NARRATOR:
America's top ghost hunters
relive their most
extreme assignments.
Something was hunting me
this whole time.
NARRATOR: Hardened veterans
of the paranormal,
these are the cases
that truly tested them.
I don't think I was
ready for this.
NARRATOR:
In Ohio, an old county jail
is home to a suicidal spirit
intent on reliving her torment.
It was a woman screaming.
[ Screaming ]
I'd never been more afraid
on an investigation
than I was in that moment.
NARRATOR: In Pennsylvania,
a night at a historic hotel
is anything but peaceful.
[ Breathing heavily ]
It scared me.
It scared me [bleep].
I mean, it was the most
scariest experience I ever had.
NARRATOR: And in Arizona,
when a spirit targets a child,
an investigator gets angry.
Why don't you show yourself?
I was determined to help
this family
get through what
they were going through.
I don't want this anymore!
Get out!
Get out of my room!
You saw a kid that was scared
all of a sudden
turn into this spiritual warrior
just like Marie.
♪♪
NARRATOR: Licking County Jail
in Newark, Ohio,
housed the state's
most dangerous criminals
for over a century.
Murderers, serial K*llers,
and even cannibals lived
and d*ed
within these four walls.
In , the prison closed
and the inmates rehomed,
or are they?
The building, now a museum,
still echoes
with disembodied voices.
Cell doors slam
and staff and visitors
claim to have been
pushed by shadowy forms.
♪♪
Desperate to unlock the mystery,
the museum invites paranormal
investigator Eric McGill
to take a look around.
I'm definitely a believer
in the paranormal,
but I believe
that it's safe and smart
to approach each investigation
with a skeptical mind.
NARRATOR: A paranormal
investigator for over years,
Eric is one of the leading
experts in his field.
I don't have what I would
consider to be a sixth sense.
I'm just a paranormal
investigator
that mostly relies
on the equipment.
It'll let me know whether or not
there's a presence
at a home or a location.
NARRATOR: Before beginning
his investigation,
Eric looks into
the prison's past
for anything which might explain
the paranormal activity.
McGILL: There was a woman
named Mae Varner.
She caught herself on fire
in July of .
♪♪
She was on su1c1de watch,
and she just b*rned herself
alive right in her cell.
♪♪
WOMAN: [ Screaming ]
♪♪
NARRATOR: On March , ,
Eric leads
his team of investigators,
Tom Javorsky, Jason Causley,
Shawn Gilmore,
and Amber Wellman
into Licking County Jail.
They are accompanied by
prison custodian Teri Long.
Co-investigator Tom Javorsky is
struck by the atmosphere inside.
It felt like you were
stepping back in time.
The cell blocks were very old
and looked like they had
been there for many years
and had housed many,
many inmates.
NARRATOR: Eric's plan is to
leave several cameras
unattended throughout
the building.
The idea of a stationary camera
is to leave it in the area
unattended to see
what you can capture,
and you don't want
to be in the area
'cause you don't want
to contaminate your findings.
NARRATOR:
When Eric reviews the footage,
the results are unexpected.
We were able to capture
the sound of a cell door
slamming when we weren't
in the area,
so when we heard it,
we were completely shocked.
JAVORSKY: There was no one up
there at the time.
It was loud and unexplainable.
NARRATOR: And things are about
to get even more peculiar.
On the stationary camera located
on the second floor cell block,
we captured an EVP that sounds
to us like it says, "Burn."
-What's that?
-I have no idea.
Burn.
Did you hear that?
Hear what?
-Burn.
-I didn't hear it.
Almost immediately,
we captured another EVP.
[ Screaming ]
JAVORSKY: It was a woman
screaming in agony.
WOMAN: [ Screaming ]
It just was heart-wrenching
to hear this kind of sound.
Possibly that could've been
the suffering
that Mae experienced
while she was burning.
WOMAN: [ Screaming ]
It gave you the chills.
It really did.
It makes you sad to think that
maybe she's stuck in her cell
experiencing
those agonizing moments,
reliving them over and over.
NARRATOR: Meanwhile, team member
and paranormal empath
Shawn is exploring
the deserted prison alone.
