1:59

to blame and you may not agree

2:02

with all of my choices, I invite

2:04

you to live vicariously through

2:06

my sins. Probably

2:08

my biggest sin was believing that I had escaped

2:11

my past. There was a time

2:13

before the zombies where I was a

2:15

simple piano teacher. Rochester

2:18

begins preparation for Senator Hawke invention,

2:21

the political rally of

2:22

the century, right outside

2:24

Rochester. In the

2:27

spring of 1848 I was convinced that my destiny

2:29

would not involve the family I grew up

2:31

with, but I've yet to learn the cardinal

2:33

rule of broken homes. The past

2:36

always comes back to haunt

2:38

you. That's

2:41

good, keep the tempo, I'll be right back.

2:46

Leah, my God, I have been

2:48

knocking forever. Every knocks is not forever

2:51

Adelaide. May I invite someone in for you to

2:53

meet? If I said no, would it make a difference?

2:55

Probably not. I have a student right now, Adelaide. I

2:58

bring with me the esteemed journalist,

3:00

E.E. Lewis. Good morning. Well,

3:02

that's great for Mr. Lewis. But you're

3:04

interrupting a session, woman. Are you not enlightened

3:07

by the music? Mr. Lewis comes with very troubling

3:09

news. Does the music not permeate your

3:11

soul? I love your music, Leah, but this news

3:13

comes from Heidsville. Heidsville?

3:16

Yes, mum. Have you family there? Well,

3:19

that depends on the question. Is your mother's name Margaret?

3:22

Maybe. Have you a brother, David? It's

3:24

possible. And two sisters,

3:27

Katie and Maggie Fox? Yes, for God's

3:29

sake, man, out with it. What has happened? A

3:31

report. The mysterious noises

3:33

heard in the house of Mr. John B.

3:36

Fox. It's 40 pages thick.

3:38

Testimonials from many

3:40

witnesses. About my father's house. It

3:42

says here that a spirit lives

3:44

within the house and that Katie and

3:47

Maggie have been communicating with the dead.

3:49

Let me see that. They are your sisters,

3:52

aren't they?

3:59

house and it's transfixing

4:02

the natives. Dear god are people actually saying

4:04

this rubbish? Well admittedly some

4:06

of the accounts seem a bit of a stretch.

4:08

What is the average intelligence of Hidesville

4:11

I wonder? The spirit wraps and knocks on the walls,

4:13

the tables, the chairs, haunting

4:15

Mr and Mrs Fox and their children every

4:18

hour of every night. Is this a joke? Windows

4:20

have shattered, clothes have been torn,

4:22

objects moving. Absurd. All without

4:25

human interference. The bullshit is astounding.

4:27

Yet the accounts are consistent,

4:30

the witnesses convinced. Miss

4:32

Mia? Yes Susan, I'm so sorry

4:34

we couldn't finish the lesson. Not at all Miss

4:36

Mia. Same time next week? Yes

4:39

and apologies again Miss Anthony promptly at

4:41

eight. Yes of course, see you

4:43

then.

4:44

The

4:47

newspapers are catching up. Mr Lewis,

4:49

these documents claim you're a journalist

4:52

and a lawyer. Yes. So a

4:54

man of high acumen and

4:55

rational thought. One would hope. Then mystical

4:58

phantoms inherently go against your

5:00

very nature. No? Common sense and

5:02

reason and so on.

5:03

I'm not making judgments about the events

5:05

Miss Fox simply documenting them. Clearly

5:08

my sisters are playing pranks on my parents

5:10

who are old and naive. And so maybe

5:12

they've hoodwinked a couple of neighbours along the way,

5:14

their children.

5:14

With all due respect it's

5:17

gone well beyond a couple of neighbours.

5:20

Sorry again, that's my next pupil. How

5:23

well, Mr Lewis. Pardon? How

5:25

well beyond a couple of neighbours. Well,

5:28

there have been visitors from all across the county

5:31

beyond. Um everyone

5:34

this is Jacob Post. Hello. Jacob

5:36

this is um... E.E. Lewis.

5:39

Right E.E. Lewis bearer of strange

5:41

tales from the homeland. When you say visitors

5:44

are you implying that these strangers are

5:46

entering the

5:47

house? Sometimes yes. Asking

5:49

the spirit about their dead relatives or the

5:52

afterlife. How many, Mr Lewis. Or wanting to know about their crops,

5:54

their lives, their futures. How many visitors,

5:56

Mr Lewis. Well, in

5:59

just the past week.

5:59

Over 300 people have descended

6:02

upon the property. Did you say 300? And

6:04

more by the hour, begging to hear

6:06

mass from the great beyond.

