The Haunted House.v2 (Bill, Julian)

Hook: The old, abandoned Marsh house sits alone on the outskirts of Boulder City. Its chilling past is told in whispers around the campfires late at night. Murder, suicide, ghosts. Every year around Halloween, it becomes the topic of dares and displays of bravado. Two kids went missing last night. Did the Marsh ghosts finally claim another victim? 

Oct 31^st, 1986- the Witching Hours:

Joshua Hutsenpilar, 14yo Bookworm (Julian): Joshua strapped the last piece of painted cardboard armor onto his arm as he stumbled out the door to join the other kids trick-or-treating (TOT). [Tinker 0] As he stopped to pick up a piece when it fell off, Randy and his bully crew chided, “What are you supposed to be?!” Joshua proudly claimed, “Optimus Prime… the Transmorpher I bought last summer.” Darrel corrected, “You mean ‘Optimus Dork’.” Randy leaned in to whisper, “You’re too old for TOTing. Wanna join us TPing some houses?” Joshua declined, “But I can share my candy with you later.”

Jimmy Bunyard, 14yo Hick (Bill): Jimmy’s magician act was bombing as he went door-to-door. His squirting flower NOT well received. Changing to a card trick earned him some candy. He stumbled on a painted piece of cardboard on the sidewalk, “Wonder what this was supposed to be?” Soon he found the other kids of the group. It wasn’t long till they came upon a backed-up line of kids on the sidewalk.

Frank Stone, 13yo Computer Geek (Thomas): Frank grounded…again. [Thomas lost internet and couldn’t join us.]

Louis Mitcrat, 13yo Popular Kid (Pascal): Louis…missing. [Pascal had a family emergency and couldn’t join in.]

The bullies were exacting a toll on the trick-or-treaters, “Give us some of your loot if you want to get to the rich folk’s houses with all those full-size candy bars.” Joshua worked his way to the front of the line and dug out all his candy-corn balls, “You can have these if you’ll let the younger kids through.” Jimmy stepped forward to hand over the new toothbrushes Dr. Kanine was passing out, “You said loot, not specifically candy.” And that’s when a parent across the street stepped out of her house, “What are you kids doing over there?” Darrel nudged Randy, “Come on man, let’s ditch these losers and get on over to the Marsh place.” Darrel shoved Jimmy down as they left.

It wasn’t long before they came upon Ben Sanders (in his members only jacket) surrounded by an audience. “I’ll bet $10 for anyone to enter the old Marsh house and stay the night. But I’ll need evidence… pictures of the inside.” Joshua whispered to Jimmy and Frank, “That must be why Randy and his gang were headed to the place.” Joshua boldly called out to Ben, “What would you pay for a picture of a ghost?!”

Sidewalk Chatter: Jimmy gasped, “You seriously plan to go there?!  Please don't tell me you’re bringing your violin? I mean, I like your music but... well, sometimes those screechy strings CAN sound like ghosts wailing.” Joshua took that as an invite, “I can certainly bring my violin. Maybe find a small battery-operated amp (that fits in a backpack) to enhance the sound.”

Jimmy asked, “Have you seen Louis? It sure would be nice to have an athlete along. Not that I need a bodyguard or I'm afraid of ghosts, but nice to know we would have a strong body kid in the group. I wonder if his baseball teammates are still hassling him about his Transmorpher comic books?”

Frank confided, “Mom says that if I don't do anything else to get grounded for 2 weeks, she may let me get the music synthesizer sidecar for my computer. Devo has been doing some cool stuff with synths that I want to try. Of course, she went on to explain me hanging out with the "wrong crowd" is what gets me into trouble. But she admitted I've been changing but still have to be careful about the bad influences in my life.”

Nov 1^st/School: Back to the grind of school and Mrs. Farlan expecting their presentations about their “biggest fears.” Frank leaned in to the others as he confided, “Just as I feared, I said to much to mom last night and got grounded. Can’t join you at the Marsh house. When she said you guys were bad influences, I said sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I asked her if she forgot about the dinosaurs and the robots and the Russians; and that's when she sent me to my room without supper. Grounded. I think she's just worried I might start smoking marijuana. She put one of those Nancy Reagan, "Just Say No" brochures in my lunch box today.”

