World of Darkness: Portland

20
spring up magically.
Two months ago, a supervising tour guide was
found murdered in the basement, with rose petals
strewn across her body. The staff have begun to get
nervous; many have left altogether.
Bagdad Theater
Mood Enhancers
Each of these sites could be its own
story in the making. However, they were
included in this book to be general knowledge.
Chronicles could be constructed
around ghost hunters, of course, but it
is recommended that all three supernatural
groups be aware of these goings
on. Each would have their own theories
of events based on their perspectives.
In addition, having these hauntings be
known to everyone increases the general
World of Darkness mood--whatever your
characters may be going through, there is
also darkness and mystery that has nothing
to do with them, further increasing the
sensation that they are surrounded by
their own inevitable doom.
One of the many theaters built in the late 1920s
after silent fantasy classics like Douglas Fairbank’s
The Thief of Bagdad, the theater will hold over 7,00
patrons in its auditorium and large balcony. Several
rows of seats have been removed to make way for
the permanent tables, set up in front of many seats
for patrons to place their snacks while watching
movies. Patty worked at the Bagdad in 1994 when
McMenamin’s first acquired it. She knew things would
be different after the electricians began rewiring the
theater. They turned off the main power switch to
the house lights. At first the lights went out normally.
Suddenly they came on again, then gradually flicked
off and on for nearly an hour before they stayed off.
The electricians were monitoring the circuit with a
voltmeter and could not explain what happened.
Patty’s boyfriend worked with her at the Bagdad.
One day he went up to the second floor restroom used
by employees. It was not his favorite restroom because
it did not have any ventilation. This time he got more
ventilation than he could wish for. He was washing
his hands when he felt a sudden chill. Then a cold
wind began to blow through the closed room. It was so
strong that the toilet paper on the rolls and the cloth
towel on the circular towel rack were blown sideways.
He never used that bathroom after that.
Chapter 1-Hauntings
Fictionalization
Miles Scheffler and Audry Appelo worked in the
Bagdad Theater during the 1920s when the place first
opened. They lived wild, enjoying the time period like
everyone else, defying the prohibition, and conducting
a torrid love-affair that their parents had forbade
them. When Audry’s father found out what the kids
were doing behind his back, he confronted Miles in
the second story bathroom, and the situation became
violent. They quarreled, and Miles was pushed down
the stairs. The murder was reported as an accident, the
Appelo family never questioned. No one ever sought
justice...except for Miles. He still haunts the theater,
pining over his love and in a rage about his betrayal.
The ghost of Miles is aggressive toward most men
and whimsical around those women who fit Audry’s
description--brown eyes, brown hair, slender with
glasses.
Recently, Miles had done more than just putter
around the theater. The night janitor has scene a
physical man wandering the halls, who will disappear
when looked for (sometimes in front of the janitor’s
eyes). Instead of moving on, he has allowed his anger to
grow; but it has obviously given him power, for he can
interact with his environment. Time will tell when he
will be emboldened enough to act out his aggression-or
his love--on some unsuspecting patron.
White Eagle Tavern
A night spot in southeast Portland, the White
Eagle Tavern has displayed hauntings for several years.
It began in the summer of ‘99, when the assistant
manager and several other employees witnessed
many strange events. At various times when the bar
is empty, employees have smelled smoke. When they
investigated, there was no evidence of a fire anywhere.
It could have been some kind of a wiring short, but