1 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: At thirty three years old, Tony Cornell was by no 2 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:17,959 Speaker 1: means the most senior member of the Cambridge University Society 3 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: for Psychical Research, but he was certainly one of the 4 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: more proactive and always on the lookout for a new 5 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 1: site to investigate. Like most members of CUSPR, he was 6 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 1: a proud rationalist with little time for superstition or spiritual nonsense, 7 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: whose interest in supposed paranormal and supernatural events began from 8 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:46,879 Speaker 1: a thoroughly skeptical point of view. He did, however, maintain 9 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: a healthy fascination with the strange due to a peculiar 10 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: event he experienced ten years previously. As a young naval 11 00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: officer during the Second World War, Tony was stationed in 12 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:04,880 Speaker 1: southern India, close to the Nilgiri Mountains, where he became 13 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: enthralled by stories at the local fakir, holy men and 14 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:13,959 Speaker 1: women without any possessions or relations, who were believed to 15 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: possess mystical powers. It was said that a fakir could 16 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: perform miracles, with many people traveling for miles to seek 17 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:29,760 Speaker 1: their wisdom and guidance. Although thoroughly dubious, Tony was nonetheless 18 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:33,399 Speaker 1: intrigued enough to try and find the man with the 19 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: hope of witnessing these so called miracles for himself. Tony 20 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 1: trekked for hours through rolling, tree capped hills and across 21 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: treacherous paths flanked by steep, jagged cliffs. At about six 22 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: thousand feet above sea level, he came across an old 23 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: man in simple clothes, standing at the end of a 24 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: small plateau, as if he had been waiting for Tony 25 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 1: to to the side of the plateau, lay a steep 26 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: drop into a gully with a stream gushing through it 27 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 1: without acknowledging the young navy officer, the fakir asked what 28 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 1: it was that Tony wanted. Erm I hear you can 29 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: perform miracles, replied a startled Tony. You're too materialistic, said 30 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:26,680 Speaker 1: the old man. But I'll give you what you want. 31 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:30,639 Speaker 1: There was a pause as the fakir thought for a moment. 32 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 1: Tony smiled awkwardly, suddenly self conscious at the clash of cultures. 33 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:42,079 Speaker 1: Look towards those hills, my son, the fakir said. Finally, 34 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: those hills, said Tony, pointing towards some prominent peaks in 35 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: the east. The fakir gestured yes with a gentle nod 36 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 1: of the head. And Tony turned back to inspect them. 37 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: Do you see, asked the fakir. A look of confusion 38 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: came over Tony's face. He scratched his head and turned 39 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 1: back to the man. I'm sorry, I don't, but the 40 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: man wasn't there. Well, my son, shouted the fakir from 41 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:19,520 Speaker 1: the far side of the stream. Did that entertain you? 42 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:24,640 Speaker 1: Tony stood for a moment, trying to fathom how a 43 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: seventy year old man could have dropped into the gully 44 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 1: and raced to the other side at the fast flowing 45 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: waters in only a matter of seconds. Smiling to himself, 46 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 1: he watched as the fakir slowly picked his way along 47 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 1: the rocky bank before disappearing into the bush. You're listening 48 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: to unexplained, and I'm Richard McLean Smith. The Society of 49 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 1: Psycho Research, of which Tony's CUSPR group was an affiliate, 50 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:10,000 Speaker 1: was established in eighteen eighty two, largely in response to 51 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: a peculiar craze that was gripping the nation. It had 52 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 1: its origins in a small wooden house in the tiny 53 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:21,720 Speaker 1: hamlet of Hydesville, New York. It was there that, in 54 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: eighteen forty eight, two sisters, Kate and Margaret Fox claimed 55 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:30,039 Speaker 1: to have made contact with the spirit of a dead 56 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:34,159 Speaker 1: man who communicated with them through a series of knocks 57 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:39,320 Speaker 1: and bangs. In other words, they'd allegedly made contact with 58 