The Devonsville Terror

Who's there?

No! No!

No!

By the name of Jessica Morley,

you are convicted on this,

The 7th day of November, 1683,

In the name of this commonwealth,

that not having the fear of God

before your eyes or in your heart,

of being seduced by the Devil - No!

And yielding to his instigation

and the wickedness of your own heart.

About the beginning of last September in Devonsville,

in or near your own house,

did willfully and most wickedly murder your own child

and your neighbor's child

by the name of Abigail Parker,

- No! - against the word of God

and the whole of this jurisdiction,

long since made and published.

Stop!

No!

Ow, please!

No!

This is you.

This covers the situation.

This crosses the situation.

This is the highest you can achieve.

This is the lowest you can achieve.

I foresee much luck

and the inheritance of a great fortune.

I must be hearing things.

At the beginning of October last,

you, Mary Pratt from Devonsville,

have been seen dancing naked in the moonlight

and consummating your union with the Incubus.

No!

- As a representative of this commonwealth,

I therefore ask you, Mary Pratt,

how were these savage banquets arranged

and what other persons participated?

What demon did you use to satisfy

your wanton lust that night?

What was his name?

What marks were left by the Devil

on your body and on your soul?

How long have you been practicing witchcraft?

I am no witch!

I have a pure conscience in this matter.

Even...

Even if there were a thousand witnesses, I am not anxious!

- What was the oath you were forced to render the Devil?

I am no witch!

I am no witch!

You are a witch!

Will you confess it voluntarily?

On this, the 7th day of November, 1683,

by the name of Rebecca Parson,

you are convicted in the name of this commonwealth

that not having the fear of God before your eyes,

nor in your heart,

being seduced by the Devil

and yielding to his malicious motion.

About the end of October last at Devonsville,

you had familiarity or consulted with a familiar spirit,

making a covenant with him

and have used diverse devilish practices by witchcraft

through the persons of Mary Pratt and Jessica Morley

against the word of God and the laws of this jurisdiction

long since made and published.

Burn!

Burn!

Burn!

Burn!

Burn!

- Die! - Burn!

Burn!

Burn!

Burn!

Burn!

Burn!

Burn!

Burn!

Burn!

Burn!

Burn!

Burn!

Damn you all!

- Dr. Warley's Journal, entry number 73.

It has been 300 years since the Devonsville Inquisition.

Perhaps the long ordeal of the Warley family

may be nearing its conclusion.

Only Evil will out Evil.

Satan has walked in our midst,

not in the guise of the hapless strangers we turned against,

but in our hearts.

We lost sight of our Lord and his teaching.

We are gathered here in his temple

to beg his forgiveness.

Oh, good shepherd,

gently gather your flock

back to the pastures of your infinite love.

We have wandered too long and shallow.

Your beloved presence hidden from us

by our own wickedness, willfulness.

Lead us back to the light.

Let our sins serve as a reminder

that we must do nothing without love in our hearts,

nothing without your blessing.

To this end,

we implore your help and forgiveness.

Amen.

J Rock of ages 7

> Cleft for me 2

J Let me hide myself in Thee »

- I'd like to pose a toast to our anniversary.

What do you mean?

- On November 3rd, it will be exactly 300 years to the day.

That's a pretty grim day to remember.

You're talking about the witches.

Now, now, please.

Let us pray.

Oh Lord, protect us from all evil,

and may the souls of the poor unfortunates

rest in eternal peace,

and may we no longer be haunted

by memories of our past error.

Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow.

Yeah.

Something wrong, Ralph?

No, it...

It just makes me a little uneasy.

Nobody wants to hear what our ancestors had to go through.

Everything's all right now.

All right?

- Why doesn't anybody want to talk about this curse?

It exists.

It hasn't come true yet

and it's not going to.

We're very, very different from

our great, great, great grandparents.

Why should we be punished for something they did?

- Yeah, hear no evil, see no evil, do no evil.

- Just a minute, Sarah Louise, I'm working.

I'll be right there!

Would you wait?

Ah.

Now, now, Sarah Louise.

Everything's gonna be fine,

just fine.

Need a ride?

No, I'm almost there. Thanks.

Where you heading to?

Devonsville. The schoolhouse.

That's another half mile down the road.

Why don't you hop in?

All right.

My name's Ralph.

I'm Jenny.

Nice to meet you, Jenny.

What's a nice lady like you doing in a place like this?

2 Gather round, you old cowboys

From out of town, huh?

Way outta town, I'll bet.

Have you been here before?

No.

Where are you from?

Princeton, New Jersey.

Visiting friends?

I'm the new teacher.

Oh, I see.

Well, you better get yourself some new winter clothes.

It's gonna be a long winter.

That's all right, I like the snow.

Wait 'til you see this one.

Here we are.

Over there, that's the school.

It looks more like a church.

Maybe it was a church once.

Where will you be staying?

I have to find out.

Thanks. - You bet.

2 Gather round, you old cowboys

The winters here are cold and harsh,

the comforts rare and few.

The ice and snow's upon the marsh,

we long for summer's lease anew.

But legend says we got to pay

for the wrong -- - Angel?

Perhaps this should wait until later.

This is Miss Scanlon.

She's going to be your teacher from now on.

Say, "Welcome, Miss Scanlon."

Cat got your tongue?

Hello, Miss Scanlon.

Hello, everybody.

Now, this is Michael over here.

He's in sixth grade.

And that's Anne-Marie over there.

She's in fifth grade.