The death of Nelson Mandela has sparked a fit of interest in tours of Robben Island prison, where the inspirational leader was incarcerated in the 1970s and 1980s. The appeal of sites, visitor centres and museums linked to atrocities and tragedy is known as “Dark Tourism” - a term that has recently slipped into the mainstream.
There are numerous morbid destinations currently popular with travellers around the world - from Ground Zero in New York, to the JFK trail recently promoted in Dallas, to mark the anniversary of the president’s assassination.
But the phenomenon is nothing new, according to Professor J John Lennon, a lecturer in dark tourism from Glasgow Caledonian University London.
Our ancestors, after all, visited Roman gladiatorial games, honoured death in pilgrimages to Canterbury, and enjoyed days out at public executions.
Professor Lennon coined the term “dark tourism,” along with another professor, in 1996. Since then there has been a flurry of sociological research attempting to explain our attraction to all things macabre.