Original subtitles

Kesha here.

When I'm not on stage, I'm exploring my connection

to the supernatural.

This is my twisted journey into the heart of darkness.

I'm surrounding myself with top paranormal experts.

I heard a growl, I heard it.

[screams]

And I'm bringing along my friends for the whole terrifying trip.

Is there a spirit here? [screams]

[woman screaming]

They say what happens in life can follow you into death.

I am here to test that theory at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary.

One of the most haunted prisons in the United States.

And with me on this journey is a very good friend of mine.

The gorgeous, the talented, the hilarious Whitney Cummings.

This is not the plus one.

-I was hoping to be-- -You are my plus one.

[both laugh]

In case you've been living under a rock,

you don't know who Whitney Cummings is.

She's a television producer. She's a comedian.

She's an actress.

She does everything.

When do I get to go to the Grammys?

[laughs]

Kesha's like 100% in.

She's always been a believer. She's super respectful.

She has a very gentle energy.

I just want to make sure I don't go in with any, like, bad vibes.

I have to see it to believe it type of thing.

It is oddly beautiful.

So it closed, like, 12 years ago.

-That's not that long ago. -I know.

-Because it was too [bleep] up. -Oh, God.

Are you ready for this?

[Kesha] There are places in this world that are destined for evil.

Brushy Mountain Penitentiary is among those places.

The folks who lived out their lives here

were some of the worst offenders of all time in life.

And allegedly, their spirits still remain in death

trapped within these stone walls.

I'm taking a trip into its darkness,

hoping that the light I carry inside myself

is strong enough to protect me from the evil.

That is Bloody Brushy.

The prison itself was actually built by the prisoners in 1896

in the shape of an upside down crucifix.

Like a bad omen,

it's prisoners were deemed unworthy of God.

The imprisoned were a mix of hardened homicidal maniacs

alongside the unwanted and misunderstood members of society.

More than 10,000 of them died within the prison

before it finally shut its doors in 2009.

Is that why this place is so haunted?

Or is it something even more sinister?

I'm entering the darkness that is Brushy.

Time to face my fears.

Spirits, ghosts, angels, other dimensional beings,

wherever you are.

We are interested in your story.

I'm here to see the supernatural and let it play out

in front of my eyes and really make me a believer

in something other than people.

So, we're going to go meet Debbie,

who was a correctional officer here.

And, hopefully, she's going to protect us from the ghost

'cause if she's a correctional officer, maybe they're still...

[both scream]

-What's happening? -Whitney,

-are you okay? -No.

[bleep]

-I'm leaving. -Wait, what happened?

This wrist hurts like someone was, like, holding it or pulling on it.

-[gasps] -That is very weird.

Because it just, it felt, it just felt like someone

was squeezing my wrist really hard and that it stopped.

Well, there's only one way to find out what's happening.

Me go home? No problem.

She's not gonna be my friend by the end of this one.

This is wild.

You're slowly wandering towards the front door too.

I know.

-Don't you kinda wanna do it? -Because I want to see if it's gonna happen again.

-Should we see if it's the building? -Yeah.

-You want to try again? -Yes. Yes.

Yes.

I'm coming in. You guys don't have to drag me.

-Oh, I'm nervous. -This is so weird.

This is very spooky.

Ai, yai, yai.

It smells interesting.

Just felt dead. Like...

I just can, like, feel the death.

-Hi. -Hi.

-Hi, are you Debbie? -I'm Debbie.

Welcome to the infamous and dark Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary.

I started work here at the prison in 1980.

I worked here until the prison closed in 2009.

Wow.

If you want to, we're going to start this way.

-[Kesha] We'll follow you. -Okay.

And I'm going to take you down one of the cell blocks

where I used to do rounds and work.

So, what kind of things did you witness here as a guard?

There was violence here almost daily.

And one day, this inmate got in.

and when he went by, something hit us in the chest.

Oh.

Blood was splattering all the way down the hallway

every step he took.

Somebody had snuck up behind him and slit him

from one ear to the other.

