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Americans Spill The Tea On 34 Of The Creepiest Places In The US That They Never Ever Want To Visit
Today, we are going to take you on an eerie adventure. Now, now, don’t be spooked. You are safe from wherever you are reading this story. However, we can’t guarantee that your mind will be safe from the creepiness that’s going to be unleashed. Piqued your interest, have we?
The big reveal is that we are going to share people’s experiences about some of the most unsettling places that they visited in the US. It was Reddit user Bennevada who asked Americans to open up about these spots, and we have compiled the best ones for you. Just scroll down to check them out!
More info: Reddit
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#1
Years ago, I was taking a trip while on leave and stopped in nowhere, Kentucky at some random gas station named Reds. The sun had just gone down, and when I went inside and got a drink and some chips, the m**h head behind the counter said "you ain't from around here are ya?"
I told him i was on leave and passing through.
He looked at me and said "don't stop anywhere else for at least 30 miles for your own sake"
I took the hint and never stopped. That's when I learned that Sundown Towns doesn't always mean black folks aren't allowed. No one is allowed.
Chuck 5 months ago (edited)
We were driving through Oklahoma City in the early morning, maybe 2AM. We needed gas so we pulled of the exit. There were immediate police lights behind us. Cop came to the door, asked us what we were stopping for, which was weird. Told him we needed gas. He asked us if we had enough to go another 10-20 more miles. The he said "y'all don't want to stop here." Alrighty then, off we go!
RELATED:
#2
The wife (American) and I (Brit) were driving through rural Alabama, where churches seem to outnumber homes, and most of those homes are trailers. We decided to stop for lunch at a diner in a small community. There were quite a few cars parked outside, including 2 police cruisers, so we figured it must be pretty popular. We walked in, and it was like a scene from a movie where everybody stops and turns to look at you, forks halfway to mouths, words half spoken etc. It went totally silent, and never in my life have I felt so spooked, so unsettled, and the wife felt the same. We turned round, got back in our car and left as fast as possible.
#3
We detoured through Vidor TX due to a road closure. The residents hung white sheets saying ‘don’t stop’ and ‘go that way’. They seem to have lots of white sheets.
I know that some of you, who are always on the lookout for something fascinatingly morbid, will devour this list in a jiffy. Don't worry, I am not judging you because even I often find myself reading about such places with complete awe. Even though it makes people question what really goes on in our heads, I can assure you, we are not the only ones.
The thing is, there's a whole science behind why we are attracted to such places, and today, we will shed light on it. The ones who shared their experiences on the list might be too spooked to ever visit them again, but I would jump on any opportunity to go there if I get one. In fact, just thinking about apparitions, mannequins, abandoned places, and cults gives me a thrill right now!
#4
Red Haw, Ohio.
I've driven through it four times. Every single time it's the same story. Cars parked on the sides of the road, but no traffic. Doors wide open but nobody visible. No music, no people. Legitimately saw a ball roll across the street once and nobody could have thrown it. It looks like everyone who lives there disappears whenever I drive through and then spontaneously they reappear when I leave.
#5
Years ago, my husband was driving through Appalachia (SE Ohio/WV) by himself. He suddenly found himself driving through a small town that seemed to be completely abandoned. Except that there were life-sized mannequins posed all over doing everyday “tasks”. Walking dogs, fixing roofs, sitting at picnic tables. It was a tiny village in the middle of the mountains. He said he drove through as quickly as possible.
#6
A Brit here but when I was a visiting prof I went on a road trip. My exhaust came loose as I climbed into the mountains out of Utah; I thought I could tie it up and make it back to Colorado but a trooper pulled me over and told me to pull off the freeway at the next exit and get it fixed.
I got off into this one street town and there was a hardware store with a rusted model T ford in the window through which I could see one very old guy talking to a slightly younger one. I went in and asked if they were open and they said ‘no, we shut down 20 years ago, but how can we help you?’ I said I needed some wire to tie my exhaust up and the younger guy said I have some at my house down the street, he can give me a ride to get it. British politeness insisted that I accept the serial k**lers kind offer to help by taking me to his m**der house rather than hurt his feelings. So I got in his truck, he gave me the wire and did not use it to tie me up and k**l me. Both of which I was grateful for. Turned out he had returned to his old town to pack up his parents’ house and visited the hardware store owner who he used to work for as a high schooler. If I had been m******d it would have been my just desserts for being such a dumb a*s who had apparently never learned a single lesson from any horror movie!
