- Just one box?
- It's for my office. It's fragile.
Sissy.
Hey, dude, headphones.
You're gonna go deaf!
An autograph?
- I just thought that...
- Are you kidding me?
Mam?
- Sheriff.
- Your husband around?
Ashley?
Ashley?
Honey.
Sweetheart.
- What are you doing?
- Painting.
Yeah. I know. I think your mom
wants your help unpacking.
I know.
So come outside.
You can finish your painting later.
I didn't wanna move here.
I shouldn't have to carry boxes.
We had to move here
and we all have to help carry boxes.
- You wanted to move here.
- No, I had to move here.
The new story I'm writing is here.
Why can't you just keep writing
in the old house?
'Cause I was gonna have to write college
textbooks to pay for that old house.
- And I can't do that.
- Why not?
- 'Cause I just can't.
- But I miss my school.
Well, you know what? The school here
is supposed to be pretty great.
But I want my old one.
I know. How about this. all right?
I'll tell you what.
If we don't like it here,
once I sell my book, we'll move back.
But only if we don't like it here.
- Really?
- Really.
You promise?
I promise. But you have to promise
to try to like it here.
- I promise.
- You do? Now, my little artist.
- What's the number one rule?
- Paint only goes in the bedroom.
- Where doesn't it go?
- Anywhere else in the house.
Right. OK, now, come with me.
Move some boxes.
Sheriff's here.
- Already?
- Play nice this time.
- I'm always nice.
- I'm not kidding.
I'm tired of driving five miles under
the speed limit to get ticketed anyway.
Be nice.
Afternoon. Is there a problem?
No, sir. Just a friendly visit.
I appreciate that. Ellison Oswalt.
I know who you are.
- So you're not a fan.
- No.
Well, what can I do for you?
Well. not much, I expect,
unless I can convince you
to load those boxes back on that truck
and leave as soon as you're able.
No, I don't think so.
But, you know what.
I do have a couple of extra copies
of Kentucky Blood
if you want me to get one out
and sign it for you.
- No, thank you. sir.
- Is it the writing?
More a matter of content. You don't seem
to care much for our profession.
Not everybody in your profession
gets it right.
I've read your books. Neither do you.
- Look...
- You got it right in Kentucky Blood.
I'll give you that.
It's a fine piece of writing.
But Cold Denver Morning,
you got it wrong.
- Blood Diner...
- Look, that wasn't my fault. All right?
Your bad theory helped a killer go free.
You ruined people's lives.
Now. this town doesn't need that.
It needs to heal. It needs to forget.
We sure don't want that circus
that you bring with you.
Well, there's a missing girl
involved here.
- She ain't missing. She's dead.
- Come on. You don't know that.
If that girl is still alive,
then it ain't no miracle
and we ain't ever gonna find her.
Then I guess
we should just let it go.
You don't think the town
deserves an explanation?
Something like this... You can
never explain something like this.
And if you were able to. the odds are
you wouldn't much care for the answer.
Now. we did our job. You'll see that.
And this is just another waste
of your time like your last two books.
If writing true crime
has taught me one thing.
It's that whenever an officer of the law
tells me that I'm wasting my time,
it just means
he thinks he's wasting his.
That's clever.
You ought to write that down.
Well, I'm gonna go out on a limb
and assume your department
is not at my disposal?
Well, what do you know? You can still
get things right on occasion.
And... I find this to be
in extremely bad taste.
- What was all that about?
- The usual.
He wanted an autograph,
but he left his copy at home.
- He'll be back later.
- That bad?
Why was he pointing at the house?
Ellison, we didn't move in a few houses
down from a crime scene again. did we?
- Tracy...
- No. just don't say anything.
If we did. I don't wanna know about it.
- We didn't.
- You promise?
I promise.
Here. Make yourself useful. Kitchen.
It's gonna be good here. OK?
You'll see.
Shit.
Shit.
You gotta be kidding me.
Family Hanging Out, '11?
Barbeque. '79?
I've also got noodles
and fortune cookies.
Enjoy, kids. We're not likely
to be able to eat out much this time.
- Why not?
- You know why.
- I don't.
We haven't sold the old house yet.
Once ifs gone, we'll be able to afford
a few extra things.
Then sell it already.
