Original subtitles

- Shh!

Shh! It's okay, Joshua, it's okay.

We'll be home soon.

Shh! Honey, it's okay.

- What's going on?

- Miss Chandler, you're in Mercy Hospital.

You've been in an accident.

It's okay. You've suffered some nasty head bangs.

But you're gonna be fine.

- Where's my baby?

Joshua, where's Joshua?

- Miss Chandler, the baby did not survive the accident.

I'm sorry.

- What? No, that's not possible.

He was in a car seat. He's okay, he's gonna be okay.

I have to get help, please. Please help!

Let me go, please!

- You're gonna be okay.

- Isoflurane to calm her, please.

- Yes, Doctor.

- Miss Chandler, you're lucky to be alive.

- I need to see Joshua. I need to see my baby.

- We're gonna keep you here overnight

for some X-rays and a CT scan.

I'll be back in the morning to check in on you.

- Hi, sweetie.

Missy wrote you this note.

We want you to come home.

- Dear Arry, we're going to take care of you.

Come back home and stay with us so you'll get better.

Love, Missy.

- You don't need to make a decision right now.

Just give it time. You have a lot to deal with.

- We'll stay right here with you.

- No.

- Give her time.

She's in shock.

She just needs to be with herself.

- No, I wanna stay here with her.

- Come on, let's go.

We'll check in on her tomorrow.

She needs to rest.

- Excuse me, Mrs. Chandler?

I'm Detective Lenny Briggs, Madison PD.

Are you feeling up to answering a few questions?

- She's not, Mr. Briggs. She's recovering from trauma.

- I'll be brief.

- Keep it very brief, Mr. Briggs.

- I'm sorry about your loss, Mrs. Chandler.

- I need to find Joshua. I need to find my son.

- I know about the loss of your husband.

And now this. I realize this is a very difficult time.

But when someone's deceased as a result of an accident,

we need to determine the- - Joshua isn't dead.

- Do you remember what happened?

- I was driving my car. - Just you and the child?

- Yes.

- Were you taking any drugs or alcohol?

- No.

- Sorry, I... I had to ask.

Given your history.

- There was a man, in the road.

I had to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting him.

- What did the man look like?

- I, I couldn't get a good look at him,

but he had on a hood or a hoodie?

No, no, it was a robe. It was a black robe.

- You saw a man standing in the middle of the road

wearing a black robe?

- I mean, I don't know who or what it was,

but it looked like a man.

I think I hit him.

- Mrs. Chandler, I was on the scene about an hour

after it happened and there was no other body.

Except for your son.

- My son?

No, it's not my son.

You didn't find my son.

- I'm so sorry.

- That's enough. Out.

- God. Tawnie.

- God, you look like shit,

and you're still beautiful.

I'm jealous.

- What time is it?

- After three in the morning.

- How'd you get in?

- Snuck up the back stairs.

Man, what the hell happened?

- I wrecked my car. I...

They say that Joshua's dead.

- What?

God, Ari, I'm... I'm so sorry.

- And there was this man.

He stepped out in front of the car.

I swerved to avoid hitting him, I...

I might have killed him.

- You're sure?

- Yes, I...

I think so.

- Look, you've been under a lot of stress, I mean,

Cody's suicide, now this?

- I'm not making this up.

Joshua isn't dead. Someone took him.

- Whatever happened, I'm here for you, okay?

- Yeah.

I know.

- So when are you bustin' outta here?

- I'm getting released tomorrow.

I'm going back to my parents' house.

- That's gonna be rough.

- It's only until I get back on my feet.

Till I find Joshua.

I have to move out of my place.

Do you think you could help me?

- Yes, of course. Just call me, okay?

- I will.

Thanks.

- Come on. Let's get your stuff.

- Yeah.

I can't believe I'm moving back here.

- You can always come live with me.

I'm only with Gabe.

It's no fun being a single parent.

- I'll be okay.

- Well, the invitation always stands.

Gabe loves you.

- I know, I just want my parents to know

I'm not rejecting their offer to help.

And it means a lot to Missy.

- No worries.

Come on. Let's get these boxes out of the car.

Somebody's happy to see you.

- You're room is just as you left it.

We didn't change a thing.

- Thanks, Mom.

