[thunder rumbling]
[ominous music]
* *
- * Let the river *
* Take my body away *
* *
* My eyes are cold *
* And my heart is gray *
* *
* Will you find me *
* Will you find me a way to die *
- [gasping]
[heartbeat pounding]
[gasping]
[gurgling]
* *
- * Will you find me *
* Will you find me a way to die *
* *
- In our suburbs,
evil lurks behind closed doors--
true stories so terrifying because the horror is real.
You will never look at your neighbors the same way again.
I'm John Carpenter,
and this is "Suburban Screams."
[person screaming]
- I regret ever playing with that Ouija board.
I wish I wouldn't have,
and this would have never happened.
[ominous music]
* *
[soft music]
My name's Dan.
Back in 1999, I moved out of my parents' home
into this bungalow house that I rented at the time
in Nepean, Ontario.
* *
The neighborhood was friendly.
It was very close community, very tight.
Not a lot of spaces between the houses,
of course, because it's very suburban.
Not a lot of cars going by,
so there's a lot of kids playing in the street.
I felt very safe in that neighborhood.
It was a nice neighborhood to live in.
* *
I needed to just re-center myself,
'cause I went through a lot of emotional stress
when my dad died of cancer.
Um, girlfriend at the time had an addiction
that I couldn't get her off that addiction.
* *
It was a hard time in my life.
* *
[quietly] Very hard.
[thunder rumbling]
[objects clattering]
- Jesus, Becky.
- Don't start now.
- All I spent on your rehab,
and look at you.
Huh?
If you're looking for money, you're not gonna find any.
Oh, no, no.
- [sobbing] I'm sorry.
I'm so...
- I can't do this, Becky.
I can't help you anymore.
- No. No.
- Becky. Becky. Becky.
- Fuck it.
- I tried to put her in detox on three occasions
where she came out kind of sober for a little bit
and then went back to the addiction.
[dramatic music]
I could see that she was spiraling down,
and I wanted to help her,
but there was nothing I could do.
* *
I don't know.
* *
It--it all happened, like...
[clears throat] Excuse me.
It's just...
[clicks tongue]
Seeing my, uh, father die of cancer
was, um...
the most horrible thing I ever experienced.
And having a girlfriend that had a drug addiction
didn't help either, you know?
It's--it's a feeling of helplessness.
I couldn't stop her from doing what she was doing.
[soft music]
I--I broke off with her. I said, "I'm done.
"I need a fresh start. I need to restart my life.
And I'm not doing this anymore."
[indistinct chatter]
And that's when Joey moved in.
- No chance!
- I rented a room in the basement from him
in the burbs, you know?
There was always something going on in the house.
[upbeat music playing]
- Oh, my God!
[indistinct chatter, laughter]
[thudding]
- When I first met in May,
it wasn't a lot of, like, courtship or anything.
We kind of clicked,
and, uh--
and it just built up from there.
* *
- Last beers in the house.
- Oh, you're an angel.
- And I'm the devil.
[giggling]
- Hey, you ever used a Ouija board?
- The toy?
- No, it's kind of a--
- Oh, my brother used to use it to freak me out
when we were kids...
until I figured out he was just pushing the pointer thingy.
- The planchette.
- Oh, my God, do you have one?
- No, I don't,
but I could make one.
[crickets chirping]
[laughter]
- Ooh. Here we go.
Got the beers.
- Awesome.
- To the ghosts.
[tense music]
* *
- Okay. [clears throat]
So I need everybody
to gently place their middle and index fingers
onto the planchette.
So everybody...
* *
Now close your eyes...
* *
And clear your mind.
* *
We call upon the spirit world
and welcome any spirits to talk with us.
Spirits, if you are here,
please talk with us.
- [snorts]
- This is stupid.
[laughs] I'm sorry.
- [snorts]
Grandma?
* *
Is that you?
* *
Still racist as ever?
[laughter]
[ominous music]
Shit, Grandma, I was just joking.
* *
[all yelping]
* *
[laughter] - Asshole!
- Grandma! [laughs]
- I'm sorry. - Don't touch me.
- I'm sorry. - Done.
- No. Look, I'll be serious.
Come on.
We'll be serious. - Mm.
- Hey, look, you can even ask the questions.
All right?
All right. Come on.
[sniffs]
- Okay.
- I'm gonna kill you.
- [clears throat]
[chuckling]
* *
[whispering] We call upon the spirit world.
- We call upon the spirit world
and welcome any spirits to talk to us.
- [whispering] Ask the spirits for a name.
