Legend of Hell House, The (1973) Movie Script
Dr. Barrett?
My people tell me you're
one of the best five in your field.
Your fee will be 100,000.
- You're to establish the facts.
- Regarding what?
- Survival after death.
- You want me...
- To tell me if it's factual.
- How can I convince you?
- Find the facts.
- Where do I find them?
I'm a physicist. In 20 years of studying
parapsychology I've yet...
If they exist, you'll find them
in the only place I know...
...where survival hasn't been refuted.
The Belasco house.
Hell House?
Hell House.
I thought the Belascos had it
sealed up after what happened.
That was 20 years ago.
They needed money. I bought it.
Can you be there by Monday?
Can you?
Yes.
There will be two others.
A medium, Florence Tanner...
Tanner? But she's a mental medium.
I want that line of approach employed
as well as yours.
She's practically a child.
My people tell me
she's the best in her field too.
And the other one?
The only survivor
from the last attempt.
- Fischer?
- Fischer.
Between you three,
I expect an answer within a week.
A week!
Take it or leave it.
A list of all phenomena
recorded at the Belasco house...
...restoration of electricity,
transportation of your equipment.
Is that it?
No, there's a machine
that's only partly constructed.
- How long until it's completed?
- Depends on how many men you use.
- How soon will you need it?
- No later than Wednesday.
Good day.
It would be better
if you didn't come along on this trip.
But I always come with you.
I don't want to be left alone.
Besides, I want to be there
when you prove your new theory.
Isn't it just another haunted house?
It's the Mount Everest
of haunted houses.
There were two attempts to investigate it.
Eight people died.
Fischer was the only one who survived.
When he crawled out,
he was a mental wreck.
These are the keys. Your luggage
and equipment have been installed...
...power's on, your rooms are ready
and the larder's full.
I'll call back for you
at 5:00 on the 24th.
Look at the windows.
He had them bricked up
so no one could see in.
Or out.
It's hideous.
We're not even inside yet,
Miss Tanner.
I don't have to be.
So much for the restored electricity.
- They work off a generator, don't they?
- Yes.
My God, the smell!
The atmosphere in here...
Of this world, not of the next.
This house...
...it knows we're here.
Miss Tanner.
Sorry, I'll keep my observations
to myself.
Do you know where
the emergency generator is?
I hope I didn't disturb you.
I'm just concerned for you
coming into this pest hole.
Yes, I understand.
I wonder if you do.
Just how wealthy was Mr. Belasco?
I believe he left millions
when he died.
Died?
Anything you care to tell?
What's to tell?
The house tried to kill me.
It almost succeeded.
That leads to the cellars, Mr. Fischer?
That's right.
What's through there?
The chapel.
Chapel?
Sorry, I can't right now.
We understand.
Welcome to my house.
I'm delighted you could come.
I'm certain you'll find your stay here
most illuminating.
Think of me as your unseen host
and believe...
Why couldn't Miss Tanner come in?
Her system is attuned
to psychic energy.
Obviously, it's very strong here.
A church in hell. That sort of thing.
Why doesn't it affect him?
Obviously, he knows how to
protect himself better than she does.
Miss Tanner?
Miss Tanner?
I'm sure it's nothing.
Are you?
Miss Tanner?
I'm over here.
You shouldn't have done that.
You caused us undue alarm.
I'm sorry. I heard a voice in here.
Welcome to my house.
I'm delighted you could come.
I'm certain you'll find your stay here
most illuminating.
Think of me as your unseen host...
... and believe that during your stay
I shall be with you in spirit.
May you find the answer you seek.
It is here, I promise you.
And now, auf Wiedersehen.
Auf Wiedersehen.
Till we meet again.
The record wasn't meant for us.
What made it go on by itself?
Belasco said he could will people...
...to a particular object...
...then move among them unobserved.
I doubt that.
Do you?
Our attention was on that
a few moments ago.
How do you know
he didn't walk right by us?
This house hasn't lived up
to its reputation so far.
It hasn't taken our measure yet.
The house is not the haunting force.
Evidently, the problem is created
by multiple surviving personalities.
I take it you still don't believe
in survival, Dr. Barrett.
If you mean surviving personalities,
you are correct.
We will see.
Indeed we shall, Miss Tanner.
- When was the house built?
- I don't know.
Mr. Fischer?
I feel that you know a lot
about Belasco.
Would you share it with us?
First name: Emeric.
Born March 23rd, 1879.
The illegitimate son
of an American munitions maker.
What did he look like?
His was a frightening visage.
Like the face of a demon...
...that had taken on
some human aspect.
- Are you quoting?
- Yes, I am.
That was his second wife.
She committed suicide
in this room in 1927.
How tall was he?
He was 6'5.
They called him the Roaring Giant.
What did he do
to make this house so evil?
Drug addiction...
...alcoholism, sadism,
bestiality, mutilation...
...murder, vampirism,
necrophilia, cannibalism.
Not to mention a gamut
of sexual goodies. Shall I go on?
How did it end?
If it had ended, we would not be here.
It's about to end, Mr. Fischer.
What happened to Mr. Belasco?
No one knows.
When relatives of the guests
broke into the house in 1929...
...they found all 27 dead,
from one cause or another.
Belasco was not among them.
I'd like to try a sitting tonight.
I have no objection.
Would you care to sit
in the morning, Mr. Fischer?
I'm not ready yet.
Spirit of love and tenderness...
...we gather to communicate with those
who walk this house in torment.
Help us bridge the chasm of death
so faithfully...
...that pain is transformed into joy...
...sorrow into peace.
All this we ask in the name
of our infinite Father.
Amen.
This is an evil house.
A place of sickness.
Evil.
Extremes.
Limits.
Terminations and extremities.
I don't know.
If thine eye offend thee...
Yes.
There is a young man...
...very young...
...says he must speak.
Must speak.
I don't know you people.
Why are you here?
It does no good.
Nothing changes.
Nothing.
Get out or I'll hurt you.
I can't help myself.
Goddamn you, you filthy sons
of bitches! Goddamn you!
I don't want to hurt you...
...but I must. I must!
Get out of this house
before I kill you all!
You started manifesting
physical phenomena.
