A Little Grisly Family History

Welcome to the Grisly Gothic Gables - home of the most frightening family in Philadelphia, the Grislys.

The Grisly family is of an ancient and noble blood from the darkest heart of Europe, but they suffer from a Terrible Curse. Every year, as they have for centuries, the living, dead, and undead members of the family must gather together each October for a reunion which they call "The Festival (of Fear)". During this festival, they rebuild their ancestral home, open the doors to the public, and invite them in to meet the family. This may all seem quite pleasant, except for the little- known fact that each year, out of the thousands of terrified people who visit the house, there are always a few that never come out.

So beware, for if a family member invites you to stay for dinner, or tea, or just to "hang around," they mean Forever.

And now, dear friends, let us invite you in to meet our frightening family. We have so many Aunts and Uncles, Grandparents and Cousins, that we can't list them all. Instead, we'll give you a tour of our beloved Home and let you meet them for yourself. There are many dangers that you'll face, but if you stay with your (mostly) friendly guides, you should be able to return to your homes this evening. But beware, for the Grislys are a very lonely and sometimes very hungry family, and they will do their best to persuade you to stay. So good luck, and have a most Un-pleasant Evening...

Many years ago, one of the Grisly daughters, Erzebet, met a slightly older man named Hannibal Haunt. Hannibal was one of two sons of the wealthy Chester Haunt of Philadelphia. Chester and his sons, Hannibal and Dagger, were successful funeral- home owners in the city, and for a good reason - they were unscrupulous. For example, during a busy period following a city-wide outbreak of consumption, the three funeral homes ran out of embalming fluid. So as a replacement, Chester Haunt and his sons filled the bodies with a mysterious green-coloured fluid that Chester had discovered. It was free, and it worked fine... for a while. Suddenly, all of the bodies treated with this mystery fluid began coming back to life - and the Haunts' former clients were not pleased. The Haunt family's reputation and wealth quickly started to vanish as more and more of the Undeado returned seeking revenge...or at the very least a full refund.

Twas about this time that Hannibal, the eldest son, took notice of the young, beautiful and innocent Erzebet Grisly. Although he wanted to marry her only for her money, she was fooled by his charming manner and fell deeply in Love.

On their wedding night, they stayed in the finest hotel in the city, and it was there that Erzebet caught Hannibal in the arms of the Haunt family's seductive maid, Raven. Erzebet flew into a jealous rage and when Hannibal laughed and mocked her for thinking he loved her, she became insane and tried to kill him with the wedding-cake knife. Unfortunately, because of her blind rage, she killed a hotel bellhop instead and cut out his heart before she was killed in turn by the local constable.

Hannibal, of course, pretended to be grief-stricken, and was soon on Grisly's doorstep, expecting consolation (and hopefully cash) for his horrible loss. The family butler, Bloodworth, welcomed him in and locked the door behind him, for Hannibal was right about one thing...the Grislys were expecting him.

Hannibal told his version of the story and waited for the sympathy to pour forth from the gathered clan, but only one person stepped forward. It was the head of the family, Allistair Grisly, and the sight of him froze Hannibal with fear.

Allistair spoke, and his voice was a low moan, and his breath smelled of wet cemetary earth. He explained to Hannibal that the entire family knew the Truth about what had happened to Erzebet, for she had already told them - and the dead don't lie. Hannibal's last screams were quickly silenced and he was seen no more....