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Most adventurers would tell you that traveling to and exploring places you’re unfamiliar with can be very exciting. Though it can be scary, too, especially when you’re not ready for what awaits you there.
Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community have recently shared their stories about being frightened to death in different parts of the world. They did this after one user asked them about the scariest cities they’ve ever been to, and while some answers proved to be more common than others, people have seemingly experienced spine-chilling things in places all over the world. Scroll down to find their stories below, but be aware that some of them might be rather disturbing.
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#2
I have traveled lots of places in this world. The most scared I have ever been was lost in downtown Baltimore at night on a weekend. I had made a series of mistakes trying to go around the city, and had accidentally taken a spur that put me right into the downtown. I have no clue what area of town I drove through, but the only human beings that I saw out and about at 3:00 in the morning looked like zombies. It's really hard to describe, but the way that they moved, the way that they looked at me as I drove by, it was very scary.
Out of desperation (this was way before cell phones did anything more than phone calls and basic texts, I was still using a paper atlas) I stopped at a 7-Eleven. I was waiting in line to ask directions, and a guy went out of his way to ask me what I was doing there. That's how much I stood out. I told him that I was trying to get directions to get back onto the highway, and he told me that he was an undercover cop, things were about to go down right there, and I needed to leave. I told him that's what I was trying to do. He thought about it for a second, told me to get in my car follow him and try to keep up. He would get me to an on-ramp and then go back to the store.
He drove like a bat out of hell, and did get me to the freeway and then busted a u-turn and flew away.
I have no clue how bad my night would have continued to be if he hadn't been there and guided me out of there.
Linda Riebel 5 hours ago
My plane was late and public works had shut down some exits to do work at midnight. So I took the indicated exit and followed the detour signs..... until there were no more signs. Alone, midnight, somewhere in Oakland.....
#3
Kingston, Jamaica
I switched hotels to one more secure. Early on my last morning, I was going to the airport and my original hotel was on fire.
#4
Furnace Creek, Death Valley. Beautiful, lovely, calm- but if you wander away during the day you will die every which way, including the meat of your feet cooking like chicken breast until you keel over, unable to walk or survive.
#5
Rizhao, China. Not scary so much like the others - China is insanely safe - but extremely creepy. I felt like I was on a movie set.
First off, it's a city of 500,000 but it's built for a population of 10 million. But it's not like those ghost cities out west where there never was anyone. It seemed like it was actually a big city, but everyone just left suddenly. The beaches were well maintained and empty. The buses ran frequently and were empty. The streets were lined with all the usual Chinese stuff and were empty.
We went into a breakfast restaurant, and the food was great but we were the only custom and the staff seemed surprised to see us. We asked for directions to the famous fish market. No one there could tell us where it was. It turned out to be about 750 meters away. It was massive and filled with vendors selling huge quantities of incredibly fresh fish. It was mostly empty.
Also, almost everything was open until the wee hours of the morning, if not 24 hours. This is unusual even in the biggest Chinese cities, let alone this abandoned town.
It was just an unsettling experience all around.
Lee Gilliland 5 hours ago
Were you guys spec in some way? I remember going to Egypt in 2002, which was just after 9/11 the attacks on Dayr al-Baḥrī and were treated with kings, so it might be your timing.
#6
Johannesburg. When you stop at a red light you have to be ready to punch the gas as there are broad daylight carjackings at intersections.
#7
Juarez around 2007. They told me that the cartel had some heads hanging from a bridge for everyone to see and they didn't get taken down until several hours later.
Der Kommissar 5 hours ago
Juarez has had some of the highest murder rates in the world, pealing in 2010 at 3,600
#8
Tijuana.
I saw a dead body on my way to the bus terminal, just laying on the sidewalk. There were people standing around him, smoking, drinking, and just having a good ol time while dude is just dead, like dead af, stiff, purple, and blue.
Wildest s**t I've ever seen. No one gave a single s**t.
