1 00:00:08,043 --> 00:00:11,603 VOICEOVER: The iconic blockbuster movie The Exorcist 2 00:00:11,683 --> 00:00:15,003 terrified audiences in the 1970s. 3 00:00:15,083 --> 00:00:18,243 Some say the movie may have helped unleash 4 00:00:18,323 --> 00:00:21,163 a series of events we now call 'satanic panic.' 5 00:00:23,043 --> 00:00:25,963 GUSTAVO BENEJAM: The Exorcist, The Omen. 6 00:00:26,043 --> 00:00:29,603 If you look at movies that were satanic, possessed, 7 00:00:29,683 --> 00:00:31,283 and kind of black magic, 8 00:00:31,363 --> 00:00:33,163 kids, they're influenced by that. 9 00:00:33,243 --> 00:00:35,483 ROB MORPHY: It wasn't just pop culture. 10 00:00:35,563 --> 00:00:39,683 It was the beginning of the satanic panic that would grip America. 11 00:00:39,763 --> 00:00:45,403 Tarot cards, spirit boards and black magic sprang into popularity. 12 00:00:45,483 --> 00:00:49,323 Suddenly, strange things started happening. 13 00:00:49,403 --> 00:00:52,203 It comes to a big, like, explosion of paranormal activity. 14 00:00:53,203 --> 00:00:55,203 Hysteria broke out. 15 00:00:55,283 --> 00:00:58,203 A Miami hospital flooded with thousands of people 16 00:00:58,283 --> 00:01:00,723 claiming to be possessed by demons. 17 00:01:00,803 --> 00:01:05,083 ROB: Law enforcement agencies throughout the nation were dealing with occult activities, 18 00:01:05,163 --> 00:01:08,723 sacrifices, reports of hauntings, possessions, 19 00:01:08,803 --> 00:01:12,523 dealings with demonic entities were on the rise. 20 00:01:12,603 --> 00:01:14,683 The devil was everywhere. 21 00:01:14,763 --> 00:01:18,723 And then, in the fall of 1979, 22 00:01:18,803 --> 00:01:22,323 police were called to break up a riot at a Miami high school 23 00:01:22,403 --> 00:01:25,683 where kids reported being possessed by the devil. 24 00:01:25,763 --> 00:01:27,963 FRANK: Several of them had mentioned Satan. 25 00:01:28,043 --> 00:01:30,763 They told terrifying stories 26 00:01:30,843 --> 00:01:35,923 of students throwing themselves out windows, screaming and writhing on the floor. 27 00:01:36,003 --> 00:01:40,643 A girl levitating, and a boy transforming into pure evil. 28 00:01:40,723 --> 00:01:44,843 Eyes bulging, and head turning around, like The Exorcist. 29 00:01:44,923 --> 00:01:46,963 I know this is a paranormal event... 30 00:01:48,043 --> 00:01:50,123 ..because of the eyewitness testimony. 31 00:01:50,203 --> 00:01:53,723 Could an entire school become possessed by dark forces, 32 00:01:53,803 --> 00:01:56,123 turning children into demons? 33 00:01:56,203 --> 00:01:59,923 There was something that was scaring these kids. They were frightened. 34 00:02:00,003 --> 00:02:02,203 Shocking revelations from former students, 35 00:02:02,283 --> 00:02:04,243 speaking out for the first time, 36 00:02:04,323 --> 00:02:07,603 shed light on the day hell broke loose 37 00:02:07,683 --> 00:02:12,123 and turned a high school into... the Devil's Academy. 38 00:02:12,203 --> 00:02:14,203 This is, beyond a doubt, 39 00:02:14,283 --> 00:02:18,003 the most significant paranormal event in US history. 40 00:02:30,723 --> 00:02:33,163 (SCHOOL BELL RINGING) 41 00:02:35,563 --> 00:02:37,283 (CLASS RECITING PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE) 42 00:02:38,763 --> 00:02:40,963 V/O: A week before Halloween, 43 00:02:41,043 --> 00:02:43,723 at a Miami military academy in Florida, 44 00:02:43,803 --> 00:02:46,003 it appears to be a normal school day. 45 00:02:50,163 --> 00:02:53,403 Students at this institution are called cadets, 46 00:02:53,483 --> 00:02:56,523 and this morning the cadets are in class, 47 00:02:56,603 --> 00:02:58,803 doing what most other high-schoolers are doing. 48 00:02:59,803 --> 00:03:02,163 Studying, daydreaming, 49 00:03:02,243 --> 00:03:05,083 wondering what the weekend holds. 50 00:03:08,323 --> 00:03:11,043 Until suddenly, everything changes. 51 00:03:15,243 --> 00:03:17,643 It goes terribly wrong. 52 00:03:19,163 --> 00:03:21,043 (GIRL SCREAMING) 53 00:03:22,163 --> 00:03:26,163 One student stands up and runs out of the door. 54 00:03:26,243 --> 00:03:28,803 Several classmates jump up and follow her 55 00:03:28,883 --> 00:03:30,843 down the hall to the girls' bathroom 56 00:03:30,923 --> 00:03:33,003 to make sure she's OK. 57 00:03:41,443 --> 00:03:43,203 ROB: Her friends surround her. 58 00:03:43,283 --> 00:03:44,883 They're rooted with terror. 59 00:03:44,963 --> 00:03:47,883 They're watching, trying to figure out what's going on. 60 00:03:47,963 --> 00:03:50,323 She's spitting and mumbling, 61 00:03:50,403 --> 00:03:53,323 and finally they make out these terrible words. 62 00:03:53,403 --> 00:03:56,163 'The devil is inside of me.' 63 00:03:56,243 --> 00:03:59,923 GIRL: The devil is inside of me! 64 00:04:03,123 --> 00:04:06,803 She starts manifesting full-on signs of demonic possession. 65 00:04:20,083 --> 00:04:22,043 Right before her classmates' eyes, 66 00:04:22,123 --> 00:04:25,883 the young woman seems to levitate. 67 00:04:25,963 --> 00:04:29,363 (CLASSMATES SCREAMING) 68 00:04:34,443 --> 00:04:38,043 That's when everyone knows that something very terrible has begun. 69 00:04:39,843 --> 00:04:44,363 All of the other students that were in the girls' bathroom with her were terrified. 70 00:04:44,443 --> 00:04:46,443 They didn't know what was happening. 71 00:04:46,523 --> 00:04:48,843 ROB: Her friends have no idea what to do. 72 00:04:48,923 --> 00:04:50,523 Some are trying to comfort her, 73 00:04:50,603 --> 00:04:53,883 others are beginning to show signs of being possessed themselves. 74 00:04:53,963 --> 00:04:56,523 It's like an infection that's spreading 75 00:04:56,603 --> 00:04:58,643 from one student to the next. 76 00:05:01,643 --> 00:05:05,443 V/O: Back in the classroom, the teacher hears mysterious cries 77 00:05:05,523 --> 00:05:07,443 coming from the girls' room. 78 00:05:07,523 --> 00:05:09,123 (PANICKED SOBBING) 79 00:05:10,483 --> 00:05:12,083 (GUTTURAL GROWLING) 80 00:05:12,163 --> 00:05:16,043 Unnerved, she goes to investigate. 81 00:05:18,163 --> 00:05:19,963 (SCREAMING AND WHIMPERING) 82 00:05:41,163 --> 00:05:44,683 Something seems to have unleashed a malevolent force 83 00:05:44,763 --> 00:05:47,763 that floods the entire school. 84 00:05:47,843 --> 00:05:50,803 It struck. And when it struck, it struck hard. 85 00:05:50,883 --> 00:05:53,083 It hit the students like a tidal wave. 86 00:05:57,003 --> 00:06:00,363 In another classroom, the students have no idea 87 00:06:00,443 --> 00:06:03,443 what horrors have just transpired in the girls' room. 88 00:06:04,923 --> 00:06:08,043 But they say two cadets suddenly erupt 89 00:06:08,123 --> 00:06:10,803 into unprovoked, violent battle. 90 00:06:10,883 --> 00:06:12,483 (CLASSROOM UPROAR) 91 00:06:18,043 --> 00:06:22,443 They're tussling between the desks, sending things scattering and flying. 92 00:06:26,723 --> 00:06:29,403 And then, the unthinkable. 93 00:06:32,643 --> 00:06:35,563 One of the boys crashes through a glass window, 94 00:06:35,643 --> 00:06:39,243 slamming down onto the pavement two stories below. 95 00:06:41,843 --> 00:06:45,443 The students run to the windows, looking on in horror, 96 00:06:45,523 --> 00:06:51,043 expecting to see their classmate's bloodied, lifeless body on the ground. 97 00:06:51,123 --> 00:06:53,803 LYNNE BROOKS: People observed that the kid got right up 98 00:06:53,883 --> 00:06:56,483 and had red eyes, and was growling. 99 00:07:02,283 --> 00:07:04,723 A school official races to help, 100 00:07:04,803 --> 00:07:06,683 but gets a shocking response 101 00:07:06,763 --> 00:07:10,363 from the unbelievably uninjured boy. 102 00:07:10,443 --> 00:07:13,363 Eyewitnesses say he was wild-eyed, animalistic, 103 00:07:13,443 --> 00:07:18,603 he has the strength of... God knows how many people. 104 00:07:18,683 --> 00:07:21,283 He has superhuman strength. 105 00:07:22,723 --> 00:07:25,243 The student body, shocked by what they are seeing, 106 00:07:25,323 --> 00:07:29,203 now explodes into unfettered paranormal chaos. 107 00:07:32,683 --> 00:07:34,283 (SCREAMING) 108 00:07:35,403 --> 00:07:39,003 We have a situation that is absolutely out of control. 109 00:07:39,083 --> 00:07:41,563 People are tearing doors off the hinges, 110 00:07:41,643 --> 00:07:43,683 papers flying everywhere. 111 00:07:43,763 --> 00:07:47,003 Some kids are convulsing on the floor, others are screaming in terror. 112 00:07:47,083 --> 00:07:50,083 Overwhelmingly, the students have undergone 113 00:07:50,163 --> 00:07:53,203 a horrifying physical transformation. 114 00:07:56,363 --> 00:07:59,443 Some of these students describe making eye contact 115 00:07:59,523 --> 00:08:01,883 with something that was very, very evil. 116 00:08:01,963 --> 00:08:06,243 Some of them describe seeing eyes. Bad eyes, evil eyes. 117 00:08:06,323 --> 00:08:10,683 Looking into the face of people, it was not them looking back. 118 00:08:11,763 --> 00:08:14,563 Something looking out of a friend that they knew 119 00:08:14,643 --> 00:08:16,923 that was in their body that wasn't there before. 120 00:08:18,683 --> 00:08:23,283 They are acting with preternatural strength and an absolute, chaotic energy 121 00:08:23,363 --> 00:08:28,603 to destroy the building that was once a calm institution of learning. 122 00:08:32,443 --> 00:08:34,163 (PHONE RINGING) 123 00:08:34,243 --> 00:08:35,963 In an all-out war with their demons, 124 00:08:36,043 --> 00:08:40,083 the school administration urgently sends an SOS to Miami law enforcement. 125 00:08:40,163 --> 00:08:42,643 FRANK ROLLASON: On October 25, 1979, 126 00:08:42,723 --> 00:08:44,883 this was a particularly strange call. 127 00:08:46,123 --> 00:08:49,803 I could listen to the lieutenant talking to the alarm office. 128 00:08:49,883 --> 00:08:52,603 It was just chaos there. Kids are running everywhere. 129 00:08:54,003 --> 00:08:55,603 (APPROACHING SIRENS) 130 00:09:13,963 --> 00:09:17,003 When I arrived, the children were still running around. 131 00:09:17,083 --> 00:09:20,083 They were frightened, and were screaming. It was very chaotic. 132 00:09:20,163 --> 00:09:23,003 They would get together in little groups and yell and scream 133 00:09:23,083 --> 00:09:26,043 and then split up and go in different directions. 134 00:09:26,123 --> 00:09:29,043 It appeared that they were, like, afraid of something. 135 00:09:30,283 --> 00:09:33,203 V/O: Many students, terrified of their own classmates, 136 00:09:33,283 --> 00:09:36,323 seemed to have morphed into monsters. 137 00:09:39,243 --> 00:09:41,923 GUSTAVO: We saw a number of reactions 138 00:09:42,003 --> 00:09:44,363 that were either fighting, destroying property, 139 00:09:44,443 --> 00:09:48,523 going crazy, or some people just having a nervous breakdown. 140 00:09:49,723 --> 00:09:51,803 The school was being destroyed. 141 00:09:54,123 --> 00:09:57,643 It was chaos, and it was utterly terrifying. 142 00:09:59,723 --> 00:10:02,643 Police try everything to calm the students, 143 00:10:02,723 --> 00:10:05,323 asking them, 'Who started the riot?' 144 00:10:06,403 --> 00:10:08,923 Several of them had mentioned the devil. 145 00:10:10,883 --> 00:10:14,443 LYNN: The students were saying that the devil was there, 146 00:10:14,523 --> 00:10:16,163 or they were possessed. 147 00:10:20,163 --> 00:10:22,603 But what they've witnessed at the high school 148 00:10:22,683 --> 00:10:25,923 leaves officials extremely shaken. 149 00:10:26,003 --> 00:10:28,403 FRANK: This type of an incident is very unusual. 150 00:10:28,483 --> 00:10:32,323 And certainly, this situation is the only one I have seen 151 00:10:32,403 --> 00:10:34,683 during my 40 years with the fire department. 152 00:10:37,563 --> 00:10:39,523 The aftermath of the melee 153 00:10:39,603 --> 00:10:42,443 leaves some students injured and hospitalised, 154 00:10:42,523 --> 00:10:45,883 but also raises terrifying questions 155 00:10:45,963 --> 00:10:48,843 about what exactly took possession of these teenagers. 156 00:10:51,483 --> 00:10:54,083 In my opinion, there is no doubt 157 00:10:54,163 --> 00:10:57,443 that what happened at the Miami Aerospace Academy 158 00:10:57,523 --> 00:11:02,443 definitely has the earmarks of something both terrifying and paranormal. 159 00:11:04,643 --> 00:11:07,563 What took place, as far as I can tell, 160 00:11:07,643 --> 00:11:10,603 is the largest spiritual contagion, 161 00:11:10,683 --> 00:11:13,603 of this kind of mass possession, 162 00:11:13,683 --> 00:11:15,723 that has ever occurred in American history. 163 00:11:18,883 --> 00:11:21,723 If what happened at the Miami Aerospace Academy 164 00:11:21,803 --> 00:11:24,963 on that October day really was a mass possession, 165 00:11:25,043 --> 00:11:27,483 it happened for a reason. 166 00:11:27,563 --> 00:11:31,563 What could have provoked a demonic takeover of the school 167 00:11:31,643 --> 00:11:33,603 and its students? 168 00:11:33,683 --> 00:11:35,883 BILL: When October 25 came around, 169 00:11:35,963 --> 00:11:38,043 they already had the demons inside of them. 170 00:11:39,123 --> 00:11:41,963 And that's what caused all hell to break loose. 171 00:11:49,483 --> 00:11:53,803 What could possibly explain a mass possession of high-school students 172 00:11:53,883 --> 00:11:56,723 at the Miami Aerospace Academy 173 00:11:56,803 --> 00:11:59,723 on that shocking day in 1979? 