Melody Pendras is a doctoral candidate, who is looking for her mother after she was left at a doorstep as a baby. She is called to the Visser building by Samuel, who recognizes her as a Baldung.
History[]
Dan gets home and starts working on the tape. He was able to digitize it and sees a woman named Melody on it, who was a doctoral candidate in sociocultural anthropology at NYU. She wonders if the people involved in her project would talk to her and her friend encourages her, saying that maybe she should go with her for protection, but Mel doesn't know what she needs protecting from. The film ends with Mel's friend wishing her luck.
Dan rewinds the tape and looks at Mel, later searching for Visser Apartments, in which there was a huge fire which left 13 lives unaccounted for.
In the middle of the night, Dan wakes up startled. He plugs a USB into his computer and watches Mel and her friend talking again. He zooms into a picture of her and looks at the dog in the photo, which looks a lot like his family's dog. He tells Mark that the dog could be his, but he does not understand how. Mark says that to him, 13 unrecovered bodies meant that they died, but Dan is not sure since he had looked for Mel and could not find her. Mark asks if he was asking all of this because of Jill, but Dan says that he was not, telling him that he had saved up three weeks of allowance to buy his dog Cleo a red dog collar, but Mark does not believe it. Mark tries to convince Dan not to take the job, but Dan sees the picture as a sign and says that he will accept it.
Dan looks at the camera and sees a locked door, which he cannot open. He starts working on a tape and plays it, seeing Mel once again on March 11, 1994 on her first day of the oral history project on the Visser apartment building. Mel explains historical details about the building, saying that it was not known when it was finished or who was the architect behind it, saying that there was some strange detail on the building. A man opens the door and asks her if she was going to walk inside. He says his name is John Smith points her to where everything is. He hands her a key to the building and to the front foor. She asks for Julia Bennett, but he says he could not answer that question. She asks for advice for getting to know people in the building and he simply tells her to stay away from the sixth floor. Mel shows her apartment, saying that she had never lived alone and wishes herself good luck.
In her sleep, Mel hears faint chanting and starts recording. She hears the noise coming from her air conditioning, and when she opens it, the chanting gets louder. Dan is confused by what he sees as well, but the chanting suddenly stops. Mel calls out as Dan keeps watching until he suddenly hears a loud high-pitched whining, which hurts his ears. Mel tells herself to get a grip and records herself the next morning, saying that she was now going to knock on some doors.
Mel knocks a few doors, but gets no response from any of them. She explains from outside that she was doing a project on the Visser Apartments for her disertation. Suddenly, a kid walks through the hallway and knocks on a door, getting an immediate response. Jess introduces herself to Mel, saying that she works for a bunch of tenants in the building since she had lived in the building since she was born. Mel asks if she could introduce her to some of the tenants for her project. They strike a deal when Jess offers her 25 dollars a week.
Mel gets to meet Tamara Stefano, who was born in Rome and had been in New York since she was 10. She says she can't remember how long she had lived there, but says that maybe 6 years since she needed a place that could fit her piano, since she is a composer. Mel says that she thought she heard her compose something the night before, but Tamara tells her that she was doing a show at the Sanctuary the night before. Tamara plays her some of her music, which creeps Mel out because she thought she remembered hearing it the night before. The telephone rings and Tamara leaves while Mel gets visibly uncomfortable and starts falling down. Jess asks if she is okay, but Mel says that the music is making her feel bad.
Dan watches Melody's tape meeting the composer and decides to call Mark, but he does not pick up. Dan leaves him a message telling him that he was doing alright but wants him to look up a composer named Tamara Stefano. He hears static on the phone and hears breathing.
Jess tells Melody that she sometimes got low blood sugar as well. Mel starts interviewing her, asking her to tell her about herself. She introduces herself as Jessica Lewis, a student in the ninth grade at East Village Community High, born on March 8th, 1980 on the stairwell of the Visser building. Jess asks if being born in the building was bad luck, but Mel says that it was a fun story. Jess wonders why she wants to know about the Visser and Mel says that there used to be another building there until it burned down and the Visser was built and now wanted to know why people chose the building. Jess says that something pulled them there and wonders if Samuel had told her about it, but brushes it off when Mel says she does not know Samuel. However, she starts breathing heavily and gets uncomfortable, looking past Jess and moving her chair back. Mel asks if she is okay, but Jess stands up quickly and starts gasping for air until she collapses and starts having a seizure. As Dan kept watching, he heard Melody yell out, albeit distorted and the camera started moving very strangely as he heard snarls and growls, which scared him.
Dan untangles some tape and fixes it, putting it into a new cassette. He looks at the rat and wonders if he would tell him if he saw something on the tape. He the next tape which showed Jess on the floor, but then showed her just fine. Jess asks for Mountain Dew, but Mel wonders if she should call her mom. However, Jess says that it was something that happened to her sometimes, but the doctors all said that whatever happened was just part of her imagination. Her mother takes her to see a Father, but Jess says that she never remembers what she sees. She asks Jess who Samuel is, but Jess asks if she believes that there was another world, different to theirs, but Mel simply apologizes and thinks that she should ask her mom for permission to interview her. Jess wonders if she could be more than she is and be strong enough to hold a new world inside of her and Mel tells her that she could be anything she wanted to be. Jess wonders if she could tell her something, but the video cuts, confusing Dan.
After that, Mel is holding the camera pointed to her scared face. She says that Jess had been taken and is approached by John, who tells her that the sixth floor was off-limits. Mel asks where Jess is and is approached by John as she yells at him that he had taken her. Another man stops her and tells her that Jess was gone; two men stop her and tell her that she needs to go with them. Mel begs to be found and asks for help. A man shows up and tells them that everything would be fine. Dan recognizes his father and sheds a tear, not being able to believe it. Mel yells at the men to get off her.
Dan grabs another tape and starts working on it and playing it. In it, Mel is with Jess as they walk on the street. Jess was doing a client services run and says that she does not remember what she was about to say. At a store, Father Russo greets Jess and Melody, who Jess says is who she used to talk to. Jess records Melody and says that she makes movies as well, but says her mom does not know about her camera.
