I love this house.
I love you.
Get the door though, all right? Let's get in here.
[narrator] Childhood sweethearts reconnect.
[Joe] It was just...
you know, it was perfect timing, actually.
[narrator] But their happily ever after...
is threatened.
[Danika] Joe...
[screams] Joe!
[banging on wall]
[Danika] It was just like, random things...
until it wasn't.
- [eerie growling] - Dan!
We were both pretty terrified.
[narrator] When a darkness plots
to tear them asunder.
[Danika] Oh, my God, Joe!
[narrator] In this world,
there is real evil.
[child] Someone's in my room.
[narrator] It lurks in the darkest shadows.
Between what we see,
and the things we fear,
there are doors.
When they are opened...
nightmares become reality.
[narrator] Providence, Rhode Island,
one of America's oldest cities.
Founded as a haven for religious pilgrims,
its name means providing protection
or spiritual care.
And that's exactly what former police officer, Joe Menano
hopes it will be for his new family.
Dream house, yeah.
[Joe] I just really needed somebody in my life I can trust and...
care about and...
who just brought some levity into my life.
I'd gone through so much for so long,
it was just, you know, it was perfect timing actually.
[narrator] After a string of bad luck and near-fatal work injuries,
Joe has reconnected with his childhood sweetheart, Danika.
They've recently married
and are building a new life together.
[Danika] Hey, Joey.
You got that box? That's the heavy one.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's good, it's good. I got it. [chuckles]
I love this house.
Okay.
-All right. I love you. Get the door though. -[both chuckle]
In a hurry, over here.
[Joe] By the time Danika and I met back later in life,
we had both gone through divorces.
And when we found each other, it was...
it was kind of funny, we picked right back up where we left off.
[narrator] The couple settle into their new home.
Also unpacking baggage of a different kind.
Uh, yeah, I'm...
trying to make the place look perfect
and I'm not sure this is gonna have a place.
I went three for four on that game.
We'll figure it out.
Look Joe, it's your Pop!
He's so handsome.
I love a man in uniform.
My husband became a police officer
because his father was a police officer and...
it's all he knew.
And I think that it was something that
made his father pretty proud of him.
You ever miss the job, babe?
I had some very serious injuries. I was almost killed.
I actually looked down the barrel of the gun and watched it go off.
Sometimes you gotta...
take the hint and move on, no?
[narrator] Not long after Joe and Danika move in,
they begin to feel they're not the only ones living there.
Hon!
I understand about a lot of complicated things, but this?
I got it, I got it, I got it.
You press this button on that remote, right?
Then you press the up arrow on this one.
Then the center button after you scroll down,
and over,
press select. It auto-signs you in.
It's nothing to it.
Joe.
[Joe] Danika and I...
when we would have...
I don't even want to call them arguments.
Some of them were but some of them were like,
two people who are best friends, who have known each other a long time,
who can kind of yell at each other and not mean it.
What do you want from me? Look, you want to watch your shows,
I got you the manner by which to watch your shows.
You used to have 18 remotes, I got it down to three.
Are you kidding me right now?
[loud banging]
[Joe] Out of the blue,
on the wall of the room we were in.
Enough where it kind of, shook the room.
Three very loud bangs, like...
like a grown man was taking his fist and punching the wall.
What was that?
[Joe] I don't know, baby.
I'm gonna go find out. You stay here.
Okay.
[Joe] I tried to figure out
what exactly was happening.
And I actually walked around a little bit.
[banging on wall]
And right then,
three bangs happened again on the wall,
right in front of my face.
Sake.
[Joe] I actually felt
the wind of what...
if a human being was standing in front of you,
hitting the wall,
you'd sense their arm moving, and feel that wind.
That's what I felt.
And it really scared me half to death.
- Joe. - [Joe screams]
Baby!
What was it, Joe?
I don't know, baby but...
you scared the crap out of me.
I was scared [bleep] less. I didn't know what to do.
