All About Top Ten Information

Top 10 : Beach

2008-06-12T08:41:00.000-07:00




	Caladesi Island State Park, Clearwater, Florida A 100 percent natural island midway down the state on the Gulf Coast, Caladesi has white sand and has been ranked as one of the top beaches in the United States. The beach can only be reached by boat from Honeymoon Island State Park. Swimming is permitted. The park also offers fishing, a 3-mile kayak trail, picnic areas, hiking, snack bar and gift shop. Park entry fees are very reasonable and usually by the carload. Honeymoon Island also offers a pet beach where dogs are welcome. This is a favorite spot for families.



	Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts This beach ties into the Cape Cod National Seashore. The website offers a beach cam so that potential visitors can get a look at the beach and what is going on at any given time from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. all year or view the last 10 images from the cam. Surfers will appreciate the ticket that details current surf conditions. Coast Guard Beach is a national top 10 beach. The beach goes miles and has dunes. Since the beach is a national park, rangers give tours and there are hikes in the area. In the summer, enjoy swimming, surfing and boogie boards.



	Datai Beach, Langkawi, Malaysia Northwest of Langkawi Island, Datai Beach is off the beaten path but wroth the extra effort of getting to the sandy beaches. Golfers will love the exclusive golf course. Jungle trails take visitors to Datai Beach, looping through the trees and a crocodile farm. The water is known for being clear and fish are easily seen in the shallows. Pictures do the beach far more justice than mere words, so be sure to check out the gorgeous photo gallery. The sands are white and very pristine. Several resorts on the island cater to guests and offer many amenities.



	Hamoa Beach, Hawaii Let's travel for a minute to the black sand beaches of Hawaii. We're on Maui at the Hamoa Beach, where the sun seems to set a little bigger and the water seems a little bluer. The public beach is located outside Hana. The beach was voted one of the favorite beaches in Hawaii and it's no wonder with the abundant plant life and sea cliffs surrounding the beach. Surfing on this beach is dangerous but swimming is okay during certain seasons. There is no lifeguard on duty but there are public restrooms and picnic areas. Sign up for a free newsletter to stay updated about Maui and her beaches.



	Ipanema Beach, Rio, Brazil A 60s song features the beach and Ipanema is known to set the trends in beach wear from the tanga bikini on. Surrounding the 2 kilometers of white sand is an urban sprawl of shopping and chic night clubs and popular restaurants. On the weekends, the town shuts down the roads along the beaches and visitors travel on foot turning the area into a hectic hub of activity. The visitors bureau also links to many different businesses, including hotels and tour companies that will help you plan your Ipanema Beach vacation.



	Maroma Beach, Mexico 30 minutes from Cancun, Maroma Beach is located off the Yucatan Peninsula. Quieter than some of the hustle and bustle, touristy beaches, Maroma has white sands brushed by blue water. The summer season is fairly warm, but still mild enough to be enjoyable. There are several different hotels and resorts in the area and many luxury suites available for those wanting to be truly pampered. In addition to hanging out on the beach, travelers can enjoy horseback riding, golf water sports and hiking. Be sure to look over the travel tips before you take your trip to Maroma Beach.



	Natadola Beach, Fiji The white sand beaches on the main Fiji island of Viti Levu was voted one of the top 10 beaches in the world and it's no wonder with the soft sand and amazing surf. There are as many activities as there are interests and every visitor is certain to find something that strikes his or her fancy. The beach is about 40 minutes from the airport and is very private and intimate because of the limited number of guest suites at the resort. The beach is approximately 2 kilometers long.



	Newquay, UK Newquay is known as the "coast of dreams" and it's not hard to see why. The beach setting is an eclectic mix that reminds one of beaches from all over the world. In addition to the rock pools to explore and the sandy beaches to stroll, there is hiking, golf and walking. Newquay has an active night life that keeps the excitement rolling even after the sun goes down. The website offers a Newquay travel guide that can be downloaded free of charge on the website to help you plan your trip and find the perfect hotel or resort.



	Pink Sands, Harbour Island, Bahamas Fodors and other travel guides consistently rate the beaches on Harbour Island among the world's best beaches. Harbour Island features three and a half miles of beautiful and unique pink sand beaches. The best mode of transportation while on the island is golf carts, which will get visitors easily from point A to point B. In additional to luxurious hotels and resorts, there are vacation rentals available throughout the year. It seems that Harbour Island is loved by many including the Miami Heat basketball team who has worked to bring programs to the youth on the island.



	Surfer's Paradise Beach, Australia Millions of visitors head to this beach on Australia's Gold Coast to swim, snorkel and surf. Surfer's Beach is like Orlando on oceanfront property. Activities are widely varied and include everything from hanging out on the beach to hitting the local amusement parks such as Sea World. Night comes to life with local clubs and a casino. Surfers love this beach and others along the Gold Coast for the gnarly waves. Vacationers who don't want to surf will find plenty of other activities to stay occupied for days on end.

Top 10 : Most Beautfiul Cities At Night

2008-06-11T08:31:00.000-07:00

1. Paris Paris, Ile-de-France
	Whether you're at the top of the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe, seeing Paris lit up is amazing. You really have to see it; it's called the city of lights for a reason.


2. Budapest Budapest, Hungary
	Sadly, I've never gotten the chance to go, but I've heard it's one of the most beautiful cities in the world.


3. Lyon Lyon, Rhone-Alpes
	Lots of buildings beautifully lit up at night.


4. Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada
	I've never been, but everyone says it's a sight at night.


5. Sydney Sydney, New South Wales
	Another place I've never been to, but have heard great things about. I've seen some beautiful pictures of the night skyline.


6. Chicago Chicago, Illinois
	Great town that looks fantastic at night.


7. New York City New York City, New York
	All the tall buildings give a lot to look at.


8. Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavarian Alps
Almost not a city, but a beautiful place at any time of day, especially at night. Hidden in the Alps, it's stunning.