6:09

My God. Your house is under siege, Miss

6:11

Fox, and I thought it prudent to inform

6:13

you of the situation.

6:14

Well, I suppose I'll need

6:17

to process this information. As

6:19

you can see, I have another pupil. Actually, Miss Fox,

6:22

I'm not gonna be able to attend today. Oh? I

6:25

just wanted to tell you personally. Okay.

6:30

May I ask why? Just these

6:33

stories about your family have

6:35

sort of spooked some of our church members, and

6:38

I- The Quakers? My

6:40

parents. But your parents are

6:43

the Quakers, Jacob. As I said,

6:45

news is catching on. They won't

6:47

tell the congregation just yet. It seems

6:49

clear you weren't aware of the sinfulness, but as

6:52

you know,

6:52

Mother is- Amy Post, a

6:55

very powerful woman. I

6:57

understand, Jacob. You have

6:59

a responsibility. Real sorry about that, Miss

7:01

Fox. No. That's

7:04

okay, Jacob. Thank you for being

7:07

direct with me.

7:07

Nice meeting y'all. Hope

7:10

to come back. Really like

7:12

the keys.

7:14

Did I just lose a client? Yes,

7:17

I think that's what just happened. And

7:20

there may be more. Mr. Lewis, now

7:22

you see why I don't readily admit to having

7:24

family in Heidsville. Yes, ma'am. I

7:26

haven't been back home in many years, and with good reason. I've

7:28

spent my entire life escaping all that and building

7:31

a name for myself, dedicating my soul to

7:33

music. Yes. And now you're standing there telling

7:35

me I might lose business through guilt

7:37

by association. Surely there

7:40

must be a solution. I'd like you to leave,

7:42

Mr. Lewis, so I can

7:43

prepare a stiff drink. Yes, ma'am. Now

7:48

I'll admit to you that there was a time in my

7:50

life when I had morals, but I don't

7:52

want that to scare you. I don't want you to think any

7:54

lesser of me, but for the first half of my

7:57

life, I had ideals.

7:58

I used them. I often had a couple of

8:00

dreams, actually artistic dreams

8:03

like creating music or teaching

8:05

or inspiring people or whatever. I

8:07

had a cozy little niche among the sheep. And

8:10

I suppose had I not left my bubble

8:12

in April of 1848 I may very well have stayed a

8:15

sheep but instead I became

8:17

the shepherd. That

8:19

was your fourth

8:22

cancellation Miss Leah. Lovely.

8:26

Well I don't understand why you don't just go

8:29

back to Heitzfeld. Go and see what all the

8:31

fuss is about. I'm

8:32

sure there's an explanation for all this. Heitzfeld.

8:35

Do I look like someone from Heitzfeld? Well

8:38

I don't know. I've never met anyone

8:40

from Heitzfeld. They're rednecks

8:43

that late. Okay well you can't win them all.

8:45

I mean we certainly have a few of those in Rochester.

8:48

Anyway it's home isn't

8:50

it? No not for me. I grew

8:52

up in Ontario fresh off the war of 1812 the

8:54

last of the British Empire. These girls,

8:57

these sisters as you call them, they're 20

8:59

years my young girl born and raised in the backwards.

9:02

So maybe it would do some good to reconnect.

9:04

We have zero in common.

9:05

They're part of a new brand of American, simple

9:08

and uncultured. A generation I just don't understand.

9:11

They're alien to me. And I'm sure I would

9:13

be alien to them. Well you were alien when you

9:15

first arrived here as well. You were this weird

9:18

musical woman on Prospect Street who couldn't

9:20

hold onto a husband but somehow just made

9:22

it all work. You know what I love about

9:25

you Adelaide? You say these brutally honest

9:27

things in such a kind hearted way. It's

9:29

somehow both off putting and yet endearing

9:32

at the same time. All I'm saying is where's your

9:34

sense of adventure?

9:35

Okay so yes maybe your sisters are

9:38

a little alien and maybe they talk

9:40

to the dead and suck people's blood.

9:42

Who the hell knows? But you're not going to get to the bottom

9:44

of it by stewing around here are you? I

9:48

suppose not. They're family. I mean

9:50

aren't you at least curious? I

9:52

know I would be. Hmm.

9:55

Alright. You've convinced me. The

9:58

hell with it. Pack your things Adelaide. We're

10:00

journeying to Hidesville. Um, sorry.