Geez.
Oh, baby, baby. Behind me. Behind me. Behind me.
[Joe] I don't know.
I don't know.
Joe, do you think it's your dad trying to...
get in touch with you, trying to get your attention?
Babe,
Dad's been dead for years.
- What do you mean, get my attention? That's crazy. - I don't know
but I don't understand, there's any other explanation.
[Joe] And that was when we kind of realized that something...
that was happening there that we...
we were out of control of.
We were both pretty terrified.
[narrator] With no explanation for what's going on in their home,
Joe Menano spends a restless night.
[wood creaking]
[footsteps]
- Babe... - [footsteps approaching]
Babe!
I heard two or three...
distinct footsteps
of what sounded like a grown man walk up
to the side of my bed.
And I can feel...
something or someone standing there.
Babe.
Dan.
Dan, wake up.
[in demonic voice] You're not gonna wake up.
Dan!
Wake up!
What I felt was sheer terror.
- Wake up! - What? What... what--
The hell is wrong with you?
There was somebody watching me, then you were...
- talking like a zombie. - What?
Yeah, like you were possessed or whatever. There was a...
felt somebody...
just staring at me.
The foot of the bed, there.
What are you talking about, Joe?
[Danika] Really, I thought that he was... he was nuts.
I'm talking and I don't know I'm talking,
and he's sensing something at the same time that I'm talking?
It's... it's just not believable.
- Your voice, it was like a deep growl. - Joe...
You really don't remember?
No, Joe.
Maybe it was just a nightmare.
But I'm up now.
Gonna go get a glass of water.
You go to sleep, Joe.
Yeah.
[Joe] You know, you don't want to go to sleep.
You don't want to be alone in the house.
You get up in the middle of the night,
you get that feeling like something's watching you
and that's kind of when...
it really got bad.
It really got bad after that.
Crazy nut.
Sure, Dan.
Talking in your sleep.
I'm a zombie.
[eerie breathing]
[screeching]
[screams]
[shrieking]
What?
What is it? What, baby?
Baby, what, what, what--
Did something bite me?
- What? - Right here.
Where, where? Here we go.
- Okay. - Oh, Dan.
- Oh, Dan, baby, you got scratches. - What?
Three in a row.
[narrator] A series of disconcerting and unexplainable experiences
has been happening to Joe and Danika Menano
since they moved into their new home.
It looks deep. Does...
does this hurt?
Yes.
Tonight,
it turned physical.
Baby, baby.
This isn't my dad, okay?
He would never hurt you.
This is something different.
Something bad, baby.
[Danika] He would have tried anything to get rid of this negativity,
because, as a man,
this is your family. I'm his wife.
Somebody's trying to hurt his wife.
So, at this point, he had had enough.
[narrator] While Danika is away on a work trip,
Joe begins watching ghost hunting tv shows
and is curious about electronic voice phenomenon.
And how it might be able to tell him
what's going on in the house.
Select, arrow up,
volume down.
Doesn't take a rocket scientist.
[narrator] He buys a digital tape recorder
and begins to ask questions.
Who are you?
What's your name?
You know what,
what do you want?
Why are you bothering me?
[Joe] It wasn't until I kind of found
paranormal investigations on tv
and really started getting into it,
that all of this stuff...
really started going crazy.
[recorder clicks]
[Joe, on recorder] Who are you?
[faint growling]
What's your name?
[recorder clicks]
Who are you?
[faint growling]
Who are you?
What do you want?
Why are you bothering me?
[dramatic music playing]
[faint whispering on recorder]
[narrator] Joe begins to obsessively record.
Listening for any electronic voice phenomenon.
[Joe] As I started listening, and doing more and more,
I realized as I would listen back,
I would hear whispering.
[faint whispering]
[Danika] It was just like random... random things,
until it wasn't.
[Danika] Hey, Joe, they were out of, um,
Moo Shu Pork, so I got you some Mongolian beef.
Joe, can you take the headphones off and talk to the living?
[Joe] Shh.
[fast whispering]
I swear it's...
saying I'm worthless.
Oh, Joey.
You're starting to scare me.
Either you're hearing something that...
is there or you're hearing something that isn't there.
Joe!
[Joe] I couldn't tell what it said at first,
but I could hear it. I knew it was there.
It was in the white noise of the recorder,
kind of, that static.
I would hear what sounded like, talking, to me.
Very fast,
very quiet whispering.
[faint whispering]
I slowed it down a little bit
and it was all just...
swearing at me, vulgar.
Telling me it was going to kill me.
It wants my soul.
It's gonna kill my family.
It wants Danika and I apart.
It has a right to be there.
[ghoulish voices]
[narrator] Joe keeps the darker contents of the EVPs from Danika.
Eventually, he begins hearing them in real time.
You're a fun date.
Yeah. Okay, baby, I'll be done in a minute.
Yeah.
Sure.
[Danika] So, he started running a recorder,
when we would watch tv at night, I'd fall asleep.
He'd have the recorder on
and he would just listen to it,
and listen to it.
[woman on tv]
[faint whispering]
[eerie sound]
[whooshes]
[ghoulish voices]
[whispering]
[ghoulish voice] Kill yourself, Joe.
[Joe] All of a sudden, now I'm hearing
this thing, this energy,
this... this spirit. I don't know.
You know, it's all a big, kind of mystery to me.
[ghoulish voices]
[voices continue]
I'm coming to kill you.
Dan, did you hear that?
No!
Baby!
- No. - Tell me that you heard that.
No.
I'm sorry, baby, I didn't.
I didn't hear anything.
[narrator] Joe is certain there is a message for him in the static.
Something that could solve the strange occurrences in their home.
Every waking hour,
Joe continues his quest.
[Joe] I sat there every night while she slept,
with headphones on,
trying to figure out
what this thing was saying.
Because I thought, maybe there's a message here.
Maybe if I can figure out what it wants...
I can...
give it what it wants,
help it get somewhere and get this out of my life.
Effing drive yourself nuts, Menano.
[knocking at window]
[knock]
What?
Dan!
[narrator] Retired police officer, Joe Menano
has become obsessed with documenting the voices
he hears in his home.
Tonight,
the unexplained incidents
take an even darker, more menacing turn.
[knocking on window]
What?
- Dan! - What?
- Dan! The window! - What?
What did you want me to see?
There... there was something...
someone
right there outside the window.
No, Joe.
Couldn't have.
Wha...
think about it, it's...
second floor. How is anybody even gonna get up here?
There's no way
that anybody would be out there. Just...
think about it, Joey.
Hey, I...
[Danika] It was impossible for it to be somebody standing outside of our window
because there was no fire escape,
there was nothing over there.
I thought he was fricking crazy.
Yeah, but I...
I swear.
I swear,
I saw.
It had these eyes.
Oh, Joe.
You gotta stop the recordings.
You gotta stop listening to them.
Go to sleep, Joe.
Go to sleep.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah. You're probably right.
[narrator] Knowing Joe is struggling,
and time together is rare,
Danika makes a special dinner for them both.
[Danika] There was one night where Joey was working a double,
and I tried to do something nice for him.
I had lit candles around.
Oh!
For heaven's sakes, Joe.
You scared me half to death
and now my clothes are going to be ruined.
[Joe] I'll tell you what,
I'll finish with dinner and everything. You go upstairs and...
take a shower.
Soak out the stain or whatever and just...
Hey, just relax. Okay?
Aw!
Joe...
[Danika] The messages on the mirror, they were all negative towards him.
So, it was like, "He's a liar."
"He doesn't deserve you."
Joe.
Joe!
I swear,
I saw.
It had these eyes.
[narrator] Danika Menano,
is worried about her husbands mental state.
She isn't sure if she's more afraid that he might be insane
or if there really is something sinister afoot.
