Deadly Possessions (2016–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - Ed Gein's Cauldron and Crying Boy - full transcript

So, you knew about this curse?

Yeah.

She put the gun right
to him and said,

"Get out of here or die."

That's when all five
of those family members

apparently passed away.
- Wow.

Body parts,
entrails stored in it.

My first question was,
"Did he cook people in it?"

ZAK:
Since I was a young boy,

I've been collecting
haunted artifacts,

drawn to the dark and mysterious
energy they carry.



The Manson murders
will go down as

one of the most heinous crimes
of all time.

Through my career
as a paranormal investigator,

I've been able
to build my collection.

Now I'm building a museum....

MAN: The Conjure Chest
is one of the deadliest

- haunted artifacts in existence.
- WOMAN: Robert the Doll.

He has affected
thousands of people.

ZAK:
...and providing a place

for people
to bring their haunted items

and hear their stories.

We aid people
into coming into the world.

Why can't we aid them
in exiting the world?

These are my deadly possessions.



Ladies and gentlemen,
you're witnessing the first time

that I have seen an item
that belongs to me.

Ed Gein, inspired psycho,

used to take body parts
of his victims

He would take skin off
of these bodies and even bodies

that he would dig up
from local cemeteries

and he would tan
and peel off the skin.

He would make furniture
out of body parts,

and Ed Gein apparently
used this cauldron

to store entrails.

And many believe would
cook them in this cauldron.

A few months ago,
I bought this at an auction

in Wisconsin
where Ed Gein was from.

A piece of property once owned

by one of Wisconsin's
most notorious criminals

was sold this past weekend
to the TV host

of "Ghost Adventures"
on the Travel Channel.

I never met the person
who owned this.

His name's Dan and,
uh, look at it.

I'm -- I'm literally
shaking right now

because I can feel
the energy coming

off of this cauldron.

I bought this,
and I bought a shovel.

And the only details that I know
is that Dan somehow, some way --

his grandmother was able
to buy this in the 1950s

at Ed Gein's farmhouse.

But there's many details

that I don't know
that I'm about to find out.

And it is every bit
terrifying in person

as it is when I saw it
in the photos.

My name is Dan McIntyre
from Grand Marsh, Wisconsin.

I sold Zak a cauldron
that used to belong to Ed Gein,

one of the most infamous
serial killers of all time.

I'm curious to see
what Zak thinks of the energy

surrounding the cauldron.

ZAK: How you doing?

Look like you're about
to dig a grave.

Are you Dan?
- Yes, sir.

Hey, I finally get to meet you.

- Hi.
- How you doing?

I'm gonna grab that.

Ooh.

This is the shovel
I bought from you also.

Oh, yeah.

- How's it going?
- Good. Nice to meet you.

So, this is interesting.

Usually people
bring objects with them

and I hear about them,
I see them for the first time.

This -- I just saw this
for the first time.

It's been on the crate ever
since it was shipped to me

'cause I wanted to see it
for the first time

when you were here --
the person who has this story.

I just want to know deeper,
the deeper secrets

of how the cauldron affected you
and other people around you.

And more importantly,
I want to know

if the cauldron
has some type of a curse,

some dark energy
that is inside of it.

So tell me
how you acquired this.

My grandmother was
an antique dealer and collector

and would go to auctions.

And this was one of the things

that she acquired
at one of her auctions.

So this shovel, this cauldron
came from Ed Gein's house.

Yes.

Was there a neighbor
that you had that was --

I believe his name was Hollis?

- Yes, yeah.
- Tell me about that.

He was a neighbor of Ed Gein's.

And when the discovery
of the murders were made,

the police were very sick
to their stomachs.

[ Retches ]

And they couldn't
remove the bodies

from where they were hanging,

and they had to go get
a couple neighbors.

One of them was Hollis.

No way.

So the police were too sick
to their stomachs

to cut down the bodies.

Yep, they knew the people.

Everybody knew each other,
so they knew the people.

So, it's like you're watching
your friend hanging dead.

You know,
I mean, "Oh, my gosh."

So you're telling me
that Hollis went down there

to help them cut down
the bodies.

Mm-hmm, yep.

And he positively identified
the cauldron during that time.

Mm-hmm.

He told me that he's seen
that cauldron before,

and I go, "What do you mean
you've seen it before?"

