Original subtitles

Their nightmare was our dream.

Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready

for the cast and producer of My Roanoke Nightmare?

Shelby, what was it like

seeing yourself portrayed by someone else?

It was weird at first,

but then, somehow cathartic.

We love you, Shelby!

Oh, thank you. That's really sweet.

Are you sure it's not me you love?

Sidney James,

My Roanoke Nightmare was one of the most

successful television shows of all time.

A ratings phenomenon.

Thank you.

Can we expect a second season?

Well, that story has been told,

but we have some ideas.

I would love to come back because I think we've just only

scratched the surface of what makes The Butcher tick.

Well, The Butcher seems to have scratched everybody's surface.

Especially me.

Bitch impaled me!

We can take some questions from our audience.

This question is for Rory.

What's your favorite color?

Hey, I see the world in the full spectrum of colors, you know.

Rory, can I get a hug?

You bet your sweet little ass.

What about me? Do I not get no love?

My names is Crystal Windows

and I flew all the way out here from London.

No shit.

It's been a really odd year and,

My Roanoke Nightmare has been the only thing that's kept me going.

I need to say I totally identify with Lee, who I feel,

has had some really nasty and unfair things said about her online.

Lee, I made you something.

I'd love to give it to you.

We love you!

All right, so

it's been a year since the end of series one of My Roanoke Nightmare.

Everything's just gone to shit.

You know, I thought the second series was just really exploitative,

turning what was a real artistic achievement

into something quite crass.

And yes, I know, okay,

Three Days In Hell was even more popular and got bigger ratings,

with reddit threads that went on for ages

about "Was it real or was it not."

Or "Were the spirits faked?

"Did anybody really die?"

They did die, didn't they?

Now they want to put Lee on trial for murder.

I mean, why did you have to go back, Lee, why?

Courts won't do shit.

The Polk family ain't never got justice in all our history.

She took my babies.

Killed my kin.

Well, if the law won't deal with her...

...I sure will.

Lee Harris, decorated police officer,

loving wife, devoted mother.

She was a woman who had it all.

Until she cracked.

Lee Miller was a shy girl, gifted.

She had big dreams.

And in the fall of 2005,

it felt like all of her dreams were coming true.

Lee fell madly in love

with a charismatic engineer, named Mason Harris.

And soon after, came Lee's greatest joy, Flora.

But little did Lee know that her happy life

was about to spiral out of control.

A custody battle.

A kidnapping, a murder.

A hit TV show.

Millions of Americans met Lee Harris in 2015...

Can we stop for a moment, please?

...when the sleeper hit, My Roanoke Nightmare first premiered.

She was a woman of many secrets,

dangerous, deadly.

Put down the gun!

The police long suspected that Lee was responsible

for the death of her husband, Mason.

But the evidence was purely circumstantial.

Well, we had no smoking gun.

But I knew, without a shadow of a doubt

Lee Harris killed her ex-husband in cold blood.

So I had to wait and watch

while this murderer became a celebrity...

We have the pleasure to sit down with Lee Harris.

...profiting from her crimes.

It's shameful.

The prosecution didn't have to wait long.

The following year, the next installment of the series aired,

setting an all-time ratings record.

Lee committed not one but multiple homicides.

On camera.

We had her.

Monet Tumusiime's sister

sat in the front row, every day of that trial

to remind me that my job was to speak up for the victims.

But the defense had a plan up their sleeve

to render the mountain of evidence irrelevant.

The strain of marijuana recovered from the Polk residence

was highly unusual.

It tested positive for hallucinogenic properties.

It was obvious that

that that magic pot was messing with her brain.

She was seeing things.

They played on the jury's emotions.

Forced them to watch the recording from the Polk farm in its entirety.

The guy pickled her ear,

ate chunks out of her body, carved her up like a Christmas ham.

No wonder she thought everybody was after her.

I would've lost my damn mind.

Hallucinations, trauma, extreme duress.

