She's been acting weird for months.
Stopped saying good morning, always staying over at her sister's.
I even asked her to get dinner, and you know what she said?
"I think we're past that."
And then one day I look over,
and I see my suitcase packed waiting by the door.
By this point, I'd just about had it. I said, "Elaine, it's over."
Sounds like she had already ended it, Shep.
Nah, she's just playing her games.
Say, what's your heading?
I'm…
I'm seeing something.
- Lonnie? Hey, Lonnie? - I'm seeing something.
Guys.
Guys, can you seriously not hear me?
Oh, God.
Guys!
What the fuck?
Fuck you. It's not fucking funny.
Fuck.
Evan!
Motherf…
Well, if you felt the jolt last night, that was the first…
No reports of serious deaths or injuries.
Hope I'm not the only one with a generator…
Excuse me.
The entire island is out.
This is exactly why I wanted to use the Rule 20A credits.
Anyone talked to Mitch?
Rosemary says he's not in yet, but she's trying him at home.
Does anyone on this island work?
What are you gonna do about your writer? Is he still coming today?
Rosemary, any updates fr… from Mitch?
I had to call him five times to get him on the horn.
Said he'd call me back. He never called me back.
I'll tell you one thing, don't act like you're better than everyone else
- when you can't pay back your loans. - Who does he owe money to?
Don't… Don't answer that.
Hey, it's none of my business.
But his father-in-law might think differently.
And I'll tell you something else...
I-I just… I just wanna know if you talked to Mitch.
I-I don't want any gossip. Not today.
- And you won't get any from me. - Great.
But apparently there's no age limit on syphilis.
Jesus Christ.
Guy says he's a quarter Cherokee. I ran his genealogy...
Did you talk to Mitch? Do you have any updates on the outages?
He said the south point should be back up at any time now.
- That was half hour ago. - Great. Thank you.
But you better talk to Wayne.
He says he's shutting down the restaurant for the rest of the day.
The fuck he is.
Hey, Ruth. Give me five minutes and get me Wayne at The Salty Whale.
Sure. What's his number?
- Salty Whale. - Wayne.
- Gotta do it, Tom. - No, no, no. You don't.
- Look, the ice machine is down… - Um…
- …I got no appliances working… - No, listen…
- …I am done for the day. - No, li-listen…
- You gotta listen to me. - No, you listen to me. Uh… Uh, look.
You can't shut down,
I've-I've been trying to get these people to send someone for three years,
and he's on his way as we speak.
I cannot have our one nice restaurant shut down.
So what? I don't know this guy.
It's the goddamn New York Times.
- What? A reporter? - Oh, a travel writer.
- Unimportant. - No, it is important.
Wayne, Wayne. Our power, it's back on, so it is… it is coming to you soon.
- All right. - O…
- But I'm not happy about it. - Okay. Thank you.
Yes, table by the window and-and no… …Kathy. Thank you.
Fine.
- Oh, my God. - When will it run?
Well, if he writes the article, and that's a fucking big if right now…
You shouldn't assume the writer is a man.
The editor said a man was coming.
Well, that's fine then.
It would run before booking season.
And God, I wish these people would understand
what summer tourism would do for us.
I think the quake has people on edge.
Look, there was a quake in New York City last year.
All right. Patricia, not today.
And I mean it, okay? We have to show this man a good time.
What are you asking me to do, Tom?
What do you think I'm asking you to do?
- Well, I didn't know. - Oh.
Your rotary club lunch was moved to Monday.
Great.
Wyck Crawford called twice.
The Sheriff called, also twice.
What else? What else? It's…
What else is…
- That's it. - Great. Thank you.
Sheriff's office.
This is Tom.
Uh, Shep Clark is missing.
Well, who's looking?
Why are you the mayor of this town if you hate everyone so much?
And let one of them be in charge?
Try the Barnabus.
Well, I called them before I called you.
Harbormaster said he had him on the VHF and lost him.
Disappeared.
Said there's a heavy fog settling in offshore,
and he wants to issue a cancellation of operations until it clears.
Bechir, we get fog 360 days a year. He cannot close the port, not today.
Yeah. But he says this doesn't seem like the usual fog.
Why is the 11:00 a.m. already here?
Not my job to know that, buddy.
Hey, Lee. Uh, you're-you're not scheduled to come in for another 30 minutes.
Wanted to get ahead of the fog.
What? So we're just winging the schedule now?
Don't shit your diaper. I sent your writer to wait for you.
