A play concerning Ashenbrook Manor, an Old, Dark House haunted by the ghosts of children/young teens who know nothing about their deaths but a lingering memory of "The Dead Man". On a school trip, Esther and her friends come to stay. When Esther unwittingly gives herself medium powers in the library by reading an enchanted book, enthusiastic Victorian ghost Kathy enlists her to help she and the other ghosts solve the mystery of their deaths.
Bed Sheet Ghost: Kathy says she sometimes picks up bed sheets and waves them around to scare people for giggles.
Big Fancy House: Ashenbrook Manor.
Captain Obvious: Lizzie.
Cheerful Child: Annice.
Chekhov's Gag: Lewis' three point hit rule initially seems to be just an amusing thing he and his dad came up with, until Beatrice uses it on Lyle.
Chekhov's Gunman: The boy who doesn't speak.
Chekhov's Hobby: Esther's flair for literature helps her solve the riddle and find the map pieces.
*Cough* Snark *Cough*: Kathy likes this.
Creepy Shadowed Undereyes: All the ghosts.
Cute Ghost Girl: Kathy and Annice, although Annice has the cute part down more so than Kathy, who is only this trope because she acts like any other member of the cast.
Ditzy Genius: Lizzie is in top set for everything, yet she still manages to forget which trip they're going on while on the coach to said trip. She even forgot which country they were going to, only remembering when they were only going to Yorkshire when she realized they hadn't gotten on a ferry to go to Wales. Then she remembers you don't need a ferry to get to Wales and that she mixed it up with Ireland (again).
Deadpan Snarker: Beth and Kathy. Esther can be this at times.
Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Kathy is at least the first two, although her actual hair colour varies with the actress.
Foreshadowing: "I like a bit of spirit."
Ghost Amnesia: All the ghosts have it except the boy who doesn't speak (Lewis.) Annice manages to subvert the trope; she doesn't actually remember but she kept a diary and all her stuff is labelled with her name since she was an evacuee.
Haunted House: Ashenbrook Manor is one.
I Just Want to Be Normal: Esther gives this as a reason to reverse the spell. Kathy disagrees.
Informed Ability: Averted. We see Lizzie display her intellect on several occasions, including when she corrects Vi on her pronunciation of the Domesday book in scene two and when she recognizes which period the necklace is from judging from the clothes in the picture. She also accidentally beats Beth at chess. At least five times. In a row. Also averted with Esther being good at English, since she has a wider vocabulary than the other girls and is frequently shown reading.
Informed Attribute: Vi is apparently mad on boys, although this is never really mentioned. Justified in that the only other men in the play are a ten year old ghost and a man who is killing children to keep himself alive.
Innocent Inaccurate: Basically the entirity of Annice's dialogue in the kitchen. Mostly this part about her German pen pal, Avis, and her account of when she visited her and the final letters she received from her.
that had stars on them so I think she was special but she never told me why. Do you know what the stars mean, Esther? [...] Avis said she and her family were staying with relatives somewhere because the secret police were looking for them, whatever that meant. I don't know what she'd done. Avis was really nice and so was her family. And then a few months later she just stopped writing and I never heard from her again.Kid Hero: All three main characters. Esther is fourteen, Kathy is also fourteen and Lewis is ten.
Life Drinker: Lyle
Messy Hair: Kathy has this because she died after being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, chased through the manor, attempting to fight off a grown man and ultimately being knocked unconscious.
Not-So-Small Role: The boy who doesn't speak (Lewis)
Shout-Out: To name a few: The Grudge, The Sixth Sense, Ghost Busters and when Vi reads the death records Violet Everad is the name of a character from a sketch the playwright once did and Faith Connors is the real name of a character from Quadrant Nine.
Shut Up, Hannibal!: At the climax of the play, Lyle starts taunting Kathy. Kathy proceeds to grab him by the collar and punch him in the face.
Side Kick: Kathy is one to Esther from the third scene of the play.
Spirited Young Lady: Kathy/Beatrice does some rather questionable things for a fourteen year old girl in the Victorian era. This includes snarking, being friends with a servant, teaching said servant to read, trying to start a fire with a gas lamp to protect herself from Lyle, having a keen interest in politics and economics and back chatting her mother, Josephine.
Talk to the Fist: Kathy does this to Lyle near the end of the play when he starts taunting.
The Ditz: Lizzie.
The Promise: Lewis promises Beatrice he'd protect her from highway men in the first conversation they have in the play. Lyle using her soul for black magic isn't quite the same thing but he tries to help her, even if it does end up killing him in the end.
Platonic Life-Partners: Kathy and Lewis.
Unfinished Business: The Dead Man is the ghosts'.
Who Dunnit To Me: The ghosts are all trying to stop their collective killer with the help of Esther.
Would Hurt a Child: The Dead Man has been taking the souls of children for years to keep himself alive through dark magic. This kills them in the process and traps their souls in Ashenbrook. Even more blatant with his treatment of Lewis, whom he drowns because he witnessed Kathy/Beatrice's death. Even before drowning him, he was threatening him with unemployment if he told Beatrice and Josephine about his true nature.
