438 - February 28, 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 woman on an uncertain

and frightening journey into the past,

back to the year ,

back to a time when the powers of darkness and superstition

prevailed over light and reason.

In that perilous time,

Victoria Winters has been accused and condemned

as a witch.

[clock ticking]

- Well, Ben,

I was beginning to think that you had been abducted.

Where have you been?

- Mr. Bradford,

the young man who is defending Ms. Winters,

he - he was questioning me most of the night.

Then I stayed on in town until the trial was over.

- Ms. Winters' trial is over?

- Aye.

- I don't like the expression on your face, Ben.

What was the verdict?

- They found her guilty, sir.

They're going to hang her.

♪♪

[eerie theme music] ♪♪

- How could they find her guilty?

Your testimony should have been enough to convince them.

You did go there and testify, didn't you?

- I did just what you told me, Mr. Barnabas.

I - I told them the truth.

- And they didn't believe you?

- I think they did until--

- Until what?

- Until Angelique appeared in the courtroom.

- Angelique?

- I - I told you, she'd do something

to stop me, Mr. Barnabas.

I - I knew this would happen.

- Well, what did she do to you?

- She didn't have to do anything.

She just stood there staring at me.

- And you went mute? - I wish I had.

- What do you mean?

- I had already testified that she was the real witch,

but I had also said she'd gone away from Collinsport

after you left for England.

When she suddenly appeared at the door,

I - I couldn't help it, I just lost control of myself.

- What did you do?

- I went to pieces inside.

I got scared and I stood up there

and shouted out that she was dead.

- I see.

And with that, all of your testimony became worthless.

- Mr. Barnabas, I tried to keep my head,

but the sight of her standing there,

staring at me with those evil eyes of hers,

it terrified me.

I don't understand why she came back to spoil everything!

What did Ms. Winters ever do to her?

- Nothing.

Angelique only had one reason for interfering in this,

she knew that Ms. Winters' acquittal

was something that I wanted

and she wouldn't allow me the satisfaction of helping her.

- Does that mean there's nothing we can do now

- to help Ms. Winters? - I don't know.

- But right now, there is someone else I must attend to,

the Reverend Trask.

- Mr. Barnabas, there's been enough violence in the village

without you adding to it by doing harm to Trask.

Why don't you just let well enough alone?

- I cannot allow him to get away with what he's been doing!

- You've been lucky so far.

Sooner or later, somebody is going to find out about you,

expose you.

- I won't be exposed by what I do to Trask.

- Why not?

- Because whatever I do,

I will not be required to go out into the open.

- That don't make any sense.

- It will, Ben, in time.

You see, Mr. Trask is going to become the victim

of his own best weapon, fear.

- You mean, you're just going to scare him

enough to drive him out of Collinsport?

Oh, no, Ben, I have no intentions

of being that lenient.

I will begin with fear,

I will let him live for a while

with the kind of terror he has inflicted on others

and then, he will be eliminated.

- No, Mr. Barnabas.

- Oh, yes, Ben.

Mr. Trask is slowly and horribly going to die.

♪♪

[knocking]

- Good afternoon, Mrs. Collins.

- What brings you to Collinwood, Mr. Trask?

- I take it you have heard the outcome of the trial?

- I have.

- I suppose you are one of the few people

who are not pleased with the judge's decision.

- The decision is not irrevocable, Mr. Trask.

Mr. Bradford still has time to find evidence

that will prove Ms. Winters is innocent.

- All the - all the time in the world will not help him,

Mrs. Collins, or her.

She is guilty and she will hang.

- Did you make a special trip out here

just to gloat over your victory?

- Not at all.

- I'm here on urgent business. - Oh?

- What might that be?

- I would like you to give me the keys to the old house.

- The keys to the old house?

What for?

- Well, isn't that where Ms. Winters lived

- when she was in your employ? - Yes.

- I must go to her room and cleanse it

of all her belongings.

- What are you talking about?

- Mrs. Collins, there is to be nothing left of the witch.

When she dies, all of her worldly possessions

must be destroyed!

- I can't believe you're serious.

- I assure you, I am.

- I think you had better leave, Mr. Trask.

- I will,

after you have given me the keys to the old house.

- I will not allow you to set foot in that house.

- Mrs. Collins, I realize that my presence here upsets you.

- You're putting it charitably, Mr. Trask.

Your presence here disgusts me!

- May I suggest, Mrs. Collins,

that what really upsets you is the fact

that you chose the losing side in this battle

between the Almighty and the forces of evil!

You aligned yourself with the devil himself!

- Don't you ever talk to me that way again,

do you understand?

- You'll be sorry you did that, Mrs. Collins.

- Why don't you strike me back, Mr. Trask?

Isn't that what your usual method,

striking defenseless women, abusing them,

carrying them off in the dead of night

and then, subjecting them to your own peculiar brand

of mental t*rture?

Go on! Strike me back!

I don't think that will be necessary.

No, of course not,

you may be petty and cruel and bigoted,

but you're not all together stupid!

It's one thing to strike Ms. Winters,

she can't fight back, it's quite another thing

to strike the mistress of Collinwood

because I can fight back and you know I will!

- Are you going to give me those keys? - No.

- I can always get them, Mrs. Collins,

by obtaining a search warrant in the village.

- Get a search warrant.

- I don't think your husband will be very pleased

when he finds out that you forced me to do it that way.

You have already incurred his wrath once, Mrs. Collins,

when you disobeyed his wishes

and testified on the witch's behalf!

