Eli Roth Presents: The Legion of Exorcists (2023) s01e01 Episode Script

[suspenseful music playing]
[ghostly breathing]
You know, as I was saying,
the family did not have any
Um, the family did not have,
uh, any idea that the, uh
that, uh
there was an attachment
Yes, Bishop?
[all screaming]
[Eli] Evil is on the rise.
Demons battle
to possess our souls
and drag us one step closer
[screaming]
[Eli] to Hell.
But now, there is a gathering
of spiritual warriors
who defend us against
the Devil's minions
Go back to Hell!
St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
[Eli]a nd unite to banish
the demons in our midst.
These are the true stories
of The Legion of Exorcists.
This may seem like
a harmless antique.
A curiosity you might find
at an auction or a yard sale.
Exorcists have encountered
relics just like this one,
that harbor a deadly evil.
The Devil can take possession
of objects,
using them
to reach into our world,
and take control.
You know, what frustrates me is
we live in a society and
a culture where people,
for some strange reason,
have put demons here
Yes.
- and God here.
Yes.
- [Bishop Long] Cursed objects
have become
a real, big thing now.
And what people don't understand
is that these items
can have attachments,
which can cause serious,
serious issues.
These items
have demonic attachment
from demonic entities
with real power.
And I know firsthand,
what these items can do.
So, this day
was like any other day.
The phone rings.
So, I pick up the phone,
and on the other line
is a mother.
She's not frantic on the
phone, but you can tell
that she's frustrated.
She begins to tell me that
she is a collector of items.
She loves to collect eccentric
items, from all over the world.
Now, she buys
and sells antiques,
and she does a really great job,
and she makes a good profit.
So she tells me
she went to an estate sale,
and there was
antiques everywhere.
I mean, valuable paintings.
Statues. But there's
one thing that she saw,
and she became obsessed.
[whimsical music playing]
[suspenseful music playing]
[eerie music playing]
[enchanting tones with
disturbing frequency playing]
[man's voice muffled] Hey.
Hey. Ready to go?
[continues speaking
indistinctly]
[sounds stop] - You're not
thinking of buying this, are you?
You saw Chucky,right?
Give it back.
The We bring this in the house,
April's gonna have nightmares.
I'm gonna have nightmares.
[woman's voice muffled]
What's wrong, Mike?
What's wrong, honey?
[gasps]
Honey, tell me what's wrong.
[breathing heavily]
- [object clatters]
Hey, you'll break it!
[breathing heavily] What?
- I said you'll break it.
Good.
Good. Keep that thing
away from me.
What are you talking about?
I'm buying it.
[Mike] No, you're not.
That thing is not
coming into our house.
It's beautiful and I want it.
Leigh.
I said I want it.
- Leigh.
I mean it.
That thing
It creeps me out.
All she saw was that doll.
She didn't buy
anything else that day.
She didn't want anything else.
She turned paintings away that she
could have made a big profit on.
That was the doll she wanted.
Now, the kids,
interestingly enough,
wanted nothing to do with it.
And it's not because they don't like
clowns, it's because they just
did not like that doll.
[children playing]
[object clattering]
[eerie music playing]
[suspenseful music playing]
[suspenseful music intensifies]
[ghostly whispering]
[Bishop Long] Now, the daughter didn't
like it. The husband didn't care.
But a few days later,
things continued to happen.
So, how was the science test?
I think I did pretty well.
Yeah.
- Good.
[April] Studying pays off.
- You think you got an A?
Probably.
- [Leigh laughs] Yeah.
[chuckles]
[cracks, shatters]
[exhales]
What was that?
Scary stuff.
[electrical buzzing]
[shatters]
- [yells in shock]
What the
[electrical buzzing]
[shatters]
- [April exclaims]
What is happening?
[breathing heavily]
[Bishop Long]
Now the mom
is saying, "Okay,
something is not right."
She thought
it was electrical current,
she calls the electrician
and they come in that day.
Nothing is wrong. He can't
explain what happened.
They found nothing.
And then, a week later,
the entire family
was jolted awake
at 2:00 am, with a sound
that no family wants to hear.
[thud]
- [crackling]
[alarm sounding]
[Mike coughing]
Leigh!
[coughing]
Do you have April?
[Leigh] I've got her.
[Mike] Get outside, hurry.
Move!
Brand new home,
it's only a year old.
