Oh, my God! I can't believe it.
[narrator] A new collector spies vintage dolls for sale...
The minute I saw their picture, I had to have them.
Only to find their sweet faces...
Big smile.
Hide a dark secret.
[girl echoing] Mommy...
All this starts happening right after she gets these dolls.
They were taking her life for theirs.
[narrator] And she must take drastic steps...
That's when it started speaking to me.
To contain the evil within them.
It became very intense.
[Mary Jo] It literally scared the... out of me.
Lily was pure evil.
[Bill] I'm getting you out of my house.
[narrator] In this world,
there is real evil.
[child] Someone is 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.
Bucks County, Pennsylvania,
a close-knit community of rolling hills and picturesque towns,
a place that values things that last.
To an outsider, this little enclave might not look like much,
but to long-time resident, Mary Jo Chudley,
she knows that one man's trash is another man's treasure.
Oh, my God! I can't believe it.
My mother collected a certain doll,
and I was actually looking for the collectible doll that was in one of those pictures,
to get in her honor after she passed away.
I just really had the urge that I had to get that doll,
that was the doll that I was meant to have.
Yeah, hi, I'm calling about your ad, the one with the dolls.
[man over phone] Yeah, good!
Sixty bucks for the pair.
I'll leave them outside, put the cash in my mailbox.
Oh, I'm just interested in the one.
[man] They come together or not at all.
[exhales heavily] I'll tell you what, I just want them gone.
You come over today, you can have them both for 30.
Deal.
[eerie music playing]
[Mary Jo] When I saw the one, I had to have her.
I know they had to stay together.
I felt something was wrong.
I just took both of them.
My heart was racing, I was really nervous, and I'm not like that.
I'm gonna call you Gretchen.
And you, Lily Mae.
Okay, girls, ready?
Gonna go to your new home,
promise, you're gonna love it.
[gasps]
You can't park here.
Okay, thanks. I'm just leaving.
[narrator] Mary Jo grew up in this house.
This was her bedroom as a child,
then her daughter Vickey's.
Okay, where are we going to put you?
[narrator] Now that Vickey is grown with her own family,
it's Mary Jo's hobby room, her special place.
This is the first collectible doll I've ever owned.
Here you go.
Definitely special.
I felt like I was their mother now.
And it's weird 'cause they're dolls.
I felt like I had to take care of them.
Oh, it's perfect.
[exhales] All right.
Good night!
[Bill] So, Vickey asked us to watch Charlie,
and I was thinking, why don't we make a day out of it
and take him to the zoo?
[Mary Jo] He would love that.
He went crazy when we were watching the monkeys on the internet.
Friday.
[electricity buzzing]
Whoa...
[Mary Jo] What was that?
[Bill] I have no idea, it's probably the fuse.
The lights were flashing, and they're all brand-new.
So, right away, you know me, I'm...
I'm gonna find this problem.
I will be right back.
[Mary Jo laughs]
[child laughs]
[eerie music playing]
[gasps]
Jeez!
[both scream]
Whoa! Relax, it's just me.
[breathing heavily] Oh, my God! Bill, you... that gave me a heart attack.
Well, why don't you just sit down, relax...
I'll do the dishes.
[Mary Jo] Hmm.
My husband Bill could not find out one reason why
that those lights were flickering on and off.
Nothing electrical would have caused that.
I took it as a big warning that something is not right.
[wolf whistle]
Oh, baby! if you keep flirting like that,
I might have to take the night off from work and call in sick.
I physically heard a whistle.
The whistle was a, kind of, like a catcall.
That's why I thought Mary Jo was messing around with me.
Bill, are you talking to me?
[Bill] It is kind of hot and steamy in here,
I'm just sayin'.
[whistling]
[Mary Jo] I heard whistling.
[imitates whistle] Just like that. Like, "Hey, you, I'm here."
[whistling]
[eerie indistinct voices]
I heard like, a mumble,
like, a child mumble, and, like, giggling.
[child laughs]
It was coming from the hobby room.
[child laughs]
[flies buzzing]
Oh, my God, stop it!
There's nothing up in that room,
that would cause any kind of flies or any kind of bugs at all.
[door slams shut]
Bill!
Bill! Help, I'm stuck.
Bill! Help me.
[door creaks open]
[narrator] Mary Jo Chudley followed what she thought was a child's voice...
Oh, my God, stop it!
And finds herself trapped...
[door slams shut]
In her hobby room.
Bill!
Bill! Help, I'm stuck.
Bill,
[door creaks open]
Mary Jo?
Bill, I'm in here.
