"My name is Melinda Gordon." "I'm married." "I live in a small town, and I own an antique shop." "I might be just like you." "Except that from the time I was a little girl," "I knew that I could talk to the dead." "It's all right, honey." "Earthbound spirits, my grandmother called them." "They're stuck here because they have unfinished business with the living and they come to me for help." "In order to tell you my story, I have to tell you theirs." " It's beautiful." " I've always wanted one." "It's very Southern Gothic." "I love it." "Can I borrow this, too?" " Good luck lifting it." " Just kidding." "These lamps will be fine." "I'm showing a house this afternoon and it's decorated like a monastery," " so I just want to add a little color." " Careful!" "I've got it!" " Hey!" " Hey!" "Melinda, this is Amy and Jordan." "They're the couple I told you about." "They just bought the house on Gardner." "They're in the process of decorating, so I told them about your store." "Welcome to the neighborhood." " Thanks." " Thank you." "You don't sell plumbing supplies, do you?" "I have some 19th-century faucets, but that's about it." " Why?" " The plumbing in that house is nuts." "It's like the water pressure's schizophrenic." "Yeah, sometimes water just comes gushing out, even when we haven't turned the faucet on." "Make them leave." "Well, it's not just that." "The lights just flicker for no reason." "Look, I'll come out there and I'll bring a plumber and an electrician." "Go away!" "Maybe I can help." "My husband and I had some troubles when we first moved in, and he's pretty handy." "Why don't I come by tomorrow and I will take care of everything?" "Yeah, I'll come with you and I can help you decorate." "I'd love that." "And Delia was right, I love your place..." "Quiet!" "Can you see us?" "Seems to be working perfectly." "Yesterday, there was water pouring out everywhere and neither of us turned it on." "Let me show you what's going on with the tub upstairs." "It hasn't stopped dripping." "You know, I knew this was gonna happen." "As soon as she gets here, everything works great." " You wanna go sit outside?" " Sure." "How did you end up in Grandview?" "Well, we were living in a tiny apartment in the city, and last Christmas we drove up to Hamilton to see Jordan's parents, and we passed through here, and I just fell in love with the town." "You know, Jordan's a music producer, so he can pretty much work from anywhere." "What are you going to do with all this space?" "I'm ready to start a family." "I love kids." "Jim, my husband, he loves them too, but I don't know if I'm ready." "Oh, there is something wrong with this pump." "I hate to tell Jordan there's a problem." " Why?" " 'Cause he'll try to fix it." "He's great with music, lousy with tools." "It's just..." "I love this house and I'm so glad to be here." "I'm glad you're here, too." "Hey, how about you guys being our first dinner guests?" " Sure!" "When?" " Tonight." "Nothing big." "Just some pasta and some wine." " Oh." "That sounds great." "I'll ask Jim." " All right." "Well, cheers to that." "Well, what do you think?" "I think you look beautiful, but, for the record, you looked beautiful in the first two dresses." "The earrings are too much, aren't they?" "No, no, they're fine." "What's the big deal?" "Well, it's no big deal." "It's just..." "I really like this couple, and I wanna make a good impression." "Besides, we don't get to go out with other people much anymore." "No, not since Andrea." " Did you wrap the cake?" " I have wrapped the cake, and, you know, I solved the global warming thing while I was waiting." "All right, I'm ready." "I'm sorry." "You're right." "We should go out more, socialize more." "I'm looking forward to meeting new friends." " Did I tell you that there's a ghost, too?" " No, you didn't mention that." "Yeah, she's just a child." "Six or seven." "I saw her standing by the pool." "Okay, are you more excited about meeting new friends or new ghosts?" "That's not funny." "She really needs my help." "The earrings are too much." "Jordan, come join us!" "Yeah, I will as soon as I'm done." "Wait until you taste Jordan's cooking." "He literally can open up his own restaurant." "I fully support that." "Lento's on the Square, we're over it." " Right, honey?" " What?" "Oh, yes." "Grandview is not exactly the gourmet capital of the world." "Oh, what kind of music do you guys like to listen to?" "You choose." "This is one of Jordan's