"What the hell were you thinking, taking her that way?" "Annie wanted What's this "Annie wanted"?" "Annie can't talk or think." "She can!" "If you looked, you'd know." "Please!" "She's all right." "Can't you just stop it?" "What?" "You know she's all right?" "What if the damn dog was rabid?" "It wasn't." "Mrs. Stanton told me." "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." "I saw the dog tag." "Why do you treat me like a fool?" "Stop it, can't you?" "Both of you." "She'll hear." "Do you wanna upset her?" "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 and I know 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, you'll feel better." "There's something wrong with her." "I don't just mean that she's autistic." "Please open the door!" "Turn the music down!" "Somebody'll call the damn cops!" "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." "What the hell ?" "It's an earthquake!" "It's not coming from the ground." "Come on!" "Run!" "Run!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Please open the door!" "Now, Annie!" "Come on, hurry!" "Hurry!" "What's happening?" "I don't know!" "Annie, let us in!" "Annie!" "Annie, please, open the door!" "IKill it, Sissy!" "Just what the hell are you doing?" "What the hell ?" "Sister, look at this." "Sister, I got baby." "Yes, I know." "Annie what have you done?" "That concludes this year's course in the psychology of the unseen world." "I'd like to leave you with three thoughts if I may." "First, the investigation of psychic phenomena is an honorable pursuit in spite of its tattered reputation." "The second is that reality is not always quantifiable." "Our inability to count, weigh, sort or photograph some things does not mean those things are nonexistent." "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 famous once said:" ""The truth is out there." Enjoy your summer." "Professor Reardon, a question, please." "Question." "Your question?" "Rumor says you're investigating Rose Red, the Rimbauer mansion a psychic field trip." "Is that true?" "You are...?" "IKevin Bollinger, class of '03." "I don't recognize you." "Is it because the group is large or is this your first visit to our happy family?" "I'm a reporter for our newspaper." "Oh, my sympathies, Mr. Bollinger." "Is it true and if so, do you plan on using departmental funds or college general funds to finance your latest spook hunt?" "As any regular attendee of these classes will tell you I am extremely interested in Rose Red." "Talk about it all the time." "Have a picture of it on my office wall." "And one of Ellen Rimbauer." "But as Professor Miller can tell you, I've filed no request for funds to underwrite what you term a "spook hunt."" "If you feel like asking him to confirm that, he's up there." "A question, Mr. Bollinger." "Did Professor Miller suggest you stop by my class for your question instead of my office like a normal reporter?" "Never mind." "Let's consider the issue closed, shall we?" "You never answered my question Thank you." "Exam next Tuesday at 2:00." "I'll see you then." "If I embarrassed you, Professor Reardon, I am sorry." "Don't believe it, Mr. Bollinger." "Carl Miller wound you up." "It was his intention that I be embarrassed." "I am not." "Even if you're not using college funds for your expedition won't you be using expensive psychology department equipment?" "Haven't you entered into an agreement with Steven Rimbauer ?" "Good afternoon, Mr. Bollinger." "Hi, Professor Reardon." "Hello." "Joyce, we have to discuss this." "I think not." "You'll have to discuss it sooner or later." "The department's patience with your shenanigans has grown quite short." ""Spooks." "Somebody call...."" "Professor?" "Can we discuss ?" "My office hours are clearly posted." "Can't you read?" "Sorry." "Oh, wait." "Miss Spruce, isn't it?" "Cathy Spruce, that's right." "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bite." "Office hours are at 2." "Try me then?" "Yes, Miss Reardon." "Out." "Out." "Far out." "Waterman residence." "Mr. Waterman." "Joyce Reardon." "Oh, hello, Miss Reardon." "I've been meaning to call, but" "Joyce, please." "I've been busy." "I'm finalizing my list of participants for my Rose Red field trip." "I'd like you in." "Have you thought about it?" "Rose Red is a dangerous place for psyclnic experiments." "Joyce." "As I'm sure you must be aware." "With all due respect, 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 let you go and move on to the next name on my list." "I doubt there are many." "Not post cognates of my caliber." "You might be surprised." "Good afternoon." "Wait, wait, wait, wait." "I didn't say no, did I?" "Didn't you?" "No." "But 5000 is a trifle low." "If you offered a bit more, say 7500, for instance?" "Mr. Waterman Emery, please." "5000 is my first, last and only offer." "And a generous one since there've been no phenomena in Rose Red for years." "Since they stopped the tours and took away the fresh meat." "Forgive me, but I find that ridiculous." "The funding for this is coming out of my pocket." "And 5000 is all I can afford." "So, what do you say, Emery?" "ln or out?" "I'm in." "But if you want a videotaped debriefing afterward, I get extra." "Fine." "Memorial Day weekend." "Mark your calendar." "You send me a check, Joyce, and I will." "Good day." "Putz." "Poisoned?" "Guess not." "Emery." "Emery." "Hey, whoever you are save the warnings for someone who's not broke." "Okay?" "Emery!" "Emery!" "Emery!" "Here you are." "There's 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 get fat." ""Er." Beg your pardon?" "Fatter." "I'm already fat." "Cream clogs up your arteries." "A little's okay, but that's too much." "Get my things out of the car." "I made a killing." "I was doing the bills just now." "What about the bills?" "They're past due." "The credit cards" "I'm very careful with the credit cards." "I'm a very wise shopper." "I'll get your stuff." "Isn't this the best bear?" "I'll put him on my bed with Hester and Fester." "What rhymes with Hester and Fester?" "Pester." "The woman who wants to investigate Rose Red called again." "See?" "Something always turns up." "God provides." "Rose Red is dangerous." "Take precautions and you'll be fine." "Were you able to get her up to 75?" "No, she's financing the expedition." "So she told you and you believed her." "Wanna call her back?" "I've the number." "No." "A deal's a deal." "One sensible thing your father said." "Did you tell her it'd be extra for interviews?" "EIKGs?" "Yes." "And no x rays." "They give you cancer." "Run and get my bags." "Then you can have your pie." "Office hours are over." "Come back tomorrow!" "I said office" "Extra credit, Miss Reardon?" "I'll do anything." "Look great in a French maid's outfit." "Come in, you idiot." "Close the door." "All right." "Teach, you are looking good today." "How are you doing?" "I won't lie." "It's been a tough day." "But I have a very important call to make, so...." "This is the Wheaton girl?" "The one you want?" "Her sister." "If you keep quiet, you can stay." "If not, then go." "Get out now." "That's tough talk considering it's my homestead you wanna explore." "But I'll be good, I swear." "I won't do that." "Sorry." "Hello?" "Miss Reardon?" "Yes." "How are you?" "I'm fine, but it's hard to keep people away from the phone here." "I'm on my break." "Let's make it fast." "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." "Are you saying Annie won't take part?" "I'm saying that if I bring Annie to Rose Red chances are that I could never go home again." "That's fine, but Annie shouldn't go witlnout someone who understands her." "And your parents don't." "My mother is scared to death of her." "And my father...." "Well, I think my father hates her." "What can I do?" "There's a schooljust outside of Tacona for people lilke Annie." "No, there is no one like Annie, I don't think, but...." "It's a place for autistic teenagers." "A good place." "I might as well cut to the chase." "5000 isn't gonna be enough." "For 10, I could make it happen." "10,000?" "Done." "I'll bring the check to you myself this afternoon." "Where do you work?" "No, you need to slow down." "I just need to think about this." "My tine is slnort, Miss Wheaton." "Please, call me Sister." "Everyone does." "Mr. Rimbauer has agreed to open Rose Red over the Memorial Day weekend." "I need to know if I can count on Annie." "I'm having an orientation Monday niglnt for the participants here at the university." "It would be great if Annie could join us." "If Annie goes to Rose Red, I go too." "That's fine, of course." "When can I lknow, Miss Wheaton?" "Sister?" "I might be able to scrape up as much as $ 1 2,000 if you can make a solid commitment to the expedition right now." "I can't do that." "Goodbye, Miss Reardon." "When will I hear from you?" "I'll be in touch." "Wait, tine orientation Monday night?" "I don't know." "I don't think so." "$ 10,000?" "$ 1 2,000?" "I'm thinking I sold the old family 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 a good group but they're candles." "Annie is a searchlight." "If anyone can wake up Rose Red, it's her." "Waking up Rose Red is not a good idea." "I want Annie." "I want Annie Wheaton." "Hello, dear." "Hey, Mom." "Hi, Dad." "Long day?" "You look tired." "I'll microwave you