1 Act 1: 1. Camera fades into an establishing shot of a highschool. It’s gloomy, with pine trees and fog. A sign that says Noxville High School out on the lawn near the street. Cut to a far shot of an empty school hallway. Most of the lights are off, the light source being the light coming in through the giant windows along the walls. It’s eerie and quiet. A rolling and squeaking noise is heard. A janitor pushing his cart full of cleaning supplies appears from behind a corner. He’s taller and thin, and looks as if he hasn’t slept in days. He’s walking with a hunched over posture and a cigarette in his mouth. Mid-shot panning of the janitor pushing his cart more, passing lockers and posters and signs on the wall, including a No Smoking sign. As the janitor pushes his cart, he stops to see a light in one of the classrooms is on. Cut to the inside of the lit up classroom, there's a wide shot of the classroom interior. All the desks are empty. At the front of the classroom, we see a woman with fluffy, dark hair and round glasses, dressed in a long sleeve button up shirt and maxi skirt. She flips through a stack of papers. Writing on each one of them with a red pen. Mid shot of the woman continuing to write on the papers. She then hears a knock on her classroom door followed by the squeaking sound of the door opening. The woman turns her head to the door. JASPER Still working at this hour, Ms. Larson?
now open doorway to see the janitor leaning on his cart with a small smile. Cigarette still in his mouth. Ms. Larson looks back at the paper she’s holding and smiles to herself before setting it down. She laces her fingers together with her elbows on her desk and leans forward as if she’s stretching. She looks back to the janitor, smiling. MS. LARSON These tests aren’t going to grade themselves. And I could ask you the same question, Jasper. You’re here pretty late yourself. JASPER Ah well, I’m just about done. These halls are as clean as they're gonna get. MS. LARSON Ah yes I’m sure you keep them squeaky clean as you walk around with that cigarette in your mouth. Please put it out. Jasper rolls his eyes before he takes the cigarette out of his mouth and puts it out on the bottom of his shoe, then flicking it into the bin on his cart. MS. LARSON Thank you. I'll be out of here soon, I just have a few more of these tests to get through.
school might pay you a visit. MS. LARSON Tch, come on now, Jasper. Those are just rumors the students make up. No such thing as ghosts. JASPER You say that now until you see one yourself. You're still new here, but sooner or later, you’ll see something. MS. LARSON I’m sure I will. Now if you will excuse me, I have to finish grading before I go home. JASPER Alright then, don't let me keep you. Have a good night, Ms. Larson. MS. LARSON You too, Jasper. Jasper closes Ms. Larson’s door. The sound of his cart being pushed fades as he walks further away from Ms. Larson’s classroom. Mid shot of Ms. Larson going back to grading her papers. Cut to a far shot of Jasper pushing his cart down another hallway. Close up of him walking, putting a new cigarette in his mouth, and lighting it with his lighter.
down the hallway, suddenly a silhouette rushes past the camera. The halls slowly and gradually start to look darker. Close up front shot of Jasper’s face with a spaced-out expression suddenly becomes more alert as we hear a metal creak sound off-camera. Shallow focus shot of an open locker, Jasper and his cart out of focus in the back. Medium shot of Jasper rolling his eyes and grumbling at the locker, knowing that he was gonna need to take a look at it. Cut back to a medium shot of Ms. Larson working at her desk. She’s focused when suddenly, the classroom lights flicker. Ms. Larson flicks her head up at the ceiling, pausing for a moment before returning to the test she’s grading. The lights flicker again, strange and ominous whooshing noises heard off camera. Ms. Larson looks up again. The lights go out completely. She lets out a yelp and jumps back in her chair. Close up shot of Ms. Larson’s face as her eyes scan the room. She’s sweating from nervousness. Then a POV shot from Ms. Larson’s eyes scanning the classroom. Shot pans from right to left, nothing. Camera pans from left to right, now with a mysterious figure standing on the right between the desks. Ms. Larson gasps in fear. MS. LARSON Who are you!?!? Cut back to the classroom, the mysterious figure has vanished. MS. LARSON What the-
the pile of papers as well as papers from the cabinets and the classroom books fly into the air in circular patterns. Silhouettes of ghosts fly into the frame, following the books and papers in their circular patterns. Ms. Larson screams with terror and holds her arms up over her face, shielding her eyes from what she’s seeing. She gets up from her desk and makes a run for the door. It’s locked. Ms. Larson pulls at the handle to open the door, but it remains closed. Bird’s eye shot over Ms. Larson. Books, papers, and ghosts fly in front of the camera as it zooms closer to Ms. Larson’s face. The papers, books, and ghosts all fly in a tight cluster before they all fly into different directions, and the gaunt, horrifying face of a man appears and gets right in Ms. Larson’s face. Ms. Larson lets out a guttural scream during this shot, which carries over into the next shot of Jasper in the hallway, still working on the locker. As Jasper hears the scream, we see him from a worm's eye shot. He drops the tools he was using on the locker and runs down the hallway. JASPER Ms. Larson!!! Middle shot of Ms Larson’s classroom door from the hallway, Jasper running into frame, attempting to open the door. He fiddles with his keys. JASPER Ms. Larson! What happened! You okay?! No response. Jasper shoves a key in the door’s lock, unlocking it. Jasper swings the door open.