In the Visser building, Jess gives Ms. Wall something of hers and gets invited to tea. Jess introduces Melody to Ms. Wall, who smells her and does not answer if she wants to be interviewed. After that, Jess greets Beatriz, who already knew about Melody's film and invites her in.
With Beatriz Reyes, Melody is told that she had come to stay with her cousin who ran off with some pothead. She prepares to read Melody's cards as she tells her that residents there are very strange because there was a sex club, meeting in the community room at night. Melody cuts the cards and is told that her past was full of grief and pain; in the present, there was something hidden and had guided her to the building - someone. Melody mentions that she is trying to track down Julia Bennett, who she could not find. Beatriz tells her to check mailbox 4G and tells her that her future contained death, but she tells her not to take the card literally, which shocks Dan.
Melody does to the mailbox when she is found by a man who surprises her. He introduces himself as Samuel and asks her what she wanted to steal, but she says that nothing in particular. She says taht she would walk away and says that it was nice to meet him, but he stops her and asks if she likes music because he would like to know if she listened to opera in case she wanted to go to his friend Tamara's first act. She accepts and is told to go to the Sanctuary at 9pm.
At night, Melody is getting ready to go to the opera, but gets a voicemail from Dr. Turner, which surprises Dan. Turner wonders if she had been getting his messages and said that he talked to her roomate Anabelle, knowing they did not end on a great note, but felt like they had made great progress together. Melody walks up to her phone and deletes the message before static covers the screen.
Dan runs to the woods and sees a small sort of cellar, but is not able to open it. He sees a ladder to the side and calls Mark, telling him through voicemail that Melody did know his father, as she was his patient, so he wanted him to look for patient files. Suddenly, he sees someone in the distance in a red jacket and calls out, running towards the person, who manages to lose him.
Dan's father turns around, so Dan walks after him, but loses him in a large hallway. Footsteps echo and Dan walks towards the noise and sees a woman using keys to walk into a room and closing the door behind her. Dan knocks on door 2D and sees Melody open up. After that, Dan wakes up shocked and sees he had fallen asleep watching TV. After this, he takes a pill and keeps watching Melody's video.
Melody gets ready to see Tamara's opera and walks in. In the Sanctuary, she greets Tamara, who laughs when Melody she tells her that Samuel had invited her. She orders a beer and is greeted by Samuel. They watch Tamara's play, which makes Melody start to feel bad, so she goes somewhere quieter with Samuel. They go back to the bar and start talking about each other, guessing what they do for a living, which makes Melody realize why he was able to afford a penthouse. Melody tells Samuel that her camera was a present from her mom, who had died two years ago. She asks about the secret sex club, so Samuel says that she was probably talking about the Visser Historical Society, of which he was not officially a member, but he was sure that they would be more than happy to help her with her project.
Samuel and Melody head back to the Visser building, where he hands her a spy key. Melody starts kissing him, so asks if she wants red or white and she asks for whiskey. She walks in and opens the mailbox, but Jess sees her and tells her that nobody lives in that apartment since she was born and says that the mail that was in there was probably thrown away by Mr. Smith. She says that there was somebody looking for her, so she had let her in.
In Melody's apartment, she finds Anabelle waiting for her. She says that she she missed her and the two hug. Anabelle records herself saying that Melody had been kissing a man outside, so Melody starts making some tea. Melody turns around and asks why she had given Dr. Turner her number to which anabelle replies that he had asked for it and wonders if she had had sex with him. Samuel walks in and leaves the whiskey on the counter, saying they could have drinks some other night.
After watching the tape, Dan rolls it back to when Anabelle closes up on Melody's face. He walks out and sees the rat, which he calls "Ratty" had made a mess with paper. As he grabs a broom, he sees that the pantry wall is very thin, so he clears it out and uses a big tool to hit the wall and break it. He shines a light through the hole and sees a big space and some stairs which lead underground. In there, he sees a lot of files locked behind a bunch of different doors. At the end, he makes it to a big room, where he looks at a pew with engravings in it.
After that, Dan goes to work on the next tape in which he sees Melody breathing shakily hearing some faint chanting coming from the air conditioning. She tries to wake Anabelle up, but she does not listen, so she turns the light off and walks downstairs. She reaches the community room and hears a woman sepeaking an ancient language through a speaker. As she keeps walking, she sees the tenants chanting. Samuel opens his eyes as Dan is confused while watching. The tenants are all chanting while looking forward at statue of a creature in the middle. They start breathing heavily until they stop suddenly and get up, greeting one another afterwards. Melody hides in the coat closet and walks out once everyone leaves. When she heads up, she heads to the statye, but hears a Samuel and Tamara approach, so she hides. Alone, Samuel and Tamara make out and start moaning until Samuel climaxes and suddenly there is a large buzz, which hurts Dan's ears.
Melody walks back up to her apartment, waking Anabelle, who thought she was back from visiting Samuel. However, Melody says that there was something happening in the building - something very fucked up. She tells Anabelle about the tenants singing their horrible song and the statue, so she says that they should leave, but she says she cannot leave. She tells her that the reason she was there was because of her birth mother, who was not Lila. She shows Anabelle a letter that was given to her by St. Joseph's, saying that a woman named Julia Bennett was looking for her. She needs to find her because she really wants to know who she is, so Anabelle tells her that they would stay and find her.
Melody gets a knock at her door, which Anabelle tells her not to answer. However, she gets up and sees nobody there. Dan remembers when he knocked on a door in his dream and Melody opened up as the tape cuts.
Melody tells Dr. Turner that her mother left her in a church when she was two months old and spent the next 10 years at St. Joseph's. She describes herself as a strange kid who was always in trouble because of closing her eyes and scratching everything she had written down. One day, she told a nun that there was another place and something in her drawings, which she knows sounds crazy, but she feels something pulling at her, so she knows there is another place. She tells Dr. Turner that that happened until her foster mother Lila got her out of there, but she had died the spring before and she was now starting to see those things again. Dr. Turner says that they could work on a few techniques in order to deal with her anxiety. Dan hears as Melody is introduced to Cleo, who is excited to see her.
