RP: A Night Spent With Ghosts
Date: September 30th, 2011
Characters: Robert Hope, NPCs
Location: All over Ft. Worth
Status: Private
Summary: Robert trains his new tour guides and gets his hopes up for a fantastic Halloween season for Haunted Dallas Tours.
Completion: Complete
Normally, when it came to running tours, Robert was fairly laidback. The stories were, for the most part, the same day in and day out, though he was quick enough on his feet that he could play off the attendees to make the tour more personal. He was used to the ghost stories and the encounters the attendees liked to share. He even had a few of his own he shared.
Tonight, though, was different. Tonight, he was training his seasonal tour guides that would be working with him through Halloween. He'd decided to be lame with his costume choice, figuring that his costume would give him enough visibility and range of motion that he wouldn't feel completely self-conscious as he walked the newbies through the tour process. They were arrayed in all of their costumes, some crazy, some unique and some even more lame than his. As long as they didn't wear a sheet over their heads, he didn't care what they wore.
Currently standing on the sidewalk just outside the ticket office where he kept a small storefront with goofy souvenirs, t-shirts and a collection of DVDs featuring ghost hunting, Robert marked off each of the people that showed up on time and watching for the latecomers. At five after the scheduled time, he started his spiel. "Welcome to Haunted Dallas Tours. As many of you are already familiar, Dallas and Ft. Worth have some interesting activity spots and we're here to not only show those off but to give the history of the area. Most of our attendees are from outside of the area or those that are from here but want to hear the history anyway. We have two offices and I appreciate that each of you came here, to the Ft. Worth location to go over the tour. During the Halloween season, we're busy enough that we have to have two tourguides on each tour. Each of you will be paired up with a more experienced tourguide. Part of your job is to be watchdogs, ensure that each person that starts the tour, ends it. Tonight, you'll see how I want a tour run.
"You'll find that if you do a good job, the audience will tip at the end. We're on the honor system here so don't cheat your partner by stuffing the tips into your pocket. Pool your money, bring it into the ticket office and let the ticket agent log it in. Pay Uncle Sam so I don't have to fire you, all right? We run this place completely legal and that means that we report all tips to the IRS. Questions about anything you should expect tonight?"
Robert made his way through the few questions he received, excited that they seemed fairly insightful. He took them through the process of checking in themselves, then checking in the customers. When they complemented the iPads that Robert used to have the check-in lists and tour stats, Robert beamed in happiness. He loved his technology, especially bringing ghost tours into the twenty-first century. After all, tours were more effective if the attendees could see some of the footage he'd shot, personally, at each of the locations.
As the guests arrived and started browsing the shop, Robert talked each of the new hires through the process and then gathered up everyone, introducing himself and the guides. After that, they were off, piling into the trolley car he'd custom-ordered. As the tour winded its way around Ft. Worth, Robert started to relax. By the time they reached the first landmark and night had completely fallen, he was in his element, telling stories of the hunt he'd done there and the surrounding areas.
The new hires seemed to follow suit, relaxing into the tour as well, joking and talking to the attendees as they got on and off the trolley car. An hour passed before he realized it and they were at the last stop. He loved this site and the way that he could really get everyone going. It was a large, abandoned playhouse that he'd had to wrangle permission to enter. All that work was well worth it from the reactions he got.
The cavernous backstage area creaked in the heat and the cold and the wind so no matter what season it was, the attendees got a good sound effect to add to the creepy vibe the place gave off with the tattered curtains and abandoned props laying about. Then he added in the details of the ghost hunt and what he'd seen. Everyone loved a good "Lady in White" story and so he slightly embroidered the tale to add in her walking along the walk hanging above their heads and listing to one side as one of the ropes had snapped. She hadn't, of course, but he'd seen her standing up there.
He'd talked to her, too, but he didn't tell them that. Robert wasn't comfortable sharing that sort of information with people. Hell, he'd only ever told Riley about it when they'd been completely shitfaced and playing Truth or Dare. Hopefully, considering that they'd been drunk, she didn't remember it.
