The Skeleton Key (2005) Movie Script
CAROLINE: "I lost no time, of course, in
telling my mother all that I knew...
"and we saw ourselves at once in
a difficult and dangerous position.
"Something must speedily be resolved
upon, and it occurred to us...
"at last to go forth together...
"and seek help
in the neighboring hamlet.
"No sooner said than done.
Bare-headed as we were...
"we ran out at once in the gathering
evening and the frosty fog.
"The hamlet lay not many
hundred yards away...
"though out of view, on the other
side of the next cove...
"and what greatly encouraged me...
"it was in an opposite direction...
"from that whence the blind man
had made his appearance.
"And I shall never forget
how much I was cheered...
"to see the yellow shine in doors
and windows...
"But that, as it proved...
"was the best of the help we were
likely to get in that quarter.
"For you would have thought...
"men would have been
ashamed of themselves...
"no soul would consent
to return with us to the... "
Audrey? Sorry.
Mr. T alcott's gone.
Okay.
Front desk, in case anyone shows.
dESK NURSE: I think you'll be waiting
a while, hon.
No. didn't we call? He said he had family.
Yeah.
But they don't wanna have anything
to do with him.
dESK NURSE: You can dump it out back.
CAROLlNE: Okay, take a look.
CAROLlNE: I interview tomorrow.
What about your job?
I had enough of that place.
JlLL: What happened?
WAlTRESS: Here's your beer.
- Thanks.
- Sure.
I lost a patient today. Mr. Talcott.
- I'm sorry.
- You should have seen it.
The second he died, it was like...
they couldn't wait to get him out of there.
It's just a business to them.
It is a business, But at least he had you.
No. It's supposed to be
a business about caring.
They couldn't care less.
Wait. This is Terrebonne Parish.
It's the freaking swamps.
I get the hours I need to start
nursing school, and I get paid.
And I get to help somebody, my way.
They got gators in the swamps,
and guys missing teeth.
Are we dancing here, or what?
Cary, look.
This work you're doing,
are you sure it's not changing you?
I'm 25 years old.
What's wrong with a little change?
[Upbeat Jazz music]
[Slower jazz music]
Oh, my God.
[Rocking chair creaking]
Hello?
Hello?
[Caroline knocking on door]
[Opera music on record player]
[Flies buzzing]
LUKE: Now that right there
is what love is all about.
Old-fashioned devotion,
like what you read about.
You must be Caroline.
I'm sorry, the door was open,
so I just walked in.
Oh, no. It's a big house. I didn't hear you.
LUKE: It's okay.
So much for getting their affairs in order.
I'm sorry. I'm Luke Marshall. Estate lawyer.
We talked on the phone.
Oh, right.
The docs figure a month maybe.
He's pretty far gone.
CAROLlNE: I understand.
His wife's having kind of
a rough time with it.
Most people do.
LUKE: Violet, you have a visitor.
May I present Miss Caroline Ellis?
She works down at the hospice
in New Orleans.
Caroline, this is Violet devereaux.
You have a lovely home.
I'm sorry. It's just hard.
The idea of a stranger living here-
I understand, really.
She's Old South, you know.
She thinks women still curtsey.
So, he can't talk at all?
No. Stroke pretty much paralyzed him.
- Which side was affected?
- Both.
It happened about a month ago,
up in the attic.
That's where she found him.
Ben?
You have a visitor. Meet Miss Caroline Ellis.
Hello, Ben. I'm Caroline.
VlOLET: She's not from around here.
She not gonna understand my house.
She's from New Orleans.
She wasn't raised in New Orleans.
You hear how she talks?
VlOLET: Who knows where she comes from?
CAROLlNE: Hoboken, New Jersey.
What do you want a Southern accent?
The last one left, Violet.
All right.
But she's not gonna understand the house.
The last girl left, huh?
LUKE: Wait. Let me talk to her,
we can straighten things out.
I can't help anybody
who doesn't want my help.
She does want help. She's just scared.
Of what? Politeness?
No. He's the love of her life and he's dying.
They've been together forever.
She's losing her soul mate here.
I don't know about you, But that'd
put some sandpaper up my ass.
Aren't you a romantic?
Look.
The last girl quit.
You're the fifth interview since.
She shoots down everyone.
[door squeaking]
It's not personal.
But you being here means he's really dying.
He's dying whether I'm here or not.
What'd she mean about the house?
What?
She said I wouldn't understand
the house. Why'd she said that?
All I know is her checks clear.
Look, forget it.
If it makes you feel any better, I'm
still looking for my dream job, too.
All right.
So if you talked to her, what would you say?
I'd say she could look all she wants...
But I doubt she'd find any better than you.
So she'd do well to treat you like it.
Okay, here are my rules. No knitting.
No joining a bridge club.
And no playing bingo.
Okay, good. Good rules.
I'm serious, they'll try and suck
you into their elderly ways.
It's less than an hour away.
I'll be back all the time.
Yeah, well, you better.
Whenever you want to talk to someone
who wasn't around for World War ll.
Jeez, what is it with you and old people?
Come here.
He'd be proud of you. You know he would.
Hello?
I need to pay for some gas.
[Fly buzzing]
Hello?
[baby crying]
[Gospel preacher playing on record player]
[Record stops playing]
Is somebody back there?
I'm sorry.
Excuse me. I just need to pay for some gas.
[Orders in French]
[baby crying]
CAROLlNE: Jesus.
[Speaking in French]
[Speaking in French]
$17 for the gas.
CAROLlNE: Keep the change.
Mrs. devereaux?
I'm unpacked.
[blues music playing on record player]
Hi, Ben. Remember me? I'm Caroline.
I'll be taking care of you for a while.
There's not a lot of light in here
for you, is there?
So you're a fan of the blues, huh?
Well, so was-
You have to let go.
Ben, you're hurting me.
Ouch.
VlOLET: There you are.
Time for his remedies.
Scoot over, child.
9:00 in the morning and 7:00 at night.
He takes his pills in powder form.
I'll show you how.
be sure he drinks it all down.
CAROLlNE: What's he taking?
VlOLET: Oh, Coumadin and such.
He gets the tremors sometimes.
don't let that frighten you.
And a kiss to make it taste better.
You're scrawnier than I'd hoped.
Prettier, though.
I bet you're all marked up, aren't you?
- Marked up?
- Written on.
I know you young people are always...
jabbing yourselves with ink and needles.
You're written on, aren't you?
Not where you can see.
Well.
He's to be bathed daily, his linens changed.
don't bother with the housework.
I'm the only one that knows how.
How long have you two lived here?
Let's see.
We came over from Savannah in '62.
We bought this house
from a brother and a sister.
They'd inherited it a long time ago,
from their parents.
Lived here since they were children.
VlOLET: There they are. Martin and Grace.
VlOLET: Charming people.
But they fell on hard times, had to sell.
You keep their picture?
Yes. I like to pay my respects
to the memories of this house.
All right. Come along now.
This is the dining room.
We only use about half of the rooms.
The others are for Ben's antique business.
What he couldn't sell, we stored here.
Except for the attic.
That has crystal and china.
And I keep a very close account
on that, just so as you know.
There are more than 30 rooms in all.
In the old days, they made
a separate key for each room.
For the owner, they made a skeleton key.
This will open every door.
This one is yours.
I have mine.
Now, the pantry's right out here.
You know, we may have to ask you
to go into town now and then.
Was there a mirror here once?
I noticed in the bathrooms also
there are no mirrors.
Child, when you get as worn-out
and wrinkled as we are...
you don't need any reminding.
If you want a small one
for your own purposes...
that's fine with me.
- What'd you do with them?
- Put them away.
VlOLET: The boy tells me you don't smoke.
I do smoke. I smoke a lot
and I enjoy it very much.
I trust that won't be an issue.
It won't be.
Good. Then for the most part
just realize that...
I'll live here as if you're not in residence.
After all, we're not kin.
Are your parents still alive?
My mom left when I was little. My
dad raised me and he died last year.
Oh, my. So you cared for him as well?
I would have.
I just thought I had more time.
Yeah.
You think too much about the time
you have left...
you don't spend it living.
be good to my husband.
be good to his house.
Remedies at 9:00.
One, two, three.
You don't see gardens like this
back in New Jersey, I expect.
Actually, it's the Garden State.
[Laughing] I doubt that very much.
Nothing more glorious than a garden.
Gone every winter, back every spring.
