The Storyteller

"Words are windows to other worlds and books are locked doorways waiting to be opened. Here now is your last chance to turn back or instead turn the page and step into the Tales of Terror. "

"There are no happy endings to her latest tale. Because when she gets to 'The End'..."

The Storyteller (real name: Elizabeth Strict or Elsa Strict) was the event icon at Halloween Horror Nights: Tales of Terror. She returned the following year as a co-icon alongside The Caretaker, The Director, and Jack the Clown in Halloween Horror Nights: Sweet 16.

History[]

The Halloween Horror Nights: Sweet 16 backstory told a possible origin story for the Storyteller: As a little girl, Elizabeth (Elsa) was visited by a winged creature, who wanted to skin her alive. In retaliation, she ate the monster, and in doing so inherited its Darkness. She then proceeded to rip all of the stuffing out of one of her dolls and murder her mother with a hammer.

As to her role to Fear’s canon, she first transported guests into the landscape of her newest story, called "Terra Cruentus". The land was ruled over by the evil Terra Queen, who would oversee the execution of her victims to refill "blood vats". This blood was used to create a ceremonial dagger called the Terra Throne Blade and it was used on the nightly sacrificial ceremonies. On the last night, the Queen herself was sacrificed.

The Lord of Darkness and his servants unearthed the ashes of Horror Nights to revive her and 3 other Supreme Evils to celebrate Sweet 16. She also refurbished the Dungeon of Terror, a defunct scary roadside attraction. She and her extended family of rednecks inhabited the attraction waiting for their next victims.

In 2010 it was revealed that she and the other Icons were a servant to a dark god. Her true name was that of Legend. The Storyteller, icons, and features of Horror Nights were eventually returned to the Lantern and locked with Fear.

Jack brought her back during Halloween Horror Nights 25 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the event.

She would return alongside Jack, The Director, The Usher and The Caretaker in HHN Icons: Captured haunted house during Halloween Horror Nights 30 as she could be seen in her more demonic side in a replicated room from her realm in the Halloween Horror Nights Tales of Terror commercial she was one of the icon throne victory endings in the house.

Storyteller's Poem[]

Elsa has secrets

She keeps to herself

Others she shares

And keeps on a shelf

The strangest of all

Is that of a queen

In a land of blood,

A world rarely seen

Where the brew of favor

Is Bloodberry Wine

A hideous liquid

That seeps from the vine

She reads her stories

To unwitting guests

Her methods of torture

Are often just tests

This you will learn,

As part of your screams

Elsa's a demon,

And not what she seems

Appearances at Halloween Horror Nights[]

At the exterior of Islands of Adventure during Halloween Horror Nights: Tales of Terror, the Storyteller could be seen walking around, telling her "story". However, once guests entered Terra Cruentus, the Storyteller was unheard of although she did appear in her own haunted house at the event Where Evil Hides. It was located at the North Hollow (Seuss Landing) and took place in a suburban household.

For the following year, 2006, Storyteller was featured alongside Jack, The Caretaker, and The Director in the show The Arrival. She also appeared in a new house, unrelated to Where Evil Hides, called Dungeon of Terror: Retold. This was where Elsa reopened the infamous Dungeon of Terror as a tourist attraction, and invited guests into the depths of her newest "story".

She is also one of Fear's minions: Legend. The year she appeared as one of Fear's minions she also made a brief appearance in the house Legendary Truth: The Wyandot Estate as a double pepper's ghost effect. The effect showed her walking by reading one of her stories in the farther of the two levels, and then noticing the guests walking through the house. Upon noticing the effect shifted to the screen layer closest to guests and displayed The Storyteller's face, with her enraged at their presence.

In 2015, she appeared along with her fellow Icons as one of Jack the Clown's minions. In 2016, a portrait of her also appeared in the Ghost Town: The Curse of Lightning Gulch house.

In 2021, The Storyteller would appear alongside her fellow icons and have her own section in the HHN Icons: Captured haunted house where she would reveal her true demonic form.

Appearances at Halloween Horror Nights Orlando[]

Notable Quotes[]

"Remember the moral of the story, dear, one man's treasure is another man's pain!" - During the TV commercial for Halloween Horror Nights: Tales of Terror.
"Once upon a nightmare..." - In the Dungeon of Terror: Retold.
"Once upon a time, I told a story, and the tales I tell are rather gory. Some stories are spoken, some stories are sung. For my next tale... I require a tongue." - The Arrival
"No more speaking, no more laughter. No one will live happily ever after." - ICONS:HHN
"Oh my, my, oh, my child, you seem so afraid, you know what I find Soothes a scared soul? A good story. And I have the perfect one. Once upon a time, it was a dark rainy night, young tom was afraid of storms. His favorite ring fell into the drain right into the garbage disposal. He would have to put his hand down into the dark drain and his fingers would have to touch those steel sharp blades. It's always darkest right before the storm. And he lived happily ever after." - HHN Icon Video

