STORY 1: THE LAST SLUMBER PARTY
Starring:
Lucy Van Pelt
Frieda Rich
Violet Gray
Patty Swanson
Sally Brown
Patricia "Peppermint Patty" Reichardt
Marcie Carlin
and The Banshee of Hennepin County
Special Guest: Freddy Fabulous as the Sorcerer
VERONA: Our first story takes place sometime in the 1980s. Seven friends have a slumber party and tells the story of the Banshee of Hennepin County that was once the Queen of Slumber Parties. We look in on the friends as they enjoy themselves.
Lucy Van Pelt, along with her friends were enjoying the slumber party she was having at her house. Lucy had been holding some of the best slumber parties in all of Hennepin County, let alone Sparkyville. Her best friend, Frieda Rich, was on the phone talking to her boyfriend.
"Yeah, we're all having fun, hun," said Frieda to her boyfriend, who was on the other line. "We ate some pizza earlier, and then we'll probably tell horror stories. Anyway, I better get back to the party, sweetie. Love you, baby." And she hung up the phone.
"Was that your sweetheart Charlie Brown?" teased Violet Gray, one of the popular girls who was also invited to the party.
"You know she and him are in love, Vi," said Patty Swanson, Violet's best friend.
"Well, if our little Frieda can see some good in the blockhead, he's not totally a failure," said Lucy.
"Maybe not, but I can still strike him out with three pitches," added Patricia "Peppermint Patty" Reichardt, the resident tomboy.
"Well he is my brother, and he's not a bad guy at all," said Charlie Brown's sister, Sally, who was also at the party. "Sure, he messes up often, but he can't help being clumsy."
"I say that all the time," added Lucy. "I will say this. At least HE doesn't drag around a stupid blanket like my brother Linus."
"True," agreed Violet.
"Well I'm happy for Frieda and Charles," said Marcie Carlin, Peppermint Patty's best friend. "Charles is a good guy and we'd be lucky to land a boy like that."
"Thank you, Marcie," said Frieda, with a smile. "Charlie Brown is wonderful."
"How about you, Violet?" asked Lucy. "How's your Shermy, hmm?"
"Oh, he's one in a million," said Violet, swooning over her boyfriend. "A great baseball player, and just good at sports, in general. He would almost be perfect if he didn't have two left feet when it came to dancing. I thought Charlie Brown was bad at dancing, but even I can admit that he's Fred Astaire compared to Shermy in that regard. The only dance he can do is the Frankenstein."
"As bad as Shermy is at dancing, I'd wouldn't compare Charlie Brown to Fred Astaire, Vi," said Patty.
"Even I have to admit, my Charlie Brown is not the best dancer," added Frieda. "Though, he's not terrible like Shermy, either." And the girls laughed.
"All right, enough boy talk," said Peppermint Patty. "Who here knows any horror stories?"
"I don't like telling horror stories," said Sally, holding a teddy bear. "I always scare myself!"
"Oh, good grief!" sighed Lucy.
"How about the story of Sleepy Hollow?" suggested Marcie.
"Heard it!" said Patty.
"C'mon, Marcie," said Peppermint Patty. "We need something original."
"How about the Banshee of Hennepin County?" said Violet.
"Who?" asked Frieda.
"The Banshee of Hennepin County," Violet repeated. "It's a Sparkyville urban legend."
"I've never heard of this Banshee," said Sally.
"Not too many people have, Sally," said Violet. "Long before Lucy here gained the crown, the Banshee was the original Slumber Party Queen. No one talks of her name, but twenty years ago, she used to throw the best slumber parties in town. She was the most popular girl at school that all the boys wanted to date. She also had a loving family and actually got along with her younger siblings."
"Now I know this is fiction!" joked Lucy. "Who actually gets along with their siblings? I barely tolerate my own brothers."
"Well, one night before Halloween, she decided to throw a Halloween-themed slumber party for her friends. She had planned to have her friends come over to her house to spend the night and the next day was Halloween, which was on a Saturday that day, so no school the next day. She sent invites to her friends and had her mother buy all of the food for the party."
"When does she become the Banshee?!" asked an impatient Sally.
