"What the hell were you thinking taking her that way?" "!" " The park is the other way!" " Annie wanted" "What-- what does Annie want?" "I mean, Annie can't talk," " she can't think, she can't" " She can think." "If you ever looked at her you'd know." "Please." "She's all right." "That's the main thing." " Can't you just stop it?" " Oh, you know this?" "You know she's all right." "What if the damn dog was rabid?" "It wasn't." "Mrs. Stanton told me." "What?" "And you believe her?" "Just like that?" "That woman's an idiot, a careless idiot." "Anyone can say anything, Sissy." "Maybe someday you'll learn that, that anyone can say anything." "I saw the dog tag, Daddy." "Why do you always treat me like a fool?" " Stop it!" "Both of you." "She'll hear." "Do you want to upset her?" "Oh come on, honey, give me a break." "You might as well..." "Come on, guys!" "Wait up!" "I figured you could use something stronger." "I know I could." "Down the hatch, come on." "It's quick, isn't it?" "What they do." "And it doesn't hurt them." "It's quick, it doesn't hurt, they just go to sleep." "Come on, drink your drink." "You know as well as I do that Buddy never bit anybody before in his life." "It was her." "He sensed something in her." "Annie, please open the door!" "Annie, open this door, now!" "Drink your drink." "It'll make you feel better." "I'm telling you, there's something wrong with that little girl, and I don't just mean that she's autistic." "Sissy:" "Please open the door!" "Annie, turn the music down!" "Somebody'll call the damn cops!" "Mrs. Stanton:" "There's something about her that's wrong." "And Buddy sensed it." "Dogs know, oh you bet." "Did you hear that?" "Music." "Someone has it really cranked out there." " Oh!" " What the hell?" "!" "It's an earthquake!" "It's not coming from the ground" " It's" "Ahh!" "Aah!" "Come on!" "Run!" " Run!" " Ahh!" "!" "Come on, come on!" " Open the door." " Now, Annie!" "Come on, hurry!" "Hurry!" " Oh God!" " What's happening?" "!" "I don't know!" "Annie, let us in!" "Annie!" "Annie, please, open the door." "Kill it, Sissy." "Just what the hell are you doing?" "What the" "Sister, look at this." "Sister, I got Baby." "Yes, I know." "Annie... what have you done?" "And that concludes this years' course-work in the psychology of the unseen world." "I would like to leave you with three thoughts if I may." "The first, is that the investigation of psychic phenomena is an honorable pursuit, in spite of the field's tattered reputation." "The second, is that reality is not always quantifiable." "Our inability to count, weigh, sort or photograph some things, does not mean that those things are non-existent." "Third, and most important, next week's exam will not be graded on the curve." "Seriously, I thank you all for your attention and to remind you of what someone rather famous once said," """The truth is out there.""" "Enjoy your summer." "Professor Reardon, a question please." "A question." "Your question?" "There are rumors that you're planning a scientific investigation of Rose Red this summer, the Rimbauer Mansion, a sort of psychic field trip." "Is that true?" " You are...?" " Kevin Bollinger, Class of 'O3." "I don't recognize you, Mr. Bollinger." "Is that because the group is so large, or could it be that this is your first visit to our happy family?" "Actually, I'm a reporter for the campus newspaper." "Oh, my sympathies, Mr. Bollinger." "Is it true, Professor Reardon, and if it is, are you planning on using departmental funds or college general funds to finance your latest spook hunt?" "As any regular attendee of these classes will tell you, Mr. Bollinger," "I'm extremely interested in Rose Red." "I talk about it all the time." "Have a picture on my office wall, not to mention one of Ellen Rimbauer." "But as Professor Miller can tell you, I have filed no request for either general funds or money from the department to underwrite what you term ""a spook hunt.""" "If you feel like asking him to confirm that, he's-- he's right up there." "A question of mine, Mr. Bollinger." "Did Professor Miller, perhaps, suggest you stop by my class to pose your question instead of dropping by my office like a normal reporter?" "Never mind, Mr. Bollinger." "Let's consider the issue closed, shall we?" " But you never answered my question." " Thank you, ladies and gentlemen." "Exam next Tuesday at 2:00 and I'll see you then." "If I embarrassed you, Professor Reardon, I am sorry." "Hmm." "I don't believe it, Mr. Bollinger." "Carl Miller stuck a key in your back and wound you up." "And it was his intention that I be embarrassed." "I am not." "Even if you're not planning on using college or departmental funds for your Rose Red expedition, won't you be using a lot of psychology department equipment, a lot of very expensive equipment?" "Haven't you already entered into an agreement with Steven Rimbauer, the last remaining family member?" "Good afternoon, Mr. Bollinger." " Hi, Professor Reardon." " Hello." "Well, Joyce." " We have to discuss this." " I think not." "Well, we'll have to discuss it sooner or later." "You know, speaking for the department, I think I can say our patience with your shenanigans has grown quite short." """...spooks." "Somebody call...""" "Pfff." "Uh..." "Oh..." "Professor Reardon?" "I was wondering if you could discuss my" "Not now." "My office hours are clearly posted, can't you read?" "Oh." "Sorry." "Oh, um, uh, wait..." "Ms. Spruce, isn't it?" "Kathy Spruce, that's right." "I" " I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bite." "Office hours are between 2:00 and 3:00." "Try me then, okay?" "Yes, Ms. Reardon." "Out." "Out." "Oh..." "Far out." "Hmm..." "Waterman residence." "Mr. Waterman, Joyce Reardon." "Oh, hello, Ms. Reardon." "I've been meaning to call, but I've been uh..." "Joyce, please." "I've been kinda busy." "I understand, but I'm finalizing my list of participants for my little Rose Red field trip, and I 'd really like you in." " Have you thought about it?" " Rose Red is a dangerous place to conduct psychic experiments, Ms. Reardon" "Joyce." "As I'm sure you must be aware." "With all due respect, Emery," "Rose Red is a dead cell." "I'm sure it is, if you're not psychic." "I'm sorry you feel that way." "I'll just let you get back to what you were doing, shall I, and move on to the next name on my list?" "I doubt there are that many." "Not post-cognates of my calibre." "You might be surprised." "Good afternoon." "Wait-- wait-- wait" "I didn't say no, did I?" "Didn't you?" "No." "But 5,000 is a trifle low." "If you were to be offering a bit more, say... 7,500 for instance?" " Mr. Waterman," " Emery, please." "5,000 is my first, last and only offer." "And a generous one considering the fact that there have been no phenomena in Rose Red for five years or more." "Since they stopped the tours and took away the fresh meat." "Isn't that what you mean?" "Forgive me but I find that ridiculous." "The funding for this expedition is coming out of my own pocket." "And 5,000 is all I can afford." "So what do you say, Emery?" "In or out?" "All right, I'm in." "But I warn you, if you want a videotaped debriefing afterward, I get extra." "That's fine, Emery." "Memorial Day weekend." "Mark your calendar." "You send me a check, Joyce, and I will." "Good day." "Putz." "Poisoned..." "Guess not." "Emery..." "Hey, whoever you are, save the warnings for someone who's not broke." "Okay?" "Emery?" "Emery!" "Emery!" "Here you are." "There are some more bags out in the car." "They're going out of business at Griffin's." "Everything's 25% off." "That's too much cream, you'll make yourself fat." "Er." " I beg your pardon?" " Fat-er." "I'm already fat." "Cream clogs up your arteries, Emer." "A little's okay but that's too much." "Get my things out of the car." "I tell you, I made a killing." "Mom, I was doing the bills just now." "Well, what about the bills?" "A lot of them are past due." "It's the credit cards, Mom" "I'm very careful with the credit cards." "I'm a very wise shopper." "I'll get your stuff." "Isn't this just the best bear?" "I'm gonna put him on the end of my bed with Hester and Fester." "What rhymes with Hester and Fester, Emmy?" "Pester." "The woman from the college who wants to investigate Rose Red called again." "See?" "Something always turns up." "God provides, I've always said so." "Rose Red's supposed to be dangerous." "If you take the usual precautions you'll be fine." "And we'll pray, of course." "Were you able to get her up to 75?" "No." "She's financing the expedition herself." "Or so she told you and you believed her, of course." "You want to call her back?" "I have the number." "No." "A deal's a deal." "One of the few sensible things your father ever said." "Did you tell her it would be extra for interviews after?" " Physicals?" "EKG's?" " Yes." "And no X-rays." "They give you cancer." "Now run along and get my bags." "Then you can have your pie." "Office hours are over." "Come back tomorrow." " I said office hou" " Extra credit, Ms. Reardon." "I'll do anything, look good in a bathing suit, look great in one of those French maid's outfits." "Come in, you idiot, and close the door." "All right." "Teach, you're looking good today." " Ooh..." " Mmm." "The idiot wants to know how you're doing." "Well, I won't lie to you, it's been a tough day." "But I have a very important call to make." " Oh..." " So..." "What, this is the Wheaton girl?" "The one you really want?" "Her sister." "If you can sit there and keep quiet you can stay." "But if you feel an attack of monkeyshines coming on, then go." "Get out now." "That's pretty tough talk considering it's my old family's homestead you want to go exploring in." "But..." "I'll be good, Dee, I swear." "I won't do that, sorry." "Hello?" "Ms. Reardon?" "Yes, how are you?" "I'm all right." "But you know how hard it is to keep people away from a phone in this place?" "Also I'm on my break, so let's make this fast." "Uh" "I could call you later." "No, I don't think so." "I still live at home to be near Annie and... my father knows who you are and what you want." "He doesn't approve." "What are you saying?" "Annie won't take part?" "I'm saying that if I bring Annie to Rose Red... the chances are good that I could never go home again." "That'd be all right with me but," "Annie shouldn't be there without someone who understands her." "Mm-hmm." "And-- and your parents don't?" "Well... my mother's scared to death of her and, my father..." "I think my father hates her." "What can I do?" "There's a school just outside of Tacoma for people like Annie." "No, there's no one like Annie I don't think... but... it's a place for autistic teenagers." "A good place." "I might as well cut right to the chase, Ms. Reardon, 5,000 isn't gonna be enough." "If you can promise ten I might try to make this happen." "1 0,000 done." "I" " I'll bring the check to you myself." "This afternoon." "Where-- where do you work?" "No, you need to slow down." "I need to think about this." "Look, my time is short, Ms. Wheaton." "Please, call me Sister, why don't you?" "Everyone does." "Mr. Rimbauer has agreed to open Rose Red for my group over the Memorial Day weekend." "It's only nine days away." "I need to know if I can count on Annie." "In fact I'm having an orientation meeting this Monday night, for the participants here in Wimser Hall at the University." "It would be great if Annie could join us." "You understand that if Annie goes to Rose Red I go too, don't you?" "That-- that's fine, of course." "When can I know, Ms. Wheaton?" "Uh, Sister." "I" " I might be able to scrape up as much as $1 2,000 if uh, that is, if you can make a solid commitment to the expedition right now." "I can't do that." " Goodbye, Mrs. Reardon." " Wait!" "When can I expect to hear from you?" " I'll be in touch." " Wait!" "The-- the-- orientation Monday night?" "I don't know... it..." "I don't think so." "Ohh." "$10,000?" "$12,000?" "You know, I'm" " I'm starting to think that I sold the old homestead cheap." "You didn't sell it, you're renting it." "For a single weekend." "I've gotta have Annie Wheaton." "Why?" "I've got the makings