Episode 486.f Bubble Guppies: The Witch in Black! (Part 6)

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 6.

(Scene: Staircase)

(The boy wrapped in his coat, Gil mounts the stairs followed by Mr. Langoustine, who carries Gil’s spare clothes.)

Gil: You’d best start digging the plot. We need to be at the station in an hour. Do you have my clothes?

(Gil turns to get them, but Mr. Langoustine is no longer following. He has stopped, shoulders slumped, arms limp by his side. He’s staring at the school photograph on the wall.)

Gil: Larry?

(Mr. Langoustine looks over, and hands him the clothes. Almost immediately, he looks back to the picture again before finally, reluctantly tearing himself away.)

(Scene: Bathroom)

(Gil - now clean, and wearing his clean clothes, his hair wet - holds the boy in his arms beside a bath full of water.He tips the boy back into the water, their position a poignant visual reminder of Gil’s more boisterous earlier play with his own son. Gently, Gil uses a washcloth to sponge the mud from thechild’s hair and face. The boy’s eyes are closed, and as the mud washes away, it becomes apparent just how well the conditions in the marsh have kept him preserved over the years. Gil stares at him with a mixture of sadness and fear. Besides his bronzed, leathery skin, he looks like any regular little boy, asleep. We linger on his face, and may fearfully wonder if his eyes will open. But he remains motionless.)

(Scene: Bedroom)

(Gil carries the boy - wrapped entirely in a clean sheet, face covered - into the room and lays him on the bed.)

Gil: (to the boy, whispering) Nearly time now.

(Suddenly, from downstairs, there is a loud bang - the sound of the front door being flung open.)

Gil: (calling downstairs) Larry?

(Scene: Staircase)

(Gil scrambles down the stairs and is shocked to see Mr. Langoustine sitting at the foot of the stairs, his back to him. Something is clearly wrong. Gil slows and steps toward him with some trepidation.)

Gil: Larry?

(Still Mr. Langoustine doesn’t turn round. Gil touches his shoulder and finally Mr. Langoustine looks up at him. His face is wet with tears.)

(Scene: Eel Marsh Island)

(The fret is thick now out here, visibility low, as the two men crunch down the gravel drive, Gil following Mr. Langoustine. In the distance, we faintly hear children’s voices. Mr. Langoustine stops at the edge of the causeway, and the two men stand silently side by side. Out on the marshes, we can see the faintly silhouetted forms of the spectral children in the mist. Gil touches Mr. Langoustine’s shoulder.)

Gil: Perhaps... When she is at rest. Maybe then. Maybe when she has her boy, she can let them go.

(Mr. Langoustine nods, wipes his eyes angrily. He forces a smile.)

Mr. Langoustine: Well... What the hell are we waiting for? I’ll finish digging, you fetch the child.

(Scene: Entrance Hall)

(Gil steps inside, shivering from the chill of the mist, and shuts the door behind him. Almost instantly, he hears, from upstairs, the sound of the rocking chair.)

(Scene: Upper Hall)

(The sound is louder up here, its dull heartbeat rhythm striking fear into Arthur. He glances at the closed door to the nursery, but heads directly for the bedroom. As he gets closer, he stops and reacts in dismay.)

(Scene: Bedroom)

(The bed is empty. The child has gone. Gil sits down heavily on the bed, filled with rising fear. The sound of the rocking chair continues. His expression turns of one of total dread as he sees: Stretched across the small section of hallway floor visible through the open doorway is a long, thin shadow. Without limbs or form, but undoubtedly belonging to something alive. There’s something deeply disquieting about the way it undulates, then stops. Undulates, then stops.)

(Scene: Upper Hallway)

(Gil steps into the hall, dreading what he’ll find. At the far end of the corridor, the end opposite the nursery, stands a small figure shrouded in a sheet. Motionless. And then slowly twisting and writhing. Still again, then moving. A small hand paws at the inside of the sheet. The sound of the rocking chair slows. Gil looks to the nursery door, then back to the child.)

Gil: Go to her.

(The shrouded child writhes again, and begins to move towards Gil. The sound of the rocking chair slows, almost to a stop. The handle of the nursery door turns from inside.)

