When Randy and Marcy Wikoff's son is deployed to the Middle East, Marcy reaches her emotional breaking point and a sleeping presence awakens to threaten her.
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00:00In this world, there is real evil, in the darkest shadows and in the most ordinary places.
00:16These are the true stories of the innocent and the unimaginable.
00:22Jamie and Ben Shea find the perfect place to raise their children, but eerie sounds
00:29and ghostly voices puncture the quiet country night.
00:33An unseen menace lies in wait, intent on destroying their family and shattering their lives.
00:47Between the world we see and the things we fear, there are doors, and they are opened.
00:57Nightmares become reality.
01:08The Ozark River Valley once stood as the gateway to the west, the last outpost of civilization
01:14before the frontier beyond.
01:17But nestled amid this lush countryside lies a different kind of portal, a crossroads between
01:24life and death, where the mortal and the eternal collide.
01:55In October 2003, Jamie and Ben Shea's search for a larger home leads them to Markham, Arkansas,
02:04an hour outside Little Rock.
02:06It's got some character to it, doesn't it?
02:08It's beautiful. Well, it's so historic.
02:11It was just absolutely beautiful. It had big, old, old trees all around it.
02:16And it was just the picture of the house I've been looking for all my life.
02:20Ben can already picture raising his three children there.
02:24I knew that my kids could run out there and, you know, just have a good time.
02:28I grew up that way, me running out and playing in the woods, and I definitely wanted that for my kids.
02:34Did the agent give you a key?
02:35The house is a short commute to Arbutus, where Jamie is a legal assistant.
02:40Ben is earning his degree while working nights as a nurse at a local factory.
02:46It was in between the two towns where my husband worked and where my husband went to school,
02:51so he could spend more time with the kids and not have to be traveling back and forth as much.
03:00Not so bad.
03:01I thought the walls would be peeling or something.
03:04I know. It looks like everything's in pretty good shape.
03:08There was a lot of room. I could totally see how the kids would have plenty of room to play.
03:13I knew as soon as I saw it that we had to have that house.
03:19I need to make an offer on the place before anybody else sees it.
03:22Maybe we should look at the rest of the house first.
03:31Wow, this is great.
03:37The ceilings don't have any water spots. The roof must be in great shape.
03:41It's almost too good to be true.
03:44I'll say.
03:50Oh my God, what is this?
03:56I wouldn't worry about it.
03:58The fireplace had all kinds of markings on it, like the name of this boy that had died, pentagrams.
04:06It takes a lot to kind of spook me, so I was just like some teenager.
04:10You know, lived here before.
04:12The Shays remain enthusiastic about the house.
04:15Looks like a nice fireplace. It shouldn't be boarded up anyway.
04:18You think it still works?
04:19We decided right away the first thing we would do is get rid of that.
04:22But other than that, it was just perfect.
04:35Within a few weeks, the family is all settled in.
04:39Wow, it's beautiful.
04:42Did you pick out those colors, Bridger?
04:44The couple's three children, 8-month-old Jackson, 5-year-old Bridger, and 11-year-old Tori, are delighted by their new surroundings.
04:55That's Taylor calling for me.
04:57Again? Did you get this many phone calls when you were her age?
05:00I am just glad that she's adjusting to her new school well.
05:03Give me one more.
05:09The Shays quickly fall into a busy routine.
05:12You guys need to hurry up, because it's time to get to the bus, okay?
05:15Jamie hires an experienced sitter to watch the baby during the day.
05:18Hi.
05:19Hey.
05:20Ben, this is Molly.
05:22Molly's going to be here with Jackson until I get home, okay?
05:25Sounds terrific.
05:26Ben works all night, so he'll be asleep.
05:29Till about 2, and then I'm off to class.
05:32Bye.
05:33Get some sleep, okay?
05:35Okay, um, call me if you need anything. Everything's going to be great.
05:39Bye, Jackson.
06:06Molly, can you please get the baby?
06:27Molly, are you here?
06:35Molly?
06:55Molly?
06:58Molly, are you here?
07:06Molly?
07:12I knew for a fact I wasn't dreaming.
07:15There was a baby crying out on the monitor, and there was nobody home.
07:19It was a very creepy moment.
07:25Unsure what to make of it, Ben keeps the strange incident to himself.
07:31A few nights later, Ben trudges off to work,
07:35reminding himself that graduation is only a few months away.
