Episode 486.e Bubble Guppies: The Witch in Black! (Part 5)

Plot
In Bubbletucky, lawyer Gil Gordon still grieves the death of his beloved wife Molly on the delivery of their son Nonny four years ago. His employer gives him a last chance to keep his job, and he is assigned to travel to the remote village of Cryphin Gifford to examine the documentation of the Eel Marsh House that belonged to the recently deceased Mrs. Drablow. Gil befriends Mr. Langoustine on the train and the man offers a ride to him to the Gifford Arms inn. Gil has a cold reception and the owner of the inn tells that he did not receive the request of reservation and there is no available room. The next morning, Gil meets solicitor Mr. Grouper who advises him to return to London. However, Gil goes to the isolated manor and soon he finds that Eel Marsh House is haunted by the vengeful ghost of a woman dressed in black. He also learns that the woman lost her son drowned in the marsh and she seeks revenge, taking the children of the scared locals.

Cast (Characters from the real movie)

 * Gil as (Arthur Kipps)
 * Mr. Langoustine as (Mr. Daily)
 * Daisy as (Mrs. Daily)
 * Molly as (Stella Kipps)
 * The Witch as (Jennet Humfrye)
 * Frank the Tow Truck Lobster as (Mr. Bentley)
 * Mr. Gentilella as (Mr. Fisher)
 * Sandy as (Nanny)
 * Mrs. Shaskan as (Mrs. Fisher)
 * Archaeologist as (PC Collins)
 * Mr. Imani as (Gerald Hardy)
 * Mrs. Wahler as (Mrs. Hardy)
 * Mr. Grouper as (Mr. Jerome)
 * Mrs. Grouper as (Mrs. Jerome)
 * Oona, Ashlie, and Jimberly as (The Fisher's Daughters)
 * Goby as (Nicholas Daily)
 * Sir Mulligan as (Keckwick)
 * Tobias as (Nicholas's friend)
 * Deema as (Victoria Hardy)
 * Jonesy as (Tom Hardy)
 * Joshua as (Charlie Hardy)
 * Olivia as (Lucy Jerome)
 * Avi as (Nathaniel Humfrye)
 * Snail as (Alice Drablow)
 * Crabs, Lobsters, and Snails as (Other characters)

Information

 * Genres: Drama, Horror, Thriller
 * Rating: PG for a bit of violence, a little cursing, and for many scary scenes
 * Type of film: Horror

Trivia

 * This is based on the 2012 movie "The Woman in Black." You can read about it on Wikipedia or IMDb.
 * This story has some fanon characters and some main characters.

Story
Start of Part 5.

(Scene: Entrance Lobby)

(Gil slowly approaches the door. Bubble Puppy is there already, hackles up, a low, steady growl coming from his throat. Another loud knock makes Gil flinch.)

Gil: Who's there?

(Gil reaches the door. From the other side, we faintly hear a child sobbing over the sound of the torrential rain. Gil puts his ear to the door. The sobbing continues. Then another knock. Gil backs away, but the weeping continues until finally, unable to ignore it any longer, he opens the door.... Nothing. Just darkness. And rain battering the driveway. But Gil has barely had a chance to register his relief when Bubble Puppy bolts out past him and runs down the drive.)

Gil: Bubble Puppy! Here, Bubble Puppy! Bubble Puppy!

(Gil walks out into the night.)

(Scene: Grounds)

(A full-blown storm is raging now. Gil ranges around in the rain, drenched, but the dog is nowhere to be seen.)

Gil: Bubble Puppy!

(He keeps moving... but slows to a halt when he hears,louder than when he heard them last, the soft chattering voices of children. He stands, dripping wet and petrified. Ahead of him, coming into view a little way down the drive, are a hoard of small, silhouetted figures. A lightning flash... and for a second they are illuminated, providing the closest glimpse yet of the ghostly children. Some look sickly, others injured. Many appear to be victims of drowning, their hair wet, faces bloated and decayed. They are walking slowly toward him. Now he sees that among their number is Deema Wahler, chin and dress stained with a long steak of dark, bloody vomit. Gil remains rooted to the spot. Another flash and now we see the skeletal silhouette of the nearby tree. Beneath it, the Witch in Black stands on a small wooden step-ladder, a noose around her neck. Once again, there is darkness. Then another flash. This close, and by this light, we glimpse through her veil a fraction more detail than before - just enough to give us the nasty sense that there’s something about her face that is decidedly not right. She kicks the ladder away. Darkness.Then a double fork of lightning. The Witch in Black jerks and writhes as she chokes to death. Finally, Gil turns and runs.)

(Scene: Entrance Lobby)

(Gil slams the front door and throws his back against it, drenched and gasping for breath. He sweeps his hair from his eyes and looks up to see: A single set of little muddy footprints. They lead all the way from the front door to the staircase... and up the stairs, into the darkness of the upper hall. Gripped by terror and compulsion in equal measure, Gil picks up the lantern he abandoned earlier beside the door, and begins to follow the trail.)