Many of the stories in the list speak about abandoned places being spooky due to a lack of human presence. Research suggests that our brains are pretty much programmed to expect certain vibes from certain places. Like, when you walk into a concert stadium, you expect crowds, noise, lights, the whole wild experience.
The same goes for a school (you expect kids) or a parking lot (you expect cars). That’s the “story” those places usually tell us, what some people call spatial narratives. However, when you walk into one of those places and it’s totally empty, it throws you off.
That weird, slightly off feeling hits because it's your brain telling you that this isn’t how this is supposed to feel. There's no crowd to follow, no cues, no action, almost as if someone forgot to hand you the script. Suddenly, you're noticing stuff you normally wouldn’t, and it makes you see the space in a whole new and slightly unsettling way.
#7
I don't even know the name of it, somewhere in Ohio. Stopped to have some dinner, and not feeling fast food again we went to a local restaurant instead. It was the only one around. The place was mostly empty tables except one elderly couple and a big round table of maybe 10 people way in the back. Everyone went quiet when we walked in and a few people actively stared. We waited by the door for a few minutes before an employee approaches and tells us their kitchen is super backed up and there was no way they could serve us. So, back to the highway for fast food it was.
#8
Not American but similar circumstance. I'm Welsh and live in South Wales, if I go to North Wales and enter a pub/bar it's like that scene on a movie when some backpackers enter a village pub and all of its patrons stop what they are doing, put down there drinks and stare at you. I had it happen in a place called Portdinllaen. You'd think they'd recognise I am Welsh too, but nope it was such a strange experience felt like I was in some hick backwoods kinda place I wasn't supposed to be.
deano sweat 5 months ago
happened to me in North Wales, was like a scene from a movie. once we got chatting to a few people everybody was really friendly, even got a lock in.
#9
Clearwater, FL. Mostly everything about it is normal Florida beach town (or seemingly as normal as Florida can be), but the presence of the huge Scientology building downtown gives the city this weird and unsettling aura, like there's crazy s**t going on within those walls and you should stay far away.
According to Francis McAndrew, Professor of Psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, "Places can creep us out for the very same reasons that people can: by presenting us with ambiguous information that makes it unclear if the place poses a threat or not. Places have this effect on us because they activate an evolved psychological adaptation known as an agent-detection mechanism."
It's basically a mental alarm system that evolved to help us spot danger, like predators or enemies. When a space feels off or gives us vague, unclear vibes, that system kicks in. Even if there’s no actual threat, your mind thinks that it's better to be safe than sorry.
That's why, sometimes empty hallways or abandoned buildings creep us out, not because they are dangerous, but because they’re just confusing enough to make our instincts question them.
#10
Not a town, but there is a little backroad in Georgia named “Trail of Tears Road.” My wife and I drove on it, and it was a beautiful, sunny day when we made the turn.
As soon as we were on the road, it started raining, and the weather got worse and worse until it was like driving in a hurricane. Then, as soon as we got to the end of the road and turned onto the highway, the skies cleared up and it was a beautiful sunny day again.
Super weird experience, and now years later, when strange things happen in the world, we joke with each other that it’s all a dream and we’re still trapped on Trail of Tears Road.
JusticePanda 5 months ago
Trail of tears so named when many native American tribes were forcibly removed from their homes. Thousands of people died. As for weird weather I've been on a ton of road trips where this occurred.
#11
Jasper, Texas. I’m not trying to be mean but there are enough observable birth defects to make you question if you should be drinking the water.
Catlady6000 5 months ago
It's also where James Byrd Jr was dragged to death behind a pick up truck in 1998
#12
Harrison, Arkansas has billboards for White Power Radio. I had heard about it on the internet but had forgotten, until some friends and I went camping on the buffalo River. It's 100% legit.
It has been observed that our fascination with something like creepy places or ghost tours stems from a fascinating blend of human psychology, cultural influences, and media portrayals. Basically, this attraction taps into our inherent evolutionary instincts, our natural curiosity about what lies beyond our understanding, and our desire for shared experiences.
