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Now that you all know about the fictional places I would like to visit, it’s time to take the opposite approach to this question. Here is my list of places I’ve read about in stories but would never want to see for myself. To see how everyone else responded to this question, click here.
1. Neverland.
This world’s dark side was something to be reckoned with. As much as I’d like to meet (some of) the Lost Boys and get to know fairies, I’d have to give this trip a hard pass. It seems like there would be far too many ways for things to go terribly wrong during it.
2. The Town of Stepford from “The Stepford Wives.”
I’ve never read the book, but I somehow managed to start watching the movie version of this tale without realizing the twist ending. Figuring out why all of the women in Stepford were perfect was terrifying! I legitimately had a nightmare or two about the same thing happening to me that happened to them. (And I’m purposefully being a little vague here in case any of you aren’t familiar with this story).
So, no thank you. I’d never want to visit Stepford, not even for an afternoon.
3. Community.
More specifically, I’m referring to the seemingly-perfect place Jonas lived in Lois Lowry’s “The Giver.” She did an excellent job of making it sound like a utopia in the beginning, but the price people had to pay to live in a society where there was no hunger, war, or pain was far too steep for me.
4. Azkaban.
There are loads of places in the Harry Potter universe I’d love to visit. A prison filled with Death-Eaters is definitely not one of them.
5. Mordor.
Honestly, why would anyone actually want to go to Mordor if they didn’t have to? Just reading the descriptions of this barren, volcanic wasteland in the Lord of the Rings was more than enough for me.
6. Anywhere in, near, or within shouting distance of Game of Thrones.
I tried to read the first book in this series once. The first scene introduced characters who were then killed off a few pages later if my memory is correct. Based on what I’ve heard about the rest of this series, that is par for the course for this universe.
As much as I enjoy dragons and the fantasy genre in general, I truly wouldn’t want to visit a place where people die so regularly.
7. The Overlook Hotel.
One of the first horror novels I ever read was Stephen King’s “The Shining.” Let’s just say that I’ve been a little frightened of hotels ever since then, especially when you’re walking down their corridors late at night and alone even if their architecture is beautiful.
I can’t wait to see how all of you answered this question! Here’s the list of upcoming prompts for anyone who is curious.
I would quite like to visit Mordor *briefly*, but I’m a pyromaniac, and when I watched the movie and they were doing all sorts of metalwork I might have salivated a bit. It would be handy to have a little button to press and teleport back home before I got killed, though.
That’s a good point. It would be cool to see the metalworking process. You might want to bring a cloak of invisibility or something, though! 🙂
OMG Your list is so much better than mine!! I forgot completely about Stepford. NEVER NEVER NEVER want to go there.
I’m glad you liked it. Thanks for stopping by. Yeah, Stepford wouldn’t be fun in any way.
Thanks for coming by! Your choices were awesome. The Stepford Wives book is just as creepy as the movie. Another one I thought of was The Association by Bentley Little. Made me swear off neighborhoods with HMOs forever!
You’re welcome. I’d never heard of The Association before, but I’m going to try to find a copy of it. It sounds great.
Oh my gosh Lydia, your thinking cap was really on. I agree with many of these and they didn’t even come to my mind. I most certainly would have been kicked out of “Stepford” Good post.
Here’s mine: http://www.ourtownbookreviews.com/2019/02/fictional-universes-id-rather-not-visit_26.html
Thank you very much. I liked your post a lot, too.
I agree! Especially about Stepford. That’s one place I’ve no need to visit.
Exactly. Thanks for stopping by!
The Overlook is the one place above I might give a shot to. Seems like it would be creepy as heck, but could be cool, too. 😀
Yeah, it could be pretty cool. I wonder if the ghosts would leave you alone if you only visited during the day?
My kid, who’s a freak about haunted places, actually wants to go visit that hotel (she has a very lengthy list of places to go ghost hunting, lol). We had the same thoughts about “The Giver”. Do you know, I had no idea The Stepford Wives was a book first?
I hope she’ll get to go there someday. I didn’t realize it was a real place!
And I’m surprised that you didn’t know The Stepford Wives was a book first.
Stepford and the Overlook Hotel are a bit too creepy for my tastes, despite loving a good horror novel. 🙂
Re: GOT – I love fantasy novels, but man, GRRM’s world is so violent, so bleak, so… I don’t even know what to call it – that I can’t blame you for not wanting to visit, ever. There are so many other dark fantasy novels out there that are a million times better (and not as misogynistic or violent).
My post
What dark fantasy novels would you recommend? I’d love to read some that aren’t so misogynistic or violent.
The Shadowmarch series by Tad Willliams is a good one. Princess Briony is one of the driving forces of the story.
And although not quite as dark, I definitely recommend the Memory, Sorrow & Thorn series by Tad Williams as well as The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.
Yay! Thank you. I’m checking to see which ones my local library has now.
You’re very welcome! I love both of these authors and I hope you do, too.
Great list! I’d never have thought to include Neverland. I’m with you on Stepford, that place creeped me out! You’re right, who on earth would want to visit Mordor?!
Another place I would not want to visit is post-apocalyptic anywhere, like Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic America in ‘The Road’ *shudder*
Nice to discover I’m not the only one who’s not into Game of Thrones even though I adore dragons and fantasy. Didn’t mind the first 3 books but book 4 almost got hurled across the room. As for the series, I’m no prude, but there is such a thing as too much sex *LOL*
Oh, good answer! Yeah, “The Road” would be a terrible place to visit/live.
And I’m impressed that you got so far into the GoT universe. Is it safe to assume you haven’t watched the TV show?
The Overlook Hotel is a great choice. That’s a classic of creepy.
https://echoishiizone.wordpress.com/2019/02/27/fictional-worlds-id-rather-not-visit/
Thank you, and thanks for stopping by.
I also forgot about Stepford. Definitely a place I wouldn’t want to visit. I’d never fit in there.
Heh, I don’t think anyone who is interesting or intelligent would. 🙂
I never thought about how bad Neverland would be, but you’re completely right. As ‘adventurous’ as it seems, it sounds like you could die there really easy.
Yeah, for sure.
Aymee, my library has all of those books. I just requested book 1 from all three series. 😀
AWESOME! I hope you enjoy them!
We read The Giver in the Library Book Club a couple of years ago. One, or maybe two, said they’d actually want to live there. The rest of us were shocked. I was the only one of the few that thought it took things too far to make things “perfect” and “peaceful”.
Stepford would be creepy enough even without the twist ending.
Yes, for sure.