08:00Richard?
08:27Richard, what are you doing up?
08:28I'm scared. People are talking in my room.
08:30Who's talking? Tori?
08:32No, it's not Tori.
08:34It was just a bad dream, Richard.
08:38Now go to sleep.
08:45My first thought was, did I leave the television on in the living room?
08:48I did a little quick listen, and it was completely silent.
08:58Later that night, around 3 a.m.
09:29Bridger? Where are you hiding?
09:34Okay, if you're not going to come out,
09:35then at least quit messing with your toys and go back to bed.
09:59Richard?
10:01Richard?
10:26None of the shades mention their individual experiences.
10:30But the next few weeks, time passes uneventfully.
10:36Despite the demands of his hectic schedule,
10:38Ben spends time with Bridger before leaving for work.
10:42And the old gray octopus swam back into his dark, watery cave
10:47at the bottom of the sea and never, ever came back out again.
10:54The end.
10:55Read it again.
10:56It's getting late, kiddo. Give me a kiss.
10:58I love you.
10:59I love you, too.
11:01Now get in bed. Close all your eyes.
11:03Ben hopes that after he earns his degree,
11:05he can work normal hours and spend more time with his family.
11:09Mommy!
11:10Are you saying goodnight to Daddy before he leaves?
11:12I gotta go to work, buddy.
11:14I wish you didn't have to go.
11:16Me, too.
11:18Love you.
11:19Love you, too. Bye.
11:21Goodnight.
11:22Thanks.
11:28Night.
11:37With all the kids in bed for the night,
11:39Jamie takes advantage of the quiet.
11:50Tori? Is that you?
11:53Bridger? Tori? Get back to bed.
11:59I kept hearing my kids running up and down the stairs.
12:10Kids, get back in bed!
12:29The door was wide open.
12:32It didn't slam.
12:34I thought, it was pretty creepy.
12:47All three of us were in bed,
12:49and I couldn't get up.
12:51I couldn't get up.
12:52I couldn't get up.
12:53I couldn't get up.
12:54I couldn't get up.
12:56All three of the kids were sleeping,
12:58and I was the only one in the house besides the kids.
13:25That night,
13:43that weekend,
13:45the eerie occurrences nag at Jamie
13:47until she can ignore them no longer.
13:52Holly told me the weirdest story today.
13:54She heard crying in the baby monitor,
13:56and when she went upstairs to check on Jackson,
13:58he was asleep.
14:01She said it looked like he hadn't even been crying.
14:13The other day, I heard crying on that thing.
14:15Jackson wasn't even home.
14:21Somebody's up.
14:23It sounds like it's from down here.
14:27It's got to be Bridger.
14:29I'll take care of this.
14:35It sounded like a ball bouncing.
14:39I went to check on the kids and yell at them
14:41for being up so late and messing around,
14:43and, you know, of course everybody's sleeping.
14:54Well?
15:00They're all asleep.
15:06You know, these old houses,
15:08they make all kinds of noises that you can't explain.
15:12It's getting late.
15:14I'm going to bed.
15:16You coming?
15:17I'll be there in a second.
15:19All the strange occurrences
15:21suddenly make sense.
15:25At that moment,
15:27I did start to get the feeling
15:29that we were living in a haunted house.
15:52Jamie visits the local library,
15:54hoping to learn more about ghosts and hauntings.
16:01I'll finish this up for you.
16:03Okay.
16:04Bryn will finish helping you.
16:10I can't help noticing what kind of books
16:12you're checking out here.
16:14Are you interested in learning about ghosts?
16:16Yes.
16:17I grew up in a house that was haunted.
16:19What's it around here?
16:20721 Franklin.
16:23Jamie is astonished.
16:25It's the house where her family now lives.
16:30She started telling me about a boy
16:32that had fallen out of the window and died.
16:35And he had fallen out of the room
16:37that was Bridger's room,
16:39where he had been hearing the voices
16:41and the people talking.
16:43I felt the color just rush out of my face.
16:48Everything makes sense now.
16:50All the little things that had happened
16:52that I thought, you know,
16:53someone was trying to play with us.
16:55Did you ever feel afraid?
16:57I mean, did this ghost ever hurt anyone?
16:59I just think he was looking for attention,
17:01you know, an important guy.
17:03You let me know if these help you.
17:05Okay.
