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Here's al Go to beachbody 20 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: dot com to claim your free membership and start feeling great. 21 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: Ambling across the South downs a large stretch of chalk hills, 22 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: valleys and woodland just to the north of the south 23 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: coast of England, you might chance upon a peculiar collection 24 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: of beech trees perched atop a prominent spot on its 25 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:31,959 Speaker 1: northern edge. The trees, first planted by local landowner Charles 26 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,399 Speaker 1: Goring in seventeen sixty but later replaced after being destroyed 27 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:40,120 Speaker 1: by a hurricane in nineteen eighty seven, marked the spot 28 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: of an ancient circular structure believed to date back to 29 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: the Bronze Age, known today as Chanctonbury Ring. The original 30 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 1: purpose of the site remains unknown, with suggestions ranging from 31 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 1: the mundane, such as it having been first used as 32 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: little more than a livestock enclosure, to the sublime, with 33 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 1: others believing instead that it may well have been some 34 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 1: kind of religious or mystical shrine. Some, however, have claimed 35 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: it to have been used for an altogether different purpose, 36 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 1: and that the ring had in fact been created by 37 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:21,760 Speaker 1: the devil. A worthy feature, you might say, for an 38 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 1: area of England long thought to have hosted more than 39 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: its fair share of unexplained phenomena. Some have put the 40 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: bizarre activity that seems to plague this quiet part of 41 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 1: the countryside in the County of Sussex to a curse 42 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: placed on the local village of Clapham by a disgruntled 43 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 1: resident back in twelve eighty eight, after losing a legal 44 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 1: case against a local parson. Robert the Falconer, was said 45 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:53,200 Speaker 1: to have damned the accursed village and all its meager holdings, 46 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:56,359 Speaker 1: stating that the priesthood of a false god would soon 47 00:02:56,440 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 1: come to know its fate. Others, however, argue it had 48 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: begun a long time before, with chancton Berry believed to 49 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:07,960 Speaker 1: be the site of an otherworldly power, being thought to 50 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:11,240 Speaker 1: have once been the location of a former Druidic temple 51 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: used for ancient and mysterious rituals. Back in the nineteen twenties, 52 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 1: local resident and famed occultist Victor Neuburg, along with his 53 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:25,240 Speaker 1: cohort and sometime lover Alister Crowley, was said to have 54 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 1: taken a keen interest in the area. According to local law, 55 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:33,079 Speaker 1: if one were to venture to the ring at midnight 56 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: on a Midsummer's Eve and walk its circumference twelve times, 57 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 1: the midnight drew, it would appear, or even the devil themselves. 58 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: Other local tales speak of a white bearded Saxon soldier 59 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 1: believed to have been killed at the Battle of Hastings 60 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:54,480 Speaker 1: in ten sixty six, seen scrabbling about the floor looking 61 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 1: for something, while some report the sightings of hazy lights 62 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 1: and strange apparitions seen in the area at night, with 63 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: some suggesting that they might have something to do with 64 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: a nearby plague pit. Perhaps the most romantic of all 65 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: the ghost stories that shroud the area is that of 66 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: the ghost of Prince Agasicles Cionisus, a famed astrologer from 67 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:23,159 Speaker 1: Carrier in western Anatolia. As legend goes, it was in 68 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 1: the early seventeenth century that the prince began using Chanctonbury 69 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:31,599 Speaker 1: Ring to observe the stars, when one night, after writing 70 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:36,679 Speaker 1: the words zapelli ubi kakidie bury me wherever I have fallen, 71 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:40,719 Speaker 1: he fell down dead. It is said that to this 72 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 1: day the astrologer can still be seen wandering the ring 73 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:50,360 Speaker 1: of trees at night. You're listening to Unexplained and I'm 74 00:04:50,560 