ANNOUNCER: The
Mummers in "The Little Theater of The Air."
SOUND: (DOG HOWLS
TWICE)
ANNOUNCER: Now,
the Hermit is ready to help you spend an entertaining half
hour.
SOUND: (WIND BLOWS
... DOGS HOWL)
HERMIT: (CACKLING
LAUGHTER) Ghoooossst stories. Weirrrrrd stories. And murders
too! (CACKLES) The
Hermit knows of them all. Turn out your lights. Turn them
out! Ahhhh. Have
you heard the story ... "The Vampire's Desire" -- hm? Then
listen while the
Hermit tells you the story. (CACKLES)
SOUND: (WIND AND
HOWLING DOGS FADE ... FOLLOWED BY A SUDDEN HUGE CLAP OF
THUNDER ... RAIN
AND OTHER STORM NOISES IN BG)
JOHN: Forbidding-looking
place, Mr. Wynton.
WYNTON: It is at
that. We can't go any farther in this downpour.
JOHN: We shall
most likely have to stay in this doorway then. The house looks
untenanted.
WYNTON: Does at
that. However, there may be someone in.
SOUND: (KNOCKS AT
DOOR ... LONG PAUSE FOR MORE THUNDER AND RAIN)
JOHN: There's no
one living in this tomb of a place, Mr. Wynton.
WYNTON: I think
you're right, John. Wonder where we are.
JOHN: I haven't
had the slightest idea where we are since the beginning of the
storm when we lost
our way.
WYNTON: Mm. I
think you're right about the place being untenanted. Try the
door. Maybe we can
break in. Anything to get out of this storm. Try the door.
JOHN: Er, yes,
sir. Oh! It's opening!
WYNTON: Well,
good.
OLD WOMAN: Well?!
WYNTON: Good
evening. We've lost our way. Been caught in this storm. We're
drenched to the
skin.
OLD WOMAN: More
fools you for being out on a night like this!
JOHN: (ASIDE,
IRONIC) A very agreeable sort.
WYNTON: May we
come in and get dried out?
OLD WOMAN: You're
not welcome!
WYNTON: Well,
surely you're not going to turn us away on a night like this?
OLD WOMAN: I don't
care what kind of a night it is! You're not welcome!
WYNTON: Well, all
right, may we come in whether we're welcome or not?
OLD WOMAN: No!
Good night!
JOHN: She's
slamming the door in your face--
SOUND: (DOOR
CLOSES BUT DOES NOT SHUT ENTIRELY)
JOHN: Uhh!
WYNTON: (AFTER A
PAUSE, IRONIC) Kindly soul!
JOHN: When the old
woman tried to slam the door, I stuck my foot in the way
and she hasn't
tried to close it any more.
WYNTON: Well,
good. Let's take a chance on going in then, whether we're
welcome or not.
JOHN: Right, sir.
SOUND: (A LONG
CLAP OF THUNDER ... AS THE DOOR SHUTS, THE THUNDER AND OTHER
STORM NOISES DIMINISH
CONSIDERABLY)
JOHN: Now which
way, Mr. Wynton?
WYNTON: Eh, who
can tell in this pitch darkness?
OLD WOMAN: (EERIE,
MAD CACKLING LAUGHTER BEGINS AND CONTINUES IN BG)
WYNTON: Listen.
JOHN: The old
woman.
WYNTON: Yes.
JOHN: Mr.
Wynton...
OLD WOMAN:
(LAUGHTER STOPS ABRUPTLY)
JOHN: ... we're in
the house of a madwoman.
WYNTON: It isn't a
very pleasant sound, is it?
JOHN: Mmph,
doesn't seem to be a light in the whole place. What shall we do?
WYNTON: We'll go
to the right, feel along the wall for a light switch or a
door.
JOHN: All right.
WYNTON: Come
along, then. Follow me.
SOUND: (FOOTSTEPS
AND TAPPING)
WYNTON: Ah. Here's
a door.
SOUND: (DOOR
OPENS)
WYNTON: Come
along, John. Stay close by me.
JOHN: Yes, sir.
