Scary For Kids
Theater

Theater

The Theater is a scary creepypasta story about an old computer game for the PC that features a character named The Ticket-Taker and another called The Swirly-Head Man.

The Theater

Have you ever heard of an old PC game called “The Theater”? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Probably because many people say it doesn’t even exist.

You see, The Theater is an old computer game released around the same time as Doom. Today, if you ever find it, it’s only available on crappy bootleg CD-ROMs, which, more often than not, don’t even actually contain the game.

The actual legitimate copies that they say were released back in the day feature a blank cover with nothing but a picture of what has since been named ‘the Ticket-Taker’. He is simply a poorly drawn, pixelated, bald white man with large red lips wearing a red vest over a white shirt and black pants.

He is completely emotionless, though some say that if you smash the disc his face is shown as angry the next time you look at the cover, though this is just dismissed as an urban myth. What is peculiar about The Theater, though, is that there is no developer named on the jewel case, nor is there any game description on the back. It is simply the Ticket-Taker in front of a white backdrop on both sides.

The game was initially known for its inability to install correctly. The installation process immediately locks up the computer when the user reaches the licensing agreement. Another strange thing about the licensing agreement for The Theater is that whenever the development studio is supposed to be named, the text is simply a blank line.

Most people who have claimed to own one of the original CDs say that they figured out how to install the game by simply rebooting their computer on the licensing agreement with the disc still inside. Then, they were prompted to press ‘I AGREE’ on startup and it continued with the installation.

The game then starts up without any introduction besides a main menu that is simply a movie theater’s exterior on an empty city street. The title fades in and then the three menu buttons appear: NEW GAME, LOAD, and OPTIONS.

Selecting OPTIONS immediately crashes the game to the desktop. LOAD is said not to function at all. Even if you do have a saved game, nothing happens when you press it. Thus, NEW GAME is the only working menu option.

Once it is selected you are in the first person view. You are standing in an empty movie theater lobby, with the exception of the Ticket-Taker standing in front of a dark hallway which one can only assume leads to the theaters themselves. There’s nothing to do but look at the poorly-drawn, mostly illegible movie posters or approach the Ticket-Taker. Once the player moves towards the Ticket-Taker a very low-quality sound clip plays saying “THANK YOU, PLEASE ENJOY THE MOVIE” along with a speechbox saying the same thing. You then walk into the hallway and the screen fades to black and you’re back in the empty lobby and you do the exact thing again and again and again.

While this may sound like a really horrible game, a number of peculiar things occur as you continue to play it. The number of times that you have to continue into the hall after giving your ticket to the Ticket-Taker before the strange events happen is unknown. Most state that it’s completely random and could take anywhere from the first playthrough to the four hundredth. What happens, though, has deeply disturbed some players.

The first occurrence is when the player fades back in after walking into the hallway. This time they will notice the Ticket-Taker is completely absent. The player then, without any other options, decides to walk into the dark hallway. The sound clip and text box mentioned previously still play in the absence of the Ticket-Taker, but when the player walks into the hallways the screen does not fade out. It goes pitch black as they walk deeper into the hall, but the player’s footstep sound clip is still playing as they continue to push the up button on their keyboard.

Those claiming to have played the original game report to have felt extremely uncomfortable walking down the hallway, anticipating the whole way something horrible happening. Well, eventually the player is unable to move forward. There is nothing for a few moments before a strange figure appears and stands before the player. It is described as “the Ticket-Taker, but with a swirl for a face” and has been appropriately named the ‘Swirly Head Man’.

The original players of the game say their bodies immediately froze up and their stomachs churned they saw this figure. Nothing happens as the Swirly Head Man stands before them. Then suddenly a piercing screech plays as the game glitches out. This lasts for a few minutes, with the screeching being continuous. Then the player is abruptly returned to the lobby with all the sounds and graphics being as they should be.