9. Rome Rome, Lazio
	Certain areas of Rome look stunning at night.


10. Seattle Seattle, Washington
	Yet another place I've never gotten the chance to visit but have seen tons of beautiful pictures of the city at night.

by : www.tripadvisor[dot]com

Top 10 : Highest-Paid Soccer Players

2008-06-10T05:36:00.000-07:00

Forbes has been released list of The 10 Highest-Paid Soccer Players, while still not as high as U.S. pro sports stars such Tiger Wood or Michael Jordan, soccer players earning today are getting within touching distance to the top of U.S. pro sports stars. David Beckham who always on the top list of highest earning soccer players turn down to second place, while the Barcelona soccerstar Ronaldinho turn up to the top of the list with $29.5 million earning.

Here is the list of The 10 Highest-Paid Soccer Players by Forbes :

1. Ronaldinho, Barcelona
Total Earning : $29.5 million eqv Â£16 million eqv â‚¬23.5 million
The impish Barcelona play-maker is not enjoying the best of seasons by his own standards. Like many of the stars of the last World Cup, a long club and international season has taken its physical toll. But he has leapfrogged David Beckham to become soccer’s top-earning player thanks to endorsement deals with Nike and the likes of consumer electronics giant Sony.

2. David Beckham, Real Madrid
Total Earning : $29.1 million eqv Â£15.8 million eqv â‚¬23.2 million
No one can shift soccer merchandise like Beckham. He did it for Manchester United during his pomp and for Real Madrid over the past four years, where he won over the fans if not the critics. Now coming to America on the back of a potential $250 million marketing and playing deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy, he has proved he has the marketing savvy to put him in the elite of sports commercial superstars who outlast their playing days.

3. Ronaldo, AC Milan
Total Earning : $23.4 million eqv Â£12.7 million eqv â‚¬18.6 million
Injury has reduced the buck-toothed Brazilian striker to a super-sized shadow of the player who is one of only two people to be named FIFA’s World Footballer of the Year three times. Offloaded by Real Madrid in a clear-out of its galacticos to AC Milan, Ronaldo seems destined for America, where his playboy lifestyle will sustain marketing appeal that is going nowhere in Europe.

4. Wayne Rooney, Manchester United
Total Earning : $17.2 million eqv Â£9.3 million eqv â‚¬13.7 million
The epitome of the sports star who wears his brains in his boots, Rooney’s on-field goal-scoring partnership this season with Cristiano Ronaldo, cemented by Paul Scholes’ Indian summer, has made Manchester United the English Premiership’s unexpected top dogs. The barely 20-something’s commercial challenge is to turn raw soccer talent into polished marketing power.

5. Michael Ballack, Chelsea
Total Earning : $16.8 million eqv Â£9.1 million eqv â‚¬13.4 million
The switch from being Bayern Munich’s superstar to just another highly paid midfielder in Chelsea’s glittering firmament of world-class stars has proved a challenge for the German on the pitch. But not when it comes to his bank account. Chelsea is reported to pay him a base salary of $240,000 (Â£121,000) a week, which would make him–for now–the top-paid player in the game.

6. Thierry Henry, Arsenal
Total Earning : $15.8 million eqv Â£8.6 million eqv â‚¬12.6 million
One of Europe’s most feared strikers has suffered more than most in 2006-2007 from a punishing 2005-2006 season that culminated in France’s defeat in the World Cup Final. But the Arsenal captain’s elegance and glamour on and off the pitch–he is married to model Nicole Merry–keeps him a marketeers’ favorite–while his Arselal contract of $220,000 (Â£112,000) a week keeps his bank manager merry, too.

7. Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid
Total Earning : $15.6 million eqv Â£8.5 million eqv â‚¬12.4 million
An inglorious end to a glorious career–that head butt in the 2006 World Cup Final–has not diminished the Frenchman’s cult status at home now that he is retired. Famously shy for a superstar, he always made more from his playing than his pitching abilities. His earnings power is eroding now that his feet no longer do his talking.

8. Fabio Cannavaro, Real Madrid
Total Earning : $14.6 million eqv Â£7.9 million eqv â‚¬11.6 million
Leading Italy to the 2006 World Cup catapulted this Italian defender into the ranks of soccer’s best paid thanks to a move to Real Madrid from scandal- tainted Juventus. In Spain, he is not quite the consistent force he was in Italy, but the 32-year-old is still in fine enough form to strip down to his underwear for Dolce & Gabbana ads.

9. John Terry, Chelsea
Total Earning : $14.3 million eqv Â£7.7 million eqv â‚¬11.4 million
A hard-driving muscular center half for club and country, Chelsea’s iconic captain makes our list thanks to billionaire owner Ramon Abramovich’s largesse and a lucrative endorsement deal with kit maker Umbro, even though he is no clothes-hanger. Terry is likely to move up the earnings league next year as his contract is up for renewal.

10. Steven Gerrard, Liverpool
Total Earning : $14.2 million eqv Â£7.7 million eqv â‚¬11.3 million
Liverpool’s heart and soul, local boy Gerrard provides box-to-box English drive to a midfield of European flair. He’s inspirational on the field, and handsomely paid by Liverpool for being so, but has yet to break through to the highest level of marketing superstardom.

Top 10 : Weird and Bizarre Japanese Soft Drinks

2008-06-10T05:23:00.000-07:00

Japan has a drinking problem... but if you've got a thirst for adventure, it's where you want to be.

In honor (or in horror) of these bizarre beverages seemingly not fit to rinse your septic tank, raise a cracked glass to the Top Ten Bizarre Japanese Soft Drinks, our first ten inductees into the Soft Drink Hell of Fame... Jeers!

