Original subtitles

MAN READS: "Colonel, I think I ought to tell you

that my own views on such subjects are very strong.

I am, in fact, a convinced disbeliever in what is called the supernatural.

"What!" said the Colonel.

Do you mean to tell me you don't believe in second-sight, or ghosts

or anything of that kind?"

CHILDREN GIGGLE

"I blew a whistle twice

and the wind seemed to come absolutely in answer to my call...

There was a rustling and a shaking, surely more than any rat could cause...

But the reader will hardly, perhaps, imagine how dreadful it was to him

to see a figure suddenly sit up in what he had known to be an empty bed."

Raargh! - THEY SCREAM

Alright, alright. That's enough.

Come on, come on out, that's it, come on out.

It's getting late. You've got school tomorrow.

Alright, Mummy... - Put your coats on.

Next time maybe you can tell them something a bit less... ghastly.

It's a classic.

A whistle that summons supernatural forces?

Ah, yes, the whistle is a metaphor, you see.

Well, your "metaphor" is going to keep the children up half the night.

Alright.

Next time it'll be "Goldilocks And The Three Bears," I promise.

Dad, it's alright.

You don't have to keep-- - The children need clothes, don't they?

Are you sure you can afford it?

Don't you worry about me. You're all that matters.

You and those children.

Now, Henry and Margaret - you are to be good to your mother.

And remember - ghosts only exist in books.

In real life, there is no such thing.

Come on.

INDISTINCT WHISPERS

CLOCK CHIMES

KNOCK ON DOOR

Professor.

Father.

Fascinating. - So you've finally seen the light?

I don't think I'm ready to give up the cassock just yet.

Damn.

But I look forward to arguing with you at length

over Russell's more questionable assertions on religion.

I've been saving a bottle of brandy for just such an occasion.

Tonight? - I can't tonight, er...

but we'll make an arrangement soon.

CAR HORN BEEPS

Try not to fall asleep at the wheel.

We're parked.

ROBERT: Looks like you've got to be going.

Evening picnic.

I don't fancy your chances.

Mrs McCarthy has set her heart on it.

HE SNIFFS

And besides, I have my trusty umbrella.

ROBERT: I suspect you're going to be needing it.

Well, I must dash now, got some papers to mark.

So I'll see you soon.

No.

No, definitely not there.

BUNTY: I'm sure I packed them.

FATHER BROWN: Strange...

There's nothing strange about it. How much sleep did you get last night?

Or more to the point, how much alcohol did you consume?

I was at a friend's birthday party!

FATHER BROWN: It doesn't make sense.

It makes perfect sense to me.

That explains why she forgot to pack my strawberry scones.

You will have a perfectly fine picnic without strawberry scones.

MRS MCCARTHY: Don't be so ridiculous.

Robert prides himself on his rationalism.

What? - There's something wrong.

What are you talking about?

I need to go back to the Professor's.

BUNTY: I can give you a lift. - FATHER BROWN: No, thanks.

INDISTINCT WHISPERS

KNOCK ON DOOR

Father.

Robert, so sorry to disturb your marking. Car broken down.

May I use your telephone?

Yes, it's a gift from my brother.

He has an ironic sense of humour.

You know where the blower is.

FATHER BROWN: More irony? - Are you going to make your telephone call?

The car didn't break down, did it?

Robert, what's going on?

I'm having a party.

A party?

With an occult theme. Just a bit of fun.

And you didn't invite me?

I didn't think it was appropriate.

What's in the box?

I'm sorry, Father, but my guests will be arriving any moment.

I don't want to be rude, but...

KNOCK ON DOOR

Don't worry. I'll be on my best behaviour.

Wait here.

ROBERT: Major Winthrop.

Thank you so much-- - I'm warning you.

If this is a con, I'll have your guts for breakfast.

I won't be fooled, Wiseman. I won't be fooled.

Understood. But I can assure you...

Where is it?

Ah, through here.

MAJOR: Of course.

Something of that power.

I'll bet the church would pay anything to get their hands on it.

I'm rich, but I'm not that rich.

I'm sorry?

You didn't tell me there was interest from the Vatican.

Father Brown's a friend, and he was just leav--

KNOCK ON DOOR

Please go. I will explain everything later.

Go?

And miss the "party"?

KNOCK ON DOOR

ROBERT SIGHS

Dorothy Parnell. It is a pleasure and an honour.

The cloves.

Quickly, quickly.

