[static crackling]
[beeping]
[ambient music playing]
[comet whistling]
[narrator] Once every 70.6 years,
a comet sweeps through our inner solar system.
For a few exhilarating weeks, it is visible from Planet Earth.
Then it wanes,
disappearing into the great deep dark of space.
A comet called Kharon,
named for the ferryman of Hades,
who carries souls of the dead across the river Styx.
Comet Kharon was discovered in 1784,
but geological evidence suggests
it may have once been one half of a cosmic pair.
Its companion
is believed to have crashed to the surface
millions of years ago,
leaving in its wake
a coveted and rare gemstone
called Kharonite.
[static crackling]
[ominous theme music playing]
[Melody] Please help. Please find me. Please help. Please find me.
[gasps]
[mysterious music playing]
[gagging]
[coughs]
-[truck revving] -[car honking faintly]
[suspenseful music playing]
Come on. Come on.
[knocking on door]
I need to borrow your phone.
[line ringing]
[tone plays]
[automated voice] LMG. Your call cannot be completed.
Thank you.
[suspenseful music continues]
[elevator dings]
Where is he?
Please, have a seat. Mr. Davenport will be right with you.
[Virgil] Hey, Dan.
Let me start by thanking you
for your excellent work.
What happened to me? Why the fuck am I in the city?
Well, I'm afraid you, uh, pushed yourself a little too hard there, Dan.
You collapsed from exhaustion.
We provided you with medical attention
and we got you back home safely.
That's a fucking lie.
You knocked me out and drugged me.
Well, I have your patient file right here.
It says you had a complete workup.
Physical exam, tox screen, psych evaluation, blood work.
They wanted to keep you under observation,
but I thought sleeping in your own bed would do you more good.
What the fuck was that place?
That underground chamber that I found.
It was the exact same room that was found in the basement at the Visser.
It's the exact same room that your brother was planning
some kind of fucked-up human sacrifice.
The doctors did say you were hallucinating when they found you.
What was I doing there?
What was Thomas Bellows doing there?
Why were we digitizing those tapes?
What do you think is on 'em?
Dan, are you listening to yourself?
You want to know what your brother was up to, don't you?
So you can see how to follow in his footsteps?
Do you know how you sound,
accusing the owner of a Fortune 500 company
of being some kind of occultist?
You purposely destroyed a lot of very expensive equipment
at my compound, Dan.
You may think we didn't get it on camera,
but you'd be wrong.
Take the money.
Go back to your life.
If you continue pursuing these accusations,
I'll press charges.
Fuck! Fuck!
[rustling]
Mark?
Holy shit.
You're home.
Hey. Whoa, hey, what are you doing here?
I had to get…
this.
-Wait till you see what the fuck I got. -Okay, did you get my message?
When I drove all the way to Camp Crystal Lake
and you told me to go fuck myself? That message?
No, a message about Thomas Bellows, about the tapes.
I didn't get it.
Need to show you something.
There is a face
in the screen.
Do you see it?
You see it?
It's in there.
It's watching me.
Fuck you and your tapes, Patricia.
What did you get up to?
His girlfriend undersold it.
That guy went off the fucking deep end.
Not sure he did.
I thought I saw something in those tapes too.
I thought I was imagining it, but now I'm not… I'm not sure.
What did you see?
I don't know.
Wasn't human.
People used to believe that film could capture all kinds of shit that the…
human eye couldn't see.
You know, ghosts, spirits, fairies,
demons.
Now I need to show you something.
The William Crest collection.
Where did you get all this?
Sorry to be the one to break this to you, but Evie Crest died a couple weeks ago.
Probably after she sent you that first tape.
Shit.
Uh, William Crest was obsessed with a cult called the Vos Society.
It sprung up in New York after World War I.
Founded by Jonah, Lukas, and Iris Vos.
They were into some seriously dark shit.
Like human sacrifice, dark magic,
an instruction manual from a coven of witches called the Baldung.
And get this.
The supreme being they were trying to raise from an alternate dimension
went by the name of Kaelego.
