The Phantom of Ashdene Ridge The Dumping Ground

THUNDER RUMBLES

They shivered in their beds.

They heard her on the first step.

They heard her on the second step.

-How many steps has this place got?

-Shh, shh, shh.

Then, they heard her on the third step.

Why didn't she just take the lift?

THEY LAUGH Yeah, they all laughed, too.

Until they heard her on the top step.

-CREAKING

-What was that?

They could all see the door knob turning.

DOOR HANDLE CREAKS

The door flung open.

-And she said...

-Hello children.

-THEY ALL SCREAM

All right, calm down.

I'd like you all to give a warm welcome to our new night manager.

Mimi Blunt. Happy Halloween, everyone.

LIGHTNING CRACKS

Oh, sorry.

LIGHTNING CRACKS

That's everyone loaded up.

Are you sure we can't persuade you guys to come? Free tickets.

Nobody wants to come to a boring old show on Halloween.

-I've never had a Halloween before.

-Me neither, not a proper one.

Are you heading off then? Have a grand time.

Your first night and we're abandoning you.

-Oh.

-At least we're only leaving you with five.

Oh, you wee bairns not going then? I hear it's a hoot.

It's not scary. Halloween's the best holiday of the year.

-Better than Christmas?

-Er, yeah.

Well, unless the reindeer started eating people.

I see. Wonderful.

Let's not make it too scary, eh?

-I'm trusting you.

-Not too scary.

I've got it.

THUNDER RUMBLES

-Get it.

-Come on.

-You've got it.

-Got one.

-What have floating apples got to do with Halloween?

I don't know. They just do, all right?

What was that ghost story you were trying to tell us earlier?

It's the Legend of Lady Thriftpenny, who haunts this house.

It gets passed down to every single generation that comes here.

Well, pass it on, then.

OK.

Thriftpenny was an old widow who died here.

She was super vain, really into her looks.

If you look into the mirror long enough, she'll be there,

staring right back...

..at you.

What are you doing?

Playing dress-up, are we, like some stupid kids?

Every time I try and tell a story...

The ghost can't be real, I would've seen her,

I look in the mirror loads.

Maybe you scared her.

What a bunch of losers.

Oh, good, I need your help.

I want make a good impression tonight,

so I'm going to tidy the house, top to bottom.

But you know what they say - many hands make light work.

But, it's Halloween.

And what scares kiddies more than saying, "Tidy up!"?

Alex, I'm so glad you could join us. Can you take the vacuum cleaner,

empty it and then use it on this filthy floor?

I've got dust allergies, yeah.

Sorry, sometimes I come across a wee bit relaxed.

When I said, "Can you?"

I meant "Do it!"

THUNDER CRACKS

So, what fun we'll have.

Come on.

You know, we should have just gone to the theatre.

I thought you said Halloween was supposed to be fun.

It's not my fault Mimi's here.

Tell that to my broken nail.

You broke the wall.

Wait.

There's something in here.

-SHOUTING

-Shh, someone's coming.

Ah, excuse me.

What do you call that?

You said empty the hoover, you didn't say where.

Come back here. I've got your number, sonny Jim.

Then text me, yeah? Your voice is giving me a headache.

-What's this?

-A book, obvs.

No way! This is it.

This is our Halloween.

"28th October, 1986."

"The others don't believe me,

"but I know Lady Thriftpenny's ghost is real,

"watching me.

"Maybe she's watching me right now."

This is amazing. Where did you find it?

Right here.

The person that wrote this must have been in care, like us.

She's got like maps and pictures of the house and everything.

See? I told you lot, Halloween is sick.

"30th October - finally I'm on to the truth."

"I discovered she hired an artist in the 1920s."

"We have painted your portrait of Lady Thriftpenny.

"She was so vain that she was never happy with the picture.

"It drove her mad. She died in the attic before it was finished."

"They say her face was left blank."

Why don't you have a sleepover somewhere else?

-I want to watch a horror.

-Shh!

Right on time.

"If anything happens to me..."

