A Haunting (2005) s07e03 Episode Script
Demon Unearthed
NARRATOR: A forsaken 19th-century mansion harbors angry spirits from the past.
NORMAN: There was definitely something there that felt like it didn't want us there.
ENTITY: Get Out.
NARRATOR: Rumors of a deadly love triangle.
The banker was having an affair with her.
One of the speculations was that she was buried in the basement.
NARRATOR: And a dark entity with the most evil of intentions.
JENNIFER: Whatever it was wasn't human.
[ GASPS .]
It frightened me so bad.
I can't even describe the terror.
NARRATOR: Some houses are better left undisturbed.
In America, there is real evil.
It lurks in the darkest shadows and in our most ordinary towns.
Between the worlds we see and the things we fear, there are doors.
When they are opened, nightmares become reality.
synced by dom.
smrc In the heart of Decatur County lies the small town of Garden Grove, Iowa, where the Rice family Norman, Jennifer, and son Andrew Has just purchased a 19th-century victorian mansion.
JENNIFER: It wasn't hard to fall in love with.
It was an amazing place.
I always said, you know, "Someday, I'm gonna own you.
Someday you're gonna be my house.
" I wanted to live there.
It had everything that I ever wanted.
Better than the pictures? [ CHUCKLES .]
It's incredible.
NORMAN: Just looking at the outside of the mansion, it's breathtaking.
It has a commanding presence.
Hey, what do you think, Andrew? We're gonna live here? [ BOTH LAUGH .]
ANDREW: At that point, I would have been about 8, 9 years old.
We were moving from a farm.
And I was kind of excited You know, new house.
It was really big compared to our old one.
It was really just a nice house.
I'd never seen anything quite like it before.
NARRATOR: Built at the turn of the century, the mansion was commissioned by an affluent businessman and his wife.
Garden Grove was in its prime, having served as a shipping point on an Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad.
JENNIFER: Garden Grove, Iowa, back in the 1800s, was the place to be.
It was one of the major cities.
There were several thousand people that lived there because the railroad came through.
It had a nice, long downtown area with lots of shops and bakeries and haberdasheries.
And so that's why they chose that.
It was a beautiful place, still country-like but citified.
NARRATOR: And Jennifer feels an instant connection to the house.
The house just kind of felt like it belonged to me, like I'd known it at some point in time.
It drew you in.
NARRATOR: But the picturesque mansion hides secrets from the past.
Come on.
JENNIFER: Come on! NARRATOR: Within these walls, it is rumored that an unspeakable horror took place.
Isn't it grand? I mean, look at all the details.
Look at the staircase.
NORMAN: Very clearly, before we even moved in, we knew it was a money pit.
It's incredible, but don't get too crazy.
Norm, it's got to be done right.
For the company I worked at, I actually got a lot of stock options, so we were kind of planning on using that money to put into the house.
So we were fully prepared to dump a whole bunch of money into it.
I feel like I'm the one who was meant to restore it to its former glory.
Now, honey, I trust you.
This is your passion.
Be reasonable.
JENNIFER: I think Norman, more than anything, just knew that I loved that house.
Are you sure you're okay with this? Yeah, if, uh If you're happy, I'm happy.
NARRATOR: In the months ahead, Norman spends most of his time working for a software company in Arizona, nearly 1,300 miles away.
This leaves Jennifer alone to manage the big job of renovating the old house so that her family can move in.
With me being out of town, it kind of gave her something to do, since we were apart 90% of the time, being in different states.
Her being able to put all of her energy into restoring this house really gave her a sense of accomplishment.
NARRATOR: Jennifer hires a main contractor named Claude and a few other workers to help realize her vision of the old victorian mansion.
JENNIFER: It was a mission for me.
I could just see what it should look like.
And that's what I loved about having that house.
I could just create it from, basically, the ground up into what it should be and what I loved.
[ LADDER RATTLES .]
[ THUD, CLAUDE GROANS .]
Claude was putting in a chandelier.
And the ladder was shaking so hard.
He wasn't sure if it was him shaking it or if there was some thing shaking it.
You could tell he was just freaked.
Wait.
What happened? I-I don't know.
I was pushed.
What do you mean? Who pushed you? He never really told me what it was that happened.
He just was very exaggerated in his speech and his nervousness.
What are you talking about? I don't understand.
I have to go! He actually told me, "I don't want to be in this house anymore.
" NARRATOR: Jennifer is stunned.
It's as if Claude has just seen a ghost.
MAN: I told my wife I was gonna be working in this house.
Uh-huh.
You know what she said? No.
What? Stay out of the basement.
What? Why? You know about the basement, right? No.
That's where he buried her.
Who? The servant.
The woman he was having an affair with.
She was pregnant, and he didn't want nobody to know.
Then they had an argument.
Then she fell down the stairs.
He didn't want a scandal, so he buried her down there.
JENNIFER: I think a lot of creepiness and the fact it sat abandoned for so long, it did It sparked a lot of rumors.
And the rumor was that the original owner buried her in the basement.
NARRATOR: 8-year-old Andrew's curiosity gets the better of him.
First, he saw a man in the window.
And now the scandalous rumor leads him to the basement.
I couldn't even fathom everybody knowing so much about a house that I just moved into, but it was kind of cool at the same time.
[ ELECTRICITY CRACKLES .]
The feeling I got was immediately like someone had just dropped a bunch of bricks on me.
It was just really heavy, dense air.
It was kind of hard to breathe a little bit.
[ ELECTRICITY CRACKLES .]
I can remember it being damp.
It literally smelled like wet dirt.
[ ELECTRICITY CRACKLES .]
[ ELECTRICITY CRACKLES .]
