Doubting Shadows

Written by

SINEAD TAYLOR

DRAFT DATE: 20/03/24

Taylor Productions
SCENE 1. INT. POLICE STATION – MIDDNIGHT

(FX: RAIN AND THUNDER PATTERING ON

THE ROOF OUTSIDE, P.C SHARPE AND
NATHAN ARE SITTING ON OPPOSITE SIDES
OF THE TABLE, LISTENING TO THE
ECHOING TICK OF THE CLOCK.)

1 SHARPE: So… you mind telling me why you

thought visiting a dangerous area was
a good idea?

(FX: TICKING CLOCK FADES OUT A LITTLE

AS THE OFFICER CLEARS HIS THROAT AND
THE CHAIR CREAKS FORWARD AS THE
OFFICER LEANS FORWARD)

2 SHARPE: What, nothing to say pretty boy? Your

friend is dead because of you!

3 NATHAN: (DESPERATELY) I didn’t kill Cain!

4 SHARPE: (SIGHING, HUMOURED) Really? Then who

killed him? You were the only other
person there. Well aside from the
dead officer. Or did you not kill him
either?

5 NATHAN: (HESITANTLY) It was a ghost.

(FX: THE CLOCK TICKING IS THE ONLY

THING BEING HEARD BEFORE SHARPE
SNORTS AND TRIES NOT TO LAUGH.)

6 SHARPE: A ghost? That is the funniest excuse

I’ve heard from a suspect.

7 NATHAN: I know! I know is sound like a

nutcase, but I swear to you, it’s
true!

8 SHARPE: Okay. You tell me what happened, then

I decide if you’re telling the truth
or not.

9 NATHAN: Fine.

10 SHARPE: Good. Start from the beginning.

(FX: CHAIR CREEKS AS SHARPE LEANS

BACK WAITING FOR NATHAN TO TALK.)

2
SCENE 2. EXT. CAIN’S CAR – LATE EVENING

(FX: SOUNDS FADE IN - RAIN AND

THUNDER HITTING TTHE CAR ROOF. SOUNDS
FADE OUT WHEN CAIN OPENS AND CLOSES
THE CAR DOOR.)

1 NATHAN (V.O): It was Cain’s idea to explore the

asylum. He wanted to gain more
followers on his YouTube channel.

2 CAIN: (BREATHING HEAVILY, SHIVERING) ‘Kay

Nate, you ready for this?

3 PAST NATHAN: Yeah, I suppose… Hey Cain, do you

think the asylum’s haunted?

4 CAIN: Nah, ghosts aren’t real.

5 PAST NATHAN: How would you know?

5 CAIN: I just know, now come on. Let’s go.

6 SHARPE (V.O): And what made you think ghosts were

real?

(FX: MUSIC EVENS OUT AS SCENE GOES

BACK TO THE POLICE STATION. SOUND OF
THE CLOCK TICKING RETURNS LOUDER.)

7 NATHAN: I-I don’t. Or at least I didn’t. But

the building creeped me out. I mean
there has to be a reason no one goes
in there.

8 SHARPE: (SARCASTIC) Oh I dunno, maybe they

don’t want to get arrested for being
on private property?

9 NATHAN: (SNORTS) You really think people care

ab- I mean, um, getting arrested
isn’t as bad as getting possibly
murdered.

10 SHARPE: (UNCONVINCED) Mhm.

11 NATHAN: (CLEARS HIS THROAT) Anyway…

12 SHARPE: Just get on with it.

3
SCENE 3. INT. ASYLUM ENTRANCE – LATE EVENING

(FX: FAINT THUNDER AND LIGHTENING CAN

BE HEARD IN THE DISTANCE, FOOTSTEPS
ECHO AS THEY WALK IN AND CREAKY DOOR
SLAMS CLOSED BEHIND THEM.)

1 NATHAN (V.O): It was dark and smelled damp. It was

also freezing cold. It all gave me a
bad feeling… like something was
watching me since we walked in…
Then Cain suggested splitting up.

2 SHARPE (V.O): You were doing a joint video? Why

split up?