Later at a circle, Dan is seated when approached by Melody, who walks in and starts talking to him. Dan says he can leave the room, but Melody tells him that it is fine since he was in the community room and part of the community. She introduces herself, and so does he; she tells him that she just moved in, so he says that he is new too. She asks him if he thinks the building is weird and he agrees, so she tells him that they should grab a drink sometime.
Dan starts working on the next tape, where Anabelle tells Melody to make it official, so Melody is in the community room telling Anabelle about the cabinet with a sort of totem inside and a recording of some strange voice that came from a stereo, which plays a normal song. Anabelle says that maybe Jess knew something, but Melody feels bad about dragging a 14 year-old into the situation. Cassandra walks in and pins something on the bulletin board; Melody greets her, but gets no response as Cassandra walks up to Anabelle and starts smelling her, telling her she is lovely. Melody asks if she had seen her there the night before, but Cassandra says that she does not think so. However, when Melody asks about her meeting with Samuel and other people, Cassandra simply asks if she plays canasta because they could sign up on the board.
Melody knocks on Jess's apartment and walks in, asking her if she was okay. However, Jess tells her that she got in a fight and does not want to wait, not wanting to call her mom. She says that her mother would take her to Father Russo, who would tell her she was not trying hard enough to have faith and be worthy of God's love. Melody understands and Jess says that she does not want people seeing her like that, since the other teenagers were right and there was something wrong with her. Melody tells her she would be fine, since he had moments of terror before but found someone who helped her. Jess does not believe her.
Anabelle does not think Jess's mother would appreciate Melody taking her daughter to a shrink, but Melody wants to help since she knows that the Catholic church would not help. She wants to take Jess to Dr. Turner since he owed her a favor, but recognizes that he really helped her out and was a good person.
Dan starts looking through tapes and finds one which he plays on his walkman. In it, Melody takes Jess to Dr. Turner, who tells him she cannot remember when her episodes started. She says that right before they happen, she feels as if she is being pulled somewhere, but then comes back. Dr. Turner asks if she likes fogs and hands her a treat. After that, Dr. Turner opens the door so Jess could greet Cleo. Now alone, Dr. Turner tells Melody that what Jess has could be anxiety, stress or a seizure disorder, but needs to do a full neurological workup, which he cannot do without written parental consent. Melody says that she is worried about her, but Dr. Turner asks her how she is doing. She says that she went looking for her mother, which she knows he does not approve of, but he says that it is not his place to have an opinion, but does not want her to get hurt. Melody says that maybe her mother wants to see her, but is scared to do so. She asks Dr. Turner if he ever gets scared of his kids and he says that they scare him all the time because he is afraid that they won't love him as much as he loves them. Jess's mother shows up and asks Melody who she thinks she is taking Jess to a doctor behind her back, but Melody says that she thought Jess had permission. Jess admits tht she did not have time to ask, so her mother tells her to stay out of their business. Dr. Turner tells her that she cannot parent other people's kids, but she tells him that she used to pray that somebody would go and parent her and leaves.
Dan talks to Ratty about Cleo, which he had insisted on getting. However, Cleo ran away after the fire since she was not really a city dog. Dan leaves the room and heads downstairs, where he sees Melody waiting for him. She tells him about the fantas and says that she had probably made the wrong choice once again. He tells her that she does not let people down, but she says that he does not know her. However, he says that she is a good person who cares about people. After that, Dan wakes up and keeps watching the tapes.
Melody tells Anabelle that she wants to meet Father Russo, saying maybe she could enlist him to get Jess some real help. Melody sits through mass and waits until the end until Father Russo approaches her. Melody asks him for an interview, which he agrees to. She sees a cabinet, which sparks her interest and asks him what is inside, but he simply tells her that she would be surprised how many forbidden texts are kept by the Church in their vaults. He says that he had been in St. Albert's since 1987 and there have been less people coming to mass. She asks him about Julia Bennett, who he says he does not recognize. He tells her that he noticed she did not take the Eucharist even though she was raised Catholic. He tells her that he did not care for school either since he had a lot of darkness, but after years spent outside of God's grace, he realized that the answers were within the Chuch, but she says that that had not been her experience.
Melody tells Father Russo that she was still getting settled in the Visser, but as he asks if she had noticed anything odd, Jess's mother asks for help as Jess starts having a seizure. They race towards Jess, who was on the floor and Father Russo is able to bring her back.
At a drug store, Melody and Anabelle walk around grabbing some things for Jess. Melody grabs a small bunny for Jess and wonders if her mother would finally get her some help. She tells Anabelle that she is a good person, which she agrees with. Anabelle asks her if she remembers Auntie Mame from the community room because she is rich and an art collector, who wants to see her stuff. Melody says that maybe she would buy something so Anabelle could pitch in for rent.
Melody walks to Jess’s apartment, where they hear her calling for help. The furniture scrapes as Tamara opens up her door, complaining about the volume of Jess’s television. She tells Jess that Father Russo was there and was blasting the television as he usually did; Melody tells her that they need to go in, so Tamara hands her a key. Melody and Anabelle have a hard time opening the door, but once they get in the room, they see Father Russo making Jess drink something, so she pushes him out of the way after seeing Jess in pain. Jess begs her mom to stop, as Father Russo asks her to have courage. Suddenly, Samuel shows up and yells at them to stop, telling Father Russo that he was done there. John Smith grabs Father Russo and pushes him outside as Samuel asks Jess how she is doing. He tells Jess’s mother that Father Russo is a fraud and he has friends from Columbia who are experts in pediatric neurology, which he can pay for. They accept as Melody and Anabelle leave the room.
Melody approaches Father Russo and tells him that she thought he was different, but his ways of fixing things are the same and medieval. He tells her that she has no idea what was happening there and asks her if she really thinks she would find who she was looking for because there is a terrible darkness in the building, so she should leave.
