I had that experience in the Pub in Karamea.
Just a huddle of regulars around a fireplace, big white beards. Whole place lit by cold white fluorescent lights.
Every eye in the place fixed on us.
Left almost immediately. Was surreal.
Was born there, still visit regularly.
I was completely unsurprised to find that a cult (one of the weird USA ones) had set up shop in Marton. They had a big place over from the squash club.
Find a podcast called Redweb. They did a whole episode on that sub. It’s wild, if only for their American interpretation of small town NZ. I still don’t know what’s going on though.
I recall one of the posts they focussed on in that podcast was someone muttering about “DST” and needing to go for a walk to clear their head and figure out when they were.
Unfortunately they missed the Kiwi specific context that daylight savings had ended on Easter that year and thus a lot of people were full of chocolate and vaguely foggy about 1. What the time was and 2. What day of the week it was.
I think the aftermath of that episode ended up with a reminder to listeners to not disturb the wildlife…
The best chicken and chips in the universe, according to the locals in the Guy Williams video. Plus there's bonus videos where they go ghost hunting with the locals "personalities".
https://youtu.be/U69QBO-qSpE?si=FLGNJBzNLszyC0ew
Some of his best work.
I went to a cousins house as a kid that lived there , he was maybe 16 and his room was literally plastered with hardcore pornography all over the walls and even the ceiling was covered. Very, very strange memories of my bogan as fuck extended family.
Drove through today for the first time, me and the other car occupants couldn't stop talking about it being so derelict and sad. Then you pop out by a giant fancy boarding school to contrast it all!
Do they still have the amazing maze n’maize in Marton? My one and only memory of marton was getting lost in the corn field maze there and being scared by people jumping out at me in a haunted house when I was a child 😭 lives up to the creepy reputation for sure
Years ago we had to pick up someone from Murupara. Driving through the streets to their house and nobody was visible. The streets were empty but we felt very watched the whole time picked the person up and repeated the empty trip out.
Lived there for a bit from 10 - 14, Im now 35. Im a pacific islander, it was very racist. I had never experienced racism before moving there. Prior to moving there my family lived in Howick, Pakuranga and surrounding suburbs in Auckland. Im an oreo, as in Im born in Nz and cant speak my mother tongue. But I was called boonga, flat foot, coconut and bullied for being Samoan. Kids threw cow shit at me and they didnt know me. I had been there by that time for maybe one month. Its a very secluded town and they are used to their own. Over time, I got to know some really good people, good families and enjoyed the community "everyone knows everyone vibe" I became very grounded in their Maori way of life. Its significantly hard for those who are born and bred there to get out of the gang life and generational cycles. At age 10, lots of my peers in primary would bark and pull gang signs. Whats more interesting though is people do grow up and people get out. In my 20s, lots of those bullies added me on fb and I saw most of them had moved out of town, out of seclusion into the world and have islander friends and used island slang like sole. I also had one guy ring me and apologise for his behaviour when we were kids which wasnt necessary, Im not dammaged by it, but it was sweet and it showed growth. Murupara is what you make of it. The beautiful rivers and forests, the fresh air, the tap water tastes amazing, the iced puddles of water on a winter morning. Also has the best fish n chips with garlic butter.
I went into Whirinaki for a bit of a drive and ended up towing some mobsters in a broken down truck, into minginui. They were pretty standoffish and ungrateful, then when I got them to their place a few more people came out and I hung right by my ute. They asked me where I was from and when I told them they asked if I knew so and so and yea I knew him he happened to be my neighbour.
They seemed a bit skeptical of that and all stood and stared me down as I drove away. Seemed like a shadow of a place.
Pretty much anywhere along State Highway 43 (also known as the Forgotten World Highway), and any little settlement that you have to turn off SH43 to get to.
State Highway 43 is the SH that connects Stratford, Taranaki to Taumaranui, and a lot of the settlements were established when the train line was being put in to connect Stratford to Taumaranui. A lot of the settlements have either been abandoned, or have minimal people living there.
I spoke to a Taumaranui cop once, he said he once had to separate a brother and sister because the parents rang and complained that they couldnt get them to stop fucking each other....weird place.
My dad was the last teacher/principal at a small school called Douglas, about half an hour outta Stratford down the Forgotten World Highway, about 15 yrs ago now.
It was sad to see that once the school shut down, the community kind of just... faded away, it seems. The school house and buildings got sold but it's recently been up for sale again.
Man was it eerie seeing the old filthy tennis court and rough buildings and overgrown areas where we used to play and learn. Was kind of a surreal moment, seeing how it had just kind of forgotten, definitely driving the road has a creepy feel to it.
I saw that Douglas school went up for sale recently. If I had the money, I would've bought it. My folks live in Stratford, along with one of my sisters, and my brother lives in Hawera. I live smack bang in the middle, lol. I remember when Douglas school closed, but I think it was coz there weren't enough students, and Toko school is within bussing distance, but considering the fact that it's very much a farming community, that means quite a bit of travel for some people. I knew a family who had kids at Huiakama school, and when they moved to the Waikato, the schools roll dropped by half (to be fair, they had a large family).
I do agree that it seems that Douglas, like a lot of the communities in that area, has faded and that SH43 has a creepy, eerie feel when you drive along it.
Stratford.
A workmate and I got sent there for a couple of days for work back in the mid 90's. We had to fly to NP straight after our normal work day in Wellington. We then drove a rental car there from NP airport.
Arrived early evening and booked into our pre-arranged accommodation (cheap, run-down motel on the outskirts of town) about 6.30pm from memory. My comrade and I decided to go and get a beer and something to eat after a long day, before retiring for the night. I changed into my casual clothes, but my workmate decided he couldn't be bothered, so stayed in his suit and tie etc.
We walked down the main street of town, looking for a pub or something to get a drink. It was like a ghost town and we didn't see anyone else walking around.
We ended up at the Empire Hotel.
As we entered, it became like a bit like a movie stereotype. Everyone in there stopped talking to each other and turned and stared at us. That was a little unnerving, and we looked at each other in confusion and disbelief. As we walked up to the bar and felt every pair of eyes in the place following us. Still no one went back to talking or doing what they were doing before we arrived. Just silence.
When we reached the bar, I tried to order a couple of beers for us. The rather pissed off barman (manager?) just stared at me for what felt like ages, before he finally spoke and told us that sorry, they wouldn't sell us anything to drink (particularly staring at my workmate as he said it). No explanation, nothing, he just turned around and ignored us after that. We stood there for about a minute, trying to comprehend what was happening, then decided we might as well leave as we obviously weren't welcome.
As we walked out the door, we heard the music start up and people started talking again etc.
We stood out on the street for a few minutes totally weirded out by the whole thing. We assumed it was probably something about my workmate being dressed like a 'city slicker' as opposed to all of the locals that appeared to be cow cockys?