SOUND: (A FEW MORE
FOOTSTEPS AS THE OLD WOMAN'S LAUGHTER RETURNS BRIEFLY)
JOHN: Oh, good
Lord, sir. Is she going to keep that up all night?
WYNTON: Well, if
she is, I wish she'd tell what the joke is so we can laugh
with her. Find the
light switch?
JOHN: Er, no.
There doesn't seem to be one.
WYNTON: All right,
then. We'll continue in the dark. You go to the left, I'll
go to the right.
Maybe we can find something to sit on.
JOHN: Er, yes,
sir.
SOUND: (MORE
FOOTSTEPS AND TAPPING)
JOHN: (AFTER A
PAUSE) Ah!
WYNTON: (OFF) Hm?
JOHN: What's this?
I found something.
WYNTON: (OFF)
Well, what is it?
JOHN: Well, it
might be a bookcase built into the wall.
WYNTON: (OFF) All
right, there may be at least something in it that we can sit
on -- even
books'll be better than the cold floor.
JOHN: Yes, sir ...
although I can't feel anything yet.
WYNTON: (OFF) Keep
talking, John, so I can find my way over to you.
SOUND: (FOOTSTEPS)
JOHN: Yes, sir.
Why don't you strike a match?
WYNTON: (COMING
CLOSER) Fine chance either of us have of doing that. They'll
be soaking wet.
Where are you?
JOHN: Right here,
sir. You're almost up to me.
WYNTON: Ah.
SOUND: (FOOTSTEPS
OUT)
WYNTON: Now
where's the bookcase?
JOHN: Right here.
Let me have your hand.
WYNTON: Here.
SOUND: (HANDS ON
THE WOODEN BOOKCASE)
WYNTON: Ah, yes.
Now, let's feel all through it. There may be something of use
in it, you never
can tell.
SOUND: (SLIGHT
NOISE, OFF)
WYNTON: What was
that?
JOHN: Sounds like
someone at the door.
SOUND: (ODD
SCRAPING SOUND, NEAR)
WYNTON: What are
you doing?
JOHN: Uh, trying
to light a match.
WYNTON: Any luck?
JOHN: No, sir,
just like you said. They're sopping wet.
WYNTON: Quiet now.
Let's listen. (PAUSE) Huh, we must have been imagining
things.
JOHN: I've been
imagining things ever since we first heard that old woman
laugh like that.
It fairly makes my hair stand on end.
SOUND: (SLIGHT
NOISE, OFF)
JOHN: (WHISPERS)
There it is again, sir. A rustling near the door.
WYNTON: (CALLS
OUT) Who IS that?! Who's there?!
OLD MAN: (OMINOUS
LOW VOICE, FROM A DISTANCE) Stay away from that bookcase.
Stay away.
WYNTON: Well, who
is it? Who are you?
OLD MAN: Stay away
from that bookcase.
WYNTON: We
wouldn't be near the blessed bookcase if you'd be gracious enough
to conduct us to a
room with some furniture in it so that we might rest and
get dry.
OLD MAN: (FADING
AWAY) Stay away from the bookcase.
JOHN: He's
leaving, sir.
WYNTON: Well, this
is a fine how-do-you-do, isn't it?
JOHN: Oh, I've had
about enough, sir. I'd sooner we were on our way.
WYNTON: Oh,
nonsense. However, we'll leave the bookcase alone if that's what
we're asked to do.
OLD MAN: (CHUCKLES
OMINOUSLY, FROM OFF)
JOHN: He's still
hereabouts.
WYNTON: Yes, I
heard him. (CALLS OUT) Say, are you playing some game with us?!
If so, we're not
in the mood for it!
JOHN: (AFTER A
PAUSE) No answer.
WYNTON: No.
OLD WOMAN: (MAD
CACKLING LAUGH, FROM OFF)
JOHN: Oh, there
SHE is again.
WYNTON: Yes.
That's enough, that's enough.
JOHN: What are you
going to do, sir?
WYNTON: If this is
some fool game they're playing with us, I'm going to find
about it and put a
stop to it. There's a man and woman living in this house,
there must be some
furniture in at least one of the rooms.
JOHN: And some
heat, sir. I'm chilled to the bone.