This is the home
that they've always wanted.
Burnt to a crisp.
And they call
the fire department,
took about half an hour
for them to get there.
By the time they arrived,
from the basement to the roof,
it burnt like you had just
engulfed it with jet fuel.
So, while she is telling me this
story, I do feel for the family,
because they lost their home.
But I am skeptical.
As an exorcist, we have to be,
'cause we can't believe every single case
is demonic, 'cause it's not the case.
Now, truly,
the family lost their home,
but I think there must be a
logical explanation for that fire.
She invites me
out to her home, to see it.
When I pull up, I see this
huge rubble,
where this mansion just stood.
That's when the mom said,
"You're not gonna believe
what I have for you."
We walked to where
the front door would be,
we turned right, and she said,
"This is what I want you
to take away from this place."
And I was speechless.
[Leigh sniffling]
Nothing was there,
except this doll.
But the doll wasn't broke,
it wasn't cracked.
So, I take it this is the doll.
[Leigh] Be careful.
I'm sorry I ever brought
that thing into this house.
[ghostly whispering]
[Bishop Long exhales shakily]
- [Leigh sniffles]
[Bishop Long]
It was hot to the touch.
That was when I thought
it had to be a cursed object.
[breathing shakily]
Everything's gonna be all right.
But it's a good thing
that you called me.
[sniffs] What
What does it want from us?
It's It's not
what it wants from you.
It's how it wants to harm you.
Such demons,
they [sighs grimly]
They don't stop until
they've achieved their goal.
Until you're dead.
[breathes shakily]
[Bishop Long] Lord,
I bind this object
and all the evil
contained within it.
Let no more demonic forces
remain attached to this family.
In your name Amen.
So, I take the doll to my storage unit.
I purposely
bought a case,
and I was going to bind that
demonic entity to this object
with oil, with, uh,
blessed salt,
and I placed the doll
inside of it.
It never comes out of its case.
So, I would love to tell each
of you that this cursed doll,
by the demonic,
is safe and sound in the storage
unit, not harming anybody.
But I can't quite tell you
that's the case.
I had the opportunity to teach about
demonology, possession, and cursed items.
And I jumped
at this opportunity.
But it was an opportunity that
I will never, ever forget.
And so, the family,
realized that all of their
troubles actually began
when the mother
purchased this doll
from an estate sale.
This particular cursed item
brings with it a, uh,
obsession that factors
Uh-huh.
Bishop Long, in my experience
as a psychic medium,
I can feel the presence
of the demonic.
But I'm not feeling anything
right now.
I was wondering if
we could try lifting the case.
[students] Yeah.
- [Bishop Long] Uh
I don't think that would
be a particularly good--
It, it'll just be a moment.
There's a bit of danger
inherent in this.
I I don't think it's--
- [students murmuring]
I don't think
it's worth the risk.
[students] No, no.
- Please.
For educational purposes?
[all clamoring]
Normally, I would never take a
cursed object out of its case.
But the whole room
wanted me to do this.
I did it because of good intent,
I wanted to teach about it.
- Right.
[Bishop Long] That was
a big mistake.
I walked to the case,
I opened it up.
[ghostly whooshing]
The whole room changed.
[ghostly snarling]
Okay.
Now, as I was saying, the family
did not have any
Um, the, the family did not have,
um, any idea that the, uh
that, uh
there was an attachment
Yes, Bishop?
[screaming]
[all screaming]
[Bishop Long] Enough!
Make it stop.
What's the matter, Bishop Long?
So, I lifted the protective
case of the doll,
and there was a complete
energy shift in the room.
It was as if I was opening
a door to the abyss of Hell.
And then, things got much worse.
Behind you!
[woman gasping]
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, I should
have known better.
Demonic forces are
unpredictable.
I'll never forget that.
Never. And remember, I have a lot
of cursed objects as I've mentioned.
I have never, in my life,
seen a cursed object
that actually, legitimately did
exactly what the family claimed,
actually caused real fire.
[Minister Johnson] Attaching
the demonic to these objects
is a, is another way
the enemy smuggles this
into your home,
because it seems so innocent.
What could be wrong with a,
an antique doll?
Or anything at your local thrift store?
A mirror, or this table.
You don't know
what was on that table.
You don't know, and so,
these get into your home
seemingly innocently,
and then all hell breaks loose.
