431 - February 19, 1968

[bunniefuu]

[narrator] -A séance has been held in the great house at Collinwood,

a séance which has suspended time and space,

and sent Victoria Winters on an uncertain

and frightening journey back to the past,

to the year .

And here, in this deserted haunted house,

there has been a meeting.

One man has wronged the woman he loves from her grave

and looked upon the face of death.

- It's almost dawn.

You can't stay here.

I'll help you back to the mausoleum.

- She came to me, Ben.

- Aye.

- I forced her from the grave.

She did not want to come.

- She's still here in this house?

- I knew the power of my love

was so great that I could make her join me.

I was right.

But I know now the power of our love is so strong.

But I had to send her back to her grave forever.

It is finished.

I shall never see her again.

♪♪

[eerie theme music] ♪♪

Why do we never learn to leave the past alone?

Why does each of us want so to - to bring it alive?

I learn this night how wrong it is even to think of it.

- When I saw Josette's face-- - You will forget.

- No.

But I must.

I must remember only the way she looked when she was alive.

How beautiful she was.

Ben, I made her look the way she is now.

I k*lled Josette as if with my own hands.

- You won't forget that,

but you can still remember her when she loved you.

- You must go back to the mausoleum. - No.

- You can't stay here. - I must.

- Why?

- That is not your concern.

- I'm begging your pardon, sir, it is.

- You told me yourself

that people were wandering around out there.

- Not so many as there will be here.

- This house is deserted.

None of my family will visit it.

- That will change.

- It is very unlikely that it was change.

This has been a house of - of agony for my family.

- But there is a chance. - I'll take it.

- No. - But I love her, Ben.

- I must be here.

Well, we were happy for a while

when she first came to Collinsport.

Here, she will be as she is in that portrait,

always young, always beautiful.

- Mr. Barnabas-- - My decision is made.

- You want to get caught, don't you?

You want people to find you out.

- No, I don't want to stay here for all eternity,

afraid to come out,

accepting life as a sentence of solitary confinement.

I cannot do that.

Ben, I will be here long after you're gone.

I have thousands of nights to look forward to,

millions.

What am I to look forward to if the sight of me

fills anyone that I love with terror?

Even Josette did not want to come back to me.

- You stay here.

I'll keep everybody out.

And I can do it.

[birds chirping]

-Daniel!

Daniel!

Daniel Collins!

Oh, that boy.

Oh, no, he wouldn't go in there.

Daniel!

Daniel!

- Ben, what are you doing here?

♪♪

What are you doing, Ben?

- Just finding the right key,

what - what do you think I'm doing?

- Why are you doing that?

Because this door ought to be locked, that's why.

- That's - that's no answer, you know.

- Well, maybe, in New York, where you come from then,

they give better answers.

- What's in the cellar?

- Nothing. Nothing is.

- Then why are you locking it?

- Because that was my orders.

- Who gives crazy orders like that?

- It don't make no never mind who gave the order.

Now, go on up to Collinwood.

- No, thank you.

- What do you mean, "no thank you"?

Go on up there and play.

- There's no one to play with since Sarah died.

- You can't play here.

- Why not?

- Because no one is supposed to be in here.

- Why?

- Do you always ask these many questions?

- My sister Millicent says I was born curious.

Whenever I ask too many questions,

she just doesn't answer.

- And I'll do the same.

- And I just sit there and wait until she leaves.

And I'll find out what I want to know in the first place.

- This time, you don't.

Come on. I'm taking you home.

- No! You can't! Let go of me!

- I'm not going back there ever, ever! - Aren't you?

- We'll see about that. I'm not let any boy your size

tell me what you're going to do or what he ain't.

Maybe, you can get away with that in the nursery

but not when you're around Ben Stokes.

- Ow! Ben! Let go of me.

I'll tell my Cousin Joshua on you.

- No, you will, will you?

Well, maybe, you better tell him in front of me, too.

