?
i can't believe we actually bought this thing.
there's a reason charity auctions have an open bar.
don't you think...
i don't know, it's kind of creepy?
it's okay.
i'll keep you safe.
maybe you're the one i ought to be scared of.
mmm. let's go upstairs.
give me 10 minutes to lock up.
mmm.
make than one minute.
if you don't hurry up, i'm gonna start without you!
babe, get the lights. i can't see a thing.
do you smell something?
ann?
3-4-2-0.
all right. you're in there.
perfect.
so, is that brandi with a "y" or an "i"?
all right, listen. i got to go.
hold that thought. i'll be right back, okay?
all right, so, i think i got something. oh, yeah, me too.
i think we need to take a little shore leave
for just a little bit. what do you think, huh?
i'm so in the door with this one here.
so, what are we today, dean? are we rock stars?
are we army rangers?
we're l.a. tv scouts looking for people with special skills.
but, hey, it's not that far off, right?
by the way, she's got a friend over there.
i can probably hook you up. what do you think?
dean, uh, no thanks. i can get my own dates.
yeah, you can, but you don't.
what is that supposed to mean?
nothing. what do you got?
mark and ann telesca of new paltz, new york,
were both found dead in their home just a few days ago.
throats were slit, there were no prints,
no murder weapons, all — dean?
no prints, no murder weapons,
all doors and windows were locked from the inside.
could just be a garden-variety murder.
you know, not our department. no, dad says different.
what do you mean?
look.
dad noted three murders
in the same area of upstate new york.
first one, right here, 1912.
the second one in 1945, and the third in 1970.
the same m.o. as the telescas — the throats were slit,
the houses were locked from the inside.
so much time passed between the murders
that nobody checked the pattern except for dad.
he always kept his eyes peeled for another one.
and now we got one. exactly.
all right. I'm with you. it's worth checking out.
we can't pick this up till first thing, though, right?
yeah. good.
dean...
ladies. did you miss me?
i'm just kidding.
listen, i talked to my producer, and it is looking good.
oh, man, that's so not cool.
i just swept the telesca house with the emf. It's clean.
and last night, while you were...
out...
oh, good times.
i checked the history of the house.
no hauntings, no violent crimes,
nothing strange about the telescas themselves, either.
so if it's not the people and it's not the house,
then maybe it's the contents —
a cursed object or something. house is clean.
you said that.
no, i mean it's empty.
no furniture, nothing.
where's all their stuff?
silent auctions, estate sales —
it's like a garage sale for w.a.s.p.s, if you ask me.
can i help you, gentlemen?
i'd like some champagne, please.
he's not a waiter.
i'm sam connors.
this is my brother, dean.
we are art dealers with connors limited.
you're art dealers? that's right.
i'm daniel blake. this is my auction house.
now, gentlemen, this is a private showing,
and i don't remember seeing you on the guest list.
we're there, chuckles.
you just need to take another look.
oh, finally.
cheers.
a fine example of american primitive, wouldn't you say?
well, i'd say it's more grant wood than grandma moses...
but you knew that.
you just wanted to see if i did.
guilty.
and clumsy. i apologize.
i'm sarah blake.
i'm sam.
this is my... brother, dean.
hmm.
can we get you some more mini quiche?
mnh-mnh, i'm good. thanks.
so, can i help you with something?
yeah, actually.
what can you tell us about the telesca estate?
the whole thing's pretty grisly if you ask me,
selling their things this soon.
but dad's right about one thing —
sensationalism brings out the crowds.
even the rich ones.
is it possible to see the provenances?
i'm afraid there isn't any chance of that.
why not?
you're not on the guest list...
and i think it's time to leave.
well, we don't have to be told twice. apparently, you do.
okay, it's all right.
we don't want any trouble. we'll go.
dad, that was rude.
grant wood, grandma moses — what?
art history course.
it's good for meeting girls.
it's like i don't even know you.
huh. huh.
and what was the providence?
provenance.
it's a certificate of origin,
like a biography, you know?
we can use them to track the history of the pieces,
see if anything's got a freaky past.
we're not getting anything out of chuckles,
but, uh, sarah... yeah.
maybe you can get her to write it on a napkin.
not me.
oh, no, no, no, no.
pickups are your thing, dean.
it wasn't my butt she was checking out.
in other words, you want me to use her to get information.
sometimes you got to take one for the team.
call sarah.
nice place.
yeah.
glad you called.
surprised, but glad.
yeah?
although you seemed to have a hard time
getting out the words, "would you like to have dinner?"
yeah.
i haven't really been on a date in a while.
welcome to the club.
you're kidding me.
here we are.
the wine list.
i don't know about romeo here, but i'll have a beer.
and you?
i will, too.
certainly.
so, you studied art in school, huh?
it's true.
i was an artist —
a terrible, terrible artist.
that's why i'm in the auction business.
and you were pre-law?
yeah.
but you didn't go to law school. how come?
uh, it's a really long story for another time.
you're not like any art dealer i've ever met.
so... what did you mean when you said
you hadn't been on a date in a while?
trying to make me feel like i'm not such a loser?
i'm sure many things, sam.
i'm also sure "loser" isn't one of them.
it was my mom.
she died about a year ago.
totally unexpected.
it really threw me.
i went into this shell — a nice, warm, safe shell.
but lately, i've been thinking...
it's not what she would have wanted for me.
so...
so, what about you?
you're a reasonably attractive guy.
reasonably.
why haven't you been out and about?
another long story for another time.
so, she just handed the providences over to you?
provenances.
provenances? yes, we went back to her place.
i got a copy of the papers.
and?
and nothing. that's it. i left.
you didn't have to con her or do any special favors?
would you get your mind out of the gutter, please?
when this whole thing's done, we could stick around a bit.
why? so you could take her out again.
it's obvious you're into her. even i can see that.
hey, all right. i think i got something here.
"portrait of isaiah merchant's family,
painted 1910."
now compare the names of the owners with dad's journal.
"first purchased in 1912 to peter sims."
peter sims murdered, 1912.
same thing in 1945.
oh, same thing in 1970.
then stored,
until it was donated to a charity auction last month,
where the telescas bought it.
so, what do you think? it's haunted or cursed?
either way, it's toast.
go ahead.
ugly-ass thing.
if you ask me, we're doing the art world a favor.
we got a problem. i can't find my wallet.
how's that my problem?
'cause i think i dropped it in the warehouse last night.
you're kidding, right?
i mean, it's got my prints, my i.d. —
well, my fake i.d., anyway, but we got to get it
before somebody else finds it. come on.
how do you lose your wallet, dean?
hey, guys.
sarah. Hey.
what are you doing here?
oh...
we're — we're leaving town,
and, you know, we came to say goodbye.
what are you talking about, sam?
we're sticking around for at least another day or two.
oh, sam, by the way,
i wanted to give you that 20 bucks i owe you.
i always forget.
there you go.
well, i'll leave you two crazy kids alone.
i got to go do... something... somewhere.
so...
i had a good time last night.
yeah. yeah, i did, too.
maybe we should do it again sometime?
you know, i'd love to, i really would,
but dean — he was just screwing around.
we really are taking off today.
oh. oh.
now that's too bad.
oh, my god! what?
the —
that painting...
looks so good.
if you can call that monstrosity good,
then, yeah, i guess.
sarah, what do you know about that painting?
not much. just that it creeps me out.
we sold it to the telescas
at a charity auction the night they were murdered.
and now you're just gonna sell it again?
as much as my dad wants to, no. i won't let him.
i think it'd be in bad taste.
good, yeah. You know what? don't. Don't.
make sure you don't, okay? why?
don't tell me you're interested in that.
no, god, no. not in buying it, no.
i got to go. i got to take care of something.
but, um, i will call you back.
i will call you. i'll see you later.
wait, so you're not leaving tonight?
no, i guess not. i'll see you.
okay.
i don't understand, dean. we burned the damn thing.
yeah, thank you, captain obvious.
we just need to figure out another way to get rid of it.
any ideas?
okay, all right.
well, um, in almost all the lore about haunted paintings,
it's always the painting's subject that haunts them.
yeah? all right.
so we need to figure out everything there is to know
about that creepy-ass family in that creepy-ass painting.
what were their names again?
the isaiah merchant family, right?
yeah, that's right.
i dug up every scrap of local history i could find.
so, uh, are you boys crime buffs?
kind of. why do you ask?
well...
yes. yeah, that sounds about right.
the whole family was killed?
it seems this isaiah, he slits his kids' throats,
then his wife, then himself.
now, he was a barber by trade. used a straight razor.
why'd he do it?
well, let's look.
uh, "people who knew him described isaiah
"as having a stern and harsh temperament,
and controlled his family with an iron fist."
wife, two sons, adopted daughter — yeah, yeah.
there were whispers that the wife was gonna take the kids
and leave, which, of course, you know, in that day and age...
so instead, old man isaiah, well, he gave them all a shave.
kkkch!
does it say what happened to the bodies?
they were all cremated.
anything else? yeah.
actually, i found a picture of the family.
it's right here somewhere.
right. Here it is.
hey, could we get a copy of this, please?
sure.
dad...
you promised you wouldn't sell that painting.
i know, sweetie, but evelyn's offered
a persuasive amount of money.
