The Fairmont Banff Springs (One of the Most Hunted Place), Banff, Alberta, Canada.

The Fairmont Banff Springs, formerly and commonly known as the Banff Springs Hotel, is a historic hotel located in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The entire town including the hotel, is situated in Banff National Park, a national park managed by Parks Canada. The hotel overlooks a valley towards Mount Rundle, both of which are situated within the Rocky Mountain mountain range. The hotel is located at an altitude of 1,414 metres (4,639 ft).

The hotel opened in 1888 by the Canadian Pacific Railway, as one of the earliest of Canada's grand railway hotels. The hotel property has undergone several stages of growth and redevelopment. The original hotel structure was designed by Bruce Price, with another structure completed in 1914. In 1926, a fire destroyed the original structure on the hotel property, although a replacement structure was later completed in 1928. The building was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1988. The hotel property is presently managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. 

The Banff Springs Hotel sits at 405 Spray Avenue near the southern boundary of Banff, a resort town within Banff National Park. The hotel property is bounded by roadways and natural waterways. Two roadways bound the hotel to the north, Bow River Avenue, and Rundle River Avenue, while Spray Avenue bounds the hotel from the west. To the east, the hotel property is bounded by the Spray River. The river serves as a tributary for the Bow River, a waterway north of the hotel property. The hotel property sits near the confluence of the two rivers.

The town of Banff is located within the Rocky Mountains mountain range, situated 1,414 metres (4,639 ft) above sea level. The community itself is built around Tunnel Mountain. The hotel property looks over across the valley towards Mount Rundle. Other mountain peaks located near the hotel include Cascade Mountain, Mount Norquay, Stoney Squaw Mountain, and Sulphur Mountain. Given its location within a national park, the hotel is located near a number of attractions and natural landmarks. North of the hotel on the Bow River lies Bow Falls. The Banff Upper Hot Springs is a commercially developed hot spring located south of the hotel.

Banff Springs Hotel is one of Canada's grand railway hotels built by Canadian Pacific Railway.The present hotel property is made up of two main buildings, an eleven-storey tower, and the main block of the hotel.Designed by Walter S. Painter, construction for the tower building, or the centre wing, began in 1911, and was completed in 1914. The main block of the hotel was erected from 1927 to 1928, and replaced the original wooden hotel destroyed in a fire. The original structure was a five-storey wooden building, able to accommodate 280 guests, was designed by Bruce Price. On 24 June 1988, the hotel buildings were designated as a National Historic Site of Canada.

After the original wooden structure burnt down in 1926, John W. Orrock, an engineer with Canadian Pacific Railway, was charged with designing its replacement. The replacement building, or the main block, consisted of the north, and south wing. As with the tower added in 1911, the replacement structure is made up of a steel frame, clad in Rundle limestone. Orrock based elements of the new building with the general styles of the original wooden building designed by Price, meaning that the main block also featured elements found on the chateaus of the Loire Valley in France. As a result, the main block features massive wall surfaces, and steep copper roofs, dormers, and gables.

The original wooden structure, on which the present north and south wing designs are based, featured architectural elements drawn from Scottish baronial architecture, as well as the chateaus of the Loire Valley.This blend of architectural styles would eventually lead to the Châteauesque style used for most of the grand railway hotels in Canada. Châteauesque features found on the building include its steep pitched roofs, pointed dormers, and corner turrets. However, contrasting later Châteauesque hotels built in Canada, Banff Springs Hotel's also draws elements from the Arts and Crafts movement. Elements from this movement include rounded gables, and rough stone masonry used throughout the building. The remains of the burnt building were removed in 1926, in order to make way for the north and south wings.

The center wing tower was a large limestone structure, influenced largely by Scottish baronial architecture. The building was designed originally as an extension of the original wooden structure. Unlike the other wings of the hotel, the centre tower featured almost no French medieval architectural elements. Painter's designs had windows that were rounded, flat dormers as opposed to pointed ones, and rounded arches rather than pointed arches seen in French Gothic architecture. The central wing also featured a Renaissance Revival styled arcade before its first floor lounge.