NARRATOR: In 2001, Jennifer and Norman Rice, along with their 8-year-old son, Andrew, moved to Garden Grove, Iowa, to restore their new home.
The historic mansion is haunted by rumors dating back to the early 1900s of a suspicious death and a secret burial in the basement.
ANDREW: Rumors had spread around town like wildfire that a servant had broken her neck.
Some had even speculated that the owner was having an affair with her.
Since he was prominent, he couldn't have that kind of thing on his record.
So one of the speculations was that she was buried in the basement.
[ ELECTRICITY CRACKLES .]
Aah! [ GASPING .]
I never, never went back down into the basement again.
I had thought maybe it was a skeleton grabbing me from underneath the ground.
Maybe 'cause I'd seen one too many horror movies as a kid.
NARRATOR: By July 2001, the majority of the renovations on the house are complete despite the fact that all of the contractors have deserted the job.
With Andrew's father, Norman, frequently away on business, his mother has no choice but to finish the house on her own.
I remember her having so many stressful nights because we would bring in contractors to try to fix this place up, and they would just leave.
NARRATOR: Jennifer suspects that it has something to do with the rumors surrounding the house, but she doesn't believe the old wives' tale.
JENNIFER: It was somewhat unnerving, but it was an amazing house, and it had amazing potential.
And that's all I could think about for a while.
It didn't matter what people said.
There's always gonna be rumors, especially in small towns.
But as time wore on and some of the things that happened, I began to wonder.
[ CREAKING .]
I started hearing noises I really couldn't explain.
Andrew? [ TAPPING .]
[ WHISPERING .]
Especially late, late, late at night, you don't really think things through.
Some of it could be written off to being tired, late night, the creepy factor.
Sleep tight.
NARRATOR: It is now the late summer of 2001.
Norman is still working full time 1,3000 miles away in Arizona, while Jennifer and Andrew adjust to the family-friendly Garden Grove, Iowa, area.
One night, Andrew invites his friend Cody for a sleepover.
Ah, yes! A lightsaber.
[ BOTH IMITATE LIGHTSABER WHIRRING .]
Aah.
[ GROWLING .]
Seriously, Andrew? Why'd you push my truck out? Sorry.
Andrew.
Cody? I remember Cody, when I looked up at him, he just points at the top of the stairs.
[ BOTH GASP .]
Next thing we know, he just vanished.
What? [ GASPS .]
Where is he? Aah! JENNIFER: In the beginning, everything was roses.
Home sweet home! You know, we'd spent all the time fixing the house up.
[ WHISPERING .]
But it didn't take too much longer after that to realize there was something off about the house.
I chose to ignore a lot of things because I was elated and it was my dream.
NARRATOR: By the summer of 2001, Jennifer Rice has completed renovations on an abandoned, 19th-century victorian mansion in Iowa.
And while the home's rumored history of a mysterious death merely lurks in the back of her mind, her son, Andrew, comes face to face with evil.
Aah! [ BOTH SCREAM .]
ANDREW: After that had happened, Cody had never spent the night again.
And as a matter of fact, he really never even talked to me ever again.
NARRATOR: Despite his terrifying encounter with the ghostly entity, Andrew decides not to tell his mother what he saw.
ANDREW: I didn't want to worry her 'cause I didn't know how she really would react to it at the time.
So I just avoid the subject altogether.
NARRATOR: In September 2001, news that the once-dilapidated mansion has been restored begins to spread through the small town of Garden Grove, Iowa.
JENNIFER: We had people that would knock on the door.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but I just I've always loved this house.
" Or, "I knew so-and-so who lived here", and I always wanted to see this house.
" And we finally decided we would do an open house.
I just want to thank you for opening your house to all of us.
Oh, well, thank you for coming.
As we're doing tours, this sweet little old lady started telling me that she was so pleased to see somebody finally working on that house.
My great-uncle is the banker who built this house.
Then she explained that she was the great-niece.
I know he would be very pleased to see how you're caring for it.
She'd watched over the years how people came and went and left it sit and rot.
You could tell it broke her heart.
And he and his wife would have been very happy to see a child growing up here.
JENNIFER: Oh, that's my son, Andrew.
Please, come in.
I have something for you.
He great-niece brought a beautiful scrapbook full of pictures, and she showed us this picture, lovely picture, about yea big of the original owners.
NARRATOR: Jennifer is struck by the image of the husband.
JENNIFER: It was just an old, black-and-white, yellowed photo.
But you could tell he had the palest blue eyes you've ever seen because you could barely see the pupils.
NARRATOR: Then Jennifer suddenly recalls the rumors surrounding the man and the victorian mansion.
Did you ever hear any of the rumors about this house? That's what they are Rumors.
Don't believe everything you hear.
Of course not.
JENNIFER: What happened was they married later in life.
Did they have any children? Oh, they wanted children so badly.
So they didn't have children.
And you can tell they planned on having children because there was a child's room adjoined to the master bedroom.
That's my son, Andrew's, room.
Andrew, come here, sweetie.
This nice lady was just telling me that her great uncle is the one who built our house.
Very pleased to meet you, Andrew.
Y-you too.
And look at what she brought us.
As she's showing us all these pictures, I start realizing that I had seen the banker somewhere before.
It was the man I saw the first time I went in the house and then again at the top of the stairs.
I-I need to go help dad.
I'm sorry.
I don't even know what that was about.
NARRATOR: Scared and confused, Andrew continues to keep his experiences to himself.
I was just in a kind of state of denial, really, 'cause I just was thinking, "Oh, well, none of this is really happening.
" I just remember pushing it off to the side, pushing it off to the side 'cause I didn't want to even try to rationalize it.
This was not something that I could just tell somebody because unless you're there, you really can't fix it.
So, I mean, I kept this to myself as best as I could.
