Script - So Far

• Here is the next version of the script.
• Script 2020-03

Original Show - Abandoned

Everyone is asking about the show. At this point I don't know what will happen. It really all depends on how long we are out of the school, and also what restrictions are put on us for group numbers when we return. It has only been announced that the schools will be closed until the end of this week, but I don't see us going back next week either. I don't know how long we will be out. Right now I am going to finish off the script and get that out to you. Once that is done I can think about casting. Whatever happens, it will be very tight to get it done during the rest of the school year. It won't go ahead on the proposed dates, because that is too soon, but depending on when we go back it might be able to be rescheduled for sometime in June. Let me know if you have any other thoughts.

Show Outline

Abandoned

Characters & Outline

Characters

The Teens

Caroline/Carson - The writer who wants to go the mansion overnight to "get the feel" of the place for a story.

Sam - The Photographer

Charlie - The Bully (Former Gang Member)

Cameron - The Big Sister

Tamsen - Nerdy Tumblr Nut

Michael/Michaela - Popular TikTok Star

Jayden - The Prank Artist

Gang Members

Dakota (Knuckles) - The Leader

August (Gusty) - Second in Command

Jo (JJ) - The Rebel

Storm (Scaredy Cat) - The Reluctant Gang Member

Christian (Crusty) - The Orphan

Riley (Reno) - The Klutz

Flashback

Arnold - The superficial family man (Father and counterfeit money criminal!)

Margaret - The ostentatious mother

Bernadette (Bernie) - The insubordinate daughter who is being pursued by two suitors.

Elizabeth - Bernie’s younger sister who wants Bernie to marry soon so that she too can have suitors.

Louis Cropper II - The less obnoxious suitor (Wants to become Bernie’s husband.)

Sir Mortimer Finnetry - The obnoxious suitor (Forcing Arnold to let him marry Bernie because he is a partner in the counterfeit operation.)

The Servants

• Gilbert Dwyer - In love with Bernie, but can never marry her because he is a servant.
• Eileen Berryman - Mute servant to Bernie.

Extras for Ballroom Scene - Fancy Dresses & Tuxedos

The Film Crew

Security Guard 1

Security Guard 2

Ghostly Figure 1 - Actor playing Bernadette (Bernie)

Ghostly Figure 2 - Actor playing Sir Mortimer Finnetry

FX1 - Special Effect Crew

FX2 - Special Effect Crew

Outline

Set Description

Our story is set in an old Victorian mansion. There is a central staircase leading up to a landing with stairs going up out of sight on both the right and left sides. Between the stairs is a large plate glass window, with some of the panes of glass broken. To the left of the central stairs is an opening leading off to another room, only part of which can be seen. Further to the left are shelves for the library area of the main room. Above the bookshelves are windows to the outside. A hallway leading off to another part of the house is to the left of the bookshelves. To the right of the central staircase, just behind the living room, is another hallway leading off to other parts of the house. In front of that hallway on the right there are another couple of steps down to the main living room area. There is a large fireplace, and old tattered furniture. Beyond the fireplace there is a large, ornate mirror hanging on the wall. A small table with a chair sits in front of the mirror. There are old paintings hung on the walls, the wallpaper is peeling everywhere, and the bookshelves are starting to collapse on one another. In amongst the bookcases is a plaque with an old gun mounted on it. Everything appears to be dusty and just not quite in place. There are books and papers scattered around the floor in the corners, and there is some graffiti on the walls. There is also a large section of the wall that has been scorched by fire.

Further details on the setting can be worked out with the design team. Possibly along these lines.

