Original subtitles

[baby laughing]

[scream]

I had never lived alone.

[gasps]

(woman) Get out.

(Derrick) She didn't want to admit that anything was wrong.

(woman) Out!

[faint whispers]

[screams]

(Mia) I was at home with our baby, Danielle.

Something bad had happened to her.

[gasps]

[ominous music]

(Kim) There was clearly someone in my house.

♪ ♪

And that terrified me.

(Mia) You have to leave me alone, okay, just leave me alone.

(Kim) Neither one of us could understand it.

[panting]

I wanted it out of our lives. Forever.

[faint whispers]

[somber music]

(Melissa) What are you up to?

I'm packing up his stuff.

(Melissa) Why?

Because it's easier.

(Melissa) How is that easier?

Because...

I moved to California with my boyfriend, Tom,

after grad school.

(Melissa) Because he's too much of a loser to pack his own stuff?

Ha.

No.

That way I don't have to see him.

We'd been together for three years and lived together,

so it was a pretty bad breakup, and he took it really hard

when things didn't work out.

(Melissa) Well, listen, you've been moping around--

[banging on door]

(Melissa) Why don't you get out of there?

Someone's at the door. I'll call you back later.

(Melissa) Oh, okay, well, uh, call me back.

[creaking]

(Kim voice-over) I was just about to see who was at the door,

when I noticed this awful smell.

Like, ammonia or chlorine.

[ominous music]

♪ ♪

[liquid bubbling]

[banging on door]

[gasps]

♪ ♪

(Kim) It was after 10:00.

I figured it had to be Tom coming to get his stuff.

♪ ♪

Kim Merida?

♪ ♪

Are you Kim Merida?

Yes.

You have an admirer.

♪ ♪

Oh, sorry, um...

Yeah, not an admirer.

Just an ex who won't give up.

[laughs softly]

Thanks.

[dark music]

♪ ♪

[phone vibrates]

(Kim voice-over) I felt bad.

Like I was being harsh.

But he needed to know that it was over.

[phone vibrates]

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

I figured it must have been a wrong number.

♪ ♪

[phone vibrates]

♪ ♪

[gasps]

♪ ♪

[loud thud] Aah!

[phone vibrating]

[exhales]

[phone beeps]

Hey, Melissa.

(Melissa) Hey, you never called me back.

Who was at the door?

I told my friend Melissa about the flower delivery guy

and the texts.

She reminded me that the breakup was recent

and that I had never lived alone.

[phone vibrates]

That I was just a little spooked.

[phone vibrates]

[sighs]

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

[door creaking]

♪ ♪

[dialing]

[line trilling]

(male operator) 911, what's your emergency?

I think there's someone in my house.

(male operator) Are you in a safe place?

I don't know.

[creaking]

(male operator) Ma'am--

Aah!

[panting]

The police were there within ten minutes.

There's no signs of forced entry at all,

but yeah, it certainly looks like someone was in your room.

(Kim voice-over) The officer didn't seem that concerned

that there was clearly someone in my house.

He was pretty convinced that it was Tom.

You know how we can find this ex-boyfriend Tom?

He just said he was staying at a friend's house.

I left him a message.

Okay, if he contacts you, let us know.

In the meantime we'll try to track him down.

Oh, wait, um...

there was a flower delivery guy here earlier.

He came at a weird time.

Like, 10:00.

That doesn't sound right.

We'll be patrolling all night.

Anything else happens, you give me a call.

My bet,

it's just your ex-boyfriend trying to scare you.

I don't think Tom would do something like that.

You have no idea how many times I've heard that.

And it rarely ends well.

You have a good evening, ma'am.

[dark music]

(Kim voice-over) I wanted to believe that it was Tom doing this.

It was a lot less scary that way.

♪ ♪

[crashing]

Hello?

(Tom) Kim, are you okay?

Tom?

Your message worried me. What's up?

(Tom) Is everything all right?

The cops were here.

Do you want me to come in?

Did you...

I can leave. I just...I was worried,

but I can give you your space if you want.

So, what happened?

(Kim) I knew in my heart it couldn't be Tom doing this.

So when he offered to stay the night,

I immediately felt safer.

So, uh, you're sure you don't mind staying here?

Are you kidding?

Course not.

Thanks, Tom.

[sighs]

Already?

Hmm? What?

Somebody else is already sending you flowers?

Those aren't from you?

No.

I-I want you back, but I'm not pathetic.

[suspenseful music]

[phone vibrates]

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

[glass breaking]

[Kim gasps]

Kim Merida?

Yes?

You have an admirer.

Oh, sorry, um...

yeah, not an admirer,

just an ex who won't give up.

[laughs softly]

Somebody else is already sending you flowers?

Those aren't from you?

No.

