Middle of the Night

In this flashback to the past, Billy has nearly been hit by a car and the group of children are alarmed. Ethan tries to persuade them to head back, but his pleas are dismissed. Billy, still eager to continue, leads the way across the road and into the woods. Ethan’s anxiety grows as he watches Billy fall into step with Ragesh and Russ instead of him. Ethan feels betrayed and frustrated, especially since Billy’s enthusiasm for exploring the woods conflicts with Ethan’s apprehensions.

As they hike deeper into the forest, Ethan realizes that Billy’s destination is the Hawthorne Institute. Ethan’s parents have forbidden him from coming here and the prospect of entering the Institute’s grounds fills him with dread. His fears are momentarily alleviated when Ashley offers to accompany him back if he chooses to leave. Although he is grateful for her offer, Ethan doesn’t want to appear cowardly in front of the other boys, so he decides to stay.

The group reaches a high stone wall topped with razor wire, marking the boundary of the Institute. Ethan’s concern grows as he follows the others to a breach in the wall and slips through. On the other side, they encounter the Hawthorne Institute grounds, a sprawling and intimidating area that Ethan had only imagined.

As they approach the top of a waterfall, Ethan is both awed and frightened by its power and height. The sight of the churning water and the drop below is unnerving. The waterfall, while not large, roars with a force that makes Ethan feel vulnerable and uneasy.

Back in the present, Ethan continues to follow the route he and his friends hiked that day. As he approaches the Hawthorne Institute, he is struck by its dilapidated state. The wall, once imposing, now looks even more menacing due to its neglect, with moss-covered stones and rusted razor wire.

Ethan follows the familiar path to a breach in the wall, the same gap he and his friends used as children. The return brings a wave of anxiety and nostalgia. The physical exertion of climbing the steep incline to the outcropping where they first viewed the waterfall reminds him of his physical decline since then. He feels a mix of grief and disbelief as he reflects on Billy, who has remained trapped in childhood while Ethan has grown into middle age. This realization triggers a moment of sorrow, and Ethan wipes away a tear.

As Ethan navigates the now-overgrown grounds, he soon finds himself at a location he hoped to avoid—a site where he feels that he betrayed Billy.

Returning to the past, this flashback finds Ragesh mocking Billy’s belief in ghosts. Despite Ragesh’s skepticism, Billy firmly insists that ghosts are real, and Ethan feels guilty for not chiming in to support Billy. As the group progresses deeper into the forest, they reach a gravel path leading to a mausoleum. Ragesh, demonstrating his usual cruelty, dares Billy to enter the mausoleum to prove his belief in ghosts, and Billy eagerly accepts the challenge. Ethan, pressured by his friends and feeling ashamed, reluctantly agrees to climb in too.

Inside the mausoleum, Ethan feels overwhelmed. The air is musty and stagnant, and the walls are lined with marble slabs marking resting places. Ethan’s anxiety increases when he realizes they are trapped after Ragesh locks the gate from the outside. As they struggle to escape, Ethan manages to squeeze through the bars with assistance from Ashley and Russ. However, Billy becomes stuck, and Ethan’s desperate attempts to help him are complicated by the appearance of an official who starts chasing them.

In the present, Ethan approaches the mausoleum as an adult and notices a heavy padlock on the gate. He wonders whether the lock is meant to keep people out or the dead inside. He reflects on the simple, unadorned granite box marking Ezra Hawthorne’s final resting place, puzzling over the meaning of the inscription “DEATH IS MERELY AN ILLUSION” (207).

When Ethan journeys on, reaching the Hawthorne mansion, he meets Lonette Jones, the home’s caretaker. Ethan fabricates a story about being interested in the venue for a wedding, and Lonette reluctantly agrees to give him a brief tour of the mansion’s event spaces. During the tour, Ethan learns about the history of the Hawthorne Institute and asks Lonette about the rumors that Ezra Hawthorne was involved with the occult.

While Lonette is distracted, he sneaks into the basement, which is cluttered with old furniture, books, and dusty artifacts. He takes photos of various items, including a phrenology bust, a Ouija board, and a collection of framed photographs spanning decades. Among the photos, he discovers one of Johnny Chen, Russ’s brother, who died as a teen, alongside Ezra Hawthorne. This revelation shocks Ethan and prompts a startled reaction.

