Rebellion
Dramatis Personae
Emily is a brilliant teenager who wants to believe in something.
Hannah is a capable teenager who wants Emily.
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Ashley is an outgoing teenage youtube star who wants more views, and to not be afraid.
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Chris is a closeted mtf transgender teenager who is Ashley's youtube partner. They want to wear a dress. The role of Chis must be played by a trans actress.
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Madison is a popular teenager who doesn’t want the others to know she is a runaway.
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Lights up on a dilapidated torn up basement. The furniture is from the 80’s and looks like it hasn’t been touched since then. Surprisingly the lamp on the side table still works, and it casts a dim glow around the room. MADISON (17F) is already hiding in a wardrobe on set but can’t be seen yet.
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Enter EMILY (16F) and HANNAH (16F). Emily is dressed like Dr. Watson, and Hannah is dressed like Sherlock Holmes. They creep through the basement carrying flashlights.
HANNAH
I cannot believe you are making me do this. I mean it's stupid enough you want to go to a haunted house on HALLOWEEN, but I truly can’t believe you are going into the basement Emily.
EMILY
You’re in the basement too. This is the best place to find a ghost.
HANNAH
Yeah, that’s my point! That’s what we should be avoiding! We could be getting candy right now…
EMILY
Hannah, shut up.
HANNAH
What? We aren’t that old, and–
EMILY
No, Hannah shut up. Did you turn that lamp on?
HANNAH
(confused, trying not to freak out)
No...it was on when we came down.
EMILY (excited)
Yes! Yes! Wraith Women! Hello? Warith Women? If one of you, or any other spirit is here send us a sign!
Pause. Nothing happens. Emily digs through her bag.
HANNAH
I swear to God you better not pull out a Ouija board.
EMILY
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What? No. I’m just looking for my notes.
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Emily pulls out a massive binder that is over-stuffed with notes.
HANNAH
Notes? That’s a thesis.
EMILY (flipping through the binder)
Most of it’s from the internet. Except the stuff I stole from the library.
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HANNAH
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I know you don’t mean borrowed, and that you mean stole, but could you at least for the sake of my sanity say borrowed?
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EMILY
Come on. We’re already trespassing.
HANNAH
You’re trespassing.
EMILY
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Yeah? And what do you call what you're doing? Besides standing around and looking pretty.
HANNAH (flustered)
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I’m not...do you think I’m?......I...I– I’m here to make sure you don’t get yourself killed. Or worse arrested.
EMILY
How is that worse?
HANNAH
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Because if you got arrested I’d have to kill you myself for being so stupid.
EMILY
Seems reasonable, but are you sure you want to be talking about murder? You might give the ghosts ideas.
HANNAH (petulant)
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You’re giving the ghosts ideas. (pause) Fine. What do we do next? Did you steal holy water from a church? Do we light candles and chant?
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EMILY
Do you think holy water would still be, you know, holy if it was stolen? Or does that like cancel it out? Anyway, I’m not about to translate any ancient books in dead languages or play with creepy dolls.
HANNAH
What are we going to do then?
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EMILY (playfully)
Well it is Halloween. We could tell ghost stories. Mysterious fires that burn cold, possessions, the return of the condemned, what do you want to hear?
HANNAH
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How about the one where the two teenagers went home safely.
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EMILY
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Hmmm. Doesn’t seem like the kind of story with ghosts.
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HANNAH
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Yeah, well this is just a normal abandoned house in Scarborough, what makes this place a ghost story?
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EMILY
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That would be the Wraith Women. Or the Wrathful Wraith Women if you’re feeling particularly alliterative.
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HANNAH
I’m not.
EMILY
How about the Wizened Wrathful Wraith Women who wink with wrinkled wonky wombs whence widows wander weeping without watch. What wretched wenches would wake woeful witches?
HANNAH
Wow. You done?
Emily is about to retort when ASHLEY(17F) enters, creeping slowly with their video equipment.
ASHLEY
And here we have-
EMILY (screaming)
What the fuck?!?!