Lower the price if you have to.
We've already lowered it
as much as we can.
The market's terrible. Once we're not
paying two mortgages, we'll be fine.
And once I sell my new book,
we'll be on Easy Street.
- Is the story a good one this time?
- Yeah, its good. Of course it is.
- Will you show me where it happened?
- Trevor.
I'm old enough to know about this stuff.
No, you're not. Even I'm not old enough
to know about this stuff.
Your father writes about
terrible, terrible things.
- I shouldn't be writing about it?
- That's not what I meant.
That's the way you said it.
I'm gonna hear about it
at school anyway.
Kids'll all hate me again and tell
me nonstop what happened.
- Hey' nobody hates you.
- I might as well hear it from you.
- Are you listening to this?
- Yes. I'm listening.
Let's at least make sure
your office stays locked.
It's one thing to hear about it,
another to see it.
I don't want him walking in again.
He's 12.
- Mom, he knows how old I am.
- Hey. stop it.
- What's the first rule?
- Never go in Dads office.
And what's the rule?
- Always lock Dads office.
- That's right.
And I don't wanna hear another thing
about why we're here, from anybody.
Yeah.
You didn't brush your teeth.
- No. not yet.
- You're not coming to bed?
No, I thought I'd set up my office first
and get started.
- How long is it gonna be?
- Just an hour or two.
No. I mean...
how long are we here for this time?
God' I don't know.
It could be a long one.
I liked it better when
you were writing fiction.
- Nobody likes my fiction.
- Maybe you should try again.
I can't do this without you by my side.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I'm on your side.
I just wanna see you
enjoying your work again.
When you're happy... we're all happy.
I just need another hit. that's all.
- Just one more.
- I just...
What?
- You know I'm behind you on this.
- I know.
But that's not what you were gonna say.
What were you gonna say?
Kentucky Blood was ten years ago.
And?
And... what if that was your 15 minutes?
OK, what if it was?
If it was, you can't just spend
the rest of your life chasing after it.
If you miss out on these years with
the kids, you won't get them back.
I just need one more chance,
that's all, one more.
- OK. good.
- I got a good feeling about this.
But, Ell.
I don't think I can do this again.
- Honey, you're not gonna have to.
- No. I mean it.
If this goes sour like last time.
I'll take Trevor and Ashley
and go back home to my sister's.
- Is that fair?
- Yes.
But it's not gonna go sour.
Good. Now go kick some arse.
What the hell? Let's do this.
All right.
Why would you film it?
Daddy, I can't find the bathroom.
Come here. Come on. Come on.
We'll get you...
Thank you, Daddy.
Look at all these new paintings.
You're really getting good.
Thank you. Maybe one day
I'll paint something really good.
- Then I'll be famous like you.
- I'm sure you will, princess.
- All right, get some sleep.
- OK.
- And Daddy?
- Yes?
Are you gonna write a really good book
this time so we can go home?
I'm gonna write the best book
that anyones ever read.
- Operator.
- Yeah, King County Police, please.
- Is this an emergency?
- Yes, yes, it is.
King County Police Department.
How may I direct your call?
King County Police Department.
How may I direct your call?
Hello?
Hello?
All right.
You came back and left the box.
Why?
Dammit, Ashley.
Ashley?
Trevor!
Trevor, Trevor, Trevor, hey. hey!
Wake up. Trevor, Wake up, all right?
Hey, hey, hey. Hey, wake up.
Wake up, all right?
OK, OK. Come on, come on.
My God, is he OK?
Come on, open up.
Here we go. Come outside.
Hey, hey-Hey, hey, all right?
Hey, hey, hey, wake up.
Come on, come on, come on. wake up.
Wake up, wake up. wake up.
Trevor, wake up for me, all right?
Hey, hey, hey.
Look at the stars.
Trevor. Trevor, Trevor.
- Why are we outside?
- All right, bud. OK.
You were having a bad dream. OK?
One of those night terrors.
- Just go back to sleep.
- I thought these were over.
It's just the stress of the move.
I found him in one of the moving boxes.
Poor baby.
He'll be all right in a few hours.
Tracy. I...
What is it? What's the matter?
I wanna... I wanna tell you something.
OK.
I'm just really sorry.
