American Horror Story (2011–…): Season 1, Episode 7 - Open House - full transcript
Vivien and the real estate agent Marcy may have someone interested in the house but Vivien insists on being completely honest about the history of murders there. The buyer doesn't seem to be bothered by it all and on his second visit, Moira goes to special lengths to make sure he likes it there. Larry also shows up posing as a buyer and gets a tour. Ben makes it clear that he's not welcome at the house. When Larry learns that the prospective buyer plans to tear the house down, he and Constance set out to make sure it doesn't happen. Meanwhile, Ben and Vivien are concerned about Violet who now never leaves the house and barely eats. She's spending time with Tate who teaches her how to get rid of the ghosts around them. A photo of Nora Montgomery shocks Vivien.
---
(busy signal beeping)
(beeping stops)
What... what did they say?
They're going to charge me
with criminal child neglect.
They're going to
take him away.
Place him in
an institution.
My boy.
My Beauregard.
(sobs softly)
Now, you know how he is.
I know.
How he suffers so
when he's not with me.
If you have any feelings
for me at all...
You know I love you.
I would do anything for you.
Then do it.
Like we discussed.
Beau?
You should be in bed.
Beau, you want to play.
(claps)
(raspy breathing)
It's too late for games, Beau.
Come on.
Time to sleep.
Perchance to dream.
For in that sleep of death,
what dreams may come.
Now, close your eyes.
God help me.
(grunting)
Are we having another tough day?
No, we're fine.
Just eager to get the results.
Of course.
You must be very anxious.
You know, we want
to make sure everything's okay
with the baby.
You didn't see
anything unusual--
hooves or anything?
What?
Not at all.
And, Dr. Harmon,
that's not a ridiculous fear.
Every pregnant
woman worries
they've got
a little devil in them.
Now, I don't want you to get
all worked up, Vivien.
You're having twins.
What?
Twins?
And they're both
perfectly healthy.
Congratulations.
MARCY:
The house is a classic
L.A. Victorian.
These are real
Tiffany fixtures.
Everything was
meticulously restored
by a couple of the
previous homos.
Owners.
Homeowners.
Fags have such a great eye
for detail, don't they?
A queer eye.
Let me show you
the kitchen.
Please help yourself
to nibbles.
I don't see you on the brochure.
You come with the house?
Uh, she does, actually.
This is Moira.
She's worked for consecutive
owners of the house.
Uh, Vivien Harmon.
Mr. Escandarian
was in the neighborhood
to look at that gaudy
Mediterranean two blocks up.
It's about two-thirds
the size of this place,
and they want almost
twice as much.
Of course, the Mediterranean
has a swimming pool.
There's room
for a pool here.
I'll have to tear out
that gazebo.
I think that's
a fine idea.
A swimming pool would
be just the thing.
How deep would
you make it?
Very deep.
MOIRA:
Good.
I like it deep.
You'd have to dig
up the entire yard.
VIVIEN:
Uh, Mr. Escandarian,
would you like to see
the rest of the house?
Actually, I just
have one question:
what's wrong
with this place?
The land alone is worth
as much as you're asking.
Mrs. Harmon
is a motivated seller.
VIVIEN:
Um, and I would
also like to be candid with you
that this house
has a history
that I find troubling.
The people who lived here before
died here, violently,
and apparently
they weren't the only ones.
So I just want to be
very straightforward with you
about that, if you are
in fact interested.
I am interested.
If it looks like
you're going to get
a serious offer
before you hear from me,
let me know.
I'll be in touch.
MOIRA: I'll see
you to the door.
If you decide soon, you might
have your pool by summer.
(door closes)
Are you trying
to crush my commission?
I'm trying to be honest,
unlike you.
Why don't we just include
a ticket for the Murder Tour
along with
the goddamn flyer?
That's a really good idea.
Because you know what?
I think it would be
really good
for us to know
exactly what happened
in this house.
(door closes)
What is that?
Excuse me.
Ah. This where
the open house is?
Yes.
Ah, what a lovely spread.
The open house is over.
Says from 2:00 to 6:00.
It's only 4:00 now.
It's by appointment only.
Oh. I see.
It's because of my
affliction, isn't it?
Sometimes I wonder, if
I knew how much I was
going to be shunned, if
I would have run back
onto that burning school bus
to save those children.
Now this crudit? is
making my mouth dry.
I'm going to have a little
glass of this Chardonnay,
and then you may
show me the house.
Put down the stemware.
What are you doing?
A woman in my line
can't be
too careful.