3 NATHAN (V.O): So, we could set up these trip wires.

We set them off… it’s supposed to
make the place seem haunted.

(FX: ECHOE FOOTSTEPS, LIGHT RAIN,

BUZZING OF OVERHEAD LIGHTS.

4 CAIN: So… I’m gonna go up, you stay

downstairs?

5 PAST NATHAN: We aren’t splitting up!

6 CAIN: Nathan… relax. Let’s go set up the

equipment and then we’ll come back
down. It won’t be long…

7 SHARPE (V.O): You’re telling me it’s possible, that

this could have been a trap gone
wrong?

(FX: WHOOSHES BACK INTO THE

INTERROGATION ROOM.)

8 NATHAN: I saw her stab Cain!

9 SHARPE: Calm down. What happened after you

and Cain went separate ways?

(FX: NATHAN’S FOOTSTEPS CAN BE HEARD

WALKING FURTHER AWAY, PUSHING ON A
HEAVY DOOR WITH A HUFF.)

4
10 NATHAN (V.O): I walked into a patient room. I saw
the shadow of a figure sitting on one
of the beds behind a curtain.

(FX: EERIE MUSIC, SLOWING DOWN AND

SPEEDING UP AS THE FOOTSTEPS GET
CLOSWER, MUSIC DROPS AS THE CURTAIN
GETS PULLED BACK.)

11 NATHAN (V.O): But there was nothing there. Then I

Heard the door close behind me.

(FX: SOUND OF DOOR SLAMMING SHUT,

LOCKING. NATHAN GASPING AND JUMPS
ARUND TO LOOK.)

12 NATHAN (V.O): The lights started to flicker,

something was knocking on the door…
then I saw her…

13 SHARPE (V.O): Saw who?

14 NATHAN (V.O): A patient. She had on a white gown…

it was stained with red, she had it
all over her face. She just stood
there… staring at me.

She ran right at me…

(FX: THE GHOST OPENS HER MOUTH IN A

SCREAM, CHARGING AT NATHAN. RUNNING
THROUGH HIM IN A WHOOSH, KNOCKING HIM
WITH A GRUNT BEFORE DISAPPEARING.)

I fell… then she just disappeared.

(FX: ALL SOUNDS FADE OUT,

INTERROGATION ROOM SOUNDS MORPHING
BACK IN.)

15 SHARPE: (SIGHS IN DISAPPOINTMENT) You sayin’

she charged at you? But she didn’t
actually kill you? You really think
I’m gonna believe the ‘ghost killed
my friend’ story?

16 NATHAN: (IGNORING SHARPE) I just ran. I

wanted to find Cain… to tell him it
was a bad idea. He was in another
ward setting up a camera in another

5
 ward. He told me I was crazy… but she
came back…

SCENE 4. INT. CAIN AND NATHAN – ALMOST MIDNIGHT

(FX: BUZZING OVERHEAD LIGHTS BEGIN TO

FLICKER AGAIN, COLD SPOTS APPEAR AND
MAKING THE TWO SHIVERS. THE DOOR
BEGINS TO RATTLE ON IT’S HINGES.)

1 PAST NATHAN: Cain, we have to get outta here man.

This was a bad idea…

2 CAIN: Dude, chill. We’re already here,

might as well get it over with.

(FX: GHOST ENTERS THE ROOM WITH

CHOSEN SOUND)

3 CAIN: (IN AMAZEMENT) Is that her? This is

awesome, it’s a real ghost. We don’t
have to fake it, Nate!

4 PAST NATHAN: (TREMBLING) No, we need to leave.

This is bad… this was such a dumb
idea.

5 CAIN: Nathan? Do you know what this could

do for us? We could get millions for
this. Quick grab a camera!

(FX: CAIN GOES ON A FAME RANT, THE

WIND PICKS UP AND WINDOW BREAKS IN
THE DISTANCE. A Knife can be heard
picking up.)

6 PAST NATHAN: She’s got a knife… Cain, move your

ass. She’s gonna kill us!