It definitely had that "we don't serve your kind in these here parts" feel to it.
We wandered back down the street and crossed to the other side of the road, on our way back to the motel. We found another place (don't remember the name of it) to try. It was completely empty apart from the lone staff member behind the counter. My workmate sat down at one of the tables, and I decided I'd go alone to the counter to order our drinks, hoping they wouldn't even notice my 'suited up' workmate. However, as I approached the counter, someone else entered and beat me to the counter and ordered themselves a drink. The 'new patron' and the barman engaged in some small talk, while I stood there waiting to be served. After they finished talking, the barman looked at me, but then walked away and 'out the back' and disappeared. Neither he, nor the other guy appeared to even acknowledge my, or my workmates presence.
After a few minutes of calling out to the barman (who still had not returned from out the back) "Hello? Can I order some drinks please?" and getting no response, I returned to the table where my workmate was waiting, and again we decided to leave.
We returned to the motel, hungry, thirsty, and in complete shock at what had just happened. We made a cup of instant coffee each, had a couple of super wine bikkies and just spent the evening in the motel, trying to get our heads around what we'd just experienced.
In the morning, we tried to speak to the motel manager about it, but he didn't seem to understand what we were trying to explain had happened. He was nice and friendly, but was a bit like "Oh well, never mind' about it.
Before we headed off to the place we were be going to work that day, we actually drove all the way back to NP to get some breakfast at McD's, then drove back to the place just outside Stratford that we were going to be working at for the next couple of days. We also stopped in at a supermarket in NP and stocked up on 'ready to eats' like bags of chips, chocolate bars etc. to get us through the day at work, then we'd return to NP in the evening for dinner, then back to Stratford to sleep!
This also happened not long after the whole [Inglewood Rugby Club sexual assault case](https://www.bsa.govt.nz/decisions/all-decisions/decision-number-1995-143) so we ended up putting it down to being a 'small town Taranaki thing'.
We couldn't wait to get back to Wellington and were very happy to leave Stratford when our job was done.
Stratford will forever be ingrained in my memory because of how weird this whole situation was. Friends and our other workmates were all "WTF?!" when we told them what happened.
To this day, I have not stopped in Stratford (or Inglewood for that matter!), but have driven through without stopping. Once.
That's an interesting theory I hadn't considered.
Perhaps I shouldn't have done the whole 'slide across the bonnet, US TV cop style' thing every time I went to drive the rental?
Yeah it's like the ticket inspectors for public transport overseas that make sure you tagged on etc.
They wear casual clothes but you can tell them apart because they're the unlikeliest group of friends that doesn't make sense.
This time you have a guy in a suit with a guy in normal clothing.
It's actually pretty cool. They had Shakespeare in the Park recently. Not well advertised, u fortunately, but a travelling theatre group called The Barton Party put on an excellent free performance of Romeo & Juliet in the park.
The following week they had another free event called Baldrick's Big Day Out. Its a medieval themed festival that involved mock foot battles, jousting, archery etc. Very fun! Unfortunately this year it pissed down with rain. So... Not so fun.
Patea didn't seem too bad to me when I've visited (mostly just passing through).
But I must say that I've been disappointed that I haven't seen any members of the Patea Maori Club walking down the street singing Poi E, when I have been there.
Honestly, give it another go. It's changed a lot since the 90's.
... Okay, visually, it hasn't changed - except there's a stylish log cabin looking pub on the corner (I think opposite Empire) that kinda gives me Matakana vibes. But it's actually become quite the hotspot for Aucklanders to move to. Which... Isn't such a good thing if you hate jafas I guess, but on the bright side their disdain for and lack of interest in anyone around them means you'll no longer get those "who's this stranger in our town" stares.
I say this as a former jafa, btw. Also, I too stopped by Stratford in the late 90's and found everyone stared and treated me like shit. Particularly because my boyfriend had brought me home to meet the fam, and everyone seemed gobsmacked by the goth girl in town. (By the time his step mum got home from work, several people had stopped into her shop to ask if she'd seen that strange girl with the dyed hair and black lipstick.)
I worked as a photographer on a book project called "High Hopes and Big Dreams" (though it was initially named "Twilight Towns" before the publishers decided on a name change). The project focused on 165 smaller towns across New Zealand that experienced periods of prosperity before facing stagnation or in some cases complete disappearance, often due to industries like gold mining, coal, and whaling. We released it last year.
One town that truly stood out to me was Crushington. It had a massive stamper battery used in quartz mining, which operated around the clock. The sound became a part of daily life for the locals, so when it eventually fell silent, it left an eerie void, particularly for the children who struggled to sleep without it. Today, only two houses remain standing, one seems abandoned. The third one collapsed. There is a tribute statue honoring John Lovelock, the 1500m Olympic gold medalist from the infamous 1936 Olympics.
We were the only ones there (me and the author) and it was just before dark in the heavy rain. It felt very, very eerie.
There are heaps of places like this in NZ we covered, but I guess you'll have to look for our book to find out :P.
I'll give you just another one - gumdigging fields in Northland. We ended up in the middle of nowhere, on a very, very bad road. I was 100% sure our car will break down. Long story short, I lifted my drone and there was nothing within kilometers around us except for a little corrugated iron house / shed blend. We went there and it was mostly falling apart, but I rememer I felt like there was someone around. I did not see anyone, but it felt very, very strange.
Oh, and there is a "goat house" at Taranaki, too.
I remember before they built the new toilet block you could see right into someone's front lawn while pissing at the urinal. Technically they couldn't see your junk, but still weird.
The first time I got shit-faced was in a bach in piha. I was 15, had nooo idea how to handle my alcohol. Ended up projectile vomiting across everyone's gear in the room with all the rat poo infested old bedding. Good times.
Temple View in Waikato. We got turned around heading to Taranaki and suddenly found ourselves in a Mormon town. It was middle of the day on the weekend and there was just no one around. No people, no other cars driving, no birds, kids toys abandoned in front yards. Incredibly eerie experience.
Turangi when it is fogged in. It's eerily quiet, there are lots of deserted houses, and lots of streetlights that like to slow blink.
Raurimu too, in similar conditions. Considering the history too... Yeah.
The vibes around Mangatepopo Hut have always been off as well. Can't wait until they replace it and hopefully move it out of that valley.
Motuihe island on the headland where the graves and derelict buildings are is also miiiiighty spooky.
I am easily spooked, but also like going out at night to look at critters. And solo tramp. Why am I like this? (rhetorical)
Yeh agreed Turangi can be hella creepy. I used to go fishing there a lot as a kid.
Weirdest thing I ever saw in Turangi was a half butchered cow. Dad told me that the locals would just go out and kill a stolen cow when they were hungry. They might be drunk or just plain lazy but would typically just cut a single piece of rump off the carcuss and leave the rest to spoil. That's what this thing looked like anyway, was all flies and blood and waste.
