Description

You can go to hell and back with the help of this one-of-a-kind illustrated travel guide to real-life underworld destinations around the globe. Full of intrigue, lore, and plenty of brimstone and fire, each of the 54 destinations—from Antarctica's Blood Falls to a tropical hell on Grand Cayman island—will be worth adding to your devilish bucket list.

The world over, humans have been fascinated by hell in some form or another for thousands of years and across cultures. Now, with this illustrated collection, you can add hell to your travel bucket list with more than 50 one-of-a-kind underworld destinations, from ghost towns where Halloween is always in season, to ancient caves long viewed as entrances to Hades, to volcanoes that brim with fire and legend.

Don’t be scared: along with the fascinating history of each location, star author Erika Engelhaupt also offers practical tips to make the most of your visit to the underbelly of the world. These hellish destinations include:

• Ireland's “Hell Caves,” where Halloween was born

• The Gates of Hell crater in Turkmenistan, burning for more than 50 years

• Hell, Michigan, where you can serve as the mayor of Hell for a day

• Turkey's Pluto’s Gate, an ancient Greco-Roman temple guarding a toxic cave

• China's Fengdu City of Ghosts, where tourists pre-game the afterlife in a town devoted to the underworld

• The Maya Cenotes throughout the Yucatan Peninsula, long considered portals to hell

• And so many more!

About the Author

Erika Engelhaupt is a reporter on all things macabre. Her work in National Geographic, Scientific American, and elsewhere has revealed the spooky science behind many taboo topics, including rotting corpses, bodily fluids, and other things that make her popular at dinner parties. She is the author of Gory Details. She lives in Knoxville, TN.