Dan walks into the chapel which is now open while Mark pours himself a drink. Mark tells him that Melody did not show and nobody was at her house, so he would go back later. Dan tells him that there was a housekeeper who he convinced to let him into the chapel. He tells Mark that the chapel had no cameras but it did have an entrance to the tunnels, so he now had 7 hours of an empty corridor recorded which was now looped back into the feed, so now he has to get a code for the door. Mark tells him they could have used his skills all these years, but Dan says he is only halfway there and Mark admits that he lied about Melody and says that it was not her, but someone different who had bought her identity and had enough details to fool anyone who might come looking. Dan asks if he could keep looking and Mark says that the only way stealing another person's identity like that is if the real person is dead. Dan thanks him for making the trip and says he would talk to him later.
Dan keeps watching the videos, where Melody hopes that Jess will get some real help now. Dan pauses the tape and plays it again, seeing Melody talking to him and glad he had come. She shows him her pineapple Fanta and starts drinking it. She tells him that she really needed to hear him say what he had said earlier. He asks if that was really happening and she asks why it would not really be. Anabelle causes some trouble outside, so she goes to help her, saying she would be right back. Dan waits and after a while, Cassandra walks into the store and walks towards the camera. When she reaches it, she looks at Dan and tells him to stay out, putting her hand through the screen and reaching for his throat. Dan wakes up startled and gasping for air.
Dan washes his face as he remembers Cassandra telling him to stay out and grabbing him by the throat in his dream. He takes his medications and walks to the basement, where he tries guessing the code to a door. He tries breaking the glass, but to no avail. He tries calling Mark and tells him that he cannot get into the basement, so he wants him to find someone who could hack it. As he walks back to the house, he stumbles upon Melody, who calls him; he is confused, and she is as well, not knowing how she had gotten there.
Dan goes to the basement and works on the next tape in which Melody tries to comfort Jess, who says she is fine. Jess says that she would stick to her exercises, but Melody says that one of her exercises is watching Secret of NIMH. Jess says that she has homework and talks about a comet which would be visible in a few weeks. She tells Melody that Samuel got her a new telescope so that they could watch the comet together. Anabelle knocks and tells Mel that they have an interview, so they visit Cassandra.
Cassandra tells them that she had moved there with her sister Eleanor in 1974 because she thought it was spiritual, which Anabelle finds funny. She also tells Anabelle that most of the objects in her house were irreplaceable and she only sells them when the need arises. Melody finds the cabinet that was in the community room, which Dan catches as well. Melody tries to open it and is told by Cassandra that it was one of a kind and Estonian - inside was a sculpture, but she misplaced the key. Melody asks what Cassandra finds spiritual about the Visser or if any other tenants found it spiritual like the group that meets in the community room. Cassandra tells her that she is asking about the cult, but is interrupted by Anabelle, who asks about a painting - a portrait of Cassandra.
Cassandra explains that her sister belonged to a group of artists who called themselves Spirit Receivers, who believed that mysterious beings spoke through them to manifest art, beauty and truth. Cassandra says that some people called them a cult, which is probably what Melody was referring to, but Mel says that that was not what she meant. Cassandra tells Anabelle and Melody that watching Eleanor paint was beautiful since they had no idea who she was communicating with. Melody notices a pendant in the drawing, which Cassandra had on her as well. She says it is Kharonite, which is very rare and said to have come from a comet. Cassandra grabs a jar and gives it to Anabelle, saying that Eleanor would want her to have it. After that, Anabelle asks Cassandra for Julia Bennett, but she says that her memory is not what it used to be and invites her to a dinner party, since a lot of old neighbors would be there and one of them might know Julia.
On the elevator, Melody tells Anabelle that Cassandra was not over her sister's death, but Anabelle tells her that they were obviously lovers and Eleanor drowned herself in the Hudson. They find Samuel knocking on Mel's door, who asks if she had seen Jess. Melody says that she had and took her some stuff, thanking Samuel for what he had done. Samuel wonders if she still has the key, which she goes inside to get for him. In the hallway, Samuel greets Anabelle, who asks him about the "after-hours Satanic choir practice", but Samuel does not understand the question until he finally admits that Tamara had not thought that her performance had gone very well, so she tried out some new material. Anabelle does not believe him, but Samuel simply says that she was his ex and gets handed the key. Melody says that it does not matter, but he says it does and apologizes.
Dan gets up from bed and walks through the house as he hears rustling and whooshing. He sees Melody waiting for him and she asks if he had written those notebooks. He tells her that he had not and does not know who. He asks her what she is doing there and grabs a wooden box, which she says was there on the bed. However, he says that that is impossible, as he had not left his room and tells her that it is a tape that his father had made for him and given to him for his birthday. In the end, he smashed it with a baseball bat since he had found out he was not who he thought he was. Melody grabs her necklace and says that the ring was the only thing she had left of her mother was that. Dan tells Melody that she knows his father and she is shocked by that because she knew that her doctor's son was young. She also recalls him saying that he is dead; lights starts flickering and the bulb shatters, so they both call for one another, but are unable to see each other.
Anabelle paints and likes the black color, feeling that she was travelling to Eleanor's soul. She wonder's who Melody is seeing in her dreams and she describes them as conversations. Melody walks up to Cassandra's and sees Jess, who says she is there because Cassandra wanted some young energy there. Melody tells her that her necklace looks good on her. Cassandra notices that Melody had brought her camera and wonders where Anabelle is. Melody tells her that she would be there later and the dinner party begins.
Jess introduces Melody to Patricia, who she says would not mind being interviewed. The interview starts and Patricia says that she had been there since 1962. She says that she records stories mostly and feels as if someone has a message for her, but she should not say who. Melody asks if she remembers Julia Bennett, but she remembers incorrectly.
After that, Melody interviews Helen, who lives in 5A and designs masks, like for Tamara's opera. Melody asks if she is part of the historical society that meets in the community room, but Helen leaves to go mingle.