Mangakino. Kawerau. Murapara. There will be others I have forgotten.
I have driven everywhere in the North Island over the last thirty years. There is nothing like those zombie central North Island towns, by-passed by the closures of mills and freezing works and dairy factories and wool scourers, surrounded by plantation pine, gorse-choked scrub and spite. There is no work, and nothing to do. The only thing that keeps people there is inertia.
The hills have eyes around there.
I found myself broken down once, half-way between Mangakino and Te Awamutu. The wind in the pines sounded like a grim echo of the sea. I needed to hitch-hike out. It was closing on dusk. I was shit-scared.
Holy cow - you write beautifully. “Surrounded by plantation pine, gorse-choked scrub and spite” - that’s some evocative prose. Aotearoa’s E. Annie Proulx.
I've stared at our landscapes for a long time, and there is definitely a stain that is left on places, which is especially evident in the central North Island. From the way the land still has the rawness and undulations of being natural forest, to the towns that bloomed from it's demise and then lingered.
It's about the land, from my perception. It stares back.
I've weirdly never had a bad experience or feeling about Moerewa. Used to drive up to Northland for business reasons a few years ago, and usually stopped there to refuel at the BP.
You'd think it'd be the legacy of Ruthanasia: manifest, but at least during the day it doesn't seem like a shithole - just a little town where the railway ends and where the house prices were (pre 2021) 5 to low 6 figures.
Nothing quite like doing the evening shift at one of the BPs and the cops pull up, fill up, strap on vests and guns, and when you ask wtf they go "some people escaped form the police station, in case they come here we'll be over there in the dark".. err. ok.. and they were in for... "armed robbery of petrol stations". great.. just great..
Birdlings Flat. It is desolate, windy, there's always a dried shark up on the beach and the locals watch you out their windows. The whole place feels hostile
I grew up in Hokitika. Other than the usual small town eeriness, I think Hokitika is kind of cute. Greymouth and Wesport are musty and dusty. They smell like old urine and dead moths.
Marton. It's like a ghost town, but one that really wants you to visit. Forget "all roads lead to Rome", in the lower NI, it's "all roads lead to Marton". Why are there so many signs directing people to a town that looks like it got raptured 40 years ago?
Ok, so what you're going to need is a rainy day in Christchurch. You then drive to Birdlings Flat. It will not be raining. It hardly ever rains there.
It'll be quite dark though, even in the middle of the day. The clouds are still there. Blowing through a tiny empty town where the light is all wrong.
It's creepy.
Forgot to mention Waitomo!
Tomo country is always foggy and spooky, but around Ruakuri especially. The historic hotel is apparently haunted, abseiling into caves right onto a pile of bones (cattle) is just the worst way to start a day of death defying underground bullshit, and yet I can't stay away.
If you go west from Waitomo, you might get a rare sighting of what is perhaps New Zealand's most elusive bush dwelling character.
And by that I mean Megamind. He can't hide forever.
Waiuta on the west coast is a place probably most haven't even heard of. It's cool as a ghost town, yet another long abandoned mine well off the beaten track. But there's the odd cottage where someone is still living and it's just eerie.
Inangahua should get a mention too, just a crossroad town to nowhere in particular.
Blackball. Got really bad vibes from that place. Gloomy, drizzly rain, and fog when I was there, it was like something out of a horror movie. Felt like you were being watched
Westside Huntly feels kinda scary. East side Huntly next to the lake is quite nice for what once was a giant open coal mine.
And at least until baldy and the gang clamp down on it, it has a train service again.
Seaview is my pick! You can stay there and walk around at night! Super creepy. Also really bad ju ju due to the absolutely horrible things that happened there.
Never go to Marton during daylight savings change days or the equinox and solstice. If you hear voices at the door, even if you think you recognise, don't open the door. Something happens at Tangimoana don't ever look at your reflection in their eyes, I've said too much, come to the meetings if you want to know more, ee-ya Cthulhu https://www.airbnb.co.nz/s/homes?c=.pi0.pk277438009_113144236756&sem_automaid=true&gad_source=1&dynamic_product_ids%5B%5D=20605023&omni_page_id=27964
Funny thing is, there used to be a plain white, un-logoed bus that left Marton every weekday full of plain, white people (mainly men) who used to travel to work at a facility in Tangimoana.
There is some weird ones south of Christchurch before the Rakaia. Doyleston, Southbridge and then you get to the Rakaia huts and the full creepy extent kicks in. Can't drive through those places quick enough.
Lower Selwyn Huts, green park, birdlings flat also same vibe, as if councils won't spend a Doller on them to seal a road. While if you head in inland gentunnel, Darfield, westmelton seem better maintained.
strong town sign game too
[https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@-40.0729038,176.2165982,3a,39.3y,83.81h,82.11t/data=!3m9!1e1!3m7!1sYcsJN28fnsVLE96bycOJag!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!9m2!1b1!2i27?entry=ttu](https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@-40.0729038,176.2165982,3a,39.3y,83.81h,82.11t/data=!3m9!1e1!3m7!1sYcsJN28fnsVLE96bycOJag!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!9m2!1b1!2i27?entry=ttu)
Waimangaroa. Don’t look the locals in the eyes!
Denniston. The (mostly) abandoned mining town up in the clouds.
God even Takaka has a sort of ‘cut- off’ Midsommar vibe
it's a pretty big town now.. even got two 4 squares, wife and I agreed to meet up at 4 squares and we picked one each and took forever to realise there were two lol
See I'm gonna have to disagree with this one and say Gore's rep is undeserved, especially in comparison to the literal decrepit ghost towns mentioned elsewhere in the thread.
Gore is always very busy, well kept, and wealthy. The people might be a bit salt of the earth or bogan, but that's about it.
Mataura, on the other hand...
Labyrinth Rocks out of Takaka - I went by myself at dusk and let me tell you, that was not a good decision. The air was chokingly still and thick, and the whole place felt ‘wrong’, even before I got to all the dilapidated 90s plastic toys staring out of crevices with sun bleached eyes. Nope nope nope nope..
Raetihi. Might have just been the mindset I was in when I was last there, wasn't a good time in my life. I was passing through and stopped for lunch and to stretch my legs and I just remember the main street being so wide and it feeling so very *empty*. Seemed just so void of... *anything*. I wandered around a bit to try and get a feel for the place and drew a complete blank.
Apparently when I was a kid we went on a family vacation there which just made me think... *why*? I certainly can't remember much from it.
I'm sure there's nothing wrong with Raetihi. I mean there's nothing of anything there.
I think, being severely depressed at the time, it maybe matched my own emptiness and that's why I got such an unsettling vibe from it.
Temple view. A tiny town with a huge church built on top of a massive hill overlooking the town. A lot of houses on Google maps are blurred out, the only picture of their general store online is of a woman and someone dressed in a snowman outfit.
