Original subtitles

Is there anyone here tonight who would like to speak through me?

After a night of ghost stories takes an unexpected turn.

Sam. Everything changes.

He was just feeling out of sorts.

That something was off.

And the dead are summoned back to life.

The paranormal is not all fun and games. It can be deadly serious.

Every... Hair on my body stood up because you're in the presence of

something dangerous.

The living must fight to survive.

I thought that I was about to die.

I was preparing to die.

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 opened.

Nightmares become reality.

My name is Sam Baltrusis.

What scares me about the paranormal, my biggest fear is possession.

I went in having a night of fun, celebrating Halloween, and it turned

into a night of terror.

Whatever was happening to me was taking over and was destroying me.

Salem, Massachusetts is a city deeply invested in its rich paranormal history.

Haunted by the witch trials of the 1690s, the atmosphere surrounding Salem

can be bone-chilling.

Salem, Massachusetts is probably the most haunted city in America.

You can feel it bubbling beneath the surface.

And few know Salem's history better than paranormal researcher and author Sam

Baltrusis. I've written 10 historical-based ghost books.

So I'm a historian first, and then the paranormal stuff was secondary.

In October of 2016, Sam is hired by a local historical society to perform in a

Halloween benefit party held at a nearby mansion.

The Pierce Farm at Witch Hill.

My job was to tell a ghost story.

It was like a theatrical performance.

And I was supposed to be a certain character.

They didn't tell me what character to do. They said, we want you to tell a

ghost story. We want it to be really creepy.

Now, when you go to the Pierce Farm at Witch Hill, you see the library.

It's like an author's dream come true.

The energy in that room is just amazing.

That night, Sam's friend Mike also takes part in the presentation.

Thank you so much for your help with this. You're a good friend. Of course.

Of course.

So this is your room for the night, huh?

This is our room for the night.

You're handling the special effects, and that's an important job.

right from the time that i met sam he was always very open about his interest

and involvement in the paranormal world i thought it was very fascinating

the idea behind this event was to dress up as

victorian era steampunk steampunk fashion combines styles from the

victorian age with technology from science fiction ah sam so good to see

you Sean Ward. I'm the owner of Pierce Farm. Thanks so much for the invitation.

We are so excited to get going.

Absolutely. Well, as you can obviously see, this is our beautiful library.

And this is where you'll be telling your ghost story.

Ah.

Ah, actually, in the 1690s, Mary Eastie, one of the accused Salem witches, was

arrested on this very property.

And this...

is Benjamin Crown and Shield.

He was the Secretary of the Navy and built this mansion.

Crown and Shields were a very prominent family in Salem in the early 1800s. They

had a shipping business.

Benjamin Crown and Shield built the original mansion.

Ah, this is Benjamin's cousin, Richard the...

black sheep of the family richard crown and shield had a terrible reputation in

salem he was an alcoholic he was a gambler he owed people money he was a

criminal richard was hired to murder a boat captain by the name of joseph white

he bludgeoned him to death with a club in his sleep

richard crown and

shield he's the subject of my ghost story tonight Really?

Then I have something to show you.

When I heard that Sam was going to do stories about Richard Crowninshield, I

thought that was really cool because he had tied his ghost stories to the

history of the property and the families that had lived there.

Ah, here it is.

We found this walking stick in the mansion when we bought the property.

We think it was here from the time that the Crowninshields lived here.

When I touched the stick, I actually felt the energy associated with that

stick and who owned that stick.

So I felt like I was being transported back to the 1800s.

Could I use this in my show tonight?

Of course. Have fun scaring everyone tonight.

Yeah. Sam was a great fit for telling ghost stories at Pierce Farm.

You could tell that he was really ready to give it his all.

I was very excited to hear Sam's presentation.

He definitely had that presence that really grabbed people in.

Hey, Sam, how many groups are coming through?

We'll have six, so we're telling the story six times.

Okay. Oh, during my performance, when I do three times,

that's your cue for the special effects.

