446 - March 11, 1968

[bunniefuu]

[narrator] -A séance has been held in the great house at Collinwood,

a séance which has suspended time and space

and sent one girl on an uncertain

and frightening journey into the past,

back to the year .

There, a proud father, fighting blackmail

goes to discover whether the son he believes

dead and buried is actually alive.

- A coffin.

[lid creaking open]

Barnabas!

Barnabas!

♪♪

It is true.

It is true.

- What is true, father?

What?

♪♪

[eerie theme music] ♪♪

- I don't know what is true.

I was in the room with you when you died.

I listened for your heartbeat myself.

I sat by your cold body until they brought the coffin.

I went with them when they carried it to the mausoleum.

This is a terrible nightmare! I am imagining it!

- No. You are not, father.

- Then, you live?

- Yes.

- How?

- Do not ask. - Why? I must know!

- You never died!

Your coma was so deep it was a mistake.

But then, then why didn't you come to me?

I don't understand.

- Don't try, Father.

Go back to your own life.

Forget you ever saw me.

I never wanted you to find me.

- I am not by chance.

- Did someone tell you I was here?

- Ben? - No, not Ben.

- You shall never find out how I know.

There was a woman in the village,

Maude Browning.

- Before that a Ruby Tate. - Yes, I know the names.

- Is it true then?

You did k*ll them!

What kind of a monster have you become?

How many others have you k*lled?

Suki Forbes. Did you k*ll her?

- She was going to tell you and mother!

- I wish she had.

- Have I never known anything about you? - Father--

- I have always thought despite our differences

that there was a feeling between us,

- an honesty, at least. - There was.

- Well, what happened to it?

If you didn't think of me,

you should have at least thought of your mother.

- I told you I did. - Yes.

- You thought of your mother

and your solution was to m*rder again.

Did you think it would be the last time?

- No, I knew there would be more.

- Didn't you care about the shame, the scandal?

- Yes, yes, I did!

- And yet, Maude Browning was m*rder*d after Suki Forbes.

You attacked your own cousin last night!

- My cousin, what do you mean?

- Don't lie to me!

Millicent recognized your cane.

- I did no such thing, I swear.

I admitted everything to you,

why should I lie about Millicent?

- How perverted you are.

You admit to the killings

and yet you won't even admit the lie?

- I admit the killings because I was compelled to do them.

I could not help myself.

I tried to stop, but I am under a curse.

- Curse? Who believes in curses, who?

- Anyone who has to.

Anyone who is under them.

I could not help myself, Father.

- You should have put yourself away.

- It would have done no good.

- You should have come to me.

- There was nothing you could do.

- It was better that you thought me dead.

- I would rather see you dead than the way you are now.

- I would rather be dead!

No, that can't be true either.

There must still be some terrible urge

which makes me want to go on, even as I am.

- I cannot allow it to happen.

I will take you in to town

and put you over to the proper authorities.

- No, you won't.

- Stokes?

- Have you thought, Father?

Of sitting in the courtroom, when I am tried.

- I have no choice?

- Can you see my mother's face when I tell the jury

that I am one of the living dead?

- I will take care of your mother.

- You will k*ll her. - No.

- You will k*ll her.

- There is one other way, Father.

- I must do my duty. Stokes!

- He will not come until I call him, Father.

If you would forget, I would not have to do this.

- No!

You would k*ll even me!

You must have always had so much hatred in you.

No one could be filled with it so quickly!

- What I tried to do

was to make sure my mother never knew.

If you want to think of this trial,

could you really go through with it?

Could she?

I will do anything for you, Father,

if you promise me that she will think me dead.

- Do you really mean that? - Yes.

- Then you know what you must do.

- Aren't you taking a chance, Father?

- Perhaps.

But only one of us will leave this room alive.

Which one of us it will be is for you to decide.

♪♪

- I cannot k*ll you, Father, or you me.

- If you have any sense of honor left,

you will do what must be done.

- Joshua, where are you?

- Father, I cannot do what you want.

- Are you afraid? - No, no, I can't. I just can't.

-Joshua, I know you're here. Joshua!

