a-ghost-in-the-closet
Original: a-ghost-in-the-closet on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Boy (in bed): GRAMPA! THERE'S A GHOST IN MY CLOSET!
Grandfather (leaning in): A GHOST? REALLY?
Panel 2:
Grandfather: MAYBE IT'S ONE OF MY FRIENDS. THEY'RE ALL GONE, NOW.
Panel 3:
Grandfather: IT WAS SO STRANGE.
Grandfather: THEY WENT SO FAST.
Panel 4:
Grandfather: SO... SO FAST. I JUST TURNED AROUND AND MY WHOLE LIFE... IT WAS AN EMPTY DANCE HALL.
Panel 5:
Grandfather: THE MUSIC'S STILL PLAYING, BILLY! BY GOD IT'S STILL PLAYING. BUT I'M THE ONLY ONE STILL DANCING!
Panel 6:
Grandfather: UNLESS THEY'RE IN THE CLOSET? BACK TO CUT ONE MORE RUG! JUST ONE LAST WALTZ BEFORE ALL THE LIGHTS GO OUT!
Panel 7:
Boy: OH.
(The closet is shown open with a silhouetted shape inside.)
Panel 8:
Grandfather: IT'S JUST... CLOTHES AND BOXES. JUST THINGS.
Panel 9:
Boy: JUST THINGS.
Panel 10:
Grandfather: JUST... THINGS.
Panel 11:
Grandfather (by the light switch): (no dialogue)
Panel 12:
Grandfather's hand on the light switch: *click*
Panel 13:
The boy lies in bed in the dark, looking unhappy. (no dialogue)
Panel 14:
Grandfather (sitting alone on a couch with a remote and a bottle): THAT'LL TEACH THE LITTLE WUSS.
Votey:
A white ghost, smiling, reaches into a black void where the silhouette of a person (the boy in bed) is visible. Caption: OWNED!
Boy (in bed): GRAMPA! THERE'S A GHOST IN MY CLOSET!
Grandfather (leaning in): A GHOST? REALLY?
Panel 2:
Grandfather: MAYBE IT'S ONE OF MY FRIENDS. THEY'RE ALL GONE, NOW.
Panel 3:
Grandfather: IT WAS SO STRANGE.
Grandfather: THEY WENT SO FAST.
Panel 4:
Grandfather: SO... SO FAST. I JUST TURNED AROUND AND MY WHOLE LIFE... IT WAS AN EMPTY DANCE HALL.
Panel 5:
Grandfather: THE MUSIC'S STILL PLAYING, BILLY! BY GOD IT'S STILL PLAYING. BUT I'M THE ONLY ONE STILL DANCING!
Panel 6:
Grandfather: UNLESS THEY'RE IN THE CLOSET? BACK TO CUT ONE MORE RUG! JUST ONE LAST WALTZ BEFORE ALL THE LIGHTS GO OUT!
Panel 7:
Boy: OH.
(The closet is shown open with a silhouetted shape inside.)
Panel 8:
Grandfather: IT'S JUST... CLOTHES AND BOXES. JUST THINGS.
Panel 9:
Boy: JUST THINGS.
Panel 10:
Grandfather: JUST... THINGS.
Panel 11:
Grandfather (by the light switch): (no dialogue)
Panel 12:
Grandfather's hand on the light switch: *click*
Panel 13:
The boy lies in bed in the dark, looking unhappy. (no dialogue)
Panel 14:
Grandfather (sitting alone on a couch with a remote and a bottle): THAT'LL TEACH THE LITTLE WUSS.
Votey:
A white ghost, smiling, reaches into a black void where the silhouette of a person (the boy in bed) is visible. Caption: OWNED!
Alt text
A 14-panel SMBC comic. A young boy in bed tells his grandfather there's a ghost in his closet. The grandfather launches into a long, melancholy monologue: maybe it's one of his friends, who are all gone now; they went so fast; he turned around and his whole life was 'an empty dance hall'; the music is still playing but he's the only one still dancing. He muses that maybe his lost friends are in the closet, ready to cut one more rug, one last waltz before the lights go out. He opens the closet, revealing a dark silhouetted shape, then deflates: 'It's just... clothes and boxes. Just things.' The boy and grandfather both repeat 'Just things' flatly. The grandfather flips off the light switch (*click*), leaving the boy lying alone in the dark looking miserable. Final panel: the grandfather sits alone on a couch with a remote and a bottle, smirking, saying 'That'll teach the little wuss.' Votey: a cheerful white ghost reaches into a black void toward the silhouette of the boy in bed, with the caption 'OWNED!'
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.