"The dead have highways running through the wasteland behind our lives bearing an endless traffic of departed souls." "They can be heard in the broken places of our world through cracks made by acts of cruelty violence and depravity." "They have signposts, these highways and crossroads and intersections." "And it is at these intersections where the dead mingle and sometimes spill over into our world." "Hey, darlin'." "Are you okay?" "Oh, my God." " Where are you at?" " I'm looking at him." "You sure you want to do this?" "You want it in one piece?" "Just get on with it." "Your skin is leaving." "I'll be in touch." "Keep the change." "Whoa there." "Hang on a minute." "It's okay." "Local hero in charge." " How old are you, pussycat?" " I won't tell." "Then neither will I." "Can't stop." "I've gotta keep going." "Sure you do." "Drink?" "All the more for me." "Where you headed, friend?" "Away." "Away?" "As far away as I can go." "I think I can help with that." "I need to sleep." "Comfy?" "Where are we?" "End of the line, friend." "End of the line." "You see, this collector calls me." "Probably sitting in some stuffy room somewhere." "All kinds of disgusting artifacts on the shelves, like pickled tongues plaster casts of rock stars' dicks reptile fetuses in formaldehyde jars." "But just like every collector this one's dying for the next thing." "Guess what the next thing is." "Your skin." "Weird, eh?" "But, hey, who am I to judge?" "This one pays well." "And I might get a bonus if I can keep it all in one bolt." "Please." "Please what?" "Pass the salt?" "Still, I got to wonder being a student of human nature and all how a beauty..." "Like you finds himself tied to a table about to be flayed by a sociopath." "Jesus Christ, son." "You are a book of blood." "Read it to me." "Why should I?" "Well, now because here's the deal." "We can do this nice and slow and painful." "Or I can make it relatively quick." "Up to you." "Quick?" "Up to you." "The dead have highways highways that lead to intersections and intersections that spill into our world." "And if you find yourself at one of those intersections you should stop and you should listen because the dead have stories to tell." "Janie?" "Janie, open the door!" "Open the door now!" "Here, call the police!" "Janie, open the door!" "Janie!" "Open the door!" " Let me in!" "Please!" " Stay back!" "Please." "Just stay back." "Janie!" "Captain!" "Oh, my God!" "Paranormal." "Defined by Webster as "something not scientifically explainable. "" "We live in the realm of the paranormal." "If we'd only look." "If we'd only listen." "Remember the absence of proof does not necessarily prove the negative." "But it's a good start." "Take a seat anywhere, Mr..." "McNeal." "Simon McNeal." "I've just transferred from Strathclyde." "Okay, welcome, Simon McNeal." "Yeah, welcome, Simon McNeal." " Why is it these places always look so..." " Ordinary?" "The owners moved out in a hurry after their daughter was murdered." "The place has been on the market ever since." "It was built in the early 1900s." "Then that guy..." "J.D. Tollington..." "bought the place during the depression." "Snake oil man." "Claimed he could talk to the dead." "People came from all over Europe to see him." "He used to entertain the rich and the famous right upstairs here." "Very spooky goings-on, apparently." "Story goes, during one session he was interrupted by some invisible hand clasped over his mouth." "So cold it left an impression on his skin like a mustache." "The proof's in his autopsy." "Suddenly, he was thrown against the wall so hard shards of his broken bones pierced his lungs and he choked on his own blood." " Are you making this up?" " It all happened right up here." "Whatever did it to Tollington scribbled a message on the closet doors in blood." ""Don't mock us. "" "The same message they found the nightJanie got killed." "After you." "Nothing wrong with this picture." "According to the parents, Janie was seriously into sex and death." "Used to bring her friends up here for séances." "Voodoo and blow jobs." "They grow up so fast these days." "Probably just a passing truck." "Stephen!" "Stephen!" "Don't stop me!" "It's my son down there!" "No!" "Please!" "How do you know any of