The Ghosts of Pineville ______

THE GHOSTS OF PINEVILLE ______

A one-act dramedy by Jeremy Kisling and Sara Turner

Based on the graphic novels by Sara Turner

This script is for evaluation only. It may not be printed, photocopied or distributed digitally under any circumstances. Possession of this file does not grant the right to perform this play or any portion of it, or to use it for classroom study.

www.youthplays.com [email protected] 424-703-5315

Caution: This play is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, Canada, the British Commonwealth and all other countries of the copyright union and is subject to royalty for all performances including but not limited to professional, amateur, charity and classroom whether admission is charged or presented free of charge.

Reservation of Rights: This play is the property of the author and all rights for its use are strictly reserved and must be licensed by the author's representative, YouthPLAYS. This prohibition of unauthorized professional and amateur stage presentations extends also to motion pictures, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio broadcasting, television, video and the rights of adaptation or translation into non-English languages.

Performance Licensing and Royalty Payments: Amateur and stock performance rights are administered exclusively by YouthPLAYS. No amateur, stock or educational theatre groups or individuals may perform this play without securing authorization and royalty arrangements in advance from YouthPLAYS. Required royalty fees for performing this play are available online at www.YouthPLAYS.com. Royalty fees are subject to change without notice. Required royalties must be paid each time this play is performed and may not be transferred to any other performance entity. All licensing requests and inquiries should be addressed to YouthPLAYS.

Author Credit: All groups or individuals receiving permission to produce this play must give the author(s) credit in any and all advertisements and publicity relating to the production of this play. The author's billing must appear directly below the title on a separate line with no other accompanying written matter. The name of the author(s) must be at least 50% as large as the title of the play. No person or entity may receive larger or more prominent credit than that which is given to the author(s) and the name of the author(s) may not be abbreviated or otherwise altered from the form in which it appears in this Play.

Publisher Attribution: All programs, advertisements, flyers or other printed material must include the following notice: Produced by special arrangement with YouthPLAYS (www.youthplays.com).

Prohibition of Unauthorized Copying: Any unauthorized copying of this book or excerpts from this book, whether by photocopying, scanning, video recording or any other means, is strictly prohibited by law. This book may only be copied by licensed productions with the purchase of a photocopy license, or with explicit permission from YouthPLAYS.

Trade Marks, Public Figures & Musical Works: This play may contain references to brand names or public figures. All references are intended only as parody or other legal means of expression. This play may also contain suggestions for the performance of a musical work (either in part or in whole). YouthPLAYS has not obtained performing rights of these works unless explicitly noted. The direction of such works is only a playwright's suggestion, and the play producer should obtain such permissions on their own. The website for the U.S. copyright office is http://www.copyright.gov.

1. To produce this play, you must receive prior written permission from YouthPLAYS and pay the required royalty.

2. You must pay a royalty each time the play is performed in the presence of audience members outside of the cast and crew. Royalties are due whether or not admission is charged, whether or not the play is presented for profit, for charity or for educational purposes, or whether or not anyone associated with the production is being paid.

3. No changes, including cuts or additions, are permitted to the script without written prior permission from YouthPLAYS.

4. Do not copy this book or any part of it without written permission from YouthPLAYS.

5. Credit to the author and YouthPLAYS is required on all programs and other promotional items associated with this play's performance.

When you pay royalties, you are recognizing the hard work that went into creating the play and making a statement that a play is something of value. We think this is important, and we hope that everyone will do the right thing, thus allowing playwrights to generate income and continue to create wonderful new works for the stage.

Plays are owned by the playwrights who wrote them. Violating a playwright's copyright is a very serious matter and violates both United States and international copyright law. Infringement is punishable by actual damages and attorneys' fees, statutory damages of up to $150,000 per incident, and even possible criminal sanctions. Infringement is theft. Don't do it.

Have a question about copyright? Please contact us by email at [email protected] or by phone at 424-703-5315. When in doubt, please ask.

CAST OF CHARACTERS CHOPPER SWEENEY, male, age 12. HANK GOODE, Chopper's best friend, age 12. GLORY ROBERTS, Chopper's neighbor, a tomboy, age 12. JT ROBERTS, Glory's brother, age 17. DORIS SWEENEY, Chopper's sister, age 16. CANDY SWEENEY, Chopper's sister, age 17. ROGER GOODE, Hank's older brother, age 17. EMILY VAN WARREN, a ghost who disappeared, age 12. SIMON STILLWATER, a ghost who was captured, age 13. THE SHADOW, an evil spirit seeking revenge on Pineville. Male, but could be played by a performer of any gender. PINEVILLE POPULARS/GHOSTS, the group of cool kids at Pineville High, will double as ghosts, 2+ performers of any gender.

SETTING/TIME Summer, late 1950s. The town of Pineville in Eastern Kentucky.

NOTE In the original production, Simon and Emily did most of the scene changes. They were playing games and giggling. This made for a creepy effect and added a wonderful layer for Simon and Emily's relationship.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT The Ghosts of Pineville was first performed by the Lexington Children's Theatre on October 20, 2018. It was directed by Esther Neel; scenic design by Maggie Foley; costume design by Julie Glover; lighting design by Ariel Tatum; sound design by Jeremy Kisling; assistant director was Zachary Fryman; stage manager was Courtney Sheffield; technical director was Aaron Bowling; scenic charge artist was Madison Mattfield; properties master was Kelsey VonderHaar. The cast was as follows: Chopper Sweeney…………………...…………………J.T. Baniak Hank Goode………………………….………….Jayden A. Young Glory Roberts………………………………………Afton Skeeters JT Roberts………………………………..……Sam Wallace-Smith Doris Sweeney………………………….……Delaney Nash Wills Candy Sweeney………………………….………Kenzie Barnhart Roger Goode / Ghost…………………….…John Henry Trimble Simon Stillwater……………………………..……Donovan Stone Emily Van Warren…………………………….……Katie Bowden Popular #1 / Ghost……………………...…Bryanna Hutchinson The Shadow / Popular #2………………...……Jonathan Harper

