Original subtitles

(HAUNTING MUSIC)

I had this secret inside, this dark secret.

(CHILD SCREAMING)

It was happening again.

Eric.

Oh, my God, that's not my son.

(SCREAMING)

This is when the truth comes out.

Slit her throat.

No!

He just disappeared.

This family was in trouble.

God almighty,

leave this child of God!

Out!

I'm just playing the game.

Sync and corrections by btsix www.addic7ed.com

Game over.

Game over.

Game over.

(RELAXING GUITAR MUSIC)

I was sad to say good-bye to my mom and dad,

but at 22 I knew it was time to go.

I knew it was time to start my own life.

I remember the day that Eric moved out.

As a parent you're never ready to let them go.

My family is everything to me.

Some people have other possessions,

but my possession is my family.

Eric is my big brother.

I was very excited for him starting a new chapter.

He was growing into a man.

But Gage was going to miss Uncle Eric.

He was very close to him and he looked up to him a lot.

(HORN HONKS)

My husband Chris and I moved back home

to live with my parents so that we could save up to buy a house.

We were gonna actually stay in Eric's old bedroom,

and then the hallway bedroom

where Ashley had stayed as a child

is where we put Gage's bed.

You could tell that a boy had been living in that room.

(CHUCKLES)

(LAUGHS) This old thing.

Eric's old gaming computer was still in there,

covered in dust.

He played a lot of video games,

all day, every day.

There was even a phase where he barely left his room

and no one... absolutely no one was allowed in his bedroom.

(DOOR CLOSES)

(COMPUTER WHIRS, BEEPS)

Later that week, I decided to re-decorate Eric's old room.

Eric was so rebellious that he wanted the room dark.

I'd been wanting to do this for years,

just to give it a fresh new look.

I was up on the ladder painting and...

(INDISTINCT WHISPERING)

I heard this whisper.

(INDISTINCT WHISPERING)

And it was a voice.

But I looked around the room and there was no one there.

(TENSE MUSIC)

I was... I was very confused.

I know what I heard.

I know I heard something.

(CLOCK TICKING)

One night it was getting very late.

I had already put Gage to bed and was going to bed myself.

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)

(HEAVY BREATHING)

(CHILD SCREAMS)

Gage?

Mommy!

Gage?

Gage?

Hey, babe.

Baby, what's the matter?

There's a man standing next to my bed.

He said that he was tall and he was smiling.

It's just a nightmare, baby.

So I wanted to look everywhere

just to show him there's no boogeyman.

No.

No.

Not over here.

I could not see anyone.

You're such a big boy.

But he refused to be in his room alone.

(DOOR CREAKS)

(INDISTINCT WHISPERING)

(WIND CHIMES JINGLING)

After getting Eric's bedroom from the first night on,

I felt very uneasy.

I never could sleep.

I could not get the feeling out of my mind

that I was being watched.

(HEAVY BREATHING)

(WIND BLOWS)

I felt a cold rush like I had just stepped

into a walk-in freezer.

I was too scared to move out of my bed.

I knew someone was in my room.

Then it got really quiet,

and everything felt calm.

(INDISTINCT WHISPERING)

Oh!

You scared the willies out of me, son.

It's good to see you.

It's good to see you, too.

It'd been about a month and a half,

so I figured I would just drive out there and check on them.

Gage?

I wanted to see how Gage was doing.

I was just really eager to see him.

Come here.

How you doing? Come here.

Walking into the house, it brought back some good memories.

But it brought back some bad memories.

My mom and I went to town to get takeout

to bring home to treat everyone

because we knew that that's what Eric liked to eat.

Hey.

I was just sitting down playing with Gage.

His favorite toys.

Buddy? What are these?

By the time we got home it was dark.

We saw that the porch light was on and...

Who's that?

This man was in your room?

Gage told me that he had seen a man in his room

that was looking back at him

and it just had frightened him a whole lot.

I could see a man standing there,

and it was a very tall man wearing all black.

My stomach felt tight.

I wanted to throw up.

He was there for one moment

and then gone.

He just disappeared.

It was... it was happening again,

and I knew he was back.

(GUN COCKS)

So I grabbed my handgun...

Y'all wait here.

And looked outside.

If I don't see anything with my own eyes

or hear anything with my own ears,

it's not there.

Well, not like I had any silver bullets anyhow.

(LAUGHS)

I had this secret inside, this dark secret.

But I could never get it out.

(CLOCK TICKS)

I'd gotten up early that morning.

Billy was still sleeping,

and I was sitting there putting my makeup on.

(WOOD CREAKS)

Billy?

You up?

(FLOORBOARDS CREAK)

I saw a man standing in the hallway

looking at me.

And then he crossed the hallway and went into my room.

(DOOR SLAMS)

Oh, my God, Billy's in there.