10:03

We? What do you mean by we? I'll set my

10:05

parents straight. Wait a second. Clear away the rabble, bring

10:07

that corner. I suppose my sister's definitely... I

10:11

think there's a misunderstanding here. I can't

10:13

go there alone, Adelaide. But I can't

10:15

just simply pack up

10:17

and leave on a moment's notice. Why not? You

10:20

just gave me this whole speech about adventure. Where's

10:22

yours spontaneity? Well, I have to. You

10:25

know... Um... No, I don't know,

10:27

Adelaide. Explain it to me. Well, I

10:29

have, um... Um, uh, you

10:32

have no job. What was that? Oh, my husband,

10:34

um, who is... Who's a workaholic,

10:36

who'll never know you're gone. Two days tops, I

10:38

need you. Yeah, I'm sure I have

10:40

things to do. Adelaide, let's be honest about

10:42

it. You are the town gossip. That's what

10:45

you do. I'm offering you a front row

10:47

seat to my nervous breakdown. You've got

10:49

the dysfunctional family, the two witchy sisters,

10:51

the living dead, and New York's largest

10:53

toothless colony. I mean, what the fuck else

10:55

do you need? Okay. Now,

10:58

normally, I'd be offended by that characterisation.

10:59

However, there

11:02

is an element of truth in it. I'm offering

11:05

you a chance at the juiciest story of

11:07

your life, woman. Yes, it

11:09

is an enticing pitch. So fuck it. I've

11:11

got nothing left to lose, and you might be sitting on the story

11:13

of the century. Still, my husband

11:16

will need to be notified. Your husband works 25 hours

11:19

a day, Adelaide. I've seen the man maybe twice in 10 years.

11:22

He could literally have a whole other family,

11:24

and no one would

11:24

be surprised. You see, I should be

11:27

insulted by that, but you're obviously hurting.

11:29

What is it that your husband does anyway? Well,

11:32

um, my, um,

11:34

husband, who is, um... My

11:37

God, woman, I'm in awe of you. Ignorance

11:40

truly is bliss. I'm a woman of the community, and

11:42

as such, I do like to know what goes on in Rochester,

11:45

especially when it pertains to the lonely piano

11:47

teacher on Prospect Street. Why? Out

11:49

of morbid curiosity, why always the interest in

11:51

me? Bicca's Miss Lia, you are

11:54

our most mysterious citizen. You've

11:56

never once mentioned your family or your past,

11:59

nor have you been...

11:59

able to hold onto a husband. In fact,

12:02

you may be the only woman in Rochester to make a name

12:04

for herself without the help of a man. Well,

12:07

I'll take it with a badge of honour. I have a feeling,

12:09

under the cold exterior, that seeing your

12:11

family again might be very good for you.

12:14

There it is again. The optimism. I love

12:16

that about you, Adley. One day I'll try it. Why

12:19

do you think it's important to be positive? Yes!

12:21

Yes! Keep that! You stay

12:24

positive while my life crumbles

12:26

all around me. See, statements like that

12:28

don't help the situation. We've got the delusional

12:29

optimist and the cold-hearted cynic.

12:32

What could possibly go wrong? So

12:34

much can go wrong. And I'm still not offended, for some

12:36

reason. I know! It's believed. I rise

12:38

above it. You sure do, I'm envious. Now

12:40

meet me at the carriage station in twenty minutes and buy

12:43

all the papers they've got at the newsstand.

12:44

It's in every

12:46

paper in New York. I must say, as

12:48

a sceptic, I'm a tad curious about the elaborate

12:51

nature of the hoax. Is the township truly

12:53

this gullible? Are my sisters this

12:56

ably deceitful? Are my parents

12:58

disutifully stupid? The parents I

13:00

grew up with would have whipped me into a frenzy

13:02

for this, however now twenty years on it's possible

13:05

they've softened. On any normal

13:07

day outside April Fool's, I would deduce with

13:09

surety that my two little sisters have deceived

13:12

our high school brethren with an incredible talent

13:14

for illusion. Yet I can't

13:16

shake one singular nagging

13:19

problem. Which is what? Exactly.

13:22

There isn't a brain between them. Katie,

13:27

the younger, thirteen years old, the

13:29

slier of the two, it's impossible

13:31

that she's become smarter. In fact, her

13:33

particular brand of tomfucker could

13:35

easily fill the void between our parents'

13:38

ears, fill it with ideas and thoughts

13:40

and whatnot. What the hell is this

13:42

anyway? The station is desolate.

13:45

Haven't they finished the trestle? No ma'am,

13:48

the railway to Wayne County is still under

13:50

construct. I guess we're going

13:52

by boat. Now

13:56

Maggie, that's a different story.

