Episode 5 of John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams is about the cursed neighborhood of Charles County, Maryland. Carlette Norwood fell in love with Brian and dreamt of settling with him in the neighborhood of Charles County, but the dream soon turned into a nightmare. Carlette and her daughter were interviewed by the filmmakers, reminiscing about those sweet and serene moments with their family, while they also shed tears remembering the tragedy that struck them. This episode is quite a bit more emotional and well-executed than the previous episodes.
Spoilers Ahead
What Is The History Of Charles County, Maryland?
Episode 5, titled The Cursed Neighborhood, opened with the centuries-old historical tale of Charles County, Maryland, in 1682. It was the land of the Native Americans, the Algonquin tribe, who lived in the northeastern part of North America. When Charles County was nothing more than a dark, dense forest, the Algonquin tribe lived there in peace. The Algonquins had a deep spiritual connection with nature. They believed in harmonious human relationships while also being enriched by their culture. However, after European settlers attacked their land, claiming it to be their property, the Algonquin protested against the exploitation of their lands and went to war with the European settlers. Some of the European settlers who began to hunt those tribes, snatching their land and their right to live, were brutally killed in this war. The episode showcased one of those incidents when two European settlers, who decided to orchestrate an attack on the Algonquins, were killed by the tribal people. These settlers believed that the land was granted to them by God, which prompted them to continue their tyranny over those indigenous people. But after they were killed by the tribe, their evil spirits roamed the area, even centuries after the urbanization of the entire area.
A woman of color, Carlette Norwood and her family left their old house in Washington, DC, and relocated to Charles County. With everything starting afresh, Carlette and Brian began to decorate their place. Brian was a loving and caring husband from the very beginning. He was a caring father who had always wanted the best for his family. However, this positivity didn’t last long in their lives. Right after Carlette relocated to Charles County, they started feeling an eerie presence surrounding them in their house. One day, when Carlette was at home, chilling on her couch, she suddenly felt the presence of a spirit inside her house. The European settler, who was killed by the Algonquins, appeared at her house, sitting on an easy chair. The sight of the spirit freaked Carlette out, prompting her to realize that something was extremely wrong with their house.
However, it was not just the house that was affected by the spirits of those evil settlers; the entire neighborhood was. The spirits of the settlers never wanted anyone to live in that neighborhood peacefully. While Carlette was at home, Brian, on the outside, was suddenly attacked by a spirit and got dragged into the place where the two settlers lost their lives. Brian was possessed by one of them, which gradually began to ruin his mental state. Brian returned home, but nothing remained the same as it was.
What Happened To Brian?
Brian began to get frustrated with minor inconveniences. He was not as calm and gentle as he was before. He started picking fights with Carlette and even misbehaved with their child. It began to worry Carlette, who found some abrupt changes in her husband’s body. One night, while Brian was asleep, Carlette found some wormholes on the skin of his back, which raised her suspicion. Carlette tried to communicate with her husband, wanting to help him out if he was dealing with any kind of physical or mental health issues, but Brian became a whole different person. He began to humiliate his wife, belittling her in front of their child. One day, he crossed all the limits by slapping their elder daughter on the dinner table. This infuriated Carlette, who pointed a knife at Brian, warning him not to come closer to their daughter or try to harm anyone.
Brian’s behavior became something of a dilemma for Carlette. Sometimes, the ghosts of those evil settlers appeared inside Carlette’s house, and sometimes, assuming the form of Brian, they snapped at her and her child. The evil spirit manipulated Brian to become more violent with his family. Carlette had to ask Brian to leave their house to protect her daughter and herself from his wrath. But the ending didn’t turn out to be peaceful. The ghost inside Brian’s body started eating him out from inside. The wormholes, which were previously seen in Brian’s skin on the back, began to spread all over his body. The worms started coming out of those holes, which ultimately caused Brian to lose his life. Carlette was immensely freaked out by the appearance of those evil spirits at her residence, which forced her to leave the place. One night, Carlette woke her daughter up and decided to leave the place as soon as possible to protect themselves from the evil entities in the house. She got out of the house and drove her car as fast as she could. But, as soon as she tried to reach out to Brian to check if he was okay, she was confronted with the tragedy.
Carlette lost her lover and her best friend, while her child lost their father, a big support in their family. Although doctors believed that the reason for Brian’s death was a heart attack, Carlette was certain about the fact that it was not just an ordinary health issue; it was the evil spirit that was gradually killing Brian. Carlette and her daughter left those traumatic memories behind and moved out of their house in Charles County.
Now, Carlette Norwood works as a sociologist and post-graduate researcher who lives with her daughter in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Her daughter, who grew up to become a photographer, left those dark days behind and looked forward to living their lives with happy memories of her father.
