Afterlife (2005) s01e04 Episode Script
Misdirection
(ORGAN VERSION OF JERUSALEM PLAYING ON RADIO) Ellen.
Ellen! Um, yes, it's Alison Mundy.
Thanks very much for calling back so soon.
No problem, Have you worked for the NHS before? Yes, I was an NHS nurse.
Yes, I was.
(HANGS UP) Hello? Hello? Damn.
(PHONE RINGING) Hello, um, Mrs Caverhill, I'm sorry I don't know what happened there.
Who is Mrs Caverhill? -Is that Robert? -How are you? ErmI'm fine, I'm actually in the middle of.
I'm just calling about our meeting on Tuesday, about the book? Oh.
Are we going to call each other tossers again? You called me a tosser.
I didn't call you anything.
Well, actually, do you know what, I don't know if it is all right, because I might have a job interview coming up, All right, well, Wednesday, then.
I'll come to you.
I said, I don't know.
Do you mind if we leave it at that? Now, look, do you mind clearing the line 'cause I'm expecting a call any minute and it's important? Yeah, but, put it in the diary.
Robert, you just don't get it do you? I've had enough of this life, this shit life.
These voices in my head are choking me.
I need to do something.
I need some normality.
Yeah, but what about my book? I mean, are you committed to that still, because.
Yes, of course I am.
But, you know I'm not just the subject of your book, Robert.
I'm me.
Well, I'll hang up, then.
Good luck.
Thank you, bye.
ALISON: I was in intensive care for three years, and then I spent five years working in A&E, -And what brought you to Bristol, Alison? -A new place, new start.
New life.
-In what way? -Every way.
I see there's a gap in your work record here, six months.
Yes, I had an accident, a serious one.
So I was in and out of hospital myself for six months, recuperating.
-But you're fully recovered now? -Absolutely.
Good.
Hmm.
Well, I can safely say, looking at this, we'd be delighted to have you.
Erm, it's a three-week holiday relief placement to begin with, but between you and me, our staff situation is fluid, so if all goes well, we may be able to look at something more long-term.
So, welcome aboard.
ROBERT: (VOICEOVER) Possibly Alison, subconsciously, like other self-proclaimed psychics before her, may be continuing to act out to reward her investigator's interest, So, the question arises, is it right to continue knowing that studying her might be exacerbating and prolonging her delusion? -Worked in one of these places before? -No, just hospitals.
-A little change of pace for you then? -Do you like it here? Pays the bills.
Er, TV room.
This is the dining room.
They're cramming some more rooms into the attic.
It's a lot of noise and dust and a headache for us.
We have some wanderers who like to go up there when we're not looking.
For example.
Cicely, this is Alison, our new carer.
Hello.
Wanderer.
Come on, I'll show you who else is who.
This is Mrs Havers' room, Nora.
Well, it seems a lot nicer here than any hospital I've worked in.
Don't let the soft furnishings fool you.
It's just a hospital with carpet.
Only difference here is that no one goes back home.
This is Jenny's room.
There's no one here.
Another wanderer, I know where she'll be.
I won't be a minute.
Oh, no.
Oh, Josh.
Oh, God.
You've got to put your coat on when you go outside, Jenny, you'll catch a chill.
-This is my room? -Of course, Jenny.
This is Alison.
She's in my room and that's my picture.
Don't worry, Jenny, Alison's our new nurse.
-I was looking at your grandson.
-I haven't got a grandson.
-I'm sorry.
-This is my son.
This is Robert.
Lovely soldiers you do.
-Oh? I do them for my grandsons.
-All right, let's get your socks on.
I can do that.
I can't bend, but I've got a thingy on a stick.
Or, I had a thingy.
-Someone's taken it.
-Cicely.
Hang on.
Oh, not again.
Woman's a bloody magpie.
-They never come you know.
-Sorry? -His grandsons.
-That's sad.
No, that's normal.
This place is a garage where nice people park their parents and tell themselves they're happy.
Will you check the day room, see if you can see Cicely? -Yeah.
-I'm just gonna check up here.
-She's a bit of a klepto, then? -Only if it isn't nailed down.
(LOUD THUMPING) Cicely.
Cicely? (WIND HOWLING) (FAST ROCK MUSIC PLAYING ON HEADPHONES) (ALARM RINGING) Oh, shit.
ROBERT: You're looking well, Mum.
Have you seen my dog? No.
He's an Airedale, he runs off.
-Spike's dead, Mum.
-What? -Has there been an accident? -He died when I was six.
Nonsense, he was just here.
He must be in the garden.
He's probably outside playing with my son.
(LOUD THUMPING) (LOUD ROCK MUSIC PLAYING ON HEADPHONES) (THUMPING CONTINUES) Can't hear you.
Jesus.
(INAUDIBLE) -What do you want? -I'm not taking your job, am I? 'Cause people aren't usually this hostile toward me till they get to know me a lot better.
Sorry, you just gave me a jolt, that's all.
-Are you sure? -Yeah.
-You'll help me finish up here? -Yeah, sure.
She's hurting.
Her back's crumbling.
She takes Vicodin for the pain.
It's not that sort of pain.
She wants to go.
Start thinking like that, this job'll do your head in.
-I just meant.
-I've been looking after Ellen for five years now.
Ellen? Who's Ellen? Nora.
Mrs Havers.
Look, would you finish up here, I've got a cracking headache.
I want to go get some aspirin.
-Coffee? -Yes, please.
-Those aspirins that you went outside to take.
-Yeah? -What were they? Valium, Librium, Xanax? -Ativan.
-I get stressed.
-They weren't yours though, were they? Weren't they? So what is it? A patient dies and you pocket what's left of their prescription? What, so you've been here two days, and you're gonna tell teacher on me, is that it? -Do you do it much? -Much? No, just enough.
-Who's Ellen? -Jenny needs her insulin.
Do you wanna do it after you've finished your coffee? Sure.
Do you want to pretend that I didn't just ask you about Ellen? Ellen was a patient.
She was this valiant, tough person.
Hobbled around on a stick.
Loved everything, apart from her dentures, she hated them.
She was very rude about them.
She especially loved Poppy, her daughter.
The sun rose and set with her.
She was about your age.
She was hit by a police car on a pedestrian crossing.
Killed her? All the stuffing went out of Ellen.
Three years wanting to die.
-You can't mend a broken heart.
-No, but you can survive it.
Which is worse.
-Settling in all right? -Yeah.
It's like riding a bike.
JENNY: (VOICEOVER) My son came to see me yesterday, I'm so proud of him, What he's become, With his work, with his books, So clever, such a clever man, I know.
-What do you know? -Nothing.
(DOORBELL RINGING) You forgot our appointment.
Erm, would like a cup of coffee? I'm useless until I've had a cup of coffee.
-I'd like to get started, I'm running a bit late.
-Okey-doke.
I've got things to do, too.
We've discussed the trauma of the train crash.
I'd like to hear a little bit about your earlier experiences of the spirits.
So aren't you going to ask me how my job hunting is going? -Sorry.
How did it go? -I've got a job.
Good.
At Lychgate.
And now you're going to tell me you've seen my mother.
Right.
Alison let me tell you something I know our relationship is psychologist and subject, not doctor-patient.
But there are similarities and there's this thing called transference which means.
Like when the patient falls in love with the psychiatrist, that kind of thing.
-Yeah, exactly.
-Don't flatter yourself.
I know what transference is and this isn't it.
-I didn't get a job there deliberately.
It wasn't.
-There are other nursing homes in Bristol.
-Would you like me to give up my job? -Yes, actually.
Well, no, actually.
I won't.
Why should I? I can't.
She.
She said that she was proud of you.
Of your writing, of what you've achieved.
Alison, my mother hasn't even recognised me for two years.
She still thinks I'm five years old.
She looks at me like I'm a stranger.
Well, she said.
No, she didn't.
Listen to me, Alison, it's Alzheimer's.
The body stays healthy and the brain decays.
It's not death.
It's worse than death.
It's a living death.
Then maybe that's the part of her that I'm hearing.
-Robert, Josh wanted me to work there.
-Stop right there.
Not only do you claim to be in contact with my dead son but now you're contacting my dead mother, who, just in case you hadn't noticed, isn't even dead.
See, this is what deluded people do, Alison.
They have feelings in their head and they fit it into their pre-existing mindset.
Which is what you do for a living all the time.
I thought that you wanted to understand what happens to me or is that only when it doesn't affect your own life? So, same time next week, then? (DOOR BANGING SHUT) (THUMPING) That bloody woman.
She's just ran off with my shoes.
I saw her, chased her.
-Where did she go? -Up into the bloody attic.
She knows I can't do stairs.
Cicely! Cicely, this is out of bounds here.
You might hurt yourself.
Come on.
(CREAKING) Cicely? Cicely, open the door.
