ghost town

A town that has become permanently devoid of inhabitants, typically due to the disappearance of business or economic opportunities. Primarily heard in US, South Africa. The town rose up fast and furiously as prospectors flooded the area in search of gold, but when the last of the precious minerals was gone, those same people were as fast to depart, leaving a creaking old ghost town in their wake.

ghost town

A once thriving town that has been completely abandoned, as in Many of the old mining communities are ghost towns now. This idiom implies that there are no living people left in town. [First half of 1900s]

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Rubye	ROO-bee	English
Jochem	YO-khəm	Dutch
Renard	rə-NAR	French (Rare)
Comhghall	-	Irish
Aldreda	-	Medieval English
Sipho	-	Southern African, Xhosa