What may have seemed like fiction is slowly becoming reality for Stephanie Johnson.

Everything from the murders to the villains is coming true – and psychic Susan Banks is the first to notice.

The episode opens with Susan walking into Stephanie’s office, holding a thick manuscript in her hand and saying, “I wrote something I shouldn’t have.”

Stephanie smiles wryly, dismissing it as superstition – until the first murder in her book actually happens.

A victim in the novel – who has the exact same characteristics as the woman who was murdered in real life. The sight leaves Stephanie in a panic. She opens the manuscript again, looking at each line she typed – the lines detailing how the victim was attacked, when, and where. Everything matches.

Stephanie begins to doubt herself: “Am I dreaming, or did I write something I don’t remember?” Susan returns, warning that there is a “shadow” using her to convey a message. Maybe Stephanie is not just the author – but a tool for the killer to send a warning to all of Salem.

The episode climaxes when Stephanie wakes up in the middle of the night, finds her computer turned on by itself, the cursor typing new lines: “The next victim is… Johnny.” As soon as the words appear, her phone rings – an unknown number, no one answers.

Salem has had its share of horrific cases, but never before has a writer become the trigger for a real crime. And this time, perhaps, the only thing that will help Stephanie survive is to stop writing – but can she do it?