you can find out why this
is one of Italy's ghostly tourist attractions
that you probably won't want to visit in a hurry.
The surviving buildings on the island consist of
boat housing,
a church,
a hospital,
an asylum,
a bell tower,
housing and,
administrative buildings for the staff.
The bell tower is the most visible structure on the island
and dates back to the 12th Century.
It belonged to the church of San Vitale,
which was demolished in 1806.
The island's troubled history is first mentioned in ancient chronicles dating to 421,
when people from Padua and Este fled there to escape barbarian invasions.
In the 9th century the island's population began to grow,
and in the following centuries its importance grew steadily,
until Venice came under attack from the Genoan fleet and was abandoned.
The island was subsequently fortified,
but remained uninhabited in the following centuries.
In 1776 the island came under the jurisdiction of the Public Health Office,
and became a check point for all goods and people coming to, and going from, Venice, by ship.
In 1793, there were several cases of the plague,
which was carried by fleas and transmitted to rats on ships,
and consequently the island was transformed into a temporary confinement station for Plague sufferers;
The island was sealed off and used to host people with infectious diseases,
leading to legends of terminally ill Venetians waiting to die,
before their ghosts returned to haunt the island.
The island contains one or more plague pits.
Some estimates suggest that 100,000 people died on the island over the centuries.
The quarantine station was closed in 1814.
To scratch that surface of this island would reveal the infectious plague pits,
which make up much of the earth beneath the topsoil.
In the 20th century the island was again used as a quarantine station but,
in 1922, the existing buildings were converted into an asylum for the mentally ill.
A doctor allegedly experimented on patients with crude lobotomies.
He later threw himself from the hospital tower after claiming he had been driven mad by ghosts.
This went on until 1968, when the hospital was closed,
and the island, after being shortly used for agriculture,
was completely abandoned.
Locals, even fishermen,
stay away from an island that has earned a reputation as one of the world’s most haunted.
The island has been featured on the paranormal shows Ghost Adventures and Scariest Places on Earth.
Stories and sightings persist of ghosts,
disembodied moaning and unexplainable events.
But could this be the wind or animals that now inhabit the island in place of the tortured souls of the past?
The buildings now decay and fall into ruin.
A despair that echoes that experienced by the island’s past residents.
Do you think these hauntings are imagined?
Being influenced by the island's dark history.
Or do you feel that there is a sinister presence here that will always endure?
So, alongside its macabre history,
it seems strange that in 2014 the Italian state announced
that it would auction a 99-year lease of Poveglia to raise revenue,
hoping that the buyer would redevelop the hospital into a luxury hotel.
Would you pay to stay on the island now that you know about its creepy history?
Do you think the ghosts of the plague and asylum victims would return to haunt the living?
Thanks for watching.
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