01x08 - Ghost Child

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: America's top ghost hunters relive their most extreme assignments.

(Woman screams)

This house is beyond haunted.

Narrator: Hardened veterans of the paranormal, these are the cases that truly tested them.

There was a evil presence in that house.

Woman: Oh (bleep) what the hell?

Man: Dude, I got goose bumps.

It's in here.

Narrator: In Colorado, a ghost causes havoc at a restaurant before turning its fury at the owner.

We felt genuinely physically threatened.

(Screams)

Narrator: In Massachusetts, an investigator is forced to confront his own worst fear.

It was a horrific nightmare.

(Woman screaming)

Narrator: And in the great lakes, an imaginary friend turns out to be something much more sinister...

Luke?

...And puts a boy in grave danger.

Nothing is sacred. That's scary.

Narrator: Some 30 miles northeast of Denver, Colorado, lies the small town of fort Lupton.

One of the town's most popular restaurants is wholly Stromboli, the passion project of owner Melissa Rickman.

Wholly Stromboli’s been a dream of mine since I was about 20.

Just for years, it's all I could think about.

I daydreamed about it.

So when I got laid off from corporate America, my husband said, "well, why don't you do it?"

Narrator: The restaurant opens in 2010, and not long afterwards, mysterious and confusing things start to occur.

I would walk in for the morning, set down my coffee, turn off the alarm.

Come back, and my coffee was gone.

And I thought, "oh, I left it in the car."

Then, go out, and it's not in the car, so come back, and... There's the coffee.

Wow. Okay. There's no logical explanation for that.

There's -- there's none.

Narrator: The activity soon intensifies.

Thank you so much.

(Child giggles)

Oh, my god!

An apparition of a little girl starts appearing in the restaurant.

I hadn't had any experience prior to this with ghosts, but it's not my imagination.

No, no, no, no, no.

(Child giggling)

Narrator: And soon, there would be no doubts.

Rickman: I walked into the kitchen to talk to the sauté chef, and every pan comes just flying off the shelf.

(Woman screams)

And with such force.

It was just foom! -- right on the floor.

Oh, my god!

Like, "holy cow."

The chef, she was terrified.

(Women screaming)

It's scary.

Narrator: Fearing for the safety of her staff and customers, Melissa contacts a group of paranormal investigators.

Estep: Melissa called me out of her mind with worry.

She wanted to get to the bottom of some of the activity that was going on there.

She wanted to be able to tell her staff that they had no reason to be afraid.

Narrator: Richard Estep has spent over 20 years researching claims of ghostly activity.

Estep: I've learned that 90% of claims of the paranormal have no grounding, so it's very easy to say that you don't believe in ghosts and you may never encounter one.

But at some point in your life, statistically, there's a chance that you will, and at that point, it's going to make you change your entire world view.

Narrator: Melissa's experiences convince Richard to look into her case.

Estep: I was satisfied that there was enough evidence there to merit us going on site at wholly Stromboli.

Something clearly is going on.

Narrator: First, Richard looks into the history of the property that houses the restaurant.

Estep: The building was built in the early 1900s and owned by a local businessman named Edgar St. John.

(Girl coughing)

And he had a daughter named Julia who tragically is said to have d*ed at the age of 7 of pneumonia.

(Coughing continues)

Narrator: Could this be the little girl that haunts the dining room and is responsible for all the activity in the restaurant?

Richard assembles his team and heads to fort Lupton to find out.

Estep: Most of the activity, it's in the basement, which is where the voices have been heard.

And that's where I want to direct my investigation.

The sounds, the echoes, and the acoustics are very, very creepy and spooky.

Even I am starting to feel that there is an oppressive atmosphere down in this basement.

Melissa is the focus of a lot of the activity here, so we wanted Melissa with us.

Narrator: Also present is Richard’s co-investigator, Robbin Daidone.

I've been a paranormal investigator almost 18 years, so I've had a lot of experience.

Pretty seasoned. I don't think there's much I haven't seen.

There was definitely a sense when we started the investigation that there was something present, perhaps.

There was a feeling of being watched.

(Girl laughing)

Narrator: They don't have to wait long before their feelings are vindicated.