6 Jeremy Kisling and Sara Turner

SCENE 1 (JT, HANK, CHOPPER, ROGER, CANDY, DORIS and the PINEVILLE POPULARS are sitting around a campfire.) ROGER: Ha, Ha, Ha!!! Your story is fine and all that, but I have one better. And much scarier. JT: I'm sure you do, Roger. DORIS: Well, go ahead… Tell it. ROGER: Have you heard the tale of Simon Stillwater? POPULAR #1: Is that the kid that disappeared from his house? CHOPPER: Yeah, I've heard of it. ROGER: Well, this is the real reason for Ol' Simon's disappearance. Have you ever heard of Emily Van Wart? CANDY: No. ROGER: Well, one night Simon heard a strange noise coming from his hallway. It was Emily—back from the dead. But Simon was clueless… (Scene shifts to SIMON and EMILY in Simon's room. Simon is sitting at a desk doing his homework.) SIMON: What was that? Mom, is that you? EMILY: (Haunting:) Siiimmmoonnn… (Emily giggles.) SIMON: Mom, stop playing tricks. (Simon crosses to the doorway and Emily slips behind and steals his pencil.) Who's there? (Emily works to stifle her laugh.)

I said who's there?! (Emily breathes a sigh and giggles…) SIMON: Get a grip, Simon. There's nothing there. (He crosses back to the desk but can't find his pencil. He looks all around. Emily laughs but the laugh is cut short when THE SHADOW makes its presence known. We should see very little of this entity but sense the Shadow's presence. The figure appears in a black cloak with a hood. We should see little to no flesh. A low rumble is heard. Coming from under the desk:) I heard that! I'm not crazy… (THE SHADOW points to Simon as he is under his desk searching.) Someone is messing with me. What is going on… (Emily appears to Simon. Simon screams, turns and knocks his glasses from his face. The two lock eyes. Emily is forced by the Shadow to capture Simon. He tries to release himself but is locked in Emily's grasp. The rumble becomes louder and a strong wind can be heard. Simon is in a trance and is led off by Emily. Lightning flashes. Then, all becomes quiet. The action returns to those sitting around the campfire.) ROGER: …His pencil was gone. And when he turned around, do you know what he saw? HANK: A bloody corpse? JT: A headless zombie? CHOPPER: (Unsurprised:) A ghost. ROGER: Yeah, the ghost of Emily Van Wart. She led Simon to the attic, and he was never seen again. You see, Emily Van Wart only wanted one thing: the souls of young boys… (Slaps Hank on the shoulder:) Especially boys like you, Hank!

HANK: AHHHH!! CHOPPER: I gotta go. ROGER: What? Too scary for you? HANK: I didn't say that! ROGER: Come on, you guys, it's summertime. Don't worry about curfew—we can cover for ya. CHOPPER: No, I've a paper route to deliver in the morning. HANK: Ah, yeah, so do I. I share that route. ROGER: You better be careful on the way home, little bro. Don't let Emily get you… You always were such a scaredy-cat. DORIS: Don't be so mean to him, Roger. JT: Yeah, leave them be, Roger. CHOPPER: Whatever—let's go. (Chopper and Hank exit and head home. After a moment, the others exit.) HANK: Did that ghost story scare you? CHOPPER: A ghost of a girl capturing boys? No. HANK: Girls can be scary. CHOPPER: Are you talking about Emily Van Wart or real girls? HANK: Both. CHOPPER: Not if you live with a bunch of them. (Chopper lets out a small chuckle as the two exit. In voiceover:) My Name is Chopper Sweeney, I live at 141 Julius Avenue, with my mom and two sisters. My dad was a Pineville police officer, but since he passed away, my mom works a lot more. She's a nurse and loves helping people. My best friend is Hank

Goode, and I love scary movies, bicycles and fishing. I have a job delivering newspapers with Hank. And I never believed in ghosts until one started to believe in me.

SCENE 2 (The next morning. Hank enters Chopper's room. Chopper is in his bed asleep and has no intention of moving. Hank has his newspaper route bag over his shoulder.) HANK: Come on, Chopper! Time to get a move on. We've got to go and deliver these papers. CHOPPER: Go away! HANK: You said you'd go with me. Come on. Afterwards, I can show you these great new comics I got. CHOPPER: It's Saturday. You do the route. I'm asleep. HANK: Come on, I don't want to go alone. Roger's story still has me a bit freaked. CHOPPER: Why do you let your brother scare you? He's just a big bully. (Getting up:) Besides, ghosts don't exist. (Chopper stands up and crosses to his jeans thrown over the chair. He stiffens and lets out a scream when he finds Simon staring back at him in the mirror.) HANK: What!! What happened? CHOPPER: Did you see that? HANK: See what? CHOPPER: I thought I saw…in the mirror… HANK: What? CHOPPER: A face. I mean…not my face…someone else's… HANK: I think my brother's story may have gotten to you too… © Jeremy Kisling and Sara Turner This is a perusal copy only. Absolutely no printing, copying/distribution or performance permitted. 10 Jeremy Kisling and Sara Turner

(Hank crosses to the mirror and both he and Chopper look inside. Nothing for a second, and then Simon appears. We hear a voice say "Help me," although Simon's mouth has not moved.) CHOPPER & HANK: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! (The two fall backward and out of nowhere a grey folder appears on Chopper's bed. Simon's plea is repeated: "Help me." Then he disappears.) HANK: Did you see— Was that— What was that— CHOPPER: (Seeing the folder:) What's that? (Opens the folder and searches through it.) It's a missing person's case. It's my dad's. This is Simon Stillwater's file. My dad investigated his disappearance, but never solved the case. (Looks at mirror.) Do you think that was Simon Stillwater in the mirror? HANK: What? Simon Stillwater's ghost was in your room?! CHOPPER: I think so, and he left my dad's file. I think he wants us to investigate his disappearance. HANK: Are you crazy? You know the legends about Emily Van Wart. You know what they say about the Stillwater estate. CHOPPER: Don't you see, the estate is where the clues will be. And if we can help solve Simon Stillwater's disappearance, we could close my dad's case! HANK: But remember Roger's story: Emily collects boys. Boys our age. CHOPPER: Stop being a wimp! HANK: May I suggest, if we do, we take a girl as backup? CHOPPER: A girl for backup?! Why?