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:44,800 Speaker 1: a poltergeist, and in doing so had inadvertently created a 59 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: movement that would come to be known as spiritualism. As 60 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:53,720 Speaker 1: news of the Fox sisters incredible claims spread through the UK, 61 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: it wasn't long before everybody from scullery staff to Queen 62 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 1: Victoria were conducting seances in an attempt to communicate with 63 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:09,640 Speaker 1: the dead. As the movement grew in popularity throughout the world, 64 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:14,919 Speaker 1: so too did the stories of strange paranormal happenings that 65 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:20,400 Speaker 1: seemed suddenly to be breaking out everywhere. For those caught 66 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:24,440 Speaker 1: up in the scientific fervor of the Enlightenment age, the 67 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:28,600 Speaker 1: emergence of such stories was a horrifying repast to the 68 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:35,000 Speaker 1: increasingly rationalist and atheistic principles catalyzing academia at the time. 69 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 1: Although many in the scientific community dismissed paranormal claims out 70 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:45,159 Speaker 1: of hand, a small number of academics, led by Henry 71 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:50,479 Speaker 1: and Eleanor Sedgwick, William Barrett and Edmund Gurney, among others, 72 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:56,400 Speaker 1: took a different tack. They decided instead to quote approach 73 00:05:56,520 --> 00:06:00,920 Speaker 1: the varied problems without prejudice or prepossession of any kind, 74 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:05,480 Speaker 1: in the same spirit of exact and unimpassioned inquiry which 75 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:09,720 Speaker 1: has enabled science to solve so many problems once not 76 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: less obscure nor less hotly debated. And so the spr 77 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 1: was born, the world's first ghostbusters. The Cambridge branch of 78 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: the society was founded in nineteen o six. It existed 79 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 1: mostly as an organization for like minded people to get 80 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:36,040 Speaker 1: together and share stories regarding the latest papers and theories 81 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:41,080 Speaker 1: they'd read. But sometimes, if they were lucky, the chance 82 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 1: for something more hands on would crop up, like that 83 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: which Tony Cornell brought to the group one evening in 84 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 1: November nineteen fifty seven. The curious case had presented itself 85 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: a few days earlier, when a young journalist based out 86 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 1: at Wisbeach, some forty miles north of Cambridge, had contacted 87 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 1: him at the beginning of October. Anthony Wilmot, who worked 88 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 1: for the Wisbeach Advertiser, had overheard a conversation about some 89 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:18,640 Speaker 1: mysterious goings on at an old manor house known as 90 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 1: Hanneth Hall, situated out in the floodlands or fends close 91 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: to where he lived. The house, he would later discover, 92 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: had been plagued by apparent hauntings for years. Wilmot didn't 93 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 1: care much for silly ghost stories, but after learning one 94 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 1: of the current tenants was local labor politician Derek Page, 95 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:56,240 Speaker 1: he couldn't resist following up on the story. Anthony Wilmot 96 00:07:56,440 --> 00:08:00,600 Speaker 1: arranged to interview Derek Page and his wife, Audrey, as 97 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:04,640 Speaker 1: well as Audrey's mother Rose, at the house. He arrived 98 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 1: with his tongue firmly in cheek, only to find the 99 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:12,800 Speaker 1: family in a genuine state of distress. For the next hour, 100 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 1: he was treated to a variety of extraordinary tales outlining 101 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 1: all the strange events they'd experienced at the house since 102 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:27,040 Speaker 1: arriving from Cheshire two months previously. In fact, they'd only 103 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 1: been there a matter of days, Audrey explained when she 104 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:33,880 Speaker 1: was awoken in the early hours of the morning by 105 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:38,080 Speaker 1: the sound of a very clear and insistent tapping that 106 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:43,200 Speaker 1: seemed to be coming from just outside her bedroom. Thinking 107 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:46,240 Speaker 1: she'd imagined it, she turned to go back to sleep, 108 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:50,640 Speaker 1: only for it to start up again, this time a 109 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:56,080 Speaker 1: little louder. She sat up immediately Knowing it couldn't have 110 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,480 Speaker 1: been Derek since he stayed in another town during the 111 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:02,319 Speaker 1: week for fur work, she assumed it was one of 112 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:06,120 Speaker 1: the