Welcome to the Launch of Morbid Planet
Inside the Circle of Lebanon in Highgate Cemetery West in London, England. Picture: Erin Chapman.
This article was originally published on Morbid Planet on August 20, 2018.
Greetings and salutations from Morbid Planet!
I have always had a fascination with death and the macabre. As a child, I loved to read horror novels or watch scary movies and when I became older, my first career choice was to be a forensic anthropologist. Years ago I applied to the forensics program at the University of Toronto and was super excited when I was accepted. At the time, I didn’t realize that the Canadian government wouldn’t give me enough money through student loans to cover my tuition and living expenses for 8 years of schooling. I had to change course and this lead me to my plan B of taking a marketing program instead.
Back in 2016, I attended the Fourth World Dracula Congress in Dublin and a presenter, Tanya Jurkovic, piqued my interest in Dark Tourism. She discussed the topic extensively and I was fascinated. She made me think back to other places I have seen throughout my life in my travels that would qualify as “dark tourism” and it blew my mind.
One of my favourite presenters from the congress, Tanya Jurkovic. Picture: Erin Chapman.
On Facebook I admin a group called the “The Art of Dying” with a photographer, Glen Hanhams Hughes. As our description says, “This is a group for anything and everything about death. We love the strange and obscure! Feel free to share quotes, photos, articles, and more.” We share any type of article that has to do with death and you can find an abundance of cemetery photos. One of my favorite hobbies is lurking in graveyards, either local or abroad, in search of that perfect photo. I also love visiting old churches or cathedrals.
The birth and creation behind a website, is being able to express what interests you and share it with others. This is why I wanted to create Morbid Planet. One of my other loves is vampires and you can check out our online vampire magazine Vamped here.
What is Morbid Planet? Let me explain:
Morbid (mor·bid ˈmôrbəd): characterized by or appealing to an abnormal and unhealthy interest in disturbing and unpleasant subjects, especially death and disease.
Morbid Planet showcases the extraordinary and mysterious world of dark tourism, while highlighting unique people and macabre things. Our goal is to create a community and centralized resource for fans which will enable them to explore our morbid planet from their phone, tablet or computer. Going on a trip and looking for a specific place? Make sure to browse our Deathly Destinations! Check back daily for new content and let us satisfy your morbid curiosity!
Not everyone has the money to travel the world and see everything. My goal is to bring the extraordinary to you. Plus, as a bonus, if you are fortunate to travel, this site will give you some cool ideas for your next trip. As the site grows, I will be adding videos, photo galleries, and even a YouTube channel.
I also plan on expanding to include the horror genre by publishing news articles, interviews, and movie reviews in the coming year.
If you want to see us cover something, shoot us an email on our contact page. If you want to write for us or submit some photos for our gallery, we are open to that too.
Check back weekly to see what morbid adventures we discover and share!
If you are on Facebook, make sure to like our page here.
- Fourth World Dracula Congress: Erin Chapman, “I Attended the Fourth World Dracula Congress. Here’s What I Thought About It,” Vamped, May 26, 2017, accessed August 17, 2018, https://vamped.org/2017/05/26/i-attended-the-fourth-world-dracula-congress/.
- here: Vamped, vamped.org.
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