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: Richard McClane smith. It was the more of all Hallow's 75 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:05,120 Speaker 1: Eve back in nineteen seventy eight, when Reverend Harry Snelling 76 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: made his way to the town of Goring in West 77 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 1: Sussex for a routine dental operation. Riding the bus into town, 78 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:17,680 Speaker 1: the sixty five year old recently retired vicar chatted amiably 79 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:21,520 Speaker 1: with his former parishioners before arriving at the dentist just 80 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:26,599 Speaker 1: in time for his appointment later that afternoon. Having arrived 81 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:29,720 Speaker 1: in Findon, four miles from the town of Stenning, where 82 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: he lived, Snelling called his wife from a phone box 83 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: and asked if she could pick him up. However, since 84 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 1: their car had broken down recently and was still in 85 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: need of servicing, Snelling had no other choice but to 86 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 1: make the journey on foot. A short time later, with 87 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:52,279 Speaker 1: dusk descending, Snelling was seen heading off the main road 88 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:55,839 Speaker 1: and striking out across the downs in the direction of 89 00:05:55,880 --> 00:06:01,600 Speaker 1: his home. As evening turned to night, Snelling's wife waited 90 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 1: anxiously for her husband's return, but Harry never made it home. 91 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:12,320 Speaker 1: The next day, after he was reported missing, twenty five 92 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:16,360 Speaker 1: police officers from the surrounding area were immediately dispatched to 93 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:20,320 Speaker 1: search for him, focusing their attention on the most likely 94 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:23,320 Speaker 1: route he would have taken to get home. For the 95 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:26,719 Speaker 1: best part of a week, the police, assisted by search 96 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: dog teams, a raft of volunteers and even a light 97 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:34,120 Speaker 1: air craft tried desperately to find any sign of the man, 98 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 1: but in the end found nothing. A few days later, 99 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:43,160 Speaker 1: the search was called off, With no reason to suspect 100 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:47,480 Speaker 1: anything otherwise. It was assumed that Snelling had either tragically 101 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: ended his own life or had collapsed and died somewhere 102 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:54,840 Speaker 1: and was yet to be found. At the time of 103 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:59,400 Speaker 1: the reverend's disappearance, Charles Walker worked as a sales assistant 104 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,680 Speaker 1: in Worthing, just five miles south of where the retired 105 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:07,120 Speaker 1: clergyman was last seen alive. In his spare time, however, 106 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:10,960 Speaker 1: Walker had become somewhat of an expert on the peculiar 107 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 1: history of his local area, collecting and documenting evidence that 108 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:19,120 Speaker 1: seemed to suggest that something very sinister had been brewing 109 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:23,720 Speaker 1: there for quite some time. Could it be he thought 110 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 1: that there was a little more to the Reverend's disappearance 111 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: than first met the eye. Having always been fascinated by 112 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 1: the possibility of the paranormal, it was back in April 113 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:44,679 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy two that Charles Walker's interest was really piqued. 114 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:49,840 Speaker 1: It was then that the region's numerous apparent mysterious happenings 115 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:55,320 Speaker 1: were given a thoroughly modernized slant. Three friends from Walker's 116 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 1: hometown had ventured up towards Chanctonbury Ring late one night 117 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 1: when they noticed a soft light flickering from within it. 118 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:06,920 Speaker 1: Having assumed it to be nothing more than a bonfire, 119 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 1: they were surprised to find when they arrived at the 120 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 1: trees moments later, that the light had gone out and 121 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:18,240 Speaker 1: there was no sign of anyone else around. It was 122 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:22,040 Speaker 1: only then, as one of the group later recounted, that 123 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:25,280 Speaker 1: a sudden wush from above drew their attention to the 124 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:28,720 Speaker 1: dim red glow of some kind of object that was 125 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:32,720 Speaker 1: hovering just above the tree tops in front of them. 126 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:36,000 Speaker 1: A moment later, they watched it as it shot up 127 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 1: into the sky, though its possible significance to the wider 128 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:44,720 Speaker 1: story was not yet apparent to Walker. It was around 129 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 1: the same time that local police officer Peter Goldsmith disappeared. 