I can't get out!
Oh, my God! [breathing heavily]
[voice shaking] The door just slammed shut on me and I couldn't even...
I couldn't get out.
It was just... it was so scary.
[Bill] Shh! Shh...
Listen...
go downstairs, catch your breath, relax.
I'll be down in a second. I got it.
Something was definitely going on,
but I couldn't put my finger on it.
[clock ticking]
[narrator] In spite of the strange incident with the door,
Mary Jo finds herself spending more and more time
with her girls.
[Mary Jo] I decided to clean up Gretchen a little bit.
She, just felt really unloved and, like, she was just very sad.
There you go.
Look at you,
so beautiful in your new dress.
Don't you think so, Lily Mae?
I know. I was gonna say the same thing.
[Bill] She treated them like a...
like a small child.
I mean, she took care of them, she said, you know
they were just misunderstood, they were abused.
- Bill. - Hmm?
Did you see the new dress I made for Gretchen?
Doesn't she look amazing?
[Bill] Yeah, she sure does.
I just, uh...
[Mary Jo] You just what?
[Bill] I don't know.
There's something strange about them,
and honestly, they kind of give me the creeps.
[chuckles] You hear that, girls?
He thinks you're creepy,
[sighs]
Grown man scared of a couple dolls.
Okay.
Okay, you know what? Let's take a video.
I need to show you off to my friends.
When I put them in that chair, I just didn't feel right, like,
you could just feel the tension in the room.
Come on, Lily Mae.
Gretchen was so banged up and dirty, she just needed a little extra care today.
Don't be so jealous.
Right, now, what do you have to say to Gretchen?
Okay, ladies...
big smile.
[narrator] Mary Jo is excited to introduce her daughter and grandson
to the newest members of the family,
Gretchen and Lily.
[Mary Jo gasps] Hi! Oh.
Hi, Ma.
Charlie, guess what? Mimi has a big surprise in the hobby room.
I can't wait to show you!
- I need to go potty. - [Mary Jo] Okay.
You go on up, and I'll be right there.
- Mom, can I talk to you for a minute? - Yeah.
Oh. Don't forget to wash your hands.
All right, I have to show you this video I took of the girls.
- It's so cute. - Mom, can I just talk to you for a second?
[Mary Jo on video] Okay, ladies.
- Big smile. - Mom, what is the deal with these dolls?
Dad called me and he said that all you ever do is talk about these dolls, like,
you're obsessed or something.
[scoffs] Don't be silly. Come here, take a look.
[giggles]
[toilet flushing]
- [child laughing] - [eerie music playing]
[indistinct voices]
- [voices grow louder] - [footsteps thumping]
[girl] Mommy...
Wait, here it is. Take a look.
Mom, I am serious. Dad is really worried about you.
[Mary Jo] That's ridiculous. Come on. Take a look.
[Mary Jo on video] Come on, Lily Mae.
Gretchen was so banged up and dirty, she just needed a little extra care today.
Don't be so jealous.
All right. Now, what do you have to say to Gretchen?
[voice on phone] Die!
- [suspenseful music playing] - Wait, who was that?
- Was that Dad? - [Mary Jo] I don't know.
Uh...
I didn't hear it in the moment when we were recording.
It's when we played it back is when I heard it.
[Mary Jo] All right. Now, what do you have to say to Gretchen?
[voice on phone]
When I heard "die," uh, it sounded very evil,
and it was loud as day.
Mom, that is not funny.
[Charlie screams]
Charlie?
- [Charlie screams] - [Vickey] Charlie?
Charlie. Charlie.
- What's wrong, buddy? - No dolls, Mimi. No dolls.
- What? No, it's okay, Charlie. - [Charlie] No.
- Charlie, it's fine. - No.
There's something that my son's picking up,
and he doesn't have a voice to explain what it is
because he probably doesn't understand what it is.
- Come with me. Let me introduce you. - No. Mom.
- But I just want to-- - He said no! Okay?
The dolls are freaking him out. It's okay, buddy.
Let's go home and we can play there, all right?
All right. Come on, Vickey.
Mom, Dad is worried about you and he's right. I'm worried about you too.
Come on, Charlie.
[Vickey] All of this stuff starts happening right after she gets these dolls.
I didn't wanna believe it.
But it's to the point, where you gotta start believing it
because it's all connecting.
- [Vickey] We can build with the Lincoln Logs, yeah? - [Charlie mumbles]
[eerie music playing]
- [Bill] Mary Jo? - In here.
I just got off the phone with Vickey.