Joe!
Baby, baby! Are you okay?
You okay?
- What's going on? - Look.
Did you do this?
[Joe] She's like, when were you in here?
And I told her, I said, I wasn't in here.
I was in the living room the whole time.
She just turned around and looked.
And on the mirror, was...
something written in the steam.
I've been in the living room. I was in the living room the whole time, I swear.
Oh, Joe.
We gotta talk.
I'm really afraid, Joe.
All this stuff that's been going on,
is it you?
Is it not you?
Are you okay?
Yeah.
There's even more I didn't tell you.
I'm hearing these voices.
Especially this male voice... yells.
I'm home alone and...
at night.
When I'm alone in the house, it's been...
it's been telling me some
bad things.
[Joe] It was telling me it wanted to kill me.
It was telling me it wanted to end my marriage
and get me alone and kill me.
God, Joe.
I had no idea it was this...
dark.
This violent.
Yeah.
I didn't want to tell you.
I didn't want to scare you more than you already were.
Do you think that...
whatever this thing is...
it's what's writing on the bathroom mirror?
I don't know...
but I do know,
that I'm not crazy.
And I'm not...
playing games with you.
[Danika] At this point, we definitely think something's up.
Like, it's not... it's not...
a little tiny, like, ghost
Casper, the Friendly Ghost haunting.
This is now something that we're starting to think
is at a demonic level.
He really felt like it was something that wanted to separate us.
[narrator] With the paranormal activity escalating,
they are willing to go to extremes to get some answers.
Danika suggests
an unorthodox method.
Maybe we need to ask it what it wants.
What it is.
I've been asking, baby.
The only response I get are curses.
We need to communicate with it.
We need a truce.
I got this.
What?
What are you doing?
Look, this is what I got.
I think we need to use this thing.
[Joe] We get to a point where
we were gonna try anything to see what's up.
We decided this was something we were gonna do.
Is there someone in this house
who's trying to get our attention?
[Joe] Yes.
Do we know you?
Are you related?
No.
What is it?
- What? What? - Baby?
Baby, I...
feel hands
- on my shoulders. - No.
No, this can't be. Joe, I don't see anyone.
Yeah, baby. I'm telling you, I feel it.
Who are you?
A...
- Baby, you doing this? - [Danika] Mmm-mmm.
Z...
E...
[Danika] Who's Z?
[Danika whimpers]
E.
L.
Azazel?
Well, what the hell is that?
What? Is it a name?
Azazel? I don't frickin' know, baby.
What? What's that on your leg?
Joe! What's on your leg?
- Oh, my God, Joe! - Oh!
[narrator] Joe and Danika Menano have taken a chance
trying to communicate with a spirit
they believe is haunting their home.
[Joe screams]
What is that on your leg?
But the message it had is seared into Joe's skin.
Oh, my God, Joe, what is that on your leg?
-Baby, -What?
What happened? What?
Don't even worry about it. Don't even worry about it.
What the hell is Azazel?
[Joe groans]
Uh...
Azazel.
Biblical demon with yellow eyes.
Biblical demon with yellow eyes?
[Joe] Where have I been that something this old or evil
could be attached to me or my house?
You know, I'm just a regular guy from Rhode Island.
Like, why would this thing be in my house?
Uh, I mean...
It's obviously something intelligent.
It's uh...
paying attention to everything that's going on.
I never had anything like this happen to me until I met you, Joe.
[dramatic music playing]
[narrator] Realizing they need extra help,
Joe contacts renowned demonologist, Carl L. Johnson
and his associate,
Elise Carlson.
[Carl] I'm a paranormal researcher who specializes as a demonologist.
I define demonology as,
the systematic study of the lore,
and cultural traditions of wicked spirits.
[narrator] Johnson began his paranormal career decades earlier.
Investigating the Perron family haunting
in nearby Harrisville, Rhode Island.
That case...
inspired the first Conjuring movie.
