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Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose Is The Fourth Episode Of The Third Season Of The X-Files. It Premiered On the Fox network On October 13, 1995.

Synopsis
Mulder and Scully receive help in the investigation of a murder case from a reluctant psychic.

Summary
Teaser
In a liquor store, an elderly man, Clyde Bruckman, is reading predictions made by the Stupendous Yappi in a newspaper article, skeptically criticizing each one. Confused by the unusual-sounding name of an event that according to Yappi, Buddy Holly will play at, Bruckman asks the store's proprietor what the word means, but the shopkeeper does not even know who Buddy Holly is. Bruckman orders several items from the shopkeeper, including the newspaper containing Yappi's predictions.

ST. PAUL
SEPTEMBER 16

Bruckman exits the store, softly singing "That'll Be the Day" to himself. He nearly collides with another man and they try to dodge each other but take a while to separate, after which the other man remarks that Bruckman is a better dancer than his last date. The other man walks to the office of palm reader Madame Zelma where upon believing Zelma should have foreseen his immediate actions, he promptly murders her.

Act One
NORTH MINNEAPOLIS
3 DAYS LATER


Entering a crime scene, Yappi quietens his own fans and Detective Cline.

Entrails and a pair of eyeballs sit amid a crime scene inside the home of another murder victim. A trio of investigators argue over the fact that one of them - a Detective Cline - has invited a source who is thought to be somewhat "spooky". Mulder then enters, but Cline is at first unsure who he is. Scully follows Mulder inside and despite Detective Havez saying that the detectives suspect a Satanist is responsible, the agents have their own profile of the killer. Mulder spots evidence that the victim read tea leaves and knew she was about to die.

Bringing a mob of fans with him, Yappi arrives. He quietens the hubbub and begins to theatrically detail several visions he apparently experiences involving the murder, but stops, claiming he is detecting negative energy that he eventually alleges is coming from Mulder. Mulder is then asked to leave, despite insisting that he is a believer in the psychic phenomenon. He is later waiting outside the apartment. As Yappi passes on the way out, the two have another confrontation. Mulder re-enters the apartment and doubts Yappi's vague predictions, although Cline seems convinced of their authenticity.

In the meantime, Clyde Bruckman, an insurance salesman by trade, tries to sell insurance to a young couple. Although the young husband had intended to buy a boat, Bruckman attempts to persuade the man not to, even predicting the man's death, which only serves to spook the latter.

Sighing, Bruckman returns home to his own apartment. As he later bins a vegetable, he is disgusted to see it become a vision of a man's severed head. Collecting garbage from his elderly neighbor (Mrs. Lowe), Bruckman sees a vision of her dog nibbling at entrails, so he tries to ask its owner whether she has enough dog food. Being slow on the uptake, his elderly neighbor merely closes the door on him. Bruckman later disposes of the garbage, but in shock, he slowly turns back to the dumpster into which he dropped it. The dumpster contains the body of Madame Zelma, as Cline and the agents later find. The agents question Bruckman, asking how he knew certain details. Despite trying to explain away his information, Bruckman is forcefully asked by Mulder to accompany the agents.


Clyde Bruckman examines Mulder's badge as Scully holds hers.

He is later taken by the agents into the apartment they visited earlier, Mulder considering that the murder that took place there may have been committed by the same person who killed Madame Zelma. Mulder implies that he suspects Bruckman of having a psychic ability but Bruckman reacts by asking to see both their badges. He doubts that Mulder's name is a real one and is initially reluctant to participate in the investigation. Overcome by a vision near a blood stain, he rushes past Scully into the washroom and vomits. Despite Mulder seeming convinced that Bruckman is genuinely psychic, Scully complains that Bruckman is performing a similar routine to Yappi. Bruckman returns and continues to describe his visions of the murder, at one point reacting in puzzlement to the phrase "negative energy." While lengthily wondering why the victim chose to become a doll collector, he is disturbed to see one of the dolls appear disfigured. He predicts to the agents that they will find the victim's body floating in Glenview Lake, near a "fat, little, white Nazi storm trooper." Bruckman then excuses himself from the room, disturbed by his own visions of death.

Act Two

A propane tank resembling a "fat little, white, Nazi storm trooper."

Watched by a crowd, a woman's body is pulled from Glenview Lake. Scully, after much deliberation, admits to Mulder that she, like him, sees a resemblance between a nearby propane tank and a "fat, little, white Nazi storm trooper." With Mulder doubting that Bruckman is the killer but Scully doubting that he is psychic, Scully suggests another alternative: that he may simply be lucky.

At his home, Bruckman is frustrated to find that a lottery ticket he owns is not a winning one. Mulder knocks at his apartment door before entering, while the annoyed Bruckman holds his head in his hands. Although Bruckman seems to know who the visitor is, he looks up at Mulder and is surprised that the visitor is him. Bruckman refuses to help Mulder catch the murderer. Nevertheless, they subsequently discuss Bruckman's ability, with Mulder remarking that he finds it enviable, although Bruckman complains about having it. Bruckman also lengthily explains his refusal to assist with the investigation, but ultimately implies that he will help.

In a police questioning room, Mulder tests whether Bruckman can receive any impressions from several objects, but Bruckman struggles to do so. At one point, he mistakes a blue piece of fabric as being from Mulder's New York Knicks t-shirt. Scully arrives and Mulder privately tells her that he is now convinced Bruckman has only one psychic ability: to divine how people will die. Scully hands Bruckman one of three identical keychains that were each found on the victims, emblazoned with an insignia that Scully reveals she tracked to a company known as Uranus Unlimited. Bruckman seems to divine many details about the owner of the company, Claude Dukenfield, but explains that his means of determining the information is due to a coincidence—he sold Dukenfield insurance a couple of months previously. Scully mentions that the investigators are trying to find Dukenfield, but Bruckman reveals that the company owner is now dead.


Clyde Bruckman is quizzed by Mulder while Scully drives.

In a car, Bruckman works on leading the agents to the body's location, insisting to a curious Mulder that he does not know how he is receiving the whereabouts. Bruckman also mentions to Mulder that there are not many more undignified ways to end up dying than autoerotic asphyxiation, although Bruckman then tries to cover up the reference, saying it is none of his business. They arrive at a wooded area that Bruckman deems as being the right place. While the trio search the forest, Bruckman recounts that he first gradually developed his ability in 1959, after obsessing over the chances involved in the death of the Big Bopper, who sang Bruckman's favorite song of the period, "Chantilly Lace". The Big Bopper won a coin toss for a seat on a plane with Buddy Holly that subsequently crashed. Both Scully and Mulder question where the body is, but Bruckman says his difficulty is seeing "the forest from the trees." The group later try to maneuver their car out of mud, with Scully driving as Mulder and Bruckman attempt to push the vehicle from behind it. Mud splats Mulder's leg and he sees that Bruckman has adopted an expression that Mulder initially mistakes for a smile but is actually a wince at a hand sticking out of the mud, under one of the car's tires.

Act Three
Mulder hands Bruckman a fiber, the only evidence from Claude Dukenfield's body, as an FBI crime lab will take much more time. Although Bruckman is preoccupied with thoughts of his own work, he reluctantly examines the evidence. He describes visions that the killer sees, featuring Mulder trying to catch the killer in a kitchen where the murderer is armed with a bloodied knife and the killer approaching as Mulder steps on a pie that distracts Bruckman's account. He dismisses the visions as the hallucinations of a madman and reveals that they are not deduced from the tiny fabric but from a letter he shows the agents. It is a complex death threat from the killer and mentions them, despite being postmarked on the day before Bruckman joined the investigation. Mulder hopes to protect Bruckman, who replies that no matter what, he himself will be dead before the killer is caught.


A Tarot Dealer conducts a reading on the killer.

The killer has a reading done by a tarot dealer who finds that his customer is searching for someone, a person, the killer clarifies, whom he is going to kill. Now nervous, the tarot dealer says the person is a special man with special wisdom.

LE DAMFINO HOTEL
SEPTEMBER 21

In a hotel room, Bruckman enjoys cake as Scully studies paperwork on potential suspects. He asks if she is jealous of his ability.

The tarot dealer continues to draw the cards, predicting that the killer's extreme confusion will abruptly end with a woman who will possibly be a redhead, but the killer warns the dealer that the final card is meant for him; it turns out to be the death card. Meanwhile, Bruckman foretells of a special moment in which he and Scully will end up in bed together, but she profusely doubts the prediction. Scully, preparing to leave Mulder to watch over Bruckman, privately asks the psychic how she dies, but Bruckman claims she does not. Mulder tells her the fabric was from actual Chantilly lace, but Scully is insistent that this is merely a coincidence.


In a dream, Clyde Bruckman watches his own body disintegrate.

Later that night, Mulder and Bruckman talk while lying in separate beds. Mulder wonders if Bruckman ever has prophetic dreams, but Bruckman describes the only dream he ever has, of his own naked, dead body disintegrating, before wishing Mulder goodnight.

In the morning, Mulder answers the door to Scully and Detective Havez, explaining that he did not sleep well. He leaves with Scully, heading to the scene of the tarot dealer's murder, but they unknowingly pass the killer, dressed as a bellhop, as they head away.

In Bruckman's room, Havez finishes telling the psychic a joke Bruckman already knew without ever having heard it before. Havez is relieved when Bruckman lets him know that he will not die from cancer and heads to have a smoke in the restroom that Bruckman lights for him before Havez instructs Bruckman not to answer the door to anybody. Nevertheless, Bruckman knowingly answers it to the killer, and even allows him inside.
Act Four

Clyde Bruckman and the killer calmly chat.

Having clearly recognized each other, Bruckman and the killer calmly chat about the extraordinary odds of them meeting one another. Bruckman seems amazed that the killer is still unsure why he is motivated to commit such atrocities, but Bruckman clarifies for him that the reason is that he is a homicidal maniac, which makes a lot of sense to the killer. When the murderer is about to kill him, Bruckman prevents his own death, saying that the killer does not murder him at this point, even though Bruckman is admittedly unsure of why not. A reason arrives in the form of Havez, who the killer charges and attacks.

As the FBI agents and Detective Cline examine the site of the tarot dealer's murder, both Mulder and Cline remark on the killer's apparent sloppiness. As they work on employing traditional police methods to solve the murder, Scully is distracted first by a crowd standing outside, and then her finding another strand of Chantilly lace. Having seen the killer in crowds since she began work on the case (with the exception of the one now gathered outside), Scully realizes that the bellhop at the hotel is the killer. She races away without further ado, leaving Mulder to tell Cline that her deduction was based on female intuition.

The killer hurries out of Bruckman's room and downstairs while Scully returns to the hotel. She enters Bruckman's room, finding that he is no longer there but that Havez's cigarette is lying on the floor, still lit.


Mulder and the killer tussle.

Meanwhile, Mulder and the killer catch sight of each other in the basement of the hotel. Mulder chases the murderer into the hotel's kitchen, where Mulder steps in a pie on the floor. Mulder, suddenly realizing that exactly what Bruckman predicted would happen is happening, spins around, just as the killer attacks him from behind, knocking him to the ground. The murderer is poised ready to stab Mulder when Scully exits a nearby service elevator, armed with her gun. She orders the killer to drop his weapon, but he persists so she shoots him, much to his confusion, and he bloodily collapses. Scully lets Mulder know that her arrival there was purely by chance; she entered the service elevator by mistake. She also tells him that the killer murdered Havez but that she was unable to find Bruckman, so Mulder wonders where he is.

The agents proceed to Mrs. Lowe's apartment, where they find her dog whimpering, as well as a letter from Bruckman addressed to Scully. The letter states that Mrs. Lowe passed away on the previous night, asks if Scully would like a dog and implies that the dog ate some of the remains of Mrs. Lowe's body. The agents enter the apartment, and in a moment of emotional significance, Scully finds that Bruckman's deceased body lies on a bed, a bottle of pills in his hand and a plastic bag over his head.

Late at night, Scully is watching television when she sees a commercial for the Stupendous Yappi's hotline. She picks up her telephone, as Yappi suggests his viewers do, but then throws it at the television.

