Welcome to Hotel 96
Action-Adventure – horror – mystery – dark humour
When Billie’s beloved older brother disappears, the only clue is a worrying phone message from a creepy old hotel. To find Adam, Billie must unlock each room of Hotel 96, meet sinister guests who may be friend or foe, and discover the dark secrets of the Penthouse suite.
Which Floor?
Narrative samples lurk within….
Hotel Map
The Penthouse
Mrs Smitherson...and Adam?
Room 9
The Boy in the Mirror
Room 10
The Clown
Room 11
The Soothsayer
Room 12
The Night Manager
Room 5
The Doxy
Room 6
The Cannibal
Room 7
The Were-Cat
Room 8
The Alien
Room 1
The Shapeshifter
Room 2
The Travelling Salesman
Room 3
Billie's Room
Room 4
The Raver
Character Profile : Billie
Description
Billie is short for their age, with hand-me-down clothes and a kitchen table haircut. They’re
always trying to blend in, apart from one signature accessory – a pair of light-up sneakers
with wheels in the heels, this year’s christmas present and their most prized possession. Also
helpful if they need to move faster than usual…
The World Before
It is 1996 and Billie is ten years old. The player can choose Billie’s gender. They are sweet and smart, but
shy. They get on okay with the kids at school, but they’re happy to fade into the background and don’t
have close friends.
Billie lives in a run-down California suburb, in a single-story house that might have been nice once. Their
father is a distant memory. Their mother spends her days hidden in her room, calling psychic hotlines, acquiring random crystals and muttering vaguely sinister predictions.
Billie’s older brother, Adam, takes care of the family. He’s always shielded Billie from the worst of their
circumstances. He’s the centre of their world.
Inciting Incident
When Adam doesn’t come home from his shift at the grocery store, at first Billie just waits. He always
calls when he’s going to be late. On a normal night, Billie would open a can of soup and have it hot by
the time he walks in the door. He’s starving after work.
Hours pass. Billie’s stomach is rumbling. They pull a stool up to the stove and empty a can into a saucepan. When the soup is hot, they pour three bowls.
There is music coming from their mother’s room. Billie doesn’t really want to go in. But Adam always makes sure Mama has dinner.
Conversation with their mother is…unsettling. Tonight, she wants to talk about her new dreamcatcher, ordered from a magazine.
The phone rings and Billie wants to run for it, but Mama won’t let them leave. There’s a click as the answering machine picks up.
Adam is trying to sound normal, but it’s obvious something is wrong.
“Billie? Shoot, I hope you’re okay. I ran into a little trouble, but I’ll be home in a couple of days. Or as
soon as I can, and you’ve got plenty of-”
Billie hears Adam gasp, and there’s a low and terrible sound, somewhere between an earthquake’s rumble and an animal growl. Then the machine clicks and the message is over.
Hands shaking, Billie dials *69 to return the call. But the voice that answers isn’t Adam.
“You’ve reached Hotel 96, how may we harm you?”
Adam’s call came from a strange old hotel, less than an hour away. The sharp-tongued receptionist says
he hasn’t checked in, and Billie is about to give up. Then they hear Adam’s voice again, just for a
moment, a crackling whisper on the line. Pleading for help.
In desperation, Billie tries to explain the gravity of the situation to their mother. But she is in a world of
her own.
There’s nothing else for it. Armed with $23 (stashed in the teapot for emergencies) and a dog-eared bus
timetable, Billie leaves the safety of home to find Hotel 96 – and Adam.
Voice Print
Billie is Always:
Softly spoken, tentative, polite, submissive, naive, trying to please. Billie speaks only as much as they have to. Their vocabulary reflects a smart kid – they’ll use the occasional big word if it saves them a longer explanation, but are still more likely to describe something as ‘yucky’ than ‘disgusting’. When speaking only to themselves, or with someone they really trust, Billie’s dry sense of humour peeks through.
Billie is Never:
Loud, assertive, aggressive, talkative, mean, rude. Billie does not share their thoughts with others unless asked – and you might have to ask more than once.
Sample Lines
“My Mom? Um…she says she’s misunderstood.”
“Ew. This bus smells like Adam’s work shoes.”
“Excuse me, mister? I think you dropped your zip ties.”
