When Finney is abducted and thrown into the same underground cellar where they were killed, the boy discovered that he could communicate with them through the disconnected telephone hanging on the wall. These spirits are lost and unsure of their own identities, but they all have one thing in common; they are angry that they weren’t able to survive, no matter their attempts at escape.

And make no mistake, they tried their hardest. Bruce tried digging a hole from the basement’s dirt floor, while another victim named Billy tried to climb up to the barred window using a stray wire. They, along with other victims, detail these attempts to Finney over the disconnected phone, hoping that he will be the one to finally make them work. To them, Finney represents the freedom they never got to experience, the lives they didn’t get to live. Towards the climactic final scene, one victim named Robin, who audiences previously saw standing up for Finney against a trio of bullies, is able to pull him from the depths of hopelessness.

Although he was not able to save their lives, he has the ability to make their souls rest peacefully if he kills the Grabber. It is this encouragement, along with a dirt-packed phone and the leftover attempts at escape, that eventually helps Finney kill his captor once and for all.