Chapter 35 Summary, Analysis, and Study Notes

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Summary

Chapter 36 (labeled Chapter 35 in the book) is presented as an excerpt from a recorded interview. Kayla Elliot sits down with Pastor Rita Higgins on Clifford Island for a youth group history project that Ms. Stone assigned. Kayla brings a recorder, and Rita agrees to talk, though she gently probes why the project was assigned and whether Kayla or Lily came up with it. Kayla confirms it was Ms. Stone's idea.

Kayla says she wants to discuss ghosts. Rita immediately corrects her: ghosts, as commonly understood, do not exist. What islanders see are “dead things” — demonic manifestations that mimic the deceased. Rita grounds this in scripture, explaining that once a soul moves on, it cannot return. The dead things are tricks, not spirits.

Rita asks Kayla what she has seen. Kayla hesitates but admits she sees her grandmother. The grandmother died years ago when she was sucked under a fishing boat; the propeller tore off her arm, and she bled to death. Kayla was four or five at the time and was on the boat with her. She says she has no memory of the living grandmother, only the dead thing that emerges from the woods at night, torn and bloody, sometimes crawling on one arm.

Kayla confesses that she feels an intense urge to follow the apparition, driven by guilt. She wonders if she pressured her grandmother to take her out that day. Rita explains that the dead thing feeds on love and guilt, and that following it would lead to Kayla's own death. She instructs Kayla to close her curtains, shut her eyes, and hide under the covers if the thing appears.

Kayla asks if Rita sees them too. Rita says yes, sometimes they are family. Kayla recalls that Rita's father died in an accident, but Rita clarifies he fell off a horse, became paralyzed, and died much later of natural causes. She has not seen him since his death, which she attributes to following the rules.

Kayla wonders why she sees her grandmother at all, since she wasn't alive during the island's original tragedy and doesn't break rituals. Rita brings up the Clifford Sickness, noting that some victims saw dead things before they were taken, even before any rules existed. She calls the dead things “harbingers” — announcements of death. Rita then delivers a key revelation: everyone on the island is cheating death. The islanders should have died long ago, and the dead things appear to believers, not just rule-breakers.

Kayla mentions that Lily hasn't seen anything. Rita says skeptics are less likely to see them, but that doesn't make them safe. She references the old pastor and the children who vanished, noting that no one knows what they saw. Belief, Rita says, is the pattern.

Rita then shifts to encouragement. She tells Kayla she is a fighter, one of the best, and that the community needs her to help keep everyone safe. She reminds Kayla of the island's history of vanishings and the shared purpose of following the rules. When Kayla asks why people didn't figure out how to fight sooner, Rita compares it to faith: people are born with the capacity to believe, but they must open their hearts. She says she intends to keep everyone safe and asks Kayla to trust her. Kayla does. Rita tells her to repeat “I am a soldier,” and Kayla complies. The chapter ends with Kayla starting to ask something else, then stopping herself.

Key Events

Kayla interviews Rita for a youth group history project assigned by Ms. Stone, and records the conversation.
Rita redefines ghosts as “dead things” — demonic manifestations that feed on love and guilt.
Kayla reveals she sees her grandmother's torn, bloody apparition at night and feels compelled to follow it.
Rita explains that the dead things are harbingers of death and that everyone on the island is cheating death.
Rita tells Kayla that belief is a condition for seeing the dead things, which is why Lily hasn't seen them.
Rita declares Kayla a fighter and a soldier, and Kayla repeats the phrase “I am a soldier.”
Kayla begins to ask another question but stops herself, leaving the conversation unfinished.

Character Development

Kayla Elliot is the focal point of this chapter. Her guilt over her grandmother's death is laid bare. She admits she feels responsible, even though she was a small child and has no memory of the event. This guilt makes her vulnerable to the dead thing's pull. Rita's warnings give Kayla a framework for understanding her experience, but also place a burden on her: she is now a “soldier” in the island's defense. Kayla's willingness to repeat the phrase shows her trust in Rita and her desire to belong to the community's protective structure. Her final, unasked question hints at lingering doubts or fears she cannot yet voice.

Rita Higgins emerges as the island's spiritual authority and guardian. She is patient, probing, and reassuring, but also firm. She does not dismiss Kayla's fear; instead, she validates it and offers practical rules. Rita's own history — caring for her paralyzed father — adds depth to her role as a caretaker. She frames the island's survival as a collective effort, with everyone as soldiers. Her explanation of belief as a prerequisite for seeing the dead things reinforces her position as the keeper of knowledge.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Dead things as demonic manifestations: Rita insists that the apparitions are not ghosts but demonic tricks. This reframes the supernatural horror as a deliberate, malevolent force rather than a benign haunting.

Guilt as fuel: The dead thing feeds on Kayla's love and guilt. Her sense of responsibility for her grandmother's death is what makes her vulnerable. This suggests that the island's evil exploits emotional wounds.

Belief as a condition for seeing: Rita explains that believers see the dead things while skeptics like Lily do not. This introduces a subjective element to the horror — what you perceive depends on what you are willing to accept.

Cheating death: Rita's statement that everyone on the island is cheating death reframes the community's rituals as a collective bargain. The dead things are harbingers that remind the islanders of their borrowed time.

Soldier mentality: Rita's insistence that Kayla repeat “I am a soldier” turns survival into a military duty. The islanders are not passive victims but active defenders, and Kayla is being recruited into that role.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is a major exposition dump, but it is delivered through character interaction rather than narration. It establishes the rules of the supernatural world: what the dead things are, how they operate, and why some people see them. It also deepens Kayla's personal stakes by connecting her to the island's history and her own guilt. Rita's explanation of the Clifford Sickness and the harbingers ties the current events to the island's past vanishings, setting up the larger mystery. Finally, the chapter ends with Kayla's suppressed question, creating suspense about what she wanted to ask and what that might reveal later.

Study Questions

Why does Rita insist that ghosts do not exist, and what does she say they actually are?

Rita explains that ghosts, as commonly understood, are not real. Once a person dies, their soul moves on and cannot return. What islanders see are “dead things” — demonic manifestations that take the form of deceased loved ones. These dead things feed on the love and guilt of the living and are harbingers of death.

What role does belief play in seeing the dead things, according to Rita?

Rita says that belief is a pattern. Islanders who are more open-minded or superstitious tend to see the dead things, while skeptics like Lily do not. However, belief does not make someone safe; even skeptics can be taken if the community slips up. The dead things appear to believers, but the danger applies to everyone.

What does Rita mean when she says everyone on the island is “cheating death”?

Rita explains that the islanders should have died long ago, but they are surviving by following rules and rituals. The dead things are harbingers that announce death, and they appear because the islanders are living on borrowed time. This is why even rule-abiding people like Kayla see them — the entire community is defying death, and the dead things are a reminder of that.