- It'll be nice to have you back home again.

- Where's Dad?

- He's working.

As usual.

- Speaking of work. I gotta get back.

- Thanks for all your help, Tawnie.

- Anything for you, girlfriend.

- Well, don't just stand there, squirt.

Grab a box and let's go.

- Okay.

- Do you need help with that?

- We got it.

- You happy to have me back?

- Yeah, I'm really happy to have you back, Ari.

- Just like Mom said.

Just like I left it.

- Mommy said that Cody killed himself after the war

because he saw bad things when he was there.

- Missy!

Downstairs!

Now!

- I didn't mean anything by it.

- Now, young lady!

Missy?

Let's not talk about Uncle Cody to your sister, okay?

- Okay.

Mom?

Is Ari going to leave us again?

- Looks like she's back to stay, honey.

- Good.

- Ari?

- Yeah, come in.

- Missy's so excited to have you home.

We all are.

Even your father, he just...

He just isn't so good at showing it.

- Same old dad.

- So...

I know you're dealing with a lot.

And if it ever gets too overwhelming or-

- You mean if I try to kill myself?

- I didn't say that. - Don't worry, Mom.

I'm over that.

I can deal with this, okay? - Okay.

- Hey, Mom?

When Timmy passed away, how old was he?

- I don't wanna talk about Timmy.

Six months.

- And you said it was because of crib death?

- That's what the doctor said, and the coroner.

- But you didn't believe them.

- You know what I believe.

- Mom, these stories that you told us when we were little?

Do you think that they were true?

- Let's not talk about this.

The past is in the past. That was so long ago.

Maybe you should talk to Dr. Woods.

She was really helpful for me when I lost Timmy.

- I don't need a psychiatrist.

- Okay.

- Oh, um...

Mom, do you think it would be okay

if I borrowed the car while I'm home?

- Of course, hon.

- Thanks.

Mom?

Thanks.

Jesus, Paulie! You scared the shit out of me.

- Sorry.

I heard about the accident.

I'm really sorry, Ari.

- How have you been?

- It's all good.

- How's your dad?

- Still a pain in the ass.

Are you living at home now?

- Yeah. I don't know for how long.

- Well, it's really good to have you back.

- Thanks.

- Hey, if you need to talk or anything, just stop by.

We're right nextdoor. Just a short walk.

- I will, Paulie.

Thanks.

- Dad would love to see you, too. It's been a while.

- Hey, Paulie?

- Yeah?

- Thanks.

- Yeah.

No.

Christ, Dad. How did you get in here?

- I tried knocking. Door was open.

Welcome home.

- Thanks.

- Sorry about everything you're going through.

If there's anything your mother or I could do

to help, just ask.

- I will.

- Things have been pretty peaceful around here

since you left.

- Well, don't worry, Dad.

As soon as I find Joshua and I get back on my feet,

I'll be out of here. - That's not what I meant.

- Well maybe it's not what you meant but I get the message.

Yes?

- Sorry to bother you

so early in the morning, Mrs. Chandler.

- Have you found Joshua?

- Joshua passed away in the accident, Mrs. Chandler.

- I don't believe that.

- I'm gonna need you to come down to the station.

There's a few questions I need to ask you.

- What kind of questions?

- We can cover that at the station.

- Well, maybe you should be trying to find Joshua,

rather than asking me questions.

- I must insist, Mrs. Chandler.

- All right.

Let me get dressed.

- I need you to take me back

to the night of the accident.

- I already told you everything I remember.

- Tell me again.

- I was in my car. Joshua was in the back seat.

- What was your state of mind?

- Do you mean was I drunk?

I've been sober for a long time.

- Losing your husband,

being left to raise your baby all alone.

That's a lot of pressure.

- I can handle being alone.

- Attempted suicide when you were 22.

Drug and alcohol problems. History of depression.

In fact, depression runs in your family. Doesn't it?

- That all changed when I met Cody.

- Yeah, Cody. Your husband.

He joined the army. Deployed to the Middle East.

Comes back with PTSD and commits suicide.

That is a hell of a lot to deal with for a single mom.

- What are you getting at?

- Okay, so, you're driving. Then what?

- Joshua started crying, so I turned around to comfort him.

- Oh, so you took your eyes off the road?