The interior of the hotel features oak beams, oak panellings and linenfolds, animal carvings, plasterwork of the ceilings, Terrazzo floors, and stained glasswork. Materials found in the interior include fossil-filled carved Tyndall limestone from Garson, Manitoba, and Bedford lime flagstones on the floors of Mount Stephen Hall, an event room within the hotel.

he Banff Springs Hotel includes 757 guest rooms and suites spread throughout the hotel property. The hotel property also houses a number of event spaces, used for conferences, weddings, and other social events. Event spaces within the hotel building include the Alberta Dining Room, the Alhambra Dining Room, the Cascade Ballroom, Mount Stephen Hall, and the Riverview Walk. Given its location, the hotel property also features outdoor event spaces, including a terrace garden.

A number of areas within the hotel property are also occupied by restaurants, or other food-based services. As of December 2017, twelve restaurants operate within the hotel property.Restaurants located within the hotel include 1888 Chop House, the Waldhaus, and the Rundle Bar, "Castello". The latter restaurant also hosts the hotel's afternoon tea. The hotel also hosts a locally sourced market, Stock Food & Drinks. Other facilities located on the hotel property include a bowling alley, five turf-topped tennis courts, a swimming pool, and a 27-hole golf course designed by golf course architect Stanley Thompson.Spa facilities were opened at the hotel in 1991.

The original building was shaped as an H and included an octagonal centre hall, with an additional wing extending from its towards the Bow River. The building was clad in shingles with stone accents.Tiered verandahs were situated at the end each wing.The 1888 structure cost $250,000 and a mistake made by the builder changed the intended orientation of the building, turning its back on the mountain vista. This building included more than 100 bedrooms, centered on a five-story, octagonal rotunda. An addition in 1902 expanded and renovated the building, adding more than 200 rooms.

By 1906, plans were advanced for a complete overhaul of the Banff Springs Hotel building, proposing a replacement of much of the original structure. Walter Painter, chief architect for Canadian Pacific Railway, designed an eleven-story central tower in concrete and stone, flanked by two wings. This time correctly oriented to the dramatic view, the so-called "Painter Tower" was completed in 1914 at the cost of $2 million with 300 guest rooms and, for some time, became the tallest building in Canada. Construction of new wings was delayed by World War I, and the surviving Price wings continued in service.

The hotel was named for William Davidson, who had grown up in Moray, close to Banff, Scotland, and was the first European settler in that area of Canada. The name borne by the Canadian city and the national park is derived from his native country. Halfway up the internal staircase closest to the Bow Falls is found a painting of Davidson felling trees on the Miramichi River during colonial times. The painting of the pioneer is by the war artist Cyrus Cuneo (1879–1916), who executed a series of paintings for the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Further renovations designed by architect, J. W. Orrock, who continued in style originated by Painter, significantly expanding the Painter Tower, altering its roofline, and adding his substantial additions. In 1926, while work was proceeding on the new wings, a fire destroyed the remainder of the original building designed by Price. The two new wings completed and opened in 1928.

The Monarch of Canada, King George VI, and the future Queen Elizabeth visited the hotel during their 1939 royal tour of Canada. From 1942 to 1945, the hotel was shut down in an effort to free up labour for the war effort.

In 1968, the building underwent a process of winterization, allowing for the hotel to operate year-round. The hotel went through several renovations during the latter half of the 20th century, including one in 1971, and another in preparation for the 1988 Winter Olympics.

In 2001, Canadian Pacific Hotels, the hotel division of Canadian Pacific Railway, was reorganized as Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, adopting the name from an American company it had purchased in 1999. The hotel's name was changed to the Fairmont Banff Springs as a part of this re-branding effort. In 2006, seven Fairmont hotels, including Banff Springs sold to Oxford Properties, a company owned by the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System. Fairmont Hotels and Resorts continues to manage the resort following the sale of the hotel property. 