#9
Juarez, Mexico....I'm an Irish/Mexican. Red head. Went with cousins to see my Aunt and Uncle. My family members were in a cartel. There was a cartel war going on. Had armed men all around at all times. For all the money, and cars, and opulence at their home, it was like being in prison. The tension in the air was thick. I was treated like a king, but that whole week, I was terrified inside. Different world. Was told, no matter what happens, do not call police. They worked for the other guys. I was told that if s**t kicked off, and anyone made it through the gates, to grab a gun and shoot myself. That would be the best possible outcome. I haven't been back.
#10
Was in St. Louis with my cousin and we crossed that bridge.
East St. Louis has gotta be the most dangerous feeling place I've ever been. Streetlights busted out at night, everything run down/abandoned, bullet holes in the stop signs, etc. We pulled up GPS and got the f**k out of there real quick lol.
#11
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. At the height of the Iraq war it was still listed as more dangerous. The gangs ran the city, driving around in technicals with mounted machine guns. Hotels had 6 foot thick concrete walled fences with razor wire, and armed guards. For an added cost they offered “r**e cages”, a cage that would drop down over your bed when a sensor was triggered to protect you from being r**ed if people broke in.
#12
Nuevo Loredo Mexico
Not all, but whatever part of San Bernardino I got off the freeway at night to stop at a gas station to call my sister for directions. When I told her my cross streets she said “get back on the freeway RIGHT NOW”. I looked up and the crackheads were circling my car and tapping on my window.
#13
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Almost got robbed literally 100 feet outside the airport walking to a cab. Luckily I saw police and my instincts made me shout hard which made the police aware and the thieves fled the scene. Almost lost my brand new Nikon back in the time.
#14
Port Moresby, New Guinea.
Ex pats live in compounds with massive walls topped with broken bottles.
Even my mother, who was a missionary who has lived in a variety of countries throughout SE Asia and the Pacific, couldn't live there for more than 3 weeks.
I had warned her not to go, having been there twice myself.
#15
I once accidentally crossed the wrong boarder from Thailand, travelling to Laos. I ended up in a place called the Special Economic Zone of The Golden Triangle. No data, couldn't speak the language, nothing. I ended up in some weird hotel that looked like a jail cell. I managed to book a 36 hour bus journey out of there for the next day. That evening, I went for a walk around. I was offered child [escorts] and when I realised how extremely dangerous this place was. I went back to my room and went to sleep. The next morning, police raided my room with guns pointed to my head. I later learned, the only real reason any westerner would ever travel there is because they haul mass amounts of [illegal substances] out of there, so I was a suspected d**g dealer. Also, I accidentally pissed some guy off why I assume was a gangster. So I don't know if that had some part to play. Terrifying. Now, I sometimes get questioned at airports because of my travel history.
#16
Juba, South Sudan. I saw a military transport with child soldiers, a firefight with artillery across the White Nile from where I stood, and someone tried to rob me at the actual airport.
#17
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
Every property surrounded by solid fences topped with razor wire, and if you can afford it, patrolled by armed guards and guard dogs. As a visitor, you should never use a local taxi, or walk outside your hotel compound at night.
#18
I ended up driving through this tiny town in the middle of Nevada that I assume used to be a mining town. It looked like a steady paycheck hadn’t been seen in this town for 20 years, the houses were all dilapidated, and the locals looked just as worn out. Bullet holes and burn marks could be seen on pretty much every building. The only reason I drove through the town instead of just sticking to the main road was to top up on gas, but I couldn’t find anything, not even a small convenience store. It must’ve been hell for those folks considering the closest town with an actual store and gas was around 70 miles away.
Edit: I took a look via Google Earth at some of the towns people mentioned and I found it! Gabbs, NV. Definitely not a place I’d want to go back to.
#19
Johannesburg. It's the only place I've been where the pilot tells you before landing where to go and not to go. What to do and not to do if you don't want to get robbed, mugged or [end up dead]
#20
Cairo in Egypt. As a white non-Muslim female, the amount of sexual harassment I experienced was unprecedented. It’s interesting because I didn’t necessarily worry about someone attacking me or stealing from me, but I worried about other things happening.