artists." "I want you to listen to it and let me know what you think." "Turn it off!" "Could you..." "Could you turn it down just a little bit?" "Sure, of course." "You see?" "This is what happens when Delia's not around." "What's going on out there?" "Be quiet!" " Jordan!" " Babe, I need your help!" "Get in here!" "Please, babe!" "Stop, it hurts!" "This is insane." "It won't shut off!" "You got a flashlight?" "Maybe we could turn off the main water supply." "It's in the basement." "To the left of the stairs in the entryway." "I'll see what I can do." " Where'd the little girl go?" " I'm looking." " I'll find the main circuit breaker." " Okay." "Go away!" "What's your name, sweetheart?" "Who are you?" "My name is Melinda." "Be quiet!" "My mother's upstairs sleeping." "She's not upstairs." "There's no one up there." "Yes, she is." "She's been up there all day." "It's just you here, but I can help you." " Found it." " Melinda?" "Jim?" "Where are you?" "We're in here." " That was freaky." "I'm so sorry." " Well, at least now we have witnesses." "Tell Delia we're not completely insane." "Who the hell is that?" " Hey!" "Come back here." " Baby, let him go." "How come we can all see him?" "That one's not a ghost." "It's just so hard not to tell them that they have a ghost in their house." "Maybe you should." "But they like us so much." "If I tell them what I can do, it'll change everything." "They'll never look at me the same, and I definitely don't want Delia to know." "Worry about it tomorrow." "Just relax now." "I just keep thinking about that little girl not wanting the music to wake up her mom." "It's like she's reliving the day she died." "There's nothing you can do about it now." "Let it go." " Go to your quiet place." " Shut up." " That does feel nice." " You're telling me." "Why don't you come in with me?" "Because I'm enjoying the view fine from right here." " Where are you going?" " We're out of vino." " I'll be right back." " Stay." "Two minutes." "Make them leave." "They're going to wake my mother." "What happened?" "My quiet place just became a little bit noisy." "Emily Morrison, a six-year-old girl who died in her family pool." " How did you find that?" " I ran a news search on the address." "I don't know how a family ever recovers from something like that." "Yeah, neither do I." "But the mother and the older brother were both in the house when it happened." "You think the older brother's the kid from last night?" "He'd be about the right age." "What happened that day?" "I mean, why was no one watching her?" "Well, we know that the mother was sleeping upstairs, which is strange because the girl died in the late afternoon." "Maybe her mom was sick." "Maybe, but that doesn't account for the brother." "Morgan, they need a plumber while they're still relatively young." "Delia." "There can't possibly be that many stopped-up toilets between now and Thursday." "All right." "Call me, please, if anything opens up?" "Thank you." "I think every plumber in the entire United States is actually independently wealthy, and they only take the job just to play with our minds." "Thank you so much for the lamps." "They made the house look beautiful." " You must be Jim." " Hi, you're Delia?" "You're still looking for a plumber for Amy and Jordan?" "Yes, one who specializes in imaginary drips and phantom spurting faucets." "I got news for you." "It's not imaginary." "Yeah, they had us over to dinner last night." "What happened?" "Well, let's just say it was a very damp evening overall." "Who did the plumbing at your house?" " Jim actually did most of it." " I fixed a few leaks." "Oh, he's being modest." "He basically overhauled the whole system." "Do you want him to take a look?" "That would be great." " I really have to get back to work." " But he'll be off at 4:00." " Really?" " Sure." "You are saving my life, Jim." "Thank you so much." " No problem." "We'll see you later." " Anytime." "Whatever happened to, "You'll never touch another pipe" " "at our house again"?" " I'm sorry." "I needed an excuse to get us back in that house." "What if the pipes are really damaged?" "We'll jump off that bridge when we get to it." "And there won't be." "This is about ghosts, not about clogged up drains." "Lucy, you got some explaining to do." "It's gonna be fine." "I promise." " I love you." " All right." "Are you sure I can't get you guys something to drink?" " Yeah, sure." "I'll..." " No, we're fine." "Thank you." "Oh, that's