"Hello." "Is anybody-is anybody here?" "Katie?" "Hilary?" "Matthew?" "Oh, kids, if you can hear me... just know that I'm sorry!" "I'm so sorry!" "Daddy?" "Daddy?" "Daddy?" "I'm here!" "Daddy, be quiet." "I can hear you!" "Daddy, I'm here!" "I'm here!" "Dad, no!" "Matthew, is that you?" " Daddy?" " She's coming." "Dad!" "She's coming closer, Daddy." " I don't understand!" " She's getting closer." "Daddy?" "Dad." "I don't understand you!" "She's coming closer!" "Daddy?" "She's here." "She's here." "She's here." "She's here." "She's here." "I'm sorry." " Happy birthday." " Happy birthday, Matthew!" "So, you want to hear a ghost story?" "Well, every ghost story begins with a house... and a tragedy." "And so we begin with mine." "Moving into that house was supposed to be a new beginning for me, Franklin, and the kids." "I was a pediatrician," "Franklin, a dentist." "We even built our practices there." "But after it started to happen..." "Business dropped off." "After all, What good's a pediatrician who can't keep her own babies alive?" "911." "What's your emergency?" "Oh, my God!" "What just happened?" "Tell me what happened." "Headstrong Matthew... little Hilary... and our free spirit, Kate." "Call it a wretched twist of fate." "Call it the Wrath of God." "I don't care what you name it." "All I know is, it took them." "It took each and every one of them." "People around here had a name for it." "They called it, "The Morello Curse. "" "I heard them whispering after Hilary went." "But by the time Franklin took his tumble and left me alone, the whispers stopped." "The silence had a voice, and it said," ""There, but for the grace of God, go I. "" "KRB 94.1" "Current weather for the region looking like snow." "Can somebody please change the station?" "Yeah, we're not gonna pick up much out here, honey." "Dad, seriously." "Where is this place?" " He's lost." " I am not lost." "Honey, you're lost." "No, I'm just trying" "You're lost." "Admit it." "I'm just trying to find the turnoff where we have to go." "He's lost." "Yep, I'm lost." "Wait." "I actually think this is it, right here." "And you must be the Ashers." "I'm glad you could make it." "It's nice to finally meet you." "Nice to meet you." " How you doing?" " Good." "You're gonna love the place." "Come on in." "Go ahead and show yourselves around." "Evan?" "So what do you think?" "Of the attic?" "No." "Of the house." "It's big." "Yeah." "There's a pool out back." "I mean, it's kind of shabby, but it's pretty nice." "It's a little creepy, though." "just needs some moving into." "You know, there's a master bedroom downstairs with a sick bathroom and a balcony." "So I highly doubt Mom and Dad will be considering this room, which means it's up for grabs." "Shouldn't I be the one getting something in exchange for all this getting uprooted business?" "I mean, you can come and go as you please." "I, on the other hand, am stuck here." "Oh, poor Evan." "Has to live in a big house with a pool in the backyard." "You could have some seriously big game-changing parties here, little brother." "Shit!" "What?" "What kind of people leave something like that just sitting there?" "Jeez." "Looks like that kid who died in that car accident." "You know what?" "You can have it." "Take your time, talk it over, and I'll be waiting right outside." "Yeah." "So what do we think?" "It's pretty great." "But..." "It's kind of creepy." "You're just thinking too much about the last family." "What happened to the last family?" "Nothing." "They just-they had to move out." "I mean, the place needs some fixing up, and, yeah, there's some weird stuff." "But I like it." "I love it." "So you think we can live here?" "Yeah." "I guess we could." "Thanks." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Let's see." "This could be in the dining room." "Oh, I like this one." "I love it." "Yeah." "Is that her?" "Is that who?" "Oh, yeah." "That's her." "I wonder what she's doing here." "We should go say hi." "Oh, I don't want any of her juju rubbing off on me." "Alan." "All right, tough guy." "I, for one, am immune to juju." "Uh-huh, sure, you are." "Famous last words." "Shh." "Dr. Morello?" "Mrs. Asher?" "Oh, call me Emily." "Of course." "Call me Janet." "I don't want to intrude." "It's just that I left something behind." "Do you mind?" "No, of course not." "Do you know where it is?" "I do." "Thank you, Emily." "Thanks." "Can I help you?" "Oh, hello there." "I'm Dr. Morello." "I used to live here." "Oh, hi." "I remembered I left something here." "I don't want it to get thrown away." "The portrait?" "My son's portrait." "You didn't throw it away, did you?" "No." "No, of-of course not." "Good." "There you are." "Right