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There 18 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:08,319 Speaker 1: was a time not so long ago, when the practices 19 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 1: we know today as witchcraft and magic were inseparable from 20 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 1: the disciplines of science and medicine in the pre Enlightenment era, 21 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:21,440 Speaker 1: before Joseph Lister's germ theory and Henry Gray's anatomical textbook. 22 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,319 Speaker 1: Treatment for diseases were based on the ancient Greek belief 23 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: that the human body was composed of four distinct fluids, 24 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: or humors, as they were known phlegm, yellow bile, black bile, 25 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 1: and blood. Illnesses were categorized based on whichever one of 26 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,000 Speaker 1: these so called humours was thought to be off balance, 27 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: and managed in ways that might seem rudimentary even mystic 28 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:53,120 Speaker 1: to us now. Leeches for blood, letting, milk of the 29 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: poppy for pain, herbal emetics to induce vomiting and purges. 30 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: In many cases, beliefs ran parallel to the Church, who 31 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: incorporated pagan practices into the teaching of Christian doctrine to 32 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: make it more palatable for superstitious and often illiterate audiences. 33 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: Alchemists were revered by monarchs and heads of state for 34 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: their purported abilities to turn base metals into gold. Scrying 35 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:24,080 Speaker 1: mirrors were used to commune with the spirits of the dead, 36 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: while witch bottles were concocted and occult symbols scratched into 37 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: beams of wood at the back of houses to ward 38 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:37,359 Speaker 1: off evil. Even established saintly figures like thirteenth century philosopher 39 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 1: Albertus Magnus and supposed eleventh century visionary Hildegarde von Bingen, 40 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:46,119 Speaker 1: was said to dabble in exercises that would have been 41 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: regarded as heretical after the Renaissance. Both engaged in harespication, 42 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 1: the art of reading omens from the entrails of sacrificed animals, 43 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:00,920 Speaker 1: as well as alchemy. Undoubtedly they they would have considered 44 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:05,639 Speaker 1: themselves effectively practitioners of white magic, enacted in the name 45 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,520 Speaker 1: of God to fight against what, to their mind at 46 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:13,360 Speaker 1: least was dark magic practiced in the name of Satan. But, 47 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: as with all historical trends, when attitudes began to shift, 48 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:21,919 Speaker 1: suddenly regular practitioners of folk magic all across Europe, who 49 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 1: had been embraced or at least tolerated by the Church 50 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: found themselves condemned for engaging in sacrilegious activity. First, the 51 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 1: Protestant Reformation in the early fifteen hundreds introduced a strain 52 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: of Puritanical adherents to the literal word of gunt. By 53 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: the sixteen hundreds, Scotland and England's King James the First 54 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: had published its influential and by then notorious renunciation of 55 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:53,640 Speaker 1: witchcraft in Demonology. A brutal persecution of so called witches 56 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:58,800 Speaker 1: soon followed, leading to executions throughout Europe and the fledgling America. 57 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 1: In the British Isles, self appointed black hatted witch finder 58 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 1: generals like the infamous Matthew Hopkins were dispatched to hunt 59 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: down anyone perceived to deviate from the one True religion. 60 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 1: Many thousands of innocent people were caught up in the paranoia. Yet, 61 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 1: despite the seventeenth centuries growing bloodlust for witches, British folk 62 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:31,839 Speaker 1: beliefs proved stubbornly hard to suppress in the nineteenth century 63 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:36,280 Speaker 1: throughout the United Kingdom, despite the influence of Enlightenment thinking 64 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 1: and its rationalist assault on superstition, individuals credited with having 65 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:47,479 Speaker 1: the gift were still frequently called upon to dispense herbal cures, blessings, 66 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 1: and even put curses on fellow members of their community. 