[ cheers and applause ] this is "nightline." tonight, buyer beware. this family found out their new house might have been a meth lab. plus, master medium. her spirited sessions have hollywood in on otherworldly frame of midnight. can she really speak to the dead.

and six-second scares. iconic film makers don't need long. but can amateurs do it, too? the challenge. but first, the "nightline" five.

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good evening, thank you for joining us. for the law-abiding family you're about to meet, discovering their home had been a meth lab was a nasty surprise. and there may be thousands of houses like these sold across america. alex perez takes us inside. >> reporter: it looks like something out of "breaking bad". but this is the real deal. >> come outside. >> reporter: a raid on a house that this elite s.w.a.t. team believes may be a meth lab. it can happen up to four times a day.

police searching ining in neighborhoods across the state. it seems reasonable that if you don't do meth, this won't have an impact on your life. but this family discovered when their life inside their dream home became a nightmare. their house had a toxic secret. not mold or damaged pipes, but meth. their kids were sick. >> they were sick every week. wake up, throw up, have digestive issues. and by noon, 1:00, start to feel better. >> reporter: she tells us the family dog got so sick, she had to be put down. you think the meth had to do with the dog's death? >> i do, i think it sped it up.

>> reporter: strange smells, like in the kitchen. >> like a handful of change. >> reporter: it was a neighbor that finally cracked the mystery open. suspecting that the former owner was cooking meth. she got the home tested, costing about $50. >> we were fortunate to have really good neighbors. if it weren't for them, we may not have known until one of our kids ended up in the hospital. >> reporter: the results were horrifying. the methamphetamines nearly 18 times the legal limit. >> the tests came back, we pulled up and said, we're never going back there. >> reporter: the family moved out, ending up in the apartment. forced to throw out many of

their belongings. what was that like? trying to prepare for the future, and you have to deal with this? >> we've had a lot of support from friends and family. >> reporter: now, they're deep in debt. crammed into this apartment. >> our retirement is gone. >> reporter: now, to make any of their money back, by reselling the home, they have to pay for a $10,000 professional decontamination. when methamphetamine is cooked in a house, the residue remains in the house. and causes headaches, nausea,

and vomiting. crisis cleaning is the biggest name in indiana. indiana ranked number one in meth cleaning last year. >> we found this in the kitchen. >> reporter: it's a tough job that attracts people that like unusual occupational hazards. >> i've had the cops called on me a few times. >> reporter: today, we're heading to the home for a round of heavy-duty decontamination. they help us suit up, and tell us that the meth is toxic, as well as the chemicals they use to remove it. >> you should be fine, but our

chemicals are airborne. you don't want them to get on your skin. >> reporter: first, you must remove all the carpets. >> if you step on it, you're just kicking stuff up in the air. no matter how you clean it, you're just recontaminating the house. >> reporter: then a professional vacuum. and a gas cloud that neutralizes meth particles. it's a strong smell. >> it counteracts the meth molecules. >> reporter: and they have to do the same process in each room of the house. times more than once. and they're far from alone.

while the indiana police department lists houses of homes that have been found. but for every house they find, two more go undiscovered. >> just do the meth test. that's the best recommendation i can make. >> reporter: but there's another twist. they're suing the realtor, the reality company, and the former owners for breach of contract. claiming they knew meth was cooked there, because the former owner is her son. >> i feel like we were sold a lemon. >> reporter: and the attorney for them told us, while my clients empathize with the nugents, they had no knowledge of the contamination.

and the buyers had an independent home inspection before selling the home. and they say there was no meth used or cooked. i would never put my son or anyone else in that environment. but after she moved out, her ex-husband remained in the home for almost two years. you don't want to go back in there. >> no. it feels like a death happened, to be honest. coming back is always like looking at the grave, almost. >> reporter: for "nightline," alex perez in indianapolis. >> next, this medium claims she can connect you with a loved one. but is it true? and new horrors are coming your way. a challenge from hollywood's

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you're about to immediate the medium celebrities turn to to communicate with the dead. we decided to put her on the spot for halloween night. beware, she taps into some surprising secrets. >> celebrities come to this woman believing she can speak to the dead. >> there's something freakish going on here.