Oh, my God. He made it? Oh, my God.
Okay. Thank… Thank you. I'm-I'm sorry.
Wait, wait, wait, where did you send him?
The historical society.
Shit.
…and, you know, the economy was totally dependent
- on the whaling. - Mm-hmm.
Which means that all the men would go out.
- They'd be gone for years sometimes. - Oh. Okay.
So it was… it could be very lonely.
And you'll find this-this worn patch of wood
in front of the windows of the older homes,
and it was from the wives pacing back and forth
waiting for their men to come home. Yeah.
Most would not.
They should've checked the bars.
- Oh. - I'm-I'm Tom Loftis.
- Oh. Nice to meet you. Arthur. - Or T-Tom.
- Yeah. I-I would've met you at the dock. - Yeah.
Oh, yeah, the ferry left early. I'm glad I was there.
- And I am so sorry about that. - Uh-huh.
So, you wanna grab some coffee?
No, I'm good. Gerrie was just taking me through some of your history.
Oh. That's great. Yes, well, remarkable story.
Forty-two passengers from the mainland embarked by sea
to find a settlement they could call their own.
Yeah. No. The 40… 43 passengers embarked...
I-I-I think it's a little early for that story, Gerrie.
But imagine arriving in an untamed wilderness.
Blank canvas, totally empty island.
- Except for the teeth. - The… Yeah,
but the point I'm trying to make is that there were no people here, you know?
They had to build everything from scratch…
- Uh-huh. - …during what is still believed
to be the harshest winter
- in Widow's Bay history. - Yeah.
And all thanks to this remarkable leader, Richard Warren.
- Our first mayor. - Mmm.
I can't even get my assistant to stay past 2:00.
You know what, I was just about to show Arthur the… the-the witch trial.
Uh. Yeah.
Great source of pride. We caught 'em. We burned 'em...
Do you know what? You-You know what, Gerrie? I'm gonna take it from here.
- Thank you though. - Oh, okay.
- Yeah. - Okay.
Well, I hope you like the local color, Arthur, because, uh, we got a lot of it.
I was talking to the guy on the ferry…
- Uh-huh. - …and he said something odd.
What was that?
He said bad things happen here.
You know, Arthur, there is something about these seafaring towns.
Their superstitions, their tall tales.
May-Maybe it's that stories help pass a long day at sea.
I don't know, but I find it charming myself.
Was there cannibalism?
No.
Well, the article behind you.
"Forced inside the church, they immediately turned to cannibalism."
I don't think that's right.
I mean, it's in a framed article inside the historical society.
Yeah.
You know, these stories get so exaggerated over time.
I mean, look, was there, uh, uh, a deadly storm in 1786? Yes.
D-Did a group of people get trapped inside a church? Apparently so.
Did they immediately turn to cannibalism?
- No, that took four days. - So there was cannibalism?
What I'd ask you in return, Arthur, is
what town doesn't have a checkered past?
You know, if we go back far enough in our country's timeline. Right?
The best way to learn about this island…
…is to step outside and see it for yourself, so follow me.
Okay.
I swear, I have been having the hardest time getting reception.
Oh, and you… you will welcome the peace and quiet.
- But we do have plenty of landlines. - Mmm.
Oh.
So…
- I have marked all of my favorite spots… - Oh.
- …on the island. - Okay.
But you should definitely check out the lighthouse.
- Second oldest in America. - Okay.
And I will meet you here for dinner, Salty Whale, 7:00 p.m.
- Best lobster in America. - That's a bold claim, Tom.
Is it better than the lobster pot on Cape Cod?
Oh.
Fuck Cape Cod.
Okay.
- I said it. - I can report that, yes.
I can put that in my thing.
- "Fuck Cape Cod." See you at 7:00. - Yeah.
I can't believe that.
Tom, we just learned Rosemary's colorblind.
- My whole life. - Oh, okay. I didn't know that.
Basically, what you see as blue, I see as blue-green.
Okay, uh, so I wanna move quickly here.
Um, where is Ruth?
She went home to take a nap.
It's 11:00 a.m.
- She's an elderly woman, Tom. - Oh, I'm aware of that.
I just don't think it's unreasonable to ask an assistant
to work more than two hours in a day. You know what? Forget it.
Um, so, um, this guy is gonna be in town for 24 hours.
- Did you tell him about my paintings? - No.
Now, Gerrie has already been, well,
filling his ear with all kinds of nonsense.
So I just want eyes on him the whole time.
