The Midnight Tour

“Me, too.”

She squeezed Owen’s hand.

“It’s one of those mysteries,” Lynn said, “that piques the imagination but has no answers. We’ll probably never know what became of Marlon Slade or the girl who called herself Margaret Blume. And we can only wonder how the movie might’ve been different if Slade bad directed it, if it bad starred Tricia Talbot.

“As things turned out, however, The Horror launched the career of Ray Cunningham, who has gone on to become one of our major directors. It starred Melinda James in the role of Janice Crogan—originally intended to be played by Tricia Talbot. Melinda went on to reprise the role of Janice in four sequels, and has appeared in numerous other thrillers.”

“Melinda rules!” called out Dennis.

“Bodacious babe,” called out Arnold.

“How about Pieces of Hate?”

“How about Death Cruise, man?”

“Cool.”

“Way cool.”

“You see her hangin’ upside-down?”

“Oh, yeah. Awesome.”

Lynn raised a hand for silence. “Arnold and Dennis are absolutely right. Melinda starred in Pieces of Hale, Death Cruise, and quite a few other films. And it was indeed awesome when they hung her upside down at the climax of Death Cruise.”

A few people in the audience laughed.

Darke even laughed.

Dennis said, “Her shoulders disappeared, dude.”

“Let’s just say they were temporarily obstructed from view,” said Lynn, grinning.

“I do wish they’d get on with the film,” Bixby muttered.

“As if anybody cares about any of this,” said Monica. “It’s all so incredibly lame and sophomoric.”

Vein looked back and said, “Shut your faces, both of you.”

“...original ‘Beast,”’ Lynn was saying, “and continued to play the beast through The Horror III: Resurrection”

“Sligo forever!”

“My man!”

“Guys,” Lynn said. “Chill. Please.”

“Cool,” said one.

“Sorry,” said the other.

“Gunther Sligo then went on to be stunt coordinator for several films. Recently, he has made a name for himself as the director of Expungement Night, which was a big hit this year at the Sundance Festival.

“The Horror, as I’m sure you all know, was a box office smash. It not only launched several successful careers, but also an epidemic of sequels and prequels. Last time I checked, we were up to The Horror VII: The Ripper. Some have been fairly good, but there’ve been a couple of real clinkers. I’m sure you all have your favorites. For most people, though, the best of the bunch was the first. It’s generally considered to be a classic of the genre.

“Tonight, you’ll have the very rare opportunity to experience The Horror on the big screen, completely uncut, in its original unrated version. This is a version that you won’t find at any other movie theater, and you’ll never see on television. If you rent or buy The Horror at a video store, you’ll be getting the one that’s rated R. It happens to be missing thirteen minutes—thirteen minutes that you’ll be seeing tonight.”

Lynn glanced at her wristwatch. “We’re running a little late, so please save any questions for later. Now, let’s start the movie. Clyde?”

The spotlight went out.

Moments later, Lynn was gone from the stage as the movie screen went bright with color.

Black letters on a scarlet background read, MALCASA PICTURES PRESENTS

Jungle drums began to pound.

The black letters faded away, leaving the screen red and empty like a sea of blood.

The drums kept booming.

And a beast lumbered out from the left side of the screen. The instant it appeared, the small group of tourists scattered through the auditorium of The Haunted Palace erupted with applause and whistles and shouts.

The beast stopped in the middle of the screen, turned toward the audience, and roared.

Chapter Fifty-four

“LET’S BOOK!”

Entering the auditorium just before the lights went out, Dana had asked Warren, “Where do you want to sit?”

“Do you think there’s room for us?”

Of about two hundred seats, only thirteen were occupied.

“Maybe we’ll have to split up,” Dana had said.

“I think there might be a couple of vacant seats over there.” Warren had pointed to the last row, where every seat was empty.

“Well, if we can squeeze in.”

“I’ll go first.”

In the middle of the row, they’d eased down into the soft armchairs.

“Is this too far back for you?” Warren had asked.

“I don’t mind.”

“I like having the wall behind us.”

“A lot safer that way,” Dana had agreed. “And we can make out.”

As the lights faded to darkness, Warren had leaned toward Dana and slipped his arm around her back.

He’d been fine during Tuck’s presentation, even laughing a few times, mostly at the antics of Dennis and Arnold. But when The Horror began, Dana could sense his tension. His back stiffened. His right hand, gently caressing her shoulder and upper arm, stopped moving. During the first beast attack, his thigh muscles flexed rigid under Dana’s hand and she heard his breath hissing in and out.

She turned her head slightly to look at him. He was gazing at the screen, eyes wide, mouth open.

“Are you okay?” she whispered.

He didn’t respond.

She shook his leg. “Warren?”

As if dragged out of a trance, he looked at her. “Huh?”

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah. Sure. I guess so.”

“You’ve seen this before, haven’t you?”

“Sure.” Mouth twitching, he added, “A few times. Like maybe fifty or sixty.”

“You seem awfully upset.”

“Well...”

“Is it the movie?”

“I...Yeah, I guess so. I haven’t...this is the first time I’ve watched it since...you know, getting jumped.” Grimacing, he said, “I didn’t think it’d be a problem. But I guess maybe it is.”

“Let’s book,” Dana said.