This is the textbook definition of diminished capacity.

She didn't know what she was doing.

She knew exactly what she was doing.

In a stunning turn of events,

Lee Harris was acquitted of all charges.

It was an abomination.

There was no way I was gonna stand by

and watch this woman elude justice. Not again.

So I played the only card I had left,

went after her for her original crime,

the murder of Mason.

I killed Daddy.

That's on me and me alone.

No one else helped me.

It's nobody's fault except mine.

I had her on tape, confessing.

We had Matt's security footage

clearly revealing Lee leaving that house at 10:13 PM.

The phone records reveal a call between Lee and Mason

at 10:19 PM that lasted six minutes.

And it was our contention that Lee Harris was arranging

a rendezvous with her ex-husband.

And the reason we thought that...

The prosecution calls Flora Harris.

We had an eyewitness.

You were in the woods a long time.

That must've been scary.

Now, when you were out there, did you see anything strange?

Yes.

What did you see?

Mom and dad.

And what were they doing?

They were fighting.

It was about me, as usual.

My dad, he said my mom kidnapped me at school

and she was hiding me,

so he wanted to tell the cops.

So, your father threatened to involve the police.

What did your mom do next?

He walked away.

And she picked up a rock.

And what did she do with the rock, Flora?

She hit him.

He fell and she hit him again.

Until he stopped moving.

You killed Daddy.

Flora, did your mom or your dad ever see you that night?

No. I was hiding.

No further questions.

Your father thought your mother was hiding you.

But that wasn't true, was it?

You chose to go out into the woods, didn't you?

Yes.

Why didn't you go to your mother and father?

Because I didn't want them to find me.

- Why not? - Because...

I felt safe.

You felt safe, alone in the woods?

I wasn't alone.

I was with Priscilla.

Priscilla? The ghost girl from the TV show?

Yeah.

You felt safer in the woods with a dead girl's spirit

than you did with your own parents?

I was much happier with Priscilla than I ever was with you.

The words of an imaginative girl from a broken home.

Her mother an addict, her father an angry man with an explosive temper.

Is it any surprise that this poor child...

Got you!

...invented a friend with whom she felt safe?

Where'd she go?

Lee's taped confession...

I killed Daddy.

...an obvious attempt by Miss Harris

to stop the abuse of her kidnapper.

For all we know, Flora, this impressionable child

may have seen that tape.

And built false memories around it.

Her testimony may condemn Miss Harris as a mother,

but it does not prove that she is a murderer.

It was 16 days before the jury reached a verdict.

We were split on Flora's testimony.

I understand the jury has reached a verdict. What say you?

I know the Roanoke show was a popular show.

We find the defendant...

But I couldn't send a woman to jail

based on ghost stories.

...not guilty.

Well, I'll tell you one thing.

Lee Harris must be one damn good actress,

maybe even better than the woman who played her.

In my entire legal career,

to this day, that verdict

is the hardest to swallow.

Flora, come here!

Flora.

Flora, just talk to me, please.

Flora!

You know, it's easy to break this kind of thing down

to winners and losers.

But nobody won here.

I mean, sure, Lee Harris dodged a sentence.

I think she lost a lot more.

Lee Harris, equally reviled and celebrated.

She is one of the most provocative and polarizing figures of our time.

Lee endured and survived a harrowing experience

that would've destroyed most people.

She rose from the depths of her torture and wrote a best-selling book,

became a highly paid speaker.

But some would say Lee never escaped.

That in fighting monsters she became one herself.

I killed Daddy.

That's on me and me alone.

No one else helped me.

It's nobody's fault except mine.

The murder trials of Lee Harris

captured the hearts and minds of an entire nation.

And when it was time to announce the verdict,

it seemed as though the whole world stood still.

It was the second time Lee successfully navigated

a journey of horrors.

Acquitted of all charges,

exonerated by a jury of her peers,

and yet questions remain.