Our rundown of the Top Ten Bizarre Japanese Soft Drinks gives a pretty good indication why most of the 1000 or so new soft drinks and beverages launched in Japan every year fail miserably.

Look on the bright side, though: they may not be good to drink, but you can't say they're not good for a laugh.

10) Pepsi Ice Cucumber: It's lean, green and sounds obscene

When American companies introduce products tailored for foreign tastes, we often experience discomfiting culture shock. Sort of like when Homer Simpson uses his toaster time machine to go back 10 million years, steps on a slug, and then comes back to an oddly different world. Maybe that really did happen, and Springfield is now Tokyo! Exhibit A: Pepsi Ice Cucumber, introduced to the Japanese soft drinks market June 12th and to our Top Ten Bizarre Japanese Soft Drinks listing immediately thereafter. Pepsi? Good... Cucumbers? Great! Cucumber-flavored Pepsi? DOH!!

9) Hot Calpis: the drink that makes you think - about NOT drinking it

Cue suave voiceover: "Next time you're out on the town with the one you love, treat her to a cup of Hot Calpis"... then trudge home alone after she pours it over your head. Yes, delicious Calpis - I can't even read it without grinning - is known as Calpico in other countries (for obvious reasons) and is one of Japan's most popular and enduring soft drinks . Milk-based with a sweet yogurt taste, Calpis comes in original and a variety of fruit flavors. Some vending machines offer this bizarre beverage hot... steaming hot.

8) Coolpis: Who wouldn't want to drink something with a name like Coolpis?

Ahh, refreshing Coolpis... THE soft drink to offer guests - before removing their blindfolds. Actually a Korean copy of the disturbingly named Calpis, Coolpis comes in Peach flavor and (stop reading now, if you can...) Kimchee flavor. Kimchee, for those unacquainted, is a traditional Korean dish made from fermented cabbage and LOTS of red pepper. Makes Peach flavored Coolpis almost appealing, doesn't it? Anyone for a Calpis vs. Coolpis taste test? We could call it a pis-ing contest.

7) Mother's Milk: the breast-tasting drink ever!

And now, for something close to the heart... Mother's Milk. Is there anything in the world more wholesome, more natural, more life-giving than mother's milk? Is there anything in the world that would make you drink it from a store bought carton? NO, on both counts. If I was a baby, maybe, but not from an udder - I mean, another - mother! We shudder to think of the scene inside one of the manufacturer's factories... those poor farmgirls, milkmaids or what have you, shackled up to cold, pitiless machines that never, ever stop... and then I woke up.

6) Black Vinegar Juice Bar: dispenses acid trips

After chugging down a pint of Mother's Milk, head on down to your local Black Vinegar Juice Bar to give it a good curdling. Black vinegar is noted for its health benefits; the trouble has always been making it drinkable.

Mixing it into bizarre soft drinks with soy milk, blood orange juice or blueberry juice is supposed to solve that problem, but we remain skeptical. At least you can splash some on the salad (via Plastic Bamboo ).

5) Speaking of which, consider Water Salad... for what, we're not sure...

The creative types at Coca-Cola (yes, THAT Coca-Cola) who devised Water Salad are probably still shell-shocked from the New Coke and C2 soft drink fiascos and wouldn't risk another.. or would they? Water Salad is... well... salad-flavored water. You know, the stuff you get after centrifuging your rinsed Romaine in the salad spinner. Funny, we pour it down the drain here; in Japan they can it and put it up for sale in a varied selection of flavors. Not laughing now, are you, smart guy?? (via Trendhunter )

4) Diet Water: all the taste and none of the calories of regular water. Huh?

And now, from the "selling ice to the Eskimos" department, we bring you Diet Water: the soft drink for the soft headed. "None of that rich, fattening Perrier for me, I'm serious about shedding pounds!" Not to mention shedding money. "Diet Water of the rich and famous"? We're not sure what the appeal of Diet Water is... maybe it has negative calories.

3) Final Fantasy Potion drinks: for those who think life really IS a game

Got a gamer at your house who lives, breathes and eats role-playing games like Final Fantasy? Now you can add "drinks" to the list, thanks to Final Fantasy Potion drinks. Let's see, at last count the stores were stocking Final Fantasy 13. No way to know if drinking a Final Fantasy Potion soft drink will restore your health, energy level - or make you invulnerable. Kids, don't try this at home! (via Japan Newbie )

2) Canned Coffee = Canned Laughter

Canned coffee has been a staple of those omnipresent Japanese vending machines since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Nothing wrong with the coffee itself, which is actually quite good. It's the wacky names (c/o engrish.com ) the manufacturers insist on giving it that elevates Japanese canned coffee to immortality (one brand in particular - read on). There may just be a Top Ten Bizarre Japanese Canned Coffees list coming to this site one day soon. A few "can"-didates:

BM Coffee - Nothing beats a good BM to start the day!

BJ Coffee - I stand corrected.

Deepresso Coffee - Is this the opposite of Expresso, or a coffee designed to bring down Type A personalities?

Black Boss Coffee - Decaffeinated AND desegregated, for the equal opportunity executive suite.

GOD Coffee - What does one serve with GOD Coffee? Communion wafers?

1) Kidsbeer: the Popeye Cigarettes of children's drinks

We've saved the most bizarre drink for last... Kidsbeer. We kid you not: Kidsbeer. What can be said in defense of Kidsbeer, maybe that it's alcohol-free? That would be like saying Hitler wasn't all bad because he liked dogs. Kidsbeer is so wrong on so many levels it makes my head spin, yet it is so popular in Japan that monthly shipments are approaching 100,000 bottles. As for the ad campaigns, nothing else will make you feel more like you've blundered into Superman's Bizarro world then seeing pre-teens - heck, pre-toddlers - joyfully guzzling their bottles of Kidsbeer.

