Creak and Shriek (8 pages in pdf format) by Rob Herzog

An eight-year-old boy struggles for answers when his horror sound effects record starts playing on its own in the middle of the night.

Today is a very special day: today is Noah’s 8th birthday.

Only the party didn’t quite go to plan.  No one showed – no one all that important anyway.  Mom’s taken it personally.  Not that she needed much of an excuse to get a head start on her nightly tipple.  Despite it all, Noah’s holding up, distracted by his brand new ‘Scary Sounds of the Night’ recording.

It’s an odd gift, but by all accounts Auntie W. lives far from normality.  She’s the distant kind of aunt that talks to skunks and lives alone in the woods.  The kind that always forgets a birthday… until now.

            MOM (O.S.)
Gonna give yourself nightmares, kid.

Howling winds and pounding hearts are one thing, but groaning ghouls prove too much for young Noah and he calls it a night. Maybe Mom was right, why would anyone want to listen to a soundtrack filled with nothing but scary sounds?

Better yet, what type of person would send such a gift to a child?

As it turns out, the crazy type that lives off-grid on a diet of daisies and roadkill.  Scary Sounds of the Night is more than a recording; it’s a 12” vinyl nightmare that refuses to be put on mute.

…And it knows your name.

Rob Herzog’s Creak and Shriek delivers a strikingly simple yet effective horror short.  Two characters, one room and some well placed sound FX could bring this horror short to the screen with a minimal budget.  Any filmmaker looking to get their hands on a fun Twilight Zone style chiller would be remiss not to check this short script out.

About the writer: Rob Herzog of Chicago teaches American literature and moderates a high school yearbook. He has also coached freshmen wrestling. He will soon earn a master’s degree in English composition from Northeastern Illinois University. He has written six short scripts and one feature screenplay. His shorts have won prize money in two small contests and awards in some others. He can be reached at: robherzogr (a) hotmail (dot) com

Read Creak and Shriek (8 pages in pdf format)

This screenplay may not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.

About the reviewer: Steve Miles started writing scripts around five years ago after realizing that his social life was vastly overrated. He enjoys writing in a variety of genres but leans toward raw, grittier characters and the worlds they inhabit – from the deadly serious to the darkly comic. Drinks coffee, owns an unhealthy amount of plaid and uses a calculator for the most basic of sums. Check out more of his work at sjmilesscripts.webs.com