Frank Bannister is a former architect and later paranormal investigator of Fairwater, California in The Frighteners. He is portrayed by Michael J. Fox.
Biography
1990
Frank was once an architect and married to a woman named Debra, living in Fairwater, California, where he had begun the construction of their dream home in 1990. The couple however, ended up in an accident, claiming Debra in the process. Having no recollection of what occurred, Frank however gained the ability to not only see spirits, but also speak with them as well. As a result, he left his promising architect career in order to pursue one involving paranormal investigation. In order to proceed, Frank would come to employ 3 ghosts: Cyrus, Stuart and Judge. These ghosts would work with Frank by deliberately haunting houses to him to investigate and earn a living in the process.
1996
6 years later, Frank has remained a paranormal investigator with the aid of his ghostly trio and made himself known at the local cemetery, passing out his card in order to drum up some business. On his way back however, he accidentally crashes into the fence of the Lynskeys, resulting in him getting heat from Ray Lynskey. He leaves his card with them before leaving and taking out Ray's lawn art as well. Sometime after, Frank sent Cyrus and Stuart to haunt the Lynskey residence, resulting in Ray and his wife Lucy to call him for aid. He arrived at the home, where he began examining the home, while also making an estimate at the cost for his services. He did offer to call it even and forget about the damages he made prior to their fence, which they agreed and he began to use a squirt gun filled with holy water. As Frank finished with the "exorcism", he noticed the Ray had a number on his forehead, however before he said anything more other than telling the Lynskeys about it, he was forced out the door and left. He returned home with Cyrus and Stuart in the trunk of his car, and settled in for the remainder of the night. The next morning, he showers and has breakfast, while also in a meeting with his spiritual cohorts. The next night, Judge has a talk with Frank about death not being a way to make a living. While Frank is still hell-bent on finishing the house, Judge tells him he won't be able. Following this, Cyrus and Stuart are sent to a manor, where they perform their usual antics, causing 3 babies to float mid-air before the owner calls Bannister. When Frank arrives however and begins his preliminary sweep, the owner shows him a local paper, which says he is a con artist and is asked to leave. Leaving for the local paper, Frank confronts the rather rash and stuck-up editor Magda Rees-Jones and ends up being forced to leave.
Frank then finds himself confronted with Ray Lynskey's spirit, revealing he has died and is told that his heart was squeezed by unknown means, resulting in his death. He explains to him that since he missed his window to leave for the afterlife, Ray must now wait a year before getting another chance, as well as bringing him to his own funeral. Frank takes Ray to the cemetery, where they venture and Frank has a run-in with Master Sgt. Hiles, the ghost of a local turned military man once in life before making his way to the funeral. It's here that Frank meets up with Sherriff Walt Perry, where he learns about what transpired, as the victims have all been killed by supposed heart attacks, but their arteries are clean, however the heart looks like it had been squeezed. He then meets up with Lucy once more, believing his claim to see and speak to the dead and as a result, wishes to speak to Ray over dinner. That night, Frank and Ray go to a local restaurant, where he communes with Lucy on Ray's behalf, revealing that the money she lent him was invested badly, as well as telling her Ray has already left. This causes Ray to spill Frank's drink on him, forcing him to head for the restroom to clean up. Once in the bathroom, Frank cleans himself up, however as he does, he notices a man enter, with a number on his forehead. He then notices the wall moving inwards, resulting in him attempting to confront it to protect the man. After checking all three stalls, he sits down on one of the toilets in relief, however the man is attacked at the sink by the same thing that caused the wall to move, which forces its hand into the man's chest and squeezes his heart, killing him as a result. Frank notices the apparition in the form of the Grim Reaper before it leaps back through the mirror. Before leaving the restaurant, Frank sees the spirit leave for the afterlife and then goes to pursue the ghost, terrified. He gives chase to it in his car with his spectral cohorts along for the ride, however he ends up losing the ghost.
Down by the waterfront, Frank sits in his car, while Stuart, Cyrus and Judge chat about what they saw, with Judge believing it to be the actual Grim Reaper. Before they know it however, the column of life is seen at the local museum, leading Frank to speed off to see if he can try to save anybody from this apparition. He arrives too late to save the ghost's 39th victim, but also finds the Magda Rees-Jones is next and attempts to warn her, only for her to believe him that he was threatening to kill her. It's then that the deputies hold Frank at gunpoint, but also him seeing the reaper hasn't left the museum yet. Before the reaper can claim Magda however, Judge appears, shooting at the entity with his six-shooters and driving it away. Judge then begins to have an intimate encounter with one of the mummies on display, creating a distraction for Frank to escape, however the deputies open fire on him. It's then Cyrus and Stuart use one of the mummies on display to distract the deputies, making it appear it came back to life. Frank is able to escape in a vacant sarcophagus, with the aid of Cyrus and Stuart, but he doesn't get far before exiting the coffin and witnessing the reaper attack Judge. Following this, Frank leaves the museum with Magda unconscious and the two remaining ghosts to delay the pursuing officers. Frank speeds off with the reaper in hot pursuit, however ends up in an accident. Magda is able to escape the car, but not before the reaper kills her as well, leaving Frank to witness the event. He does attempt to stop the entity from escaping, only to land on Magda's corpse and then witness her leave for the afterlife. With little choice, he heads for the Sherriff's office and reports Magda's death, leaving Walt to ask him if he had anything to do with her death. He doesn't respond, leaving Agent Milton Dammers to order his arrest. Frank, having himself to be at the end of his rope, tells Lucy to leave and forget about him, despite her protests before being processed. Dammers then takes the time to interrogate him, however initially Walt stands up for him, only for the Agent to force the Sherriff to vacate the room. He attempts to explain to Dammers what he witnessed, as well as his ability to see and communicate with spirits, only for Dammers to believe that the reaper was an alter ego of Frank's psyche and attempting to break him, but to no avail and therefore leaves him locked up.