There are a lot of minority men
in this city
who would like nothing more
than to ravage me
on this counter top.
Get out.
Put the gun down, Marcy.
I don't like guns.
Put the gun down.
Yes, Marcy. I hope
you're permitted for that,
as I will be
mentioning it in my lawsuit.
What you're doing
is in direct violation
of The Americans
with Disabilities Act.
And this is the library.
Oh.
Oh... that's...
that's quite a fireplace.
I'm very interested
in that fireplace.
Does it work?
Yes, it's gas.
May I see?
Yeah.
I'll turn it on for you.
Oh. Okay.
(gasps)
Wonderful.
Wonderful.
Yes.
I'm very interested
in this house.
Although I'm
not sure about
the wallpaper.
I find that rice paper
very cheap.
You know what would
look great in here?
A mural.
Yeah.
(sultry, bluesy intro
playing on piano)
? I want a little sugar
in my bowl... ?
(panting)
? I want a little sweetness
down in my soul ?
? I could stand some loving
oh, so bad ?
? I feel so funny... ?
(moans)
Oh, feels so good, babe.
(both moaning)
? I want a little steam
on my clothes... ?
(moaning)
(song ends)
Stop it!
Let me see that.
Gross.
You're right.
It is.
You mutilating
yourself.
You do it.
Not anymore.
Promise me
you'll never cut yourself again.
I promise.
They planned some brutal
family dinner for tonight.
Like it's going to make me
feel better.
Do you believe in ghosts?
Why are you asking me?
I don't know.
It can't all be shit, right?
There's got to be
someplace better,
somewhere.
For people like you, at least.
Not you?
Ever since you got here,
this is the better place.
You're not
eating anything.
I'mnot hungry.
Pretty stuffed on bullshit.
BEN: Your mother and I
know that you're upset.
Maybe there's some things
you want to talk about.
Like who I'm going to live with
after you get divorced?
Is there a
third option?
'Cause both of you
kind of make me
want to kill myself.
Is that what you guys
are afraid of?
Why else would you want to try
to actually deal
with the problem?
You never leave your room.
You barely eat.
These are textbook signs
of depression.
We're very concerned, Vi.
Look, you guys drag me
all the way out here
to save our family,
then you decide
to break up.
You buy a house that I actually
like, then you're telling me
you're selling it, without even
asking me what I want.
So, fine,
I'm depressed.
But I'm not going to off myself.
So, you can go back to
your policy of benign neglect.
Maybe we should stop trying
to sell this place.
I don't know.
I mean, was that
so much worse than usual?
Given the circumstances.
We need to stay on her,
but we are selling this house.
If that's, if that's
even possible.
We have two prospective buyers.
One guy who's Persian, I think.
And the other?
The other guys has this
really badly burned face;
I felt terrible for him.
And I'm going on
the Murder House Tour with Marcy
so that I can get all
the details
of what happened in this house
and give full disclosure
before anyone commits.
You're only required by law
to disclose anything
that happened in
the last three years.
I know. But I'm not knowingly
putting someone through
what we've been through.
But you've got him on the hook.
You tell him about all
the insanity in this place,
you're gonna blow the sale.
It's the right thing to do.
The right thing to do is
to get out from under this mess,
so we can pick up the pieces,
so our daughter can.
It must be so great
to be able to do that,
to just flick a switch
and be able to justify
your own bad behavior.
My family comes first.
Since when?
Do not screw up
selling this house.
(doorbell rings)
Hello.
Moira is it?
How did I know you'd be back?
I haven't been able to get
this house out of my mind.
Mrs. Harmon is out.
But I'd be happy to show you
whatever you want to see.
(chuckles)
As you can see,
this room belongs to
a sad, depressed teenager.
But it has real potential.
I'd paint it
a deep, dark red,
clear out all
the furniture
and hang a sex swing.
(grunting)
My kind of girl.
It's always been
a fantasy of mine
to swim naked
in a heated pool...
when I'm not tending
to your needs, of course.
Somebody mentioned a pool.
I'm a little curious about you.
I've always heard Persians have
big, thick cocks.
Something a girl can gnaw on.
Yeah, no teeth, though.
And I'm not Persian, by the way.
I'm Armenian.
Oh! Oh, your hands are nice.
Oh! Not rough like most maids.
Believe me, Mr. Joe,
I'm not like any household help
you've known.
Yeah.
You'll never want
to leave this house.
(moaning)
What are you doing in my
daughter's room?
And who's this?
Dr. Harmon,
meet Mr. Joe Escandarian.
