The Devil on Trial (2023) Movie Script

[tape whirring]
[heavy breathing]
[heavy breathing continues]
[demonic growl]
[boy growling]
[demonic growl]
[boy snarling] No! No!
[woman] I'm your mother.
[boy] You're a douchebag. [laughs]
- [woman speaking indistinctly]
- [boy yelling] Don't do that!
- [woman speaking indistinctly]
- [boy laughs evilly]
[ominous music playing]
[man 1] What we have here is
a confrontation between good and evil,
and the place
that evil picked was Connecticut.
[music ends]
My name is David Glatzel.
When I was 11,
I was possessed by the devil.
A bizarre murder trial gets underway
tomorrow in Danbury, Connecticut.
The crux of this case is a claim
of demonic possession.
[screaming]
That's what an attorney for
a Connecticut teenager will try to prove.
[man 2] I said, "Why am I here?"
And he said,
"Well, you just killed your friend."
[ominous music playing]
[newscaster 1] A man who was arrested
last month in Connecticut for murder
says that he will plead innocent
because he was possessed by the devil
at the time he committed the crime.
Are you kidding?
There was drinking. There was a stabbing.
This is an open-shut case.
This is ridiculous.
[suspenseful music playing]
[newscaster 2] The tale really begins
in the house at the end of this driveway,
where the Brookfield couple
whose 11-year-old son
began acting strangely.
- [possessed David growling]
- [woman] Get up!
[David] I don't like to be remembered
as the 11-year-old boy that was possessed...
[possessed David] You will die!
...but I gotta deal with it every day.
[young man] You can't hurt God's child.
[possessed David]
Jesus is gonna die in hell.
I have never spoken to anybody about this.
[dramatic music plays]
It's a secret, a dark secret.
[people praying]
Our Father, who art in heaven...
Give us this day our daily bread...
- [possessed David breathing]
- [people continue praying]
[possessed David] You're gonna die!
[people] Amen.
[projector whirring]
[indistinct chatter]
[laughing]
[David] I would love to tell you my story
about the possession and the murder
and Arne Johnson.
I'd like to make sure
my family is portrayed
with the accuracy that it should be.
I know some people
have fabricated some stories,
and I'm not happy with that,
so I'd like to set the record straight.
[kids laughing]
[unsettling music playing]
[music intensifies]
[music fades]
[gentle music playing]
[David] When I was 11 years old,
I was quiet.
Life was good.
Playing with my brothers,
best time of my life.
[man] I was the middle child of the boys.
Typical middle-child syndrome.
I have an older brother, Carl.
He... [sighs]
...was not the easiest brother
to go along with.
He was kind of like an idiot at times.
Made life difficult.
Alan, back in the day, was just different.
David and I would help my father
and work in the garage and stuff.
And Alan really didn't want to get dirty,
so he stayed
with my mother most of the time.
You know, he could bake a good cake.
I can tell you that much.
But, uh, he's just
a little different than us.
[speaking indistinctly]
[David] Back then, I wouldn't call us
an all-American family,
but I would say we were
as normal as we can be.
It all started when my sister, Debbie,
found a house in Newtown.
She was going to move in
with her boyfriend, Arne.
Debbie and I were very excited
to move in together.
We had plans
on being married in the spring.
We were working towards that.
We couldn't wait. We couldn't wait.
[high-pitched ring]
[pensive music playing]
July 2nd, Debbie found
a really nice house in Newtown to rent.
[David] I was a little sad
to see them move out.
You're 11 years old, it's your sister.
Me and my older brothers, Alan and Carl,
ended up going there to help them move in.
[turn signal ticking]
[pensive music continues]
[car door unlocks]
It was a weird house.
- [bird chirping]
- [car door closes]
There was just something
really off about it.
[pensive music continues]
[Debbie] I assigned
each of my brothers a chore.
I sent David into the master bedroom,
and handed him a broom
and asked him if he could sweep up for me.
I left him in there alone.
And then I started doing what I had to do,
scouring and cleaning.
[eerie music playing]
But after a while, David came running out.
He looked upset, and I didn't know why.
[breathing heavily]
[eerie music continues]
[Alan] David said, "Mom, I wanna go home."
She's like, "I can't leave.
We'll get this done."
"As soon as we can, we'll go home."
He's like, "I wanna go home now."
[breathing heavily]
I just wanted to get out of the house,
off the property,
away from it as far as I could.
And I... I didn't tell anybody
the reason why.
[car engine starts]
[foreboding music playing]
[breathing heavily]
[music continues]
[music intensifies]
We got back home,
had dinner, everything was fine.
My mom was an excellent cook.
She was Hungarian and Italian,
so she knew how to cook.
But David was having a bad day.
Something was bothering him.
And I said, "What's wrong with you?"
[breathing heavily]
[David] I remember sitting at the table.
Started explaining
what had happened that morning.
[ominous music plays]
[birds chirping]
I was in the bedroom on my own.
[door creaking open]
But I could feel something.
[eerie music playing]
[wood creaking]
- [creaking stops]
- [David breathing heavily]
[eerie whoosh]
[wood creaking]
[gasps]
[eerie whoosh]
- [dramatic sting plays]
- [gasps]
And then I was pushed backwards
onto the bed.
[ominous music playing]
[breathing heavily]
[suspenseful music playing]
[David] I seen this image.
It looked like the devil
from a Halloween costume.
His eyes were black,
solid black, just like a chunk of coal,
and it scared me.
[ominous music plays]
David said, "Then this entity spoke."
[breathing heavily]
[Debbie] I said to David,
"What is this figure telling you?"
"He keeps telling me beware."
I said, "Beware of what?"
And he kept telling me,
"He wants my soul."
[ominous music continues]
And he said, "He's gonna come for me.
That's what he keeps telling me."
"I... You gotta help me."
I said, "Dave, did you touch anything
in the medicine cabinet?"
He goes, "No, this is for real."
We didn't believe him at first.
[Alan] My mom's reaction was,
"It was late at night.
Maybe he was dreaming."
[Arne] Judy said, "Okay, enough of this."
"It's time to go to bed, get some rest,
and we'll revisit this in the morning."
[crickets chirping]
[clock ticking]
[David] Later that night,
I got sort of a weird feeling.
[inhales deeply]
I just had this image.
[foreboding music playing]
There was something coming.
[ominous music plays]
I started to get scared
'cause I could see it coming closer
towards the house.
[foreboding music playing]
[floorboard creaks]
[breathing heavily]
[foreboding music continues]
You can feel something watching you.
[young David breathing heavily]
[ominous music plays]
I thought I saw a figure.
[breathing heavily]
[toy firetruck whirring and wailing]
[David] When I look again...
there's nothing there.
[foreboding music playing]
I stayed up in the dark
with my eyes open most of the night.
[music continues]
[owl hooting in distance]
[rustling]
[Arne] Judy was worried about David,
so she called Father Dennis up
to let him know what was happening.
She asked him
if he could come bless the house.
[Judy] Bless you too, Father.
My mom was religious.
[pensive music playing]
She made us go through Communion
and Confirmation as Catholics.
We did believe in God and the devil.