HANK: Emily snatches boys, remember… Maybe Doris. CHOPPER: Doris? No. She's always busy, now that she volunteers at the library. Besides, she'd never let us investigate if she knew. HANK: What about Glory then? She's our age, tough and she's not afraid of anything. CHOPPER: Gory Roberts? HANK: Glory Roberts. You know they call her Gory because she like zombies and stuff. She's a tomboy, so it won't be like going with a real girl. We'll ask her after we finish the route. Now come on. (Chopper and Hank exit.) CHOPPER: (Voiceover:) My father used to tell me Pineville had a heart because it was alive. "Alive with what?" I'd wonder. And then I saw a ghost and I began to think about all the people who lived here, died here and possibly stayed here. And I now know what my father meant. There are ghosts in Pineville, and not only did I want to find them...I wanted to solve Simon's case—for my dad.

SCENE 3 (Chopper and Hank stand with GLORY in her front yard. It is a little later that same morning.) GLORY: You're pulling my leg! You saw a ghost in Pineville? HANK: It was more like in Chopper's bedroom. GLORY: And now you want me to go with you to the Stillwater estate? Why? CHOPPER: Well, ah… Hank, you tell her. HANK: (Thinking fast:) Uh... Well... We need a...

GLORY: Do you need a Ouija board? Because I've got one. HANK: Great! Yes, that's exactly why we need you to come. CHOPPER: Yeah, right. Plus, we figured since that's where Simon was last seen, it's where we should start. So, we'll meet you outside the house at ten o'clock. GLORY: Fine. Whatever. I don't seem to have anything else to do this summer. You all better not be trying to pull one over on me. Or else. I know where you live. CHOPPER: (Not impressed:) Okay, we'll get some supplies together and see you tonight. HANK: Yeah, right…sure, ah, See you tonight. (Scene shifts to night outside the estate. It is dark; we hear crickets and possibly an owl. Shadows loom large and there is a very eerie feel to everything. The two boys enter in silence [possibly "ssshhing" each other]. They are trying to be stealthy. Glory enters behind them.) GLORY: You all ready for this? HANK: (Jumping out of his skin:) What! Who! I'm not scared! GLORY: Relax, it's just me. And I brought the board. CHOPPER: Board? What board? GLORY: The Ouija board. CHOPPER: Oh yeah, whatever. Do those things even work? Here's a flashlight. Let's find a way in. (They look around the outside of the house.) GLORY: Hey, over here. This way. (All gather to Glory.) HANK: Hey, you guys, are you sure we should be doing this?

CHOPPER: Come on, Hank. Simon contacted us—we don't want to let him down. GLORY: Buck up, Hank, and be brave. Let's go. (They enter the house.) CHOPPER: See, it's not so bad. It's dark, cold, full of cobwebs and smells, but other than that it's just a house. GLORY: A lovely home. Let's hope it has some answers about Simon's disappearance. HANK: Let's set up that Ouija board thingy of yours and see if it works. GLORY: Sure! (They set the board down on the floor.) Okay, now set your fingers on the pointer, and we'll ask the ghost questions and wait for them to respond. CHOPPER: You don't expect that thing to work, do you? Come on, we're here to scout out clues, like an actual investigation. (Chopper begins to look around.) GLORY: And don't move it. Let the ghost do that. HANK: You ask it a question. GLORY: Simon? Are you here? Can you hear us? Do you want to talk to us? HANK: That was a lot of questions… GLORY: Quiet, let's see if he answers. (Chopper crosses over and looks down at them and the board. He goes to explore some more of the house.) CHOPPER: Told you it wouldn't work.

HANK: Maybe we didn't ask the right question. Ask about Emily—see if her ghost is here. GLORY: Is there a ghost here named Emily? Emily Van Warren? HANK: Van Warren? I thought it was Van Wart? GLORY: You've been listening to Roger too much. (Looks at board:) Read the file; it's Van Warren. She lived in this house before Simon and went missing. HANK: Wait, what?! She lived here? GLORY: Don't tell Chopper, but I've never really gotten this thing to work. HANK: So, let me get this straight—we're in a house where kids go missing?! GLORY: Yes, and you made a good point, Hank. Maybe we're asking the wrong questions— HANK: That wasn't my point! GLORY: Maybe there's something else, someone else here, taking kids... HANK: Maybe we should go! GLORY: SSSHH! Is there a ghost here who can tell us about Simon Stillwater and Emily Van Warren's disappearance? (Pointer moves to YES.) HANK: It moved!!! Look, look, it's moving. It's pointing to yes! Chopper, it moved!! CHOPPER: (Re-entering:) Look what I found in the kitchen: it's a box with some weird stuff in it. GLORY: IT WORKED!! It pointed to yes!