References
psychic; autoerotic asphyxiation; dog; Lowe

Background Information
Production
This episode was the second of four from The X-Files television series to be written by Darin Morgan. His conception of this episode started with him being assigned the task of making this episode a scary one. (The X-Files (season 3) DVD; Special Features; "Chris Carter Talks About Season Three"; "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose")
A prime early influence on this episode was one of the series' previous episodes - "Beyond the Sea", which was Morgan's favorite episode of the series at the time of writing this one. Looking for inspiration, he rewatched the earlier episode several times. His initial intention was to write an episode that would be similarly dark and be very depressing. Morgan ended up adding jokes into the script as he simply could not help himself from doing so. (The Complete X-Files: Behind the Series, the Myths and the Movies)
Although this episode merely implies that Bruckman's death was probably a suicide, and does not explicitly establish that it was such (leaving open the possibility that he was referring to his own cause of death upon mentioning autoerotic asphyxiation to Mulder), Darin Morgan has since confirmed that his intention was that Bruckman did actually commit suicide at the end of this episode. The reason Morgan added this to the story was that he was feeling somewhat suicidal himself, at the time he wrote it.
The joke about autoerotic asphyxiation developed out of Mulder's interest in erotica as well as a book about homicide investigations that Morgan had read, as the book actually included a section about autoerotic asphyxiation, a cause of death that is often misinterpreted as suicide. Viewing pictures in the book, Morgan concluded that they showed a complete lack of dignity and "a horrible way to be found dead." (Trust No One: The Official Third Season Guide to The X-Files)
Similarly, Clyde Bruckman's psychic ability was influenced by Morgan's viewing of intensely graphic crime scene photos that were included in a research book his brother, Glen, had. (The Complete X-Files: Behind the Series, the Myths and the Movies) Darin Morgan recalls, "I was looking at crime scene photos and I just thought, if a person was psychic, they'd be able to see how a person was going to die, just like these pictures. And I just thought, if someone could do that, they would go insane. It ruins the guy's life, which is the point of the show." (The X-Files (season 3) DVD; Special Features; "FX: Behind the Truth"; "Clyde Bruckman") Morgan also states, "The idea was that if you can foresee the events of someone's life, you should be able to foresee their death; and if you could foresee their death, you would be seeing pictures like this all the time." (The Complete X-Files: Behind the Series, the Myths and the Movies)
In reality, Clyde Bruckman was a Hollywood screenwriter who wrote for Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd in the era of silent film, but ultimately committed suicide.
Similarly, the surnames of both Detectives Cline and Havez were taken from other film crew from that period, namely Eddie Cline (the director of several Buster Keaton comedies) and Jean C. Havez (a silent movie writer), respectively.
The name Claude Dukenfield was actually part of W.C. Fields' real name (William Claude Dukenfield).
The name of the hotel where Bruckman stays, "Le Damfino," echoes the name of a boat used by Buster Keaton in the movie The Boat. (Trust No One: The Official Third Season Guide to The X-Files)
The character of the Stupendous Yappi (including the character's speech pattern) was based on Jaap Broeker, David Duchovny's stand-in. (The X-Files (season 3) DVD; Special Features; "FX: Behind the Truth"; "Stupendous Yappi")
The first cut of this episode overran by more than ten minutes, despite Darin Morgan being cautious about his scripts being overlong, after that had been the case with his first script for The X-Files, Season 2's "Humbug". Morgan found that this episode was disastrous in that respect and that it was at first "humongously long."
The episode originally included two more scenes between Clyde Bruckman and Scully, as well as many additional gags. These were filmed but removed during editing. (Trust No One: The Official Third Season Guide to The X-Files)

Mulder and Scully in a deleted scene from this episode.

Another edit involved shortening the first act scene wherein Mulder re-enters the victim's apartment and doubts Yappi's predictions, followed by Scully sarcastically commenting that the case is as good as solved. Originally, the scene continued with Mulder picking up one of the victim's dolls and musing over his wish to someday meet a genuine psychic. The scripted version of the scene's continuation is as follows:

MULDER: I've worked with a lot of 'psychic detectives.' They've all been more pathetic than prophetic. But I know there's someone out there. Someone who possesses the ability to 'see.' Who can be used in such a way that'll change the nature of criminal investigations for--

He becomes aware that Scully is looking at him amusedly.

MULDER (con't): Well, I can dream, can't I?

SCULLY: Don't worry, Mulder -- some day your psychic will come.

"Improbable" is the thirteenth episode of the ninth season of The X-Files.

Synopsis
While investigating a serial killer who uses numerology to choose his victims, Reyes and Scully meet an unusual man who may prove more of a hindrance than a help.

Summary
This episode cross-cuts two storylines. A killer who is guided by numerology and the influence that Burt Reynolds has on the figures around him. Numbers and particularly multiples of three feature heavily.

Agent Reyes is investigating a series of cases that she believes are linked by numerology. While explaining the case to Scully, Scully spots another possible link - a mark made by the killer's ring on the victims faces. On consulting a numerologist, Reyes ties the murders together, however, the killer also finds the numerologist, murdering her.

Meanwhile, the killer is shown meeting up with a mysterious man (Burt Reynolds) who seems to know a lot about him and his murderous ways. He speaks in an enigmatic way but his words don't seem to make any difference to the killer.


Mr. Burt and the Killer.

Reyes' numerology theories don't go down well at the FBI, but the pattern of the killings when viewed on a map seem to show a spiral or is it a number?

Scully and Reyes revisit the murdered numerologist's office and meet the killer in the elevator. Scully recognizes the ring on the killer's hand and draws her gun on him. The killer slips out of the elevator and gets to the parking lot first. Reyes and Scully arrive only to see a car fleeing the garage and the gate closing behind it. They are stuck in the garage, alone; or maybe not.

They meet another person hiding and demand that he come out. It is a strange man (Burt Reynolds.) To pass the time, Reynolds engages Reyes and Scully in a game of checkers, whose colors (red & black) are surrogates for Scully (a redhead) and Reyes (a brunette). These are the anticipated hair-colors of the next two victims. The exiting car was assumed to contain the killer, but it didn't. They search the garage, but are surprised by the killer. However, Doggett arrives in the nick of time to shoot him. The mysterious man has completely disappeared.


Confused FBI Agents are enlightened about the killer's pattern.

Scully and Reyes chat on the phone and discuss Scully's number while Scully also wonders "Who was that man?" "God Knows..." says Reyes.

In a nearby Italian neighborhood, a party is in progress. Two men sing a jovial song and lead a crowd through the streets. The camera zooms out to reveal that the entire neighborhood from above suggests the appearance of Burt Reynolds face.

References
Background Information
As this episode deals with numerology, we can notice that several songs that can be heard in this episode were written and performed by Karl Zero. Those songs come from his album Songs for Cabriolet (y otros tipos de vehiculos), released in 2000,and recorded with the help of famous score composer Alexandre Desplat.
The tagline is changed to "Dio ti ama", Italian for "God loves you". This is a reference to Burt Reynolds' character in this episode, who, according to writer, director and series creator Chris Carter, represents God and who "loves the sinner as well as the saint".
At the end when Scully calls Reyes, the clock on Reyes bedside table reads 09:09. Reyes later tells Scully that she is a number 9.

"Bad Blood" is the twelfth episode of the of The X-Files. the episode first aired on the Fox network on February 22, 1998.

The term "bad blood" is not used in this episode, nor in any other episode of The X-Files with the exception of Season 7's "Je Souhaite", in which Mulder uses it to describe a troublesome relationship, specifically between Anson Stokes and Jay Gilmore.

Iditarod As the camera pans across the display room of the funeral home that doubles as the morgue for the town of Chaney, a casket in the foreground sports a tag identifying its model name as Iditarod. The Iditarod is a 1,600 km dogsled race that is run from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska starting on the first Saturday in March. Among the conditions that the racers have to contend with are blizzard whiteouts and wind chills reaching -75 or more. It can be presumed that the appeal of a coffin with that name is an implied guarantee that one's afterlife won't be overheated
This episode took place in Chaney, Texas which is probably so-named for Lon Chaney Jr and Sr, both of whom played vampires during their illustrious film careers (Lon Chaney Jr in The Son of Dracula and Lon Chaney Sr in the silent film London After Midnight). - Actually, Chaney is a real town in Texas, about half-way between Abilene and Ft. Worth. It was founded in the 1880s and named after its 1902 Post Master. (Maybe the writers picked it for this episode for the name connection)
To shoot inside Ronnie Strickland's lair, crewmen cut an entire side wall out of a brand-new motor home. Afterwards they realized that they hadn't bought the thing, but only rented it.
This episode was inspired by an episode of the old "Dick Van Dyke Show", titled "The Night the Roof Fell In", in which Rob and Laura Petrie have a fight and then each tell their neighbor their version of what led up to it.
Scully's "It's not that Mexican goat-sucker, either" refers to the 'Chupacabra' from season 4's 'El Mundo Gira'.
Ronnie's middle name is LaVelle. An odd name, LaVelle is also the middle name of character Xander Harris from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".
Sheriff Hartwell is named for Vince Gilligan's girlfriend, Holly Hartwell Rice.

Synopsis
After Mulder kills a teenage boy who he believed was a vampire, he and Scully recount the events that led to the killing.

Summary
Teaser
We see a teenage boy running through the woods, late at night, screaming "Help me! Somebody help me! Help! That guy's gonna kill me! Help!". He is being pursued by a man in a black suit with an overcoat. He continues to run, screaming frantically until he stumbles and lands on the ground. His pursuer quickly jumps on top of him, holding him down, and reveals a wooden stake which he rams into the boy's chest. The man then picks up a rock and proceeds to slam the stake with it, driving it deeper and deeper.

Another person runs up to the scene, we see it is Scully. She speaks only one word, "Mulder?". It is here we see that the attacker is, in fact, Mulder. Scully kneels down beside the two as Mulder opens the boy's mouth to reveal fangs. "Look at that. Huh...huh?" Mulder pushes. Scully taps the boy's fangs and they fall out. She picks up the fake teeth and holds them up for Mulder to see. Mulder stares unbelievably and replies, "Oh, shi-".

X-Files Office
Mulder is sitting in his office at his desk as Scully opens the door and peers inside. There is a bit of awkward silence between the two as she comes in and sits down. She begins to talk but Mulder quickly silences her, telling her "Don't even start with me" and pointing his finger. He proceeds to let out his frustrations on the office trash can after a missed shot with a paper wad.

The two discuss the fact that Skinner expects a report in the next hour and what they should do. They agree to tell exactly what they each saw, although this thought worries Mulder as he believes they have conflicting views on what "exactly" happened. Scully reminds Mulder that the family of the boy Mulder killed (Ronnie Strickland) plans to sue the FBI for around $446 million and that both of them, not just Mulder, will be held accountable. She goes on to say that Mulder "overreacted". Mulder decides he wants to hear Scully's side of the story, starting from the beginning.

Scully's Version
Throughout Scully's version, Mulder is very energetic and playful. Perhaps even a bit more than usual.

Beginning the story in the X-files office, Mulder enthusiastically tells Scully about the deaths of a number of cows in a small Texas town called Chaney, rarely letting her get a word in. Approximately one each week has been drained of blood over the past six weeks, all with two small puncture wounds on their neck. Scully discusses the possibility of satanic cultists and even, jokingly, El Chupacabra, both of which Mulder throws out as possibilities. His explanation is classic vampirism. He then goes on to add that a vacationer from New Jersey was killed the night before in the same way. After asking why he didn't tell her that in the first place, Mulder ushers her out of the office. They then head for Texas.

The agents arrive at the PEACEFUL SLUMBERS FUNERAL PARLOR, as the town is too small to maintain a morgue. They wait with the mortician for the Sheriff to arrive and show them the body. The Sheriff, Lucius Hartwell, soon arrives clad in cowboy boots and even a cowboy hat. As he introduces himself, Scully is obviously a bit taken with his appearance. Mulder introduces he and Scully, seemingly perturbed at their immediate attraction and intermittently embarrasses her.

The three walk into the examination room. Scully asks if an exam has been done and the Sheriff replies they thought they should "leave that up to the experts". This makes Scully smile. Mulder, jokingly, tells Scully to inform the Sheriff of her "theory". She goes on to explain that she now believes the killer is someone mimicking a vampire, having filed down their incisors to create fangs, and that a moulage casting should lead them to his identification. She continues, delving into different psychological conditions which someone mimicking a vampire may suffer from. The Sheriff eagerly agrees with her, goes so far as to say "you really know your stuff, Dana."

Back in the X-Files office, Mulder cuts in and stops Scully's story. Claiming it silly that he call her by her first name, as he did not know it. Scully continues, citing that this is the moment when Mulder has his "breakthrough".

Now back to the story , Mulder makes the discovery that the victim's shoes are untied. When Scully asks what that means, Mulder proceeds to ask the Sheriff about the town cemetery and asks to be taken there immediately. He tells Scully to perform a full autopsy in his absence and when asked what she is looking for, he simply replies "I don't know". And with a tip of the Sheriff's hat, the two leave.

Later on, Scully is in full Scrubs performing the requested autopsy. She weighs various body parts and then moves on to the contents of the victims stomach. She finds remnants of pizza, remarks at how good that sounds, and grudgingly continues.

In a voice over, Scully tells us that after finishing the autopsy she checked into the DAVEY CROCKETT MOTOR COURT to rest. Mulder quickly corrects her, saying the actual name was the SAM HOUSTON MOTOR LODGE.

On screen, DAVEY CROCKETT MOTOR COURT appears first, then is erased and replaced with SAM HOUSTON MOTOR LODGE as Mulder says this.

In her room, Scully puts money in the magic fingers, kicks off her shoes and falls onto the bed. Very soon after, Mulder enters the room, covered in mud. Scully tells him that Chloral hydrate ("knock out drops") is "that thing you didn't know you were looking for" as she found traces of it in the victim's system. She then asks him what happened to him, but he averts that question and asks who gave the Chloral Hydrate to the victim. Scully states that her theory is that their vampire did it in order to extract the victim's blood. Mulder asks what kind of vampire would do that and Scully triumphantly replies "exactly". Mulder then informs her that there is another dead tourist and that she's going to have to do another autopsy that same night. After some debate Scully dejectedly leaves, passing the pizza guy on her way out. We then see that the pizza boy is the same boy from the teaser, Ronnie Strickland.

