Man, this is killing me! Lisa and I have a big school project in film class, and we have to examine 12 out of 35 films of our choosing (up to an R rating). We went with films by Ray Bradbury Farraday, known as the Scariest Man Alive. He's a legend and makes super realistic horror movies. We've narrowed the list down to these:
The Beast With Three Brains
The Carnival of Disgusting Horrors
The Cavern of No Return
Crab Monsters vs The Leech People
Conquerors of the Gorilla Planet
Go-karts from the Evil Kingdom
Kunga the Animal Vampire
Lake of the Water Zombies
Night of the June Bugs
Prisoners of the Vampire King
The Revenge of Dr. Cruel
Vacation of Endless Doom
Who knew movie night could feel like nothing but work? At least it's entertaining work. We ended up turning it into a little marathon, saving an all-nighter for the weekend. We've been doing this ever since we got back from winter break, and now, we've just finished the final movie.
Now that I think about it, not much has been heard of Farraday. News said he had vanished only to reappear some time later. We found this while researching him during our movie selection. Before he disappeared, he had a camp based on his movies called Fright Camp. The scares do look all too real, but it was all just fake and was being filmed for a new movie.
But as of late, the Midnight Society has been encountering strange monsters. With descriptions very similar to the monsters in Farraday's movies! The three-headed beast Cerberus, the mad scientist Dr. Cruel, the Vampire King Alucard, and the lion vampire Kunga.
Lisa's got a theory. Mystic Manuscripts are magically enchanted books that can seal away monsters, right? Well, what if something else could be capable of doing the same? Like movies?
I've mapped the monsters' location radius, and they've all been spotted around the more forgotten side of town, near the old theater we met Jimmy at. Turns out it had later been turned into a movie theater as well. That explains the screen at the stage.
There's only one way to get to the bottom of this, which is why we're heading out tonight. We're going to investigate what's going on in that theater!
…
Lisa and I manage to make our way in through the back of the theater, and sure enough, we hear voices as we sneak into the camera room. There's a rolling TV stand complete with an old-school TV, and Slappy's met up with someone there. A skinny man in a black suit, and I can see that he has green glowing eyes.
"My latest production is nearly complete." The man says. "I need only the powerful Blastovision technology to undo the seal on this heavily enchanted VHS tape. Only one man knows how to make it. The King of Horror, Emory Banyon."
"Ah, that explains why it's taking you so long, Mr Farraday." Slappy says. "Well, maybe this is karma for stealing M's Fear Meter and using it as your own in that camp of yours AND escaping from him. Unlike Stine. But there's no way you can resist my control. Now you are MY slave. Besides, that meter is back at the park where it belongs. Thanks to your actions and the two weeks the campers stayed, you ended up wasting a good 100% charge! Now it has to be recharged all over again!"
Fear Meter? Is it in Horrorland?
"Now, Stine taught you how to seal monsters into these tapes, is that right? Why don't you show me how to release them?"
Farraday only readies an old-school vhs tape labeled Conquerors of the Gorilla Planet. He slides it into the vhs player below the tv, which then turns on before glowing green and becomes filled with static.
Suddenly, the TV begins pulsing with energy as videotape-like tendrils begin reaching out! More and more begin to emerge before they begin wrapping and coiling together, forming something from the static.
And once the rewind sound is done, it's replaced by a gorilla roar as a warrior beats his chest and arms himself with a barbarian ax!
Woah…
"I knew it!" Lisa whispers. "There IS another way to seal monsters away besides a book!"
"With Blastovision," Farraday continues. "Not only can I release even more monsters from even bigger screens, but its technology will allow it to suck in any poor soul that watches that movie. We're close. I can feel it. Once I reunite with my partner, we can finally complete The Dark Apocalypse!"
"The Dark Apocalypse, eh?"
"You'll love it, Slappy. It's the scariest movie ever made! More nightmarish than A Nightmare on Elm Street, more bone-chilling than Frankenstein, and even It pales in comparison to the many jumpscares, deaths, screams, and blood this film has to offer! And with Blastovision, it will be able to release the three most powerful monsters that I have sealed away: Dr. Aqua, with his army of human-crocodile hybrid mutants! And the Vampire Twins John and Wendy, always searching for a bite to eat! Not to mention the colossal Kongar, a towering ape with the strength to make entire cities crumble!"
"Ooo! A mad scientist, vampires, and a giant monster?! I love the sound of that!" Slappy laughs. "I can't WAIT to see this movie!"
"For that to happen, I'll need Mr. Banyon and his Blastovision technology to make it a reality! This is a special film, as it's a combination of three movies Emory and I collaborated on before I met Stine: Going Ape, Agent Z vs Dr. Aqua, and House of a Hundred Horrors! That is why I have sent my monsters free, to find him! But he's hidden himself well…"
"Well, movies take a while to come out anyway." Slappy mutters. "Hurry it up though! I want the release date to be before the end of the year!"
No way…Farraday is one of Slappy's slaves, AND monsters can be sealed in movies?! This is big. But what is this "Blastovision" tech? What does this equally famous movie director have to do with it?
Maybe one of our brainiacs knows. Or maybe not. But what's really puzzling me is this "Fear Meter". The Dark Tome has some really creepy stuff. Maybe I'll find it there!
…
"Let's see…" I flip through the pages of the Dark Tome in Shadow House's library. "What does this thing say about a Fear Meter?"
Suddenly, the pages flip rapidly ON THEIR OWN! And the book stops on a new blank page, ink bleeding in to form words. Woah…it's…it's never done THAT before. Maybe the command did it?
Wait…huh?
There's a bunch of weird text, as well as a strange sigil in a cursed amulet. It looks like a dark green star with words all around it, in that unpronounceable language.
"Uh, Mr. Book, sir?" I ask. "That does NOT look like a Fear Meter."
Suddenly, the text at the top glows and changes to English, so I can read it. At first, it said Ah'lloigshogg. Now, it reads "The Fear Meter". The rest of the text changes too, so I read away.
"The Fear Meter is a powerful dark arcane device that feeds off the fear of all living beings." I read aloud. "Should it ever reach 100% charge, it can tear open a hole between dimensions, realities, and universes, allowing passageway through from both ends. This was forged by the Great Old Ones, made to be powerful enough to warp entire locations to other worlds. The insane mind produces an immense amount of fear, even greater than a sane child. The rune goes dormant after each 100% usage, but can always be charged up again. But, if overloaded BEYOND 100%, it can emit a powerful eldritch magic that can erase the entire universe that it resides in, thus leaving a hole in space and time and allow a powerful eldritch being to cross through to another dimension. Should this being be like the Blind Idiot God or the Great Dreamer, it will have enough power to corrupt that dimension, drowning all life into pure fear and insanity until civilizations crumble, and until that space becomes a distorted chaotic void. As a self-defense mechanism, it emits a powerful shock of eldritch lightning that can severely injure the being using it. At full charge, this can kill them."
Okay…that's ominous. Just what does Slappy plan to do with this Fear Meter? He's…he's not working with Fear…is he?
Slappy's no one's puppet. But can he really cut the strings of this Fear guy? I have to find a way to learn more about how they're connected. But I have a feeling that it won't be easy. Besides, nothing ever is. Why should that change now?