Scenes

1. In the blackout a glow can be seen from the upper stairs offstage to the right. A ghostly figure appears (Ghostly Figure 1) and moves down the stairs towards the library area. The figure opens a secret panel of books and takes out another single book. The figure sits down at the desk in the library area and begins to write in the book. Voices are heard off stage from the main level hallway just behind the living room. The ghostly figure puts the book back and goes up the stairs, just as a group enters with flashlights.
2. The gang enters from the library hallway. Dakota is carrying a paper bag full of money. JJ, Storm and Christian are complaining about having to make their exchanges here in this creepy place. Riley of course really quite likes it in the old mansion. (Riley is not too bright!) It’s restful he/she says. They joke about the people who died here that are all getting a lot of rest now! Dakota and August say that the creepiness is exactly the point. No one wants to come in here. It is perfect for them. Even the police are afraid of the ghost stories about the Old Thorburne Mansion! Dakota pulls out some money and gives it to each of the complainers and tells them that that should give them a bit more courage. They notice a flashlight in the living room hallway and remark that it’s probably those security people who are trying to keep people out of abandoned buildings and house around the city. They should go somewhere else in the mansion. The gang turns off their flashlights and go up the stair to the left. (Opposite of the ghostly figure.) The ghostly figure returns from the opposite stairway and looks at the stairs where the gang just left. The figure goes back up the stairs as the teens enter.
3. The teens come into the room and spread out to look around. They marvel at the fact that they are actually in the mansion where all of those people died! Caroline/Carson is excited about finally having a chance to look around get some inspiration for his/her writing. Michael/Michaela and Jayden are worried about making it all the way through the night, as now that they are here it is a lot creepier that they thought it would be. As well they are worried about the strange stories, ghost stories, they’ve heard about this place. Charlie and Tamsen quietly conspire to play on their fears and they do something to scare Michael/Michaela and Jayden. Cameron, being the motherly one of the group tells Charlie and Tamsen to knock it off. Even so, Tamsen lunches into stories about some of the strange things that have happened to people who have come into the mansion. At the end of talking about the strange things they hear a sound from the same hallway where they came in. They all hide and two security guards come through with flashlights. The guards do not see any of them and continue on to another part of the house.
4. After they are sure the guards have left, the kids talk about how large the mansion is, and that hopefully they won’t see the security guards again for a while. From their talk we find out that the mansion itself is much larger than what we can actually see on stage. There is a greenhouse, stables, another wing for the servants quarters, and a summer house by a lake on the other side of the property which does not seem to be in ruins like the main house. The teens then talk about the dare that brought them to the mansion. We find out that Caroline/Carson wanted to come here for writing inspiration. He/she wants to write a ghost story about the old mansion, maybe even a history, but not much is really know about the place other than a lot of people died here in a fire. The Thorburne’s kept all of their affairs very quiet for some reason. There is of course all sorts of speculation. Caroline/Carson, along with Sam, decided to stay the night in the structure to “get a feel” for the place. The others in their group did not think they would be able to last for the whole night, considering all the stories about what has happened. Now, on a dare, they are all staying for the night.
5. The group wants to go explore the mansion, but Caroline/Carson wants to look around the library. The rest of the group convinces Caroline/Carson to join them and they head off out the library hallway using their flashlights to light the way. Michael/Michaela and Jayden also were not keen on exploring as they are now finding this whole experience a bit creepy! There is silence on stage in the darkness. Then we see two people come into the room from the upper left stairs in the darkness. They move around and one finally says it it clear. They turn on their lights. It is Dakota and August from the gang. They gesture for the others to come in. There is a conversation about who the teens could possibly be. August thinks that he/she thought one of the voices was Charlie, who used to be in the gang. Dakota declares that no one is going to move in on their territory and that they will have to do something about it. Maybe make an example of them. Riley demonstrates what he/she could do to them, revealing that Riley really is quite a klutz. Storm suggests trying to scare them off before doing anything more drastic. Save doing something that might attract the police’s attention as a later resort. Dakota likes the idea of scaring them. They decide to go search for the teens. They split up. One group goes upstairs and the other goes out the living room hallway.