"..give my love to Lottie, to my stupid sister...

"..because tonight..."

"..I'll confront the ghost."

Oh, what?

There's no ending. The page has been ripped out.

But what happened?

-It's the ghost!

-THUNDER CRASHES

-This looks like a lot of mess to me.

-HOOVER WHIRS

We didn't steal it. We found it.

We'll let Mike decide that.

He'll know whether or not you've stolen private property.

Until then, it's off limits.

-But....

-Off limits.

What if Lady Thriftpenny comes for my pretty face?

There's no such thing as ghosts,

and you need to put that silly notion to bed,

otherwise that is exactly where you'll be going.

Come on. A real ghost hunt.

Best Halloween ever.

Think about it.

People will be telling stories about how we stopped Lady Thriftpenny

for years to come.

I'll stay here and guard the sweets.

You want to be alone with the ghost roaming around?

-Whoooo!

-Alex, back off.

You know, maybe it's too much for their first Halloween.

Typical girls, scare so easy.

As if.

We're no wimps.

-Let's do it.

-But ghosts are scientifically impossible.

-You're just frightened.

-I'm not.

It'll be fun.

Kevin mentioned the attic, maybe it's the ghost's lair.

Ooh, there's lots of spiders up there.

It's perfect. Me and Joseph will go.

Oh, because a scared little girl can't handle it.

I didn't mean...

You get the diary back.

I bet there's loads of clues in there.

Let's go ghost hunting.

If ghosts leave their bodies behind, why do they wear clothes?

I don't even know what we're looking for.

-EERIE VOICE:

-Whoooo!

I'm sorry, Tyler, I don't think ghosts exist.

-EERIE VOICE:

-Whoo!

What's that then?

-BOTH:

-Agh!

-Burn!

-HE LAUGHS

You should have seen your faces.

That's going straight online.

Mimi put the journal in a locked drawer, but we don't have the key.

Oh, well, we tried.

Or we can just find the key.

I wish Mike would tidy up after himself.

Hurry up.

It's not here.

Mimi's coat.

Stop trying to ruin our fun.

What? I'm only having a laugh.

Can't you take a few jumps?

You scared Joseph.

I'm fine.

Scared you more like.

If you're not going to help, then get lost.

I can do what I please.

What are you looking for now? A magic lamp?

I know what my first wish would be!

Maybe there's a secret chamber you can get locked in.

Or, a secret door.

Don't take his side.

No, there is - a secret door.

Yes, I've got it.

You'd better put this back.

Why's Mimi got a receipt for the theatre?

We're meant to be getting the diary.

Yeah, and you're supposed to be on lookout.

What are you two girls doing in here?

Mike said there was another attic.

It's full of junk, so he keeps it locked.

-Well, it's not locked now.

-Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Go downstairs and tell Miss Blunt?

No.

What are you doing in the office?

We was looking for Chloe's...

..comfort pen.

Chloe's comfort pen?

Yeah. Um, I like to chew on it, when I get nervous.

Ah, here it is.

See, it's got-it's got chew marks on it.

THUNDER CRACKS AND ELECTRICITY SIZZLES

Oh, no.

Urgh, gross.

I'm sorry, I panicked.

THUNDER CRASHES

THEY ALL SCREAM

Awesome.

It says here Lady Thriftpenny commissioned a painting by an artist

called Christophe Messin.

Well, stop MESSIN on your phone and start looking around.

Well, he's famous.

One of his paintings recently sold for millions.

You're missing out on all the fun.

You're not scared, are you?

No.

It's OK, don't panic.

Here, put these round until we get the lights back.

The pictures have all turned around.

Oh, nonsense, you must have just brushed past them.

Yeah, but, she wouldn't have just brushed past them all.

Look at these weird footprints.

It's paint.

Some of this stuff's been around for hundreds of years.

I mean, if I was a ghost, I would definitely live here.

Congrats, you've found a pile of rubbish.

Yeah, you're just jealous didn't find it first.

Wait. What's this?

Is that a picture frame?

