Tucked away deep in the Appalachian backwoods lies Bogieville, a town not found on any GPS, not listed on any official census, and yet — somehow — it exists. Or at least, it did. Nina Holloway, a young journalist from Charleston, is chasing a ghost story. After a viral blog post reveals the mysterious disappearance of her great-uncle — last seen traveling toward a town called Bogieville in 1978 — Nina decides to investigate what has now become local legend. The only problem is, no one she talks to has ever heard of it. That is, until she finds an old, torn map hidden in the lining of her great-uncle’s suitcase… with one word scribbled across it: “Don’t.”
Driven by grief, curiosity, and the faint hope of uncovering the truth, Nina sets out on a solo road trip into the hills. After a series of strange encounters and eerie roadside omens — including a blind man who whispers, “You already passed it,” — she arrives at a place where time stands still: Bogieville, population unknown. From the outside, it looks abandoned. Faded signs. Rusted cars. Empty houses with dinner still on the tables. But as dusk falls, the town wakes up — and the townsfolk emerge, dressed like it's still 1978, behaving as if no time has passed at all.
They welcome Nina like she’s one of their own. They know her name. They’ve been waiting. And most unsettling of all — they swear her great-uncle never left. As Nina digs deeper into the eerie perfection of Bogieville, she discovers the town is trapped in a time loop — a supernatural stasis caused by an old Appalachian curse, tied to a coal mine disaster and a deal made with something far older than the mountains themselves. Each generation must feed the town’s memory — or vanish with it.
With each passing night, Nina feels her own memories begin to slip. Her phone no longer works. Her reflection flickers. Even her name starts to feel strange in her mouth. The only way out is to find the original bargain-maker, a reclusive woman named Mother Halley, rumored to dwell beneath the old mine shafts. Time is running out. Bogieville blends gothic horror with psychological thriller, exploring the price of forgetting and the burden of remembering. It’s a chilling meditation on history, identity, and the lies small towns tell to survive. Will Nina break the cycle — or become the next ghost story told by travelers who swear they saw a town that shouldn’t be there?
