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The Hall: A Story about a Haunted House...or is it?
CAPTAIN_NXR7
Posts: 4,464 Member
The Hall.
It Waits.
It Watches.
It Takes.
It Waits.
It Watches.
It Takes.
From the Creator of "Werebeasts Do Not Exist Yet" & "Bodyhair Ain't For The Faint Of Heart 2".
Post edited by CAPTAIN_NXR7 on
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Comments
PART I
1. The Lady in The Chair.
2. How It Begins.
3. Sweet Child 'O Mine.
4. Welcome Little Child.
5. *Shrieking Strings*
6. Springtime
7. Best Friend
8. Cheeky Toddler
9. The Lady In The Wall.
10. That Stormy Evening
11. The Watcher
12. Asleep
13. Gone?
14. The Writer.
15. Eabha.
16. Wandering Willow...
17. The Accident.
18. Him.
INTERMISSION
P1
19. Visitor.
20. Knock Knock.
Because some stories just need one.
The following story came to be in the "Post The Last Screenshot You Took in The Sims 4" thread by @catloverplayer.
For those who are interested, this is how it all began:
I will post a "prologue" of sorts, just to introduce you to the posts that started this entire challenge/haunted story ordeal.
I also want to thank everyone who has been following this still ongoing story in the other thread for the last couple of months and those who were always very kind to comment.
I will try and post updates as often as I can.
Last but certainly not least, a Special Acknowledgement goes to the wonderful @Ellupelluellu who located every single reference post to the story and provided me with links so that I was able to collect and post them here. Sometimes I'm a very busy and above all, extremely slow guy and this was a Team Effort I hugely appreciate! As we say here in "The Land of Saints and Drunks-" *pardon me* "-Scholars":
A PROLOGUE OF SORTS
1. Writers.
Eabha Goth & Dave O'Shea.
Both are writers.
Eabha does it as a hobby. Dave does it for the money.
Surprise: Dave & Eabha made a baby.
This is it. This is the moment I have not been waiting for. It was an “accident”, but I will rise to the challenge. What challenge?
The 1 baby challenge. And it’s been tough already. This is not the way I usually play the game, but obviously the game wants to play games with me. So be it.
Please meet little Willow:
This is the look she gave me right after she was born. Look at that smug little face.
Sure look at it!
She knows. She knows this is not easy for me and she will make this journey as difficult for me as she possibly can. Thank you Willow. ❤️
I’m sure we’re going to be wonderful friends. And don’t you dare go all cute on me.
I've made the tough decision that I will raise Willow from babe to young adult and not run off to another save (like I always do). Rotational play has ceased to exist until Willow is old enough to have her own babies. Whenever that happens I won't be around.
I'm going stick with this one family for 4 Sim years. One Willow life stage per year. In my game 1 year is 28 days and I just want you to know that I'm saying all this with burning tears in my eyes.
Anyway, to start off I kitted out a little room for her. I mean we don't have much but at least we've got the attic.
Continued:
3. That Lad
I'm just not sure if I want to keep this thing in Willow's room:
In case you didn't get it the first time:
Continued:
4. A Girl & Her Fiddle.
And her audience...
Continued:
5. A Lovely Family.
I mean, her little baby. Baby Willow.
This is Dad having a cynical moment on the intranet. We both work for the same company.
And this is the family's little Magical Cottage in Glimmering Winderbrook:
FRONT:
BACK:
I built it a long time ago. Before Cottage Living was a Thing.
Continued:
6. Having a smoke.
Dad's been wearing slippers everywhere, Mom started smoking and both are afflicted by the infamous Sweater Curse.
I can't allow them to be romantic with each other at this time because if there's one thing I'm unable to handle is for them to break up and end up with a single parent. I promised I would stick with the babe.
So Mom, stop knitting sweaters for dad. I need both of you. Dad, wear some shoes dude. You're not helping.
Continued:
7. Buskin'
They decided to call a friend to take care of their sweet little monkey and hit the town for a busking session together to rekindle their...whatever it is they're not having at the moment.
Just stay in tune Lovebirds, otherwise we're going to have an even bigger problem.
1. The Lady in The Chair.
She's been sitting in that chair since dawn. Waiting for them. Waiting for that “lovely” little family of 3.
She’s not looking forward to their arrival...but she is the housekeeper and she made a promise.
