761 - May 25, 1969

[bunniefuu]

[ eerie theme music playing ]

NARRATOR:This night has seen the violet end of an evil woman

who threatened the lives of the two Collins children.

A creature of the supernatural, Laura Collins,

has been consumed by the flames that once sustained her.

But the threat she posed still exists

for the two children, Nora and Jamison Collins

remain trapped in the fire she created

in a remote section of the house.

[ urgent horns music chords ]

Oh, the room is on fire.

She must be in there with them.

[ menacing music ]

The key works, but I can't get the door open!

Jamison, Nora, can you hear me?

- [ both ] Yes, Father. - Yes, we can.

EDWARD:Is the door bolted on the inside?

Yes, the fire's in front of it, I can't get to it!

I'll try and break the door down.

- Go get an ax. - Yes.

[ fire crackles ]

They've got to hurry, there isn't much time.

[ dark and eerie music ]

Barnabas, Barnabas, where did you go?

- Barnabas. - Barnabas,

where'd you come from?

How'd you get in here?

Never mind, now go over there and stay there.

I'll go and unbolt the door, now go ahead--

The fire's going away.

How did you do it, Barnabas?

I didn't do anything.

How did the fire start in the first place?

At first it was only in the fireplace,

but then suddenly, it was all over the room.

EDWARD:Barnabas, can you open the door?

This is no time to try to understand anything.

We must get you out of here.

Nora, Jamison, are you alright?

Yes, yes, father, we're fine.

How did the fire disappear?

It went out as mysteriously as it started.

Where is Laura?

We saw her in the flames.

She was coming to us.

But it wasn't her.

It was someone very old.

I suggest we take them downstairs and call a doctor.

Yes, yes, I think you're right. Come along, children,

you'll be alright now, come along.

NORA: Oh, father.

EDWARD: All right.

[ loud knocking on door ]

[ door clicks ]

[ loud knocking ]

[ loud knocking ]

- Quentin. - What took ya so long?

Do you realize what time it is?

I know, I know it's late.

But you're an old friend, Evan, I'm sure you'll understand.

Well, I understand one thing, you're very drunk.

Oh, h*, that's right, [ chuckles ] very drunk.

And you want to know something, Evan?

- It doesn't help. - EVAN: It never does.

Now, why did you come here at this hour?

Evan, Evan would you turn on the lights?

I don't like being in the dark.

Thank you.

Now tell me what you want so I can get back to bed.

Hey, now, what do you think I want?

I need help, Evan, and I need it soon!

Now, now, there's no one else I can turn to.

You're the only one who understands

what has happened to me.

The fact that I understand it does not mean

- I can do anything about it. - Well, you've got to try.

Now...

There--There must be some way to end this curse.

You've got to help me find it.

Quentin, I've already tried twice,

- and I've failed each time. - Now listen to me.

Now, in two nights, there's going to be another full moon.

Now you know what happens then, don't you?

Yes, I know.

But there are some things you don't know.

Like the pain that comes just before the change.

And the guilt that comes after.

Evan, the last time it happened, I k*lled a woman.

Now there must be some solution.

Something that can undo what the Gypsy has done to me.

Quentin, I don't have a solution.

[ Quentin sighs ]

Oh, I sympathize with you.

I understand what you're going through.

If I could think of some way to try and help you,

to keep you from suffering, I'd try it,

but I, I don't have supernatural powers.

But you do have knowledge of the supernatural!

And of the black arts.

Now, all I'm asking you to do is to use it.

Now, if anyone

can end my misery, it's you.

Well, the only person who could definitely

end it is the Gypsy herself.

If we could just think of some way of persuading her.

Well we can't, we've tried and it didn't do any good.

Now, Evan, listen, I'm not asking you

to perform a miracle,

just promise me you'll try to think of something, anything.

I can't go through with this again.

God, I'd rather die.

[ sighs ]

All right, Quentin.

I don't even know where to begin,

but I will try to think of something.

Now, let's get you cleaned up and back to Collinwood.

We'll discuss it further tomorrow.

[ deep, ominous music ]

Well, what did the doctor say?

The children will be alright.

They're suffering from the shock of the experience, that's all.

BARNABAS: That's quite enough.

Oh, it still seems to me so incredible.

Well, as long as the doctor's news is good,

there's no point in me staying here

much longer tonight.

Besides, you look as if you could get some rest yourself.

I'm not about to rest, and I would appreciate it

if you would stay long enough to answer

- some very troubling questions. - What questions?

