A Nightmare on Route 66

Taking a short detour off of highway 40 in New Mexico, just past Santa Rosa will lead you to the ghost town of Cuervo, New Mexico on the corner of Old Route 66 and Bond Rd.

Let’s be clear, we have traveled to many places and embraced much of the macabre that others flee from (see our earlier blog post on macabre sites)- we are far from faint of heart, but this was legit the creepiest place we have ever been.

We happened upon this place by chance after catching a glimpse of dilapidated adobe buildings with crumbling roofs  from the highway and deciding to double back to investigate. We had no idea what we were in for. 

The town of Cuervo or "Crow" was established in 1901 as a railroad town. It took a hit in the 1940’s and the town’s population was decimated when highway 40 was built, bisecting the town in two halves. There are a few remaining residents and a not clearly functional gas station, from my understanding, but most of the buildings along this part of route 66 are crumbling. The entire stretch of the area is covered with a sea of broken glass. It is a post-apocalyptic scene befitting the set of any horror movie.

The first crumbling home we approached had graffitied crosses and reference to "caspar baltasar" spray painted on the outside. Stepping over the threshold in the fading light of day between the lengthening shadows of trees reaching out like the twisted, arthritic witch fingers, we catch site of the wall in front of us. Attached to the wall is a burned up Ouija board, a satanic symbol that appears burned, and the word "CHRIST" emblazoned over the top. The floor was littered with dirty heaps of blankets from apparent squatters, cigarette butts, trash, a knocked over old stove, and the mutilated corpse of a rattlesnake with parts of the bony spine sticking out of the skin.  Chris let me wander in by myself, but after glancing around the thought occurred to me that we may not be alone, and I decided not to proceed any further.

I headed down the street to explore the other buildings with cracked floors that looked like an earthquake had struck them.  I walked past the cacti plants, an open cistern, rusted portions of abandoned cars, partial fences covered in barbed wire, a church with padlocked doors, and a sea of broken glass that covered the entire area embedded in red dirt. One had to wonder, what happened here?  You could see the cars zooming past on the highway, but only one solitary truck drove down the adjacent Route 66 during our exploration.

After roaming a bit in the fading light of dusk, we decided to leave when we happened upon a big, hairy tarantula crossing the street.  Seriously, you cannot make this stuff up.  I don't know if the place could have been any creepier. Our more superstitious friends postulated that bad things happen when you mess with Ouija boards.  We'll let you be the judge of that.

I read online some other posts about alleged crimes or perhaps hoaxes that happened here, but if you are a brave soul who decides to check this out, bring a friend and let people know where you are going first, just in case.