Original subtitles

[boy screaming]

Damon, you open this door right now!

-[Damon] Mom! -Damon!

I called the police, Damon, they're--

[man grunting]

[screams]

Damon!

Damon, I'm warning you!

[grunting]

Open the damn door, Damon!

[grunting]

Mrs. Ballard?

So glad you're here. It's my husband.

He's beating my son. You gotta stop him.

Michael! Oh, my God.

Code three, 150 Seaward Lane. Request paramedic. Child in distress.

Michael, come here. Come here, baby.

Oh, my God.

Damon, what have you done to him?

Lisa, listen.

[Lisa] How could you?

I... I didn't.

You bastard.

You will never touch him again!

-It wasn't me. -It wasn't you?

Who else was in the room with you?

Something, someone. I don't know.

You son of a bitch!

Lisa, listen to me.

He's still in danger.

You have the right to remain silent.

Lisa, please, don't do this. Lisa, no!

[sobbing]

[narrator] Since the beginning of time, mankind has existed between

the world of light and the world of darkness.

Our secret society has been here forever,

protecting others from the creatures

who inhabit the shadows and the night,

known only to the initiated by our true name,

The Legacy.

Hi, how are you?

Damon, I know what she said. It's just not right.

Derek, hi.

Uh, you remember my father.

Yeah. Mr. Ballard, how are you?

Yeah. I'll speak to the attorneys this afternoon.

It's all right, really, I can handle--

Your wife's indiscretion...

Forgive me, but this is a family matter, not for strangers.

Times change.

Not so much that a wife should betray her husband.

[Damon] Dad, please.

[Mr. Ballard] Ah, that's your trouble.

You've always been too weak for your own good.

If it'd been your mother, she never would have considered

going to the police, I'd have seen to that.

Right. Okay, Dad.

I'll, um... I'll call you tomorrow.

Nice seeing you again.

I'm sorry about that.

You know my father.

[Derek] I'd forgotten what the man was like.

I read about the arrest.

I didn't do... What they said I did.

You want to tell me about it?

Um, why don't we step inside?

The servants were out, Lisa was in town,

I was upstairs, when suddenly I could hear Michael screaming.

I found him there, his hands covering his ears,

just shrieking.

Are you certain there wasn't someone else in the room?

No, positive.

Look on his face, he was terrified.

And then, before I could reach him...

[laughs nervously]

You're gonna think I'm nuts.

What do you mean?

Some...

Force, I don't know what,

slammed the door behind me and did this.

Can you describe this force?

Something...

Someone striking me.

Only there was nothing there.

Has anything like this ever happened before?

No.

Ever since he turned ten last spring,

Michael's had problems.

Talking back to teachers, getting into fights at school,

but this...

Did you strike him?

I was drinking, uh...

Lisa and I have been having a rough time lately,

you know how these things go.

We're in the process of separating.

She was late.

She'd found a house to lease,

just temporarily until we worked things out.

Were you drunk?

I didn't think so.

I remember standing in the study,

Michael on the floor,

Lisa voice shouting through the door...

But I have no idea how I got there.

There wasn't anyone else in the house at the time?

No.

No, the doors were locked.

There's a security system.

Could the boy have inflicted the bruises himself?

No.

No, whatever attacked me, attacked him.

I just don't know what it was.

With your permission, I'd like to have

one of my associates take a look at the boy.

Her name is Dr. Corrigan.

And she's a board-certified psychiatrist.

There's gotta be an explanation for this,

because if there isn't...

I think I'm losing my mind.

[Nick] Poltergeist? Like hell.

Sounds like child abuse to me.

[Derek] Possibly.

But I've known Damon Ballard since boarding school,

and he's someone I trust with my own life.

[Nick] It's not your life we're talking about here, Derek,

it's a child's.

I know he's your friend but don't let him fool you.

[Rachel] Okay.

What are the facts?

Well, according to Damon,

his, uh, son was attacked by some unseen force.

And when he tried to help his son,

he claims he was attacked himself.

