From Gotham To Mystic Falls: 7 TV Towns Too Dangerous For Tourists

The premiere of Fox’s new drama “Gotham” established Batman’s hometown as a dangerous place to live. The new show follows James Gordon, a rookie detective, as he tries to deal with corruption in the Gotham City Police Department. It shows how villains were led down the wrong path and how Bruce Wayne dealt with the death of parents as a boy. It’s easy to see how future villains are influenced in this awful town. Before the title card came up, audiences saw a pickpocketing, mugging and murder on the streets of Gotham. Of course, that was just the beginning. Later on, detectives were beaten and hung up in meat lockers, a man was framed and shot and the Penguin killed a guy for his sandwich.

Although “Gotham” is fun to watch, it’s pretty gruesome. Unlike Stars Hollow from “Gilmore Girls” or Pawnee from “Parks And Recreation,” Gotham is a fictional town that no one actually wants to visit. It’s one of the most dangerous towns on television, but we can think of a few other towns that we would never want to visit…because we’d probably end up dead.

Sunnydale from “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”: It sits on a Hellmouth. Seriously, the opening to hell is under Sunnydale High School's library. Buffy received a “Class Protector” award as a senior superlative because at some point she saved everyone’s lives. She had to give her entire senior class weapons to fight the apocalypse at graduation. The official “Sunnydale High School” yearbook (which fans can own) listed over 20 names in an In Memoriam section, and that was only after Season 3. There were still several more apocalypses that the town would see before caving in on itself at the end of Season 7.

King’s Landing from “Game Of Thrones”: Technically, every town in the world of “Game of Thrones” is dangerous, but King’s Landing seems to be one of the most violent towns. Go to King’s Landing and anger the wrong person, your life could be on the line. When Joffrey was on the throne, he had Ned Stark’s head taken off and that was just the beginning of his reign. Dying might be a better alternative considering how the living can be tortured. Sansa has spent the better part of the series terrified for her life in King’s Landing. Obviously, we wouldn’t go there without a dragon to protect us.

Rosewood from “Pretty Little Liars”: Rosewood, Pennsylvania doesn’t seem to be safe for anyone. Aside from creepy stalkers, murderers and crazy boyfriends, a lot of the town seems to be in Radley Sanitarium. Though that didn’t stop Mona from escaping, so apparently security there isn’t great. The coroner’s office doesn’t know how to do their job either because dead people just can’t stay dead in that town. Season 5 featured the return of Alison who supposedly died before the series started.

Mystic Falls from “The Vampire Diaries”: Citizens of Mystic Falls seem to have two options: they can be a vampire or a happy meal. If a new character isn’t a vampire, they usually end up feeding a vampire—unless they’re a witch, werewolf or vampire hunter. Normal humans don’t do too well in this Virginia town.

Beacon Hills from “Teen Wolf”: Much like Mystic Falls, teenagers are at high risk for becoming supernatural creatures or getting murdered. However, “Teen Wolf” Season 4 introduced the deadpool. The hit list allowed normal citizens of Beacon Hills to hunt and kill supernatural creatures. Anyone who submitted proof of a kill would receive a hefty payment. So absolutely no one is safe in Beacon Hills, powers or not.

Neptune from “Veronica Mars”: Much like Rosewood and Gotham, Neptune is concerning because there isn’t any magic. Average people (okay, they’re a little crazier than the average person) just murder, rape, create bombs and frame other people. The disturbing reality of “Veronica Mars” is part of why people still want to see Neptune—from the comfort of their living rooms—10 years later.

We might be very afraid of these towns, but we love to watch them. Hopefully, “Gotham” will turn out to be just as addictive as these shows.

“Gotham” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Would you be brave enough to visit any of these fictional towns? Sound off in the comments section below!