But I'm not a physical medium.
You were just now.
The embryo of one, at any rate.
I don't understand.
All this time a mental medium,
and now this.
The Lord certainly moves
in mysterious ways.
So does this house.
Back to normal?
Those pounding noises are unnerving
the first time you hear them.
Why was Miss Tanner so disturbed
by that sitting?
Because she caused
physical phenomena.
But if Miss Tanner
is a mental medium...
...and Mr. Fischer is
a physical medium...
...how can you be sure she created
those noises, and not Fischer?
I can't.
In fact, I'm not at all sure
about Mr. Fischer.
Or Miss Tanner.
Who is it, please?
You want to speak to me?
Are you the one
that warned us to get out?
Yes, it is you, isn't it?
You must give me some sign.
You're not Belasco, are you?
No.
Such a pain would not be in Belasco.
I feel your anguish.
Who are you?
Daniel?
Daniel Belasco?
Very clever.
If you're that clever,
why are you still a prisoner here?
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
- You slept well?
- Fine.
- And you?
- Very well, thank you.
I think I have a partial answer
to the haunting.
Do you?
That young man that warned us at the
sitting came to my room last night.
He's Belasco's son.
Yes. Daniel Belasco.
He's very young and frightened and
because of it, very angry and hostile.
If I convince him to move on...
...much of the haunting
will be eliminated.
Do so, by all means.
I'd like to suggest another sitting.
Under scientific conditions this time.
Miss Tanner in apparent trance.
Pulse rate 85, respiration 15.
Four electric contacts maintained.
No change in temperature.
Steady at 73.2 degrees.
Dynamometer reading
decreased to 1823.
Temperature lowering.
Now at 69.6 degrees.
Pulse rate...
...94.5 and rising.
Temperature drop
now 12.3 degrees.
Dynamometer reading
reduced to 1779.
Pressurometer negative.
Electric contacts still maintained.
Rate of breath increasing. 50...
...57...
...60...
Rising steadily.
Infrared rays broken.
Cameras activated.
Evidence of electromagnetic radiation
commencing.
Medium's respiration, 210.
Dynamometer, 1460.
Temperature...
Evidence of ozone in the air.
Ectoplasm forming.
Separate filaments exuding
from fingertips of both hands...
...uniting to form
two separate strands.
Two strands moving toward each other.
Ectoplasmic stalk...
...through net, moving toward table.
Leave a sample in the jar, please.
Leave a sample in the jar, please.
Hold it!
She's all right.
Miss Tanner coming out of trance.
Premature retraction of ectoplasm
causing brief systemic shock.
Conclusion of sitting...
...2:48 p.m.
- I spoiled your sitting, didn't I?
- Not at all.
I couldn't be more satisfied.
Take a look.
- What is it?
- A specimen of that teleplasm.
What spiritualists refer to
as ectoplasm...
...derives almost entirely
from the medium's body.
The remainder is a mixture of air,
the costume...
...fibrous remains,
food and dust, et cetera.
But the bulk of it
is organic, living matter.
An organic externalization of thought.
Mind reduced to matter.
You mean, she made that figure
from herself?
I was visited by Daniel
again this afternoon.
Were you?
Will it never end?
Will what never end?
- Your attitude of doubt and distrust.
- Distrust?
Why should we be expected to perform
under scientific conditions?
- We're not machines, but humans.
- What's this?
I'm not a medium for fun.
It's often painful and unrewarding.
It so happens I believe mediumship
is God's manifestation in man.
When I speak, I will open thy mouth
and thou shalt say:
Thus saith the Lord.
There's nothing in the Bible...
...not one phenomenon
that doesn't occur today.
Be it sights or sounds,
shaking of the house, rushing winds...
...levitations, automatic writing
or the speaking in tongues!
Miss Tanner...
...I have no idea
what this is about but...
No!
You must go.
What are you talking about?
You know.
You're the physical medium.
You're being used.
You're not in control.
You've got to get out of here. Doctor.
- Trying to get rid of us both now?
- What do you mean?
What do you mean?
I would've thought that was obvious!
What is he saying?
That I'm responsible?
You're the one
who should leave this house.
You're the one who's being used, not me.
Do we have to stay?
Are you serious?
You know this is important.
- What if you're hurt?
- I won't be.
- How do you know?
- I'll see to it!
Surely you noticed how it ended
with a word from her.
How I was the only one attacked.
I was the one who angered her.
You think she was responsible
for all that?
Not unassisted.
There's a lot of power in this house.
But she was the one who used it.
Directed it at me.
I made a mistake.
You can't accept quiet,
polite behaviour at face value.
Not with a medium.
You never know what's underneath.
May I speak to you?
I'll only be a moment.
- Are you badly hurt?
- I'll manage.
I know what happened.
It was Belasco's son.
Don't you see
he's trying to separate us?
We're less of a challenge that way.
- I'll sit for you in the morning.
- There'll be no more sittings.
You can't stop them now.
I'm doing so.
You don't think I did that?
I not only think it, I know it!
Now, please, I'm in pain.
I am not responsible.
It was Belasco's son.
Miss Tanner!
There is no such person.
You're wrong.
Lionel?
Lionel.
Lionel!
- Where are you going now?
- To look for something.
Proof that Belasco's son existed?
I'm sorry if I insulted you before.
Mrs. Barrett.
Mrs. Barrett!
You...
...me...
...that girl...
...Lionel...
...all together.
Naked.
Drunk.
Clutching.
Sweating.
Biting!
You were walking in your sleep.
Mrs. Barrett!
Daniel, I've found you.
What is it? What happened?
Daniel Belasco, I found him.
I'm not imagining it.
He attacked me.
Did I imagine this?
He's in there, behind the wall.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Lord, we beseech thee mercifully...
...to receive the prayers of thy
people which call upon thee...
Florence.
Florence.
- Is that you?
- Help me, Florence. Help me.
Why? You should have gone on.
- You were my only hope.
- Your body was buried.
I prayed for you.
No.
You have to go.
You've been given your release.
You were my only hope.
You must go on.
What is it you want?
- Make love to me.
- I can't.
No, I can't.
No!
What in the name of God...?
Florence.
