pilot

SUMMARY
Lawrence, Kansas – 22 years ago

A mother and father are tucking in their two sons Dean and Sam. The mother, Mary, gets up and finds her husband John standing over Sam’s crib. Noticing a flickering light, she knocks it into place and sees the TV running downstairs. Her husband is asleep at the TV and she runs upstairs and screams. Her husband hears her and goes up to find Sam alive and well, but blood is dripping from the ceiling – Mary is dead and sticking to the ceiling, and bursts into flame. John grabs Sam and gives him to Dean and tells him to run outside – he goes to get his wife but fire consumes the house and he barely makes it out.

Stanford University – Present Day

A now college-age Sam is preparing to go to a Halloween party – Sam is set up for law school and has an interview the next Monday. Back at his apartment he spots an intruder and they fight – it turns out the intruder is Dean, his brother, who is here to talk about private family business. Dean reveals their father has disappeared during a “hunting” trip. Dean wants Sam to take off with him to find their father, who goes “hunting” for supernatural creatures – the brothers have as well in the past but Sam’s given it up. Their father John was looking into disappearances of men along a specific stretch of road. John left Dean a voice-mail message warning of danger and containing EVP. Dean’s analysis of the EVP reveals a woman saying, “I can never go home.” Dean appeals to Sam for help and he reluctantly agrees as long as they’re back by Monday.

Jericho, California

A boy, Troy, is driving along when he spots an oddly-distorted woman in white along the side of the road as his radio goes out. He offers her a ride and she asks him to take her home. She comes on to him and asks him to come home with her. Troy agrees and they drive up to an abandoned house – he turns to her and she’s vanished. He approaches the house and something leaps out at him and he drives away, unaware she’s in the back until it’s too late and he drives onto a closed bridge where he dies horribly in a flurry of blood.

Dean and Sam arrive at Jericho when they spot the police checking out the dead boy’s car on the bridge. Dean has a Federal Marshal fake ID and passes himself off as an investigator and takes to the police, who are looking for Troy. There find out have been other disappearances and they head out as the FBI arrive. They meet up with Troy’s girlfriend Amy, who reveals there’s a local legend of a girl who was murdered, and her ghost hitchhikes and the person picking her up disappears. They find a 1981 record of a woman, Constance Wells, who committed suicide off the bridge after her two children died in the bathtub. That night they go out to check the bridge and spot Constance on the railing as she jumps – then their car starts up and comes after them on its own. They dive over the side and Dean ends up in the water with Sam holding on to the side.

They check into a hotel and find their dad’s room – he used mystical wards to keep spirits out of the room. They figure out their dad found out about Constance and conclude he would have dug up the corpse. The police catch up to them and Sam escapes while Dean gets arrested. The sheriff knows about their father John and has his journal, but Dean doesn’t say anything. Sam links up with Constance’s husband Joseph. Sam reveals that there are legends of such women who take revenge on their cheating husbands, kill their children, and then kill themselves. Then they come back as ghosts to kill unfaithful men. When the sheriff is called away for a 911 call (which Sam faked), Dean picks his handcuffs and sneaks out of the police station. Dean is sure that their father is alive and has left town – Sam’s on the phone and drives right through the Woman in White, who then appears in his back seat. When he refuses to take her home, the car doors lock and the car drives itself to the abandoned house. She comes on to Sam and plans to ensure he’s unfaithful so she can kill him. She starts to reach her hand into his chest but Dean Arrives and opens fire, driving her off. Sam drives the car into the house, “taking her home.” The two brothers confront the spirit, who slams them into the wall with a dresser. But the lights come up water starts dripping down the stairs from the two children as their ghosts appear. They embrace her and they all three disappear in a flash of light and a smear of black fluid.

The two brothers head to Colorado following the coordinates their father left behind, but Sam insists he’s has to go to his interview. Dean drops him off but when Sam gets back to his apartment, he finds his girlfriend dead and suspended from the ceiling, the same as his mother years earlier. The apartment bursts into flame but Dean comes back to rescue him. Realizing he has no choice, Sam unites with his brother to find their father and the creature that is clearly stalking their family.

GUEST STARS
Elizabeth Bond .... Amy Hein

Hunter Brochu .... Sam's Friend

R.D. Call .... Sheriff

Sandra-Jessica Couturier .... Monica - Flight Attendent

Richard Dano .... Hotel Clerk (as Rick Dano)

Ross Kohn .... Troy Squire

Miriam Korn .... Rachel

Jeffrey Dean Morgan .... John Winchester

Adrianne Palicki .... Jessica

Steve Railsback .... Joseph Welch

Sarah Shahi .... The Woman in White/Constance Welsh

Jamil Walker Smith (as Jamil Z. Smith)

Samantha Smith .... Mary Winchester

Derek Webster

Cletus Young



QUOTES
Sam: Car all right?
Dean: Yeah, whatever she did to it, it seems all right now. That Constance chick--what a b*tch!

