Xylda

**Xylda** was a psychic, but is currently a ghost in *Midnight, Texas*. She is Manfred Bernardo's grandmother and continues to watch over him, even in death. She directs him to the town of Midnight, TX, telling him that he will be safe there. She has since moved on, becoming untethered from the RV.

## Backstory

At some point in the 1950s, Xylda, either living in or traveling through Midnight, TX, was taken by Zachariah and Pia to Home Cookin' to be a gift for Lemuel Bridger. They hoped that by feeding on her, it would lift his bad spirit. Lemuel took her upstairs into one of the hotel rooms and was told to close her eyes, that it would hurt for a second, then it would feel good, and finally, it would be over. However, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He was still a slave, but this time to blood, he told her. Lemuel told Xylda to wait until daylight when she could safely sneak down the back stairs. Xylda was confused as to why he was letting her go. Lemuel even confessed that perhaps he'd join her and put an end to his newfound slavery. Xylda, however, offered another solution. She told him that he could change, that if he wanted to put his 'curse' behind him, then she could help. He accepted her offer. Through undisclosed means, Lemuel emerged as an energy-leeching vampire. Xylda gifted him the opportunity to feed without having to resort to blood for survival. Lemuel dispatched two of Zachariah's vampires and forced him to leave Midnight, saving Xylda and the other inhabitants of Midnight.

As years passed, Xylda had a daughter who would eventually give birth to her grandson, Manfred. Unlike herself or her grandson, her daughter did not have their abilities to communicate with spirits which prompted her to leave Manfred permanently in her care, dropping him off at a children's park. Xylda agreed and took him in. While speaking with her daughter, Manfred played with the spirits of deceased children. Xylda witnessed him being teased and taunted by the other children for playing alone, or so it seemed to them. Xylda came to his defense. She told the children about an old Gypsy curse used on people with cruel tongues. A few choice words and their tongues would shrivel like a black wad of gum. Scaring off the children, she called Manfred back inside the RV where she warned him against playing with spirits. He was too strong and too little. He needed to stop, especially when out in public because people might think he's crazy. Other people can't see what they see, like Manfred's mother. She explained that she dropped him because she was trying to do what she thought was best for him, to be with someone that understood what it's like to be able to talk to the living and the dead. Xylda understood what Manfred was going through, and she could help. On a lighter topic, she goes on to explain that he will live in the RV with her. The best part about it is that when the going gets tough, they live in a house with wheels. They can go wherever they want.

A number of years later, Xylda and now an adult Manfred ran a grift on a man called Hightower, an old-world gypsy with no abilities like their own. He wanted to be the patriarch of a powerful, magical family. Xylda made him an offer. Manfred would marry his daughter, Violet, and get magic in his bloodline in exchange for $100,000. On the night before they were to be married, Xylda was paid and Manfred walked out on her, leaving her at the altar. To Manfred's dismay, Violet committed suicide that prompted Hightower to seek revenge and hunted them.

After pulling the grift, Xylda became sick; it was cancer. The money that they stole didn't last long as chemotherapy was expensive. Over the course of the year, they continued to run from Hightower as Xylda's cancer got worse. One night, as she laid dying in the RV, Xylda asked Manfred for her gin and tonic. The way she saw it, she might as well fall off the wagon the day she died. The last time she had a drink was the day Manfred's mother dropped him off at her RV. Manfred asked Xylda if she was sure about what she was doing. Compared to the poison the doctors gave her, she joked that gin and tonic were like soda pop. Manfred informed her that there were always other treatments they could look into; that he could get more money. However, she dismissed him; her cancer had spread to her liver and brain, and she had accepted her fate. While it wasn't the end she'd write, they've seen worse and she was picking her exit. Xylda took a handful of pills and chugged them down with her gin and tonic before telling Manfred not to look so sad. Her fate was sealed and there was no point in fighting it. Hoping that it would help him cope with the entire situation, Xylda told him to take one of her white pills because they were fun. Xylda thinks back to all the good times she had with Manfred. While they had a good run, it was coming to an end. She was thankful for her time with him. Manfred tells her that he's going to miss her. Xylda hopes that he'd miss her, otherwise that would mean she would still be around, trapped in limbo, and tethered to the world. Spirits needed to move on, but that didn't mean Xylda didn't love him. Xylda spends her last moments with Manfred before passing away.

