Campfire Radio Theater · Haunted Air Audio

The Thing on the Ground Floor Part One

October 13, 2020·34 min·2 clips

A man with half his face missing staggers out of a collapsed apartment building and warns Officer Coward that a basement experiment unlocked 'shadow people' living inside thick black smoke that speaks and whispers.

1. "The Thing on the Ground Floor Part One" is a Campfire Radio Theater audio drama written, directed, and produced by John Ballantyne, set on October 31st, 2019. 2. The drama is structured as a documentary interview: Tricia Timmons, producer of the law enforcement reality show Busted, is being questioned about footage taken during that night's events, which never aired. 3. The cast includes Tanya Milovich as Tricia, John Bale as Dr. Merchant, Owen McEwan as Officer Coward, and Kevin Hartnell as the injured man. 4. Tricia and her cameraman Judd join Officer Coward for a Halloween ride-along in a high-activity neighborhood, during which they expect drunk drivers and domestic disputes. 5. A drunk driver named Lenore hits a fire hydrant near North Clearview; while Officer Coward is conducting a sobriety test, a nearby explosion collapses a building a few blocks away. 6. Officer Coward responds to the explosion, finding the Talbot Building—a high-rise owned by Dr. Solomon Merchant—completely collapsed, with possible structural damage to the adjacent apartment complex. 7. A man missing half his face staggers out of the building alive; he tells Officer Coward that a basement experiment 'unlocked shadow people' living in thick black smoke that speaks, whispers, and gives 'a bad trip that don't end.' 8. Fire Chief Blake Burroughs arrives on scene; he and Officer Coward enter the building to conduct a sweep, bringing Tricia and Judd along. 9. Inside the abandoned Talbot Building—covered in graffiti, trash, and used needles—the crew encounters something moving in an upper hallway that emits a non-human scream. 10. In the sub-basement, they find Dr. Merchant and his assistant Miss Blackwell; Merchant identifies himself as the building's owner and explains he has been conducting experiments here for years. 11. Dr. Merchant reveals that the building sits over subterranean chambers on a fault line that releases black smoke from a bottomless stone pit exactly once per year. 12. The Talbot Building was constructed in 1922 deliberately over this site by people who intended to contain, study, and worship what lay beneath; over time they were consumed by it, and the building became their tomb. 13. The explosion from the adjacent meth house damaged the venting shaft that normally funnels the smoke harmlessly to the atmosphere; contact with the smoke at ground level is described as toxic and catastrophic. 14. Dr. Merchant explains that 'various subjects respond to the smoke in different ways,' and that Miss Blackwell has been mentally broken since witnessing what the smoke did to his assistant Carl—described as a 'mutation.' 15. The creature that attacked the crew on the upper floor is revealed to be Carl, described by Merchant as 'very unfortunate what happened to him.' 16. Merchant asks Coward and Judd to help open a large stuck valve that would fully release the smoke upward through the venting shaft, preventing it from leaking into the city at ground level. 17. The valve fails to open; the building shudders, and Merchant concludes the only option is to flee and let the collapsing debris naturally reseal the pit. 18. As the group retreats through a rear stairwell, Miss Blackwell breaks away and descends back toward the smoke; Merchant refuses to allow anyone to follow her, stating it is too late. 19. The episode ends on a cliffhanger with the smoke rising, Miss Blackwell gone, and the building collapsing—setting up Part Two. 20. Listeners who enjoy Halloween-themed audio drama with found-footage framing, escalating dread, and an underworld mythology will find this episode compelling; those who want resolution rather than a part-one cliffhanger may want to queue both parts back to back.

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