Creative Spirit with Screenplay Read online

  RANSOM

  You look like you know your way around a horse.

  ANNA

  I know one end from the other. I spent a year on a farm when I was fifteen.

  MASON

  Only a year?

  ANNA

  (rubbing the horse)

  Foster home. One of many.

  RANSOM

  Want to help me unhitch?

  Anna follows as Ransom pulls the wagon toward the barn. Ransom pulls back on the reins and stops.

  RANSOM

  Danged if they ain't changed it again.

  MASON

  What?

  Ransom points to the horseshoe above the barn door. It hangs upside down.

  Ransom gets out of the wagon, rolls a barrel to the door, climbs up and moves the horseshoe. Now the prongs point up.

  MASON

  I thought a horseshoe was good luck.

  RANSOM

  The old signs get watered down and made weak because people forget their purpose. Take a four-leaf clover.

  MASON

  Good luck, too.

  RANSOM

  (opens the barn door)

  Used to be, it gave you the power to see ghosts and witches. Back when people believed.

  Ransom climbs back into the wagon and points at the horseshoe.

  RANSOM

  Points-up means witches and demons can't come in. Points-down, you might as well roll out the rug and say howdy-do to every kind of evil you can think up.

  ANNA

  Maybe you believe it, but what if the ghosts don't?

  Ransom looks at her, touches the ragball charm in his pocket, flips the reins, and guides the horses into the barn.

  CUT TO:

  INT. BARN

  Anna and Ransom unhook the horses from the wagon. In the barn are two surreys, a sleigh, and a large steel horse-drawn HAYRAKE.

  Anna stands between the horses, unsnapping the reins. Mason stands to the side, wary. The horses rub against Anna.

  ANNA

  They're beautiful.

  RANSOM

  And they sure took a shine to you.

  Mason points to the hayrake.

  MASON

  That's a mean-looking machine.

  RANSOM

  We still do hay the hard way around here. Horses and steel.

  ANNA

  Some of the fields are pretty high. You going to cut any while we're here?

  RANSOM

  (still working)

  Nope. The sign's in the heart.

  MASON

  In the heart?

  RANSOM

  You never cut reaping crops under that sign.

  ANNA

  Not a good time to harvest?

  RANSOM

  Only for harvesting dead things.

  The wagon is free now.

  RANSOM

  (to Anna)

  You mind turning the horses out? They'll want to kick up their heels a little before dinner time.

  As Anna leads the horses out the other side of the barn, Mason and Ransom push the wagon to its slot between the two surreys. Mason sees a TRAP DOOR.

  MASON

  What's down below?

  RANSOM

  Taters, apples, cabbage. Root crops that don't got to be so cold. Take a look if you want.

  Mason opens the trap door. The root cellar is dark.

  RANSOM

  One other thing. Rats down there get as big around as your head.

  Something squeaks and lunges out of the shadows. Mason SLAMS the trap door.

  MASON

  Hey, I grew up with rats. I can hate them if I want to.

  The fluttering of wings. A BIRD flies through the rafters. Mason ducks.

  MASON

  I hate bats, too.

  RANSOM

  That's a bluebird.

  (to Anna)

  You know what happens when one flies in your path. It's a sign you're gonna be kissed.

  ANNA

  Wonderful. And I thought I earned my kisses through charm and good looks.

  RANSOM

  Believe what you believe, young lady. Believe what you believe.

  CUT TO:

  INT. SPENCE'S ROOM—EVENING

  Typewriter keys hitting the paper. Spence at the desk, lantern burning. The stack of pages beside him has grown.

  Bridget comes up behind Spence and gives him a hug. Spence continues typing.

  BRIDGET

  Time for bed, honey.

  SPENCE

  Word.

  BRIDGET

  (nuzzling his neck)

  What's that, honey?

  SPENCE

  The great god Word. Word who giveth and taketh away, who gave his only begotten suffix so that Spence shall not perish, but have everlasting metaphor.

  BRIDGET

  Are you feeling okay? You haven't slept since we got here.

  SPENCE

  Ah, is the bed too cold for you?

  BRIDGET

  I get lonely, Jeff.

  SPENCE

  (still typing)

  Surely you can turn your not inconsiderable talents to procuring a lover. You have my permission.

  BRIDGET

  But I love you.

  SPENCE

  Love, the ultimate vanity. All love is self-love. Motherly, brotherly, puppy, religious, sacrificial love. All love is masturbation. So I give you permission to love yourself, since that seems to be what you want from me.

  BRIDGET

  (stops hugging)

  Honey, don't be so...so...

  SPENCE

  Obdurate. From the Latin 'to harden.' Synonyms: firm, unbending, inflexible. Ah, now we're getting to the crux.

  BRIDGET

  Don't do that. You know I don't care about your—about our problem.