It's a very brave,
but potentially
very dangerous decision.
GILMORE: Is somebody here?
Hello?
Somebody in here?
McGILL: He went back into
the cell-block area,
and he started to hear sounds
and scurrying all around him.
Shawn described these sounds
as, like, footsteps,
maybe people rubbing up
against the walls,
maybe touching the windows.
It just sounded very much
like he wasn't alone,
but he was completely alone.
♪♪
And he got very weak
in the knees
and became extremely nervous.
GILMORE: Is anybody here?
♪♪
Then, all of a sudden,
we captured what sounds to be
like a moan.
GILMORE: Who's back there?
♪♪
[ Indistinct sound ]
What's your name?
[ Indistinct sound ]
Hello?
Once this moan was captured,
McGILL: Shawn was kind of
overtaken by this anxiety
and this emotion of nervousness.
He just had to leave the area.
♪♪
-Shawn!
-Shawn.
What happened?
JAVORSKY: When Shawn got into
the safe room,
you could tell that
that experience
somewhat unnerved him,
and he wasn't the same person
he was when he went up.
♪♪
NARRATOR: Deciding that there's
safety in numbers,
the team regroups to explore
what used to be
the sheriff's quarters,
a series of rooms which also
have a grisly history.
In this particular area,
four of the sheriffs
suffered heart att*cks,
and three of them d*ed
in the room itself.
NARRATOR: The investigators use
their equipment
to try and communicate with
the spirits of the sheriffs.
McGILL:
It is basically a spirit box.
It cycles through different
radio stations,
but this one
is a little special.
It has a filter on it
that gives it sort of
a spectral, echoey sound.
Is there anyone here?
♪♪
Hey, what caused
the sheriff's heart att*ck?
I ask the question, "What caused
the sheriff's heart att*ck?"
And over the box came two words,
"No. No."
♪♪
NARRATOR: In Newark, Ohio,
an old prison is alive
with the spirits
of its former inmates.
It was a woman
screaming in agony.
NARRATOR: But a visit to the old
sheriff's quarters
reveal it's not just
the prisoners
who haunt this jail.
JAVORSKY: I ask the question,
"What caused
the sheriff's heart att*ck?"
And over the box
came two words,
"No. No."
No.
NARRATOR: The EVP leaves Eric
and Tom speechless,
but investigator Amber is
affected much more negatively.
McGILL:
And then Amber collapsed
right outside
the sheriff's door.
[ Breathing heavily ]
-[ Groans ]
-You all right?
She started screaming,
"It's not mine. It's not mine."
It's not mine.
-What's not yours?
-It's not mine.
JAVORSKY: We didn't know
what was going on.
This was startling.
We said, "What's not yours?"
It's not mine. [ Chuckles ]
I don't know. [ Crying ]
I sincerely thought that she was
having some form
of physical health problem.
I didn't understand what,
"It's not mine,"
meant at first
because I was in shock.
All I could hear basically
was the screaming and the words.
My mind wasn't functioning.
I was in so much fear.
I don't know.
This isn't mine.
MAN: What are you feeling?
All of a sudden,
sick to my stomach.
JAVORSKY:
What did it feel like?
First, I felt a sharp pain
through my head,
and then it spread
down to my stomach,
and I felt like I just doubled
over like I was gonna be --
like I was gonna get sick.
It finally dawned on me that,
because she's a sensitive,
she was picking up
on energy from a spirit
that had latched onto her.
It was more of a spiritual
att*ck than a physical one.
NARRATOR:
Desperate to find out more,
the team questions
an exhausted Amber.
Fear you were feeling,
was that your fear?
Mnh-mnh.
No, it wasn't.
We believe that one of
the former sheriffs
that passed away from
a heart att*ck in that bedroom
had tried to communicate
that same form of death
through Amber.
I think that you should go take
a break in the safe room.
I think so, too.
I think that's what needs
to happen.
Okay.
After a few moments of Amber
experiencing what she had,
the feeling finally subsided,
and I'll tell you,
I felt so much better.
I was relieved.
NARRATOR: With two team members
now badly shaken,
Eric decides to end
the investigation.
Let's get out of here.
Come on. You okay?