ground, unresponsive. Jasper drops to his knees and begins shaking her. JASPER Ms. Larson?! Ms. Larson!!!! Spiral bird’s eye shot of Jasper kneeling over Miss Larson’s body. Camera then pans up to black. Opening title, The School Spirit. Fade to black with a ghostly whooshing noise. 2. Opening shot is a road winding through the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Oregon to be exact. The frame is empty and quiet at first, only for a car to then appear in frame, speeding down the highway. Cut to inside the car shows a young woman in her early 30’s. She has auburn hair, with brown eyes, fair skin, and freckles. The car is silent. The woman looks into her rear-view mirror to show to teenagers sitting in the back. A boy and a girl. Cousins to be exact. Both are Latino, with brown skin, dark hair and brown eyes that look more orange and yellow than brown. The boy(Carlos) is sitting upright with a book in his hand. The girl(Dani) on the other hand, is staring out the window with a bored expression, holding her head up with her palm, arm propped up against the door.
to the kids in the backseats. DEVIN You two haven't said a word since we left the airport. Jet lagged? Dani looks back at Devon through the rear-view mirror. DANI Of all the places,I’m sent to some rainy, crappy little town in Oregon for our next job. Our past jobs were already crazy boring as is, but at least the towns they were in were cool. But this town is just straight up depression. Devin briefly smiles, and widens her eyes, as if she was saying ‘geez’ at Dani’s words. Carlos stops reading for a moment to look at Dani with a side-eye before returning to his book. DEVIN Damn, bit angry don’t ya think? Dani gives Devin a death glare through the rear-view mirror. DEVIN Ok, sorry. My bad. What about you, Carlos? What are you thinking about? Carlos rests his book on his lap before inhaling and exhaling, as if he needed to collect his thoughts.
before. Head to some place new, get the job done, then leave right after. And I, for one, am tired of it. Not to mention everytime I go anywhere with Dani, she becomes dictator and leaves me to basically do nothing. This is going to be another repeat of Philadelphia, I’m telling you. DEVIN (whispering to herself) What happened in Philadelphia? Dani turns away from the window to face Carlos. DANI Well maybe if you were better at your job, I wouldn’t always have to help your weak ass after you got flung into that wall! Carlos rolls his eyes at Dani, making a sarcastic remark. CARLOS Oh my bad, Dani, I forgot! We can't all be as good as you. DANI At least you got that right. DEVIN Alright, that’s enough! The two cousins close their mouths and sink into their seats. Dani returns to her original position, continuing to gaze out the window.
moment and sets it back down on his lap. He assumes a position similar to Dani’s with his head being propped up by his hand and arm. Carlos stares out the window on his side. Close up shot of Carlos’ face through the window. CARLOS I just hope that things will be different this time. Close up of Devin looking in her mirror(off camera) once again, her face shows sympathy towards Carlos. DEVIN I get it. You both have a lot going on right now. This town is definitely a change of scenery and maybe it's not the most cheerful one. But hey, it’s only temporary, and I think there are things in this new place you will end up liking if you open yourself up to it. Mid-shot of Dani rolling her eyes at Devin. DANI Sure, Dev. You tell yourself that. 3. Shot of the car passing a sign that says Welcome to Noxville Falls, OR.