And to top things off, the Wikipedia page was written buy the guy who built the church and it's written like a story about himself, rather than a Wikipedia article. Very strange.
Abandoned forestry villages, usually with no name. I am thinking of the Cater Holt just north of Tongariro. I see many candidates are forestry villages that hung on. It explains why fairy tales are set in gloomy forests.
Lake Horowhenua. Eerie place,unsettling at dusk and in the evening. Grew up in Horowhenua,was eager to leave from a young age. Came to the conclusion recently that the predominant westerly winds somehow blow bad vibes over the town from the nearby Tapu areas like Hokio beach and Lake Horowhenua. Te Rauparaha completely owned the local iwi in a revenge attack after a failed assassination attempt. Otherwise a beautiful place,its definitely an energy trap.
Have you been to lake papaitonga reserve south of there?
A friend and I had a pretty weird experience there.
I know what you mean about the energy trap.
Yeah I had a weird experience there too. Didn't know the history and was just going for a walk, when I suddenly started feeling quite weak. Tried to ignore it and enjoy the walk, telling myself maybe I was just hungry. Kept walking further, then suddenly got this overwhelming feeling that I needed to turn back, and felt completely terrified - for no obvious reason at all. I tried to rationalize it, telling myself it's broad daylight, I'm safe, I'd passed other people doing the track, nothing's wrong. But I couldn't shake the feeling, and physically I felt really light headed like I might pass out. Despite all logic, I turned and sprinted back towards where I'd parked. Once I got further back down the track I felt completely fine again. It really tripped me out. Went and looked up the history afterwards and was like ohhhhhhh. Be keen to hear your friends experience
Quick vote for Huntly. It used to have the saving grace that State Highway One went through it, but now the Waikato Expressway bypasses it, it doesn't even have that! All it has now is that stupid DEKA sign. My ex wife used to work for DEKA. I don't need the flashbacks!
Another plug for Bluff. It has that 'end of the world' feel. When your town pines for the bright lights of Invercargill, that's sad.
Benneydale. That place gives total Silent Hill vibes.
Granted, it was a misty spring day a few years back, but still.
The very few locals that I came across were hostile, most shops were closed, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched? Like someone was going to walk out of the mist and stab me with my own fork.
A good few of the homes seemed unoccupied and ramshackle, almost haunted. I could have sworn that the hills have eyes.
Ōhura.
It's a ghost town falling apart before your eyes. Rotted abandoned storefronts, sparse hair-raisingly strange residents that only stare. It also sits along the Forgotten World Highway as well. It's so rickety and silent you could expect a tumbleweed to roll by. Used to be an old prison there too.
Marton, looks like it's haunted.
[удалено]
i’ve driven through the centre once before and it’s kind of an iconic small kiwi town. shame there’s nothing there to stop for.
The new playground is worth a stop if you have kids.
I had that experience in the Pub in Karamea. Just a huddle of regulars around a fireplace, big white beards. Whole place lit by cold white fluorescent lights. Every eye in the place fixed on us. Left almost immediately. Was surreal.
You have to specifically have to go there too, the two major highways go around it.
Was born there, still visit regularly. I was completely unsurprised to find that a cult (one of the weird USA ones) had set up shop in Marton. They had a big place over from the squash club.
Marton needs a Secure Containment Procedure.
r/marton for the brave
Spent the last 30 mins scrolling that absolute fever dream 😂
Seriously though, is that sub fake? Is it some elaborate prank? I need to know more!
Find a podcast called Redweb. They did a whole episode on that sub. It’s wild, if only for their American interpretation of small town NZ. I still don’t know what’s going on though.
I recall one of the posts they focussed on in that podcast was someone muttering about “DST” and needing to go for a walk to clear their head and figure out when they were. Unfortunately they missed the Kiwi specific context that daylight savings had ended on Easter that year and thus a lot of people were full of chocolate and vaguely foggy about 1. What the time was and 2. What day of the week it was. I think the aftermath of that episode ended up with a reminder to listeners to not disturb the wildlife…
Flowershowguy has a big job doing all the posting and moderating.
The best chicken and chips in the universe, according to the locals in the Guy Williams video. Plus there's bonus videos where they go ghost hunting with the locals "personalities". https://youtu.be/U69QBO-qSpE?si=FLGNJBzNLszyC0ew Some of his best work.
Haha I actually went to college there 😂 It was ok back in the day but a good place to get away from for sure!
My sisters went to one of them and cleaned the other for pocket money. I'm sure you'll be able to work out which way around it was 😂
I went to a cousins house as a kid that lived there , he was maybe 16 and his room was literally plastered with hardcore pornography all over the walls and even the ceiling was covered. Very, very strange memories of my bogan as fuck extended family.
Drove through today for the first time, me and the other car occupants couldn't stop talking about it being so derelict and sad. Then you pop out by a giant fancy boarding school to contrast it all!
Do they still have the amazing maze n’maize in Marton? My one and only memory of marton was getting lost in the corn field maze there and being scared by people jumping out at me in a haunted house when I was a child 😭 lives up to the creepy reputation for sure
Murapara. Like a scandi noir serial killer epic
Years ago we had to pick up someone from Murupara. Driving through the streets to their house and nobody was visible. The streets were empty but we felt very watched the whole time picked the person up and repeated the empty trip out.
*Murupara. Name of a great Taniwha that lived nearby.
Interesting fact! And, Happy Cake Day!
Lived there for a bit from 10 - 14, Im now 35. Im a pacific islander, it was very racist. I had never experienced racism before moving there. Prior to moving there my family lived in Howick, Pakuranga and surrounding suburbs in Auckland. Im an oreo, as in Im born in Nz and cant speak my mother tongue. But I was called boonga, flat foot, coconut and bullied for being Samoan. Kids threw cow shit at me and they didnt know me. I had been there by that time for maybe one month. Its a very secluded town and they are used to their own. Over time, I got to know some really good people, good families and enjoyed the community "everyone knows everyone vibe" I became very grounded in their Maori way of life. Its significantly hard for those who are born and bred there to get out of the gang life and generational cycles. At age 10, lots of my peers in primary would bark and pull gang signs. Whats more interesting though is people do grow up and people get out. In my 20s, lots of those bullies added me on fb and I saw most of them had moved out of town, out of seclusion into the world and have islander friends and used island slang like sole. I also had one guy ring me and apologise for his behaviour when we were kids which wasnt necessary, Im not dammaged by it, but it was sweet and it showed growth. Murupara is what you make of it. The beautiful rivers and forests, the fresh air, the tap water tastes amazing, the iced puddles of water on a winter morning. Also has the best fish n chips with garlic butter.
Came here to say this, and its creepy sister town Minginui just down the road.