CHOPPER: No way! Quick, ask it another question. (To the board:) Who took Simon from his parents? GLORY: Just ask yes or no questions! CHOPPER: Why? GLORY: They're easier to answer. CHOPPER: I just want to know what happened to Simon! HANK: It's moving! The pointer thingy is moving again. (The pointer is indeed moving…) GLORY: A…T… HANK: It's spelling something! GLORY: T…I…C… HANK: Attic!! It spelled out attic! (At that moment, we hear a thump, thump, thump coming from above.) CHOPPER: I guess we need to check out the attic. HANK: I think I'll stay here, if you don't mind. Not sure I'm up for being snatched by some ghost in an attic. CHOPPER: Suit yourself. Glory, you coming? GLORY: Well, no guts, no glory—right? CHOPPER: Seriously? GLORY: Oh, come on—I had to say it before someone else did! (Chopper and Glory exit and reenter into the attic. Shortly after, Hank exits the stage. In the attic is a closet door and chair with the Supernatural Book sitting in it.) Well, here we are… Ghosts, are you here? CHOPPER: Like that's going to work. © Jeremy Kisling and Sara Turner This is a perusal copy only. Absolutely no printing, copying/distribution or performance permitted. 16 Jeremy Kisling and Sara Turner

GLORY: Who made you the expert? The Ouija board worked! Hey, you said something about a box? CHOPPER: Right—look at this. I found it in the kitchen. It has a locket, some glasses, a pencil and a comb in it—weird right? GLORY: Very. Do you think this is Simon's stuff? CHOPPER: Not sure, but the weird thing is there's no dust or cobwebs or anything. Everything in the house is covered with dust, but not this. Here, take a look. (Glory looks in the box and pulls out the glasses.) GLORY: These look like Simon's glasses from the picture in your file. Put them on. (Chopper does so. A light from the attic storage room door begins to glow.) CHOPPER: Why? It seems a little creepy. GLORY: This locket. It's not something a boy would have. It looks like a girl's locket. (Glory slips the locket over her head.) I'll bet these items were keepsakes—they might be important to Simon and Emily. If we put them on, maybe we can get them to appear. CHOPPER: Maybe...but it still feels creepy. (The door light glows even brighter! We hear a rushing sound as Emily's ghost appears and possesses Glory, and then we hear voices from the first floor of the house.) JT: (Off:) Where's my sister? She said she was coming here to look around with Chopper… I told her not to… Hank? HANK: (Off:) Oh—hi, JT. Ahh… She's around somewhere. DORIS: (Off:) What are y'all doing here? (Calling:) Is Chopper here? © Jeremy Kisling and Sara Turner This is a perusal copy only. Absolutely no printing, copying/distribution or performance permitted. The Ghosts of Pineville 17

(Emily possesses Glory's body and speaks through her:) GLORY/EMILY: Simon? CHOPPER: I'm not… (We hear another rushing sound as Simon enters Chopper's body. There is a loud strange sound as the closet door light grows to it brightest point and then the door opens wide. It is completely dark except for the closet light. The Shadow enters and steps in front of the light. Emily [Glory] and Simon [Chopper] begin to go the Shadow. JT, Doris and Hank burst into the attic. Hank sees the Shadow and stumbles backwards, falling on his bum.) HANK: AHHHHH!!! NOOOOOOOOOO!!! JT: Woah… What's that? (JT backs and falls into Doris, then trips and hits his head on the floor!) Oww! Is that…a… DORIS: Chopper?! HANK: (To the Shadow:) Oh my, oh my, oh my… Ahhh, you there, spirit person! Leave… Leave this place! You weren't invited here…! (The Shadow turns to him and takes a step…) I said leave this place! PLEASE!!! (The lights begin to strobe and the wind rushes backward. A loud thunderclap occurs, and the world is thrown into chaos. All [including Chopper and Glory] fall to the ground, leaving Emily and Simon's ghosts standing in Chopper and Glory's places. The two of them join hands and retreat. The Shadow has vanished. The door slams shut. All becomes calm. All others begin to sit up or stand.)

JT: Wait. What just happened here? (To Doris:) Did you see that thing? DORIS: I did. What was…that? A spirit? HANK: I wasn't scared… JT: Whatever it was, we need to leave! This place is— CHOPPER: Thanks, Hank. I think you just saved us. HANK: Ahh… You're welcome. You'd be surprised by what the library has to offer on ghosts! (To Glory and Chopper:) Were you two just going to go off with that thing?! GLORY: Of course not—we were possessed. CHOPPER: Yeah. Right. DORIS: Come on, let's get y'all home. (Doris sees a book in a chair and crosses to it. She opens it and the medallion lights up briefly. She then picks it up and holds it to her chest. In the excitement, only JT notices her take it.) GLORY: Guys! We just witnessed ghosts. Real ghosts! CHOPPER: And we released them to the afterlife, solving Simon's disappearance and my dad's case. HANK: Yeah, but what was that other thing? It was super scary. It seemed to have some kind of effect on Emily and Simon. Something weird just happened, and I want to know what it was. We should do some research. Doris, can we come to the library tomorrow? DORIS: I don't see why not. JT: I don't like it. Hunting ghosts...or whatever you guys were doing out here… I don't think it's healthy. CHOPPER: We're not ghost hunting. We're ghost investigating.

JT: Call it what you will, but I don't think you should be seeking out...strange stuff. You two almost got… Well, I'm not sure what just happened, but I am sure that looking for it is a bad idea. GLORY: Calm down, JT. No one was hurt. CHOPPER: If there are more ghosts in Pineville, we need to learn more about them, right? HANK: With a little research and some know-how, we could start our own ghost investigation unit. What d'you say? CHOPPER: We make a good team. What do you think, Glory? GLORY: Oh! (Surprised to be included:) Yeah! Ok, sure—let's do it. (All exit, excited to start their investigations.) CHOPPER: (Voiceover:) So that's how it all started. Word spread through Pineville that we were investigating local ghost stories, and people started paying us to listen. Hank would research the story at the library. Glory would work on our equipment and then we'd all go and check out the location. Most of the summer passed without any of the stories panning out, but we didn't give up. There was one ghost I was hoping to see.

SCENE 4 (Glory, Hank and Chopper are sitting around in Chopper's house and talking ghosts. Hank has a couple of walkie-talkies and is talking to Glory. Glory is looking through some books on ghosts. Chopper is looking at comic books.) HANK: Look. Here's what I'm thinking: if we disconnect these receptors and then reconfigure the antennas, we can make an EVP device. EVP for the low, low cost of a walkie-talkie.

