With Halloween coming up, we are in the midst of the most ghostly time of the year. The popularity of scary stories based on legends containing hauntings and ghosts tends to spurs during this spooky season. Every country around the world seems to tell their own stories based on events that happened in the past and that have morphed into scary legends told generation after generation. Here are some of the most chilling ghost stories told around the world.

Galapagos Islands: The Headless Gringa 

According to locals on Baltra Island, the former American Air Force base is haunted by "La Gringa sin Cabeza" (The Headless Gringa). Legend says that an American serviceman and his cheating girlfriend live at the base during World War II. The soldier pushed his girlfriend off a cliff when he found out she was cheating on him and her head got caught on something and tore off. Her ghost is said to target solitary men late at night by either ambushing them or crushing them while they sleep.

Venezuela: El Silbón 

El Silbón (The Whistler) is said to be the ghost of a young man who roams rural Venezuela. The legend states that this young man murdered and gutted his father for abusing the boy's mother. The young man's grandfather responded to the murder by whipping the boy relentlessly and pouring flakes of red hot peppers on his open wounds. The grandfather then ordered a vicious dog to hunt down his grandson. El Silbón now haunts cruel men who cheat on their wives or treat them poorly, so if you hear some eerie whistling while in Venezuela, you might be near this vengeful ghost.

Mexico: The Weeping Woman

According to legend, La Llorona (the wailing woman), formerly known as Maria, drowned her children in a river one by one after the man she loved would not be with her. Once she realized what she had done, Maria drowned herself in the same river, but heaven would not have her. She is now forced to wander the world in everlasting grief. People who have claimed to see the weeping woman have described her as being soaking wet and wearing all white. Some even say that she snatches young children as she walks, mistaking them as her own young children whom which she murdered.

Peru: La Casa Matusita

Located in downtown Lima, stands La Casa Matusita, an ordinary-looking yellow building. A local legend says that this building was the scene of a gruesome  crime and two popular stories are told around the area. The first version says that a local Peruvian man slaughtered his entire family before committing suicide, while the second version says that hallucinogens were served at a dinner party, leading to a horrendous bloodbath. Both stories have one thing in common, they state that the second floor is believed to be haunted to the point where just entering would make someone turn insane.

Brazil: Brazilian Encantado

Deep within the Amazon waters, lives a shapeshifting monster that may take the shape of dolphins or sea snakes. The encantado (enchanted one) is said to morph into a seductive human-like figure whose superior musical talent and beauty becomes irresistible to their human prey. Once under the spell of the encantado, the victim is kidnapped and never seen again. Legend says that this Amazon shapeshifter is sighted frequently and residents of the jungle avoid walking near the riverbanks at night.

Chile: Living in a Ghost Town

The abandoned town of La Noria was a mining town fueled by slave labor during the 19th century. Since then, the town is said to have been deserted, but witnesses claim to see ghosts of slaves wandering through the town's cemetery. According to legend, the spirits are believed to be from open graves and exposed skeletal remains of the slaves that died tragic deaths. They now haunt the area that is the graveyard of La Noria.

Tanzania: The Night Demon

In the Tanzanian island of Pemba in the Indian Ocean, an evil creature plaques the island. According to stories, the creature can shape shift and has been seen in bat and human-like form. Known as the popobawa (bat-wing), the spirit sexually assaults men. There have been many reports of being attacked by the popobawa which sometimes sends locals into a panic, forcing them to stay awake or sleep in groups outside their homes.