Lights out.
Hello?
Maybe you have never heard of a dunnigan?
Some people hear of practically nothing else.
People like Steve Denham, for example.
Now, a dunnigan is a sort of thing not precisely human,
not dolphin, exactly.
But if you get a dunnigan mad, you'll have to remember it for the rest of your days.
Yes, sir.
Lights out.
Lights out.
We'll see about that.
You can't come in here.
Are you Dr. Ferro?
What is this all about, nurse?
I'm sorry, doctor. I tried to keep this man out of the hospital.
Will you please answer my question? Are you Dr. Ferro?
I believe so, yes.
I demand to see Miss Reardon, Miss Catherine Reardon.
That's all right, nurse. You may go.
I'm very sorry, doctor.
You have Miss Reardon here, haven't you, doctor?
We have. May I ask your name, sir?
My name is Denham, Steven Denham.
Dr. Ferro.
Now, your things.
You are related to the patient, Mr. Denham?
We're engaged. Will you tell me, please, why they wouldn't let me see her?
My orders, Mr. Denham.
But why, doctor?
Is there anything wrong with Kitty?
That is what we ourselves are trying to find out.
Kitty in the sanitarium?
I don't get it. She's not insane. She's not even neurotic.
Miss Reardon may not be demented, but she shows definite signs of instability.
In what way?
She appears to be suffering from a strange trauma.
An hallucination, I believe you would call it.
Tell me, how long have you known Miss Reardon?
About six months, I guess. She was up home in Boston.
She was working as a stenographer when I met her.
When did you last see her?
Over ten days ago.
Her father died. She came immediately to New York.
How did you happen to follow her here?
Well, I wrote several letters, tried to telephone her, couldn't reach her,
so I followed her. I traced her out there.
What do you know of her background, Mr. Denham?
Not very much. Never talked about a background or a family.
I didn't know she had a father until her died.
Doctor, will you please tell me what this is all about?
Mr. Denham, did you ever hear of a dullerhan?
A what?
A dullerhan.
No.
Miss Reardon never at any time mentioned to you a dullerhan?
No.
Why? What is a dullerhan?
I would not know myself if I had not done certain research on the matter.
A dullerhan is a cousin to a leprechaun.
It is a sort of mischievous elf or fairy found in Irish folklore.
It is said to inhabit the trees and fields and forests of certain counties of Ireland,
and at night it comes out and bedevils the humans found in its vicinity.
Will you please tell me what nonsense this is? What has it got to do with Kitty?
The most dangerous part of Miss Reardon's case is she claims to be possessed by one of these dullerhans.
Possessed?
She continually complains of her severe headaches,
and this dullerhan, you understand, is supposed to have entered her head by way of her mouth,
and its mischievous behavior is what causes these severe headaches.
Good Lord. She must be insane.
Oh, no, I'm happy to say I do not agree with you.
In my examinations, I found Miss Reardon to be quite sane.
My electroencephalograms showed no signs of any pathological disturbances whatsoever.
Well, then what is the matter, Doctor?
I am not sure, but with you here, she may be willing to talk more freely.
Up until now, we've known absolutely nothing about her except the few isolated facts she was able to give us when she came to us.
Excuse me, I call.
Yes, sir.
Will you have Miss Catherine Reardon brought to my office at once, please?
Thank you.
Mr. Denham, there are certain facts I feel I should tell you about your fiancee.
She does not look at all well.
She's lost considerable weight in the short time she's been with us.
Another thing, in case she goes into shock,
you must be prepared for something strange and rather frightening.
Something strange?
Yes.
Frankly, I do not know myself exactly what happened,
and if I described it to you, you would not believe me.
There should be some means of finding it out, but so far I have not found it.
Tell me, Doctor, what happened?
I would rather you thought for yourself, if and when it does happen.
Excuse me.
Won't you sit down, Miss Reardon?
Thank you.