6. Caroline/Carson returns alone and goes over to the library area. He/she looks through the books. Some are falling apart from age, and some are burnt. Caroline/Carson pulls a a book and starts to read to herself. She settles in at the library table. Cameron comes in and explains that she though she would find Caroline/Carson back here. Cameron says that he/she should not be alone, but Caroline/Carson says that he/she will be fine, just here reading. He/she wants to get started on an outline for the story about the house. Cameron argues that seeing the entire house would help with the story, but Caroline/Carson says that seeing what is in their library also tells a story. Cameron finally relents and says that Caroline/Carson should just stay here then and not wander on his/her own. Cameron exits. As Caroline/Carson is looking through the books the same ghostly figure (Ghostly Figure 1) appears at the top of the stairs. Caroline/Carson hides around the corner in the library area. The ghost comes down the stairs, but this time it is followed by another figure (Ghostly Figure 2). The second figure comes up behind the first, and taps her on the shoulder. As the first figure turns around the second plunges a knife into her stomach. Caroline/Carson is horrified, and stifles a scream, then runs off down the hallway to the left of the library. There is a brief blackout. Caroline/Carson comes back to find there is nothing there in the living room. Both figures are gone! He/she starts calling for the others to come back. There are voices from the upper stairs, but when they come on stage it is not Caroline/Carson’s group, but rather the gang. Caroline/Carson starts to back away from the gang coming down the stairs but is caught by the gang coming back in from the living room hallway! They are upset that Caroline/Carson is in their mansion. They question why he/she is there and start to push him/her around. As Caroline/Carson gets roughed up he/she is pushed against the bookcase, opening up the secret panel where the book in the first scene is hidden. Just before they start to really beat up Caroline/Carson, the other teens return. There is a bit of an altercation between the two groups. It is especially heated between Charlie (the former gang member and Dakota.) The altercation is broken up when they hear the voices of the security guards coming back. The teens manages to run off and/or hide, as does Dakota, but the rest of the gang are captured by the security guards. The guards tells them that they will escort them off the property, and they are not to come back! The teens all return as Dakota threatens them and then leaves.
7. They ask Caroline/Carson what happened. Caroline/Carson starts to tell them about the murder he/she witnessed in the living room area. The others can’t believe it, and say that the murder was just his/her imagination playing games. The fact that Dakota remains though is very concerning. Dakota has a bad temper and can be really violent. Who knows what Dakota might do to them. Micheal/Michaela and Jayden are quite upset about this. Cameron tries to reassure them, but Charlie is still quite worried about Dakota. The group wants to search for Dakota, but Caroline/Carson thinks they should all stay together. It is decided that five of them will go searching, and Caroline/Carson along with Sam (the photographer) will stay behind. The five leave and Sam starts to take some pictures of the room while Caroline/Carson looks around the library. Caroline/Carson finds the secret compartment, looks in and finds the book from the first scene. He/she pulls it out, opens it up and begins to read. Caroline/Carson tells Sam that it seems to be a diary about the owners of the house. He/she gets very excited because this could clear up some of the mystery behind the mansion! They settle in to the library area and begin to read aloud. As they read the scene does a flashback to the story they are reading about.
8. The lighting changes and Flashback Scene #1 takes place. (Note: Eileen is always somewhere in the flashback scene. We will find out at the end that it is Eileen who was the writer of the diary.) Bernie, and some other girls who are staying at the mansion, excitedly come into the room from the living room hallway. They are in the midst of a pillow fight! They are in nightgowns and the girls excitedly tell Bernie how much fun it will be to be staying at the mansion and then going to the ball that they are holding. There is talk about the gowns that they will be wearing as they parade around pretending to already be dressed for the ball. Eileen, Bernie’s personal maid, is standing watch over them and gestures for them to be quieter. Bernie of course ignores her and tells Eileen to be quiet! There is much laughter and the girls find it ironic that Bernie is telling Eileen, who does not speak at all, to be quiet. Finally it gets so loud that Bernie’s mother, Margaret comes in from the top of the stairs and tells them all to be quiet or they will not be able to sleep in the living room. They will all have to go to separate rooms! Bernie promises her mother that they will be good. The girls all settled in to go to sleep, but Bernie says she is going to read for a little bit. She takes a candle and settles in on the couch. Eileen goes up the stairs leaving Bernie reading, and the other girls falling asleep. In the quiet we can see Louis sneaking in from the library hallway. Louis is one of Bernie’s suitors. Louis sneaks up behind Bernie and scares her, but she is not very happy to see him. One of the girls sees the two of them and says that Louis should not be here. Bernie tells her to go back to sleep, or at least pretend that she is asleep! Louis excitedly talks about what their lives will be like after they are married. He is really looking forward to the ball. Bernie explains again that although Louis is a very nice man, she has no intention of getting married. Louis reminds her that it is her father’s decision who she will marry, and he plans on winning her hand over that dreadful, Sir Mortimer Finnetry! Suddenly we hear men’s voices from the living room hallway. It is Bernie’s father Arnold. There is a bit of an argument about the quality of the work. (Arnold is arguing with Mortimer, although we never see Mortimer in this scene, just hear his voice from offstage.) Arnold says it will have to be better! If not, heads will roll! Louis hides in the library area and Bernie quickly goes to the couch and takes up her book. The girl who woke up and saw Bernie and Louis looks up at Bernie and Bernie gestures for her to be quiet as the argument in the hallway is going on. The girl suddenly drops to her pillow and Bernie looks at her book as Arnold comes through the door. Arnold makes a questioning comment about all the girls sleeping in the living room when they have perfectly good beds upstairs, then heads up the stairs himself. As he is going up, without stopping or turning around he says, “Louis go home! I have not yet decided who will marry my daughter! And girls, I think you had best sleep upstairs!” He continues up. The girl who was awake stares at Bernie and Bernie makes a face back at her. They wake the other and go upstairs. Louis exits out the living room hallway.