(Scene: Upper Hall)

(Breathing hard, Gil stops at the top of the stairs and shines his lantern down the darkened hallway. The light from the lantern quivers with the trembling of his hand and throws shadows down the hall, but even so, we can see where the trail leads... Down the corridor, it goes. And all the way to the open door of the nursery. No turning back now, Gil continues down the dark hall. But as he nears the open door he is shocked by a burst of music, the kind made by the automata.)

(Scene: Nursery)

(Gil steps inside. Even in the darkness we can see: the nursery has been vandalized. The bed overturned, broken toys and clothes scattered, everything covered in mud. With his lantern, Gil illuminates first one spot then another in jerky, urgent succession, hunting the intruder. On the ground, Gil quickly finds the source of the music: an automaton - the monkey pianist - lies on its side, surrounded by the shattered glass from its protective dome. No longer in contact with its piano, the movements of its mouth, head and arms give it the grotesque appearance of something injured, echoes of the baby bird. Gil finds the catch that turns it off, and finally the toy is still, the music silenced. Behind him, he hears movement. Gil swings round, streaking light from the lantern across the wall where we catch the briefest glimpse of something in human-looking. It quickly ducks down behind a chest of drawers. It is small, and entirely covered in mud -little more than a flash of eyes in the darkness - but unmistakably a child. Trembling, Gil trains the lantern onto the chest. The eyes peer back at Gil. Gil inches closer, his breath loud. The figure doesn’t move. But just as he reaches the chest, the lantern goes out. Total darkness as we hear Gil stumbling out of the room.)

(Scene: Bathroom)

(The candle on the washstand has blown out, but the moonlight outside allows us to see again, albeit dimly. Gil fumbles for a match and lights the candle...... Revealing the child! Somehow, he’s here now. Crouched behind the washstand. Reacting in shock, Gil turns and bolts into the hallway.)

(Scene: Upper Hall)

(Gil darts towards the bedroom next door and fumbles desperately with the key in the lock. Glancing anxiously over his shoulder, he looks back to see:... The silhouette of the muddy child, casting a long, thin shadow down the hallway behind him. Finally getting the bedroom door open, Gil grabs the key from the lock and hurries inside.)

(Scene: Bedroom)

(In here, we can still hear the flies in the fireplace. Gil slams the door shut and scrabbles to insert the key and lock himself in. This done, he pushes the dresser across the door and slumps to the floor, fighting to catch his breath. But to his utter dismay, he now sees... Little muddy footprints on the floor. They lead right to the bed. And in the bed is the unmistakable shape of someone small, hidden beneath the covers. As Gil stares, frozen in horror, we see a mud stain slowly spreading across the white sheet. Then the shape begins to sit up. Gil darts to the door, struggling to move the dresser, groping for the key in his pocket as, behind him, the figure in the bed continues to heave itself upright. Finally, he gets the door open and runs into the corridor.)

(Scene: Upper Hall)

(Only to be confronted by the mud-covered child standing right before him, blocking his path. The child’s mouth is open, the flash of his eyes and little white teeth disconcertingly bright in the darkness of the hall. Gil cries out and pushes blindly past the child, toward the stairs.)

(Scene: Entrance Lobby)

(Gil virtually falls down the last few steps of the staircase into the entrance hall, but he keeps his balance and dashes toward the front door. But just as he reaches out to open it, he is scared out of his wits by another knock at the door.)

Gil: Leave me alone!

(This time, we hear a voice clearly on the other side.)

Mr. Langoustine: Gil? Gil! It's me, Larry!

(Scene: Causeway)

(The tide is out now, and Mr. Langoustine drives Gil across the causeway through the storm, back towards safety. Bubble Puppy is on Gil's lap. Gil strokes him and stares straight ahead, a haunted look on his face.)

Mr. Langoustine: She must’ve recognised the sound of my engine from more’n a mileaway, you know. Right over the other side of the causeway, she was. Running to meet me.

Gil: The tide was in. I tried to leave at half past nine, and it was in.

Mr. Langoustine: Just a wash from the storm, most likely... You tried to leave?

Gil: If Mrs. Snail endured even a fraction of what I have just experienced, I can fully understand her desire to leave for India at the earliest opportunity and never return.

Mr. Langoustine: Aye, it’s an inhospitable place, Eel Marsh House. Specially at night, I’m quite sure.

Gil: I saw them. (off Mr. Langoustine's look) I didn't imagine it.

Mr. Langoustine: Even the most rational mind can play tricks. Especially alone in the dark. Just as I said: fill a man’s head with stories of -

Gil: You told me about Hypletta Wahler. And the boy. Yes. But why would I see children on the marshes? Sick children, Larry. Drowned children. Children who are dead.

