This is the true story of an American town that vanished because of a book.

In the summer of 1967, Mark and Dina Pines were sent to stay with their great-uncle Harold in a small forest town in Oregon, officially known as Gravity Fall. At the time, it was a real place—a sheriff’s office, a school, a lumber mill, and just under 900 people.

Three weeks into their visit, Mark found a loose floorboard in Harold’s cabin. Underneath was a leather-bound book wrapped in chains and animal hide. Inside were symbols, rituals, and sketches of creatures that didn’t match anything in the natural world. When Harold saw it, his hands started to shake. All he said was: “They were never supposed to be let out.”

Then Gravity Fall started to come apart.

People reported shadows moving with no one to cast them. Footprints stopped in midair. Voices came out of the trees, calling residents by name.

On the final night of summer, a violent storm hit. Phone lines went dead. Every road into Gravity Fall collapsed or washed out.

When authorities finally reached the site two days later, the town wasn’t damaged.

It was gone.