Stephanie

Stephanie is a young girl left by her parents in their home, growing up with only a toy turtle for company. A dark supernatural force watches over her, casting a constant sense of menace. The world outside hints at an apocalyptic event through scattered news reports.

Stephanie channels her fear by watching Despereaux, Equestria Girls, and Friendship is Magic, turning away from alarming news broadcasts. She also talks to a toy turtle as a confidant. A shadowy force constantly looms just beyond her sight, ensuring tension in even ordinary moments.

It is revealed that Stephanie keeps her brother Paul's corpse in his bed, using the body to yell at and physically abuse him. The macabre secret is part of the chilling dynamic shaping her psychological state. The secret hints at a dangerous bending of reality around her powers.

Eric and Jane return home and apologize for leaving Stephanie alone. They bury Paul’s corpse in the yard and try to resume a sense of normal life. Eric keeps a gun at his belt, and Jane bears visible scars, underscoring the fragile, tense family bond.

That night, Paul's corpse is launched through the attic window, shocking Eric and Jane. Stephanie remains seemingly unaffected by the macabre event. The incident confirms that something terrifying stalks the household.

The next morning, Eric questions Stephanie about the day they left. Stephanie recounts carving pumpkins with Paul; he teases her and damages her pumpkin, and she responds by breaking his neck with telekinesis. Jane witnesses the violence as Stephanie's power manifests as giant invisible octopus tentacles.

Eric and Jane reveal that the real monster is Stephanie herself, whose hallucinations of a shadowy figure had haunted her. They drug her and attempt brain surgery to nullify her powers, but Stephanie wakes and telekinetically destroys the lab. The couple confronts the terrifying possibility of an incurable power.

News broadcasts explain that murderous, telekinetic children like Stephanie are appearing all over the world, and there is no cure. The broadcasts set a grim, global scope to the danger and the moral panic surrounding it. The world begins to close in on the family as distant reports echo their fears.

The next morning, Stephanie pretends nothing has happened while Eric and Jane drug a hot cocoa meant for her. Eric shares his theory that a force possesses Stephanie and other children. In the confrontation, Stephanie's face shows dark patches as she resists the ploy.

As Stephanie is about to drink the cocoa, her telekinesis knocks it away. She lunges at Eric, who shoots her several times, seemingly killing her. The moment marks a brutal shift from a neglected child to a powerful, dangerous force.

Stephanie returns home unharmed and promptly tortures and kills her parents. She telekinetically destroys the house and drags their corpses toward Paul's grave. She steps on the toy turtle, a sign that the force now fully possesses her as her shadow unfolds with tentacles.

The final frames confirm that the possession extends beyond the family, with reports suggesting other children powered by the same force. The scope shifts from personal horror to a planet-wide crisis, underscored by ominous headlines and the spreading fear.

The last image lingers on Stephanie's shadow with long tentacles, and her demonic laughter implies the force has fully taken control. Fires appear on a global scale, suggesting other children are wreaking havoc around the world. It closes with a bleak, unsparing view of an apocalyptic future.