It's not your fault.
Come on. It's cold. Let's go inside.
I was in a box?
- You were in a box.
- I don't remember any of that.
It's not the strangest place
we've ever found you.
Please don't talk about the dryer.
Are we talking about the time we found
Trevor trying to pee in the dryer?
- God, Mom, no.
- I'm sorry, honey.
I thought that's what
you were talking about.
Did Trevor try to pee
in the dryer again?
- Mom.
- No. Your brother had a night terror.
- Is that like a bad dream?
- Kind of.
I think I had one of those.
No, a night terror
is a special kind of bad dream.
We would have remembered if you had one.
Don't do that. You can sit right here.
So, Ashley, you excited
about your first day at the new school?
- What about you?
- I guess.
It's nice to see you're both so
enthusiastic about our adventure.
- Stop it.
- Hey, you two stop it. Stop it.
Be the bigger person.
Are you gonna take them?
Yeah, I've got some errands to run.
I figured I'd get the lay of the land
and let you get some work done.
- Eat up. You're running late.
- You heard your mother.
Grab some road breakfast and skedaddle.
- I left you a fresh pot of coffee.
- Thanks.
Have a nice morning
with your murder victims.
- Yes. dear.
- Come on.
- Trevor, where's your notebook?
- It should be in my backpack.
Can you see it in there?
Fuck.
That's it. OK.
"Super 8 film was first released in 1966
by Eastman Kodak."
OK.
Trevor. Don't walk away from me.
Ashley. close the door.
Trevor, what on earth were you thinking?
I'll tell you again.
I wasn't thinking.
That's your problem.
You don't think.
You wanna be treated like an adult
but you don't act like one.
You and Dad do lots of thinking.
If you did. we wouldn't be here.
You don't know what
you're talking about.
- I know more than you.
- Go to your room!
- I don't wanna see you until dinner.
- Fine.
- What happened?
- Mom's overreacting.
- Your son is acting out again.
- What did he do?
- You're automatically taking her side?
- Hey, stop it. What did you do?
I drew a picture.
A picture with a permanent marker
on the classroom whiteboard.
- God. Trevor?
- Tell him what you drew.
- I drew a tree.
- With four people hanging from it.
Go to your room. Trevor.
I need to speak to your father.
His first day at school, Ellison,
and he's already hearing the
grisly details of your mystery?
- What did he hear?
- Exactly what he drew.
That your book is about a
family that was hung.
- Christ, Ellison.
- But that's all he heard?
That's not enough?
Look, I'm sorry he had to find out
like this all right? I am.
But. come on. it was bound to happen.
Really? That's your response?
You think that makes it OK?
No, it doesn't make it OK. all right?
Nothing about what happened
to these people is OK.
But bad things happen to good people
and they still need
to have their story told.
- They deserve that much.
- You're a real man of the people.
Come...
- I'm putting the kids to bed.
- Kiss them good night for me.
- You're getting good work done?
- Yeah.
Good. Please keep the door closed.
OK, 1998. St Louis murders.
New details today in the grisly murders
of a focal family
found earlier this week.
Police have released this photo
of Christopher Miller,
the missing 13-year-old son
of William and Penny Miller.
The Millers.
Along with their younger son,
were found stabbed
inside their home.
And police now are asking
for any information
that could lead to Christopher's return
or the apprehension of any suspects
involved in this vicious multiple murder
and child abduction.
Family Hanging Out.
Pool Party.
Barbecue.
Sleepy Time.
Really. I'm fine.
I'd prefer to take you down to
the hospital. You should get stitches.
- Can't force you, though.
- Yeah, and I'm not gonna go.
The bleedings stopped for now.
But if it starts again
or if there's any more swelling,
call a doctor immediately.
- Thank you. Appreciate it.
- OK.
- This way.
- So... let's go see this hole.
So you say you heard a loud thump
and footsteps in the attic
after the power went out?
Yes.
- But the ladder wasn't down?
- No, it wasn't.
It's not possible to close it
from inside the attic?
No.
So how would an intruder get up there?
I didn't say anyone was up there. I said
it sounded like there was an intruder.
- I did see a small snake, though.
- Snakes don't have feet.
You know, I'm...
I'm guessing that you got squirrels.
