"Carl Kolchak." "Perri Reed, and this is Jain McManus." " She's senior crime reporter?" " I've been here 4 years..." "You are expected to get along." "This is where Kolchak killed his wife." "That's not his story." "All these strange deaths, like pieces in a puzzle, a puzzle I'm trying to put together." "The public has a right to know." "These are things I need to find out for myself." "[Carl] Fear has its own physiology, primal responses to threat." "The quickened heart, the sweaty palm, the panic that chokes in the throat, making time seem to stand still." "We 're born with these instincts to flee danger from the world outside us, to survive." "[?" "hip hop]" "[hel icopter]" "But there 's no place to run when the dangers come not from outside us, but from... ourselves." "[man] Hey." "Hey." "[muffled scream]" "[hissing]" " Enough!" " What are you doing?" " Let her go." " We're not finished." " I said let her go!" " Not yet." "She's not ready." "Get her." "[creaking] [water pouring]" "Help me!" "Help me!" "Help me!" "Help me!" "[spluttering]" "[gasping] [muffled]" "[muffled] Help!" "Help!" "Look who's here." "Good morning." "Don't tell me, Carl." "Let me guess why you're here." "Be my guest." "This morning, a vagrant found the body of Liza Valenti, age 20, a UC honors student." "According to the coroner, she showed signs of drowning." "Ballooned lungs, foam in the airways, conjunctival hemorrhage..." "Only there was no water found in her lungs." "A woman mysteriously drowned, but not drowned." " Precisely." " Ever hear of dry drowning?" "What is that?" "The larynx involuntarily seals up to prevent water entering." "It's rare, but it happens." "She could still have drowned, but have no water in her lungs." "So she did drown." "Not necessarily." "You're going to say that there was no water in that bathroom." "In fact, no running water in the entire house." "You'll say the police found a basin of spilled water next door." " Only her..." " May I continue?" " Be my guest." " You'll say they found bruises on her neck, consistent with her being held down in that basin." "Her body was discovered in the bathroom, not in the next room." "[Carl] Doubtless." "She ran there before she succumbed, fleeing three men whose shoeprints were found." "Couldn't have said it better myself." "So, setting aside why an honors student would be in this house, it's a simple case of homicide." "Yes." "Only it isn't." "What is that?" "Here, here, and here." "Someone's taken away the candles, but there's wax." "Black candle wax." " It's a circle." " Suggestive of the black arts, occult rituals." "You smell that?" "[sniffs] Urine?" "Incense." "Someone was burning it here last night." "Is it satanic?" "No, not necessarily." "There's thousands of occult sects, some going back to pagan times." "We don't even know how long this candle wax has been here." " It's not brittle." " There's no electricity in this house." "So burnt candles don't have to mean occult." " Why are you staring at me?" " I'm staring at the window." "Why?" "There's some kind of oil on the glass." " What is it?" " It's a symbol." "Drawn with anointing oil." "As a part of whatever went on here." "[Carl] Hey, Jain, get a picture." "[phone rings]" " [Perri] Find something?" " [Carl] Yeah, I think so." "This." "Three horns." "A horned triskele, or the horns of death." "Horns of death?" "For real?" ""A powerful occult symbol, the three horns represents three realms of existence and for whoever leads the ceremony, the ability to raise supernatural forces from them."" " Aw, man!" " Let me see that." "So, you think that they raised some kind of supernatural force?" "Not so fast." "This book also says the ritual involves the sacrifice of virgin dwarves." "Did that happen last night as well?" "All I'm saying is it has something to do with what killed her." "Not what, who." "[man] Liza loved learning." "She made even the hardest things seem... simple." "I'm an English major," "Liza studied astrophysics." "I could never understand how she wrapped her mind around all that math." "Electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, atomic and molecular physics..." " You're a reporter?" " Carl Kolchak, with the Beacon." "Oh, thanks." "Devan Harvey, UC Standard." "It's the school paper." "It's, uh... you know." "...trying to appreciate every inch of their beauty." " That made her feel alive." " [Devan] Let me get you caught up." "That's Jack Mercer." "The dead girl's boyfriend." " I gathered that." " Oh, reporter." " [Mercer]...and so natural." " [both] Yeah." "Yeah." "I might like a job..." "at the Beacon." " Now?" " No, not now!" "Come on!" "I gotta graduate first." "You