It could be the Lady's painting, which means the story's true.

Now it's time for my next magic trick -

Alex eats his words.

Voila!

ALEX CLAPS SLOWLY

Well done.

You found some mouldy wood.

At least I tried.

WOMAN WAILING

Did you hear that?

The scary moan? Yeah.

It's probably just the hoover.

WOMAN WAILS AGAIN

A scary blood-sucking hoover.

It'll be the boys messing around.

Now, I'm going to go and sort out the electrics. You stay here.

Are you joking? You never split up in horror films.

Oh, nonsense.

Yes, you're a bunch of teenagers in a big old house at Halloween, but...

..just stay put.

Urgh.

Tyler, can we go?

-Tyler.

-All right, all right, stop being such a baby.

HE SCREAMS

I hate Halloween!

Joseph, wait!

Got it. Let's go find Tyler.

FOOTSTEPS APPROACH AND WOMAN WAILS

-FLOORBOARDS CREAK

-Footsteps.

Just like in Tyler's story.

It's the ghost.

DOORKNOB RATTLES

SHE SHRIEKS

Joseph, where are you?

Alex, I'm not falling for that again.

You do realise you're wearing a dress, don't you?

Who are you talking to?

Alex.

Hold on.

THEY BOTH YELL

-Candi-Rose?

-Quick, shut the door.

No, if the ghost can't come through a door,

then I don't think we should be so afraid of it.

Sh, he'll hear you!

Don't be such a baby. "Oh, help me, please!"

Oh, you want help?

You're not a pink princess that needs rescuing.

Tyler needs the diary.

SHE RATTLES THE DOOR

It's jammed.

We're trapped.

-I told you there was a ghost.

-Great, do you want a medal?

Just admit that I was right.

There you go again.

I don't force people to do what I want.

What does that mean?

You get too wrapped up in Tyler.

Joseph was totally scared but he went along with it for you.

-He was having fun.

-Was he?

WOMAN WAILS

I'm not going to die in this bath with you.

I'd rather face that thing.

Me too. Ready?

-BOTH:

-Agh!

I always used to be scared.

You what?

Every night at home when me and my sister heard someone coming up the

stairs, we used to hide under our bed.

Halloween was the one time where everyone was scared

and I didn't feel alone.

I'm so sorry.

You're so brave and you've been through much scarier things

than some silly old ghost.

Right, how do we get out of here?

-DOOR RATTLES

-Stay behind me.

You girls - out, now.

Thought you'd take advantage of the new girl, did you?

Running around, causing havoc.

You don't understand, this house is haunted.

Oh! And I'm the Loch Ness Monster.

Oi, Nessie, it's true. I saw the ghost.

Less of your lip, laddie.

I'll have you out of here so fast you'll get whiplash.

It wasn't us.

You expect me to believe that there's a real true-life ghost

knocking around, do you?

Well, no, because it's you.

-I beg your pardon?

-Well, think about it,

she's been trying to distract us all night, making us clean up.

I was trying to make a good impression on my first day.

We're all supposed to be watching some play you bought us tickets for.

Why did you want us out of the house?

Mike knew about the tickets, I was trying to be nice. What a monster.

I think we may have all taken this Halloween thing a wee bit too far,

but you can rest assured there are absolutely no ghosts here.

Wait, hang on, how come we've never seen Mimi and the ghost

-at the same time?

-LIGHTNING CRACKS

-It's the ghost, behind you.

-It's behind you.

-Where?

-It was there.

Don't worry, I'll go take a look.

What if the ghost gets you?

Oh-ho-ho! It would take more than a ghost to scare Mimi Blunt.

Stay here.

Pull yourself together, woman.

Now what? Tyler wanted to play ghost hunter

-and now we're getting done for it.

-I wish the ghost had got you.

Shut up. You're both as bad as each other.

-I'm out of here.

-That's right, you run, he sulks.

Grow up. We've got a ghost to stop

and we need to work together to do it, all right?

