06x02 - Chapter Ninety-Seven: Ghost Stories

[bunniefuu]

Gather around, kiddies.

It's time for a ghost story.

No, a few ghost stories, actually.

The first begins with a conflict
as ancient as Cain and Abel.

For as long as the Serpents have
existed, so too have the Ghoulies.

Over the years, they fought
for a myriad of reasons.

[indistinct shouting]

Tonight they're rumbling
because Serpent Princess Xandra

fell in love with the
Ghoulie Prince, Daniel.

And in a town like Rivervale,

that is more than enough
reason to spill some blood.

[people fighting, grunting]

♪ We all fall down ♪

Dan!

[intense music playing]

What haunts me is that I was
aiming to wound, not k*ll.

[sniffles] And I couldn't have
possibly known that Darla's son, Danny,

was gonna jump in front of
her like that. [sniffles]

Still...

Thanks.

The boy's mother, Darla Dickenson,

have you thought
about reaching out to her?

To apologize?

[scoffs]

I mean, she's a mother who
lost her son, Doctor, really,

there's nothing I could
say to comfort her.

I know that I wouldn't
be able to live anymore

if something bad were to
happen to Baby Anthony.

[man on TV] I had a reason
for inviting each guest.

Good luck with your writing today.

Thanks.

Good luck feeding the masses.

Oh, and don't forget to
hang up these pictures.

Consider it done.

[man on TV] They share one
thing, they all need money.

[phone rings]

Mantle Motors.

Hey, I'm just checking in to see
if there's any word on your dad.

It's not so good.

The nurse said he's having a bad day and

I shouldn't visit him at the hospital.

You know, Reggie, it's okay for you

to be upset about your dad being sick.

What kills me is that
we were doing better.

I just thought we'd have more time.

Thanks for calling, Ronnie.
I'll see you when I get home.

Okay.

See you in a bit.

[engine revving]

- Holy crap.
- Oh...

I had a car exactly like
this one back in high school.

Man, the times we had.

She's a beaut, isn't she?

I was hoping to get
her appraised and sold.

Tell you what I'm gonna do.

I'll buy it off of you.
Double the Blue Book value.

All cash.

[chuckles]

Just like old times.

I've missed you, Bellissima.

♪ Feel real, feel real ♪

♪ Feel real, feel real ♪

♪ Feel real, feel real ♪

[cell phone ringing]

- Ronnie?
- [Ronnie] Hey, don't mean to be a new noodge,

but I was getting worried.
Is everything okay?

Yeah, I just got caught
doing some paperwork.

I'm about to head out the door now.

No worries, lover. See you soon.

- Hey, you.
- Hey.

What happened to
hanging up the art today?

I'm sorry. I'll do it
tomorrow, love. I promise.

You know what? It's, um...

It's all good.

Okay.

[sighs] Okay.

- [loud thud]
- [wall clatters]

Oh, my God.

- Jeez, Tabs.
- [gasps]

I thought my walls in
New York were paper thin.

Wait. Do you feel that?

Yeah.

I think there's a draft coming through.

I think there's something in there.

On the other side.

[objects clattering]

Whoa!

What the hell is this place? [chuckles]

Are these Scotch bottles?

Isn't that what you used to drink?

Yeah, when I could afford it.

But why would this place
have been covered up?

I don't know, but I should
put my writing desk in here

and turn this into a
little writing nook.

Wouldn't that be cool?

Hey.

Reggie?

I'm sorry, I stink.
I'm gonna take a shower.

[eerie wailing]

So, Nana, you'll be thrilled.

I was out in the Maple Groves today,

and the trees are
positively bursting with sap.

They practically drenched me.

- In fact, I infused our brandies with some.
- Mm.

- To Archie.
- To Archie.

[clinks]

Auntie Cheryl.

Mommy is trying to take Juniper.

What are you talking about,
boy child? Where is your sister?

She's in the bathroom, splashing,
and she won't open the door.

Juniper, open the door.

- [eerie wailing]
- [water splashing]

Juniper, open the door!

[loud wail]

Juniper, Juniper.

- Mama.
- Come here. Are you okay?