(Girl laughing)

Estep: The voice of a young girl is heard.

This is a voice that's laughing out of the darkness.

(Girl laughing)

Oh, my god.

And then we started to see equipment after equipment fail.

We have EMF meters, thermometers, Geiger counter failing.

We had several sets of cameras fail.

Batteries were reading dead.

And this is classic in the paranormal field.

One set of batteries fails? oh, that's a shame.

Twice? huh. That's kind of odd. Three times?

There is something in here that is taking this juice and is using it for its own purposes.

I was a little on edge. Melissa looked a little nervous.

There was definitely a feeling in the air like this may be a time for something to occur.

Narrator: Gaining an energy, the activity intensifies to become physical.

Something just touched me.

I saw that!

I saw her hood get tugged.

It was like physically somebody tugged her hoodie, but, you know, there was nobody there.

Something just pulled my jacket!

Something just pulled me.

That sent a different kind of chill through the investigative team.

So now you start looking out of the corner of your eye, you start looking at every shadow with a renewed level of suspicion.

(Tapping)

We hear the sound of footsteps on the floor above, which would be the restaurant floor, coming down through our ceiling in the basement.

(Tapping)

(Tapping continues)

They're childlike footsteps running across the floor.

Narrator: Richard leads the team upstairs, hoping to catch a glimpse of the little-girl ghost, Julia.

But when they arrive, they're shocked by what they see.

Estep: This is a solid shadow figure.

I've heard about them all my career.

I'm seeing it. It's incredible.

Genuinely taken aback.

Suddenly, I see this shadow figure.

I'm stunned.

Rickman: Disbelief.

Disbelief and "oh, my gosh.

I can't believe we just saw that."

Narrator: The encounter forces Richard into a troubling realization.

The ghost of Julia is not the only entity haunting the restaurant.

Who knows what it is, and who knows what its intentions are?

Narrator: Believing the shadow has moved to the basement, the team heads back downstairs.

Rickman: Immediately, people were a little bit apprehensive.

There's definitely a creep factor.

Estep: We start asking questions, very respectfully, "we invite any spirit that might be present to make its presence known, to talk with us."

If there's someone here, please present yourself.

Who are you?!

Are you attached to Melissa?!

Narrator: The entity doesn't want to talk.

It has other, more sinister plans.

I started to feel pressure in my chest, just like heavy, weighted down.

Oh, god. Oh, my god.

(Groans)

Narrator: In a haunted restaurant in Colorado...

Something just pulled my jacket!

...Paranormal investigator Richard Estep and his team have encountered an entity in the basement.

Oh, god.

Now owner Melissa Rickman is overwhelmed by a sinister force.

I started to feel pressure in my chest, just like heavy, weighted down.

Oh, god.

Um, and I can't really explain why, but suddenly, I began to cry, sobbing, just sobbing uncontrollably, just the most sad feeling I've ever had.

(Crying)

Daidone: I was mostly concerned for her emotional well-being.

I could see that she was emotionally frayed.

She was just one big bundle of nerves.

(Sobbing)

And then that emotion transformed into anger.

And suddenly, Melissa is getting very, very aggressive.

(Growling)

Melissa becomes someone else.

(Breathing heavily) Melissa!

During that time, I felt truly angry.

I was -- I was pissed, and I couldn't -- I couldn't tell you why.

And every time she said something, I retorted, although I didn't feel like it was me.

Estep: So, as a paramedic for 14 years in emergency medical services, I've seen a number of psychotic episodes.

This wasn't that.

This was something that presented very, very differently and had a very different vibe to it.

You shut up, you (bleep) (bleep)

(Growls)

I was feeling threatened.

It wasn't like I was choosing to say things.

It just felt like they were just coming out of my mouth.

And I felt horrible.

I said some things to her that I would never say.

I was terrified. I was really scared.

Narrator: Richard is beginning to fear that Melissa is becoming possessed.

We know that it's not Melissa herself that's doing this.

We know that there is something that is goading her on, that is provoking her to this type of behavior.

It felt like all of the emotion in my body just welled up and exploded.

And then I heard Robbin say, "her fists are clenched."

She's saying, "I want to hurt you, and I want to hurt you bad."

