Final Review: Trapped in a Haunted House "Afraid To Fear"

0:05 Speaker 1: It lies in wait amidst your dreams, where nothing is ever how it seems. It is a portal to a terrifying world beyond the doorway to nightmare.

0:25 Speaker 2: Nightmare. Come in.

0:39 Speaker 1: Welcome. I'm your host, Artemis Black. Welcome to the wonderful and delicious world of your own terrifying imagination. The fear that creeps up on you unexpectedly, making you.

1:05 Speaker 3: You gave them a pretty rough review, Danny.

1:08 Speaker 4: So what, Foster? They deserved it.

1:10 Speaker 1: Oh, come on, Dan.

1:11 Speaker 3: It was just a haunted house to raise money. You didn't have to... It was stupid.

1:18 Speaker 4: Dollar store decorations and the same old sound effects? No, they deserved a bad review.

1:25 Speaker 3: You know, Dan, I don't think anything could scare you. Maybe you've become too... cynical.

1:35 Speaker 4: You're probably right. I believe that I'm incapable of being truly scared.

1:47 Speaker 1: Our mystery drama, Afraid to Fear, was written especially for Doorway to Nightmare by Winslow Swan and edited by Crimson McKenzie. Our stars include Raven Adams and William Stafford. I'll return shortly with Act One. Nelson Mandela once said, I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, But he who conquers that fear.

2:43 Speaker 2: Danny!

2:48 Speaker 4: Thank you so much for bringing me here. Well, I didn't want to come by myself.

2:58 Speaker 5: Didn't you enjoy the haunted house?

3:01 Speaker 4: No, not particularly.

3:03 Speaker 5: Oh, come on now, Danny. I thought they did a really great job.

3:09 Speaker 4: Then you write the damn review.

3:10 Speaker 5: Danny! What's the matter with you? I always thought you liked Halloween.

3:19 Speaker 4: I used to, Elsa. I really did.

3:21 Speaker 5: Then what is it?

3:23 Speaker 4: I suppose I simply grew up. Nothing scares me anymore. I mean, take a look at this haunted house.

3:34 Speaker 5: I think it's a fine haunted house.

3:37 Speaker 4: It used to be a grocery store before the owners went bankrupt. Now they rent the building out for whatever reason someone can come up with.

3:46 Speaker 5: Like building a haunted house? Oh, come on. You old cynic. You used to love this kind of stuff.

3:55 Speaker 4: You would think so, but... Now I have to write a review of the place for the late edition of the magazine.

4:01 Speaker 5: And you would rather be reporting on some big world event, right?

4:06 Speaker 4: Dammit, Elsa.

4:07 Speaker 1: I'm a reporter.

4:09 Speaker 4: And a good one. I should be writing about something other than a fake haunted house.

4:14 Speaker 5: I'm sure that Reggie didn't put you on the Halloween blog just to punish you.

4:21 Speaker 4: Reggie Foster is a bigger kid than you are when it comes to Halloween.

4:27 Speaker 5: Wait. And just what do you mean by that?

4:31 Speaker 4: Nothing.

4:32 Speaker 3: I guess.

4:33 Speaker 4: I just... I don't know. I'm jaded.

4:37 Speaker 5: And nothing scares you anymore?

4:40 Speaker 4: Nothing like what we saw tonight, no.

4:47 Speaker 6: Danny!

4:48 Speaker 3: My office!

4:49 Speaker 2: Now!

4:58 Speaker 4: What is it, Reg?

5:01 Speaker 3: I was just reading your review on the Mayfield Manor haunting, and. Well.

5:10 Speaker 4: You didn't like it?

5:12 Speaker 3: Oh, it's not that I don't like it, Danny. I just think that it's a bit.

5:18 Speaker 1: Rough.

5:19 Speaker 4: Here, let me see it. If you are looking for something to frighten and delight... You should be warned that the Mayfield Manor haunted house is not the place for such a thing.

5:32 Speaker 3: Look, Danny, I.

5:33 Speaker 4: It is nothing more than a few bored and out-of-work actors shuffling along in dime-store makeup with a few animatronic scares. And I use the term loosely to drum up money for yet another charity. You would do well to send a check and stay away from this one.

5:50 Speaker 3: All right, Dan, you made your point. Wasn't there one thing that you liked about the place?

5:58 Speaker 1: Oh, sure.

6:00 Speaker 4: They gave me a free beer for having to suffer through the house.

6:04 Speaker 3: And you weren't scared of anything?

6:07 Speaker 4: Reggie, I grew up watching scary movies, going to every haunt that I could find. I suppose I'm just getting too old.

6:17 Speaker 3: So nothing scares you anymore? Not even the news?

6:21 Speaker 4: Now you are talking reality. And even that I take with a grain of salt.

6:27 Speaker 3: Well then, this shouldn't frighten you at all.

6:39 Speaker 5: What is this?

6:39 Speaker 3: This letter I got today. When I opened it, there was a page addressed directly to you.

6:47 Speaker 4: Who was it from?

6:48 Speaker 2: Mr.

6:49 Speaker 3: Anthony Oldfield. Name ring a bell?

