Tales of the Strange

A modern, fictional metaphysical fantasy with a self-created worldbuilding system.

[Blurb 1]

After losing his sight, Si Ming became an ordinary late-night host at a local radio station. He relied on his fine voice to tell ghost stories in the small hours, then gave them happy endings to wrap everything up neatly.

He was quite happy with his job. Then one day, an urban legend he casually told on air came true.

In a bid to promote science and dispel superstition, his superiors issued a transfer order: Si Ming became the newly appointed host of the major popular science program Tracking the Unseen. Its mission was to explain the scientific principles behind paranormal phenomena in plain language for ordinary viewers.

Si Ming: Me? A blind man? A TV host?

The show aired, and the comments poured in. Viewers called it Science Under the Microscope 2.0. Once analyzed, the bizarre, eerie incidents turned out to have such simple explanations. It was the kind of show you felt bad for watching all day, but would feel bad for not watching all day.

A viewer wrote: "What do you mean the white figure in that abandoned mine, which people have been talking about for over a decade, was just a plastic sheet that accidentally blew in? What was I supposed to do with all those years of being scared out of my wits?"

Outside the mine, teams of specialists stood ready, tensely watching the pitch-black entrance that had claimed the lives of countless adventurers. They watched as Si Ming walked into the darkness, leaning on his white cane.

His voice came back through the bitter wind: "Don't worry. If I say it's a plastic sheet, then it's just a plastic sheet."

[Blurb 2]

Si Ming can see things ordinary people can't.

The woman in red walking across the bridge. The figure standing with its back turned beneath a tree... They are shadows from another world, visible only to those who exist between the realms of yin and yang.

"Ghosts are people from the underworld, and people are ghosts from the world above."

"I can see you."

Note: The protagonist is blind and truly cannot see. His sight will not return, and he has a somewhat twisted personality.

Theme: Believe in science.