Well, both the wild rush of a creepy place and the eerie fun of a ghost tour actually give us a safe spot to play with our biggest fears and curiosities. It's like a mini-vacation from real life, letting us peek into how our brains tick when we're a little scared.
Honestly, as long as we're hooked on mysteries and chasing thrills, haunted houses and ghost tours aren't going anywhere. It really just shows how much fear shapes us and how much we're drawn to it.
#13
I drove to Bonnaroo back in 2006 with 3 friends. 3 of us are not white. We stopped for gas and snacks in some small town in rural Tennessee and the gas station was one of those where you just walk up to the window and the clerk is basically inside a little room. There were maybe 8 or so locals lined up in front of us so we took our place at the back of the line.
All of a sudden the clerk makes a little head nod right at us and everyone just turned back to look at us, like literally everyone in the line, then they all just stepped to each side and one guy in a southern drawl says "whelp, better just git em on and git em out, fellas".
We walked up, paid for our stuff and as we were walking back to the car someone else said "you fellas better be heading right to the next county, best not to stick around long". There was a cop in that crowd too.
We bee-lined right tf out of there and didn't stop again until we got to the festival grounds.
#14
Tonopha NV. On the north end of the Tonopha missle range and Area 51. It's the beginning of no where and is home to the world's largest Clown Motel.
Only reason to stop is for gas and get TF outta there as quickly as possible.
Ray Carrillo 5 months ago
There is a grave yard right next to the Clown Motel. Creepy is an understatement for that place.
#15
Not little town, but Salt Lake City always feels like I'm not supposed to be there...
I think all that psychological reasoning pretty much shows that we are not crazy for being fascinated with such spooky places. Big sigh of relief, right? Anyway, that's it from our end, dear readers. Now we want to hear your spooky stories, so leave them in the comments.
Also, for all the thrill-seekers out there, you have a whole list of morbidly fascinating places to visit now, so what are you waiting for? Go check them out!
#16
The area around the Salton Sea in southern California. In particular I'm thinking of the upper half of the western shore, towns like Salton City, Desert Shores, and Oasis. None of them had cult vibes, I actually quite enjoyed the people there.
Back in the 1960s, a bunch of resort towns popped up along the sea. In the 1980s, agricultural runoff severely polluted the sea. There were also wild variations in the salinity of the sea, and those two factors combined to k**l off a ton of the sea's fish. The dead fish washed up on shore, the sight and smell of which pretty well k**led the tourism industry. What remains is an ecological disaster and a bunch of not quite ghost towns. It's a really eerie corner of the world, and as someone who's spent a lot of time in tiny back towns across the western states, the Salton Sea area is definitely unique in my memory.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 5 months ago
I've lived in Southern California my whole life and we visited the Salton Sea area when I was a kid (I live about a 4hr drive away.) It was during the die-off/toxic period in the 80s/90s but before it got REALLY bad. We never went back after that one trip in the late 80s, because things got a lot worse around that time :x
#17
Rural Alabama is a deeply depressing place, you'll pass towns with all the businesses shuttered up and nobody around.
Peeka_Mimi 5 months ago
Dothan Alabama gave me the absolute creeps. In fact all of Alabama creeped me out so much, I will never be going back.
#18
Arco, Idaho
First town in the world to be fueled by nuclear power. They had an incident there in 1961. Stopped for gas on the way to Craters of the Moon National Monument. Dust balls rolling across the streets. Desolate at the time. Little kid no more than 10 years old sitting on the floor in the gas station looking at nudie magazines. Kid was the clerk’s son. I jokingly told my buddy to get back in the car and lock the doors. We were fully excepting to see people with three arms.
If you’re from Arco, I’m certain it’s a nice place. This was the late 90’s and it was a boring weekday afternoon so please don’t be offended. Town was just a little eerie. .
Kinetics Loves Apples 5 months ago
Can confirm, Arco is eerie. We stopped to try to find ice or dry ice on the way to Craters and they all looked at us like we were crazy to even ask.
#19
I once was on a road trip from South Dakota to Pennsylvania. I stopped off the interstate in some small Wisconsin town to use the restroom inside a small bar.
Every inch of that bathroom was covered in the most disgusting racist graffiti you can imagine. Never seen anything like it before or since.
