Plan your next cannibal-themed family trip with this handy map of American ghost towns

Ghost towns generally denote one or two things in America: A quiet, poignant remnant of past economic prosperity and ways of life that no longer exist… and the go-to hangout for clans of sadistic killer mutant ghouls waiting for the next wayward caravan of vacationers to accidentally pop a flat tire. Often these two areas overlap, but unfortunately we don’t see those clearly denoted in this map of over 3,800 documented ghost towns across this vast country of ours. Other than that, though, it’s a pretty decent reference database.

“Ghost towns are primarily associated with the Wild West frontier and people flocking to areas with valuable mineral resources, including gold and silver in the Rockies and oil in Texas,” writes Peter Ling, a professor of American Studies, on the Geotab map page. “In recent decades, heritage tourism has given some ghost towns a second chance to thrive, attracting visitors from around the world.”

Now, we aren’t learned professors like Mr. Ling, but we definitely would argue that ghost towns are more “primarily associated” with inbred, deformed baby-snatchers hellbent on terrorizing a feuding family (usually it’s the toxically proud dad’s fault) on their way to some middle-of-nowhere RV campsite. Occasionally there are chainsaws involved, although the less said about those instances, the better.

Although the Ghost Town Map doesn’t appear to give visitors the exact coordinates for each vacated locale, they do also offer a Top Ten list of some of the most recognizable and popular destinations, i.e. presumably the ones in which you are least likely to fend off murderous hill people and/or Gold Rush miner ghosts.

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[via BoingBoing]