WEBVTT - The Pollock Twins: A Second Life?

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<v Speaker 1>Appogie Production. Welcome back to Silent Secrets, your gentle guide

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<v Speaker 1>into the mysteries of our world. Tonight's story is one

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<v Speaker 1>that's fascinated psychologists, spiritualists and skeptics alike. It's about two

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<v Speaker 1>little girls in England who might just might have lived

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<v Speaker 1>once before. This is the strange case of the Polyck twins.

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<v Speaker 1>So as the day falls away, get comfortable, and if

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<v Speaker 1>you drift off while we explore this mystery, that's perfectly fine. Hexham, Northumberland,

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<v Speaker 1>is a quiet market town in northern England. In the

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen fifties, this was the kind of place where nothing

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<v Speaker 1>much happened, just green hills, cobbled streets and tight knit families.

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<v Speaker 1>Florence and John Pollock lived here with their two daughters, Joanna,

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<v Speaker 1>aged eleven and Jacqueline aged six. The girls were full

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<v Speaker 1>of energy and love. Joanna was thoughtful and protective and

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<v Speaker 1>Jacqueline was silly, affectionate and full of imagination. They played

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<v Speaker 1>together constantly and were deeply bonded. Then tragedy. On May five,

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen fifty seven, the girls were walking to church when

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<v Speaker 1>they were struck by a car. Both died instantly. The

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<v Speaker 1>town mourned their parents were devastated. Nothing could ever replace

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<v Speaker 1>the daughters they had lost, or so they thought. About

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<v Speaker 1>A year later, Florence discovered she was pregnant again. John,

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<v Speaker 1>who had developed an interest in reincarnation, became convinced that

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<v Speaker 1>Joanna and Jacqueline would return somehow through this new child.

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<v Speaker 1>Florence was skeptical, and when the doctors said she was

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<v Speaker 1>carrying just one baby, John was quietly disappointed. But on

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<v Speaker 1>October fourth, nineteen fifty eight, a surprise, Florence gave birth

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<v Speaker 1>to identical twin girls, Jillian and Jennifer. Identical in looks, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>but from the start the girls were noticeably different in personality.

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<v Speaker 1>Jennifer had a strange birthmark across her forehead in the

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<v Speaker 1>same spot that his deceased daughter Jacqueline had a scar.

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<v Speaker 1>She also had a similar birthmark on her waist, exactly

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<v Speaker 1>like the one Jacqueline had. Even as babies, John insisted

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<v Speaker 1>that these were the same souls reborn. Florence was uncomfortable

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<v Speaker 1>with the idea, but soon things got even stranger. As toddlers,

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<v Speaker 1>the twins began asking for toys that had belonged to

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<v Speaker 1>Joanna and Jacqueline, toys they had never seen or been

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<v Speaker 1>told about. They knew the names of their deceased sisters dolls.

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<v Speaker 1>They asked to play in the park they'd never visited,

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<v Speaker 1>but described it in detail. They showed a fear of cars,

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<v Speaker 1>especially Jennifer, who would cry out when one came close,

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<v Speaker 1>clinging to Florence and saying the car was coming to

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<v Speaker 1>get her. Even more bizarre, the girls would sometimes role

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<v Speaker 1>play in which Gillian acted like Joanna and Jennifer acted

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<v Speaker 1>like Jacqueline, with all the correct age dynamics, preferences and behaviors.

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<v Speaker 1>When the family returned to Hexham after years away, the

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<v Speaker 1>twins recognized landmarks they shouldn't have known. They pointed out

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<v Speaker 1>their old school. They asked about the swing set in

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<v Speaker 1>the previous backyard, even though it had been taken down

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<v Speaker 1>before they were born. The case caught the attention of

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<v Speaker 1>doctor Ian Stevenson, a psychiatrist at the University of Virginia

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<v Speaker 1>who had spent years studying reincarnation cases. He interviewed the

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<v Speaker 1>Pollock family multiple times and documented dozens of matching behaviors

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<v Speaker 1>and memories. Stevenson was careful he wasn't out to prove reincarnation,

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<v Speaker 1>but he believed the case deserved serious attention. His conclusion,

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<v Speaker 1>while there was no way to prove reincarnation, the Polyck

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<v Speaker 1>Twins offered some of the most compelling evidence he'd ever seen.

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<v Speaker 1>By the time the girls were about seven, their strange

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<v Speaker 1>memories began to fade. They no longer referred to their

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<v Speaker 1>past lives. The unusual knowledge and behaviors slowly disappeared. They

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<v Speaker 1>grew into ordinary, happy teenagers, with no further signs of

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<v Speaker 1>anything unusual. Some skeptics believe the parents, especially John, must

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<v Speaker 1>have unintentionally influenced the girls. Maybe they overheard stories picked

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<v Speaker 1>up on cues, but many of the memories and details

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<v Speaker 1>were never spoken aloud, not in the house, and not

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<v Speaker 1>in front of the twins. The Polyck Twins story remains

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<v Speaker 1>a mystery. It doesn't prove reincarnation, but it makes us pause.

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<v Speaker 1>If consciousness can continue, if memory can pass through lifetimes,

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<v Speaker 1>what else might be possible. Maybe it's all coincidence, Maybe

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<v Speaker 1>it's the mind making patterns, or maybe just maybe love

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<v Speaker 1>finds a way to return. As you drift off to sleep,

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<v Speaker 1>let that thought linger gently in your mind. Some things

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<v Speaker 1>in this world and maybe the next, remain unexplained. Good Night,

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<v Speaker 1>l Thanks for listening to this episode and supporting this story.

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