01x06 - Bad Omens

[bunniefuu]

Englund: Hidden away in news
reports from america's past

Are tales so frightening
that they must be true.

♪♪

I'm robert englund.

Join me on a journey

Into the dark shadows
of our nation's history

To uncover a trilogy of stories

As terrifying as they are real.

♪♪

An unholy ritual goes
unpunished.

[crowd chants] the life of the
flesh is in the blood.

Englund: A prophetic dream...

Your turn next.

...Foretells a gruesome death.

[ screams ]

And an elaborate curse...

Eye of newt.
Toe of frog.

...Drives a man insane.

[ laughing maniacally ]

Brace yourself
for "true terror."

[ man screams ]

♪♪

A bad omen
is an other-worldly message

That something terrifying is
coming our way.

You could call it fate's
sinister way of making us sweat.

But just how vicious
can an advance warning get?

Well, now, the three stories
I have for you prove

These messages
can be downright diabolical.

So let's begin with a tale
from 1890,

And a broken man
searching for a reason to live.


taylor jones knows tragedy,

Three times over, in fact.

There lie the bodies
of his wife, mary,

And his two young daughters.

♪♪

Sleep now, my sweet girl.

Clarke: Tuberculosis is a
constant presence in pennsylvania

In the 1800s.

It's especially cruel
to taylor jones.

He lost his wife
and his daughters

All within just two years.

♪♪

Englund: Of course,
grief would be the standard price you pay

For lost love.

Oh, but I wouldn't be telling
you about taylor jones

If his journey was merely
standard, now would I?

♪♪

St. Amand: Taylor needs a fresh start.
He was a lost soul.

He'd lost everything
near and dear to him.

He was just wandering around
with no purpose, no destination.

♪♪

Six months later,

Taylor finds himself
in kansas city, kansas,

Where he lands himself
a job as a farmhand.

[ sheep braying ]

Water?

♪♪

Why, yes.
Thank you.

♪♪

♪♪

- Slow down, there's plenty more.
- It's plenty hot today.

It is.

Thank you.

- What's your name?
- My name is taylor, ma'am.

Taylor jones.
- It's nice to meet you, taylor.

I'm rose.
- Nice to meet you, rose.

Clarke: Rose cooper
is a beautiful young woman

Who ended up in kansas city,

After she'd had
a personal tragedy of her own.

Her parents were k*lled
in a flood,

And she's living with her uncle
silas and his family.

- Have you been here very long?
- Oh, about three months.

I come from back east.
Pennsylvania, to be exact.

Well, how do you like it?

Well, it certainly is wide open.

Lots of space
for a man to think.

It is.

Do you have a church?

No, I can't say as I do.

My uncle says
god gives us everything,

He says that god nourishes
the body and the soul.

Well, I'm afraid god hasn't
been very kind to me.

Englund: Life is filled with
events that can be interpreted

As signs such as the unexpected
appearance of a new friend

With a caring heart...

She passed, then the oldest one,

Then finally, my little girl.

You probably don't want
to hear all this,

...But proceed with caution

For few things
can be more deceiving

Than the intentions
of a beautiful stranger.

I want you to come hear
my uncle preach

Tonight at his church.
He can help you.

Will you be there?

Of course.

My life practically
depends on it.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Wilcox:
We are a blessed people

Even if we don't think
so sometimes.

From the book of ephesians,

"in him we have redemption
through his blood."

- Hallelujah.
- Amen.

So we are nourished
body and soul.

Clarke: What we know about
silas wilcox

Is that he was a pastor
living in kansas city.

He started a congregation
known as the samaritans.

He tells his followers
that tending to the sick

Is a way to honor god.

And in doing so, we nourish
our body and our soul.

Wilcox:
Brothers and sisters...

St. Amand: Wilcox is an electrifying
speaker who can cast a spell

Over an audience.

He can mesmerize, motivate,
and even convert

Anyone he speaks to.

In the old testament,

We find the words
that animate our spirit.

The life of the flesh
is in the blood.

[crowd chants] the life of the
flesh is in the blood.

St. Amand: That passage comes
from the old testament,

The book of leviticus and silas
wilcox latches onto it

And turns it into a kind
of mantra.

That's god's love.

It is our holy mission,

Our charge to deliver
that love to everyone.

Clarke: That first night
that taylor shows up

Is like every other night.

Wilcox releases
a powerful sermon

Full of fire and brimstone.
- God is love.

And that love moves through
each and every one of us.

I feel it.

Clarke:
But he tempers it with hope.

