“I felt like I was being watched the whole time.”
And, PHEW, there are A LOT.
Here are their chilling responses:
Note: Some of these stories contain mentions of racism and sexual assault.
“Denton, North Carolina Somehow found myself dating someone from here.
Im half Mexican and when she took me to her town it was very weird.
Driving around I saw nooses in people’s yards.
It was so weird and bizarre!”
“Eastern Colorado We were camping in a small town in the early ’70s.
My husband and two children, ages three and four, were on a cross-country summer trip.
We went into a small town’s cafe for dinner and a large group of redneck cowboys went silent.
Then they started to spit on the floor and swear about the ‘goddamn hippies everywhere.’
The waitress came over to our table and whispered to us to leave quickly and quietly.
We grabbed the kids, got in the car, and never looked back!”
I felt like I was being watched the whole time.
There are still several houses there that Im not entirely sure are unoccupied.
I normally dont have ‘raised hair on the back of your neck’ moments.
It was very creepy."
“Harrison, Arkansas There used to be several billboards on the main highway.
Lots of white pride radio saying things like, ‘Is it wrong to love your kind?’
There is only one billboard now.
It says, ‘Lets Go Brandon’ by the Christian radio online grid.
I think it is a KKK stronghold.
There are YouTube videos of people protesting the old signs.
Local people warning the protesters to watch their backs, etc.”
“Mack, Colorado Once we had to stop here for gas…never do this!
RealThe Hills Have Eyesvibes.
We immediately turned around because of the bad vibes but got stuck by a passing train.
So I start getting gas and noticed the 1980s-style pump had a piece of tape tripping the price.
I go past the foul garbage can with flies everywhere and initiate the door to a horror movie.
There were, however, statues of people and mannequins in the front of peoples homes.
It was quiet and terrifying and we couldnt get through that town fast enough.”
“Pella, Iowa Super conservative, religious culty vibes.
people here live in a bubble where they think their views are the same everywhere.
They are stunned when opposing views are expressed.
So much so, that those who dont agree are afraid to speak out.
I grew up mixed race and Jewish in that town.
It was utter hell.
“Adams, Tennesse It’s the home of theBell Witch cave.
I had an extremely creepy feeling the second we entered that town.
“New Square, New York Only ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jews live there.
If someone not from the community drives through the town they will be pelted with rocks.
They have almost no contact with anyone who is not Hasidic.
Most families have a dozen children or more and as a result, they get public assistance.
They rarely vaccinate their children and there have been measles and other preventable outbreaks.
People are not allowed to watch TV or use the internet.
No joggers, no dog walkers, no kids…no one.
It was just another sign to stay the fuck out of Texas.”
Kitty corner to the park is an old church that has been empty for a while.
“Coos Bay, Oregon I spent one night there on a trip up the west coast.
The towels definitely had blood stains.
The only non-sketchy restaurant was Sizzler LOL.
This was the early 2000s.
“Woodland Park, Colorado Some dude started an unaccredited’bible college’there.
Just like Moscow, Idaho this dude is taking his followers to take over the town.
From what I hear, they are starting to do so.
Big nope!!!”
Maybe a real-estate developer went out of business during a big project?
This was a few years after the 2008 real estate crisis, so maybe the market just disappeared.
Whatever the reason, driving around a whole town with basically nobody living there was creepy.”
It was a hippie town for a long time.
Now, it is a hostile environment with bikers, cartels, Wiccans, and wannabe drug lords.
Someone who apparently had taken up residence immediately started shooting at us.
We left as fast as we could.”
“Pulaski, Tennesse It’s a pretty creepy place.
The KKK was founded there in1865and has always had some control over the town ever since.
Its a tiny, rundown town with not a lot going on.
Ive heard its still a sundown town.
I can’t describe it.
False cheeriness, like the townspeople had something to hide.
It felt very surreal.
We arrived at the town and it was not the same cute town.
There were cow skulls and bones everywhere.
There was even a horse-drawn carriage with the skeletal remains of horses pulling it.
We were freaked out and got out of there.
When you look up Guffy, Colorado online, you will see these creepy images.”
“Kemerer, Wyoming I played bluegrass and country music in the ’70s and 80s.
Did a gig in Kemerer.
It exists because there is an open pit mine there.
You havent experienced ugly until youve seen an open pit mine.
“Heritage USA The theme park founded by televangelist Jim Bakker and his wife Tammy Faye.
Also, it was not me, but my younger brother (no longer with us).
In the mid-’80s my brother returned to school as a journalism major at the University of South Carolina.
One of his assignments was to write a story about the newly opened theme park.
So, one weekend, off he went.
Wish he was still here to tell you himself.'
“Newburg, Missouri My friend dated a woman from there.
Saw her a few times a week.
Got pulled over by the local cop and was told to STOP seeing that woman.
27.Pecos, Texas Was traveling solo from Florida to Colorado and went through this West Texas town.
It was like being in aMad Maxmovie.
I drive a Honda CRV and Im sure I had the smallest vehicle in the town.
Lots of huge trucks its a big oil and gas spot.
Unfortunately, Id been on the road awhile and had to pee so bad.
I found a gas station and ran in fast.
Weird freaking town.”
My husband waved a big knife at them.
