The town that is not there
The town was closed in ninety one, yet the glass is intact and the curtains hang. The letterboxes hold today’s newspapers.
- ThemWe got here. The town exists
- YouYou said they closed it in ninety one
- ThemThey did. And the buildings stand, the glass is intact
- YouIntact
- ThemIntact. And there are curtains in the windows
- pause 1.5 s
- YouThen somebody lives there
- ThemSo where are the people
- YouMaybe they are all at work
- ThemWhat work, the plant was taken apart brick by brick
- pause 1.2 s
- Here is the strange part
- YouWhat
- ThemThe sand in the playground is fresh
- YouFresh how
- ThemSifted. No footprints in it, and it is fresh
- pause 1.8 s
- YouDrive away
- ThemWe got here an hour ago
- YouDrive away
- ThemDennis went into a stairwell to look at the letterboxes
- pause 1.5 s
- He came back white
- YouWhat is in them
- ThemNewspapers
- Today's
- pause 1.2 s
- YouThere is no post office here. That is impossible
- ThemI know
- pause 1.8 s
- We are leaving. The barrier at the exit is down
- YouWas it up when you drove in
- ThemWe did not drive in through the barrier
- We went round on the dirt track
- pause 1.5 s
- The dirt track is not there any more
- There is a building where it was
How it works
The evidence here is on paper: fresh sand and today’s newspapers. The road they came in on disappears last, and it is the only thing that changes while they watch.
How to make it yours
Instead of sand and newspapers, use receipts in an empty shop, a calendar open at today or a timetable with tomorrow’s date. The friend who goes into the stairwell and comes back white never writes in the chat: the viewer sees everything through the narrator. Mention the road they came in by once and in passing, and let it be the last thing to vanish, just when they seem to be out.
Every story here is fiction. Any resemblance to real people or events is coincidental.
Turn a scary chat into a video
A story like this works as a vertical video for TikTok, Shorts or Reels. Pick how the chat should look, or send the script to the bot and get a finished MP4.