Original subtitles

These stories are inspired by the actual case files of the office of scientific

investigation and research.

Mr. Donizetti?

Hello, you here?

Mr. Donizetti?

You home?

It's Kyler.

Got your groceries, Mr. Donizetti?

She's on a teddy?

Take care, Tyler, okay?

He's cold.

He's been here for a while.

What the hell is the old dude keeping down here?

I don't know, but they're not here now.

A harmless recluse dies in a small rural community. A strange chain of

occurrences follows which terrorizes the residents.

What, if any, is the connection between these events?

Well, this was the question which ultimately confronted the Office of

Scientific Investigation and Research in one of its most challenging and

frightening cases.

Well, Conrad, nothing like a little bright sun to clear your pounding head.

There's a sign here.

Right in there.

Conrad, next time someone looks at you funny in a bar, just, uh, walk away.

Is that Mr.

Conrad Paul Reyes I saw stumbling out of here?

Sleeping out for D&D.

He's got a doozy of a hangover to prove it.

So what'd you get?

Uh, the preliminary for Mr. Donizetti.

Like it looked?

As suicide, single gunshot to the head.

So, that solves that.

What? You hear that?

Yeah, what the heck is that?

That better not be mice again.

Oh, jeez. What was the last time? Pigeons?

I'll get the thing.

You see anything?

Uh-uh.

Case manager's log, file number 99101.

Doyle here, 1140 hours.

Concern for the safety of the Blind River citizens encouraged the county

sheriff's department to contact the OSIR for assistance to deal with the

complaint of purported snake migration phenomena.

This footage is inexplicable.

The magnetic stripe is intact.

There's no apparent sign of tampering.

Oh, I feel for those officers.

What's the matter, Peter? Not a big fan of the mysterious slithering serpent?

No, I don't like snakes, no.

LQ, any plausible explanation come to mind regarding the phenomenon?

Well, a family of snakes traveling together is common enough, depending on

habitat, time of year, and so on.

But the variety of species described here moving as a unified group?

It defies categorization.

Donner, you and Anton proceed with the preliminary interviews.

See what the subjects are saying and if they all saw the same thing.

We've lived next to Thomas Donathetti for, must be almost ten years now.

But he sort of kept to himself. We seldom spoke.

Did you know about his neck collection? Oh, sure.

I just didn't realize he had so many or that they were so dangerous.

He never comes out of his house.

And I just wanted to make sure that he was okay.

All the snakes came out at the same time.

They were like moving in a group.

I watched them come toward me. They passed right in front of me. And they

headed east.

Well, northeast.

Through the parking lot. And they disappeared into the field.

All moving together.

A lot of folks are saying that the snakes are a ghostly manifestation of

him.

But when I went down to that room...

And I saw him lying on the floor. I believe he loved those snakes.

He cared for them as if they were his own children.

I didn't think I was afraid of snakes, but I guess I am.

Excuse me, please. Excuse me. You found those snakes here? Yeah, Sheriff. What

are you doing about it? Look, settle down. Settle down, all of you, okay?

The situation is under control. We don't even know the snakes are still around

here anymore. They've probably moved on.

Give me a break, Newman. You're as scared as the rest of us. Larry, go

home. We're handling it. There's nothing to worry about, okay?

Excuse me.

Calm down.

Sheriff. The snakes.

Professor Doyle, have you decided?

We'll be sticking around. Good, because I have a town full of very spooked

people here with whatever it is.

Anomalous zoological phenomena.

Anomalous whatever.

This is LQ Cooper.

Nice to meet you, Sheriff Newman.

He's a zoologist specializing in herpetology.

Snakes.

Specifically, the study of exotic and poisonous snakes and their behavior

patterns. How nice.

What was he thinking?

Well, he just had a unique choice of pets, that's all.

Dogs, cats, even mice, that I can understand.

Boys and the snakes, nothing wrong with them. You know, he must have taken very

good care of these snakes.

How can you tell?

The snakes must have been very contented. There are no tops on these

cages. They wouldn't hold a hamster, let alone a snake.

What is that?

This is the recently shed skin of a cobra.

A cobra.

Is this where they found him?

Yeah, he was leaning up against there with a gun still in his hand.

This is your left hand.

What?

Just 12 years in homicide.

I've never seen a suicide victim with a gun still in his hand.

I'm going to ask Foster to do another autopsy on his body.

Hey, this is great.

I'm finding evidence of more than 18 different species of snakes from all

over the world. The desert, the jungle.

My assessment confirmed that this phenomenon is creating some extreme

phobic-related behaviors in the townspeople. How is it manifesting

itself? Well, we have increased blood pressure levels and high anxiety.

