The Case of the Devlin House is the third episode of the first season of the Netflix original supernatural series, Dead Boy Detectives.
Synopsis[]
The group tries to free a family of spirits from a nightmarish loop inside a haunted house, but it triggers an extreme case of déjà vu for one detective.
Plot[]
The Dead Boys search for a new case
Edwin, Charles, Crystal, and Niko conduct a number of interviews to determine their next case. Niko questions if there are as many ghosts everywhere as there are in Port Townsend. Edwin explains that this is due to overpopulation. They were never supposed to be so many people in the world. The afterlife is having trouble keeping track of everyone. That leaves ghosts with issues, and more cases for them to solve. They proceed to interview another potential client, this one is a woman named Susan Kessler. Her brother-in-law killed her sister and her two nieces in 1994, referring to the Devlin murder from 30 years ago. Her sister's husband snapped, killed his family, and then himself. Susan believes someone or something is still inside the house where they died. She inherited the house after their deaths, but could never bring herself to go in. Then, after she died last week, she wanted to visit one last time, but when she got close, she heard screaming inside. Something horrible is still in the house, and she has to make sure her family is at peace before she moves on. In terms of compensation, she offers a large jar of coins. A ghost with an unbearable migraine then comes running in and his head explodes, leaving the boys covered in an unknown substance.
Edwin expresses his annoyance with Charles constantly seeking to run off with Crystal, who wants to get the tension out of the way and admits that if she wasn't being stalked by David and if Charles was alive then maybe something could happen between them, to which Charles replies that it is still doable as it stands. Nevertheless, Edwin, joined by Niko, will be going to the library to conduct actual research.
Crystal asks Jenny about the Devlin murders. She was super young when it happened, so all she ever heard was small town rumor gossip.
Edwin disguises himself as a woman so that Niko doesn't look hysterical as if she's talking to herself in the library. Maxine the librarian has pulled all the Devlin family articles on microfiche and directs them to the machine.
Jenny reveals to Crystal that the Devilns lived in the old two-story on Haywood during the 1990s. They were the model family, but one night the dad went ballistic and killed the mom and daughters while they were watching TV.
Meanwhile, Edwin and Niko discover that the father used an ax to kill his family, a detail that Susan failed to mention.
Jenny tells Crystal about the Devlin murders
Jenny claims that the reason that he snapped was allegedly because the wife had an affair or the new RadioShack in town was taking business from his electronic shop. Crystal heard the house is haunted, to which Jenny replies, then it's a good thing they're tearing it down. To Charles and Crystal's surprise, Esther enters the shop. While Jenny grabs her order, Esther asks about Edwin, but Crystal is more interested in the gigantic, bloody woman who lives in an ocean inside of Esther's head. Esther made a deal with Lilith, a primordial god, for immortality. As Charles and Crystal are leaving, Esther taps Charles's leg with her iron cane, burning his skin. From Jenny, Esther is purchasing tallow, which Jenny reveals is just fat, but for Esther, it's a secret ingredient in her skincare regimen, as eating the right combination of things can really keep the years at bay.
Monty introduces himself to Edwin and Niko
Monty bumps into Edwin and Niko at the library, revealing that the reasons he can see ghost is because he was in a short coma from a car accident. He claims to be studying astrology, and correctly guesses that Niko is an Aquarius and that Edwin is a Capricorn.
The Night Nurse request travel approval to go to earth with a form G 1215, but she has a vague location. Night Nurse explains that the Dead Boys are not where they're supposed to be and the function of the Lost & Found Department is to ensure that all children go to their appointed place. Unfortunately for Night Nurse, per their rules, access to earth is granted within a 2 km zone when apprehending offending ghosts. And so the Notary Department denies her request. Should she come back with the precise location on the mortal plane, and her request will be granted for travel.
