657 - December 30, 1968

[bunniefuu]

[Chris narrating] - Evening at Collinwood:

As darkened shadows enshroud the great house,

mysteries begin to unfold.

mysteries that grow with the encroaching darkness.

For two innocent children have been possessed

by the spirit of a man long dead.

But perhaps there are other forces in this house,

forces calling from beyond time, beyond space,

trying to make contact with the land of the living.

[clock chiming]

[dog howling]

- Mrs. Johnson! Mrs. Johnson!

- Yes?

- Mrs. Johnson, did you bring Vicki's things back up here?

- Of course not.

I took them down to the basement.

You saw me carry them out.

- Mrs. Johnson, look.

- It can't be!

- Who could have brought Vicki's things back up here?

- Nobody.

- I don't understand.

- I do. - What?

- No, human hands touched these clothes

after I put them away.

It's a sign. It's a sign!

- What are you talking about? - What's going on?

- Mrs. Johnson stored Vicki's Maggie's things

down in the basement,

and somehow, they're back up here.

- It's a sign!

It's a sign from her, from Vicki!

She's trying to reach us. To contact us.

To tell us -- - Tell us what?

- That she's coming back!

Vicki is coming back!

♪♪

[eerie music] ♪♪

It's a sign, I tell you.

Vicki is coming back. Or she wants to come back.

- That's nonsense.

- Of course, it is.

- Then how did her clothes get up here?

- There's got to be some explanation.

- What?

You saw me pack her things away.

You saw me take them out of here.

Both of you, didn't you? - Yes.

- Well?

- It could be someone's idea of a practical joke.

- Oh! Who would do a thing like that?

- I don't know.

- Look!

- The music box!

- I packed that away with her things just as you told me.

And here it is, back again.

How do you explain that, Mr. Collins?

- I can't.

- I can!

Vicki needs us!

And she is calling to us from wherever she is.

- Vicki is gone, Mrs. Johnson, and she won't return.

- I don't believe that. Not now.

- Well, believe what you want to believe!

- Huh!

Oh, her scent!

- What?

- Vicki! The scent of lilacs.

The perfume Vicki always wore!

It's in this room!

- Well, naturally, this was Vicki's room, wasn't it?

- No. It means that Vicki is close.

Very close.

- Mrs. Johnson, please.

- Mrs. Johnson, I think we're all upset.

And it would be much better if we tried to forget all this

and behave rationally.

- Yes. Now, please, go downstairs

and fix dinner for the children.

- All right.

But what do you want me to do with her things?

- Just leave them there for the time being.

- Just as you say.

But, I won't pretend that I'm not frightened.

I am as frightened as I've ever been in my life!

- Barnabas, what do you think?

- I don't know what to think.

- Do you think it's really possible?

- No!

- Barnabas, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you.

- No! I'm the one who's sorry.

I just can't bring myself to believe

that Vicki is coming back or even wants to come back.

She is gone and she will never return.

And we've got to face that fact whether we like it or not.

- I suppose so.

- Maggie?

- Oh Amy, David.

- We started packing our things for the trip to Boston.

- Well, that's fine.

- We should pack, shouldn't we, Barnabas?

You said we'd be going soon.

- That's right.

- I'm not sure what I'm supposed to bring.

I mean, what clothes,

but I think I know what I need.

- So do I.

- We both picked out our clothes and we put them on the bed.

Will you come and see if we picked out the right things?

- All right, Amy.

- I'm so excited about the trip.

Aren't you, David?

- Sure, we're going to have lots of fun.

[music box playing] ♪♪

- I thought I would need lots of dresses so --

That's funny. - What?

- I put all my dresses out on the bed

and now they're gone.

- That is funny.

- Where do you suppose they are?

- Amy, are you sure you put them out?

- Yes, Maggie.

David saw me, didn't you, David?

- Yes.

She put out everything. All of her clothes right here.

Everything that she owns.

- I don't understand it.

- Look!

- How did they get back in there?

- I don't know, David.

- Maggie, do you know?

- No.

- Barnabas! - Don't bother Barnabas.

- Maybe, he can explain to us.

- What is it?

- Something funny just happened.