130 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:53,800 Speaker 1: It was in June of that year that Goldsmith, who 131 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:58,679 Speaker 1: like Harry Snelling, also lived in Stenning, left work after 132 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:01,679 Speaker 1: completing his shift for the day, but never made it 133 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:06,320 Speaker 1: back home. It wasn't until six months later that a 134 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:09,920 Speaker 1: local farmer, helping to coordinate a hunting party at a 135 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:14,880 Speaker 1: nearby farm just west of Stenning discovered Goldsmith's dead body 136 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:18,400 Speaker 1: hidden under a thick growth of brambles at the edge 137 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: of the farm land. The body was found curled up 138 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 1: on its left side, as if Goldsmith had merely gone 139 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 1: to sleep. A bottle of brown liquid was also found 140 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:33,640 Speaker 1: next to the body. While curiously clutched in the hand, 141 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:37,480 Speaker 1: police found what was described as some kind of metal 142 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:42,079 Speaker 1: disk like a token. With many assuming the liquid had 143 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:45,560 Speaker 1: been some kind of poison the coroner was stumped when 144 00:09:45,559 --> 00:09:48,240 Speaker 1: it was in fact found not to have been poisonous 145 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 1: at all. With no definitive cause of death, there was 146 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:55,760 Speaker 1: no choice but to record an open verdict, with some 147 00:09:55,880 --> 00:10:00,880 Speaker 1: form of suicide thought to be most likely. However, many 148 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 1: were left wondering not only how search teams had failed 149 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 1: to spot Goldsmith's body despite investigating that area extensively, but 150 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:13,200 Speaker 1: also how on earth he managed to place himself under 151 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:16,880 Speaker 1: such a thick, impenetrable mesh of brambles, which had to 152 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:20,920 Speaker 1: be cut away in order to extract the body. Though 153 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:23,360 Speaker 1: brambles can grow up to three inches in a day, 154 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:26,920 Speaker 1: the extent to which the body had been hidden was 155 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:37,440 Speaker 1: something of a surprise. Over the next few years, Walker, 156 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:41,679 Speaker 1: having joined a local paranormal research group, continued to keep 157 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:44,960 Speaker 1: an ear out for any peculiar activity, but what he 158 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 1: craved most was to experience something himself, and he wouldn't 159 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:53,720 Speaker 1: have long to wait. It was in August nineteen seventy four, 160 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:58,280 Speaker 1: but Walker, then in his early twenties, along with three others, 161 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 1: made a late night research trip to Chanctonbury Ring. Walker 162 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:06,920 Speaker 1: would later claim that it was sometime around eleven PM 163 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:11,000 Speaker 1: when one of the group, William Lincoln, stepped into the 164 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:14,360 Speaker 1: center of the ring, only to be suddenly snatched up 165 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:18,200 Speaker 1: by an invisible force and thrust five feet into the air, 166 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:21,880 Speaker 1: and there he would stay for the best part of 167 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:25,679 Speaker 1: a minute, seemingly levitating in mid air as he screamed 168 00:11:25,679 --> 00:11:30,040 Speaker 1: to be released, before finally being sent sprawling to the ground. 169 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:35,640 Speaker 1: It wasn't long after that that the dogs started to 170 00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:41,240 Speaker 1: go missing. The reports began appearing in local papers in 171 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:45,240 Speaker 1: spring of nineteen seventy five, though many believe it had 172 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:49,959 Speaker 1: been happening for some time. The first to be reported 173 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:53,040 Speaker 1: was a three year old and well trained chow dog 174 00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:56,400 Speaker 1: that was walking with its family in Clapham Wood, just 175 00:11:56,559 --> 00:11:59,640 Speaker 1: to the north of Clapham Village in an area known 176 00:11:59,679 --> 00:12:03,360 Speaker 1: as the Chestnuts, when it suddenly bolted off into the trees, 177 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:08,440 Speaker 1: never to return. Only a week later, a two year 178 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:12,600 Speaker 1: old Collie, an intelligent working farm dog, was being walked 179 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:16,160 Speaker 1: near the same spot when it too shot off into 180 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:20,880 Speaker 1: the undergrowth, never to be seen again. Not long after, 181 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:25,240 Speaker 1: a golden labrador, while walking in the same woods, became 182 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:29,280 Speaker 1: distracted by something unseen in the trees, before darting off 183 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 1: in search of it. The dog's companions, alerted to its 184 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:37,839 Speaker 1: location by the sound of its desperate whimpers, were devastated 185 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,199 Speaker 1: to find it in some distress and unable to walk. 186 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:45,400 Speaker 1: After it was later found to have somehow been paralyzed. 