The Haunting Page #2

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INT. NELL'S KITCHEN - DAY

Nell sits at her tiny kitchen table, water glass and Tylenol in

front of her. The necklace dangles from her fingers. She stares,

mesmerized by it. Then she undoes the hasp. The clothes line

outside BATTERS louder --

-- and, defiant, Nell puts the necklace on. She closes her eyes.

Silence. The battering has stopped. A BEAT. And then the PHONE

RINGS. Nell opens her eyes. The phone RINGS. Keeps ringing.

Nell, feeling the drug, finds her way to the phone and picks up.

NELL:

Hello? Yes, this is Eleanor.

-- Where? Yes, it's right here.

Nell listens for a long moment. She picks up the classifieds,

flips through. And there it is:

TROUBLE SLEEPING?

WANTED - RESEARCH SUBJECTS. $900.00/.WEEK + RM.&BD. @ BEAUTIFUL

OLD HOUSE IN BERKSHIRES. PSYCHOLOGY STUDY.

END MAIN TITLE SEQUENCE

INT. PSYCH OBSERVATION LAB - DAY

The lab feels more like the video center of a security office than

a psychologist's laboratory. Two banks of black and white monitors

give us images of men and women, different ages, different races,

wired to electrodes. They are taking psychological tests, although

we never see the Testers. The subjects are working through

variations on object manipulation and pattern recognition tests.

There are subtle differences between the two banks of monitors. On

the left, the subjects are all twitching at exactly the same time,

on the right, the subjects are also twitching, but in no

discernible sequence. The subjects on the left are better able to

concentrate on their tasks. The subjects on the right keep

stopping, and going over what they have done.

Two men, MALCOLM KEOGH, in his 50's, is a graying professor, the

head of the department; someone we trust.

He faces PROFESSOR JAMES MARROW. He is a man whose confidence

rests uneasily on his ambition, and in the tension between the two

is the power that makes him the teacher students love. Right now,

though, he is defending himself before a Department Review. This

is not a court martial with judges behind a desk, it's more free

form.

The men are having a fight, and they are watched by OTHER

PROFESSORS.

MALCOLM:

It's still an electric shock!

MARROW:

Come on Malcolm, it's only seven

ohms, it's nothing, it's like a

joy buzzer! And it's not about

the pain, it's about the

interference with concentration...

Malcolm looks at the monitor. This is Marrow's chance to explain

it again.

MARROW (cont'd)

Look, look at what it does! The

subjects on the left, because they

anticipate the shocks, make the

adjustment, and lose nothing on

their scores. The subjects on the

right, because the shocks are

random, can't anticipate, and the

distraction throws them off.

MALCOLM:

Stop defending your science after

the fact, Jim. The department

protocol for research is very

clear about this, and you violated

the rules. I know, I know, I know

that "Fear and Performance" is a

big sexy idea, but as long as I'm

chairman here you will need this

department's endorsement to

publish it, and right now I can't

do that.

At this moment, MARY LAMBRETTA, late 20's, Marrow's pretty T.A.,

opens the door with an armload of files. Whatever else she's

wearing, she wears glasses. Marrow, seeing her, motions for her to

go away. He doesn't break eye contact with Malcolm. Mary

hesitates...

MARROW:

Malcolm, this is essential work

I'm doing. Just think what my

research can do for education.

Elementary school classrooms near

train tracks or airports, where

loud noise is random; this helps

to prove the need for sound

insulation if the children are

ever going to learn to read.

MALCOLM:

And that will be a good place to

end this study.

MARROW:

No, Malcolm! Individual

performance is only part of it. I

know why baseball players choke

for no reason, I know why

violinists throw up with fear

before every concert, and need to,

to give a great performance, but

what I want to know is, how fear

works in a group...

MALCOLM:

Not the way you've constructed

your group, it's just not ethical!

MARROW:

But if the group knows it's being

studied as a group, you

contaminate the results. The

deception is minor.

Malcolm sees Mary Lambretta.

MALCOLM:

Are you working with her?

MARROW:

Mary, I'll meet you outside.

She understands, and she closes the door.

MALCOLM:

Why are you working with her?

Mary Lambretta was thrown out of

the department for trying to get a

Ph.D. in psychic studies.

MARROW:

And after she was thrown out, she

needed a job.

MALCOLM:

You don't believe in the

paranormal.

MARROW:

No, but she does, and that's all

that matters.

MALCOLM:

Does she know that's why you're

using her?

MARROW:

No.

MALCOLM:

I, I just can't...

MARROW:

She needed a job, Malcolm. And

she's smart. And she helps me.

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