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This is about the Ash vs Evil Dead episode titled Books from Beyond. You might be looking for the looking for the store of the same name.

"Books from Beyond" is the third episode of the first season of Ash vs Evil Dead, and the third overall episode in the series. It was written by Sean Clements and directed by Michael J. Bassett. It premiered on STARZ on November 14, 2015.

Plot Synopsis[]

A crimson Dodge Challenger races through the night down the narrow roads of Michigan, eventually coming to a stop at the homestead of the Maxwell family. The car's driver, the mysterious Ruby Knowby, gets out and examines the two freshly-dug graves in the front yard of the home. One of the wooden crosses marking one of the graves shifts and falls over, and as Ruby's hand hovers over the cross before picking it up, a hand reaches up out of the dirt and grabs her wrist. Ruby manages to pull away from the hand's grip, and reaches into the soil, pulling up the body whom the hand belongs to. The Deadite Mr. Maxwell growls and writhes, but Ruby's grip on his shirt remains tight, asking him of Ash Williams had been there. The Deadite seems reluctant to give answers, prompting Ruby to slam the undead man down on top of the cross marking the grave of his wife, and even in this current situation, is still refusing to answer Ruby's questions. Given no other choice, Ruby pulls out the Kandarian Dagger, gently dragging it's blade across the Deadite's face as he screams in agony before exploding into a bloody pulp.

It's early morning as the Oldsmobile pulls into Berkley, stopping outside of a store named Books From Beyond, a curio shop dealing with the strange and supernatural. As Pablo hands the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis over to Ash, he laments that their little group is breaking up so soon, and says he's come up with a name for their trio: The Ghost Beaters, though Ash and Kelly are quick to tell him that it's an awful name. With the book in-hand, Ash heads into the store and is greeted by the store's owner, Lionel Hawkins. Behind the curtain which Lionel emerged from comes Amanda Fisher, whom Ash is immediately smitten with. Fisher exits the shop, leaving Ash and Lionel alone. Williams removes the Ex-Mortis from the satchel and throws it onto the counter, prompting an astonished Lionel to grab a nearby desk lamp/magnifying glass to begin examining it.

Outside the store, Fisher calls someone with Michigan State Police, asking to get the sketch of the suspect involved with the recent trailer park murders. Though reluctant at first, the voice on the other end relents, and sends the sketch via text message.

Back inside, Lionel carefully opens the Necronomicon. The already dim lights of the store begin to flicker and the shelves begin to tremble, and miles away from it all, Ruby senses the book has been opened, stomping on the gas of her car. Elsewhere, the Kandarian Demon roams through a foggy forest, having also sensed the book being tampered with.

In the Oldsmobile, Pablo asks Kelly how she's doing, having just lost her parents a few hours earlier. She bluntly replies that she's not doing good, but seems to have found a silver lining in Pablo, who she sees like the little brother she never had. Pablo says that maybe he's not like a little brother, maybe more like a bad boy that can't be trusted, but before they can continue conversing, they notice Amanda run to her car and take out a pistol before running back into the bookstore, realizing that probably has something to do with Ash. While Lionel is examining the Necronomicon's pages, Amanda points her gun at Ash and demands he puts his hands up. Suddenly, Amanda collapses to the floor, as Pablo knocks her out with a large bone, and begins to panic when he realizes she was a cop. Using her own handcuffs, Ash cuffs the unconscious Fisher to a metal ladder in the bookstore's backroom, asking Kelly to keep an eye on her as he, Pablo, and Lionel continue to examine the book.

In another room, Lionel gives Pablo and Ash a brief history of the Necronomicon, explaining that it was the creation of a group of "neither demon nor fully human" entities known as The Dark Ones, who used the Ex-Mortis as a weapon against humanity. Ash inquires about the "undo button" to get rid of evil, and Lionel finds a passage which says that the key is inside "The Man" (which Ash is quick to interpret as himself). While Ash is irritated that Lionel can't exactly decipher what that means, Pablo makes an off-hand comment about just summoning an answer, which Ash twists around to convince Lionel to summon the weakest demon in the book that might know what it all means.