- Okay. You're okay.
- [coughs]

[coughs]

So, are you thinking about any names?

It's still early days, Kev.

- But if it's a boy, Archie.
- Obviously.

And, uh, if it's a girl, I was
thinking maybe Polly would be nice.

Cousin, I need your mother to take
the twins for a couple of days.

Okay. Why?

Because some evil water nymph
out of an M. Night Shyamalan movie

is stalking the halls of
Thornhill and threatening them.

Will you let Alice know or shall I?

Uh...

Okay, so there is a closet

in the original floor
plan of this apartment.

Hmm. Isn't that curious?

Miss Gordon, is there something
that you're not telling me?

Don't you legally have to disclose any

bad things that have happened there?

I did. To your boyfriend.

Okay.

And what exactly did you disclose?

About Sam and Diane.

The young couple who
d*ed in the apartment.

I'm sorry, what? d*ed there? How?

m*rder su1c1de.

She k*lled him, then herself.

It was a very unfortunate situation.

[line ringing]

I'm so sorry, Mr. Schaeffer.

This is so unlike... Reggie?

Where are you?

[Reggie] Hey, Ronnie.
Now is not a good time.

I'm at the hospital. There
was an emergency with my dad.

[bell ringing]

Was that a school bell?

You are so busted, Mantle.

For a second, I thought you
were having a secret affair.

What is going on, Reggie? And
where did that car come from?

Some Joe nobody showed up in
the lot wanting to sell her.

Can you believe it?

'Course she's not the OG Bella,
but she's the same make and model.

That's right. Bella.

You know, my dad gave me her.
When he handed me those keys,

it was maybe the
greatest day of my life.

So when she came back to
me, I just wanted to...

Relive some happy memories for a change?

I get that.

But why bring her here?
Why not the Pembrooke?

To be honest, I needed to
do a little fine tuning.

Give her a little TLC,
get her purring again.

Whatever you need to do, Reggie.

You don't have to sneak around.

And don't forget, I could use a
little TLC every now and again, too.

- I can arrange that.
- Yeah?

Mm-hmm.

In fact... I have a crazy idea.

[door opens]

[Jughead] It's cool, right?

I decided to go for a
nautical Neil Gaiman theme.

Okay, so you didn't have
time to hang up our pictures,

but you did have time to put
up a door on your new nook. Huh?

Also, why didn't you tell me
the truth about this place?

- What truth?
- About Sam and Diane,

the m*rder-su1c1de couple.

Because when you saw the
apartment, you fell in love with it.

Also, I, I know this is gonna
sound weird, but I thought,

maybe I could write about them.

I've been doing some digging, and
it's a pretty fascinating story.

He was a painter,
obsessed with his work.

She bludgeoned him to death with
a hammer and then hung herself.

Why'd she do that?

No one knows for certain. She
just sort of snapped one day.

How completely ghoulish.

I know. It's an unsettling story.

That's why I didn't want to tell you.

I'm not upset about something
that happened years ago,

as disturbing as it is, Jughead.

I'm upset that you chose
to hide something from me.

I should've told you. I'm not gonna
do something like that ever again.

- And if you're worried about the ghosts...
- I'm not.

And on the plus side...

I'm feeling kind of inspired.

- [chuckles softly]
- Are you writing again?

No, but I'm getting close.

[knock on door]

Hey, Toni. Um, I need your help.

Sure, Betty. What's up?

Um, I'm here about a case.

An incident of domestic v*olence.

Looks like a mother drowned
her daughter in a bathtub.

And, Toni, she's a Serpent.

Her name's Lucinda Villa.

- Her daughter is...
- Sandra.

But she's .

Drowned how?

Dr. Curdle said that
there were bruises on

her shoulders, like
someone held her under.

So the FBI wants me to
charge her mother with m*rder.

No, I know Lucinda.

She'd never hurt her daughter.

Well, she's not talking to me,
so maybe she would talk to you.

Okay.

Lucinda, I know you
didn't drown your daughter.

You loved her with all your heart.

But you were you the only
one home when it happened.

Who did this to Sandra?

[sighs] It was...

La Llorona.

[Betty] "La Llorona"?

Who or what is La Llorona?