9. There is a sudden loud crash as the the flashback girls are going up the stairs. They do not react and the lighting changes. Caroline/Carson and Sam jump at the sound. They look around to investigate. As the two of them move to one side of the stage Dakota appears on the other side. The two do not see him/her. Dakota picks up a large board. He/she sets up to make another loud crash. The board slaps to the ground, scaring the two teens. Dakota disappears offstage without the two seeing him/her. They move back towards the library to investigate the second crash. Sam exits down the library hallway. As he/she leaves the second ghostly figure comes in from the main hallway behind the living. The second figure stands in the middle of the living room area looking up at the stairs. The first ghostly figure again comes in from the top of the stairs. The first figure recognizes the second and comes down to greet him/her in the living room. As they move together the second figure pulls out a knife and stabbed the first in the stomach! Caroline/Carson run off down the library hallway to find Sam. There is a brief black out. The five friends who have been looking for Dakota returned to find no one in the room. They speculate as to why their two friends are not around. Tamsen finds the diary lying open on the library table. He/she says that it looks like Caroline/Carson and Sam were reading the diary. Cameron asks what they were reading about. Tamsen begins to read aloud. The scene transitions from the reading to Flashback Scene #2.
10. The lighting changes and we transition to Flashback Scene #2.
    1. Bernie and Gilbert enter from the doorway to the left of the stairs and go to the living room area. Eileen is at the top of the stairs and starts down, but stops and goes back up a couple of steps so that she is listening to what is going on. Gilbert is carrying flowers that he has brought in from the Greenhouse. Once they reach the living room Gilbert gives Bernie the flowers. She explains that she can’t take them, because her mother will know that they are from Gilbert. She takes one flower and goes over to the desk by the mirror. She looks in the mirror and places the flower in her hair. When she returns she starts talking about not wanting to marry either of the two suitors who have come to her father. She particularly doesn’t like Mortimer. There is something not quite right about him, even though her father seems to have some sort of business dealings with him. Louis is nice enough, however she really does not want to get married at all. And, if she did, there is somebody else she would much prefer. Gilbert spends his time trying to get Bernie to name the someone else. Their playful talk leads us to believe that this is a little game of theirs. They know they love each other, but no one can ever say it out loud.
    2. Bernie’s mother and younger sister, Margaret and Elizabeth, enter from the living room stairway. Gilbert immediately stands up and tries to look like he is tidying up the living room. Margaret asks what he is doing and he says that he was just taking away these old flowers and will get new ones from the Greenhouse. Margaret tells him to get on with it then. He exits out the door to the left of the stairs. Margaret heads off out of the library hallway leaving Elizabeth with Bernie. Elizabeth teases Bernie, telling her that everybody knows about her and Gilbert! They get into a bit of an argument about Gilbert and then about Bernie not wanting to get married. Elizabeth is upset because she wants to have suitors, and she can’t until Bernie’s marriage is take care of! Bernie’s snaps back at Elisabeth telling her she knows the real reason is that Elizabeth is upset is because secretly she is in love with Louis! The argument continues, eventually stopping when Arnold and Mortimer enter the room from the library hallway.
    3. Arnold asks what is going on? The two girls curtsy to their father and say that it was just a little disagreement. Elizabeth lies and says they were talking about how big the wedding will be for Bernie and Mortimer. Bernie shoots her an evil look! Arnold reminds Elizabeth that he has not yet decided between Mortimer and Louis for Bernie’s marriage. He then tells the two girls to run along so that he and Mortimer can talk. The two exit leaving Arnold and Mortimer. After the girls have left Mortimer asks when Arnold is going to make his decision. Arnold says it will be soon, but they have other business to discuss right now. He asks Mortimer if he has the new sample. Mortimer pulls out a $100 bill. Arnold goes over to the library table and takes out a magnifying glass examines the bill. He asks Mortimer some questions about the features and the printing of the bill. He finally states that the quality is much better than the last one Mortimer brought him. Mortimer says that no one would ever know that this bill is counterfeit. After thoroughly looking over the bill Arnold agrees. They discuss the arrangements for printing a supply of the $100 bills. At the end they make arrangements for when Mortimer will deliver them. As Mortimer is about to leave he turns back towards Arnold and says that he would like to remind Arnold when making his decision about Bernie’s marriage, Mortimer knows all of Arnold’s secrets! Mortimer then turns and leaves through the living room hallway. Arnold stands for a moment looking quite upset, then turns and goes out the door to the left of the stairs. Eileen goes back upstairs, after having watched everything.