of a good group here, but they're candles." "Annie Wheaton is a searchlight." "If anyone can wake up Rose Red, she is the one." "I told you before, Dee, waking up Rose Red isn't a good idea." "I want Annie." "I want Annie Wheaton." "Hello, dear." "Hey, Mom." "Hi, Dad." "Mrs. Wheaton:" "Long day?" "You look tired." "I'll microwave you a TV dinner." "It's okay." "I had something to eat at the restaurant." "Is Annie okay?" " Annie is fine." " Yeah, wearing out her ears again." "Not to mention ours." "If it isn't ""A Summer Place"" it's that other crap." """Pennsylvania 69,000"" and ""In The Mood.""" "Same two, over and over all afternoon." " I guess she just likes it." " Yeah, I know that." "I just can't figure out why." "Thank God for small favors." "Annie..." "Annie... come..." "Despite what some people may think, psychic powers-- telepathy, telekinesis, precognition, all the rest, have no moral gradient." "They are neither good nor bad." "Houses are different." "Shirley Jackson was right." "Some houses are born bad." "Houses like this one." "Houses like Rose Red." "I knew it was big, but that's enormous." "Fortunately for us, an enormous dead cell." "There have been no overt manifestations in Rose Red since 1995 or so." "I believe that some houses have their own inner life that may or may not be conscious." "If there was once consciousness in Rose Red, it manifested itself early." "The Seattle of 100 years ago was a different world, more different than any of us can imagine." "Survival was an actual issue, not a TV show." "Fortunes were made, often by bandits in tall hats." "You could get out of the way or get run down." "Those were the options." "In the year 1906, you were on your own." "Rose Red... was built by John P. Rimbauer at the top of Spring Street in the center of Seattle, as a wedding present to his wife." "Rimbauer was founder of Omicron Oil Company, until 1950 the biggest oil company in America." "1950 was the year" "Ellen Rimbauer disappeared." "The trouble with Rose Red started even before there was a house." "Construction crews worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week." "But that wasn't the problem." "The problem was that even before there was a house there, that piece of ground made people mad." "Literally mad." "The Teamster made no effort to get away, just dropped the gun in his wagon and went down to a Seattle saloon, which was where the police found him." "The Teamster's name was Harry Corbin." "When he was tried, he claimed he remembered nothing from breakfast till the time he woke up in jail with a knot behind his ear." "The judge didn't believe him, neither did the jury." "He got 25 years." "I think Harry Corbin may have been Rose Red's first victim." "First male victim." "There has always been a difference between the way Rose Red treats the ladies and the gentlemen." " What do you mean, exactly?" " In time, Nick." "All in good time." "John Rimbauer and Ellen Gilchrist were married on November 1 2, 1 907." "He was 40 and she... was 20." "By the day they said their I do's," "Rose Red had been under construction for a year." "Already there had been three deaths, in addition to the murder of Rimbauer's first foreman." "Pick it up!" "One man was decapitated by a sheet of falling glass." "Another fell from a scaffold and broke his neck." "And the third... choked to death on a piece of apple." "This is the way Rose Red looked when it was completed in 1909." "In case your memory needs refreshing, this is the way it looks today." "It's as if it metastasized." "Rose Red has how many rooms?" " No one really knows." " On Monday you can count 74 and come back on Friday and come up with 87 or 97." "That's impossible, isn't it?" "That's Rose Red, sweetheart." "How many people have disappeared?" "There must be an accurate account of them." "23 since the end of the first World War." "You'll forgive me if I say" "I find that impossible to believe." "Of course you do." "Anyone would." "But I assure you it's true." "Five men and 18 women." "Rose Red has always been particularly fond of the ladies." "Remember we're speaking of a house" " which has fallen dormant." " It better be, because $5,000 isn't enough if it isn't." " When was the last disappearance?" " 1972, almost 30 years ago." "As I said before, there have been no observable phenomena since" " Who was the last one?" " Pam..." "We've got a lot to cover, we don't need to focus on" "A woman on the Historical Society's annual tour." "She was with the group when they went upstairs." "It wasn't until the tour was over that they realized she wasn't with them anymore." "What's that?" "They didn't find her, but they found her purse." "Finished?" "Yeah." "Thank you." "The lady's name was Liza Albert." "Since her disappearance, the house has been closed to tours." "With no psychic energy for the house to feed on, it seems to have fallen into a sleep, then a coma." " And now..." " It's a dead cell." "Exactly." "I wouldn't bet on that if I were you." "Rose Red wasn't finished when John and Ellen got married, but they weren't in a hurry to set up housekeeping." "They passed the time with an enormous, leisurely honeymoon." "They were gone a year." "They circled the globe on liners like this one..." "The Ocean Star." "John Rimbauer's favorite part of the tour was Africa." "Ellen didn't enjoy it quite as much." "In fact, she nearly died." " Was it malaria?" " Probably not." "In her diary she called it" """an unmentionable disease carried by men and suffered by women.""" "Doesn't exactly look prostrate with worry, does he?" "With or without him, Ellen recovered." "When she and John finally took up residence in Rose Red, she was pregnant." "January, 1909, that would have been." "John thought the house was finished." "They're here!" "How beautiful you are, Rose Red." "He didn't know that the house would never be done." "Not in his lifetime, not in hers." "What makes Rose Red one of the world's most fascinating psychic artifacts... is that the house continued to grow until its death in 1995 or 1996." "Until 1950 changes and additions were made according to the will of Ellen Rimbauer, and her will, ladies and gentlemen, was iron." "After 1950... after 1950..." "Rose Red grew on its own." "In the fall of 1909," "Ellen Rimbauer gave birth to a son." "Grampy." " Your grandfather, really." " Yeah." "I'm afraid so." "In her diary she wrote, ""I have called him Adam, for he is the first.""" "Sukeena, the woman who came back from Africa with her, saw her through the difficult labor." "In her diary, Ellen never refers to Sukeena as her servant." "First she calls her, ""my friend.""" "Later, ""my sister.""" "When Ellen gave birth to a daughter with a withered arm, she blamed her African sickness and her husband's sexual appetites, although she wrote," """In my mind they are one,"" to which she added," """Damn all men.""" "John and Ellen's daughter was born in April of 1911 ." "And April was what they called her." "In the years following the birth of Ellen's daughter," "Ellen became convinced that her fever, which recurred periodically, would kill her young." "That made her easy game for Madame Stravinsky, as she called herself." "If you have anything to say to us, you may use my body... to speak." "Give us a sign." "Show us a sign." "Not even Sukeena could convince her that the old lady was a fraud." "Beloved spirits, we invite you to commune with us." "Show us a sign." "Fraud or not," "Madame Stravinsky, known to police in San Francisco and Los Angeles as Cora Fry, changed Ellen Rimbauer's life one night in August of 1914." "Sukeena!" " You must build." " What did she tell her?" "That Great-Gram wouldn't die until the house was finished." "Great-Gram told her it was finished, and Madame S. told her," """It isn't finished until you say it's finished.""" """Until you say.""" "Ellen took it seriously, probably she was right to." "Everything else aside, she never had another attack of her African fever." " It was probably psychosomatic." " Just PMS, right, Em?" "I wouldn't be at all surprised." "A new wing, the first of many, started going up the next week." "What did her husband say about that?" "Rimbauer:" "Nothing, she gave him a son in 1909, a daughter in 1911 ." "She had a withered arm, but the son was fine." "It was the son John Rimbauer cared about." "In his mind Ellen had fulfilled her function, and could do what she liked." "Would you agree?" "Yes." "Besides... he had affairs of his own to tend to." "Ellen continued to make additions to the house until her disappearance in 1950." "Over 40 years of well-financed eccentricity." "When she ran out of conventional things to build, she hired contractors and architects to build" " unconventional stuff." " Such as...?" "The so-called tower folly was completed in 1921 ." "John Rimbauer jumped to his death from it two years later." "Was it suicide... or did he run into something he couldn't deal with?" "The certificate said accidental death." "The gossip said suicide or ghosts." "In any case, during its active years, and they were very active, women in Rose Red tended to turn up missing, and men tended to turn up dead." " The bad days are over." " Yes." "Indeed." "Are you sure?" "Positive." "Then what do you want from us, Ms. Reardon?" "First off, let's all get on a first-name basis, shall we?" "That will make things less difficult." "This can be... a difficult field." "People either don't understand our goals, or refuse to credit our findings." "Some people are actively cruel." "And..." "Research goals?" "Yes, yes." "My research goals... specify measurable psychic phenomena." "Hard data in other words." "Telemetry readouts... and anomalous energy levels, primarily." "I want readouts that even the most... stupid, sarcastic, obtuse member of this so-called scientific department will have to accept." "If I get a little crazy on the subject from time to time, please forgive me." "I've put in a lot of long days." "If Rose Red is a dead cell, how much proof can you expect to find there?" "If you apply electricity to the muscles in the leg of a dead frog, the muscles will contract hours after the frog has died." "You people are my psychic equivalent of electricity." "My goal is modest... a single twitch." "One single twitch." "If I get it... my reputation will be secure for the rest of my life." "More importantly, together we can legitimize a branch of psychology which has been treated as a poor relation for far too long." "What are you doing here, Mr. Rimbauer?" "What are your special talents?" "Just protecting the family interests." "I promised the professor one good shot at the mansion and then the developers await." "Tech-Star Condominiums, the future." "You're gonna let them tear it down?" "It's a piece of history." "History don't pay no rent and the kid is broke." "Hardly the most noble of motives." "Are we the team?" "The whole team?" " She hopes not." " Beg your pardon?" "I was hoping for one more, but that's looking iffy." "If I have to make do with you five, then I'll count myself lucky." "I'll see you this Friday at 2:00 p.m. sharp." "I'm sure it will be a Memorial Day weekend to remember." "If you could all please join me..." "I'd like to close with a circle." "This sort of thing went out with high-buttoned shoes." "Joyce, is there anything you'd like us to focus on?" "Good will, good thoughts, each other." " That's lovely." " Thanks." "Say cheese." "Vic, are you okay?" "Fine." "I'm gonna go make some room." "He looks a bit gray about the gills." "No, no." "Maybe half a glass, but no more." "Just a minute, please." "The Huskies were caught off guard by the weak-side blitz." "The linebacker starts to drop back, and then rushes the quarterback." "Y-ello." "Hello." "I'd like to speak with Rachel." "Is she there?" " Who is this?" " I'd like to speak with Rachel." "I know who this is." "The crazy lady from the college." " How you doin', crazy lady?" " Is that for me?" "My business is with your older daughter." " I'd be grateful" " You've got it wrong." "You have no business here." "Not with Sissy, Annie, or any of us." "Don't ever call here again, got