(For the first time, we sense Mr. Langoustine’s bluff exterior melt away as he reacts, slumping in the driver’s seat.)

Mr. Langoustine: Why would you say that. My wife telling you tales? (louder now) Was she?!

(Gil shrinks away from him, guilty and uneasy at having touched such a raw nerve. A silence, then he speaks softly.)

Gil: Whatever it is you’re not saying, you have to... I must know.

(Mr. Langoustine stays silent, staring at the road ahead as he drives.)

Gil: You knew about Hypletta Wahler... That she’d had a child out of wedlock. That the boy was hers.

Mr. Langoustine: Yes I knew. Everyone in the village knew.

Gil: Not everyone. Not the boy. She kept her silence in exchange for lodging at Eel Marsh House.

(Scene: Gate Keeper's Cottage)

(A fast flash of an image as Gil recalls the message he saw painted on the back wall of the cottage. "You could have saved him." Only now it’s not faded as Gil saw it, but dark, the painted black letters fresh and dripping.)

(Scene: Causeway)

(The horrible truth hits Gil.)

Gil: She was there.

(Scene: Gate Keeper's Cottage)

(Hypletta stands at the upper window, gazing out over the marshes. Her pale face and light clothes may be different, but the image distinctly echoes our very first sighting of the Witch in Black. We hear the sound of an approaching pony and trap. The sound of the pony and trap is muted in here. Hypletta’s breath mists the glass as she gazes out with distraught longing. Lightly, she traces her fingertip down the pane. In her other hand, she holds the blue baby blanket. Hypletta watches as the trap rattles past the cottage and onto the causeway. Over the marshes, a light mist hangs in the air. Sir Mulligan Snr, 40s, sits up front. Behind him, the young Mrs. Snail (who we might recognise from her portrait in the hall), pretty and well-dressed for a trip into town, sits cosily beside Avi, her arm around him. As they pass, Mrs. Snail looks up, making eye contact with her sister. A cold look. Then she looks away. Hypletta watches as the trap moves away, her pain visible. She raises the blanket to her face, echoing the torment of their first parting. Then her expression changes to one of concern as she notices...)

(Scene: Marshes)

(The mist has suddenly become heavier, our view of the pony and trap gradually obscured as it moves down the causeway.)

(Scene: Gate Keeper's Cottage)

(Hypletta presses closer to the window in concern, strains to see, as the pony and trap become enshrouded in mist. Suddenly, the steady rhythm of hooves and wheels turns to the sickening, chaotic clatter that Gil heard before. Hypletta’s eyes widen as she watches in horror. Hypletta hammers at the window pane in impotent anguish.)

Avi: Mummy!

(Scene: Marshes)

(The point of no-return passes at alarming speed, the inevitability of the outcome clear as the trap and pony are pulled deeper and deeper into the marsh. Sir Mulligan Snr abandons the reins and turns to try and aidhis screaming passengers. Overcome with fear and a primal urge for survival, Mrs. Snail stands and jumps from the sinking trap.)

Avi: Mummy!

(Desperate, Mrs. Snail looks back towards the trap. It’s sinking. Then she looks back to the cottage, praying her sister didn’t see her act of cowardice; knowing she did.)

(Scene: Gate Keeper's Cottage)

(Hypletta meets her sister’s eyes in mute disbelief. Then she turns and runs from the room. Hypletta bursts outside into the mist and starts to run toward the causeway. The shouts and screams persist but, as she runs, they are suddenly drowned out by the dreadful sucking noise that Gil heard before. And then silence. Hypletta stops running. Her hands fall limply to her sides, her world ended. The blanket drops to the ground. A copper bathtub. Lit by candle and firelight, the water in the tub appears inky black. In it, we see the reflection of Hypletta’s anguished face. Then she’s gone as, one after another, pale-coloured clothes are thrown into the tub. This isn’t water. It’s black dye. It bleeds into the mounds of fabric not yet submerged, darkness spreading as it seeps through the fibres, consuming what remains of the light. A stick plunges the pile deep below the surface. A loud flood of liquid as the stick is used to haul some of the clothes up again. The wet clothes are deep black. They are dropped back in. Violently, the stick pushes them down until they’re gone from view. And in the swirling darkness of the surface we can once again see Hypletta. Fast but deliberate, Hypletta’s fingers push black fabric-covered buttons through button-loops on a black cuff. Black bootlaces are crossed and pulled taut, and tied. The boots vanish as a billow of black crepe skirt drops. A heavy jet earring is clipped into place. A fearsome-looking hatpin is pushed into a mourning bonnet. Hands slip into black kid gloves. Hypletta looks at herself in a mirror. Grief in her eyes still, but now also cold rage, focus. A woman not so much dressed for mourning, but suited up for battle. She reaches back for her bonnet’s veil and draws it slowly over her face. Her monstrous rebirth is nearly complete.)