The entire country is impoverished and corrupt. At one point, I saw a police officer hold a child (like 7yrs old maybe) at gun point because the child was acting out and he thought it was funny. At another point, a person got hit by a car and a couple bystanders were doing everything they could while most kept on walking as if nothing was even happening. I was at a restaurant near there and it took over 30min for an ambulance to get there…I’m unsure if he made it. I can’t even tell you how many homeless children I saw begging for food/money with no parents anywhere to be found (I’ve been to other countries where this is a common “scam tactic” but this was totally different).
The reality is that when a country is that corrupt, public safety goes out the window. That is actually what scared me most about it.
#21
East st Louis
I, a white guy with my gf in the car, stopped there for gas and a cop pulled up behind me asking what I thought I was doing there.
I replied getting gas and he tells me that I'm not safe and told me he'd escort me to the highway and also not to stop at any red lights until we get to the exit.
Like, I could tell that was a sketchy gas station to stop at when I pulled in but didn't realize it was that bad.
#22
Port Au Prince...saw a newly shot woman on the sidewalk and the next day, a human finger in a trash heap.
#23
St. Louis
It was weird for a few reasons but the scariest was when I was leaving the hotel myself, my mom, and my 2 large dogs were staying at, we saw a man messing with my car, like hood was propped! As I started raising my voice and approaching with my large barking dogs, he ran. I made sure to push the hood down so it would latch, or so I thought. We loaded the car up and drove away as fast as possible. As soon as we got on the freeway, the hood blew up and almost hit the windshield (i honestly have no idea how it didn't, maybe a safety feature?) So I had to pull over and re-secure it. M**o obviously messed something up on purpose because he pulled up behind us! I got back in the car, my digs and mom losing their s**t, drove slowish, put my hazards on and my mom called 911. He sped off after taking pics. Weirdest experience of my life. The hotel was so sketchy and my intuition was telling me to leave the entire time. I honestly think the man was in on something with the hotel staff or was hotel staff himself. My two dogs were extremely on edge and they're generally easy going. Plate numbers were stolen and police couldn't/wouldn't doing anything.
#24
New Orleans, I loved it. But right outside the touristy areas gets a little sketchy. Including the guy on d***s that broke into our hotel. Also cut himself crawling through the glass window and bled all over the hotel trying to kick peoples doors in. Food was good though.
#25
Hollywood. Not scary in a physically dangerous sense, just eerie and unsettling. After seeing the walk of fame and the Hollywood sign, it just had this weird vibe overall. I wish I could articulate it better, but it felt strange for sure.
#26
Baltimore.
Had a convention there a few years ago, I was told to not stray more than a block from the hotel that was in the nicest area downtown.
Later in the day, while riding in a taxi, I asked the driver if this was good advice and he agreed. He immediately turned and pointed to the street corner while we were stopped at a red light, and said a man was shot in the back of the head in the middle of the day in front of the nicest mall in town.
BradGfromDaBoo 5 hours ago
there's no malls in down town Baltimore,mondawmin is on the Westside but it's miles from downtown and it used to have a bad rep but not so much anymore I've been there in the 90's and other than being looked at for being white in a predominantly black mall there were no issues. Baltimore's biggest issues are juveniles and guns
#27
Overtown and Liberty City neighborhoods of Miami.
I lived not too far from there 20some years ago. Drove a coworker home one night because she missed the last bus. She called some guy on her phone to tell him to let people know not to mess with the blue Focus about to come down the street.
I felt like I had a hall pass from danger.
#28
Albuquerque, NM. I dropped off a Uhaul there and got an Uber to a sketchy hotel, chosen for it's proximity to the airport. Not having my own transportation had me very anxious. At the hotel the line of people (methheads I assumed) in front of me couldn't provide a credit card for a room so the line got short real quick. The small, weird elevator had bloodstains nearby so I took the stairs. I'd given my Uber driver ten bucks to let me stop and get food so I wouldn't have to leave until it was time to go to the airport. I went to the room with my bags and food and locked everything and wished for more locks. The food was great. I lived in the South side of Atlanta for four years and never felt this sketched out. Though I did get my carry permit in ATL.
Nothing like East St. Louis apparently but that's my story.