"I'm GETTING to that part!" sneered Violet. "ANYWAY, unbeknownst to the poor girl, her friends had already accepted an invite from another girl named Cindy Reyes. Cindy was another popular girl at the school. They had all planned to go to Cindy's house the night before Halloween. Well, when the night of the party arrived, the girl wondered where her friends were and what was taking them so long. So, she decided to go around and find out what was happening. She had tried to call all of them but no answer from any of them. She finds out from some other girl that Cindy was having a big slumber party blowout at her place. She went to Cindy's house only to find all of her friends there. She had never received an invite to Cindy's party herself, so she didn't know about the party until that night.
"To say she was upset was an understatement. She was furious; so furious that she crashed the party and called out her so-called friends. She wanted to know why they didn't come to her party or even tell her about Cindy's party. One of their friends told her that they couldn't stand her grandstanding at her parties and that they wanted a different place other than hers to go to. After being told that, the girl ran out and back for home where she told her mother to cancel all plans for the party and to let her brothers eat the food. It was later that night when she ran away from home figuring her friends deserted her and didn't want to be her friends anymore. She fled into Monte Woods never to be seen again. Until a few years later, the anniversary of her disappearance, all of her old friends were said to be haunted by her spirit which became the Banshee of Hennepin County. Each and every one of her former friends disappeared without a trace that night like she did those years ago. But it wasn't the end. Every Halloween Eve, it has been said that the Banshee haunts slumber parties and takes girls to parts unknown, never to be seen again."
"Tonight is Halloween Eve!" said a scared Sally.
"Oh relax, Sally," said Lucy. "It's just an urban legend."
"There's no such thing as a Banshee of Hennepin County," added Frieda.
"Do you think there's truth to that story, sir?" asked Marcie to Peppermint Patty.
"Don't be ridiculous, Marcie," her best friend responded. "It's only folklore. Pure fiction. Right, Violet?"
"Well, it is true that the girl disappeared and is still missing to this day," Violet explained, "but as far as the Banshee story goes, 100% fake!" Sally and Marcie breathed sighs of relief as the other girls laughed.
Later, the girls were asleep in their sleeping bags. All of them had fun that night with the stories and dancing to music. Now they were sleeping quietly. Lucy's younger brothers, Linus and Rerun were at Charlie Brown's house spending the night so not to annoy Lucy and her friends.
Around midnight, Marcie awoke from her sleep to what sounded like high-pitched wailing. She got up and put on her glasses. She tried to wake up Peppermint Patty.
"Sir, did you hear that?" she asked.
"Hear what, Marcie?" asked a groggy Peppermint Patty.
"It sounded like someone was wailing," Marcie responded.
"You're just hearing things, Marcie," said her best friend, yawning. "Go back to sleep. And stop calling me 'sir'." And Peppermint Patty went back to sleep in her sleeping bag. Just then, the wailing got louder.
"All right, who's making all of that noise?!" asked an annoyed Lucy. "I swear if one of my blockheaded brothers came home from Charlie Brown's, there will be heck to pay!"
"I don't think that was one of your brothers, Lucy," said a scared Frieda. "I'm afraid that may be the Banshee."
"Oh come on," said Lucy. "That story is fake. Isn't it, Violet?"
"Well, Lucy," Violet began, "I do admit the story of the Banshee was rumored to be urban legend, but the girls disappearing was, in fact, true." The girls gasped.
"I don't want to be taken away by the Banshee!" cried Sally.
"Relax, kid," said a confident Peppermint Patty. "Violet said the story of the Banshee was urban legend. Only the story of the girls was real."
"I said the Banshee story was 'rumored' to be an urban legend," Violet corrected. "It could still be true."
Then they heard the wailing again, but this time someone said something behind it. "I am the true Queen of the Slumber Partiiiiiiiiiiiiies!"
"GOOD GRIEF!" exclaimed Patty. "IT'S HER!"
And before they knew it, a ghostly figure appeared before them. She looked like a young girl their age, but was floating and scary-looking.
"I am the Banshee of Hennepin County," said the ghost. "I was once the undisputed Queen of the Slumber Parties. But my crown was taken by that awful Cindy! Now I am forced to haunt slumber parties like this one and take the girls of said slumber parties away. Which reminds me, YOU WILL ALL COME WITH ME!"