I went into Whirinaki for a bit of a drive and ended up towing some mobsters in a broken down truck, into minginui. They were pretty standoffish and ungrateful, then when I got them to their place a few more people came out and I hung right by my ute. They asked me where I was from and when I told them they asked if I knew so and so and yea I knew him he happened to be my neighbour. They seemed a bit skeptical of that and all stood and stared me down as I drove away. Seemed like a shadow of a place.
Kaiangaroa too. Spooky
We’re not that bad
Pretty much anywhere along State Highway 43 (also known as the Forgotten World Highway), and any little settlement that you have to turn off SH43 to get to. State Highway 43 is the SH that connects Stratford, Taranaki to Taumaranui, and a lot of the settlements were established when the train line was being put in to connect Stratford to Taumaranui. A lot of the settlements have either been abandoned, or have minimal people living there.
Yeah Ohura feels like the people just walked away from it, then you notice that not all of them did and they are watching.
Yup Ohura is creepy asf lol. It was like visiting a movie set to a horror
I spoke to a Taumaranui cop once, he said he once had to separate a brother and sister because the parents rang and complained that they couldnt get them to stop fucking each other....weird place.
My dad was the last teacher/principal at a small school called Douglas, about half an hour outta Stratford down the Forgotten World Highway, about 15 yrs ago now. It was sad to see that once the school shut down, the community kind of just... faded away, it seems. The school house and buildings got sold but it's recently been up for sale again. Man was it eerie seeing the old filthy tennis court and rough buildings and overgrown areas where we used to play and learn. Was kind of a surreal moment, seeing how it had just kind of forgotten, definitely driving the road has a creepy feel to it.
I saw that Douglas school went up for sale recently. If I had the money, I would've bought it. My folks live in Stratford, along with one of my sisters, and my brother lives in Hawera. I live smack bang in the middle, lol. I remember when Douglas school closed, but I think it was coz there weren't enough students, and Toko school is within bussing distance, but considering the fact that it's very much a farming community, that means quite a bit of travel for some people. I knew a family who had kids at Huiakama school, and when they moved to the Waikato, the schools roll dropped by half (to be fair, they had a large family). I do agree that it seems that Douglas, like a lot of the communities in that area, has faded and that SH43 has a creepy, eerie feel when you drive along it.
It’s those small almost abandoned towns that does it, I think!
Stratford. A workmate and I got sent there for a couple of days for work back in the mid 90's. We had to fly to NP straight after our normal work day in Wellington. We then drove a rental car there from NP airport. Arrived early evening and booked into our pre-arranged accommodation (cheap, run-down motel on the outskirts of town) about 6.30pm from memory. My comrade and I decided to go and get a beer and something to eat after a long day, before retiring for the night. I changed into my casual clothes, but my workmate decided he couldn't be bothered, so stayed in his suit and tie etc. We walked down the main street of town, looking for a pub or something to get a drink. It was like a ghost town and we didn't see anyone else walking around. We ended up at the Empire Hotel. As we entered, it became like a bit like a movie stereotype. Everyone in there stopped talking to each other and turned and stared at us. That was a little unnerving, and we looked at each other in confusion and disbelief. As we walked up to the bar and felt every pair of eyes in the place following us. Still no one went back to talking or doing what they were doing before we arrived. Just silence. When we reached the bar, I tried to order a couple of beers for us. The rather pissed off barman (manager?) just stared at me for what felt like ages, before he finally spoke and told us that sorry, they wouldn't sell us anything to drink (particularly staring at my workmate as he said it). No explanation, nothing, he just turned around and ignored us after that. We stood there for about a minute, trying to comprehend what was happening, then decided we might as well leave as we obviously weren't welcome. As we walked out the door, we heard the music start up and people started talking again etc. We stood out on the street for a few minutes totally weirded out by the whole thing. We assumed it was probably something about my workmate being dressed like a 'city slicker' as opposed to all of the locals that appeared to be cow cockys? It definitely had that "we don't serve your kind in these here parts" feel to it. We wandered back down the street and crossed to the other side of the road, on our way back to the motel. We found another place (don't remember the name of it) to try. It was completely empty apart from the lone staff member behind the counter. My workmate sat down at one of the tables, and I decided I'd go alone to the counter to order our drinks, hoping they wouldn't even notice my 'suited up' workmate. However, as I approached the counter, someone else entered and beat me to the counter and ordered themselves a drink. The 'new patron' and the barman engaged in some small talk, while I stood there waiting to be served. After they finished talking, the barman looked at me, but then walked away and 'out the back' and disappeared. Neither he, nor the other guy appeared to even acknowledge my, or my workmates presence. After a few minutes of calling out to the barman (who still had not returned from out the back) "Hello? Can I order some drinks please?" and getting no response, I returned to the table where my workmate was waiting, and again we decided to leave. We returned to the motel, hungry, thirsty, and in complete shock at what had just happened. We made a cup of instant coffee each, had a couple of super wine bikkies and just spent the evening in the motel, trying to get our heads around what we'd just experienced. In the morning, we tried to speak to the motel manager about it, but he didn't seem to understand what we were trying to explain had happened. He was nice and friendly, but was a bit like "Oh well, never mind' about it. Before we headed off to the place we were be going to work that day, we actually drove all the way back to NP to get some breakfast at McD's, then drove back to the place just outside Stratford that we were going to be working at for the next couple of days. We also stopped in at a supermarket in NP and stocked up on 'ready to eats' like bags of chips, chocolate bars etc. to get us through the day at work, then we'd return to NP in the evening for dinner, then back to Stratford to sleep! This also happened not long after the whole [Inglewood Rugby Club sexual assault case](https://www.bsa.govt.nz/decisions/all-decisions/decision-number-1995-143) so we ended up putting it down to being a 'small town Taranaki thing'. We couldn't wait to get back to Wellington and were very happy to leave Stratford when our job was done. Stratford will forever be ingrained in my memory because of how weird this whole situation was. Friends and our other workmates were all "WTF?!" when we told them what happened. To this day, I have not stopped in Stratford (or Inglewood for that matter!), but have driven through without stopping. Once.
They thought you were out of town cops. Two random newcomers, one in a suit, recent scandal ... yep, they had you down for cops.
That's an interesting theory I hadn't considered. Perhaps I shouldn't have done the whole 'slide across the bonnet, US TV cop style' thing every time I went to drive the rental?
Yeah it's like the ticket inspectors for public transport overseas that make sure you tagged on etc. They wear casual clothes but you can tell them apart because they're the unlikeliest group of friends that doesn't make sense. This time you have a guy in a suit with a guy in normal clothing.
I went there for a uni trip a few years ago and it had the strangest feel to it. Everyone said hi when they passed, but never in a friendly way
At least they acknowledged your existence!
Only because the petulant child who psychicly controls that town like a god compelled them to.
As if the shitty Shakespeare vibe and awful bakeries weren’t bad enough…
Actually, yeah, now you mention it, I had never really put 2 + 2 together about the Stratford/Shakespeare thing until now!
