Monster Mash Cinema
Purpose / Function
The cinema was originally created as a way for the monsters of Old Town to indulge in cinema that predominantly featured their own kind.
Architecture
The cinema's external architecture harkens back to the late 80s/early 90s. Inside, before the incident that forced it to shut down, from the carpeting to the theater furnishings, it had the structural vibe of the early 2000s.
History
The Monster Mash Cinema was born out of necessity, specifically one for representation. Although there had been numerous attempts to establish movie theaters in the Old Town district, many residents felt as though their respective fantasy races were being both misrepresented and underrepresented in films that primarily pandered toward humans. This led to a vocal community resident and leprechaun, Finnegan Hoyt, to crowdfund enough money to refurbish one of the theaters.
Finnegan promised that the cinema would only play "creature features" that represented both the good and the bad in their respective races, showing how they weren't monsters but, rather, normal people with quirks and dreams like humans. These movies differed from the average film in that a majority of the actors either portrayed non-humans or had actual inhuman actors and staff. From old fashioned monster flicks to controversial interspecies romance stories, the cinema became a hit in less than a year, drawing in massive amounts of revenue. Unfortunately, the business took a devastating blow years prior with the release of the movie series Twilight.
Although the movie itself received mixed reactions, depending on the age of the audience member, it struck a chord with the more notorious parts of the vampiric community. The Nosferatu Boys, one of the most prominent gangs in Old Town, found the movie to be an insult to their reputation, as well as their vampiric heritage. One of the gang members, Damien Shaw, had approached the cinema owner privately, pleading for him to pull the movie for the safety of the community but he refused, stating that he never pulled a creature feature and that the community loved the Twilight series. Coincidentally, the next evening, the cinema was struck by a drive-by shooting done by the Nosferatu Boys, killing Finnegan and several dozen civilians.
The widely-believed story is that the Nosferatu Boys retaliated against the owner who refused to take down the movie and the community who erroneously perceived them as sparkling heartthrobs. However, the true reason behind the shootout is due to a small argument between an APD Black Shield officer and a young vampire named Lucien. During the showing of one of the classic monster movies, the APD officer started to laugh uncontrollably at the campy special effects, much to the chagrin of vampire Lucien, who was only a few rows behind. In between their rows was a werewolf family, the father of which tried to quell the arguing that eventually started. Lucien pulled out his gun and threatened the APD officer to be quiet, to which the officer started provoking him, eventually causing him to fire.
The bullet ricocheted from the APD officer's seat and struck the young daughter of the werewolf family in the throat, killing her. The father turned on Lucien and violently murdered him while the mother cradled her dead child and the APD officer snuck out of the cinema's fire exit. Other vampires in the theater arrived only to see a werewolf tearing apart one of the new initiates for the Nosferatu Boys and the youngest brother of Damien Shaw. As soon as he received the text of his brother's death, he ordered for all werewolves to be eliminated in a drive-by at the theater. Unfortunately, this also resulted in the murder of other innocents, including creatures of completely unrelated races. This resulted in people feeling unsafe ever attending the theater again and, along with the owner's death and dwindling sales, it was officially shut down just weeks later.
It is rumored that, despite this, people can still hear matinee music and film reels click in projectors if they approach the building. This is most likely the haunting presence of Alicia Vulpe, the werewolf child whose death incited the tragic event. Within the walls of the cinema, one can hear her weeping and pleading with anyone who will listen: "We are not monsters..."
Type
Theatre / Concert hall
Parent Location