♪♪
JAVORSKY:
When we were packing up,
getting ready to leave the jail,
I think we were quieter
than normal.
Shawn and Amber especially,
their energy was drained.
They had just had an intense,
very physically
and spiritually
demanding night,
so it was certainly time for us
to move on and head home.
NARRATOR:
Several years have passed
since the team investigated
Licking County Jail,
but for Tom especially,
the memories of that night
are still vivid.
Investigating
the Licking County Jail
was one of the most intense
investigations our team
had ever been on.
Truly to see one of
your team members
knocked down by that,
it made you wonder, you know,
could it happen to you?
♪♪
You never know what you're
gonna run into
when you investigate
the paranormal.
You better be ready.
NARRATOR: Still to come...
Stop!
NARRATOR: ...a family's haunting
reopens some old wounds
for one paranormal investigator.
-[ Gasps ]
-What? What happened?
My back.
NARRATOR: But first,
a historic hotel
harbors some ghostly guests.
I can't explain how much
it scared me.
It scared me [bleep].
♪♪
NARRATOR:
The Knickerbocker Hotel
is located
in Linesville, Pennsylvania.
This historic inn was owned
and managed by Milo Arnold
and his wife, Clara.
Here they worked, lived,
and raised their young family,
and by the late th century,
the Knickerbocker was renowned
as one of the best hotels
in the area,
but tragedy soon strikes.
The Arnolds lose a child
to sickness,
and weakened by her heartbreak,
mother Clara Arnold
soon follows.
years have since passed,
and a stream of visitors
to the hotel
have reported signs
of paranormal activity.
Shadow people are seen.
Full-body apparitions
have been seen.
There are voices and kids
playing upstairs
on the second level.
NARRATOR:
Karlo Zuzic is just one
of many paranormal investigators
fascinated by
the Knickerbocker's
tragic history.
With over years experience
and investigations
to his name,
Karlo knows what it takes to be
an effective ghost hunter.
To be a good paranormal
investigator,
you have to be mentally
and physically ready
to take down what you're,
you know, any type of spirit.
You have to, you know,
think logically,
you know, use your head.
We have a lot of equipment,
but the best thing you can do
is use your mind.
NARRATOR:
He believes that the secret
to the hotel's strange phenomena
lies in the final moments
of Clara Arnold's life.
ZUZIC: Clara's last words
before her death were,
"Don't worry.
I'm just going to sleep."
I believe Clara knew that
she's going to be attached
to this hotel just because
the love she had for it.
NARRATOR:
In , Peg Knickerbocker
purchased the hotel
and began witnessing firsthand
the supernatural activity.
♪♪
ZUZIC: I received a e-mail
from Peg Knickerbocker.
Some of the experiences
that Peg witnessed
is the spirit of Clare
roaming the halls.
You could see her up
and down on the stairs,
and it's children also.
They are spotted up
on the second floor.
NARRATOR: Intrigued,
Karlo agrees to conduct
an investigation.
Hi, I'm Peg.
Going into this investigation,
I was very excited.
You know, I'm getting to go
in a place all night.
You know, we get to stay there.
We get to investigate
as long as we want,
and I was very excited
about doing it.
NARRATOR:
He's accompanied by Ohio
Researchers of Band Spirits'
co-founder, Chris Page.
Hearing the reports
of the activity
that was going on
at the Knickerbocker made me
really excited to go in there.
I saw it as an opportunity to be
able to gather great evidence.
NARRATOR: Before their
investigation begins,
Peg has an unusual request.
Before we do anything,
I just would like to ask
that you please
introduce yourselves
to the spirits in the house.
Peg had us introduce
ourselves to the spirits.
She's very protective
of what's there.
Hello. I'm Karlo.
I'm Chris.
Thank you for having us
in your home.
She had warned us at one time
not to get angry with them.
Don't provoke them.
You know, respect them just like
we would be respected.
Okay, so why don't we come in?
And I'll show you around.
For sure.
The moment you step
into the building,
it has a lot of history,
and, you know, the energy
doesn't feel negative at all.
It was different, something
totally different
than I've ever
experienced before.
NARRATOR: And it's not long
before Chris and Karlo
get their first glimpse
of the hotel's strange activity.