WYNTON: Yes, some
heat. If there isn't, then there's something going on here
that we should
investigate and put a stop to. Come along, John.
SOUND: (FOOTSTEPS
IN BG)
JOHN: All right,
sir, if you say so. Where to first?
WYNTON: We'll
start right where we are. Search the whole house. From this
floor up to the
roof, if necessary ... (FADES OUT)
(SOUND: HOWLING
WIND OF STORM ... FOR A TRANSITION ... THEN OUT ... THEN
FOOTSTEPS)
JOHN: Look, Mr.
Wynton, look.
WYNTON: Where?
SOUND: (FOOTSTEPS
STOP)
JOHN: Down to the
end of this hall. There's the old man who was talking to us
in the room
downstairs, telling us to keep away from the bookcase.
WYNTON: I think
you're right. Carrying a shaded lantern.
JOHN: Yes, sir.
WYNTON: John.
We'll follow him.
JOHN: Yes.
SOUND: (FOOTSTEPS
RESUME)
WYNTON: He'll lead
us somewhere. We can't wander in this house all night in
the dark.
JOHN: At any rate,
he has a light.
WYNTON: I don't
think he's noticed us.
JOHN: We'll have
to get close to him before he turns that corner down at the
end of the hall.
WYNTON: Yes.
JOHN: (AFTER A
PAUSE) He's almost at the corner. ... There. He turned.
WYNTON: Hurry. He
might duck into some room close by and we'll lose him.
SOUND: (HURRIED
FOOTSTEPS ... THEN OUT)
WYNTON: Easy now
-- while I peek around the corner.
JOHN: You see him,
sir?
WYNTON: Yes, going
into the first room on the left.
JOHN: (COUGHS)
WYNTON: Quiet.
JOHN: The air is
stale and musty here.
WYNTON: Yes, never
mind about that just now.
JOHN: (HOARSELY)
Makes me gasp for breath. (COUGHS)
WYNTON: Here's the
room he went into. Quiet now while I have a look.
JOHN: (BREATHES
HEAVILY) Is he in there, sir?
WYNTON: Strange.
I'm sure he went in there.
JOHN: He might be
hiding behind the door waiting to pounce on us. (COUGHS)
WYNTON: (AMUSED)
Old man like that couldn't do much pouncing.
JOHN: He might be
armed. (COUGHS)
WYNTON: We'll take
that chance. The - (COUGHS) - air IS stale and musty here,
isn't it?
JOHN: I can hardly
- get my breath.
WYNTON: Yes. The
foul-scented air is coming from that room the old man went
into. Well, if he
can stand it, we can. (COUGHS)
JOHN: All right,
sir. But be careful.
SOUND: (FOOTSTEPS
INTO THE ROOM ... MUCH GASPING, COUGHING AND HEAVY BREATHING
THROUGHOUT ...
WHICH WORSENS AS THE SCENE UNFOLDS)
WYNTON: He's not
in here. If he is, he's turned out the lantern. (CALLS OUT,
HOARSELY) Hello?!
Hello?!
JOHN: There's no
one in here.
SOUND: (DOOR
CREAKS)
WYNTON: Eh?
SOUND: (DOOR SHUTS
NOISILY)
WYNTON: The door,
John. The door just slammed shut.
JOHN: Yes.
SOUND: (HURRIED
FOOTSTEPS TO DOOR ... A THUMP)
JOHN: (GRUNTS IN
PAIN) There's no door here! I ran right into a blank wall.
WYNTON: This is
where the door was?
JOHN: Right here,
yes.
WYNTON: John,
we're trapped.
JOHN: Uhh.
WYNTON: There's
some devilment underfoot in this house. And we're right in the
middle of it.
JOHN: And in a
room with no way out. (COUGHS) And no air. No air!
WYNTON: Now don't
start whimpering. We're in it and we'll have to see what we
can do to get out.
JOHN: But what
could they want of us, sir?
WYNTON: How should
I know?
JOHN: What shall
we do? Just sit and wait?
WYNTON: No, we'll
start looking for a way out of this room right now. If we
only had a light.
(COUGHS) Maybe we can find some other way out of this room.
