Phantom settlements, or paper towns, are settlements that appear on maps but do not actually exist. They are either accidents or copyright traps. Notable examples include Argleton, Lancashire, UK and Beatosu and Goblu, US.
Agloe, New York, was invented on a 1930s map as a copyright trap. In 1950, a general store was built there and named Agloe General Store, as that was the name seen on the map. Thus the phantom settlement became a real one.
- Punt, Steve (2010) Punt PI, Series 3, Episode 1, BBC Radio Four, Aired 17 September 2010 Accessed 17 September 2010
- Krulwich, Robert (18 March 2014). "An Imaginary Town Becomes Real, Then Not. True Story". NPR. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- Byrne, Michael (2009) See the new villages of Mawdesky and Dummy 1325 on Google Maps, Nov 20 2009, Southport Visiter. Accessed 21 May 2014