As we were walking through,
I see something walk along
the back of the kitchen
going to the side stairwell.
Do you know
who that is back there?
I just saw someone walk by.
I just seen somebody
walk by back there.
She's like, "No.
There's nobody here,"
and there was nobody
in this building but us three.
♪♪
NARRATOR:
In Linesville, Pennsylvania,
a stay at
the Knickerbocker Hotel
promises to be eventful.
The game plan for
the investigation was to,
you know, spend the night,
you know, set up some equipment,
run it and see
what we could capture.
NARRATOR: But moments into
the investigation,
ghost hunter Karlo Zuzic
is blindsided
by a mysterious entity.
I go, "I seen what
look like a guy
walking towards the stairs,"
and she goes, "Well, I see
that all the time,"
and at that moment,
I was just, like, in shock.
NARRATOR:
Milo Arnold, former owner
and bereaved husband and father,
is said to be
one of the many spirits
which haunt
the Knickerbocker Hotel.
♪♪
ZUZIC: I do believe
the shadow figure I seen
walking to the kitchen
was Milo Arnold.
It's very rare for something
to make itself known right away.
So that was kind of interesting
to see, you know,
moments just coming into
this grandiose hotel
that we actually have a spirit
that's already
walking around in there,
so that kind of put us on,
you know, kind of a high alert
right at that time
that this was gonna be
a pretty amazing investigation.
NARRATOR: Already unnerved by
the high level of activity,
Karlo and Chris venture
out on their own
to set up their equipment
throughout the hotel.
Just setting up
the thermal cam here.
I set up a thermal-imaging
camera on the desk
in front of me and Chris and I
were just talking.
We were asking questions.
We're trying to, you know,
stir up some spirit activity.
And all of a sudden,
all I could see
is the lit-up
screen of the thermal,
and I could see it,
like, doing this.
♪♪
ZUZIC: You could tell that
something picked it up,
looked at it
and then put it back down.
We were just, like, stunned.
-Did you move that camera?
-No.
Because I set it down
right there.
For something like that
to pick up,
you know, a piece of equipment,
then place it down is rare.
I mean, I've never had it
happen to me.
NARRATOR: Sensing that they're
in the presence
of a very powerful spirit,
Karlo and Chris decide to see
if their equipment has picked up
any activity
elsewhere in the hotel.
Once we came across the child's
room, I felt a little nervous.
It had a different feel to it.
I can't really explain it.
It was just --
It had a different feel
of energy in that area.
We picked up the recorder,
and then we played back to see
if we actually
captured anything,
and what I was actually
hearing on this recorder,
I was just completely shocked
by the EVP we captured.
We captured what sounded
like two spirits,
not just one, but two spirits
talking to each other.
I've never in my entire life
heard anything like this.
Hey, Chris.
Chris, come listen.
Here. Check this out.
They're warning each other
that we're actually there,
and you could hear
one spirit saying, "Hide."
They're probably kind of scared
and, you know,
wondering who we were,
why we were there
and what we are.
NARRATOR: But things are about
to get even stranger.
Karlo senses movement
in the hallway outside.
I heard what sounds
like two wooden balls
hitting each other,
wood on wood, like, a knock.
Okay. That is creepy.
And I heard this light voice,
and then it says,
"No, it's not."
It was a child's voice.
Hey, Chris.
Chris, get in here.
I called Chris over.
He came over, and you could see
there's two wooden balls,
and they're, like,
moving around
like something
is playing with it.
It was, like, the weirdest
thing I've ever seen.
What are you thinking?
I think those must be
the kids' toys.
What was going through my mind
at the time
that this was happening is,
you know,
"One, are they are
going to hurt me?
Two, are they friendly?"
three, you know,
rationally, logically,
trying to figure out,
you know, "Am I just tired?
Is this really happening?
You know, is it not happening?"
So there's a lot of emotions
that you're going through
when you have something
like this happen.
NARRATOR:
Though shaken by the encounter,
Karlo and Chris
are keen to make contact
with the child spirits.
Since we actually seen
the balls moving,
we decided for that EVP session
to start asking if there's any,
you know,
children spirits there
and if they wanted to come out
and play with us,
if they wanted to talk to us.