Not to the landlord. The landlord is long dead. Not to the soon-to-arrive family either; She feels uneasy around babies, the father is a nuisance and the mother is a few too many feathers short of a brainless duck.
No. She made a promise to the house. And she will do everything in her power to please it...
Our little family of 3 has made the brave decision to spend Winterfest at “The Hall”. The Hall goes by many names, but let’s not get into that for now.
The Hall is a country mansion a couple of centuries old, built on the site of the original Redrock Castle (better known as Redrum Tower for no specific reason...).
What you should know is that The Hall is officially owned by the 6th Marquess of Glimmering Winderbrook - Leland Mortimus Cornelius Goth.
What you also should know is that he’s a great uncle of Éabha - English pronounciation “Ay-va”- Goth, aka “Mom”. Does that make her a Lady? I do not know.
However, what you also should know is that Leland Mortimus Cornelius Goth is very much dead.
One final thing I need you to understand about this situation is that Éabha and her family are unaware of Leland’s ...dead-ness. As far as they're concerned uncle Leland is still very much alive and well.
Right now there's one thing this lovely family is absolutely certain of which is the invitation they got from Great Uncle Leland in late November to spend Winterfest at The Hall. In fact, It’s an annual tradition to spend Winterfest at The Hall with the entire Goth family...that is...with the members who are still alive and those rather grey & dusty ones who’ve been lucky enough to take residence in one of the many urns placed on one of the twenty something fireplaces in this house. Those urns always look cosy by the Winter Fest fire.
Thing is...this year something feels a little “off”.
Firstly...it’s early afternoon and none of the other family members seem to have arrived at the house yet. Odd, because they’re usually here at this time.
Secondly...it’s like no one in the house is expecting anyone at all...the place feels rather snowy and desolate.
In the last screenshot below we can see Dave O’Shea aka “Dad” peep through one of the windows of The Hall (window peeping is not vanilla it comes with “The Mod”).
Dave’s friends call Dave “Dayvo”. Ay-va & Day-vo. Anyway, to us Dave’s just Dave. Or Dad.
Mom Éabha & baby Willow are offscreen waiting in one of those beautiful drivable cars that we got in the Sims 4.
To Be Continued...
3. Sweet Child 'O Mine.
Baby Willow gets introduced to the fairies.
Meanwhile...*
Dad suddenly notices a person standing at the stable entrance to the back of the house. It looks like a woman.
A strange woman he never saw before...
* In case you're confused about the difference in weather: it stopped snowing JUST as I moved the camera around the house...
Odd, isn't it?
4. Welcome Little Child.
So what happened prior to this meeting?
Well...
Apparently Tippi Daniels, the house keeper, is the only one looking after The Hall right now.
She invites Mom, Dad & baby Willow into the house and informs the little family that Great Uncle Leland and the rest of the clan left a day ago to celebrate Winterfest at the Hunter's Lodge up north instead.
Why, didn't you get his message?
Ehrr...No.
The house keeper explains that signal reception is pretty bad out here in the country side; the message must have bounced.
[We all know that Bad Signal reception is common in the thriller & horror genre and I ain't planning on re-inventing the wheel here. Call me un-creative.
Tippi tells Dave & Eabha that there's absolutely no reason to worry and that they can stay here at The Hall for as long as they wish. Since she's the housekeeper she will make their visit as pleasant and as comfortable as possible. Plus the weather forecast looks bleak: Blizzards are not the type of weather you'd want to travel in, especially with a little babe.
So that's settled then. Staying at The Hall is not a choice.
It's a necessity...
5. *Shrieking Strings*
Preparing Din Dins...
6. Springtime.
That's right. I kid you not. This is The Hall at night half-way through spring. It's a happy coincidence because I needed a reason for my little family to stay in the house for a while longer. Well...imagine that! It's simply too snowy to travel.
Winterfest was quiet but nice. Tippi the Housekeeper is lovely...
Also, as a writer, Dave happens to be quite fascinated by the history of The Hall. What better reason to stay longer? He can write about it while living there. At least for a while. Mom doesn't mind. She enjoys the garden and the grandeur of the mansion. Although she's been acting rather unusual lately...
Also..
She aged up first day of Spring (thank goodness
Can't be hard to recognize the same smug little face. Trouble she is. Although not really. I gave her the Angelic trait simply because I can't deal with tantrums.
Also...
She aged up with a peculiar mark on the right side of her face. I swear I didn't put it there, but I decided to leave it. It makes for an interesting character.