[ CHAIR CREAKING .]
NARRATOR: Since his terrifying encounter in the basement, 8-year-old Andrew Rice has felt an unsettling presence in his 19th-century house in Garden Grove, Iowa.
At that point, it scared me so much, I would just go over to friends' house, or I'd go walk down the street and go play at the park.
You know, I'd just find any way to avoid the situation altogether.
NARRATOR: But after seeing old photos of the original owner, a once-prominent businessman, Andrew is now convinced that his ghost is haunting the home.
His father, Norman, who is often away on business, is completely in the dark.
My job is extremely stressful Trying to do software development and traveling, too.
And so they wanted me to concentrate more on my work and not have to really worry too much about the house itself.
They didn't really talk to me about it at all.
ANDREW: A lot of times, my dad was out of town, so he had no idea what was going on.
NARRATOR: One night, Andrew has a new visitor.
[ CHAIR CREAKING .]
ANDREW: When I looked up, I saw this lady just sitting in my rocking chair.
NARRATOR: At first, Andrew was stunned at the sight.
But then he recognizes who she is.
ANDREW: I had seen the lady somewhere before.
Took me a minute, but then I realized it was the banker's wife.
ANDREW: Mom! Mom, I saw her The woman in the photo, the banker's wife.
She was sitting in the rocking chair in my room.
He said, "I saw a ghost.
" He was very shaken up about it.
It's okay.
Maybe you were just dreaming.
You can really scare yourself when you're alone by overthinking things.
We were very used to being alone.
And I think we tended to underthink things.
No, I'm serious.
She looked exactly like the photo.
It was her.
And that's not all.
I've seen the banker, too.
Maybe they're friendly ghosts.
They always wanted to have children.
And your bedroom was supposed to be the nursery.
[ SOBBING .]
Maybe that's why they're drawn to you.
Or that's why they come to you.
Mom had told me that she wasn't there to harm me.
More so, she was watching over me.
So she just said, "Oh, don't worry about it.
" You want to sleep in here tonight? NARRATOR: Despite Andrew's compelling tale, Jennifer isn't entirely convinced that the house is haunted.
JENNIFER: I didn't want to believe that there was anything going on.
I just didn't.
I'm stubborn.
I'm very stubborn.
And if I don't see it, it didn't happen.
NARRATOR: It is now January 2002.
Andrew and his mother have been living in the house for seven months while his father is often away on business.
But that winter, Norman returns to Garden Grove and is told nothing about his son's encounters with ghosts.
I'm so glad you're home.
[ CHUCKLES .]
JENNIFER: It just wasn't something that came up, you know? I didn't really feel like starting a "Gee, I think our house is haunted" conversation.
NARRATOR: But one night, a dark force decides to make its presence known.
Norman?! Something picked us up [ BOTH GASP .]
and we landed on the bed.
[ BOTH GASP .]
NORMAN: We were both wakened at the same time by some black entity, just some ominous presence.
What was that? Y-you felt it too, right? Yes.
JENNIFER: There was no way to rationalize it.
There was just no way.
It was unexplainable.
So that was the first time I hadn't been able to just explain it away.
NORMAN: This isn't something that happened by yourself.
We're both sitting there, talking about the same thing that just happened, so we know this is real.
This is no dream.
NARRATOR: And now Jennifer can no longer deny the truth.
Norman, I have something to tell you.
I think the house is haunted.
By what, ghosts? Yes.
A banker and his wife.
They lived here in the 19th century.
Andrew's been seeing them.
Jennifer kind of starts hinting at things that had been happening to Andrew that I wasn't aware of.
Aah! There's a rumor around town.
The banker had a servant girl who was pregnant.
I will have you thrown out, and you'll starve in the streets.
She died here.
And they buried her in our basement.
In our basement? Why did you wait so long to tell me?! I thought if we ignored it, it would just go away.
But now this.
We both felt it.
There's something here.
You just want to pack up and leave? No.
There's nothing more to talk about, is there? JENNIFER: It made me feel like this is all my fault.
But we didn't talk about it.
It was frustrating.
It was isolating.
I felt alone because I didn't want to talk about it and stir it up.
NARRATOR: But now that the secret is out, Norman begins to dread spending time in his new home, where he suddenly feels unwelcome.
NORMAN: You almost feel like you're going into a depression, thinking, "Okay, we've spent a lot of money on this house", "and now do you want to admit that somehow a house can say, 'I don't want you here'?" NARRATOR: Although he doesn't believe in ghosts, Norman can't shake the unnerving feeling that he is not alone and that something still lurks in the basement.
ENTITY: Norman.
[ ELECTRICITY CRACKLES .]
NORMAN: Walking in that basement for the first time You know, basements can be scary, and this one definitely was.
It just kind of gives you the heebie-jeebies.
Norman.
Norman.
There was some ominous mass there keeping the light from shining into the basement.
It was like something just sucked the light out, and it was pitch black.
That had to be the most scared I ever was in that house.
[ TAPS FLASHLIGHT .]
[ WHISPERING .]
[ TAPS FLASHLIGHT .]
[ SCREAMS .]
NARRATOR: For nearly a year and a half, the Rice family has been living in a haunted 19th-century victorian mansion in Iowa, plagued by dark secrets from the past.
Their presence in the once-abandoned house has stirred up angry ghosts still roaming the property.
But that fall, a new evil spirit is unearthed from deep inside the house.
And Norman has a terrifying encounter in the basement.
[ TAPS FLASHLIGHT .]
[ SCREAMS .]
NARRATOR: Instantly, something in him begins to change.
It's as if the evil force is taking over his body and his soul.
NORMAN: It felt like the longer I was in that house, just the more angry I could get at nothing.
Anything at all could set me off.
