Rose Red

A house is a place of shelter.

It's the body we put on over our bodies.

As our bodies grow old, so do our houses.

As our bodies may sicken, so do our houses sicken.

And what of madness?

If mad people live within, doesn 't this creep into the rooms...

...and walls and corridors? The very boards?

Don 't we sometimes sense that madness reaching out to us?

Isn 't that a large part of what we mean when we say...

...a place is unquiet, festered up with spirits?

We say haunted...

...but we mean the house has gone insane.

Somebody help me! I'm lost!

Somebody help me!

Oh, for chrissake.

Somebody help me!

Where the hell did I come from?

Your mommy was right. I'm a tramp.

Somebody help me!

Help me!

Where is everyone?

- What's going on? - I think Vic's dead, I'm not sure.

What's going on?

- He says Vic is dead. - Ridiculous! How can he be dead?

- Joyce, get real. I think Vic is dead. - Thank God!

You.

You don't understand, my mother's here. Or the house is imitating her.

At first I thought so, but now...

And I got lost. I've seen things you wouldn't believe!

Not now, Emery!

We shouldn't be here!

A bubble's forming, a kind of psychic bubble.

Why would your mother be here?

She worries about me. I do too. About all of us.

I saw Pam. I think she's dead.

- Where's Annie? - I don't...

It's stuck again.

- It's not just stuck! - Of course it isn't.

This is ridiculous!

Emery, come here. Is that your mother's car?

Yeah, Mommy's little scootabout.

- What? - Mommy's little scootabout.

Mommy's little scootabout. That's what she calls it.

We scoot about for ice cream, to the movies... Stop looking at me.

Mama's little scootabout is blocking another car.

- Is anyone in it? - I can't tell.

- L'll check the kitchen door. - L'll go with you.

Not now, Dee.

Annie, are you out there?

Steve, come look at this.

It's coming to life, isn't it?

I think he's somewhere right outside there. I didn't exactly see.

Oh, my God.

God, no!

Open in the name of Jesus! Open in the name of God!

- Where's Pam? - Emery said she's dead.

She was in Ellen Rimbauer's room. She said bad things to me.

I'm not sure, but people like that are usually dead.

It will kill us all if we're not careful. We were wrong to come.

That is a cowardly and mistaken thing to say.

Vic's dead, Pam's probably dead, and we can't get out.

You need a reality check, lady.

- Joyce... - Leave me alone!

Annie, where are you? Annie, are you...? Oh, God!

Annie, don't move!

We've already established that doesn't work!

You were saying? See? Just stuck, no big deal.

Mom, where are you?

- Is she okay? - I don't know.

Get a lemon in the kitchen. If there's no lemon, bring vinegar. Hurry!

What about the windows? You were pounding on them with your fists.

You don't think that the glass was stuck too?

You be careful now.

Mom?

Mama!

Who's there?

Oh, I shouldn't be doing this. I shouldn't be doing this.

I shouldn't be doing this. I shouldn't be doing this.

Screw it, I'm not doing this.

If there's someone there, stop fooling around!

Who's there?

If you need help, I'll help you! But if you only want to play games...

- You stay away from me! - Professor! Wait!

- Professor, wait! - Stay away!

Professor?

Look at me. Please, look at me.

You're no good to anyone, bub.

I've got an idea. Why don't you go hang yourself?

You could do it in the parlor.

Just like Posey, a ring around the rosy...

...and not by the hair of your chinny chin chin.

Help me!

Stay away!

- Is she awake? - No, but her breathing's regular.

- Get Joyce. - Can't I stay?

Get Joyce! She's a lot closer to a doctor than either of us. Go!

- I saw Vic. - You can't have, Vic is...

I know. Vic was just another Rose Red mind-movie like Pam and Deanna.

- I also saw Miller, and he was real. - Professor Miller?

None other. But the dean wouldn't recognize him.

He's out there running around like a madman!

- You're lying. - No, he's not.

No, I'm not. My mother's somewhere behind the house.

But I can't get there, not now.

- All right, calm down. - Don't tell me that!

You don't know what I've seen, so don't!

- L'll call 911. - I doubt it.

We all need to take a step back. Take a deep breath.

Annie's had an accident.

- She's unconscious. Would you come? - Where is she?

- It's working. Who shall I call? - The cops.

- An ambulance. - No one! Not yet.

To hell with you, Joyce. I'm getting out of here!

Honey, are you okay? Can you hear me?

Emery.

You're not there, you're dead. Both of you are dead.

- No, we're not. - We're not dead.

That's the beauty of it.

Life could be different for you here. It could be better.

It would be nice, really nice.

L'll pass. Rose Red is like the Roach Motel.

They check in, but they don't check out. Not there!

I'm hard up, girls, but not quite that hard up.

Annie, what is it?

We seldom have company at Rose Red these days.

I insist you stay a little longer.

Look what it did to me. We have to get out of here.

I'm afraid it's too late for that.

- Here, Annie. - Annie, no.

Annie, be still and let her help you. It's okay.

Sorry. There you go.

You okay, honey? Think you can stand up? Let's try it.

There we go. Great.

Yeah, it's okay.

Annie, look.

I know the song, and I know the feeling.

To be safe. To be free to dream...

...and to have all the time in the world to enjoy it.

Later on, I'll let you play with it all you want. I promise.

Look at me, look at me.

If you ever want to play with that dollhouse, look at me right now.

Are you holding the doors and the windows closed?

Don't give me that blank stare, you understand me perfectly well.

We understand each other.

Are you?

It's what the house wants you to do...

...and you just go right on doing it.

Soon, I'll take that dollhouse down...

...and you can play with it all you want.

In fact, we'll play with it together...

...and we'll take all the time we want.

Get off him! Get off him!

Get off him!

Hey, off him!

- It won't work. - So, Sherlock, got any ideas?

No, you?

No! This place has always wanted me. I should've stayed away.

- Why didn't you? - Dee.

I have to look after her so she doesn't end up into the big nowhere.

Here they come again.

Get off of him!

Get off him!

Get off of him!

I think the power went out 15 minutes ago.

I doubt it'll be on again tonight.

Don't you want to know about Bollinger or Mrs. Waterman or Miller?

Aren't you curious at all?

What about them? Any sign?

No, none.

I think I knew that, actually.

So, what is there to be curious about?

We're all in the billiard room. We need to talk.

Pam is also missing, and if Emery says she's dead, we have to believe him.

About Vic, of course, there's no question.

Joyce, do you understand what I'm telling you?

Of course.

But since there isn't anything I can do about any of these people...

...l'll continue with my observations.

I am a scientist, you know. Or did you forget that?

No. No, I didn't forget that.

Miller did.

Running around like a madman.

I'd have liked to see that.

Thank God for battery packs.

Annie?

Don't bother. She can't understand you.

Can't even hear you, not in the sense that we understand hearing.

There you are. Would you like to come with me?

We could visit with Rachel and the others.

Do you hear me? You do, don 't you?

Annie, come, please.

You sure you won't come with us?

All right.

Let's go.

This is the last one. It may be a little old, but sorry.

Beggars can't be choosers. Thanks.

Do you have any nail polish in there?

Nail polish? No, I don't use it. Why?

I could make her breathe it. Or what about drain cleaner?

Just a whiff and bingo, out like a light.