Jess wonders if Patricia told Melody about her tapes, which surprises her. Samuel brings a guest named Evie Crest who was outside and says she forgot the code. Cassandra introduces her to everyone as Dan wonders what she is doing there. Evie says that she had always been fascinated by Eleanor's work, as Samuel apologizes for sitting next to Melody. He explains that Cassandra rarely lets men stay, so he could not refuse, but Melody says it is fine. Cassandra tells them that Evie is William Crest's daughter. They say that he filmed The Circle, which was lost and inspired by a snuff film, which was about some sort of ritual sacrifice, which Cassandra is very interested in seeing and getting information on. Tamara interrupts and says that William died because of suicide, which provokes a lot of tension, which Evie admits to be true, but she does not want to accept that he had abandoned them. Cassandra tells her that there may be a way to speak to him from beyond since Beatriz is a very talented medium. After they both accept, they start making room as Melody grabs a pick and heads towards the cabinet.
Beatriz calls for the spirits and asks for the dead to be with them, calling for William. The candles start flickering and Beatriz starts shuddering. Evie asks if William is there, but Tamara tells her to ask him something only he would know. Evie asks about her sixth birthday and William recalls, so Evie is shocked. Cassandra tells her to ask him about the film, which confuses Evie, but she does as is asked and William says that the party was Peter Crawford's. Cassandra wants to know if they ever found a copy, so Evie asks, but William asks them to stay away and grows desperate as a demonic voice takes over Beatriz's voice. Once they lose connection to William, Cassandra tells her to try again, but Beatriz refuses, as Melody comforts Evie.
As she gets up, Melody is asked by Cassandra if there is somebody she would like to contact, but she says she does not, since she was not dead. However, Cassandra says that she does not know that for sure, so she sits down and hands Beatriz Julia Bennett's ring. Beatriz calls Julia, but the lights do not flicker and Beatriz apologizes, saying that she could not find her presence among the dead, which makes Melody feel relieved. However, as they touch hands, Beatriz feels someone else.
Dan is surprised as Melody appears behind him, asking who that was and asking what he is watching. He says that he is just working on some tapes by restoring them. Melody looks at the video and says that she knows or knew the person there, who was Beatriz. Dan asks if she remembers his name, which she does and says that he lives at the Visser, but he says that he does not and has never been there. However, she tells him that they met at the community room, which he says is impossible because he lives there, and is unsure where they met. Melody says that she is supposed to ask him for help, but she does not know what kind of help, since everything in her head is jumbled up. She asks Dan what the notebook on his desk is and recognizes it as her notebook, which is damaged. Dan says he found it like that; inside, was Melody's ring, so she asks if he had stolen it, which she does not understand. She asks him what is going on and Dan remembers his sister telling him about ghosts. Dan looks at her and tells her that she is dead, having died at the fire in the Visser 25 years ago. She asks if he is crazy, and he tells her that the footage he is working on is hers, wanting to understand what happened to her, how she knew his father, what caused the fire and wants to know if she ever found her mother. Melody asks him what is wrong with him, but he says that he is trying to help like she asked. However, Melody screams that she is not dead and causes a temporary power outage, disappearing after that.
Dan keeps watching the tape and sees as Beatriz's eyes get white. She looks at Melody and says that she can get out of her way. She tells Melody that she knows she is a good person and that she cares about people. Beatriz thanks the other person and says she does not understand as Melody asks what is going on. Dan realizes that Beatriz is repeating the conversation he just had with Melody and she gets confused as well, saying that Beatriz could not know what was going on in her dreams and in her head. Casandra stops Beatriz, but she finishes what she was saying and starts scratching her face so hard, she starts bleeding. Tamara and Samuel get up, stopping her from scratching herself and tell the rest to call an ambulance.
Dan realizes that Melody was real and calls Mark, saying that he could save her since there was still time. Mark does not know what he is talking about and Dan explains, but Mark looks at the card Virgil sent him.
When the ambulance gets to the Visser, Melody asks how it was even possible for Beatriz to see what was going on in her dreams, but she is pushed away by the EMTs and the ambulance leaves with Beatriz.
Melody goes back up to her apartment and asks Anabelle where she had been al night only to find she had been painting nonstop since she had left. She asks what she is doing, but Anabelle does not respond until she asks what the paintings are. Anabelle turns around and tells her that there is someone in there. As the camera keeps recording, demonic hissing starts taking over.
Melody sleeps with the television on at the hospital, waiting for Beatriz to wake up. She walks out of the room and gets a coffee as she hears Dan. Suddenly, she wakes up startled and sees that she is still at the hospital. She calls Beatriz and asks who the man she saw is, asking her if she could go one more time, but Beatriz sobs and says no, grabbing Melody by the hand and squeezing very hard while saying "Don't let it out" with a demonic voice.
After that, Melody leaves the hospital and visits Dr. Turner, but is told that he is on leave. She rushes to his home, where he is surprised to see her. She tells him that she needs his help and tells him it is important. She tells him that she thinks she is being haunted because the day she moved into the Visser she started having dreams and conversations with a man she does not know and went into a séance a few days ago where she heard the exact conversations she was having. She tells him that Dan was visiting her and told her that she died in the Visser. Dr. Turner asks what she really wants because someone had filed an anonymous complaint against him, so he was now on leave. She says she wants his help and did not file the complaint against him. He admits to posting about her on a message board, but did not mention her by name. Dr. Turner tells her that a researcher was studying a group of people with certain sensitivities, calling them Baldung and everybody made drawings exactly like hers, having some sort of genetic predisposition to unusual psychic perception. Melody gets excited and asks if he talked to the researcher, which he says he did, but says that the researcher did not find her to be a match. She asks if he believed that what she sees is real, to which he responds that he tries to leave room for the unexplained corners of the universe, but feels that she is just imagining things. Melody tells him that she has everything on tape, but Dr. Turner says that his family arrived, so he hands her a referral.
Melody sees Jess on the elevator, who has a jar. However, she simply asks if Beatriz was going to be okay and tells Melody that she could not tell her what was in the jar or who it was going to.
