The Howling Hollow Repertory House Presents (Haunted) Hamlet

 HowlSpace Quest 6: Sherriff Bubba Barley Has Sent You a Message – {Interface}: You have received a new message from Sherriff Bubba Barley.

Sherriff Bubba Barley: Howdy, traveler! On behalf of the town of Howling Hollow, we hope that you’re safely enjoying your stay. Is there anything that I can assist you with? {Go to Next Guest Options}

{Guest Options}:

·         {Option 1} Who are you?

·         {Option 2} Do you know something about Slenderman?

·         {Option 3} Is there a problem, officer?

Sherriff Bubba Barley: {Option 1} My name is Bubba Barley, Sherriff of Howling Hollow. Not much happens in town unless that crazed Billy Lugosi tries to perform another experiment out in his laboratory. Besides that, we’re here to stop all acts of tractor speeding, unpermitted spitting, and outdoor pig showering. Remember that it is the law that all pigs must be washed in a functioning indoor shower. {Return to Guest Options}

Sherriff Bubba Barley: {Option 2} Slenderman? I can’t say I have. If there are any rumors flying around, the city would like to remind you that they are only rumors until proven otherwise. Hold on, are you that tourist everyone has been talking about? {Go to Next Guest Options}

Sherriff Bubba Barley: {Option 3} Not today. It is simply policy that we inform every HowlSpace user that we are taking great care in ensuring your safety. We have especially increased security after that werewolf incident out in the forest. Do you know anything about that? {Go to Next Guest Options}

{Guest Options}:

·         {Option 1} Yes! That was me!

·         {Option 2} I don’t know what you’re talking about.

·        {Option 3} Maybe. What have you heard?

Sherriff Bubba Barley: {Option 1} Hey! That was you? You do realize that you are in violation of the Community Watch Act of 1972, which only allows residents to take up arms against any dangerous monsters. I think I’ll let you off on a warning this time, but only if you do a quick favor for me. {Go to Next Guest Options}

Sherriff Bubba Barley: {Option 2} Well, sorry to bother you, {Guest}. I’ll be on my way. Actually, hold on. Do you have a moment? {Go to Next Guest Options}

Sherriff Bubba Barley: {Option 3} According to eyewitnesses, a vehicle full of travelers was helping Arthur Van Helbrick catch the Daybreak Werewolf. We’re glad that the monster is gone, but I am going to have to ticket every one of those travelers for violating the Community Watch Act of 1972. Only residents can hunt monsters. But that gives me a thought. Do you have a moment? {Go to Next Guest Options}

{Guest Options}:

·         {Option 1} What do you want?

·         {Option 2} How can I help?

Sherriff Bubba Barley: {Option 1} I keep on getting reports that tourists are complaining about being harassed by a ghost. The reports are conflicting, however, with people saying that either the Repertory House or Bubba’s Restaurant are the sources of the complaints. Both are haunted, so I can’t seem to figure out which is which. {Return to Guest Options}

Sherriff Bubba Barley: {Option 2} I need you to investigate both the Howling Hollow Repertory House and Bubba’s Garden Restaurant. Both are haunted, but we’re getting complaints from one or the other about tourists being harassed by the local ghost. I’ve sent you a map so that you can quickly find them. {Go to Objective Screen}

Objective Screen {from Option 2} Go Investigate the Disturbances.

{Guest} travels to indicated spot and confirms.

Near this spot is the Book 'Um Mobile. Normally, the Book 'Um Mobile rolls into Howling Hollow at the start of the school year so that students have easy access to books and other educational material. However, after the sharp rise in tourists in town, the Book 'Um Mobile crew decided to capitalize on the travel spike and permanently park their truck near Bubba's Garden Restaurant in order to sell books to the tourists. This has, in turn, shifted their inventory to focus on books about hauntings and cryptids, as well as the town in general.