And she said that Charlie's hysterical and that she can't calm him down.
He's fine. He's just overreacting.
No, no. Vickey's upset too.
And she said that she won't come back here to our home
when those dolls are in the house.
Bill, it's fine. Everyone just needs a little time to--
Nah, I don't like those things either.
And they are making you crazy.
And I am telling you, I love you, but those things need to go.
[Mary Jo] You don't know what you are talking about!
- I love those dolls. - [pan thuds]
[sighs deeply]
Don't move. I'll get a broom.
- [door opens] - Bill.
All of a sudden, I started getting really sick.
Mary Jo? You okay?
Hey, look... Whoa, whoa. Okay, okay. I got you.
All right. Keep breathing. All right. Okay. Let me call an ambulance.
And I just literally could not breathe.
- My heart was racing. And I couldn't focus. - [line ringing]
Hello? [stammering] Yeah, my wife just collapsed.
And I need an ambulance.
We rushed her to emergency room. I'm freaking out.
[siren wailing]
[narrator] When Mary Jo arrives, the doctors are alarmed.
They can't figure out what is wrong with her.
Throughout the night, they gave her multiple blood transfusions
to give her a fighting chance.
[somber music playing]
[Mary Jo] They took me into the trauma room.
That's a life or death room, as they call it in the medical field.
And that scared the [bleep] out of me.
'Cause that means I could code at any time.
They had no idea why I was dying.
- Or why I could've died. - [coughs]
[continues coughing]
[Bill] Drink some water.
[Mary Jo coughs]
What happened?
It was pretty scary there for a minute.
Doctor said it was like there was no blood in your system.
They've never seen anything like it before.
[sighs] They were doing transfusions all night.
Bill?
[EKG beeping rhythmically]
You need to go check on those dolls.
They can't be alone this long.
I'm not leaving...
until we both leave.
Then have Vickey do it.
[crashing]
Hello?
[eerie sound]
[footsteps running]
[footsteps receding]
I heard... It sounded like footsteps run down the stairs.
And then run right back upstairs.
[footsteps running up and down the stairs]
[girl] Mommy?
[clock ticking]
[girl in sing-song voice] Mommy...
[narrator] With her mother in the hospital,
Vickey is checking on her parent's house...
- [footsteps running] - [Vickey] Hello?
When she hears someone upstairs.
[girl] Mommy?
I am terrified right now.
Who was that? I have no idea.
And that's why I am still scared about that to this day.
[narrator] Eventually, Mary Jo is well enough to be released from the hospital.
Bill hopes that being away from the dolls
will give Mary Jo some needed perspective.
But that doesn't seem to be the case.
[whispers] Mary Jo.
[Bill shouts] Mary Jo!
[door opens]
[panting] Oh, my goodness. I missed you so much.
I'm so sorry I left you home alone...
[sighs in relief] for so long.
Honey?
Honey? My God, are you okay?
[Bill] They were just sucking energy out of her.
They were just... they were taking her life for theirs.
Without a doubt, the one would have killed her.
Listen to me. Something is wrong.
It has to be because of these dolls.
Can't you see that?
No, I love these girls.
- They're-- - Honey, they are making you sick.
You need to get rid of them and we need to get help.
Put the dolls down.
[Mary Jo] Maybe he is right.
Maybe it was something supernatural that was causing this.
What else could it be?
[dramatic music playing]
[narrator] Mary Jo needs answers.
So, she starts at the place where it all began.
[Mary Jo] I wanted to know more about them.
What's going on? Who owned them?
Why?
What was going on that would cause this?
[knock on door]
[paper rustling]
You again?
I'm telling you right now, I'm not taking those dolls back.
- You hear me? - No, I need to know.
Is there something wrong with those dolls?
[man scoffs]
[Mary Jo] I felt really uncomfortable.
It was very creepy.
Then, he started to get a little weird.
Really weird.
Those dolls were my granny Margaret's.
And she loved those dolls more than anything in life.
She loved those dolls more than she loved me.
And those dolls... They would scream at me all night long.
- [suspenseful music playing] - [man] No sleep. No rest.
[sighs in exasperation] And it got to the point where...
[grunts and screams]
I swore I was gonna burn the whole thing down.
Just torch it and be done.
That's why I call them demon dolls.
Excuse me?
Because they get inside your head,
and they suck you dry.
[Mary Jo] I am just getting the chills, like,
this man is physically putting his negative energy to these dolls.
They're your problem now.
So, don't ever, ever come back here again.
[narrator] Hitting a dead end with the doll man,
Mary Jo and Bill learn of a gifted local psychic.
