Ep 9 | Transcript

00:01:52

NARRATOR

In October of 2011, 4 college students disappeared in the woods near Porter Township Pennsylvania while researching a documentary on children’s author Jakob Stanley. They remain missing to this day. Last month their recordings appeared online.

00:02:09

NARRATOR (CONT’D)

In an effort to aid in the investigation, the families of those missing have agreed to release the following sound files. If anyone has information on those missing or the identity of the person or persons who uploaded these files, please use the contact information provided. Anything submitted may be used in future episodes. Certain materials referenced in this podcast, including the published works of Jakob Stanley, are currently protected under U.S. copyright law and may be redacted. For legal reasons, some names have been withheld and voices altered. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the podcasters and participants, and do not represent the official policy or position of the Iphigenia County Police Department of Porter Township Pennsylvania or its associates. This podcast contains adult themes and language. Listener discretion is advised.

SFX: BEEP, BEEP, BEEP

00:02:59

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Announcement. Having come to the end of the recordings in our possession, we had intended for the next episode - episode 10 - to be our last. However, this week we received new source recordings anonymously uploaded to our podcast tip line. We implore the person or persons who uploaded these files to come forward. Please, tell us how you came into possession of these sound recordings. Do you have any information on the whereabouts of Tolen Reed, Avery Fischer, Charles Young and Ruby Jean Alvarez. Do you know where they are? ... If anyone else has information on the missing, know the identity of the person or persons who uploaded these files, have a theory about the case, or have had your own unexplainable experiences in Iphigenia County, Pennsylvania. Please record a message via our website at: jakobstanley.com. Thank you.

00:04:05

PROFESSOR WHITAKER (CONT’D)

File labeled: “009 Rough Cut, Episode 9 - Tell Me a Story: The True Life of Jakob Stanley.”

SFX: The graveyard outside Stanley’s mausoleum is a quiet void, except for the wind being drawn through the trees and fallen leaves.

SFX: Mic cuts on.

00:04:19

CHUCK

That’s it! I’m going back to the Homestead.

SFX: Chuck takes off toward the car, the others scramble after her.

AVERY

Wait, wait, wait. Come on, man? Just a few more minutes... 5 tops.

CHUCK

You have 2 and then I am driving off, with or without you.

TOLEN

You just had to give her the keys.

AVERY

I didn’t give her the keys, I have them right here.

CHUCK

No! I have them. They’re right here.

SFX: Chuck pulls the keys from her pocket and Avery grabs them from Chuck’s hand.

CHUCK (CONT’D)

HEY!

Ha-hah!

CHUCK

You suck!

AVERY

In fairness, I didn’t think that would actually work.

TOLEN

I am very impressed.

AVERY

Thank you.

CHUCK

What is wrong with you people!

Guys, we’re supposed to be on a call with Whitaker, like right now.

TOLEN

Shit, yes, yes. Damn it.

AVERY

Oh, she will be mega pissed.

CHUCK

Not if we get back to the Homestead and call her IMMEDIATELY!?

AVERY

Meh, too late for that now.

TOLEN

Ya think?

Yeah, I agree. So, we might as well check out the mausoleum.

CHUCK

Did I mention that I hate you people? Because I feel very strongly that I should reiterate that.

Or what about this: Tolen and Chuck, you guys go back to the Homestead, talk to Whitaker, while me and Avery... well...

TOLEN

Break into Stanley’s mausoleum?!

You okay with that?

AVERY

Sure, I mean, half the work has already been done for us?

CHUCK

By the spirit of a vengeful horse! But, fine. Tolen let’s go.

TOLEN

What? Wait, how will you get back?

AVERY

Well, you guys are gonna have to come back and pick us up.

Yeah, whenever you get done with Whitaker.

AVERY

Or there’s a payphone over there, we could call you when we’re done.

That’s a payphone? Weird.

TOLEN

I don’t know.

SFX: RJ and Avery lead Tolen and Chuck back to the car.

00:05:39

It’s obvious you guys wanna get a look in there, I know I do. So we kinda gotta jump on this now. We don’t know when someone’s going to report this to the police.