[eerie music]

♪ ♪

[phone vibrates]

♪ ♪

[glass breaking]

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

(Kim voice-over) Tom was sound asleep.

He hadn't sent that text.

[door creaking]

[ominous music]

[sighs]

♪ ♪

(Kim voice-over) I barely slept that night.

And the next morning wasn't much better.

Get the hell out of here.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

Kim, what the...?

(Kim voice-over) I walked in to bring Tom coffee,

and he had two cell phones on the table next to him.

One of them I definitely did not recognize.

Get out.

- Kim. - Get out.

One of those is my work cell,

the other one's my personal cell.

Out.

Okay. All right.

(Kim voice-over) We'd been together nearly three years.

In all that time, Tom never had a work cell phone.

So he wasn't asleep after all.

He was using that other phone just to mess with my head.

I remember thinking, how could I have spent that long

with someone that cruel and not known it?

[stirring music]

[car engine starts]

[sighs]

[ominous music]

♪ ♪

[phone vibrates]

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[camera shutter clicks]

(Kim voice-over) The camera noise went off like I had taken a picture,

but my finger wasn't on the button.

[gasps]

(Kim voice-over) There was no one there.

[panting]

But in the picture, there was clearly a man

standing behind me, with a tattoo on his neck.

What am I looking at here?

I think it's pretty obvious.

Miss Merida, you think this is some kind of a joke?

What are you talking about?

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

It was there. He was there.

I...

I could see him clearly. I...

This is very common.

Our brains are wired to see human faces in things

that maybe aren't, like clouds.

It's called matrixing.

I didn't imagine him. He was there.

Well, if he comes back, let us know.

Listen, what if we had you work with someone to try to describe

who you think you saw?

Then we'll see what we can do from there.

(Kim voice-over) The older cop clearly didn't believe me.

The younger one, maybe he was just trying to be nice.

But he actually did try to help me.

[scribbling]

He was gaunt, very strong jaw,

had this, like, dirty blonde...

(Kim voice-over) I explained the man I'd seen in the photo in exact detail.

The biggest thing that stood out was his tattoo.

It looked like an octopus.

The picture was gone from my phone,

but I could still see him clearly in my head.

That's him.

That's who I saw.

[dark music]

♪ ♪

I'll run it against our database and see if anything pops up.

I know you're probably really scared.

Even if it's something small, give me a call.

And I'll make sure someone stops by.

That's what we're here for.

(Kim voice-over) The fact that Officer Keane was being so helpful

made me feel a little better.

[keys clacking]

[car honks]

[tires screech]

But I was still jumping at every little sound I heard.

[computer beeps]

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

[shrieks]

[camera shutter clicks]

[gasps]

[scribbling]

(Kim) That's him.

That's who I saw.

I'll run it against our database and see if anything pops up.

[computer keys clacking]

[computer beeps]

[ominous music]

♪ ♪

[shrieks]

[screaming]

[panting]

[phone vibrating]

♪ ♪

You have to leave me alone, okay,

whoever you are, just leave me alone.

(Keane) Kim, Kim, calm down. This is Officer Keane.

Oh, thank God.

I'm sorry, there was, there was...

(Kim voice-over) What exactly was I going to tell the officer?

That I saw a video of myself dead?

I figured he'd hang up the phone right then and there.

And honestly, I wouldn't have blamed him.

(Keane) Listen, are you sure about this description

you gave to our sketch artist?

Yes. Yes.

(Keane) And the tattoo?

You feel like you saw that clearly?

Yes, I saw it very clearly.

(Keane) Well, we found your guy.

His name is Mark Dawkin.

Oh, my gosh, did you catch him?

(Keane) We did.

Five years ago.

What? I don't understand.

What do you...

(Keane) Mark Dawkin's in a jail cell upstate.

He's been there for a long time.

I waited out on my front lawn until Officer Keane showed up

20 minutes later.

Mark Dawkin was convicted of killing two teenage girls.

He sent them texts pretending to be a boy from class.

There was another one who went missing in the next town over.

I'm sorry to tell you this, but...

one of his known residences was here.

He rented a room in this house,

from and old couple who used to live here.

Did they ever find the third girl?

No.

Did they search here?

Maybe they should look again.

(Kim voice-over I told him about the video that I'd seen of myself

in the bath tub.

But, of course, by the time I went to show him,

it was gone.

Maybe we can use your sketch.

Then get some guys in here to check the pipes again.

But I can't promise anything.

(Kim voice-over) My sketch matching that prisoner was definitely weird.

But even if it was him, how could he be responsible

for all the things that I've been seeing

if he was locked away in a jail cell?

There is so much energy trapped here.

So much hatred. So much anger.

(Kim voice-over) I was desperate for answers, so I called a psychic.

I didn't tell her anything about what had been happening.

He left a piece of himself here.

(Kim voice-over) But somehow, she knew about the fact that he was in prison.