67 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:57,240 Speaker 1: In the English countryside, especially may day ceremonies, may pole dances, 68 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:02,360 Speaker 1: runic mysticism and green Man worship, so beloved of authors 69 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:06,279 Speaker 1: like Thomas Hardy, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and m R 70 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: James never truly fell out of fashion. By eighteen ninety, 71 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:16,800 Speaker 1: with the publication of James Fraser's influential mythological study The 72 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:21,000 Speaker 1: Golden Bough. In particular, it seemed that the British preoccupation 73 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: with folk belief had come full circle. Soon, Everything from 74 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:29,479 Speaker 1: the foundation of the Wicker religion by Gerald Gardner in 75 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:33,599 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty one to Alfred Watkinson's development of ley Line 76 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:37,359 Speaker 1: theory the following year was being openly embraced from the 77 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:41,039 Speaker 1: spires of Oxbridge to the barstools of the Country pub 78 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,480 Speaker 1: None of which is to say, however, that Puritanism had 79 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: disappeared altogether, or that magical beliefs had become commonplace. In 80 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:55,520 Speaker 1: the main, belief in Gaunt and superstition was broadly diminishing 81 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 1: throughout Britain. With the arrival of the Second World War 82 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: and all its a coming horrors, many who believed in 83 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,920 Speaker 1: God found themselves deeply conflicted. After all, what kind of 84 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:11,760 Speaker 1: Gaunt would have allowed such atrocities. Still, as is often 85 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 1: the case in times of great uncertainty and danger, there 86 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:18,280 Speaker 1: were plenty of others who found themselves turning more and 87 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:23,799 Speaker 1: more to the comfort of faith and superstition. Interest in spiritualism, 88 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:27,080 Speaker 1: the idea that it's possible to communicate with the dead, 89 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:31,039 Speaker 1: which had faded in the early twentieth century, came to 90 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 1: the fore once again, a consequence, no doubt, of the 91 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:39,040 Speaker 1: sheer number of people who suddenly found themselves collectively losing 92 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: loved ones. It's fair to say, then, that Britain in 93 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:47,160 Speaker 1: the war torn forties was a strange place, both spiritually 94 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:52,039 Speaker 1: and theologically. There were those who believed in God, those 95 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:56,120 Speaker 1: who didn't, and those who desperately wanted to believe despite 96 00:06:56,200 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 1: their increasingly rationalist inclinations. Beliefs once considered backwards had been 97 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 1: embraced by the intelligentsia, and anyone nostalgic for simpler times, 98 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: perhaps keen to push back against the unstoppable and brutal 99 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: rise of modernity, where only death and destruction seemed to 100 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 1: lie outside of that. However, there were those, of course, 101 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:24,160 Speaker 1: who'd never once doubted the power of folk beliefs, simply 102 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:28,280 Speaker 1: because that was how their world had always been. To some, 103 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:32,800 Speaker 1: these beliefs were little more than the harmless superstitions of 104 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:37,920 Speaker 1: a bygone age. For others, however, such beliefs and practices 105 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 1: were something to be deeply feared as nothing less than 106 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:46,480 Speaker 1: the work of the devil. You're listening to unexplained, and 107 00:07:46,560 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 1: I'm Richard McLean Smith. The winter nineteen forty four into 108 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:05,880 Speaker 1: forty five in England had been a long and brutal one. 109 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: Five years of war had taken a heavy toll on 110 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:14,520 Speaker 1: life throughout the country, even in rural Enclaves. Situated just 111 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:18,240 Speaker 1: a few miles south of Stratford upon Avon, the