Now that Willow is a little bit older her story can finally begin...
7. Best Friend
Just wait until you meet Willow's other friends...
8. Cheeky Toddler
Willow is having a great time with Dad.
I just realized that this is very much like me being in a constant state of confusion in regard to the world:
The dude I mean. Not the babe.
Also, Life’s like having a cheeky toddler on your back. I think I know what I mean by that but I don’t think I can explain.
Indeed. This is one of Willow's other friends...
The Lady sometimes visits Willow in the nursery. The little girl likes her presence, because she sings songs to her both beautiful and sad.
No one else but Willow has ever seen The Lady in The Wall.
One rainy afternoon the Lady decides to come out of the wall and talk to Willow...
The Lady tells Willow to go "UP".
You may wonder what "UP" means, but somehow Willow understands perfectly what The Lady means...
Now..before I continue I need to share with you that The Hall is a three story mansion of which only two are in use.
The third floor is where the servants used to live about two centuries ago. Today this floor is out of bounds to everyone in the house except the housekeeper. She doesn't go there too often either mind you. Apparently the rooms are in such fragile and derelict state that the floors are about to collapse.
One long corridor runs like a spine through the upper floor with doors on either side. All of these doors are locked and as Tippi the Housekeeper often likes to remind people: "Stay locked!"
But...Willow has to go "UP"...
And that's exactly what she does. All the way UP...
Until...
...Willow sees "her"...
The Girl In The Dress...
Willow follows her...
And Willow finds her...
The Girl In The Dress just stands there in that strange room with the painting. She doesn't look at Willow or talk to Willow. She doesn't move at all...
This makes Willow feel tremendously sad and uncomfortable...
But then...
A familiar voice calls out her name.
Of course it's Dad!
We can be grateful that most parents are usually right behind their little ones. You just can't take your eyes off these wee rascals for one second.
Willow is extremely happy to find her dad there.
She's quite distressed and in her limited toddler speech she tries to tell him all about The Strange Girl in The Dress in The Corner.
Dave reassures Willow that there is no girl in a dress in the corner. In fact...the corner of the room is completely empty...
See?
He comforts his daughter by saying that "all is well, don't you worry your pretty little face, we will go downstairs immediately where the warm milk and cookies are waiting for us."
Still....Dave can't shake off that strange feeling: How was that door even open? And to whom did those footsteps in the thick dust belong? They were rather small, but most certainly a little bigger than Willow's...
A Strange Girl in a Dress?....
Dad needs answers...
As do we all.
10. That Stormy Evening...
With Willow asleep and Eabha doing her usually Week-End Spa ritual - which must never, ever be interrupted!! - he decides to take matters into his own hands and begins to investigate.
What he finds upstairs is indeed peculiar. Contrary to Tippi's statement most of the doors aren’t locked at all. The third floor is a complete and utter disaster...
As a writer, Dave owns some camera equipment (a fairly nifty DSLR and tripod his father gifted to him two birthdays ago) which he often carries around on his research trips to capture reference images for his projects. He’s not entirely sure why, but he believes that tonight would be a good time to bring that gear upstairs and take as many shots as possible.
He captures gloomy, dusty and rather unsettling rooms.
Some are bare, some are used for junk and storage. It feels as if these rooms are strangely aware of Dave’s presence; their dark corners and the cracks and shadows on their walls seem to judge his very existence...
When he visits the north facing room he found his daughter in earlier that day, he realizes that the canvas with the strange painting is now empty...
In the adjoining room he discovers a large, wooden crate which - much to his relief - also turns out to be empty...
Surely this thing could fit a man his own size...
At that moment Dave's camera stops working. It’s a given, in a house like this, with rooms like these...
There are a couple more areas to explore so he pursues the investigation without the gear for now.
He finds that this door is locked after all.
And the door next door, too...
And The Hall watches...
Meanwhile...
Week-End Spa rituals tend to make Eabha feel flirty and so she spends the rest of the evening behind that lovely vanity table in the vacant Master Bedroom adjacent to theirs. She has plenty of things in store for her man later on...
What she doesn't know...
...is that someone else also has plenty of things in store for her...
later on...
While Dave is exploring The Third Floor, he finds yet another Unlocked Door.
A door that leads to a section of the roof...
Watching from the roof he discovers something peculiar...
Is that Tippi The Housekeeper in the field beyond the garden?
