The Calusari

"The Calusari"
The X-Files episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 21
Directed by	Michael Vejar
Written by	Sara B. Charno
Production code	2X21
Original air date	April 14, 1995
Guest stars
Helene Clarkson as Maggie Holvey Joel Palmer as Michael Holvey
Episode chronology
← Previous "Humbug" Next → "F. Emasculata"
List of season 2 episodes List of The X-Files episodes

"The Calusari" (stylized as "The Căluşari") is the twenty-first episode of the second season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on April 14, 1995. It was written by Sara B. Charno, directed by Michael Vejar, and featured guest appearances by Helene Clarkson and Joel Palmer. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "The Calusari" earned a Nielsen household rating of 8.3, being watched by 7.9 million households in its initial broadcast.

A photograph taken just before the death of a two-year-old boy yields evidence of some supernatural intervention which piques FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and and Dana Scully's (Gillian Anderson) curiosity. When another death in the family occurs, the grandmother of the remaining child requests the aid of some Romanian ritualists, named the Căluşari, in order to cleanse the home of evil.

Plot

At an amusement park in Murray, Virginia, the Holvey family enjoy themselves. The youngest member, Teddy, accidentally lets his balloon fly away. The father, Steve, gives the baby the balloon of the older son, Charlie. When the older son becomes upset, the father promises to get him another. When the mother Maggie, is in the bathroom, the strap she uses to hold Teddy comes undone, and the balloon floats, under its own power, out of the bathroom with the baby in tow. Teddy eventually comes to the park's train tracks, where he is run over by the train. While both parents are crying, Charlie looks on angrily and the balloon returns to his hand.

Three months later, agent Fox Mulder shows Dana Scully the photograph showing Teddy reaching for the balloon, standing on the tracks. The case was held open because Steve Holvey works for the State Department. Mulder notes that the helium balloon appears to be moving horizontally, against the wind. He introduces Scully to a digital photo expert named Chuck Burk, who uses software to uncover evidence of electromagnetic disturbances in the shape of a child, holding the balloon. The agents go to Virginia for further investigation.

At the Holvey home, the Holveys dispute Mulder’s theory that Teddy was helped onto the tracks, and Scully sees an old woman drawing a reverse swastika on the boy’s hand. Moments later, the old woman, revealed to be Maggie's mother, argues with her daughter in Romanian that Charlie is a devil child.

The agents meet with Steve to discuss the investigation. Steve explains that Golda, Maggie’s Romanian mother, was against the marriage, and thought Steve was the devil. Strange things began to happen, however, after Teddy was born and Golda came to live with the Holveys. Steve hints that Golda might be harming the children, so Scully suggests that the Holveys meet with a social worker named Karen Kosseff. Maggie strongly objects to the agents’ request, believing that Steve blames her for Teddy’s death. As Steve prepares to take Charlie to Kosseff, the garage door refuses to open. When Steve tries to check the motor, the door suddenly opens, grabbing Steve's tie, who is then strangled.

As police investigates the house, they find evidence of dead chickens and other ritualistic items in Golda's room, and Mulder finds a film of fine dust or ash in the garage. As the results of lab tests on the ash have come back as if nothing had been sampled, Mulder takes the sample to Chuck, who recognizes it as Vibhuti, a residual sign of spiritual energy. At the Holvey home, Golda and three old men conduct a ritual in her room. Kosseff arrives, and after some resistance from Maggie, gets permission to meet with Charlie. However, at that exact moment, Charlie goes into convulsions. Kosseff and Maggie see smoke coming from under Golda's door, so they look inside. Maggie is horrified, and orders the old men out of the house. The old men leave, but Golda grabs Charlie and pulls him into her room, closing and locking the door. As Maggie beats at the door, Kosseff runs outside to tell Mulder and Scully what’s happening. Golda tries to complete the ritual, but a table knocks her away from Charlie. Charlie, suddenly impassive, holds the dead chickens above the fallen Golda. At his command, they return to life and tear Golda’s face apart. By the time Mulder forces the door open, the birds and Golda are dead.

During the subsequent investigation, Mulder finds more ash under Golda’s body, convincing him of paranormal activity. After asking Maggie, he learns the old men are Calusari, responsible for the correct observance of rituals. When Mulder demands that the leader of the Calusari explain what is happening, the old man tells Mulder that they are dealing with an ancient and unrelenting evil.

When Kosseff asks Charlie about it, however, the boy insists that he was not in his grandmother’s room, and declares that it was a boy named Michael. Maggie is terrified at the claim, explaining to the agents that Michael was Charlie’s stillborn twin. Golda told the parents that a ritual should be performed to separate the spirits of the twins, or the “world of the dead would follow Charlie”. Charlie has another seizure, so he is hospitalized. When a nurse tries to inject him with medication, the nurse is attacked by a boy who looks just like Charlie. Michael, pretending to be Charlie, convinces Maggie to take him home. Scully sees them leaving, and checks on Charlie. They find the nurse and Charlie still in the hospital room. Mulder, now convinced that some kind of spirit being is behind the killings, sends Scully to the Holvey home to stop whatever is about to happen. Meanwhile, Mulder calls for help.

Maggie tries to conduct the same ritual that Golda had been performing. However, Michael walks in, intent on stopping her. Back at the hospital, Mulder welcomes the Calusari, who begin an exorcism ritual on Charlie. As Mulder helps with the ritual, Scully arrives at the Holvey house, and finds Maggie pressed against one of the walls, up by the ceiling. Scully is tossed across the room by an unseen force. Just as Michael is about to stab Scully, the exorcism ends, and the spirit disappears. Scully helps Maggie recover as she falls to the floor. The Calusari leader tells Mulder to call the mother to see to Charlie, and warns that Mulder must be careful now that the evil knows him. With the case over, Mulder is left to contemplate that innocence and vigilance may not be enough to protect against evil.

Broadcast and reception

"The Calusari" premiered on the Fox network on April 14, 1995. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 8.3 with an 16 share, meaning that roughly 8.3 percent of all television-equipped households, and 16 percent of households watching TV, were tuned in to the episode. A total of 7.9 million households watched this episode during its original airing.

The show received an explicit rating in the United Kingdom; that of "18" by the BBFC.

External links

• "The Calusari" on The X-Files Wiki, an external wiki
• "The Calusari" at the Internet Movie Database
• "The Calusari" at TV.com