For more information - Official Website

Poveglia (Most Haunted and Abandoned Place in World), Venice -Venetian Lagoon, Italy

Poveglia is a small island located between Venice and Lido in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. A small canal divides the island into two separate parts. The island first appears in the historical record in 421, and was populated until the residents fled warfare in 1379. For more than 100 years beginning in 1776, the island was used as a quarantine station for those suffering the plague and other diseases, and later as a mental hospital. Because of this, the island is frequently featured on paranormal shows. The mental hospital closed in 1968, and the island has been vacant since.

Visits to the island are prohibited, but various books and articles discuss visits by a writer or photographer. One of the latter described a place of "peace and serenity".

The island is first mentioned in chronicles of 421, when people from Padua and Este fled there to escape the barbarian invasions. In the 9th century the island's population began to grow, and in the following centuries its importance grew steadily, until it was governed by a dedicated Podestà. In 1379 Venice came under attack from the Genoan fleet; the people of Poveglia were moved to the Giudecca.

The island remained uninhabited in the subsequent centuries; in 1527  the doge offered the island to the Camaldolese monks, who refused the offer. From 1645  on, the Venetian government built five octagonal forts to protect and control the entrances  to the lagoon. The Poveglia octagon is one of four that still survive.

In 1776 the island came under the jurisdiction of the Magistrato alla  Sanità (Public Health Office), and became a check point for all goods and people coming to  and going from Venice by ship. In 1793, there were several cases of the plague on two  ships, and consequently the island was transformed into a temporary confinement  station for the ill (lazaretto); this role became permanent in 1805, under the rule of  Napoleon Bonaparte, who also had the old church of San Vitale destroyed; the old bell-tower  was converted into a lighthouse. The lazaretto was closed in  1814.

The island was used as a quarantine station from 1793 until 1814. In 1922 the existing buildings were converted into an asylum for the mentally ill and later used as a nursing home/long-term care facility, until its closure in 1968. Afterwards, the island was briefly used for agriculture and then completely abandoned.

In 2014 the Italian state auctioned  a 99-year lease of Poveglia, which  would remain state property, to raise revenue, hoping that the buyer would redevelop the  hospital into a luxury hotel. The highest bid was from  Italian businessman Luigi Brugnaro,  (€513,000); he planned to invest €20 million  euros in a restoration plan. The lease did  not proceed because his project was judged not to  meet all the conditions. Other sources  suggested that the deal was annulled because the bid  was too low. Brugnaro initially fought  the cancellation of the lease, but after he became  mayor of Venice, he renounced any intentions  to the island.

In 2015, a private group, Poveglia per Tutti, was hoping to raise €25–30 million for a new plan to include "a public park, a marina, a restaurant, a hostel and a study centre" according to The Telegraph. As of mid-2019, however, the island still sat vacant.

The surviving buildings on the island consist of a cavana, a church, a hospital, an asylum, a bell-tower and housing and administrative buildings for the staff. The bell-tower is the most visible structure on the island, and dates back to the 12th century. It belonged to the church of San Vitale, which was demolished in 1806. The tower was re-used as a lighthouse.

The existence of an asylum on Poveglia seems to be confirmed by a sign for "Reparto Psichiatria" (Psychiatric Department) still visible among the derelict buildings, as photographed by Ransom Riggs in his May 2010 photo-essay documenting his visit to Poveglia. However, there seems to be no evidence of an alleged prison.

A bridge connects the island on which the buildings stand with the island that was given over to trees and fields. The octagonal fort is on a third, separate island, next to the island with the buildings, but unconnected to it. The fort itself today consists solely of an earthen rampart faced on the outside with brick.

The island contains one or more plague pits. An estimate published by National Geographic suggest that over 100,000 people died on the island over the centuries and were buried in plague pits. Another source, Atlas Obscura, provides an estimate of 160,000 people.

News reports published in 2014/2015 confirmed that the building and rusting artefacts still existed. The island contained dilapidated buildings including the church of St Vitale, a hospital, an asylum, and prison plus residential and office buildings.