And, of course, I'm becoming concerned.

I'm watching her for any sudden movement.

She's only a foot or two away from me.

I am gonna k*ll you!

And Melissa was getting ready to att*ck.

(Melissa screaming)

It's completely unpredictable.

It's completely out of character, and that adds an element of danger to our investigation, and we had to very quickly break that up.

(Screaming)

This is the first case my team has worked on where we felt genuinely physically threatened by somebody present on the scene.

Very concerning, absolutely. Absolutely.

So, we actually decide that we're going to wrap up the investigation earlier than we ordinarily would and help coax her back to normal.

Narrator: As soon as she leaves the basement, Melissa is released from the entity's grasp.

I don't remember saying half the things I said. I don't.

I would've told you that that wasn't me.

When words are just flying out of your mouth and you don't know why, it's pretty unnerving.

My assessment of wholly Stromboli is that they have multiple entities there.

We have one that appears to be a little girl.

We have this older male shadow figure.

It's difficult to tell what the purpose is of whatever is haunting the restaurant.

Is it simply seeking attention, or is there something darker and more sinister?

Narrator: To protect her from further att*cks, they perform a blessing on Melissa.

Out! out, demon! Begone!

Whatever possessed her seems to have been removed.

But the spirit of the little girl remains.

Our line cooks still hear a little girl either giggling and playing or crying in the basement.

(Girl giggling)

I don't mind sharing the space with the tenants of the past.

The building wouldn't be there if it weren't for them, so if they want to hang out, I'm all right with that.

Narrator: But Richard worries that the negative entity may yet return.

Right now I'm content to just monitor and watch and wait for Melissa to call me if things should take a turn for the worse again.

I'm not entirely sure yet, but I do know that the last chapter in the story of the wholly Stromboli haunting has not yet been written.

Narrator: Coming up, when a child's imaginary friend turns out to be something much more sinister...

(Boy screaming)

...An investigator has to call in backup to save the boy.

It was definitely demon-induced.

(Speaking in tongues)

Narrator: But first, when a young family is tormented by paranormal activity, one investigator is forced to confront his worst fears.

Something was gonna grab me.

(Woman screaming)

Narrator: The historic town of Medway, Massachusetts, is home to Greg and Lyla Pierson.

Their lives should be full of joy and happiness after celebrating the birth of their first child.

But recently, troubling things have started to happen.

(Baby crying)

They hear a child's voice coming through the baby monitor when their child is with them.

When the Piersons go to investigate... The baby's room is completely empty.

(Baby crying)

After establishing that they're not just picking up interference from a neighbor's baby monitor, they start to worry their child could be in danger and contact a paranormal investigator.

Joe Cetrone is the founder of dark hauntings research and has been investigating the supernatural for over 15 years.

He knows firsthand what it's like to be haunted by a child's spirit.

Cetrone: I recall when I was younger, was laying in my bed, a child ghost came up to my bed and just kind of walked toward me, and it just stared at me.

Its face was pale. Eyes were black.

(Child screams)

After that, I was never the same, and ever since then, I've had a phobia of child spirits.

(Child screaming)

So when I received the e-mail from the Pierson family, it immediately sends a shiver through me.

Narrator: If Joe agrees to help the Piersons, he will have to face his greatest fear.

Cetrone: I don't want to know that if I refuse the case, maybe that child is gonna go on being terrorized by something.

I know how that feels.

(Child screams)

It, uh -- it was gonna be an experience for me, but I was willing to take that chance.

Narrator: Joe heads to Medway to begin the investigation.

Cetrone: When I first arrived, everything appeared to be normal from the outside.

Now the question was, what was happening<i> inside?</i>

(Baby crying)

(Knock on door)

I first walked in the house. Everything was fine.

Nothing unusual. I didn't feel anything.

But at that point, I figured it was best to just proceed with an assessment and a walk-through.

Ended up in the child's room.

It was a regular, normal room --

Stuffed animals, toys, crib, everything in place.

I wasn't sensing anything at all.

Narrator: Joe begins to think there's a more rational cause for the strange activity.

Cetrone: There's many explanations as to a voice coming over a baby monitor, picking up different frequencies everywhere.

