This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/TheBatBelfry on 2024-10-08 09:17:31+00:00.
Every October, the Dollhouse Studios lot hosts an annual Halloween event in which the public is granted access to the sets.
Each set is turned into a specific haunted house based on their most popular horror movies. My friend Jane, Liam, and I had pre-ordered our tickets ahead of time to avoid the long line.
When the weekend finally hit, we drove straight to LA as soon as college classes were over. It was a two hour drive, so we took turns driving while the rest had power naps to save energy. Finally arriving to the studio lot, we paid the parking fee, left the car the closest we could to the studio entrance, and rushed to the main gate.
The studio was already packed. Crowds both entering and exiting as we approached. We were aware that catching all the haunted houses would be impossible in one night, so we were going to prioritize those based on our favorite movies.
Jane picked the first house: Into the Woods. It was in Lot B. Line was decent. Into the Woods was more of a cult film than anything else.
The movie, as the title suggests, is set in the woods with a killer in a bear mask and axe. The set was covered in trees and a cabin rest in the middle. Various scare actors in bear masks swung axes at us from a distance.
Jane, who hugged her teddy bear dressed as the killer tightly, jumped and screamed in excitement. We had to drag her out the house because she didn't want to leave so soon.
Liam chose the next house: Heaven or Hell. A movie about a honest and good-willed man who thought he went to hell, but was in Heaven all along.
The house was decorated in classic Heaven architecture, including golden gates and clouds. But filled with demons who were supposed to be dark angels.
Liam hung around a little longer while keeping his eyes on a female angel that caught his attention. I had to pull him by his ear and escort him out.
Lastly, I got to choose the last house: Mouse-Trap! I had dressed up as the main character Maggie Mouse for this very occasion. But instead of a white mouse mask and dress like hers, I wore a black mouse mask with a leather jacket and jeans.
Liam and Jane jokingly called me Maddie Mouse, my name being Madison. The movie was about a girl that got kidnapped and forced into a mouse costume. She was held captive in an abandoned lighthouse where she had to escape from a killer in an old cat costume.
The lighthouse they built for the film lied at the far end of the studio, by the docks and fake town. Being the most famous set piece in the studio, naturally it had the longest line.
We were worried we wouldn't make it, but got lucky as we were the last group allowed in. As we entered and I turn to make sure Jane was with us, I caught security talking to the greeter then shouting for us to exit at once.
It was too late as the entrance had shut closed which I have come to learn was never part of the attraction. We carried on and walked through the house.
Oddly enough, no scare actors ever came out to which Liam joked, "Must be on their lunch break."
With no employees to guide us through the maze of shadows and hallways, we got lost.
It wasn't till a few minutes later that we started losing our cool.
"Where is everyone?"
"Scared are we, Jane?"
"Leave her alone, Liam. Someone should have popped out by now."
"Maybe that's the trick of this house. Let you wander than BOO!" Liam screamed right into Jane's ear causing her to knock down the fake wall beside her.
It was dark, very dark. I could only make out the hooks and fake fishes hanging from the ceiling as the little light that illuminated the path, reflected on their surfaces.
"Psst. Over here." A soft voice whispered beyond the black void.
"Hello?"
"Liam, shut up..."
"It's probably just a worker looking to get us out." He proceeded to walk towards the voice.
"Liam wait."
"C'mon Madison. They're about to close, let's go!"
"It's too late now. He heard you." The voice whispered.
"He?" Liam turned towards the voice then back at us.
At that exact moment, what I can only describe as a large humanoid black cat, leaped out of the shadows and shoved its' long claws right through Liam's eyes.
Jane screamed at the top of her lungs as I grabbed her, and we both made a break for it.
Not knowing where we were going, we just kept running as fast as we could.
"Jane! Please shut up!" But she didn't listen and kept screaming, tears flooded her face.
We finally stopped in a corner and tried hiding under some fake shelves. I took hold of Jane's shoulders and slapped her, "Shut up, Jane. Please." I quietly ordered.
"Psst. Maggie, over here." The voice sounded a lot closer this time.
I looked up to find a bird cage hanging above. It held a fake canary instead of any actual bird.
"Maggie. It's okay. I'm here to help."
At first I thought the voice was coming from the fake canary, probably some hidden radio. It wasn't.
It was coming from behind the bird cage, in the dark.
Silence filled the room for a while. I was too scared to reply. It thought I was Maggie. The character from the movie. Probably because of my costume.
I was ready to play along if it meant getting out of here...
"You're not Maggie."
Silence again. But somehow even quieter than before. Not the type of silence that is just absent of any noise.
The type of silence where you know you're not alone.
We waited in fear to see what would happen next, when Liam suddenly came screaming for help. He crawled on all fours as blood poured out of his eye sockets.
We rushed to him and helped him up. The giant cat then appeared a few feet away from Liam. It then walked towards us.
We desperately dragged Liam away but the cat began to run.
"Maddie!!!" Jane cried.
"I'm SORRY!!!!" Tears in my eyes, I pushed Liam off of us and snatched Jane's arm. I pulled her away as the cat reached Liam and rammed its long fangs into his neck.
Liam gave out one last plead before his entire neck was ripped into shreds. His spine pulled out as the bones got caught in the cat's teeth.
Jane slipped free from my grasp as she lost all control of her emotions.
"Got you." I heard the voice say before watching as a giant bird wing with sharp claws shot out of the darkness and grabbed Jane. The claws sinking into her chest.
I quickly wrapped my arms around her legs and pulled. The wing held onto her tighter as a beak darted out of the dark and pecked away at Jane's scalp. It ripped away pieces of flesh and hair everytime it made contact.
I was crying and begging the bird to let go. I turned to see the cat pouncing towards me. Mouth wide open and claws out. I ducked out of the way and watch as the cat landed on the bird, causing it to let go of Jane.
I couldn't see what was happening but could only imagine as unrecognizable bird screeches and cat growls were heard.
No time to process, I grabbed Jane and ran until I found the first door out. Thankfully I did and we both made it outside safely.
We were greeted by a police unit who instantly gave us medical attention. They raided the lighthouse and after an hour or so, found Liam's corpse.
We told our story to the cops. I could tell by their faces that they didn't believe us, but they went along with it.
At the hospital, me and Jane talked about that night. How the police found many more corpses belonging to both guests and employees. With wounds similar to those of a lion or other large cats.
Jane asked me about the bird in the shadows, and if that thing appeared in the movies alongside Bad Kitty, the name of the giant monster cat.
"There is no giant bird in the movies..."
"Does that mean the Mouse-Trap movie wasn't fake? It was real?"
"The actress never showed up in any other movies. People thought she just retired."
"But why would the studio play that movie in theaters if everything was real? Is it not illegal to have someone die for real in a movie?"
"I don't know. Let's just hope Mouse-Trap was the only one..."