The Village That Wasn’t There"Horror"

It began with a glitch on Amelia’s GPS.

She was a freelance travel vlogger exploring forgotten towns for her YouTube channel, “WanderDark.” On a stormy afternoon, while driving through the countryside of northern England, her GPS rerouted unexpectedly, pointing toward a location labeled “Rookmere.”

But the strange thing was—Rookmere didn’t appear on any map.

Google. Apple. Even paper roadmaps. Nothing.

She turned off the main road, curiosity burning like a fuse. As the rain poured and mist rolled in, a faded wooden sign emerged from the gloom:

> “Welcome to Rookmere. Population: 31.”



But no one seemed to live there.

II. The Silent Village

The village looked like a painting—cobbled streets, ivy-covered stone cottages, and a church tower that rose like a broken finger against the gray sky. Yet, not a single soul was seen.

Shops stood with doors open, candles burned in windows, bread lay warm on bakery shelves—but no people.

Only crows.

Hundreds of them.

She knocked on doors. No answer. She called out. Her voice vanished like smoke.

Amelia set up her camera, documenting everything. “An abandoned village with warm food?” she said on camera. “Something’s not right here.”

She would be right.

And horribly wrong.

III. The Note

In the old inn, she found a guest ledger. The last name was from 1974.

Underneath it, scribbled in a hurried hand:

> “If you see them, don’t speak.
If you hear them, don’t run.
If you stay past dusk—
You’re one of us.”



Suddenly, the air turned heavier. The sun, still high minutes ago, now dipped fast behind the hills.

She decided to leave.

Her car wouldn’t start.

Her phone had no signal.

And when she returned to the road, the sign at the entrance was gone.

There was no exit.

IV. Shadows at Dusk

At twilight, they came.

Not people.

Figures.

Translucent, jerking like broken puppets, drifting between the buildings.

Their mouths hung open, but no sound emerged. Their eyes were hollow.

One of them reached toward Amelia.

She screamed, bolting into the church. Inside, the air was different. Still, but safe.

On the pulpit was a journal.

It told the story of Rookmere.

V. The Curse

In 1842, a traveling priest cursed the village for its sins—unknowable, unforgivable. The curse erased Rookmere from maps, memories, and time itself. Now, the village lingers between worlds, appearing only to those who stumble upon it.

And once seen, it doesn’t let you leave.

Every visitor becomes part of it.

The shadows outside?

They were once travelers too.

The journal’s last page was signed:

> Amelia Knight.
March 3rd, 2021.



The same name. Her name.

Same date.

Same handwriting.

Her hands trembled.

She didn’t write it.

Not yet.

But she would.

VI. Loop

Day resets.
Every morning she wakes in the same inn, bread still warm, streets still silent.
Every night the shadows return.
Every escape leads her back to the center of Rookmere.

She’s recording every day, filling tapes with warnings, hoping someone will find them. But she knows the truth:

> Rookmere only shows itself to those already lost.




The Twist

Months later, a man named Theo receives a strange package: a weathered camcorder and a journal with the name Amelia Knight inside. There's no return address.

He watches the footage—her eyes wide with fear, her voice breaking as she pleads,

> “If you see Rookmere…
Don’t go.”



He opens his GPS.

It reroutes.

To Rookmere.

And so it begins again.