(Scene: Bedroom)

(The young Mrs. Snail throws open the curtains in her bedroom, and - just as Gil did - stumbles back in horror.)

(Scene: Eel Marsh Graveyard)

(Mrs. Snail moves through the graveyard, breathing. We move around Avi’s angel statue - bright and new and un-chipped. We peek behind tomb stones, and finally head hurriedly down the not-yet-overgrown stone path that leads to the not-yet-ruined gate-keeper’s cottage. We can hear Mrs. Snail’s breathing hasten as she follows the path around the side of the building, the one we saw Gil take earlier.)

(Scene: Gate Keeper's Cottage)

(As we round the corner behind the cottage, we can see dark letters daubed on the wall. We can’t see them well from this angle, but we know what they say. Mrs. Snail's breathing becomes even faster as a murder of crows take flight from the tree behind her with a loud flurry. We wheel around towards the tree and we hear Mrs. Snail scream as we see: the remains of Hypletta Wahler, her eyes and lips eaten away by scavengers, a heart-stopping combination of gaping sockets and exposed teeth. One fearless crow still perched on her, pecking.)

(Scene: Mainland)

(Gil and Mr. Langoustine drive on.)

Gil: And after her death... That’s when the sightings started? (off Mr. Langoustine’s look) The superstitions. (no reaction from Mr. Langoustine) And the Shrimps left for India.

(Mr. Langoustine nods now. But something is still not making sense to Gil, and he just can’t put his finger on what it is.)

Gil: It's just that...

(The car takes a right turn onto Mr. Grouper's street.)

Mr. Langoustine: (interrupting) What in the name... Do you see that?

(Grey smoke is billowing down the street towards them. They slow down, the smoke obscuring their view as drive on. We can hear voices, commotion, and a little way ahead, we can see flames. Gil peers into the smoke.)

Gil: Oh god. Is that Mr. Grouper's place?

(Mr. Langoustine brings the car to a stop, and the two get out.)

(Scene: Mr. Grouper's Office)

(The two men walk through the cloud of smoke to find Mrs. Grouper in her night clothes, hysterical, being held back by the post-mistress and Mrs. Shaskan. Mr. Grouper’s building is on fire. Mr. Imani, the Archaeologist, Mr. Gentilella, and the other village men we met earlier fruitlessly throw pails of water onto theblaze and run off to fetch more. Other bystanders look on.)

Mrs. Grouper: Olivia!

(Gil's face reveals his horrible dawning realization. He rushes towards the house and down the steps into the thick smoke choking from the burning cellar below.)

(Scene: Mr. Grouper's Cellar)

(Gil fights his way through the smoke, a handkerchief clamped over his mouth. He pulls open the cellar door. Inside, the wood-beamed ceiling is on fire, fed by a tower of flames issuing from what seems to be a sizeable bonfire in the centre of the room. Through the smoke and heat-haze, Gil can just make out the pale girl, Mr. Grouper’s daughter, motionless, in a corner.)

Gil: Oh my god...

(The girl watches as Gil inches closer.)

Gil: Don't be afraid... Come to me...

(He reaches his hand out to her. The girl takes a single step forward, eyes still trained on Gil.)

Gil: That's it, come on! Come to me!

(Closer now, Gil can clearly see the source of the fire: the bed has been dragged to the centre of the room, other furniture has been piled on top of it, and all of it has been set alight. This was no accident. The girl did this. Gil struggles to take in what he is seeing. He looks back to the girl, meeting her calm, unemotional gaze. As Gil tries to comprehend this, the girl’s eyes finally leave his and she looks to the opposite side of the room. Gil snaps his head round to see: The Witch in Black. She gives the child a firm nod. Gil watches in mute horror as the girl nods back... Then, slowly, purposefully, launches herself onto the pyre.)

Gil: No!

(He runs forward but is beaten back by the heat and smoke. The girl is consumed by flames. A beam crashes down from above and catches light. The ceiling is coming down. Gil turns and runs for the door.)

(Scene: Mr. Grouper's Office)

(Mr. Langoustine helps Gil up the stairs to safety, as Gil gasps for air. From inside, a colossal crash as the ceiling collapses. They reach street level just in time to see Sir Mulligan emerging from the front door of the burning building, dragging a semi-conscious Mr. Grouper. A still-hysterical Mrs. Grouper and several others rush over. Mrs. Shaskan walks toward Gil instead. She opens her mouth to speak, but before she can, Mr. Gentilella seizes her arm and pulls her away. Mr. Gentilella says something to her that we can’t hear above the noise, and she shouts something back that makes him angrily release her arm and walk away to Mr. Grouper’s side. She follows, but looks back at Gil with sorrow. Coming round, Mr. Grouper surveys the crowd groggily, but when his gaze finds Gil, his expression hardens. When he speaks, his voice is cracked and altered, rasping through scorched lungs.)