Jordan." "I have to take it." "The water main's down that way." " It's no problem." "I was a little thirsty." " Just..." "Hello, Emily." " How come you know my name?" " Do you remember mine?" "It's Melinda." "Don't talk so loud." "You'll wake my mom." " She's not here." " Yes, she is." "When was the last time that you saw her?" "I don't know." "She's not here anymore." "Look, I'll show you." " Where are you going?" "No!" " To the bedroom." "She's going to be angry." "Jake says she doesn't want to be bothered." "Who's Jake?" "Is he your brother?" "Stop!" "I'm just trying to help you." "If you wake her up, then I'll get blamed." " There's no one in there." " Don't go in there!" "Melinda?" "What are you doing?" "Oh, Jim wanted me to check the water pressure in your bathroom." "I hope that's okay." "Oh, sure, and when you're done, come join me in the kitchen." " I'm making some coffee." " Perfect." "Okay." " Thank you so much, you guys." " I'm sorry I couldn't find much wrong." "Well, I really appreciate you trying." "Maybe it's a good sign." "Well, if you need anything else, give us a call." " And thanks for the coffee." " Bye, now." " Bye." " Take care." "Just for the record, that's the best plumbing job I've ever seen." "Copper piping, top-of-the-line fixtures." "Did you find the little girl?" "Yeah, but she doesn't know that she's dead, and it's like she's scared of her mom." "Did you tell Amy about this?" "No, but I did get the name and number of the previous owner." "I told her it would help us with the service people." "You should work for the CIA." "Angela Morrison." "What good does that do us?" "That's the mom, you know, and I have to talk to her." "She's gonna know what happened that day." "Bye." " Oh, hi." "Can I help you?" " I hope so." "Some friends of mine moved into your old house on Gardner." "Oh, Amy and Jordan." "Nice people." "So are they settling in okay?" "Actually, they're having some weird problems with the plumbing and electrical system." "Really?" "Because we just put in all brand-new..." "Copper pipes." "I know." "That's not really what I'm here to talk about." "Sorry?" "When you lived there, did you feel a presence?" " What sort of a presence?" " Like a spirit." "What are you talking about?" "I know that you lost your daughter, and I'm so sorry." "Are you trying to tell me that the new owners think that my daughter is haunting their house?" "No, I don't think they know what happened." "But you do?" "I know that there was an accident in the pool." "My daughter died." "It was a terrible time, and I've worked very, very hard to put it behind me and to move on." "It wasn't easy, but I'm at peace with it now." "And when I think of her, I know that she's in a better place." "She may not be in a better place." "I don't really understand what you want." "I don't want anything." "I just want you to consider the possibility that maybe your daughter hasn't moved on, that there might be something keeping her here." "She was a very happy little girl." "We lived a very good life until that day." " Look, I have a lot of work to do, so..." " Of course." "Jake?" "I guess you can tell." " My mother's a little nuts." " No, I don't think she's nuts." "I think she just believes in what makes her feel better." "How come you're so interested in my family?" "I don't like to know that people are hurting." "I saw you the other night at the house." " I know." "Thanks for not ratting me out." " You're welcome." "I know what you mean when you were talking about a "presence."" " Oh?" " I think she's still there, too." "Emily." "Why would you say that?" "I saw her." "Emily?" "I see her!" "No, she's right there!" "I know it sounds crazy, but I saw her." "I know you did." "You do?" "Yeah, lots of kids see spirits and kind of grow out of it over time." " Sometimes, I thought I was crazy." " Yeah, I know the feeling." " You see ghosts?" " Yes." " You've seen my sister?" " Yes." "So is she all right?" "She's stuck here, Jake." "I don't think she knows that she's dead, but we have to make this our little secret, okay?" "Can you tell me where your father is now?" "He got married again." "He has new kids and everything." " He moved out of Grandview." " You've had it tough, haven't you?" "Can I talk to my sister?" "I have to tell her I'm sorry." "Sorry about what?" "Sorry." "Do you hear that?" " What?" " That." "It sounds like an animal." "Jordan, come here." "That's strange." "What the hell..." "I have a little