After a small coastal town is devastated by a hurricane, the survivors gravitate toward a long out-of-service payphone in hopes of talking out their grief and saying goodbye to loved ones, only for it to begin ringing on its own. As more townspeople answer the call, friends and family believed to have been lost to the storm begin searching for a way back home.
Stay on the Line is a slow-burn psychological horror novelette that combines supernatural horror, grief horror, and emotional trauma. In just 80 pages, the story delivers a big punch of psychological dread, atmospheric tension, and chilling visuals—making it feel like a haunting ghost story that you won’t (and can’t!) forget!
The story follows Jenny and the townsfolk in a small coastal town, who are left grappling with the loss of their loved ones, friends, and neighbors after a devastating hurricane swept them away in a deadly storm surge. When an abandoned payphone begins to ring and Jenny answers, a mysterious voice she recognizes—and who should be gone—speaks on the line! One by one, townsfolk pick up the phone and hear voices of loved ones they thought were gone. What starts as solace quickly spirals into something sinister!
Jenny is the heart of the story—she’s a grieving widow and mother and, like the rest of the townfolk, has her decision-making affected by immense grief and longing for a connection with what she’s lost. Through Jenny’s conflicted inner monologues, readers get a first-hand glimpse into the moral implications of “bringing back the dead.” Her pain also feels achingly real, which makes it easy to empathize with her and her poor decision-making. The other townsfolk are briefly mentioned, but their sorrow and desperation feel palpable, and it’s clear why they make choices they’d never make otherwise—adding further suspense to the story!
The story’s pacing mirrors a slow-burn thriller—the first half depicts Jenny’s (and others’) sorrow, nostalgia, and grief, which feel believable. Then the supernatural narrative begins to creep in, and tension increases. By the midsection, every phone call moves the storyline into something much more sinister. The climax lands with a gut‑punch, and the ending has a lingering dread that will keep readers unsettled long after the last page!
If you’re looking for a small dose of unnerving horror that you won’t soon forget, this little horror novelette is the perfect choice! And if you’ve ever lost someone and wished you could hear their voice one more time, this story will hit hard!
Narrator Performance
The audiobook is narrated by powerhouse husband-and-wife narrators Patricia Santomasso and Sean Patrick Hopkins!
Santomasso voices the main protagonist, Jenny, in a dynamic performance, using an emotional voice that captures the character’s grief, longing, hope, and ultimately growing dread! Hopkins voices the mysterious voice on the other end of the line, supposedly Jenny’s lost husband—and his portrayal shifts from a gentle, reassuring voice to someone increasingly eerie and sinister-sounding as the story unfolds. The contrast between Jenny’s grief-stricken voice and the caller’s shifting, unsettling voice adds to the horror—especially after Jenny’s unease begins to creep in!
Both narrators do a great job keeping the atmospheric tension high and pace their sections perfectly for a slow-burn horror—at first the narration is delivered with a calm and mournful manner (and even feels briefly hopeful after Jenny first speaks to the caller). Both narrators gradually increase the tension in their voices, and by the end, listeners are fully immersed in the dread!
Overall, the performances of Santomasso and Hopkins significantly elevate this short horror story into an immersive, haunting listening experience that lingers. This audiobook is perfect for listeners who enjoy character‑driven emotional horror stories with supernatural elements and narrators with strong voice acting who bring all the atmospheric tension to life!
Narrator Performance
The audiobook is narrated by powerhouse husband-and-wife narrators Patricia Santomasso and Sean Patrick Hopkins!
Santomasso voices the main protagonist, Jenny, in a dynamic performance, using an emotional voice that captures the character’s grief, longing, hope, and ultimately growing dread! Hopkins voices the mysterious voice on the other end of the line, supposedly Jenny’s lost husband—and his portrayal shifts from a gentle, reassuring voice to someone increasingly eerie and sinister-sounding as the story unfolds. The contrast between Jenny’s grief-stricken voice and the caller’s shifting, unsettling voice adds to the horror—especially after Jenny’s unease begins to creep in!
Both narrators do a great job keeping the atmospheric tension high and pace their sections perfectly for a slow-burn horror—at first the narration is delivered with a calm and mournful manner (and even feels briefly hopeful after Jenny first speaks to the caller). Both narrators gradually increase the tension in their voices, and by the end, listeners are fully immersed in the dread!
Overall, the performances of Santomasso and Hopkins significantly elevate this short horror story into an immersive, haunting listening experience that lingers. This audiobook is perfect for listeners who enjoy character‑driven emotional horror stories with supernatural elements and narrators with strong voice acting who bring all the atmospheric tension to life!
The audiobook is narrated by powerhouse husband-and-wife narrators Patricia Santomasso and Sean Patrick Hopkins!
Santomasso voices the main protagonist, Jenny, in a dynamic performance, using an emotional voice that captures the character’s grief, longing, hope, and ultimately growing dread! Hopkins voices the mysterious voice on the other end of the line, supposedly Jenny’s lost husband—and his portrayal shifts from a gentle, reassuring voice to someone increasingly eerie and sinister-sounding as the story unfolds. The contrast between Jenny’s grief-stricken voice and the caller’s shifting, unsettling voice adds to the horror—especially after Jenny’s unease begins to creep in!
Both narrators do a great job keeping the atmospheric tension high and pace their sections perfectly for a slow-burn horror—at first the narration is delivered with a calm and mournful manner (and even feels briefly hopeful after Jenny first speaks to the caller). Both narrators gradually increase the tension in their voices, and by the end, listeners are fully immersed in the dread!
Overall, the performances of Santomasso and Hopkins significantly elevate this short horror story into an immersive, haunting listening experience that lingers. This audiobook is perfect for listeners who enjoy character‑driven emotional horror stories with supernatural elements and narrators with strong voice acting who bring all the atmospheric tension to life!
