I’m a ‘dark tourist’ and have travelled to some of the creepiest places in the world – including an underground tunnel housing six million dead bodies and a neighbourhood that had me scared for my life

A lawyer who is obsessed with true crime revealed the ‘dark tourism’ destinations he’s travelled to all around the world – and which one left him ‘fearing for his life’.

Tony Taouk, from Sydney, Australia, has visited some of the most notorious mob cities in the US, sites of horrific murders, and underground tunnels housing six million bodies in Paris.

Speaking about what sparked his interest in the dangerous – yet captivating – locations, Tony said it goes back to when he was 16 and he started reading true crime material at school.

He said: ‘I remember I borrowed a book about the Prohibition-era gangsters from the school library and was fascinated by the stories. When you go to the scene you have read or watched documentaries about, it kind of brings it to life.

‘Reading a book or watching a clip might give you an intellectual understanding of a historical event, but it doesn’t give you that sense of nostalgia and familiarity that you get when you visit the actual site after reading about it for years.

Tony Taouk, from Sydney, Australia, who is obsessed with true crime revealed he has travelled to many dark tourism destinations all over the world (Pictured at Catacombs of Paris)

‘On some level, it’s like you’re stepping back in time. When I became a lawyer, I also developed an interest in famous trials.’

A lot of Tony’s travels have revolved around mob and gangland crime scenes from the 90’s – including some of Al Capone’s ordered hits.

‘The creepiest places are the ones where you can still see vestiges of the crime,’ he recounted. ‘One example I recall is Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.

‘It’s infamous as the place where North Side Gangster Hymie Weiss was murdered in a hail of bullets in 1926, allegedly on the orders of Al Capone.

‘The actual bullet holes from a Capone-era hit in the Cathedral’s exterior around the cornerstone which says AD 1874. They are very faint and you have to look closely to make them out.

‘Another creepy thing I have seen is the brick wall from Chicago’s Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929, which is on display at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas.’

The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago’s North Side Gang on Saint Valentine’s Day 1929.

Tony explained: ‘Seven members and associates of Bugs Moran’s gang were lined up against a wall and shot dead in cold blood inside a Chicago garage allegedly on the orders of Al Capone. You can still see the bullet holes in the wall.

A lot of Tony’s travels have revolved around mob and gangland crime scenes from the 90s- including some of Al Capone’s ordered hits (pictured in front of Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago (which is the site of the Hymie Weiss assassination in 1926)

Tony was pictured at the site of Colosimo’s Saloon – Chicago (Big Jim Colosimo assassinated there in 1920)

The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago’s North Side Gang on Saint Valentine’s Day 1929

‘I have also visited the actual site of the St Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago. The only thing left of the scene of the most notorious mob hit in history is a small parking lot and lawn.

‘The original garage where the massacre took place was demolished in 1967. There is nothing on the site that alludes to the infamous history of the location apart from a building across the street where Capone’s gangsters allegedly kept lookout from the upper floors. That building is now a popular pizza restaurant.’

Meanwhile Tony also made a trip to New York to take a look into the deep history of the notorious Irish gang The Westies.

The Westies dominated Hell’s Kitchen in the 1970s and 80s and they were, in the words of then-prosecutor Rudolf Guiliani, ‘the most savage organisation in the long history of New York street gangs’.

Tony said: ‘I visited the site of the 596 Club in Hell’s Kitchen in New York. The bar was once owned by Jimmy Coonan, head of the notorious Irish gang The Westies.

‘On my second trip to New York, I actually stayed in Hell’s Kitchen. From what I’ve read, Hell’s kitchen was a really rough neighbourhood back in the day but today it’s a glitzy neighbourhood that consists of luxury condos, chic restaurant and funky bars.

Tony revealed if he was to visit anywhere again it would be the Mob Museum in Las Vegas – pictured

He said: ‘When you first go in, there’s a police lineup booth where a visitor can step in and become a “suspect”‘

Green Mill – Chicago (Al Capone was said to sit in a specific booth which afforded clear views of both the front and back entrances to the place)

Pictured: Tony at Columbus Circle, in New York, which is the scene of the Joe Colombo shooting in 1971

‘Nothing like the place I’ve read about in the books and seen in gangster movies The 596 Club is now a bar and grill.

‘The Westies were known for their penchant for dismembering bodies (their reason for dismembering bodies was ”No corpus delecti, no investigation’, meaning no body of crime, no investigation.

‘The 596 Club is infamous for the 1977 murder of loan shark Ruby Stein. The Westies murdered and dismembered Stein at the 596 bar. Stein’s torso was later retrieved from the East River.’

Away from crime, Tony revealed another harrowing visit to the Catacombs of Paris, where the remains of more than six million people are kept.

In the 18th century Paris was experiencing major public health problems because overflowing graveyards were causing sanitary issues for the surrounding neighborhoods.