AVERY

Don’t want to miss our window of opportunity.

TOLEN

Sure, but -

- Also we’ll draw less attention with fewer people here.

AVERY

Good point.

TOLEN

That’s true.-

- And maybe Chuck’s right? Maybe it is better to deal with Whitaker tonight, ya know?

AVERY

At the very least, it’ll get her off our backs for a few days.

SFX: Avery opens the car door for Tolen and passes him the keys.

Tolen, can you pop the trunk?

TOLEN

Wha?

Just gonna grab some gear... to get coverage of the inside.

AVERY

Yeah, you wanna see this shit don’t you?

TOLEN

Uh, okay.

SFX: Tolen gets into the car and pops the trunk. Over the car hood Chuck says:

00:06:13

CHUCK

Well played.

AVERY

Just don’t forget to pick us up.

CHUCK

Copy that.

SFX: Chuck jumps into the passenger seat, slamming the door. RJ closes the trunk.

AVERY

You good?

Yeah.

AVERY

Okay, so-

TOLEN

-WAIT!

SFX: Tolen jumps out of the car and runs off.

CHUCK

What the hell is he doing?

AVERY

Think he is heading towards the - yup, the payphone.

Why? To make sure it works?

AVERY

I think he is writing down its number.

CHUCK

They have their own numbers?

SFX: Tolen starts heading back to the car.

AVERY

You two really don’t know how pay phones work, do you?

I didn’t even know what that was.

SFX: Tolen gets to the car.

TOLEN

Just a little peace of mind.

AVERY

So, we good?

SFX: Tolen gets into the car and shuts the door.

TOLEN

We’re good.

SFX: Tolen puts the keys in the ignition and opens the window.

TOLEN (CONT’D)

Okay, so-

AVERY

- We’ll film everything and take pictures of every square inch.

Outside, inside, even neighboring graves, we’ll get it all.

TOLEN

The second we are off with Whitaker, we’ll come back and park here. And if anything goes wrong-

AVERY

We’ll call the front desk and have them get you. Cool?

TOLEN

I still don’t like this.

AVERY

I mean, you could stay with us and let Chuck take the call with Whitaker alone?

TOLEN

Well, no one wants that.

CHUCK

They certainly do not.

TOLEN

Okay, fine. Yes, cool. We will be back as soon as possible, okay?

AVERY

Yes please. Now scoot.

SFX: Tolen starts the car.

TOLEN

Be safe.

RJ & AVERY

We will.

SFX: The car pulls away.

AVERY

I swear he can be worse than my mother.

00:07:31

Ready?

AVERY

Yeah. Let’s get haunted.

PODCAST INTRO SEQUENCE

NEWS ANNOUNCER

WN [BEEP REDACTED] TV New York.

MUSIC: [80’s NEWS INTRO THEME]

NEWS ANCHOR ‘83

If your child has been to a school book fair recently, chances are they came home with one of this author’s scary books-

MUSIC: [80’s SUNDAY TALK SHOW THEME]

SUNDAY MORNING TALK SHOW HOST ‘81

Our guest’s first anthology leapt to the top of the New York Times Best Sellers list -

MUSIC: [LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW INTRO APPLAUSE]

LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST ‘86

- Thank you. Thank you! Over the past few years, he has become a household name -

MUSIC: [PODCAST THEME]

PUBLIC RADIO HOST ‘92

- Bridging the gap between Alvin Schwartz and Stephen King -

TV PREACHER

- The devil is among us, friends.

CONGREGATION

AMEN!