I don't know that it was the house changing me, or was it just me? JENNIFER: As Norman became more agitated, more angry, more sullen, reclusive, the things in the house manifested more strongly.
ANDREW: It scared me.
I was just getting numb to everything.
'Cause it was just getting worse and worse.
And at this point, I just started not feeling anything.
NARRATOR: But, fortunately, Norman's job soon takes him out of state on business for several weeks.
His absence comes as a welcome relief.
I just knew that there wasn't gonna be another day of yelling and screaming and wondering what was going to set him off.
I was happy when he left.
I mean, that's the very sad part.
NARRATOR: But with or without Norman, little do his wife and son know they are not safe.
The evil spirit has been awakened.
ANDREW: We had just gotten home from Sunday church, and my friend from down the street, he would always call and leave me a message after he got out of church so we could go hang out and play.
Honey, what are you doing? It's broken.
No, it's not.
It's not even plugged in.
JENNIFER: The light was blinking, just like a normal Somebody left a message.
So, I don't know why I did it, but I pushed the play button.
[ BEEP .]
[ INDISTINCT RASPING .]
Out of that came a noise.
Whatever it was wasn't human.
But as I turned it up, you could hear very clearly Get out.
Get out.
[ GASPS .]
You could tell its intention was to make us leave.
JENNIFER: I was scared.
At that point in time, I was scared.
NARRATOR: Terrified, Jennifer reaches out to her last resort, the church.
Weeks later, a group of parishioners arrive to conduct a house blessing.
The evil immediately lures them to the basement.
In the name of Jesus Christ, we dedicate this home as a sacred edifice.
They were around the basement, leaning inward with their bibles while they were praying.
[ ELECTRICITY CRACKLING .]
Lord, we ask that you protect this home [ RATTLING .]
so that Norman, Jennifer, and Andrew Rice can worship and grow spiritually in peace.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
NARRATOR: Afterwards, the parishioners retreat.
They do not speak about their experience.
They were very visibly upset.
They did not want to talk about it.
NARRATOR: The house blessing is now complete, and Jennifer has faith that it will make a difference.
I honestly believed that it would be better.
I really did.
Because he picked the strongest people in our church, the most steadfast people I knew.
It was very hopeful.
[ SIGHS .]
ANDREW: I had felt maybe it could get better, but the same time, after going through that for so many months, I had learned just not to get my hopes too far up.
NARRATOR: With her husband, Norman, out of town, Jennifer tries to remain strong for Andrew.
[ TAPPING .]
Norman? My mind is like, "What?" I know he is not here.
Norman, is that you? [ SHAKILY .]
Norman? NARRATOR: For well over two years, angry ghosts and an evil spirit have been haunting the Rice family in their 19th-century victorian home in Garden Grove, Iowa.
In the fall of 2003, while her husband, Norman, is out of town, Jennifer wakes to the sound of heavy footsteps in the hall.
Norman, is that you? [ FOOTSTEPS .]
[ SHAKILY .]
Norman? Aah! I saw that thing.
I didn't know what it was, and then it looked at me.
I can't move.
It's gonna get me.
I'm feeling like I'm gonna die of a heart attack.
I can't even describe the terror.
I knew then that it could create whatever it wanted to to scare us.
NARRATOR: But this new entity is just starting its reign of terror, and soon it targets the weakest member of the family.
[ GASPS .]
When I looked up, the best way to describe it is I saw this bat head, almost.
It was just this huge, black form.
[ SCREAMS .]
I feel this presence enclose around me.
It was just strong, and I knew that if I had struggled, it would have just tightened its grip even more.
[ SCREAMS .]
Andrew! JENNIFER: All I wanted to do was get to Andrew.
That's my first thought "I've got to get Andrew and run.
" I want to get out of here.
I want out.
Come on, baby.
Come on.
ANDREW: She didn't even grab her shoes.
She just picked me up.
We ran out the door.
Come on, Andrew.
Come on, sweetie.
[ KEYS JINGLE .]
It's okay, sweetie.
It's okay.
[ ENGINE TURNS OVER .]
I was too scared to look in the backseat, you know, in the rearview mirror, 'cause I was afraid that thing was in the car with us.
I'm sorry, sweetie.
That was it.
I was done.
I couldn't do it anymore.
We needed to sell it and move.
NARRATOR: Finally, in November 2004, after three years of terror, the Rice family sells the 19th-century victorian mansion.
JENNIFER: I was heartbroken, naturally.
It was my dream.
But I knew my family just had been through enough.
So I had to say Sorry and start all over again.
NORMAN: We admitted defeat.
We were cutting our losses.
But then after we sold the house and even now today, I'm glad that we did.
It seems like getting out of that house played a big role in getting our family back on the right track.
Family is definitely more important than any house.
ANDREW: After we sold the house, everything seemed to return to normal.
Where we lived was just a nice, calm little house that didn't have any worries.
And my dad just started feeling my dad again.
NARRATOR: Still, even years later, Jennifer is unable to let go, wanting answers about her family's terrifying ordeal.
JENNIFER: It had been probably five years.
I just guess I wanted to find out whether or not this really was just about my family, or was it related to the house? So I knocked on the door.
Nobody was there.
NARRATOR: And to this day, Jennifer has not been able to determine if the new family has experienced anything paranormal.
What happened to the Rice family in Garden Grove and what, if anything, lies buried in the basement remains a mystery.
ANDREW: I think that thing saw a source of power that it could draw from.
I was feeling fear.
My mom was feeling stress.
My dad was feeling anger.
All of those are negative, and it gave it something to feed off of.
[ DOOR SLAMS .]
JENNIFER: I think that the worst of it came from the turmoil in the family.
This thing, whatever it was in the house, had to break us up.
It had to get between us.