a TV dinner." "No, it's okay." "I had something to eat at the restaurant." "Is Annie okay?" "Annie's fine." "Wearing out her ears again." "And ours." "If not "A Summer Place," then "Pennsylvania 6 9000."" "Same two over and over, all afternoon." "Guess she just likes it." "I know." "I just can't figure out why." "Thank God for small favors." "Annie." "Annie." "Come lnome." "We're waiting, Annie." "We're waiting." "Please cone hone, Annie." "We're waiting." "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!" "Well, fortunately for us, an enormous dead cell." "There've been no overt manifestations in Rose Red since 1 995 or so." "Some houses have their own inner life which may or may not be conscious." "If there was once consciousness in Rose Red, it manifested itself early." "Seattle 100 years ago was a different world." "More so than we can imagine." "Survival was an actual issue, not a TV show." "Fortunes were made by bandits in tall lnats." "You could get out of tine way or you could get run down." "In tine year 1906, you were on your own." "Rose Red was built by Joln P. Rimbauer on Spring Street in Seattle as a wedding present to his wife." "He was founder of Omicron Oil Company, until 1 950, the biggest in America." "1 950 was the year Ellen Rimbauer disappeared." "The trouble with Rose Red started even before there was a house." "Construction crews worlked 24 lnours, 7 days a week." "But that wasn't the problem." "Even before tlnere was a lnouse tlnere  that ground seened to make people mad." "I mean, literally nad." "He made no effort to get away." "Just dropped his gun and went to a Seattle saloon." "This is wlnere the police found him." "The teamster's name was Harry Corbin." "He claimed he remembered nothing from breakfast till he woke up in jail with a knot behind his ear." "The judge and jury didn't believe him." "He got 25 years." "I think Harry Corbin may have been Rose Red's first victim." "First male victim." "There's a difference between the way Rose Red treats the ladies and men." "What do you mean exactly?" "ln time, Nick." "All in good time." "John Rimbauer and Ellen Gilchrist were married on November 1 2, 1 907." "He was 40, she was 20." "By the day they wed, Rose Red had been under construction for a year and already tlnere lnad been tlnree deaths, as well as the first foreman." "Take it up!" "One nan was decapitated by a sheet of falling glass." "One fell from a scaffold and broke his neck." "The third choked to deatln on a piece of apple." "This is the way Rose Red looked when it was completed in 1 909." "In case your memory needs refreshing, this is the way it looks today." "It's as if it metastasized." "It has how many rooms?" "I don't think anyone knows." "You can count 74 on Monday, come back Friday and come up with 87 or 97." "That's impossible." "That's Rose Red, sweetheart." "How many people have disappeared?" "There must be an accurate account." "Twenty three since the First World War." "I find that impossible to believe." "Of course you do." "Anyone would." "But it's true." "Five men and 18 women." "Rose Red has always been particularly fond of the ladies." "We are speaking of a house which is dormant." "It better be because $5000 isn't enough if it isn't." "When was the last disappearance?" "1972, 30 years ago." "There've been no observable phenomena since" "Who was it, the last one?" "We've got a lot of ground to cover" "A woman on the Historical Society's annual tour." "She was with the group." "It wasn't until the tour was over tlnat tlney realized she wasn't witln then." "What's that?" "They didn't find lner but tlney did find lner purse." "Finished?" "Yeah." "Thank you." "The lady's name was Liza Albert." "Since then the house has been closed." "With no psychic energy to feed on, it's 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." "It wasn't finished by the time they married, but they were in no hurry." "They passed the time with a leisurely honeymoon for a year." "They circled the globe on liners like this one." "The Ocean Star." "John Rimbauer's favorite part of the grand 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?" "Ellen recovered, and when they took up residence in Rose Red she was pregnant." "January 1909, that would have been." "John thought the house was finished." "The Rimbauers!" "They're here!" "How beautiful you are, Rose Red." "Wlnat lne didn't know is that tine 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 1 995 or '96." "Until 1 950, changes were made according to the will of Ellen." "And her will, ladies and gentlemen, was iron." "After 1 950...." "After 1 950, Rose Red grew on its own." "In tine 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, wlno cane fron Africa, saw her through tine difficult labor." "Ellen never refers to Sulkeena as lner servant." "First, sine calls lner "my friend. " And later, "my sister. "" "Wlnen sine gave birth to a dauglnter witln a withered arn sine blaned lner siclkness and Joln's sexual appetites." "Although she wrote, "In my mind, they are one."" "To which she added, "Damn all men."" "Their dauglnter was born in April of 191 1." "And April was wlnat they called her." "After her dauglnter's birth, Ellen becane convinced  that her fever, which recurred periodically, would kill her young." "That nade her easy gane for Madane Stravinski." "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 tlnat sine was a fraud." "Beloved spirits, we invite you to commune with us." "Show us a sign." "Fraud or not, Madane Stravinski lknown to police in San Francisco and Los Angeles as Cora Frye changed Ellen Rinbauer's life one night in August of 1914." "Sukeena!" "You must build." "What did she tell her?" "She said she wouldn't die until the house 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." "She never had another attack of her African fever." "Probably psychosomatic." "Probably PMS, right, Em?" "I wouldn't be surprised." "A new wing started going up the next week." "What did her husband say?" "She gave him a son in 1909, a daughter in 1 91 1 ." "The son was fine and well." "It was the son John Rimbauer cared about." "Ellen could do as she liked." "Would you agree?" "Yes." "Besides lne had affairs of his own to tend to." "Ellen made additions to the house until her disappearance in 1 950." "Over 40 years of well financed eccentricity." "She hired contractors and architects to build unconventional stuff." "Such as?" "The so called Tower Folly was conpleted in 1921." "Joln Rimbauerjumped fron 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." "Oh, yes." "Yes, indeed." "Are you sure?" "Positive." "Then what exactly do you want from us, Miss Reardon?" "That'll make things less difficult." "This can be a difficult field." "People don't understand our goals or refuse to credit our findings." "Some people are actively cruel." "And...." "Research goals?" "Yes, yes, yes, yes." "My research goals specify measurable, psychic phenomena." "Hard data." "Telemetry readouts and anomalous energy levels, primarily." "I want readouts that even the most stupid, sarcastic, obtuse member of this scientific department will have to accept." "If I get a little crazy on the subject sometimes, 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?" "If you apply electricity to the leg of a dead frog the muscles contract hours after it 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, we can help legitimize a branch of psychology which has been treated poorly for too long." "Why are you here, Mr. Rimbauer?" "What are your special talents?" "Protecting family interests." "I promised the professor one shot then the developers await." "Tech Star condos." "You're tearing it down?" "It's part of history." "History don't pay rent and I'm broke." "Hardly a noble motive." "Are we the team?" "The whole team?" "She hopes not." "Beg pardon?" "I was hoping for one more but that's starting to look iffy." "If I have to make do with you five, then I'll count myself lucky." "I'll see you this Friday at 2 p.m." "I'm sure it'll be a Memorial Day to remember." "Now if you could all please come and join me." "I'd like to close with a circle." "This went out with high button shoes." "Anything you'd like to focus on?" "Goodwill, good thoughts, each other." "That's lovely." "Say cheese." "Vic?" "Are you okay?" "Fine." "I'm just gonna go make some room." "He looks gray about the gills." "No, no, no." "Well, maybe half a glass but no more." "Just a minute, please." "The Huslkies were surprised by tine blitz." "The linebacker drops into the flanlk, tlnen rushes the quarterbaclk." "Nobody on the left side sees lnin coming." "Hello." "I'd like to speak with Rachel, please." "Who's this?" "May I spealk with Raclnel?" "Is it the crazy lady from the college?" "How you doing, crazy lady?" "Is that for me?" "My business is with your older dauglnter" "No, see, you got it wrong." "You have no business here." "Not with Sissy, not with Annie, not with any of us." "Don't ever call here again, got it?" "Daddy, that was my call." "That was just some crazy lady." "No, you've no right" "Yeah, I do." "While you live and eat here, I do." "Stop it, both of you." "I know what the crazy lady wants." "I know you talked to her behind my back." "Let me tell you this." "Annie's not going anywhere near Rose