Stage Fright

This is a haunted house project that Miles and I will be working on this year, for the halloween season.

Façade

 The building’s architecture is Victorian style. Boarded up windows with tattered shutters. Overgrown vines cling to the wall.

Lobby

 As the patrons enter the building, they will notice that it is very ornate and brightly lit. Posters and portraits of the actors and coming attractions, which guests will encounter in their visit, are lined up in walls. An usher appears in front of the guests and tells them about the theater’s history.

“Welcome to Mangrove Theater. My name is ______________, let me tell you the Theater’s dark and tragic history.  Built and opened in 1899 by world-renowned magician Balthazar Xanthos and his wife Isobel Ambrosia, a famous actress. This vaudeville theater was a sanctuary for talented performers and parrots of the arts. However, 1914. In which Mrs. Ambrosia fell ill during her recent performances. Balthazar was determined return his beloved from the grave. So he spent two years. There have been many rumors that Mr. Xanthos had actually dabbled in black magic. It was on that dreadful night in October 1^st 1915, when one of his magic tricks had gone weary, which caused a rift between life and death. Soon the performers, staff members and 80 patrons were never seen again. The theater was then closed to the public. Over the past two centuries, there have been reports of ethereal music and songs coming from inside the abandon theater and spectral apparitions can be seen in the windows and grounds.”

After the usher finishes he/she’s introduction, they will usher the guests into the door that leads them into a back stage corridor. 

Back Stage Corridor

There are doors on both sides. Guests will hear shouting, crying, banging and whispers. One of the doors opens up to revel a hanged corpse. At the end of the hallway is another usher with a flashlight in his hands. He walks slowly and vanishes, only to reappear in front of us.

Usher: What are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be here! Come follow me, this way.  

Dressing Room

Entering in one of the actor’s dressing room they can smell the sent of dead roses. They see a woman in her vanity table. 

She turns around and revels her disfigured visage. Other scareactors will pop out from the closet and a changing screen.

Prop Room

The prop room is littered with portraits, statues, trunks, crates, antiques, and furniture. A suit of armor on the left comes to life and brandishes it’s weapon. A demonic gargoyle comes to life. A scare actor will pop up from behind an open box. A manikin comes to life, as a demented character sews up various cloths.  
 

Séance Parlor

Guests will enterer a room furnished with arcane artifacts, spell books and a table on the center, with a crystal ball.

Madame Methuselah: Welcome, I am Madame Methuselah. You’ve come to make contact from the world beyond the veil? You’ve come to the right place. Please sit and join hands. Tonight we call forth the spirits of those who have passed this life.

Once the guests are seated, they feel a cold gust of wind passing through them. The table vibrates, the crystal ball changes colors from white, red and black, and the lights flicker on and off.

Madame Methuselah: I can sense their presences. If you are here with us, give us a sign.

Suddenly, a manifestation appears from behind Madame Methuselah and then throttles her to death. But is in fact taking over her body, she is possessed.

Madame Methuselah: Leave this place, now!

While the guests start to leave, ghostly apparitions manifest before their eyes and chase them out of the room.  

The Phantom of the Opera

Guests will enter the underground sanctuary of the Opera Ghost. It is decorated with large candelabras, a painting of Christine, a few furnishings and a coffin shaped bed. Erick, the phantom, can be seen playing a haunting yet somber melody on an organ or harpsichord. He is aware of the intruders and turns around. He is not the romantic figure Andrew Lloyd Webb portrayed him; his mask covers his entire face. As Christine moves closely to Erick, she removes his mask to reveal his deformed visage of a death's head. Christine faints as Erick turns around to show the patrons to reveal his deformed visage of a death.face.  

  Erick: Look at me, feast you’re eyes on this accursed ugliness. Do I frighten you, perhaps this another mask. Come tear it off. No, I am built of death from death to foot. For I am corpse who walks among the living. Once you have seen my face, you are mine forever.

He resumes playing his organ or harpsichord with a shrill shrieking sound. This gives guests the opportunity to escape.

Jekyll and Hyde

 Guests find themselves in the dark and foggy streets of Victorian London. The first character they will encounter is a lady of the night.

 Merrimu Hopkins: What do you think you’re doing? It’s not safe being out after dark, with all those ghoulies and goblins lurking in the shadows where you least expect.   

With that a man with long unkempt hair and evening cloths comes out of an adjacent alleyway.  He grabs her by the hair and puts her into the darkness. The guests hear her shriek and all becomes silent.