174 00:12:05,403 --> 00:12:07,003 The levitating girl, 175 00:12:07,083 --> 00:12:10,163 claiming to be possessed by Satan... 176 00:12:14,163 --> 00:12:18,363 The boy who crashed through a second-storey window and landed on concrete, 177 00:12:18,443 --> 00:12:21,683 only to walk away without a scratch... 178 00:12:23,723 --> 00:12:27,283 The terrifying displays of superhuman strength... 179 00:12:30,683 --> 00:12:32,283 ..leaves everyone asking why. 180 00:12:33,883 --> 00:12:35,483 Why did it happen? 181 00:12:37,963 --> 00:12:41,883 It happened because children that felt marginalised and oppressed 182 00:12:41,963 --> 00:12:45,043 were not given the kind of supervision required. 183 00:12:45,123 --> 00:12:48,443 They let these demons in and they didn't know what to do, 184 00:12:48,523 --> 00:12:51,523 and the worst-case scenario literally took place. 185 00:12:54,123 --> 00:12:57,403 Scratching the surface of daily life at this school, 186 00:12:57,483 --> 00:12:59,363 it suddenly becomes plausible 187 00:12:59,443 --> 00:13:02,723 how something as inconceivable as a demonic attack 188 00:13:02,803 --> 00:13:07,123 could have occurred during the onset of the satanic panic. 189 00:13:09,083 --> 00:13:12,963 The situation at the school was unique. 190 00:13:13,043 --> 00:13:15,643 These children were already oppressed. 191 00:13:15,723 --> 00:13:17,723 The devil was already at work 192 00:13:17,803 --> 00:13:20,323 before it ever showed up in possession. 193 00:13:20,403 --> 00:13:22,483 It may have been using the staff... 194 00:13:24,163 --> 00:13:26,123 ..and 'El General'... 195 00:13:26,203 --> 00:13:28,363 to help further its cause 196 00:13:28,443 --> 00:13:30,283 so it can take full possession. 197 00:13:31,403 --> 00:13:35,163 'El General' is what the school's founder calls himself. 198 00:13:35,243 --> 00:13:39,363 His real name is Evaristo Marina. 199 00:13:39,443 --> 00:13:43,163 Marina was a bastard, pure and simple. He was likely corrupt. 200 00:13:43,243 --> 00:13:47,243 The kids really believed he was evil. But they didn't know the half of it. 201 00:13:48,523 --> 00:13:52,643 Marina, he came over during, I believe it was, the first exile community, 202 00:13:52,723 --> 00:13:55,203 which was when my parents came over. 203 00:13:55,283 --> 00:13:57,683 And he had to reinvent himself, 204 00:13:57,763 --> 00:14:01,843 just as almost every other Cuban that came here had to do. 205 00:14:01,923 --> 00:14:06,363 The revolution in Cuba had just basically taken effect, 206 00:14:06,443 --> 00:14:08,923 what, maybe 10, 12 years prior. 207 00:14:09,003 --> 00:14:11,283 Everybody basically lost everything there. 208 00:14:11,363 --> 00:14:16,243 You had attorneys, doctors that couldn't work as such here cos they didn't have the licence. 209 00:14:16,323 --> 00:14:19,443 So they had to work in restaurants, hotels, 210 00:14:19,523 --> 00:14:23,283 and find a way to come up back as they were in Cuba. 211 00:14:25,883 --> 00:14:27,483 Marina was no exception. 212 00:14:27,563 --> 00:14:30,363 Marina came from a high-power situation in Cuba. 213 00:14:30,443 --> 00:14:33,123 He came here, he worked as a busboy, 214 00:14:33,203 --> 00:14:39,403 but yet he would join the high-level society when he finished his shift, cos he felt he was part of that. 215 00:14:39,483 --> 00:14:42,483 He needed to be there. That's where he belonged. 216 00:14:42,563 --> 00:14:46,523 Marina had been a military official in pre-revolutionary Cuba 217 00:14:46,603 --> 00:14:48,483 before Castro exiled him. 218 00:14:53,363 --> 00:14:56,003 He had political aspirations in Cuba, 219 00:14:56,083 --> 00:15:01,283 so he had to capture some of that prestige that he had. 220 00:15:02,363 --> 00:15:05,363 SERGIO: What better way to do that than to have a bunch of kids 221 00:15:05,443 --> 00:15:09,043 line up, salute you, and call you 'El General'? 222 00:15:09,123 --> 00:15:11,643 That was, like... That was his schtick. 223 00:15:13,923 --> 00:15:15,883 SERGIO: And he loved being called that. 224 00:15:18,003 --> 00:15:19,643 V/O: Marina reclaims his power 225 00:15:19,723 --> 00:15:22,163 by opening the Miami Aerospace Academy 226 00:15:22,243 --> 00:15:24,203 in the late 1960s. 227 00:15:25,923 --> 00:15:30,163 ARCHIVE: The school's credo, academics through discipline and character-building. 228 00:15:30,243 --> 00:15:32,843 The dyed-in-the-wool Republican general 229 00:15:32,923 --> 00:15:36,523 says he himself is the role model for the 350 students. 230 00:15:36,603 --> 00:15:39,483 Then they see in me the example. 231 00:15:39,563 --> 00:15:42,603 And that's very good, because it's not telling them, 232 00:15:42,683 --> 00:15:44,963 'Do as I say, and not as I do.' 233 00:15:45,043 --> 00:15:48,763 I tell them, 'Do as I say and I also do', 234 00:15:48,843 --> 00:15:51,443 so in me they see their second father. 235 00:15:54,043 --> 00:15:57,723 ROB: What's incredible is that he never reached the rank of general, 236 00:15:57,803 --> 00:15:59,403 either here or in Cuba. 237 00:15:59,483 --> 00:16:02,403 He kept awarding himself these stars. 238 00:16:02,483 --> 00:16:04,643 FRANK: I understand he achieved a certain rank 239 00:16:04,723 --> 00:16:06,603 and then he started adding stars. 240 00:16:06,683 --> 00:16:08,283 That's what conmen do. 241 00:16:11,563 --> 00:16:13,883 It just became this, 'Oh, look at me, look at me, 242 00:16:13,963 --> 00:16:16,683 look at what a wonderful person I've been my entire life', 243 00:16:16,763 --> 00:16:19,803 and, 'How good I can be for the community', and all that. 244 00:16:20,883 --> 00:16:24,443 ARCHIVE: In this man, parents have instilled an almost God-like quality. 245 00:16:24,523 --> 00:16:27,763 ARCHIVE: All of us parents have choose this school... 246 00:16:28,923 --> 00:16:30,843 ..for the discipline that exists in it... 247 00:16:32,363 --> 00:16:34,123 ..the competence of the staff... 248 00:16:34,203 --> 00:16:37,163 and the clean life its general has had. 249 00:16:40,123 --> 00:16:43,203 This is a guy who is trying to make his way through life 250 00:16:43,283 --> 00:16:44,883 by being something that he isn't. 251 00:16:44,963 --> 00:16:47,083 I think this guy had demons himself. 252 00:16:54,963 --> 00:16:56,563 V/O: El General's demons 253 00:16:56,643 --> 00:17:00,243 manifested in the form of power and punishment. 254 00:17:06,163 --> 00:17:09,763 Mr Marina was a man so focused on power and control 255 00:17:09,843 --> 00:17:11,963 that the people he hired to run this school 256 00:17:12,043 --> 00:17:14,283 were often thought of as his henchmen. 257 00:17:21,643 --> 00:17:24,803 SERGIO: One of my teachers, he'd have a briefcase. 258 00:17:24,883 --> 00:17:26,723 He'd have his book in the briefcase 259 00:17:26,803 --> 00:17:30,443 and he'd have a .45 calibre handgun right next to him. 260 00:17:38,403 --> 00:17:40,003 When you have a group of students 261 00:17:40,083 --> 00:17:43,243 who are living in such fear from their teachers, 262 00:17:43,323 --> 00:17:45,523 the people supposedly there to protect them, 263 00:17:45,603 --> 00:17:48,763 these are children who did not feel safe, on a day-to-day basis. 264 00:17:57,683 --> 00:18:00,803 The reason that Marina probably didn't hire accredited teachers 265 00:18:00,883 --> 00:18:03,923 is because he could have more control over them, and control 266 00:18:04,003 --> 00:18:08,523 over the information that would come out of Miami Aerospace Academy. 267 00:18:09,683 --> 00:18:14,123 That way, people wouldn't know what was going on inside the school. 268 00:18:14,203 --> 00:18:16,963 V/O: And what's going on inside the school 269 00:18:17,043 --> 00:18:19,563 is the constant threat of abuse... 270 00:18:20,803 --> 00:18:24,443 ..doled out by strict disciplinarians like Major McKently, 271 00:18:24,523 --> 00:18:29,003 who appears to revel in his crushing power over the students. 272 00:18:35,163 --> 00:18:39,363 FRANK: Major McKently, he would walk around jingling his keys 273 00:18:39,443 --> 00:18:41,883 and snapping his paddle on his leg. 274 00:18:46,523 --> 00:18:49,443 SERGIO: I remember that paddle. FRANK: Yeah, 'Big Ben.' 275 00:18:50,443 --> 00:18:53,963 With a nice strap handle, and drilled holes through it. 276 00:18:56,803 --> 00:19:01,443 McKently had a nice technique whenever he had to dispense some discipline. 277 00:19:01,523 --> 00:19:06,483 And that's when he would swing for the fences and make that cricket paddle whistle. 278 00:19:09,843 --> 00:19:12,523 TANNOY: 'Mr Silva, please have Cadet Smith 279 00:19:12,603 --> 00:19:14,843 report to the general's office.' 280 00:19:17,603 --> 00:19:22,123 SERGIO: Sometimes you would get called to the general's office or the 'commandant's' office, 281 00:19:22,203 --> 00:19:24,443 and it was nerve-wracking. 282 00:19:43,723 --> 00:19:45,323 (THWACK) 283 00:19:45,403 --> 00:19:47,203 (CADET CRIES OUT) 284 00:19:49,283 --> 00:19:50,883 V/O: Life at the academy 285 00:19:50,963 --> 00:19:53,003 is a never-ending cycle of fear. 286 00:19:53,083 --> 00:19:57,443 A perfect breeding ground for negative forces to fester. 287 00:20:01,563 --> 00:20:05,163 It was sometimes a fight for survival. Every day. 288 00:20:05,243 --> 00:20:07,683 There were kids that were really terrible. 289 00:20:07,763 --> 00:20:10,283 They had gotten kicked out of other schools, 290 00:20:10,363 --> 00:20:13,443 their parents were at the end of the rope with them. 291 00:20:14,523 --> 00:20:17,363 And then there were the kids like myself 292 00:20:17,443 --> 00:20:21,163 who we thought we might want to make the military, 293 00:20:21,243 --> 00:20:23,163 in some form, a career. 294 00:20:23,243 --> 00:20:26,603 I attended eight years at Miami Aerospace Academy. 295 00:20:26,683 --> 00:20:30,403 The kids that worked in the MAA, we all came from middle-class working families. 296 00:20:30,483 --> 00:20:33,163 I myself, you know, I needed some structure. 297 00:20:34,163 --> 00:20:36,763 I could have perhaps behaved better. 298 00:20:36,843 --> 00:20:39,203 I was just a bad influence. 299 00:20:40,243 --> 00:20:43,123 So, you had just regular kids 300 00:20:43,203 --> 00:20:46,843 that didn't know that they were being thrown in with the wolves. 301 00:20:47,923 --> 00:20:50,643 V/O: Having a few bad apples in the student body 302 00:20:50,723 --> 00:20:55,483 gives El General an excuse to impose his own brand of martial law, 303 00:20:55,563 --> 00:20:58,363 where students are forced to be silent, obedient, 304 00:20:58,443 --> 00:21:01,123 and subservient at all times. 305 00:21:01,203 --> 00:21:03,683 (OFFICER YELLS PARADE GROUND COMMANDS) 306 00:21:03,763 --> 00:21:05,763 They made them wear military uniforms, 307 00:21:05,843 --> 00:21:07,443 they had them marching. 308 00:21:07,523 --> 00:21:10,123 It was a pretty strict environment. 309 00:21:10,203 --> 00:21:14,043 ROB: These are classic techniques of mind control and brainwashing. 310 00:21:14,123 --> 00:21:17,363 In order to control the mind you break down the body, 311 00:21:17,443 --> 00:21:21,963 physically, through exercise, through discipline, through marching. 312 00:21:22,043 --> 00:21:25,123 Breaking them down emotionally and physically, 313 00:21:25,203 --> 00:21:27,363 it's exactly what they did at the academy. 314 00:21:31,043 --> 00:21:33,643 V/O: Dissent in any form is not tolerated, 315 00:21:33,723 --> 00:21:36,963 and leads to harsh corporal punishment. 316 00:21:39,083 --> 00:21:42,763 If they were having a bad day, or you in some way slighted them, 317 00:21:42,843 --> 00:21:45,443 then, yeah, they were gonna build demerits against you, 318 00:21:45,523 --> 00:21:49,243 to where if you had so many, then that was, 'All right, 319 00:21:49,323 --> 00:21:52,123 you're getting too out of control, we're gonna paddle you.' 320 00:21:55,763 --> 00:21:57,603 So there was that constant threat. 321 00:22:00,043 --> 00:22:01,963 They would swiftly hand out 322 00:22:02,043 --> 00:22:05,643 maybe two, three paddles with the cricket paddle. 323 00:22:07,443 --> 00:22:09,523 REV. LARSON: It was abusive control. 324 00:22:09,603 --> 00:22:11,603 How do you fight against that? 325 00:22:11,683 --> 00:22:15,843 Are you just gonna find a gun and shoot the guy? Probably not. 326 00:22:15,923 --> 00:22:18,363 But is there another way to get back at him? 327 00:22:27,363 --> 00:22:29,923 If he's evil, well... 328 00:22:30,003 --> 00:22:34,363 find a more powerful evil to get back at the evil. 329 00:22:40,843 --> 00:22:44,043 On October 25th, 1979, 330 00:22:44,123 --> 00:22:48,003 a more powerful evil shows up on campus 331 00:22:48,083 --> 00:22:49,963 to settle the score. 332 00:22:54,043 --> 00:22:55,643 (GIRLS SCREAMING) 333 00:22:57,043 --> 00:23:00,803 The terrifying events at the Miami Aerospace Academy 334 00:23:00,883 --> 00:23:03,203 took place in 1979. 335 00:23:03,283 --> 00:23:06,603 A 'satanic panic' was on the rise. 336 00:23:12,763 --> 00:23:15,723 When you look at the '70s cinema alone, 337 00:23:15,803 --> 00:23:17,403 from The Exorcist to Carrie, 338 00:23:17,483 --> 00:23:22,283 they had a huge effect on the psyche of those coming of age during that period. 