In 1934, Sir Randolph Brookwood, a famous actor, had the last of a long line of legendary Halloween costume parties.  The theme, as always, was favorite stars of stage and, more recently, screen.  People in theatre would travel from far and wide to attend, even though Brookwood was the man throwing it.  Not a very popular fellow, most people disparaged Brookwood behind his back, but rarely said anything to his face.  He had connections in theatre, you see, and it wouldn't do to get on his bad side.  Besides, an invitation to his party alone was worth holding your tongue.  At least, that is, until 1934...

There was one man, a Stevenson Phillips, who didn't coddle up to Brookwood.  Phillips, a famous actor in his own right, had battled repeatedly for roles with Brookwood over the years, experiencing very limited success.  Although talented, Phillips seemed to only get work when Brookwood was unavailable, becoming known behind closed doors as a "poor man's Brookwood".  Although he was unaware of the last, Phillips was certainly savvy enough to understand that the reason behind his B roles began and ended with Brookwood.  What he didn't understand was why. 

When searching for the reason, Phillips discovered that most people disliked Brookwood, but didn't want to slight him in any way, for fear of not being invited to the party.  With many famous people attending, and theatre being what it was, to be uninvited was virtual suicide.  Phillips soon figured (rightly) that the party was what kept Brookwood at the top.  And, so Phillips developed a plan to sabotage the Halloween party.  Although he hadn't been invited, it was a costume party, and Phillips was, after all, an accomplished actor.

When Halloween arrived, Brookwood opened his doors to more than 150 famous actors and producers.  He didn't look twice at the Grim Reaper as he passed, assuming it was simply another actor, which in a way, it was.  The party continued until midnight, when Brookwood approached the head of the stairs for his traditionally famous speech.  It was then that Phillips made his move.

It's important to note that Phillips' only intention was to cast Brookwood in a bad light.  What Phillips didn't know, couldn't have known (for few did), was that traditionally the Brookwood house was locked from the outside for the duration of the party.  No one was allowed in, and no one was allowed out.  The reasons for this are unknown, and have been written up to Brookwood' eccentricities.  It matters not.  All that matters is what happened next:

Brookwood had been telling all who would listen of his midnight surprise for months, and Phillips planned to use this to his advantage.  Most actors and actresses, being high-strung, have a natural aversion to loud noises and surprises.  Phillips' plan was simple:  he would set off some firecrackers at midnight in the hall, and start a rumour that it was Brookwood's idea of a surprise.  He reasoned, probably smartly, that such poor humor would hurt his appeal in the acting community.  As the lights dimmed and Brookwood approached the stairs, Phillips lit his fuses...

Brookwood had enough time to make his surprise announcement before the firecrackers went off.  It is unknown what exactly caught fire first, but the streamers were the first thing anyone noticed.  They spread the fire most efficiently, and by the time people found the doors locked, the hall was in flames.  With the house in turmoil, Brookwood's butler couldn't get outside to unlock the doors.  Although people broke through the windows to escape, only a few could leave at a time.  Remarkably, a great number of people escaped with their lives.  But 55 stars of both stage and screen perished in what would become known as the Brookwood fire.  Both Phillips and Brookwood were in that 55. 

As Phillips struggled to reach the windows, feeling the flames as his heels, he had time to reflect on Brookwood' surprise  announcement of his retirement.  Ironically, this would have catapulted Phillips into the limelight, but of course the fuses were already lit.  About to burn to death, Phillips also remembered the second part of Brookwood' speech:  As long as he was able, Brookwood would continue to host his Halloween extravaganza.

The survivors swore they could see Brookwood at the head of the stairs through the flames, still in costume.  Most people, of course, wrote this off as actors being dramatic.  Ignored too, were stories in 1935 of noises and laughter from the charred husk of Brookwood's home.  On Halloween, in 1940, when they dedicated the street to Sir Randolph Brookwood, no less than 9 people leaving a party swear that they saw a light in the house at exactly midnight.  They had been drinking, naturally, but it made a good story.  In 1955, the old home was bulldozed away, and another erected in its place.  The owners were nice enough folk, but they soon started a weird habit of always traveling away for the late fall.  Eventually, they just never came back.  People being people, starting telling tales of odd things, but no one really puts much stock in those.

As so it remains today.  There's a beautiful house, at the top of a hill, on a street that happens to be named Brookwood.  Most of the time, it just sits there, unoccupied - yet still oddly maintained.  But, if you share a drink with the locals, on a bright summer day, you might hear that one day a year, on Halloween, Sir Randolph Brookwood still hosts his party.  Only this time - its an open invitation.

If you believe in such nonsense...