Kindred Spirits (2016–…): Season 3, Episode 9 - The Villisca Axe Murders - full transcript
Amy Bruni and Adam Berry investigate an Iowa farmhouse where a family was brutally murdered by an unknown assailant in 1912. They fear the killer's spirit still resides in the home and is trying to continue his death toll in the afterlife.
BRUNI: Hello?
There's definitely
something here.
BERRY:
What was done in this room
got somebody to burn in hell.
Something in this house
is not right.
Is that the case?
Is there something bad here
that we should be worried about?
I hear he's a monster.
I got to get out of here.
Did you do something
to this family?
"I killed them."
If you say the wrong thing
about the wrong spirit,
you're gonna pay for it.
I mean, the things
that went on in that house
were sick
and depraved and powerful.
[ Crows cawing ]
BRUNI: When the dead are
forgotten, they become restless.
Oh, my God!
You just touched me.
What? I did not touch you.
I'm Amy Bruni.
A haunting encounter
redefined my life.
I live with that experience
and seek answers to the unknown.
It says, "I am."
I'm Adam Berry.
At Gettysburg, the shadows
and screams of dead soldiers
turned me
into a supernatural believer.
Oh, my God.
Together, our investigations
bring peace to the living...
You can't scare us,
you can't deter us.
...by giving a voice
to the dead.
I'm going to ask you
one more time.
What is your name?
Because we believe the dead
and the living are all...
kindred spirits.
Kindred spirits.
♪♪
It's the dead of winter
in Villisca, Iowa.
Adam and I are investigating
for the first time
the site of a murder
so gruesome
it shocked the nation
into paralyzing fear.
In 1912, the Moore family
and two guests
were brutally murdered
by an unknown assailant.
The killer remained at large
and is now presumed dead,
but some say
he never left the home,
and the house is still a place
of fear for the living.
Eight people were axed to death
in their sleep --
Two adults and six children.
And weren't two of the kids,
like, on a sleepover?
Yeah, two visiting kids.
Yeah.
And it's so crazy because
whoever did it
used the actual sharp end of
the ax on the man in the house,
and then all the kids
and the woman,
he used the blunt side
of the ax.
So he just beat them to death,
basically?
It was the most brutal,
horrific,
like, you can't even imagine
how bad it was.
Oh, God.
And they think that he was
in the attic waiting for them
because they found
cigarette butts up there.
Oh, my God.
That's crazy, man.
The house was purchased
in 1994
by a local resident who restored
its 1912 interior,
giving the home
an unsettling feeling,
like the murdered family
could return at any moment.
Since then, it's been open
to amateur ghost hunters
who've come only to
sometimes have violent
and terrifying results.
The guy that's meeting us here,
John Worley,
He's one of those
amateur investigators.
I received this, like,
flurry of messages
and e-mails that were
just desperate.
He's terrified
of this house.
He won't set foot in it
because he's convinced
that the activity he experienced
here a year and a half ago...
Yeah.
...has cursed him
in some way.
He got a voice recording
that says,
"Just kill John Worley."
Weird.
He said ever since,
his life has just been awful.
And he's meeting us here,
around back?
He's meeting us around back.
So let's go find him.
Yeah, yeah.
John's story is
every investigator's
worst nightmare --
bringing a malevolent
spirit home with you.
Things are so bad for John,
he refuses to enter the house
and will only speak to us
in the barn.
Investigators that come in
to the Villisca house
have frightening tales
of activity,
but nothing like this.
JOHN:
Sorry about the weather.
- Ugh!
- That's okay.
We braved the weather because of
what happened to you, you know?
Thanks.
I appreciate that.
We want to figure out
what's going on.
Well, I never thought
I'd ever come back here.
Um, a group of my friends
and I came here
and bring in
all our equipment.
One of the audio recordings that
we got was not friendly at all,
and it said, "Leave at once,"
in a very strong whisper.
We could tell
it was a killer.
Oh, okay.
So, what happened to you
specifically?
What got me scared --
I got a recording that says,
"Just kill John Worley."
That's me!
Wow. We'll have to
listen to that
before we start
investigating.
That's the tip
of the iceberg.
It was September 23rd,
when we came.
February 28th,
my brother-in-law
went to ICU in a coma
and died.
Shortly thereafter,
my brother goes to the ICU
in a coma.
While this is going on,
my mother-in-law
was diagnosed
with stage IV
ovarian cancer
and died six weeks later.
Oh, my God.
I'm thinking, "My God.
What did I do?
Did I do this
by going to Villisca?"
- God.
- I just need to know I'm safe.
I need to know
my family's safe
and I didn't do any of this.
If I did, I want it to stop,
and I need help.
- Right. Okay.
- Okay.
That's why we're here,
and so we'll get to
the bottom of it.
I know you've been through
so much.
So I'm sorry.
I don't want you
to go in there
if you don't feel comfortable
going in there.
So we can just take
the information that we have
and start,
and if we have questions,
we can let you know
if we need anything else.
We're gonna figure it out.
Yeah.
We're gonna do our best.
I'm sorry.
Is it possible
the Villisca Ax Murderer
attached himself to John
and caused these tragic events
in his life?
Amy and I need to find out
if the killer is in this house,
and if so,
why would he go after John?
With the potential
of contacting
such a dark entity,
it is important that Amy and I
are mentally strong
as we begin
this investigation.
Is that the family?
I think that's part
of them, yeah.
Yeah.
[ Piano playing out of tune ]
Everyone deserves to sleep
and not be afraid, you know?
Like, that's when you're
at your most vulnerable.
♪♪
And they found the two girls
here first.
The two children
who were visiting
were sleeping in this room
when they were murdered.
Somebody covered
the mirrors
because the killer covered all
the mirrors and the windows.
And he covered their heads with,
like, clothes and stuff
'cause he felt like
they were watching him.
♪♪
Ohh.
This puts into perspective
how close they were.
Yeah, and they didn't
wake up, like...?
No, because they didn't have
a chance to make a sound.
♪♪
The Moore children
were found beaten to death
in this second-floor bedroom --
all four of them.
5, 7, 10, and 11
were the kids up here.
♪♪
It's heavy as ****
It's very heavy.
It's heavy.
I just don't understand
how someone does something
like that, like, how much rage
you have to have inside you.
Who waits in the attic?
The authorities believed
the killer
entered the home
sometime during the day
and waited patiently for
the family to fall asleep.
This is the attic, right,
where he hid?
Yeah.
What took place in this house
is unimaginable.
Such a sudden and tragic end
to eight lives
gives a clear reason for spirits
of both good and evil
to be trapped here,
but by the feel of this house,
chances are something darker
is present.
♪♪
To make sure every inch
of this house is covered
and we're protected,
we're putting surveillance
cameras in all the rooms.
♪♪
John sent us the recording
he captured
a year and a half ago that
he believes was the catalyst
of the life-altering
evil attachment.
I can pull up the EVP
so I can play for you
exactly what he sent me.
BERRY: You know what,
let's use it.
Yeah.
♪♪
So, this is what he sent us,
right, from the night?
Yeah.
"Just kill..."
"...John Worley."
I mean,
it's a creepy voice.
We need to find the entity
responsible for this EVP.
Is it the killer,
or is it someone else?
Using our own digital
voice recorder,
we're reaching out
to the spirits in the house
for answers.
Whoever's in this house
with us
who's non-living,
we were called here
by a friend.
My name is Adam.
And I'm Amy.
We know a lot of people come
in here trying to talk to you.
We don't mean
any disrespect.
But our friend John,
who was here, needs our help.
Can I --
I'm gonna play this for you.
He -- He heard
a voice here.
Do you recognize this?
Do you recognize
that voice?
Can you tell us
who that voice is?
