The Darkest Deal (HHN 32)

[Brian G.]

The Darkest Deal
In the Mississippi Delta, blues musician Pinestraw Spruce meets at a crossroads with a diabolical entity known as The Collector to make a deal: his soul for musical glory. Guests will witness his big break performing for a crowd before The Collector drags him to Hades with the other musicians who learned the terrible price of fame in “The Darkest Deal.”

 

[Legacy]

So it IS basically Afterlife: Death’s Vengeance.

 

[Tbad556]

From the podcast:

The Darkest Deal is one of the houses. It kinda leans into an Americana myth that's been around and very popular for a very long time. It's that idea of selling your soul for fame. And so we're gonna go to the Mississippi Delta where we meet a Blues man who sold his soul for fame and we follow his journey as if we're like the bandmates so we're kinda seeing the deal happening, this Darkest Deal, we go into these juke joints, and we see this what we call The Collector is following us on this journey. He's everywhere. And all of the sudden there might be like a patron that clicks their head a little bit and all of the sudden the sign of The Collector appears, their eyes go white and his voice comes out of them as if they're possessed. He's following us along on this journey, we signed the contract, and at the end, we'll find out what happens. Do we go down to Hell itself? We'll find out.

 

[srbmarc]

There's gotta be live music performers in this one, right?

 

[TheCodeMan95]

This is my most anticipated original. An abstract house taking place in the Mississippi Delta, with a Blues soundtrack? YES.

 

[Clive]

So it IS basically Afterlife: Death’s Vengeance.

But better, hopefully.

Amused (but not surprised) that they gotta call the Devil "The Collector" in this, but whatever, euphemisms work fine if the execution is right.

 

[Spookies n' Stuff]

But better, hopefully.

Amused (but not surprised) that they gotta call the Devil "The Collector" in this, but whatever, euphemisms work fine if the execution is right.

Sorry if I'm a bit behind or if this is obvious, but I was actually wondering about that. Does Orlando have a history of controversy surrounding any kind of Christian/Biblical themes like that? I feel like i remember a little for The Fallen in 2017 but I didn't realize it was something they avoided now.

 

[Clive]

Sorry if I'm a bit behind or if this is obvious, but I was actually wondering about that. Does Orlando have a history of controversy surrounding any kind of Christian/Biblical themes like that? I feel like i remember a little for The Fallen in 2017 but I didn't realize it was something they avoided now.

Religious imagery/iconography/references of any kind has always been touchy/thorny for a litany of reasons, some of them stemming from local culture. The Fallen is a prominent example, but resistance to this sort of subject matter also led to the axing of a voodoo sacrifice show and even light censoring of certain IP scenes (the "god" was removed from "god forgive us in a Walking Dead house one year).

 

[ghostsarejerks]

From the podcast:

The Darkest Deal is one of the houses. It kinda leans into an Americana myth that's been around and very popular for a very long time. It's that idea of selling your soul for fame. And so we're gonna go to the Mississippi Delta where we meet a Blues man who sold his soul for fame and we follow his journey as if we're like the bandmates so we're kinda seeing the deal happening, this Darkest Deal, we go into these juke joints, and we see this what we call The Collector is following us on this journey. He's everywhere. And all of the sudden there might be like a patron that clicks their head a little bit and all of the sudden the sign of The Collector appears, their eyes go white and his voice comes out of them as if they're possessed. He's following us along on this journey, we signed the contract, and at the end, we'll find out what happens. Do we go down to Hell itself? We'll find out.

The podcast briefly mentions how the Collector character will possess other characters throughout the house. This is the most intriguing aspect to me. It could be really simple like using UV paint on the actors and costumes and clear contacts that go all white under the UV exposure. Very excited for this one.

 

[SixBillium]

So it IS basically Afterlife: Death’s Vengeance.

I keep picturing "Friends on the Other Side" from Princess and the Frog, and I have to wonder if that imagery will be seen in the house. It seems like a very 3D-centric concept without the 3D, so I'm really hoping to see some crazy neon or blacklight sets that aren't just paint on a black wall.

 

[jarmor]

But better, hopefully.

Amused (but not surprised) that they gotta call the Devil "The Collector" in this, but whatever, euphemisms work fine if the execution is right.

A lot of folklore that stems from that region focuses on an entity vs satan directly. "The Collector" sounds like a version of Papa Legba.

 

[Kichkinet85]

This house seems to funny to me.

 

[Lucky Planet]

It makes me laugh so much that speculation for a MUSIC house was lady Gaga or Metallica for this year
But universal went old school and also original
Sounds interesting. But I hope we see a big devil. Wings and everything

 

[jarmor]

I think the collector works through others, like possession. No one wants to make a deal with an ugly monster lol. I would be cool to see the natural form, if there is any, at the end.

 

[Kichkinet85]

It makes me laugh so much that speculation for a MUSIC house was lady Gaga or Metallica for this year
But universal went old school and also original
Sounds interesting. But I hope we see a big devil. Wings and everything

The Collector*

 

[Lucky Planet]

The Collector*

I hope he looks like a big gargoyle

 

[jarmor]

I hope it looks like a sweet innocent kid lol.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I hope it looks like a sweet innocent kid lol.

Maybe it's a lady devil lol.

 

[HHN Maddux]

 

[tyro]

Am I the only one that instantly thought of this house being just a horror R rated version of Pixar’s Soul?