- For just a second.

And then when I turned back around,

there was a man in the road.

- Then what?

- I swerved to avoid hitting him.

- Did you hit him?

- I don't know, I...

I don't remember anything after that.

- What do you think happened?

- I think it was the Hoodman.

I think it took my kid.

- "The Hoodman"?

The urban legend?

- Yes.

- Mrs. Chandler, I want you to look at these.

- What's this?

- Those are photographs of your son.

It's how we found him in the car seat.

- No.

- Look at them, Mrs. Chandler.

You can't argue with the facts.

- He was taken!

- You wanna know what I think?

I think you couldn't cope,

with your husband committing suicide.

Left all alone to raise a six-month-old all by yourself

and uh, you couldn't take the pressure.

So you wanted to end it. - I wouldn't do that.

- Why wouldn't you?

It wouldn't be your first attempt at suicide.

- I would never do something like that again.

- I know what it's like to lose someone.

Especially a kid.

I lost my son.

- I'm sorry.

I didn't know that.

- Finding out what happened to him...

It's the only thing that keeps me living.

I don't buy this Hoodman angle.

I only believe in plausible explanations.

- Am I under arrest?

- No, not yet.

- Okay.

Then I'm leaving.

- I'll be in touch.

- I like having you around now.

Now I have someone to do stuff with.

- Well don't you have any friends?

- No.

Nobody likes me.

- Hey.

- They don't wanna play with me.

- Why would you say that?

- They think I'm weird.

- You're not weird.

- Walk to your own beat, Missy. That's what I always did.

- And that's why you were the weirdest girl

I knew in high school.

- Seriously, do your own thing.

- Where's Gabe?

- He's with his dad this weekend.

- Oh, my god.

- Keep pushing. - What's wrong?

- I thought I saw someone.

- I don't see anyone.

- Push!

- Hey, we should get going.

Okay?

- Why do we have to leave so soon?

- I'll call you later, okay?

Come on, hon.

Missy...

If you ever see anything strange or unusual,

I want you to tell me, okay?

- Like what?

- Anything.

Deal?

- Deal.

- I'm happy you chose to see me, Ariana.

You've been through quite a series of ordeals.

- Enough to see a head doctor.

- There's nothing wrong with psychotherapy.

I helped your mom once

when she was going through a difficult trauma.

- The only difficult trauma I'm going through

is trying to find my son.

- And what do you think happened with Joshua?

- I don't know. I just know that he can't be dead.

- And why do you say that? - Because I know.

He was...

Taken.

- Who do you believe took him?

- The Hoodman.

- Your mother mentioned this Hoodman character

when she was seeing me.

She believed he was responsible for the loss of her child.

- Yes, and she still believes that to this day.

You know, people, they say that this is just a story,

but it's not, I know that it's true.

I saw him and he caused the accident.

This man, he is stealing children.

- Ari, urban legends are just a form of folklore.

They're stories that are passed on orally

and on the internet.

They're not real.

They're just tales.

- But what if they're based on truth?

- Well, I know you believe that.

- My mother has been telling me these stories

even since I was little, but, but it wasn't just her.

These stories have been circulating around this town

for as long as I can remember.

- When people are under great stress,

such as with a trauma or the loss of a loved one,

some violent incident, their minds can make them believe

that things are happening that aren't real.

- I'm not crazy, and I'm not making this up.

- Well, you've been conditioned for a long time

to believe these things.

You've suffered a tremendous loss.

The loss of your husband and then right on the heels of that

the accident in which you lost your son.

You somehow feel responsible

and it's these negative feelings

that are driving your thoughts.

- The man that I saw is real.

- Well, that's what we're here to work on.

- All right, big jump.

- Okay.

One, two, three.

- That was great!

This was a really good idea.

She doesn't have a chance to get out much.

- What are neighbors for?

Besides, you being home is the most excitement

I've had in a long time.

You know, I used to have a crush on you in high school?

- I never knew that.

- I just was too afraid to come up and say something.

- No, it's weird, we lived across from each other

for so long, but I never really saw you.

- Yeah, we just stayed in our own place,

and then, after Mom died...

- Yeah.

Hey, I never had a chance to tell you

how sorry I was about that.

- It's okay.

- She was sick for a while, right?