Unfortunately, neither his wife nor the police believe him.

-And why should they? -[Philip] Hey.

What if he's telling the truth?

I say it's premature to rule out the possibility

of some sort of poltergeist or spirit.

[Rachel] Personally, I think if we're going to err,

we do it on the side of the child.

You've no idea how many child abusers

will claim that some outside force, ghosts, demons, whatever,

made them do it,

in the hopes of evading prosecution.

[Philip] I agree.

But if we fail to look into this,

we may be turning our backs on a child that may truly need our help.

[Rachel] What does the child say?

He hasn't spoken since the night it happened.

Hmm.

The boy's at Mercy Hospital.

You think you can look in on him?

Certainly.

[Derek] Good. Did you get the photographs?

Uh, yeah.

It's hard to believe that Damon Ballard did this to his own son.

[Alex] Well, isn't that the problem? I mean, no one is willing

to believe a father would do this to his own son?

These were taken when the boy was admitted.

According to the medical reports,

over 40 percent of his body

is covered in contusions.

He said it was possibly made by something blunt,

a stick, possibly a cane.

Son of a bitch.

Look at this.

The mark of the lamb.

[Rachel] Excuse me? The mark of the who?

The lamb.

An innocent lamb, hung for slaughter.

Certain ancient manuscripts make references to such stigmata.

Any child that carried it was thought to be pursued by demons.

This text belonged to Savonarola.

The martyr?

He led the Legacy house in Florence in the 15th century.

The marks are the same.

[Nick scoffs] Come on.

Don't let coincidence pass for fact.

We really have no choice.

We will pursue the investigation.

However, given the very real concerns

expressed by Nick and Alex,

we should be prepared to withdraw our support

should it be clear that the boy has, in fact, been abused.

I agree.

Philip, I need your assistance.

Absolutely.

To maintain an objective point of view,

we're going to need a full history

of Damon Ballard and his family.

Every little detail should be screened.

Leave it to me.

Just one more point.

I know there's a school tie involved here,

and loyalty is something I understand,

but I'll be damned if I'll let you or anyone else in this room

put friendship before facts.

Point taken, my friend.

[sirens wailing]

[Rachel] Michael?

Hi.

I'm Dr. Corrigan.

I spoke to Dr. Ross, and he said it was all right

if we stopped by to see how you're coming along.

This is Philip.

He's a colleague of mine.

[Philip] How you doing there, Michael?

So, what do they call you, then? Mike?

Mick? Mickey?

Michael, then.

Good.

[Rachel] Okay, Michael,

I don't want you to be afraid,

but I'm just gonna move this down a little bit

so we can have a little peek.

Open your pajama top here and...

Let's see how you're getting along.

Okay, so, what we need to do here is find out

how much it hurts. You hold onto my hand like this.

I'm just gonna touch the places where you've been struck.

And if it hurts, you squeeze my hand, okay?

Here we go.

-How's that? -[winces]

[gasps] Okay.

There, there. You see? It's all right.

You're okay.

There you go.

And what about this one?

How's that?

[gasps]

[boy whispering] Michael.

There you go, Michael. That's okay.

There you are.

There's a good boy.

Let's try one more, okay?

You tell me how this feels.

[screams]

[Philip] It's okay. It's okay.

[Michael screaming]

[Philip] It's okay, Michael.

This is room 703. We need help in here, stat.

[chanting in Latin]

[boy, wheezing] I... can't... breathe.

Michael?

Do you have anything on Ballard?

The family goes back

to one of San Francisco's original robber barons.

Apparently, Ballard's great-grandfather was importing

Chinese laborers to work on a railroad.

And he swindled his partners in some kind of dirty land deal.

The family made their money the old-fashioned way.

They stole it.

[Alex] You know that case I've been working on?

I've figured it out.

Figured what out?

The Virgin of Verhagen. It's a hoax.

You're kidding. How?

Building records. Come here. Look.

[Alex] The local police have gotten dozens of calls about this.

