“But what about…” Dark Tourism Ethics
Some notorious sites are not on this list for a very important reason. These sites are someone’s home or personal property. Properties are sometimes demolished after a tragedy to remove the memory (or physical stain) of what happened. This is what happened to Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment building; it was a biohazard. Additionally, the Dahmer site drew too many tourists, causing problems for neighbors still living in the area.
The building was demolished in 1992. But other properties are cleaned and reused. Despite being homes, businesses, or personal property, tourists show up to gawk, knocking at the door at all hours, taking pictures of the building or its occupants. Efforts to make the building unrecognizable don’t always work. Dark tourists, please be good guests. If you wouldn’t want strangers taking pictures of you or your property and plastering it all over the Internet, don’t do it to privately-owned dark tourism sites.
