Emergency Phone Phantom

There were originally 11 Talkaphones (ETP-ETE-72) installed sometime before the 2000s. In recent times they have installed 2 more resulting in 13 of these blue obelisks being scattered across the campus. One Talkaphone installed by F lot has gained recognition as the host of paranormal activity. Physically it is identical to the other Talkaphones with the exception of seemingly normal graffiti; one stating “cops are not friends”, while the other spelled “noos” but uses the o’s as eyes to create a warped face resembling a bucktoothed duck. “noos” could be in reference to “nous” as they are sometimes interchanged. Nous is a Greek word for intellect within living things, the basic understanding that allows living beings to perceive existence. 

While speculations could be washed away by claims of damage to the machine, the nature of its call has left many thinking a stranger force is at play. Beyond its wild sputtering, it will sporadically turn on its calling light as if inviting whatever is there to converse, a silent call that shines ruby red. It has been noted to talk unprompted, but its words are clearly not for us; leaving some to speculate there may be another listener that stands there, beyond our perception. 

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(A investigators account)

24/05/2023

I was looking into Talkaphone rumors like you told me to. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. It’s a machine they make weird noises when they get old, not too different in that respect to the living. 

First few nights were silent. you know I am not afraid of the dark, but the unknown is a whole other matter, the sheer probability of horror that lies in the unseen. The box is located in what most would call a generous passageway, but I am not most people. Surrounded by trees and the noises of life just behind them the path felt like a tight rope, shaken by the probability that stirred beyond its dark bounds. 

Once underneath the eerie blue light my fears evaporated, lingering in the form of a salty mist. At first it did not strike me as odd, but as the hours passed and something stirred beyond the tree line I began to ponder what happened to my fear. Giving it proper thought, I realized I was instinctually alleviated by the feeling of not being alone, as if in a small crowd where few evils would dare reveal themselves. I mention it only because you ask I leave nothing out but I would not call it admissible evidence of anything paranormal.

It was on the third night when it spoke to me, well perhaps not at me particularly. The prior nights were silent with negligible stirring but in a single moment it burst to life with a low foggy masculine voice. I could tell it was spouting words but my mind was too weak to assemble them as it leapt through its speech with a strange calm urgency. Its voice felt like it traveled past me and to some unseen recipient just beyond the shadowy trees. Its speech so stunned me, I am regretful to say I did not think to record it with my phone, seeing as this could have been a pivotal step in the investigation I acknowledge this was a real blunder on my part. I vow to be more prepared in future investigations L, hopefully the new equipment helps with that.

-Sincerely sorry I

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(Evergreen campus police response)

Police services staff we talked to dismissed any possibility of a supernatural element. They claim it started having issues earlier in the year and simply are not equipped with the staff to fix it. While they do not know what the problem is they suspect that an underground cable that connects the F lot Talkaphone to campus security may have been damaged. They said they are expecting to get to fixing it sometime next year and assuming they keep to this the mystery may be soon put to rest. In addition, when questioning the evergreen police if there were any incidents of note near the F lot Talkaphone they claimed non came to mind.

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When dealing with electronics the paranormal can become blurred as it can easily be attributed to a malfunction, but a stranger’s interference is not out of the question; what better vessel than one that was made to speak. The Talkaphone seems to pose no danger, and should it hold life I suspect we may have been the ones that gifted it. It would seem the next best course of action is to sit back, and let the story develop as a simple attempt at repair could very well unravel the narratives that have begun to coil around the beacon and render it inert and unremarkable. 

Credit to Allec Phipps for the art