Supernatural Scoop

Episode 3.13: Ghostfacers
Airdate: 24 April 2008

Open on Harry Spangler and Ed Zeddmore, in tuxedos, introducing their show, Ghostfacers. “Who needs writers when you’ve got guys like us?” They introduce the “unsolicited” pilot with over-the-top dramatic voices, and grandiose claims of having the most incredible footage of their ghost hunting skills

Cue comically cheesy theme song. The intro includes a still of Dean and his digitally obscured middle finger to the camera.

Ed and Harry swagger from their blue gremlin. They explain to the camera how they “basically call the shots at the Kinko’s where they work”, so they’re able to get off work by 6 to work on “Ghostfacers”. It’s too awesome and cheesy for words; a great, overdone parody of self-important “experts”.

Phase I: the homework

Ed and Harry enter their garage headquarters. The rest of the team, Alan Corbett, Maggie Zeddmore, and Kenny Spruce, who is 15/16 Jewish and 1/16 Cherokee. Each team member introduces himself or herself to the camera, giving a little personal bio, and how each came to be a Ghostfacer.

Ed begins briefing the team on the Morton House, where every four years, just after midnight at the beginning of February 29, For every story they have found, though, they have discovered that the people have failed to stay until midnight.

Corbett obviously has a crush on Ed, acting boyish as he brings him a General Foods International coffee. Ed’s presentation is abruptly interrupted by the crashing of the “mission” plans onto the floor. At first jarring, it quickly becomes obvious that they fell to the floor because they were hung on the garage door. The door opener has been activated by Ed’s father, who is arriving home.

Phase II: Infiltration

The team is outside the Morton house, as they explain to the cameras how it’s haunted, and that local authorities have fenced it off to guard against trespassers.

Maggie: Didn’t you guys get like a permit, or something?
Harry: A permit. That’s a good idea for next time.

They’re interrupted by the sound of a passing car’s stereo. It’s Sam and Dean, in the Impala, of course. After the Metallicar passes, they dismiss it as “not cops, just hicks”, and cut the chain to get into the Morton house. They enter, and begin to set up their ghost surveillance and hunting gear –EMF recorders, cameras, thermometers, infrared and standard cameras.

Phase III: face time

As the Ghostfacers wander the house, Spruce’s camera is disturbed by electromagnetic noise. The big find ends up being a rat –”rats are the rats of the world.”

Sam and Dean storm in, posing as police officers. As they “bust” the Ghostfacers, Ed recognize the boys. Sam reminds Dean that they met these guys in “uh, west Texas.” Dean threateningly asks Ed where Harry is.

Upstairs, Harry and Maggie notice that the EMF readings are rising that the tamperature has gone down 10 degrees. The two witness an apparition of a man talking, then getting gunned down in the middle of a room.

Dean scolds Ed for being in the house on “leap year”. Ed says no one has ever stayed the night, and they’re going to be the first. Sam and Dean explain that they have, but anyone who stayed past midnight, during the past 50 years ended up in missing person reports. There is a very long list of people who stayed the night, and who were never found. The only body ever found in the house is that of the last owner, Freeman Daggett. Sam warns Ed that, starting at midnight, he and his friends are going to die.

Maggie and Harry come excitedly scurrying and oh-my-godding their way down the staircase. They tell the rest about the apparition they witnessed upstairs.

As Maggie shows Ed the footage of the apparition, Sam and Dean discuss what they see. They are surprised that it’s just a Death Echo, especially since there’s no record of anyone’s being shot in the house. Dean explains to them that a death echo is like a ghost reliving its death over and over. It, itself, may not be dangerous, but something else in the house must be.

As Dean and Sam try to get everyone out of the house, they realize Corbett is missing.

Corbett has gone upstairs, and is trying to communicate with the spirit. As he looks at his camera to turn on the night-vision, the camera reveals a tall figure behind Corbett.

The crew downstairs hear Corbett screaming upstairs, and rush up to help him.