JOHN: We can try.
WYNTON: You go to
your right, I'll go to the left. We'll follow the wall
around till we
meet.
JOHN: All right.
WYNTON: (MOVING
OFF) Tap the wall as you go along. Listen for hollow spots.
SOUND: (FOOTSTEPS
... TAPPING ... A THUMP)
JOHN: (IN PAIN)
Ooh!
WYNTON: (OFF) Now
what?
JOHN: I stumbled
over something on the floor, sir.
WYNTON: (OFF)
Well, what is it?
JOHN: I don't
know. I shall have to feel. (STARTLED) Oh!
WYNTON: (OFF) What
is it, John?
JOHN: A body, sir.
WYNTON: (OFF) Are
you sure?
JOHN: Yes, sir.
It's the body of a man.
WYNTON: (COMES
CLOSER) Where is it?
JOHN: Oh, don't
touch it, sir. Don't touch it.
WYNTON: Why not?
JOHN: I did. And a
part of it crumbled to bits.
WYNTON: Good
Heaven.
JOHN: Yes, sir. It
crumbled under my touch.
WYNTON: Where -
where is it?
JOHN: Right at my
feet. I'm afraid to move another step.
WYNTON: (BENDS
OVER) We'll see what this is.
JOHN: Yes.
WYNTON: (GASPS)
You're right. I just touched it and part of the clothing
crumbled away.
JOHN: Yes.
WYNTON: And, John,
I - I felt bones!
JOHN: Oh, sir!
That's what's goin' to happen to us -- if we don't get out of
this place. I just
know it is.
WYNTON: This
fellow must've been dead for years. The clothing just crumbled
away in my
fingers.
JOHN: Yes.
WYNTON: John, we
must get out of this place as quickly as possible. We're in
great danger, I am
sure of it. In danger of our lives. We've got to find a way
out of this room
before we suffocate.
JOHN: Why don't we
try to find the place where the door was, sir?
WYNTON: Yes. Back
to the door, John. We haven't time to look for any other
exit. We'll have
to find out how to open the door we came in.
SOUND: (HALTING
FOOTSTEPS, CONTINUES IN BG ... THE GASPING AND HEAVY BREATHING
WORSEN)
JOHN: It's over
this way, sir. Right along this wall.
OLD WOMAN: (EERIE,
MAD CACKLING LAUGHTER ... BRIEFLY)
JOHN: Who's that?
There's the hideous cackle of the old woman again!
WYNTON: Never mind
about that cackle. We've only a few minutes to find a way
out of here. When
that door closed, it hermetically sealed this room. If we
don't get out,
we'll suffocate.
SOUND: (FOOTSTEPS
STOP ... FEELING AND TAPPING ALONG THE WALL ... AND THEN THE
FLOOR)
JOHN: What shall I
do, sir?
WYNTON: Feel along
the floor while I search along the walls here. Feel for any
loose boards or
any part of the floor that might move.
JOHN: Yes, sir.
WYNTON: (AFTER A
TENSE PAUSE, COUGHS) Have you found anything yet?
JOHN: (WEAKLY) No,
sir.
WYNTON: Keep working!
For heaven's sake, keep working!
JOHN: (WEARILY) I
- can't do any more, sir. I'm through.
WYNTON: (PANICS)
Keep searching, John! Keep searching! There MUST be a secret
spring somewhere
in here that'll open this door. Did you find anything yet,
John?
JOHN: (NO ANSWER
EXCEPT A FINAL WHIMPER)
WYNTON: John?!
Answer me!
SOUND: (JOHN
COLLAPSES TO THE FLOOR)
WYNTON: John!
(REALIZES) He's done for. (TO HIMSELF) Don't let go, man! Keep
on! Hang on! We're
not done for yet!
