1231 - March 14, 1971

[bunniefuu]

[slow somber music]

NARRATOR:Collinwood, the mysterious locked room

in the abandoned west wing has brought

death or madness to all who have entered it.

Morgan Collins has survived the night in the room,

but has been possessed by the spirit

of a man who d*ed in , the year the curse began.

On this night, an attempt was made to exorcise the spirit

of James Forsythe from the body of Morgan Collins.

The attempt failed, but the family is soon to be faced

with a revelation they never expected.

[slow eerie music]

[door clunks]

MORGAN: No, stay away from me!

Stay away from me!

JULIA: Morgan, Morgan, what's happened?!

Not Morgan, Forsythe.

Brutus is here!

JULIA: The spirit of Brutus Collins?

He will send me back to the tomb.

Time is running out.

I feel weaker every moment.

The possession is ending, oh.

Yes, you must listen to me, while there is still time.

You must hear the truth.

What is the truth?

The truth about what?

The curse, what really happened in !

Yes, yes, you must tell me, tell me, you must!

He's here.

Brutus is here.

Hear me Brutus!

It is too late for you to stop me.

I am going to tell the truth at last.

The truth about what really happened in .

Your family will finally know about the curse!

[slow dramatic music]

[slow ominous music]

[slow chilling music]

He will not stop me, it is too late.

Please, please tell me how it all began.

I first met Brutus Collins in the year .

His sister Constance introduced us.

He seemed an amiable man and an honest one.

We liked each other at once

and we soon became business partners.

But in three short years, I was to learn

there were many sides to this man, Brutus Collins.

He was a man of many dark and terrifying secrets.

He spent almost all of his time alone going over his books.

He trusted no one.

Not even his own wife and children.

[knocking on door]

Who is it?

CONSTANCE: Constance.

Come in.

I told you I didn't want to be disturbed, sister.

Yes I know, but James Forsythe is here.

He wants to see you.

Very well, give me a moment and then show him in.

[slow foreboding music]

[door clunks]

Good evening, Brutus.

Well James, my boy, what a pleasant surprise!

You can dispense with the parental greeting

and the jolly welcome.

I am here to discuss our partnership.

BRUTUS: Oh come, come,

you know I never discuss business at night.

Oh Brutus, I think you even discuss

your business in your sleep.

Assuming that you do sleep.

BRUTUS: Well what a curious thing to say.

JAMES: It isn't really at all,

knowing about your strange preoccupation with the occult,

nothing would surprise me.

I can imagine you using some strange powders and potions,

and doing strange chants to do anything you want.

Oh, I'm really not so dedicated to the occult

as you would seem to imagine, I'm merely a dabbler.

What do you want to speak about the partnership?

Oh, that it has become a little bit too one sided.

You seem to be getting richer and I'm getting poorer.

We both make the same money, James.

How you spend yours is your concern, not mine.

But you see Brutus, I'm of the opinion

that you are spending mine.

And I do not like that!

Take care, you do not make a statement

you may live to regret.

JAMES: If I'm wrong then you won't mind

if I audit the books.

The books are in the company office.

They're always at your disposal.

I am not talking about those books.

I'm talking about the books that tell the real story.

The ones only you see.

There are no such books.

JAMES: You're a liar.

I think it's time that we dissolve this partnership.

We will summon our attorneys in the morning.

I want what is coming to me.

Have no fear, James, you will get what is coming to you.

In due time, goodnight.

Good evening, Mr. Forsythe.

Good evening Mrs. Collins.

Mr. Forsythe is leaving us, my dear.

He is leaving this house and he is leaving

the Collins Forsythe Trading Company.

[slow tense music]

[door clatters]

[door thuds]

I'm sorry, I didn't know you were in here.

BRUTUS: If you did, you wouldn't have come in.

Is that it?

No, no, of course not.

How did you become such an abominable liar, my dear wife?

You enjoy being mean Brutus.

I don't know why you are so cruel but--

BRUTUS: But what?

Nothing.

I expect you'll be sorry to see

Forsythe leave the company.

Why should I be sorry?

I think we both know the answer to that, don't we?

I don't know what you're talking about.

Please excuse me.

BRUTUS: Where are you going?

Out, for some air.

Follow her.

See where she goes and what she does.

[slow dramatic music]

[slow gentle music]

You shouldn't have come here, my darling.

It's too dangerous.

James, I couldn't wait.

I had to come and see you

and find out why you came to Collinwood.

What happened between you and Brutus?

We had a confrontation at last.

I accused him of cheating.

I know that he's embezzling funds

and he's trying to get me out of the partnership.

But I don't know how to prove it.

There's only one way.

It's to go to the secret records room

and find the books he keeps himself.

Amanda, we've gone through this already.

If I could only exactly do that.

If I knew where the records room was.

But Brutus is the only one who knows that.

AMANDA: I know.

You what?

I found out today, quite by accident.

Well tell me, tell me where is it?

[slow dramatic music]

AMANDA: Just over his bedroom.

At the head of his bead there's a large drape.

Behind the drape there's a door.

The door leads to that secret room [laughs].

Oh, I know I can prove now.

I'll go there tonight.

James, you must be very careful.

Only of Brutus.

If anyone in his family sees me going there,

they will want me to go on

and show him up as the cheater he really is.

Please, please don't be over confident.

Brutus has instincts that are uncanny.

He always seems to sense when there's danger near.

Don't worry my darling, I have a good reason to succeed,

I love you.

And I'm going to take you away from Brutus

and this terrible life he's forced you to live.

I love you, James.

I will pray for you tonight.

I'll meet you tomorrow morning at o'clock.

We'll go to the village together.

[slow ominous music]

Where did my dear wife go?

