This Spooky Small Town In Arizona Could Be Right Out Of A Horror Movie

I don’t know about you but sometimes driving through Arizona gives me the creeps. This is especially true in rural parts of the state where superstition is more prominent and the wind whispers an eerie message through the trees and windows. Once that sun goes down, there’s no telling what spooky things may linger in the dark.

Or maybe it’s just me and all the skinwalker and ghost stories I heard as a kid.

Kevin Dooley/Flickr

I could probably name off a few dozen places around the state that give me the creeps but, for many people, there is one town that looks like it could definitely be part of a horror movie set. In fact, it was several times.

That town is Superior.

Devon Christopher Adams/Flickr

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Devon Christopher Adams/Flickr

Superior is a small mining town of about 2,800 people and one of the many little spots located along US-60. Some people know it as the neighbor of Boyce Thompson Arboretum, the home of the annual prickly pear festival, or the start of some hefty mining operations in this area of the state.

But for others it has been the setting for horror films like The Prophecy, homages to the B-movie horror films like Eight Legged Freaks (about giant spiders hunting and killing Arizonans), or the site of an alien attack in the straight-to-video film Alien Invasion Arizona.

Here's a look at the town in the 1995 film, The Prophecy.

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Richard Topalovich/Flickr

Along with the arid landscape, the sight of decaying and abandoned buildings certainly adds to the creep factor. There’s plenty of those to find here and depending on where you go, you might find that even the streets are devoid of people.

As a historic mining town, it probably even has its fair share of ghost stories.

Devon Christopher Adams/Flickr

Even Apache Leap, which towers in the town’s background, has a haunting history. The rugged formation earned its name from when a group of Apache being chased by the U.S. cavalry chose to jump off the cliff to their imminent deaths rather than be captured.

Alan English CPA

michellehurwitz/Flickr

In reality, Superior is more quaint and enticing than how photographers and cinematographers tend to depict it. Driving through the town’s streets on a weekend afternoon, especially in the seasons surrounding festivals and celebrations, you get a sense that the small town is proud of its past and the potential for its future.

Do you want to see some other places in Arizona that look a little spooky? A good place to start is our article, This Creepy Ghost Town In Arizona Is The Stuff Nightmares Are Made Of, which will introduce you to our state’s most haunted town.