187 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:51,400 Speaker 1: The dog was unfortunately put down, and soon more people 188 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:54,439 Speaker 1: came forward to report their own experiences walking with their 189 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 1: dogs at the same location, describing how they or their 190 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:03,200 Speaker 1: dog had clearly out an uneasy, ominous atmosphere in those woods. 191 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 1: Back at his home in Worthing, Charles Walker, as ever, 192 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:12,480 Speaker 1: followed the stories with a keen interest, keeping copies of 193 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:17,480 Speaker 1: the articles for future reference. A few months later, a 194 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:24,800 Speaker 1: body was found in the woods. Are you always taking 195 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:27,240 Speaker 1: care of your family? Do you often take care of 196 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:30,319 Speaker 1: others and not yourself. Now it's time to take care 197 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:33,760 Speaker 1: of yourself, to make time for you. You deserve it. 198 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:37,360 Speaker 1: Tele adoc gives you access to a licensed therapist to 199 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:40,080 Speaker 1: help you get back to feeling your best to feeling 200 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:43,760 Speaker 1: like yourself again. With teledoc, you can speak to a 201 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:48,000 Speaker 1: licensed therapist by phone or video. Therapy appointments are available 202 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:50,920 Speaker 1: seven days a week from seven am to nine pm 203 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:55,199 Speaker 1: local time. If you feel overwhelmed sometimes, maybe you feel 204 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:59,200 Speaker 1: stressed or anxious, depressed or lonely, or you might be 205 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:03,000 Speaker 1: struggling with a personal or family issue, teledoc can help. 206 00:14:03,559 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 1: Teledoc is committed to facilitating great therapeutic matches, so they 207 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,720 Speaker 1: make it easy to change counselors if needed. For free 208 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:16,360 Speaker 1: teledoc therapy is available through most insurance or employers. Download 209 00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:20,080 Speaker 1: the app or visit teledoc dot com forward slash Unexplained 210 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:26,480 Speaker 1: podcast today to get started. That's teladoc dot com slash 211 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:35,080 Speaker 1: Unexplained podcast. Sixty six year old Leon Foster had been 212 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:38,760 Speaker 1: missing for three weeks when a couple outlooking for a 213 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:42,720 Speaker 1: horse that had escaped a nearby paddock noticed a pair 214 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:47,520 Speaker 1: of boots sticking out from the undergrowth. When police arrived 215 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:50,440 Speaker 1: soon after, they found it to be the body of 216 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 1: Leon Foster. Straw discovered under and around his body, and 217 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:59,600 Speaker 1: the remains of a makeshift shelter tied around the trunk 218 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 1: of a near by tree, suggested that he'd been living 219 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:06,280 Speaker 1: in the woods for some time, with most assuming that 220 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:12,360 Speaker 1: he'd simply died of hunger or exposure while living outside. However, 221 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 1: with the coroner once again unable to ascertain a precise 222 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:21,360 Speaker 1: cause of death, an open verdict was recorded. It was 223 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:25,200 Speaker 1: around this time that Walker began to wander if all 224 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:30,160 Speaker 1: these mysterious incidences, from the disappearances to the UFO sightings, 225 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:35,160 Speaker 1: not to mention the area's apparent supernatural history stretching back centuries, 226 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:41,640 Speaker 1: might somehow be linked. Over the next few years, drawing 227 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:45,520 Speaker 1: on the various reports of peculiar activity and the litany 228 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:49,760 Speaker 1: of local folklore claiming that Chanctonbury Ring and the surrounding 229 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:54,080 Speaker 1: area was somehow a focal point of occult activity, he 230 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:57,240 Speaker 1: wondered if it might be possible that perhaps an occult 231 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:03,360 Speaker 1: organization was using the area for various purposes. In October 232 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:07,480 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy eight, Walker wrote to the local paper asking 233 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:10,240 Speaker 1: its readers for any information they might have on such 234 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:15,920 Speaker 1: a group. Within days, he was inundated with replies from 235 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:20,360 Speaker 1: the mundane to the outlandish, none of it, however warranted. 