Red." "Mama?" "She doesn't say." "I say." "Mama, won't you help me once?" "Just this once, won't you speak up?" "I've told you, I won't take sides between you and your father." "Mama, what about Annie's side?" "The Gatt School" "What planet are you on?" "The Gatt School with $5000?" "Professor Reardon has promised 1 2!" "I knew she was crazy, now you?" "20 grand's what it would take." "A year." "Rose Red is famous." "If something happens, it'll be worth a fortune." "Oh, yeah, sure." "I can just see her on Geraldo." ""I'm Annie Wheaton." "I'll tell folks about a haunted house."" "Stop it!" "Don't mock her." "I'm saving her." "From crazy lady one and crazy lady two." "Now that is it." "This case is closed." "I don't wanna hear anymore about it." "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, George!" "Please, make her stop!" "We thought you were lost." "No." "Just misplaced." "May I propose a toast?" "Sure." "To Rose Red." "Rose Red." "Joyce, she's looking, still hoping for one more." "Six." "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 trick, 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 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." "He's in jeans." "He's blond, over golded." "He's got a case of Roman hands and Russian fingers." "What in the world are you talking ?" "Let's go outside." "You wanna?" "Sure." "All right." "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 Ouija boards." "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." "I guess it's not working." "Steve?" "What about you, St ?" "Nick." "He calls her Dee." "Now 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 okay." "What about our new friend, Emery?" "What about him?" "Your friend, not mine." "Yeah, I think Emery is chiefly 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?" "Guess those were the days, huh?" "lgnorance is bliss." "Daddy, what Annie is, isn't anyone's fault." "Not hers, not mine, not yours." "I know." "But you're too busy thinking about what you want for her to think about what she can do." "Remember when the Stantons' dog bit her?" "How the stones came down?" "Or what she did to those pipes?" "After 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 get." "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." "Come, Annie." "Cone." "Shame you can't do the same with the other 40,000 or so." "People read it today and line litter boxes with it tomorrow." "They'll remember." "Some will take it out next time the university bond issue comes up." "A photo like this could put a hundred worthwhile programs to beggary." "But what do you care?" "Do you have a point?" "Get to it." "I have a lot to do." "Crystals to polish?" "Ouijas to wax?" "You put Bollinger up to this, didn't you?" "You told him where to go and when to point his camera." "Your paranoia's showing." "That's a nasty little cut." "Listen, I'm afraid I have a bit of bad news for you, old girl." "I am not old, not yet anyway." "And I am certainly not your girl." "What are you talking about?" "Executive committee's been in session regarding tenure." "What?" "Why?" "No one's up for tenure." "The only thing they could" "You really are a bastard." "They voted five to two to revoke your tenure." "We tried to contact you." "You'll find a message." "I thought the spirits would tell you." "The general consensus is, it's time to stop the silliness." "I'll fight you every step of the way." "Of course, and you'll lose." "Your days of haunting the Wimser Psychology Department aren't over, but numbered." "When I come back with proof, you The rallying cry of crackpots and deluded religionists since the Stone Age: "The proof's out there."" "This is sad." "You were respected in the field of child psychology but then you got bitten by the virus!" "It's a legitimate field of psychological" "It's crap, sleaze, a spit in the eye of rational thought." "Rose Red will be your last goose chase as a faculty member." "You're an idiot and you're blind." "What if you found proof?" "Photographs, audio recordings of clanking chains, telemetry." "What good would it do?" "Have you even considered such thoughts?" "I feel remarkably well today, Carl, in spite of all your crap." "And this, this is the world we live in and experience with our senses." "Skin, smooth and rational." "Where every cause has an effect and can be predicted with data at hand." "There's a world under that world." "Blood, under the skin." "Rationalistic asses like you don't see it." "It's liquid instead of solid." "Hot instead of just warm." "It is a world full of mystery." "You don't like it, do you?" "No." "Don't give me your bull about bond issues." "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." "You're afraid to catch something." "Get out." "Go to the infirmary and get an AIDS test." "When the semester's over, you're done." "You're finished teaching." "You're crazy!" "You're insane!" "Good day, old boy." "What are you looking at?" "!" "Look at it somewhere else!" "We did it, didn't we?" "We really nailed her." "What's on your face?" "Never mind." "Never mind." "We have a lot 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 noise?" "Who cuts the barber's hair?" "Who leaves money under the tooth fairy's pillow?" "How come no one realizes Clark IKent is just Superman wearing glasses?" "If I didn't own Rose Red, would I be in bed with you right now?" "Hello." "How was your day, dear?" "Give it back." "How was your day?" "Or should I just roll over and make myself small?" "They revoked my tenure." "Carl Miller dropped by to give me the news." "Wait, can they do that?" "Maybe, probably." "Bollinger made us look like the Stupid family, with me as head Stupid." "Wanna turn off your light?" "Well, you know, you're pretty damn calm about it." "I heard from Sister." "She accepted the 1 2,000 I offered." "When I come back from Rose Red with hard data there'll be four dozen schools willing to hire me." "First, I'll write a book." "It's gonna sell 80 gazillion copies." "You once said that the only certainty with the paranormal is nothing's certain." "What if nothing happens after three days?" "But it will." "Annie Wheaton is my guarantee." "She's, oh...." "Let's just say she's one of a kind." "Rose Red isn't a true dead cell." "Annie will wake it up." "If you let it stand for six months, the 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!" "Sorry." "Did you miss that in your research?" "It's just that it means a lot to me." "Yeah, too much, maybe." "You're gonna need some downtime when this is over." "Some serious R and R." "You have the cell phone." "Right here." "And you got plenty of film." "Of course I have plenty of film." "I don't know if this is 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?" "You're about to step out in the real world for a couple of weeks." "That's where you'll get lost." "Nail this story, you can write your own ticket." "I thought that's what you wanted." "Why don't you come with me?" "I do have a few things to do like run my department, oversee finals." "Call when you get pictures and I or my wife will come." "She can't stand Reardon either." "If they catch me, they'll tear me apart." "You know that." "There's no reason why they should if you're reasonably careful." "I guess." "Don't forget this." "Try and get a good picture of them being psychic." "Professor, I don't think 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." "You would be Mr. Bollinger, I believe." "The reporter." "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." "Very funny, but I wanna 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." "Hello?" "Wlno is this?" "Bollinger?" "Bollinger, is tlnat you?" "Hello?" "They'll be here." "Come on." "Wait!" "Don't make me chase you, Emmy." "Mom, I'm okay." "Oh, yes, you're always okay." "Listen to me." "If there's anything you can't handle anything beyond telesmic manifestations, call and I'll get you." "I will." "I have to go." "Call anyway so I know you're fine." "I will." "I always do." "They're waiting." "Well, let them wait!" "They won't do much without you." "Now turn around." "Mom Turn around!" "And stay away from that blond girl." "She looks like a tramp." "Now give Mommy a kiss." "Oh, you're all over lipstick." "Fix yourself." "I see new frontiers in abnormal psychology before us." "How exciting." "Especially if you move your bowels!" "The day before camp must have been busy at the Watermans'." "Shut up." "Off to the house on Haunted Hill, I see?" "And with about $ 100,000 worth of department equipment, I'd guess." "I've got all the proper paperwork signed in all the proper places." "Signed by Rogers." "When I was on vacation, he acted for me." "Clever of you." "Do you have a point?" "I'm being pleasant." "If you'll excuse us, we're in a hurry." "Yes, of course." "Places to go." "Ghosts to bust." "Isn't that right, Mr. Rimbauer?" "More or less." "Yes." "Well, do try and keep the equipment in one piece." "Good luck." ""The Spirits have done it all in one night."" "Scrooge says it when he wakes up changed." "That's what Miller made me think of." "Scrooge on Christmas." "I don't trust him." "Hello, are you the group?" "The Rose Red group?" "Yes." "I'm Pam Asbury." "This is Cathy IKramer." "Hi." "Victor IKandinsky." "Vic." "Just Vic." "Nick Hardaway." "And