In the office of Discovery TV's American channel, senior producer Tom Bettag opened a package from Los Angeles. Inside, he found a videotape and a letter. Tom placed the tape aside and opened the letter to read it.
The package was sent by his former colleague Garcia Rodriguez from their days at the American Broadcasting Company. Garcia had mentioned this package before, explaining that while attending the Sundance Film Festival, he discovered a tape being sold by someone. The tape was made by three college students who went on an adventure to Maryland but went missing. The search party only found their belongings and a camera.
However, the footage on the camera was damaged and still being repaired, so only a portion was edited and sent to see if it had any value. Garcia hoped to help find the missing students.
Tom Bettag instinctively felt something was off, but his primary concern was whether the footage was worth airing. Discovery Channel often aired documentaries that were partially staged.
He took the videotape to his workstation and played it. The footage began with a subtitle: "This was taken from a camera lost in a forest..." Then, it showed three college students interviewing townspeople who frequently mentioned a terrifying Blair witch in the nearby woods where many people had gone missing over the years. The students then ventured into the woods where the witch was said to reside.
Witches are a widespread legend in the West, and Tom had heard many witch stories, especially from the eastern U.S., which has a rich history of witch lore. This footage had potential. Tom quickly judged that it could attract viewers, as witch legends are widely known.
Three college students going missing while exploring witch legends was a huge draw. Tom didn't believe the students were actually taken by a witch and suspected the tape might be dubious. However, Garcia Rodriguez had personally visited him and owed Garcia a favour. The tape had significant appeal and would be a waste not to air it.
To repay a favour and attract viewers was a win-win. If it turned out to be fake, he could later produce another show debunking the myths.
The tape lasted five or six minutes, ending with the students disappearing into the dense forest, followed by a subtitle with a website address.
As a senior producer at the American channel, Tom had considerable authority and quickly decided.
"Hart, come here." Tom called his assistant and handed over the tape. "Send this to the fifth production team and tell them to air it this week."
Hart took the tape and promptly headed to the fifth production team.
Tom read Garcia's letter again and then went to a quiet hallway to call Garcia. They talked for a long time and planned to meet when Tom travelled to Los Angeles.
On an ordinary weekend, Kirkland finished dinner, took a walk outside, and returned home to watch his favourite channel, Discovery, waiting for the new episode of "Exploration Investigation" to air.
This mystery show had previously covered topics like the Bermuda Triangle, Caribbean pirate treasures, ferocious great white sharks, and Amazonian piranhas, which were all very engaging. Because he liked the show so much, Kirkland had looked up its ratings online, and it had garnered over two million viewers shortly after its debut.
"Hello everyone, I'm Kari Byron. Welcome to this episode of 'Exploration Investigation'..."
At the scheduled time, the show began with the blonde host standing in front of a dense forest, wearing a cowboy hat. "Behind me stands an old stone monument with a warning inscription."
The camera zoomed in, and the inscription could faintly be read: "Beware of witches, stay away from the forest!"
The host pointed to the inscription and said, "This monument was erected in 1824 by the first mayor of Burkittsville, Maryland, Mr. Johnson Seaton. Many legends from the East Coast tell of European witches fleeing church persecution and hiding in the forests of the American East Coast during the colonial expansion. Today, states like Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and Massachusetts are home to many witch legends, with the Blair Witch being one of the most famous."
Kirkland was intrigued. This episode seemed to focus on witch stories, and though he lived on the West Coast, he had heard many tales of European and American witches growing up.
Most of his childhood fears were rooted in witch legends. His grandmother had once told him that his great-great-grandfather, who lived in the Midwest, was a sheriff in a small town. A Gypsy woman fell in love with the town's wealthy merchant's daughter, but the merchant despised Gypsies and led a group to kill the woman. The Gypsy, who knew witchcraft, cursed the merchant's family before she died, and they all died of illness one by one...
This story made Kirkland think Gypsies were villains for a long time.
"The Blair Witch legend has a long history and has garnered much attention."
The television drew Kirkland's attention back to the program: "Recently, we received a tape. Someone found a camera and some personal belongings in a forest. Upon inspection, they belonged to three missing college students who had last been seen seeking the secrets of the Blair Witch."
The host's speech quickened: "The tape is still being urgently repaired, but we managed to edit a part of it..."
The scene shifted, and a shaky videotape began to play.
"In October 1994, three film students went missing in the forests near Burkittsville, Maryland. They were shooting a documentary about the local legend of the Blair Witch. A year later, their backpack was found, containing a tape, a Hi-8 camera, and a 16mm camera, which clearly recorded their final journey..."
The tape wasn't long, just five or six minutes, but it made Kirkland widen his eyes. This was clearly shot by the students themselves with a DV camera. They had wildly gone looking for the witch?
Kirkland shivered at the thought of those witch stories. Going into the woods to find a witch was asking for trouble.
Then another thought came to him: the students went missing? Were they found dead or alive? Could they not even see their bodies?
Did they encounter the witch?
Kirkland quickly crossed himself.
The show continued, but Kirkland's mind was full of thoughts about the witch and the students. Human lives were at stake.
The names of the witch and the three students swirled in his head all night, distracting him during his date the next day.
"What's wrong?" his girlfriend Haley asked with concern.
Kirkland told the truth: "I watched a show on Discovery last night about three college students who went into the woods looking for a witch and went missing."
"Really?"
"Should be true," Kirkland said, recalling the show. "Someone found the tape they shot and sent it to Discovery."
Haley was very curious: "Could they have been killed by the witch? My father told me stories about witches; some are said to eat people."
Kirkland shrugged. "I don't know. The show didn't give more information. Poor kids."
After their date, Haley mentioned the story to her neighbour Lisa as they walked home.
"Yesterday, a TV show said three college students went to find a witch and disappeared without a trace."
In a country where religion is prevalent, materialism isn't mainstream. Lisa immediately asked, "Really? Which channel? Could witches really exist?"