Where in the US is the creepiest place to live and not because of the people there?
Posted by TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 107 comments
Otherwise-OhWell@reddit
I've never visited but Maine; because of an author who wrote about it a lot (and lives there).
Fuck Derry!
Late_Resource_1653@reddit
Lol, Maine is actually one of my favorite places to go - not creepy at all.
BearsLoveToulouse@reddit
Same love it. I do remember an island where we almost got stranded on. The tour guide told us it was haunted and the only hotel on the island was booked, so little kid me was freaking the fuck out. We did in fact make it on the ferry (literally the last car)
Late_Resource_1653@reddit
Ha! The tour guides love that as a way to make sure tourists don't do stupid things.
The tides are no joke though. I took a solo trip to Vermont one year and walked out to a huge rock formation halfway down the beach. Started writing and journaling. I was in the zone and didn't notice anything was wrong until a wave sprayed me, I looked down, and the tide had come in and I was surrounded by water.
Waded through hip deep water back up to the beach, which was now much farther away.
Right-Song603@reddit
Oh man!!!!!! You beat me to it. I was going to be funny and put Derry Maine lol.
WildlifePolicyChick@reddit
Cabot Cove seems especially dangerous.
SouldiesButGoodies84@reddit
š
Chay_Charles@reddit
I've read creepy stories about the Mt. Shasta region of California.
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
What did you read? Also if you haven't read about them you might want to check out Los Vigilantes Oscuros. I believe they're associated with California.
Chay_Charles@reddit
Cool, I'll check it out.
Go to r/HighStrangeness and search Mt. Shasta
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
thanks :)
eternal_casserole@reddit
Deep Appalachia. The folklore, the old mines, the forests themselves. The mountains are so beautiful, but things can get so eerie so fast after dark.
When I was a teenager in West Virginia, my friend and I used to drive around back roads, and we would come across the strangest places. We found a general store once, absolutely in the middle of nowhere, where everything looked like it had been there for thirty years. We talked about it being haunted for so long afterward, mostly because we could never find it again regardless of how long we spent out there. It was just a very, very odd place. And old, old cemeteries out in the woods... and a lot of places where things just don't feel right.
I live in southern Appalachia now, and I love being in the mountains, love the forests, but I ** respect ** the spirit of the place.
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
That sounds amazing. When you experience things like that is it a vibe where you want to get away as fast as possible? Or something else?
eternal_casserole@reddit
I think the way I interpret a lot of creepy vibes is the feeling that something is calling or luring you inward. That's probably because when I was a kid my grandmother (from Newfoundland, I lived there when I was a little kid) used to tell me things like if I saw lights or heard voices at night not to follow them, because that's how fairies call people out to get lost in the bog. My brain seems like it has less of a "run!" reflex and more of a concern about anything that says "come closer."
aldmonisen_osrs@reddit
Someone in the mountains of West Virginia, the middle of the Pacific Northwest, or in the middle of the desert
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
So just isolated places? Anything besides that?
aldmonisen_osrs@reddit
Youāve never walked down a gravel road in Appalachia on a moonless night and it shows.
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
I indeed have not. If it's fear of a person attacking you or an animal that is not what I'm referring to. Or being lost and thus starving/dehydrated if you don't know what you're doing.
aldmonisen_osrs@reddit
Itās not a person, nor an animal. Itās the sheer amount of North American cryptids
mpjjpm@reddit
Iām guessing you live in Europe? Isolated places it the US (and Canada) are really, really isolated. Hiking around many parts of Europe, I always knew I was never more than a few kilometers from the nearest farm house at worst. There are places in the US where you can be the only person for hundreds of kilometers in any direction.
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
No I'm from the US. I know what isolated means in regards to the US. I was seeking something more than that I guess. Vibes? Atmosphere? Maybe something like that.
ImmortalMagic@reddit
Yep. You can easily find yourself in a situation that you simply can't walk out of. When the closest paved road is 60+ miles away over rough terrain, you're better off finding shelter and building a fire while you wait for rescue. I hope you told someone where you were going and when you'd be back or you'll be waiting a while.
schase44@reddit
Alaska. Because of the dangerous animals and periods of darkness
aldmonisen_osrs@reddit
Been all over Alaska, I know interior is technically different, but I still consider it Pacific Northwest.
carryon4threedays@reddit
Been camping in Terlingua, TX. Can confirm desert is creepy
Waste-Cat-7560@reddit
Appalachia
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
Can you say more?(not said in a negative tone)
calicoskiies@reddit
Just go on TikTok and search Appalachia. Youāll get all sorts of videos from the people who live there. Youāll quickly know why itās creepy there.
