Author'sNote:
Chapter 12
A few minutes ago…
As Katie's group stayed behind at the boat dock, Steph's group headed towards the creepy looking mansion.
"Whats the story behind this ride, Steph?" Tamaki asked as they made their way to the mansion.
Steph paused for a moment. "Well, story-wise, this is the most complicated ride throughout the park. Basically, you are taking a tour of this mansion and nine hundred and ninety-nine ghosts beg for you to join them." The group shivered, talk about a ghost story!
"But, other than that, the story is guesswork. There are loads of characters you will meet, but their history is merely fan theories. Still, this is the most famous haunted house in the world, which always has a line."
Thankfully, the line was only about fifteen minutes long, because a show in Fantasyland was drawing in some attention at this time. By the time that the four adventurers got to the front of the line, they heard a loud steamboat whistle. Steph focused at the top of the ship and waved towards the boat.
"Look up at the top of that steamboat. Recognize anyone?"
The three hosts gazed at the beautiful vessel and gasped when they saw Katie peering out the window. They saw Mori sound another whistle and Tamaki beamed when Haruhi rang the bell. They knew what the surprise was now and could barely contain their excitement. But they were ushered into the mansion and stood in the middle of a Hexagonal shaped Room with eerie instructions by the cast member… the first one they saw not smiling, but glaring spookily.
"Kindly drag you bodies away from the walls and into the dead center of the room." The cast member said before another voice came from the middle of the room.
"Welcome, foolish mortals, to the Haunted Mansion. I am your host, your… ghost host." The hosts shivered, Tamaki thinking that this would be a great thing to do for the host club when they got back. The voice continued. "Kindly step all the way in please and make room for everyone. There's no turning back now."
The door then shut. It was nothing more than a wall now. There were about fifty people in that room, but was fairly spacious. The walls were covered with pictures, like an old woman, a young girl and a parasol, and a sitting man. Then, suddenly, the walls started stretching! It seemed to be extending upwards, but the real terrifying thing was that the seemingly harmless pictures were stretching into horrible figures. The smiling old woman was sitting on a gravestone with a bust who had an ax in his head. The young parasol girl was balancing on a tightrope with alligators waiting for her to fall down. The sitting man was sitting on another man's shoulders, and him on another. The third man, the one on the bottom, was sitting on a TNT barrel with an expression of terror. The pictures were being exposed while the Ghost Host continued to speak.
"Is this haunted room actually stretching? Or is it your imagination?" Tamaki, totally in the moment, was frozen in shock. He had to look towards the twins, who was watching the rooms stretch with amusement, to know that it was real. The Ghost was still talking.
"And consider this dismaying observation: This chamber has no windows and no doors, which offers you this chilling challenge: To find a way out!" Everyone gasped, slightly perturbed.
"Of course, there was always my way." Then a terrifying laughter with thunder and lightning, with a macabre image of a skeleton hanging, then a scream from a woman. The lights were out, and Tamaki looked around for Haruhi, in his protective father mode. He was glad Katie would be with her for it.
The lights slowly came back on as the Ghost Host apologized for frighting them prematurely. Then, what looked like a wall came up to reveal a door, and they were ushered to a hallway with pictures on the wall, but more like portraits. There was the Mona Lisa, a Knight on a horse, and a sailing ship to name a few. The "haunted" part was when lightning flashed through veiled windows and made the pictures grotesque. Mona Lisa turned into Medusa, the knight was the headless horseman, and the ship became tattered and drowning in a storm. The twins, however, were fascinated by two busts at the end of the hall. No matter how hard the determined twins tried for the eyes of the busts to not follow them, the heads of the bust seemed to be unwaveringly focused on them.
"How does it do that?" Tamaki asked in a dramatic whisper.
Steph explained that the effect was made by having the busts indented in the wall.
They got into vehicles that reminded them of the Buzz Lightyear moving platforms. But these were "Doom Buggies" and the twins sat in one while Tamaki and Steph sat in another. They then entered the ride, playfully getting spooked and each host thanked the heavens that their friend Nekozowa-senpai had no idea this place existed. The twins enjoyed Madam Leota and the Hitch-Hiking ghosts while Tamaki felt a strong attachment to the Ghost Host, who was the ultimate host on the other side. Steph told the story of the long lost Hat Box Ghost and the hosts exited the ride laughing in ghoulish delight.
Steph saw the Mark Twain pull into the dock as the "Little Leota" Ghost's pleadings of "Hurry Back… Hurry Back… Remember your Death Certificate…" faded into the ride. Steph told the three hosts to follow her as they got the next fastpass. She told them the next part of the plan as they hurried back to Frontierland.
Author's Note: So yeah! Please R&R with your suggestions and thoughts and invite others to read the story, it helps a lot. Happy Easter or Spring Break and keep being amazing! 3
~That's All!~