1
Mother!
Mom.
Hey.
There's something
outside my window.
Oh, baby,
you're having a nightmare, huh?
Okay.
Let me put you back to bed.
I want Daddy to do it.
How 'bout we wait
for him together, huh?
Come on in. Bring Bear.
I gotcha.
We'll keep each other safe.
Shit.
Hi.
Did you figure it out?
What?
What you're gonna
be for Halloween.
Maybe.
But you're gonna have to
wait until tomorrow to find out.
I'll be a pirate.
Ah, good choice.
Mom helped me pick it out
after we got the pumpkin.
Mom said she'd carve it with me,
but I wanted to wait for you.
Oh,
Well...
We'll do it tomorrow,
just before we go trick
or treating, okay?
Promise?
I promise.
Now, go back to sleep.
Oh, and Dad...
Yes?
Can you check
outside my window?
I saw something.
Sure.
Nope, all clear.
I love you, Dad.
I love you too, son.
I'm sorry.
I'm getting tired of
going to bed without you.
If they're on the fence,
I'm going to have to
publish another article
as soon as I can.
- Are they on the fence?
- I don't know.
Just seems like I would've
received a letter by now.
Charlie wanted to wait
up for you tonight.
I think,
if you don't carve that
pumpkin with him tomorrow,
he's going to disown you.
Can he do that?
I think he'd
have a case, yeah.
And what about you?
Are you ready to disown me, too?
Huh?
Can I take that as a no?
I don't want you to think
I'm not mad at you, okay?
"My darling,
my darling, I see it aright.
Tis the aged gray willows
deceiving thy sight."
"I love thee!
I'm charmed by thy
beauty, dear boy!
And if thou'rt unwilling,
then force I'll employ."
"My father, my father,
he seizes me fast,
For sorely the Erl-King
has hurt me at last."
The father now gallops,
with terror half wild,
He grasps in his arms
the poor shuddering child,
He reaches his courtyard
with toil and with dread,
The child in his arms
finds he motionless, dead.
Pretty good, huh?
Kyle.
Who is this, uh, Earl Linking?
And his creepy daughters.
We don't know for sure.
They might be creatures
out of northern mythology.
Or some Celtic lore.
Or they simply stepped out
of Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe's nightmares.
But when you go out tonight,
spare a thought for Lovecraft.
For Stoker, for Poe...
And for Goethe's Erl-King.
'Cause they were
all bound by one
great, and noble objective.
To scare the living
shit out of you.
Happy Halloween.
Hello, hello, hello!
Hey, Mom.
Where's my little pirate?
Mom, check it out.
Wow, that's a great
indoor activity.
- Yeah.
- You...
You look amazing.
He's on fire, huh?
He's so excited.
The pirate looks perfect,
thank you very much.
And we'll see you
tomorrow, yeah?
Oh, yes.
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween
to you, too, Rosa.
When's Dad coming home?
He should
be on his way right now.
- Rosa take you to art class?
- Yeah.
I wanna see.
Charlie, that's really scary.
You wanna tell me about that?
That's the thing
I saw outside my window.
I thought you told
me you couldn't see it?
I kinda saw it.
It just kinda looked like that.
Can we go, already?
Where's Dad?
- Yeah?
- Hannah...
Oh, Michael,
come here, come here.
Come, look at this.
It washed ashore last
week on Jones Beach.
What are those, Latin numerals?
Exactly.
It's an M and a D,
and possibly a C.
Sixteen hundred.
They used to engrave ships
with the year they were built,
which means this piece
of driftwood was once
part of the body of
a ship that helped
settle this city 400 years ago.
That's quite
something, isn't it?
And so's this.
"Dear Professor Lawford."
Congratulations, Mike!
You've come a long way from that
arrogant Yank who drank
himself out of Heidelberg.
Thanks for
recommending me, Hannah.
You deserve it,
more than anybody.
I've gotta go,
I have a very important
appointment with a pirate.
Hey.
God, it was the most incredible
exhibit I've ever seen.
And they, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa!
Easy on the candy,
all of you, please.
Maybe Dad
called and you missed it.
I will try him again.
Hi, it's Mike,
leave a message,
I'll get back to you
as soon as I can.
Hey.
You okay?
- Did you see it, Mom?
- Did I see what?
The bird.
The bird?
No.
No, I don't.
I think I'll
be Robin Hood next year.
He steals from the rich
and gives to the poor.
Well, that is
very noble, my little man.
And I bet he keeps
a little extra on the side
just to himself.
I see.
Mom, can we go to
the carnival, please?
No, not this year, my man.
I'm sorry, it is late, and
you have school tomorrow.
Come with me.
Come on, come on my prince.
I said, Draw, partner!
Dad!
You're a cowboy!
I couldn't find
my cowboy hat,
but boy, you guys look great.
You make a great pirate,
Charlie.
Where were you?
Mom said you were
gonna meet up with us.
I apologize,
my phone died.
Come on,
let's go to bed.
Mom,
can we go to the carnival,
just for a bit, please?
Oh, let me take him.
Just give us a half an hour.
- Come on, Kristen.
- Okay, okay.
Okay, but
would you do me a favor
and put him to bed, tonight?
He is hopped up on enough sugar
to last him until Christmas
and I have to finish some
client designs tonight.
- Of course.
- All right.
I got it.
You got what?
Drum roll, please.
I got tenure.
Oh, my God!
Oh, my God,
I'm so proud of you!
Does this mean that we can go?
Yes, it means you can go.
It means that we will
celebrate tonight.
Everything's going
to be better now.
You boys have fun tonight.
Come here.
Candy please, young man.
- Come on, already.
- Hey, let's do it.
- Hey, Professor?
- Uh huh?
Keep your chaps on, yeah?
Yeah!
Let's go, Dad.
Smile, Dad.
You having fun?
This is awesome.
You see those skeletons?
Pretty scary, huh?
Charlie?
Okay.
All right?
I'm sorry we didn't
carve pumpkins together.
It's okay.
I know you got a
lot of work to do.
No, it's not okay.
I promised I'd be there,
and promises dads make to
their sons are special things.
You know you're
the most important
person in the
world to me, right?
Yeah.
Let's get some ice cream!
Hey.
Charlie.
Charlie.
I really need you
to stay close to me,
and I need you to look
where you're going, okay?
Let me, let me take that.
Come on.
What kind of ice
cream do you want?
Swirled cone with
rainbow sprinkles.
Sounds good.
Dad,
can we pay the ghost?
Pay the what?
Next.
Right, uh, yeah,
a swirled cone
with rainbow sprinkles, please.
Okay. Six bucks.
Yeah.
Keep the change.
Charlie?
Charlie!
- Next!
- Did you see where my son went?
Uh-uh.
- Charlie.
- Who's next?
Charlie!
Where are you?
Charlie!
Charlie!
Charlie.
Hey!
Let him go!
What are you doing?
Charlie!
Charlie, where are you?
Charlie!
This is my son's hat!
The boy that was
wearing this hat,
- did you see him?
- Sir, are you okay?
My son was wearing this hat!
- Sir... Hey, Buddy!
- Charlie!
Officer, Officer,
this is my son's hat.
He's missing!
When did you see him last?
He was right here by
the ice cream truck,
he was right next to me.
Have you tried calling him?
He's seven years old,
he doesn't have a phone.
Sir, do you live around here?
Maybe he just went home.
- Charlie!
- Mike what's wrong?
- Is he here?
- What's wrong, what's wrong?
Where's Charlie?
Where's Charlie!
I was holding his hand,
I looked everywhere!
What are you telling me?
Are you saying you left him?
Jesus Christ, Mike!
Charlie!
- Charlie!
- Charlie!
- Charlie!
- Charlie!
Charlie,
where are you?
Charlie!
Can you hear me?
Any problems at home?
Any reason why Charlie
might wanna run away?
No.
Okay.
We've issued an Amber Alert,
sent Charlie's stats
out over the wire.
Every cop in Arizona'll
look out for him.
