Original subtitles

When a dark secret is uncovered.

I found witchcraft books. I found spell casting books.

This stuff is creepy.

Do you think he's really into this?

And this necklace with the serpent around it. A family comes face to face

with evil.

I turn around.

I see this girl standing there. She said, we're going to get you and kill

you.

Can they be saved?

Dad! Dad, it's going to get you!

before falling under its spell.

I see this human shadow, and I was absolutely terrified.

In America, there is real evil.

It lurks in the darkest shadows and in our most ordinary towns.

Between the worlds we see... Someone's in my room.

...and the things we fear...

There are doors when they are open Nightmares

become reality

In March

2012 nursing home resident William Smith sits in a near catatonic state oblivious

to his surroundings Hi William It's Amanda when his relative

Amanda Morrison comes for a visit, he doesn't appear to recognize her.

William, he was a different kind of person in our family. He was more

recluse and kept to himself, and we didn't see him that much.

He ended up having to go into a nursing home, and the diagnosis was Wienerke

-Korsakoff syndrome, which is swelling of the brain from years of alcoholism.

Here. I brought something to cheer you up.

See, we've made it for you.

See?

Amanda also has important news for William.

So, uh, we're gonna start working on your house next week.

William's finances have bottomed out. To pay for his care, Amanda explains her

family's plan to clear out his home and place it on the market.

William?

You do understand all this, right?

William?

You're hurting me.

William, stop.

Stop. Nurse!

William.

William, are you all right?

While William's reaction is alarming, Amanda is determined to help him.

A few weeks later, she, along with her husband Nate and two children, get to

work on his home.

Oh, boy.

Okay.

Okay, guys, it's gonna be fun.

We'll be like a team, we'll get to work together.

Yes, we will.

We'll separate the jobs.

William didn't have a lot of support from other members of the family.

We had done a lot of work on our own house, so we felt that it wouldn't be

too much of a project to take on the responsibility.

Can I help paint?

Of course you can, as long as you follow directions.

David is very much a helper.

He likes to do everything from fixing a toilet to painting.

Alia's not interested in fixing up things.

She's very artistic.

She was very super girly, happy-go-lucky.

Hey, do you need an invite? Come on.

Aaliyah. Let's go. Aaliyah, what are you doing?

Sorry. Come on, stop texting. Let's get out of here.

Kimberly wants to know if I can go to the mall.

I don't know. I guess if you help with the house.

OK. OK. But David better not get paint on me.

Oh, my gosh.

Oh, my gosh.

The house was visibly dark.

All the windows were literally sealed shut, and then there were layers of old,

dusty curtains closed over every single window.

The walls were badly stained with nicotine from years of smoking. The

carpets were filthy.

Where do you begin?

This is gross.

I'm going to go back to the car.

Aliyah, come on now. We promised William that we were going to help.

William's house is, like, dirty. There's stains and just everything was gross and

all over the place and unorganized.

It was very gloomy and dark and the walls were ripped up.

These TVs don't even work.

Honey, I guess just divide and conquer?

Yeah. We'll clear a path back this way.

OK. All right. I'll start here.

Keep the box going.

I thought, I can't give up. I can't stop what I signed up for. I can't stop

helping him get all this done.

I went into one really large box and I found witchcraft books, I found spell

casting books.

And wrapped up...

In a cloth was this gold-colored necklace that was kind of heavy.

It was a staff with a serpent around it, but it wasn't the medical symbol.

It was definitely bad and not good.

Nate?

Nate, can you come here? Nate?

Nate. Hey.

Nate, look, look. Look at this stuff. Look at these books.

This stuff is . Creepy. Do you think he's really into this?

Or was?

You know what? Put it back in the box.

Don't worry about it. No. What about this necklace?

My husband's not like me.

Everything's, like, logical. He thought it was a little bit weird. Just, hmm.

But he didn't think much of it because he's real rational.

It's been a long day.

I'm going to get the kids and we'll just call it quits, all right? I know that

William was a strange sort of guy, but...

They're just books.

Leah. You're probably right.

We're gonna call it quits, okay? Okay.

Alright.

I'm gonna turn the lights out.

Alright. You gonna get David?

David?

David?

Are you ready, sweetie?

Yeah. Can we get some pizza on the way home?

Sure.

Over the next few months, Nate and Amanda renovate and clean the house.

As it nears completion and is ready to be put up for sale, Amanda pays a visit

to William.

Hey, William.

You're going to be so excited.

We're nearly finished the house.