Okay, now, this is the steeple

from the Church of the Blessed Virgin.

It sits on a hill overlooking Verhagen, here.

The wall where they've been seeing

the sign of the Virgin, though, is over here.

Any reflection off the steeple

would be blocked by the old town hall.

Exactly, that's where the city records come in.

So when did the first sighting occur?

Sometime before Christmas, didn't it?

Well, December 13th, to be exact.

So I went through the town building records,

and I found there's a new bank being constructed

right here.

Now, taking into account the angle of the sun

as well as the angles and the thickness of the glass,

the light reflecting off the copper roof of the church steeple

hits the south-east corner office

on the fourth floor of the bank and is refracted

through four panes of glass before hitting the wall here.

[Nick] Impressive.

You have any idea how many little old ladies in Verhagen

-you've just disappointed? -[chuckles]

Of course.

None. Little old ladies

aren't going to believe any explanation

they can't wrap their hearts around.

But at least we know the truth.

-Nice work, Alex. -Thanks.

So I spoke to Damon Ballard this morning.

His pre-trial hearing is today.

According to the database,

Ballard's father's been grooming him

to take over the family business.

Well, knowing Damon's father for more than 30 years,

I'm not sure "groomed" is the right word.

My guess is, he wouldn't do anything

against his father's wishes.

So, what else did you find out?

Well, apparently, his wife called the cops three times

in the last six months.

Each time he was cited for drunk and disorderly,

but never formally charged.

Mmm.

He mentioned they were having trouble.

Trouble?

Derek, this whole poltergeist thing is a dodge.

We shouldn't be helping this guy,

we should be hunting him.

When I'm convinced of his guilt, we will.

Until then, keep digging.

[Rachel] That's right.

The boy is stabilized. Uh-huh.

I gotta go, Alex.

I'll call you as soon as we have anything.

There you are. Yes. Oh!

Emily said we had to come here straight from school.

Well, Emily was quite right.

I can take it from here, thanks.

We stopped for a snack on the way.

And make sure she shows you her art project.

It's very impressive.

-Mmm? -Oh, it's not finished yet.

Well, this is the perfect place to finish it, isn't it?

Bye, Katherine. I'll see you at home.

-Goodbye. -Later.

Okay.

[bailiff] All rise.

The superior court of the state of California is now in session,

the honorable Amanda Kern presiding.

-[bangs gavel] -All right.

Let me just remind both parties

that this is a preliminary hearing, held to determine

if cause exists to bind the defendant, in valid, over for trial.

We're not looking here to establish guilt or innocence,

merely whether or not the evidence justifies a trial.

Mr. Roper,

I take it you're here on behalf of the district attorney.

-Will you please proceed? -Thank you, Your Honor.

Now, in the 11 years that you've been married,

has your husband ever struck or abused you in any way?

The truth is my husband can be a wonderful person.

But he has a problem.

He drinks.

Sometimes so much that he loses control.

And when he loses control, what happens?

He becomes abusive.

Verbally or physically?

Both.

Usually, it begins with an argument over nothing

or something that his father said.

Damon is a very...

Conscientious son.

If his father objects to the color of my dress,

or the time... [voice breaks]

It took me to get ready,

he would say nothing until we got home.

And then what would he do?

He would begin to drink.

And the more he drank,

the more violent he would become.

[Roper] Did he ever hit you or your son?

No, not until this last time.

That's not true. I would never do anything to hurt him.

-[bangs gavel] -Mr. Ballard,

one more outburst like that,

and I'll have to have you removed from the courtroom.

Do I make myself clear?

Yes, Your Honor.

[Roper] Can you describe for the court

exactly what you saw when you opened the door?

[Lisa] Yes, the room was torn apart as if they'd been fighting.

[Derek] Really?

[Lisa] Michael, my son, was lying on the floor across the room.

[Roper] What about your husband?

[Lisa] He was standing. He looked angry, upset,

the way he looked at me when we fought.