My goal that night was to entertain the audience, and it was also to educate

them about history.

So you're our first group. All right, here we go.

Good evening.

Hello. Get comfortable, folks.

And welcome to the Crowning Shield Room.

My name is Sam Pultrusis.

And as many of you know, this home was once owned by Benjamin Crowning Shield.

But we're not here to talk about him tonight.

No, no.

Tonight, we're going to meet his cousin, Richard the murderer.

On the night of April 6, 1830, a night with a full moon,

Richard crawled in to the window of

Salem's shipmaster, Captain Joseph White.

He had a bludgeon that he had made himself.

He was proud of that instrument of death.

He walked up to the peacefully sleeping Captain White and

whacked him again and again violently.

But he wasn't through.

He then took a knife.

and stabbed him 13 times around his heart.

Richard Crown and Shield was a cold-blooded murderer.

Now, we've all heard ghost stories.

But the real question is, have you ever seen or talked to a

ghost? I talked about this story with Richard Crown and Shield.

And then I talked about the murder of Captain Joseph White. And then things

started getting dark really fast.

Sam suddenly turns his ghost story into a seance.

Is there anyone here tonight who would like to communicate with us?

Is there anyone?

Who I will give permission to enter my body!

Who would like to speak through me!

I thought I saw somebody walking behind Sam.

I thought, we are definitely in the presence of someone here.

Is there anyone who can come forward now?

Historian Sam Baltrusis is hired to tell a ghost story during a Halloween-themed

benefit at a mansion outside Salem, Massachusetts.

But Sam takes his performance too far.

Is there anyone who I will give permission to enter my body who

would like to speak through me?

So in the middle of the evening, when I was in the closet door, I thought I saw

a figure walk directly behind Sam.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to the Crown and Shield room

tonight. It's been my pleasure to scare you.

Thank you.

Good night.

What's the matter?

Um, I don't know. I just, um... I could have sworn somebody was here. It's just

during your performance.

When I came out to talk to Sam, I told him I just thought I saw somebody

walking directly behind you.

Mike, I'm the only one up here. I know, I know. I just... I had about 10 to

15 minutes in between each session.

Sam. I looked in the mirror and I looked sort of deformed.

Mike, Mike, get your phone. Take a picture of me.

Quick, quick.

What's wrong?

Do I look okay to you?

Yeah, you look fine.

The next group's coming.

I knew something was happening to me, but I wasn't really sure what was going

on.

Welcome to the Crown and Shield room.

I'm Sam Fultrussus.

On April 6, 1830, Richard Crown and Shield entered the house.

He was looking very tired and run down.

My gut was telling me something was wrong.

He whacked him!

And he whacked him!

He then took a knife and stabbed him 13 times around the heart and escaped into

the night.

Second session, I felt like they were kind of gathered around me and I felt

kind of like maybe they were judgmental of me.

I felt like that they thought that I was a bad person for the way they looked at

me while I was telling the story.

Is anyone here who wants to speak through me?

Good night, ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you for coming to the Crown and Shield room.

Good night.

Although Sam's mind is racing, he manages to finish all six performances.

When all the stories were done, Sam just looked very run down.

Everyone is raving about you. You were a hit. I cannot thank you enough for being

a part of this event.

It's my pleasure.

Thank you.

And I can't forget to give this to you.

Oh. Well, you're not leaving, are you? We have a party out in the barn. There's

food and dancing.

I've been sober for many years.

And in the past, if I had a paranormal experience, I would use alcohol to self

-medicate. No, we have to go.

Oh, right now?

And I was craving alcohol, and I wasn't in control.

I was mortified.

Mike? Yes.

OK, I'm ready.

Listen, I'm sorry.

I'm just not feeling well.

I understand.

Thanks again.

Sam seemed different when he left. Sam wasn't the same person that I had first

met when he showed up. His personality had changed.

I thought he was so adamant to get home because I thought it might have been a

headache. I thought it might have been the onset of a cold.

If Sam had told me that night that he had the need to drink, it would have

deeply concerned me.

