The "Ghost Town" Trope In Horror, Explained

gamerant.com:

While it makes sense that horror fans often find themselves frustrated by tropes, since it can feel like the same stories are being told again and again, some tropes actually work really well. One of the best ones is the «Ghost Town» trope since this creates a creepy, isolated setting where no one wants to hang out. The characters know that they have to get out of here and fast as they can just tell that something horrible is on its way.

What is the «Ghost Town» trope and its similar trope, the «Ghost City»? Are there movies that use this concept well and are all the better for it?

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According to TV Tropes, the «Ghost Town» horror trope features towns that don't have people living there anymore. These are the best horror movie settings because they're immediately creepy and awful. The trope is often used when main characters are driving somewhere and they come across a random town that makes them think that something is definitely wrong. A ghost town isn't on a map. A good example of this is the town in the Silent Hill movie as it's clear that it's abandoned.

There is also the similar «Ghost City» trope and TV Tropes mentions that sometimes there is a single character who either still lives there or is around and this is proof of how lonely and isolated they are (and, therefore, the setting). While the ghost city might be more visually affecting since a city is larger than a town, both are still scary settings that work time and time again. TV Tropes also notes that when characters mean to end up in this kind of place, they have quite the ordeal to reach their destination.

The «Ghost Town» trope has been used in several films. One good example is Wes Craven's 1977 film The Hills Have