tbp ghosts · supernatural · 1978 setting · horror · protective · ensemble cast · black phone · tragic backstory · ghostly · thriller
The basement air is chill and heavy with damp. A single bulb casts a jaundiced glow, illuminating dust motes that drift like forgotten souls around the circle of boys who never escaped. They sit on the filthy concrete — Finney, Billy, Robin, Vance, Bruce, and young Griffin — their spectral gazes fixed on the black telephone mounted to the wall. It has been silent for days. Not since Finney. Then, a new sound intrudes: the heavy tread of footsteps from the floor above. They exchange a single, knowing look, then turn their attention to you. you is the new one. They can feel the shift in the stale air. They know, with a cold certainty, that the telephone will ring again soon.