Emery Waterman." "And you must be...." "Oh, I'm Sissy Wheaton." "And this is Annie." "I was sure we were gonna miss you." "Traffic was horrible." "We're glad you didn't." "Sister, or do you prefer Rachel?" "Oh, either is fine." "Oh, stop it, Annie." "Just quit it." "Good God, she's retarded." "If you keep your evaluation of Miss Wheaton to yourself we won't ask questions about your relationship with your mother." "Chin, chin." "Folks, I think we're ready." "You've reaclned Carl Miller." "Please leave a nessage after the tone." "Bollinger, I told you to keep the phone with you." "All right, tlney've left tine canpus." "They'll be there in 40 minutes so be ready." "And 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?" "Yeah, sure." "Fine." "You wanna know a secret?" "I've never done anything like this before and I'm scared to death." "Be not afraid." "Only believe." "We're lucky." "The electronic stuff was delivered earlier." "What are these?" "House plans, probably as useful as a 14th century map of Africa." "And here, a coil of rope." "How you doing, sweetie?" "You okay?" "Mommy, I'n scared." "Come, Stevie." "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." "Houses are alive." "This is sonething we know." "News from our nerve endings." "If we're quiet if we listen  we can lnear lnouses breathe." "Sonetines in tine depth of niglnt, we hear tlnem groan." "It's as if they're lnaving bad dreams." "A good house cradles and conforts." "A bad one fills us with instinctive unease." "Bad lnouses hate our warmth, our lnumanness." "That blind hate of our lnumanity is wlnat we mean by the word "Inaunted. "" "Steve?" "Are you all right?" "Yeah." "It stopped." "I heard it too." "But it stopped." "What did you hear?" "There were words." "It wasn't clear." "Did any of you...." "I might have heard something." "It may have been my imagination." "What was it?" "I don't know." "I'm not psychic." "You tested me yourself, so there's no real" "What?" "What are you looking at?" "Nothing." "Pam." "Can you come here?" "Well, we might as well get started." "Will you ?" "All right." "Emers, old boy, give us a hand." "It seems to be the butler's day off." "Don't call me that." "Come on." "For $5000 you can carry a couple boxes." "I am not being paid for my services as a porter." "Pam, you all right?" "Hey, I thought this house was enpty." "You would be Mr. Bollinger, I believe." "The reporter." "I'm Bollinger, but how did you lknow?" "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?" "The room with colored light." "The smell of sawdust." "What happened?" "What did you see?" "What?" "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." "Cold metal, that's all." "No, but you spoke." "There was something there, but it's gone." "I didn't like the way it felt." "The caretaker left it after he let in the equipment guys." "He'll miss it." "Not after summer." "In September there won't be a gate to open." "There's a flashlight for everyone." "IKeep it on you at all times." "The power's usually fine." "If it goes out, I don't suppose the fuse box does much good?" "Nope, neither does calling Puget Sound Energy." "And your equipment?" "If the power goes, it uses batteries." "We better get started." "Where's Annie?" "She's wonderful." "Friday afternoon, 3:1 7 p.m." "We've experienced our first paranormal phenomenon: a phantom draft." "I insist that you don't go exploring on your own." "The geography can seem unstable." "Let's double up on sleeping arrangements." "I'll share with Cathy." "The three of us could go in." "I'll sleep with Emery." "We'll raid the fridge." "No, the bedrooms are safe." "Just don't wander off." "I think you'll find this interesting." "Wow." "You could make Thanksgiving dinner for a hundred people 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, George Meader, drinking buddy of John Rimbauer, died in here just after the end of wwi." "According to a doctor, he was stung by a bee." "He died of an extrene allergic reaction." "As I told you, in Rose Red's heyday, men didn't fair well here." "That's not very reassuring." "Nothing to worry about." "Just use the buddy system in the house." "Now Whoa." "What?" "What's this?" "The caretaker leave that too?" "Doubt it." "Well, then who?" "Press redial and see who answers." "You've reaclned Professor Miller of the Psychology departnent." "I'm unable to answer the phone." "Leave a nessage." "But renember Slnalkespeare:" "Who is it?" "Brevity is the soul of wit." "This is Joyce Reardon's friend, Steven Rimbauer." "We found your property in Rose Red." "I'm sure you didn't drop it, since we just saw you." "But I know who did." "The guy who wrote the story." "Trespassing isn't serious." "Abetting a trespasser is less serious, but your dignity will take a hit." "Guess who will be on next week's newspaper cover?" "You have a nice day." "Bravo, Steve, bravo." "You can't be certain that's his phone." "Of course it is." "I bet one of the numbers in memory is that son of a bitch Bollinger." "If the reporter had the phone, where is he?" "Maybe the house ate him." "Isn't that what it's supposed to do?" "Something that he doesn't believe in frightened him, and he ran off." "Perhaps he's still in the house." "Then we'll find him." "Come on, folks You sure we shouldn't notify somebody?" "Why should we?" "If he's here, he's trespassing, like Steve said." "If we call the cops, we'll have half a dozen police roiling up the atmosphere, and he'll win!" "That pig Miller will win, and I can't have it." "Okay?" "I just won't." "I can't." "It's okay." "He doesn't get to win." "And if we find Bollinger, we spank him 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 groundskeeper since Omicron Oil fell off the board." "We're in the kitchen because Joyce wants to tell you about my great aunt April." "Go on." "Are you sure?" "Sure." "That's what we're here for." "Besides, it was before my time." "April was 6 when she disappeared." "Her brother Adam was in boarding school." "Boarding school at 8?" "It was Rimbauer's idea." "Ellen ranted and raved." "But John 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?" "April, honey, where are you?" "April?" "Fifty 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, convinced of Sukeena's guilt, took her downtown." "Ellen objected in tine strongest terms, but Join declined to listen." "She's innocent!" "Ellen, stop it!" "Please, John!" "Sukeena!" "She was taken to a room 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." "She convinced them she didn't know about April's disappearance, but it cost her three teeth, a broken nose and a broken wrist." "Eventually, Ellen's maid was allowed to return home again." "I mean, the only home she had left." "When do we go upstairs?" "I hear that's where the weird stuff is." "No time like the present." "Come on, everybody." "I didn't notice that one before." "Neither did I." "Could you try to remember who's running this expedition?" "Sure." "Thanks." "Come here, please." "Tie your rope to that pole." "It'll help us find our way back." "Couldn't we just go and get the plans?" "The plans don't always mean a lot." "It's a safety measure." "So follow me, and prepare to be amazed." "Ellen called this the Perspective Hallway." "Her first major addition." "And no architect designed it." "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." "Oh, it's making my stomach turn." "I guess they're pieces built in perspective." "Camouflaging the 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!" "You wanted this place to wake up." "I'd say you've been successful." "Does she ever get assertive, or does she always waffle like that?" "She doesn't talk much, but what she says, she means." "I'll say." "In the mid 60s a team of scientists spent some time investigating Rose Red and heard the house scream." "They recorded them, although they don't sound impressive." "And what did they conclude?" "That it was underground water." "Perhaps amplified by the water pipes under this part of Seattle." "Underground water?" "People facing these phenomena tend to protect their belief systems." "This hallway was the last place Ellen Rimbauer was ever seen." "They moved in on January 1 5th, 1909." "Each January 1 5th, Ellen wore the same dress she wore when they arrived." "Ellen threw a party every January 1 5th and everybody 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 1 5th, 1950." "She was 70." "A maid wished her good evening and sine swept by as if she didn't even lnear." "And that was the last anyone ever saw of her." "Come on, lots more to see." "This is the gymnasium." "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." "I remember seeing it as a boy." "They're not in the plans?" "How can it not be in the plans?" "Here's a camera." "Not good." "Not good at all." ""The property of IKevin Bollinger."" "Mr. Bollinger, are you here?" "What's wrong?" "I said this might happen." "Just use your flashlights." "We should go back downstairs." "Nonsense." "Oh, my !" "Look." "Steve, roll tape, roll tape!" "Annie." "Annie, no." "Annie, don't touch it." "Annie, no!" "Annie, come lnome." "Come with ne." "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." "Take it, I don't want it." "Here, give it to me." "Try and get some good pictures of them being