An evil presence is scaring Sarah Miller's children; after dealing with a skeptical boyfriend and frayed nerves, she calls a demonologist, who prepares a powerful ritual to expel the evil before it destroys the family.
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00:00In this world, there is real evil in the darkest shadows and in the most ordinary places.
00:18These are the true stories of the innocent and the unimaginable.
00:24After years of sacrifice, Sarah Miller hopes a new home will provide a better life for
00:28her children.
00:31But when a vicious entity attacks, her dream home becomes a hellish nightmare.
00:36Soon, the bonds holding the family together are pushed to their limits as they desperately
00:42struggle against a force they cannot identify.
00:51In the world we see and the things we fear, there are doors.
00:59When they are opened, nightmares become reality.
01:13Northern California, where the Cascade Mountains tower over glistening lakes and lush vineyards.
01:22But in the shadows of this scenic landscape, there is a dark side, where the unsuspecting
01:28walk hand-in-hand with the supernatural.
01:48In the fall of 2000, Sarah Miller buys a three-bedroom ranch in a small Northern California
01:55town for her 13-year-old daughter Becky and five-year-old son Jack.
02:03To protect her identity, Sarah appears under the condition of anonymity.
02:08My dream as a single mom had always been to own a home, so I saved my money.
02:16It took quite a bit, a couple of years, to do that.
02:21It was something that I never thought I could ever accomplish.
02:26Sarah hopes her kids are as excited as she is to spend their first night in the house.
02:31Well, it's a lot bigger than our apartment.
02:34I liked our apartment.
02:36Oh, just think, Becky, a little paint, some work, it'll be as good as new.
02:40Becky wishes she never had to move an hour and a half away from her hometown of Redding.
02:46I was used to the city.
02:48That's where all my friends were, and it felt like a different world to me.
02:58The furniture won't arrive until the next day, but Sarah makes the best of it by camping
03:03out in the living room.
03:04Don't we have, like, a couch or something we can sleep on?
03:07Honey, nothing will be here until tomorrow.
03:08Great.
03:09How am I supposed to use the bathroom?
03:10Honey, you know where it is.
03:11I've got a flashlight right here, Beck.
03:13There you go.
03:14Thanks, honey.
03:15Come right back.
03:16Feel cozy?
03:17What do you say?
03:18Ready for prayers?
03:19Yeah.
03:20Yeah.
03:21All right.
03:22Angel of God, Lord of dear, to whom God's love begits me.
03:38Everything about the hallway just scared me, and I didn't know why.
04:07This place gives me freaking creeps.
04:35Good night.
04:38Good night.
04:41Sweet dreams.
04:44Good night.
05:05The next day, Sarah's boyfriend, Steve, arrives fretting with the furniture.
05:16Sarah's mother, Ruth, has also come to help.
05:23Wanting to be close to her grandkids, Ruth plans to buy an apartment near Sarah.
05:31Until then, she'll live with the family and help out with Jack.
05:34Hello?
05:35What do you think?
05:37I am so proud of you.
05:45That afternoon, Sarah helps Becky unpack.
05:53It's freezing in here.
05:55That room was cold, very, very cold.
05:59But you went outside of that room, and the whole house was fine.
06:03It smells funny, too.
06:05Well, open the window.
06:07Oh, I know.
06:08I bet it's just this vent.
06:10I'll have Steve take a look at it this weekend.
06:12My mom just said it's because I'm at the far end of the house.
06:15That's probably why my room isn't getting warm.
06:17But I thought there was something else.
06:20Maybe that smell is coming from that skunk in the closet.
06:25Becky, please.
06:28I'm exhausted.
06:31And I really need your help.
06:50Here's the last of it.
06:53There's more?
06:59Do you really have to go back tonight?
07:02I've got an early day tomorrow.
07:04I promised Dad I'd help him out on the ranch.
07:06Him being in one town and me in another was very difficult.
07:10But I knew it would work.
07:12Don't worry. Everything will be fine.
07:16Okay.
07:21A month later.
07:46It just sounded like a man and two women outside my window
07:50trying to get my attention.
08:01Hello?
08:03Is anybody out there?
08:15Hello?
08:31Oh, Mom, don't worry about his shoes. Just get him to eat.