know, graduate." "Maybe I'll work at the Beacon, pay my dues, and, uh, move on to a better paper, like the Times." " Good move." " Yeah." "[Mercer]..." "I see how many lives she touched." "We'll never forget you, Liza." " It's real touching, isn't it?" " Yeah." "[laughs] Are you kidding?" " No." " Yeah, it's sad." "[man] Good evening, everybody." "We're all here to honor the memory of Liza Valenti." "Intellectual..." "Hey, you want a tip?" "Ask Jack about how Liza died." "About how ironic it is." " What're you talking about?" " Just remember, I want a job!" "[man]...accomplishments would lead most of us to believe" " that she was here for a lifetime..." " [Perri] Jack?" "Jack Mercer?" "Hi, I'm Perri Reed and this is Carl Kolchak." "We're with the Beacon." "We were hoping to ask a few questions." "I don't have anything to say." "We understand that this is a difficult time for you right now." "You were Liza's boyfriend?" "Did you see her the night she died?" "No." "I was working late with Professor Carr." "I am so proud to see all of you here..." "You don't know what she was doing around there or who else might have been with her?" "I wish I knew." "I was told I should ask you about how Liza died." " The irony of it." " Who told you that?" "She was afraid of drowning." "For her to die that way..." " I have to go..." " Jack, one more thing." "You know what that is?" "What's that?" "It was painted with oil on the window of the house where Liza died." "Hey." "We gotta roll." " He seemed nervous." " You think he's involved?" "Don't you?" "Reporters, Jack?" "What the hell are you thinking?" "It'd be more suspicious if I didn't talk to them." "We're being watched to see how we deal with the situation." "Situation?" "Is that what Liza is now?" "Of course not." "But you took a vow, to me and to the group." "Isn't it strange that we were trying to scare her with water, then she ended up drowning?" "None of us even knew that until we heard the news this morning." "Yeah." "There's a lot at stake here, Jack." "Our futures." "As "masters of the universe."" "If we don't stand together... we all fall." "Remember that." "Sure your camera's not defective?" "No, it's only on these six photos, out of sequence." "The others are clean." " Wow, look at that." " What?" "That." "It's the same in every photo." "I don't see it." "Enlarge it." "A face." "And it's screaming." " Do you see it?" " Not really." "Well, it's right there." "It looks like it's, uh... screaming." "People see Lincoln's face in potato chips, too." "I think it's just some sort of camera error." "Not as far as we can tell." "Well, I think I may have found something." "Do you have more photos of the oily window at the house?" "Yeah, sure." "[Perri] So..." "I kept thinking about how you connected the dots yesterday and when I woke up today, it hit me." " They're not horns, they're..." " Circles." "...halos." "I don't think this is an occult symbol." "I think it's a crest, for the Three Society." " What is that?" " I've heard of it." " It's a secret society, right?" " Very exclusive, very old." "So called because they initiate three members every year." "The school's best and brightest." "Only no one knows who they are, or anything about them because it's..." " Secret?" " Exactly." "But there were four people at that house the night Liza died." "Three initiates and a senior member to supervise." "That makes four, total." "So, you're saying the ritual was..." "Hokum." "They burn candles, they chant." "It's their tradition, probably." "As is the idea of Liza having to face her worst fear." " Oh, why would they do that?" " T o build trust." "You share your worst fear with them, then they help you face it." "So, this was just some super-secret fraternity hazing gone wrong?" "Well, if I'm right, Liza's death was probably just a terrible accident." "I'm wondering." "What?" "How you knew about the crest for the secret society." "I can't say." " You can't say?" " No." " You can't say?" "!" " No." " You were in a secret society?" " I told you, Kolchak, I can't say." " Was it the Three Society?" " I went to Stanford." "These societies are usually exclusive to one school." " So you were in another one?" " I can't tell you." "Well, then you were." "OK, fine, fine." "But why, hypothetically, would you join a group like that?" " Why not?" " They're elitist." "Cliques for snobs who trade on connections to get ahead." "No, they're not!" "They're about friendship." " Friendship?" " Yes." "You forge a close bond with a small group of people and then you swear your allegiance to them forever." " So... you're still a member." " Kolchak." " Come on!" " No!" " I only want to..." " Zip