{Interface}: New Feature: Camera Scan – Use your device’s camera to scan your surroundings. This setting will allow you to see ghosts around Howling Hollow. You can also capture images of ghosts using your camera feature.

{Guest} scans Bubba’s Garden Restaurant. Ghost appears in second-story window. Picture taken.

Sherriff Bubba Barley: That’s the ghost of Jennifield Wrenfold that haunts the old plantation house. Scary? Yes. More likely to kill someone than bother them, though. No one is allowed near that specter, anyway. Let’s try again.

{Guest} scans Repertory House. Ghost appears in entry window. Picture taken.

Sherriff Bubba Barley: That’s the ghost of Matthew Ravencraft that haunts the theater. Some believe that he might want his final encore after dying during a performance of “Romeo and Juliet.” I think that might be it. I’ll send down our paranormal officer to talk things through with Matthew. Thank you for your help, {Guest}. In the meantime, maybe you could catch a show at the theater? “Hamlet” is being performed today. {Go to Next Guest Options}

{Guest Options}:

·         {Option 1} Thank you! I’ll go watch it.

·         {Option 2} There are no shows happening right now.

·         {Option 3} No, thank you. I’m not interested.

Sherriff Bubba Barley: {Option 1} Enjoy the show and stay safe out there! {Go to Quest Screen}

Sherriff Bubba Barley: {Option 2 & 3} Oh, that’s too bad. Enjoy the rest of your day! {Go to Quest Screen}

The Howling Hollow Repertory House is the newest building in town, custom-built for the theater’s expansive productions, while paying tribute to the original theater, which burned down 5 years prior when Billy Lugosi’s monster of the month decided to run inside of there instead of the Washboard Suites’ Windmill Villa.

While being a highly modern building, the inside evokes the feeling of early vaudeville houses, with ornate decorations (some of which was salvaged from the old theater) and Victorian Gaslamp-esque light fixtures. The only distinctly Howling Hollow decorations in the building are the taxidermy animal heads hanging on the walls.

Howling Hollow Repertory House Employee Costumes. Since I knew that this location was going to combine the looks of both a vaudeville house and a hunting lodge, the costumes had to be something out-of-the-box but still unmistakably that of a theater usher. While I combined the costume pieces of multiple usher costumes that I referenced, what I decided to switch up were the colors. The costume still uses red, gold, and black, but I put a lot more emphasis on the black and darkened the red, as well as added gold trim. In the end, I ended up with a look that appears "spooky" but still feels ornate.

The 500-seat theater is just as ornate as the lobby, with elaborate decorations aplenty and ample space for everyone to clearly see the stage. The curtain on the stage clearly displays the name of the production that we are about to see: Hamlet: The Prince of Denmark. However, observant guests may notice that not all is right in this proscenium. Anyone looking into the antique looking glasses may spot a well-dressed shadowy figure moving about the audience and the word “Haunted” will appear briefly and faintly from time to time above the name on the curtain.

At long last, the curtain rises, and the cast of the show welcomes the audience to their theater, especially Shakespearian actor Hughwellen Thistle-More XVII. However, the house lights shut off and plunge the whole auditorium in darkness. When the lights return, the ghost of Matthew Ravencraft, the actor who died in the theater, appears before the cast (via Pepper’s Ghost) and threatens to trap everyone in the theater for all time unless he is granted his encore. But the cast is able to placate the spirit by offering him the role of the King’s Ghost in the play. The spirit of Matthew, while a little miffed at being typecast, agrees to play the role, but they soon discover that there are not enough actors to play all of the characters. Hughwellen pulls some promising thespians from the audience to portray some of the play’s minor characters.

This performance is an abridged retelling of the famous tale, with issues and mistakes amongst the cast and crew resulting in the show’s comedy. Once the play ends, Matthew is pleased and retires to the dressing rooms backstage. All of the guests who performed onstage receive a certificate of being a (very novice) student of Shakespearian Theater.

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