Red Lights

Margaret.

Margaret.

Margaret.

Yes?

You should get

some sleep.

Dr. Matheson!

Thanks for coming.

You can't imagine how

pleased I am to see you.

This is Dr. Matheson,

actually.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Please, forgive me.

These last few days have

been a bit difficult.

Don't worry, I should have worn a lab coat.

That's Dr. Buckley.

Nice to meet you.

The pleasure's

all mine, really.

You can't begin to imagine what's

been going on here, really.

We haven't slept

a wink in weeks--

isn't that right, Sarah?

She hasnt' been coping

very well None of us have

Did I mention we haven't

slept a wink in days?

That's it.

Did you hear?

It's starting.

Did you hear him?

He is a bit angry today.

Who's angry?

Traci's been

a real help, you know?

She's, uh-- she's

been such a help.

I bet.

Can we see the rest

of the house?

Sure. This

way, please.

It's an old house,

but the price was great.

We only moved in a while ago.

We're still settling in.

Hi, I'm Tom.

Uh, I'm a physicist.

- If you want to keep doing--

- I'm a physicist, too.

What did you think I was?

A housewife?

- A hairdresser?

- No, I--

- Oh, I--I didn't mean--

- Forget it.

Actually, I am

a hairdresser.

Oh.

Traci.

Traci Northrop.

Tom, enough mingling.

We're going upstairs.

I know, she's

been a real help.

Since when?

I don't know,

a few days.

Three or four, isn't

that right, Sarah?

You took so long. We

didn't know where to turn.

We're not a public

service, Mr. Sidgwick.

We do what we can.

Sure. Uh, excuse

me a moment.

The girls' room.

Susan.

How many times have

I told you not to play

on the floor till

the heating gets fixed.

We're still settling

in, you know?

We, uh--still have some

stuff to sort out.

But the price

was great.

Stand up, sweetheart,

and say hello.

Say hi.

Hi.

- Hi.

- Hi.

You said "the girls."

Julia is

at her grandparents'.

She wasn't

feeling so great,

so we thought

we just as soon

send her back to Vermont

for a few days.

A few days.

She's much better now.

Everything's ready.

Sorry. I didn't

mean to butt in.

Whenever you want.

Too much light.

When I begin the session,

no matter what happens,

please don't break

the circle.

It can be dangerous.

January twenty-second.

Eleven fifteen.

Session participants are, from

- Mr. Sidgwick

and his wife,

Dr. Margaret Matheson

and Traci Northrop.

The session is recorded

by Dr. Thomas Buckley.

Temperature is dropping

slowly, one degree--

Correction, two degrees.

Spring scale pressure

remains constant.

I--I can hardly hear you.

Speak up, please.

I can hardly hear you.

I know.

I know, but you

have to speak louder.

Gently.

Please, we've

come to help you.

It really hurts!

Stop it.

Tell it to stop!

Michael, don't break it.

It hurts.

I can't--

I demand

that you stop!

I'm telling you, I

demand that you stop!

Michael, don't

break the circle.

It hurts!

I can't!

- Don't break the circle!

- I demand that you stop!

Mommy! Mommy!

I'm scared, Mommy!

Let's get out of here.

Let's go away from here.

Okay, darling.

Okay.

So do you

miss Vermont?

- Where do you live?

- In Bakersfield.

Nice?

Uh-huh.

Your sister

like it too?

Who had the idea

about the closet?

Was that you,

or your sister?

Julia.

She show you how to bang it

against the wall like that?

It really

scares my dad.

What about your mom?

Mom wants to leave, too.

Let's make a deal,

just between you and me.

Do we have

to shake hands?

No, we don't have

to shake hands.

Here's the deal.

If you promise not

to do it again

I won't say

anything to your dad.

That's it.

I--I didn't do that

thing with the table.

No, I know that, Susan. I

didn't ask you about a table.

My sister's gonna

be real sad.

Yeah.

She's gonna

be real sad.

My car, you drive.

That's fair.

- Why is that fair?

- It is.

Where are you going?

You still didn't get

to the bottom of this!

Don't worry about it,

Mr. Sidgwick.

If the banging starts

again, just call us.

And get rid

of the hairdresser!

It's been an honor to fly

you here, Mr. Silver.

I hope you had

a pleasant flight.

Please, allow me

to help you--

Would you

mind letting go of me?

Thank you.

If you press down

hard on the top of the table

and draw your hands

toward your body,

the outer

two table lengths

are going to go up like

a schoolgirl's dress.

You can even stick

the edge of your shoe

under one

of the table legs

and, by pressing down

firmly with your hands

and lifting your foot

at the same time,

you can make the whole

table come off the ground.

It just takes

a little bit of muscle

and a whole

lot of practice.

So, with the right

partner in crime,

you can put on quite a show.

The setting is important.

Keep it dark,

always, under

any pretext whatsoever.

The spirits demand it,

you need to concentrate--

I know what you are thinking.

It's not scientific.

But you need darkness to develop

a photograph, don't you?

Miss Owen?

So are you saying that

all paranormal phenomena

are frauds

without any exception?

Actually, no, I'm not.

The majority simply have

a natural explanation

or are the result

of subjective interpretation.

But how do you

establish proper controls?

It's not difficult.

In a case like this one, without

any special preparation,

we would sit the medium

against the wall

and place two cards

behind his elbows.

Then if he moves his

arms to shift the table,

the cards will fall.

If the cards

remain in place,

only the spirit

of a very friendly stagehand

is going to be

moving that table.

That's the principle.

Or if you prefer,

you can mark out

a security perimeter

for the hands

to ensure that

no pressure is applied

outside the center of gravity.

For instance,

for the round table,

it will only move if pressure

is exerted here--or here.

Have you ever

come across a single case

that couldn't

be explained?

Like the existence of

an anomalous ability?

An anomalous ability?

Like what?

Like running a hundred

meters in under ten seconds?

Like composing a masterpiece

when you're stone deaf?

Your brain may be

the exception, Ben,

but most brains carry out

a dazzling array of complex

mental processes every second.

constant synaptic communication

geared to generating and regulating

our sensations and perceptions.

How we reason, how we think,

our emotions,

our mental images,

our attention span,

learning, memory.

Are these not merits enough

for the brain

without it having

"special powers" as well?

So you're

saying the existence of any kind

of paranormal power

is impossible?

What I'm saying,

Miss Owen,

is that after 30 years of

investigating all kinds of phenomena

with the right

controls in place,

I have yet to witness

a single miracle.

- Excellent table lifting.

- Thank you.

I--I just

sat in on your class.

Dr. Shackleton.

Inspirational.

Congratulations.

You know, I admire

your skepticism, Margaret,

but you can't deny reality just

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