birthplace 112 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:22,120 Speaker 1: of William Shakespeare, in the County of Warwickshire, the village 113 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: of Lower Quinton was not a target for air raids 114 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:28,880 Speaker 1: or bombings, but its population had still been decimated by 115 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:32,440 Speaker 1: the war effort, with almost every able bodied young man 116 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:36,600 Speaker 1: drafted into the armed forces. More of a hamlet than 117 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:40,120 Speaker 1: a village, Lower Quinton was composed of a scattering of 118 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:44,280 Speaker 1: dark timber framed and thatched roofed cottages gathered around a 119 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:49,040 Speaker 1: small village square and two pubs. Its church, Saint Swithen's, 120 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 1: was first erected way back in the eleventh century. It 121 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 1: was in every sense the archetypal English country village, home 122 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:02,400 Speaker 1: to roughly four hundred and fifty rescisidents. Among them were 123 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,840 Speaker 1: thirty three year old Edith Walton and her seventy four 124 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:11,160 Speaker 1: year old uncle, Charles. Though Edith called Charles uncle, he 125 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:13,800 Speaker 1: was much more like a father figure to her. He 126 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:16,560 Speaker 1: and his wife adopted Edith as their daughter when she 127 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:20,120 Speaker 1: was just three years old after her mother, Charles's sister 128 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 1: had died unexpectedly. When Charles's own wife died twelve years later, 129 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: he became Edith's sole career. The pair lived a frugal 130 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:34,000 Speaker 1: but contented existence, all things considered, in one of three 131 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: adjoining cottages on the southern edge of the village. In fact, 132 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 1: for Edith, wartime had even opened up opportunities that she 133 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:45,360 Speaker 1: might not otherwise have had. For the past few years, 134 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:48,800 Speaker 1: she'd worked as a printer's assembler at the Royal Society 135 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:51,800 Speaker 1: of Arts, which had been forced to relocate to Lower 136 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:54,880 Speaker 1: Quinton to escape the bombs of the German Air Force. 137 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 1: At first, she hoped this would be enough to enable 138 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 1: her uncle to retire, but the introduction of rationing and 139 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:06,640 Speaker 1: the ever rising price of everything from groceries to clothes, 140 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: fuel and electricity had quickly scuppered that dream. Though In truth, 141 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:15,839 Speaker 1: she doubted whether Charles would have wanted to retire even 142 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:19,680 Speaker 1: if he could. For all his life, Charles had worked 143 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: as an agricultural laborer. Despite his age and the arthritis 144 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:27,440 Speaker 1: that stiffened his joints that often required him to use 145 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:30,679 Speaker 1: walking sticks to get about, he was as willing as 146 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:35,199 Speaker 1: ever to put in a solid day's work. Thankfully, there 147 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:38,760 Speaker 1: was at least one local farmer still happy to hire him. 148 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 1: Forty year old Alfred Potter was the manager of his 149 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:46,720 Speaker 1: family's farm, a large parcel of land known as the 150 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: first Estate that had been in the family for generations. 151 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:54,680 Speaker 1: For the past nine months, he'd employed Charles to trim 152 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:59,959 Speaker 1: the estate's hedges. Alfred Potter, who also performed the role 153 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:03,520 Speaker 1: all of the village churches sidesmen, the person responsible for 154 00:11:03,559 --> 00:11:07,200 Speaker 1: greeting members of the congregation, was a much respected member 155 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:10,360 Speaker 1: of the community and could often be found socializing at 156 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 1: the local pub. Conversely, Charles Walton preferred to keep himself 157 00:11:15,679 --> 00:11:19,320 Speaker 1: to himself, even more so after the death of his wife, 158 00:11:19,679 --> 00:11:23,080 Speaker 1: and was considered a bit of a loner. Some might 159 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:26,880 Speaker 1: even have described him as a little odd. It was 160 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:29,839 