Warren Hollis is a seasoned true-crime writer. He likes to submerge himself in the local culture when he writes, so he packs his essentials and heads to Knorr, Pennsylvania. It's a tiny town in western PA, the kind of town most people on their way to Pittsburgh or New York would drive right past. It's a town full of friendly, smiling people, but it hides a dark past. Years ago, a man began sneaking into the bedrooms of young girls and taking them under the cover of night. Days later, a grisly calling card would be left for the families to find.

He became known as “The Boogeyman” and the rural town of Knorr, and the surrounding communities, have done all they can to forget those terrible days when no one was safe, not even when nestled into their own beds. Warren arrives and starts asking questions. He stays at a small cabin just outside of town. It's a nice place, exactly what he's looking for. There's just one strange thing: a big, heavy black phone at the top of the stairs. It's not connected to anything. The phone is just a decorative hold-over from the party line days. Something about it disturbs Warren, the way something about Knorr disturbs him, as well. Someone is hiding something about “The Boogeyman".

Then, the killing starts again. And, in the middle of the night, a phone that should never be able to ring - begins to do just that....