You know, Joe started out when he called saying,
"I hope you won't think I'm crazy."
Interesting.
Ready?
Let's do it.
[Carl] Elise and I work very well together.
She has a background in law enforcement
and investigative procedure.
I'm Danika, Joe's wife.
- We're really glad you came. - Yeah.
I'm Carl. This is my colleague, Elise.
Joe's been making a lot of recordings.
We're just gonna talk for a bit right now.
Gather some information.
All right? So, Joe...
tell us what you believe these voices have been saying to you.
Uh, do you mind if we record the conversation?
So I don't miss anything.
[Danika] I think that they came just to make sure that we're not crazy.
And honestly,
I kind of wanted to make sure that my husband wasn't crazy.
[narrator] Carl and Elise listen intently
as Joe and Danika describe what's been happening.
[Elise] We learned a little bit more about Joe.
That he had been through a very traumatic experience.
You were grazed by a bullet over your ear, in the line of duty?
Yes.
Yeah.
Thought I was going to meet my maker.
That's when we started hearing the voices in the house.
It's telling me some horrible things.
Telling me I'm worthless.
That I should off myself.
They're trying to break us up.
I see.
[Carl] I thought there was no ghost haunting Joe.
Oh, there were strange things happening in the house,
but his main problem
I thought was rooted in his psyche.
A manifestation of his own thoughts, his own mind,
his own conscience.
Ah, but, uh...
but maybe, uh...
maybe the most disturbing thing is uh,
this writing on the...
on the steamed up bathroom mirror.
That's fascinating, Joe.
Just fascinating.
[Elise] Interesting scripts.
Do you mind if we just have a look around?
Sure.
Yeah, yeah, sure. Sure.
[Elise] So, Carl and I looked around the house to...
find handwriting samples
without alerting the homeowners
because we didn't want to make them feel
like we were calling them out on it.
We wanted to match up
who could have possibly written those words on the mirror.
Interesting.
What did you find?
Well...
you see how the A's and E's are written on that mirror?
I don't know anyone who writes an A or an E like that.
Agreed.
These are written by a number of different people.
None of them match the writing on that shower mirror.
Yeah, none match here in the mail either.
Now this is getting interesting, isn't it?
Hmm.
I just want to rule out a few things.
Rule out any possible anomalies or...
Yeah, or debunk any paranormal causes. Look,
steady readings.
Oh.
Oh. Right here is where Danika said she was scratched.
Yeah, but you see, there's nothing in the red here, even the orange.
I mean, there's nothing unexplainable here except maybe...
maybe the microwave is leaking a bit.
[Carl] I did not attribute it to anything paranormal.
So, that's how I would have logged it,
had not other information come to light.
[Elise] Thanks.
[clears throat]
Well, Carl, Elise...
there's something I want you to hear.
I think we've got enough information right now
for our initial investigation.
We'll check our notes and get back to you, okay?
Well, you see...
there's a spirit and...
he told us his name was Azazel through the spirit board.
Joe, it's okay.
A real demon wouldn't give its name like that.
We're gonna gather our notes and thoughts and we'll get back to you.
Okay?
[narrator] Back at their office,
Elise begins reviewing the recording they made at the Menano interview.
Subject believes he is being targeted by a negative entity.
[audio static]
[faint whispering]
[audio static]
[whispering] I'm going to kill you.
Ca-- Carl!
Come in here.
What's going on?
I'm transcribing the notes from the conversation over at the Menanos.
I can hear someone...
it sounds like someone inhaling.
Like,
about to speak.
Like, a deep voice whisper.
So, I rewind the recording and...
I can clearly hear there's another voice that wasn't anyone there at the table.
Listen to this.
I'll boost it a bit.
This may be a bit more complicated than we thought.
Play it again.
[Carl] It's taunting Joe.
It's got personality to it.
It's putting him down.
This then, was the voice that Joe was hearing.
