Jessabelle

Huh? You sure you got that? Don't strain yourself.

Well, that's it. Turned in my key.

Yep. No turning back now.

You still think this is a good idea?

What, me driving this thing?

I told you, I'm more than happy to let you drive.

No, this, moving in with you.

Having this baby.

Jessie, you're the best thing that ever happened to me.

I've been ready for this for a long time.

I just remembered the weirdest dream I had last night.

(DISTORTED) It's the last chance to remove it.

A little more suction, please. Can't see a thing in there.

It's skull. It's part of the guy's skull.

intertrochanteric fracture in your hip.

Your left clavicle and three ribs are shattered.

You've got compound fractures in your right and left tibia.

Good news is you will walk again

within three or four months of therapy.

My baby?

I'm sorry.

I know it's been a long haul for you, Jessie.

But we'll still need to send a physical therapist to you at home.

Can someone come pick you up? Your mother or father?

Uh, my mom died of cancer when I was a baby,

and my father gave me to my aunt to be raised after my mom died.

I haven't seen him in years.

Miss Laurent, can he come here to pick you up?

Dad?

Thanks for picking me up, Dad.

Hmm. Glad I could help.

Sorry about your boyfriend.

This was your mother's room. You're gonna have to stay in here.

The other bedrooms are upstairs.

Let's get you in bed.

When your aunt passed away, they gave me some things you had there.

Clothes.

You hungry? I could make you a sandwich or something.

Uh...

No, I'm fine. Just tired is all.

Oh, yeah, the water out of the tap sometimes comes out bad.

You just let it run a little, it'll clear up.

Preston.

Dad?

You here?

Oh, my word.

Thank you, Mama.

Ahh!

Hello, Jessabelle.

Mom.

I went back and forth 100 times

whether or not this was a good idea.

Making these tapes.

But as you can see, here I am.

It is March 14, and it is 1988,

and I am seven months pregnant with you.

I love you, Jessabelle. I love you.

If you're watching this,

it means I'm gone.

But I don't want this to be a day of sadness.

I want it to be a day of happiness.

So I'm not even gonna talk about me.

The only thing that's important

is that you know that I love you.

And that I have been watching over you, always.

Okay. So, enough of that sad shit.

I told your father that I wanted him

to give you this tape on your 18th birthday.

So for you, it is 2006.

Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday, baby!

I thought about having a cake,

but explaining all this to Mrs. Davis

just would have been a little too weird.

Uh, Mrs. Davis is our cook,

and if she's there, could you tell her I said hi?

She's so sweet. That ought to freak her out, though. (LAUGHS)

She is scared of ghosts.

Whoo-oo-oo!

Anyway, um, I wanted to make this tape

because I wanted you to get to know me.

And I wanted to give you a birthday gift,

a birthday reading with my cards.

I am really good at this.

I'm always right.

You can't cut the deck, so this will have to do.

Here we go.

I still have your bracelet, Mom.

Okay. So this is Death.

But it doesn't mean "death" death. It means transition.

And this year, your 18th year,

is gonna be a year of transition.

You know what it says here? It says that you've never left St. Francis

and that you're never gonna leave.

Baby, you've gotta get out there and see the world.

There's so much great stuff out there.

Suits of Cups. That's the water sign, and water is pragmatic.

It goes the way of least resistance.

But this is a lot of water.

Are you a swimmer, or do you do something with the sea?

I can't even swim.

You're a homebody, just like your mama.

Wrong again. You're terrible at this!

Well, it says here that you're not alone.

That there is a presence in the house with you.

It's not a bad thing. There are guardian angels everywhere.

Maybe I'm seeing me.

Uh!

Yes, so she's a she. It's a female.

Um...

She wants you out of the house.

She says it's hers.

Jesus, Dad! You scared the shit out of me!

Where did you get that?

I asked you a goddamn question!

I said, "Where did you get that?"

I found it in my room, in Mom's room.

Don't, Dad! Don't! What are you doing?

Dad, what are you doing?

Oh! No, Dad. Oh, God, Dad.

-(WHIMPERING) - No more snooping around.

Dad? Dad?

Dad.

Dad!

Dad.

It's past your bedtime, sweetie.

That there is a presence in the house with you.

Who are you?

Jessabelle.

I made breakfast.

Look, I'm sorry about last night.

I was a little drunk. It's not gonna happen again.

It's all right.

That was your mother's old chair.

It was out in the shed.

Didn't expect to see your mother last night.

That tape, I didn't know she made that tape,

that she actually went through with it.

You just found that one tape?

Uh-huh, just one.

Hello, Jessabelle.

I love you.

I love you too, Mom.

It's been three weeks since our last reading.

There was so much weird stuff in there, so I asked Moses about it.

Not Ten Commandments Moses,

but my friend Moses from my church on Jerry's Creek.

Don't tell Dad. He'd kill me.

Moses taught me how to read cards.

So I showed him your reading, and he said something interesting.

He said that the two presences in the house, the two females,

they're both you.

You've been having nightmares, right?

And when you see it, this presence, it's broken, right?

It's a demon, but it's an inner demon.

You were in some sort of accident or something,

or maybe somebody you know was.

Now, I want you to listen to me. It wasn't your fault.

Stop blaming yourself, sweetheart. It wasn't your fault. Okay?

Now that we know that's what that last reading meant...

I mean, that's what Moses says.

So, we're gonna get you a new one.