Finn Cooper (Jock) was sweating as he was called to the front of the class (didn’t do the work), “Ugh, homework! That’s my biggest fear.” At least he got a laugh from his classmates. Other kids stepped forward and made-up stuff. 

Of course, Erica Sanders and her twin brother Ben were ready… with posters and Erica’s brand-new Compaq Deskpro 386 to display other images. Show offs!  Joshua’s turn, “Snakes. Legless yet they can move. How do they do that?! And their tongues, flicking in and out like that.” Jimmy had spent the night eating his candy, so of course his report decided on-the-spot, “Authority! I mean think of all the calamities we kids have had to deal with all because Loop adults wield all the authority. Someone should be in jail!” Mrs. Farlan spoke up, “Jimmy, see me after class.”

Announcement: And that’s when the room speaker blared, “Attention students. If you know a Randy, Joey, Darrel, or Louis Mitcrat, please come to the office.” Red and blue lights reflected thru the room windows from the police car outside. “Uh oh, what’d they do?! Do you think Louis got bullied into egging some houses?” A few kids left for the office as a convenient excuse to avoid their forgotten assignment. Joshua and Jimmy went as concerned kids. Joshua tried to avoid his father’s stare [school principal] as the police questioned the string of kids. Officer Johnson explained what he knew, “The listed boys are missing. Not at home nor arcade or other known hangouts. When did you last see them?”

Joshua glanced at his father as he told, “We didn’t join them , but Randy and his goons said they were going to TP houses before heading out to the old Marsh house.” Jimmy tried to nudge him, “Ix nay… no fink a, TP say.” Johnson looked at Jimmy, “You have something to add, son?” “Uh, no sir. Other than Louis didn’t join us trick-or-treating. We did run into the others as they… asked other kids for some candy… since they weren’t in costume.”

After School Library: It was a somber after-school gathering, “Do you think they really went to the Marsh house? What’s so spooky about it anyway?” Jimmy offered, “We could research at the library. Maybe even find pictures of the place. Inside pictures to earn that bet from Ben.” [Investigate] They found articles about the late 1800s Marsh family. The house abandoned in 1929 soon after the death of Mrs. Elizabeth Marsh (suicide) that followed the death of their lone child, Alice. “Suicide?! I’m not feeling so brave now about visiting that house.” [Contact] Joshua offered, “Maybe Ellen Woods (video store clerk) knows about it. I mean, the store has all kinds of spooky movies.”

Video Store: The store was still decorated for Halloween as the Addams’s Family House and Ellen still in costume as Morticia Addams. “Sure, I know about that old house. It was a high school thing in my days. Middle school now? Damn, you kids are brave. Classic horror house.” Joshua asked if Ellen could provide helium balloons and a sheet for his fake ghost prop per Ben’s ghost bet. Ellen revealed, “Save your money. There ARE ghosts in the place. I didn’t see them, but classmates swear THEY did. Story goes, creepy old man Oded Marsh killed his family per occult ritual stuff.” Ellen was NOT instilling confidence in the boys’ plan to check out the place as the last known whereabouts of Louis and the bullies.

Joshua talked Ellen into loaning her polaroid camera, and she even scrounged up old pictures other kids took inside the house for Jimmy in case he didn’t brave taking his own. “We’ll also need extra film, flash bulbs, rope, first aid kit, snacks, water, …” Jimmy added, “Change of underwear.” Yeah, they were not riding off with a lot of confidence or bravery.

4:30pm, Marsh House: It was a half-hour bike ride east of town to the isolated house beyond Charlie Gate. They rode down the dirt road, thru the canopy of trees lining it, till they came to a clearing. Eerie, spooky! [Investigate] “Can you feel it? The entire clearing is void of grass and weeds or brush. As if the house the center of death! I don’t even hear crickets or insects or birds! Not sure what color the house was originally painted, but it looks faded…the color of blood!” Joshua called out, “Over here! I found their bikes! Three plus Louis’ BMX. Footprints lead toward the house.” [Condition] But that’s when Jimmy gasped, “Did you see that?! I swear I saw a face up in the 2^nd floor window!” [Lead] Joshua tried to calm him, “What are you talking about, all the windows are boarded shut.”