6:54 Speaker 2: Uh, should it?

6:55 Speaker 3: Oh, I would think so. Read the letter, and then maybe you will remember.

7:19 Speaker 5: Here, darling. Your wine.

7:21 Speaker 4: Thank you.

7:24 Speaker 5: Boy, you really aren't with it tonight. What's the matter now?

7:30 Speaker 4: I got a letter today from Tony Oldfield.

7:33 Speaker 5: Who is Tony Oldfield?

7:36 Speaker 4: Don't you remember? He did the charity haunted house last year. The first one I reviewed when Reggie demoted me.

7:44 Speaker 5: Danny, he didn't demote you. He simply thought you would be the best person for the position.

7:50 Speaker 1: Yeah, whatever. Anyway.

7:53 Speaker 4: I got a letter from Oldfield, and, well, it sort of got to me.

7:58 Speaker 5: Got to you? In what way?

8:01 Speaker 4: Here, you read it. Maybe you can make something out of it.

8:07 Speaker 5: Dear Mr. Giddings, Last Halloween you reviewed the House on Horror Lane charity, Haunted House, for your blog, which I understand reaches over one million readers, the majority of which live right here in this city. Your review was less than favorable, and it forced the closure due to lack of business. I hope that you will attend this year's efforts and perhaps know what real fear is like. We close you upon two tickets, rightfully yours, Anthony Oldfield.

8:45 Speaker 4: So, what do you think?

8:47 Speaker 5: I think there's something that you're not telling me.

8:50 Speaker 1: There is, Elsa.

8:54 Speaker 4: I may have been the cause of Anthony Oldfield's son's death.

9:09 Speaker 1: Noah Weinberg once said, people often avoid making decisions out of fear of making a mistake. Actually, the failure to make decisions is one of life's biggest mistakes. I'll return shortly with Act 2.

9:27 Speaker 2: The Word Fear.

9:45 Speaker 1: Comes from the Old English word fire, which means calamity, sudden danger, peril, sudden attack. The word is also related to the Old Saxon word far, which means anguish.

10:00 Speaker 2: Ambush.

10:01 Speaker 1: The word fear has also been used to describe irrational fear, horror, or aversion since 1786.

10:11 Speaker 5: You don't really believe you've killed someone.

10:16 Speaker 4: No, no, nothing like that.

10:18 Speaker 2: However.

10:20 Speaker 4: Because of my review, they did shut the attraction down. Which meant the money they were trying to raise... Well, they didn't make it.

10:31 Speaker 5: Danny, I'm a little lost. You better give me the short version.

10:36 Speaker 4: Oldfield's son needed a kidney transplant. They didn't have insurance, so they began to hold fundraisers. The haunted house was one of those, and it was doing pretty good.

10:48 Speaker 5: Until your review... Right.

10:51 Speaker 4: I mean, I didn't know.

10:53 Speaker 5: Oh, Danny, how could you?

10:56 Speaker 4: You don't think I've been kicking myself since I found out?

11:00 Speaker 5: What happened to his son?

11:01 Speaker 4: He passed away last week.

11:06 Speaker 5: So what are you going to do?

11:08 Speaker 4: Well, we've got two tickets. Want to go to a haunted house with me?

11:13 Speaker 2: No.

11:25 Speaker 6: Hey, Danny, I'm not so sure about this. I've been doing a little digging and, well.

11:35 Speaker 4: Look, Reggie, it's just another haunted house for Halloween. Elsa's with me, so I'm not alone.

11:43 Speaker 5: I'm right here, Reggie. And don't worry, I'll look after your best reporter.

11:48 Speaker 1: Hi, Elsa.

11:49 Speaker 6: Hi, Elsa. Look, I'm not worried, but something just doesn't.

11:54 Speaker 3: Seem right about this.

11:57 Speaker 6: I'm not sure what I found, but it is weird.

12:04 Speaker 4: Reggie, I'm surprised at you. It is Halloween night. It's supposed to be weird.

12:12 Speaker 5: I think the address is right up here, Danny.

12:14 Speaker 4: Look, Reg, I'll call you back after we make a trip through the house.

12:19 Speaker 6: Yeah, I'll be right by the phone.

12:22 Speaker 5: He's always been a worrywart.

12:39 Speaker 4: Are you sure this is the address?

12:43 Speaker 5: That's what it says on the ticket.

12:50 Speaker 4: No lights on.

12:52 Speaker 5: According to the letter, you were supposed to come at 8 o'clock. We're only five minutes early. Maybe they haven't opened yet.

13:06 Speaker 4: This has got to be a joke.

13:13 Speaker 2: Okay.

13:15 Speaker 5: That only happens in horror movies.

13:19 Speaker 1: Hello?

13:19 Speaker 2: Hello?

13:21 Speaker 4: Anyone in there?

13:23 Speaker 5: Should we just walk in?

13:26 Speaker 4: Yeah, like that doesn't happen in horror movies.

13:31 Speaker 5: Well, we could just stand here or go back to the car and leave. Please?

13:39 Speaker 4: There's your answer. Someone turned the light on for us.

13:43 Speaker 5: If this is supposed to be a charity event, it sure is a creepy one. Nobody here at all?

