#1
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.
#2
#3
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
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
#6
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
#8
#9
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
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.
#11
#12
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
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
Only reason to stop is for gas and get TF outta there as quickly as possible.
#15
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
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.
#17
#18
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. .
#19
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
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.