The House of Horror

The House of Horror is a stage play written & performed by the Troubadour Macabre, a theatre group focused on plays with themes of existential horror. The basic premise follows a group of investigators contacted by residents about a foul stench coming from a nearby house that had long since been abandoned. The investigators soon find themselves trapped in a house of pure horror, tormented by the mysterious Eldrithorne. Soon they find themselves isolated in smaller groups, spread across the house as they each try to find their way out. 
One of their earliest works and by far considered one of their weakest, with critics slating it for being far too up-front with it's attempted message, awkward pacing & poorly fleshed out characters. In the words of one particularly vocal critic: "The House of Horror is, like the catalyst leading to the plot in the first place, an absolute stinker." The one thing that was generally acclaimed as well executed however was the characterisation of Eldrithorne as an uncomfortable antagonist, causing a distinct sense of fear and unease in the audience despite a rather mundane, human appearance.
An excerpt from scene 2, when Eldrithorne first makes their appearance after the investigators locate the source of the foul smell - a hole filled with bodies under the floorboards.
[Eldrithorne] (From Off-stage): Sentient beings are so interesting. 
Investigators look around, trying to locate the source of the voice
[Eldrithorne]: So convinced in their superiority over the beasts, so sure of their authority that they enforce their will on the world around them. Travelling wherever they desire, believing themselves to be on top of the chain.
human shaped shadows begin appearing & disappearing around the room
[Chief Inspector Stark]: Show yourself! Are these bodies your doing?!
[Eldrithorne]: (Laughs maniacally) You demand the world, and flaunt the illusion you call power in order to get it, yet wholly unprepared to face the truth.
Eldrithorne enters the stage, palms forward, walking slowly into the centre of all the investigators. The investigators spin around & those armed point their weapons towards them, but shaking with unease.
[Eldrithorne]: Here you stand, outnumbering me ten to one. I'm unarmed, and yet you're the ones feeling fear. My life is effectively in your hands, and yet... 
Eldrithorne turns sharply to face the nearest armed investigator. The investigator flinches & shuffles further away
[Eldrithorne]: ...You hesitate. Do you know why? (Hold silence for 5-10 seconds) It's because no matter how much you dress up in clothes and make laws, you're still a beast at the core. And every now and then, every once in a while you find something that brings that beast to the surface. Call it a bad feeling, or a hunch, but that's not the whole truth. That feeling is instinct. The portion of your mind you long to forget pushes forward and tells you what the rational part can't see. The part that says you're a fly. That you're all flies. Flies who've flown straight into the spider's web. Flies who daren't strike back at the spider lest it devour them first...
The lights immediately go out. There's a clamour of sounds & screams, with a number of characters crying out for where the others are with panicked footsteps. When the lights come back on, only Eldrithorne remains, standing over the body of Chief Inspector Stark
[Eldrithorne]: And so, as the prey scatters, the hunt begins...
Exit stage, end scene

Type

Text, Literary (Novel/Poetry)