With, you know, way in and out up there
and all the power gone off
in the neighbourhood.
I bet they got spooked from the sound
of everything shutting down at once.
- You know how they are.
- Not really.
- I'm not really a squirrel guy.
- Really?
I did kill a scorpion when we
first moved in here. though,
so maybe I should get an exterminator.
Scorpions have feet. but you wouldn't
hear 'em like you would squirrels.
Well, Officer, thank you very much.
It's... I will... If there's
anything else I can do for you...
Actually. there is. I left my copy
of Kentucky Blood down at the station.
It'd really mean a lot to me
if you signed a copy.
- I got a few extra copies in my office.
- Thank you so much. That's so great.
Wow. Do you know what? This is like
one of them FBI profile offices.
You got a map with pictures
connected with yarn and everything.
Deputy. I need you to step outside.
This is my private office. I'm serious.
- Just wait outside.
- Mr Oswalt. listen.
You know there's a page in your books
where you always say nice things about
all the people that helped you out?
- The acknowledgements?
- Yeah. well...
Yeah. and in each one there's always
like a line that says, you know.
"I couldn't have done this
without the tireless efforts
of Deputy So And So
from the local police department."
Right.
Well. you know. I could be like...
you know, your Deputy So And So,
you know, if you don't already have one.
Yeah, there are a few things
you could do for me, actually.
- Really?
- Yeah. this could be perfect.
- Do you have a notepad?
- Um...
- Yes.
- All right. Do you need a pen?
Yes.
I need the street address of a crime.
In 1998, St Louis.
A family was stabbed to death.
They had their throats cut.
It was a pretty ugly affair.
I also need any details you can get me
on another murder.
parked inside their own car,
in their own garage.
- What city?
- I don't know.
All I have is the year
and the method of execution.
You think that the two cases are related?
- No, no. I'm just doing research.
- OK. I can definitely get this for you.
I gotta wait till the sheriff
leaves the office, but I will get it.
Thank you very much, Deputy So And So.
- I'm sorry.
- For what?
I was angry at Trevor today
and I took it out on you.
No, don't be sorry.
I know the move's been hard for you.
- I'm trying, Ell. I really am.
- I know.
I just want you here with me
that's all.
I've always been with you.
And I'm with you now.
Pleased to have Ellison Oswalt
on our programme.
His new book is called Kentucky Blood.
- Good to have you on.
- Thanks for having me. A real pleasure
Man. I got into this.
This is pretty graphic stuff
So let me start by asking
why you spend so much time
investigating such grisly crime?
Fame and money? No. I'm just kidding
The honest answer Is that I'm really
driven by a sense of injustice.
When I think about the awful things
that happened to these people
and that those responsible were never
even identified, let alone caught...
I mean. I knew when I started on
this particular case
that I might stumble on a few things
that maybe somebody overlooked.
Might? No. you in fact did
uncover some additional information
that the cops had overlooked
Well look. First off, there are a lot
of good police officers out there
and I don't wanna in any way
disparage what they do, right?
But in police work getting something
wrong means ruining people's lives
Good crime writing can set things right
So, ultimately, what feels better?
Seeing justice done or seeing
your book. Kentucky Blood.
Number one on the New York Times
bestseller list?
The justice without question
I'd rather cut my hands off than
write a book for fame or money.
- Are you making Daddy his coffee?
- Yes.
Can I help? I wanna bring it to him.
Sure, honey, but we have
to make it just right.
He's very particular about his coffee.
- Brought you your coffee, Daddy.
- Thank you, sweetheart.
- Yeah hello.
- Hey. Mr Oswalt
Hey, Deputy So And So.
I'm sorry to get back to you
so late in the day.
I couldn't make the call from
the office. You know the sheriff
- Yeah, I understand.
- But I got what you asked about.
There was a Martinez family
in Sacramento, California,
that died in their garage in 1979.
Their car was set on fire.
One of their sons. Nine years old.
They never found him.
- Do you have the street address?
- It's 8224 Billington. Sacramento.
And what about St Louis?
The address of the house where
the Miller murders occurred is
That is excellent. 29...
Wait, did you say 2976, like 29-76?
Yeah. Does that mean something to you?
No. no it doesn't. No.
Thank you. Thank you Deputy.