[Bishop Long] So,
since that day,
I make sure that I do a
binding prayer once a week,
because I bless my home
once a week, religiously.
And I never, ever forget that,
because when I take it to conferences,
and I talk about the dangers
of these haunted items,
and they're truly dangerous,
uh, it's very, very important to
keep everyone safe. Including myself.
One thing that I,
I was not able to do is to discover
the origin of this curse that
was placed upon this doll.
And as an exorcist, we all wanna
make sure we try to find that source.
Uh, but ultimately, my goal is to
make sure the doll stays concealed,
protected, and away
from the innocent.
[Rev. Strugala] Unfortunately,
the problems don't end
with just a possessed object.
Sometimes, it can be
just the beginning,
and it can result in a demon
terrorizing an unsuspecting victim.
[demonic snarling] - [Rev.
Strugala] Get her in the chair.
[demonic snarling, grunting]
[Rev. Strugala]
Colleen? Colleen?
[woman] No, no, no, no, no.
Hey, look at me. Focus on me.
No, no, no. Focus on me, please.
- [woman gasping]
You can--
- [snarling]
[evil laughter]
[growling]
[in demonic voice] You think
you can save this soul?
[in demonic voice]
I don't think you can.
[demonic laughter]
What would you do if you
discovered a possessed object?
Find an exorcist to strip it,
of its demonic energy?
Or would you be tempted
to harness its power?
If the power didn't
first attack you.
There's no such thing as a
simple case to an exorcist.
Of the time you think
you have things figure out,
you find out that you are wrong.
Cursed objects can be
very dangerous items.
They don't always come
from antique stores.
Or a state sales.
It can be something as
simple as a family heirloom,
that can bring the demonic into
an unsuspecting person's life.
This next case is one of those.
I had recently received a call
from a lady named Jen,
who had recently moved
in with her aunt Deb,
and Deb's adult daughter, Kris.
Disturbing things
started happening,
almost immediately after
she moved into the home.
She told me that her aunt Deb was
suffering from attacks, every night.
She was having some
pretty vivid nightmares,
but she was also
waking up with bruises.
And that's not all.
When I spoke with Deb,
she told me a chilling story.
[thudding noise]
Hello?
[chittering]
Hello?
[shallow breathing sound]
[chittering]
[Deb screams]
[growling]
[Jen] Aunt Deb?
Are you down here?
[footsteps approaching]
Aunt Deb?
Aunt Deb?
[eerie music playing]
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God, Deb.
Oh, God. Stop.
Stop, please.
Oh, God.
[breathing heavily]
Oh, my God.
My initial reaction was
"Wow, if this is all true,
this is gonna be complicated."
Mmm.
[Rev. Strugala] There may be
psychological things going on here.
But the thing is,
is I got to find out either way.
Whether it's, if they
need professional help,
or whether they
need spiritual help,
I need to help this family.
I've brought my
core team with me.
So I brought Colleen,
who is my senior sensitive on the team.
And I brought
Father Art with us.
[Kris] Mom?
Mom?
Aunt Deb?
These people have
come to see you.
[Rev. Strugala] Deb?
Deb, my name
is Reverend Rita Strugala.
I'm here to help you.
Help ease some of your pain.
I've brought you
something, sweet girl.
Shove it up your ass!
[Kris] Mom, stop it.
[Rev. Strugala] It's Okay.
I'm sorry.
I just get so angry these days.
I don't know why.
Is that why you
tried to hurt yourself?
[Deb] I didn't do that.
It made me do it.
It?
It's waiting for me right now.
Upstairs.
It's waiting for me
to go to bed.
[Rev. Strugala] You could definitely
feel that there was demonic energy.
Not just in the basement
where she was attacked,
but all throughout this house.
Okay.
Now this is Deb's bedroom.
This is where she's saying,
she's being attacked every night.
There's something
in there. I feel it.
It feels strong.
Be careful.
[snarling]
[gasps] Above the bed.
[chittering]
[growling]
[Rev. Strugala]
The demon was on the ceiling.
Above the bed.
You could feel the presence.
It was huge.
It It was just terrifying.
Immediately we knew that we were
gonna have to do a binding prayer,
to bind this entity,
so it couldn't hurt anybody.
I demand your foul
abominations remain locked
where you are.
[distorted voice]
I bind you in the
name of The Father,
of The Son.
[screeching]
- Holy Spirit.
I command you.