that?" "Daddy..." " that was my call." " That was some crazy lady." " That was my call." "You have no right" " Yeah, I do, as long as you live in my house and eat my food." "Stop it, both of you." "I know what the crazy lady wants." "Just like I know you've been talking to her behind my back." "Let me tell you this, Annie's not going near Rose Red." " Mama?" " She doesn't say." "I say." "Mama?" "Won't you help me once?" "Please, just this once, will you speak up?" "I've told you 1000 times," "I won't take sides between you and your father." "Mama." "What about Annie's side?" " The Gatt School" " What planet are you living on?" "You'll put her in the Gatt School with $5,000?" " Professor Reardon has promised 12!" " I knew she was crazy." "What's your excuse?" "$20,000 is what it would take." " $20,000 at least." "A year." " Rose Red is famous." "If something happens while we're there, it'd be worth a fortune to Annie." "Sure." "I can just see her on Geraldo." ""Hi, I'm Annie Wheaton."" ""I'm gonna tell folks all about a haunted house."" " Stop it!" "Don't mock her!" " I'm saving her." "From crazy lady number one, and crazy lady number two!" "That is it, Sister." "This case is closed." "I won't hear any more about it." " I'm calling her." "We're going." " No, you're not." " Stop it, Annie!" "Stop it!" "Make her stop!" "What do you think, Dad?" "What do you think Annie wants?" " Stop it, Annie!" "George!" "Make her stop!" "For God's sake!" "Please, George, make her stop!" "We thought you were lost." "No, just misplaced." " May I propose a toast?" " Sure." "To Rose Red." "To Rose red." "Joyce... she's looking, still hoping for one more." "A sixth." "Six is the number." "A girl." "A teenager." "And I think our dear professor will be in luck." "Is that something you see?" "What's your special trait, Pam?" "I'm what psychic journals call a touch-know." "It doesn't always work, but sometimes when I handle things," "I see stuff, or I get feelings." "Of course, a lot of times there's nothing." "What about you, Vic?" "Two people... mid-20s." "She's in a blue dress." "Vic:" "He's in jeans." "He's blonde over-golded." "He's got a case of roaming hands and rushing fingers." "What in the world are you talking-- ...Go outside." " You wanna?" " Sure." "Tres chic, n'est-ce pas?" " You're precognitive!" " I can tell a hawk from a handsaw when the wind's in the northwest." "What about you, Cathy?" "I'm an automatic writer." " A Ouija board." " Yes." "But I don't like the Ouija board." "The channel's too wide, and sometimes what comes through is unpleasant." "This is better." "Sometimes it's precog, sometimes it's astral." "Mostly it's just people to people." "Someone concentrate hard." "You, Pam." "Oh." "Okay." "Let's see." "Uh..." "Okay." "I guess it's not going to work." "Steve?" "!" "What about you, Ste-- Nick?" "He calls her Dee." "Why does he do that, I wonder?" "Nick?" "I do a little of this, a little of that." "Sometimes I get lucky and things turn out all right." "What about our new friend, Emery?" "What do we know about him?" " Your friend, not mine." " I think Emery is post-cognitive." "He sees the past." "Not the most comfortable of talents." "Here's to good thoughts." "Goodwill." "Good thoughts, goodwill." "Who are you?" "Why are you here?" "Where are you from?" "When are you from?" "Is it Rose Red?" "Read my lips." "Save the warnings for someone who's not broke." "Okay?" "I remember that day." "She was happy, wasn't she?" " We all were." " Oh, man..." " Would you look at this?" " Huh?" "Mr. Wheaton:" "Those were the days, huh?" "Ignorance is bliss." "Daddy, what Annie is, isn't anyone's fault." "It's not hers, it's not mine, it's not yours." "I know that." "But you're too busy thinking about what you want for Annie to think about what she can do." "Have you forgotten what happened after she got bit by the Stantons' dog?" "How the stones came down?" "Or what she did to those pipes?" "After what she did tonight... how can you have any doubts about what she wants?" "Sweetheart, taking Annie into a genuinely haunted house?" "That's like using a lighter to see how full your gas tank is." "It's a chance." "That's what you don't understand." "It's a chance for her to get out" "And for you to get out from under." "I just want what's best for Annie." "I know, Sissy, but you don't know what that is." "Believe me." "Whispering voices:" "Annie... come..." "Come..." "Pity you can't do the same with the other 40,000 or so." "People read it today and line their kitty litter boxes with it tomorrow." "I think they'll remember the photo." "Some will take that for inspection the next time the university bond issue comes up before the voters." "A photo like this could put 1 00 worthwhile programs to beggary." "But what do you care?" "Do you have a point, Carl?" "If so, get to it." " I have a lot to do." " Crystals to polish?" "Ouijas to wax?" "Did you put that kid Bollinger up to this?" "You did, didn't you?" "You told him where to go and when to point his camera." "Tsk-tsk-tsk..." "Your paranoia's showing." "Ah!" "It's a nasty little cut." "Well, listen..." "I'm afraid I have bad news for you, old girl." "I'm not old." "Not yet anyway." "And I'm certainly not your girl." " What are you talking about?" " The Executive Committee has been in session regarding tenure." "What?" "Why?" "No one in the department's up for tenure." "The only thing that" "You really are a bastard." "The Committee voted five to two to revoke your tenure." "We tried to contact you so you could attend." "You'll find a message on your machine." "I'm surprised the spirits didn't tell you." "The general consensus is it's time to stop the silliness." "I will fight you every step of the process." "Of course, and you'll lose." "Your days of haunting the Wimser Psychology department-- to coin a phrase-- are not quite over, but they're numbered." "When I come back from Rose Red with proof, you" "This is the rallying cry of crackpots and deluded religionists." "Since the Stone Age, the proof is out there." "This is sad, really." "You used to be a respected writer and lecturer in child psychology." "But then you got bitten by this... virus!" "It is a legitimate field of psychological investigation." "It's crap!" "It's sleazy!" "It's a spit in the eye of rational thought!" "But the good news is, that Rose Red will be your last goose chase as a member of this faculty." "You're an idiot and you're blind!" "What if you find proof?" "Let's just suppose." "Proof, photographs, audio recordings of the clanking chains, telemetry of some sort." "What good would it do?" "Have you considered such thoughts?" "I feel remarkably well today, in spite of all your crap." "This is the world we live in and experience with our five senses." "Skin..." "smooth and rational." "Every cause has its effect, and every effect can be predicted with the right database." "But there's a world under that world, blood, under the skin." "That's what rationalistic asses like you never see." "It's a world that's liquid instead of solid, hot instead of just warm." "It is a world full of mystery, Carl." "You don't like it, do you?" "No." "So don't give me your bull about bond issues and busted programs." "You're afraid of what's under the skin." "But I'm not." "Do you hear me, Carl?" "I'm not." " If you've given me something" " That's what it comes down to, huh?" "The bottom line?" "You're afraid of catching something." "Go on, get out of here." "Go wash your face, then you can trot to the infirmary and get an AIDS test." "When the semester's over, you're done here." "You're finished teaching." "You're crazy!" " You're totally insane!" " Good day, old boy." " What are you looking at?" "!" " Nothing." "Then go look somewhere else!" "We did it, didn't we?" "We nailed her." "What's on your face?" "Never mind." "Never mind." "We have a great deal to talk about, young man." "The story's not over?" "It's just beginning." "It's just beginning." "From the Department of Questions Better Not Answered, if a tree falls in the forest, and no one hears it," " does it make any noise?" " Mm-hmm." "Who cuts the barber's hair?" "Who leaves money under the Tooth Fairy's pillow?" "How come no one realizes" "Clark Kent is just Superman wearing glasses?" " Mm-hmm." " If I didn't own Rose Red, would I be in bed with you right now?" "Mm-hmm." "Hello." " How was your day, dear?" " Give it back." "How was your day?" "Or would you prefer that" "I just rolled over and made myself small?" "They revoked my tenure." "Carl Miller dropped by the office to give me the news himself." " Wait." "Can they do that?" " Maybe." "Probably." "Bollinger's article in the paper made us look like the Stupid Family, with me as the Head Stupid." "You want to turn off your light?" "You're pretty damn calm about it." "I heard from Sister." "She accepted the $12,000 I offered." "When I come back from Rose Red with hard data, there'll be four dozen universities willing to hire me." "First, I'm going to write a book." "It is going to sell a gazillion copies." "I once heard you say that the only certainty when dealing with the paranormal is that nothing is certain." "What if you spend three days in Rose Red and nothing happens?" "But it will." "Annie Wheaton is my guarantee." "She's" "Let's just say she's one of a kind." "You know, Rose Red is not a true dead cell." "Annie's going to wake it up." "And if you would just let the house stand for another six months," " the research possibilities" " No." "No." "It's coming down in July, and I can't wait." "I cannot wait." "How can you hate it so much?" "It eats my relatives!" " I'm sorry." " Did you miss that in your research?" "It's just that it means a lot to me." "Yeah, too much maybe." "You'll need some down time when this is over." "Some serious RR." "Well, you have the cell phone." "Right here." " And you've got plenty of film." " Of course, but I don't know if this is such a good idea." "Don't tell me you're afraid." "No, of course I'm not afraid." "It's just big." "What if I get lost?" "Kevin, you know, you're about to step out in the real world in a couple of weeks." "That's where you're apt to get lost." "But you nail this story, you can write your own ticket." "I thought that's what you wanted." "Why don't you come in there with me?" "I do have a few things to do, like running my department, overseeing finals..." "Call me when you get the pictures, either I or my wife will come get you." "She can't stand that Reardon bitch either." "If they catch me in there, they'll tear me apart." "There's no reason why they should." "If you're reasonably careful." "I guess." "Whoa-whoa-whoa!" "Don't forget this." "And try and get a good picture of them being psychic." " Professor Miller, I don't think" " Stiff upper, boy!" "Stiff upper!" "Professor Miller..." "You're a step away from stardom, dear boy!" "Just get the pictures!" "Solarium... kitchen... tool-shed..." "back door... front door..." "Oh." " I thought this house was empty." " It would be," "Mr. Bollinger, I believe." " The reporter." " Yeah, I'm Bollinger." " But how did you know?" " Come in, sir." "You're expected." "Ma'am?" "Where are you?" "This way, sir." "Hello?" "Hello?" "Ma'am, I seem to have lost you." "Ma'am?" "Is anybody here?" "Ma'am?" "Screw this." "Okay, very funny, but I want to leave, all right?" "Let me out!" "I could use a little help in here!" " I'm in the greenhouse!" "Let me out!" "Let me out of here!" "Let me out!" "I'm out of here." "Come on." "Get a grip, Bollinger." "Miller over phone:" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Who is this?" "Bollinger?" "Bollinger, is that you?" "Hello?" "Hey." "They'll be here." "Come on." "Wait!" "Don't make me chase you, Emmy!" " Mom, I'm okay." " Yes, you're always okay?" "Now, listen to me." "If anything happens that you can't handle, anything beyond a few telesmic manifestations," " call me and I'll come and get you." " I will, Mom." "I have to go." "You call me anyway so I know you're all right." "I always do." "I have to go." " They're waiting." " Let them wait." "They won't do much without you, huh?" "Now, turn around." " Mom..." " Turn