Before the Stevensons moved here.
They lived where the
Miller family murders happened?
Holy shit.
Ashley?
Trevor?
My God. Is he OK?
I found him outside.
We have to put a lock on his door.
It's way worse than it was.
I'll call the doctor in the morning.
You stay with him. I
left something outside.
Good dog. Good dog.
I don't wanna hurt you.
I just wanna get my bat...
so if you come at me,
I can bash your head in, OK?
That's fine. You keep it.
- You OK?
- Yeah, I'm fine, fine.
Trevor's too old to
still be having these.
He was supposed to
have outgrown them by now.
- He's all right. He's OK.
- Just stop.
- Stop what?
- Drop the book.
We can pack up. Get out of town
and never look back.
Why? Cause he's having
some night terrors?
It's more than that.
He's never been this bad.
- You've never been this bad.
- What are you talking about?
You've been at this book less than
a week and you're already a mess.
You never crack into the whisky
this early and this often.
- You're saying I'm a drunk?
- No.
I'm saying there's something
you aren't telling me,
something that's eating you up, and it
seems to be getting to Trevor as well.
- Something different this time.
- Yeah. You wanna know what it is?
- How much do you wanna know?
- I wanna know why you're different.
I'm different because I've never
been onto something this big before.
Do you remember how it was
when I was writing Kentucky?
- I remember.
- This is much bigger than that! Much!
I am talking about a
potentially important work here.
I'm talking about a mega hit.
This could be my In Colour Blood.
A movie deal talk show circuit. Right?
A national book award.
More money than we could...
We could live wherever we wanted to.
- I don't care about any of that.
- You do. Everybody does.
- Im just...
- This is my shot. Tracy.
You're just what?
- I'm just worried about you.
- Well don't be. Nothing is wrong.
Then why did you come in
white as a ghost?
Because I saw a dog. OK?
- A dog?
- A very big dog, like Cujo big.
I mean, I'd never seen him before.
He's like...
- Did you get rid of him?
- Yeah, he's gone.
Listen, I just need
a little more time. OK?
I promise it's worth it.
Every minute that we're here, we're
a minute closer to that happy ending
that we always dreamed of.
We're almost there.
OK?
- Deputy.
- Mr Oswalt, these came in this morning.
I had a few of the pertinent files
pulled for you and had them faxed over.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- Thanks.
- No problem.
Do you think I could come in
for a second?
Yeah. Sure.
- Thanks.
- Come on, just here.
Look, I...
I know what you must think of me.
Some small-town deputy that's starstruck
with the famous writer.
- But I'm not some local moron.
- I didn't say you were a... you know.
I have a degree in criminology.
I've taken my fair share
of forensic science courses.
I also know a series of connected
murders when I see one, Mr Oswalt.
- Look...
- We missed something. I get that.
But if you want me to run interference
for you while you get this worked out.
I gotta be in the loop
just a little bit.
- You really wanna help?
- It's my home, Mr Oswalt.
What happened here
happened to all of us.
All right. Come here.
Who is that?
I don't know.
That's what I'm hoping to find out.
- You think these are serial murders?
- Maybe.
More ritualised than necessarily serial.
But really spread out.
And not just regionally but over time.
The first one dates back to the '60s.
- The 1960s?
- Yeah.
That would put the guy,
what, in his 70s?
- Yeah, or his 60s.
- Yeah, I...
- I don't know.
- Well, look at the methodology.
Toxicology reports. Some cases
the killer drugged his victims.
- With what?
- Well. They couldn't tell for sure.
But by drugging them, the killer
removes his need to overpower them.
Here he used a tree branch
to do the heavy lifting.
In Sacramento he lit a family on fire.
In St Louis he slit their throats.
- The first family he drowned.
- Drowning? You...
You never said anything
about anyone being drowned.
The only other significant link
between the murder cases
is that in each instance the killer
murdered the entire family except one.
A child which he took with him.
That and this symbol appears
in several of the crime scenes.
That looks like something
from out of the occult.
Look, you might wanna
call the university.
There's a professor over there.
Professor Jonas.
He's an occult crime expert
and the state police bring him in
on some of the... the weirder stuff.
I think this qualifies.
So where do you think
that drowning happened?
That's what I need you to find out.
