15 Fictional Places You’d Die to Visit (Literally)
They look amazing—until they try to kill you. From Jurassic Park’s dino paradise to Coraline’s button-eyed nightmare, these are the fictional places we all dream about… and would instantly regret visiting.
In this episode of A.J. Chat, we’re counting down the coolest, creepiest, and most cursed imaginary worlds in pop culture. Magical? Yes. Safe? Absolutely not.
🎧 Listen now and ask yourself: Would you survive even five minutes in these worlds?
📲 For more chaotic deep dives: @AJChatShorts
🎙️ Subscribe for new episodes, weekly weirdness, and all things pop culture.
Transcript
It's.
Speaker A:Welcome back, everybody.
Speaker A:Hope you are all doing great on this Wednesday.
Speaker A:Hopefully you had a great day.
Speaker A:Why am I all tangled up on cords?
Speaker A:All right, so we took.
Speaker A:We took Brownie to the vet today, and, you know, for all in all, she's doing pretty good.
Speaker A:She had blood work done, so I'm hoping that comes back fine.
Speaker A:She had.
Speaker A:They found a little, like, a small lump.
Speaker A:They said we can keep an eye on it or they can do, like, a needle biopsy.
Speaker A:So they're gonna do a needle biopsy because I.
Speaker A:I'm nervous.
Speaker A:Just, you know, it could be nothing.
Speaker A:It's probably just, like.
Speaker A:What's it called?
Speaker A:A fatty tumor.
Speaker A:Ish.
Speaker A:And then her teeth have moderate tartar.
Speaker A:It goes all the way up to the gum line.
Speaker A:I should probably have to have a few teeth extracted.
Speaker A:You know what?
Speaker A:It's fine.
Speaker A:Well, I mean, it's not fine.
Speaker A:I mean, I always say.
Speaker A:Oh, obviously I.
Speaker A:I feel bad.
Speaker A:I don't want her to go through this, but we're gonna take care of it.
Speaker A:I'm gonna call insurance and add on extra insurance, so it's okay.
Speaker A:It's all right.
Speaker A:Perhaps.
Speaker A:What.
Speaker A:You deal with it.
Speaker A:You.
Speaker A:You just have to.
Speaker A:She's our dog now, and it's something you.
Speaker A:You just.
Speaker A:You just deal with.
Speaker A:And I love her to pieces.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker A:So we took her to the vet, and she.
Speaker A:She let them touch her, and they took her temperature and they chopped.
Speaker A:They cut her nails.
Speaker A:They cleaned her dirty ears.
Speaker A:She came home.
Speaker A:Now, this whole time, every time you put her down, she'd run right to her cage.
Speaker A:Well, today she'd run to her cage, and then she'd run out, and she'd run back in.
Speaker A:She'd run out.
Speaker A:So she was having fun today.
Speaker A:She was running around the house, so that's a very good sign.
Speaker A:And they wait her, and she is 17 pounds.
Speaker A:So she's a little one.
Speaker A:Belle's like.
Speaker A:Belle's almost 40.
Speaker A:Bell's.
Speaker A:Bell's.
Speaker A:Belle is, like, probably 38 to 40 pounds.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:And Belle goes to the doctor next week.
Speaker A:But we.
Speaker A:But Belle is special because Belle has to get medication because my girl does not like to be monkeyed with some.
Speaker A:That is, she gets medication to keep her cool, because otherwise, when they start, like, messing with her, she's like, oh, hell no.
Speaker A:And she's.
Speaker A:She tries to fight him.
Speaker A:So I don't know.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But the new dog will growl.
Speaker A:Ish.
Speaker A:At Belle, and it's only when she's in her crate.
Speaker A:So I think she's very territorial right now.
Speaker A:So hopefully all of you are doing wonderful.
Speaker A:Hopefully you had a great Wednesday.
Speaker A:I should have worked out.
Speaker A:But I don't know, maybe, maybe, maybe I hate, I hate even saying I'm not going to.
Speaker A:And then, then, then, then you say it, then you throw it out to the universe, then you feel guilty.
Speaker A:So I'm not saying it, I'm not saying it, whatever.
Speaker A:So hopefully all you are doing wonderful.
Speaker A:Hopefully.
Speaker A:We're over here listening to me.