psychic." "What's that supposed to mean?" "It's someone talking to Bollinger." "I bet I know who." "Is he alive?" "Can you tell?" "He was when he dropped this camera, I don't know." "We ought to get out of here." "Okay, folks, let's head back downstairs." "Break time." "Thank God." "Wait." "It's not the same." "The hallway." "No, nonsense." "He's right." "We're not going the way we came." "What in heaven's name is that?" "What's going on?" "The building started again." "You wanted to wake the place up." "Now you got what you wanted." "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." "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." "Okay, I know another way down." "There might be something worth seeing." "Are you sure you know the way?" "Yes." "Oh, my God." ""Oh, my God" is right." "More camouflaged doors, Stevie?" "Gram wasn't above using a trick twice." "This was a joke on her husband's business life." "Did he get it?" "I doubt it." "I don't even really get it." "Here's the 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?" "Bare breasted nymphs offering delicacies from a silver platter?" "Stop it." "Stop harassing me." "Ever learn the difference between joking and harassing?" "I learned plenty in high school, from guys like him, and you." "Come on, give it a rest." "Emery, I may have something better for you in a while." "Tell us about the actress, Joyce." "I'm 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 conedies nostly." "Slne could dance sing a little and sine was sexy as hell." "She was one of Ellen's favorite guests at her January 1 5th parties." "In 1 946 she showed up in what Hedda Hopper called "The Cocktail Dress."" "She was wearing it when she disappeared." "She spent the night here, in the billiard room wowing guests with her many talents." "She left behind a single earring." "A maid found it, but there was no 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 1 2." "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, Glenn Miller." "That doesn't work." "I tried it while I was setting up." "Sorry, Annie." "Joyce?" "It's all right." "Got three loaded for Reardon." "Large, with two six packs of soda." "Thank you." "I told you there'd be something you'd 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?" "Yeah by ghosts of delivery men who asked stupid questions and never escaped." "This is unbelievable." "What are you doing to me?" "She's terrific." "I wouldn't think you'd need a telemetry readout to count heads." "Not human ones, certainly." "I'm real worried about Mr. Bollinger." "Don't bother, he'll show up." "I wish I was as sure of that as you are." "Where's Vic?" "Right here." "Anyone care to dance?" "Well, not me, I'm pooped." "Where have you been?" "I lost my book." "It's story time." "We've heard the one about the actress tell us about Rimbauer's partner, Mr. Posey." "Remember that séance I spoke about?" "Starring the gypsy psychic Cora Frye?" "Yes." "That was 1 914 and the war was heating up the economy." "Omicron Oil was in clover." "Money was rolling in and John Rimbauer was tired of sharing." "In October of that 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." "Rimbauer bought him out at distressed sale prices." "He was told never to come back, but he did, once." "That was in 1 91 5." "John was in Europe, and Adam and April were home with Mom." "Granddad never forgot Posey tossing him that Tom Mix hat of his." "He wanted it and threw a tantrum when his mother tried to take it." "And he never forgot April catching the rose." "Why did Posey wait a year to do it?" "And why here?" "Any ideas?" "I don't have any answers." "After the suicide, John and Ellen kept Adam away as much as possible." "He was at boarding school when his sister disappeared." "He knew that something was wrong here, even then." "The male descendants have mostly stayed away." "I was here only a few times." "I got off on my own once." "I was 8." "Your father" "He hated this place." "He was afraid." "My mother brought me." "I forgot till today." "I blocked it out, I guess." "Nick reminded ne." "She probably couldn't find a babysitter." "What was she loolking for?" "Loot." "I tlninlk sine was drunlk." "That's my nemory of it, but sine so often was in tlnose days." "I lknow sine and Dad were brolke." "After we lost the oil company, it's been a fanily disease." "Brolke itis." "And while your mother was treasure hunting, you got lost." "Yeah." "It was no big deal, but" "You were upstairs before you realized how lost you were." "One floor above the mirror library." "Or was it three floors, or 10?" "When this place gets going and feels lively when it has energy to use it can make itself as big as it wants." "But you got to the top and that's where...." "Oh, my God!" "What is it?" "Do you know?" "It's a cluster manifestation with 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 that there is anyone here!" "I know that sounds crazy, but !" "Be gone!" "Oh, Annie, don't touch it." "Go." "Annie." "Go ahead." "Go." "Annie, come." "What the hell were you thinking, taking her that way?" "Annie wanted What's this "Annie wanted"?" "Annie can't talk or think." "She can!" "If you looked, you'd know." "Please!" "She's all right." "Can't you just stop it?" "What?" "You know she's all right?" "What if the damn dog was rabid?" "It wasn't." "Mrs. Stanton told me." "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." "I saw the dog tag." "Why do you treat me like a fool?" "Stop it, can't you?" "Both of you." "She'll hear." "Do you wanna upset her?" "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 and I know 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, you'll feel better." "There's something wrong with her." "I don't just mean that she's autistic." "Please open the door!" "Turn the music down!" "Somebody'll call the damn cops!" "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." "What the hell ?" "It's an earthquake!" "It's not coming from the ground." "Come on!" "Run!" "Run!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Please open the door!" "Now, Annie!" "Come on, hurry!" "Hurry!" "What's happening?" "I don't know!" "Annie, let us in!" "Annie!" "Annie, please, open the door!" "IKill it, Sissy!" "Just what the hell are you doing?" "What the hell ?" "Sister, look at this." "Sister, I got baby." "Yes, I know." "Annie what have you done?" "That concludes this year's course in the psychology of the unseen world." "I'd like to leave you with three thoughts if I may." "First, the investigation of psychic phenomena is an honorable pursuit in spite of its tattered reputation." "The second is that reality is not always quantifiable." "Our inability to count, weigh, sort or photograph some things does not mean those things are nonexistent." "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 famous once said:" ""The truth is out there." Enjoy your summer." "Professor Reardon, a question, please." "Question." "Your question?" "Rumor says you're investigating Rose Red, the Rimbauer mansion a psychic field trip." "Is that true?" "You are...?" "IKevin Bollinger, class of '03." "I don't recognize you." "Is it because the group is large or is this your first visit to our happy family?" "I'm a reporter for our newspaper." "Oh, my sympathies, Mr. Bollinger." "Is it true and if so, do you plan on using departmental funds or college general funds to finance your latest spook hunt?" "As any regular attendee of these classes will tell you I am extremely interested in Rose Red." "Talk about it all the time." "Have a picture of it on my office wall." "And one of Ellen Rimbauer." "But as Professor Miller can tell you, I've filed no request for funds to underwrite what you term a "spook hunt."" "If you feel like asking him to confirm that, he's up there." "A question, Mr. Bollinger." "Did Professor Miller suggest you stop by my class for your question instead of my office like a normal reporter?" "Never mind." "Let's consider the issue closed, shall we?" "You never answered my question Thank you." "Exam next Tuesday at 2:00." "I'll see you then." "If I embarrassed you, Professor Reardon, I am sorry." "Don't believe it, Mr. Bollinger." "Carl Miller wound you up." "It was his intention that I be embarrassed." "I am not." "Even if you're not using college funds for your expedition won't you be using expensive psychology department equipment?" "Haven't you entered into an agreement with Steven Rimbauer ?" "Good afternoon, Mr. Bollinger." "Hi, Professor Reardon." "Hello." "Joyce, we have to discuss this." "I think not." "You'll have to discuss it sooner or later." "The department's patience with your shenanigans has grown quite short." ""Spooks." "Somebody call...."" "Professor?" "Can we discuss ?" "My office hours are clearly posted." "Can't you read?" "Sorry." "Oh, wait." "Miss Spruce, isn't it?" "Cathy Spruce, that's right." "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bite." "Office hours are at 2." "Try me then?" "Yes, Miss Reardon." "Out." "Out." "Far out." "Waterman residence." "Mr. Waterman." "Joyce Reardon." "Oh, hello, Miss Reardon." "I've been meaning to call, but" "Joyce, please." "I've been busy." "I'm finalizing my list of participants for my Rose Red field trip." "I'd like you in." "Have you thought about it?" "Rose Red is