Both of his main arteries had been severed.

-So, you were here for all that? -Yes.

Have you ever seen anything paranormal or?

I have, yes.

I have been told to get out.

Up in the hospital in particular.

I've got that one night and I immediately left.

You could hear it.

[in hoarse voice] Get out.

-Just out of the thin air? -Yes.

Disembodied voice.

Have people ever come in here and just been, like,

-"I'm leaving." Like, I don't like the way. -Oh, yes, they do.

People come in here and get nauseated and sick

and have to be escorted out and people get scratched sometimes.

-Scratched, like, by a spirit? -Yes.

So do you think the spirits are good or evil?

We have both.

We have definitely had some experience here

that points to demons.

If they were evil in life, they're going to be evil in death.

Okay, so next, you're going to go over and meet some of

the descendants of the original owners of the land here.

And they're going to have some really interesting stories

to share with you.

[Kesha] Debbie is a badass.

I kind of want to know more about the demons.

I know y'all are gonna be, like, "Go in there and sit there by yourself

and, like, sleep there."

And I'll probably do it because I'm not a pussy,

but...

I am terrified of that part.

We're heading to cellblock D now.

Ooh!

I feel like the demon thing is kind of murky at the moment,

but she said that Courtaney and Jaime who are two sisters

that were relatives to the man that owned this prison

know a little more about the demon thing

'cause I feel like we should know about it sooner rather than later

'cause it's starting to get dark.

So if there are demons that are to come out,

let a bitch know.

-Hi. -Hi.

Hi.

-How are y'all? -Hi.

-Jaime. -And I'm Courtaney.

Hi. Kesha.

So did you work with Debbie?

No, no, no, um, our great great grandfather signed this over in 1894.

-Oh. -When it shut down,

we had family still here that had keys,

so we came in and started playing a little bit.

Dubious honor.

Weird gift to inherit.

Right?

It's been fun though.

[Kesha] So what's the paranormal activity

you've seen at in cellblock D?

We've seen apparition, shadow figures.

We've been touched, things slammed.

We were getting a lot of growls.

-We were getting growls. Yeah. -Growls?

Disembodied voices. Footsteps.

One of the girls, the last time this was open

that was with us.

She recited the Lord's Prayer and all of a sudden she says

her back's burning.

We turn her around and she has three big claw marks

down the length of her back.

After reciting the Lord's Prayer.

Is that demonic?

[Jaime] We believe so.

[Courtaney] Yeah.

I wouldn't go trying to poke that bear

and to get something bad to happen

because I can guarantee you it will.

Being a spiritual explorer. It's all very fun and whimsical

and light and magical and existential,

spiritual.

But this [bleep] does not feel magical.

Would you say in your experience that

it's the same paranormal entity every time?

It goes back and forth, mainly from here

to the old hospital area is where it goes.

Do you want me to take you where we think that negativity

has moved to?

Not really, but...

-Well they like women, so you're on the trip. -Great.

Let's go.

This is it.

Y'all ready?

No.

Holy [bleep].

Hmm, I don't like it.

So over here is where we get the creeper

-that's... -What's the creeper?

The creeper's on his belly.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

[Jaime] We used an SLS camera in here one time

and it came out into the floor and then it went up the wall

and it just, it was just--

-Oh, no, no. -Yeah.

Like, it's like a snake or spiders or something.

-Yeah, like a spider... -That's what I'm seeing in my head.

Ew.

The creeper is, like, not my favorite story.

No.

No.

It just sounds so evil, sounds so dark.

It sounds so creepy.

No.

The guy that had his... what we think was a position

-that happened in here. -Uh-huh.

He was over here.

We heard a noise that sounded like Darth Vader

and so I flipped my light on.

All you saw was the whites of his eyes.

Then I said, "Are you okay?"

And he was like, "Yeah, I'm okay.

-Are we gonna do this ghost hunt or what?" -[gasps]

Like, he didn't even recall coming in here.

No.

-Oh. -What?

No, I just felt, like, kind of pukey.

-Do you feel nauseous? -Yeah.