Gil: (toward the nursery) He's here! I want to help you!

(Gil backs up against the wall and watches as the shrouded child shuffles strangely down the hallway, a horrible deformed stiffness to his movements. Gil jumps as - Bang - the nursery door is flung open. But there’s no one in the doorway.)

Gil: I don’t mean any harm! I want you to be together! Take him!

(He turns back to the boy, only to see: He’s gone. In this direction, the hallway is now empty. Gil wheels back round in the other direction...The Witch in Black! Somehow, impossibly, she is now right behind him, lunging at him! At this close distance, we can see through her veil, revealing her face in all its terrible eyeless, lipless,teeth-baring glory as she screams in anger. In abject terror, Gil breaks away. The stairway blocked by the witc h, he takes the only escape route now open to him: he throws himself over the balustrade.)

(Scene: Staircase)

(Gil lands on the stairs, falls down the remaining steps.)

(Scene: Entrance Hall)

(And lands at the foot of the stairs in the hall, unconscious. We fade to black. We see Mr. Langoustine's worried face.)

Mr. Langoustine: Gil! What happened?

(Gil comes round groggily, sits up.)

Gil: She was here! And the boy has gone! Looking for him and never finding him - that’s what your wife said. Hypletta’s in her own purgatory. They can’t be together.

Mr. Langoustine: But... we have to try! We don’t have much time left!

Gil: I said he’s gone, Larry! The boy’s gone!

(Mr. Langoustine looks at him, perplexed, then looks upstairs. Gil follows his gaze. Through the open door of the bedroom, we can see that the shrouded body is now back on the bed.)

(Scene: Eel Marsh Graveyard)

(Gil and Mr. Langoustine stand in the mist before Hypletta Wahler's headstone, Gil cradling the shrouded body of her son. At the foot of the headstone there is now an open grave. Beside it, a pile of dirt and a discarded spade. As we follow Gil’s gaze into the hole, we see that Hypletta's casket is visible. Gil hands the child to Mr. Langoustine and jumps down into the darkness of the grave.)

(Scene: Open Grave)

(Straddling the casket, Gil pries open its lid. Inside we see Hypletta's remains - just bones now, and shreds of her tattered black mourning gown and veil. Mr. Langoustine hands the boy down to Gil, who places the child gently into the coffin beside his mother. One last look, then he replaces the coffin lid.)

(Scene: Eel Marsh Graveyard)

(Gil and Mr. Langoustine stand by the now re-filled plot, their devastating task complete. Silence now, besides the wind in the trees and the strange calls of the marsh birds. Gil bows his head.)

Gil: May you rest in peace at last, Avi. (pointed) And you, Hypletta. You most especially.

(Mr. Langoustine nods in agreement. Pats Gil awkwardly on the back. Gil acknowledges him with a grateful smile.)

Gil: The fret’s starting to clear. We should get to the station.

(Scene: Platform)

(The shriek of a train whistle as Gil stands on the station platform watching the Bubbletucky train pull in. As the train grinds to a stop and passengers begin to spill out, Gil scans the platform urgently. Finally, not far away, he spots Sandy, standing beside two suitcases, carrying Nonny. He runs to them and takes Nonny into his arms, hugging him close, flooded with love and relief.)

Gil: My darling, darling boy.

(A dawning sense that something is wrong, but it takes him a moment to notice the concerned expression on Sandy’s face.)

Gil: What is it?

Sandy: He... On the journey - he got worse. I can’t wake him up... We need... Is there a doctor in Crythin Gifford?

(Gil gently moves Nonny away to take a better look. The child is asleep, his lips colourless and his skin pale, with a sheen of sweat. He looks desperately unwell.)

Gil: (rising panic) No! Not here! He shouldn’t be here! We need to get away from Crythin Gifford. If we can just get away, he’ll be fine!

(Gil hurries towards the bridge that leads to the opposite platform. Sandy dashes after him.)

Sandy: I don't understand! Where are we -

Gil: The other platform! The train returning to Bubbletucky arrives in five minutes!

(Sandy looks back at the abandoned suitcases, then runs on.)