    4. As the flashback scene progresses the teens talk to each other about things that happened in the past. They make comments about the scene they are reading about as it is acted out by the flashback characters. Neither group interacts with the other while both things occur on stage at the same time. Michael/Michaela and Jayden (The TikTok Teens) decide that they are getting bored with hearing about what happened in this house in the past as the flashback scene nears its end. Michael/Michaela and Jayden quietly get up and start to do a video of themselves doing a TikTok dance. The dance occurs in amongst the flashback actors as they finish their scene. Charlie, Cameron and Tamsen are at the library table engrossed in the diary, looking as if they are reading about what we see on the stage. The flashback ends and we transition back to regular lighting as the actors leave the stage.
11. As the lights change back Charlie, Cameron and Tamsen turn and notice the other two dancing. They ask what they are doing. Michael/Michaela and Jayden try to explain the TikTok dance but are cut off when they hear voices coming from the living room hallway. The five turn out their lights and hide as two people come in, FX1 and FX2. (They won’t have names. At the end of the show everyone will just call them FX1 and FX2. We might even have them wear t-shirts with a big “1” & “2” on them!) They both shine their flashlights around the room. FX1 turns to FX2 and says to check the next room while he/she checks in here. FX2 exits through the door between the stairs and the library as FX1 looks around the living room area. He/she silently goes about his/her work and does not see any of the teens. FX2 comes back from the next room and asks if things are ok. Yes, and they both exit the same way they came in. The teens come out from hiding and ask who those people were. They could be security, but weren’t dressed the same. The teens again hear a noise, so they go back to hiding. It is very dark this time because the person entering (Dakota) does not have a flashlight out. Dakota slowly moves around the main level holding what appears to be a baseball bat up. Dakota moves closer to the library area and starts to raise the bat up as if he/she is going to hit something. At that point a strange noise is heard. Dakota stops and looks around. The noise is heard again, and this time it is louder. The noise sounds like a combination of whispers and distant talking, but the voices do not sound like regular human voices. The strange noises grow in intensity, causing Dakota to leave through the same exit he/she entered from. The noises grow and then suddenly stop. There is silence in the darkness, then light from offstage can be seen in the library hallway to the left. The teens hiding in the library area quickly move to a new hiding location, then two people enter shining their flashlights around the room. We finally realize that it is Caroline/Carson and Sam returning. The others are relieved and Caroline/Carson asks why they are all hiding in the dark. They all start to answer at once.
12. Caroline/Carson starts to get frustrated with the others, saying that he/she just wanted to come here to be able to get some inspiration to write and with everything else that has been happening there has been no opportunity to do that. The three teens who were looking at the diary earlier excitedly start to tell Caroline/Carson about the diary they found on the table. Caroline/Carson explains that he/she was looking at that before the gang of teens arrived. They all agree that they should settle in and start to look at the next part of the diary. They make their way down to the living room area, however Michael/Michaela and Jayden hang back from everybody else. Caroline/Carson begins to read. It is about the ball. It talks about how everyone looked, and the music that was being played. People were dancing in the living room area, and others were standing on the main level by the stairs. Flashback people come onto stage to act out what they are hearing from Caroline/Carson reading. Caroline/Carson continues to read. Over on the far side of the library by the hallway Mortimer and Bernie were having a heated discussion. Mortimer had informed Bernie that there was no doubt their marriage would be going forward. He had … convinced her father, but Arnold just had not told her yet. Mortimer then tried to kiss Bernie, which she resisted. In the struggle part of Bernie’s dress was ripped. Caroline/Carson stops reading for a moment to inform everybody that the ghost that she saw had a ripped dress! During all of this Michael/Michaela and Jayden have been mime talking to each other. They have not been paying attention, and decide to sneak up onto the landing between the stairs to film one of their TikTok dances. Caroline/Carson continues to read. Bernie finally broke away from Mortimer and ran to wards the living room where Louis was standing with Gilbert. To Mortimer’s surprise Bernie did not run to Louis, the other suitor, but ran into the arms of Gilbert the servant! Mortimer was furious and realized that Bernie actually loved a lowly servant! Mortimer pulled out a knife that he had in his suit and moved towards the living room. Louis tried to stop Mortimer as he moved down into the living room area, but Mortimer pushed him out of the way. Mortimer then went after Gilbert with the knife to the amazement of the stunned guests. Mortimer kept trying to swipe at Gilbert with the knife, but Gilbert was able to evade him. That’s when Bernie tried to break things up and stepped between the two of them… Caroline/Carson suddenly stops and stares up toward the landing between the stairs. As Caroline/Connor was reading the last part of the story Michael/Michaela and Jaden were up on the landing filming a dance. They did not notice the ghost of Bernie come down the stairs behind them. After they filmed they took a couple of steps down from the landing and looked at their phone. That’s when they realized that the ghost was in the background of their video! They turned around to look and the ghost of Bernie was standing right behind them. That’s what Caroline/Carson saw when suddenly stopping reading. Both Michael/Michaela and Jaden scream, run down the stairs and exit out the living room hallway. The ghost of Bernie goes back up the stairs and exits. Everyone watches Michael/Michaela and Jaden exit except for Caroline/Carson who is the only one that sees the ghost go back up the stairs.