Please.
Doctor...
...Miss Tanner's been hurt again.
- Where is she?
- In her room.
- She's been bitten and scratched.
- How did it happen?
- I don't know. A cat, I think.
- A cat?
It was possessed by Daniel Belasco.
Shall I examine you?
Use this. It'll prevent infection.
I'm all right.
- I know you think...
- It doesn't matter what I think.
- What matters is you're being mauled.
- I said I'm all right.
I wonder if that is so.
Wouldn't it be best if you left?
I'm not leaving now!
It's up to you.
But I'd be failing my duty
if I didn't warn you.
I don't want you to be
another victim of Hell House.
He's right, you know.
You should leave.
- Ben!
- You're being torn to pieces.
You think I did this to myself?
No, of course not.
But I don't know who did.
You say it's Daniel, but what if you're
wrong? What if you're being fooled?
Fooled?
But he does exist. We found his body.
We also laid him to rest,
so why is he not at rest?
I think I know.
Controlled multiple haunting,
absolutely unique in haunted houses.
A surviving will so powerful...
...that he can dominate
all other surviving sources.
You mean Emeric Belasco?
He's kept me from the chapel.
He made it seem like
Daniel possessed the cat.
He caused the attack on Dr. Barrett.
He's also keeping Daniel's soul
imprisoned here.
He's like a general with his army.
Never entering the battle
but always controlling it.
Just what have you been doing,
Mr. Fischer?
Have you been drinking?
I don't think that's your business.
Although I do think
it's a very good idea.
- Come on.
- No.
You come on.
Mrs. Barrett?
Yes, Ben?
You should not
leave your husband alone.
Oh, I think he's all right.
He's sleeping.
Mrs. Barrett,
you must go back upstairs.
Did you know
this was where it all happened?
Where all what happened?
All that debauchery...
...and vice.
Right here.
Right around this very table.
- You don't know what you're saying.
- Yes, I do.
I know exactly what I'm saying,
Mr. Fischer.
Mr. B.F. Fischer.
Mrs. Barrett, it's this house.
- It's making you...
- This house isn't doing anything.
I'm doing it.
Touch me.
Touch me
or I'll find somebody who will!
No! No!
I know you won't forgive me now.
I know what I did.
I'd give anything to undo it.
I just don't know why
I went down those stairs.
I knew what I was doing, l...
I knew.
But at the same time...
I'm not asking you to forgive me...
...but please, please don't hate me.
I need you. I love you.
I just don't understand
what's happening to me.
I just don't understand.
It's all right.
It'll pass
after we've left this house.
I love you too.
Doctor, I think your wife
is in grave danger.
- What happened...
- Mr. Fischer.
- It was not her fault.
- Please.
This is a matter of life and death.
Today was not the first occurrence.
Did you know
she walked down here last night?
- When?
- Near midnight.
You were asleep. So was she.
- She walked in her sleep?
- Yes.
You should have told me.
No, doctor, she should have.
The fact that she didn't...
I don't think you know
what is going on in this house.
- What I think is irrelevant.
- Irrelevant?
What do you mean by irrelevant?
It's already gotten to Miss Tanner
and you. Haven't you noticed?
I've noticed several things.
One is you're blocking yourself off.
Another is Mr. Deutsch is obviously
wasting a third of his money.
One is you're blocking yourself off.
I am not blocking anything.
I'm just not sticking my neck out
the way I did in 1953.
- Ben, I've been thinking...
- Give up.
Give up?
What's happened?
I thought we trusted each other.
I don't trust anyone.
Or anything.
And anyone who does in this house...
...is a fool.
Something has happened.
Lots of things.
Nothing we can't handle.
Wrong.
There is nothing in this house
that we can handle.
That's not true.
We've made wonderful progress.
Toward what?
Our graves?
Daniel, for instance,
and how Belasco works.
Daniel!
Daniel, Daniel, Daniel!
How do you know he ever even existed?
The body.
Is that your proof?
How do you know he isn't
just a figment of your imagination?
How do you know his personality
isn't what you made of it?
- I just know I'm right!
- We all knew we were right in 1953 too.
Grace Lauter, a successful medium for...
...for 20 years.
She jumped off the balcony...
...and shattered both her legs.
Dr. Graham...
...physicist.
He crawled out of this house...
...to die.
Professor Rand...
...head of the chemistry department
at Oxford.
Paralyzed.
Professor Fenley...
...a psychic investigator.
Crippled and insane to this day.
Yes...
...you're right.
I am obstructing. You're quite right.
I'm shut off.
I'm going to stay shut off...
...until I am far away from this place.
I'll collect my 100,000...
...and I am never going to come
within 1000 miles of this house...
...for as long as I live.
And I suggest you do the same.
Ben...
- Anything I can do to help?
- I'm afraid not.
It's just too complicated.
Thanks all the same.
What's it going to do, Lionel?
You've heard me talk
about the power in this house.
It's a real power, Ann.
A field of measurable energy.
Energy that can be reversed.
That's what I'm going to do.
By this time tomorrow, Hell House
will be drained. De-energized.
You'll see.
That pile of junk you have there...
...won't do a thing.
Get her out. Get out yourself.
You haven't got a chance.
Have you?
Yes.
I know the score.
You do not fight this house!
Look, the house doesn't mind
a guest or two.
It doesn't like people who attack it.
Belasco and his people don't like it.
They will fight back and kill you.
So leave that alone and spend
the rest of the week doing nothing.
On Sunday, tell Deutsch what he
wants to hear and bank the money.
Try anything else, you'll be
a dead man with a dead wife at your side.
He won't listen, will he?
I was the only one...
...to make it out of here alive
and sane in 1953.
And I will be the only one...
...to make it out of here alive
and sane this time.
He's wrong.
I told you before, Florence Tanner
is wrong in what she believes.
I'm telling you now
that Fischer is equally wrong.
Tomorrow it will be proved.
Help me.
Please.
Please, help me.
Help me, Florence. Help me.
You're my only hope.
Daniel, you must understand.
What you ask is impossible. I can't.
I believe in you.
I've opened my heart to you.
Florence...
... love me.
No.
Help me...
... Florence.
Help me.
Dear God...