Amy took out all her clothes and put them on her bed,

just a minute ago, and when we came in,

they were all back in the closet.

- How could that happen, Barnabas?

Who would put them back?

- I don't know.

- I swear I put them out.

- I saw her, Barnabas.

- You believe us, don't you?

- Yes.

- Well, perhaps, someone came in and --

and put them back.

- No one had time to do that.

I only left the room for a minute to get you.

- That's right.

- Do you know what I think, David?

- What?

- Somebody doesn't want us to go away.

Is that possible?

- Maybe.

- But who would it be?

- I don't know.

Do you know, Barnabas?

- You are both making too much of this.

Now, just go and pack.

- Then we're still going away?

- Of course.

- Oh, good!

I keep hoping you won't change your mind.

- I won't, Amy.

- I will have to pack all over again.

- Help them will you? I'll be downstairs.

- Yes, Barnabas.

♪♪

[clock chiming]

[knocking on door]

- Mrs. Johnson, hi. - Oh, Mr. Jennings.

- I came to see Amy.

- Well, come in. - Thank you.

Tell me, has anybody else been to see her lately?

Has she had any visitors? - Visitors?

- Yeah, I was thinking specifically of my cousin,

Joe Haskell.

I haven't been able to find him for several days.

He seems he disappeared.

I thought maybe he had been by here to see Amy.

- Well, yes, he was by here. - He was, when?

- Oh, well, the other day.

- Did - did he talk to anybody? Did you see him?

- Well, I saw him but I didn't speak to him.

- Did anybody speak to him?

- Oh, I think Mr. Collins.

- Oh, well, I'd sure like to be able to find Joe.

Maybe - maybe, Mr. Collins would know.

Would you tell him I would like to speak to him, please?

- Yes, I'll tell him.

- I still can't understand it.

About the clothes, I mean.

- Neither can I.

It's sort of spooky.

- Would you, children, mind talking about something else?

- Is something the matter?

- No.

- You seem sort of nervous.

- Well, I'm not.

- I hope you're feeling all right, Maggie.

It would be terrible if you got sick

and couldn't go on the trip.

It wouldn't be nearly as much fun without you.

- I'm fine, Amy.

Amy, which one of these dresses would you like to take?

- Um... The red one.

- Maggie? - Hmm?

- I heard you and Barnabas talking when I --

when I came into your room.

- Did you?

- Why did Vicki leave?

No one ever really explain it to me.

- Well, Barnabas told you.

Vicki had to go away with her husband.

- Where did they go?

- Well, they had to go to the place where her husband lives.

It's a long way away, Amy.

- She never even said goodbye to me.

I thought that was funny.

- David, she didn't have a chance.

She had to leave on the spur of the moment.

- Do you think I'll ever see her again?

- I don't know, David.

Probably not.

- Will she write to David?

- I don't know, Amy.

- It seems sort of funny that she hasn't written already.

Why hasn't she written, Maggie?

- David, how should I know?

Now, please stop asking me questions I can't answer.

- You are nervous. Aren't you?

- No.

I - I just have a bit of a headache.

- It's our fault, David.

We've been asking Maggie too many questions

and people don't always like to answer questions.

I'm sorry, Maggie. - So am I.

- Oh, don't apologize.

You, children, haven't done anything.

As a matter of fact, you've been behaving very nicely.

It's just that I have a headache.

- Poor Maggie.

Maybe you should go lie down for awhile.

- Amy, I am all right.

- Oh, Mr. Collins.

- Mr. Jennings, I'm so glad you're here.

There's something I want to talk to you about.

- What? - Come in the drawing room.

- What is it? - Well, it's about Amy.

- Oh, Amy.

- I'd like to take both David and Amy to Boston for a while.

Perhaps, put them in school there.

I think they ought to get out of this house

after all what's happened here.

- I see.

- Well, do I have your permission to take her?

- What?

- I said, do I have your permission to take her?

- Oh, yeah, yeah. Sure.

If she wants to go, that's - that's fine.

- Well, she does.

- Well, I'm sorry if I seem distracted.

I - I just haven't been able to find my cousin Joe

and Mrs. Johnson says he was here earlier this week.

