Dead London -

As he neared Regent's Park, a sound began to vibrate in his chest—a mournful, mechanical wailing that cut through the stillness. "Ulla... ulla... ulla..."

The great hood of the Fighting Machine was tilted toward the sky. Blackbirds circled it in a noisy, frantic cloud, pecking at the tattered red shreds of flesh that hung from the joints of the metal titan. Below it, in a great pit the invaders had dug, lay a dozen of the Martians. They weren't defeated by the artillery of men or the ingenuity of scientists. They lay in a row, still and rotting, their alien systems overwhelmed by the simplest of Earth’s inhabitants: bacteria. Dead London

The smell hit him before he reached Oxford Street: the scent of stagnant water, scorched brick, and something older and more biological. He passed a double-decker bus that had been tossed onto its side like a child’s toy. Nearby, the bleached ribs of a horse lay tangled in the harness, picked clean by the starving dogs that now ruled the back alleys. As he neared Regent's Park, a sound began

The phrase "Dead London" has appeared in several famous media contexts: They weren't defeated by the artillery of men

The title "Dead London" is most famously associated with H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds , describing a city silenced by an alien invasion. This story draws inspiration from that haunting imagery, following a survivor’s journey through the remains of the Great Smoke.

: An Eighth Doctor audio drama titled Dead London features the Doctor trapped in a "maze of interlocking Londons" from different time periods ( Tardis Wiki ).

: Jeff Wayne’s musical version of The War of the Worlds includes a haunting track titled "Dead London," capturing the atmosphere of the abandoned city ( Musical Version ).