Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Page #3

I swear to God, I never touched them!

- I didn't touch them.

- Sally.

I didn't! Didn't cut them, I promise.

I don't care about my clothes.

I can't really tell. 1804, I think.

It's hard to see.

The coin is pretty worn down.

She probably found it

in Blackwood's studio.

I don't want her

going down there anymore.

I'm worried about her, Kim. It's not safe.

- This is Joanne.

- Mommy?

Oh, sweetie, it's you! How are you?

Can I come home?

You want to come...

The sashimi. Stuart, the sashimi.

- I don't like it here.

- You what?

Honey, don't fret. It's so beautiful there.

You just need to get used to it.

But it's cold.

- Honey, what?

- My bed is too big.

- Sweetheart.

- And I think I'm getting sick.

You're not getting sick.

It will take a little tiny bit of getting used to,

but you are going to be so happy there.

Okay? I promise. You'll get used to it.

I got to go, honey. Mommy's got to go.

I'll see you soon. Bye!

Kim?

- Don't leave.

- What's wrong?

Even when I'm asleep.

And don't turn off the lights.

I'll be right here.

Come on.

Kim?

I love you. I love you.

Daddy! Daddy!

Daddy, please!

Daddy!

Sally, what's the matter?

I don't want them to come anymore.

Who, Sally?

The little things.

They live in the basement.

They gave me the silver dollar.

They said they wanted to be my friend.

But they're horrible and mean.

- You just had a nightmare.

- Don't say that!

It's okay.

My bear.

Look what they did to my bear.

Your dad tells me art is your

favorite subject. I wish I could draw.

Drawing is easy.

The other kids can't do feet and hands.

When you say "the other kids,"

do you feel they're different from you?

My doctor back home asked me that.

What was your answer?

Okay. Let's start with something easier.

What's your favorite color?

What is that? Purple?

Black.

How about these little things you saw?

What do you think they are?

Fairies.

Or gnomes.

But scary ones?

And you say they know your name?

They talk to you?

Yes.

What do they say?

They want to play with me.

Is that all?

They say my parents don't love me.

Can I go now?

Just a few more questions, okay?

There is a lot of anxiety in that little girl

and a deep belief that she's not wanted.

I believe that's what's triggering

these fantastic episodes.

She told me she found a little tray filled

with teeth right inside that fireplace.

Yeah. She found a tooth,

but that doesn't mean anything, does it?

She's constructing this elaborate fantasy

about wrinkles, claws, fangs.

She's individuated

each one of those things,

her imaginary world, its inhabitants.

It's as detailed as any

I've ever encountered.

What do we do?

I'd like to try her on a

stronger medication, for a start.

I'll ask her doctor in LA to send me a copy

of her charts.

You call my office,

make another appointment.

Okay, great.

Meanwhile, I'll give you something

to help her sleep.

I'm going to be late. I can't believe it.

If we don't get the extension on this loan,

we're not going to get the paintings

or the furniture back on time.

We forgot the invitations

for the historical society.

Maybe we should just

postpone the dinner.

Kim, it's Architectural Digest.

We have to get the house on the cover.

- I know.

- If we don't,

I'm never going to get my career back,

and we're not going to sell the place.

- How often have we talked about this?

- What about what's been happening?

Harris? That was an accident.

- I'm talking about Sally.

- It's all in her head!

It's real to her.

It doesn't matter if we see it.

- Come on!

- Calm down!

I'm going to walk. It'll be faster.

I'll see you back at home.

I'm not sure how lucid he'll be.

He's pretty heavily sedated.

Mr. Harris, I know this is difficult,

but I need to understand something.

I need to know what Sally saw

so that I can help her.

Is she out of the house?

No.

Out.

She needs to be out of there.

Why?

Why was that room sealed up?

Grandfather.

Your grandfather closed it up?

- Yes.

- Why?

After...

After...

After what?

Blackwood.

What about Blackwood?

Lot 1134.

Public library.

Get her out of the house.

The library will be closing in 15 minutes.

The library will be closing in 15 minutes.

Thank you.

Excuse me.

- Can I help you?

- I'm looking for the librarian.

Lot 1134.

Emerson Blackwood, Special Collections.

One sec.

Right this way.

Can't remember the last time

anyone requested these. They're beautiful.

I'm a designer.

I've been working at Fallen Mill.

Wow. Now, that's a privilege.

Personally, I think Emerson Blackwood

rivaled Audubon.

Come across his mural?

A mural? Where?

There in the house, supposedly.

If you do, I'd love to see it.

Hello?

Now, it's pretty ironic, really.

For a committed realist, someone who

insisted on drawing only from nature,

to do these at the end of his life.

I've looked at everything by Blackwood,

and I've never seen any of these.

You wouldn't.

The family made it a restricted donation.

- These may never be published.

- Is it possible to get copies?

I'll see what I can do.

"Wrinkles, claws, teeth?"

Have you ever read Machen?

Arthur Machen. Welsh.

He believed in fairy folk,

these ancient entities

from the netherworld, predating mankind.

Blackwood quotes him extensively.

Here, that line. There.

"One life must be taken."

These creatures had to take one human life

every time they emerged.

to replenish their ranks.

Many of these creatures fed on the bones,

the teeth of young children.

And then there's a truce, a pact of sorts,

between Pope Sylvester II

and these ancient beings

in the year 999.

In exchange for human teeth, they start

leaving silver pieces under the pillow.

Now, this is the last known drawing

by Emerson Blackwood,

made shortly before his disappearance

and the loss of his child.

His child?

Blackwood's only son vanished, lost.

Not long after, Blackwood himself

disappeared without a trace.

No!

No! No! Please!

No!

Sally, what's wrong?

Sally, open the door!

Oh, my God!

Dear, thank goodness you're home.

- Where is she?

- I put her to bed.

She wouldn't stop screaming.

Sally?

Kim!

She's not down here.

I think she's run away.

She's done it before.

Once she tried to walk all the way back

to LA from our family home in Boston.

I wouldn't be surprised

if that's what she's doing.

I went and visited Harris today.

Blackwood had a son. Did you know that?

And when he was eight, he disappeared.

And Blackwood vanished a few days later.

Why are you telling me this?

A lot of what Blackwood wrote

at the end of his life,

it's awfully close to Sally's story,

gnomes, creatures, all of it.

Kim, don't tell me you believe this.

Something terrible happened

in that basement.

- We need to leave.

- What are you talking about?

Put a million miles

between us and that house.

Every cent I have is in that house.

And you're saying that we just walk away?

I accept that

my daughter has problems, okay?

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