Peter, environmental assessment?

There's no hazardous materials or toxic gases, and all chemical and geophysical

analysis came up negative as to why a massive group of snakes would behave as

witnesses. But there have been no reported injuries from the snakes to

date. Cooper, what have you got?

Okay. Here are the different species of snake we've been able to identify so

far.

We now have evidence of king cobras cohabiting with rattlers, despite the

fact that cobras eat other snakes and are highly territorial.

And yet the witnesses have reported this.

specific species traveling with a variety of different snakes.

Precisely. Now, in very extreme and rare cases, I have seen several different

species gathered together to avoid a common threat, like a forest fire, for

example. But, as a general rule, it is totally contrary to their instincts.

Interesting.

All right, slow and easy, everybody.

Snakes are very sensitive to movement and to vibration.

Handling an angry crowd of civilians.

No problem.

A mob of angry snakes.

That's out of my league.

Hey, don't worry. This is the hottest part of the day. We're not likely to run

into the snakes.

Well, let alone any reptiles.

I don't like this. I really don't like this.

C-team, still moving through quadrant six?

Affirmative. Anything to report?

No, negative.

And I don't expect to find anything.

based on the present circumstances.

How's Peter holding up?

Oh, I'm just fine, thanks, Anton. I'm living out a fantasy.

Walking through the forest trying to flush out an aggregate of poisonous

snakes. It's a lot of fun.

Woo, Connor, look at this.

Peter's readings are shooting up.

Donahue, what's going on? I've got movement.

Directly southwest.

Moving fact.

Coming right at it.

Visuals?

Negative.

What's happening?

I don't know.

Something was coming towards us, and now... I've got movement.

Oh, God.

Oh, Lord.

Doyle, I think we found them.

Cooper, what do we do?

Don't move.

They're passing right through us.

Freeze it there.

It's remarkable.

That appears to be a Burmese python, about 20 feet long.

It's capable of crushing the life out of a grown man in less than three minutes.

Oh, man.

Come on, Peter. You have to admit it was kind of exhilarating.

Exhilarating? No, that's not the word I'd use.

Relax, Peter. You're all right. The team's okay.

Let's just take better precautionary measures the next time we venture into

the field.

Why didn't the snake strike at any of the team? Well, if they were being

threatened by some unseen or unknown force, they didn't demonstrate any of

the traditional warning signals, you know, the tail rattling, rubbing of

scales, hood spreading loud, you see. So what were they doing?

They weren't attacking, and they weren't retreating. They were just moving

forward in one direction.

Sure, it's like a migration.

but in a manner and a form like nothing I have ever seen before.

Case file update, 1345 hours.

As the sightings of the snakes have increased, citizens of Blind River have

essentially evacuated the streets and are remaining in their homes and places

of work.

On a positive note, our Bravo team managed to capture and safely secure a

rat snake during a first-hand encounter with the phenomenon in a local

supermarket.

This snake is not behaving normally.

What do you mean, normal?

Well, usually at this time of day, a snake should be basking, conserving

energy.

Why is he moving so much?

I think he may be trying to rejoin the other snakes.

What's that for?

I've inserted a PE1 tracking device inside the mouse.

Ah, homing transmitter.

That snake is going to eat that mouse?

That snake could eat a tennis ball.

You're kidding.

I think I'll just leave you to your work. Hey, hey, hey. Don't go away,

Peter. What? I need your help.

What do you want me to do?

Hold this.

X marks the spot.

The snakes are here.

They must have got in through that crack in the foundation.

Why here?

Let's do an immediate analysis of air, soil, and vegetation, see if anything

turns up.

What the devil's going on?

Donahue? Sir, do you mind stepping to the curb? Just give it a couple of

minutes. Well, the hell I will. I don't want a bunch of suits tromping around my

front yard, not until I know why.

Sir, it appears the snakes have relocated here.

In your basement. The snakes are here?

Well, as a matter of fact, very likely under where you're standing.

Snakes are in my house? How could this happen?

That's what we're trying to determine.

You're not kidding, are you? What a week. First my house gets broken into,

now this.

Look.

All right, we found them. What's next?

As per our objective, termination.

That sounds good.

No. Not yet.

The snakes are dangerous, Connor. They're a threat to the community.

Come on, come on, guys.

These snakes aren't a threat to anyone at the moment. There is no indication.

I say we keep observing them. I don't understand how we can just continue to

let them roam around.

I'm going to go with Professor Cooper's recommendation for the time being.

Good enough.

Hey, a pattern is forming. I can't call it anything except some bizarre form of

migration path.