Frank remains in his cell until Lucy comes to see him, revealing that she found his utility knife at the Bradley residence, where she believed the killer to be Patricia Bradley's elderly mother. Frank is a bit reluctant to even speak to her at first, however does so, as Lucy talks him out of his funk. After hugging for a second, Frank realizes that Lucy has a number on her forehead as well, leading the reaper to attempt his attack on her, however, Stuart and Cyrus attack the reaper in order to keep the pair alive. Lucy then calls for the deputy, which results in both she and Frank escaping the holding cells and running through the station. They then find themselves at gunpoint by Dammers, who attempts to kill him, only for Lucy to spray him with the fire extinguisher long enough for them to escape and take Dammers' gun. With Cyrus and Stuart now gone, Frank realizes he can't protect Lucy and decides to have an out-of-body experience and goes to shoot himself in the head. Lucy then offers an alternative, where she takes him to the hospital and injects him with barbiturates to stop his heart and place his body in the freezer to preserve to induce hypothermia, giving him the experience he needs.
Frank is given 20 minutes to take on the reaper, or it will lead to damage to his body. He has several run-ins with the entity before finding himself at the cemetery, where he attempts to drive the police car used by Dammers, who had kidnapped Lucy. Hiles however, grabs him and throws him in the ground, but he escapes and finds the reaper ended Hiles, giving Frank some much needed firepower to take on the entity. After loading several rounds from Hiles' dual M60 machine guns at the reaper, the entity falls apart, allowing him to pick up the face and demand it reveal its true self. After some physical convincing, the specter is revealed to be the ghost of Johnny Bartlett, a known mass murderer from the 1960s. Before Johnny can escape, Frank gives chase and before ending the killer, is resurrected by Lucy and her colleague at the hospital. Frank reveals that Johnny is back and that Patricia, his accomplice and girlfriend at the time, is likely in danger. This results in Lucy leaving Frank at the hospital while she goes to the Bradley residence. Following his treatment, Frank makes it to the Bradley residence, where he finds Lucy under attack by Johnny and Patricia, resulting in them combating the ghost, as well as realizing that Patricia had the ashes of Bartlett in her room the whole time. They then decide to go to the chapel at the abandoned hospital, as the consecrated ground will aid in his return to hell. As they escape the house, Patricia gives chase and they arrive at the hospital. Unfamiliar as to where the chapel's location is however, Frank finds himself in a post-cognitive vision, revealing the chapel on the 4th floor. They soon find themselves split up, thanks to Dammers, who captures Lucy again, but not for long, leaving Frank to be chased by a crazed Patricia, wielding a shotgun. he continues to have visions of the murders while hiding from Patricia, however Lucy was able to escape in an elevator, which made a noise loud enough for Patricia to hear and investigate.
Frank is able to escape to the 4th floor and comes across the chapel, as well as Lucy, who's stuck in the elevator. She gives him the ashes and he goes to open the door, which had been boarded up years ago, however he accidentally moves into a statue of the Virgin Mary, which he saves from falling, however the pedestal it was on, sends the ashes catapulting into the air. Thinking they would land on the ground, Frank witnesses them landing in the hands of Dammers, who he attempts to reason with in order to complete his mission. Dammers, not believing his claims, releases the ashes, letting Johnny free. It's then Frank calls Dammers an asshole, to which he acknowledges before pulling out his Uzi and wounding Frank's upper arm. Frank moves away from Dammers, however finds himself now in the path of both the agent and Patricia, which results in him turning to Dammers, falling into a weak part of the floor and Patricia blowing Dammers' head off. Frank falls through several floors before landing on an old bed and rolling off it, laying on the floor. Not long after, Lucy arrives, as does Patricia, who strikes Lucy with her shotgun, resulting in her falling on the ground like Debra. This causes Frank to have a flashback to his accident 6 years ago, which reveals that he witnessed the Johnny and Patricia not only kill his wife, but also carve a number into her forehead with his own utility knife. He attempts to confront them, but Patricia takes her shotgun and goes to shoot him, however has run out of ammo, forcing her to strangle him. Frank attempts to fight her, but fails in the attempt and dies, but his spirit form attacks Patricia, pulling her soul from her body, forcing Johnny to give chase. It's here that Johnny catches up with the two, taking Patricia and Frank finding himself in heaven, witnessing the murderous pair being sent into hell. He would also reunite with Cyrus and Stuart, as well as his wife Debra. He believes he is home, but it's revealed that it isn't his time yet and that he should start living. Debra tells him to be happy and he's sent back to his mortal body.
Now happily reunited with Lucy, the pair become an item and have a picnic sometime later, witnessing the demolition of what would've been his dream home. Walt pays them a visit and tells Frank that Patricia used Ouija boards to contact Johnny and fish him from Hell. Walt also offers Frank a book collaboration, only for him to decline it and watch as the Sherriff drove off with the ghost of Dammers in the back seat. It's here that Lucy reveals that she also can see ghosts, which surprises Frank and then she playfully takes the blanket from their picnic to chase him about, as if she was the reaper.
Personality & Traits
Initially, Frank was an everyday man, happily married and living the American dream, however that all changed when he experienced the trauma of the accident that took his wife in the process. It was because of this, that he had no recollection of what happened to her following the incident, however it left him with the ability to see and communicate with those on the spiritual plain of existence. He decided to use this gift of his to con the people of his town out of their money in a selfish way to finish the house he and his wife planned to reside prior to the accident.
Gallery