He tells the faithful
that faith is a guiding light

When all around them
is darkness.

Wilcox: I feel it in you.
I feel it in you.

I feel him in every one of you.

Englund: Sometimes life's
greatest risks are the ones

We don't realize we're taking,

Such as the fate
of taylor jones.

He has no idea that his search
for belonging

Has taken a perilous detour.

Wilcox:
Christ said, for my flesh

Is true food
and my blood, true drink.

The life of the flesh is
in the blood.

[crowd chanting] the life of the
flesh is in the blood.

[crowd continues chanting]

Amen.
Crowd: Amen.

Amen.

♪♪

Clarke: Over the next few weeks,

Silas takes taylor
under his wing,

Telling him about faith,
and in particular,

About the samaritans,

But his real focus
is on just one core principle --

God promises a way
out of the darkness

If you take on a cause bigger
than yourself by helping others.

Silas invites taylor to help
the samaritans

In their mission
to heal the sick.

Cast out the demons
and the afflictions

And the pain from this man.
Make his blood strong.

The life of the flesh
is in the blood.

Cast out the demons
and the afflictions

And the pain from this man.
Make his blood strong.

The life of the flesh
is in the blood.

Cast out the demons...

Englund: Though we all may look
at the same things,

What we choose to see

Depends mainly
on what we are hoping to find.

Cast out the demons,

Cast out the demons,

Cast out the demons
and the afflictions

And the pain from this man.
Make his blood strong.

The life of the flesh
is in the blood.

The life of the flesh
is in the blood.

The life of the flesh
is in the blood.

Englund: Taylor jones is looking
for a miracle.

What he fails to see
is the truth.

Taylor, I'm gonna need you
to leave us for a minute.

Please wait outside.

♪♪

♪♪

Nothing more I can do
for him now.

♪♪

It's in god's hands.

♪♪

Englund: Taylor's blindness
will seal his fate

In the most
shocking fashion imaginable.

♪♪

♪♪

Englund: When tuberculosis takes
the lives of taylor jones' wife

And two daughters,

Everything he's ever
cared about is lost.

But among preacher silas wilcox
and the samaritans,

He believes he is found.

So we are nourished
body and soul.

Englund: Soon, his faith in
the world and the possibility

Of a second chance at love
have been fully restored.

Amen.

[ sheep braying ]

Jones: Rose, you've done
so much for me already.

I don't mean to make you go
to all this trouble.

When was the last time
you dusted up here?

Honestly, I couldn't say.

♪♪

Clarke: Taylor and rose grow
closer together

During their time
with the samaritans.

He confides in her,
and she's a good listener.

You know, silas wanted
me to make sure

You came to the meeting tonight.

He singled out specifically.
- Why is that?

He must think you're
a really special person.

♪♪

I know I do.

Clarke: Taylor hasn't had a lot
of experience with religion,

And he wasn't raised
with any particular faith.

Rose was helping him with that

And bringing him
to their uncle silas flock.

♪♪

Crowd: The life of the flesh is
in the blood.

The life of the flesh
is in the blood.

The life of the flesh is
in the blood.

St. Amand: Then one night,
the samaritans

Are gathered
in the meeting house.

Much of silas' sermon is about
sacrifice and healing the sick.

Wilcox: Through us, the lord
will strengthen those

On their bed of illness,
helping the sick, the infirm.

The life of the flesh
is in the blood.

Wilcox: The lord will sustain
them on their death bed.

Clarke:
As usual, silas wilcox has

His congregates
hanging on his every word.

Brothers and sisters,

This is not something
we must merely preach.

We must put
our words into action.

But something else
happens that night.

♪♪

[ door opens ]

Taylor finally learns
why the phrase from the book

Of leviticus is so important.

You see, the samaritans
take the bible literally.

They're feeding on blood.

♪♪

The life of the flesh
is in the blood.

The life of the flesh
is in the blood.

♪♪

♪♪

I thought it was strange
at first, too,

But you'll get used to it.
You'll see.

♪♪

Drinking blood --
it seems so unnatural.

Wilcox: The life of the
flesh is in the blood.

The life of the flesh
is in the blood.

The blood of animals
and sometimes even human blood

Is still seen by some
to have mystical powers.

♪♪

Englund: What do you do when love
and your conscience are at w*r?

Will you follow your heart,
however dark the cost,

Or listen
to your awakening fears?

Either path leads to regret
that can never be undone.

♪♪

Come to me, children,
don't be afraid.

♪♪

How old are you?
- 5.

I'm 2.
- 2. Very good.

