A Creepy Stretch of Old US-41

Last August (2025) I was on the way to Ohio and checked out an abandoned segment of US Highway 41 south of Earl Park, Indiana.

Here's the southbound view at the end. Oftentimes a road like this will have some sort of barrier or signage where it ends but that wasn't the case.

The road just ends. That's current US-41 in the distance.

Earl Park can be seen to the north.

Not that it's a concern these days, but no passing. I did a little research and it appears the current version of 41 was in use by at least 2010, so the center lines have held up fairly well over time.

Even without the encroaching weeds these are some narrow lanes.

When I was traveling south I immediately noticed the absence of...well, everything. Oftentimes an old road segment will still provide access to a house or farm or two but not here, and even with civilization just a short distance away I really felt a feeling of desolation.

I also started to feel apprehensive as I approached the end of the road, and by the time I stepped out of the car I was downright uncomfortable. No peaceful, easy feeling here! I wouldn't have been surprised to smell death, see a body part sticking out of the weeds, or (even worse) encounter someone or something that wasn't dead. Thank you for putting those thoughts in my head, Stephen King. And while I'm not a gung-ho believer in the paranormal I've been around long enough to know that sometimes something just can't be explained. Perhaps some sort of road tragedy occurred in the area many years ago? Regardless, there was some bad juju in the air that day and I didn't waste any time getting out of there, and revisiting things over 4 months later still gives me a little case of the heebie-jeebies. Brrr!