Scully returns to do another autopsy, though not taking her time as with the first one. She repeatedly slaps the various organs on to the weight tray, going as quickly as she can. She finds Chloral Hydrate in this system of this victim as well and is about to move on to his stomach contents when her phone rings. She answers and hears nothing but heavy breathing. Thinking nothing of it, she hangs up and continues. In the victim's stomach she again finds pizza and then makes the connection between the Chloral Hydrate and the pizza, realizing that the pizza guy is, in fact, the murderer and that she left him with Mulder at the hotel.

Back at Scully's hotel room she kicks down the door and frantically searches for Mulder. She sees his feet on the floor on the other side of the bed. Just then, Ronnie stands up from the side of the bed and hisses, his eyes green and glowing. Scully fires at him as he leaps over the bed and knocks her down. He runs outside and she fires at him again from the floor. Scully walks over to check on Mulder who wakes up and recites the theme to SHAFT.

Back in the X-Files Office, Mulder denies having done so. Scully finishes her story, saying she pursued Ronnie on foot and that when she got to the clearing in the woods Mulder had gotten to him first and "overreacted". And that his fangs were fake. Mulder seems weary of her story, even though Scully tries to reassure him that they did stop a killer, though not a supernatural killer. Mulder accuses her of being afraid of the truth and says that that isn't how it happened at all. Scully then suggests that he then tell his side of the story.

Mulder's Version
Throughout Mulder's version Mulder acts very subdued and nice, while Scully is mean and uninterested (a definite exaggeration).

Again, the story begins in the X-Files Office. The conversation is very similar (talking about the cows and possible theories) except Scully whines about going to Texas and seems very agitated at the whole situation. When Mulder suggests vampires, Scully quickly dismisses the idea stating they don't exist and adds that it's "not that Mexican goat sucker, either".

The two arrive again at the PEACEFUL SLUMBERS FUNERAL HOME. Mulder quips that he heard something from the Mortician that Scully missed. Mulder asks him why this small town needs so many caskets and the Mortician answers "repeat business". He is the only one to find that funny. Sheriff Hartwell enters, and Scully lets out a "Hoo-boy" to show her admiration. The Sheriff looks exactly the same as in Scully's version except when he talks, we see he has big buck teeth.

Back in the X-Files Office, Mulder and Scully argue over whether or not the Sheriff had buck teeth. Scully asks how that is significant and Mulder states he is just trying to be thorough.

Luke.jpg
Outcome
In the morgue, the mortician removes the stake from Ronnie's body and walks away with his back turned. Suddenly, Ronnie inexplicably wakes up and attacks the mortician. In the office, Skinner informs the agents of the disappearance of Ronnie's body. Also, although the mortician is not dead, he was 'bitten on the neck'. The agents return to Texas.

They arrive at the cemetery at night. Sheriff Hartwell appears again, so Mulder has him stake out the cemetery with Scully while Mulder himself goes to 'check something out' at the RV Court where Ronnie is staying. Mulder reaches the motel and goes into Ronnie's room. He finds a coffin, containing a sleeping Ronnie. Suddenly Ronnie wakes up and attacks Mulder. Mulder manages to restrain him by sitting on top of the coffin lid and uses handcuffs to lock Ronnie in. Looking out the window, though, he sees all the villagers approaching in vampire form, with glowing green eyes. He goes outside to confront them, but they surround him and attack.

Meanwhile, Scully and the Sheriff are in the car in front of the cemetery. The Sheriff apologizes for Ronnie, saying that although most of them live normal lives, Ronnie finds it hard to restrain his urges. Scully talks about how she heard vampires are supposed to be charming, although she does not believe this because, as Mulder said, there are many kinds of vampire. When she looks back at the Sheriff, his eyes are glowing green.

Mulder and Scully both wake up after falling unconscious during their individual attacks. Neither of them have any bite marks, but all the villagers seem to have mysteriously disappeared. They return to the office and recount it all to Skinner, assuring him that it is 'exactly what happened.' When the screen turns black in preparation for the credits, Mulder's voice can be heard, quickly stating 'Except maybe about the buckteeth.'

References
Chaney, Dallas; Florida; Lugosi, Bela; Texas; vampire

Memorable Quotes
"Oh sh-" - Mulder after hammering a stake into Ronnie and learning that his fangs were fake

"Come on, Scully, get those little legs moving, come on!" - Mulder

"Have you noticed this man's SHOES ARE UNTIED?! - Mulder's great breakthrough

"Sheriff, do you have an old cemetery in town, off the beaten path, the creepier the better?" - Mulder

"Who's the black private dick who's the sex machine with all the chicks? Shaft! Can you dig it? They say this cat Shaft's a bad mother-shut your mouth! Talkin' about Shaft." - Mulder, under the influence of chloral hydrate

"I did not!" - Mulder, in response to Scully telling him he sang the SHAFT theme

"What do you mean you want me to do another autopsy?! And why do I have to do it right now? I just spent hours on my feet doing an autopsy, all for you. I do it all for you, Mulder. You know, I haven't eaten since 6:00 this morning, and all that was was a half a cream cheese bagel, and it wasn't even real cream cheese, it was light cream cheese! And now you want me to run off and do another autopsy?!" - Scully

"Dana?! C'mon, he never even knew your first name!" - Mulder

"Probable cause of death? Gee, that's a tough one..." - Coroner, staring at the spike sticking out of ronnie Stickland's chest

"4:54 p.m. begin autopsy on one white male, age 60, who is arguably having a worse time in Texas than I am...although not by much." - Scully

"Prison, Scully. Your cell mate's nickname is going to be Large Marge. She's going to read a lot of Gertrude Stein." - Mulder


Outside Skinner's office
Scully: (Hushed) Remember, keep telling him you were drugged!
Mulder: Will you shut up about that for a minute?
(Skinner pokes head out of office)
Skinner: Mulder, Scully.
Mulder: (Standing up fast, shouting) I was drugged!
(Silence)
Skinner: I want you to go back to Texas.

SCULLY: You're saying that I actually hit him two times?
MULDER: Square in the chest. No effect.
SCULLY: And then he sort of flew at me like a flying squirrel?
MULDER: Well, I don't think I'll use the phrase "flying squirrel" when I talk to Skinner, but... yeah, that's what happened.

"Beyond the Sea" is the thirteenth episode of the first season of The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on January 7, 1994

“The soul of Luther Boggs drowns in hell's sea of fire”
— Luther Lee Boggs

Synopsis
Beyond the Sea TV Ad.jpg
After Scully's father dies suddenly, her skepticism is put to the test by a prisoner on death row, who claims that – by using recently gained psychic powers – he can help her catch a kidnapper.


Summary
Teaser
Shortly after Christmas, Dana Scully's parents, Margaret and William Scully, are visiting her, having come to her apartment for dinner. After making Smalltalk with his wife and daughter, William Scully asks Dana, acting on secretive prompting from Margaret, how her work is going; she happily agrees it is going well. Her parents then leave, with Dana wishing them a safe journey home.

At 1:47 the next morning, Dana – having fallen asleep with her television on – awakens and is surprised to see her father sitting in a chair near her, silently mouthing words. She is momentarily distracted when her telephone begins to ring and, when she turns back to the chair, she sees there is no-one there, startling her even more. She races to the phone and answers the call to hear quiet grieving from her mother, who gradually explains Dana's father died of a massive coronary an hour ago. Still holding the phone to her ear, Dana looks back to the chair where she saw her father sitting; she is now completely shocked.

Act One
JACKSON UNIVERSITY
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA


Two smitten teens are caught while caressing one another.

At night, two smitten teens – Elizabeth Hawley and James Summers – are making out in a car parked on the grounds of Jackson University in Raleigh, North Carolina. A darkened figure holding a flashlight knocks on the car door. The man behaves like a police officer, instructing Jim to exit the vehicle and show his identification. Jim steps out of the car but becomes suspicious as the man shines his light in Jim's face and is dressed far too casually to be a cop. Just as Jim demands to see some identification, the man strikes him in the face with the flashlight, causing Liz to scream in horror.

WASHINGTON, D.C.


Mulder shows Scully some paperwork pertaining to the recent abduction.

Two days after the teens' abduction, Agent Mulder is in his basement office at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., avidly reading a criminal profile he wrote about Luther Lee Boggs, when Scully enters, joking that the last time she saw Mulder so engrossed was when he was reading the Adult Video News. Despite being concerned about how her father's death is affecting her, Mulder lets Scully know about the recent abduction as well as evidence that there is likely only five days before the two kidnapped teens are killed. Mulder also tells Scully about Boggs, a killer on death row who has recently claimed to have psychically obtained information regarding the abduction. Scully realizes Mulder is unusually skeptical about Boggs' claims, believing they are an attempt to escape his imminent fate, and Mulder explains that Boggs alleges to have become psychic as a result of a temporary visit to the gas chamber, partly due to Mulder's profile. Additionally, he details Boggs' inherently violent past, subsequently notifying Scully that Boggs has requested to speak with him personally. Scully is eager to go with Mulder but her father's funeral is soon and she takes Mulder's advice to take some time off, Mulder cupping the side of her face in one hand as he apologizes for her loss before leaving the office. She looks up X-File X-167512, concerning "visionary encounters [with] the dead", but quickly returns it to its filing cabinet.


Members of the Scully family attend a funeral.

At the funeral, a man standing on a little boat casts her father's ashes into the sea while the song "Beyond the Sea" plays and a small group watches, the observers including Dana and her mother, the latter of whom is very tearful. Both women refer to the Navy background of Dana's father – her mother implying that only family are currently present – and, although Dana acknowledges that her parents were both disappointed that she chose a different career path than medicine, she is curious to know if her father was at all proud of her. Her saddened mother simply reminds Dana that "he was your father."

CENTRAL PRISON
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA


Holding a scrap of clothing, Luther Lee Boggs apparently experiences an extremely powerful vision.

While witnessed by Mulder and Scully in a holding cell of Raleigh's Central Prison, Boggs – who bears the word "kill" on the knuckles of one hand and "kiss" on his other – starts to behave as if he is assuming the identities of other people. Mulder decides to test him and hands the prisoner a blue scrap of clothing. Holding this material, Boggs appears to experience a painful vision of James Summers and his torture by the kidnapper. Mulder takes the fabric back and reveals the surprising news that the scrap is from Mulder's own New York Knicks t-shirt, being entirely unrelated to the kidnapping. He leaves the room but, as Scully is about to follow him out, Boggs apparently assumes the identity of her father, first softly singing "Beyond the Sea" to himself, then physically appearing to her as her father (albeit wearing Boggs' prison clothes) and next asking her – in the voice of her father (once his appearance has returned to that of Boggs) – if she received his message. Clearly disturbed by this, Scully hurries out of the cell, where she meets up with Mulder. He is ignorant of the factor that has caused Scully to become emotionally distressed and is led by her to assume that she is merely being affected by her father's passing. Mulder recommends she drive to their motel while he intends to continue interrogating the prisoner, still suspecting that Boggs' claims of psychic ability are a scam but hopeful that he knows where the teens are. The sight of Boggs still quietly singing "Beyond the Sea" and being led through a nearby corridor spurs Scully on her way.

She is later driving, in the darkness of night, when she comes across several landmarks that match descriptions which Boggs gave during his seemingly psychic vision of the teens' location. These clues lead her to a condemned warehouse where, on the ground, she finds a small charm as well as telltale signs that the kidnapper has been in the building.

Act Two
Alone in the agents' motel, Scully sees a flash of her father's face, recalling her earlier vision of him. Mulder arrives with news that Liz's family has confirmed the charm belonged to her and that police are searching the warehouse but have not yet uncovered any further evidence. He notifies Scully he has been interrogating Boggs for the past five hours and jokes that – after three of those hours – the prisoner complied with his request to summon up the spirit of Jimi Hendrix. The atmosphere of the agents' conversation becomes much more downbeat when Scully admits to having lied to the police about how she found the warehouse, now revealing the truth to Mulder. He is angered that Scully has apparently believed the prisoner and advises her to back away from her work if the death of her father is compromising her. Mulder is adamant Boggs knows where the teens are and advises Scully that their only advantage in the convicted killer's stratagem is time, showing her a newspaper article which demonstrates their time is running out.

CENTRAL PRISON
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA


Scully is puzzled when Mulder shows her a faked newspaper.

Mulder shows Scully another newspaper, this one reporting the teens have been found. Even though Scully is amazed at this news, Mulder explains the article is bogus and an attempt to fool Boggs. Mulder also mentions that, later in the day, the prisoner will be granted his weekly phone privileges, which Mulder hopes the killer will use to contact his accomplice.

The faked newspaper is later passed to Boggs through a slot in his cell door. On a video monitor, Boggs can be seen returning to his bunk with the publication. Mulder and Scully are watching this monitor and Mulder notes that Boggs' phone privileges will be in two hours.


Boggs uses his phone privileges to call Mulder.

