WEBVTT - Season 07 Episode 19: Homes Under the Hammer Horror

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<v Speaker 1>In April nineteen ninety nine. An auction room in Birmingham

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<v Speaker 1>is packed with people. Tim Chiltern waits unexpectantly for the

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<v Speaker 1>lot he wants to bid on. At the back of

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<v Speaker 1>the room, a television camera crew were setting up. Tim

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<v Speaker 1>wonders what on earth they're doing there. A man in

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<v Speaker 1>his mid forties with graying hair, Tim had become despondent

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<v Speaker 1>with a stressful career as a management consultant. Having quit

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<v Speaker 1>his job and determined to stay out of the corporate world,

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<v Speaker 1>he was looking for some other way to make a living.

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<v Speaker 1>He loved small period buildings so decided to try and

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<v Speaker 1>find one he could fix up. But after six months

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<v Speaker 1>of looking for one in London, he hit a dead end.

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<v Speaker 1>What he wanted was something stone built with a south

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<v Speaker 1>facing garden, at least two bedrooms and a workshop. Then

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<v Speaker 1>Tim came across Lot sixty, a two hundred year old

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<v Speaker 1>former stonemason's residence called Lowe's Cottage near Birmingham in England.

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<v Speaker 1>The description in the catalog included a ground floor sitting room,

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<v Speaker 1>first floor kitchen, lobby, dining room and a bathroom. There

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<v Speaker 1>were three bedrooms on the second floor and a large

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<v Speaker 1>garden with two brick built workshops. It was everything he

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<v Speaker 1>was looking for. Set in the small Derbyshire village of

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<v Speaker 1>Upper Maybury in rural northern England, Lowe's Cottage was very

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<v Speaker 1>much a fixer upper, but Tim was up for the challenge.

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<v Speaker 1>The day before the auction, Tim Chiltern arrived in Derbyshire

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<v Speaker 1>and met with the selling agent to view the cottage.

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<v Speaker 1>As the agent drove him there, Tim couldn't help noticing

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<v Speaker 1>that some of the names along the way seemed a

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<v Speaker 1>little macabre, like Hanging Bridge and gallows Tree Lane. The

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<v Speaker 1>house itself was named after a nearby iron age, burial Mount,

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<v Speaker 1>according to the agent. Then finally they were there. Lowe's

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<v Speaker 1>Cottage was located on the edge of the picturesque village,

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<v Speaker 1>and when it came into view, Tim was delighted with it.

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<v Speaker 1>It was almost too good to be true. He thought

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<v Speaker 1>that such a character ful old property would come up

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<v Speaker 1>for auction. Things only got better when he took a

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<v Speaker 1>look inside. It was a little garishly decorated, but nothing

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<v Speaker 1>a few licks of paint wouldn't fix. The delightful views

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<v Speaker 1>of the Peak District hills from the kitchen window only

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<v Speaker 1>added to the charm, only one thing had seemed slightly off.

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<v Speaker 1>The agent asked him not to make a video of

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<v Speaker 1>the interior of the cottage. In any case, Tim was sold,

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<v Speaker 1>he would make a bid on it The following day.

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<v Speaker 1>At the auction house, Tim notices a strange buzz go

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<v Speaker 1>around the room as Lot sixty is called. The bidding

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<v Speaker 1>goes quickly, and within minutes, Tim Chiltern is the new

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<v Speaker 1>owner of Lowe's Cottage. As he leaves the auction room,

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<v Speaker 1>still glowing with pleasure at his success, Chiltern is steered

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<v Speaker 1>into an ante room where the television crew and a

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<v Speaker 1>pack of journalists quickly descend on him. Tim barely has

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<v Speaker 1>time to think before a microphone is thrust into his face.

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<v Speaker 1>So says a voice from somewhere, what does it feel

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<v Speaker 1>like to be the new owner of the most haunted

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<v Speaker 1>cottage in England? You're listening to Unexplained and I'm Richard

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<v Speaker 1>mc lean smith. Despite a few misgivings in light of

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<v Speaker 1>the ghostly revelation, Tim Chiltern soon moved into Lowe's cottage.