ANDREW: I just hope that no one else ever has to go through the same thing that we did.
Get out.
NORMAN: There was definitely something there that felt like it didn't want us there.
ENTITY: Get Out.
NARRATOR: Rumors of a deadly love triangle.
The banker was having an affair with her.
One of the speculations was that she was buried in the basement.
NARRATOR: And a dark entity with the most evil of intentions.
JENNIFER: Whatever it was wasn't human.
[ GASPS .]
It frightened me so bad.
I can't even describe the terror.
NARRATOR: Some houses are better left undisturbed.
In America, there is real evil.
It lurks in the darkest shadows and in our most ordinary towns.
Between the worlds we see and the things we fear, there are doors.
When they are opened, nightmares become reality.
synced by dom.
smrc In the heart of Decatur County lies the small town of Garden Grove, Iowa, where the Rice family Norman, Jennifer, and son Andrew Has just purchased a 19th-century victorian mansion.
JENNIFER: It wasn't hard to fall in love with.
It was an amazing place.
I always said, you know, "Someday, I'm gonna own you.
Someday you're gonna be my house.
" I wanted to live there.
It had everything that I ever wanted.
Better than the pictures? [ CHUCKLES .]
It's incredible.
NORMAN: Just looking at the outside of the mansion, it's breathtaking.
It has a commanding presence.
Hey, what do you think, Andrew? We're gonna live here? [ BOTH LAUGH .]
ANDREW: At that point, I would have been about 8, 9 years old.
We were moving from a farm.
And I was kind of excited You know, new house.
It was really big compared to our old one.
It was really just a nice house.
I'd never seen anything quite like it before.
NARRATOR: Built at the turn of the century, the mansion was commissioned by an affluent businessman and his wife.
Garden Grove was in its prime, having served as a shipping point on an Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad.
JENNIFER: Garden Grove, Iowa, back in the 1800s, was the place to be.
It was one of the major cities.
There were several thousand people that lived there because the railroad came through.
It had a nice, long downtown area with lots of shops and bakeries and haberdasheries.
And so that's why they chose that.
It was a beautiful place, still country-like but citified.
NARRATOR: And Jennifer feels an instant connection to the house.
The house just kind of felt like it belonged to me, like I'd known it at some point in time.
It drew you in.
NARRATOR: But the picturesque mansion hides secrets from the past.
Come on.
JENNIFER: Come on! NARRATOR: Within these walls, it is rumored that an unspeakable horror took place.
Isn't it grand? I mean, look at all the details.
Look at the staircase.
NORMAN: Very clearly, before we even moved in, we knew it was a money pit.
It's incredible, but don't get too crazy.
Norm, it's got to be done right.
For the company I worked at, I actually got a lot of stock options, so we were kind of planning on using that money to put into the house.
So we were fully prepared to dump a whole bunch of money into it.
I feel like I'm the one who was meant to restore it to its former glory.
Now, honey, I trust you.
This is your passion.
Be reasonable.
JENNIFER: I think Norman, more than anything, just knew that I loved that house.
Are you sure you're okay with this? Yeah, if, uh If you're happy, I'm happy.
NARRATOR: In the months ahead, Norman spends most of his time working for a software company in Arizona, nearly 1,300 miles away.
This leaves Jennifer alone to manage the big job of renovating the old house so that her family can move in.
With me being out of town, it kind of gave her something to do, since we were apart 90% of the time, being in different states.
Her being able to put all of her energy into restoring this house really gave her a sense of accomplishment.
NARRATOR: Jennifer hires a main contractor named Claude and a few other workers to help realize her vision of the old victorian mansion.
JENNIFER: It was a mission for me.
I could just see what it should look like.
And that's what I loved about having that house.
I could just create it from, basically, the ground up into what it should be and what I loved.
[ LADDER RATTLES .]
[ THUD, CLAUDE GROANS .]
Claude was putting in a chandelier.
And the ladder was shaking so hard.
He wasn't sure if it was him shaking it or if there was some thing shaking it.
You could tell he was just freaked.
Wait.
What happened? I-I don't know.
I was pushed.
What do you mean? Who pushed you? He never really told me what it was that happened.
He just was very exaggerated in his speech and his nervousness.
What are you talking about? I don't understand.
I have to go! He actually told me, "I don't want to be in this house anymore.
" NARRATOR: Jennifer is stunned.
It's as if Claude has just seen a ghost.
MAN: I told my wife I was gonna be working in this house.
Uh-huh.
You know what she said? No.
What? Stay out of the basement.
What? Why? You know about the basement, right? No.
That's where he buried her.
Who? The servant.
The woman he was having an affair with.
She was pregnant, and he didn't want nobody to know.
Then they had an argument.
Then she fell down the stairs.
He didn't want a scandal, so he buried her down there.
JENNIFER: I think a lot of creepiness and the fact it sat abandoned for so long, it did It sparked a lot of rumors.
And the rumor was that the original owner buried her in the basement.
NARRATOR: 8-year-old Andrew's curiosity gets the better of him.
First, he saw a man in the window.
And now the scandalous rumor leads him to the basement.
I couldn't even fathom everybody knowing so much about a house that I just moved into, but it was kind of cool at the same time.
[ ELECTRICITY CRACKLES .]
The feeling I got was immediately like someone had just dropped a bunch of bricks on me.
It was just really heavy, dense air.
It was kind of hard to breathe a little bit.
[ ELECTRICITY CRACKLES .]
I can remember it being damp.
It literally smelled like wet dirt.
[ ELECTRICITY CRACKLES .]
[ ELECTRICITY CRACKLES .]
NARRATOR: In 2001, Jennifer and Norman Rice, along with their 8-year-old son, Andrew, moved to Garden Grove, Iowa, to restore their new home.