Lonette, fearing that Ethan is a robber who plans to steal from the mansion, calls the police. Ethan is apprehended as he is about to uncover more about the basement’s contents and the connections between the mansion’s past and his own investigation.

Returning to the past, this flashback captures the moment when the children are in danger of being caught by a threatening figure. Billy is still trapped inside the mausoleum, and he begs Ethan to help him escape. Billy reaches out to Ethan, but the gap between them widens as Ethan is pulled back by the other children, who are running away.

The man in the suit is now only a short distance away, and he shouts at Billy, reminding him that he has warned him before to stay away from the Institute. Ethan is shocked because he had no idea Billy had been here before. He feels betrayed by Billy and questions their friendship. This betrayal influences Ethan’s decision to run instead of helping Billy. He worries that he could get into trouble for something he didn’t want to do, and he is angry that Billy led them to the falls and the mausoleum despite previous warnings. Ethan’s desire to avoid trouble overrides his sense of loyalty and friendship, leading him to distance himself from Billy’s plight.

As Ethan runs along the path, he hears Billy’s desperate pleas for Ethan to come back and help him. But Ethan pretends he doesn’t hear Billy and continues to flee, joining Ashley and Russ, who are already far ahead. The chapter closes with Ethan torn between his fear for his own safety and his guilt over abandoning Billy.

This chapter returns to the present and follows Ethan’s struggle with his current situation and revelations about the past. Ragesh has removed him from the Hawthorne Institute but has not arrested him. Ethan questions Ragesh for information about the Institute, about Ragesh’s memories of their childhood, and his present investigation.

Ragesh shares that he and Johnny Chen had volunteered at the Institute but were asked to take strange quizzes. Ezra Hawthorne was hoping to find people who possessed the ability to talk with the dead. Ragesh thought the Institute was bizarre but he remarks that Johnny was unusually drawn to the place. Ragesh drives Ethan home and reminds him to stay away from the Hawthorne Institute.

Back home, Ethan reviews the photographs he took at the Institute. Most are unremarkable, but he notices that in the photos from the 1980s and 1990s, everyone is dressed in black suits, which seems unusual. One particular photo from 1969 shows Ezra Hawthorne and others around a crystal ball, which intensifies Ethan’s questions about the Institute’s involvement with the occult.

The chapter ends with a shocking discovery: in a photo from 1994, Ethan recognizes his mother among a group of people at the Institute.

This flashback is narrated from the third-person perspective of Ethan’s mother, Joyce Marsh. On the afternoon of Billy’s disappearance, Joyce sits alone in her kitchen, feeling foolish and disheartened long after Ashley has left. The silence of the afternoon amplifies her feelings of inadequacy. She can’t shake the embarrassment of having been so emotionally vulnerable with her teenage neighbor.

As she surveys the kitchen, Joyce reflects on the life she has led. Her own mother adhered to traditional roles, and Joyce never questioned this norm. When she met Fred Marsh, the decision to leave college and marry him felt like the natural progression of her life. But over time, she has become lonely and dissatisfied, longing for a sense of personal accomplishment.

Taking a secretarial job at the Hawthorne Institute made her very happy. Despite the oddities, like the staff’s peculiar attire and the bizarre activities, Joyce found satisfaction in her job. Earning her own money felt empowering. But her life took a dramatic turn when, one night, she returned to the Institute after forgetting Fred’s birthday gift. But when she entered her workplace after hours, she encountered a group of chanting, robed figures covered in blood. Terrified and unable to scream, Joyce tried to run away, but she was caught by her boss. He informed her that she was being fired and forced her to sign a nondisclosure agreement. This agreement forbade her from discussing what she had seen with anyone, including Fred, and threatened legal action from Mr. Hawthorne if she violated it.

Back home, Joyce struggles with the aftermath of the night’s events. The watch she planned to give Fred now symbolizes her lost aspirations and the abrupt turn her life has taken. With a heavy heart, she decides to return the watch to the store, facing a future marked by secrecy and unresolved questions.