you're shameless, you know that?
for that kind of money, i can afford to be.
i'm telling you, man. i'm sure of it.
the painting at the auction house, dad is looking down.
the painting here, dad's looking out.
the painting has changed, dean.
so you think that daddy dearest is trapped in the painting,
and he's handing out columbian neckties
but if his bones are already dusted,
then how are we gonna stop him?
well, if isaiah's position changed,
then maybe some other things in the painting changed, as well.
it could give us some clues.
like a "da vinci code" deal?
i don't know.
i'm still waiting for the movie on that one.
anyway, we got to get back in and see that painting,
which is a good thing, because you can get more time
to crush on your girlfriend.
dude... enough already.
what? "what?" ever since we got here,
you've been trying to pimp me out to sarah.
just back off, all right?
well, you like her, don't you?
all right, you like her. she likes you.
you're both consenting adults.
what's the point, dean?
we'll just leave. we always leave.
well, i'm not talking about marriage, sam.
i don't get it. what do you care if i hook up?
maybe you wouldn't be so cranky all the time.
seriously, sam, this isn't about just hooking up, okay?
i think that this sarah girl could be good for you.
and i don't mean any disrespect, but i'm —
i'm sure that this is about jessica, right?
now, i don't know what it's like to lose somebody like that...
but...
i would think that she would want you to be happy.
god forbid, have fun once in a while.
wouldn't she?
yeah, i know she would.
yeah, you're right. part of this is about jessica.
but not the main part.
what's it about?
yeah, all right.
well, we still got to see that painting,
which means you still got to call sarah, so...
sarah, hey. it's sam.
hey, hi.
good, good, yeah. what about you?
yeah, good. good, really good. smooth.
so, uh — so, listen.
me and my brother were thinking
that maybe we'd like to come back in
and look at the painting again.
i think maybe we are interested in buying it.
wait, what?
who'd you sell it to?
sarah, i need an address right now.
sam, what's happening?
i told you you shouldn't have come.
hello, anybody home?
you said evelyn might be in danger. What kind of danger?
i can't knock this sucker down. i got to pick it.
what are you guys, burglars?
i wish it was that simple.
look, you really should wait in the car.
ugh.
the hell i will. evelyn's a friend.
evelyn?
evelyn!
evelyn?
it's sarah blake.
are you all right?
sarah, don't! sarah!
oh, my god! oh, my god!
hey. you all right?
no, actually.
i just lied to the cops and told them i went to evelyn's alone
and found her like that.
thank you. don't thank me.
i'm about to call them right back
if you don't tell me what the hell is going on.
who's killing these people?
"what."
what?
it's not "who."
it's "what" is killing those people.
sarah, you saw that painting move.
no.
no, i was — i was seeing things.
it's impossible.
yeah, well, welcome to our world.
sarah, i know this sounds crazy...
but we think that that painting is haunted.
you're joking.
you're not joking.
god, the guys i go out with.
sarah, think about it.
evelyn, the telescas — they both had the painting.
and there have been others before that.
wherever this thing goes, people die,
and we're just trying to stop it...
and that's the truth.
well, then, i guess you better show me.
i'm coming with you.
what? no.
sarah, no. you should just go home.
this stuff can get dangerous, and...
and i don't want you to get hurt.
look, you guys are probably crazy,
but if you're right about this,
when me and my dad sold that painting,
we might have got these people killed.
i'm not saying i'm not scared, 'cause i am scared as hell,
but i'm not gonna run and hide, either.
so are we going or what?
sam...
marry that girl.
uh... isn't this a crime scene?
you've already lied to the cops. what's another infraction?
aren't you worried that it's gonna, you know, kill us?
no, it seems to do its thing at night.
i think we're all right in daylight.
sam, check it out.
the razor — it's closed in this one,
but it's open in that one. what are you guys looking for?
if the spirit's changing aspects of the painting,
maybe it's doing so for a reason.
hey, hey, look at this — the painting in the painting.
it looks like a crypt or a mausoleum or something.
"merchant."
this is the third boneyard we've checked.
this ghost is jerking us around.
so, this is what you guys do for a living?
not exactly.
we don't get paid.
well, mazel tov.
over there.
okay, that right there is the creepiest thing i've ever seen.
it was sort of a tradition at the time.
whenever a child died,
sometimes they'd preserve the kid's favorite toy
in a glass case, put it next to the headstone in the crypt.
notice anything strange here?
uh, where do i start?
no, that's not what i mean.
look at the urns.
yeah, there are only four.
mom and the three kids.
daddy dearest isn't here.
so where is he?
so, what exactly is your brother doing in there?
searching county death certificates,
trying to find out what happened to isaiah's body.
how'd he even get in the door?
lying and subterfuge, mostly.
you have a, um — you have an eyelash on your...
you have it right — no. uh, you know what?
do you mind if i —
no. okay.
okay, i got it.
make a wish.
sam, can i ask you something?
yeah, sure. i don't mean to be forward,
but a girl could wait here forever.
is there something here between us, or am i delusional?
you're not delusional.
but there's a "but" coming.
but...
i don't think this would be a good idea.
can i ask why?