where you left him." "How old are you?" "18?" "Yeah." "He was your age when he died." "This is his room." "Thank you." "Bye." "Did you find what you were looking for?" "Yes." "Good." "Good." "I apologize." "For what?" "If I seem sullen." "Oh, don't be silly." "These transitions can be hard." "I've had a hard time, Emily." "I know." "Hey, Mom!" "The closet door's locked." "Do you have the key to open it?" "One second, Sarah!" "I'm so sorry." "Those kids, they're really spoiled." "I say go ahead and spoil them." "It's too late for anything else, I think." "Well, it was nice to officially meet you." "The pleasure was mine." "You're very kind, Emily." "Now, you go spoil those kids of yours." "Okay." "I will." "Okay." "Dig in." "Oh, wait." "Hold on." "Hold on." "I" " I'd like to propose a toast." "At times like these, I think it's important to stop and look around and appreciate how lucky we are." "I can't think of anything better than-than being with my family on a beautiful night in the first week of our new house!" " Hear!" "Hear!" " Cheers!" " Cheers!" " Cheers!" "Oh, yeah." "Just like I..." "Did you order the pizza with everything?" "Where do you think you're going?" "Don't touch me!" "Think you can just run out of here like your mother?" "Dad, no!" "I think he's having some problems, Ron." "I don't know what, if it's a hit selection or what, but..." "He knows he's ready." "The 3-and-2 pitch..." "You know, look." "Do I think he's, like, a troubled teenager?" "No." "But I think this move is good for him." "Because..." "Because as hard as it seems for him right now, long-term, I just think it's..." "I just think it's best." "It's hard for him." "Now, I know he had to leave his friends." "I know that was hard." "Mm-hmm." "But maybe a fresh start will be- will be good for him." "Hey." "Where are you off to?" "I'm going for a walk." "You okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "You all right?" "Hey, I'm-I'm sorry." "I didn't mean to scare you." "Who are you?" "Evan." "I'm Evan." "What are you doing here?" "I live in that house." "We just moved in." "That's the Morello house." "It's cursed." "Oh." "Great." "I... have been in that house." "Yeah, well, now I live there." "I'm Sam." "Why are you crying, Sam?" "It's none of your business." "Are you okay?" "I don't like that question." "Why?" "Because it's empty." "It's rhetorical." "Does it really make a difference if I say yes or no?" "Well, it might." "How so?" "Because if-if you need help, maybe I can help you." "You know what you are?" "You're a romantic." "You stumble upon a girl crying in the woods, and now you want to rescue her." "Do you need rescuing?" "No." "I don't." "Thanks, but no, thanks." "Okay." "Hey, wait." "Thanks." "Really?" "Mom?" "Dad?" "Is anyone home?" "No!" "No!" "No!" "Leave me alone!" "No!" "No!" "Stop!" "No!" "No!" "We'll see, when they come begging me to let them in down here." "That's important, isn't it?" "What?" "To be right, everybody else to be wrong." "What do you mean by that?" "Anita." "Anita?" " Get out, Dad!" "Get out!" " Where were you last night?" "Nowhere!" "I was nowhere!" "Where were you last night?" "Get out of my room!" "How did you get in here?" "I told you." "I've been in this house before." "Are you freaked out?" "No." "Do you want me to go?" "Okay." "What can I do?" "Protect me." "I will." "You promise?" "I" " I promise." "Do you gobble up all your fingers?" "You have got yourself one healthy baby." "Everything's tip-top." "What about all the crying?" "Oh, that's just her teeth coming in." "Perfectly normal." "Get some teething gel from the pharmacy." "Well, thank you, Dr. Morello." "You're welcome." "Hmm." "Once she gets her teeth, you must bring her to see my husband." "How's his office coming along?" "Oh, just getting started, but it won't be long." "Pretty soon, we'll be a one-stop shop." "That's great." "Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh." "Oh, hush." "Hush." "Who are you?" "I'm Sam." "Who are you?" "Anita." "It's nice to meet you, Anita." "Nice to meet you." "Anita?" "Oh, Mom wants you." "Okay." "Everyone, this is Sam." "Sam, this is everyone." "It's nice to meet you, everyone." "Evan didn't tell me he was having a friend over." "No, I'm really sorry." "I meant to be out earlier." "I should probably go." "Nice to meet you, Sam." "Likewise." " Bye." " Bye." "Yeah, I got to get going, too." "I got to do rounds at the hospital." "Let's talk about that later?" " Yeah." " Hmm." " See you, girls." " See you, dad." "Bye." "So who is she?" "I don't really know." "How did you meet?" "When I went out walking." "She was out walking too." "She-she's just going through some stuff at home and