It is for this fascinating woman that I have come out of retirement.

Lee Harris has agreed to do an interview

to tell the world her side of an extraordinary story.

Unedited, unfiltered, live on television.

Welcome to the Lana Winters Special.

Lee, thank you for agreeing to this interview.

There are so many questions I want to ask.

So much everyone is dying to know.

I will start with the most important question first.

How are you?

You had me there.

Well, I honestly want to know.

You have been through hell and back.

And so many people would have simply given up.

This I know.

To what do you attribute your resilience?

Well, it's good to have a goal in mind.

- Something to hope for. - Mm-hmm.

- For me, that's Flora. - Your daughter.

Always been about her.

At my darkest times, she kept me alive.

The thought of Flora being alone in the world,

the joy of seeing her again and to watch her grow up...

...has kept me going.

How is your relationship with your daughter today?

At the moment, spare.

I can only imagine how painful that must be for you now.

Having to go back into a court room yet again,

this time to fight for custody.

Mason's family have decided

that I'm not a good influence on my own daughter.

Even though I've been acquitted of all charges.

You have to admit, those horrible images remain.

The public will always associate Lee Harris

with the deaths of three innocent people.

Not to mention, your husband, Flora's father.

And by acquitting you, the jury and basically half of America

are calling Flora, your daughter, a liar.

I did not come here to be put on trial again.

But why are you here, Lee?

Why did you agree to this interview?

What do you mean?

Well, I know for a fact that you turned everybody else down.

Diane Sawyer, Barbara Walters.

Because of you.

Because of who you are.

And what you've been through.

I mean, Jesus,

you killed your own son.

Bloody Face.

I killed a psychopathic murderer before he could kill me.

I did what I had to do.

Exactly.

You know there are extenuating circumstances

in every action you take.

Of course.

That's why I agreed to talk to you.

Well, it's not really me you came here to talk to, is it?

Your daughter has refused to speak to you

since your acquittal, isn't that right?

I'm praying she's watching

and that she'll somehow see this

so I can tell her what she needs to know.

Well,

this is your chance.

Tell her.

Flora,

I'm gonna tell you something that maybe you already know.

But you need to hear it from my heart.

I love you, baby.

And I'm never gonna give up.

Never stop until we are together again.

Do you feel better?

Yeah.

Where is she, Lee?

- What? - Flora.

Where is she?

Is that some sort of trick question?

Flora Harris was reported missing by her grandparents

an hour before we went on the air.

Where is she, Lee?

What are you talking about?

I know that our viewers will understand

the desperation of a mother separated from her daughter,

but if you have abducted her again,

Lee, now is the time to come clean before things spiral out of control.

- My God, Jesus. - Lee.

- Please sit down. - I've to find my daughter.

What the hell was that?

That's a god damn assault weapon.

Lee, sit down. Sit down, god damn it!

Oh, my God, it's Lot!

I'll bet you I'm the last [bleep] guy you expected to see.

Please, please, please.

Please.

My name is Lana Winters.

Do not do anything you regret, you are on live television.

I could give a shit about your TV.

- What I'm about to do is justice. - No, this is not justice.

This is revenge.

She killed Jether.

It's her fault my mama's dead.

The world is watching you, young man!

Millions of people.

You have an opportunity to tell your truth.

I can see the pain you're in.

I know that pain.

I know what it's like to desperately want to correct an injustice

that you are driven to violence.

You loved your mother.

She was everything to me.

Killing Lee will not bring her back.

It will not ease the burden on your soul.

Put the gun down.

Put it down.

She talks too much.

Time's up, Lee.

Tonight, an extraordinary special edition of Spirit Chasers.

We investigate the Roanoke house,

the disturbing location

of the deadliest paranormal phenomenon in America.

Was The Butcher real?

Were the settlers just a fabrication?

Man, I haven't been this freaked out since we were in that asylum.

Whoa, whoa!