A little background: Kidsbeer used to be a normal, average soda called Guarana until 2003, when restaurant owner Yuichi Asaba renamed the bubbly brew "Kidsbeer" and watched sales go through the roof. Normally, some sort of government watchdog would step in at this point and read Asaba the riot act, but nope. Encouraged, Asaba farmed out production to the Tomomasu company, who made it less sweet, more frothy - more beer-like, if truth be told - and introduced brown bottles with labels resembling those of early Japanese beers.

Still the government watchdog slept on (or maybe it's drunk and passed out), so naturally other beverage makers scrambled to get a piece of the action. Sangaria took one look at Kidsbeer's skyrocketing sales and decided to go one better: wine and sparkling wine for kids! Their product website is jaw-dropping in its audacity, and nicely done as well. Wanna be like mommy & daddy, kids? Drink Kidsbeer, the Little Prince of Beers!

And that wraps up our list of the Top Ten Bizarre Japanese Soft Drinks, although we've saved up enough dishonorable mentions to form the better part of a follow-up list. Japan sure is a wonderful place, but it's far from home in more ways than just travel time.

Barkeep, a frosty Kidsbeer for my friend - in a jelly glass!

By : Steve Levenstein

Top 10 : Antivirus Software

2008-06-08T02:14:00.000-07:00

	Rank	Name
Antivirus software
	1	BitDefender 9 Standard • Performance: Superior • Ease of Use: Very Good • Features: Very Good • Price when ranked: $30 • Vendor's Website Inexpensive product received excellent scores in our performance tests, although its scan speed was sluggish. (Last Rated: January 25, 2006) Full Review • Test Report
	2	McAfee VirusScan 2006 • Performance: Superior • Ease of Use: Very Good • Features: Very Good • Price when ranked: $40 • Check latest prices Relatively good heuristics help VirusScan provide solid protection. Phone support costs $3 per minute. (Last Rated: January 25, 2006) Full Review • Test Report
	3	Kaspersky Lab Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 5.0 • Performance: Superior • Ease of Use: Good • Features: Good • Price when ranked: $40 • Vendor's Web Site Program had the fastest response to new malware outbreaks. Interface is clean but not exceptional. (Last Rated: January 25, 2005) Full Review • Test Report


	4	F-Secure Anti-Virus 2006 • Performance: Superior • Ease of Use: Good • Features: Good • Price when ranked: $40 • Check latest prices Solid performer responded quickly in tests and provides best breaking news on malware outbreaks. (Last Rated: January 25, 2006) Full Review • Test Report
	5	Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2006 • Performance: Good • Ease of Use: Very Good • Features: Very Good • Price when ranked: $40 • Check latest prices Veteren utility offers solid threat detection and a nice interface. Phone support costs $30 per incident. (Last Rated: January 26, 2006) Full Review • Test Report
	6	Panda Software Panda Titanium 2006 Antivirus + Antispyware • Performance: Very Good • Ease of Use: Good • Features: Very Good • Price when ranked: $50 • Check latest prices This former Best Buy performed well, but not exceptionally, in our newest nonspyware tests. (Last Rated: January 26, 2006) Full Review • Test Report

	7	AntiVir Personal Edition Classic 6.32 • Performance: Good • Ease of Use: Good • Features: Fair • Price when ranked: Free • Vendor's Website AntiVir performed the best of the free programs, although it failed to clean several old macro viruses. (Last Rated: January 25, 2006) Full Review • Test Report
	8	Alwil Software Avast Home Edition 4.6 • Performance: Fair • Ease of Use: Very Good • Features: Good • Price when ranked: Free • Vendor's Website Free product has a slick media-player-style interface that hides some features. Scan speed was slow in tests. (Last Rated: January 25, 2006) Full Review • Test Report
	9	Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security Security 2006 • Performance: Fair • Ease of Use: Superior • Features: Good • Price when ranked: $50 • Check latest prices Former Best Buy performed poorly in heuristics and zoo tests but has the best interface of the bunch. (Last Rated: January 26, 2006) Full Review • Test Report
	10	Grisoft AVG Free Edition 7.1 • Performance: Fair • Ease of Use: Fair • Features: Fair • Price when ranked: Free • Vendor's Website Free program has subpar heuristics and one of the clunkier interfaces among the products we tested. (Last Rated: January 25, 2006) Full Review • Test Report