According to the old folk tales,

it's a spirit of vengeance
who preys on young children.

She drowns them.

Okay, Toni, I appreciate your help,

and I want to give Lucinda
the benefit of the doubt here,

but I can't put "spirit
of vengeance" on my report.

- ♪ Whoa, my love ♪
- [smooching]

♪ My darling ♪

[tray clatters]

♪ I've hungered for your touch ♪

[whistling]

- ♪ A long, lonely time ♪
- [whooping, cheering]

Dear God, Reggie, those are my students.

Okay, that's it. We're done.

- I've indulged you long enough.
- What about dinner?

We're taking it to go.

Now.

[sighs]

[typewriter clacking]

[eerie high-pitched whine]

[typewriter continues clacking]

[groans]

[door creaks]

- Jughead, can you keep it down?
- [keyboard continues clacking]

Jughead, can you just
please stop for a second?

- [screams]
- [splats]

[gasping]

Jughead?

Hmm.

How many times have I told you not
to leave the toothpaste uncapped?

Uh, it wasn't me.

Yet it was uncapped.

I don't know. Maybe, it was the ghost

that you heard banging in the closet.

You know, when you woke me
up in the middle of the night.

I don't need any attitude right now.

Please, just put the
toothpaste cap back on the tube.

It's common decency.

Reggie,

I think we should talk about last night.

It was really uncomfortable for me.

What?

You're telling me you've
never made out in a car?

Of course I have.

But last time that happened,

Chuck Clayton tried to
tarnish my good name,

so maybe that's why canoodling
in your stupid car triggered me.

First of all, Bella's not stupid.

Second of all, you've got kinks too,

like making out on a bed
full of dirty $ bills.

That was in the privacy of our own home,

not plastered on the leather
seats of some stupid ride.

Okay, that's the second time
you've called my car stupid.

Veronica, are you jealous
of Bella or something?

Don't be ridiculous.

Fine. No more carscapades.

- Great.
- [plate shatters]

[groans]

You okay, Tabitha?

That's the third plate
you dropped today.

I'm sorry, Grandpa.

I just... haven't been sleeping well.

Any reason in particular?

Grandpa, you don't
believe in ghosts, do you?

Sure, I do.

This diner was haunted for a
while by the ghost of a waitress

who d*ed in an accident
with a deep fryer.

When we opened back up
a couple of days later,

strange things began to happen.

The jukebox would start
playing on its own.

Pots and pans would fall off hooks.

How did you get it to stop?

Remember we had those
riots in the s,

when every window was broken?

Well, after that night we
didn't have another incident.

It was almost as if the
racket scared the ghost off.

I guess the dead can be as
afraid of us as we are of them.

[woman] Well, from what you're telling me,

it's clear as day, hermanita.

Reggie's going through
a quarter-life crisis.

Actually, the timing of a
quarter-life crisis does make sense.

- Mm.
- Especially considering

what's happening with Reggie's dad.

My advice, cut Reggie some slack.

Let him play with his toys,

hell, get him some fuzzy dice.

Maybe you're right, hermosa.

I mean, it's not like I'm
actually jealous of Bella.

Hey, Betty.

I'm just calling to check in on Lucinda.

How's she doing?

She's still sticking to
her story about La Llorona.

I know this sounds crazy,

but is there any universe in
which she's telling the truth?

[scoffs]

I've been doing lots of research,

and ghosts like La Llorona
exist in different cultures.

They're spirits of
unfettered feral motherhood.

And look, there's different
versions of the legend,

but they're always mothers, and
they always go after children.

I even read one article
where a La Llorona

can go after an unborn child.

Okay, Toni, that's enough, okay?

I'm sorry, but your friend is
going to be charged for m*rder.

Betty, you need to listen to me.

Something very bad is
happening in Rivervale.

And I don't think any of our
children are safe until it's over.

So it took me all day,
but I finally figured out

how they get the ship in the bottle.

Um, were you seriously
doing this all day?

Uh, yeah, I kind of got fixated on it.

Jughead, I thought you
were going to be writing.

That was our deal.

No, I get it.

This is just my process.

I'm refilling the well of
my creative subconscious.

And what about these bottles?