CONSTANCE: Amanda is at the cottage with Mr. Forsythe.

Hmm, the lovers trysting, how touching it is.

There wasn't anything very touching about what I heard.

And what was that?

Oh, they're plotting against you, Brutus.

They're planning to destroy you!

Tell me more, dear sister.

Tell me more.

[slow malicious music]

[slow suspenseful music]

[wood thuds]

[wood clunks]

[door squeaks]

[door squeaks]

Good Lord, it's worse than I thought.

He's stolen me blind.

I couldn't have phrased it better myself.

JAMES: Brutus!

Yes, my boy.

The little meeting we're about to have

has been a long time coming.

How did you know I was here?

I have my ways.

I have all of the proof right here.

That you've embezzled hundreds and thousands of dollars.

And what do you propose to do about it?

JAMES: Well, I'm going to the authorities of course.

You don't think they will believe your charges do you?

Well, I have all of the proof right here on the paper.

I don't think I'll have any problem at all

getting people to testify against you.

Including your own family, except for Constance.

There are many people that would like to see you hanged.

Yes, and do you know why they hate me?

Because I am more intelligent, I am more aggressive,

more ambitious, and more determined to succeed

than they will ever be.

What chance did you ever give any of your sons?

You were jealous of them,

afraid they might succeed honestly.

So you did everything you could to squelch their quality.

I gave them countless opportunities

but they were too week to take advantage of it.

The only thing they excelled in is gratitude.

No, they will never testify against me.

Nor will you, my boy.

I have all of the proof right here.

And you are not going to stop me, Brutus.

No, you cannot.

[Brutus grunts]

[James yelps]

[wood thuds]

Oh, yes.

Oh, yes, James.

In fact, you've left open to me only one course of action.

[mid-tempo ominous music]

[slow chilling music]

You spoke of my interest in the occult James.

Little did you know that you would be a victim of it.

Yes, I know many secrets unknown to ordinary men.

You see, an ordinary death would not be good enough for you.

Oh, I want you dead, but I don't want you to rest James.

I want your spirit to be troubled through all eternity.

[slow eerie music]

Something is wrong.

He said we should meet here at o'clock in the morning.

He would never be so late.

Something has happened to him.

Good morning, Amanda.

Good morning.

You seem quite out of breath.

Where is Brutus?

Oh I don't know, why do you ask?

I was just wondering if he still intended to

dissolve the partnership with Mr. Forsythe.

Oh, haven't you heard about Mr. Forsythe?

No, what about him?

Well, he suddenly decided to leave town

quite early this morning.

But that is impossible!

Oh, why is it?

Well, what I mean is, I had understood that

they were to meet with their lawyers this morning.

Well perhaps Mr. Forsythe had a change of heart.

Yes, yes, of course.

I must go to my room.

[slow sinister music]

[Amanda gasps]

Dead.

[Amanda cries]

James.

James, I was so afraid it would end this way.

How heart rending.

The lovers together, and in such a curious twist in fate.

You k*lled him.

You're a m*rder*r, a m*rder*r!

You were planning to help him destroy me weren't you?

But you see I got to him before he got to me.

AMANDA: You knew I would come back here.

You have waited for me.

I am here Amanda in the interest of poetic justice.

What do you mean?

You always wanted James Forsythe.

Now you can have him.

You two will be together at last.

Together for a very long time.

What do you mean? [Amanda screams]

[slow menacing music]

I will put your body beside his.

How romantic and beautiful you look in death.

But your spirit will not rest either.

[mid-tempo chilling music]

[slow haunting music]

What are you doing here?

Brutus, what's, what's inside there?

None of your business.

Forget you ever saw this door, do you hear me?

Why, why are you angry at me?

Get out of here!

All right, I'll go and find Amanda.

I forgot to tell you, Amanda has, has left with Forsythe.

[slow dramatic music]

Why are you staring at me?

I saw Amanda less than a half hour ago.

You, you lied to me.

Constance, will you go to your room!

No, no, you must tell me why you're lying to me.

BRUTUS: Constance, I am warning you.

You know where Amanda is.

You've done something to her.

And Mr. Forsythe, what's happened to him?

Constance, I am telling you

for the last time, go to your room!

Are they behind there?

No, no, Constance, come back here!

[slow tense music]

CONSTANCE: They're, they're dead!

They deserved to die for betraying me.

Brutus, Brutus I think I'm seeing you

for the first time as you really are.

Don't you turn on me Constance,

I am warning you!

I've, I've always taken your part.

I've always believed in you

and taken your part against your enemies.

But I think they're right.

I think what they believe is true.

Oh, you're a monster.

A monster!

[Brutus yells]

[Constance grunts]

No!

I set a curse upon the family,

a curse which will haunt even future generations.

It shall bring death and insanity

to all whoever inhabit this room.

And it shall not end until that time

when someone spends a night in this spot

and survives with his sanity.

That person, and only that person

shall be worthy of the name of Collins!

[mid-tempo sinister music]

He was so right.

Whatever devilish thing he did to me,

my spirit did not rest.

Nor of that of Amanda.

So it was Brutus Collins who put the curse on us.

Our own ancestor.

He must have been mad, totally mad.

[metal rattles]

He's back.

His spirit has come back.

He has come back to take me back there!

[wind howls]

[Julia gasps]

Yes, Forsythe.

It is time.

Back to your tomb.

Back with your lover, Amanda.

[Morgan yells]

JULIA: Morgan, Morgan are you all right, Morgan?

Hear me!

And hear me well.

The curse will go on.

The truth will not help you.

The curse will go on,

and it will lead to more tragedy than ever before.

[slow ominous music]

[slow somber music]