Cicely? Hello! I'm in the attic! Hello! No, please no.
I'm sorry.
Please, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Please.
What the hell is going on? -I saw somebody go in there.
-But there's no one there now.
-It was Cicely.
-What? She just ran past me.
She must have doubled back and locked Connor in.
Yeah.
Bag of nerves.
Never used to be.
You need to calm down.
-Did you tell her where your mother was? -I didn't even tell her I had a mother.
Come on, I know about keeping a sanitary cordon between author and subject.
Well, let's apply the rational eye, she lives in the area.
There aren't that many nursing jobs around there.
It's not a wild statistical coincidence.
She's not saying it's a coincidence.
She's saying it's Josh.
-What? -She says she sees Josh.
-Where do you live? -Southville.
You'll freeze to death waiting for the bus.
Come on, I'll give you a lift.
Oh, thanks.
Thanks for not grassing me up to suit boy.
-Right.
-I'm not a druggie.
Jude's moved on, and that's great and probably healthy and I know the stats on how often couples with an only child don't survive an early, you know.
Yup.
And of course, Jude moving on doesn't mean I feel left behind or anything but I do.
Here I am, just here.
The House of Pain.
-The House of Pain.
-Not a good place.
-No.
And she.
-She, Jude? She, Alison, keeps talking about Josh and that.
Stops you moving on.
I still have his Lego.
Bags of the stuff, his skateboard, the Disney videos.
I mean, I've even got his parka.
I don't know why I've still got his bloody parka.
See, I.
I had this beautiful perfect thing, this little person, it was my job to take care of.
And I took my eye off the ball for one minute and now I have.
What do I have? -You're a good friend, Barb, but I'm buggered.
-We're all buggered.
-That's why talking helps.
-Does it? You remember what Freud said about the talking cure? He said its purpose was to change hysterical misery into ordinary human unhappiness.
Ordinary human unhappiness? Sounds good to me.
-Was that Ellen in the attic? -Ellen's dead.
I know, was that her in the attic? -Are you on drugs? -We both know what we saw, Connor.
It's not a gift exactly, because gifts are meant to be nice, but sometimes I see.
-She's gone, okay? -She's in spirit, Connor, but she's not gone.
Look, I don't want to be rude, but I've gotta go.
No, you don't.
She wanted to die.
She asked me to help, I said no.
And you think that you should have helped her? She said it would be a kindness to help her onto the next stage of her journey.
She said that a lot, just like that.
She wore this Saint Christopher round her neck.
She wanted me to have it, I mean, not like a bribe, but because he was the patron saint of travellers and her journey would be over if.
Euthanasia.
Ellen meant the Saint Christopher thing kindly.
But it felt like 30 pieces of silver.
She wanted me to help her go to sleep, in her own bed, in peace surrounded by her own things, and just drift off happily.
With no pain, with dignity.
-And did you help her, in the end? -No.
I bottled it.
She did it herself.
Five months ago.
Went out the window of her flat.
It wasn't peaceful, wasn't dignified.
Wasn't a high enough window.
When I got there, she was like some broken doll.
Dress all rucked up, bone sticking out of her leg, underwear showing, blood and piss everywhere, screaming, just screaming in pain.
It didn't stop until the paramedics got a line in.
It took her six more weeks to die in some strange hospital bed where no one knew her.
I failed her.
Is that why she's hurting you? I didn't sign up to be a nurse of death, I signed up to help people and to care for them.
-You do care.
Maybe you care too much.
-Can you care too much? Well, I don't know.
You're the one hoarding barbiturates.
You think I'm going to change my mind about the ''nurse of death'' thing? Relax.
I'm not talking about euthanasia, Connor.
I'm talking about self-destruction.
Christ, what are you, the psychic Samaritan? I'm not suicidal! I got rid of the drugs, I flushed them away after you caught me, all right? Are you sure? Because I've got a friend, he's a psychologist, he can set you up with someone to talk to if.
It was making me imagine things.
-There was someone there, Connor.
-No.
I've gotta go.
Okay, see you tomorrow.
Just get this straight, Jenny, and then would you like a bath or we could go for a walk? JENNY: (VOICEOVER) That was Josh's fifth birthday, That was a lovely day, Robert made us laugh so much, Every year he'd learn a magic trick.
Every year a new one.
He'd practise it and practise it.
Just to see Josh's face.
Josh misses those magic tricks.
(FAST ROCK MUSIC PLAYING ON HEADPHONES) (PAGER BEEPING) Quick.
(PHONE RINGING) -Robert, it's me, -Jude? Everything's okay, your mother's fine, but she's had a fall, I'm at Lychgate, -I was running when you called.
Is Mum.
-She just slipped.
We've checked her over, and there's nothing broken.
-Excuse me.
-Thanks, Alison.
Bye-bye.
Jude, I'll be back in a minute.
Alison, what were you doing in there? That's my wife, my ex-wife.
Because if you were even thinking of telling her about Josh.
Oh my God, what do you think I am? Josh doesn't need to get to Jude, he needs to get to you.
I'm not this person that goes up to people with an emotional machine gun.
What gives you the right to make these kind of judgements about me, Robert? Just because you've got, what? Qualifications.
This is unacceptable.
It's unacceptable.
I have to tell you these things because of Josh.
Don't you think that I can see what it does to you every time I mention his name? And don't you think that that makes me feel like shit? But I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Between this little boy, this lost boy and you.
And sometimes it makes me.
I'm sorry for getting upset.
I'm sorry, Robert.
I can't even touch her any more.
She stiffens, like I'm a stranger, molesting her.
Sometimes, she lets me touch her when I give her her insulin, but it's only because she thinks I'm some strange doctor or something.
It's some sort of contact, I suppose.
I should make the most of it while.
-Thank you.
-What's this? Just because Josh died doesn't mean I'm not grateful for the happiness we had.
Ellen.
(BUBBLING) Stop it.
Please stop it.
What do you want with me? -Where did you put them, Cicely? -Put what? The pills, out of the staff room.
The ones in the cutlery drawer.
I didn't.
You take everything, Cicely.
Where are they? I didn't.
Where do you hide things, Cicely? Oh, brilliant.
Now, who's got a coin? Anybody? Okay, hold them out like this.
We're going to find the magic one, okay? No, not this one.
Not these I'm afraid.
Let's have a look.
No, not these.
Okay, magic coin definitely.
May I? And you know what magic coins do? They disappear.
You're not impressed? It's a bit lame that one.
It's still in your other hand.
Of course, it is.
Okay, you know what happened? You knew I'd palmed the coin because it's the oldest trick in the book.
Plus, I told you what to know.
I told you I was gonna make it disappear.
I made you misread the situation.
-So, guess what I found? -The coin? No, again, you answered too quickly.
You should've taken the time, I did.
See, you were thinking coin trick, but I was thinking con-trick.
You thought this was the point at which the trick took place.
So you stopped thinking further back than that.
Which is natural because.
And this is the bit we take down in our notes.
We are designed to think forwards.
The human brain is an anticipation machine.
Knowing that is the key to understanding misdirection.
Don't take yourself down the wrong path.
We have to unpick our assumptions of the facts to the point we've really been deceived.
(PAGER BEEPING) Alison, thank you for coming in early.
-Connor's gone AWOL.
-AWOL? He was here, now he isn't.
He left without telling anyone.
Mr Keyhoe had an accident.
(BANGING) -And what's that? -What? Banging.
There's no banging.
The workmen aren't here today.
Connor? (BANGING CONTINUES) Connor! Connor? Connor? Connor? Connor! -I'm sorry.
-Ellen stop.
Ellen, stop it.
Connor? Connor Connor.
I don't think that Ellen means to hurt you.
It's all right, Connor, it's all right.
-She's gone.
-It's okay, Connor.
Look this is where Cicely hides her stash.
That's why Ellen was banging.
She wanted you to come up here and find it.
''Dearest Connor, don't be sad.
''As you will see, I've gone under my own steam.
''I will be with Poppy as you read this.
''I'm sorry I tried to make you act against your convictions.
''You were my last and possibly my best friend.
''Forgive me.
Ellen.
'' She died in so much pain.
But she's at peace now.
She's gone.
You have her blessing.
It's done.
-Hi.
-Hi.
Hi, Mum.
Are you the new doctor? Would you mind if I sat with you for a while? We were just about to have our jab, weren't we? Could I do it, please? It's all right.
Thank you.
I'll hold your hand.
You used to do magic tricks for Josh, didn't you? She told me that you'd learn a new one every year.
She says that Josh is missing them.
Jenny, let's get your cardigan on? They, erm.
They offered me a permanent job here, but I turned them down.
-Because of me? -No.
There's too many voices here, too many souls.
I'm sorry.
(DOOR OPENING) (DOOR CLOSING) (ROCK MUSIC PLAYING) (GASPING) Have you tried breaking your routine? Sleeping in a different bed? Every bed in the house.
