The Fear of Darkness

Clear your mind.

Clear your mind of all thought.

Now, go back.

Go back in time to where it all began.

And tell me a story.

Tell me what happened.

Police, open the door.

I repeat, this is the police. Open the door.

If you can hear me, stand back from the door.

Stand back from the door!

Power's out.

I found somethin'.

What is it?

Blood.

Door's locked from the inside.

Shoot out the lock.

Stand by.

My God.

What's happening?

Where are you now?

The book is called The Fear of Darkness

and it is best described as the rational explanation

of our fear of ghosts, spirits, and things

that go bump in the night.

That's right.

These things, they don't really exist outside

our imagination.

They're phantoms of the mind

and the reason they're there is that we have this deep

unconscious fear of death

and they are projections of that fear.

Hallucinations projected into the external world.

Okay, so what would you like

people to take out of this?

My goal is to make sense of the world

and as a clinical psychologist,

I do that through seeking scientific explanation

for a range of experiences and emotions.

Like our fear of darkness.

You were afraid of the dark when you were young, right?

Terrified.

It's one of our most basic fears.

Hardwired into our brains from a time

when we feared predators of the night.

Sleeping around a campfire,

it wasn't just for comfort, it was for protection.

And children have wonderful imaginations.

When we're young, we create all kinds of

fantastic monsters that might be out there waiting for us.

Research has shown that as we grow older,

our fear of monsters grows less and less,

but not our fear of the darkness.

Spokesman for the weather bureau

explains the phenomenon.

The sun is about 400 times

wider than the moon, but it's also

about 400 times further away.

So, at the height of a total eclipse,

the moon will completely block out the sun's lines.

This rational explanation

of what happens during a solar eclipse

is in stark contrast to ancient beliefs.

The Inka's, for example, thought an eclipse

was a demon devouring the sun.

The blood is definitely his?

Yeah. Jeremy Winter's.

He was up there with Sky Williams.

Blood's DNA matches his parents. It's definitely his.

But you still haven't found him.

Searched everywhere.

I even dragged the lake. Nothing.

There's the keys to the lake house

if you'd like to have a look yourself.

We found evidence that they're experimenting

with DMT.

Dimethyltryptamine?

What do you know about it?

Only that it's a very powerful hallucinogen.

What did she say when you first interviewed her?

She won't talk to us.

When she came in, she was

completely out of it.

We've now got her heavily sedated,

but she's still not saying anything.

What do you think happened?

Well, the simplest explanation is usually

the correct one.

And that is?

She murdered him.

It's not that simple though, is it?

No.

No, Jeremy Winters called emergency services

at 10:45 pm.

Exactly 17 minutes later, two of our uniform

were on the scene.

See, that's just not enough time for one person

to kill him and then dispose of the body

somewhere where we can't find him.

In the cellar where this photo was taken,

the door was locked from the inside.

She definitely did it but,

she didn't act alone.

Someone helped her.

And we want you to find out who.

Sky?

My name is Sarah Faithforth

and I'm a clinical psychologist.

I'm here to help you.

To find out what happened.

Sky, you have some marks on your face.

Like birth marks.

They're most likely an allergic reaction

to the drug you took.

Your mind is blocking out what happened

to protect you and this can affect you physically.

But those memories are still in there.

So, what I'm gonna do is I'm going

to bring them to the surface

in a carefully managed way.

A way that will not hurt you.

Is that okay?

Sky, this is nurse Roke.

She's gonna make you feel a bit more comfortable.

Sky, we're going to put this sensor on.

It will measure your brain waves.

Just your hand.

Thank you.

I'm gonna turn the lights out now.

Sky, I want you to focus on the flame of this candle.

You need to trust me. Please try.

Imagine that the flame of the candle

is drawing you in closer

and closer,

until you're one with it.

Sky, I want you to take your mind

back to the other night

when you were with your friend, Jeremy.

You took a drug called Dimethyltryptamine, DMT.

What happened next?

What have you taken?

Acting crazy. Come back.

Come back inside.

Sky, where are you?

There, let's go inside.

Let's go.

You see that?

Right there.

There's nothing there.

No, I swear.

There's something coming out of the water.

Sky, I cannot see anything.

Call the police.

Sky.

Sky.

Sky, what are you doing?

You're really startin' to scare me.

Emergency services.

What service do you require?

Police.

Where are you calling from?

My parents. The Winters.

Holiday house on Lake Providence,

Lake Providence Drive.

You have to help. Please.

Hello?

Hello?

Sky.

Sky, where are you?

Sky, where are you?

Sky.

Sky, listen to me.

Who is doing this to you?

Help me!

Sky, listen to me. Who is doing this to you?

Who is doing this to you?

Help me please! Help!

She's flat lined.

Okay, that's enough.

Hold on.

She knows what she's doing.

Just let her handle it.

How long since we lost her?

20 seconds.

Okay, Sky, you're going to listen to me.

It is all over. No one is attacking you.

Where are you now?

30.

What can you see?

Sky, listen to me. What is happening now?

Answer me.

Sky, can you hear me?

Listen to me. Listen to what I'm saying.

50 seconds. Get her out of there.

You are going to move forward

to when you were conscious.

Still nothing.

Okay, I am going to count backwards from seven

and when I get to one, you are going to wake up, okay?

Seven, six, five, four,

three, two, one.