He's about to put an
offer on the house.
Oh, so great to meet you.
What are you doing here?
Oh, just picking up
some clothes.
I can say,
without any hesitation,
we've been very happy here;
it's a very special house.
Truthfully,
it's all inventory to me.
I'm gonna bring in bulldozers,
turn it into units.
(clicks tongue)
Great idea.
Hello, Larry.
Jesus!
Ben?
(chuckles)
You scared me half to death.
(both chuckle)
It's unnerving to have
someone just show up
in your house, isn't it?
How'd you get in here?
It's amazing what 20 bucks will
buy you in this neighborhood.
Uh-huh.
You came back
to my house, Larry.
You bothered my wife.
It was an open house.
I'm an interested buyer.
And what are you
gonna buy it with?
The thousand dollars you've been
trying to extort from me?
You're not buying anything.
You don't know
everything about me.
I know you're a liar, Larry.
You never went to prison
for murdering your family.
I checked out
your story.
You were in a burn ward
for two years,
then you were institutionalized.
You lied about everything.
They're not lies.
They did die in that house.
But you didn't kill them.
Just like
you didn't kill Hayden.
It's all been lies.
You know that not everything
has been a lie.
You know that that
house has power.
Nescaf??
It's true I tried
to scare you
out of the house,
but I was only doing it
for your own good.
Right. The house is evil.
Now you want to buy it.
That's goddamn right!
I need that house!
I need it!
That is the only place I have
any hope to ever be happy again.
With her.
I finally got the girls down.
Sit down, Lorraine.
We need to talk.
There's only really one way
to say this--
I've fallen in love
with somebody else.
I didn't mean
for it to happen.
Do I know her?
Constance, from next door.
She's very beautiful.
I suppose if I were a man,
I would love her, too.
Are you going to leave us?
Actually, I think that
you should take the girls
and go back to Ohio
and move in
with your mother.
And I will provide
for you always.
(voice breaks):
You're going to move her
into my house?
It was her house before.
I can't live without her.
Lorraine?
Lorraine?
(gasps)
Open this door! Are the girls
in there with you?!
Lorraine! Lorraine!
Oh!
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
(screams)
Constance?
All this for Constance?
She's the most exciting woman
I've ever met.
I need that house, Ben.
We have a buyer, a real buyer
with real money.
And he's gonna pull the
whole goddamn thing down.
And after everything
that's happened,
that can only be good.
No! No...
No, you can't let him do that.
I can and I will.
And as soon as I leave here,
I'm gonna report you
to the police
and file a restraining order.
Game over.
STAN: On a foggy Sunday night,
June 12, 1994,
two people were viciously
murdered
in front of this luxurious
Brentwood condo. The victims?
Nicole Brown Simpson
and her friend Ronald Goldman.
The accused murderer?
Nicole's ex-husband--
Orenthal James Simpson;
"O.J." to the world.
Although he was acquitted after
a lengthy trial,
O.J. will forever remain
suspect.
I'm so glad you brought me on
this tour, Vivien.
It's given me hope.
How?
No matter how gruesome
or horrible the murder,
you can always find somebody
out there who'll buy the house.
Next stop on our tour
of departed souls...
"Murder House."
And ladies and gentlemen,
we have
a celebrity here on
the bus today,
the current owner
of Murder House.
(weak laugh)
You left us rather suddenly
on your last visit.
Well, I thought the story
was so great,
I wanted to come hear
the rest of it.
Let's jump right in.
Murder House,
built by Dr. Charles
and Nora Montgomery.
They lived there
with their son Thaddeus.
That is,
until the baby was kidnapped
and found dismembered.
If Mother could see me now...
polishing my own silver...
Charles, look at me.
Oh, I wish I were a widow.
I certainly look the part.
I bought this dress
for my mother's funeral.
Who ever thought I'd
be wearing it again...
to bury my son.
That's not true.
Because of you and what you did,
we'll have to forego
an open casket.
Nora, I'm trying
to tell you something.
There will be no funeral.
The baby is upstairs
and waiting for you
in the nursery.
(floorboards creak)
Thaddeus?
(gurgling, hissing)
Oh!
(inhaling deeply)
(wheezes, coughs)
I was wrong about you, Charles.
You are a genius.
How long I've waited
to hear you say that.
All I wanted was
to prove myself.
How on earth did you do it?
I used the beating heart
from one of our girls.
Amazing.
Nora... where's the baby?
I thought he was hungry.
I tried to nurse him,
but it wasn't
milk he was craving.