Vigorous exercise? Sport? Maybe you're not tired enough to sleep.
Could you just renew my prescription please? My doctor in Manchester didn't have a problem with that.
Well, to me, simply taking pills may address the problem, but it won't get at the underlying cause.
I just want to sleep, please.
(DOG BARKING) Sorry, he's only a puppy.
He won't hurt you.
Are you Alison Mundy? Hi, I'm Sandra, Sandra Petch.
Can I talk to you? -No.
-It's doing my head in, please? I don't know where else to go.
It started with strange feelings.
Ever since I moved in I knew something wasn't right.
First, it was piddling little things like losing your car keys, and they'd turn up in a really obvious place.
Moscow seemed to know in a weird kind of way, you know.
Next, it was the fridge.
I opened the fridge one day and all the food had gone rotten.
The guy came to fix it, couldn't find anything wrong with it.
Changed the plug.
It happened again, two weeks later.
I got on the phone.
They must've been thinking, ''Who is this mad person again''? You know? How did you hear about me, if you don't mind me asking? My friend's mother saw you at a psychic evening in Clifton.
Said you could see, hear Have you ever seen anything? Once.
In the bedroom.
This dark figure filling the doorway, out of the corner of my eye.
I locked myself in the bathroom.
Like the bathroom door is going to be any help.
Have you heard anything? Noises.
Mostly at night.
And crying.
A woman.
Really, really clear, likeshe's in the room with me.
Come in.
(ALARM BEEPING) (BEEPING STOPS) The heater's started to have a mind of its own too.
Roasting hot when you go to bed then you wake up in the middle of the night because it's so freezing.
(MAN TALKING SOFTLY) I didn't know that you shared the flat.
I thought you lived alone.
-Yes, I do.
-So, who's that then? No one.
There's no one in here.
It's just you and me.
(MAN TALKING) -Hi, I'm looking for the restaurant, please.
-Oh, yes.
It's just through there.
Thank you.
Brendan Page? -Pleased to meet you.
-Dr Bridge.
Please, don't call me Doctor.
It sounds like I'm trying to impress.
-Tea? -No, thank you.
Don't worry, I'm not gonna say I can see your Aunt Gertie over your left shoulder.
It's my day off.
What can I do for you? It's just that I knew you were coming to the conference.
It's to do with my research at the moment.
A book I'm writing.
Intriguing.
Fire away.
You call yourself a ''psychic medium''.
You run a very successful business.
My question is, how does someone learn to live with your kind of gift? -Not everyone can.
-That's true.
It used to be a nightmare.
I went right off the rails at one stage.
But, to be honest, I've discovered, if you learn to deal with stress levels, you keep the spirits at bay.
-Relaxation, those kind of techniques.
-Anything.
Everything.
And don't let them dominate every waking thought, or they'll suck you dry.
They'll kill you.
Alison.
Her name is Alison, isn't it? Tell Alison I said, ''Get a life''.
That's helpful, Brendan.
Thanks for your time.
I may catch you later.
Hi.
Don't look at what shouldn't happen, Robert.
Look at what does.
I don't know what I'll see.
I might not see anything.
Thank you.
Thanks for staying the night.
ROBERT: Her EEG results are normal, No sign of pathology of the brain, no sharp, spiky abnormalities like these which might indicate seizure disorders or cerebral lesions.
However, Alison displays all the key characteristics of fantasy-prone personality.
And it's been shown that 67% of students who are fantasy-prone met the criteria.
But you're not interested in percentages, are you? And you know what? Neither am I.
Are we gonna discover what's going on here by looking at charts or chewing on numbers, like accountants.
What do I know about this person? This medium.
Well, I know she's a fragile, courageous person who endured a terrifying near-death experience and survived.
Whatever her mind conjured up, it helped her to hold on.
I'll tell you what I think, why I'm constantly fascinated by people like her.
The big, unsolved question in science at the moment is, ''What is consciousness''? Well, maybe people like Alison, with their schizoid personalities and abnormal perceptions, might hold the key.
Her gift is, in fact, a gift to us because it may be the clue to questions about reality we've barely even asked yet.
If we just keep looking.
Maslansky, I heard your talk on psychics and lies.
-Still taking an Uzi to the paranormal, I see? -Still telling the truth.
For those who want to hear it.
More than I can say for some people I've heard.
-And what have you heard? -You give attention-seekers attention.
They love it.
News flash.
Play-actors like an audience.
-What if they're not play-acting? -I rest my case.
Maslansky, you're just as entrenched in your beliefs as the people you decimate.
My mind is open.
It's just not so open that my brains have fallen out.
It's understandable, of course.
I heard about your son.
I'm sorry for your loss.
(ROBERT SIGHING) (DOOR CLOSING) (DRYER HUMMING) (DRYER STOPS) (KNOCKING ON DRYER) (SIGHING) (WOMAN MOANING) (MAN AND WOMAN GIGGLING) (WOMAN GIGGLING) (WOMAN SCREAMS) I felt something all over me under the sheets.
Touching me.
I can hear crying.
(WOMAN CRYING) He's there.
He's stripped to the waist.
I can see tears on his cheeks.
(ROCK MUSIC PLAYING) (WOMAN GASPING) I spoke to Brendan Page yesterday.
He's a very respected international medium, have you heard of him? No.
Well, he says the best way to get control of the spirits is to minimise your anxiety.
Oh, that's brilliant.
I just saw a Chinese woman smothered to death in front of my eyes.
Didn't do much to minimise my anxiety, I have to tell you.
I felt useless.
I couldn't do anything to stop it.
All I could do was watch.
It's like I'm not there to them.
It's like a replay, like a time-loop.
So, how do you break that cycle of violence when it's so imprinted, it's so indelible? I'd like to see this place.
Meet this Sandra.
Why? So that you can rubbish it like you always do? No.
Because I'm concerned about you.
-Hi, Jude.
-Hi.
-We've met, haven't we? Alison, isn't it? -Yes, that's right.
Hello.
-Well, enjoy your meal.
Catch up soon.
-Yeah.
-Hi, you okay? -How are you? Okay, that's the address.
What time do you finish at the university? -5:00, 5:30.
Are you sure you want me to come? -Yeah.
Yeah, I'm sure I want you to.
(DOORBELL RINGING) -Oh, Alison.
Hi.
-Hello.
Come in.
-Alison, this is Leo.
-Hello.
Leo is just buggering off.
Your wish is my command.
I know I'll get over it.
I just need to sort my head out.
I just can't.
You will.
Plenty more fish in the sea than that tosser.
Anyway, you are a fabulous-looking girl.
I like you.
You can come again.
It was bad, wasn't it? Leo likes things his own way.
Felt a bit threatened when he didn't get it.
Like a little boy.
I went out with a bloke like that once.
He didn't like things that didn't fit in with the little rules in his little head.
Anyway, bollocks to that.
It's all water under the bridge.
-Did he.
Was he violent? -Er, once.
Yeah.
But once was enough.
I didn't hang about.
I was out of there like shit off a shovel.
-How about you? Did Leo ever.
-Not any more.
Look at that.
What a team.
(BUZZER BUZZING) SANDRA: Hi, Come on up, (DOOR OPENING) Robert's speciality is explaining things away.
It keeps him happy.
That's unfair.
I'm not claiming these things don't happen to people, clearly they do.
Lots of people have experiences of some kind when they're recently bereaved.
I'm not bereaved.
The end of a relationship is a kind of bereavement, in a way.
Are you saying it's me? The question is, ''Do ghosts exist if nobody's there to see them?'' I don't think they do.
Certain factors can contribute to the ghost-seeing experience.
Fatigue, alcohol, the weather, your cultural or religious beliefs.
-I don't have any beliefs.
-Your levels of fear then, or expectation.
-Domestic stresses and strains.
-Robert, these spirits here are acting out the past.
They're like robots.
They don't need us to see them.
They're locked in a moment.
Trapped in a cycle of despair.
SANDRA: The bulbs are always blowing.
Five, six times a week.
A day even.
ALISON: Robert, are you listening to me? Perhaps tragedies, deaths leave a memory, a trace.
Like a cinema, showing a film over and over.
-Then why do some people see it and some don't? -Some have their eyes closed.
Some are too frightened to.
(SANDRA GASPS) That cup just moved.
I put it there and now it's there.
Did you see it? Shit! It's okay.
It's all right.
Home is a place where everyone should feel safe.
When I was a kid, I used to sing Ten Green Bottles over and over again in my head to keep the bogeyman away.
Sometimes I didn't realise I'd been singing it out loud and my mum would come up and tuck me in.
What was your mother like? Relationships always leave marks.
Wounds.
Maybe that's what rooms hold on to.
Like Pandora's box, waiting to be opened.
Tell me about Josh.
I won't say anything.
I just want to know.
What was he like? He had blond hair.