This house needs to be cleansed.

The energy here is... unsettled.

ROBERT: Duly noted.

Understood.

Archie. My son.

Just ignore him.

Dorothy Parnell. Major Basil Winthrop.

Is the military bidding?

Is that a problem?

It's not a weapon. You can't bend its power to your will.

And you can?

No one can.

We must simply submit to it. Let it guide us.

What are we talking about?

The whistle, of course.

Whistle?

KNOCK ON DOOR

You can't control it. You're a fool if you think you can.

With all due respect, Dotty

may I call you "Dotty"?

Why should I listen to you?

My mother is a renowned psychic medium.

Our final guest...

Lilith Crowe. A pleasure.

ROBERT: Major Basil Winthrop.

Dorothy-- - Dorothy Parnell.

Have we met?

I attended one of your public readings many years ago.

Did I read for you?

For my mother.

You helped her through a very difficult time.

Thank you.

Oh, my dear.

MAJOR: What's your interest in this?

I'm a collector. - Of whistles?

Of objets d 'arts.

This isn't a pretty little ornament for your dressing table, you know?

Where is it? - It's in the next room. I can feel it.

Yes. It's in the dining room.

That's all well and dandy but I shall require a little more evidence

than the "feelings" of an old woman.

Oh!

What's that, my dear?

SHE LAUGHS

Oh, yes, he is, isn't he?

It's Philip, my late husband.

He says you're a pompous ass.

SHE SNICKERS

And he says, "tuck your shirt in."

Sorry, Father.

And that's from him.

ROBERT: I promise you, before this night is over

you will all be convinced of the whistle's power beyond a shadow of a doubt.

What power?

THUNDER CRACKS

BUNTY: Nothing like a refreshing downpour to liven up a picnic.

Everything is absolutely sodden.

Well, you'll have to save what you can and throw the rest away.

Father?

Father?

I hope he's still not out in that deluge.

Well, we would've passed him. He must still be at the Professor's.

I'll go and pick him up. - You will do no such thing!

I'm not scared of a bit of thunder and lightening.

THUNDER CRACKS

Maybe I will wait until it's over.

THUNDER RUMBLES

ROBERT: "Oh, Whistle And I'll Come To You, My Lad."

Published in 1904 by MR James.

The story of a whistle--

Yes, yes, yes, we've read the story. Get on with it.

I have reason to believe that James was inspired not just by his imagination

but by historical fact.

A genuine whistle with genuine supernatural properties.

So you said in your letter.

You also promised us proof.

The Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy, 1655.

A recently-discovered footnote makes reference to a whistle

possessing mystical qualities, dating back to the mid-15th century

and this extract from the journal of Benedict Augustus

a Franciscan friar, tells the same story

elaborating on its construction.

He writes that the whistle was carved from the skull of Catherine Woodford

a heretic burned at the stake.

It was created by her father, a master of the occult.

THUNDER RUMBLES

LILITH: How did you acquire the object?

ROBERT: I found it. - Found it?

At the excavation of a Medieval burial site.

How can we be sure it's real?

Because I've used it.

I have seen its power. And you will too.

ARCHIE: Wait.

Mother, we should leave.

Don't be a coward.

Just blow the damn thing.

LOW WHISTLE

LOUD WHISTLE

PIERCING WHISTLE

SILENCE

Was that it?

No. That was just a draft.

The spirits won't reveal themselves at once

they'll come in their own time.

How long are we supposed to wait?

It could take hours. I've prepared rooms.

DOROTHY GASPS

Philip?

What's wrong?

He's gone.

THUNDER RUMBLES

FATHER BROWN: Why are you doing this?

I'm a believer.

I've seen it with my own eyes.

But you have always said that we should not trust our own eyes.

I was wrong.

THUNDER BOOMS

FATHER BROWN: I don't believe you.

Then perhaps you better leave.

THUNDER CRACKS

I'm not going anywhere.

THUNDER RUMBLES

I've placed mirrors throughout the house

the spirits often like to manifest in them.

DOROTHY: And what of evil spirits?

The incense should keep them at bay.

Amateur...

FATHER BROWN: How did the spirits manifest themselves when you first blew the whistle?

In various ways.

I'm all ears.

Disturbances. Apparitions.

Ectoplasm?

Yes.

Ectoplasm?

Your rooms are through here.

Though I'm afraid I don't have space for you, Father.

You'll have to sleep on the couch.

