The Shreigeist House

version 1: breaking in with Gregg

    "You decide to head over to the train tracks to meet up with Lori. You texted her back to tell her so."
    "She accepted your offer with great enthusiasm, you noticed."
    "The sun was just setting as you arrived and hop off your bike. Lori had asked you to show up specifically at that time."
    "Apparently Gregg was gonna be there too?"
    "Where was everybody? You don't see anyone around."
    "You decide to wait a little longer just in case you're early. Everything around you is quiet, and it gets dark rather quickly."
    "You're suddenly startled by a loud rumbling sound like a threatening growl, followed immediately by…"
    "…A pair of huge glowing eyes?"
    "Your mind spins for half a second before you realize it's only the headlights of Gregg's motorbike. You exhale in relief, holding your hand to your heart."

    gregg "Dude, it's only me!"

    "Gregg hops off his bike and you see that Lori was riding along with him. She's carrying a largish digital camera and a notebook."
    "She smiles at you, looking amused."

    lori "I didn't scare you, did I, [newname]?"
    player "…A little bit."
    gregg "That's Lori's one true desire."
    lori "Nah, definitely more than that."
    lori "If I were trying to *really* scare you, you'd be running away screaming."
    gregg "You better believe it, dude."
    player "Uh… duly noted."
    player "So can I help out with your movie?"
    lori "I was hoping you'd help me and Gregg get into this building here so I can do some location scouting?"
    player "Get… into it?"
    gregg "As in breaking in, dude."
    player "Uhh…"
    player "You sure this is legal?"
    lori "Of course it isn't!"
    gregg "Hell yeah, it isn't!"

    "You blink for a second. Are they sure they wanna do this?"

    gregg "Don't worry, dude, I've done this once before."
    player "…How is that supposed to reassure me?"
    lori "Oh c'mon, we're not gonna break anything."
    gregg "Except maybe a window, if we have to."
    player "I, um…"
    lori "Please, [newname]? I need a good place to shoot my film, and this place is perfect!"
    gregg "All totally harmless youthful shenanigans, by Gadfrey!"
    player "Well if you don't think we'll get into trouble…"
    gregg "Naw, dude, there's no security or anything. We'll be fine."
    lori "It's for my art, you understand, right?"
    gregg "For the advancement of civilization!!"
    lori "Well, you get the idea."
    player "Okay, you talked me into it."
    player "…Gotta love that peer pressure, though."
    lori "Aw, I'm sorry, [newname], it's just…"
    lori "…You seemed like you were interested in scary movies, too, so I thought…"
    player "No no, don't feel bad! I'm not above legal grey areas."
    player "I've just always been more the… keep-your-head-down type?"
    gregg "You'll have to get used to us hardened criminals, then."

    "You laugh, feeling more at ease."

    lori "It's settled, then!"
    lori "Alright, lemme show you the way."

    "Lori points in a direction you've never been before."
    "You and Gregg both push your bikes along, following Lori as she guides you to a location just a few blocks from your own house."
    "You travel a fairly lonely street with trees to either side, and you realize that it's not far from the road you take every day."
    "You come to a corner of the road, not yet seeing anything interesting- just a fence surrounding a seemingly empty field."

    lori "Almost there. You'll love it."
    player "Oh yeah?"
    lori "It's a spooky old house, called the Shreigeist House."
    player "Seriously? That sounds exactly like a portmanteau of \"shriek\" and \"poltergeist\"."
    lori "I know, right? Like the name of some kind of bad goth metal band."
    lori "It's beautiful and it's old and it's creepy. I love it."
    lori "It's right around the corner from here."

    "Lori continues walking. You're not sure what to expect."

    player "We're actually not too far from my house."
    lori "Oh cool! Yeah, this is the part of town where the old rich people houses were all built back in the day."
    gregg "All the hoity-toity dead dudes recommend it."