The Chasers are joined by Ashley Gilbert,

the star of My Roanoke Nightmare.

His familiarity with the house will guide our team

to capture evidence of spectral visitations

during the cycle of the blood moon.

Yo, I'm Bob Kinnaman.

And I'm Dave Elder,

the hosts of Spirit Chasers.

The Roanoke house is the Holy Grail of spectral phenomenon.

It's either the greatest modern day proof of paranormal activity

or the biggest fraud since Bernie Madoff.

Every show on TV wanted to do a segment on location here,

60 Minutes, Good Morning America.

They all got the same answer we did.

Permission denied.

In fact, they put up a steel fence around the entire property

to keep the riff-raff out.

So we came up with a new strategy.

We don't ask, dude.

Not only are we here without any authorization,

but we're here in the middle of the blood moon.

Dave, are we insane?

- To tackle the Roanoke house... - We needed backup.

You called and here I am.

Hi, Ashley, welcome to the show.

Y'all ready to catch some ghosts?

We spared no expense

rigging the house with full spectrum cameras,

capturing ultra violet to infra red images.

They'll be the most helpful in the dark.

We're here. You're back.

You were excellent in My Roanoke Nightmare.

Why weren't you involved with Return To Roanoke?

Sidney James did not ordain to ask me to participate.

And as it turns out,

fortunately so.

Everything is in place

as the Spirit Chasers await nightfall

and the arrival of the blood moon.

But what they find takes everyone by surprise.

I've never seen a reading like this before. It's off the charts.

I can feel the hair standing on the back of my neck.

There was trauma here. Look at the blood stain on the wall.

This is where Rory died.

That was crazy. The air was completely still.

- Shit! - What was that?

I almost peed my pants.

Whoa, whoa!

The energy change from day to night is unbelievable.

I mean it's intense.

It almost feels like I'm standing next to a Tesla coil.

Oh God, I've seen this before.

A bonnet.

Like the one we had on the show.

But this is the real McCoy.

I can sense in the fabric

the desiccation and pain.

There's somebody outside.

I don't see anybody.

Lee!

That was totally unexpected but so awesome.

I was so psyched.

To have Lee Harris show up at the house

in the middle of the night? What?

What the hell are you doing here with all this crap?

Are you people crazy enough to be shooting another show here?

I could ask you the same thing.

I'm looking for my daughter and I'm running out of time.

I can sense it outside. The blood moon is rising.

- The others will be here. - That's so perfect!

You stupid [bleep].

You deserve to die.

Lee, what would make you think Flora's here?

I've been searching everywhere for two weeks.

This is the last place I wanna be.

But I saw Priscilla come in here.

She took Flora from me before.

I found that on the floor.

Lee, what happened to you after the Lana Winters thing?

Why the [bleep] would I tell you?

Come on, Lee, let us help you find Flora.

We got all this equipment here just waiting to be used.

We can work together to contact the spirits.

Believe me, they will find us!

And if you had any brains at all,

you would get out of here now!

Because this house has a strange way

of ripping that frat boy smile

right off your face!

Oh, dear.

Oh.

Spectacular.

What is it?

That's a thermal capture.

You see that blue? Whatever made the cabinet fall

is colder than everything else in the room.

The Chens.

I recorded an audio file from the master bedroom.

That is creepy.

That's Priscilla.

Listen to me.

You still have time. Leave all your shit and get out now.

Are you kidding?

Chasers don't run.

Follow them!

Priscilla?

She's there. Straight ahead.

What?

Did you see her? She was right in front of you.

Croatoan!

Go, go!

It's okay. You are okay.

No! No!

No!

Where did she go? Did you see where she went?

Let's get out of here, man. We're not... Let's go.

You were right. Let's get the [bleep] out of here!

Down here. There's a way out of here.

Get out of here!

Yes! We got it!

Ask for their help!

Tracy!

Get back in your car!

Get back in the car!

- What the [bleep] is going on here? - Get back!