Meaning? Well, Mr. Edmonds informed us that he'd had a break-in the night

before we found the snakes in his basement. And we've discovered several

other break-ins that coincide with dates and times of other reported snake

sightings. Let's go back to where the case started.

What are the events surrounding Mr. Donadetti's death? Why did he commit

suicide?

Well, contrary to public opinion, his posthumous psychological makeup is

presented to me as a very docile and harmless gentleman.

And since he didn't leave a note... Sorry to be late, but something has come

up.

Our autopsy report shows the deceased was strangled prior to receiving the

gunshot wound.

Murdered?

I don't understand. I mean, Thomas was a little sideways the wall, but... Did he

have any known enemies?

This is a small town. Everyone knows everyone's business.

He didn't know about Donna Zeddy's collection.

Well, no, but there was a rumor he was keeping something down there. We thought

it was his secret fortune.

The neighbor mentioned something about a break-in.

Yeah, we've had about six the last month. Do some checking.

See if we can connect this snake migration to those break-ins.

We have movement.

Northeast quadrant.

All right, let's move in. Near Quick Bike Cafe.

Your front street.

Hey, I thought I told you to stay the hell out of here. Hey!

We'll see if we can screen here.

Come on, we're in there.

Nothing

so

far.

We lost the signal in the next transmitter.

Acknowledged.

We see him.

No sign of the snakes so far.

He's been bitten probably a hundred times.

He's dead.

What a way to go.

We got a match from Illinois for the prints we found on the Smith and Wesson

that killed Donizetti.

Conrad Paul Ray's age, 24, history of misdemeanors, three convictions.

Current address, the Blind River Morgue.

Final log update.

Thomas Donizetti was murdered by Conrad Paul Ray.

Ray suffered over 300 bites.

Not to mention that several of his bones were crushed and shattered.

His motive appeared to be money, and Donadetti's death the result of a

robbery gone bad.

Case manager Connor Doyle, out.

Over the next several weeks, the residents reported dozens of rare snakes

found dead from unknown causes in the woods surrounding the Blind River

region. Now perhaps the old man's etheric life energy...

or some type of non-corporeal psi-interactive force manipulated the

many different snakes he cared for to hunt down and kill his murderer.

Then there's another speculation open to us.

It may not be a scientific one, but it seems to describe perfectly the very

heart of what occurred in this case.

That Donizetti's snakes were acting out of love and revenge.

Well, everything's back to normal, Katie.

Well, I'd like to prescribe a light sedative.

I don't take drugs, Willard.

Now, Katie, you're here all alone, and after all that you've been through

recently... I am not quite the wilting lily you seem to think I am. Anyway,

Jeffrey will be here soon.

All right.

If you won't accept my medical help, take some advice.

If you think you're seeing those things again, you take that camcorder I gave

you and... You still don't believe me, do you?

It's not that I don't want to, Katie. I'm just suggesting... Well, I'm going

to prove it to you.

Now, good night, Willard.

Good night, Katie.

I'll call you soon.

Jeffrey? Is that you?

apparitions have been written about throughout the evolution of

storytelling. Human experience provides a factual basis for these subjects.

Now, research indicates most hauntings are harmless.

In many sightings, ghosts are seen by only one person, the phantom's kindred

spirit among the living.

Catherine Cartwright misses her deceased husband, Robert, her kindred spirit

among the dead.

Is Catherine's love for her husband so strong that it invites him to reach out

from beyond his grave?

Or is her need so desperate?

that she has created these disturbing experiences herself.

Oh, Jeffrey.

It is so good to have you home again.

Everything okay, Mother?

You really had me worried the other day. Oh, I'm fine, darling.

We have to try to get you out of the house more.

Maybe the club for lunch.

It's you I'm worried about.

You work too hard.

Just like your father.

You really shouldn't stay up so late.

Don't worry, Mother.

I'll be turning in soon.

Good night.

Good night.

Yeah.

When did these episodes begin?

Oh, about three months ago.

Her son Jeffrey called me.

Said Catherine claimed that she was hearing tapping noises, strange sounds,

and saw some furniture move inexplicably.

He's very concerned about her state of mind.

Is she the only one who experienced this, Winona? Mm-hmm.

Jeffrey was home at the time, but he didn't see or hear anything.

And your diagnosis?

Well, I discussed with Jeffrey the possibility of placing Katie somewhere

where she could get more attention.

Then she gave me this.

She asked me not to show it to anybody else until I got a professional opinion.

After I saw this, I wasn't so sure that committing her was the right course of

action.

What do you think?

How's Mrs. Cartwright's condition since the incident?