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Ashley turns in surprise revealing her fully done, very realistic zombie make up and screams. This causes Emily and Hannah to scream worse. CHRIS (17T*F) comes running into the room. They are dressed as Wonder Woman. This causes Hannah to stop.
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HANNAH
Wait stop! She’s Wonder Woman. I refuse to believe Wonder Woman is evil in any context.
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EMILY
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You make an excellent point. (She hesitatingly lets go of where she had gripped Hannah in her fear)
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ASHLEY (still freaked out)
And what are you supposed to be? Those guys from Murdoch Mysteries?
HANNAH
Sherlock Holmes and Watson.
ASHLEY
Oh well that’s great. Now what are you doing here? Are you trying to kill us?
CHRIS
Chill Ashley. I bet that screaming match you guys just had will make great content.
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EMILY
Wait you’re those youtubers right? From St. Mikes?
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ASHLEY
(in a better mood, throughout the scene she never puts the camera down)
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Yes! It's always nice to meet fans.
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HANNAH
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You guys have what, a thousand followers?
CHRIS
I think maybe you should answer my friend’s earlier question and tell us what you’re doing here. This place is supposed to be abandoned.
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EMILY (shrugging)
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It’s Halloween dude. Haunted house.
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CHRIS (flinching at “dude”)
That’s why we’re here. If we get real footage of a ghost we’ll get so many views.
HANNAH
You realize you’re technically trespassing right? You’re filming your crime. Oh shit you filmed us too.
ASHLEY
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Relax. We’ll blur out your faces before we post it. We won't name the exact abandoned house we’re in, and besides, I hope the police have better things to do. (aiming camera at them) So, you guys see any ghosts yet?
EMILY
Not really. Just this. (gestures to lamp) Oh, unless you two were the ones who turned it on.
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CHRIS
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No. We haven’t been down here yet.
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EMILY
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Yes! That means that Wraith Women theory is still on!
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ASHLEY
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Wraith women?
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CHRIS
Wait, so you guys didn’t turn this lamp on?
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HANNAH
Look, I think me and Watson here have gotten the scare we were looking for what with the whole screaming thing. So maybe we should all just go.
EMILY
Come on Hannah. They’re alive–Oh My God. You guys are alive right? Quick Hannah, when was the last time they posted a youtube video? (to Ashley and Chris) What Halloween do you guys think this is?
HANNAH
They posted this morning. Something about a cereal challenge? I don't know. My sister retweeted it.
EMILY
Damn it. They’re alive. It would have been so awesome if you guys had been dead.
CHRIS.
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Uh, ok.
ASHLEY
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No. No. She’s right. It would have been pretty cool.
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CHRIS.
Speaking of pretty cool. Other then the lamp no one turned on, you guys find any, like, body parts in jars, or moving puppets, or something creepy like that?
EMILY
No, but we haven’t had the chance to look around much.
ASHLEY
You want to split up and look for clues?
EMILY
Sure! We’ll take this side of the couch. Oh, just for a little longer Hannah?
HANNAH (who can’t handle the puppy-eyes)
Fine. Yes. (aside) That is not fair.
The four of them begin to look around the room. Chris finds an old watch.
CHRIS
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Hey, it’s still ticking.
ASHLEY
I wonder where it came from.
Chris at some point in the scene puts the watch in a drawer. After some more searching Madison from her hiding place sneezes.
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EMILY, HANNAH, CHRIS, and ASHLEY
Bless you.
Pause
EMILY
O.K. Who sneezed? (pause. They all look at each other, then slowly toward Madison’s hiding place)
MADISON
OK, please don’t–
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EMILY, HANNAH, CHRIS, and ASHLEY all scream
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MADISON
Scream.
CHRIS
Woah, Madison?
HANNAH
You know her?
ASHLEY
She goes to our school. Captain of the dance team. What are you doing here hips-dont-lie?
EMILY
Are you dead? (silence) What? We should ask. It would bite us in the ass later if we don’t ask.