When Father Dennis had come to the house,
he brought some holy oil, some holy water,
and some incense...
[Father Dennis] In the name of the Father...
[David]...that he used to bless
the entire house,
every room, upstairs and downstairs.
[Father Dennis continues blessing]
We thought it was over and done with.
[Father Dennis]
I pray against any evil that...
But this was just the beginning.
[unsettling music playing]
[clock ticking]
[screaming]
[Debbie gasps] Oh my God!
[Alan] It was three o'clock
in the morning.
All of a sudden, David was screaming
at the top of his lungs,
"He's coming for me. He's coming for me.
He's gonna punish me."
[both panting]
[faint rumbling]
The house rumbled...
[loud rumbling]
...like someone had drove a truck into it.
[rumbling continues]
It sounded like a UFO
was landing on top of the house.
[rumbling continues]
[wood creaking]
Whatever it was,
it wanted you to know it was there.
- [rumbling continues]
- [objects tumbling]
Lights began to flash on and off.
- [electricity crackling]
- [glass shattering]
You'd hear the glass falling, breaking.
[objects falling, shattering]
David was frantic, and he was screaming,
"He's here. He's here.
He's over the house."
David's like,
"Don't open the door. It's evil."
[rumbling intensifies]
The banging went on
for 30, maybe 40 seconds...
[loud banging]
[rumbling stops]
...and then everything went quiet.
[all panting]
- [glass shatters]
- [Debbie] Oh my God.
[breathing heavily]
I was petrified.
Okay, we have a ghost problem,
um, and we didn't know what to do with it.
[pensive music playing]
We knew we had to find some help.
[crows cawing]
[Alan] At that time,
our next-door neighbor,
she was into tarot card reading
and stuff like that.
And she said,
"You know, my mother-in-law said
she had gone, a couple of years ago,
to see a psychic investigator."
"Maybe they can help."
Debbie is like,
"I'll take help from anyone."
We weren't gonna let no entity,
no... no ghost or anybody
run us out of that house.
That was our house,
and we were gonna make sure
that whatever was there,
we were gonna get it out
one way or the other.
Our special guests tonight,
who in their 32 years as ghost hunters,
have investigated over 3,000 cases
of haunted houses and demonic possession
and have been involved
in numerous exorcisms around the world.
Listen closely and make up
your own mind as we present to you,
ladies and gentlemen,
the ghost hunters Ed and Lorraine Warren.
- [gentle music playing]
- [audience applauding]
[inaudible]
[man] I was so proud of my grandparents
when I was growing up.
[host speaking indistinctly]
[man] I would see them
in the newspaper or on television,
and it was just so cool.
But on the other hand,
I was also the weird kid
because I had these creepy grandparents.
[Ed] The truth of the matter is,
I did not wake up one day and say,
"I want to be a demonologist."
I was born a demonologist.
As a boy, I would ask the nuns
and the priest, uh,
"What is this about ghosts,
the supernatural? Is it for real?"
"Are there really devils?"
And, of course, you know, Catholicism
teaches us that these things are real.
My grandmother
had a different, uh, experience.
- I hear laughter and I don't...
- [Ed] Laughter?
- I don't quite understand. I can hear it...
- Is it male or a female laughter?
I mean, I can't understand
why all of you don't hear it.
I hear it so... It... It's so loud in here.
He said, "Well, if you wanna hunt tigers,
you got to go to where tigers are."
- Go to the light, Charissa.
- [shrieking]
I'm here to help you.
But they didn't reach any fame until...
A young man murdered, in cold blood,
his father, mother,
four brothers and sisters,
because voices told him to do it.
With that grueling beginning comes
a bestseller and a motion picture,
The Amityville Horror.
[blood-curdling scream]
Lorraine and I have been in hundreds
and hundreds of haunted houses,
and we've interviewed
numerous people all over the world.
And on a scale of one to ten,
I would have to say
that Amityville was a ten.
The Amityville Horror
was the one that went international.
That's the one
where my grandparents became world-famous.
- And, well, it's number two.
- [audience applauding]
It's funny how something so horrifying
can end up becoming a blessing.
Thank you, Mr. Warren.
And it... it really did help
a lot of families afterward.
We are receiving a lot of letters
from people who are... are writing in
about problems.
What's the address?
Post office box... Send it to the Warrens,
Ed and Lorraine Warren,
Post Office Box 41,
Monroe, Connecticut 06468.
[dial tone]
[dialing]
[Alan] Debbie called up the Warrens.
Ed answered.
Debbie said who she was
and, "Can you help us?"
Ed said, "Has David been seen
by a doctor at this point?"
We said, "No."
So Ed's like,
"Do you mind if I bring a doctor with me?"
[suspenseful music playing]
[barking]
[Alan] They showed up in a Chevy Chevette.
[suspenseful music continues]
Ed Warren was a really nice man.
He was reassuring, confident.
He definitely made us feel safer.
Lorraine was so gentle
and precise in her words.
Judy said, "Oh my God,
I'm so glad you're here
and so glad to meet you."
[young David] Ah...
[Alan] The doctor took David aside,
took his blood pressure, stuff like that.
He was tested psychologically,
proven to be completely normal.
Dr. Tony never said that I was
off my rocker or anything like that.
He said I was a... a normal kid.
[Alan] Ed and Lorraine were
very cautious talking to us.
They wanted us to answer some questions,
find out what's going on.
[Ed] Okay.
[tape clatters]
[young David coughs]
[Ed on tape]
David, give me your full name.
- [David] David Michael Glatzel.
- [Ed] Okay, how old are you, David?
- [young David] Twelve.
- [Ed] Twelve years old.
What do you think
about all these things, David?
- You'd like it to end, right?
- [young David] Hmm?
- You'd like it to end?
- Mm-hmm.
- You don't want it to go on, do you?
- No.
[Ed] No. Okay.
There was one violent scene here
that Lorraine told me about.
- [Judy] It was more than one.
- [Ed] More than one?
[Judy] Oh my God, it was all night!
[Ed] Okay, so in other words,
it was a very hectic night.
[Judy] Oh yeah, but see,
we can't tolerate no more, really.
We're not lying to you 'cause, you know,
we need the help we can get.
Believe me,
we wanna get rid of this thing.
My mom was so hopeful
that this would be a cure-all.
[pensive music playing]
She wanted her family back,
and she wanted to go back
to the life we had before this.
[Ed] These people are telling us
these horrible stories,
but we have to, ourselves,
experience this before we accept it.
- [host] All right.
- We have to see it. We have to feel it.
We have to know it's there before we say,
"Yes, this home is haunted."
[Judy] He told David
he wants his soul today.
[Ed] What'd he tell you about your soul?
Says he just wants my soul. That was it.
[Ed] Is he here now?
[ominous music playing]
Ed's like, "Let's see it show itself."
"It's got so much power,
it needs to prove that it's here."
[ominous music continues]
I have to provoke what is there
through religious provocation.
Now being a Christian,
I would use the name of Jesus Christ.
I would use holy water.
I would use the crucifix.
Now, this may seem dramatic,
but this is the method that the exorcist
and the demonologist uses.