You religious at all?
I try to keep an open mind.
That's good. That's very good.
Where are my trilliums?
Oh, fiddlesticks. do me a blessing, child.
Will you run up to the attic for me?
I have some seed packets in a box
right next to the stairs.
[Stairs creaking]
[Noisy clanking]
[door creaking]
What took you?
I'm sorry.
I thought the key opens everything.
The key? What key?
The key you gave me for the house.
There's a door in the attic
it doesn't work for.
Oh, no, the attic, it's never opened that.
- I got my dixie-Johns.
- Why not?
- What's in there?
- I have no idea.
It's been shut ever since we moved in.
I have to get these in the ground,
because there's rain coming.
Mrs. devereaux...
Ben was in the attic, wasn't he,
when he had his stroke?
What was he doing in there?
You'll have to ask him, child.
be a dear and go see to him, won't you?
I wonder if he wouldn't like some iced tea.
[Soulful instrumental jazz music]
[Water running]
[Thunder rumbling]
[Loud noise]
[Glass shattering]
[Tin roof rattling]
His door was locked.
Ben!
Ben!
Ben!
Stop right there, Ben! don't move!
Stop!
Ben!
Mrs. devereaux!
Ben!
Ben, what are you doing? It's me!
[Ben screaming]
Mother of mercy, what's he done?
He got out of the window. I thought
you said he was bedridden.
VlOLET: He's having spasms.
- didn't you give him his remedies?
- Yes.
did you make sure he drank them down?
I thought so.
- Ben, what'd they make you do?
- His door was locked.
Just go get the wheelchair.
We've gotta get him out of this.
What about a doctor?
In the morning,
just get that wheelchair now.
VlOLET: Caroline!
VlOLET: Caroline!
What in damnation took you so long?
I came as fast as I could.
We're just gonna have to double his
remedies. That's all I can think of.
Caroline, help me here. Help me get him.
Come on. That's it.
Where did you think you were going?
You're here two days and
he already tried to kill himself.
Must have some kind of
bedside manner, huh?
One of my many charms.
So, what exactly happened?
I came to update her will...
she's up with the doc, says he fell?
He did fall.
Like what, from his wheelchair?
You cannot be serious. From
up there? He fell from up there?
How? He can't even walk.
Please don't tell me you're quitting.
I have to start over again.
Will you shut the door?
I want to show you something.
You know what my mama used to say?
If a lady invites you into her room,
she probably isn't much of a lady.
Homespun Southern wisdom grows
on trees around here, doesn't it?
I found this in Ben's room...
Iast night.
LUKE: Found what? His laundry?
No, it had a...
CAROLlNE: There was...
LUKE: Had a what?
There was a... It had a...
Forget it.
I thought it...
I don't know what I thought.
I admire you.
You know, what you do.
Hell, I wouldn't be able
to take care of my own parents.
You'd regret it.
CAROLlNE: I quit college to help out
with some friends' bands.
Out all night, always on the road.
My father thought
I was throwing my life away.
So we didn't talk, didn't visit.
Stubborn and proud,
and that's how we left it.
You mean...
Yeah.
He was gone before
I even knew he was sick.
I guess he wanted to spare me from all this.
Is that so wrong?
No one should have to die alone.
So tell me what you were gonna tell me.
About Ben.
do you ever feel like...
he's asking you for help?
- Asking me?
- With a look or...
a touch.
VlOLET: Mr. Marshall?
Where in damnation is that boy? Caroline...
have you seen Mr...
Well...
I see the children are getting acquainted.
Now, Violet...
you know you're the only woman in my life.
I know no such things,
and remove your perspirations.
The doctor has departed, so I'm ready...
to discuss estate matters,
if you have finished...
soliciting your new business.
All right.
Whenever you get the time.
VlOLET: Caroline?
I'm making some sweet tea.
Are you interested?
Caroline?
"Sacrifice."
Are you in the house?
Caroline?
You're forgetful, child.
[Voice on record player] It is time, Lord.
From the dry dust...
out of these chains...
from the devil's house.
It is time, Lord...
to take me...
from the dry dust,
break me from these chains.
Bring me from the devil's house.
Take me out of darkness.
Walk me out of blindness.
Lift me out of sadness.
Save me from my damned-ness.
Please, Lord.
It is time, Lord.
Take me from the dry dust. Break me...
out of these chains.
Bring me from the devil's house.
Take me out of-
Just a local band.
How about you buy me a drink?
[Upbeat R&b music]
Whatever it is, it's not your average attic.
She says it's been locked up
ever since they first moved in.
You found yourself a hoodoo room.
- A what?
- Hoodoo. You know what hoodoo is?
It's like voodoo, right?
Wrong. Voodoo's a religion.
Slaves brought it to Haiti from Africa.
You worship God, heaven and hell.
- How's hoodoo different?
- It's magic.
American folk magic.
God doesn't have much to do with it.
- Magic?
- Yeah.
It's part African, part European,
part Native American.
And New Orleans is its home.
It started here.
My Aunt Nola's into it.
She shops at a place in Algiers.
Look, you said the house
had a history, right?
- Hoodoo is pretty harmless.
- Harmless how?
It's psychological, like a lot of that stuff.
It can't hurt you if you don't believe.
So this place your aunt shops at...
Ever seen it?
It's either this street or the next one...
or the next one.
JlLL: There.
There? That's a Laundromat.
Look, that's all I know.
That's where she goes.
So you coming in or what?
I'm not.
I thought you don't believe in this stuff.
I don't.
But I'm not just going
to mess around with it.
So, you wanna go in, go ahead.
You're scared.
- Jill the Thrill is scared.
- Kiss my ass.
You're never gonna live this down.
We come all the way out here-
I'm not scared.
VlOLET: Good night, Caroline.
Good night.
[banging on door]
I told you about the mirrors.
I don't understand.
This is not your house.
I found them.
I needed a mirror for my bathroom-
I told you, and you heard me. No mirrors.
No mirrors!
I've seen the room.
- What room?
- The room you say you've never seen.
It's not locked anymore.
No, child, you don't know
what you've seen.
You're gonna tell me right now.
Or I'm leaving.
You're not from the South.
You won't understand.
That room up there,
you just don't go in and...
throw things out of a room like that.
You leave them just where you found them.
The house is theirs just as much as ours.
The house is whose?
Whose things are in that room?
All right.
About 90 years ago...
there was a banker here,
his name was Thorpe.
He made his fortune cheating the poor.
He was a mean man. He was a cruel man.
It was him, and his family,
and couple of servants...
name of Mama Cecile and Papa Justify.
Sit down.
Now...
the way I heard it, old man Thorpe,
he didn't know...
that Papa Justify was
a "two-headed doctor."
He was a conjure man. So was Cecile.
- They believed in-
- Hoodoo.
Yeah.
That was their room.
VlOLET: They were famous
all through the bayous.
They healed the sick
and they hurt the mean.
"Hit a straight lick with a crooked
stick," as the coloreds say.
But old Thorpe, he just saw them as help.
And he worked them to the bone.
He abused them.
Until one night, as the story goes...
there was a party.
VlOLET: It was the bank's anniversary,
all the big mucketymucks were here.
Politicians, sugar barons, riverboat tycoons.
There was a lot of drinking and dancing...
and a couple of trysts, I'm sure.
And then, finally,
when it was time to say farewell...
some of the guests wanted
to wish goodbye to the children.
But nobody could find them.
They hadn 't seen them in hours.
So, being all full of brandy,
they made it a game.
"Let's Find the Children. "
Room after room after room.
Finally, someone heard music...
Martin? Grace?
... and voices and shouting...
up in the attic.
[Record] From the devil's house.
[Record] It is time, Lord.
VlOLET: The servants were up there
with the children.
They were trying to teach them
how to conjure hoodoo.
MAN: And take his head.
Thorpe went about insane,
and so did the rest of the guests.
I mean, how long had this blasphemy
been going on?
The children said it was their
fault, that they'd wanted to learn.
But they weren 't having any of that.
[Woman screaming]
All that power and rage and insanity.
The party was over.
It was a terrible thing.
Terrible.
Rumors got out, But no arrests, no trial.
Money had its way.
What happened to the family?
The bank went under.
Thorpe shot his wife to death,
and then turned the gun on himself.
People in the bayou say
it was Justify and Cecile's revenge.
The children stayed here till '62.
But they never, ever, told us
why that room was locked.
Or why there were no mirrors
in the whole house.
Now we know.
You know what?
You see them in the mirrors.
Who?
The servants.
I've gone and read
some hoodoo books, and they say...
- putting brick dust down will keep harm away.
- Mrs. devereaux.
So I made a big circle of it around
the whole house.
You can't expect me to believe
you see ghosts in your mirrors.
The ghosts are here now.
But whatever they did to him...
I am not going to let them do it to me.
Now you'll leave...
Iike all the rest of them.
That's some superstitious wife
you got there, Ben.
She thinks you have ghosts in the attic.
Spooky, huh?
Ouch.
Hold on. I'll be right back.
She says you see them in the mirrors.
Ghosts in the mirrors.
I'm sorry, Ben.
Ben, stop it.
Relax. I'm so...
I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry.
You see them, too.
I'm going to town.
Shopping.
VlOLET: What for, Caroline?
Caroline, what for?
We'll just have to see.
[Thunder rumbling]
MAMA CYNTHlA: He won't beat you again.
CUSTOMER: Mama Cynthia,
he beat me last night.
CYNTHlA: You use the potion
that I'm gonna fix for you...
and it won't happen again.
I will promise you that.
CUSTOMER: I'm scared.
CYNTHlA: Don't be afraid.
CUSTOMER: Are you sure that I can do it?
CYNTHlA: I know it will. It will work.
Just do as I say. Don't be afraid.
It will work, and it won't happen again, ever.
Don't worry about it. He won't hit you again.
Just use this potion I mixed up.
I have a lot of things in here.
And you use it as I told you.
- Okay, I'll trust you, Mama.
- You'll do fine.
That brick dust at the door,
how does it work?
You lay a line down.
Nobody that means you harm can cross it.
It's how you tell who your enemies are.
It's like hypnotism, right?
Suggestion?
And when this stuff works, it's
because someone believes it works?
And if you thought, you know...
magic made you sick...
you might believe in a magic cure, right?
Even though it's all in your head.
Somebody been working roots on you.
Say I knew someone
who believed he'd been...
- Crossed.
- Crossed.
Would he believe he could be uncrossed?
What's the nature of his condition?
He can't speak. Barely moves.
He had a stroke...
but he seems to think
someone else made him that way.
And you want to know
what happened to him?
Yes.
JlLL: You went in there.
You actually went in.
Are you out of your mind?
Come on. Haven't you ever heard
of psychosomatic treatment?
Yeah. But this is not that.
How much of a patient's recovery
depends on his believing he can?
What recovery? This is hospice.
You're just supposed to help this guy die.
He believes in this stuff.
So what? Who is he to you?
Forget it.
No, you forget it. He's not your dad.
Not this one, the last, or the one before.
Why are the two of you so attached?
I'm sorry, Cary.
Just so you know,
if I'm not attached to him...
I'm abandoning him.
Attached is better.
I know. Cary, I'm sorry. Okay?
But would you look at yourself?
You want to be a nurse and you
just walked out of a witch doctor's.
It's not for me.
[On radio] Forecasters are calling
for up to a foot of rain...
in the coastal areas...
as this storm makes its way across
the delta, starting overnight.
Radar already shows
increasing precipitation...
across the coastal areas and moving
rather quickly to the north.
The main forecast concerns
centers around potential...
Hi, Ben.
I' m gonna show you something.
It's going to be our secret. You and me.
Violet says you didn't have a stroke...
in the attic. She said some ghosts...
made you this way with a spell.
Is that what you think?
Because I know a spell, too, Ben.
One that makes you better.
All you have to do is believe it.
Backwards.
Cleanse this man.
Cleanse this room.
Cleanse this house.
His words have gotten lost,
lost and wandering in his mind.
Let the water run down...
and wash away this condition.
His tongue has gotten tied,
tied and tangled in his throat.
Let the water run down...
and wash away this affliction.
Send his voice to go free.
Let the water run down...
and wash away-
[Thunderclap]
[Struggling] Caroline.
[Struggling] Caroline.
It's all in your head.
Help. Help.
Ben, talk to me. Keep talking.
Help me.
Help you? Help you how, Ben?
Get me out of here.
VlOLET: Caroline?
Get me out of here!
Shit!
- Caroline!
- Just a second.
Caroline, open this door!
What are you doing to him?
Ben, why? Get out of here, why?
- Caroline!
- One second!
Caroline, open this door!
I'll help you, I promise. Just talk to me.
What happened to you in that attic?
Tell me who you're afraid of.
What have you done?
What is this?
He was...
- He was struggling in his sleep-
- Get away from him.
- Get away from him.
- He was struggling.
VlOLET: It's all right.
I brought water.
You were talking to him?
I was just telling him a story
to settle him down.
- About what?
- Just a story.
No ghosts.
That'll be all tonight, Caroline. Thank you.
I'll come back to check on him-
No, that won't be necessary.
That's all for tonight. Good night.
It is time, Lord.
It is time, Lord.
Grace.
Caroline?
Caroline.
Mrs. Devereaux?
Her and her ghost shit.
CAROLlNE: That attic is filled
with this stuff.
Recipes. Spells. Books of them.
Records of them.
I understand your cause of concern...
but my family is superstitious, too.
We're called Baptists.
- This is different.
- It's charming.
Local color.
You said yourself
you were worried about him.
Well, now I'm worried about you.
You know?
Are you a nurse or a detective?
When did you first meet the Devereauxs?
Just before he had his stroke.
They were looking for a lawyer
to update their wills.
Did you ever think that
maybe she knew something...
was gonna happen to him?
How? Like tarot cards in the attic?
A seance in her sleep?
I want to know why the last girl quit.
Hallie. Some folks to see you.
HALLlE: You a superstitious person?
CAROLlNE: Not per se.
HALLlE: I told my mama
where I was working.
She said that house has been
nothing but blood and tears.
That the last owners were
some rich brother and sister.
Crazy people, supposedly.
They died of strokes
right after they sold the place.
Maybe they found something they shouldn't.
Maybe now Ben did, too.
It may be their mess in that room...
but ain't no ghosts
put a spell on that old man.
She did.
- Do you believe that?
- Don't you?
But I heard it can't hurt you.
I mean, it can't hurt you if you don't believe.
Then I suggest you leave that house
before you do.
LUKE: For God's sake, this is insane.
The man had a stroke.
CAROLlNE: That isn't what he thinks.
And you're gonna take him away
from her? From his own wife?
- How can you believe-
- I don't believe. I don't.
The point is, he does.
Stop the car.
- Stop the car.
- Why?
I've been here before.
I'll show you. It's not just them.
See the line across the doorway?
It's brick dust.
Hoodoo. Keeps your enemies
from coming across.
See the bones hanging?
This stuff's got a hold on people out here.
Yeah, but it's not real.
It doesn't matter if it's not real.
It's real to them.
[Voice from record]
What's wrong?
This music. I know this music.
You sure this is a good idea?
Hello?
Mama raised a gentleman.
CAROLlNE: Hello?
Excuse me. Ma'am?
We heard the music, your record.
I was wondering-
WOMAN: There's no record for anyone here.
How about records by a man named Justify?
How do you know that name?
Who sent you?
Who else is in here?
- Someone else in here?
- It's just me, ma'am.
Stop now. Don't you go touching-
Do you know a record called
the Conjure of Sacrifice?
Because I have it, if you do.
You had that, you wouldn't say so.
You do know it.
The strongest conjuration of all.
They say Justify discovered it...
but he got killed
before he learned to work it.
Him and his poor wife both.
It's never been found.
What does it do?
It keeps you from dying.
Not forever, but for a while.
How?
You have to sacrifice somebody...
and take the years that they have left.
CAROLlNE: Hurry up! He's alone with her!
Hang on, Caroline! Wait! Shit!
Now you got me spooked.
If I get proof that she's out
to hurt him, will you stick by me-
- By "hurt him," you mean kill him.
- Will you or won't you?
Just listen to yourself.
Fine. Goodbye.
What are you gonna do here,
kidnap him?
You know something's wrong
between them. You know it.
Let me make some calls.
See about grounds for...
a restraining order, protective custody.
You're not gonna get a search
warrant till tomorrow anyhow.
Then that'll give me tonight.
I'm all he's got, Luke. Me.
Get the proof. Okay?
Mrs. Devereaux, I'm back.
No. Where's the record?
It was right here.
Mrs. Devereaux,
could you come here for a second?
oh
Caroline, I was beginning to worry
about you...
you were gone such a long while.
CAROLlNE: It's really raining out there.
VlOLET: It's supposed to pour all night.
Keeps up like this,
that swamp's going to rise...
and ruin my flowerbeds.
Did you want to see me?
Yeah, I was wondering if
you could take a look at this?
There's a leak up here.
They're all over the house.
They're just rainwater.
Yes, but if you look up close...
Come on in. I could show it to you better.
Well,I...
Actually, I have supper on the stove.
I shouldn't leave it.
- lt'll just take a second.
- I can see perfectly from here.
You want this for the sill?
All right.
Could you come into the room please,
just for a second?
So I can show you what I'm seeing.
You're a funny one, Caroline.
I'll make us some tea.
And, Caroline?
After you've given Mr. Devereaux
his remedies...
would you be so kind
as to join an old lady for supper?
- Well, l-
- Wonderful!
We should have done it days ago.
I've made something real nice.
[lko lko by the Belle Stars
playing on record player]
We're leaving tonight.
VlOLET: Caroline!
Supper.
[Thunder clapping]
How's your gumbo?
I haven't started.
Would you like sugar for your tea?
I put it out for you.
No, I don't think I'll have any sugar tonight.
But I thought you liked it.
You always have sugar in your tea.
You think I'm senile, don't you?
Ghosts in the attic. Spells on my husband.
I just don't understand.
These ghosts, why would they put
a spell on him and not me?
I've been in that room, too.
Maybe because you don't believe in them.
Maybe all houses have spirits...
but we just don't see them
until we believe we can.
I'm really not that hungry.
Don't move. I'll fetch the candles.
Eat your gumbo. Oh, fiddlesticks.
Dinner by candlelight.
There.
So, was that the storm or the ghosts?
Well, say what you will about spirits.
I've always wondered
if there wasn't something...
we could learn from them.
Like a spell?
I have great respect for your husband.
And whatever he thinks
happened to him, he's fighting it.
What did happen to him, Violet?
You haven't touched your gumbo.
What have you done to him?
I made that special for you,
and you haven't even touched it.
What have you done?
He is my husband, and I am his wife...
and I will do to him whatever I wish to do!
He's not safe in this house.
What, what...
What is this?
You've done something.
He's not safe in this house. Not with you.
- This is my house.
- I'm taking him, Violet.
No!
Too late. Not again.
You little whore. He's mine.
Keep him in this house.
Keep him in this-
He's mine!
"Protection."
Where's the record?
Oh, God.
Got it.
You bitch.
Time to go.
Come on, Ben.
I'm going to get you out of here.
Just hold on.
Damn it!
Keep him in this house.
Hold on.
Caroline?
Oh, shit!
[Engine stalling]
Caroline.
Come on, Ben!
We've got to hide you, Ben.
I'm gonna get help. I won't leave you.
Okay?
Caroline?
[Gunshot]
You think you can take him
out of this house?
You think you're stronger than me?
You've no idea how strong I am, Caroline.
Caroline!
You're just making it harder on yourself!
Where are you?
You can't get away, Caroline.
You understand me?
You'll never get out of here, child.
Caroline?
Caroline!
Stop right there!
[Gunshot]
CAROLlNE: Thank you.
[Door buzzer]
Luke!
LUKE: Jesus Christ.
She tried to kill me.
She had a gun.
She knows I know. Ben's in trouble.
He's still at the house.
Call the police, Luke. I left him.
We got to get back out there.
The hell we do.
I left him there.
You didn't leave anyone. Okay? Slow down.
Tell me what happened.
She tried to kill you?
[Phone ringing]
Sorry.
Mrs. Devereaux.
To what do I owe the-
Heard from Caroline? Why would she have-
What's going on?
Okay. What happened tonight?
Hang on a second.
We need to record this.
[lko lko by the Belle Stars
playing on record player]
LUKE: Hurting him? Hurting him how?
LUKE: What do you mean?
What are you talking about?
I am listening to you.
[Caroline gasping for breath]
Good night, child.
[Blues music playing on radio]
A hell of a thing, isn't it?
See, everywhere you look...
it's a whole new world all around you.
It's like being born.
Or dying. Of course, I wouldn't know.
Hush, darling. I know it's hard.
We're home!
He's missing. She's hidden him somewhere.
Where is he, Caroline?
It's not him, it's me.
You want to sacrifice me.
Where is he, Caroline?
Why are you helping her?
- ls everything ready?
- No.
I can't start anything till I know where he is.
What's our tale if he gets away?
Caroline...
you will tell me exactly
where my husband is.
There's nothing anybody can do
for him, so there's no need to try.
Where is he?
VlOLET: Where is he, Caroline?
He's in the garden shed.
Don't scratch her up any more
than she already is.
She's teaching you.
You help her kill me,
and she'll teach you how.
Ben knew, too, didn't he?
That's enough, Caroline.
You want to shoot me, shoot me.
Stop right there, Caroline!
I want my father's picture.
I want it with me.
Please.
Jesus. All right.
You want your picture,
I'll get your goddamn picture.
[Empty gun clicking]
Fuck!
Violet, she's going outside!
Violet!
She's here!
VlOLET: Quick! Go get her! Help me!
Come on.
She's fixed the door!
Violet, I can't get up the stairs!
You try to use my tricks on me?
On me, huh?
No!
[Phone off the hook beeping]
[Phone ringing]
911 emergency.
My name is Caroline Ellis.
I'm at 1750...
Bayou Chapelet in Terrebonne Parish.
I need police and paramedics.
There are people hurt here. We're trapped.
Please hurry.
[Phone ringing]
- What time is it?
- Jill.
- Jill.
- Cary?
Jill, I'm in trouble.
Caroline?
It's real.
- It's all real.
- You're where? What?
I'm in the Devereaux house.
What's real? What-
[Phone goes dead]
Jill?
VlOLET: Caroline!
You can't get away, Caroline.
Oh, God, no.
VlOLET: Caroline.
"Chalk, sulfur, blood, hair."
Sulfur.
Candle.
Chalk.
Hurry!
Circle.
Eyes.
Four eyes. North, south.
Hurry! Oh, God, please.
What's next?
Hair.
My child...
I believe you broke my legs.
You can't touch me.
You can't get near me. See this?
This is your spell of protection.
Is that what that is now?
And who exactly gave you that spell?
All that circle protects is you...
from leaving it.
You stay back!
I'll kill you! You stay away!
We've been waiting for you, Caroline.
Waiting for you to believe.
It doesn't work if you don't believe.
[Record player] It is time, Lord.
From the dry dust out of these chains.
CAROLlNE: I don't believe.
I don't.
I think you do.
The weakness is the flesh.
The flesh, the flesh.
I don't believe.
I don't...
I don't believe in it.
The flesh. The coil.
I don't believe.
The frail. The weak.
I don't believe.
I don't...
No.
Oh, my God.
I don't believe!
I don't believe!
I don't believe!
I don't believe!
Thank you, child.
Cecile?
You all right?
I'm fine now, Justify.
A fair bit harder than the lawyer,
wasn't she?
It's harder every time.
They just don't believe like they used to.
Got to get them riled up.
I told you I wanted a black one this time.
You know the black ones never stay.
Beggars can't be choosers.
I think it fits you beautifully.
It's better than Violet, or Grace, even.
We'll get used to it. We always do.
[Violet moaning]
The thing folks don't understand
about sacrifice...
VlOLET: Get me out of here.
...sometimes it's more of a trade.
Get me out of here.
No!
There, there, Caroline.
CAROLlNE: We thought it was just a fall, but
now she can't move or even speak.
Like a stroke or something.
JlLL: Cary?
CAROLlNE: Dearie me.
You called me.
I called you?
For help. Don't you remember?
Cary's not herself right now.
I'm Luke Marshall.
- Devereauxs' lawyer.
- Hi. Jill Dupay, her roommate.
Jill, yes, I did call you.
Fiddlesticks.
I don't know what possessed me.
It's all right. I'm here.
They need real care now.
They can't stay here.
This is all my fault.
No, Cary. No, it's not.
It's not.
Someone should ride
to the hospital with them. Maybe...
Jill, would you mind? And we'll meet you.
Of course. Whatever you need.
She meant so much to them, her being here.
I know it wasn't for long, but...
they really loved her.
Why do you say that?
It's in their wills.
They left her the house.
[Siren wailing]
Powered by SciArt Studio
telling my mother all that I knew...
"and we saw ourselves at once in
a difficult and dangerous position.
"Something must speedily be resolved
upon, and it occurred to us...
"at last to go forth together...
"and seek help
in the neighboring hamlet.
"No sooner said than done.
Bare-headed as we were...
"we ran out at once in the gathering
evening and the frosty fog.
"The hamlet lay not many
hundred yards away...
"though out of view, on the other
side of the next cove...
"and what greatly encouraged me...
"it was in an opposite direction...
"from that whence the blind man
had made his appearance.
"And I shall never forget
how much I was cheered...
"to see the yellow shine in doors
and windows...
"But that, as it proved...
"was the best of the help we were
likely to get in that quarter.
"For you would have thought...
"men would have been
ashamed of themselves...
"no soul would consent
to return with us to the... "
Audrey? Sorry.
Mr. T alcott's gone.
Okay.
Front desk, in case anyone shows.
dESK NURSE: I think you'll be waiting
a while, hon.
No. didn't we call? He said he had family.
Yeah.
But they don't wanna have anything
to do with him.
dESK NURSE: You can dump it out back.
CAROLlNE: Okay, take a look.
CAROLlNE: I interview tomorrow.
What about your job?
I had enough of that place.
JlLL: What happened?
WAlTRESS: Here's your beer.
- Thanks.
- Sure.
I lost a patient today. Mr. Talcott.
- I'm sorry.
- You should have seen it.
The second he died, it was like...
they couldn't wait to get him out of there.
It's just a business to them.
It is a business, But at least he had you.
No. It's supposed to be
a business about caring.
They couldn't care less.
Wait. This is Terrebonne Parish.
It's the freaking swamps.
I get the hours I need to start
nursing school, and I get paid.
And I get to help somebody, my way.
They got gators in the swamps,
and guys missing teeth.
Are we dancing here, or what?
Cary, look.
This work you're doing,
are you sure it's not changing you?
I'm 25 years old.
What's wrong with a little change?
[Upbeat Jazz music]
[Slower jazz music]
Oh, my God.
[Rocking chair creaking]
Hello?
Hello?
[Caroline knocking on door]
[Opera music on record player]
[Flies buzzing]
LUKE: Now that right there
is what love is all about.
Old-fashioned devotion,
like what you read about.
You must be Caroline.
I'm sorry, the door was open,
so I just walked in.
Oh, no. It's a big house. I didn't hear you.
LUKE: It's okay.
So much for getting their affairs in order.
I'm sorry. I'm Luke Marshall. Estate lawyer.
We talked on the phone.
Oh, right.
The docs figure a month maybe.
He's pretty far gone.
CAROLlNE: I understand.
His wife's having kind of
a rough time with it.
Most people do.
LUKE: Violet, you have a visitor.
May I present Miss Caroline Ellis?
She works down at the hospice
in New Orleans.
Caroline, this is Violet devereaux.
You have a lovely home.
I'm sorry. It's just hard.
The idea of a stranger living here-
I understand, really.
She's Old South, you know.
She thinks women still curtsey.
So, he can't talk at all?
No. Stroke pretty much paralyzed him.
- Which side was affected?
- Both.
It happened about a month ago,
up in the attic.
That's where she found him.
Ben?
You have a visitor. Meet Miss Caroline Ellis.
Hello, Ben. I'm Caroline.
VlOLET: She's not from around here.
She not gonna understand my house.
She's from New Orleans.
She wasn't raised in New Orleans.
You hear how she talks?
VlOLET: Who knows where she comes from?
CAROLlNE: Hoboken, New Jersey.
What do you want a Southern accent?
The last one left, Violet.
All right.
But she's not gonna understand the house.
The last girl left, huh?
LUKE: Wait. Let me talk to her,
we can straighten things out.
I can't help anybody
who doesn't want my help.
She does want help. She's just scared.
Of what? Politeness?
No. He's the love of her life and he's dying.
They've been together forever.
She's losing her soul mate here.
I don't know about you, But that'd
put some sandpaper up my ass.
Aren't you a romantic?
Look.
The last girl quit.
You're the fifth interview since.
She shoots down everyone.
[door squeaking]
It's not personal.
But you being here means he's really dying.
He's dying whether I'm here or not.
What'd she mean about the house?
What?
She said I wouldn't understand
the house. Why'd she said that?
All I know is her checks clear.
Look, forget it.
If it makes you feel any better, I'm
still looking for my dream job, too.
All right.
So if you talked to her, what would you say?
I'd say she could look all she wants...
But I doubt she'd find any better than you.
So she'd do well to treat you like it.
Okay, here are my rules. No knitting.
No joining a bridge club.
And no playing bingo.
Okay, good. Good rules.
I'm serious, they'll try and suck
you into their elderly ways.
It's less than an hour away.
I'll be back all the time.
Yeah, well, you better.
Whenever you want to talk to someone
who wasn't around for World War ll.
Jeez, what is it with you and old people?
Come here.
He'd be proud of you. You know he would.
Hello?
I need to pay for some gas.
[Fly buzzing]
Hello?
[baby crying]
[Gospel preacher playing on record player]
[Record stops playing]
Is somebody back there?
I'm sorry.
Excuse me. I just need to pay for some gas.
[Orders in French]
[baby crying]
CAROLlNE: Jesus.
[Speaking in French]
[Speaking in French]
$17 for the gas.
CAROLlNE: Keep the change.
Mrs. devereaux?
I'm unpacked.
[blues music playing on record player]
Hi, Ben. Remember me? I'm Caroline.
I'll be taking care of you for a while.
There's not a lot of light in here
for you, is there?
So you're a fan of the blues, huh?
Well, so was-
You have to let go.
Ben, you're hurting me.
Ouch.
VlOLET: There you are.
Time for his remedies.
Scoot over, child.
9:00 in the morning and 7:00 at night.
He takes his pills in powder form.
I'll show you how.
be sure he drinks it all down.
CAROLlNE: What's he taking?
VlOLET: Oh, Coumadin and such.
He gets the tremors sometimes.
don't let that frighten you.
And a kiss to make it taste better.
You're scrawnier than I'd hoped.
Prettier, though.
I bet you're all marked up, aren't you?
- Marked up?
- Written on.
I know you young people are always...
jabbing yourselves with ink and needles.
You're written on, aren't you?
Not where you can see.
Well.
He's to be bathed daily, his linens changed.
don't bother with the housework.
I'm the only one that knows how.
How long have you two lived here?
Let's see.
We came over from Savannah in '62.
We bought this house
from a brother and a sister.
They'd inherited it a long time ago,
from their parents.
Lived here since they were children.
VlOLET: There they are. Martin and Grace.
VlOLET: Charming people.
But they fell on hard times, had to sell.
You keep their picture?
Yes. I like to pay my respects
to the memories of this house.
All right. Come along now.
This is the dining room.
We only use about half of the rooms.
The others are for Ben's antique business.
What he couldn't sell, we stored here.
Except for the attic.
That has crystal and china.
And I keep a very close account
on that, just so as you know.
There are more than 30 rooms in all.
In the old days, they made
a separate key for each room.
For the owner, they made a skeleton key.
This will open every door.
This one is yours.
I have mine.
Now, the pantry's right out here.
You know, we may have to ask you
to go into town now and then.
Was there a mirror here once?
I noticed in the bathrooms also
there are no mirrors.
Child, when you get as worn-out
and wrinkled as we are...
you don't need any reminding.
If you want a small one
for your own purposes...
that's fine with me.
- What'd you do with them?
- Put them away.
VlOLET: The boy tells me you don't smoke.
I do smoke. I smoke a lot
and I enjoy it very much.
I trust that won't be an issue.
It won't be.
Good. Then for the most part
just realize that...
I'll live here as if you're not in residence.
After all, we're not kin.
Are your parents still alive?
My mom left when I was little. My
dad raised me and he died last year.
Oh, my. So you cared for him as well?
I would have.
I just thought I had more time.
Yeah.
You think too much about the time
you have left...
you don't spend it living.
be good to my husband.
be good to his house.
Remedies at 9:00.
One, two, three.
You don't see gardens like this
back in New Jersey, I expect.
Actually, it's the Garden State.
[Laughing] I doubt that very much.
Nothing more glorious than a garden.
Gone every winter, back every spring.
You religious at all?
I try to keep an open mind.
That's good. That's very good.
Where are my trilliums?
Oh, fiddlesticks. do me a blessing, child.
Will you run up to the attic for me?
I have some seed packets in a box
right next to the stairs.
[Stairs creaking]
[Noisy clanking]
[door creaking]
What took you?
I'm sorry.
I thought the key opens everything.
The key? What key?
The key you gave me for the house.
There's a door in the attic
it doesn't work for.
Oh, no, the attic, it's never opened that.
- I got my dixie-Johns.
- Why not?
- What's in there?
- I have no idea.
It's been shut ever since we moved in.
I have to get these in the ground,
because there's rain coming.
Mrs. devereaux...
Ben was in the attic, wasn't he,
when he had his stroke?
What was he doing in there?
You'll have to ask him, child.
be a dear and go see to him, won't you?
I wonder if he wouldn't like some iced tea.
[Soulful instrumental jazz music]
[Water running]
[Thunder rumbling]
[Loud noise]
[Glass shattering]
[Tin roof rattling]
His door was locked.
Ben!
Ben!
Ben!
Stop right there, Ben! don't move!
Stop!
Ben!
Mrs. devereaux!
Ben!
Ben, what are you doing? It's me!
[Ben screaming]
Mother of mercy, what's he done?
He got out of the window. I thought
you said he was bedridden.
VlOLET: He's having spasms.
- didn't you give him his remedies?
- Yes.
did you make sure he drank them down?
I thought so.
- Ben, what'd they make you do?
- His door was locked.
Just go get the wheelchair.
We've gotta get him out of this.
What about a doctor?
In the morning,
just get that wheelchair now.
VlOLET: Caroline!
VlOLET: Caroline!
What in damnation took you so long?
I came as fast as I could.
We're just gonna have to double his
remedies. That's all I can think of.
Caroline, help me here. Help me get him.
Come on. That's it.
Where did you think you were going?
You're here two days and
he already tried to kill himself.
Must have some kind of
bedside manner, huh?
One of my many charms.
So, what exactly happened?
I came to update her will...
she's up with the doc, says he fell?
He did fall.
Like what, from his wheelchair?
You cannot be serious. From
up there? He fell from up there?
How? He can't even walk.
Please don't tell me you're quitting.
I have to start over again.
Will you shut the door?
I want to show you something.
You know what my mama used to say?
If a lady invites you into her room,
she probably isn't much of a lady.
Homespun Southern wisdom grows
on trees around here, doesn't it?
I found this in Ben's room...
Iast night.
LUKE: Found what? His laundry?
No, it had a...
CAROLlNE: There was...
LUKE: Had a what?
There was a... It had a...
Forget it.
I thought it...
I don't know what I thought.
I admire you.
You know, what you do.
Hell, I wouldn't be able
to take care of my own parents.
You'd regret it.
CAROLlNE: I quit college to help out
with some friends' bands.
Out all night, always on the road.
My father thought
I was throwing my life away.
So we didn't talk, didn't visit.
Stubborn and proud,
and that's how we left it.
You mean...
Yeah.
He was gone before
I even knew he was sick.
I guess he wanted to spare me from all this.
Is that so wrong?
No one should have to die alone.
So tell me what you were gonna tell me.
About Ben.
do you ever feel like...
he's asking you for help?
- Asking me?
- With a look or...
a touch.
VlOLET: Mr. Marshall?
Where in damnation is that boy? Caroline...
have you seen Mr...
Well...
I see the children are getting acquainted.
Now, Violet...
you know you're the only woman in my life.
I know no such things,
and remove your perspirations.
The doctor has departed, so I'm ready...
to discuss estate matters,
if you have finished...
soliciting your new business.
All right.
Whenever you get the time.
VlOLET: Caroline?
I'm making some sweet tea.
Are you interested?
Caroline?
"Sacrifice."
Are you in the house?
Caroline?
You're forgetful, child.
[Voice on record player] It is time, Lord.
From the dry dust...
out of these chains...
from the devil's house.
It is time, Lord...
to take me...
from the dry dust,
break me from these chains.
Bring me from the devil's house.
Take me out of darkness.
Walk me out of blindness.
Lift me out of sadness.
Save me from my damned-ness.
Please, Lord.
It is time, Lord.
Take me from the dry dust. Break me...
out of these chains.
Bring me from the devil's house.
Take me out of-
Just a local band.
How about you buy me a drink?
[Upbeat R&b music]
Whatever it is, it's not your average attic.
She says it's been locked up
ever since they first moved in.
You found yourself a hoodoo room.
- A what?
- Hoodoo. You know what hoodoo is?
It's like voodoo, right?
Wrong. Voodoo's a religion.
Slaves brought it to Haiti from Africa.
You worship God, heaven and hell.
- How's hoodoo different?
- It's magic.
American folk magic.
God doesn't have much to do with it.
- Magic?
- Yeah.
It's part African, part European,
part Native American.
And New Orleans is its home.
It started here.
My Aunt Nola's into it.
She shops at a place in Algiers.
Look, you said the house
had a history, right?
- Hoodoo is pretty harmless.
- Harmless how?
It's psychological, like a lot of that stuff.
It can't hurt you if you don't believe.
So this place your aunt shops at...
Ever seen it?
It's either this street or the next one...
or the next one.
JlLL: There.
There? That's a Laundromat.
Look, that's all I know.
That's where she goes.
So you coming in or what?
I'm not.
I thought you don't believe in this stuff.
I don't.
But I'm not just going
to mess around with it.
So, you wanna go in, go ahead.
You're scared.
- Jill the Thrill is scared.
- Kiss my ass.
You're never gonna live this down.
We come all the way out here-
I'm not scared.
VlOLET: Good night, Caroline.
Good night.
[banging on door]
I told you about the mirrors.
I don't understand.
This is not your house.
I found them.
I needed a mirror for my bathroom-
I told you, and you heard me. No mirrors.
No mirrors!
I've seen the room.
- What room?
- The room you say you've never seen.
It's not locked anymore.
No, child, you don't know
what you've seen.
You're gonna tell me right now.
Or I'm leaving.
You're not from the South.
You won't understand.
That room up there,
you just don't go in and...
throw things out of a room like that.
You leave them just where you found them.
The house is theirs just as much as ours.
The house is whose?
Whose things are in that room?
All right.
About 90 years ago...
there was a banker here,
his name was Thorpe.
He made his fortune cheating the poor.
He was a mean man. He was a cruel man.
It was him, and his family,
and couple of servants...
name of Mama Cecile and Papa Justify.
Sit down.
Now...
the way I heard it, old man Thorpe,
he didn't know...
that Papa Justify was
a "two-headed doctor."
He was a conjure man. So was Cecile.
- They believed in-
- Hoodoo.
Yeah.
That was their room.
VlOLET: They were famous
all through the bayous.
They healed the sick
and they hurt the mean.
"Hit a straight lick with a crooked
stick," as the coloreds say.
But old Thorpe, he just saw them as help.
And he worked them to the bone.
He abused them.
Until one night, as the story goes...
there was a party.
VlOLET: It was the bank's anniversary,
all the big mucketymucks were here.
Politicians, sugar barons, riverboat tycoons.
There was a lot of drinking and dancing...
and a couple of trysts, I'm sure.
And then, finally,
when it was time to say farewell...
some of the guests wanted
to wish goodbye to the children.
But nobody could find them.
They hadn 't seen them in hours.
So, being all full of brandy,
they made it a game.
"Let's Find the Children. "
Room after room after room.
Finally, someone heard music...
Martin? Grace?
... and voices and shouting...
up in the attic.
[Record] From the devil's house.
[Record] It is time, Lord.
VlOLET: The servants were up there
with the children.
They were trying to teach them
how to conjure hoodoo.
MAN: And take his head.
Thorpe went about insane,
and so did the rest of the guests.
I mean, how long had this blasphemy
been going on?
The children said it was their
fault, that they'd wanted to learn.
But they weren 't having any of that.
[Woman screaming]
All that power and rage and insanity.
The party was over.
It was a terrible thing.
Terrible.
Rumors got out, But no arrests, no trial.
Money had its way.
What happened to the family?
The bank went under.
Thorpe shot his wife to death,
and then turned the gun on himself.
People in the bayou say
it was Justify and Cecile's revenge.
The children stayed here till '62.
But they never, ever, told us
why that room was locked.
Or why there were no mirrors
in the whole house.
Now we know.
You know what?
You see them in the mirrors.
Who?
The servants.
I've gone and read
some hoodoo books, and they say...
- putting brick dust down will keep harm away.
- Mrs. devereaux.
So I made a big circle of it around
the whole house.
You can't expect me to believe
you see ghosts in your mirrors.
The ghosts are here now.
But whatever they did to him...
I am not going to let them do it to me.
Now you'll leave...
Iike all the rest of them.
That's some superstitious wife
you got there, Ben.
She thinks you have ghosts in the attic.
Spooky, huh?
Ouch.
Hold on. I'll be right back.
She says you see them in the mirrors.
Ghosts in the mirrors.
I'm sorry, Ben.
Ben, stop it.
Relax. I'm so...
I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry.
You see them, too.
I'm going to town.
Shopping.
VlOLET: What for, Caroline?
Caroline, what for?
We'll just have to see.
[Thunder rumbling]
MAMA CYNTHlA: He won't beat you again.
CUSTOMER: Mama Cynthia,
he beat me last night.
CYNTHlA: You use the potion
that I'm gonna fix for you...
and it won't happen again.
I will promise you that.
CUSTOMER: I'm scared.
CYNTHlA: Don't be afraid.
CUSTOMER: Are you sure that I can do it?
CYNTHlA: I know it will. It will work.
Just do as I say. Don't be afraid.
It will work, and it won't happen again, ever.
Don't worry about it. He won't hit you again.
Just use this potion I mixed up.
I have a lot of things in here.
And you use it as I told you.
- Okay, I'll trust you, Mama.
- You'll do fine.
That brick dust at the door,
how does it work?
You lay a line down.
Nobody that means you harm can cross it.
It's how you tell who your enemies are.
It's like hypnotism, right?
Suggestion?
And when this stuff works, it's
because someone believes it works?
And if you thought, you know...
magic made you sick...
you might believe in a magic cure, right?
Even though it's all in your head.
Somebody been working roots on you.
Say I knew someone
who believed he'd been...
- Crossed.
- Crossed.
Would he believe he could be uncrossed?
What's the nature of his condition?
He can't speak. Barely moves.
He had a stroke...
but he seems to think
someone else made him that way.
And you want to know
what happened to him?
Yes.
JlLL: You went in there.
You actually went in.
Are you out of your mind?
Come on. Haven't you ever heard
of psychosomatic treatment?
Yeah. But this is not that.
How much of a patient's recovery
depends on his believing he can?
What recovery? This is hospice.
You're just supposed to help this guy die.
He believes in this stuff.
So what? Who is he to you?
Forget it.
No, you forget it. He's not your dad.
Not this one, the last, or the one before.
Why are the two of you so attached?
I'm sorry, Cary.
Just so you know,
if I'm not attached to him...
I'm abandoning him.
Attached is better.
I know. Cary, I'm sorry. Okay?
But would you look at yourself?
You want to be a nurse and you
just walked out of a witch doctor's.
It's not for me.
[On radio] Forecasters are calling
for up to a foot of rain...
in the coastal areas...
as this storm makes its way across
the delta, starting overnight.
Radar already shows
increasing precipitation...
across the coastal areas and moving
rather quickly to the north.
The main forecast concerns
centers around potential...
Hi, Ben.
I' m gonna show you something.
It's going to be our secret. You and me.
Violet says you didn't have a stroke...
in the attic. She said some ghosts...
made you this way with a spell.
Is that what you think?
Because I know a spell, too, Ben.
One that makes you better.
All you have to do is believe it.
Backwards.
Cleanse this man.
Cleanse this room.
Cleanse this house.
His words have gotten lost,
lost and wandering in his mind.
Let the water run down...
and wash away this condition.
His tongue has gotten tied,
tied and tangled in his throat.
Let the water run down...
and wash away this affliction.
Send his voice to go free.
Let the water run down...
and wash away-
[Thunderclap]
[Struggling] Caroline.
[Struggling] Caroline.
It's all in your head.
Help. Help.
Ben, talk to me. Keep talking.
Help me.
Help you? Help you how, Ben?
Get me out of here.
VlOLET: Caroline?
Get me out of here!
Shit!
- Caroline!
- Just a second.
Caroline, open this door!
What are you doing to him?
Ben, why? Get out of here, why?
- Caroline!
- One second!
Caroline, open this door!
I'll help you, I promise. Just talk to me.
What happened to you in that attic?
Tell me who you're afraid of.
What have you done?
What is this?
He was...
- He was struggling in his sleep-
- Get away from him.
- Get away from him.
- He was struggling.
VlOLET: It's all right.
I brought water.
You were talking to him?
I was just telling him a story
to settle him down.
- About what?
- Just a story.
No ghosts.
That'll be all tonight, Caroline. Thank you.
I'll come back to check on him-
No, that won't be necessary.
That's all for tonight. Good night.
It is time, Lord.
It is time, Lord.
Grace.
Caroline?
Caroline.
Mrs. Devereaux?
Her and her ghost shit.
CAROLlNE: That attic is filled
with this stuff.
Recipes. Spells. Books of them.
Records of them.
I understand your cause of concern...
but my family is superstitious, too.
We're called Baptists.
- This is different.
- It's charming.
Local color.
You said yourself
you were worried about him.
Well, now I'm worried about you.
You know?
Are you a nurse or a detective?
When did you first meet the Devereauxs?
Just before he had his stroke.
They were looking for a lawyer
to update their wills.
Did you ever think that
maybe she knew something...
was gonna happen to him?
How? Like tarot cards in the attic?
A seance in her sleep?
I want to know why the last girl quit.
Hallie. Some folks to see you.
HALLlE: You a superstitious person?
CAROLlNE: Not per se.
HALLlE: I told my mama
where I was working.
She said that house has been
nothing but blood and tears.
That the last owners were
some rich brother and sister.
Crazy people, supposedly.
They died of strokes
right after they sold the place.
Maybe they found something they shouldn't.
Maybe now Ben did, too.
It may be their mess in that room...
but ain't no ghosts
put a spell on that old man.
She did.
- Do you believe that?
- Don't you?
But I heard it can't hurt you.
I mean, it can't hurt you if you don't believe.
Then I suggest you leave that house
before you do.
LUKE: For God's sake, this is insane.
The man had a stroke.
CAROLlNE: That isn't what he thinks.
And you're gonna take him away
from her? From his own wife?
- How can you believe-
- I don't believe. I don't.
The point is, he does.
Stop the car.
- Stop the car.
- Why?
I've been here before.
I'll show you. It's not just them.
See the line across the doorway?
It's brick dust.
Hoodoo. Keeps your enemies
from coming across.
See the bones hanging?
This stuff's got a hold on people out here.
Yeah, but it's not real.
It doesn't matter if it's not real.
It's real to them.
[Voice from record]
What's wrong?
This music. I know this music.
You sure this is a good idea?
Hello?
Mama raised a gentleman.
CAROLlNE: Hello?
Excuse me. Ma'am?
We heard the music, your record.
I was wondering-
WOMAN: There's no record for anyone here.
How about records by a man named Justify?
How do you know that name?
Who sent you?
Who else is in here?
- Someone else in here?
- It's just me, ma'am.
Stop now. Don't you go touching-
Do you know a record called
the Conjure of Sacrifice?
Because I have it, if you do.
You had that, you wouldn't say so.
You do know it.
The strongest conjuration of all.
They say Justify discovered it...
but he got killed
before he learned to work it.
Him and his poor wife both.
It's never been found.
What does it do?
It keeps you from dying.
Not forever, but for a while.
How?
You have to sacrifice somebody...
and take the years that they have left.
CAROLlNE: Hurry up! He's alone with her!
Hang on, Caroline! Wait! Shit!
Now you got me spooked.
If I get proof that she's out
to hurt him, will you stick by me-
- By "hurt him," you mean kill him.
- Will you or won't you?
Just listen to yourself.
Fine. Goodbye.
What are you gonna do here,
kidnap him?
You know something's wrong
between them. You know it.
Let me make some calls.
See about grounds for...
a restraining order, protective custody.
You're not gonna get a search
warrant till tomorrow anyhow.
Then that'll give me tonight.
I'm all he's got, Luke. Me.
Get the proof. Okay?
Mrs. Devereaux, I'm back.
No. Where's the record?
It was right here.
