School Spirits season 3 episode 5 continues to examine the history of Split River High, centering on Alfred Van Heidt. Alfred was a historical figure in the town, known for his role in attempting to split the river to promote prosperity. Records and local accounts in the episode describe him as a man who viewed townspeople as obstacles and took extreme measures to control them.
During a flood, Alfred trapped eight children in a church, resulting in their deaths and his own. In episode 5, the living and the spirits work to uncover the truth about Alfred’s actions, his motivations, and how his past continues to affect the ghostly and human residents of Split River.
School Spirits season 3 episode 5 recap: What is Alfred Van Heidt’s role in Split River?
School Spirits season 3 makes Alfred Van Heidt a key person in the town’s past. At the Harvest Festival, Dr. Hunter-Price says he was the one who suggested dividing the river, in order to make the town do well.
However, a tarot card reader later shows a worse side to Alfred, saying he was unkind and used people. He apparently thought of the people in town as pests, and thought he had to be really severe to manage them. Town records and what people remember indicate that Alfred shut children up in the church during a flood.
Eight children, as well as himself, died because of his scheme, and School Spirits season 3 links this to what is happening now: the spirits – who are now called the Forgotten – are still bound to the places where they died. What Alfred did caused trouble which is still around, and the people in the story now have to deal with.
How does Simon confront Alfred?
In School Spirits season 3 episode 5, Simon goes back to the church mark to look into Alfred. Alfred touches Simon’s face, and makes Simon go through the day of the flood once more. Simon sees the children who were trapped, and Alfred locking them in. Alfred also has Simon’s prayer beads, which makes Simon’s link to the awful event a personal one.
Simon tells Charley and the other ghosts what he went through. They start to understand that Alfred chose Simon for a reason. While the group looks around the church, they come across hints – like a ring which might have been Alfred’s.
The third season of School Spirits uses these encounters to show how things that happened in the past still affect what is going on now, but does not fully explain what Alfred was trying to do.
What do the spirits reveal about the town’s history?
School Spirits season 3 keeps giving details about the Forgotten. Xavier finds out from Kyle that where the hospital is now, a foundry used to be. When the foundry fell down, the spirits there got stuck; this shows that knocking down buildings in Split River can stop spirits from moving on.
At the Harvest Festival, a tarot card reader says that Alfred Van Heidt was trying to get land from people in town, and used extreme methods – putting children in danger, for example – to get what he wanted. The church flood and the deaths that came from it are connected to these actions, and this explains why spirits are still tied to the church mark and areas around it.
In the meantime, Maddie has visions, and Quinn and Rhonda become better friends after looking at the church mark.
School Spirits season 3 concludes Episode 5 with Alfred Van Heidt confronting Simon, forcing him to relive the flood that killed eight children. The ghost gang intervenes, but a mishap leaves Simon unconscious.
At the Harvest Festival, Xavier discovers that Kyle’s body has been inhabited by another spirit, adding complexity to the town’s supernatural events. Alfred’s actions in the past created the unrest of the Forgotten and continue to affect both the living and the dead.
School Spirits season 3 can be streamed now on Paramount+.
Edited by Bea Melisse Ibañez