Think it over, Mrs. Collins.

- Ben,

I want you to put aside whatever you're doing

and escort Mr. Trask to the old house.

- The old house? - Yes.

- I want him to go there and do whatever he has to do.

You'll find the keys in - in the study of Mr. Joshua's desk

and I want you to stay with him until he finishes.

- Excuse me, ma'am. I - I don't mean to pry,

but isn't it something that can wait until tomorrow morning?

- No. I want him to go there

and do what he has to do and leave,

the sooner the better!

- It's awful late. It'll be dark soon.

- You're not afraid of going to the old house after dark,

are you, Stokes?

- No, no. It - it ain't that.

I got some chores to do before Mr. Joshua gets home.

- I don't mind going to the old house by myself.

- No. I want Ben to go with you.

Don't worry about your chores.

I'll explain them to Mr. Joshua.

You will stay with Mr. Trask until he finishes.

And then, you will return the keys to me.

Is that clear?

- Aye, Mrs. Collins.

That's clear.

After you, Mr. Trask.

- Are you coming in, Stokes?

What were you looking at out there?

- Just the sky.

It looks like there might be a storm.

- I didn't see any signs of a storm.

- There are dark clouds on the horizon.

You better do what you got to do before the storm comes.

- I won't be here long.

Are all of Ms. Winters' things in her old room?

- As far as I know,

- it's the room at the end of the corridor-- - I know where it is, Stokes!

- I've been here before.

Aren't you going to escort me?

- I just as soon stay here, if it's all the same to you.

- It makes no difference to me.

- Ben?

Ben, are you there?

- Mr. Barnabas, stay where you are.

- What's the matter, Ben? You look as though--

- There's someone else is in the house with us.

- Who is it?

- Mr. Trask.

- Trask? What is he doing here?

- Who let him in? - I did.

- Have you gone mad? - I was only following orders.

- Whose orders?

- Your mother's.

- She told you to let him in here? - Aye.

- He told her he wanted to get all of Ms. Winters' belongings

- and take them back to town with him. - Why?

-Awful upset he seemed to be,

she wanted him to wait until tomorrow morning,

but he wouldn't wait.

He said he had to do it tonight.

There ain't noting we could do about it.

All of her things have got to be destroyed.

- So, Mr. Trask is determined

to make a thorough job of this, isn't he?

- He said he wouldn't be up there long.

You don't want him to see you when he comes back down.

- He won't see me, Ben.

I'll go back downstairs until he's gone.

You stay with him

and make sure that he leaves when he's finished.

- Stokes, where are you?

- Right here, Mr. Trask.

Are you - you all finished?

- Yes, I have everything.

- I guess we better be going then.

- Not quite yet.

- Did you forget something?

- No.

You had a reason for letting me go upstairs alone,

- didn't you, Stokes? - No, I didn't.

- We're not the only two people in this house, are we?

- Of course, who else would be here?

- The person you were talking to a few minutes ago.

- I wasn't talking to no one.

- I heard you, Stokes!

I heard you talking to someone. Who was it?

- I tell you, there's no one else in the house.

- Stop lying to me.

- I wouldn't have any reason to lie to you, Mr. Trask!

- You lied on the witness stand. You must be lying now.

- Who were you talking to? - No one, I tell you!

- Do you want me to search this house, Stokes?

- No.

- Then tell me who you were talking to.

- My - myself.

- You were talking to yourself?

- It's just a habit I have,

I mumble to myself when I'm alone.

That's all it was, Mr. Trask. I swear to you.

I was - I was mumbling to myself.

- You're sure you weren't communicating with the witch,

keeping her informed of my activities?

- I wouldn't know how to do that, Mr. Trask,

even if I wanted to.

- For your sake, Stokes, I hope you're telling the truth.

- I am, Mr. Trask. I swear, I - I am.

♪♪

- You need not have been frightened, Ben.

He wouldn't have found me even if he had searched the house.

- That's because you knew he was here.

If you hadn't known, he might have seen you

when he came downstairs.

- He wouldn't have lived to tell about it,

but you're quite as academic, Ben.

The fact is, he isn't going to live to tell about it.

You see, this is going to be a night he will never forget.

♪♪

[chains rattling] [rumbling]

- Who is it?

What are you doing out there?

- Ah! Ah!

-Trask!

Trask! Trask!

- Who is it?

Who is in this room?

-Your victims, Trask, your innocent victims,

the chained, the tortured,

the miserable creatures condemned by you!

You're a fraud, Trask!

-You're a fraud! - Who are you?! Who are you?!

-You will never live to see the hanging!

- I won't listen to this!

I know who you are! You're the witch!

You're trying to frighten me!

The witch is doing this to me!

You can't frighten me, you hear?

You can't frighten me!

[chains rattling] [rumbling]

-Ha, ha, ha!

Victoria Winters will live!

She will live!

- I command thee, evil spirit,

cast thyself back into hell from whence thee came!

-Ha, ha, ha!

- Be gone from this room! -Ha, ha, ha!

- Get out of here! -Ha, ha, ha!

- Get out, I tell you!

[chain rattling] [rumbling]

-She will live and you will die!

- I know you for what you are, witch!

You cannot trick me with your black magic!

[sinister laughing]

- No!

- Get away from me! -Ha, ha, ha!

- Get away from me!

Ah!

-It will not happen tonight

nor tomorrow night,

but soon, Trask,

very soon, you are going to die!

♪♪

[eerie theme music] ♪♪