They walked the grounds to confirm all windows boarded and no footprints around the back door (coming or going). Just the muddy prints up to the front porch, that creaked as they crossed it. “Let’s just call out once inside, snap a few pictures and get out of here. It’s 2 hours till sunset and I’ve just got a bad feeling.” The door unlocked. “LOUIS! Randy, Joel. Darrel, you guys better not be trying to scare us. You’re already in trouble at home.” Silence. Not even the scamper of mice. Dust coated everything, leaving a nice trail of the other boys’ path. The Livingroom was complete with an old couch, piano, and Marsh family portrait over the fireplace mantle. As Joshua checked a side office, Jimmy bravely called out for the girl-in-the-window he thought he saw, “Alice?” Dumb move as she answered with a childish giggle, “Come play with me.” Jimmy recoiled as he blurted, “Damn it Randy! You guys quit trying to scare us. You succeeded, OK?! Come on out and let’s go,”

And that’s when a single piano key sounded. Jimmy bravely checked inside the piano for mice droppings around the wires as explanation. None. Now Jimmy was starting to convince himself Alice real…as a ghost. Joshua broke his daze, “I found a locked desk.” [Tinker 3] Jimmy used his multi-tool to ‘jimmy’ it open.

They flipped to the last page of the journal within the desk. “Doesn’t sound like Oded killed his family. He longs for them. Crap, he mentions a ritual… longing to become a family once more. Can occultists resurrect someone?! Sounds like we need to go to the basement.” Now Jimmy questioned, “Are we trying to solve the Marsh riddle or find our friends?! Alice, if you’re there, PLEASE provide a clue.”

Careful what you ask for: As they found a closet under the stairs that suggested a hiding space behind, they heard footsteps upstairs. Which prompted more calls for “Louis, Randy?! Alice?” Joshua pulled a black robe from the closet, adorned with ornaments and green-glowing symbols to imply cultist runes. As he checked the pockets, he recoiled at the feel, then sight of snakes slithering up his arms! He tripped over backwards as he scrambled away, “Get them off!” But Jimmy saw nothing, “What’s going on? There’s nothing there.” But Joshua was adamant, “I swear I saw…he quickly snapped a picture hoping to capture the fading retreat of the snakes. As they both stood looking at the picture to develop as Joshua shook it in the air, both squealed as they saw a face in the mirror before them. “Randy, if you’re playing games… I swear I’ll punch you in the face!”

Upstairs Bedrooms: They continued to hear movement upstairs. It was a slow climb as every step creaked and echoed through the frightful house. Sight of more muddy prints implied kids went up and down the stairs drew more calls, “Randy, Louis!” Answered by a quiet “Shush”. Jimmy yelled, “Quick, take a picture…she’s over my shoulder.” The picture was void except for an empty hallway that revealed three bedroom doors.

The first room a guest room with a folded card on the nightstand, “Honored guest…a call to the basement. Do you recognize that handwriting? Too neat penmanship to be Randy or his boys.”

And that’s when they heard a childish cough (hacking and wet sounding as if influenzas?) from the next room. A child’s bedroom, complete with toys and small canopy poster bed, with a dresser lined with porcelain dolls… that all turned their heads toward Joshua and Jimmy as they entered! “Did, did they just turn their heads?!” The last notes from a musical windup box sounded. “Must have been our foot vibrations triggered it. Joey probably wound it as a prank.” Joshua moved toward the window, “Is this where you thought you saw a face?"

And that’s how he saw the ghostly woman standing out in the grassless yard. “Click!” He shook the picture as it developed. “Got her! There’s a ghost in the picture!” Jimmy found Alice’s diary in her nightstand. “Childish handwriting. Says she’s sick, not well, and mommy told her to stay in bed.” And that’s when Joshua pulled out snacks and laid them on the bed as offering, “For you, Alice.” Joshua felt the tug on his sleeve and heard the childish giggle, “Let’s play in the basement.”

Joshua was first out the door, whether in retreat or following the girl’s request... the door slammed in Jimmy’s face. Locked inside, Jimmy screamed, “Let me out, let me out!” Panic took over as he struggled… only to learn Joshua was on the other side of the door providing the restraint to either opening the door. Once open, Jimmy rushed past and down the stairs, “Alice, you better play nice. We’ve come for our friends but also to help your family. Prove your dad innocent of murder if that the case.”