I doubt if any of us will get much sleep tonight.

MONSTROUS SCREECH

What in God's name...?

Where's it coming from?

Everywhere.

SILENCE

SHE SCREAMS

What is it?

I felt something on my neck... breathing.

Another draft?

It wasn't a draft. It was hot.

It was... panting.

DOROTHY: Philip, where are you?

Speak to me.

Is this a trick, Wiseman? I won't be fooled.

I'll recite an incantation.

Wait here.

Destroy that whistle. It's the only way.

That infernal instrument chased him away.

MONSTROUS SCREECH

DOROTHY: Philip?

Mother?

Mother?

DISTANT SCREECH - MAJOR YELLS

ARCHIE WHIMPERS

FILM PROJECTOR WHIRS

INDISTINCT WHISPERS

SILENCE

Why?

For my daughter - and my grandchildren.

I don't understand.

They need the money.

I've lost everything.

Lost?

Bad investments. The house is being repossessed.

Even the ghosts will have to move out.

This is not funny. People are being deceived.

People who want to be deceived.

People who deceive themselves every day.

Gullible fools?

With more money than sense.

No. You are exploiting people's beliefs.

Exploiting their...?

Remind me, how much is the Vatican worth?

THUNDER RUMBLES

Tell the truth - or I will do it myself.

No. Wait!

Philip...?

Speak to me.

THUNDER CRACKS - SHE YELLS

ROBERT: She's a widow, bringing up two children alone.

If you expose me, she will suffer.

They will suffer.

No shoes on their feet. No food on the table.

And will you tell your daughter how you came by this money?

Or will you be too ashamed?

You know this is wrong.

Possibly, yes - but I'm a parent, and a grandparent

and I will do anything to--

PIERCING WHISTLE

FATHER BROWN: Your demon's missing. - What?

PIERCING WHISTLE

HE SNIFFS

ROBERT GROANS - CLATTER

DOROTHY SCREAMS

LILITH GASPS

THUNDER RUMBLES

MONSTROUS SCREECH

Hello? Yes.

Police.

Yes, I'd like to report a murder.

Willow House.

PHONE LINE CRACKLES - Hello?

Hello?

Must be the storm.

It isn't the storm.

Then what?

An evil spirit. One I've encountered before.

A trickster.

Duplicitous. Cruel.

What happened here was not caused by an evil spirit.

Are you blind? It's been plaguing us all night.

It killed the Professor.

I believe he was killed by someone in this room.

Just because you're in costume does not make you an authority.

And as for the "disturbances"

you have all been tricked.

MONSTROUS SCREECH

Does that sound like a trick to you?

Would you be so kind as to follow me?

INDISTINCT WHISPERS

MAJOR: Is that necessary?

It's the only way. The only way.

DOOR CREAKS

CLOCKS TICK

What is it?

A timer.

Or rather, six separate timers.

ALARM RINGS - SCREECH PLAYS ON RECORD

SILENCE

MAJOR: What about what we saw? The apparition.

A film projector and mirrors.

And the breathing on my neck? That wasn't a trick.

You were scared. Under those circumstances, the mind often plays tricks.

LILITH: I didn't imagine it.

Oh, face it. He was a fraud.

And he fooled us all. Rotten, son of a...

No one deserves that.

Someone clearly thinks otherwise.

I think we should stick together until the police arrive.

We don't even know if they're coming.

Where's your mother?

Mother?

Mother!

This way.

Dorothy!

Dorothy?

Mother... please don't disappear like that.

I wasn't going to listen to any more of his twaddle.

You still think it's an evil spirit?

Even after what you've just been shown?

Just because the Professor was playing tricks

does not mean there isn't evil in this house.

Perhaps it was his belittling of it, his mockery of it

that made the spirits angry, and that's why they chose him.

His death was a message.

ELECTRICITY CRACKLES - SHE GASPS

Brandy, anyone? - Mine's a double.

I sense you don't like me very much.

People like you have always demonised people like us.

The clairvoyants. - I can't deny the truth in that.

Tortured us. Burned us.

Condemned us to the fires of Hell.

Historically, we have much to be ashamed of.

Do you think I killed him?

I have reached no such conclusion.

However...

There was a distinct smell of cloves near where Robert was killed.

I passed by a few moments before.

That's hardly a smoking gun.

Did you see anyone?

No, but I felt it.

It was everywhere. It still is.

And before the night is out, it will have taken us all.

One by one.