Edwin, Charles, and Crystal enter the old Devlin house
Now that Susan is dead, the Devlin house is being demolished tomorrow morning, leaving them with just one night to uncover what remains in the house so that Susan can move onto her afterlife. Edwin, Charles, and Crystal enter the old Devlin house on Haywood. As two cats continue to watch over Edwin from outside the window at the Cat King's behest, Owner of a Lonely Heart begins playing throughout the house. They see the dad, Brandon Devlin, and then look over to the living room and see the daughters and mom sitting on the couch watching TV static, at which point, Mr. Devlin returns with the ax in hand. He seemingly found a letter between his wife and a man named Hudson, who she was planning on leaving him for. Mr. Devlin says that none of them can leave and proceeds to kill his wife with an ax before killing his daughters, as Crystal and the Boys watch in horror. Mr. Devlin then heads upstairs and shoots himself. The scene then resets, with Owner of a Lonely Heart playing once more, but this time, they watch as the wife and her daughters get on the couch and shout up to Mr. Devlin to turn his music down so they can watch TV, at which point, Mr. Devlin enters with an ax and butchers his family once more before he heads upstairs and kills himself yet again, leading Edwin to conclude that the Devlins are stuck in a loop and Mr. Devlin has been killing his family repeatedly since 1994.
Edwin, Charles, and Crystal discuss the Stone Tape Theory. On rare occasions, Edwin explains that if the emotional trauma of death is visceral enough, it can leave a psychic imprint on the space, in the very walls around them. Locks those spirits in a kind of loop, unable to change anything, unaware they're even dead. They essentially lost and unable to move onto their afterlife. In theory, these cases have a trigger, an event that caused the loop. If they can find it, they can break the cycle. Charles suspects that this alleged letter from a man named Hudson is what set everything in motion. They don't have much time; without a space to contain the loop, the ghost will be destroyed with the house. If the house is demolished with them inside, they will be erased, no afterlife, no closure, just darkness forever. It's the worst thing that can happen to a ghost.
Litty and Kingham taunt Niko for having dinner alone on a Friday night. However, she isn't bothered by their remarks, revealing that the others are working a case at a spooky house across town. However, they claim she was left behind because she sucks, which upsets Niko. Litty and Kingham claim that her friends are going to die in the house, and so she covers them up with a sweater.
Edwin, Charles, and Crystal go room to room in search of the letter. This is when Crystal then a strange growling noise coming from the vent, which she shares with Charles, who has just found Hope's diary. She recounts how her father is always watching her and how his rules keep getting stricter, so she can't wait to graduate and leave. Charles shares with Crystal that he checks in on his parents not only because he misses them, but to make sure his dad isn't hurting his mom, like he'd hurt Charles, who could never make him happy no matter what he did. Hope felt similarly, and now she's stuck.
Edwin has recovered Hope's acceptance letter from Milwaukee. Additionally, the school is called Hudson University. Mr. Devlin joins them in the room and shoot's himself. They now realize that he wasn't talking to his wife when he said, "You think you can leave me for Hudson?" He was talking to Hope. In order to prevent the loop, Crystal rips up the acceptance letter, but it rematerializes, and they watch again as Mr. Devlin retrieves it from a drawer. They rush downstairs to watch the loop play through as before, unsure how to stop it.
Litty and Kingham continue to taunt Niko, accusing her of being a coward, though she retorts that she simply has a reasonable fear of death. Nevertheless, the sprites words resonate with Niko, leading her to leave the apartment to go help her friends.
Edwin suspects that the letter wasn't the trigger after all, as the loop continues to play. Crystal then points out the weird clicking sound throughout the house that she's been hearing, but Edwin isn't interested in what she has to say, and Charles has grown tired of watching Mr. Devlin kill his family, so he's takes matters into his own hands. He tries to hit Mr. Devlin, who counters his attack and knocks Charles on the ground, leaving him in a frozen state. After Mr. Devlin kills himself again, Charles disappears. As the loop resets, Charles appears on the steps, with Edwin and Crystal realizing that Charles is now a part of the loop, as just like before, he attempts to attack Mr. Devlin before he can kill his family.
Edwin and Crystal regroup to discuss their next move. In order to get imprinted into the loop, it takes a strong emotional response to the trauma. Crystal deduces Charles dealt with serious abuse during his childhood and looks at Mr. Devlin as his own dad. Edwin refuses to believe that he missed this or that Charles would hide it from him, but Crystal explains that everybody keeps secrets. When Crystal expresses how annoyed she is with the repeated music playing, Edwin realizes that it must relate to the loop, as they searched the entire house and haven't come across a single stereo. Somewhere in the house is a room they haven't found yet.