John feels like there
was something bad here
that left its mark on him.
Is that the case?
Is there
something bad here
that we should be
worried about?
Did you hear that?
It was like a, "Whaa."
I mean, I had set
this crime scene up
the way they had found it.
I remember screaming.
The knife was in my lung
and shoulder.
- Ohh!
- Ohh!
♪♪
BERRY: Amy and I
are investigating a home
where eight lives
were taken
in a totally senseless
and violent act.
We're reaching out to the
spirits using a digital recorder
in order to help John Worley,
who believes an evil spirit
attached to him after a night
of amateur investigation.
John feels like there
was something bad here
that left its mark on him.
Is there
something bad here
that we should be
worried about?
Did you hear that?
It was like a, "Whaa."
It was like, "Whaa."
I thought I heard
a man's voice.
Maybe you were saying
"what" or...
If you're upstairs,
let us know.
♪♪
[ Static ]
It's so quiet.
Wow.
I was not expecting that.
I wasn't either.
Why is this entity
hiding from us?
Is it watching us,
waiting?
Let's head upstairs.
We're moving our investigation
upstairs,
where the Moore children
were killed,
all four of them,
and trying something new.
I'll use a KII EMF meter,
which detects any paranormally
generated energy,
and Amy will try again
on the recorder.
We were hearing someone
talk downstairs.
It sounded like a man.
Is there a man up here with us,
or someone else?
Can you tell us your name?
Do you know
our friend John?
Are we safe here?
Let's listen.
[ Static ]
Nothing's happening
in there.
- Very quiet.
- That's so strange, though.
That's not what
I expected here at all.
I didn't want to come in,
like, guns blazing.
Guns blazing, yeah.
I wanted to kind of come in
kind of softly and, like,
let them familiarize themselves
with us.
Which is what we've done.
Yeah.
But I don't know
if it's working.
Adam and I have to get
a response
from whatever is here in order
to get answers for John.
So we're going to meet with
other investigators
who have experienced
significant activity
at the Villisca house.
The most disturbing case
involves a man named Buck.
Five years ago,
during an investigation,
he blacked out,
only to be found
with his own knife
in his chest
and no recollection
of how it happened.
Buck has never spoken publicly
about that night until now.
So, we appreciate you coming
to tell your side of the story.
And first off, let me thank you
guys for the opportunity.
- Yeah.
- Are you okay?
My -- My health has gone
completely downhill.
I- I had previously had a stroke
a couple years before this.
BERRY: Yeah.
So, can you just
kind of tell us
in your own words
what went on that night?
Yes.
My stepfather
and my mother --
they got the house for the night
for a birthday present from me.
- Okay.
- And I had done
a lot of research into what
the crime scene looked like.
I mean, I had set
this crime scene up
the way they had found it.
- Mm.
- Mm.
The only thing I forgot
was the ax.
Mm-hmm.
Well, since
I don't have the ax,
I have a hunting knife
on my chest.
And I started trying
to ask questions.
Nothing was happening,
you know?
And I guess not really knowing,
I started to provoke
and say a lot of bad things
about the gentleman who can
kill six ch-children.
And then, um,
on the radio...
Hmm.
And I look over to the closet,
and it was the biggest orb
I've ever seen.
Hmm.
And next thing I remember
is I remember screaming.
The knife was in my lung
and shoulder.
Oh, my God.
I didn't do it to myself.
From an investigative point
of view,
I'm looking for patterns.
It always seemed like it
just went off pure emotion.
I do not feel comfortable
sitting here.
This is gonna be --
I do not feel okay.
Something just tapped
the recorder.
I heard that.
Are you behind me?
♪♪
BRUNI:
It's day 2 in Villisca, Iowa.
We're meeting an investigator
who had a near-death experience
at the site
of a 1912 ax murder
after going head-to-head
with what he thinks
was an evil spirit.
To this day,
he is still visibly shaken.
I had set this crime scene up
the way they had found it.
And since I don't have the ax,
I have a hunting knife
on my chest.
And I started to provoke.
- Hmm.
- Hmm.
And I look over to the closet,
and it was the biggest orb
I've ever seen.
And I remember screaming.
The knife was in my lung
and shoulder.
And I woke up tied to a bed
and tube down m-my throat.
So, you don't remember
anything?
I do remember this.
I didn't do it to myself.
There is something there.
My stepfather and my mother
have an EVP,
and you hear a voice,
plain as day, say,
"Don't worry about Buck.
We'll get him."
- Hmm.
- Unfortunately,
my mother destroyed
everything.
Can you describe the voice,
what it sounded like at all?
It was a little whisper,
a little --
you know, a little
on the quiet side.
I want to play for you
an EVP.
[ Static ]
That was it.
Hmm.
Where did you get that?
A gentleman captured
that EVP in the house.
That's unnerving.
You say the wrong thing
about the wrong spirit,
and you're gonna pay for it.
Do you think your actions
in that house
instigated
what happened to you?
-100%.
- Mm-hmm.
[ Sighs ] I'm sorry for
everything you've gone through.
Do you have any interest,
or would you be able
to go to the house with us
and show us where this happened?
Um, I've -- I've thought
about it long and hard.
And...I -- yes.
You will?
It's something I need to do.
- Mm-hmm.
- Okay.
I have to face
that f-fear.
♪♪
So, th-this is
where it happened.
Okay,
and you were on the bed?
Y- Yes, sir.
Th-Th-The camera was there.
- Okay.
- Okay.
I was laying like this.
Okay.
Knife was h-here.
Mm-hmm.
And I started to provoke.
I was very vulgar.
And right over there
came that orb.
I remember my stepfather
coming in.
There was a knife
sticking in my shoulder.
And he pulled it out.
Mm!
[ Breathing shakily ]
So, how do you feel
being in here now?
Please, forgive me.
I didn't deserve
what happened to me.
S- Something in this house
is not right.
♪♪
There we go.
Well, you came here.
You've faced it.
And you can leave it here.
- Right here.
- Yeah.
I can't express enough
how much
I thank you guys.
♪♪
I can't believe he just
re-created the whole thing
exactly to the crime scene.
And it wasn't
working for him,
so he even pushed it further
by provoking.
And, like,
when is it too much?
And clearly,
he regrets it.
The other person I think
we really need to talk to --
So, Johnny Houser
is an investigator,
and he's probably investigated
this place hundreds of times.
So I would love to hear what
he thinks about this house.
We had a gentleman,
his name is John Worley.
He got an EVP in the building,
and the EVP says,
"Just kill John Worley."
And we're noticing, like,
we've had activity here,
but it's not been nearly
to the level
of what the people who asked us
for help experienced.
Or what I would expect.
I've investigated
this place
easily far more
than any one ever has.
Of course.
Of course.
And from an investigative
point of view,
I'm looking for patterns.
Can I predict when things
are happening?
And it always seemed like it
just went off pure emotion.
- Mm-hmm.
- Okay.
I heard a thud,
and I freaked myself out.
And then things started
compounding on top of that.
It's, like,
totally feeding off fear.
Interesting. Like,
have you seen experiences
from people that provoke?
You know,
people talk about,
"The ax murderer
is in the house."
And so I went in the attic
and just kind
of started going off.
It's like, "Dude,
how could you do this?
It's sick."
Instantly,
footsteps down here.
And it wasn't to
the point of,
"Was that a footstep?
Was that a ghost?"
It was like...
- Footsteps.
- Somebody's in the house.
I think the house kind of looks
at that like, "Hmm, okay.
You want to test this? We'll see
how far we can push this."
- Yeah.
- That makes a lot of sense.
That makes so much sense.
Last night, we were being very
soft and we were being kind.
We didn't mention anything
about the murders.
Mm-hmm.
What would you suggest
that we should talk about
if we wanted
any kind of interaction?
This is what I would do.
Send one person in,
sit upstairs
just by yourself,
put a chair right in front
of the attic
with my back
to the opening.
It seems like the nasty stuff
comes out of the attic.
And if that's truly where
the killer hid, it makes sense.
My biggest thing is my back
to, like, empty spaces.
It's, like,
one of my biggest fears.
Amy, if you want to do something
to try and kick things up,
provoking the idea
of the killer
being in the attic, like,
"How could you do this?
You're nothing," you know?
- Yeah.
- I think that works.
All right,
well, thanks so much.
Yeah, man.
- We appreciate it.
- Yeah.
- You've been awesome.
- Good luck.
- Thank you.
- All right, thank you.
In order to understand
who's haunting this house
and why it would threaten
John Worley,
we would have to
awaken the beast.
And now we have two ways
of doing so.
First, I'm offering
myself as bait
to test if, in fact,
it feeds off fear
by sitting alone
in the attic.
Amy's stationed in the barn
and can only hear my audio
and communicate
via walkie.
Instantly,
I feel creeped out.
Oh, my God.
It's gonna be okay.
It's gonna be okay.
It's gonna be fine.
[ Sighs ]
Hey, Adam, just,
when you get up there,
make sure all the cameras
are rolling.
Copy that.
To increase
my vulnerability,
there will be no camera crews
in the house with me,
creating an even more
enticing atmosphere
for the dark entity
that's lurking here.
♪♪
I did not expect my heart
to be racing
as much as it actually is
right now.
He's freaked out.
♪♪
Okay, I'm in the chair.
He's in the chair.
I'm actually really ****
freaked out right now,
and I don't know why.
[ Chair creaks ]
My heart is pounding for him.
It's so weird.
♪♪
[ Soft tapping ]
I hear movement
to my right.
[ Soft tapping ]
I have a recorder in my hand.
I'm gonna ask you
some questions,
and I'd like for you to talk
into this recorder, please.
Is there anybody up here?
♪♪
Can you make a sound
wherever you are?
♪♪
Something just tapped
the recorder.
I do not feel comfortable
sitting here.
I'm just gonna be --
I do not feel okay.
[ Breathes deeply ]
Okay. [ Clears throat ]
Um, do you know
our friend John?
Someone said something really
bad to him about killing him.
Can you tell me your name?
Did you do something
to this family?
Did you kill
those children?
So, I'm gonna play this back
to see if you talked to me.
[ Static ]
Now I think it's working.
"I killed them.
I killed them."
It says, "I killed them."
The weaker you are
as an individual
going into that house,
the more vulnerable you are
and the more activity
that you get.
He was kind of, at points, giddy
about what he was gonna do.
Like [Panting]
"This is gonna be great."
♪♪
BRUNI: It's night two
at the Villisca house.
To get answers for John Worley,
we are confronting
the violent entity
who may have killed eight
innocent people in this home.
Adam sits alone in the attic
with a digital recorder
while I listen closely
in the barn out back.
So, I'm gonna play this back
to see if you talked to me.
[ Static ]
Now I think it's working.
"I killed them.
I killed them."
It says, "I killed them."
Is there somebody in there?
You said that -- on this
recorder, that you killed them.
♪♪
[ Tapping ]
Major...
I heard it.
[ Tapping ]
Are you behind me?
All right, you ready?
You can wrap it out.
You just come straight down
into the barn with me.
♪♪
[ Light switches click ]
♪♪
♪♪
- Hey.
- Hey.
So, how was that?
Uh, the moment I got in there,
it became real.
I could tell the differences
between investigating alone
in there sitting in that chair
and you and I investigating.
There was a moment
when I was like,
"I don't want to
be here anymore."
Yeah.
And I had to check that
really quickly
because I was like, "No, no, no,
'cause that's what it wants."
Yep.
And I constantly --
I heard movement.
[ Soft tapping ]
I hear movement
to my right.
And that's when I was like,
"At any moment, something could,
like, jump out at me."
Well, here's the thing.
That was the most activity
we've gotten
since we've been here.
Like, you got clear EVPs
when you were in there.
Right. I will say the weaker
you are as an individual
going into that house,
the more vulnerable you are
and the more activity
that you get.
Like, the second you went
in there,
it was almost like
it woke up.
It was like, "Oh, oh, here's
someone I can mess with."
I would never go in there
alone and provoke.
Mnh-mnh.
Because there is
something in there,
and it is not playing.
That is a dangerous thing.
Johnny said I should
provoke in the attic,
but I think I'll do that
while maybe you're downstairs.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Like, I don't know that I feel
okay doing that by myself.
I would not.
We now have our own evidence
that the ax murderer is here,
and he continues to prey
on vulnerable visitors.
But we were also told
that provoking the entity
will cause it
to respond aggressively.
Agitating evil spirits
is not something I enjoy,
and it can be
extremely dangerous.
But it has to be done
in order to understand
the full scope
of this haunting.
Just heard a noise
in the attic.
I will now face the killer
in the attic
while Adam monitors
the surveillance cameras
from downstairs.
♪♪
Hello?
♪♪
♪♪
This whole place is so creepy.
There's definitely
something here.
♪♪
[ Sighs ] Is there someone
in this attic with me?
♪♪
I think you're
a terrible person.
I hope you're burning
and rotting in hell.
I can't even imagine what
was going through your head
as you sat in this little room
and decided to commit
an atrocious crime.
Preying on weak people
who come in here --
that's gonna stop because
we're on to your little trick.
You find people who are scared.
You find people who are upset,
who are nervous,
who make you mad,
and you prey on them.
That party is over.
No one will ever come
in here weak again.
[ Tape recorder clicks ]
[ Sighs ] Let's see.
Oh, my God. It says,
"**** you."
♪♪
Hmm. Hmm. Mnh-mnh.
♪♪
What was done in this room
got somebody to burn in hell.
I don't feel them --
the ones that were killed.
I feel him that did it.
He got off on this.
♪♪
♪♪
BERRY: Amy's in the attic
of the Villisca house
provoking malevolent spirit
while I'm monitoring
from downstairs.
She just got a strong piece
of evidence
that she's speaking
with the killer.
BRUNI: You find people
who are scared.
You find people who are upset,
who are nervous,
who make you mad...
Oh, my God.
It says, "**** you."
♪♪
Well, he's certainly
not happy with me.
I launched into, like,
"You're a disgusting,
filthy human being,"
and he said, "**** you,"
during that recording.
Oh, my God.
What?
Is there someone in this
attic with me?
Yeah.
"**** you."
Tonight's investigation
not only provided evidence
of the killer, but that fear
and provocation
sparks his aggressive
activity.
But why is the killer here?
And is he somehow
affecting John?
We brought in psychic medium
Chip Coffey
to help us get answers.
Basically, what we want is
for you to do a walk-through
and just give us
your impressions of the house.
Okay.
Like most in the
paranormal field,
Chip is familiar
with the Villisca murders,
but he's never stepped foot
inside this house.
And he knows nothing
about our investigation.
Hmm. Hmm. Mnh-mnh.
♪♪
What was done in this room
got somebody to burn in hell.
I hear he's a monster.
It's where the two little girls
were killed.
There were two,
yeah, in here.
It's ugly.
I got to get out of here.
- Okay.
- It's just grim.
Mnh.
♪♪
♪♪
The surprising thing
is I don't feel them,
the ones that were killed.
I feel him that did it.
Really? Okay.
And it's this...
sick, psycho-sexual,
perverse sense of doing it.
He got off on this.
Oh, God.
Yeah.
I don't get anything
from them yet.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
He was so unbelievably calm.
He's, like, so unaffected
by what was going to happen.
And I just hear, "I'll wait
as long as it takes."
Did he even know
what he was gonna do?
- Oh, yeah.
- Hmm.
Oh, yeah.
It was anticipation
of the fact
that he was gonna get some sort
of sick, perverse,
sexual pleasure
out of killing them.
He was kind of, at points,
giddy about what
he was gonna do.
Like [Panting]
"This is gonna be great."
Ohh.
BERRY: People have investigated
this place nonstop for 13 years.
So, what's his favorite?
What does he eat up?
Easily manipulated.
- Yeah.
- Easily manipulated.
- Weak.
- Okay, yeah.
- Weak.
- Putty in his hands.
He can affect them.
- Hmm.
- Hmm.
Does he hang out here
because he still gets that,
like, sick sense
of pleasure
reliving it and hearing
about it all the time?
100%.
And he's backed way off of me
because he knows I'm on to him.
Let's go have a conversation
because we can fill you in.
You will definitely see
some similarities.
Yes.
We'll head into the barn
and have a chat.
The reason why we're here
is because we were called
by an investigator
named John Worley.
He got an EVP here
that was very threatening.
The EVP said,
"Just kill John Worley."
It's very, very clear.
So that would scare anyone.
And he feels as though
ever since
he's had that experience in
the house, he's been cursed.
He won't go back
into the house.
I mean, the things that
went on in that house
were sick and depraved
and powerful.
Well, that, and we met
another person, Buck,
who stabbed himself
in the house.
What?!
He was provoking --
re-created
the entire murder scene.
Think about this.
This guy's
getting off on this.
This guy's like, "Ahh!
This is wonderful!"
So, Buck came in yesterday,
faced all of his fears,
went in that house,
left a new human being.
And we would like the same
for John Worley.
The thing to remember
about John Worley
is that he is petrified
of this house.
We even had him just on
the porch, looking at the house.
He was shaking.
He was in tears.
So there's two things we'd
love to do with you here.
One, we'd love for you
to walk through the house
with us and him so he
can see that he can
walk in there
and be safe.
We have this theory right now
that when you go in there,
if you are a little afraid
or a little unnerving,
it goes [Sniffs]
and it knows immediately.
You're right on.
- Right?
- You're right on. 100%.
So, we have to make sure that
he feels safe and confident.
Now, the second thing
we're hoping for
is for you to do
a reading for him.
If he's somehow cursed
or if this dark entity
is affecting him
in any way,
we think you'll be
able to see it.
Sure.
Absolutely.
Okay, well, let's --
We'll get ready
for John to arrive.
He should be here soon.
There he is!
- Hey, guys!
- Hey, John!
- Good to see you again!
- Welcome back.
- Good to see you.
- Good to see you.
John, this is Chip Coffey.
Chip Coffey, John.
- Hey, John.
- Hi.
- How are you?
- Thank you.
I'm okay.
Thank you for coming.
- Yeah, sit over here.
- It's good to be here.
So, we've been in the house now
for two nights,
and we brought Chip.
He's one who can tell us
if there is something
kind of on the fringe
or something that might be amiss
because today we would love
for you to kind of walk us
through what you did
when you got that EVP.
You can kind of show us
exactly what happened.
Yeah.
But we would need you
to do so in the house.
How do you feel about
going in?
I said, "I will never
come back here."
I don't feel comfortable
going in the house.
But I do trust you guys.
If you guys say it's safe,
then I will go back
in that house.
I just don't want to be
by myself.
No, we would never
do that to you.
- No.
- No.
- No, no, no.
- No, no, no.
I think the biggest thing
that you need to do
is have that courage
and that, like, confidence
that you're gonna go in here,
nothing bad is gonna happen,
and you're gonna be
matter-of-fact
because your job right now
is to explain to us
in detail what happened to you
and what you were doing.
If you focus on that --
that you're here to do a job
and you have purpose
and you have confidence,
you're gonna be fine.
What's the brother-in-law's
name?
'Cause he's, like,
knocking on the door,
saying, "I want to come in."
And he's here to tell you this.
"Living became difficult,
and dying was the easy part."
I don't know what that means.
Does it make any sense to you?
Yeah.
♪♪
BERRY:
After a life-threatening message
from the man believed
to have killed eight people,
John vowed never to step inside
the Villisca house again.
But he's put his trust in us
that he will be safe.
Boy, that's a sound I never
thought I'd hear again.
In order to deliver John
from his fear,
we're having him
face this entity
and walk us through the night
of his encounter once more,
while Chip quietly listens in.
He'll be able to sense
if John's truly in danger.
- We go in at 10:00.
- Right.
So, I'm scared,
really scared.
And we got that EVP --
"Just kill John Worley."
- Yeah.
- That's me.
Why did it say it?
I have no idea.
Right before
you got the EVP,
you came in here
freaked out?
Oh, absolutely, yeah.
What did you say
to the killer?
Was it just...?
"Are you tied to the house?"
And he indicated that he was.
Did you do any provoking
at all that night?
No, no! I said nothing
provoking at all.
Okay, all right.
Okay.
- And I don't get it.
- Yeah.
But he did come in not
necessarily strong.
- Yeah.
- We have a handle
on what's happening,
but what we are gonna do --
Chip's gonna give you
a reading.
He will reach out
to some people,
and we think that
will really help you
in this kind of
healing process.
But we needed you, "A,"
to come in here
and show us that, but also,
you needed to come in here
because the biggest thing
is really
you facing that kind of fear.
Even though it's with us,
you know,
at least you came back in here.
All right, let's
go inside the barn,
and we can settle in there
and do a reading.
- Sure.
- Does that work for you?
Absolutely.
BRUNI: Through his reading,
we hope Chip can contact
John's deceased family members
in order to find out
if the killer's spirit
played a hand in their death.
All right.
BERRY: So, your mother-in-law
and your brother-in-law --
Those two deaths
affected you greatly.
If you wanted to
reach out,
Chip is here for
that kind of thing.
And I'd love to see
if there could be
some kind of healing
in that regard.
What's her name?
Helen.
I like her,
but she's tough.
Can be.
Likes to be in charge.
She wants you to tell your wife
that she loves her.
♪♪
You didn't do anything.
And she's saying this --
"You didn't do anything.
It was my time to go."
What's the brother-in-law's
name?
'Cause he's, like...
knocking on the door, saying,
"I want to come in."
So say his name so
I can draw him close.
Andy.
Andy's funny,
and he's a smartass sometimes.
[ Chuckles ]
He's a little sarcastic
with his wit.
And he's here to tell you this.
"Living became difficult,
and dying was the easy part."
I don't know what that means.
Does it make any sense to you?
Yeah.
You thought you brought
some things upon yourself
and upon those that you love.
I can tell you this.
I don't get anybody
from spirit
who's coming at you and going,
"You caused this!"
And over here
at the ax-murder house,
didn't attach to you and bring
all of this stuff about
as punishment or anything else
for you.
Now it's time to heal your heart
and know they're all right
because I'm hearing
that they are.
I think it was really telling
that as soon as we came in here,
he was not getting any,
like, spirit contact
from anybody saying, like,
they were blaming you.
- No.
- So that's telling.
But there is something here
that seeks out people
who are afraid -- seeks out
people who provoke.
You know, you came in
after being terrified,
and that wakes the beast
in this house.
Overall, it's just
a very valuable lesson
how to be careful, how to
respectfully investigate.
Yeah. I'm very glad
that you can confirm
that I didn't do anything to
cause anything to come back.
I just needed that
peace of mind, though.
And explaining what's going
on here, you helped me.
And thank you.
It's not often that
we come into contact
with something so evil.
This case is a huge
reminder that meddling
with the unknown can be
extremely dangerous.
The tragedy
that took place here
may have left its mark
on this house.
But through
our investigation,
we were able to conclude
it didn't leave its mark
on John Worley.
But for all those
who enter, beware.
No all spirits are
kindred spirits.
There's definitely
something here.
BERRY:
What was done in this room
got somebody to burn in hell.
Something in this house
is not right.
Is that the case?
Is there something bad here
that we should be worried about?
I hear he's a monster.
I got to get out of here.
Did you do something
to this family?
"I killed them."
If you say the wrong thing
about the wrong spirit,
you're gonna pay for it.
I mean, the things
that went on in that house
were sick
and depraved and powerful.
[ Crows cawing ]
BRUNI: When the dead are
forgotten, they become restless.
Oh, my God!
You just touched me.
What? I did not touch you.
I'm Amy Bruni.
A haunting encounter
redefined my life.
I live with that experience
and seek answers to the unknown.
It says, "I am."
I'm Adam Berry.
At Gettysburg, the shadows
and screams of dead soldiers
turned me
into a supernatural believer.
Oh, my God.
Together, our investigations
bring peace to the living...
You can't scare us,
you can't deter us.
...by giving a voice
to the dead.
I'm going to ask you
one more time.
What is your name?
Because we believe the dead
and the living are all...
kindred spirits.
Kindred spirits.
♪♪
It's the dead of winter
in Villisca, Iowa.
Adam and I are investigating
for the first time
the site of a murder
so gruesome
it shocked the nation
into paralyzing fear.
In 1912, the Moore family
and two guests
were brutally murdered
by an unknown assailant.
The killer remained at large
and is now presumed dead,
but some say
he never left the home,
and the house is still a place
of fear for the living.
Eight people were axed to death
in their sleep --
Two adults and six children.
And weren't two of the kids,
like, on a sleepover?
Yeah, two visiting kids.
Yeah.
And it's so crazy because
whoever did it
used the actual sharp end of
the ax on the man in the house,
and then all the kids
and the woman,
he used the blunt side
of the ax.
So he just beat them to death,
basically?
It was the most brutal,
horrific,
like, you can't even imagine
how bad it was.
Oh, God.
And they think that he was
in the attic waiting for them
because they found
cigarette butts up there.
Oh, my God.
That's crazy, man.
The house was purchased
in 1994
by a local resident who restored
its 1912 interior,
giving the home
an unsettling feeling,
like the murdered family
could return at any moment.
Since then, it's been open
to amateur ghost hunters
who've come only to
sometimes have violent
and terrifying results.
The guy that's meeting us here,
John Worley,
He's one of those
amateur investigators.
I received this, like,
flurry of messages
and e-mails that were
just desperate.
He's terrified
of this house.
He won't set foot in it
because he's convinced
that the activity he experienced
here a year and a half ago...
Yeah.
...has cursed him
in some way.
He got a voice recording
that says,
"Just kill John Worley."
Weird.
He said ever since,
his life has just been awful.
And he's meeting us here,
around back?
He's meeting us around back.
So let's go find him.
Yeah, yeah.
John's story is
every investigator's
worst nightmare --
bringing a malevolent
spirit home with you.
Things are so bad for John,
he refuses to enter the house
and will only speak to us
in the barn.
Investigators that come in
to the Villisca house
have frightening tales
of activity,
but nothing like this.
JOHN:
Sorry about the weather.
- Ugh!
- That's okay.
We braved the weather because of
what happened to you, you know?
Thanks.
I appreciate that.
We want to figure out
what's going on.
Well, I never thought
I'd ever come back here.
Um, a group of my friends
and I came here
and bring in
all our equipment.
One of the audio recordings that
we got was not friendly at all,
and it said, "Leave at once,"
in a very strong whisper.
We could tell
it was a killer.
Oh, okay.
So, what happened to you
specifically?
What got me scared --
I got a recording that says,
"Just kill John Worley."
That's me!
Wow. We'll have to
listen to that
before we start
investigating.
That's the tip
of the iceberg.
It was September 23rd,
when we came.
February 28th,
my brother-in-law
went to ICU in a coma
and died.
Shortly thereafter,
my brother goes to the ICU
in a coma.
While this is going on,
my mother-in-law
was diagnosed
with stage IV
ovarian cancer
and died six weeks later.
Oh, my God.
I'm thinking, "My God.
What did I do?
Did I do this
by going to Villisca?"
- God.
- I just need to know I'm safe.
I need to know
my family's safe
and I didn't do any of this.
If I did, I want it to stop,
and I need help.
- Right. Okay.
- Okay.
That's why we're here,
and so we'll get to
the bottom of it.
I know you've been through
so much.
So I'm sorry.
I don't want you
to go in there
if you don't feel comfortable
going in there.
So we can just take
the information that we have
and start,
and if we have questions,
we can let you know
if we need anything else.
We're gonna figure it out.
Yeah.
We're gonna do our best.
I'm sorry.
Is it possible
the Villisca Ax Murderer
attached himself to John
and caused these tragic events
in his life?
Amy and I need to find out
if the killer is in this house,
and if so,
why would he go after John?
With the potential
of contacting
such a dark entity,
it is important that Amy and I
are mentally strong
as we begin
this investigation.
Is that the family?
I think that's part
of them, yeah.
Yeah.
[ Piano playing out of tune ]
Everyone deserves to sleep
and not be afraid, you know?
Like, that's when you're
at your most vulnerable.
♪♪
And they found the two girls
here first.
The two children
who were visiting
were sleeping in this room
when they were murdered.
Somebody covered
the mirrors
because the killer covered all
the mirrors and the windows.
And he covered their heads with,
like, clothes and stuff
'cause he felt like
they were watching him.
♪♪
Ohh.
This puts into perspective
how close they were.
Yeah, and they didn't
wake up, like...?
No, because they didn't have
a chance to make a sound.
♪♪
The Moore children
were found beaten to death
in this second-floor bedroom --
all four of them.
5, 7, 10, and 11
were the kids up here.
♪♪
It's heavy as ****
It's very heavy.
It's heavy.
I just don't understand
how someone does something
like that, like, how much rage
you have to have inside you.
Who waits in the attic?
The authorities believed
the killer
entered the home
sometime during the day
and waited patiently for
the family to fall asleep.
This is the attic, right,
where he hid?
Yeah.
What took place in this house
is unimaginable.
Such a sudden and tragic end
to eight lives
gives a clear reason for spirits
of both good and evil
to be trapped here,
but by the feel of this house,
chances are something darker
is present.
♪♪
To make sure every inch
of this house is covered
and we're protected,
we're putting surveillance
cameras in all the rooms.
♪♪
John sent us the recording
he captured
a year and a half ago that
he believes was the catalyst
of the life-altering
evil attachment.
I can pull up the EVP
so I can play for you
exactly what he sent me.
BERRY: You know what,
let's use it.
Yeah.
♪♪
So, this is what he sent us,
right, from the night?
Yeah.
"Just kill..."
"...John Worley."
I mean,
it's a creepy voice.
We need to find the entity
responsible for this EVP.
Is it the killer,
or is it someone else?
Using our own digital
voice recorder,
we're reaching out
to the spirits in the house
for answers.
Whoever's in this house
with us
who's non-living,
we were called here
by a friend.
My name is Adam.
And I'm Amy.
We know a lot of people come
in here trying to talk to you.
We don't mean
any disrespect.
But our friend John,
who was here, needs our help.
Can I --
I'm gonna play this for you.
He -- He heard
a voice here.
Do you recognize this?
Do you recognize
that voice?
Can you tell us
who that voice is?
John feels like there
was something bad here
that left its mark on him.
Is that the case?
Is there
something bad here
that we should be
worried about?
Did you hear that?
It was like a, "Whaa."