Silas had a hold over all
the samaritans, young and old,

But he was especially interested
in the cult's youngest members.

Would you girls
like a piece of candy?

♪♪

Candy?

You're both good girls,
run along and play.

God loves you.

♪♪

I want them here by midnight.

♪♪

Make sure everything is ready.

Bring the golden chalice.

♪♪

And frank, make sure
that ax is razor sharp.

I don't want any suffering.

♪♪

Frank is offering his
two girls up

As a blood sacrifice to silas.

- That's crazy.
- It's happening tonight.

Silas is a good man,

And frank, he loves
his daughters.

Rose, you know that what
silas is doing is wrong.

It's unnatural.

Englund: Every age is crowded
with people who misread the signs.

Taylor jones now finds himself
among them.

We've got to leave here.

We've got to leave here tonight.

We'll get those two little
girls, and we'll start again,

The four of us.

♪♪

Yes, tonight, be ready.

Englund: But the signs he missed
are about to prove

Just how dangerous life can be.

Rose tells taylor
she'll be back at 9:00.

Now, the plan is that
they would rescue

The children that silas
is planning on sacrificing.

When they do,
they would leave immediately.

♪♪

[ door knocks ]
rose?

[ door opens ]

♪♪

Englund: Discovering the
samaritans are a bizarre, demented

Blood-drinking cult,

Taylor jones plans
a bold rescue and escape,

One he believes he will make
with his new love, rose

- Rose?
- Yes, it's me.

♪♪

You disappoint me, taylor.

♪♪

Rose!
Rose, don't let them do this.

Rose!
You people are insane!

You're crazy!

♪♪

He's the devil.

He's the devil!

You don't have to do this.

You don't have to do this!

No!

♪♪

The life of the flesh
is in the blood, taylor.

Rose...

♪♪

...I love you.

♪♪

Englund: Not long after this
ghastly episode,

Silas and his sect
pulled up stakes

And slipped away one night
under the cover of darkness.

Some say they regrouped
under a new name in california,

But the official record

Goes as cold
as the blood in rose's veins.

♪♪

Taylor jones sealed his doom

By failing to see the warning
signs all around him,

But the bad omens in our
next story appear in a form

That should never be
overlooked --

Our nightmares.

Now, psychologists tell us bad
dreams are products of stress,

But what if they're
more than that?

What if they're ominous messages
from powers

Far beyond our understanding?

♪♪

Julia cook is 31,

A secretary
for a philadelphia law firm.

Most women her age are married.

Julia is single by choice.

Her life is everything
she wants it to be,

With one glaring exception.

She can't get
a good night's sleep.

♪♪

♪♪

[ clock chimes ]

[ glass breaks ]

♪♪

[ heavy breathing ]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Your turn next.

[ screams ]

[ heavy breathing ]

What really makes julia's
nightmare terrifying

Is that she's been having
the same one

Every night for a month,

And with each recurrence,
the intensity grows.

Murphy: Her dream is always set
at the same time -- 4:00,

And it begins
with a glass of water breaking.

It always features
the same strange man

Who appears in different guises
and settings,

But he always delivers
the same haunting message --

"your turn next."

Man: Your turn next
your turn next.

Your turn next.
Your turn next. Your turn next.

[ screams ]

Englund: Is julia's nightmare
some sort of warning?

She fears it is.
About what, she doesn't know,

But she senses the man
in her dreams does.

♪♪

I'm frightened, emily.

I know honey, but
it was just a dream.

♪♪

- Morning, ladies.
- Morning, carson

- Eleven, ms. Cook?
- What else?

Eleven it is.

♪♪

Englund: Nightmares are something
I know a thing or two about.

And the one thing that's certain

Is that you don't pick them,
they pick you.

You're sure
you never met the guy?

- Positive.
- Maybe you just forgot.

Not that face.

- Well, then, who the hell is he?
- Someone I'm going to meet.

♪♪

Have you told anyone
else about this?

[whispers]
I'm not that crazy.

♪♪

Englund: When our torment
is other-worldly,

There is no place on earth
we can find help or refuge.

Even sleep can be a curse

In which we relive a narrative
with a ghastly ending.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Your turn next.
[ laughs maniacally]

Julia, wake up.
[ screams ]

- Julia!
- Emily?

They catch you asleep

And you're gonna be out
on the street. Right.

Right.

♪♪

Englund: When a nightmare offers
a glimpse of the future,

We live in fear of the moment
becoming real.

♪♪

Oh, but that time will arrive,

And when it does, it will take
more than bravery to survive.

♪♪

♪♪

Englund: In 1893,


Is on the brink of madness...