THUNDER CRACKS - on!

KETTLE WHISTLES

The telephones aren't working

and the wireless says all the roads are closed.

It feels like the end of the world.

It'll pass. Don't worry.

I had the most awful nightmare.

Me too. - Something about...

Father Brown was in danger.

It was just a dream. - What was yours about?

I can't remember.

Well, I hope he's alright.

He is, he's...

he's probably still at his friend's house.

Perfectly safe.

SHE SIGHS

THUNDER CRACKS

CLOCK CHIMES

It'll be light soon enough.

We'll be alright.

Do you think I have the gift?

I believe we all have a gift.

Don't dodge the question.

Do you think I have the gift of mediumship?

Or do you think I'm a fraud too? - No.

I don't think you're a fraud.

Deluded, perhaps?

That's what people thought when I first heard the voices.

That it was grief over my husband.

The tragic circumstances.

Killed whilst driving his pregnant wife to hospital.

Giving birth whilst the only man I'd ever loved

was dying in the next room.

It was the worst day of my life.

I'm so sorry.

But then he came back.

I... I felt him.

I heard him.

Every day for 30 years.

Until tonight.

You can't just say that was one long trick of the mind.

A game of smoke and mirrors.

Mirrors...

Excuse me.

What are you doing?

If we're going to be stuck here

we might as well lighten the mood.

Lighten the mood? There's a dead body on the stairs.

UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS

FATHER BROWN: Hello.

UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS

LILITH: You look like you could use a dance.

Come on.

Don't be scared.

UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS

DOROTHY: Philip!

You're back, darling.

He says it's going to be alright.

Everything's going to be alright. It's going to be alright.

I feel safer already.

I don't think Robert Wiseman was the intended victim.

What?

I think it was...

DOROTHY GASPS - MUSIC WINDS DOWN

MAJOR: Nobody panic. I'll see if I can find some matches.

DOROTHY: Oh!

DOROTHY: Philip...?

LOW WHISTLE - Don't leave me, dear...

Come back! Philip, come back! - FATHER BROWN: Dorothy, stop talking.

Please... - FATHER BROWN: Dorothy, please.

Philip, my darling. Come back! Don't leave me, please!

FATHER BROWN: You're letting it know where you are.

GLASS SHATTERS - DOROTHY SCREAMS

THUD

UPBEAT MUSIC RESUMES

ARCHIE: Mother!

No!

Archie, come away... - Get your hands off me!

MUSIC STOPS - It was one of you!

Steady now.

Empty your pockets.

What do you expect to find?

The whistle.

Maybe you killed her, and this is all just a front.

How dare you!

Or perhaps it's not a front. Maybe you're in denial

you can't face the fact that you finally did in your domineering

crackpot mother. - ARCHIE YELLS

Bumping off his mother, I can understand, but why kill the Professor?

FATHER BROWN: It was a case of mistaken identity.

He mistook the Professor for his mother?

The killer thought they saw Dorothy in a mirror on the staircase

only it was a reflection of a second mirror

pointing to another room.

So he was expecting his mother, but it was Wiseman who appeared on the stairs?

Yes.

What bad luck.

But I don't think we should assume that Archie's the killer.

What are you talking about? Of course he did it.

His relationship with his mother was clearly unhealthy.

And he had the whistle.

Which could have been planted. After all, why demand we turn out our pockets

if he knew he had it?

Why would any of us want to murder her?

I don't know.

But whoever killed Dorothy didn't just want her dead.

They wanted her to suffer... to feel abandoned...

the whistle chasing away the only comfort she had

the spirit of her late husband.

Whoever killed her, hated her.

PHONE RINGS

Excuse me.

PHONE RINGS

Hello?

It's the police.

Yes, I'd like to report two murders.

Yes. Two.

Willow House.

And I think you should know...

the murderer is still in the house.

They say there are trees blocking the road

but they will be here as soon as they can.

The storm's dying down.

It's going to be light soon.

I'm not going to wait for the police, I have things to do.

You can't leave the scene of a double murder.

The police won't need me, you can tell them what happened.

Besides, we caught the culprit - we did their job for them.

I'll see you out.

That breath on your neck wasn't your mind playing tricks, was it?

It was another lie to torment her.

You fancy yourself a bit of a sleuth, don't you?

How peculiar.

A sleuthing priest. Strangest thing I've seen all night.

She did it.

How do you know?

The lipstick on her sleeve. - So what?