08:37Becky, come on!
08:40Make sure you eat it all.
08:46Honey, it's 7 a.m. Why aren't you dressed?
08:52This is gonna sound weird, but...
08:55I kept hearing voices outside my window last night.
08:59It was probably just the neighbors.
09:01How could it be the neighbors? They're too far away.
09:03Honey, I don't know. Just eat your breakfast.
09:05Sarah believes her daughter is just experiencing anxiety from the move.
09:10Starting a new school, getting to meet new kids,
09:14and being a teenager, that was very difficult for her.
09:17Look, I need you to come home right after school today.
09:20What else am I gonna do? It's not like I have any friends around here.
09:24Becky, I know this is hard for you, but try, okay?
09:28Whatever.
09:32Jack, be good for Grandma.
09:34Okay. Bye, Mom.
09:45As the weeks pass, Becky feels increasingly disconnected.
09:50I have no friends at school.
09:53My mom and I aren't getting along, and I was just isolated.
09:58Grandma's taking me to skate park. Wanna come?
10:01Jack, I told you I'm doing homework, okay?
10:04Are you sure? Yeah.
10:07Okay, see ya.
10:14Oh, my God.
10:45Mom!
10:47There was no logical explanation.
10:50It was moving, and then it fell.
10:53Mom, my ballerina, the one on top of the T,
10:57it just fell and smashed to the floor, and, um, it went...
11:01Honey, it was perfect.
11:03It was perfect.
11:05It was perfect.
11:07It was perfect.
11:09It was perfect.
11:11It just fell to the floor, and, um, it went...
11:14Honey, it was probably just the vibration of the television.
11:17Mom, the TV was not on!
11:19Don't you yell at me, Rebecca Marie. I won't have it.
11:22But, Mom, there's something wrong with this house, and I can't explain it, okay?
11:26For Pete's sake, Becky, just because your ballerina broke
11:29doesn't mean there's something wrong with the house.
11:32Hello?
11:34I was getting more upset, because it's just me.
11:37Nothing's happening to my mom.
11:39Look, if you don't like your room, you can have your grandmother's when she moves out.
11:43Fine.
11:44Hey, sorry. Becky's ballerina broke.
11:47Yeah. No, that's all.
11:49How you doing?
11:53Are you still coming on Friday?
11:55Mom!
11:56It looked like a tornado hit my room.
11:59Honey, I'm on the phone.
12:00But, I just went over to get you and...
12:02Honey, what did you do in here?
12:04I didn't do anything. I just came to get you, and then...
12:06Clean it up.
12:07I was just bombarded with all these different emotions.
12:11I just wanted to be normal.
12:13And being in that house, I couldn't be normal.
12:17BALLERINA
12:36Several months after moving in,
12:38Becky's grandmother finds an apartment.
12:42As promised, Becky takes her room.
12:45I wish you weren't leaving.
12:47I know, honey, but I won't be very far.
12:51Always reach me, close by.
12:55I love you.
12:56And I love you, sweetheart.
12:58My grandma has the most wonderful relationship with God.
13:02So, I felt protected.
13:04I felt safe in her room.
13:11Time for prayers.
13:14Angel of God, my darling...
13:16Jack, who has been staying with Sarah,
13:18moves into Becky's old room.
13:20Watch over me throughout the night,
13:23and keep me safe within your sight.
13:27In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
13:30Amen.
13:34All right, kiddo.
13:39Good night.
13:43Good night.
14:13BALLERINA
14:43BALLERINA
15:09Jack?
15:10Honey, what's wrong?
15:12I saw two guys.
15:14He said they'd come out of the closet.
15:16I told you there was something wrong with his room.
15:18Becky, you're not helping.
15:20Honey, there are no people in your closet.
15:31See?
15:32I saw them.
15:35They were right there, though.
15:39Honey, it's late,
15:41and we really have to get to sleep.
15:43Please, Mommy.
15:44The guards are gonna come.
15:46You can sleep with me tonight.
15:49Fine.
15:58I'll be safe in my room.
16:11Later that night,
16:13Sarah wonders if there is something more to her kids' stories.
16:17My daughter is hearing voices.
16:20My son is seeing things.
