Updated
Updated · BuzzFeed · Jun 26
BuzzFeed Compiles 37 Unsettling US Places From Reddit Users
Updated
Updated · BuzzFeed · Jun 26

BuzzFeed Compiles 37 Unsettling US Places From Reddit Users

1 articles · Updated · BuzzFeed · Jun 26

Summary

  • Thirty-seven US locations — from Skidmore, Missouri, to Mare Island, California — were compiled in a BuzzFeed list of the "most unsettling" places, based on Reddit and BuzzFeed Community submissions.
  • Reddit user Bennevada sparked the roundup by asking r/AskReddit users to name the creepiest places they had visited in America, producing accounts of ghost towns, isolated desert stops and communities with disturbing local reputations.
  • Several entries tied the eerie feel to concrete backstories, including Picher, Oklahoma's EPA Superfund cleanup, Centralia, Pennsylvania's underground coal fire and the Salton Sea's ecological collapse.
  • BuzzFeed said the 37 picks reflect user opinions drawn from one main Reddit thread, four similar threads and community comments, and invited readers to submit more unsettling towns for a future article.

Insights

What becomes of 'ghost towns' created not by economic bust but by slow-moving environmental disasters like in Centralia or Salton Sea?
How do towns with dark pasts leverage their notoriety for tourism while trying to build a healthier community for residents?
When an entire town lives in one building, like in Whittier, how does that extreme proximity redefine privacy and social norms?