9 American Towns That Send Shivers Down Internet Folks’ Spines

The United States of America is filled with many great places that are lovely to visit and live in. However, just like everywhere else, for every amazing city, there will be some creepy town that you would rather not stop in when passing through.

When one Redditor recently asked people online about their opinions on which one of these towns is the creepiest, netizens were quick to fill the thread with answers, sharing all kinds of stories and making some of those places sound like something straight out of a horror movie. Scroll down to see what they said!

More info: Reddit

9 PHOTOS

#1

Centralia, PA. Has been on fire for over 50 years.

#2

Salton Sea, CA went to clean out a family member's house after they passed…didn’t see a single car on the road…or human…that whole weekend. Felt so creepy.

#3

Gotta say it. My wife and I were vacationing in Bar Harbor, Maine, and decided to drive to the easternmost point in the US. So we made it Lubec, Maine. It was kind of foggy and looked deserted. I get Stephen King novels now.

There is something eerie about small towns around the world, and they don’t necessarily need to be in the USA. After all, it is not without reason that there are many successful horror movies set in places with small towns.

There’s even a whole movie genre called Small-Town Horror. Among some of the top films of the genre in the list on Ranker are classics like Halloween (1978), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Jaws (1975), Psycho (1960), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), and the more recent title It (2017). And that is without going into all the series, like Twin Peaks (1990) and Stranger Things (2016).

#4 Colorado City, Arizona. F**k you, Warren Jeffs.

#5 Whittier, Alaska

Most of the town’s residents live in a single apartment building. There’s nothing else there. The town is accessible by water and a one-way tunnel through the mountain.

#6 Amboy, California

All of the stories are true. I lived out in 29 Palms while my husband was stationed there a few years back. I heard stories of people getting run off the road, people pretending to have gotten in a car crash so you stop and help, candles being set up in the middle of the road, etc. His chain of command even had a meeting with them before the Marine Corps ball about not stopping on Amboy because of how dangerous it was. I worked out there too and I know at least 10-15 bodies have been found in the last few years.

Of course, it’s easy to argue that some of the imagery we now have in our heads might also have been created by these very movies. It could also be that big cities are very different in comparison or that our minds simply find it hard to accept that everything that looks so calm and perfect can just be like that without any hidden agenda.

As Horror Head wrote on Medium, places like these tend to look picturesque, with many trails, wide open parks, warm homes, and stores, as well as friendly people welcoming you with open arms—all of it looking as if it hasn’t changed one bit in the past few decades. 

#7 Gary, Indiana.

#8

Most towns in East Texas, are close to the LA border. They don't want you there, and they'll let you know it. I'm a white Texas native, and I don't even feel welcome.

#9 Covington VA.

I've told this story before and I'll tell it again.

A few years ago I worked as a subcontractor to banks. I was the guy who would knock on your door and tell you to call your bank on a missed payment.

Anyway, I was driving in a new job territory. And as I'm driving down the road, all of a sudden, I come upon a massive fog bank. It takes a good 5 minutes to drive through it. Then once I reached the other end, it was like someone just cut the fog with a knife. It suddenly ended, and it's stone-cold quiet. I mean I even stopped my car and listened. No birds. No wind. No sound.

Feeling creeped out, I slowly drive a bit more. And come out on top of a mountain looking down into the city valley. And it smells like hotdog water. I didn't know it then but that was due to the paper factory.

As I drove into town, it was just one storefront closed after another. It all felt like a Steven King movie. The whole town seemed like a zombie insect. Dead but still moving somehow.

As if all that wasn't enough, the cherry on top was seeing a few [totalitarian] flags flying in front of people's houses.

After seeing those, I got out of there as fast as I could.

This type of scenery usually makes one feel like what they see in front of their eyes is too good to be true, and so, the mind wanders, looking for whatever could be lurking beneath this beautiful surface.

And sure enough, every small town has something to say. If you find the right person to talk to, you’ll likely hear about all kinds of things, from myths and urban legends to haunted historical tales and dark secrets. While it may be difficult to tell how much of it is true, it will most likely show a little bit more doubt in you, making you doubt the perfect exterior just a little bit more.