Mr. Grouper: See what... you’ve... done?!

(Mrs. Grouper continues to scream.)

(Scene: Bedroom)

(Gil removes his blackened jacket and hangs it on the back of a chair, then - a thought - he digs into the inner pocket. He is relieved to find Nonny’s calendar undamaged. It is open to the page marked “Thursday.” There is a knock at the door.)

Mr. Langoustine: Gil?

(Gil opens the door to find Mr. Langoustine holding a cup of cocoa.)

Mr. Langoustine: Just wanted to see if you were alright. Brought you this, too, if you want it.

(Slightly embarrassed, Mr. Langoustine hands Gil the cup. He takes it silently and sits down on the bed, still shell-shocked.)

Mr. Langoustine: Always used to give Goby cocoa when things were bad. (attempting levity) I put some rum in yours, though.

(Gil puts the cup down loudly on the nightstand and explodes, unable to keep up this pretence at normality.)

Gil: She was there, Larry. The Witch in Black.

(Mr. Langoustine bristles.)

Mr. Langoustine: For gods sake! You said yourself the girl started the fire. Being locked down there must have driven her out of her mind.

Gil: No. I don’t think she’d been down there that long... Just since I arrived. Threatening to disturb the status quo... Mr. Grouper was trying to keep her safe.

(Mr. Langoustine's expression suggests that Gil is onto something.)

Mr. Langoustine: God only knows what nonsense that madman believes.

Gil: You heard what he said to me.

(Mr. Langoustine stands up, distraught and irate.)

Mr. Langoustine: If you want to discuss old wives tales, Gil, find yourself an old wife!

(Gil opens his mouth to protest, but Mr. Langoustine is already gone, storming out of the room, slamming the door behind him, leaving Gil stunned and alone. He lies on the bed, more confused and troubled than ever...)

(Scene: Montage)

(Queasy flash cuts as Gil remembers:

⦁ the nursery room at the Gifford Arms the with the old rocking horse hidden under it's sheet

⦁ Mr. Imani pulling his children away from the fence

⦁ riding past the empty school with Sir Mulligan. This time we linger on the deserted building, the rusted padlock on the gates, the dilapidated school sign overgrown with ivy.

⦁ the market day crowd with it's weathered old faces and not a child in sight.

⦁ the very young children at the window, barricaded indoors

⦁ Mr. Grouper’s daughter scuttling away from the cellar door

⦁ Deema Wahler and the other ghostly children lit by lightning in the storm.

⦁ Mr. Langoustine showing him the school photograph.

⦁ The row of graves in the churchyard. We now see clearly that all of them belong to children, and all share the same date of death - January 23rd 1872.)

(Scene: Bedroom)

(Gil sits up bolt upright with a feverish gasp of breath.)

(Scene: Grounds)

(Gil stumbles through the grounds and enters the avenue of trees, the Langoustine’s mausoleum in his sights at the end of it, bone-white against the darkness.)

(Scene: Langoustine's Mausoleum)

(Gil runs to the engraved epitaph, his eyes darting to the last line where he finds exactly what he expected: January 23rd 1872. Gil runs his fingers over the letters, then turns urgently, ready to run back to the house... only to find Daisy standing a few feet away in her nightclothes, watching him. Gil reacts in shock.)

Daisy: I didn’t mean to give you a start, Mr. Gordon.

(Collecting himself now, Gil faces her, determined.)

Gil: What happened to your son, Daisy? Your son, and the other children.

Daisy: An accident. On the marshes.

Gil: An accident.

Daisy: Yes...

Gil: She was there tonight, Daisy. At Mr. Grouper’s daughter’s side. (a beat) You know who I mean, don’t you.

(Daisy nods. A silence as she absorbs this. And then:)

Daisy: It was the day of her funeral. We were all there.

(Scene: Grounds)

(The villagers of Crythin Gifford are in their mourning clothes, gathered at the side of an open grave. A vicar named Pronto reads from the book of common prayer.)

Pronto: ... to mourn the passing of Hypletta Wahler...

(We move along the mourners, including the Young Mr. Langoustine and Young Daisy, Mrs. Snail and her husband, the Red Haired Man and his wife.)

Pronto: ...he flee-eth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one stay. In the midst of life we are in death...

(The mourners stand with their heads bowed, not noticing that the children present - including Goby Imani and the Red-Haired Girl - are silently moving, as one, almost trance-like, away from the grave-side congregation.)

Pronto: ...of whom may we seek for succor, but of thee, o Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased?

(Now, one by one, the adults notice first the departure of the children, and then react in wordless shock as they see: At the edge of the marshes stands the unmistakable spectre of Hypletta Wahler, the witch in black. The black-clad children move towards her en-masse. Back at the grave-side Pronto continues, unaware.)

Pronto: ...deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death...

(Disbelief and propriety has prevented any reaction until now, but the young Daisy can fight her panic no more.)