Usually these cases are
solved within 24 hours.
So, try and sit tight.
Go home to your wife,
we'll be in touch.
Good night.
Good night, sir.
Anything?
Kristen?
How could you lose him?
Charlie!
Charlie...
Oh.
Where have you been?
Do you see it?
See what, Charlie?
At the window.
There's nothing there.
Look again.
Dad!
Dad!
Hi, you've reached
the voice-mail of
Kristen Lawford.
Please leave me a
message, and I'll get...
During a
late night travel.
Where does Ichabod Crane
find himself,
but in Sleepy Hollow.
With just the very name,
Irving establishes
the mood and tone,
foreshadowing the
horror which is to come.
Thanks.
How are you holding up?
Can't motivate myself.
Can't motivate my students.
You know, Charlie would've
been in second grade now.
All I had to do was protect him.
Isn't that what a father does?
He protects.
I couldn't even do that.
Mike, listen to
what you are saying.
You can't keep
beating yourself up.
It won't bring him back.
My son isn't dead.
I feel him.
And until I know
what happened to him,
I am not going to
stop looking for him.
Would it help if you took
another leave of absence?
No.
Please, I need this.
Just try to hang
in there, Mike.
Taxi!
Taxi, yo!
Mike Hi, Rhonda, new fliers.
Mike, we still have
that pile from last time.
Is Detective Jordan around?
Uh...
He's kinda busy right now.
I'll just be a second.
Hi, Mike Lawford's coming in.
Detective Jordan
Jesus, Mike, you can't just
come into my office
any time you want to.
On October 30th of last year,
there was an offender.
Colin O'Malley, he was
released from Rikers Island.
He served 15 years
for kidnapping,
abducted a neighbor's
kid on 10th and Avenue A.
I'll double check that.
October 28th, Maxwell Porter
was released from Sing Sing.
- They let this guy go,
- Mike...
Three days before
Charlie disappeared.
- He only did seven years.
- Mike...
Seven years!
For abducting and molesting
an eight year old
boy on Stanton.
I will double check it, Mike.
You'll double check it?
Yes!
Every, and I mean every
registered offender,
in every borough and
surrounding county
has been double
and triple checked.
Now you know this.
Now, I'll take a
look at these names
just in case we
missed something.
But the fact still remains,
that you're the last person
to be seen with your son.
Oh, my God.
You keep pointing
the finger at me
'cause you haven't found
jack shit all year.
Well, in three days
it's Halloween again!
And every child will be out,
and every predator knows it,
and one of them took my son.
And this is what you
guys do, isn't it?
'Cause you're too fucking
lazy to do your jobs.
Lazy?
This is Charlie's file, Mike.
And this is just
what's on paper.
Computer's got at
least 20 times that.
Each week I put
it out over NCIC.
Child abuse squad,
human trafficking, FBI.
I am in constant contact
with all of them.
NYPD may be a lot
of things, Mike,
but one thing we
are not is lazy.
Now is there anything else?
Find my son.
Charlie!
Hey, hey, stop!
Hey!
Charlie!
Charlie!
Charlie!
Hey, wait!
Charlie!
Stop!
Hey!
Hey!
Hey!
Let me in, let me in.
Charlie. Charlie!
Charlie!
Charlie.
Charlie!
Excuse me.
Hello?
Hi.
Uh, outside, on the wall,
it says, "Pay the Ghost."
What are you talking about?
Uh, the graffiti.
"Pay the Ghost."
Does anyone know
what that means?
Cover the fires!
Cover them.
What was that?
Nobody knows.
She always comes out
just before Halloween.
What does
"Pay the Ghost" mean?
I saw it written outside.
Come with me.
What does it mean?
Just what it says, I guess.
Time's up, you need to leave.
Kristen.
I really...
I really need to talk to you.
It's not a good time.
I've got some client
designs I gotta finish.
Please.
So, when I saw it,
on the wall, the graffiti,
I remembered something
that Charlie said to me,
on that day, just before he...
- Yep.
- He asked me,
"Dad, can we pay the ghost?"
Okay.
So, what are you
telling me, Mike?
I mean, we're in a city that's
full of graffiti, right?
Did he ever say
anything like that to you?
Kristen, have you
been hearing anything,
or seeing anything
that might make you
think or feel that
Charlie might be
trying to communicate with you?
I don't know what's
happening to me,
but I really think that Charlie
might be reaching out to me.
Okay, I can't
do this with you.
Kristen...
- I can't do this.
- Kristen, please!
Kristen!
- Kristen!
- I can't do this.
I know how it sounds,
but isn't it possible?
Have you seen him?
Have I seen him?
I see him every day.
I see him on the street,
I see him in the subway,
I see him in his little school
when I pass his friends.
I see him when
I'm in the grocery store.
But every time I get closer,
it's not him.
It's never him!
You had to take him
to that stupid fair.
- He was my boy.
- I know.
- He was my son.
- I know.
- He was...
- I know.
Then why didn't you protect him?
Look how tall that guy is!
Smile, Dad.
You having fun?
This is awesome.
Yeah, it is.
Kristen.
Are you all right?
I need to talk to you.
Um, I think you were
right about Charlie.
I think he is trying
to reach out to us.
Come on in.
What if I'm imagining it?
Maybe this is all in my head,
maybe it's just...
No.
You didn't imagine it.
You didn't.
It's real.
I've been doing some research.
Pick a date.
Any one.
Charlie's birthday.
Perfect.
These are all the
children who went missing
on July 15th in New York City
over the last six years.
Most of them have been found.
Now let's try your birthday.
Most of these children, too.
But if you try Halloween?
Only about half of
the missing children
have been recovered.
Why are you showing me this?
What if all of these
missing children,
on Halloween, in New York City,
what if they're all connected?
What if there's
something behind it?
How would we find out?
I have the address
of Alexis Moldanado,
she disappeared on
Halloween two years ago.
I think we should go
talk to her family.
Hello?
Hello?
Excuse me.
Mister Moldanado?
We wanted to ask you
about your daughter.
You see,
our son is missing, too.
Just give me some
fucking money, man.
He was taken
last year on Halloween.
Gracias, amigo.
I gotta pay the ghost.
Did your daughter say that?
I was there,
at Devon Bodega.
And she said to me,
"Papa, podemos pagar
nosotros a phantasma."
"Can we pay the ghost?"
I was distracted.
I can't remember
she's in front of me.
Next thing I know,
she's just gone.
And one year after,
I started to hear things.
And then I see her.
It's just flashes.
It's real quick.
But she's there.
It's her, I know it's her.
What happened?
It stopped.
Just like that.
She disappeared on Halloween
two years before Charlie.
Just before she vanished,
she said to her father,
"Can we pay the ghost?"
Now that,
is exactly what Charlie
said to me before
he disappeared.
What the hell
you talking about?
Look it up.
On every other
night of the year,
more missing children
are eventually found.
But on Halloween it's different.
On Halloween, more missing
children are never found.
I know how I sound,
but there is
something different,
something mysterious out there,
and it's taking
children on Halloween.
I'm sorry, Mike, but I really
don't have time for this.
He believe you?
Would you?
Carol,
I need you to search
the city database.
I need a printout of all
the missing children cases
from October 31st in
the last five years.
Just get me the ones
that haven't come back.
Well, you're home.
Want to come in?
It's your house, too.
Order dinner, have some wine.
Sure.
Mrs. Wen?
NYPD.
It's about your daughter, Mia.
You find something about Mia?
Can we talk in private?
Just for a minute.
Mrs. Wen, it's possible
that there may be a
link to another case.
It may help us find
out who took Mia.
Two days ago,
something else happened.
Tell me.
I saw her.
Mia?
It was late at night,
I was closing store.
And I think to hear
Mia's voice calling,
"Mama..."
I ran through traffic
to get to her,
but when I arrived,
Mia was gone.
Is it possible that
you just imagined it?
It must have
been somebody else.
Mia would not have
run away from me.
What does that mean?