#29
Tijuana. I lived there for two years as a runaway teen. This was over 30 years ago but I’m fairly certain it hasn’t gotten better.
#30
Shreveport and Baton Rouge are doing the world no favors besides inspiring more seasons of True Detective.
#31
I'm laughing at all the American cities listed here. Canadian cities get straight-up guffaws. It was Guatemala City for me, but that's just because the driving was terrifying (the busses were awesome though). My travel companion, who has worked all over the world as an army ranger and DoD employee, would not allow us to leave the hotel after dark. That said, visiting Tikal was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Highly recommended! Wonderful people and incredibly affordable!
I have a friend from Honduras and the stories he has shared are nightmare fuel. He would sit in the hospital while his dad was dying of cancer and regularly see MS-13 members coming in missing arms from machete attacks.
#32
Shreveport Louisiana. Felt like I was going to get shot while getting gas. Whole place felt like a s**thole
#33
Bahnhofsviertel in Frankfurt Germany. I’ve lived and worked in some of the roughest places in the US (Baltimore, Detroit, etc). That section of Frankfurt is the only place that has legit scared me since moving to Europe 15 years ago. Open air d**g market, [illegal adult services], addicts, scammers, pickpockets. Wild place.
Honorable mention to the cab driver in Belgrade who sussed out I was American and took the scenic route to my hotel to show me all the buildings that were blown up by American bombs like it was my fault.
#34
Los Angeles, more specifically Skid Row. Grew up with a single mom, ended up homeless and living on the streets for a bit of time in the 90s before we were able to get back on our feet.
Oddly enough, 10 year old me was too naive to understand what was going on with d**g dealers and gang bangers in those streets but looking back now as a full grown adult, I wondered how we survived?
#35
Kandahar - a bit. Baghdad - a bit. Phnom Penh - a bit scary too. But hey - not all travel is about having a safe armchair experience. America in general is a bit scary. I guess a big difference is in the 3 cities I mentioned up top, a person can get shot for a reason. In US cities, a person can get shot for no reason.
#36
Delhi the capital of India, you can't trust anyone, it's horrible. Filled with goons, unsafe for women, high level of pollution, crazy traffic congestion and everyone trying to swindle everyone else. Scam call centers operate from this place. R**es statistics is crazy
#37
I'm a sucker for scary places. I went to visit Centralia, Pennsylvania when I was in my 20's. Place was creepy as f**k. Smoke coming up out of the ground all over the place. The whole time we were there, I just got this dreadful feeling like we didn't belong there.
For my 35th birthday, my best friend and I went to take a tour of Pripyat and Chernobyl. Without a doubt, the scariest place I have ever been.
#38
Garberville in Humbolt county CA in the 90's. This was waaay before pot was legal and as an outsider you were absolutely looked at like you were a fed. Scariest damn town I've ever stopped in.
#39
Parents getting lost in Chicago circa 93-94 (me in the back seat) and them stopping to figure it out. I look out the window and realize we're sitting right across from Cabrini-Green (featured in OG Candyman). I tell them to lock the doors, put the windows up and keep driving.
#40
Belfast Northern Ireland in the 90s. In the non tourist parts. I’ll never forget the “you’re one of them” stares.
#42
Boston. I don’t believe in ghosts but Boston is either haunted or haunting. Yet, it’s a very hip place with lots of beautiful people. I’ll never again drive from the airport to hotel. Those streets were made for horses not cars.
#43
East Berlin before the wall came down. I went as part of a tour, but I was hyper aware of my active duty status and scared the whole time that I'd be frog marched into a van and whisked away. The whole place (that we were allowed to see) was grey and gritty and depressing af. The people looked wary or depressed. It was just kind of tragic.
#44
I'm not sure this counts, but I drove through Gary Indiana recently. It was f*****g weird. I have never seen many abandoned homes/buildings and homes. The neighborhoods were decrepit and deserted. I didn't see anything shady happen. But it was f*****g weird. I was diverted there by my GPS when returning to Chicago from Michigan while driving on 90. I got stopped at a train crossing when the train came to complete stop. I said NOPE, and drove back to the highway. I'd rather sit in bumper to bumper traffic through purgatory than to have to drive through Gaty again.