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
don't use tiktok.
calicoskiies@reddit
Try YouTube then. Thereās plenty there as well.
bfs102@reddit
In country roads where it says older than the trees that is because the mountains are older than trees.
Being from deep in the woods in west virginia the mountains will sing and some days you will wonder who will reply
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
Do you have specific experiences to share or just tales?
bfs102@reddit
Experience that wind blows though mountains and makes sounds?
I dont know what kind of experience you need there
Goliath_D@reddit
The Appalachian mountains are among the oldest on the planet. They are literally older than trees, bones, and Saturn's rings. Many who live in and spend time in those mountains will tell you that there are ancient beings there that are best left alone
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
Have you experienced any of it yourself?
HottDoggers@reddit
Thereās a Youruber that makes a living talking about the Appalachias.
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
Name? Link?
ProbablyAPotato1939@reddit
Lots of weird stories, feral people, hauntings, and American Indian folktales.
Most of them aren't true, but it's enough to give people pause.
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
Or some people to seek them out. (cue spooky music)
Late_Resource_1653@reddit
The Appalachian mountains are ancient and have many, many myths regarding hauntings and cryptoids.
The communities outside of major cities for a very long time were extremely isolated. If you hear banjo music, run.
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
hah. the banjo music made me laugh.(not in a derisive way). I've heard that a bit about Appalachia. Have you listened to the audio drama/podcast The Love Talker?
MuchContribution6616@reddit
If there was ever a time to share a picture of Fuzzy Lumkins itās now.
https://www.tumblr.com/fly-pow-bye/625893819180810240/fuzzy-logic-storyboard-by-michael-stern-art
r-rb@reddit
The mountains are older than bones and the woods are dangerous, dark and deep.
Necessary_Lynx5920@reddit
Theyāre also older than trees. Theyāre old in a way thatās almost incomprehensible. And theyāre not always friendly.
emmathyst@reddit
This isnāt a fancy turn of phrase, either. The first creatures with bones (placoderms) appeared 420-450 million years ago. The Appalachias began forming 480 million years ago. These mountains existed before bones, sharks, and trees (or ANY land plants). Before dinosaurs or Saturnās Rings.
r-rb@reddit
isn't it just the coolest! the appalachians are so cool
duckfruits@reddit
Cryptids, ghosts, aliens and regular wildlife. Some people too, but they're less scary than everything else. Everything that horror stories are made about is there. You can be the biggest non believer in the universe and come out a believer in literally the most insane shit after 1 or 2 nights out there.
CatchyUsername457@reddit
This place is haunted as hell.
Leelze@reddit
Mountains haunted.
OleRockTheGoodAg@reddit
Murfees in them hills
ElectricalTwist4083@reddit
Came here to say that. And to the people asking āwhere? Technically Appalachia is huge!ā Anywhere secluded in Appalachia, the wilderness there is both beautiful and super ancient. Itās one of the oldest most unchanged mountain ranges in the world.
duckfruits@reddit
100% the answer
CarelessCreamPie@reddit
Absolutely Appalachia. Ancient mountain range and the inspiration of so much folk lore.
There's also a lot of very isolated communities out which can add to its creepiness.
RestRare3056@reddit
PNW is the most creeped out Iāve ever been. Hiking in a remote area and I just felt spooked. The desert in Arizona is also creepy like being in outer space and isolated.
Funny how many people said Appalachia because itās a welcoming home to me. š¤·āāļø
JacobDCRoss@reddit
Where are you from? I spent my whole life in the Pacific Northwest, besides, you know, traveling. I get what you're saying about creepiness in the Pacific Northwest.
I currently live at the mouth of the gorge, and I've also lived in the Willamette valley and just in the Cascade region. Also in a forest on the coastal range. Or thereabouts.
Sometimes the woods get me at night, sometimes I sort of lose myself. I never feel threatened, but I do feel sometimes that smallness of being a human in nature. F*** where instead of being the master of the world here, just one small piece of a much larger system that doesn't care about you at all. I actually like that feeling.