Pacing around his cell with nothing to do but hate.

Fury.

He's full of it.

And it's manifesting here.

(Kim voice-over) I couldn't understand what she meant by that.

Or how it was even possible, until she told me.

It's a poltergeist.

(Kim voice-over) She explained that a poltergeist is a paranormal entity

created by a living individual.

In this case, that prisoner who used to live in my house.

How do I get rid of it?

You can't.

Only he can.

(Kim voice-over) The psychic said people who create poltergeists

have no clue they're even doing it

because it's a subconscious way of manifesting their anger.

When I heard that, I was out.

I told my landlord about the history of the house,

the videos and the texts.

She thought I was crazy and was happy to see me leave.

The house rented out again right after.

But the new people didn't stay for long.

And I'm pretty sure I know why.

[dramatic piano sting]

[children shouting]

(Derrick) Why do we need a rocking chair?

It's not that we need a rocking chair.

It's that I'm home with the baby all day

and I want a rocking chair.

Why don't we just buy a new one?

I don't want some store-bought chair that everyone else has.

Besides, this one probably has some history.

[laughs softly]

[children shouting]

Okay.

We'll take it.

(Mia voice-over) My husband Derrick worked in Manhattan's financial district.

He was there on 9/11

and I was at home with our baby Danielle.

The whole thing scared us so much

we decided to move to the suburbs.

We were settled into our new house by mid-December.

Just in time for Christmas.

[dark music]

♪ ♪

Danielle was the worst sleeper.

I had talked to a lot of other new moms,

and none of them had as much trouble with sleep training

as we did.

[Danielle cooing]

(Mia voice-over) But after rocking her in that chair for only 15 minutes...

Shh.

(Mia voice-over) She was out like a light.

Right now you'll never guess what a little demon she is.

Shh. You'll give her a complex.

She's giving me insomnia and gray hair.

At least the chair works.

(Derrick voice-over) Mia was having a tough time since Danielle was born.

Her doctor said it was a mild case of postpartum depression.

She didn't want to admit that anything was wrong.

But the day that we got that chair

was the happiest I'd seen her in months.

[dark music]

♪ ♪

[Danielle crying]

Oh, you have work in the morning.

- I'll go. - Okay.

[Danielle crying]

You're supposed to fight me on that.

I love you.

[Danielle crying]

[sighs]

[Danielle laughing]

All of a sudden, it sounded like Danielle started laughing.

I'd never heard her do that when she was by herself before.

[dark music]

[Danielle laughing]

♪ ♪

[Danielle laughing]

(Mia voice-over) Danielle had pulled herself up in her crib

and she was standing.

All the baby books I had read said

she wouldn't be able to do that until she was at least

a couple months older.

[chair creaking]

Why do we need a rocking chair?

I'm home with the baby all day and I want a rocking chair.

[Danielle crying]

[sighs]

[Danielle laughing]

[creaking]

[creaking]

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

The chair was moving on its own.

I-I think--

Old house, warped floors, drafts...

there's a logical explanation.

And I know that you know that, so...

[sighs] Go back to bed.

I know it was possible the chair could have moved from a draft,

or something, but it was the way it was moving.

It really looked like someone had pushed it.

Or, like, someone was in it.

[dark music]

♪ ♪

[Danielle crying]

[faint humming]

[Danielle's crying subsides]

Hm.

[toilet flushing]

[dramatic music]

What?

♪ ♪

Derrick.

Derrick.

[Danielle cooing]

I, uh...

I heard a voice in here.

Well, you know, there's always a logical explanation.

Yeah, right.

Sometimes the monitors pick up other signals.

(Derrick) It's like a CB radio.

[Danielle coughing]

(Derrick voice-over) I knew it sounded like a woman's voice

coming from the baby monitor.

But I also knew that I was half asleep and exhausted.

Maybe I dreamt it.

(Derrick voice-over) It was an easy thing to write off.

But between what Mia and I had seen,

I didn't feel comfortable leaving Danielle alone in there.

[solemn music]

♪ ♪

[chair creaks]

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

[creaking]

♪ ♪

You wouldn't believe me if I told you.

(Derrick) Come on.

[eerie music]

♪ ♪

(Mia voice-over) The next day was rough.

Danielle cried a lot, but I finally got her down for a nap

in the afternoon.

[phone ringing]

Hi, Mom.

(Mia's mom) How are you doing, honey?

I'm...fine.

(Mia's mom) You don't sound fine.

What do you want me to say?

(Mia's mom) That therapist I referred you to.

Did you ever call him?

(Mia voice-over) My mother had been nagging me about getting treatment

for my depression.

(Mia's mom) You need to. Okay?

It'll help you so much to talk to someone about it.

Fine, I'll call him, I promise.