What happened to the
Scotch that was in them?

Nothing.

Tabitha, I picked those
bottles up behind Whyte Wyrm.

Hey, I'm not drinking again. I promise.

I think I... I know I'm ready
to start writing again, okay?

Okay.

[thunder crashing]

[typewriter clacking]

God...

Seriously?

It worked.

- What did?
- My process.

I've been writing all night. The
words have just been flying out.

Look, look, it's a novella.

- It's almost finished.
- [sighs]

Wow, that's... That's amazing, Jughead.

When can I read it?

Uh, not just yet.

I don't really let anyone read
my vomit drafts, like ever.

But the second I revise it, you are
going to be the first one to read it.

- Okay?
- Okay. I can't wait.

[school bell rings]

[sighs]

You know what?

This is a nice car.

Reggie Mantle!

You lying cad!

- Oh.
- Oh. [chuckles]

I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry.

What are you doing with
a photo of Miss Soprano?

What? Who is Miss Soprano?

She was our driver's ed teacher.

That is, until the allegations.

Allegations?

Of inappropriate relations between
her and, uh, some of the boys.

What was her first name again?

Something Italian.

Isabella, if I recall correctly.

Oh, my God.

[water dripping]

Keep working. I'll just be a minute.

I know who you are.

And I know what you want.

[eerie wailing]

[door opens]

[neck cracking]

- [fire alarm ringing]
- [wailing]

Toni! What the hell?

[breathing heavily]

How curious, Miss Cooper.

According to the sonogram,
you are no longer pregnant.

What?

What are you talking about,
Dr. Curdle? I was pregnant.

You told me that I was pregnant.

I took a test that said I was pregnant.

Hysterical pregnancies can
manifest the same symptoms

and conditions as actual pregnancies.

Perhaps that's what happened here.

Toni, I believe you now.

I think La Llorona is in Rivervale.

I'm gonna try and help Lucinda.

[Toni] Thank you.

But, Betty, did something happen?

I think so.

Um, but I'll tell you
about it later, okay?

In the meantime, there's a
hunch that I need to pursue.

Can we meet up afterwards?

Absolutely. I'm here.

Okay. I'll call you.

More coffee?

- Uh, decaf, please.
- Oh, you got it

Everything okay?

[sighs] Yes.

Just a little on edge.

How are you? How...
How's life with Jughead?

[chuckles] To be frank,

I had no idea living with a
writer would be so... intense.

- Oh, yeah.
- [chuckles]

He could be pretty single-minded

when he got in the weeds with a story.

But it was always very exciting to read

those early vomit
drafts of his, you know?

Wait, Jughead let you
read his vomit drafts?

Yeah, all the time.

He said he wanted me to experience his

stories in their rawest form, you know?

Yeah, same with me.

Janet, what's the occasion?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news,

but I received an anonymous complaint.

I'm here on a wellness check, Toni,

for Baby Anthony.

What?

Somebody thinks I'm not
taking care of my baby?

- Janet, you know me?
- I do.

But, you know, as a social worker,

I have to investigate every claim.

I don't even know
what to say. [chuckles]

[Anthony cooing]

[door creaking]

[sloshing]

Who called Child Services? Was it Kevin?

I can't disclose that information.

- [Anthony wailing]
- Anthony!

- [crying]
- [gasps] It's okay.

[gasps] It's okay.

It's okay. It's okay. Mama's got you.

I got your text,
Ronnie. What's going on?

Ronnie, why?

Why'd you do this to Bella?

Because I know who Bella is.

The real one.

Isabella Soprano, the sick teacher

who had inappropriate relationships
with her students, including you.

- What?
- [scoffs]

I can stomach a lot, Reggie,
but I will not allow you

to romanticize an abusive relationship.

She was an adult, and
she took advantage of you.

And this... This sick
obsession with your car

is just a continuation
of that toxic dynamic.

But we never did anything.

She was the one adult I could trust.

The only one I ever told

about the abuse that
was going on in my home.

She listened to me.

She helped me.

Reggie...

- [Reggie sobs]
- It's just a car.

I just got back from the hospital

and my dad d*ed minutes ago.

Oh, my God. Reggie.