this stuff in your books is true?" "How do you know any of it's really true?" "Well if we close our minds to possibilities we'd never make any progress, would we?" "But truth is relative." "If you can't see it and you can't touch it then how can you be sure?" "Professor?" "So, we're just supposed to take all this on faith?" "In this business, we have to start from a place of faith." "For a visiting professor, you're not very curious about the local cuisine." "Want some?" "It helps with my insomnia." "You're not gettin' laid enough." "I'm still available." "What do you think?" "That house?" "It's perfect for another book, right?" " I suppose." " Excuse me." "Just struck by a blinding' burst of enthusiasm." "Half my fans think they're reading fiction, for Christ's sake." "You mean it's not?" "Reg, I've been studying the paranormal for almost 10 years and I've never found anything verifiable anything... indisputable." "Just a series of speculation and presumption." "Every scientific breakthrough in history was based on nothing but speculation and presumption." "Ask Galileo, Newton, Darwin." "Wouldn't it be great if all that high-tech equipment of yours could finally prove something?" "Can't prove anything' sitting in its box." "So, when do we move in?" "Mr. McNeal." "What are you doing out in this weather?" " I'm just goin' home." " Get in." "I'll give you a lift." "What's wrong?" " You shouldn't be drivin' tonight." " What?" "Just be careful, Professor." "His brother was killed in a car accident." "Flipped his pickup into a ditch." "Went through the windscreen headfirst." "Snapped his neck." "Simon saw it happen." "What do you mean he "saw it"?" "He walked into the kitchen one night, told his parents point-blank..." ""Stevie's dead." "Truck crashed. "" "A moment later, the police called." "When his parents got to the scene, it was exactly as he described it." "There's something about him, Reg." "Yeah." "It's called being great-lookin'." "He knew I was gonna have that flat the other night." "I suppose coincidence is too obvious an explanation?" "He could be an asset to our investigation." "Amy!" "Mr. McNeal." "Got a moment?" "That's how it all started that night." "It just popped in my mind." "Then this journalist turned up asking for an interview, you know?" ""Eleven-year-old boy has visions of brother's death. "" "That's gonna get people's attention, isn't it?" "How'd it make you feel?" "Weird." "People started treating' me like I was a celebrity." "You didn't like the attention?" "Well..." "I guess." "But, I mean, I was just a kid." "I had no idea what was goin' on." "Then people started comin' to the house." "Just wanting' me to touch them and tell them what I saw." "So..." "I did." "And..." "I saw things." " Then people started to say I was a..." " Clairvoyant." "Are you?" "You like old songs." "I like this one." "Wanna dance?" "What?" "Come on." "Come on." "It's a nice song." "How did it feel?" "What?" "The first time it happened to you." "First time?" "When you were a girl and the fountain sprayed blood and they found that little girl." "Bet it made you feel kind of special, didn't it?" "Simon, there's a house near here." "Tollington Place." "Something terrible happened there." "Something unexplained." " Ayoung girl was murdered." " Right." "You writing another book?" "I'd like you to work with me." "I don't know about that." "A lot of people said that my family exploited my brother's death." "I mean, my parents even made money off it." "Something awful happened to that poor girl." "Don't you think her story deserves to be told?" "You have a gift, Simon." "Don't waste it." "Help me find out what happened in that house." "You sure this is a good idea?" "It can't hurt." "But you don't know this kid." "You don't know what he wants out of all this." "For all you know, he could just be..." "Jesus!" "Never said nothing about three flights of stairs!" "Place is giving me the heebie-jeebies." "Aye, Derek." " There's something on my back!" " Aye, right." " Let's just dump this shit and go for a pint." " I'm not kiddin', ya prick!" "There's somethin' on my back!" "Fuck's sake!" "He just started freakin' out." "He's winding' you up." "Man!" "Why did you have to go and do that?" "I had