Speaker A:It is warm weather and soon we're going to be in eight April.
Speaker A:And then I, I hope my April, we're done with the snow.
Speaker A:So as always, you can reach out to me on social media.
Speaker A:The best place is Instagram.
Speaker A:I have two accounts.
Speaker A: AJ chat or Aunt Jody: Speaker A:As always, I appreciate all of you spending time with me.
Speaker A:And this is our seventh season, so I appreciate all of you.
Speaker A:So let's get in to today's episode.
Speaker A:Welcome back to AJ Chat.
Speaker A:I am your host.
Speaker A:Your forever grateful host.
Speaker A:Fiction is full of places that seem amazing.
Speaker A:Magical lands, futuristic cities, theme parks with dinosaurs.
Speaker A:The kind of worlds you wish you could visit, even just once.
Speaker A:But here's the catch, okay?
Speaker A:Most of them come with a hidden cost.
Speaker A:Sure, they look incredible.
Speaker A:Until the monsters show up, the illusion cracked, or the place tries to change you.
Speaker A:So today on AJ Chat, we're counting down the best imaginary places we'd want to visit but probably shouldn't.
Speaker A:Let's kick it off at number 15.
Speaker A:Number 15.
Speaker A:We all know what this is.
Speaker A: It's Jurassic park from: Speaker A:Dinosaurs, jungle jeeps, high tech security fences.
Speaker A:It sounds like the ultimate destination for science nerds, thrill seekers, and every kid who ever had a plastic T.
Speaker A:Rex.
Speaker A:Jurassic park, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Jeff Gold, brings everything to that dream to life.
Speaker A:And then it tears it apart.
Speaker A:The island starts us out, starts off in an awe inspiring.
Speaker A:You see brontosaurus grazing in the mist and think this is the future.
Speaker A:But within an hour, repertoires are loose, the power is out, and the guy who runs it has already is already dead.
Speaker A:Nature just doesn't find a way to find you.
Speaker A:It will kill you.
Speaker A:Sure, you would love to visit.
Speaker A:Until you remember the rides don't work, the fences don't hold, and attractions can eat you.
Speaker A:It's the ultimate don't touch experience.
Speaker A:One wrong move and your lunch.
Speaker A:So this is our countdown today.
Speaker A:Imaginary places you would love to visit but probably shouldn't.
Speaker A:That's right.
Speaker A:At number 15, Jurassic Park.
Speaker A:At number 14, Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.
Speaker A: From: Speaker A:A chocolate river, lickable wallpaper and a glass elevator that shoots through through the sky.
Speaker A:Willy Wonka's factory feels like a childhood imagination made real.
Speaker A:Gene Wilder plays Wonka with spark of whimsy and just a hint of menace guiding five children through his edible empire.
Speaker A:But the factory is less fun house and more moral.
Speaker A:Obstacle course.
Speaker A:Every room is a trap.
Speaker A:One kid drowns in chocolate, one inflates into a blueberry.
Speaker A:Another gets launched like, like launched like TV static.
Speaker A:And Wonka, he's not exactly helpful.
Speaker A:He's practically encouraging it with a shrug and a song.
Speaker A:It's whimsical, yes, but it's also wildly unsafe.
Speaker A:Zero supervision, no handrails, and you might not make it to the end if you chew gum in the wrong room.
Speaker A:It's less about the candy tour and more about psychological thriller.
Speaker A:With sprinkle sprinkles.
Speaker A:And number 14, Willie Wonka's chocolate factory.
Speaker A:At number 13, West World.
Speaker A: From that ran from: Speaker A:Imagine a luxury resort where you can dress like a cowboy, shoot bad guys, hook up with the beautiful strangers and relive the wild west without consequences.
Speaker A:That's Westw World.
Speaker A:Evan Rachel, Ed Harris star in this HBO sci fi epic where the fantasy doesn't just blur with reality, it fights back.
Speaker A:At first, the immersive entertainment.
Speaker A:The hosts, it's like androids.
Speaker A:Resets every Gus encounter.
Speaker A:They.
Speaker A:They start to remember and suddenly your.
Speaker A:Your fantasy becomes their rebellion.
Speaker A:And they're tired of playing the role.
Speaker A:And now they're coming for yours.