I provoke until I can witness
physical manifestations occurring.
[Alan] Ed said, "If you have the power,
I need you to knock
on the table three times."
[breathing nervously]
[breathing heavily]
[Arne] All of a sudden...
- [loud banging and rumbling]
- Bang! Bang! Bang!
Sounded like someone took a sledgehammer,
trying to break through the kitchen floor.
- [loud rumbling]
- [young David gasps]
The entire kitchen started to shake.
[breathing heavily]
The lights were flickering.
Everybody felt it.
[rumbling stops]
[young David breathing heavily]
[inhales deeply]
[Arne] Ed looked at David and he said,
"Does this frighten you?"
David goes, "I'm afraid
because he wants to hurt me."
"Because I'm talking to you
and you're here,
we're all gonna be punished for this."
[unsettling music playing]
At that point,
Lorraine was walking around.
Going into a home,
I'm there to discern, through vibrations,
walking throughout
every room of the house.
Because there has to be
a law of attraction.
The spirit has to be
attracted to one member
of that particular household.
[Alan] She leaned over to him
and whispered,
"There's a large dark mass
standing next to that little boy."
"It's evil."
[chair creaking faintly]
That felt strange to us.
We couldn't see nothing.
[young David breathing heavily]
Ed and Lorraine spoke to my parents.
"This is not a ghost.
This is a demonic entity."
[dramatic sting plays]
[music intensifies]
[ominous music playing]
[breathing heavily]
[David] It really scared me.
The whole family was scared
'cause we had no idea what was going on.
[inhales deeply]
You know, my grandfather had this idea
that hauntings progressed in five steps.
[indistinct chatter]
It starts with permission.
[chatter continues]
Somebody does something
that allows the paranormal
to take a foothold.
[unsettling music playing]
Maybe it's an Ouija board
or a sance or whatever.
Then you have infestation.
That's where the spirits are in the home,
but external to you completely.
Just a ghost
or, you know, a loved one comes to visit
and wants to let you know they're there.
That's... That's normal.
Then you have oppression.
That's when an entity
is starting to take over your free will.
But you're exhibiting
much darker impulses,
much more negative behaviors.
In incredibly rare circumstances,
it moves on to complete possession.
That's where you're no longer there.
You're not in control.
Your body has been taken over completely
by something else.
[screaming]
[thudding]
[yelping]
[eerie music playing]
[Alan] Ed felt strong enough
from that first meeting
that David was already
in oppression stage.
[Arne] Ed explained to us
that the demon would be causing David
to act totally different.
Controlling his thoughts,
sending messages through him.
He would become more volatile.
[pensive music playing]
[Alan] Ed Warren had seen this
many times before.
He said,
"You're gonna have to contact the church."
My mom said, "We did that. We tried."
And Ed spoke up and said,
"No, I will help you do that."
"You guys need to start documenting this."
And collect as much evidence as they can,
to present it to the archbishop.
And the archbishop of Bridgeport
would make the decision
as far as what we were dealing with.
[Arne] I thought, "This stuff isn't real.
It doesn't happen."
"It's only... in cartoons and movies."
Ed and Lorraine warned us
how serious this really is.
"Don't take it lightly."
"Protect yourself,
because you never know
when it can happen."
[gentle music playing]
[Alan] My mom took
our audio tape cassette recorder.
My sister bought a Polaroid camera,
you know, that takes instant photos.
From that moment forward,
we started keeping records of everything.
[Polaroid camera clicking, whirring]
We were on summer vacation from school.
[host on TV]
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen...
[Alan] No one was sleeping.
[host] ...two candidates
for the Republican nomination
for the presidency of the United States.
Former Governor Ronald Reagan
of California. Former ambassador...
[Alan] We were taking turns
keeping an eye on David.
[Ronald Reagan] Whether we like it or not,
it is our responsibility
to preserve world peace
because no one else can do it.
[in distorted voice] We cannot continue...
[exhales]
[distorted speech continues]
But then David
started acting really weird.
[distorted speech continues]
[Judy] David!
Oh my God.
[menacing music playing]
[possessed David breathing heavily]
[demonic growl]
You will die! You!
[Judy] Who are you and what are you?
- [possessed David] None of your business.
- [Judy] David.
[camera clicking, whirring]
[demonic growl]
[Judy] Mommy's here. Mommy's here.
Come on, get up.
Come on, let's go. Get out of it.
Get out of my son. Get out of my son.
[possessed David snarling] No! No!
[Judy] I'm your mother.
[possessed David]
You're a douchebag. [laughs]
[camera clicking, whirring]
You will die!
[growling]
[Judy speaking indistinctly]
[possessed David continues growling]
Don't do that! [laughs evilly]
[Judy] David, just get up!
My God! Get up...
[Debbie] Call the priest, Ma.
- Have him come to the house right now.
- [Judy] Get out of my son!
- [possessed David] No!
- [young Arne] Leave this boy alone.
[Debbie] Here. Here.
[young Arne] I'm trying.
I got your arms again.
- [possessed David] You fucking cocksucker.
- [young Arne] Start saying prayers.
[all] Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us...
[possessed David screaming]
[Alan] It was terrifying...
[young Arne] Leave this boy.
...because all of a sudden,
he'll start screaming and fighting,
and there's no one there.
[possessed David yelps, coughs]
[Alan] At one point,
we were able to capture on film
his hands in midair holding something,
choking him, and he was squeezing
with all his might to get these hands
from around his throat off of his throat.
[possessed David screaming]
[young Arne]
Leave this boy. Leave this boy.
We had the chills up and down our spine.
[demonic growl]
[Arne] It was very frightening,
and we didn't really know
how to handle it.
[possessed David laughs]
[camera clicking, whirring]
[possessed David screams, chokes]
[David] I remember being choked,
but I don't remember anything else
when I blacked out
or if I even blacked out or what happened.
Nobody could ever answer that.
It was mentally draining for everyone,
but it just kept getting
progressively worse.
[possessed David snarling]
He was physically violent with everyone.
[possessed David laughs]
[Alan] He's tried choking
my mother, my sister.
It would last for a few minutes
or a few hours.
[possessed David shrieking]
[Alan] We would take turns
sleeping in shifts.
[possessed David mumbling]
[Alan] We didn't want to be isolated.
We know that if we were alone,
our chances of an attack were exponential.
[possessed David laughing evilly]
[demonic growl]
The whole family
was getting physically attacked.
[Judy] He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for His name's sake.
We were saying prayers constantly.
We figured if we said the prayers
louder and louder, it would go away.
[somber music playing]
[Alan] The most difficult part
for my mom was the fact
that my dad
wasn't standing behind her on this.
She felt alone.
My father, at this point,
thought David was
just having a mental health issue,
thought we were feeding into it.
So he kind of just locked himself away.
He was working two jobs
and come home and sleep.
Things changed.
We went from having a normal family dinner
to him working constantly, not being home.
It took my dad a while
before he realized what was going on.
And by then, you know, it was too late.
[possessed David grunting, laughing]
[pensive music playing]
My mom called up the Warrens
and told them what was going on.
[Judy] I'm your mother.
