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And So It Is Written: The Halloween Season Shall Begin in Early September

September 7, 2008 at 2:35 PM | 0 Comments

In the eyes of most retailers, the Christmas season begins on Black Friday - the day after Thanksgiving - when, unless you hate America, you're supposed to go shopping. The Thanksgiving season, meanwhile, kicks off on November 1, just as the Halloween decorations are put away for another year. But when does the Halloween season begin? It is a big enough holiday to spread out over an entire month, or perhaps longer? We don't think so, but plenty of people in the tourism industry do.

As the AP points out, the latest "tourism trend" involves Halloween-related events starting on the heels of Labor Day, giving consumers nearly eight weeks to visit haunted houses, attend costume balls, and even quaff a few Halloween beers.

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North Korea Travel: Not Entirely Safe

July 15, 2008 at 9:15 AM | 0 Comments

Walking around on the beach is usually only dangerous if a giant wave attacks or a shark decides to walk on land, but in slightly scary North Korea things can be a bit different.

Tourists from South Korea are allowed to travel to two tightly guarded spots in North Korea, one of them being the mountain resort of Mount Keumgang. Over the weekend a 53-year-old South Korean woman was shot dead there by a North Korean soldier because she crossed the boundary line of the resort during a walk on the beach.

Some sources say she ran towards her hotel once the guards approached her, while others say she was walking deep into the prohibited zone. Whatever the case, it's a reminder that although they can do some incredible crowd choreography, those North Koreans can be a really sinister bunch.

Related Stories:
· North Korean Soldier Kills South Korean Tourist [CNN]
· Can You Still Travel to North Korea? [Jaunted]
· Communist Choreography in North Korea [Jaunted]

[Photo: litlnemo]

National Parks Travel: Taking One Last Trip

June 26, 2008 at 1:00 PM | 0 Comments

National Park travel is one of our favorite topics around here, but unfortunately the most recent news isn't about a new park, secret location or exciting tour. It's about those looking to return to nature in the parks by taking their own lives.

This year alone, 18 people have wandered into parks across America with no intention of going home. The Everglades, Cape Cod and Olympic National Parks have all been home to recent suicides.

Although it's a little morbid to say, there's really no place better to once again join the earth. Al Nash, a spokesman for Yellowstone, agrees:

There are some individuals who feel it's important to have that kind of connection in those final moments.

Some suicides are more violent than others, but some people simply wander off into the wilderness. Many park rangers have been trained in suicide prevention and are even instructed to look for notes taped to steering wheels as clues. The most popular place for suicides? Grand Canyon National Park, where 10 people have killed themselves since 2004.

Related Stories:
· Parks Draw Some Who Want to End Their Lives [AP, via N&O]
· National Parks coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of Sequoia National Park: Mel B.]

NYC "Bodies" Exhibit Might Shut Down Thanks to Questionable Corpses

May 29, 2008 at 5:18 PM | 3 Comments

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has reached a settlement with the company behind the gruesome "Bodies" exhibition at the South Street Seaport in NYC, requiring them to disclose to visitors that the dead people they have on display could be

Chinese prisoners who may have been victims of torture and execution.

The settlement also requires Premiere Exhibitions--the company behind the show--to issue refunds to anyone who can prove that they paid to see the "Bodies" exhibit in New York and would've skipped it if they knew the people they were ogling might not have consented to being put on display.

Oh, it gets worse...

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Shark Travel: Climate Change Causing More Fatal Attacks

May 5, 2008 at 1:34 PM | 0 Comments

Al Gore never warned us about this: The scary rise in shark attacks--there have already been four fatal ones this year, compared to 1 in all of 2007--is due to global warming, scientists say.

It's not that the sharks get ornery when they have to put the A/C on. But as temperatures rise, more people head to the water, and thus put themselves at risk of being attacked by a shark. Dr. George Burgess of the University of Florida tells the Guardian:

As long as we have an increase in human hours in the water, we will have an increase in shark bites.

Other pressures on sharks include overfishing (which drives the predators to seek prey outside their normal hunting areas) and seal overpopulation.

Find out if your favorite beach is about to become the next "Jaws" movie with our Killer Beaches 2008 map.

Related Stories:
· Surge in Fatal Shark Attacks Blamed on Global Warming [Guardian]
· Killer Beaches 2008 coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: bsmif]

Dangerous Travel: Killer Beaches 2008

April 29, 2008 at 9:00 AM | 2 Comments

Have your summer beach trip all lined up? Hope you're not headed to one of this year's Killer Beaches, where for one reason or another, you're in danger the second you set foot on the sand.

From shark attacks to rip currents, the beaches that follow aren't necessarily deadly--but they can be. We've mapped 'em out so if you're still planning your getaway, you'll know which spots to avoid.

Careful out there this summer!

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Qantas Safe For Passengers But Not Staff

April 14, 2008 at 9:15 AM | 0 Comments

In "Rainman," Dustin Hoffman famously said that Australia's national carrier Qantas was his preferred airline because he considered it the safest: "Qantas never crashed." Not 100 percent true but certainly in the last 57 years, no passenger has died as a result of a crash involving the carrier.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said of Qantas staff. A catering employee involved in loading meals onto a Qantas aircraft in Brisbane yesterday fell through a gap in the airbridge and died after hitting the tarmac.

