Line #16 Literature/Room13


1	[[quoteright:318:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/51cabt9teel.jpg]]
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3	A 1989 novel by Creator/RobertSwindells. The night before a five day overnight school trip to Whitby, North Yorkshire, Fliss Morgan dreams of an empty house wherein lies a coffin. The next morning, the class board a coach, and Fliss settles happily with them into the Crow's Nest hotel for five days of coastal exploration and historical sites. Late that night, Fliss, on her way to the bathroom, sees a previously absent number thirteen engraved on the door of a linen cupboard, and hears whimpering and snuffling sounds from within. Throughout the next few days, Ellie-May Sutherland repeatedly feels drained and giddy. Having heard from Gary Bazzard of the town's connection with Literature/{{Dracula}}, Fliss starts to worry about the implications of her dream...
4
5	!! This novel features:
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7	%%* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: [[spoiler: Rouses Ellie-May to warm up to Fliss, Lisa, Gary and David]].
8	%%* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: A room houses sheets by day, and by night, something rather more sinister…
9	* BrokenMasquerade: Behind a tunnel full of gruesome displays in The Dracula Experience, Sal Haggerlythe likens a hidden prop room to the baffling secret workings behind perceived reality.
10	--> '''Sal:''' Folks walk through tunnels their whole lives, y’ know. Looking at a show. And all the time, the real world’s just inches away through the wall.
11	* ChekhovsArmoury: Frivolous souvenirs acquired respectively by Fliss, Lisa, Gary and David are used to [[spoiler: kill the vampire]].
12	* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: Elderly Sal Haggerlythe, generally believed to be mad, has mysteriously precise insights.
13	%%* DeadpanSnarker: Mr Hepworth gets some good ones.
14	* DisproportionateRetribution: On the coach, Mrs Evans disciplines a seat kicker by painfully wrenching a handful of the kid’s hair.
15	%%* DreamingOfThingsToCome: Fliss, to her increasing dread.
16	* EldritchLocation: Room 13: harmless linen cupboard by day, [[spoiler: den of a vampire]] by night.
17	* EmpathicEnvironment: The [[spoiler: killing of the vampire]] seems to gender general elation the next day.
18	* HolyBurnsEvil: The [[ImprovisedCross plastic frame]] of David Trotter’s frivolously purchased kite comes in useful…
19	* ImprovisedWeapon: A cheap torch, an absurdly huge stick of rock candy, a large pebble and a flimsy kite.
20	* MadOracle: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] with Sal Haggerlythe, whose mysterious insights apparently give only an impression of madness.
21	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Old Hepworth is severe when provoked, but is conscientiously caring, and even has a sense of humour.
22	* SceneryPorn: Some beautiful descriptions of North Yorkshire, mainly Whitby and the nearby coast.
23	* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: The frightening burden that falls upon Fliss, Lisa, Gary and David is very much PlayedStraight.
24	* WeirdnessMagnet: Implicitly Sal and Fliss, and by extension, Lisa, David and Gary.

Context Literature / Room13