OK.
- Professor Jonas?
- Yes.
Hello. Hey, thank you for getting back
to me so quickly. I appreciate that.
Of course. I'm a really big fan.
I'm flattered that you emailed.
Once I saw the photos that you sent,
I knew exactly what
cases you were studying.
Wait. How would you know
what cases I was looking at?
The symbol that you sent me is...
isn't a pentagram.
It's not something that
you would see teenagers
or a Non vegan black metal band paint
on a wall in goat's blood to be edgy.
- Right.
- Or to piss off the Christians
No. This is a little bit more obscure
than that.
I know the one in the hallway.
That's from the late '90s in St Louis.
The other one. The... the car hood.
That is from Sacramento.
That's about 30 years ago
Tell me about the one in Sacramento.
It's a symbol associated with
the worship of a pagan deity
A deity? What kind of deity?
A very obscure one.
Dating back to Babylonian times
Named Bughuul. The eater of children
- Did you say eater
- Yes. of children. Thank you. Jessica
The crimes that you're dealing with.
They all have the element
of a missing child, correct?
Yes. Yeah. That's correct.
Well. Bughuul eats children
Now, the fragments of stories
that have survived,
they all revolve around him needing
the souls of human children to survive.
Now each story involves a different way
that he lures or tricks these children
away from the physical world
and traps them in his own nether world
and he consumes their souls over time
Now any worship of this deity
would include a blood sacrifice
or the wholesale eating of a child.
So you're saying the person that made
this symbol is... is eating children?
Well that would fit the stories.
Of course the few times
that this symbol has shown up.
None of the crimes have been related
in any way to any of this.
So this might be more
of a cult initiation
rather than you know.
The actual actions of any one man
There's been another one. Hasn't there?
I think so, yes.
Tell me everything you can.
Shh.
- I appreciate you coming by, Officer.
- Yeah, it's not a problem at all.
- So we're becoming friends right?
- I... I suppose, yeah.
- I mean, I can trust you, right?
- Yeah, absolutely.
So if I were to ask you
something in earnest.
You wouldn't read too much into it?
Um... All right.
Was there anything... weird
about the Stevensons?
No complaints from them
about anything... strange?
No, not to my knowledge.
The investigators. Did they notice
anything odd or inexplicable
about the house, any...
any weird stories?
No.
Mr Oswalt. Is there something
that you wanna tell me?
Clearly something happened and you wanna
talk to somebody about it, right?
Yeah.
OK, well, does your wife
know about it?
Wait.
Does she know whose
house this is... was?
Man. That is a conversation that
I would not wanna be around for.
- No, me neither.
- I'm sorry.
So.. So, what. You saw something weird.
Heard something spooky in the house?
- Yes. Precisely.
- What exactly?
Now...
I don't believe in any, you know. stuff.
Stuff? You mean the supernatural.
The metaphysical, the paranormal.
- That type of stuff?
- Right.
Right. Of course you don't.
You never would have moved
into a crime scene if you did.
But here we are having
this conversation.
Yeah but... but there was...
there was none of that, you know.
None of that with the Stevensons?
No. In the short amount of time
that the Stevensons lived here,
they never called the police, they
never had the police called on them
or reported anything bizarre that
came up in the investigation.
- Do you wanna know what I think?
- Yes.
I think that you moved yourself
into the house of murder victims
and immediately set about trying
to put yourself in their head space.
I also think that you've begun
discovering things about this case
that go to darker places
than you were prepared for.
I also think that every time
that I've been to your house.
There's a whisky bottle that
doesn't appear to be neglected.
- No, no, no. I...
- Mr Oswalt. listen. I don't. I don't...
I'm not saying that you have a
drinking problem. I don't think that.
Nor do I think that you're
making any of this up...
- No!
- ...to get attention.
What I do think is that...
that you are under so much stress.
You've put yourself
under so much stress.
That your mind is trying
to process all of it at once.
So you don't believe any of
that otherworldly stuff. Right?
Are you kidding me?
I believe in all that stuff.
I... I wouldn't sleep one night
in this place. Are you nuts?
Four people were hung by their necks
in the tree in your backyard
and that little girl is probably
God knows wherever.
- OK.
- I'm... I'm sorry. You know what?
