"WOMAN:" "Fromtheveryfirstmoment," "Ifeltdangerthere." "Who's out there?" "(distorted howl, shriek)" "Oh!" "My family was in danger and all I could do was watch." "Whenyouseesomething likethis, a lot of crazy thoughts go through your head." "WOMAN:" "Humans respond to fear intwosimpleways:" "fight or flight." "(inhuman howling)" "Our friends used to tease us that they didn't like socializing with Matt and I because we were too perfect." "They'd get in fights in the car on the way home from dinner with us because... we made them feel like they weren't as in love as Matt and I were." "I won a free yoga class at a work raffle." "I'm a pharmaceutical salesman." "Shelby was the teacher." "I... pulled a hamstring and never took a yoga class again, but it was the best thing that ever happened to me." "Things were going really well." "Wesettledin LosAngeles-- the yoga capital of the world-- and... decided to start a family." "Yeah, we found out that, uh, Shelby was pregnant on the same day that I got promoted to West Coast sales manager, so we decided togooutand celebrateboth ." "(grunts) (screams)" "That was the worst night of our lives." "No, no!" "MATT:" "It was a gang initiation." "Gameofknockout." "Theyhadto  pick a random person on the street, sneak up on 'em and... knock 'em out." "Help!" "Yeah!" "Help!" "Somebody, help us!" "SHELBY:" "Iwasin atrance inthewaitingroom." "If I lost Matt..." "Mrs. Miller?" "Is he okay?" "His orbital socket is broken." "He will need surgery once the swelling goes down." "Our bigger concern is he hasn't regained consciousness." "Well, I need to see him." "If I'm with him, he'll wake up." "I know it." "(heart monitor beeping steadily)" "I was right." "As soon as we touched, he started waking up." "That's just... that's just the kind of connection that we have." "Hewasgonnabeokay ." "But she wasn't." "She lost the baby." "They don't know if it was the stress or-or, um, being pushed, but..." "(clears throat) ...but she... she lost the baby." "Thecityjustdidn't feelsafeanymore." "Weneededto getout ." "Iwantedto go east, towhereIgrewup." "Mysisterlivedthere." "Mymom." "Itwashome." "It'sinNorthCarolina." "Rightneartheocean,but... butalsofullofthemost gorgeousnativeforests." "Itwasso quietand wonderful andcalm." "Ithinkwejustboth just realized that at the end of the day, we weren't city folks." "SHELBY:" "Wewerein thewoods, havingfun." "(laughs)" "Itwasaperfectday,  andwefoundourselves infrontof  themostbeautiful oldfarmhouse." "Itwasthreebedrooms." "Andtwostories anda basement." "Theytoldus thatithadbeen builtin1792." "It was in great shape." "MATT:" "It felt like itwasmeanttobe." "Liketheuniverse justwantedus  tobethereatthat moment." "Ialsothought"there'snoway wecanaffordthathouse."" "AUCTIONEER:" "Opening bid is $21,000." "What is your bid?" "Well, now, that includes the ten acres of forest around the house." "But you can't build on it." "It's protected." "That seems inexpensive." "(laughs)" "What's wrong with the property?" "Hurricanes." "You don't want this house." "We bid $25,000." "$26,000." "Do I hear 27?" "We bid $40,000." "Itwas almost all of our savings." "It totally turned me on when he did that." "Going once." "Going twice." "Sold, $40,000." "(laughs)" "(truck door opens, closes)" "(engine struggling to start)" "Oh, my..." "What did we just do?" "Baby, we just started over." "SHELBY:" "Ilovedit ." "AndIlovedhim, butfromtheveryfirst momentI felt dangerthere." "(engine starts)" "¶ ¶" "MATT:" "From the moment Iwalkedintothe house," "I..." "I was home." "Imean,Ilove thecountrylife-- thefreshair, wakingupto thesound ofthebirdssinging." "IfShelbyfeltany different, shedidn'tsayanything outloud, butI senseda-areluctance." "Maybeshemissedthe city." "Maybemywounds healedquicker." "Theywerenothing