A Haunting (2005) s01e05 Episode Script

Echoes from the Grave

In this world, there is real evil in the darkest shadows and in the most ordinary places.
These are the true stories of the innocent and the unimaginable.
Ron and Nancy Stallings believe they have found the perfect house until a sinister spirit attacks from beyond the grave.
Paranormal researchers try to bring peace to the family and to the dead trapped in the land.
The Stallings realize if they don't get out soon, they won't get out at all.
Between the world we see and the things we fear, there are doors.
When they are opened, nightmares become reality.
synced by dom.
smrc Ron Stallings and Nancy Simicott are looking for a new home.
They will be married in less than a week.
With her marriage quickly approaching, Nancy attributes her nightmare to nerves.
This is exciting.
Well, for one thing, I do want a garage.
Ron and Nancy have been married for less than a month when they actually begin looking for a house to buy.
Listen to this We had six children the day we got married.
Some were his, some were mine, both from previous marriages.
And we needed a large house that would accommodate everyone.
And like most young couples, we didn't have a lot of money.
The first time that we saw the house, I thought it was a great bargain.
The owner is an old woman whose son is selling the property.
The house had been built in the 1920s.
It is a spacious, charming fixer-upper, looking nothing like the house from Nancy's nightmare.
And remarkably, it is well within their price range.
The house has been empty for a year.
It needs new paint, wallpaper, repairs.
But to Ron and Nancy, it's perfect.
They buy the house.
Then, just before leaving I hope you're good fighters.
For Ron and Nancy, the remark is unsettling.
That's a strange thing to say.
I got bad neighbors, or what? And I didn't know what he was talking about.
Within two months, the family moves in.
So, what do you think? It's great! Allen Simicott is one of Nancy Stallings' children from her first marriage.
My stepfather had children of his own, and there was kids with my mother, and when they got married, it was almost like "The Brady Bunch.
" Yeah.
We can play games in here.
Come on in! It was big, a lot bigger than any house I was used to.
Other than that, it just seemed like a normal house.
It was just old.
For the newly blended family, moving day offers hope and the promise of new beginnings.
You pick out your rooms? Not yet.
Get more stuff, bring it in the house.
We can move in.
Come on, go, go, go, go, go! Do you like it? I love it.
I love it.
I love it.
I love it.
The basement was real dreary and kind of had a real creepy feeling to it Like something happened there, like something might happen there again.
I didn't care for the basement at all.
I mean, from the first day, I never liked the basement.
I decided I would open some windows.
At first, I thought they were painted shut.
I couldn't get them open.
I wondered why the people had nailed the windows shut with big nails.
It soon becomes clear.
Something is not right with this house.
Hey, hey, hey, whoa, guys.
Walking legs in the house.
You know better.
Faucets would turn off and on.
I didn't understand how that could happen.
We figured it must be because it's an old house.
Are you finished? Yeah.
Within a month, the family settles into a comfortable routine.
All of a sudden, the dishes moved.
I mean, not just, like, one or two dishes falling over in the strainer, the whole strainer moved across the counter.
And we just kind of looked at each other, like, "Did it really happened?" Not wanting to alarm the others, Nancy keeps the incident to herself.
But her son, can't get it out of his mind.
I was freaked out.
And it still freaks me out.
Summer turns to fall.
The days grow shorter.
The nights, longer.
Allen and his younger brother share a bedroom.
I would lay there at night, and I would hear heavy footsteps like heavy boots.
I could hear them come up the steps.
I knew it wasn't my parents, and I was terrified.
Hi.
Well, hello.
Hi.
Hi.
Nancy Stallings.
Welcome to the neighborhood.
Thank you so much.
How do you like it? We're moving in slowly, getting there.
Glad to have you here.
You know the old lady who used to live here? She says, "Ah, that crazy old" lady that lived in that house thought that someone was getting in, moving her stuff and taking her stuff, and she had her son "nail those windows shut.
" I said to Ron, "I wonder why she" thought someone was taking her things.
" The shocking answer will come all too soon.
In the fall of 1965, Ron and Nancy Stallings are settling into their new home in Baltimore.
But their eldest son Allen knows that something is strange about the house.
As weeks pass without incident, Nancy's concerns drift away.
