"I haven't seen many horror films," she admits, laughing at Sabrina's flailing, smiling at the gentle bump of Charlie's shoulder against her own. "With or without giant worms. Or normal-sized ones, for that matter."

A few times, she'd gone with friends and--very occasionally--her brother to see the latest Hammer production at the Odeon, and the new Hitchcock film about the murderous hotel owner had been the topic of considerable chatter at school the month before she'd found herself so suddenly brought to Darrow, but that had been effectively the limit of Rosie's exposure to the genre. She so disliked being frightened, it made little sense to seek it out for entertainment's sake.

"Still," she continues, "I can't say I'm not a little curious about it. Let's watch that one."