Can you show yourself?
[ Beeping ]
Can you move something again?
And all of a sudden, you could
see, like, shadow figures.
It was weird,
but they were further down.
And we know that we're the only
two in there besides Peg,
so there's nobody else
in this three-story hotel,
so we know that what we're
seeing is true paranormal,
true shadow people.
NARRATOR: Satisfied that they've
recorded sufficient evidence
of paranormal activity,
Chris and Karlo decide
to call it a night.
ZUZIC: So after all
the excitement we had,
you know, it was late at night.
We're getting tired.
You know, I was nervous
going to sleep anyways
because Peg had mentioned
that some of the rooms
that Chris and I were staying
in were very active,
and I laid down.
I was thinking, "Man, do I fall
asleep? Do I not fall asleep?
Do I keep my eyes open,
sleep with one eye open?"
You know, I was thinking awfully
different thoughts
because, you know,
what just happened to us.
NARRATOR: Falling asleep proves
to be a fateful decision.
It's about a.m.
I was totally knocked out,
and the next thing I know is
the bed starts shaking so hard.
♪♪
NARRATOR:
At the Knickerbocker Hotel
in Linesville, Pennsylvania,
paranormal investigator
Karlo Zuzic
soon learns that he is not
the hotel's only guest.
We captured what sounded
like two spirits, not just one,
but two spirits
talking to each other.
I've never in my entire life
heard anything like this.
NARRATOR:
But he's about to learn that,
even in the privacy
of his guest room,
he should expect company.
It's about a.m.
I was totally knocked out,
and the next thing I know is
the bed starts shaking so hard.
Ah, ah. [ Breathing heavily ]
This bed shook so hard that,
when it shook,
I almost rolled out of bed.
I mean, it was shaking
violently.
Ah, ah, ah.
[ Breathing heavily ]
and then I could hear something
just stopping,
you know, through the room
and like, almost like it left,
you know, like it was leaving
the room and made its point.
[ Door closes ]
It scared me [bleep].
I mean, it was the most scariest
experience I ever had.
It's something --
I just couldn't believe
that happened to me.
NARRATOR: Trembling with fear,
Karlo resolves to stay awake
for the rest of the night.
The feeling is like
you're trapped.
I was frozen in time.
I was basically frozen
in that spot.
I did not want to leave.
I was not gonna go
back to sleep.
I was waiting for the sun
to come up so I could get out.
NARRATOR: What Karlo
doesn't know, however,
is that Chris is experiencing
a similarly disturbed night
at the exact same time.
About , : in the morning,
my entire bed
started to vibrate,
and typically
I'm a heavy sleeper,
and I snore and everything else,
so to have this happen
had to been pretty intense
to wake me up,
and I mean,
what am I gonna do?
You know, everybody is asleep.
There's only three of us
in this building,
so I just kind of
just laid there,
and I'm just asking it in
my mind to just please stop.
Just let me go back to sleep,
and just kind of after a while,
it, just like, stopped vibrating
and just went away.
NARRATOR: The following morning,
exhausted and rattled,
Chris and Karlo tell hotel owner
Peg of their experiences.
I should let you know
I have never
experienced
something like that.
And when we mentioned it
to Peggy,
Peggy said that that is
a common occurrence
that happens in those bedrooms.
The type of spirit that would do
something like this to us
would be a very strong
and dominant spirit.
It's, you know, wanting to show
their strength
and trying to show
that they belong there,
too, just like we do.
NARRATOR:
The sense that the spirits
belong in the hotel
leads Karlo to draw
some interesting conclusions.
I believe the spirit that was
shaking the bed
was either Clare or Milo,
the previous owners,
just because they are going
to be attached
to this building forever.
It's something they built
together.
They want to protect
what they built,
and I think they're proud
of what they have.
They loved it,
and this was their place.
That's where they were happy.
That's where
they're gonna go.
You know, in death, you go
where you were happiest,
and this may have been the place
because they worked so hard
to build something.
NARRATOR: As the investigation
draws to a close
and Karlo and Chris
share their findings with Peg,
they suggest
performing a cleanse,
but their offer is declined.