13:58

Barely seventeen, her mind. the

14:00

rapid wasteland. She's devoid of virginity,

14:03

lacking agency, and her legs are open

14:05

for business. Any secrets between

14:08

her and Katie Fox could easily be revealed

14:10

in pillow talk among a whole bevy of

14:12

Hidesville bumpkins. May I suggest,

14:14

Leah, that you refrain from these

14:16

judgments when we arrive? Perhaps be

14:19

a little... I don't know, more open

14:21

to meeting your sisters? Right!

14:23

Positivity. Maybe she's just a teenager,

14:26

or maybe I'm jealous of all the attention

14:28

I've heard she attracts.

14:29

Is that more positive? No.

14:33

Either way, my livelihood is in these

14:35

girls' hands, Adelaide. I'm not in

14:37

control. That's why this whole

14:39

situation gives me anxiety. It's out of

14:41

my control. Speaking of no

14:43

control, we appear to have stopped

14:46

short.

14:46

I will stop. You're 50 yards

14:48

down the shoreline, ma'am. It's as close

14:50

as I get to the spook house. Spook

14:53

house? Guys, it's all mighty.

14:55

What's he talking about? There's a few

14:57

people on the other side, eh? With the

14:59

fur not to bump into? Unpaid

15:02

debts and such.

15:02

Duffed fool. Oh my God. Leah,

15:05

look at this. A

15:08

line of people. Yeah, leading

15:11

towards your home.

15:12

This

15:16

is hell on earth. Where's my

15:18

family? Hello? The

15:22

door's unlocked. The windows

15:25

are shut. This house

15:27

is abandoned. My family has vanished.

15:30

A desolate wasteland. Purbs. Impossible.

15:34

Where is the family of John David

15:36

Fox? My sisters? Leah.

15:39

My mother, anyone? Leah. Please answer

15:41

me. What have you done with them? There

15:43

seems to be a grave digger on the side of

15:45

the house. Maybe he can

15:48

answer a question or two. Jesus

15:50

Christ, this is a living nightmare. I'm in hell. Heidzville

15:52

is hell. Ah,

15:56

good sir. May I ask you a question?

15:59

More but curiosity. Who

16:01

are these graves for? Whose

16:04

bodies are you burying? Oh, you're

16:06

mistaken, madam. We're not burying

16:09

the dead. There are no bodies entering

16:11

the ground here. Only bones coming

16:13

out. Bones? Who is bones?

16:16

Those of a peddler, brutally murdered years

16:18

ago, before the foxes took residence.

16:21

I am a foxy muttering twit,

16:23

and there was no such peddler. Pedder

16:25

of what exactly? Of drugs?

16:28

I'll respect her with a small fortune.

16:31

Definitely drugs. Ut of nonsense.

16:33

Where did you hear of this man? The two great sisters,

16:35

madam. They heard it from the man

16:37

himself.

16:38

They heard it from the peddler? What

16:40

in the fuck? You just said that man had been murdered!

16:42

I spoke to him, he did. The younger

16:45

one enters a trance and her eyes

16:47

glow with the light of the dead.

16:49

Well, perhaps you thought he had drugs

16:51

on him and decided to go for

16:54

a dig. Well, perhaps as a fox

16:56

you could speak to the dead or

16:58

do a reading. A reading of

17:01

what? Certainly not his mind, as

17:03

there is little activity there. What says

17:05

the fox? I said your brain has compromised.

17:07

Your thoughts nonsense. Miss Leah,

17:11

I suggest we leave. Zombies! The lot of

17:13

you! I better not find out you ate my

17:15

family, you heathens. I'll be back. Okay, let's be

17:17

along now before they eat us alive. I'll

17:19

be back!

17:21

Take us to the fox peppermint farm

17:23

driver, the property of David Fox. What's

17:26

the plan here? It just don't matter. They

17:29

must be at my brother's, Davis. He's

17:31

my age and we were always very close growing

17:33

up. Great news! He's the only sane

17:35

one of the bunch. The other good news is that

17:37

he's rational. He'd see right through their

17:40

tricks. So I suspect there will be no ghosts

17:42

there. Indeed.

17:43

Disappointment is in your future.

17:46

Excuse me? Is the coachman

17:48

talking to us? The spirit went to Arcadia

17:51

with them. Oh, lovely.

17:53

How convenient. The dames disapprove.

17:57

I wouldn't define it as disapproval necessarily.

18:00

into divinely opportune or

18:02

unfortunately fortunate. We're

18:05

actually in high spirits.

18:09

Well, the dames laugh they they

18:11

may want to take a look out of the window. What

18:14

in god's name are those?

18:17

Seems to be a long line of wagons outside

18:19

my brother's farm. Oh, more

18:22

zombies.