Well, the most mysterious one is,

how you managed to get in

that locked room with the children?

As far as I can see, you accomplished

something that is humanly impossible,

and I want you to tell me how you did it.

[ dramatic, shocking music chord ]

Barnabas, I find your silence rather disturbing.

Surely you know how you got into that room.

- Well, yes, of course. - Well then, how then?

Well, it occurred to me that after you went

to get the ax, there was a ledge outside

the window in that room.

I knew there wasn't time to knock down the door,

so I ran to the other end

of the corridor and got out that window,

and made my way along the ledge

- of the window in that room. - Well, you--

You did it amazingly fast.

Well, I wasn't even conscious of time.

There wasn't a second to spare.

I see.

I hope you don't mind my asking you these questions.

Not at all, Edward, I quite understand.

Do you have any idea what happened in that room

between Laura and the children?

Uh, well, not completely.

But I'm sure that she made the children

make contact with her, and she tried

to get them to go with her.

Through flames?

Yes, there's no doubt now about her supernatural powers.

You've seen evidence of it yourself.

Yes, I did indeed.

I never believed that anything like that could happen.

Do you think that she has gone for good now?

Well, I can only assume that,

well, that she died in that room and consumed by her own flames.

The same flames that didn't leave

a mark on the children. It doesn't seem possible.

And yet, if it is possible, what became of the body?

Edward, the circumstances around her death

make it impossible to explain it by ordinary logic.

And yet, I must find some way of explaining her death.

- Why? - For the children's sake.

They're convinced that it wasn't

their mother with them in that room.

BARNABAS: Well, who do they think it was?

Oh, some incredibly old creature

that they had never seen before.

Well, as difficult as it may be for them,

it was their mother.

How am I ever to convince them of that?

I don't know, but I'm sure that they'll get

very little sleep tonight anyway,

so after the doctor has gone,

I suggest you have a good talk with them.

And tell them what?

Well, that for their own peace of mind

that they must accept the fact that their mother is gone,

and that she'll never return to this house.

I don't envy you this task, but you must do it.

And you must succeed in convincing them.

Very well, I'll try.

- Goodnight, Barnabas. - Goodnight, Edward.

[ mysterious music ]

[ door clunks ]

[ mysterious music ]

[ door clicks ]

[ door thuds ]

Jamison?

What are you doing out of bed at this hour?

I wanted to talk to you,

but when I went to your room, you weren't there.

Well, uh, I was visiting with Mr. Hanley.

We've been talking most of the evening.

Well, you must have wanted to see me

about something very important

to stay up this late, huh?

Yes, I wanted to ask you if we could

become good friends again.

[ chuckles ] Jamison, I've never stopped being your friend.

I know that, Quentin, but I've said some things

to you that, well, I'm sorry I said them to you now.

Has something happened here tonight while I've been away?

Something that upset you very much?

JAMISON: Yes.

You wanna tell me all about it?

- My mother's gone, Quentin. - QUENTIN: Gone where?

She's dead.

Laura, dead?

How did it happen?

I don't know, I don't understand it.

There was a fire in the east wing,

and she was trapped in it.

It was terrible, Quentin.

And now, you don't have to tell me any more about it, Jamison.

[ snorts ]

It's too upsetting for you to talk about it anymore.

- Quentin? - What?

I don't want you to go away too.

[ chuckles ]

Where'd you ever get the idea that I might do that?

I don't know, I just don't want it to happen.

I want you to stay right here at Collinwood with me.

Well, I have no intention of leaving.

I'm going to stay right here, [ chuckles ]

and we're going to be better friends

than we ever have been before.

Now, why don't you run upstairs and get some sleep?

Tomorrow we'll have a nice long talk,

just the way we always used to, all right?

I'd like that.

- Goodnight, Jamison. - Goodnight, Quentin.

- Goodnight, Mr. Hanley. - Goodnight, Jamison.

Now, don't tell me you're going to be grief-stricken

I thought you hated Laura Collins.

I did.

But now, in one way, at least, I envy her.

What are you talking about?

Well, if she's dead, Evan,

she may be better off than I am.

As long as you're breathing, Quentin,

- there has to be some hope. - I don't see any.

Perhaps you haven't been looking in the right direction.

What do you mean?

I've been doing a lot of thinking on the way over here,

and I may have a way of solving your problem.

QUENTIN: Well, tell me.

Quentin, you and I are not exactly amateurs

when it comes to practicing these so-called black arts.

In fact, on occasion, we have been rather successful

at summoning certain dark powers.

QUENTIN: What are you getting at?