## Throughout Midnight, Texas

* Season One
* Season Two

### Season One

In *Pilot*, Xylda, as a ghost, continues to watch over her grandson Manfred. Threatened by a man named "Hightower", she tells him that he needs to settle down and that Midnight would be the perfect place to lay low. As he nears Midnight, she greets and tells him that this move will be good for him.
After the death of Aubrey Hamilton and subsequently conjuring up more ghosts, he questions her about Midnight, that he thought he would be safe. She retorts, asking him about lying low, instead of summoning angry ghosts. She then tells him that Midnight is not like other places.

In *Bad Moon Rising*, Xylda talks with Manfred after he agrees to help the Midnighters. She asks if he's had a bad night, though he expresses his confusion as to why she lead him there when there's been nothing but trouble since he's arrived. On top of that, she tells him that Hightower has been calling all night. She expresses that she can no longer be there for him, like when she was alive and that he needs people in his life and that living in Midnight will be worth it. Manfred wants to be normal, or as close to it as he can get and she advises him that it's "Midnight" to be himself and to ask for help. He takes his grandmother's advice.
When Rev. Emilio Sheehan, as a Weretiger, was let loose from the church's basement and attacked Manfred and Creek, who took shelter in the RV, Manfred looked to her for advice. With little concern, she advised him to "stop talking and run".
Later that night, she questioned Manfred on why he was taking his great-great-great-great grandma's skull. He replied that he needed something powerful and her help. She simply said "Yikes" as he left the RV, seemingly not worried about what Manfred was going to face.

In *Lemuel, Unchained*, Xylda tells Manfred that all vampires are killers, with Lemuel being the only exception, he always has been. She warns Manfred that the nest of vampires that had just arrived in Midnight were dangerous. He was nothing more than food to them. Lemuel vouched for them, claiming that the nest had changed but Xylda questioned if Manfred was willing to bet his life on that voucher. She then tells Manfred that while Midnight was safe, he would have to fight to keep it that way.
After learning that she was right about the vampires and that they had killed Henry, the hardware store owner, Xylda explained to Manfred that vampires were creatures of habit, it was in their nature, as they were bloodthirsty and cruel. Zachariah and Lemuel were friends once, but a lot had happened since then.
In *Sexy Beast*, Xylda was surprised to hear that Manfred was questioning his move to Midnight, especially considering how often Creek had been stopping by the house. Manfred's online psychic business was steady but he needed a major influx of money since Hightower was applying more pressure as the days went on. Xylda suggested that he call up his old clients; the rich widow clients that would love a one-on-one with the great Manfredo. He doubted that his A-list clients were going to drive five hours just to chat with her favorite dead husband in a crappy RV. They expected a certain level of pomp and circumstance i.e. nice hotels and a stocked minibar. It makes them feel as if they're getting their money's worth.

Xylda told him not to fret. She had a psychic feeling that his luck was about to change for the better, but the pills he was popping certainly weren't helping the situation. Manfred then played the voicemail left on his phone by Hightower. Eerie music played in the background as Hightower made one final threat. Manfred worried that Hightower sought to kill him, however, Xylda was convinced that Hightower would back off once Manfred settled the debt. She and Manfred then received a surprise visitor. A woman named Patsy, who was willing to pay Manfred $5,000 if he could locate her brother, Ted. It would appear that Xylda's feeling was spot-on.