13. Intermission
14. Flashlights can be seen coming from the living room hallway. The two security people, followed by the two effects people enter. The security people comment that it’s good this area is empty. This seems to be one of the places in the mansion the kids like to hang out. The FX people say that those kids better be gone, because that’s what Security has been hired to do. There is no way that their boss will want this place if there are kids always hanging out here. (It has to sound like the people are going to purchase the mansion, rather than use it for a film shoot. This scene is all about misleading our audience.) Security asks what about the fact that people say the mansion is haunted? The effects people say that they haven’t seen any evidence of that on any of their visits. They say they need to keep going to check the East Wing and the greenhouse. They exit through the door to the left of the stairs.
15. Dakota enters from upper left stairs and JJ comes in from the upper right stairs. They meet on the main level at the bottom of the stairs. Dakota says it’s good to seeJJ. JJ comments that they are not going to leave just because some security people say to stay away and there is definitely no way anyone is going to buy this property and scare them away. Dakota says that this is too good a set up for them. JJ asks if the teens are still in the upper west wing? Dakota says yes, he/she was just following them, but they will probably be back soon. Dakota asks where the others are. JJ replies that Christian and Riley are just getting the things they need. JJ is not sure about August and Storm though. August and Storm come through the door to the left of the stairs at that point and say they were out in the greenhouse. They just had to dodge security to get back. JJ asks why the greenhouse? August replies who’s going to expect fresh flowers in an abandoned mansion! Who doesn’t like more flowers? August puts the fresh flowers on the table in front of the mirror. He/she says that they will either be scared by it or know that it is a message from the gang. They are watching! Christian and Riley come down from the upper right stairs. Christian is carrying a very scary looking doll, and Riley has a wolf’s mask under his/her arms. They comment that they need to hurry because they know the teens are on their way back here from looking for their two friends. It is time to put operation scare into affect and be rid of those teenagers for good! Christian asks August if he/she got the Bluetooth speaker they asked for? August says yes and asks what the plan is? Christian says that when he/she was at the orphanage they were always trying to play pranks on the staff. They would set something up that was out of place, and then do a jump scare. It worked every time! Christian says that when the teens arrive back they will a voice saying, “help me, help me.” When they start to look around they will find a creepy doll waiting for them on the couch in the living room. When they go over to investigate Riley jumps up from the other side of the couch wearing the wolf mask, and the teens run from the mansion never to be seen of again! They set everything up, Riley hides on the audience side of the couch, and everybody else goes and hides in the library area. We hear the teens voices coming from the upper left stairway. They start down the stairs but then suddenly stop when they see flashlights coming from the doorway to the on the main level to the left of the stairs. The security people followed by the effects people enter silently. They look around and start to exit out the living room hallway. The security people leave, but just as the effects people are about to go hear “Help me, help me” from the doll on the couch. The effects people go over to investigate. Everything goes exactly as planned with the scare, except it is on the effects people, not the teens. They run from the room down in the living room hallway and Dakota comes out into the middle of the room. Dakota complains that it was a perfect plan, but it was the wrong people! Dakota tells everybody to come on because they have to see what those security people are going to do.
16. The teens, minus Michael/Michaela and Jaden, enter from the upper left stairs. Tamsen asks what was going on? Cameron says that she has not quite sure. It was a lot of commotion but could not make out what was happening. Tamsen and Cameron have been talking as they came into the living room area. Tamsen has not noticed the doll sitting in the couch, and sits down right beside it. He/she turns and suddenly sees it and jumps off the couch and falls onto the floor. Charlie says that it looks like the gang has been here and is trying to send them a message. Sam comments that it’s either that or the ghost of Bernie is now playing pranks! The group talks about the fact that they have not been able to find Michael/Michaela and Jaden. Chances are that the gang pulled some sort of prank and that it worked on Michael/Michaela and Jaden. That is why they left. It would be nice to be able to just text them, but cell service this far out of the city is spotty at best. They will just have to check with them in the morning. Caroline/Carson insists that’s not what happened, but nobody believes him/her. They start to get into an argument over whether or not the mansion is in fact haunted. Everybody points out that Caroline/Carson is the only one that has