04x06 - Where Evil Lurks

[bunniefuu]

Narrator:
in this world,

There is real evil
in the darkest shadows

And in the most ordinary places.

These are the true stories

Of the innocent
and the unimaginable.

Jaime and ben shea

Find the perfect place
to raise their children.

But eerie sounds
and ghostly voices

Puncture
the quiet country night.

An unseen menace
lies in wait...

Intent on destroying
their family

And shattering their lives.

Between the world we see...

And the things we fear,

There are doors.

When they are opened...

Nightmares become reality.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications, llc

[ Thunder rumbles ]

The ozark river valley

Once stood
as the gateway to the west,

The last outpost of civilization
before the frontier beyond.

But nestled amid
this lush countryside

Lies a different kind of portal,

A crossroads
between life and death

Where the mortal
and the eternal collide.

[ Vehicle approaches ]

In october 2003,

Jaime and ben shea's
search for a larger home

Leads them to markham, arkansas,
an hour outside little rock.

It's got some
character to it.

It's beautiful.

It's so historic.

Jaime: it was just
absolutely beautiful.

It had big old, old trees
all around it.

And it was just
the picture of the house

I've been looking for
all my life.

Narrator:
ben can already picture raising
his three children there.

Ben: I knew that my kids
could run out there

And, you know,
just have a good time.

I grew up that way -- me running
out and playing in the woods --

And I definitely
wanted that for my kids.

Narrator: the house is
a short commute to arbutus,

Where jaime
is a legal assistant.

Ben is earning his degree

While working nights
as a nurse at a local factory.

Got it.

Jaime:
it was in between the two towns

Where my husband worked and
where my husband went to school,

So he could spend
more time with the kids

And not have to be traveling
back and forth as much.

Not so bad.

I thought the walls
would be peeling or something.

I know.

It looks like everything's
in pretty good shape.

There was a lot of room.

I could totally see

How the kids would have
plenty of room to play.

I knew as soon as I saw it
that we had to have that house.

We need to make an offer
before anybody else sees it.

Maybe we should look at the rest
of the house first.

Okay.

Wow,
this is great.

The ceilings
don't have any water spots.

The roof
must be in great shape.

It's almost
too good to be true.

Huh. I'll say.

[ Gasps ]
oh, my god. What is this?

Uh...i wouldn't
worry about it.

The fireplace had
all kinds of markings on it,

Like the name of this boy
that had died, pentagrams.

It takes a lot
to kind of spook me,

So I was just like, "oh, some
teenager lived here before."

Narrator: the sheas remain
enthusiastic about the house.

Looks like a nice fireplace.
Shouldn't be boarded up anyway.

Jaime:
we decided right away,

The first thing that we would do
was get rid of that.

But other than that,
it was just perfect.

Narrator: within a few weeks,
the family is all settled in.

Wow,
it's beautiful!

Did you pick out
those colors, bridger?

Narrator:
the couple's three children --




And 11-year-old tori --

Are delighted
by their new surroundings.

[ Telephone rings ]

Oh, that's taylor
calling for me.

Again? Did you get this many
calls when you were her age?

I am just glad she is adjusting
to her new school well.

Narrator: the sheas quickly
fall into a busy routine.

You guys need to hurry up
to get to the bus, okay?

Jaime hires
an experienced sitter

To watch the baby
during the day.

Molly: hey.

Ben,
this is molly.

Molly's gonna be here with
jackson until I get home, okay?

Sounds terrific.

Ben works all night,
so he'll be asleep.

Till about 2:00,
and then I'm off to class.

Bye.
Mmm.

Get some sleep, okay?

Okay, call me
if you need anything.

Everything's gonna be great.

Bye, jackson.

[ Baby crying ]

[ Crying stops ]

[ Crying resumes ]

[ Sighs ]

Molly, can you please
get the baby?

[ Sighs ]

[ Crying continues ]

Molly, are you here?!

Molly?!

Molly, are you here?!

Ben: and I knew for a fact
I wasn't dreaming.

There was a baby crying
on the monitor,

And there was nobody home.

It was a very creepy moment.

Narrator:
unsure what to make of it,

Ben keeps the strange
incident to himself.

A few nights later,
ben trudges off to work...

Reminding himself
that graduation

Is only a few months away.

[ Indistinct voices ]

[ Bridger breathing deeply ]

[ Voices intensify ]

Bridger,
what are you doing up?

