Overview: A haunted house in Zoe's neighborhood appear to be vandalized by an unseen entity. She and Dan decide whether the insurance company should pay for the damages. Meanwhile, Taylor befriends Ryder, the unusual son of the new owner of the house.Synopsis: Insurance fraud investigators Dan (Chris Potter) and Zoe (Joely Fisher) visit a spooky house that had been vandalized three times in the past two months. The living room has books piled up on top of the other and there are writings on the wall. The owner reports that the vandalism was done only a few hours when she and her son were away. She also notifies the fraud investigators that the kitchen was also trashed when they were asleep. Both mother and son did not hear someone breaking in. Even their dog Archie did not bark at the intruder. Dan informs her that the police also reported that there were no signs of forced entry, which is indicative of a crime done by someone already inside the house. Zoe asks the owner the significance of “RASHRION”, a word that had been painted on the wall over and over again. The son enters the room and informs them that a ghost had done the vandalisms. They all shrug the idea knowing that the house had been the target of ghost stories. Ryder yells upon the sight of his vandalized room. They are all startled at the coming of Frank, Ryder’s uncle. Continue reading...
Back at the office, Sophia listens to a statement of Mrs. Preston who tries to convince her that the car accident was not her fault. The old lady suffers a heart attack during her incessant pleas to overturn the insurance’s denial of her claim.
Still at the spooky house, Dan and Zoe discuss the information they gathered from the investigation. Dan lays out the reasons for his suspicion one being the owner putting up a show with them present. The house clearly needing repair establishes motive. Zoe on the other hand notes that vandals do not destroy things they believe are of value, such as the owner’s ruined wedding picture. However, Dan presents another possibility that all was the doing of the homesick son.
Taylor, Carla and Julian plan for a Halloween party. As soon as Julian’s girlfriend Carla leaves the two to fetch her sister, Julian informs Taylor that he’s going as Angel after learning that she’s dressing up as Buffy.
Zoe finds out from the next-door neighbor that no other vandalisms around the neighborhood occurred. He also believes that the house is haunted. She informs him that she knows very well about the rumors herself growing up around the neighborhood. Dan on the other hand talks to a neighbor that is convinced that teenagers were responsible for the crime. Dan finds a can of paint in Downy’s shed that matches the color on the writings of the wall. With that discovery they agree to deny the insurance claim.
That night, Zoe and the kids start carving pumpkins for Halloween and agree to have Taylor’s party at the house. She warns the kids not to destroy the house, the same way Ryder did to his. The next day, Taylor confronts Ryder. Having known that both of them lost a parent, they try to communicate with the dead using a Ouija board. Spooked by a shadow that passed behind a window, Taylor panics, falls off the patio and sprains her arm. She tries to convince Zoe that the house is indeed haunted. Consequently validating Ryder’s claim.
Sophia attends the funeral of the old woman and found it difficult to tell the family what really happened in the office. Them showing her their sincerest gratitude for attempting to revive their mother had forced her to lie.
In Zoe’s office, Dan eavesdrops and chortles after finding out that she talks to psychics. Zoe explains her reason for believing stating that The Amazing Ester predicted her immense life change. Moreover, she had asked her to recommend a good psychic in Chicago to help them finalize the investigation.
Ryder visits Taylor and brings her a teddy bear as a gift. They talked about the events the other night. Taylor is convinced that whoever scared her was not her mother. She informs him that there are other ways to contact their lost loved ones. Ryder feels that he is responsible for what happened to her. In fact, he is convinced that he brought the ghost to their house. He points out that the paranormal activities began when he started contacting his dead father using the Ouija board.
Zoe and Dan bring the psychic Zelda to the haunted house. She validates herself by pointing out facts she couldn’t have known. Zelda informs them that twin children used to live in that house and that one of them died. Suddenly, the kitchen drain starts to disgorge slime. Dan and Zoe visit the basement to investigate what had caused the backflow they had witnessed. Frank who followed them to help startles them. They find Frank’s wrench and toolbox and all conclude that he is the one causing the disturbance.