- Mother!

- What are we to do?

- Get her out of the house.

- Yes, I must. But--

- Hurry!

- Listen, first, one thing. -Joshua!

- You must find the strength to do what you must do.

If not for your sake, then for ours.

- Oh, you frightened me!

- What are you doing here, Naomi?

- What are you?

Lieutenant Forbes said you were here.

Why? Please explain to me, Joshua.

What? Why, I walked to the old house.

What is there to explain about that?

- You had a reason for coming here.

- Did Forbes said you-- What did he tell you? - Nothing.

But obviously, there is something to tell.

- He is a known liar!

- Joshua, someone has been in this room. - Someone was here.

- Who? - Naomi, there is no earthly reason

- why we can't continue this discussion

on the way back to Collinwood.

- Why are you in such a hurry to leave?

- It is your imagination.

- Why do you keep looking over your shoulder?

- I was not aware that I had been.

- Joshua, please. Tell me what this is all about.

- Forbes told me that he had seen a light here.

That's all. I came to investigate.

Now, come on, Naomi.

[distant bang]

- What was that?

- A door?

- Why would a door slam in an empty house.

- The wind?

- It sounded like a door to me.

- Come, we are leaving.

- There is something - there was someone in this house

that you don't want me to know about.

- Come along, Naomi.

- Joshua, I think you're frightened!

- I'm tired, Naomi.

It has been a strenuous day.

- I know it had been for you.

I want to know why. Maybe, I can help.

- There is a way you can help.

- By letting you take me home?

All right, Joshua.

I've never know anyone who protected their privacy

so fanatically as you.

- Naomi, please.

- You wonder why I feel alone.

Or maybe, you don't.

Maybe, you don't think of me at all.

- I do.

- When, Joshua?

When do you think of me?

- I'm thinking of you now.

♪♪

-Joshua, let's have a cup of tea together.

-You have tea in your room, Naomi.

-No, I want to be with you.

- No, I tell you there is nothing wrong.

It is your imagination again.

- I only imagine the worst until you tell me what it is.

- Naomi, please. Go to your room.

- Where are you going?

- I'm going to the yards. - At this time hour?

- Well, I have business I must do.

- Why didn't you do it earlier?

- Well, I didn't think of it. I just remembered.

- But it's going to storm.

- Naomi, please.

- Just a few minutes ago,

you were telling me how tired you were.

- Ah, but one is never too tired for business.

Is one, Mr. Collins?

- Women never understand that. - Lieutenant!

- Did I surprise you? - Yes, you did.

- Well, I'm sorry.

I promised Mr. Collins I'd wait for him.

We have some unfinished business.

Isn't that right, sir?

You did expect me to be here, didn't you?

- I knew you would be here, yes.

- It's not that I have a mind waiting in this house.

- Mrs. Collins, you can't imagine how pleasant it is

for me just - just to sit in that room.

I'll find my own quarters at the Inn very depressing.

Oh, I've taken the liberty of pouring myself a brandy,

I hope you don't mind.

Perhaps, you'd join me.

- I'm not accustomed to my own guests offering me

the hospitality of my own house, sir!

- Oh, I am sorry. Was that forward of me?

Well, I suppose, I find myself changing.

I must examine whether or not the change is for the better.

- It might be extremely wise of you. - Yes.

- Well, when everything is settled,

I shall make a little project of that.

And everything is almost settled now.

Is it not?

- What is settled?

- Didn't he tell you?

I'm sorry. I simply assumed

that the two of you discussed it.

- What, Joshua?

- Mr. Collins is reconsidering his feelings.

I tried to make it perfectly clear how imperative it is

to our happiness that Millicent and I marry.

Naturally, we're most anxious for his approval.

- I think my husband has made his feelings perfectly clear.

- Ah, but your husband might be changing, too,

Mrs. Collins.

Are you willing to give us your blessing now, sir?

- My blessing, no.

- But your approval?

- If Millicent insists on this marriage,

- I will not stand in her way. - Joshua!

- Well, thank you, sir. You will not regret this.

- If you will permit Mrs. Collins and I

to tell you a good night.