a dangerous place for psyclnic experiments." "Joyce." "As I'm sure you must be aware." "With all due respect, 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 let you go and move on to the next name on my list." "I doubt there are many." "Not post cognates of my caliber." "You might be surprised." "Good afternoon." "Wait, wait, wait, wait." "I didn't say no, did I?" "Didn't you?" "No." "But 5000 is a trifle low." "If you offered a bit more, say 7500, for instance?" "Mr. Waterman Emery, please." "5000 is my first, last and only offer." "And a generous one since there've been no phenomena in Rose Red for years." "Since they stopped the tours and took away the fresh meat." "Forgive me, but I find that ridiculous." "The funding for this is coming out of my pocket." "I'm in." "But if you want a videotaped debriefing afterward, I get extra." "Fine." "Memorial Day weekend." "Mark your calendar." "You send me a check, Joyce, and I will." "Good day." "Putz." "Poisoned?" "Guess not." "Emery." "Emery." "Hey, whoever you are save the warnings for someone who's not broke." "Okay?" "Emery!" "Emery!" "Emery!" "Here you are." "There's 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 get fat." ""Er." Beg your pardon?" "Fatter." "I'm already fat." "Cream clogs up your arteries." "A little's okay, but that's too much." "Get my things out of the car." "I made a killing." "I was doing the bills just now." "What about the bills?" "They're past due." "The credit cards" "I'm very careful with the credit cards." "I'm a very wise shopper." "I'll get your stuff." "Isn't this the best bear?" "I'll put him on my bed with Hester and Fester." "What rhymes with Hester and Fester?" "Pester." "The woman who wants to investigate Rose Red called again." "See?" "Something always turns up." "God provides." "Rose Red is dangerous." "Take precautions and you'll be fine." "Were you able to get her up to 75?" "No, she's financing the expedition." "So she told you and you believed her." "Wanna call her back?" "I've the number." "No." "A deal's a deal." "One sensible thing your father said." "Did you tell her it'd be extra for interviews?" "EIKGs?" "Yes." "And no x rays." "They give you cancer." "Run and get my bags." "Then you can have your pie." "Office hours are over." "Come back tomorrow!" "I said office" "Extra credit, Miss Reardon?" "I'll do anything." "Look great in a French maid's outfit." "Come in, you idiot." "Close the door." "All right." "Teach, you are looking good today." "How are you doing?" "I won't lie." "It's been a tough day." "But I have a very important call to make, so...." "This is the Wheaton girl?" "The one you want?" "Her sister." "If you keep quiet, you can stay." "If not, then go." "Get out now." "That's tough talk considering it's my homestead you wanna explore." "But I'll be good, I swear." "I won't do that." "Sorry." "Hello?" "Miss Reardon?" "Yes." "How are you?" "I'm fine, but it's hard to keep people away from the phone here." "I'm on my break." "Let's make it fast." "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." "Are you saying Annie won't take part?" "I'm saying that if I bring Annie to Rose Red chances are that I could never go home again." "That's fine, but Annie shouldn't go witlnout someone who understands her." "And your parents don't." "My mother is scared to death of her." "And my father...." "Well, I think my father hates her." "What can I do?" "There's a schooljust outside of Tacona for people lilke Annie." "No, there is no one like Annie, I don't think, but...." "It's a place for autistic teenagers." "A good place." "I might as well cut to the chase." "5000 isn't gonna be enough." "For 10, I could make it happen." "10,000?" "Done." "I'll bring the check to you myself this afternoon." "Where do you work?" "No, you need to slow down." "I just need to think about this." "My tine is slnort, Miss Wheaton." "Please, call me Sister." "Everyone does." "Mr. Rimbauer has agreed to open Rose Red over the Memorial Day weekend." "I need to know if I can count on Annie." "I'm having an orientation Monday niglnt for the participants here at the university." "It would be great if Annie could join us." "If Annie goes to Rose Red, I go too." "That's fine, of course." "When can I lknow, Miss Wheaton?" "Sister?" "I might be able to scrape up as much as $ 1 2,000 if you can make a solid commitment to the expedition right now." "I can't do that." "Goodbye, Miss Reardon." "When will I hear from you?" "I'll be in touch." "Wait, tine orientation Monday night?" "I don't know." "I don't think so." "$ 10,000?" "$ 1 2,000?" "I'm thinking I sold the old family 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 a good group but they're candles." "Annie is a searchlight." "If anyone can wake up Rose Red, it's her." "Waking up Rose Red is not a good idea." "I want Annie." "I want Annie Wheaton." "Hello, dear." "Hey, Mom." "Hi, Dad." "Long day?" "You look tired." "I'll microwave you a TV dinner." "No, it's okay." "I had something to eat at the restaurant." "Is Annie okay?" "Annie's fine." "Wearing out her ears again." "And ours." "If not "A Summer Place," then "Pennsylvania 6 9000."" "Same two over and over, all afternoon." "Guess she just likes it." "I know." "I just can't figure out why." "Thank God for small favors." "Annie." "Annie." "Come lnome." "We're waiting, Annie." "We're waiting." "Please cone hone, Annie." "We're waiting." "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!" "Well, fortunately for us, an enormous dead cell." "There've been no overt manifestations in Rose Red since 1 995 or so." "Some houses have their own inner life which may or may not be conscious." "If there was once consciousness in Rose Red, it manifested itself early." "Seattle 100 years ago was a different world." "More so than we can imagine." "Survival was an actual issue, not a TV show." "Fortunes were made by bandits in tall lnats." "You could get out of tine way or you could get run down." "In tine year 1906, you were on your own." "Rose Red was built by Joln P. Rimbauer on Spring Street in Seattle as a wedding present to his wife." "He was founder of Omicron Oil Company, until 1 950, the biggest in America." "1 950 was the year Ellen Rimbauer disappeared." "The trouble with Rose Red started even before there was a house." "Construction crews worlked 24 lnours, 7 days a week." "But that wasn't the problem." "Even before tlnere was a lnouse tlnere  that ground seened to make people mad." "I mean, literally nad." "He made no effort to get away." "Just dropped his gun and went to a Seattle saloon." "This is wlnere the police found him." "The teamster's name was Harry Corbin." "He claimed he remembered nothing from breakfast till he woke up in jail with a knot behind his ear." "The judge and jury didn't believe him." "He got 25 years." "I think Harry Corbin may have been Rose Red's first victim." "First male victim." "There's a difference between the way Rose Red treats the ladies and men." "What do you mean exactly?" "ln time, Nick." "All in good time." "John Rimbauer and Ellen Gilchrist were married on November 1 2, 1 907." "He was 40, she was 20." "By the day they wed, Rose Red had been under construction for a year and already tlnere lnad been tlnree deaths, as well as the first foreman." "Take it up!" "One nan was decapitated by a sheet of falling glass." "One fell from a scaffold and broke his neck." "The third choked to deatln on a piece of apple." "This is the way Rose Red looked when it was completed in 1 909." "In case your memory needs refreshing, this is the way it looks today." "It's as if it metastasized." "It has how many rooms?" "I don't think anyone knows." "You can count 74 on Monday, come back Friday and come up with 87 or 97." "That's impossible." "That's Rose Red, sweetheart." "How many people have disappeared?" "There must be an accurate account." "Twenty three since the First World War." "I find that impossible to believe." "Of course you do." "Anyone would." "But it's true." "Five men and 18 women." "Rose Red has always been particularly fond of the ladies." "We are speaking of a house which is dormant." "It better be because $5000 isn't enough if it isn't." "When was the last disappearance?" "1972, 30 years ago." "There've been no observable phenomena since" "Who was it, the last one?" "We've got a lot of ground to cover" "A woman on the Historical Society's annual tour." "She was with the group." "It wasn't until the tour was over tlnat tlney realized she wasn't witln then." "What's that?" "They didn't find lner but tlney did find lner purse." "Finished?" "Yeah." "Thank you." "The lady's name was Liza Albert." "Since then the house has been closed." "With no psychic energy to feed on, it's 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." "It wasn't finished by the time they married, but they were in no hurry." "They passed the time with a leisurely honeymoon for a year." "They circled the globe on liners like this one." "The Ocean Star." "John Rimbauer's favorite part of the grand 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?" "Ellen recovered, and when they took up residence in Rose Red she was pregnant." "January 1909, that would have been." "John thought the house was finished." "The Rimbauers!" "They're here!" "How beautiful you