-He.
-Robert, don't tell me what he looked like.
Tell me something that you remember.
When he was about four, we went to a carnival on the Downs.
He was desperate to get his face painted.
He had his heart set on this photo of Spider-Man.
''I want to look like him.
'' And the poor guy did his best, but, to be honest, he didn't look much like Spider-Man.
He didn't look much like anything, really.
And Josh looked in the mirror and looked at the photo and looked at the mirror and looked at the photo.
(ROBERT SIGHING) Do you ever feel him near you? No.
(MOSCOW GROWLING) (DISTANT POLICE SIREN) (WOMAN MUTTERING) Darling, not now.
I'm tired.
(WOMAN MUTTERING) Alison? (LIGHT SWITCH CLICKING) Jesus Christ! (GASPING) It's all right.
Alison, you're awake.
Thought I'd go in early.
Put a rocket up Wobbly Ken.
Make sure he isn't turning away good punters and letting his mates in.
How's the migraine? Don't worry.
It's probably just a brain tumour.
-Don't look at me like that.
-Like what? If you want to worry, worry about looking gorgeous.
You used to be good at that.
You should be so lucky.
(ZIPPING) Don't go out.
Don't invite anybody in.
Don't make any phone calls.
If you do, I'll know.
Don't answer the phone.
Don't use the stereo.
If you eat.
Wash the plate and leave it out for you to check before putting it away.
Think you can manage that? Good.
Hey give your husband a kiss.
(GASPING) It's all right.
Alison, you're awake.
(DOOR OPENING) ROBERT: You suffered what's called sleep paralysis.
-Hypnagogic hallucination isn't unknown.
-Robert, will you just.
Sandra, you can't stay here.
You have to leave here right now.
(ALARM BEEPING) -Good morning.
I was going to bring you this up.
-I don't think I could face anything.
-Did you sleep all right? -Like a baby.
Glad one of us did.
What time do you have to be in work? Do you know what? I'm sorry, I never asked you.
What is it that you do? Shoe shop, Broadmead.
I'll call in sick.
They'll be cool about it.
Right.
Well, I'm going to have a bath and then head up to the shops.
Do you mind if I stay here for a while? I just need to sort myself out.
Of course.
Be my guest.
Hello, Jude.
He's not in today.
I know.
Actually, I wasn't looking for him, I was looking for you.
-Have you got a minute? -Absolutely.
I know it's none of my business, but this woman, Alison, is she a girlfriend? Is it serious? No, no, God.
It's professional.
His interest is in.
He tests certain kinds of people, you know that.
It's.
-Look, maybe this isn't the best time, just now.
-Why are you being so cagey, Barb? I'm not.
I don't like her, that's all.
I don't think she's a good influence on him.
I don't know why.
Yes, you do.
You know exactly why, don't you? (BOYS CHATTING) -Hello, Mr Bridge.
-Charlie.
Blimey, you're a giant.
I didn't recognise you.
How is Storming Norman? Still got egg stains on his tie? I don't have Mr Norman any more.
He teaches the little kids.
-Oh, yes, of course he does.
-I'm in juniors now.
Are you? Of course you are.
That's great, that's exciting.
-Don't work too hard.
-My dad says I have to.
You don't always have to listen to your dad, do you? Well, goodbye.
(SIGHING) -Hiya.
-Hi.
Listen, I've phoned some mates.
They're going to let me stay there for a while.
-I'm not going back.
-Oh, good.
That's great.
Yeah.
Talking to you made me realise I mustn't be weak.
I've got to find the strength to sell the flat and move on, whatever's ahead of me.
-What about the spirits? -Maybe it's impossible to help them.
Maybe the bad choices you make in life are never undone.
You have to try and make positive ones.
-It was a bad place for you to be in, Sandra.
-I know.
-Thank you.
Thanks for your help.
-That's okay.
-Bye-bye, Sandra.
Take care.
-I will.
Bye, Moscow.
See you.
(ALARM BEEPING) (ACID JAZZ PLAYING ON STEREO) ROBERT: Sit down.
Let me get you a coffee or something.
What's happened? Is it Clive? What is it you get up to with this woman? This Alison.
-How often do you see her? -Whoa! I'm writing a book about her.
I'm studying her.
What do you want me to write about? Taxation? Detergent? It's what I do.
And what does she do, Robert? She contacts the dead, correct? It's sick.
She's sick.
No, you're sick.
Is this your twisted way of dealing.
-No! It isn't.
-Look, I know that you feel grief, -blame, self-hate, but consulting a.
-I'm not consulting anybody.
It's work.
-Don't tell me you haven't talked about Josh.
-We haven't.
I haven't.
-Do you think I'm an idiot, Robert? -No.
Look, I have tried so hard to be kind, to be helpful to you.
But I can't let your feelings have a hold on my life any more.
-It's not fair.
-I'm not asking you to.
I never asked you to.
Look, if you were screwing her, I wouldn't mind.
I'd be glad.
But this is a betrayal.
Don't you see that? It's not betraying me, you're betraying Josh.
The good memories that we have of Josh you just abused them.
No.
I have to go.
I have to get out of here.
Don't go, Jude, please, don't go like this.
-Why? -Please.
You know I wouldn't hurt you for the world.
What can I do? Tell me.
If Josh means anything to you, you'll promise me you won't see her again.
I do.
I promise.
-You signing autographs? -Sorry? You signing autographs, now? I think you've got me mixed up with Cameron Diaz, mate.
-Can I look at that? -Yes.
-Get out of my way.
-Would you like to defend Alison? -Or yourself perhaps? -She trusted you.
What evidence did you find of a haunting, Dr Bridge? You think you've proved something? You haven't.
You conned her with a cheap trick, that's all.
-You're the fraud.
You're despicable.
-Don't play the high and mighty, Robert.
Come on.
You've written about this stuff, and you think it's a load of bullshit, just like me.
No, I'm not like you, Sandra, or whatever the hell your name is.
It's Nichola.
The difference is, Nichola, I want to find the truth.
You don't.
You just want to sell newspapers and you don't care who you hurt in the process.
Alison hurts people, weak, gullible people, not me.
If this wrecks her reputation and stops her, I'm glad.
-Go to hell.
-Unquote.
Thank you.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) -ROBERT: Alison, it's me.
-Go away! (KNOCKING ON DOOR) Leave me alone! -Come on, Alison, open the door.
-Oh, go away, Robert.
-Please, open the door.
-Go away! Alison.
(BANGING ON DOOR) All right! Welcome to my world.
-I can see you're busy.
-Yes, I am.
Would you care for a wee dram? I'd love to see what happens when Dr Robert Bridge gets completely rat-arsed.
-Do you think this is going to help? -It's gonna help me.
-Why did I come here? -How the hell should I know? I'm not psychic.
I'm not psychic.
I'm not psychic.
It's no use getting upset.
We may as well face up to the fact that we've been had.
-She made fools of us.
-No, she made fools of them.
You were suggestible and so was I.
We both saw and heard things -that couldn't possibly have existed.
-No, I know what I saw.
Alison, come on.
-It's there in black and white.
-Well, I don't care.
'Cause I saw that man bending over me.
I felt that pillow on my face.
It was make-believe.
She made us believe.
''My plan was simple.
''To invent a ghost and see if a medium would nevertheless see it.
'' She must have picked up on something that was there.
There were no ghosts.
There couldn't possibly be any ghosts.
''The block was built in 1 967 and my mum lived in there up until two months ago ''and she never saw or heard anything.
''No one died there or even lived there except for her.
'' Shut up! Shut up! What are you doing? Have you finished? Why can't you cope with reality? Why can't you do something to help yourself? I came here.
Yeah, why? Why did you come here, Robert, why? I told you what Brendan Page said about removing stress from your life -and you ignored me.
-Do you know what? Just go.
Just go away.
Go home.
Because I don't want you here, Robert.
Go.
The truth is, you don't want to be helped, do you? -You don't want the spirits to leave you alone.
-They won't leave me alone! Your dead son won't leave me alone! I didn't approve of what Sandra did or how she did it, but you know what? It's what I've been trying to tell you all along.
Josh is lost, he's in limbo, Robert, and the only person who can help him move on is you.
No.
What keeps him here is your insanity.
What kind of father are you, Robert? Did you go to him in the night when he cried? Well, he's crying now.
He cries all the time.
-He just cries and cries and I can hear him here.
-Shut up! Shut up! Don't you push me! Damn you.
I think I made him mad, Josh.
I think I made him angry, Joshie.
I think our professional arrangement has come to its natural end.
-I want it to end.
-No, you don't.
I do.
It's over.
Don't reject him.
I'm not rejecting him.
I'm rejecting you.
Please, Robert, don't.
Please don't let him suffer just because you and I.
(ALISON CRYING) (CHILD CRYING) (DOOR OPENING) We're going to be happy here.