Kitty, Kitty, what is all this? What's happened?
You shouldn't have followed me, Steve.
You must go away. Forget me, for your own sake.
You've got to tell me.
No, get back. You must do as I say, Steve. There's so much danger.
Kitty, tell me, what is the danger?
The Dullahan.
That's a silly story.
No, get back, I said.
Could you tell us how this Dullahan happened to get hold of you?
It was my father who had this Dullahan.
He possessed him when he was a young man back in Ireland.
He lived in County Cork.
One day when he was roaming the forest, he got lost.
Night came and he laid down beneath a tree to rest.
But he fell asleep. He must have slept with his mouth open.
That's how the Dullahan gets into your system without you realising it.
And you become possessed.
The Dullahan saw his opportunity and entered the body of my father.
Papa was in torment till he died.
Kitty, why haven't you told someone of this fear of yours before this?
I never believed the story of the Dullahan.
Tell us, Miss Reardon.
How do you explain the Dullahan being in possession of you now?
When I was awake, I saw Papa lying there, cold and still.
And I bent down and kissed him.
The first time in my life.
That's how I became possessed.
The Dullahan went from my father's body to mine.
Father didn't lie. He was telling the truth.
So am I.
Kitty, this is the most fantastic story I ever heard.
I know. But you must believe me.
You must never see me again.
Miss Reardon, before you go back to your room,
I would like to make another electroencephalogram.
No, I'm not insane, Doctor. I'm not insane.
Miss Reardon, I have every reason to believe you.
I need, however, for my records, yes? Please, ma'am.
Very well.
I'm so tired. I want to go back to my room.
Yes, very soon. If you'll sit here now, please.
As soon as possible.
Very quickly, Miss Reardon.
Very quickly now.
So...
Just a little closer, please. Move this way and this.
That's it.
That doesn't hurt, no?
Just relax. Be comfortable.
There you are.
All right.
Now, Mr. Benham,
if you'll come over here, please.
Of course, I'll try to keep this maybe of interest to you.
Are you ready, Miss Reardon?
Yes, I am.
You will notice the regular pattern traced on the paper.
What does that mean?
Well, for one thing, it is sure that there is nothing organically wrong with it.
Thank heaven for that.
Yes, but Mr. Reardon's cases are very complicated, Juan.
Still, there is hope.
I'm afraid this is the last thing you hear. I don't want any expense spared.
But...
Doctor, what is it?
I don't know. It's never acted this way before.
Is it the machine?
I don't think so.
Please, please.
Not recently. There must be some outside disturbance.
Doctor, she's going into shock.
Kitty!
Please, do not disturb her.
Look at her, Doctor.
She's going into shock.
Ah!
Try and get me out, you morons!
Try and get me out, you fools!
Just try, try, try!
Miss Reardon?
Miss Reardon?
Are you all right?
All right?
Yes, I suppose I am.
What happened?
You fainted.
I fainted? Yes.
Yes.
Miss Catherine, Reardon is ready to go back to her room now.
Yes, please.
You see, I'm not well, Steve.
You must go away.
Forget me, for your own sake.
Thank you, Miss.
You will go with the nurse, please, Miss Reardon.
She will take you back to your room.
Thank you.
Doctor, this is incredible.
I warned you, Mr. Denton.
That voice, where did it come from?
Well, that of course she doesn't know.
But how?
The only explanation I've been able to find is that she's learned to control the muscles of her throat.
This is not all unusual.
Like ventriloquist?
Yes, I know, but where did she learn it?
That I don't know.
We know nothing of her past.
But that's what makes it so difficult to treat her.
I'm certain, though, that her father is the key to her condition.
Her father, and he is dead.
Her father?
What have you there?
There's a bit of a notice.
Oh?
Patrick Reardon, 277 Trumbull Drive.
Yes, but Mr. Denton, what can you hope to find?
I don't know, Doctor.
But I'm not going to give up kitty that easy.