SOUND: (VOICE
DROWNED OUT BY WIND AND STORM ... SOON, DOGS HOWL ... AND WE ARE
BACK WITH THE
HERMIT)
HERMIT: (CACKLING
LAUGHTER FADES IN) Mr. Wynton and his man John -- trapped in
a house of mystery
-- suffocating in a hermetically sealed room. Where is the
old man with the
lantern - eh? The Hermit will tell you before the night is
done! (CACKLES)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOUND: (WIND BLOWS
... DOGS HOWL ... IN BG)
HERMIT: (CACKLING
LAUGHTER) Wynton and his man John are trapped in a
hermetically
sealed room in a house of mystery. Yes, John has lapsed into
unconsciousness.
But just as Wynton is about to drop off -- something happens.
Listen. (CACKLES)
SOUND: (WIND AND
DOGS FADE)
WYNTON: (GASPING)
SOUND: (A LOUD
CLICK)
WYNTON: John?
SOUND: (MOVEABLE
WALL SLIDES NOISILY OPENS)
WYNTON: John,
we've made it!
SOUND: (WALL
STOPS)
WYNTON: I've found
the hidden spring just in time.
JOHN: (GROANS)
WYNTON:
(STRUGGLES) I'll - get you out of here. (DRAGS JOHN'S BODY OUT OF
ROOM) Here. Here.
You'll be all right in no time.
SOUND: (THEIR
BREATHING SLOWLY IMPROVES DURING DIALOGUE)
JOHN: (REGAINS HIS
SENSES) Oh. It's you, sir.
WYNTON: Yes. Now,
come on ... pull yourself together.
JOHN: Where are
we?
WYNTON: I don't
know. But at least we're out of that death trap.
JOHN: How did we do
it, sir?
WYNTON: Just
before I went under, I - I happened on that hidden spring that
works the door.
JOHN: What about
the old man with the lantern? And the cackling old woman? And
the crumbling body
of the man?
WYNTON: We're
going to see about those things immediately. I'm going to get to
the bottom of this
thing. Come on.
JOHN: And - and
get suffocated all over again?
WYNTON: I don't
think we will. Besides, I know where the release for the door
is now. Come
along. Careful. Take an extra-long step when you enter the room.
I think we tripped
some kind of mechanism when we first entered.
JOHN: Yes, sir.
WYNTON: Old man
with a lantern went into this room - and disappeared.
JOHN: But where
can he have got to? If he stayed in the room, he must have
suffocated.
WYNTON: He didn't
stay in the room. I'm positive of that.
SOUND: (TWO SHARP
TAPS ON WALL)
WYNTON: Keep your
ears open. Listen for any hollow sounds.
SOUND: (MORE
DOUBLE-TAPPING, ENDING ON TWO THAT MAKE A HOLLOW SOUND)
JOHN: Oooh.
There's one, sir.
WYNTON: Yes, I
heard it.
OLD MAN: (MUFFLED,
ANGRY) You'll do as I tell you.
WYNTON: Listen.
OLD WOMAN:
(MUFFLED, CRYING) I won't! I won't!
OLD MAN: (MUFFLED,
INDISTINCT)
WYNTON: Don't you
hear someone talking?
JOHN: No, sir.
WYNTON: Put your
ear to the wall. Listen.
OLD WOMAN:
(MUFFLED) I can't do any more, I tell you. I can't!
OLD MAN: (MUFFLED)
You'll do as I tell you or you know--
WYNTON: Do you
hear it now?
JOHN: Yes, sir.
Two people talking.
WYNTON: Yes. I
knew that old man couldn't have vanished into thin air. There's
another door
hidden here somewhere - and we're going to find it. Feel for
anything moveable
around the wainscoting. I'll work up the sides here.
SOUND: (FEELING
ALONG THE WALL ... OLD MAN AND WOMAN CONTINUE TO ARGUE
INDISTINCTLY IN
BG)
JOHN: Can you hear
what they're saying?
WYNTON: No,
they're too far away to catch any of the words. However, from his
tone, I'd say he
was threatening her.
SOUND: (A LOUD
CLICK)
WYNTON: Ah!
JOHN: You found
it, sir?
SOUND: (MOVEABLE
WALL SLIDES NOISILY OPEN)
WYNTON: Yes. This
little bug on the decoration here.
JOHN: Look, sir. A
flight of stairs.
WYNTON: Yes, and
leading down. Come on.
JOHN: Oh, haven't
we had enough for one night, sir, without sticking our noses
in any further?