Source : http://www.pcworld[dot]com

Top 10 : Movies This Weekend

2008-06-08T01:55:00.000-07:00


	Sex and the City	Weekend Gross:	$56,848,056
		Gross To Date:	$56,848,056
		Last Week's Rank:	New
		Weeks In Release:	1
		Number of Theaters:	3,285
		Theatre Avg:	$17,305
	[ Review Board \| Discussion Board \| B.O. Details ]	Percent Change:	New
.
	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull	Weekend Gross:	$44,754,615
		Gross To Date:	$215,635,899
		Last Week's Rank:	1
		Weeks In Release:	2
		Number of Theaters:	4,264
		Theatre Avg:	$10,495
	Review Board \| Discussion Board \| B.O. Details ]	Percent Change:	-65%
.
	The Strangers	Weekend Gross:	$20,997,985
		Gross To Date:	$20,997,985
		Last Week's Rank:	New
		Weeks In Release:	1
		Number of Theaters:	2,466
		Theatre Avg:	$8,514
	Review Board \| Discussion Board \| B.O. Details ]	Percent Change:	New
.
	Iron Man	Weekend Gross:	$13,541,264
		Gross To Date:	$276,166,336
		Last Week's Rank:	3
		Weeks In Release:	5
		Number of Theaters:	3,650
		Theatre Avg:	$3,709
	Review Board \| Discussion Board \| B.O. Details ]	Percent Change:	-48%
.
	The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian	Weekend Gross:	$12,704,545
		Gross To Date:	$115,362,725
		Last Week's Rank:	2
		Weeks In Release:	3
		Number of Theaters:	3,801
		Theatre Avg:	$3,342
	Review Board \| Discussion Board \| B.O. Details ]	Percent Change:	-57%
.
	What Happens in Vegas	Weekend Gross:	$6,681,097
		Gross To Date:	$65,904,971
		Last Week's Rank:	4
		Weeks In Release:	4
		Number of Theaters:	3,086
		Theatre Avg:	$2,164
	Review Board \| Discussion Board \| B.O. Details ]	Percent Change:	-41%
.
	Speed Racer	Weekend Gross:	$2,259,031
		Gross To Date:	$40,677,371
		Last Week's Rank:	5
		Weeks In Release:	4
		Number of Theaters:	2,070
		Theatre Avg:	$1,091
	Review Board \| Discussion Board \| B.O. Details ]	Percent Change:	-57%
.
	Baby Mama	Weekend Gross:	$2,194,320
		Gross To Date:	$56,117,805
		Last Week's Rank:	6
		Weeks In Release:	6
		Number of Theaters:	1,784
		Theatre Avg:	$1,230
	Review Board \| Discussion Board \| B.O. Details ]	Percent Change:	-48%
.
	Made of Honor	Weekend Gross:	$1,913,035
		Gross To Date:	$42,878,354
		Last Week's Rank:	7
		Weeks In Release:	5
		Number of Theaters:	1,905
		Theatre Avg:	$1,004
	Review Board \| Discussion Board \| B.O. Details ]	Percent Change:	-55%
.
	Forgetting Sarah Marshall	Weekend Gross:	$1,059,840
		Gross To Date:	$60,485,980
		Last Week's Rank:	8
		Weeks In Release:	7
		Number of Theaters:	768
		Theatre Avg:	$1,380
	Review Board \| Discussion Board \| B.O. Details ]	Percent Change:	-53%
Source : http://www.the-movie-times[dot]com

Top 10 : Most Haunted, Scariest Places InThe World

2008-06-07T06:20:00.000-07:00

No. 1: Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, Oswiecim, Poland.

Auschwitz death camp was in operation from May 1940 until its liberation by Soviet forces in January 1945. It is estimated that 2.1 to 2.5 million people were killed in the gas chambers during that time, of whom 2 million were Jews and the remainder were Poles, Gypsies and Soviet POWs. But this estimate is considered by historians to be strictly a minimum, because the total number of deaths at Auschwitz and its sister camp Birkenau can never really be known.

It is clear that Auschwitz-Birkenau was considered by the Germans to be one of their most efficient extermination centers as early as 1941 when the mortuary crematorium at the Auschwitz main camp was adapted as a gas chamber. Additional huts, called “bunkers,” were added around January 1942 and were especially active in the autumn of 1944 when extra capacity was needed for the systematic murder of Hungarian Jews and the liquidation of the ghettos. Between January 1942 and March 1943 over 175,000 Jews were gassed to death here, their bodies burned in open pits nearby.

By early 1943 it was clear that Hitler’s SS were using Auschwitz as a mass-murder factory. Twin pairs of state of the art gas chambers using Zyklon-B gas were opened in March and April 1943. The capacity of these crematoria was 4,420 persons. Once inside the chambers it took about 20 minutes for the gas to kill this number of people. The killings took place in the underground chambers and the bodies were carried to five crematoria ovens on an electrically operated lift. Before cremation, gold teeth, jewelry, and other valuables were removed from the corpses. Captured Jews, known as “sonderkommandos” were forced to work the crematoria under SS supervision.

Anyone who has visited Auschwitz-Birkenau is struck by the overwhelming sense of melancholy and foreboding; visitors have been known to break down in tears for no apparent reason and many have to abandon their tour groups without ever completing the tour. Visitors are struck not only by the horrific memory of the place, but also by the effect it has on the present day: birds still refuse to sing in the trees surrounding the death camps and there is little evidence of a thriving natural environment anywhere nearby. The silence, as they saw, is deafening, even after all these years.

People have reported cold spots and areas of intense emotional concentration. Recent reports have come in that while touring the camp some have been touched or even grabbed by unseen hands. One visitor report that someone or something tugged on her clothes and she heard a voice whispering to her but could not make out anything but one or two words. " Please and leave"!

As of date no paranormal group or investigator has released their findings of the most haunted place on earth to the public. But often tales of this the Most Haunted Hot Spot in the world has many haunted secrets yet to reveal.

Photographs over the years have revealed the presence of spirit manifestations in the form of misty apparitions, shadows, light anomalies and orbs. Given its history and the imprint of horror it leaves on the modern mind, Auschwitz-Birkenau is the most haunted place on earth.

No. 2: Whitechapel/Spittalfields, London East End, London, England.

The Whitechapel / Spittalfields area of East London has been actively settled since Roman times. Many of the historic buildings are built on the remains of old Roman settlements. Throughout the Dark and Middle Ages, the East End was a burgeoning commerce area, mostly inhabited by Anglos and Jewish moneylenders. In Elizabethan times the East End looked and smelled like something right out of one of Shakespeare’s history plays, and, in fact, the character of Falstaff (Henry V) is said to have been based on an innkeeper from the notorious East End. It was a place of soldiers and prostitutes, brawls and bawdy houses.

The coming of high Victorian morals did nothing to dull this seedy reputation and the Whitechapel / Spittalfields area, while known to humanitarians for its extreme poverty, was also known to all as the home of thieves, prostitutes, and the most derelict of English society.

In 1888 the Whitechapel area of London was the scene of some of the most brutal murders ever recorded: the famous Jack the Ripper crimes. Yet the murders – and the identity of Jack – remain unsolved, even today. Many assert that the killer was a doctor or was somehow connected to the medical profession; others believe the killer to have been Queen Victoria’s grandson, Prince Albert Victor, though nothing substantial has ever arisen to support the theory.