CHOPPER: (Looking up from a book/file:) EVD? What are you talking about? GLORY: EVP. Electronic Voice Phenomenon detectors! See— here in this book. It says we'll be able to hear any ghosts that are in the area. Their voices will filter through the EVP device, and we can understand them. Hank, you're the best. (Hank does a little adjusting on the walkie-talkie.) HANK: Let's fire them up. (The walkies crackle and crack, but no ghost voices.) CHOPPER: It doesn't work. EVP—more like EV…N for nothing. HANK: Maybe there just aren't any ghosts around. CHOPPER: (Hopping off the bed energetically:) We need some new places to check out! (Doris enters with the Supernatural Book from Emily's attic.) DORIS: Hey, I brought you all something. CHOPPER: What? DORIS: A book. HANK: Great! CHOPPER: A book? I thought you'd discovered something good—a lead, perhaps. DORIS: Listen—don't tell anyone, but this is a very special book... HANK: This book was at our library? DORIS: Yeah, I...umm...got it from the reserved section. HANK: You're not supposed to take books from the reserved section! That's library policy.

CHOPPER: It's just a book… DORIS: Hank, I promise to return it. (Opens the book:) Listen to this—there is lots of good information on supernatural creatures in this book. Things like Jersey devils, Chupacabra, and death mongrels… CHOPPER: What are death mongrels? DORIS: They take the form of a dog and act as a guide to the afterlife, but sometimes if a spirit doesn't go and refuses to cross over, the spirits become trapped…here. CHOPPER: So, you're saying this is HOW there could be ghosts in Pineville? HANK: There are a lot of dogs along our paper route! DORIS: For whatever reason, Simon and Emily didn't cross over and haunted the Stillwater estate. GLORY: Can I see that book? DORIS: Sure, but it can't leave our house. GLORY: (Looking through the book. Hank is over her shoulder:) Look—what language is this? Are these some kind of…I don't know…spells? HANK: Look there—it's a section on detection devices, EVPs, Ectoplasmic goggles… This is cool. Glory, do you think we can build some of this stuff? GLORY: I'll get on it. DORIS: Oh, I brought you one more thing. CHOPPER: A lead?

DORIS: Yes. You said you were interested in Pineville's ghost stories. Do you know the one about the Cumberland Gap Cave Collapse? CHOPPER: Huh? (Shaking head.) DORIS: (Exasperated:) Really?! It's one of Pineville's most notorious stories. (Chopper still shakes his head. Doris is still exasperated:) Twelve men were trapped and eventually died in the cave's tunnels! (Chopper is blank-faced.) What's interesting is one of them was Emily Van Warren's father. CHOPPER: Really?! That is interesting. What else can you tell us about it?! Are the caves haunted by classic spirits or maybe a poltergeist?! (Shares a creepy gesture.) DORIS: You wanted to be the investigator. Investigate. HANK: How soon can you build these goggles, Glory? GLORY: A couple hours. I can have them done by tonight. HANK: Let's try out the EVP and the goggles tonight. Chopper, what do you say? CHOPPER: Yeah, okay. Let's do it. I have a really good feeling about this one! I know exactly where this Gap cave is and everything! (There is a knock at the door. JT comes in.) JT: (From offstage:) Glory? Are you in here? GLORY: Yeah.

JT: Time to go home. You don't need to be over here all the time. This ghost hunting bug is ridiculous, and you need to stop pretending it's a real possibility. GLORY: You're not the boss of me! DORIS: (Pulling JT out of the room to the hallway:) JT, come here a minute. JT: Listen, I can appreciate a bookworm—like yourself— wanting to encourage the reading of books, but it's the subject of the books I'm not crazy about. DORIS: Glory, Chopper and Hank all need something to focus on. It's not easy being a boy in a house of girls. Chopper's been through a lot the past few years. JT: Yeah, well, it's not been easy for Glory either. Glory lives in a house of all men. And as her big brother, I'm supposed to look out for her. DORIS: Maybe that's why they want to find ghosts. It's not that strange for kids who have lost parents to be interested in ghosts. JT: That's not why they want to find ghosts… (To himself:) Is it? Besides, kids are supposed to be afraid of ghosts! Listen—we saw something in the Stillwater place, something I can't explain, and I don't like things I can't explain. DORIS: I don't think you have anything to worry about. There are all types of ghosts: the frightening, the comforting, and the ones that can haunt a person. Don't you think you're overreacting? I am betting we all have ghosts in our families or things we'd like to hold onto. JT: (Sighs:) Fine, fine. Glory can stay. It might be good for her to hang out with kids her own age.

DORIS: She'll be fine here. I think it might be good for Chopper to have her around. She's smart. (Teasing.) Way smarter than you. JT: (Smiling:) Oh, really?! DORIS: (Also smiling:) Oh, yeah! WAY smarter. JT: (Pops head back into room with Glory and the boys:) You can stay here for a while. GLORY: I've decided I'm going with you. I need to get supplies to rig up these goggles. See you two tonight, okay? CHOPPER: Okay, right after dark. HANK: I'll bring the EVP detector. You bring the goggles. GLORY: Ten–four. Over and out! (JT rolls his eyes, and JT and Glory leave.) HANK: Hey Doris, what's this emblem thing on the front of this book? DORIS: What do you mean? HANK: (Both look at book:) This; it's raised and kind of looks like a pendant or something. Do you know what it stands for or what it means? DORIS: No. Give me the book back and I'll do some more digging around. I need something to do in the library other than just reshelve books all day. Besides, this ghost stuff is kind of interesting. HANK: Sure is peculiar. (Pause.) Anyhoo, I gotta go. Chopper, I'll see you after supper. I'm excited to try our new equipment. CHOPPER: Yeah, okay, see you later.