...reach down your hand
and give me your protection.
Help me this night to bring to you...
...the tortured soul of Daniel Belasco.
I give you now
the love you've never known.
I give it freely so you'll gain
the strength to go on from this house.
I love you.
And I love you.
With love. Please, with love.
Florence...
How long have you been here?
All night.
There?
Stupid, you could have slept with me.
Who put on my nightdress?
Mrs. Barrett.
Why didn't you do it?
My God, he's inside me!
He lied to me.
He said it was the only way!
But he's inside me!
Even as I speak to you
I can feel him...
...waiting in there to take over!
It's going to be all right.
I'm taking you out this morning.
- He won't let me go.
- He can't stop you.
- Yes, he can.
- Well, he can't stop me.
Who the hell do you think you are,
you bastard?
You were hot stuff when you were 15
but now you're shit.
Hear me? Shit!
Dear God, help me.
I'm taking her away.
- How are you, Miss Tanner?
- I'm all right.
You needn't come back, Mr. Fischer.
This afternoon the house will be clear.
Clear? How?
- There isn't time to explain.
- I'm not leaving until I know.
I am not leaving until I know!
Right.
The body emits a form of energy
invisible to the human eye.
This energy can be expanded
beyond the body...
...where it can create mechanical,
chemical, physical effects.
Sounds, the movement of objects,
such as we've experienced.
This energy is a field of
electromagnetic radiation.
- EMR.
- Exactly.
All living organisms emit this energy.
Such power must saturate
its environment.
Is it any wonder Hell House
is this way?
Consider the destructive
residual energy...
...which has been poured into it.
In essence...
...the house is a giant battery...
...whose energy is tapped
by those who enter.
But that energy is
what we survive with after death.
No, the residue I speak of...
...has nothing to do
with surviving personalities.
Emeric Belasco's spirit
does not prowl this house.
Neither does his son.
Or any of the other entities
you believe yourself in contact with.
There is one thing only in this house:
Mindless, directionless power.
You're so wrong, Dr. Barrett.
You cannot destroy a spirit.
All you'll do is send it
from one hell to another.
No, Miss Tanner.
I'm right.
My machine will fill the house...
...with a massive
countercharge of radiation...
...which will reverse
and dissipate its polarity.
And Hell House will be exorcized.
I see.
There's nothing else to do then.
Thank God
she didn't know what to smash.
I should be flattered.
Her attack on the reverser
was her ultimate tribute to it.
She knows I'm right,
and there was nothing else to do.
That's what she said.
She had to destroy my beliefs
before they could destroy hers.
Daniel?
You must leave before it's too late.
Soon you'll be sent
from this hell to another.
Where is Miss Tanner?
She was lying over there.
Why didn't you watch her?
You tricked me.
God help me, you tricked us all.
Quickly.
You'll have to open yourself
to it, Mr. Fischer.
Try. I guarantee
there will be no trouble.
Well?
He's startled
because there's nothing to pick up.
- Is it really over, Lionel?
- Yes, it's over.
Done. Finished.
- I can't believe it.
- I know.
Do you mind if I say I told you so?
What a pity Miss Tanner had to die
when the answer was so close.
Barrett, the house is clear!
It is completely clear!
And I called that machine
a pile of junk!
Get some rest. I want to check
my readings. I haven't had a chance.
This is impossible.
I don't accept this.
I do not accept this!
Lionel?
In here.
Here.
I'm sorry.
Lionel...
Please get me out of here. Please.
I'm not leaving.
- I'm going back to the chapel.
- No. You can't.
You don't know
what it's like in there.
I have to.
No, you don't.
There's no reason to go back there.
None.
Ann, listen.
I have to.
It's for Florence.
It's for your husband.
If I leave Hell House now...
...my whole life is going
to be a failure.
You can't solve it.
It cannot be solved.
You're gonna die.
Like Lionel.
Like Miss Tanner.
Then I will.
It's here.
The entire house is clear...
...except for this one place.
But why?
Why?
Belasco.
That's what the B
inside the circle means.
She was trying to tell us...
...that it was only Belasco all along.
It isn't...
...mindless, directionless power.
It isn't multiple hauntings.
It's only one.
One entity pretending to be Daniel.
One entity pretending to be many
others. That's where the answer lies!
But what's the key?
What is the key?
Extremes and limits.
Terminations and extremities.
Oh, God.
Of course, that's what she meant.
Extremes.
Limits.
Legs!
Grace Lauter's spine and legs...
...shattered.
Dr. Graham...
...crawling.
Professor Rand...
...paralyzed.
Professor Fenley...
...crippled.
Florence's legs, crushed.
Your husband's...
If thine eye offend thee...
Oh, yes, yes, yes!
Belasco!
Whatever you do...
...do not interfere.
Belasco.
Here I am.
Destroy me if you can!
Don't leave the job half done!
We're here!
I'm here!
Kill me!
That's it.
That's it!
Tell me something, Belasco.
Why didn't you ever leave
this house when you were alive?
Why?
Did you despise the sunlight?
Was it better hiding in the shadows?
No one...
...could really see you then,
could they?
No one could find out
your secret then, could they?
You weren't a genius!
You were a deviant!
A sawed-off little bastard!
Your mother was a bitch!
A whore!
You were a bastard!
A funny, little dried-up bastard!
You're no genius!
You're no roaring giant!
What size were you, Belasco?
Five foot two?
One?
I know!
You weren't even five foot tall!
Emeric Belasco.
The roaring giant.
Is it clear?
This is a special moment.
Meet Emeric Belasco.
Your husband did have
part of the answer.
Florence too and with her help...
...I finally found the last part.
That which Belasco's giant ego
could not face.
He so despised his own shortness
he had his legs cut off.
He wore those instead
to give himself height.
If thine eye offend thee,
pluck it out.
Maybe he was a genius after all.
Preserving his own body after death
doesn't make him a genius.
It's not his body
of which I'm speaking.
This is why your husband's machine
could not destroy his power.
These walls are sheathed with lead.
He built himself a fortress
to protect his spirit.
He knew what was coming
years before it came.
Your husband and Florence...
...helped rid this house of Belasco.
Let us hope that their spirits...