I mean, I had set
this crime scene up
the way they had found it.
I remember screaming.
The knife was in my lung
and shoulder.
- Ohh!
- Ohh!
♪♪
BERRY: Amy and I
are investigating a home
where eight lives
were taken
in a totally senseless
and violent act.
We're reaching out to the
spirits using a digital recorder
in order to help John Worley,
who believes an evil spirit
attached to him after a night
of amateur investigation.
John feels like there
was something bad here
that left its mark on him.
Is there
something bad here
that we should be
worried about?
Did you hear that?
It was like a, "Whaa."
It was like, "Whaa."
I thought I heard
a man's voice.
Maybe you were saying
"what" or...
If you're upstairs,
let us know.
♪♪
[ Static ]
It's so quiet.
Wow.
I was not expecting that.
I wasn't either.
Why is this entity
hiding from us?
Is it watching us,
waiting?
Let's head upstairs.
We're moving our investigation
upstairs,
where the Moore children
were killed,
all four of them,
and trying something new.
I'll use a KII EMF meter,
which detects any paranormally
generated energy,
and Amy will try again
on the recorder.
We were hearing someone
talk downstairs.
It sounded like a man.
Is there a man up here with us,
or someone else?
Can you tell us your name?
Do you know
our friend John?
Are we safe here?
Let's listen.
[ Static ]
Nothing's happening
in there.
- Very quiet.
- That's so strange, though.
That's not what
I expected here at all.
I didn't want to come in,
like, guns blazing.
Guns blazing, yeah.
I wanted to kind of come in
kind of softly and, like,
let them familiarize themselves
with us.
Which is what we've done.
Yeah.
But I don't know
if it's working.
Adam and I have to get
a response
from whatever is here in order
to get answers for John.
So we're going to meet with
other investigators
who have experienced
significant activity
at the Villisca house.
The most disturbing case
involves a man named Buck.
Five years ago,
during an investigation,
he blacked out,
only to be found
with his own knife
in his chest
and no recollection
of how it happened.
Buck has never spoken publicly
about that night until now.
So, we appreciate you coming
to tell your side of the story.
And first off, let me thank you
guys for the opportunity.
- Yeah.
- Are you okay?
My -- My health has gone
completely downhill.
I- I had previously had a stroke
a couple years before this.
BERRY: Yeah.
So, can you just
kind of tell us
in your own words
what went on that night?
Yes.
My stepfather
and my mother --
they got the house for the night
for a birthday present from me.
- Okay.
- And I had done
a lot of research into what
the crime scene looked like.
I mean, I had set
this crime scene up
the way they had found it.
- Mm.
- Mm.
The only thing I forgot
was the ax.
Mm-hmm.
Well, since
I don't have the ax,
I have a hunting knife
on my chest.
And I started trying
to ask questions.
Nothing was happening,
you know?
And I guess not really knowing,
I started to provoke
and say a lot of bad things
about the gentleman who can
kill six ch-children.
And then, um,
on the radio...
Hmm.
And I look over to the closet,
and it was the biggest orb
I've ever seen.
Hmm.
And next thing I remember
is I remember screaming.
The knife was in my lung
and shoulder.
Oh, my God.
I didn't do it to myself.
From an investigative point
of view,
I'm looking for patterns.
It always seemed like it
just went off pure emotion.
I do not feel comfortable
sitting here.
This is gonna be --
I do not feel okay.
Something just tapped
the recorder.
I heard that.
Are you behind me?
♪♪
BRUNI:
It's day 2 in Villisca, Iowa.
We're meeting an investigator
who had a near-death experience
at the site
of a 1912 ax murder
after going head-to-head
with what he thinks
was an evil spirit.
To this day,
he is still visibly shaken.
I had set this crime scene up
the way they had found it.
And since I don't have the ax,
I have a hunting knife
on my chest.
And I started to provoke.
- Hmm.
- Hmm.
And I look over to the closet,
and it was the biggest orb
I've ever seen.
And I remember screaming.
The knife was in my lung
and shoulder.
And I woke up tied to a bed
and tube down m-my throat.
So, you don't remember
anything?
I do remember this.
I didn't do it to myself.
There is something there.
My stepfather and my mother
have an EVP,
and you hear a voice,
plain as day, say,
"Don't worry about Buck.
We'll get him."
- Hmm.
- Unfortunately,
my mother destroyed
everything.
Can you describe the voice,
what it sounded like at all?
It was a little whisper,
a little --
you know, a little
on the quiet side.
I want to play for you
an EVP.
[ Static ]
That was it.
Hmm.
Where did you get that?
A gentleman captured
that EVP in the house.
That's unnerving.
You say the wrong thing
about the wrong spirit,
and you're gonna pay for it.
Do you think your actions
in that house
instigated
what happened to you?
-100%.
- Mm-hmm.
[ Sighs ] I'm sorry for
everything you've gone through.
Do you have any interest,
or would you be able
to go to the house with us
and show us where this happened?
Um, I've -- I've thought
about it long and hard.
And...I -- yes.
You will?
It's something I need to do.
- Mm-hmm.
- Okay.
I have to face
that f-fear.
♪♪
So, th-this is
where it happened.
Okay,
and you were on the bed?
Y- Yes, sir.
Th-Th-The camera was there.
- Okay.
- Okay.
I was laying like this.
Okay.
Knife was h-here.
Mm-hmm.
And I started to provoke.
I was very vulgar.
And right over there
came that orb.
I remember my stepfather
coming in.
There was a knife
sticking in my shoulder.
And he pulled it out.
Mm!
[ Breathing shakily ]
So, how do you feel
being in here now?
Please, forgive me.
I didn't deserve
what happened to me.
S- Something in this house
is not right.
♪♪
There we go.
Well, you came here.
You've faced it.
And you can leave it here.
- Right here.
- Yeah.
I can't express enough
how much
I thank you guys.
♪♪
I can't believe he just
re-created the whole thing
exactly to the crime scene.
And it wasn't
working for him,
so he even pushed it further
by provoking.
And, like,
when is it too much?
And clearly,
he regrets it.
The other person I think
we really need to talk to --
So, Johnny Houser
is an investigator,
and he's probably investigated
this place hundreds of times.
So I would love to hear what
he thinks about this house.
We had a gentleman,
his name is John Worley.
He got an EVP in the building,
and the EVP says,
"Just kill John Worley."
And we're noticing, like,
we've had activity here,
but it's not been nearly
to the level
of what the people who asked us
for help experienced.
Or what I would expect.
I've investigated
this place
easily far more
than any one ever has.
Of course.
Of course.
And from an investigative
point of view,
I'm looking for patterns.
Can I predict when things
are happening?
And it always seemed like it
just went off pure emotion.
- Mm-hmm.
- Okay.
I heard a thud,
and I freaked myself out.
And then things started
compounding on top of that.
It's, like,
totally feeding off fear.
Interesting. Like,
have you seen experiences
from people that provoke?
You know,
people talk about,
"The ax murderer
is in the house."
And so I went in the attic
and just kind
of started going off.
It's like, "Dude,
how could you do this?
It's sick."
Instantly,
footsteps down here.
And it wasn't to
the point of,
"Was that a footstep?
Was that a ghost?"
It was like...
- Footsteps.
- Somebody's in the house.
I think the house kind of looks
at that like, "Hmm, okay.
You want to test this? We'll see
how far we can push this."
- Yeah.
- That makes a lot of sense.
That makes so much sense.
Last night, we were being very
soft and we were being kind.
We didn't mention anything
about the murders.
Mm-hmm.
What would you suggest
that we should talk about
if we wanted
any kind of interaction?
This is what I would do.
Send one person in,
sit upstairs
just by yourself,
put a chair right in front
of the attic
with my back
to the opening.
