“Scary Monsters” is episode fourteen of season nine of The X-Files.
Night in Fairhope, Pennsylvania, and a young boy is in bed, not even vaguely asleep. He checks under his bed, then sees something under there in the mirror and calls for his father, wanting him to check under the bed. The father does. There is something underneath, but the father denies it. After he leaves, the boy sees something and runs to his door. Which his father is holding shut from the other side.
Scully is heading for lunch at the FBI Academy when Leyla Harrison, from “Alone”, finds her. Leyla is happily back in accounting. Scully asks if she can talk whilst Scully eats. Layla agrees, then shows Scully the photo of a dead woman. She’s sure it’s an X-file. Leyla was following up a mileage discrepancy in the vehicle fleet. A nice secretary used a Ford Taurus without authorisation, desperate to visit her grandson. The dead woman was her daughter. Her grandson, Tommy Conlon, told his grandmother that a monster killed his mother and his father knows. According to the autopsy, the mother stabbed herself to death. Sixteen times. Scully sees no reason to disagree. Now, Tommy has been taken away from everyone and his grandmother can’t see him. The same monster killed his pet cat, Spanky. Scully says unless Leyla can bring her Spanky, there’s no evidence.
That night, Scully gets a call from Reyes. She wants Scully’s opinion on an autopsy. It seems Leyla convinced Reyes and Doggett there was a case and they’re heading to Fairhope. Reyes asks why Leyla didn’t say she’d already spoken to Scully. Because Leyla didn’t know Reyes would call Scully. Doggett turns the car around as Leyla tries to convince him to keep going. They’re almost there and Mulder would keep going.
Tommy’s father, Jeffrey, is burying something, in the snow, as Doggett drives up. Conlon doesn’t want to talk and says Tommy is fine and asleep. As for his cut, he did it on broken glass. Doggett wants to see Tommy, who comes out of the house. Leyla mentions monsters and Tommy says there are no such thing as monsters. Conlon says this is why Tommy’s grandmother isn’t allowed to visit.
Conlon takes Tommy inside and Leyla is apologising to Reyes and Doggett for dragging them out here. Only they now believe there is something wrong. Tommy said what his father wanted him to say and Doggett wants to get a warrant to find out what. Inside the house, Tommy says the monsters won’t let them leave. Doggett tries starting the car. On the second attempt, red fluid sprays inside it. Under the bonnet, it looks like there’s blood everywhere.
Scully finds a man, Gabe Rotter, banging on her door. He has the thing she’s been waiting for. He’s a friend of Leyla Harrison. Rotter hands her a box. Inside which is a dead cat. Scully doesn’t want it. Leyla apparently told Rotter she’d go out with him if he got the cat to Scully. Scully isn’t interested. Then notices something about the cat. Which makes her think Leyla is on to something.
Reyes’ phone won’t work and Doggett and Conlon come back into the house. Their engine is shot and Conlon’s truck won’t start for no apparent reason. Leyla is reminded of a case. Doggett says they aren’t leaving, and as long as they are here, nothing will happen to Tommy. Cue Tommy screaming. Conlon is keeping him inside his room. Reyes gets the door open and there are giant bugs on the floor. Doggett shoots one in half. It turns into two bugs.
Tommy is drawing and Doggett tells Reyes the things have gone, but he’s no idea where. Tommy says the monsters hurt is mommy. Doggett heads to speak to Conlon with Leyla. Conlon has scars on his arms from the creatures. He says they can’t be killed. Leyla thinks maybe they can; what was Conlon burying?
They’re now stuck on a mountain in the middle of nowhere with no phones, no vehicles and dangerous monsters who seem to appear and disappear at will. Meanwhile, Scully is autopsying a cat.