...guide him to everlasting peace.
My people tell me you're
one of the best five in your field.
Your fee will be 100,000.
- You're to establish the facts.
- Regarding what?
- Survival after death.
- You want me...
- To tell me if it's factual.
- How can I convince you?
- Find the facts.
- Where do I find them?
I'm a physicist. In 20 years of studying
parapsychology I've yet...
If they exist, you'll find them
in the only place I know...
...where survival hasn't been refuted.
The Belasco house.
Hell House?
Hell House.
I thought the Belascos had it
sealed up after what happened.
That was 20 years ago.
They needed money. I bought it.
Can you be there by Monday?
Can you?
Yes.
There will be two others.
A medium, Florence Tanner...
Tanner? But she's a mental medium.
I want that line of approach employed
as well as yours.
She's practically a child.
My people tell me
she's the best in her field too.
And the other one?
The only survivor
from the last attempt.
- Fischer?
- Fischer.
Between you three,
I expect an answer within a week.
A week!
Take it or leave it.
A list of all phenomena
recorded at the Belasco house...
...restoration of electricity,
transportation of your equipment.
Is that it?
No, there's a machine
that's only partly constructed.
- How long until it's completed?
- Depends on how many men you use.
- How soon will you need it?
- No later than Wednesday.
Good day.
It would be better
if you didn't come along on this trip.
But I always come with you.
I don't want to be left alone.
Besides, I want to be there
when you prove your new theory.
Isn't it just another haunted house?
It's the Mount Everest
of haunted houses.
There were two attempts to investigate it.
Eight people died.
Fischer was the only one who survived.
When he crawled out,
he was a mental wreck.
These are the keys. Your luggage
and equipment have been installed...
...power's on, your rooms are ready
and the larder's full.
I'll call back for you
at 5:00 on the 24th.
Look at the windows.
He had them bricked up
so no one could see in.
Or out.
It's hideous.
We're not even inside yet,
Miss Tanner.
I don't have to be.
So much for the restored electricity.
- They work off a generator, don't they?
- Yes.
My God, the smell!
The atmosphere in here...
Of this world, not of the next.
This house...
...it knows we're here.
Miss Tanner.
Sorry, I'll keep my observations
to myself.
Do you know where
the emergency generator is?
I hope I didn't disturb you.
I'm just concerned for you
coming into this pest hole.
Yes, I understand.
I wonder if you do.
Just how wealthy was Mr. Belasco?
I believe he left millions
when he died.
Died?
Anything you care to tell?
What's to tell?
The house tried to kill me.
It almost succeeded.
That leads to the cellars, Mr. Fischer?
That's right.
What's through there?
The chapel.
Chapel?
Sorry, I can't right now.
We understand.
Welcome to my house.
I'm delighted you could come.
I'm certain you'll find your stay here
most illuminating.
Think of me as your unseen host
and believe...
Why couldn't Miss Tanner come in?
Her system is attuned
to psychic energy.
Obviously, it's very strong here.
A church in hell. That sort of thing.
Why doesn't it affect him?
Obviously, he knows how to
protect himself better than she does.
Miss Tanner?
Miss Tanner?
I'm sure it's nothing.
Are you?
Miss Tanner?
I'm over here.
You shouldn't have done that.
You caused us undue alarm.
I'm sorry. I heard a voice in here.
Welcome to my house.
I'm delighted you could come.
I'm certain you'll find your stay here
most illuminating.
Think of me as your unseen host...
... and believe that during your stay
I shall be with you in spirit.
May you find the answer you seek.
It is here, I promise you.
And now, auf Wiedersehen.
Auf Wiedersehen.
Till we meet again.
The record wasn't meant for us.
What made it go on by itself?
Belasco said he could will people...
...to a particular object...
...then move among them unobserved.
I doubt that.
Do you?
Our attention was on that
a few moments ago.
How do you know
he didn't walk right by us?
This house hasn't lived up
to its reputation so far.
It hasn't taken our measure yet.
The house is not the haunting force.
Evidently, the problem is created
by multiple surviving personalities.
I take it you still don't believe
in survival, Dr. Barrett.
If you mean surviving personalities,
you are correct.
We will see.
Indeed we shall, Miss Tanner.
- When was the house built?
- I don't know.
Mr. Fischer?
I feel that you know a lot
about Belasco.
Would you share it with us?
First name: Emeric.
Born March 23rd, 1879.
The illegitimate son
of an American munitions maker.
What did he look like?
His was a frightening visage.
Like the face of a demon...
...that had taken on
some human aspect.
- Are you quoting?
- Yes, I am.
That was his second wife.
She committed suicide
in this room in 1927.
How tall was he?
He was 6'5.
They called him the Roaring Giant.
What did he do
to make this house so evil?
Drug addiction...
...alcoholism, sadism,
bestiality, mutilation...
...murder, vampirism,
necrophilia, cannibalism.
Not to mention a gamut
of sexual goodies. Shall I go on?
How did it end?
If it had ended, we would not be here.
It's about to end, Mr. Fischer.
What happened to Mr. Belasco?
No one knows.
When relatives of the guests
broke into the house in 1929...
...they found all 27 dead,
from one cause or another.
Belasco was not among them.
I'd like to try a sitting tonight.
I have no objection.
Would you care to sit
in the morning, Mr. Fischer?
I'm not ready yet.
Spirit of love and tenderness...
...we gather to communicate with those
who walk this house in torment.
Help us bridge the chasm of death
so faithfully...
...that pain is transformed into joy...
...sorrow into peace.
All this we ask in the name
of our infinite Father.
Amen.
This is an evil house.
A place of sickness.
Evil.
Extremes.
Limits.
Terminations and extremities.
I don't know.
If thine eye offend thee...
Yes.
There is a young man...
...very young...
...says he must speak.
Must speak.
I don't know you people.
Why are you here?
It does no good.
Nothing changes.
Nothing.
Get out or I'll hurt you.
I can't help myself.
Goddamn you, you filthy sons
of bitches! Goddamn you!
I don't want to hurt you...
...but I must. I must!
Get out of this house
before I kill you all!
You started manifesting
physical phenomena.
But I'm not a physical medium.