I'm scared.
People are talking in my room.

Who's talking? Tori?

No, it's not tori.

It was just a bad dream,
bridger.

Now, go to sleep.

Jaime:
my first thought was,

"Did I leave the television on
in the living room?"

I did a little, quick listen,
and it was completely silent.

Narrator: later that night,
around 3:00 a.m...

[ Whirring, beeping ]

[ Whirring, beeping continue ]

Bridger?
Where are you hiding?

Okay, if you're not
gonna come out,

Then at least quit messing with
your toys and go back to bed!

[ Indistinct voices ]

Narrator:
none of the sheas mention
their individual experiences.

For the next few weeks,
time passes uneventfully.

Despite the demands
of his hectic schedule,

Ben spends time with bridger
before leaving for work.

Ben: "and the old gray
octopus swam back

"Into his dark, watery cave
at the bottom of the sea

And never, ever
came back out again."

The end.
Read it again.

It's getting late, kiddo.
Give me a kiss.

I love you.

I love you, too.

Get in bed.

Ben hopes
that after he earns his degree,

He can work normal hours

And spend more time
with his family.

Mommy!

Are you saying
good night to daddy?

I got to go to work,
buddy.

I wish you didn't
have to go.

Me too.

Love you.
Love you, too. Bye.

Good night.

Night.

Narrator: with all the kids
in bed for the night,

Jaime takes advantage
of the quiet.

[ Tea kettle whistles ]

[ Rapid footsteps ]

Tori, is that you?

[ Footsteps continue ]

Bridger? Tori?
Get back to bed.

I kept hearing my kids
running up and down the stairs.

Ohh!

Kids, get back in bed!

Jaime: the door was wide open.
It didn't slam.

And I thought,
"this is pretty creepy."

All three of the kids
were sleeping,

And I was the only one
in the house besides the kids.

Narrator:
that weekend...

The eerie occurrences
nag at jaime

Until she can ignore them
no longer.

Molly told me
the weirdest story today.

She said that she heard
crying in the baby monitor,

And when she went upstairs
to check on jackson,

He was asleep.

She said it looked like
he hadn't even been crying.

[ Crying ]

The other day,
I heard crying on that thing.

Jackson
wasn't even home.

[ Thudding ]

Somebody's up.

It sounds like
it's from down here.

[ Sighs ]

It's got to be bridger.
I'll take care of this.

Jaime: and it sounded like a --
like a ball bouncing.

Ben:
I went to check on the kids

And yell at them for being up
so late and messing around.

And, of course,
everybody's sleeping.

Well?

They're all asleep.

You know,
these old houses,

They make all kinds of noises
that you can't explain.

[ Sighs ]

It's getting late.
I'm going to bed.

You coming?

I'll be there
in a second.

Narrator: all the strange
occurrences suddenly make sense.

Jaime: at that moment,
I did start to get the feeling

That we were living
in a haunted house.

Narrator:
jaime visits the local library

Hoping to learn more
about ghosts and hauntings.

[ Stamp thuds ]

I'll finish this up
for you.

Okay.

Brenda will finish
helping you.

I can't help noticing

What kind of books
you're checking out here.

Are you interested
in learning about ghosts?

Yes.

I grew up
in a house that was haunted.

Was it around here?



Narrator:
jaime is astonished.

It's the house
where her family now lives.

It was haunted
by the ghost of a little boy.

Jaime: she started telling me
about a boy

That had fallen
out of the window and died.

And he had fallen out of
the room that was bridger's room

Where he had been hearing the
voices and the people talking.

I felt the color
just rush out of my face.

Everything makes sense now --

All the little things that
had happened that I thought,

You know, "someone is trying
to play with us."

Did you ever feel afraid?

I mean, did this ghost
ever hurt anyone?

I just think he was looking
for attention, poor little guy.

You let me know
if these help you.

Okay. Thanks.

Narrator:
as the holiday season arrives,

The activity quiets down
around the house.

Jaime:
I mean, I felt like someone
was standing right behind me.

[ Telephone rings ]

I'll put in
the paperwork.

Let me, uh,
grab that, okay?

First aid.

Oh, ben, thank god
you answered.

Jaime, what's wrong?

I felt like I was being watched,
and, then, suddenly I looked up,

And I saw him
in my computer screen.

Y-you saw who?