children, or perhaps her mother, who slept in the 113 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 1: bedroom opposite Yes, Audrey whispered out in the dark. Hello, Knock, 114 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:22,319 Speaker 1: came the reply. Audrey hurriedly switched on the bedside light. Hello, 115 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:28,199 Speaker 1: She asked again, but still there was no reply. Collecting herself, 116 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:31,520 Speaker 1: she stepped out of bed and made her way cautiously 117 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 1: towards the door. With a trembling hand, she took hold 118 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:40,320 Speaker 1: of the handle. She eased the door open a fraction 119 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:44,320 Speaker 1: and peered through the gap into the darkness of the 120 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:50,200 Speaker 1: corridor beyond. There was nobody there. Ever, since that night, 121 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:54,600 Speaker 1: the family had heard similar knocks and taps throughout the house. 122 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:59,559 Speaker 1: Audrey was certain that on a separate occasion, she heard 123 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:04,200 Speaker 1: footst steps descending the stairs with a clearly defined shifting 124 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:08,360 Speaker 1: of weight from one foot to another. She was alone 125 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:12,240 Speaker 1: in the house at the time. A few weeks later, 126 00:10:12,679 --> 00:10:17,200 Speaker 1: Audrey's mother Rose woke up after feeling a violent jolt 127 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:22,560 Speaker 1: against her bed. Not long after, despite being partially deaf, 128 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:25,439 Speaker 1: she was woken in the middle of the night by 129 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 1: an inexplicably loud, crashing sound coming from just outside the door. 130 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:35,320 Speaker 1: It was as if the door itself were being smashed in. 131 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:51,160 Speaker 1: Unlike Rose and Audrey, Derek Page hadn't heard these noises himself, 132 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:54,960 Speaker 1: and joked that it was probably just old Tories who 133 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:58,640 Speaker 1: used to own the house turning in their graves at 134 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:02,320 Speaker 1: the thought of him living there. He did recount one 135 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:07,160 Speaker 1: rather strange story of his own, however, Not long after 136 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:11,600 Speaker 1: they'd moved in, his mother traveled down from Manchester to 137 00:11:11,679 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 1: stay with the family for a few weeks. After a 138 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:19,079 Speaker 1: couple of nights sleeping in the spare bedroom, she began 139 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:23,760 Speaker 1: to experience a recurring set of bizarre and terrifying nightmares. 140 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:28,200 Speaker 1: A couple of times she found herself floating out of 141 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:31,720 Speaker 1: her body and looking down at herself as she slept. 142 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:36,360 Speaker 1: As she stared down, she had the very vivid sense 143 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:40,880 Speaker 1: that something profoundly malignant was trying to pull her away, 144 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:44,440 Speaker 1: and that if she didn't return to her body, she 145 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:49,160 Speaker 1: would never wake up. Other times, she dreamt that she 146 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:51,920 Speaker 1: was trapped under the legs of a horse as it 147 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:56,000 Speaker 1: kicked violently at her face. After less than a week, 148 00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: having also started to hear the noises, she made a 149 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:05,400 Speaker 1: heady retreat back to Manchester. Audrey and Rose told the 150 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:09,240 Speaker 1: young journalist that the knocking sounds had grown worse over 151 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:13,280 Speaker 1: the last few weeks, and that increasingly they seemed to 152 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:17,880 Speaker 1: be coming from one room located at the north end 153 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:20,920 Speaker 1: of the first floor. The family figured the room was 154 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 1: once a bedroom owing to its size, but since it 155 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:27,000 Speaker 1: had never been rigged up to the mains, they were 156 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:30,680 Speaker 1: currently using it for storage and rarely went inside it. 157 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:37,160 Speaker 1: After leaving Hanneth Hall that afternoon, journalist Anthony Wilmot decided 158 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 1: to do some further digging of his own, and that, 159 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:44,200 Speaker 1: as he explained to Tony Cornell over the phone a 160 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:48,880 Speaker 1: few weeks later, was when things started to get really interesting. 