The door just busted open.

Billy, Billy, it's in here.

There's something in here!

What the hell's going on?

It's in this room right now.

I said, "It came in here."

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

But I didn't even find nothing.

I didn't see no one.

I mean, how in the world could a seven-foot tall man

walk into a bedroom and then disappear?

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

(SCREAMS)

Something just grabbed my leg.

(SCREAMING)

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

(SCREAMS)

It was just trying to pull me under.

- No! - (WHIMPERS)

Looked around and I'm like,

"Hon, there's nothing in here."

Okay.

I knew we needed to seek the help from a Godly man.

Someone that could help us get this out of our home.

- (CRYING) - I know.

I think every husband, every dad,

wants to think that he can protect his family.

That's when I told her, I said, "Make your call."

(GENTLE MUSIC)

I have been a pastor since 1993.

I was born to be a pastor.

I was one of those kids that when I was young,

I'd walk down the railroad tracks

preaching to the woods, preaching to the trees.

It's my life.

Hello, ma'am.

I'm Pastor Owens.

They seemed to be a very close family.

But at the same time,

you could see that this family was in trouble.

They needed help.

So I asked him and their family,

can you tell me from the beginning when this started?

I told him that everything started happening

the day that our son Eric had moved out.

Eric was very uncomfortable.

He didn't want to make eye contact.

That's when I first began to wonder,

was Eric hiding something?

I felt like he knew that there was something

I wanted to get off my chest.

Eric.

I couldn't take it any longer.

I knew I had to tell him.

This is when the truth comes out.

Okay.

All right, I'll tell you.

(GROWLING)

(ROCK MUSIC)

I was 16 years old.

I was your typical teenager.

I was extremely obsessed with gaming.

(CAN CLANKS)

I gamed all day, every day.

(GAME SOUND EFFECTS)

Eric?

You'll be late for school.

There were times where I felt like

I lost control of reality.

I'll be right out, Mom.

We always were kind of puzzled, you know,

as why ain't he out with the girls, you know?

Why lock yourself in a room?

It allowed me to escape.

It allowed me to do what I wanted to do

and be who I wanted to be,

and that's what I wanted.

I wanted to experience power and control

and I wanted to be able to do

what these characters on these video games were doing.

(COMPUTER BEEPS)

(COMPUTER CHIMES)

It wasn't a big deal to talk to a stranger

in a chat room.

I'd talked to many in games.

I'd talked to many in different open chat rooms before.

It's completely anonymous.

(COMPUTER CHIMES)

The next thing I know, a message popped up

inviting me to come try a new game out,

and I typed back.

It was a role-playing game based on Heaven and Hell.

And you have to try to beat the devil.

(TYPING)

(CHIME)

(SCHOOL BELL RINGS)

I had friends.

Just a couple friends.

I wasn't like a failing student,

but I wasn't an above-average student.

Eric, D-minus.

Josh...

And to me, it just wasn't good enough.

You would see the people who had it all.

They had the girls, they had the cool cars,

they had the great grades.

I wanted that.

Marnie was a cheerleader.

She was the most popular girl in school.

All her friends, all the guys she dated,

they come from wealthy families.

Their parents just were extreme wealth.

Had lots of money, good jobs,

and my family just, we didn't come from that.

She just... she had everything going for her,

and I didn't.

A few days later, I was in my room looking at a car magazine.

(COMPUTER BEEPS)

And a little private message pops up.

It said, "Hi, Eric."

And my usual name on there is not Eric.

Nobody knew who I was.

There was a link.

(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)

(BEEPING)

In that moment, I realized what this truly was,

and I knew that I wanted to try it.

This is gonna be the best game ever.

It was a chat room.

I'd started noticing

that there were doctors and lawyers and police officers.

I mean, it just amazed me.

A lot of the high-end people were claiming that, you know,

this was the reason that they'd gotten

to the positions they'd got.

(COMPUTER CHIMES)

I asked him who he was.

And he told me, he said,

"I'm someone who does know you very, very well."

So I sent one back.

"Ha ha, very funny.

I'm not falling for this."

But part of me was intrigued by it.

It caught my attention.

A few days later, I was going to school

and there was this car,

this beautiful black car.

Next thing I know I feel a hand grab my right shoulder

and I turn around.

There was a man standing there,

and was just a tall, tall man.

Very tall.

He carried himself well.

He was dressed very, very nice

with this beautiful black suit.

He looked very, very successful.

You like the wheels?

What's your secret, man?

I made my first million before I was 23.

His eyes were like a baby blue.

It's like he captured my brain

and I couldn't take my eyes off of him.

But you already know the secret, don't you?

It's not about the money.

"It's power you're looking for."

Anyway, have a nice life, kid.

(ENGINE TURNS OVER)

(COMPUTER CHIMES)

Not long after, I got a private message

from the guy saying, "Are you still interested?"

