02x01 - Man In The Attic

[bunniefuu]

I never experienced anything paranormal before I moved into that house.

What is that?

I have no idea.

Hear it?

It's walking back and forth up there.

Quiet, everyone. Shh, shh! Quiet!

We didn't expect anything to happen.

But this night was different.

I'm getting goose bumps.

I can recall that moment.

He was lifted through the air.

What happened?

I was in shock.

I was worried they would find me dead.

Or that I would find them dead.

[Haunting music]

I was 23 years old.

I had a two-year-old son.

And I was six or seven months pregnant with my daughter.

My husband and I were having problems, and we just decided it was better for us and the kids, if we just weren't together.

I was looking for a place to rent, and I wasn't looking for anything in particular.

I just stumbled across that place.

Apple?

I liked it right away.

Yeah.

It was a little bungalow. It was off the street.

It was private. It was the perfect place to start a new life.

My ambitions were to finish school.

And to get a job that I could support my family with.

I was trying to get my degree, so it was a lot of work at home, a lot of studying.

[Over tv] This clown is my husband.

Husband?

Yeah, you know. Husband.

[Humming "wedding march"]

I had this picture in my mind. Everything was just gonna be perfect.

But after about a month or so, I started to hear odd sounds around the house.

[Objects clattering]

It sounded like pebbles..

That is not a normal sound that a house makes.

It was just so distinctive.

Gave me a shiver up my spine.

Bit by bit, I began to realize that a lot of the activity was..

Coming from above me.

It happened every night.

A very particular strange sound.

Very high-pitched, almost to where it hurt your ears.

[High-pitched whining]

It seemed to be coming from up in the attic.

I noticed that the trap door was open.

I never would have opened that door.

I wanted to put the door on right.

I started to think that I was not alone.

That there was other things in that house besides me.

[Knocking]

Hey.

Hey.

You okay?

My close friends were staying more and more often.

Thanks.

I remember telling my friend, Susan, some of the things that happened.

So what's up?

She was a big support.

And they sound like they're coming from the ceiling.

[Loud banging]

What the hell was that?

We heard a big bang coming from the kitchen.

One of the pictures that was hanging on the wall, was propped up against the sink.

The nails were also placed..

They were standing perfectly on their heads.

Nails can't come directly out of a hole, come down, then end up on their heads.

Somebody or something did that.

Eight.

What's this one?

One of the neighbors was a young girl.

She was 16 years old. Her name was Tina.

She would come over and baby-sit for me.

Don't forget to change him before you put him down, okay?

Of course.

I thought that she was really, really nice, and she was a really dedicated Mom.

I'll see you soon, okay?

Hmm? Yeah?

Go away.

Be good.

I enjoyed her company a lot. Like, we used to talk and hang out even when I wasn't babysitting.

Okay. Have a good night.

Okay. Bye.

Jackie was out, and she'd asked me to babysit.

And Jamie was asleep.

[High-pitched whine]

It was getting pretty late. I hadn't heard any noise for a while.

So I wanted to just make sure that he was okay and peek in on him.

The door just opened for me, and I thought, "well, that's weird".

Turned around and pushed the door closed behind me.

The latch caught the door.

Jamie was fine.

[Door clicks]

But then coming back, the same thing happened.

I thought, "maybe, you know, it's the house. It's"..

"The floor's not level, If you step here, it's gonna swing the door".

I would explain it away, explain it away.

But when it got to the point that I couldn't explain it away..

It was very frightening.

So how's school going?

It's all right.

We were just talking, making something to eat.

Hey, do you see this?

I looked up, and there was these lights.

What is that?

I have no idea.

It wasn't something that I've ever seen before.

It's not like a reflection off of anything.

They had, like, substance to them, you know?

I really don't have a good feeling about this.

You know what?

Yeah, Jackie, let's just get out.

I did not want to be in her house.

I remember grabbing the camera and taking some pictures.

Oh, come on.

Then all of a sudden, the camera stopped working.

What is wrong with this thing?

She handed me the camera, and she's like..

"See if you can get it to work". And I thought..

"Well, maybe if we're not trying to take pictures of the lights, it'll work".

So I pointed it out the kitchen window.

[Screams]

I saw a face in the viewfinder.

Of an emaciated old man..

Almost skeleton-like.

I had to run.

When that happened, there was no doubt in my mind that there was something in that house.

What number is that?

Nine.

Nine!

