The Frostbound Diary

A group of broke college students attends a budget winter retreat at Camp Silverlake. The protagonist, Leo, finds an old diary from 1995 written by a girl named Donna. At first, the diary acts as a "cheat code," helping Leo win camp games and impress his crush, Maya. However, as the weather turns from a cold frost into a trapping blizzard, Leo realizes the diary isn't just predicting the past, it’s dictating the present.

Theme: Winter / Psychological Horror Tone: Frost, Survival, Eerie, Mystery Setting: December 2025 – A dilapidated summer camp in a forgotten valley. It was supposed to be a budget-friendly bonding trip, a "Winter Retreat" for thirty college students who couldn't afford flights home for the holidays. But Camp Silverlake isn't the cozy, snow-dusted wonderland the brochure promised. It is a hollowed-out relic of the 90s, nestled in a valley where the sun sets too early and the wind carries the scent of stagnant water. Upon arrival, the disappointment is palpable. There is no snow, only the crunch of frozen brown mud. The cabins smell of damp wood and bleach. The lake is a flat, grey mirror that refuses to reflect the sky. But as the students settle in for a week of forced festivities and Secret Santa exchanges, the temperature begins to drop, unnaturally fast. It is the diary of a girl named Donna, dated December 20th, 1995 exactly thirty years ago to the day. At first, it’s a comfort. Donna writes about the same things you are feeling: the social anxiety, the stinging cold, and the desperate hope that her crush, a boy named Jason, will notice her. It feels like you have found a friend across time. But as the hours pass, the coincidences turn into impossibilities.