#45
New Orleans, but I haven't done much travelling so I don't have many comparisons to go off of. It's an amazing city, but crossing the street was terrifying and I got catcalled constantly.
#46
I'm not sure but I've heard alot about Detroit Michigan and although I was only there for a few hours waiting to catch a bus that never showed up. I was shown nothing but love and respect from the locals. Very friendly people.
Scariest place I've been too is where I currently live. Springfield Ohio known for gun violence and d***s.
#47
Belize City. The airport is located there, I reserved a hotel room at Golden Bay, planning on taking shuttle boats to nearby islands. The hotel was nothing like the pictures presented on line. It was under massive construction. I requested a waterfront room, my view was nothing but scaffolding, pipes, drywall... and SO noisy. The rooftop restaurant was closed. Ok, so I decided to walk around and explore. Not recommended... buildings half torn down in total disarray. Street gangs, graffiti, busted up sidewalks. Just really the pitts. I needed to go to the post office the next day, I didn't feel safe walking 4 blocks so I took a taxi.
#48
Baton Rouge: drove there with my Dad on the way to NOLA. My Dad wanted to see the LSU stadium in Death Valley
Surprising super scetch city: Denver. Some super aggressive homeless dudes downtown. Real Escape From New York vibe
NOLA is fine as long as you know what neighborhoods to stay out of although one night walking back to FQ from Frenchman St at 2AM I definitely had some uncomfortable moments.
#49
Probably São Paulo, I wouldn’t say it was scary but it was the first city I’ve been to where I felt like I had to constantly be on alert. Went to more dangerous cities later like Salvador but knew what to expect so was more relaxed.
#50
North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada.
It was the crime capital of Canada for many years
Tucker Cahooter 1 hour ago
I would only stay in Dog River if I had to visit that province, since there's not a lot going on there
#51
Istanbul for me. Not particularly scary but i never had that level of anxiety in my life. People following me around trying to sell me things. Im a bit taller and bigger, basically its written on my forehead that im a tourist. Istanbul is beautiful but im not going back sorry.
What do you think ?
Bowtechie 4 hours ago
When I was studying abroad in Japan the university had all the foreign students attend a public safety seminar and the whole thing was basically, y'know, use common sense, don't be stupid, all that, but the delivery was a little hard to take seriously as an American. The officer leading the seminar opened dramatically with "A lot of people like to think Japan is safe. Japan is NOT safe!" and all the American students were nodding politely in second amendment. Tbf I've had my sketchy-ish experiences in Japan, but there is nowhere in the US I'd feel safe leaving my apartment at 3:00 am and walking to a convenience store to go get a battery for my insulin pump like I did when I was there.
Michael P (Perthaussieguy) 3 hours ago
Way too many US cities for my liking. I've traveled quite a bit but always stayed in busy areas. Paris had many people trying to sell you stuff on the street but no violence from it that I came across. Ho Chi Minh City I was with people who lived there which was fine, otherwise I wouldn't have gone out at night on my own. Shenzen had lots of beggars on the street but more annoying than anything else.
Bowtechie 4 hours ago
When I was studying abroad in Japan the university had all the foreign students attend a public safety seminar and the whole thing was basically, y'know, use common sense, don't be stupid, all that, but the delivery was a little hard to take seriously as an American. The officer leading the seminar opened dramatically with "A lot of people like to think Japan is safe. Japan is NOT safe!" and all the American students were nodding politely in second amendment. Tbf I've had my sketchy-ish experiences in Japan, but there is nowhere in the US I'd feel safe leaving my apartment at 3:00 am and walking to a convenience store to go get a battery for my insulin pump like I did when I was there.
Michael P (Perthaussieguy) 3 hours ago
Way too many US cities for my liking. I've traveled quite a bit but always stayed in busy areas. Paris had many people trying to sell you stuff on the street but no violence from it that I came across. Ho Chi Minh City I was with people who lived there which was fine, otherwise I wouldn't have gone out at night on my own. Shenzen had lots of beggars on the street but more annoying than anything else.
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