Young Daisy: Goby!

(Pronto looks up in shock at the interruption, but then turns his gaze to the marshes, along with everyone else. The group of children are now on the causeway, following the witch in black as she walks toward the mainland.)

Young Daisy: Goby! Come back!

(The Red-Haired Man looks around, looks to his wife and now both start to join in the shouting.)

Red Haired Man: Dolly!

Wife: Come back here!

Young Mr. Langoustine: Goby!

(Suddenly, chaos. Other parents begin frantically to call out children’s names, and swarm toward the marshes. Now the shouting of names is supplemented by screaming and cries of dismay, and the parents are beginning to run. And we see that, without warning, at preternatural speed, the tide has started to come in.)

(Scene: Marshes)

(Young Mr. Langoustine, the Red Haired Man and a couple of other desperate fathers leap into the icy water. Still the women scream. But there is no longer any sign of the children. The sound is dipped over this mayhem.)

Daisy: Had to wait ‘til the tide went out again before the bodies could be retrieved. Some were lost to the marshes. We were among the lucky ones. Able to have a proper burial.

(Scene: Langoustine's Mausoleum)

(Gil leans against the mausoleum, lost for words.)

Daisy: She’s trapped, Mr. Gordon. Looking for her son, never finding him. Full of vengeance towards any who have what she doesn’t. (a beat) And tonight she claimed another soul.

Gil: Mr. Grouper blamed me.

Daisy: He blamed you just as he had always blamed himself.

Gil: For what?

Daisy: Not listening to the others. Not staying away. Ten years without a tragedy, until he took over his father’s business.

Gil: ... And tried to sell Eel Marsh.

Daisy: Took buyers from all over the county. She was there, of course, as she always was. Then he believed. But it was too late. It’s always too late.

Gil: (dawning realisation) They’d seen her. Just as I did.

Daisy: If she’s seen, she’ll strike before the next sunset. Within weeks, they were all gone.

(Scene: Attic Room)

(The scene we saw at the start: The three little girls, Oona, Ashlie, and Jimberly, climb onto the window seat and stand in the frame of the open window, silhouetted against the bright sky. They jump.)

(Scene: Langoustine's Mausoleum)

(The puzzle pieces in Gil's mind are falling into place.)

Gil: Mr. Gentilella and Mrs. Shaskan's daughters.

(Daisy nods.)

Daisy: Sir Mulligan's son... Mr. Grouper’s own firstborn... Every child in Crythin Gifford that had escaped the first tragedy, or had been born since...

Gil: They all died?

Daisy: Oh it’s far worse than that, Mr. Gordon.

(Daisy turns away, her breathing becoming uneven.)

Daisy: She leads them to their demise...

(Scene: Mr. Grouper's Cellar)

(The Witch in Black, through the flames and smoke, nodding to Mr. Grouper's daughter.)

(Scene: Attic Room)

(The Witch in Black, her back to us as Oona, Ashlie, and Jimberly look up from their tea party to see her there.)

(Scene: Wahler Family Front Garden)

(Deema Wahler crouches by a wooden wash tub as her brothers play nearby, oblivious. She reaches for a tin of lye. Looks up, as if for approval. The Witch in Black stands over her. Calmly, Deema tilts her head back and brings the tin to her lips.)

(Scene: Langoustine's  Mausoleum)

(Daisy continues.)

Daisy: And at the moment of passing, she lures them away from the light.

(Scene: Police Station)

(Gil kneels on the ground holding Deema Wahler. Bloody vomit stains her chin and the front of her dress. She stares straight at him, even as her eyes take on the milky glaze of death.)

Gil: No! Someone, please! Please help!

(But now we see that, unbeknownst to Gil, the Witch in Black is standing right behind him, her hand extended.)

(Scene: Langoustine's Mausoleum)

(Daisy, her back still to Gil, pats the mausoleum.)

Daisy: Goby's body lies within these walls. But he’s not here.

(Scene: Eel Marsh Island)

(Lightning illuminates the wraithlike children on the marsh. Close, and in horrible detail, as Gil last saw them.)

(Scene: Langoustine's Mausoleum)

(Daisy is still facing the mausoleum, panting fast now. Gil’s breathing quickens too, in panic.)

Gil: She keeps them with her.

Daisy: (her voice strange now) Out on the marshes. Between worlds.

Gil: Daisy...

(Gil gently - nervously - lays his hand on her shoulder. She turns sharply and we see: her eyes have rolled back. Her hands in stiff claws. She’s having another “episode.”)

Gil: Daisy!

(She bends and begins to scrabble on the ground. Then she triumphantly, maniacally rises holding a piece of flint. Gil reaches out and tries to calm her, but she struggles free and begins to scribble and scratch crazily with the flint on the side of the mausoleum. He turns and runs into the avenue of trees, shouting ahead.)