Speaker 1: said that when out walking alone in the fields or 161 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 1: woods near his home, he could often be seen conversing 162 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:37,480 Speaker 1: with the birds, mimicking their chirps and trills as he 163 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:41,360 Speaker 1: called back to them, and in all honesty, it really 164 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:44,880 Speaker 1: did seem like he could talk to them. Some put 165 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:47,760 Speaker 1: it down to the eccentric foibles of an old man, 166 00:11:48,960 --> 00:12:00,280 Speaker 1: others whispered that it was something else entirely. On the 167 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:04,000 Speaker 1: morning of fourteenth of February nineteen forty five, as dawn 168 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:09,080 Speaker 1: broke over Lower Quinton, a thick mist blanketed the surrounding countryside. 169 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:13,400 Speaker 1: Inside the wat and property, Charles woke and stretched out 170 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:17,080 Speaker 1: the stiffness in his arms, Flexing his fingers, he was 171 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:21,520 Speaker 1: relieved to find the pain wasn't so bad today. Deciding 172 00:12:21,559 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 1: he was well enough to work, he quickly got dressed, 173 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 1: while downstairs Edith prepared some tea and bread in the 174 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:32,720 Speaker 1: kitchen for him. Later that morning, Charles gathered up his 175 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:36,680 Speaker 1: pitchfork and slash hook and made his goodbyes to Edith 176 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:40,840 Speaker 1: before heading out for the day. The mist was already 177 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:44,840 Speaker 1: starting to dissipate by the time he set off. Even still, 178 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:48,600 Speaker 1: Edith couldn't help but watch with concern as her uncle 179 00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:52,440 Speaker 1: plodded slowly up the path toward the road, leaning heavily 180 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:55,360 Speaker 1: on his walking stick with one hand while carrying his 181 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 1: cumbersome tools in the other. She called out for him 182 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:02,960 Speaker 1: to be careful, but Charles waved her away impatiently. He 183 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:06,400 Speaker 1: hated to be treated like an old man. In any case, 184 00:13:06,679 --> 00:13:10,040 Speaker 1: he knew this land better than anyone. He'd be just fine, 185 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:15,080 Speaker 1: she reassured herself. So on he plodded out beyond the 186 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:18,720 Speaker 1: village towards that eerie protrusion of earth in the distance 187 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:23,720 Speaker 1: known as Mehan Hill, Once home to an ancient Iron 188 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:28,400 Speaker 1: Age settlement. Mean Hill stands apart from its neighboring Cotswolds 189 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:32,040 Speaker 1: Ridges not for its height or geology, but for the 190 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:36,199 Speaker 1: tales that have clung to it over the centuries. Among 191 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:40,200 Speaker 1: local and regional folk traditions. One of the oldest concerns 192 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:44,480 Speaker 1: the hill's supposed connection with nearby Evesham Abbey that was 193 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:48,160 Speaker 1: built in the eighth century. In one version of the legend, 194 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:51,240 Speaker 1: the devil is said to have attempted to destroy the 195 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 1: newly built abbey by kicking a great stone at it 196 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:58,439 Speaker 1: from the summit of Meehan Hill, but the stone missed 197 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 1: and landed on Cleve Hill instead. Twenty five miles away. 198 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:07,560 Speaker 1: Another version substitutes the stone for a great clod of earth. 199 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:12,360 Speaker 1: In that telling, a Christian cleric, often identified as the 200 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 1: Bishop of Worcester, is said to have been traveling through 201 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 1: the countryside at the time when he witnessed the devil 202 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 1: ripping the clod from the ground before hurling it toward 203 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,960 Speaker 1: the abbey. At once the cleric broke into prayer and 204 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:29,000 Speaker 1: with the force of God, pushed the clod off course, 205 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,800 Speaker 1: sending it crashing down to the ground about ten miles 206 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:36,680 Speaker 1: to the east of the abbey. That clot would become 207 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 1: me and Hill, and many believed that something of the 208 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 1: devil still lingered there to that day. Further