On first inspection, it looks like just a quiet little Midwestern town. Or an English country village. Or a small fishing settlement on the sea. Or a ski resort.
On second inspection, it looks ... exactly the same as it did on first inspection.
But all is not as it seems.
Yes, the place is an exact replica if what it's meant to be - but some of the population are actors (or at least staff) and the rest are paying customers.
Staying here isn't cheap - the minimum stay is 6 nights. But for those seeking a more exciting and adventurous holiday experience, it's the sine qua non of the unexpected, the unexplained, the bizarre.
Because the weird stuff always starts (in the movies, at least) in a quiet little place where nothing much ever happens ...
So, having read your briefing pack, and maybe having attended an orientation talk, you move into your accomodation and settle in. And for a while, well ... nothing happens.
Of course, it depends of the experience you've pre-selected. Maybe the locals will be hostile and surly; maybe they will be welcoming and friendly. Maybe they will be just a bit too welcoming and friendly ....
And so it begins. Some one goes missing - it's the talk of the town. Power flickers, phones mysteriously get cut off. Strange lights are seen at the "industrial plant" just down the road. Curious empty "pods" are found in back gardens ...
If you've selected the SciFi holiday, then sooner or later the town's going to be besieged by giant radioactive ants (animatronic, of course). Or giant intelligent jellyfish will crawl up out of the sea. The X-files package involves strange lights, flying saucers and Little Grey Men. Maybe there's a serial killer on the loose; maybe just a deperate murderer, straight from the pages of an Agatha Christie novel. Maybe you think you've seen that bloke in the black blazer with white piping somewhere before ....
But whatever the scenario, you and the other guests have to work together, to fight the threat, helped (or perhaps hindered) by the "locals". There are weapons as necessary; but care is taken that it doesn't get too real. And yes, you CAN get "killed", finishing your holiday in a nearby hotel, and watching the goings on via live video, and of course when you get home you can watch the edited DVD of your "adventures". Or you can be "injured", becoming a burden to your comrades, giving you the opportunity to cry "Leave me ... save yourselves !".
It's not for the couch potato. You may be expected to tramp through dark woods in the rain, swing on ropes across raging rivers, keep watch all night over your sleeping compatriots. Like as not you will be cold, wet, muddy, hungry - whatever. But that's part of the adventure.
Useful tip: If you're a young, heterosexual couple, taking the short cut home through the fog-filled graveyard is maybe not going to be the best decision you ever make ....-- 8th of 7, May 06 2011 Fantasy Island http://www.youtube....watch?v=GX-pVhTZg0UI never did like that show. [sqeaketh the wheel, May 07 2011] Westworld http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070909/A robot malfunction creates havoc and terror for unsuspecting vacationers at a futuristic, adult-themed amusement park. Hilarity ensues. [Klaatu, May 08 2011] Dream Park http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_ParkLarry Niven novel [normzone, Jul 14 2011] If it's what I think it is, that is before my eyelids snapped shut in automatic defense, then there's a forthcoming pastry. Meanwhile I'll take some paragraph breaks, Vanna... maybe with a side-order of punctuation.-- FlyingToaster, May 06 2011 8th has a writing style tailored to auto-asphyxiation enthusiasts.
I turned blue trying to read a whole sentence without inhaling.
So this is a murder mystery weekend on a larger scale?-- Twizz, May 06 2011 All of the shortcuts should come with choice compromises.-- RayfordSteele, May 06 2011 //murder mystery weekend on a larger scale?// It looked like it might very well be.-- FlyingToaster, May 06 2011 wot no witches?-- po, May 06 2011 Damn, how could anything as simple as copy and paste go so wrong?
And yes, [po], there can be witches; even a Wicker Man …-- 8th of 7, May 06 2011 Will the SciFi weekend be walled off from the Xfiles, from the Agathachristie, etc., or will all these plots interact with each other? I'd like to introduce #6 to Agent Mulder, for example, or seek Miss Marple's advice on anti-zombie defences.-- mouseposture, May 06 2011 Only of you tick the" plot crossover" option, [mp].
Or you could select" Random/Surreal" for something totally wild
The idea is that each 'plot' runs in isolation in a venue for one or two weeks. But there would be multiple venues.-- 8th of 7, May 06 2011 8th - do you have a screen for your computer, or are you just typing this ballistically and hoping for the best?-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 06 2011 Will there be robots? Aging nudists? Aging robot nudists? Because otherwise, what's the point of the holiday?-- bungston, May 06 2011 //screen for your computer// He just composes directly on the brain/implant interface, then uses the connector on his left elbow to jack into the MIDI/joystick port on an old HP running Win95. The drivers are crap, but he doesn't want to upgrade because the surgeon/programmer has the same drivers.-- lurch, May 06 2011 Your prescience does you credit, [lurch]. Be assured that we shall address the small matter of formatting as soon as we obtain a new keycap for the 'Enter' key …-- 8th of 7, May 06 2011 He thought it said Entree.-- rcarty, May 07 2011 Sounds like an interesting idea, I'm sure it would be a money maker.-- DocImpossible, Jul 14 2011 Dunno why you want to build an entire set; an off-the-shelf small town could be talked into doing something like this. You'd only need a double-handful of real actors and some modern hocus-pocus for coordination.-- FlyingToaster, Jul 14 2011 This is like a TV miniseries you get to be a part of. It's "Twin Peaks: the Interactive Experience."-- Alterother, Jul 14 2011 random, halfbakery