Paranormal Activity

Katie and Micah have moved in together in San Diego, and Katie mentions almost in passing that she has been followed by something since childhood — not a ghost but a presence, a demon that has attached itself to her. Micah, fascinated and a little disbelieving, buys a camera and begins documenting. He sets it up in their bedroom at night. He reviews the footage each morning looking for evidence.

The footage accumulates: a door swinging slowly in a house with no wind, lights cycling without being touched, a bang at 3am that registers on the audio with the weight of something enormous. A psychic visits and tells them plainly that what is following Katie cannot be reasoned with or appeased. Engagement will escalate it. Micah is not interested in disengaging. He leaves flour on the floor to catch footprints. He tries to speak to it on camera. He buys an Ouija board over Katie's objection.

Three-toed footprints appear in the flour. Katie is dragged from the bed by an unseen force and pulled down the hallway screaming while Micah sleeps. Bite marks appear on her shoulder. A photograph from her childhood home shows fire damage that matches no event anyone can explain. The psychic they recall to the house refuses to stay.

Three weeks into the recordings, Micah screams downstairs in the night. Silence. Footsteps ascending. Katie appears in the doorway holding something. She stands over the camera for a long moment looking into the lens. Then she lunges. Police find Micah's body three days later. Katie is never found.