We're damned, Charles,
because of what we did
to those girls.
Those poor, innocent girls
and their babies.
That thing upstairs--
it's not human.
I tried to kill it.
No.
I tried.
I stabbed it with
a letter opener,
but it clung to life, Charles.
No! I finally succeeded
at something!
We'll alert the media at once.
Hold a press conference.
You would do that?
For me?
Of course.
I'm proud of you, Charles.
(sobbing)
You are a man, after all.
STAN: Legend has it that
the ghost of Nora Montgomery
still haunts these very halls,
as does her beloved--
if mutilated-- toddler.
The Montgomery murder-suicide
was only the first of many
to occur behind
these bloody walls.
Let's not put that
in the listing.
Agh... I've been taking
the B6, it's just...
it's not helping.
And I'm fine
when I'm at my house.
It's just when I leave
my house, I get so sick.
Maybe it's your body's way
of telling you to stay home.
I think I'm just worried
that there's something
wrong with these babies.
I really... I want to
take that CVS test.
You've already had the amnio.
I-It may not make you
feel any better.
It'll make me feel better.
I'd like to; let's
schedule it for this week.
That'd be great.
Okay.
Thank you.
Got your flowers.
(wry chuckle)
They smelled of the gas station
where you bought them.
Red roses?
Could you be more of
a pathetic, cheap clich??
The card said to meet you
at "our" house?
(wry laugh)
This was never our house.
It was my house.
And then it was yours.
You've got something to tell me?
Then do it.
Up close and personal.
Oh...
Oh, I've seen you.
Skulking around outside.
Have you seen my new beau?
He's so handsome, isn't he?
Yes.
Come here.
I want to see your shame.
Come closer.
So I can get a good look at you.
I bet the kiddies scatter
like little buggies
when you walk down the street.
I love you.
Ugh.
You're disgusting.
You're weak.
You let this place
get the better of you.
The house didn't
do this to me.
You did this to me.
If I catch you peeping in
my windows one more time,
I'm going to send Travis out
to ruin the other
half of your face.
They're selling the house.
No matter.
I've told you...
no one can own this house.
No one ever will.
He's tearing it down.
And then who knows
what will happen
to all the ones
who reside in here?
(chain rattling)
(chain rattling)
Hello?
Play!
(screams)
You're scaring her.
Go away!
(raspy gasping)
Violet, it's okay.
Calm down, okay?
(sighs)
I feel like I'm
totally losing it.
They're from the past.
The ghosts of people
who've died here.
They're appearing to you now
because you're evolved.
Don't be scared.
All you have to do is
tell them to go away.
And they will.
You really know your
way around this house.
I guess I do.
I've been exploring
after my sessions.
Don't tell your dad.
Look at all this
great shit I found.
(lisping):
And check this out.
I think gay porn is hot.
Totally.
What's in the other box?
? ?
Look what he did to me.
Go away!
Oh. Mr. Escandarian.
How nice of you
to agree to see me.
You have such a lovely home.
It, um...
Is this real crystal?
I don't know.
How much do you want?
I beg your pardon?
For your house. I get it.
I'm riding in on my white horse
to rescue those people
from their shithole.
Make me an offer.
I'm into it.
I can tear your house down
and put up a car port.
You know, I would
love a drink.
Double vodka, no ice.
You're not from
California, are you?
I'm from Armenia.
My family moved to Beverly
Hills when I was two.
Used to be no one
was from here.
People came here to
escape their pasts.
Find a plot of land
that not even
a red Indian had set foot on
and make a new life
for yourself.
Give me a number.
I want history, I'll go
talk to Gene Autry.
But now there are
no more virgin plots.
We live on top of each other.
That's California now...
and that's the world.
There is no more space, and yet
it's human nature to want to
claim your own turf.
So build away, we do.
Every time you put up
one of these...
monstrous temples
to the gods of travertine,
you're building on top of
someone else's life.
I'm a developer.
I improved on the past.
I build a new future.
You should show some respect.
You're not
an archeologist.
You should stop unearthing
while you're ahead.
It only brings a haunting.
We have a responsibility
as caretakers
to the old lands...
to show some respect.
Cemeteries are for the past.
This is my time.
You can't tear down that house.
If you want to keep
it so bad, buy it.
Well, not all of us have
been as fortunate as you.
Then piss off!
You come into my house
and insult me,
and give me a history lesson,
and I'm supposed to
back out of a deal
that's going to
make me millions?
There are three reasons
I deal with women:
sex, money,
or making me sandwiches.