[whispering] I'm going to kill you.
It was not his imagination.
And it wasn't purely a psychological anomaly.
It was something detached and something real.
Something separate from Joe himself.
It's...
actually responding intelligently to the questions we're asking Joe and Danika.
Or that they're asking us.
And we have ourselves a genuine haunting.
[narrator] The demonologists return to the Menanos.
To Joe and Danika,
it couldn't happen fast enough.
We're so glad you guys are back.
You said you'd got voice on the tape.
[Joe] When they called and said that they
had captured...
speaking on their recording,
I felt validated because I knew it was real.
Several, actually, Joe.
What we think has been happening to you is caused by a poltergeist.
Brought on by the stress of your near-death experience
and opening up your latent abilities.
When someone has what we call a near-death experience,
[eerie sound]
It opens up a whole new dimension for them.
They're suddenly aware that there's more out there.
And someone's life is never the same
after a near-death experience.
Not only are poltergeists known to wreak havoc by physically moving things,
they can have a voice too.
And it's that voice we're able to hear through the recording we made.
Listen to this.
When I was transcribing the notes from our last conversation,
I realized,
we'd also captured an unnerving, deep growl.
As well as several, quite aggressive EVPs.
Like this one.
Do you have a message for me?
[audio static]
That's it.
That's the voice that's been torturing me!
That's what I've been hearing.
And now you're hearing it too, right?
Yes, Joey.
We can hear it too.
Oh, my God.
[Carl] This voice that previously only Joe Menano had heard,
within his own hearing, within his mind,
had been taunting him, deriding him,
telling him he's worthless, give it all up.
Now we hear the voice.
This turned everything around.
It's a game changing moment.
No longer do we think
it is just what's happening in Joe's mind.
It's assaulting him, it's talking to him.
This is a real,
parapsychological,
phenomenon.
So,
this is real?
Poltergeists are real?
What are they?
It's a German phrase,
that literally means noisy ghosts.
But in today's terms,
it's usually energy coming from a living person.
It's a call for attention.
A call for help.
A release of excess energy that a person has.
Leaving some sort of mark on the universe.
See, a poltergeist is a construct.
It takes a force. It's very real.
It's been documented. It can move things.
They can appear as living beings,
even though they aren't.
[Joe] So, it's me?
But it's not me? That's a lot to take in.
Now, just to be clear, Joe. It is coming from you,
from your emotions needing a release,
fear, stress, guilt...
manifested outwards.
It could be feelings connected to leaving the force
or...
worry about letting your father down.
Joe.
Your father was proud of you till the day he died.
And so am I.
[Carl] In my long experience with investigating, I've...
encountered the demonic numerous times.
Never have I found a situation where it was...
so internalized.
Joe's was unique,
because...
it was his inner demon that was speaking to him.
And I'm not talking about a psychological inner demon.
It was living on its own.
Except, within him.
Speaking to him.
Never had a situation like that before.
Can we get rid of it?
Yes, but it's going to take time and effort.
This entity has become very real to you and that's it's power.
You've got to treat it as a separate personality and banish it.
Diminish it.
It's time to take back your life, Joe.
You got to treat the...
activity like a... um,
unruly child.
Okay, don't give it any unnecessary attention, especially,
for behaving badly.
We can't thank you enough.
[Joe] I eventually just learned how to
block it out and forget about it.
You just have to find a balance.
- Hey! - Hi.
This is for you.
Thanks, baby doll.
White wine? Smart.
[Joe] I learned a lot about the paranormal.
I feel like I've learned a lot about myself.
And yeah, I mean, I still deal with it from time to time but
because I'm able to manage it now I definitely think it's been
more of a blessing than a curse
because I came out the other end
a little bit wiser, a little bit smarter.
Understanding a lot more.
[eerie growling]
Joey.
What was that noise?
I must have left the faucet running
when I washed my hands.
- Okay. - [Joe] Be right back.
Okay.
[eerie growling]