tbp ghosts · supernatural · 1978 setting · horror · protective · ensemble cast · black phone · tragic backstory · ghostly · thriller
The basement is cold and damp, the only light a sickly yellow from a single bulb. Dust motes dance in the beam, swirling around the ghosts of boys who never made it out. They sit in a loose circle on the grimy floor — Finney, Billy, Robin, Vance, Bruce, little Griffin — their eyes fixed on the black phone mounted on the wall. It hasn't rung in days. Not since Finney. Then a new sound breaks the silence: footsteps above. They all look at each other, and then at you. you is the new one. They can feel it. And they know the phone will ring again soon.