This is a happy place.
(MAN AND WOMAN GIGGLING)
Ellen! Um, yes, it's Alison Mundy.
Thanks very much for calling back so soon.
No problem, Have you worked for the NHS before? Yes, I was an NHS nurse.
Yes, I was.
(HANGS UP) Hello? Hello? Damn.
(PHONE RINGING) Hello, um, Mrs Caverhill, I'm sorry I don't know what happened there.
Who is Mrs Caverhill? -Is that Robert? -How are you? ErmI'm fine, I'm actually in the middle of.
I'm just calling about our meeting on Tuesday, about the book? Oh.
Are we going to call each other tossers again? You called me a tosser.
I didn't call you anything.
Well, actually, do you know what, I don't know if it is all right, because I might have a job interview coming up, All right, well, Wednesday, then.
I'll come to you.
I said, I don't know.
Do you mind if we leave it at that? Now, look, do you mind clearing the line 'cause I'm expecting a call any minute and it's important? Yeah, but, put it in the diary.
Robert, you just don't get it do you? I've had enough of this life, this shit life.
These voices in my head are choking me.
I need to do something.
I need some normality.
Yeah, but what about my book? I mean, are you committed to that still, because.
Yes, of course I am.
But, you know I'm not just the subject of your book, Robert.
I'm me.
Well, I'll hang up, then.
Good luck.
Thank you, bye.
ALISON: I was in intensive care for three years, and then I spent five years working in A&E, -And what brought you to Bristol, Alison? -A new place, new start.
New life.
-In what way? -Every way.
I see there's a gap in your work record here, six months.
Yes, I had an accident, a serious one.
So I was in and out of hospital myself for six months, recuperating.
-But you're fully recovered now? -Absolutely.
Good.
Hmm.
Well, I can safely say, looking at this, we'd be delighted to have you.
Erm, it's a three-week holiday relief placement to begin with, but between you and me, our staff situation is fluid, so if all goes well, we may be able to look at something more long-term.
So, welcome aboard.
ROBERT: (VOICEOVER) Possibly Alison, subconsciously, like other self-proclaimed psychics before her, may be continuing to act out to reward her investigator's interest, So, the question arises, is it right to continue knowing that studying her might be exacerbating and prolonging her delusion? -Worked in one of these places before? -No, just hospitals.
-A little change of pace for you then? -Do you like it here? Pays the bills.
Er, TV room.
This is the dining room.
They're cramming some more rooms into the attic.
It's a lot of noise and dust and a headache for us.
We have some wanderers who like to go up there when we're not looking.
For example.
Cicely, this is Alison, our new carer.
Hello.
Wanderer.
Come on, I'll show you who else is who.
This is Mrs Havers' room, Nora.
Well, it seems a lot nicer here than any hospital I've worked in.
Don't let the soft furnishings fool you.
It's just a hospital with carpet.
Only difference here is that no one goes back home.
This is Jenny's room.
There's no one here.
Another wanderer, I know where she'll be.
I won't be a minute.
Oh, no.
Oh, Josh.
Oh, God.
You've got to put your coat on when you go outside, Jenny, you'll catch a chill.
-This is my room? -Of course, Jenny.
This is Alison.
She's in my room and that's my picture.
Don't worry, Jenny, Alison's our new nurse.
-I was looking at your grandson.
-I haven't got a grandson.
-I'm sorry.
-This is my son.
This is Robert.
Lovely soldiers you do.
-Oh? I do them for my grandsons.
-All right, let's get your socks on.
I can do that.
I can't bend, but I've got a thingy on a stick.
Or, I had a thingy.
-Someone's taken it.
-Cicely.
Hang on.
Oh, not again.
Woman's a bloody magpie.
-They never come you know.
-Sorry? -His grandsons.
-That's sad.
No, that's normal.
This place is a garage where nice people park their parents and tell themselves they're happy.
Will you check the day room, see if you can see Cicely? -Yeah.
-I'm just gonna check up here.
-She's a bit of a klepto, then? -Only if it isn't nailed down.
(LOUD THUMPING) Cicely.
Cicely? (WIND HOWLING) (FAST ROCK MUSIC PLAYING ON HEADPHONES) (ALARM RINGING) Oh, shit.
ROBERT: You're looking well, Mum.
Have you seen my dog? No.
He's an Airedale, he runs off.
-Spike's dead, Mum.
-What? -Has there been an accident? -He died when I was six.
Nonsense, he was just here.
He must be in the garden.
He's probably outside playing with my son.
(LOUD THUMPING) (LOUD ROCK MUSIC PLAYING ON HEADPHONES) (THUMPING CONTINUES) Can't hear you.
Jesus.
(INAUDIBLE) -What do you want? -I'm not taking your job, am I? 'Cause people aren't usually this hostile toward me till they get to know me a lot better.
Sorry, you just gave me a jolt, that's all.
-Are you sure? -Yeah.
-You'll help me finish up here? -Yeah, sure.
She's hurting.
Her back's crumbling.
She takes Vicodin for the pain.
It's not that sort of pain.
She wants to go.
Start thinking like that, this job'll do your head in.
-I just meant.
-I've been looking after Ellen for five years now.
Ellen? Who's Ellen? Nora.
Mrs Havers.
Look, would you finish up here, I've got a cracking headache.
I want to go get some aspirin.
-Coffee? -Yes, please.
-Those aspirins that you went outside to take.
-Yeah? -What were they? Valium, Librium, Xanax? -Ativan.
-I get stressed.
-They weren't yours though, were they? Weren't they? So what is it? A patient dies and you pocket what's left of their prescription? What, so you've been here two days, and you're gonna tell teacher on me, is that it? -Do you do it much? -Much? No, just enough.
-Who's Ellen? -Jenny needs her insulin.
Do you wanna do it after you've finished your coffee? Sure.
Do you want to pretend that I didn't just ask you about Ellen? Ellen was a patient.
She was this valiant, tough person.
Hobbled around on a stick.
Loved everything, apart from her dentures, she hated them.
She was very rude about them.
She especially loved Poppy, her daughter.
The sun rose and set with her.
She was about your age.
She was hit by a police car on a pedestrian crossing.
Killed her? All the stuffing went out of Ellen.
Three years wanting to die.
-You can't mend a broken heart.
-No, but you can survive it.
Which is worse.
-Settling in all right? -Yeah.
It's like riding a bike.
JENNY: (VOICEOVER) My son came to see me yesterday, I'm so proud of him, What he's become, With his work, with his books, So clever, such a clever man, I know.
-What do you know? -Nothing.
(DOORBELL RINGING) You forgot our appointment.
Erm, would like a cup of coffee? I'm useless until I've had a cup of coffee.
-I'd like to get started, I'm running a bit late.
-Okey-doke.
I've got things to do, too.
We've discussed the trauma of the train crash.
I'd like to hear a little bit about your earlier experiences of the spirits.
So aren't you going to ask me how my job hunting is going? -Sorry.
How did it go? -I've got a job.
Good.
At Lychgate.
And now you're going to tell me you've seen my mother.
Right.
Alison let me tell you something I know our relationship is psychologist and subject, not doctor-patient.
But there are similarities and there's this thing called transference which means.
Like when the patient falls in love with the psychiatrist, that kind of thing.
-Yeah, exactly.
-Don't flatter yourself.
I know what transference is and this isn't it.
-I didn't get a job there deliberately.
It wasn't.
-There are other nursing homes in Bristol.
-Would you like me to give up my job? -Yes, actually.
Well, no, actually.
I won't.
Why should I? I can't.
She.
She said that she was proud of you.
Of your writing, of what you've achieved.
Alison, my mother hasn't even recognised me for two years.
She still thinks I'm five years old.
She looks at me like I'm a stranger.
Well, she said.
No, she didn't.
Listen to me, Alison, it's Alzheimer's.
The body stays healthy and the brain decays.
It's not death.
It's worse than death.
It's a living death.
Then maybe that's the part of her that I'm hearing.
-Robert, Josh wanted me to work there.
-Stop right there.
Not only do you claim to be in contact with my dead son but now you're contacting my dead mother, who, just in case you hadn't noticed, isn't even dead.
See, this is what deluded people do, Alison.
They have feelings in their head and they fit it into their pre-existing mindset.
Which is what you do for a living all the time.
I thought that you wanted to understand what happens to me or is that only when it doesn't affect your own life? So, same time next week, then? (DOOR BANGING SHUT) (THUMPING) That bloody woman.
She's just ran off with my shoes.
I saw her, chased her.
-Where did she go? -Up into the bloody attic.
She knows I can't do stairs.
Cicely! Cicely, this is out of bounds here.
You might hurt yourself.
Come on.
(CREAKING) Cicely? Cicely, open the door.
Cicely? Hello! I'm in the attic! Hello! No, please no.
I'm sorry.
Please, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Please.