16:22I was just very confused.
16:42And at the same time,
16:44I'm beginning to feel...
16:46scared.
16:54Hello?
16:58Hello?
17:02Hello?
17:05Hello?
17:07Hello?
17:09Hello?
17:26Mom?
17:28Mom?
17:29Did you hear that?
17:31Stay in your room!
17:39Stay in your room!
17:41Stay in your room!
18:07I thought there was a man in my home.
18:10I thought this man was gonna harm my two kids.
18:40I thought there was a man in my home.
19:11What?
19:24The wall!
19:30Mom, there's nothing there.
19:32The whole thing was covered in blood.
19:35Mom, there's... It was on my head.
19:38There was blood.
19:43There is something here, isn't there?
19:46Where's Jack?
19:48He's in my room.
19:50In my mind, there was gonna be death in my family.
19:54I thought that was our blood.
19:59Jack?
20:07Jack?
20:11Mom!
20:12Jack!
20:14Jack!
20:16Mom!
20:22Come here.
20:24God's gonna protect us.
20:26I told my kids we're gonna fight.
20:28Our father, who art in heaven...
20:31We prayed for God to accompany us, to be with us.
20:35Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
20:38To protect us.
20:40Give us this day our daily bread.
20:42And forgive us our trespasses.
21:00The next morning,
21:02Sarah moves Jack out of the small bedroom
21:05and into Becky's room permanently.
21:08I knew the focus was in that room.
21:11And I didn't want my son in danger.
21:33My mom thought, well, if there's things in the closet,
21:37we'll put a picture of Jesus in there.
22:03That weekend, after the kids have gone to sleep,
22:06Steve arrives from Redding.
22:08How you doing?
22:09I'm all right.
22:10You good?
22:11Yeah. How was your trip?
22:13It was a little long.
22:14Yeah?
22:15Yeah.
22:16Want a glass of wine?
22:18Sure.
22:22Sarah, what's wrong?
22:25I'm just a little tired.
22:29I can tell when something's wrong.
22:35The kids were right, Steve.
22:38There's something wrong with the house.
22:41I don't know what to do.
22:44Sarah, you know I don't believe in that stuff.
22:53But I do believe my place is here with you and me.
22:57I believe my place is here with you and the kids.
23:09Marry me, Sarah.
23:11Be my wife.
23:13Be my family.
23:17Oh!
23:28Sarah and Steve decide to get married in the fall.
23:36Until then, she and her children remain alone in the house.
24:27Mom!
24:58There was something evil in that room.
25:01But I didn't understand how could it be there.
25:04Why would it be there?
25:07From now on, this door stays closed.
25:18For days, Sarah's mind races with possible explanations
25:22for the present and future.
25:26I thought somebody was murdered in my home.
25:31Maybe we had a ghost that hasn't passed on.
25:35Sarah hopes her neighbor knows something about the history of her house.
25:39Have you settled in all right?
25:41Yeah, we're getting there.
25:44Hey, I wasn't wondering if I could ask you a question.
25:48She says, I kind of figured you'd come around and ask.
25:52Well, the woman who lived there before you,
25:55she had a teenage daughter who, well, she was no angel.
25:59Sarah's neighbor doesn't know of any deaths in the house,
26:02but she shares something just as disturbing.
26:05Satan worshipers?
26:07Uh-huh.
26:09I mean, they had all sorts of black masses
26:12and God knows what over there in that house.
26:15I said, in what room?
26:17She says, your daughter's room.
26:20I should have told you sooner.
26:22No, no, it's all right.
26:26Call me if you need me. You have my number.
26:29Thanks.
26:39In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost,
26:44In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen.
26:50Not knowing what else to do,
26:52Sarah asks her parish priest to bless her home.
26:59The ceremony gives her hope.
27:02Amen.
27:03I felt peaceful.
27:05I felt very comfortable.
27:08After a month of no activity, the haunting appears to be over.
27:16So, my dad and I are camping,
27:19when late at night, this bear appears.
27:23Life gets even better when Sarah and Steve marry that fall.
27:29Then, one Friday night, Steve goes out of town to his father's ranch.
27:36His father has several acres,
27:38and so he would leave on the weekends to go help his father.