The other’s consider this and turn to Madison.
MADISON
No, I’m not dead. I’m here because my team bet me I couldn’t last the night, and I’ve never lost a bet.
HANNAH
Damn, and just when I had hope for another sane person.
EMILY (arm thrown around Hannah)
Its Halloween babe! Embrace the spirit! Heh, get it? Spirit?
HANNAH (phased by “babe”)
Yeah. I get it.
EMILY
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Oh, before I forget. Madison, did you–
MADISON
Yes, I turned on that lamp.
EMILY
Damn it.
ASHLEY
Why were you hiding?
MADISON
I heard these two coming and thought they were ghosts. Then I realized they weren’t but, uh, couldn’t really find a natural seg-way to exit my hiding spot that wouldn’t scare the shit out of you.
CHRIS
Yeah that’s fair. Hey, so did you find anything cool? So far all Ash and I have is that photo album upstairs–
EMILY
Photo album?
CHRIS
Yeah in that chest upstairs.
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EMILY
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Lets go! I want to see that! (she grabs Hannah’s hand and the two exit)
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The other three are left in silence. It is the silence of aquantiscenes. They know each other and so feel weird about saying nothing, but they don’t know each other well enough to have anything to talk about.
MADISON
Wonder Woman?
CHRIS (defensive)
What are you supposed to be?
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MADISON
(gesturing to the name tag she is wearing)
Avery.
CHRIS
Who the hell is Avery?
MADISON
Don’t know. Someone who lost their name tag. They aren’t me though so I think it meets the requirement of a costume.
ASHLEY
(flipping through the binder Emily left)
A name tag. The lamest costume.
MADISON
That isn’t yours.
ASHLEY
I’m curious. Isn’t that what Halloween’s about? We wonder what goes bump in the night, and what lurks in the dark? Halloween gives us those answers.
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HANNAH (enters)
That isn’t yours.
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ASHLEY
Just browsing.
HANNAH
Emily needs it.
MADISON
Shouldn’t you have been Watson if you’re the one running errands?
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HANNAH
Watson beat people up with his cane. So I guess you're right. Maybe I should have been Watson. (exits with binder)
MADISON
Ok, I like her. Think the other one’s going to wise up and ask her out?
CHRIS
Five bucks says she remains oblivious.
ASHLEY
You shouldn’t bet on their personal lives.
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MADISON
You’ve been filming them this whole time, and you were just looking through their personal stuff.
ASHLEY
I was looking through their stuff, not their souls...Five bucks says Sherlock kisses Watson.
MADISON
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No way. Other way around. Watson kisses Sherlock by the end of the night.
CHRIS AND ASHLEY
You’re on.
Emily rushes in with Hannah behind her.
EMILY
They match!
ASHLEY
I’m not following, and neither will the viewers at home.
HANNAH
The photo’s.
EMILY (holds up two photos)
I found this one in the library, and this one in the album upstairs.
CHRIS
Woah.
EMILY
These women have to be the Wraith Women.
MADISON
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And for those of us who didn’t do the homework before the field trip?
EMILY
Umm? The Wraith Woman? Only the coolest urban legend we have. Come on you guys know it. (the other’s make so-so gestures or flat out shake their heads. )
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(Emily sighs, but is actually really excited to tell a ghost story. She grabs a flashlight and places it under her chin. The stage lights dim so that the only light is the lamp that was on when they came in which the other characters huddle around like a fire, and the light under Emily’s face.)
The story has been distorted over the years. A newspaper clipping passed from hand to hand until the ink has smudged, and bled,and the pages have cracked with age like decomposing flesh. For years all people have known about this house was not to go near it. Kids traded stories about this house like –
HANNAH
Promises?
MADISON
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Secrets?
CHRIS
Gossip?
ASHLEY
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Pokemon?
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EMILY
Yes, fine, all those things. Kids told stories about this house. Some said they heard screams when walking by, others told of a kid who went missing walking by the property. He just vanished into mist one day. Recently strange lights have been seen and the curtains move. People traded these facts like kisses–
MADISON
Oh, that’s a good one.