    "Lori points out the house up ahead."
    "It's a tall, slim house in a stark Neo-Gothic style in the middle of a field with a few ghastly-looking dead trees around it."
    "It definitely looks haunted."

    lori "We're here! Isn't it cool?"
    lori "I wish I could live here and stare out into the night sky as passersby see me and run away terrified."
    player "Your tattered silken dress flowing in the wind?"
    lori "Exactly."

    "You park your bike near the entrance, as Lori excitedly jogs towards the house without waiting for you."

version two: helping Lori film (without assisting her earlier)

    "Today you find yourself headed to the train tracks to meet up with Lori. You texted her earlier that day about it on chattrBox to tell her your plans."
    "She accepted your offer with great enthusiasm, you noticed."
    "She mentioned something about making a movie, and said you could help her if you wanted, right?"
    "The sun was just setting as you arrived and hop off your bike. Lori had asked you to show up specifically at that time."
    "Where was she? You don't see anyone around."
    "You decide to wait a little longer just in case you're early. Everything around you is quiet, and it gets dark rather quickly."
    "You turn around, and you suddenly see a pair of eyes in the darkness."
    "For half a second you can't tell who the hell it is, but as the figure gets closer, you see a set of whiskers and large ears emerge from the shadows."
    "It's Lori. She's carrying a largish digital camera and a notebook, smiling at you."

    lori "[newname]! You made it!"
    player "It's kind of spooky out here, did you know that?"
    lori "…Yes?"

    "You blink, realizing that was an obvious question."

    player "Well, anyway… how can I help out with your movie?"
    lori "Oh, any number of things. I might even need you to hold the camera for me!"
    player "Really? I've never used a camera to make a movie before."
    lori "Don't worry, I won't ask you to do anything difficult."
    lori "I might even decide to do it all "amateur found footage" style, if I feel like it, though that'd be kinda cheap…"
    lori "I'm gonna be playing the main character, actually. I'm gonna need you to start and stop the recording, at the very least."
    player "Ok, I can handle that."
    player "So where are we filming this?"
    lori "Oh, it's great! Lemme show you the way."

    "Lori points in a direction you've never been before."
    "…Well, that was vague."
    "You push your bike along, following Lori as she guides you to a location just a few blocks from your own house."
    "You travel a fairly lonely street with trees to either side, and you realize that it's not far from the road you take every day."
    "You come to a corner of the road, not yet seeing anything interesting- just a fence surrounding a seemingly empty field."

    lori "Almost there. You'll love it."
    player "Oh yeah?"
    lori "It's a spooky old house, called the Shreigeist House."
    player "Seriously? That sounds exactly like a portmanteau of \"shriek\" and \"poltergeist\"."
    lori "I know, right? Like the name of some kind of bad goth metal band."
    lori "It's beautiful and it's old and it's creepy. I love it."
    lori "It's right around the corner from here."

    "Lori continues walking. You're not sure what to expect."

    player "We're actually not too far from my house."
    lori "Oh cool! Yeah, this is the part of town where the old rich people houses were all built back in the day."

    "Lori points out the house up ahead."
    "It's a tall, slim house in a stark Neo-Gothic style in the middle of a field with a few ghastly-looking dead trees around it."
    "It definitely looks haunted."

    lori "We're here! Isn't it cool?"
    lori "I wish I could live here and stare out into the night sky as passersby see me and run away terrified."
    player "Your tattered silken dress flowing in the wind?"
    lori "Exactly."

    "You park your bike near the entrance, as Lori excitedly jogs towards the house without waiting for you."

    player "Hey, wait! Is anyone here to let us in?"
    lori "Hm? Oh, nobody else is here."
    player "Huh? Then how do we get in?"
    lori "Don't worry about it. Gregg helped me break in the other day, so the basement doors are unlocked.
    player "…What?"
    lori "It's ok, I seriously doubt anyone's noticed yet."
    player "I, um…"
    lori "Please, [newname]? I need a good place to shoot my film, and this place is perfect!"
    player "Okay, you talked me into it."
    player "…Gotta love that peer pressure, though."
    lori "Aw, I'm sorry, [newname], it's just…"
    lori "…You seemed like you were interested in scary movies, too, so I thought…"
    player "No no, don't feel bad! I'm not above legal grey areas."
    player "I've just always been more the… keep-your-head-down type?"
    lori "You won't be doing that anymore with me around, frankly!"
    lori "But I get that. You don't have to do this if you don't wanna."
    player "No, it's ok. I want to."
    player "I mean, we've come this far."
    lori "It's settled, then!"