And he sends me one back

saying, "A blood pact."

So I sent him a message asking, you know,

"What is a blood pact?"

And that's when he went on to tell me

that he would send me a contract,

and at the bottom you're going to sign your name in blood.

But for me, it was like another game.

I figured, what's wrong with just pricking my finger?

(WOOD CREAKS)

- Good night. - Good night.

(PRINTER RUNS)

When I pulled out the paper, I was like,

"Okay, it's now or never.

"Let's see how serious this guy is.

Let's see how serious he is."

A few days later I had everything I needed.

All I needed was just my blood.

(GROANS)

So I went ahead and pricked my finger

and I started signing my name in blood.

And as the instructions told me, I lit it.

As I watched it burn,

as I watched it slowly turn into an ash,

some of my thoughts going through my head were,

maybe this is going to be real.

For the first time, something in my life's going to be real.

Eric told me, "I signed a blood pact,"

and I just kind of sat there and I said, "You did what?"

That's not where the story ends, though.

Not by a long shot.

(SCHOOL BELL RINGS)

Change happened overnight.

At the snap of a finger it was

instantly everything was different.

Melissa, B.

I suddenly started scoring better.

Eric, A!

I started feeling more confident.

I started feeling like everything's going to start

happening the way that this man said it would happen.

Eric's appearance changed a lot.

He started dressing like he had a lot of money.

(CAR LOCK BEEPS)

He was becoming more and more popular.

He had more kids following him, girls following him.

Like he was some kind of star or pop star or something.

You know, he just... He just always had the crowd.

I come to realize that things are changing.

So I figured now it was time to take the next step

and see if this really worked.

It was time for me to ask Marnie out.

I knew that if Marnie said yes,

then this blood pact was... was real.

My stomach started to...

Felt like the butterflies were in there.

I was still unsure of what she would say.

I got her note back and opened it up and it said,

"Yes, absolutely, would love to."

I was like, "Oh, my God."

I felt like I won life's lottery.

From the friends to the grades to Marnie,

it's everything I could ask for.

After a while,

I noticed things were changing.

(OMINOUS MUSIC)

I would receive messages on my computer

asking about recruiting,

asking about

trying to get more people my age into it.

It's almost like it was time

for me to start paying back my debt.

So this game, it will fulfill your ultimate desires, right?

I did a lot of my recruiting at church.

They wanted more followers,

more people to believe what I was believing.

(COMPUTER CHIMES)

What have I done?

(WHISPERING) Eric... Eric... Eric...

I started to hear voices.

(WHISPERING) Eric.

Whispering in my ear.

She's cheating on you.

Don't trust her.

Teach her a lesson.

Little did I know

it was about to get a lot worse.

Eric! I see you.

(PHONE CHIMES)

We have a contract.

Eric...

(INDISTINCT WHISPERING)

I started to hear these voices all the time.

(INDISTINCT WHISPERING)

I want it.

Just over and over. It was constant.

Just day and night.

Get me recruits. Recruits, their blood.

I want their blood.

(PHONE RINGING, COMPUTER CHIMING)

(INDISTINCT WHISPERING)

(CHIMING AND WHISPERING INTENSIFIES)

Eric, you've been out every night the last three weeks.

Eric, don't let this pig talk to you like that.

Sometimes these voices would tell me to hurt someone.

Slit her throat.

Hurt your mom, hurt your dad, your sister.

- (OVERLAPPING VOICES) - Kill her.

Do it, do it. Kill her.

I felt like I was possessed by something.

I didn't want... I didn't want to hurt anybody.

Eric...

But it was pushing me to kill someone.

(CHURCH BELL RINGS)

Sing to the Lord a song.

There was a particular Sunday where I was sitting at church.

Sing to the Lord, bless his name.

Tell of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations.

I felt the sense of being watched 24/7,

being followed.

- We're watching you, Eric. - We're watching you.

There was always a set of eyes on me.

(OVERLAPPING WHISPERING)

And me and Marnie were passing notes back and forth.

For all the gods of the peoples

are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

Don't trust her. We're watching you.

There was this little girl. She was over to my right.

I started to hear a voice in my ear.

That girl. Kill her.

It said to stab her in the neck.

Kill her.

Stab her in the neck.

I want you to.

Eric.

I felt like I was losing control of my mind.

(INDISTINCT WHISPERING)

He told me to stab that little girl in the neck

with a pencil.

(INDISTINCT WHISPERS)

- Stab her in the neck. - Do it.

My fingernails were digging into the palm of my hand.

Kill her. Kill her.

Do it. Kill them all.

I fought it. I fought the best I could.

- Eric, stab her. - Do it, do it.

Stab the little girl in the neck.

I was about to kill a little girl.

