a tale begun in other days, when summer suns were glowing

I admit, on occasion Lord Bardhaven scares me. I have no idea where he finds these things. I'm supposed to be the bad movie fan, after all!

And the Wulfenbachs have been compiling research on steampunk fae. He looks like he wants out.

Also brought to my attention: people are learning how to defuse bombs in SL? Apparently so.

How'ver, moving on.

It all started out innocuously enough...



Isn't that always how it goes? We'd heard tell of a Japanese sim, Kyoto Bakumatsu, that had a haunted house. Of course we had to go! We had to know. What is currently terrifying to the Japanese psyche?

[0:31] Emilly Orr: I am hearing chanting and screaming from in there.
[0:31] Midnight Bohemia: Sounds like a party.
[0:31] Emilly Orr: I'm creeped out already. :p
[0:31] Neome Graves: Excellent

We walked up a ramp towards the chanting, and ended up in an entirely black hallway. Red arrows told us which way to walk.



When we turned the corner, eyes popped out of the wall to stare at us. Round eyes appeared and disappeared on the dark floor. As we walked down the sloping hallway, eyes would randomly drop from the dark ceiling, roll downhill, and disappear.

We paused at sight of a small doll. This was not necessarily the best move--giant versions of that doll appeared to push against us. The chanting was getting louder.



We turned another corner. Glowing red flowers sprouted from the black ground. A floating skull-headed skeletal snake floated in midair. We caught the will-o-wisps and found ourselves floating in midair, seemingly ghosts ourselves.

We walked through the small ornamental garden towards the open-air house at the back. We were somewhat startled to find that the ghost-white woman kneeling on the tatami mat was an actual person. Who built the entire place.

She speaks Japanese only; the Simbolic translator was helpful, but it's worth wandering around where she is (she likely is not there all the time), because there's a ghostly gatchapon machine that, when five Lindens are paid to it, gives you a small token and drops little eyeball creatures and ghostly ape dolls from the ceiling. There's also a place to kneel, where one can look inside a closed cabinet, a tip chest that spawns ghosts when one tips, and, through the side door, a selection of odd freebies to commemorate your visit.

I'm told the chanting is likely a track of Buddhist monks at a funeral; it does add a hushed observance to walking about.

Next, Miss Fawkes took us on a tour of Disney attractions on the grid. The first one I didn't even bother grabbing a SLUrl, because when we arrived, we were tossed a notecard which meantioned how much the woman who made the attraction LOVED DISNEY and how she was a SUPERFAN.

Disney superfan? There are people that obsessed with Disney? Who aren't Fawkes, I mean? I fled screaming.

But the next place...now, that had potential. That was Mouse World.

Mouse World is now on its own sim; previously, we'd gone there and discovered most of Main Street, a small tribute to Tomorrowland, and some shops. They have vastly expanded; the Enoch brothers (Mr. Honda Enoch and my erstwhile neighbor in Caledon Morgaine, Mr. Kheph777 Enoch) have now scripted a complete and complex tribute to Disneyland (and Disneyworld) with a complete Main Street, Tomorrowland and Frontierland (with rides), the Skyway that travels over the park (now closed in Disneyland and Disneyworld) and exhibits of vintage note (like the complete Carousel of Progress that you can sit and watch on a large screen).



Lag is a factor--sometimes, we couldn't move at all, sometimes the rides didn't work as anticipated, and this image I had to capture, because it was a still from a bad horror film--Miss Bohemia standing in the corner, and the feral Miss Neome scrabbling towards her, frozen in place!

Some of the merchants don't quite get the whole, 'Disney' vibe, either:



Yes, you're seeing that right. Marshmallow...Peep...gangsta shoulder pets. I don't get it either.

But, when we got off the Skyway, we received the largest evidence that we must return, and that I had to tell everyone as well:



They have reproduced the Haunted Mansion (though that SLUrl will likely perch you at the exit from the Skyway, looking out at the Haunted Mansion below). Complete with a viewable slideshow of the attraction, and a cemetary off to the side, where the Linden autumnal trees fit in perfectly.

Well worth a visit, if you like well-done Disney tributes, and not merely screamingly bouncy !!SUPERFAN!! builds. There's no OMGSQUEEEDISNEEEEEH reactions here; just honest love for the parks and the concepts.

Soon, we'll wander the Haunted Mansion as well. MUAHAHAhaha...