Sheriff: Boy, you are officially a suspect!
Dean: That makes sense, since when the first one went missing in '82 I was three!

Policeman: So you want to give us your real name?
Dean: I told you, it’s Nugent. Ted Nugent.

Sam: You smell like a toilet.

Policeman: Who are you?
Dean: Federal Marshals.
Policeman: You two are a little young for Marshals, aren’t you? Dean: Thanks, that’s awfully kind of you.

Jessica: Just let me put something on.
Dean: No, no, no... I wouldn't dream of it. Seriously.

Sam: No. Whatever you wanna say you can say it in front of her.
Dean: Dad's on a hunting trip and he hasn't been home in a few days.
Sam: Jess, excuse us, we have to go outside.

Sam: So what's the theory?
Policeman: Seriously? We don't know. Serial murder, kidnapping ring...
Dean: Well, that's exactly the kinda crack police work I'd expect outta you guys...

Sam: So how'd you pay for that stuff? You and Dad still running credit card scams?
Dean: Well, yeah. Hunting ain't exactly a pro ball career. Besides, all we do is apply. It's not our fault they send us the cards...

Sam: Dude, you gotta update your cassette tape collection.
Dean: Why?
Sam: Well for one they are cassette tapes. And two, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Metallica... its the greatest hits of mullet rock.
Dean: House rules, Sammy, driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cake hole.
Sam: Sammy is a chubby 12 year old. It's Sam okay. Dean: Sorry cant hear you. The music's too loud.

Dean: (nodding at two agents) Thank You. Agent Mulder, Agent Scully.

Dean: Nice work, Sammy. Sam: (painful laughing) Yeah, wish I could say the same for you. What were you thinking shooting Casper in the face, you freak?
Dean: Hey, saved your ass! I'll tell you another thing. If you screwed up my car, I'll kill you.

Sam: Dad let you go on a hunting trip by yourself?
Dean: I'm 26, dude.

Dean: So, what are you gonna do? You just gonna live some normal, apple pie life? Is that it?
Sam: No, not normal. Safe.

Jess: Just let me put something on.
Dean: No, no, no... I wouldn't dream of it. Seriously.

Dean: I love the Smurfs.

Sam: What the hell are you doing here ?
Dean: I was looking for a beer.
Sam: Dean...what the hell are you doing here?
Dean: Okay, all right. We gotta talk.
Sam: Um... the phone ?
Dean: If I woulda called you would you have picked up?

Sam: Hey Dean. What I said earlier, about Mom and Dad, I'm sorry.
Dean: No chick flick moments.
Sam: Alright...jerk.
Dean: Bitch.

Officer: So, fake U.S. Marshall. Fake credit cards. You got anything that's real?
Dean: My boobs.

Sheriff: I'm not sure you realize just how much trouble you're in here.
Dean: You talkin' about misdemeanor kind of trouble or squeal like a pig trouble?

Jess: Wait, you're taking off? Is this about your dad? Is he all right?
Sam:Yeah, you know, just a little family drama.
Jess: You're brother said he's on some kind of hunting trip?
Sam: Oh, yeah. He's just deer hunting up at the cabin. He's probably got Jim, Jack, and Jose along with him. I'm just going to go bring him back.

Dean: Dad hasn't been home in a few days.
Sam: So he's working overtime on a Miller Time shift. He'll stumble back in sooner or later.

Sam: We got work to do.

Sam: Yeah? When I told dad I was scared of the thing in my closet he gave me a .45.
Dean: Well what was he supposed to do?
Sam: I was nine years old. He was supposed to say "Don’t be afraid of the dark."
Dean: Don’t be afraid of the dark? What, are you kidding me - of course you should be afraid of the dark! You know what’s out there!

TRIVIA
On its original airing, this episode scored 5.78 million viewers for The WB.
The brothers drive a 1967 Chevy Impala.
Dean's car's registration number is KAZ 2Y5.

REFERENCES
Poltergeist in Amherst
In 1878, Esther Teed (her last name is Teed in the 'Ghosts and Spirits' book) of Amherst, Nova Scotia was victimised in one of the most frighteningly haunting cases in Canadian history. The poltergeist, which dubbed himself "Bob" in written messages on walls, tormented not only nineteen year old Esther, but also anyone who tried to help her, including her entire family

The spirit first made its presence known by frightening and then sickening Esther; at one point the girl's body swelled to nearly double it's normal size. The family called in doctors and clergy to help, but the haunting escalated, terrifying the family with deafening noises, horrifying threats, unspeakable violence and spontaneous fire-starting. As word of these occurrences spread, curious people began gathering in the Teed house.

