"OK, no panic." " We're all OK, we're all alive." " Sash?" " Told you you, you goin..." " Shut up!" "Where is Sash?" "Oh, shit." "Shit!" "Shit!" "Any here knows first aid?" "How woud we know, if she breaths or not?" "For God's sake." "Wake her up." "Wake her up!" "She's gonna wake up, it's impossible, it's not happening." "I couldn't help it." "There was nothing I could do." "The five pints of cider had nothing to do with it?" "Oh thanks!" "Like the rest of you were sober?" " We weren't driving." " We all did cider and we were all pissed." "The only one not pissed was her." "You know what this means?" "It's over, that's it." "I'm dead meat." "Prison... the papers... manslaughter." " They'll lock me up and..." " They'll lock us all up." "We're all responsible." "Shut up." "Stop it!" "OK, there is a way out of this." "She's young." "She hadn't even passed her test, that makes it a tragedy... not... not a crime, right?" "If you're sad, Daddy, is it because you don't love me any more?" "I love you." "I love you more than anything." "Then can I go now, Daddy?" "Yes." "It's a bit scary." "I want the nice lady to take me." " Robert?" " She's holding my hand." "She's going to come with me and stay with me." "No, no, don't go thereI AlisonI" "No!" "Ohh!" "Robert, feeling something was real doesn't mean it was real." "Isn't that what you've been telling your students for years?" "I heard my son's words exactly the way he says them." "What does that mean?" "It was in her head?" "It was some kind of wish fulfilment on my part or was his spirit actually there in the room?" "It was just for a second." "I just bent down to pick up my stegosaurus." "How could she know that?" " How could she possibly know that?" " Are you sure you didn't mention it?" "She probably saw it in your house boat." "She was fishing, you know how it works." "Barbara, she was in a coma for 27 days." "You can't fake a coma, she's not a charlatan." "No, no, don't go thereI Alison!" "What is she?" "Alison love, you're late." "We thought you had trouble getting here." "Come in." "Come in, love, we've been waiting." "Do you remember anything from while you were in the coma?" "Do you remember anything before the coma?" "At the séance?" "Something that might explain why..." "Josh passed over, Robert." "He's at peace." "Josh passed over but I came back." "How did you come back?" "Why?" " Don't know." " You must think there's a reason." "Why does there have to be a reason?" "I'm alive, I don't ask why." "The doctor said that you came every day." "No one else would have done that for me." "I'm grateful, I really am." "But I can't give you answers that I don't have." "So where does that leave us?" "What about the book I'm supposed to be writing about you?" "Do you wanna continue with that?" "Erm..." "I don't know." "Robert, you've got to move on." "You've got things to do." "You can be happy." "Back to the hallowed halls of learning." "Back to breed a new bunch of disbelievers." "They need to meet someone like you." "Seriously." "One sceptic's enough." "I'm not sure I could handle a whole room full of them." "They're just like me, they just need to understand." "We flourish like a flower in the field." "When the wind goes over it, it is gone and its place will know it no more." "As we think of Sasha the Lord is full of compassion and mercy." "Nobody called her Sasha, it was Sash." "The Vicar didn't know her." "What does he know?" "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust." "In the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ." "I'm getting out of here, I can't handle this shit." ".. that they may be conformed to His glorious body, who died, was buried and rose again for us." "To Him be glory forever." "Amen." "When did you first see spirits?" "When I was a child and it didn't make me very happy." "It still doesn't, but I know that they're always gonna be there so I've just got to learn to deal with it." "So, er... what does this, er, this next life look like?" "I mean, do they..." "Do they tell you?" "Well I..." "I get cries for help." "They don't tell me that they're sitting in fields of flowers or on billowing clouds..." "But I..." "I think maybe you go back to a place that you once knew but that's..." " that's just my opinion." " Would you say this is an ability in all of us to different degrees?" "Maybe some people only sense it once in a lifetime... a shiver... déjá vu?" "They seem to be drawn to me like a magnet." "Does that make you feel extra special?" "." "No." "Do you wanna know about my life?" "I'll tell you about my life." "Do you know the A37 south of Bristol, there's a lay-by there with a greasy spoon vendor thing?" "I was on the bus this morning and, um, it was driving past there and there was this girl on the side of the road, she had a green fluorescent tube thing around