I'll see you later.
Yes, Mr. Denton, please.
Be good enough to let me know what you do discover.
Oh, just a minute.
Just a minute.
Oh.
There.
Now.
That's right.
Yes, young man?
Are you the landlady?
Oh, yes.
You want to see about the vacancy?
Yes, if you please.
All right, then.
Come in.
Thank you.
We're just starting to clean up a little, and you're not.
Now, I'm sure you'll find the room satisfactory.
They're large and clean, and the people here are awful nice folks.
That sounds pretty good.
Say, are you in show business?
I usually rent to show people.
Yes, yes.
As a matter of fact, I am.
Oh, that's fine.
Oh, sit down, young man.
Sit down.
Thank you.
Oh, what's your line, Mr. Reverend?
Denham.
Denham.
Oh, acrobat?
No, no.
I'm an actor.
Oh, well, isn't that nice.
What show you working with?
Well, I'm afraid I'm not working just at present, you see.
How many of us are these days?
No.
I used to be in show business, too, you know.
Were you?
Mm-hmm.
Madame Flora, I was billed as.
Well.
Oh, yeah, I even played the palace one.
Oh, that was before your time.
We had a mind-reading act, and my husband used to go down into the audience and pick up things, and I'd have to guess what they were.
Well.
Oh, he's dead now.
God rest his soul.
I saw it in the cards.
I used to sell fortunes, too, you know, on the side.
Did you?
I was pretty good at it, if I do say it myself.
Still am.
Say, would you like me to tell you your fortune?
Oh, no, no, no, thanks.
I don't think I have to.
Oh, come on, I know.
You're down on your luck.
Now, let's see now what the cards say.
Oh, I used to thrill them with this one.
Madame Flora, I didn't mention it to you, but your place here was recommended to me by an old friend, Pat Reardon.
Pat Reardon?
Yes.
Oh, Lord.
He lived here for years.
Oh, my dear boy, didn't you know?
Oh, yes, oh, yes, I did hear.
He died a couple of weeks ago.
Yeah.
Tell me, did you know him?
I mean, very well.
Oh, as well as anybody could, I suppose.
He kept to himself all the time.
A little cold, for my taste.
I understood he had a daughter.
Oh, yeah, yeah, Catherine.
Very pretty girl.
Yeah, whatever became of her.
She was always alone, poor child.
Tell me, did Pat have any close friends that used to drop in occasionally?
He certainly did not.
He wouldn't let anybody get close to him, not even his own daughter.
Never kissed her.
Showed her any affection the way you think a father would.
Cold as ice, I always thought he was.
Not like the Irish at all.
Not like show business, either, huh?
No.
Oh, well, I suppose Pat Riddler thought he could get along with our friend.
You know, he had one of the biggest acts in show business.
Yeah, he was a great headliner in his day.
Was he?
Oh, let me show you now.
Yes, I don't think I ever caught his act.
Ah.
Ah.
Ah.
There.
There was a Van Flerkway.
What did you say?
A Van Flerkway.
You know.
And the wife?
Oh, yes, yes, I remember now.
He was a remarkable artist.
You really couldn't see his lips move.
Now they made a wonderful pair, him and Dullahan.
Who did you say?
Dullahan.
The dummy.
That's what Pat called him.
Oh, Dullahan.
Yeah.
He was a funny name to call a dummy.
You know, I think Pat hated him.
Well, that's easy to understand.
He probably was jealous of the dummy being the star of the act.
Yeah, he was the whole show.
That's right.
Oh, Pat loathed him.
You know, sometimes when Pat had one drink too many,
he'd say that Dullahan ruined his whole life.
Why, after Kitty left, he threw the poor dummy out of the window.
Well, did that end his ventriloquism?
I don't know about that, but it ended the act.
Oh, I took the dummy back to him, you know.
But he just slammed the door in my face.
And then after that, when Pat died, I put Dullahan back in the trunk.
