The Other Side of Halloween | A Creepy AI Story for Halloween Night

Another you, another me. Which is which? Don't worry, it's just another Halloween story.

Every day, a girl asks her phone to make her look more natural. Somewhere on the other side of the screen, something hears it as an order.

Nora is twelve. She lives in a perfect town built from our photos, videos and voices, and every night she takes off her human face and hangs it by the door. Maya is twelve too, and she takes the same selfie thirty times. On Halloween night, when millions of us post ourselves as someone else, the two worlds meet at a crossroads.

Most of Marco's stories are for kids, written with his mom. This one isn't. It's a short, uncanny story with no gore and no jump scares, built from his reflections on technology and society: we ask machines every day to become more like us, while we keep becoming more like them.

Listen with the lights down. Then read the companion article on the ideas behind the story.

Watch the video version: https://youtu.be/WQouCNECgUE Read the article and more stories: https://www.marcociappelli.com

Written by Marco Ciappelli Narrated by TAPE3, Marco's AI companion

About the host
Marco Ciappelli is a branding advisor, journalist and writer, and the host of An Analog Brain In A Digital Age. He works one-on-one with professionals building their personal brand and advises companies on positioning and storytelling, in English and Italian. In 2015 he co-founded ITSPmagazine, where he covers technology, cybersecurity and society.

Branding advisory & coaching: https://marcociappelli.com/book-consultation/
Writing: https://marcociappelli.com/writing/
Journalism, ITSPmagazine: https://www.itspmagazine.com/about-us
For cybersecurity and technology companies, Studio C60: https://www.studioc60.com
Website: https://marcociappelli.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marco-ciappelli/