After these hours have elapsed, the agents are watching the monitor with a few prison wardens as Boggs is taken to a booth with a telephone. A phone in the observation room rings and, despite Mulder asking for the phone to be switched off, Scully realizes it is Mulder's own cell phone that is ringing. He answers his phone to discover the caller is Boggs himself, who – on the monitor – looks up at the camera and asks Mulder why he does not believe the killer's claims, even though Scully does. Claiming Scully believes (like everyone else) that Boggs has the teens, Mulder demands to know where they have been taken. Boggs simply goes limp, however, and Scully cautions Mulder that – due to their lack of time – they have no choice but to deal with Boggs.

Having been returned to his cell, Boggs describes the kidnapper to the FBI agents, starting by saying he is tempted by the prospect of becoming a killer. As the kidnapper assaults Liz, Boggs once again dramatically details the scene. He makes mention of a small boathouse on Lake Jordan and warns Mulder to avoid a particular white cross, cryptically adding that he (referring to himself as "we") sees Mulder down, with his blood spilling on the white cross. Now equipped with more information about the kidnapper, the agents walk out of Boggs' cell.


While tending to a shot Mulder, Scully notices the significance of their surroundings.

In the small boathouse which Boggs described, the kidnapper is about to attack Liz when he senses motion outside; Mulder and Scully have come with FBI backup. The agents, each wearing an FBI uniform jacket, raid the boathouse, soon finding Liz, gagged and bound. Mulder is shot by the kidnapper, hiding inside a small powerboat that then accelerates away from the docks, as Scully comes rushing to Mulder from Liz's position. She begins to tend to Mulder but notices the large wooden beams of the boathouse are white and crossed over one another, with wide metal straps that have rusted to the extent they seem like streaks of blood.

Act Three
Scully watches as Mulder is wheeled into a hospital by the ambulance technicians who brought him there. As the medical staff rush to save him, their voices echo in Scully's ears and she closes her eyes.


Agent Thomas shows a series of photographs to the hospitalized Elizabeth Hawley.

In another room of the hospital, Agent Thomas later shows Liz Hawley a series of black-and-white Polaroid photographs while she lies in bed. Each of these photographs show a possible suspect and, when shown one in particular, Liz looks away from the sight, indicating the subject of the image is her former kidnapper. Agent Thomas hands the photograph to Scully, who stands nearby and immediately looks at the image.

In a corridor outside this ward, Agent Thomas tells Scully about the kidnapper, who has been identified as Lucas Henry. After Thomas mentions that Henry once witnessed an auto accident which resulted in the deaths of his mother and high school girlfriend and that the seven-year anniversary of the accident is in three days, Scully voices her belief that these facts explain the deadline regarding the still-missing James Summers. Agent Thomas also tells her Boggs is suspected of having committed his last five murders with a partner, who police firmly believe was Lucas Henry.

Scully rushes into Boggs' cell, convinced he has set up the kidnapping with Henry, and furiously insists that, if Mulder dies due to his injury (for which Scully blames Boggs), she will execute the prisoner herself. In an attempt to make her believe him, Boggs first appears to her as Mulder and then seemingly conjures up one of her childhood memories while behaving as if he is channeling her soul from when she was a young girl, but Scully responds to both with firm disbelief. After she – on the verge of tears and speaking in a quivering voice – vows to believe Boggs if he lets her talk with a particular male whom she does not name, Boggs apparently takes on her father's identity but not his appearance, this time. Vehemently, Boggs fights back his change of identity, refusing to let anyone talk to any of the souls he can seemingly summon until after he has received a deal to save him from the gas chamber, and characterizes his dread of the chamber. He then lengthily recalls the experience of being sent there, including his alleged encounter with many souls who witnessed him being led to the chamber and rushed into his body while he was strapped to the chair.

A black-and-white depiction of Boggs' first visit to the gas chamber, including apparitions of souls, is shown at this point. It accompanies his description of the experience for Scully.

Boggs tells Scully about the cold and dark place.

Boggs describes the source of these souls as a "cold, dark place" and claims Mulder is now looking in on that place. Scully replies the place may be cold and dark for Boggs but is not so for both Mulder and her father. Boggs and Scully both repeat their opposing viewpoints, with Scully denying that she believes him (which Boggs actively doubts) and the prisoner quietly but firmly insisting on a deal. As she makes her way out of the cell, Boggs tells her that, if he dies, the kidnapped boy will also go to the cold and dark place. Visibly shaken by their conversation, Scully exits the cell while watched by Boggs.

Act Four
CENTRAL PRISON
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA

In his prison office, Warden Joseph Cash informs Scully no deal will be made with Boggs, mentioning he himself is certain in his belief that Boggs is orchestrating the kidnapping. The Warden also declares the prisoner will be sent to death when his time comes, which the Warden believes is overdue.

With no sign of Lucas Henry or Jim Summers, Scully later worries (to the hospitalized Mulder) that time is running out. The agents discuss whether Boggs can be believed but Scully ultimately takes note when Mulder strongly advises her not to deal with Boggs, suspecting the prisoner is seeking to gain the next best thing to revenge for Mulder having placed him on death row by claiming Scully as his last victim.

Boggs is later led to a holding cell of the prison, where Scully lies to him that she has been able to arrange his deal. The prisoner profusely thanks her and dramatically notifies her of Jim's location, revealing he is being held in an old Blue Devil Brewery and that Lucas Henry is preparing to kill him. Scully is about to admit to Boggs that she lied to him regarding his deal but he finishes her sentence for her, admitting he already knew she had; he also adds that he knows she tried to acquire such a deal for him. Before Scully exits the cell, Boggs cautions her to avoid the devil and to leave him to follow Henry to the devil, rather than doing so herself.


Next to a wall bearing a painted blue devil, Lucas Henry falls through a wooden catwalk.

Seething with anger and wielding an ax, Lucas Henry is getting ready to use the ax on Jim Summers when he is interrupted from doing so by the arrival of an armed detachment of FBI agents, led by Scully. She tries to persuade Henry to drop his weapon and he initially seems compliant but he then raises the ax above him, preparing to throw it, so Scully shoots him. Her shot merely wounds Henry in his chest, however, and a chase ensues, culminating in her alone following him into a room where he is standing on a catwalk. Scully lowers her gun when she sees a giant blue painted devil behind Henry and a section of wooden boarding gives way under him, causing him to fall to his death.

This scene ends with a close-up of the blue devil's face that fades away, replaced with the face of Luther Lee Boggs.
Scully once more pays a visit to Boggs' cell, where he asks if she has come to wish him goodbye. In response, she lengthily acknowledges the help he has been, crediting him for having saved the lives of both Jim Summers and herself. Boggs steps close to her face, the two individuals separated by the bars of the prisoner's cell, and admits to having realized that the reason Scully has returned is to hear her father's message. Although Boggs does not give her that message yet, he tells her she will be granted the message if she comes as a witness to his execution that night.


A fearful Boggs is led to his execution by Warden Joseph Cash and others.

Later, Boggs' last meal is taken to him and he sees a family of souls clustered nearby. Secured in handcuffs and chains, he is forcibly led through a corridor where he sees souls lining the walls; he begins to turn away from this sight but is guided onward against his will. He is then finally strapped to the chair inside of the gas chamber. Warden Cash asks if he wishes to make a statement, while a priest reads the Lord's Prayer to him. Boggs denies the offer and, following a gesture from Warden Cash, a lethal chemical reaction is deliberately begun. Whilst breathing in resultant deadly fumes, Boggs wears an expression of total terror.


Scully admits to Mulder she is afraid to believe.

In Mulder's hospital ward, Scully starts to realize the entire case could have been arranged by Boggs. She is interrupted by Mulder, who is curious to know why – even after all the sights and evidence she has encountered – she still has such difficulty with believing. Although Scully admits the reason is that she is afraid to do so, Mulder asks her in disbelief if she couldn't overcome the fear, even if it meant learning what her father had been trying to tell her. She finally accepts she already knows this information, however, and tells Mulder that the reason she knows is that the man they are both talking about was her father.

"Sleepless" Is The 4th Episode Of The Second Season Aired In The United States On October 7th 1994.

Sleepless introduced the recurring characters Alex Krycek and X (although his voice can be heard in The Host, this marks his first actual appearance).

Synopsis
Mulder and Krycek investigate a series of murders perpetrated by telepathic Vietnam War veteran Augustus Cole.

Summary
NEW YORK CITY
11:23 P.M.


Dr. Grissom struggles to extinguish an imagined fire.

Dr. Saul Grissom awakes to find smoke seeping through his front door. He opens the door to find a blaze has rendered his hallway impassable. Panicked, he calls 911. The operator tells him that fire units are being dispatched. Grissom grabs a fire extinguisher and tries to fight the fire, but the extinguisher is too weak. As firemen ascend the building's stairwell, Augustus "Preacher" Cole descends. The firemen breach Grissom's apartment and find no evidence of fire, but Grissom is dead.


"There's a mistake here; there's been another agent assigned to the case."

A cassette and article are delivered to Fox Mulder's apartment indicating Grissom's bizarre death, and Mulder asks Walter Skinner to be assigned to the case. Skinner assigns Mulder and Alex Krycek to investigate. Mulder discovers that Grissom's work involved manipulating sleep patterns. He also surreptitiously arranges for Dana Scully to perform Grissom's autopsy; she relates that the body exhibits only secondary characteristics of being burned alive – that it is as if only "his body believed that it was burning."

Cole and Henry Willig, members of the same squad in the Vietnam War, meet in Willig's apartment. Cole projects the image of charred Vietnamese civilians, armed with M-16s; they raise their weapons and kill Willig.

Willig's postmortem reveals characteristics similar to Grissom's – both bodies reacted to circumstances that weren't occurring. Mulder discovers that both Grissom and Willig were stationed at Parris Island, and that Willig was assigned to Special Recon Force J-7, along with Cole. Mulder and Krycek investigate Cole at a psychiatric ward, only to discover he has escaped; they learn, however, that Cole could disrupt other patients' sleep cycles.


Willig's victims return.

Alone, Mulder meets with X, who provides him with top-secret documents detailing a military program designed to eliminate a soldier's need to sleep – a project with which Grissom was involved. He reveals that Cole hasn't slept in twenty-four years, and refers Mulder to an undisclosed survivor of SRF J-7: Salvatore Matola. Mulder hides the documents in his car.

Krycek reports to Mulder that the police have Cole cornered; when they arrive on the scene, however, two officers have shot one another, and Cole has escaped.

Mulder faxes X's documents to Scully, and hypothesizes to her that Cole has found a way to project his unconscious – to externalize his dreams.

Mulder and Krycek meet with Salvatore Matola. He recalls SRF J-7's time as an AWOL unit in Vietnam, recounting the murder of civilians by his platoon. Matola also tells them that Dr. Grissom and Dr. Francis Girardi are responsible for performing the experiment on SRF J-7 that allows them, like Cole, to never need sleep.

Mulder determines that Girardi is Cole's next target; they arrive at the train station where Girardi is expected. Mulder finds Girardi, but Cole shoots both Girardi and Mulder. Krycek finds Mulder unconscious, and not wounded – Krycek regards Mulder suspiciously, as he has no evidence of either Girardi or Cole's presence. Unperturbed, Mulder insists on reviewing the station's security cameras, where they discover an anomaly on track 17.

Girardi is badly wounded by Cole's projection of SRF J-7; they attack him with scalpels. Mulder and Krycek discover Girardi's body, moments after the attack; Krycek stays with Girardi and Mulder pursues Cole. Mulder finds Cole, and tries to persuade him to testify against the military, but moments into their conversation, Krycek appears. Against Mulder's pleas, Krycek, believing Cole is armed (though it's merely a bible that he's holding), shoots him, killing him.


"Every problem has a solution."

When he gets back to the car, Mulder discovers X' top-secret document is gone; Scully's copy of the document has also been stolen. It is revealed that Krycek has stolen Mulder's copy, and that Krycek reports directly to the Cigarette Smoking Man. Krycek remarks that separating Mulder and Scully was a mistake, as it's served only to strengthen their resolve, and that Scully is a significant problem, much more so than ever given credit for.

Now that The X-Files revival has been confirmed (we’re getting six new episodes in January of 2016, which even made David Duchovny weep with joy), many have begun their requisite binge-watching of all nine seasons. What viewers might not have realized the first time around is that many episodes of the hit sci-fi drama were based on real government conspiracies, cover-ups, and paranormal events. Sometimes life is stranger than fiction.


(1) The Erlenmeyer Flask
In this episode, Mulder and Scully investigate the case of a woman full of poisonous gas. The woman was in an accident, and when paramedics inserted a needle into her chest, the gas overcame them.
An incident very similar to this occurred in California in the early ’90s. A woman entered the ER, and when she had blood drawn a strange ammonia-like scent emerged from her body and made the entire emergency room staff ill. She died a few days later, and while it was never determined precisely what caused her to have toxic blood, the woman’s autopsy suggested that she probably had been using dimethyl sulfoxide as a home remedy, which turned into dimethyl sulfate in her blood when she was defibrillated.


(2) Home
Made one of the Files’ most famous episodes because networks refused to air it, “Home” dealt with issues of incest and abuse in a small Pennsylvania town. While the episode’s characters and story were fictional, they were based on the Ward Family. The Ward brothers had notably low IQs, were illiterate and hermits.
When the eldest brother was found dead one morning, his family became the center of a murder trial. The townsfolk maintained that the Ward family — while strange — was harmless. Whether or not they were guilty, the charges were dropped when it was realized the brothers had been coerced into a signing a statement of guilt– which they couldn’t have understood due to their illiteracy.


