Goosebumps.
Viewer beware.
You're in for a scare.
Esmeralda.
Come with me...
to eternal darkness.
Way to go, Brooke. Esmeralda is a way-cool part.
Thanks, Corey.
What's wrong? You don't seem too excited.
I'd be careful if I were you.
Yeah, Brooke. Tina's your understudy.
She might poison you so she can play the lead.
She'd never do that. Throw me down a flight of stairs, maybe.
Real funny. I wouldn't want the lead.
Haven't you heard? This play is cursed.
Did you cast a spell on it?
- What are you talking about, Tina? - I'm serious.
My grandfather told me about it.
He went to this school 72 years ago.
And you want to know the weird thing? He hasn't graduated yet.
- Fine. Forget it.
Come on, Tina, tell us.
It all started the year the school was built.
The drama club was putting on the same play we are.
The night of the play,
the boy who was supposed to play the Phantom disappeared.
They searched everywhere. His parents were freaking out.
They called the police, but they never found the body.
A year later when they tried to put on the play again...
his ghost appeared on the stage.
Come with me.
Esmeralda! I've come for you!
Can I borrow some lunch money?
Oh, Phantom, you already owe me $10. I hope you starve.
What's all the noise?
Zeke Mathews, take off that mask, please.
I was just getting into the character.
There will be no more visits from the Phantom, unless it's in the play.
- I mean it. - We shouldn't be doing this play, Ms. Walker.
- My grandfather says— - I don't want to hear that old story, Tina.
The only haunting we need to be concerned
about right now is the one that's in this play.
Let's go through the show. Corey, you are Carlo.
- You are Esmeralda's father. - Hi, Dad.
You own a theater and you think it's haunted. Zeke.
I am the Phantom who lives in the basement.
Right. And you are secretly in love
with the theater owner's daughter, Esmeralda.
Do I have to be?
Now, Esmeralda, the Phantom kidnaps you.
Then how come I stay in love with him?
Because you're attracted to his mystery.
But your boyfriend finds out about it, he kills him, and that breaks your heart.
And the Phantom returns as a ghost, haunting the theater forever.
Which is what's gonna happen if we do this play.
- Tina. - Uh, Ms. Walker.
Not now, Corey.
Maybe the Phantom will kidnap Esmeralda again, huh, Brookie?
Uh, Ms. Walker.
- Uh, Ms— Ms. Walker! - Corey!
A trap door!
He must have accidentally pressed the switch.
- Awesome.
I don't want anybody else going down there.
This trap door has not been used in years
and the maintenance men are still working on it.
Come with me...
to eternal darkness.
What's it doing here?
The school had it built for the first production of The Phantom.
- Let me try it. - No! Not until I know it's entirely safe.
Is that clear?
- Zeke? - Yeah. Sure, sure.
All right, everybody. Now let's talk character.
I asked you all to bring in a history of your characters...
when they were born—
Come on, kids.
Psst. Brooke.
Brooke, come on. Let's try this thing.
Listen, Zeke, this trap door— I dreamt about it last night.
I've never seen it before.
Maybe the haunting has begun.
I just think it was kind of weird!
Life is weird, and it's about to get weirder. Coming?
Well? The train's leaving.
- Whoa!
My glasses!
Zeke, I can't find my glasses!
Zeke. Are you okay?
Don't kid around.
Are you hiding?
Where are you?
Zeke!
- Zeke! - Looking for these?
That's not funny!
- Ow! Cool it. - You cool it.
Where are we?
I don't know.
We're not in the basement. We're way below the basement.
Why would the platform come all the way down here?
Maybe this is where the Phantom brings Esmeralda
after a long day of haunting.
Let's go back.
Bad news, Esmeralda. Can't find the switch.
- We may be down here all night. - There has to be a switch.
The trap door! It's going up! Jump on! Come on!
- Gotcha. - Thanks, Brooke.
- Whoa.
- It's stuck. - Oh, man.
Give me a boost.
Zeke, come on. Help me up.
Zeke!
It's about time.
Who are you?
Emile, the night janitor.
What are you doing here?
School is closed.
We had a late rehearsal.
How do you know about the trap door?
M-M-Ms. Walker showed it to us.
Didn't she tell you how dangerous it is?
Stay away.
Stay away!
Yes.
I knew we shouldn't have gone down there.
- Stay away!
Excuse me. You're in my seat.
You're right. I guess it doesn't really matter.
- First day? - Yeah.
- Brooke Rogers. - Hi. Brian Colson.
I just moved here from up north.
You're in The Phantom, right?
Yes. I play the tragic heroine.
- What do you think? - I think you're perfect.
At my old school I was in all the plays.
I just wish I could have tried out for this one.
You can help me with the scenery.
Brian, Tina. Tina, Brian.
- Oh, I forgot my script. Be right back. - Hi.
Hi.
"Stay away from my home sweet home, Esmeralda!"
Shouldn't you be in drama class, Ms. Rogers?
Just getting my script, Mr. Levy.
- Nice try, but it didn't work. - Huh?
- Your mask. - What are you talking about?
- I didn't write that. - Then who did?
The Phantom. It's obvious.
No, no!
- Not bad.
Come on, Brooke.
So, does this mean you like my costume?
I should have known, you jerk.
Hey, I was just playing around.
This Phantom stuff's starting to get to you, Brooke.
Aren't you even gonna tell me how good I look?
Come on. Let's rehearse.
"Phantom, are you there?"
"Please, Phantom, come to me."