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<v Speaker 1>On arrival, his collie dog, Scion, was uneasy entering the

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<v Speaker 1>house and found it hard to settle over the next

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<v Speaker 1>few days, lights apparently switched on and off by themselves,

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<v Speaker 1>the temperature in certain rooms would suddenly drop for no

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<v Speaker 1>obvious reason, and the TV repeatedly turned itself on. At night,

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<v Speaker 1>Tim heard a gentle rustling sound coming from somewhere, and

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<v Speaker 1>the landing light often refused to turn on. Even weirder,

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<v Speaker 1>his flashlight that he checked was working every day, mysteriously

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<v Speaker 1>failed to work whenever the lights gave out. Generally, Tim

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<v Speaker 1>felt fine in the house, except for the ground floor stairs,

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<v Speaker 1>where he later said something felt very off. It was

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<v Speaker 1>as if the house had a mind of its own

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<v Speaker 1>and was capable of changing moods. In time, his neighbours

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<v Speaker 1>brought him up to speed on the cottage's considerable reputation

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<v Speaker 1>according to local law. In the eighteen sixties, Lowe's Cottage

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<v Speaker 1>had been home to a milkmaid named Elaine Harry and

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<v Speaker 1>her boyfriend, Joseph Phillips. Elaine was employed by a local

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<v Speaker 1>farmer who was rumored to have taken a fancy to her.

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<v Speaker 1>When Elaine spurned his advances, the farmer strangled her in

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<v Speaker 1>a fit of jealous rage, then buried her in the

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<v Speaker 1>basement of what was now Tim's cottage. In another version,

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<v Speaker 1>Elaine was locked in the cellar and left to die

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<v Speaker 1>of thirst. When her boyfriend Joseph found out about what

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<v Speaker 1>had happened, he was said to have hung himself in

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<v Speaker 1>a fit of despair, right over the spot where his

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<v Speaker 1>beloved had died. The history of the cottage after that

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<v Speaker 1>is hazy, but in recent decades it had been owned

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<v Speaker 1>by the same family. The only surviving members were two sisters,

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<v Speaker 1>Susan Melbourne and Sondra Podmore. It had been their childhood

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<v Speaker 1>residence and they returned to live there when their father

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<v Speaker 1>passed away around nineteen seventy. Then in nineteen ninety three

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<v Speaker 1>they put the cottage up for sale. By then the

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<v Speaker 1>property was in a dilapidated state and in need of

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<v Speaker 1>considerable renovation, but it was quickly snapped up by a young,

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<v Speaker 1>fresh faced couple, a nurse named Josie Smith and her

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<v Speaker 1>husband Andrew, who was a builder. Together they moved in

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<v Speaker 1>with their three children. Andrew began work immediately on the house,

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<v Speaker 1>while Josie juggled her nursing with looking after the children.

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<v Speaker 1>The couple were hoping to fix the house up then

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<v Speaker 1>flip it quickly for a hefty profit. But not long

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<v Speaker 1>after they moved in, they began to feel uncomfortable. Both

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<v Speaker 1>Josie and Andrew were utterly convinced that there was something

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<v Speaker 1>else living in the house with them. It was a

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<v Speaker 1>few weeks after moving in that Josie first noticed the

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<v Speaker 1>unusual cold spots that emerged in random places on hot days.