[ screams ]

...A terrifying
recurrent nightmare

Has convinced her
she has a date with death.

Your turn next.

Your turn next.

Englund: Desperate,
julia wonders if her dream can shine light

On the strange man's identity
and his cryptic message.

The only way
she can discover the truth

Is from within
the nightmare itself.

You're crazy.
This idea is crazy.

♪♪

St. Amand: What julia cook hopes
to do is called lucid dreaming.

In a typical dream,

Our thoughts and actions
are involuntary.

The narrative plays out like
we're watching a movie.

A lucid dream is more
like playing a video game.

You can consciously control
the dream's narrative.

Englund:
Though the idea terrifies julia,

She willingly enters
her nightmare.

[ glass breaks ]

[ clock chiming ]

♪♪

Who are you?

You'll find out.

[ door slams ]

Your turn next.
[ chuckles ]

♪♪

St. Amand: Though terrifying,
julia's lucid dream serves its purpose.

She learns something
about the cryptic man.

I'm not the only one who dies.

He dies, too.

♪♪

The boss is going
to be back soon.

We need to get back to work.

Englund: Death hangs over julia
like a shroud,

And the clock is ticking.

Tick, tick, ticking, julia.

♪♪

Man: Your turn next.
Your turn next.

St. Amand: With every waking
minute, julia cook

Becomes more and more consumed
with the imminent sense

That something terrible
is going to happen.

Man: Your turn next.
Your turn next. Your turn next.

- Something wrong, ms. Cook.
- Excuse me, sir.

[ elevator dings ]

♪♪

Man: Going up?

♪♪

- Where's the regular operator?
- On holiday.

Man:
Going up, miss?

♪♪

Be right back.

♪♪

Your turn next.

♪♪

[ clock ticking ]

[ elevator dings ]

♪♪

Going down, miss?

Are you coming, miss?

Going down.

♪♪

Murphy: It's only now
that julia cook fully realizes

The meaning of her nightmare.

The one place on earth
she does not want to be

At this instant
is in this elevator.

♪♪

Stop, stop, stop, stop.

Okay, okay, okay.

Going down.

[ erratic breathing ]

[ elevator buzzing ]

[ elevator rumbling ]

[ man screams ]

[ elevator crashing ]

[ screams ]

Englund: Webster defines a dream
as a series of thoughts,

Images, or emotions
occurring during sleep.

And julia cook would advise
mr. Webster

That he's only
scratched the surface.

She'd tell him that on
rare occasions,

Terrifying messages
may come through,

But waking up screaming
is better

Than never waking up at all.

As terrifying as
that thought can be,

Fate has proven
to be even crueler

When it dispenses with warnings

And goes out of its way
to destroy you.

A century ago,
this was the plight

Of a pennsylvania factory worker
named john blymer.

His nightmare deepened
when he discovered

His misfortune was no accident.

Rather, it was the result
of a curse.

Blymer doesn't know
who is cursing him,

But he's certain his tormentor
is always at his heels...

...Ready to put an end
to his misery.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

[ three door knocks ]

[ three door knocks ]

[ two door knocks ]

♪♪

[ thunder rumbles ]

[ gasps ]

Who are you?

[ chuckling ]

Englund:
Who is blymer's tormenter?

And can the curse bedeviling him
be broken?

♪♪

[ thunder rumbles ]

Who are you?

Plagued by misfortune,
john blymer

Is certain that a mysterious
nemesis has cursed him,

And now, is moving in
for the k*ll.

Who are you?!

♪♪

Stop!

Englund: Every moment for blymer
is t*rture, even as he sleeps,

But as alarming
as his dreams may be,

He fears his waking hours
even more.

Everything john blymer had
he's lost --

His job was taken by his boss'
nephew.

His wife left him.
His children die of typhoid.

This man's life
is a train wreck.

All these things happen
in a very short period of time.

His life is falling apart
so fast,

He's certain
it can't be an accident.

He's convinced
that it's all the work

Of some diabolical force.

York county, pennsylvania,
in 1928,

Is home to a large subculture

That believes devoutly
in witchcraft.

And john blymer is sure that
a witch has put a hex on him.

Many citizens of york county,
including blymer,

Were descended
from german immigrants

Who colonized pennsylvania
in the late 1600s.

These immigrants
brought with them their beliefs

Of magic and witchcraft
from the old world,

And those beliefs
are still going strong.

Englund:
Belief is a formidable force.

It can guide and empower,

But it can also delude
and destroy.

