Travel and Recreation : What Draws Us to sites of Death , Disaster and Destruction?

What is dark tourism?

Visiting churches decorated with human bones, the homes of dead celebrities and serial killers, and sites of terrorist attacks and nuclear disasters mightn't sound like everyone's idea of a good time, but dark tourism is hugely popular and, some say, on the rise.

Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Cambodian killing fields, Ground Zero, the Berlin Wall and Hiroshima are just a few of the better known destinations. But Peter Hohenhaus, the founder of Vienna-based website dark-tourism.com, says the term can be applied to travel to any destination associated with death, disaster, tragedy, destruction and the macabre.