(Chopper tries to give Doris a high-five, but she can't manage it while holding the book.) DORIS: You ready for dinner? CHOPPER: Great! I'm starved! I think tonight's the night! (Chopper tries to give Doris a high-five, but she awkwardly can't manage while holding her book. Chopper hops off excitedly though she left him hanging.) DORIS: I sure hope so, Chopper. I really do… I know you miss Dad…and I want to help you. (Doris puts her arm around Chopper's shoulder and escorts him out. The pendant on the book glows—just for a few seconds— and then goes out.) CHOPPER: (Voiceover:) My dad was a great dad. I never got the chance to tell him how proud he made me. I just want him to proud of me, too. And if there are ghosts in Pineville, I'm going to find them…and maybe him.

SCENE 5 (Glory, Hank and Chopper are approaching the cemetery. Glory has her new goggles on and Hank is holding their EVP device. Chopper is leading the way.) CHOPPER: The air even feels spooky tonight! HANK: It does. GLORY: I guess... CHOPPER: Gap Cave is on the other side of the cemetery. We can walk around or take a shortcut through. HANK: I say we take the long— GLORY: I vote shortcut! The cemetery will be the perfect place to test our new equipment.

HANK: That's uh... what I was going to say. (The kids are walking through the countless grave sites. Glory is meticulously scoping out stones with her goggles. Hank is waving the EVP walkie-talkie high in the air trying to capture a sound. Chopper has stopped at a particular set of headstones.) GLORY: Wait! I see a glow on that headstone. I bet it's ghost residue! Take a look. (She hands the goggles to Hank.) CHOPPER: Guys! HANK: I don't see anything. CHOPPER: Guys! GLORY: What do you mean?! (Glory points.) It's right there. HANK: I don't. CHOPPER: GUYS!! Come look. (Glory and Hank make their way to Chopper. He points to the headstones he's been staring at: two stones side by side. One reads, "Emily Van Warren," and the other, "Percy Van Warren.") GLORY: Oh! The Van Warrens. I can't believe we didn't think about them being buried here. HANK: But didn't Mr. Van Warren die in the caves? CHOPPER: This doesn't mean his ghost isn't still there. HANK: Yikes! GLORY: Look: Emily passed away only a few weeks after her dad. HANK: How? CHOPPER: How should I know?

GLORY: Grief, maybe. (She pauses for a second.) What? I really don't know. My mom passed away too. I'd love to talk to her. (Glory sits on the ground.) HANK: (Awkwardly sitting next to Glory:) You're pretty brave, you know? If my dad was gone…I'd be too scared to try and find his ghost. Is that weird? GLORY: I hadn't thought about it like that before. CHOPPER: (Patting Hank on the back while also sitting down:) Yeah! Well, we know how you react around ghosts. (Playfully mocking:) "AHHH, leave! Please! PLEASE!" (Both Chopper and Glory are laughing. Hank can't help but laugh himself.) Hank, you're scared of your own shadow. HANK: Hey! I wasn't scared! CHOPPER: Yeah, right… (We hear an owl hoot loudly. Chopper jumps into Hank's arms.) AHHHHHHH!!!! GLORY: Hmmm… Who was saying they weren't scared…? HANK: Yeah, Chopper! Now who's shaking in their shoes? (Chopper pushes Hank away and pouts. All three are silent.) CHOPPER: This might be a dead end. What if we never see another ghost? (The EVP walkie-talkie next to them makes a noise. It's static with the slight hint of a voice. All three of them jump.) HANK: Whoa!

GLORY: Is a ghost actually trying to talk to us?! CHOPPER: What is it saying?! HANK: I can't make it out! GLORY: SHHHHH!!! Listen! (They all start trying to hold the walkie-talkie, holding it high in the air, moving around for better reception. Eventually an eerie voice becomes clear. It says: TROUBLE IS COMING...) CHOPPER: WHAT?! What did it say? (Roger, Candy and the Pineville Populars enter and surround Chopper's crew.) ROGER: Well, well, well. What do we have here? If it isn't the little ghost hunter gang. See any spooks tonight, kids? Candy, you call this disaster your brother? CANDY: More like my little terror. (The Populars laugh.) POPULAR #1: Man, y'all are lame! (Pointing at goggles:) What are those? ROGER: No way! Do those help you see the ghosts? HANK: Yeah! CANDY: You three are the scary story! CHOPPER: Leave us alone! POPULAR #2: Yeah, who's going to make us? POPULAR #1: You think we're scared of you, shrimp? ROGER: Chopper! Listen, twerp, I've heard about your little ghost investigations. How stupid are you? You're not going to find any ghosts—let alone see them. CHOPPER: (Stepping to him:) Shut up, Roger.

ROGER: (Taking the walkie-talkie and pushing Chopper down:) You're so gullible. GLORY: Give that back!! ROGER: Trying to be brave, little girl? JT: (Appearing from around the corner:) Don't touch my sister. ROGER: You looking for trouble, JT? JT: No, are you? CANDY: Come on, Roger, it's not worth it. (Roger smiles and snaps the antenna off the EVP walkie-talkie and throws it to the ground with a crunch before turning to leave.) CHOPPER: NO!! (Chopper scoops up the device.) GLORY: You bully! HANK: You suck at being a brother! (Turns around to group:) Unfortunately, that's my only brother. JT: Come on, you three. I'll walk you home. GLORY: Thanks, JT. I think you could've taken him. JT: I knew he'd back down. No one messes with my baby sis. CHOPPER: He broke our equipment. GLORY: I can fix it, Chopper. (The group gets close to the house, and Doris is there. Doris sits cross-legged with the Supernatural Book open. She is saying a chant and has drawn something in the dirt, but the moment she sees the others approach she scratches out the symbols and stands up. She has a leaf and some dirt dangling in her hair.)