161 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:53,520 Speaker 1: The house, as he discovered, was built sometime in the 162 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:57,440 Speaker 1: sixteenth century and was thought originally to have belonged to 163 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:03,040 Speaker 1: a Richard Sparrow, earning it the nickname Sparrow's Nest. Over 164 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:06,720 Speaker 1: the years, it passed through a number of owners, gaining 165 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:10,680 Speaker 1: its current name after being purchased by a Joseph Hanneth 166 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:15,360 Speaker 1: in eighteen twelve. The house was sold again to George 167 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:18,960 Speaker 1: Williams in eighteen ninety nine, who elected to keep the 168 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:23,880 Speaker 1: name Hannath Hall. Wilmot got in touch with the building's 169 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 1: current owner, Hugh Williams, George's grandson, to find out more. 170 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:33,920 Speaker 1: Much to his surprise, Hugh and his family, who'd lived 171 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:36,920 Speaker 1: in the house for forty years before renting it out 172 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:40,440 Speaker 1: to Audrey and Derek, were more than familiar with the 173 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:44,880 Speaker 1: spooky goings on there. Hugh went on to describe an 174 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:49,720 Speaker 1: incident a few years earlier involving his brother Peter. While 175 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:53,560 Speaker 1: staying alone in the house, he had apparently witnessed a 176 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:58,679 Speaker 1: door handle turning of its own accord. Another time, Hugh's 177 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:03,240 Speaker 1: nieces suffered via nightmares whilst sleeping in the now disused 178 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:07,400 Speaker 1: room at the far end of the property. They'd also 179 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:10,840 Speaker 1: apparently woken up one night to find a pair of 180 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:15,960 Speaker 1: blood stained hands floating in the room with them. That 181 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,600 Speaker 1: wouldn't be the bedroom on the north side with it 182 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:23,360 Speaker 1: by any chance, Wilmot had asked, Oh, you mean the 183 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:35,960 Speaker 1: haunted bedroom, replied Hugh. As it turned out, Hugh Williams's 184 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:39,680 Speaker 1: family had taken to calling the north end bedroom the 185 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:44,040 Speaker 1: haunted bedroom on account of a morbid story they'd heard 186 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:48,160 Speaker 1: about one of the previous owners long before the house 187 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:52,480 Speaker 1: was wired for electricity. The so called haunted room was 188 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:56,800 Speaker 1: in fact the master bedroom. As the story went, it 189 00:14:56,880 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 1: was in this room that the wife of former owner 190 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 1: Joseph Hanneth, who brought the property from his father in 191 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:09,040 Speaker 1: eighteen twelve, had died young. Her death left Joseph so 192 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 1: bereft he couldn't bear to release the body for burial, 193 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:16,560 Speaker 1: so he decided instead to have it interred in an 194 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:20,280 Speaker 1: open coffin, which he kept at the end of his bed. 195 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:26,320 Speaker 1: For six weeks and increasingly unhinged, Joseph continued to order 196 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:29,720 Speaker 1: his servants to bring his wife three meals a day 197 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:37,160 Speaker 1: while her body steadily putrefied. Eventually, with the stench becoming unbearable, 198 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:41,400 Speaker 1: Joseph was brought to his senses just long enough to 199 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:44,480 Speaker 1: take the body into the front garden, where he was 200 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:49,800 Speaker 1: said to have buried it under a large horse chestnut tree. 201 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,640 Speaker 1: As Wilmot explained to Tony over the phone, because his 202 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:57,040 Speaker 1: article about the house had been well received, and with 203 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 1: Halloween drawing near, he asked Derrick Audrey if he could 204 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:03,920 Speaker 1: spend a night in the house and write about it, 205 00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 1: since the couple were eager to prove they weren't making 206 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:12,680 Speaker 1: anything up, they invited Wilmot to stay, and so on 207 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:17,200 Speaker 1: the thirty first of October, Wilmot arrived again at Hanneth Hall, 208 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:21,040 Speaker 1: this time with a senior colleague from the paper and 209 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:25,280 Speaker 1: a friend who lived locally, along with his pet labrador, Simba. 210 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 1: Later that night, as the Devil's Hour approached and with 211 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:36,479 Speaker 1: Audrey Rose and the children fast asleep, derreck Page, Wilmot 212 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: and his colleague took up positions on the landing, while 213 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:45,320 Speaker 1: Wilmot's friend and Simba kept watch in the old master bedroom. 214 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:51,600 Speaker 1: Despite some initial nervous joshing, it hadn't taken long for 215 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:57,520 Speaker 1: a pervasive eeriness to descend. Then from somewhere in the house, 216 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:03,000 Speaker 1: a clock struck twelve, and Simber began to whimper mournfully. 