I didn't get a good look
at who it was, but...

All right.
What happened?

It was evil.

I'll try to come home
early, I promise.

Ben:
it was very frustrating,

And not being able to be there,
I felt totally trapped.

[ Sighs ]

Jaime:
that was probably the first time

That I felt threatened.

I didn't feel like

It was a little boy
playing games with us.

I knew that
this was something different.

Narrator: although days pass
without incident,

The dark presence continues
to weigh on jaime's mind.

Aren't you
forgetting something?

[ Sighs ]
my briefcase.

Hey, don't forget
to pick up tori after school.

She's over at megan's.

[ Sighs ]
I forgot.

Okay.

Jaime: I really had
a real just eerie,

Kind of sick feeling
in my stomach.

[ Engine turns over ]

I really dreaded going home.

It was starting
to not feel like a home anymore.

Are you enjoying
working on that group project

You and megan
are working on?

Yeah,
I'm finishing it now.

It would be great if you
didn't hit all the bumps.

Sorry, honey.
There's road construction.

I thought we'd have
some pasta tonight.

How does that sound?

[ Tires squealing,
jaime and tori screaming ]

Jaime:
when I got out,

Tori was under the minivan,
pinned facedown,

With the weight
of the entire minivan on her,

And I thought, "she's not
gonna make it through this."

[ Siren wails ]

How is she?

They think
her back could be broken.

Ben:
they didn't know exactly to what
extent she had a broken back,

So we were obviously concerned

About whether
she could ever walk again.

It terrified me to not know.

Talk to us.

We believe tori may have
compression fractures

To several of her vertebrae.

Jaime: and I thought back
about the events of the day

And feeling
I was being watched

And that whole feeling that
I had before we had the wreck.

I started to wonder if there
was some kind of connection.

We'll just have to wait.

Jaime: thank you.

Narrator:
two weeks after the accident,

The hospital releases tori
just in time for christmas.

Although her doctor expects her
to make a full recovery,

Tori will be bedridden
for several months.

How you doing here?
Good.

How do you like this?

Here.

Jaime: she could not walk
without help,

So I took
a leave of absence from work

Because she needed
pretty much constant care.

Ben:
can you handle all that? Sure?

[ Grunts ]
you okay?

Bridger,
that's tori's scooter.

It's okay.
He can ride it.

Ben: it was awful because we had
just bought her a scooter.

Don't worry --
you'll be up and around

Riding on that thing
before you know it.

The scooter was kind of like a,
you know, you will walk again,

You will be able
to ride this scooter eventually.

You're not paralyzed.
Thank the good lord for that.

Come on, tori.

You heard what the doctor said.

You are young and strong.

You are gonna be up and about
in no time.

Narrator: weeks pass.

Jaime is so focused on tori

That she barely notices
any paranormal activity.

Jaime: I really
didn't think of anything else

Other than I wanted
my daughter to be okay.

Bridger,
what are you doing up?

People in my room
are talking again.

What are they saying?

I can't
understand them.

The good boys and the bad boys
all talk over each other.

What bad boys?
Who are the bad boys?

I don't know.

Could I sleep with
you and dad?

Okay, you can stay
with us tonight.

He's sleeping with us tonight.
He's hearing voices again.

I'm gonna go check
on jackson.

Hey, buddy.

[ Grunts ]
you okay?

Did you hear
something scary?

[ Sighs ]

Narrator:
jaime is relieved

To find
jackson sleeping peacefully,

Unaffected by the voices
that plague bridger.

[ Door creaks ]

[ Floorboard creaks ]

[ Door creaks ]

Cut it out, ben.

What?

Quit flicking my hair.

What are you talking about?
I didn't touch your hair.

Seriously,
I didn't touch you.

[ Rattling ]

I'll go get jackson.

Everything's
gonna be okay.

What's happening?

We're just gonna go sleep
in the living room.

[ Rattling stops ]

What's going on?
What happened?

It's okay. Shh.

Jaime:
I just felt this urgent need

To get everybody
into the same room,

And that way, I could
protect them in some way.

Little man, we are just
gonna sleep right here tonight.

Will somebody tell me
what's going on?

Just a little excitement,
that's all.

We've got to find
somebody who can help us.

We cannot live like this.

Jaime: there was an evil
presence in the house

That was out to harm us,

And it wasn't the boy.

It was something else.