"Not if we can help it, sister!" said Peppermint Patty. "RUN FOR IT!"
And the girls ran out of the house with the Banshee hot on their tracks. They made it to Monte Woods and stopped running when they saw that the ghost had disappeared.
"All right, we need a plan," said Lucy, panting and out of breath.
"But what can we do to avoid the Banshee?" asked Sally.
"We split up," suggested Peppermint Patty. "She can't get all of us at once. She has to chase one of us, but she can't chase all of us if we're apart. We will meet back at Lucille's once we lost the Banshee. Is everyone agreed?" The girls reluctantly nodded. "Okay. Marcie, you come with me. I may know someone who's dealt with the paranormal before, but I'll still need your help."
"Okay, sir." And the girls split up and went different directions. But as they tried to get away from the Banshee, the scepter was too fast for them. First to be scooped up was the girl who told the story about the Banshee in the first place, Violet. Then her best friend, Patty, was collected. Frieda and Lucy were next to go, and then, despite some bargaining and trying to make a deal, Sally was collected by the Banshee, as well. All who was left was Peppermint Patty and Marcie, who made it to the place that dealt with paranormal activity. They knocked on the door and answering was a tall-lanky kid with blond hair, who wore a robe with a hood.
"Freddy, we need your help," Peppermint Patty announced. "We're dealing with…"
"…The Banshee of Hennepin County?" said Freddy, finishing the sentence. "Get in now! My place is the only place where you'll be safe." And the two girls complied. Continuing he said, "Before you got here, I was already working on a spell that will send the Banshee back to the beyond. The only problem is, while I can get rid of the Banshee, I won't be able to get the girls she's taken away back."
Peppermint Patty and Marcie gasped. "Our friends are still out there," said Marcie. "What if the Banshee had grabbed them?"
"Maybe it's not too late still," Freddy pondered. "So as long as we can vanquish her tonight, there's a chance we could still save your friends and bring them back. But we have to do it before the sun peaks over the horizon. If we don't vanquish her before sunrise, your friends are lost with the other girls the Banshee has claimed. Now I got the spell ready; all we need to do is head back into Monte Woods, because that's where the girl disappeared when she ran away in the first place." And the three of them went back to Monte Woods.
Once they got near the center of the woods, they spotted the Banshee swirling around the clearing. She spotted the three heroes.
"Ah, you came to join your friends, after all," the scepter said. "Well it won't hurt a bit. You'll just disappear from existence."
"Don't even try it, girlie!" said Freddy, who held a vial of potion in his hand. "Your days of claiming souls are over! It's time you've went back to the great beyond where you belong." And he threw the vial under the ghost.
"Ha!" said the Banshee, with an air of smugness. "You didn't even hit me! Hmph! Nerd!"
"That's the point, Banshee baby," said Freddy with a grin. "This potion you don't throw AT ghost; you throw under them, causing a chemical reaction with the air and ectoplasm in your aura!" Just then the potion started to bubble in the spot Freddy threw it at. And then blue lights shot out of the potion and started to suck the Banshee in.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" shrieked the Banshee. "I can't go back! I must reclaim my crown!"
"It's only a slumber party!" said Peppermint Patty. "Not a wedding!"
"NO MATTER WHAT," the scepter said as the light sucked her in, "I WILL ALWAYS BE THE QUEEN OF SLUMBER PAAAAAAAAAARTIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIES…"
And with that the Banshee was sucked back to the beyond. And the lights disappeared. Just then, Lucy, Frieda, Violet, Patty, and Sally reappeared where the Banshee was.
"You saved us!" cried a grateful Frieda.
"I am never telling scary stories again!" swore Violet.
"Probably for the best," agreed Patty.
"If that Banshee ever comes back, I'll pound her!" fumed an angry Lucy.
"That's it!" shouted Sally. "From now on, I'm going to slumber parties where they don't tell scary stories!" Everyone laughed and Peppermint Patty and Marcie thanked Freddy for his help in vanquishing the Banshee. Now when girls ever throw slumber parties, they no longer had to fear an appearance from THE BANSHEE OF HENNEPIN COUNTY.
END OF STORY 1
UP NEXT, STORY 2