What the hell is going on? -I saw somebody go in there.
-But there's no one there now.
-It was Cicely.
-What? She just ran past me.
She must have doubled back and locked Connor in.
Yeah.
Bag of nerves.
Never used to be.
You need to calm down.
-Did you tell her where your mother was? -I didn't even tell her I had a mother.
Come on, I know about keeping a sanitary cordon between author and subject.
Well, let's apply the rational eye, she lives in the area.
There aren't that many nursing jobs around there.
It's not a wild statistical coincidence.
She's not saying it's a coincidence.
She's saying it's Josh.
-What? -She says she sees Josh.
-Where do you live? -Southville.
You'll freeze to death waiting for the bus.
Come on, I'll give you a lift.
Oh, thanks.
Thanks for not grassing me up to suit boy.
-Right.
-I'm not a druggie.
Jude's moved on, and that's great and probably healthy and I know the stats on how often couples with an only child don't survive an early, you know.
Yup.
And of course, Jude moving on doesn't mean I feel left behind or anything but I do.
Here I am, just here.
The House of Pain.
-The House of Pain.
-Not a good place.
-No.
And she.
-She, Jude? She, Alison, keeps talking about Josh and that.
Stops you moving on.
I still have his Lego.
Bags of the stuff, his skateboard, the Disney videos.
I mean, I've even got his parka.
I don't know why I've still got his bloody parka.
See, I.
I had this beautiful perfect thing, this little person, it was my job to take care of.
And I took my eye off the ball for one minute and now I have.
What do I have? -You're a good friend, Barb, but I'm buggered.
-We're all buggered.
-That's why talking helps.
-Does it? You remember what Freud said about the talking cure? He said its purpose was to change hysterical misery into ordinary human unhappiness.
Ordinary human unhappiness? Sounds good to me.
-Was that Ellen in the attic? -Ellen's dead.
I know, was that her in the attic? -Are you on drugs? -We both know what we saw, Connor.
It's not a gift exactly, because gifts are meant to be nice, but sometimes I see.
-She's gone, okay? -She's in spirit, Connor, but she's not gone.
Look, I don't want to be rude, but I've gotta go.
No, you don't.
She wanted to die.
She asked me to help, I said no.
And you think that you should have helped her? She said it would be a kindness to help her onto the next stage of her journey.
She said that a lot, just like that.
She wore this Saint Christopher round her neck.
She wanted me to have it, I mean, not like a bribe, but because he was the patron saint of travellers and her journey would be over if.
Euthanasia.
Ellen meant the Saint Christopher thing kindly.
But it felt like 30 pieces of silver.
She wanted me to help her go to sleep, in her own bed, in peace surrounded by her own things, and just drift off happily.
With no pain, with dignity.
-And did you help her, in the end? -No.
I bottled it.
She did it herself.
Five months ago.
Went out the window of her flat.
It wasn't peaceful, wasn't dignified.
Wasn't a high enough window.
When I got there, she was like some broken doll.
Dress all rucked up, bone sticking out of her leg, underwear showing, blood and piss everywhere, screaming, just screaming in pain.
It didn't stop until the paramedics got a line in.
It took her six more weeks to die in some strange hospital bed where no one knew her.
I failed her.
Is that why she's hurting you? I didn't sign up to be a nurse of death, I signed up to help people and to care for them.
-You do care.
Maybe you care too much.
-Can you care too much? Well, I don't know.
You're the one hoarding barbiturates.
You think I'm going to change my mind about the ''nurse of death'' thing? Relax.
I'm not talking about euthanasia, Connor.
I'm talking about self-destruction.
Christ, what are you, the psychic Samaritan? I'm not suicidal! I got rid of the drugs, I flushed them away after you caught me, all right? Are you sure? Because I've got a friend, he's a psychologist, he can set you up with someone to talk to if.
It was making me imagine things.
-There was someone there, Connor.
-No.
I've gotta go.
Okay, see you tomorrow.
Just get this straight, Jenny, and then would you like a bath or we could go for a walk? JENNY: (VOICEOVER) That was Josh's fifth birthday, That was a lovely day, Robert made us laugh so much, Every year he'd learn a magic trick.
Every year a new one.
He'd practise it and practise it.
Just to see Josh's face.
Josh misses those magic tricks.
(FAST ROCK MUSIC PLAYING ON HEADPHONES) (PAGER BEEPING) Quick.
(PHONE RINGING) -Robert, it's me, -Jude? Everything's okay, your mother's fine, but she's had a fall, I'm at Lychgate, -I was running when you called.
Is Mum.
-She just slipped.
We've checked her over, and there's nothing broken.
-Excuse me.
-Thanks, Alison.
Bye-bye.
Jude, I'll be back in a minute.
Alison, what were you doing in there? That's my wife, my ex-wife.
Because if you were even thinking of telling her about Josh.
Oh my God, what do you think I am? Josh doesn't need to get to Jude, he needs to get to you.
I'm not this person that goes up to people with an emotional machine gun.
What gives you the right to make these kind of judgements about me, Robert? Just because you've got, what? Qualifications.
This is unacceptable.
It's unacceptable.
I have to tell you these things because of Josh.
Don't you think that I can see what it does to you every time I mention his name? And don't you think that that makes me feel like shit? But I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Between this little boy, this lost boy and you.
And sometimes it makes me.
I'm sorry for getting upset.
I'm sorry, Robert.
I can't even touch her any more.
She stiffens, like I'm a stranger, molesting her.
Sometimes, she lets me touch her when I give her her insulin, but it's only because she thinks I'm some strange doctor or something.
It's some sort of contact, I suppose.
I should make the most of it while.
-Thank you.
-What's this? Just because Josh died doesn't mean I'm not grateful for the happiness we had.
Ellen.
(BUBBLING) Stop it.
Please stop it.
What do you want with me? -Where did you put them, Cicely? -Put what? The pills, out of the staff room.
The ones in the cutlery drawer.
I didn't.
You take everything, Cicely.
Where are they? I didn't.
Where do you hide things, Cicely? Oh, brilliant.
Now, who's got a coin? Anybody? Okay, hold them out like this.
We're going to find the magic one, okay? No, not this one.
Not these I'm afraid.
Let's have a look.
No, not these.
Okay, magic coin definitely.
May I? And you know what magic coins do? They disappear.
You're not impressed? It's a bit lame that one.
It's still in your other hand.
Of course, it is.
Okay, you know what happened? You knew I'd palmed the coin because it's the oldest trick in the book.
Plus, I told you what to know.
I told you I was gonna make it disappear.
I made you misread the situation.
-So, guess what I found? -The coin? No, again, you answered too quickly.
You should've taken the time, I did.
See, you were thinking coin trick, but I was thinking con-trick.
You thought this was the point at which the trick took place.
So you stopped thinking further back than that.
Which is natural because.
And this is the bit we take down in our notes.
We are designed to think forwards.
The human brain is an anticipation machine.
Knowing that is the key to understanding misdirection.
Don't take yourself down the wrong path.
We have to unpick our assumptions of the facts to the point we've really been deceived.
(PAGER BEEPING) Alison, thank you for coming in early.
-Connor's gone AWOL.
-AWOL? He was here, now he isn't.
He left without telling anyone.
Mr Keyhoe had an accident.
(BANGING) -And what's that? -What? Banging.
There's no banging.
The workmen aren't here today.
Connor? (BANGING CONTINUES) Connor! Connor? Connor? Connor? Connor! -I'm sorry.
-Ellen stop.
Ellen, stop it.
Connor? Connor Connor.
I don't think that Ellen means to hurt you.
It's all right, Connor, it's all right.
-She's gone.
-It's okay, Connor.
Look this is where Cicely hides her stash.
That's why Ellen was banging.
She wanted you to come up here and find it.
''Dearest Connor, don't be sad.
''As you will see, I've gone under my own steam.
''I will be with Poppy as you read this.
''I'm sorry I tried to make you act against your convictions.
''You were my last and possibly my best friend.
''Forgive me.
Ellen.
'' She died in so much pain.
But she's at peace now.
She's gone.
You have her blessing.
It's done.
-Hi.
-Hi.
Hi, Mum.
Are you the new doctor? Would you mind if I sat with you for a while? We were just about to have our jab, weren't we? Could I do it, please? It's all right.
Thank you.
I'll hold your hand.
You used to do magic tricks for Josh, didn't you? She told me that you'd learn a new one every year.
She says that Josh is missing them.
Jenny, let's get your cardigan on? They, erm.
They offered me a permanent job here, but I turned them down.
-Because of me? -No.
There's too many voices here, too many souls.
I'm sorry.
(DOOR OPENING) (DOOR CLOSING) (ROCK MUSIC PLAYING) (GASPING) Have you tried breaking your routine? Sleeping in a different bed? Every bed in the house.
Vigorous exercise? Sport? Maybe you're not tired enough to sleep.
