TikTok has fallen in love with a group of adorable seniors showing off their hilarious Halloween costumes — but there’s a twist. None of them are real. The viral videos from the account @basincreekretirement, which seemed to show residents of a retirement home cracking jokes and dressing up for Halloween, are completely AI-generated.
In one of the most popular clips, a cheerful woman stands with spice jars pinned all over her outfit. A voice off-camera asks, “Martha, what are you supposed to be?” She grins and says, “I’m a spice girl.” The lighthearted moment has been viewed more than 15 million times and has over a million and a half likes.
Another fan favorite shows an older man wrapped in watches around his waist. A staff member asks, “What are you supposed to be, Mr. Andrews?” He proudly replies, “I’m a waste of time.” That one has pulled in over 13 million views.
In a third video, an elderly woman laughs while wearing a pot on her head. When someone asks, “Mrs. Dalton, what are you supposed to be?” she smiles and says, “Oh, I’m a pot head.” That clip has earned more than 2.8 million views and nearly 200,000 likes.
The reactions online were full of love for the residents’ sense of humor — until people started digging deeper. There’s no Basin Creek Retirement Village. No Martha, no Mr. Andrews, and no Mrs. Dalton. The entire account is a digital creation made with AI.
The TikTok bio even spells it out, saying, “Welcome to Basin Creek Retirement Village. Community, care & bingo every Thursday. A fictional world made with AI & a lot of 💛.”
That hasn’t stopped the account from growing fast. It already has more than 63,000 followers, many of whom admitted they thought it was real at first. Once they learned the truth, reactions were mixed — some amazed by the technology, others unsettled by how real it looked.
The team behind the project says it’s all meant to be lighthearted fun. On its website, Basin Creek sells merchandise and leans into the playful vibe, telling fans, “Help keep the smiles (and the lights) on. Grab a shirt and share a little Basin Creek joy with the world.”
Its “About” page explains the idea behind it all: “Basin Creek isn’t a real place — but we like to think it could be. Our residents, staff, and stories are entirely fictional, created to bring a little light, laughter, and joy to your feed.”
Still, not everyone’s laughing. One TikToker wrote, “It should be mandatory to put an AI label….” Another commented, “Why are we using AI for anything. Especially this. Like what is the point aside from conditioning people to not be able to tell the difference.”
Others say it’s just a bit creepy. “AI is getting harder to spot it’s scary,” one viewer admitted.
Whether people find it heartwarming or unsettling, Basin Creek has proven one thing — the line between reality and digital imagination is getting blurrier by the day.