are, Rose Red." "Wlnat lne didn't know is that tine 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 1 995 or '96." "Until 1 950, changes were made according to the will of Ellen." "And her will, ladies and gentlemen, was iron." "After 1 950...." "After 1 950, Rose Red grew on its own." "In tine 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, wlno cane fron Africa, saw her through tine difficult labor." "Ellen never refers to Sulkeena as lner servant." "First, sine calls lner "my friend. " And later, "my sister. "" "Wlnen sine gave birth to a dauglnter witln a withered arn sine blaned lner siclkness and Joln's sexual appetites." "Although she wrote, "In my mind, they are one."" "To which she added, "Damn all men."" "Their dauglnter was born in April of 191 1." "And April was wlnat they called her." "After her dauglnter's birth, Ellen becane convinced  that her fever, which recurred periodically, would kill her young." "That nade her easy gane for Madane Stravinski." "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 tlnat sine was a fraud." "Beloved spirits, we invite you to commune with us." "Show us a sign." "Fraud or not, Madane Stravinski lknown to police in San Francisco and Los Angeles as Cora Frye changed Ellen Rinbauer's life one night in August of 1914." "Sukeena!" "You must build." "What did she tell her?" "She said she wouldn't die until the house 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." "She never had another attack of her African fever." "Probably psychosomatic." "Probably PMS, right, Em?" "I wouldn't be surprised." "A new wing started going up the next week." "What did her husband say?" "She gave him a son in 1909, a daughter in 1 91 1 ." "The son was fine and well." "It was the son John Rimbauer cared about." "Ellen could do as she liked." "Would you agree?" "Yes." "Besides lne had affairs of his own to tend to." "Ellen made additions to the house until her disappearance in 1 950." "Over 40 years of well financed eccentricity." "She hired contractors and architects to build unconventional stuff." "Such as?" "The so called Tower Folly was conpleted in 1921." "Joln Rimbauerjumped fron 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." "The bad days are over." "Oh, yes." "Yes, indeed." "And men tended to turn up dead." "Are you sure?" "Positive." "Then what exactly do you want from us, Miss Reardon?" "First, let's all get on a first name basis, shall we?" "That'll make things less difficult." "This can be a difficult field." "People don't understand our goals or refuse to credit our findings." "Some people are actively cruel." "And...." "Research goals?" "Yes, yes, yes, yes." "My research goals specify measurable, psychic phenomena." "Hard data." "Telemetry readouts and anomalous energy levels, primarily." "I want readouts that even the most stupid, sarcastic, obtuse member of this scientific department will have to accept." "If I get a little crazy on the subject sometimes, 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?" "If you apply electricity to the leg of a dead frog the muscles contract hours after it 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, we can help legitimize a branch of psychology which has been treated poorly for too long." "Why are you here, Mr. Rimbauer?" "What are your special talents?" "Protecting family interests." "I promised the professor one shot then the developers await." "Tech Star condos." "You're tearing it down?" "It's part of history." "History don't pay rent and I'm broke." "Hardly a noble motive." "Are we the team?" "The whole team?" "She hopes not." "Beg pardon?" "I was hoping for one more but that's starting to look iffy." "If I have to make do with you five, then I'll count myself lucky." "I'll see you this Friday at 2 p.m." "I'm sure it'll be a Memorial Day to remember." "Now if you could all please come and join me." "I'd like to close with a circle." "This went out with high button shoes." "Anything you'd like to focus on?" "Goodwill, good thoughts, each other." "That's lovely." "Say cheese." "Vic?" "Are you okay?" "Fine." "I'm just gonna go make some room." "He looks gray about the gills." "No, no, no." "Well, maybe half a glass but no more." "Just a minute, please." "The Huslkies were surprised by tine blitz." "The linebacker drops into the flanlk, tlnen rushes the quarterbaclk." "Nobody on the left side sees lnin coming." "Hello." "I'd like to speak with Rachel, please." "Who's this?" "May I spealk with Raclnel?" "Is it the crazy lady from the college?" "How you doing, crazy lady?" "Is that for me?" "My business is with your older dauglnter" "No, see, you got it wrong." "You have no business here." "Not with Sissy, not with Annie, not with any of us." "Don't ever call here again, got it?" "Daddy, that was my call." "That was just some crazy lady." "No, you've no right" "Yeah, I do." "While you live and eat here, I do." "Stop it, both of you." "I know what the crazy lady wants." "I know you talked to her behind my back." "Let me tell you this." "Annie's not going anywhere near Rose Red." "Mama?" "She doesn't say." "I say." "Mama, won't you help me once?" "Just this once, won't you speak up?" "I've told you, I won't take sides between you and your father." "Mama, what about Annie's side?" "The Gatt School" "What planet are you on?" "The Gatt School with $5000?" "Professor Reardon has promised 1 2!" "I knew she was crazy, now you?" "20 grand's what it would take." "A year." "Rose Red is famous." "If something happens, it'll be worth a fortune." "Oh, yeah, sure." "I can just see her on Geraldo." ""I'm Annie Wheaton." "I'll tell folks about a haunted house."" "Stop it!" "Don't mock her." "I'm saving her." "From crazy lady one and crazy lady two." "Now that is it." "This case is closed." "I don't wanna hear anymore about it." "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, George!" "Please, make her stop!" "We thought you were lost." "No." "Just misplaced." "May I propose a toast?" "Sure." "To Rose Red." "Rose Red." "Joyce, she's looking, still hoping for one more." "Six." "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 trick, 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 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." "He's in jeans." "He's blond, over golded." "He's got a case of Roman hands and Russian fingers." "What in the world are you talking ?" "Let's go outside." "You wanna?" "Sure." "All right." "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 Ouija boards." "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." "I guess it's not working." "Steve?" "What about you, St ?" "Nick." "He calls her Dee." "Now 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 okay." "What about our new friend, Emery?" "What about him?" "Your friend, not mine." "Yeah, I think Emery is chiefly 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?" "Guess those were the days, huh?" "lgnorance is bliss." "Daddy, what Annie is, isn't anyone's fault." "Not hers, not mine, not yours." "I know." "But you're too busy thinking about what you want for her to think about what she can do." "Remember when the Stantons' dog bit her?" "How the stones came down?" "Or what she did to those pipes?" "After 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 get." "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." "Come, Annie." "Cone." "Shame you can't do the same with the other 40,000 or so." "People read it today and line litter boxes with it tomorrow." "They'll remember." "Some will take it out next time the university bond issue comes up." "A photo like this could put a hundred worthwhile programs to beggary." "But what do you care?" "Do you have a point?" "Get to it." "I have a lot to do." "Crystals to polish?" "Ouijas to wax?" "You put Bollinger up to this, didn't you?" "You told him where to go and when to point his camera." "Your paranoia's showing." "That's a nasty little cut." "Listen, I'm afraid I have a bit of bad news for you, old girl." "I am not old, not yet anyway." "And I am certainly not your girl." "What are you talking about?" "Executive committee's been in session regarding tenure." "What?" "Why?" "No one's up for tenure." "The only thing they could" "You really are a bastard." "They voted five to two to revoke your tenure." "We tried to contact you." "You'll find a message." "I thought the spirits would tell you." "The general consensus is, it's time to stop the silliness." "I'll fight you every step of the way." "Of course, and you'll lose." "Your days of haunting the Wimser Psychology Department aren't over, but numbered." "When I come back with proof, you The rallying cry of crackpots and deluded religionists since the Stone Age: "The proof's out there."" "This is sad." "You were respected in the field of child psychology but then you got bitten by the virus!" "It's a legitimate field of psychological" "It's crap, sleaze, a spit in the eye of rational thought." "Rose Red will be your last goose chase as a faculty member." "You're an idiot and you're blind." "What if you found proof?" "Photographs, audio recordings of clanking chains, telemetry." "What good would it do?" "Have you even considered such thoughts?" "I feel remarkably well today, Carl, in spite of all your crap." "And this, this is the world we live