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Someone fell asleep on the TTC and woke up hilariously confused by Vaughan

If you're one of those people who has no idea what exists north of Bloor Street, let alone outside of Toronto, then the story of one TTC rider's mishap this week might just be the stuff of your nightmares.

The commuter, who was taking the Line 1 subway over the weekend, accidentally fell asleep — yes, like in the movies — and woke up in the completely foreign land of Vaughan, Ontario.

"Missed my stop because I fell asleep and apparently the end of the line is a just a giant concrete plaza with slow jazz playing on all the speakers. Nobody is here," the dazed and bewildered 416 resident wrote on X (formerly Twitter) shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday.

Included is a clip of an eerily deserted public square of some sort with uncomfortably bright lights, virtually no greenery amid a sea of concrete, and a soundtrack fit for a horror flick indeed blaring loudly from... somewhere.

Continuing to pan the camera around, lost, the person shared another clip of them exploring the surreal space, writing "I do not feel awake" as they wandered toward a shuttered bank in the bottom of a suspiciously dark tower.

The posts ended up getting a ton of traction on the platform, with people terrified and enthralled by the person's experience in the strange space in equal measure.

Many noted to the "vibes" of the area, making jokes about the filmer being trapped unknowingly in various video games, an alternate reality or "the world spawn point." Some also expressed jealousy at their little break from real life.

"You beat the game, there's nothing left after," one person joked.

"That's the subway credits screen. Congrats," added another.

And still another: "A weekend here alone and I'd either never come back or awaken to a higher power."

The original poster told blogTO that they stayed in the square at Vaughan Metropolitan Centre for about 15 minutes total, being the only person who hadn't exited the station and gotten straight into a car.

"I wandered across the street and all the speakers were blasting music. It cycled through like three or four '70s songs before I left," they said.

"Someone in the replies suggested they might do it to keep people from loitering around after dark, but I have no clue."

After their hair-raising stint in what many are considering the definition of a liminal space, the citizen was thankfully able to re-board the subway and get back to civilization.

But without the video evidence, one wonders if they would have been able to tell if the incident ever even happened.

Lead photo by

Jack Landau


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