Could you just renew my prescription please? My doctor in Manchester didn't have a problem with that.
Well, to me, simply taking pills may address the problem, but it won't get at the underlying cause.
I just want to sleep, please.
(DOG BARKING) Sorry, he's only a puppy.
He won't hurt you.
Are you Alison Mundy? Hi, I'm Sandra, Sandra Petch.
Can I talk to you? -No.
-It's doing my head in, please? I don't know where else to go.
It started with strange feelings.
Ever since I moved in I knew something wasn't right.
First, it was piddling little things like losing your car keys, and they'd turn up in a really obvious place.
Moscow seemed to know in a weird kind of way, you know.
Next, it was the fridge.
I opened the fridge one day and all the food had gone rotten.
The guy came to fix it, couldn't find anything wrong with it.
Changed the plug.
It happened again, two weeks later.
I got on the phone.
They must've been thinking, ''Who is this mad person again''? You know? How did you hear about me, if you don't mind me asking? My friend's mother saw you at a psychic evening in Clifton.
Said you could see, hear Have you ever seen anything? Once.
In the bedroom.
This dark figure filling the doorway, out of the corner of my eye.
I locked myself in the bathroom.
Like the bathroom door is going to be any help.
Have you heard anything? Noises.
Mostly at night.
And crying.
A woman.
Really, really clear, likeshe's in the room with me.
Come in.
(ALARM BEEPING) (BEEPING STOPS) The heater's started to have a mind of its own too.
Roasting hot when you go to bed then you wake up in the middle of the night because it's so freezing.
(MAN TALKING SOFTLY) I didn't know that you shared the flat.
I thought you lived alone.
-Yes, I do.
-So, who's that then? No one.
There's no one in here.
It's just you and me.
(MAN TALKING) -Hi, I'm looking for the restaurant, please.
-Oh, yes.
It's just through there.
Thank you.
Brendan Page? -Pleased to meet you.
-Dr Bridge.
Please, don't call me Doctor.
It sounds like I'm trying to impress.
-Tea? -No, thank you.
Don't worry, I'm not gonna say I can see your Aunt Gertie over your left shoulder.
It's my day off.
What can I do for you? It's just that I knew you were coming to the conference.
It's to do with my research at the moment.
A book I'm writing.
Intriguing.
Fire away.
You call yourself a ''psychic medium''.
You run a very successful business.
My question is, how does someone learn to live with your kind of gift? -Not everyone can.
-That's true.
It used to be a nightmare.
I went right off the rails at one stage.
But, to be honest, I've discovered, if you learn to deal with stress levels, you keep the spirits at bay.
-Relaxation, those kind of techniques.
-Anything.
Everything.
And don't let them dominate every waking thought, or they'll suck you dry.
They'll kill you.
Alison.
Her name is Alison, isn't it? Tell Alison I said, ''Get a life''.
That's helpful, Brendan.
Thanks for your time.
I may catch you later.
Hi.
Don't look at what shouldn't happen, Robert.
Look at what does.
I don't know what I'll see.
I might not see anything.
Thank you.
Thanks for staying the night.
ROBERT: Her EEG results are normal, No sign of pathology of the brain, no sharp, spiky abnormalities like these which might indicate seizure disorders or cerebral lesions.
However, Alison displays all the key characteristics of fantasy-prone personality.
And it's been shown that 67% of students who are fantasy-prone met the criteria.
But you're not interested in percentages, are you? And you know what? Neither am I.
Are we gonna discover what's going on here by looking at charts or chewing on numbers, like accountants.
What do I know about this person? This medium.
Well, I know she's a fragile, courageous person who endured a terrifying near-death experience and survived.
Whatever her mind conjured up, it helped her to hold on.
I'll tell you what I think, why I'm constantly fascinated by people like her.
The big, unsolved question in science at the moment is, ''What is consciousness''? Well, maybe people like Alison, with their schizoid personalities and abnormal perceptions, might hold the key.
Her gift is, in fact, a gift to us because it may be the clue to questions about reality we've barely even asked yet.
If we just keep looking.
Maslansky, I heard your talk on psychics and lies.
-Still taking an Uzi to the paranormal, I see? -Still telling the truth.
For those who want to hear it.
More than I can say for some people I've heard.
-And what have you heard? -You give attention-seekers attention.
They love it.
News flash.
Play-actors like an audience.
-What if they're not play-acting? -I rest my case.
Maslansky, you're just as entrenched in your beliefs as the people you decimate.
My mind is open.
It's just not so open that my brains have fallen out.
It's understandable, of course.
I heard about your son.
I'm sorry for your loss.
(ROBERT SIGHING) (DOOR CLOSING) (DRYER HUMMING) (DRYER STOPS) (KNOCKING ON DRYER) (SIGHING) (WOMAN MOANING) (MAN AND WOMAN GIGGLING) (WOMAN GIGGLING) (WOMAN SCREAMS) I felt something all over me under the sheets.
Touching me.
I can hear crying.
(WOMAN CRYING) He's there.
He's stripped to the waist.
I can see tears on his cheeks.
(ROCK MUSIC PLAYING) (WOMAN GASPING) I spoke to Brendan Page yesterday.
He's a very respected international medium, have you heard of him? No.
Well, he says the best way to get control of the spirits is to minimise your anxiety.
Oh, that's brilliant.
I just saw a Chinese woman smothered to death in front of my eyes.
Didn't do much to minimise my anxiety, I have to tell you.
I felt useless.
I couldn't do anything to stop it.
All I could do was watch.
It's like I'm not there to them.
It's like a replay, like a time-loop.
So, how do you break that cycle of violence when it's so imprinted, it's so indelible? I'd like to see this place.
Meet this Sandra.
Why? So that you can rubbish it like you always do? No.
Because I'm concerned about you.
-Hi, Jude.
-Hi.
-We've met, haven't we? Alison, isn't it? -Yes, that's right.
Hello.
-Well, enjoy your meal.
Catch up soon.
-Yeah.
-Hi, you okay? -How are you? Okay, that's the address.
What time do you finish at the university? -5:00, 5:30.
Are you sure you want me to come? -Yeah.
Yeah, I'm sure I want you to.
(DOORBELL RINGING) -Oh, Alison.
Hi.
-Hello.
Come in.
-Alison, this is Leo.
-Hello.
Leo is just buggering off.
Your wish is my command.
I know I'll get over it.
I just need to sort my head out.
I just can't.
You will.
Plenty more fish in the sea than that tosser.
Anyway, you are a fabulous-looking girl.
I like you.
You can come again.
It was bad, wasn't it? Leo likes things his own way.
Felt a bit threatened when he didn't get it.
Like a little boy.
I went out with a bloke like that once.
He didn't like things that didn't fit in with the little rules in his little head.
Anyway, bollocks to that.
It's all water under the bridge.
-Did he.
Was he violent? -Er, once.
Yeah.
But once was enough.
I didn't hang about.
I was out of there like shit off a shovel.
-How about you? Did Leo ever.
-Not any more.
Look at that.
What a team.
(BUZZER BUZZING) SANDRA: Hi, Come on up, (DOOR OPENING) Robert's speciality is explaining things away.
It keeps him happy.
That's unfair.
I'm not claiming these things don't happen to people, clearly they do.
Lots of people have experiences of some kind when they're recently bereaved.
I'm not bereaved.
The end of a relationship is a kind of bereavement, in a way.
Are you saying it's me? The question is, ''Do ghosts exist if nobody's there to see them?'' I don't think they do.
Certain factors can contribute to the ghost-seeing experience.
Fatigue, alcohol, the weather, your cultural or religious beliefs.
-I don't have any beliefs.
-Your levels of fear then, or expectation.
-Domestic stresses and strains.
-Robert, these spirits here are acting out the past.
They're like robots.
They don't need us to see them.
They're locked in a moment.
Trapped in a cycle of despair.
SANDRA: The bulbs are always blowing.
Five, six times a week.
A day even.
ALISON: Robert, are you listening to me? Perhaps tragedies, deaths leave a memory, a trace.
Like a cinema, showing a film over and over.
-Then why do some people see it and some don't? -Some have their eyes closed.
Some are too frightened to.
(SANDRA GASPS) That cup just moved.
I put it there and now it's there.
Did you see it? Shit! It's okay.
It's all right.
Home is a place where everyone should feel safe.
When I was a kid, I used to sing Ten Green Bottles over and over again in my head to keep the bogeyman away.
Sometimes I didn't realise I'd been singing it out loud and my mum would come up and tuck me in.
What was your mother like? Relationships always leave marks.
Wounds.
Maybe that's what rooms hold on to.
Like Pandora's box, waiting to be opened.
Tell me about Josh.
I won't say anything.
I just want to know.
What was he like? He had blond hair.
-He.
-Robert, don't tell me what he looked like.