TV PREACHER

He’s among us, in the form of a writer. -

SUNDAY MORNING TALK SHOW HOST ‘81

- The book might have struggled during it initial release in 1977, but now “Tell Me A Story: Under the Bed That’s Over My Head”, has skyrocketed -

ALSC COMMITTEE REP

- So many parent organizations complained that his work was too sophisticated for children-

TV PREACHER

- He has infiltrated your homes, and your children’s minds-

PUBLIC RADIO HOST ‘92

- His second macabre anthology “Tell Me A Story: Moonless Sky and Other Friends” sold out from bookstores in mere minutes. Becoming a controversial -

NEWS ANCHOR ‘83

- Stanley's books ranked on the American Library Association’s “100 Most Frequently Challenged Books” from 1981-1993 -

TV PREACHER

- Stanley’s books promote disobedience, violence and the occult! Lord have mercy -

PUBLIC RADIO HOST ‘92

- The 3rd volume in his “Tell Me A Story” collection “The Floor That Creaks, the Closet That Speaks and the Tip Toes That You Walk On” was released in 1986 to mass acclaim -

ALSC COMMITTEE REP

- All that fussing, just made his work more popular -

TV PREACHER

- Check your children’s rooms, check their bookshelves, check their back-packs! -

YOUTUBER

- I do think his final book, released in ‘99, “TMAS: The nightmare, The Dream and the Places Between,” was by far his best work.-

PUBLIC RADIO HOST ‘92

- His work has been described as “subversive” and “dark,” I simply describe it as genius.

SUNDAY MORNING TALK SHOW HOST ‘81

- It is my pleasure to introduce -

LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST ‘86

- Please welcome -

PUBLIC RADIO HOST ‘92

- Ladies and gentleman, please welcome -

SUNDAY MORNING TALK SHOW HOST ‘81

- Jakob Stanley.-

LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST ‘86

- Mister Jakob Stanley.

PUBLIC RADIO HOST ‘92

- Author, Jakob Stanley.

[Applause.]

MUSIC: [POD THEME SYNTH]

00:09:16

AVERY/NARRATOR

Little to nothing is known about the life of this elusive author. And since 1999 Jakob Stanley seems to have completely dropped off the face of the earth. Until a short two-line obituary appeared in a small town paper, over a year ago.

TOLEN/NARRATOR

From BOO Labs and Red Cup Media, I'm Tolen Reid -

AVERY/NARRATOR

And I'm Avery Fischer, this is TELL ME A STORY: THE TRUE LIFE OF JAKOB STANLEY.

SFX: Mic clicks on. Chuck tries to record as Tolen hides in the bathroom, getting verbally destroyed over the phone by Professor Whitaker.

00:09:57

CHUCK/NARRATION

I guess I do this now... Uh, Tolen and I are back at the Homestead, we’re supposed to be having a phone meeting with Professor Whitaker. Who, as you can possibly hear in the background, has placed us on her shit list. She’s been out for our blood since we named-dropped our university to get out of jail... And we have been avoiding her ever since. I just want to make it clear, we technically were not arrested for anything, we just didn’t know how to get ourselves out of there. Also, just to clarify... we know nothing about Jane Stanley’s disappearance. We barely know her. So. ... That just sounds guilty - I don’t want to sound guilty. We’re not guilty! That didn’t help either... shit. AH! Fuck - I only started recording because I set everything up for the Whitaker meeting. And, then that turned into more of a personal reaming, so Tolen took it to the bathroom and I got bored. [Chuck exhales deeply.] Avery, please don’t actually use this. ... Huh, RJ and Avery remained behind at St. Lucy’s graveyard to see if they can wedge themselves into a hole we found on the side of Jakob Stanley’s mausoleum. For what purpose? I have no idea!

SFX: “BOO” Intro Sting

00:11:17

Is there anyone here?

SFX: There is a beat of silence, we only hear the creepy basement and echoes of their breath.

MUSIC: [BOO THEME]

RJ/NARRATOR

We are all comprised of matter and energy.

CHUCK

What was that?!

I didn’t hear anything?

SFX: A crashing sound comes from the corner of the basement.

CHUCK

Did you freaken’ hear that?!

RJ/NARRATOR

So, if the Law of Conservation of Energy - the basic tenet of thermodynamics - is true, what happens to our energy after we die...

ORBS!

CHUCK

Oh, hell no.

RJ/NARRATOR

If it cannot simply... disappear?

Did you see that?

RJ/NARRATOR

We want to know.

