Demons (The X-Files)
Encyclopedia
"Demons" is a 1997 episode of The X-Files
television series
. It was the twenty-third episode broadcast in the show's fourth season. "Demons" features Mulder waking up in a hotel with blood all over him and no memory how it happened. Mulder and Scully soon discover that Mulder was involved in a double homicide and may have been the killer.
(David Duchovny
) has a flashback to being in the attic with Samantha while their parents are arguing downstairs. Back in the present, Mulder awakens in a hotel room in Providence, Rhode Island, covered in blood. Mulder calls Scully, who arrives, finding him in shock. Mulder has a pounding headache and has no memory of what he's done since nearly two days ago. Scully finds that two bullets have been fired from Mulder's gun and he has in his possession keys belonging to a David and Amy Cassandra. Scully wants Mulder to check into a hospital, but he wants to find out if he was involved in a crime before doing so. The agents arrive at the Cassandra's house where the housekeeper tells them they are not at home. Mulder recognizes a house in many of Cassandra's paintings, a house that is near his parent's summer home in Rhode Island. When they arrive there Mulder has striking pains in his head and flashes back again to when he was a child, seeing the Cigarette Smoking Man in his home. The agents enter the home, where they find the Cassandras dead from gunshot wounds.
The agents call the police, who take Mulder with them due to the circumstantial evidence against him. Scully performs an autopsy on Amy Cassandra, finding a scab on her forehead. The detective in charge of the case tells Mulder that they have found David and Amy's blood on his shirt. Mulder refuses to confess to the murders, not remembering anything. Scully arrives, saying she found a hallucinogenic substance in Amy's blood, something that was detected in Mulder as well. One of the officers at the police department kills himself, showing to have similar symptoms as the Cassandras. Mulder suffers a seizure and flashes back to his childhood again, witnessing his parents arguing with the Cigarette Smoking Man. Scully sees Mulder the next day, telling him that she believes that the Cassandras killed themselves after receiving psychiatric treatment and that Mulder was visiting them about their alien abduction experiences.
The agents visit Dr. Goldstein, who was treating Amy with an aggressive method to help her recover her abduction memories. Goldstein also treated the police officer, but says he hasn't met Mulder before. Mulder has another painful flashback of the Cigarette Smoking Man arguing with his mother. Mulder declines Scully's request that he go to the hospital and goes to visit his mother, demanding she explain what really happened when they had to make a choice between him and Samantha. Mulder believes that the Cigarette Smoking Man forced them to take Samantha. Mulder also questions who his father really is. Mulder's mother gets upset and refuses to provide him answers. Later Mulder visits Goldstein, and convinces him to again treat him so he'll remember what really happened. Mulder has further visions of the past. Scully and the police arrive soon after to arrest Goldstein but find Mulder gone. Scully finds him at the family's summer home in Rhode Island and is able to calm him down. While Mulder is cleared in the deaths of the Cassandras, what truly happened when he was a child remains a mystery.
". Goodwin came up with the idea of having Fox Mulder
waking up in a strange place with no idea how he got there. After receiving approval from series creator Chris Carter
, Goodwin spent approximately six weeks writing the episode. The episode was influenced from An Anthropologist on Mars
, a series of essays by Oliver Sacks
, in particular The Landscape of Dreams featuring a man who could recall every detail of his childhood. Amy and David Cassandra were named after the Greek prophetess Cassandra.
The home where the Cassandras were murdered was filmed at a farmhouse in South Surrey, near locations used for filming the episodes "Home
" and "Tunguska
". The farmhouse was rented and refurbished by the show's art department, although this restoration was only used for preproduction photographs and the farmhouse was returned to its original state for the actual filming. The camera's shuttering mechanism along with altering the film's negatives during post production was used for the flashback sequences.
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
. It was the twenty-third episode broadcast in the show's fourth season. "Demons" features Mulder waking up in a hotel with blood all over him and no memory how it happened. Mulder and Scully soon discover that Mulder was involved in a double homicide and may have been the killer.
Plot
Fox MulderFox Mulder
FBI Special Agent Fox William Mulder is a fictional character and protagonist in the American Fox television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence. Mulder's peers consider his theories on...
(David Duchovny
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny is an American actor, writer and director. He has won Golden Globe awards for his work as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files and as Hank Moody on Californication.-Early life:...