Sam and Dean realize that it’s 12:04 AM. They’re stuck in the house.

There’s an EMG disturbance, then another echo appears in the room where everyone is standing. A man is looking around. Dean says it must be multiple echoes. Dean tries to talk to the ghost, which Sam explains usually only works if you have a connection to the spirit. Suddenly, a train whistle blows, and the man appears to be struck by a train.

Sam and Dean explain to Maggie that echoes occur where the person lived or died, and none of these people did either in the Morton house.

Sam finds an award given to Freeman Daggett for his service at the hospital, as a janitor. He says Daggett died in 1964 of a heart attack. They discover stashes of C-rations, then Dean finds a box containing toe tags for a shooting victim, a train accident victim, and a suicide. The team is confused, so Dean explains that Daggett brought the remains of these victims home… to play. “Ewwwww!” That explains the death echoes, since the bodies are in the house somewhere.

Maggie has wandered off by herself to look for Corbett, but Dean catches up with her. The team reports very quickly rising EMF, then the active camera cuts out briefly. When it comes back up, Sam is no longer standing in the background.

As they are searching for Sam and Corbett, Maggie and Harry kiss. Ed walks in on them, and gets angry. “My best friend, and my best sister!” He attacks Harry, asking if they’re sleeping together.

Sam and Corbett are tied up at a table, the setting for an apparent birthday party –a very gruesome birthday party. The first seconds of “It’s My Party” repeat constantly. What appear to be dead partiers sit at the table, between Corbett and Sam. Sam talks to Corbett, trying to keep his attention. A voice tells him not to listen, then a shadowy figure in camouflage walks over to Corbett, and puts what looks like a kitchen knife sharpening rod through the back of Corbett’s neck.

Daggett tells Sam that he’s lonely, but he’s coming to his party.

Dean goes over what they know with the others. Daggett was a Cold War nut, who danced with cadavers, and kept C-rations around the house. “A lonely life. A Cold War life.” Dean realizes Daggett was scared, and he rushes to the basement, looking for a bomb shelter. The door shuts behind Dean, separating him from Ed, Harry, and Maggie. He yells through the door for them to get the salt from his duffel, make a circle, and get inside it.

Ed and Harry are interrupted by another EMF spike, then they see Corbett’s ghost, complete with a neck wound, in the middle of the room, reliving his death.

Dean and Spruce follow the sound of Lesley Gore, and find Sam sitting at the table. Dean blasts the ghost with salt, and the camera finds Corbett’s body.

Sam tells Dean that Daggett was lonely, and the corpses were the only people he could get to come to his party. Then, at midnight, he went upstairs and overdosed on horse tranquilizers.

Back upstairs, Ed realizes that they need ot try to break Corbett out of his loop. Harry reveals to Ed that Corbett had feelings for him, and convinces him to try to make a connection. Ed talks to Corbett, and, telling him that he was an important part of the team. Telling Corbett that he loves him, Ed succeeds in breaking the loop. Corbett appears relieved, and Ed asks him to help them.

As Daggett is attacking the boys and Spruce, Corbett appears behind him. Corbett attacks Daggett, and they appear to fade away into a dirty, otherworldly cyclone.

The next morning, the survivors walk out of the house. Ed and Harry continue their heavy-handed talk of the “meaning” of their work.

Pilot closing dedication to Corbett:

Harry: And here we were thinking that, you know, we were teaching you, and all this time, you were teaching us; about heart, about dedication. and about how gay love can pierce through the veil of death, and save the day.

Sam and Dean are with the Ghostfacers team, watching the completed pilot on a computer monitor. The boys congratulate them on a good job of honoring their fallen friend, while also exploiting the manner of his death. After the boys leave, Ed notices a duffel that Sam and Dean left behind. They open it to find an electromagnet. It appears to go off. The computers go flaky, and display a “no operating system found” error message.

Good work, Winchester boys.

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