Five women, all of them poor prostitutes, were slaughtered by the mysterious Jack in the span of just four months, known collectively as “The Autumn of Terror.” Four of the women – Mary Nicholls, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes – were found in various streets and alleys throughout Whitechapel horribly disfigured and mutilated. The fifth – Mary Kelly – was the only victim murdered in an interior location; as such she was the most horribly mutilated, the death scene like something from a slaughterhouse.

Jack the Ripper enjoyed a brief career as London’s most infamous serial murder and the fact that he was never caught still adds to the mystery surrounding him. Nevertheless, it is thought that his horrible mutilation of Mary Kelly was his last act of violence and there is no evidence that Jack, whoever he may have been, killed again after November 1888.

Today visitors to London’s East End can walk the streets that Jack prowled and visit pubs and other locations he may have haunted in life – and death. Walking tours of the area are very popular and although Jack’s legacy is certainly the most enduring, other ghosts that haunt the East End are those of Jack’s victims, in various stages of mutilation; a ghostly band of Roman soldiers; a murderous sea captain’s ghost that haunts a local pub; and a mysterious black carriage drawn by ghastly white horses that approaches without a sound and disappears right before your eyes. These and other haunts, combined with the long haunted history of the East End make it one of the must visit ghostly locations in the world.

No. 3: Underground Vaults, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Far below the busy streets of modern Edinburgh lies a dark, forgotten corner of history. Discovered in the mid-1980’s, the Edinburgh Vaults had been abandoned for nearly two hundred years. Lying beneath the South Bridge, a major Edinburgh passage, the rooms were used as cellars, workshops and even as residences by the businesses that plied their trade on the busy bridge above. Abandoned soon after they were built due to excessive water and moisture, the vaults remain, unaltered, never illuminated by the light of day.

The South Bridge has stood since 1785 and it was around this time that the huge supporting arches were first divided for use by nearby businesses. The vaults were once bustling with life, the vast overflow of an ever-growing city.

When the vaults became mostly abandoned because of the unwholesome atmosphere they were still used sporadically by the poor and homeless of Edinburgh society. As with any great concentration of unhealthy people, there were outbreaks of plague and other devastating illnesses; many of the people who took refuge in the vaults ultimately died there. There is evidence that at least some of these people may have met untimely ends because it was here in the Edinburgh Vaults that the nefarious pair, Burke and Hare, plied their trade of providing cadavers to the nearby teaching hospitals of Infirmary Street.

Paranormal investigations have been conducted in the vaults practically since their discovery and to date the location has not failed to provide a wealth of disturbing and unexplainable activity. Recently visited by the crew from England’s “Most Haunted,” the vaults maintained their reputation as the spookiest place in Edinburgh – no member of the team would voluntarily return there.

No. 4: Greyfriar’s Kirk Cemetery / Covenanter’s Prison, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Greyfriar’s Cemetery has been considered haunted for generations. Its history is filled with the horrific, from deliberate headstone removal and desecration, bodysnatching and live burial, to witch burnings and use as a mass prison. Around 1998, however, a new and inexplicable phenomenon began occurring in the graveyard where visitors claimed to have encountered cold spots, nauseating smells, loud noises coming from empty tombs, and even physical injury. Many visitors and tour guides have been the victim of attack by unseen entities who leave bruises, cuts, and scratches on the unwary. People were routinely knocked unconscious and overcome by debilitating nausea and vomiting. Homes near the graveyard became plagued by poltergeist activities such as smashed china and glassware, moving objects, shadowy figures, and menacing, guttural laughter.

There are two areas of the cemetery where activity is extremely dense, one being the area around the MacKenzie Mausoleum (also called the Black Tomb) and the other in the gated area known as the Covenanter’s Prison.

It is said that George MacKenzie is the shadowy entity haunting the area near his family tomb. In the 17th century, MacKenzie, a loyal subject to Charles II of England, is said to have ruthlessly persecuted and imprisoned “unrepentant” Scottish Presbyterians who formally entered into what they called a “Covenant Between God and Country.” This act of Scottish loyalty excluded the authority of Charles II and it is said that MacKenzie soundly punished all those Covenanters he could round up. Many were imprisoned in harsh and unforgiving conditions in a small area inside Greyfriar’s and most of the Covenanters died there rather than revoke their oath. Since that horrible event, the Covenanter’s Prison as well as the MacKenzie Mausoleum have both been fearsomely active, although it was not until recently that the spirits said to inhabit the area have begun to strike out against visitors and nearby residents.

Currently, the Covenanter’s Prison area is only accessible to visitors accompanied by a tour guide; the MacKenzie Mausoleum is nearby and can be visited and photographed – at one’s own peril, evidently.

No. 5: Coliseum, Rome, Italy.

At the height of Rome’s power the Coliseum represented everything that was Imperial to the citizens of Rome. Gladiators would fight to the death here for the amusement of Caesar and the mobs; thousands of prisoners of war and victims of religious persecution met their end in the jaws of lions and tigers in the sandy arena of the Coliseum; and even those animals were decimated, for in its time the Coliseum consumed tens of thousands of animals, some reportedly driven into extinction by the Roman lust for blood and gore.

The workings of the Coliseum, the place where the real grit of life took place, were in the vaults beneath the sandy floor. Now long ago exposed by the ravages of time, there is still a pervasive feeling of awe associated with the lingering presence of a power so mighty it once encompassed the entire known world.

In the pits beneath the Coliseum, gladiators waited to fight, prisoners waited to die, and average Romans placed bets on the outcomes of myriad competitions. Such a fabric of life can’t help but wrap itself around the pillars and posts that make up the foundation of this ancient charnel house, and it is no surprise that many reports of ghostly activity have been associated with the Coliseum over the years.