Right. So, we know the picture's got a connection to the ghost,

but how are we supposed to find it?

There has to be a clue in here.

The lamp. I got my hair stuck on this in the secret attic.

Right, OK, so, you go and find the painting

and we'll distract Miss Blunt.

If she's still alive.

Don't worry, I'll handle Mimi.

ROCK MUSIC STARTS

No.

ROCK MUSIC GETS LOUDER

I haven't got time for this.

ROCK MUSIC STOPS AND DOOR SLAMS

Hey!

-Hey!

-SHE KNOCKS ON THE DOOR

Let me out.

-Get me out!

-SHE KEEPS KNOCKING

Get me out!

What now? What if we got it wrong?

CLOCK TICKS AND CHIMES

Look, the moonlight, it's moving.

What if we're meant to avoid the light?

What if it vaporises us?

Whoa.

It's so pretty.

Amazing.

The moon would have to be at exactly the right orbit.

This could only happen once a year.

Well, we'd better figure this out quick, then.

CLOCK KEEPS CHIMING Is it a clue?

It's got to one of them.

Well, I think it's pointing at that brick.

What's in there?

I don't know. It feels...

TYLER YELLS

Someone's got me!

Help!

TYLER LAUGHS

I'm joking.

-Well, don't.

-PHONE BEEPS

It's Chloe - the ghost is coming.

There's a lever.

Help me.

-Is that it?

-Yep.

Lady Thriftpenny's lost painting.

-Come on.

-Let's go.

The other way!

THEY ALL SHOUT AND SCREAM

Agh!

SILENCE

THEY ALL START SCREAMING AGAIN

JOSEPH YELLS

-We got it.

-I think we lost her.

Does the diary say how to kill a ghost?

Technically, it's already dead.

-BOTH:

-That's it.

DOOR CREAKS

Whoooo!

Whooo!

GRUNTING AND A THUD

-GROANING

-Boo.

When I find out who looked me in...

This is kidnapping. Are you trying to get me fired?

Stop lying. We know it's you.

-You're behind it all.

-All of what?

You're Kerren. You're one of us.

You wrote in the diary and you used to live here.

She didn't!

Shh! You know this already.

Oh, yeah.

You're KMB.

I checked your ID and your middle name's Mimi

and your first name's Kerren.

And I've seen that lucky locket somewhere before.

In this photo.

Now, the mystery started when you used to live here.

You found out about the painting and began to work on the clues

but you left before you could finish.

It was only when you found out how much the artist's work

was selling for that you finished the clues and came back.

And you chose Halloween because it was the only day that the moon would

show where the painting was hidden.

You and the ghost tried to keep us busy to try and get us away.

And little old me did all of this, did I?

-Your turn.

-Candi-Rose!

Oh, sorry.

She used paint and old clothes from the loft,

a hover board and hey presto - a ghost with a sick style.

That's a very interesting story,

but it doesn't prove I was after the painting.

Oh, yeah?

-Hey!

-SHE MUTTERS

You had all the answers to the mystery,

thanks to the missing pages of the diary.

We've got you now, Kerren.

Fine.

You win.

And if it hadn't been for you pesky kids

and if my idiot of a sister had been more scary,

I'd have gotten away with it, too.

She's your sis?

-The girl from the photo?

-How's this for a plan?

You take her, I'll take the painting.

Agh!

THEY LAUGH

How much was that painting worth again?

Hey, at least it's finally finished.

Best Halloween ever.

HE HOWLS

Would somebody please take this stupid thing off me?

Oh, the police are on the way.

I think they'll help you out.

I leave you on your own for a few hours and...

-What happened?

-Come and find out.

I want to thank my fellow ghost hunters.

I couldn't have done it without them.

-This is our story.

-Well, get on with it.

Prepare to be terrified.

This is the true story of the Phantom of Ashdene Ridge.

HE WAILS

It all started when we found the ancient diary.

The Legend of Lady Thriftpenny...

..was finally revealed.

Agh!

THEY GIGGLE

Whoo!

THUNDER CRASHES