Remember that snuff film Samuel was trying to find?
Holy shit.
Crest did find a copy.
So, the Vos headquarters goes up in flames in 1924,
cult vanishes without a trace, but somehow this film manages to survive.
William Crest sees it at a stag party, then he spends years tracking down, like,
every piece of information about the Vos family.
I read all the scripts. They tell the whole crazy story.
And what about the pictures you wanted to show me?
Spirit photographs.
The Vos family was obsessed with these. They took hundreds of them.
Most people were hoping to see a ghost, a son or father lost in the war,
but I think the Vos family was trying to see something else.
I don't know if it's a hoax or not, but, I mean, there's something there.
Is that what you've been seeing?
Maybe. I'm not sure.
Wait a minute.
I know her.
Yeah, that's Iris Vos, owner and operator of the Vos Society.
No.
[Melody] Who is this?
[Anabelle] I don't know.
This is the woman Anabelle was painting.
[melodic 1920's jazz playing]
[car honking faintly]
[woman] Are you Rose?
Yes.
Give me your coat.
Miss Vos will see you now.
-You must be Rose. -Yes, miss.
I'm Iris Vos.
So, what did they tell you about the job?
That you were looking for a lady's maid.
That your family was very generous.
-Very rich. -Very odd?
No.
Not at all.
It's all right.
America has been good to us.
What about you?
I came here with my parents and my sisters.
Four years now.
Uh, they all died on the ship.
The typhoid fever.
Oh, I'm so sorry.
So you're very much alone.
Yes.
Well, my last maid, Anna, disappeared a few weeks ago.
We think she eloped.
I'm happy for her, of course, but…
I'm afraid I'm very much lost without her.
Father gave me that when I was a girl.
Go ahead, open it.
[music box plays notes]
What's the tune?
It's an old folk song.
[playing eerie melody]
Do you have religion, Rose?
[melody stops]
It's hard for me to believe in a god
who would let my family die like that.
It was such a terrible death, miss.
Yes, I know what it's like to lose family.
Sometimes I wish I died with them.
So we'd all be together.
Don't say that.
Never say that.
You will see them again.
Now tell me, and be honest,
do you like babies?
Because I've been hoping for a child for a very long time.
Oh, I didn't realize you were married.
My husband died in the war, but I took back the family name.
And why shouldn't I have it? Something so dear?
I don't know.
I think you're very special, Rose.
I think you're capable of holding a whole new world inside of you.
Don't you?
I hope so, miss.
[door opens]
[man] Iris!
Iris. It's here.
Shall we go see?
[sighs]
It's all right. Rose is part of the family now.
She's my new girl.
Rose, these are my brothers, Lukas and Jonah.
Hello.
Well, go on.
[exhales]
Look at it.
What is it?
Everything I've ever dreamed of.
Thank you.
Unusual, isn't it?
They say it came from a comet.
Do you know what a comet is?
[tea pouring]
It's the most beautiful and powerful of all the celestial bodies.
A blazing light in the night sky that can reveal all the secrets of the universe.
Come. Here, sit.
Very soon, the comet will pass so close to the Earth
that you'll be able to see it with your very own eyes.
We'll have a grand party to celebrate the good luck and fortune it will bring.
Not to mention the thinning of the veil between the worlds.
What worlds, miss?
Come. Let's go greet our guests.
[piano playing softly]
[man 2] Cheers.
[indistinct party chatter]
Yes, I appreciate it. Of course.
-Cheers. -Cheers.
Yes, same to you.
I don't believe we've met.
Ah. Emma Trillay.
Oh, goodness. Don't tell me Lukas forgot to say I was coming.
He assured me I'd be quite welcome.
Of course you're more than welcome. Remind me about yourself again?
[sighs] I'm afraid I'm a poet.
-Scandalous. -Mm.
-Published, though. -Oh, that's something, isn't it?
I must confess,
I've desperately wanted to be a part of your society for years.
[softly] I want to be here for the return.
And so you shall.
-Why do we have to leave? -It's not our business.