[possessed David]
You're a douchebag. [laughs]
- [Judy speaking indistinctly]
- [possessed David] Don't do that!
[laughs evilly]
- [Judy] He didn't know who was doing it.
- [Ed] Does he blink his eyes?
[Judy] No, nothing.
They absolutely just stay perfectly still.
[Ed] If he was conscious,
his eyes would blink, right?
[Judy] You mean he was unconscious
when he did this, when this happened?
Well, I would think so, yeah. Okay.
Ed and Lorraine told us
that David was under possession.
[pensive music playing]
[Chris] After possession,
the ultimate goal is the destruction
of the family and, finally, death.
You're being killed,
or... where somebody else is murdered,
it does happen.
[Judy] He went behind Alan,
he pulled this out,
and he goes, "I hate everybody."
"And if anybody goes near me,
I'll kill you. Anybody."
My mom panicked right then and there.
She thought something was gonna happen
where her son would kill himself
or commit murder.
[pensive music playing]
She was like, "We need to stop this now."
Ed Warren said, "You're going to
definitely need an exorcism."
[pensive music continues]
That was probably
the most frightening thing.
[Ed on tape] We are like
a supernatural police department.
We have to bring the culprits
to the church.
We have to bring the culprits
to the exorcist.
This is why I say,
when the demonic
and evil spirits fight dirty,
you have to do the very same thing.
[cawing]
[church bell tolling]
[Alan] The church don't give out
exorcisms like candy.
I did not realize the amount
of paperwork you have to go through
to get an exorcism.
- [church bell tolling]
- [dog barking]
It is a big deal.
[suspenseful music playing]
[man] The request process for an exorcism
in the Roman Catholic Church
is not necessarily easy,
especially back when Ed and Lorraine
were in their prime.
In my experience, there's a lot of clergy
that do not want to deal with this stuff.
They don't want
to deal with the infernal forces...
[woman yelping]
...and they're afraid
to step foot in those homes.
So I can see where people
turn to people like the Warrens
because their own clergy
have rejected them.
But it's a duty as a clergyman.
You're called to do this,
and you're called to help those people.
[pensive music playing]
Growing up in the Roman Catholic Church,
angels, devils,
these things are, uh, entrenched
in the belief system.
But I always sort of questioned
the reality of these spiritual forces.
So I was very open
and looking for the evidence
to see if this truly existed or not.
[music continues]
Now, people can poo-poo
the whole idea of ghosts
and haunted houses
and devils all they want,
but the devil does exist.
Many devils exist,
and a skeptical public
is the best protection that the devil has.
- [priest] In the name of Jesus...
- [woman screaming]
...get out!
[Father Maximos] Working with the Warrens
was certainly intriguing,
somewhat exciting.
I saw how real this is
and how dangerous it could be.
[birds chirping]
[dramatic music playing]
[Alan] The church realized
by all the evidence we had gathered
that, yeah, this is a real deal,
and they need help.
[engine revving]
A cardinal from the Catholic Church
showed up.
They dress completely in red,
and he also drove a red Porsche.
Oh, it's good to be in the church.
He met with the family.
They decided we have something here
that needs to be fixed.
[music fades]
The Catholic Church gave us authorization
to perform a minor exorcism.
[pensive music playing]
They invited my family
to St. Joseph's Church in Brookfield.
I didn't think anything bad could happen,
'cause I'm in the house of God.
[speaking indistinctly]
The priest, Father Virgulak, warned us.
He said, "These exorcisms,
they could be so intense
that death can happen."
And that was very frightening.
But we didn't have a choice.
[Father Virgulak] Let us pray.
In the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
It starts out similar to a... a mass.
[all] Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name...
[David] I just remember being there,
in the church,
and that they said the prayers.
That's all I remember.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses...
All of a sudden,
the whole room dropped to ice-cold.
- [prayer continues indistinctly]
- [wind whistling]
We immediately realized
something was wrong.
[all] Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us...
Within minutes,
David's behavior started to change.
[demonic growl]
He started growling, hissing,
calling the priest all kinds of names.
[possessed David] Fat dick, pork chop.
You'll die.
David shook and shuddered.
[possessed David screaming]
His features changed.
[screaming]
You're watching his body
jerk from side to side.
[in raspy voice] Fuck you and your shit!
[hissing]
Then he would break free
and... and try to attack Father Virgulak,
so we had to pin him down.
I remember holding on to his leg.
[demonic growl]
[Alan] Ed Warren
holding onto the other one.
- [screaming continues]
- [Father Virgulak] It is now a time with...
He would move his body in positions
that you shouldn't be able to bend.
As I would hold him down,
I would tell him how Jesus loves him.
[young Arne] You are weak.
Jesus is a lot stronger than you are.
You... You are so weak.
God, this is God's child.
You can't hurt God's child.
[possessed David]
Jesus is gonna die in hell.
- [Judy] Mommy loves you.
- [possessed David growling]
[ominous music plays]
It knew that this was the final blowdown.
[young Arne] He needs a crucifix.
You can give it to me. It's been blessed.
Arne had taken the crucifix
and placed it on his forehead.
- [young Arne] He's on your head.
- [possessed David screaming]
[Alan] You could see it sizzle.
[Father Virgulak]
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ...
[screams, wheezes]
At one point,
his tongue swelled up so much
that he couldn't breathe.
He turned blue.
Everybody's screaming. We gotta stop.
[all clamoring]
[Arne] You feel helpless, empty.
[possessed David gasping]
I yelled at this thing
to the top of my lungs.
I said, "Leave this little kid alone.
Take me on."
"I'm here. Take me on."
[loud rumbling]
I felt this coldness come over me.
Ice-cold.
[eerie music playing]
Lorraine said, "Oh my God.
What did you do?"
Ed goes, "Uh, you... you can't do this."
You don't challenge
any kind of demonic entity, ever.
We didn't know any better.
He thought
he was just trying to help David.
[brooding music playing]
I remember my grandfather saying to him,
"You shouldn't say that."
"That just opens the door
for you to be attacked."
And he was right.
[Alan] But we felt that it was over.
David was exorcised.
[music continues]
[sobbing]
[church bell tolling]
[gentle music playing]
[people speaking indistinctly]
[David] I remember I was happy.
I spent a lot of time
just playing outside,
trying to be a good kid,
be the good boy of the family.
[kids laughing]
[David] My mom, she baked,
feed us, keep us happy.
[sinister music playing]
[Alan] We thought we were going
to have a new start.
[laughing]
And it didn't work out that way.
[pensive music playing]
I was aware
that there were strange things,
demonic things, allegedly happening
at the Glatzel house.
[bird squawking]
Some of the police officers had gotten
noise complaints there or something.
I was a detective on duty,
and Ed and Lorraine Warren
came to the old police department
on Grays Bridge Road.
Ed Warren introduced himself
as a demonologist,
and Lorraine Warren
introduced herself as a psychic.
[pensive music playing]
Lorraine was upset.
She went on to tell me
that during one of the actual exorcisms,
Arne Cheyenne Johnson challenged the devil
to leave David Glatzel and take him on.
Lorraine was very upset about that.