Mrs. Devereaux,
could you come here for a second?
oh
Caroline, I was beginning to worry
about you...
you were gone such a long while.
CAROLlNE: It's really raining out there.
VlOLET: It's supposed to pour all night.
Keeps up like this,
that swamp's going to rise...
and ruin my flowerbeds.
Did you want to see me?
Yeah, I was wondering if
you could take a look at this?
There's a leak up here.
They're all over the house.
They're just rainwater.
Yes, but if you look up close...
Come on in. I could show it to you better.
Well,I...
Actually, I have supper on the stove.
I shouldn't leave it.
- lt'll just take a second.
- I can see perfectly from here.
You want this for the sill?
All right.
Could you come into the room please,
just for a second?
So I can show you what I'm seeing.
You're a funny one, Caroline.
I'll make us some tea.
And, Caroline?
After you've given Mr. Devereaux
his remedies...
would you be so kind
as to join an old lady for supper?
- Well, l-
- Wonderful!
We should have done it days ago.
I've made something real nice.
[lko lko by the Belle Stars
playing on record player]
We're leaving tonight.
VlOLET: Caroline!
Supper.
[Thunder clapping]
How's your gumbo?
I haven't started.
Would you like sugar for your tea?
I put it out for you.
No, I don't think I'll have any sugar tonight.
But I thought you liked it.
You always have sugar in your tea.
You think I'm senile, don't you?
Ghosts in the attic. Spells on my husband.
I just don't understand.
These ghosts, why would they put
a spell on him and not me?
I've been in that room, too.
Maybe because you don't believe in them.
Maybe all houses have spirits...
but we just don't see them
until we believe we can.
I'm really not that hungry.
Don't move. I'll fetch the candles.
Eat your gumbo. Oh, fiddlesticks.
Dinner by candlelight.
There.
So, was that the storm or the ghosts?
Well, say what you will about spirits.
I've always wondered
if there wasn't something...
we could learn from them.
Like a spell?
I have great respect for your husband.
And whatever he thinks
happened to him, he's fighting it.
What did happen to him, Violet?
You haven't touched your gumbo.
What have you done to him?
I made that special for you,
and you haven't even touched it.
What have you done?
He is my husband, and I am his wife...
and I will do to him whatever I wish to do!
He's not safe in this house.
What, what...
What is this?
You've done something.
He's not safe in this house. Not with you.
- This is my house.
- I'm taking him, Violet.
No!
Too late. Not again.
You little whore. He's mine.
Keep him in this house.
Keep him in this-
He's mine!
"Protection."
Where's the record?
Oh, God.
Got it.
You bitch.
Time to go.
Come on, Ben.
I'm going to get you out of here.
Just hold on.
Damn it!
Keep him in this house.
Hold on.
Caroline?
Oh, shit!
[Engine stalling]
Caroline.
Come on, Ben!
We've got to hide you, Ben.
I'm gonna get help. I won't leave you.
Okay?
Caroline?
[Gunshot]
You think you can take him
out of this house?
You think you're stronger than me?
You've no idea how strong I am, Caroline.
Caroline!
You're just making it harder on yourself!
Where are you?
You can't get away, Caroline.
You understand me?
You'll never get out of here, child.
Caroline?
Caroline!
Stop right there!
[Gunshot]
CAROLlNE: Thank you.
[Door buzzer]
Luke!
LUKE: Jesus Christ.
She tried to kill me.
She had a gun.
She knows I know. Ben's in trouble.
He's still at the house.
Call the police, Luke. I left him.
We got to get back out there.
The hell we do.
I left him there.
You didn't leave anyone. Okay? Slow down.
Tell me what happened.
She tried to kill you?
[Phone ringing]
Sorry.
Mrs. Devereaux.
To what do I owe the-
Heard from Caroline? Why would she have-
What's going on?
Okay. What happened tonight?
Hang on a second.
We need to record this.
[lko lko by the Belle Stars
playing on record player]
LUKE: Hurting him? Hurting him how?
LUKE: What do you mean?
What are you talking about?
I am listening to you.
[Caroline gasping for breath]
Good night, child.
[Blues music playing on radio]
A hell of a thing, isn't it?
See, everywhere you look...
it's a whole new world all around you.
It's like being born.
Or dying. Of course, I wouldn't know.
Hush, darling. I know it's hard.
We're home!
He's missing. She's hidden him somewhere.
Where is he, Caroline?
It's not him, it's me.
You want to sacrifice me.
Where is he, Caroline?
Why are you helping her?
- ls everything ready?
- No.
I can't start anything till I know where he is.
What's our tale if he gets away?
Caroline...
you will tell me exactly
where my husband is.
There's nothing anybody can do
for him, so there's no need to try.
Where is he?
VlOLET: Where is he, Caroline?
He's in the garden shed.
Don't scratch her up any more
than she already is.
She's teaching you.
You help her kill me,
and she'll teach you how.
Ben knew, too, didn't he?
That's enough, Caroline.
You want to shoot me, shoot me.
Stop right there, Caroline!
I want my father's picture.
I want it with me.
Please.
Jesus. All right.
You want your picture,
I'll get your goddamn picture.
[Empty gun clicking]
Fuck!
Violet, she's going outside!
Violet!
She's here!
VlOLET: Quick! Go get her! Help me!
Come on.
She's fixed the door!
Violet, I can't get up the stairs!
You try to use my tricks on me?
On me, huh?
No!
[Phone off the hook beeping]
[Phone ringing]
911 emergency.
My name is Caroline Ellis.
I'm at 1750...
Bayou Chapelet in Terrebonne Parish.
I need police and paramedics.
There are people hurt here. We're trapped.
Please hurry.
[Phone ringing]
- What time is it?
- Jill.
- Jill.
- Cary?
Jill, I'm in trouble.
Caroline?
It's real.
- It's all real.
- You're where? What?
I'm in the Devereaux house.
What's real? What-
[Phone goes dead]
Jill?
VlOLET: Caroline!
You can't get away, Caroline.
Oh, God, no.
VlOLET: Caroline.
"Chalk, sulfur, blood, hair."
Sulfur.
Candle.
Chalk.
Hurry!
Circle.
Eyes.
Four eyes. North, south.
Hurry! Oh, God, please.
What's next?
Hair.
My child...
I believe you broke my legs.
You can't touch me.
You can't get near me. See this?
This is your spell of protection.
Is that what that is now?
And who exactly gave you that spell?
All that circle protects is you...
from leaving it.
You stay back!
I'll kill you! You stay away!
We've been waiting for you, Caroline.
Waiting for you to believe.
It doesn't work if you don't believe.
[Record player] It is time, Lord.
From the dry dust out of these chains.
CAROLlNE: I don't believe.
I don't.
I think you do.
The weakness is the flesh.
The flesh, the flesh.
I don't believe.
I don't...
I don't believe in it.
The flesh. The coil.
I don't believe.
The frail. The weak.
I don't believe.
I don't...
No.
Oh, my God.
I don't believe!
I don't believe!
I don't believe!
I don't believe!
Thank you, child.
Cecile?
You all right?
I'm fine now, Justify.
A fair bit harder than the lawyer,
wasn't she?
It's harder every time.
They just don't believe like they used to.
Got to get them riled up.
I told you I wanted a black one this time.
You know the black ones never stay.
Beggars can't be choosers.
I think it fits you beautifully.
It's better than Violet, or Grace, even.
We'll get used to it. We always do.
[Violet moaning]
The thing folks don't understand
about sacrifice...
VlOLET: Get me out of here.
...sometimes it's more of a trade.
Get me out of here.
No!
There, there, Caroline.
CAROLlNE: We thought it was just a fall, but
now she can't move or even speak.
Like a stroke or something.
JlLL: Cary?
CAROLlNE: Dearie me.
You called me.
I called you?
For help. Don't you remember?
Cary's not herself right now.
I'm Luke Marshall.
- Devereauxs' lawyer.
- Hi. Jill Dupay, her roommate.
Jill, yes, I did call you.
Fiddlesticks.
I don't know what possessed me.
It's all right. I'm here.
They need real care now.
They can't stay here.
This is all my fault.
No, Cary. No, it's not.
It's not.
Someone should ride
to the hospital with them. Maybe...
Jill, would you mind? And we'll meet you.
Of course. Whatever you need.
She meant so much to them, her being here.
I know it wasn't for long, but...
they really loved her.
Why do you say that?
It's in their wills.
They left her the house.
[Siren wailing]
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