As we were driving home, I knew something was really wrong.

Sam wasn't engaging in as much conversation as he usually does. He was

just very uncomfortable.

It seemed like he was sweating.

I can tell something's on your mind.

It's just the people back at the event, they were laughing at me.

They were laughing at me.

They made me feel like a freak at a freak show.

Sam, I don't know why you think like that. I didn't see any of that.

I was reassuring him that he did a great job and that his storytelling was

totally top notch.

While I was in the car, my body was doing something else than what my mind

was watching going on.

Sam.

I was physically holding myself in the chair.

And then I...

felt the urge like i couldn't even control my hand

sam

and scare me man what are you doing

sam was not

acting like himself sam was extremely scared you okay what's going on sam

What are you doing, Sam?

Sam!

Is there anyone who would like to speak through me?

After experiencing what he believes is a paranormal encounter at a performance in

Salem, Massachusetts, Sam Baltrusis finds he is not in his right mind.

What are you doing, Sam?

My hand was moving up to unlock the door, but I wasn't doing it.

I was trying to fight this urge to open up the car door for me to jump out.

Sam!

What the hell are you doing?

What's wrong with you?

I don't know.

I cannot imagine Sam ever opening the car door while the car was in motion.

That terrified me beyond belief.

I just want to go home. Okay.

When I dropped Sam off at home, I was very concerned for his health.

Sam told me that he felt extremely tired, malaised, and that he couldn't

wait to get back to his bed.

As soon as I got home, I'm like, okay, maybe this will go away.

Maybe I'll get over what was going on.

I tried to go to bed multiple times, but then I wasn't sure if I was sleeping or

blacking out.

I felt the urge to hurt myself.

I had that desire to jump off the balcony.

I was able to kind of come out of what I was doing while I was standing at the

balcony.

That's when I started really questioning what's going on.

I was not in control of my physical body.

That was terrifying.

A

few

days later, Sam's friend, Mike, comes over to check on him.

After I dropped him off at home on that Sunday night, there was...

at least a day, a full day, where I was worried about him completely.

So you, um, what, you woke up in the balcony and you had no memory how you

got there?

Yeah. It was like I was sleepwalking or something, you know, and I had this urge

to... to just climb over the railing.

Look, I know this sounds crazy, right?

Like I'm worried about you, Sam.

You don't either have calls or texts.

No one has seen you since the benefit.

You haven't had a drink, right?

No!

No, I have not!

Hey, okay.

One of the biggest issues with...

People who are former alcoholics is isolation, and he was concerned because

I was isolating.

I thought that something was very off. Not only did I notice that he was

looking very tired and run down, but something else was coming into play that

was affecting Sam at that moment.

Sam finds himself having dark thoughts.

Hey, Sam.

It was in a very sick way, and it's hard for me to even talk about it because it

was these thoughts of hurting other people.

I've been calling your name and you're just standing there. What's going on?

Mike, you gotta go. What?

What are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere.

Sam, something's wrong.

I was worried that I was somehow gonna hurt Mike in some way, and that really,

really scared me.

Sam.

Look, I can't explain it.

I was trying to hide anything that could be a weapon because I felt like I was

going to hurt other people.

To have a friend who was hurting so much really gave me a lot of sadness.

The fact that Sam was not able to let me in and to be there as his line of

support was crippling.

Just look.

Take these.

Sam, Sam.

And get out. Sam, listen.

Whatever you're going through, I'm here for you.

I know.

Sam is a very easygoing guy who's, you know, very friendly and very upbeat.

But this version of Sam was unlike any that I had seen before.

Sam believes what is happening to his mind and his body may not be of this

world.

I felt like that it was definitely something paranormal.

What part of the paranormal, I wasn't really sure.

I did do this whole seance event at Pierce Farmer Witch Hill.

I thought maybe it was another spirit in the house or was it related to other

events. I mean, I gave tours in Salem, Massachusetts, so it could have been

anything.

Sam knows whatever is controlling his mind is powerful,

taking any chances.