The only chance blymer
has to break the curse

Is to identify the witch
that's cursing him,

And only one person
can help him do that...

♪♪

- Yes?
- ...Another witch.

- Emma noll?
- Yes.

Come in.

Englund: The dark arts
lead some to the light,

But others into
impenetrable blackness.

Give me your hands.

Can witchcraft
identify blymer's tormenter

And reveal the secret
to breaking the curse?

Focus on the dreams
that haunt you.

♪♪

♪♪

Put a dollar in your palm.

♪♪

And stare at the face.

Stare at the face.

Look at the face.

Now pull it away.

Look at your palm.

Who are you?
Who are you?

Rehmeyer.
Rehmeyer.

Rehmeyer.

St. Amand: According to the evening
star, nelson rehmeyer

Has long had the reputation
of possessing uncanny powers.

How do I get rid
of his curse? Tell me!

Emma noll tells blymer,
to break the curse,

He must do two things -- first,
he must seek out rehmeyer.

He must collect
a lock of his hair

And get the book of spells.

Once he has those two things,
he must bury them.

♪♪

- You sure nobody followed you?
- No one.

Englund: Only a fool faces
supernatural evil alone.

The only hope for mortals

Is that there is strength
in numbers.

Clarke: Blymer recruits two
local teenagers --

Wilbert hess and john curry.
Their lives are also in crisis.

The farm owned
by hess' parents is failing.

The crops are wilting
and the livestock is dying.

John curry is faring no better.

He comes from an a*usive family.

A shadowy figure.

He was chasing me.
Followed me here to my own room.

St. Amand: Blymer has convinced
the two teenagers

That the same witch cursing him
has also targeted them,

And he's called them
to his house

Because he believes he finally
knows the witch's identity.

You want to know who?
Nelson. Nelson rehmeyer.

♪♪

Englund: All too often,
desperation takes us on a path

Leading only to regret.

Our obsession with survival

Blinds us to our impending doom.

♪♪

♪♪

Englund:
In 1928, john blymer

Is on a mission
more befitting the middle ages.

♪♪

He believes a witch
named nelson rehmeyer

Has cursed him, and along
with his two young friends,

He's out to break it.

Erdel: Blymer's tension
is off the charts.

He's ready to blow.

Blymer has to ask himself,

"does rehmeyer really possess
that kind of power,

Or am I just crazy?"

Englund: To end the curse,
blymer must steal

Rehmeyer's book of spells
and a lock of his hair.

♪♪

Clarke: Blymer's plan
is to keep rehmeyer busy

While hess and curry go
and look for the book.

Once they find the book,
they'll get the lock of hair,

And then they'll be
on their way.

Englund: Nothing demands more
courage than confronting evil,

Even when our fears
maybe of our own making.

♪♪

- Tea?
- No, thank...

♪♪

Englund: Blymer's waking hours
and his nightmares

Have both been agonizing.

He can no longer
tell them apart.

Cigar?

No -- no, thank you.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Rehmeyer:
In the cauldron boil and bake.

Eye of newt, toe of frog.

Mmm.

Englund: Is what john blymer
sees real...

♪♪

Or is his fragile hold on
his sanity finally severed?

[ laughs maniacally ]

Time to finally
get rid of this curse.

[ laughs ]

What are...

[ grunting ]

♪♪

[ laughs ]

♪♪

Please, don't hurt me.
Please.

Shut up!

Please, don't hurt me.

Shut up, you cursed witch.

Englund: Nelson rehmeyer
has done him no harm,

But in blymer's eyes,

He's the evil mastermind
who ruined his life.

Wilbert, john, come help me.

Hess and curry have a choice.

They can save rehmeyer or
they can help blymer k*ll him.

Come here.
Come help me!

In the madness of the moment...

...They choose to k*ll.

Englund: All m*rder is savage.

And on this night, there is
one final act of barbarism.

The press account stated
the chilling truth...

Englund: Blymer commits this
cold-blooded crime to free him

From nelson rehmeyer's curse.

He was dead wrong that his hand
in life would change.

Clarke: Not long after the
m*rder, blymer is arrested,

Tried, and convicted
of first degree m*rder.

The boys are also imprisoned.

One thought torments
blymer's shattered mind.

Rehmeyer's book of spells
is never found.

This means blymer's curse
cannot be broken.

♪♪

And with that, I shall
offer a parting suggestion.

If you ever receive
a cryptic warning

About your bloodthirsty friends,
your next elevator ride,

Or even the face of someone
tormenting you,

Take heed and run the other way

So you can join me for our next
descent into true terror.

♪♪