(OVERLAPPING WHISPERING)

(SNIFFS)

- Eric. - Stab her in the neck.

Kill her.

(WHISPERING INTENSIFIES)

No!

I just happened to be lucky that day

and I got a grip on myself.

(PEOPLE MURMURING)

Eric.

I got out of there as fast as I could.

I was teared up. I was crying.

I started hitting the steering wheel and the dash,

and I just told myself, I said,

"I've had enough. This has gone on too long."

It was out of control.

It was a living nightmare.

(PHONE CHIMES)

She broke up with me when she realized that I'd changed.

I became something different.

I think she started recognizing a darkness in me,

an evil in me.

That's when I realized this is not a game.

(OMINOUS MUSIC)

There just seemed to be no way out.

(CREAKING WOOD)

(WHISPERING VOICES)

There's a man standing there.

We had a deal.

We had a contract.

"Don't you disobey an order."

I thought to myself,

maybe if I just get saved and get baptized

that this would go away.

- (CHURCH BELL TOLLS) - In the name of the Father

and of the Son and the Holy Spirit...

I get in the water

and I started hearing this ringing in my ear.

(HIGH-PITCHED RINGING)

And with that ringing came voices.

- Eric... - Eric!

Don't do this.

Telling me, "Don't do this. This is your last warning."

We made a deal.

I was trying not to listen.

Eric.

But they kept coming.

They were coming harder and stronger.

Eric.

Talking about hanging me, about crucifying me.

I will hang out. I will crucify you.

(INHALES)

When I came back up, I felt different.

The voices went away, and everything went quiet,

and it was like it was over.

(APPLAUSE)

And in my head I'm thinking,

"I can go back and be normal again."

Do you understand what you've done?

Do you understand the consequences of your actions?

Eric had no idea how deep he got himself.

He tried to make a pact with the devil.

I thought the baptism would make it all go away, though.

No.

"You opened a door.

You didn't close the door."

He's been here biding his time,

waiting.

Till he seen something he likes.

Gage.

He was worried that his nephew was going to be the one

that has to pay the price for him.

So...

how do we kill this?

"How do we get rid of this?"

We're not gonna kill something that's been around

since God's creation.

"We're merely gonna make it go away."

(CHURCH BELL TOLLS)

(CLOCK TICKS)

In the name of the Father...

I told them that I'm gonna bless the house

because without that,

there wouldn't be no protection for them.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

In the name of the Father,

the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Danny put a little cross

on the forehead of everybody.

It was time for me to go over

and bless Eric.

In the name of the Father,

the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

When he laid hands on Eric...

(GROANS)

A sudden cold air came down our hallway.

(WIND BLOWING)

Everybody in there was shivering except for me.

I could feel my body... just... My body temperature was rising.

The heat was just radiating from my body.

It's getting kind of hot in here.

Like an oven.

I think I need to go outside and get some air.

Jesus.

I remember hearing the weirdest sound I've ever heard.

(SNARLING)

And then I realized that it was coming from Eric.

(GRUNTING, SNARLING)

Get...

(STRAINING)

I had never felt that much strength out of one man.

(SNARLING)

Ah!

Whoa!

Aaah!

Ah!

Get me a bowl of water and a washcloth.

So I begin to pray over Eric.

Mother Mary, bless this water

with the blood of your son, Jesus.

Bless this water to pull this from Eric.

Mother Mary, bring us your strength.

(SIZZLING)

(SCREAMING)

And he begin to scream as if I was hurting him.

Aah!

So I'm at a point, do I keep going?

Is Eric going to be okay?

In the name of the Father!

But Pastor Danny did not stop.

He just kept praying.

God Almighty, leave this child of God.

Out!

(MUSIC STOPS)

When he turned around, his eyes looked at

my mom and I and they were blue.

Oh, my God, that's not my son.

That's not Eric.

(VOICES WHISPERING)

He was drawing me into his eyes,

and I could not look away.

So Chris grabbed me and turned me around into his chest.

(BONES CRACKING)

Hold him down!

Eric began to twist

in ways that a body shouldn't.

Right as that happens, outside,

every animal for miles you could hear just going off.

(ANIMALS CHITTERING, SCREECHING)

Eric just went limp.

His body from his head to his toes,

just lifeless.

So I kept my hand over his heart

and the heartbeat began to drop.

Is Eric dying?

(HEARTBEAT)

Did I lose this battle? Did I push too far?

I'll never get over the guilt of what I did to them,

what I put them through.

(LAUGHTER)

I've fought every day since then

to make my parents proud of me.

I made a mistake.

This... this is not a false reality.

This is not a fantasy world,

and I know that kids can be groomed.

This is the real world.

It's not a game. There's no extra lives involving this.

We have one life.

And you need to be careful how you use it.

Sync and corrections by btsix www.addic7ed.com