(FX: NATHAN GASPS AND JUMPS INTO THE

FLOOR AND NOW SCARED. THE GHOST
SCREAMS AND RUNS AT HIM. CAIN GETS
STABBED AND STARTS CHOKING/DYING.)

7 PAST NATHAN: (SCREAMING) CAIN!

(FX: THE GHOST SWINGS AGAIN AND

NATHAN JUMPS BACK, RUNNING OUT OF THE
ROOM.)

6
SCENE 5. INT. 911 PHONE CALL – ALMOST MIDNIGHT

1 SHARPE: You ran when Cain was stabbed? You

didn’t touch that knife, whatsoever?

2 NATHAN: No, I didn’t. She still had it when

she pulled it out of Cain.

3 SHARPE: Let’s leave the evidence up to

forensics, yeah?

Now, what happened after you ran?

4 NATHAN: I found an empty room to call 911.

(FX: ECHO FOOTSTEPS, HEAVY BREATHING

FADE IN AS NATHAN RUNS TO AN EMPTY
ROOM.)

5 PAST NATHAN: (STRUGGLING TO DIAL) NO, NO, NO… Come

on!

6 OPERATOR: 999, What’s your emergency?

7 PAST NATHAN: Hello? My best friend is hurt!

8 OPERATOR: Hurt? What happened, sir? Can I get

your name?

9 PAST NATHAN: My name is Nathan… Nathan Reed. My

friend’s name is Cain Keller. We were
attacked by a ghost!

10 OPERATOR: I’m sorry? Did you just say a ghost?

11 PAST NATHAN: YES! Some girl in a white gown in the

abandoned asylum just outside of
town.

12 OPERATOR: Okay, sir. I’m sending someone out on

patrol to come and help you.

(FX: THE LINE DISCONNECTS AND THE

SCENE MORPHES BACK TO THE
INTERROGATION ROOM. CUE THE TICKING
OF THE CLOCK.)

13 SHARPE (V.O): The officer sent to respond… that was

the dead officer found dead at the
scene?

7
14 NATHAN (V.O): Yeah. Yeah that was him.

15 SHARPE (V.O): How did he die?

(FX: THE OFFICER COMES IN AND NATHAN

RUNS TO HIM, BEFORE THE OFFICER WAS
THROWN TO THE SOURCE WITH AN
INVISIBLE FORCE AND HIS NECK SNAPS.)

(FX: BACK TO THE INTERROGATION ROOM.)

15 SHARPE: (SIGHS TO MUMBLE UNDER HIS BREATH)

Jesus Christ…

16 SHARPE: So, the officer dies… what do you do?

SCENE 6. EXT. ON THE RUN – MIDDNIGHT

1 NATHAN: After he… uh… died. She turned back

to me… she was holding the same knife
she stabbed Cain with.

I ran where the officer came in… he

left the keys in the car and I took
off…

2 SHARPE: You stole the police car.

3 NATHAN: You can’t blame me. I had a ghost

with a bloody knife after me!

4 SHARPE: Alright calm down. I know the story

from there. Another officer flagged
you down an arrested you… Now you’re
here.

5 NATHAN: Exactly… But you do believe me now…

right?

6 SHARPE: I personally don’t. But it’s not me

you’ll have to convince… it’s the
judge.

7 NATHAN: But… they aren’t gonna believe me!

Please, you have to help me. I didn’t
kill them!

8 SHARPE: You really expect us to believe it

was a ghost? Come on…

8
9 NATHAN: Then go back there… see for yourself.
You’ll know I’m not lying.

10 SHARPE: Good luck in court Mr Reed.

(FX: AS SHARPE BEGINS TO LEAVE THE

BUZZING LIGHTS OVERHEAD BEGINS TO
FLICKER.)

11 NATHAN: See.

12 SHARPE: (SCOFFS) Faulty wiring that doesn’t

mean anything.

(FX: THE BULBS EXPLODE LEAVING THE

ROOM DARK, THUNDER AND RAIN STOPPING
BUT THE TICKING CLOCK REMAINS.)

13 NATHAN: (WHISPERS) She’s here…