217 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:08,159 Speaker 1: A noise was hurt coming from inside a spare bedroom 218 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:11,080 Speaker 1: off to the side, but not one of the men 219 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:15,760 Speaker 1: at the courage to investigate it. A moment later, they 220 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:20,080 Speaker 1: all sensed a significant drop in temperature, followed by the 221 00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:23,840 Speaker 1: smell of sandal wood that seemed to be sweeping back 222 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:28,920 Speaker 1: and forth along the corridor. Although little else occurred that evening, 223 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:32,399 Speaker 1: whether it had been the charge of the occasion or 224 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:36,919 Speaker 1: merely the atmosphere of the evocative old building. When the 225 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:40,440 Speaker 1: men finally called it a night at two thirty a m. 226 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:45,200 Speaker 1: It was with the distinct impression that they had experienced something. 227 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:49,800 Speaker 1: It was a few days later, unable to shake the 228 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:53,600 Speaker 1: weight of the evening from his mind, that Wilmot decided 229 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:57,480 Speaker 1: to get in touch with the Society of Psychical Research. 230 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:08,640 Speaker 1: It's just after eight pm on the evening of seventeenth 231 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:13,639 Speaker 1: November nineteen fifty seven, with only the barer sliver of 232 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:18,240 Speaker 1: a waning moon in the sky. Tony Cornell and fellow 233 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:25,280 Speaker 1: CUSPR members Alan Gould, David Murray and Michael Brotherton assemble 234 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:30,359 Speaker 1: briefly outside Tony's apartment before getting into his car and 235 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:37,280 Speaker 1: heading out towards Wisbeach. With Cambridge's university towers and spires 236 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:41,440 Speaker 1: receding behind them, they soon slip out beyond the city's 237 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:45,760 Speaker 1: edge and into the darkness of the East Anglian countryside. 238 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: They made their way north along winding country roads. As 239 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:55,000 Speaker 1: their eyes adjusted to the dark, a wide menagerie of 240 00:18:55,040 --> 00:19:00,399 Speaker 1: stars began to emerge above, while ahead, the rich black 241 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:06,320 Speaker 1: earth and shimmering waterways of the Fens were approaching. It 242 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:10,040 Speaker 1: has just gone ten pm when the team eventually arrive 243 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:14,119 Speaker 1: at the pretty market town of Wisbeach, located on the 244 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:18,520 Speaker 1: banks of the River Nen. The town, known as the 245 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:22,840 Speaker 1: Capital of the Fence, is a rare static fixture in 246 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:28,320 Speaker 1: an otherwise ever changing landscape. Four hundred years ago, the 247 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:33,400 Speaker 1: region was a mass of treacherous peaty swamps and quicksilver surfaces, 248 00:19:34,359 --> 00:19:39,320 Speaker 1: a perilous place for unsuspecting travelers foolish enough to go 249 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:44,240 Speaker 1: chasing the many willow wisps that regularly danced across its 250 00:19:44,359 --> 00:19:49,480 Speaker 1: transitory plains. They may appear tamed for now, but the 251 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:53,800 Speaker 1: Fens remain a border country, where the firm and fluid 252 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:58,880 Speaker 1: mingle of histories washed from the land, and an ever 253 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:04,919 Speaker 1: shifting reminder of the illusion of solidity. Turning into the 254 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:09,840 Speaker 1: town center, the team spot the short and bespectacled Anthony Wilmot. 255 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:13,760 Speaker 1: He's waiting for them outside the Rose and Crown Pub, 256 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:18,680 Speaker 1: along with two friends he's unexpectedly brought along for the evening. 257 00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:23,440 Speaker 1: The appearance of the two men, who introduce themselves as 258 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:29,880 Speaker 1: mister Trumpets and mister Perryman, immediately raises Alan Gull's suspicions. 259 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:33,160 Speaker 1: Concerned that they might be under instruction from the journalist 260 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:38,239 Speaker 1: to guarantee some strange goings on later. We should keep 261 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:41,080 Speaker 1: an eye on them, he warns the others as they 262 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:47,080 Speaker 1: drive off again. The group continue in convoy behind Wilmot's car. 263 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:51,640 Speaker 1: It's not long before they're back among the fields and waterways, 264 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:55,600 Speaker 1: staring out at the edge of fendland flats that seem 265 00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:59,520 Speaker 1: to merge with the night. When the temperature takes a 266 00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:04,440 Speaker 1: sudden plunge. The men watch with concern as a thick 267 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:09,439 Speaker 1: fog starts to sweep across the fields, until finally it 268 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:14,080 Speaker 1: has all but engulfed the cars. Tony works hard at 269 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:17,760 Speaker 1: the wheel to keep Wilmot's rear lights