emergency on my hands." "Do you have scented candles or bubble bath?" "I do." "Are you planning a romantic evening?" "With who?" "TiVo?" "No, I have to get a gift for Amy and Jordan." "They're staying at the Grandview Regent." "What?" "Why?" "You know, I didn't get the whole story." "It's something about the pool now." "Anyway, it'd be great if you could just make up a little gift basket." " You really take care of your clients." " I feel responsible." "And I have a reputation to protect, but I'm gonna sort the whole thing out." " You're not gonna get rich that way." " Yeah, but I sleep good at night." " Do you have some time?" " Maybe." "I need to run across the street." "Would you mind watching the store?" "Are you kidding?" "I would love to." " Wait!" "What if somebody comes in?" " Sell them the birdbath." "What are you doing here?" "I want you to take me to my sister." "I thought all the keys had to be returned to the real estate person." " Nobody ever asked me for mine." " That would be breaking in." "If you're not gonna take me, I'll just go by myself." "Jake, stop." "You have to tell me what happened that day." " The day that she died." " Then will you take me?" "I can't promise, but you have to trust me." "My dad was at work." "He asked me to watch Emily after school." "She asked me if I wanted to play, but I was in the middle of a video game." "I told her to wait until I was finished." "She said she was gonna complain to my mom." "I told her Mom was asleep and she'd be angry if Emily bothered her." "Your mom was sleeping in the afternoon?" "She slept a lot." "My parents were having problems." "The night before, my mom asked my father to move out." "She was afraid to tell Emily." "Emily was really close to my father." "Anyway, I finished my video game and when I looked up, my sister was gone." "I had this really bad feeling, like my insides were cold." "Emily!" "Mom!" "Mom!" "I need you!" "Emily!" "I just..." "I lost it." "I'm so sorry!" "Please come back!" "Please, Emily!" "I'm sorry!" " What happened after that?" " I don't remember." "Now, will you please take me there?" "We have to be quick." "Jake!" "Jake!" "You came to see me!" "I thought you were mad at me!" "Jake, your sister's here." "What?" "Where?" "Right here!" "Why won't you look at me?" "Jake!" "Jake!" " What's going on?" " Why won't he talk to me?" "Emily, he can't see you." "Why not?" "What's wrong with him?" " Do you know what happened to you?" " When?" "The day that you asked Jake to play." "He wouldn't come, so I went to play by myself." " You fell in?" " Yeah." " Then what happened?" " I went to sleep under the water." "Do you remember waking up?" "The truth is you never woke up." "You died that day." "And that's why no one can see you or hear you." " But you do." "Did you die, too?" " No." "I can see you so that I can help you go to another place where you'll be very happy." "But I'm happy here with my mom and dad." "He's coming home soon." " No, sweetie." "He's not." " Yes, he is." "Emily, your daddy doesn't live here anymore." "Neither does your mommy." "Tell her, Jake." "Daddy's coming home, and he's gonna read me Goodnight Moon and tuck me in." "Me first, then you." "Tell her." "That's what I've been waiting for." "What are you doing here?" "I'm sorry." "This is Jake Morrison." "He used to live here with his family before you bought the house." "How did you get in?" "Because he still has a key and he wanted to return it, to see the place again, and I hoped that you wouldn't mind." " Awkward." " Slightly." " Was my sister really there?" " Yes, Jake." "She's waiting for your father to come home to read to her." "He has to finish that story." "Goodnight Moon." "He used to read it to me, too." "Do you think we could get him to go and see her?" "I don't think so." "Can't you call him?" "Well, he works a lot, and he's working on a big house on Route 59." "He's in charge, so he's really busy." "Well, this is kind of important." "I mean, don't you think he'll understand?" "He has a new family." "I don't see him too much." " Don't you at least speak?" " Not too much." "Look, Jake, my father left when I was very young." "I didn't know why, but I was heartbroken." "And then, out of the blue, he'd come back, maybe for a day, maybe for a week." "Sometimes he'd bring gifts for me." "Then he'd be gone again." "And I didn't know which was worse, hardly ever getting to seeing him, or having to say goodbye to him over and over again." "And