The Downwards Spiral
Project Overview
Editing for a frequently asked question: No, this story does not, will not, and never will use AI. This project was put together by me and my friends.
"The Downward Spiral" follows a group of teenagers whose casual weekend hangout takes a sharp, dark turn. It all starts when sixteen year old Leo convinces his friends to take a shortcut past an abandoned church in San Diego. Looking for some excitement, they decide to go "ghost hunting," but the joke ends the moment they actually encounter a spirit; A see-through, badly beaten woman named Isabella who is trapped in a terrifying loop, repeating a dark nursery rhyme over and over.
Obsessed with finding answers, Leo stays up all night researching and discovers a horrific truth from 1961: Isabella was murdered by her husband, Derek, who used to work in the church basement. While the rest of the group panics and backs out, Leo convinces his best friend, Austin, to go back down into the basement with him for one final investigation. Using a ghost-hunting radio setup, they manage to contact Isabella again, but her final demand catches them completely off guard: "Burn the church."
Desperate to free her soul, they actually go through with it. Austin pours the gasoline, and Leo lights the match. But the reality of what they've done hits hard when the building goes up in flames and the police show up. In a total state of panic and tears, Austin cracks under the pressure and throws Leo under the bus to save himself. The story wraps up on a heavy cliffhanger, with Leo taking the fall for the arson just as his furious lawyer father arrives at the scene to bail him out of trouble.
Voice Actor
Austin is 15. He dresses in an emo/scene style. He has medium length black hair with a red fringe, brown eyes, pale skin, standing at about 5'3, 124lbs.
He sounds like a teenage boy, so not too old, but not too young either.
- english
- male teen
- all accents
Phone call with Leo: "WAKE THE FUCK UP! YOU'RE ALMOST 30 MINUTES LATE, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
Scared, sniffling, talking to an officer: “I told him this was a bad idea. I told him we shouldn't. I told him it was illegal, and he just—he wouldn't listen.”
*no line, or improv.*
Voice Actor
Leo is 16. He's Austin's best friend, ever since they were children. The story follows him and Austin mostly.
He has a hairstyle similar to Leon Kennedys, except a little longer, blonde/faded red dyed hair, blue eyes, pale skin, freckles. Standing at around 5'7, 134lbs. He dresses like a homeless man crawled out of an arcade machine, despite how rich his parents are.
He sounds youthful, like a teenager. His voice is medium-low.
- english
- american
- male teen
- american (northern california)
- SoCal
- valley boy
"Austin and I stayed up researching him. He wasn't just Isabella's husband. He spent a lot of time at St. James'. He volunteered there, donated money, and after Isabella disappeared, he got into a legal dispute over part of the church property."
Arguing: "YOU'RE tired?" I scoffed. "This is OUR thing! This whole month has practically been ghost hunting! I'm tired! I've stayed up researching SEVERAL nights for this, and you guys just blow it off? Just like that?! YOU'RE the ones who've had your beauty sleep! When can I EVER get ‘me time’?"
"I know. I know what everyone thinks. I know I’m being stubborn. But Austin, what if Isabella is actually trapped there? We could save her!”
Voice Actor
Jelani is 16. She's a brown skinned Egyptian girl with dark brown curly hair that goes just past her shoulders, brown eyes, and she dresses in whatever she can find in her closet. Alternative?. Standing at 5'3, 186lbs.
Any voice for her. Youthful or older.
- bengali
- american
- female teen
Aggravated: "What the hell, dude? Can you guys stop it for once?! This happens everyday!"
"This is either the most boring haunted place ever, or it’s waiting for the perfect time to kill us."
"He always does. Leo’s the type to commit to the bit and then immediately regret it."
Voice Actor
Estrella is 15. She has tan skin, and is Albanian. She dresses in a scene/emo style, long dark brown hair with a fringe, brown eyes. Standing at 5'5, 130lbs.
- english
- american
- all english accents
- female teen
- american (valley girl)
"Soo... Are we actually going back tonight, or what?"
"We should be careful this time. If something’s really there, we don’t know what it wants."
"Oh my god, everyone shut up." Estrella huffed, "Can we just do this already?"
Voice Actor
Athena is extremely bubbly. She's Okinawan. She's scene, loves to wear hot pink, long black hair with a fringe that has pink streaks in it, white skin, dark brown eyes, dahlia piercings.
Bubbly voice with a SLIGHT Japanese accent.
- english
- female teen
- all english accents
- japanese american
- american (valley girl)
- Okinawan
"I swear, half this shit is gonna explode the second we turn it on."
"What?! You expect us to go into some weird-looking church?"
"And you just happened to have it in your closet?" Athena piped up.
Voice Actor
Leo's father. Looks like Leo, except older and scruffier. A lawyer, and a family man. Standing at around 6 ft tall.
- english
- male adult
- male young adult
- all english accents
Arguing with Leo: “You are sixteen years old. You are not some vigilante. You are not responsible for fixing every problem you find!”
"Right, right. Have fun, kids. Don't get into much trouble, you hear?"
"In-N-Out? And you didn't get us any?! Wow," Leo's dad stuck out his bottom lip in a mocking pout, "Didn't even think of us…" He sniffled dramatically.
Voice Actor
Leos mom. Faded strawberry blonde hair, white skin, freckles.
She works at a bank. Her and Lucian are usually always busy.
Sniffling: "We raised you to be kind. Not to throw your life away trying to save something you don't understand.”
Seething(?), holding back anger, voice cracking slightly: "No, you don't. You don't know. Because if you did, you wouldn't have done something so unbelievably reckless.”
Voice Actor
Isabella is a ghost thats been tethered to the church for over 40+ years. She died from abuse.
- english
- female young adult
"There was a little girl... Who had a little curl... Right in the middle of her forehead... When she was good, she was very good indeed... But when she was bad, she was horrid..."
Voice Actor
An officer. Literally all she is.
- english
- female adult
“Dispatch, this is Officer Perez.”
"Alright. That changed things."
"I'm going to ask again. WHY do you have matches?"
Voice Actor
Extras. Such as background characters or extra parents.
Improv
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