236 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:26,080 Speaker 1: Following up, Deflated, Walker had resigned himself to having found 237 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:30,800 Speaker 1: nothing useful when one night in early November, having just 238 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:36,520 Speaker 1: settled down to watch TV, his phone rang. Answering the call, 239 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: Walker was greeted by an assertive sounding man with a 240 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:45,320 Speaker 1: low voice and an RP accent. Though the man wouldn't 241 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:49,600 Speaker 1: identify himself, he claimed to have the information that Walker 242 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 1: was looking for, and suggested the pair of them meet 243 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:57,640 Speaker 1: up to discuss it further. Though Walker couldn't say exactly why. 244 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:01,280 Speaker 1: It was, Unlike all of the other sponders to his request, 245 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:07,520 Speaker 1: something about this caller seemed genuine. Walker Julie agreed to 246 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:10,240 Speaker 1: meet up with him, assuming they would set a date 247 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:14,359 Speaker 1: to meet, either at his home or somewhere neutral. But 248 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:19,480 Speaker 1: the man had something else in mind. Tonight, he said, 249 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:24,679 Speaker 1: at nine pm. Walker looked at the clock on his wall, 250 00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:29,800 Speaker 1: the hands now pointing to eight thirty. I'll be waiting 251 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:33,720 Speaker 1: for you in Clapham Woods, by the crossroads and the chestnuts, 252 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:44,720 Speaker 1: he said, and then he hung up. It was pitch 253 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:48,680 Speaker 1: black when Walker arrived twenty minutes later at the top 254 00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:53,080 Speaker 1: of tip Nor Lane, a small rise overlooking the forest beyond. 255 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:57,560 Speaker 1: Making his way toward the entrance road, he noticed the 256 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:02,840 Speaker 1: car park to the woods was completely empty, with only 257 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,800 Speaker 1: the sound of an occasional car passing along the road 258 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:09,840 Speaker 1: behind him. Walker pushed on through a gate and into 259 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: the trees behind. With the gentle roar of distant traffic 260 00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:18,440 Speaker 1: having disappeared altogether and only the sound of his own 261 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:23,800 Speaker 1: footsteps for company, Walker pressed on toward the crossroads, anxiously 262 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:28,640 Speaker 1: listening out for any hint of someone else approaching. Arriving 263 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:31,880 Speaker 1: at the meeting point at nine on the dot, Walker 264 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:35,560 Speaker 1: called out for a response, but heard nothing in return. 265 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:43,040 Speaker 1: The place was deserted. Only then did Walker realize his 266 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:46,640 Speaker 1: hands were shaking, but not from the cold night air. 267 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,359 Speaker 1: Lighting a cigarette to calm his nerves, Walker began to 268 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:54,520 Speaker 1: pace up and down, trying to keep warm as he waited. 269 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:58,760 Speaker 1: By the end of a second cigarette, Walker was beginning 270 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:01,760 Speaker 1: to suspect that it had nothing but a practical joke, 271 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:05,080 Speaker 1: But just as he started to make his way back out, 272 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:09,600 Speaker 1: he heard someone whisper out from behind some nearby trees. 273 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:14,840 Speaker 1: Don't attempt to look for me, the voice said, for 274 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:18,000 Speaker 1: your safety and mine, It is imperative you do not 275 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:24,360 Speaker 1: see who I am. Walker froze, immediately recognizing it as 276 00:19:24,359 --> 00:19:28,800 Speaker 1: the man he had spoken to earlier. After Walker agreed 277 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:31,680 Speaker 1: to keep looking the way he was facing, the man 278 00:19:32,119 --> 00:19:36,760 Speaker 1: began to talk. I am an initiate of the Friends 279 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:42,160 Speaker 1: of her Cartie, named after the Greek goddess of magic, witchcraft, 280 00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:46,199 Speaker 1: and the Night. We are the group you've been looking for, 281 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:49,600 Speaker 1: he said, and it would be in your best interests 282 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:55,879 Speaker 1: to stop looking. Unperturbed, Walker asked the man if the 283 00:19:55,920 --> 00:20:00,240 Speaker 1: group had anything to do with the recent disappearances, out 284 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:03,800 Speaker 1: going into too much detail. The man replied that their 285 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:08,439 Speaker 1: rituals occasionally required a blood sacrifice, if that was the 286 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:14,240 Speaker 1: answer he was looking for. And so it continued as 287 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:18,440 Speaker 1: the increasingly nervous Walker listened carefully as the man explained 288 00:20:19,119 --> 00:20:21,560 Speaker 1: how the group had been operating in that area for 289 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:24,919 Speaker 1: at least ten years because the atmosphere of the woods, 290 00:20:25,119 --> 00:20:29,720 Speaker 1: as he described it, was perfect for their purposes. But 291 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:33,520 Speaker 1: when Walker inquired as to what that purpose was exactly, 292 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:39,119 Speaker 1: the man fell silent. He then explained to Walker that 293 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:42,880 Speaker 1: they had friends in very high places, before warning him 294 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:45,880 Speaker 1: again to back off and that they would stop at 295 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:50,560 Speaker 1: nothing to ensure the safety of their cult. Then there 296 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:56,359 Speaker 1: was another silence. When Walker called out moments later, it 297 00:20:56,400 --> 00:21:00,600 Speaker 1: was clear he was once again alone. Worrying out of 298 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:04,400 Speaker 1: the forest, Walker was relieved to finally make it back home. 299 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:10,960 Speaker 1: A few days later, while cycling home from work, Walker 300 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:15,080 Speaker 1: heard a car pull up close behind him. He barely 301 00:21:15,119 --> 00:21:18,399 Speaker 1: felt the bump before finding himself sprawled on his back 302 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:21,960 Speaker 1: in the middle of the road, watching aghast as the 303 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,160 Speaker 1: car sped off into the distance before he could make 304 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:35,160 Speaker 1: note of its details. After lying low for the next 305 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:38,800 Speaker 1: six months, in the spring of the following year, Walker 306 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:42,800 Speaker 1: renewed his search for evidence of the Friends of Hikart's activities. 307 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:47,440 Speaker 1: One morning, whilst walking through the grounds of the Church 308 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:50,639 Speaker 1: of Saint Mary the Virgin, just south of Clapham Woods, 309 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:54,280 Speaker 1: Walker was distracted by the sight of the town's manor 310 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:58,879 Speaker 1: house next door, but more specifically by the medieval barn 311 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:02,720 Speaker 1: that still stood on it grounds. The house had been 312 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:06,080 Speaker 1: occupied for some time, but seeing that the barn door 313 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:11,760 Speaker 1: was open, Walker began to wander. Quickly, checking that no 314 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:16,280 Speaker 1: one was around, Walker leaped over the church wall scooted 315 00:22:16,359 --> 00:22:21,120 Speaker 1: up the driveway and ducked into the barn. Looking up, 316 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:24,119 Speaker 1: he gasped at the sight of a bizarre mural on 317 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:29,199 Speaker 1: the wall, about three foot high in size. It was 318 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:34,280 Speaker 1: apparently composed primarily of a demonic looking entity with a huge, 319 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:40,320 Speaker 1: horned head, scaly body, and forked tail. In its hands, 320 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:44,560 Speaker 1: it held a sword and chalice, ancient symbols of fertility, 321 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:48,440 Speaker 1: and behind it a bank of flames licked up from 322 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:54,159 Speaker 1: the ground. Hearing a sound outside, Walker looked out to 323 00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:58,240 Speaker 1: see a man running toward him. In panic, he bolted 324 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:01,640 Speaker 1: away as the man gave chase, before managing to lose 325 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:06,480 Speaker 1: him in the woods. Over the next few years, Charles 326 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:10,120 Speaker 1: Walker continued hunting for evidence not only of the apparent 327 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:13,879 Speaker 1: occult group's existence, but also of their connection to the 328 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:17,000 Speaker 1: many strange events that had taken place in the area 329 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:21,040 Speaker 1: over the last few years, but the group and its 330 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:28,960 Speaker 1: members remained elusive. In August nineteen eighty one, officers at 331 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:32,639 Speaker 1: Worthing Police station received a package with a battered and 332 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:37,360 Speaker 1: disheveled wallet inside, along with a crudely drawn map of 333 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:41,200 Speaker 1: some woods located on the Sussex Downs, about a mile 334 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:45,600 