You were just now.
The embryo of one, at any rate.
I don't understand.
All this time a mental medium,
and now this.
The Lord certainly moves
in mysterious ways.
So does this house.
Back to normal?
Those pounding noises are unnerving
the first time you hear them.
Why was Miss Tanner so disturbed
by that sitting?
Because she caused
physical phenomena.
But if Miss Tanner
is a mental medium...
...and Mr. Fischer is
a physical medium...
...how can you be sure she created
those noises, and not Fischer?
I can't.
In fact, I'm not at all sure
about Mr. Fischer.
Or Miss Tanner.
Who is it, please?
You want to speak to me?
Are you the one
that warned us to get out?
Yes, it is you, isn't it?
You must give me some sign.
You're not Belasco, are you?
No.
Such a pain would not be in Belasco.
I feel your anguish.
Who are you?
Daniel?
Daniel Belasco?
Very clever.
If you're that clever,
why are you still a prisoner here?
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
- You slept well?
- Fine.
- And you?
- Very well, thank you.
I think I have a partial answer
to the haunting.
Do you?
That young man that warned us at the
sitting came to my room last night.
He's Belasco's son.
Yes. Daniel Belasco.
He's very young and frightened and
because of it, very angry and hostile.
If I convince him to move on...
...much of the haunting
will be eliminated.
Do so, by all means.
I'd like to suggest another sitting.
Under scientific conditions this time.
Miss Tanner in apparent trance.
Pulse rate 85, respiration 15.
Four electric contacts maintained.
No change in temperature.
Steady at 73.2 degrees.
Dynamometer reading
decreased to 1823.
Temperature lowering.
Now at 69.6 degrees.
Pulse rate...
...94.5 and rising.
Temperature drop
now 12.3 degrees.
Dynamometer reading
reduced to 1779.
Pressurometer negative.
Electric contacts still maintained.
Rate of breath increasing. 50...
...57...
...60...
Rising steadily.
Infrared rays broken.
Cameras activated.
Evidence of electromagnetic radiation
commencing.
Medium's respiration, 210.
Dynamometer, 1460.
Temperature...
Evidence of ozone in the air.
Ectoplasm forming.
Separate filaments exuding
from fingertips of both hands...
...uniting to form
two separate strands.
Two strands moving toward each other.
Ectoplasmic stalk...
...through net, moving toward table.
Leave a sample in the jar, please.
Leave a sample in the jar, please.
Hold it!
She's all right.
Miss Tanner coming out of trance.
Premature retraction of ectoplasm
causing brief systemic shock.
Conclusion of sitting...
...2:48 p.m.
- I spoiled your sitting, didn't I?
- Not at all.
I couldn't be more satisfied.
Take a look.
- What is it?
- A specimen of that teleplasm.
What spiritualists refer to
as ectoplasm...
...derives almost entirely
from the medium's body.
The remainder is a mixture of air,
the costume...
...fibrous remains,
food and dust, et cetera.
But the bulk of it
is organic, living matter.
An organic externalization of thought.
Mind reduced to matter.
You mean, she made that figure
from herself?
I was visited by Daniel
again this afternoon.
Were you?
Will it never end?
Will what never end?
- Your attitude of doubt and distrust.
- Distrust?
Why should we be expected to perform
under scientific conditions?
- We're not machines, but humans.
- What's this?
I'm not a medium for fun.
It's often painful and unrewarding.
It so happens I believe mediumship
is God's manifestation in man.
When I speak, I will open thy mouth
and thou shalt say:
Thus saith the Lord.
There's nothing in the Bible...
...not one phenomenon
that doesn't occur today.
Be it sights or sounds,
shaking of the house, rushing winds...
...levitations, automatic writing
or the speaking in tongues!
Miss Tanner...
...I have no idea
what this is about but...
No!
You must go.
What are you talking about?
You know.
You're the physical medium.
You're being used.
You're not in control.
You've got to get out of here. Doctor.
- Trying to get rid of us both now?
- What do you mean?
What do you mean?
I would've thought that was obvious!
What is he saying?
That I'm responsible?
You're the one
who should leave this house.
You're the one who's being used, not me.
Do we have to stay?
Are you serious?
You know this is important.
- What if you're hurt?
- I won't be.
- How do you know?
- I'll see to it!
Surely you noticed how it ended
with a word from her.
How I was the only one attacked.
I was the one who angered her.
You think she was responsible
for all that?
Not unassisted.
There's a lot of power in this house.
But she was the one who used it.
Directed it at me.
I made a mistake.
You can't accept quiet,
polite behaviour at face value.
Not with a medium.
You never know what's underneath.
May I speak to you?
I'll only be a moment.
- Are you badly hurt?
- I'll manage.
I know what happened.
It was Belasco's son.
Don't you see
he's trying to separate us?
We're less of a challenge that way.
- I'll sit for you in the morning.
- There'll be no more sittings.
You can't stop them now.
I'm doing so.
You don't think I did that?
I not only think it, I know it!
Now, please, I'm in pain.
I am not responsible.
It was Belasco's son.
Miss Tanner!
There is no such person.
You're wrong.
Lionel?
Lionel.
Lionel!
- Where are you going now?
- To look for something.
Proof that Belasco's son existed?
I'm sorry if I insulted you before.
Mrs. Barrett.
Mrs. Barrett!
You...
...me...
...that girl...
...Lionel...
...all together.
Naked.
Drunk.
Clutching.
Sweating.
Biting!
You were walking in your sleep.
Mrs. Barrett!
Daniel, I've found you.
What is it? What happened?
Daniel Belasco, I found him.
I'm not imagining it.
He attacked me.
Did I imagine this?
He's in there, behind the wall.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Lord, we beseech thee mercifully...
...to receive the prayers of thy
people which call upon thee...
Florence.
Florence.
- Is that you?
- Help me, Florence. Help me.
Why? You should have gone on.
- You were my only hope.
- Your body was buried.
I prayed for you.
No.
You have to go.
You've been given your release.
You were my only hope.
You must go on.
What is it you want?
- Make love to me.
- I can't.
No, I can't.
No!
What in the name of God...?
Florence.
Please.
Doctor...