I'm concerned.

She continues to report these sightings in her weakened state. I mean, they're

exhausting her.

She very nearly died last week.

And you're saying no one else has seen this?

Let's keep it that way.

And then I turned the corner and there it was.

Yes, I can feel it.

But this spirit does not trust my intentions.

Madam Covey, I hope that you won't mind, but I have taken the liberty of writing

out a retainer. I do so hope that you will help me to contact whatever or

whoever it is.

Yes, I'd be glad to try, but we should arrange to talk about it at a later

time. You have my number? Yes.

Who was that, Katie?

Madame Sophie.

She is a very well-reputed spiritual advisor from New York.

Katie, I'd like you to meet Dr. Curtis Rollins.

He's agreed to consult with me on your case.

His organization specializes in dealing with the unknown.

Oh, then you must know Madame Sophie.

I'm afraid not. We rely on a slightly more scientific approach.

I see.

Well, Dr. Rollins, what is your diagnosis of my case?

Am I crazy?

Or maybe just a little denial?

Neither, I'm sure.

Last week, this chandelier started swinging.

And this is...

Another picture that keeps going askew.

May I?

Yes.

It's reframing. It's too formal.

This was Robert's study.

Nothing's been moved, of course.

You said there's been no activity in here.

No.

Oh, my goodness.

I'd forgotten about this photograph.

It was Robert's favorite.

It was taken three years ago on our wedding anniversary.

These are lovely pieces.

Yes.

Yes, Robert loved beautiful things.

Especially his carpets. He had them cleaned every year.

Case file number 44114.

Curtis Rollins, case manager.

Day three, Cartwright Estate.

Covert operations established.

Only Catherine Cartwright and Dr. Marlowe are aware and apprised of our

investigation.

due to its undercover nature.

Preliminary examination of the house and adjacent grounds where the subject

experienced significant phenomena, specifically the northwest quadrant

adjoining the structure, is underway.

At 0900 hours this morning, interviews with locals were begun by Donahue and

Donner.

Sorry, that's police business.

Come on.

From one cop to an ex-patch.

No kidding.

Used to work homicide.

Chicago. Is that right?

Well, listen, the last month or so, I've responded to a couple of distress calls

up at the house.

So they asked us to keep it quiet. Keep what quiet?

You know, stories, ghosts, junk like that. Look, we found nothing.

Just a lonely old lady.

I'm telling you, I don't think he's doing all that well.

Landscape architect, huh?

Yeah.

Once a month, they hire me and a couple of guys come up here and fix up the

gardens. Seems like a lot of work.

Money must be good.

Well, you'd think so, wouldn't you?

But you would be wrong.

Cartwrights are about as cheap as they come.

That's probably how they got so rich.

Think they'd mind if we took a look around, just for research purposes?

No, I don't care.

Mrs. Cartwright might.

What do you mean?

Well, the old lady's going bonkers. I mean, she's losing her marbles fast, you

know. I mean, she runs around here in the middle of the night.

I mean, she's local in Cabasa.

Catch my drift.

Well, the good townspeople have made up their mind about Mrs. Cartwright's state

of mental health.

Psychological assessment of Mrs. Cartwright has been completed.

And? Results normal.

What about the environmentals?

All baseline results, well within normal ranges.

Chemical and substance analysis showed no contributing factors.

What about all the circumstantial evidence?

I'm taking that into consideration.

Let's see what else comes in.

Mother, if you see anything tonight, please call me.

That's very sweet of you, darling, but not necessary.

Mother.

I'll be in my study.

Good night, Mother.

Katie.

Jeffrey?

Katie.

Mother?

Robbed?

Mother, this can't keep happening. I'm really getting worried about you. It was

your father calling me.

Didn't you hear him?

It's just the wind, Mother, and your imagination.

You scared him away.

Please, Mother, try to get some rest.

I'll call Dr.

Marlowe and have him come round in the morning.

Something definitely drew her into that room. Listen to this.

Robert! The audio is garbled, but she identifies the voice as Robert.

It must have been very close.

Extremely. We've also learned Catherine and Robert Cartwright both attend a

church regularly.

Indicating a well-established belief in the probability of an afterlife.

Maybe she really believes it's him.

Let's review her preliminary interview.

You know...

It's a funny thing, but all these events started to happen on the anniversary of

the day that Robert proposed to me.

Now, who else could know that?

I'm not a superstitious person, but I like to keep an open mind.

As I was saying to Robert only the other... I... I meant Jeffrey.

As I was saying to Jeffrey the other day...

What if this isn't a poltergeist or something?

What if it's a spirit?