WYNTON: We've gone
this far and had an attempt made on our lives. We're going
to clear up this
business before we leave.
JOHN: No telling
what might be down there, sir.
WYNTON: That's
what I'm going to find out. Well? Coming with me or shall I go
alone?
JOHN: Oh, no, sir,
I'm coming.
SOUND: (FOOTSTEPS
DOWN STAIRS ... OLD MAN AND WOMAN'S VOICES GROW LOUDER ...
WOMAN IS CRYING
THROUGHOUT ... THE VOICES OF WYNTON AND JOHN ARE HEARD THROUGH
A FILTER UNTIL
THEY ENTER THE ROOM WITH THE OLD MAN AND WOMAN)
WYNTON: (FILTER)
Ah, you can hear them talking a little more clearly now.
OLD MAN: You'll do
as I tell you, do you understand that?
OLD WOMAN: No.
WYNTON: (FILTER)
Close enough to make out their conversation.
OLD MAN: Now there
are two more up there - with Gregory.
OLD WOMAN: Yes.
OLD MAN: (CHUCKLES
OMINOUSLY)
WYNTON: (FILTER)
Man we saw with the lantern. He's talking about us, John.
JOHN: (FILTER)
Yes, sir.
WYNTON: (FILTER)
He thinks we're dead upstairs with that body we found.
OLD MAN: If you do
not continue to obey me, that's what will happen to you!
OLD WOMAN: Oh, no.
No!
OLD MAN: (CHUCKLES
OMINOUSLY) Cringe. Cringe! That's what I want you to do!
WYNTON: (FILTER)
Come on, John. We'll see what we can do about this.
OLD MAN: When I'm
gone, you think all the money will be yours.
OLD WOMAN:
(DEFIANT) I don't know what you're talking about!
OLD MAN: Oh, yes,
you do. (CHUCKLES OMINOUSLY) Yes, you do!
WYNTON: (FILTER)
There's a turn in the passage just ahead. I can see a light
shining. Quietly
now. We'll be able to see into the room in a moment or so.
OLD MAN: Tomorrow,
you will bring me another young animal to feed upon.
OLD WOMAN: Yes,
Brother Garnett.
JOHN: (FILTER)
It's her brother that's talking.
WYNTON: (FILTER)
Yes. Easy now, while I look around the corner. (PAUSE) What
in Heaven's name?
JOHN: (FILTER)
What do you see, sir?
WYNTON: (FILTER)
Come here.
JOHN: (FILTER)
Great Heavens. A coffin.
WYNTON: (FILTER)
Yes, a coffin.
JOHN: (FILTER)
With a huge lighted candle at each corner.
WYNTON: (FILTER)
And look IN the coffin.
JOHN: (FILTER) A
man.
WYNTON: (FILTER)
The one we heard talking.
OLD MAN: When you
get back to your cottage each morning, you wonder where
you've been the
night before. Don't you? Eh? (CHUCKLES OMINOUSLY)
WYNTON: (FILTER)
There you are, John.
JOHN: (FILTER) But
his lips don't move.
WYNTON: (FILTER)
No, but that's where the voice is coming from.
OLD MAN: You don't
know that I have you under my power. (CHUCKLES OMINOUSLY)
JOHN: (FILTER)
What shall we do, sir?
WYNTON: (FILTER)
We'll dash in there and let matters take their course. Are
you ready?
JOHN: (FILTER)
Yes, sir.
WYNTON: (FILTER)
Come on, then.
SOUND: (HURRIED
FOOTSTEPS ... WYNTON AND JOHN DASH INTO THE ROOM)
OLD MAN: Lydia!
The candles! Quick! Out with them!
WYNTON: Stop!
Stop! John! Quickly! That cover over there!
SOUND: (WYNTON AND
JOHN LIFT A HEAVY COFFIN LID AND CARRY IT TO COFFIN)
WYNTON: Slam it on
the coffin!
SOUND: (LID
SLAMMED ON COFFIN)
OLD WOMAN:
(SHRIEKS, WHIMPERS, GASPS -- AS THE VAMPIRE'S SPELL OVER HER IS
BROKEN AND SHE
TRANSFORMS)
JOHN: The lady.