you, man." "I had you good." "Fuck you!" "Fuckin'joker." "Bastard!" "Grow up!" "Hiya." "So this is where it all happened, isn't it?" "Yeah." "Will you be okay up here?" "Can I get you anything?" "No, it's all right." "I'll be fine." "Thanks." "My room's right below yours." "I'll hear you if you call." "Okay." "Good night." "I sleep naked." "Right." "Yeah." "Listen." " I don't hear anything." " That's right." "I haven't seen one fly one spider, one ant even..." "Anywhere." "Have you?" "It's like the place is being shunned." "I can't sleep either." "I think I might have a fever." "When I was a kid, if I couldn't sleep my mother would make me warm milk." "It helps me sometimes if I masturbate." "Professor?" "Are you all right?" "You were crying." "I'm fine, Simon." "I'm fine." "I was just having a dream, that's all." "You can close the door, Simon." "Come on, Reg." "Just say what's on your mind." "I just think you're being unprofessional." "That's all." "What's that supposed to mean?" "I'm trained to do what I do." "You've got a PhD." "What's he bringing to the party?" "If there's even the slightest chance he can help us to open this house up..." "I'm gonna encourage it." "Yeah." "Just be careful the house isn't the only thing he opens up." "Look, Reg, if you don't like the way I'm approaching my research..." "I'll get someone else to carry my wires." "Mary?" "You don't know what it's like." "Jesus Christ!" "Sorry." "I heard you call." " Did you hear it?" " What?" "The voices." "The whispering." "The pounding on the floor." "Listen." "I've recorded it." "There's nothing there." "What the fuck?" "I'm locked in!" "I'm stuck in..." "Simon?" "He's in there, Reg." "Simon!" "I can't get it open." "Jesus, Reg!" "Come on!" "SweetJesus, will you help me!" "Mary?" "What the..." "Simon!" "My God, Simon." "What happened to you?" "I don't know." " I don't know what happened." " Don't try to talk now." "I don't know what happened." "You better have a look at this." "Oh, my God." "Well that's something you don't see every day." "How did all that happen, Reg?" "I don't know." "But then again..." "I don't know how David Copperfield makes elephants disappear." "You're saying it was just a trick?" "Was the whispering you heard a trick?" "Was this?" "Get some rest." "Mary." "What are you doing?" "Whatever this is it should be examined..." "Forensically." "Wanna be sure, right?" "Where is he?" "I don't know." "He was gone before I woke up." "I'm just curious to know how this stuff got on those walls, Nigel." "And you're the best forensics man I know." "Hey, you want to flatter me, have dinner with me." "Your wife gonna cook?" "Right." "I'll get on to this today." "Let you know what I find." "Simon?" "Let's see if Simon has any tricks hidden in his bag." "Aspirin." "You disappointed, Reg?" "Nothin' to hide, right?" "Why don't we do a cavity search?" "You're joking." "Be my guest." "Go on." "All yours, wise guy." " What the hell was that?" " I don't know." "I was in the bathroom." "When I came back, my equipment was freakin' out." "Please." "Please, stay away!" "My equipment's all messed up." "Something's interfering with it." "Please leave me alone!" "I'll stop!" "I'll stop!" "I swear I'll stop!" "Wait." "That can't just be him." "Simon?" "Simon, are you all right?" "Help me get him up." "They were here." "They were here." "Easy." "Easy now." " You've gotta lie down." " I didn't know what was gonna happen." "Lie down over here." " It was real." " It's okay." "It wasn't like before." "They came, and they were here." "You've got to be fucking joking." "Reg." "I need to get the first aid kit." "Look, Mary." "I think we should get out of here." " You've gotta be kidding." " We have got enough here." "Reg." "We've never seen anything like this before." "That's what I mean." "This is..." "I don't know what this is." "I think it's him." "He's the one making this happen." "He's our lightning rod." "Okay." "But I think we should leave before we get fucking electrocuted." "I need a drink." "Mary." "I have to tell you something." "You need to rest." "I need to tell you what's really been going on here." "It's not what you think." "I understand, Simon." " I do." " No, you don't." "You can't." "Tonight was