October 31, 1939

**October 31, 1939** is a date in the history of the *Twilight Zone Tower of Terror*.

## History

On the October 31st of 1939 the esteemed Hollywood Tower Hotel of Hollywood, Los Angeles hosted a Halloween party for the elite of Hollywood. The party would be thrown in the Tip Top Club, a nightclub on the thirteenth floor of the hotel's central tower. On the day of the party, the maintenance service elevators used by hotel staff were inspected by one, *Cadwallader*. It is unknown exactly when the inspection took place in relation to the events of the Halloween party. Cadwallader himself is believed to be a demonic entity connected to the supernatural 5th Dimension which had a growing affiliation to the hotel.

Performing at the hotel were the, "Silver Lake Sisters", Dottie, Dolly and Ethel Bounds who were vaudeville musical performers also known as, "Fiddler, Fifer and Practical". Amongst the guests in attendance were child-star, "Sally Shine", her nanny Emeline Partridge, actor Gilbert London, performance artist Carolyn Crosson, and representatives from the nearby records-label of G-Force Records.

The night of the party was incredibly stormy, particularly during the time when Emeline, Sally, Gilbert and Carolyn boarded an elevator from the lobby with a bellhop named Dewey Todd. During their ascent at 8:05 PM, paranormal lightning originating from the 5th dimension struck the hotel resulting in the elevators dropping and those inside being spirited away and killed, becoming ghosts bound to the hotel. Additionally, the two towers which held the hotel's twin elevators were demolished and transformed into a sort of portal to the 5th dimension.

It is unclear exactly what became of the other guests who attended the party but it is known at least that the G-Force records representative managed to escape the hotel. In this same night, the hotel would be shut down with the management claiming no responsibility for any further damage transpiring within the hotel. The hotel would remain closed for fifty-five years but throughout it all was frozen in time to the Halloween of 1939, littered with guests' abandoned luggage and with clocks frozen to 8:05 PM, when the lightning struck the building. The event marked a decline in the success of that area of Sunset Boulevard due to the shadow it cast over the industry, with G-Force records in particular struggling.

The events of October 31, 1939 would be omnisciently watched over by a multidimensional being from the Twilight Zone known as, "The Narrator". Whether the Narrator was present for the elevator incident is unknown however he would observe it with omniscience and at navigate the event as it occurred while transcribing what had yet to happen. Following the hotel's reopening 55 years later in 1994, the Narrator showed would-be victims of the hotel a, "Lost episode" of the Twilight Zone television-series detailing the events of that Halloween to enlighten them on the hotel's dark history.

### Alternate-versions

#### Tower of Terror (film)

In this film it was Carolyn Crosson who was performing in the Tip Top Club rather than the Silver Lake Sisters. In this continuity, the 1939 lightning was summoned by a jealous Abigail using witchcraft and that her ghostly nature was part of a curse. By the end of the film, the two sisters reconcile with an elderly Abigail dying and joining Sally as a young girl ghost in the afterlife. At the end of the film (taking place in 1997) the elevator finally reaches the 13th floor where the party of Halloween 1939 is still going on, attended by spirits.

## Appearances and allusions

### Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

The Halloween of 1939 is the primary event in the backstory of the Hollywood Tower Hotel. During the pre-show in the library, the Narrator shows the events on a black and white television within a, "Lost episode" of the Twilight Zone. The event is also frequently referenced throughout the attraction and within the lobby copies of the Los Angeles Examiner from the October 31st of 1939 can be found.

### Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Café

Within the café which was owned by the Silver Lake Sisters are several posters hung in tribute to their past performances. Amongst them is one advertising their performance in the Tip Top Club of the Hollywood Tower Hotel for the Halloween of 1939. Their further fate following the incident remains a mystery.

### In other media

#### Printed materials

##### Tales from the Haunted Mansion

A story transcribed by Amicus Arcane in *Tales from the Haunted Mansion* references the date where the protagonist finds a large number of Hollywood ghosts in storage at a place called *Unit 1939*.

## Connections

### Rock 'n' Roller Coaster

The Halloween of 1939 marked a turning-point in the history of G-Force Records, the record label behind the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster whose studio was situated next to the hotel. The label stopped getting high-brow guests due to how the incident effected Sunset Boulevard and it wouldn't be until the 1990s when they would become successful again, coinciding with the hotel's reopening.

## References

1. ↑ https://allears.net/2019/04/24/7-things-die-hard-twilight-zone-fans-should-look-for-in-the-tower-of-terror/
2. ↑ https://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20190402/36801/3-bizarre-secrets-about-history-disney-s-hollywood-studios?page=2
3. ↑ https://allears.net/2010/02/04/twilight-zone-tower-of-terror-part-one/
4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwcnMK7tOUA
5. ↑ https://towerofterror.fandom.com/wiki/Los\_Angeles\_Examiner