The historic mansion is haunted by rumors dating back to the early 1900s of a suspicious death and a secret burial in the basement.
ANDREW: Rumors had spread around town like wildfire that a servant had broken her neck.
Some had even speculated that the owner was having an affair with her.
Since he was prominent, he couldn't have that kind of thing on his record.
So one of the speculations was that she was buried in the basement.
[ ELECTRICITY CRACKLES .]
Aah! [ GASPING .]
I never, never went back down into the basement again.
I had thought maybe it was a skeleton grabbing me from underneath the ground.
Maybe 'cause I'd seen one too many horror movies as a kid.
NARRATOR: By July 2001, the majority of the renovations on the house are complete despite the fact that all of the contractors have deserted the job.
With Andrew's father, Norman, frequently away on business, his mother has no choice but to finish the house on her own.
I remember her having so many stressful nights because we would bring in contractors to try to fix this place up, and they would just leave.
NARRATOR: Jennifer suspects that it has something to do with the rumors surrounding the house, but she doesn't believe the old wives' tale.
JENNIFER: It was somewhat unnerving, but it was an amazing house, and it had amazing potential.
And that's all I could think about for a while.
It didn't matter what people said.
There's always gonna be rumors, especially in small towns.
But as time wore on and some of the things that happened, I began to wonder.
[ CREAKING .]
I started hearing noises I really couldn't explain.
Andrew? [ TAPPING .]
[ WHISPERING .]
Especially late, late, late at night, you don't really think things through.
Some of it could be written off to being tired, late night, the creepy factor.
Sleep tight.
NARRATOR: It is now the late summer of 2001.
Norman is still working full time 1,3000 miles away in Arizona, while Jennifer and Andrew adjust to the family-friendly Garden Grove, Iowa, area.
One night, Andrew invites his friend Cody for a sleepover.
Ah, yes! A lightsaber.
[ BOTH IMITATE LIGHTSABER WHIRRING .]
Aah.
[ GROWLING .]
Seriously, Andrew? Why'd you push my truck out? Sorry.
Andrew.
Cody? I remember Cody, when I looked up at him, he just points at the top of the stairs.
[ BOTH GASP .]
Next thing we know, he just vanished.
What? [ GASPS .]
Where is he? Aah! JENNIFER: In the beginning, everything was roses.
Home sweet home! You know, we'd spent all the time fixing the house up.
[ WHISPERING .]
But it didn't take too much longer after that to realize there was something off about the house.
I chose to ignore a lot of things because I was elated and it was my dream.
NARRATOR: By the summer of 2001, Jennifer Rice has completed renovations on an abandoned, 19th-century victorian mansion in Iowa.
And while the home's rumored history of a mysterious death merely lurks in the back of her mind, her son, Andrew, comes face to face with evil.
Aah! [ BOTH SCREAM .]
ANDREW: After that had happened, Cody had never spent the night again.
And as a matter of fact, he really never even talked to me ever again.
NARRATOR: Despite his terrifying encounter with the ghostly entity, Andrew decides not to tell his mother what he saw.
ANDREW: I didn't want to worry her 'cause I didn't know how she really would react to it at the time.
So I just avoid the subject altogether.
NARRATOR: In September 2001, news that the once-dilapidated mansion has been restored begins to spread through the small town of Garden Grove, Iowa.
JENNIFER: We had people that would knock on the door.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but I just I've always loved this house.
" Or, "I knew so-and-so who lived here", and I always wanted to see this house.
" And we finally decided we would do an open house.
I just want to thank you for opening your house to all of us.
Oh, well, thank you for coming.
As we're doing tours, this sweet little old lady started telling me that she was so pleased to see somebody finally working on that house.
My great-uncle is the banker who built this house.
Then she explained that she was the great-niece.
I know he would be very pleased to see how you're caring for it.
She'd watched over the years how people came and went and left it sit and rot.
You could tell it broke her heart.
And he and his wife would have been very happy to see a child growing up here.
JENNIFER: Oh, that's my son, Andrew.
Please, come in.
I have something for you.
He great-niece brought a beautiful scrapbook full of pictures, and she showed us this picture, lovely picture, about yea big of the original owners.
NARRATOR: Jennifer is struck by the image of the husband.
JENNIFER: It was just an old, black-and-white, yellowed photo.
But you could tell he had the palest blue eyes you've ever seen because you could barely see the pupils.
NARRATOR: Then Jennifer suddenly recalls the rumors surrounding the man and the victorian mansion.
Did you ever hear any of the rumors about this house? That's what they are Rumors.
Don't believe everything you hear.
Of course not.
JENNIFER: What happened was they married later in life.
Did they have any children? Oh, they wanted children so badly.
So they didn't have children.
And you can tell they planned on having children because there was a child's room adjoined to the master bedroom.
That's my son, Andrew's, room.
Andrew, come here, sweetie.
This nice lady was just telling me that her great uncle is the one who built our house.
Very pleased to meet you, Andrew.
Y-you too.
And look at what she brought us.
As she's showing us all these pictures, I start realizing that I had seen the banker somewhere before.
It was the man I saw the first time I went in the house and then again at the top of the stairs.
I-I need to go help dad.
I'm sorry.
I don't even know what that was about.
NARRATOR: Scared and confused, Andrew continues to keep his experiences to himself.
I was just in a kind of state of denial, really, 'cause I just was thinking, "Oh, well, none of this is really happening.
" I just remember pushing it off to the side, pushing it off to the side 'cause I didn't want to even try to rationalize it.
This was not something that I could just tell somebody because unless you're there, you really can't fix it.
So, I mean, I kept this to myself as best as I could.
[ CHAIR CREAKING .]