I've something to show you tonight.
[gasps]
Lukas has put every ounce of his body and soul into finding this.
Our father would've been so very proud.
We're so close now.
I hope you're all ready to help bring forth a whole new world.
[woman 2] Yes. I'm ready.
[woman 3] Yes, I'm ready.
Jonah, shall we call forth our devotion to the Otherworld?
[tuning forks resonate]
[speaking ancient language]
[indistinct chanting]
[humming chant]
[huffing rhythmically]
I said it's not our business.
[huffing rapidly]
-Oh. Do you see that? -I see it.
It's working.
He's with us.
Imagine what we might see with a motion-picture camera.
[gasps] Miss!
Oh, no. Oh, no.
Help!
[Rose] The doctor's gone home.
Can I get you anything?
A drop of brandy?
He says if I keep trying, I'll die.
Please, miss.
You have to take care of yourself.
I thought…
My devotion…
I thought he'd grant me this one small thing.
Devotion to what, miss?
What if I told you there's another world…
different from this one,
and the being that ruled that world is…
more powerful than any being you've ever imagined?
A god who can grant eternal life,
eternal wealth,
eternal peace.
A god who can see into the future as easily as if it were the past.
Who can bend the will of any man or beast.
Who can reunite us with the people we've lost.
Who can heal,
destroy.
Give me the child I want.
The child I need.
[sniffles]
What if I told you that was the world I had devoted my life to?
Not just another world…
another god?
Yes.
I would say it sounds like a dream.
I hope that when she arrives, she'll be a daughter like you.
What are you doing?
I was cleaning up the…
And I found all this mold
growing through the tiles.
In the basement, in the pantry.
Such strange patterns, miss.
It's everywhere.
Stop. Stop.
This is what proves it's not a dream.
This is the fruit of our faith and devotion.
His body and blood,
they're pushing through the veil that separates us.
He's calling to us.
Isn't it beautiful?
[indistinct faint whispering]
[gasping]
[coughing]
[glass shatters]
[glass crunching]
[suspenseful music playing]
What are you doing?
That's Miss Iris's book.
It is not her book.
What has she told you about this book?
About her society?
Has she made you great promises?
Did she promise you could hold a whole new world inside of you?
You must come with me. Before it's too late.
Oh, Emma, isn't it?
I see.
This doesn't belong to you.
It doesn't belong to you either, Baldung.
Your kind threw it away like a piece of garbage.
To keep humanity safe.
No. To keep them small and servile.
Do you really understand what you're about to do?
Tearing a hole between these worlds?
I'm going to save humanity from itself.
From war, from poverty, from sickness.
No.
Whatever that thing is in there, it's not a god.
It's not a savior. It's…
a force of complete and total destruction.
Maybe for the unfaithful.
For everyone.
We made a terrible mistake.
We set it free and nearly destroyed everything.
And now,
the handful of us that are left,
we have to make sure no one makes that mistake again.
-[Jonah] Put it down. -[pistol cocks]
[Iris] Jonah.
Jonah.
-[gunshot] -[Iris] No!
-[shrieks] -What have you done?
-[groaning] -She was going to burn it.
It doesn't burn, Jonah!
We needed her. We'll never find another in time.
Should Rose fetch the doctor?
[breathing shakily]
I'm sorry.
It's no use. She's gone.
We'll take her to the bathtub, collect all the blood we can.
Are you all right? Are you hurt?
No.
[sighs] Thank goodness.
What did she say to you?
I don't remember.
It's all right. Everything's all right.
I'd never let anything happen to you. You know that, right?
-Yes, miss. -Okay.
Go to bed.
Put this all out of your head.
[upbeat jazz music playing]
[indistinct party chatter]
[band continues playing]
[inaudible]
[laughter]
[Rose] …watch over my life.
You will protect me from all harm.
-You will watch over-- -What are you doing?
I'm sorry, miss.
I'm very much looking forward to…
Well… I just thought we could use some protection.
From what?
A false god?
I don't know.