different." "What happened here, tonight it was a miracle." "You're the miracle." "You're the one that made it all happen." "You're the one I've been waiting for." "And I'll tell the world." "And everyone will believe." "He took me into the woods and cut off my hands." "It was in some ways convenient for everyone." "I'm responsible for the cause of the death." "I don't understand." "That isn't what happened." "There was something there." "Something was..." "Holding me, pushing me." "There was something there." "What are you looking at?" "What's so important?" "The fountain." "Reminds you of when you were a girl, doesn't it?" "I was 10." "There was a park across the street from our house." "It had a fountain where we used to play." "But it was old." "Water never worked." "Until one night..." "The sound woke me up." "It was spraying everywhere." "The air was drenched, but not with... water." "With blood." "I didn't know what was happening but it happened almost every night." "And you didn't say anything?" "I was too afraid." "In the morning, the fountain was always completely dry like it never happened, but..." "I was afraid they'd all think I was crazy." "A few weeks later the city came and tore out the fountain to make way for a parking lot." "When they ripped up the ground, they found a 10-year-old girl buried underneath." "She'd been tortured." "Her DNA linked her to a man five doors down." "But by the time they found him, he'd done the same thing to six more girls." "If I'd only said something." "It wasn't your fault." "I need to get out of here for a while, Reg." "Simon." "What's wrong?" "It only lasted until I was 13." "Then it just stopped." "Then I started to believe that maybe it never happened at all." "You know, maybe I never had this gift." "Then I found you and it started again." "And it's more intense than ever." "And I don't want to lose that again." "I don't." "And I don't wanna lose you." "I'm dying to get home, you know." "Can't wait." "I don't believe it." "Look." " Yeah, let's go." " Come on." "Excuse me." "Excuse me." "Is this you?" "Mary Florescu?" "Yeah." "Yeah, that's me." "Would you sign it for me, please?" "To the soul of Agnes Whittington." "This is my second copy of Visits in the Paranormal." "I read the other one so many times the pages started falling out." ""I believe with all my heart that a parallel universe coexists with ours a landscape of souls which we cannot see crying out with stories that must be told that must never be forgotten, else their awful deaths"..." ""Would have no meaning and guide us only backwards to more suffering. "" "Sorry." "This is Simon McNeal." "He's working with me on one of my projects." "I see." "Then you have to sign it too." " Of course." " Thank you." "I'm so sorry." "Will you excuse me a moment?" "Just under there." "Hello?" "Mary, it's Nigel." "I've been trying to reach you all day." "Sorry." "My phone must have been out of range." " I've analyzed that material." " What?" " There's something odd about it." " No, you're breaking up." " I didn't get that." " I said it's odd." "Come over to the lab." " No." "Tell me now, Nigel." " Well it turns out it's good, old-fashioned gunpowder." " Are you sure?" " No doubt about it." " Potassium nitrate, sulfur..." " Fantastic." "I'll definitely buy it." " To find something new." " Yes." "Do you find that as well?" "Yeah." "Need to focus though." "It was nice to meet you anyway." " Thanks very much." "Thank you." " Thank you." "Where the hell did you go?" "So, what?" "We're gonna play some sort of game now?" "Isn't that what we've been doing all along?" "Potassium nitrate." "Otherwise known as gunpowder." "Perfect for making marks on walls spontaneously burst into flame." "Over here we have protein." "Actually, it's a constituent of protein." "Sulfur." "Good boy." "Sulfur and carbon." "Let's see." "Oh, yeah." "That makes charcoal." "Artist's charcoal." "Perfect for writing on walls." "Okay." "All right." "So, I faked some stuff." "The tire on my car?" "And the fountain, when I was a girl?" " How did you know about that?" " I do my homework." "I tried to tell you." "I wanted to explain, but you wouldn't listen to me!" " You better leave." " Listen." "Mary there is something going on in