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<v Speaker 1>Not long after, the couple apparently observed the strange haziness

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<v Speaker 1>in the air for the first time. The peculiar mist

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<v Speaker 1>was described as being about the size of a person

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<v Speaker 1>and was even said to move around the house. Andrew

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<v Speaker 1>claimed that one time he tried to walk through it,

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<v Speaker 1>only to find it resisted him, as though it were

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<v Speaker 1>made of some entirely different substance. He said it smelt

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<v Speaker 1>like rotting flesh. Josie is said to have woken up

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<v Speaker 1>with the distinct feeling that something was pressing against the bed,

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<v Speaker 1>making it difficult for her to breathe. A friend who

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<v Speaker 1>belonged to a spiritualist church arrived one morning to try

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<v Speaker 1>and clear the air for them. With a bowl of

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<v Speaker 1>water and a wooden cross, they moved through the house,

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<v Speaker 1>sprinkling the rooms with water while reciting a prayer. According

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<v Speaker 1>to Andrew, it did nothing but provoke a foul stench

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<v Speaker 1>that made every one feel ill. Josie later told a

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<v Speaker 1>TV documentary crew sent to investigate the house that a

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<v Speaker 1>short time later she witnessed a figure she described as

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<v Speaker 1>wearing a gathered blouse tucked into a floor length skirt.

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<v Speaker 1>The figure walked across a room and disappeared into a wall.

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<v Speaker 1>After conducting some research on the history of the house,

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<v Speaker 1>the documentary team discovered that it was built by a

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<v Speaker 1>local stonemason called William Frith in the early eighteen hundreds.

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<v Speaker 1>Local church records showed that at least two of his

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<v Speaker 1>children had died there, Lucy at the age of eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>and William at age eight. The smiths persisted with renovating

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<v Speaker 1>the cottage, but even when there weren't ghostly sightings, electrical

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<v Speaker 1>appliances would often break down, and household items apparently disappeared,

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<v Speaker 1>only to reappear later in the most obvious places. On occasion,

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<v Speaker 1>there were sudden, strange temperature drops in one part of

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<v Speaker 1>these and water would suddenly appear and begin trickling down

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<v Speaker 1>the walls. When a plumber was called in, they found

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<v Speaker 1>no apparent cause, and there weren't even water pipes in

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<v Speaker 1>the walls where the water had inexplicably appeared. On another night,

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<v Speaker 1>for once, everything seemed calm in the cottage. The Smiths

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<v Speaker 1>put their three children to bed, then a couple of

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<v Speaker 1>hours later, went to bed themselves. A few hours later,

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<v Speaker 1>according to Josie, she felt something cold touch her beneath

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<v Speaker 1>her night dress. Then all of a sudden she was

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<v Speaker 1>struggling to breathe, feeling as though someone had stuffed a

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<v Speaker 1>cotton rag into her mouth and put their hands around

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<v Speaker 1>her neck as she struggled and flailed her legs against

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<v Speaker 1>her husband, Andrew woke up with a start to find

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<v Speaker 1>his wife clutching at her neck, struggling and thrashing as

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<v Speaker 1>though she were being throttled. It only stopped when I

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<v Speaker 1>shouted no. Josie said. They were so spooped that they

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<v Speaker 1>immediately woke up the children and fled the property. On

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<v Speaker 1>returning to the cottage a few days later, the Smiths

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<v Speaker 1>finally decided to seek help. Josie and Andrew turned to

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<v Speaker 1>their local church for help. Thankfully, the Church of England

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<v Speaker 1>had an exorcism committee, with a designated team in every

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<v Speaker 1>diocese to deal with the kind of disturbances they were experiencing.

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<v Speaker 1>A few weeks later, Reverend Peter Mockford, the vicar of Blurton,

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<v Speaker 1>a small parish near Stoke on Trent, arrived at the property.

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<v Speaker 1>He began by interviewing the smiths about what exactly had happened.