339 00:23:23,883 --> 00:23:26,123 But it wasn't just pop culture. 340 00:23:26,203 --> 00:23:29,563 It was the beginning of the satanic panic that would grip America. 341 00:23:29,643 --> 00:23:32,363 Law enforcement agencies throughout the nation 342 00:23:32,443 --> 00:23:35,043 were dealing with reports of hauntings, possessions. 343 00:23:35,123 --> 00:23:36,723 The devil was everywhere. 344 00:23:36,803 --> 00:23:38,643 ARCHIVE: During the past several years, 345 00:23:38,723 --> 00:23:41,403 the occult has become big business. 346 00:23:41,483 --> 00:23:43,923 Suddenly, the advice and comments 347 00:23:44,003 --> 00:23:47,683 of the astrologer and tarot card reader are highly sought after. 348 00:23:48,763 --> 00:23:51,403 For the disempowered teenagers at the academy, 349 00:23:51,483 --> 00:23:54,243 the dark arts become appealing. 350 00:23:54,323 --> 00:23:59,483 Magic could be seen as the answer to so many problems. 351 00:24:01,123 --> 00:24:04,123 Very often it involves revenge, it involves spells, 352 00:24:04,203 --> 00:24:06,083 it involves getting even with people. 353 00:24:06,163 --> 00:24:10,883 One of the popular forms of magic involves Santeria, 354 00:24:10,963 --> 00:24:12,883 rooted in African religious practices. 355 00:24:12,963 --> 00:24:16,043 It spread to Cuba via the slave trade, 356 00:24:16,123 --> 00:24:18,683 and eventually arrived in Miami. 357 00:24:20,243 --> 00:24:26,283 Santeria comprises a religion that worships different deities called Orishas 358 00:24:26,363 --> 00:24:29,523 and a supreme god called Olodumare. 359 00:24:29,603 --> 00:24:32,283 Through its rituals, its initiations, its ceremonies, 360 00:24:32,363 --> 00:24:35,723 it's about the healing of the body, of the mind, 361 00:24:35,803 --> 00:24:38,883 and of bringing together people culturally as well. 362 00:24:40,163 --> 00:24:41,803 Santeria has many rituals. 363 00:24:41,883 --> 00:24:46,043 One involves animal sacrifice. 364 00:24:46,123 --> 00:24:48,323 FRANK ROLLASON: Santeria was pretty common. 365 00:24:48,403 --> 00:24:52,203 You'd get called out for decapitated animals. 366 00:24:52,283 --> 00:24:56,163 People would call, and they'd send a rescue because there was blood, 367 00:24:56,243 --> 00:24:59,323 and they didn't know if there was a person involved, or whatever. 368 00:24:59,403 --> 00:25:03,243 And you'd get there, and it'd been a santeria ritual that had taken place. 369 00:25:05,923 --> 00:25:10,403 At the academy, subjugated students begin experimenting, 370 00:25:10,483 --> 00:25:14,803 apparently with a dark form of Santeria mixed with the occult 371 00:25:14,883 --> 00:25:18,203 in a desperate bid to escape their daily misery. 372 00:25:18,283 --> 00:25:20,603 You can't blame these kids getting into this 373 00:25:20,683 --> 00:25:23,283 when they're facing a reality that's so overpowering 374 00:25:23,363 --> 00:25:25,603 that there's no hope it's gonna change. 375 00:25:25,683 --> 00:25:27,843 Their parents are turning their backs on them. 376 00:25:30,923 --> 00:25:33,403 They just say, 'I have to look for a way out. 377 00:25:33,483 --> 00:25:35,083 It's a matter of survival.' 378 00:25:36,483 --> 00:25:39,323 FRANK LOPEZ DEL RINCON: Some dark sciences have that allure. 379 00:25:39,403 --> 00:25:41,203 It has that attraction to some people. 380 00:25:41,283 --> 00:25:43,563 But it's something that's very dangerous, 381 00:25:43,643 --> 00:25:48,363 something that could be very, very, erm...hazardous, let's say, 382 00:25:48,443 --> 00:25:51,643 to themselves and to others. 383 00:25:56,043 --> 00:25:57,683 In place of homework, 384 00:25:57,763 --> 00:26:00,003 sessions with tarot cards and spirit boards 385 00:26:00,083 --> 00:26:03,203 become daily practice at school. 386 00:26:04,283 --> 00:26:07,523 Tarot cards can be a harmless game. Someone asks a question, 387 00:26:07,603 --> 00:26:10,403 someone lays down the cards to give them an answer. 388 00:26:10,483 --> 00:26:13,563 MICHAEL: Tarot cards are an occult device 389 00:26:13,643 --> 00:26:16,483 used to tell the person 390 00:26:16,563 --> 00:26:18,843 a little bit about themselves, 391 00:26:18,923 --> 00:26:21,603 what they're going through, and their future. 392 00:26:21,683 --> 00:26:25,883 ROB: As the cards are placed, they begin to tell a story of what's to come. 393 00:26:25,963 --> 00:26:27,963 Some outcomes are positive. 394 00:26:28,043 --> 00:26:30,483 Some can be very negative. 395 00:26:30,563 --> 00:26:32,763 They can predict anguish, 396 00:26:32,843 --> 00:26:35,323 death, or the toxic unknown. 397 00:26:38,163 --> 00:26:41,003 But the reason tarot cards can predict the future 398 00:26:41,083 --> 00:26:44,763 is the same reason they are said to be potentially dangerous. 399 00:26:44,843 --> 00:26:48,323 I do not recommend the use of tarot cards. 400 00:26:48,403 --> 00:26:51,483 It is considered spirit communication. 401 00:26:51,563 --> 00:26:53,323 The person using the cards 402 00:26:53,403 --> 00:26:57,203 is asking the spirit to manipulate the cards 403 00:26:57,283 --> 00:27:00,523 to try and predict something that may happen in the future. 404 00:27:01,723 --> 00:27:05,883 Demons are always waiting for an invitation to communicate, 405 00:27:05,963 --> 00:27:09,043 some way to influence your decisions, 406 00:27:09,123 --> 00:27:10,963 some way to affect you. 407 00:27:11,043 --> 00:27:14,203 And when you make that invitation, 408 00:27:14,283 --> 00:27:17,483 like, 'What is in store for me?', 409 00:27:17,563 --> 00:27:21,443 they're willing and ready to jump right in there. 410 00:27:23,283 --> 00:27:25,883 And once you make that invitation, 411 00:27:25,963 --> 00:27:27,563 it's hard to pull it back. 412 00:27:30,523 --> 00:27:33,003 With any kind of dark energy, demons, spirits, 413 00:27:33,083 --> 00:27:34,923 you don't have control over it. 414 00:27:35,003 --> 00:27:36,963 You may feel like you have control over it 415 00:27:37,043 --> 00:27:38,963 and you think you know what you're doing, 416 00:27:39,043 --> 00:27:42,003 but you're really being controlled by them. 417 00:27:48,443 --> 00:27:52,643 Of all the dark secrets at the academy, one that's shocking 418 00:27:52,723 --> 00:27:57,363 is that the teachers and staff were also in on the occult practices. 419 00:28:03,323 --> 00:28:05,803 ROB: The staff were the ones that showed the kids 420 00:28:05,883 --> 00:28:08,443 how to use the spirit board and play with tarot cards. 421 00:28:08,523 --> 00:28:11,123 But after the 25th, they all denied it. 422 00:28:11,203 --> 00:28:12,843 After all, who would want to admit 423 00:28:12,923 --> 00:28:16,523 that they showed their children how to talk to the dead during class time? 424 00:28:22,883 --> 00:28:25,923 BILL: These boards are basically just a communication device. 425 00:28:26,003 --> 00:28:30,323 People use them to try to talk to the spirit and get an answer from them. 426 00:28:30,403 --> 00:28:35,163 MICHAEL: And the spirit can guide that planchette 427 00:28:35,243 --> 00:28:40,123 using the person's energy that is holding the planchette. 428 00:28:40,203 --> 00:28:43,643 Sometimes you will get zero responses. 429 00:28:43,723 --> 00:28:46,163 And sometimes the responses can be immediate. 430 00:28:52,563 --> 00:28:55,683 BILL: When you're using a spirit board and you connect to somebody 431 00:28:55,763 --> 00:28:57,843 and you start talking to them, 432 00:28:57,923 --> 00:28:59,723 that allows the invitation in. 433 00:29:02,483 --> 00:29:04,363 They knew they were playing with fire, 434 00:29:04,443 --> 00:29:08,003 but yet they proceeded without any oversight, 435 00:29:08,083 --> 00:29:10,923 without any permission, without any authorisation. 436 00:29:11,003 --> 00:29:14,123 Everyone knows what you're trying to conjure up. 437 00:29:22,163 --> 00:29:27,643 There's rules in the spirit world. They need an invitation to affect your life, 438 00:29:27,723 --> 00:29:30,483 to try and possess you. 439 00:29:30,563 --> 00:29:32,963 It may not act right then. 440 00:29:33,043 --> 00:29:35,083 It'll wait for you to be at your weakest. 441 00:29:41,203 --> 00:29:44,243 The teachers at the academy assure their students 442 00:29:44,323 --> 00:29:46,603 these are just harmless games, 443 00:29:46,683 --> 00:29:51,643 never once suggesting this might be a dangerous pastime. 444 00:29:54,403 --> 00:29:59,043 It's one thing for the teachers to bring up the subject of demonic, of the paranormal. 445 00:29:59,123 --> 00:30:03,003 It's quite another not to give it some warnings. Apparently that didn't happen. 446 00:30:03,083 --> 00:30:05,003 At the academy, 447 00:30:05,083 --> 00:30:07,843 practising the occult may not be part of the curriculum, 448 00:30:07,923 --> 00:30:12,923 but for some it quickly becomes the most popular subject on campus. 449 00:30:13,003 --> 00:30:17,283 Once out of class, every opportunity that comes their way, every chance they get, 450 00:30:17,363 --> 00:30:20,283 these kids are trying to hone their skills. 451 00:30:20,363 --> 00:30:22,723 They are practising these occult rituals. 452 00:30:23,883 --> 00:30:26,203 But these aren't typical students. 453 00:30:26,283 --> 00:30:29,643 These cadets have been relentlessly subjected to 454 00:30:29,723 --> 00:30:33,243 harsh discipline and corporal punishment on a daily basis 455 00:30:33,323 --> 00:30:35,363 with no relief in sight. 456 00:30:39,363 --> 00:30:43,883 Their pent-up collective anger is explosive. 457 00:30:48,963 --> 00:30:53,403 These students were a victim of mind control. 458 00:30:53,483 --> 00:30:55,883 And in the midst of that mind control, 459 00:30:55,963 --> 00:31:01,163 the occult and forms of the evil supernatural were introduced to them. 460 00:31:06,363 --> 00:31:11,123 BILL: These kids were already being oppressed by the academy. 461 00:31:15,403 --> 00:31:18,203 That allows them to be very open 462 00:31:18,283 --> 00:31:21,563 and susceptible to a demonic presence and attack. 463 00:31:24,763 --> 00:31:28,323 Could the students collectively summon evil entities 464 00:31:28,403 --> 00:31:31,443 and weaponise them against their oppressors? 465 00:31:36,763 --> 00:31:39,843 I think that is what led to this terrible tragedy. 466 00:31:47,443 --> 00:31:51,123 It's impossible to separate the horrific events at the academy... 467 00:31:55,963 --> 00:31:59,083 ..from the city where they took place. 468 00:31:59,163 --> 00:32:03,563 For tourists, Miami might be a tropical paradise, 469 00:32:03,643 --> 00:32:08,163 but all that sunshine masks a dark and brutal past. 470 00:32:15,843 --> 00:32:17,963 There's a lot of bad juju around Miami. 471 00:32:20,563 --> 00:32:25,043 You can go back 400 years to when the conquistadors slaughtered the natives. 472 00:32:28,923 --> 00:32:33,363 A lot of these malignant forces and evil spirits linger to this day. 473 00:32:34,643 --> 00:32:36,523 In 1974, 474 00:32:36,603 --> 00:32:39,603 a Florida newspaper reported that a Miami hospital 475 00:32:39,683 --> 00:32:44,883 treated an astonishing 700 demonic possessions a month. 476 00:32:44,963 --> 00:32:49,483 It seems the bloody history has seeped deep into the soil. 477 00:32:49,563 --> 00:32:53,123 ROB: There's also a legend that the devil lives beneath Miami 478 00:32:53,203 --> 00:32:54,803 near an underground river. 479 00:32:54,883 --> 00:32:59,123 And others say that there's a demonic force known as La Llorona 480 00:32:59,203 --> 00:33:01,723 who feeds on the fear of children. 481 00:33:05,683 --> 00:33:09,203 Unchecked over decades and centuries, 482 00:33:09,283 --> 00:33:11,923 that can create a lot of bad energy. 483 00:33:13,163 --> 00:33:15,483 The accumulation of bad energy 484 00:33:15,563 --> 00:33:17,603 swirls around the academy campus 485 00:33:17,683 --> 00:33:21,163 and invites negativity into its doors, 486 00:33:21,243 --> 00:33:24,443 even welcoming a murderer into its student body. 487 00:33:24,523 --> 00:33:29,283 And no-one knew, except Marina. 488 00:33:29,363 --> 00:33:33,243 If I did wrong, I accept responsibility. 489 00:33:33,323 --> 00:33:35,203 The boy never create a problem 490 00:33:35,283 --> 00:33:37,203 and the boy was doing well, 491 00:33:37,283 --> 00:33:39,963 so I was talking to the boy often 492 00:33:40,043 --> 00:33:43,363 and I said, 'If you make one single mistake, you go back over there.' 493 00:33:43,443 --> 00:33:46,763 Scandals rock the academy, 494 00:33:46,843 --> 00:33:48,803 but Marina deflects any problems 495 00:33:48,883 --> 00:33:53,443 at the school he rules with an iron fist. 496 00:33:53,523 --> 00:33:55,883 ARCHIVE: Marina maintains he is being blackmailed, 497 00:33:55,963 --> 00:33:59,483 that he is a victim of what he calls 'a campaign of defamation.' 498 00:33:59,563 --> 00:34:02,723 You are asking me questions in which I am not prepared. 499 00:34:03,803 --> 00:34:07,883 ARCHIVE: Marina maintains, as president and founder of this military academy, 500 00:34:07,963 --> 00:34:11,283 sometimes he has to keep secrets to protect youngsters here. 501 00:34:11,363 --> 00:34:15,483 How many other scandalous secrets is Mr Marina still guarding? 502 00:34:15,563 --> 00:34:18,403 There's more than one deep, dark secret 503 00:34:18,483 --> 00:34:20,083 Marina might be guarding. 504 00:34:22,323 --> 00:34:23,923 And there were rumours 505 00:34:24,003 --> 00:34:27,283 that Marina was practising the dark side of Santeria. 506 00:34:31,283 --> 00:34:34,403 I do remember him mentioning something about Santeria. 507 00:34:34,483 --> 00:34:37,643 ARCHIVE: Earlier this month, a number of goats, chickens and pigeons 508 00:34:37,723 --> 00:34:40,123 were found sacrificed in south-west Dade County. 509 00:34:41,883 --> 00:34:45,883 The kids found different signs of Santeria throughout the campus. 510 00:34:45,963 --> 00:34:49,203 The signs include burnt pennies, 511 00:34:49,283 --> 00:34:52,483 which can mean someone is casting a spell. 512 00:34:54,683 --> 00:34:57,203 Santeria is a form of religion 513 00:34:57,283 --> 00:34:59,163 if you take it in the pure form. 514 00:35:00,683 --> 00:35:04,163 They talk about good Santeria and bad Santeria. 515 00:35:04,243 --> 00:35:06,003 White and black Santeria. 516 00:35:06,083 --> 00:35:08,123 There are people that have twisted it 517 00:35:08,203 --> 00:35:10,363 to support other means and endeavours 518 00:35:10,443 --> 00:35:13,803 which don't work within the framework of the religion. 519 00:35:16,443 --> 00:35:19,363 And there's other evidence to suspect Marina 520 00:35:19,443 --> 00:35:23,243 of practising the dark magic at school. 521 00:35:30,763 --> 00:35:32,723 If you see dead chickens or chicken bones, 522 00:35:32,803 --> 00:35:36,643 that means there has been a blood sacrifice. 523 00:35:36,723 --> 00:35:39,163 That raises to another level of seriousness. 524 00:35:39,243 --> 00:35:41,763 It means something was actually sacrificed 525 00:35:41,843 --> 00:35:44,683 and the blood was used in a ritual. 526 00:35:56,043 --> 00:35:57,643 This is not white magic. 527 00:36:00,003 --> 00:36:03,603 This is bad magic. Casting spells. 528 00:36:03,683 --> 00:36:05,283 This is all about curses. 529 00:36:05,363 --> 00:36:07,643 It's all about summoning the powers of darkness. 530 00:36:10,483 --> 00:36:13,083 If the students at the academy 531 00:36:13,163 --> 00:36:16,803 think their general is practising black magic, 532 00:36:16,883 --> 00:36:19,483 how far would they go to protect themselves? 533 00:36:21,763 --> 00:36:25,243 Here's Marina, an all-powerful figure. 'El General', the general. 534 00:36:25,323 --> 00:36:26,923 He's running the show, 535 00:36:27,003 --> 00:36:31,563 so it wouldn't be far-fetched for these kids to believe that 536 00:36:31,643 --> 00:36:34,203 Marina was involved in some kind of Santeria 537 00:36:34,283 --> 00:36:36,843 that had these special powers. 538 00:36:36,923 --> 00:36:40,043 I was of the opinion that Marina would be capable of anything. 539 00:36:56,243 --> 00:36:58,163 Now some of the students were starting to 540 00:36:58,243 --> 00:37:00,283 experiment with the dark arts on their own. 541 00:37:00,363 --> 00:37:02,003 Some were just curious. 542 00:37:02,083 --> 00:37:05,003 Others were looking for an escape from their harsh reality. 543 00:37:10,043 --> 00:37:11,843 These are teenagers. 544 00:37:11,923 --> 00:37:14,603 And cognitive abilities, 545 00:37:14,683 --> 00:37:18,363 to think about the consequences of actions, isn't there yet. 546 00:37:19,843 --> 00:37:23,603 That's just the kids, without any supervision, any guardrails, 547 00:37:23,683 --> 00:37:25,563 were playing with a fire 548 00:37:25,643 --> 00:37:27,803 that is about to spread out of control. 549 00:37:33,043 --> 00:37:37,323 If students at the academy learn about the occult from their teachers, 550 00:37:37,403 --> 00:37:40,203 and power of Santeria from Marina, 551 00:37:40,283 --> 00:37:42,523 then the real lesson may be 552 00:37:42,603 --> 00:37:46,883 how to invite a massive demonic attack. 553 00:37:48,283 --> 00:37:50,923 Satan is very clever. In the beginning, 554 00:37:51,003 --> 00:37:53,483 when he offers people certain powers, 555 00:37:53,563 --> 00:37:55,243 he doesn't tell you what 556 00:37:55,323 --> 00:37:58,803 the consequences of those powers will do to you and to other people. 557 00:38:02,683 --> 00:38:06,203 Suddenly, all the things these kids have been doing, 558 00:38:06,283 --> 00:38:10,003 the seances, the tarot cards, the spirit boards, all of this... 559 00:38:11,163 --> 00:38:13,923 ..is converging like the perfect storm. 560 00:38:22,723 --> 00:38:27,203 V/O: What's been called the biggest mass demonic possession in history 561 00:38:27,283 --> 00:38:31,603 happens when many factors converge at the same time. 562 00:38:31,683 --> 00:38:34,843 And one major factor is the time of year. 563 00:38:37,163 --> 00:38:40,523 Halloween week is when paranormal activity is at its peak. 564 00:38:43,443 --> 00:38:45,763 This goes back to the belief of the Celts 565 00:38:45,843 --> 00:38:49,523 that thought that the veil between our world and the netherworld 566 00:38:49,603 --> 00:38:53,323 was at its thinnest during this time of year, 567 00:38:53,403 --> 00:38:57,363 and when the souls of the departed can return to the living. 568 00:38:58,763 --> 00:39:00,883 So the cadets, like the Celts, 569 00:39:00,963 --> 00:39:03,483 were pretty busy summoning spirits. 570 00:39:03,563 --> 00:39:06,763 But unfortunately for them, it was the wrong ones. 571 00:39:09,803 --> 00:39:13,523 It's the night of October 24th, 1979, 572 00:39:13,603 --> 00:39:18,563 only hours before evil lays siege to the academy campus. 573 00:39:18,643 --> 00:39:20,363 As the story goes, 574 00:39:20,443 --> 00:39:23,483 some of the students gather for a party. 575 00:39:23,563 --> 00:39:27,563 Strongly bonded by their shared trauma at the military school, 576 00:39:27,643 --> 00:39:31,163 the kids find refuge in each other's company. 577 00:39:31,243 --> 00:39:35,763 When you're that age, your friends, your peers, are your whole universe. 578 00:39:35,843 --> 00:39:38,843 So when you have a community that is that tightly knit, 579 00:39:38,923 --> 00:39:43,963 there is this belief that, 'It's us against them, and I'm part of this world.' 580 00:39:44,043 --> 00:39:46,963 But what looks like a typical teenage house party 581 00:39:47,043 --> 00:39:50,363 turns out to be an unexpected game-changer. 582 00:39:54,963 --> 00:39:57,483 ROB: On that night, for the first time, 583 00:39:57,563 --> 00:40:01,803 the students of the Miami Aerospace Academy gather in a larger group. 584 00:40:01,883 --> 00:40:04,723 And those that were practising the occult in smaller groups 585 00:40:04,803 --> 00:40:09,523 finally came together in what was a supercharged mass event. 586 00:40:09,603 --> 00:40:13,643 The dark-magic games the kids have been playing in school 587 00:40:13,723 --> 00:40:18,083 are now being played in the same place at the same time. 588 00:40:18,163 --> 00:40:20,843 Because you have a concentrated group of people 589 00:40:20,923 --> 00:40:23,723 that you have different areas, somebody doing hypnosis, 590 00:40:23,803 --> 00:40:25,643 somebody using a spirit board, 591 00:40:25,723 --> 00:40:29,763 it's definitely creating an increased paranormal activity in the area. 592 00:40:33,403 --> 00:40:36,003 For kids that have been abused and forgotten 593 00:40:36,083 --> 00:40:38,283 and stripped of their identities, 594 00:40:38,363 --> 00:40:40,523 reclaiming their power through the occult 595 00:40:40,603 --> 00:40:43,883 is nothing short of exhilarating. 596 00:40:43,963 --> 00:40:46,243 When we talk about involvement in the occult, 597 00:40:46,323 --> 00:40:49,643 the risk is that when kids go beyond exploration 598 00:40:49,723 --> 00:40:51,323 and this becomes life, 599 00:40:51,403 --> 00:40:55,283 this becomes their religion, this becomes their power, 600 00:40:55,363 --> 00:40:57,603 and they're drawn too far into it. 601 00:40:57,683 --> 00:41:02,483 You're gonna reach out for supernatural power, and I think that's what these kids did. 602 00:41:02,563 --> 00:41:04,163 That feeling of empowerment 603 00:41:04,243 --> 00:41:07,763 might come at a cost these students could never foresee. 604 00:41:07,843 --> 00:41:10,003 When you reach out and do that, 605 00:41:10,083 --> 00:41:14,163 you say to the demons, 'Here I am. You give me power.' 606 00:41:15,403 --> 00:41:19,403 They don't know it, but that night the academy students may be creating 607 00:41:19,483 --> 00:41:22,083 a gateway to hell. 608 00:41:22,163 --> 00:41:25,603 Everything going on in one concentrated place 609 00:41:25,683 --> 00:41:28,723 definitely allows a portal to open up. 610 00:41:31,523 --> 00:41:35,523 A portal is considered an open door to the spirit world. 611 00:41:35,603 --> 00:41:39,963 Another dimension where demons are said to dwell. 612 00:41:40,043 --> 00:41:43,723 There are disagreements about how and when a portal can open. 613 00:41:43,803 --> 00:41:45,683 But most would agree that 614 00:41:45,763 --> 00:41:49,363 a concentrated amount of occult activity 615 00:41:49,443 --> 00:41:51,763 would be enough to rend it asunder. 616 00:41:54,443 --> 00:41:57,563 Some people believe that a portal can open in the blink of an eye, 617 00:41:57,643 --> 00:42:01,683 while others are convinced that a mirror, something found in every home, 618 00:42:01,763 --> 00:42:07,643 can serve as a portal to allow in creatures not of our world. 619 00:42:07,723 --> 00:42:11,083 In fact, a mirror is the focal point 620 00:42:11,163 --> 00:42:14,163 of one of the occult games the students play. 621 00:42:14,243 --> 00:42:16,643 Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary. 622 00:42:16,723 --> 00:42:19,003 It's been around for a long time. 623 00:42:19,083 --> 00:42:21,283 So the idea is you stare into a mirror. 624 00:42:21,363 --> 00:42:23,563 You look right at your own eyes, 625 00:42:23,643 --> 00:42:28,163 and you chant 'Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary.' 626 00:42:28,243 --> 00:42:29,843 It's a dare, it's a thrill, 627 00:42:29,923 --> 00:42:32,643 but it actually is an invitation to dark forces. 628 00:42:32,723 --> 00:42:36,203 They say 'Bloody Mary' three times 629 00:42:36,283 --> 00:42:38,603 and that serves an an invocation 630 00:42:38,683 --> 00:42:41,523 for a diabolical spirit known as 'Bloody Mary' 631 00:42:41,603 --> 00:42:43,203 to manifest herself. 632 00:42:45,243 --> 00:42:48,483 That night, three girls from the academy 633 00:42:48,563 --> 00:42:53,123 lock themselves in a bathroom to try to summon Bloody Mary. 634 00:42:53,203 --> 00:42:55,323 Now if they don't know what they're doing 635 00:42:55,403 --> 00:42:59,963 they can easily open something up like that because it is inviting something in. 636 00:43:00,043 --> 00:43:03,803 And the spirit comes in and says, 'Yes, this is who I am.' 637 00:43:03,883 --> 00:43:05,483 Bloody Mary. 638 00:43:08,123 --> 00:43:09,723 Bloody Mary. 639 00:43:09,803 --> 00:43:12,683 V/O: No-one really expects anything to happen... 640 00:43:12,763 --> 00:43:14,523 Bloody Mary. 641 00:43:14,603 --> 00:43:17,323 Over and over. And then you watch to see what happens. 642 00:43:17,403 --> 00:43:20,283 ..until it does. 643 00:43:20,363 --> 00:43:21,963 Bloody Mary. 644 00:43:22,963 --> 00:43:25,283 Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. 645 00:43:26,803 --> 00:43:28,403 Bloody Mary. 646 00:43:30,323 --> 00:43:31,923 Bloody Mary. 647 00:43:38,483 --> 00:43:43,723 The girls are so freaked out they immediately stop the Bloody Mary game. 648 00:43:43,803 --> 00:43:45,883 But it's too late. 649 00:43:47,483 --> 00:43:49,803 ROB: First they're communicating with the dead, 650 00:43:49,883 --> 00:43:51,883 now they're opening portals to the unknown. 651 00:43:51,963 --> 00:43:54,443 This is when things take a turn towards the worse, 652 00:43:54,523 --> 00:43:58,363 because what they don't know is that they aren't just unlocking these doors. 653 00:43:58,443 --> 00:44:00,043 They're pushing them wide open. 654 00:44:04,843 --> 00:44:06,723 BILL: The kids start acting out 655 00:44:06,803 --> 00:44:10,723 because the demons can take over their body 656 00:44:10,803 --> 00:44:13,203 and make them do crazy things. 657 00:44:13,283 --> 00:44:18,123 By all accounts, the mood at the party instantly turns dark. 658 00:44:18,203 --> 00:44:20,723 Personalities suddenly change, 659 00:44:20,803 --> 00:44:22,963 becoming menacing and aggressive. 660 00:44:27,043 --> 00:44:30,283 Two boys, always close friends, 661 00:44:30,363 --> 00:44:33,363 are now at each other's throats 662 00:44:33,443 --> 00:44:35,523 without any provocation. 663 00:44:40,123 --> 00:44:42,963 ROB: Why would this be? 664 00:44:43,043 --> 00:44:46,443 Because demonic entities may have influenced them 665 00:44:46,523 --> 00:44:50,803 to act in violent ways that would have ordinarily been against their nature. 666 00:45:00,083 --> 00:45:02,843 The problem with any kind of dark energy, demons, spirits, 667 00:45:02,923 --> 00:45:05,283 is you don't have control over it. 668 00:45:05,363 --> 00:45:08,643 You may feel you have control over it and know what you're doing, 669 00:45:08,723 --> 00:45:11,483 but you're really being controlled by them. 670 00:45:11,563 --> 00:45:13,363 ROB: By playing these games, 671 00:45:13,443 --> 00:45:17,683 they didn't realise that the infestation had already begun 672 00:45:17,763 --> 00:45:20,283 and that demonic forces were at play, 673 00:45:20,363 --> 00:45:24,883 influencing how they behave, how they perceive the world. 