- No. Let go, Ben.

I won't tell him.

I won't.

I'll tell you the truth.

I mean, why I'm here.

But you won't tell anyone, will you?

- Just because I got a tongue, don't mean I have to use it.

- I don't trust you. - Well, to home we go.

- No, I'm running away. - Oh.

- I don't expect you to understand it.

- You don't, huh?

Where are you going?

- Oh, I don't know.

- I thought you were a pretty bright fellow.

- Who says I'm not?

- It don't take a half brain to see

you got to know where you're going

because how are you going to get there in the first place.

- I never thought of that.

- You've gotta plan a thing like running away.

- Well, how do you plan things?

- Well, for instance, suppose you are heading west

to Indian Country, you'd need food.

You got food?

Money?

An extra pair of boots?

- No.

- Well, then, you wouldn't get far.

- But I wasn't planning on heading west.

- Where were you going?

- It's none of your business.

- Just far enough to scare your sister, I bet?

I imagine she scares easy.

- She used to, but she doesn't anymore.

She doesn't pay any attention to me.

Nobody does except my Cousin Abigail.

- So, I guess you just figured you'd run away

right down here, huh?

- Well, I did live here once when we first came.

I liked it better down here.

- Well, you wouldn't like it now.

Now, it's pretty scary if you're alone.

I know.

Some people even think the place is... haunted.

- By ghosts? - Aye.

- Well, I don't believe in ghosts, anyway.

- I hope you never do.

I tell you what.

If you really want to run away,

you go back to the big house

and start saving what you'll need.

Even if you only run this far, you could get pretty hungry.

I tell you what. I'll help you make a list.

- You'll just tell on me.

- Who'd I - who'd I tell?

- Any of them.

Maybe - though, maybe, if I don't leave today

and you will help me,

well, then I can go home

and make my list and come back.

- No, I - I won't be here.

- Where will you be?

- I don't know.

I'll come to you.

- Will you?

Or you're like the rest of them?

You say things like that and you don't ever do them.

- Don't look for me here.

I will find you.

♪♪

- Daniel!

Come here.

Where do you think you're going?

- Out for a walk.

- It's getting dark!

I really don't understand you.

I spent the entire morning looking for you.

- You did? - Yes.

- A woman of my years

running around like a silly schoolgirl hunting you.

I could have had a seizure.

- What is that? - Nothing.

- Well, if it's nothing,

why did you bother to write it down on paper?

"Extra boots, $, a hatchet."

What is this, please?

- It's a list of things I want for my birthday.

- I never knew a young boy to want boots for his birthday.

There's something more here.

- No, there isn't.

Why can't I make a list? I've seen you.

- That's different. I'm a grownup.

Grownups have to make lists.

- Because they can't remember anything.

- Your sister Millicent has not taught you

to respect your elders.

That's obvious.

Now, come in here. I want to talk to you.

I didn't spend the morning looking for you for nothing.

Come on.

- If I come, will you give me my paper?

- I will not bribe you.

- It's mine.

- I only want to ask you about doing your duty.

Now, you're not too young to do that.

- Well, it's your duty to give me what's mine

and that's mine.

- Very well. Now, come in.

Sit down.

Now, I want to ask you about this.

- That bracelet?

- You've seen it before, haven't you?

- I guess.

- Where?

- Is it Ms. Winters'? - That's right.

- And why do you have it?

- Ms. Winters is in jail as you well know.

This is evidence against her.

No one else has a bracelet like this,

full of heathen symbols,

the devil himself is in it.

- I know.

She showed us.

- What did she say about that?

- She said it was the devil.

- And did she ask you to get down no your knees

and worship him?

- Whoever heard of getting down on your knees

and worshipping a devil?

- Did you ask her about some of these other symbols,

this crab-like creature?

- No. - I don't believe you.

- Well, why would I lie?

- I hope you're not lying

because lying makes you a child of the devil.

Now, tell me, Daniel.

