Spinalonga

Kreta · Greece · Fortress

The sick entered through Dante's Gate and left the island only in death — their whispers are said to linger in the lanes.

The lepers brought to Spinalonga entered through Dante's Gate, a dark tunnel through the Venetian fortress wall, and most left the island only as corpses. Visitors in the crumbling lanes still describe whispers between the houses, an oppressive presence and a peculiar sorrow that settles on anyone who lingers too long in the colony's empty quarters.

The islet off Elounda in Crete was Greece's leper colony from 1903 to 1957 — known locally as the island of the living dead. Even so, the exiles built a community here, with shops, a café and a church. Spinalonga is now one of Crete's most visited sights, but the gate's name has stayed with it. When the colony closed in 1957 the priest remained a further five years, to complete the memorial rites for all the dead.

FAQ

Where is Spinalonga located?

Spinalonga is in Kreta, Greece.

More haunted places in Kreta

• Frangokastello Kreta · Fortress
• The Tomb of the Marathon Fallen (Tymvos Marathonomachon) Attica · Haunted site
• The Tower of Dreams (Pyrgos ton Oneiron) Attica · Tower
• The Weeping of the Caryatids (Erechtheion) Attica · Ruin
• The Funeral Procession of Piraios Street (Ta pnevmata tis Peiraios) Attica · Road
• The Haunted Shirt of Distomou Street (To stoicheiomeno poukamiso) Attica · Haunted site
• The Mavromichalis Mansion (Epavli Mavromichali) Attica · Manor
• The Athanasopoulos House (Oikia Athanasopoulou) Attica · Haunted house

Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: Robert Linsdell from St. Andrews, Canada · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons