Speaker 1: Welcome to Unexplained Extra with me Richard McLane Smith. For
Speaker 1: the weeks in between episodes, we look at the stories that,
Speaker 1: for one reason or other, didn't make it into the show.
Speaker 1: In last week's episode, Under the Asphalt, we came across
Speaker 1: some strange goings on taking place inside a South London
Speaker 1: housing estate in the nineteen seventies, in particular a section
Speaker 1: of the estate known as Frankom House. Some believe the
Speaker 1: building has been haunted ever since its construction in the
Speaker 1: nineteen thirties, having been built on the site of Christ
Speaker 1: Church Cemetery, the church being knocked down to make way
Speaker 1: for the estate. Interestingly, many of the occupants who claimed
Speaker 1: to have experienced the hauntings often spoke of seeing the
Speaker 1: figure of a tall man moving around their apartments. It
Speaker 1: brought to mind another South London ghost that is alleged
Speaker 1: to have plagued a property in neighboring Broccoley, not more
Speaker 1: than a kilometer from Frankham House. In the summer of
Speaker 1: nineteen ten, the journalist and writer Elliott O'Donnell relayed a
Speaker 1: peculiar story in the London based newspaper The Weekly Dispatch.
Speaker 1: As a writer of apparent true life hauntings. He had
Speaker 1: got word of a terrifying apparition that had been stalking
Speaker 1: a house at the northern end of Broccoley Road in London.
Speaker 1: After some diligent work, he managed to track down the
Speaker 1: house's former owners, a Missus and mister Evans. As O'Donnell maintained,
Speaker 1: both were well educated, mister Evans being a solicitor, and
Speaker 1: both were perfectly sane and rational in their outlook. Neither
Speaker 1: had the slightest hesitation in relaying their experiences to the writer,
Speaker 1: so convinced were they of what they had heard and seen.
Speaker 1: The disturbances had begun shortly after the couple had moved
Speaker 1: in to the Broccoli Road house. Missus Evans had been
Speaker 1: preparing dinner when she heard the rattling of a key
Speaker 1: in the front door lock. The sound of the door
Speaker 1: being opened and shut was then followed by the sound
Speaker 1: of footsteps running up the stairs. She called out to
Speaker 1: her husband, but received no reply. After a quick search
Speaker 1: of the house, she found that she was completely alone.
Speaker 1: Mister Evans would not return back from work till late
Speaker 1: that evening. This strange sonic episode would continue to repeat
Speaker 1: itself on a fairly regular basis throughout mister and Missus
Speaker 1: Evans's occupancy. Although somewhat disturbed by the phenomena, they seemed
Speaker 1: little affected by it until one evening, Having heard the
Speaker 1: sound at the front door again, mister Evans caught sight
Speaker 1: of a tall figure standing in the hallway just in
Speaker 1: front of the door. Though he couldn't see it clearly,
Speaker 1: it looked to be wearing a frock coat and top hat.
Speaker 1: Unsure quite what he was seeing, mister Evans approached the figure,
Speaker 1: only for it to vanish immediately. A few months later,
Speaker 1: due in part to the apparent hauntings, an unsettled Missus
Speaker 1: and mister Evans moved out of the property. Intrigued by
Speaker 1: their story, O'Donnell made his way to their old home,
Speaker 1: hoping to scope it out for himself. He arrived outside
Speaker 1: the three story, semi detached town house one afternoon, but
Speaker 1: was disappointed to find it already occupied. After knocking on
Speaker 1: the door, he was greeted by a gaunt, elderly woman,
Speaker 1: who had turned out was only a caretaker looking after
Speaker 1: the house while the owner searched for another tenant. It
Speaker 1: seemed missus and mister Evans's story may have been putting
Speaker 1: off prospective buyers. O'Donnell spotted an opportunity and offered the
Speaker 1: woman a small fee to let him stay a couple
Speaker 1: of nights in the house. The caretaker gladly took the
Speaker 1: money and agreed to let the writer stay for two nights.
Speaker 1: A few hours later, O'Donnell returned to the property, escorted
Speaker 1: by his Irish terrier, whom he had named Ghoul. The
Speaker 1: caretaker explained that she had kept a small fire burning
Speaker 1: for him in the kitchen and that she would be
Speaker 1: back at seven am the next morning. O'Donnell asked her
Speaker 1: if she had ever noticed anything strange there herself. Only
Speaker 1: the odd scratching sound on the stairs, she replied, which
Speaker 1: she put down to nothing more than mice sky about
Speaker 1: in the wainscotting. After setting down his things in the kitchen,
Speaker 1: with the last of the day's light all but gone,
Speaker 1: o'donald bent down and let Gul off his leash. Taking
Speaker 1: the candle left out by the caretaker, he lit the
Speaker 1: wick and proceeded to make his way throughout the house
Speaker 1: in search of the tall apparition in the top hat.
Speaker 1: Are you always taking care of your family? Do you
Speaker 1: often take care of others and not yourself. Now it's
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Speaker 1: slash Unexplained Podcast. As O'Donnell went from room to room
Speaker 1: with only the flickering light of the candle's flame to
Speaker 1: guide him, it was hard to ignore the growing sense
Speaker 1: of anxiety accompanying his every move. Thankfully, gool provided enthusiastic company,
Speaker 1: excitedly sniffing out the darker corners on his behalf. Having
Speaker 1: scoped out all ten of the rooms, O'Donnell proceeded to
Speaker 1: close all the window blinds and shut every door in
Speaker 1: the house. At the sound of eleven muffled gongs from
Speaker 1: a neighboring clock, the writer and Ghoul returned to the
Speaker 1: bottom of the stairs to begin their vigil. With the
Speaker 1: dog having finally settled down beside him, O'Donnell held up
Speaker 1: the candle and blew it out. Engulfed in perfect darkness,
Speaker 1: the pair sat and waited. Six hours later, apart from
Speaker 1: the usual cracks and creeks of any old house, O'Donnell
Speaker 1: heard and saw nothing untoward. The following morning, shortly after
Speaker 1: seven am, the caretaker returned, and O'Donnell and ghoul left
Speaker 1: the property arrayed, anging to return at ten pm that evening.
Speaker 1: Later that night, arriving again at the front door of
Speaker 1: the dimly lit house on Broccoli Road, something was different.
Speaker 1: Though he couldn't quite put a finger on what it
Speaker 1: was himself, gul certainly felt it too. Where before he
Speaker 1: had raced keenly into the house that night when the
Speaker 1: caretaker opened the front door. The dog became suddenly subdued
Speaker 1: and sat stubbornly on the front step, refusing to budge.
Speaker 1: It was only after O'Donnell gave him a few gentle
Speaker 1: nudges that he finally relented and made his way into
Speaker 1: the house. After seeing off the caretaker, O'Donnell proceeded to
Speaker 1: make the rounds again with Gul in tow, only this time,
Speaker 1: rather than bound on ahead enthusiastically into each room, the
Speaker 1: dog refused to leave O'Donnell's side, though he had no
Speaker 1: obvious reason to claim it, so the writer couldn't help
Speaker 1: feeling that on this occasion they were not alone, just
Speaker 1: like the previous night. He closed the blinds and shut
Speaker 1: all the doors, before taking a seat at the bottom
Speaker 1: of the stairs. Gool refused to stay, still, whining and
Speaker 1: scratching irritably at the floor. Trying to ignore the dog's
Speaker 1: obvious discomfort, O'Donnell held up the candle once more and
Speaker 1: snuffed out its flame. It wasn't long after that the
Speaker 1: writer claimed to have heard the unmistakable sound of a
Speaker 1: key being placed inside the front door lock. O'Donnell called out,
Speaker 1: but there was no reply. Straining to see in the dark.