He says, "It belongs to Ed Gein,

and that's not the first time
I've seen it."

He goes,
"That's his cauldron."

So I go,
"How do you know?"

He said, "Because I used to,
with Ed Gein's parents,

cook hog fat in it.

And he would lift it
to take it out of the shed."

I go, "How can you be sure that
that's the same one?"

He pulled up his arm sleeve,
he goes look at my hair.

And his hair was standing
straight up his arm.

First time I've ever seen that.

He was, like,
"I can't get near it."

He goes,
"I get to close to it --"

He goes, "I just got
to get away from it."

So Hollis says he just
seen something

that he wished that he had seen
for the last time long ago --

that, you know, he was hoping
he'd never have to see again.

I remember my first experiences
with it as a little boy.

Probably 6, 8 years old,
you know, when I was told

that it belonged
to a mass murderer or a killer.

And, you know, as a young boy,

"What's a mass murderer?
What's a killer?"

Those are things that are
in newspapers or on the news.

It's not real life,
you know, for a kid.

My grandmother was
planting flowers in it.

Your grandmother was planting
flowers in Ed Gein's cauldron.

Why would your grandmother,

knowing who Ed Gein was,
want to buy this?

Knowing that body parts
were presumably cooked

inside of it,
entrails stored in it.

Why would your grandmother
want to buy this thing?

I don't know.

She never had a lot of things

that were in the macabre
or mysterious.

My first question was,
"Did he cook people in it?"

She didn't know if anyone
was really cooked in it.

When it was in our garage,

I would get
a creepy feeling from it.

I never felt like I was alone.

You know, you walk past it
and, you know,

it wasn't a welcoming feeling --

not a warm feeling.

It's more or less
a creepy feeling.

ZAK:
Although Hollis Brown,

the man who personally
removed the bodies

from Gein's house
has since passed away,

his son, Carneth, is here
who got first-hand accounts

of his father's
gruesome experience.

Come on in, sir.
Have a seat.

How you doing?

I'm doing pretty good.

- My name's Zak.
- It's good to meet you, man.

- Yeah, how's it going?
- All good.

Do you know if your dad

ever told you about
this cauldron or...

Yes, he did,

when it was at my neighbor's --
Daniel McIntyre's.

My dad realized who's it was
and where it came from

and the hair on his arms and his
neck just stood right up.

Can I ask,
when did your father pass?

How long ago?

He passed January of 2012.

- January of 2012?
- Yes.

You said
that your father would --

his hairs would stand up
after talking about this

and seeing it in Dan's garage.

He could still vividly
remember back to that day

when they found
Mrs. Worden's body.

And they had to take her down.

And your father had to help
cut the bodies down?

Yes.

And that imprinted in his mind
and disturbed him

still 50 years later,
60 years later?

Yes, it did.

Can you tell me about --

your grandmother had a run in
with Ed Gein personally.

Yeah, 'cause he was trying
to take one of my aunts who was,

you know,
quite on the heavy side.

But my grandma faced him down
with a shotgun.

- Ed Gein?
- Yeah, she put the gun right to him and said,

"Get out of here or die."

[ Gun cocks ]

Do you think Ed Gein

would've possibly tried
to kill your aunt?

As crazy as he was,
I think he would've.

And your grandmother
took a shotgun,

aimed it at Ed Gein,
and chased him off.

Yes.

[ Sighs ]

I said, "Tell me
everything you saw."

And he told me things.

He said it looked like,
in the barrels,

there was definitely blood
and guts.

♪♪

♪♪

ZAK:
I am speaking with Dan McIntyre,

the man I bought
the Ed Gein cauldron from.

We are discussing
the deranged details

of a neighbor's
first-hand account

of what was found
inside Ed Gein's home.

I said, "Tell me
everything you saw."

And he told me things
that he saw that,

you know, I couldn't believe.

He said there was
a body hanging.

Next to the body,
there were two barrels,

and on the other side
of the barrels was the cauldron.

So there was the body,
a barrel, a barrel,

and the cauldron.

He said it looked like,
in the barrels,

there was definitely
blood and guts.

I know he was an expert
in tanning human skin.

So I know that he would
skin the bodies,

take the skin, and make things.

This is a list
of what the police

found on Ed Gein's property
when they went to arrest him.

They found whole human bones
and fragments,

a waste basket
made of human skin,

skulls on his bed post,

a corset made
from a female torso

skinned from shoulders to waist.

He had a suit
made from women's skin

so that he could wear it
and become his mother.

Bernice Worden's entire head
in a burlap sack,

Bernice Worden's heart
in a plastic bag

in front of Gein's
pot-bellied stove,

a belt made from female
human nipples.

Nipples, yes.
Hollis told me he seen that.

A pair of lips
on a window shade drawstring,

a lampshade made from the skin
of a human face.

This dude was messed up.

Yeah, there was
a couple more things

Hollis told me
that's not on the list.

The first thing he noticed
was a nipple doorbell.

Now that's a piece
of information

that he told me
that I have not read anywhere.

My father cleaned the garage out

and there was quite a few people
that helped him.

Hollis was one of them,
my brother-in-law, my cousin.

[ Clears throat ]

You okay, Dan?

Yeah.

- What's wrong?
- Um, nothing.

No, nothing's really wrong but,

it's perhaps coincidental.

But everyone that cleaned
that garage out...

...I'd say,
at 18 months, was dead.

Some of them could be explained.

My father was old, you know?

But Hollis died of cancer.

My brother-in-law, Bruce,
died walking up the steps.

That -- he was --
died before his time.

And then, my cousin,
Don, he died

from a -- I say,
surgery complications.

And my mother died --
fell out of a wheelchair

and died 10 days later.

I don't know if that energy
has anything to do with it,

but it's
kind of a scary thought.

Was this in the garage
when they all cleaned it out?

Mm-hmm.

You know, it was there.

I didn't want to even
talk about it 'cause

I don't want to give
that thought any energy.

Yeah, you don't
want to empower it.

Do you think I can be
in danger from owning this?

I think you're knocking
on the devil's door,

and don't be surprised
if he answers.

Do you like being
around that cauldron?

Does it bother you or no?

Um... yes and no
at the same time.

Why yes?

Yes, it bothers because of
what happened to those women,

and that should've never
happened.

But no, on the other hand,
because I try to, you know...

...keep a level head
about stuff.

You know Dan.
How long have you known Dan for?

I've known Dan and his family
for 30 years.

Do you think that Dan
had an effect from this?

Oh, yes, I know he did,

'cause he was quite ill
for quite a long time.

You believe that he got ill
from this?

Could be
from the negative energy

that was coming off of it.
- Mm-hmm.

Are you happy to see
Dan not have this anymore?

Yes, he's doing a lot better.

There ain't as much
negative energy as there was.

- When this was at his house?
- Yes.

Dan got really choked up
when he started telling me

that his family members were
cleaning out his garage one day.

Kind of unearthed this
from being buried in the garage,

and then some things
had happened

to his family after that.

Yes, his brother-in-law, Bruce,
his father,

and even my father had passed on
almost one after the other.

What do you think Ed Gein
used this cauldron for?

He would use it to take
the hearts and livers, blood.

He was known to cook
that up for himself.

Mm-hmm.

What is it like now when anybody
mentions Ed Gein there?

There is still a lot
of bitter feelings.

So, talking about him there
is not a good thing.

Yeah, 'cause we're always --

we're always joking around
that anybody that says

anything in Plainfield about him
has got a death wish.

Wow.

It's okay to talk
about him here though?

Yes.

It's possibly
because Ed wants us.

Uh...

[ Sighs ]

♪♪

♪♪

ZAK:
I just got disturbing news

that there has been
a last minute emergency

with my next guests.

They were supposed
to come on the show

to talk about a pair of skis
that once belonged to Ed Gein,

but they cannot make it
and have sent their daughter

and her boyfriend instead.

How you doing?
I'm Zak.

- Hi, Zak. I'm Derek.
- Nice to meet you.

- Courtney.
- Hey.

So, what the heck
is going on here?

All that I know is
that I was actually

supposed to be
interviewing your parents.

Yep, my dad
and my stepmom, Leslie,

weren't able to make it

'cause my sister
ended up having a stroke.

So instead of them coming up,
they sent us up instead.

- Well, I'm sorry to hear that.
- Yep, thank you.

Do your parents believe
that your sister had a stroke

in part of why they were
coming out here?

They think it's
'cause of the skis.

Mm-hmm.

I think it's possibly
because Ed wants us.

Uh...

[ Sighs ]

You mean, Ed wants us
to tell his story?

Yeah.

That's what I feel like.

Well, uh, this is a parallel,
because Dan,

he's the guy who sold us
this stuff --

the cauldron,
the skis, the shovel.

When he got the cauldron,

he had five family members
help him clean out his garage.

When they had all touched it
and dragged it out,

that's when all five
of those family members

apparently passed away one
after the other.

Wow.

I wasn't aware of that.

That's shocking.

Like, it's crazy to know

that just owning an object,
you know --

it's, like,
we can't definitively

scientifically prove
this is correct.

Mm-hmm.

But, man, you start adding up

all the stories and the timing

and then weird things
that happen around the objects.

I'm getting
into this pretty heavy,

you know, with, like, this.

I've always collected things
like this,

but it's starting
to get a little creepy.

You know?

Man, how do you --

how do you store
something like this?

- House the energy.
- Yeah.

Why did your parents
still send you?

Was it important
to them that you told me?

Yes, they wanted --

basically,
they're giving you the skis.

They don't want them anymore.
- Really?

Yeah, they're sending them
up here.

I just said, "As long as it's
not on my plane, I'm good."

They're gonna mail them up,
and they're yours.

- Really?
- Yeah.

They don't want them anymore.

ZAK: I am now told
by Courtney and Derek

that they have been going
to Ed Gein's property

and trying
to contact his spirit.

DYAR: When we first did
any Ed Gein investigations,

we took some pictures.

And I had snapped
a few shots of Derek.

I asked Ed
to stand next to Derek

to take a picture with him.

He had felt something
come near him.

I'm kneeling on the ground
and Derek's just standing up.

What'd you feel, Derek?

A presence.

Like, before she took
a picture, I'm like,

"Courtney, I feel a presence
coming on my right side."

So you two go
to Ed Gein's property?

Mm-hmm.

You physically call out
Ed Gein -- his spirit?

And then you feel his spirit?

I had captured a mist on camera.

It moves across from one side
of Derek to the other.

And then we had turned
and took a picture

towards the road,
and there's the mist.

I jumped 3 feet in the air,
screaming, "Oh my god!

I seen it with my own eyes!"

And it was like Ed

had came next to me
to see his picture.

Do you regret going
to his property

and calling him out?

- No.
- No?

So what do you think
this stigma is?

Where do you think it's from?

Where is that energy
coming from, these skis?

I find it a strange
coincidence to be honest --

going there, getting evidence.

And it's kind of weird
how this has all come together.

It's almost hard
to puzzle piece in our mind --

like, why us?

We've been out to Ed's
a couple times.

A couple times?

- Yeah, every time we're up that way, we go there.
- Yeah, we go there.

It's like a religious thing
to visit.

And every time you go out there,
you're calling his spirit out?

Yeah.

Have you ever seen the cauldron?

Mnh-mnh.

Well, I wouldn't want to put
you guys in further harms way,

but it seems multiple times
at Ed Gein's house

and you say you communicate
with spirits

and you believe Ed Gein
has come through to you.

What would you say
if I invited you

to go look at the cauldron...

Let's go.

...and also maybe even use
the spirit box?

I'm down.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

And I don't
mean this the wrong way.

I just kind of want to see
if something is attached.

We'll go, and I'll introduce you
to the cauldron.

I think this is all meant
to come together

right now in this moment.

Let's give it a try.
- Okay.

- Are you ready?
- Yeah.

Let's find out.

- Whoa.
- Jay, hurry up.

ZAK: While we are still setting
up for our investigation,

I begin receiving massive,
unexplained spikes

on my EMF detector

as soon as I bring it
near Ed Gein's cauldron.

Right now, we're getting
some crazy spikes

in the electromagnetic field
all around this.

That's crazy, dude.

Lookit.

It's just pegged.

- It's by his stuff.
- There's a lot.

There's just -- look at that.

That was just
an 11-milligauss spike.

That was just an 11 --
ooh, there's another one.

Another 11 milligauss --
let's see if we go away from it.

You getting that, Jay?

Just baseline zero,
baseline zero, baseline zero.

Put it back over here,
and it just goes crazy.

- It's all around the cauldron.
- That is just crazy.

Look at that.

There's an electromagnetic field
all around this cauldron.

All right, this is a good time.
Bring them in.

ZAK: I immediately bring
Courtney and Derek into the room

so that we can attempt
to establish communication

with whatever is causing

these massive EMF spikes
around the cauldron.

We want to try to get
some answers.

Let's just go.
Aaron has the SB7.

I want you guys
to ask some questions.

I'll ask some questions
to Aaron.

Ask some questions.

Let's see if something
is attached to this.

First off, Ed Gein,
if you're here,

if you're a victim of Ed Gein,

we're about to turn on a device

that'll allow us
to hear your voice.

Do you recognize anyone in here?

[ Oscillating static ]

"I'm here, come here --"
something like that.

Do you recognize anyone in here?

[ Oscillating static ]

I heard a lady say,
"I'm here."

Try it again.
Let's see.

And then you guys
ask questions, too.

- Okay.
- This is a microphone

that I'm wearing --
a wireless mike.

So I just want to use this

to make sure
we got good audio with this.

Ed, do you remember me?

[ Oscillating static ]

What do you want to happen
to the people

that own your stuff?

Evil.

[ Thud ]

Should we blow the candles out?

No, I think we're safe.
We'll keep an eye on things.

Okay.

♪♪

♪♪

ZAK: We are with Courtney Dyer
and Derek Wagner using the SB7

to try and communicate
with the spirit of Ed Gein.

The negative energy
that we believe is attached

to this cauldron is so serious

that Courtney believes
it has something

to do with her sister's
medical emergency.

What do you want to happen

to the people
that own your stuff?

Evil.

[ Thud ]

That was in here, bro.

That was loud.

Whatever that was,
it sounded like it was

something getting slammed
in one of these rooms.

It felt like a door shut
or something.

- Let's continue.
- Hey, did you hear the word evil in there?

I did.

What do you want to happen

to the people
that own your stuff?

Evil.

Evil.

ZAK: Is the entity
that just said "evil"

through our spirit box also

the one making this violent,
unexplained door slam?

What is attached
to this cauldron?

[ Oscillating static ]

Death.
I heard, "Death."

It said, "Death."
- I heard that.

Straight up "death"
in that voice!

- Yeah, same voice.
- In that same surreal voice.

What is attached
to this cauldron?

[ Oscillating static ]

Death.
I heard, "Death."

It said, "Death."
- I heard that.

- That was crazy.
- That was crazy.

That was crazy, right?
Death.

- I got goosebumps.
- Yeah, me too.

What's crazy is is this --
I'm getting chills now.

This is the same female

that's come
through every single time.

We've had females --
when we went to his property,

a female kept coming
through to us.

What I'm concerned about is

is that Ed Gein used
to make female skin suits

and wear them
to become a female.

So is Ed Gein disguising himself
as a female, right?

Do you like the fact that other
people own your items?

[ Oscillating static ]

Can you tell us
what state your --

No.

- It said, "No."
- It said, "No."

Can you tell us
what state your --

No.

- It said, "No."
- It said, "No."

It's the same female
every single time.

Now the next -- the next thing

that's happening
with these items,

it's going to something new --
this area.

Do you like the fact
that it's gonna be

in this building
and a new owner?

[ Distorted voice ]

Oh my god, dude.

Oh, shit,
dude, did you hear that?

It goes, "Yes."

Right after I asked.

Do you like the fact
that it's gonna be

in this building
and a new owner?

You're shaking.

I'm starting to get shaky, dude.

I'm starting to shake.

My tailbone hurts.

Feels like I fell
on my tailbone.

What was interesting
to me is how intelligent.

We were getting a lot
of intelligent responses.

- I want to listen --
- And that one voice was intelligent.

It was the same female,
but it was answering.

There was that --
you okay, Courtney?

Yeah, I just
feel something behind me.

Together
with the EMF readings...

- That was weird.
- ...and the EMF readings were centered right here.

Not over here and not over here.

Something is around
this cauldron.

And the voices, to me,
that validates it.

ZAK: Now that the cauldron

will permanently be
on display at my museum,

I'll be sure
to keep a close watch

on any paranormal activity
surrounding it.

Not only do I like to hear
about other people's experiences

with haunted items,
I also like to share my own.

My museum gives people
the opportunity

to come share personal stories
and hear mine.

How's everybody doing?

Good?
Welcome.

So, we decided to do a little
show-and-tell ourselves.

This is an object
that I do not keep

in my house anymore
for good reason.

So, we were filming
"Ghost Adventures"

at the most haunted
house in England called...

The Ancient Ram Inn.

This very old man,
he's in his 90s.

How are you, sir?
- Welcome to my home.

When we were there filming,
there was a giant fireplace.

MAN: Look at the wall
on the left-hand side,

you will see the hole
where I found the devil worship.

He found a bunch
of satanic worship artifacts

in the fireplace.

This was sitting
in the fireplace, as well.

And so I saw it,
and I had to have it.

So I took this,
put it in my suitcase,

and brought it back
to my house -- bad idea.

I put it on a glass case
like this down in my basement.

I was upstairs.
I heard a very, very loud crash.

I go downstairs.

This is in 1000 pieces
all over my floor.

Something took this thing
and slammed it onto the ground.

And it broke
into a thousand pieces.

It's all been glued back
together by my mother.

This is just one of many objects

that I had inside my house

that spirits
were attached to it.

This skull, I brought
into my house.

Two days later,
I got dragged out of my bed.

My left leg raised up,
and something was pulling on it.

I was fearful.
I was frozen.

I couldn't move.
There was something doing this.

And a sick part
of me was just enjoying it.

After I was terrified,
I was like, you know what?

I don't think I'm gonna die,
but this is amazing.

Here, yes.

I don't wear this at home.

I wear it when I'm here,
because I know

a lot of these objects.

Yeah, whenever we go
and film "Ghost Adventures,"

I always look around
'cause I collect these objects.

And when we were
at the Silver Queen...

This is Connie,
the Silver Queen.

Hi, Connie.
- Hi!

...she gave me this
and she said that this was

so cursed that the family
that gave it to her,

they could not take it anymore.

And so I didn't know
what was inside of it.

So, I want somebody
to raise your hand,

and you get to open this up.

You're first.
What's your name?

- Alicia.
- Alicia.

Okay, do you want to wear this?

- No, I wear mine, too.
- Okay, cool.

Okay, we're protected.

So, go ahead and open it
nice and slowly.

- Oh, my god!
- You jumped.

What it is is we guesstimate
around the mid-1900s.

Apparently, somebody took
a real human skull

and made it
into a Halloween decoration.

And I firmly believe

that whatever spirit
is attached to their skulls

are still with them
unfortunately.

So, in all reality,
this wasn't a show and tell.

This was just an experiment

because I wanted to see,
when this opened,

which one of you the spirit's
gonna follow home this evening.

[ Laughter ]

So call us tomorrow
if you brought home a friend

and then come back
with your friend.

Thank you all.

- Thank you.
- Thank you, guys.

Feel free to walk around.

My name's Tina Booth.

I'm from Clevedon, England,

and I'm the owner
of the Crying Boy painting.

I heard the legends
of these paintings,

never believed them
until it happened to me.

It caused two fires in my home,
and I'm gonna fly

halfway across the world
to get rid of the painting.

There'll be no better home
than Zak's museum.

I'm guessing
that you have artwork here.

I do.

Ah.

- The Crying Boy.
- Yep.

Of course it's the Crying Boy.

I'm Zak. Nice to meet you.
- Hello, Zak.

I'm Tina.

Crying Boy painting --
I've heard about this.

Is our a museum fireproofed?

Isn't that what goes on
with this?

Well, it certainly
happened to me, yeah.

You caught on fire?

Yeah, my house did.

This is fascinating --
the Crying Boy paintings.

Legend states anybody
that has the paintings

and put it in their homes,

the houses would catch on fire
but the paintings wouldn't.

That's just about right.

Should we blow the candles out?

No, I think we're safe.
We'll keep an eye on things.

Okay, If these cursed paintings
start fires...

Yeah, you don't want to risk it.

...and the painting's aimed
at a bunch of fire,

are we gonna be barbecued?

Well, if we stay in the room,
we should be safe.

Tell me your story.

So, I have a company.

It sells vintage goods online.

And going around
the vintage markets,

I was talking to my daughter
about the myths around it.

So, wait a minute.
So you knew about this curse?

- I did.
- Then you set out looking for the painting.

- Yeah.
- Are you crazy?

[ Laughs ]

It's interesting, isn't it?

You know, people like it.

Yeah, people like it until
your house gets caught on fire.

Yeah, that's the only fly in
the ointment really, isn't it?

Yeah.

So, you go find
the second demon boy.

Yeah.

I'm gonna get in trouble
for all this --

- what I'm saying about it, aren't I?
- Yeah.

♪♪

♪♪

ZAK: The Crying Boy paintings
are iconic pieces

of paranormal history.

I want to learn more
about how this curse started,

so I've asked a local art expert

to come talk to me
about the history.

Brett, you are
an art expert here in Las Vegas.

To your right
sits the Crying Boy.

- Mm-hmm.
- Okay.

Are you familiar
with the Crying Boy?

I am, I am.

What's interesting to me is
that it's not just

the original painting
that was infected

with the curse,
it was these prints

that were made back
in the '40s and '50s.

Is that right?
- Right.

What the legend was the urchin

was actually a young orphan
whose parents

had died tragically in a fire
that had been given

the unfortunate
nickname of Diablo,

because everywhere he went,

these unusual fires
seemed to follow.

Shortly after him sitting
for the artist in a studio,

the studio burned down under
very suspect circumstances.

A lot of people believe
that's when

the curse was evoked.

If this little boy had
the power to start fires,

the nickname Diablo,
meaning devil,

would insinuate
that this little boy

was possessed by some type
of demon or Satan or something.

Could be.

There was a house fire
in 1985 in England

where the entire home
was decimated

with the exception
of this painting.

But I think a turning point
in this really, I think,

shocked all of Britain
is exactly what you said.

It's what made
the 1985 newspaper article --

is how entire houses
were destroyed,

and amongst the ashes,
you would see

the Crying Boy painting
sitting there

with not a burn mark on it.

- Right, right.
- And that was, like, "Whoa.

What the hell
is going on here?"

You collect all different
types of art,

and I'm sure you have many,

many expensive pieces
at your gallery.

Yes.

Would you display this
in your gallery?

Serious question.
- Sure.

- I want a serious answer.
- Sure.

Would you display this
in your gallery

and leave it there overnight?

No.

No.

We wouldn't take that chance.

Your house had a fire?

Yes.

Yeah, as I was working
with the picture.

- Working with it?
- Yeah.

What do you mean
working with it?

I buy my merchandise,
photograph it, do research.

So, you put it in your house.

Tell me what happens.

I'd had set up some tea lights
in my bedroom,

and I was working downstairs
on the computer.

And I heard banging
from upstairs.

You heard a banging upstairs?

Yeah, yeah.
It was, like, a thump.

And then another thump
and then another thump.

And I thought,
"What on Earth is that?"

So, of course,
I went up to investigate.

And as I got to the top
of the stairs,

I could smell smoke.

So, I knew something
was on fire at that point.

And I opened up the door,
and it was my cat

throwing himself at the door
to try and get out.

- Are you serious?
- Yeah.

So he was running against
the door and throwing himself

against the door
to try and get out.

And what did you find
in the bedroom?

Oh, it was
just completely thick,

black smoke down to the floor,

and all I could see
in the corner --

the whole corner
of the room was a light.

It was just pluming everywhere.

All the smoke was everywhere.

But it was the fact
that I was working

on this particular picture
at that time.

Same exact time.

And I can remember
thinking in my head,

"What terrible pictures."

I was kind of -- in my head,
I was dissing it, you know?

- Oh, like ugly?
- Yeah.

- Like, just plain and ugly.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- "Why would you have that?"
- So, you were thinking this in your mind?

Yeah, and then
I heard the banging

and obviously discovered
the fire.

ZAK: I want to get
another perspective

on these events from a skeptic.

So I'm bringing
in Tina's daughter, Maggie,

to see if she feels

the events in question
were actually unexplainable.

I'm all right.

- Yeah.
- How are you?

Let me ask you
a couple questions, okay?

Are you familiar
with the Crying Boy?

Oh, yeah about
the Crying Boy painting.

Mm-hmm,
do you like the painting?

No.

I mean, they freak me out.

I want you to tell me why.

Well, I didn't like it
at all firstly

because it was just --
it's just not pretty.

Uh, no.
Don't.

I know you -- just say --

we're gonna say that you
were just talking about me.