In *Unearthed*, Xylda learns that Hightower had finally caught up to Manfred, leaving a jack-in-a-box on his doorstep, which instructed him to meet Hightower at the old train station by 10:00 AM. Hightower could've shot Manfred when he opened the door, but he didn't because he wanted to make Manfred suffer first, which he was doing a pretty good job at. Xylda wishes that she had never gotten him caught up with Hightower. But the truth is, Manfred wanted the money as much as she did. He then looks to Xylda, asking if he should go to the train station. Xylda advises against it, telling him to ask the Midnighters for help.

In *Angel Heart*, Xylda interrupts Manfred's séance as he attempts to make contact with one ghost in particular. Despite his determination, whoever he was looking for had passed over already, Xylda explains. Which was the natural order of things. She presumes that the necklace he's holding in order to forge the connection, belongs to a new client, however, she would be wrong. Its Creek's, though it initially belonged to her mother. Manfred thought that he could contact her, and possibly gain wisdom from the great beyond. Xylda warns Manfred against doing so. Creek's mother could be just as psychotic as her brother. Manfred needs help. He didn't know what else to do for Creek. Xylda advises him to do the only thing he can, which is being there for her.
Manfred rushes onto the RV in need of Xylda's assistance. As much as he hates what he's about to ask her, it must be done to protect Joe. Manfred asks Xylda to possess him, thus giving her control of his body and his actions. After possessing Manfred, she puts on glasses to hide his eyes, concealing the fact that he is under possession. Bowie knocks on the RV. In Manfred's body, Xylda opens the door, and Bowie immediately asks him why he hid after seeing her on the street. Xylda says that she didn't. She went for a walk but decided against it. Bowie asks if she knows Joseph Strong. Not well, Xylda replies. He seemed nice, but she didn't know much beyond that considering she had just moved to Midnight, at least this is what she tells Bowie.

Without so much as an invitation, Bowie boards the RV, looking at all the strange artifacts and objects that Manfred has collected, then making the assumption that he was a fortune-teller, though Xylda corrects Bowie. She prefers the term medium or psychic, even the Great Bernardo. With Bowie growing impatient with each passing moment, she skips any further pleasantries, and tries to read Manfred's mind, though with Xylda inside his head as well, it was a task that proves near impossible due to all the clutter and confusion. Xylda says she takes pills. A lot of the time she hears voices and sees things. She can't always tell what's real and what's not. Her current conversation with Bowie was one of those times. Bowie single-handedly picks Xylda up by her throat and slams her head on the ceiling of the RV to prove that she was real. As Bowie exits the trailer, she comments just how much she hates Midnight. After Bowie leaves, Xylda is expelled from Manfred's body. Both she and Manfred are fairly uncomfortable with the possession, they're barely able to make eye contact with one another afterward. On the bright side, at least it worked.
Having been dumped by Creek, Manfred packed his belongings and left Midnight. As they pass the one-mile mark, Xylda appears, expressing her frustration with Manfred for running away when he had something good going. He was setting roots, and she could tell that he liked it there. He had a place in Midnight, but Manfred believes otherwise.
In *Last Temptation of Midnight*, Xylda's disappointed in Manfred's decision to leave Midnight. However, she was dead, so she didn't get a vote as far as Manfred is concerned. The Midnighters were counting on him to lead them. Manfred's defense is that he's leading by example in running away. What about Creek, Xylda asks. Manfred believes that she didn't want him there and that she deserves better. Xylda's concern towards Manfred's well-being grows after he swallows the last of the pills that he has been relying on to subside his headaches. As long as ghosts weren't appearing to him as often as they were in Midnight, he says he'll be fine, but Xylda disagrees. He has to go back to Midnight because it is his destiny. She had a vision before she died. She was too scared to tell him the truth, so she kept putting it off. She was going to tell him eventually, but then Joe beat her to it. Xylda admits that she sent Manfred to Midnight under false pretenses. She was merely trying to get him where he needed to be in order to fulfill his destiny.
Manfred's condition seems to worsen as they venture further from Midnight. Xylda insists that he go back because it is destined, but Manfred claims that his destiny awaits him in Vegas. Some in-person consults and drinking. Lots of drinking, he says. What more could Xylda expect from Manfred, running is what he has always done because it is exactly who she raised him to be.
Xylda comments that everything dies as the RV breaks down on the side of the road. Stuck in the middle of nowhere with smoke coming from under the hood. Manfred screams out in frustration.
Xylda wakes Manfred up from his sleep as he lies in the middle of a deserted field. She confesses to having a vision the day she died; the kind that doesn't come around too often, a clear view of a moment in the future. Midnight was in flames. People were dying all around with Manfred in the center, as the only one to stop it. Unfortunately, she didn't see how he stops the veil from breaking. Although she reminds Manfred of his childhood, and how powerful he was even as a child. Xylda claims that the spirits will listen to him. She should've taught him to use that power instead of trying to hide it. Now, she needs Manfred to fulfill his destiny, and be a better man than she raised him to be. If he doesn't, everyone will die.
Manfred gets back to his feet after agreeing to return to Midnight. Xylda smiles, though Manfred isn't sure why. He's probably going to die as a result of trying to save everyone. She tells him that everyone dies eventually, that's how you live. It's the only thing you got a say over. You live for the folks you love. For Xylda, that was Manfred. She gently pinches his cheeks, calling him a *"sweet, weird kid"*, as she would when he was younger. Manfred looks around, realizing that the RV is nowhere in sight despite Xylda being tethered to it. However, she hasn't tethered anymore. Xylda did what she was supposed to do. It was time for her to move on. She directs Manfred towards an approaching truck. She passes on soon thereafter.