And unless you're planning
on going into my kitchen
and slapping some ham
between two slices of bread...
this conversation is over.
One day, your time's
going to end.
And they'll be building
on top of you, too.
TATE: You know, I really like
talking to you, Dr. Harmon.
You've helped me a lot.
Maybe it's the drugs.
I don't have any more visions.
I think it might have
just been like a...
like a screwy
chemical imbalance.
And of course, the parenting.
Well, I'm glad you feel
so much better, Tate.
I really am.
Our session's over for today.
Look, I, uh...
I need to ask you something.
Off the clock.
And I have no right.
But... I'm desperate.
I'm worried about Violet.
I get that.
She's your daughter.
But, you know, she's not
a little girl anymore.
And at some point...
you're gonna have
to let her go.
She won't talk
to me anymore.
We used to be very close.
She's been through a lot.
She talks to you.
I know she talks to you.
What I'm getting
at, Tate, is
if Violet is in trouble,
real trouble,
please come to me right away.
I don't want to lose her.
I can't.
I wouldn't survive it.
I wish you were my father.
My life would have been
a lot different.
What do you want?
I need to speak to my son.
I believe he had a session
with Dr. Harmon today.
That ended.
But I'm sure the little
psycho is still
skulking around
here somewhere.
You missed a spot.
So did you.
You've been crying.
Good.
(bottle sprays)
Tate?
Tate, honey?
What do you want?
Oh...
Well, I wanted to see you.
Are you feeling any better?
Are the visits with
the good doctor helping you?
Yeah.
We're really getting
to the root of the problem.
Turns out I hate my mother.
Beau?
Come here, darling.
Sit down with me, darling.
My beautiful boy.
My handsome boy.
Mama's got to say good-bye.
They're going to take you
away from me.
They're going to take
everything away forever.
Oh.
My sweet boy.
It'll be okay.
Well... you think you're being
very crafty,
don't you?
Throwing yourself
at that greasy Persian.
But you've been
too clever by half.
He says he's building me
a swimming pool.
(laughs)
And when they dig
up that backyard
and find my bones,
you'll go to prison.
There's not going to be a
swimming pool, you stupid slut.
There won't even
be a house.
He plans to tear
the whole thing down
and put up
affordable housing.
He's going to seal
your tomb for good.
I don't believe you.
Well, it's true.
He told me so himself.
And while I
would normally
rejoice at the thought of you
spending eternity
scrubbing out low-flow toilets
in government-
subsidized housing,
there's every chance
that when these walls come down,
I am going to lose
my family forever.
And I won't have that.
He lied to me.
(laughs)
Well, of course
he lied to you.
Why do they always lie?
It's in their nature.
They can't help it.
But we can help each other.
What do you want me to do?
What you do best.
(soft knocking)
Sure nobody's home?
They're upstairs,
tucked in tight.
Ever since
you called,
all I can think about is
that sweet mouth of yours.
I've had it all over
the world, baby.
You're the best.
Lucky you--
I'm hungry again.
Let's go someplace
where no one can hear us.
Kind of dark down here.
Puts me in the mood
to do bad things.
Somebody's a
little eager.
Uh-huh.
No more talk, baby.
Ah...
That is nice.
(grunts)
Little less teeth.
(grunts)
(shrieking)
(muffled yells)
After all these years, Moira,
I have finally come
to appreciate your talent.
Is he dead yet?
Not quite yet.
Well, make sure he's off
the property before he expires.
I wouldn't care
to encounter his carcass
ever again.
(knocking at door)
Can I come in?
So it looks like, uh...
this guy's pretty serious
about buying the house.
I mean, we won't know
officially until it's
actually in escrow, but...
I wanted to talk
to you about it.
Well, then what?
Then I think...
you and I will go stay
with your Aunt Jo
till we find a place.
What about Dad?
Well, Dad still has patients,
and...
I don't really know, sweetheart.
We haven't figured it
all out yet.
This wasn't the way it
was supposed to go, honey.
Your dad and I
really loved each other.
How'd you know you loved him
when you first met?
Well, he was...
he was handsome and kind.
But I don't know.
The thing is,
when you fall in love,
it's kind of like you go crazy,
and before you know it,
the whole world looks different,
and then you'll do anything
for the other person.
Why do you ask?
No reason.
Look at this.
Wow.
That's the house.
Yeah.
When it was first built.
Where'd you find all this stuff?
In the attic.
That's the
original owners.
Nora and Charles
Montgomery.
Are you the woman of the house?
Matches my eyes, doesn't it?
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