Speaker 1: to the northwest of Stenning. Examining the bank cards in 335 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:50,320 Speaker 1: the wallet, police found the name Harry Snelling embossed on 336 00:23:50,359 --> 00:23:54,679 Speaker 1: the front of them. As an accompanying letter explained the 337 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:58,479 Speaker 1: center of the package. A tourist from Canada named Michael 338 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:02,040 Speaker 1: Rain had found a human skeleton while walking across the 339 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:05,080 Speaker 1: Downs the previous week, which he believed to be the 340 00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:09,560 Speaker 1: remains of Reverend Snelling. Since he had an important flight 341 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:12,159 Speaker 1: to catch, Worried that he would be dragged into a 342 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:17,040 Speaker 1: lengthy police investigation, Rain decided instead to send the wallet 343 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:20,360 Speaker 1: as evidence of his find and a map to explain 344 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:25,560 Speaker 1: where the remains could be located. Following the instructions, later 345 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:29,120 Speaker 1: that day, police found the skeleton at the north edge 346 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:33,000 Speaker 1: of some woodland close to a property known as Whiston House. 347 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:37,159 Speaker 1: Not only were they surprised to find that the bones, 348 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:41,880 Speaker 1: despite having supposedly been there for almost three years, had 349 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:46,679 Speaker 1: not been much obscured by surrounding vegetation, but also that 350 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:49,840 Speaker 1: the area in which they were found had been thoroughly 351 00:24:49,880 --> 00:25:01,400 Speaker 1: searched numerous times before. It was long after the discovery 352 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:05,600 Speaker 1: of Snelling's remains that others began to notice the suspicious 353 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:09,159 Speaker 1: number of unexplained deaths and other events that seemed to 354 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:13,200 Speaker 1: be plaguing this quiet, unassuming area of the English countryside. 355 00:25:15,119 --> 00:25:20,240 Speaker 1: Writing in the paranormal magazine, unexplained that year Toy Newton, 356 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: without any reference to the Friends of Hikati, made his 357 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:29,719 Speaker 1: own effort to document the bizarre collection of events. A 358 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:33,600 Speaker 1: few months later, he received a curious letter from a reader. 359 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:40,040 Speaker 1: Dear Sirs, it began in your article on Clapham Woods. 360 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:43,399 Speaker 1: You ask of the mysterious events a link to a 361 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:47,840 Speaker 1: black coven. I can tell you they are, but it's 362 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:52,920 Speaker 1: much more than that. They are called the Friends of Hikati, 363 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:56,480 Speaker 1: and they meet in the woods and the barn up 364 00:25:56,520 --> 00:26:00,880 Speaker 1: by the church and make ritual sacrifices. At the time 365 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:06,200 Speaker 1: of Orion. The Archer people get headaches and strange feelings 366 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:10,200 Speaker 1: at Clapham because the place is building up vibrations so 367 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:14,240 Speaker 1: they can get the force that they want. Sometimes this 368 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:18,960 Speaker 1: strange force has even started fires, but everything is hushed up. 369 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:24,560 Speaker 1: They can make people do what they want. I can't 370 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:28,440 Speaker 1: sign my name, but be warned they are much more 371 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:39,440 Speaker 1: powerful than a black coven, unexplained. The book and audiobook, 372 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:42,560 Speaker 1: featuring ten stories that have never before been covered on 373 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:46,160 Speaker 1: the show, is now available to buy worldwide, who can 374 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:50,640 Speaker 1: purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Waterstones, among other bookstores. 375 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:55,120 Speaker 1: All elements of Unexplained, including the show's music, are produced 376 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:58,680 Speaker 1: by me Richard McClain smith. Please subscribe and rate the show. 377 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:01,399 Speaker 1: Where have you listened to podcast? And feel free to 378 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:04,000 Speaker 1: get in touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the 379 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:06,719 Speaker 1: stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you have an 380 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:09,280 Speaker 1: explanation of your own you'd like to share. You can 381 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:13,199 Speaker 1: reach us online at Unexplained podcast dot com, or Twitter 382 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:18,159 Speaker 1: at Unexplained Pod and Facebook at Facebook dot com. Forward 383 00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 1: Slash Unexplained Podcast. Now, it's time to take care of yourself. 384 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:34,239 Speaker 1: To make time for you. 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