I suggest we conduct a ceremony

and try to summon the supreme power of the underworld.

The devil?

- Is that what you're saying? - EVAN: That's what I'm saying.

Well, I admire your thinking, Evan.

I like a man who aims high.

But I don't believe for a minute that--

that the devil would answer us?

That's right.

Quentin, what do you have to lose by trying?

- Nothing, but I remember-- - EVAN: Then let's try.

If we're successful,

I think your troubles will be at an end.

Of course, there is one thing you have

to take into consideration before you decide.

- QUENTIN: And what's that? - A price.

I told you before, Evan,

I'll find some way of repaying you.

I'm not talking about my price,

I'm talking about the devil's price,

which I would expect to be rather high.

You might not be willing to pay it.

I want to get rid of this curse.

I'm willing to pay any price.

If necessary, I'll sell my soul to do it.

You may have to, Quentin.

You may have to.

Nora.

Yes, father?

Why are you sitting here alone?

Why aren't you with Jamison?

We both wanted to be alone today.

EDWARD: Why?

I don't know, after what happened last night--

- Oh, Nora.

Have you been here sitting, thinking about your mother?

Yes, please don't be angry with me, father.

Oh, I'm not angry, dear, it's perfectly understandable.

But you must realize that it isn't doing you any good.

NORA: But I can't help it.

I don't know how long it will take,

but the time will come when you must accept the fact, Nora,

that your mother is gone, and that she's not coming back.

I know.

EDWARD: I want you to make every effort

to forget about what happened last night.

And the best way that you can do that

is to try to occupy your mind with other things.

Will you do that for me, Nora?

Yes, father.

- I think I'll go upstairs now. - Yes, of course, dear.

[ telephone ringing ]

Hello?

Speaking.

Oh, good afternoon, Reverend Trask.

No, I'm afraid not today.

Oh, oh, the lease, well I'm not the one to speak to anyway.

Mr. Hanley, our lawyer, can help you with that.

Well, I don't see why not,

he's very courteous and most efficient.

Well, not at all, goodbye.

[ footsteps clunking ]

Quentin!

I would like to speak to you

about a very important family matter.

[ sighs ] A family matter?

Well, I didn't know anyone thought

of me as a member of the family.

Well, Quentin, perhaps it's time that we did.

Are you quite sure you're feeling all right, Edward?

I think the time has come, Quentin,

for us to try to be a family again,

for you, and Carl, and Judith, and I to sit down

and try to reconcile all our differences.

And what has brought this on, brother?

The realization that there is something

- unnatural about our lives. - Unnatural?

What happened to Laura last night was something

that went against the natural order of things,

and I want to make certain

that nothing as freakish and abnormal

ever comes into our lives like that again.

EDWARD: What's the matter with you?

Oh, nothing, I've got to go, Edward.

But I haven't finished speaking to you.

You have now, I'm going to be late.

What is so important,

more important than family matters?

I don't think you'd understand if I told you.

But you may be interested to know

that I am as interested as you are

in the natural order of things. [ sighs ]

Everything is ready.

We can begin at the stroke of--

[ glass clinking ]

Perhaps we should postpone this until tomorrow night.

No.

I wanna go through with it now.

EVAN: I'm sorry you got here as early as you did.

Don't worry about me, Evan.

I'm going to be all right.

Now, how can you possibly say that, you're drunk already.

- Does it bother you, Evan? - Yes!

Well, I don't think it will bother the devil.

If he happens to show up.

- Suppose I just relieve you-- - Suppose you don't.

You're not the victim in this mess, I am.

I have to pay the price.

Let me pay it in my own way.

[ clock chimes ]

The time has come.

Let's begin.

[ soft, mysterious music ]

Prince of fire,

hear my plea,

I call upon the flame to summon you.

I call upon the raven and the bat

and all the dark creatures of nature,

upon the charred and blackened star

that reigned at your beginning

to draw you like a rising mist

from out of the darkness of the earth.

[ thunder rumbling ]

Prince of darkness,

I summon you in the name of the seven plagues,

of thunder clouds that weep with nightshade.

[ loud thunder rumbling ]

EVAN: In the name of every spirit that still bends

against the rasp of the wind and cries out to you.

From the subterranean rivers of blood

from which demons have drunk.

From the smoke of torment which rises forever

and ever, I evoke you,

appear to us, Satan,

appear to us, Satan.

Appear to us.

[ thunder rumbles ]

[ thunder rumbling ]

[ winds blowing ]

[ ominous music ]

[ glass breaks ]