27:43A few days later.
28:04No, Steve!
28:07No, Steve!
28:10I had her by the throat, forcing her to say something in Latin.
28:15Sarah has no idea what the phrase means, but she knows it's evil.
28:20I felt that it wanted me to worship it.
28:39Desperate for answers, Sarah looks up the Latin phrase on the Internet.
28:45It means, we are here.
28:49Becky fears what may happen if they stay in the house.
28:53And I was terrified.
28:55What else is it going to do now?
29:00Kids are finally asleep.
29:03What's going on, Sarah?
29:05That Sunday, when Steve returns home, Sarah tells him everything.
29:10There's something really wrong with this house, Steve.
29:14I'm sorry, Sarah.
29:16But you're asking me to believe in something I can't see, and I just can't do it.
29:19I was choked, Steve.
29:21I spoke Latin.
29:23No!
29:24No!
29:25No!
29:26No!
29:27No!
29:28No!
29:29No!
29:30No!
29:31I spoke Latin.
29:32No!
29:33No!
29:34I don't know Latin.
29:38Give in to your fear, Sarah.
29:40There has to be a logical explanation for the things you're experiencing.
29:45Fine.
29:47I'll just handle it on my own, like usual.
29:51He never heard anything, saw anything.
29:55I'm being bullied, and my husband doesn't understand that, so I feel alone.
30:02As Sarah and Steve's relationship becomes strained, things in the house go from bad to worse.
30:24I felt breathing in my ear, and it was cold.
30:31I felt breathing in my ear.
31:02No!
31:07Honey, what's wrong?
31:09It breathed on me.
31:11What breathed on you?
31:13I don't know.
31:15I just saw a face and it breathed on me.
31:19It was probably a draft. The house is drafty.
31:22I saw its face!
31:24How do you explain that?
31:26It was just a head in air, no body.
31:29It looked like she was dead.
31:32Please, Mommy, we have to move. We can't stay here.
31:36Don't be ridiculous. There's nothing wrong with the house.
31:49Sarah realizes her daughter will never again feel comfortable in their home.
31:55Hi.
32:00It quietly tears at her heart, but she allows Becky to move in with a friend back in Reading.
32:06I love you.
32:07I love you, too, Mom.
32:08I want you to mind your manners and do your homework.
32:11I will.
32:14Becky's relieved to escape the house, but has mixed feelings about leaving her mom and Jack.
32:20I felt bad because I got to leave the house and her and my brother were stuck there.
32:36With each passing day since Becky's departure,
32:39Sarah struggles to hold herself together.
32:45I'm heartbroken. I'm depressed.
32:50I desperately wanted to move out,
32:54but I was financially strapped. I was stuck.
32:59But I was financially strapped. I was stuck.
33:10Mom?
33:11Becky!
33:18You got what you wanted!
33:20You tore my family apart!
33:24Now leave us alone!
33:29But we constantly mimic her voice.
33:33It just tormented me.
33:43This thing was after my family.
33:46I needed to get some help.
33:50A search of paranormal investigators leads Sarah to Phantasm Psychic Research,
33:55a Connecticut-based organization.
34:00Dave Considine founded the group in 1994.
34:04Hello?
34:05Mr. Considine?
34:06Yes?
34:07Hi.
34:08My name's Sarah Miller.
34:10I know you probably hear this all the time, but I think there's something really evil in my house.
34:15Phantasm's basic goal is to help individuals that feel that there's something in their home
34:20or there's something interceding in their life.
34:22All right. Can you tell me what you've been experiencing?
34:24It all started with my kids.
34:26The group takes a scientific as well as a spiritual approach to supernatural investigations.
34:31Look, uh, Ms. Miller, I believe we need to have an extended conversation.
34:35I'm a lay religious demonologist, which means that I'm not clergy, but I work with the church.
34:43Before leaving for California,
34:45Considine consults a priest with extensive experience in spiritual warfare.
34:50Bishop Robert McKenna.
34:52She said the words, nos sumus hic.
34:56We are here.
34:58For over 30 years, the bishop has worked hand-in-hand with paranormal investigators.
35:03I think the family might be in real trouble.
35:05You're absolutely right. You should do everything in your power to help them.