CHUCK

Ahhh, nononononono!!!

RJ/NARRATOR

This is Charles Young and I am RJ Álvarez and this is “BOO...Beyond Our Observation.”

CHUCK

Nononononono! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Chuck come back.

00:12:20

RJ/NARRATOR

The Mausoleum of Jakob Stanley - St. Lucy’s Graveyard, Porter Township, Pennsylvania.

SFX: Tolen is still talking to Whitaker over the phone in the bathroom, but it's less hostile.

00:12:31

CHUCK/NARRATION

- Yeah, sooooo... Uh, Whitaker is still taking Tolen for a ride... but it seems like it has finally turned into more of a conversation? She’s been at him for over an hour, though, so it took awhile to get there. It sounded like he played her some excerpts of what we have so far and that might of actually helped, I think? ... Anyway... I really hope RJ and Avery are not being too stupid.

SFX: Stanley's crypt is hollow and dank. The iron gate that surrounds the mausoleum creaks in the wind outside.

SFX: The mic makes a shrill screech.

AVERY

Shit.

SFX: The mic distorts and pops back.

We good?

AVERY

Uh... Yeah, and we are back up and running.

That battery died fast.

00:13:15

AVERY

I’m pretty sure we got the top, so we can just pick up wherever.

K...so ready?

AVERY

Rolling, rolling.

So, BOO Berries, we have motion sensors in each of the corners, body cams are on, EMF meter in hand and ghost box on deck. And we are going dark in 5...

AVERY

I hate this part.

4...3...2...1! LIGHTS OUT!

SFX: Clicks of flashlights being turned off.

AVERY

Oh, crap.

(to ghosts)

I am calling out to the Spirit of Russell Jakob Stanley. We’re here for you, please make contact.

RJ (CONT’D)

(to ghosts)

If there is anybody here right now can you give me a couple of knocks, or taps? Anybody here?

SFX: Distant rustling sound.

AVERY

What was that?

What did you hear?

AVERY

It was like a... I don’t know, it was from outside? Maybe?

00:14:14

(to ghosts)

I'm asking you if it would be okay, if you could just talk to us for a little bit?

RJ (CONT’D)

(to ghosts)

We can see your grave has been disturbed, and we want to help bring whoever did this to justice?

AVERY

Really?

Shhh. ...

(to ghosts)

Who did this to your tomb?

RJ (CONT’D)

(to ghosts)

Did you die of natural causes? In your home?

RJ (CONT’D)

(to ghosts)

What does the symbol on your tomb mean?

AVERY

(whispering)

The light over there... It fluttered.

The motion sensor in the northern corner of the tomb has fluttered on.

AVERY

Isn’t doing this in a mausoleum kinda cheating. Like shooting fish in a barrel?

00:14:56

Okay, so I'm now going to put the EMF meter on, to see if we can pick up some energy.

SFX: EMF meter clicks on.

SFX: Distant sound... could be nothing.

RJ (CONT’D)

Did you hear that?

AVERY

I didn’t hear anything?

(to ghosts)

Don’t be afraid, come and talk to us.

RJ (CONT’D)

Do you feel any cold spots around you?

AVERY

I’m already freezing, so I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

SFX: The wind howls.

Shhhh... shh...

SFX: Distant ghastly breathing.

RJ (CONT’D)

Oh shit! What was that?

AVERY

Was it you? Are you screwing with me?

No, I’m not doing anything, are you?

AVERY

NO! Fuck man. I hate this. No wonder Chuck is so high strung.

SFX: BOO Transition Sting.

SFX: The mic pops on. Professor Whitaker is on a very horrible speaker phone.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Make this quick. I took a Xanax and bedtime is looking real good to me right now.

00:15:49

TOLEN

No worries, we can crank this out, I just wanted to make sure we got coverage of our call.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

You mean you don’t wanna use the last 45 minutes?

TOLEN

Yeah, ha, ha. So, uh, Chuck is here with us.

[Chuck groans]

CHUCK

Hey, Professor Whitaker!

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Tick-tock.

