7 Most Mysterious and Strangest Islands in the World

Our planet is full of incredibly strange and mysterious places, and some of them are surrounded by water and hide terrifying secrets. From islands ruled by cats to those that have been frightening people for many years.

1. Gaiola Island, Italy – The Cursed Mysterious Island near Naples

Not far from the coast of Naples stands a small but very beautiful Gaiola Island. Although there is a villa on it, today the island is abandoned because people believe it is cursed. This mysterious island consists of two rocks connected by a bridge.

The island began to be called cursed in the 19th century, when a hermit called the “Wizard” (Il Mago) lived there. One day he mysteriously disappeared from the island without a trace.

Chronology of the curse on this strangest island:

• 1874 – the island was acquired by wealthy businessman Luigi Degri (or Negri), who built a villa but soon unexpectedly went bankrupt
• 1911 – Captain Gaspare Albenga arrived by ship but crashed on the rocks and drowned
• Swiss businessman Hans Braun was murdered, his body found wrapped in a carpet
• Otto Grunback died of a heart attack upon visiting the island
• 1958 – pharmaceutical businessman Maurice Yves Sandoz developed mental illness and committed suicide
• German baron Karl Paul Langheim went bankrupt
• Fiat company owner Gianni Agnelli experienced tragic deaths of family members
• John Paul Getty – his eldest son committed suicide, 12-year-old Timothy died from a brain tumor, his grandson was kidnapped

In 2009, the curse legends revived when Italian industrialist Franco Ambrosio and his wife Giovanna Sacco were murdered in their home facing the island.

Aoshima

2. Aoshima – Japan’s Strangest Cat Kingdom Island

Japan is home to 11 “cat islands” (neko shima), but Aoshima is one of the most popular and strangest islands in the world.

This used to be a thriving fishing village. In 1945, 900 people lived on the island, and today only a few pensioners remain. As of December 2024, only 4 elderly people and 80 cats live on the island, although there were previously over 200 cats.

History of the cat invasion on this mysterious island:

Cats were brought in the middle of the last century to reduce the number of rats that were damaging fishing nets and ship cargo. When people left, the cats remained and began to multiply rapidly.

Due to decades of inbreeding, the cats suffer from blindness and respiratory diseases, so a sterilization program was initiated.

Island of the Dolls (Isla de las Muñecas)

3. Island of the Dolls (Isla de las Muñecas), Mexico – The Strangest Mysterious Island

On this mysterious Mexican island, thousands of dolls hang from trees, creating a chilling sight that attracts dark tourism enthusiasts.

In the 20th century, the island belonged to hermit Don Julián Santana Barrera. According to legend, he saw a drowning girl in the river but was unable to save her. The next day, he pulled a doll from the water and hung it in memory of the girl.

Mysterious death on the strangest doll island:

In 2001, Barrera told his nephew he heard mermaids calling. The next day he was found dead in the water – in the same place where the drowned girl had once been found.

After Barrera’s death, the family opened the island to tourists, and it became one of the most popular dark tourism sites in Mexico.

Uros Tribe Floating Islands, Peru

4. Uros Tribe Floating Islands, Peru

On Lake Titicaca is one of the strangest tourist attractions in Peru – islands made from woven totora reeds. These unique constructions form large platforms with a thickness of 3-4 meters.

History of life on water on the mysterious islands:

Anthropologists believe that the Uros tribe migrated from the Amazon region. Disagreeing with other tribes and unable to find land, they decided to create floating cities in the cold lake waters.

In 1986, a massive storm destroyed many islands and forced residents to relocate closer to land. Today, about 1,200 Uros tribe members live here, distributed across 60 floating islands.

5. Hashima Island – The Abandoned Ghost Mysterious Island, Japan

About 15 km southwest of Nagasaki, Hashima Island was once considered the most densely populated place in the world with as many as 835 people per hectare.

Coal mining era on the strangest island:

In 1887, the Mitsubishi company established a mine thanks to coal deposits discovered beneath the island. In 1959, the population reached its peak – 5,259 people.

The island had schools, a gym, cinema, hospital, 25 shops, and even brothels. During World War II, Chinese and Korean workers were forcibly brought to the island.

In 1974, the mine was closed as oil began replacing coal as Japan’s primary energy source. Since then, the island has remained completely abandoned.

6. Poveglia Island – Island of Death Mysterious Island, Italy

Poveglia is considered by many to be one of the most haunted places in the world. The island was first inhabited in 421 AD when people fleeing from invaders moved there.

Chronicle of horrors on the strangest island of death:

• 14th century – during the Black Death pandemic, the island became a quarantine zone. The infected were brought here en masse, many died
• 17th century – return of the plague, the island again became a place for burning the dead
• Late 19th century – a psychiatric hospital was established with strange experiments
• 1930 – a doctor jumped from the bell tower
• 1975 – the last institution was closed

Visitors claim to still hear bell chimes, even though the bell was removed decades ago.

7. Ross Island – Former Prison, Mysterious Andaman Islands

Ross Island – the smallest in the Andaman archipelago – became a British colonizers’ prison for rebellious Indians in the 19th century.

History of colonial terror on the strangest prison island:

Thousands of prisoners were brought here, working in the hot jungles, building mansions for the British elite. Many died from malaria and cholera. The British conducted medical experiments on prisoners.

In 1937, the prison was closed, but tragedies continued. In 1941, an earthquake claimed 3,000 lives. During World War II, the island was occupied by the Japanese.

Since 1945, the island has been abandoned, nature has reclaimed the buildings, leaving only ruins.

Sources

• Atlas Obscura – Gaiola Island
• Napoli Today – Isola della Gaiola
• BBC – Cat Island in Japan
• Japan Travel – Aoshima
• National Geographic – Island of the Dolls
• Atlas Obscura – Isla de las Muñecas
• UNESCO – Lake Titicaca
• Peru Travel – Uros Islands
• UNESCO – Hashima Island
• CNN Travel – Hashima Ghost Island
• Venice Insider Guide – Poveglia Island
• BBC – Poveglia: Italy’s Haunted Island
• Incredible India – Ross Island
• The Hindu – Ross Island History