(3) Space
Series creator Chris Carter wanted to write this episode after seeing news reports about “the face on Mars.” Exploring the phenomenon of pareidolia, this episode also used a lot of NASA stock footage and capitalized on the disappearance of the Mars Observer around the time of the episode’s production.
In the episode, the human space face was malevolent and murderous. In real life, it was probably just sand.


(4) Duane Barry
Scully and Mulder spend a considerable amount of time interviewing and investigating the case of Duane Barry, who believes he was abducted by aliens. Medical doctor Scully discovers that his frontal lobe was damaged by a gunshot wound decades earlier, which helps explain Barry’s odd beliefs.
Chris Carter notes that many aspects of Barry’s story and character were taken from the case of Phineas Gage, the man who survived being impaled by a railroad spike only to have his entire personality shift as a result of the brain injury he experienced.


(5) Irresistible
One of the series’ most memorable episodes actually had no paranormal elements at all, just a serial killer taunting Scully named Donnie Pfaster. The character was originally written as a neophiliac, but the network refused to air an episode with that extreme of a plot. Still, the character was heavily based on Jeffrey Dahmer and the experiences that his hostages reported during their capture, including apparent “shape shifting” by the killer–which was integrated into the episode in a literal sense.


(6) Our Town
This memorable episode on cannibalism at a chicken factory wasn’t based on a real event (well, that we know of). But the prion disease that people got from ingesting human flesh is based on a real condition: Kuru is a disease that the Fore people of Papua New Guinea are vulnerable to because they practice cannibalism as part of their cultural rituals.
It’s a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, meaning that when the prion found in humans is ingested, it causes neurological symptoms. The name comes from the Fore word for “shaking”, which is the hallmark symptom of the disease.


(7) Oubliette
The story of a young girl’s stalking and kidnapping was influenced by a kidnapping/murder case that was receiving ample media attention when the episode aired. 13-year-old Polly Klaas had been abducted during a slumber party and was eventually strangled, and California news outlets were in a frenzy to follow the case. Since The X-Files ‘early seasons were filmed in Vancouver, the writers and cast were very aware of the case, and the characters of Lucy and Amy were certainly influenced by Klaas.


(8) Nisei/731
This two-part episode arc was based on the real Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army. In the mid-90s, many were learning about the atrocities the unit committed during World War II, and Carter felt that the stories of human experimentation during wartime almost constituted a real-life X-File. Unit 731 was not tried for war crimes despite the fact that they subjected humans to biochemical warfare agents, medical torture and rape and forced pregnancies and vivisection.
Many countries, including the United States, agreed not to try the researchers at Unit 731 in exchange for the information and data gathered from their studies, much of which went directly into the development of the U.S. biological warfare program.


(9) Folie à Deux
This episode took its title and concept from a real-life psychological phenomenon where two people share a single delusion. The phrase is French for “madness shared by two.” Written by veteran X-File’s writer Vince Gilligan (of Breaking Bad fame), this episode was inspired by the terrifying concept of seeing monsters that no one else appears to be able to see.


(10) Tunguska/Terma
One of the parts of the major episode of the “myth arc”, Tunguska was based on actual events that took place in Russia in 1908. A massive explosion occurred in a forest near the Polkamania Tunguska River in Siberia. The explosion continues to perplex scientists because the source of the explosion appeared to be something very large and extraterrestrial that had crashed into the Earth.
Eyewitnesses report seeing an object careering through the sky that morning, but once it hit the ground, there was no trace evidence of anything making impact. Many have termed Tunguska “The Russian Roswell”, believing that it was the country’s most notable extraterrestrial encounter.


(11) The Sixth Extinction/Amor Fati
The “ancient astronaut” theory played quite heavily into this story arc that started off the series’ sixth season. The theory postulates that aliens have visited Earth and made contact with humans many times in the very distant past of human history, implying that the concept of God was brought to Earth by extraterrestrials. The hypothesis supposes that humans perceived the advanced technology of these ancient aliens as divinity.

"Pilot" is the pilot episode of The X-Files. It first aired in the United States and Canada on September 10, 1993. The Pilot introduced the mythology arc, which would be the primary storyline for the rest of the series.


“The government knows about it, and I got to know what they're protecting. Nothing else matters to me”
— Fox Mulder

Summary

The Promo Ad for Pilot episode.

Dana Scully is assigned to work with Fox Mulder, an FBI agent with an interest in the paranormal. Together, they travel to Oregon where Mulder believes several teenagers have been abducted by aliens.

Synopsis
Teaser
Dressed in a nightgown, a young woman scrambles through a darkened forest at night. She stumbles into a small clearing and sees an immense light growing over a nearby hill. As the surrounding leaves begin to whirl around the woman in a vortex, a figure approaches from the light. The figure stands over her as the light engulfs them both.

COLLUM NATIONAL FOREST,
NORTHWEST OREGON

The next morning, Detective Miles and Coroner John Truitt inspect the woman's corpse with a team of coroners. Truitt shows Detective Miles two small bumps on the woman's lower back. A trail of dried blood runs from the woman's nose to her mouth. Detective Miles recognizes the young woman as Karen Swenson, since she used to go to school with his son. As Miles walks away in a hurry, Truitt calls after him. The coroner asks whether the woman and the detective's son were in the high school class of 1989 together and implies that other members of her class have died in the same way as Karen Swenson.

Act One
FBI HEADQUARTERS,
WASHINGTON, DC


Special Agent Dana Scully.


Special Agent Fox Mulder.

Special Agent Dana Scully enters the FBI building and reports to a receptionist. She then walks through a set of offices until she comes to Division Chief Scott Blevins' office. Inside, Blevins questions her about her past work while a mysterious man smoking a cigarette silently watches. Scully is a medical doctor who has been working within the FBI for a little more than two years. Blevins notifies her that she is being assigned to work with Fox Mulder on the X-Files, a group of cases that involve paranormal or inexplicable phenomena.

In the building's basement, Scully meets Mulder in his office. Mulder shows her several slides of Karen Swenson's dead body and reveals that a strange organic substance has been found near the two marks on the woman's back. He also shows her two slides of bodies found in Sturgis, South Dakota and Shamrock, Texas, where both the two spots and the substance in the surrounding tissue were found. Although Mulder seems to believe that the cases are somehow linked to aliens, Scully argues that science will uncover a more logical explanation. Mulder tells her that three of Karen Swenson's classmates have also died in mysterious circumstances and states that he and Scully will leave to investigate the deaths early the next morning.

On an airplane to Oregon, Mulder lies sprawled across a row of seats, with his eyes closed and headphones in his ears. Wearing glasses, Scully meanwhile looks at newspaper clippings about the dead teenagers. She focuses on the name "Dr. Nemman". Upon making its descent, the plane suddenly starts to shake violently but eventually normalizes. Mulder nonchalantly concludes the temporary vibrations must mean they are in the right place.

Afterwards, Mulder drives a rental car into Bellefleur, Oregon as Scully reads the relevant X-file. She is surprised to learn that the case has already been investigated, information that Mulder did not disclose. He explains that the FBI became involved after the first three deaths, but left one week later without explanation. According to Scully, no unidentified marks are noted in the autopsy reports of the first three victims, although those reports were signed by a different medical examiner than the latest victim. Mulder is impressed by Scully's observations, but adds that they won't know whether the original medical examiner is a suspect until they have exhumed one of the first three bodies. The agents will likely then have a better idea whether the examiner intentionally missed the strange marks, or if Karen Swenson was the first victim with the spots. Suddenly, the car's radio powers up and the agents hear a high-pitched noise. Mulder stops the car and uses an aerosol from the luggage compartment to spray a large, red "X" on the road directly behind the vehicle. When he returns to the car, Mulder states that the incident was probably only trivial.

COASTAL NORTHWEST
OREGON MARCH 7, 1993

When the agents arrive at their destination, they meet with John Truitt and an assistant coroner. The group begins to discuss arrangements for the exhumation but are interrupted when another car arrives and the County Medical Examiner, who autopsied the first three bodies, steps out. The examiner, Doctor Jay Nemman, struggles to stop his daughter from interfering and protests against the FBI's use of the cemetery. He also reveals that he and his family have just come back to Bellefleur after a recent holiday, which explains why he didn't conduct the autopsy on Karen Swenson. When Mulder mentions the tissue sample taken from the victim's body, Nemman believes that the agents are insinuating that he missed something in the original autopsies. Eventually, the man leaves at his daughter's insistence.


The strange corpse found in Ray Soames' coffin.

Mulder and Scully return to the grave site and discuss Ray Soames, the third victim whose body they are exhuming. A crane lifts Soames' coffin out of the ground, but a harness attached to the vehicle suddenly breaks and the coffin rolls down a hill. Mulder runs toward the coffin, to see it has been broken open by the fall. Against Truitt's advice, Mulder opens the coffin to find a desiccated, mummified body lying inside. The corpse is definitely not human and Mulder demands that the coffin be resealed.

Act Two
10:56 PM

While examining the corpse, Scully determines that the body is mammalian - possibly an orangutan or chimpanzee. Excited that the body may have been alien in origin, Mulder asks Scully to conduct a complete analysis of the corpse. Scully, who thinks that the presence of the body was someone's practical joke, reluctantly agrees to comply with Mulder's request.

Later, Scully finds a small metallic implant in the body's nasal cavity. Mulder knocks at her door and asks if she wants to join him on a run. Scully tiredly declines. When Mulder wonders if she has identified the implant in Soames' nose yet, she replies negatively and bids Mulder goodnight.

RAYMON COUNTY
STATE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL

Mulder and Scully walk with Doctor Glass, who confirms that Ray Soames was a patient at the hospital. Glass claims that, under his supervision, Soames was treated for clinical schizophrenia for a year. According to the doctor, Soames appeared to suffer from a form of post-traumatic stress and couldn't grasp reality. Similar cases that Glass has treated have included several of Soames' classmates, two of whom are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital. The patients, Billy Miles and Peggy O'Dell, have lived in the hospital for four years. When Scully asks if she and Mulder can speak to them, Glass replies that the agents might have difficulty questioning the patients, especially Billy Miles.


Mulder and Scully visit Billy Miles.

Inside the hospital, Billy lies in a bed unresponsive as Glass and the agents enter. The doctor explains that Miles is experiencing a "waking coma" as a result of a car accident on State Road in which Peggy O'Dell was also involved. Peggy sits in a wheelchair next to Billy Miles, reading to him. The doctor asks her if she will talk with the visitors but she replies that Billy wants her to read to him at the moment. When Mulder asks the doctor for permission to conduct a detailed medical examination of Peggy O'Dell, she throws her book down and starts wheeling around. A nurse approaches and tries to calm her, but she starts screaming as her nose begins to bleed. When she falls out of her wheelchair, Mulder takes the opportunity to lift up the back of her shirt, confirming his suspicion that she has the spots. He helps Glass to lift the girl back into her wheelchair shortly before Scully angrily rushes out of the room.

Outside, Mulder hurriedly follows her down a flight of steps. He realizes that Scully is upset because she thinks he knows more about the strange marks than she does. Eventually, Mulder admits to his belief that the teenagers were abducted by extraterrestrials, a theory that Scully thinks is crazy. She comments that there must be another explanation which can be proved scientifically. Mentioning that all four victims were found in or near the woods, Scully wonders what they were doing there.

At night, the agents walk through the forest where the latest victim died. They carry flashlights and are dressed in informal clothing. After they separate, Mulder looks at a compass he is carrying, which is spinning wildly. In the clearing where Karen Swenson died, Scully notices a patch of strange dirt on the ground. She picks up some of the dirt and puts it in her pocket. When a low rumbling begins, Scully removes a gun from her pocket and leaves the clearing. She approaches the source of the noise, where a light shines through the trees. A humanoid silhouette from out of the light comes toward her.

Act Three
The silhouette is actually Detective Miles. He doesn't reveal his name, but states only that he is employed by the Raymon County Sheriff's Department and warns the agents that they are on private property. They are forced to leave.

Driving through a storm in the darkness of night, Scully shows Mulder the dirt that she gathered earlier. Mulder believes the dirt might be from a campfire, while Scully theorizes that the teenagers may have been part of a cult and that the man they just encountered is aware of that. Suddenly, there is a blinding flash of light and the car loses power. Mulder, who looked at his watch just before the incident, says they've lost nine minutes of time. Extremely excited, Mulder exits the car and discovers that they are almost exactly at the red cross he previously marked in the road. He excitedly explains to Scully that people who have sighted UFOs often report time loss. However, Scully argues that time can't just disappear, as it is constant throughout the universe. Their car then restarts by itself and the headlamps light up.

In her motel room, Scully writes her report, concluding that she cannot validate nor substantiate Mulder's claim that they experienced a loss of time. When the power goes out due to the storm, Scully begins to get ready to take a shower but notices three spots on her back.

Worried that the spots may be the same marks that the teenagers had, Scully visits Mulder in his motel room, where he determines that the spots are only mosquito bites. Scully is so relieved that she leans on Mulder's chest and he puts his arms around her.