TOLEN

Uhm, just so the listeners know, I have been leaving Professor Whitaker voicemails to keep her in the loop of our day to day.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Avery and Ruby Jean aren’t there with ya?

TOLEN

Uh, no they are conducting an interview, and we couldn’t reschedule it.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Uh-huh.

TOLEN

Yes, right. So, Professor Whitaker knows the gist of what has been going on, and has been very understanding of our lack of internet and cell service.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

But, I expect you to send me everything you have the second you can sneak online at the Amherst.

TOLEN

Yes, yes, of course. We just need to... figure out how to do that.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Tolen, ... I need your files, notes... something.

00:16:48

TOLEN

No, I know. It’s not like we’re trying to keep anything from you.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Uh-huh.

TOLEN

I promise the second we can work out a plan, we will send you everything.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

I’m gonna choose to believe you.

TOLEN

Okay, good, great, great ... Uh, so ... Do you have any questions for-

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

-Have they found Jane Stanley yet?

TOLEN

As far as we know, no.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

You don’t have anything to do with that, right?

TOLEN

What? No, of course not!

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Had to ask. Is the fire out?

CHUCK

Uh, I got this one. According to our sources here-

TOLEN

-Wallace Embry, Stanley’s neighbor, I told you about him.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Yeah, Chuck’s new BFF, continue.

CHUCK

Uh. Yeah, that one. Well, he... Uh, the fire appears to be out, but it did restart a few times in different spots, so they are not completely ruling out the possibility of a mine fire, but for now everything seems clear.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

You don’t have anything to do with that either, right?

00:17:45

TOLEN

My God, no.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Just checking. Okay... Well, what’s her name...Moira? The crematorium lady.

TOLEN

Yes, Moira Palmer.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

You guys hit the jackpot there. I don’t think it was appropriate for her to share that information, but at least y’all got it.

TOLEN

Yup.

CHUCK

Truly inappropriate.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

I’d keep a tight lid on the fact you have a copy of Stanley’s death certificate.

TOLEN

Right, right-right-right.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

I can’t believe there wasn’t an autopsy.

00:18:13

TOLEN

Moira didn’t feel good about that either, but she was already between a rock and a hard place.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

I get that, but come on now. How do they even really know it was him? And if it was him, how did he die?

CHUCK

He could have pulled a Harry Lime?

TOLEN

A what?

CHUCK

Wallace said something about how Stanley coulda pulled a “Harry Lime?” That’s suicide, right?

TOLEN

Oh, shit. I guess he could have. I never thought about it-

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

- No, children, that’s from The Third Man. It’s a film... haven’t watched in awhile, but I sure as shit remember that the character Harry Lime fakes his own death.

CHUCK

Huh, and here I thought fuzzy fruit had something to do with suicide, where is my head at.

TOLEN

When did Wallace tell you that?

CHUCK

One of the nights we crashed there? Your ass fell asleep early, so we’d go to the backyard and talk.

TOLEN

What else did he say?!

CHUCK

I mean, he said lots of stuff.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Y’all should get an interview with that man.

CHUCK

Uh, sure? I’ll call him. He wants to have us over for dinner so.

TOLEN

Perfect. ... You should have told me about the Lime thing.

CHUCK

Why? You didn’t know what it meant either?

TOLEN

How did you think it meant suicide?

CHUCK

I don’t know... like cockney?

TOLEN

What?

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Knock it off! Chuck, get down on paper everything that man said and follow up.

00:19:26

CHUCK

Yes, professor.

[Whitaker yawns.]

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Oh, uh, good work on talking the Amherst into giving y’all his school record. I woulda' never guessed that was possible.

TOLEN

Uh, yes, thanks.

CHUCK

It was a team effort.

TOLEN

Come on, Chuck.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

That Harrison K. McKechney, I wonder what his deal is now. He might be an interesting interview if you can get him.

CHUCK

Have you told her about the Harker interview yet?

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

The what now?

TOLEN

Uh, nothing, it's a possible referral for an interview we got from a farmer in town. We just need more information to see if it is... credible.

