Dark Exorcism

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Are we burning

some midnight oil?

Hi Mom, I didn't

hear you coming.

I guess I kinda got

caught up in it.

Something new?

I'm just experimenting.

Following the music.

I'm just going to work for a couple of

minutes and then I'm going to turn in.

Okay, sweetheart.

Pleasant dreams.

You too.

I love you.

I love you too.

Sorry, Mom.

I think that stereo has a

weird electrical short

or something.

I'm okay, I'm just

really into it tonight.

Stop now, okay?

Mom?

Hello?

Okay.

My goodness, that girl.

Hey.

The stereo's really loud.

Bethany, it's really late.

Are you okay?

Why are you sitting in the dark?

Bethany, answer me.

Bethany?

Bethany!

My God, my God,

please let me in!

Let me in!

Baby?

Baby, baby, where are you?

Bethany?

Bethany, baby?

Where are you?

Don't...

Don't...

Don't, don't what?

Let him get me.

Bethany, baby, please, who?

Don't let who get you?

Just a second.

Just a second.

My gosh.

My gosh!

I know.

What are you going to do?

Sorry, I just found

out 15 minutes ago.

Right, well,

sh*t!

Yeah.

And you haven't told Buckley?

My God, no.

I gotta figure some

things out first.

Are you guys having problems?

No.

I don't know, he keeps bringing

up moving in together again.

And that's a bad thing?

It's just a step I'm not

sure I'm ready to take.

Wait wait.

So, in summary, you're in a

positive, healthy relationship

with a solid, gainfully

employed guy,

who actually wants

to commit to you,

whose child you're now carrying.

Tell me where I send the

condolence letters to.

I guess I got a lot

of stuff left over

from how I grew up, and...

I've been taking care

of myself for so long,

and now with this baby,

I, I don't know.

I'm not comfortable rushing

myself into any kind

of giant commitment.

Yeah, but I think after

almost three years,

you're just dragging your feet.

Crap, I'm going to be late.

Yeah, that meeting

with Senorita Spooky?

Yeah, it's gonna be a long day.

Well, hey, call me if

you need me, okay?

Thanks.

Bye.

Thank you for your time

today, Professor Kern.

Your expertise will be a

great asset to my thesis

on the relevance of parapsychology

in modern psychiatry.

My pleasure.

Before we start, may I ask

what drew you to the subject?

I don't get many

inquiries like yours.

I guess I've always

been a bit fascinated

by the human condition.

Do you believe in

the supernatural?

Atheist searching for a miracle.

So just for the record, will

you please state your name?

Dr. Lois Kern, head of the Parapsychology

Department of Columbia University.

And how long have you

been investigating

and researching claims

of the paranormal?

Over 20 years.

I did my undergraduate

at Princeton University,

magna cum laude in the Classics,

and trained in Psychiatry

at the Yale University

School of Medicine,

before moving into

field studies.

And how many cases would

you say you've covered?

Personally, I've overseen 200.

How many were you able to

scientifically verify?

Three.

Out of 200, yes?

You seem disappointed.

You have to admit, it's a very

small percentage of the whole.

Miss Carpenter, Veronica, I'd

be remiss if I didn't admit

the majority of cases are

either outright hoaxes or,

when held up to the

scrutiny of rigorous

and regimented examination, fall

under clearly explainable means.

And science has given us

answers to primal fears.

What we once referred to as

monsters are now mutations.

The nature and order of the

world and the human body

can be seen in cells

under a microscope

rather than the pages

of fairy tales.

But you do believe

there were three cases

that have held up

to your rigorous

and regimented experimentation,

and were verifiable beyond

natural explanation.

Levittstown,

Pennsylvania in '95.

I witnessed a woman who

undoubtedly possessed

strong telekinetic abilities,

especially when emotionally provoked.

Small things, lights

flickering, drawers opening.

Though her grandmother claimed

on a good day she could levitate

the household pets at will.

2001, in Yonkers, I was on a

team investigating a haunting.

The McKutcheons.

A family bought a

two-story fixer-upper,

claimed multiple instances

of ghostly activity?

A group of four, and

myself, spent several days

in the house

investigating incidents.

What about the third case?

The third.

The Clovitz case.

The little boy, Jacob

Clovitz, ten years old,

you're aware of the

case I'm referring to?

It's the hallmark of my work.

Your study was the first

to officially medically

validate an actual

case of possession

in the New Oxford Review.

You witnessed his

non-sanctioned exorcism?

Yes.

Previous to the case,

because of my background

in clinical psychiatry,

I'd been brought in

to assist as a medical doctor.

So this wasn't the first time.

I've been party to seven.

Exorcism has a history

in several cultures.

Psychologically it's sometimes

useful as a pure placebo.

The victim believes they're

under duress from forces.

Performing the ritual,

under proper supervision,

helps the psychosis cure itself

by the same suggestive means.

So these seven individuals

were all suffering

from psychosis.

You know, spinning

heads, pea soup.

No.

I'm afraid not.

But do you believe that

Jacob was different,

that he was under the

prevalent influence

of multiple malevolent

demonic entities?

Have you ever seen true evil?

I'm sorry, Professor, I'm not

sure I understand the question.

Well, in personal experience,

I have interviewed

prison inmates,

convicted of rape and murder,

misogynists, deviants, killers.

My boyfriend has done some work

for the police forensic unit.

He once photographed a six month

old boy with broken ribs,

whose mother happened

to be holding him

at the inopportune

time that she got

into a physical domestic spat.

I even masochistically

watch the evening news,

so I am fully aware of

the horrible things

that human beings

are capable of.

I do not, however, believe

in evil as an entity

or consciousness beyond that.

All people are

capable of darkness.

True evil, something

else altogether.

It's not merely a collection

of badly wired brain impulses,

or everyday brutality.

It's more.

It's the absence of light.

Tell me a little bit more

about Jacob Clovitz.

On the surface, it

appeared to be another,

albeit rare, case

of abelobscene.

Tremors and convulsions

soon developed

into violent outbursts,

expressionless gazes,

uncontrolled speech.

He needed psychological

evaluation and treatment,

but his devout parents felt he

was beyond modern medicine.

They petitioned the Church for

intervention several times,

but lack of evidence, previous

hospitalizations, and

a potential PR nightmare for

a scandal-plagued diocese...

And how did you initially

become involved?

His Aunt.

A nurse, and personal friend.

And she believed the parents,

that the child was under

some sort of possession?

No, she thought he was neglected

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