this house." "All right?" "The first time..." "Upstairs." "Yeah." "I faked it." "But the second time..." "That was real." "That was something way beyond a few pieces of charcoal." "Something way beyond what a guy in a lab coat will ever tell you." "I thought you were smarter than this, Simon." "I thought for a moment you were for real." "I don't wanna lose you." "Nothing to hide, right?" "All right, so I faked some stuff." "Flut the second time..." "That was real." "I tried to tell you." " I wanted to explain, but you wouldn't listenl" " Please stop!" "That's how he got the gunpowder in here." "Come on." "There's more." "Watch him carefully." "Regurgitation." " Right out of Houdini." " That's how he does it." "Watch his hand." "It took me a while to figure that one out." "Magnetic pulse transmitter." "I found it sewn in the bottom of his mattress." "That would totally fuck with my equipment." "I thought I saw him with one of the movers." "He must have paid him to put it there." "God knows what other tricks he's got hidden around here." "I'm sorry." "I just really wanted it to be true." "Hey." "Forget about it." "You weren't being yourself." "You're right." "I wasn't." "I was weak, and he was..." "Hot." "Little liar." "Sweet little liar." "I really thought he was special." "For what it's worth, so did I." "For a minute there." "Just a minute." "How about we head over to Eliot's?" "Get a pizza, some vino de la casa forget about the phony little fraud." "I'm not a fraud." " Get the fuck out of here." " You..." "You don't understand." "And you never will." "Mary..." "I'm supposed to be here." "This house... it wants me." "It's chosen me." "Me." "It's always about you, isn't it?" " Always you." " Yes!" "It's about me!" "I told you I had a gift, and it was taken away." "But I've got it back now." "I've got it back, and I'm not gonna let it get taken away again." "So I'm gonna prove it to you." "I'm gonna prove it once and for all." "You can stop now, Simon." "Oh, please." "When I'm through, you're gonna beg to write my story." "And it's gonna be bigger than any book you've ever written." "Do you know why?" "Because it's all true." "Fine." "Then you write it." "Right." "No tricks." "We can't just leave him here." "Why don't we call the cops?" "Tell them there's a burglar." "Little bastard." "At it again." "Jesus Christ." "You gotta hear this." "Oh, my God." "We're in the middle of an intersection." "I understand now." "That's what this house is an intersection of the dead." "The dead have highways highways that lead to intersections intersections that spill over into our world." "He's led us to a crossroads." "He's not the one doing this." "It's you." "Stop!" "Mary!" "Simon." "Stop!" "I had been completely stripped." "I even had studs in my ears." "My hair brushed through the candle flame." "Help me." "Please help me!" "Tell them you'll listen." "Listen to what?" "Please help me!" "Help me." "Mary, help me, please." "Please." "You really don't understand, do you?" "They've been waiting for someone to listen." "For someone to hear their stories." "I promise we will listen." "And I will tell your stories to the world." "She had made them a promise." "A promise I would have to keep." "And their stories kept coming." "Day after day night after night." "She kept me locked in the estate she bought with all the money she made from her books reading my skin." "Let us continue." "She said I would be their book and she would be their translator copying down their stories." "The stories they wrote on me." "And I couldn't take it anymore." "So I ran and ran and I ran." "But still, they kept writing." "And they keep writing." "You know what?" "You tell a good story, friend." "But sad to say, I'm not moved." "I don't feel anything." "Be quick." "Got the money?" "Of course." "Neatly done." "Suitable for framing." "Uh-huh." "The stories go on." "Who's there?" "What the..." "Help me." "Help me!" "Help!" "Get me out!" "Help!" "Help!" "The stories go on." "They bleed and bleed." "The dead have highways." "Only the living are lost." "Flut there are signposts and bridges where the dead will stop to tell you their stories because the telling will relieve them of the tale." "And it would be best to listen."