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<v Speaker 1>Mockford was keen to assess the story's veracity and interviewed

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<v Speaker 1>the couple separately to see if their stories aligned. Much

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<v Speaker 1>to his surprise, they did. Then he turned his attention

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<v Speaker 1>to the cottage itself. Mockford reported noticing a pungent odor

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<v Speaker 1>that seemed to follow him around, as well as a

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<v Speaker 1>war that appeared to weep with a trickling dampness when

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<v Speaker 1>he placed his hand on it. When he later performed

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<v Speaker 1>a blessing on the house, the smith said that it

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<v Speaker 1>seemed to them that the entire cottage got visibly brighter

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<v Speaker 1>and the atmosphere felt suddenly lighter, but the effects were

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<v Speaker 1>short lived. After only one quiet night, the creeping presence

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<v Speaker 1>returned with a vengeance. The usual sudden pockets of cold

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<v Speaker 1>air weeping walls, and the strange mist was said to return,

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<v Speaker 1>and a tape player began turning itself on. It would

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<v Speaker 1>only stop when it was unplugged from the wall. Then

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<v Speaker 1>their immersion heater blew up. Reverend Mockford returned three more times,

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<v Speaker 1>but despite seemingly bringing an end to the disturbances on

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<v Speaker 1>each occasion, the Smiths said the ghostly effects always returned.

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<v Speaker 1>During his last effort, the Smiths and the reverend gathered

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<v Speaker 1>in the living room to begin another exorcism. As the

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<v Speaker 1>minister started his prayers, Josie and Andrew played tapes of

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<v Speaker 1>religious music to accompany him. No sooner had they started,

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<v Speaker 1>a floorboard was said to have begun creaking loudly upstairs.

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<v Speaker 1>This was followed by a rushing sensation that apparently came

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<v Speaker 1>at the side of their heads, along with a feeling

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<v Speaker 1>that smoke was spiraling up their noses. The couple claimed

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<v Speaker 1>they tried other solutions, including consulting other religious practitioners, so

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<v Speaker 1>called spirit mediums and paranormal experts. One such group was

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<v Speaker 1>a combined team from the Tame Side and Oldham Paranormal

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<v Speaker 1>Research Association and members of Manchester's Aerial Phenomena Investigation Team.

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<v Speaker 1>The group arrived late one afternoon, but what they described

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<v Speaker 1>was a small, gloomy cottage with dampness filling the air.

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<v Speaker 1>They also began by interviewing Josie and Andrew again. After

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<v Speaker 1>finding the couple credible, the team conducted a quick tour

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<v Speaker 1>of the house and garden but found nothing unusual. As

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<v Speaker 1>night fell, they set up video cameras downstairs and upstairs,

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<v Speaker 1>equipped with voice activated audio recorders, as well as passive

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<v Speaker 1>infrared detectors and temperature monit. Then they began their watch.

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<v Speaker 1>It was around midnight that the Smiths went to bed.

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<v Speaker 1>As they slept, the investigation team inspected the walls but

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<v Speaker 1>found no evidence of the strange water said to spontaneously

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<v Speaker 1>weep from certain spots. They checked their equipment every hour,

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<v Speaker 1>but detected no unusual temperature readings, bad odors, strange sights

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<v Speaker 1>or sounds. At five am, some of the team headed

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<v Speaker 1>into the cellar, where they quickly spotted beads of water

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<v Speaker 1>on a back wall. When they wiped them away, the

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<v Speaker 1>beads came straight back. However, the team concluded that this

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<v Speaker 1>was simply caused by the warmer damp cellar air condensing

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<v Speaker 1>on the cold surface of the wall. It was just

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<v Speaker 1>after seven when the Smiths got up and came downstairs.

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<v Speaker 1>Josie was disappointed to learn that the team hadn't found anything,

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<v Speaker 1>telling them that perhaps the ghosts had stayed away to

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<v Speaker 1>make them look stupid. But what the team had found

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<v Speaker 1>and didn't mention then was a large pile of letters

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<v Speaker 1>and newspaper cuttings that the Smiths had collected lying on

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<v Speaker 1>the dining room table. It included dozens of letters from newspapers, magazines,

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<v Speaker 1>and TV producers or offering to pay the Smiths handsomely

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<v Speaker 1>for their story. As it turned out, having invested so

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<v Speaker 1>much in renovating the property, the Smiths were struggling to

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<v Speaker 1>meet their mortgage payments. Though their initial claims that the

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<v Speaker 1>house was haunted might have been genuine, it was clear

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<v Speaker 1>that much of what they sae set had most likely

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<v Speaker 1>been made up in an effort to help pay for

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<v Speaker 1>it all. Far from attracting buyers, however, unsurprisingly, all the

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<v Speaker 1>talk of ghosts trying to strangle them in their beds

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<v Speaker 1>had the complete opposite effect. Having bought the house for

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<v Speaker 1>around forty thousand pounds, the property's valuation had sunk to

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<v Speaker 1>only twenty five thousand. Left with no option, the Smiths

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<v Speaker 1>tried to refinance the mortgage on the home, but the

0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:37.399
<v Speaker 1>bank turned down their request. At their wits end. The

0:17:37.480 --> 0:17:42.720
<v Speaker 1>couple then did something radical. They sued the previous owners

0:17:43.080 --> 0:17:49.359
<v Speaker 1>for failing to disclose that their house was haunted. The sellers, sisters,

0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:53.600
<v Speaker 1>Sandra Podmore and Sandra Melbourne, both asserted that they had

0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:56.760
<v Speaker 1>never in over twenty years of living at the property,

0:17:57.320 --> 0:18:02.960
<v Speaker 1>experienced anything out of the ordinary. In response, they countersued

0:18:03.000 --> 0:18:05.280
<v Speaker 1>the Smiths for a sum of three and a half

0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:09.359
<v Speaker 1>thousand pounds, an outstanding amount they were still owed for

0:18:09.400 --> 0:18:14.359
<v Speaker 1>the property. There was an unusual case, the first lawsuit

0:18:14.400 --> 0:18:19.760
<v Speaker 1>in England regarding the claimed existence of supernatural forces since

0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:23.679
<v Speaker 1>the Middle Ages. It was going to be very difficult

0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:38.520
<v Speaker 1>to prove. At Darby County Court in January nineteen ninety nine,

0:18:39.000 --> 0:18:42.679
<v Speaker 1>Judge Peter Stretton sat down to rule on the case,

0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:48.960
<v Speaker 1>despite being unfamiliar with court procedures. Andrew Smith represented himself

0:18:49.000 --> 0:18:53.000
<v Speaker 1>and his wife at the hearing. Both he and Josie

0:18:53.280 --> 0:18:57.840
<v Speaker 1>described the various events they had experienced. Then they called

0:18:57.880 --> 0:19:02.680
<v Speaker 1>on Reverend Mockford, who'd performed the banishment prayers, to give evidence.

0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:08.200
<v Speaker 1>The vicar told the court that in his opinion, there

0:19:08.240 --> 0:19:13.800
<v Speaker 1>really was paranormal activity at Lowe's cottage, but Judge Stretton

0:19:14.080 --> 0:19:19.240
<v Speaker 1>wasn't convinced. The Smith's case wasn't helped when Thomas Dillon,

0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:22.879
<v Speaker 1>the council for the former owners, got the smith to

0:19:22.960 --> 0:19:26.800
<v Speaker 1>admit they'd read about similar hauntings in the novel The

0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:31.240
<v Speaker 1>Amateurville Horror, implying that the Smiths had used this to

0:19:31.359 --> 0:19:36.040
<v Speaker 1>help them make things up. Dylan also claimed that the

0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:40.480
<v Speaker 1>couple had a record of running away from their financial problems.

0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:45.000
<v Speaker 1>Mister Smith, he said, had been declared bankrupt after a

0:19:45.040 --> 0:19:50.199
<v Speaker 1>failed business partnership and had five previous county court judgments

0:19:50.280 --> 0:19:55.320
<v Speaker 1>against him for his part. In his final statement, Andrew

0:19:55.400 --> 0:19:59.080
<v Speaker 1>Smith told the court, There's simply no way I would

0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:02.080
<v Speaker 1>put my family through all this just for three and

0:20:02.080 --> 0:20:07.719
<v Speaker 1>a half thousand pounds. In the end, Judge Stretton dismissed

0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:13.240
<v Speaker 1>the claims of ghosts, stinking mists, and weeping walls as

0:20:13.320 --> 0:20:18.400
<v Speaker 1>hysteria and lies, refusing to believe that the house was haunted.

0:20:18.840 --> 0:20:22.000
<v Speaker 1>He ruled in favor of the former owners and ordered

0:20:22.040 --> 0:20:25.840
<v Speaker 1>the Smiths to pay the outstanding amount owed on Lowe's

0:20:25.840 --> 0:20:29.760
<v Speaker 1>Cottage to the sisters, along with a thousand pounds interest

0:20:30.200 --> 0:20:36.240
<v Speaker 1>and legal costs of twelve thousand pounds plunged into negative equity.

0:20:36.960 --> 0:20:40.080
<v Speaker 1>The family were forced to vacate the property and were

0:20:40.119 --> 0:20:45.640
<v Speaker 1>later rehoused by Staffordshire Council in a nearby town. Then,

0:20:46.040 --> 0:20:49.480
<v Speaker 1>in nineteen ninety nine, after a few months to let

0:20:49.520 --> 0:20:53.280
<v Speaker 1>the press coverage die down, the cottage was put up

0:20:53.280 --> 0:20:57.800
<v Speaker 1>for auction when it was snapped up by one Tim Chiltern.

0:20:59.160 --> 0:21:02.760
<v Speaker 1>Chiltern was a deeply spiritual man who for a while

0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:07.639
<v Speaker 1>had considered training to become a church minister. As time

0:21:07.720 --> 0:21:11.640
<v Speaker 1>went by, he and his colleague Scion seemed to make

0:21:11.760 --> 0:21:17.320
<v Speaker 1>peace with the house. The unexplained incidents dwindled, until finally

0:21:17.520 --> 0:21:23.040
<v Speaker 1>he claimed they ceased altogether. Tim spent a happy four

0:21:23.160 --> 0:21:27.480
<v Speaker 1>years at the cottage before renting it out. In late

0:21:27.560 --> 0:21:32.560
<v Speaker 1>January of two thousand and five, the Sheffield Paranormal Investigators,

0:21:32.960 --> 0:21:37.000
<v Speaker 1>a group for people who believed in psychic phenomena, decided

0:21:37.040 --> 0:21:41.320
<v Speaker 1>to spend a night at the cottage. According to their reports,

0:21:41.840 --> 0:21:51.359
<v Speaker 1>it was an eventful one. The six person team, which

0:21:51.400 --> 0:21:57.360
<v Speaker 1>included self described mediums and parapsychologists, arrived at the cottage

0:21:57.600 --> 0:22:02.160
<v Speaker 1>a little before ten pm. They were met by Tim Chiltern,

0:22:02.480 --> 0:22:05.200
<v Speaker 1>who showed them round the house and filled them in

0:22:05.400 --> 0:22:09.760
<v Speaker 1>on some of its history. When he left. The investigators

0:22:09.800 --> 0:22:14.760
<v Speaker 1>split into two teams. In Team one were Mick, Brenda

0:22:14.880 --> 0:22:19.760
<v Speaker 1>and Richard, while in Team two were Mikey Gaz and Steve.

0:22:20.800 --> 0:22:24.800
<v Speaker 1>Team one was soon reporting strange readings on their e

0:22:24.920 --> 0:22:29.760
<v Speaker 1>m F meter, designed to measure electromagnetic force in a

0:22:29.800 --> 0:22:34.560
<v Speaker 1>downstairs room used as an office. The meter swung too

0:22:34.600 --> 0:22:38.400
<v Speaker 1>wildly they set for the low amount of electrical wiring

0:22:38.760 --> 0:22:42.960
<v Speaker 1>present in the room. When they switched on their video camera,

0:22:43.400 --> 0:22:46.960
<v Speaker 1>they claimed then to see orbs in the view finder.