When the lights were out, she slipped out

blew the whistle, and then wiped it on her sleeve to remove the lipstick.

But how could she plant it in his pocket? It was pitch-black.

She didn't do it in the dark.

She did it when she went to comfort him.

MAJOR: We think it's best you wait for the police.

What has he been telling you?

Nothing that I wouldn't have deduced for myself, eventually.

For example

how did you get lipstick on the sleeve of your blouse?

That's not lipstick, it's blood.

It's everywhere tonight, in case you hadn't noticed.

Nevertheless, as ranking officer, I must insist you wait for the police.

Fine.

Oh.

Move.

In there.

What did she do to you? Why do you hate her so much?

Whatever she did, it must have hurt you deeply.

Lilith?

GAS HISSES

FATHER BROWN: Lilith?

Lilith!

Tell me about your mother.

You told Dorothy she helped her through a difficult time.

Why kill someone who gave your mother such solace?

Solace?

You want to know what she did to me?

You want to know why I hated her so much?

Yes. I do.

GAS HISSES

FOOTSTEPS APPROACH

When I was ten, my three-year-old sister went missing.

The police couldn't find her, so my mother turned to Dorothy.

She contacted the spirit world

and she told her that my sister was dead.

Naturally, my mother was grief-stricken

we all were...

but at least she had Dorothy.

For years.

Every day.

Communicating with her dead daughter.

It wasn't long before she lost all interest in the living.

My father left.

I don't blame him.

We were... invisible to her.

Like we were the ghosts.

How awful for you.

You haven't heard the best part - the kick in the teeth.

Your sister was still alive.

Found seven years later

raised by a childless couple who had abducted her.

It was all over the newspapers.

I read about it.

Of course, Dorothy wouldn't admit she was a fraud.

She claimed she'd been tricked by an evil spirit masquerading as my sister.

The same spirit she believed was here tonight.

And my mother believed her.

Thanked her, even.

When I laid eyes on her tonight

even as we embraced, I knew I was going to kill her.

I'm sorry for the loss you've suffered. I truly am.

But Dorothy wasn't a fraud.

She truly believed she had a gift.

She was a vulture, preying on the grief-stricken.

You saw how she spoke to the spirit of her dead husband.

She was... deluded, but she wasn't a monster.

She was an innocent.

Like all the others you've harmed here tonight.

Is this the part where you tell me to seek salvation?

I would do

if I thought that you believed in the afterlife

but you don't, do you?

That's why you were so cavalier with the whistle.

I haven't believed for a long time.

And yet, you make a living from the occult.

You'd be amazed what the gullible are willing to pay for a lucky charm.

You have turned into what you despise...

a charlatan.

And a murderer.

You may not fear judgment in the afterlife

but you will have to face what you have done in this one.

I'm sorry, Father.

But it feels good to have got that off my chest.

Thank you.

Perhaps now I can finally move on.

GAS HISSES

KEY CLATTERS

Urgh...

GAS HISSES

SILENCE

WINDOW CLATTERS - HE SIGHS

FATHER BROWN COUGHS

POLICE SIREN RINGS

HE COUGHS

Five...

Two dead... Possibly three.

Gordon Bennett.

FATHER BROWN COUGHS

So, explain to me again, who was the first victim?

Professor Robert Wiseman.

And someone killed him for his whistle?

MRS MCCARTHY: What on Earth? - I knew something had happened.

What are you doing here?

We thought you got stuck in the storm.

Yes, I was.

And the dead bodies?

Ah.

I'll explain later.

Well, there's no sign of a whistle, sir.

Good riddance.

Father, are you alright?

Yes.

I'm alright.

And now...

I just don't understand it. - What is it?

My strawberry scones. They're gone. - Well, maybe you forgot to pack them.

As if I would do such a thing.

Bunty.

Ooh, very funny, young lady. - BUNTY CHUCKLES

Just joshing, Mrs M.

Looks like it might rain.

What are you talking about? It's a gorgeous day.

Well, you never can tell, Father.

Which reminds me.

I must purchase a new...

BOTH: Ta-da!

I wonder what it can be? - BUNTY LAUGHS

Thank you.

Think I may go for a walk.

Yes, a walk would be lovely.

Alone.

Oh.

Of course.

He just isn't right.

No. Not since the night of the storm.

I can still hear you.

PIERCING WHISTLE

FAINT WHISPERS

INDISTINCT WHISPERS