comparedtowhatshe lost:" "alifeinsideofher." "(moaning)" "I love you." "(inhuman howl in distance)" "(moaning)" "(howling continues)" "What the hell was that?" "(loud pounding) Shit!" "No, no, no... no, no, no, no." "Matt, please don't go." "Matt, please don't go down there." "Just stay here, stay here." "(howling continues)" "MATT:" "At first I thought itwasa...araccoon or-ora bear." "Buta beardidn'tdothis ." "(thump)" "Who's there?" "Who's out there?" "(howls)" "Hey!" "Whenyousee somethinglikethat, a lot of crazy thoughts go through your head." "Youthink,today, prejudiceisnot going to rear its ugly head." "But... this is the South." "Theyjustgotrid  oftheConfederateflag." "AndwithShelbyand Ibeing aninterracialcouple... (whispering):" "Matt!" "MATT:" "Thiskindof hateissomething that's always in the back of my mind." "AndthenIthought ofthosehillbillies wholosttheauction." "Wouldn't surprisemeabit ifthey were  tryingtoscareusaway  withthiskindofvandalism." "We ran away once, and... we weren't gonna be victims again." "Ihadjustfinished 90minutesof my practice, andI hadfallenasleep duringmyShavasana,so..." "Iwasn'tquiteright withtheworld." "(hail rattling)" "¶ ¶" "Ow!" "(clinking)" "Hey." "Oh, hey." "MATT:" "Shelby was literally shaking..." "Hey." "You okay?" "...whenI gotback fromrunningerrands in the little town a few miles away." "Honey, it-it's just a hailstorm." "I drove through it on the way home." "I know what I saw." "It wasn't ice." "There were human teeth falling everywhere." "Weather 'round here does take some getting used to." "That's it." "SHELBY:" "Ifeltprettyfoolish." "Imean,teethdon 't fall from the sky." "Raleigh is only two hours away." "WakeMed is one of the busiest hospitals in the state." "If I land these accounts, I won't have to be gone so much." "Babe, I know what I signed up for." "Traveling salesmen travel." "It's how we pay the bills." "All these renovations." "Even that ugly tie that you're wearing." "(laughs)" "It's my lucky tie." "Hey, are you sure you're gonna be okay?" "I can always cancel my trip." "I'm a big girl." "I'm gonna be fine." "I'm gonna be fine!" "Okay." "Okay." "(laughs)" "Okay." "Well..." "It's good." "Go." "Fine." "SHELBY Totellyouthe truth," "Iwaslookingforward tosomealonetime." "Hewasbeing so sweet and so patient, but... he was... hovering, extraprotective, andI feltlike" "Iwassuffocatingalittle." "SoI wantedhimtogo." "IfeltlikeIneeded the alone time." "Ina way,it feltnormal." "That'showthings hadalwaysbeenfor us." "He'dgoawayonbusiness, and I'd miss him like crazy." "And then, we'd have the best sex when he came back." "I'd feel like... like nothing could tear us apart." "AndI knewthatIwas probablybeingsilly." "Ijust..." "It takes time to settle into a new home, and I just needed to relax, and... (laughs)" "Luckily, that's-that's what I do for a living." "(inhales deeply)" "(exhales deeply)" "(wind whistling, creaking)" "(sizzling)" "(shutter bangs loudly) Oh!" "(loud, rhythmic clattering)" "(sighs)" "(wind whistling)" "(laughs)" "(wood creaking)" "(echoing):" "Is anyone there?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "(sighs)" "(insects trilling and chirring)" "(trilling, chirring continuing)" "(water gently splashing)" "(muffled scream)" "MATT:" "Well, Shelby called me, panicked,crying, sayingshehadbeenattacked." "Iwasin Raleigh, twohoursaway, butI madeit home inhalfthetime." "Where's Shelby?" "Is she all right?" "She's inside." "You her husband?" "Your wife reported that she was assaulted and held underwater in the hot tub." "She claimed to have struggled against her attackers." "What do you mean, "claimed?"" "I found no evidence of footprints or marks on the deck or in the grounds around the hot tub." "She also said her attackers were dressed in old costumes holding pitchforks