...Miss Tanner's been hurt again.
- Where is she?
- In her room.
- She's been bitten and scratched.
- How did it happen?
- I don't know. A cat, I think.
- A cat?
It was possessed by Daniel Belasco.
Shall I examine you?
Use this. It'll prevent infection.
I'm all right.
- I know you think...
- It doesn't matter what I think.
- What matters is you're being mauled.
- I said I'm all right.
I wonder if that is so.
Wouldn't it be best if you left?
I'm not leaving now!
It's up to you.
But I'd be failing my duty
if I didn't warn you.
I don't want you to be
another victim of Hell House.
He's right, you know.
You should leave.
- Ben!
- You're being torn to pieces.
You think I did this to myself?
No, of course not.
But I don't know who did.
You say it's Daniel, but what if you're
wrong? What if you're being fooled?
Fooled?
But he does exist. We found his body.
We also laid him to rest,
so why is he not at rest?
I think I know.
Controlled multiple haunting,
absolutely unique in haunted houses.
A surviving will so powerful...
...that he can dominate
all other surviving sources.
You mean Emeric Belasco?
He's kept me from the chapel.
He made it seem like
Daniel possessed the cat.
He caused the attack on Dr. Barrett.
He's also keeping Daniel's soul
imprisoned here.
He's like a general with his army.
Never entering the battle
but always controlling it.
Just what have you been doing,
Mr. Fischer?
Have you been drinking?
I don't think that's your business.
Although I do think
it's a very good idea.
- Come on.
- No.
You come on.
Mrs. Barrett?
Yes, Ben?
You should not
leave your husband alone.
Oh, I think he's all right.
He's sleeping.
Mrs. Barrett,
you must go back upstairs.
Did you know
this was where it all happened?
Where all what happened?
All that debauchery...
...and vice.
Right here.
Right around this very table.
- You don't know what you're saying.
- Yes, I do.
I know exactly what I'm saying,
Mr. Fischer.
Mr. B.F. Fischer.
Mrs. Barrett, it's this house.
- It's making you...
- This house isn't doing anything.
I'm doing it.
Touch me.
Touch me
or I'll find somebody who will!
No! No!
I know you won't forgive me now.
I know what I did.
I'd give anything to undo it.
I just don't know why
I went down those stairs.
I knew what I was doing, l...
I knew.
But at the same time...
I'm not asking you to forgive me...
...but please, please don't hate me.
I need you. I love you.
I just don't understand
what's happening to me.
I just don't understand.
It's all right.
It'll pass
after we've left this house.
I love you too.
Doctor, I think your wife
is in grave danger.
- What happened...
- Mr. Fischer.
- It was not her fault.
- Please.
This is a matter of life and death.
Today was not the first occurrence.
Did you know
she walked down here last night?
- When?
- Near midnight.
You were asleep. So was she.
- She walked in her sleep?
- Yes.
You should have told me.
No, doctor, she should have.
The fact that she didn't...
I don't think you know
what is going on in this house.
- What I think is irrelevant.
- Irrelevant?
What do you mean by irrelevant?
It's already gotten to Miss Tanner
and you. Haven't you noticed?
I've noticed several things.
One is you're blocking yourself off.
Another is Mr. Deutsch is obviously
wasting a third of his money.
One is you're blocking yourself off.
I am not blocking anything.
I'm just not sticking my neck out
the way I did in 1953.
- Ben, I've been thinking...
- Give up.
Give up?
What's happened?
I thought we trusted each other.
I don't trust anyone.
Or anything.
And anyone who does in this house...
...is a fool.
Something has happened.
Lots of things.
Nothing we can't handle.
Wrong.
There is nothing in this house
that we can handle.
That's not true.
We've made wonderful progress.
Toward what?
Our graves?
Daniel, for instance,
and how Belasco works.
Daniel!
Daniel, Daniel, Daniel!
How do you know he ever even existed?
The body.
Is that your proof?
How do you know he isn't
just a figment of your imagination?
How do you know his personality
isn't what you made of it?
- I just know I'm right!
- We all knew we were right in 1953 too.
Grace Lauter, a successful medium for...
...for 20 years.
She jumped off the balcony...
...and shattered both her legs.
Dr. Graham...
...physicist.
He crawled out of this house...
...to die.
Professor Rand...
...head of the chemistry department
at Oxford.
Paralyzed.
Professor Fenley...
...a psychic investigator.
Crippled and insane to this day.
Yes...
...you're right.
I am obstructing. You're quite right.
I'm shut off.
I'm going to stay shut off...
...until I am far away from this place.
I'll collect my 100,000...
...and I am never going to come
within 1000 miles of this house...
...for as long as I live.
And I suggest you do the same.
Ben...
- Anything I can do to help?
- I'm afraid not.
It's just too complicated.
Thanks all the same.
What's it going to do, Lionel?
You've heard me talk
about the power in this house.
It's a real power, Ann.
A field of measurable energy.
Energy that can be reversed.
That's what I'm going to do.
By this time tomorrow, Hell House
will be drained. De-energized.
You'll see.
That pile of junk you have there...
...won't do a thing.
Get her out. Get out yourself.
You haven't got a chance.
Have you?
Yes.
I know the score.
You do not fight this house!
Look, the house doesn't mind
a guest or two.
It doesn't like people who attack it.
Belasco and his people don't like it.
They will fight back and kill you.
So leave that alone and spend
the rest of the week doing nothing.
On Sunday, tell Deutsch what he
wants to hear and bank the money.
Try anything else, you'll be
a dead man with a dead wife at your side.
He won't listen, will he?
I was the only one...
...to make it out of here alive
and sane in 1953.
And I will be the only one...
...to make it out of here alive
and sane this time.
He's wrong.
I told you before, Florence Tanner
is wrong in what she believes.
I'm telling you now
that Fischer is equally wrong.
Tomorrow it will be proved.
Help me.
Please.
Please, help me.
Help me, Florence. Help me.
You're my only hope.
Daniel, you must understand.
What you ask is impossible. I can't.
I believe in you.
I've opened my heart to you.
Florence...
... love me.
No.
Help me...
... Florence.
Help me.
Dear God...
...reach down your hand
and give me your protection.