Yeah! You're hilarious.

Seven.

Seven!

What is that one?

My ex-husband, Al, used to come and visit every now and then.

He was very, very good with Jamie.

I was telling Al some of the things that had been going on in the house.

I think there's something wrong with this house.

She felt that there was something very odd about the house.

She says, "I feel something here".

I get this cold feeling about it.

Truthfully, I thought that she was trying to draw attention.

And trying to draw my attention to the fact that she was alone.

You don't believe me, do you?

He didn't really believe me. He thought I was exaggerating.

Without a doubt, I had to assume that maybe something was wrong with her.

I thought, "how can I explain this to her where she'll feel that,"

"yeah, that's right, that's what it is, nothing to worry about?"

There has to be an explanation.

He was trying to talk to me, and saying, "you know,"

"why don't you just call it out, challenge it?"

What?

Call it out.

I said, "well, if you are here,"

"then let's see".

Show yourself.

I was just terrified. I'm like, "what the heck is he doing?"

"What's gonna happen next?"

Nothing did happen. It was just still.

See?

I'll see you when I can.

I go into the closet.

An entire wall was written Al.

"A" in blue and "L" in red.

And it was written hundreds and hundreds of times.

That was the answer to the challenge.

If I had the money, I would have moved out right away.

But there was no way I could have moved with the expense that it costs to move.

You need to to tell someone what's going on here.

Susan said, "well, maybe you should tell the landlords what's going on".

It's their house.

I remember me saying, "I don't want to tell anybody"

"because I don't want them to think I'm nuts".

It was a few weeks later that I was out walking with Susan.

I was eight or nine months pregnant at the time.

How are ya?

Susan.

The landlord and his wife were also coming back.

We bumped into each other on the sidewalk, and then Sue just brought up the activity that was happening in the house.

Jackie's having some trouble at the house.

When the landlord acted concerned about it, then I thought, "well, maybe he's not gonna think I'm crazy".

He asked if I had any objection to them..

Bringing in a priest.

So I said, "sure".

I just didn't have a good feeling towards them from the very beginning.

They both seemed to be very cynical about everything, like they were judging me.

I see you like horror movies.

Uh, those ones are my ex-husband's.

Your ex-husband?

Yeah.

I had a aquarium.

On the bottom, there was a little ornament of a skeleton.

He said that I was bringing death into my house.

Uh, wait I'm sorry?

The skeleton.

That just struck me as odd.

I had a collection of dolls from different countries.

There was one that was a souvenir from the Caribbean.

He said it was a voodoo doll.

By that point, I was feeling very, very uncomfortable.

Seems to me like you are bringing most of this trouble on yourself.

[Crying]

Um, I'll be right back. I just have to go get my son, okay?

[Crying]

Jamie was screaming.

They said my son wasn't acting normal.

And that he was possessed by the devil.

That's why he was crying.

He doesn't appear to be acting normal.

He said, "can we bless your son?"

In the name of the Father, the Son..

Jamie just screamed. He didn't want this guy near him.

And the Holy Spirit..

Then he said, "don't you want to bless the unborn too?"

In the name of the Father, the Son..

I do believe in God, but everything they said as far as I was concerned when they entered that house was ridiculous.

[Crying]

Fish!

Whee!

[Typewriter clacking]

The following day was gonna be a long one for me because I had an assignment due.

[Knocking]

Hi, Jackie Hernandez?

Yes.

Hi, I'm from Social Services.

I'm wondering if you have a moment that I could come in and speak with you.

That just caught me totally off guard, like, you know, what would social services be doing here?

Come on in.

Thank you.

Sorry about the mess.

It was like probably the worst time ever that they could have knocked on my door and come in.

I hadn't had a chance to clean it that morning.

Jamie had chocolate cupcake on his face.

He was still in his pajamas.

Can I ask why you're here?

We've had a report that..

She said they had a report from, the two priests that I had been..

On hallucinogenics and I was pregnant.

I'm sorry?

It was just so off the wall to me and crazy.

I had never taken any dr*gs. I wasn't even drinking.

[Singsong jabbering]

I was worried for my kids.

It is possible to take your children, even if you are a perfect Mother.

That's everything I need for today.

Okay.

Okay.

It just taught me the lesson things are better left unsaid.

Because you never know what can happen if you tell people.

I wasn't going to say anything to anybody ever again.

Shortly after that, I had Samantha, my daughter.