it!" "OK." "Professor Carr?" "Carl Kolchak, Perri Reed, the L.A. Beacon." " Sorry, I'm late for an appointment." " Oh, we'll walk with you." " How well did you know Jack Mercer?" " I'm his faculty adviser." "You were also his alibi the night Liza died." "He hardly needs one." "Jack's one of the finest students at this school." "[Carl] What were you two doing that night?" "Designing a study program to incorporate the fellowship Jack was just awarded." "And you were Liza Valenti's faculty adviser, too?" "Yes, I was." "Have you ever heard of something called the Three Society?" "I've heard whispers about members, like everyone else." "Hear whispers about Liza being initiated the night she died?" "The night Jack said he was with you?" " Where are you getting all this?" " We can't tell him, can we?" "No." "No, we told him we wouldn't." "Jack was with me the whole evening." "Now, if you'll excuse me..." " You think you rattled him?" " I think I did." "Jack!" " You talked to those reporters?" " Just once, before..." "You were sworn to deny any affiliation with this group." "That means you don't talk." "T o anyone!" "The rules of this society come before everything." " I didn't say anything." " He didn't..." "You didn't tell them you and Liza were initiates?" " No." " Well, they know." "Or at least they're acting like they do." "Maybe I should have told them." "Maybe I should have told the police, too." " You know what you're saying?" " He didn't mean it..." "All I know is that I searched that house looking for Liza, just like you told us." "And I didn't kill her." "You think..." "I killed her?" " Well, did you?" " Jack..." "I won't even dignify that with a response." "[Mercer] She told me, you know." "That you tried to sleep with her, but she turned you down." "When you wouldn't take no for an answer, she said she'd go to the administration." "Come on, Jack!" "No, it would have jeopardized your tenure if she had told them." "Whatever our differences, our vow binds us together." "Forever." "You break that vow and you'll lose everything you've ever worked for." "The Society will make sure of that." "[gasps]" "[grunts]" "[screams]" "[Perri] Why are we sneaking into the morgue?" "I want answers about what killed Professor Carr." " The results haven't been released." " We're not waiting for that." "We're not?" " I have a confidential source." " Another source?" "This should be good." "OK." "Please tell me your source is alive." "About time, man, you're killing me." " Who's she?" " Alex Nyby, Perri Reed." "She works with me at the Beacon." "Nice." "Can I talk to you?" "You know, man... my deal is with you, not the damn Beacon." "Your deal?" "My man." "You said floor seats!" " What!" " They're floor adjacent!" "What do you mean, "floor adjacent"?" "Wait, you've been bribing this man with tickets?" "Oh, wait, this is your source?" " What are you, an orderly?" " Pathology specialist." " Whatever." "Kolchak!" " Next time, floor seats." "Of course." "The remains of Professor Richard Carr, pronounced dead at the scene at 2:47 p.m." " Whoa." " I can't even look." "This is how you look when every bone in your body breaks." " A human squish toy." " Here's the thing." "No one saw him fall." "And he left no note." "He must have jumped after we saw him." " Unless he didn't jump." " You think he was pushed?" " Tell her what you told me." " Oh." "The blood splatter at the scene." " It was on a 27-foot radius." " So?" "The building they think he fell from was only five stories." "And that kind of damage only occurs when a guy falls 50 stories, not five." "According to you... an orderly." "A pathology... specialist!" "There's no building near 50 stories on that campus." "Exactly." "Look, Liza, with no water in her lungs, dies of drowning, her greatest fear." "Now, Carr, with no tall buildings, dies from a high fall." "And what if that was his greatest fear?" "But I thought you agreed that this was about a secret society, not about raising some occult power." "Maybe it's both." "Excuse me, um, Perri Reed, right?" "Do you like basketball?" "[snickers]" " [door opening]" " What?" " The corpses, right?" " [door closes]" " [Carl] Working a big story?" " Yes, I am." "Hey, guys, what are you doing here?" " We need your help." " Oh, really?" "Are you kidding?" "Remember when you told me to ask Jack about how Liza died?" "Yeah." "Well, you knew drowning was her worst fear." "Right." "Now Professor Carr dies from a fall, which we're guessing was his worst fear." "Yeah." "Yeah, that's right." " Someone's got to be behind it." " Hmm." "And you think it's me?" "How did you know drowning was her worst fear, Devan?" " Jack and I used to