Doreen was a nice enough ghost if a bit shy and she'd delighted in being able to talk to him each of the times he'd visited. Tonight would hopefully be no different as he told the audience her name and did his best to summon her. When she appeared on the catwalk, a shimmery white spot that one could only see out of the corner of his/her eye, Robert asked her how her day had been, what show they were performing and if she would act it out. He didn't know what she thought of him, or even if she wondered why he dressed so funny, but he enjoyed talking to her. Doreen didn't answer his questions, tonight. Instead, she stood at the catwalk, stared down at everyone and then disappeared into the darkness once more.
The group was completely silent as they loaded back into the trolley and made their way to the ticket office. They'd either tip like it was going out of style because they were amazed they saw a real ghost or they'd shaft him and his trainees because they were too stunned by Doreen or they thought that he'd faked it.
"I want to thank you for joining us here at Haunted Dallas Tours. If you had a good time, we wouldn't turn down a tip. If you had an awful time, let us know what we can do to improve it for the next time. We'll be back at the office in two shakes. You have any questions, now's the time to ask as we head on back." Robert made the announcement along the way and then fielded questions about Doreen and the other spots. Tonight seemed to be a good night for tips. He hoped so, anyway, because he had to share out the tips five ways amongst the trainees, not taking a share for himself.
As the tour group exited the trolley, they pressed quite a bit of cash into his hands and he thanked each of them, listening to their stories of experiences tonight and in the past. He never got tired of the phrase "I ain't never seen such a thing" that he heard from quite a few of the audience. They meandered into the gift shop while he stood outside with his trainees.
"Questions?"
"She appear every night?"
"Nope. Just some nights. You got lucky tonight." Robert grinned at the group and then lead them into the ticket office, grin spreading further at the long line of people buying merchandise. A few were even asking about his ghost hunting classes.
Another two tours tonight and he'd be done for the night. It was a fantastic time of the year and he couldn't help but think that with packed tours like this all Halloween season, he'd be able to afford that house by the end of the year. The idea of having enough space to put up a Christmas tree appealed to him. He could see his mother visiting and maybe Riley and her family, all sitting in a living room and opening up gifts while his dogs rampaged through the discarded papers.
Grin firmly in place, he led his trainees back out into the gift shop part of the office and gathered up the next tour group. Yep, tonight was a great start to the Halloween season.
Characters: Robert Hope, NPCs
Location: All over Ft. Worth
Status: Private
Summary: Robert trains his new tour guides and gets his hopes up for a fantastic Halloween season for Haunted Dallas Tours.
Completion: Complete
Normally, when it came to running tours, Robert was fairly laidback. The stories were, for the most part, the same day in and day out, though he was quick enough on his feet that he could play off the attendees to make the tour more personal. He was used to the ghost stories and the encounters the attendees liked to share. He even had a few of his own he shared.
Tonight, though, was different. Tonight, he was training his seasonal tour guides that would be working with him through Halloween. He'd decided to be lame with his costume choice, figuring that his costume would give him enough visibility and range of motion that he wouldn't feel completely self-conscious as he walked the newbies through the tour process. They were arrayed in all of their costumes, some crazy, some unique and some even more lame than his. As long as they didn't wear a sheet over their heads, he didn't care what they wore.
Currently standing on the sidewalk just outside the ticket office where he kept a small storefront with goofy souvenirs, t-shirts and a collection of DVDs featuring ghost hunting, Robert marked off each of the people that showed up on time and watching for the latecomers. At five after the scheduled time, he started his spiel. "Welcome to Haunted Dallas Tours. As many of you are already familiar, Dallas and Ft. Worth have some interesting activity spots and we're here to not only show those off but to give the history of the area. Most of our attendees are from outside of the area or those that are from here but want to hear the history anyway. We have two offices and I appreciate that each of you came here, to the Ft. Worth location to go over the tour. During the Halloween season, we're busy enough that we have to have two tourguides on each tour. Each of you will be paired up with a more experienced tourguide. Part of your job is to be watchdogs, ensure that each person that starts the tour, ends it. Tonight, you'll see how I want a tour run.
"You'll find that if you do a good job, the audience will tip at the end. We're on the honor system here so don't cheat your partner by stuffing the tips into your pocket. Pool your money, bring it into the ticket office and let the ticket agent log it in. Pay Uncle Sam so I don't have to fire you, all right? We run this place completely legal and that means that we report all tips to the IRS. Questions about anything you should expect tonight?"
