Scare Yourself Silly: Don’t Call This Number

Fear — real fear — is generally caused by something subtler than blood and guts and a maniac with a knife. Is it a shape seen out of the corner of your eye? A shadow you could swear wasn’t there a moment ago? Is it something that sounds so peculiar that it couldn’t possibly be true?

What if it is?

Because we don’t just need fear in order to avoid pain, or as a part of the evolutionary instinct for survival. We wouldn’t have horror movies if we didn’t experience fear for other reasons. We wouldn’t read freaky books. We wouldn’t go on roller coasters.

And you wouldn’t be reading these words.

So pull up a chair. Let’s spin a yarn or two. What’s the worst that could happen?

***

It starts with a phone call.

You won’t call them. They’ll call you. When your phone rings, you’ll pick it up; but before you have the chance to speak, a voice will come through the earpiece: “Welcome to Boothworld Industries. My name is Samantha and I will be your operator for today. Name?”

Your operator’s name may or may not be Samantha; whoever it is, it will be an innocuous name. Forgettable.

It sounds like a customer service call, although you can’t recall having had any dealings with a company called “Boothworld Industries” before. Did Time Warner start outsourcing their Internet services? Unlikely. You consider asking your “operator” — whatever that means — to add you to their DNC list.

You don’t, though. You’ll admit it: You’re curious. Boothworld Industries already knows who you are, they tell you. So  you’ll give the name of someone you know — an old flame, an ex-friend, your next-door neighbor. You’ll say something like, “Nathan Miller.” Why? You have no idea. Why not?

“Nathan Miller,” your operator will repeat back to you. “Remodeling is scheduled for December 9. Would you like to reschedule?” Again: Why not? You’ll reply in the affirmative. You will hear typing on the other end for a moment — heavy typing, pounded out with a heavy hand — before your operator tells you, “I have a Tuesday appointment available. Will that work?” Again, you’ll reply in the affirmative.

The last thing your operator will ask is, “Would you like a courtesy call?” A courtesy call? That sounds nice. For the third time and final time, you’ll say yes. “Wonderful,” your operator will tell you. “We at Boothworld Industries say thanks and welcome to the club. You have a marvelous day.”

On Tuesday, you will regret your request for a courtesy call. “This is Samantha with Boothworld Industries,” your operator will say when you answer. “Your courtesy call begins now.”

What follows is several minutes of Nathan Miller’s voice pleading and begging before being choked off into a wheeze. A slight rustling; more wheezing; and finally, silence. A new voice will then appear on the line. “The scheduled work has been completed,” it will say. “We at Boothworld Industries say thanks and welcome to the club. You have a marvelous day.”

So that’s what remodeling is.

***

Or maybe you find the number yourself. More fool you, should you choose to call it, for you have no idea the sort of rabbit hole you’re about to fall down. You might think you do — but you don’t. Not really. You wouldn’t have called it if you did.

The conversation proceeds much the same way as it would have had Boothworld Industries made first contact — except this time, once the “remodeling” has been rescheduled, your operator will ask you something new: “How would you like to pay for this?” Pay?

“Yes, ma’am. When you schedule a remodeling, the scheduling is final unless another member shifts the scheduled date. We expect payment in full before service is rendered.”

The price, you are informed, is your daughter. “If you do not pay, we will have no choice but to repossess what is due,” your operator tells you. You say that Boothworld Industries can’t have your daughter. “Wonderful,” your operator replies, as if you hadn’t spoken. “Repossession is scheduled. We at Boothworld Industries say thanks and welcome to the club. You have a marvelous day.”

***

Or maybe it begins with an email. It will be addressed to someone other than you, and it will read as follows:

Dear John,

You’ve been selected for a complimentary remodel from Boothworld Industries! Because you do not have active phone lines, we are contacting you through email to assure you are aware of your upcoming appointment. Your appointment is scheduled for: February 19. If you would like to reschedule, please call Boothworld Industries at 630-296-7536.

Please ensure that you are ready to pay prior to your appointment. If you do not, we will be forced to repossess what is due. Please submit the following person(s) and we will handle the rest:

The name on the next line is yours.

The email concludes, “We at Boothworld Industries say thanks and welcome to the club. You have a marvelous day.”

 ***

Or maybe you stumble upon a building. Maybe you’re starting a new job, and on your first day, you arrive a little bit earlier than expected. Your office will feel uncomfortable, although you may not be able to put your finger on why. As you settle yourself in your cubicle, you will hear snatches of conversations rising from your co-workers:

“…welcome to the club…”

“…a remodeling has been scheduled…”

“…you have a marvelous day…”

You will then realize that although you are indeed on the third floor of your building, you are not on the same third floor you interviewed on last week. You will head for the exit; and as you do, you will see a sign by the elevators: “BOOTHWORLD INDUSTRIES. Established 1888, Whitechapel, London.”

Or maybe — just maybe — you simply fall asleep. And when you do, you dream. You will dream of yourself doing unspeakable things to people you know, but of whom you are not terribly fond. You will awake knowing that you were merely doing your job. After all, they were all scheduled for remodeling.

Tags: boothworld industries, halloween, lucia peters, reddit, scary stories