17:06Okay.
17:07Okay.
17:08Okay.
17:09Okay.
17:10Okay.
17:11Okay.
17:12Okay.
17:18As the holiday season arrives,
17:21the activity quiets down around the house.
17:42I mean, I felt like someone was standing right behind me.
17:52Some rest, though.
17:53I'll put in the paperwork.
17:54Let me grab that, okay?
17:58First aid.
17:59Ben, thank God you answered.
18:01Jamie, what's wrong?
18:02I felt like I was being watched,
18:04and then suddenly I looked up
18:05and I saw him on my computer screen.
18:07You saw who?
18:08Ben, I didn't get a good look at who it was,
18:10but...
18:11All right, what happened?
18:12It was evil.
18:13I'll try to come home early, I promise.
18:15It was very frustrating,
18:17and not being able to be there,
18:18I felt totally trapped.
18:23That was probably the first time that I felt threatened.
18:28I didn't feel like it was a little boy playing games with us.
18:32I knew that this was something different.
18:40Jamie?
18:51Although days pass without incident,
18:54the dark presence continues to weigh on Jamie's mind.
18:58Are you okay?
19:09Aren't you forgetting something?
19:12My briefcase.
19:14Hey, don't forget to pick up Tori after school.
19:16She's over at Megan's.
19:18I forgot.
19:19Okay.
19:21I really had a real, just eerie,
19:25kind of sick feeling in my stomach.
19:46I really dreaded going home.
19:49It was starting to not feel like a home anymore.
20:03Are you enjoying working on that group project you and Megan are working on?
20:06Yeah, I'm finishing it now.
20:10It would be great if you didn't hit all the bumps.
20:12Sorry, honey, there's road construction.
20:15Thought we'd have some pasta tonight. How does that sound?
20:25When I got out, Tori was under the minivan,
20:29pinned face down with the weight of the entire minivan on her,
20:35and I thought, she's not going to make it through this.
20:45How is she?
20:46I think her back would be broken.
20:48Oh, my God.
20:49They didn't know exactly to what extent she had a broken back,
20:52and so we were obviously concerned about whether she could ever walk again.
20:57It terrified me to not know.
20:59It's okay.
21:00We believe Tori may have compression fractures to several vertebrae.
21:03I thought back about the events of the day
21:06and feeling I was being watched
21:08and that whole feeling that I had before we had the wreck.
21:12I started to wonder if there was some kind of connection.
21:19Just have to wait.
21:25Two weeks after the accident, the hospital releases Tori,
21:29just in time for Christmas.
21:33Although her doctor expects her to make a full recovery,
21:36Tori will be bedridden for several months.
21:39How are you doing here?
21:40Good.
21:41How do you like this?
21:42It's cute.
21:43Here.
21:45She could not walk without help,
21:47so I took a leave of absence from work
21:49because she needed pretty much constant care.
21:53You sure?
21:55Are you okay?
21:56That's Tori's scooter.
21:58It's okay.
21:59He can ride it.
22:00It was an awful Christmas because we had just bought her a scooter.
22:03Don't worry.
22:04You'll be up and around riding on that thing before you know it.
22:07The scooter is kind of like a...
22:09Like, hey, you know, you will walk again.
22:11You will be able to ride this scooter eventually.
22:13You're not paralyzed.
22:14Thank the good Lord for that.
22:16Come on, Tori.
22:17You heard what the doctor said.
22:18You are young and strong.
22:19You are going to be up and about in no time.
22:33Weeks pass.
22:35Jamie is so focused on Tori
22:38that she barely notices any paranormal activity.
22:42I really didn't think of anything else
22:44other than I wanted my daughter to be okay.
22:57Bridget, what are you doing up?
22:59People in my room are talking again.
23:02What are they saying?
23:03I can't understand them.
23:05The good boys and the bad boys all talk over each other.
23:08What bad boys?
23:09Who are the bad boys?
23:12I don't know.
23:13Could I sleep with anyone, Dad?
23:15Okay, you can stay with us tonight.
23:20He's sleeping with us tonight.
23:22He's hearing voices again.
23:24I'm going to go check on Jackson.
23:29Hey, buddy.
23:31Are you okay?
23:33Did you hear something scary?
23:53Jamie is relieved to find Jackson sleeping peacefully,
23:56unaffected by the voices that plague Bridger.