Look, I brought photos.

the last time i went to visit william i had brought photos of all the work that

we did in an envelope and i showed him how everything had been changed and how

much better you know certain things look look at this ta-da fresh paint he was

interested at first and kind of leaning forward and squinting and looking i hope

you don't mind but some of this stuff did go to goodwill his whole face

changed because we cleared all of that out

He started to get meaner and he said he blamed me

because he ended up in a nursing home.

It

really

upset me that he would feel that way after everything that I did for him.

It pretty much broke my heart.

At Williams, Nate is putting the finishing touches on the house before

it's put up for sale.

Amanda?

Amanda had left, and I was at William's house in the middle of the day.

I had a feeling that I was being watched.

As Nate Morrison prepares to sell the home of his wife's ill relative...

He can't shake the feeling he's not alone.

I turned around and saw a tall, shadowy figure.

It looked like it was a human shape, only much taller and much darker.

It was not friendly.

Are you okay? What's wrong?

He looked completely stunned.

And I thought, oh my God, is my husband having a heart attack or something?

Because he looked visibly white.

I saw something.

Oh, no.

It was this big shadow.

And it was huge and it was shaped like a person. Okay.

What was it? It was something.

Okay. Look, I'm out of here. I gotta go. Okay. I gotta go. We can leave.

It's fine.

My husband's very analytical.

And to see him scared, to know that he actually saw something, was very scary.

Amanda and Nate leave the house in the hands of William's new guardian and

resume their normal routine.

To this day, they have no idea if it ever sold.

Even though things didn't work out the way I had hoped with William, I had good

intentions, but I was very glad to be over with it.

The responsibilities and obligations had been weighing on us.

It was nice to not have a whole other house to take care of.

But little do the Morrisons know, their ordeal is far from over.

Eight-year-old David plays with a secret souvenir taken during William's

housecleaning.

I found this necklace with a snake around it.

It had lots of scales.

I thought it was really cool looking, and I thought I could show my friends.

I wanted to keep it and wear it to school.

Hey.

You still awake?

lights out, okay?

It's a school night.

Nate, Nate, wake up. What, what, what? I think something's wrong with David.

Sweetie?

Mom!

What's wrong? Calm down. Calm down.

Calm down. It was a... Hey, hey.

He was crying or yelling, saying that he had a nightmare.

I was very scared, but I can't really remember the details.

I just knew that it felt very real to me.

Sounds like it was just a bad dream. No, no.

I figured that if he wasn't remembering, it couldn't be that serious.

And kids having nightmares is a fairly common thing.

David, the last time you were in front of a campfire, you were in diapers.

Was I?

That's right.

Over the next few weeks, while the family deals with David's recurring

nightmares, they begin to notice something else.

His sister, Aaliyah, is growing withdrawn.

Aaliyah was a very bubbly, social, butterfly kind of child, and she started

to pull away a little bit.

Aaliyah, are you going to join us?

Aaliyah!

Can't you see that I'm busy?

Whoa. Sorry.

Just leave me alone.

Aliyah's parents are shocked by her behavior and hope it's temporary.

We figured it was a phase that she would eventually move out of.

But Aliyah's anxiety only grows worse.

When I was in my room, I felt like something was there.

I felt like I was being watched.

I really didn't feel like myself.

Something in my brain was telling me all this crazy stuff that I usually would

never do.

Like something was trying to control me.

For weeks, Amanda Morrison has been worried about her 12-year-old daughter,

Aaliyah.

Aaliyah?

Sweetie? It's time to get up, okay?

It's time for school.

Aaliyah?

Aaliyah?

Honey?

Aaliyah? What happened?

She was shaking, and she was crying, and she was very distressed. I knew it

wasn't, like, a joke. She was, like, really, truly scared.

I saw the words, help me, carved into her headboard.

Oh, my God.

She started crying and she says, I don't even know why that just happened.

It was like she blacked out.

We started to become more concerned that this was a more serious, major

depression that she was going through.

Doctor,

we're scared.

Her parents meet with a psychiatrist who confirms Aaliyah is suffering from

depression.

This should help.

So take this twice a day and hopefully in a month or so we should see a

significant improvement.

To have a child who's dealing with depression or some kind of affliction

like this, it makes you feel completely powerless.

Everything's going to be okay.

It was hard when my mom...

And dad and my brother were worried about me because I felt like I was a bad

person for making anyone upset.

We're going to get through this, I promise.

In the months that follow, the family focuses their love and attention on

Aliyah.

Oh, I got it.

I think it looks nice.

Yeah. You like it?

Mm-hmm.

The room has a lot more color. It makes a big difference.

Brighten things up a little bit.

Since Aaliyah was feeling uncomfortable in her room, and to give her a feeling

of a fresh start, I decided I'm going to go buy some supplies, and I'm going to

change around her room.