Ben: it was starting
to show itself more.

And I knew
we had to do something.

Narrator:
the sheas contact

The central arkansas society
for paranormal research.

They arrange
to come to the house

As soon as tori
is well enough to be moved.

This is ridiculous. I don't
understand why I have to go.

I need you to go with the boys
and help molly out.

It's only for one night.

She's gonna bring you back
in the morning, okay?

[ Crickets chirping ]

Narrator: the team
of investigators arrives

And sets up for the night.

Alan lowe's goal
is to find physical proof

To explain
the paranormal occurrences.

His wife, angela, and their
daughter, violet, are psychics.

Angela: the women in my family
have always been very psychic,

Sensitive,
open to the spirit world.

Narrator: violet's gift
goes beyond sensing.

Violet: I'm probably
classified better as a medium.

I can talk to them
and they can talk to me

And there can be
sort of a two-way conversation.

I've done
some research on the house,

And it verifies
what you've heard.

Narrator: karen shillings
tries to connect

The supernatural events
to the house's history.

Built in 1780, it once served
as a hotel and stagecoach stop

And later as a county jail.

Why would that cause
the house to be haunted?

Alan explains
that the house's rich past

Could account
for the presence of spirits.

...because it served as
a way station of sorts.

Angela: we'll walk through the
house and see if we can sense

Any hot spots
of spirit activity.

[ Woman screams ]

Violet: when I got
to the top of the stairs,

It was a sinking feeling,

And it was definitely coming
from that direction of the house

Towards that room.

Narrator:
alan sets up a video camera

Where the psychics feel
negative energy.

[ Gasps ]

Are you all right?

It's so...heavy.

Violet senses a presence.

She thinks
it wants to make contact

But is too frightened
to approach her.

Violet: it felt like
somebody walked in the room.

Don't be afraid.

He was human but didn't look
like he was standing there.

He was sort of see-through.

Will you talk to us?

There's something else.

Someone else is here.

Angela: we felt like
he had been scared away

By a very strong
negative presence in the house.

[ Loud thud ]

Violet: it was like
a whole sea of people.

They weren't happy.
They seemed pretty miserable.

It felt like
they didn't want you there,

Like you shouldn't be
in this room.

[ Indistinct voices,
rumbling ]

[ Growls ]

It didn't look human.

This presence
was something different,

And it was really terrifying.

I haven't been afraid
of a house or a ghost

Since I was a young child,
but this one scared me.

[ Gasping ]

Narrator:
the psychics tell jaime and ben
about the little boy

And the multitude of human
spirits they encountered...

Those are the voices
your son has been hearing.

...and inform them there is a
negative presence in the house.

We don't know
what it is.

Narrator:
angela hopes to communicate
with it in order to learn more.

Ben: one of
the paranormal-team people

Suggested that we find out more
details about the spirits

By asking them questions
through the ouija board.

And I really didn't believe
in the whole ouija board thing.

Narrator:
skeptical because a ouija board
can be easily manipulated,

Ben handles the planchette.

Ben: me and one of
the paranormal-team guys

Did the ouija board

While other people
were asking questions.

What is your name?

S...

...e...

...t...

Narrator:
they contact the dark spirit

And learn it calls itself seth.

When were you alive?

N.

E.

V.

E.

R.

Never.

This was not
a physical person who had died.

This was a demon
who had never lived.

Ben: to know that you've
actually been in the same house

With some sort
of demonic presence

And knowing that
it could do harm --

It definitely scares you.

Narrator: the planchette's
erratic movement

Indicates seth
is extremely powerful.

Have we seen you?

Yes.

He's pointing
to the camera.

[ All breathing heavily ]

Jaime: when I saw the figure
on the video screen,

I knew right away
that it was the same figure

That was looking down on us

The day that we had
the car accident.

And I got that same
sick feeling in my stomach.

Oh, god.

Can you think of any
fortune-telling, conjuring,

Devil worshipping that might
have summoned a demon?

Not us, but when
we first moved in here,

We found pentagrams
and candles in the bedroom.

We thought it was just
a bunch of kids messing around.

They might have opened a door
they shouldn't have.

A door?
A portal
to the other side.

All:
show yourself to us!
Unleash your power!

Jaime: whether it was
those kids or someone else,

Evil had been invited
into that house.

Narrator: angela fears
for the family's safety.