Sample Conversation
INT. MAMA’S BEDROOM – EVENING
There are no lights on in Mama’s bedroom, only the glow of the streetlight outside. Billie weaves through piles of books and knick-knacks that litter the floor.
Huddled on the bed, Mama stares at a dream catcher dangling from the bedpost.
Billie sets a bowl of soup on the bedside table.
BILLIE
Time to eat, Mama.
MAMA
Dear child. Can’t you see I’m
feeding my soul?
BILLIE
I can get you some crackers.
MAMA
That’s what they call me. Just
because I see things other people
don’t.
BILLIE
I’ll leave it here. It’s-
MAMA
Cream of damned mushroom. I told
your brother, get me anything
else. Chicken noodle. Broccoli,
even. But no. More mushroom, no
magic. Is that why he didn’t come
himself?
BILLIE
He’s not back yet. But-
MAMA
Oh no. My poor baby. He’s left us
all alone in this world. Oh, it’s
lucky this came in the mail today.
She strokes the dream catcher’s feathers.
BILLIE
Don’t be silly, Mama.
MAMA
We’ll be okay. This will protect
us. It lures the bad things in and
tangles them up.
BILLIE
Bad things?
MAMA
I knew we were going to need it. I
saw the shadows coming.
BILLIE
You mustn’t be scared of shadows.
MAMA
I’ve seen them all my life. But
never this close.
From the kitchen, the PHONE RINGS. Billie jumps, but doesn’t move quick enough – Mama’s bony hand wraps around their forearm.
BILLIE
It’s Adam – I have to get it!
MAMA
You’ll get it when the time comes.
Then you’ll wish you’d paid more
attention.
BILLIE
Mama, please!
MAMA
You’re both the same. Never listen
to your mother. But this is the
key-
Billie breaks free and runs to the kitchen. But it’s too late. The answering machine blinks; one new message.
Mission Triggers
In this combat mission, Billie must take on three waves of employees from the Undead Housekeeping Department, who emerge from the second floor supply closet.
Cinematic Scene
Billie enters Room #9 - The Family Room
INT. ROOM #9 – EVENING
With the room phone to their ear, Billie looks towards a
tall, ornate mirror on the wall. Instead of their reflection, there is a boy inside the mirror. He is about Billie’s age, but his clothes and hair look like 1970s styles. His gaunt face twists into a sneer. He has been dead for a long time.
In the mirror version of the room, there is a hotel key card on the table by the phone.
MIRROR BOY
I wouldn’t have picked you for my
friend. But since there’s nobody
else, I think I’ll keep you. For
always.
BILLIE
I have a better idea.
Billie hits the dial button and the phone RINGS. The display shows Room #10.
Billie waits anxiously. Three rings. Four. Finally, the line is picked up.
GIBBO
(on phone)
Yes?
BILLIE
There’s a child here who needs
entertaining.
GIBBO
Does he like to laugh?
BILLIE
I think he would.
GIBBO
(Beat)
I’ll be right there.
The wall shimmers and a sad-faced clown steps through, one giant black shoe after the other. This is GIBBO. He haunts the hotel’s Family Room, the site of his suicide in 1940, after vicious rumors shut the circus down. He is in black and white from head to toe, apart from some reddish smears on his shiny suit, and a bright red clown nose.
MIRROR BOY
Who’s this weirdo?
BILLIE
This is Gibbo. He definitely
didn’t murder anyone… while he was
alive.
MIRROR BOY
And after?
GIBBO
I’m a ghost clown. You have to
give the people what they want.
MIRROR BOY
Go on, then. Tell me a joke.
GIBBO
Knock, knock.
MIRROR BOY
Who’s there?
Billie tugs the clown’s frilly sleeve. He bends down and Billie whispers in his ear.
GIBBO
Not your parents. They’re never
coming back for you.
The boy’s eyes widen. There is a sound like a wet finger on the rim of a wine glass. The mirror is vibrating. Then he throws back his head and LAUGHS. The sound echoes around the room. His laughing face flashes in every reflective surface, from the darkening window to the grimy ice bucket.
What spreads over Gibbo’s face can’t really be called a smile. But it cracks his thick greasepaint, and there are teeth involved.
MIRROR BOY
That’s a good one. (To Billie) You
were right. He’s much more fun
than you.