and torches." "Does she imbibe?" "I know exactly who did this." "It's those ZZ Top wannabes." "They've been trying to scare us off since we bought this place." "I'll bet it's the Polks." "Let me, uh, go have a talk with them." "Those guys keep to themselves, and they're, uh, not so easy to find." "We need protection!" "Get a gun." "What?" "!" "Thatcop-- he wasn't gonna do a damn thing for us." "Icouldtellbyhismanner, andhis-his..." "hiscondescendingattitude." "He said he'd file a report, but I knew it would just end up in the bottom of a drawer somewhere." "Was it those guys from the auction?" "(quietly):" "No." "I don't..." "I don't know." "It's just, what you told the cops didn't make a whole lot of sense there, Shelby." "I saw what I saw." "They held you down..." "until they let you up?" "SHELBY:" "Iwasreallyscared." "I was choking on water." "WhenI couldfinally seeclearly, theyweregone." "Iraninside to call the police, then I called you." "(sighs)" "What?" "The cops said that they didn't find anything by the hot tub." "No fingerprints, no torches." "They must have come back for them." "I wasn't imagining things, Matt." "I wasn't." "Mm." "Do you think I'm lying to you?" "Shelby, absolutely not." "No." "I believe you 100%." "Shelby, no." "I'm sorry." "I believe you." "I believe you." "I'm sorry." "I believe you." "(sighs)" "SHELBY:" "Ifeltso guilty, becauseI couldn't tellMattthetruth." "I didn't want to live there." "(wind chimes tinkling)" "(insects trilling)" "(inhuman howling)" "(howling continues)" "(wind chimes tinkle)" "(gasps)" "MATT:" "Idecidednottotell Shelby aboutwhathappened, butitwasprooftome  thatthatwhitetrashgang  wastryingto scareusaway ." "(grunts softly)" "Ihadto be back inRaleighthenextday, so," "Isetup securitycameras allaroundtheperimeter thatweresyncedtomycell phonesoIcouldkeep aneye ontheplace fromwhereverIwas ." "(crowd cawing)" "Not bad for an amateur." "ButI wasnotgoing toleaveShelbytherealone." "SoI calledmy sister." "Shelby never liked me." "Which is fine, because I was never a huge fan of hers." "Yogaisnotajob." "Iusedto playvolleyball inhighschool." "Backthen, yogawascalled"stretching,"" "and it was something you did before, not as exercise." "(chuckles) Lee judged my yoga and my gluten allergy andmytwoyearsofcollege." "ShethoughtIwas too much ofa phonyforher brother tomarry." "I got my degree in criminal psychology from UNC." "Iwason track tomakedetective." "Didn'tworkoutthough." "Ididn'tstarttakingpills becauseofsomefault inmycharacter." "I got hurt." "On the job." "(indistinct shouting)" "(baby crying)" "(crying)" "(gunshot) (screams)" "Doyouknow prescription painkillers can be more addictive than heroin?" "Iwentfromtwo pillsaday  totwoan hour." "Idon'tremember howmanyItookthat day." "Idon'tremember verymuchof anythingatall thatday,really." "(tires screeching)" "(siren wailing) (starts engine)" "(tires screeching)" "He was a serial rapist." "A real asshole." "I hate assholes." "(tires screeching) (sirens wailing)" "Put down the gun!" "Put it down!" "You heard me." "Put down the..." "Itwouldhavebeen histhirdstrike." "Youaskme ,it 'stheone time thelawworkedexactly thewayit should." "(indistinct police transmission)" "Hey!" "What you nee..." "They fired her." "Come on, Mason." "Divorce?" "Now?" "When I'm at rock bottom?" "How many times have you forgotten to pick up your daughter at school this month?" "Three times." "Which is three more the amount of times than you've touched me in the past month." "I'm done with this." "LEE:" "The judge awarded him fullcustodyof Flora." "(door shuts)" "Igotherthreedays every14." "21%ofherlife." "That's all they gave me." "Can we stop for a moment, please?" "(sizzling)" "Hmm." "(creaking)" "(wind blowing in distance)" "(sizzling continuing)" "LEE:" "Smelling g..." "Oh, Jesus!" "Oh, Jesus, Lee!" "Don't sneak up on me like that!" "You scared the shit out of me!" "My brother married one jumpy bitch." "She knew why we called her there." "And she knew that someone was messing with us." "Why would she move the knife like that?" "So when did you become a cook?" "What is that supposed to mean?" "Recently." "It relaxes me." "Mmm." "Cookin'?" "Yes." "Cooking." "(sighs) Look, can I be real with you?" "While I'm here, could you please not drink inside the house?" "I know it's your home, but I'm hanging on to my sobriety by my teeth here." "But don't worry, I'll stay sober." "Somebody's got to protect you from the wild men in the woods." "And I appreciate that." "Although..." "I wish you still had your badge and your gun." "Well, I may not have my badge, but Mama's still packin'." "I'llbehonestwithyou," "I never put much stock in the stories my sister-in-law was telling my brother." "Sheneverwantedtomove  tothecountry." "Ifiguredshewas justtrying toscarehim sothey'dpackup andmovebacktoL.A." "(inhuman howling)" "(chimes tinkling)" "(creaking)" "Shelby, um..." "Iwaspissedoff ." "Ithought Shelbywasmessingwithme." "Why, Shelby?" "Why would you do something like that, huh?" "Do something like what?" "This." "Why would you do this?" "I didn't do anything." "And I certainly didn't finish off that wine, so maybe you're the one seeing things." "Wait a minute." "Hold up." "I'm seeing things?" "The reason I'm out here is because of what you been seeing." "(phone buzzing) MATT:" "My phone buzzed around11:30." "I thought it was Shelby texting tosaygoodnight, butitwasn'ther ." "It was an automated alert from the security system" "I'd installed." "Thesensors hadbeentriggeredby... something." "(phone buzzing) Well, bottles just don't roll across the floor by themselves." "Why you messin' with me?" "For the last time, I didn't do it!" "God, everything is a five-alarm emergency with you." "MATT:" "Iwasin acompletepanic." "Myfamilywasindanger, andallIcoulddowaswatch." "Whena mob shows up at your house in the middle of the night with torches, they are not there to welcome you to the neighborhood." "(phone buzzing) Do you know how many hours Matt spends worrying about you?" "MATT:" "And no one would pick up thedamnphone." "Every time you have a problem, you call Matt." "Your husband's mean to you, you call Matt." "You fall Uh-huh." "off the wagon, you call Matt." "Well, that's what families do!" "We look out for each other!" "Yeah, except for you take." "You take and you take." "Where were you when Matt was lying in that hospital room, unconscious, fighting for his life?" "Where were you..." "(door opens)" "(shushing)" "(creaking)" "(whispering):" "Someone's in the house." "(soft creaking)" "(hinges creaking) (man shouting, panting)" "(chuckling)" "(man shouting)" "Hey, Lee, I'm not staying up here by myself." "Where's your gun?" "Where it should be, locked, in a drawer upstairs." "Do we need to go back up and get it?" "Shh." "(man panting)" "(man whimpering)" "(man shouting)" "(man whimpering on TV)" "MAN:" "I knew it... it came back." "I knew it was real." "SHELBY:" "Whywouldsomeone breakintomy house just to play a home movie?" "(inhuman howling on TV)" "Oh, God." "I've heard those noises." "(panting, mutters)" "It's close." "(panting):" "I can smell it." "(inhuman howling, man yells)" "(man screaming, howling continues)" "I finally got you, you son of a bitch." "What the hell was that?" "I have no idea." "We have to get out of here." "Come on." "Yeah." "(door slams shut, gasping, whimpering)" "(power whooshes off, phone buzzes)" "MATT:" "Iwasfreakingout ." "I called the cops-- they said they would look into it." "Frigging useless!" "(yells)" "Shit!" "Shit!" "Iknew, even100milesaway," "I'dgetthere beforetheywould." "I just kept saying, "Please, God, just-just get me home." "Please just don't let me be too late."" "(floorboards rattling)" "Someone's up there." "Shh." "(floorboards rattling)" "(panting, gasping)" "A lot of someones." "SHELBY:" "Weweredownthere 20, maybe... 