Back in the backroom, Amanda wakes up to find herself handcuffed to the ladder, and lunges at Kelly. Amanda claims that Ash is behind a lot of bad things going on recently, but Kelly tells her she's wrong. Fisher then plants the seed of doubt in Kelly by asking her what she really knows about Ash...

Meanwhile, Lionel puts the finishing touches on a rune-covered summoning circle on the floor of the shop, warning Pablo to not break the circle's outer ring. Pablo then begins to express his doubts over using the Necronomicon again, but Ash eventually manages to convince him that it's alright. Lionel says that he's found a demon that might be able to help them, a creature named Eligos that "possesses knowledge of hidden things, a demon of the mindscape." As Lionel begins to read the passage, Amanda is still trying to convince Kelly to let her free, and that they're both on the same side of trying to stop these monsters.

Lionel continues to read the summoning incantation, causing the shop to tremble and shutter. Outside, the Kandarian Demon leaves the safety of the woods and pivots towards Berkley...

A black smoke rises from the summoning circle, and Eligos stands at the center, asking why Ash has summoned him. Ash asks if Eligos knows how to put the evil he unleashed "back into the bottle", but Eligos says he'll tell him only if he's released. Realizing he's not going to get a clear answer out of the demon, Ash tells Lionel to send Eligos back. Before Lionel can do that, Kelly and Amanda enter the room, with Amanda firing off a warning shot at Ash. Williams jumps at the shot, causing him to break the edge of the summoning circle. Free of the circle's hold over him, Eligos pulls Ash close to him using telekinesis, and begins to disconnect the blood vessels inside Ash's brain, causing Williams great pain. Amanda takes a shot at Eligos, but the demon simply teleports in the blink of an eye. Ash gets to his feet and grabs his shotgun, trying to get a shot at the demon, only for Eligos to keep teleporting within fractions of a second. Eligos then uses his telekinesis to pick up shards of a broken glass window and sends them flying at Ash, but Williams is quick to dodge the shards. Unfortunately for the group, the glass shards fly directly into Lionel, killing him instantly. Eligos attacks Ash's mind again, giving Pablo the opportunity to pick up Amanda's pistol and take a shot at the demon. Eligos then begins to attack Ash and Pablo simultaneously, allowing Kelly to grab the Necronomicon from Lionel's desk and smack Eligos on the side of the head. The demon turns into a cloud of black smoke, and the chaos inside the store comes to an abrupt end. Ash goes to help Amanda, offering her the chance to hear his side of the story, but she puts a set of handcuffs on him instead, though Ash is quick to turn the tables on Fisher since she handcuffed his fake wooden hand, and cuffs her to a table.

Outside the shop, Ash, Kelly, and Pablo return to the Oldsmobile, eager to get away from the store before the police arrive. Pablo says that his uncle, a shaman, might be able to help them, though he isn't sure that he'll want to see him again. Ash says that stopping evil is more important than any "uncle issues" Pablo might have, and Pablo agrees. Turning on the radio, the Delta pulls away down the street, off to see the Brujo...

Back inside the store, Amanda fidgets with the handcuffs a moment before giving up and trying to figure out her next move. Suddenly, there's a sound of scuffling coming from behind a large desk. Amanda looks on in horror as Lionel, now a Deadite, gets to his feet and growls at the handcuffed woman...

Cast[]

Starring

Guest starring

Gallery[]

Soundtrack[]

Trivia[]

  • References to Evil Dead II:
    • The Dark Ones make their canon debut in this episode, having been previously mentioned in the opening narration of Evil Dead II.
    • The wooden cross on Mr. Maxwell's grave shifting and falling over is identical to the scene of Linda's cross falling over before her corpse climbs out of her grave in Evil Dead II.
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