Basement: They found the basement door in the kitchen. They also found the missing kids’ footprints. Flashlight beams danced across the walls as they cautiously descended. The room littered with cans, and discarded material, and furniture stored away. A thick coat of dust on everything, which revealed the kids’ prints stopping at a wall. Just enough draft to confirm passage hidden behind. Jimmy pulled out his rope and tied it to the stair banister. When Joshua looked puzzled, Jimmy offered, “Haven’t you seen the movie Poltergeist? And the dad tying off a rope to go into the closet to rescue his daughter. Well, I don’t know what’s beyond that wall, but I plan to be ready.”

Joshua found the stone trigger that opened the wall section. Tunnels led into a network of sewer lines beneath the house. Jimmy questioned per his Arkansas hick country living, “The house so isolated, you’d think they’d just have a septic tank.” Jimmy wedged the wall-section open before following Joshua who was already standing on the walkway spanning the sewer tunnel floor. “Must be water leaching from Lake Mead.” And that’s when he saw the Converse sneaker floating in the swirling eddy of murky water. “That looks like Louis’! LOUIS! Where are you?!” Darkness lay before them, their flashlights cast eerie shadows in every corner.

Joshua retreated for the basement before returning with a rake to test the depth of the water. Waist high. But he also stirred up a Walkman that floated to the top. He grabbed it, “It’s Randy’s and his mixed tape of 1986 recordings.” Jimmy excited, “Keep it as evidence and blackmail against the bully!” They inched further into the sewers. And that’s when something rose out of the waters and grabbed Joshua’s ankle! A woman rose from the water wielding an axe while screaming, “You eight-legged freak! You won’t get me!” Joshua parried with his rake. Jimmy managed to grab his friend and pull him to safety as the woman swung wildly. “I thought it was Mrs. Marsh till I saw her lab coat. I’d recognize that Loop emblem anywhere!”

Final Destination: But they weren’t out of harm’s way yet… the woman climbed onto the walkway and limped forward in pursuit. “Click!” Jimmy took a picture to blind her as they rushed further into the sewer system. The woman’s voice soon trailed behind. “What was that all about? 8-legged freak?” And that’s when the tunnel gave way to a sterile room lit to the side of the sewers. They stepped into it and found a Loop lab with all its electronics and computer racks, and secret projects. Tempered glass windows, radiating a spider web of cracks, separated them from a lab room within. It’s access door hacked open from the inside. Scrapes and punctures suggested the lab woman used her axe to escape the room. Jimmy tried to peer through the damaged glass, “I can’t make out what’s inside. No movement. There are tall metal cylinders set vertically in the back.” They edged into the lab, “Louis?”

A man stepped forward, “Just in time for the ritual. You, the final needed components. I know what you fear the most. Join me now and I’ll remove all those fears.” Jimmy questioned, “Mr. Marsh? Oded? But you’re too young to be… are you stuck in limbo? Purgatory for your sins of killing your family?” Joshua was no help in the confrontation as he dealt with visions of snakes pouring forth from every corner of the lab, out of beakers, and boxes. Jimmy too began to see images of Wolfman, and vampires, and other horrific things. The man continued his cultist words, “You/we can bring back my beloved Elizabeth and our child Alice.”

CLIMAX

Jimmy (wrongfully) reasoned Oded was about to conclude his ritual spell of re-incarnation. The cylinders in the back room (labeled ‘Quarantine Zone’) some kind of cryogenic gas containers that held his wife and daughter in status. I mean, as he inched closer, he read their inscription that started with “K’. Isn’t that how you spell Kryogenic? He didn’t bother reading the rest…K.R.U.E.G.E.R, and the smaller words Kinetically Regulated Unit with Extreme Gas Enhanced Response.

It wasn’t till he found another fire-axe and charged forward to puncture the cylinders that he heard the warning alarm, “WARNING! Gas leak in Lab. Emergency Protocol. Turn On Fans.”

Meanwhile, Joshua realized the man not Oded per his Loop lab coat. He thrust with his rake, “Where’s Louis and the other kids?!” But the scientist (who played the part of Oded when needed) was in his own hallucinated state, “You’re friends will join us shortly… becoming one with the offering.” And that’s when Joshua could hear the pounding from a door further back, and see faces planted against its small viewing window, “LET US OUT!”