It's the blood of Christ
that commands you.
It's the power of the Lord
that commands you.
I command you.
- [chittering]
[gasps]
[eerie music playing]
[hissing]
[ominous music playing]
[Father Art] You see anything?
It's gone.
Are you sure?
[Rev. Strugala]
It didn't work.
Father Art was praying,
and he was doing what
he does to bind the demon.
[distorted voice]
Holy Spirit.
First time I had ever seen that,
that it did not work.
My honest reaction was
"That's not good."
We didn't bind this thing.
We just pissed it off.
And then we found
something interesting.
Something that
seemed out of place.
[Father Art] What is it, Rita?
- It's a box.
[grunts]
Oh.
Ah. It's hot. Burnt me.
[Father Art] Careful. - Yeah.
I got it.
Deb, where did you get this box?
Deb, please.
If this is cursed
this could be the key
to your freedom.
Aunt Deb?
After my mother died
my father found a new woman.
We all hated her.
She hated us.
[Deb] My mother's death
It was a suicide.
And my father's girlfriend
was so cruel to me.
She brought that box
into this house.
[Rev. Strugala]
Well, now
It's time for it to leave.
I learned that Deb found the
box, buried away in the basement.
She brought it upstairs
to her bedroom.
And then all hell broke loose.
And I was pretty sure that,
a large demon was
attached to that box.
The plan was
to take the box with us.
To spiritually cleanse it,
and bring it back.
The hope was, that we would
get rid of any attachments.
And that it would actually also take
care of the problem with the family.
But it didn't quite
go as planned.
[car door opens]
[car door closes]
Ready, ready to go?
- [car door closes]
Yes.
- All right.
In Jesus name, let us be safe.
[screams]
As we sat there in the car,
all of a sudden,
I was feeling pressure,
on my head.
The only way
I can describe it is,
it just
it felt like a vise.
And suddenly it was just
squeezing my head.
[screaming]
I don't wanna be meet the dead.
- [indistinct]
I command you
to release this woman,
in the name of The Father,
The Son, and The Holy Spirit.
[Colleen] Are you okay?
- Yeah.
It's gone.
- Rita.
Yeah.
- Did you see anything?
No. - [Rev.
Strugala] It's the same thing.
I feel it.
It's the same thing.
From the box.
[Father Art] It's in the box?
- [Rev. Strugala] Yes.
It's the box.
Whatever demonic
attachment was on that box,
it had gotten loose
and it was attacking me.
I felt that this box
could be the source
of the issues for this family.
And that the dad's
girlfriend might have been
the one who put
the curse on the box.
Thankfully my team was there.
And Father Art took the items,
cleansed them,
and put them in the vault.
I really thought we'd be good.
Unfortunately,
things just got worse.
The next night, I got a very
panicked phone call from Jen.
What she was telling me,
sounded like an absolute horror movie.
She said that her aunt Deb
was out on the front lawn
in full possessed mode.
And she was growling, snarling
like some kind of
a demonic deranged beast.
[snarling]
[growling]
Oh. [gasps]
[growls]
Mom.
Mom.
[snarling]
What is happening to you?
[growling]
Leave my mother
alone, you coward!
[screams]
[breathing heavily]
Oh, my God.
[Kris gasps]
Kris.
Kris was coming
to her mother's defense.
She wanted this thing
away from her mother.
So she taunted it.
Like we all know
we shouldn't do.
And the demon began jumping,
between the two of them.
We thought that we had
taken everything out of there.
That they were attached
only to the objects.
Unfortunately now,
demons were jumping
from person to person.
[screams]
The family was suffering
from transient possession,
which is when the demons go in
and out of the body, at will.
At this point, I knew that we
had to get the team together,
and get back there, right away.
So we went in this time,
by ourselves.
We went through the house.
We went room by room.
We were meticulous.
And I saw nothing there.
I felt nothing there.
Now I know I've got a bigger
problem than I thought I had.
It's not the objects.
It's not the house.
It's the people.
[snarls]
[Rev. Strugala] We decided that
we were gonna do that exorcism
in a church.
Because it's on our turf.
Not theirs.
So the morning of the exorcism,
I got up and we got ready
for the family to show
up at the church.
Our plan was,
we had our Holy instruments,
we had our prayers,
we had communion,
and we were gonna tackle
this one person at a time.
We knew that these
demons were strong.
