CHAPTER ONE: THE INVITATION
Luigi stepped through the huge double doors with caution. It was freezing inside the mansion, nearly colder than it had been outside. He also realized that this place was decorated with spooky paintings depicting frightening faces and mangled figures being tortured. Gulping loudly, he pressed on and discovered a large dining room with a long table, which for some reason was already set up with plates and silverware.

There was a booming knock coming from the entrance hall, followed by the eerie creaking of the doors being opened. Luigi peeked back at the figure now standing in the doorway, illuminated by the lightning-struck sky. A blood red creature was leering in the hallway, slowly stepping towards the spot where Luigi now stood.
"Who-who's th-there?" Luigi stuttered. There was no reply. Suddenly, following the swishing sound of a match being lit, a tiny flame revealed a bright blue eye before being held up to a candle on the wall. Luigi was comforted by his brother's soothing face.

"So you got the invitation too, eh?" Mario inquired as he sat down on a cushioned chair in the dining room. Luigi nodded. "I see. I wonder where the other guests are." At that exact moment, they both heard the door crash open in unison with the booming of thunder outside. Mario got up to indentify the new visitor; Luigi stayed put, shivering uncontrollably.

Mario stepped back into the dining room, accompanied by the regal-looking Princess Peach. She propped her parasol up on the side of the table and sat down next to Mario.
"Where is everyone?"
"We don't know," Mario replied. "Probably on their way. It's not too long after eight o'clock right now."
The three guests decided to explore the rest of the house to pass the time until more people arrived. Luigi was reluctant, but ended up chasing after Mario and Peach when they left him sitting in the dining room alone.

After climbing a tall, winding staircase, the trio opened the first door they saw, which turned out to be a large, tiled bathroom containing a claw-footed bathtub and ornately shaped sinks. The second door revealed a master bedroom with a huge window and a king-sized mattress. The room that followed was a second, smaller bedroom containing a slightly smaller bed and smaller window.

They soon went back downstairs to find a large crowd of people waiting in the dining room. Yoshi and Toad immediately ran up to them and greeted them. Wario and Waluigi seemed to be investigating the gory depictions on the walls while Bowser whispered directions to his son, Bowser Junior (Mario seemed skeptical of this at first, but thought nothing of it soon enough). Donkey Kong emerged from a room which Luigi assumed to be the kitchen, for he had a banana in his hand and was peeling it with excitement. Peach spotted Daisy in the crowd and ran off to socialize while Mario disappeared behind Donkey Kong. Luigi heard a knock at the door and went over to find two people at the door: Shy Guy and Diddy Kong. Shy Guy scurried in silently while Diddy screeched and clapped before heading off to find his gorilla friend.

Luigi opened the kitchen door and saw Mario sitting at the counter, heaving large forkfuls of pasta into his mouth. Mario soon realized he was being watched and wiped his mouth with a napkin, then pulled out a chair for his brother to sit in.
"What's up, bro?"
"Oh, nothing much, Mario," Luigi replied. "Don't you think this whole thing is a little… oh, I dunno… suspicious?"
Mario chuckled. "Well, coming from a plumber with history with ghosts like you, I'm not surprised you'd think that."
"But that invitation we received!" Luigi protested. "Anonymous! We've been sent an anonymous invitation to this creepy old house of horrors where there's not even a host!" He waited for these words to take their effect on Mario before continuing. "Did you see the paintings? Did you see them, Mario? What kind of sicko hangs paintings of torture devices and demonic faces around his house? The same kind who lures fools like us into his slaughterhouse of a home, that's who."
"This is no slaughterhouse, Luigi. Nothing's even happened yet. Everyone's fine—"
Just then, a blood curdling scream came from the dining room. Mario and Luigi leapt from their seats and ran out to see what happened, expecting the worst.