#20
One time my partner and I were driving through the absolute middle of no where in upstate New York. It’s getting dark. There’s snow on the ground. It’s creepy enough.
Then a deer slowly walks in front of our car. I slow down and stop. It stops..
It turns its head fully to look at us.
The entire other half of its face was shredded.
Just strips of raw red flesh hanging off.
The scream we scrumpt.
#21
I was somewhere near the eastern border of Kentucky. I needed gas and got off the highway at the first exit that had a sign about a gas station. I pumped my gas and went inside to use the restroom.
The vibes were OFF. the guy behind the counter was talking to some other man and they both stopped talking and watched me as I entered and walked around. I asked where the bathroom was and the cashier motioned--he was missing a few fingers on each hand. They both silently watched me walk to the bathroom.
I opened the door and inside it, every inch--EVERY LAST INCH--was covered in framed pictures of horses. Big ones, small ones. Above the toilet was a large close up painting of a horse's eye.
Neither man said a word to me as I left. They watched me walk to my car, too.
If I remember correctly, there was a perfectly nice chain gas station at the next exit, too, and I was kicking myself for not waiting an exit or two, lol.
Tbh I would love for someone else to confirm this place is real because I don't think anyone believes me. But I was there! I saw the horse's eyeball! It happened!
#22
Vineland NJ. Utopian sober town known as home of Welch’s Grape Juice. NJ’s largest city by area but has only 60,000 people. Strange “planned” city with huge spaces between buildings, ridiculously wide streets, everything out of normal proportion.
Michael Largey 5 months ago
Apparently the grape juice the designers were drinking had fermented.
#23
La Grange, WY. Local religious school controls/owns most of the land and jobs. Very cultish, get in line or get out type of vibe.
Peeka_Mimi 5 months ago
I would just avoid the whole state of Wyoming. They're so d**n racist.
#24
Los Alamos. Lots of land surrounded by barbed wire. Signs EVERYWHERE indicating “no drones allowed.” Weirdly quiet. Pretty much everything closed at 3 PM. We joked that must be to give people time to get inside before all the radioactive monsters come out. A lot of the labs and facilities are still active for, I assume, reasons.
Karl der Große 5 months ago
This is where I live. Amazing town - low crime, smart people, great climate. It is a little quiet, but a great place to live.
#25
Me and some friends driving up to Duck Creek UT from Vegas in winter and had to go in the back way via 89. This route takes you through Colorado City Arizona which is Mormon territory and about the creepiest place I’ve ever been. Had to stop for gas and we were watched like we were being hunted.
Peeka_Mimi 5 months ago
I dated a LeBaron Mormon. He left the church before we met, because I am a Bruja for 4 decades and counting. But I met his many siblings, his mom, and her sister wives. It was so bizarre. He's a Goth. It was weird.
#26
Some tiny place off the highway in Montana. I needed a bathroom and gas break, and pulled in at the next town. Now I say town, but that may be overselling it. I pull in and the residential district, which seemed to be a single trailer park on the highway exit. I pull a right turn and make a right down the main street of the town. I'd describe it as a blend of Main Street USA from Disney but if it was designed as a piece in a horror survival game. Western era wood block sidewalks, no name commercial district with locals suspiciously staring at me as a slowly roll down the street, and at the end of main street was the single, large church with Roman style columns out front and, in between them, red banners hanging in between them, maybe 15 feet tall, with some VERY specific Bible verses with some choice words highlighted.
I did not stick around for lunch.
#27
Madison County, Arkansas, around Pettigrew. Not much of a town, but just driving around the 'roads' (more like trails) will give you Deliverance vibes. (Got lost in there.)
And the town of St Marys KS. Cult. Women in skirts, mostly walking behind their men.
#28
The Badlands/Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in the mid/late 90s. We drove through on a cross country road trip and decided to check out Wounded Knee and similar “attractions”. The locals did NOT treat us hospitably.
to old to care 5 months ago
Don't EVER stop randomly on any reservation. I was told this by a police officer while driving through Oklahoma.
#29
I've never been, but Centralia, Pennsylvania is probably a candidate for this. An underground coal fire drove out most of the population, so it's essentially an abandoned town.
It was the inspiration for how Silent Hill is depicted in the first Silent Hill movie.
#30
I think it was Kayenta, Arizona.