As she walks into her apartment, Melody calls for Anabelle, but cannot find her. She knocks on Ms. Lewis' house and asks if Jess is there, but is not allowed to see her. Melody starts playing her tape as Beatriz calls for Julia. However, the voice sounds very distorted and a demon takes over the tape, startling her and causing her to jump back. Melody seals the tapes in an envelope and prepares to send them to Dr. Turner. However, she opens her door and Jess tells her that she knows where Anabelle is.
Cassandra opens the door for Melody, who walks in and asks to see Anabelle, which confuses Cassandra. Melody tells her that she knows that she moved her stuff to Cassandra's apartment, but she simply asks if she wants a cup of tea. When Melody starts calling for her friend, Cassandra tells her that she smothers her and needs to let her emerge from her cocoon, so she gave her an apartment on the 6th floor.
Melody reaches the 6th floor and knocks on apartment 6C, where Anabelle paints obsessively. Anabelle tells her that the building is special and feels connected to it. Melody says that she thinks they should leave, but Anabelle does not listen. Melody repeats that they should go back to Brooklyn, which confuses Anabelle since she thought Melody wanted to find Julia, which she says she does, but does not think the building is safe. However, Anabelle tells her that she needs to stay and prepare for her show that night, inviting her, but also locking her out of the apartment.
Melody sees another door and opens it, hearing indistinct chanting. She pulls out her camera and starts recording, asking herself what she was doing there. In front of her, she sees people sleeping on the floor and people humming rhythmically in a circle. She approaches them and they all stop to look at her, so she turns around only to stumble upon a man who asks if it was time and if she was sent by Father Russo and tells her that he needs her help. However, John Smith shows up and tells the man to get away from her, also telling Melody that she should have stayed away from the 6th building. He tells her that who the people are is none of her business. She asks what that song was and wonders if they are part of the cult, which confuses him, but locks them in for their own protection because they are drug addicts, so Samuel was protecting them.
Back in her apartment, Melody starts gathering her things and packs a suitcase. Behind her, she sees Dan for a second and keeps packing until she is interrupted by the man she had seen on the 6th floor, who scares her. He tells her that Anabelle said she could be trusted and tells her that he knows she wanted to find Julia, so they could help each other and wants her to let him in.
Melody turns her camera on and the man introduces himself as Chris Lee; he says that he has been in the building for 2 years, or maybe 20, but Samuel does not want them to leave since he wants them to open a door. He says that he did not give Anabelle any stardust, which is what brought them and keeps them there. He describes stardust as mold that grows there and keeps them there and ran through the building. She asks if he knew Julia and if she lived there. He says that names are a little confusing to him and asks what she looks like, but Melody does not know. Chris says that there was a woman who looked a lot like her, but she was gone, but when Melody asks where, he simply gets up and asks if she hears a sort of humming, which was calling. He gets up and says that the building calls and they call back. He starts humming the song Melody hates, which irritates her and she yells at him to stop it. She asks if he can help her find Julia, but he simply says that Father Russo had offered him a bed and said that he would send somebody back with a golden ticket, which meant rehab. He says he wants to get clean, but it pulls him, so he needs to get out of there or the ferryman would drag him to hell. He tells her to get him a bed and he would help her find Julia. Melody says that they should leave immediately, but he tells her to give her a ticket or no deal.
Melody walks to the church, but sees that people were mourning Father Russo. The night before, he had been waiting for a train and fell onto the tracks. She sneaks into Father Russo's office and finds a paper for rehab, taking it. She also grabs his key and opens the secret cabinet, which surprised her, since it had a chronology of events linked to the Visser and the comet. She finds a book labeled "Visser?" which was about occult artifacts, gods and demons, recognizing the figure in the cabinet in the community room which was labeled as a "Pedestal sculpture, Greenstone, 14th Century, provenance unknown. Entity known as Kaelego," both a god and demon. She finds a book about witchcraft and dark magic which has Samuel in it, as well as two other people on a page which contains information about Baldung. Melody grabs her ring and sees it is identical to a drawing inside the book. Somebody tries opening the door and Melody grabs a few books before hiding in the desk.
In the office, Samuel walks in with a woman, saying that he needed to grab a book. Once only he and Melody were in the room, she hears him grab some papers and books. As they get ready to start the vigil, Samuel leaves, saying he had found the book. Melody leaves the room after that.
At a telephone booth, Melody calls Dr. Turner, leaving him a message and telling him that the Baldung were witches and it was a coven. She says that her mother's ring has the same markings, wondering if her mother was part of the cult. She hears Dan calling her again, but cannot contact him. She walks back to the payphone, where Anabelle asks her where she is, so Melody says that she would be there soon.
Melody makes it to the art show, where Anabelle introduces her to a woman named Gabby; however, Melody wants to tell her something, saying that she could not go back to the Visser. Anabelle says that home is where the heart is and she was her heart, but she tells her that they would both leave the Visser. Anabelle takes her to see her paintings, which were of people who she did not know, but she felt her in the paintings. Anabelle tells her that it was "the other place" which the paint let her see, telling Melody that she was now a Spirit Receiver just like Eleanor. Melody pulls out her camera and starts recording the paintings, which worried her. She touches one and recognizes that it was the mold Chris was talking about. Tamara asks what the paintings are, but Melody wonders that herself. Tamara tells her that it was the same person as one of Eleanor's crazy spirit visions and had maybe given Anabelle a peek.
Jess walks up to Melody, saying Cassandra had brought her there. She does not answer when Melody asks if her mother knew she was there, but Cassandra tells her that Jess was not a child, but a bright young artist who needed stimulation, telling her to stop smothering.
After that, Melody sees Anabelle yelling at Gabby, telling her that her paintings were not for sale and were not there to share them with the world in order to show them where she was. Gabby tells her that people had already paid, but Anabelle tells her to give it back, but the buyer wanted to stay anonymous, so Anabelle starts taking them down. Melody tells her to calm down, but her friend tells her that if she was not going to help her, she should stay away and shoves her to the ground, saying that Cassandra was right, so Melody leaves.