I think it's time for Kesha to step out.

-I feel like if you're dizzy and nauseous, -Yeah.

we should step out for a minute.

When she's talking about the possession.

I just start getting really sharp pains in my stomach.

And I have a headache and my instincts are saying,

"Get out of this room."

Yeah, I'm into, like, leaving.

I very much believe there's something here.

I respect it.

And I don't want to poke the bear.

Okay, I'm making the executive decision to be done for the day.

I have the keys, but I'm done.

It's a very good call.

-See you tomorrow. -Maybe.

Okay, I'm back.

It's day two at the penitentiary.

I didn't really want to come back here

because I feel like the energy is weirdly ominous.

I don't really know what to do with it.

So, I called for backup.

I have a Catholic demonologist coming in to help us.

His name is Michael Salerno.

Maybe he can help out with the demons, I'm hoping.

Because I don't know what to do with demons.

Like, I'm into the supernatural.

I love a little friendly spooky moment.

It's cute, but like a demon?

I don't really want to [bleep] with a demon.

I don't want to do something that I don't know how to undo.

How are you feeling?

Yesterday, I definitely wasn't able to totally process

what happened with my wrist getting grabbed.

Like, the more I thought about it, the weirder it got.

[screams]

This wrist hurts like someone was, like, holding it

or pulling on it.

Like, I just was looking for some way to justify it

and there's just nothing.

Well, so here's my question.

How do you feel about going back in here today?

I'm excited to have someone with us that can sort of walk us through it.

-And talk us through it. -That knows what he's dealing with.

Yes, that knows what he's doing.

-So, I also-- -What are you saying?

He's a demonologist.

I also have some questions about some of my exes.

Um, that I'd like to ask.

-Okay. -No jokes today.

No jokes today, but can you do it?

-Can you do it? -No.

-Michael, hi. -Hi.

I at first was looking forward to working with a demonologist

to kind of demystify everything.

Explain what's the difference between a ghost and a demon.

-Have you been here before? -No.

But I also kind of don't want him to come here

because if I was a demon or a ghost,

I would torture the "ghost hunter" demonologists people

and that would be the funniest thing to do.

[laughs]

So, last night at the hotel, I made a list of all the weird things

-that have happened. -Let's hear it.

Physical manifestation through illness.

-I felt nauseous and my head was hurting and... -You were dizzy.

I was dizzy and her wrist got grabbed.

We heard story of a girl getting scratched.

There's really heavy air upstairs.

The temperature drops or rises really quickly.

Then we heard about this guy named the Creeper

who was laying on the ground and crawled up a wall

which is particularly alarming to me because I'm not into that.

And in the same room where that happened,

-someone got possessed. -Okay.

The stuff that you just described does point

to some sort of diabolical presence here

which would mean an inhuman spirit or a demon.

I'm thinking what we have here is a hodgepodge

-of different hauntings going on. -We got ghosts, we got demons.

Right. We have human spirits and demonic spirits possibly.

You obviously know the history of this place.

10,000 inmates have died here

in mostly not dignified deaths.

No, this place is brutal.

There is a lot of hate, sorrow and anger in this place.

And what does the devil like?

A demon. It likes misery.

It loves pain and suffering.

And they would look at this place and say, "Hmm,

I could get a lot of energy from there."

Why would it leave? They've been here forever.

Ooh.

-Do you think people are good? -No.

Human nature is negative.

It is so easy to be evil.

It's very hard to live a good and pure life.

So, you did a little writing last night. So did I.

-Okay. -I'm going to read this to you

'cause it's something that I think that you should know.

A demon is a very powerful, fierce and evil, non-human, spiritual being.

They are hunters and tricksters whose goal

is to get human beings to lower their guard

so that they can begin the process to possession.

Possession is the invasion of the mind and body

by a demonic force.

The effects are life shattering,

producing mental health disorders, physical illness

and criminal behavior.

Where there is light, there is darkness.

In Catholicism, we believe that demons operate

from pure darkness, pure evil, pure hate.

This is not an area of the spirit world's plane.