Eventually, the Teed's landlord, distressed at the damage that was occurring, requested that Esther leave the property. The house immediately returned to normal: Esther, however, was harassed by the spirit one last time, when it followed her into a barn and set it alight. Esther was arrested and sentenced to four months in jail, but appeals from friends who knew her history led to her release. Soon after, Esther married and the spirit ceased his visitations.

Devil's gate in Clifton
A legendary subterranean passageway in Passaic, New Jersey that many people believe ultimately leads to the lair of the devil. The area is a maze of underground tunnels and storm sewers: deep inside, a network of dead trees can be found, each planted exactly three feet apart. According to numerous accounts, dead cats and birds hang from the tree trunks, and an evil spirit guards the passage.

E.V.P. (Electronic Voice Phenomenon)
The recording of voices on audiotapes, that have no known physical source. EVP researchers capture the voices of spirit beings, made possible when the beings interrupt the Electro Magnetic Field (EMF). EVP is the first high technology method that allows communication with the dead and other discarnate beings. A simple audio cassette recorder is all that is necessary to reveal these previously unheard voices to the human ear.

Goldwave
A professional digital audio editor. Among other things the program can be used to digitally re master and restore old recordings with noise reduction and pop/click filters, and to analyse human and animal voices.

Silver Bullet
As first reported in folklore, the silver bullet is the only weapon capable of killing a witch, giant, or person living a changed or supernatural life. Werewolves, for example, are widely known to be vulnerable to silver bullets.
In various traditions, silver is the metal most commonly associated with the moon and the human soul.

Crucifix / Cross
A representation of the cross on which Jesus was crucified, representing the goodness of Christ and God and the power of good over evil. Crosses are used to ward off vampires and demons that are associated with Satan. Much vampire lore insists that the one holding the cross must have faith if it is to work properly as a deterrent.

A cross isn`t usually powerful enough to kill a vampire or demon on it's own, but it can drain them in strength, burn their flesh and keep them at a safe distance.

Voodoo in New Orleans
A type of folk lore magic used in New Orleans and surrounding areas marked by a belief in sorcery, primitive deities, fetishes and magical spells and curses. In voodoo, objects like roots, gris-gris bags, powders, graveyard dirt and "puppets" or "voodoo dolls" are employed for magical effect for the purpose of material gain or against and enemy.

Voodoo is more or less synonymous with hoodoo and is not to be confused with the religion of Vodou.

Woman in White
A folk tale with many variations. The most famous is a Mexican story about La Llorona the Sobbing Woman.

The story takes place long ago when a beautiful Indian princess, Dona Luisa de Loveros, fell in love with a handsome Mexican nobleman named Don Nuna de Monteselaros. The princess loved the nobleman deeply and had two children by him, but Monteselaros refused to marry her. When he finally deserted her and married another woman, Dona Luisa went mad with rage and stabbed her two children. Authorities found her wandering the street, sobbing, her clothes covered in blood. She was charged with infanticide and sent to the gallows.

Ever since, it is said, the ghost of la Llorona walks the country at night in her bloody dress crying out for her murdered children. if she finds any child, she's likely to carry it away with her to nether regions, where her own spirit dwells.

Silver Pentagram
The most common symbol of Neo-Pagan Witchcraft, it has nevertheless been denigrated by movie and publishing industries that try to connect it with Satanism and other malevolent practices. However, like the Roman Cross or Crucifix, it is only when the symbol is INVERTED that it alludes to negativity.

In it's usual upright position (one point uppermost) the pentagram is an ancient symbol of protection from evil. Also called 'the endless knot' (in its interlaced form), the pentagram was often displayed on doors, windows and hearths of houses throughout pre-Christian Europe. It can be traced back to Egyptian and Sumerian cultures, and has even been found on Native American medicine tools. Sometimes confused with the Star of David, or hexagram (a six-pointed star emblematic of Judaism), the pentagram is sometimes called the Star of Solomon, especially by ceremonial magicians.

Wraiths
A scottish weed, first used in England in 1513. A wraith is an apparition, vision, or double of another living person. It's appearance is commonly seen as an omen that the person being doubled is about to die

Banshee
Also Banshi and Benshee, Irish and Scottish in origin. A female death omen that manifests to herald approaching death with wailing. The word is derived from the Old Irish ben sidhe, a woman of the fairy folk, or 'woman of the fairy mound', but it is translated by different scholars in a variety of ways, including Female Fairy, Angel of Death, Lady of Death, Woman of Peace, White Lady of Sorrow, Nymph of the Air and Spirit of the Air, amongst others.

Many people have described the 'terrible wail', which precedes a death, and certain families are traditionally believed to be 'followed' by the Banshee. The word is sometimes also used to denote a sort of demon, but in Nordic folklore the Banshee is always benevolent.