NARRATOR: Since his terrifying encounter in the basement, 8-year-old Andrew Rice has felt an unsettling presence in his 19th-century house in Garden Grove, Iowa.
At that point, it scared me so much, I would just go over to friends' house, or I'd go walk down the street and go play at the park.
You know, I'd just find any way to avoid the situation altogether.
NARRATOR: But after seeing old photos of the original owner, a once-prominent businessman, Andrew is now convinced that his ghost is haunting the home.
His father, Norman, who is often away on business, is completely in the dark.
My job is extremely stressful Trying to do software development and traveling, too.
And so they wanted me to concentrate more on my work and not have to really worry too much about the house itself.
They didn't really talk to me about it at all.
ANDREW: A lot of times, my dad was out of town, so he had no idea what was going on.
NARRATOR: One night, Andrew has a new visitor.
[ CHAIR CREAKING .]
ANDREW: When I looked up, I saw this lady just sitting in my rocking chair.
NARRATOR: At first, Andrew was stunned at the sight.
But then he recognizes who she is.
ANDREW: I had seen the lady somewhere before.
Took me a minute, but then I realized it was the banker's wife.
ANDREW: Mom! Mom, I saw her The woman in the photo, the banker's wife.
She was sitting in the rocking chair in my room.
He said, "I saw a ghost.
" He was very shaken up about it.
It's okay.
Maybe you were just dreaming.
You can really scare yourself when you're alone by overthinking things.
We were very used to being alone.
And I think we tended to underthink things.
No, I'm serious.
She looked exactly like the photo.
It was her.
And that's not all.
I've seen the banker, too.
Maybe they're friendly ghosts.
They always wanted to have children.
And your bedroom was supposed to be the nursery.
[ SOBBING .]
Maybe that's why they're drawn to you.
Or that's why they come to you.
Mom had told me that she wasn't there to harm me.
More so, she was watching over me.
So she just said, "Oh, don't worry about it.
" You want to sleep in here tonight? NARRATOR: Despite Andrew's compelling tale, Jennifer isn't entirely convinced that the house is haunted.
JENNIFER: I didn't want to believe that there was anything going on.
I just didn't.
I'm stubborn.
I'm very stubborn.
And if I don't see it, it didn't happen.
NARRATOR: It is now January 2002.
Andrew and his mother have been living in the house for seven months while his father is often away on business.
But that winter, Norman returns to Garden Grove and is told nothing about his son's encounters with ghosts.
I'm so glad you're home.
[ CHUCKLES .]
JENNIFER: It just wasn't something that came up, you know? I didn't really feel like starting a "Gee, I think our house is haunted" conversation.
NARRATOR: But one night, a dark force decides to make its presence known.
Norman?! Something picked us up [ BOTH GASP .]
and we landed on the bed.
[ BOTH GASP .]
NORMAN: We were both wakened at the same time by some black entity, just some ominous presence.
What was that? Y-you felt it too, right? Yes.
JENNIFER: There was no way to rationalize it.
There was just no way.
It was unexplainable.
So that was the first time I hadn't been able to just explain it away.
NORMAN: This isn't something that happened by yourself.
We're both sitting there, talking about the same thing that just happened, so we know this is real.
This is no dream.
NARRATOR: And now Jennifer can no longer deny the truth.
Norman, I have something to tell you.
I think the house is haunted.
By what, ghosts? Yes.
A banker and his wife.
They lived here in the 19th century.
Andrew's been seeing them.
Jennifer kind of starts hinting at things that had been happening to Andrew that I wasn't aware of.
Aah! There's a rumor around town.
The banker had a servant girl who was pregnant.
I will have you thrown out, and you'll starve in the streets.
She died here.
And they buried her in our basement.
In our basement? Why did you wait so long to tell me?! I thought if we ignored it, it would just go away.
But now this.
We both felt it.
There's something here.
You just want to pack up and leave? No.
There's nothing more to talk about, is there? JENNIFER: It made me feel like this is all my fault.
But we didn't talk about it.
It was frustrating.
It was isolating.
I felt alone because I didn't want to talk about it and stir it up.
NARRATOR: But now that the secret is out, Norman begins to dread spending time in his new home, where he suddenly feels unwelcome.
NORMAN: You almost feel like you're going into a depression, thinking, "Okay, we've spent a lot of money on this house", "and now do you want to admit that somehow a house can say, 'I don't want you here'?" NARRATOR: Although he doesn't believe in ghosts, Norman can't shake the unnerving feeling that he is not alone and that something still lurks in the basement.
ENTITY: Norman.
[ ELECTRICITY CRACKLES .]
NORMAN: Walking in that basement for the first time You know, basements can be scary, and this one definitely was.
It just kind of gives you the heebie-jeebies.
Norman.
Norman.
There was some ominous mass there keeping the light from shining into the basement.
It was like something just sucked the light out, and it was pitch black.
That had to be the most scared I ever was in that house.
[ TAPS FLASHLIGHT .]
[ WHISPERING .]
[ TAPS FLASHLIGHT .]
[ SCREAMS .]
NARRATOR: For nearly a year and a half, the Rice family has been living in a haunted 19th-century victorian mansion in Iowa, plagued by dark secrets from the past.
Their presence in the once-abandoned house has stirred up angry ghosts still roaming the property.
But that fall, a new evil spirit is unearthed from deep inside the house.
And Norman has a terrifying encounter in the basement.
[ TAPS FLASHLIGHT .]
[ SCREAMS .]
NARRATOR: Instantly, something in him begins to change.
It's as if the evil force is taking over his body and his soul.
NORMAN: It felt like the longer I was in that house, just the more angry I could get at nothing.
Anything at all could set me off.
I don't know that it was the house changing me, or was it just me? JENNIFER: As Norman became more agitated, more angry, more sullen, reclusive, the things in the house manifested more strongly.