Angela:
the spirit was so negative
and so evil and so aggressive

That the possibility
of the family being in danger

Was very real
if something wasn't done.

Narrator: she recommends
a ritual cleansing

To clear the house
of the evil spirit.

[ All gasp ]

What's happening?

Jaime: the planchette
just started going crazy,

Almost like in a figure eight,

Just around in circles
as fast as it could go.

It was really, really scary.

Narrator: using
a native-american tradition,

They burn sage
to bless the house.

Angela: the sage is used
to cleanse areas of negativity

So that you can see clearly
into the spirit world.

And in our prayers,
while we're doing the cleansing,

We ask the heavenly father
to protect this family

And fill the home
with white light

And rid it of any negativity.

Both:
let no evil come in.

Let no evil torment this family.

Protect this household.
Let no evil come in.

Let no evil torment this family.

Protect jackson.
Protect bridger.

Protect tori.

Protect ben.
Protect jaime.

Protect this family.
Protect this household.

Let no evil come in.

Angela: there was heaviness
against our chests,

Like we were being pushed back.

He was trying to literally
push us out of the house.

Narrator: angela and violet
continue their struggle

To rid the shea house of an evil
entity that calls itself seth.

Violet:
it was pretty clear to me that
it was resisting so strongly.

The air was getting
thicker and thicker,

And it felt like something
might grab you at any moment.

Both: protect this family.
Protect this household.

Let no evil come in.
Let no evil torment this family.

[ Wind howling ]

Protect tori.

Protect ben.
Protect jaime.

Protect this household.

Narrator:
they create a circle of salt

That will guard
the house from seth's return.

You draw a line around the house
to protect it from evil.

[ Howling stops ]

When we finished the cleansing,

The entire atmosphere
had changed.

Narrator: although the house
has been cleansed,

The human spirits will remain.

Can you feel it?

Jaime: I immediately felt
a sense of peace in the air.

I felt that the sense of evil
had been lifted.

Oh, we appreciate this
so much.

Ben: thank you.
Thank you very much.

Narrator:
for the next several months,

Life for the shea family
returns to normal.

Ben:
are you sure?

All right. Two it is.
Here we go.

Well, hello,
sleeping beauty.

Narrator: fortunately,
tori makes a full recovery.

You want
some pancakes?

Yes, please. Can I have mine
with grape jelly?

You sure can.

Nothing but the best
for you, sweetie.

Ben:
who breaks their back in three
places without being paralyzed?

She's definitely a miracle.

So, we're very,
very grateful for that.

Come on, jaime.
It's the weekend.

I'm glad you're back at work,
but can't this wait till monday?

No, I have a meeting
first thing.

Look, I'll take the kids
to the fair tomorrow.

You can have
the whole house to yourself.

I've been studying finals all
week, and I haven't seen you.

I guess I could
take a break.

[ Raspy moan ]

Bridger,
are you okay?

Bridger?
Talk to us.

Jaime:
it wasn't bridger.

It sounded kind of wicked,

And it just cut
right through me.

Bridger!

Mom! Dad!

What am I doing
down here?

Bridger, you stay here
with your daddy.

I'll be
right back.

You okay, buddy?

[ Indistinct voices ]

Jaime:
I could make out two voices.

They just kept getting louder
and louder and louder.

Mom!

I was just coming
to get you.

Mom.

When I saw that thing
at the end of the hallway,

The first thing
I thought was,

"Oh, no, we're not
starting this again."

We're getting
out of here!

Narrator: although
the cleansing forced seth out,

The house remains
a portal to the other side.

You okay,
little man?

Tori:
where are we going?

Narrator:
using that doorway,

A new demonic presence has
emerged to take seth's place.

It was still haunted,
and it was gonna stay haunted,

No matter what we did.

Narrator: the sheas know that
if they stay in the house,

Dark entities
will continue to prey on them.

Ben and jaime immediately
put the house on the market

And move to an apartment nearby.

A few weeks later,
ben finishes school,

And the family
starts a new life in a new town.

We are a much tighter family
outside of that home.

We're not dealing
with the constant stress

Of being haunted.

You taught him well.

Jaime: I always thought
when I was younger

That it would be kind of cool
to live in a haunted house.

I would never want
to experience that again.

Narrator: soon, another family
moves into the house.

They hear
the ghost boy playing...

...but have yet to encounter the
demon that plagued the sheas.