Chanting over a Green Ring of Fire?
What kind of trick is this?
Dave looks on for a while, but feels a sudden urge to go and find Eabha...
Meanwhile...
Flirty Eabha returns to the guest bedroom to admire these pretty shoes that she found in a blanket box in the Master Bedroom.
They're just her size! This is altogether lovely! She wonders if there's a cha......
A sudden touch...
What....?
A feeling of Intense Bliss followed by Great Misery engulfs her...
What's happening to her? She feels heavy...
...she feels faint...
...she collapses...
A strange dream...
Somehow Dave knows he would find his lady here. Like this...
Eabha regains consciousness as soon as he arrives and she let's him guide her to the bed.
The last time this happened was before she had her third heart surgery...
She feels so odd and sleepy. So heavy and so very, very sleepy...
She will be herself again soon. She will be herself again soon...
12. ASLEEP...
And so is the child...
Or is she?
A little voice she hears...
"Willow"
The little voice she follows...
"Willow"
Across the landing she goes...
"Willow"
Up the stairs she climbs...
"Willow"
Down the Corridor she runs...
"Willow"
A strange room she enters...
"Willow"
A Gingerbread House she finds...
To her new friend she talks...
With her new friend she plays...
"Where did Willow go?" I ask...
So where did she go?
Why of course, Willow went "There".
Where is "There" exactly?
Well... the "where" part is not relevant right now. The "What" part is more important.
What is "There?"
"There" is a sweet smelling place where vibrant colors tickle Willow's skin and floating flowers sing to her.
"There" is the place where Willow finds the Girl in The Dress.
"There" is the place where she makes friends with her...
...where they play together...
...and where she can explore on her own...
The Girl in The Dress reassures Willow that this place is safe...
"There" will be There for Willow. Always.
An although The Dark Ones will be watching her for as long as she lives, they cannot touch her as long as she is here... or shall we say "There"...
Her new friend will look after her...
...the Lights will Guide her...
And... whenever she misses her loved ones and longs to be in her mother's arms and listen to her father's stories, she can always return to her Gingerbread House.
Once inside she will feel a sudden urge to sleep...
14. The Writer.
This night is for writing and Dave O’ Shea has really been churning out the chapters for his latest mystery novel "Carrie & Christine".
Other than the sounds of soft crackling fire and the tapping and rolling of the typewriter, the office he has claimed as his work space is as quiet as ever…until he hears a sudden creaking noise...
Dave pauses and looks over at the rocking chair. The noise appears to be coming from that direction...
Wait...What?
Is that Willow asleep on the chair or are his eyes deceiving him? After all he’s the one who put her to bed that same evening...
How can this be?
It is indeed his little girl....sound asleep.
How did she get here? Did she manage to sneak in without him noticing? She tends to wander around the place a lot lately. He really has to prioritize installing a couple of barriers to stop her from exploring rooms she shouldn't be in.
Has he really been so focused on his work that he didn't even catch one single glimpse of her entering the room and climb into that chair? Did he fall asleep for a moment? It happens to him sometimes...
Willow stirs...
Her father picks her up.
"Tell me little one. How did you get here?"
His baby seems as confused as he his...
All she can mumble is "There".
But O' Shea doesn't really expect an answer from his sleepy daughter. Learning to talk has been quite tough for Willow, so he thinks she's just making her usual toddler sounds.
Willow doesn't understand...she remembers running around the sweet smelling colorful place where The Girl in The Dress lives.
She felt so happy and safe There.
But in her father's arms she also feels happy and safe...
MEANWHILE...
In one of the gloomy rooms on the third floor Tippi The Housekeeper seems to be engaged in a heated discussion with a strange doll...
"All you need to do is get her into that room and make her fall through The Hole! It shall be known as The Accident, do you hear me? The Accident!
Her father will feel too guilty and heartbroken to care about what happens to his half-witted girlfriend. A simple accident, Dahlia. Make her disappear, for all that little brat does is interfere.
If you can't perform a simple task like that I will make sure you'll be trapped in this ghoulish, stuffed piece of rotten fabric for ever and all you'll be able to do is view the world through those plastic button eyes and feel the suffering of all those who set eyes on your miserable, ugly little face."
Long after Tippi The Housekeeper has left the room, she tries to come up with a solution.
She remembers being made into that doll. It was fabricated from the very threads of her own soul...