If you play with fire, you will get burned.

What the [bleep] are we doing?

I have a couple of experiments that I think we can use

without endangering you.

This is a palm and this is blessed.

If we put this down in an area that possibly has a negative entity,

it may not be too happy about it and could manipulate it,

move it, whatever.

The other thing that we can do is

I have a bell that my priest gave me.

It's been told to me that this bell summons angels...

Okay.

So what we're going to do

is we're going to hang this bell,

and it's going to hang down.

And if something moves it or manipulates it.

[bell tinkles]

We'll know.

Got it.

Okay.

I also have this which is motion sensor

and if something passes in front of it,

it'll play a nice little tune.

[melody box playing]

Think of a creepier tune.

[laughs] Are you serious?

If that goes off and no one's doing it.

I'm not even joking, I am so gone.

I am so gone.

These things are very powerful spiritual beings

that you cannot see and hate you.

-If you're doing it with us, I feel okay. -I'm staying.

-You are staying. -Okay, if you're staying.

-I will stay. -Okay.

I can help guide you through this.

I can't guarantee that you will come out unscathed.

I can't guarantee that I will.

I'm terrified.

Don't be.

I'm ready.

-[laughs] I'm not a quitter. -It feeds on fear.

Okay, yes.

So, why don't we set these up while we can still see

what's going on and take it from there?

No.

No.

No, no, no.

I'm scared. Can I leave yet? [bleep]

He really had me when he said the demons can cause death.

I don't love that.

Michael is gonna stay with us, so if anything goes terribly awry,

which it won't.

He can intervene or, like, help the situation.

Really putting, like, all my eggs in the Michael basket.

This is a lot of [bleep].

We're going to the hospital?

Where's Michael?

Why can't we go together?

Whatever is in here, I'm coming in to set up a music box.

Don't [bleep] with me.

The only thing that I need help with is getting

the other cameras up, so I can see Kesha too,

because I don't see her.

-[Whitney] Am I miked? -[man] Yeah.

Okay. I'm gonna put these down

and if there are any entities in here,

this will either make a noise or this will move.

There's a spirit here. I left a Bible for you.

All right, good.

-This... -[device beeps]

like a little mouse trap.

Can someone hang this bell over the stairs?

[bell dings]

She is coming back now.

-Whitney, it's time to keep our guard up. -Yeah.

You're very funny.

-But, quit it. -Okay.

-[growling voice] Hi. -No, no

Wish us luck.

[REM pod beeps]

[Whitney] What is that?

[object clattering]

What's happening?

Something triggered it.

Whoa.

It's, like, going crazy.

This stairwell is a nightmare.

Is a [bleep] nightmare.

That's the step the guy was sitting on

when he got possessed.

Uh-oh.

Oh, my God.

The bell is swinging.

[Michael] There's something there.

Okay, there's activity up here, so somebody needs to go.

[laughs]

I'll do it.

I'm not one to shy away from scary things.

I love scaring myself.

But...

Okay, okay.

I can do this. I can do this.

I think I have this under control.

-[Kesha] Okay. -Why don't you head out to your location?

Okay.

[object clattering]

It is...

freezing cold up here.

It's stirring.

I hear something.

Is someone here?

Is this the way?

Or is it this way?

Energy, spirit, ghost, demon. Whatever's in here.

How's it going?

I'm gonna do a ghost box session.

Hopefully, I can talk to a nice spirit.

-You can talk into here. -[indistinct voices speaking]

[eerie voice]

You can use this to tell me your name.

[indistinct voices on ghost box]

[Whitney] Hi.

[Michael] Tell it to ask it to move the bell.

Or ask it, if it was the one that move the bell.

Can you do that?

Are you the spirit that moved the bell?

[REM pod beeping]

Copy that.

All right, there's something there.

-Hello... -[indistinct voices speaking]

Is there anybody here?

Any spirits here?

What was that?

Ooh. I think that looks like it.

Spirit...

Do you know who I am?

[REM pod beeping]

Who's here with me? Say your name.