around." "And stay away from that blonde girl." "She looks like a tramp." "Now give Mommy a kiss." "You're all over lipstick." "Fix yourself." "Friends, I see new frontiers in abnormal psychology stretching out before us." "How exciting!" "...Especially if you move your bowels!" "Gosh, the day before summer camp must have been a busy time" " in the Waterman household." " Shut up!" "Off to the house on haunted hill, I see?" "Oh and with-- with about 100,000 worth of department equipment." "I've got all the proper paperwork if you want to see it signed in all the proper places." "Oooh..." "signed by Rogers." "When I was on vacation, he was acting in my stead." "Very clever of you." " Is there a point to any of this?" " Just trying to be pleasant." "If you'll excuse us, Professor Miller, we're in a hurry." "Yes, of course." "Places to go, ghosts to bust." "Isn't that right, Mr. Rimbauer?" "Yeah, more or less." "Yes." "Well, keep the equipment in one piece." "Good luck." "The spirits have done it all in one night." "That's what Scrooge says when he wakes up a changed man." "That's what he made me think of." "Scrooge on Christmas morning." "I don't trust him." "Hello." "Are you the group?" "The Rose Red group?" "Yes." "I'm Pam Asbury." "This is Cathy Kramer." "Hi." " Victor Kandinsky." " Vic." "Just Vic." "Oh." "Nick Hardaway." "And Emery Waterman." "And..." " you must be..." " I'm Sissy Wheaton." "This is Annie." "I was sure we were going to miss you guys." "Traffic was horrible." " We're glad you didn't." " Sister-  or do you prefer Rachel?" " Either is fine." "Just quit it." "Good God." "She's retarded." "If you keep your psychological evaluation of Miss Wheaton to yourself, we won't ask you any embarrassing questions about your relationship with your mother." "Chin, chin." "Folks," "I think we're ready." "You've reached the cell phone of Carl Miller." "Please, leave a message after the tone." "Bollinger, where are you?" "I told you to keep that phone with you..." "In any case, they've left the campus." "They'll be there in 40 minutes, so be ready." "Then call me back." "There she is." "It seems to be looking at us." "It is, Cathy." "It is." "Steve." "Mommy?" "Where are you?" "Mommy?" "I'm scared." "Where are you, Mommy?" "Steve." "Steve, you okay?" "Huh?" "Yeah, sure." "Fine." "You wanna know a secret?" "I've never done anything like this before and I'm pretty much scared to death." "Be not afraid." "Only believe." "We're lucky most of the electronic stuff was delivered and installed earlier this week." " What are these?" " House plans." "Probably as useful as a 14th century map of Africa." "And here, a coil of rope." "How are you doing, sweetie?" "Are you okay?" "Boy's voice:" "Mommy?" "I'm scared." "Stevey..." "Stevey... come..." "What is it?" "What can you hear?" " Steve..." " It knows we're here." "It wants us here." "God help us." "It wants us here." "Come in..." "Come see..." "Houses are alive." "This is something we know." "News from our nerve endings." "If we're quiet... if we listen... we can hear houses breathe." "Sometimes in the depth of the night, we hear them groan." "It's as if they're having bad dreams." "A good house cradles and comforts." "A bad one fills us with instinctive unease." "Bad houses hate our warmth, our humanness." "That blind hate of our humanity is what we mean when we use the word ""haunted.""" "Steve?" "Are you all right?" "Yeah." "I heard it, too. ." "Then it stopped." " What?" "What did you hear?" " There were words." "It wasn't clear..." "did any of you?" "Cathy:" "I might have heard something." "Or it might have just been my imagination." " Steve, what was it?" " How would I know?" "I don't have a psychic bone in my body, as you well know." "You tested me yourself so there's no real" "What are you looking at?" "Nothing." "Pam... can you come here?" "We might as well get started." "Will you...?" "All right." "Emers old boy, why don't you come and give us a hand?" "It seems to be the butler's day off." " Don't call me that." " Come on." "For $5,000 you can carry a couple of boxes, can't you?" "I'm not being paid for my services as a porter." "Pam?" "You all right?" "I thought this house was empty." "You would be Mr. Bollinger, the reporter." "Pam?" "I'm Bollinger." "How did you know?" "Come in, sir." "You were expected." "This way." "Come in, sir." "You were expected." "This way." "How old were you when you got lost in there?" "Eight?" "Nine?" " What are you talking about?" " The room with colored light." "The smell of sawdust." "What happened?" "What did you see?" "What frightened you?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "You know, don't you?" "But you're not saying." "What is it?" "It's cold." "Just... cold metal, that's all." "But you spoke." "There was something there, but it's gone." "I didn't like the way it felt." "The caretaker must have left it there." "After he let in the guys who brought the equipment." " He'll miss it." " Not after the summer." "Come September, there won't be a gate to open." "There's a flashlight for each of you." "I suggest you keep it on or near you at all times." "The power's fine most of the time." "And if it goes out, I don't suppose looking for the fusebox does much good." "Nope." "Neither does calling Puget Sound Energy." "What about your equipment?" "If the power goes, everything of mine switches to batteries." "I think we better get started." "Where's Annie?" "She's wonderful." "Friday afternoon, 3:1 7 p.m." "We've just experienced our first paranormal phenomenon-- a phantom draft." "The only thing I insist on is that you don't go off exploring on your own." "The geography of Rose Red can seem unstable." "Maybe we should double up on sleeping arrangements." "I don't mind sharing with Cathy." "Or the three of us could go in together like summer camp." "I'll sleep with Emery and after midnight we'll raid the fridge." "Won't we, Em?" "The bedrooms are perfectly safe." "The important thing is not to go off wandering." "I think you'll find this interesting." "You could make Thanksgiving dinner for a hundred people in here." "Maybe after the place was fumigated." "You're such a charmer." "Was I talking to you?" "Ellen Rimbauer called this ""the health room.""" "We call it a solarium." "A railroad executive named George Meader, a friend and drinking buddy of John Rimbauer, died in here after the end of the first World War." "According to a doctor he was stung by a bee." "Died of an extreme allergic reaction." "As I told you, in Rose Red's heyday men didn't fare well here." "That's not very reassuring." "I'm sure you have nothing to worry about." "Just use the buddy system when moving through the house." " Now" " Whoa." "What?" "What's this?" "Did the caretaker leave that, too?" "I doubt it." "Well, then who?" "Press redial and see who answers." "Hello, you've reached Professor Carl Miller of the Psychology Department." "I'm not able to answer the phone at the present time." "Leave a message at the beep if you like, but remember your Shakespeare." "Who is it?" "Brevity is the soul of wit." "Hello, Professor Miller, this is Joyce Reardon's friend, Steven Rimbauer." "We have found a piece of your property here in Rose Red." "I'm fairly sure you didn't drop it yourself since we saw you an hour ago, but I've got a good idea who did." "The guy who wrote the newspaper story." "Am I right?" "Now trespassing isn't a very serious crime and abetting a trespasser is probably even less serious but your dignity is going to take a hit at the very least." "Guess who's going to be the cover boy on next week's newspaper?" "You have a nice day." "Bravo, Steve." "Bravo." "Cathy:" "You can't be certain that that is Professor Miller's cell phone." "Oh, of course it is." "If you want proof, dial some of the numbers in memory." "I bet one of them is that son of a bitch, Bollinger." "If the reporter had the phone, where's the reporter?" "Maybe the house ate him." "Isn't that what it's supposed to do?" "Eat people?" "Probably something frightened him, the sort of thing that neither he nor Professor Miller believes in and he just ran off." "Perhaps he's still in the house." "If he is, then we'll find him." "Come on, folks." "Let's" "Joyce, are you sure we shouldn't notify somebody?" "Why should we?" "If Bollinger's here, he's trespassing, like Steve said." "If we call the cops then we're apt to find ourselves with half a dozen police tromping through the house and roiling up the atmosphere and he'll win." "That pig Miller will win in spite of everything." "And I can't have it, okay?" "I just won't!" "I can't!" "It's okay." "He doesn't get to win." "If we find Bollinger we can give him a cup of tea and a good spanking and send him on his way." " Sounds good to me." " Yeah, me too." "On with the show?" "On with the show." "It's a pity no one kept up those vines." "There hasn't been a full-time groundskeeper at Rose Red since Omicron Oil fell off the Big Board a quarter century ago." "I believe we're lingering in the kitchen because Joyce wants to tell you about my Great-Aunt April." " Go on, Joyce." " Are you sure?" "Sure I'm sure." "That's what we're here for, right?" "Besides, it was all before my time." "Go on." "April was six years old when she disappeared." "Her brother Adam was away at boarding school." "Boarding school at eight?" "It was Rimbauer's idea." "Ellen ranted and raved, but John, at least this time, put his foot down and kept it down." "He didn't trust Rose Red even then." "This was the last place April was ever seen." "Sukeena stepped into the pantry over there for what she swore was no more than 30 seconds." "When she came out..." "April?" "I'm a little teapot..." " April, honey, where are you?" "April?" "50 men searched the house and grounds." "They found nothing." "Not so much as a lock of hair or a thread from her dress." "Great-grandfather was convinced that" "Sukeena had something to do with it." "So he had her taken downtown." "Ellen objected in the strongest possible terms but John respectfully declined to listen." "Ellen, stop it!" "Please, John!" "Sukeena!" "Sukeena was taken to a small basement room you can probably imagine, and questioned for 50 hours." "No sleep, no food, no bathroom breaks, no mercy." "I don't know." "She was gone." "I don't know." "In the end she convinced them that she didn't know anything about April's disappearance." "But it cost her... it cost her three teeth, a broken nose and a broken wrist." "Eventually, Ellen's maid was allowed to return home again." "The only home she had left." "So when do we get to upstairs?" "I heard that's where the really weird stuff is." "No time like the present." "Come on, everybody." "I didn't notice that one before." "Neither did I." "For the rest of the weekend could you please remember" " who's running this expedition?" " Sure." "Nick, could you come here, please?" "If you could tie the end of your rope to that pole, it'll help us find our way back." "Couldn't we just go back and get the plans?" "In this house, the plans don't always mean a lot." "It's only a safety measure." "So follow me and prepare to be amazed." "I'm a little teapot" "Short and stout" "Here is my handle" "Here is my spout" "When I get all steamed up" "Hear me shout..." "Ellen called this the perspective hallway." "It was her first major addition." "And no architect designed it, either." "She made it up herself?" "Way to go, Ellen." "But she didn't." "Then who?" "Sukeena." " Her maid?" " Her companion." "It's so wild." "Like something in a fun house." "It's making my stomach turn." "I guess they're pieces built in perspective." "Camouflaging the real doors was Great-Gram's idea." "She didn't want them to spoil the illusion." "Bollinger!" "Hey, Bollinger, are you in there?" "Whoa." "Annie, no!" "No!" "You be quiet!" "If you wanted this place to wake up." "I'd say you've been successful in that regard." "Cathy:" "What was that?" "Who screamed?" "Does she ever get assertive, or does she always waffle like that?" "She doesn't talk much, but what she says, she means." "Yeah, I'll say." "In the mid '60s, a team of scientists, one of them a geologist, spent