(Mia voice-over) Between her and Derrick, I was just really annoyed

with everyone thinking they knew what was best for me

instead of just letting me handle it my own way.

(Mia's mom) Make sure you tell him about how it all started

after Danielle was born, and then it got worse--

- [Danielle crying] - I got to go.

Danielle's up.

[phone beeps]

[creaking]

[Danielle laughing]

[creaking]

[Danielle cooing]

[dark music]

♪ ♪

[Danielle cooing]

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

Why don't we just buy a new one?

I don't want some store-bought chair that everyone else has.

Besides, this one probably has some history.

[creaking]

[suspenseful music]

[creaking]

[Danielle cooing]

[Danielle crying]

[dark music]

♪ ♪

[Danielle cooing]

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

(Mia voice-over) At first, I thought it was Derrick

playing some kind of twisted joke.

But he said the chair was still outside

when he left for work in the morning.

[dark music]

♪ ♪

I had no idea how that chair got back upstairs.

What?

"For Caroline."

It says "For Caroline" on it.

Before we burned it, I wanted to know more about it.

(Derrick voice-over) I don't know why.

The next day, my mom watched the baby while we went shopping

for one of those video monitors.

[classical music on radio]

(Mia voice-over) And on the way back,

we stopped by the house where we bought the chair

[blows air]

♪ ♪

Hi.

Sorry to bother you, but--

We wanted to ask you about the chair.

- The inscription on the bottom. - Caroline.

- Is Caro-- - She's dead.

Just because I had a yard sale here,

doesn't give you an invitation to drop by whenever you like.

Sorry to bother you.

- Let's go. - Merry Christmas.

♪ ♪

I tried to convince Mia that he wanted to get rid of the chair

because it too many memories of Caroline.

Not because something bad had happened to her.

But honestly, after everything that happened

since we brought it into our house,

I wasn't entirely convinced of that myself.

[eerie music]

♪ ♪

[Derrick laughs softly]

What?

The whole thing with this chair.

It's funny to you?

No, it's just...

it's the single weirdest thing I've ever been a part of.

[Derrick laughs]

- It's not funny. - I know.

I know. It's just so damn weird.

I'll take it to the dump first thing in the morning.

[ominous music]

♪ ♪

[Danielle crying]

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

- Danielle. - Hmm?

- The baby's gone. - What?

♪ ♪

(Derrick) Stay here. Call 911.

[phone beeping]

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

(female operator) 911, what's your emergency?

(female operator) Hello? Hello?

[gasps]

Why don't we just buy a new one?

I don't want some store-bought chair that everyone else has.

Besides, this one probably has some history.

[creaking]

[suspenseful music]

What?

(Derrick) We wanted to ask you about the chair.

(Derrick) The inscription on the bottom?

Caroline.

- Is Caro-- - She's dead.

[Danielle crying]

- Danielle. - Hmm?

- The baby's gone. - What?

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

(Derrick) Stay here. Call 911.

[phone beeping]

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

(female operator) 911, what's your emergency?

♪ ♪

(female operator) Hello? Hello?

[gasps]

[rope swaying]

(Derrick) Aah!

What, what? What'd you see?

Where's the baby?

[Danielle crying]

(Mia voice-over) Danielle was only six months old.

She had just barely started pulling herself up in her crib.

Se there was no way she could have gotten herself

out of her crib and down the stairs.

I was convinced that it all had to do with the chair.

And I wanted it out of our lives forever.

[holiday music playing]

♪ ♪

The only way this thing's getting built is if

you keep these coming.

I mean, seriously.

Who are these written for?

Who writes this stuff?

[laughs]

It's gonna take me all day.

[doorbell rings]

I got it.

♪ ♪

How we doing?

Good.

(Mia voice-over) It was weird that he came by our house unannounced like that,

especially since he had been so mad at us for dropping by his.

But it turns out,

he had something he wanted us to know after all.

Caroline was Evelyn's daughter from a previous marriage.

Real troubled.

Got pregnant too young.

Probably thought that was gonna change her life.

It did. Postpartum depression.

(Derrick voice-over) He explained that Caroline was his stepdaughter.

Her mother, Evelyn, was his late wife.

They tried getting Caroline medical attention.

Getting her to see a therapist.

She refused all of it.

Kind of like Mia.

Anyway, she waited till the boy was out with his father,

then she used the rocking chair to tie a rope around the rafters

and hang herself.

(Derrick voice-over) It sounds crazy to hear myself talk about it now.

But I saw that girl hanging before I knew about it.

I mean, for me, there was no question.

We'd both seen Caroline in our house.

[Danielle laughs]

(Mia voice-over) After we burned the chair, nothing strange happened again.

[Danielle cooing]

Not with the baby, or the house.

Hearing him tell us that story,

I kind of felt a connection to Caroline.

I understood the dark place she was in better than anybody.

And I was lucky to find my way out of it.