bit misty. There is a lake in the far distance. The car winds through the streets, passing by restaurants, clothing stores, etc. The car starts to drive more towards the outskirts of the town, more into the residential neighborhoods. The camera pans past a cemetery, only for a cluster of trees to follow, then a school after. The school has an eerie feeling to it. It’s dark and ominous. Dani and Carlos stare out the car windows at the school as they pass by. They see a pale, sickly looking man standing out front. The cousins look at each other quickly before looking out the window again. Shot back to the school’s front steps, but the pale man is gone. Carlos and Dani look at eachother with concerned looks on their faces. CARLOS You and I can both agree there’s something freaky about that school, right? DANI No, you're right, there’s definitely something going on with that place. DEVIN It’s not just you two that think that. Anyone in town with eyes and ears will tell you that there is something wrong with that school. That's why you two are here. Close up on Dani’s face. Her expression goes from concern when she first saw the school, to deep thought, then realization. Dani smiles to herself.
lame as I thought. Carlos gives another side eye to Dani, but stays silent. 4. Wide shot of Devin’s car pulling into the driveway of a house. The house is two stories tall, but has a cozy, comfy, and a bit of a worn down aesthetic. Devin, Carlos, and Dani all get out of the car. Devin walks around to the trunk of the car, Carlos and Dani stand behind her. Devin pops the trunk open, grabs two of the bags inside, and begins walking towards the door. Carlos and Dani grab the remainder of their bags in the trunk and follow Devin to the front door. Shot of the door inside the house opening, Devin, Carlos, and Dani all walk inside. Devin walks a few feet inside before she sets the bags she’s carrying on the ground. DEVIN Alright, both of your rooms are upstairs. I’ll give you both some time to unpack. Let me know if you guys need anything. CARLOS Will do. DANI Thanks, Dev. Dani and Carlos begin trudging upstairs with their bags. They both make their way down the hall and open the doors to their rooms. Both
but other than that, are incredibly plain. Dani immediately tosses her cell phone onto the bed, followed by her bags and begins to unpack. She unfolds a few of her shirts and stares at one for a moment before tossing it on the bed. Focus shot of Dani’s phone in the foreground, Dani out of focus in the mid-ground going through her shirts. The phone begins to buzz and light up. Dani picks up the phone in an over the shoulder shot. The phone screen says Dad on it. Dani looks for a moment at the phone before sliding her thumb across the screen to answer. DANI Hola Papa. OSCAR Dani. You and Carlos had a safe flight? DANI Si, we just got to Devin’s house. OSCAR Good. I’m just calling to let you know I’m emailing Carlos all the files we have about strange activity happening in town. Did you see the school? DANI Yea, that place is for sure haunted. Carlos and I will check it out after we get settled in.
got you two registered for classes. You’ll start school on Monday. Check your inbox, read over the files. Good luck. DANI Will do. Talk to you soon. Love y- The phone hangs up mid-sentence. Dani holds the phone away from her ear, looking slightly annoyed by her father’s abrupt end to the call. DANI(sarcastically) Love you too, Dad. 5. Carlos sets his bags down and walks around the room first, getting a feel of his surroundings. He opens the drawers of the desk and dresser, then looks out the window of his room. The camera shows a shot out the window of the clouds, trees, and mountains in the distance. Camera shows a far shot of Carlos looking out the window, making him seem very small. Carlos walks away from the window. Carlos opens one of his bags. Camera gets a close up to show the audience that there are a bunch of posters rolled up inside. Carlos turns back to one of the empty walls, holding his hands out to act as frames, as if he’s mapping out how to decorate his new room. DANI What are you doing?
the doorway. CARLOS Mapping out how I’m gonna decorate my room. Dani rolls her eyes before she walks into Carlos’ room and sees the bag full of posters on the bed. DANI Why even bother? We’re not staying very long. As soon as we finish our assignment, we’re out of here. Carlos lowers his hands. His shoulders slouch and his face has an annoyed expression on it. CARLOS Sheesh Dani, my bad for trying to make this enjoyable. DANI God, you’re so melodramatic. Anywho, Dad called. CARLOS What did he say? DANI Not much. Just called to see if we made it to Knoxville, and to tell us that he sent us all the information he has on this place. Check your inbox.
and pulls out a laptop. He gets on the bed and sits on it with his legs crossed-crossed. Carlos opens the laptop and begins typing. Dani gets on the bed and sits on her knees, watching Carlos work. Over the shoulder shot of Carlos opening the files sent to him on his computer. Multiple images open on the computer, such as pictures of the school, strange silhouettes of people in the forests, and an article about a woman who claims she saw ghosts inside the school. DANI Wait, click on that article right there. Dani reaches over and points at the article on the screen. Carlos clicks on the article which opens a new tab on his computer. The tab has an article with the title, Teacher Claims to be Attacked by Ghosts, Suffers Heart Attack. Carlos scrolls a bit and a picture of the teacher, Ms. Larson appears on the page. Carlos continues to scroll as he and Dani skim over the article. DANI(reading the article) Local teacher, Ms. Ruby Larson from Knoxville claims to have been attacked by ghosts while working at school after hours. CARLOS Dios mío. She says that the ghosts made her so scared that it triggered a heart attack.
