Crypt of Dark Secrets

Well, Charlie, what did you find?

- Well, Sheriff, that legend you asked me about

has been told in these parts probably a hundred years

or more about the woman that lives in the lake

and turns into a snake.

I never thought much about it.

We got maybe 5-6,000 books in our library.

You asked me to look, so I did,

and I had to go through damn near every one of them,

but I found it.

There's a legend of a girl called Damballa.

She turns into a snake.

She kinda lives forever, it's like eternal life.

She's almost like a bridge between life and death.

It's very interesting, and there's pictures.

What do you think? You believe it?

I don't know if I believe it.

You know, the reason I don't know

is there's two reasons people write books.

One of them is to kinda tell a story and entertain people,

and the other one's to record history.

I don't know which one they did in this case.

I do know one thing, and I know this for sure.

That just because you can't see something

or don't believe in it,

doesn't mean it's impossible for it to exist or to happen.

- Well, there's a young fella living on that island now.

Maybe Sergeant Buck and I could take a ride out there

and find out about him and Damballa.

CRYPT OF DARK SECRETS

If you don't believe in it,

why are we taking this 10 mile trip

on this hot summer day in this Louisiana swamp?

Well, I don't believe a word of it.

But I was brought up in this swamp,

and if you ever spend a night in there by yourself,

you believe almost anything.

Look at it now in the bright light of day,

and yet just five feet from the bayou,

it's as dark as night.

- I've heard most all these swamp people's folk stories.

Never heard any about any Damballa.

They've got nothing better to do

than chase up and down this hot bayou looking for somebody,

some nut who lives on some theoretical haunted island,

haunted by some voodoo lady who turns herself into a snake?

You gotta be kidding, Lieutenant.

Now, let me tell you the story.

At least as I remember it,

as it was passed down by my grandfather.

This island we're gonna look at has a house on it.

A big house.

Completely furnished, but nobody lives in it.

Been that way for 150 years.

Nobody owns it, nobody wants to.

He used to go to the island with my father

when he was sheriff.

I always noticed even on a hot summer day,

there was a cool breeze.

Yet, there was fog.

Five or six people did try to claim the island.

Squatter's rights.

The longest one of them stayed was one night,

and they'd come back with stories

of Aztec princes, voodoo rites, the living dead.

Everything imaginable.

And now, one man gets a discharge from the Army,

a good pension, moves on to the island,

he's been there for a month.

But I just can't stand it.

I've got to go look.

- You mean you can't stand it, we gotta go look.

What does Damballa mean?

I looked it up in the encyclopedia.

The Aztecs believe that Damballa

is the link between this world and the next.

They believe it's a rainbow that turns into a snake,

and in order to cross over into the next world,

you have to walk over this rainbow or snake,

or whatever the hell.

Well, here it is.

The haunted island.

Oh, we have a welcoming committee I see.

- Yeah, I heard you coming about 10 minutes off.

Ah, grab the rope.

Thank you. - You're fine.

Hello. Nice to see you.

We don't get many visitors out here.

How do you do?

I'm Lieutenant Harrigan, this is Sergeant Buck.

We just happened to be in the neighborhood,

and thought we'd stop by and give you a welcome.

Well, that's fine.

How about coming up onto the house

and have a cold beer or a cup of coffee?

Good.

Sure is nice and cool here.

Notice it, Sarge?

I'll be.

There's fog on the island, 11 o'clock.

Hot sun, hot day.

I've never seen anything like that.

The fog is always here.

And if you walk into it,

there's always a cool breeze blowing.

Down by the trail, there's a fallen meteorite.

You know, there's no natural rocks

in this part of the country,

and at night it's the quietest place you've ever been.

How about coming in for a drink now?

Good.

What would you like?

Coffee.

How about a beer?

See, what did I tell you?

An island with a house.

- You know, I can't even get anyone to come out here

and clean up for me.

In fact, the only human I've seen out here

is a black-haired girl who goes swimming

back down by the pond.

A woman in that pond?

That ain't a human being in 10 miles of this place.

Any human being who'd want to come to this place,

that I know of.

- I've run down there as fast as I could to catch it,

find out how she gets in.

She always hightails it out.

How long you been here?

About two and a half months.

I thought you been here about a month?

Oh, I've been here about two and a half.

I retired from the Army after 15 years,

picked up a little metal in Vietnam,

and took my medical discharge, retired.

- Yeah, so I understand from the postmaster.

You're quite the talk of the town,

being a retired colonel from the Rangers.

I guess that explains why a little thing like black magic

and voodoo doesn't scare you.

You know, I've always been interested in this place.

Heard a lot of stories about it.

Anything strange happen out here that you know of?

- No, I've always looked for a quiet place to settle down.

I think I found it.

In fact, the only thing strange around here is the fog

and the coolness.

It must have something to do with the swamp

or the water table.

The swamp?

You like the swamp?

I lived in it all my life in Florida.

Spent four years in it in Vietnam.

Well, Ted...

I hope you're keeping that money of yours in a safe place.

You worked hard for it.

Our banker tells us that you don't have an account with him.

Ah...

I'm not worried about that.

I got a lot of time.

I got the rest of my life.

- Keeping a lot of money around in this country

could be dangerous.

Ah, it's a good time to leave, I see the tide's in.

Thanks a lot for your hospitality.

Enjoyed meeting you.

Next time you're in town, stop in.

The coffee pot's always on.

Better than that, I'll buy you a beer.

Great, I'll untie the boat.

Hello, Sergeant Buck.

Mr. Abair.

This is the man the Lieutenant asked me to bring by.

He's settling on haunted island.

Ted Watkins, I'd like you to meet Fred Abair,

he runs our local bank here in Covington.

How do you do, Mr. Watkins?

Pleasure to meet you.

Sit down. - Nice to meet you, Mr. Abair.

- The Lieutenant's been talking to me about you.

I'm very concerned about the amount of money

that you're keeping in your cabin on the island.

How did you know that?

- Well, you cashed your retirement and disability checks

with the local chain.

Mr. Joyce, the manager, called me the first two times

to verify the checks.

The first time you bought supplies from him,

you cashed 12 at one time.

12 times $1,500 is a lot of money.

Wow.

I'd like to see somebody take it away from me.

- I've seen people kill each other for three alligator hides

worth $20 a piece.

Imagine what they'd do for this amount of money.

I just cashed another check.

Perhaps you're right.

Why don't we open an account,

and you can have your check sent directly to the bank

and draw them as you see fit.