to the 209 00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: strange tales of me and Hills, supposedly dark origins, are 210 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:59,480 Speaker 1: the numerous apparent sightings of phantom hounds that are said 211 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:04,240 Speaker 1: to store slopes. Some claim the hounds belong to a Rawn, 212 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:08,040 Speaker 1: the ruler of spirits from Welsh mythology, who is also 213 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 1: said to appear alongside them, riding a pale horse when 214 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:16,320 Speaker 1: the moon is full or the fog sufficiently thick. In 215 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:19,240 Speaker 1: some tales, the hounds are said to be white with 216 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:24,280 Speaker 1: distinctive red ears. Their cries echoing across the fields on 217 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:29,640 Speaker 1: dark nights, unsettling travelers and villagers alike. Others claimed to 218 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: have seen black dogs stalking the area, a common folkloric 219 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:38,240 Speaker 1: motif across England, particularly in the West Midlands and Cotswaltz. 220 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:43,960 Speaker 1: The dogs, described as more menacing and larger than ordinary dogs, 221 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:47,160 Speaker 1: are said to be agents of the devil and omens 222 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:50,680 Speaker 1: of death. Not that any of that seem to bother 223 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:55,560 Speaker 1: Charles Walton, However, by noon on that strangely bright Valentine's Day, 224 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:59,640 Speaker 1: despite his arthritis, he'd already completed the hedgerows of the 225 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:02,880 Speaker 1: local churchyard and was well on his way toward Hill 226 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:07,080 Speaker 1: ground Field at the base of me and Hill and 227 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 1: so on. He continued hacking away at Hawthorne and Hazel, 228 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 1: only stopping to wipe the sweat from his brow in 229 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:18,800 Speaker 1: the chill late winter air. If he kept this up, 230 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:24,640 Speaker 1: he thought he might even get home early later that evening. 231 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:27,640 Speaker 1: It was already dark when Edith left her job at 232 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:31,520 Speaker 1: the Royal Society and made her way back home. When 233 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:35,240 Speaker 1: she arrived at the cottage sometime around five thirty pm, 234 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:40,760 Speaker 1: things immediately seemed off Ordinarily, Charles would have been home 235 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:45,080 Speaker 1: well before Edith, but that evening. As she approached the cottage, 236 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:50,600 Speaker 1: the windows were dark. Uncle, she called out as she 237 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:54,840 Speaker 1: stepped through the front door into an unnerving stillness, but 238 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 1: there was no response from Charles. In fact, it was 239 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: so deathly quiet that she fancied she could hear the 240 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 1: mice skittering about in the attic. Edith lit a lamp 241 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:09,919 Speaker 1: and moved further in, pushing back the shadows. As she 242 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:14,359 Speaker 1: made her way to the kitchen. Charles's purse was still 243 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:17,439 Speaker 1: sitting on the kitchen table where he'd left it that morning. 244 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:21,560 Speaker 1: Concerned that he might have fallen or had a heart attack, 245 00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:25,800 Speaker 1: Edith carried on, moving hurriedly from room to room, but 246 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:29,960 Speaker 1: Charles was nowhere to be found. All that was left 247 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 1: was to check the outhouse. Edith stepped out the back 248 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:39,879 Speaker 1: door into the cold night air. Uncle, she said again. 249 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:43,919 Speaker 1: As she made her way toward the outhouse. She felt 250 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 1: her stomach tighten as she pushed open the creaky door, 251 00:17:48,520 --> 00:18:01,080 Speaker 1: but there was no one inside. In all their years 252 00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:04,320 Speaker 1: living together, Charles had never once neglected to tell Edith 253 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:08,040 Speaker 1: if he wouldn't be home after work, and considering his age, 254 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:11,440 Speaker 1: it was hard not to think the worst. With every 255 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:16,119 Speaker 1: moment that passed, another terrifying scenario popped into Edith's mind. 256 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:19,080 Speaker 1: What if he'd fallen on his way back from the 257 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:22,440 Speaker 1: fields and was lying in a ditch somewhere, or he'd 258 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:25,560 Speaker 1: hit his head and forgotten where he lived or who 259 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:29,280 Speaker 1: he was. Even he certainly wasn't the type to go 260 00:18:29,359 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 1: out spontaneously for a post work drink, she tried to 261 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:39,399 Speaker 1: reassure herself. Charles was easily distracted, especially by the animals. 