be friends." " Used to be?" "What happened?" "Jack made it into the Three Society, and I didn't." "You tried to get into the Three Society?" "I approached Professor Carr, but he acted like it didn't exist." "So he tapped Liza and Jack instead." " And you got revenge." " Me?" "No!" "No!" "No!" " It was Craig Boyer." " Craig Boyer?" "Yeah." "Jack's new buddy." "The guy who had that bruise on his face the day after Liza died." "Why would you say he did it?" "You didn't hear?" "And you guys are supposed to be the professionals..." "Hear what?" "Craig was arrested." "Drug possession and suspicion of murder." "The toxicology report on Liza found that she'd taken a powerful, homemade psychedelic drug." " They think Craig gave her it?" " He's a chem major." "Apparently, he made it from chemicals he stole from the lab." "Ones that later matched those found in Liza's body." "At least that's what I'm writing." "It's too bad you guys didn't get there first." "'Cause then we could work on a story together, or something." "I phoned the coroner's office." "They won't have Carr's toxicology report until tomorrow." " I can't believe it." " That we got scooped by that pipsqueak?" "Yeah, that too." "But I meant the idea that Craig's drugs killed Liza, or the professor." "It makes some sense, doesn't it?" "Not if that drug was intended to be ceremonial." "An entheogen." "A what?" "A hallucinogenic drug used in a ritualistic context to heighten the experience." "Maybe Craig didn't intend to kill them." "Maybe it was just an accident." "[Jain] Hey." "You guys gotta check this out." "These are pictures of Craig Boyer on the way to his booking." " Come on, Jain, not again." " Just wait." "[Jain] Look at that." "Can you mask out the image behind it?" "It's a boy." "[Carl] The question, T ony, is why does this image keep appearing?" "Couldn't it be a corrupted file, or a double exposure of some kind?" "But I changed the CCD after the first pictures." " Whatever." "We've got the story." " Drugs?" "Craig cooked them." "Liza had them in her system and the tox screen will show Carr had them, too." "Look, even if he did, drugs don't explain the damage to this man's body." "Maybe they do." "Can I be you again?" " Heard of "mind over matter"?" " You mean ESP?" "Psychokinesis?" "I was thinking of something more tangible." "Really?" "That's so unlike you, Carl." "People have gone into self-induced trances, causing injury to themselves." "Like stigmatas, spontaneously bleeding on religious zealots?" " Exactly." " So you're saying" "Liza and Carr imagined their deaths?" "The drugs Craig made are a hallucinogen." "Could have heightened the effect" " of falling off a building." " No pun intended..." " "Heightened."" " Yeah, I suppose it could have." "But you still can't explain that." "And... neither can you." "[siren]" "Why did you ask me down here, Craig?" "To tell you I am not going to take the fall for you." "For me?" "They're not just talking about drug charges, but about murder." "You made the drugs, not me." "You know that drugs had nothing to do with this." "You think I killed Liza?" "I've thought it the whole time." "When Professor Carr died, I knew I was right." " Why didn 't you say something?" " Because I was your friend." "That was the whole point of the society." "We were supposed to look out for each other." "I just can 't do it anymore." "What are you talking about?" " Cutting a deal." " To tell them what?" "The truth of what happened that night." "How you really felt about Professor Carr and Liza." "Suddenly the truth's important?" "We're talking about my future here, Jack!" "I might be in jail right now, but I am not going to prison." "Not for you, not for anybody." "You're on your own." " Guard!" " [siren]" "Anything?" "No, nothing that makes sense." "You know, years ago, in Chicago, my editor sent me out to do some leg work on this very important story." "The murder of a union boss." "I was just off the copy desk, it was a big deal for me, I was nervous as hell." "But I'm knocking on doors and stopping guys at the dock, asking questions." "And this one longshoreman tells me he'll spill, off the record." "He fills my notebook." "I ended up writing on cardboard boxes." "What did he say?" "Everybody knows it was the shipping company but they're afraid to talk." "Busted the story wide open." "I think I'm sitting on a Pulitzer." "So?" "What happened?" "I write the story." "My hands are shaking, I'm so excited, and two hours before we go to print, the cops make an arrest." "You know who they bag?" "My source." "The longshoreman." "Truth was in front of me the whole time." "But I was so convinced I knew what that story was, I