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by joshua dyer (drumjedi76@gmail.com)
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Rated:
Genre: Horror
User Review: NOT YET RATED
The powers terrorizing the McAllister estate aren't the only ones seeking peace.
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This screenplay is copyrighted to its author. All rights reserved. This screenplay may not be used or reproduced without the express written permission of the author.
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FADE IN:
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INT. DINING HALL - NIGHT |
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A small group huddles around a large elegant wooden table.
Fluttering candles illuminate only fractured pieces of their
faces. A lean teen squirms in his chair. All eyes in the
party turn to SEAN DOUGLAS. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
Flickering flames. Dancing shadows
upon the high walls. A
great room, like a cave. Our
circle is joined. Everyone's
here, hand in hand around a
massive round table. My heart's
beating out of my chest.
Going to a campout with some
friends. Lies. Mom's gonna
have my ass. Cameras roll from
their hidden perches. |
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DOUG
When you're ready, Sean. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
The ghost hunter's brown glare
seems disquieted. His black
hair concealed beneath a matching
knit beanie. Summit
Paranormal Investigations.
My palms are cold and wet. DONNA
turns a perturbed eye
down on me. Probably grossed out
by my sweat. |
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DR. BENSON
(whispering)
If you please. |
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Dr. Benson's low voice reeks of impatience. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
A psychologist. Figures.
I can't help it. My stomach spins
into nauseated knots. I'm only
sixteen! I didn't ask for this. No
(MORE)
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2.
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SEAN (cont'd)
one asked me if wanted this gift.
The stale coldness of this
once elegant estate closes in all
around my skinny body.
Should've worn a heavier jacket
for this.
I clear my throat and close my
eyes. My senses assure me
the others have followed suit.
Deep breaths – in through the
nose and out the mouth. My
muscles release. |
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DR. BENSON
(into recorder)
Subject has begun. Entering
trance. |
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His words bounce around in the empty void. |
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DR. BENSON
(into recorder)
Breathing appears normal. No signs
of distress. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
Dark forces. Too many to count.
One shoves its way forward
into my body. |
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SEAN
(gutteral tone)
Trespassers! All of you. Common
criminals! |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
All I can do is watch. I stand
frigid beside my body while these
entities have their way. |
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SEAN
(demonic)
Leave my house! |
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Donna jumps at Sean's side in her chair. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
My limp arm falls. Her squeal
betrays her disbelief. College
(MORE)
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3.
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SEAN (cont'd)
girls.
The dark man passes. My torso
convulses at the arrival of
another. |
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SEAN
(girlish squeal)
No, daddy. Don't! |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
It's a little girl. Seven at most.
The smell of daisies and – |
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Her button nose searches the room. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
I sense it too, hot stuff. Sorrow
and misery overwhelm everything.
An older presence jars me. |
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SEAN
(female tone)
Henry, please. |
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SEAN
(internal dialog)
Now, the girl's mother. |
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SEAN
You don't know what you're doing. |
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Sean's terrestrial arms fling out above the wide polished
tabletop. |
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SEAN
(female tone)
Give me our child, Henry! |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
I'm out of my body. Floating over
the table. |
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4.
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DOUG
(stuttering)
Sweet Christ. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
This will put you on the map,
Dougie boy. |
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Benson's gray head of hair drifts closer. His little red
light blinks. |
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DR. BENSON
(into recorder)
Subject now speaking in various
voices. Male, female, and young
female child. Note: research split
personality disorder later
tonight. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
Dumbass. You don't have a clue. |
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PATTY BENSON'S hands fly up over her trembling mouth. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
My voice. So strange. |
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DR. BENSON
(into recorder)
Subject is now wailing like a
newborn baby. While humanly
possible, the likelihood is low. |
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A sharp gust of wind howls around the old dual-pane window
behind them. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
My head lulls from side to side.
Eyes clamped shut. |
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Doug turns his head into the shadows beside him. His
colleague, JAKE, sits mortified behind his camera. |
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5.
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DOUG
(whipsers)
Jake. Please tell me you're still
rolling on this. |
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The camera jockey grumbles. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
A wild sensation of flying.
Weightlessness. |
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Sean's whipping arms slap Donna on one side and Dr. Benson
on the other. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
Cold water everywhere. Daylight
twinkles on the ripples. Sinking
down. |
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Dr. Benson jumps out of his chair. |
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DR. BENSON
He's turning blue! |
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Doug rises from his perch and joins in the mayhem. |
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DOUG
Sean! Sean, snap out of it! |
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Dr. Benson's meaty hand connects with Sean's cheek. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
My body is my own again. A watery
bulge plugs up my throat. |
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Soon, a small fountain erupts from Sean's maw. His torso
reels forward onto the polished oaken table. More fluid
spews out into a large puddle.
Donna shrieks and backpedals, knocking over her chair. |
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DONNA
This – this is fucked up. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
Stinging musty air gets to my
lungs. My vision returns. Watery,
but there. |
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6.
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Doug's hand slaps Sean between his bony shoulders. |
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DOUG
Hey. You all right, pal? |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
I heave my dead weight up on both
elbows. I try to speak, but my
throat is dry as a bone. I nod. |
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DR. BENSON
(into recorder)
Medium has recovered from trance.