But we also knew that if we
could do this at the church,
that would give us
the edge we needed.
But our first hurdle,
was simply getting them into the church,
Jen, you just take
care of you aunt.
We need to take her down there.
[screaming]
- Kris.
No! No!
Come on [indistinct]
[Kris] Ah. Let me go!
Let me go.
[screaming]
[Father Art]
Come on, Kris.
[screaming]
We're trying to help you.
Come on.
[intense music playing]
[Kris] Put me down!
[Rev. Strugala]
When people are possessed,
they have an aversion
to the place itself.
That struggle we had,
just getting them in that church
across that threshold,
and it was just wild.
But that was nothing,
compared to what
happened inside.
Come on, we're almost there.
You got this.
[breathing heavily] Okay.
Come on. Sit down here.
Okay. Aunt Deb?
No, no, no, Aunt Deb.
Stay with me, okay?
Stay with me.
You can fight this.
[gasps]
Oh, God.
[Kris snarling] - [Rev.
Strugala] Get her in the chair.
[Kris grunting]
Colleen. Colleen.
[Jen] No, no, no, no, no.
Hey, look at me.
Focus on me.
No, no, no.
Focus on me, please.
You can--
- [Deb breathing heavily]
[demonic laughter]
[snarling] - [in
demonic voice] Mmm.
You think you can save her soul?
I don't think you can.
[demonic laughter]
[breathing heavily]
- Breathe, breathe.
You can do this.
Aunt Deb, please hold on.
Holy Spirit, be with us now.
Anoint this humble servant.
[breathing heavily]
[gasps]
You stay strong, Kris.
Honey, you stay strong.
And the unclean
spirits in you
we cast you away.
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.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Kris.
[shallow breathing]
[Rev. Strugala] Kris.
Can you hear me?
Hey, sweet thing.
[breathing hard]
[Rev. Strugala] She looked good.
She really did.
The color and everything.
She looked a lot better.
And we brought her back
to one of the pews.
And we were gonna
start on the mother.
And all of a sudden,
I knew what was happening.
And yet, I couldn't believe it.
Father, if there are any unclean spirits
in this woman, would you cast them out?
[continues exorcism]
[snarls]
Come here, Kris.
Kris, come here.
Come here. Come on, Kris.
Come on.
Back in the chair.
Get back in the chair.
[Rev. Strugala] She was hanging on
it, to the pews.
And she was down
and she was convulsing,
and she was screaming those
Oh, the screams.
[Kris screaming] - [Rev.
Strugala] God, we ask you now,
to deliver this [indistinct].
Strike this unholy
abomination from us.
[in demonic voice]
Go to hell!
We command you,
in the name of The Father,
and The Son,
and the Holy Ghost.
[Father Art
praying indistinctly]
[Rev. Strugala]
In the name
power
of our Lord, Jesus Christ
we command you,
to leave this woman.
And go back to hell!
Praise Jesus.
The family,
I've never seen 'em so happy.
Amen.
Amen.
I would guess
that all of this started
with Deb's father's girlfriend,
whom she said was evil.
[ominous music playing]
Come to me.
I invite you in
through this vessel of darkness.
Curse this hateful
[indistinct] family.
Let them know
what it means to shun
a servant
of Satan.
[snarling]
It probably started
with just one demon
that opened the door
for more and more to come in.
[screams]
Which is absolutely terrifying.
[Rich] What it sounds like to
me, what you were dealing with,
was that every turn you took,
they pretty much had it covered.
There was a trap here,
trap there, trap here.
Because,
they wanted you to be literally
turning around.
[Rev. Strugala] Yeah.
- With your head spinning around.
No pun intended.
So that they could
keep you off balance.
So it's like a spiritual
chess match.
There's moves, counter moves.
[Rich] Right.
- There's moves to block,
and anticipate the move.
Lead us not into temptation.
But deliver us from evil.
And it's just this move,
counter move,
until somebody
gets the checkmate.
Cases may end with demons
banished and bound.
But exorcists do not celebrate.
The demonic threat
grows unabated.
And a frightening link
has been discovered
between our world
and the underworld.
At the next gathering
of The Legion of Exorcists,
demonic portals
open the door to evil.
[snarling]
It was extremely disturbing.
Help me, please.
Please, help me.
- [screams]
[priest]
This was a portal to hell.
Something demonic is there.
[snarling]