What happened to you all? (Doris picks up the book looking anxious/guilty.) JT: I just saved your little brother from being humiliated by your big sister and her gaggle of sheep. DORIS: You mean this little mud pie? CHOPPER: Stop calling me little! JT: Turns out that playing in a graveyard isn't very fun. DORIS: Go inside and clean up. (Chopper moves toward the house. Doris suddenly calls after him:) Chopper, love you. (Chopper stops and makes a gross-out face, sticking out his tongue and shrugging from confusion.) JT: You too, Glory. Go home and clean up. GLORY: (Joking and hugging JT:) I love you too, you big dork! JT: Get off me. (Turning to Doris who seems preoccupied:) Sisters...right? DORIS: Yeah, I have one. JT: Oh, you have a...uh...well... (He leans forward and removes the leaf from Doris' hair.) DORIS: A leaf in my hair...nice. JT: It is a nice fashion statement. (They laugh. The two stand in awkward silence for a second.) Hey Doris, would you be interested in...I don't know...hanging out sometime? DORIS: (Perking up:) Are you asking me out?

JT: Well, I was thinking we'd tag along on one of their little ghost hunts. DORIS: Oh...tag along. JT: You know, to keep them out of trouble. You're always volunteering or reading. I thought you might like a change of pace. Do something fun. DORIS: I'll think about it. Goodnight, JT. JT: Goodnight… (Chopper crosses out of the house to Doris. JT escorts Glory off, and Hank and Chopper nod to each other. Hank exits.) CHOPPER: Doris, can I see that book? (Flips through the pages:) There's got to be something in here… I thought that if we tried...we'd find… This is stupid; ahhh… (Chopper looks at his dirty self. He lets out a long, tired breath, and looks at the sky and says:) I wish ghosts were easier to find! (The medallion on the book starts to glow. Doris sees this and crosses to grab the book from Chopper. He turns and exits. A low rumble of thunder is heard. A flash or two of lightning and then the Shadow enters. The Shadow stands there looking at the house and laughs a small knowing laugh in the almost pitch-black night. A larger flash of light and a louder BOOM is heard...a portal to the afterlife has been opened.) CHOPPER: (Voiceover:) I learned two things this summer: ghosts are real, but they are not the only things that can haunt a person. The more we failed at finding ghosts in Pineville, the more that failure haunted me. Did my dad ever feel this way?

SCENE 6 (Doris is seated in front of her house with the Supernatural Book open beside her. She takes notes in her journal. Candy comes up behind her.) CANDY: Don't you do enough reading and writing at the library? DORIS: We can't all work at a fancy department store like you, Candy. CANDY: Of course, you can't. You have absolutely no fashion sense. DORIS: (Picks up the leaf from the night before and smiles to herself:) Because that's the meaning of life…fashion sense. CANDY: It wouldn't hurt you to care about your appearance a little, Doris. What are you writing in your journal anyway? DORIS: None of your business; besides, you don't like to read. CANDY: And what is that crazy book you're looking at? Is that from the library? What are you up to? DORIS: Since when did you become interested in my life? CANDY: I'm not. Just small talk. DORIS: (Picking up her things:) Well, I have better things to do… CANDY: Suit yourself. (They exit. Hank and Chopper enter reading comic books. Doris enters.) DORIS: Hey, you two, I haven't seen you reading comic books in a while. CHOPPER: What are you talking about? We do this all the time.

DORIS: You've spent most of your summer chasing ghosts. CHOPPER: Fat lotta good that did us. Roger and Candy made fun of us and pushed us around and now the whole town is teasing us. HANK: It's no fun being teased. CHOPPER: I just wanted to see a ghost. DORIS: You saw that boy, Simon, at the Stillwater estate. HANK: Simon wasn't the only ghost there. There were others... CHOPPER: (Picking up his dad's picture off the table:) Sure, but he wasn't the right ghost. DORIS: I know, Chopper, and I want to help… CHOPPER: Why? What's the point? I quit. This is a waste of time, and I'm not sure ghosts really want to be found, anyway. DORIS: Do you really mean that? CHOPPER: Sure. Yeah, I think so. DORIS: How's it going with getting that new bike you wanted? I know how much you were looking forward to it. HANK: (To Doris:) Don't talk about the bike. CHOPPER: UGH! I'm not getting a bike! We've spent all the money on ghost equipment! HANK: He's a bit touchy about that. (There's a knock at the door. Glory enters. As she does, Doris gets a look of determination on her face and exits.) GLORY: Hey, look—I fixed our EVP device! CHOPPER: Big deal. GLORY: It took me a long time to fix this.

HANK: Good job, Glory. CHOPPER: We're not even sure it worked before you fixed it. GLORY: What are you talking about? We did hear something last night! CHOPPER: We're not sure what we heard. I think it's a joke. I think we might be a joke. I'm tired of failing. I'm tired of being… Everyone is laughing at us. GLORY: We've found Simon, we can find more. Have some patience. CHOPPER: Don't you get it? We're a joke to everyone in Pineville. Do you know what they call you? Do you? Gory Glory! (Glory punches Chopper in the gut. He collapses to the floor.) GLORY: You weren't the only one looking for someone, you jerk!! (She storms out.) CHOPPER: Did you see that? HANK: Everyone calls you Weeny Sweeny— CHOPPER: Shut up. HANK: What's wrong with you? All summer it's been ghost- this, ghost-that, and Glory and I have done everything to help you! CHOPPER: Yeah? Horrified Hank to the rescue! You're such a wimp. HANK: Oh yeah, well…. (Hank storms away and turns around to add one last thing.) You're a jerk! CHOPPER: Yeah, well, who needs ya!!! © Jeremy Kisling and Sara Turner This is a perusal copy only. Absolutely no printing, copying/distribution or performance permitted. The Ghosts of Pineville 35

(Chopper huffs and begins to pick up his comic books and exits. Scene switches to the street. Doris enters and crosses stage. She has the Supernatural Book with her. JT enters from the other side and confronts Doris.) JT: Hey, Doris, where you going? DORIS: There's something I need to do. JT: Are you okay? I've noticed you carrying that book around with you everywhere. I know it's not from the library—I saw you pick it up at the Stillwater estate. DORIS: It just… JT: Come on, you can tell me; we're friends, aren't we? DORIS: Are we friends? JT: I thought we were becoming friends. DORIS: JT, do you ever think of getting out of Pineville? Going somewhere else? JT: I love this town. It has great people; I have a good job. DORIS: Here, we'll always remember losing our dad. Chopper will never be able to move on. JT: You shouldn't try to forget him. DORIS: Listen, I've something I gotta do. (She runs off.) JT: Wait! I am so confused… GLORY: (Glory enters in tears needing a hug:) JT! JT: What's up with you? Why the tears? GLORY: I had a fight with Chopper. JT: So? Friends argue...so I've learned. GLORY: JT, do you remember Mom?