Pictures[]

Trivia[]

The Storyteller's original minion name was Mythos, but it was changed as guests would get confused with the Islands of Adventure restaurant of the same name. Ironically, there was a picture of the Storyteller advertising Halloween Horror Nights: Twenty Years of Fear right outside of the restaurant.
Of all the icons, the Storyteller has the least developed backstory, which is debatable by itself.
The Storyteller would subtly threaten guest with a gruesome death when questioned about her backstory (or lack thereof) during Halloween Horror Nights: Twenty Years of Fear.
In 2012, it was revealed that she's a member of The Maschorian Legion, most likely because of her relation to the Terra Queen.
The Storyteller had her own icon video segment called "A Good Story..." alongside the other icons in the HHN 16 Icon Video on the Halloween Horror Nights: Sweet 16 Behind the Screams section of the page.
The Storyteller was portrayed by the late actress Lois Hall in the print media for Halloween Horror Nights: Tales of Terror and Halloween Horror Nights: Sweet 16.

Halloween Horror Nights: Tales of Terror
Characters: The Storyteller (Event Icon) • Terra Queen • Eelmouth • Terra Ladies • The Black Guard • Terra Ghouls • Knucklegrunts • The Gentlemen • Ore Mongers • Guderalle • Blood Abbey Monks
Areas of Terra Cruentus: Terra Cruentus • Terra Gate • Iron Bone Gorge • The Cantina • The South Hollow • Gorewood Forest • Dragon Forge • Blood Abbey • The North Hollow •The Mountain Beyond Maldaken • North Hollow Household • Maldaken Pass
Haunted Houses: Blood Ruins • Body Collectors • Cold Blind Terror • Demon Cantina • The Skool • Terror Mines • Where Evil Hides
Scarezones: Blood Thunder Alley • Fire Pits • Cemetery Mines • Terra Guard Run
Shows: Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure • Terra Throne
Unofficial Scarezones: The North Hollow • The South Hollow
Miscellaneous: Terra Clue Game • Rat Run

Halloween Horror Nights: Sweet 16
Characters: Jack the Clown • The Caretaker • The Director • The Storyteller (Event Icons) • The Projectionist • The Inmates of Shadybrook Asylum • Eddie Schmidt • Cindy Caine • Norman Bates
Haunted Houses: All Nite Die-In: Take 2 • Dungeon of Terror: Retold • People Under the Stairs: Under Construction • PsychoScareapy: Maximum Madness • Psycho Path: The Return of Norman Bates • Run: Hostile Territory • Screamhouse: The Resurrection
Scarezones: Blood Masquerade • Deadtropolis: Zombie Siege • Harvest of the Souls
Unofficial Scarezone: Horror Comes Home
Shows: The Arrival • Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure • Robosaurus • Sweet 16: The Director's Cut

Halloween Horror Nights: Twenty Years of Fear
Characters: Fear (Event Icon) • Jack the Clown • The Caretaker • The Director • The Storyteller • The Usher • Cindy Caine • Eddie Schmidt • Chance • The Inmates of Shadybrook Asylum
Haunted Houses: Legendary Truth: The Wyandot Estate • PsychoScareapy: Echoes of Shadybrook • Hades: The Gates of Ruin • ZombieGeddon • The Orfanage: Ashes to Ashes • Havoc: Dogs of War • Catacombs: Black Death Rising • Horror Nights: The Hallow'd Past
Scarezones: Esqueleto Muerte • The Coven • Saws N' Steam • Zombie Gras • Fear Revealed • HHN: 20 Years of Fear
Shows: Brian Brushwood: Menace and Malice • Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure

Halloween Horror Nights 30
Characters: Jack the Clown (Event Icon) • Beetlejuice • Bent-Neck Lady • The Bride of Frankenstein • Leatherface • The Caretaker • The Director • The Storyteller • The Usher • Lady Luck • Chance • Fear • Tooth Fairies • Pumpkin Lord • Boris Shuster • Eddie Schmidt • Terra Queen • The Controller
Haunted Houses: Beetlejuice • The Haunting of Hill House • Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives • The Texas Chainsaw Massacre • HHN Icons: Captured • Welcome to SCarey: Horror in the Heartland • Case Files Unearthed: Legendary Truth • Puppet Theatre: Captive Audience • The Wicked Growth: Realm of the Pumpkin • Revenge of the Tooth Fairy
Scarezones: 30 Years 30 Fears • Seek and Destroy • Crypt TV • Gorewood Forest • Lights Camera Hacktion: Eddie's Revenge
Shows: Halloween Nightmare Fuel • Marathon of Mayhem: Carnage Factory
Other Experiences: Jack'd Up Experience • Halloween Horror Nights Tribute Store • Chucky's Good Guys Toy Box Photo Op