BUNK (5-page short horror screenplay) Written by Rob Herzog
Siblings return to a room that terrified them as children.
If you revisit the past too much, sometimes you can remain stuck there – that’s what two siblings learn when they return to their dead aunt’s creepy house in Rob Herzog’s eerie, blood-soaked spine-tingler, “Bunk”.
Now in their 20s, brother-sister duo Doug and Hanna have inherited their Aunt Edith’s creepy, old house after she had passed. Doug, the executor of the estate, wants to sell the place. But as he and Hanna revisit the home, Hanna isn’t so sure. Specifically, it’s the old bedroom they used to sleep in when they’d spend weekends with their old Aunt Edith that has Hanna spooked. The room hasn’t changed much – it still has the bunk beds they used to sleep in as kids. And the room is still adorned with creepy old trinkets, including rocks with people’s faces painted on them.
Something was never quite right with Aunt Edith, though Hanna seems to be a little more traumatized from their sleepovers than Doug.
HANNA
You can’t let a family move in here.
You can’t sell this house to innocent
people.
DOUG
Sure you can. What’s the matter with you?
HANNA
Aunt Edith was evil. This house is
too. She used to sneak into the room
at night and stare at us. She would
drool like a hungry dog.
Like brother’s do, Doug tries to give his sister a good scare.
Doug snatches one of the grim-faced stones. He alters his voice to a shrill, witch-like tone.
DOUG
Time for bed, Hanna.
HANNA
Put it down, Doug.
DOUG
(continues creepy voice)
Doug’s not here, Hanna. This is
Aunt Edith from beyond the grave.
Doug then jumps on the top bunk where he used to sleep and lets his arm hang to scare Hanna, just like when they were kids.
As Hanna sits on the bottom bunk:
HANNA
I would stay up all night watching
for Aunt Edith, and you’d clown
around and dangle your arm.
DOUG (O.S.)
Maybe you misinterpreted my actions.
Maybe I just wanted to hold your hand
to make you feel safe.
Just as the siblings hold hands and share a warm moment, that’s when things start to go awry…
Giving away anything else would ruin the gruesome fun, but just a disclaimer: this ending is not for the squeamish.
Gloriously horror to the core, I can see this going viral and/or picking up some accolades on the horror film fest circuit.
BUDGET: Shoe-string. One location, 3 actors.
ABOUT THE WRITER: Rob Herzog is a Chicago-based screenwriter. He has sold several short scripts and won prize money in two small screenwriting contests. His short horror script “Creak and Shriek” was produced in 2019 by Mad Dreamer Entertainment and can be viewed on various platforms. He has a master’s degree in English composition from Northeastern Illinois University. Rob can be reached at: robherzogr (a) hotmail.
Read: BUNK (5-page short horror screenplay)
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*This screenplay may not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.
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About the Reviewer: Michael J. Kospiah is the award-winning screenwriter of critically acclaimed indie-thriller, The Suicide Theory (79% Rotten Tomatoes – available on Amazon Prime, Itunes, Google Play, etc) and 2020’s upcoming Aussie thriller, Rage. His horror feature, They Never Left is currently in development.
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