Friends and relatives come to visit, happy for Ron and Nancy's apparent good fortune.
Hey, Ron, how you doing? Good to see you.
My cousin bill, who was a lawyer, came to see our new house.
Wow, this is beautiful.
You want to take a tour? And he wanted to see upstairs.
So he got halfway up the stairs And he got a really strange look on his face.
Excuse me.
What's wrong? And he said, "I don't have time now.
" I forgot about this.
I said, "Why you got to be" going in such a hurry for?" He said, "I just got to get to court.
" Bill later explains that he was overwhelmed by a sudden feeling of dread.
It will be months before he comes back.
One night in October Nancy has the distinct feeling that someone is watching her.
Ron.
Ron, I think I hear something.
Ron.
Look at that.
Do you see her there? Do you see her? My god.
Oh, my god.
Did you see that? Hoping to make sense of the inexplicable events in his house, Ron turns to his uncle.
My uncle was a priest, and I knew he knew a lot about that subject.
How can I help you? I told him the story, and I thought, "He don't believe me.
" What am I going to do now? "He's not going to help me.
" Things that move in the house.
Ron can hardly believe the story himself.
I didn't believe you lived after when you died.
I believed when you died, that was the end.
Whatever we need.
I said, "Can you come over to" my house and bless it, maybe?" He said, "Yeah.
" I said, "Well, when?" He said about two weeks.
I said, "I can't wait two weeks.
" So he said, "All right, I'll" come this afternoon.
" and Allen.
Name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit.
We actually had mass in the house like a regular catholic service.
And I was glad that we were doing something about it.
The priest blesses the entire house room by room.
I was hoping that it would take care of the problem.
There was like big question Mark, "Will this work? Will it not work?" And that night, everything was real quiet.
And I thought, "Well, gee, maybe" it did work.
"Maybe that was the answer.
" But then It started with a vengeance.
We heard a ruckus out on the porch.
It was loud.
The tricycle was just riding down the porch And back By itself.
Oh, my god! Shh, shh, shh, shh.
What is it?! Just just sit down.
Ron suddenly realizes that the priest had never blessed the porch.
Shh, shh, shh.
I'm going to get a crucifix.
I'm going to take care of the porch.
I didn't know what was happening.
I grabbed the crucifix, thinking that was the answer.
And it stopped.
Terrified, the family immediately leaves the house.
With nowhere else to go, Ron takes his family to his father's cabin about an hour outside of Baltimore.
The cabin has only one room Too small to accommodate such a large family.
It's also a considerable distance from the children's school and Ron's workplace.
He knows it is impractical to stay there for very long.
I thought I could get enough nerve to come back again and hope it stopped.
Ron feels like he has no choice.
They will have to go back.
The Stallings are prisoners in their new home.
Financially, they are trapped.
They have six children and one on the way.
We wanted to move, but we had all of our money tied up in that house.
And with children, you can't just move.
Well, things would go almost in cycles where, for a week or two, things would happen like every day.
And then it might not happen for a couple of months.
For several months, the disturbances died down and Nancy hopes for the best.
1967, she gives birth to a son, her first child with Ron.
Nancy hopes that she can sleep more peacefully in the hospital than she has at home.
The atmosphere in the room changed.
Who's there? I kept feeling like someone was in the room.
Who's there? Nancy, what are you doing out of bed? I was a little cold.
I'll get you a blanket.
Nancy now realizes that whatever has been haunting her house can follow her anywhere.
The next day, when I was getting home from the hospital, I was a nervous wreck.
I was waiting for any minute that something horrible would happen.
Hey, kids! How are you? Meet your new sister.
Let's go inside and maybe you can hold her.
Oh! Allen! Allen, sweetie! Oh, my god, are you okay? Are you all right? I felt like somebody grabbed me from behind and literally, like, heaved me down the steps.
Stand up.
Fortunately, he only had a few scrapes and bruises.
The nighttime just made it worse.
There was really no place to go.
I dreaded if I woke up in the middle of the night and had to use the bathroom or anything like that.
First reaction somebody's breaking into the house.
The hair on your arms would stand up.
I kind of wanted to look.
I really was afraid of what I might see.
And I finally got up enough courage just to take, like, the slightest peek.
But then I heard the footsteps go back out.
