Movies - TV
The Inspiration For The Black Phone Comes From Stephen King's Real-Life Creepy Basement
By DEBOPRIYAA DUTTA
Being the son of Stephen King, it’s no surprise that Joe Hill has penned several terrifying horror stories himself. His short story “The Black Phone” was inspired by an unused antique phone in the creepy basement of his family home.
Hill described the basement of the King family home as a “maze” and “your basic horror movie basement.” Like his father, Hill has used something that creeped him out in real life as the inspiration for one of his horror stories.
Director Scott Derrickson and screenwriter C. Robert Cargill’s adaptation of “The Black Phone” is deeply disturbing, as it explores the journey of Finney, an abducted kid who can talk to dead children — the Grabber’s victims — on the black phone. As Hill has pointed out, their emphasis on the 1970s Midwest adds an even more disturbing flavor to the already unsettling story.