'cause i like you.
wait. You lost me.
look, it's hard to explain.
it's just that when people are around me...
i don't know, they get hurt.
what do you mean?
i mean, like, physically hurt.
with what my brother and i do, it's...
sarah...
i had a girlfriend.
and she died.
and my mom died, too.
i don't know, it's like...
it's like i'm cursed or something...
like death just follows me around.
look, i'm not scared of much,
but if i let myself have feelings for anybody —
you're scared they get hurt, too.
that's very sweet and very archaic.
sorry? look, i'm a big girl, sam.
it's not your job to make decisions for me.
there's always a chance of getting hurt.
i'm not talking about a broken heart
and a tub of haagen-dazs.
i'm talking about life and death.
and tomorrow, i could get hit by a bus.
that's what life is.
look, i know losing somebody you love — it's terrible.
you shut yourself off. believe me, i know.
but when you shut out pain...
you shut out everything else, too.
sarah, you don't understand. the pain that i went through...
i can't go through it again. i can't.
am i interrupting something?
no. not at all.
apparently.
so, what'd you get? pay dirt.
apparently, the surviving relatives of the merchant family
were so ashamed of isaiah that they didn't want him interred
with the family, so they handed him over to the county.
the county gave him a pauper's funeral,
economy-style.
turns out he wasn't cremated. he was buried in a pine box.
so there are bones to burn.
there are bones to burn. tell me you know where.
you guys seem to be
uncomfortably comfortable with this.
well... this isn't exactly the first grave we dug.
still think i'm a catch?
think i got something.
you been a real pain in the ass, isaiah.
good riddance.
dean, keep the motor running.
i thought the painting was harmless now.
better safe than sorry. we're gonna bury the sucker.
i want to come with you.
are you sure?
hey, hey, hey.
i'll stay here. you go make your move.
s-s-sam, i'm serious!
uh, sam...
you're the expert on all this ghost stuff.
is that painting supposed to look like that?
where's the little girl?
and the razor?
dean! hey, is that you?
sammy, you all right?
tell me you slammed the front door.
no, it wasn't me. i think it was the little girl.
girl? what girl? yeah, she's out of the painting.
i think it might have been her all along.
wasn't the dad looking down at her?
maybe he was trying to warn us.
hey, let's recap later. just get us out of here.
i'm trying to pick the lock, and the door won't budge. break it down.
you're gonna have to hold it off until i figure something out.
get some salt or iron.
what kind of house doesn't have salt?
hey, you find any iron? no, what's it for?
iron repels evil spirits, but it's got to be pure.
hurry.
uh, dean, give me a sec. don't go anywhere.
look at a chair. sometimes the seats...
sam!
that is just so wrong.
iron?
yeah.
sam, are you okay?
yeah, for now.
how we gonna waste her?
i don't know. she was already cremated.
there must be something else.
sam, wait.
we used to handle antique dolls at the auction.
well, that's fascinating, sarah, but important right now?
back then, they used to make the dolls in the kid's image.
i mean, everything.
like, they would use the kid's real hair.
dean?
sarah says the doll might have the girl's hair.
human remains — same as bones.
the mausoleum.
sam!
come on, dean.
come on! come on!
sam, you good?
not bad.
this was archived in the county records.
the merchant's adopted daughter, melanie.
know why she was up for adoption?
'cause her real family was murdered in their beds.
she killed them?
yeah, who would suspect her? a sweet little girl.
so then she kills isaiah and his family.
the old man takes the blame.
his spirit's been trying to warn people ever since.
where's this one go?
take it out back and burn it.
i'm serious, guys. thanks.
so, why'd the girl do it?
killing others, killing herself —
some people are just born tortured.
so when they die, their spirits are just as dark.
maybe. I don't really care. it's over.
we move on.
i guess this means you're leaving.
i'll go wait in the car. see you, sarah.
i'm the one who burned the doll and destroyed the spirit,
but don't thank me or anything.
there are a million things that i want to say to you,
but for the life of me, i can't think of one.
yeah, i'll miss you, too.
you know, there's a lesson in all of this.
what's that?
we all got through this in one piece.
i didn't get hurt.
yeah, i'm glad for that.
so maybe you're not cursed.
maybe...
maybe you'll come back and see me.
i will.
that's my boy.