her neck, and there was blood pouring from her forehead." "And when I looked back, she wasn't there." "There was a... shrine covered in flowers" "and I know that she wants something from me but I..." "I don't know what." "I can't walk away from that." "I wish I could but I can't." "OK, I'd like to thank Alison for coming in to talk to us today." "I think we need..." "I think we need to accommodate different points of view into our thinking and if we can't, why not?" "What does that say about us?" "Think about your field project, you know the deadline." " What if they do find out, Darren?" " What, like CSI?" "Do me a favour, they bought it." " What if they didn't?" " Listen, we'll be fine so long as neither of you two shitheads has a wobbler and starts mouthing off." "As if nothing happened?" "Yeah, terrific." " She was your girlfriend, mate." " Yeah, and she's dead." "Look, we can't turn back the clock, so we better get used to it." "She's dead," " I mean, boo-hoo etcetera." " I'm going home." "Liam?" "Did he love her?" "Even like her?" "Liam, don't listen to him." "He took this harder than both of us under all that bollocks." "Yeah, he's got a good way of hiding it." " Well, you know Darren." " Yeah." "Yeah, I'm going home, are you coming?" "Take care, OK, Liam?" "Excuse me, mate." "Excuse me!" "Come on." "Hello." "Are you OK?" "Were you her boyfriend?" "No, just a mate." "Oh, you must have been very close." "She was driving us home when the car went out of control." "I knew her, right?" "What's your name?" " Liam." "I've gotta go." " Liam, wait a minute." "You must know this, I've got to tell you something." " Who are you?" " Sometimes I see things." "People." "People who've died." " Shut up." " Liam, don't run away, you said that she was your friend." "Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up." "It's dark, you're tired, you've been driving five hours, blink ratio down." "You may have taken artificial stimulants such as coffee or motion sickness tablets containing scopolamine, which in large doses can produce disorientation, greater suggestibility and hallucinations." "So, what do you see?" "Phantom hitchhiker?" "Or just a tree?" "A sleep deprived West Point cadet was driving a tank at boot camp." "Now, the tank ended up in a ditch because he saw a herd of buffaloes charging towards him." "In summary, driving, something we all do all the time can create a low level hypnotic state without us realising it, proving that our eyes don't tell us what we see, our brain does." "And when it comes to it, we're all a gnat's testicle away from being gullible idiots." "Which proves what?" "If anything." "All suggestible states con us with untruths... since when?" "Lots of substances expand consciousness." "Are they all lying?" "Is this all there is?" "What if that's the bullshit?" "Yeah, unlikely." "People fool themselves, end of story." "What?" "So all ghosts are optical illusions?" "Bereaved people are morons?" "You've lost someone, you see them..." "or hear them unmistakably, 100%, you think you can explain that away, do you?" "Gullibility is page one, paragraph one, Jemima." "If you haven't come further than that you may as well go home." "Read, listen, give me statistics and you know what?" "Do some work by next time, please." "What was all that about?" "You aren't employed to victimise students." "No, I'm employed to educate, to enlighten." "Or am I only to do that when it conforms to the orthodox..." " Robert, calm down." " What is this, censorship?" "Don't be ridiculous." "Robert, what's going on with you?" "You're a mess." "Your office is a mess, you're teaching's all over the place." "Well, thanks for that vote of confidence." " I'm worried about you." " Well, don't be." "Do you want to take time off?" " No." " Do you want to talk about it?" "No." "I know this scientist, a physicist, who says in half an hour he could persuade me this table doesn't exist." "He says the universe is mostly energy and hardly any actual stuff at all." "So where are we heading?" "Might it be true that both spirits and reality are constructs of the mind?" "In which case, spirits are just as real or non-real as the world around us." "Are we just waiting for science to catch up with what some people experience and the rest of us deny?" "A vision of knackeredness." "You say the nicest things." "Well, I bet you're awash with flattery, I thought you'd appreciate a bit of honesty." " How are you?" " I'm great, really good." "Yeah, I thought flowers might be surplus to requirement." "If you say so." " Knackered but radiant." " Stop digging, Robert." "His name's Morgan." "As in Freeman or as in rum?" "As in, my mum's maiden name." "Yeah, I know." "We all look so alike to start off with, don't we?" "Then life sets us off on these paths of difference." "Er... what time's Clyde