Because I didn't trust myself while I slept, I

got a rope and I would tie myself to the bed while I went to sleep because I

didn't know if I was going to end up falling off that balcony or jumping off

that balcony while I was sleeping. So imagine being in bed and being tied to

the bed and not knowing what's going to happen.

So that was terrifying.

If any spirit or entity has somehow entered my home, you're not

welcome here!

Leave! Now!

It came very clear the entity was saying, do it, do it.

I thought do it meant for me to kill myself.

Author

Sam

Baltrusis believes he is being stopped by something paranormal.

I was fighting something that was more powerful than me, and I couldn't control

what was going on.

I was thinking, maybe I'm possessed.

What was going through my mind at this moment is I need help, and I don't know

what to do.

Over the next few days, Sam refuses to leave his house or return any calls.

He was keeping a lot of us at arm's length, and that was not like him at

all.

Every day was getting worse and worse.

I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't eating. My mind was chaotic.

My friends would call, and I would not respond to them.

because I was embarrassed to be open about what's going on.

The scariest thing about this is that I didn't have control and that something

else was in control of my body.

Under the influence of someone else's control, Sam posts on social media

asking for a human skeleton.

There was a war going on inside me. I was fighting so hard, but I was getting

tired.

I became worried about Sam because he was posting some really strange things

on social media.

I decided I really needed to talk to him. I was worried about him.

Sam, open the door.

It's now been a week since the Halloween benefit.

Sam still hasn't left his house.

Sam and I have been friends for a number of years, mostly through our books.

We're both paranormal authors.

Sam.

Sam and I often put ourselves in the line of fire. We go to the most haunted

locations, the most severe hauntings, because we're trying to document it. So

it can be quite dangerous for us.

And I wondered if Sam had had some kind of attachment, if something had followed

him home.

Hey.

We've all been trying to call you.

What's going on?

Sam, I saw your post about needing a human skeleton for an experiment of some

sort.

What's going on? This isn't like you.

I was getting to the point where I was completely blacking out, and I have no

memory whatsoever of what was going on. So I was trying to remember what I did

while I was out.

I was so afraid that my window of being conscious was getting smaller and

smaller. Sam.

Sam.

I'm here. You can talk to me. Tell me what's going on.

You can tell me anything.

Really? Yeah.

I was born a sensitive, so I am able to detect ghosts and spirits from a very

early age.

That's good, because...

It makes me feel so much better.

Do you care?

Oh, bye-bye, Joanie.

I believe that Sam had a very bad negative attachment.

The first stage is infestation when they're in your house. The second stage

is oppression.

And they basically start altering your personality.

I really do believe that Sam was in an oppression state.

Sam? I need help.

I need help.

You've got to help me. Something has me.

I need help.

I'm going to go get you help right now. I promise.

Help who?

It wasn't the normal Sam. He was a different person.

That wasn't Sam.

Sam Baltrusis is struggling to regain control of his mind and body.

He believes he is being possessed by something evil.

I was not in control of my actions and I felt so helpless, so powerless.

I felt like not living would be better than what I was going through.

Sam's friend, Joni, reaches out to the only person she knows can help him, a

shaman named Michael Robichaux.

I knew Sam needed help, and things were only going to get worse as time

progressed. At that point, I knew we needed to reach out to Michael.

Joni will call me with the most extreme situations.

She told me this is very urgent at this point.

What exactly is a shaman?

I heal people, like yourself.

But instead of working with medicine, I communicate with the spiritual side of

things. A shaman is a Native American, what they would call a medicine man.

A shaman brings in positive energy and dispels negative energy.

I spiritually cleanse people and remove negative entities.

from people's houses, and from attachments to them personally and

physically.

May I?

Yeah.

Michael has the ability to sense what Sam is dealing with. It's a powerful

entity. controlling his mind and hell-bent on destroying his life. Every

hair on my body stood up. I felt that, you know, Sam was definitely in serious

trouble if I didn't do something as soon as possible.