I thought you wanted this, Rose.
I thought you understood you must renounce your allegiance to old superstitions.
I do.
I have.
Don't you want to see your family again?
Yes.
Please.
More than anything.
We are explorers.
We are seers.
This is for you.
[playing eerie melody]
For me?
Miss…
Now let's get your dress on.
[band playing upbeat jazz song]
[band continues playing]
Hello there.
Hello.
Good evening.
Can you see it?
Yes.
Lukas.
Lukas!
Lukas.
Lukas, where are you going?
I'm not stupid enough to think I can stop you going through with it.
But I can walk away.
What are you talking about?
All the blood, the death. All those people in there you're planning to sacrifice--
For a greater good.
They think they're at a party, Iris.
Not being used as human batteries for your fucking jailbreak!
[grunts]
I'm sorry.
Please…
Please stay.
You've already given up so much.
All of this for a child?
No.
Of course not.
This is what Father wanted for all of us.
He spent his whole life searching for a way to bring a new world
-into this one-- -He's dead, Iris.
We'll all be together again.
That's not natural.
Lives end, Iris.
People die.
And there is war, poverty, famine, and injustice.
And humanity must find its own way through it.
Please… Please stay.
I can't be a part of this.
Are you all right, miss?
Yes, of course.
[melancholy jazz song playing]
[glass clinks]
[song fades]
Thank you all for being here tonight to celebrate the great comet Kharon.
To the heavens and the great night sky and all that lies within it.
-[man 3] Hear! Hear! -[all] Hear! Hear!
[plays tune on clarinet]
[band joins]
[inaudible]
[playing upbeat jazz music]
Are you ready?
Yes, of course.
Where's Lukas?
Lukas is gone.
[whirring]
[speaking ancient language]
[resonating]
[ominous music playing]
[melodic chanting]
[in ancient language]
[in English] Come here, darling girl.
[in ancient language]
[all huffing rhythmically]
[Iris continues]
[gasps]
[thuds]
[huffing intensifies]
[crackling]
[all huffing rhythmically]
[electric crackling]
[film flapping]
So, the Vos mansion was destroyed in a fire,
just like the Visser.
Iris Vos tried to raise an all-powerful demon
from another dimension using some kind of fucked-up ritual.
At some point, Samuel must have tried the same thing.
But it's not in Melody's tapes, right? The ritual?
No. The whole story just ended.
No idea what happened to her after my dad took her to Rockland.
It's possible Samuel grabbed her back and…
slit her throat.
No, that wasn't part of his plan.
He needed her. Or thought he did.
He thought he needed a witch.
There's gotta be someone else, someone who knows what happened.
-They can't all be dead, right? -Someone still alive from the Visser?
I ran every single name you gave me. I got nothing.
It's like they never fucking existed, been scrubbed off the face of the earth.
What about Anabelle?
-The best friend? -Yeah.
She'd only be 50 now.
Maybe she's still alive. Maybe she can tell us what happened.
Maybe we just leave it.
What?
Look, the way I see it, this whole fucking thing is cursed.
The Vos Society, fuckin' LMG, Davenport and his fucked-up brother.
-I need to know what happened to her. -I hear you, I do.
But, you know, knowing what happened, it…
it's not gonna bring Melody back.
My father was a part of this.
He led Samuel right to her.
Melody was just trying to find out who she was and where she belonged,
and they stole her life.
The least I can do is give her death an ounce of meaning.
[clears throat] So, does, uh, Anabelle have a last name?
Cho.
Let's go find Anabelle Cho.
[suspenseful music playing]
Are you fucking kidding me? She's been in Rockland all these years?
Hi. I'm Dan Turner. Uh…
We called about Anabelle Cho.
Anabelle?
[Anabelle] Okay.
Are you Dan?
Do you know me?
What the fuck took you so long?
She's been waiting for you.
What are you talking about?
Melody.
She's been waiting.
Where?
[Anabelle] The Otherworld.
She's in there,
just like Iris was.
[music intensifies]
You need to get her out.
[ominous music playing]