back?" "I better make tracks." " You don't have to." " No, Barbara's breathing down my neck and..." "Thanks for coming." "It was good to see you." "And good for you to see us." "Yeah." "A new beginning, Jude." "You all right there, madam?" " You want a lift into town?" " Yeah, I..." "I will actually." "I'm not being funny, but a girl alone on the side of the road... usually means money changing hands." " Fishnet stocking brigade, you know?" " Thanks a lot." "Well, you never know, my luck could be in." "I was, er, waiting for someone but they didn't show up." "I didn't think how I was gonna get home." "Well, that's what your right thumb's for, innit?" "Not that I'd recommend it." "I know they all do it these days." "You don't know who's out there though, do you?" "Young girls with their belly buttons on display." "I suppose you don't think of the danger when you're young." "When you're young you think you're immortal, eh?" "Yeah, you do." "I know, I know it's crazy but it freaked me out." " Just cos it freaked you out doesn't mean..." " I saw her standing there with the blood on her head, everything, just like she was before we put her back in the car." "Will you keep your voice down?" " If you're gonna flip out..." " Well, our friend... my friend my friend who's dead I'm supposed to like, shrug her off, no problem?" "I saw her standing there going like this like she wanted..." "like she was trying to tell us something." "What does she..." "What does she want?" "It's OK." "It's a bad time, it's a bad time for all of us." "We have to be strong for each other, right?" " Right?" " Yeah." "We weren't wrong, Li." "It wasn't wrong." "The dead can't hurt us." "It's probably Darren." "What, it's not Darren?" "I told you!" " Answer it." " You answer it." "She's trying to get through to you." "Answer it." "Answer it!" " Give it back, Sash." "" "Darren!" "Wha..." "Darren, she knows what we did to her." "How could she know?" "You've been taking too many pills and spliffs." "I haven't taken anything, not since the crash." "I wish I could, I wish I could swill down a whole bottle and sleep for once." " I don't know where I am half the time." " You're cracking up, both of you." "Pull yourself together." " He saw her." " Yeah, thanks to too many zombie films and the brain of a 12 year old." "Why am I listening to this?" "You're part of it, Darren, you can't walk away." "This woman, Alison, left her name and address next to the flowers, lives in Southville." "What if Sash does want to contact us?" "We can't ignore her." "Wanna bet?" "What if she wants to contact you, Darren?" "What if she comes to you in the middle of the night?" "I am not going to see some looney." "We're gonna have to find another way then, aren't we?" "Alison..." "I want you to know you're right." "I have to move on." "Josh is dead and gone... but I don't know what to believe now." "I..." "I don't know what to think." "I know, it... it's hard." "It's just, I don't think I can leave this." "I don't think I can stop." "Well, I..." "I'm, um..." "I'm going back to that lay-by to see if I can contact that girl." "You can give me a lift, if you like." "Save me a cab fare." "Don't worry, sir, I'm not trying to sell anything." "I wondered if you could fill this in for us, it's part of a psychology project." "Anything spooky happen to you, any phantoms in the headlights?" "Just fill in the answers and send it back to the university in the envelope attached." "Thanks a lot." "Something's not right, it's... it's not right." "What's not right?" "Well, I met one of her friends, he was all over the place." "More than just grief?" "Grief doesn't make someone that terrified." "Wait a minute, I need to deal with this." "Thank you, sir." "Take care." "Robert, what are you doing here?" " What the hell do you think you're playing at?" " It's the research project." " Yeah, but why did you come here?" " Why not?" "Look over there." "Didn't you see the flowers?" " Somebody died here." " Exactly." "That's why we chose it's where..." "it's where she saw a ghost." " Go home, Tariq." " Look, what's the big deal?" "." "What are you getting so uptight about?" "You're always telling us to analyse these fakers and bullshit merchants." " This is wrong." " Why are you here then?" "With her?" "Just go home, Tariq, all right?" "How do you do this shit?" "It's not complicated, we just ask her questions." "What if your folks come home?" "They won't, they're both at work." "They won't be back till six." "Look, I'm sorry it didn't work out." "Well, sometimes they're too frightened to tell you what's going on." "You've just got to be patient." " Hello?" " Robert, you'd better get back." " You know this is... this is really weird." " Tariq?" "Is there a spirit in this house?" " You're pushing it." " Nobody's pushing it, shut up." "Yes." "Is this spirit