The Ten Most Haunted Places in Neopia

#10 – The Ruins of Old Maraqua. Treasure seekers and divers have seen her on numerous occasions, when the sea beneath is deathly calm while a storms brews above the water – an apparition of black wings and an evil stare. She haunts the location where an ancient faerie statue once stood, when it was thrown into the sea; wailing in sorrow, or perhaps anger? One Neopet, an Acara looking for the Fishing Hole, claims she had seen the ghost of the Darkest Faerie. Could it be true? It certainly seems odd that a statue of the Darkest Faerie still lingers in the Old Maraqua ruins – when she freed herself of that prison only to be conquered by two brave Neopets in Altador.

#9 – Moltara. Being a newly found city in the depths of Neopia, Moltara certainly has its fill of tourists. But who would have thought a ghost legend would pop up so soon? It's happened a couple of times now, on different occasions, but with a similar scenario: a Bori and his friend, with lamp in hand, entered a dark cave said to hold a valuable red stone called Moltite; suddenly their candle blew out from a wind tunnel and the two were plunged into darkness. Trying to be brave, they attempted to navigate back to town, but got even more lost. As they were about to give up hope, a puppyblew, glowing a greenish-blue, appeared; barking at them to follow it. With nothing else to lose, they did just that – and the petpet led them out of the dark tunnels.

The following week it happened again to another tourist when the batteries in her flashlight stopped working – a cute, little puppyblew appeared and led her out.

Asking around, I learned that a young Moltaran girl had gone into the cave a year ago and had gotten lost. Her petpet, a puppyblew, had run off; for help, the girl thought. But he never returned. However, a group of searchers found the girl and brought her safely home.

Does the girl's puppyblew still linger in that cave's tunnels, helping lost Neopets find their way? To make up for not being able to help his owner? Dare you find out?

#8 – Brightvale. The luminous kingdom of Brightvale is known for is academics and has a vast Royal Library. With all the knowledge stored there, who couldn't blame one for wanting to stay for hours on end? Or an eternity...? A mysterious librarian has been seen arranging books on tables and seeking tomes on shelves; she's rumored to have dark hair tied back in a ponytail and is wearing an ancient green frock of a hundred years ago. Her species is unclear, for those who have seen her seems to recall little about her save her hair and garb. A particularly lucky Xweetok got to SPEAK with her – before she suddenly vanished after handing him a book he asked about. The ghostly librarian appears to be looking for a certain book. Will she ever find it – or will YOU find HER first?

#7 – Lost Desert, Qasala. Have you heard it? Walking down the streets of Qasala to purchase a Lost Desert weapon or souvenir? It's soft... and mournful. In a little corner, between two buildings, there's the sound of someone crying. Is it a ghost, or something easily explainable? Qasala has such a shady past, full of curses and secrets, that no one can quite say who the poor Neopet could be. But, on a really hot desert day, it has been said you can see the silhouette of a small Ixi huddled in, what has been dubbed, the Crying Corner. If you, by chance, walk past it and hear its sobs, don't be afraid to hum it a happy tune - it really likes music.

#6 – Altador. "Do you have the time of day?" It's a simple, everyday question. When asked, a Neopet would look at their watch and tell the other what time it is, then go on their way as if nothing was out of the ordinary. It's something that happens a lot on the harbors in Altador. Yet there's ONE harbor, Pier 13, where the ghost of a sailor asks that same question to unsuspecting visitors. He's waiting for a ship to arrive, asking from those who can see him what time it is; then disappearing. At one time, his ship DID come in and he boarded it; the tourist witnessed the ghost ship slowly fade away as if moved out of the dock. However, the poor sailor was seen again the very next day, once more asking, "Do you have the time of day?"

#5 – Roo Island. The happiest place in Neopia, who can blame the Neopet who wishes to vacation there beyond the grave? We're not talking about Count Von Roo, oh no, he'd probably stay away from the Merry Go Round in Roo Park – where it has been reported to mysteriously run doing closed hours; carrying transparent Neopets on a gleeful ride. As soon as the park is closed, and all the guests have left, laughter can be heard and shadows can be seen darting here and there – making their way to the carousel.