25:04A few hours later.
25:11Cut it out, Ben.
25:13What?
25:14Quit flicking my hair.
25:17What are you talking about?
25:18I didn't touch your hair.
25:24Seriously, I didn't touch.
25:34I'll go get Jackson.
25:40He's going to be okay.
25:41What's happening?
25:42I'm just going to go sleep in the living room.
25:50What's going on? What happened?
25:51Shh, we're going to wake the baby.
25:52It's okay.
25:53There's nothing to worry about.
25:54I just felt this urgent need to get everybody into the same room,
25:57and that way I could protect them in some way.
26:00Little man, we are just going to sleep right here.
26:02Can somebody please just tell me what's going on?
26:04Just a little excitement, that's all.
26:06We've got to find somebody who can help us.
26:08We cannot live like this.
26:16There was an evil presence in the house that was out to harm us,
26:22and it wasn't the boy.
26:24It was something else.
26:27It was starting to show itself,
26:29and I knew we had to do something.
26:33The Shays contact the Central Arkansas Society for Paranormal Research.
26:39They arrange to come to the house as soon as Tori is well enough to be moved.
26:47This is ridiculous.
26:48I don't understand why I have to go.
26:50I need you to go with the boys and help Molly out.
26:52It's only for one night.
26:53She's going to bring you back in the morning, okay?
27:03The Shays arrive at the house.
27:09The team of investigators arrives and sets up for the night.
27:14Alan Lowe's goal is to find physical proof to explain the paranormal occurrences.
27:20His wife, Angela, and their daughter, Violet, are psychics.
27:25The women in my family have always been very psychic,
27:28sensitive, open to the spirit world.
27:31Violet's gift goes beyond sensing.
27:35I'm probably classified better as a medium.
27:38I can talk to them, and they can talk to me,
27:41and there can be sort of a two-way conversation.
27:43I've done some research on the house, and it verifies what you've heard.
27:46Karen Schillings tries to connect the supernatural events to the house's history.
27:51Built in 1780, it once served as a hotel and stagecoach stop,
27:55and later, as a county jail.
27:57Why would that cause the house to be haunted?
28:00Alan explains that the house's rich past could account for the presence of spirits.
28:10We'll walk through the house and see if we can sense any hot spots of spirit activity.
28:16What?
28:27When I got to the top of the stairs, it was a sinking feeling.
28:31And it was definitely coming from that direction of the house, towards that room.
28:36Alan sets up a video camera where the psychics feel negative energy.
29:06Are you all right? It's so...
29:20Violet senses a presence.
29:27She thinks it wants to make contact, but is too frightened to approach her.
29:36I felt like somebody walked in the room.
29:47Don't be afraid.
29:49He was human, but he didn't look like he was really standing there.
29:52He was sort of see-through.
29:54Will you talk to us?
30:01There's something else. Someone else is here.
30:06We felt like he'd been scared away by a very strong negative presence in the house.
30:15It was like a whole sea of people.
30:18They weren't happy. They seemed pretty miserable.
30:20It felt like they didn't want you there, like you shouldn't be in this room.
30:32It didn't look human.
30:34The presence was something different, and it was really terrifying.
30:39I haven't been afraid of a house or a ghost since I was a young child, but this one scared me.
31:04The psychics tell Jamie and Ben about the little boy and the multitude of human spirits they encountered.
31:16Those are the voices your son has been hearing.
31:18And inform them there is a negative presence in the house.
31:25We don't know what it is, but with your permission...
31:28Angela hopes to communicate with it in order to learn more.
31:31One of the paranormal team people suggested that we find out more details about the spirits by asking them questions through the Ouija board.
31:38And I really didn't believe in the whole Ouija board thing.
31:53Skeptical because a Ouija board can be easily manipulated, Ben handles the planchette.
32:00Me and one of the paranormal team guys did the Ouija board while other people were asking questions.
32:06What is your name?
32:19S.
32:25E.
32:29T.
32:35They contact the dark spirit and learn it calls itself Seth.
32:41When were you alive?
32:48N.
32:53E.
32:57V.
33:00E.
33:04R.
33:06Ever.
33:09This was not a physical person who had died, this was a demon who had never lived.
33:18To 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.
33:27The planchette's erratic movement indicates Seth is extremely powerful.
33:32Have we seen him?
33:41He's pointing to the camera.