Photographer Mike Deere visited the island in 2014, after paying a fisherman to take him there. Some time after the island had become a quarantine station for ships arriving at Venice in the 18th century, a plague was discovered on two ships. The island was sealed off and used to host people with infectious diseases, leading to legends of terminally ill Venetians waiting to die before their ghosts returned to haunt the island.

A doctor allegedly experimented on patients with crude lobotomies. According to various reports, most recently by the Travel Channel, the doctor jumped from the bell tower in the 1930s after claiming he had been driven mad by ghosts. He later died. Decades later, nearby residents claimed to still hear the bell, although it was removed many years earlier. That report, titled "Haunted History", also states that some restoration work had started recently but that "abruptly stopped without explanation".

The island has been featured on the paranormal shows Ghost Adventures and Scariest Places on Earth. Poveglia was also featured in the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz as "Malagosto", the main assassin training centre for SCORPIA.

A dark Polish graphic novel by Roman Pietraszko (art) and Maciej Kur (script) titled "Żyjesz?" ("Are you alive?") is set on the island of Poveglia during the Plague and focuses on a sick girl and a boy trying to escape from the island while being hunted down by the plague doctors.

An island inspired by Poveglia is the main location in the Sandman graphic novel Endless Nights, in the first story Death and Venice. The island is owned in the 18th century by a rich nobleman and alchemist, who finds a way to shield his palazzo, himself, and his guests from the ravages of time to repeat the same day over and over. The narrator visits the island as a boy and later as an adult, where (like Poveglia) it has been long since abandoned with a reputation of being haunted.

Linda Medley's graphic novel Castle Waiting refers to Poveglia as 'The Island of No Return'. The character Dr. Fell was driven mad attempting to treat the plague victims. In the novel The Dark Temple by R.D. Shah, the island is one of the centers of the cult of Mithraism, with an underground Mithras temple (Mithraeum), in a cavern.

Aoshima (Cat Island), Ehime Prefecture, Japan

Aoshima, also known as Cat Island (猫の島, Neko no shima), is an island in Ehime Prefecture, Japan, known for its large number of feline residents. Felines have been reported by news outlets to outnumber humans by ratios between 6:1 and 10:1, but as elderly inhabitants of the island have died, the ratio has greatly increased to almost 36:1. Although once a bustling fishing island, there are now only a handful of human residents left on Aoshima. The cat population is thriving, however. Originally introduced to help the fishermen by keeping the mouse population to combat rodents on fishing boats, but remained on the island and reproduced in large numbers.

The feline inhabitants of Aoshima are fed by food donations from all over Japan. The cats also eat the small creatures of the island and some food from visitors. The island is roughly 1 mile (1.6 km) long. It was formerly part of Nagahama in Kita District, but as of 2005, is part of Ōzu.

The human population has decreased since sardine fisheries  depleted and jobs moved to cities, causing human residence on the island to drop.

In 1945, the island was a fishing village with a population of approximately 900. In 2013, the island was estimated to be home to 50 residents. In 2018, Ehime Shimbun reported that the population had decreased to 13 with an average age of "over 75". In 2019, Asahi Shimbun Globe reported that only 6 residents remained on the island. The island attracts tourists who visit the cats and give them food.

The feline population of the island has been reported as  between 120 and 130 between 2015 and 2018. In February 2018, it was reported by Ehime  Shimbun that all cats on the island would be spayed or neutered in order to lower the feline  population as a response to the declining human population. By October, 210 cats had  been spayed and neutered, with another estimated 10 cats uncaptured that had been hidden  by an old resident who opposed the program.

Aoshima is accessible via a ferry departing from in front of JR Iyo-Nagahama Station in Port Nagahama, which takes around 30 min. Although semi-feral, the cats on Aoshima are used to human visitors. Thanks to the recent boom in publicity, it’s not unusual to find a crowd of tourists attempting to befriend the kitties. Luckily, with over 100 felines living on the island, you won’t have to compete too hard for their affection.