Help me this night to bring to you...
...the tortured soul of Daniel Belasco.
I give you now
the love you've never known.
I give it freely so you'll gain
the strength to go on from this house.
I love you.
And I love you.
With love. Please, with love.
Florence...
How long have you been here?
All night.
There?
Stupid, you could have slept with me.
Who put on my nightdress?
Mrs. Barrett.
Why didn't you do it?
My God, he's inside me!
He lied to me.
He said it was the only way!
But he's inside me!
Even as I speak to you
I can feel him...
...waiting in there to take over!
It's going to be all right.
I'm taking you out this morning.
- He won't let me go.
- He can't stop you.
- Yes, he can.
- Well, he can't stop me.
Who the hell do you think you are,
you bastard?
You were hot stuff when you were 15
but now you're shit.
Hear me? Shit!
Dear God, help me.
I'm taking her away.
- How are you, Miss Tanner?
- I'm all right.
You needn't come back, Mr. Fischer.
This afternoon the house will be clear.
Clear? How?
- There isn't time to explain.
- I'm not leaving until I know.
I am not leaving until I know!
Right.
The body emits a form of energy
invisible to the human eye.
This energy can be expanded
beyond the body...
...where it can create mechanical,
chemical, physical effects.
Sounds, the movement of objects,
such as we've experienced.
This energy is a field of
electromagnetic radiation.
- EMR.
- Exactly.
All living organisms emit this energy.
Such power must saturate
its environment.
Is it any wonder Hell House
is this way?
Consider the destructive
residual energy...
...which has been poured into it.
In essence...
...the house is a giant battery...
...whose energy is tapped
by those who enter.
But that energy is
what we survive with after death.
No, the residue I speak of...
...has nothing to do
with surviving personalities.
Emeric Belasco's spirit
does not prowl this house.
Neither does his son.
Or any of the other entities
you believe yourself in contact with.
There is one thing only in this house:
Mindless, directionless power.
You're so wrong, Dr. Barrett.
You cannot destroy a spirit.
All you'll do is send it
from one hell to another.
No, Miss Tanner.
I'm right.
My machine will fill the house...
...with a massive
countercharge of radiation...
...which will reverse
and dissipate its polarity.
And Hell House will be exorcized.
I see.
There's nothing else to do then.
Thank God
she didn't know what to smash.
I should be flattered.
Her attack on the reverser
was her ultimate tribute to it.
She knows I'm right,
and there was nothing else to do.
That's what she said.
She had to destroy my beliefs
before they could destroy hers.
Daniel?
You must leave before it's too late.
Soon you'll be sent
from this hell to another.
Where is Miss Tanner?
She was lying over there.
Why didn't you watch her?
You tricked me.
God help me, you tricked us all.
Quickly.
You'll have to open yourself
to it, Mr. Fischer.
Try. I guarantee
there will be no trouble.
Well?
He's startled
because there's nothing to pick up.
- Is it really over, Lionel?
- Yes, it's over.
Done. Finished.
- I can't believe it.
- I know.
Do you mind if I say I told you so?
What a pity Miss Tanner had to die
when the answer was so close.
Barrett, the house is clear!
It is completely clear!
And I called that machine
a pile of junk!
Get some rest. I want to check
my readings. I haven't had a chance.
This is impossible.
I don't accept this.
I do not accept this!
Lionel?
In here.
Here.
I'm sorry.
Lionel...
Please get me out of here. Please.
I'm not leaving.
- I'm going back to the chapel.
- No. You can't.
You don't know
what it's like in there.
I have to.
No, you don't.
There's no reason to go back there.
None.
Ann, listen.
I have to.
It's for Florence.
It's for your husband.
If I leave Hell House now...
...my whole life is going
to be a failure.
You can't solve it.
It cannot be solved.
You're gonna die.
Like Lionel.
Like Miss Tanner.
Then I will.
It's here.
The entire house is clear...
...except for this one place.
But why?
Why?
Belasco.
That's what the B
inside the circle means.
She was trying to tell us...
...that it was only Belasco all along.
It isn't...
...mindless, directionless power.
It isn't multiple hauntings.
It's only one.
One entity pretending to be Daniel.
One entity pretending to be many
others. That's where the answer lies!
But what's the key?
What is the key?
Extremes and limits.
Terminations and extremities.
Oh, God.
Of course, that's what she meant.
Extremes.
Limits.
Legs!
Grace Lauter's spine and legs...
...shattered.
Dr. Graham...
...crawling.
Professor Rand...
...paralyzed.
Professor Fenley...
...crippled.
Florence's legs, crushed.
Your husband's...
If thine eye offend thee...
Oh, yes, yes, yes!
Belasco!
Whatever you do...
...do not interfere.
Belasco.
Here I am.
Destroy me if you can!
Don't leave the job half done!
We're here!
I'm here!
Kill me!
That's it.
That's it!
Tell me something, Belasco.
Why didn't you ever leave
this house when you were alive?
Why?
Did you despise the sunlight?
Was it better hiding in the shadows?
No one...
...could really see you then,
could they?
No one could find out
your secret then, could they?
You weren't a genius!
You were a deviant!
A sawed-off little bastard!
Your mother was a bitch!
A whore!
You were a bastard!
A funny, little dried-up bastard!
You're no genius!
You're no roaring giant!
What size were you, Belasco?
Five foot two?
One?
I know!
You weren't even five foot tall!
Emeric Belasco.
The roaring giant.
Is it clear?
This is a special moment.
Meet Emeric Belasco.
Your husband did have
part of the answer.
Florence too and with her help...
...I finally found the last part.
That which Belasco's giant ego
could not face.
He so despised his own shortness
he had his legs cut off.
He wore those instead
to give himself height.
If thine eye offend thee,
pluck it out.
Maybe he was a genius after all.
Preserving his own body after death
doesn't make him a genius.
It's not his body
of which I'm speaking.
This is why your husband's machine
could not destroy his power.
These walls are sheathed with lead.
He built himself a fortress
to protect his spirit.
He knew what was coming
years before it came.
Your husband and Florence...
...helped rid this house of Belasco.
Let us hope that their spirits...
...guide him to everlasting peace.