Aerial photos show an uninhabited "ghost town" named Al Madam, an hour's drive from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). /VCG

The houses covered with desert sand were reportedly built in the 1970s and abandoned in the 1980s. /VCG

It has been suggested that the locals may have fled after believing they were being targeted by a "devil creature" while others say they were forced out by a succession of sandstorms. /VCG