I never wore the gifts he gave me 'cause I knew it would make my mom really mad." "She didn't want me to see him or talk to him." "I was too young to understand, so I wondered if all of this was my fault." "Did I do something to make him leave?" "Was there something that I could have done to have made him stay?" " What happened?" " He came by less and less." "Finally, I never saw him again." "It really was unfair because I thought that I had the power to keep him there," " if only I knew how." " Did you?" " Did you have the power?" " No, I didn't." "And neither do you." "If I had saved Emily," "he would have come back." "But I didn't." "Jake, you don't think that your father blames that on you, do you?" " Yeah." " Oh, why would you say that?" "I gotta go." "Mom's probably wondering where I am, anyway." " You did what?" " I'll admit it." "I took a chance." " I thought Amy would be at the hotel." " Mel." "I know, it's just..." "There's so much at stake for this kid." "He's in so much pain, Jim." "Seems so alone." "And he's a great kid, really smart." "I just don't understand why his father would ignore him, you know." "Parents are supposed to be there for their kids." "You know, I've never seen that." "It's pretty." "It's been in my jewelry box forever." "Mel, you have a huge heart." "That's why I love you." "But you're not a social worker." "You've done everything you could." "Not everything." "I know that your family business is private and none of my concern." "Then why did you come here?" "Because I've gotten to know Jake a little bit." "He's a special kid and he's having a really hard time right now." "What do you mean?" "He thinks that his sister's spirit is still in the house on Gardner." " Do you believe him?" " That's not important." "What is important is that he believes it." "Yeah, well, kids find different ways of coping." "Yeah, sometimes kids need their fathers to cope." " I'm sorry, who are you again?" " Look, I'm just trying to help." "But I think that Jake feels like he can't talk to you." "So you're an expert on my son's feelings?" "No, but I do know what it feels like to be abandoned by a parent." "He feels like you replaced him with a new family." " That's ridiculous." " Is it?" "Do you know that he thinks you blame him for what happened to Emily?" "Look, I don't know who you are, coming here and..." " Have you ever lost a child?" " No." " Do you even have children?" " No." "I didn't think so." "Look," "Jake and me, we had a code." "When his mother asked me to leave," "I told him if he ever needed me, if there ever was a problem, that he should page me with a "911" text and I'd be there." " Did he do it when Emily drowned?" " No." "Do you blame him?" " I never said anything like that to him." " You don't have to." "He feels it." "Well, I don't want him to feel that." "I don't want to feel that." "She was my little girl." "She was perfect." "And Jake, he was a rock-solid kid." "He was a championship swimmer and he was right there, and..." "Look, Angela found her way of moving on, and I found mine, okay?" "I love Jake." "He knows that deep down." "And you were right the first time." "This is none of your business." "Melinda!" "Oh!" "Hey, I never got to apologize for leaving you in the store" " so long yesterday." " Oh, don't worry about it." "I had a ball." "Was there some kind of weird parallel universe thing going on yesterday?" "What do you mean?" "Well, I take over the store and you show a house to a 12-year-old." "Yeah." "Look, I'm so sorry about that." "Melinda, what were you thinking letting that kid into Amy's house?" " She was all over me about it last night." " I'm sorry, he used to live there, and..." "Anyway, it doesn't matter." "They're selling." " They are?" " Yeah." "It's a big mess." "They think the house I sold them was haunted." "Is that the most brain-dead thing you ever heard or what?" "Just about." "Could you just hold them off?" "'Cause maybe if I can get the family that used to live there to just come back for a few hours, we could fix the things that aren't working." " How can they do that?" " Just trust me." "If you could get Amy's permission, maybe I can get this whole thing cleared up." "Okay, I'll try to get the key." " Thanks." " Aren't you opening the store?" "Oh, later." "I have a quick errand to run." "Bye." "That is one sweet job." " You have some nerve coming here." " Sorry?" "Did you actually tell my son that you could see his sister's ghost, and