Gil: Mr. Langoustine! Larry!

(Scene: Mr. Langoustine's House)

(As Gil nears the house, he is met by Mr. Langoustine and the Butler, both in nightshirts, already running towards him.)

Gil: Larry!

(Scene: Langoustine's Mausoleum)

(Mr. Langoustine struggles to hold his wife while the Butler attempts to administer medication. Gil stands back awkwardly, wanting to help too, but having to dodge Daisy’s flailing arms and legs. Finally, the butler gives her a slug of the medication, and she relaxes into Mr. Langoustine’s arms. He lifts her up and begins to stagger down the avenue of trees, towards the house. Gil follows behind them. Silence now, just the birds beginning to sing as the sky lightens a little behind the trees. Gil turns to look back at the mausoleum. He stops, paralysed by what he sees: On the side of the mausoleum, clearly visible now in the growing light, is the word Friday. And drawn above it in a childlike style: a man, a child, a train. A perfect replica of the final page of Nonny's calendar.)

(Scene: Upper Hallway)

(Gil knocks urgently on the door to Daisy's bedroom, agitated, desperate.)

Gil: Larry... I must speak with you.

(Scene: Country Lanes)

(There’s a purposeful air to proceedings as Gil and Mr. Langoustine drive fast down the lane that leads to Mr. Grouper’s street. Gil has his pocket watch open in his hand.)

Gil: As long as the telegram reaches my house no later than half past nine... They’ll not leave before then, I’m sure.

Mr. Langoustine: And the post office opens at half past eight, so providing there are no delays at the Bubbletucky end -

(Gil's anger has been simmering beneath his fear; hearing Mr. Langoustine’s undisguised concern brings it to a sudden boil.)

Gil: How could you do it, Larry? Knowing I had a son! How could you take me to Eel Marsh if there was even a small part of you that feared the stories were true?

Mr. Langoustine: I never believed.

Gil: You didn’t want to. There’s a difference.

(They turn into Mr. Grouper's street.)

Mr. Langoustine: I can know that Goby is in a better place, waiting for us to one day be reunited. Or that he is lost. Which would you choose?

Gil: Forgive me, Larry, but... my son is alive! How could I chance that by letting him come here, I might condemn him to death?

(Mr. Langoustine doesn’t reply. His attention is on something outside. He stops the car, and his head slumps against the window.)

Gil: Larry?

(Now Gil sees it too. He reacts in utter defeat.)

(Scene: Post Office)

(The Post office, located right next to Mr. Grouper’s office, has been entirely gutted in last night’s fire.)

(Scene: Mr. Langoustine's Car)

(The two men sit in the stationary car. Now what?)

Mr. Langoustine: The next village is more than an hour away.

(Gil looks down at his watch. First at the clock face, and then at Molly’s portrait. He stares at it, the reminder of his first loss almost too much to bear in the face of the unthinkable prospect of another. Mr. Langoustine just stares straight ahead. The grimmest of silences. And then Gil’s expression changes: he’s had an idea.)

Gil: We can’t stop Nonny... So we must stop her... If we can reunite Hypletta Wahler with her son, perhaps she’ll finally be at peace. (off his silence) I’m not asking you to change your beliefs. I’m talking about a proper burial.

Mr. Langoustine: Gil, if every man-jack before us failed to recover his body, how in god’s name do you think we’ll now succeed?

Gil: Because you have something that the others never did.

(Scene: Nine Lives Causeway)

(The car has stopped, its engine idling, and Gil is tying a length of rope to the rear bumper. He tugs at it to test the strength of his knot, then gives Mr. Langoustine - still seated in the drivers seat - a nod. Now, holding the lose end of the rope in one hand, Gil gingerly steps first one foot, then the other, off the causeway and onto the marsh. Immediately, he begins to sink. Panicking, he leaps back onto the causeway. Determined, he steps off again and this time begins to run, his feet in contact with the ground as briefly as possible. Bar a couple of dicey moments, he successfully reaches the large wooden cross. Even as he clings to it, however, he begins to sink. Hewaves to Mr. Langoustine, putting on a brave face. Mr. Langoustine waves back, but can’t hide his anxiety. Gil is now knee deep in the marsh, and we realise that he is deliberately allowing himself to be drawn down. He begins to flounder in the mud, clutching the rope, plunging his free hand beneath the surface and scrabbling urgently to feel for any sign of the pony trap. Lower and lower Gil goes, at a frightening speed - thigh-deep, waist-deep, chest deep - fighting to stay calm, feeling around for anything solid beneath him. Finally, his face lights up.)

Gil: Larry! I feel it! It's beneath my feet!

(Gil's arms and shoulders vanish into the mud. He tips his head back, taking a few last deep breaths. And finally, Gil’s head disappears from view.)