Tour guides and visitors alike have reported cold spots, being touched or pushed, hearing indiscernible words whispered into their ears; security guards with the unenviable task of securing the ancient edifice have reported hearing the sounds of swords clashing, of weeping in the more remote areas, and, oddly enough most disconcerting, the sound of ghostly animal noises such as the roars of lions and elephants. Ghostly citizens have been seen among the seats of the Coliseum, and the sight of a Roman soldier standing guard, silhouetted against the night sky, is a common one.

With such ancient history and such a legacy of death and bloodshed, there is little wonder why the Roman Coliseum is one of the most haunted places in the world.

No. 6: Walachia, Transylvania, Land of Dracul, Romania.

“Beyond the green swelling hills of the Mittel Land rose mighty slopes of forest up to the lofty steeps of the Carpathians themselves. Right and left of us they towered, with the afternoon sun falling full upon them and bringing out all the glorious colours of this beautiful range, deep blue and purple in the shadows of the peaks, green and brown where grass and rock mingled, and an endless perspective of jagged rock and pointed crags, till these were themselves lost in the distance, where the snowy peaks rose grandly . . .

“Just then a heavy cloud passed across the face of the moon, so that we were again in darkness . . . This was all so strange and uncanny that a dreadful fear came upon me, and I was afraid to speak or move. The time seemed interminable, as we swept on our way, now in almost complete darkness, for the rolling clouds obscured the moon.

“We kept on ascending, with occasional periods of quick descent, but in the main always ascending. Suddenly, I became conscious of the fact that the driver was in the act of pulling up the horses in the courtyard of a vast ruined castle, from whose tall black windows came no ray of light, and whose broken battlements showed a jagged line against the sky.”

-- “Dracula” by Bram Stoker.

“Perhaps the only place I felt Dracula’s presence was on a long, curving road that twists over the Transylvanian Alps. The area is so remote and impenetrable that no major road crossed this often stormy mountain pass until 1974. As my car climbed into the mist, traffic disappeared, and the radio stopped working. The road passes a dam and a hydroelectric plant guarded by a handful of soldiers standing alone in the gloom. And at the bottom of the road are the ruins of a castle.

Dracula’s castle.

Really.

Dracula created this fortress as a refuge. When the Turkish army surrounded him, he is said to have escaped through a tunnel and disappeared into the mountains.

His young son was strapped to the side of his horse but slipped off and was left for dead. His wife didn’t even try to flee. She threw herself to death from a tower window.

I stepped out of the car to take a look. But it was night now, and the climb to the castle would be difficult. I looked up at the dark mountains and started to shiver, glad to have a car to spirit me away.”

--Larry Bleiburg, The Dallas Morning News, January 2, 2005

We think that’s enough said!

No. 7: Unit 731 Experimentation Camp, Harbin, Manchuria, China.

“It is called the Asian Auschwitz and, in terms of inhumanity and horror, it certainly warrants this description. Yet there remains a fundamental difference with the crimes perpetrated by the Nazis against Jews: While Germany has shown deep contrition and remorse, the leaders the country that spawned the evil of Unit 731 still struggle to come to grips with what occurred . . . In the end at least 3,000 prisoners, mainly Chinese, were killed directly, with a further 250,000 Chinese left to die through the biological warfare experiments.”

In the gruesome world of Unit 731 the unthinkable was done on a daily basis. Prisoners, mostly taken in Japan’s conquest of Manchuria at the beginning of WWII, were subjected to unimaginable horrors. They were infected with diseases such as anthrax, cholera and even bubonic plague. To gauge the effect of these diseases on their subjects – whom they dehumanized by calling them “logs” – live, un-anesthetized vivisection was performed. In many cases the subjects would regain consciousness while the dissection was taking place.

Whole towns and villages were decimated by the ghoulish doctors and researchers of Unit 731 and the effects of their horrible crimes still resonate there to this day.

Parts of the Unit 731 complex still remain – there are buildings where frostbite experiments were performed, courtyards and open areas where prisoners were subjected to live bombs detonated at close range to enable researchers to evaluate the effect of explosives of the sort that Japanese soldiers were encountering in the fields. Other buildings where live human vivisections took place overlook the prisoner holding area and the long-unused railway station where the “logs” were offloaded for their horrible fate.

The Chinese government sanctioned the Unit and the surrounding area as a learning center for future generations of Chinese, and just recently visitors from the West have been allowed access to the killing fields at Harbin. But for many years there have been reports of paranormal activity associated with the old charnel houses: ghost lights and apparitions are frequently seen, including a ghostly figure that walks the empty precincts surrounding the frostbite units. Ghostly voices have been heard and anomalies frequently appear in photographs taken in the area. Recently, during the filming of a BBC television documentary, the English film crew experienced unexplainable problems with their lights and batteries – often a sure sign of ghostly activity. Many speculate that as the story of Unit 731 is more widely told, the ghosts of those tragically tormented and murdered there are becoming more and more active, and more anxious for justice than ever before.

No. 8: Palmyra Island Atoll, Pacific Ocean.

Many have extrapolated the question: Can an entire island be haunted? Palmyra Island, really an atoll along the rim of a long dead Pacific volcano, has a long history among sailors and landlubbers alike as being an unwholesome place. Perhaps best known as the location of a sensational 1970’s murder case detailed by author Vincent Bugliosi in his novel “And the Sea Will Tell,” Palmyra has long featured in many cautionary tales passed among old salts who know perhaps more than they care to about this troublesome speck in the ocean.

Many claim that there is a “malevolent aura” surrounding Palmyra, such as Richard Taylor, a yachtsman who gave testimony at the sensational murder trial:

“I had a foreboding feeling about the island. It was more than just the fact that it was a ghost-type island; it was more than that. It seemed to be an unfriendly place to be. I’ve been on a number of atolls, but Palmyra was different. I can’t put my finger on specifically why, but it was not an island that I enjoyed being on. I think other people have had difficulties on that island.”

