Major spoilers are ahead from School Spirits season 3 episode 4!
The third episode of School Spirits season 3 ended with Simon venturing down the secret passageway in Mr. Martin's scar to the abandoned house and encountering a mysterious figure. Who are they, and are they friend or foe? Let's move right along to the fourth episode of the season, titled "The Bereftest Club," to see what happens next!
Simon loses Mr. Martin's watch
The fourth episode of School Spirits season 3 picks up where things left off. After seeing the shadowy figure, Simon tries to quickly leave the abandoned house, but accidentally trips and falls. As he gets up to leave, two hands grab his ankle from the puddle of water. Wally makes his way down into the building and rescues Simon, but in the process, Simon loses Mr. Martin's watch. He doesn't know that, though.
The episode then shifts to Maddie’s house, where she watches her mom leave for a treatment center. Maddie approaches her old Barbie dollhouse and starts handling her dolls, but things quickly take a strange turn. She rushes to hide under a blanket on the couch, and that’s when we realize she's caught in a troubling daydream. Xavier knocks on the front door, offering to stay the night. But Maddie turns him down and says that she'll be fine while her mom is gone for a couple of days.
After the opening credits wrap up, we're taken to Split River High. It's the next morning, and Maddie's class is headed on the senior trip. However, she, Nicole, Xavier, and Claire are forced to stay behind for detention. Maddie heads to the cafeteria and learns from Simon, Wally, and the other ghosts what they've been up to. Wally shares with her how he ventured into the abandoned house, but he leaves out the part that he helped Simon do it as well. Charley also brings up the incident with Mr. South, the school's janitor, who accidentally got injured after Wally spooked him in the library.
Simon then shows Maddie and the others a book that was found in the abandoned house. It looks like a bible. Simon thinks the building isn't actually a house, but a church. He thinks that people are down there. However, he tells the others that the only way to know for sure is to explore it further.
Maddie doesn't think that's a good idea, though. She tells Simon to give her more time to figure things out, but he insists they can’t wait. He tells Maddie that he's going to that church and walks away. Maddie is unable to follow him because Principal Hartman walks into the cafeteria with Nicole, Claire, and Xavier to start detention. Once he leaves, Maddie tells Rhonda and Charley to work together to try to figure out more about the church. She then informs Nicole, Xavier, and Claire of everything. She asks them to cover for her while she goes to stop Simon from entering the church.
While Maddie is searching for Simon, Nicole, Xavier, and Claire discover that the book is written in Finnish. At the same time, Claire notices that Simon's parents messaged him earlier on his iPad. They’re starting to worry after not hearing his voice for days. Now, the trio needs to find a way to make it seem like he’s okay. Nicole heads to the media lab to splice together old episodes of Simon’s podcast, creating the illusion that he’s still active. Meanwhile, Claire goes to the library to dig deeper into the book, while Xavier stays behind in the cafeteria to keep watch for Principal Hartman’s return.
Wally comes clean to Simon
Elsewhere in the school, Yuri, Mr. Martin, and Quinn decide to take shrooms. This leads to Mr. Martin and Quinn experiencing some bizarre hallucinations. There's even a whole dance number with Quinn and the others. But again, this isn't real. Later on, in the fallout shelter, Simon asks Wally for Mr. Martin's watch so he can enter his scar. Wally points out that he should already have it, and that’s when Simon realizes he must have dropped it in the church.
He suggests they take the long route, traveling through the other scars to reach Mr. Martin’s, but Wally insists he needs a moment to think. This confuses Simon at first, but Wally comes clean later in the episode. He shares with him that he got his exit door, and that's what initially made him hesitant to enter his own scar again. In the end, they decide to return to the church.
Back in the Split River High library, Rhonda and Charley sift through old books, searching for information about churches that once operated in the area. Their research is interrupted when Principal Hartman and Dr. Hunter-Price enter, discussing plans for the school’s eventual demolition.
Accompanied by an inspector, Dr. Hunter-Price is touring Split River High and documenting the building’s many issues. After they leave, Rhonda and Charley resume their search. Claire soon arrives and begins using a computer to dig into the town's history. Rhonda and Charley then peek over her shoulder and are surprised at what she uncovers.
Later on, Yuri finally enters his scar and freaks out at what he experiences. Elsewhere in the school, Maddie runs into Mr. South. After admitting that she sees the same strange "things" around the school that he does, Mr. South feels comfortable enough to lead her to a mysterious spot on campus.
He shows her a cornerstone that seems to give off a strange, almost otherworldly energy. He explains that it has been there since long before either of them were born. Their conversation is then abruptly interrupted when Xavier calls out to Maddie from inside the building, urging her to hurry back to the cafeteria because Principal Hartman is on the way. He quickly relays the warning to Nicole and Claire as well. In the end, they make it back in time.
Disturbing details about Split River are revealed
After Principal Hartman leaves the cafeteria again, Claire shares the shocking discovery she uncovered about the town with Maddie, Xavier, and Nicole. Rhonda, Charley, and Mr. Martin are there as well. So, here's a breakdown of what Claire learned. Split River was originally called Still Water until 1912, and a church once stood on the same site where Split River High now sits. On Oct. 28, 1912, a devastating flood struck the church, killing nine people inside. Eight of the victims were children. Since this was a tragic incident, Maddie believes that the memory of it is trapped at the school.
However, Maddie and the others aren't able to talk about the topic for long since Principal Hartman returns to tell them that detention is over. Later on, Yuri and Charley finally patch things up in their relationship after Yuri explains to him why he was so hesitant to enter his scar. We're then taken to the local hospital, where Maddie's dad (Dave) talks with a mysterious woman in the basement.
The woman is a spirit just like him, who's trapped there. Dave explains to her how his daughter needs his help. He tells her that spirits are stuck at Split River High just like them at the hospital. But the woman responds by saying that they're not really stuck. However, she tells him that there are other, much older spirits who are actually trapped and can't escape. As their conversation unfolds, the episode cuts between them and Wally and Simon at the church.
After finding Mr. Martin's watch, Wally and Simon are about to leave the church when Simon hears a noise and stops in his tracks. A creepy-looking figure then approaches him and grabs his face before the fourth episode cuts to the credits. According to the woman in the hospital basement, this type of spirit is called a "forgotten." Dun dun duuun!
School Spirits season 3 is now streaming on Paramount+.