Speaker A:Westworld the idea, total freedom.
Speaker A:But once the host goes off script, you're not the hero.
Speaker A:You're just another pawn.
Speaker A:And the game, it never ends.
Speaker A:At number 13, Westworld.
Speaker A:At number 12, Pandora.
Speaker A: From: Speaker A:James Cameron's Avatar gave us one of the most visually arresting worlds in sci fi history.
Speaker A:Floating mountains, glowing jungles and living networks that binds every creature together.
Speaker A:Sam Worlington plays Jake Sully, a marine turned Turned as his There's a fierce guide through the world of Pandora.
Speaker A:It's stunning, it's spiritual, it's a full of creatures that want you dead.
Speaker A:The planet's atmosphere is toxic to humans.
Speaker A:The the animals are massive and territorial.
Speaker A:And if you come in with the colonial intentions, you'd be taken down by nature itself.
Speaker A:It's not gently.
Speaker A:And Pandora is breathtaking.
Speaker A:And it's also brutal.
Speaker A:You don't get to take selfies and leave.
Speaker A:If you're not part of the ecosystem, it'll reject you fast and probably violently.
Speaker A:And number 12, Pandora.
Speaker A:At number 11, Hawkins, Indiana.
Speaker A:Stranger Things.
Speaker A:Small town,'80s vibe, arcade machines, walkie talkies and kids on bikes.
Speaker A:Hawkins looks like the perfect backdrop for a summer vacation or Spielberg coming of ace age story.
Speaker A:But if you've seen Stranger Things, you know anything.
Speaker A:But safe beneath the surface is the Upside Down.
Speaker A:A twisted shadow dimension full of monsters, vines, telepathic terrors.
Speaker A:The demagogic doesn't care if it's a prom night.
Speaker A:The mind flayer isn't worried about your baseball game and psychic experiments in the local lab.
Speaker A:Standard Hawkins weirdness.
Speaker A:Sure, you'd want to want to hang out with eleven and the gang, but odds are you end up missing or worse, possessed.
Speaker A:Hawkins may be nostalgic, but it's also cursed.
Speaker A:And number 11, Hawkins, Indiana.
Speaker A:Stranger things.
Speaker A: leasure island from Pinocchio: Speaker A:A lawless amusement park where boys can drink, smoke, break windows and party all night.
Speaker A:Pleasure island sounds like spring break for cartoon delinquents in Pinocchio.
Speaker A:It's the ultimate forbidden destination.
Speaker A:Until the the monkeys.
Speaker A:Until the donkeys show up.
Speaker A:Here's the twist.
Speaker A:The Fonz just bait.
Speaker A:Once you indulge too much, you literally start transforming into a donkey.
Speaker A:No warning, no take backs.
Speaker A:One minute you're breaking pool cues, the next you're brearing and immersing and.
Speaker A:And being loaded into a crate.
Speaker A:It's Disney's darkest moral.
Speaker A:And it's hard.
Speaker A:You think it's a playground, but it's a factory where you're the product.
Speaker A:At number 10, Pleasure Island.
Speaker A:Pinocchio.
Speaker A:At number 9, it's the overlook Hotel.
Speaker A:The Shining.
Speaker A: e Simpsons, the shinning from: Speaker A:Snowy Peaks, majestic architect, miles of empty space, vintage charm.
Speaker A:The Overlook Hotel and the Shining seems like the perfect winter retreat.
Speaker A:Until the walls start whispering.
Speaker A:Directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall.
Speaker A:This place is less than a hotel and more of a haunted psyche.
Speaker A:It doesn't kill you outright, it isolates it turns it.
Speaker A:The isolation turns into madness.
Speaker A:Ghosts from the past show up for drinks.
Speaker A:And the carpet pattern somehow more disturbing than blood in the elevator.
Speaker A:You don't leave the Overlook unchanged.
Speaker A:You leave you.
Speaker A:If you leave at all.
Speaker A:And it's not just a haunted, it's waiting for you.
Speaker A:And let me know when you're ready to end for the.
Speaker A:For the rest of it.
Speaker A:Because the Overlook is one of the scariest.
Speaker A: rlook Hotel, the Shining from: Speaker A: he Nightmare Before Christmas: Speaker A:Pumpkins, ghouls, skeletons, a creepy charm.