30 minutes, butitfeltlikeforever." "Come on." "Come on!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Shh." "Keep it down." "(squeaking, banging, rattling)" "What are you doing?" "Shh." "(sighs) Come on." "No, no, no, no, no, no." "Come on!" "(panting)" "¶ ¶" "Oh, my God." "MATT:" "Ifinallyarrived." "Thecopshadcomeandgone bythetimeIgotthere ." "Leesaidtheytookareport and chalked it up to vandalism." "Thiswasnotvandalism." "This was terrorism." "How'd they do this so quickly?" "SHELBY:" "That's not the point, Matt." "They broke into our home." "They locked your sister and me in the basement." "They were here." "They lured us down there, made us watch this creepy video." "What video?" "SHELBY:" "Ididn'twanttoseeitagain,  but I went down with him anyway because I wasn't going to be alone in that house." "Matthadn'tbeenthere whenithappened,so,  ofcourse hedidn'ttakeitseriously." "MATT:" "Itookit seriously." "I mean, I thought the video was fake." "(man yelling)" "Hadtobe thoserednecks goingallout, tryingtogetustoleave ." "(video rewinding)" "(inhuman howling, man yells)" "(man panting)" "I finally got you, you son of a bitch." "MATT:" "Pissedmeoffevenmore ." "People do this all the time." "Neighbors or locals do crazy things to try to drive out the new homeowners, so they can come in and buy the property cheap." "They're just trying to freak us out so that we'll leave." "Well, it's working." "I want to leave, Matt." "Now." "If they want the house that badly, let them have it." "Did the cops see these tapes?" "Yeah." "SHELBY:" "They don't care." "They just think it's some good ol' boys being good ol' boys." "You know they're not gonna lift a goddamn finger to help us." "LEE:" "Come on, Shelby, Shelby, come on." "You got to let the cops do their job." "Oh, don't take this personally." "Matt." "We have to leave." "It's our home, Shel." "Our life savings." "Where are we gonna go?" "And with what?" "You cannot let these people run you out of your home." "You're not even listening to me." "Wow." "You know what?" "Just..." "just do what you want." "Shelby?" "LEE:" "Oh, let her go." "Give her a little time to calm down." "(door slams)" "Who is this guy?" "LEE:" "Another member of that redneck family?" "(car engine revving)" "Shelby!" "Shelby!" "Icouldn'tbelieveit." "Shelbyjust..." "left." "SHELBY:" "At the time, it made allthesenseintheworld ." "Humansrespondto fear intwosimpleways-- fightorflight." "There's no shame in getting the hell out of the way." "(phone buzzing)" "Hello?" "MATT:" "Shelby, come home." "(Shelby screams, tires screeching)" "Shelby?" "Can you hear me?" "Are you there?" "Shelby!" "Shelby!" "Oh, my God." "Are you all right?" "Can you hear me?" "Shelby!" "(panting)" "Oh, come on." "Come on, come on." "(panting)" "Hello?" "!" "Hello!" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Ma'am?" "Are you all right?" "!" "Are you hurt?" "No, no, no!" "Please, stop!" "Stop!" "I have to get you to a hospital!" "I didn't understand what happened." "I still don't." "Ma'am!" "Hello?" "!" "Ifollowed thiswomanstraight intotheforest, maybe50feet." "Hello?" "!" "Andtheroadwas  directlybehindme ,Iswear." "There'snowaythatshe could'vegottenveryfar , butI couldn'tfind anysignof her." "Hello?" "!" "AndI couldn'tfind mywayout." "Hello?" "Come on, Shelby." "Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, oh..." "Okay." "I was lost." "(heavy breathing)" "(rustling nearby)" "Hello?" "(rustling)" "(gasping)" "(grunts)" "(rhythmic rumbling)" "¶ ¶" "(inhuman scream)" "No!" "No!"