Flora? I just want to keep you safe.

Mama.

It is hour 14 of Lee Harris' stand off here

at what may be the most famous,

or should I say infamous house in the country.

We are currently considering this a hostage situation.

We have several conflicting reports

saying that she has her daughter and another child in there.

Maybe our negotiator can make some progress.

When you look at what's happening can you tell us

what do you know about her, what is she like?

Well, you know, we worked together.

A quick hello at the premier was our only interaction.

I remember she wears Shalimar.

You decided not to go back to the reality show, Return To Roanoke.

Yeah, I mean, I was asked, of course.

I want that on the record.

There's been a lot of conflicting reports out there,

but you know, I have the email chain.

Well, if anyone can give us a better sense of who Lee Harris is

it's the last person who interviewed her.

And we have her here exclusively

for her first interview since she was brutally attacked

by Lot Polk.

National treasure, Lana Winters.

Lana, let me be the first to say

it's good to have you back on the air with us.

Looks like you're home from the hospital, resting comfortably.

Yes, indeed.

You and Lee Harris are two women

who are extremely hard to keep down, apparently.

If this is a doubles match, trouble is losing badly.

Well, in many ways I understand Lee Harris.

We are two women for whom trouble just seems to walk alongside,

which is why I think your rather crude analogy

is actually quite true.

Both Lee and I have the capacity or the curse,

depending on how you look at it, to be singular of thought.

Dogs with bones, as they say.

When we latch on to something it becomes our destiny.

And we will do anything to see it through.

And what is that thing for Lee?

Her daughter, of course.

It's always been about Flora.

Flora.

If those settlers didn't want anybody bothering them,

they shouldn't have chosen such a pretty place to make their home.

- Can I have another bar? - Sure.

You must be starving.

What did you eat, out in the woods all that time?

Priscilla showed me stuff.

Berries.

You know, when you're drawing a cat or a house,

and you picture that cat or that house

in your mind?

And it looks so perfect

but you just can't get your hand

to live up to that picture in your head.

That's what it's like to be a parent.

You picture how you want to be.

And it's so wonderful

and flawless.

But you can't ever live up to that picture you imagined.

You killed Daddy.

With a rock.

I saw you.

He was gonna take you away from me.

A girl needs her mother.

Your daddy never understood that.

I am so sorry for the things I've done.

But I am your champion, Flora.

I don't care what the world thinks about me.

To tell you the truth,

the only damn thing I have to live for is to look after you.

So please, Flora, walk out of here with me.

Give me a chance to make that perfect picture with you.

I want to stay here with Priscilla.

She needs me.

That's not gonna work, baby.

What are you gonna do for shelter?

You can't grow big and strong off a few berries.

I can if I'm like her.

I could keep her safe from The Butcher.

Burn this place to the ground.

No, you can't do that.

You have to come with me.

- In time, you'll understand. - No!

- Never! - Flora!

Flora, I won't let you do that.

You have to live your life!

With or without me.

I made a great big mess of my life.

But those are my sins, not yours.

Why won't anyone listen to me?

This is what I want.

What do you mean, "Why won't anyone listen to you?"

Priscilla won't do it, she's afraid.

But I told her it's okay. I'm gonna get one of the other ones to do it.

No, you will not!

I am still your mother! Do you hear me?

- And I forbid it. - I don't care!

I'm gonna do it and you can't stop me!

What if I stay and look after Priscilla?

I fought off The Butcher twice.

I could do a much better job at protecting her.

The Butcher would get you eventually.

Not if I'm like her.

Not if Priscilla did to me

what you want her to do to you.

You can go live with your grandparents.

I know you like them.

Priscilla needs a mommy.

Let me do that for her and for you.

You can come visit us

when it's not the blood moon.

And in time, you may feel differently about me.

Please, let me do that for you.

What do you think?

Shit! Smoke!

Shit, I smell a gas leak.

It's gonna be okay.