She says, "He should not have done that.
You cannot do that."
"He does not know what he's up against."
And she said, "I see serious injury
or death with a knife."
She wanted to put us on notice
that a crime could occur.
That she actually...
I want to make it clear.
She said,
"I see this happening as a psychic."
She was matter-of-fact.
She didn't look bizarre.
She didn't act bizarre.
I thought she was relating
what she really believed,
and to her, it was real.
And lo and behold,
apparently, it was real.
[pensive music continues]
[indistinct chatter]
My sister took a job
at the kennels in Brookfield.
[dog barking]
She wanted to start a life with Arne.
[Debbie] I'm a dog groomer.
My boss was Alan Bono,
who became a friend of Arne's and mine.
Arne and I ended up getting an apartment,
and the apartment
came with the job and so on.
[clipper whirring]
Oh, we were really excited about being...
to be able to live together.
We were able to take a deep breath
and let things calm down
after all the trial and tribulation
we'd just been through.
We felt a sense of relief.
Like, "Oh, it's finally over."
"It's over. Now we can get some peace."
[calm music playing]
[Lorraine] Remember that
when you challenge the demonic,
it doesn't act
at that particular given time.
It waits until
you are the most vulnerable,
then it strikes.
[Arne] I didn't feel that well
when we got up that morning, Debbie and I.
I felt a little ill.
We traveled down to Bridgeport
to pick up my sisters
'cause we had plans
on that weekend to spend time with them.
We got together with Alan Bono at lunch,
so we had a couple glasses of wine.
But you could see
that Alan was getting a little inebriated.
And I just said to Debbie,
I looked at Debbie
and I turned and I said,
"Deb, why don't we just leave?
I think it's a good time to leave
and take the girls
out of this environment."
[inhales deeply]
Nothing bad was happening,
but he was just getting
a little boisterous
and this and that, and I didn't want
my sisters to be around that.
We started walking down the stairs,
and then I personally
don't remember anything after that.
[unsettling music playing]
[phone ringing]
[David] I think it was maybe seven
or eight o'clock at night.
[phone continues ringing]
And I remember the phone rang.
[suspenseful music playing]
[ringing continues]
- Hello?
- My sister was on the phone crying.
[Debbie crying over phone]
[David] Before she can say anything,
I had a vision of a man...
dead.
[Debbie sobbing]
David, get Mom! Get Mom!
Next thing you know, within ten seconds,
my mom's screaming. So I'm like, "Oh God."
[suspenseful music continues]
[speaking indistinctly]
[Alan] She told my dad, "Get in the car.
We gotta go to the kennel."
David told me that Alan Bono's dead.
"How? What? What are you talking about?"
David said,
"Arne Cheyenne Johnson was possessed."
"It's the beast. He killed him."
[ominous music playing]
[Glenn] I got a call from dispatch.
I was told
that there was a serious stabbing.
We're calling all hands on deck.
Deborah Glatzel told
arriving police patrol units
that Arne and Alan had been drinking.
In the apartment, there was an argument,
and it developed into a physical fight.
Ended out on the front lawn of the kennel
about 13, 15 feet from the front door.
During this fight, Arne pulled out a knife
that he had in a sheath,
and he repeatedly stabbed Alan Bono.
Alan Bono fell mortally wounded.
Debbie Glatzel, uh, was very distraught,
relayed that Arne took off to the woods,
and that she thought
he was gonna head to the family home
on, uh, Oak Grove Road,
which is not very far away.
[ominous music continues]
[David] I just had this image of Arne.
And I could see him heading
towards my house in Brookfield.
And then I knew right away
Arne was possessed by the devil.
[music ends]
[objects clattering]
[young David breathing heavily]
[Alan] My brother panicked.
He's dragging the bureau,
with me, over to the door.
We've locked the door and secured it
with a bureau because he's like,
"He's coming to kill me."
- [eerie music playing]
- [heart pounding]
[Arne breathing heavily]
[Alan] Never in my life
was I afraid of Arne Cheyenne Johnson,
not at all.
But when David told me
he was under demonic possession,
I was scared shitless.
- [horn honking]
- [siren wailing]
The ambulance driver, returning
from taking Alan Bono to the hospital,
he saw a suspect matching the description,
called the police department,
and they took him into custody.
[indistinct radio chatter]
If it wasn't for that ambulance driver,
I or my brother David could be dead today.
[dramatic sting plays]
[phone rings]
[Glenn] I was assigned
to process Arne Cheyenne Johnson.
I took his fingerprints.
Uh, I gave him his rights per Miranda.
[camera clicking]
He just looked like he was in trouble,
been involved in a fight, disheveled.
Things weren't right.
I was totally exhausted.
I couldn't even stand up.
I was on this bench.
[inhales deeply]
And I asked him. I said, "Why am I here?
What's going on? What's going on?"
And he said,
"Well, you just killed your friend."
I said, "I did not."
I... I totally did not believe that.
I said, "You're totally wrong."
"Alan's fine. We left the house."
He goes, "No, he's dead,
and you killed him."
There was no crying.
There was no "I'm sorry."
It's, "I just don't know what's going on."
He couldn't recall
anything about the murder.
I've never hurt anybody.
Never.
I've never been arrested for anything.
So... And I said that to them. And I said,
"There's no way I did this.
You got the wrong person."
[camera clicks]
In the case of David Glatzel,
when Arne Johnson became possessed
as a result of his assisting
and in challenging the demonic entity,
this is a possibility.
I have seen in the literature.
They call this "transmigration,"
and this is where a diabolical spirit
might go from a possessed person
to someone who is maybe present
during an exorcism.
[disturbing music playing]
A defense attorney in Connecticut
will try to prove his client
is not guilty of murder
because the 19-year-old defendant
allegedly said that he was possessed
by the devil at the time of the killing.
[newscaster 1]
Nineteen-year-old Arne Cheyenne Johnson,
with no previous history of violence,
is charged with the knifing murder
of his landlord, Alan Bono,
and claims he was possessed by demons
at the time and doesn't remember doing it.
[camera clicking]
[newscaster 2] His lover, Deborah Glatzel,
who was there when it happened
and whose 11-year-old brother
was said to be possessed,
gave her account of what happened.
I did not see no stabbing take place.
I was right in the middle of it.
[reporter] What did you witness?
Um, just a lot of pushing and shoving.
[reporter] Then what?
And then, all hell broke loose.
[Arne] Debbie felt
that it would be proven,
felt very positive that we were gonna
be able to prove demonic possession.
After what we've all been through,
it should tell everyone
that the devil is for real.
[newscaster 3] Johnson's attorney,
Martin Minnella,
made no mention
of demons in the courtroom.
Until we have the results
of the pathologist's report,
our own pathologist's report,
and the autopsy, we can't do anything.
I was not a believer in the paranormal.
So before I really got too much involved,
I said I wanted to do some research.
[suspenseful music playing]
Ed and Lorraine Warren told me,
"It wasn't Arne Johnson himself."
"It was the demon
who took over Arne's body
and killed Alan Bono."
[music fades]
My partner thought they were crackpots
and said, "Listen, stay as far away
from this case as you can."