They close the case stating that Frank had vandalized the house, because he was not included in his uncle’s will. Sophia opens up to Dan her troubles with her case. Not only did she cause the poor woman’s death, she could not even award the family her life insurance since Mrs. Preston failed to disclose to the company that she knew of her heart condition before she purchased the policy.
Julian starts to become jealous after learning that Taylor was at Ryder’s house. She points out the obvious that he has been acting like a boyfriend to her when he is in a relationship with Carla. With that, Julian was struck with shame and politely leaves.
That night, Zoe and Hannah bring a belated housewarming gift for the Downy’s. Ryder brings Hannah for a tour of the house. Thinking that they have solved the mystery, another one ensues. The lights flicker and dies and they are faced with glow in the dark writings on the wall. Hannah and Zoe rush back home with an idea. Using Boggle letters they try to uncover the word behind RASHRION. After several attempts, it is Hannah who reveals the name HARRISON associating it with her teacher’s dog’s name.
The following morning, Zoe and Dan research on previous inhabitants of the house. He reaches at papers over at Zoe’s side making her uncomfortable. Later, they stumble upon an old newspaper article about a previous owner’s missing son named Harrison Dalton. It also mentions about a twin. Zoe is now certain that all have been the workings of a ghost.
Zoe approaches the neighbor Mr. Wagner to gather more information about the Dalton’s. He denies ever hearing about that family and starts to become upset. Dan had better luck talking to the old lady confirming that there was a story about a missing child. However, she is still skeptical.
After their interview, the two pick up Hannah from school and is greeted by Marcos. The little girl invites both guys over for Halloween. Both of which graciously refuse. The girl goes on telling the story of Harriet Tubman, who was the famous leader of the Underground Railroad. Zoe notes that an abolitionist built Ryder’s house, which then helped Dan figure out how the intruder had been entering the house.
Back at the Downy’s place, they try and find the secret room. During their search, Zoe comments on how the dog Archie hasn’t been eating. She relates that with a similar incident with her cat that had been feeding off the neighbor’s cat’s food. She figures that the intruder had been feeding Archie, which explains why it wasn’t barking at the person. As she continues with her discovery, she stumbles upon the secret door and falls down the shaft where she finds a skeleton. Suddenly, Mr. Wagner sneaks up on Dan and knocks him down with an axe. The old man knocks off a wall and goes after Zoe. She finds out that he is Harrison’s twin brother Benjamin. He grabs her and confesses that he murdered his brother for making his life miserable. Harrison being an invalid, Benjamin grew tired of having to look after his brother and decided to kill him with an axe. Fortunately, Dan came back to consciousness and found the hole in the wall. Before he could even find them, Zoe managed to knock off an unstable post causing a beam to fall on Benjamin. Dan rushes to her and makes sure that the old man will not have another opportunity to attack.
Finally, they close the investigation concluding that the neighbor Sam Wagner or Benjamin Dalton caused the vandalism. His motive was to scare away the Downy’s after learning that they were to have the asbestos removed from the basement where his dead brother’s bones lie. They also find out that Mr. Wagner has never been stable ever since the murder and was in and out of mental institutions. He is currently confined in a secured psychiatric facility. Because the Downy’s doesn’t have anything to do with the crime, the insurance company will pay for the damages made to the house. Sophia rushes to the Preston case and Zoe back home to Taylor’s Halloween party. Zoe invites Dan again, but he is to meet an old friend. Sophia meets with Mrs. Preston’s daughter and finds the courage to set her foot down to deny the claim. Later, Sophia is deep in thought. Being a good friend Dan tries to cheer her up with candy corn and wax lips.
At the Halloween party, Marcos surprises Zoe while Hannah and Cliff learn that Julian and Carla broke up. Julian acts unaffected and even happy and rushes over to Taylor, but she’s already with Ryder.
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