SANGUIRANRIUM

    There's magic going on here, Mulder. Only it's being done with silicone, collagen, and a

                      well-placed scalpel.

During a routine liposuction operation in Winnetka, Illinois, Dr. Harrison Lloyd (John Juliani) suddenly begins to remove so much fat from a patient that the patient dies. Following the unusual experience, Lloyd tells Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) that he killed the patient because he was possessed. Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is skeptical about Lloyd's claims, believing he's only making it up to escape legal consequences. Mulder inspects the operation room and discovers a pentagram burned into the floor; he begins to suspect that witchcraft might have played a part in the crime. Meanwhile, the staff at Lloyd's clinic are shocked when another plastic surgeon, Dr. Ilaqua (Paul Raskin), murders an elderly patient by burning a hole through her cheek and neck with a surgical laser, severing her brain stem. Scully interviews Ilaqua, who claims that he cannot remember anything of the incident. Mulder's suspicions are strengthened when he reviews the tape of the second murder, and he sees a pentagram-like pattern on the stomach of the victim.

Worried by the events, the hospital coordinator, Dr. Theresa Shannon, tells Mulder and Scully about a similar series of deaths that occurred at the same hospital ten years prior. They suspect Rebecca Waite (O-Lan Jones), a nurse who is the only person present at all the death scenes. The agents visit Waite's house, discovering evidence that she practices witchcraft; however, the audience learns that the evidence was planted there by a staff member of the hospital. Elsewhere, Dr. Jack Franklin (Richard Beymer) is non-fatally assaulted by Waite at his house. There, Waite is arrested and approached by the agents, who attempt to question Waite but are prevented when she starts to vomit pins, dying shortly thereafter. After the incident, Mulder visits Dr. Jack Franklin, hoping to learn more about Waite's possible motivation. Although Franklin is seemingly innocent, when Mulder leaves the room, he begins to levitate and devilishly smile. Later that night, Mulder deduces that the birthdays of all the victims match up with the dates of the Witches' Sabbath and that Waite was actually trying to protect the victims from Dr. Jack Franklin (she had placed the pentagrams—actually protective symbols—on and around the victims in the hopes of protecting them from dark magic). This also explains why Waite tried to kill Franklin. Unfortunately, Mulder also realizes that because Waite was not the murderer, the spree of murders will continue. And as he suspected, another patient is murdered with acid back at the hospital.

Soon after, the agents again meet with Dr. Theresa Shannon, and she further discusses the spree of murders that occurred ten years ago. According to Shannon, five people were killed at the clinic: four patients and a cosmetic doctor named Clifford Cox, who ostensibly died of a drug overdose. Following his intuition, Mulder deduces that Dr. Clifford Cox was the only one out of the deceased five whose birthday does match up with the Sabbath dates. Mulder then uses the hospital's computer program to determine what Cox would look like had he undergone heavy plastic surgery. The computer produces an image that looks like Franklin, suggesting that he is actually Dr. Clifford Cox in disguise. When Dr. Shannon discovers Cox alone in a blood-spattered operating room, he uses witchcraft to magically teleport surgical tools into her intestines, which causes her to bleed internally. Luckily, Dr. Shannon is rushed into surgery and survives. Cox, however, escapes; he is later seen removing the skin of his face and performing a ritual to make him appear younger. It is revealed that Cox murders in a quest to gain eternal youth. The episode ends with a now-young Cox successfully applying for a position at another medical hospital.

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