(Scene: Mr. Langoustine's Car)

(From behind the wheel, Mr. Langoustine looks back over his shoulder, watching, desperate. After a short time that still feels too long, he turns back, shifts the gear-stick and begins to drive. Whines of straining protest issue from the engine.)

(Scene: Nine Lives Causeway)

(The engine continues to whine as the rope becomes taut. At last, Gil emerges from the marsh, coated entirely in mud, clinging to the rope, choking for breath. Suddenly, he begins to sink again.)

Gil: Keep driving!

(Even from this distance the noise from the engine is loud, and clearly not healthy. But the car continues to creep forward, although we sense it can barely take the strain. Finally, the other end of the rope emerges from the mud, and we see a knot, tied around the brace of a trap.)

Gil: Don't stop!

(The wheels on the automobile begin to spin, losing traction as the weight becomes too much... But with another burst of acceleration, the front end of the trap rises from the marsh. A nightmarish contraption, rotted and skeletal, silhouetted against the wide open sky. Gil - and, back behind the wheel, Mr. Langoustine - stare at it in horror and awe. Gil clambers on to it, leans in, and shouts at Mr. Langoustine to continue, but now the wheels are just grinding fruitlessly.)

Gil: Can you go any further?

Mr. Langoustine: The pedal is on the floor! I don’t think she can take any more weight!

(But there is one last burst of acceleration... The trap rises again... And, inches from Gil, a lobster head emerges from the marsh surface! It is alarmingly well-preserved by the conditions in the marsh, almost mummified beneath the layer of mud. Gil startles, but composes himself and calls to Mr. Langoustine.)

Gil: I think I’ve found Sir Mulligan Senior...

(The wheels continue to spin, the engine howls and clanks and white smoke begins to billow from beneath the bonnet.)

Mr. Langoustine: I can’t hear you! The engine is overheating!

Gil: Turn it off! And apply the brake!

(Mr. Langoustine complies.)

(There is silence now on the marsh. Gil plunges his arms into the mud, feeling urgently for any sign of the boy. Presently, we realise that the trap is beginning to sink back into the marsh, and the car is slowly being dragged backwards by its weight.)

Gil: I said apply the brake!

Mr. Langoustine: I have! You’re going to have to hurry!

(We intercut between the car rolling slowly backwards and Gil's efforts on the sinking trap until finally, with little time to spare, Gil grasps something beneath the surface...With effort, he hauls out the remains of Hypletta's son. Besides his stillness, the boy looks much like the mud-covered child we saw in the house, and Gil struggles to fight his fear as he gently holds the little body. The car continues to drift backwards, closer and closer to the marsh, pulled by the weight of the sinking trap. Cradling the boy with one arm, Gil hauls his way along the rope, back towards the safety of the causeway. He takes a heavy, muddy step out of the marshes and onto the road just in time to turn back and see... The trap, sinking back into the marsh. Without a trace. The rope slack again, the car comes to a stop and Mr. Langoustine climbs out. He recoils at the sight of the child. Gil looks down at the boy in his arms, then looks up at Mr. Langoustine, tears in his eyes. For a while, neither man speaks. A light mist is beginning to descend. Mr. Langoustine looks around.)

Mr. Langoustine: There’s a fret brewing. Best get off the causeway while we can.

Gil: We should get him indoors in any case. Clean him up.

Mr. Langoustine: You could do with a bit of spit and polish yourself.

(Both men try to smile at Mr. Langoustine’s attempt at jocularity, but find it to be nearly impossible.)

End of Part 5.

Recap
Outside, in the rainy night, Gil can see the images of many dead children, rotten and anguished. Running back to the mansion, he can see the black footprints of the Witch in Black, and he follows them to the room. He sees Hypletta hanging herself. Leaving the room, he sees the Witch in Black approaching from the other end of the corridor. Gil encloses himself in a room, but Avi grows from the bed. When he tries to leave the house, he finds Mr. Langoustine who has arrived to pick him up. Back to the town, Gil sees Mr. Grouper's house on fire. He gets into the house and inside, he can see how a girl, Olivia sets herself on fire, pronted by the Witch in Black, who is present there encouraging her without words. Gil can't do anything to save her. Mr. Langoustine offers some consolation to Gil, Daisy tells Gil about Hypletta in front of her tombstone. The children can speak through her, and they say that the Witch in Black was always present to make all those children kill themselves one way or another as her own child was lost too. Mr. Langoustine arrives when Daisy has another fit while repeating "She is coming" over and over again. Before passing out, Daisy draws a picture of Gil with his son, Nonny, beside a train engine (Gil recognizes himself from the earlier pictures made by Nonny.) Gil convinces Mr. Langoustine to help him find the body of Avi and reunite him to his mother by giving him a proper burial. He ties himself with a rope to Mr. Langoustine's car. Gil goes in the black slimey goo of the marshlands. Finally, Mr. Langoustine pulls Gil out, and he takes out what seems a hidden wagon, and within it, the body of Avi.