- Yeah.
- I'm not pretty.

And I don't -- I want to say
that in seriousness, because --

- Mm-hmm.
- Do you know what I'm saying?

- Yeah, yeah.
- Okay.

Tell me, like, what happened?

Well, when I was loading it,

she heard a lot
of banging upstairs,

which turned out to be my cat

trying to get out of the room

because our room
had caught on fire.

Did you ever feel
the presence of something?

I did feel a bit,
like, heavy in the room.

Mm-hmm, so the environment
just changed

in that moment like
something was there.

Yeah.

So, you dissed the painting.

I did diss the painting.

You kind of were
making fun of it.

Yeah, that came obviously down
off the wall straight away.

I was silly enough to go back

and buy another one
from a vintage market.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Stop.
Hold on.

You buy the first little boy.
- Yeah.

He nearly burned
your entire house down.

- Yeah.
- "Oh, I want to go buy a second."

Yeah.

On behalf of everybody
watching, why?

They're just rare, aren't they?

You know, you see
something like this --

they don't come up very often.

And I couldn't pass it by.

♪♪

This may be the first time
where I reject an object.

♪♪

♪♪

ZAK: I am speaking
with Tina Booth,

who believes the curse

of the Crying Boy
nearly killed her.

So you go find
the second demon boy.

TINA: Yeah.

And I'm gonna get
in trouble for all this --

- what I'm saying it about it, aren't I?
- Yeah.

Less than 2 weeks
after buying him,

I was in exactly the same
situation.

I was writing about him
and thinking exactly

the same thing -- like,
"I don't understand

why people like that picture
in the first place."

- Same thing?
- Yeah.

So, now you're just
waiting for it.

Yeah, but unfortunately my iMac
at that particular time blew up.

What?

Are you serious?

Yeah, that was it.

As you were working

on the second one thinking
the same thing.

Yeah, it just literally
blown from behind.

That was the end
of the computer.

So what are the odds
in that happening

twice doing the same thing
with the same painting

that has the same curse
affected to it?

Yeah.

That's crazy.

Yeah.

MAGGIE: It was like
we did kind of think,

"Oh, well, that's a bit
of a coincidence, you know?"

But as soon as the second one
happened, it was just, "Oh."

So, we did --
I did connect with it.

And It's very unnerving.

Did you ever have anything
paranormal happen in the house

that you can remember when the
paintings came into the house?

After the fires, I did.

I did have
a few nightmares about,

like, fires and things
like that,

but never something
you could probably point out.

Mm-hmm, what were
your nightmares about?

Oh, just about my room
being on fire.

Interesting.

What do you want your mom
to do with the Crying Boy?

Get rid of them.

Did your mom believe
all this was real

when she originally bought it?

No, not when she
originally bought it.

I think she's a bit more --
I think she does a bit now.

But she's not one
to kind of admit that.

Right, right.

So you're now a full believer
in this curse?

Yep.

This little boy
has not taken his eyes off me

since he's sat right there.
- No, he doesn't.

And I've made
a few comments to him,

and I hope that my building
doesn't catch on fire.

And I'm gonna leave
the painting with you.

Pardon me?

I'm gonna leave the paintings.

Oh, I'm not taking them back.

JAY: You always say you want
all the objects.

Here you go.

Oh, I'm -- I'm, uh...

I don't know what emotion
I'm feeling right now.

I appreciate the gift,

but how many
countless people's houses

caught fire from these?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I don't know if
I'm excited about this

'cause throughout
this entire building,

I have priceless
artifacts, objects.

This is a serious moment
of hesitation right now.

This may be the first time
where I reject --

yeah, an object.

I think it fits so well
in your museum.

And you just said
that you're not leaving...

No.

...with this
back to Britain?

No, thank you.

It's that serious?

Yeah.

ZAK:
Billy, I swear to god,

watch every single room
in this building

- while we're doing these interviews.
- Yeah.

Any little piece of smoke,

any little flame
that's not a candle,

you buzz that red alarm right
there -- that red light bulb.

Listen, Crying Boy,

I just want to apologize
when I made the little jokes.

Okay, I want to keep you here
in this building of mine.

I'm gonna give you your own
little room.

I want to make it nice for you.

I want to make it cozy.

Just please, do not light
anything in here on fire.

All right.
we'll see if that works.