version three: helping Lori film (after helping Gregg break in)

    "You decide to head over to the train tracks again to meet up with Lori again and continue helping her make her movie."
    "You arrive as the sun sets like last time. It gets dark as quickly as before."
    "You turn around, and you suddenly see a pair of eyes in the darkness."
    "Must be Lori."
    "She emerges from the shadows, smiling at you."

    lori "[newname]! You made it!"
    player "It's kind of spooky out here, did you know that?"
    lori "…Yes?"

    "You blink, realizing that was an obvious question."

    player "Well, anyway… how can I help out with your movie this time?"
    lori "Oh, any number of things. I might even need you to hold the camera for me!"
    player "Really? I've never used a camera to make a movie before."
    lori "Don't worry, I won't ask you to do anything difficult."
    lori "I might even decide to do it all "amateur found footage" style, if I feel like it, though that'd be kinda cheap…"
    lori "I'm gonna be playing the main character, actually. I'm gonna need you to start and stop the recording, at the very least."
    player "Ok, I can handle that."
    lori "You ready, then?"
    player "Lead the way."

    "You and Lori set out to the Shreigeist House. When you get there, it's as spooky as ever, perhaps even more so."

    player "Will the basement doors still be open?"
    lori "Most likely."
    player "You sure? What if we need Gregg again?"
    lori "It's ok, I seriously doubt anyone's noticed yet."

version four- the supernatural lovers' club (after helping with the movie)

    "Today you find yourself headed to the Shreigeist House yet again. Lori had invited you to visit it, but apparently not for filming her movie."
    "That was made obvious by the fact that you were supposed to come in broad daylight."
    "As mysterious and vague as it was, being surprised by Lori intrigued you enough to go along with it."
    "You drive your motorcycle to the eerie destination, and you stop at the corner near the house and step off your bike."
    "As you're looking around for Lori, you suddenly feel something hit your back."
    "Your heart leaps as instinctual fear kicks in and you spin around."
    show lori neutral flip at left with dissolve
    "Turns out Lori decided to give you a hug from behind. You breathe a sigh of relief."

    lori "Hey, [newname], you came! Did I scare you?"

    show lori happy flip
    "She smiles playfully so you smile back."
    show lori neutral flip

    player "Sure did. So what are we doing here?"
    lori "I thought you'd like to go to the Supernatural Lovers' Club meeting today!"
    player "The what?"
    lori "Oh, I guess you haven't heard of them."
    lori "They're basically everybody in town who's into ghosts and cryptids and stuff."
    player "Ah, I guess that's kinda obvious, now that you explain it."
    lori "Yeah, it's kinda in their name, haha."
    player "…You say they're… having a meeting?"
    lori "Oh yeah, The Possum Springs Historical Society helps them, I guess they think it's okay to indulge them."
    lori "'Cause dead people are history, right?"
    player "Haha, right."
    lori "So they hold their annual meeting in front of the Shreigeist House."
    player "Oh cool, the perfect place."

    "You push your bike along with you as you and Lori take the now familiar path towards the house."

    player "So what do they do at this meeting?"
    lori "They sell books, give out pamphlets, display their findings, that sort of thing."
    lori "Then they all get together and discuss all the cool ghost stuff they did the previous year."
    player "You don't have to be a member to attend?"
    lori "Nope! It's all free."

    "You arrive at the house, which looks only slightly less haunted in the daylight. In fact, if anything, the sun only highlights how decrepit it is."
    "You park your bike near the entrance, as Lori runs past you into the event area, leaving you behind."