in and experience with our senses." "Skin, smooth and rational." "Where every cause has an effect and can be predicted with data at hand." "There's a world under that world." "Blood, under the skin." "Rationalistic asses like you don't see it." "It's liquid instead of solid." "Hot instead of just warm." "It is a world full of mystery." "You don't like it, do you?" "No." "Don't give me your bull about bond issues." "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." "You're afraid to catch something." "Get out." "Go to the infirmary and get an AIDS test." "When the semester's over, you're done." "You're finished teaching." "You're crazy!" "You're insane!" "Good day, old boy." "What are you looking at?" "!" "Look at it somewhere else!" "We did it, didn't we?" "We really nailed her." "What's on your face?" "Never mind." "Never mind." "We have a lot 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 noise?" "Who cuts the barber's hair?" "Who leaves money under the tooth fairy's pillow?" "How come no one realizes Clark IKent is just Superman wearing glasses?" "If I didn't own Rose Red, would I be in bed with you right now?" "Hello." "How was your day, dear?" "Give it back." "How was your day?" "Or should I just roll over and make myself small?" "They revoked my tenure." "Carl Miller dropped by to give me the news." "Wait, can they do that?" "Maybe, probably." "Bollinger made us look like the Stupid family, with me as head Stupid." "Wanna turn off your light?" "Well, you know, you're pretty damn calm about it." "I heard from Sister." "She accepted the 1 2,000 I offered." "When I come back from Rose Red with hard data there'll be four dozen schools willing to hire me." "First, I'll write a book." "It's gonna sell 80 gazillion copies." "You once said that the only certainty with the paranormal is nothing's certain." "What if nothing happens after three days?" "But it will." "Annie Wheaton is my guarantee." "She's, oh...." "Let's just say she's one of a kind." "Rose Red isn't a true dead cell." "Annie will wake it up." "If you let it stand for six months, the 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!" "Sorry." "Did you miss that in your research?" "It's just that it means a lot to me." "Yeah, too much, maybe." "You're gonna need some downtime when this is over." "Some serious R and R." "You have the cell phone." "Right here." "And you got plenty of film." "Of course I have plenty of film." "I don't know if this is 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?" "You're about to step out in the real world for a couple of weeks." "That's where you'll get lost." "Nail this story, you can write your own ticket." "I thought that's what you wanted." "Why don't you come with me?" "I do have a few things to do like run my department, oversee finals." "Call when you get pictures and I or my wife will come." "She can't stand Reardon either." "If they catch me, they'll tear me apart." "You know that." "There's no reason why they should if you're reasonably careful." "I guess." "Don't forget this." "Try and get a good picture of them being psychic." "Professor, I don't think 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." "You would be Mr. Bollinger, I believe." "The reporter." "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." "Very funny, but I wanna 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." "Hello?" "Wlno is this?" "Bollinger?" "Bollinger, is tlnat you?" "Hello?" "They'll be here." "Come on." "Wait!" "Don't make me chase you, Emmy." "Mom, I'm okay." "Oh, yes, you're always okay." "Listen to me." "If there's anything you can't handle anything beyond telesmic manifestations, call and I'll get you." "I will." "I have to go." "Call anyway so I know you're fine." "I will." "I always do." "They're waiting." "Well, let them wait!" "They won't do much without you." "Now turn around." "Mom Turn around!" "And stay away from that blond girl." "She looks like a tramp." "Now give Mommy a kiss." "Oh, you're all over lipstick." "Fix yourself." "I see new frontiers in abnormal psychology before us." "How exciting." "Especially if you move your bowels!" "The day before camp must have been busy at the Watermans'." "Shut up." "Off to the house on Haunted Hill, I see?" "And with about $ 100,000 worth of department equipment, I'd guess." "I've got all the proper paperwork signed in all the proper places." "Signed by Rogers." "When I was on vacation, he acted for me." "Clever of you." "Do you have a point?" "I'm being pleasant." "If you'll excuse us, we're in a hurry." "Yes, of course." "Places to go." "Ghosts to bust." "Isn't that right, Mr. Rimbauer?" "More or less." "Yes." "Well, do try and keep the equipment in one piece." "Good luck." ""The Spirits have done it all in one night."" "Scrooge says it when he wakes up changed." "That's what Miller made me think of." "Scrooge on Christmas." "I don't trust him." "Hello, are you the group?" "The Rose Red group?" "Yes." "I'm Pam Asbury." "This is Cathy IKramer." "Hi." "Victor IKandinsky." "Vic." "Just Vic." "Nick Hardaway." "And Emery Waterman." "And you must be...." "Oh, I'm Sissy Wheaton." "And this is Annie." "I was sure we were gonna miss you." "Traffic was horrible." "We're glad you didn't." "Sister, or do you prefer Rachel?" "Oh, either is fine." "Oh, stop it, Annie." "Just quit it." "Good God, she's retarded." "If you keep your evaluation of Miss Wheaton to yourself we won't ask questions about your relationship with your mother." "Chin, chin." "Folks, I think we're ready." "You've reaclned Carl Miller." "Please leave a nessage after the tone." "Bollinger, I told you to keep the phone with you." "All right, tlney've left tine canpus." "They'll be there in 40 minutes so be ready." "And 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?" "Yeah, sure." "Fine." "You wanna know a secret?" "I've never done anything like this before and I'm scared to death." "Be not afraid." "Only believe." "We're lucky." "The electronic stuff was delivered earlier." "What are these?" "House plans, probably as useful as a 14th century map of Africa." "And here, a coil of rope." "How you doing, sweetie?" "You okay?" "Mommy, I'n scared." "Come, Stevie." "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." "Houses are alive." "This is sonething we know." "News from our nerve endings." "If we're quiet if we listen  we can lnear lnouses breathe." "Sonetines in tine depth of niglnt, we hear tlnem groan." "It's as if they're lnaving bad dreams." "A good house cradles and conforts." "A bad one fills us with instinctive unease." "Bad lnouses hate our warmth, our lnumanness." "That blind hate of our lnumanity is wlnat we mean by the word "Inaunted. "" "Steve?" "Are you all right?" "Yeah." "It stopped." "I heard it too." "But it stopped." "What did you hear?" "There were words." "It wasn't clear." "Did any of you...." "I might have heard something." "It may have been my imagination." "What was it?" "I don't know." "I'm not psychic." "You tested me yourself, so there's no real" "What?" "What are you looking at?" "Nothing." "Pam." "Can you come here?" "Well, we might as well get started." "Will you ?" "All right." "Emers, old boy, give us a hand." "It seems to be the butler's day off." "Don't call me that." "Come on." "For $5000 you can carry a couple boxes." "I am not being paid for my services as a porter." "Pam, you all right?" "Hey, I thought this house was enpty." "You would be Mr. Bollinger, I believe." "The reporter." "I'm Bollinger, but how did you lknow?" "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?" "The room with colored light." "The smell of sawdust." "What happened?" "What did you see?" "What?" "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." "Cold metal, that's all." "No, but you spoke." "There was something there, but it's gone." "I didn't like the way it felt." "The caretaker left it after he let in the equipment guys." "He'll miss it." "Not after summer." "In September there won't be a gate to open." "There's a flashlight for everyone." "IKeep it on you at all times." "The power's usually fine." "If it goes out, I don't suppose the fuse box does much good?" "Nope, neither does calling Puget Sound Energy." "And your equipment?" "If the power goes, it uses batteries." "We better get started." "Where's Annie?" "She's wonderful." "Friday afternoon, 3:1 7 p.m." "We've experienced our first paranormal phenomenon: a phantom draft." "I insist that you don't go exploring on your own." "The geography can seem unstable." "Let's double up on sleeping arrangements." "I'll share with Cathy." "The three of us could go in." "I'll sleep with Emery." "We'll raid the fridge." "No, the bedrooms are safe." "Just don't wander off." "I think you'll find this interesting." "Wow." "You could make Thanksgiving dinner for a hundred people 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, George Meader, drinking buddy of John Rimbauer, died in here just after the end of wwi." "According to a doctor, he was stung by a bee." "He died of an extrene allergic reaction." "As I told you, in Rose Red's heyday, men didn't fair well here." "That's not very reassuring." "Nothing to worry about." "Just use the buddy system in the house." "Now Whoa." "What?" "What's this?" "The caretaker leave that too?" "Doubt it."