Oh, would you like to see him?
Yes, I would very much.
Oh, I think he's right here.
Oh, now let me...
Oh, there he is.
Oh.
Now, you know, for all their fight,
I think that little fellow was closer to Pat Reardon
than anybody else he's met.
Madam Farr, will you tell me something?
Well, yes.
Do you think that Pat Reardon could have taught his daughter ventriloquism?
Well, I guess maybe he could have, but I wouldn't want to swear to it.
I see.
Thanks.
Well, Mr. Denham, what about the room?
No, I don't think I'll need that now.
Oh.
Look, here.
And thank you very, very much.
Why are you going to stay here?
Oh, wouldn't you think he'd stay to hear his frightened tone?
Huh?
No, I don't think he'd stay to hear his frightened tone.
Oh, no.
No.
Mr. Denham.
Steve, what are you doing here?
The doctor gave me permission.
I've got to talk to you, Kitty.
That's nothing to say.
You must go away and forget me, Steve.
I'm not going anywhere.
I'm not going anywhere.
I'm not going anywhere.
I'm not going anywhere.
You must go away and forget me, Steve.
You must.
Kitty, listen to me.
There's nothing wrong with you.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with you.
I can prove it.
I don't believe it.
You're lying to me.
You're trying to deceive me.
You've got to believe it, darling.
It's true.
I just came from your father's house.
My father?
Yes.
What were you doing there?
There's nothing real about this duller.
And I saw him.
He's nothing but a piece of wood and plaster.
An absolute dummy.
You saw him?
Yes.
No.
He's in my head.
I can feel him.
He's laughing at me.
Kitty, you've got to listen to me.
You remember what your father was, do you?
My father?
Yes.
No, I can't.
He was a ventriloquist.
Don't you remember, Kitty?
A ventriloquist.
I remember now.
He had a dummy he called Mr. Dollahun.
That's right, darling.
But Father wasn't really a ventriloquist, Steve.
The voice the audience heard was the real Dollahun.
The spirit, the possessed Papa.
Your father neglected you, and now you're taking a childhood hurt out on a dummy.
I know now why he neglected me.
He was trying to protect me from the Dollahun.
He never loved anyone in his life.
As a child, he paid more attention to the dummy than he paid to you.
No, it's not true.
He did love me.
That's why he stayed away from me.
He was afraid the Dollahun might get me.
Kitty, that's what you want to believe.
That's why you've made up this, this Dollahun in your mind.
It doesn't exist.
It's just make-believe, to make-believe your father loved you.
But Steve, these headaches.
Yes, seeing your father lying dead brought back all these,
these old stories to you, darling.
Kitty, you've got to let Dr. Ferreau and me help you for both of our sakes.
I want to believe you, Steve.
Really, I do.
I'm so afraid.
But darling, there's nothing, absolutely nothing to be afraid of.
If only I could be sure.
Kitty, I'm not going to let you go.
Please, darling, you're going to be all right.
Am I, Steve?
You bet you are.
I do want to get well.
Really, I do.
Kitty, we're going back to Boston.
We're going to get married.
Just the way we planned to do.
I love you, Steve.
Really, I do.
Kitty, I'm not going to leave you.
I'm not going to leave you until you're completely cured.
No, Steve, don't ever leave me, ever.
Darling.
Look, it's...
What is it?
My, my head.
What's the matter?
My head.
No, darling, you mustn't.
You mustn't think about it.
Kitty, don't think about it.
Don't think about it.
Darling, you're quite right.
I'm just trying to get the doll out of him.
I feel better already.
Steve!
Ah!
We'll see who's made of wood and plaster, me kind mortal.
We'll see, we'll see, we'll see!
Ah!
Now, remember, you mustn't believe in pixies or leprechauns or elves or dullards.
After all, Steve didn't.
But, uh, better be careful whom you kiss.
I'm not going to leave you until you're completely cured.