ANDREW: It scared me.
I was just getting numb to everything.
'Cause it was just getting worse and worse.
And at this point, I just started not feeling anything.
NARRATOR: But, fortunately, Norman's job soon takes him out of state on business for several weeks.
His absence comes as a welcome relief.
I just knew that there wasn't gonna be another day of yelling and screaming and wondering what was going to set him off.
I was happy when he left.
I mean, that's the very sad part.
NARRATOR: But with or without Norman, little do his wife and son know they are not safe.
The evil spirit has been awakened.
ANDREW: We had just gotten home from Sunday church, and my friend from down the street, he would always call and leave me a message after he got out of church so we could go hang out and play.
Honey, what are you doing? It's broken.
No, it's not.
It's not even plugged in.
JENNIFER: The light was blinking, just like a normal Somebody left a message.
So, I don't know why I did it, but I pushed the play button.
[ BEEP .]
[ INDISTINCT RASPING .]
Out of that came a noise.
Whatever it was wasn't human.
But as I turned it up, you could hear very clearly Get out.
Get out.
[ GASPS .]
You could tell its intention was to make us leave.
JENNIFER: I was scared.
At that point in time, I was scared.
NARRATOR: Terrified, Jennifer reaches out to her last resort, the church.
Weeks later, a group of parishioners arrive to conduct a house blessing.
The evil immediately lures them to the basement.
In the name of Jesus Christ, we dedicate this home as a sacred edifice.
They were around the basement, leaning inward with their bibles while they were praying.
[ ELECTRICITY CRACKLING .]
Lord, we ask that you protect this home [ RATTLING .]
so that Norman, Jennifer, and Andrew Rice can worship and grow spiritually in peace.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
NARRATOR: Afterwards, the parishioners retreat.
They do not speak about their experience.
They were very visibly upset.
They did not want to talk about it.
NARRATOR: The house blessing is now complete, and Jennifer has faith that it will make a difference.
I honestly believed that it would be better.
I really did.
Because he picked the strongest people in our church, the most steadfast people I knew.
It was very hopeful.
[ SIGHS .]
ANDREW: I had felt maybe it could get better, but the same time, after going through that for so many months, I had learned just not to get my hopes too far up.
NARRATOR: With her husband, Norman, out of town, Jennifer tries to remain strong for Andrew.
[ TAPPING .]
Norman? My mind is like, "What?" I know he is not here.
Norman, is that you? [ SHAKILY .]
Norman? NARRATOR: For well over two years, angry ghosts and an evil spirit have been haunting the Rice family in their 19th-century victorian home in Garden Grove, Iowa.
In the fall of 2003, while her husband, Norman, is out of town, Jennifer wakes to the sound of heavy footsteps in the hall.
Norman, is that you? [ FOOTSTEPS .]
[ SHAKILY .]
Norman? Aah! I saw that thing.
I didn't know what it was, and then it looked at me.
I can't move.
It's gonna get me.
I'm feeling like I'm gonna die of a heart attack.
I can't even describe the terror.
I knew then that it could create whatever it wanted to to scare us.
NARRATOR: But this new entity is just starting its reign of terror, and soon it targets the weakest member of the family.
[ GASPS .]
When I looked up, the best way to describe it is I saw this bat head, almost.
It was just this huge, black form.
[ SCREAMS .]
I feel this presence enclose around me.
It was just strong, and I knew that if I had struggled, it would have just tightened its grip even more.
[ SCREAMS .]
Andrew! JENNIFER: All I wanted to do was get to Andrew.
That's my first thought "I've got to get Andrew and run.
" I want to get out of here.
I want out.
Come on, baby.
Come on.
ANDREW: She didn't even grab her shoes.
She just picked me up.
We ran out the door.
Come on, Andrew.
Come on, sweetie.
[ KEYS JINGLE .]
It's okay, sweetie.
It's okay.
[ ENGINE TURNS OVER .]
I was too scared to look in the backseat, you know, in the rearview mirror, 'cause I was afraid that thing was in the car with us.
I'm sorry, sweetie.
That was it.
I was done.
I couldn't do it anymore.
We needed to sell it and move.
NARRATOR: Finally, in November 2004, after three years of terror, the Rice family sells the 19th-century victorian mansion.
JENNIFER: I was heartbroken, naturally.
It was my dream.
But I knew my family just had been through enough.
So I had to say Sorry and start all over again.
NORMAN: We admitted defeat.
We were cutting our losses.
But then after we sold the house and even now today, I'm glad that we did.
It seems like getting out of that house played a big role in getting our family back on the right track.
Family is definitely more important than any house.
ANDREW: After we sold the house, everything seemed to return to normal.
Where we lived was just a nice, calm little house that didn't have any worries.
And my dad just started feeling my dad again.
NARRATOR: Still, even years later, Jennifer is unable to let go, wanting answers about her family's terrifying ordeal.
JENNIFER: It had been probably five years.
I just guess I wanted to find out whether or not this really was just about my family, or was it related to the house? So I knocked on the door.
Nobody was there.
NARRATOR: And to this day, Jennifer has not been able to determine if the new family has experienced anything paranormal.
What happened to the Rice family in Garden Grove and what, if anything, lies buried in the basement remains a mystery.
ANDREW: I think that thing saw a source of power that it could draw from.
I was feeling fear.
My mom was feeling stress.
My dad was feeling anger.
All of those are negative, and it gave it something to feed off of.
[ DOOR SLAMS .]
JENNIFER: I think that the worst of it came from the turmoil in the family.
This thing, whatever it was in the house, had to break us up.
It had to get between us.
ANDREW: I just hope that no one else ever has to go through the same thing that we did.
Get out.