Edwin and Crystal head upstairs to the master bedroom, where they find a secret hidden door behind her dresser. In this secret room, they find not only the stereo, but a monitoring set up with cameras set up all around the house. With the loop being imprinted within the walls of the house, Crystal begins to look for items that may be the actual trigger, such as the VHS tapes and the camera recordings. But Edwin stops her from smashing it, explaining that if the tape is holding the loop, then destroying it will be the same as destroying the house, meaning they lose Charles. So instead of destroying it, Crystal proposes they remove the images by recording new images over them or static. Should this work, Crystal must be ready to run, because once the family is freed, Death will come, and Charles and Edwin have been running for her for over 30 years. They can't be there to be claimed along with the Devlins. Crystal then begins to hear the clicking sound again. This time Edwin hears it too as a Misery Wraith turns the corner. Edwin covers Crystal's mouth and explains that he's often seen them sulking in Hell and that they feed off of negative emotions. The pain in the loop must've drawn it. Edwin advises her to simply think happy thoughts. If she attracts it with negativity, it will break her mind and feed off her agony for years. David then pulls Crystal away. He begs to crawl back inside of her and destroy the wraith. He can feel the negative vibes in her, and her new friends make her weak. Not only that, but he recalls all the good time they had together begin bad. She accuses him of making her do those things, but David argues otherwise, explaining to her that if she ever wants to know what's real and what's not, she hast to let them back in.
With Crystal incapacitated, Edwin records over the tape, which seems to destroy the loop. However, Crystal's rendezvous with David puts her in direct danger with the wraith, who lunges at her, but Edwin rescues her first. David says that she doesn't have to love or like him, but he will get back in her. When she comes to, Edwin has pulled her out of the secret room, and they lock the wraith inside. They return downstairs to see that the loop has ended. However, this means that Death will soon come, so they must flee. They watch from outside as Death arrives.
Niko comes to save the Dead Boys and Crystal
Crystal thanks Edwin for saving her from the wraith, and he tells her that she did some very good detective work. As for Crystal, Edwin reminds her that demons lie, and that they don't know for certain that what David showed her is true. As they're making their way back home, they see Niko running towards them clanging a crowbar on a pan top, revealing that she read on the internet that banging pots and pans together scares away evil.
On their way back home, they discuss their encounter with the wraith, which Charles insists must be dust by now, as they can't survive without pain. Niko then spots Monty waiting for them outside of the butcher shop. He's come with a reading for Edwin and would like his opinion.
The cats continue to watch over Edwin, noting that the Cat King won't be happy about Edwin's new friend. Esther watches from afar as her plan is in action.
Having crossed over, the Devlin girls find themselves in the Lost & Found Department after being on the missing list for 29 years. Night Nurse learns from them that they were stuck haunting a house in Port Townsend until by Crystal and the Dead Boys. And so Night Nurse requests to know everything they do.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- George Rexstrew as Edwin Payne
- Jayden Revri as Charles Rowland
- Kassius Nelson as Crystal Palace
- Briana Cuoco as Jenny Green
- Ruth Connell as Night Nurse
- Yuyu Kitamura as Niko Sasaki
- Jenn Lyon as Esther Finch
Guest Starring[]
- David Iacono as David the Demon
- Joshua Colley as Monty
- Lindsey Gort as Maxine
- Max Jenkins as Kingham
- Caitlin Reilly as Litty
- Lauren K. Robek as Female Trawler Reporter
- Mary Ann Welshans as Notary
Co-Starring[]
- Hannah Bos as Hannah Devlin
- Miguel Castillo as Migraine Ghost
- Christine Chatelain as Stacey Devlin
- Jason Deline as Brandon Devlin
- Ken Godmere as Frail Ghost
- Amanda Gray as Shushing Mom
- Quinn Greysen as Secretary Ghost
- Troy James as Misery Wraith
- Pam Kearns as Susan Kessler
- Devon Kenzo as Beach Bum Ghost
- Audrey Mallett as Hope Devlin
- Amber Nash as Tabby Cat
- André Sogliuzzo as Grey Cat
- Kailey Spear as Undead Woman the First
- Samantha Spear as Undead Woman the Second
Gallery[]
Promotional Images[]
References[]