- Okay.
Is someone here now?
* *
Can you tell us your name?
[planchette sliding]
* *
Dan?
- I'm not doing it.
- Joey?
- I swear I'm not fucking around.
[planchette sliding]
* *
- This is crazy.
- [exhales sharply]
* *
- It spelled Kelly.
Does anybody know a Kelly?
- I--I think we should stop.
[electricity buzzing]
[tense music]
* *
[eerie music]
[planchette sliding]
* *
- Stop it! - [gasps]
- [panting]
[rumbling]
[dramatic music]
* *
[suspenseful music] * *
- Oh, shit.
* *
- What the fuck?
* *
Oh, my God.
* *
- You're such a prick.
* *
[crickets chirping]
[dogs barking in distance]
[tense music]
[owl hooting]
- It was, uh...
it was a little hard to comprehend, honestly.
It was--it was strange.
It was a really strange feeling.
* *
- The girls were upset that we played a trick on 'em.
And we looked at them and said, "No, no, the lamp we did.
"That was deliberate.
But the chairs were not."
May was tearful.
Actually, she had tears in her eyes.
I remember that.
- [grunting]
- Are you okay?
I mean, it's freaking me out.
- Um, I had a cousin named Kelly.
Kelly Fitzgerald.
We were really close when we were little.
But as we grew up, she started getting into coke and speed
and who knows what else.
[sighs]
She was hanging out with some very seedy people.
[tense music]
It got really dark.
* *
- I'm so sorry.
* *
- She was like a sister to me, you know?
And then she wasn't.
* *
She went missing a long time ago.
* *
I don't know what happened to her.
* *
[sniffling]
- So now I'm going, "Okay, what's going on?"
It got a little more serious because now we're actually
connecting with actual people that existed,
that actually had a life and they lived.
There's something that's starting to happen here.
[liquid dripping]
- [gasping]
[soft eerie music]
* *
[eerie breathing]
* *
- You question your sanity at that point.
And you wonder, like, am I going crazy?
Should I go see a doctor?
Should I go see a psychiatrist?
Like, what's going on?
Is there really something after death?
Is it possible that something from the other side
can communicate with us?
* *
- Hey.
- [laughs] I'm on the internet.
- What's up?
- I'm searching to find out about your cousin Kelly.
- Like what?
I told you.
She got with some bad people.
Like, really, really bad.
- And then?
I mean, she couldn't have just disappeared, right?
Maybe something happened to her.
Don't you want to find out?
- I'd rather not. [scoffs]
The whole thing just kind of makes me sad.
- What if she needs our help?
- [scoffs]
Come on, Dan.
Are--are you even serious right now?
You think you're trying to help a--a ghost?
- I just think maybe we could try it one more time.
You know?
The Ouija board?
- [scoffs]
You know there are other Kellys out there besides my cousin.
[tense music]
Why do you think it was her?
- Maybe it wasn't.
Maybe it was.
I don't know.
* *
Look, just-- just one last time?
I promise.
* *
- Whatever.
I'm gonna go take a shower.
- Wait.
* *
- May said, like, "Stop playing with this stuff, guys.
This is not something to be messing around with."
But of course, we kept going anyways,
because it's what we do, right?
We keep--we keep messing around with stuff...
* *
Which was a bad idea.
* *
- [sighs]
- Nope, this is all you.
- [sniffs]
* *
- We call upon the spirit world
and welcome any spirits to talk with us.
* *
Spirits, if there is anyone here,
please let us know.
Kelly...are you here?
Are you May's cousin?
Please give us a sign.
[suspenseful music]
* *
[planchette sliding]
* *
[dramatic music]
* *
- [gasping]
[gurgling]
[eerie whispering] Daniel...
- [yelping]
- Oh! - Oh...
* *
[liquid dripping]
- I coughed, and...
what I thought was water came out of my mouth.
It just flew out of my mouth.
- Jesus, Dan, are-- are you okay?
- [panting]
I saw--
I saw her.
[ominous music]
* *
I...
I felt her drowning.
* *
I could feel it.
I could feel her drowning.
* *
- It was all very real at that point.
This was real.
She was real.
* *
- When that happened, I thought that maybe
there was more to the story.
* *
It was almost like she was trying to tell me something.
* *
- After we had the contact with Kelly
with the Ouija board,
like, the idea of this person somehow just sort of
became a big part of the house.
Most conversations revolved around her.
It was an emotional time.
[thunder rumbling]
- She's trying to show me something.
- Why?
Why you, Dan?
- I don't know.
I just feel it.
I just feel it, like--like she needs my help or something,
you know?
- Maybe she wants to kill you
or me or everyone in this house.
I'm really scared!
- Look, babe, I'm scared too.
But you gotta listen to me when--
- No, no, no, I'm done, okay?
No more Ouija boards.
No more visions.
No more Kelly.
If she is dead, let her rest in peace.
- Let her rest in peace.
[scoffing]
- I felt like I owed Kelly something for some reason.
I don't know this girl.
I felt like I owed her something,
like I was compelled to do something
to try to solve and figure out what happened to her.
Because my gut feeling was saying that
there's more to this story that's not coming out.
[tense music]
* *
After that, there was a song that--
it was like a connection to Kelly.
Every time that song would play
or that specific song would play,
it seems that that's when stuff would happen.
It's like opening up a handle or a door or something.
If you listen to the lyrics,
you could imagine somebody who's passed away
of a tragic death
trying to communicate with somebody now living,
that this is what they would say.
[singer singing indistinctly]
[rock music playing]
[upbeat music playing]
* *
[song changes] [emo music playing]
- * Will you find me *
* Will you find me *
[radio clicks] [emo song continues]
* My love tastes like *
* My blood sees day *
* *
[radio clicking] [emo song continues]
* Will you find me *
* Will you find me a way to die *
[radio shuts off]
[suspenseful music]
* *
[liquid sloshing]
- Dan.
- [gasps] Ahh!
[tires screeching]
- She was in the car with me.
[breathing deeply]
Just following me everywhere, like just an attachment.
I felt like I was losing my sanity.
Like, why is this happening?
Like, why am I getting these visions?
It just didn't make any sense.
[tense music]
* *
[ominous music]
* *
- Wait.
* *
Kelly.
Wait. Wait.
* *
Kelly!
[tense music]
* *
- Kelly.
Kelly!
[wings fluttering]
[insects buzzing]
[coughing]
- [whispering] Daniel.
- [coughing]
* *
- [whispering] Daniel.
* *
- Kelly.
Kelly?
- Daniel, help me.
- [gasping]
[panting]
[ominous music]
* *
- After the incident in the car,
May came to find me.
* *
- What happened?
- I saw her.
- Don't lose it on me, Dan.
[radio stations changing]
[emo song playing]
- * Will you find me *
* Will you find me *
- This is the song. This is the song.
Listen to the words. Listen to the words.
"Will you find me?"
Listen to it.
"A way to die?"
- They play this song, like, 20 times a day.
- Just--just listen to it, all right?
It's a cry for help.
- Oh, my God.
You're obsessed.
- How could you be so fucking heartless?
- I can't--I can't do this.
Get out.
Get out!
- Look, I'm getting close.
- Close to what?
- Helping Kelly.
- You're losing your mind.
Get out!
Please, just go!
[tires squealing]
- She was not happy.
So we did not leave on good terms,
and never spoke to her after.
* *
[breathing deeply]
[liquid trickling]
- [scoffs]
[liquid pouring]
- Jesus.
[eerie music]
* *
- [whispering] Daniel.
[ominous music]
Daniel. - No, no.
* *
No! No!
* *
- Dan?
[tense music]
* *
Dan?
Oh, Jesus, Dan.
You all right?
- [murmuring indistinctly]
- You gotta stop drinking. - Leave me alone.
- Let me help you. - No. Leave, leave, leave.
Get out. - Dude, let me help you.
- Fucking--fucking leave!
- Dude, I'm just trying to help!
- Okay. Go.
- It all seemed to be a lot to take in for him, I guess.
It caused an obsession with him--
the Kelly, the music, the house, Ouija.
And it--it became what it was all about.
* *
- After that, I spent months by myself
locked in my basement trying to communicate with Kelly.
But nothing really happens, you know?
- How can I help you if you won't talk to me, huh?
Talk to me.
Just talk to me, Kelly.
[liquid dripping]
Tell me how to help you!
[dramatic music]
* *
Ah.
* *
I can't help you unless you talk to me.
* *
What the fuck do you want from me?
[speaking indistinctly]
Talk to me.
Fuck!
- The emotions would become very intense,
almost so emotional that--
so sad, like sadness.
- [panting]
- [sighs]
Yep, just...
I think with Kelly, it was that third thing that--
somebody else that I couldn't help.
I couldn't help my father.
I couldn't do anything.
He was dying.
Um, my girlfriend, I tried to put her in detox
as many times as I could to get her off the drugs.
[eerie music]
And then Kelly,
I just couldn't stop thinking about her.
It was like it was becoming part of me.
* *
[emo song playing]
- * Will you find me a way to die *
- Kelly?
- And I felt so bad for this girl
that I couldn't do anything for her.
And I wanted to.
And I felt obsessed that I had to.
- Kelly?
Kelly!
Kelly.
I know you're here, Kelly.
Huh? Huh?
Kelly. Kelly.
Where are you?
[ominous music]
Kelly, I know you're here!
Show yourself.
* *
[person screaming in distance] [muffled shouting]
[heartbeat pounding]
[dramatic music]
* *
- [panting]
* *
[splashing]
[tense music]
- I had a vision of the night that Kelly disappeared.
This guy was fairly tall,
probably about close to 6 feet,
thin, baldheaded--
almost, like, just no hair,
and this makeshift homemade tattoo
of a heart on his chest.
* *
Then I saw another guy doing drugs.
And then things got out of hand with her.
- I know who did it, Joey.
- What? Who did what?
- The bald man with a tattoo and that other freak,
they killed her.
- Bald man with a tattoo?
What the fuck are you talking about?
- They killed Kelly.
- Jesus, Dan.
- I'm sure of it.
They put her in a sleeping bag or something, and then...
I've seen it. I've seen it.
- When?
When did this happen? - I don't know.
I don't know.
But I've just seen it with my own eyes.
You know what? I'm gonna go to the police.
- You're gonna go to the police and tell them that?
Are you out of your mind?
[dramatic music]
- One of the reasons
I've never spoken about this story
is because I don't want to be implicated in this,
you know, especially with the kind of evidence I have
is all feelings,
Ouija board sessions.
- There's gotta be something I can do to help her.
I have to help her.
Don't you get it?
[door slams]
- To me, it's like, no, I'll just be ridiculed.
I'll look like a fool.
I--I just didn't know what to do.
I felt like I--I--I--
I needed to find out what happened that night.
* *
So I decided to consult with a psychic medium.
Her name was Manuela.
I told her the whole story about Kelly.
And she said what's going on is that Kelly is a spirit
kind of like in limbo.
She doesn't know she's dead.
And right now--and this was the weirdest thing for me--
she said, "Now she's developed a love attachment for you."
And I go, "Excuse me? A love attachment?"
"Yes, this girl is attached to you,
"and she wants you to help her,
"and you're gonna have to let her know
"that she's passed away.
You're gonna have to help her move on."
And that's what I tried to do after that
is just try to get her to move on,
because my sense of guilt for not being able
to do something for her really was so intense.
* *
That's--that doesn't go away.
- This is the place.
[owl hooting]
Kelly, where are you?
Kelly?
[suspenseful music]
* *
- Daniel.
* *
- Not possible.
You're not alive, Kelly.
- Help me, Daniel.
- You're not alive.
You have to believe me.
You were murdered.
You have to believe me.
You're not alive.
- Stay with me, Daniel.
* *
- I can't.
I can't.
I'm sorry.
[crying]
* *
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
* *
[soft music]
- [grunting]
- Jesus, man.
You all right?
* *
- She's right there.
She's right there!
Go. Go.
Just go!
* *
- What the hell?
[dramatic music]
* *
- There's a dead girl in here!
[echoing] There's a dead girl in here!
- [sighing]
[crickets chirping]
[eerie breathing]
[soft music]
- It was designated a drug overdose cause of death
and that likely what happened,
the people she was with panicked
and didn't know what to do.
So they actually wrapped her body in a sleeping bag
and dumped her body instead of reporting it.
* *
That's what the investigation assumed happened,
because obviously, she--
somebody put her there.
* *
But no, it was not correct.
That was a murder.
Because nobody dumps a body and then takes off.
It's an unsolved mystery, right?
- Everybody was left with different emotions after that.
Um, I was convinced.
Um, there was no telling me
that it wasn't real at that point, you know?
It was to me. It was to Dan.
It was our story. It was our life.
We lived it. We--we...
It's hard to wrap your head around.
[sighs]
- I would like Kelly's case solved.
I don't think I'll ever find peace
until we find out exactly what happened that night.
And I think right now, I think that's why
I'm sitting in this chair.
It's, uh...
- * Take my body away *
* *
* My eyes are cold *
- [quietly] Very sad.
* *
- * And my heart is gray *
* *
* Will you find me *
* A way to die *
* *
* My love tastes like *
* My blood sees day *
* *