0:22:48.240 --> 0:22:52.680
<v Speaker 1>Richard described sensing a boy of around thirteen, as well

0:22:52.720 --> 0:22:56.760
<v Speaker 1>as a woman of around sixty with gray hair arranged

0:22:56.800 --> 0:23:01.440
<v Speaker 1>in a French platte wearing a high collared dress. Brenda

0:23:01.760 --> 0:23:06.520
<v Speaker 1>said she saw several small children dressed in pinafores, while

0:23:06.560 --> 0:23:12.000
<v Speaker 1>at the same time experiencing strange fluctuations in air temperature.

0:23:13.160 --> 0:23:18.800
<v Speaker 1>Around eleven p m, Team one moved to the main bedroom, where,

0:23:19.359 --> 0:23:24.040
<v Speaker 1>like Josie Smith had described, Brenda claimed to feel something

0:23:24.480 --> 0:23:27.680
<v Speaker 1>pushing down on her face and neck as she sat

0:23:27.760 --> 0:23:30.600
<v Speaker 1>on the edge of the bed while the EMF meter

0:23:31.080 --> 0:23:37.440
<v Speaker 1>continued to fluctuate wildly. None of the Sheffield paranormal investigators

0:23:37.840 --> 0:23:41.840
<v Speaker 1>saw the strange stinking mist, but claimed to sense a

0:23:41.960 --> 0:23:45.520
<v Speaker 1>number of other presences at the property, including a young

0:23:45.560 --> 0:23:49.720
<v Speaker 1>boy from the seventeen hundreds and a violently angry man

0:23:50.119 --> 0:23:55.040
<v Speaker 1>from the early nineteen hundreds. Sadly, however, none of this

0:23:55.440 --> 0:24:00.880
<v Speaker 1>was caught on camera. To this day, Tim Chiltern stands

0:24:00.920 --> 0:24:03.960
<v Speaker 1>by everything he claimed took place at the cottage while

0:24:04.000 --> 0:24:07.520
<v Speaker 1>he lived there. As he described it in one article

0:24:07.680 --> 0:24:11.760
<v Speaker 1>in twenty twenty one, it felt almost if Lowe's Cottage

0:24:11.960 --> 0:24:15.560
<v Speaker 1>had a personality and was testing him in some way.

0:24:17.040 --> 0:24:20.480
<v Speaker 1>Looking back on it all now, however, he has nothing

0:24:20.520 --> 0:24:25.000
<v Speaker 1>but fondness for the place. A few weeks before the auction,

0:24:25.520 --> 0:24:29.639
<v Speaker 1>Tim's father encouraged him to buy the property, believing it

0:24:29.680 --> 0:24:32.840
<v Speaker 1>could be the answer to getting his life back on track.

0:24:33.920 --> 0:24:39.359
<v Speaker 1>A short time after that, he died. Unexpectedly, Lowe's Hall

0:24:39.960 --> 0:24:43.240
<v Speaker 1>proved to be the first of many period properties that

0:24:43.400 --> 0:24:46.840
<v Speaker 1>Tim would go on to redevelop in what has turned

0:24:46.840 --> 0:24:51.639
<v Speaker 1>out to be a long and fruitful second life, just

0:24:51.720 --> 0:24:59.399
<v Speaker 1>as his father had seemingly prophesied. This episode was written

0:24:59.520 --> 0:25:03.640
<v Speaker 1>by Diane and Hope Unexplained as an AV Club Productions

0:25:03.680 --> 0:25:08.240
<v Speaker 1>podcast created by Richard McClain Smith. All other elements of

0:25:08.280 --> 0:25:11.679
<v Speaker 1>the podcast, including the music are also produced by me

0:25:11.960 --> 0:25:17.000
<v Speaker 1>Richard McClain smith. Unexplained. The book and audiobook, with stories

0:25:17.119 --> 0:25:20.040
<v Speaker 1>never before featured on the show, is now available to

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