A phonebooth that allows you to call dead people.

The street running along the west side of St James Cemetary is rather innocuous. It has some some drugstores, one bookshop, a Mak Attax(TM) fastfood, and a group of three telephone boxes. These are from a very common type, and you can call anywhere in the world providing they are not out of order (and most of the time, they are). Excepted that, with the middle booth, you call also call the otherworld and have dead people on the line.

The operation is quite simple if you’ve got the proper change. Get a personal effect of the deceased, like a toothbrush or a pantyhose, and put it in the trashbin near the booth. Pick up the receiver, put a quarter in the slit. Then make a good cut on your hand (one or two wound points make it. It hurts !), and pour the blood on this slit. Strangely, the blood doesn’t flow down on the machine but seems to be sucked by the slit. Then compose the 333, and spend a minor charge. Then you hear a sensual, feminine voice saying “Hello, St James Cemetary, whom
do you want to talk to ?”. Answer the name of the person you want to reach, and the date of his death. The operator says : “Please hang up, he will call you back in a few minutes.”
Hang up and wait. Be sure nobody uses the booth before the call or it will cancel the operation. It seems that waiting at this phonebox attracts all kind of stubborn people who have an imperious need of a phonecall, and remember : the two others boothes are out of order… After 2d10 min (i.e. when characters are really nervous/bored), the phone rings and you can pick it up.

If everything has gone smoothly (see below the FAQ), the person you’ve asked for is on the line. He may be in a good mood or not (specially not if you are the cause of his death!) and keeps most of his past personnality though he’s surely disturbed by his death. He can freely talk with you and answer your questions. Typically, you will have time to ask a few (i.e. GM’s call) questions, before he tells you : “Uhoh… I think I have to hang up…” and hang up without any explanation. The conversation is over.
The object you put in the trash has disappeared but if you strongly smash the booth, you can get you quarter back.

FAQs about the phonebooth to hell :

Where does this thing come from ?
Nobody knows. People who know its existence and how to operate it got the information from a pal who get it from his best friend who discover it by hearing a conversation between who-knows-whom. The urbanomancer of the local turf claims he doesn’t know more. But maybe he’s lying…

Can I reach anybody anytime ?
This is the main limitation of the stuff : you can only call people buried/cremated in the St James Cemetary. Also you cannot talk to people who do not want to be disturbed in their eternal rest. People who have a “difficult” death or that have any good reason to cling to our miserable world may want to answer the call (nasty mythomaniac demons, for example). If the person doesn’t want to answer you, the call back will be made by the operator telling that “We are sorry, but we cannot reach the person you want to talk to.”

Is it safe ?
It is the advantage of the apparatus : you cannot be possessed using it. The “demon” is not compelled to answer you or tell you the truth, but he cannot harm you. At least, that’s what everybody say. A rumor says it’s the quarter that protects you from possession.

Does is always work ?
Providing you correctly do the ritual, the phone is NEVER out of order for its supernatural function : it’s really Magick ! Make An error in the ritual and you may be connected with a mischievous demon, totally not concerned by your mortal problems.

What can I learn ?
The demons answer like demons, for the best and the worst of it. The recently deceased are not fully fledge demons. They do not have the demonic knowledge, but still retain all the memories of their live up to the moment of their death. They will be reluctant to answer to questions relative to the afterlife, like any other demon. (“We’ll talk about that when we meet, okay ?”)

Can I date the operator ?
No way. She will politely but firmly reject any offer. She won’t answer to any questions irrelevant to her job. If an utterly machist male does insist, she replies that “Anyway, everybody date me one day or another, so don’t hurry”. She’s joking, of course…

The presence of a Mak Attax restaurant in the street is purely coincidental. Of course.