- Cancer.

- Yeah, it's tough losing people that you love.

- Dad didn't take it too well.

I still don't think he's gotten over it.

- Cannonball!

- That was the best one yet.

Oh, hi, Mr. Montgomery.

I haven't seen you in ages.

- Well, Ariana, I'm sorry to hear about your loss.

Enjoy your ice cream.

- Is he okay?

- Yeah, he's just been like that since Mom passed.

He's, he's all right.

He's happy you're home.

- Yeah, you could've fooled me.

- We both are.

- That was so much fun. - Yeah?

You ready for some ice cream? - Yeah!

I can't wait to have some ice cream.

- Mm-hm.

Look at the flavor. - Vanilla!

- Mm-hm! - My favorite flavor.

- Someone had their fill of swimming today, and ice cream.

- I really love when we do stuff together.

- Me too.

I miss that.

So you had fun today?

- I had lots of fun. - Good.

- And I saw you with Paulie.

- Yeah? - Yes.

- Well, so what?

- Do you like him?

- No, no. Paulie is just a friend.

- A friend? - Mm-hm!

- Oh, really? - Yes, I promise!

What if I were to pinky promise he's just a friend?

Would you believe me?

- Fine.

I do believe you.

- Okay.

That's enough for now. You gotta get to bed, okay?

- Okay. - Goodnight.

- Night night.

- Look, Joshua's gone, Ari.

The sooner you can accept that, the better.

- If it were Gabriel, you would feel different.

- Look, sometimes when there's an accident,

and the death is very sudden,

the spirit can remain in the material world.

- What are you saying?

That the ghost of my son is haunting me?

- I'm saying there's an energy.

A spirit energy.

You owe it to yourself to at least look into it.

You still having nightmares?

- Yeah.

- Man, there's been weird things going on

in this town as long as I can remember.

Kids dying.

Kids disappearing.

The whole thing gives me the creeps.

If it were me, I tell you what I'd do.

Research.

- There's a lot more here than I thought.

A local author named Frank Hackman

submitted this personal journal to the library.

He claims that his own child was abducted

by some form of sandman.

- Hoodman?

- The Hoodman. That's it.

He claims that this Hoodman is real.

I'm gonna be around for a couple more hours.

If there's anything you need.

There's more information here and the books are full of it.

- Okay, thank you for your help.

- Who is it?

- Mr. Hackman?

My name is Ariana Chandler.

I need to talk to you. It's about your daughter.

- Go away!

- Mr. Hackman, I need to know about the Hoodman.

- Are you a reporter?

- I'm not a reporter, Mr. Hackman. I lost my son.

- What do you want?

- I've seen him.

The Hoodman?

- Where did you see him?

- I was driving my car and he stepped out in front of it.

I crashed and I lost my baby.

- What did he look like?

- He had a dark cloak and a hood.

- And have you seen him since?

- Yes. I believe that he's following me.

- In your dreams?

- Yes.

- She was seven.

When he took her.

The bedroom window was open and I, I, I never saw her again.

- I'm sorry.

- I've spent my life trying to convince people

that he's real.

To those who believe in him.

My daughter...

Believed in him.

And if you've seen him,

if you believe in him,

you're in danger.

- So what do I do to stop him?

- Stop believing in him.

- I'm sorry, this was a mistake.

- Miss Chandler?

Hello, Frank.

Oh, god. This place is a dump.

How do you live like this?

- I get by.

- I never liked you, Frank.

You were a weirdo in high school,

and you're still a weirdo.

- Ow!

God!

Damn it!

- You shouldn't play with guns, Frank.

One's liable to go off. Someone might get hurt.

You know, I don't believe in all this

boogie man crap that you're into.

I don't believe in fairytales and

I don't believe in all this myth shit.

But what I do believe is that someone's out there

playing dress-up and victimizing people.

You wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Frank?

- You think I'd kill my own daughter?

Hoodman is not a myth!

- "Hoodman."

You know, for a grown man,

you sure got a lot of kid stuff around here.

This belong to one of the victims?

- It belonged to my daughter.

- I need you to come down to the station tomorrow, Frank.

There's some questions I need to ask you.

Seven AM, tomorrow morning.

Don't be late.

- Hello?