Back in the present, Ethan feels angry and conflicted as he stares at the photo of his mother. He wonders why his mother never told him where she worked. He feels guilty that, as a child, he never took an interest in his mother’s life or asked her where she worked. He wonders if the police knew that his mother was an employee at the Hawthorne Institute or if she deliberately kept it a secret from everyone. Ethan’s thoughts spiral as he asks himself why she would need to keep her employment a secret and why she always told him never to explore the woods around the Institute.

He feels his face growing hot with shame as he realizes that although he loves and trusts his parents, he needs to confront them about this. Even if they had nothing to do with Billy’s death, he needs answers. Ethan FaceTimes his parents so he can look into their eyes while he asks his questions; they answer right away, and Ethan tells them what he has discovered. Burning with shame and fighting the urge to hang up the phone, Ethan asks his parents if either of them killed Billy.

Joyce is offended by the question, but Fred is more understanding. Where Joyce is angry that Ethan would even ask, Fred empathizes with Ethan’s longing for closure and understands why he would ask this question in light of his recent discovery. Joyce is reluctant to talk about her time at the Hawthorne Institute and Ethan realizes it’s because she is still frightened by the NDA. Joyce took it very seriously; even 30 years later, she is still afraid of its threats. She remarks that although the Institute belonged to Ezra Hawthorne, her direct supervisor was truly in charge. Ethan urges his mother to tell him who her employer was and Joyce admits it was Fritz Van de Veer.

This interlude is set in the past, on the afternoon prior to Billy’s disappearance, and narrated from Billy Barringer’s perspective. Billy feels abandoned and begins to cry as he watches the other boys run away, leaving him behind. As Billy struggles with his emotions, the man in a suit approaches him. The man grabs Billy by the arm, but instead of showing any aggression, he speaks gently, assuring Billy that he won’t hurt him. The chapter ends with Billy in an uncertain position, physically free but emotionally vulnerable, as he faces the unknown intentions of the man who has helped him.

Back in the present, Ethan immediately goes to the Van de Veer home to confront Fritz. Unwilling to discuss his work at the Hawthorne Institute in front of his wife, Fritz asks if he and Ethan can take a walk instead. Fritz expresses surprise that Joyce broke her NDA and implies that she is obligated to protect the Hawthorne Institute’s secrets. Ethan becomes convinced that Billy stumbled upon a secret Ezra Hawthorne would kill to protect, and he presses Fritz to confess, insinuating that Fritz and Ezra must have been involved in Billy’s murder.

To Ethan’s surprise, Fritz reveals the truth of the Institute’s research: They really did talk to ghosts. Ezra Hawthorne was fascinated by the supernatural and wanted to connect with spirits. He surrounded himself with others with similar interests, hoping that their collective passion would enable them to truly commune with the dead. Despite the Institute’s secretive reputation, Fritz insists that nothing harmful went on there. The Satanic ritual Joyce thought she saw was Ezra’s attempt to recreate a fourth-century Druid rite—and Fritz himself procured a pig’s heart from a local butcher to use in the ceremony.

The Institute’s secrecy was only a byproduct of Ezra’s own eccentricity; afraid that people would mock him for talking to ghosts, he kept his research secret and required all of his employees to sign nondisclosure agreements. Fritz’ sincerity—and his observation that 94-year-old Ezra was physically incapable of murdering Billy—convinces Ethan. As the conversation ends, he feels as though he has both gained answers and hit a dead end.

This interlude returns to the day of Billy’s disappearance, after Billy has been discovered snooping around the Hawthorne Institute. Narrated from Billy’s perspective, this chapter reveals that the man who caught Billy was Fritz Van de Veer. Although Billy was afraid that his neighbor would tell his parents and he would get in trouble, Fritz surprised him by inviting him to come inside and explore further.

While on Fritz’s guided tour, Billy meets—and develops a friendship with—Ezra Hawthorne himself. Ezra recognizes Billy’s shared interest in the supernatural and appreciates Billy’s perspective. He invites Billy to visit him and explore the Institute any time he likes.