JT: Of course. GLORY: I wanted to find ghosts so maybe I could see her, but now I'm not sure if it's really what I want or if it's just what I think I want. (She stops and shrugs.) I thought they were my friends… JT: I know I've given you a hard time about the ghost thing, but Glory, really you can keep looking if you want. (Glory looks at him—then leans over and blows her nose on his shirt.) Sure, that's fine. Use my shirt…no need for a tissue or anything. Feel better? (Glory shakes head yes.) Brat! HANK: (Entering:) Glory! There you are. If you want…I want…I'm ready to find some…freakin' ghosts! Are you with me? GLORY: Really? With me? Let's do it! JT: Well, there you go then. Okay. Well, be safe. (He exits.) HANK: I brought the gear. Come on, let's go ghost hunting. (Hank puts on the goggles.) GLORY: That's ghost investigating. (They both laugh. Suddenly there is a big boom, followed by several flashes of light.) What was that?

HANK: I don't know, but it came from the direction of the cemetery. Glory, Glory, the goggles are working! I see a glow. GLORY: Ha! I see it too. I guess we don't need these goggles. Come on!! (They run off. The scene shifts to Doris in the graveyard sitting beside her father's headstone. She has the Supernatural Book open. She looks sad.) DORIS: Dad, are you here? Dad? Chopper wants to see you. (Kneels at grave.) I thought you might be here. (More silent reflection.) No. This is a mistake. Ghosts are…gone. I need to try and fix this. (The wind starts to blow. She sits and begins speaking something wordlessly. The wind is blowing so loud you cannot hear her words, but we see the medallion on the book start to glow again. The lights flash and the Shadow is there! The Shadow summons Emily from offstage and waves his hand to force Emily to take possession of Doris. Once Emily possesses Doris, they lean down and release the medallion from the book. Emily/Doris hands the medallion to the Shadow, who holds it ceremoniously to the sky. Lightning flashes. Thunder rolls. The Shadow laughs. It is clear something very bad has just occurred…) SHADOW: (Through the wind we hear:) Now's the time for all spirits to rejoin the living!

SCENE 7 (Glory and Hank run up to Chopper's house while calling for him.) GLORY & HANK: Chopper!! Chopper!! Come see this! CHOPPER: (Coming out to meet them:) What's going on?

GLORY: You're never going to believe what we've found. HANK: You'll want to see this! Come out! Look at this. CHOPPER: You two are crazy. (Beat.) Fine. If it will stop you from yelling at me… SIMON: (Entering:) Hi… CHOPPER: Simon?! We saw you cross over. I thought once a ghost went into the afterlife they couldn't come back. SIMON: Not sure what the rules are, but I'm back… HANK: That's what makes this so weird. He shouldn't be here. Something's wrong. (Just then, JT walks in.) JT: Have you guys seen Doris? She was acting kind of weird and—AAAAAHHAHHHAHAHHHH!!! You! I saw you float away at the Stillwater estate. (Looking at Chopper for answers.) How is this possible? CHOPPER: Why are you looking at me? SIMON: A door—some sort of portal—opened and I was thrown back here. HANK: Here in Pineville? SIMON: Yeah, well, just so you know, the entity from my house has also been freed. It's evil and powerful and it has plans for Pineville. HANK: A door? A door. Something like that seems highly impossible without some kind of— GLORY: Spell! Like the spells from Doris' book! CHOPPER: We need Doris. JT: That's what I was asking before; does anyone know where Doris is?

CHOPPER: I know how we can find her! (The whole group runs off to Doris' room.) GLORY: She's not here. I thought you said you knew where she was. CHOPPER: No, I said I know how to find her. (He holds up a book.) HANK: Her diary? JT: I don't think that's a good idea. CHOPPER: I've done it before. And it does have a couple of passages about you, JT. JT: (Embarrassed:) Alright, if you think it'll help. CHOPPER: Look, it says something about a summoning ceremony and something called the Shadow. HANK: The Shadow? GLORY: Do you know what she's talking about? HANK: I read about it in that crazy book—the Shadow is an entity that's supposed to grant you one wish when summoned. CHOPPER: What if Doris did the summoning and something went wrong? HANK: And that's why there's an open portal allowing ghosts back through to our side. CANDY: (Entering:) What are you all doing in Doris' room? Why are you looking through her diary? JT: I wasn't—just them. CHOPPER: We were just trying to help her—

CANDY: Is something wrong with Doris? Does this have something to do with all your stupid ghost hunting adventures? CHOPPER: Well… (Just then Candy turns and sees Simon. He waves. She screams and grabs something to throw at Simon.) CANDY: What is that? CHOPPER: Never mind him! We think something's happened to Doris! CANDY: Never mind him?! There's a ghost in our house and I'm supposed to ignore it? Fine. Let's set the ghost boy aside for a minute. (Not taking her eyes off Simon:) Is Doris in trouble? GLORY: Maybe— CHOPPER: Probably— HANK: We need to find her— CHOPPER: Simon, do you remember where the door formed? Where you came back across? SIMON: Hank and Glory found me in the cemetery— HANK: Yeah! I wasn't scared...at all! JT: (JT is now looking through Doris' dairy:) Guys...this might be a clue. Doris writes she's going to visit your dad's grave. That makes sense with everything that's happening. (Chopper gives JT a judgmental look, crossing his arms.) Right? CHOPPER: (Shrugging and shaking his head:) You read her diary? JT: Don't judge me. At least we know where to go now.

Want to read the entire script? Order a perusal copy today!