time investigating Rose Red and heard the house scream several times." "They recorded a couple of them." "Although on tape they don't sound very impressive." "What did they conclude?" "That they were hearing the sound of underground water, perhaps amplified by the old water drainage pipes that run under this part of Seattle." "Underground water?" "People faced with these sort of phenomena tend to protect their belief systems ferociously." "This hallway was the last place Ellen Rimbauer was ever seen." "They moved in on January 15, 1909." "Ellen marked the occasion each January 15th by wearing the same white dress she wore the day they arrived." "For many of those years Ellen threw a party on January 15th and everybody who was anybody showed up-- politicians, hoodlums, sports players, stars." "When the actress disappeared, the parties stopped." "Finish telling us about old Mrs. Rimbauer." "She disappeared on January 15, 1950." "She was 70." "A maid saw her and wished her good evening and she swept by as if she didn't even hear her." "And that was the last anyone ever saw of her." "Come on." "Lots more to see." "This is the gymnasium." "Although the exercise equipment is out of date" "This room demands a particular form of exercise." "What?" "How... ?" "It's the mirror library." "It's not in the plans, but I remember seeing it as a boy." "I was afraid to go in because I thought I'd fall." "They're not in the plans?" "How can they not be in the plans?" "Cathy:" "There's a camera." "Not good." "Not good at all." "The property of Kevin Bollinger." "Oh, God." "Mr. Bollinger!" "Mr. Bollinger, are you here?" "What's wrong?" "I told you this might happen." "The lights will come back on." "In the meantime, use your flashlights." "I think we should go back downstairs." "Shh." "Nonsense." "Oh, my-- look." "Steve, roll tape, roll tape." "Annie..." "Annie, no." "Annie, don't touch it." "Annie, no!" "Annie, come here." "Come with me." "Stop her!" "Somebody's got to stop her!" "Are you okay?" "How did you know to do that?" "I don't know." "I just did it." "Here take it." "I don't want it." "Here." "Give it to me." "Try and get some pictures." "Good pictures of them being psychic." "What's that supposed to mean?" "I don't know." "I think it's someone talking to Bollinger." "Yeah, I bet I know who." "Is Bollinger alive?" "Can you tell?" "He was when he dropped this camera." "Beyond that..." "I don't know." "I think we ought to get out of here, Joyce." "Okay, let's head downstairs." "Break time." "Thank God." "Wait." "It's not the same." "The hallway." " No, nonsense" " No, he's right." "We should be going back the way we came, but we're not." "What is that?" "Steve, what's going on?" "The building's started again." "You wanted to wake the place up." "Now you got what you wanted." "But who's building?" "And what?" "I don't know." "You're lying." "No, I'm not lying." "Is it too hard to remember?" "Or too frightening to remember?" "It's gone." "It stopped." "Then I suggest we go downstairs before it starts again." "Annie, I need your help." "Now put your hand here and push from here." "Annie, what are you doing?" "Nick..." "Not now, Joyce." "Annie!" "That wasn't funny." "I know another way down and there might be something worth seeing along the way." "Are you sure you know the way?" "Yes." "Oh my God." """Oh my God"" is right." "More camouflaged doors, Stevie?" "Great-Gram was never above using a good trick twice." "This was her little joke on her husband's business life." "Did he get it?" "I doubt it." "I don't even really get it." "Here's the real door right here." "Just press right there." "This house has everything, but chow." "Joyce." "It's this way." "Oh." "Of course." "I knew that." "Better, Emery?" "Than nothing I guess." "Too much mayo in the crabmeat." "What do you want, big boy?" "Bare-breasted nymphs to kneel at your feet and offer you delicacies from silver platters?" "Stop it right now." "Stop harassing me." "There's a difference between joking and harassing." "Did you never learn that?" "I learned plenty in high school, believe me, from guys like him." "And you." "Come on, give it a rest." "Emery I might be able to provide you with something you like better in a little while." "Tell us about the actress, Joyce." "I've always been a sucker for celebrities." "Well, that's her, on Ellen's wall of fame." "Deanna Petrie was a fairly big star in the '40s." "Musical comedies mostly." "She could dance, sing a little, and she was sexy as hell." "She was one of Ellen Rimbauer's favorite guests at her January 1 5th parties." "In 1 946 she showed up in what Hedda Hopper called ""the cocktail dress.""" "It was what she was wearing when she disappeared." "She spent most of the night, here in the billiard room, wowing the guests with her many talents." "She left behind a single earring." "A maid found it the next day, but there was no longer a girl to go with it." "Deanna's disappearance made Rose Red's reputation." "And now Annie, if you've finished eating," "I have something to show you." "It's nice." "You'll like it." "I promise." "It's okay." "Go up, Annie." "Go up and see what you find." "It's not dangerous, is it?" "No, not a bit." "Go on, Annie." "You okay, son?" "Yeah, sure." "I'm fine." "Annie." "What in the world is it?" "Whatever it is, she likes it." "Cathy, you were right." " Revelation 12." " Oh, yeah." "No corporal presence in six centuries." "No psychic pulse." "Emery, are you thinking of dressing for dinner?" "You tell me." "Read my mind." "Annie, Glen Miller." "That doesn't work." "I tried it while I was setting up." "Sorry, Annie." "Ah!" "Joyce?" "It's all right." "Got three loaded for Reardon." "Large, with two six-packs of soda." "Yep, thank you." "Told you there might be something you like better." "Loaded." "Excellent." "Miss Asbury?" "May I?" "Okay." "Do this often?" "Every chance we get?" "How much?" "This is some place." "Is it haunted?" "Yes, by the ghosts of delivery men who asked too many stupid questions and never escaped." "This is unbelievable." "What are you doing to me?" "She's terrific." "Wouldn't think you'd need a telemetry readout" " just to count heads." " Not human ones certainly." "Oh." "I'm really worried about Mr. Bollinger." "Don't bother." "He'll show up eventually." "I wish I could be as sure of that as you seem to be." "By the way, where's Vic?" "Right here." "Anyone care to dance?" "Not me." "I'm pooped." "Where have you been?" "I lost my book." "Nice story time." "We've heard the one about the actress." "Tell us about Rimbauer's partner, Mr. Posey." "Remember that seance I told you about?" "Starring the famous gypsy psychic, Cora Frye?" "Mm, yes." "That was 1914 and the war in Europe was heating up the American economy." "Omicron Oil was in clover." "Money was rolling in." "And John Rimbauer was tired of sharing it." "So in October of that same year he gave Douglas Posey the bum's rush." "According to family legend," "Uncle Posey had a taste for cowboys." "He liked chaps in chaps?" "Was he into roping or branding?" "Probably a little bit of both." "John Rimbauer bought him out at distress sale prices." "He was told never to come back to Rose Red, but he did." "Once and that was in 1915." "John was in Europe and Adam and April were at home with their mom." "Grand-dad never forgot Posey tossing him that Tom Mix hat." "He wanted to keep it and he threw a tantrum when his mother tried to take it away." "And the rose." "He never forgot April catching the rose." "Why did Posey wait a year to do it?" "And why here?" "Any ideas?" "If you wanted answers, you came to the wrong place." "Following the suicide," "John and Ellen kept Adam out of Rose Red as much as possible." "As I told you, he was at boarding school when his sister disappeared." "He knew damn well that something was very wrong here." "Even then." "The male descendants in the Rimbauer line mostly stayed clear of the family manse." "I wasn't here more than half a dozen times as a kid." "I got off on my own just once, I was eight." " Wait, I thought your father" " My father hated this place." "He was afraid of it." "But it was my mother who brought me." "I forgot until today." "Blocked it out, I suppose." "Nick reminded me." "She probably couldn't find a babysitter." "What was she looking for?" "Antiques, loot..." "I think she was drunk." "That's my memory of it." "She so often was in those days." "I know she and Dad were broke." "After we lost the oil company, it's been a family disease, broke-itis." "While your mother was treasure hunting, you got lost?" "Yeah, I mean it was no big deal" "You were upstairs before you realized how lost you were." "One floor above the mirror library." "Or was it three floors?" "Or 1 0?" "Because when this place gets going, when it feels lively, when it has energy to draw on," "Rose Red can make itself as big as it wants, can't it?" "Finally you got to the top." "and that's where" "Oh my God." "What is it?" "Do you know?" "It's a cluster manifestation with rising elements, like an earthquake!" "It's the house!" "It's coming alive!" "How many are there?" "Can you tell?" "Damn this thing!" "I'm not so sure there is anyone here!" "I know it sounds crazy, but" "Be gone!" "Aaaah!" "Annie, don't touch it." " Go." "Annie." "Go ahead." "Go." "Annie, come." "I'd advise none of you to go wandering tonight." " You'd agree, wouldn't you, Steve?" " As a matter of fact, I would." "If you're quiet, if you listen, you can hear houses breathe." "Sometimes, in the depth of the night, you can hear them groan, as if they were having bad dreams." "Could I ask you something?" "Of course, Emery." "Will-- will you come to bed with me?" "Look, isn't that your mom?" "That's not my mother." "That's just an old" "Pam?" "What are you doing?" "Say cheese!" "Say cheese, Emmy!" "Oh man!" "Five grand wasn't enough, Ma." "Not at all." "20 wouldn't have been enough." " Ah!" " Voh-doh-dee-oh-doh." "Want to get it on?" "We've got all night, Emery." " We've got forever." " You're not there!" " No there!" " But I am." "I'm your girl." "I'm your dream girl." "Not there." "Not there." "Not there." "Not there!" " Say cheese!" " Who is it?" " Cathy." "Come on." "Hurry up!" "What is it?" "It's Steve." "He's found something amazing." " It explains so much." " Explains what?" "What are you talking about?" "Annie." "There's a summer place" "Where it may rain or storm" "Yet I am safe and warm..." "Annie, turn the record player off." "Dad'll be pissed." "Reach out" "To me" "There're no gloomy skies" "When seen through the eyes" "Of those who are blessed" "With love." "What is it?" "Did you open that?" "If you opened it, close it." "I can't sleep with the closet door open." "I'm afraid of the bogeyman, aren't you?" "No... ogeyman." " No bogeyman?" " Og" "Ogey-lady." "Bogey-lady?" "Night-night." "You are going to get it now!" "We're sorry, your call cannot be completed as dialed." "Just pay your bill and kiss my ass!" " No luck?" " No." "My mother is going to go crazy." "It's not a very long trip for her, even at the best of times." " I'm sorry about that." " Yeah, well..." "I'm thinking of getting out of here before she shows up." "I get very tired of her..." "showing up." "Also, Rimbauer gets on my nerves." "Joyce too, actually." """If you look to your left, you will see the ghost of April Rimbauer and Douglas Posey." "Don't worry, they're perfectly harmless.""" "And you know what?" "Underneath that phoney tour guide shtick, she is as crazy as the Red Queen." """Off with their heads.""" "And that creepy kid with that creepy doll..." "She's... nuts too." "Rimbauer is just smart ass du jour." "What's this?" "Your shrink routine?" "Just get it off your chest." "A dead cell, isn't that what Joyce called it?" "You want to know about dead?" "I had a dead movie star in bed with me last night." " Deanna Petrie?" " Yeah." "It didn't last long but it was a very... physical manifestation." "I'm getting tired of Rose Red's little tricks." "If Joyce wants some of her $5,000 back," "I'll just see her in court." "If my mother doesn't hear from me soon, she is really going to go nuclear." " Operator: ..." "And try again..." " I will not try again later!" "Good morning, Annie." "All right, then." "Good morning, Steve." "Ah, good morning." " Is that Annie?" " Annie it is." "Would you like some eggs?" "It would be a pleasure." "No, thanks." " Have you seen Joyce?" " Yes, fiddling with her equipment." "Looking as if she last had a good night's sleep circa 1 972." "I'd tread carefully if I were you." " She's crabby, huh?" " Very." "The video was cloudy, the audio garbled, no recorded telemetry of any use." "What's that?" "That's the wine cellar." "Isn't it marvelous?" "The door was open when I came down this morning." " Haven't you seen it before?" " No." "Rose Red hasn't just woken up." "It's become the House  Garden version of Frankenstein's monster." " That's ridiculous." " Is it?" "Listen." " Have you heard much of that?" " Enough to worry me." "And Bollinger's persistent non-appearance worries me too." "You would think, if he were still here-- here and alive-- that we'd have run into him by now, wouldn't you?" "I don't know." "And the longer we go without reporting his disappearance, the more peculiar our position becomes if he turns up dead or if he doesn't turn up at all." "Dom Perignon 1949." "It's a very good year." "In my experience, they're all good years." "What goes better with scrambled eggs than champagne?" "Pull the cork, Steve." "Will you wet your whittle?" "It's a little early for me." " Cheers." " Cheers." "Mmm..." "You know this place is feeding off us." "And although I'm sure it finds us all rather tasty, its primary sources of nourishment are little Annie" " and you." " Me?" "I don't have a telepathic bone in my body." "I don't know what you were before you came here, but I know now that you are a powerful psychic transmitter operating on Rose Red's wavelength." "It almost had you once." "It wants you back." " It wants Annie too." " You're crazy." "Crazy?" "Maybe." "But I vouch that Joyce is crazier, and she means to have her proof, even if someone has to die for it." " You're wrong." " Really?" "Let's ask Mr. Bollinger if we meet him again." "What are you doing?" "Trying to make sure Miller actually sent Bollinger here." "If he did, I'll call the police and report him missing." " Joyce won't like that." " According to you, she's not very happy anyway." "Professor, what are you doing here on a Saturday morning?" "Minding my business, as I hope you will yours." "Ah!" "Who locked this door?" "Janitor:" "I imagine you locked it yourself, it being your office." "You must have the number." "It's your cell phone." "Will you talk to him if he calls back?" " I'd be delighted." " Thanks." "Steve's voice:" "Guess who'll be the cover boy on next week's paper?" "You have a nice day." "Damn you!" "...received at 8:42 a.m." "This is Steven Rimbauer again." "I need to talk to you about Kevin Bollinger." "He slit his wrists and wrote your name on the wall in his own blood before he died." "And Joyce suggests you come out here before we call the police." "Maybe we can work out a way to minimize this scandal, but it's imperative you come the second you get this message." "End of message." "You have no more new messages." "Have a nice day, Professor." "Good morning, Annie." "Good morning, Annie." "Good morning, Annie." "Good morning, Annie." "Good morning." "Steve." "Good morning, Steve." "Good morning, Steve." "Right." "Wow... knock yourself out." "That's pretty good." "She can also bend spoons, turn on the lights, and set off car alarms." "Jeez." " I got babies." " Yes, very nice babies." "I got Adam..." "I got April." "She never talks to strangers." "I'm impressed." "In fact, I'm stunned." "Well, I've never heard Glen Miller playing out of a flower before." "You're-- you're Rachel?" " That's right, isn't it?" " Yeah... most people call me Sister or Sissy, for short." "I think I prefer Rachel." "So this is a very big deal for Joyce, right?" "The biggest." "Because of all the disappearances," "Rose Red is a white whale in the field of psychic research." "And now that Miller's gotten her tenure revoked, it's even more important." "If Joyce comes back with proof of paranormal activity, she'll be okay." "If not..." "I had no idea things were so dire for her." "She's paying me a great deal of money-- paying Annie, I should say." " I wonder if she can afford it." " I wonder too." "You really don't know?" "Forgive me, but I thought you two" " were closer than that." " In some ways, we are." "In other ways, we're not even in the same neighborhood." "Tell me about her." "She's 15." "She's autistic." "She loves "a summer place"." "She loves big bands." "She's also telepathic and psychokinetic... which are probably the least important things about her." " Can I show you something?" " Sure." "Everything was dead at this end of the room yesterday." "The house is coming to life." "We all feel it." "Maybe, but the house didn't do this." "Annie did." "It's the other side of what she is." "It's not all frozen pipes and falling stones." "When I look at her, I don't see ruin." "I see roses." "When Annie was five, a dog bit her." "Ah!" "Annie, make him go away!" "Annie!" "Make him stop!" "Make him go away!" "What happened?" "Oh my God." "He bit her!" "Your dog bit my sister." "Oh my God." "Buddy, get back in the house!" "I'm so sorry." "He's never done this before." "He's never bitten anyone." "I'm so sorry." "We'll take care of that." "It'll be all right." "It'll be just fine." "Everything is going to be just fine." "Sister, look at this." "Sister," "I got Baby!" "Stones from the sky." "And they all just fell on the Stanton's house." "Nowhere else on the street." "It was the dog that hurt her, and the dog had been destroyed, but" "Annie didn't understand that." " Stop it." " Answer me!" "Are you proud of this?" " Oh, stop it, Daddy." " I'm not gonna stop it!" "Come on, how could you be so stupid?" "How could you let a reporter get a hold of Annie's drawings?" "Annie came in while I was arguing with my father, and... well..." "You could say she launched a protest." "She froze all the water in the house." "She's a big time telekinetic and that's all Joyce cares about." " Joyce is" " No!" "No, I-- thank you." "I do understand." "I think even Annie understands why we're here, in her own way." "But for me, the thing that's important about Annie, all that's important about Annie... is that she responds to love with love." "There has to be a place for the Annies of the world." "It would be nice to think so, but the world isn't always fair." "That's all." "I know it." "I understand." "For the lamb shall feed and lead them unto living fountains of waters..." "We must drink from the grape, and not the grain." "Maybe later." "You sure?" "Could we...?" "What is she thinking?" "Any idea at all?" "Not the slightest." "Miss Asbury, you look lovely this morning." "If only I'd have known," "I'd have dressed for the occasion." "What's wrong?" "Ms. Asbury?" "Pam?" "It's not much further." "Who are you?" "I might ask you the same thing." "Patricia Waterman, Emery's mother." "Carl Miller, Professor Miller." "Nice to meet you." "Are you going in there?" " I'm afraid so." " Good." "I've come to get my boy." "Get the gate, would ya?" "Come on!" "Put your back into it!" " What is it you found?" " Something amazing, it explains so much." " Maybe we should tell the others." " We will, but I wanted to show you first." "Dastardly bitch!" "Em?" "Emery!" "What is wrong with you?" "Look what you've done to my car." "Emery!" "Come back!" "Patricia:" "Emery!" "Woman!" "Could we exchange insurance information?" "Where are you?" "Woman!" "Patricia:" "Emers!" "Emery!" "Not there." "Not there." "Not there." "Emery!" "Emery!" "Emery, what's wrong?" "Stop running!" "Let me help!" "Pam?" "Pam?" "Woman!" "Where are you?" "Pam?" "Be not afraid, only believe." "Be not afraid, only believe." "Where am I?" "Emery!" "Emery!" "Oh my God." "It is her." "Woman!" "Where are you?" "Emery!" "Emers!" "Is that you?" "Emery!" "Only believe." "I don't believe." "I don't believe." "No!" "Emery!" "Help me, Mommy, I'm so scared." " Emers." " Help me." "Mrs. Waterman?" "Where are you?" "Somebody, help me!" "She's alive!" "Please help." "Not there." "Not there" "Not there." "I don't want to go!" "Open the window." " Let me in!" " Not there." "Emery?" "I'm having a heart attack!" "Call 911." "Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin." " Call 911." " Not there." "Not there." "Not there." "Not there..." "Emery, look at me!" "Please, look at me!" "I'm... for God's sake, open the window!" "Not there, not Mommy, not Vic, not the actress, not anyone, not there..." "Not there." "Not there." "Not there, not there in my hair, foul or fair, don't you dare, no one there, peach or pear, no one there, in my hair, foul or fair..." "Don't you dare, no one there..." " What's going on?" " No one there..." "Vic!" "He came to you for help, and you turned your back on him." "What the hell's going on?" "Oh God." "Sir, pardon me, sir?" "Yes?" "Are you here for Mr. Bollinger?" " Is he here?" " Yes... waiting for you in the solarium." "If you're Professor Miller, that is." "He's all right?" "He's not hurt or...?" "I believe he's impatient to go home, sir, but otherwise he seems quite well." "It's Rimbauer." "What is going on?" "I'm sure I cannot say, sir." "Ms. Reardon's party seems rather rambunctious." "Does it indeed?" "Take me to Bollinger." "Right away, sir." "How did I get up here?" "Will you slow down?" "Where are you going?" "Hello?" "Ma'am!" "Where are you?" "A house is a place of shelter, it's the body we put on over our bodies." "As our bodies grow old, so do our houses." "As our bodies may sicken, so do our houses sicken." "And what of madness?" "If mad people live within, doesn't this madness creep into the rooms and walls and corridors?" "The very boards?" "Don't we sometimes sense that madness reaching out to us?" "Isn't that a large part of what we mean when we say a place is unquiet, festered up with spirits?" "We say ""haunted,""" "but we mean the house has gone insane." "Somebody help me!" "I'm lost!" "Somebody help me!" "Oh, for God's sake!" "Help!" "Somebody help me!" "Where the hell did I come from?" "Hey!" "Your mommy was right." "I'm a tramp." "Somebody help me!" "Help me!" "Where is everyone?" "!" " Nick, what's going on?" " It's Vic, I think he's dead." "I'm trying to get to him!" " What's going on?" " He says Vic is dead." " Oh my God." " That's ridiculous!" "Joyce, get real." "I said I think Vic is dead." "Thank God." "Oh, thank God!" "You." "You don't understand." "My mother is here, unless the house is imitating her." "At first, I thought so, but the more I think about it, the more-- and I got lost!" "I've seen things you wouldn't believe!" "Not now, Emery!" "We shouldn't be here." "Not any of us." "There's a bubble forming, I think, a kind of psychic bubble, and I" "What would your mother be doing here?" "She worries about me." "I'm worried about me too, actually-- about all of us." "I saw Pam upstairs." "I think she's dead." " Where's Annie?" " I" " I don't" " It's stuck again." " It's notjust stuck!" "Of course it isn't." " This is ridiculous!" " Emery, come here." "Is that your mother's car?" "Yeah, Mommy's little scootabout." " What did you" " Mommy's little scootabout." "Mommy's little scootabout." "That's what she calls it." "Sometimes we scootabout for ice cream, and sometimes to the movies, some-- stop looking at me." "I think Mama's little scootabout is blocking another car." " Is anyone in it?" " I don't know." "I can't tell." " I'll check the kitchen door." " I'll go with you." " Steve!" " Not now, Dee." "Annie, are you out there?" "Steve, come look at this." "It's coming to life, isn't it?" "I think he's right outside there," "I didn't exactly see." "Oh my God." "God, no." "Open, in the name of Jesus!" "Open, in the name of God!" " Where's Pam?" " Emery said she is dead." "She was in Ellen Rimbauer's room." "She said things to me-- bad things." "I can't be sure, but when I see people like that, they're usually dead." "This place will kill all of us if we're not careful." "We were wrong to come." "That