The Midnight Hour & Other Scary Stories

The Creature Feature

Dianna was new in the town of Fellborough. She and her family had moved there on account of Dianna's father getting a new job. It was a nice enough place with nice enough people. But there was something, and Dianna couldn't figure out what, that bothered her about the place. It might have been how old the town looked, and how each and every building seemed to be on the verge of becoming a museum exhibit. Or it might have been something about how often it rained here. There were many reasons she could have picked from, but still, the reason for her uneasiness eluded her.

Her school shared this dark trend. It was a very large building with hallways that seemed too cramped. Her first day had been particularly hard as she had gotten lost in the maze of lockers and rooms. It was during this time that Dianna heard of something some of the students referred to as 'The Creature Feature'.

"It's a midnight showing." They told her. "Except, it doesn't play any movies that we've ever seen."

"What do you mean?" Dianna asked.

The students gave each other glances before talking to her again. "You'll have to come and see. It'll be at the old movie theater in the middle of town."

When Dianna finally found her way to the right classroom, her mind stayed fixed on what the students had said. What exactly was 'The Creature Feature'? Over the next few days, she thought about going out late into the night, but she had never done anything against her parent's wishes and they had a strict curfew for her.

But curiosity has a way of eroding the strongest wills and so, Dianna, driven to know what was waiting for her at midnight, set out for the old theater, leaving her house through her bedroom window.

The old theater was an impressive building, if not a little scary. Its Marquee sign read, in aging letters, 'The Take Back'. Above it, stretching into the moonlit sky, was a towering fin that served as one of the building's many flourishes and a continuation of the sign. Its faded red body reminded Dianna of a tombstone. When she shone her flashlight over the theater's dusty, partially boarded-up windows, she realized that the theater had been closed for a long time. It was the perfect place for a midnight showing.

But how was she going to get in?

When she tried the doors, they were locked. A cold wind ran down the streets, rustling up a tempest of fallen leaves. It was too cold for the summer.

Maybe I should go back.

Dianna turned to leave, yet as she did, the doors to the old theater, locked only moments before, opened with a cccccccrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeaaaaaakkkkkkk that sent shivers down her spine. She slowly turned to see a figure standing in the doorway. Half of their face was hidden in the darkness of the lobby beyond. The other half was drenched in moonlight. They wore a uniform as old as the building itself and nearly as faded.

Dianna swallowed as the figure's sanpaku eyes fell on her.

"Are you here for a showing?" They asked in a deep, thematic voice.

"Y-yes." Dianna squeaked.

"This way then." They said, stepping back and gesturing to the darkness.

At first, Dianna was too scared to enter. How was she supposed to trust this man? She hesitated until she heard, faintly, the laughter of her classmates coming from within.

"Your friends are waiting for you, Miss." The figure said in his deep voice.

Dianna steeled herself and nodded. She entered the theater reluctantly. As she did, the door behind her closed, and she could hear the jingle of a key ring as the caretaker locked the doors. Seconds later, another flashlight joined her own and the mysterious man led her back through hallways that smelled of time and neglect.