13:50 Speaker 4: Then come on. Let's see what happens. Ten to one, we get inside and the door closes behind us.

14:06 Speaker 5: Now how did you know?

14:07 Speaker 4: I told you. I don't scare anymore. All of this is old hat. It's been done. Next, we should be hearing a disembodied voice welcoming us to his... haunted house.

14:22 Speaker 1: You're quite right, Mr. Gettings. Quite right. This is a haunted house. And you are now my guest.

14:25 Speaker 2: And my victim.

14:26 Speaker 3: My victim.

15:05 Speaker 1: The American contralto Marian Anderson once said, Fear is a disease that eats away at logic and makes man inhuman. But what of the man that has no fear? Perhaps the answer lies within Act III. The writer Cyril Connolly once said, Hate is the consequence of fear. We fear something before we hate. A child who fears noises becomes the man who hates them.

16:07 Speaker 4: Is this the best you can do? I was expecting something a little more after a year of planning.

16:32 Speaker 5: Now what's going on?

16:33 Speaker 4: I don't know, but... If he thinks this will get him a good review, he's crazy.

16:40 Speaker 5: What did he mean by victim?

16:43 Speaker 4: Oh, who knows? Come on. There has to be an exit somewhere. Let's try this corridor.

16:57 Speaker 5: Okay, okay, let's get out of here now. Now, Danny.

17:01 Speaker 4: Hey, Oldfield. Come on, enough is enough. Where's the exit?

17:11 Speaker 1: Exit, exit, exit, exit, exit, exit, exit.

17:17 Speaker 2: Who said anything about an, about an, about an.

17:20 Speaker 1: Exit, exit, exit, exit.

17:27 Speaker 5: Annie, what does he mean?

17:29 Speaker 2: Daniel Geddes.

17:33 Speaker 1: The great writer and reviewer. Such a distinguished reporter. And such a clever writer.

17:48 Speaker 4: I didn't have anything to do with your son's death.

17:51 Speaker 1: Are you so sure about that? He made it so that I could not afford his operation. You did that. You shut us down. I blame you. Please, Mr.

18:10 Speaker 2: Oldfield, I'm sorry about your son.

18:24 Speaker 5: But it wasn't Danny's fault. He simply wrote his opinion. You can't blame him for that.

18:32 Speaker 4: It's my job, Oldfield.

18:35 Speaker 3: The man who couldn't be scared.

18:38 Speaker 4: What do you mean? No, I'm not afraid. I'm pissed off. Now let us out of here.

18:45 Speaker 3: Find your own exit.

19:04 Speaker 5: How long have we been in this place?

19:07 Speaker 4: About an hour. The house didn't look this big from the outside.

19:11 Speaker 5: I want to go home, Danny.

19:15 Speaker 6: Danny, where are you?

19:17 Speaker 4: Reggie, we're still inside the haunted house.

19:22 Speaker 6: But that's impossible.

19:25 Speaker 5: What do you mean it's impossible?

19:27 Speaker 6: Look, I told you both, I've been digging. I just got a report back. There is no charity here. There is no haunted attraction. As a matter of fact, the address doesn't even exist.

19:41 Speaker 4: Of course it does. We're here, aren't we?

19:48 Speaker 1: Are you positive? Mr. Gettings?

19:53 Speaker 4: Oldfield, what the hell is going on?

19:55 Speaker 6: Danny, who are you talking to?

19:58 Speaker 1: Oldfield, of course.

20:00 Speaker 4: He's playing the so-called host of this rather bad example of a haunted house.

20:07 Speaker 6: But Danny, that's just not possible.

20:09 Speaker 2: Reggie? Why?

20:11 Speaker 5: Why, Reggie?

20:13 Speaker 6: Because Anthony Oldfield died. The day after his son passed away, he died.

20:22 Speaker 5: Hello?

20:24 Speaker 3: Danny? Are you there?

20:27 Speaker 1: Are you afraid, Danny?

20:36 Speaker 2: Now.

20:55 Speaker 1: Danny grips the phone tightly in his hand as Elsa clings onto his arm, both frozen in fear. I'll return shortly with a final word. I leave you tonight with the words of Maya Angelou. Having courage does not mean that we are unafraid. Having courage and showing courage mean we face our fears. We are able to say, I have fallen, but I will get up. Our cast included Raven Adams, Crimson McKenzie, William Stafford, and Winslow Swan. The story was edited by Crimson McKenzie and directed by Winslow Swan.

22:04 Speaker 1: And now, a preview of our next tale.

22:11 Speaker 4: It's the Red Death, all right. Look at the blood coming out of every pore.

22:15 Speaker 1: Of her body. How long do you think that she has?

22:19 Speaker 4: Most victims die within half an hour at the most.

22:21 Speaker 1: Then we must hurry to the house. Before we become victims.

22:28 Speaker 1: This is Artemis Black. Inviting you to return with us to the doorway tonight, Mayor. for another adventure into the world of your terrifying imagination. Until next time, slumber peacefully.

22:47 Speaker 2: Epilogue.

22:48 Speaker 5: The butler did it.