RestRare3056@reddit
Iāve certainly gotten the smallness in the great vastness feeling and Iām not bothered by it. I like that. This was a pervasive doom. I had multiple different points when I lived there. Once it was incredibly pronounced and I suspect maybe there was some predator around. That was in the Caacades, which I love in general, but not that time.
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
Homes not your own are often creepy yeah? Nothing specific made you feel spooked?
ThePickleConnoisseur@reddit
Redwoods can be haunting
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
Why the redwoods?
ThePickleConnoisseur@reddit
Trees so tall you have to look directly up. Kind of foreboding especially at night
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
ok ty for responding.
FoolhardyBastard@reddit
Wyoming can be pretty intensely creepy. Itās so unbelievably desolate. You can drive out on some of the ranch roads and stand on the highest hill and not see any sign of civilization. Itās unnerving to feel so alone.
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
Anything else besides feeling alone? More to share?
FoolhardyBastard@reddit
Itās something you just have to experience to really get. If youāve never been somewhere where there are no people for miles and miles itās really eerie.
Yggdrasil-@reddit
Southern Illinois, in the more rural parts of the Shawnee National Forest area. It feels extremely remote and isolated, including a lot of country roads where the woods feel downright oppressive. When you do encounter a town, chances are it'll look like a shell of something that thrived in the 20s-50s. Lots of abandoned buildings and infrastructure built for people who don't exist anymore. I love to go camping and hiking down there, but it's an incredibly dreary place.
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
What's i like being in the abandoned towns?
PBRStreetgang1979@reddit
Mar-a-Lago. The epicenter of creepiness.
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
Yeah, I'm looking for spooky not...well you know.
PartialTwitch@reddit
The Pine Barrens in NJ, get the creeps just driving through them.
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
Really? I just feel like it's long straight roads lined with trees. Not to imply your wrong. Besides wild animals I think it'd be pleasant to walk in the barrens.
Away-Cicada@reddit
Listen.... there's a whole cryptid lurking in those trees. I don't fuck with any places that have a local cryptid.
treymata@reddit
WV lowkey creeped me out, I just feel trapped.
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
Why?
JacobDCRoss@reddit
Was it an auto mod that removed this topic? I feel like this is very much on topic for Americans, for someone who is not from here to ask. It isn't "Where should I live," but rather, they are asking about our experiences in nature.
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
I dunno. I just saw that prompted by your comment. Disappointing.
altarwisebyowllight@reddit
It really depends on what gives you the heebie jeebies, honestly. But the answer is usually somewhere in some kind of wilderness or deep woods.
As a kid, I lived right down the way from where they filmed the Blair Witch Project. I 100% understand why they filmed it there. My grandparents also had land in West Virginia and we'd go all the time to stay. We moved to SoCal when I was a preteen, and BWP came out a few years later. My sister and I were scared af by that movie. All our friends in SoCal didn't get it, cuz they'd never been in woods like that.
You know what would scare the shit out of them, though? Mountain lions and bears.
In the East, the woods are deep and dark and old. You can't see the sky where it's thickest. So unless you know what to look for, you can and will get turned around easily. Grimms' Fairy Tales forests have nothing on certain areas of the East in the US.
In the West, you can see the sky, but you're way more likely to encounter wildlife that will fuck you up. And you can end up very, very far from any kind of civilization.
I know how to read animals and what to do whenever I encounter something. Be big and tall and loud for this, be quiet and retreat for that. I also know what to look for in order to navigate the hollows in West Virginia. My hackles still go up whenever I hear a mountain lion scream like a dying woman, even though I know what it is, but I still feel like I can navigate the wilderness out West at night with a good flashlight and the right gear.
You absolutely would not ever, ever catch me ever thinking about trying to navigate an unknown hollow in WV at night, though. Them hollers is hungry.
TheSkinoftheCypher@reddit (OP)
Do you believe in hollers? What have you experienced? I've never experienced anything supernatural.
Away-Cicada@reddit
Anywhere with tons of corn and no hills/mountains. Deeply unsettling that the land is just. Flat. Cornfields just give me the heebie-jeebies in ways I can't really articulate. Put the two together and I'm buying a one-way ticket to Nope Town.
Late_Resource_1653@reddit
Lol, I understand this answer but disagree. If you grow up around farmland, this is totally normal and not creepy or scary at all.
That said, when I first brought my Boston city girlfriend down to visit my family for the first time, as soon as we hit the corn fields and it started to get dark she was absolutely freaked out. Like I was taking her into a horror movie despite the fact that I was now driving on roads I grew up driving on.
