The presence of ghosts has long been associated with electromagnetic disturbances but what if a ghost lingered around in Facebook? An eleven-minute short film, Viral, by UCLA film school graduate Tim Shechmeister takes cyberbullying to a supernatural arena.

According to THR, Screen Gems has acquired the rights to the short with the intention of adapting it into a feature film. Shechmeister co-wrote the short with his brother Matt. The brothers will both write the screenplay for the feature with Tim to direct.

Described as The Grudge meets Facebook, this short “strikes at the modern social media anxiety.” Grudge writer Stephen Susco actually discovered Shechmeister’s short this past summer at a screenwriting event. Susco talks about what impressed him about the short:

“I see a lot of student films and like to see what’s going on. I rarely see something as polished as this one.

It strikes at the modern social media anxiety that really hits a hot nerve in this country. How young people communicate is changing and technology is altering the tenor of that communication—in many cases for the worse. And this is an opportunity to do something scary and really potent at the same time.”

Susco brought the short to Grudge producer Roy Lee who presented it to Screen Gems with Lawrence Grey. Lee and Grey will executive produce with John Middleton.

Check out the trailer for the short below:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o4cWkwxX9U[/youtube]