Melody walks back into the Visser, asking Samuel if he had bought the paintings, telling him not to mess with her. He pretends he does not understand, saying that Cassandra had only asked him to stop by as a favor, but assuring her that he did not buy any paintings. She asks him what kind of game both she and Cassandra were playing since she knew about the 6th floor, but he pretends to not know. She asks him who he is, naming Alistair Spare, Samuel Grant, and Virgil Samuelson, wondering if Father Russo had discovered who he was and that was why he had shoved him onto the tracks. Samuel tells her to turn her camera off, but she asks if Julia had also been a part of his cult. He tells her that she was clearly drunk or high as suddenly, Chris falls from the building. After Chris fell, Dan sees Virgil approach Samuel on the tape.
Dan starts working on the next tape, which starts with Melody sleeping. When Melody wakes up, she grabs her camera and plays the video of her sleeping. She says that she woke up in someone's apartment, but she does not even know where she is or how she got there. She sees Chris' bloodstain on the floor outside and leaves.
Melody walks into her apartment, when she is approached by the police who would like to ask her questions. She says that she was at an art show and was talking to someone outside when Chris fell. They ask if she knew the victim, and she says that she did sort of, only having met him the day before and was interviewing him for a project. She stops the police and tells them that he was pushed, and even though she did not see anyone push him, she knew he wanted to get clean. She says that Samuel is not who he says he is and has proof, but as she looks through her purse, she does not find anything, knowing that he had taken the books. She tells the police that she believed Samuel had also killed Father Russo, which makes the police believe that she was using as well. However, she tells them to go to the 6th floor to see the people for themselves, but they thank her for her time.
After the police leave, Melody is called from Stuyvesant Health Center concerning Anabelle. When Melody gets there, she sees Anabelle on a bed. Melody asks her what happened, but does not get an answer. Melody asks why she is handcuffed, but Anabelle simply says that a woman has a message and was stuck inside. The doctor walks in and says that Anabelle had broken someone's jaw and stabbed a security officer in the eye with a nail, but Melody says that Anabelle was normal, asking about Mold. Melody says that there was a sort of mold that affected Anabelle when she started painting, which the doctor says could be possible, but he needs a sample.
Melody rushes to Cassandra's house and storms in, wanting to grab some paint, but Cassandra says that she does not know if it has mold since it was Eleanor's. After that, she tells Melody that she had given all of the paint to Anabelle, but Melody knows that Cassandra had seen Anabelle get arrested. Cassandra says that they had thought she was strong enough and Melody sees the paintings. Cassandra tells her that nobody else could have the paintings since she had opened a window and describes Anabelle as a true Spirit Receiver. Melody grabs Cassandra and asks what she had done to Anabelle and asks about the window she had opened.
Jess walks in and wonders what was happening - Melody tells her that she needs to leave with her, but Jess says that she is not supposed to see her anymore per Samuel's instructions, since she was not well. Melody tries convincing her that Cassandra and Samuel are bad people, but Jess does not listen to her and drops some tea, which was not only liquid. Melody asks Cassandra if the mold was in the tea, which she says is ridiculous. Melody tells her that the jar that she saw in the elevator was probably mold and asks where she had gotten it, saying she needed to take a sample to the doctor in order to help Anabelle. Cassandra shakes her head, but Jess tells her that she needs a key.
Melody goes downstairs and sees the room full of mold. She touches it and hears chanting behind a door. However, as she is about to open, she turns around and sees Samuel and the tape starts altering, so Dan needs to give it a fix.
Dan repeats to himself that he should just finish the job as he works on the tape. In it, Melody sees Samuel approach her, who tells her that he had come back with breakfast, but she was gone. Melody asks what she was doing in his apartment and how she had gotten there. He tells her that she fainted and he carried her up to his apartment, apologizing if that had scared her. Melody asks what the room they were in was, to which he replies that it used to be storage before it flooded. However, she asks about the figures the mold formed, but he says he does not know. Melody tells him that she does not believe him, since he had been sending Jess to scrape the walls and knows about the drugs and what Cassandra puts in Jess's tea. She also knows that it is in the paint that drove Anabelle insane, so she asks once again what it is, to which Samuel finally answers that it is proof of their devotion and a manifestation of the divine.
Samuel wants to show Melody something, telling her that he has the answers she has been searching for her whole life, if she was willing to listen. Samuel opens a door and she follows him through a dark corridor. He tells her that the Visser was built on the ruins of a mansion owned by the Vos family. Once they reach downstairs, she finds people humming in a circle and the figure of Kaelego to the side. Melody starts feeling bad and asks Samuel what the song was. However, he tells her that it was not a song, but a prayer, which he knew was painful for her to hear and is why he knew that she was the one he was looking for, reminding her of the night at the opera.
Melody recognizes the Kaelego figure and Samuel tells her that they are not a cult, but pioneers. She asks if her mother was one of his seers, but he says that he never knew her mother and she never lived at the Visser. He tells Melody that he had sent the letter to the convent, hoping that she would come looking for what she wanted most and saying that Dr. Turner had been helpful in finding her because being a Baldung is rare. He says he is lucky to have found her and Melody asks what is wrong with him, but Samuel asks her to take heart that they would succeed that time and all of time would be as one, which she does not understand. He says that it means that he is only a link in the chain and a keeper of the flame and plays The Circle for her, which was filmed exactly where they were. In the movie, a woman kills another woman and Melody realizes that was why she was brought there. However, Samuel says that they could not do that, assuring her that she was safe and tells her that they have a volunteer and their vessel, capable of holding a whole new world. Samuel tells her that she would be reunited with her mother and promises that, but asks her to open her mind. Melody tells him to fuck himself and leaves.
Walking back into her apartment Melody cries when she realizes her mother had never been there. She starts packing her things and repeats what Samuel had said about a vessel. Melody grabs a tape and starts playing it, which Dan does as well. In it, Jess asks if she thinks she could be more and hold a world inside of her. Melody realizes that Jess would be the vessel.
