fade in:
EXT - SCHEIDER HOUSE - DUSK
SHAW, a well-dressed man in his thirties, gets out of his car and looks toward
THE SCHEIDER HOUSE,
a large, old abandoned manor house.
Woman(VO)
You don't believe...
INT - SCHEIDER HOUSE - FOYER - NIGHT
The near-total darkness is broken when Shaw turns on a set of utility lights on a stand, pointed at the main staircase. Shaw looks up the stairs.
WOMAN(VO)
... (beat) do you, Mr. Shaw.
The top of the stairs remains shrouded in blackness.
HALLWAY
Shaw(VO)
I've done over a hundred of these (beat) investigations...
Shaw walks away slowly down a long, very dark hallway lit only by the Coleman lantern he carries in his left hand. He disappears around a corner.
INT - CLIENT HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - EVENING
SHAW
... you know what I found? (beat)...
Shaw is sitting in a large chair, holding a drink in his right hand, speaking to someone off-camera. He takes a drink.
SHAW
... nothing.
INT - SCHEIDER HOUSE - STUDY - NIGHT
Shaw is writing at the desk, lit only by the Coleman lantern and a single utility light. He stops writing, puts down the pencil, and studies what he's just written.
THE PENCIL
rolls across the desk, from right to left. Shaw follows the pencil with his eyes, annoyed. After a beat, the pencil rolls back across the desk, this time from left to right. Shaw's expression changes to interest as he follows the pencil's movement.
FOYER
Coleman lantern in hand, Shaw very slowly begins climbing the stairs.
BEDROOM
Shaw turns on a small
DV CAMERA
and begins slowly panning around the room counterclockwise. suddenly a GHOSTLY FIGURE appears in the viewscreen of the camera, but is not visible to the naked eye. Shaw jumps.
FOYER
Shaw slowly continues up the stairs. Suddenly, the Coleman lantern dies out.
STUDY
Shaw is speaking to someone on a cellphone.
SHAW
There is a measurable, physical phenomenon at work here. I just have to figure it out.
BASEMENT
CELLPHONE VOICE
Shaw, stop screwing around, GET OUT OF THERE!
Shaw moves some dusty papers aside, revealing
A BOX.
Shaw opens the lid. He looks down into the box.
SHAW
(after a beat)
You gotta be kidding me.
HALLWAY
Shaw runs back up the hallway, towards the exit, the Coleman lantern swinging wildly. He is panting and whimpering.
UPSTAIRS
A door slowly opens by itself. Behind the door, is darkness.
BATHROOM
A large tub dominates the room. It is filled with blood. Shaw moves toward it. He reaches out to touch the surface of the viscous fluid when
A HAND
bursts up out of the blood and grabs his!
Suddenly the lights go out. In the total darkness are heard the sound of Shaw crying out, a loud splash and liquid settling.
The light comes back on. The surface of the blood in the tub is smooth and unbroken. Suddenly Shaw bursts up out of the tub, covered in blood. He spits out blood as he desperately grabs at the slippery sides of the tub to pull himself out.
HALLWAY
The hallway is empty. Suddenly the Ghostly Figure appears. Just as suddenly, the figure disappears.
FOYER
Shaw, covered in partially dried blood, swings a large axe at the front door.
UPSTAIRS
Shaw looks into the pitch-black room where earlier the door opened by itself.
SHAW
What do you want from me?
In the darkness, a pair of red eyes open, too large and too high up to be human.
FOYER
Shaw runs as fast as possible down the stairs. When he gets to the bottom, he stops and looks up in shock.
Floating near the ceiling is the Ghostly Figure. It's
EYES
are bright red.
BLACKNESS
The title fades in, "The Demon Upstairs", then fades out.
STUDY
Shaw is frantically rooting through a large duffel bag. He pulls out a
CORDLESS DRILL
with his left hand, looks at it for a moment, then groans. He pulls the trigger. The drill works and has a charge.
While it is still running, he turns the drill and points it at his left eye. The
DRILL BIT
moves steadily toward his eye. He screams.
BLACKNESS
fade out:
(c) 2012 by T. D. Fuhringer All Rights Reserved