- Well, now, I must tell Millicent.

- Tomorrow will be time enough for that.

- Well, you've forgotten what's it like to be in love, sir.

- I have not, sir.

- Mrs. Collins and I-- - I'm sure that Mrs. Collins doesn't want Millicent

to suffer another sleepless night

not knowing how this is going to end.

Won't you go and ask her to come down, please?

- I am not in the habit of being ordered around

in my own house.

- I must see her. If I appear rude--

- You do.

- Well then, my apologies, of course,

but Mr. Collins knows how urgent the situation is.

- What Joshua? I don't know.

- Naomi, will you please ask Millicent to come down here.

- Joshua!

- Naomi, please, dear.

- If you wish.

- Thank you so much, Mrs. Collins.

- Lieutenant Forbes,

I am going because my husband asked me to.

- I trust you will not stay unnecessarily long.

- Only as long as Millicent wants me to, sir.

- How did you find your son? - Be quiet!

- Is he well?

- I do not intend to talk about this with you.

- Well, then, we shall have to find some other subjects

for conversation

as we're going to be seeing quite a lot of each other.

- I shall take care that that does not happen!

- Well, Mr. Collins,

I distinctly remember your promising Millicent and me

that we could live in the West Wing

until we found a place of our own.

- I never made any such promise!

- Well, if you didn't, sir, then it must have been an oversight.

- It was not an oversight.

You will never live under my roof!

- Did you not tell Mrs. Collins who was in the old house?

- I did not, and if you do--

- Oh, well, I-- I shan't of course, sir.

I would hate to.

I mean, I know how that would affect her?

But there will be no need to tell her

if everything goes as I think it will.

Will it?

We won't be here long.

I'm contemplating a long voyage.

Never made a grand tour, you know,

and I think that Millicent deserves to see Europe.

- Since it'll be her money that is paying for it,

that is extremely considerate of you.

Now, if you will excuse me.

I trust you will not tell Mrs. Collins

where I am going this time.

Good night, Lieutenant.

♪♪

- I am here, Father.

- You couldn't do it.

- I told you that.

- You were never a coward before.

- And I am not one now.

- Words, words.

By our own acts, you shall be known.

I taught you that as a boy.

You've forgotten, of course.

- Along with everything else.

No, I haven't forgotten, Father.

My memory is one of the few things I have left.

- If that were true, you would have used this p*stol.

- The curse, Father.

Soon, you will know it, too.

The curse has given me eternal life.

- And never fancy-- - It's not a fancy.

- I cannot die as I am. Do you understand that yet?

- You have given me nothing that I can understand!

- I cannot make you face a simple fact.

You run around ignoring everything I say.

Your g*n cannot k*ll me, is that plain enough?

It cannot!

- I don't believe it. You're trying to escape!

- Yes. I am. Let me get away.

- Where could you go?

- Anywhere. It does not matter. - It does.

- I would take Ben with me.

- Ben?

You mean to you as an accomplice for your crimes?

- He will protect me.

- And then, you would turn on Ben, too?

- I need him.

- I am to release you, to let you m*rder?

- Yes, you are! - Why?

- How could you ask me to do a thing like this?

- How? - Because I am a vampire!

- What? - I must have blood!

- No. No. This is more madness!

There are no vampires.

- I am proof that there are!

- Only in books.

They are tales by - written by the ignorant

and the superstitious!

- You aren't willing to understand

even when I tell you the truth.

I've tried ever since you found me.

I had told you everything now.

I am helpless.

You don't understand that I am compelled.

You never will.

You won't ever know what it is to wake up every evening

knowing what is ahead of me in the night.

- My son, my son. - No.

- Nothing you taught me means anything to me now.

I am only aware of your pain.

Let me escape.

It is the only chance any of us has.

I have become an animal.

My instincts are to k*ll.

Everything about me has changed.

I am no longer your son!

Don't - don't come near me.

Don't touch me.

- Barnabas?

- Yes?

- I must do this.

I must.

Forgive me.

Forgive me, dear son.

[g*n shot]

♪♪

[eerie theme music] ♪♪