Scotty’s Horror Short Showcase: ‘Rotary’

Written by Scott Edwards 

Exploring antique or secondhand shops is always a lovely trip down memory lane. As you get older, there are many more things that you start to recognize from your past that remind you of happier times.  While some of these objects may seem harmless however, you never know what past they might have come from. It is important to ask where the shop got these items from, as a rule nowadays, since there seems to be an uptick on haunted items that you might not want to be a part of your future.
​
Waiting for her friend’s shift to come to an end, Sharon notices an old rotary phone out of the corner on her eye and asks if it still works. Saying that it is just for show, her friend does not know much more about it and goes on with her daily shop duties. Reminding her friend that there is a party tonight, Sharon goes on with browsing the shop, waiting for her friend to get off. 

As the day turns into night, the friend starts to lock up the antique shop when she is shocked to hear the old rotary phone ringing. Knowing that it should not be a working phone, she is interested in what could be making it work again and picks up the receiver. Not hearing anything on the other side of the line, the friend tries to find out where Sharon has run off to, to play a trick on her. Calling for Sharon while holding the phone, the friend is shocked to see that she is transported back to earlier in the day. Not knowing what is going on, she looks around and spots a pair of legs in the backroom doorway that are quickly pulled from her view. Walking back to try and find out what is going on, the friend is shocked to see a person wearing a demon mask eating a body, but when she drops the phone, she is transported back to the end of her shift, where the true frights await.

This is a pretty fun little horror short that gets right to the point, don’t ever pick up the phone! While I have seen old rotary phones in shops before, I never thought that there would be much fright involved with them, that is until now. As the short plays on, you get to see that Sharon only wants to go to a party and has no idea what her friend saw when holding the phone, until the night truly closes in. With an old antique shop, a rotary phone, an awaiting party, a strange phone ringing, transportation through time, a demon mask, a possible cannibal and a friend just looking for a good time, this horror short will make you think twice about picking up something from a secondhand shop without asking where it came from. Stay Scared.

See ‘Rotary’ on YouTube.

---