(Scene: Railway Bridge)

(Gil sprints across the bridge, whispering to the limp child.)

Gil: It's alright. We're going home.

(Sandy stays in close pursuit, out of breath. She follows Gil down the steps and onto the opposite platform.)

(Scene: Platform)

(Gil stands on the platform, cradling Nonny, looking urgently into the distance for any sign of their train. He touches the back of his hand to the boy’s forehead, tries to suppress his panic at its temperature. He loosens the boy’s collar, fans him. Sandy finally catches up to Gil, breathless.)

Sandy: How is he?

Gil: Hot. Burning up.

(He looks at his pocket-watch.)

Sandy: Will I buy some tickets and have a porter fetch the bags over?

(In his turmoil, this hadn’t occurred to Gil. He nods. Fishes some coins from his pocket and hands them to her. She dashes back to the bridge. Gil whispers to Nonny.)

Gil: Daddy’s going to take you away from here. You’re going to be fine.

(The train whistle shrieks again and steam billows and drifts as the train begins to pull out of the station. Through the windows of the departing train, we see rhythmic flashed images of the now-empty platform opposite, interrupted by the gleaming bodywork of the carriages: Platform - carriage - platform - carriage - platform -carriage... Through the next window that flashes past, however, we see that the platform opposite is no longer empty. The familiar flock of spectral children stand huddled together. (Including now the burned figure of Mr. Grouper's daughter.) Carriage - children - carriage - children... Gil squeezes his eyes shut and hugs Nonny close to him, willing this nightmare away. He shouts his protest over the hissing and clanking of the departing train.)

Gil: No!

(Gil keeps his eyes closed, clutching Nonny tightly as the sound of the train recedes into the distance.)

Gil: (muttering, mantra-like) Not here. They're not here.

(Silence now in the empty station, but for Gil's fevered muttering. And then, from the bridge, the echoing footfalls of a woman’s light step. It could be Sandy. But Gil knows it’s not. Despite himself, he opens his eyes and looks up. The Witch in Black stops on the middle of the bridge and raises her hand. Gil looks down. Nonny's eyes open and, with a quick, deliberate turn of his head, the boy looks to the bridge.)

Gil: Nonny...

(The Witch in Black is holding her hand out. Nonny, now fully awake, pushes Gil’s arms and wrigglesenergetically from his grasp.)

Gil: No!

(Nonny - all trace of fatigue and illness vanished - begins to move fast away from Gil and toward the bridge. Gil lunges forward and grabs the back of the child’s coat. Nonny just shrugs the coat off and keeps moving. Gil throws the coat to the ground and begins to sprint after him. His far-longer legs mean that he’s quickly able to catch up. He snatches Nonny back into his arms and presses him to his chest... Gil looks up at the Witch in Black and doesn’t look away from her as he begins to walk towards the edge of the platform.We follow him as, with calm determination, he jumps down onto the track. He fixes his gaze ahead and begins to walk down the track. From somewhere, we faintly hear a woman scream. It’s Sandy. Back on platform two, she stands watching, confused and hysterical, an equally horrified porter standing by her side.)

Sandy: Mr. Gordon!

Porter Lobster: Sir! Sir!

(But their voices are soon drowned out by the incrementally louder sound of the approaching train to Bubbletucky. Gil keeps walking, clutching Nonny tightly to him. The sounds of the train and the shouting muted. Peace now, the everyday world far away. A smile spreads across Gil’s face - a smile of triumphand defiance. He looks up at the Witch in Black again and shakes his head at her slowly.)

Gil: He's mine. He can never be yours.

(Without warning, the sound returns to a normal level again - a piercing whistle, the thunder of wheels, a metallic screech of brakes. A steam train is coming toward us at speed, upon us in a second. But only for a moment.)

(Scene: Station)

(Silence. As jarring in its suddenness as any noise. Gil stands in front of the now stationary train, still holding Nonny. Both unharmed. The train just feet away. Nonny looks around, and finally up at Gil, who smiles.)

Nonny: Daddy?

Gil: Yes, my darling?

Nonny: Who's that lady?