I believe that you are being oppressed by a very negative spirit.

And if you don't receive some help, it's going to possess you completely.

Sam, I'm going to help you.

But I need you to listen to me. The spirit that has attached itself to you

was evil in life, and it is evil in death.

What do you want me to do?

When Michael Robichaud and I first connected, I felt like that we were

meant to meet each other. I felt like that he was sort of sent from above to

help me.

I'm going to need you to promise me that you're going to fight for your life, all

right?

This is not a time to give up or give in.

I need you to come with me, all right?

If you would, just lie down right here.

Michael uses holy water and salt to create a barrier of protection around

Sam. He then calls upon his spirit guides to draw out the entity in order

to banish him.

Sam, almost everybody in the world has spirit guides.

These guides help us through life.

My spirit guides are very powerful.

They have the ability to battle this negative spirit that's attached to you.

I'm going to call on them now.

I believe in Catholic prayer, and I still believe in a lot of the

Catholicism, because it's one of the older religions, and it works.

Michael, the archangel, guide us in battle.

Protect us from the wickedness and the snares of the devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray.

When Michael started the cleansing process, he said, at this time, the

spirits are going to be activated to get rid of the negative entity that's

attached to you. Michael, the archangel, guide us in battle.

protect us from the wickedness and snares of the devil i immediately felt

like there was a ringing in my ears uh like as if the spirit guides were being

awoke and coming to to protect me make god rebuke him we

humbly pray

michael the

archangel defend us in battle be our protection against the wickedness and

snares of the devil i've actually physically solved the spirits which is

not normal for a cleansing ceremony i immediately felt the desire to go to

sleep i passed out it becomes a spiritual battle at that point because

the entity that is in sam of course does not want to leave

Shaman Michael Robeshaw is calling upon spirit guides to free Sam Baltrusis from

an evil entity.

May God rebuke him.

We humbly pray.

How do you feel?

Good.

Clear. Like I've been asleep for weeks.

People usually say that.

I felt like I was completely liberated when the cleansing happened. I felt like

my life was returned.

What happened?

You were attacked by a very negative entity.

In life, this guy was a real bad guy.

I'm picking up that he was from a prominent family, but he had a very dark

side. Sam's attachment was so negative and so heavy.

It wasn't a demon. It definitely was a human.

I knew it had committed heinous crimes previous to his death.

This attachment was very dangerous.

He murdered someone and actually went to jail for it.

Yes.

And he was hanged.

Oh, my God.

There was a moment of, like, oh, my gosh, this may be Richard Crowninshield.

Wait, you know who the negative spirit was?

Richard Crowninshield.

You described him perfectly. I was doing a presentation, a ghost story, and I

invited him into my body to speak through me.

Sam.

You have to protect yourself.

Sam made a mistake by doing that. You're spiritually opening the gates to a

negative spirit because they're the ones that are waiting to suck your energy out

of you and find other ways of creating havoc in your life.

Don't ever do that again.

I believe Sam learned that becoming a conduit was a valuable lesson learned,

that you should not do that ever, and if you do, this is what's going to happen.

Believe me, I've learned my lesson.

Good.

Michael, thank you.

Thank you for my life.

My pleasure.

There's a happy medium where you can communicate with the spirits and they'll

communicate back with you without opening yourself up for them possibly to

attach to you.

Want some sugar, Mike?

I'm good. Thanks, man.

People ask me if you have any regrets in life, and I say that I have one regret,

and it was allowing Richard Crown and Shield into my body or into my life.

It's good to have you back, man.

It's good to be back. He was sociable again, he was very upbeat, and he was

ready to take on the world.

That made me feel extremely happy and relieved that my friend was back.

So what, um, what you got going next?

Will you help me on my next show?

Absolutely, of course.

I'm always gonna be here for you.

I could see a future again. I could also see a light at the end of the tunnel.

I also felt like that there was hope and that I could use what happened to me as

a way to help other people.

I do have some ideas, though. And by the fact that I was able to survive this

made me stronger.