And I was scared to death.
Allen can no longer remain silent.
He tells his parents about the footsteps.
I just don't know what we can do about this.
I felt so hopeless.
How do you fight something that's not alive and you can't really grab it, but it can push you? Oh! Allen! I didn't say it was your fault.
I'm not blaming you.
I just don't know what to do.
Are you happy now? We were frustrated.
We didn't know what to do or where to turn.
Ron and Nancy decide to put their house on the market.
They know a reporter.
Still, they are desperate to find a short-term solution.
We can talk to them and at least find somebody that can help us.
I made the mistake of telling a fellow I work with about these strange things that were happening.
And he said, "Maybe I can get" you help in the newspaper.
" So I said, "All right.
" If he wants to see it, if that's the only way I can get help, then I'll do it that way.
"But I don't want a story in the paper.
" If you could just tell me a little bit more about this.
Sure enough, the man came.
Please remember, we don't want our names to be in the paper.
I will not put an address.
The reporter seemed sympathetic.
Things move.
Toys.
Toys, specifically toys? He promises to find them an expert, someone with experience dealing with the paranormal.
That's everything I need.
But Ron and Nancy have placed their hopes in the hands of the wrong man.
The local reporter publishes a story about the strange events at Ron and Nancy Stallings' house.
They are shocked and angry.
So are their neighbors, who worry about falling property values and prospective buyers who suddenly stop calling.
The neighbors were pretty bad.
They ridiculed us, and we ended up with a lot of harassment.
Nobody believed in ghosts supposedly, but nobody wanted to buy it, either.
So we were stuck there.
Back, back, back, back! Another nightmare? Yes.
I had this dream several nights in a row.
It's okay.
It wasn't an ordinary dream.
It was like an experience.
Hi.
About the third time I had the dream, I began to smell gas in the house.
Maybe we have a gas leak somewhere.
I don't smell it.
I told Ron, "Something smells like gas.
" Are you sure? Yeah, it's pretty strong.
He looked and he said, "Everything looks fine.
" To be safe, Nancy calls the gas company.
They said they would be out right away and to open all of the windows.
Did you find the problem? I found the problem.
He checked the pipes, and there was one connection that was really loose.
Blow at any second.
The pipe? No, the whole house.
The gas leak was so bad that the house was a bomb.
Unwilling to remain a victim, Nancy reads up on the study of ghosts and paranormal phenomena.
One book in particular catches her eye.
It is written by hans Holzer, an expert from Austria.
In the book, he talked about getting rid of ghosts, and he had an address where he could be contacted.
Nancy sends him a letter.
Months passed with nowhere from Holzer as Nancy struggles to make sense of her dreams.
I kept telling to myself, maybe it's not a threatening thing.
Maybe she was trying to warn us that the gas man who have installed the furnace, had left this pipe on.
But somehow, I didn't think that she was.
It was just a horrible feeling.
I'm hans Holzer.
Finally, hans Holzer arrives, accompanied by a transmedium.
You cannot investigate hauntings and ghosts by just going around with geiger counters and other technical equipment and wait for things to happen.
You must use a transmedium, a human transmedium.
Nothing happens without it.
Everything else is useless.
The transmedium has the ability to permit spirits to communicate through her.
Holzer has worked with her for several years.
I was curious to see if they were going to be able to do anything because the blessing didn't work.
Holzer feels certain that he and the medium can contact the spirits haunting the Stallings' house.
Well, perhaps we should begin.
But not knowing their true nature, he has no idea if it's possible to force them out.
For nearly a year, spirits have haunted the Stallings family.
With the help of a transmedium, Dr.
Hans Holzer will attempt to contact them Then try to force them out of the house.
The medium senses an unnatural presence.
She was saying there were several different entities there in the house.
And the spirits would actually talk through this woman.
It's what we would call disassociation of personality.
A deep transmedium has the ability to move out of their body and let somebody else get in temporarily.
It is Holzer's job to them to communicate with a lost soul.
The medium detects the mysterious confluence of energy.
Something seems to be guiding her.
When she emerges from her trance, she has a name Louis fontaneil.
It means nothing to Ron and Nancy.
She asked him what he was doing there.
And he said that he was waiting for supplies to come in on the constellation in the Baltimore harbor, and they were there to protect the city.