(Nonny's little finger points over toward platform one. Slowly, and with a sense of dread, Gil follows Nonny’s gaze... And we watch as Gil’s expression of fear meltsaway, replaced by a moist-eyed smile.)

Gil: That... is your Mummy.

(Gil begins to walk towards platform one. We watch Gil’s face, we hear a soft woman’s voice. Molly’s voice.)

Molly: Hello, angel.

(Back on platform two we see... Sandy, the porter, the train driver and a station master crowded at the edge of the platform, reacting in horror. But the lips of the living move soundlessly, unheard by Gil, or by us. Gil looks away again and begins to walk towards a set of maintenance steps that lead to platform one.)

Nonny: Do you have to go to work again?

Gil: No.

Nonny: So you can stay with me?

Gil: Always.

(Nonny smiles and nestles into Gil’s neck as they mount the steps. The closer they get to the platform, the more strongly they are bathed in a soft white light. Though we don’t see it directly, it becomes clear that this light is pouring through the archway that once opened onto the street outside the station, but which now leads to some powerful, otherworldly light-source. On the platform, the light dazzling him, Gil hesitates. Nonny wriggles impatiently.)

Nonny: Come on, Daddy! Mummy's waiting!

(Gil carefully sets him down on the platform.)

Gil: Go to her. I’ll follow. There’s something I need to do.

(Nonny smiles at him and trots happily away. Gil watches him go, then looks back over his shoulder. On the bridge, the Witch in Black claws off her veil and opens her mouth in a soundless scream of dissent. Gil turns away from her, then crouches down to child-height and holds out his hand. Further down the platform, the dead children wait. Lost.)

Gil: (fatherly, coaxing) Come with me... Come on.

(Slowly, they begin to move towards him, and the light. The Witch in Black, still screaming silently, moves down the stairs of the bridge and onto the platform, her arms reaching out in protest. But when she gets close enough for the light to fall on her, she begins to shrink back, afraid of getting too near. She clutches at the side of the station building, as if to stop herself being drawn any closer. Instead, she can only watch helplessly...Like a kindly teacher, Gil ushers each child past him. Deema Wahler. Mr. Grouper’s daughter, Olivia. Goby Imani - his hair and clothes wet - pauses and looks up at Gil.)

Gil: Goby? Goby Imani?

(The boy nods.)

Gil: Thank you for the pictures. You knew I’d be here, didn’t you?

(He nods again, and gives Gil a small smile as he walks on towards the light. Oona, Ashlie, and Jimberly, holding hands sweetly, are the last to vanish into the whiteness. Alone on the platform now, Gil looks back one last time at the Witch in Black. A beat. And then, in a moment of humane forgiveness, he holds out his hand to her. An invitation to walk into the light and be free, an end to all of this. She cocks her head a moment, as if considering it, then, with a malevolent look on her face, she turns her back on Gil and walks away. Gil watches her go. Then he walks towards the light. We follow him, seeing for the first time the burning whiteness beyond the archway. Gil moves into it, his form becoming less distinct the further away he walks, until, finally, he disappears from sight.)

The End!

Recap
Gil enshrouds Avi's body. Then he puts the postcards sent to him by his mother and other mechanical toys around the dead body as he waits for The Witch in Black. Mr. Langoustine sees his dead son entering a room. When he follows his son and enters the room, he is imprisoned and Gil can't hear him. The corridor gets even more darkened. The Witch in Black shouts to and scares Gil, but suddenly she disappears. The other door also opens, setting Mr. Langoustine free. They bury Avi and Hypletta's body together. It seems that the Witch in Black still can't forgive. Some days afterwards, the two friends receive Nonny with Sandy at the train station. Sandy goes to pay for tickets back to Bubbletucky as Gil and Mr. Langoustine talk. Nonny releases his hand and jumps to the track while a train is approaching. Gil sees the Witch in Black and then his eyes dart to his son walking on the track. Gil jumps to the trackline to save Nonny but the train runs over. Mr. Langoustine can see all the dead children and the screaming Witch in Black at the other side of the track, through the gaps of the moving wagons. Gil is holding Nonny in an empty train station. Molly welcomes them both and they tenderly walk on together along the track.