Chris stood in the dimly lit room, his eyes darting toward the thin walls that separated him from his suspicious landlord next door. He lowered his voice, careful not to let the tension in his voice escalate too much. "Derek, I'm not trying to be dramatic here, but you have to understand—this isn't some regular haunted house. The landlord might actually be the killer from that case five years ago."
On the other end of the line, Derek—an unassuming medical student who had clawed his way up from a remote village to the city's prestigious university—was utterly speechless. His first conversation with an online friend had somehow veered straight into discussing a brutal murder case. "Wait, are you in that house right now?" His voice cracked, disbelief clear in every syllable.
"Yeah. I'm in the house." Chris's response was flat, but the eerie silence that followed on the call made the tension palpable.
"And your landlord might be the killer from five years ago?" Derek stammered, the contrast between his bustling dorm filled with the sounds of video games and Chris's oppressive silence unnerving him.
"That's right."
"I—I need a second to process this." Derek gripped his phone tightly, still reeling from the strange turn of events. The sounds of his roommates shouting about headshots and victory were worlds away from the suffocating suspense on the other end of the call. "Listen, man, I really think you should call the cops. You don't have any solid proof, but your safety's way more important than the risk of filing a false report."
Derek's words echoed with common sense, but Chris had already calculated the risks. He wasn't just staying at this notorious haunted house for thrills—this was his task, assigned by his mysterious Black Phone. His goal was to survive the night and unlock a new terrifying attraction for his horror house. If the police got involved now, failure was almost certain, and with it, his opportunity to expand his business. "It's not time to call the police yet," Chris said, a steely determination in his voice.
Derek wasn't convinced. "Man, I get that you've got your reasons, but right now, it's your life on the line. What if you turn on your phone's location tracking? Keep the line open, and I'll listen in all night. If anything goes wrong, I'll call the cops for you."
Chris paused, considering Derek's plan. It wasn't a bad idea, but he had a better one. His eyes flickered toward his phone screen, where a recruitment ad for gaming streamers looped endlessly in a short video. Suddenly, inspiration struck. "You know what's better than just staying on the phone? I'll start a livestream. If something happens to me, the viewers can call the cops, and the stream's recording will be undeniable proof."
The idea made sense on multiple levels. Not only would the livestream act as a safeguard, but it could also boost the popularity of his haunted house, just as the short video he'd posted the night before had brought him a surge of new fans. In one night, he had gained nearly a thousand followers, and today, the number of visitors to his horror house had tripled. The possibilities of combining his survival with a livestream seemed endless.
"Why not kill two birds with one stone? I'll attract attention, boost my horror house's reputation, and keep myself safe, all at once," Chris reasoned, more to himself than to Derek.
"Wait, what? Are you serious about livestreaming this?" Derek was flabbergasted.
Chris nodded to himself, already imagining how the night could play out. "Yeah. Think about it, Derek. People love thrills—they crave the adrenaline rush of watching someone face real danger. And what's more intense than spending the night in a haunted house where a massacre occurred? Plus, my experiences are real, no scripts, no fake scares. People will eat this up."
Chris opened his phone's GPS tracker, setting up an emergency one-click dial to the local authorities. Then, he navigated to the streaming platform attached to his short video account, the same one that had brought him so many followers overnight. While other streamers relied on carefully planned content, his would be raw, unscripted terror—a real haunted house with a real threat.
He typed in the title for the stream: "A Night in the Haunted House: Uncovering the Truth!" He added a few exclamation points for flair, knowing the title alone would draw in viewers hungry for something more intense than the usual bubbly streamers.
As soon as he hit "Start Live," the notifications went out to his followers, and within moments, the first viewers trickled in.
Derek was among them. "Chris, are you seriously doing this?"
"Yep. Watch and learn." Chris leaned back, gripping a multi-tool hammer tightly in his hand, the only real weapon he had. He glanced at the viewer count as it slowly crept up. The chat was already lighting up.
User1: "Wait, is this the guy from last night's creepy video?"
User2: "OMG it's him!! I thought that video was a joke. What's he up to now?"
User3: "Staying the night in a haunted house? Dude's got guts!"
More users flooded in, recognizing Chris from his viral short video. The eerie quiet of the room contrasted sharply with the buzzing chat, but Chris stayed calm. He took a deep breath, and his serious expression filled the screen.
"Listen up, everyone. What you're about to witness tonight is not a joke. This house... there's something seriously wrong here. And I'll prove it to you." Chris glanced at the chat as it began to scroll with skeptical comments, but he pressed on. "Five years ago, there was a massacre in this very house. The police never caught the killer, but I think I know who it is." His eyes shifted toward the wall separating him from the landlord's apartment. "The man next door might just be the one."
The chat exploded in reaction.
User4: "Dude, are you for real?"
User5: "Call the cops already!"
User6: "This guy is either nuts or a genius."
Despite the skepticism, Chris could see the viewer count growing rapidly. People were intrigued, unable to resist the allure of a real-life mystery unfolding in front of them. As the night deepened, the tension in the air seemed to thicken, wrapping around Chris like a cloak. He kept his voice low, explaining the strange occurrences he had experienced since arriving.
"I know it sounds crazy, but this isn't just a haunted house attraction. There's something else going on here. I've seen things, felt things... and I think tonight we'll get the answers."
Outside, the wind picked up, causing the branches of an old tree to scratch against the window. The creaking noise sent a shiver down Chris's spine, but he maintained his composure. He wasn't just doing this for the thrill anymore—this was about survival.
The chat continued to roll by, some comments mocking him, others egging him on. But there was also a growing number of viewers who seemed genuinely invested in what was happening.
User7: "Okay, this is getting intense. I'm hooked."
User8: "No joke, this might be the best stream I've ever seen."
Chris stood up, his phone in hand, and began to walk through the house, narrating his journey for the viewers. "This place... it's been abandoned for years, but the landlord kept it under his control. No one's lived here since the murders."
Suddenly, a loud thud echoed from the direction of the landlord's apartment. Chris froze, his breath catching in his throat. The chat exploded once again.
User9: "What was that?!"
User10: "RUN!"
Chris didn't move. His fingers tightened around the hammer as he whispered into the camera, "This is it. This is what I was waiting for."