Dale, as we discussed, tomorrow, just follow the itinerary…
- Mm-hmm. - …all right?
Hills Beach, Ardor Point, The Seeded Rye, and Cobble Pond. That's it. Keep it light.
So, I guess you don't want me to take him to the old hospital?
No, I don't, Dale. And I think you knew that.
It's perfectly safe to drive by the old hospital. You just can't stop.
- Mmm. - Okay.
Our peaceful little island town,
it's a place for tourists to come with their families and relax.
Right. That's it.
- That's all. - Tell that to Shep Clark.
Oh, uh, this is a… this is a closed meeting, Wyck. Thank you.
Shut it down. Shut it all down.
It's starting.
You're goddamn right, it is.
No. It… No. It is not starting because there is no "It."
Wait, did something happen to Shep?
Fog took him.
No, no! The fog did not take him.
Because we all know that Shep is sleeping it off somewhere.
Problem with that is, Shep quit drinking three weeks ago.
Well, I can think of a couple of other explanations I could go to
before jumping to the "fog took him."
Close the port. Shutter the businesses. Sound the siren.
Oh, do-do you mean the siren from the 1940s? You're out of your mind, Wyck.
You refuse to accept our history, to accept the truth,
and I've lived with that for years, but now it's gonna get people killed.
I have actually accepted the truth,
but d-do you know what the truth looks like? It looks like this.
Looks like an outdated power grid. Looks like roads that need repairing.
It looks like no Wi-Fi in the 21st fucking century.
And certainly no money to pay for it all.
The only thing that's gonna get people killed here is the lack of infrastructure.
Well, that's because the island has lain dormant, but she's waking up.
And that's when bad things happen.
You think the fog out there is natural? No, it ain't natural.
It already took Shep and it will take the rest of us tonight.
It's a haunt!
I did… I didn't realize it was a haunt.
I'm sorry. Um, could… could you remind me again?
A haunt is worse than a spook, but not as bad as a fright?
Oh-Oh, equal to a scare, right?
You can mock me all you like.
The island's cursed, Tom.
Do you know what I think?
I think there are some people who want to be miserable.
Oh.
And they blame it all on a cursed island.
I refuse.
And I refuse to let you take this town down with you.
Mayor's office.
Sound the siren, Tom.
- This is Patricia. - If you don't, I will.
It's the Sheriff's office.
This is Tom.
That's great news!
They just found Shep.
Oh, okay. Yeah. Hang on.
I'm gonna take this call in my office.
What do you know?
I know you didn't just lie to a bunch of people telling them I found this man.
Look, you know how they get. They-They overreact.
- Look, I bought us time. - Yeah, well, I hope you bought a lot
- 'cause I can't find him... - He'll turn up.
You… You know, buddy, I… I'm on my last legs.
I already got to deal with a bunch of teenagers
running rampant round here all times of night.
And I can be more specific if you'd like.
Hey, uh, I'm gonna run out for a bit.
They haven't found him, have they?
It doesn't mean a fucking fog took him.
Should we be worried?
Come on.
Not you too. You sound like one of them.
Tom,
do you, uh, remember the Boogeyman?
I probably already told you
about that time in high school when I was home alone the night he came.
I think you did tell me that story.
Hmm. Okay.
God forbid you hear it again.
It's only the most terrifying thing that's ever happened to me.
Well, you asked me if I'd heard it before.
I still sleep with the dresser in front of my door.
But he-he murdered teenage girls. You're in your 40s, you'd be fine.
What?
Why-Why is that more upsetting?
Oh, fuck me.
Looking ahead to the evening news,
we're keeping an eye on that fog today.
…coming from the south-east and hovering right now,
but that could change for…
Evan!
I got you a tuna melt from the Driftwood!
Do you know what this is? I was trying to… I was trying to figure it out.
- Get inside. - Uh-huh.
Oh, no, no, no, no. We're gonna have a talk.
I gotta go to Pete's house to study. So… So, I…
Sit down.
Oh, my God.
I don't know… I don't know what to say.
I mean, I just don't know how to get through to you.
You… And you cannot keep sneaking out at night.
Do I have to put bars on the windows?
No.
Do you know where you get that adventurous spirit?
- Mom. - Your mother, yeah.
Yeah.
God, she used to make me laugh.
Some people say they knew they were the one the moment they laid eyes on them.
I heard her laugh first, and I knew.
Thank God she was good-looking.
Yeah, she-she had… she had no interest in-in-in dating me.
That took… that took persistence on my part.
But, um, four months later, we-we were married.