that she's living in my old house?" " Yes, I did tell him that." " Why would you do that?" " He's just a little boy." " Because it's true." "My daughter is gone." "She's in a better place." "She's at peace." "No, she's not." "She needs to see her father, and you have to help her do that." "Her father?" "The man who cheated on me?" "This is not about what your husband did or didn't do to you." "It's about your daughter's needs." "Mom, she's telling the truth." "I felt Emily." "She's in that house." "Please, Jake." "I don't want to hear this anymore." "And I want you stop telling my son lies, and I want you to stop defiling the memory of my little angel." "Stop it!" "She's not a little angel!" "She's not in a better place!" " She's still in that house." "I know it!" " Come here." " How you doing, Jake?" " Okay, Dad." "You?" " Good to see you, Angela." " Right." "Well, let's all go inside." " Brings back lots of memories." " Some good ones, I hope." "I really don't understand what we're doing here." "Just listen, Mom." " What was that?" " Your daughter." "Daddy!" "You're home!" "Daddy!" "I'm right down here!" "Sweetie, remember that he can't see you and he can't hear you." "Only I can." "But I'll tell him whatever you want to say." "I don't know what kind of parlor trick you're pulling, but you can't be talking to Emily." "You just can't be." "Dad!" "Why is he calling me Emily?" "She wants to know why you're calling her Emily." "You always called her Little Bunny." " You told her that." " I didn't tell her anything, I swear." "Tell her I'm sorry." "Tell her I'm sorry I didn't save her." "You tried hard, Jake." " She says that you tried to save her." " What?" "I remember now." "I couldn't breathe." "I was just falling and falling." "Then I saw Jake." "He was trying to drag me up." "But I was so scared." "I was holding on too tight." "I was dragging him down with me." "He tried so hard." "You would've drowned, too, if you tried any harder." "You tried so hard, but you would have drowned, too, if you had tried any harder." " I tried to save her?" " You did." "Is that true, Jake?" "Why didn't you tell me?" " I didn't remember." " He was in shock." "Tell Daddy he shouldn't be mad at Jake anymore." "She doesn't want you to be mad at Jake anymore." "I'm not mad at your brother, Bunny." "I never was." "Tell her." "She's with us." "She can hear you." "I was mad at myself." "I wasn't there for you." "For either of you." "I was doing things that I shouldn't have been doing, and I hurt your mom, and I hurt our family." "I hurt us, too." "I let your father take the blame, but it was my fault, too." "I should have been watching you." "I should have pulled it together and not locked myself up in my bedroom." "The important thing is that you know this wasn't your fault." "I just couldn't stand the loss, and I never meant for you to feel it, too." "That's why I felt that you were better off without me." "Both of you." "I lost my family because of what I did, not because of what anybody else did." "Tell Daddy he didn't lose his family." "Jake is your family." "He needs you." "He always will." "She says that you didn't lose your family." "Jake needs you, and he always will." "I'm so sorry, Jake." "I'll never let you go again." "I promise you, okay?" "I'm sorry I hurt you." "I want Daddy to finish the story now." "She wants to know if you'll finish reading Goodnight Moon." "She's waited a long time." " He was up to "Goodnight stars."" " You were up to "Goodnight stars."" "Yeah." ""Goodnight stars, goodnight air," ""goodnight noises everywhere."" "Hi, Nana." " Wait." " Okay, I will." " She wants me to come with her." " She's ready to go now." "Tell Mommy and Daddy I'm gonna like it there." "Nana says so." " Tell them I love them." " I will." "I'm sorry I got you in trouble." "I didn't mean it." "Good night, Little Bunny." "I can feel her." "She's happy now." " I don't know how to thank you." " You already have." "I've always wanted one." "This is the absolute best housewarming gift ever." "It's from Delia and I both." "It's the least that we could do after all you've been through." "Well, we really appreciate it, and the both of us are just so happy here now." "No more things going bump in the night?" "The house is just..." "I don't know." "Peaceful." "Speaking of peace, I need more champagne." "You?" " Oh, yes." " Please." "Isn't it great to be in a house filled with so many people and music, so much life?" "It really is."