HANNAH
Shhhh. She’s not finished.
EMILY
But no one knew the beating heart of these facts. No one could piece together all the separate threads together to make a story. Now we can.
CHRIS
Are you trying to make us ghosts with this suspense?
EMILY
Some time in the 1980’s five women lived in this house. Rumours about them swirled. People said they were witches. The Witch Women were said to be strong on their own, but together as a coven they were powerful, and dangerous beyond belief. Pets began to go missing at an alarming rate, but people kept their heads down. Then a child went missing. Then another, and another. Soon the community couldn’t keep their heads down any longer. They marched to the house. But when they got here it was empty. Only a single candle lit in the basement showed any sign life had been here.
The house was empty. Or. So. Everyone. Thought.
(the flashlight goes out first, and then the lamp. Screaming. The flashlights, and the lamp come back on with the general stage lights)
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MADISON
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Shut up! Shut up! Do you want the police to come? Shut the fuck up!
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EMILY (laughing)
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Sorry. I’m sorry. I turned the lights out. I couldn’t resist.
CHRIS
That. Was the best Halloween trick of my life.
ASHLEY
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Any chance you want do that again with a camera at another angle?
Police sirens are heard outside and they all freeze. Red and blue flashes light the room.
MADISON
Fuck, fuck fuck.
They all remain silent huddled together, and terrified. The pause is long, and tense. Everything said from here on out is stage whispered.
EMILY
Why aren’t they coming in?
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Pause
ASHLEY
The Henderson party. Across the street. We were going to go when we were done filming here. They must be busting that up. This is scary, but damn Watson I think your story was somehow still more frightening–
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MADISON
You idiots! You think this is some kind of dumb game? This is real life. With consequences.
ASHLEY
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Easy Madison. You didn’t run out of here screaming, you just did the screaming bit. You can still win your bet.
MADISON
Bet? You think a silly bet matters if the police come and send me back?
HANNAH
Back? Back where?
ASHLEY
Oh, if you have any juicy juvie stories give em here to the camera.
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MADISON
My life is not entertainment for you–
EMILY
You’re a runaway.
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MADISON
Not shit Sherlock!
EMILY
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I’m dressed as Dr. Watson.
CHRIS
Wait, what do you mean runaway?
EMILY
Well the devil’s in the details, and I have been searching for the devil tonight. (lists off with her fingers) She was here before any of us, in the months leading up to tonight there have been escalating stories of light and movement in this house,and this place isn’t anywhere near dusty enough to have been untouched for 30 years. You guys knew her from your school so she’s not a drifter. I found a bag of clothes stashed behind the couch upstairs when I was looking at the album. The clothes make her a squatter. Finally a fear of being sent “back.” Runaway.
HANNAH
You’re amazing.
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ASHLEY (putting the camera away)
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Madison...is everything ok? Sorry, I don’t know a less stupid way to ask that.
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MADISON
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I couldn’t stay at home any longer. Dad started drinking again.
EMILY
I know we don’t really know each other, but you can’t stay here forever. In the winter this place is going to be freezing.
MADISON
I know. Its cool. I just need to last a couple more weeks. My mom’s business trip will end and he’ll go off his bender. He only drinks when she’s gone.
CHRIS
That’s fucked up. Does she know where you are?
MADISON
I don’t thinks she knows how bad he gets...I’ll tell her when she gets home. It’s gotten worse. I don’t want to make her panic from across the ocean.
CHRIS
I think she’d want to know.
HANNAH (interrupting the ensuing fight )
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The sirens are fading away so the cops must be leaving. Do you need anything?
MADISON
For the ghostbusters to leave my bedroom?
(the other’s get up to leave and the lamp flickers)
Wait! You should give them more of a chance to leave. And um, this place is creepy even if I have been here for about a week now. Um, how much of that story was true?