Robert made his way through the few questions he received, excited that they seemed fairly insightful. He took them through the process of checking in themselves, then checking in the customers. When they complemented the iPads that Robert used to have the check-in lists and tour stats, Robert beamed in happiness. He loved his technology, especially bringing ghost tours into the twenty-first century. After all, tours were more effective if the attendees could see some of the footage he'd shot, personally, at each of the locations.
As the guests arrived and started browsing the shop, Robert talked each of the new hires through the process and then gathered up everyone, introducing himself and the guides. After that, they were off, piling into the trolley car he'd custom-ordered. As the tour winded its way around Ft. Worth, Robert started to relax. By the time they reached the first landmark and night had completely fallen, he was in his element, telling stories of the hunt he'd done there and the surrounding areas.
The new hires seemed to follow suit, relaxing into the tour as well, joking and talking to the attendees as they got on and off the trolley car. An hour passed before he realized it and they were at the last stop. He loved this site and the way that he could really get everyone going. It was a large, abandoned playhouse that he'd had to wrangle permission to enter. All that work was well worth it from the reactions he got.
The cavernous backstage area creaked in the heat and the cold and the wind so no matter what season it was, the attendees got a good sound effect to add to the creepy vibe the place gave off with the tattered curtains and abandoned props laying about. Then he added in the details of the ghost hunt and what he'd seen. Everyone loved a good "Lady in White" story and so he slightly embroidered the tale to add in her walking along the walk hanging above their heads and listing to one side as one of the ropes had snapped. She hadn't, of course, but he'd seen her standing up there.
He'd talked to her, too, but he didn't tell them that. Robert wasn't comfortable sharing that sort of information with people. Hell, he'd only ever told Riley about it when they'd been completely shitfaced and playing Truth or Dare. Hopefully, considering that they'd been drunk, she didn't remember it.
Doreen was a nice enough ghost if a bit shy and she'd delighted in being able to talk to him each of the times he'd visited. Tonight would hopefully be no different as he told the audience her name and did his best to summon her. When she appeared on the catwalk, a shimmery white spot that one could only see out of the corner of his/her eye, Robert asked her how her day had been, what show they were performing and if she would act it out. He didn't know what she thought of him, or even if she wondered why he dressed so funny, but he enjoyed talking to her. Doreen didn't answer his questions, tonight. Instead, she stood at the catwalk, stared down at everyone and then disappeared into the darkness once more.
The group was completely silent as they loaded back into the trolley and made their way to the ticket office. They'd either tip like it was going out of style because they were amazed they saw a real ghost or they'd shaft him and his trainees because they were too stunned by Doreen or they thought that he'd faked it.
"I want to thank you for joining us here at Haunted Dallas Tours. If you had a good time, we wouldn't turn down a tip. If you had an awful time, let us know what we can do to improve it for the next time. We'll be back at the office in two shakes. You have any questions, now's the time to ask as we head on back." Robert made the announcement along the way and then fielded questions about Doreen and the other spots. Tonight seemed to be a good night for tips. He hoped so, anyway, because he had to share out the tips five ways amongst the trainees, not taking a share for himself.
As the tour group exited the trolley, they pressed quite a bit of cash into his hands and he thanked each of them, listening to their stories of experiences tonight and in the past. He never got tired of the phrase "I ain't never seen such a thing" that he heard from quite a few of the audience. They meandered into the gift shop while he stood outside with his trainees.
"Questions?"
"She appear every night?"
"Nope. Just some nights. You got lucky tonight." Robert grinned at the group and then lead them into the ticket office, grin spreading further at the long line of people buying merchandise. A few were even asking about his ghost hunting classes.
Another two tours tonight and he'd be done for the night. It was a fantastic time of the year and he couldn't help but think that with packed tours like this all Halloween season, he'd be able to afford that house by the end of the year. The idea of having enough space to put up a Christmas tree appealed to him. He could see his mother visiting and maybe Riley and her family, all sitting in a living room and opening up gifts while his dogs rampaged through the discarded papers.
Grin firmly in place, he led his trainees back out into the gift shop part of the office and gathered up the next tour group. Yep, tonight was a great start to the Halloween season.