I brought her home, and after everything that happened, I really was hesitant about bringing her there, but I had no choice.

A couple of days later, I return from grocery shopping.

I had the bags in my arm.

It spelled, "get the hell out".

The doors were still locked. Everything else was untouched.

There was no logical explanation, none.

I knew at that point it was not friendly and it didn't want me around.

Because that was definitely directed just at me.

I was afraid of going to sleep because I had to watch over those kids.

And what if I wasn't able to see what was happening to them?

I was sleeping on the daybed.

Jamie was sleeping with me. I was afraid to put him in the bedroom.

And Samantha slept in a little bassinet next to me.

The level of fear built up more and more every night.

I can remember waking up and hearing breathing.

[Raspy breathing]

It was loud, and it was distinctive.

I can't even describe the feeling of being as scared as I was.

I saw somebody sitting on the bunk bed.

I was just totally terrified.

I looked up again, and he was gone.

[Panting]

[Shades scraping and clunking]

Every single shade in the house went up at the same time.

[Baby fussing]

[Baby crying]

You can't rationalize that.

I didn't sleep the rest of the night, you know?

I was just trembling all night. I remember that.

It was important for me..

Not to let the kids..

See how frightened I was.

I had to keep it away from him.

I would try not to allow myself to be afraid.

At least pretend like I wasn't.

It is the most helpless feeling.

There's something that's in the house.

That actually was there before you came, so it's not your house.

It's their territory, not yours.

So you're the intruder. That's how I felt.

I felt like I was the intruder.

Listen, you can't go on like this.

You got to get some help.

My friend Susan said that she had a number that she had gotten that was a Parapsychologist.

You know, I should call him and get some help.

I want you to call him, okay?

No way.

But I said no because of what had happened the last time I allowed somebody into the house.

I really think you need to call him.

She gave me the number anyway and said, "here, call it when you're ready".

And I put it into a drawer.

Later on, I remember I was doing dishes.

It was pretty late.

My first reaction was, "I cut myself".

But when I turned around.

It was coming out of the cabinets.

It was forming on the glass.

It was all around me.

It was infecting my kitchen.

And I thought I got to do something.

I called the Parapsychologist.

[Phone pad beeping]

[Phone line trilling]

[Sobbing]

I remember the night that the paranormal team arrived.

My ex-husband happened to be visiting the kids at the time which was good because he could keep them occupied.

She told me that she had found these people that investigated such happenings.

You okay?

I kind of thought, "why not?"

This is perfect.

These people will come in. They won't find anything.

And we're done with it, you know? And I was ready to wipe my hands of it and say good-bye, good riddance.

Hi. Come on in.

The Parapsychologist himself came in first.

Jackie?

Yes.

After him came this whole herd of people carrying cameras.

That was something I didn't expect. It was like a circus.

Barry, where you gonna want the lights set up?

As a Cameraman, I've been a professional Videographer for many years.

Uh, I thought.. "Well, you know, it's one thing to go into a haunting"

"and hear all of these stories but it's another"

"thing if we could capture something on videotape".

I think any Cameraman worth his salt would say the same thing.

How's that? You think that's a good angle?

I think that's good, yeah.

They already had it pre-planned what they were going to do.

They never informed me of it.

They were going to document it.

I'm sorry. I'm still a little confused as to..

To what's going on.

Just gonna do a quick interview and have you tell us some of the amazing stuff that you've been experiencing here in the house.

I did not want it documented. I wanted it out of my house.

I wanted it gone. I wanted..

Normality.

So, Jackie, why don't you tell us a little bit about what's going on?

Jackie herself seemed scared.

We wanted to find out what her experiences were in the house.

You can feel a presence? You can sense a presence?

Yeah.

One of the paranormal team was very skeptical.

You could tell by the look on his face.

And Barry Conrad was just the opposite.

Something you can't explain.

Yeah, there's just..

There's something wrong. There's something here all the time.

All of a sudden, the light goes off.

Right during the interview.

Problem with the power?

You know, they're just thinking maybe the electricity went out.

Maybe there was a fuse or whatever.

And I knew.. I knew exactly what it was.

He was angry that these people were in the house, and I just knew that.

Then the light goes back on.

Okay.

It's coming from up there.

I told them about the noises I've heard in the attic.

From the attic?

Yeah.

So I remember asking my friend, who was a still photographer, if he might want to go up there and take a few photos.

Sure. Why not? What else are we here for? Let's go.