He agrees to come over.
Scott, I am Bill Chudley.
- This is my wife, Mary Jo. - Thanks so much for coming, Scott.
We didn't know where else to go.
Oh, yes. I can already tell.
There's a lot of activity in here.
[Scott] Mary Jo didn't tell me anything about the dolls. Nothing at all.
I psychically picked up on them.
Whatever is attached to this doll was telling me to mind my business,
leave it alone.
- The older one... - Gretchen?
No... [hesitates]
I'm sensing another name.
An "M" name.
There is a gentle, loving spirit around her.
She says you...
You gave her a...
a new dress?
[sighs]
I did.
Her old one was really dirty and it was falling apart.
Well, she likes it.
But she wants you to know that her name isn't Gretchen.
It's Margaret.
And she's been trying to protect you.
But it's been very hard.
[Mary Jo] Margaret?
That was the grandmother's name of the man I got them from.
[Scott] This other one...
[exhales] There's something negative here.
Something dangerous.
Something evil.
There is so much anger in this one.
And hatred.
I was actually really worried that I was picking up something so negative,
because picking up was a big indicator that there was a problem.
Has anyone in this house been attacked or suddenly felt sick?
[sighs]
What is it?
I just got home from the hospital and they couldn't explain it,
but I almost didn't make it.
Okay. You have to listen to me.
Your family is in danger.
And I think we need to act fast.
When I read Lily
and right now as I am telling you this story,
I could feel the anxiety setting in
because she does not want me to talk about her,
but here we go.
What do you say?
I first got psychic images of what I call the reverse baptism.
Oil's being placed on the doll.
[reciting spell in foreign language]
That's when it started speaking to me.
- It became very intense. - [screaming]
And it went from being a very human, angry feeling,
to a very negative, spiritual feeling.
There is something inside this doll.
Not human.
Something evil.
She doesn't want anyone to know
the truth of what she is.
Not only is this entity angry, it is,
as we speak, attempting to keep me from talking now.
It's like a parasite.
It will suck the energy right out of you
and leave you empty.
I can see this creature. It is standing right here.
It is showing me its teeth, its bad skin, bad breath.
It is doing everything it can to scare me
and push me away from talking about this.
Mary Jo, these dolls are the source
of all the problems in this house.
Here. This is someone who can help.
His name is James, and he's a demonologist.
If you don't get these things out of the house...
I don't think I can get rid of them.
Someone is going to get hurt.
[Mary Jo] Scott, wait.
[Scott] If I kept connecting with Lily...
- [door closes] - ...there's no doubt in my mind
that my own home and my own family
probably would've been afflicted by something.
[narrator] Mary Jo can't bring herself to remove the dolls from the house.
So Bill takes matters into his own hands.
[Bill] I knew it was those dolls.
There was no fixing them.
There's no fixing that at all.
I couldn't take it anymore.
I just wanted to throw a match on the house and just run away.
[indistinct child's voice]
[electrical buzzing]
[groans softly]
[child laughing]
[grunts]
[screams]
[indistinct voices and laughter continues]
[grunts and coughs]
- [grunts] - [flies buzzing]
[mysterious music playing]
[groans]
[panting] I am getting you out of my house!
[grunts]
[electricity buzzing]
[child laughing]
[narrator] After refusing to remove the evil dolls from her home,
Mary Jo is startled by a loud thud from upstairs.
Bill?
Oh, my God.
Lily Mae, what are you doing on the floor? You're gonna get all dirty.
[Bill coughs]
Mary Jo.
Bill, are you okay?
Oh, my God, I am so sorry.
We need to call the demonologist now.
Or these things are gonna kill us.
I was scared for my husband because
I know what it was doing to him
and it doesn't take much to give somebody a stroke.
-[Bill gasps] -Oh, my God. I'm so sorry.
This is my fault.
[Mary Jo] They can't come into your home without you letting 'em.
I bought those dolls. I brought that demon in my house.
I'm gonna make the call right now.
That's when I actually reached out to James
right away and said, "I need your help."
[narrator] Mary Jo looks up James Annitto online.
James is a demonologist,
known for blessing and binding Annabelle,
the possessed doll that Lorraine and Ed Warren keep in their occult museum.
[line ringing]
- [James] James Annitto. - Hi, James.
This is Mary Jo Chudley.
I'm having some problems with some dolls in my house.
[James] Okay, tell me what's going on.
When Mary Jo told me that her dolls were in the house,
specifically the negative one,
I told her, you either get it out of the house
or contain it in a box with blessed oil.