The game continues normally for the next couple of ‘cycles’ of entering the hallway, with a couple of the original players claiming the Swirly Head Man would briefly appear and disappear in the corner of the screen as a brisk ‘yelp’ sound effect plays. Then, at some point after meeting the Swirly Head Man, the player sees the Ticket-Taker pacing back and forth (though there is no walking animation – his limbs are completely static, so he just hops up and down slightly as a substitute) with his eyes being wide and his mouth open to simulate a worried facial expression.

Some players noted that the movie posters had been replaced with images of the Swirly Head Man, which caused them to immediately turn away from the posters and approach the Ticket-Taker. Then another, different, low-quality sound clip plays, but the speech box contains nothing but corrupted characters that cause whatever text that would have been in the box to be completely illegible.

Due to the extremely low quality of the sound, it is debated by players what exactly the Ticket-Taker says at this point, though it is widely agreed that he says ‘NEVER REACH THE OTHER LEVELS’. Then the screen fades out once again and returns the player back to their starting point in the lobby, but the Ticket-Taker is gone and the hallway is blocked by a large brick wall. Touching the brick wall will immediately crash the game, and that’s all there is to it.

No one knows what the ‘Other Levels’ are or how to gain access to them, nor is it known why the Swirly Head Man causes such acute fear in those who have seen him in the game. All the original copies of The Theater have either been lost or destroyed. But the creepiest part is the fact that all the original players of the game claim that, in their daily life, they will occasionally see a brief glimpse of the Swirly Head Man out of the corner of their eyes…

scary for kids

20 comments

  • creepypastafangirl 2.0,

    OMB XD

    -Dobbyisfree

    Anyway I wish this game was real it seems cool!!!

  • Just a question, does he only appear if you have played the game? I’m really scared. Please someone tell me!

  • i’ve seen youtube plays but the swirly head man is dressed in purple cloth and has a metal shoes. and this dude got past the “brick wall” by simply walking up to the 1st left poster and clicking y and the brick wall dissapears and is replaced with the s.h.m killing the t.t and chasing after you and running through the halls 100 times simply shows a option which says pick a weapon there are a coffe mug a sledge or a club so he picked sledge and then another option saying to stay on lvl1 or got to lvl2 so he said go to lvl2 and once he got to lvl 2 and there were strickingly realistic gore graphics then there was a scream and it ended

  • Movie Night! Starring: Me, Slendy, Ben, EJ, Jeff
    *We’re in the parking lot*
    Slendy: Now, I know snacks cost a lot… I’ll only let you guys do this ONE TIME. *has loads of snacks*
    Ben: Woah there, Slendy! That’s a lot of food! Dibs on the Reese’s!!!
    Me: Nope! Mine.
    Jack: Yay! You got kidneys!
    Jeff: Heck yes! Thanks, Slenderp!
    Slendy: Now, you need do hide them carefully…
    *In the theatre…*
    Me: Hmm… What’s play- NO FREAKIN WAY THOR 2!!!!!!!!!!
    Jeff: Nerd.
    Me: Shut it! >.<
    Ticket Taker: Thank you. Please enjoy the movie.
    Ben: Thanks, you too- 0-0…
    Jeff: Niiiccceee…
    EJ: Alright which one was-aha! This way, guys!
    *After the movie*
    Me: ;n; So… Many.. feels…
    Slendy: Well, he lived at the end, Creepy 2. You should be happy for that.
    Jeff: Yeah. And not crying and snotting all over me -_-
    Ticket Taker: Come again :)
    Slendy: We will.
    Me: Hey, doesn't he sound like Mr. Creepypasta?
    TT: *winks*

  • Yeah, brings back horrible memories, I can get a glimpse of Swirly Head Man at times but when I turn around, he disappears… I’m scared D:

  • But… I’ve seen a gameplay of this game… I remember it clearly… I wonder if it was made to resemble this story…?

  • This does not make any sense. Someone, please tell me what the hell this is supposed to mean.

  • Maybe, instead of touching the brick wall. keep going to the ticket taker. Or look around, maybe a door somthing. The copies were destroyed-Nobody will know. Should of went to museums but…

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