Tell me something that you remember.
When he was about four, we went to a carnival on the Downs.
He was desperate to get his face painted.
He had his heart set on this photo of Spider-Man.
''I want to look like him.
'' And the poor guy did his best, but, to be honest, he didn't look much like Spider-Man.
He didn't look much like anything, really.
And Josh looked in the mirror and looked at the photo and looked at the mirror and looked at the photo.
(ROBERT SIGHING) Do you ever feel him near you? No.
(MOSCOW GROWLING) (DISTANT POLICE SIREN) (WOMAN MUTTERING) Darling, not now.
I'm tired.
(WOMAN MUTTERING) Alison? (LIGHT SWITCH CLICKING) Jesus Christ! (GASPING) It's all right.
Alison, you're awake.
Thought I'd go in early.
Put a rocket up Wobbly Ken.
Make sure he isn't turning away good punters and letting his mates in.
How's the migraine? Don't worry.
It's probably just a brain tumour.
-Don't look at me like that.
-Like what? If you want to worry, worry about looking gorgeous.
You used to be good at that.
You should be so lucky.
(ZIPPING) Don't go out.
Don't invite anybody in.
Don't make any phone calls.
If you do, I'll know.
Don't answer the phone.
Don't use the stereo.
If you eat.
Wash the plate and leave it out for you to check before putting it away.
Think you can manage that? Good.
Hey give your husband a kiss.
(GASPING) It's all right.
Alison, you're awake.
(DOOR OPENING) ROBERT: You suffered what's called sleep paralysis.
-Hypnagogic hallucination isn't unknown.
-Robert, will you just.
Sandra, you can't stay here.
You have to leave here right now.
(ALARM BEEPING) -Good morning.
I was going to bring you this up.
-I don't think I could face anything.
-Did you sleep all right? -Like a baby.
Glad one of us did.
What time do you have to be in work? Do you know what? I'm sorry, I never asked you.
What is it that you do? Shoe shop, Broadmead.
I'll call in sick.
They'll be cool about it.
Right.
Well, I'm going to have a bath and then head up to the shops.
Do you mind if I stay here for a while? I just need to sort myself out.
Of course.
Be my guest.
Hello, Jude.
He's not in today.
I know.
Actually, I wasn't looking for him, I was looking for you.
-Have you got a minute? -Absolutely.
I know it's none of my business, but this woman, Alison, is she a girlfriend? Is it serious? No, no, God.
It's professional.
His interest is in.
He tests certain kinds of people, you know that.
It's.
-Look, maybe this isn't the best time, just now.
-Why are you being so cagey, Barb? I'm not.
I don't like her, that's all.
I don't think she's a good influence on him.
I don't know why.
Yes, you do.
You know exactly why, don't you? (BOYS CHATTING) -Hello, Mr Bridge.
-Charlie.
Blimey, you're a giant.
I didn't recognise you.
How is Storming Norman? Still got egg stains on his tie? I don't have Mr Norman any more.
He teaches the little kids.
-Oh, yes, of course he does.
-I'm in juniors now.
Are you? Of course you are.
That's great, that's exciting.
-Don't work too hard.
-My dad says I have to.
You don't always have to listen to your dad, do you? Well, goodbye.
(SIGHING) -Hiya.
-Hi.
Listen, I've phoned some mates.
They're going to let me stay there for a while.
-I'm not going back.
-Oh, good.
That's great.
Yeah.
Talking to you made me realise I mustn't be weak.
I've got to find the strength to sell the flat and move on, whatever's ahead of me.
-What about the spirits? -Maybe it's impossible to help them.
Maybe the bad choices you make in life are never undone.
You have to try and make positive ones.
-It was a bad place for you to be in, Sandra.
-I know.
-Thank you.
Thanks for your help.
-That's okay.
-Bye-bye, Sandra.
Take care.
-I will.
Bye, Moscow.
See you.
(ALARM BEEPING) (ACID JAZZ PLAYING ON STEREO) ROBERT: Sit down.
Let me get you a coffee or something.
What's happened? Is it Clive? What is it you get up to with this woman? This Alison.
-How often do you see her? -Whoa! I'm writing a book about her.
I'm studying her.
What do you want me to write about? Taxation? Detergent? It's what I do.
And what does she do, Robert? She contacts the dead, correct? It's sick.
She's sick.
No, you're sick.
Is this your twisted way of dealing.
-No! It isn't.
-Look, I know that you feel grief, -blame, self-hate, but consulting a.
-I'm not consulting anybody.
It's work.
-Don't tell me you haven't talked about Josh.
-We haven't.
I haven't.
-Do you think I'm an idiot, Robert? -No.
Look, I have tried so hard to be kind, to be helpful to you.
But I can't let your feelings have a hold on my life any more.
-It's not fair.
-I'm not asking you to.
I never asked you to.
Look, if you were screwing her, I wouldn't mind.
I'd be glad.
But this is a betrayal.
Don't you see that? It's not betraying me, you're betraying Josh.
The good memories that we have of Josh you just abused them.
No.
I have to go.
I have to get out of here.
Don't go, Jude, please, don't go like this.
-Why? -Please.
You know I wouldn't hurt you for the world.
What can I do? Tell me.
If Josh means anything to you, you'll promise me you won't see her again.
I do.
I promise.
-You signing autographs? -Sorry? You signing autographs, now? I think you've got me mixed up with Cameron Diaz, mate.
-Can I look at that? -Yes.
-Get out of my way.
-Would you like to defend Alison? -Or yourself perhaps? -She trusted you.
What evidence did you find of a haunting, Dr Bridge? You think you've proved something? You haven't.
You conned her with a cheap trick, that's all.
-You're the fraud.
You're despicable.
-Don't play the high and mighty, Robert.
Come on.
You've written about this stuff, and you think it's a load of bullshit, just like me.
No, I'm not like you, Sandra, or whatever the hell your name is.
It's Nichola.
The difference is, Nichola, I want to find the truth.
You don't.
You just want to sell newspapers and you don't care who you hurt in the process.
Alison hurts people, weak, gullible people, not me.
If this wrecks her reputation and stops her, I'm glad.
-Go to hell.
-Unquote.
Thank you.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) -ROBERT: Alison, it's me.
-Go away! (KNOCKING ON DOOR) Leave me alone! -Come on, Alison, open the door.
-Oh, go away, Robert.
-Please, open the door.
-Go away! Alison.
(BANGING ON DOOR) All right! Welcome to my world.
-I can see you're busy.
-Yes, I am.
Would you care for a wee dram? I'd love to see what happens when Dr Robert Bridge gets completely rat-arsed.
-Do you think this is going to help? -It's gonna help me.
-Why did I come here? -How the hell should I know? I'm not psychic.
I'm not psychic.
I'm not psychic.
It's no use getting upset.
We may as well face up to the fact that we've been had.
-She made fools of us.
-No, she made fools of them.
You were suggestible and so was I.
We both saw and heard things -that couldn't possibly have existed.
-No, I know what I saw.
Alison, come on.
-It's there in black and white.
-Well, I don't care.
'Cause I saw that man bending over me.
I felt that pillow on my face.
It was make-believe.
She made us believe.
''My plan was simple.
''To invent a ghost and see if a medium would nevertheless see it.
'' She must have picked up on something that was there.
There were no ghosts.
There couldn't possibly be any ghosts.
''The block was built in 1 967 and my mum lived in there up until two months ago ''and she never saw or heard anything.
''No one died there or even lived there except for her.
'' Shut up! Shut up! What are you doing? Have you finished? Why can't you cope with reality? Why can't you do something to help yourself? I came here.
Yeah, why? Why did you come here, Robert, why? I told you what Brendan Page said about removing stress from your life -and you ignored me.
-Do you know what? Just go.
Just go away.
Go home.
Because I don't want you here, Robert.
Go.
The truth is, you don't want to be helped, do you? -You don't want the spirits to leave you alone.
-They won't leave me alone! Your dead son won't leave me alone! I didn't approve of what Sandra did or how she did it, but you know what? It's what I've been trying to tell you all along.
Josh is lost, he's in limbo, Robert, and the only person who can help him move on is you.
No.
What keeps him here is your insanity.
What kind of father are you, Robert? Did you go to him in the night when he cried? Well, he's crying now.
He cries all the time.
-He just cries and cries and I can hear him here.
-Shut up! Shut up! Don't you push me! Damn you.
I think I made him mad, Josh.
I think I made him angry, Joshie.
I think our professional arrangement has come to its natural end.
-I want it to end.
-No, you don't.
I do.
It's over.
Don't reject him.
I'm not rejecting him.
I'm rejecting you.
Please, Robert, don't.
Please don't let him suffer just because you and I.
(ALISON CRYING) (CHILD CRYING) (DOOR OPENING) We're going to be happy here.
This is a happy place.
(MAN AND WOMAN GIGGLING)