seen anything. As well, everything can be explained so far as the gang members just trying to scare them away. Charlie says this started out as a dare, but now it’s more than that. He/she is not going to be scared out of the place by the gang. Tamsen walks over to the mirror and says to everybody if the gang is even decorating for them. Tamsen looks in the mirror, and then suddenly his/her reflection changes to a skeleton face girl with a flower in her hair! The image changes back and Tamsen collapses into the chair by the mirror. Cameron turns to ask if everything is all right. Tamsen starts to talk about the image in the mirror, but then a low rumbling sound is heard, as if the house itself is groaning under its own weight. They all look around, and everybody now is a bit more afraid. Tamsen asks Caroline/Carson to “Say again what happened here in the house. It was a young girl who was killed, right?” Caroline/Carson says that the young girl was only the first on the night everything happened. The end result was the fire that happened scorching the bookcases in the library area. Cameron walks over to the scorch marks and starts to rub his/her hand along them and then suddenly the wood starts to glow red, as if it was ready to burst into flames. The glow goes away and returns to the regular scorch marks. Cameron says to Charlie and says that is not something that the gang could do to scare them. Tamsen says that his/her image changing into a ghost in the mirror is also not something the gang could do. Caroline/Carson says that there is definitely no more need for inspiration for a story. He/she has everything they need and then more! They all agree that now is definitely the time to get out of the mansion. As they start to get ready to leave Michael/Michaela and Jayden come through the living room hallway entrance. They are followed by all of the gang members.
17. Michael/Michaela and Jaden have their hands tied behind their back‘s. The gang pushes them down towards the living room area. The teens ask Michael/Michaela and Jayden what happened. They say that they were scared by something they caught on the video from their phone, but when they were running out they ran into the gang. They’ve been held since then. Dakota says that they tried to scare the teens away, but since that didn’t work, it’s now time to move on to other measures. Charlie goes after Dakota. There is a brief struggle between the two, but it is broken up when Riley grabs hold of Charlie. August also helps hold Charlie, and Dakota works him/her over a bit. After pushing Charlie down into the living room Dakota says for everybody else to join them down there. The gang busy themselves with tying up the hands and feet of each of the teens. Dakota tells Charlie that there’s no way that any other gang is going to move into their territory. Cameron says they’re not a gang, they are here to stay in the mansion overnight as a dare. The gang makes fun of them that this is all because of a dare! Caroline/Carson says that it is true. He/she wanted to find out more about the mansion and what happened here for a story. And they found out more than they ever wanted to know from reading the diary on the table, but all they want to do now is leave! The gang asks why? The teens say because the mansion is haunted! The gang makes fun of the teens thinking the place is haunted as Dakota walks over, picks up the diary and reads a bit. Dakota eventually turns to everybody and says “Counterfeiting? Looks like the mansion has a history of illegal activities!” The gang all has a good laugh over that. Dakota says that it looks like it is opened to the spot in the diary where all of the people are killed. It seems that some guy name Mortimer and Gilbert were in a fight when another guy named Bernie stepped between them. Caroline/Garson, corrects Dakota. Bernadette, Bernie is her nickname. Riley says that he/she likes a good story! JJ gets even more excited saying they could act out the story for everybody! Dakota likes the idea and says that Riley should be this Mortimer guy in JJ can be Gilbert. JJ says that he/she really wants to be the dead girl, Bernie. Dakota agrees and says that August can be Gilbert. Dakota looks down in the book and tells them to move down into the living room. Christian wants to know who he/she is going to be, and Dakota says when they get to somebody new Christian can have a role. The teens say that there is not time for this. They really do need to leave because the mansion really is haunted! Dakota begins to read. There was a struggle between Mortimer and Gilbert. Bernie jumped between the two just as Mortimer was about to strike at Gilbert, but instead plunge the knife into Bernie’s stomach. Bernie fell back into Gilbert’s arms as Mortimer try to get out of the living room. He was stopped by Louis at the stairs. Christian it looks like you get to be Louis. Christian and Riley fake struggle at the stairs. Dakota turns to Storm and says that there is a part for an Elizabeth coming up. Storm can be Elizabeth. Arnold, Dakota says it looks like he gets to be Arnold, was so enraged by Mortimer stabbing Bernie that he took out a gun from the library book shelf where he was hanging. Dakota sees that there is in fact a gun on the bookshelf. He picks it up. He picks it up, checks it over and comments that it in fact loaded. Arnold pointed the gun at Mortimer and Louis, struggling by the living room stairway, but just before he pulled the trigger Elizabeth moved in front telling him not to shoot at Louis! He pulled the trigger, (He says bang!) and ending up shooting his own daughter! Storm does a dramatic death! Mortimer had freed himself by stabbing Louis and then pulled out a gun from his jacket that he had been carrying. He fired at Arnold. Arnold was hit and when he fell backwards his gun went off against the bookcase setting it on fire. The gang continues to over dramatically act out all of these actions. Mortimer then fired at Gilbert who was holding the dying Bernie, then made his getaway. The two secret lovers died in each others arms! Dakota says “Awww, Isn’t that nice!” August says, “And the bad guy gets away! That seems pretty good for us!” Dakota continues, Oh, and listen to the last part, it is said that Bernie’s ghost has haunted the mansion ever since! Dakota says that he/she has never seen this Bernie. Caroline/Carson says that he/she has! It’s real and she is here! The gang all starts to call out “Bernie”, “Bernie”, “Are you here Bernie?” One of the gang members has wandered over to the mirror while calling. The mirror changes images to the skeleton ghost with the flower, then back to a mirror, scaring the gang member.
