Supernatural S04E03
The Hunters get a call from an old contact, Jose Lopez, who worked at the Los Angeles Botanica that they visited for help on the haunted set case and later for supplies during the Cult of Mouse in Disneyland case. Jose has since opened his own little botanica, Best Botanica Westwood, getting clientele from both nearby UCLA and an upper class set, as the business has been booming with Hollywood and LA elite clients. He calls up Jon Clarke to share he might have a case, and one with potential money involed, as a wealthy couple came in for some routine blessings, but the wife keeps returning, frustrated and in need of spiritual cleansing. He thinks it's a cursed object, but not responding to his remedies. He asks the Hunters for help, and they agree to travel to LA.
After arriving in LA the Hunters visit Jose and learn from him that the husband of the couple is a very famous actor named Jaime Sonoro, really good and well-loved in Mexico, but is stuck playing in telenovelas. He's working on something involving sharks that needed a water tank and wave machine, which had broken, so the studio worked out a deal to use one up here. Jaime is nicknamed the Rooster, or El Gallo, if the Hunters do any looking for information. Jaime's wife Elena kept coming back in and saying that an object wouldn't be cleansed or go away. He's tried several remedies for her but to no avail.
The Hunters think they can handle a standard cursed item with a curse box at a minimum but want to know what Elena has done and talk to her if possible. Jose explains that he doesn't have her phone but does have their address - everyone knows they are staying at the Castillo del Lago, on Mulholland in the Hollywood Hills, the first and most iconic home in that area. They get the idea to go under the guise of a delivery from the shop, and Jose puts together a box of useful items for them to try to deliver. They also look up basic photos online of the Sonoros to help recognize them.
Razik beats the other Hunters to the location on his motorcycle while they have to fight through traffic. The home itself has a small private drive and a 2m high white wall, gate, and security. The drive is immediately opposite a popular pull out space for tourists to take photos with the Hollywood sign above a park that leads down to Hollywood Lake, a reservoir. The early arrival enables Razik to explore some windy side roads and get an angle on the backyard, where he sees three kids playing on the grassy lawn next to a pool. A woman in an apron calls them in for dinner and he sees at least one or two other adults in the house. Razik establishes an overwatch for the operation from this vantage point.
While the other Hunters park at the overlook, Scott takes the box in the 'Cuda and attempts a delivery. He's successful to get in the gate, and finds security - and Elena - waiting for him at the motor court. He notices cameras everywhere, though if there are other measures, he isn't sure yet. The security guard steps in to check the box before handing it to Elena. She looks in it hopefully but becomes dismayed. She asks Scott if there were any messages or instructions from Jose, and Scott makes up a message to trust a group of contacted outside experts who could help her out. Elena asks where are they, and Scott asks when she would like them. "Last week," she responds as she turns to leave. Fortunately, Scott manages to grab her attention so that Elena realizes he is one of those people. Putting two and two together, she asks the security guard to let him in, and Scott gets a pat down.
Inside the house, Elena first leads him to a secluded study with heavy cloth on the walls. THe sound is muffled, and good for keeping their conversation from filtering to others in the house. Scott explains that while they are not Santeros, he and his associates have expertise in these matters. Elena explains that the matter in question is really a book, a rotten book supposedly about Jaime's family, the Sonoros, though she refuses to touch it now or read it. Jaime has become obsessed with it, and is using it for inspiration on a new script. It's all bad news though, and she's tried purification rituals and cleansing rituals on it, the house, on them. She's even tried to burn it in the fireplace with salt and herbs and it came back, intact, within hours. She's tried taking pages and stuffing it down the garbage disposal but, again, they appear back in the book. She see's even the smallest waiver from Scott, grabs him by the hand, and takes him to the office the book is kept in.
Of course, Razik sees and reports this to the others, but thinks Scott might be getting some action instead of what happens next.
Between being pressed up against a lovely woman and the scent of the book as the door opens, Scott's stomach nearly flips over, but he manages to hold it together. It does smell of rotting meat or fish, and looks like it is falling apart and belongs in a dump, but it is completely intact. Even his terrible lack of Spanish still gets the cover across, "The Ignomious History of the Sonoro Family from Antiquity to the Present Day, by Maria Gaspar Rocha de Quiroga, Published 11783, Sevilla, Espana." He takes a couple of photographs of pages, most importantly the forward, the head of the last section, and the final pages. Elena warns him that her husband will be home soon and that he should go, but to come back tomorrow since he only has a few days of shooting left. The family will leave and return to Mexico City at the end of the week.
Scott is able to share his findings with the others, but since there is a notable lack of Spanish between them, and the language is complex from the time period it was written in, they send the forward to Jose, who is shocked. Jose translates that the story of the family supposedly goes back to Cain and Abel, and the family has been marked with evil ever since. Between the forward and translations made the next morning (with gas masks on), the family's appearance and names may have changed as they traveled into Europe and then to New Spain, but they have a lust for gold and violence, with lords, brigands, soldiers, and conquistadors all playing roles. The author seems determined and obsessed in some ways too, changing from a neutral 3rd person to a 1st person "I" narration. They also find a recurring theme of shadows, maybe following around the Sonoro, and wonder if there is a creature involved. They also find a bookmark in the back with a short record of the delivery and contact information for the Antiquarian bookshop. The Hunters have Jose call to speak with the bookshop while they do investigating of their own. A wide variety of contacts are thought of for information, but most are dismissed.
While they are observing and strategizing, Aine checks out the house. She reports back that the number of occupied rooms is different from the number of people mentioned on the tour, short by one. Elena has said that the household currently consists of Herself, Jaime, their three children, Jaime's father Antonio, Remedio, nanny Ignacia, the security guard, and a chef who comes in once or twice a week. But who is Remedio?
When questioned, Elena draws blanks when asked when Remedio joined the household. She shows off the bedrooms on tour and nothing seems amiss, like she has already shown off Remedio's room, but there isn't one for him. The Hunters question gently realizing she has had some memories blocked or mental alteration. The security guard's responses are similar. This points them to either Remedio being some sort of manifestation of the book or, more likely, his own entity, and one that can alter mental perceptions. They ask about any electronic disturbances, which yields a negative, and ask the guard to show them footage from the home. Eventually, they find some footage of Remedio and the family. While the kids play in the main living room, the electricity flickers but pops on pretty quickly. The family mostly continues like nothing is amiss, but Antonio glares at Remedio. Antonio knows something about him, then.
Jon Clarke calls Chuck, who is pretty confident they aren't dealing with a glawackus, the Northern Devil Cat, but could be angels or witches. Scott ultimately calls Nascha Ghost-wind, who also helps narrow things with that ability down to people and things that can manipulate reality: angels, some high-level demons, tricksters, small gods, reapers, and the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. None of these are comforting. She suggests asking Airy about some of those.
Meanwhile, Ciaran, Razik, and Aine investigate the house and look for signs of curse removal and ritual objects, just to see if her memory wasn't made up on having tried these. They find confirmation in burnt-up candles, smudge sticks, and the like. Airy, however, tries to salt and burn the book himself.