ONCE a dumping ground for victims of the plague and the former site of a mental hospital, this Italian island is said to be haunted by tens of thousands of tormented spirits.
And now it could be yours.
Room with a view … a haunted room, that is. Source: Facebook
Remnants of the former hospital and quarantine. Source: Facebook
Poveglia is a seven hectare uninhabited island off the coast of Italy and it’s being put up for sale by the Italian government to help reduce national debt.
But with a chilling and disturbing history they could be hard pressed to find a buyer.
Overrun with weeds … and spectres. Source: Facebook
The mental hospital was the site of lobotomies. Source: Facebook
Located on the Venice Lagoon, the island swirls with horrific tales including rumours that people were burned and buried there during the plague, that the soil is 50 per cent human ash and that the psychiatrist who ran the mental hospital was a butcher and torturer.
The abandoned chapel. Source: Facebook
Now littered with abandoned buildings and overrun with weeds, the island has always been the site of controversy.
The Genoese and Venetians fought over it in the 14th century and victims of the plague were sent there to die. It was used as a quarantine station in the 18th century and was most recently the site of a sinister mental hospital.
Tormented spirits are said to haunt its walls. Source: Facebook
It is said about 160,000 bodies were dumped on the island when the Bubonic plague hit Italy and that thousands of tortured spirits haunt its shores.
The crumbling chapel. Source: Facebook
Work crews even uncovered a grave pit filled with the remains of more than 1,500 plague victims.
Thousands of skeletons were uncovered in mass graves. Source: Facebook
Skeletons of the plague. Source: Facebook
In 1922 the island became home to a mental hospital with reports that the deranged doctor experimented on patients with lobotomies using hand drills, chisels and hammers. He later threw himself off the bell tower claiming to be driven mad by ghosts of his victims.
The psychiatrist threw himself off this bell tower. Source: Facebook
With a past so sinister, no tourist has been allowed to step foot on the island. But the Italian government is now hoping the site can be taken over by a luxury hotel and are offering a 99 year lease for its redevelopment.
The old hospital has a sinister past. Source: Facebook
