1. The island of Ominainen, Parainen
Ominainen is a rugged island located in the municipality of Parainen and what makes this place special is that it served as a burial ground for those who were not allowed to be buried in the cemeteries of the church; murderers, rapists and those who committed suicide to mention a few. According to stories the place is haunted and sleeping on the island is impossible.
2. Mental hospital of Röykkä, Nurmijärvi
This currently unoccupied facility used to serve as a place where rich people went to treat their lung diseases but since then it has served as a mental hospital and a reception center for immigrants. Old part of the main building represents the Jugend –style and looks a bit like a castle. As mentioned it´s not allowed to go inside and not many would even want to because there is a legend of a young woman who died in the hospital and is still wandering around on the hallways and roofs.
3. Paakkila quarry, Tuusniemi
At this currently abandoned quarry, the highly toxic asbestos was mined until the year 1975 but since then it´s been closed and is full of water nowadays, that´s what has made this place a very special and mystical diving destination. Asbestos is harmless in water so it´s possible to dive 30 meters deep and go see the forgotten world with things like a car, a motorcycle and a railway carriage just laying there in the bottom. Diving in a place like this always requires the necessary permits and licenses of course.
4. The holy tree, Kinnula
This big old pine tree found in Kinnula is dedicated to the king of the forest, the brown bear. Trees like this used to serve as a place to worship and do rituals to this highly valued spirit animal and mythical creature and their bones were brought here after a successful hunt to pay respect and to make sure the animal makes it back to the spirit world. Similar places like this are found all around Finland and they tell an interesting story about the shamanistic and animalistic world view of the ancient hunter-gathering people.
5. Paha Koli, Lieksa
Highest peaks in the Koli area are the Ukko-koli and Akka –koli hills, but the one with the most promiscuous reputation is the Paha-Koli (paha means evil). It is said that these rugged hills used to serve as a place to worship the entities / spirits living here and to give sacrifices to them. It is known that some trials have taken place here too and there´s still visible signs of this in the form of stones that were used to create stone circles where these events took place.
6. Joutsenranta, Lappeenranta
Joutsenranta has a colorful history and originally it was built to serve as a mental hospital in the 1950s. After a few decades of serving as a place to treat the mentally ill the place was turned in to a hotel, but unfortunately during the big recession in the 1990s there was not enough customers anymore and it got closed down. The place was abandoned for a long time but nowadays it serves as a very interesting setting for airsoft battles, really interesting environment for that indeed.
7. Pahakorpi, Isokyrö
If ”nomen est omen”, then the pahakorpi forest is a place to avoid as the name translates to “evil forest” in Finnish. Some horrible stories are related to the area and it is said that there´s no birdsong to be heard, the moose avoid the area and whilst wandering there you have a constant feeling of having someone staring at you. Even the different berry plants won´t fruit here as they normally would in this kind of environment.
8. Levänluhta, Isokyrö
At Orismala, located in the Isokyrö area, there is a natural spring that is said to be as red as blood and what makes it even more special is that some actual human remains and jewelry have been found from it. Known history of the place dates back to the Iron Age and the spring has indeed served as a graveyard since the 4th century with the bones of cows and horses found too and it is believed that some kind of rituals and sacrifices have taken place here. For the red color of the water there is a reasonable explanation; it turns red simply due to the high iron content of the water. The ancient people were not aware of this of course so no wonder the special color grasped their attention and they ended up giving the place a special meaning through rituals and sacrifice.