35:09Anticipating a spiritual battle, Considine must carry out an intense cleansing ritual.
35:15Thank you, Father.
35:16I'll prepare myself by fasting for nine days.
35:19I'll also purge myself through confession and keep myself in constant prayer.
35:23Because if you're fighting the ultimate evil, you want to be ultimately good.
35:29In June 2001,
35:31Considine and his team travel from Connecticut to northern California.
35:37There was a sense of doom.
35:41It made you feel as though you were being watched.
35:52The investigators that I brought with me were my co-founder, Barbara Considine,
35:57John Arell, who's my technical director,
35:59and my wife, Barbara Considine.
36:02Barbara Considine, John Arell, who's my technical director,
36:05and Barbie Hyde, who is also a light clairvoyant.
36:09My role during the investigation was to try to figure out the nature of the spirit,
36:14as well as assisting with the setup of the electronic equipment.
36:18I understand you've been through a lot.
36:20I'm really glad that you're here with us.
36:22Becky has returned home for the investigation,
36:25but Jack will stay with his grandmother.
36:27Sarah, can you tell me again about the choking incident?
36:30The team will live with the family for an entire week.
36:34In that time, they will use an array of high-tech equipment
36:37to document the presence in the house.
36:40Infrared video cameras and special lenses
36:43capture heat sources invisible to the naked eye.
36:47Line analyzers graph visual images of sounds not audible to the human ear,
36:52registered by low-frequency microphones.
36:55Electromagnetic field monitors, or EMFs,
36:58detect shifts in magnetic fields.
37:01Laser thermometers measure temperatures of moving objects from a distance.
37:06The team must know exactly what they are dealing with before taking any action.
37:18That night, the team places cameras and listening devices throughout the house.
37:25David, can I get you anything else?
37:27No, we're fine. Get some sleep.
37:29Yeah, we have to get to bed.
37:31We need to turn in, too.
37:33So, what do you think?
37:36Well, Sarah and Becky's stories are consistent.
37:38I'm pretty sure there's an entity in the house.
37:40Human or non-human?
37:42It's too early to tell.
37:44I'll take the first shift. You guys go get some sleep.
37:57SLEEP
38:21It sounded like a bomb went off.
38:28David?
38:30David!
38:36My body, which was in a horizontal position, was pushed straight up.
38:40David, are you okay?
38:41I'm fine.
38:42Obviously, I was quite shaken.
38:43What the hell was that?
38:44I don't know. I think it was a fart.
38:45Did you see that? It just lifted me up. I heard this big noise.
38:47Did you hear the noise?
38:48Yes.
38:49Its whole intention is to scare you away.
38:51It's trying to drive you away from me so you will not help that family.
38:57THE CASE
39:15After a long night, paranormal investigator Barbie Hyde reviews the case.
39:20I was unsure of the best way to handle this situation.
39:27Heavenly Father, guide us in our endeavor to help this family.
39:31Give me the strength to face whatever task may be at hand.
39:35I ask this in the name of the Father.
39:49The water, in defiance of the laws of physics, went counterclockwise in a circle.
39:57THE CASE
40:14As the week pushes on, the investigators continue to gather evidence.
40:19Should I turn it on?
40:20Yeah.
40:21Okay.
40:22What's that?
40:23It's called the Big Ear.
40:24This is able to pick up sounds that are not audible to the human ear.
40:27When you have ethereal sounds, they usually fall below 300 hertz.
40:33You want to try?
40:35Sure.
40:36Let's put the headphones on.
40:38Okay.
40:39What do I do?
40:40And then you press that button.
40:42There?
40:43And just point.
40:44And you aim.
40:46Oh.
40:54Okay.
41:17She's spooked.
41:19Shut up.
41:21Shut up.
41:23I could hear the struggle.
41:25It sounded like a female's choking, and then I heard...
41:28Shut up.
41:29She's listening.
41:31She's listening.
41:32She's listening.
41:47The investigators now know they are dealing with an entity far more dangerous than any human spirit.
41:55Bishop McKenna.
41:56Oh, Bishop.
41:57Dave Considine.
41:58How's California?
41:59Uh, not so good.
42:01Everything that we've been seeing and hearing points to a diabolical presence.