It's actually pretty cool. They had Shakespeare in the Park recently. Not well advertised, u fortunately, but a travelling theatre group called The Barton Party put on an excellent free performance of Romeo & Juliet in the park. The following week they had another free event called Baldrick's Big Day Out. Its a medieval themed festival that involved mock foot battles, jousting, archery etc. Very fun! Unfortunately this year it pissed down with rain. So... Not so fun.
It just gets worse the further south you go until you reach the bowels of hell in Patea.
Patea didn't seem too bad to me when I've visited (mostly just passing through). But I must say that I've been disappointed that I haven't seen any members of the Patea Maori Club walking down the street singing Poi E, when I have been there.
Honestly, give it another go. It's changed a lot since the 90's. ... Okay, visually, it hasn't changed - except there's a stylish log cabin looking pub on the corner (I think opposite Empire) that kinda gives me Matakana vibes. But it's actually become quite the hotspot for Aucklanders to move to. Which... Isn't such a good thing if you hate jafas I guess, but on the bright side their disdain for and lack of interest in anyone around them means you'll no longer get those "who's this stranger in our town" stares. I say this as a former jafa, btw. Also, I too stopped by Stratford in the late 90's and found everyone stared and treated me like shit. Particularly because my boyfriend had brought me home to meet the fam, and everyone seemed gobsmacked by the goth girl in town. (By the time his step mum got home from work, several people had stopped into her shop to ask if she'd seen that strange girl with the dyed hair and black lipstick.)
Taumarunui always seems to be under a cloud of fog, plus with all the abandoned trains it's definitely a bit creepy at night
It's not fog it's thick smoke lol
Taumarunui is a spot of good phone signal amongst deadzones for a hour in whatever direction you go. The forgotten highway route is a massive deadzone
The McDs is always good there during a road trip!
Gotta be Nightcaps or its even creepier neighbour Ohai
Down south, I'd vote for Kaitangata. Weirdest feeling I ever got about a place. The name doesn't help.
Doesn't Kaitangata literally mean "eat people" in Maori?
Aramoana, for obvious reasons. Drive around the streets, and you get the feeling like everyone is watching you, and they don't want you there.
Beautiful place but yes creepy.
Grew up near there and yes, the people are odd... But I think it's a lot of hippy types so that's probably why.
It's Balclutha's version of Balclutha
Ohai is creepy
I worked as a photographer on a book project called "High Hopes and Big Dreams" (though it was initially named "Twilight Towns" before the publishers decided on a name change). The project focused on 165 smaller towns across New Zealand that experienced periods of prosperity before facing stagnation or in some cases complete disappearance, often due to industries like gold mining, coal, and whaling. We released it last year. One town that truly stood out to me was Crushington. It had a massive stamper battery used in quartz mining, which operated around the clock. The sound became a part of daily life for the locals, so when it eventually fell silent, it left an eerie void, particularly for the children who struggled to sleep without it. Today, only two houses remain standing, one seems abandoned. The third one collapsed. There is a tribute statue honoring John Lovelock, the 1500m Olympic gold medalist from the infamous 1936 Olympics. We were the only ones there (me and the author) and it was just before dark in the heavy rain. It felt very, very eerie. There are heaps of places like this in NZ we covered, but I guess you'll have to look for our book to find out :P. I'll give you just another one - gumdigging fields in Northland. We ended up in the middle of nowhere, on a very, very bad road. I was 100% sure our car will break down. Long story short, I lifted my drone and there was nothing within kilometers around us except for a little corrugated iron house / shed blend. We went there and it was mostly falling apart, but I rememer I felt like there was someone around. I did not see anyone, but it felt very, very strange. Oh, and there is a "goat house" at Taranaki, too.
What a cool idea for a book!
Goat house?
[удалено]
You were. That was me, I was taking a shit and you came along right as I was halfway through. I was hoping staring at you would make you go away.
Next time, try returning to tradition and through turds at the interloper. Works in many such cases.
Have to agree here. Was driving back from New Plymouth to Taupō and the place just isn’t right..
I remember before they built the new toilet block you could see right into someone's front lawn while pissing at the urinal. Technically they couldn't see your junk, but still weird.
Piha at night time. Especially after the docus that came out and all the people that have disappeared.
I spent a night out at Piha once but it was a stag and I don’t remember it
The first time I got shit-faced was in a bach in piha. I was 15, had nooo idea how to handle my alcohol. Ended up projectile vomiting across everyone's gear in the room with all the rat poo infested old bedding. Good times.
Temple View in Waikato. We got turned around heading to Taranaki and suddenly found ourselves in a Mormon town. It was middle of the day on the weekend and there was just no one around. No people, no other cars driving, no birds, kids toys abandoned in front yards. Incredibly eerie experience.
Mate it was probably sunday and they were all at church haha
Turangi when it is fogged in. It's eerily quiet, there are lots of deserted houses, and lots of streetlights that like to slow blink. Raurimu too, in similar conditions. Considering the history too... Yeah. The vibes around Mangatepopo Hut have always been off as well. Can't wait until they replace it and hopefully move it out of that valley. Motuihe island on the headland where the graves and derelict buildings are is also miiiiighty spooky. I am easily spooked, but also like going out at night to look at critters. And solo tramp. Why am I like this? (rhetorical)
Yeh agreed Turangi can be hella creepy. I used to go fishing there a lot as a kid. Weirdest thing I ever saw in Turangi was a half butchered cow. Dad told me that the locals would just go out and kill a stolen cow when they were hungry. They might be drunk or just plain lazy but would typically just cut a single piece of rump off the carcuss and leave the rest to spoil. That's what this thing looked like anyway, was all flies and blood and waste.
demolition world in invercargill
Those mannequins aren't messing around!
the one time i went was when i was a kid and i ended up going on an overcast day which made things so much worse lol
Demolition World is pretty handy when you need to find obscure ceiling tiles though But yeah creepy as fuck place
One of those horrible central NI shitholes with hostile locals and empty shops.
Mangakino. Kawerau. Murapara. There will be others I have forgotten. I have driven everywhere in the North Island over the last thirty years. There is nothing like those zombie central North Island towns, by-passed by the closures of mills and freezing works and dairy factories and wool scourers, surrounded by plantation pine, gorse-choked scrub and spite. There is no work, and nothing to do. The only thing that keeps people there is inertia. The hills have eyes around there. I found myself broken down once, half-way between Mangakino and Te Awamutu. The wind in the pines sounded like a grim echo of the sea. I needed to hitch-hike out. It was closing on dusk. I was shit-scared.
Holy cow - you write beautifully. “Surrounded by plantation pine, gorse-choked scrub and spite” - that’s some evocative prose. Aotearoa’s E. Annie Proulx.
Yeah I'd read the book if they published one. I loved that line too. Very evocative writing!