known to one of us?" "To all of us?" "What..." "What's the spirit's name?" "Sash, it's us, it's OK, it's your friends." "Darren..." "Tessa..." "Liam." "Do you have a message for us?" ""R"..." "You are." ""N"..." ""O"..." "You are n..." "One of you's mucking around, one of you's pushing it!" "I'm not, I swear." "Tariq?" "Jemima?" "This is Tariq, leave a message." " Tariq?" " She's here, can you see her?" " Can you see her?" " Shit." "You've been framed, matey." "You see what you expect to see." "Our eyes don't tell us what to see, our brain does." "You think you've proved something?" "You haven't proved anything." "This isn't proof." "For proof you need experiments, controlled experiments, you need to be objective, sensitive, not rig up some Halloween stunt that would embarrass a 13 year old." "Now get out of here, both of you!" "Get out of my sight!" "Hi." "We need your help to get in touch with Sash." "What is it that you think she needs to tell you?" "Or is it something that you need to tell her?" "I just don't want you to bunch me together with them, that's all, they're inexperienced." " I don't care, Robert." " They're totally different from me." "Look, I know something valuable is going on with people like you and the key is in the crux of your condition." " Condition?" " Whatever you wanna call it, I'm sorry." "Are you... are you trying to tell me that you're on my side now?" "Yes." "I'm sorry, Robert, you're gonna have to give me a bit more time on this one." " I..." "I've gotta go out now." " OK." "OK, I'll see you soon." "Bye." "Liam, please tell your friends we've got to meet at the crash scene tonight." " Robert, can I speak to you a minute?" " Honestly, Barb, can't it wait till tomorrow?" "No, it can't really." "Yes, how can I help?" "Darren?" "Help." "Help!" "Darren..." "Darren?" "Darren..." "What do you think it felt like?" " It felt like a kick in the teeth." " Of course it did." "Having this thing shoved into my face and on the stretch of road my daughter was killed!" "I know, it was insensitive." "I can't say enough, I am really sorry." "I..." "I accept total responsibility." "I mean, what do you teach these people?" "It isn't all about ticks in boxes and statistics for us, you know." "This is our lives!" "I do understand your pain, Mr Durrant." "When you lose someone very close to you, your own... flesh and blood." "It's... er..." "It's unacceptable, and I'm really sorry." "Alison?" "She wasn't driving, was she?" "Who was?" " I was." " Shut up, Darren." "It wasn't just Darren's fault, none of us stopped him." "I was well over the limit but I said I was fine." "I was blasted..." "I was an idiot." "I was scared shitless." "Your friend wasn't killed in the car crash." "She was thrown from the car, yes, but she was still alive." "She ran out on to the road to flag down help and... she was hit full on by another car that threw her back from the road and that's what killed her." "What are you saying?" "It was a hit-and-run?" "So... we weren't responsible for her death after all?" "." " Any of us?" " Oh, my God." ""You are not responsible. "" "That's what she was trying to spell out with the Ouija board." "That's why she came back, innit?" "I wish it was." " What do you mean?" " I read in the newspaper that the police found Sash's body ten yards from where the car crashed." "That's crazy." "That's stupid, we moved her." "We put her in the driving seat." "You were confused, you all were, you still are, aren't you?" "What's going on?" "If you know something, tell us." "It must be difficult." "Have you, um... talked with the other kids who were in the car?" "Her friends?" " What are you talking about?" " Just that they must be having a hard time." "Wha..." "What are you talking about?" "I saw your photographs in the newspaper." "I read your names." "Four teenagers side by side, killed outright in a car crash." "Everything that you've experienced since then has seemed real to you but for most people you were simply gone." "That's why everything's felt dreamlike and unreal." "You've been in limbo since the crash because you thought that it was your fault that Sash died." "Your guilt has prevented you from crossing over but it wasn't your fault." "Sash came back not because she needed help but because she wanted to help you but your denial kept blocking her out and that's what she was trying to tell you via the Ouija board." " You are not..." " Alive." "Thank you." "We can't keep on meeting like this." "Oh, that's Kirsten, me youngest." "Doing biochemistry at Bath." "Must have got her brains from her mum." "Picked her up from a 21st at Wells." "Couldn't have her hanging around the streets freezing her dimples off, could I?" "Dad, shut up." "Alison, pick up the phone." "Please, Alison, pick up the phone if you're there." "Alison, are you there?" "Alison?"