18. The deep rumble starts up again with the distant whispering. All of the lanterns that they have been using during the show dim to black. The stage is now in darkness. Then an echoing voice can be heard, “Dakota… Dakota, now I know your name Dakota!” The ghost image in the mirror becomes quite strong, and now everybody can easily see it. The image points across the room at where Dakota is standing. Behind Dakota in the library the burnt shelving again begins to glow red as if it is on fire. This time the red glow is much stronger, and more of the shelving is lit up. Smoke starts to come out of the shelves. The sound of a crackling fire can be heard from the shelving. It gets louder, and louder. The voice of the ghost of Bernie can be heard talking to all of them now about how nobody believed that she still walked these halls. The actual ghost of Bernie now comes down the right stairs to the landing between the steps going off to both the right and left sides. Her clothing and hair seem to flow around her. Two more figures draped in black join her from the steps on either side behind her. “We all died in this room and now walk these halls. And now Dakota you and your friends would join us!” The ghost of Bernie raises her arms as she is saying this, then suddenly gestures towards the library as if tossing something in that direction. A loud sound is heard and flames burst out in the library area and can be seen through the windows above the library book shelves. Two more figures in black come through the door to the left of the main stairs. The roar of the fire surrounds them! Dakota raises the gun and fires two shots at Bernie. Nothing happens. The second ghostly figure, the ghost of Mortimer, has come out of the library hallway and is now behind Dakota. The ghost of Mortimer puts his hand on Dakota’s shoulder. Dakota yells for everybody to run. All of the gang run out the living room hallway entrance. The teens all remain in place because their hands and feet have all been tied. The ghost of Bernie raises her arms as all of the figures in black start to move towards the living room. Suddenly all the lights go out and the sound stops.
19. When the lights come up we can see that all of the figures in black now have their hoods down and their faces can be seen. It is the two security people and the two special effects people. They are untying the teens in the living room. Over by the library table are the ghost of Bernie, Caroline/Carson, and the ghost of Mortimer. They are standing, talking. The ghost of Bernie explains that they didn’t know there were actually two separate groups of teens here. They thought that the teens were all one group that was using the mansion to hang out. Caroline/Carson asks what is going on? Between Mortimer and Bernie they explain that soon they will be filming a movie about the history of the mansion. They are doing it right here on location. They have been setting things up here for about a month, and both Bernie and Mortimer are two of the actors who will be in the film. They have been here in advance to get into their characters and practice some of the scenes they will be filming. Being in full make-up helps with their characters. Unfortunately while they have been here they have found that there has been a group that keeps coming into the mansion, so security was hired to get rid of them. Things came to a head tonight when the gang did a jump scare on their special effects people, so they decided to use a little movie magic to show them what a real scare was. The two special effects people turn to tell them, “Don’t mess with special effects nerds!” They explained that the reason for being here in advance was to put some of their special effects, and props into place. The fire effects, the gun with blanks loaded in it, and the diary which the kids found and were reading. They apologized to the teens for scaring them but are glad that now that they know the names of the gang members. They can pass that info along to the police, and the police will be able to take care of the illegal activities that have been happening in the mansion. The two actors are impressed that Caroline/Carson would go to all of the trouble of staying in the mansion to get inspiration for a story. And as it turns out, that is exactly the story that they are filming. The diary that they found is based on a real diary that Eileen kept and has only recently been discovered. That is why they are now able to make the film. The actors say that they will introduce all of the teens to the rest of the crew once they arrive and let them watch some of the filming. As well Caroline/Carson will have the opportunity to meet the screen writers and talk with them about the script for the movie. The teens are all quite excited by this. As they are all getting ready to leave the hear sounds from an old radio in the living room area. It sounds like the radio is trying to tune itself to a station. Once a gets locked in we hear very old music being played. Voices come over the music, “We are watching… we are watching…” The ghost of Bernie turns to the special effects people and says to stop playing games. The special effects people go over to the radio, pick it up, and start to trace the wire to where it is plugged in. They come up with a bare wire that has no plug, and turn to everybody and say, “That was not us!” Blackout.