  Spence stops typing. His face twitches, then he erupts in laughter. He swivels in his chair and strokes Bridget's cheek.

  SPENCE

  Our problem.

  Spence suddenly clutches her hair, grabs his manuscript off the desk, and throws the pages into her face.

  The pages fall to the floor, and Bridget drops to her hands and knees, sobbing.

  SPENCE

  (turning back to the typewriter)

  Pick them up, please. In order.

  Bridget pulls a couple of pages together.

  SPENCE

  Read.

  BRIDGET

  (between sobs)

  Jeff...

  SPENCE

  Read.

  BRIDGET

  (reading)

  "The night walked the night, the night climbed its own spine, the night rattled the bones of its cage, th-the night hissed like a snake, sputtered like a spark from a black firework, the night loved itself with the taste of its own teeth."

  Spence's eyes close in self-satisfaction. She stops reading.

  SPENCE

  Next.

  BRIDGET

  Jeff, this is...

  SPENCE

  (smiling larger now, in anticipation of praise)

  Yes, dear?

  BRIDGET

  This is...awful.

  Spence's face freezes. He glances at Korban for approval, then lunges from the chair and backhands Bridget to the floor. As she cries, Spence settles into his chair and resumes TYPING.

  CUT TO:

  INT. ANNA'S BATHROOM—EVENING

  Anna in the shower. She turns off the water and reaches for the towel. She shivers as the room grows cold. A PALM PRINT appears in the steamy mirror.

  Then the steam runs down, forms the words: "Go out frost." A SCRATCHING near the door.

  ANNA

  Cris? Is that you?

  Anna wraps the towel around her and opens the door. The room is empty.

  CUT TO:

  INT. ANNA'S ROOM

  On the wall, a SHAPE forms. It is Rachel's Ghost, holding out the ghostly bouquet.

  ANNA

  Who are you, damn it?

  Rachel's Gho
st opens her mouth, but no sound comes out. She drifts to the door. She beckons Anna to follow, then fades into the wood.

  As Anna enters the room, George’s Ghost leers at her from the bathroom.

  CUT TO:

  EXT. THE FOREST—NIGHT

  Anna, dressed now, shining a flashlight, follows Rachel's Ghost along the trail. They are near the cabin where Anna had seen the ghosts the previous night.

  They pass that cabin and go farther along the ridge, surrounded by night NOISES.

  Anna comes to a pile of broken lumber. It is the fallen cabin where George Lawson died.

  ANNA

  What do you want from me?

  Rachel's Ghost holds out the bouquet.

  RACHEL'S GHOST

  These are for you.

  Anna tries to take the flowers, but her hand passes through them.

  ANNA

  What's it like...to be dead?

  RACHEL'S GHOST

  Just like being alive, only worse.

  Rachel's Ghost drifts into the rubble and disappears. A WAIL arises from the rubble. The dust stirs and a sudden wind springs up.

  Another SHAPE arises, assembling itself in the air near the fallen cabin. It is George’s Ghost.

  George's Ghost, 40, is dressed in old working clothes, one sleeve of his shirt torn. He has no hand, just a ragged stump of his left arm.

  GEORGE'S GHOST

  We knew you'd come back.

  Anna shines the FLASHLIGHT at him, but the ghost absorbs the light.

  GEORGE'S GHOST

  Korban promised us.

  George's Ghost looks behind him as if something terrible is waiting back in the darkness.

  GEORGE'S GHOST (CONT’D)

  Got something for you. A present from Korban.

  George's Ghost fumbles at his belt, holds something in his right hand. It is the amputated hand. He flips the hand toward her.

  The hand lands on its fingers and scrabbles like a spider. Anna backs away but the hand closes around her ankle. It yanks her to the ground and drags her toward the rubble.

  ANNA

  You're not real. Ghosts...ARE NOT REAL!

  The hand pulls Anna closer to the splintered, sharp lumber. George's Ghost smiles at her, his aura growing brighter as Anna struggles and kicks.

  GEORGE'S GHOST

  Don't nobody get away from Ephram Korban.

  Her body presses the rubble now, splinters working into her skin. The rubble is pulses as if about to feed.

  Anna grabs a broken board and beats at the hand. She misses, then hits it on the second try.

  GEORGE'S GHOST (CONT’D)

  Ghosts ain't real. Didn't you know that, Anna?

  Anna hits the hand again. It squirms like a smashed insect. It releases her ankle. She scrambles away as the hand dissolves.

  George's Ghost looks past Anna to the woods, and his grin drops.

  Anna catches her breath. A hand drops onto her shoulder. Anna turns and sees Sylva.

  SYLVA

  Go out frost, go out frost, go out frost.

  George's Ghost moans and fades away.

  CUT TO:

  INT. MANOR BASEMENT—NIGHT

  Mason lovingly sands and polishes the bust of Korban. Mason has placed the photograph of his Mom on the table so she can "watch." While Mason works, he talks to her.