A man dressed exactly like the murderer, but he has a ponytail and blood stained vest and coat. He is horrified by the actions.

Dr Jekyll: Oh God, what have I done? Listen to me; you must not tell the authorities what you have seen, flee and don’t look back.

The man starts to writhe in pain. He transforms into the same man we’ve seen before.  

Mr. Hyde:  You can run, but you can’t hide from Mr. Hyde.

Sweeney Todd

Guests will first enter Mrs. Lovett’s Pie Shop. They will be introduced to Mrs. Lovett herself.

Mrs. Lovett: Customers!  Welcome to my Pie Shop; I am Mrs. Margret Lovett. But you can call me Marge. Would you like a sample one of my pies? We've got Shepard pie, Baker, Butcher, Tinker, Tailor, and Adam's Appel Pie . The special on the menu is called Fresh Meat. Now before you can dig in, you need a visit to Mr. T’s tonsorial parlor. He’ll polish you off, just like the rest.  

After they leave the pie shop, visitors will enter the barbershop. They see a man in Victorian clothing entering the shop.

Sweeney Todd: Welcome, I am at your service. What may I do for you, sir?  A sooth skin massage, stylish trimmings of the hair, or a close shave.

Gentleman: A shave, if you please sir.

Once the gentleman takes his seat. He slits the throat of his victim and pulls a lever that sends the corpse down into the cellars.

Sweeney Todd: There you see, no one’s in the chair- come on, come on. I want you bleeders bleeding. Come again and visit me at Fleet Street.

Shakespeare’s Tragedies

Guests will enter a medieval gothic hallway decorated with banners and torches. There they will encounter the lady Ophelia with a bouquet of flowers in her hand. She is signing a song of death.

Ophelia: He is dead and gone, lady. He is dead and gone. White as his shroud as the mountain snow, larded with sweet flowers. Which bewept to the grave did go with true love showers.

Ophelia become aware of the visitors. She hands them a flower.

Ophelia: There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance. There’s fennel for you and columbines. There’s a daisy. I would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died. They say he made a good end. Make hast, the sisters three await thy presence. 

She escorts the guests to another room, with a huge cauldron. There are three witches standing around it, putting strange ingredients in the cauldron. The first witch is a young lady, the second witch is a middle-aged woman, and the third witch is an old crone.

All Witches: Round about the caldron go. In the poisoned entrails throw. Sweltered venom, sleeping got, boil you first in the charmed pot. Double, double, toil and trouble. Fire burn and caldron bubble.

Witch #1: Fillet of a fenny snake, in the cauldron boil and bake.

 Witch #2: Eye of newt and toe of frog. Wool of bat and tongue of dog.

Witch #3: Adder’s fork and blind worm’s sting. Lizards leg and owlet’s wing.

Witch #1: Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,

Witch#2: witches’ mummy, maw and gulf of ravened salt sea shark,

Witch#3: Root of hemlock dug in the dark.

Witch #1: Liver of blaspheming Jew, gall of goat and slips of yew.

All Witches: Cool it with a baboon’s blood. Then the charm is firm and good.

One of the witches’ scoop up the liquid with a wooden spoon and pours it into a small glass bottle. She hands it to the guests.

Puppet Show: Once guests enter the puppet show, the stage is filled with human sized marionettes. They perform a little dance. One of the marionettes will eventually loose its strings and fall down to the ground. The puppet will come to life and chases the guests from the stage.    

The Auditorium:

Guests are in the stage with a red curtain in front of them.  In the center of the stage is a shrouded corpse with a circle surrounding it.

Balthazar Xanthos: Finale, you’ve made. Have you brought the ingredients?  (Which he is referring to the flowers that Ophelia has given them and the potion that witches made. The guests will scatter the flowers around the circle and sprinkle the corpes with the potion.) Quickly, there is no time to explain, you must stand around the circle.

 A curtain opens up to revel an auditorium with the corpses of theater patrons in Edwardian fashion.

Balthazar: Beir seo gra amhain ar ais o na mairbh. (Three times)

No sooner has the spell is cast; the corpse comes back to life. Which happens to be Isobel. They hear the sounds of applause.

Balthazar: Isobel my love.

Eventually however, the revived Isobel turns against him and throttles him to death.

This gives the guests an opportunity to escape. The audience comes to life and chases after the guests. Preventing their escape.  An usher helps them escape.