Palmyra has been called the remotest place on earth, one of the last few truly uninhabited islands, lying near the very center of the Pacific Ocean, about 1000 nautical miles south-southwest of Hawaii and about one-half of the way from Hawaii to American Samoa. It is tiny – measuring approximately a mile and a half long and a half-mile wide. The island lies well off the major Asian/American shipping lanes. There is a huge bird population and an abundance of insect and reptile life. The interior is rain forest jungle and the entire island is surrounded by coral reef; the waters of the reef and the inland lagoons are prime breeding spots for gray and blacktip sharks that are found to be unusually aggressive in the waters surrounding Palmyra. Some visitors and servicemen who spent time on the island in WWII reported that the sharks took “one to two” victims a month. Even the native fish that populate the reef are poisonous because they feed on deadly algae that grows on the coral, making them deadly to consume.

Legends of the island appearing out of nowhere and nearly grounding vessels are intermingled with tales of buried pirate gold; even in modern times, in addition to the grisly murder of the 1970’s, there have been bizarre and deadly occurrences. Many of these tales include the crashes and unexplained disappearances of US fighter planes during the war – a history similar to the Bermuda Triangle legacy. But where Bermuda is inhabitable and has some redeeming attractions, there is nothing to redeem Palmyra Island, at least in the minds of those who have experienced it. Truly, as one man said, “only H.P. Lovecraft could have invented this place.”

No. 9: Catacombs, Paris, France.

Long ago, as the city of Paris grew, it became necessary to provide more space for the living. To do so, engineers and planners decided to move the mass of humanity least likely to protest: in this case, the dead. Millions of Parisian dead were quietly disinterred in one of the largest engineering feats in history and their remains were deposited along the walls of the chilly, dank passageways lying beneath the City of Light. They lie there to this day, in the eternal darkness, an Empire of the Dead.

The Paris Catacombs are infamous and much has been written about their history and purpose. A million visitors a year are said to walk the dank corridors and to stare at the bones and gaze fixedly into the empty eye-sockets of the long dead. Many of these same visitors, and some of their guides, have encountered more than just the silence in the catacombs: they have had encounters with ghostly inhabitants that roam the empty passageways and mutely follow the tour groups around.

Several report seeing a group of shadows in one area of the catacombs; as the living walk along, the dead follow in complete silence. To some the experience is completely overwhelming and tours have been cut short by the growing sense of unease. Photos have revealed orbs and ghostly apparitions, and EVPs have been recorded throughout the vaults.

The catacombs were first cleared in Roman times, with succeeding generations of Gauls and Frenchmen perfecting the Roman engineering. Now the catacombs are a veritable rabbit’s warren, and though many boldly enter without a guide, to do so puts one at risk of being lost there forever. There have been many reports of rash individuals who wandered into the catacombs for a laugh and who have never been seen again.

This, and many chilling tales of experiences in this Empire of the Dead, put the Paris Catacombs on our list of most haunted places.

No. 10: Magh Sleacht Plain, near Ballyconnell, County Cavan, Ireland.

Cavan is a sparsely populated county in north central Ireland, immediately south of the border with Northern Ireland and midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea. The countryside is dotted with lakes and hills, and the River Shannon, the longest in Ireland, originates in the rugged Cuilcagh Mountains in the west of Cavan.

Cairn tombs and crannog islands dating from ancient times abound in Cavan and Magh Sleacht Plain, near Ballyconnell, was once an important Celtic pagan shrine. Here was located the dreaded Crom Cruach, the Bloody Bent One, the Elder King, the Chief Idol of Erin.

In ancient days Magh Sleacht, which means “Plain of Adoration,” was the location of a mighty stone, covered all in hammered gold, which was the stone image of Crom Cruach. In those days, he was surrounded by twelve smaller stones, gods in ready attendance on the whims of the mighty Old One. Here parents came to sacrifice one third of their children to Crom on Samhain night (October 31st) in exchange for a year full of milk, corn, healthy cattle and a fertile growing season. The god horrified many because of his terrible demands and it was dangerous to worship him because worshippers themselves often died in the orgiastic bloodbath that he required.

The worship of Crom Cruach is said to have been demanded by King Tigernmas whom some describe as a Roman Chieftain, while others claim he was one of the last of the Formorian Kings. Still others believe Crom to be the manifestation of Moloch, the ancient god of the idolatrous Hebrews to whom they sacrificed half their newborn children in a trial by fire. The similarities do not end there. King Tigernmas himself died in worship of the Bloody Bent One, killed by rabid followers in an orgy of blood.

Many believe that the legend is simply that, a legend. Others point to the mention of Crom Cruach in the St. Patrick legend: they claim that when Patrick established Christianity at nearby Armagh, he went to Magh Sleacht and defeated Crom, and having done so, caused the golden idol to sink into the earth. In recent times, however, some followers of the pagan faith have rediscovered Crom Cruach and, perhaps he has been waiting patiently to answer their call.

Visitors to the plain of Magh Sleacht report strange occurrences including the sound of chanting and the smell of burning meat or flesh; others have photographed shadowy shapes that linger about the rocks near sunset; still others claim to have seen ghostly apparitions on the plain in the light of day.

Just as in ancient times, farmers and travelers are giving the old plain a wide berth. They believe that something has lingered there in a long and fitful sleep perhaps, but now it is awake again, hungry and fretful. Can it be that the Bloody Bent One has returned to his native homeland? There are many who think just that.

Countryside tours often include a trip to County Cavan. A side trip to Magh Sleacht may require an overnight stay in nearby Ballyconnell, but isn’t it worth it to experience the reawakening of one of the oldest deities known to man? Or, is it?

Info By : www.hauntedamericatours [dot] com

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