[Rachel] A purple cow.

Hmm.

What made you decide to make her purple?

Because the moon's going to be yellow.

Right.

[woman over P.A.] Paging Dr. Corrigan. Dr. Corrigan.

[sighs] Katherine, I've gotta go see a patient for a few minutes.

I won't be long.

But you can stay here and finish your artwork, okay?

-Okay, one right here. -Okay.

-I'll be right back. -Okay.

-Bye. -Bye-bye, honey.

[Alex] Nick?

Yeah?

You've been at it for hours. Are you all right?

Yeah.

This is like fantasy time.

What's with this Ballard?

It seems like everyone was afraid to dust him up.

Dust him up?

Make him look bad.

I'm surprised the police even answered the 911 call.

I know this guy's guilty.

I just have to find a way to prove it.

Hey, why don't you take a break?

I will, when I've found what I'm looking for.

Rachel, we got here as quick as we could.

Is the boy still sleeping?

He was the last time I looked in on him.

-That's his workup? -Yeah.

Everything's come back negative.

We've even had specialists examine his vocal cords.

There's no physical manifestation

to explain his lack of speech.

It's completely psychosomatic, totally post-traumatic. I...

But what is really troubling...

Is that these bruises continue to appear.

His condition is getting worse?

Well...

I've identified a half a dozen new marks since Philip left.

Can you show us?

Oh, sure. It's just downstairs.

I've posted the photos in the lab.

[gasps]

[boy whispering] Michael. Michael.

Are you all right?

His room's just down here to the right,

but just give me a minute.

I want to tell Katherine where I'm going.

Katherine, I...

Katherine?

[rumbling]

-[glass shatters] -Katherine?

[screaming]

Stop it!

-[Katherine] Stop it! -Katherine!

-[screaming] -Katherine.

[sighs] Why didn't you stay where I left you?

There was another boy.

I followed him.

What other boy?

Did you speak to him?

No. He's very angry.

What is it?

There's water on the floor.

A trail.

It looks like footprints.

Excuse me, why has my son been...

What are you doing here?

If Damon sent you, I would like you to leave.

-[Rachel] Mrs. Ballard? -Excuse me.

Mrs. Ballard, I'm Dr. Corrigan.

-There are some things going on-- -Lisa.

Lisa, there is reason to believe your son may be in real danger.

There is nothing wrong with my son

that getting him away from my husband won't fix.

Now, get out!

All of you.

Mommy's here, Michael.

Sweetie?

He's here.

[Katherine] Mommy!

-[gasps] -[Derek] Stay down.

[screams]

[Katherine] No!

[screaming]

-Mommy! -Look at Mommy, honey.

Look!

[Derek] Yeah, "David."

What does it mean?

I don't know.

[sighs] Are you all right?

-Uh-huh. -Okay, baby.

Michael, answer me.

You stay here.

[sobbing]

Baby, answer me, please.

Lisa, Lisa, Lisa.

-What's wrong? -What do you think?

[Rachel] His pupils are dilated.

Pulse weak.

The bruising much more pronounced.

What's wrong with him? What's happening to him?

Mrs. Ballard, I wish I had an easy answer for you,

but whatever this is,

this hospital is not equipped to handle it. Look.

We've got to move your son into a more isolated environment now.

[Derek] Now, I realize we're asking you to accept a lot on faith,

but unless you allow us to act immediately, we may be too late.

Okay. Just please take care of him.

I'll organize the helicopter.

-[Rachel] On three. -[both] One, two, three.

[Damon] Thanks for everything, I really appreciate it.

Finally. What kept you?

I had to post a bond.

We need to talk.

Why, what's this?

The papers I told you about.

It's for our own protection.

Our protection.

Tell me you're not this naive.

You're about to go through a divorce.

You need to protect yourself while you still can.

Can we please talk about this some other time?

No, damn it!

You have to close your accounts, cancel your credit cards.

Look, I've seen to everything, just do as I say.

Sign the papers and leave the rest to me.