Checked it, see if there was any short in the wire or something to just give me an indication that maybe there's a plausible reason why a voice is coming through that monitor, but I couldn't find anything.

Narrator: Relieved he hasn't an encountered a child spirit, Joe tells the family he can find no trace of anything paranormal in the house.

But that's when things changed.

(Tapping)

Narrator: In Massachusetts, a young family is being tormented by a child spirit.

Investigator Joe Cetrone has agreed to help, despite his own fears.

I've had a phobia of child spirits.

Narrator: Now the activity has escalated.

(Tapping)

Cetrone: Out of nowhere, I hear this sound of something walking upstairs.

(Tapping)

And it sounded like little feet walking across.

Really quick.

We all looked up.

I was like, "did you hear that?"

I was totally, like, "what is going on here?"

(Tapping continues)

Then I hear a sound coming out of the baby monitor.

(Child talking)

We heard a child speaking through the baby monitor.

But the only thing, it was -- it wasn't their child.

I see the light...

And I just see it turn off.

Something turned that baby monitor off.

I knew there was something happening.

It definitely was creepy.

It struck me and -- and brought me that fear.

Took me back to when I was younger.

Boy: No! not again!

It just made my skin crawl.

I'm battling two things --

The fact that this family is dealing with something coming over that monitor.

Simultaneously, I'm also dealing with my fears, just the fact that it might a child spirit.

Boy: No! not again!

Narrator: Forced to confront his own demons, Joe is rocked to the very core.

But he refuses to abandon the Piersons and calls for immediate backup.

Cetrone: At that point, I had my investigator come to the case with me.

He said could I come down.

Right away I could sense fear in his voice.

There's something that he doesn't want to deal with alone.

Narrator: Steve sets up his camera in the baby's room.

As I was filming the room, I sensed that darkness, that -- that feeling of something's going on, and I could feel something electric in the room.

Narrator: While Steve is upstairs, Joe heads into the basement.

Cetrone: I set the camera up, turned it on.

And that's when I felt a sense that there was something there.

(Tapping)

I hear the footsteps going across.

I started feeling that something was gonna grab me.

I don't know if it was just because of my phobias.

I just kept seeing a child's face.

Just that frightening image.

I was scared.

I felt it was playing tricks with me, a game of hide-and-seek.

And at that point, I knew that it was following me.

That fear escalated.

That was, like, the first time that I got spooked by something I couldn't see or verify.

(Child screams)

(Breathing heavily)

I knew it was getting to me.

I was afraid of it.

Narrator: Rattled, Joe radios Steve for help.

I heard Joe yell my name, "Steve, come here!"

And I felt that urgency. I could hear it in his voice.

All right. Be there in a second.

Narrator: Almost immediately, the spirit focuses its attention on Steve.

Right when I turned to go walk towards the stairs, I had the chills.

Narrator: On a case in Massachusetts, investigator Joe Cetrone is being tormented by his own deepest fear, a child spirit.

I felt it was playing tricks with me.

Narrator: Now the entity is turning its focus on fellow investigator Steve pate.

Pate: As I started heading towards Joe, there was a stuffed animal, a giraffe.

But I didn't think anything of it.

Right when I turned to go walk towards the stairs... It came flying right at me.

It flew off the shelf, hit my head.

I had the chills. I could feel it.

♪♪

I've watched a million horror movies, but that, to happen to you in real life, it's freaky.

That was it. It freaked me right out.

Narrator: Worried about provoking the spirit further, Joe and Steve leave the house to figure out what they're dealing with and how to get rid of it.

Cetrone: I reviewed all the evidence that we possibly could.

There were no orbs, there were no EVPS, there was nothing strange.

Other than what had happened to us while we were there and in real-time, there was no evidence that I can gather.

Narrator: When Joe returns the next day, Lyla Pierson has some chilling news.

(Baby crying)

She's spoken with a neighbor who told her that a young boy who lived in the house years ago tragically drowned.

Cetrone: Based upon my research, if a child d*ed prematurely or a tragic accident happened, sometimes that energy, that residual, leftover energy, that child may not be ready to move on.

(Baby crying)

A lot of time, they'll cling to their home, they'll cling to something that resembled its family, whether it was a mom or another child.