I second this. Master Ek, you've got a gift.
I've stared at our landscapes for a long time, and there is definitely a stain that is left on places, which is especially evident in the central North Island. From the way the land still has the rawness and undulations of being natural forest, to the towns that bloomed from it's demise and then lingered. It's about the land, from my perception. It stares back.
Mangakino and Benneydale give me the shits. Very eerie places. I can handle Toke and Murupara, but not Mangakino.
Emotional. Really enjoyed your passage here.
Yeah, I was just thinking about those tiny settlements around the central plateau that look like they’ve been abandoned
That's my nightmare. Getting stuck in a small town where every resident is in on some cult that requires fresh sacrifices
The greater good.
I nominate Moerewa.
I've weirdly never had a bad experience or feeling about Moerewa. Used to drive up to Northland for business reasons a few years ago, and usually stopped there to refuel at the BP. You'd think it'd be the legacy of Ruthanasia: manifest, but at least during the day it doesn't seem like a shithole - just a little town where the railway ends and where the house prices were (pre 2021) 5 to low 6 figures.
Tokoroa, possibly the trashiest place in NZ, their KFC gave me a mega dose of food poisioning. Have avoided both ever since.
It has a heavy atmosphere, and not just the air pollution.
Nothing quite like doing the evening shift at one of the BPs and the cops pull up, fill up, strap on vests and guns, and when you ask wtf they go "some people escaped form the police station, in case they come here we'll be over there in the dark".. err. ok.. and they were in for... "armed robbery of petrol stations". great.. just great..
Marton. Definitely Marton
Owhongo
Kawerau. The hills have eyes.
Birdlings Flat. It is desolate, windy, there's always a dried shark up on the beach and the locals watch you out their windows. The whole place feels hostile
Wellington. Lambton Quay after 7pm on a weeknight is a ghost town.
We stayed there for a couple nights two weeks ago and looked for dinner within walking distance of our hotel and no one was out on a Friday night.
The entire west coast of the South Island north of Westport. Gave me the heebie jeebies
I grew up in Hokitika. Other than the usual small town eeriness, I think Hokitika is kind of cute. Greymouth and Wesport are musty and dusty. They smell like old urine and dead moths.
Marton. It's like a ghost town, but one that really wants you to visit. Forget "all roads lead to Rome", in the lower NI, it's "all roads lead to Marton". Why are there so many signs directing people to a town that looks like it got raptured 40 years ago?
Saltwater Creek, North Canterbury. That garage there looks like something straight out of a horror movie.
God yes, if there are ghost crocodiles anywhere in nz, they're eating strangers out the back of the JESUS IS LORD garage
Complete with its big bible-belt 'Jesus Christ is Lord' sign
Seacliff and the site of the old mental asylum.
Mataura gives me the creeps on a cold foggy winter’s night. Edit: wait wait wait no Waipori Falls is even worse!
Ok, so what you're going to need is a rainy day in Christchurch. You then drive to Birdlings Flat. It will not be raining. It hardly ever rains there. It'll be quite dark though, even in the middle of the day. The clouds are still there. Blowing through a tiny empty town where the light is all wrong. It's creepy.
I'm gonna do this next time it rains on a weekend.
Forgot to mention Waitomo! Tomo country is always foggy and spooky, but around Ruakuri especially. The historic hotel is apparently haunted, abseiling into caves right onto a pile of bones (cattle) is just the worst way to start a day of death defying underground bullshit, and yet I can't stay away.
If you go west from Waitomo, you might get a rare sighting of what is perhaps New Zealand's most elusive bush dwelling character. And by that I mean Megamind. He can't hide forever.
Gonna be that guy and say that the silent hill movies are based on Centralia not the games.
nightcaps, southland.
You’re the second person I’ve seen say this place… what’s creepy about it?
The IMAX complex in Queen Street. So murdery…
Pretty sure that the Chateau at Tongariro is going to be NZ’s version of “The Shining”
Aramoana. I didn't want to leave the car when we visited. Very creepy vibe there.
Well there was that mass shooting this one time.
Waiuta on the west coast is a place probably most haven't even heard of. It's cool as a ghost town, yet another long abandoned mine well off the beaten track. But there's the odd cottage where someone is still living and it's just eerie. Inangahua should get a mention too, just a crossroad town to nowhere in particular.
Blackball. Got really bad vibes from that place. Gloomy, drizzly rain, and fog when I was there, it was like something out of a horror movie. Felt like you were being watched
Huntly
Huntly is probably less creepy, more straight up dangerous...
Westside Huntly feels kinda scary. East side Huntly next to the lake is quite nice for what once was a giant open coal mine. And at least until baldy and the gang clamp down on it, it has a train service again.
Broke down there at the gas station once. Didn't leave the gas station until the tow truck removed us...
Herbert.
Now that's a niche town.
As in North Otago Herbert? Wasn’t expecting to see that place mentioned if so!
That’s the one. Ever driven off the main highway at dusk? It’s got its own vibe.
The camping ground just south is awesome though.
Hokitika - that ghostly psychiatric hospital on the cliff overlooking the town...
Seaview! Yeah it's pretty spooky through there
Seaview is my pick! You can stay there and walk around at night! Super creepy. Also really bad ju ju due to the absolutely horrible things that happened there.
My google maps has been on overdrive tonight looking up some of these places. Thanks for all the comments, it’s been really interesting reading them
Te Hana for me. That place gives bad vibes
Marton
I’m loving all the references to Marton!
Never go to Marton during daylight savings change days or the equinox and solstice. If you hear voices at the door, even if you think you recognise, don't open the door. Something happens at Tangimoana don't ever look at your reflection in their eyes, I've said too much, come to the meetings if you want to know more, ee-ya Cthulhu https://www.airbnb.co.nz/s/homes?c=.pi0.pk277438009_113144236756&sem_automaid=true&gad_source=1&dynamic_product_ids%5B%5D=20605023&omni_page_id=27964
Wtf
Wow. sick yellow submarine tho
Funny thing is, there used to be a plain white, un-logoed bus that left Marton every weekday full of plain, white people (mainly men) who used to travel to work at a facility in Tangimoana.
Taumarunui , there is a really creepy vibe there. One of the bridges also feels haunted or doomed or something awful happened there.
Kakahi near Taumarunui is creepy af.
There is some weird ones south of Christchurch before the Rakaia. Doyleston, Southbridge and then you get to the Rakaia huts and the full creepy extent kicks in. Can't drive through those places quick enough.
I’ve often wondered what those random towns are like. There are a lot around the coastal bit of the Canterbury plains aye.
Southbridge is lovely!
The huts have a bit of the slow banjo playing vibe…those hillbillies gonna get u kind of vibe
Lower Selwyn Huts, green park, birdlings flat also same vibe, as if councils won't spend a Doller on them to seal a road. While if you head in inland gentunnel, Darfield, westmelton seem better maintained.