262 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,040 Speaker 1: Perhaps he'd simply wandered off on to some path to 263 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:46,000 Speaker 1: commune with wild life and was still in the process 264 00:18:46,119 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 1: of making his way home. But it was now pitch 265 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:53,399 Speaker 1: black outside, far too dark for the hobbling Charles to 266 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:57,760 Speaker 1: get back easily even if he wanted to. Feeling queasy 267 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:01,520 Speaker 1: with nerves, Edith wrapped up warm in her thickest coat 268 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:05,720 Speaker 1: and sturdiest boots, then grabbed a torch and headed back 269 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:09,760 Speaker 1: out into the night. A light rain was just beginning 270 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:13,600 Speaker 1: to fall as Edith ran to the nearest cottage. She 271 00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:18,080 Speaker 1: knocked hard on the door. Her neighbor, Harry Beasley, appeared 272 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 1: moments later. Seeing the concern on Edith's face, he didn't 273 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:25,560 Speaker 1: need much more encouragement to grab a torch and jacket 274 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:28,640 Speaker 1: off his own, before joining her outside to help look 275 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:32,800 Speaker 1: for Charles. It was Harry who suggested they first head 276 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:37,960 Speaker 1: to Alfred Potter's house, Charles's employer. After all, Alfred might 277 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:42,400 Speaker 1: simply have asked Charles to stay late for some reason. Together, 278 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:45,280 Speaker 1: they set off through the pitch black of the countryside, 279 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:49,439 Speaker 1: with only their torches to guide them. When they finally 280 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:52,639 Speaker 1: arrived at Alfred's home, they knocked urgently on his door. 281 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:57,000 Speaker 1: Alfred seemed surprised to see them on his doorstep and 282 00:19:57,080 --> 00:20:01,320 Speaker 1: appeared concerned to hear that Charles hadn't come home. As 283 00:20:01,359 --> 00:20:04,600 Speaker 1: Alfred explained, he'd only been due to work until about 284 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:09,400 Speaker 1: three pm that afternoon, meaning, much to Edith's increasing alarm, 285 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:15,080 Speaker 1: he'd now been effectively missing for three hours. Alfred claimed 286 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:17,880 Speaker 1: to have last seen him around noon, pruning the hedges 287 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:22,160 Speaker 1: in Hill ground Field. He hadn't responded when Alfred raised 288 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:25,000 Speaker 1: a hand to wave at him, but that was nothing unusual, 289 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:28,440 Speaker 1: he said. He added that he also saw him briefly 290 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:32,080 Speaker 1: a little later from a top floor window. By then, 291 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:36,400 Speaker 1: Charles was apparently a little further along the hedgerow, inching 292 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:40,920 Speaker 1: toward me and Hill. Alfred suggested they head there first, 293 00:20:41,359 --> 00:20:44,200 Speaker 1: then grabbed his coat and joined them on their search. 294 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:55,800 Speaker 1: Under the moonless sky, Edith, Harry and Alfred trudged out 295 00:20:55,960 --> 00:21:01,400 Speaker 1: toward Hill Ground. Due to the wartime blackout, every cottage, 296 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:05,440 Speaker 1: every farmhouse, every village on the horizon had been folded 297 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:09,600 Speaker 1: into the dark, protected by its embrace from Hell from above. 