And I started to realize, that spirit of that boy was there to watch over that child, to be part of a family.

I think the child spirit wanted to stay in the house.

It's like with the stuffed animal.

The child didn't want me to lea--

Was letting me know he wanted to be part of that family.

Narrator: Joe offers to cleanse the house, but Lyla refuses.

Cetrone: She had sympathy.

Her whole thoughts of it being threatening or anything dangerous to herself or her child just went away, and she says, "you know, I'm okay.

I feel validated by everything."

Narrator: She sees the spirit not as a thr*at but as a guardian angel watching over her child.

She was welcoming it in, and she was okay with it.

Narrator: The experience also has a profound effect on Joe.

I think, for me, it did bring a little healing.

I was always fearful of child spirits, but not every situation that comes up is always evil in nature or negative.

And when a child-spirit case comes up again, at least I know I can go into it in a different way and not have those fears that I had.

Yeah, it did that for me.

Narrator: Imaginary friends are usually an innocent part of growing up.

But sometimes they turn out to be something else, something evil that can thr*aten to take over the child completely.

The quiet suburban neighborhood of Burlington, Ontario.

It should be an idyllic place to grow up.

But in one house, Karen Baines has become worried about her son.

Luke: No! Luke?

I didn't do that.

(Speaking indistinctly)

Luke, who are you talking to?

It begins when Luke becomes obsessed with a mysterious imaginary friend that he refuses to talk about.

In the basement, the family starts hearing strange footsteps and whispering voices.

(Door creaking)

Then Luke is beset by terrifying nightmares.

Luke: Mom!

What's wrong?

My door's doing it.

He says there's something evil out to get him.

Luke? Luke?

Desperate and terrified for the safety of her child, Karen reaches out to a paranormal investigator.

She was panicked, she was anxious, and she wanted us in as soon as we could get there.

Narrator: Michelle Desrochers has been actively investigating ghosts since 2004.

A founding member of Canada’s most haunted, Michelle is a veteran of over 50 cases.

What I've learned about the paranormal is that things are never what they seem to be.

You never really know what you're getting yourself into.

Narrator: Michelle needs no persuasion to take on this investigation.

Desrochers: This case was very personal to me.

This was home base.

This happened in my city of Burlington, literally one major street away from me.

Narrator: As soon as Michelle enters the house, she senses evil.

Desrochers: I felt something's not right.

I felt anxious.

Everything in my fiber was telling me that there was something a lot more malevolent in that house than just an everyday imaginary friend.

Narrator: When a young boy gets a mysterious imaginary friend, strange and terrifying things start to happen.

As soon as she gets to the house, investigator Michelle Desrochers is struck by a terrible feeling.

There was something a lot more malevolent in that house than just an everyday imaginary friend or spirit.

Narrator: As they tour the house, Karen tells Michelle something that makes her blood run cold.

Desrochers: She said, "I hear popping sounds."

Then it sounded like something was being --

Like someone took a piece of paper and went krkk! --

Ripped it behind me.

(Ripping)

There's a belief that demons tend to tear through the atmosphere... As they come into our dimension.

Narrator: Michelle suspects these strange events are connected to Luke’s imaginary friend.

Desrochers: Children are the weakest link, so if something comes in, they're usually the ones that get targeted.

So I says, "I understand you have a friend."

And he said, "yes.

He can change into a dinosaur."

I'm like, "oh."

It's definitely not common to hear about imaginary friends shape-shifting.

That is a red flag for me.

Narrator: Michelle asks how the friend came to be here.

He goes, "well, I said he could come and play."

There's the one answer I was waiting for --

The invitation.

A demonic infestation will 90% of the time start with some kind of an invitation, and this boy made the invitation.

Narrator: To have any chance of removing the entity, Michelle must revoke the invitation.

She tells Luke his mother doesn't want his friend to visit anymore.

He turned around and said, "you go home!

You cannot stay here."

I couldn't have asked for it to go better.

Awesome, buddy.

The invite has been revoked.

Narrator: But just because the demon's been told it's not welcome doesn't mean it's going to go quietly.

Desrochers: I was hugely concerned for the safety of this little boy and of this family.