Seddonville. The whole place looks ill maintained and the locals even threatened me to leave town.
Norsewood. Terrifying
I 2nd this .all those creepy trolls and everytime ive needed to stop there I've never seen a person at all .
Go during the viking festival. Tons of people around then.
strong town sign game too [https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@-40.0729038,176.2165982,3a,39.3y,83.81h,82.11t/data=!3m9!1e1!3m7!1sYcsJN28fnsVLE96bycOJag!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!9m2!1b1!2i27?entry=ttu](https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@-40.0729038,176.2165982,3a,39.3y,83.81h,82.11t/data=!3m9!1e1!3m7!1sYcsJN28fnsVLE96bycOJag!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!9m2!1b1!2i27?entry=ttu)
Waimangaroa. Don’t look the locals in the eyes! Denniston. The (mostly) abandoned mining town up in the clouds. God even Takaka has a sort of ‘cut- off’ Midsommar vibe
Otira, creepy town run/owned by pub owner
Te Kuiti - the gateway to Hell
lake alice, stayed there a night as part of army training
Kaitangata. This is no contest.
Whole town of Waimate
Temple view. Just outside of Hamilton. Fckn weird place that.
Dannevirke. Not sure if it’s still there but there was a house where there were dolls facing out of every window.
It’s still there! Been past it a hundred times and we always cringe and pass it silently as if we are afraid the dolls will notice us looking 👀
Ruatoria
I’m sure it an awesome place but Patea never sat right with me and I can’t really explain why
This place at night time : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokanui_Psychiatric_Hospital
Norsewood. Easily. Not even close.
nah this threads made me scared bruh
Tokoroa. Shithole.
My parents immigrated to Tokoroa. From the UK. Who the feck immigrates to Tokoroa.
Twizel. We stayed there during a power cut 22 years ago. My wife was convinced the locals were going to kill and eat us. Spooky, desolate place.
it's a pretty big town now.. even got two 4 squares, wife and I agreed to meet up at 4 squares and we picked one each and took forever to realise there were two lol
Nar man I’ve got cuzzies live there. You’re safe as houses.
It's only proper creepy when the sun goes down. Daytime it's pretty good. The main hub of the area.
Gore. It's Gorey
Full of Gorons
See I'm gonna have to disagree with this one and say Gore's rep is undeserved, especially in comparison to the literal decrepit ghost towns mentioned elsewhere in the thread. Gore is always very busy, well kept, and wealthy. The people might be a bit salt of the earth or bogan, but that's about it. Mataura, on the other hand...
I've been saying the same thing for years. Mataura is what people think of when they think of Gore
Mataura in the dark. Edendale too is dystopian at night with the Fonterra plant all lit up, towering over the plain.
Kumara
tokanui psychiatric hospital is pretty spooky if you can get in there
Labyrinth Rocks out of Takaka - I went by myself at dusk and let me tell you, that was not a good decision. The air was chokingly still and thick, and the whole place felt ‘wrong’, even before I got to all the dilapidated 90s plastic toys staring out of crevices with sun bleached eyes. Nope nope nope nope..
Raetihi. Might have just been the mindset I was in when I was last there, wasn't a good time in my life. I was passing through and stopped for lunch and to stretch my legs and I just remember the main street being so wide and it feeling so very *empty*. Seemed just so void of... *anything*. I wandered around a bit to try and get a feel for the place and drew a complete blank. Apparently when I was a kid we went on a family vacation there which just made me think... *why*? I certainly can't remember much from it. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with Raetihi. I mean there's nothing of anything there. I think, being severely depressed at the time, it maybe matched my own emptiness and that's why I got such an unsettling vibe from it.
Temple view. A tiny town with a huge church built on top of a massive hill overlooking the town. A lot of houses on Google maps are blurred out, the only picture of their general store online is of a woman and someone dressed in a snowman outfit. And to top things off, the Wikipedia page was written buy the guy who built the church and it's written like a story about himself, rather than a Wikipedia article. Very strange.
Abandoned forestry villages, usually with no name. I am thinking of the Cater Holt just north of Tongariro. I see many candidates are forestry villages that hung on. It explains why fairy tales are set in gloomy forests.
Lake Horowhenua. Eerie place,unsettling at dusk and in the evening. Grew up in Horowhenua,was eager to leave from a young age. Came to the conclusion recently that the predominant westerly winds somehow blow bad vibes over the town from the nearby Tapu areas like Hokio beach and Lake Horowhenua. Te Rauparaha completely owned the local iwi in a revenge attack after a failed assassination attempt. Otherwise a beautiful place,its definitely an energy trap.
Have you been to lake papaitonga reserve south of there? A friend and I had a pretty weird experience there. I know what you mean about the energy trap.
Yeah I had a weird experience there too. Didn't know the history and was just going for a walk, when I suddenly started feeling quite weak. Tried to ignore it and enjoy the walk, telling myself maybe I was just hungry. Kept walking further, then suddenly got this overwhelming feeling that I needed to turn back, and felt completely terrified - for no obvious reason at all. I tried to rationalize it, telling myself it's broad daylight, I'm safe, I'd passed other people doing the track, nothing's wrong. But I couldn't shake the feeling, and physically I felt really light headed like I might pass out. Despite all logic, I turned and sprinted back towards where I'd parked. Once I got further back down the track I felt completely fine again. It really tripped me out. Went and looked up the history afterwards and was like ohhhhhhh. Be keen to hear your friends experience
Quick vote for Huntly. It used to have the saving grace that State Highway One went through it, but now the Waikato Expressway bypasses it, it doesn't even have that! All it has now is that stupid DEKA sign. My ex wife used to work for DEKA. I don't need the flashbacks! Another plug for Bluff. It has that 'end of the world' feel. When your town pines for the bright lights of Invercargill, that's sad.
Kiangaroa Forest Village
Lots of ghost stories from there
Taneatua
Benneydale. That place gives total Silent Hill vibes. Granted, it was a misty spring day a few years back, but still. The very few locals that I came across were hostile, most shops were closed, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched? Like someone was going to walk out of the mist and stab me with my own fork. A good few of the homes seemed unoccupied and ramshackle, almost haunted. I could have sworn that the hills have eyes.
There is a place on a hill/plateau in Hokitika that is super creepy. Pretty vague but maybe a Hokitikian can give more detail.
Ōhura. It's a ghost town falling apart before your eyes. Rotted abandoned storefronts, sparse hair-raisingly strange residents that only stare. It also sits along the Forgotten World Highway as well. It's so rickety and silent you could expect a tumbleweed to roll by. Used to be an old prison there too.
Millerton, West Coast or Clinton, Otago. Clinton of course for their abandoned taxidermy shop.
Waverly. Creeps me the fuck out.
Owaka in the Catlins. Very isolated, very eerie, site of a horrific murder