GIBBO
You should come and stay in my
room. We can tell jokes whenever
we like.
MIRROR BOY
I dunno. I’m not supposed to go
places with strange men.
GIBBO
I’m a strange clown. Besides,
you’re already dead.
MIRROR BOY
Do you get visitors?
GIBBO
Lots. I’ll let you have the ones
who scream the loudest.
The boy plays with his hands, thinking.
BILLIE
He has bunk beds.
MIRROR BOY
I’m taking the top.
Gibbo pulls a long, black balloon from his pocket, blows it up and deftly shapes it into a skull. He offers it towards the mirror.
A hand reaches through the glass to take it. Then the boy steps out into the room.
Gibbo guides the boy to the dividing wall and watches him step through. He turns to Billie.
GIBBO
You are one of the nicer children.
BILLIE
Thanks, but you’re really helping
me out.
GIBBO
Take this.
He takes off his red nose and hands it to Billie. Underneath, he wears another red nose.
GIBBO
In case you need to crack somebody
up.
BILLIE
Does it work?
GIBBO
It might. Or maybe I’m just
kidding.
Gibbo walks through the wall. Billie is left alone, holding the nose.
FLASHBACK TO:
Billie, eight years old, sits in a classroom. There are no other students, just a teacher giving them a telling off. Adam is outside the window, doing an impression of the
teacher behind their back. Billie fights to keep a straight face.
CUT TO:
Billie squeezes the red clown nose. It gives a loud SQUEAK.
The mirror shatters, cracking in the centre before exploding into shards. Billie ducks, covering their face.
When they look up, there is a key card on the carpet among the broken glass.
Location Bio
Room #4 - The Raver
Room 4 has the same grimy, worn-out feel as the rest of Hotel 96. When the place first opened, on New Year’s Eve 1899, it was a monument to opulence. Art Smitherson’s luck in the Klondike funded the project, named for the year they first struck gold. Shame he didn’t live to welcome the first guests, but his wife was more than happy to take the reins. The rot set in long before the ‘66 fire and the place is a patchwork of half-hearted repairs and decor from different eras.
Room 4 is one of the smallest, with a tiny ‘double’ bed; luckily, the guest isn’t planning on getting much sleep. Chintzy throw pillows and framed pictures suggest a vaguely floral theme – but these don’t look like plants found anywhere on planet earth. The curtains are drawn, the small lamps dim, and there’s been a Do Not Disturb sign on the door for as long as anyone can remember. There’s always a thrumming base line playing, but no sign of a sound system.
The room is littered with party artifacts, from skimpy clothes to half-spent glow-sticks. On the bed is a mound of CDs, spilling from their cases with liner notes unfurled. If you root around in the drawers, you’ll find a discman, alongside suspicious little packets of pills and tabs. A pile of homemade ‘zines poke out from under the bed. There’s a collage of polaroids on the wall; the parties look wild but the faces are strangely blurry.
In the bathroom, the mirror has been turned into a sinister mural, drawn in bold strokes of eye pencil and lip liner. In the centre is a familiar-looking dream catcher. When someone stands in front of it, the reflection of their face sits perfectly within its circular web.
In this room, Billie meets The Raver. She’s twenty-something, pale and lean with a shock of wild hair -someone who dances more than they eat and lives mostly after dark. She had a back story, once, but she’s forgotten it. Her mind is so wide open it’s basically a blur. She’s absorbed a lot of helpful information during her stay at Hotel 96, but has no way of filtering it to answer a question. Clues in the room can help trigger her memories, but she mostly communicates in song lyrics.
It would be easy to get trapped in this eternal after-party. Get lost in the rhythm and forget who you used to be. And it gets harder and harder to ‘just say no’ to the party favours on offer. After all, The Raver makes so much more sense if you can get on her level…
To reach the third floor and move closer to finding Adam, Billie must tease out The Raver’s knowledge from the musical jumble of her mind, without losing their own grip on reality. Once they have defeated The Boy in the Mirror (Room 9), they can return to Room 4 and pull the dream catcher from the bathroom mirror into this dimension. Combined with other collected objects, it becomes the essential weapon to defeat Mrs Smitherson – the resident of the penthouse suite and fiendish final boss of Hotel 96.