Melody rushes to Jess's house, where Tamara opens the door and tells her that they had gone to Florida the day before, but she pushes Tamara out of the way, since she had just seen Jess. However, when she walks inside, she sees the apartment is empty. Melody starts recording a video, saying that they had taken Jess and films. John says he does not understand what Melody is talking about when he mentions Jess and follows Melody. Samuel tries to stop her as well, telling her that Jess is gone, but Melody says that she would not let him do that to Jess. She runs out and sees two men walking towards her. They tell her that she needs to go with them, but Samuel asks who they are. Melody begs at the camera, asking to be found as Dr. Turner shows up, telling her that everything would be alright. Melody tries to escape, but the men grab her and she is taken away.
Melody begs and yells to be let out of Rockland, saying she does not belong there. Dr. Turner approaches her, so she asks if he is part of Samuel's cult, but he tells her that he brought her there because it is the only way to keep her safe. Dr. Turner tells her that he knows the man she saw at the séance, but he introduced himself as Alexander Davenport. Melody tells him that he knew everything about her, but Dr. Turner says that he kept that information anonymous. Melody tells him that Samuel had sent that letter to the convent in order to lure her to the building. Dr. Turner tells her that he is delusional and thinks he needs her, which is why he had brought her to Rockland. She tells him she does not want to be locked up there, so he tells her to give him a few hours so he could get her out of the city. Melody looks him in the eye and tells him that he had taken Jess and was planning on using her for his ritual, having grooming her for years. Melody says that they need to help her, so he says that he would call Child Protective Services and promises to take care of it, but Melody does not believe him, wanting to be let go from there. However, Dr. Turner tells her that she needs to see someone first.
Melody and Dr. Turner walk down the hall into a room, where Anabelle is painting obsessively on the wall. Anabelle turns around and sees Melody, hugging her and happy she was there. Melody says that she had meant to visit her again, but is interrupted by Dr. Turner, who locks Melody in as well. Melody asks why she was painting on the walls and Anabelle says that it was because she was not brought any paper. Melody recognizes the woman, saying she had done something terrible a long time ago, murdering someone, which makes Anabelle say that she could not be let out then. Anabelle starts drawing lines on the face, saying that she was not dead but in the other place, "The Otherworld". Anabelle says that Iris calls her and wants to go home, which she knows because the ferryman has arrived. Anabelle says that he cannot be seen anymore, but was up there - the comet opens the door. Melody realizes that the ritual would happen that night and wants to leave, but Anabelle tells her to stay with her. Melody says that she needs to go back with Jess and leaves through the window.
Melody grabs a key and moves through the Visser building, going up to the 6th floor. There, she looks for Jess, but nobody answers the first door. She walks into the other door and hears chanting - she hears Jess and wants her to open the door, but Jess cannot do so. Melody asks her to stay where she is and tries to use the fire escape. There, through a window she is able to see Jess and gets in the room with her. She tells her that she is fine and wonders if she would be a part of it, but Melody says that she was not and sets a chair so that the door cannot open. She tells Jess that they need to go through the window, but Jess says that she is needed since she could hold a new world inside of her. Melody tells her that she is not safe, but Jess says that she had already been warned that Melody would try to stop them and wants to help them, since it was her destiny. Melody tells Jess that she was going to be sacrificed by slitting her throat since it was part of what their cult did. Jess has a hard time accepting it, but Melody tells her that she was chosen because she wanted to help people. Melody asks where her mother is, but Jess does not know. Melody tells her that they need to go through the fire escape, and they start leaving when a man calls for her. Melody tells Jess that she needs to go and run, saying that she would be right behind her.
Jess goes down the fire escape as John Smith walks in and asks Melody where she had come from. When John asks where Jess is, Melody does not answer, but John sees her running down the street. John asks what Melody had done and punches her straight across the face.
When Melody comes to, she is surrounded by Samuel, Tamara, and Cassandra while tied to a chair. The Circle is playing behind them and Samuel tells her that she had come back home. Melody tells him that his vessel was gone and not coming back, but Samuel says that that was fine since she was the one he really needed. Cassandra strokes Melody's hair as Tamara takes off her necklace and wears the black one. Samuel looks at Tamara in the eye, and she nods, accepting her fate. Everybody gets into position as Samuel begins speaking the ancient language, beginning the ritual.
Melody yells to be let out as Samuel begins the ritual and everybody begins humming and placing their masks on their face. John approaches Melody and grabs her, bringing her towards Samuel while she calls for help. Samuel grabs the knife and cuts the palm of her hand, which John places on the Kaelego figure, covering it in blood. After that, Tamara approaches Samuel, who slits her throat and she dies instantly. Samuel asks Kaelego to come forth and a blue portal opens above them and stretches into the ground. Inside the portal is Iris Vos, which Samuel does not understand. She looks at Melody, who turns around when Jess calls her name. Melody tells Jess to run and Iris turns around to look at her as well. Jess records everything as Iris vanishes and the portal starts covering everything.
Dan runs through a hallway and calls for Melody, getting no answer until he walks into a door, which looks like the Visser community room. In there, he hears music and walks through a curtain which takes him to a church. There, he sees Melody playing music and she asks if it is him. He tells her to go with him, but she says that she is waiting for someone. Dan tells her that it is a trick, but she does not think so. He asks her to trust him and she admits she thought he was only a dream.
Melody grabs his hand and a loud sound starts breaking all the glass in the church, also hurting their ears. Dan and Melody run together until Dan realizes that they are supposed to be in the compound. Looking at the TV, he sees the compound there, and when he changes the channels, he gets different views of it. While Dan moves the TV around, Melody calls out while hearing faint chanting and gets separated from Dan. She hears the noises through the AC, but it stops when she opens it. Looking at herself in the mirror, she sees Kaelego approaching her, so she screams and Dan runs towards her, taking her through the hallway again until they reach a place where Dan can hear the key resonating. Through a door, Samuel appears and grabs Melody, dragging her through the door with Dan unable to follow.
Melody calls for Dan, but sees Bobbi there, who reaches her hand out and helps her get up. Melody asks if they know each other, but Mark asks where Dan is. Melody says that she does not know because he was right next to her, but Samuel was there as well. Mark calls for Dan, wanting to know where his friend is.