got lost." "Start with certainties and you will end up with doubt." "[sighs]" "Where does your story start, Carl?" "[Carl sighs] [siren]" "[hissing]" "[choking]" "[Perri] You hear about Craig Boyer?" "Crushed mysteriously in his cell?" "Yeah." "And that's not all." "Coroner's report." "Professor Carr didn't have the drugs in his system." "So the drugs don't explain these deaths." "No." "What are we missing?" "Look, I went back to the beginning." " T o where this story started." " Liza's death?" "Remember what you said?" "The society's initiation is the same, every year." "And the occult stuff is just hokum." "Nothing ever happens." " Right." " What was different this time?" "[Carl] That house." " Who are you calling?" " Devan." "For what?" "T o see if he can get his old friend Jack to meet us back at the house... where it all started." " I'm here." "What's this about?" " Saving your life, we hope." " What's your worst fear, Jack?" " Just tell me how they died." "Know why the Three Society chose this house for its initiation this year?" " I'll bet you're going to tell me." " Because it had a history." "A history far worse than they knew." "This place made headlines in the Beacon 1 1 years ago." "Why are you showing me this?" "Your life is in danger." "From whatever killed Liza, Craig, and Professor Carr." "What is it?" "It's what the four of you unleashed that night without even knowing it." "[Carl] In 1 994, Charles Dunmore moved his wife and three children down from Barstow after getting a job at the old Figueroa brickyard..." "Poor neighborhood, but a big house." "Dunmore sunk everything he had into it." "[woman on TV] Why do I always have to be the mean one?" "Why can 't you be the mean one ever?" " I can be..." " But you never are!" "Look..." "[Carl] Not two months later the brickyard shut down." "And so did Dunmore." "A co-worker would later say Dunmore told him he 'd rather see his family dead than out on the street." "Is it any wonder pride is a sin?" "He started with his daughter." "She never stood a chance." "[screaming]" "His ten-year-old son woke upon hearing his sister scream." "The boy grabbed his little brother and ran." " Frantic, they listened..." " [screaming] ... as their father went on to kill their mother." "The boy was brave, keeping his little brother quiet." "Not knowing if any second their father would find them." "They dared not breathe." "Knowing he would find them." "Knowing they would be next." "And then... he gave up." "The weight of what he 'd done must have taken hold." "[TV] Oh, God, what happened to you?" "[Carl] The boy opened the cupboard thinking he 'd saved his little brother." "Wake up." "Only then discovering the terrible truth." "He was too late." "[Carl] He was dead from fear." "[Devan] So, you think that's the face in the photo?" "[Carl] Dunmore's youngest son." "Literally, scared to death." "[Mercer] What is this to do with what's happened?" "Ancient folklore says that in those rare instances when someone dies of fear, the fear that killed them stays behind." "[Jain] Like the ghost of an emotion." "This is what you wanted to tell me?" "The ghost of that little boy's fear." "I think you raised it." "Do you think it attached itself to us?" "This image only appeared in pictures that included Craig, Professor Carr... or you." "You believe this?" "Look, I don't know about ghosts, OK?" "But I do know that the mind is very powerful, and it may only matter that you believe it." " You're crazy." " We're trying to help you." "Just stay away from me." "All of you." "[door closing]" "[woman on TV] I can't believe we're having this conversation." "[man on TV] The point is... [woman] Why do I always have to be the mean one?" "Why can 't you be the mean one once in a while?" " [man] I can be..." " [door opening]" " Hey, guys?" " [Carl] What is it?" "Well, these handprints." "Do you think these are Dunmore's kids?" " Why?" " Well, there's three of them." "Their names were kept out of the papers, but look at these last two." "Gus... and Jack." "Jack?" "Oh my God." "Jack was adopted." "Jack Dunmore grew up to be Jack Mercer." "That's why they chose this house." "Returning here was Jack's greatest fear." "why wouldn't he tell us?" "Where are you going?" "What?" "[Mercer] Dad, please!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "[father groans]" "[Mercer] No!" "No!" "It's over." "It's over." "It's OK, Jack." "He's not here." "He never was." "[Carl] Fueled by memory, fear takes form." "Becoming a thing that lives long after death." "Residing not just in our hearts, but in the hidden bonds between us." "Fear so powerful cannot be escaped, but it can be... destroyed."