Eli Roth Presents: A Ghost Ruined My Life

I'm Eli Roth. I've spent my life telling horror stories.

But imagine if those stories were real,

and suddenly, you found yourself stalked

and tormented by an evil spirit. And no-one believed you.

These are the actual accounts of terror

as told by the victims who came face to face

with their demons and survived.

I'll show you my room where some of the activity happened.

I lost weight, I mean, my heart would be pounding

when I would go to bed. I was taking melatonin and another sleep aid

and I was taking probably more than I should have, but I just...

It really didn't make that much of a difference.

I just felt total fear to get in bed every night.

Boy!

I want to tell my story because I know

that what I went through was real.

Something was really after me.

And I was on the verge of having a nervous breakdown

or having to be put in a hospital. I really wasn't that far off.

I did live a pretty carefree life.

I knew right and wrong, I just didn't do what I knew was right.

It didn't seem like a big deal at the time.

And that's kind of where my life hit a turning point.

Whoo-hoo! Yeah!

Hey! You trying to drown yourself?! Slow down, man!

Why? This is what I'm here for.

This is what life is for bro! Whoo!

I gotta piss like a racehorse! Line up some more shots!

The whole near-death experience maybe lasted

anywhere between 30 seconds to a minute. I was dead and then I awoke.

It really forced me to kind of just look at the mistake I made.

Cos I mean, there's really not a bigger eye opener than that.

I moved in with my grandpa in Suffolk County.

And it was an opportunity to make my life easier.

And it was an opportunity to help my grandpa cos you know,

he was at an age where it was best for him not to be alone.

You know, I felt happy to move in with him.

This was a place that I was comfortable at.

Hey, Grampa Lou. Welcome to the boondocks, kiddo.

Let me show you up to the guest bedroom.

I remember where it is, Gramps.

I figured I could you know help out.

Do some cooking, some cleaning, whatever you need.

I could be, like, your butler. Bet you always wanted a butler, huh?

So? Anything you want done first? Just name it.

Think we could go visit your grandmother?

Yeah, yeah. For sure. Of course.

She always loved it when you would visit.

She'd be so glad to hear you were coming to stay for a while.

Yeah.

You OK, kiddo? Yeah.

Yeah, I'm fine. You all finished?

You remember any of it?

Any of what? That night, when you fell.

I mean, technically, you were dead for...

No, I don't remember.

And I really don't want to.

Well, your grandmother always said,

"You should always have somebody around."

I mean, it's good to have companionship...

Looking back, it was kind of like a warning before a volcano erupts.

But I missed it.

This vibration in the air felt...

It felt just like the slightest bit of pressure.

It almost felt like when you have two magnets that are opposite

and they're pushing against each other.

I can't compare it to anything else, but it's something

that you feel and you know it's there.

Doug...

Why this was happening or whatever this wanted at that moment,

I had no idea.

And I never imagined it would get as bad as it did.

I can't see anybody but I could hear voices.

And I don't know who they are.

And at that point, I realised that I had a rough road ahead of me.

I remember laying in bed, always at night,

as I'm getting ready to fall asleep. My bed was nudged.

Just enough where I'd feel it, and that was it.

And I remember, the first time it happened,

my gut reaction said, "Did something just move my bed supernatural?"

And as quick as that thought came to mind

is as quick as that thought left.

But it was enough to get my attention.

That I couldn't brush off, I was thinking about it all day.

Is this gonna happen again? And from that day on...

...things weren't the same.

Coffee...

Sleep well, kiddo?

Slept like a baby.

Hello?

Somebody there?

Whoa, whoa, kiddo! It's just me.

Sorry, Gramps. I don't know.

There's something in the woods, I think.

You ever hear anything out there? Like an animal?

In those woods? The most dangerous animal

in those woods is a wild turkey. C'mon! There's a Yankee game on.

Yeah. Yeah, sure.

Gramps?

Something wrong? You OK?

Gramps? You OK?

Huh? You need something?

Why'd you get up? Didn't.

Didn't get up.

Black dog, at your door...

All right, pops. Back to dreamland.

Agh!

I think whatever this was, was trying to show me that

hey, I have physical strength, I'm here, I'm following you

and I'm watching you. And I remember at that point

thinking wow, this thing is doing whatever it can to try to scare me.

You know, I never imagined it would get as bad as it did.

And when things got bad, I never imagined that they would get better.

We are in between worlds when we sleep.

I would dread going to bed every night.

I physically could not fall asleep.

And I remember thinking, if this keeps happening,

I'm not going to make it more than a couple nights.

To me, that was worse than the lack of physical sleep.

The fear took its toll much more.

Mornin'. You're up early.

Yeah. I couldn't sleep, for some reason.

You didn't sleep at all? Yeah.

Hey, um... You remember getting up last night at all?

Nope.

I coulda sworn I heard you up and down the hall last night.

Not me.

But you remember telling me you saw a black dog in the house, right?

What's the plan for today?

Not much.

Maybe take a nap later.

Think we could go visit my cousin Jerry?

Visiting a cemetery, I would just look at it

and I guess I'd feel a little bit fearful.

I'd feel a little bit uneasy.

Jerry was a good man.

He had more friends than anybody I ever knew!

He was the one that first introduced me to your grandmother.

Do you remember meeting Jerry?

You would have been just a kid.

No, I don't remember.

OK. Let's go.

Turn around...

Turn around.

Get lost!

Get!

Maybe you can get some shut-eye when we get back to the house.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's not a bad idea.

I, I just need...

You OK, Doug? Yeah.

When I heard the voice saying turn around, my heart just dropped.

I really drove myself crazy trying to think,

what is this, why is it happening?

I just thought it's trying to tell me something.

I'm right here, I turn around and it was it was saying it maliciously.

That's how I take it.

Boo!

Seriously, Gramps.

Have you ever... felt anything in the house?

Like something's watching you?

Son...

Do you think you need to see a shrink?

Talk to somebody about this? No.

No, Gramps. Never mind.

OK.

That was very real. That's when it hit me

that the house wasn't haunted. It was me.

If I could move out and that was a fix, I would easily have done it.