33:43Oh my God.
33:56When 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.
34:07And I got that same sick feeling in my stomach.
34:11Oh God.
34:13Can you think of any fortune telling, conjuring, devil worshipping that might have summoned a demon?
34:18Not us, but when we first moved in here, we found pentagrams and candles in the bedroom.
34:27We thought it was just a bunch of kids messing around.
34:32They might have opened a door they shouldn't have.
34:34A door?
34:35A portal to the other side.
34:36Show yourself to us. Unleash your powers.
34:41Whether it was those kids or someone else, evil had been invited into that house.
34:47Angela fears for the family's safety.
34:50The 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.
34:59She recommends a ritual cleansing to clear the house of the evil spirit.
35:04What's happening?
35:07The planchette just started going crazy, almost like in a figure eight, just rounding circles as fast as it could go.
35:14It was really, really scary.
35:19Using a Native American tradition, they burned sage to bless the house.
35:25The sage is used to cleanse areas of negativity so that you can see clearly into the spirit world.
35:32And 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.
35:45Let no evil come in. Let no evil torment this family.
35:51Protect this household. Let no evil come in. Let no evil torment this family.
35:57Protect Jackson. Protect Bridger. Protect Tori. Protect Ben. Protect Jamie. Protect this family. Protect this household. Let no evil come in.
36:12There was heaviness against our chest like we were being pushed back.
36:16There was heaviness against our chest like we were being pushed back. He was
36:20trying to literally push us out of the house.
36:46Angela and Violet continue their struggle to rid the Shea house of an
36:50evil entity that calls itself Seth. It was pretty clear to me that it was
36:55resisting so strongly. The air was getting thicker and thicker and it felt
37:00like something might grab you at any moment.
37:17They create a circle of salt that will guard the house on Seth's return.
37:23Well you draw a line around the house to protect it from evil.
37:35When we finished the cleansing, the entire atmosphere had changed.
37:42Although the house has been cleansed, the human spirits will remain.
37:51I immediately felt a sense of peace in the air. I felt that the sense of evil
37:57had been lifted.
38:12For the next several months, life for the Shea family returns to normal.
38:22Fortunately, Tori makes a full recovery.
38:25You want some pancakes?
38:27Yes, please. Can I have mine with grape jelly?
38:30You sure can. Nothing but the best for you, sweetie.
38:36Two breaks, they're back in three places without being paralyzed.
38:41She's definitely a miracle, so we're very grateful for that.
38:47TORI
39:04Come on, Jamie. It's the weekend.
39:07Look, I'm glad you're back at work, but can't this wait till Monday?
39:10No, I have a meeting first thing.
39:13I'll take the kids to the fair tomorrow. You can have the whole house to yourself.
39:18I've been studying finals all week, and I haven't seen you.
39:22I guess I could take a break.
39:28Bridger, are you okay?
39:31Bridger? Talk to us.
39:35It wasn't Bridger. It sounded kind of wicked, and it just cut right through me.
39:44Bridger!
39:46Mom, Dad, what am I doing down here?
39:51Bridger, you stay here with your daddy. I'll be right back.
39:57You okay, buddy?
40:00Bridger!
40:12I could make out two voices. It just kept getting louder and louder and louder.
40:17Mom!
40:19I was just coming to get you.
40:23Mom!
40:26When I saw that thing at the end of the hallway, the first thing I thought was,
40:30oh no, we're not starting this again.
40:33We're getting out of here!
40:37Although the cleansing force set out, the house remains a portal to the other side.
40:44You okay, little man?
40:45I'm fine, Dad.
40:46You sure?
40:47Where are we going?
40:48Using that doorway, a new demonic presence has emerged to take Seth's place.
40:53It was still haunted, and it was going to stay haunted no matter what we did.
41:02The Shays know that if they stay in the house, dark entities will continue to prey on them.
41:12Ben and Jamie immediately put the house on the market and moved to an apartment nearby.
41:18A few weeks later, Ben finishes school and the family starts a new life in a new town.
41:25We are a much tighter family outside of that home.
41:28We're not dealing with the constant stress of being haunted.
41:34I always thought when I was younger that it would be kind of cool to live in a haunted house.
41:42I would never want to experience that again.
41:46Soon, another family moves into the house.
41:51They hear the ghost boy playing,
41:55but have yet to encounter the demon that plagued the Shays.