Speaker A:Halloween Town from Tim Burton's the Nightmare Before Christmas is the ultimate spooky destination.
Speaker A:Jack Skellington and the sung by Danny Elfman is the Pumpkin King of the eerie little world where every day is Halloween and the scares are the point.
Speaker A:But scratch past the musical surface and things are just unsettling fast.
Speaker A:They literally sing about kidnapping Santa.
Speaker A:They decorate with bones and bugs and their idea of a gift, severed heads and snakes.
Speaker A:Jack's desire to take over Christmas nearly leads to disaster for both holidays.
Speaker A:Christmas Town is gothic imaginative, sure.
Speaker A:It's also a place where everything is morbid, nothing is normal, and festive is just another word for dangerous.
Speaker A:Great for a day trip, maybe.
Speaker A:Just wouldn't stay the night.
Speaker A:At number eight, Halloween Town, the Nightmare for Christmas.
Speaker A: Dimension from Doctor Strange: Speaker A:The Mirror Dimension in Doctor Strange is visually jaw dropping.
Speaker A:An alternate plane plane where buildings bend, gravity flips and reality folds.
Speaker A:Like origami.
Speaker A:Benedict Cumberbatch exploring magical realms.
Speaker A:Here you can manipulate space without harming the real world.
Speaker A:It's a perfect for training or trapping because once you're in, you don't get to make the rules.
Speaker A:You don't even get to leave unless someone lets you out.
Speaker A:It's mesmerizing, but also isolating.
Speaker A:A magical fun house that becomes a prison fest.
Speaker A:It's all mirrors and no exit.
Speaker A: the shimmer from Annihilation: Speaker A:Glowing forests, glass trees.
Speaker A:Albino alligators with too many teeth.
Speaker A:The Shimmer, it's a is a natural that looks like paradise.
Speaker A:But Nimia manipulates everything inside.
Speaker A:At first it's stunning.
Speaker A:Then you notice the plants are glowing in human shapes.
Speaker A:Animals scream with human voices.
Speaker A:Time warps, DNA blurs.
Speaker A:The longer you stay, the less of you returns.
Speaker A:If you return at all.
Speaker A:It's not just about physical transformation.
Speaker A:It's psychological erosion.
Speaker A:The Shimmer reflects you won't your worst fears and rewrites biology while you watch.
Speaker A:Terrifying and beautiful in the worst way.
Speaker A: The shimmer annihilation from: Speaker A: five, Coraline the Otherworld: Speaker A:In Coraline, a young girl stumbles into a mere version of her life.
Speaker A:Where the other mother makes everything better.
Speaker A:The food is great, the colors pop.
Speaker A:Her parents pay attention.
Speaker A:The cast brings everything together.
Speaker A:This creepy claymation dreamscape to life.
Speaker A:But things turn quickly.
Speaker A:Turn.
Speaker A:Things turn quickly.
Speaker A:Make a turn.
Speaker A:The other mother wants Caroline to stay forever.
Speaker A:And the price so buttons over her eyes.
Speaker A:What begins as a Cozy dream.
Speaker A:A dream world reveals itself as a web of manipulation, soul theft and body horror.
Speaker A:Caroline's otherworld is trapped.
Speaker A:Disguise as wish fulfillment.
Speaker A:And it gives you everything.
Speaker A:Until it takes everything back.
Speaker A:At number five, Carolyn's other world.
Speaker A:2009.
Speaker A:Elysium.
Speaker A:From Elysium, Elysium.
Speaker A:Earth is overpopulated and disease.
Speaker A:But just above it floats pristine utopia.
Speaker A:Elysium plays bat.
Speaker A:Damon plays a desperate man trying to reach his orbiting Eden.
Speaker A:And while Jody Foster guards its gate.
Speaker A:Elysium has it all.
Speaker A:Cures for cancer, perfect lawns, gleaming tech.
Speaker A:But it's exclusively for the rich.
Speaker A:The rest of humanity lives in poverty.
Speaker A:Below.
Speaker A:You want to visit?
Speaker A:Good luck.
Speaker A:They'll shoot you out of the sky before you get close.
Speaker A:It's a class metaphor wrapped in sci fi sheen.
Speaker A:Elysium isn't just exclusive, it's violently protected.