A lost spirit.

Robert's spirit.

Ah, well.

I suppose I don't know what to think anymore.

After 50 years of marriage, there certainly would be an emotional bond.

Jeffrey Cartwright's booked on a morning flight to New York for a two-day

business trip.

As soon as he's gone, let's set up complete on-site environmental

surveillance.

monitoring.

We have to see what she saw.

Okay, we're all done here.

Thermographic and surveillance cameras installed on the second floor.

Affirmative. We have visuals.

Analysis is back on the fiber optics found during circumstantial assessment.

And? Well over spec.

Whoever ordered these renovations was planning for the 21st century.

And they spent a bundle doing it.

Let the lab look into who designed this hardware.

And what company installed it.

Yes?

Mrs. Cartwright?

Dr. Rawlins.

Please come in.

to talk to me? You come highly recommended by Dr. Marlowe.

But is all this really necessary?

It is, Mrs. Cartwright.

All this sneaking about, it's preposterous.

Mrs. Cartwright, my team has found some odd electrical installations in your

house. Fiber optics, state-of-the-art conduits. What are you trying to tell

me?

What if this phenomenon is not Robert.

I felt his presence.

Then help us prove what it really is.

Let us continue our work.

What do you want me to do?

Act as you always do.

Let's do the rest.

You won't even know we're here.

I hope you haven't scared him away.

I hope so, too.

Camera 12 in position.

All right, here's the house.

Second floor, east wing.

There's a subject in her bedroom.

Oh, 100 hours. All stations, check in.

Hold it. All stations.

Sensors are picking up something.

Repeat, laser scan detecting movement in the southwest quadrant.

Morgan and Silver, meet me in Sector 7. I'm going in.

We'll stay on the visual.

They're darting.

Confirming circuit surge.

Standing by.

Team fanning out.

I'm entering the location.

Any change?

Something seems to be moving through the walls of the structure.

Stand by for status upgrade.

How's Catherine doing?

She seems fine.

Vital signs are still within normal range.

Still no visuals on the phenomenon.

Tracking unidentified movement in the southwest sector.

Join me.

Katie, come to me.

I'm coming, Robert.

Wait, wait, we lost her.

What are you saying?

She just pulled off her electrodes.

Maintain visual surveillance.

Affirmative.

Katie, come to me.

Katie.

Come to me.

Katie.

Take my hand.

Charlie.

Find me.

Katie.

Katie.

Stay down, Mrs. Cartwright.

Mic vision disabled.

Donner, talk to me.

We're getting strong thermal readings from your location.

How many figures on the scan?

Three.

Tighten the frame.

One floor below you, moving fast.

Looking 20.

It just moved right past you, heading southeast.

I think I found the door.

Setting it down.

Location secured.

Donahue? Target's moving outside.

Security's on the way to intercept.

Don't even flinch.

They've got him.

Thomas.

It was you.

Local law enforcement's on its way.

Contact Jeffrey Cartwright.

Tell him his mother needs him right away. Right.

Come to me.

Take my hand.

Katie.

Join me.

Katie.

Damn wire.

Welcome home, Mr. Cartwright.

Who the hell are you?

Friend of the family.

Jeffrey Cartwright.

You're under arrest for larceny by scheme and aggravated assault.

You have the right to remain silent.

Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. If you

need an attorney, the state will provide one for you. Do you understand these

rights?

Right from the start, you suspected.

When Dr. Marlowe first showed me your tape, I noticed how the camcorder

responded to the light show.

When we saw the flare...

We needed to investigate to be certain it was a hoax.

Mrs. Cartwright, I'm sorry for the way it turned out.

Oh, for what?

For money.

Oh, Jeffrey.

And I thought it was Robert.

I'm just a silly old fool.

No, Mrs. Cartwright.

I think maybe Robert, wherever his spirit is, feels the same as you do.

A connection.

Final log, case number 44114.

Our investigation revealed that Jeffrey Cartwright had rigged the house with

state-of-the-art special effects.

It was all controlled by one Thomas Rigetti, Jeffrey Cartwright's

accomplice. As sole heir to the family fortune, Cartwright admitted under

police interrogation that he intended to have his mother committed after breaking

down her psychological stability.

Case manager Curtis Rollins, out.

The strange occurrences at the Cartwright mansion had nothing in fact

to do with the love Catherine held for her deceased husband, Robert.

They were a cruel and malicious hoax engineered by her heartless and greedy

son.

So perhaps it is not the ghosts of loved ones we should be apprehensive about,

but rather the darker motives of the living human heart.

I'm Dan Aykroyd for Sci-Fi.