Look at her. Look at the change that's coming over her.
LYDIA:
(RECOVERING, SUDDENLY SOUNDS YOUNGER) Oh! Oh! Oh, where am I? (GASPS,
STARTLED) A - a
coffin! You two -- where am I?
WYNTON:
(ASTONISHED) You should know better than us.
LYDIA: But I - But
I - I don't.
WYNTON: Are you
sure?
LYDIA: Oh, yes.
Yes! Oh, please believe me-- (GASPS, REALIZES) Why, I - I
begin to
understand now.
WYNTON: (SLOWLY) I
think I do, too.
LYDIA: (SOBERLY)
It's been this all the time. While I thought it was just a
terrible
nightmare.
WYNTON: Would you
like to make yourself clear?
LYDIA: (ANXIOUS)
The coffin! Tell me. Who's in it? Who's in the coffin?
WYNTON: You mean
to say that you don't know?
LYDIA: Oh, no, I
swear I don't.
WYNTON: Well, you
called him "brother" just a few moments ago.
LYDIA: (GASPS)
Brother?
WYNTON: Your own
brother Garnett is in that coffin.
LYDIA: Nooo. No.
How can that be? We buried my brother Garnett over eight
years ago.
WYNTON: Ohhh, I
see.
LYDIA: Yes.
WYNTON: And you
are--?
LYDIA: I'm Lydia
Crampton.
WYNTON: Miss
Crampton, I would advise you to start at the beginning so that we
might unravel this
maze.
LYDIA: Oh, I--
I'll try. But-- Oh, but not here, please.
WYNTON: Yes, here.
If my deductions are correct, it would be better for
everyone concerned
to get the truth -- right here and now.
LYDIA: All right.
There's very little I can tell you that I know definitely.
Brother Garnett
died about eight years ago. I - I hate to say it - but he was
horrible. He was a
devil. As soon as father died and he came into the money,
he started making
my life miserable.
WYNTON: Why?
LYDIA: I never
could find out why. Then Garnett died and was buried. And with
him was buried the
secret of father's will. I know that the estate was
supposed to pass
on to me after Garnett's death but I can't find any sign of
the will.
WYNTON: Well, what
have you done?
LYDIA: I have a
small income from my mother. I've been living in a little
cottage not far
from here. And now comes the part that's like a terrible
dream. But I'm
beginning to see it now. (SLOWLY) I'm positive that I'm right
when I say that
Garnett somehow was able to exercise his will upon me, after
death.
WYNTON: What makes
you say that?
LYDIA: What I've
been thinking were horrible nightmares, I now see were actual
occurrences. He
made me come here every night to wait upon him. He told me
that Gregory, his
butler, had placed him here in this coffin - and had buried
a dummy in his
place. Then he killed Gregory.
WYNTON: The body
in the room upstairs?
LYDIA: Yes.
(DARKLY) When he had me under his spell, I used to pass through
that room and
laugh at the remains of Gregory -- call him lazy for always
sleeping on the
floor. To think that I would do a thing like that.
WYNTON: Go ahead,
Miss Crampton.
LYDIA: He made me
bring him a young animal every day or two.
WYNTON: What was
that for?
LYDIA: He - fed
upon them.
WYNTON: Ah, I
thought so. He feeds upon the blood of animals?
LYDIA: Yes. He
sucked the blood from them. And, when he had fed, he had the
strength to get
out of his coffin for a while.
JOHN: (UNNERVED,
TO WYNTON) This is horrible! Stop her!
WYNTON: No, quiet,
John. (TO HIMSELF) Then that's how we saw him in the hall
upstairs. (TO
LYDIA) Go ahead, Miss Crampton.
LYDIA: That is
about all. He used to taunt me by the hour, telling me I'd
never come into my
inheritance.
WYNTON: I see.
When we slammed the lid on the coffin, we broke his spell over
you.
LYDIA: (REALIZES
THIS IS TRUE) Yes! You MUST have done.
WYNTON: Tell me,
Miss Crampton, where, in this room, are we in connection with
the rest of the
house?