Speaker A:And that utopia becomes the second you realize it's not meant for you.
Speaker A:And number four, Elysium.
Speaker A:From Elysium.
Speaker A:At number three.
Speaker A:We're down to the final three.
Speaker A:I hope you guys like this list.
Speaker A:At number three, we have Narnia from the Chronicles of Narnia.
Speaker A:Narnia is all talking animals, epic battles and enchanted forests discovered through the wardrobe.
Speaker A:The ultimate fairy tale realm.
Speaker A:But Narnia's not all wonder.
Speaker A:It's deep magic and dark rules.
Speaker A:The white witch turns people into stone.
Speaker A:Time works differently.
Speaker A:You can grow up, rule a kingdom, return to your world with no time pass.
Speaker A:That's not magic.
Speaker A:It's essential.
Speaker A:Whiplash.
Speaker A:It's just whiplash.
Speaker A:You think you're visiting a storybook, but Narnia tests your faith, your fear, and your memory of who you even are.
Speaker A:And once you go in, you might never see your own world the same way again.
Speaker A:At number three, Narnia, the Chronicles of Narnia.
Speaker A:The last two, the bath house.
Speaker A:From spirit.
Speaker A:Spirited away into a dream spirit world.
Speaker A:A straight into a job of supernatural bath house run by the terrifying Yabba.
Speaker A:This place is equal parts beautiful and bizarre.
Speaker A:The animation is stunning, the rules totally alien.
Speaker A:Spirits shed slime, pigs, pig.
Speaker A:Parents need saving.
Speaker A:And if you forget your name, you forget yourself.
Speaker A:The cast of creatures is delightful, grotesque, sometimes both at once.
Speaker A:And the food.
Speaker A:It literally turns people into animals.
Speaker A:It's a feast for the senses, but it's also a trap.
Speaker A:You don't just visit the bathhouse.
Speaker A:You work for it, answer to it, and risk disappearing in it.
Speaker A:Enchanting and completely unhinged.
Speaker A: house from Spirited Away from: Speaker A:At number one.
Speaker A:We did it.
Speaker A:We did it.
Speaker A:I know it's a different kind of list this time today, but we have to shake it up sometimes.
Speaker A: rom Sorry to Bother your from: Speaker A:Boots Riley's Sorry to Bother your starts with a telemarketer satire and slowly descends into capitalistic nightmare.
Speaker A:At first it's slick tech and fancy offices.
Speaker A:Then it gets weird.
Speaker A:Executive snow, snort coke in boardrooms, customers sign away their rights.
Speaker A:And deep inside the Factory a secret so surreal and horrifying and redefines workhorse.
Speaker A:The worry free world looks like an over the top joke.
Speaker A:And until you realize it's just one bad choice away from reality.
Speaker A:Funny, bold and totally horrifying.
Speaker A:It's the last place you'd want to visit and somehow it's the most believable.
Speaker A: rom Sorry to Bother your from: Speaker A:These places might dazzle us and some even tempt us.
Speaker A:But behind the magic, the sugar, the neon, or even the nostalgia, there's always a catch, a hidden cost.
Speaker A:A world that doesn't wasn't built for you or worse, wants to change you.
Speaker A:So maybe stay grounded.
Speaker A:But if you had to choose, which imaginary world would you risk it all to visit?
Speaker A:Which one?
Speaker A:And thanks for listening to AJ Chat.
Speaker A:Make sure to rate follow review.
Speaker A:I would appreciate it.
Speaker A:Remember to check out my YouTube channel and tell a friend who's still dreaming about going to Jurassic Park.
Speaker A:Who wouldn't?
Speaker A:Until next time, stay curious and maybe, maybe stay home.
Speaker A:Talk to you tomorrow.
Speaker A:Tomorrow's our last episode for the week.
Speaker A:Have a great.
Speaker A:No, it's not.
Speaker A:No, it's not.
Speaker A:I'm sorry.
Speaker A:I thought today was Thursday.
Speaker A:I'm sorry.
Speaker A:We still have a couple more episodes.
Speaker A:I'm so sorry.
Speaker A:Have a great rest of your night.
Speaker A:Have a great Wednesday.
Speaker A:Have a good night.
Speaker A:Bye Bye.
Speaker A:It.
