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simtopi
Good evening! Submitted for your scrutiny, my make-over of the infamous House of Fallen Trees, done for
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maxis_taste Dare #24 (I have wanted to make over this house for the longest time. The dare finally gave me a good reason to get around to it. )
Warning: Blood, death, and creepiness. Not for the squeamish.
In every neighbourhood, there is always that one strange house. Usually it's big. And old. And creepy.
They called the house by the graveyard, The House of Fallen Trees. It has sat abandoned for a very long time. And now it belonged to Rainelle.
Any other time would have been a good time to explore the old house. But Rainelle worked long, odd hours, and she couldn't get away any time there was sun out. There really wasn't anything to be afraid of, she thought. There were no such things as ghosts.
She snapped her head towards the sudden flutter of startled crows that were roosting on the rafters.
... is someone in the window?
Just my imagination.
She took a deep breath, scolded herself for her irrational fear and walked up the steps.
The place was old. There was a layer of dust and cobwebs over nearly everything. It smelled of must and earth. As she stepped over the worn carpet, the floor boards underneath creaked and groaned.
Strangely enough it seemed that no one has touched the place in all the time it has been empty. She took out her flashlight and began to look around. The electricity seemed to work. She found a light switch and flipped it. The lamps lit up, then dimmed considerably. Still, darkness clung to the weaker light like the webs on the wall.
Strange... she wondered what those dark stains on the carpet were.
The lights flickered a few more times before dying again. Rainelle sighed. Rewiring the house properly would probably be the first thing she'd need to do.
Getting rid of the creepy art would also be high up on that list.
As she walked into the kitchen, her footsteps alerted the current denizens of house. She shuddered at the sight of the rats scurrying under the counters.
Time to go upstairs. She braced herself. There was still nothing to be afraid of, she repeated to herself. There's no one here...
This door is locked.
She went the other way towards the second bedroom.
This door opened into what must have once been a child's bedroom. It was extremely cold in here, and very dark. Even with her flashlight, it took a while for her eyes to adjust.
The lamp was on in here, though it flickered erratically. Her eyes must not have adjusted... she had to blink a few more times. Something in here was casting strange shadows...
She chuckled nervously. She was only scaring herself. There was no one in this room. Obviously.
Up to the third floor.
This room is empty.
She headed towards the last bedroom.
What is this?
Cute, she thought. Someone did manage to break in here. Kids probably, playing with a ouija board just for kicks.
She lit one of the candles. She wondered if this thing worked.
She stepped out onto the balcony.
Something was moving in the wind across the backyard. It was catching street lights in an odd way. She wondered what it could be.
Rainelle headed back downstairs.
The yard was in sore need of landscaping.
And the garage was full of junk.
She was careful to walk on solid earth around the pond. Last thing she needed was to fall in. She wondered how deep it was.
She shivered. There were headstones back here! She wondered if it was part of the house, or maybe graves from the neighbouring cemetary.
She found what was glinting.
There was a key hanging from this tree's branch.
Rainelle had an idea that this must be the key that opened up the first room.
She headed back into the dark house. For some reason, she had to know what was in there.
This couldn't wait until daytime? A voice inside her nagged.
She had to force it a bit, but the key fit into the lock. And it turned.
Just another empty bedroom. What did she expect?
This room was just as cold as the child's room. It was a strange kind of chill that seeped into her skin and pricked her like small needles.
She gasped as the lights buzzed and flared on again....
Her scream seemed to drown and get lost in the darkness of the house. She'd never screamed louder in her entire life.
She had to...
... get out of here...
Her heel caught a crack in the old wood stair...
The last thing she heard was the snap of her own neck.
-----------------------------------------------------
Well, that was fun. XD
Extras!!!
The House of Fallen Trees - Before pics
First floor
Second floor
Third floor
After (un-edited)
Daytime!
(This roof was brutal for me!)
Spooky night shot
Another angle
The garage. Heh, grid lines.
The basement of doom.
First floor
Second floor
Third Floor
And finally, a round of applause for our cast! :D
From left to right:
Rainelle Neengia, Gvaudoin Tricou, Jennicor Tricou, Jon Smith Tricou,
Sleep tight.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 03:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 03:24 am (UTC)Poor Rainelle. :(
no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 03:24 am (UTC)Honestly, well done! I like the way you decorated the house, and all the scary ghosts were super scary!
no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:31 pm (UTC)Thank you. :)
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 03:39 am (UTC)On a more serious note, well done on the makeover and the story that went with it. Everything looks fantastic and really brings out the spooky ambiance of the place.
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Date: 2011-10-28 11:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 03:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 04:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:34 pm (UTC)Rainelle's story was totally an afterthought, to be honest. As I was taking pics, it felt like someone was with me on the tour (ooooOOOOoOOoOoO...) so I threw the characters in and went from there.
The Tricous really a spooky family. Give them a shot sometime. :)
no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 05:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:35 pm (UTC)Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. :D
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Date: 2011-10-28 05:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:38 pm (UTC)I always have mixed feelings about Rainelle. She looks good in maxis-match games but otherwise to me she looks really creepy. Which I guess works for her. For hair, I think pretty much anything poofy works well on her.
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 06:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 06:10 am (UTC)And since I'm a total Halloween scrooge, you should be proud indeed :D
no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 06:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:41 pm (UTC)Thank you very much!
no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 06:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:42 pm (UTC)Thank you very much.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 07:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 08:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 08:57 am (UTC)I LÓVE the way how you've been putting all those spider's webs around the rooms! The only thing that doesn't seem to fit is the ceiling. It's just a little bit too white in comparison with the rest of the house. That make-over is SUPEAR! =D
no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:45 pm (UTC)There is actually a neat tile on the ceiling which is kind of antique and faded. It does look really nice, but I guess it got lost in my post-editing. You're right, it does seem a little bright in contrast.
Thank you very much for your comment. :)
no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 09:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:47 pm (UTC)Thank you for the nice comments!
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 01:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:49 pm (UTC)Thank you about the lighting, but I have to give credit to the built-in spooky lighting of the house itself. It's really amazing, and kind of makes me want to get a lighting mod for the rest of my game. Except for me, it seemed too dark and I had to actually go in and brighten the pics so I could see details on my monitor.
Anyway, I ramble. Thank you very much!
no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 02:06 pm (UTC)Excellent job with the house makeover, the story is totally spooky and love the scenes with the ghosts, too.
Amazing! <3 <3
no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:51 pm (UTC)Like I said earlier, the story was such an afterthought, but after I started to take the pics, I felt I needed people in there with me. And why not tell my version of how Rainelle might have died.
Thank you for giving us this dare. It was extremely fun. :D
no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 02:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 04:04 pm (UTC)"This door is locked." and "This room is empty." lol, reminds me of every RPG I've ever played. Great story!!
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Date: 2011-10-28 11:55 pm (UTC)And lol thank you so much for being the first to notice "This door is locked". One of my big, huge inspirations for this are all those horror games (Silent Hill, Resident Evil) that I love to play and Rainelle touring the house was absolutely that. :D I could have gone in depth but I had to remind myself this was just a house tour not a full blown story. Thanks for the note! :D
no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 04:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:57 pm (UTC)Thank you. :D
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Date: 2011-10-28 04:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-28 11:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-29 12:56 am (UTC)You do mystery, suspense and creepy all at the same time!
no subject
Date: 2011-11-01 03:15 pm (UTC)