Do as you say?

What about me?

All I ever did was to please you.

The way I treated Lisa, God, no wonder she wanted a divorce.

Hmm.

You're pathetic.

Like father, like son.

Come back here.

What do you think you're gonna do?

You don't wanna know.

I'm going to see my son.

[Lisa] He just looks so helpless.

Well, we have amazing recuperative powers,

especially when we're young.

Sometimes it just takes time.

What's the kid doing here?

We needed to isolate him before the next visitation.

Visitation from who, his father?

Listen, Nick.

I know how strongly you feel about this,

but whatever it is that's attacking him

has nothing to do with child abuse.

Hey, what's going on here?

This isn't you.

You think you know this guy?

I bet you think you knew my father too.

But you didn't know him when he was drunk.

When he'd fly into a rage, beat my mother up.

And when I would try to stop him,

he'd beat me too.

Your father?

I had no idea--

Nobody ever does, Derek.

He was a great guy, wasn't he?

A great provider. Never slept around.

But nobody had to live with him but us.

I'm sorry.

I can see now how hard this must be for you.

But it doesn't change the facts here.

Whatever it is we're dealing with

literally broke into Michael's hospital room

through the window seven floors above the street

and trashed it.

And then, followed us when we attempted to move him.

We couldn't stay there.

We needed a place we could control.

So, if you really want to help this boy,

you've gotta get past your own pain.

What do you want me to do?

We've put him in the library, so as soon as we're set,

lock the doors and get ready for...

Anything.

Deal.

Emily, thanks for coming so late.

Oh, it's not a problem.

But I don't wanna go home.

I know you don't want to go home.

You heard the noises.

I want to know what happened.

Nothing happened.

Mom!

Well, even if something did,

I want you home in bed now, okay?

She's had her dinner, needs to brush her teeth.

I'll be home as soon as I can.

Okay, don't worry about a thing.

You listen to everything Emily says.

Straight to bed.

What about you?

I'll be okay. Kiss.

Okay, you guys.

Now, drive carefully, seat belts on, and sweet dreams.

-Bye. -Bye.

[Derek] Maybe you should go with her.

Maybe I should.

But I can't.

Any other recommendations?

Well, actually, I've been thinking.

For your daughter's sake,

maybe you need to seriously reconsider

the level of your involvement here.

For her sake.

Clearly, she has the sight.

The question is, is she going to grow up too fast.

I'm not sure, I...

I can't tell her it doesn't exist.

So she sees it as normal.

The last thing on Earth I want is for my daughter

to feel like she's some sort of a freak.

Yeah, fair enough.

I guess we just take it moment to moment, right?

I guess.

Anyway,

what's going on up there?

Oh, whatever it is that's been attacking the boy, it's, uh...

Much stronger than we thought.

Please, I need to know what's going on.

[Derek] If you're ready, we'd like to start.

What are you going to do?

Well, the first step

is to get whatever it is to manifest itself.

Once we know exactly what we're up against, we know what to do.

[electronic buzzing and beeping]

[chanting in Latin]

[beeps]

[gasps]

Our Father who art in heaven,

-hallowed be Thy name. -[screaming]

-Michael! -Thy kingdom come.

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

Lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from all evil. Amen!

[shouts]

[continues screaming]

[groaning]

What are you doing here? Get out!

Damon?

No!

[wheezing] I can't breathe!

Oh, my God, no!

[water splashing]

[gasps]

[wheezing] I can't breathe.

David?

[Rachel] When dealing with these kinds of phenomena,

it's critical to identify patterns as they emerge.

Clearly the spirit has followed him, just as we hoped.

Hoped? You mean, you knew this would happen?

Look, your son was attacked at your home, twice in the hospital.

It's not so surprising that it would have followed him here as well.

At least now we know what we're confronted by.

Which is what?

Your son is being attacked by a ghost.

The ghost of a child.

[Derek] Please don't take offense,

though our questions must be answered.

Did you have a stillborn child?

No, never.