of ghosts, one of them in particular being “an old man with a terrifying face,” as she describes. However, no one else witnessed this ‘attack,’ as the only other person to be present at the time was the school janitor, who found Larson on the floor, unresponsive. CARLOS This was recent too, Dani. Look at the date for this article. It was published yesterday! DANI Hmm. It says here that Larson has made a full recovery since the event, and has already been discharged from the hospital. She says that she will be back in school the following week, and that she ‘never got to finish grading her student’s exams.’ CARLOS Back at school already? She must be really dedicated to her job. DANI Cause she’s probably a big ass nerd like you. Carlos turns his head to look at Dani with an unamused look. DANI What? Carlos turns his head back to his computer.
Larson when we start school. See what else she can tell us. Dani hops off Carlos' bed and walks towards the door. CARLOS I was gonna say that. DANI (Offscreen, down the hall) But I said it first! Carlos rolls his eyes, exhales, and mutters to himself. CARLOS It’s gonna be Philadelphia all over again… 6. Cut to a worm’s eye shot of the school that pans down to the front, students walking and chattering to one another. Carlos and Dani walk into the frame, holding their class schedules. DANI Okay, so you’re familiar with the plan, right?
Carlos as they walk. Classrooms and lockers pass them in the background. CARLOS Yea, head to our first few classes, then we’ll go talk to Ms. Larson during lunch. DANI Right. Well, here’s my first class. I’ll meet up with you after. Dani peels off into a nearby classroom. Carlos waves as she heads inside. CARLOS See you in a bit. Carlos walks out of frame to his class. 7. Dani sits in her class as a teacher talks about a lecture. She’s bored, but keeps her eyes forward. For a moment, Dani turns her attention away and out of the corner of her eye, sees a student across the room staring at her. The student is a girl who is on the taller side for a girl. She’s skinny, with straight, blonde hair and blue eyes. Dani scrunches her brows and turns her head, uncomfortable by the prolonged staring. The blonde girl turns her head back to the front of the class.
school hallways post-class. Dani and Carlos are walking together through the hall to find Ms. Larson. CARLOS So, wait. You’re telling me she was just staring at you? DANI As if I grew a second head or something. CARLOS Odd. DANI You’re telling me. As the two walk, there are less and less students, and the lighting for the background proceeds to get darker. Dani and Carlos round a corner. DANI Anyway, let's focus on what’s going on right now. Ms. Larson’s should be right- Dani is cut off by her and Carlos coming to an abrupt stop. The hall is completely empty.
in the right place? CARLOS Yea, that’s Ms. Larson’s classroom right there. Carlos points to a door on the right. There’s some strange looking symbol written on the door. DANI Hey, look at that. Dani and Carlos walk up to the door. Dani crouches down to get a better look at the door. Carlos looks inside the class window to see if anyone is inside. CARLOS No one’s here. Maybe Ms. Larson was moved to another room. DANI Yea. But look at this. Carlos bends down beside Dani. There’s a strange symbol drawn on the door. Something old and ancient. DANI This look familiar to you?
Hmmm. We’ll circle back to this later. Let's just focus on finding Ms. Larson. A small breeze flys through the frame, passing over Dani and Carlos. They both shudder and stand back up at full height. CARLOS Eughh. You feel that? DANI Yea. Let’s get out of- Carlos, don’t move. Camera shows a mid shot of Carlos with a little, white ghost floating on his shoulder. CARLOS What? Dani reaches into her back pocket. She pulls out a rosary. The ghost flies from Carlos’ shoulder over Dani’s head. DANI Come on!
a corner as the two follow. Dani and Carlos turn the corner. The camera pans up to the ceiling to show a swarm of ghosts flying around each other. DANI Holy shit! CARLOS Oh my God! The ghosts turn their attention to Dani and Carlos. There’s silence for a moment. The ghosts then fly in a quick frenzy before collectively flying towards Dani and Carlos. Camera cuts to black. Screen shows To be continued.
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