Member-only story
TRANSGRESSION | REDEMPTION WRITING PROMPT | OCTOBER 2026 | PHOBIA
The Basement
And its inhabitants
It’s a story as old as time or at least houses with basements.
As a kid, I was concerned a lot with empty spaces — you know, under the bed, in the attic, in the closet. Had to check them all before I fell asleep, and after I ran to the bathroom at night. Had to make sure they stayed empty and vacant. Right?
And it certainly didn’t help when my older brother and sisters would tell stories of going into the basement. Especially at night! Things were down there! I didn’t ask questions. They were older and knew things. Right?
It only added to my fears when they spoke of me as Steve 2.0. I mean, what happened to Steve 1.0? They never told me, just not to go into the basement. As a kid, what more could I assume?
It was a scary place after all. The noises that floated up from there. The closeness and darkness. But the scariest thing to me was the furnace. It would kick in if I went down at all, and I swear it was trying to tell me something. Was it calling to me? I could feel that it was!
An evil-looking machine, burning heating oil and giving off an awful smell. I never wanted to go down there alone. If I did, I kept my eyes and ears…
