The Making of 'The Haunting' Page #2

my girlfriend doesn't.

If we could all live together--

But they hate each other.

Hello. The bag.

You know, it's hard when

you're the only one at the party.

- You know what I mean ?

- No.

A blank canvas.

I could paint your portrait

directly on you.

Or maybe not.

So, what about you ?

Husbands ? Boyfriends ?

Girlfriends, Eleanor ?

Where do you live ?

Mmm. I don't have anyone.

But I do have

a little apartment of my own.

It has a little flower garden.

You can just see the ocean.

And when the wind...

comes in just right,

you can hear the buoys in the harbour.

Wow.

That sounds really nice.

You're lucky.

But you know that, right ?

Oh, sorry.

Just a little hair.

So, show me the bathroom !

Oh, it's really beautiful.

It is huge.

- Oh, my God !

- This is the bathroom.

Look at this bathtub.

Can you believe it ?

Look at that. Wow !

Look at my bedroom, though.

- Isn't it beautiful ?

- Yes.

- You've got to see the Great Hall.

- Uh-huh.

I mean, there's so much carving.

It's everywhere.

- I know.

- Oh, look at this one.

- Isn't this one great ?

- No, that's creepy.

Oh, and this one.

This one's weird.

Well, you don't get this

from the Martha Stewart catalogue.

I don't like it.

Isn't it based on

The Gates of Hell by Rodin ?

Well, it's not just hell. See, the

children, they're reaching for heaven,

but their souls

are trapped in purgatory.

And these are the demons...

who can hold on to your soul

for as long as they want.

Did you study art ?

No, I studied purgatory.

I was there once for 11 years.

It's when your soul is caught

between the living and the dead.

Oh, yeah, I've been there.

It's an 18-hour flight from L.A.

to Paris, and you're stuck in coach.

Do you see ?

Well, let's not stand here.

Come on.

Okay.

Whoa.

- Is it real ?

- No.

- Shall we go in ?

- Yeah.

Wow !

Whoo !

- Wow !

- Wow !

It's beautiful!

Oh !

- Would you care to dance ?

- Yes.

I'm starting to like this house !

This is great !

Let's get outta here.

God ! We're like rats--

rats in a maze.

Oh, God !

If I ruin these boots--

Jesus, they cost me

a fortune.

-Let's go back.

-It's gotta be through here.

- I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

- That's all right.

Oh. Hey, I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to scare you.

I'm Luke Sanderson,

just a bad sleeper.

Basic tosser-turner.

And you are ?

- Nell Vance.

- What kind of sleeper ? Nightmares ?

- Not really.

- Anxiety attacks ?

No. Uh-uh.

Okay.

Obsessive indecision.

Wow. And you ?

Let me think.

You, I'm gonna guess,

are a--

Don't even start.

Wow, you're so dominant.

Thanks. Theo.

Hey, Theo.

Jesus.

Here we are.

- Hey.

- You're Luke.

- Yup.

- You're Theo. You're Eleanor.

- Hi, I'm Dr Marrow.

- Hi.

- Welcome.

- Hi.

- Hello, Dr Marrow.

- Hi. This is Todd. He's just come up.

- Greetings, fellow insomniac.

Mary Lambetta, my assistant.

So how was your drive, Eleanor ?

- It was fine. Yeah.

- Good. Good.

Welcome to Hill House, everyone.

Come on.

All right.

Let the good times roll.

Do you know what ?

The rest of you may hate your insomnia,

but I'm not sure

I want a cure for mine.

That's when I get all my best ideas,

when I'm waiting to fall asleep.

I'm alone, occasionally,

with no distractions,

my mind's racing

with creative ideas,

and come 3:
00 a.m.,

I feel like a genius.

Are you kidding me ?

like I'm losing my mind, watching those

infomercials on psychics...

or listening to Tony Robbins

and the psychic hot lines.

-Have you ever seen that late-night TV ?

-Oh, yeah. Thank you.

I swear to God.

You get a steady diet of that crap,

and pretty soon you start thinking

about movin' to Montana...

... and becomin' a survivalist.

That's why God

created barbiturates, honey.

- Nembutal ?

- Mm-mm.

No, Todd, I think we have

a classic Seconal woman on our hands.

- In fact, I think I see

a little Jackie Susann in Theo.

- Ow.

- All right, you two.

Enough about pharmaceuticals.

So, look,

what do we all need in life ?

- What are the basics ?

Food, water, shelter.

- Sex.

And sleep. Sleep.

I'm working on a five-year study,

with the help of Mary here,

making profiles

of bad sleepers.

I'm looking for

a common psychological link.

I hope that the work we do here

will someday be able to help

other people like yourselves.

God knows I'm all for helping people,

saving the world,

but doesn't everybody have

a problem sleeping these days ?

Life's too frantic.

What about you, Nell ?

Um, well, it seems that

you all have trouble sleeping,

because your lives

are exciting,

and it's complicated, and you think

about it when you go to sleep.

But, um, I don't know.

Nothing's ever really happened to me,

so I don't have a reason

to sleep badly.

But in your application

you said you had trouble sleeping.

Mm-hmm, yes,

but it's not like them.

It's because, uh, there was

always somebody calling me,

there was always

somebody banging.

Ever since I was little,

I took care of my mother.

And-- And she would wake up

in the middle of the night.

She would bang with her cane

on the wall.

And it was just

this relentless--

it was a relentless banging

all through the night.

That's weird, because even though,

uh, she's dead,

I still hear it

and I wake up.

Well, that's why we're here,

Eleanor-- to try and help you.

Yeah, Nell. I think what Dr Marrow's

trying to say is...

that you're a basket case,

just like the rest of us.

Thank you, Mary.

Okay. Okay.

Why are we here ?

Really, to answer

the most basic question:

What is wrong with you people ?

These are standard

cognitive and perception tests.

I'll be giving you a variety of these

during the course of the week.

You are not in competition,

so do not worry about being

the head of the class, okay ?

Between all these tests,

you'll have each other--

Todd-- and the house

to keep you company.

Luke. Eleanor.

- But we can't go to town.

- No.

And as you were told, there's no

telephone service, there's no TV.

And the caretakers tend to lock the gate

when they leave. However,

I do have my trusty cell telephone,

in case of emergencies, okay ?

And, um, what's the deal with

the Addams Family mansion ?

Because, I gotta be honest,

- I don't get a real strong

sleep vibe from this place.

- No. Me too.

I wanted to make sure

you didn't sleep too easily.

- Congratulations.

- Seriously, isolation is essential...

in the creation

of an experimental model.

This house, who built it ?

Who lived here ?

Well, actually, that makes

for a very good bedtime story.

Once upon a time,

there was a king who built a castle.

His name was Hugh Crain.

A hundred and thirty years ago,

towns like Concord and Manchester

were the centre of American industry.

That's where Crain

made a fortune--

on the backs of workers

in his textile mills.

Now, this man could have

anything he wanted,

but what he wanted

more than anything...

was a house filled

with the laughter of children.

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