needed a place to stay." "Do you think that's what the bruises on her arms were about?" "You know what I love about you?" "You're kind." "And clearly she has issues." "Just be careful." "Yeah, I will." "Bang!" "You're dead." "God damn it." "Ah, see?" "That shit makes you paranoid." "What?" "I'm not really sure what to make of you." "You can make whatever you want of me." "You feel like sharing?" "Do you like me?" "I think so." "Don't be a coward." "Either you like me, or you don't." "So which is it?" "Yes." "Yes, what?" "I like you." "Good." "I like you too." "Isn't there something about dark waters that just gives you the creeps?" "You know, it's like, even in pools," "I'm just sitting there, waiting for something to come up and bite me." "You ever gone swimming in the ocean at night?" "No." "That's creepy." "Floating there ,with your- with your head above water and the rest of you submerged in blackness." "You have no idea what's under you." "Things that are bigger and more dangerous than you'll ever be." "And you're in their territory." "Does that sound weird?" "No." "Well, I think everyone gets a rise out of tempting fate." "That's the whole point." "Hmm." "Do you want to try something with me?" "Shh!" "Everybody's sleeping." "Come with me." "You know what this is?" "No." "It talks to the dead." "The Morellos left it here, and I found it." "Does it work?" "I don't know." "I've never tried it." "Why not?" "Guess I was waiting for the right person to try it with." "You curious?" "Have you seen these?" "Yeah." "Yeah, that's the Morellos." "See?" "If we talk to anyone, it'd be them." "You ready?" "Is anyone here?" "Shh!" "Sorry." "Is anyone in here?" "Well, I guess it's just not meant to be." "Come on, let's get out of here." "It creeps me out." "My room." "My room." "Stay." "Stay out." "Did you say that?" "No." "Sam, be serious." "I'm being serious." "I'm being serious." "Hey, what happened?" "It worked." "Well, yeah, it worked." "That's kind of the whole point." "No, the point is to want it to work and then go, "Oh, shucks," when it doesn't." "Well, that seems kind of pointless." "Hey, are you okay?" "Okay." "What just happened in there could mean one of two things." "One, a ghost, a literal ghost, just talked with us, or two, our subconscious wanted it to happen so badly that we manifested it with some hidden, messed-up part of ourselves." "What?" "I think you need to see something." "Get your coat." "I think there's a memorial stone out here... somewhere." "Hang on." "I think it's over here." "Shit." "It's all the kids' stuff, a whole pile of it." "What would it be doing out here?" "Morello went insane." "Hey, come here." "Matthew Morello?" "I think that's who talked to us." "Hey." "I'm going." "Going where?" "Home." "What's waiting for you there?" "It's none of your business." "What if I wanted to make it my business?" "And how do you suppose you do that?" "You gonna come over and beat up my drunk dad?" "If... if I stay with you... tonight... would I be causing trouble?" "Besides, I don't really want to be alone tonight." "Yeah." "Neither do I." "My mother left when I was just a baby, and my dad hated her for it." "And I guess I did too." "I've just always been drawn to this place." "It's like something's pulling me here." "Are you scared?" "I don't know." "Are you?" "No." "Why not?" "Because I..." "I want it to be true." "Why?" "Because if there's ghosts, then maybe there's a heaven." "Are you okay, Sam?" "I don't know." "Thanks." "I appreciate it." "Don't go thanking me yet." "I'm gonna make myself a bowl of cereal, think about all the shit I'm about to give you." "Oh, I'm so excited for when it gets warm." "Yeah." "I can go swimming every single day." "Oh, it's not dangerous." "You're being silly." "I'm a really, really, really good swimmer, so it'll all be okay." "Oh, yeah." "Me too." "But why would we leave?" "Well, I like it here." "Anita?" "Yeah?" "Is everything okay?" "Yeah." "Okay." "Don't-don't say that." "You're-you're just trying to scare me." "Hi." "Morning." "These are for you." "I don't know." "If I imagined it, then Sam imagined it, too." "But we were kind of stoned, so..." "Oh." " Morning." " Hey." "Hey, Dad." "Well... maybe you two were having some kind of shared lovers' hallucination thing?" "You know, a little adventure, dash of danger." "It really happened, didn't it?" "It really happened." "Coming to this house was a bad idea." "Don't say that." "Why not?" "'Cause it means a lot to Mom and Dad." "You know, people who believe in this sort of thing always talk about opening doors and inviting things through." "I know it sounds hokey, but I think it's best if we don't go testing the