18:22

Yes, a

18:25

carnival of them. Usually

18:28

just before you enter the lion's den

18:31

you get a small hint of what's to come. In

18:34

this case there were over a hundred

18:36

townspeople at my brother's property gazing

18:38

at us in a lost trance as we slowly

18:40

approached their shrine. This is

18:43

not such a great idea. We're crossing

18:45

the rubicon. I've got a bad feeling about this.

18:48

There's no turning back Adelaide. We are

18:50

in over our heads here. Just look natural.

18:52

Was I drawn to the shrine? Maybe. But

18:55

looking back, if I have to be honest about it, it

18:57

was really the zombies

18:58

that got me hooked. I

19:01

wanted to know what made them tick. When

19:05

we entered the house my mother, it

19:08

was the first I'd seen her in three years. Her

19:11

hair white, complexion lost,

19:14

clutching her bible until the white of her

19:16

knuckles were pure bone.

19:17

Mother? Mum!

19:22

Do you remember

19:25

me?

19:27

Leah, your daughter.

19:30

And Leah? Yes, yes, mum. Why

19:33

would you do this? Do

19:36

what? Come back here. Because

19:40

I don't understand. You've

19:43

entered

19:43

a house of death. What

19:48

in the devil was that? What

19:52

in

19:52

the devil was that? It's coming

19:54

from upstairs. Are you insane?

19:57

There's no light up there. Hold on to

19:59

the door. It's raining! Follow

20:01

the moonlight! The what?! We

20:04

need to follow the ramp! No, no,

20:06

no, very bad idea. We need to do the

20:08

opposite of what you just said. We

20:11

need to not follow the ramp! It's pulling

20:13

us to orbit! Let's not do this, I beg of you!

20:15

Let the wind lead you, Adley!

20:17

I'll regret everything! Fucking

20:20

hell! Coming from my sister's room,

20:22

I can feel it! That

20:25

room! Mia, don't go in there!

20:27

No, it's

20:29

not going there! Let me!

20:31

Help her!

20:34

What we witnessed that night was a smash

20:37

hit. A paranormal phenomena

20:39

with nooks and wrecks and a swirling

20:42

aura of God and the dead combined

20:44

in an unearthly

20:45

harmony. My

20:49

sisters, on their knees, eyes

20:51

rolled

20:51

in back of their heads, their gowns blowing

20:54

in the wind. And

20:57

then suddenly... Katie!

21:03

Can you hear me? Can

21:05

you hear me?

21:08

Nothing. As my sisters

21:11

sat in prayer position, eyes wired

21:13

shut. And then, my

21:15

brother,

21:16

David, walked in. And although I

21:18

hadn't seen him in years, he'd aged

21:20

much quicker than I. Clenching

21:23

a bottle of whisky with a blank stare in his

21:25

eyes. He quietly looked about

21:27

the room, until his eyes finally

21:30

landed on me.

21:31

David, is that

21:34

you? In the dark? I

21:37

can't see anything. As he dried

21:39

the rye from his mouth, he

21:41

uttered the two most frightening words I'd

21:44

ever heard in my life.

21:47

Welcome

21:49

home. Slack

21:51

list, March

21:54

ofBOB... The

21:59

fuck is this? of Hidesville stars,

22:02

Carrie Mulligan as Leah Fox, Phoebe

22:05

Tonkin as Adelaide Granger, McKenna

22:08

Grace as Katie Fox, with

22:10

additional roles by the criminal content players

22:13

including Ryan Willard, Joe

22:15

Perino, Dwayne Hill, Jim

22:18

Conroy, Mara Casson.

22:22

Written

22:22

and directed by Sean Christensen,

22:25

executive produced by Carrie Mulligan, Sean

22:27

Christensen, and Gabriel Mason.

22:30

Co-executive produced by Mara Casson

22:33

and Christina Bruccato.

22:34

Produced by

22:36

Brendan Hubbard and Adam Vollorich.

22:38

Associate

22:41

produced by Nick Massitti. Sound

22:44

designed by Brandon Jones. Composed

22:47

by Darren Morsey. Editing,

22:49

mixing, mastering, and additional music

22:51

by Nick Massitti. Additional

22:54

editing by Sean Christensen and

22:56

Adam Vollorich. Marketing

22:59

lead, Ellie Kotapusch. Production

23:02

assistance by Mylyssa Fitzsimmons. Artwork

23:06

by Lon Chan. Credits

23:08

read by Natalie Press. Special

23:11

thanks to Dave Williams, the Invisible

23:13

Studios, and Fancy Film.