And, y-yes, it's no secret she was already pregnant with you.
What I… What I'm trying to tell you, Evan, is…
You were the best surprise of my life.
And I just want to keep you safe.
You do know the withdrawal method doesn't work, right?
- Oh, my God. - Okay, I'm sorry.
No, no, wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait.
Okay, why can't you just keep normal hours?
Because there's nothing to do during normal hours.
Okay, this island is like a prison.
Things are gonna change. I promise.
They are gonna change. I promise.
Okay.
Motherfucker.
Oh, no, no. You've gotta do it.
- You have no right! - I have every goddamn right.
Shut it down, and shut it down right now.
- Hell, you keep it going, Lonnie. - Goddamn it, Wyck!
Please just give me a couple of hours!
We don't have that kind of time!
You lied about Shep and now the fog's coming!
All right, let's just talk it through. All right?
We… J-Just shut it down, and we will talk this through.
Yeah, so you can mock me.
Wyck, I will listen to you for five minutes, uninterrupted.
I give you my word.
Please.
Goddamn it, Wyck!
Turn that off!
Five minutes.
And I don't want you correcting my grammar.
I don't have time to sit here and go tit for tit with you.
Now, I don't have all the information, because this town has its secrets.
But there's something rotten here.
Now, it all starts with the quake,
that means she's waking up.
And that's when the terror starts.
Here.
1846, they called it "The Fog That Stole Souls."
Stage one, the eyes turn white.
Stage two, loss of the five senses and delirium.
Stage three, loss of erection. Stage four…
Who the hell is trying after stage two?
Or. Or…
maybe we're paid a visit by the revenants of doomed sailors.
What's a revenant?
Like a zombie.
- Oh, no. - Yeah.
1873, the SS Mary and its crew had been missing for 62 years.
And the mayor at the time shuttered the lighthouse
to confound the ship, causing it to crash against the rocks.
Seems he coveted the captain's young bride.
How young?
- Sixteen, I believe. - How old was he?
Fifty-three.
What? She loved him.
How can you possibly know that?
Is an old man not worthy of love?
Are the older women dead in this scenario?
I don't follow.
I think… …an older man falling in love with a young woman is…
is sometimes okay. As a one-off.
It's when they start hitting on their young friends after a break-up,
that really crosses the line.
- Oh, I agree. - Have…
have you both lost your fucking minds?
Are you fucking kidding me?
I don't even know what you're talking about.
- What the fuck is happening? - Mm-hmm.
- Yeah. Okay. - Wyck!
I got The New York Times to send a reporter.
Do you have… do you have any idea what one good write-up would do for us?
This place is dying.
Wyck, we could be the next Bar Harbor.
Ooh! Fancy.
Why won't you let me lead this town?
I swear, this is personal.
It is personal.
I don't think you can lead.
Will you be able to forgive yourself if you're wrong
and you have ruined this town's chance?
Will you be able to forgive yourself if I'm right?
You cannot stand someone else being in charge, can you?
Nah.
I just know people.
Wyck, I have done nothing to deserve this lack of trust.
You remember when you and your little buddies
used to take turns doorbell ditching my house during your little summer visits?
That is what this is about?
Oh, for fuck sake.
Wyck, I… Look, okay.
I am sorry I doorbell ditched your house when I was 11.
Please do not destroy the fucking town over it.
But you never actually did it. Did you?
- What? - Nah, see.
I was watching.
I'd see you sneak up to my door and pretend to ring the doorbell.
Then you'd run back to impress the local kids, laughing, and take all the glory.
And that's how I know you're not a leader,
because you've always been a goddamn coward.
It's Shep Clark.
He's breathing.
- Call a doctor. - That's Shep.
He's in stable condition.
But… Not critical…
But we've had to sedate him 'cause he suffered a nasty fall.
And-And we're gonna keep him under to let the swelling in his head go down.
So how bad is it?
We'll know more in the morning.
But I'm not worried.
I've given him enough Propofol to knock out a horse.
Of course, I probably shouldn't tell any of you that.
But where do you draw the line?
I mean, like, of course, no one asked what I thought.
But… But what else is new?
Anyway. Mmm.
I learned my biological age is 28.
I heard it helps if you speak with them.
I think that's comas.
I apologize for wasting his time, Tom.
Oh, come on.
I'm just gonna go back to the office and shut my door so I don't bother anyone.
Caused a real ruckus today, Shep.
That doesn't seem right.
I was…
Shep?