Both kids and adults were suffering hallucinations from the leaking gas. Made worse by Jimmy’s actions. Jimmy saw his friends behind prison bars, and Joshua wielding a police baton as threat to their release. Joshua tip-toed around the floor covered in snakes. The scientist exclaimed, “It wasn’t failure, I passed my math classes! My degree official.”

But they had enough good sense…

Jimmy found duct-tape and began repairing his damage and even the original cylinder leaks.

Joshua found the fan controls and flipped them to the “ON” position.

Huge fans began to ventilate the room. Long minutes, before the lab-coated scientist shook his head, “What’s going on?” And the axe-wielding woman entered, “What happened?” And in the background, over the loud sound of the fans, the kids pounded on their prison cell door, “Let us out!” Randy was crying and sniveling about ants-in-his-pants; Darrel still in the throes of his mummies vision; Joey’s wolfman vision; Louis being benched during a game.

Joshua stepped forward to the cannisters and read their label. He understood. “Really?! Some hallucinogenic gas to evoke visions of Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Freddy Krueger?!”

The woman scientist explained, “The government paid us to create this psychological, hallucination gas as a potential battlefield deterrent.” Her male supervisor shut her up, “You kids have heard enough. We thank you for rescuing us, but we’ll take it from here.”

EPILOGUE

Joshua praised the scientists for their eerie production, “Instead of hiding the house, you should convert it into an amusement site. Think of all the visitors and data you would collect.”

[Sneak 3] With the male scientist distracted, Jimmy removed his flashbulb to take a few pictures in silence. Evidence against authority to add to his collection stored in their Hideout.

Once the gas was completed cleared, and lab sensors confirmed, the kids, to include Louis and the bullies, were escorted out of the tunnels and back to the March house and their bikes.

Fade-out…

Joshua handed Randy his Walkman, “I think you dropped this. Don’t worry, I didn’t listen.” Randy paused to consider, “You know Hutsenpilar, you’re not so bad after all. Dad says I should grow up,…” Joshua was surrounded in school as Ben paid him off, “I can’t belief you actually stayed in the house. And even got pictures! Is that really a ghost? Weren’t you scared?!” All of the other kids crowded around to see. Suddenly, Joshua the most popular kid in school.

Jimmy stuffed his $30 into his pants knowing he’d spend it on more parts for his and Alvin’s robot MOTO. As the kids surrounded Joshua, Jimmy announced, “You can thank Joshua for convincing the Loop to construct a new amusement park, complete with a haunted house. It was Joshua’s idea to include the mummy, wolfman, and spiders as main attractions.” The other kids swarmed Joshua closer, “Do you think you can get us free passes?” Later, at their Hideout, Jimmy showed the lab pictures to the others before locking them in the evidence box. Jimmy patted Joshua on the back, “You saved my butt out there, man. And here I thought I was the oldest and wisest.”

Local news told of the missing boys found at the Marsh house but left out any incriminating facts about Loop/DARPA involvement. Within months, the old Marsh house was razed to the ground, condemned as too dangerous. Yet within months, the papers and billboards announced ground-breaking at a new site for the construction of Boulder’s first amusement park “to rival Disneyland’s offerings.”

BEHIND THE SCREEN

The Marsh house was a historical site complete with the old ghost stories and questionable history of suicide and an occult minded father. The Loop just expanded on its history.

When The Loop was built in the ‘60s, DARPA bought the site as an above-ground access point for their underground secret laboratory, linked by the old sewage system that ran underneath. In addition to their lab experiments, they rigged the house with its own security system of ‘ghosts’ to scare people away. But instead of scaring them, it drew them. Which created another opportunity to study subjects exposed to their experiments. The security system updated with extremely high- and low-pitched sounds (imperceptible to the human ear but by the mind) from hidden speakers that caused the immense sense of dread. Chemicals poured into the ground outside killed off plants grow near the house to add to the eerie feel. The chemicals and the high-pitched sounds caused animals and insects to avoid the place.

But the scientists didn’t plan well for the canister leak. Now they exposed and dealing with their own fears. And the gas slowly working its way thru the tunnels and into the house, affecting all within. The security system ‘ghosts’ amplified in the minds of the kids.