>> i'm genuinely freaked out. >> stars share their experiences and ask russo to explain them. >> we need to get out of here. >> she's part of a growing group of celebrity psychics. >> did she pass tragically? >> but how much of this is real? is she just a really good reader of body clues? or is she a real medium? we asked her to meet us in central park at this pond. rumored to be a haunted area.

>> i sense something out here. >> right away, she feels a presence. >> there's a soldier here. feeling like he's still in battle. and a sad bride. they need to go to the light. >> then things got a little weird. >> the battery just went dead. >> a fully charged battery. >> she warned us that it could happen. the full battery went out in the middle of our interview. and then, static. our audio, gone. random interference? or something more sinister? >> well, they run on a freque y frequency, too. >> what's a proper title for you? >> i'm a channel, and a vessel for whatever messages want to

filter through me. >> how does it work? >> i work off of your energy and the energy in the atmosphere. just like a radio picks up radio waves, i pick up spirit waves. >> and a lot of people say, oh, come on. >> i'm a skeptic, too. i do believe people have gifts. >> but there are some things she won't subscribe to, like the ouija board. the subject of many movies, including one that came out this week. would you touch a board? >> yes, but it would never call a spirit to a board. this attracts low-energy

entities. >> and a few minutes doesn't come cheap. >> a good medium charges anywhere from $200 for an hour, per session. and these are the most sought-after mediums. >> we came across this couple. >> do you believe in ghosts? >> our chat turned into an impromptu reading. >> who's annie? >> his mom. >> how does she connect with you? >> you have to hand it to russo, connecting with some key details. >> i have an uncle i never had a

chance to say good-bye to. >> well, you'll see him begin. >> the couple was visibly shaken. >> that was insanely accurate. i'm teary and i don't know why. >> it's this combination of spirit and emotion that gives russo a big fan base. tv shows and movies depicting psycsigpsychics communicating w dead have contributed to its popularity. and 3 in 4 americans believe in the paranormal. haunted houses, and ghosts and spirits that have returned from the dead. so, when she offered to contact

my mother, i took it with a grain of salt. >> it could be your mother saying that. do you have an uncle jimmy? james? >> no. she got many things wrong, like what my children look like. >> is one a little chunkier? >> no. >> do you have one sister? sheila? >> her name is sandra. and sometimes right on the nose. >> your mother, did she raise somebody else's daughter? >> okay, true. what's her sister's name? >> give me a minute. diane. is it? >> it is. >> i was surprised that she got

her names right. but i googled myself, and there it was. my mom's obituary. so, whether one believes in the paranormal or not, it's something to think about. next, the ring gave us screen phobia to last a lifetime. but a panel of judges is picking one new horror project that may top them all. love the real scratch made taste

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in macarthur's world, he opposes new laws to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work. and macarthur opposes a woman's right to choose backed by a group that would outlaw abortion even for rape and incest. for us in the real world, aimee belgard. aimee will fight for equal pay and protect a woman's right to choose. aimee belgard's on our side. i'm aimee belgard and i approve this message.

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and finally on this halloween night, some hollywood "a"-listers have launched a contest called 666. it's a sinister number, but the prizes are frightfully delightful. here's adidi roy. >> reporter: this moment i in "psycho" to the creepy twins in "the shining," it only takes a few seconds to scare you. and eli roth says, scare me. >> you can shoot it in your house, with big special effects. it's all graded on the same

curve. >> reporter: looking for the scariest six-second vine video ever. and the judges will check out all kinds, from high-production hijinks to the old standby, the freaky doll. the winner gets to have his or her movie developed by roth himself. >> to have the opportunity just for him to see our work is just -- it's amazing. >> reporter: and just hours ago, the judges crowned their tycoon of terror. can you last six seconds without screaming? >> there's a monster up there! >> there's not a monster. >> reporter: proving you can pack a lot of scare into a tiny

package. >> thank you for watching abc news. tune into good morning america tomorrow. and as always, we're on abcnews.com. good night, america.