is a cowardly and mistaken thing to say." "Vic's dead, Pam's probably dead, and we can't get out." "You need a reality check, lady." " Joyce" " Leave me alone!" "Annie, where are you?" "Annie, are you-- oh God!" "Annie, don't move!" "Joyce, we've already established that that doesn't work!" "Annie?" "Annie?" "You were saying?" "See?" "Just stuck, no big deal." "Mom, where are you?" " Is she all right?" " I don't know." "Go down to the kitchen and get a lemon." "If there's no lemon, bring the vinegar." "Go!" "Hurry!" "What about the windows in the billiard room?" "You were pounding on them with your fists." "You don't think the glass was stuck too?" "You be careful, now." "Mom?" "Mama?" "Who's there?" "Oh, I shouldn't be doing this." "I shouldn't be doing this." "I shouldn't be doing this." "I shouldn't be doing this." "Screw it, I'm not doing this." "If there's someone there, stop fooling around!" "Who's there?" "If you need help, I'll help you!" "But if you only want to play games..." "Argh!" " Stay away from me!" " Professor, wait!" "Professor, wait!" "Stay away!" "Professor?" "Emery, look at me." "Please, look at me." "You're no good to anyone, bub." "I've got an idea." "Why don't you go hang yourself?" "You could do it in the parlor." "Just like Posey..." "a ring around the rosey... and not by the hair of your chinny-chin-chin." "Ah!" "Help me!" "Stay away!" " Is she awake?" " No, but her breathing's regular." " Get Joyce." " Can't I stay with her?" "Get Joyce!" "She's closer to a doctor than either of us." "Go!" " I saw Vic." " You can't have." "Vic is" "I know, Vic was another little Rose Red mind movie like Pam and Deanna Petrie." "But I also saw Miller, and he was real." " Miller?" "Professor Miller?" " None other, although I doubt the Dean of Arts and Sciences would recognize him." "He's out there in the high grass, running around like a madman!" " You're lying!" " No, he's not." "No, I'm not." "My mother's somewhere behind the house." "But I can't get to the backyard." " Calm down, Emery." " Don't tell me that!" "You don't know what I've seen, so don't tell me that." " I'll call 911 ." " I'd rather doubt it." "We all need to take a step back, take a deep breath and" "Annie's had an accident." "She's unconscious." " Could you come?" " Where is she?" "This phone is working." "Whom should I call?" " The cops!" " An ambulance." " No one." "Not yet." " To hell with you, Joyce." "I'm getting out of here!" "Honey, are you okay?" "Can you hear me?" "Emery?" "You're not there." "You're dead." "Both of you are dead." " No, we're not." " We're not dead at all." "That's the beauty of it." "Please, Emery." "Life could be different for you here." " It could be better." " It would be nice." "Really nice." "I'll pass." "Rose Red is too much like The Roach Motel." "They check in but they don't check out." "Not there!" "I'm hard up, girls, but not quite that hard up." "Annie, what is it?" "We seldom have company at Rose Red these days." "I insist you stay a little longer." "Look what it did to me." "We have to get out of here." "I'm afraid it's too late for that." " Here, Annie." " Annie, no." "Be still, and let her help you." "Hmm?" "It's okay." "I'm sorry." "There you go." "You okay, honey?" "You think you can stand up?" "Let's try it." "Ah, there we go." "Great." "It's okay." "Annie, look." "And the sweet secret of" "A summer place" "Is that it's anywhere" "When two people share" "All their hopes" "All their dreams" "All their love." "I know the song." "And I know the feeling." "To be safe." "To be free to dream, and to have all the time in the world to enjoy it." "Yeah." "Later on, I'll let you play with it all you want." "I promise." "Uh-uh-uh." "Annie... look at me." "Annie, if you want to play with that dollhouse, you'll look at me right now." "Hmm?" "Annie?" "Are you holding the doors and the windows closed?" "Don't give me that blank stare, you understand me well." "We understand each other." "Are you?" "That's what the house wants you to do... and you just go right on doing it." "Soon, I'll take that dollhouse down and you can play with it all you want." "In fact, we'll play with it together, and we'll take all the time we want." " Hey!" "Get off him!" " Hey!" "Get off him!" "Get off him!" " It isn't going to do any good." " What's next, Sherlock?" " Any ideas?" " No." "You?" "No!" "This place has always wanted me." "I found that out when I was eight." "I should have stayed away." " Why didn't you?" " Because of Dee." "She needs someone to look after her, so she doesn't go into the big nowhere." "Here they come again." "Hey!" "Get off him!" " Get off him!" " Hey, get off him!" "The power went out 15 minutes ago." "I don't think it'll be on again tonight." "Don't you want to know about Bollinger and Mrs. Waterman, or Professor Miller?" "Aren't you curious at all?" "What about them?" "Any sign?" " No." "None." " Hmm." "I think I knew that, actually." "So... what is there to be curious about?" "Dee... we're all in the billiard room." "We need to talk." "Pam is also missing, and if Emery says she's dead, we have to believe him." "About Vic, of course, there's no question." " Joyce?" " Hmm." "Do you understand what I'm telling you?" "Of course." "But since there isn't anything I can do about them-- not now at any rate" "I'll continue with my observations." "I am a scientist, you know?" "Or did you forget that?" "No, I didn't forget that." "Miller did." "Running around like a madman." "I'd have liked to see that." "Thank God for battery packs." "Annie?" "Annie." "Don't waste your breath." "She can't understand you." "Can't even hear you, not in the sense we understand hearing." "Annie?" "Annie?" "There you are." "Would you like to come with me into the other room?" "We could visit with Rachel and the others." "Steve's voice:" "Do you hear me?" "You do, don't you?" "Steve's voice:" "Annie, come, please." "You sure you won't come with us?" "All right." "Let's go." "This is the last one." "It may be a little old, but... sorry." "Beggars can't be choosers." "Thanks." "I don't suppose you have any nail polish in there?" "Nail polish?" "No, I don't use it." "Why?" "We could pour some into a handkerchief and make her breathe it-- or what about drain cleaner?" "Just a whiff of that, and bingo, out like a light." "What are you talking about?" "I'm talking about survival, darling." "Did I stutter?" "I think you're insane." " Those things could kill her." " Oh yeah?" "Gee." "Having a good time, Professor?" "Enjoying the idea of visiting your former department head in the local nut-barn?" "It'll try and take us tonight," " one by one, or all together." " Every time you speak, you say something unpleasant." " So why don't you be quiet?" " And not just unpleasant, it's wicked." "I know that you have had an accident" "An accident?" "That's right, I had an accident." "Unpleasant Emery knows something about our reporter friend." " Bollinger?" "What?" " No, I don't think so." "No, you wouldn't want to hear it from me." "Every time I speak, something wickedy-wickedy-wickedy comes out." "Why don't you tell them, Nick?" "I'm tired of being wicked." "You do some of the dirty work." "Do you know something, or is he just talking?" "The mirror library, right?" "Yeah." "What about the mirror library?" "Kevin Bollinger is dead." "He brought Emery's mother into the house and then hung himself in the mirror library." "Not so much as suicide as being..." "Rose Red's latest victim." "What about..." "Mrs. Waterman?" "I can't see her, or Professor Miller." " What about you?" " I don't know, which means they're probably still somewhere around here." "They're somewhere in this place." "Place" "A summer place" "Where..." "You said you wanted to talk?" "Let's talk now, because I have to check on the" "Did you intentionally decide to sacrifice us, Joyce?" "Or did you simply ignore the probability of our demise?" " I don't know what you're" " Yes, you do." "Or part of you does." "Supposing you never get your proof." "Did you even think about that?" "Supposing the proof isn't here to get." "What then?" "Supposing Rose Red is the paranormal version of the Energizer Bunny, and itjust keeps growing and growing..." "Stop it!" "Stop it." "You're crazy." "Can't you see that he's crazy?" "I'm not crazy." "I'm a mind-reader." "You know that, and that's why I'm here." "Now, sit down!" "Rose Red won't let you have what you want." "It won't let anyone have what they want." "Ellen Rimbauer designed it to break hearts as hers was broken, to hurt as she was hurt." "Then we have to get out of here before it" "What?" "Kills us?" "A real death would be merciful." "Because I doubt if Vic is really dead." "And that's the worst of it," " the very worst." " So how do we get out?" "There are no secret tunnels-- not that I know of." "Oh wake up!" "She's the one keeping us locked in." "Yeah, her!" "Little Miss Mental Illness of 2-0-0-1 ." " Stop it!" " Losing his fingers has affected his mind." "Don't hold it against him." "Wake up, sweetheart." "Wake up, all of you!" "It locked us in when she was awake." "Then, after she knocked herself out, everything opened up again." "It was like a cramp letting go." "We could have gotten away then if we had known, and acted fast enough on what we knew." "And one of us did understand." "Joyce understood." "Didn't you?" "And when the little bitch woke up" "I can't-- my hand hurts too much." "You know as much as I do." " You tell them the rest." " Tell us he's insane." "Start with that." "But he's not." "Why did you want psychics and telekinetics and automatic writers here?" "It was to recharge a cell that was never dead, merely dormant, and we have all played our part." "But Annie has been key." "What Emery doesn't understand... is that Steve has been key too." "Steve?" "Steve is about as psychic as a ham sandwich." "Please, be quiet, Joyce." "Don't you tell me to shut up." "How dare you?" "He asked you to be quiet." "And do it, please." "I want to hear this." "Everyone has some psychic capacity, Joyce." "I've read your books and articles." "You used to know that, before all this psychic superstar infatuation stuff." "And I know that Miller isn't the only imagination-challenged idiot you've had to deal with." "But you've become blinded and misguided." "I have not become blinded." "Whatever Steve's psychic ability in the outside world, here in Rose Red, it's amplified to the power of 1 0, because he's blood." "Ellen's blood." "You said it yourself, Steve, you are the last of the Rimbauers." "Tell it any way you want, I'm not the one holding the doors shut and turning the window-glass into whatever it is now." "Of course not." "Ellen's doing it through Annie, but also through you." "And don't sit there and say you don't know it or at least sense it." "She's not doing anything through me!" "I don't sense that!" "I" "Hello, Stevey." "Mommy?" "No, Stevey, look, please." "Would you like to help me build, Stevey?" "I'll show you how." "Steve?" "Stevey?" "Where are you?" " Go to her, but come back." " Stop playing games, Stevey." " We have to go right now." " Come back and help me build." "Help me build, Stevey." "Steve... what's wrong?" "That was a false memory." "The house planted it." " Are you sure?" " No, I'm not." "For the time being, let's stick to the kid." "We take her out of the equation." "The doors still won't open." "We'll worry about Rimbauer then." "No one will hurt this child." "Of course they're not." "And there's the rub." "We're in trouble, ladies and gentlemen... big trouble." "Hey, you want to play a game, Annie?" "You take 1 0 or 1 2 real deep breaths and squat down and blow on your thumbs." "You'll get all floaty and then you'll go to the North Pole with Santa Claus and his eight tiny reindeer." " The rest of us, meanwhile" " Stop it!" "will scurry on out of here, like the good little mice we are." " It's not funny." " Neither is this!" "I'll tell you what, Sissy, let's find some dry-cleaning bags so we can wrap her up until she passes out," " or pinch her nose shut." " Don't!" "How about you, handsome?" "You're the utility infielder on this team." "Can you knock