OUR TOUR BEGINS HERE.

[yourghosthost]

[Eventually, no matter your reading comprehension or your sense of time, you all find your way to the stretching room. Once everyone has gathered, the ominous sounds of a clock ring throughout the chamber. The clock strikes 13 times, and the candles in the room light themselves up on their own.

Something...or someone is in the room with you. They make themselves known quickly, with a deep voice that echoes throughout the room.]

When hinges creak in doorless chambers, and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls; Whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still - that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight!

Welcome, foolish mortals, to the Haunted Mansion. I am your host, your... ghost host. Kindly step all the way in please and make room for everyone. There's no turning back now.

[The doors close behind everyone as he speaks, leaving the group stuck in the room until he finishes talking.]

Normally, we spirits don't open our manor up to temporary guests. But desperate times have forced me to extend visitations beyond our usual tours, and residency has been extended to your select group. You shall remain here permanently, unless...

Well.

[...his tone goes slightly darker for a second, with a hint of reluctance. The candlelight dims for just a moment.]

If you end the life of one of your fellow guests without being discovered, you shall be allowed to leave.

[It takes a moment, but the lights return to their normal brightness, and his tone becomes chipper once more.]

Of course, you're more than welcome to stay in the manor as long as you like! Our spirits haven't spent time with the living for a while, so they'll be excited for the change of pace.

Comments

[defyingfrigidity]

[It... takes Elsa a minute to process this. Just what's going on, the odd behavior of the candles and the door closing so fast and hard she'd nearly jumped out of her shoes, the voice... she almost missed what exactly the voice was saying. And when the words sink in.... well. If she could get any paler than she already is, she would right about now.]

Th... That's ridiculous! You can't expect someone to kill another person just to save themselves...!

[yourghosthost]

You'd be surprised. Mortals are a predictable...selfish lot.

[defyingfrigidity]

[Elsa... can't argue that. She thinks of Hans, so willing to kill her and let Anna die just so he could take over Arendelle. She thinks of the Duke of Weselton, happy to throw his lot in with Hans just so that he can take advantage of Arendelle's trade system. She really shouldn't be shocked over the idea of someone tossing out an offer like this, but even so...]

Even so... we have a much better shot of getting out of here if we joined together to find a solution. Murder... there's no point to it!

[yourghosthost]

That would be quite the chilling challenge, wouldn't it? Finding a way out! Unfortunately, my dear, you'll find that my way is the only way of escaping our mystic manor.

[defyingfrigidity]

[Right. Of course.]

We have no reason to believe that.

[yourghosthost]

I have no reason to lie to you. If you can find a way out, you can be my guest and leave!

[defyingfrigidity]

[Hmm....]

If we manage to find a way out, will you stop us? You're our captor, after all... you must have a reason to keep us here.

[yourghosthost]

I can assure you, as a polite Host, that I have secured every single possible exit. If you can manage to somehow find a way out of the manor, I won't stop you.

I'm very confident in my own abilities.

[defyingfrigidity]

And what sort of abilities are those? If you're a ghost... does that mean you have some sort of magical abilities?

[She actually sounds... kind of hopeful? This is the worst situation to have run into someone else who may be like her, but... she's never met anyone else with magic before.]

[yourghosthost]

My ability to seal exits.

[a beat.]

But, yes, actually. I do.

[defyingfrigidity]

[!!!]

What sort of abilities do you have? Aside from this... seal ability.

[yourghosthost]

Standard fare for spirits, I'm afraid. Flight. Intangibility. Possession. That sort of thing, nothing terribly interesting.

[defyingfrigidity]

... Possession.

[Okay, a bit of that wonder is gone, and... she's not sure if she should be worried or suspicious.]

Can you assure us you won't use such an ability on any of us?

[yourghosthost]

You'll find, my dear, that I myself have no reason or desire to harm any of you. I'd never do such a thing unless it was asked of me.

[defyingfrigidity]

Then why keep us here? Why tell us that the only way out is to murder someone? Doing all of that then saying you don't want to hurt us doesn't make any sense!