We showed Peg all our evidence.
You know, we played back
everything we captured,
told them what happened,
and our advice to them was,
"Look, you know,
if you're happy here
"and you enjoy them
and you respect them,
you know, stay here."
NARRATOR:
For Peg Knickerbocker,
her sentiments
remain the same as ever.
The hotel is open to anyone,
living or dead.
Spirits use this as their place,
and so do the living.
I think everybody could coexist
as long
as you respect each other.
NARRATOR:
And for Karlo and Chris,
every case closed
is a lesson learned.
As an investigator and also
on a personal level,
from this investigation,
I learn that, you know,
there has to be respect
on all levels,
respect for your clients
and what you're working with,
respect for the spirit realm
that you're dealing with.
You know, one of the things
I did learn is,
watch your surroundings,
you know,
watch how you approach
an investigation,
and, you know, if someone
tells you a room is haunted,
don't go sleep in it.
NARRATOR:
Paranormal investigators
pledge to protect families
from malevolent spirits.
[ Gasps ]
What? What happened?
My back.
NARRATOR:
But when an investigator's
own family is threatened...
Ow.
NARRATOR:
...things take a sinister turn.
I had my own child
that was tortured
by the paranormal
for many years.
♪♪
NARRATOR:
In Phoenix, Arizona,
an ordinary
house in a quiet suburb
is home to a single mother
and her teenage son,
but recently, their peaceful
lives have been disturbed
by some strange activity.
The electronics
behave erratically.
[ TV turns on ]
♪♪
Inanimate objects seem to move
when no one is looking.
♪♪
And strange, shadowy figures
move silently through the home.
[ TV turns on ]
♪♪
But it soon becomes obvious
that the teenage son
is the primary target.
No. Stop!
NARRATOR: And the strange
phenomena becomes violent.
♪♪
Stop!
[ Laughing evilly ]
♪♪
[ Breathing heavily ]
♪♪
Mom!
♪♪
Oh, my god.
♪♪
NARRATOR: In Phoenix, Arizona,
strange events
in a suburban home
have taken a sinister turn,
but when the spirit
gets violent,
it looks like the family
will have
to take drastic action.
Mom!
♪♪
Oh, my god.
NARRATOR: Rattled and with
nowhere else to turn,
they contact Jay Yates,
a former reverend
who was ejected from his church
for his belief
in the supernatural.
Jay, along with his wife, Marie,
now runs the Crossing Over
Paranormal Crew,
a team of investigators
committed to helping
families identify
and overcome hauntings.
I think that, with any client,
they expect us
to come to the home
and show them the holy grail,
and that's where Marie and I
come in and us counseling them
and talking to them
about our own experiences
and helping them through it.
The only thing that
would ever stop me
from being a paranormal
investigator is death, my own.
NARRATOR: Jay and Marie's
interest in this case, however,
is not strictly professional.
They have some
firsthand experience
of a haunting in the family.
MARIE: I really did feel very
concerned for the parent.
I had my own child
that was tortured
by the paranormal
for many years,
and I had no one to help us.
We had to learn how to do it
our own,
and this is one reason why Jay
and I got into this field
to actually assist
these families.
NARRATOR: Keen to help a single
mother and vulnerable child
in desperate need,
Jay and Marie
arrange to visit the home
as soon as possible.
Immediately
when we got this case,
Marie agreed to take it.
Generally speaking,
there might be a waiting list
for two, three, four, five
or even six months for us
to even come out to a location.
Marie set and made sure
everything was set aside for us
to go out there
that next weekend
after us hearing about the case.
We can't thank you enough
for coming.
Of course.
♪♪
So as Marie will have explained
on the phone,
going to conduct an examination
of every room in the house.
We're going to take
some readings,
have some of the most high-tech
equipment in the world,
and if we can, we'll help you.
And if necessary,
we'll do a cleansing.
I can say that the mother
was probably
in the beginning
most noticeably frightened
about what was going on
because this was her kid,
and she's seeking
professional help from us,
so there's a lot riding
on us coming in there
and giving her some answers.
NARRATOR:
For Marie, the spirit presence
of the house is palpable.