Now, if I could just get you to pick up your room.

It's not dirty. It's just organized differently, Mom.

Oh, Aaliyah.

It's fine. I like everything where it is.

Aaliyah, did you take this?

No, what is it?

David! David, get in here right now!

Yes?

David, did you take this from William's house?

I thought it was cool.

Cool? You don't take things that don't belong to you. I've told you this.

I'm sorry.

As a mom, I was kind of upset that David would go into the boxes and just start,

like, rifling through things that weren't his.

I didn't think much of it.

I decided to get rid of it.

Months pass, and despite taking prescribed medication,

Aaliyah's depression only deepens.

It started to get to the point where she started to wear a lot of dark clothing,

black clothing, like head to toe.

The fear of possibly losing...

your child to something like this.

We were very, very worried about her safety and how it was going to change

her, how it was going to affect her, what we could do to make it stop.

I felt like I was trapped from my depression.

I was really scared.

I thought I was going crazy.

With no way out, Aaliyah becomes a prisoner of her dark thoughts.

Aaliyah!

It was like the middle of the night, and I started hearing my name called, but I

thought, you know, it was just in my head.

13-year-old Aaliyah Morrison has been plagued with anxiety and fear.

I felt like a lot angrier, so I didn't talk to anyone. I just wanted to do

nothing and just stay in my house.

I thought I was going crazy.

An evil force appears to be controlling her thoughts.

I turn around.

I see this, like, girl standing there.

She had black hair that was kind of covering her face. She was saying, like,

we're going to get you and kill you.

Mom!

It's in my room.

I saw it. Please, you can't let it get me. It's coming to get me. Mom, please

don't let it get me. What is it? What did you see?

Aliyah came into the family room crying.

She said there was a black shadow.

that rose up out of my floor and was right in front of my bed and it said my

name. She was really, truly scared.

Where's your brother?

David, David. What's going on? Come here, come here.

Sit with your mom.

Is she okay? Dad!

Dad, I can't get you!

Amanda!

What is all this?

Come here. Look at this.

She's sketching all these.

Hey, what are we gonna do?

I don't know.

Our concern immediately was that these are hallucinations and voices is a

classic indication that she's developing a psychosis greater than what she was

originally having.

Amanda and I were very afraid that we were going to lose her.

The family takes Aaliyah back to the psychiatrist.

I've talked to Aaliyah for several hours, and I've determined that she does

not have any type of schizophrenia or delusion.

He was convinced that this was not a development of a new mental illness, but

something that he couldn't explain.

I do think that we should change her medicine as her depression is still

severe.

Then what is she seeing?

I don't know, but I can tell you.

She believes that she's seeing something in her room, and her fear is very real.

This was not a figment of her imagination or the product of an

illness, but was an actual physical manifestation that she was seeing, and

her fear was real.

The whole mood in our house started changing.

It was taking away our peace and the amount of stress quadrupled.

We did feel as parents that we were failing at times.

We were doing everything that we could to help her and support her.

It was putting a lot of wear and tear on our marriage, our family life.

It wasn't a very good time.

David? David?

David?

For months, Amanda Morrison didn't know what to believe when her husband and

daughter claimed they were seeing an unexplainable, terrifying entity.

Until now.

I see this human shadow

growing taller and taller.

And I was absolutely terrified.

Baby, baby.

It's real.

It's okay.

It's real.

I saw it. I saw that thing.

The thing that you saw.

What? I saw that shadow. The thing.

It's here. It's real.

My rational mind said, it can't possibly be that.

My rational mind.

didn't let me accept this immediately.

The things that my family had been experiencing weren't separate. They were

all connected to this dark energy.

That was like a time-changing moment right there. We really need to figure

out what is going on.

Not knowing where to turn, Amanda searches for someone who can perform a

house blessing.

She finds Samantha Harris of the Michigan Paranormal Research

Association.

I'm a demonologist, published author, and a paranormal investigator.

Intuitively, I was picking up on a lot of heaviness. There was a lot of

negativity in the home.

It was really obvious that the Morrison family was experiencing some sort of

strains and stressors in their family life.

When I walked into Aaliyah's room, I was instantly hit with a heaviness.

I could sense it very clearly that some sort of demonic or negative entity is

actually in the room with me.

It's here.

What are you talking about?

I believe there is a demonic presence in your home.

I feel it the strongest here in Aaliyah's room.

How did this happen?

Is there some way that you could have brought it with you? Is there someone in

your family involved with the occult or the dark arts?

We recently found some things at a relative's.

The more Amanda tells Samantha about the books and objects she uncovered inside

her relative's home, the more convinced Samantha becomes that William was

involved in satanic rituals.

