In a January 2 post, the popular Instagram account Fake Goosebumps lampooned the Mile High City with, well, a fake cover of an imaginary Goosebumps book. "Ever since COVID it's a damn ghost town," reads the caption on the cover, which depicts a deserted, decrepit and eerily post-apocalyptic Denver.
Like all the images on Fake Goosebumps, this one of Denver is rendered in the style of Tim Jacobus, the artist who has painted most of the covers of author R. L. Stine's iconic horror books for kids. But the mysterious parodist behind Fake Goosebumps uses Midjourney, a text-prompted AI program, to create their Jacobus-esque jokes.
So why pick on Denver? In the comments, the mastermind behind Fake Goosebumps tipped their hand: They are from Denver themselves. Or as it turns out, a suburb. Because no one can hate on downtown Denver like someone from Westminster or whatever. Many of the other comments are just as telling. Especially that last one. Silent Hill? Dang. We were thinking more like Pedro Pascal shooting Cordyceps-addled zombies. Maybe someday.