The victim was a 63-year-old woman and nobody's sure if she was wearing the safety harness that's usually required up there. In any case, it doesn't make Qantas's record look so pretty, and it was just another reason for delayed flights out of Brisbane yesterday.

Related Stories:
· Woman Worker Falls to Death [Daily Telegraph]
· Qantas Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: SpacePotato]

Morbid Travel: Bodies On A Plane

March 3, 2008 at 9:15 AM | 0 Comments

We've always thought that if we died on vacation we'd at least have had our last moments doing something we loved--that's much better than keeling over after a hard day at the office. But after the recent death of a passenger on an American Airlines flight, we've been reading a lot about that rather icky situation of a dead body being on a plane.

Most airlines keep their procedures for such situations secret. Keeping bodies in a confined space like the bathroom is a no-no, so finding a spot where the least amount of passengers are affected is key. That's tricky on a plane, of course, where every bit of space is utilized in the most efficient way.

But don't worry too much. Experts say that we have just a 1 in 7,600,000 chance of dying on board a plane, so there are also long odds of being on a plane when it happens. We have warned you before to travel prepared, with a note stating what you want done with your remains, so perhaps before your next flight you can write down your request to be moved into first class. For some of us, that might be the only time we get to fly there.

Related Stories:
· Deaths on Planes are Rare, Difficult [AP]
· When Death Takes a Holiday [Jaunted]
· Death coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: djwudi]

Haunted Travel: Spooks on a Train

October 30, 2007 at 2:00 PM | 1 Comment


Zombies: Not welcome on Deutsche Bahn.

When it comes to haunted travel, maybe the traditional sights are best. If only Joerg Reichter had read up on our recommendations before passing out on a train ride between Bad Segeberg and Hamburg.

Feeling the effects of a booze-fueled Halloween party, Reichter nodded off on the train, which normally wouldn't be a problem--except he was still decked out in his fake-blood-soaked zombie costume. Some passengers took him for dead and called the cops. A police spokesperson explained:

His costume made him look like the victim of a serious assault as he appeared to be bleeding from the face and hands, and worried passengers called us up. Our officers realized what had happened and woke him up. They got him to take the fake blood and wounds off so there would be no more misunderstandings.

At least Reichter's fellow passengers were looking out for him. In Italy, no one on the trains bats an eye even if you're actually dead.

Related Stories:
· He's Not Undead, Just Unsober [Reuters]
· Haunted Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Trains coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: atp_tyreseus]

Morbid Travel: Princess Diana Death Tour So Very Tacky

October 9, 2007 at 9:45 AM | 0 Comments


We admit, we weren't one of those people glued to our televisions in 1997 when Princess Diana was killed suddenly in a Paris car accident, but we understand why some people marked the 10-year anniversary of her passing this past August. But will that anniversary spark a new wave of tourists to the place where she died?

This week at least one bus load of people without intent to rubberneck followed the path of Diana and her then-boyfriend Dodi al-Fayed: They were British jurors sitting on an inquest by al-Fayed's father into whether the royal family had any connection to the accident. Still, paparazzi hounded the jurors to the point that their bus actually hit a post and got a flat tire en route to the Ritz where Diana and Dodi ate their last meal.

Will Britain's $20 million investigation yield new results? Probably not, but that won't stem the tide of the tours that have been going on since 1998. As one French official told a Time Magazine reporter:

People can't get enough of Diana, so they keep coming back to her through the crash... Come see me in another 10 years, and I'll bet something similar to this will still be going on.

Related Stories:
· Diana Inquest Jury Visits Scene of Crash [Guardian]
· Europe Anger at "Diana Tour" [BBC]
· Princess Diana coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Anthony Cinelli and Eric Hamilton]

Lawsuit of the Day: AA Lavatory Death

April 12, 2007 at 12:22 PM | 1 Comment


In the interest of full disclosure, you might want to think twice about that American Airlines deal we mentioned earlier today. It turns out the route can be rather treacherous. A 66-year-old passenger apparently had a heart attack in the lavatory on an American Airlines plane flying between NRT and ORD, and he wasn't found until everyone on his flight de-planed and the cleaning crew was already onboard. His wife has now filed a $150,000 lawsuit. Looks like AA, unlike British Airways, doesn't even give you an upgrade for dying.

[Photo: matt.hintsa]

Related Stories:
· Lawsuit: Dead man found in jet's bathroom [MSNBC/AP]
· JFK to Tokyo: $660.80 on American [Jaunted]

Burying Man's Best Friend

April 11, 2007 at 9:20 AM | 0 Comments


When you're a town of just 1200 people, kind of in the middle of nowhere and not on the route to anywhere, really, you have to dig deep to find a way to attract tourists. Or, you have to dig holes for dogs.

And, we're a bit sorry to say, not the same holes that dogs love to dig for themselves. At Corrigin's Dog Cemetery in south-west Australia, over 80 dogs who've given up the mortal life are buried. Each has its own headstone, many with touching messages about their loyalty and friendliness. A few Snoopys and more than enough Busters lie in the cemetery, and the care that still goes on around the gravesites makes it worth a visit for pure amazement value.

The good news? You can bury your own dog here if you want, and it doesn't even cost a cent.

[Photo: Photo-matt]

Related Stories:
· Disney's Dogs No Longer [Jaunted]
· Highgate Cemetery [Jaunted]