## Personality

Manfred describes her as a pathological liar even though she seems like a loving and doting grandmother. Moreover, he makes the claim that, apart from running scams for a living, she would remove fake hexes, curses, and had stolen and spent more than two million dollars.

## Skills

### Psychic

Xylda possessed all the standard abilities of a psychic in *Midnight, Texas*. While seemingly not as powerful of a psychic as Manfred, he explains that her psychic "reads" were usually spot on and what prompted his move to Midnight.

### Ghost

Xylda possesses all the standard abilities of a ghost in *Midnight, Texas*. It is unknown if she still retains any psychic abilities since her death.

## Trivia

* While alive, she knew Lemuel Bridger and he is likely the reason why she directs Manfred, to Midnight.
* Xylda's spirit is tethered to the RV, thus preventing her from leaving it.

## Gallery

* Season One
* Season Two

## References

1. ↑ Kelli Breslin (Writer) and Neema Barnette (Director) (December 14th, 2018). *Resting Witch Face*. *Midnight, Texas*. Season Two. Episode Seven. NBC.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Monica Owusu-Breen (Writer) and Kevin Tancharoen (Director) (September 11th, 2017). *Last Temptation of Midnight*. *Midnight, Texas*. Season One. Episode Eight. NBC.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Monica Owusu-Breen (Writer) and Niels Arden Oplev (Director) (July 24th, 2017). *Pilot*. *Midnight, Texas*. Season One. Episode One. NBC.
4. ↑ During a flashback, a jukebox plays *Teardrops on my Pillow* by Sunny Gale. This song was released in 1953.
5. ↑ Turi Meyer & Al Septien (Writers) and David Solomon (Director) (July 24th, 2017). *Lemuel, Unchained*. *Midnight, Texas*. Season One. Episode Three. NBC.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Brynn Malone (Writer) and Milan Cheylov (Director) (August 21st, 2017). *Unearthed*. *Midnight, Texas*. Season One. Episode Five. NBC.
7. ↑ 'Midnight, Texas' First Look: Meet Lemuel
8. ↑ “Midnight, Texas” Exclusive: Monica Owusu-Breen on ‘Bad Moon Rising’s Shocking Deaths, Tethered Xylda & More