Chris stood in the center of the newly designed horror attraction, surveying the layout with a critical eye. The space was dark, filled with a palpable sense of unease, and each room interconnected by hidden doors and secret passageways. He had spent hours installing various mechanisms, ensuring that every trap and scare would deliver the maximum impact. The rooms held macabre surprises—twisted and unsettling, the kind that would stay with visitors long after they left.
"This place feels real," Chris muttered, pacing slowly through the hallways. "It's perfect for an escape-room style experience. The guests are going to love it." He smiled darkly, thinking back to last night's events, which still made his pulse quicken. It had been harrowing, terrifying even. But that raw, unfiltered fear gave him a deep well of inspiration for his attraction.
Time wasn't on his side today, though. There were already visitors waiting outside, eager to experience the new scare-filled mansion. With a final glance at the twisted corridors and hidden horrors, Chris made his way down to the entrance.
Outside, Wendy, his loyal assistant, was managing the growing crowd. Her voice cut through the low murmur of the guests. "Just a moment, everyone! The owner will be with you shortly. In the meantime, feel free to check out some of the other rides in the park."
"Is your boss really inside there?" one of the guests, a skeptical-looking man, asked. "We watched his stream last night. How did he even make it out of the woods with those maniacs chasing him?"
"Yeah! I saw it too," another man chimed in, eyes wide. "He was trapped in that creepy apartment with a bunch of psychos playing cat and mouse. It was insane!"
"You sure we're talking about the same stream?" a woman near the back asked, raising an eyebrow. "The screen was black for half the time. How did you guys see anything?"
"Enough with the speculation!" A loud voice came from behind, silencing the crowd. Chris had arrived, his confident grin immediately grabbing everyone's attention.
"Apologies for the wait, folks." Chris pulled aside the ropes guarding the entrance to the haunted house. "Tickets are twenty dollars. No tricks here—just plenty of treats inside." His playful tone eased the tension in the air, though a few guests still eyed him cautiously, remembering the horrors they'd seen the night before.
As guests lined up to pay, some approached Chris, bombarding him with questions about his live-streamed adventure. He played along, enjoying the brief taste of internet fame. After all, any publicity was good publicity, especially for a haunted house teetering on the edge of becoming a major attraction.
Minutes later, the crowd started filtering into the attraction, their excited chatter gradually replaced by nervous silence as they stepped into the eerie darkness. Chris had learned from his previous mistakes—he wasn't going to loop the same horror soundtracks as before, especially not Black Friday on repeat. Instead, he had shuffled a variety of chilling tracks, carefully selected to create the perfect atmosphere without overwhelming the guests.
Wendy, now dressed as one of the ghoulish characters from the haunt, had taken her place inside one of the rooms. Chris, however, was content to stay by the entrance, manning the ticket booth and observing the reactions of his visitors.
The day progressed smoothly, with more and more people leaving the haunted house both terrified and exhilarated. As Chris checked his phone between groups, he smiled. Visitor numbers were steadily climbing, and so were the positive reviews. He could almost taste the success that was within his reach. If this trend continued, it wouldn't be long before he could fund the expansion he had been planning for months.
Chris scrolled through the stats on his phone, his eyes pausing on the section tracking daily challenges for the haunted house. These missions, which he accessed through the mysterious black phone, had been key to building his success. Today's set of challenges had refreshed, offering three new options:
Easy Mode: "To provide a truly terrifying experience, focus on pacing. Actors and effects must be triggered at just the right moment. Consider installing sound detectors and surveillance to monitor visitor movements."Medium Mode: "The key to a good scare is distraction. Set up your scares in the opposite direction of where people expect. Make sure all props are functioning correctly."Nightmare Mode: "In the dead of night, strange sounds often come from the bathroom. Want to find out why? Follow my instructions closely. But be warned, this mission is extremely dangerous."
Chris shuddered as he read the description of the Nightmare Mode task. He wasn't about to tackle something that dangerous, especially not after the events of the previous nights. He needed rest, not more supernatural encounters.
He quickly dismissed Nightmare Mode and focused on the other two tasks. Easy Mode sounded feasible but would require more equipment than he currently had. The bounty from the fugitive capture wasn't in yet, and until it was, he couldn't afford to invest in new tech.
"Looks like Medium Mode is the best fit," Chris murmured to himself. "Setting up scares where they least expect it? That's something I can pull off." He accepted the mission and mentally began plotting out how he would incorporate these new tactics into the haunted house.
With the challenge accepted, Chris busied himself with managing the attraction, exchanging notes with Wendy over the radio as she navigated her role inside the haunted maze. By noon, the flow of guests had slowed to a trickle, and Chris decided it was time to make some upgrades to the experience.
"Wendy, grab some lunch. I'll take over inside," Chris said as he waved her out of the attraction. With the crowd thinning out, he had a rare chance to test out some new ideas. The haunted house had been his passion project from the beginning, and he took pride in personally designing every scare. Each trap was carefully calibrated to catch guests off guard, to keep them on edge and constantly guessing.
He spent the next hour working through his ideas for the new distraction-based scares. Visitors always came in braced for fear, their senses heightened, which made it difficult to surprise them. But if he could misdirect them, draw their attention to something harmless, he could hit them with a scare from an unexpected angle. It was a tactic that required finesse, and Chris relished the challenge.
His phone buzzed just as he finished setting up the new features. A notification appeared on the screen: "Mission Complete."
"You've successfully completed the Medium Mode daily challenge. Congratulations, you've earned a reward: The Head Cracker's Uniform!"
Chris blinked, unsure what to make of the prize. Head Cracker's Uniform (Costume Prop): Dr. Crowley worked at the mental asylum for over twenty years. His prolonged exposure to the deranged patients slowly fractured his own mind. One day, he decided to end it all. Twisted by madness, he grabbed a hammer and aimed to 'cure' his patients by crushing their skulls!"
"Another prop," Chris muttered, intrigued. The uniform had been added to the prop room inventory on his black phone. "This might just be perfect for our escape room sequence."
His mind raced with ideas as he imagined integrating the deranged doctor into the Midnight Massacre scene. The grim storyline, combined with the doctor's eerie backstory, would add an entirely new level of terror to the experience.
Chris began sketching out the new scene, but his phone vibrated again, this time with an incoming call. He glanced at the screen: Hayden.
"What's up?" Chris answered, already bracing himself for Hayden's overly dramatic tone.
"Boss! Do you remember what I told you last time?" Hayden's voice was hushed, as if he were hiding from someone. "The seniors in my department—they've decided to get revenge for what happened to Eva. You know, after you made her cry during the haunted house tour. They're on their way to the park right now! You'd better prepare yourself!"
Chris sighed, already picturing the chaos ahead. More visitors with a vendetta. Just another day in the life of running a haunted house.