) has a flashback to being in the attic with Samantha while their parents are arguing downstairs. Back in the present, Mulder awakens in a hotel room in Providence, Rhode Island, covered in blood. Mulder calls Scully, who arrives, finding him in shock. Mulder has a pounding headache and has no memory of what he's done since nearly two days ago. Scully finds that two bullets have been fired from Mulder's gun and he has in his possession keys belonging to a David and Amy Cassandra. Scully wants Mulder to check into a hospital, but he wants to find out if he was involved in a crime before doing so. The agents arrive at the Cassandra's house where the housekeeper tells them they are not at home. Mulder recognizes a house in many of Cassandra's paintings, a house that is near his parent's summer home in Rhode Island. When they arrive there Mulder has striking pains in his head and flashes back again to when he was a child, seeing the Cigarette Smoking Man in his home. The agents enter the home, where they find the Cassandras dead from gunshot wounds.
The agents call the police, who take Mulder with them due to the circumstantial evidence against him. Scully performs an autopsy on Amy Cassandra, finding a scab on her forehead. The detective in charge of the case tells Mulder that they have found David and Amy's blood on his shirt. Mulder refuses to confess to the murders, not remembering anything. Scully arrives, saying she found a hallucinogenic substance in Amy's blood, something that was detected in Mulder as well. One of the officers at the police department kills himself, showing to have similar symptoms as the Cassandras. Mulder suffers a seizure and flashes back to his childhood again, witnessing his parents arguing with the Cigarette Smoking Man. Scully sees Mulder the next day, telling him that she believes that the Cassandras killed themselves after receiving psychiatric treatment and that Mulder was visiting them about their alien abduction experiences.
The agents visit Dr. Goldstein, who was treating Amy with an aggressive method to help her recover her abduction memories. Goldstein also treated the police officer, but says he hasn't met Mulder before. Mulder has another painful flashback of the Cigarette Smoking Man arguing with his mother. Mulder declines Scully's request that he go to the hospital and goes to visit his mother, demanding she explain what really happened when they had to make a choice between him and Samantha. Mulder believes that the Cigarette Smoking Man forced them to take Samantha. Mulder also questions who his father really is. Mulder's mother gets upset and refuses to provide him answers. Later Mulder visits Goldstein, and convinces him to again treat him so he'll remember what really happened. Mulder has further visions of the past. Scully and the police arrive soon after to arrest Goldstein but find Mulder gone. Scully finds him at the family's summer home in Rhode Island and is able to calm him down. While Mulder is cleared in the deaths of the Cassandras, what truly happened when he was a child remains a mystery.
Production
The episode was written by R.W. Goodwin, an executive producer and director for the show. This was the second instance where a member of the production crew wrote an episode, the first being Mat Beck's "WetwiredWetwired
"Wetwired" is the 72nd episode and the twenty-third episode of the third season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on May 10, 1996 on FOX, and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
". Goodwin came up with the idea of having Fox Mulder
Fox Mulder
FBI Special Agent Fox William Mulder is a fictional character and protagonist in the American Fox television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence. Mulder's peers consider his theories on...
waking up in a strange place with no idea how he got there. After receiving approval from series creator Chris Carter
Chris Carter (screenwriter)
Christopher Carl Carter is an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He is the creator of The X-Files and Millennium.- Ten Thirteen Productions :...
, Goodwin spent approximately six weeks writing the episode. The episode was influenced from An Anthropologist on Mars
An Anthropologist on Mars
An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales is a 1995 book by neurologist Oliver Sacks consisting of seven medical case histories of individuals with neurological conditions such as autism and Tourette syndrome...
, a series of essays by Oliver Sacks
Oliver Sacks
Oliver Wolf Sacks, CBE , is a British neurologist and psychologist residing in New York City. He is a professor of neurology and psychiatry at Columbia University, where he also holds the position of Columbia Artist...
, in particular The Landscape of Dreams featuring a man who could recall every detail of his childhood. Amy and David Cassandra were named after the Greek prophetess Cassandra.
The home where the Cassandras were murdered was filmed at a farmhouse in South Surrey, near locations used for filming the episodes "Home
Home (The X-Files)
"Home" is the 75th episode and the second episode of the fourth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on October 11, 1996 on the FOX Network, and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom...
" and "Tunguska
Tunguska (The X-Files)
"Tunguska" is a 1996 episode of The X-Files television series. It was the eighth episode broadcast in the show's fourth season. "Tunguska" was the first of a two part episode featuring the return of Alex Krycek and the agents coming into possession of a Martian rock containing alien life...
". The farmhouse was rented and refurbished by the show's art department, although this restoration was only used for preproduction photographs and the farmhouse was returned to its original state for the actual filming. The camera's shuttering mechanism along with altering the film's negatives during post production was used for the flashback sequences.