But I wanted to hear more.
[reporter] Outside, it looks like
a quaint New England home.
Inside, it resembles a set
from a Hollywood horror movie.
It's a museum documenting
paranormal activity.
And Ed and Lorraine Warren say
everything you see comes from real events.
You're in a building right now
which houses probably, uh...
the most dangerous items
of a preternatural nature in the world.
- [eerie music playing]
- [evil laughter]
Down in a room
where they had all these artifacts,
including a doll, which they said,
"Don't ever touch that doll."
Doll's name was Annabelle, I believe.
They played me these tapes.
[Judy on tape] Stay there!
- [possessed David] No!
- [Judy] Yes!
- Stay there!
- [possessed David laughs evilly]
[Martin] The Warrens showed me
all the evidence they had.
[camera clicking]
[Lorraine] Open your eyes, David.
And, to me,
it was very credible and believable.
I believed in the story,
I believed in the defense,
and I also believed there probably
wasn't another lawyer in the state
that would represent him
with this defense.
[newscaster] "The devil made me do it."
That's precisely what criminal lawyer
Martin Minnella says he will try to prove
when his client comes to trial.
The nature of our defense is one
that has been used in England.
It's never been used in the United States,
the defense of demonic possession.
[Brian] An indictment against
Arne Johnson, who lived upstairs here,
is expected March 19th.
Already, three cases
have been tried in England.
Two on charges of arson, one on rape.
The verdict in all cases, not guilty
by reason of demonic possession.
In my 15-year journalism career,
this was by far
the most bizarre story I ever covered.
[newscaster] Lorraine and Ed Warren,
known as long-time students
and lecturers on matters occult.
The Warrens argue it was
the demonic influence now inside Johnson
that drove him to kill.
The whole issue of demonic possession
from a reporter's perspective
is... is terribly difficult.
Uh, because you, uh, cannot prove it.
You cannot disprove it.
Uh, the best you can do as a good reporter
is to try and find facts.
Six days after the stabbing,
I was, uh, introduced to the Warrens.
[pensive music playing]
We had made arrangements.
They were gonna let me have
some audio tapes.
And that I would be free to put these on,
uh, the two radio stations
if... if I wanted to do that.
[over radio]
Good afternoon. This is Mike Allen.
WINE News has obtained
some rather dramatic tapes
said to be associated with the so-called
"devil made me do it" stabbing death
in Brookfield.
[young Arne] In the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
I command you to leave this boy.
The cross is right on your forehead.
You can't hurt God's child.
[possessed David]
Jesus is gonna die in hell.
- [Judy] Mommy loves you.
- [possessed David growling]
[possessed David laughs]
[Mike] And I was anticipating
that we would get a lot of phone calls
from people saying,
"Why did you put this on?"
"You're horrendous."
But most of the phone calls were,
"When are you gonna play it again?"
[unsettling music playing]
I was getting mail
from across the country,
uh, from psychics and... and people
in the paranormal field
offering their services to me.
Then you would get to the non-believers,
who are like, "Are you kidding?"
"There was drinking.
There was a stabbing."
"This is an open-shut case."
"Why are you even giving this airtime?
This is ridiculous."
[newscaster]
On a visit to the murder site,
none of the neighbors, including a priest
who was involved in the case,
wanted to talk about it.
I did reach out to, uh, priests
who were at the so-called exorcisms.
So what I said to them was,
"Look, there are allegations
that during these ceremonies,
furniture was flying around the room,
that there was levitation observed."
"Uh, all I'm asking you to do
is to just say,
'That's nonsense. It didn't happen.'"
"And then we can all go on our way."
They wouldn't say that.
[host] Ed, what do you say
to somebody who says,
"I just don't believe any of this."
Well, I would hope
you weren't on the jury.
[church bell tolling]
[Ed] We can back up this case history
with numerous other case histories
which we've been involved with,
and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt
that preternatural phenomenon
was taking place here.
[projector clicking]
[pensive music playing]
[Carl] The photos look super happy.
I mean, I can't argue with you.
But there was...
a different side when those doors closed.
I can tell you that much.
We were far from the normal,
happy American family.
My mother had her agenda.
If things weren't going her way,
she'd throw a tantrum.
In front of people, she'd try
to portray herself as a holy roller
and all this other stuff,
but that was not even close to reality.
She didn't even go to church
or any of this stuff
until all this stuff with David.
And when Lorraine Warren
stepped in the picture,
that's when everybody came like,
"Oh, we gotta wear scapulars.
We gotta wear rosaries."
And... [inhales deeply]
I wasn't buying it.
I was 15 when my brother
was supposedly possessed.
I'd never talked before
on camera or anything,
and I just wanted the truth to come out
because an innocent man got killed.
And they wanna play it off
"the devil made me do it"?
It's just far from the truth.
I know because I lived it.
[gentle music playing]
I was outside,
and Ed and Lorraine arrived.
Ed Warren, he says,
"What's going on here?"
And I said,
"Honestly, I think my family is nuts."
I remember saying that to Ed Warren.
[gentle music continues]
I didn't know what Ed and Lorraine
Warren's agenda was in the beginning.
[indistinct chatter]
[Carl] I just sat back and watched,
and things didn't sit right with me.
What would you do if you were in charge?
[Carl] They'd sit down
at the kitchen table
to discuss David's issues.
You don't like these things, right?
- [young David] No.
- No?
[Carl] They were saying,
"Well, he can start cursing at you,
spitting at you."
"He'll grunt and growl like a savage."
And my concern was,
why talk about the subject
when we're sitting right there?
Have the kids go outside,
go downstairs, go do something.
But they wanted to make sure, you know,
we heard it, and we did.
Like you're leading them on what to do.
[Ed] What kind of things
did he do when he wasn't David?
- [Judy] Spit, swear, started to swear.
- [Arne] He swore a lot.
- [Ed] Swear at the priest?
- [Judy] And me. Yeah, a lot was directed...
[Carl] You don't think
David's smart enough to put that together?
A couple of days later,
David was doing just that,
word for word.
- [Judy] All right, son.
- [possessed David] You fucking cocksucker.
I'll penalize you!
[Judy] David, stop it.
[possessed David]
You goddamn deserve to die!
- You don't deserve to live!
- [Judy] David. David, calm down.
[possessed David] You'll die!
You fat frigging fucking bitch.
[spits]
In the beginning,
the Warrens did come over a lot,
like every other day.
The first week, I think,
they showed up every day.
[Judy] Mommy's here. Mommy's here.
Come on, wake up. Come on, get up.
[Carl] Every night
they had the cameras ready.
- [Judy] Get out of my son.
- [Carl] The microphones ready.
- [possessed David] No! No!
- [Judy] I'm your mother.
[Carl] It turned into a show.
- [Judy speaking indistinctly]
- [possessed David] Don't do that!
[laughs evilly]
[Judy] David! Just get up!
My God! Get up, come on!
[Carl] Instead of focusing their energy
on helping David, record him.
[camera clicks, whirs]
You know,
everything could've been done differently.
[camera clicks, whirs]
There was one incident one evening
that my mother was screaming at David
to stop it, and stop it
and calm down, sit down.