- Every time a child goes missing in this town,

you're somewhere nearby.

That a coincidence, Frank?

And you think this Hoodman, he's responsible, huh?

From where I stand, imaginary evil spirits don't kill kids.

- That's because you're not a believer.

- You believe that this Hoodman, he uh,

he took your daughter too, huh?

- I know he did.

- So what does he do with these kids, Frank?

- He puts them to sleep,

assimilates their spirit and they pass away.

- That's kind of a stretch, don't you think?

- I wouldn't expect you to understand.

- Where were you the night

your daughter went missing, Frank?

- I was at work.

My boss vouched for me. It's in the first investigation.

- Yeah, I can see that. Lucky for you he did, huh?

- I didn't kill her!

She was taken!

- It says here the babysitter was found dead.

No sign of forced entry into the house,

and you found your daughter gone from her bed.

And she's not been heard from since.

That was 14 years ago.

No body was ever found.

- That's right.

- And since then, four other kids have gone missing

under similar circumstances.

- There's more than that.

If you go back far enough.

There's even more still if you go outside the county.

There are hundreds of children who have gone missing,

and nobody has ever found them!

What do you say about that, Lenny, huh?

You think I did that too?

- Were you anywhere near Hobbs Ferry road

the night that Ariana Chandler's baby was killed?

- No.

Look, do I need a lawyer here?

- You can't afford a lawyer, Frank.

You don't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out.

- Then can I go?

- Yeah.

- Can you read me a story, like you used to?

- You're getting a little old for stories, don't you think?

Besides, it's way past your bedtime.

You should've been asleep hours ago.

- Do you miss Cody?

- Yes, sweetie.

I miss Cody very much.

- Mommy said not to ask you about him.

She said it would make you really upset.

- No, it's okay.

- Why did Cody kill himself?

Wasn't he happy?

- Sweetie, sometimes when people go to war,

they do terrible things,

and Cody saw too many of them.

He just couldn't cope.

- So he killed himself because he didn't wanna think about

all those bad things anymore?

- That's enough for tonight, sweetie. It's time for bed.

Goodnight.

- Ari?

At night, I have bad dreams.

- What kind of bad dreams?

- I don't really wanna talk about them right now.

- Just close your eyes and count to 100.

Before you know it, you'll be fast asleep.

- One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

- Shit.

Come on. Pick up, pick up, pick up!

- Hey-oh, it's Paulie.

Leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

- Paulie. Paulie, there is someone outside of your house.

They're near your pool. Please.

Please meet me out there, Paulie.

Paulie?

Paulie, are you home?

Whoa, it's just me.

It's just me. - Oh, geez.

You scared the shit out of me, Paulie!

- Sorry. I really gotta stop doing that.

I just had a look around.

There's no boogie man. I checked.

- Paulie, there was someone standing by your pool.

- Maybe it was just Dad sleepwalking.

He does that sometimes.

- No, no, it wasn't your dad sleepwalking.

- Ari, listen to me.

There's no one else here besides Dad and I.

I want you to go home and just get some rest.

- Okay.

- I'll come by and check on you in the morning.

I'm gonna go to bed.

- Okay.

Oh, my god.

Missy.

Missy, run!

He's behind you, run! Missy!

Hello?

Anyone!

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

Ten.

Mom?

Missy?

Shit.

Hello?

Is someone downstairs?

Hello?

Is anybody there?

Smoky!

What are you doing?

Stupid cat.

Shit, my phone.

Oh, god. Shit.

Paulie! Paulie, wake up!

Paulie!

No.

Stop! Stop, please!

Stop, stop!

Please, you gotta me! There's someone after me!

- Ari? - Who's after you?

- Please! - Ari.

Ari, what are you doing? - Paulie, you have to-

- Hey, I'm so sorry.

I got her, I got her.

Come on. - He's after me, I swear.

He's coming! - Okay, okay, calm down.

Look at me, look at me. You need to get a hold of yourself.

There's nobody trying to get you right now.

- No, Paulie, he's here. Please.

- Okay, how about this?

We can go check together and show you

that there's no one there.

It's just your head playing tricks.

Yeah?

Coast is clear.

- What about the alley?

- If it makes you feel any better, I can call the police.

- No, no.