And Michael isn't a twin?

What are you talking about? Of course not.

You had no right to come here.

Lisa, please, just listen.

No, you listen to me.

This whole thing started because of you.

I don't want you anywhere near Michael, do you understand me?

I want you as far away from him as you can possibly be.

Fine. Be angry with me.

Do anything you want,

but take Michael and get out of here

before this ghost comes back.

Weren't you listening? We can't outrun this.

She's right.

No, take Michael and go. Now.

Guess again.

Get out of my way.

That's not gonna happen.

Sorry, he asked for it.

Yeah, you didn't?

Whatever it is that's happening, it's a response to something.

-And I need to know what. -There's nothing to say.

Well, I think there is.

When you arrived, and the spirit was raging,

I was afraid we wouldn't be able to contain it.

Yet the moment it saw you, everything ceased.

It was as if the entire ordeal was created to bring you here.

Why?

You've got to let me help you before it's too late.

-Go to hell! -Why?

Is that where I'll find the answer?

Damn it, we're friends. For Michael's sake,

you've got to tell me what this is all about

before this ghost comes back.

If the ghost child isn't here for Michael,

then he's using Michael to get to you.

If it can recognize you,

then you must know what it is we're dealing with.

You've got to tell me.

Oh, Jesus.

Why won't it die?

[Derek] Perhaps because it needs something only you can give.

What am I gonna do?

You start by telling me the truth.

We were so young.

Her name was Laura.

I met her when I was in college.

She worked in the bookstore. She was so beautiful.

So bright.

[sighs]

Her family didn't have any money.

No position, no power, but she was everything I wanted.

Everything my father hated.

I got her pregnant.

[exhales heavily]

My father went crazy.

He insisted she have it aborted. She refused.

She had the child out of wedlock,

a boy.

Named David.

My father demanded that I disown them,

but she tried to bring a paternity suit.

Called the judge, pulled a few strings.

I just stood by.

What happened to them?

Ten years later, I received this.

Don't ask me why I kept it.

[Damon] Call it guilt.

Two days after she mailed it to me, she committed suicide.

They found the boy...

Lying face down in the tub.

Drowned.

Wet footprints.

Same age as Michael.

I'd say he's attempting to do to Michael

what was done to him,

and there's only one way to stop him.

You've got to atone for what you did.

[Rachel] Derek!

It's starting.

What the hell does it want?

If we knew that, we might be able to stop it.

All the warmth's gone out of his body.

We're losing him. You've got to talk to him, now.

But he can't hear me.

Wrong, he can't respond, but he knows your voice.

Speak from your heart.

It's not his body that's in danger. It's his soul!

Michael?

Michael, I love you so much, Michael.

I couldn't live without you.

Please don't leave me.

Listen to me, David.

Stop before it's too late.

Show yourself!

[yells]

David.

[wheezing] I can't breathe.

No!

-No, no! -No, no!

[Lisa sobbing] Oh, my God, no.

-No. -Why doesn't it tell us what it wants?

It is.

The sins of the father.

Damon, time of atonement.

David...

[shrieks]

I can't.

You must.

David, my son.

[wheezing] I can't breathe.

Forgive me.

I was wrong.

But taking an innocent life won't make it right.

I killed you, caused your death and your mother's.

It was me.

[Lisa whimpers]

I'm the one who deserves to pay, not your brother.

Take me.

Spare him.

[David, wheezing] Come with me, Father.

Lisa, I...

[David] Take my hand.

Damon, no. Not you too!

[screams]

[crackling]

[gasps]

Michael!

Oh!

[Lisa] Oh, baby, I was so worried.

I'm so glad you're safe.

It's over.

It's over, the curse is lifted.

If you're busy, I can come back.

Not at all. Come in, sit down.

About what happened.

Yeah?

My old man?

Thanks.

For what?

Understanding.

Your father hurt you.

He did things even I didn't know about.

Some wounds never heal.

But nobody can change the past.

You can make your own peace

and move on.