- Yes, he was here.

- Did he say anything about leaving town?

- No. - Nothing at all?

- Mr. Jennings,

I think you ought to prepare yourself for a shock.

- A shock?

- You see, Joe isn't himself.

He's mentally disturbed.

He tried to take Amy from the house by force.

He was saying all sorts of strange things.

None of which made any sense. - What did he say?

- That he was trying to protect Amy.

- Protect her from what?

What, what did he say exactly?

What were his exact words?

- Well, I don't really remember.

As I say, he didn't make very much sense.

- I see.

- Well, frankly, you don't seem to be as surprised

about Joe as I thought you would be.

- Oh I am, I am. I am surprised.

And concerned, too. It's just that,

it's just that, well, I've, seen it coming.

I've seen it coming for some time now.

- Have you?

- Yes, Joe hasn't been himself for months.

- Well, he's been perfectly rational with me.

Until the other night.

- Well, that - that's with you.

With me, it's - it's a whole different thing.

He's just been going off the deep end.

I thought maybe there was something I could do

to prevent this, and apparently, there wasn't.

- Apparently not.

- There you are.

You're all packed and ready to go.

- Good.

- I'm going to go downstairs

and see if Mrs. Johnson has your dinner ready.

- Okay, Maggie.

- David, it didn't work!

- I know, but can't you tell?

They are getting scared.

- Yes, but not scared enough.

We still have to leave.

- We'll just have to scare them more.

- How?

I don't know. I will have to ask Quentin.

- What if Quentin doesn't know?

- He will know.

Now, just don't worry.

We'll never leave this house.

♪♪

- Will you come to visit me? - Oh, I sure will.

- Lots? - Well, as much as I can.

- I'll write to you, too. - I'll write you, too.

- Okay.

Bye-bye, now.

- Bye, Chris.

- Mr. Collins, thank you. Thank you very much.

- Of course. Goodbye.

- Bye.

I usually mind saying goodbye to Chris,

but this time, I didn't.

- Didn't you?

- No because I'm so excited about going to Boston.

- I'm glad you are.

♪♪

- Mrs. Johnson. - Yes?

- My clothes. They're back in my closet, too.

- What?

- I put all my clothes out on my bed

and they are back in my closet just like Amy's.

- David, you children aren't playing pranks now,

are you?

- Why would we want to do that?

- I don't know.

- Maybe, somebody's playing tricks on us.

- Yes. Yes, maybe.

Maybe, that's what it is.

- Who would do a thing to like that?

- I don't know.

- Maybe, maybe it was a ghost!

- Now, just don't talk like that anymore, David.

- Does it scare you?

- Of course not.

- What went on last night, it scared me!

- Well - well, you children will be gone to Boston soon.

- What's been going on, Mrs. Johnson?

- David, Amy is downstairs somewhere.

You run and find her.

Run along now.

- Well, I have to pack.

- No, I'll tend to that. You go find her.

- Okay Mrs. Johnson.

♪♪

[music box playing] ♪♪

- "I am alone. Help me."

Help me?

- Will you take us to the Boston Zoo?

- If you are both good. - We will be.

- I've never been to a zoo before.

- Oh, you will love it. They're lots of fun!

- Barnabas?!

Excuse me. - Well, what is it?

- I want to talk with you.

Children, would you please go upstairs?

- Is something the matter, Maggie?

- No, I - I just want to talk to Barnabas.

- Come on, Amy.

- All right.

[Maggie] - Barnabas, I found this.

It was on Vicki's dressing table.

The music box, it started to play all by itself.

And I went to the dressing table and I found that.

- I didn't want to believe it before.

- Do you think that Vicki is actually trying to contact us?

- She must be.

There is no other explanation for this.

- What are we going to do?

- There is one thing we can't do

and that is leave this house.

Vicki wants my help

and I must stay here and help her.

- I told you we'd never leave this house.

- I know you did and you were right.

But David -- - What?

- There is one thing I don't understand.

- What is that?

- Maggie said the music box opened by itself.

Quentin can't do that.

- That's right!

He can't.

- Then who did?

- I don't know.

♪♪

[eerie music] ♪♪