You should try and get out more,
Mr Oswalt, try to clear your head.
Total honesty?
Last night I thought
something was in the house...
and I woke up on the couch
holding a baseball bat.
Well... I guess if I thought
something was in my home at night.
I'd be a little bit freaked out too.
But listen. Mr Oswalt.
If you sleep in this house.
It's just gonna do terrible
things to your head.
Ellison!
- Ellison!
- What's going on?
Your daughter thought there wasn't
room on her walls for her new painting.
- Ashley!
- No, that's not it.
What did we talk about?
We only gave you one rule.
It was a big deal for us
to let you paint on your walls.
- What's the rule, Ashley?
- Paint only goes in the bedroom.
And what makes you think
you can paint out here?
I wanted to paint her picture,
but she didn't want it in my room
because that used to be
her brother's room.
What? Who are you talking about?
- Stephanie.
- Who's Stephanie?
She used to live here. Shes the one
Daddy's writing his book about.
Ashley, go to your room
and shut the door.
What the hell were you thinking?
Did you think I wouldn't find out?
Shh. Of course I knew you were
gonna find out eventually, OK?
But don't blame me for not telling you.
You never wanted to know.
Don't try and pin this on me.
I asked you! I asked you if
we were living near the house!
You asked me if we were living
two houses down from a crime scene.
- Don't you dare!
- I said no.
- We never should have come here!
- Tracy, nobody died here.
It's not like we're sleeping
where somebody was killed
or they had to wipe blood
off the walls for the open house.
- You're saying it didn't happen here?
- No. It happened in the backyard.
That is so sick!
God, you think that makes a difference?
- It does.
- No, Ellison. It doesn't.
You have done some
crazy shit in the past.
But this definitely takes the cake.
My God. what on earth
possessed you to move here?
- We've never been this broke before.
- That's no excuse.
This place came on the market.
It was a steal.
Gee, I wonder why.
So what Trevor drew last week.
That happened here?
Yes.
The previous owners of this home
were hung from a tree in our backyard?
- Yes.
- That is so sick. Ellison.
And you let our little girl
play back there?
Why shouldn't I?
Our son is having night terrors
and drawing pictures
of this crime at school.
And our daughter just painted
a dead girl on our wall.
She's missing.
Technically she's missing.
I don't wanna hear about
technicalities.
Do you understand
what you've done,
the kind of jeopardy you've put
your children in, your marriage?
Yes, I do!
Is there anything you won't do
for your goddamn book?
Apparently not.
I guess this is all worth it to you.
- It's worth it.
- Putting your family at risk.
- Risk of what? Of more paintings?
- Don't. Your daughter...
My daughter has a father who loves her,
who is always around,
who encourages her to be herself.
The worst thing that has
ever happened to her
is one time she moved into a house
where a family was killed.
She found out about the murders.
So she felt sorry for the little girl.
So she painted a fucking picture!
That's what she does.
It's what she always has done.
- That's it? That's all you have to say?
- What else do you want from me?
How about a home where
we feel safe, Ellison?
How about neighbours that don't hate us
in a town where I can buy groceries
without getting strange looks?
How about a life that
doesn't involve our kids
drawing and painting the sick details
of some horrific tragedy
or working out their
deep-seated anxieties
by doing bizarre shit in the night?
- How about that? Would that be OK?
- I can give all that to you, I can!
- Just when I finish the book!
- This book isn't for us. It's for you.
Tracy, don't say that.
That's not true.
It is true. There are plenty of other
ways you can provide for this family.
Doing What? Teaching?
Editing journalism textbooks?
Don't you understand that writing
is what gives my life meaning?
These books are my legacy.
I have always supported you
doing what you love. Ellison.
But writing isn't the meaning
of your life.
You and me, right here, this marriage
that's the meaning of your life.
And your legacy,
that's Ashley and Trevor.
Your kids are your legacy.
- Did I get Daddy in trouble?
- No. sweetie.
Your daddy got Daddy in trouble.
- I'm sorry I painted on the wall.
- I know.
You get a good night's sleep.
So here's the book
I wrote proving it. Right?
Exactly.
Kidding aside. Would you want
a family? Is that in the cards?