298 00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:13,960 Speaker 1: But out there, in the deathly quiet of the countryside, 299 00:21:14,359 --> 00:21:18,920 Speaker 1: the dark was something else. Edith couldn't help but feel 300 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:21,879 Speaker 1: it pressing in on them, as if one sputter of 301 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,520 Speaker 1: the torchlight was all it would take for it to 302 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:29,120 Speaker 1: leap in and snuff them out for good. Edith's sense 303 00:21:29,119 --> 00:21:32,639 Speaker 1: of foreboding only grew as they drew ever closer to 304 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:36,880 Speaker 1: Hill Ground and the even darker, amorphless shadow of Mean 305 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:42,240 Speaker 1: Hill that lay beyond it like a slumbering beast. As 306 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:45,639 Speaker 1: the trio arrived at Hill Ground, the faintest sliver of 307 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:49,040 Speaker 1: a crescent moon peeked out from behind a thick layer 308 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:53,840 Speaker 1: of cloud. As Edith looked about, it quickly became obvious, 309 00:21:54,119 --> 00:21:57,639 Speaker 1: even in the near dark, that the hedge upperhead was 310 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:03,440 Speaker 1: only half Finisheddith's stomach lurched. There was simply no way 311 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:07,679 Speaker 1: that Charles would have left before it was done. Harry 312 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:10,879 Speaker 1: led the way as they slowly pressed on, following the 313 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:15,800 Speaker 1: unfinished section of hedgerow. Then, with his torch angled toward 314 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:19,280 Speaker 1: the ground, Harry spotted a set of footprints in the mud. 315 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:24,399 Speaker 1: His steps quickened as he followed them, with Alfred keeping pace. 316 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:28,760 Speaker 1: Edith could only watch on as Harry's torchlight bounced about 317 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:33,359 Speaker 1: up ahead, moving further away. Then it stopped at the 318 00:22:33,359 --> 00:22:38,120 Speaker 1: foot of a large willow tree. Oh god, Edith muttered 319 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:40,520 Speaker 1: as she hurried to catch up with the other two. 320 00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:47,440 Speaker 1: Harry and Alfred stood completely still, strangely transfixed by something 321 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:51,760 Speaker 1: lumping on the ground before them. What is it, asked 322 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:57,640 Speaker 1: Edith as she approached. No, Edith, don't, said Harry, hurriedly 323 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:00,480 Speaker 1: trying to block her view, but it was too late. 324 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:05,639 Speaker 1: Edith's mouth fell open, A scream caught in her throat 325 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:10,040 Speaker 1: and came out as a strangled cry. Then her torch 326 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:15,840 Speaker 1: lit up the monstrous sight. This time, Edith screamed a proper, 327 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:22,320 Speaker 1: guttural scream. There, lying face up before her, blood glinting 328 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:26,320 Speaker 1: in the light was the brutally mutilated body of her 329 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:35,960 Speaker 1: uncle Charles. It was hard to know what part of 330 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 1: it was the most shocking. On his head were a 331 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:43,960 Speaker 1: series of bloody gashes where he'd seemingly been struck repeatedly 332 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:47,600 Speaker 1: by his own walking stick, which lay several feet away 333 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:51,280 Speaker 1: from his body, splintered and cracked. The thick end of 334 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:54,880 Speaker 1: it was covered in blood. But that was just the beginning. 335 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:59,359 Speaker 1: Charles's slash hook was embedded in his throat at the 336 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:02,040 Speaker 1: end of a rough cut about the width of a 337 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:05,320 Speaker 1: finger that was so deep it had almost severed the 338 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:09,360 Speaker 1: head completely. The torrent of blood that had gushed out 339 00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:14,320 Speaker 1: of it now congealed glistened darkly on the grass below him. 340 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:18,440 Speaker 1: But perhaps most alarming of all was the pitchfork sticking 341 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:22,000 Speaker 1: out of his neck. It had been rammed so deeply 342 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:24,640 Speaker 1: into the flesh that it pinned him to the ground 343 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:27,439 Speaker 1: like a piece of meat on the end of a fork. 344 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:32,400 Speaker 1: The handle appeared to have been deliberately wedged into the hedgerow. 345 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,920 Speaker 1: Edith felt numb with horror, and her vision began to blur. 346 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:42,159 Speaker 1: She didn't know where to look. She stumbled into Harry, 347 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:44,959 Speaker 1: who did its best to comfort her and divert her 348 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:49,400 Speaker 1: away from the scene. Alfred Potter grabbed the slash hook 349 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:53,720 Speaker 1: and attempted to wrench it from Charles's neck, until Harry intervened, 350 00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:56,840 Speaker 1: suggesting he leave it for the police to deal with instead. 