He was the one who was very skeptical.

In fact, he whispered in my ear, he says, "it'll be a cool drink in hell"

"before I ever believe that there is a ghost in this house".

You got enough space up there?

Oh, yeah, there's a lot of space.

I was laying there just kind of listening. I was wide awake.

I wasn't sleeping or anything like that.

Nothing but spider webs.

I'm getting goose bumps because I can recall that moment.

I heard something whisper into my ear..

So clearly.

Tell them to get the hell out of here.

Seconds after I heard this.

I heard someone yell from the attic.

[Yelling]

I heard something whisper into my ear.

So clearly..

"Tell them to get the hell outta here".

[Yelling]

My friend comes bolting down.

All of the color drained out of him.

Something just grabbed the camera right out of my hand, man.

Pulled it right out of my hand.

You sure you didn't, like, just drop it or catch it on something?

Something grabbed my camera.

All of a sudden, all that skepticism that he had before was gone, erased.

He was really, really scared.

But I think that his concern for his livelihood overcame his fear because this was, you know..

This was how he made his living. He was a still photographer.

I got to get that camera, man.

It's a $2,000 camera. I've got to get it.

I'll come with you. I'll be right behind you, okay?

He decided to go back up into the attic to find his camera.

I put up a 1,000-watt light.

I wanted see every nook and cranny of the attic.

You don't see anything?

No, nothing yet.

I don't see the camera anywhere.

I don't think I sh*t more than a minute.

The camera completely neutralized.

Can you change the battery on that?

So they changed the battery. And it worked just fine downstairs.

But they pulled it through the hole, and it wouldn't work at all again.

I'm still not getting anything on here.

I thought, "well, how can this be?"

Is this the new battery?

Yup.

I got it.

You found it?

Yeah.

They finally did find the body of the camera on one corner of the attic.

It was lying face down in a little crate.

The lens had been removed.

I got the lens here.

We found the lens behind the trapdoor.

So what do we do now?

Well, we take things back to the lab.

We.. [Clattering]

All of a sudden, it's like somebody is walking back and forth up above us.

I knew I'd just been up there. My friend had just been up there.

And there was nobody up in that attic whatsoever.

Did you get that on tape?

Yeah.

We did one final interview with Jackie.

I got to go.

The whole thing was very frightening.

I remember telling my friend, "I think we better get out of here".

It was unbelievable to me that they were getting ready to go and walk out.

So you're just gonna leave me here?

Sorry, lady.

They were gonna get the proof that it was in the house, and then they were gonna leave? They were gonna rile this up and leave?

Wait..

Thank you very much.

We'll be back. Don't worry. There's nothing to worry about.

I started questioning why I even called them.

I got back to my apartment and started looking at the videotapes.

Here.

Hear it?

Something's walking back and forth up there.

It is walking, definitely.

Quiet, everyone. Shh, shh! Quiet!

[Footsteps thunking]

It was amazing.

There was these footsteps coming from above us.

I felt like these were part and parcel to whatever this haunting was.

[Footsteps thunking]

I was extremely frightened by what I had witnessed.

Quiet, everyone. Shh, shh! Quiet!

[Over tv] Well, I didn't think it was anything you needed to know.

Oh, I'm beginning to understand what's going on here.

The very last night I stayed at that house.

I was on the couch watching TV, and I had both of the kids right next to me.

[Over tv] I haven't even had a chance to take a shower, and some lawyer starts knocking on my door to serve me with divorce papers.

[Chiming and whirring]

There was noises coming from the bedroom, and it sounded as if something was in there playing with my kids' toys.

[Chiming and whirring stops]

A beach ball comes out of the room as if somebody just threw it out.

I knew I wasn't gonna be going to sleep that night.

I closed my eyes for a minute, not to go to sleep, but just to rest them for a second.

[Bead curtain rattling]

[Clock ticking]

Something was holding me down.

I couldn't breathe.

I tried to get up, but I couldn't.

I thought I was gonna die.

Something was holding me down.

I couldn't breathe.

I tried to get up, but I couldn't.

I began to think, "oh, my gosh, the kids".

Then it let go.

[Gasping]

[Panting]

[Eerie whisping]

Jackie..

I had a baseball bat.

Something snapped inside of me.

I just took the bat and just said, "I had it".

"I had enough".

I was expecting him to appear..

Just like every turn I made.

[Creaking]

I realized that that old man's domain was the attic.