Bedrooms are this way?
Yeah.
They're down the hall.
Almost immediately after,
I think, getting in there
that she kind of felt
like something was going on
and was immediately drawn
particularly to the back
bedroom.
NARRATOR:
Used to taking the lead
in their investigations,
Jay is stunned when his wife
immediately takes the reins.
I got this.
JAY: I could tell that Marie
was a little bit more serious.
The intensity in her face
was a little bit different
than what we normally see
on investigations with her.
NARRATOR:
Marie heads straight for
the epicenter of the activity,
Wyatt's bed.
JAY: She sits down at the edge
of the bed.
Before I even had a moment
to even realize
what we were even doing,
Marie begins
shotgunning questions
towards whatever it is
in the room.
You have no right
to touch this boy.
Why don't you show yourself?
I don't think you can.
Try it!
NARRATOR: Jay has mixed feelings
about his wife's sudden desire
to confront the spirit.
When we take investigations
serious
to the point
to which Marie was,
there's a certain
kind of intensity
that alter or can kind of cause
some issues on a case.
NARRATOR:
Marie, on the other hand,
is determined to push
the spirit further.
I'm giving you permission
to touch me.
JAY: I'm already kind of worried
about Marie.
You know, she shotguns
these questions,
and it's, like, you know,
six questions in a row.
So you don't like
touching people
if they give you permission.
[ Laughing evilly ]
[ Wind blowing ]
[ Indistinct voices ]
-[ Gasps ]
-What? What happened?
My back.
Immediately, this thing,
you know, starts burning,
this burning sensation
down her back.
MARIE: All of a sudden,
I felt this pain on my back.
It felt like someone
bit me almost,
and that's at that moment
I told Jay,
"Hey, my back, something
is happening to my back."
And we lift up her shirt,
and sure enough,
she's got a scratch mark
across her back.
Oh, my god.
♪♪
NARRATOR: In Phoenix, Arizona,
investigator Marie Yates
has challenged a spirit
to leave its mark literally.
I'm giving you permission
to touch me.
NARRATOR: But Marie's
investigative partner
and husband Jay Yates,
worries she's bitten off
a little more than she can chew.
Can you feel that?
Marie, she knows
the consequences to her actions.
She's not one of those
investigators
that doesn't realize
that something
like that might happen.
She asked for it to touch her.
It touched her.
-[ Groans ] Mnh-mnh.
-You okay?
NARRATOR:
The aggressive spirit contact
has an immediate effect
on Marie.
JAY: It was very noticeable
right after this happened
that Marie had lost, like,
a lot of her energy, her spunk.
She was a little-headed.
It appeared that she was
out of breath,
and she was, like, exhausted.
-You okay?
-No.
JAY: So I said, "Hey, Marie.
It's time for you to go outside,
"maybe take a few minutes,
gather yourself, you know, get
some fresh air and just relax."
NARRATOR: Jay escorts his wife
out of the bedroom,
concerned she's become
too close to this case.
When we get emotionally
invested in the client,
we have a tendency
of acting out irrationally,
meaning that we go
in unprotected,
so things like that, you
definitely have to be careful
and put your emotions
in check.
NARRATOR: Safely outside,
Marie starts to recover
and takes time
to reconsider her approach.
So after I started provoking,
I thought I was getting
a little aggressive
and getting it a little upset.
She was just motivated
at what she was doing.
It was that maternal instinct
coming out,
her wanting to find answers
and get closure for this family
for them to move on
with their lives.
NARRATOR: Refreshed,
Marie returns to the bedroom
ready to do battle
with the spirit.
I was determined to help
this family
get through what
they were going through.
NARRATOR:
Fully resolved to release
the family from their torment,
Marie demands that
they perform a cleanse.
JAY:
So Marie is adamant about,
"Let's just get started with
the cleansing of the home."
She feels that there's no sense
in wasting any more time.
NARRATOR: And it appears
that Marie is right.
The activity is escalating.
-We need to do the cleanse.
-What?
We need to do the cleanse.
-Now?
-Yes, right now.
♪♪
JAY:
Marie stood up, I remember,
and I saw this white
light appear,
and as she walked towards me,
this thing literally sh*t
into another room.