And he started calling her
everything under the sun.
[possessed David]
You fat frigging fucking bitch.
[Carl] And all of a sudden,
my father came out.
- [David] You don't deserve to live!
- [Judy] David...
Get up!
You hear "slap."
[David's father]
Get over there and sit down.
[Carl] He goes, "Now I said to stop."
[David's father]
Enough! No more. It's got to stop.
And sure enough, the, uh, devil sat down
and was very quiet.
So I'm glad at least
he listens to my father.
Okay, one second. Okay, give me one...
[engine revving]
[Carl] The night of the murder,
my dad and I were working outside
and my mother screamed,
[Judy yelling]
[Carl] "We have to get to the kennel.
Something happened. Debbie's hysterical."
- We have to go.
- All right.
[dramatic music playing]
[Carl] We get there, and Debbie's like,
"Oh, there was a bad fight."
"Alan got stabbed. He's over there."
I saw Alan laying on his side. That's when
I went over to him and rolled him over.
Keep in mind, I'm 15 or...
I don't know what to do.
I never had to deal with this in my life.
And I remember seeing
the four stab wounds. Um, it was four.
He was gasping for air.
I just kept telling him, "Alan, hold on."
[unsettling music playing]
So, you know, what are you gonna do?
It's like you're, you know,
you're... you're stuck.
You know what I'm saying? It's just, uh...
[inhales deeply]
It's not a feeling I like to... You know,
I don't even talk about it, to be honest.
It's something I don't want to remember,
because it was just something...
You can't help somebody. You know,
it's like... there was nothing I could do.
It's just sad to see
somebody die like that.
[somber music playing]
The murder of Alan Bono,
I never even thought
it was connected to David.
There's nothing demonic in this.
Arne was very possessive of Debbie.
There was speculations and rumors
that Debbie was having an affair
with Alan Bono.
[Glenn] I remember Debbie Glatzel
came to the police department,
and she said, "You know, I'm hearing rumor
that this murder was o-over a three-way,
a triangle between myself and Alan Bono,
uh, with Arne Cheyenne Johnson."
And she says, "It wasn't." She says,
"I had a relationship with Alan Bono."
"That's over with,
and this... this stabbing,
this murder had nothing to do with that."
A bizarre murder trial gets underway
tomorrow in Danbury, Connecticut.
The crux of this case is a claim
of demonic possession.
Jim Van Sickle reports.
[Jim] Will the devil be present
in this ancient courthouse
in Danbury, Connecticut tomorrow?
Might he take the stand at some point?
[Carl] I did not know
that the trial was beginning.
And on the first day of the trial,
my parents actually gave me money
just so I can basically skip school
and go do what I want to do for the day.
They were petrified
of me getting involved in the story,
because I knew...
this is all fabricated.
[dramatic music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
[Alan] We, as a family,
thought Arne would be found innocent
because we were going to have the priest
and the Warrens
and all the evidence we gathered,
the audio recordings, the photographs,
and be able to show the court
Arne did not commit murder,
um, he was possessed
'cause he challenged the beast.
The prosecution was pushing
for a maximum sentence
for a guilty conviction.
This is a case which, uh, the media has
and the Warrens have, uh, spent
a good deal of time publicizing,
uh, for their own,
I would suspect, financial interest.
But as far as I am concerned,
this is a, uh, routine,
to the extent it's possible
to have a routine homicide.
To come out and say
this was just a bunch of baloney,
that we were trying to cover up
just a simple murder case.
If Arne had been convicted of murder,
he was facing 25 to life.
- [suspenseful music playing]
- [cameras clicking]
Getting inside the courthouse
was extremely difficult.
It was standing room only.
[gavel banging]
Nobody knew what exactly to expect.
It was almost like a...
a showdown was going to occur
with Martin Minnella coming in
with this demonic possession defense,
and Judge Robert Callahan
having to make a ruling
on whether he was going
to admit it or not.
It was a reality check,
to be honest with you.
Here I was, in court.
Never been there before.
Facing 25 to life.
And it was, uh, surreal. Mmm.
[pensive music playing]
[Martin] I believed that my client
was going to get his day in court.
Let the jury evaluate the credibility
of what occurred.
Not just believe in faith,
believe in actual physical evidence
and testimony,
and then make their mind up based on this.
But it never got that far.
The judge listened to precedence,
to arguments, and then he said
that demonic possession
is not an acceptable defense.
It is irrelevant in this case
and in courts in the United States.
It is not a science,
and he will permit no evidence
on demonic possession and devils.
Jim Van Sickle, News 4, Danbury.
[brooding music playing]
I was devastated.
And you can hear all the sighs
from the family. Like, "Oh my God."
In court, you had to put your hand
on the Bible and swear on the Bible.
But that's okay. But other than that,
they don't believe anything
in... in supernatural or... or the devil.
So how does that work?
Right in front of me,
the five or six Catholic priests
who were there got up in unison,
it was almost like it was rehearsed,
and marched out,
never to be heard from again.
And the church didn't comment
on this case, uh, going forward.
[Arne] I felt abandoned.
Didn't have the chance
to tell the whole truth.
But they would never allow the truth,
so... felt lost.
Wha... What do we do now?
The trial in Danbury resumes tomorrow.
[news theme playing]
[pensive music playing]
It became a very difficult case then
for the defense to argue
because you had the signed statements
with the police of his sisters,
who said they saw Arne stab Alan.
And if you couldn't say,
"Yeah, but he did that
because of demonic possession,"
uh, you're left with, "He stabbed him."
[pensive music continues]
Martin Minnella told me that
the only thing we can really go for
is self-defense.
And he goes,
"That's the plea we're going to present."
Not guilty of murder
in the first degree. Manslaughter.
The problem is,
self-defense isn't retaliation.
In other words, if somebody came at you,
you might stab him once,
maybe twice, but not a number of times.
Because if you do that,
self-defense goes out the window.
[music intensifies]
To suddenly say that it was self-defense,
when it wasn't put forward
as that at the beginning,
um, certainly seemed unusual.
That was the only way
that I would have a chance
not to get 25 to life.
I had to take the stand.
It was kind of difficult to take the stand
because I really didn't remember
what happened.
And that's what I told them.
I think everybody felt
this was just a very unfortunate story
on so many different levels.
But at the same time,
there was somebody who was dead
and somebody who had caused that death,
and justice had to be done.
[pensive music playing]
[David] There was tension in the family.
My sister was... was horrified
that he was gonna be convicted of murder,
and he'd spend
the rest of his life in jail.
I was brought up to the courtroom.
The room was filled.
The judge came, and he got the verdict
from the foreman of the jury.
I was very nervous and terrified.
[suspenseful music playing]
The verdict was not guilty
of murder in the first degree,
guilty of manslaughter
in the first degree.
Then we came to sentencing.
I remember Judge Callahan's words
to this day.
"I have no alternative but to give you
the maximum sentence allowed."
"Ten to 20 years
to a maximum-security prison."
[pensive music playing]
When I was handed the sentence,
Debbie jumped up and told the judge,
"Callahan," she goes,
"you're sick. You're insane."
