When You Hear the Knell of a Requiem Bell
Sneak Peak…
A Phantom Awaits You
(Just bear with me and imagine that this is like a movie trailer, okay? I normally do not like the script format of fan fiction, but I think it's the best way to do this.)
Disclaimer: The very first line in this "trailer" is from the original English PM narration done by Vincent Price that was used when the ride first opened, before it switched to the current French narration.
Thunder crashes, and a black screen gives way to a vision of Ravenswood Manor at nighttime. Ravenswood Manor is an old, dilapidated mansion in the ghost town of Thunder Mesa. As the view focuses in on the Manor, the sad song of a soprano can be heard. As the next line is read, different shots of the Manor's interior are shown.
Voice: Where hinges creak in doorless chambers…where strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls... where candle lights flicker though the air is deathly still... This is Phantom Manor! …Welcome curious friends. You may not believe it, but beauty once lived in this house, and beauty lives here still.
A shot of the beautiful bride, Miss Melanie Ravenswood, as she holds a candelabra and sings to herself, is shown.
Voice: Of course, I use the word "lives" in the figurative sense. (The voice chuckles) Yes, my dear friends, this is what you would call a haunted house. And she is not the only ghost who walks the halls of the Manor. There are more…many more.
Shots of the different ghosts, including the ballroom dancers, saloon ghosts in PhantomCanyon, Lawrence the groom, and the Phantom are shown. As the next line is spoken, a tour guide in the Manor's foyer is shown, talking to an enthused tourist group.
Voice: Many people come to see us, in hopes that they'll get the scare of their lifetime. Of course, not everyone wants to greet a ghost…
The shot changes to one of Kimberly Fox, our sort of reluctant heroine, with a slightly annoyed, slightly creeped out look on her face.
Kimberly's voice: I hate haunted houses.
Next, a montage of images is shown to the "Spooks Tour" music from Halloween is Grinch Night. The images include Kimberly in a room with stretching walls; a falling corpse; a falling chandelier; the ghost mayor from Phantom Canyon; Nate and Lotte, Kim's new interns, looking confused; Melanie Ravenswood looking anguished, Kim and Lawrence, the groom, running away from something; Kim and Lotte looking over a piece of paper; Kim, Lawrence, Nate, and Lotte ducking something flying through the air; a skeleton rising out of a casket; Kim looking scared; and finally, the sinister Phantom himself, a skeleton-like specter in formal dress, as he cackles and points to an open grave.
Voice: This summer, make plans to stop at Ravenswood Manor….if you dare.
One last view of Ravenswood Manor is shown, as the Phantom's laughter is heard.
The following words appear on the screen.
A Phantom Awaits You
The Phantom's maniacal laughter stops and is replaced by the lonely, beautiful singing of the house's ill-fated bride. The following words appear on the screen.
Coming Summer 2004
While we're on the topic of sneak peaks and advertisements, I'm going to use this place to insert an ad for my friend Crescent Venus's HM fan fic Tribute. It's based off the video game and is a crossover with Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Sabrina becomes a spirit detective and her first assignment, of course, takes place at Gracey Manor, where she gets help from everyone's favorite gypsy lady, Madame Leota. It's currently 18 chapters long, and let me tell you, it's got some GREAT cliffhangers! Oh, man…this one is GOOD. There are very few HM fan fics on the Internet, so if you're a HM fan, it is imperative that you check it out! Even if you've never even heard of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, it's still written in a way where you can understand the show's characters, like Sabrina and Salem. You gotta trust me on this one…I would NOT be highly endorsing this fic if I didn't think it was worthy of reviews and accolades. You can find Tribute in the Sabrina, the Teenage Witch section in the TV section of fanfiction.net.