# Madame Grimm Backstory



## BoysinBoo (Dec 10, 2007)

I'm looking for input on our backstory. It will broadcast as a kind of radio play both from speakers out front, and from an FM transmitter for those drive-by looky-loos. I'll post the text of the story itself in the next box. I hope it's not too long. If it is and I get it booted, sorry to the moderators in advance. I'll try to finally finish my site on freewebs and post it there.

This is where I got the idea:

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WfsFJivrF4"]the Sweeney Family Horror"

both from speakers out front, and from an FM transmitter for those drive-by looky-loos. I'll post the text of the story itself in the next box. I hope it's not too long. If it is and I get it booted, sorry to the moderators in advance. I'll try to finally finish my site on freewebs and post it there.


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## BoysinBoo (Dec 10, 2007)

I would like to tell you the tragic story of an old friend of mine. It is a story of what can happen to good people when they forget the lessons of the past.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful young woman who married her true love: a handsome ranger named Jacob William Grimm. Every morning he kissed her cheek as he left their little shack on the edge of the forest. His job was protecting the people who came to visit the very dark and dangerous woods. Every night he returned to the cozy little shack. They lived happily ever after . . . that is, until one cold, foggy October night that he didn’t come home. It was Halloween. She waited and she waited, but he never returned.

Shortly after, she had two sons, and named them Jake and Billy, after their father. As they grew, she told them stories about how dangerous the woods could be: stories of spiders and other creepy, crawly things, stories of deep caverns that seem go on forever, stories of wild creatures, stories of dead things, stories of ghosts in the fog, stories of witches and wizards, and stories, most of all, of little boys who lost their way. But no matter what the stories were about, they always began “once upon a time”, and always ended “happily ever after”. 

Jake and Billy loved their mother, and although at first the boys listened well, they soon became bored with the stories. They began to venture into the woods to see if they were true. Madame Grimm would scold them and yell every time, but the boys became bolder and bolder, until they became so bold that they indeed got lost one night and couldn’t find their way home. That night too was another cold and foggy Halloween. Madame Grimm waited and cried. She called to them all night, but the boys never answered.

As time went on Madame Grimm searched further and further into the woods. She encountered all of the things about which she had so carefully cautioned her boys: spiders and caves and witches and many, many dead . . . and even undead things. 

Many years passed, and her search continued. The once pretty young woman became an old and bitter hag. Strange music and visions began to surround the shack. Over the years, she became so wicked and vicious that adults warned their little ones to stay away from the horrible place. Even so, from time to time, people caught glimpses of her drifting, some even said flying, through the woods. She became a wicked old witch, but her song to her lost children was hauntingly sorrowful and beautiful. 

In time, parents began to tell their own children the tragic story of old Madame Grimm. You see: it is important for children to understand that although every story may begin “once upon a time,” when it comes to Halloween, not everything ends “happily ever after”.


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## Lilly (Jun 13, 2006)

what kind of input are you looking for ..it sounds good to me 
but may be a bit long to listen to whole thing..maybe cut it down some


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## BoysinBoo (Dec 10, 2007)

Madame Grimm is a witch flying above a shack in the front yard. The tots enter a spider cave, then a tunnel with a bottomless pit, then a graveyard, then a fog-filled dot-style room using faces instead of polka dots. When read aloud my story is about a minute fifteen. I think it's too long also, but can't figure how to chop it. Suggestions? I want the story to be about the little Grimm Brothers, but not ever show the kids. Hopefully the tots will think of themselves as "Jake" and "Will"


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## PeeWeePinson (Feb 23, 2006)

Just some suggestions, but each year I too have a story-line and I send it with the invitaion. Everyone waits to see what the story or theme will be about every year. If it's for Halloween night you won't send out invites, SO what if you had a scareactor dressed for the occasion that is there telling the story before they enter. Tell the children to be careful as Madame Grimm is known to take children thinking them to be hers. Have her mournful music playing somewhere in the haunt. I would also have the "undead things" she talks about in the graveyard, etc. 

To shorten it in order to tell the story I would condense the part of the father, he went missing, she raises the children alone with her warnings and they don't listen....Also, if she had two sons "shortly after" the disappearance, were they twins? I would say "twin boys named Billy and Jake after their father." I really liked the story/theme and it seems it flows good with your ideas of the haunt. I don't know how scary you want to make it but it sounds like you have the possibilities of plenty of screams! Good luck


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## kciaccio (Jul 27, 2007)

What fm transmitter do you use?


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## BoysinBoo (Dec 10, 2007)

PeeWee: Every thing except the father is in the haunt. The story developed from the haunt, not the other way around. So far the plan is to have my greeter tell the story on a loop. His name is Grody the greeter, and is modeled after the Harry the Hitcher prop, but with a hacked boris head on top. Looks very cool.

Papa boo and I are playing with the idea of using our two scary terry skulls as the brothers and have Them tell the story. I'm playing with a script now that is kind of a Smothers Bros. meets Vincent Price vibe. If we can pull it off it could be amazing!



KCIACCO: I used the Belkin Tunecast II. Originally it only had about a ten foot transmit range, but after hacking the antenna as found on the Instructables site, I get about a one block radius, but for $22.95 I don't expect much. If the idea takes off I will upgrade next year.


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