CHUCK

You haven’t told her about David Rockland, either? ... I fucking knew it.

00:20:04

TOLEN

So, yeah we just need to get more background, make sure the information is, you know, GOOD.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Speaking of background, something about all that Mendenhall shit stuck in my craw. So, I started looking into “The Order of the Light,” or “The Light of His Word,” whatever “The Light” thing. Haven’t found much yet, but I’m sure something will shake out.

TOLEN

I still can’t believe he owned the grounds of a defunct mental institute. And to top it off it’s haunted!? Doesn’t get more Stanley than that!

CHUCK

Sure doesn’t.

[Tolen clears his throat nervously.]

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Now, I know you haven’t been able to go through all that stuff from the house, but you might wanna do a little dive in there ASAP. Need to put together a full catalog of everything you got from the Stanley house - equipment, tapes, everything. Tag and label all of it. Same goes for everything you took from the camper. Did Chuck really lose that camper stuff or has it turned up?

00:21:01

CHUCK

You told her?

TOLEN

Ha, well it was gone-

CHUCK

Such a dick.

TOLEN

But we got a message tonight from one of the Troopers and he said they found it in the woods during the Jane search and he would drop it by.

CHUCK

- In fact I’m gonna run down to the front desk and check right now.

TOLEN

Sorry I didn’t-

CHUCK

Back in a mo’, Professor.

SFX: Chuck and Tolen have a mini off-mic hissy-fit at each other.

TOLEN

(desperate whisper)

Don’t leave me.

CHUCK

Byyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeee.

SFX: Chuck exits slamming the door.

SFX: BOO Transition Sting.

SFX: The crypt is hollow and dank. The iron gate that surrounds the mausoleum creaks in the wind outside.

00:21:28

I'm going to turn on the BOO box right now, running at 300 channels per millisecond to see if we can pick up Stanley’s words in the white noise. Ready?

(to ghosts)

So, Jakob, this is a tool that will help you communicate with us.

SFX: The spirit box goes on, it is loud and jarring, rapidly switching through frequencies.

00:21:49

AVERY

Bah, so damn loud!

I know, sorry.

AVERY

Make it quick dude, any one passing by could hear that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah ...

(to ghosts)

Can you tell us who is here with us right now, please? ...

RJ (CONT’D)

(to ghosts)

Are we speaking to Jakob Stanley?

SFX: Between the rapidly switching frequencies, the spirit box spits out an unintelligible word.

RJ (CONT’D)

(to ghosts)

Can you tell me who did this to your grave?

RJ (CONT’D)

(to ghosts)

We just want to communicate with you.

RJ (CONT'D)

(to ghosts)

We mean you no harm.

00:22:30

RJ (CONT’D)

(to ghosts)

How did you die?

SFX: Between the rapidly switching frequencies, the spirit box spits out an unintelligible word.

RJ (CONT’D)

(to ghosts)

Why did you purchase the Mendenhall?

RJ (CONT’D)

(to ghosts)

Did you see patient Number 349 hang herself?

RJ (CONT’D)

(to ghosts)

What was your wife’s name?

RJ (CONT’D)

(to ghosts)

Do you have an unpublished manuscript?

RJ (CONT’D)

(to ghosts)

Were you really kicked out of Amherst because of Harrison McKechney?

RJ (CONT’D)

(to ghosts)

When you were a child, did you cause the silo fire at the Rockland Farm?

RJ (CONT’D)

(to ghosts)

Did you attack the Harker’s horse, Lavinia?

AVERY

Okay that’s enough.

(to ghosts)

Were you responsible for the deaths of any other animals?

00:23:44

AVERY

RJ.

SFX: The spirit box spits out another unintelligible word. Its volume begins to grow louder.

(to ghosts)

What do the symbols on your tomb mean?

SFX: Between the rapidly switching frequencies, the spirit box spits out an almost unintelligible: “light.”

AVERY

Shit.

SFX: The spirit box spits out another unintelligible word. Its volume is still growing.

What did it say?

SFX: The spirit box spits out another unintelligible word.

