Dead and Breakfast

THE CREAKY STEPS or Dead and Breakfast

EXT. Day
A car pulls up to a gated drive. The gate slowly opens and the car proceeds in, pulling up to a century-old two-story house.

INT. House. Day
An older woman opens the door to welcome a couple. The woman is Mrs. Smith. The couple, John and Mary, recently married; he’s early 30s, she’s 5 or 6 years younger.

Smith: Well hope you two had no trouble finding the Smith Antebellum Board and Breakfast.

Mary: Oh this is such a beautiful place, even nicer than the brochure.

John: I only got lost once. We drove up from Austin, but I have never been in this area before.

Smith: You are the only guest staying here tonight. Let me show you around.

They walk through the house past a staircase as Mrs. Smith explains some of the houses features.

Mrs. Smith: The house was constructed in 1852, but the whole place was refurbished and the kitchen we have now was added in the early 20th century. We built the pool in 1955. Of course the whole place was miles from the next house back when it was built. Now there’s a strip mall around the corner. I will be back to stock the kitchen later tonight, but of course you help yourself to anything you might need. The fridge and pantry are pretty full. The keys and gate opener are hanging on the shelf next to the kitchen door, and there is a couple of three emergency numbers next to the phone.

Mary: So you don’t live here?

Smith: Oh no, Mr. Smith and I are down the block a ways. You can see the roof of our place from the second story. Things fall off this time of year, not too busy this month. But you’re a young couple and I bet you’ll enjoy your privacy. (she winks)

QUICK FADE

INT. Upstairs Bedroom. Day
From the window of their room we can see the gate closing and Mrs. Smith’s car driving out of the frame.

Mary: Baby I am so tired. That drive took it all out of me. I am going to take a nap.

We notice that Mary is about 4 months pregnant.

Mary: Do you remember our first date?

John: You had just discovered that your biological father was alive, and you gotten a letter that day that he had sent you.

Mary: He had written me a poem, and you read it out loud and we both cried.

John (kisses her): Love you baby. There was a library downstairs. I’m going to check that out.

INT. Library. Day
There is an open book on a shelf next to a case of books. A breeze blows the pages. The camera pans to show that there are no open windows, fans or vents. John walks in and notices the book. He picks it up, looks at the pages the book is open to as he sits down.

John: (aloud to himself) Wow, this is about this house. The Smith Antebellum Board and Breakfast joins the list of confirmed haunted hotels in America. (His jaw is agape.)

INT. Bathroom. Day
John comes in to do his business but leaves the door open as he is alone and Mary is upstairs asleep. John drops trousers and sits on the toilet. He hears the noticeable slam of a door. This causes him to hop up and go to the bathroom door. He pauses.

John: Hello?

No answer. He closes the door. We hear a flush, and a second later he emerges adjusting his belt. John walks from room to room. He looks out the front window but the gate is closed and there is no car but his in the driveway.
John walks upstairs, each step makes a light creaking sound, and he looks in on Mary. She is fast asleep with a smile on her face. John walks back downstairs, again some creaky sounds on the stairs. When John is in the middle of the foyer he freezes in the middle on the hall. He moves about, coming back to the middle of the hall.

John: Strange!

INT. Day. Bedroom
Mary is lying prone, dozing. There appear indentions around her body on the bed. For a moment the bed seems to moves up and down. There is a squeaky noise to the mattress softly rising.



INT. Night
John and Mary are in the kitchen. Mrs. Smith comes in the door carrying a bag of supplies. She starts putting them in the fridge and pantry.

John: Mrs. Smith. Do you mind if I ask a question. Well, I noticed a cold spot in the middle of the hall, but there is no air conditioner and … Well, is this … is your house haunted.

Mrs. Smith: (smiling) We like to call it a presence. Did anything happen?

John: No but, I thought a noise but there was nobody there, and the cold spot …

Mrs. Smith: My dears you are under no obligation to stay here and I will certainly refund your money if you want to find another place for the night.

Mary: Oh no.

John: I didn’t mean that. I was just, you know, wondering.

Mrs. Smith: Sit down my children and hear the tale of the Smith Bed and Breakfast. As you can see this house was built before the Civil War. And my family has owned it every since. We’re talking about my great great great grandfather.

Mary: That’s a lot of greats.

Mrs. Smith: During the War, the Union penetrated as far as this part of Texas with scouts. One day, a wounded Yankee found his way onto the property. Absolom Smith refused to help him, and let him die where he lay. Once the poor fellow was dead, the buried him in the cellar rather than risk reprisals from the Union army should they find the body. After the war, sometime latter as a matter of fact they moved his body, or what was left of his body to an unmarked grave in the county cemetery. The point is there is a force here that occasionally makes itself known. But … we like to call him Willy, we don’t know his name or who he really was, but we had a dog named Willie a long time ago … Anywho, our Willy has always been friendly, and the fact that he makes himself known means he like you. Many a guest has specifically come to the Smith Antebellum Bed and Breakfast just to experience this, ah, ghostly presence, only to leave disappointed.

INT. Bedroom. Night
John and Mary are in bed. She is about to doze off. John however is wide-awake.

John: That is so funny about your sister.

Mary: (yawns) Yeah, she found a pair of panties under the bed of her fiancée. Before she left, and she left for good, she peed on them and put them on top of his pillow.

They both giggle. They both snuggle. John turns out the light on the bedside table.

John: I ain’t scared of no ghost.

Mary: It’s fun staying here. I feel for Willie or whatever his name was.

John: This definitely makes for a cool story.

Mary: My sister will love it.

John: And we’re the only ones here tonight. (Mary has fallen off to sleep.)

The sound of one of the steps creaking grabs John’s attention. He looks over towards the door.

INT. Night. Stairway

INT. Night. Bedroom
John continues to listen and look at the door. We hear a creak every few seconds.

INT. Night. Hallway outside bedroom
Camera pushes towards the door.

Fade to black.