Also, it was midnight, New Years Eve!
The cops were firing their guns in the air.
The car wasnt running right.
It wouldnt go over 40 mph.
This happened in 1980.
Ill never forget it.”
“Vidor, Texas Went there for a funeral for my friend’s wife.
She was T-boned by a drunken cowboy in Houston.
Stopped at a bar for a drink.
Hard stares from everyone.
One of the patrons went to the jukebox and deposited multiple quarters.
Played the same song over and over: ‘My wife ran off with a n-word.'”
There is an active KKK Klavern there.
Proud of being a ‘sundown town.’
Don’t be fooled by the crystals!
These folks are messed up.”
Like others have mentioned in other towns the place fell dead silent.
Everyone stared and said nothing.
We didnt care how tired we were we were out of there!”
Two miserable-looking kids followed the three of us around and pelted us with pebbles.
They wouldn’t talk to us.
I felt so bad for them trapped there.
This was a long time ago though, I hope it’s doing better now."
During the day, it was so charming and cute, it almost felt like a movie set.
Then the sun went down."
luxahoy
35.West Plains, Missouri My good friend bought 40 acres there.
Went with him to frame his house.
Found out it’s a town lost in time.
There were no people of color in the whole town.
I asked a young guy at the lumber yard about it.
He said ‘Well the KKK is still pretty big around here.’
Weird vibe for sure."
We stopped in for gas, coffee, and to stretch our legs.
We decided to get the coffee first cause we had just under a quarter gas tank.
We pulled into a restaurant.
We walk in and everyone stops and stares.
People in the booths are craning their necks to stare at us.
Everyone was white, and we are olive-skinned Puerto Ricans.
We ordered two coffees to go and just stood waiting quite uncomfortable.
Decided to drive on to the next town to get gas and threw out the untasted coffee.
It was a very strange experience.
“Lynchburg, Virginia Home of Jerry Falwell and Liberty University.
It totally reminded me of the townNapoleon Dynamitewas filmed in.
He kept offering to let our small children sleep in the living room with him.
“Corinth, Mississippi My sister and I took a road trip through the USA in the early 2000s.
Passed through this little town, and saying the vibes were weird is an understatement.
We drove around a little to see the place and figure out if we should explore.
“Gary, Indiana Drove through on our way to Chicago after dark.
We were only passing through, but we sped as fast as possible out of there.
Found out later its supposed to be a very unsafe area, full of crime!”
“Gold Hill, Colorado A leftover hippie town in the mountains from the 1960s.
Stopped for gas in the early 1990s.
Went into a gas station, Quickie-Mart.
Practically ran back to the car and hightailed it out of there.”
“Rainbow, California Its on the business loop of I-15 between San Diego and Riverside.
Home to some tree nurseries and a vintage ’50s-era truck stop.
The diner has a B rating from the health department and a confederate flag on display.
Stopped there for lunch once out of curiosity.
Found out its a mainstay for neo-nazis and bikers.”
“Provo, Utah The town is 90% LDS.
My husband (at the time) and I went to the mall there and got stares from everyone.
They know youre not LDS and that youre not a local.”
“Citrus County, Florida I currently live here.
Basically, there’s a church on every corner.
They all appear to operate individually.
They have an antagonistic way of giving you lip service without any thoughts of good intentions.”
It had a large old gas station and market on the roadside, and that’s it.
Something about that area made it feel likeThe Shining.
Ive never gone back.”
As soon as we walked inside, it went silent.
So strange to feel it when you were just excited for lunch.”
I pulled into the town and stopped at the gas station.
I went in to use the bathroom, and it was such a creepy experience.
I asked where their restroom was and both employees just pointed without saying a word.
I really had to go, so I just went really fast.
Then, the high school turned out to be a K12 building with a TOTAL of 250 students.
The high school was in the basement and the power went out while I was there.
Apparently, that is a normal occurrence."
Every place we stopped at made me wish that I was anywhere but there.
I still shudder."
“Belvidere, Illinois A single highway completely encircles this north-central Illinois city.
The Grange, a formerly secret society, runs the city behind the scenes.
In1967, a tornado ripped through their high school at dismissal, killing 24.
No one will speak of this event.”
“Upper Merion, Pennsylvania The people are the meanest in the US.
They act like being cruel is a strength.
Its the place whereEchoes in the Darknesstook place.
I never forgave my parents for moving us there.”
Stopped on one trip to get gas.
It was, like, 11:00 a.m. and no one was around.
No cars, no people.
The shops in the square were all closed, except for the Superman Museum.
The main courthouse has a HUGE Superman statue.
The museum was shady AF and felt like the shop where the guy buys a Gremlin.
We got out of there and never stopped in again."
“Brattleboro, Vermont my son and I were there for a college interview and tour.
We went to dinner at a local restaurant.
When we walked in the whole place stopped talking and looked at us.
I didnt want to seem nervous about it, so I said nothing.
Halfway through dinner my son said, ‘Is it me, or is everyone staring at us?’
They continued to stare throughout dinner.
I dont know if its because we were dressed up, brown, or outsiders.
She was from Brazil.”
It’s on street signs, etched in concrete freeway walls, on peoples houses, literally everywhere.
Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