And then she just went running, crying.
When I was exiting the courthouse,
Debbie broke through the camera people,
ran up to me to give me a kiss.
And I told Debbie, I said,
"I want you to go live your life
'cause I don't know
what's gonna happen with mine."
"This way you still have a life."
She started to cry.
She goes, "You don't love me."
I said, "I do love you.
That's why I'm giving you freedom."
She goes, "No, I will never leave you."
[somber music playing]
I've always said it from the beginning.
Arne's innocent.
He's been to hell and back.
[somber music continues]
[Alan] My mom was very upset about it.
She knew that he was
under demonic possession.
He was a non-violent person.
She felt horrible for Arne.
- [dial tone]
- My mom wanted the story told.
She wanted to tell the truth, and wanted
people to know what was going on.
[audience applauding]
Seated next to me is a mother
of a once-possessed child,
and she's here to share with us her story.
- How do you do?
- [host] Nice to have you.
[audience applauding]
Tell me how David is today.
Well, he's not possessed anymore.
He's out of possession.
Right. Totally normal?
Totally normal, and, um... [inhales deeply]
Arne still has a lot of problems.
Here's a young man who is now in prison.
He is serving a ten-to 20-year sentence
for manslaughter
for something
he really is not responsible for.
After the trial,
my mother ended up going to... Hollywood.
[pensive music playing]
We all flew on a jet.
We got picked up in a limo
and go on to dinner with Dick Clark.
[music continues]
She was enjoying it. She was very excited,
and she couldn't believe
this was happening to her.
But Ed and Lorraine Warren had an agenda.
They said,
"You guys will be millionaires."
The Warrens told me
that they were gonna do a book.
They already had the author lined up,
which I guess
he did a previous book for them.
They brought Mr. Brittle up
to talk with us,
and they asked a... a bunch of questions.
Ed said, "Make it scary."
He goes, "But I checked with the people,
and they said this didn't happen."
Ed goes, "Make it scary.
People come to us. They buy scary."
Ed and Lorraine Warren took over.
Six months later,
the Warrens show up with paperwork,
and my mom's like,
"Should we get a lawyer?"
And Lorraine's like, "No, dear."
"William Morris Agency
has a whole floor of lawyers."
Yes, they do.
But it's not for them. It's for youse.
- [Lorraine] Hello.
- Hi, Lorraine? Judy.
- Hi, Judy.
- [Judy] How you doing?
[Lorraine] Good, dear.
- [Judy] Did you find out anything yet?
- What, honey?
- [Judy] About the book or anything?
- [Lorraine] Everything is great.
[Judy] Okay, good.
Because youse put so much work into this.
We went through all the tragedy.
And I'll tell you,
we need the money just like you do.
[Carl] My mother and father
received $4,500,
but Ed and Lorraine Warren
received $81,000 and some change.
They're still making money on it
with the Conjuring films.
[David] Lorraine told me
I was gonna be a rich little boy
from having this book deal.
And that was a lie.
[music fades]
The Warrens made a lot of money off of us.
If they can profit off you, they will.
They're not gonna pass up that deal.
[Carl] When my mother realized
that she was getting,
as she calls it, hoodwinked,
she lost faith in them.
They were good at what they did,
and they knew how to talk to people
and knew how to play people.
- [car engine starts]
- [gentle music playing]
They were very good con people.
[gentle music continues]
[Alan] My brother David felt guilty
over the whole ordeal.
[sighs] Heartbroken, actually,
'cause he knew that Arne was innocent.
[gentle music continues]
I could've never made it through this time
without Debbie's support.
The support gave me hope.
Then, in 1985,
we actually were married in the prison.
She looked real beautiful.
She was radiant.
I couldn't wait to hold her. It was great.
[pensive music playing]
This whole thing changed my life,
brought me more to religion.
I am not possessed.
I never had an exorcism,
but I'm not possessed,
and I know how to protect myself.
I know what prayers to say,
so I'm very much in control.
My faith keeps me strong.
So everything seems to be fine.
Life is moving forward.
I think this whole case
affected the entire family.
It scarred everybody.
It's twisted all of our lives upside down,
and it's difficult to talk about.
It's been over 40 years...
[inhales deeply]
...but it changed us
and has had long-lasting effects
on everyone in the family.
We're at the point
where we're basically all scattered.
You know, none of us really talk no more.
[pensive music continues]
[David] Seeing the pictures...
they make me scared again and very sad,
because there's an 11-year-old boy
having a normal childhood
until this happened.
I gotta deal with it every day.
Well, this story,
you want to know who's telling the truth.
[sighs]
After my parents died, my wife
and I were going through their belongings.
My mother wrote down everything.
She had OCD.
[scribbling]
It'd be on a piece of paper, a calendar,
or whatever. She'd write notes down.
On this one note, it said,
"Well, the family had their medicine
tonight, and everything was good."
As we looked into things,
we realized there's more to this medicine.
[pensive music playing]
We found out
that she was putting Sominex in our food.
And she's been giving it
to the whole family for quite a long time.
[ad narrator] Some people
can fall asleep anyplace.
But did simple tension
keep you awake last night?
Take Sominex tonight and sleep.
Sominex is absolutely not habit-forming.
Just take two Sominex tablets as directed
for 100% safe sleep and wake up refreshed.
I remember my mother serving us dinner.
Her bowl was always separate from ours.
So if she had spaghetti,
everybody eats out of the bowl.
She'd have hers separate.
It's like, "Want more?"
She goes, "No, I'm good."
I believe my mother used Sominex
to control all us boys and my dad.
At the end of the day,
if everybody's tired and exhausted,
guess what? Everybody's gonna rest
and sit down. There's no more problems.
But Sominex
has long-lasting effects on people.
Mood swings, weight gain,
and hallucinations.
[demonic growl]
[Carl] It is very possible
that my brother David has ingested
enough of this stuff over the years,
where he did see things.
[possessed David] I'll kill you.
Jesus is going to die in hell.
[Carl] Or at least he thought
he saw things.
[possessed David]
I'll murder you, you bastard.
[Carl] Between David, Arne,
my brother Alan...
They were all victims
at the end of the day.
[gentle music playing]
My... My mother would not drug the family.
My mom took good care of us.
The truth is, when I was 11 years old,
I was possessed by a demonic spirit,
I guess you can call it.
That's what the truth is.
I have no reason to lie about anything.
[gentle music continues]
I guess, like my dad,
I go buy a piece of junk and I fix it.
Just stay occupied. Just stay busy.
Because idle hands make the devil's work.
[possessed David laughs evilly]
["Spirits on the Hill"
by Frank Chiafari playing]
Lorraine walked in the attic
And I knew that she could tell
She said that something's joined us
Something straight from hell
The men with dark faces
Wearing yellow ties
Are holding their necks
And questioning the skies
And, oh, not very far away
Amidst the foggy night
Ed walks near old tombstones
And a woman dressed in white
To little boys and little girls
I hope you're listenin' still
Keep away from that house
And the spirits on the hill
And the spirits
On the hill
And the spirits
On the hill
Spirits
On the hill
[faint scream]
[music fades]