Amanda found this box that included a demonic sort of necklace.

David actually took this necklace without telling anybody.

I think that action released this demonic entity into their home.

When Samantha told us that all of the bad, negative, dark stuff came from

William's house, I felt like I unintentionally sabotaged my family.

Like I did something wrong. I felt guilt.

Why is this thing after Aaliyah?

Unfortunately, she's more at risk.

It's really common for demonic entities to focus and target actually

adolescents.

Aaliyah is a perfect prime target.

Basically, it's because of their energy.

They're at a spiritual crossroads. This demonic entity really targeted her and I

think was trying to will her to the dark side.

We need to do a blessing immediately.

At this point, it was our last option. It was our last resort.

Hey, we're going to pray now.

And you can join in as you feel comfortable.

And the only thing that's important is that you remain focused, okay?

Okay. Okay.

Samantha got everybody involved. It was a family activity to cleanse the house.

Heavenly Spirit, I bow in praise and worship before you.

I claim the protection of the light for my family, my finances, my home,

my spirit, soul, and body.

I surrender myself completely in every area of my life to you. I take a stand

against all the workings of darkness and negativity.

It really felt like my family and I were fighting to reclaim the house, and the

prayer was a battle cry.

Heavenly Spirit, I bow in worship praise before you. I cover myself with

the white light and protection of God.

I looked up.

And the light above our table was flickering.

My finances, my home, my spirit, my soul and body.

Leo was kind of having a difficult time concentrating on this prayer and

starting to feel ill.

In every area of my life to you, I take a stand against all forces of darkness

and negativity.

As we were saying the prayer, I felt like the demons telling me, like, don't

say it, don't get rid of me.

The demonic entity was trying to distract her or to claim her back.

The Morrison family is attempting to spiritually clean their house of a demon

that is after their 13-year-old daughter, Aaliyah.

I claim the protection of the life for my family, my finances, my home, my

spirit, my soul and body.

We knew that something was trying to get to Aaliyah and take control of her, and

we were terrified.

I command it to leave.

Heavenly Spirit, I vow in worship and praise before you.

I cover myself with the white light against all the worries of darkness and

negativity. Keep going. I cover myself with the white light. Paranormal

investigator Samantha Harris urges Aaliyah to stay strong.

Aaliyah, pray with me. Aaliyah.

But the demon keeps beckoning her to the dark side.

the demonic entity was affecting alia kind of as its last chance to try to

claim her back or to somehow have power over her

i

said no i want my house back and i want to be able to sleep in my room at night

so i told like the demon in my head no just go away

After we were done with the prayer, it felt like a bunch of weight was lifted

off.

It's gone.

I don't feel it anymore.

When the house cleansing was done, there was just a brighter feel, almost like

we had cleaned the windows and more sunlight was coming in.

We were all just kind of happier.

It really did seem to make a difference right away.

Thank you so much.

You did great.

You gave me my family.

That's the moment that I felt like I got her back.

That's when I had my, like, exhale moment.

where I'm like, oh, it's really gone.

We knew it was all over, and all this demon stuff can go away, and we can live

a happy ending.

Okay, it's your turn. To the left.

Okay.

That's some reaction. Oh, I thought he won. I thought it was over.

We haven't had any paranormal experiences since the house cleansing.

Okay, so it's my turn. Do you have any aces?

No, I don't. Go fish.

It feels much more peaceful.

David said that his nightmares have stopped.

Okay, ace, please.

Yeah, thank you. Oh, he's been waiting for that one. Yeah. My wife is happy

now.

Everything's... Good and back to normal.

Mom, do you have a queen?

Aliyah is sleeping much better. She's sleeping in her room. She's not waking

up and crying.

I don't think I'll ever get over the experience.

I think it's probably changed all of us.

To be scared of something like that, that you have no control over, you don't

know what to do in that moment.

It's still affecting me today.

I guess in the back of my mind, I'm just praying to God that it just doesn't ever

bother us again, you know?

I'm still kind of on guard.

I know now that there really is good and evil, and that you can actually see it,

and it's something that can actually come into your home and bother you.

Before all this happened, I didn't really believe in, like, demons or

ghosts. Now I believe that if you let them, they'll just make your life

miserable.

You two are ganging up.

Dog-eat-dog world.

As for William, who's dealing with black magic, is believed to have conjured the

demon in the first place, the Morrisons never saw him again.

It's probably because it's his last one. You look like something suspicious is

happening right there.

You know, I can see right through that card. Can you? I can.

Aaliyah?

Aaliyah?

Sweetie?

Are you okay?

Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine.

It's just something you can't really get over or forget.

It'll still always be there.