theory." "Samantha." "Samantha!" "Hey." "No!" "Get off me!" "Get off me!" "Hey!" "Shh!" "Shh!" "Shh!" "It's okay." "Shh." "Shh." "It's okay." "My name." "She said my name." "Do you want to talk about it?" "I doubt it, Mom." "Well, maybe she does." "We're a family that talks, so if you would like to talk about it, then" "I was just spooked." "I" " I'm sorry." "I don't know why." "Yes, you do." "Sarah." "I'm sorry, but if this is really happening, we need to talk about it." "What's really happening?" "Evan, what is Sarah talking about?" "We tried to do a kind of seance." "Seance?" "Okay." "And it worked." "It did?" "Yeah." "That must have been scary." "Yeah." "I'm sorry, Dad." "I don't think this is very funny." "You're not telling me you believe this, do you?" "Maybe I'm imagining the fact that we're kind of living in a house that a lot of people think is haunted." "Sarah, don't let the communal superstition color your perception of the facts." "That is the most important lesson that history can teach us, all right?" "Okay." "So what are the facts?" "The facts are that Evan and Sam played a scary game and Sam got scared." "There you have it, okay?" "So why don't you two stay away from the scary stuff, all right?" "Way ahead of you." "Evan already promised me that they wouldn't do it again." "Good enough." "I think you should make friends with it." "What's that, honey?" "Well, if there's really a ghost in Evan's room," "I think he should make friends with it." "Well, that's an interesting idea, but I think we should just leave well enough alone." "Yeah." "Well, if there was a ghost in my room," "I'd try to keep it happy." "Sam?" "Can I talk with you for a sec?" "Mom, she's fine." "Just sit down with me." "You're probably gonna hate this." "This is one of those weird adult talks that makes kids sick, and I'm practically a stranger." "But you entered my son's life rather abruptly, which means you've entered my life." "I could be a friend to you, if you let me." "Okay." "I know how unfair it is." "I get it." "You get what?" "This." "No, that's-that's not what you think." "Come on, Sam." "If you don't want to talk to me, you could talk to a professional, someone who will listen and keep what you say to themselves." "No." "Thanks, but no." "There's no shame in it." "I'm not ashamed." "You have him wrapped around your finger." "I think you know that." "Don't hurt him." "They're taking Sarah to visit a couple of colleges." "Are they nervous leaving us alone?" "Yeah, kind of." "What'd they say?" "That they're nervous." "Evan." "Yeah?" "You know how kids can understand things that adults can't?" "Sure." "Well?" "Well, what?" "Well... like your sister said, do you want to make friends with it, or do you want to live with an angry ghost?" "What?" "What?" "What are you thinking?" "About that thing you said." "Do you think it's possible that maybe you want to prove there's a heaven a little too badly?" "So, in other words, I'm making all of this up." "No, I didn't say that." "Then what did you say?" "I'm saying that there's a lot of good things about this life." "Why rush looking for whatever comes next?" "I'm saying I'm scared of the consequences." "I need to know what it wants, okay?" "I stared her in the eye." "And I lost my nerve, and I wasn't prepared." "But I don't know." "I feel like this is-this is one of those moments, a moment to really discover something, and it's happening to us, you and me." "Do you really want to stop before you figure out how it ends?" "What are you doing?" "Coaxing." "What happened to you?" "That's the spirit." "Okay." "You ready?" "Matthew?" "Matthew, are you there?" "Matthew, I really need to talk to you." "What have you been trying to tell us?" "Okay, Matthew." "If you won't talk to me, maybe someone else will." "Hilary?" "Kate?" "Franklin?" "Samantha." "Sorry." "Franklin, what happened in this house?" "What happened to your family?" "My room." "Matthew?" "She's coming." "Closer and closer." "She?" "Who's she?" "Was she who I saw?" "She'll hear you." " So who is she?" " Sam..." "Matthew, did she kill you?" "She's here!" "Don't you move!" "Please let me go." "Please let me go!" "Please!" "Please!" "Evan?" "Evan?" "Evan?" "Evan?" "Evan." "No!" "No!" "No!" "Evan!" "Evan!" "Evan!" "Sam." "Look, I need to talk to you." "I don't know what happened to me last night." "I'm sorry." "I have to see you, okay?" "I need to see you." "Call me, please." "I'm worried about you." "Okay, bye." "Yeah, I heard you the first time." "What do you want?" "I was hoping I could speak with Sam." "Who are you?" "A boyfriend?" "I'm not sure, exactly." "Sam can't come to the phone right now." "Leave a message after the