- You can always stay here. I'll just sleep on the couch.

- No, I wanna make sure Missy's safe

and I don't wanna scare her.

- Listen, I'll keep my cell on.

And if you have any concerns, just give me a call.

I'll come right over.

- Deal.

- Hey.

It's on.

- Thanks, Paulie.

Jesus.

Hello?

- Are you okay?

You're not answering any of my texts.

- Yeah, I must have slept in.

- Are you having nightmares again?

- Nightmares again.

- Why don't you come over later?

- Yeah. Yeah, I'll see you later.

Jesus.

Mom?

Dad?

- Oh, it's about time you got up.

Sleeping in lately.

- What's the deal with the electric?

- We didn't notice anything.

- The power's been going in and out all night.

- How do you want your eggs?

- I'm not hungry.

- You look like crap.

- Thanks, Dad. I had a rough night.

Nightmares.

- Have you been taking your meds?

- Yes, I've been taking my meds.

You know, I don't know why you guys

keep treating me like a baby, I'm fine.

- We're concerned about you.

- Oh. That's a nice change.

- Gabriel napping is my favorite part of the day.

Peace and quiet, finally.

Are you okay?

- I've been having nightmares that I swear are real.

I need to know what happened to Joshua.

I need to know if he's alive, or...

You're good with all of this spirit stuff. What can you do?

- Look, I'm into healing spirit energy. I'm...

I'm not psychic, Ari.

- Please.

I need to know. Can you just try?

- Ari, I don't think that's a good idea.

- Please.

- We call upon all the powers of the unseen world

to help us.

We ask the universal spirits to assist us.

Spirit.

Are you there?

Spirit.

Can you hear us?

Please, help us to find the answers we seek.

Spirit.

Are you there?

Spirit.

We call upon you.

Please give us a sign that you are there.

- Joshua?

Is that you?

- Spirit, we seek to know the whereabouts

of Joshua Logan Chandler.

- I feel a chill.

There's something here.

- Spirit, we feel your presence.

Spirit.

Is Joshua Chandler safe?

Spirit!

Is Joshua Chandler alive or dead?

I think you should go.

Please.

You have to go.

- Tawnie, I, I felt something. I felt Joshua.

- That wasn't Joshua.

Please, you have to go.

This is getting even too weird for me.

Go, please!

- Mr. Hackman?

Oh, my god.

Oh, my god.

Oh, my god.

Tawnie!

Tawnie, are you home?

Tawnie?

Tawnie!

Tawnie!

Gabe.

Gabe!

Oh, god.

Shit.

Missy!

Missy!

Missy!

- Yeah.

Yeah, I need you to step out for court

and bring all your stuff with you.

You don't have to push the button.

- Missy?

Missy?

Missy?

Missy, I'm coming, sweetheart.

Missy?

♪ La, la, la-la, la ♪

♪ La, la-la, la-la ♪

- Missy?

Missy, sweetheart, is that you?

- Ari, what's wrong?

- Oh, thank god, Missy. I thought something happened to you.

Missy, we have to leave this house right now.

- Where's Mom and Dad? - Sweetie, we need to go!

Hurry.

- Ari, are you okay? What's happening?

- If you believe in him...

- Ari, what's wrong?

- You're in danger.

- What's the matter?

- Ariana!

Ariana!

- So what do I do to stop him?

- Stop believing in him.

- You're not real.

You're not real, you're not real.

You're not real.

You're not real.

You're not real.

Oh, my god.

- Freeze! Hands up!

- It's okay.

He can't hurt us anymore.

It's over.

- Call us when you get to Colorado.

- We're really gonna miss you.

- Can I go with you to see the Grand Canyon?

- Oh, sweetie. You've gotta go to school.

And take care of Mom and Dad.

- I don't want you to go.

- I will call you every day.

And when I come home, I'll take you to Disneyland.

- Promise?

- Promise.

- Come on.

- Hey.

- Hi.

- Are you sure you don't wanna stay and marry me?

- Yeah, Paulie, I'm sure.

I have to take some time for myself.

Learn how to live on my own.

- Yeah, I understand.

Just really gonna miss you.

- Take care of your dad, okay?

And out look for them too.

- Will do.

- Bye.

- See ya.

- Mommy?

Daddy?