I spent the day at the Grand Canyon and drove out without eating all day. I kept driving, thinking that the next place ahead would have some place for food. There didn't seem to be a store or even convenience store open. There was a KFC so I assumed it would be standardized.
First off the place was dirty. The staff acted like they'd never served a customer before. The back door was open and an employee came in without shoes on. The menu was chicken and box mac and cheese, they were out of everything else. I ate and left.
The town was mostly unpaved roads, dead cars, and trailer houses. It felt very off so I got the f**k out of there and headed down the road again.
JusticePanda 5 months ago
Well besides the nasty KFC the trailers and dead cars are normal. Economically depressed areas. No paved roads because there isn't enough money for infrastructure.
#31
South of the Border on I-95 NC/SC border. Everything is abandoned and stuck in 1950s era. Creepy.
Nikki Sevven 5 months ago
It's worse on I-85, which goes inland toward Atlanta GA. The people, apparently, have never heard of Southern hospitality and want nothing to do with it either.
#32
Not sure what the town was called, but it was a dry county and had a busy topless doughnut shop. Had maybe like 5000 people that lived in the town. .
#33
Sorry, didn't really give the creeps, but my first Android phone's GPS failed while I was driving a back way through Pennsylvania from visiting relatives.
I stopped in a store, hoping they sold paper maps, but they didn't have any, and a young worker said, "Yeah, we don't like people to leave."
Funny as hell. I just winged it and got back to my home in another state fine.
Multa Nocte 5 months ago
From the attached photo I am guessing that the Badlands/Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota was transported to Pennsylvania.
#34
More of a neat tiny town, but Roosevelt, TX. We randomly got off the interstate to get some drinks. Just a store with a few houses around it. We went into the store, and there's taxidermy on all the walls. It was just weird, and I still remember it decades later. Google is saying it has a population of 9.
Sally Moen 5 months ago
When you can't afford a regular hobby, go into taxidermy for the free r0adkill animals to preserve
What do you think ?
FABULOUS1 5 months ago
We moved from California to Turon, Kansas. Its a small town that had maybe 200 people living there. We are half black and half white and our mother is white, you would of thought these people had never seen a person in a shade beyond pale. We lived there for about a year before returning to California. You think racism doesnt exist, visit a small US town and they will prove you wrong within minutes.
nm 5 months ago (edited)
The land of Free, of Democracy and Liberty. Disgusting! In my country, if you enter in a café at an isolated village up the mountains, someone most probably will buy you a coffee or ouzo.
Peeka_Mimi 5 months ago
Quoth a song by White Buffalo that I really relate to as a Veteran. "Country, I was a solider for you I did what you asked me to It was wrong and you knew Country, now I'm just a stranger to you A number, a name it's true Throw me away when you're through Home of the brave and the free, the red white and blue But I wish it was true."
Load More Replies...
Roberta Surprenant 5 months ago
Late seventies, hitchhiking on highway in SE Texas with my ex husband. Both of us white, he had long hair.Towtruck stopped to pick us up. Driver had heard deputy on radio planning to roust us after his current call. The tow driver went out of his way to find us and get us out of jurisdiction.
FABULOUS1 5 months ago
We moved from California to Turon, Kansas. Its a small town that had maybe 200 people living there. We are half black and half white and our mother is white, you would of thought these people had never seen a person in a shade beyond pale. We lived there for about a year before returning to California. You think racism doesnt exist, visit a small US town and they will prove you wrong within minutes.
nm 5 months ago (edited)
The land of Free, of Democracy and Liberty. Disgusting! In my country, if you enter in a café at an isolated village up the mountains, someone most probably will buy you a coffee or ouzo.
Peeka_Mimi 5 months ago
Quoth a song by White Buffalo that I really relate to as a Veteran. "Country, I was a solider for you I did what you asked me to It was wrong and you knew Country, now I'm just a stranger to you A number, a name it's true Throw me away when you're through Home of the brave and the free, the red white and blue But I wish it was true."
Load More Replies... Roberta Surprenant 5 months ago
Late seventies, hitchhiking on highway in SE Texas with my ex husband. Both of us white, he had long hair.Towtruck stopped to pick us up. Driver had heard deputy on radio planning to roust us after his current call. The tow driver went out of his way to find us and get us out of jurisdiction.
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