I don't know
If you'd asked me a year ago. I might
have said no. never. I'm a career man
But you know how it goes. You meet
someone. You get a little older.
All of a sudden your career
doesn't seem to matter so much'
You want kids. You start to see other
people with kids and think "I want that"
aho' then you wonder "Is he gonna look
like me? Is she gonna look like her?"
You paint rooms in your head and.
Time for bed.
What is happening?
Shit.
Shit.
- What the hell are you doing?
- We have to leave here.
What's the matter? What's happened?
You were right.
I made a mistake.
We should have never come to this house.
- We have to leave now.
- Ell. you're freaking me out here.
Get the kids. Pack the car.
We have to leave.
Go!
- Honey, slow down.
- I just wanna get on the highway.
I wanna put as much road between
us and this town as we can. OK?
OK.
- Where are we going, Daddy?
- We're going home, honey.
- Home, home, like you promised?
- Yeah. Home, like I promised.
What about our stuff?
We're gonna call the movers
in the morning, all right?
It's OK.
- Evening, Oswalts.
- Sheriff.
- Licence and registration.
- God.
Driving pretty fast for this
time of night don't you think?
Anything I ought to know about?
Just trying to take your advice.
That's all.
- Which advice would that be?
- Leave town and never look back.
- You weren't bullied away or anything?
- I'm sorry?
What I mean is, I don't wanna be
reading in your book
that angry town folks
chased you out of here.
If you've been mistreated,
I wanna know about it.
There isn't gonna be any book.
No book?
No, sir.
Well. then. I don't see any reason
for me to have your autograph.
Just one more favour. Hold it under 60
till you cross the county line.
Until you're somebody else's problem.
Yes, sir.
Did you mean that?
About the book? Yeah.
You promise?
I promise.
Let's go home.
This goes in the office,
right in there on the right.
Hey, Ell, 10 bucks says
Trevor sleeps through the night.
No, I'm not taking that bet.
Mr Oswalt. Sorry it took so long
to get back to you.
There's been so little written on Buguul
that no one has actually bothered
to scan any of this material before
- Well, what am I looking at?
- You're looking at an engraving
An old sketch from the Dark Ages.
And fragments of a deteriorated fresco
There isn't a lot left.
Everything else has been destroyed
- Why?
- Well. Superstition
Early Christians believed that Bughuul
actually lived in the images themselves
and that they were gateways
into his realm.
- Gateways?
- Yes.
The ancient Church believed
that he would take possession
of those who saw the images
and cause them to do terrible things.
Or in some cases he could even abduct
the viewer into the images themselves.
Children exposed to the images
were especially vulnerable to
Bughuuls possession and, or abduction
- What if you destroyed them?
- Sorry. I don't follow
If you destroyed the images with a fire.
What would happen then?
What, do you mean literally
or in the stories?
In the stories if an
image was destroyed,
then the gateway would be closed
and Bughuul would no longer
have access to this world, right?
Mr Oswalt. What kind of book
are you writing exactly?
I don't know. I'm not even sure
I have a book any more.
- But thank you for your time.
- Anytime.
All right.
- You know what time it is?
- I know. I'm sorry.
But I've been trying
to call you all day.
- What's the problem?
- OK. The problem is that you moved
How is that a problem?
I was compiling all of the data
that you had me collecting
and once I started putting it together
into a nice readable package,
I saw the connection, it was obvious.
- What was it?
- The dates, the addresses.
Each family that you had me look up
had previously lived in the house where
one of the earlier murders took place.
Each family? All five of them?
Yes, and when you put them
in chronological order,
you can actually draw a line
from murder to murder to murder
OK, we knew
that the Stevensons previously lived
in the same St Louis house where
the Millers had their throats cut.
Before the Millers family was killed.
The Millers lived in the same house
in Orange County
where the De Luzio
lawn massacre occurred.
Guess where the De Luzios lived
before they moved to Orange County?
Sacramento where the Martinez family
was burned in their garage?
Exactly. The pattern goes back
to the 1966 Oregon drownings.
Listen. Mr Oswalt, you just moved out
of the last house in fine
if this guy is still out there.
You not only just sped up his timeline,
you put yourself in it.
Thanks, Deputy.
Stephanie.
It's the missing kids.
I like that you made the movies longer.
They're better this way.