December 31, 1899

**December 31, 1899** is a central date in the story of *Tower of Terror*.

## History

### Background

In 1899, the evil billionaire Harrison Hightower III and his manservant Archibald Smelding were ransacking indigenous tribes of the Congo along with their guild, the Pillagers Brigade. Following an attack from angered natives, the two men were separated from the brigade and taken in by the Mtundu tribe. Here, the two deceived the tribe and stole their artifact of *Shiriki Utundu*, a bloodthirsty god's idol. Hightower and Smelding later returned to their base the Hotel Hightower in New York City with Shiriki Utundu as their latest, "Acquisition".

### Events

#### Early events

In the Atlantis Ballroom of the Hotel Hightower's fourth floor, Harrison hosted a lecture with lantern slides titled, "*"The Curse of Shiriki Utundu" Treasure of the Dark Continent*". At a press-conference, Hightower was asked about rumours regarding the idol's curse by one Manfred Strang, a journalist for the New York Globe Telegraph, a newspaper owned by Hightower's arch-rival Cornelius Endicott II. Angered by the question, Harrison Hightower III kicked Manfred out of the hotel.

Also on this date, Hightower assembled many fellow colonial explorers from the *Society of Explorers and Adventurers*, a secret-society of which he was a member to celebrate his theft of Shiriki Utundu. This meeting presumably occurred in the *Explorers Club Meeting Hall* on the hotel's fifth floor while including the likes of: colonizer landlord/aristocrat Lord Henry Mystic, his pet monkey Albert, seafaring archaeologist Captain Mary Oceaneer, painter Charlton J. Taboret, aviator Prof. R. Blauerhimmel, colonial explorer Dr. J.L. Baterista, and two unidentified individuals. A portrait of the assembly was created to commemorate the meeting with Utundu having been included in the lineup.

#### New Year's Eve Party

In the evening, Harrison Hightower III through a large party with himself as the guest-of-honour. The party also served gimmicked meal-items such as, "Shiriki Noodle Salad". Manfred Strang snuck into this party disguised as a waiter where he shadowed Hightower throughout the evening. In his penthouse on this night, Hightower was upset by Smelding when the butler warned the billionaire of Shiriki Utundu's alleged curse. To display his disrespect, Hightower used the idol to extinguish his cigar only to bring the idol to life and cause it to blast Hightower down an elevator shaft to his death.

The event resulted in green lights being seen in the Hotel Hightower by individuals such as Cornelius Endicott II's Hightower-loving daughter, Beatrice Rose Endicott. When Manfred Strang and Smelding checked the floor of the elevator, all that they could find was Hightower's fez. The explorer was subsequently left as a ghost, trapped in the hotel to be tormented for his crimes by Shiriki Utundu. The hotel was subsequently shut down with Hightower's fate being shrouded in mystery to the public.

## Appearances

### Mystic Manor

A portrait of the S.E.A. meeting in the Hotel Hightower celebrating the theft of Shiriki Utundu is hung up in Lord Henry Mystic's colonial mansion.

### Skipper Canteen

The menus mention the New Year's Eve Party in the description of *Shiriki Noodle Salad*, an item served in the hotel on that night.

### Tower of Terror

This date is central in the Tower of Terror's backstory.

## Trivia

* This date parallels October 31, 1939 from the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.