In Amma Beach, Maine, five-year-old Polly Turner accompanies her pretty mother,
Melissa, to the grocery market. Polly sits in the child-carrier seat of a shopping cart,
clutching a doll, Chinga. As Melissa strolls the isles, she attracts the attention of Dave the
Fishmonger. Polly notices Dave, and tells her mother she doesn’t like the store. Melissa
responds by quickly pushing the cart into another area of the market. As Melissa strolls
down the frozen food section, she comes upon the image of Dave, reflected in the glass of a
cabinet, a knife protruding from one eye. A horrified Melissa tells Polly they are going home.
But as Melissa makes her way towards the store’s exit, customers begin clawing at their
eyes. Back in the butcher section, Dave’s attention is diverted by the shape of a large
Chinga doll, as reflected in a metal door. Dave grabs a knife from his belt… but suddenly
turns it on himself.
Vacationing in Maine, Scully turns her rental car into the grocery market parking lot. An
Old Man exits the store and tells Scully that a doctor is needed. Inside the store, observes
Dave, a knife protruding from his eye. She telephones Mulder and describes the bizarre
situation. Mulder tells his partner the event might be the result of witchcraft or sorcery.
Scully, however, can find no physical evidence that might support this theory.
Assisted by Police Chief Jack Bonsaint, and his deputy, Buddy Riggs, Scully reviews
security camera footage of the event. She notices Melissa Turner rushing towards the exit,
the only customer unaffected. Bonsaint tells Scully that some townspeople believe Melissa
is a witch. Buddy Riggs telephones Melissa with news that Bonsaint will be questioning her
about the occurrence at the super market. Riggs promises to help Melissa, but she warns
him to stay away. In the background, unseen by Melissa, looms the shadow of the large
Chinga doll.
Bonsaint and Scully visit Melissa’s home, but find it unoccupied. Bonsaint tells Scully
that Melissa had married a fisherman, but was widowed when the husband was killed in a
boating accident. Bonsaint explains that there had been an incident between Polly and the
proprietor of a daycare center, Jane Froelich. It seems that Jane slapped Polly when she
became uncontrollable. Shortly thereafter, Jane claims she was thrown to the ground.
Bonsaint, however, believes the little girl never touched Jane. Bonsaint then tells Scully that
Dave the Butcher’s interest in Melissa was unrequited.
Riggs meets Melissa and Polly at an ice cream shop. Melissa describes how she has
seen images of violent deaths, such as Dave’s, before they occur. Riggs give Melissa the
key to a remote cabin and suggests she leave town. Meanwhile, Polly grows upset when a
girl clerk does not meet her demand for more cherries. Shortly thereafter, the clerk’s pony
tail gets caught in an ice cream machine. Riggs jumps the counter and rescues the girl.
Scully and Bonsaint pay Jane Froelich a visit. Froelich claims Melissa is the descendant
of witches–and she is passing her cursed lineage to Polly. Later, while speaking with an
official at a ranger station (near Riggs’ remote camp), Melissa experiences another vision,
this time seeing Froelich’s bloody image reflected in the rear window of the car. Melissa
turns the car around and heads back home. Meanwhile, Froelich hears the song “Hokey
Pokey” emanating from the day care center. She makes her way through the darkness… and
comes upon the big Chinga doll. She picks up a piece of broken phonograph record, but
instead of using it as a defensive weapon, turns it upon herself. Later, Melissa experiences
another vision… this time seeing Riggs’ corpse. Riggs finds Melissa at home, and convinced
she had something to do with Froelich’s murder, insists she accompany him to the police
station. Later, Riggs’ body lies on the kitchen floor, his nightstick covered with blood.
Scully recognizes the Old Man from the supermarket aboard the boat where Melissa’s
husband was killed. The Old Man tells Scully the story of how Rich Turner came upon the
Chinga doll while checking lobster traps. Rich intended to give the doll to his daughter, but
several days later the Old Man found Rich’s body, a grappling hook through his skull.
Melissa begins nailing shut every door and window in the house. Polly tells her mother
she cannot sleep, and Melissa promises the noise will stop. Moments later, Melissa sees a
bloodied reflection of herself in a window, a hammer buried in her skull. Scully and Bonsaint
drive to the Turner home. Scully, peering through the windows, discovers Melissa
attempting to set fire to Riggs’ body. Bonsaint breaks down the door as Melissa runs to a
closet and grabs hold of a hammer–which she turns upon herself. Thinking quickly, Scully
grabs the Chinga doll and throws it inside a microwave oven in the kitchen. As the doll
melts, Melissa drops the hammer and regains her senses. Later, another lobster fisherman
pulls a trap from the water… and discovers the burned Chinga doll inside. Suddenly, its eyes
open.
THE X-FILES “CHINGA” #5X10
Original Air Date: 02/08/98
CAST:
DAVID DUCHOVNY as Special Agent Fox Mulder
GILLIAN ANDERSON as Special Agent Dana Scully
GUEST CAST:
Susannah Hoffman as Melissa Turner
Jenny-Lynn Hutcheson as Polly Turner
Carolyn Tweedle as Jane Froelich
Gordan Tipple as Assistant Manager
Harrison Coe as Dave the Fishmonger
Larry Musser as Jack Bonsaint
William MacDonald as Buddy Riggs
Dean Wray as Rich Turner
Henry Beckman as Old Man
Ian Robison as Ranger
Tracy Lively as Clerk
Elizabeth McCarthy as Shopper
Sean Benbow as Customer
WRITTEN BY:
STEPHEN KING and CHRIS CARTER
DIRECTED BY:
KIM MANNERS