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EMILY
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None of the good parts. The stuff about the animals and kids going missing was what I had been told as a kid, but there’s nothing in the newspapers at the time about kids going missing. Really the only thing I know more about now then when we got here is that there really were five women living together here. Oh, and I guess why the lights have been flickering lately.
Silence
HANNAH
It feels weird knowing the personal secrets of someone I barely know.
MADISON
Are you offering to confess something?
CHRIS (fast)
I dressed up as Wonder Woman because I’ve been having some thoughts about gender and today was the one day I could explore that publically without consequences.
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EMILY
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Um, what was that?
CHRIS (slower)
I dressed up as Wonder Woman because I’ve been having some questions about gender and today was the one day I could explore that publicly without consequences.
ASHLEY
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And do you have any answers?
CHRIS
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Yes. This is what I am. I am a woman.
HANNAH
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Cheers
EMILY
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Congratz
MADISON
Cool.
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ASHLEY
What do you need from me?
CHRIS
Well, I’ve been thinking about this for awhile, but I’d like more some time before I start coming out to other people. Do some more research before I decide what exactly I want.Maybe they/them pronouns in the meantime? Oh God. The chanel.
ASHLEY
The chanel can choke. We’ll figure that out later.
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CHRIS
Thanks Ashley.(pause) But you still want to take photos in this creepy house with all that makeup on right?
ASHLEY
Hell yes!
MADISON
You guys want me to hold the camera?
CHRIS
Do you mind?
MADISON
Nope. I have to admit I’m a fan of the channel. That zombie makeup is kickass by the way.
ASHLEY (as the three of them exit)
Thanks! Chris did it!! If they decide to go that route they’ll be a natural.
It is just Hannah and Emily on stage. Hannah is flipping idly through the binder while Emily watches her. Like always Hannah is helpless to Emily’s attention and looks up at her. The two stare each other for a long moment.
EMILY
I missed a W word before, but I’d like to give it to you now.
Hannah
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Ok.
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EMILY
Wonderful. It’s yours. It’s what you are. I know you wanted to stay home tonight eating candy and watching Halloween specials, but you were wonderful putting up with me.
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HANNAH
Yeah...well….I’m sorry you didn’t find your ghost. I know how badly you want to meet one.
Emily leans over and closes the binder. She keeps her hand over Hannah’s.
EMILY
I’m not interested in the dead right now.
HANNAH
What-what are you interested in?
EMILY
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You know I’ve been paying close attention to the details tonight, and it’s funny. With strangers you are the coolest person in the room. Alone with me, the best friend you’ve known your whole life, you get....flustered. I’m starting to take it personally.
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HANNAH
Oh, uh, its very personal.
EMILY
I already did the trick tonight. Give me a treat?
HANNAH
You are the worst.
EMILY
Maybe, I’m also pretty whipped. Oh look another W. (Emily kisses Hannah. The lamp flares bright behind them. They break apart.) Wonderful woman what woozy wreck you make me.
HANNAH
Welp.
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EMILY
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I was going for more of a Wham. Should I try again?
They kiss again. Chris steps onto the stage.
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CHRIS
Sorry to interrupt. I’ll let you get right back to it, but who kissed who first? (Hannah points wordlessly at Emily who hald raises her hand ) Great. (Chris exits)
CHRIS (O.S)
Damn it! Ashley we owe Madison five bucks.
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MADISON (O.S)
I never lose a bet!
EMILY
So just to clarify. You feel the same way? Cause I feel like I’m doing a lot of the talking here, and I don’t want you to feel–
(Hannah kisses Emily quickly)
HANNAH
You do talk a lot, and I’m more action. I followed you to a drafty haunted house and indulged all this ghost stuff. I wouldn’t do this for just anyone. It’s always been you Emily...for a long time.
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EMILY
OK. How about this: I promise we can stay home and do nothing but eat chocolate on Valentines Day.
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HANNAH
Wicked.
EMILY (looking at Hannah)
Not bad. I still like wonderful.
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Lights dim.
THE END?