New Ink PItt--Haunted House of Doom Finale

Originally posted on my first blog, on November 1, 2010

New Ink Pitt--Haunted House of Doom pt. 4 of 4: “Haunted House of Doom Finale
The Haunted House of Doom had been a success for Trodemus, Prophet of Doom, and had made him more money in one weekend than his fortune-telling business had made in two weeks! Doom, along with his love, Belinda, greedily took in the funds at the door. Trodemus wondered how in the world the “vision” of his business failing could ever be true at this point. There was no way he could go under, because he was riding high on the wave of success! Doom felt that he had averted disaster by taking extreme measures to ensure his business--and now the haunted house--made more profits than ever! As the old adage goes, Trodemus was practically “lauging his way to the bank!”
There would be time for money management later however, as it was Halloween night, and Doom still had guests to attend to! Trodemus came out to greet them. This would be the last group to go through the Haunted House of Doom, and Trodemus was prepared to make this walk-through the scariest of them all! “Greetings, I am Trodemus, Prophet of Doom! I have seen the future, and I know what is to come!” Trodemus spoke in his usually dark gravely voice. “And what is to come you may ask? Why--the most frightening voyage you have ever been on, as you enter--the HAUNTED HOUSE OF DOOM!” Suddenly, a wind picked up, and nearly blew Trodemus’ cloak right off his head! Doom was a bit taken back. This certainly wasn’t part of the show, but he was liking the fright he saw on his guests’ faces, so he went with it. Perhaps Rufus and Wilbur had gotten hold of one of the fans and were trying to scare the Prophet of Doom as a prank. Trodemus would not let such things shake him though, and he was the consummate professional in his perfomances.
Once inside, things went on without any troubles. Wilbur chased the guests through the house as the “redneck zombie,” and She-Peepers scared everyone half to death! Belinda got in on the act, and, dressed as a witch, she brought her own brand of horror to the show by grabbing Trodemus and pressing her fat lips on his! While Trodemus usually followed the script, he had allowed room for improvisation. In Belinda’s case, she needed a whole lot more room than most, and Trodemus was more than happy to allow her such freedom! Besides, her passionate kiss served to spice things up and get everyone off balance so that they were totally shocked when the Potbellied Ninja jumped out with a ski mask on, carrying a katana blade! The Ninja got the guests running to the next scene, where Rufus was waiting with his toys, in a padded room! Rufus just kept talking about his mommy and how he liked playing with his toys! Trodemus had given Rufus lots of room for improvisation as well, but had made sure to make the room as scary as possible, with doll heads all over the place, and the words “help me” written all over the walls! When Rufus started talking about chocolate though, Doom made sure to push his guests on through. After leaving the Haunted House, the guests would then go through a haunted maze, where Doom had about a dozen costumed people hiding in its dark corners to get plenty of “jump scares” before the end of the walk. Trodemus sent them down the maze, bidding them farewell. As soon as they all left, Trodemus turned to walk back through the haunted house. Upon turning, Doom saw a sight most horrifying! Floating before him, glowing intensely, was what appeared to be a ghost!



It was a white sheet-type ghost with eyeholes. The actual look of it was not horrifying, but what was so scary was the fact that Doom did not have anyone playing a ghost in his haunted house! Doom questioned it, but it did not answer. He then grabbed the sheet and pulled it away! However, when he grabbed the sheet, there was no one beneath it! Trodemus grew pale. What was going on? Was someone trying to play a prank on him? Some of his questions would be answered as a horrible voice spoke to him. “Trodemus.” Doom looked up to see DEATH! Doom had witnessed Death before, and had last seen him back during the Long Dark Halloween a couple of years ago! “Death…what are you doing here?” Doom spoke, a bit frightened by the appearance of Death. “Have you come for the Prophet of Doom’s soul so soon?” Death spoke again. “No, Doom, I have come to warn you--not of your death--but the death of your business! It shall fall, and there is nothing you can do about it!” Trodemus walked towards Death. “That’s impossible! The Prophet of Doom is more successful than ever! You lie, Death!” Death just laughed, and then he vanished. Doom felt a cold numbness sweep over him, as if he himself had died. Deep inside, Trodemus knew that what Death said was true, but his pride refused to let him accept it. He had made a fortune! There was no way his business would fail! Was there?

All characters, stories, photos, and performances
are (C) 2011 Joshua Dyson

All characters appearing in this work
are fictitious. Any resemblance to real
persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.