That was his space.

I wanted to fight for the house that I was paying to rent.

I wanted it to be me and the kids and nothing else in that house.

That's what drove me up there.

Even though it wasn't a very smart thing to do, I was just fighting for what was mine.

That was the first time I've ever went into the attic.

[Panting]

[Wood creaking]

Come on and show yourself!

I was confronting it and challenging it.

Come on.

At least give me a fight instead of suffocating me when I'm sleeping.

Where are you?

Come on.

[Wood creaking]

[Shrieks]

I fell to the floor.

I just grabbed the kids and just ran out of the house.

I was worried I wasn't being able to protect my kids.

I was worried that something would happen, to me and they would find me dead..

Or that I would find them dead.

[Phone beeping]

[Line trilling]

[Phone ringing]

[Machine beeps]

We're not here. Leave a message.

Barry, it's Jackie.

Jackie?

Suddenly Jackie called my answering machine.

Jackie, is that you?

Please, you got to come help me.

Absolutely terrified out of her mind.

Please, you have to come now. There's something in the house.

As she was talking, she suddenly cried out, and she dropped the phone.

And all of a sudden, the line is cut.

[Dial tone humming]

Jackie?

We're like, "Jackie? "You know? "Are you there, Jackie?"

You know? We didn't know what happened. Because she was no longer on the line.

We were so concerned about her we decided that we better go down and check it out.

I had thought they were gonna take me out of the house, so I was ready to leave.

Please, there's.. No, there's something in the house.

Please, we need to go now.

Okay, just calm down.

They bring out all their equipment, their video cameras and everything, and they go into the house, and I'm thinking, "what are they doing?"

We were all curious. We wanted to know whether the entity really was in the house that night.

To me, it was my life, and to them, it was making a movie.

I don't hear a thing.

When we walked into the house, there was not a sign of anything.

You want to go upstairs and check out the attic?

The attic?

Yeah.

The same photographer who was..

Already had an incident up in the attic, he decides to go up again into the attic.

The photographer had a flashlight.

Barry handed me just a small instamatic camera.

And I think when they first went up there, they didn't really expect anything to happen because it was so quiet downstairs.

It was pitch-black up there.

There was absolutely nothing there. There was nothing in this attic.

What's going on up there?

[Fingers snapping]

There was this snapping sound, like somebody snapped their fingers.

Just like that three times.

The sensation of being watched overcame me.

It was really getting stronger.

Something was gonna happen. I knew it.

You need to come down. They need to come down right now.

I start to panic, and I yell, "get down, please!"

I think you guys better come down.

They just started yelling and hollering..

"Get down here, You gotta get down here!" There was just pandemonium.

You guys need to get down here.

"You got to come down. Come down now. There's something going on".

Guys, you got to come down.

Please come down.

The photographer was literally right behind me, and I was looking down into the opening.

What's going on?

Seriously, guys, I'm not joking.

Get down here right away.

We need to get out of here, please?

It was like he was lifted through the air.

Guys, you okay?

What's going on up there?

Are you all right?

There was no response from him.

He was 10, 15 feet off into the distance.

I could tell he was not standing upright.

Very odd, you know? It's like, "why would he be like that?"

The only source of light I had was this little flash on this little camera.

He was completely off the floor of the attic.

His head was off on the opposite angle, because he was up against the inside of the roof.

There was this completely blank expression on his face.

Like.. Like his eyes were open, but he was not there.

Very vaguely, he said..

There's something on my neck.

It was a noose.

There was no way he could've done this himself.

I mean, there wasn't enough time. It had happened just like that.

Guys, what's going on up there?

He's absolutely terrified.

[Choking]

What happened?

He's still got the thing around his neck, and his neck is all swollen, and it's red.

[Coughing and sputtering]

He just had no reaction any of this happened to him.

It was like it's something that he didn't even know happened.

It was like blank in his memory.

We need to get out of here now. We need to go, please!

At that point, I just wanted to get out of the house right then, right there.

We have to go! Can you carry him, please?

That was the last night I spent in that house.

To this day..

I am mystified by what happened in the house.

I really truly believe we were dealing with some kind of entity.

I never thought I would ever experience something like this, no.

Quiet, everyone. Shh, shh! Quiet!

[Footsteps thunking]

I'm not gonna tell you that I believe in ghosts now.

But I most definitely have opened my mind to the possibility.

The light.

The light.

The light.