Spewed water all over himself and
the dining hall table. Uncertain
of its origins. McAllister Manor,
9:15 p.m. End session one. |
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INT. KITCHEN - MORNING |
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Sean descends a large and opulent staircase from the second
floor of the McAllister mansion. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
The putrid reek of fresh coffee
hits me like a ton of bricks at
the bottom of the left staircase.
Its twin sets in silence on the
other side of an indoor fountain.
This place is humongous. I run my
right hand along the wooden
banister. No dust after all these
years. Peculiar. |
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The kitchen buzzes with light mutterings and activity as he
approaches. |
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DOUG
(pointing to
laptop screen)
See it? |
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Jake nods. You could drive a semi through his mouth. Doug
scratches his frazzled black hair. |
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DOUG
EMR waves all over him. |
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7.
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Doug takes another hit from his Styrofoam cup. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
From the saddle bags under his
eyes, I'd say Dougie's been up
most of the night. |
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DOUG
I've never seen magnetic
distortions of that magnitude on
one person before, man. |
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His cameraman lowers his bloodshot green eyes into his
freckled palms. |
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JAKE
We've gotta call in the rest of
the team, Doug. This is legit. |
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They both turn and stare at Sean like he's grown a third
arm. |
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Doug waves him over. |
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DOUG
Come here. You've gotta see this. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
Their high-end tablet screen shows
me contorted in a large dining
chair. Everything's in shades of
gray except for a bunch of
twitching bands of color around
me. |
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DOUG
(points to screen)
See those? |
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Sean nods. |
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DOUG
They represent the change in the
magnetic field surrounding your
body. |
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Doug takes another hit of his coffee. |
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8.
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DOUG
We all have a little of it around
us at any given point in time. |
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Jake's stubby finger traces the colored lines on the screen. |
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JAKE
Those are changes the magnetism
around you. |
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SEAN
Can the Earth do that? |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
There's gotta be a reasonable
explanation. |
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Jake's head shakes in silence. |
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DOUG
Someone or something evoked those
shifts in the field. |
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Doug nods. He bobs his head toward the small table near the
bay windows. |
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DOUG
They aren't of the same mindset,
though. |
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Dr. Benson, Patty, and Donna huddle around a stack of
textbooks and loose papers in the breakfast nook. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
I overheard him yelling her name
in the middle of their spat last
night. 'Patty, you're just
overreacting,' he had said.
For such a huge house, it has
thin walls.
'The hell I am,' Patty
had screamed back. 'You spend all
of your time with her!'
Something thumped on
their floor on the other side.
'Donna's my Grad.
Assistant, dear. This is a part of
her thesis.'
On and on, they went for the
(MORE)
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9.
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SEAN (cont'd)
better part of an hour. I had
given up and buried my head under
my pillows around one. |
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He studies the trio wearing a guise of pity. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
Now, they sat in peace. At least,
it looks that way. |
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SEAN
Why do you say that, Doug? |
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DOUG
The good doctor is a
Para-psychologist, Sean. He
believes that your condition has
more to do with your mind than
external forces. |
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Sean redirects their attention back down to the laptop. |
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SEAN
Then, what about that? |
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DOUG
(chuckles)
The lines? Benson thinks I'm
wasting my time. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
I walk over and pluck a doughnut
from its little white box next to
the sink. Glazed. Nice. |
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SEAN
If the lines aren't ghosts, then
what are they? |
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DOUG
(sighs)
Your body's distortions, camera
tricks, video editing. |
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He minimizes the window on the screen. |
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DOUG
The list goes on and on. |
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10.
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A small tan envelope icon flashes on the lower task bar.
Doug opens his message. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
Whoever Emily is, she's really
excited at the recordings of my
EMR waves, and will be here
tomorrow afternoon. |
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DOUG
(claps hands)
Sweet! |
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He leans closer to the screen as his hands fly over the
keys:
'Bring all of the usual gear. Don't forget the extra-long
extension cords!' |
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Doug nods and closes the email. |
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DOUG
Em and Dylan will be here tomorrow
afternoon. |
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He snags a small notebook from his satchel and scribbles
down something. |
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DOUG
(to Jake)
We need to scope out this place
and plan a full investigation for
tomorrow night. |
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JAKE
Yeah! I'll do a little more
digging in town on McAllister and
see what I can uncover. There's
more to this guy than we're
finding on Google. |
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DOUG
Nice. I'm gonna walk the house and
figure out where the hot spots
are. |
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Sean swallows the last bite of my breakfast and licks his
fingers clean. |
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11.
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Jake shrugs. |
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DOUG
Why not? Meet me by the fountain
in twenty. I've gotta drop a deuce
first. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
I scuttle past Patty's outside
shoulder at the table. She glances
up at me for a fleeting moment,
smiles, and goes back into a pile
of papers. |
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DONNA
There has to be a logical
explanation. |
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SEAN
(V.O.)
She sounds like she's been backed
into the corner of an argument. |
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DR. BENSON
Two full liters of water, Donna. |
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He clacks something onto his laptop. |
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DR. BENSON
You saw it as well as the rest of
us. |
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DONNA
He could have chugged it prior to
the whole charade. |
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DR. BENSON
Forcing one's self to regurgitate
is possible, of course. The human
stomach can't hold that much fluid
at once, though. |
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FADE OUT. |
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