Elegy (The X-Files)

"Elegy"
The X-Files episode
Scully encounters the spirit of a blond girl.
Episode no.	Season 4 Episode 22
Directed by	James Charleston
Written by	John Shiban
Production code	4X22
Original air date	May 4, 1997
Running time	44 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
Steven M. Porter as Harold Spuller Alex Bruhanski as Angelo Pintero Sydney Lassick as Chuck Forsch Nancy Fish as Nurse Innes Daniel Kamin as Detective Hudak Lorena Gale as The Attorney Mike Puttonen as Martin Alpert Christine Willes as Karen Kosseff Ken Tremblett as Uniformed Officer Gerry Naim as Sergeant Conneff
Episode chronology
← Previous "Zero Sum" Next → "Demons"
List of season 4 episodes List of The X-Files episodes

"Elegy" is the twenty-second episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by John Shiban and directed by James Charleston. The episode aired in the United States on May 4, 1997 on the Fox network. It is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Elegy" earned a Nielsen rating of 10.6 and was seen by 17.1 million viewers upon its initial broadcast. The episode received mostly positive reviews from televisions critics; the performance of lead actress Gillian Anderson was especially praised.

The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. In this episode, Mulder and Scully track a series of murders that lead to a home for the mentally ill and a clue that makes no sense: each victim has appeared as an apparition in the area where their body was found along with the words "She is me". Furthermore, the episode continues the storyline that concerns Scully's battle with cancer.

Shiban was inspired to write the episode based on an incident that involved his wife's father potentially seeing other beings in a room when he was dying. Shiban was also inspired by the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The series sought out a bowling alley for the opening scenes, but many establishments in Vancouver, Canada were reluctant to yield over two-thirds of their space as well as close down for three days. Eventually, the Thunderbird Bowling Centre was chosen.

Angie Pintero (Alex Bruhanski), the owner of a bowling alley, tells one of his employees, an autistic man named Harold Spuller (Steven M. Porter), to go home for the evening. Shortly thereafter, Angie discovers a badly-injured blond girl wedged inside of the automated pinsetter. The girl attempts to speak, but no words come out of her mouth. Angie notices police in a nearby parking lot and rushes outside to get help. He realizes a crowd has gathered around the dead body of the same girl he saw only moments earlier in the bowling alley. Angie relates his bizarre tale to Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). Mulder suspects that Angie encountered the dead girl's ghost; three similar encounters, and three similar murders, were reported in the area in as many weeks. The agents discover the words, "She is me" written on the bowling lane where Angie saw the spirit, but its meaning remains a mystery.