The next night took her outside and showed her the stars.
Ihatealltakennames@reddit
Have you ever seen Children Of The Corn? I was born in Ohio,Ā lived next to massive corn fields.Ā Always creeper me out. I never saw Children of athe Corn until a decade later.
Away-Cicada@reddit
I maybe saw that movie a bit too early (I was a child when I saw it) but I think it was Jeepers Creepers that really messed them up for me.
blking@reddit
On the Oregon Coast, close to the beach. One day it will slide into the ocean.
JacobDCRoss@reddit
But there are places along the coast where it's dark enough that you can see the Milky Way at night. Sometimes even over the ocean.
voteblue18@reddit
Iāve never been but I would say Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska. Itās the northernmost inhabited place in the country. It is very isolated, in full darkness or daylight for half the year, and has a population below 5000. Roads donāt even go there.
Aclearly_obscure1@reddit
Even with the streets free of people, the city of New Orleans would be still be pretty eerie. The veil is thin in those parts.
Wolves_gizzard@reddit
Everyone is going to say appalachia and as someone who lived there for two years: I guess it is? I would say central/southern Mississippi and Alabama take the cake. Creepy lowlands and woods, loud loud LOUD bugs and creatures, spooky hot temps and not much communal folkyness that appalachia has.
imnottheoneipromise@reddit
From rural south Mississippi, can confirm. But I love it. The sounds of the bugs and birds and wildlife at night and first thing in the morning brings me life. Moving back here (I need to change my flair) I finally saw lightning bugs for the first time in a decade at least.
No_Sorbet1634@reddit
Every time I go to the south I just a bad feeling like the land remembers shit. I can also say the same for many parts of Oklahoma and New Mexico.
G_robert42@reddit
Never felt that when traveling about the southern US, or the Middle East, China, Africa etcā¦
I sort of know what you mean by the feeling I get when visiting old battlefields, eerie stuff.
m_clarkmadison@reddit
SE Texas and SW Louisiana. From the Big Thicket to Calcasieu Pass. An outstanding mix of dank woods and swamps, nasty flora and fauna, towns trashed by storms and floods, sulfurous flaming oil and gas wells and refineries, and 19th century poverty and racism.
FartCartographer@reddit
Idk Iāve never heard of anything good happening in Maine.
WildlifePolicyChick@reddit
People seem to get killed left and right in Cabot Cove.
The_Awful-Truth@reddit
Considering that most of what we hear about happening in Maine comes from Stephen King, that's understandable.
DrWooolyNipples@reddit
Unironically Ohio. That whole state oozes bad vibes for some reason. Canāt stand being there.
Dumbkitty2@reddit
Living in central Ohio and would like to disagree with you but I grew up in NE Ohio and it always felt like misery, and the aftermath of an alcohol and coke bender. So I guess I canāt argue.
MidwestDYIer@reddit
I live in Michigan and people in this state hate on Ohio big time- a lot of it because of football rivalries- but aside from that, I don't get it.
Cerebral-Knievel-1@reddit
There are an abnormally high number of astronauts that come from Ohio. Something about that state makes people want to flee the earth itself
SufficientMention489@reddit
Wyoming cuz itās isolatedĀ
treymata@reddit
POOPY WEINER
wormbreath@reddit
Itās so wide open itās hard to be spooked lol
lyon9492@reddit
There is an area in the souther Idaho say around Mountain Home to Mt Borah where the landscape feels aggressively indifferent to humans and human habitation.
Probably not the creepiest but deserves its hat in the ring.
CaptainPunisher@reddit
Johannesburg, CA looks like a scene from The Hills Have Eyes.
Own-Appointment1633@reddit
My answer would be the Louisiana bayou although Iāve never been there
AskAnAmerican-ModTeam@reddit
Thank you for your submission, but it was removed as it violates posting guideline "Do not ask questions that are not on topic for the subreddit"
This includes questions about āwhere should I live.ā
These posts are no longer permitted in this sub.
Please read rules in the sidebar before posting again.
If you have questions regarding your submission removal - please contact the moderator team via modmail.
GarciaWolf@reddit
Utah
JTS_2@reddit
Rural Missouri always gave me the heebie jeebies. Something evil in those woods.
BaronArgelicious@reddit
Any low populated isolated area