beep." "Hi." "Hey." "God, I'm sorry about your eye." "It's not your fault." "Yeah, it is." "It doesn't matter." "We're in this together." "Okay." "I'm not sure about this." "Maybe she can tell us something." "Something like what?" "Like something useful, something we should know, something that could help us." "She was there the whole time." "Maybe she saw something." "Maybe there's something we need to do." "Do?" "Yeah." "Well, what do you mean, do?" "Well, maybe it wants us to do something, like unfinished business." "No." "No?" "Whatever we started, we need to stop." "Okay?" "I'm not curious anymore." "I'm scared." "I'm scared we went too far." "I'm-I'm scared you're gonna get hurt." "Hey, I wanted to see if we could find a heaven, not... not a hell." "Then what do you think we should do?" "We should stop and pretend it never happened." "Eventually it'll go away." "Sam, I don't think it's gonna go away." "You know, I just figure we've gone this far." "Why don't we go a little further?" "What do we gain from pretending like it never happened?" "It did happen." "And whatever's in there isn't just gonna forget about us." "So what do you suggest we do?" "We just talk with her a little, see what she has to say." "I mean, maybe she can let us know what we're up against, what it wants." "Evan, you need to listen to me." "The way your face... changed, you looked like it." "Do you understand what that means?" "It got inside you." "Look, if we started this, then we need to finish it." "Yes?" "Mrs. Morello?" "It's Evan Asher." "Oh." "What are you doing here?" "We need your help." "My help?" "Can we come in?" "No." "No." "I" " I don't think so." "What do you mean, you need my help?" "There's something in that house, and we need to know what it is." "What are you talking about?" "Something where?" "Well, it's not so much where as" "A ghost, okay?" "It's a ghost." "And we thought maybe you could help us." "How could you?" "How could you come here and disturb what little peace I have left?" "Have you been messing about in that little room with that box?" "Now, you listen to me." "You burn that box and stay out of there." "Stay out of there!" "Evan." "Hey!" " Evan!" " What?" "What if she's wrong?" "She makes it seem so simple." "What if it isn't?" "We don't have a choice." "Here." "There." "No one will ever bother you again." "You have a room all your own." "Now stay out of mine." "Hey." "Everything's gonna be okay, right?" "Yeah." "Everything's gonna be okay." "So it's over?" "It's over." "Okay." "Hi, this is the Ashers." "Leave a message." "Hey, it's Dad." "They've closed the road to the house, so we're kind of stuck down here, some kind of accident..." "On your own." "As soon as they reopen the road," "We'll head home." "Matthew!" "I'm begging you." "Don't make a sound." "And don't you move." "Evan." "Evan?" "Evan!" "Evan, get the door open!" "I can't!" "It won't open!" "Evan, she's coming!" "Please!" "Please!" "Please let me go!" "Please, let me go!" "Please!" "Evan." "Tell me something." "Let me go!" "Do you really and honestly think I'm gonna let you go?" "Please." "Please!" "Listen to your voice, all breathy and delightful, even when you're terrified." "No!" "Is that what she sounded like in bed, my dear?" "I'm sorry." "Please, don't do this!" "I'll do anything!" "Oh, I think you've already done enough, haven't you?" "Franklin!" "You seduced my husband." "You brought his illegitimate bitch into the world." "Poor little Samantha." "And you've held the brat under my nose, expecting me not to sniff it out, expecting me not to do anything about it." "Aah!" "No!" "Franklin." "Look." "I want you to see this." "Franklin, look at me!" "No!" "No!" "Are you ready, young lady?" "Please, don't hurt him." "Please." "Sam." "Hey." "Sam." "It's me." "You shouldn't have closed that door." "Please." "Hey, guys." "We're home." " Something's wrong." " Where's the lights?" "You shouldn't have burned that box!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "Mommy." "Mommy." "Mommy." "Mommy." "Mommy." "No!" "Mommy!" "And that, as they say, is that." "The Ashers left, and the girl was sent away." "She was just a cancerous little thing, like her mother." "How did I feel when I heard?" "I felt nothing." "I wonder now if the boy will haunt that rotting house forever, along with my family, waiting for others to arrive to share the truths they'd find, the truths we'll all someday find." "Death, after all, is the house we all finally come home to." "Rest assured of that." "See, every ghost story might begin with a house and a tragedy, but they don't always end the same." "Sometimes, the tragedy stays buried, and some houses are more dead than others."