In his motel room, Mulder tells Scully about some of his personal history.

Later, Mulder tells her that his sister's disappearance when he was twelve tore his family apart. He continues by recalling that he left America as soon as he could and attended Oxford University, before being recruited by the Bureau. He then discovered the X-files and became fascinated by them. He tells Scully that he has been trying to access classified government information, but someone at a higher level of power has been blocking him from doing so. The only reason Mulder has been able to continue his work is that he has made connections in Congress. He suspects Scully is part of an agenda to stop him, but she swears that she is not and tries to convince him to trust her. Mulder leans forward and tells Scully that a Dr. Heitz Werber has taken him through regression hypnosis to access his repressed memories of the night his sister disappeared. He reveals to Scully what he can recall from that night. Mulder believes that his sister was abducted by extraterrestrials and that the government is aware of the existence of the aliens. He also states that the only thing that matters to him is finding out whatever the government is protecting. Mulder then receives a strange phone call from an anonymous female caller, who says that Peggy O'Dell is dead.

RURAL HWY. 133
BELLEFLEUR, OREGON

When the agents arrive at the scene of the car accident that killed Peggy O'Dell, a driver tells Mulder that the girl ran in front of his car, despite normally being in a wheelchair. Scully takes a look at the girl's body. Her face is bloodied and her watch has stopped at the same time that the agents experienced time loss. Mulder tells Scully that the autopsy lab has been trashed and the body that the agents exhumed has been stolen. They leave the scene in the car they arrived in.

Mulder and Scully return to their motel to find it has burnt down, along with all their files and photos. A terrified girl, Theresa Nemman, rushes up to the agents and asks for their protection.

In a diner, Theresa speaks with Mulder and Scully. She reveals that she often finds herself in the woods with no recollection of how she got there. She fears that she might die, like most of her classmates. Mulder realizes that Theresa is the medical examiner's daughter and that she was the anonymous caller who told him that Peggy O'Dell had died. She admits that her father is covering things up and that she has the same spots as the other teenagers. Suddenly, her nose starts bleeding, moments before her father enters with the same detective who warned the agents to leave the forest. Mulder and Scully learn that the detective is Billy Miles' father and are unable to stop the men from taking Theresa home.

Scully thinks the medical examiner and the detective are aware of the murderer's identity and are responsible for the destruction of the autopsy lab and the agents' motel rooms. However, she is unsure as to the reason the corpse was stolen if the men are indeed responsible.


Mulder and Scully stand in a graveyard, getting drenched in rain.

Mulder and Scully go to the cemetery but discover that the bodies of the other two victims have also been exhumed. Mulder suddenly realizes the killer's true identity - Billy Miles, the boy in the hospital.

Act Four
5:07 AM

Scully can hardly believe what Mulder is suggesting, but he claims that recent strange events, such as Peggy O'Dell dying at exactly the same time that he and Scully lost nine minutes, fit the profile of alien abduction. Mulder theorizes that tests were being conducted on the victims that left the marks found on their backs but the experiments caused a genetic mutation, explaining the disfigured body in Ray Soames' coffin. In regard to the loss of nine minutes that he and Scully witnessed, Mulder believes that conventional time stopped and that an alien impulse, which also caused Billy Miles to take the victims into the forest, actually took control of time itself. Scully laughs almost hysterically with Mulder, finding his theory preposterous but believing it nevertheless.

In an attempt to confirm or disprove their suspicions, Mulder and Scully return to the hospital where Billy Miles is undergoing treatment. Although his nurse claims that his mental condition has rendered him incapable of walking, Scully shows Mulder dirt on the soles of the boy's feet. She takes a sample of the dirt shortly before she leaves the room with Mulder.

Outside, Scully claims to be certain that Billy Miles was in the same forest as the victims. She explains that the dirt she has just discovered matches the strange earth she found in Collum National Forest earlier. Unfortunately, the sample of strange earth was destroyed in the motel fire and, therefore, can not be used to make a comparison. The agents consequently decide to return to the woods, in order to retrieve another sample.

When Mulder and Scully arrive at the edge of the forest, they notice Detective Miles' car. A distant scream draws them into the woods. Scully follows Mulder as they run toward the source of the noise, but is suddenly ambushed by Detective Miles and falls to the ground. The detective stands over Scully and reminds her of his previous warning to stay away. He then runs toward Mulder and holds him at gunpoint. Mulder accuses Miles of always knowing what was happening and warns that his son is about to kill another girl. Persuaded by Mulder, Detective Miles rushes towards his son, who holds Theresa Nemman in his arms. The detective urges his son to put her down and raises his gun when Billy Miles does not comply. Mulder knocks the detective over, just as he is about to fire his gun, alerting Scully to their location.


Billy Miles lifts Theresa Nemman up to a bright light above.

Mulder and the detective witness Billy Miles lift Theresa Nemman in his arms, as leaves whirl around him and a bright light shines down from above. The light eventually engulfs them all, as Scully watches from a distance. After the light dissipates, Billy has no memory of his actions and is confused as to what has happened. The spots on his back are gone and he is no longer crippled by the deleterious effects of a "waking coma." Unlike the other victims, Theresa Nemman is unharmed. Mulder rushes away to find Scully and, when they meet, he seems extremely moved by the event he has just witnessed.

Act Five
MARCH 22, 1993
FBI HEADQUARTERS,
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Billy Miles undergoes hypnosis performed by Heitz Werber. Mulder is in the room with him, while Scully watches from an anteroom through a one-way mirror. Division Chief Blevins, the Cigarette-Smoking Man and the third man from earlier are also in the anteroom. According to Billy Miles, he and his friends were having a party in the woods to celebrate their graduation when he first saw the bright light. It transported him to a location that he calls "the testing place," where a group told him to gather the others so they could do tests. The group put an implant in his nasal cavity, and he would wait for the light to give their orders to him. They assured him that it would be okay and that no-one would know. However, the tests didn't work and they wanted everything destroyed. Although they said they were leaving, Billy is now afraid that they're coming back. Heitz Werber tells him not to be afraid, assuring him that the FBI are only trying to help, as the Cigarette-Smoking Man whispers something to Blevins in the anteroom. When the FBI officials subsequently start to leave, Scully follows close behind. Mulder looks at the mirror directly at her and she stops briefly. Knowing that he cannot see her, Scully looks at Mulder through the mirror and then exits the anteroom.

In Blevins' office, Scully and the Division Chief discuss the case. The third man is also present. He and Blevins both seem to believe that the suggestion of alien abduction found in Scully's field reports and Billy Miles' supposed recollections under hypnosis is completely unscientifically founded. Scully replies that, while writing her field reports, she only noted things she actually saw. She admits that she cannot substantiate all of Mulder's claims, including the sudden loss of nine minutes. Blevins tells her that he sees no evidence to support the validity of the X-files, and, therefore, no reason to continue them. Scully answers that real crimes had been committed and were solved, but Blevins rhetorically asks how to prosecute the criminals when the case has no basis in reality. When told that she has no evidence, Scully hands over the implant found in Ray Soames' coffin, which she has kept in her pocket and was not destroyed in the motel fire. According to Scully, a lab test that she conducted failed to identify the material. When Blevins asks what Mulder thinks about the case, Scully responds by implying that her new FBI partner believes aliens are responsible.

After she is dismissed from Blevins' office, Scully passes the Cigarette Smoking Man in the corridor outside. She pauses to watch him enter Blevins' office, before continuing on her way.


The Cigarette Smoking Man in a store room within the Pentagon.

Later, Scully lies awake in bed. She answers a phone call from Mulder, who tells her that a case file on Billy Miles has disappeared from the District Attorney's office in Raymon County, Oregon. Mulder wants to talk with her and Scully agrees that they will discuss their situation on the following day.

In a storage room in the Pentagon, the Cigarette Smoking Man files away the implant in a box containing many others, surrounded by rows upon rows of shelves, all containing similar boxes. He exits the room and locks the door by running his keycard through its sensor, before walking away.

"Home" is the second episode of the fourth season it premiered on October 11, 1996 on the Fox network..
Glen Morgan and James Wong considered bringing back the Peacock family for an episode in the second season of Millennium, but opposition to "Home" from Fox prevented it. However, there is a comic which is a sequel of this episode.

This episode was banned from ever being repeated by FOX due to its graphic nature (the baby murder, the references to incest, and the brutal murders). It has since aired in syndication and is on the X-Files season 4 DVD set. It was also the first episode of the series to receive a "Viewer Discretion Advised" warning.


Synopsis
When a deformed baby's body is found buried in a baseball field, Mulder and Scully investigate a family suspected of inbreeding.

Summary

The Peacock Children burying their child.

A woman, later identified as Mrs. Peacock, gives birth to a highly deformed child, which her three sons bury at the nearby baseball field during a storm. The next morning, the baby's hand, sticking out of the ground, is discovered by some local children playing baseball on the field. When they arrive at the scene, Scully is already taking notes and Mulder is sniffing a baseball that the children left at the scene, reminiscing about time spent at Martha's Vineyard with his sister, Samantha.



Children in a baseball diamond discover the Peacock family's newest born child buried.

After Scully comments on the community she jokes that Mulder might go into "catatonic schizophrenia" without his cell phone. He informs her that it is a town like this which he would like to settle down in, if not for his job. While talking to Sheriff Andy Taylor, Mulder asks whether the house nearest to the scene - the Peacock house - had been questioned about the baby. Taylor tells them that the house had been built during the civil war and still does not have electricity, running water or heating. There are presumably just the three brothers, as no one has seen the parents since they were in a serious car accident a decade back. Taylor also insinuates that the family members "raise and breed their own stock... if you get what I mean." All the while, the Peacock family watches from their porch.

Inspecting the corpse, Scully comments to Mulder that "it looks as if this child has been affected by every rare birth defect known to science." After a cursory examination in the police station's bathroom (because there is no morgue), they discover that the baby suffocated by inhaling dirt, indicating it was buried alive.


The Peacock family house.

Following the autopsy, Mulder and Scully talk outside the police station. Scully seems distressed by the abandonment of this child and the defects presented. They sit down on a bench and Mulder flirts with her, suggesting that she find a man with a spotless genetic make-up and a high tolerance for being second guessed to pump out "über-Scullys". She inquires about his family, and Mulder claims that other than the need for corrective lenses and alien abductions, the Mulder family passes "genetic muster". Mulder suspects this case is nothing more than kids disposing of an unwanted birth. Scully believes the child is not a result of a freak accident in mating and must have been inbred as Sheriff Taylor suggested. Scully and Mulder consider this as a seemingly impossible feat, however, since the Peacocks are known to be an all-male household.

Suspecting the birth mother may be a kidnapped woman, the duo proceed to the Peacock residence where they knock on the door. Mulder is about to enter but Scully exclaims that they have no probable cause. After looking inside with a flash light, they proceed within, weapons drawn. They discover bloody boot prints, which match the ones found at the crime scene, and a mud-encrusted shovel. They leave after gathering some evidence, not realizing that someone is observing them from the shadows.

Later that night, Sheriff Taylor calls Scully to inform her that he has put out warrants for the arrest of the Peacock brothers. Taylor then opens a locked box and pulls out his service revolver, which seems to have not been used in a while; he then thinks better of this and puts it back. Scully gathers her things while Mulder fiddles around with the T.V. antenna. He tells her to hold still, joking that she's improving the reception. Scully asks, "Still planning on making a home here?" He replies, "Nah, not if I can't get the Knick's game." She then comments on the infanticide, hoping that does not play into his decision, and says good night. Mulder replies, "Good night, Mom," and as she reaches for the door knob she discovers the lock is broken. Mulder comments, "you don't have to lock your doors around here." He puts a chair against the knob.


The blood of Andy Taylor flows to Barbara Taylor as she hides under the bed.

The Peacocks are setting out in their car, and the Sheriff seems apprehensive on his porch back at home. His wife consoles him and they go to bed, leaving their front door unlocked. The Peacocks arrive with Johnny Mathis' "Wonderful, Wonderful" blasting, waking the already spooked Sheriff, who tells his wife to hide under the bed. Unable to reach his revolver in time, he arms himself with a baseball bat and attempts an ambush but is overwhelmed by the Peacock brothers, who are armed with homemade clubs and shrug off his attack. They savagely beat the Sheriff and his wife to death before leaving, with Johnny Mathis still turned all the way up.


Barbara Taylor killed by the Peacock brothers.

The next morning Mulder and Scully arrive at the Sheriff's house to find Deputy Barney Paster smoking a cigarette in shock. He hands them the lab report and tells them the car the Peacocks were driving originally belonged to a woman from Baltimore, who abandoned it when it died. Looking at the corpses, Mulder comments that the Sheriff's chest is "one big hematoma" and the Peacocks "really went 'caveman' on them." Reading the lab results, Scully claims that the Federal Crime Lab "screwed up." The results show many of the gene imbalances she had suspected, but to an extent she didn't imagine possible. They also suggest that both parents of the baby were members of the Peacock family, which Scully doesn't understand because no one has seen a female Peacock family member in years.

Eager for vengeance, Paster tells Mulder and Scully he will provide back-up to save the supposed missing woman, whom they believe could have given birth to the baby. The FBI agents cannot understand why the Taylors were murdered at all, since no one could have known about the warrants. They suspect someone must have been in the house when they were searching it.