I'm so, so sorry.

I will always be here for you.

It's just you and me,

as it should be.

Toni, I found something,

a pattern, retracing her steps.

So she's following a direct
line from Sweetwater River.

First Thornhill, where
Cheryl encountered her,

then Lucinda's, my
house, Rivervale High.

- Now...
- This apartment.

Where she came after Baby Anthony.

Her target was, and I bet
still is, Baby Anthony.

Well, how do you know?

Mother's intuition, I guess.

[groans] Fangs, take Baby
Anthony to the Whyte Wyrm.

And surround him with the Serpents.

I don't think she'll go
after him with a crowd around.

- [thunder crashing]
- Okay.

And where are you going?

Cheryl's.

We need to contact that ghost bitch,

and she's the only person I know
who knows how to channel the spirits.

So we'll go to the funeral home tomorrow

morning to finalize arrangements.

But... everything's in order.

Thanks, Ronnie.

I have a surprise for you.

I was going to wait until
things calmed down a bit,

but I think my Reggie-kins
deserves a pick-me-up.

You'll find that car key

fits into a gorgeous
Camaro SS -speed.

I thought you might want to
take it for a spin later tonight.

This is great.

Thanks, Ronnie.

I really appreciate it.

Reggie...

We're gonna be okay, right?

Of course.

Nothing could ever come between us.

[thunder crashing]

Hear ye, hear ye, we sacred
women have gathered here

to summon the entity
known as La Llorona,

or the weeping woman.

Spirit, your sisters call out to you.

You who visited this house and
the house of Elizabeth Cooper

and the house of Antoinette Topaz.

Spirit, speak to us.

What is thy name?

Spirit, reveal thyself.

[all] Spirit, reveal thy self.

Spirit, reveal thy self.

Spirit, reveal thy self.

- Spirit, reveal thy self.
- [wind gusts]

[objects clattering]

[thunder rumbling]

[eerie wailing]

- [thunder crashes]
- [screams]

[old woman whimpering]

Is that the spirit? Who
are you? Name thy self?

My name was Martha Mallon.

My employ was as a nurse
in the children's ward

of Rivervale's first hospital.

In those early, hungry years,
we lost many a babe from the pox,

from the bitter cold, from
a doctor's careless hands.

The townsfolk blamed me for
the loss of their children,

accused me of being a witch woman.

And they dragged me and my own children

to the Sweetwater River,
weighed us down with rocks,

and threw us in the dark waters.

We drowned,

and I became this
cursed thing that I am.

Who summoned you here, spirit?

Who called you to this earthly plane?

- [coughing]
- [thunder crashes]

[gagging]

- What's happening?
- Do not break the circle or we'll lose contact.

Speak, Martha, who summoned you here?

We have to stop, Cheryl,
she's gonna drown.

- [gagging, sputtering]
- Not yet, we need a name.

Speak, Martha, who summoned you here?

Who called you to this plane?

It was Darla Dickenson,

who did so from her son's grave.

[coughing]

Nana, I'm sorry, are you
all right? Are you all right?

- [coughing]
- Forgive me.

Darla Dickenson, why does
that name sound so familiar?

She's the woman whose son I k*lled.

That's why she's doing this.

Tabitha?

"She doesn't understand me.

How could she? She doesn't
have an artist's soul."

Mmm. [chuckles softly]

You broke into my desk?

It's a huge breach of
privacy and my process.

Oh, right, right, your process.

Your process.

You mean how you sit around
all day playing with your

toy boats while I work my ass off

so that you can write
a story about a wife

who doesn't understand her
husband and then kills her husband

because he leaves the cap
off the freakin' toothpaste?

- Hey... Hey, hey, hey.
- Are you for real?

- Are you kidding me?
- This story is not about us.

It's about the people
who lived here before us,

Sam and Diane.

Oh, Sam and Diane.

- Also...
- Yeah, give me a break.

Also, she doesn't k*ll him
because of the toothpaste.

She kills him because he's
too obsessed with his work.

Ah, I'll tell you why she kills him.

She kills him because she
gets sick of supporting him

while he displays a complete
disregard for her feelings.

Maybe that's why she
brains him with a hammer.