351 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:03,280 Speaker 1: Just then, another villager, Harry Peachey, alerted by Edith's screams, 352 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:06,879 Speaker 1: came rushing up the other side of the hedge. Alfred 353 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,960 Speaker 1: yelled for him to call the police immediately. It had 354 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:15,119 Speaker 1: just gone seven pm when local police constable Michael Lamusney 355 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:19,679 Speaker 1: arrived on the scene. Despite all his experience, he was 356 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:24,240 Speaker 1: no less horrified by Charles's injuries than the others. After 357 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:27,760 Speaker 1: taking a moment to compose himself, he suggested that Harry 358 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:30,879 Speaker 1: take Edith home while he and Alfred stay with the 359 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:36,080 Speaker 1: body until his colleagues arrived. Chief Inspector Tombs arrived soon 360 00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:39,840 Speaker 1: after from Stratford upon Avon and took over the scene. 361 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:42,840 Speaker 1: He was joined by a doctor, James Webster from the 362 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:48,119 Speaker 1: West Midlands Forensic Laboratory. Doctor James swiftly got to work. 363 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:52,679 Speaker 1: Although he couldn't be completely sure, he suspected that Charles 364 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:56,200 Speaker 1: had been killed sometime in the early afternoon that day, 365 00:25:56,760 --> 00:26:01,080 Speaker 1: before it had even got dark. He scanned the various wounds, 366 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:05,240 Speaker 1: noting the series of smaller defensive wounds on Charles's hands 367 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:09,200 Speaker 1: and arms, which suggested that, despite his age, Charles had 368 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:14,160 Speaker 1: fought valiantly against his attacker. Some say this is when 369 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:18,919 Speaker 1: Webster noticed something else, an unusual pattern of blood on 370 00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:23,040 Speaker 1: Charles's shirt and vest. Pulling them up, he is said 371 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:25,480 Speaker 1: to have found what appeared to be the shape of 372 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:30,720 Speaker 1: a cross carved into Charles's chest. In other versions, the 373 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:34,919 Speaker 1: cross was carved into Charles's throat. Others say this is 374 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:40,480 Speaker 1: all apocryphal, a later fabricated addition to an already bizarre event. 375 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:45,040 Speaker 1: Such crosses, it is set, were often carved onto the 376 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:47,879 Speaker 1: body of which it who had been murdered, in revenge 377 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:52,359 Speaker 1: for putting a curse on someone. Either way, what is 378 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:56,679 Speaker 1: true and would quickly become evident to investigate it. There 379 00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:00,480 Speaker 1: was far more to Charles Walton and his death than 380 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:08,560 Speaker 1: First Met the Eye. You've been listening to part one 381 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:15,160 Speaker 1: of Unexplained Season nine episode twelve, Eyes That Shine, Burning Bread. 382 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:20,359 Speaker 1: Part two will be released next week Friday, February twentieth. 383 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:25,040 Speaker 1: This episode was written by Richard mc clean smith, James 384 00:27:25,119 --> 00:27:29,600 Speaker 1: Connor Patterson, and Emma Dibden. Thank you, as ever for 385 00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:33,800 Speaker 1: listening Unexplained. As an avy Club Production podcast created by 386 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:37,240 Speaker 1: Richard mc clean smith. All other elements of the podcast, 387 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:41,040 Speaker 1: including the music, are also produced by me Richard mc 388 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:45,399 Speaker 1: clean smith. Unexplained The book and audiobook is now available 389 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:49,479 Speaker 1: to buy worldwide. You can purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, 390 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:53,919 Speaker 1: Waterstones and other bookstores. Please subscribe to and rate the 391 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:57,080 Speaker 1: show wherever you get your podcasts, and feel free to 392 00:27:57,119 --> 00:28:00,040 Speaker 1: get in touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the 393 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:02,719 Speaker 1: stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you have an 394 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:05,560 Speaker 1: explanation or a story of your own you'd like to share. 395 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:09,199 Speaker 1: You can find out more at Unexplained podcast dot com 396 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:12,959 Speaker 1: and reaches online through X and Blue Sky at Unexplained 397 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:18,160 Speaker 1: Pod and Facebook at Facebook dot com, Forward Slash Unexplained 398 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:47,720 Speaker 1: Podcast m