The three prepare to assault the Peacock residence. Upon arriving, Deputy Paster puts on a bullet-proof vest; he claims he has seen them fire muskets before, and refuses to be taken out by "some antique". Inside, the brothers are told by a shadowy pair of eyes to maintain the Peacock way of life. The agents begin to flank the property and Paster breaks down the front door, only to be decapitated by a booby-trapped axe—too late to heed Scully's warning.


Mrs. Peacock being discovered by Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.

The brothers descend upon Paster's body and tear it apart. Falling back, Mulder recalls a show he watched the previous night about animals and how they hunt. He states that "The eldest will move in to ensure the prey has been killed. Encircling the prey signals that it's safe to approach." He tells Scully they are witnessing undiluted animal instincts. He proposes that they lure the brothers out of the house by releasing their livestock. Upon entering the house and avoiding a trap, Mulder and Scully encounter the Peacocks' mother.


She is in terrible shape, with missing teeth, amputated limbs, and living under the bed on a sled. She screams in terror, and Scully tries to comfort her. The two ladies discuss the accident that killed the Peacock mother's husband and left her without her limbs. The Peacock mother does not hold any resentment towards her children, even when Scully mentions that they have killed two people. She also tells Scully that she knows Scully does not have children, because if she did, she would understand.


Mulder and Scully fighting against Sherman Peacock and George Peacock.

The Peacock boys, realizing they've been tricked, rush into the house and attack Mulder and Scully. Mulder and Scully shoot George repeatedly until George finally dies; Sherman chases Scully until he accidentally sets off a booby trap and is impaled by a large spike. During the fight, however, Edmund, the eldest child, escapes with Mrs. Peacock. Once they realize this, Scully contacts the local sheriff's department and orders roadblocks set up. While Scully believes they will be caught, Mulder claims that they are already caught - in a struggle with themselves.


Mrs. Peacock and Edmund Peacock leave to find a new "home".

On an abandoned road, Mrs. Peacock and Edmund are in the trunk of their car, presumably breeding again. In voice over, Mrs. Peacock says that Sherman and George were good children and that she and her son will have more members of the Peacock family. She tells Edmund that they have to leave Pennsylvania, in hope of finding a place they can call "home." Edmund then climbs out of the trunk and drives away as "Wonderful, Wonderful" plays on the radio.

"Irresistible" is the thirteenth episode of the second season of The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on January 13, 1995.

Synopsis
A mortuary worker who collects hair and fingernails from dead bodies begins to kill people to expand his collection and eventually sets his sights on Scully.

Summary

The funeral director noticed Jennifer's hair has been cut.

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, a funeral is held for a young woman, Jennifer. During the eulogy, a strange man watches the speech from the entrance door and later approaches the open casket of Jennifer, touching her hair almost lovingly. Later that night the funeral director is startled by a noise, and for a split second, he sees a demon. After a little shock he realizes that the man at the doorway is actually his assistant, .

When questioned as to why he is working so late, Pfaster is evasive. The funeral director notices a pair of scissors in Pfaster's hand and chunks of hair lying about. He opens Jennifer's casket to find that a good portion of her hair has been crudely cut off. Sickened and outraged, the funeral director fires Pfaster, who wordlessly turns and leaves.


Mulder asking Moe Bocks about Pfaster while Scully reviews past murder photos done by Pfaster.

FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are called to Minneapolis by Agent Moe Bocks, who discovered an opened grave and a desecrated body at the local cemetery. Mulder uncharacteristically discounts Bock's theory that aliens are involved and suggests they search the area for footprints. Meanwhile, Pfaster interviews for a new job performing deliveries for Ficicello Frozen Foods. Two more bodies turn up with their hair and fingernails removed. Mulder believes this is the work of an escalating fetishist who may result to murder to keep up his desires for bodies. Scully attempts to keep her growing unease to herself and writes up a field report on necrophilia.

Later that night, Pfaster brings a hooker to his apartment and asks to bathe her. Confused and surprised, she nevertheless agrees. When Pfaster is distracted by the phone, the prostitute undresses and gets into the bath, which is ice cold. She enters the bedroom to confront Pfaster, only to find the room full of stolen funeral wreaths. Pfaster calmly finishes his phone call (which is to announce his being hired for the Ficicello Food Company) and goes after the fleeing prostitute.


Pfaster's shadow closing in on a harlot before he kills her.

Her corpse later turns up in an abandoned lot with her hair cut off and entire fingers removed. Scully becomes increasingly disturbed by the case, but insists to Mulder that she is fine. Having gotten himself the job, Pfaster makes his first delivery to a home in an upscale neighbourhood, and is entranced by the hair of one of the family's daughters; he asks to wash his hands in the bathroom and picks some of her hair from the wastebasket, smelling it reverently.

One of the prostitute's friends fails to identify the suspect from a line of men, which leads Mulder to suspect the killer has no criminal record, making him much more difficult to find; he decides to go back to the profile, specifically in regards to the killer's intense hatred for women. Pfaster attends night class and is attracted to a classmate's hair. He follows her to her car and tries to ingratiate himself with a question about their homework. His suspicious behaviour makes the woman uneasy, and when he tries to attack her, she kicks him in the testicles and flees, leading to his arrest.


Pfaster watches Scully before she leaves.

Scully performs an autopsy on the prostitute, but has an unexplained vision of herself on the autopsy table, with some sort of monster looking down on her. Bocks call the agents to the jail, where they have what they think is their suspect; although this man is not the killer, he happens to be in a cell across the way from Pfaster. As the agents question the suspect, Pfaster becomes entranced by Scully's hair; as the agents leave, Scully notices Pfaster's staring and is unnerved by it. She volunteers to take the body back to Washington for fingerprint and evidence analysis, again telling Mulder she can handle herself when he shows concern. After they leave, Pfaster learns Scully's name from the man they had questioned, and is released soon after when his classmate declines to press charges.

Scully returns to Washington and meets with social worker Karen Kosseff. During the meeting she tells the social worker that she doesn't want Mulder to feel like he has to protect her. At the fingerprint analysis lab, the technician tells Scully he found a fingerprint on one of the prostitute's remaining fingernails, possibly left during the struggle. Afterwards, Scully, about to return to Minneapolis is told that she was called by someone, although Mulder nor Bocks had done so. Tracing the fingerprint to Pfaster from his recent arrest, Bocks has Pfaster's home raided, finding some human hair and one of the prostitute's fingers in the refrigerator.


Pfaster forcing Scully to enter his bathroom for his ritual.

Pfaster follows Scully as she leaves the airport and forces her car off the road. Scully's empty car is found and Mulder and Bocks send the paint stains found on the back in for analysis. Pfaster brings Scully to an abandoned house where she is bound and gagged, then locked in a closet while he prepares a bath for her. As Pfaster opens the closet door to check on her, Scully momentarily sees him change forms, until the demon appears again.

After the tub has been filled, Pfaster tells Scully he is going to bathe her. Knowing she will be killed, Scully shoves Pfaster into the tub and flees, but finds all the doors locked. Pfaster retrieves her gun and begins stalking her through the house, which he is apparently familiar with.


After being rescued, Scully cries and hugs Mulder.

Using the paint on the car, the agents trace it back to Pfaster's mother, who died a year ago, and search for any local residences she may have had before she died.

When Pfaster reaches the closet that Scully is hiding in, he smiles and slowly opens the door. Scully sprays him in the face with bug repellent and flees, but Pfaster chases her down. A struggle leads to them falling down the stairs, whereupon agents led by Mulder and Bocks break down the front door and arrest Pfaster. Scully insists she is okay, but as Pfaster is taken away she breaks down and cries in Mulder's arms.


Donnie Pfaster is arrested.

Mulder types up a case a report, likening Pfaster to Satan in human form and tracing his psychosis to his childhood, being raised by a predominantly-female household. Mulder theorizes that people like Pfaster - people who are ordinary in seemingly every way - exist in our everyday lives, and what happened to Scully and the other victims could conceivably happen to anyone. His report, delivered in voiceover, is accompanied by a montage of photos of Pfaster in various stages of childhood, before ending with a shot of Pfaster behind bars.

"Kill Switch" is the eleventh episode of the of The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on February 15, 1998.

Synopsis
The brutal murder of a renowned computer programmer leads Mulder and Scully to investigate an artificial intelligence program loose on the internet that has begun evolving on its own.

Summary
Several heavily-armed crack dealers receive an anonymous telephone call alerting them to the whereabouts of a hated enemy. The men all converge on a diner, but none find their target. Two deputy marshals receive a similar anonymous tip, alerting them about a Colombian fugitive in the same diner. The marshals enter the diner and order everyone onto the floor. Drug dealers draw their weapons and a fierce gun battle ensues.

As the agents observe the aftermath of the shoot-out, Mulder pulls a tarp off the face of Donald Gelman, one of the co-inventors of the Internet. Gelman had been working at his laptop inside the diner when the shooting broke out and became trapped in the cross-fire. Mulder sneaks Gelman's laptop under his jacket and brings it back to Scully's car. He finds a blank CD in the laptop drive, which when placed inside Scully's CD-player emits music - "Twilight Time" by The Platters - while the vehicle's lights flash in rhythm.

Puzzled, Mulder brings the CD to the Lone Gunmen for further analysis. When they are unable to crack the disc's security code, Scully suggests they check Gelman's e-mail log. They find a message containing a standard ID number for a shipping container. The message is signed by someone named Invisigoth.

The agents track the number to a container yard. A figure springs from the darkness, zaps Mulder with a stun-gun, and runs off into the night. Scully apprehends the suspect, Esther Nairn and escorts her back to the container, which is brimming with sophisticated computer equipment. Esther's attention is diverted to one of the monitors. She tells the agents that an armed Department of Defense satellite has locked onto their location. Despite the farfetchedness of the tale, Mulder convinces Scully they must leave the area immediately. Shortly thereafter, a strange green light descends from the heavens and destroys the shipping container.

Mulder concludes that Donald Gelman realized his lifelong dream: the construction of a sentient artificial intelligence, a computer program with its own consciousness. Esther confirms Mulder's suspicion, describing how Gelman unleashed the program onto the Internet so it could evolve—much like the primordial slime from which mankind evolved. She tells the agents that the AI monitors all communication, and will destroy her the moment it locks onto her location. Esther also reveals that Gelman was in the process of creating a special virus program, nicknamed "Kill Switch," that would hunt down and destroy the rogue system. Instead of simply destroying Gelman with a laser from above, Esther is convinced it killed its creator with a dozen crack dealers in an effort to show off its sense of humor. She also believes the virus is holed up on a computer somewhere—and the only way to kill it is to find and destroy its safe house.

By accessing government files, Mulder locates a suspicious T3 line, one that would be needed by the AI to access the Internet. He traces the cable to an abandoned farm on which sits a trailer. Meanwhile, Esther gets the jump on Scully and forces her at gunpoint to drive to an isolated location where she hopes to find one of her colleagues, a man named David Markham. Esther exits the car and begins crying at the site of a demolished house. During her absence, Scully manages to unshackle her handcuffs. Esther gives Scully back her gun and asks her to "put her out of her misery." Esther then admits to Scully that she and David had planned to upload their consciousness and enter the AI. But Gelman forbade the idea. Mulder rings the doorbell on the trailer with the T3 link but receives no reply. Unbeknownst to him, several thermal-imaging cameras are watching him and the doorbell is actually a thumbprint scanner which discovers his identity by running it through a computer. Mulder instead manages to make a hole in the bottom of the trailer and breaks in. Inside he discovers David Markham's body, his face concealed by a virtual reality mask. Removing the mask, Mulder finds Markham is dead. Suddenly, several crab-like droids spring from the jungle of cables and constrain Mulder, putting him in a device similar to Markham's. Sparks fly around Mulder and he passes out. Mulder experiences strange visions involving sexy nurses in a 1940s style hospital who threaten to amputate him, limb by limb, unless he reveals the location of Kill Switch. Meanwhile, the AI pinpoints Scully and Esther in their car near a turntable drawbridge. The pair become trapped and, at Scully's urging, Esther tosses the laptop into the water. Moments later, a green laser blasts the water.

Scully and Esther climb into the trailer where Mulder is bound by the crab-droids. Several of the robotic creatures attack, and Scully dispatches them with her handgun. Scully finds Mulder, his head encased in the virtual reality mask (the source of his strange visions). The AI's screen shows that it is now targeting the trailer. Esther produces the CD, and Scully gives the AI what it wants, inserting the disk into a drive. The targeting system stops. The AI releases Mulder, and Scully drags him outside. Esther accesses a keyboard and try to contact with the AI, which might already have David's memory and consciousness. She also restarts the targeting system in the process. When Scully reenters the trailer, she finds Esther wearing the virtual reality helmet, the body of her beloved David nearby. Esther tells her to leave, and Scully races from the trailer, as Esther instructs the AI to upload. Moments later, the green laser destroys the trailer. When Mulder recovers, he tells Scully that Esther's consciousness may have joined the AI.