They need me to take care of them.
It's just they're acting so badly.
[James] They are bad
and you're the one who brought them into your home,
so you're the one who's gonna have to take action
to protect your family.
Now, I'm gonna send you a very specific list of materials you'll need
and you'll have to build the box to contain the evil
- until I can get there. - Okay.
I can do this.
I will do this.
[James] I'll be praying for you.
And I'll be there as quickly as I can.
[suspenseful music playing]
[James] I gave them very necessary instructions
of how to build this box.
[saw thuds]
Bastards.
Mary Jo did not want to get rid of the doll.
And you can never force somebody
to do what they don't wanna do.
[hammer head thuds]
All I could do is give her the best tool.
Keep the doll, but keep her family safe.
He gave me a list of stuff I needed. I needed to get natural wood.
I needed to get plexiglass because you can't have glass
because it amplifies the spirit in it.
[fly buzzing]
[Mary Jo] We also had a St. Michael's card
and holy salt that had to go inside the box.
No, I didn't stain that side yet.
- Stop. No, you-- - You don't have to stain.
- Yes, you should-- - Who cares what it looks like?
- Because it's supposed to be all the same. - [Bill groans]
[Mary Jo] That's when I started to get very nasty.
I just felt this anger out of nowhere, and I couldn't control
what came out of my mouth at all.
- Just take it out and let me do it. - If I-- If you just--
[loud bang]
[Bill] Inside the box, we put all the medallions and...
you know, all the religious artifacts that he sent us,
plus the blessed oil we put on the box.
All right, let's go.
Stay here, Bill.
I brought them into our house.
I need to do this myself.
[Mary Jo] Lily was definitely trying to stop us.
She was going after me,
because she knew I was the one who was gonna stop her.
[rattling]
Oh, my God.
[narrator] Mary Jo Chudley is attempting
to bind the demonic presence in her doll Lily,
but the dark forces are not making it easy.
[rattling]
Oh, my God.
[rattling stops]
[Bill] Okay, let's go. Come on.
[narrator] When James Annitto, the demonologist, finally arrives,
Mary Jo takes him to the doll room.
[Mary Jo chuckles] This is Lily.
You can see why I'm so taken by her.
I can tell we've already got our work cut out for us.
[zipper opens]
Dear Father,
I ask that you bind and remove anything here
that is not of you.
Please place a barrier of protection around us
and keep us safe from all evil.
- Amen. - Amen.
I bind thee and demand that you are
confined within this sacred barrier.
- [eerie sound] - [James] I was touching the doll
and I definitely felt a rushed sensation in the back of my head.
Bone-chilling patterns that went through my body
the hair raising up, I felt that.
I bind thee
and demand that you are confined within this sacred barrier.
[Lily echoes] Don't let him do this. He's hurting me.
I thought you loved me.
You said you would protect me. You've got to stop him.
Make him shut up.
Lily was pure evil and scaring me.
Scared the living daylights out of me.
It literally scared the [bleep] out of me.
[James] I bind thee and demand...
[Lily] Grab something and hit him over the head.
I bind thee and demand
you are confined within this sacred barrier.
- [Lily] Get out! Get out! - Get out of my head!
I want you out of my house! You're not welcome here!
This is the house of God, it's a house of light.
[lock clicking]
[sighs]
[James] Lily's bound to that box for now.
But you can never open it.
And you can never let anyone else open the box or touch the doll
because she'll just get out.
Do you understand?
Good.
[Mary Jo] You can't destroy demonic.
If we burn that doll,
the presence will just go into... into something else.
So now it's contained.
- [gasps] Whoa! Look. - [indistinct conversations]
[Mary Jo] We finally contained her and everything's back to normal.
I feel so much better.
Bill is in so much better mood.
Charlie goes back up into the room
and Vickey's not afraid to come over.
So, it's all back to normal. This just shows that
Lily... it was all Lily.
Margaret chose me.
I believe it was just so weird how
Lily was that doll that I was looking for.
[Bill] It's real. I lived it...
and if I didn't, I would never have believed it.
[speaking indistinctly]
[Mary Jo] Either you believe or you don't.
I could've died and it's a fight for good versus evil.
And that's really what it is.
You had Lily who was evil,
you had Gretchen who wasn't
and it was a fight between both of them.
When you have a demonic presence that comes into your life,
that's probably the most scariest thing you'll ever experience ever.
You don't want this.
You just do not want this.
I'm willing to risk my life
- to make sure nobody else loses theirs. - [Lily laughs]
[Mary Jo] And contain it.
[theme music playing]