  MASON

  You ought to read what they're saying, Momma. "Milltown Michelangelo," they call me.

  Mason stops working and cradles the bust as if it were a baby.

  MASON

  (CONT'D)

  You told me that dreams are all we have in this world. If only you could see me dream, Momma.

  Behind Mason is the painting of the manor. The smudge on the widow's walk appears, growing larger now.

  CUT TO:

  EXT. THE WOODS NEAR THE COLLAPSED BUILDING—NIGHT

  Anna and Sylva stare at each other.

  ANNA

  You. You're the one I saw—

  SYLVA

  I was one of the ones you saw. You seen them others, too. Korban about snatched you. Good thing I brung along some bloodroot.

  ANNA

  (rubbing her ankle)

  That wasn't Ephram Korban.

  SYLVA

  George Lawson. Korban's latest fetch. And George ain't none too happy about it, either.

  ANNA

  What about the other ghosts?

  SYLVA

  You got the Sight. Knew it when I first laid eyes on you.

  ANNA

  You've been watching me.

  SYLVA

  No need for lies, child. Not from you, nor from me. I know why you're here.

  ANNA

  Who are you?

  SYLVA

  Honey, I can see the cancer in you. You're dying and I ain't long for this world myself. So maybe you and me ought to have a talk.

  (looking around)

  But not here. This place belongs to him.

  Sylva leads Anna into the forest.

  CUT TO:

  INT. SPENCE'S ROOM-NIGHT

  Spence is at his typewriter, the room lit only by the oil lamp on the desk. On his page: "And he, becoming Night, moved into the house that was his flesh." Spence looks up at the portrait.

  SPENCE

  What now, sir? What is the Word?

  The portrait of Korban twitches its face.

  SPENCE (CONT’D)

  Will the critics love me again?

  The portrait. Stone. But the walls bend just a little.

  Spence types "The fire is in his heart."

  CUT TO:

  INT. SYLVA'S CABIN—NIGHT

  Sylva applies a poultice to Anna's injured ankle.

  ANNA

  What's that?

  SYLVA

  The usual. Chimney soot and molasses mixed with a little pine rosin. Old mountain cure.

  ANNA

  Won't that cause an infection?

  SYLVA

  Nothing's much cleaner than chimney soot. Purified by the fire, you see.

  ANNA

  Thanks for rescuing me, Miss—

  SYLVA

  Sylva. Sylva Hartley.

  ANNA

  I'm—

  SYLVA

  Why did you come here, Anna? If you got the Sight then you shoulda known better.

  ANNA

  The woman with the flowers?

  Sylva tosses a pinch of salt in the fire.

  SYLVA

  She's the one got Ephram Korban so stirred up. And now you come back, and all hell breaks loose.

  ANNA

  Come back? What are you talking about?

  SYLVA

  You poor fool child. You was born and died here.

  CUT TO:

  INT. MANOR BASEMENT—NIGHT

  Mason chops at the log. His shirt is off, muscles glisten with sweat. The bust of Korban sits uncovered on the work table beside his mother's photograph.

  In the PAINTING, the SMUDGE moves like a thick fog in a slow breeze.

  Over the next few scenes, Sylva gives some history of Korban and the ghosts.

  SYLVA (V.O.)

  Your name was Rachel. You died up at the manor. Korban had a fancy dance one night, dress-up and violin music and such.

  CUT TO:

  INT. THE STUDY.

  The Abramovs play cello and violin, a frantic piece in a minor key.

  SYLVA (V.O.) (CONT’D)

  Mostly rich people, but Korban wanted Rachel to be there, and Korban always got what he wanted with the ladies.

  (beat)

  She fell off the widow's walk. They said she was drunk, but I don't believe it. I think she got chased by them.

  CUT TO:

  EXT. WIDOW'S WALK—NIGHT

  Miss Mamie stands at the railing, looking out over the forest. The smoke from the manor's chimneys caresses her skin. She fingers her locket and smiles.

  ANNA (V.O.)

  I don't believe in reincarnation.

  SYLVA (V.O.)


  Believe what you believe, all that matters is what Korban believes.

  CUT TO:

  INT. SPENCE'S ROOM—NIGHT

  Spence hammers away at the typewriter, eyes bright with madness. The stack of manuscript has grown fatter.

  SYLVA (V.O.)

  And them artists up at the big house pump their soul juice into the walls, bringing Korban back a little bit at a time.

  (beat)

  Because he eats our dreams.

  CUT TO:

  INT. MANOR FOYER-NIGHT

  Korban's portrait above the roaring fire. The firelight makes the face ripple. Korban is smiling.

  Now the manor from Korban's P.O.V. Voice-over as the camera SWEEPS through the manor's halls, past Lilith who is staring at a painting, swooping out the door and over the forest.