It seems like the nasty stuff
comes out of the attic.
And if that's truly where
the killer hid, it makes sense.
My biggest thing is my back
to, like, empty spaces.
It's, like,
one of my biggest fears.
Amy, if you want to do something
to try and kick things up,
provoking the idea
of the killer
being in the attic, like,
"How could you do this?
You're nothing," you know?
- Yeah.
- I think that works.
All right,
well, thanks so much.
Yeah, man.
- We appreciate it.
- Yeah.
- You've been awesome.
- Good luck.
- Thank you.
- All right, thank you.
In order to understand
who's haunting this house
and why it would threaten
John Worley,
we would have to
awaken the beast.
And now we have two ways
of doing so.
First, I'm offering
myself as bait
to test if, in fact,
it feeds off fear
by sitting alone
in the attic.
Amy's stationed in the barn
and can only hear my audio
and communicate
via walkie.
Instantly,
I feel creeped out.
Oh, my God.
It's gonna be okay.
It's gonna be okay.
It's gonna be fine.
[ Sighs ]
Hey, Adam, just,
when you get up there,
make sure all the cameras
are rolling.
Copy that.
To increase
my vulnerability,
there will be no camera crews
in the house with me,
creating an even more
enticing atmosphere
for the dark entity
that's lurking here.
♪♪
I did not expect my heart
to be racing
as much as it actually is
right now.
He's freaked out.
♪♪
Okay, I'm in the chair.
He's in the chair.
I'm actually really ****
freaked out right now,
and I don't know why.
[ Chair creaks ]
My heart is pounding for him.
It's so weird.
♪♪
[ Soft tapping ]
I hear movement
to my right.
[ Soft tapping ]
I have a recorder in my hand.
I'm gonna ask you
some questions,
and I'd like for you to talk
into this recorder, please.
Is there anybody up here?
♪♪
Can you make a sound
wherever you are?
♪♪
Something just tapped
the recorder.
I do not feel comfortable
sitting here.
I'm just gonna be --
I do not feel okay.
[ Breathes deeply ]
Okay. [ Clears throat ]
Um, do you know
our friend John?
Someone said something really
bad to him about killing him.
Can you tell me your name?
Did you do something
to this family?
Did you kill
those children?
So, I'm gonna play this back
to see if you talked to me.
[ Static ]
Now I think it's working.
"I killed them.
I killed them."
It says, "I killed them."
The weaker you are
as an individual
going into that house,
the more vulnerable you are
and the more activity
that you get.
He was kind of, at points, giddy
about what he was gonna do.
Like [Panting]
"This is gonna be great."
♪♪
BRUNI: It's night two
at the Villisca house.
To get answers for John Worley,
we are confronting
the violent entity
who may have killed eight
innocent people in this home.
Adam sits alone in the attic
with a digital recorder
while I listen closely
in the barn out back.
So, I'm gonna play this back
to see if you talked to me.
[ Static ]
Now I think it's working.
"I killed them.
I killed them."
It says, "I killed them."
Is there somebody in there?
You said that -- on this
recorder, that you killed them.
♪♪
[ Tapping ]
Major...
I heard it.
[ Tapping ]
Are you behind me?
All right, you ready?
You can wrap it out.
You just come straight down
into the barn with me.
♪♪
[ Light switches click ]
♪♪
♪♪
- Hey.
- Hey.
So, how was that?
Uh, the moment I got in there,
it became real.
I could tell the differences
between investigating alone
in there sitting in that chair
and you and I investigating.
There was a moment
when I was like,
"I don't want to
be here anymore."
Yeah.
And I had to check that
really quickly
because I was like, "No, no, no,
'cause that's what it wants."
Yep.
And I constantly --
I heard movement.
[ Soft tapping ]
I hear movement
to my right.
And that's when I was like,
"At any moment, something could,
like, jump out at me."
Well, here's the thing.
That was the most activity
we've gotten
since we've been here.
Like, you got clear EVPs
when you were in there.
Right. I will say the weaker
you are as an individual
going into that house,
the more vulnerable you are
and the more activity
that you get.
Like, the second you went
in there,
it was almost like
it woke up.
It was like, "Oh, oh, here's
someone I can mess with."
I would never go in there
alone and provoke.
Mnh-mnh.
Because there is
something in there,
and it is not playing.
That is a dangerous thing.
Johnny said I should
provoke in the attic,
but I think I'll do that
while maybe you're downstairs.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Like, I don't know that I feel
okay doing that by myself.
I would not.
We now have our own evidence
that the ax murderer is here,
and he continues to prey
on vulnerable visitors.
But we were also told
that provoking the entity
will cause it
to respond aggressively.
Agitating evil spirits
is not something I enjoy,
and it can be
extremely dangerous.
But it has to be done
in order to understand
the full scope
of this haunting.
Just heard a noise
in the attic.
I will now face the killer
in the attic
while Adam monitors
the surveillance cameras
from downstairs.
♪♪
Hello?
♪♪
♪♪
This whole place is so creepy.
There's definitely
something here.
♪♪
[ Sighs ] Is there someone
in this attic with me?
♪♪
I think you're
a terrible person.
I hope you're burning
and rotting in hell.
I can't even imagine what
was going through your head
as you sat in this little room
and decided to commit
an atrocious crime.
Preying on weak people
who come in here --
that's gonna stop because
we're on to your little trick.
You find people who are scared.
You find people who are upset,
who are nervous,
who make you mad,
and you prey on them.
That party is over.
No one will ever come
in here weak again.
[ Tape recorder clicks ]
[ Sighs ] Let's see.
Oh, my God. It says,
"**** you."
♪♪
Hmm. Hmm. Mnh-mnh.
♪♪
What was done in this room
got somebody to burn in hell.
I don't feel them --
the ones that were killed.
I feel him that did it.
He got off on this.
♪♪
♪♪
BERRY: Amy's in the attic
of the Villisca house
provoking malevolent spirit
while I'm monitoring
from downstairs.
She just got a strong piece
of evidence
that she's speaking
with the killer.
BRUNI: You find people
who are scared.
You find people who are upset,
who are nervous,
who make you mad...
Oh, my God.
It says, "**** you."
♪♪
Well, he's certainly
not happy with me.
I launched into, like,
"You're a disgusting,
filthy human being,"
and he said, "**** you,"
during that recording.
Oh, my God.
What?
Is there someone in this
attic with me?
Yeah.
"**** you."
Tonight's investigation
not only provided evidence
of the killer, but that fear
and provocation
sparks his aggressive
activity.
But why is the killer here?
And is he somehow
affecting John?
We brought in psychic medium
Chip Coffey
to help us get answers.
Basically, what we want is
for you to do a walk-through
and just give us
your impressions of the house.
Okay.
Like most in the
paranormal field,
Chip is familiar
with the Villisca murders,
but he's never stepped foot
inside this house.
And he knows nothing
about our investigation.
Hmm. Hmm. Mnh-mnh.
♪♪
What was done in this room
got somebody to burn in hell.
I hear he's a monster.
It's where the two little girls
were killed.
There were two,
yeah, in here.
It's ugly.
I got to get out of here.
- Okay.
- It's just grim.
Mnh.
♪♪
♪♪
The surprising thing
is I don't feel them,
the ones that were killed.
I feel him that did it.
Really? Okay.
And it's this...
sick, psycho-sexual,
perverse sense of doing it.
He got off on this.
Oh, God.
Yeah.
I don't get anything
from them yet.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
He was so unbelievably calm.
He's, like, so unaffected
by what was going to happen.
And I just hear, "I'll wait
as long as it takes."
Did he even know
what he was gonna do?
- Oh, yeah.
- Hmm.
Oh, yeah.