I want to know what you and Sarah and Ms. Winters

talked about during the lessons.

- Well, she said that that somebody

we'd be able to fly through the air.

- Fly? - Yes.

And we go six or seven hundred miles in an hour.

- Why didn't you come and tell me this immediately?

- Well, do you want to fly, too?

- When the Lord sees fit to make me an angel,

then I'll fly, not before.

Now, what else did she tell you?

- I don't remember.

- Yes, you do.

- Well, she said that someday,

we wouldn't have to learn arithmetic anymore

and it would all be done by machines

and voices could go through the air

just by magic

and you'd turn a little knob and you could hear them.

I didn't understand that.

- I understand that very well.

Oh, Daniel, I want you tomorrow morning

to go to Collinsport with me.

- Why?

- I want you to go to Ms. Winters' trial

and tell those judges exactly what you told me.

- Well, why should I do a thing like that?

- Because what she told you is not the truth.

- Well, maybe, she was joking.

- Joking, you poor child.

- Well, besides, even if they aren't true,

Sarah and I like hearing about those things

and - and I like Ms. Winters

better than anyone else around here.

- Daniel!

- It's true. She was nice to us.

She played with us.

And she let us play wherever we wanted.

She wasn't always chasing me around like you.

Or telling me to go home like Ben.

I don't have fun around here anymore.

- Well, there's a lot more to life than fun.

- Everyone is always picking on me.

Why Ben says I can't even go to the old house anymore.

- Ben said that? When?

- Today, this morning.

Why, why can't I go there anymore?

Is it haunted?

- He said that? - Is it?

- Was he in the old house?

- Yes.

- He had no reason to be. No reason at all.

What was he doing there when you saw him?

- Unlocking a door.

- Locking a door. - What door?

- The cellar door.

- We'll continue our little talk later.

- You mustn't go there, Cousin Abigail.

It's getting dark out.

- The dark doesn't frighten me, Daniel.

We each have an inner light we carry with us

as I hope you'll learn.

♪♪

[church bell tolling]

Ben!

Ben Stokes!

What are you doing here?

- I was just passing by, Ms. Abigail.

- On your way to where?

- To the New House.

I - I just thought I'd stop in and see if the door is locked.

- What door?

- This one.

It ain't locked.

- Well, I have my keys,

and I'll lock it when I'm finished.

- I'm begging your pardon, Ms. Abigail?

Finished what?

- Well, that's no concern of yours.

Now, you go on to the new house.

Reverend Trask is expected there any moment.

Tell him it's very important that he meet me here.

- Ms. Abigail, you wouldn't want to go in here.

- You don't tell me where I go, Ben Stokes.

- If you're going in here, I'll go with you.

- You'll do no such thing.

You do what I told you or my brother will hear of this.

- I'm just trying to spare you grief, Ms. Abigail.

- Oh, yes, I'm aware of your concern for me

after you were caught as a thief in my room.

- Ms. Abigail, I'm trying to tell you

that the place is haunted.

- What nonsense.

The Reverend Trask himself exorcised this house.

I'm not afraid of ghosts in there.

- If you want something from in inside,

I'll get it for you.

- You must think I have a very short memory

to trust you when you were the servant of the witch

who was trying to destroy us.

- Ms. Abigail--

- And I personally think you are still in league with her

and I have my eye on you

and you'll come to trial yet and not as a witness.

Don't you forget that, Ben Stokes.

Now, go on and do what I told you.

- Ms. Abigail, if something happens to you in there--

- It'll be my responsibility.

- You're right. It's your responsibility.

Maybe, you'll get what you deserve.

[thinking] -He's hidden something of the witch's here.

I know it.

Perhaps, even the book,

that book which would convict her.

That must be it.

She gave it to him.

A coffin!

Reverend Trask, I'll wait for him!

[lid creaking open]

- Abigail, what are you doing here?

- Ah!

♪♪

[eerie theme music] ♪♪