- Learned your lines yet, Brooke? - Most of them.
Remember, this play is cursed.
Be careful. Brian!
If you're done painting that stage, you can start on the flats.
Aren't you glad you moved here?
I'm just happy to be part of the production.
Brooke, let's rehearse the argument with your father.
Break a leg, Brooke, as they say.
Brooke.
Go to your room, Esmeralda.
I will not lose my daughter to a monster.
But, Father, I love him.
Look, up there! On the catwalk!
Go away, Esmeralda.
I'm warning you. Go away.
- Look out!
Brooke!
Honey?
"Last warning. Stay away, Esmeralda, or else."
I don't like this.
Neither do I.
Sorry I'm late.
You have gone too far this time, Zeke!
- Huh? - You know what I'm talking about!
Trying to scare everybody. I'm sick of it!
No way. I wasn't even here. I had a dentist appointment.
- Honest? - Ask my mom.
- What a mess. - Hey!
This paint leaves a trail.
Let's follow it. Maybe it'll prove who did it.
We're gonna get to the bottom of this. I want the truth.
- I can't believe anyone could be so stupid. - Zeke!
Is this your locker, Zeke?
I'm telling you, I don't know what's going on.
Open it.
This is nuts, man.
What?
- Zeke! - It's not mine.
Get the janitor, Zeke. Somebody's going to have to clean up this mess.
- It's not mine! - Now!
He wouldn't do this. Really, Ms. Walker.
I'm calling your parents, Zeke. You're out of the play.
And if anything else happens, I'm canceling the production.
Maybe we shouldn't be doing this play.
- You really think it's haunted? - You really didn't do it?
- It's not me. - If you didn't do it, then who did?
- Well, what about Tina? - Tina doesn't have the guts.
We better figure this out before somebody gets hurt.
Mr. Johnson, there's a big mess in the auditorium.
- Can you help us clean it up? - It's gotta wait till morning.
Can't the night guy do it later?
Night guy? What night guy?
Emile. The night janitor.
Night janitor? There's no night janitor.
I knew that weirdo wasn't a janitor.
I don't know about this. Maybe we should call the cops.
No, we can't.
If the cops come around here, Ms. Walker will cancel the play for sure.
You can't go, Brooke. The note.
The backdrop. The Phantom wants Esmeralda.
That's you. Maybe your dream was a warning.
If the situation was reversed, would you go?
I don't think they'd let me play Esmeralda.
I'm going.
Boo.
He's down here, you guys. I know it.
- But what if he's a— - If what?
- What if Emile's a ghost? - I don't believe in ghosts.
- It's going back up.
- What do we do? - Now what?
We've got no choice. Come on.
This place is too creepy.
I don't like this.
It's just too weird.
- Nobody can live down here. - It's disgusting.
Look. Something's there.
Let's go.
Somebody lives here.
Why didn't you listen to me?
- The Phantom! - I told you to stay away!
- You should have listened to me. - Run for it!
- Run! Hurry back! - Run, Brooke, run!
- Let go! - You should have listened to me!
- Emile! - Come on!
- Who's there? - Mr. Levy?
Thank you, Officer.
Well, it looks like that Emile character got away.
But we found a hat and this old mask down there.
And the officer thinks that he was a homeless man
who was living underneath the stage.
That's why he gave us those warnings— to keep us from finding his home.
You kids didn't use the best judgment.
If we didn't have a staff meeting tonight,
you might have been stuck down there.
We're sorry.
Well, I'm sorry too, Zeke, because I was wrong about you.
- Does this mean Zeke's back in the play? - I suppose it does.
- The Phantom lives! - Whoo!
Phantom! Are you there, Phantom?
Relax. Don't be nervous.
Phantom! Are you there, Phantom?
Okay, here we go.
Please, Phantom, come to me.
Come on! Come on! Let's go! Hit the switch!
Phantom? Where are you?
What's wrong with this—
Phantom.
Where are you?
We are together at last.
I've dreamt of this moment for so long.
So have I, Esmeralda. So have I.
Not so rough, Zeke.
- Fair Esmeralda.
I have lived under this theater for more than 70 years.
I was to play the Phantom on this very stage.
It was to be the greatest night of my life.
But it was not to be.
For one hour before the curtain was to rise,
I fell into the abyss,
where I became a real phantom,
hoping, waiting for this night,
where I would finally play my ultimate role!
And you, Esmeralda,
come with me to eternal darkness.
Never!
No! No!
Come on, everybody, on stage! On stage, everyone!
Brooke, that was marvelous!
- Just marvelous! - What about the scenery?
Oh, and, Corey, oh, weren't you sensational?
- Where's Zeke? - Oh, of course!
I don't know where those lines came from, mister, but they were brilliant.
- Oh! Curtain call!
Come on, everybody! Curtain call!
- Are you okay? - Something hit me.
Where did this come from?
I don't know. What's going on here?
Come on. Let's go.
Brooke? Brooke.
Ready and—
Come on, everybody! Your parents will want autographs!
He was here, Zeke. The Phantom— He was here!
What do you mean, he was here?
He got what he wanted— to play Phantom on stage after 72 years.
Then he died all over again. Tina was right.
- Who died? What are you talking about? - Look.
"The Phantom to be performed this spring."
We know it never was until now.
And there's the boy who was supposed to play the Phantom in 1923.
That's the boy who disappeared.
Oh, man. I don't believe it.
It's Brian. Brian Colson.
Captioned by Grant Brown