Narrator: Michelle heads to the basement.

She sets up recording equipment to see if she can capture the sounds the family heard.

In the meantime, Michelle calls in extra help.

Desrochers: I brought one of my researchers along with me and one of our mediums.

Narrator: Michelle leads them to Luke’s bedroom.

And activity started almost immediately.

The psychic started picking up on different things going on, and he clearly said, "something comes out of that closet."

The door, it just started -- it would just shake.

Narrator: Then a drawer suddenly sh**t out and strikes the researcher.

Well, something is definitely trying to tell me something.

Aah!

Well, this is unusual.

Let's get out of here.

Narrator: While the team explores the rest of the house, Michelle heads back to the basement.

All of a sudden, I've got a cold spot behind me.

It started to intensify.

It got colder.

And I'm starting to feel very uncomfortable, 'cause I realize I'm not alone.

I'm not alone.

I hear a very low growl.

At that point, I realized somebody's trying to frighten me off, and that's not gonna work.

Undeterred, Michelle checks on the tape recorder.

What she hears stop her cold.

What I found was completely unexpected.

Narrator: Investigator Michelle Desrochers and her team are doing battle with a demon that's trying to take over a young boy.

Desrochers: I was hugely concerned for the safety of this little boy.

Narrator: When Michelle checks her tape recorder in the basement, she's stunned by what she's captured.

(Tape recorder rewinds)

Phantom sounds.

Narrator: Phantom sounds have no identifiable cause.

I'm hearing something pick up my recorder.

You could hear it fumbling with it.

How would it know to go after that?

It shows a degree of intelligence.

I'm hearing something going up wooden stairs, walking around on old hardwood floors.

There's no hardwood floors anywhere in the basement.

You could hear chains being dragged across the wooden floor.

Heard grunting with it, like --

(Growling)

Some of the most amazing recordings that I've captured to date.

Narrator: The evidence confirms Michelle’s suspicion that a demon is present.

Knowing the family could be in grave danger, she moves quickly to remove it.

I ask our medium to do a cleansing.

He had a seashell and a feather, he took dried sage leaves, and he proceeded.

(Speaking in foreign language)

And he basically said, "I'm asking you to leave."

(Speaking in foreign language)

Narrator: The cleanse appears to work, and the house goes quiet.

But the peace doesn't last long.

Three days later, Karen and her family endure their most terrifying experience yet.

She called me, she said, "something is wrong with my son.

He's not moving."

I said, "call an ambulance."

Luke!

"I will babysit your kids so you can get your kid to the hospital."

Narrator: Michelle gets to the house before paramedics can arrive.

I race up to the bedroom.

(Crying) He's not moving.

Desrochers: I felt an energy.

I absolutely felt a strong energy.

Let go of this boy and leave this house.

It was definitely demon-induced.

I'm fighting with this thing, telling it, "you better let go."

Get out of this house!

"I'm done with this.

You're not doing this anymore."

Narrator: After an epic battle, the demon vanishes.

Desrochers: He opened his eyes, he looked at me, and he said, "hi, Michelle.

What are you doing here?"

What are you doing here, Michelle?

He sat up, gave me the biggest hug.

He goes, "I need to go back to sleep now."

I went, "all right."

I knew, with every fiber of my being, it was definitely demon-induced.

Period.

Narrator: Worried the entity will return yet again, Michelle brings in a renowned demonologist to perform an exorcism on the house.

We will not fear the terror, nor pestilence that st*lks...

She did what she called speaking in tongues, which, from what I understand, is a form of prayer, their version of an exorcism.

(Speaking in tongues)

She said, "I'm picking up activity over here."

(Speaking in tongues)

She went through the entire house banishing that demon.

(Speaking in tongues)

Narrator: It takes hours to complete the cleanse.

But eventually, it's over.

Desrochers: She got it.

I mean, banished it.

This thing was gone, and that house was quiet.

And the next time I saw that little boy, he was just a happy-go-lucky kid.

Just happy.

(Sighs)

Narrator: The boy soon puts the demonic encounter behind him, but it has a lasting effect on Michelle.

These things are predators.

It made me realize that nothing is sacred.

You're not safe.

You're not safe.

That's scary.