No, not yet.

[gasps]

Okay, so this now says... shoes, gender, clean.

Okay.

May I ask your gender? Are you a man?

Are you a woman?

[REM pod beeping]

Huh.

Are you the spirit that possessed the man

that was here before?

[REM pod beeping]

Okay.

Well...

you can see why that's...

not my favorite answer.

You could control the energy that this thing can get from you.

Is there a demon in this building?

The demon wants a knife?

Hello?

Okay, so the tributary's going off,

so that means a [bleep] ghost is touching it.

No thanks.

Uh-uh.

I'm just, like, shaking, I don't know why.

I'm not really nervous about many things in life.

This is making me so nervous.

There's just something very strong in there.

I don't know if it's good or bad.

I'm very hot.

Really hot.

[REM pod beeping]

Okay, I got it.

Are you a transgender woman?

I knew it. I knew it. I knew it. I knew it.

Okay.

It's... this is an intelligent spirit.

It's, it's actually responding to every question.

Of course, there's a chance that any spirit could be disguising itself

as a human spirit, um, to gain your trust,

but it has not shown that it's a demon yet.

Did you want to be able to appear as a woman?

-[REM pod beeping] -Oh.

I'm sorry, that really sucks.

I wish that you were alive at a time where you could express

the way that you... wanted to.

-[REM pod beeping] -Oh, boy.

Like, the only thing more horrific than I guess

picturing all the people here that were brutally treated

is imagining a woman trapped in a man's body.

Who was here.

It's the only thing I can think of that

could possibly be more horrifying.

All right, someone needs to tell them to get out of there.

I need them pulled out.

Once it gains your trust, it's got you.

[REM pod beeping]

I feel weird leaving, I don't know why.

I'm fully possessed by something. [laughs]

-Wait, what just happened. -I don't... I have no idea.

I truly... you'd have to, like, I'd have to look at

the footage to know.

I'm trying to not interact with demons tonight

in case anybody hasn't caught my drift.

That didn't feel... like, that felt very, like,

I don't... I just already had in my head that this was

this, like, sweet thing.

All I could imagine was, like, a trans woman stuck here

in this nightmare.

Ooh.

It was, like, crushing me.

What concerns me about that...

-is... -I know it knew exactly how to push my buttons.

-Right? -That's like my most...

It was trying to lull you into a sense of security

that you would feel bad for it.

-It wants to play. -That's, like, the only way to pull my heart strings.

It wanted to pull on your emotions.

Okay? And demons use that so often.

I mean, I'm totally confused because I felt like

I've heard what I heard and I felt what I felt.

But, Michael seems to think that it was a demon

that was trying to manipulate me, so we don't know.

I mean, I don't remember that much.

And it all sounds insane.

So, let me ask you this. Do you two feel comfortable

with continuing this investigation?

[laughs]

I feel comfortable

continuing, but I will not be going in that room alone.

[Whitney] Oh, no.

If she's really talking to a spirit of a transgender woman

that was in this place.

That sounds really sad, really isolating.

It's [bleep] horrible.

Or it's a trap...

and I have not quite figured out which one it is.

Am I a demon?

I can't tell if I'm possessed.

I don't... because I feel very dizzy and very, like,

disoriented and tired and drained.

Okay, I'm gonna go in with you.

I'm gonna kind of, like, scope out, see if it's...

it feels like it's good energy or bad energy.

See if it's a trap or if it's really just a...

I got really comfortable in there.

I felt like it was a nice, little cute guy ghost.

-Yeah. -Like...

-Which I feel like... -I just misgendered a ghost.

-Canceled. -Damn it.

[both laugh]

The ultimate cancellation.

Being left at Bloody Brushy.

I feel delusionally brave.

-Well, that's good. -I don't know why.

There really was a turning point today

when I looked at Michael, I said, "Do you think people are good?"

And he said, "No."

It is so easy to be evil.

Something about upstairs and what he said connected

the dots and I'm really hesitant.

Maybe we should go check the other area.

Did it move at all since where you put it?

It definitely feels closer.