In 1785, the city’s authorities were left with no option but to relieve congestion by digging up graves and relocating the bones into underground tunnels.

It took over 12 long years to relocate the remains of six million bodies to their final resting place in the catacombs.

The process of transferring the bones was labor-intensive, involving diggers, cleaners, drivers, horses, torchbearers, and even priests. The task had to be done secretly at night to avoid upsetting the local communities.

Speaking about a time he was truly scared for his life he said passing through some neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, was a terrifying experience.

Tony posed in front of the Bugsy Siegel Memorial in Las Vegas. The lawyers said he became interested in true crime from a young age

Elsewhere Tony revealed if he was to visit anywhere again it would be the Mob Museum in Las Vegas.

He said: ‘When you first go in, there’s a police lineup booth where a visitor can step in and become a “suspect”.

Some more of Tony’s dark tourism hotspots:

The Bugsy Siegel Memorial in Las Vegas

Bugsy, a notoriously dangerous celebrity gangster from the mob who had ties to other American mafias, built the Flamingo Hotel and Casino.

However he was shot and killed before he saw it finalised and open to the public. His memorial on the grounds of the hotel is a simple stone pillar, bearing his picture and some brief details about him.

It stands behind the resort’s flamingo habitat and waterfalls on the site of the original Flamingo hotel built by Bugsy in 1947.

Colosimo’s Café, in Chicago

Colosimo Café is the world famous restaurant and nightclub, where crime kingpin Big Jim Colosimo was assassinated in 1920 allegedly on orders of mobster Johnny Torrio (Al Capone’s predecessor).

There isn’t much left of the original establishment – the original buildings were damaged in a fire and later demolished in the 1950s.

Likewise, Capone’s Lexington Hotel has been torn down and replaced with high rise apartments.

Little Italy, New York

A great visit is Ravenite Social Club which is the former headquarters of the Gambino’s that were bugged by the FBI.

The FBI used the recordings to bring down John Gotti. The brick façade has been removed and replaced with shop front glass and is now a shoe shop.

Also Ferrara Bakery, where Carlo Gamino held court in his heyday and the Mulberry Street Bar, where a low of mob movies and shows were filmed.

The famous scene in Donnie Brasco where Johnny Depp tells Al Pacino that the ring is fake was filmed there.

I visited the Umberto’s Clam House, which I understood was the site of Joey Gallos murder in 1972, although I later discovered that the original restaurant where the shooting took place was at a different location nearby.

Sparks Steak House, in Manhattan

Sparks Steak House in midtown Manhattan looks more or less the same as it did on 16 December 1985, when mob boss Paul Castellano was gunned down in front of it by a group of hitmen dressed in hats and trench coats.

Foley Square in Lower Manhattan

The square contains civic buildings such as the New York State Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse and United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Ironically, Foley Square falls within the area that used to be known as the Five Points – crime-infested slum portrayed in the movie Gangs of New York.

In Foley Square, you’ll recognise the steps of the New York State Supreme Court from the movie The Godfather – it’s where the character known as Don Barzini is shot at the end of the movie and rolls down the long flight of stairs.

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is where the Commission Trial and other important mob trials took place.

‘The museum also displays items like guns, jewellery, and other possessions that belonged to infamous gangsters such as Meyer Lansky, Al Capone, Bugsy Siegel, Lucky Luciano, Sam Giancana, Mickey Cohen, among others.

‘My personal favourite was seeing the sunglasses that belonged to Bugsy Siegel – I took a photo.

‘There is also a wire-tapping station where you can listen in on actual tapped conversations recorded by law enforcement.

‘Throughout the tour you see hundreds of old photographs related to organised crime. At the conclusion of the tour, you visit actual courtroom used in the 1950-51 Kefauver Committee hearings were held when they came to Nevada. There, you watch historic clips related to organised crime.’

Another dark tourism favourite for Tony was the Green Mill in Chicago, which was a speakeasy partly owned by Jack ‘Machine Gun’ McGurn.

Tony explained: ‘Capone visited the Green Mill regularly and had a reserved seat there – his preferred booth is still there as a main attraction – it was positioned so that he could observe who entered the bar from either entrance to the establishment.

‘Apparently there is a trapdoor which is still there behind the bar that hid a hydraulic elevator that once brought up booze to bar patrons and it also led to a series of tunnels under the building that were used for escapes from police or other mobsters.

‘It has live jazz bands playing and come across as an authentic 1920s speakeasy. If you want to listen to some jazz and while sitting in Al Capone’s booth, this is the place for you.’

Tony still has a few locations on his bucket list to visit including Alcatraz in San Francisco which held criminals such as Al Capone, George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly, Robert Franklin Stroud and Bumpy Johnson.

He would also like to visit Dealey Plaza, the scene of the JFK assassination, in Dallas.