Meanwhile, in a trailer park, two teenagers are playing catch with a ball when one of them accidentally throws the ball over a fence next to a seemingly ownerless trailer. As one of the teenagers gets the ball and climbs back over the fence, a thermal imaging camera on the top of the trailer observes them.

"Leonard Betts" Is The Twelfth Episode Of The Fourth Season Aired January 26, 1997 Directly After The Super Bowl XXXI, Leonard Betts Is The Most Watched Episode Of The X-Files, With A Nielsen Rating Of 17.2, And A Viewership of 29.15 Million People.

Synopsis
Mulder and Scully are after a man who can literally live with cancer and grow back his head after being decapitated in a road accident.

Summary
PITTSBURGH, PA

An ambulance races through the streets, carrying Leonard Betts and his partner, who are trying to save a man who Betts diagnoses with cancer. Amazed at her partners ability, she never sees an oncoming semi, which T-Bones the ambulance and decapitates Betts. Later, in the morgue where Betts is stored, an attendant is attacked, and a man with bloody footprints is shown walking out.

MONONGAHELA MEDICAL CENTER
PITTSBURGH, PA

Mulder and Scully are investigating the area, going over a surveillance tape that shows a man walking out of the morgue, head obscured by interference from the camera. Also, the locker where the body was stored was opened from the inside, bloody footprints as evidence. While Mulder interrogates Betts' partner, Scully decides to autopsy the severed head. When she goes to slice it open, however, its eyes open, and the mouth moves. Scully claims it is merely electrical response, but Mulder is still curious.

Mulder travels to Betts home and discovers evidence the body had been there. When Mulder leaves, Betts—who has regrown his head—rises out of his iodine-filled bathtub.

Mulder interviews Michelle Wilkes (Jennifer Clement), Betts' former partner, who recollects his ability to detect cancer. When an interior slice of Betts' polymerized head is examined, the agents discover that his frontal lobe displayed signs of pervasive cancer. Mulder has Chuck Burks (Bill Dow) subject the slice to an aura photography test; the final image shows corona discharge that takes the appearance of human shoulders.

Using fingerprint records, Scully learns that Betts had an alter ego named Albert Tanner. The agents visit his elderly mother, Elaine (Marjorie Lovett), who claims that "Albert" died in a car accident six years previously. Meanwhile, Wilkes tracks down Betts at another hospital and confronts him. After an apology, he gives her a lethal injection of potassium chloride; Betts is then pursued and captured by a security guard. After he is handcuffed to his car, Betts escapes by tearing off his thumb. The agents search the car the next morning, finding disposed tumors in a cooler in the trunk. Mulder believes that Betts subsists on the tumors, and that his nature makes him the embodiment of a radical leap in evolution.

Upon learning that the car is registered to Elaine, the agents have the police search her home. Elaine recounts how her son endured bullying as a child "because he was different", and says that "he had his reasons" if he killed anybody. Meanwhile, Betts accosts a bar patron and kills him to obtain his cancerous lung. Later, in a storage unit, he seems to shed his body and create a duplicate. When the agents come across the storage unit, the duplicate Betts attempts to flee in a car, which explodes when fired upon and seemingly kills him. Scully suggests that Betts' first "death" as Albert Tanner was staged, but when they exhume Tanner's casket, they find his body still inside. Mulder becomes convinced that Betts can not only regenerate his body parts, but his entire body itself. Because of this, he believes that Betts is still at large.

At Elaine's behest, Betts removes a cancerous tumor from her body before summoning an ambulance. The agents, already staking out Elaine's house, encounter the paramedics when they arrive. Scully accompanies Elaine to the hospital while Mulder conducts a search of the neighborhood. However, after arriving at the hospital, Scully realizes that Betts has stowed himself away on the roof of the ambulance. Betts locks her inside the ambulance with him, calmly but apologetically telling her that she has "something [he] need[s]." This leads Scully to realize that she herself has cancer. After a struggle, Scully kills Betts by pressing charged defibrillator paddles against his head. Scully remains silently stunned by the revelation of her illness. Later, in her apartment, she wakes up with a nosebleed, confirming her disease.

"Shapes" Is The Nineteenth Episode Of The First Season Aired On April 1, 1994.

Synopsis
The shooting of a Native American draws Mulder and Scully into a mystery involving lycanthropy, the phenomenon that opened the X-files.

Summary
FBI agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder travel to a remote town in Montana to investigate the killing of a Native American man, Joseph Goodensnake, by local ranch owner Jim Parker. The killing initially appears to be motivated by a dispute over the ownership of a tract of land, although Parker claims that he had fired upon a monstrous animal rather than a human. Parker's son Lyle bears scars that appear to lend credence to his father's story.

At the scene of the shooting, Scully reasons that at the short range from which Goodensnake was shot, it would have been impossible to mistake him for an animal. However, Mulder finds tracks leading to the area that appear to change from human to something more animal in nature. He also finds a large section of human skin nearby. Scully dismisses his theory. She believes that the Parkers knowingly killed Goodensnake, but neither agent believe the pair would have skinned him—and the body was not reported to have been skinned. The matter is complicated by the difficulties Mulder and Scully have with dealing with the Native American population, stemming from the Wounded Knee incident in 1973. Goodensnake's sister Gwen is also bitter that her neighbors are too frightened of native legends to confront his death.

Despite these misgivings, the agents find a seeming ally in Sheriff Charles Tskany, who permits Scully to make a cursory examination of Goodensnake's body, but following the customs of his people forbids a full autopsy. Upon investigating the body, they discover that he has elongated canine teeth, similar to those of an animal, and bears long-healed scars similar to those borne by Lyle. Mulder shares with Scully his belief that the case is connected to the first X-File officially opened, in 1946, concerning a series of savage maulings which Mulder believes are the work of werewolves. Scully dismisses this theory and instead credits the belief to clinical lycanthropy. Goodensnake's body is cremated in a traditional ceremony, while the agents watch from a distance. Lyle Parker rides to near the funeral pyre site to try to pay his respects, but is chased away by Gwen.

Later that night, the elder Parker is attacked on his front porch and ripped apart by an unseen animal. During the investigation the next morning, Scully finds Lyle lying naked and unconscious in the nearby forest. Ish, one of the elder men of the reservation, explains to Mulder the legend of the manitou, a creature which can possess and transform a man, and which can pass to a new host upon the death of the original. Ish believes he had seen the creature in his youth, but was too frightened to confront it. An examination of Lyle Parker reveals his father's blood in his stomach, making it clear that he has in fact become the manitou's new host, though not before he is released from the hospital. Scully drives him home to the Parker Ranch and he becomes ill, locking himself in the bathroom. That night Mulder and Tskany hurry to the Parker ranch, quickly finding themselves in a violent confrontation with the monster. Mulder shoots it dead, only to see it transform back into Lyle. As the agents leave, they learn that Gwen has disappeared, whilst Ish cryptically warns that he will see the agents in "about eight years".

"Chinga" Is The Tenth Episode Of The Of The X-Files. And First Aired On The Fox Network On February 8, 1998.

Stephen King was unaware of the word's usage in the Spanish language at the time he wrote this episode, although Chris Carter later realized the word's significance and the episode's title was consequently changed to "Bunghoney" when it aired outside America.

Synopsis
Scully tries to take a weekend vacation to Maine but ends up investigating a strange case in which a seemingly murderous doll has apparently caused several victims to inflict wounds upon themselves.

Summary

Citizens clawing their eyes out due to Chinga's effects.

In Amma Beach, Maine, five-year-old Polly Turner accompanies her mother, Melissa Turner, to the grocery market. Polly sits in the child-carrier seat of a shopping cart, clutching a doll, Chinga. As Melissa strolls the aisles, she attracts the attention of Dave the Butcher. Polly notices Dave, and tells her mother she doesn't like the store. Melissa responds by quickly pushing the cart into another area of the market.

As Melissa strolls down the frozen food section, she comes upon the image of Dave, reflected in the glass of a cabinet, a knife protruding from one eye. A horrified Melissa tells Polly they are going home. But as Melissa makes her way towards the store's exit, customers begin clawing at their eyes. Back in the butcher section, Dave's attention is diverted by the shape of a large Chinga doll, as reflected in a metal door. Dave grabs a knife from his belt... but suddenly turns it on himself.


Dana Scully discovers Dave the Butcher's corpse.

Vacationing in Maine, Scully turns her rental car into the grocery market parking lot. An Old Man exits the store and tells Scully that a doctor is needed. Inside the store, Scully sees Dave with a knife protruding from his eye. She telephones Mulder and describes the bizarre situation. Mulder tells his partner the event might be the result of witchcraft or sorcery. Scully, however, can find no physical evidence that might support this theory.

Assisted by Police Chief Jack Bonsaint, and his deputy, Buddy Riggs, Scully reviews security camera footage of the event. She notices Melissa Turner rushing towards the exit, the only customer unaffected. Bonsaint tells Scully that some townspeople believe Melissa is a witch. Buddy Riggs telephones Melissa with news that Bonsaint will be questioning her about the occurrence at the super market. Riggs promises to help Melissa, but she warns him to stay away. In the background, unseen by Melissa, looms the shadow of the large Chinga doll.

Bonsaint and Scully visit Melissa's home, but find it unoccupied. Bonsaint tells Scully that Melissa had married a fisherman, but was widowed when the husband was killed in a boating accident. Bonsaint explains that there had been an incident between Polly and the proprietor of a daycare center, Jane Froelich. It seems that Jane slapped Polly when she became uncontrollable. Shortly thereafter, Jane claims she was thrown to the ground. Bonsaint, however, believes the little girl never touched Jane. Bonsaint then tells Scully that Dave the Butcher's interest in Melissa was unrequited.


An Ice Cream Parlor Employee having her hair pulled by the ice cream maker.

Riggs meets Melissa and Polly at an ice cream shop. Melissa describes how she has seen images of violent deaths, such as Dave's, before they occur. Riggs give Melissa the key to a remote cabin and suggests she leave town. Meanwhile, Polly grows upset when a girl clerk does not meet her demand for more cherries. Shortly thereafter, the clerk's pony tail gets caught in an ice cream machine. Riggs jumps the counter and rescues the girl.


The illusion of Melissa Turner displaying her proposed death.

Scully and Bonsaint pay Jane Froelich a visit. Froelich claims Melissa is the descendant of witches—and she is passing her cursed lineage to Polly. Later, while speaking with an official at a ranger station (near Riggs' remote camp), Melissa experiences another vision, this time seeing Froelich's bloody image reflected in the rear window of the car. Melissa turns the car around and heads back home. Meanwhile, Froelich hears the song "Hokey Pokey" emanating from the day care center.

She makes her way through the darkness... and comes upon the big Chinga doll. She picks up a piece of broken phonograph record, but instead of using it as a defensive weapon, turns it upon herself. Later, Melissa experiences another vision... this time seeing Riggs' corpse. Riggs finds Melissa at home, and convinced she had something to do with Froelich's murder, insists she accompany him to the police station. Later, Riggs' body lies on the kitchen floor, his nightstick covered with blood.


Scully burns Chinga by placing it in a microwave.

Scully recognizes the Old Man from the supermarket aboard the boat where Melissa's husband was killed. The Old Man tells Scully the story of how Rich Turner came upon the Chinga doll while checking lobster traps. Rich intended to give the doll to his daughter, but several days later the Old Man found Rich's body, a grappling hook through his skull.

Melissa begins nailing shut every door and window in the house. Polly tells her mother she cannot sleep, and Melissa promises the noise will stop. Moments later, Melissa sees a bloodied reflection of herself in a window, a hammer buried in her skull.


Chinga opens her eyes as another fisherman picks her up.

Scully and Bonsaint drive to the Turner home. Scully, peering through the windows, discovers Melissa attempting to set fire to the house, with her, her daughter and the doll trapped inside. Polly comes downstairs and sees her mother desperately trying to light matches, but the doll tells her 'Don't play with matches' and all the matches Melissa lights flicker out moments after lighting. Melissa tries to get a kitchen knife, but the doll stops and says “don’t play with knives”.Bonsaint breaks down the door as Melissa runs to a closet and grabs hold of a hammer saying “Get away from me!”. Scully attempts to snatch the doll from Polly’s arms as the doll repeats over and over again “I want to play”. Scully says “Polly give me the doll” Polly nods saying no Scully finally yanks the doll from Polly’s arms and runs downstairs and forcefully put Chinga in the Microwave and the doll says it’s final “I want to play” and sparks fire and melts or did she? >:D

Later, another lobster fisherman pulls a trap from the water... and discovers the burned Chinga doll inside. The doll's eyes opened as the fisherman picked it up saying, "I want to play."

Memorable Quotes
A telephone conversation

Mulder: It sounds to me like that's witchcraft or some sorcery that you're looking for there.

Scully: I don't think it's witchcraft or sorcery. I've had a look around and I don't see any evidence of anything that warrants that kind of suspicion.

Mulder: Well, maybe you don't know what you're looking for.

Scully: Like evidence of conjuring or the black arts or shamanism, divination, wicca or any kind of pagan or neo-pagan practice. Charms, cards, familiars, bloodstones or hex signs or any of the ritual tableau associated with the occult. Santeria, Voudun, Macumba or any high or low magic.

Mulder: Scully.

Scully: Yes.

Mulder: Marry me.