her out with your mind?" "Five minutes would be enough for us to make like bees and buzz." "Hell, three." "I can't see her thoughts, but it's the most peculiar thing" " They're high." " Yes." "High above me as if she were a princess in a tower." "And she's waving, but there's no way to reach her." "At least, not for me." "Annie, look at Nick." "What will we do with you, little sister?" "How about this?" "The back of the head's the best place, above the nape of the neck." "Hit her hard, lights go out." " Hit her harder" " Oh, you ugly man." "You ugly little troll." "Don't tell me you've never thought of it." "Come on, do us all a favor." "Do yourself a favor." "Back of the head." "Or you want to spend your life" " wiping your kid sister's ass?" " Stop it!" "Stop it!" "Where are you going, Cathy?" "I'm going to get a glass of iced tea." "I saw a nice big pitcher of it in the fridge." "Oh!" "You shouldn't go alone." "I'm not." "God goes with me... everywhere." " Aaaah!" " Ah!" "You killed my boy!" "You killed my Emery!" "I beg your pardon." "Would you mind letting her go?" "I guess not." "Cathy, are you all right?" "I think so." "What about her?" "My goodness, you really are a good Christian." "Is she all right?" "Is she even alive?" "Her pulse is strong and steady." "You know who she is, of course." "Emery's mother." "We'll have to tell him." " You don't want to tell him?" " ""Your motherjust popped out of the wine cellar like Jack out of his box." "And forget around the bend she's off the planet.""" "How does it sound to you?" "And given the condition he's in already..." "It sounds very bad." "What should we do with her?" "Annie?" "Annie, can you open the doors?" "Can you open the doors and let us out?" "Steve's voice:" "Annie, look at me." "Aaah!" "Don't touch her!" "Don't touch her!" "It wasn't her." "I thought it was April Rimbauer." "I'm sorry." "Damn this house." "If only there were a way to get through to her," " to reach the Annie inside." " You talked to her with your mind." " I've seen you do it." " But it's not high." "It's not where Annie lives." "If only there were a way to" " What are you thinking about?" " I'm not sure." "Nick and Cathy should have been back by now." "Why did she have to go on her own?" "That was extremely stupid." "This is wrong to me." "The woman is ill." "She is also dangerous to herself and to others." "Will those hold her?" "I'd have preferred clothes-line, but I think so." "Besides, Emery gave me the impression that her interests run more to the Home Shopping Network than amazing escapes." "Drink up." "It'll do you good." "Here's to damsels in distress." "And the knights who rescue them." "Coming in here alone was very stupid," " but Emery so upset me." " Emery upsets everyone." "Look at her." "I'm sorry, but it's true." "I think she's coming around." "Now we only have to worry about Professor Miller." " Mrs. Waterman." "Have you seen Professor Miller?" "Joyce's department head?" "You killed my boy!" "Mrs. Waterman." "You've got it wrong." "Emery's fine." "Have a sip." "Liar!" "Limey Jack-tar!" "Limey Jack-tar?" "I've been called many things, but never that." "I'm afraid we'll have to leave you alone for a little while," " until you feel yourself again." "Cathy, come here." "We're doing that and it's feeding off us." "And you must feel it too." "Of course, I do." "Oh, dear Jesus, please get us out of here." "We have to get out of here." " Steve" " Steve couldn't hold this by himself." "Not with me, you and Emery working against him." "The problem is Annie." "Emery was right about that." "Could you" "Could I hurt her?" "I have the power." "But no, of course I couldn't hurt her." "What is it, Mrs. Waterman?" "Do you want to buy a vowel or spin again?" " That's not funny." " Sorry." "What are you trying to say?" "No!" "No!" "Anything?" "No... but it's so cold." "It's coming from in there." "Close the door, then." "We're going to leave you, but not for long." "You'll be perfectly safe." "Something's happened to her." "Rose Red has happened to her." " Let's join the others." " Wait." "I'm sorry we can't make you more comfortable, but we'll be back to get you soon." "I promise." "I promise." " Come on, she's fried." " That's also unkind." "But it's also true." "This is not the way we came." "You're telling me." " Thank you." " You're welcome." "Seattle Livery, 1924." "But it's brand new." "You'd have thought after all these years, she would've had Rose Red eat at least one half-way decent carpenter." "Of course, the real question is, how does it go?" "What is it?" "The reincarnation of Emery's mother." " Nick." " Sorry, Cathy." "The truth is, just now I'm rather scared." " Let's find the others." " We won't." " We'll never see them again." " Of course we will." "I promise." "And I never break a promise." "Come on, Cathy." "Old friends, is true friends" "They're the friends you love the best" "You never know with new friends" "Old friends is best..." "Hey." "Where's Rimbauer?" "And Frankenbabe's big sister?" "They went to look for Nick and Cathy I imagine." "And then there were three little Indians sitting on a shelf." "I've got to check the equipment." "It's quite delicate, you know?" "Equipment which interfaces with the invisible world must, by its very nature, be quite delicate." "Come with me, Annie?" "Leave her with me, why don't you?" "I'll take care of her." "Come on, Annie." "Want to play with your dominoes?" "One little Indian, down to one little Indian all by himself." "Hey, Joyce, wait for me!" "What are you doing here, Cathy?" "Getting the..." "scared out of me." "For the rest of us, yes, but not for you." "My therapist said I was a compulsive quitter." "He said I keep starting things so I could stop them." "And what did you say?" "I stopped seeing him." "So, here I am." "Listen." "Nick?" "Run, Cathy!" "Run!" "Run!" "What about you?" "!" "This is wrong, Jesus." "Give me strength!" "Nick?" "Nick?" "No!" "I'm not crazy!" "I'm not crazy!" "I'm not crazy." " I'm not crazy." " Help us." "We have to build." "Help us." "Help Rose Red." "Help us or die." "Please..." "Cathy..." "Where am I?" "Aaah!" "Jesus!" "Help me." "No!" "That can't be." "Cathy..." "Cathy..." "No..." "Not now." "John!" "Uh..." "I can explain this." "She enticed me." "Still..." "I entice you!" "Ellen:" "You can explain it?" "Can you?" "Explain it to your whores!" "Explain it to them down in hell!" "Where does this one go to?" "Steve?" "It goes to the tower in the attic." "Come on." "Cathy?" "Nick?" " Where are you?" " Here!" "Build with us..." "I'm here." "What is it?" "What do you see?" "I could hear her breathing." "And I could smell her." "Sometimes I see her with a doll, and sometimes with a hammer." "Maybe she's really the same." "What are you talking about?" "It's no one." "Nevermind." "Come on." "That's for scaring me all those years ago." "For trying to make me take the hammer." " Can could Ellen still be alive?" " Where has she been?" "In a part of the house ordinary people can't see." "Her husband was no suicide." "She killed him." "A withered arm." " That wasn't Ellen." " Then who?" "April." "But that means..." "That Ellen's somewhere still around here." "Yeah." "Uh-uh-uh-uh." "Sshhh!" "You just hush now, Mama." "Help!" "Help me!" "Help me!" "I'm telling you it was April Rimbauer." "Where is your proof?" "We all saw it." "How many Indians left by midnight, you think?" "Please, don't expect me to believe that your 90-year-old great aunt is a vampire living in a tower." " As a scientist, I just can't" " Don't be deliberately obtuse!" "It's the house that's the vampire." " And I think you know that." " Obtuse?" "What a dreadfully big word for a college dropout." " Wouldn't you say?" " What a sharp tongue you have, Grandma." "Another country heard from." " Tell me, big sis'." " Be quiet." " I don't want to talk to you." " But I want to talk to you." "I'm curious." "How often do you dream of her dying?" "Tell the truth and shame the devil." "Stop talking like that!" "Why do you have to be so miserable?" "Because I am miserable, you over-Christianized idiot!" " Don't you touch her!" " If he does, he'll regret it." "Oh, so strong and brave, threatening the man with four missing fingers." "What good is she anyway?" "Does she even know she's alive?" "I doubt it." " Cut it out." " Please... what can you do to me that's any worse than what this house will do?" "Send you out of the room, maybe." "How would that be?" " Don't go out there alone." " Hey!" "Hey!" "It's true enough." "She's no good to herself or to me, or to anyone." "All she can do is help the house kill us." "And it wants to." "I'm not psychic but I can feel that it wants to." "Yeah." "We're running out of time, aren't we?" "Yes." "That's why we have to stay together." "Come on." "Steve, you have to get through to Annie." " You're the only one who can do it." " I've tried." "Maybe I could on the outside, but whatever's in here has closed her off." "Maybe..." "Maybe you" "Help!" "No change in the temperature readouts!" "No change in any of the readouts!" "Damn it!" "No!" "Emery!" "Unbelievable." " It has to be you." " No, I" "Yes." "I forbid this!" "You have no idea how dangerous it is!" " You can't interfere" " Leave it alone." "They can't open themselves up to the forces of this house!" "It'll swat them like flies!" " We don't have any other options." " No." "Here..." "Do you want to try, Annie?" "Yes, Annie." "Try it." "Let's do it together, shall we?" " That's good." " You'd better stop." " I'm warning you." " Go on, Annie." "Yes, go on." "Make her stop!" "You'll get us all killed!" "Keep going!" "Stop it!" "You're tearing it apart!" "Stop it!" "It stopped." "Joyce?" "No!" "Joyce, what are you" "Aaah!" "Not there!" "Not there!" "It's time to go." "Go?" "I'm all right." "I have 1000 things to do." "Annie, come on." "Dee, the house is open." "We have to leave." "Go on, get out." "Take that traitor with you." "Joyce, please!" " Let's get out of here." " Joyce, listen to me!" "Get out!" "Steve!" "First thing I want is a morphine milkshake." "Emery?" "The second thing I want" "Come here, Emmy!" "I want to see if you've been cleaning your nails!" "I want to look behind your ears!" "I need to look at your teeth!" "And what about down there?" "!" "Come to Mommy, Emmy." "Come to Mama!" "Have you been doing that nasty thing again?" "I hear you in your room at night!" "Mommy hears everything!" "Help me, for God's sake!" "Help me!" "Emery!" "For once in your miserable life, fight her!" "Not there!" "Not there!" "Not there!" "Not there!" "Not there!" "Not there!" " Not there!" " Come to Mommy, Emmy!" "No!" "I'll always be there for you." "After all, I'm your mother!" "Not there!" "Not there!" "Stevey?" "Great grand-boy." "Take it." "You wanted it then and you want it now." "If you don't take it, you'll never sleep without dreaming of it." "Take it." "Help me." "Help us." "Help Rose Red." "Help us build." "Steve!" "No!" "Please, don't take it!" "He has no choice." "He's one of us." "Stevey..." "But I do have a choice." "I don't want this." "You take it." "Let's get out of here!" "No!" "No!" "Steve!" "You took my Emers." "Say cheese." "Stay away from me!" "He's gone." "Stay away from me." " Joyce." " Let me show you the garden." "There's lots to investigate there." "You were right." "I apologize." "There is another world." " No." " It's quite wonderful." "Vo-doh-dee-oh-doh." " And the best part is..." " You'll never have to leave." " Stay back!" " Joyce." "Welcome home." "No!" "No!" "Bad!" "Bad place." "Bad house." "Bad." "That's right, Annie." "Very bad." "Oh dear God." "It's the stones again." "Make her stop!" "I can't." "And I don't want her to." "Come on." "Good." "I think it's over." "It'll never be over as long as the house stands." "Roses mean...?" "Roses... mean... remember." "That's right." "Roses mean remember." " Monday." " Monday it is." "A wrecking ball arrives promptly at 7:00." "I'll keep an eye on her." "Annie, who's that one for?" "I like your dress." "It's very pretty." "Can you still reach her with your mind?" "No." "But I don't have to." "We communicate pretty well, don't we, Annie?"