42:10Are you sure?
42:11Yes, Bishop.
42:13I'm sure.
42:14I trust your judgment, David.
42:17I do.
42:18Considine knows demons are merciless.
42:21Thank you, Bishop.
42:22If we didn't initiate something, it would totally destroy this family.
42:27Without any doubt in my mind.
42:30Considine!
42:39Later that night, Considine calls the family together.
42:43We reviewed the evidence, and it seems clear the home is inhabited by a demonic device.
42:47He says, you have a demon here.
42:53And with your faith, we're gonna fight this.
42:56But we had the house blessed.
42:58That's a common misconception.
43:00It is always good to have your house blessed.
43:02But if you have a demonic in your home, this just enrages the spirit.
43:07It's like poking a bear with a stick.
43:09A demon is essentially a fallen angel, and its goal is to destroy man.
43:13In a family situation, it starts by destroying the family unit.
43:17How is this possible?
43:19Considine believes the black masses held by the previous tenant created a gateway for the demon.
43:27If there are demons, I know there has to be a way to get rid of them.
43:31Bishop McKenna has given me permission to perform a minor rite of exorcism and suffumigation.
43:37This ritual must take place during the daytime.
43:41We can begin first thing in the morning.
43:57The next morning.
44:08Everything in the kitchen is open.
44:15We had already come prepared with the proper tools to take care of the problem,
44:20blessed for us by Bishop Robert McKenna.
44:24One vital tool is the censer, which houses the holy incense.
44:30You go throughout the house with the censer, and you put the smoke in every nook and cranny that you can.
44:36The demon cannot be in the presence of the holy incense.
44:47I was so exhausted.
44:49I was so sick of feeling scared.
44:52Finally, I have some help.
44:57In using the rites of exorcism, you are sanctifying that home.
45:01You are driving these demonic creatures back to hell.
45:09As day turns to night,
45:13the team continues the ritual in Becky's old room, where it all began.
45:22The almost glorious prince of the heavenly militia is in line with the archangel.
45:26Thinness in the battle against the principalities of power is a crushing blow.
45:32God arise. Let his enemies be scattered.
45:35Let those who hate him leave his place.
45:39I stood there listening for a few minutes, and I started to hear the growling, the gagging, the retching noises.
45:46It was emanating out of the closet.
45:48And of course, when you opened the closet door, there was nothing there, nothing to be seen.
45:55Finally, there's only one place left for the demon to hide.
45:59The garage.
46:02A very, very oppressive feeling came down on you like a vice when you walked into the room.
46:12In the name of the Father,
46:14the Son,
46:16and the Holy Ghost, amen.
46:19They're only trying to stop us.
46:21We need to pray.
46:23Hail Mary, full of grace.
46:25The Lord is with thee.
46:27Blessed art thou amongst women.
46:29Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
46:34We exorcise thee from the evil spirit.
46:37We save thy family.
46:39And we assert the future of those adversaries.
46:43We die among the congregation and sect.
46:47In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, amen.
46:51We are broken, and we are discharged from God.
47:06It's gone.
47:07I didn't feel it.
47:08Sarah, it's gone.
47:10They're no longer here.
47:15They're no longer here.
47:24It was gone.
47:26That heaviness was no longer there.
47:30And you felt safe.
47:33The demon has been driven back to hell.
47:41The next day.
47:45Sarah drives Considine and his team to the airport.
47:55Bye.
47:57For the Miller family, the nightmare is finally over.
48:01If the investigators wouldn't have come,
48:03I don't know what would have happened.
48:06But for Sarah, the house holds too many bad memories.
48:12And the Holy Ghost.
48:14She and Steve buy a new home across town
48:17and ask their priest to bless the property.
48:21Not wanting to uproot her daughter again,
48:23Sarah allows Becky to stay in Reading.
48:28Becky, I'm sorry.
48:30I'm sorry.
48:32Sarah allows Becky to stay in Reading.
48:36It made me realize that good would always win over evil.
48:41Son of the Holy Ghost.
48:43No matter what, if you have your strong faith,
48:46it'll win in the end.
48:48May God bless you with love, peace, and joy.
49:32For more UN videos visit www.un.org