Room 109 by Charlotte Page
Scene 1
SETTING: Car driving to Las Vegas from Reno
ABBY
Goldfield is always my favorite part of driving to Vegas.
ALLY
Really? Mine is Tonopah.
ABBY
Tonopah doesn't have a haunted hotel.
ALLY
No, but it does have the creepy clown motel with no windows.
ABBY
Very true.
KRISSY
What do you mean a haunted hotel?
ALLY
You haven't heard the story of the Goldfield Hotel?
KRISSY
No…
ABBY
Oh, it's the best!
ALLY
We looked it up on the way to Vegas last year. It's supposed to be one
of the most haunted hotels in all of Nevada.
CLAIRE
Did you see that brick building when we went through Goldfield,
Krissy?
KRISSY
Yeah.
CLAIRE That's the notorious hotel.
KRISSY Well, what's its story then?
ABBY
So Goldfield was a big booming mining town much like Virginia City. In
fact, it was the biggest city in Nevada a few years after its
establishment in 1902. Millionaires as far as the eye could see.
SARAH
Obviously we take this story very seriously. We know all the exact
facts and dates.
ALLY
One of these millionaires was none other than George Wingfield, who
owned the hotel in the 1910s.
KRISSY
Why do we care?
ABBY
Because he's the reason the hotel is haunted.
KRISSY
What do you mean?
CLAIRE
See, Mr. Wingfield was the kind of man who enjoyed a special kind of
company.
MEGAN
The kind of company only legal in Nevada, if you know what I mean.
KRISSY
Seriously?
CLAIRE
Dead serious.
ABBY
Mr. Wingfield's very special friend was named Elizabeth. And they were
together quite frequently.
SARAH
But she got pregnant. Most say with another man's child but Elizabeth
swore it to be her most loyal costumer, George Wingfield.
MEGAN
And for a while he paid her to stay away from him.
SARAH
He was a very important business man who couldn't afford to have his
reputation tarnished.
ALLY
Unfortunately, when the pregnancy could no longer be hidden easily
CLAIRE He basically kidnapped her.
ABBY He took her into room 109.
CLAIRE
He chained her to the radiator.
MEGAN
He supplied her with food and water.
ALLY
Until finally the baby was born.
SARAH
Then there are some confusions with the story.
MEGAN
Now some people say that Elizabeth died in childbirth, but others say
she was murdered by Wingfield right after the birth of her child.
ALLY
Then, Wingfield took the child and threw it down one of the mine
shafts under the hotel.
KRISSY
That can't be true. There can't be mineshafts under a hotel.
SARAH Unfortunately, that part is true.
KRISSY
There are mine shafts under the hotel?
CLAIRE
Yes, but they weren't put there until 1924, two years after Newton
Crumley bought the hotel from Wingfield.
KRISSY
So it can't be true?
ALLY
Well another discrepancy in the story is that public record shows
Elizabeth dying sometime in the 30s, but by this time Wingfield had
sold the hotel to Crumley and was living in Reno where he later died.
ABBY
So, there are two options about what happened.
MEGAN
Either the story has mixed up Newton Crumley and George Wingfield,
which makes sense because the timeline works perfectly for Crumley,
but not for Wingfield.
ALLY Or it didn't happen at all.
KRISSY
Woah. You guys seriously memorized that?
ALLY
Hey, when a possible cold-hearted, prostitute-loving,
multi-millionaire murderer happened to live in your town for most of
his adult life, you learn the story.
KRISSY
He lived in Reno?
MEGAN
Yeah, he actually lived in Reno longer than he did in Goldfield. They
say that after he bought the hotel he would barely visit because he
lived so far away.
KRISSY
Ew.
CLAIRE
More evidence that Crumley did it if you ask me.
ABBY
We also memorized it because it's a very long drive from Reno to Vegas
and we got bored.
MEGAN
Plus we're theatre kids. You always need to have a ghost story
memorized for a dramatic telling.
CLAIRE
Alright kids, how many brothels did we get from Reno to Goldfield?
ALLY
Abby and I got to 3.
ABBY
We should get bonus points for the fact that two of them had free
pancake breakfasts.
CLAIRE Aw man. I want pancakes.
SARAH
Boy, do I have a great career choice for you then Claire
End of Scene
Scene 2
SETTING: Hotel hallway
(Enter teens walking to their room)
CLAIRE
No, I'm just saying that a raccoon in space wouldn't work out for this.
SARAH
(sarcastic)
Oh, but an Ostrich would.
MEGAN
You guys stop. It's such a stupid argument.
ABBY
Yeah obviously the only animal that would be able to do it would be a
parrot.
(They get to their room)
CLAIRE
We aren't going to stay long, I just need to grab my swimsuit, and
then we'll meet you by the pool.
(ABBY tries the door)
ABBY
Yeah that's fine.
(Trying the door again) If I could get this stupid door open.
SARAH What's wrong with it?
ABBY
I don't know. It's just not opening.
MEGAN
Is it locked?
ABBY
(sarcasm)
Oh yeah. My bad. I forgot to put the key in. You've solved the mystery.
CLAIRE
No for real. The light is green just open the door.
ABBY
I am trying.
(ABBY begins to kick the door and slam her body against the door
trying to make it open)
SARAH
Here. Let me try.
(SARAH does the same thing with no luck)
CLAIRE
What's the problem?
SARAH
It's the weirdest thing, the key works but the actual door doesn't open.
ABBY
We should just call Crain. It's better than being locked out all night.
MEGAN
He'll just get mad at us.
CLAIRE
What's the worst he can do Megan? Send us to our rooms? That doesn't
seem to be working out so well.
SARAH Abby's right. Call him.
(ABBY begins to search in her purse for her phone)
ABBY Funny story about that.
MEGAN
Where is it?
ABBY
Either in your room, or the room that won't open.
CLAIRE
Let's hope it's in ours. Come on Megan, we'll go look for it.
(CLAIRE and MEGAN go offstage and yell back to SARAH and ABBY)
CLAIRE
What the hell?
MEGAN
You have to be kidding me. This one too?
(MEGAN and CLAIRE come back on stage)
MEGAN
Try again.
(CLAIRE tries again and the door doesn't budge)
Got an explanation?
ABBY
I'm sure it's some surge of electricity or something that's stopping
it from working. It's not a big deal.
MEGAN
We're screwed.
(beat)
Crain's at the end of the hallway, hurry up. I don't want to be
caught after curfew.
(ABBY and SARAH's door suddenly is able to open)
ABBY
What is going on?
SARAH
I don't know, but Crain is going to see us if you don't hurry up
and get in the room.
ABBY
Yeah you're right. Let's go.