AVERY

RJ, turn the damn thing off.

SFX: RJ turns off the spirit box.

I was just getting somewhere.

AVERY

What?

SFX: A sound echoes in the distance.

Shhhh.

AVERY

(talking too loud)

What are you-

SFX: RJ crosses to Avery and puts her hand over Avery's mouth.

(whispering)

Shhhh. Shut up!

AVERY

(through hand)

What?

(whispering)

Did you hear that? Outside?

SFX: RJ releases Avery’s face.

00:24:08

AVERY

(whispering)

I knew that goddamn thing was too loud.

Okay, I don’t think it was anything.

AVERY

Thank God, I was about to-

SFX: The distant sound of a ghostly bell echoes lightly into the chamber.

AVERY (CONT’D)

(whispering)

-Piss... my...self... What. The. Hell. Is. that?

SFX: The ghostly ring continues.

(whispering)

Oh, shit.

AVERY

(whispering)

What?

00:24:36

(whispering)

The Bell Tree.

AVERY

(whispering)

The Bell Tree?

(whispering)

“Don’t go out to the wood dear friends”-

AVERY

(whispering)

-What are you doing?

(whispering)

-”The wind doth howl and the branch doth creak, summoning the lady far up at Great Peak.”

AVERY

(whispering)

Stop it! You are not helping the creepiness of the situation.

(whispering)

“And if you hear the ring of her bell, she will drag you straight to hell.” - I had to finish it, I didn’t want us to be jinxed.

AVERY

(whispering)

Jinxed? Now you’re just making up rules!

Shhhh!

SFX: The sound has stopped.

AVERY

Is it... Has it stopped?

I think so.

AVERY

Ah, okay, okay, good, good. Can we get the hell out of here now?

SFX: POD STING

00:25:26

TOLEN

Yes cataloging, yes. RJ and Avery started a cursory list, uh, but we will start it in earnest tomorrow.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

I’d start tonight.

TOLEN

Any particular reason?

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Well, I was gonna save this for when I could talk to all y’all together, but seeings how tricky it is to make that happen, I’ll tell ya. There might be some truth to the rumor that Stanley had an unpublished manuscript.

TOLEN

What?!

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Y’all made me curious. So, I started rooting around a bit, and through a friend of a friend at his publishing house, I was put in touch with Stanley’s lawyer.

00:26:05

TOLEN

Reggie Lowery!

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

-Now, I don’t trust lawyers any further than I can throw them, but based on what he said, the stories may be true. Stanley might’ve had a manuscript that was shelved because it was too... well, not child friendly - or at least less child friendly, than his other books. So, somewhere in all that stuff...

TOLEN

...Might be Stanley’s unpublished manuscript!

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Yup.

TOLEN

Oh my God. Uh, do you know the time frame for this? When did he write it?

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

It would have been around ‘89, ‘90.

TOLEN

Holy crap!

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

So, I would get to searching.

00:26:45

TOLEN

Yes, ma’am!

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Oh, and I put out some feelers to see if we can identify this assistant Stanley mighta’ had while working on it.

TOLEN

It could have also possibly been an illustrator? Maybe L.L. Randolph?

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Huh, Randolph... the one who worked on “The Nightmare, The Dream and The Places ‘Between”?

00:26:58

TOLEN

Yeah, the last one.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Interesting. I’ll see if I can hunt down his people.

TOLEN

That would be great. I cannot wait to tell Avery about this!

[Whitaker yawns.]

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Well kid, keep sending me voice mails and I’ll keep digging. ... One more thing, please be careful. I’m worried about y’all. Now, I know that sounds “sweet,” but me being worried isn’t what you want.

TOLEN

We will be. We will be careful.

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Because if I stop hearing from you... I will just materialize from nowhere and snatch you back so fast your heads will spin. You get me?

TOLEN

Yes, ma’am. Uhhhmm. We have to go pick up Avery and RJ, so...

PROFESSOR WHITAKER

Yeah-yeah-yeah, go on. But don’t you forget what I said... be careful.

TOLEN

Yes, ma’am.