It was anticipation
of the fact
that he was gonna get some sort
of sick, perverse,
sexual pleasure
out of killing them.
He was kind of, at points,
giddy about what
he was gonna do.
Like [Panting]
"This is gonna be great."
Ohh.
BERRY: People have investigated
this place nonstop for 13 years.
So, what's his favorite?
What does he eat up?
Easily manipulated.
- Yeah.
- Easily manipulated.
- Weak.
- Okay, yeah.
- Weak.
- Putty in his hands.
He can affect them.
- Hmm.
- Hmm.
Does he hang out here
because he still gets that,
like, sick sense
of pleasure
reliving it and hearing
about it all the time?
100%.
And he's backed way off of me
because he knows I'm on to him.
Let's go have a conversation
because we can fill you in.
You will definitely see
some similarities.
Yes.
We'll head into the barn
and have a chat.
The reason why we're here
is because we were called
by an investigator
named John Worley.
He got an EVP here
that was very threatening.
The EVP said,
"Just kill John Worley."
It's very, very clear.
So that would scare anyone.
And he feels as though
ever since
he's had that experience in
the house, he's been cursed.
He won't go back
into the house.
I mean, the things that
went on in that house
were sick and depraved
and powerful.
Well, that, and we met
another person, Buck,
who stabbed himself
in the house.
What?!
He was provoking --
re-created
the entire murder scene.
Think about this.
This guy's
getting off on this.
This guy's like, "Ahh!
This is wonderful!"
So, Buck came in yesterday,
faced all of his fears,
went in that house,
left a new human being.
And we would like the same
for John Worley.
The thing to remember
about John Worley
is that he is petrified
of this house.
We even had him just on
the porch, looking at the house.
He was shaking.
He was in tears.
So there's two things we'd
love to do with you here.
One, we'd love for you
to walk through the house
with us and him so he
can see that he can
walk in there
and be safe.
We have this theory right now
that when you go in there,
if you are a little afraid
or a little unnerving,
it goes [Sniffs]
and it knows immediately.
You're right on.
- Right?
- You're right on. 100%.
So, we have to make sure that
he feels safe and confident.
Now, the second thing
we're hoping for
is for you to do
a reading for him.
If he's somehow cursed
or if this dark entity
is affecting him
in any way,
we think you'll be
able to see it.
Sure.
Absolutely.
Okay, well, let's --
We'll get ready
for John to arrive.
He should be here soon.
There he is!
- Hey, guys!
- Hey, John!
- Good to see you again!
- Welcome back.
- Good to see you.
- Good to see you.
John, this is Chip Coffey.
Chip Coffey, John.
- Hey, John.
- Hi.
- How are you?
- Thank you.
I'm okay.
Thank you for coming.
- Yeah, sit over here.
- It's good to be here.
So, we've been in the house now
for two nights,
and we brought Chip.
He's one who can tell us
if there is something
kind of on the fringe
or something that might be amiss
because today we would love
for you to kind of walk us
through what you did
when you got that EVP.
You can kind of show us
exactly what happened.
Yeah.
But we would need you
to do so in the house.
How do you feel about
going in?
I said, "I will never
come back here."
I don't feel comfortable
going in the house.
But I do trust you guys.
If you guys say it's safe,
then I will go back
in that house.
I just don't want to be
by myself.
No, we would never
do that to you.
- No.
- No.
- No, no, no.
- No, no, no.
I think the biggest thing
that you need to do
is have that courage
and that, like, confidence
that you're gonna go in here,
nothing bad is gonna happen,
and you're gonna be
matter-of-fact
because your job right now
is to explain to us
in detail what happened to you
and what you were doing.
If you focus on that --
that you're here to do a job
and you have purpose
and you have confidence,
you're gonna be fine.
What's the brother-in-law's
name?
'Cause he's, like,
knocking on the door,
saying, "I want to come in."
And he's here to tell you this.
"Living became difficult,
and dying was the easy part."
I don't know what that means.
Does it make any sense to you?
Yeah.
♪♪
BERRY:
After a life-threatening message
from the man believed
to have killed eight people,
John vowed never to step inside
the Villisca house again.
But he's put his trust in us
that he will be safe.
Boy, that's a sound I never
thought I'd hear again.
In order to deliver John
from his fear,
we're having him
face this entity
and walk us through the night
of his encounter once more,
while Chip quietly listens in.
He'll be able to sense
if John's truly in danger.
- We go in at 10:00.
- Right.
So, I'm scared,
really scared.
And we got that EVP --
"Just kill John Worley."
- Yeah.
- That's me.
Why did it say it?
I have no idea.
Right before
you got the EVP,
you came in here
freaked out?
Oh, absolutely, yeah.
What did you say
to the killer?
Was it just...?
"Are you tied to the house?"
And he indicated that he was.
Did you do any provoking
at all that night?
No, no! I said nothing
provoking at all.
Okay, all right.
Okay.
- And I don't get it.
- Yeah.
But he did come in not
necessarily strong.
- Yeah.
- We have a handle
on what's happening,
but what we are gonna do --
Chip's gonna give you
a reading.
He will reach out
to some people,
and we think that
will really help you
in this kind of
healing process.
But we needed you, "A,"
to come in here
and show us that, but also,
you needed to come in here
because the biggest thing
is really
you facing that kind of fear.
Even though it's with us,
you know,
at least you came back in here.
All right, let's
go inside the barn,
and we can settle in there
and do a reading.
- Sure.
- Does that work for you?
Absolutely.
BRUNI: Through his reading,
we hope Chip can contact
John's deceased family members
in order to find out
if the killer's spirit
played a hand in their death.
All right.
BERRY: So, your mother-in-law
and your brother-in-law --
Those two deaths
affected you greatly.
If you wanted to
reach out,
Chip is here for
that kind of thing.
And I'd love to see
if there could be
some kind of healing
in that regard.
What's her name?
Helen.
I like her,
but she's tough.
Can be.
Likes to be in charge.
She wants you to tell your wife
that she loves her.
♪♪
You didn't do anything.
And she's saying this --
"You didn't do anything.
It was my time to go."
What's the brother-in-law's
name?
'Cause he's, like...
knocking on the door, saying,
"I want to come in."
So say his name so
I can draw him close.
Andy.
Andy's funny,
and he's a smartass sometimes.
[ Chuckles ]
He's a little sarcastic
with his wit.
And he's here to tell you this.
"Living became difficult,
and dying was the easy part."
I don't know what that means.
Does it make any sense to you?
Yeah.
You thought you brought
some things upon yourself
and upon those that you love.
I can tell you this.
I don't get anybody
from spirit
who's coming at you and going,
"You caused this!"
And over here
at the ax-murder house,
didn't attach to you and bring
all of this stuff about
as punishment or anything else
for you.
Now it's time to heal your heart
and know they're all right
because I'm hearing
that they are.
I think it was really telling
that as soon as we came in here,
he was not getting any,
like, spirit contact
from anybody saying, like,
they were blaming you.
- No.
- So that's telling.
But there is something here
that seeks out people
who are afraid -- seeks out
people who provoke.
You know, you came in
after being terrified,
and that wakes the beast
in this house.
Overall, it's just
a very valuable lesson
how to be careful, how to
respectfully investigate.
Yeah. I'm very glad
that you can confirm
that I didn't do anything to
cause anything to come back.
I just needed that
peace of mind, though.
And explaining what's going
on here, you helped me.
And thank you.
It's not often that
we come into contact
with something so evil.
This case is a huge
reminder that meddling
with the unknown can be
extremely dangerous.
The tragedy
that took place here
may have left its mark
on this house.
But through
our investigation,
we were able to conclude
it didn't leave its mark
on John Worley.
But for all those
who enter, beware.
No all spirits are
kindred spirits.