#4 – Meridell. If, by chance, you're traveling through the Kingdom of Meridell on a chilly Autumn night, you might see the bonfires as they light up the night sky. But they won't be normal bonfires made by the locals – unless they are locals from the FAR past. Last year a Shoyru came upon one of the ethereal festivals: shadowed Neopets danced around a giant bonfire singing about a Ty Foxx. "They were constantly repeating a chorus," the Shoyru said, "that went like 'Poor Ty Foxx, he tried to put fire to King Skarl, but caught on fire himself instead – what an unfortunate Grarrl!"

The scariest part, however, was that the Shoyru was certain he saw something INSIDE the bonfire! When he asked about it, that's when the fire suddenly blew out and the Shoyru found himself alone.

At least this might explain those weird souvenirs you can purchase of bonfire items with a dummy.

#3 – Grounded Faerieland. The verdant valley that Faerieland fell into after the Ruin had been a peaceful place, full of beautiful flowers, crystal clear lakes, and tall ancient trees. It was also the location of a village a long time ago. The village had been wiped out centuries ago by a flood and those who did not survive were buried in the graveyard. Legends like to say that the graveyard lies in the Haunted Woods, but in truth it was in THAT valley. Through the years, it was overrun by grass, brush, and flowers 'til not one tombstone was left visible. And until Faerieland fell, it was a quiet place. But NOW the graves have been disturbed and the spirits have been awakened. You might see one walking down the street, or wandering the meadows pondering, or staring up at Fyora's invisible Hidden Tower. The Faeries, fully aware of the ghosts, have gotten most of them to crossover; but like some weeds, some refuse to go...

#2 – Shenkuu. An Aisha visited a Shenkuu Tea House one spring day and met a very kind, old Wocky. They drank tea, ate little tea biscuits, and talked until the sun set that day. A week later, the Aisha met the lady again, sitting at the same table, drinking her favorite cherry blossom tea and nibbling on her favorite ginger cookies. That wasn't all that was the same; the Wocky's conversation was the same, too. The Aisha thought that that was a bit weird, but figured the old lady was forgetful, that she didn't remember the cloud Aisha. They talked again; the Wocky missed her son and she was waiting for his return. "He'll be here soon," she told the Aisha, like last time. "He went to fight in the Meridell-Darigan war."

"The Meridell vs. Darigan war has been over for a while now," the Aisha said.

The Wocky nodded, and repeated "He'll be here soon... he'll come home."

The following weeks, the Aisha met the lady at the tea house and it was always the same. No matter how she tried to turn the conversation in another direction, the Wocky would not change her words – she said the same things over and over again.

Something was definitely wrong.

Asking around, the Aisha learned that the old Wocky was a legend around Shenkuu; lots of Neopets had seen her, even talked to her. When questioned why nobody tries to help the lady find her missing son, they laughed – the lady was a ghost, and her son was probably one too!

The Aisha told me she hasn't seen the lady since then. But, maybe YOU will...

#1 – Geraptiku, Mystery Island. One summer day, a tourist visited the ancient city of Geraptiku. On any given day the place had its crowd of visitors, but no tour guides. That's just how the islanders did things around there, they usually avoided the cursed place.

However, this time it was different. The city had been brought back to life, with natives parading about in colorful feathers and scary masks. Even the petpet store had someone to take Miss Jasmine's neopoints! It was a bit surreal at first, but then Miss Jasmine figured it must be a special day, a festival or an anniversary; THAT'S why everyone was in costumes!

Miss Jasmine had a wonderful time. The next day, when speaking to a Mr. Jake – who claimed he was an explorer – about her day in Geraptiku, Mr. Jake became alarmed, saying, "That's impossible! The islanders avoid that place as if its very walls carry a plague! Only tourists are stupid enough to venture near it – pardon me, no offense, Miss. You must be mistaken, though, or hit your head, or... traveled back in time."

DID Miss Jasmine travel into the past? Or did she see an incredible display of unrestful spirits? Scientists, like Mr. Werther, theorize that what Neopets see as 'ghosts' are actually what he refers to as 'imprints'. "Imprints", Werther explains, "are the left-over energy of past events. STRONG energy that comes from living creatures, brought upon by actions full of emotion; from happy to sad. What Neopets see, or THINK they see, are simply left-over energy – not ghosts. That is why these imprints appear and then fade away."

But, I don't know, if you ask me... 'imprint', 'ghost', spirit', they all sound pretty magical to me.

So, I ask YOU: What is real? What is make-believe?