You don’t have to believe in the paranormal to appreciate a good ghost story. If you’ve seen the docuseries Hellier, you’re familiar with paranormal researchers Greg and Dana Newkirk’s years-long investigation into strange emails and accounts of goblin-like creatures. Now the award-winning team behind Hellier, which includes the Newkirks as Executive Producers, director Karl Pfeiffer, co-producer Connor J. Randall, and paranormal researcher Tyler Strand are releasing the new documentary The Unbinding.

The Unbinding follows a very different kind of case from the one documented in Hellier and doesn’t seek to persuade you to believe in the paranormal. Rather, it showcases the things the Newkirks do best—great storytelling and education, while also challenging the ways we interact with the unknown.

The Unbinding tells the story of an unusual effigy dubbed the Crone, which was initially discovered by a couple of hikers in a cave in the Catskill Mountains in New York in 2016. One of the hikers made the decision to take the statue, with nails driven into its eyes and a noose around its neck, home with him, despite the fact his friend warned him that might not be a good idea. The hiker who took the statue home was immediately besieged by unexplained activity that began with things like knocking sounds and the statue inexplicably moving to different locations in the house, but quickly progressed to events so unsettling he had to go stay with his friend.

That’s when the friend decided to post their experience on Reddit and eventually tagged Greg and Dana Newkirk into the conversation. The Newkirks have become well-known for their Traveling Museum of the Paranormal and Occult. Some of the items in the Newkirks’ collection were sent to them by people who believed the objects were haunted, but the couple rarely experiences anything strange from any of the so-called haunted objects. In fact, the Newkirks believe that it’s sometimes possible for people to attach their own trauma to objects.

When the hikers asked the Newkirks if they could send the Crone to them, the Newkirks agreed, hoping the hikers would get relief from the activity they had been plagued with since finding the statue. The series of events that occurred after the Newkirks received the Crone sound very much like the plot of a horror movie and the reenactments of these events in The Unbinding are absolutely terrifying. Unlike a horror movie, The Unbinding features real people and what the Newkirks experienced with the Crone isn’t fictional, it’s all true, putting it in the small percentage of items in their possession that are actually haunted. That said, one of the most impressive aspects of this documentary is that instead of trying to convince the audience to believe them, like so many other paranormal documentaries do, the dynamics of this case lead the Newkirks to reevaluate the way they communicate with unknown entities.

What’s immediately obvious about the Crone is that for reasons unknown, someone attempted to use some type of magic by inserting nails into its eyes and placing a noose around its neck. Was it to silence someone or hurt someone? It’s almost impossible to know what would motivate a person to do these things, but what we do know is that in today’s society witches are still perceived as evil beings with nefarious intentions. As a practicing witch for most of her life, Dana Newkirk hopes to use this opportunity to not only reduce the stigma often associated with witchcraft through education, but also focus on removing the negative energy that appears to surround the Crone. The Unbinding serves to document the Newkirks’ investigation into the origins of the statue, as well as their quest to determine an appropriate ritualistic approach to not only communicating with the entity involved, but also to cleanse the Crone, and hopefully bring it peace.

One method of communication utilized by the Newkirks is the Estes Method, which can also be seen in Hellier.

The Estes Method involves one person wearing headphones connected to a spirit box, while someone else asks questions that the person wearing headphones cannot hear. The person wearing headphones repeats any words or phrases they hear, which can be assumed to be communication from a spirit, making the technique a form of mediumship. The Unbinding features an intense Estes Method session, with Dana as the receiver wearing headphones and giving almost immediate responses to questions posed by Greg and paranormal investigator Jason Gowin as they attempt to make a 3D rendering of the Crone. The results of the Estes Method seen in The Unbinding are extraordinary not just because of the compelling answers to the questions, but also because Dana says she experienced physical pain during the session.

Like the docuseries Hellier, The Unbinding was shot, edited, and directed by Karl Pfeiffer, who gives the documentary an intimate, visually appealing style. Ultimately, whether you believe the story of the Crone is entirely up to you, but hopefully we can all agree that the paranormal should be approached with respect and empathy rather than provocation. The Unbinding features incredible, enlightening storytelling that challenges the viewer, and the entire paranormal community, to reconsider how we interact with the other side, and with each other.

The Unbinding will be available to rent or buy exclusively on Amazon Prime on September 8th in the U.S. and the UK. The documentary will be available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Google Play, and YouTube shortly thereafter.