This is civil war territory just at the border where the north and the south met.
And there was anger, a lot of anger in that area.
Holzer suspects their ghost to be a soldier from the civil war.
Keeps watch at night, wandering.
Somehow he's trapped between life and death.
It seems impossible to Ron and Nancy as the house was only built in the 1920s.
We were told it didn't have anything to do with the house itself.
You could have a brand-new house.
It was basically tied to the property, not the house.
They live in the land.
And if there's now another house, they don't see that.
They see what they remember.
Suddenly, the medium detects another presence.
She slips into a trance and begins to make contact with a woman.
The woman is angry.
The medium senses a name Kittinger.
She asked this lady, "Why are" you doing this to these people?" She said, "These are my" servants, and they don't listen "to what I'm telling them to do.
" She thought that she still owned the house.
The only problem we have with ghosts is they don't know exactly what they are.
They die and don't know they're dead and they don't know what happened to them and they're confused.
Later that evening, Holzer deliver his prognosis.
Holzer believes Nancy to be psychic and her dreams are not nightmares, but psychic communications from the world beyond the grave.
The problem was that you had the medium in the house, living in the house.
And that's Nancy and as long as there is a psychic living there, they will get energy from that and stay.
We had an opposing forces in the house.
One was evil and some were benevolent.
Nancy believes that the civil war soldier Louis fontaneil is protecting her family from the malevolent ghost of the old woman.
She was close to be an insane.
As far as she was concerned, we were intruders.
And she wanted us out of there.
Holzer and the medium decide they must contact the spirits and convince them to cross over to the afterlife.
You do not belong here anymore.
You have passed from one life into another.
I can help you.
You know, I just didn't know.
I didn't know what to think.
Days later, the house remains quiet.
Nancy's cousin bill becomes intrigued by everything he's hearing about the haunting.
Here you go.
Thank you.
He admits he'd always felt uncomfortable in the house.
He wanted to see if any of these names actually turned up or if it was all just something that was made up.
Well, I'll go down to the hall of records.
Bill decides to research the names and details given by the medium.
He goes to the hall of records in Annapolis.
And the more he tried to prove these things to be untrue, the more they jive with what this lady was saying.
He finds a listing for a lieutenant fontaneil, an officer in the union army.
He was killed in a skirmish at an inn that once stood on the Stallings' property.
In records dating back even further to 1787, he uncovers another name Eileen Kittinger.
He wonders if this is the old woman from Nancy's nightmares.
Bill discovers that another home stood on the same piece of property where the Stallings' house is now, built in the 1700s.
Sifting through tax records, deeds, and ancient maps, bill notices a disturbing trend, a shocking revelation that even the medium failed to detect.
And for the Stallings family, it could mean the difference between life and death.
Bill returns from the hall of records with a shocking discovery.
Records show that every family who ever lived on that land had at least one person die before they moved.
Each owner? Each one, yeah.
The history of the property I was really afraid that one of us, a member of our family, that something would happen to them, you know, before we got out.
After months of trying to sell the house, Ron and Nancy finally find a buyer.
They even express interest in ghosts.
What's with the crucifix? The rumors of a haunted house seem to them a selling point.
That's great.
I was just so relieved that we were finally getting out of that house, that I couldn't wait.
I was just praying that nothing happened between then and the time we actually moved out.
Louis came to me and he said, "Don't ever come back" into this house, because when you leave, I'm leaving "and I won't be there to protect you and you won't be safe.
" And that was good enough for me.
I couldn't have been happier than I was that day.
It was a wonderful feeling to be able to know I was finally free.
The Stallings cannot depart fast enough.
They leave even before the movers come to pack up their furniture.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that there is some type of life after death and some type of spirit, some kind of presence there.
Oh! Got that? Just before the family departs, Nancy recalls an item she left in the bedroom.
What? Where are you going? Just take a second.
I'll be right back.
Come on.
When we left that house, I can't even describe how good I felt.
Let's go.
We had made it through that terrible experience.
And now we would be able to live a normal life.
For the Stallings family, the nightmare is finally over.
But what terrible fate lies ahead for the new owners? No one, not even Dr.
Holzer, can predict with any certainty whether the haunting will ever stop.

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