NARRATOR: In light of
the heightened activity,
Marie prepares the family
for the fight of their lives.
I promise we will do our best.
So Marie took her own trials
and tribulations
with the paranormal
going on in her house
and made it a testimony
for that kid,
and she sat down with that kid
as a victim as he was.
There's a lot of activity
in your bedroom, right?
JAY: It was almost like the kid
kind of looked up to Marie,
and Marie kind of
looked up to that kid.
This kid regained control
of his fear.
It's very important to me
that actually the clients,
that they feel like it worked.
What we did actually
assisted them.
You know, I can't go in there
and promise them
and give them a guarantee
that it's gone.
That's the reason
we counsel them.
NARRATOR: Knowing that they need
help to dismiss the entity,
Marie and Jay
call in some spiritual help.
Right this way.
And then that's when
our reverend,
Reverend Paul Lovegrove,
came in,
and he asked them to join him
in the blessing of the home.
♪♪
MARIE:
He goes in there and uses cross.
He brings holy water
and says a prayer.
All powerful and almighty --
-All powerful and almighty.
-...you who made everything.
♪♪
MARIE: It's supposed to help
whatever kind of spirit
is there may be down on Earth
that hasn't released
to get them out.
He wanted the mother and the son
to be part of the cleansing
just so they actually felt
the relief going in there.
NARRATOR:
The cleanse is going smoothly
until the group reaches
the son's bedroom.
I seen him shaken and very
concerned about
what was happening almost like
he had the look, like,
"Oh, my goodness. I'm never
going back in my room again."
You have to stand up
to this thing.
Tell it it's not doing this
to you anymore.
I tried to explain to him,
"It's now time to move on
"and learn how to actually be
the one that stands up and say,
You know what? You're not
doing this to me anymore."
You leave me alone.
You're not doing this to me
anymore.
And you saw a kid that was
scared all of a sudden turn into
this, like, spiritual warrior
just like Marie,
and I think she gave him power
through her own wounds.
I don't want this anymore!
Get out!
At this time,
I looked at the mother,
and I said, "You know what?
This is your home.
"You order this thing
to get out of your home
and leave your child alone."
Get out of my house!
You don't belong here anymore!
Leave my son alone!
NARRATOR: It's not long before
the force of their words
start having an effect.
♪♪
[ Laughing evilly ]
We beseech You to make powerless
this...[ speaks indistinctly ]
Paul is asking me to seal
the doors with frankincense oil,
and I begin doing that as he's
walking around the home
and praying, rebuking
any malicious spirits
out of the home.
Banish and drive out every
diabolical power present,
every evil influence,
all evil actions amid
against your servant.
NARRATOR:
As the cleanse comes to an end,
the dark energy dissipates.
JAY: Immediately,
the mood changed.
As soon as the cleansing
started,
it ended,
and there was peace,
and there was tranquility
in the home.
There was something
special about it.
It was almost like you
were in the presence of God.
When the cleansing
actually got done,
it was like those windows
were completely opened bright,
and I felt it from the mother
and the son
that they felt
the exact same way.
Come on.
JAY: I think Marie identified
immediately
after that that spiritual battle
was already over.
Marie showed the kid that
he was control of everything,
then through faith and prayer,
really just provocation,
it was just over.
It's it, case closed.
NARRATOR: For Marie, though,
the case will always
remain close to her heart.
MARIE: On this case,
I will honestly say
I was acting totally different
just because it was a child.
My son was tortured nightly
for years,
and nobody would help us,
so when I go into these cases
with these mothers and children,
I'm determined I'm going
to help these families
'cause I know
what it feels like.
JAY: Seeing Marie get fired up
like that, it's rare,
but when it does happen,
it happens for a reason.
I learned to actually trust
your teammates,
always trust your gut
and always trust my wife.
02x05 - Echoes From the Past
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"Haunted Case Files" features three different stories per episode from different paranormal investigators and recounts their most terrifying encounters with spirits, demons and unexplained entities.
"Haunted Case Files" features three different stories per episode from different paranormal investigators and recounts their most terrifying encounters with spirits, demons and unexplained entities.