674 00:45:24,963 --> 00:45:30,043 The Halloween party goes from fun to frightening in a heartbeat. 675 00:45:30,123 --> 00:45:34,963 The students, desperate to escape the bad energy at school, 676 00:45:35,043 --> 00:45:39,443 have just stirred the paranormal pot. 677 00:45:40,843 --> 00:45:43,763 It's a very dangerous thing, because what happens is 678 00:45:43,843 --> 00:45:48,283 Satan can concentrate his focus on this one single group 679 00:45:48,363 --> 00:45:52,443 and look for something that sparks the fire 680 00:45:52,523 --> 00:45:55,083 of the contagion of mass possession. 681 00:45:57,083 --> 00:46:00,363 It's now gonna take over. You're not calling the shots any more. 682 00:46:09,363 --> 00:46:12,203 By the morning of October 25th, 683 00:46:12,283 --> 00:46:14,243 all the ingredients are in place 684 00:46:14,323 --> 00:46:18,203 for a massive demonic attack on the academy. 685 00:46:18,283 --> 00:46:21,123 Demoralised kids with damaged psyches... 686 00:46:22,803 --> 00:46:25,523 ..a collective obsession with the occult... 687 00:46:27,043 --> 00:46:30,603 ..and constant contact with the spirit realm 688 00:46:30,683 --> 00:46:35,683 where evil entities lie ready to pounce on unwitting victims. 689 00:46:37,283 --> 00:46:39,603 At the Halloween party the night before, 690 00:46:39,683 --> 00:46:42,243 it's clear that something dark and powerful 691 00:46:42,323 --> 00:46:45,363 is taking hold of the troubled cadets. 692 00:46:48,963 --> 00:46:51,803 The pressure was building and building and building 693 00:46:51,883 --> 00:46:53,683 amongst the students. 694 00:46:53,763 --> 00:46:55,523 And on that day, October 25th, 695 00:46:55,603 --> 00:46:57,963 they simultaneously reached a breaking point. 696 00:46:59,883 --> 00:47:02,243 The fuse was lit, 697 00:47:02,323 --> 00:47:05,803 and what happens in class sets off the explosion. 698 00:47:07,003 --> 00:47:08,603 ROB: As I heard it, 699 00:47:08,683 --> 00:47:12,603 some students that were at the party the night before were actually in this class 700 00:47:12,683 --> 00:47:15,163 with a teacher who was one of the ones 701 00:47:15,243 --> 00:47:17,443 who taught them about the occult. 702 00:47:18,523 --> 00:47:20,563 The kids haven't been able to shake off 703 00:47:20,643 --> 00:47:24,563 the disturbing events that took place at the party. 704 00:47:24,643 --> 00:47:26,443 Bloody Mary. 705 00:47:30,523 --> 00:47:33,163 Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. 706 00:47:36,723 --> 00:47:40,203 The next day in school, they're all still talking about it. 707 00:47:40,283 --> 00:47:43,083 They're all still a little freaked out about it, 708 00:47:43,163 --> 00:47:46,003 and one of the teachers picks up on it. 709 00:47:46,083 --> 00:47:49,883 And she wants to try... and help the kids. 710 00:47:51,163 --> 00:47:54,563 The teacher's idea to help settle the kids down? 711 00:47:55,643 --> 00:47:57,243 Hypnosis. 712 00:47:57,323 --> 00:48:01,883 What is hypnosis? Hypnosis is really a state of focused attention. 713 00:48:03,163 --> 00:48:06,643 The word 'hypnosis' is from the Greek word for 'sleep', 714 00:48:06,723 --> 00:48:10,843 and it's been practised as far back as the ancient Egyptians. 715 00:48:11,963 --> 00:48:14,003 For a licensed and trained therapist, 716 00:48:14,083 --> 00:48:17,243 it can be a safe and effective therapeutic tool. 717 00:48:17,323 --> 00:48:19,403 But in the wrong hands, 718 00:48:19,483 --> 00:48:21,483 dangerous. 719 00:48:21,563 --> 00:48:24,483 Hypnosis is a clinical tool you have to be careful with 720 00:48:24,563 --> 00:48:29,763 when you have these kids under this state of anxiety and suggestibility. 721 00:48:31,963 --> 00:48:35,563 MICHAEL: The teacher, being a novice hypnotist, 722 00:48:35,643 --> 00:48:38,883 tried to do a regression session. 723 00:48:38,963 --> 00:48:42,083 The problem with doing that and being a novice 724 00:48:42,163 --> 00:48:45,483 is you never know what's gonna come out 725 00:48:45,563 --> 00:48:47,723 during a regression session. 726 00:48:47,803 --> 00:48:50,883 The students, now at their breaking point 727 00:48:50,963 --> 00:48:54,123 from all the abuses by Marina and the staff, 728 00:48:54,203 --> 00:48:57,163 cling to their last shred of willpower - 729 00:48:57,243 --> 00:49:00,283 the very thing hypnosis will free them of. 730 00:49:01,603 --> 00:49:03,763 I have no idea 731 00:49:03,843 --> 00:49:05,763 what type of hypnosis this is. 732 00:49:05,843 --> 00:49:10,603 But mind-control hypnosis, it's a very dangerous thing. 733 00:49:10,683 --> 00:49:13,803 And you start messing with that level of consciousness with people 734 00:49:13,883 --> 00:49:16,323 and you don't know what you're doing, 735 00:49:16,403 --> 00:49:18,203 it could be very, very dangerous. 736 00:49:18,283 --> 00:49:19,963 One of the students 737 00:49:20,043 --> 00:49:23,483 is the one traumatised at the party the night before 738 00:49:23,563 --> 00:49:25,483 playing 'Bloody Mary.' 739 00:49:27,083 --> 00:49:28,683 Bloody Mary. 740 00:49:30,283 --> 00:49:31,883 Bloody Mary. 741 00:49:33,603 --> 00:49:35,203 Bloody Mary. 742 00:49:38,883 --> 00:49:42,483 The teacher insists the girl undergo hypnosis 743 00:49:42,563 --> 00:49:44,443 right then and there, 744 00:49:44,523 --> 00:49:48,963 but the girl tries to resist the teacher's strange request. 745 00:49:49,043 --> 00:49:53,083 Her insistence sent this poor child spinning off the edge, 746 00:49:53,163 --> 00:49:56,523 and in so doing basically unlocks a key. 747 00:49:58,883 --> 00:50:02,283 But could there be a more sinister reason 748 00:50:02,363 --> 00:50:04,043 the student resists being put under? 749 00:50:04,123 --> 00:50:06,363 MICHAEL: Did the demon inside of her 750 00:50:06,443 --> 00:50:11,363 know that if she got put in regressive hypnosis 751 00:50:11,443 --> 00:50:13,803 it would be exposed? 752 00:50:13,883 --> 00:50:17,043 Maybe that's why she didn't want to be involved in it. 753 00:50:17,123 --> 00:50:19,963 The relentless teacher keeps pushing. 754 00:50:20,043 --> 00:50:24,363 The student knows the consequences for not obeying teachers' orders. 755 00:50:24,443 --> 00:50:26,683 Finally, she gives in. 756 00:50:28,323 --> 00:50:32,043 The risks involved with an amateur hypnotist 757 00:50:32,123 --> 00:50:34,643 trying to probe into a delicate young mind, 758 00:50:34,723 --> 00:50:38,083 especially one that has already suffered a traumatic incident 759 00:50:38,163 --> 00:50:41,803 as recently as the night before, are myriad. 760 00:50:41,883 --> 00:50:44,323 There are all sorts of things that can go wrong. 761 00:50:44,403 --> 00:50:47,163 The powder keg of paranormal instability 762 00:50:47,243 --> 00:50:49,683 ignites a flame from hell. 763 00:50:54,163 --> 00:50:57,043 It goes TERRIBLY wrong. 764 00:50:57,123 --> 00:51:00,323 The little girl panics. She's overwhelmed with horror... 765 00:51:00,403 --> 00:51:02,363 She felt something was attacking her. 766 00:51:02,443 --> 00:51:04,323 ..until the kid finally snapped. 767 00:51:04,403 --> 00:51:06,963 It hit her hard, and she just bolted. 768 00:51:11,443 --> 00:51:14,603 The girl flees down the hallway to the restroom, 769 00:51:14,683 --> 00:51:16,443 followed by worried friends. 770 00:51:28,643 --> 00:51:30,923 She collapses on the floor 771 00:51:31,003 --> 00:51:33,283 and makes a terrifying confession. 772 00:51:42,683 --> 00:51:44,843 Next thing you know, she's levitating. 773 00:51:44,923 --> 00:51:47,083 (GIRL SCREAMS) 774 00:51:47,163 --> 00:51:49,163 A classic sign of demonic possession. 775 00:51:49,243 --> 00:51:53,283 Whatever dark force that's taken hold of the girl 776 00:51:53,363 --> 00:51:57,203 also seems to be seizing control of her friends. 777 00:51:58,283 --> 00:52:00,563 The students who have been using dark magic 778 00:52:00,643 --> 00:52:04,563 to gain freedom and liberation from school oppression 779 00:52:04,643 --> 00:52:09,363 are about to come under all-out spiritual assault. 780 00:52:10,883 --> 00:52:13,683 Truth is, they opened the door. 781 00:52:15,323 --> 00:52:17,443 And when they opened that door, 782 00:52:17,523 --> 00:52:21,443 these things saw their opportunity and they came through it. 783 00:52:21,523 --> 00:52:23,403 And not just one came through it. 784 00:52:23,483 --> 00:52:25,763 A bunch of them came through it. 785 00:52:34,683 --> 00:52:36,803 V/O: At the Miami Aerospace Academy, 786 00:52:36,883 --> 00:52:40,203 the devil has entered the building. 787 00:52:42,123 --> 00:52:44,763 It's almost as if the gates of hell have opened up. 788 00:52:46,883 --> 00:52:50,803 Something was tapped into there that was probably better left alone. 789 00:52:53,003 --> 00:52:55,083 They seem to have released some energy there 790 00:52:55,163 --> 00:52:57,083 that was negative, very negative. 791 00:52:57,163 --> 00:53:00,203 And it had to be building for a long, long time. 792 00:53:00,283 --> 00:53:02,283 The stage has been set 793 00:53:02,363 --> 00:53:06,843 for a catastrophic mass demonic possession. 794 00:53:06,923 --> 00:53:11,843 ROB: Possessions exist in the mythology of nearly every culture. 795 00:53:11,923 --> 00:53:15,923 And for thousands of years, people have reported the phenomenon of demonic hauntings. 796 00:53:16,003 --> 00:53:19,603 MICHAEL: In the spirit realm, demons are fallen angels. 797 00:53:19,683 --> 00:53:22,363 They are inhuman spirits. 798 00:53:22,443 --> 00:53:26,843 And they've never walked the Earth as a human being. 799 00:53:26,923 --> 00:53:31,883 Demonic hauntings in homes are very oppressive, 800 00:53:31,963 --> 00:53:36,763 and are usually accompanied with foul odours 801 00:53:36,843 --> 00:53:40,803 and smells such as rotting meat and sulphur. 802 00:53:40,883 --> 00:53:42,603 It's very identifiable. 803 00:53:42,683 --> 00:53:46,163 It's almost like you're walking through the gates of hell... 804 00:53:47,243 --> 00:53:49,083 ..except it's in your home. 805 00:53:49,163 --> 00:53:51,403 Or your school. 806 00:53:54,243 --> 00:53:56,163 And it's terrifying. 807 00:53:56,243 --> 00:53:59,603 Demons have the ability to cause physical harm. 808 00:53:59,683 --> 00:54:04,443 People have reported being scratched, bitten, or even pushed down the stairs. 809 00:54:07,523 --> 00:54:10,323 MICHAEL: But the most devastating is when 810 00:54:10,403 --> 00:54:12,843 a demon enters a human body 811 00:54:12,923 --> 00:54:14,923 and possesses that body. 812 00:54:16,883 --> 00:54:20,963 It's very rare, and the conditions have to be just right. 813 00:54:24,083 --> 00:54:26,763 And the conditions were just right. 814 00:54:29,843 --> 00:54:31,763 In 1973, 815 00:54:31,843 --> 00:54:36,123 the whole world becomes aware of demonic possession. 816 00:54:36,203 --> 00:54:39,483 That's the year The Exorcist is released, 817 00:54:39,563 --> 00:54:41,843 with its terrifying special effects 818 00:54:41,923 --> 00:54:46,443 designed to strike primal fear into the hearts of moviegoers. 819 00:54:46,523 --> 00:54:51,283 Real-life possessions have been going on for centuries. 820 00:54:51,363 --> 00:54:53,083 Not like it is in the movies, 821 00:54:53,163 --> 00:54:57,003 where they're throwing up pea soup and their head is spinning around, 822 00:54:57,083 --> 00:54:59,123 but their faces change. 823 00:54:59,203 --> 00:55:01,523 Their demeanour changes. 824 00:55:01,603 --> 00:55:03,363 They end up doing things 825 00:55:03,443 --> 00:55:05,123 that they would never do. 826 00:55:06,323 --> 00:55:08,523 Those who have studied the phenomenon 827 00:55:08,603 --> 00:55:13,243 report that demonic possession occurs in three stages. 828 00:55:13,323 --> 00:55:16,523 The three stages of possession are infestation... 829 00:55:18,483 --> 00:55:20,803 ..then oppression... 830 00:55:20,883 --> 00:55:23,163 and then full possession. 831 00:55:24,883 --> 00:55:29,923 Infestation is when it is just starting. 832 00:55:30,003 --> 00:55:33,803 It's when it is introducing itself 833 00:55:33,883 --> 00:55:36,203 to the person that it has chosen. 834 00:55:41,123 --> 00:55:43,123 When it announces its presence, 835 00:55:43,203 --> 00:55:46,163 it will usually do it with three knocks... 836 00:55:46,243 --> 00:55:49,563 (THREE FORCEFUL KNOCKS) 837 00:55:50,683 --> 00:55:55,163 ..which mocks the Holy Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 838 00:55:57,123 --> 00:56:00,243 And that's where the spirit really tries to break you down. 839 00:56:03,403 --> 00:56:05,403 Bad things start to happen. 840 00:56:07,123 --> 00:56:08,883 Your finances could fall apart. 841 00:56:10,363 --> 00:56:12,843 Accidents could happen. 842 00:56:14,563 --> 00:56:18,923 All kinds of negative things start happening with oppression. 843 00:56:20,283 --> 00:56:24,963 Once it's broken you down to the point where you just can't take any more, 844 00:56:25,043 --> 00:56:26,843 it takes full control. 845 00:56:29,123 --> 00:56:31,883 And then you're at the mercy of that demon. 846 00:56:35,363 --> 00:56:37,563 Finally comes the possession itself... 847 00:56:40,003 --> 00:56:45,163 ..where a human being is inhabited by an intelligence of evil nature 848 00:56:45,243 --> 00:56:47,163 that is not their own. 849 00:56:49,243 --> 00:56:51,603 At the academy, the kids have already gone through 850 00:56:51,683 --> 00:56:54,243 a couple of phases of possession. 851 00:56:54,323 --> 00:56:57,163 They've opened up the portals by inviting them in. 852 00:56:57,243 --> 00:56:59,083 Playing with a spirit board, 853 00:56:59,163 --> 00:57:00,923 playing with tarot cards. 854 00:57:02,203 --> 00:57:04,523 And the second part is oppression. 855 00:57:04,603 --> 00:57:06,763 Oppression is where the spirits and the demons 856 00:57:06,843 --> 00:57:09,203 try to break them down mentally and physically. 857 00:57:12,003 --> 00:57:15,083 Satan tries to possess somebody... 858 00:57:17,363 --> 00:57:19,803 ..in a situation where there's some type of 859 00:57:19,883 --> 00:57:22,723 trauma, deprivation, punishment. 860 00:57:24,443 --> 00:57:28,243 And the staff has done that to the kids already. 861 00:57:28,323 --> 00:57:30,803 (CADET WEEPING BROKENLY) 862 00:57:34,923 --> 00:57:37,523 By the time the troubled girl runs to the restroom, 863 00:57:37,603 --> 00:57:42,403 a full-scale demonic possession is under way. 864 00:57:45,883 --> 00:57:48,483 She's collapsed onto the floor. 865 00:57:48,563 --> 00:57:51,523 She's claiming that the devil himself is inside of her. 866 00:57:54,323 --> 00:57:57,523 (VOICE ECHOING) The devil is inside me. 867 00:58:02,563 --> 00:58:05,523 Her friends surround her. They're rooted in horror. 868 00:58:12,323 --> 00:58:15,603 And that's when something happens that none of them will ever forget. 869 00:58:16,683 --> 00:58:19,243 The girls are shocked to see their friend shake 870 00:58:19,323 --> 00:58:22,163 and her eyes roll back in her head. 871 00:58:22,243 --> 00:58:25,483 They think she's having a seizure, but no. 872 00:58:25,563 --> 00:58:28,883 It's far worse than anything they can imagine. 873 00:58:32,363 --> 00:58:34,523 (GIRLS SCREAMING) 874 00:58:34,603 --> 00:58:37,363 Levitation is one of the devil's tools 875 00:58:37,443 --> 00:58:42,843 to show you that you are completely powerless, a puppet in his hands. 876 00:58:42,923 --> 00:58:46,603 He uses it to take full control of your body, 877 00:58:46,683 --> 00:58:51,243 and in so doing to show you and all around you that he is the one 878 00:58:51,323 --> 00:58:53,083 completely in control. 879 00:58:56,683 --> 00:58:59,003 The young witnesses watch in abject horror 880 00:58:59,083 --> 00:59:02,883 as the girl's body appears to lift off the floor on its own 881 00:59:02,963 --> 00:59:05,043 and hover miraculously in mid-air. 882 00:59:07,283 --> 00:59:10,083 A demon will use levitation almost like a shock-and-awe. 883 00:59:11,683 --> 00:59:14,603 It shocks anybody that sees it. 884 00:59:14,683 --> 00:59:19,403 It almost stuns you, because it's so against the rules of science and physics. 885 00:59:24,483 --> 00:59:27,883 Back in the classroom, the teacher who triggered the incident 886 00:59:27,963 --> 00:59:31,283 hears mysterious cries coming from the girls' room. 887 00:59:34,523 --> 00:59:37,163 Unnerved, she goes to investigate. 888 00:59:56,243 --> 00:59:58,483 ROB: The teacher sprinted out of the lavatory 889 00:59:58,563 --> 01:00:00,283 and was never seen again. 890 01:00:04,403 --> 01:00:07,923 Later it was reported that this teacher absolutely denied 891 01:00:08,003 --> 01:00:10,883 that she had ever performed hypnosis on that student. 892 01:00:14,963 --> 01:00:19,763 The girl who was possessed, what she was experiencing was overwhelmingly horrifying. 893 01:00:21,723 --> 01:00:25,563 An utter loss of control, combined with the fact that 894 01:00:25,643 --> 01:00:30,003 you know something evil has gained control of the vessel that is you. 895 01:00:31,843 --> 01:00:34,203 The terrifying display of demonic power 896 01:00:34,283 --> 01:00:38,523 leaves the girl's classmates in shocked disbelief. 897 01:00:39,803 --> 01:00:42,323 But what none of these students can fully understand 898 01:00:42,403 --> 01:00:45,803 is that this is ground zero of a diabolical infection. 899 01:00:45,883 --> 01:00:48,923 The levitation in the girls' room 900 01:00:49,003 --> 01:00:51,323 is just a demonic taste 901 01:00:51,403 --> 01:00:54,003 of the horror yet to come. 902 01:00:54,083 --> 01:00:56,723 Once that girl was levitated... 903 01:00:58,043 --> 01:01:00,003 ..it opened the floodgates. 904 01:01:00,083 --> 01:01:03,163 and the demonic activity flooded through that school. 905 01:01:06,163 --> 01:01:10,723 The amount of occult activity that was being practised in that school 906 01:01:10,803 --> 01:01:13,803 by not just the students but the faculty... 907 01:01:15,883 --> 01:01:18,523 ..it just opened everything wide. 908 01:01:18,603 --> 01:01:20,283 It made it so that this was 909 01:01:20,363 --> 01:01:25,323 an easy, easy entrance into this world and to these children. 910 01:01:25,403 --> 01:01:28,203 They had everything they needed. It was the perfect storm. 911 01:01:36,883 --> 01:01:38,963 ROB: Everything came together. 912 01:01:39,043 --> 01:01:40,723 The portal was open. 913 01:01:40,803 --> 01:01:45,443 The fear, the anger, the oppression had unleashed the demons. 914 01:01:46,803 --> 01:01:48,843 Bloody Mary. 915 01:01:51,163 --> 01:01:55,523 The demonic force that manifested in the girls' room 916 01:01:55,603 --> 01:01:58,363 starts to spread throughout the school. 917 01:02:02,843 --> 01:02:04,443 The devil invaded. 918 01:02:07,483 --> 01:02:09,123 Room by room, floor by floor, 919 01:02:09,203 --> 01:02:10,963 through the stairwells... 920 01:02:12,403 --> 01:02:14,003 ..through the whole building. 921 01:02:24,083 --> 01:02:27,123 Simultaneously, in a classroom upstairs, 922 01:02:27,203 --> 01:02:31,883 an air of menace seeps in, permeates the room, 923 01:02:31,963 --> 01:02:35,443 and slowly begins to take them over. 924 01:02:35,523 --> 01:02:38,923 These students had no idea what happened in the bathroom. 925 01:02:39,003 --> 01:02:41,603 But still, something had shifted. 926 01:02:41,683 --> 01:02:44,043 Something was there. 927 01:02:46,083 --> 01:02:47,683 Without any provocation, 928 01:02:47,763 --> 01:02:50,603 two boys start throwing punches at each other, 929 01:02:50,683 --> 01:02:54,043 escalating into an all-out brawl. 930 01:02:54,123 --> 01:02:56,123 ROB: It seemed to affect two of the cadets, 931 01:02:56,203 --> 01:02:57,803 and they started to fight. 932 01:03:01,123 --> 01:03:05,283 They didn't realise that the infestation had already begun 933 01:03:05,363 --> 01:03:08,443 and that demonic forces were at play, 934 01:03:08,523 --> 01:03:12,283 influencing how they behave, how they perceive the world. 935 01:03:13,723 --> 01:03:18,003 They weren't themselves. They were infected by the devil. 936 01:03:18,083 --> 01:03:19,683 They were possessed. 937 01:03:25,323 --> 01:03:27,763 That demonic force that came into that school, 938 01:03:27,843 --> 01:03:30,683 it just started going through the two boys 939 01:03:30,763 --> 01:03:34,203 like a force nobody's ever seen. 940 01:03:34,283 --> 01:03:38,723 The superhuman strength of these two high-schoolers is shocking, 941 01:03:38,803 --> 01:03:43,283 as one is picked up and hurled across the classroom. 942 01:03:51,563 --> 01:03:55,403 Next thing you know, one of the boys had actually been thrown through the window. 943 01:03:56,883 --> 01:04:00,283 This boy falls from a two-storey building, 944 01:04:00,363 --> 01:04:03,283 lands unhurt, pops up. 945 01:04:08,443 --> 01:04:10,243 Mr McKently comes over. 946 01:04:11,883 --> 01:04:15,883 He is unable to subdue this smaller boy. 947 01:04:21,563 --> 01:04:25,603 Unbelievable strength is one of the classic signs of demonic possession. 948 01:04:28,643 --> 01:04:32,963 I've had instances of doing an exorcism on a 95-pound woman 949 01:04:33,043 --> 01:04:35,483 that took six or eight men to control. 950 01:04:35,563 --> 01:04:38,363 I've seen violent, abnormal strength. 951 01:04:39,523 --> 01:04:41,963 Having witnessed these horrific demonic events, 952 01:04:42,043 --> 01:04:44,683 the students are infected with evil. 953 01:04:44,763 --> 01:04:46,363 All hell breaks loose, 954 01:04:46,443 --> 01:04:49,003 and the mass possession ignites. 955 01:04:51,123 --> 01:04:54,883 Once the spark was lit, 956 01:04:54,963 --> 01:04:57,203 once this fire started to spread, 957 01:04:57,283 --> 01:04:59,843 then what happens? 958 01:04:59,923 --> 01:05:02,043 Mass possession. 959 01:05:03,283 --> 01:05:05,723 (GIRL SCREAMS) 960 01:05:05,803 --> 01:05:08,243 ROB: Possession was like a virus. 961 01:05:08,323 --> 01:05:10,163 It spread through the school, fast. 962 01:05:11,683 --> 01:05:15,563 Chaos is literally rippling down the hallways. 963 01:05:17,403 --> 01:05:20,083 Kids were suddenly acting like wild animals. 964 01:05:20,163 --> 01:05:22,243 Weird sounds, wild eyes, acting crazy. 965 01:05:22,323 --> 01:05:23,923 (GIRL SCREAMS) 966 01:05:26,243 --> 01:05:30,363 The minute a demon starts to present itself in a person, the eyes change... 967 01:05:32,363 --> 01:05:35,683 ..in numbers of ways. The colours may change. The dilation may change. 968 01:05:35,763 --> 01:05:39,003 Sometimes they widen beyond a human ability. 969 01:05:41,403 --> 01:05:46,163 There are different reports on what it feels like to be possessed. 970 01:05:46,243 --> 01:05:47,843 Some people remember everything. 971 01:05:47,923 --> 01:05:49,723 Some people remember nothing. 972 01:05:49,803 --> 01:05:55,363 They remember that they no longer had control of their faculties. 973 01:05:55,443 --> 01:05:59,203 The worst feeling is that instant loss of control. 974 01:05:59,283 --> 01:06:02,443 You feel like you're a stranger in your own body. 975 01:06:02,523 --> 01:06:04,643 You do things you never would do, 976 01:06:04,723 --> 01:06:06,443 you say things you would never say. 977 01:06:06,523 --> 01:06:10,723 Demonic possession is the ultimate loss of control 978 01:06:10,803 --> 01:06:13,003 to something very dark, very malicious, 979 01:06:13,083 --> 01:06:15,443 and extremely dangerous. 980 01:06:15,523 --> 01:06:19,563 MICHAEL: There's no doubt these students were possessed. 981 01:06:19,643 --> 01:06:23,723 And the ones that weren't possessed were running for their lives. 982 01:06:29,243 --> 01:06:31,283 These kids saw their classmates 983 01:06:31,363 --> 01:06:33,803 change their personalities, change shape, 984 01:06:33,883 --> 01:06:36,323 become something else entirely. 985 01:06:38,483 --> 01:06:40,563 They were possessed by something demonic. 986 01:06:40,643 --> 01:06:44,243 Some of the kids were shredding doors right from the walls. 987 01:06:44,323 --> 01:06:47,523 That is a show of demonic strength. 988 01:06:48,603 --> 01:06:51,883 I have had instances where I have seen people in an exorcism 989 01:06:51,963 --> 01:06:54,323 actually rip a door off its hinges. 990 01:06:54,403 --> 01:06:57,123 That's possible. That was described. 991 01:06:57,203 --> 01:06:59,683 There are too many things being described here 992 01:06:59,763 --> 01:07:01,683 that just aren't normal. 993 01:07:01,763 --> 01:07:03,963 It's paranormal. It is demonic. 994 01:07:13,483 --> 01:07:15,683 (SIRENS WAILING) 995 01:07:18,243 --> 01:07:21,883 When law enforcement officials finally arrive, 996 01:07:21,963 --> 01:07:25,563 they find a school embroiled in paranormal pandemonium, 997 01:07:25,643 --> 01:07:30,563 with kids pleading for protection from their possessed classmates. 998 01:07:30,643 --> 01:07:34,603 The first responders could look up and see that the kids were still in the school. 999 01:07:34,683 --> 01:07:37,283 They were banging on windows, trying to get out. 1000 01:07:40,843 --> 01:07:44,603 Our initial thought was to find somebody in charge of the campus 1001 01:07:44,683 --> 01:07:48,883 and try to get a handle on exactly what the incident was 1002 01:07:48,963 --> 01:07:51,643 or what caused the chaos that we were viewing. 1003 01:07:53,603 --> 01:07:58,363 The one person they think could help is the demagogue general Evaristo Marina, 1004 01:07:58,443 --> 01:08:01,683 who rules his students with an iron fist. 1005 01:08:01,763 --> 01:08:04,043 But where has the powerful general been 1006 01:08:04,123 --> 01:08:06,923 while the devil lays waste to his academy 1007 01:08:07,003 --> 01:08:08,843 and endangers his kids? 1008 01:08:11,723 --> 01:08:14,923 The first responders go searching for answers. 1009 01:08:15,003 --> 01:08:18,363 FRANK ROLLASON: We were directed to the office. We went there. 1010 01:08:18,443 --> 01:08:20,403 There was nobody there. 1011 01:08:21,483 --> 01:08:24,163 The devil was summoned for the reckoning... 1012 01:08:25,243 --> 01:08:27,883 ..and the general disappeared. 1013 01:08:33,843 --> 01:08:35,803 V/O: Chaos, confusion and fear. 1014 01:08:35,883 --> 01:08:39,923 That's what first responders find when they finally arrive 1015 01:08:40,003 --> 01:08:42,083 at The Devil's Academy. 1016 01:08:42,163 --> 01:08:44,843 FRANK ROLLASON: On October 25th, 1979, 1017 01:08:44,923 --> 01:08:47,243 my position with the fire department at that time 1018 01:08:47,323 --> 01:08:49,243 was a rescue operations officer. 1019 01:08:49,323 --> 01:08:52,043 It was just chaos there. Kids were running everywhere. 1020 01:08:53,963 --> 01:08:57,323 And so that's why I responded. 1021 01:08:57,403 --> 01:09:00,043 Officers see students raging out of control. 1022 01:09:00,123 --> 01:09:02,603 Bizarre, animalistic behaviour. 1023 01:09:02,683 --> 01:09:04,523 Screaming, gnashing, 1024 01:09:04,603 --> 01:09:07,243 some afraid for their lives. 1025 01:09:07,323 --> 01:09:10,643 They were scared of something and that's what we tried to find out, 1026 01:09:10,723 --> 01:09:13,163 what was making them act 1027 01:09:13,243 --> 01:09:15,883 in the behaviour that they were in. 1028 01:09:15,963 --> 01:09:19,003 Through the hysteria, a dark, evil force 1029 01:09:19,083 --> 01:09:22,483 becomes the curator of this chaos. 1030 01:09:22,563 --> 01:09:24,603 Several of them had mentioned the devil. 1031 01:09:26,923 --> 01:09:29,643 The students said that they were possessed, 1032 01:09:29,723 --> 01:09:31,363 or there was a demon present... 1033 01:09:37,043 --> 01:09:39,443 ..and that they had been learning about the occult. 1034 01:09:44,643 --> 01:09:47,243 First responders search everywhere 1035 01:09:47,323 --> 01:09:52,163 for the school's infamously evil general, Evaristo Marina. 1036 01:09:53,243 --> 01:09:55,323 He's nowhere to be found. 1037 01:09:55,403 --> 01:09:59,403 He and his sycophant staff disappear. 1038 01:09:59,483 --> 01:10:01,483 FRANK ROLLASON: We walked the entire campus 1039 01:10:01,563 --> 01:10:04,883 trying to find somebody that knew what was happening, 1040 01:10:04,963 --> 01:10:08,203 and it was odd that there wasn't anybody there, 1041 01:10:08,283 --> 01:10:10,443 especially on a school day. 1042 01:10:10,523 --> 01:10:12,323 When the hellfire exploded, 1043 01:10:12,403 --> 01:10:17,083 the fearsome militarian forces abandoned their post. 1044 01:10:17,163 --> 01:10:20,403 Where were the enforcers? Where were they? 1045 01:10:21,683 --> 01:10:23,803 They had left the scene. 1046 01:10:24,963 --> 01:10:28,963 We found it very odd that we couldn't locate anybody at the site 1047 01:10:29,043 --> 01:10:31,443 that was...tacitly in charge. 1048 01:10:35,323 --> 01:10:38,523 Finally, the students come out of their trance. 1049 01:10:39,723 --> 01:10:45,083 By noon, it was over. Whatever had taken over the building had left. 1050 01:10:45,163 --> 01:10:46,763 But something had been there. 1051 01:10:52,203 --> 01:10:55,483 The next day, the event hits the local news. 1052 01:10:55,563 --> 01:10:59,203 ROB: The headlines were clear as to what the kids thought happened. 1053 01:10:59,283 --> 01:11:01,683 'Hypnosis unleashes demons.' 1054 01:11:01,763 --> 01:11:04,883 The story of the possession was picked up by the Associated Press 1055 01:11:04,963 --> 01:11:06,563 and went around the country. 1056 01:11:06,643 --> 01:11:08,923 It was even picked up by The New York Times. 1057 01:11:09,003 --> 01:11:13,963 After learning the horrific details of the supernatural riot, 1058 01:11:14,043 --> 01:11:16,403 parents are enraged. 1059 01:11:16,483 --> 01:11:20,163 ROB: There was immediate fallout. At least one teacher quit on the spot, 1060 01:11:20,243 --> 01:11:23,523 and other parents just pulled their kids out of school. 1061 01:11:23,603 --> 01:11:27,163 But oddly, the bizarre story of the high school's mass possession 1062 01:11:27,243 --> 01:11:29,723 quickly fades from the headlines. 1063 01:11:29,803 --> 01:11:32,003 ROB: People wanted to sweep it under the rug, 1064 01:11:32,083 --> 01:11:35,803 and the authorities involved wanna sweep it under the rug as quickly as possible 1065 01:11:35,883 --> 01:11:39,203 so that it doesn't harm their reputation. 1066 01:11:40,643 --> 01:11:43,483 It's as if everybody forgot what happened 1067 01:11:43,563 --> 01:11:45,403 the day Satan showed up at the school. 1068 01:11:46,483 --> 01:11:51,083 For his part, Marina calls the whole story a smear campaign. 1069 01:11:52,083 --> 01:11:54,803 Marina had an excuse for everything. 1070 01:11:54,883 --> 01:11:58,603 Marina maintained that it was his enemies trying to do him in that day. 1071 01:11:58,683 --> 01:12:00,763 The question is, 1072 01:12:00,843 --> 01:12:04,163 were the general's enemies real, or conjured? 1073 01:12:07,683 --> 01:12:09,363 As the years go by, 1074 01:12:09,443 --> 01:12:13,483 Marina's academy continues to be at the centre of sordid scandals. 1075 01:12:14,763 --> 01:12:18,923 In the mid-'80s, charges of sexual misconduct and rape 1076 01:12:19,003 --> 01:12:21,763 are levelled at some of its cadets. 1077 01:12:21,843 --> 01:12:24,323 ARCHIVE: Miami police detectives converged on campus 1078 01:12:24,403 --> 01:12:26,483 because they had many unanswered questions. 1079 01:12:26,563 --> 01:12:28,843 Not long after, 1080 01:12:28,923 --> 01:12:32,003 a young female cadet becomes pregnant 1081 01:12:32,083 --> 01:12:34,523 while living in the school's dormitory. 1082 01:12:34,603 --> 01:12:37,803 As the '80s wore on, the scandals started to have some effect. 1083 01:12:37,883 --> 01:12:42,083 ARCHIVE: This is the day Evaristo Marina promised to explain everything, 1084 01:12:42,163 --> 01:12:45,763 and he left the media still hungry for answers at his news conference today. 1085 01:12:45,843 --> 01:12:48,203 The academy lost students 1086 01:12:48,283 --> 01:12:50,003 and later the faith of the parents. 1087 01:12:50,083 --> 01:12:52,203 Eventually, the building altogether. 1088 01:12:52,283 --> 01:12:54,443 They had to move into a hotel 1089 01:12:54,523 --> 01:12:57,363 that was later deemed 'deplorable' by city officials. 1090 01:12:58,443 --> 01:13:02,683 Finally, the Miami Aerospace Academy closed in 1988. 1091 01:13:05,003 --> 01:13:07,803 Marina dies in 2009, 1092 01:13:07,883 --> 01:13:11,243 and for a time it seems like the legend of the mass possession 1093 01:13:11,323 --> 01:13:13,243 might die with him. 1094 01:13:17,443 --> 01:13:20,203 SERGIO: The story of what happened in '79, 1095 01:13:20,283 --> 01:13:22,643 during my time, had been sort of lost in the wind. 1096 01:13:22,723 --> 01:13:24,523 ROB: I think there's a lot of students 1097 01:13:24,603 --> 01:13:27,723 that are reluctant to talk about these things, 1098 01:13:27,803 --> 01:13:32,883 because the social stigma that is associated with experiencing the paranormal, 1099 01:13:32,963 --> 01:13:34,563 it runs deep in our society. 1100 01:13:36,123 --> 01:13:38,563 It can cut off opportunities. 1101 01:13:38,643 --> 01:13:42,643 It can label you as having experienced this, then no one sees anything else about you. 1102 01:13:42,723 --> 01:13:46,123 Which is tragic, because you should be able to come forward 1103 01:13:46,203 --> 01:13:48,843 when you have a paranormal event and be honest about it. 1104 01:13:49,923 --> 01:13:52,683 But perhaps there's another, more chilling reason 1105 01:13:52,763 --> 01:13:55,363 why this dark chapter in demonic history 1106 01:13:55,443 --> 01:13:58,323 has gone largely untold. 1107 01:13:59,563 --> 01:14:02,403 When those kids were taken over by demons, 1108 01:14:02,483 --> 01:14:04,603 it ended on its own. 1109 01:14:04,683 --> 01:14:06,843 However... 1110 01:14:06,923 --> 01:14:08,883 that doesn't mean it's over. 1111 01:14:11,483 --> 01:14:14,323 Those demons could return at any time. 1112 01:14:23,523 --> 01:14:26,003 V/O: At Miami Aerospace Academy, 1113 01:14:26,083 --> 01:14:29,123 the constant threat of harsh corporal punishment, 1114 01:14:29,203 --> 01:14:33,163 combined with a culture of dark occult rituals, 1115 01:14:33,243 --> 01:14:37,123 takes a lasting toll on many of its students. 1116 01:14:37,203 --> 01:14:39,043 A common saying among former cadets 1117 01:14:39,123 --> 01:14:43,723 is that your best day at Aerospace is your last. 1118 01:14:43,803 --> 01:14:47,523 Former students remember how they made their escapes. 1119 01:14:53,203 --> 01:14:56,643 FRANK LOPEZ DEL RINCON: I attended eight years at Miami Aerospace Academy. 1120 01:14:56,723 --> 01:14:59,043 It seems the general felt I was a bad influence. 1121 01:14:59,123 --> 01:15:00,723 He called me in with my mother 1122 01:15:00,803 --> 01:15:03,483 after I had finished my junior year, 1123 01:15:03,563 --> 01:15:07,643 and informed us that I was not gonna be allowed to graduate from his school. 1124 01:15:07,723 --> 01:15:13,003 And I could just leave, any time I felt I should leave. 1125 01:15:14,363 --> 01:15:16,323 And he said, 'You're not coming back here, 1126 01:15:16,403 --> 01:15:19,603 you're not gonna graduate from my school, you're a bad influence.' 1127 01:15:19,683 --> 01:15:23,363 And that was the best day of my life. I was so happy, I could have kissed him. 1128 01:15:23,443 --> 01:15:27,083 I said, 'You don't know what you're doing. You are giving me my wish.' 1129 01:15:28,523 --> 01:15:31,603 V/O: But not all departures were so peaceful. 1130 01:15:31,683 --> 01:15:33,363 For some students, 1131 01:15:33,443 --> 01:15:35,643 the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the school 1132 01:15:35,723 --> 01:15:39,643 pushed them into violent confrontations with the staff. 1133 01:15:39,723 --> 01:15:42,283 SERGIO: I was called to the office for something. 1134 01:15:42,363 --> 01:15:47,003 I don't know why, but I got into an argument with Marina 1135 01:15:47,083 --> 01:15:48,683 over I don't know what. 1136 01:15:48,763 --> 01:15:53,483 But at some point, it turned from just an argument 1137 01:15:53,563 --> 01:15:55,163 to shouting, 1138 01:15:55,243 --> 01:15:57,883 to then me calling him out 1139 01:15:57,963 --> 01:15:59,683 to go fist-fight out in the street. 1140 01:16:01,603 --> 01:16:05,003 And I'm just, 'Come on, old man! Come outside! 1141 01:16:05,083 --> 01:16:07,203 Come on, I'm waiting for you! Come on!' 1142 01:16:09,003 --> 01:16:11,363 And that was my last day at Aerospace. 1143 01:16:16,003 --> 01:16:21,203 V/O: If the school's toxic atmosphere could push its top students over the edge, 1144 01:16:21,283 --> 01:16:23,923 it's no wonder that the entire institution 1145 01:16:24,003 --> 01:16:26,763 could be infected by evil. 1146 01:16:30,643 --> 01:16:32,643 That was just what the school was. 1147 01:16:32,723 --> 01:16:37,163 That was the whole thing about the school, that everything was aggressive, and... It was. 1148 01:16:37,243 --> 01:16:39,123 And there was the threat of violence 1149 01:16:39,203 --> 01:16:43,883 from the staff as well as from the students in the school. 1150 01:16:43,963 --> 01:16:47,003 It was. It was a big power play there, 1151 01:16:47,083 --> 01:16:50,683 all the way from the general down to his brother, his nephew, 1152 01:16:50,763 --> 01:16:52,563 and his enforcers. 1153 01:16:53,603 --> 01:16:58,723 Normally when children are placed in a high-discipline environment, 1154 01:16:58,803 --> 01:17:00,763 parents most of the times have given up. 1155 01:17:00,843 --> 01:17:03,803 They don't wanna hear about it. 1156 01:17:03,883 --> 01:17:07,323 We didn't feel that we had a voice in anything, 1157 01:17:07,403 --> 01:17:10,603 or that we were exaggerating if we told our parents. 1158 01:17:10,683 --> 01:17:12,363 Or that they wouldn't believe 1159 01:17:12,443 --> 01:17:15,883 that somebody who ran a school could do this, 1160 01:17:15,963 --> 01:17:18,763 and therefore, you know, you're just a kid. You don't know. 1161 01:17:18,843 --> 01:17:22,083 It's, 'It'll be fine', you know? 'You'll see.' That sort of thing. 1162 01:17:22,163 --> 01:17:24,043 So we didn't really say anything. 1163 01:17:25,083 --> 01:17:28,963 Sometimes you'd get hit with a ping-pong paddle, they'd use a little wooden paddle. 1164 01:17:29,043 --> 01:17:33,163 But man, when they brought in a cricket paddle with a strapped handle... Yeah. 1165 01:17:33,243 --> 01:17:36,003 ..and drilled, you know, holes through it, 1166 01:17:36,083 --> 01:17:39,003 I said, 'We're in a whole 'nother ball game here.' 1167 01:17:39,083 --> 01:17:40,683 They'd hit you on the half-beat, 1168 01:17:40,763 --> 01:17:43,443 so they'd take the paddle and they'd go, 'Here it comes', 1169 01:17:43,523 --> 01:17:45,883 and then they would act like they were gonna do it 1170 01:17:45,963 --> 01:17:47,563 and you'd tense up, 1171 01:17:47,643 --> 01:17:51,363 and then right as you're like, 'What's going on?' and then you relax, 1172 01:17:51,443 --> 01:17:53,603 BAM! That's when they would hit 1173 01:17:53,683 --> 01:17:56,283 and then you would hear the godawful scream. 1174 01:17:56,363 --> 01:17:57,963 (CADET SCREAMS) 1175 01:18:00,043 --> 01:18:02,563 But there was no offence that we did 1176 01:18:02,643 --> 01:18:07,083 that was suitable for that level of punishment at all. 1177 01:18:07,163 --> 01:18:09,603 And there was one kid, I'll never forget him, Ernie. 1178 01:18:09,683 --> 01:18:12,443 Ernie was, you know, toughest kid I ever known. 1179 01:18:12,523 --> 01:18:14,563 He was around same grade as me, 1180 01:18:14,643 --> 01:18:17,683 maybe, you know, pre-teen, going into a teenager, 1181 01:18:17,763 --> 01:18:19,363 and Ernie would take the paddles. 1182 01:18:19,443 --> 01:18:22,083 And Ernie would never, ever give them the satisfaction 1183 01:18:22,163 --> 01:18:24,843 of crying, or moving, or flinching. 1184 01:18:24,923 --> 01:18:27,203 Ernie would take the beating, 1185 01:18:27,283 --> 01:18:30,163 and he'd look at him and say, 'Are you done?' 1186 01:18:30,243 --> 01:18:33,603 Like that. And that would make him even more inflamed. 1187 01:18:33,683 --> 01:18:35,403 There was definitely a control thing, 1188 01:18:35,483 --> 01:18:40,043 and the only form of control or power 1189 01:18:40,123 --> 01:18:42,403 that we held was taking it 1190 01:18:42,483 --> 01:18:44,923 and showing that you were... 1191 01:18:45,003 --> 01:18:47,843 you were strong enough to do that and to not be messed with. 1192 01:18:49,003 --> 01:18:52,043 You have the harsh discipline, the beatings, 1193 01:18:52,123 --> 01:18:56,363 the constant monitoring, the forced haircuts, the marching. 1194 01:18:56,443 --> 01:18:58,963 Everything about this place 1195 01:18:59,043 --> 01:19:04,083 is crushing the... the vibrant, rebellious nature inherent to teens 1196 01:19:04,163 --> 01:19:05,763 down to dust. 1197 01:19:05,843 --> 01:19:08,603 And this becomes the fertile ground in which 1198 01:19:08,683 --> 01:19:10,323 demons can make their purchase. 1199 01:19:12,243 --> 01:19:14,123 SERGIO: And that was normal for us. 1200 01:19:14,203 --> 01:19:16,883 There was normalcy to this lunacy 1201 01:19:16,963 --> 01:19:18,563 that we went through. 1202 01:19:18,643 --> 01:19:20,483 And you couldn't speak out against it, 1203 01:19:20,563 --> 01:19:23,843 because then, you know, you were the odd person out. So... 1204 01:19:23,923 --> 01:19:25,523 Had you even been believed. 1205 01:19:25,603 --> 01:19:29,483 Our parents wouldn't believe us if we said half the stuff that went on there. 1206 01:19:29,563 --> 01:19:32,003 I would have given anything to get to public school. 1207 01:19:32,083 --> 01:19:35,003 I would have loved to go to public school. I was the same way. 1208 01:19:37,603 --> 01:19:41,523 Back then, fighting was just a part of life. 1209 01:19:41,603 --> 01:19:45,163 And you got into a fight, let's say, they'd break you up. 1210 01:19:45,243 --> 01:19:48,163 They took you to the gym. You both put on gloves, 1211 01:19:48,243 --> 01:19:49,843 and you fought, in the gym. 1212 01:19:54,443 --> 01:19:58,843 One day I went to jump the fence, and the chain was a little loose on the gate, 1213 01:19:58,923 --> 01:20:00,563 and the gate kicked back. 1214 01:20:00,643 --> 01:20:04,923 And the chain went with it, and I fell over and I broke my ankle. 1215 01:20:05,003 --> 01:20:07,963 And I'm laying there, and I try to get up. 1216 01:20:08,043 --> 01:20:10,723 And I couldn't put any weight on it, so I went back down. 1217 01:20:10,803 --> 01:20:12,763 And here comes the commandant, walking. 1218 01:20:12,843 --> 01:20:16,603 He unlocks the gate, looks at me, he says, 'What happened?' 1219 01:20:16,683 --> 01:20:18,803 I said, 'I think I broke my leg.' 1220 01:20:18,883 --> 01:20:22,483 He says, 'Well, that's what you get for trying to skip school.' 1221 01:20:22,563 --> 01:20:25,763 And he closes the gate, and he walks in the building. 1222 01:20:25,843 --> 01:20:27,683 And he left me there. Yeah. Yeah. 1223 01:20:29,403 --> 01:20:34,403 V/O: Many alumni refuse to speak of their time at the Miami Aerospace Academy. 1224 01:20:34,483 --> 01:20:39,083 Especially the day when all hell broke loose. 1225 01:20:41,203 --> 01:20:44,483 It was very bizarre, a very bizarre incident. Very scary. 1226 01:20:44,563 --> 01:20:49,563 To me, it doesn't surprise me in the least bit that that's what happened. 1227 01:20:49,643 --> 01:20:52,723 Something happened that day, and everybody just lost their minds. 1228 01:20:52,803 --> 01:20:57,563 Yeah, it just blew the top right off of whatever was compressed. 1229 01:20:57,643 --> 01:21:01,203 A lot of pressure was building up there. A lot. Yeah. 1230 01:21:01,283 --> 01:21:04,243 I'm just... I'm happy that we made it out alive, 1231 01:21:04,323 --> 01:21:06,643 because it wasn't easy. 1232 01:21:09,363 --> 01:21:11,123 V/O: As for what may have caused 1233 01:21:11,203 --> 01:21:14,763 the events of October 25th, 1979, 1234 01:21:14,843 --> 01:21:18,643 El General gave his answer to the press. 1235 01:21:18,723 --> 01:21:21,923 He claimed that the entire incident was a scam 1236 01:21:22,003 --> 01:21:24,243 invented to damage him politically. 1237 01:21:24,323 --> 01:21:26,523 From the 1970s to the 2000s, 1238 01:21:26,603 --> 01:21:29,603 Marina ran for office multiple times, 1239 01:21:29,683 --> 01:21:32,563 going for commissioner, mayor and senator. 1240 01:21:32,643 --> 01:21:35,643 SERGIO: He would run for everything. 1241 01:21:35,723 --> 01:21:38,243 The Water Commission, the Agriculture Commission. 1242 01:21:38,323 --> 01:21:40,683 Hell, he would run for dog catcher. 1243 01:21:40,763 --> 01:21:46,883 He's what I would term a serial political candidate. 1244 01:21:46,963 --> 01:21:50,923 Marina maintained that it was his enemies trying to do him in that day. 1245 01:21:51,003 --> 01:21:52,843 He blamed it on politics. 1246 01:21:52,923 --> 01:21:56,283 SERGIO: And so that's something that would seem plausible. 1247 01:21:56,363 --> 01:21:59,123 'Oh, I'm running for office, 1248 01:21:59,203 --> 01:22:02,123 so it's the other candidate that's playing dirty.' 1249 01:22:04,203 --> 01:22:07,043 It's worthy of note that with nine attempts, 1250 01:22:07,123 --> 01:22:09,563 he never found a major seat in city hall. 1251 01:22:13,163 --> 01:22:15,243 V/O: But if dirty politics weren't the cause 1252 01:22:15,323 --> 01:22:18,763 of what happened that day at Miami Aerospace Academy, 1253 01:22:18,843 --> 01:22:21,003 what was? 1254 01:22:21,083 --> 01:22:23,323 There hasn't been much written about this event. 1255 01:22:23,403 --> 01:22:26,523 It's sort of been lost to history and paranormal history. 1256 01:22:27,643 --> 01:22:32,123 V/O: But those who were there will never be able to forget it. 1257 01:22:32,203 --> 01:22:34,803 SERGIO: There was a lot of things that went on. 1258 01:22:34,883 --> 01:22:39,603 I talk about them to people, and people almost don't believe me. 1259 01:22:39,683 --> 01:22:42,363 You had to have lived it. You had to have experienced it. 1260 01:22:43,643 --> 01:22:46,243 ROB: Because there wasn't much written about this event 1261 01:22:46,323 --> 01:22:48,843 and not a lot of people choose to talk about it, 1262 01:22:48,923 --> 01:22:52,323 we really don't have the clearest picture of this episode. 1263 01:22:56,003 --> 01:22:58,523 I had 40 years with the fire department. 1264 01:22:58,603 --> 01:23:02,203 And, er, you have a few incidents that just stick in your mind 1265 01:23:02,283 --> 01:23:05,763 that are very weird or very unusual. 1266 01:23:05,843 --> 01:23:09,323 And this is certainly one of those that you remember. 1267 01:23:09,403 --> 01:23:11,843 V/O: Could satanic panic, 1268 01:23:11,923 --> 01:23:16,203 which some say was unleashed by films of the time like The Exorcist, 1269 01:23:16,283 --> 01:23:17,883 have been a factor in the event? 1270 01:23:18,963 --> 01:23:20,923 The cult was running rampant. 1271 01:23:21,003 --> 01:23:25,483 It was in movies, it was in everyday life. 1272 01:23:25,563 --> 01:23:27,283 There was higher crime, 1273 01:23:27,363 --> 01:23:31,283 there was more satanic rituals being done. 1274 01:23:31,363 --> 01:23:35,683 The satanic panic had infused itself into everyday society. 1275 01:23:36,883 --> 01:23:39,003 ROB: Some people say it wasn't demonic, 1276 01:23:39,083 --> 01:23:42,443 but just a simple episode of mass hysteria. 1277 01:23:44,083 --> 01:23:47,523 That's when the panic of the moment, the suggestion, takes over, 1278 01:23:47,603 --> 01:23:51,243 makes people believe that something is happening that isn't. 1279 01:23:51,323 --> 01:23:53,483 And that spreads like an insidious fear 1280 01:23:53,563 --> 01:23:57,323 and makes people act in ways they ordinarily never would. 1281 01:23:57,403 --> 01:24:00,803 You had several factors that are classic 1282 01:24:00,883 --> 01:24:03,363 in a mass-hysteria situation. 1283 01:24:03,443 --> 01:24:05,763 You had high-level stress 1284 01:24:05,843 --> 01:24:08,683 and a cohesive group. They're united. 1285 01:24:08,763 --> 01:24:11,923 They're united by their common enemy. They're united by the occult. 1286 01:24:12,003 --> 01:24:14,443 They're united because they're peers. 1287 01:24:14,523 --> 01:24:17,283 And these kids were in fear constantly. All the time. 1288 01:24:22,643 --> 01:24:26,283 SERGIO: When the kids took control in the '79 incident, 1289 01:24:26,363 --> 01:24:29,243 I think it was just a way for them to... 1290 01:24:31,083 --> 01:24:34,163 ..to finally say, 'Enough. Enough is enough.' 1291 01:24:38,883 --> 01:24:41,483 KATE: What we saw is a collective uprising 1292 01:24:41,563 --> 01:24:43,163 of their psychological distress 1293 01:24:43,243 --> 01:24:45,883 take the form of these spiritual practices, 1294 01:24:45,963 --> 01:24:48,643 these demonic possessions, all of this acting out, 1295 01:24:48,723 --> 01:24:51,523 as a way of saying, 'We're done. We can't handle any more. 1296 01:24:51,603 --> 01:24:54,123 We have to take back our power.' 1297 01:24:56,323 --> 01:25:00,283 Some people say it was just a hoax perpetrated by the students. 1298 01:25:00,363 --> 01:25:04,683 A way to get back at Marina and the rest of the faculty for their oppressive regime... 1299 01:25:04,763 --> 01:25:08,963 ..driven by the anger that they were harbouring towards this institution. 1300 01:25:10,203 --> 01:25:14,043 'If I hate this institution, I hate the teachers, I hate Marina, 1301 01:25:14,123 --> 01:25:16,363 I'm gonna go against what's tangible. 1302 01:25:16,443 --> 01:25:18,563 The walls. The door. The school. 1303 01:25:18,643 --> 01:25:23,123 The tangible parts of the school represent them. I'm gonna hit 'em hard.' 1304 01:25:24,643 --> 01:25:27,203 These kids weren't organised 1305 01:25:27,283 --> 01:25:29,363 to pull off a hoax like this. 1306 01:25:29,443 --> 01:25:31,843 There was... 1307 01:25:31,923 --> 01:25:35,683 way too many physical manifestations 1308 01:25:35,763 --> 01:25:37,963 of paranormal events. 1309 01:25:42,643 --> 01:25:46,363 Dismissing this does no justice to the eyewitnesses that were on the ground. 1310 01:25:47,443 --> 01:25:51,523 Those that saw people do things human beings simply can't do. 1311 01:25:54,723 --> 01:25:57,723 Things that cannot be explained through normal means. 1312 01:25:57,803 --> 01:26:01,843 Things that truly have to be paranormal in nature, 1313 01:26:01,923 --> 01:26:03,883 and likely of a diabolical origin. 1314 01:26:05,683 --> 01:26:07,483 V/O: If it wasn't mass hysteria, 1315 01:26:07,563 --> 01:26:09,363 and it wasn't a hoax, 1316 01:26:09,443 --> 01:26:11,043 then what was it? 1317 01:26:14,483 --> 01:26:18,323 Many occult experts insist that this was a paranormal event. 1318 01:26:18,403 --> 01:26:21,403 One of the biggest mass possessions in United States history. 1319 01:26:22,643 --> 01:26:27,243 There's no way that this was anything but 1320 01:26:27,323 --> 01:26:29,683 a demonic attack. 1321 01:26:29,763 --> 01:26:32,843 I'm convinced that there was actual possession taking place, 1322 01:26:32,923 --> 01:26:34,843 so there was a kind of mass possession. 1323 01:26:36,003 --> 01:26:38,163 ROB: The pandemonium in the hallway 1324 01:26:38,243 --> 01:26:40,803 is a full-blown paranormal event. 1325 01:26:40,883 --> 01:26:42,483 One that scholars have called 1326 01:26:42,563 --> 01:26:46,803 one of the strangest incidents in the history of American academia. 1327 01:26:56,723 --> 01:26:58,603 That that paranormal occurred there, 1328 01:26:58,683 --> 01:27:01,283 it seems to have been building up over years. 1329 01:27:01,363 --> 01:27:03,483 And I think the kids could feel the fear, 1330 01:27:03,563 --> 01:27:05,563 and I think it built up over years. 1331 01:27:05,643 --> 01:27:09,723 I think that anxiety, and that whole power trip that they were on. 1332 01:27:11,923 --> 01:27:15,443 ROB: It seems like what happened at MAA is impossible, 1333 01:27:15,523 --> 01:27:20,163 but I know from my research and my podcast that things like this happen all of the time. 1334 01:27:20,243 --> 01:27:25,243 In 2014, there was a mass possession in a Japanese high school... 1335 01:27:26,443 --> 01:27:30,443 ..where one girl stood up and started screaming, 1336 01:27:30,523 --> 01:27:34,603 and it just multiplied to all the female students. 1337 01:27:37,203 --> 01:27:41,403 These kinds of things occur in little pockets throughout the world. 1338 01:27:41,483 --> 01:27:43,843 And they all seem to be of diabolical origin. 1339 01:27:45,083 --> 01:27:47,723 V/O: If mass possessions have happened before, 1340 01:27:47,803 --> 01:27:49,563 they can happen again. 1341 01:27:49,643 --> 01:27:52,763 For the students of Miami Aerospace Academy, 1342 01:27:52,843 --> 01:27:55,403 they'll never forget the day 1343 01:27:55,483 --> 01:27:57,803 the devil took over the school. 1344 01:27:57,883 --> 01:28:02,003 This stuff happens. Cos these things have been around forever. 1345 01:28:02,083 --> 01:28:04,483 Time means nothing to them. 1346 01:28:04,563 --> 01:28:07,843 But they know sooner or later, you're gonna be weak. 1347 01:28:07,923 --> 01:28:09,763 And that's when it will come after you. 1348 01:28:09,843 --> 01:28:11,803 Subtitles by Deluxe