LYDIA: I - don't
know. It must be on the ground floor, I suppose.
WYNTON: That's
what I was thinking.
SOUND: (TAPPING ON
WALL)
WYNTON: I have an
idea.
JOHN: What is it,
sir?
SOUND: (MORE
TAPPING ON WALL, ENDING WITH HOLLOW TAPS)
WYNTON: Ah. Hear
that?
JOHN: Another
hollow spot.
WYNTON: Exactly.
Now, watch this point right here.
JOHN: Yes, sir?
WYNTON: We'll
press it and--
SOUND: (CLICK)
WYNTON: Mm.
SOUND: (MOVEABLE
WALL SLIDES NOISILY OPEN)
JOHN: It's
opening!
LYDIA: Why - why,
it's the bookcase in the front room.
WYNTON: Look at
this in the back of the bookcase -- a small secret
compartment.
OLD MAN: (MUFFLED,
FROM UNDER COFFIN LID, INDISTINCT MUMBLING ... THEN,
OMINOUSLY) Keep
away from the bookcase!
LYDIA: (GASPS)
JOHN: The dead
body is talking! Talking even with the coffin lid on.
WYNTON: All right,
John. We're ready to put a stop to his talking. Here, Miss
Crampton -- a
package from the compartment in the back of the bookcase. I
think you'll find
it's your father's will.
LYDIA: Father's
will?
WYNTON: Yes. Now,
John, take those candles out of the candlesticks.
JOHN: Yes, sir.
WYNTON: Hand the
candles to Miss Crampton. Now, hand me one candlestick and
use the other as a
hammer.
JOHN: But what are
we going to do, sir?
WYNTON: We're
going to put an end to Garnett Crampton.
JOHN: But how,
sir? What are we going to do with the candlesticks?
WYNTON: I'll show
you. I'll use the ornamental pointed end of this candlestick
as a spear. You
use your candlestick as a hammer. We'll drive this one through
the heart of that
monster in the coffin.
LYDIA: No, no!
JOHN: But that
would be murder!
WYNTON: It will
not! He only lives during the night. Go on, strike!
SOUND: (JOHN
STARTS HAMMERING ON THE CANDLESTICK, GRUNTING A LITTLE WITH EVERY
BLOW ... CONTINUES
IN BG)
OLD MAN: (MUFFLED)
Stop it! Stop it, I say! (CONTINUES YELLING INDECIPHERABLY
IN BG)
WYNTON: We'll
release his soul so that it'll never trouble anyone on Earth
again.
OLD MAN: (MUFFLED)
Please--! (CONTINUES IN BG)
WYNTON: Faster,
John!
JOHN: I'm working
as fast as I can, sir!
WYNTON: When Miss
Crampton told me of its feeding on young animals--
JOHN: Sucking the
blood?
WYNTON: Yes. I
knew then that we had a vampire to deal with.
LYDIA: Oh, what
are you doing? For heaven's sakes, what are you doing?
WYNTON: We're
ridding the face of the Earth of a vampire.
SOUND: (ONE LAST
HAMMER BLOW)
OLD MAN:
(BLOODCURDLING SCREAM)
LYDIA: (SHRIEKS)
WYNTON: (AFTER A
BRIEF PAUSE, SIGHS) It's done. We've driven the point of this
candlestick
through the coffin and through the heart of Garnett Crampton --
who's long been
dead but whose soul has been held in bondage by the result of
his evil practices
in life.
SOUND: (WIND BLOWS
... DOGS HOWL ... IN BG)
HERMIT: (CACKLING
LAUGHTER) With a heavy candlestick used as a spear, Wynton
and his man John
put an end to the vampire's desire. Yes, released his soul so
it could never
again return to the Earth. Turn on your lights! Turn them on!
(CACKLES) I'll be
back. Pleasant dreams! (CACKLES)
(SOUND: WIND AND
DOGS CONTINUE)
ANNOUNCER: All
characters, places and occurrences mentioned in "The Hermit's
Cave" are
fictitious and similarity to persons, places or occurrences is
purely accidental.
(SOUND: WIND AND
DOGS CONTINUE ... THEN FADE)
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