- Shep? - I…
Hey, Shep.
What are you saying?
What? What was that?
What was that?
Shep?
Shep.
Sh-Shep.
Help me get him over.
No pulse. Get the crash cart, please.
Loftis.
Did you do the autopsy?
No. That won't be until tomorrow.
Well, it's just when I…
when I saw him, something… something didn't feel right.
Well, he died, Tom.
I understand that.
Before he died, you didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, did you?
What are you asking me here, Tom?
I don't know.
I don't...
Tom, your dinner.
Jesus Christ, Patricia.
I'm so sorry. I gotta go.
- Tom, your dinner. - I know.
If you leave now you'll be 15 minutes late.
I'm going.
- Tom. - I'm… I'm… I'm going.
I'm going.
- Tom, you can do that later... - Would you just… C-Can I…
Tom?
We… We wasted a lot of time today.
You can't… You can't let these people get in your head, Patricia.
You can't let fear…
win.
I know that, Tom.
Oh, fucking shit dick.
- Tom. - Yeah?
You okay?
I'm sorry. I'm… I'm a little distracted.
Um, yes. I-I am… I am good. Um, you were saying…
Damn it! Ah, Kathy, that's not water.
Um… I am so sorry.
What… What were you saying?
I was actually saying how much I love the island.
- You're kidding me. - No.
I honestly don't understand why this place isn't Martha's Vineyard.
Oh, Martha's Vineyard. Um…
Uh, yeah.
Wow. Uh, you know,
- I thought may-maybe Bar Harbor, but… - Uh-huh.
Wow, Arthur, I can't… I can't…
I can't tell you how long I've waited to hear that.
Table three wants to know where their order is.
- It's right there. - All right. Well, hold on.
Oh, look at that fog.
Uh, I wanted to ask you something though.
Anything at all.
Did you know that there's people on this island who think
that if you're born here, you can't leave?
Old wives' tale.
I was talking to a guy over at the Driftwood Diner,
and he said he has never set foot on the mainland. Sixty years old.
Well, there's a reason why the Driftwood wasn't on your list.
Well, he claims his cousin went to the mainland
and died of a heart attack a month later.
He also told me about a woman, uh… …What is her… Marsha Dogan.
Died of a stroke eight years ago, a day after she steps on the mainland.
- I… - I checked it. It's true, Tom.
I go to the mainland all the time.
Yeah, were you born here though?
No.
- Huh. What about your son? - Born and raised.
Of course, yes, he's been to the mainland.
- Mmm. - Yeah.
Hmm. I mean, obviously it's not true.
Obviously.
But I am fascinated by how powerful superstitions are here.
It's remarkable.
Anyway, I think your summer tourism season could be huge. I really do.
And I think that the focus of my article is shaping,
but it's feeling like the people, you know?
Or the other thing is, maybe it's
how a lack of modern amenities is…
And I'm gonna write something
- that I think talks to... - I… I have to make a quick phone call.
Evan, you better be home.
Come on. Come on. Come on.
Uh, o-okay. Uh, hey.
Hey, everyone.
Um, you know what, we're-we're just gonna stay put.
Uh, it's not safe to drive in this, uh, especially after a couple of drinks.
- So, just, um, just sit tight. - I'll check the breakers.
Oh, uh, you know… …hold on for one minute. Uh, Wayne.
Hey, Wayne. Hey-Hey. Hang on for one second, okay?
Um… …I don't think going outside is probably…
Hey, could we… Hey, hey, guys. You know what, uh, why don't…
Just hold on for a second, 'cause it's still pretty thick out there.
If I wanted to sit in the dark, I can do that at home.
Yeah, I know. It's just… Look, let's just all s-sit tight together,
'cause I-I can't have people driving in this.
I know how to drive in the fog, Loftis.
- I know, I know. - Hey, what's going on?
- Is something wrong, Tom? - No, no, of course not. Um…
- I gotta get home. - Hey, just hold on. Just hold…
- Hey, hey, hey, hey! - Hey, what the hell are you doing?
- Hold on! - Hey!
No, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!
There's something in the fog!
The fog is lifting, Tom.
What?
Let's go.
I see what's going on here.
You don't want to be Nantucket, you want to be Salem.
It's a nice town. You don't need the gimmick.
Well, you can lock up for me.
Least you can do.
Jesus Christ, Kathy!
Your check.
What… Hey, I didn't order any of this.
Take it up with Wayne.
Motherfucker…
"There's something in the fog."
Goddamn it.
Ridiculous.