I don't feel like I put it there like that.

[Kesha] Do you like the palm?

Do you hate the palm?

[REM pod beeping]

-[gasps] -What?

-It said timid. -Timid?

You know, [bleep]

[Kesha] Are you nervous?

Okay, well, we're gonna leave you alone then.

[Whitney] I'm feeling a strong...

we-should-let-you-be energy, I don't know why.

Okay.

[Whitney] Is my transgender friend here?

Is there anything here that wants to talk to us?

[Whitney] The energy is just very different.

I think what was in here before is just no longer

is my instinct, but is no longer here.

I don't feel... it was, there was so much activity.

There was so much energy.

I was, like, getting hot. It's now feels very cold.

But I guess, cold is a sign of...

[Kesha] What was that?

Did you just hear that growl?

-Oh, God. -[REM pod beeping]

I heard it again.

[Whitney] So did I.

Are you here?

Is someone here?

[REM pod beeping]

Holy [bleep]

[REM pod beeping]

Is someone here?

Dude? Holy [bleep]

[gasps]

There's something crawling next to us.

Oh, my God. Are you serious?

[gasps]

I'll tell you, we used an SLS camera in here one time

and it came out into the floor

and then it went up the wall and it just, it was just like...

-Oh, no, no. -Yeah.

Is it touching your leg? Do you feel anything touching your leg?

I don't know.

[exhales]

Do you want us to leave?

[exclaims]

Are you the creeper?

[Kesha] is there demonic energy in this space?

[REM pod beeping]

Okay. Thank you. Bye.

Like, I'm just scared there's a [bleep] demon, let's go.

Light, flashlight. Let's go.

I'm not going by myself.

[bleeping]

Whitney, I'm leaving you.

This way, right?

Okay.

I'm not going back in there.

I don't need to interact with darkness in the waking life

or in the afterlife.

And I know when I am not welcome.

I do not want to overstay my welcome.

Yeah, I think I'm done. I'm good.

This [bleep] place. You're a [bleep] bummer.

Bummerville.

[bleep] this place.

[bleep] you, demon. [bleep] you, ghost.

Huge bummer.

[bleep] you.

I'm going the [bleep] home.

I'm gonna get a milkshake.

It's called boundaries, ladies and gentlemen.

Set your boundaries.

[bleep] boundary with demons.

But then, my friend's up there.

Are you okay?

Yeah, that didn't scare the [bleep] out of you?

It did, but I wanted the truth more than I was scared.

Either that was a way to get you there.

Or answering the demon question was a way

to get you out and get me alone.

Well, why would it want you alone?

I don't know. I don't know how these things work.

[keys rattling]

Well.

How are we doing? Is everybody okay?

-Yeah, I think so. -Yeah.

-All right. -Maybe.

There's nothing in this place that's worth any one of our souls.

So, let's wrap it up and on to the next.

[Kesha] Yeah, I'm good.

Well, it says bar, so we're gonna go to the bar after and I agree.

-Yeah. Bar maybe. -I agree.

-Thanks for watching out for us. -It was my pleasure.

Oh...

-Okay. -Do you want to go get a drink?

Yes. I do. Many drinks. So many drinks.

-[bleep] this place. -[both laughing]

[Kesha] I believe this place has become a breeding ground

for demonic activity.

Because the demons prey upon the hopeless

and, tragically, there have been so many broken souls

inside these halls.

My time at Brushy has taught me many things,

but the most important lesson is to know how to find your light

when faced with the darkness.

And as long as my light burns bright,

the demons will never have a chance at tricking my soul,

and trapping my spirit.

Facing hard things makes that moment

when the sun starts peeking through the darkness

even sweeter.

Revealing the most glorious light after the darkest storm.

Okay, and that is a wrap on Bloody Brushy.

-It has been a... -[both] Bloody bummer.

[Kesha] Hopefully, I'm leaving the dark energy of Brushy behind me

as I head to the bright lights of Antoinette Hall

with my girl Betty Hill.

[all singing]

-[both scream] -[singing continues]