Speaker 1: He listened in terror at the sound at the front
Speaker 1: door opening. Only not for a moment did he see
Speaker 1: the street revealed to him from outside. The sound was
Speaker 1: followed by the slamming shut of an unseen door and
Speaker 1: the sensation of something rushing past him and tearing up
Speaker 1: the stairs. Next, Staring up into the darkness behind him,
Speaker 1: O'Donnell heard a long and mournful sigh. Turning to look
Speaker 1: again towards the front door, he drew a sharp breath.
Speaker 1: There in the hallway stood a large figure dressed in
Speaker 1: what looked like a top hat and frock coat. Terrified
Speaker 1: and excited in equal measure, O'Donnell dared not move for
Speaker 1: fear that the apparition might suddenly vanish, feeling as if
Speaker 1: time were no longer in motion. Eventually, he drew himself
Speaker 1: up and approached the figure. Convinced he was witnessing something
Speaker 1: not of this world. It was his primary objective to
Speaker 1: ascertain if the ghost, if that's what it was, was
Speaker 1: aware of him. O'Donnell would later claim that as he
Speaker 1: drew nearer, he was able to see the figure in
Speaker 1: more detail. At over six foot tall, it looked as
Speaker 1: though it were leaning against the front door, its skin
Speaker 1: pale and luminous, and its eyes betraying a deep sorrow.
Speaker 1: My friend, he asked as he crept ever closer, Is
Speaker 1: there anything I can do for you? But there was
Speaker 1: no reply. Finally close enough to touch it, O'Donnell reached
Speaker 1: out for its hand, and the figure completely disappeared. The
Speaker 1: following morning, a deeply shaken O'Donnell made a visit to
Speaker 1: the local milkman, mister Johnson, who he had been told
Speaker 1: might know more about the history of the house. According
Speaker 1: to Johnson, who was all too familiar with its haunted reputation,
Speaker 1: the place had once been rented by a mister Perry Stephens.
Speaker 1: At some point, the man's son, John Stephens, who worked
Speaker 1: for a city bank, had got into trouble with gambling
Speaker 1: debts and attempted to cover them by committing forgery at
Speaker 1: the bank. After being found out for the crime, he
Speaker 1: had apparently sought refuge in his father's house for days.
Speaker 1: Perry Stevens kept an eye out for police while his
Speaker 1: son lay hiding inside the building under the floorboards. The
Speaker 1: police would eventually discover John's hiding place, and he would
Speaker 1: be convicted and sentenced to jail for seven years. Embarrassed
Speaker 1: and disgraced by the ordeal. Perry Stephens, who was often
Speaker 1: seen walking the local streets dressed in his frock and
Speaker 1: top hat. Soon after travel to the town of Ramsgate
Speaker 1: on the south coast of England. It is there that
Speaker 1: he is said to have made his way to the
Speaker 1: top of the nearby cliffs and jumped to his death.
Speaker 1: If you enjoy listening to Unexplained and would like to
Speaker 1: help supporters, you can now go to Unexplained podcast dot
Speaker 1: com forward Slash support. All donations, no matter how large
Speaker 1: or small, are massively appreciated. All elements of Unexplained are
Speaker 1: produced by me, Richard McClain smith. Please subscribe and rate
Speaker 1: the show on iTunes and feel free to get in
Speaker 1: touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've
Speaker 1: heard on the show. Perhaps you have an explanation of
Speaker 1: your own you'd like to share. You can reach us
Speaker 1: online at Unexplained podcast dot com or on Twitter at
Speaker 1: Unexplained Pod. Now it's time to take care of yourself.
Speaker 1: To make time for you, teledoc gives you access to
Speaker 1: a licensed therapist to help you get back to feeling
Speaker 1: your best speak to a licensed therapist by phone or
Speaker 1: video anytime between seven am to nine pm local time,
Speaker 1: seven days a week. Teledoc Therapy is available through most
Speaker 1: insurance or employers, Download the app, or visit teledoc dot
Speaker 1: com Forward slash Unexplained podcast Today to get started. That's
Speaker 1: t e l a d oc dot com slash Unexplained
Speaker 1: podcast