All poor Dahlia wants is to be free. Free the way she felt when she and her new little friend ran through the Meadows of "There".
She doesn't want her friend to have an accident. She doesn't want Willow to get hurt.
But she also doesn't want to be stuck inside this doll forever or needing to return to it whenever The House Keeper demands her to communicate.
All she can do is consider every option.
Unfortunately there are very few…
15. Eabha.
Eabha wonders...
Who is this man she's been sleeping with?
She does not know him, yet he looks familiar.
Why is he here?
This is not the man she wants. This is not the man she's been looking for...
Where is the man she's been looking for?
Will she find him?
Will he find her?
She doesn't know who she is.
She doesn't know where he is.
It hurts not to know.
The walls seem to crumble...
The house seems to cry.
She must remember. The blue fire knows things. The blue fire will tell her what to do.
She remembers...
The blue fire tells her that he will come from The South.
Eabha will wait in The Room with the Chair.
And she will always face South.
In the mornings she will spend time in The Garden.
She can't remember his face. But she remembers being here with him.
She remembers walking with him.
She remembers having conversations with him.
She remembers his dark voice. His kind words...
She remembers The Fence.
She remembers him walking beyond The Fence.
She can't remember why he left...
...but she knows that he will return.
And she will wait for him.
Always facing South...
In the evenings she will sit in The Chair.
Sometimes Eabha will wear The Black Gown.
She remembers wearing it a long time ago.
She remembers mourning for him.
Eabha remembers not being Eabha.
She's been waiting for him for so, so long.
It's almost time. The House told her.
The Heir will be home soon...
16. Wandering Willow...
Willow doesn't know that someone is already waiting for her...
When she encounters the cute little dolly Willow feels very excited indeed!
She introduces herself and lets the dolly know that she shall bring her along with her.
She will show Dolly to her new friend The Girl in the Dress so that they can all play together!
NO WILLOW.
Says the dolly.
The Girl in The Dress is not "There."
You cannot use the Gingerbread House today.
Hearing this upsets Willow greatly. She was told "There" would always be there for her. Why not today?
I want to go "There". Willow communicates.
NO WILLOW.
Says the dolly again.
NOT through here. But there is another way to get "There".
You need to listen closely. It is important that you do as I say.
I will.
Says Willow.
I will.
And so the nice little dolly explains:
Willow.
Downstairs is a door.
This door is locked.
But not for you...
Only you will be able to enter.
And when you do...
You will find a playroom.
With a beautiful dollhouse...
And in the corner of that room...
You will find a gap.
Only you will fit through that gap...
When you look through the gap, you will see another playroom. This one is for grown ups. This is where they play a game called cards.
To get "There", you will need to go through that gap, but you won't fall into that room...
Don't worry Willow. You will get "There" instead.
And your friend will be waiting for you...
and I will too...
Meanwhile...
The Hall waits.
The Hall watches.
The Hall has many eyes...
And in the night...
A Gentleman enters a Sleepy Town.
He comes from The South...
I can't wait for the continuation!! I love how you went from a couple unexpectedly raising a baby to the sims 4:insidious
🤣🤣🤣 but as a fan of all things haunted and ghostly this was very entertaining.
Thank you for your kind comments!
This one's gonna get real dark...maybe.
17. The Accident.
Willow is determined...
To find The Room with The Gap.
It has been calling her...
And so the little girl enters...
Willow finds the gap...
So...Pretty?
The Playroom for Grown-Ups looks back at her...
All she needs to do is "Go through the gap to get There."
Yes...
She can do that, right?
All she needs to do is...
Jump?
JUMP WILLOW!!!
"Wow...easy there Little Pumpkin."
"How on earth do you keep ending up in these....forsaken rooms?!
They should be locked. ALL of 'em!"
How strange, Willow thinks. That voice sounds like daddies voice. This time she doesn't like it.
Why does he always interrupt?
"That's it. No more toddling around. I'm sick and tired of this."
Daddy sounds grumpy. Willow doesn't like it at all.
"Time to tell that housekeeper to do her job and get her to keep the darn doors locked! I will get in touch with a handyman to place a couple of stair gates right away! This wandering around is turning into a joke, Willow."
He's not really talking to her. He's just doing his Mumbly Grumbles.
Willow wanted to go "There". She did NOT want daddy's Mumbly Grumbles.
At least the dolly was nice.
At least the dolly was nice...