What you heard her calling?
"Mama..."?
Yes.
Mama, save me from the ghost.
I don't know.
They were wearing old costumes.
Was Charlie one of them?
I mean, there were so
many of them, I don't know.
Maybe it's time to bring
someone into the house.
Like a psychic or a
medium or something.
Those people are frauds.
On the phone I asked if
you could locate an object?
Yes, uh...
He used to take this
everywhere with him.
He still sleeps with it.
He used to.
So, how does this work?
It's about tapping into the
right frequency, that's all.
If something was here,
I won't need to find it.
I just need to let it find me.
No, nothing.
Is there any other rooms
that he spent a significant
amount of time in?
When we first moved in
he had a hard time sleeping.
He spent a lot of time
in our room, sure.
It's here.
What's here?
It has all the children.
What children?
Do you... Charlie?
She saw it.
The thing that
takes the children.
The thing that has my son.
That thing
that has your son.
You told me that woman was
flying around your ceiling.
I believe in facts, logic.
And all I know is that a lot of
bad shit happens
around you, Mike.
And until I figure out what
the hell happened around here,
don't be leaving
town any time soon.
I'm sorry, are you implying
that my husband had
anything to do with this?
I'm just doing my job.
I'm really sorry.
I can't sleep.
Can you?
Yeah, I'm gonna try.
I'm just gonna...
I'll be downstairs.
Hey, Mike...
Mike.
Good night.
Kristen?
Hey...
Kristen?
You okay?
I'm cold, Dad.
It's cold here.
Charlie?
She's coming, Dad.
I'm scared.
Please save me.
I will.
I will, Charlie.
Tell me where you are.
Kristen!
Kristen!
It's okay, it's okay, it's okay.
It's okay.
What happened?
You were cutting yourself.
You don't remember?
No.
I heard Charlie's voice.
He said, "Come and save me."
Where? Where is he?
Mike, what is that?
Jesus Christ.
It doesn't
appear to be Greek or Roman.
Interesting.
"The Celtic Goddess,
the most revered of
all Celtic symbols."
There were no
Celts in America.
And their original culture
ceased to exist over
1,000 years ago, so...
There was a small group of
Celtic reconstructionalists
that immigrated from Ireland.
New York was a big
trading post by then.
What happened to them?
The influenza epidemic
in New York, 1679.
"When it struck,
it devastated the population.
Some colonists
accused an Irish woman
of using black magic to bring
about the deadly epidemic.
They burned her at the stake."
Does it say in
there what her name was?
Not in this document,
but I'm sure I could find it.
I'll check the archives tonight.
This happened when New York
was still a rural
settlement, 300 years ago.
At that time, the trading
post would've been
just along this park, right?
Yes.
There's an old
church in that area.
Saint Joseph's.
It's here.
A small Irish community
still gathers there each year
to celebrate Halloween
in the Celtic tradition.
- Tonight.
- Can we go there?
What do you think you're
going to find there?
I don't know.
Happy Halloween, Jordan.
What've you got for me?
You're not gonna believe it.
Got a real trick
or treat for you.
You ready for this?
What the hell am I
looking at, Ray?
Her organs or what's
left of them anyway.
It's like she's
been set on fire,
from the inside,
like spontaneous combustion.
Excuse us.
Hello, welcome, welcome.
I don't think I've seen
you folks here before.
We were wondering
about the song.
Can you tell us about it?
Of course.
It's the Portal song,
it's played during Sawan.
It's meant to honor and
welcome the spirits.
This place was home
to the first Sawan
celebration in the country.
The first Halloween.
Our son was abducted
last year on Halloween.
I'm sorry to hear that.
For almost a year after he
disappeared, there was nothing.
Then two days ago,
we began to hear his voice.
Moments when we could see him.
I'm just a school
teacher from Bayside.
We get together here
every Halloween for fun.
I'm truly sorry, but I don't
know anything about your son.
No, no, please.
No, wait, please
can you tell us about
the Celtic Goddess?
I did something to
myself last night
without having any memory of it.
Do you recognize this symbol?
This is the waxing moon.
You can tell because
the crescent faces left.
It means Maiden.
And the waning moon?
The crescent faces right.
It means Crone.
It's the most devastating
of all the Pagan symbols.
Why?
It is said that hate made her
forget her true
nature as a mother.
Could she have taken our son?
It is believed that
there was one day a year,
when the Crone could take
someone to the other side.
The final day of Sawan,
when the boundary between
the two worlds dissolves
and she returns to take three
children on Halloween night.
So, the Crone is a ghost
and you pay the ghost
with your child.
That's why the
children burn dolls tonight.
It's an offering,
so they won't be taken.
So, if our son was taken,
does it mean that he's dead?
All that I can
tell you is
that at the beginning of Sawan,
as the door between the
two worlds slowly opens,
only the children
taken the previous year
can still reach
out to this world.
And they are the only
ones who can be saved.
But only until midnight,
that's when the portal
between the two
worlds closes again.
Two hours.
Where, where do we find him?
Legend says that in the
days before Halloween,
the Crone can be heard
crying for her lost children.
The crying woman.
I know the place.
That's why I saw him,
he tried to show me.
To bring me there.
- All right.
- Mike.
Yes, Hannah?
I found her name.
Annie Sawquin.
Her name was Annie Sawquin.
Tell me.
She was a young widow
with three children,
living on the first
New York settlement.
Get inside!
Now, children.
On Halloween night of 1679,
an angry mob
approached her home.
The influenza outbreak
had infected
most of the settlement,
and many people
blamed Annie's family
because of their Celtic beliefs.
The crowd broke
into their house,
looking to punish
her and the children
for the misery
they were suffering.
No!
Where's the young'uns, Annie?
No!
Mother!
But ultimately,
they were discovered
and captured by the mob.
On the same night, they
burned them at the stake.
As the children
cried out for mercy,
their mother was forced
to watch on in horror.
With her last breath,
she swore to return
every year on that day
and replace her three
slaughtered children
with those from the living.
That's all the
information I have, Mike.
Thank you.
Watch out!
It's 10:15.
You need you
to go find Charlie.
He needs you, I'm fine.
Stay here, buddy,
we're gonna get you fixed up.
Only when I know
you're all right.
She going to be okay?
She'll be fine, sir.
We're gonna need to do
some X-rays, though.
Let me clean that up for you.
Police are on their way.
Go.
Hey!
Hello?
Anybody here?
Hello?
Anybody?
Somebody there?
Can somebody help me?
Why is everybody gone?
It's Halloween.
Ghosts are all out.
Why'd you come back?
I need your help.
How do I find the crying woman?
What do you want from her?
My child back.
Give me your watch.
You wanna cross over to
the other side or not?
You can see?
I'm blind as a bat.
Not deaf.
Take me to her.
The portal is open.
What you're looking for
is on the other side.
You better be back
before midnight.
What happens then?
Halloween's over.
You're not back,
you'll be trapped in there.
Oh, wait.
Might need this.
A lot more than I do.
You will pay!
Annie Sawquin.
Charlie?
Charlie,
I'm here, son.
I'm here.
Where are you, Charlie?
My son.
My boy.
Is it really you, Dad?
I missed you so much.
I'll take you home now.
Can we come, too?
This is Mia and Pablo, Dad.
We were brought here together.
There's no time.
We have to stay together.
Come on, keep moving.
We're almost there.
Get behind me.
Dad!
Dad!
No!
Help him!
Dad, the bridge!
Come on!
Let's go!
I got you.
Put your arm around my neck.
I got you, Dad.
Let's go home.
Charlie?
Mom.
Come here.
Oh, my goodness.
Where were you?
Where were you?
At the Halloween Fair.
Dad and I had so much fun.
There it is.
I thought I lost it.
He doesn't remember anything?
Dad promised me next year
I can be a superhero.
You'll be a superhero.
You're gonna be a
great superhero.
Why are you crying?
I'm really happy to see you.
That's all, that's all.
I'm just happy to see you.
Thank you.