Oh!

What's with the Scotch that
you're allegedly not drinking?

I'm not! Those are for the ships.

And I'm going to pour them out.

Oh.

Let me get this straight. [chuckles dryly]

You bought a bunch of Scotch
with money that I earned

so you could just pour it down
the drain for your stupid boats.

Well, you know what? Screw your ship.

- Screw your...
- Hey!

- Tab...
- You know what, screw your writing, too.

- Don't.
- Yes!

Please, don't, don't,
don't. Don't! Don't!

Don't!

How could you?

This was a gift from Betty.

[eerie music playing]

[gasps]

No!

We're not like them.

We're stronger.

We're stronger and we made a promise

that we would work through our problems.

And I love you...

Jughead, and I'm...

sorry.

I'm sorry.

- Did you say, "I love you"?
- [sniffles]

Yeah.

I've been wanting to
say that for a while.

Yeah. I've been wanting to say it, too.

I love you.

[exhales sharply]

[breath shuddering]

Was that...

What, the ghost leaving?
Are ghosts real now?

I think maybe they are.

And I think maybe...

we scared them away.

[Darla] Finally...

I've been expecting you.

Darla, I'm sorry.

Sorry that Danny was
taken away from you.

And I'm sorry that I was
responsible for his death.

Do you know how many
sons I've buried, Toni?

Danny was my last one.

- My little boy.
- Darla.

We know you summoned La Llorona.

Now you need to call her off.

[chuckles]

You can't call off La Llorona.

Once summoned,

once a child is promised,

there's no stopping her.

At least,

not until Anthony's dead,

in her arms.

So that's what you want?

An eye for an eye?

My baby's life for your son?

- Yes...
- Well, it's not gonna happen,

because there's a crew of Serpents

surrounding Baby Anthony, guarding him.

Toni...

you're a mother.

Even if there were men
standing between you and your baby,

would that stop you?

- No.
- [Darla] Exactly.

Now imagine that primal
maternal force times a hundred.

La Llorona is a storm
unlike any you've ever seen.

[door opens]

Oh, my God.

[Toni] Fangs?

Anthony?

[Fangs grunts weakly]

Fangs!

- [Fangs coughs]
- Hey!

Where's Anthony?

- Where's our son?
- [coughs]

She...

She took him.

Where? Where did she take him?

Sweetwater.

- Go!
- We need to b*at them to the river.

[coughs]

[hammering]

Hey, you're kind of quiet.

Understandably.

I guess I'm just... wondering.

What?

Our fighting, was that...

the ghosts... or... us?

I don't know. Maybe both.

Look, that was our first real fight.

[Tabitha sighs]

- We survived.
- [chuckles]

We lived to tell the tale.

I mean, barely.

What's our next test gonna be?

Maybe love is just a series of tests,

test the strength of our relationship.

[both chuckle softly]

I know that's kind of bleak, but...

- it's also kind of...
- Kind of sweet.

[Tabitha chuckles]

- [thunder crashing]
- [high-pitched wailing]

[Toni] Stop!

You're not taking my baby.

He's innocent.

[Martha] No one is innocent.

You were, your children were.

[neck cracks]

I'm sorry for everything
you went through,

but you could show us mercy.

You could spare my son.

[Martha] I was called forth.

I can't return without the babe.

Well, what if I could
take away the suffering?

For good.

You could give it to me.

And that way, you'd be free.

[Martha] Why would you offer that?

Because I would give
up anything for my son,

my life.

But also because I k*lled
another woman's child,

and I should be punished for that.

And it should be me.

Not Baby Anthony.

You've suffered enough, Martha.

Let me take your place.

Promise me you'll take
care of him, Betty.

[high-pitched wails continue]

[thunder crashes]

[high-pitched wail]

[whooshing]

[high-pitched wails continue]

Protect him, Betty.

And please let him know
his mother loved him.

[Anthony cooing]

[Jughead] Hmm.

Let me ask you something, friends.

Is there a better word for
motherhood than "sacrifice"?

The next time a weeping woman
rises from Sweetwater River

or, if you prefer, the river Styx,

a different soul will take her path,

a path that both begins
and ends in Rivervale.