in view as 270 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:22,879 Speaker 1: Alan struggles to locate their position on the map. After 271 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:27,040 Speaker 1: another ten minutes or so, Tony catches Wilmot making a 272 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:30,919 Speaker 1: sharp left turn, which, according to Alan, as them heading 273 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:34,480 Speaker 1: in the direction of the small hamlet of Tide Saint Mary. 274 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:40,120 Speaker 1: With Wilmot's car now having disappeared into the fog, they 275 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:44,080 Speaker 1: have little option but to continue straight along the road. 276 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:58,440 Speaker 1: After half a mile or so, the fog finally begins 277 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:03,320 Speaker 1: to clear, revealing the journalist. Wilmot's car parked up ahead 278 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:07,040 Speaker 1: at the entrance to a driveway, and in a space 279 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:12,159 Speaker 1: some fifty yards beyond, obscured by darkness and a dense 280 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:16,000 Speaker 1: row of tall trees, they can just make out the 281 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:22,159 Speaker 1: imposing presence of Hanneth Hall. As Tony turns into the 282 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 1: drive moving through the line of trees, the large red 283 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:31,680 Speaker 1: brick pile looms out of the darkness. There is something 284 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:36,040 Speaker 1: of the dark fairy tale about the five bedroom Elizabethan manor, 285 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:41,160 Speaker 1: flanked by two prominent gable roofs and shrouded by trees 286 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:46,359 Speaker 1: that seem unusually tall for these parts, Its stately symmetry 287 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:51,800 Speaker 1: oddly offset by the peculiar placement of the building central windows. 288 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:55,639 Speaker 1: That all the windows appear so small for such a 289 00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:59,600 Speaker 1: large facade, and with only one presently lit from within, 290 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,880 Speaker 1: does little to dispel the ominous air of the building's 291 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:09,000 Speaker 1: brooding visage. Seeing the place now up close, how its 292 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:13,320 Speaker 1: lines have warped and buckled with age, and how thirstily 293 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:17,080 Speaker 1: the creeping vines of Ivy seem to be claiming it 294 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:21,000 Speaker 1: for their own. It feels as much a natural part 295 00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:26,680 Speaker 1: of the landscape as any surrounding birch or alder. As 296 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:30,320 Speaker 1: the men exit their car, making sure to remember their 297 00:23:30,359 --> 00:23:35,200 Speaker 1: note books. They are struck by the stillness. A strained 298 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:39,240 Speaker 1: animal cry from the dark of the field opposite breaks 299 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:44,639 Speaker 1: the silence. Impressive, isn't it, says Wilmot as he walks 300 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:50,040 Speaker 1: round to the front. Come on, I'll introduce you. With 301 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:53,320 Speaker 1: Derek and Audrey out at the cinema and the children 302 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:57,320 Speaker 1: tucked up in bed. Audrey's mother, Rose steps out to 303 00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:01,479 Speaker 1: welcome the men. She invited them to come inside and 304 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:04,840 Speaker 1: take a seat in the living room, a comparatively small 305 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:08,679 Speaker 1: space at the front of the house. Rose disappears to 306 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:12,240 Speaker 1: make teas and coffees. As the men take seats around 307 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:16,840 Speaker 1: the table, with a warm fire licking and crackling at 308 00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:20,439 Speaker 1: the back of the room, Wilmot takes the opportunity to 309 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:24,600 Speaker 1: recount the details of his last visit. It isn't long 310 00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:29,960 Speaker 1: before talk turns to the haunted bedroom. Yes, that's where 311 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,240 Speaker 1: I hear it coming from two, says Rose as she 312 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 1: brings the drinks into the room, barely audible above the 313 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:41,479 Speaker 1: growing chatter of the men. What was that, asks Tony 314 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:45,520 Speaker 1: as Rose quietly takes a seat beside him at the table. 315 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:50,960 Speaker 1: The dreadful knockings, she replies, bringing a sudden hush to 316 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:56,000 Speaker 1: the room. Have you heard them recently, missus Hall's asks 317 00:24:56,040 --> 00:25:00,639 Speaker 1: Allan as they all move in closer to listen. Oh, yes, 318 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:05,840 Speaker 1: I heard them, only two hours ago, she replies. At 319 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:09,719 Speaker 1: that moment, the sound of the opening front door is 320 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:14,240 Speaker 1: followed by the entrance of Derek and Audrey. They apologized 321 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:18,720 Speaker 1: for their lateness and quickly set about introducing themselves to 322 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:28,440 Speaker 1: Tony and the rest of the group. A short time 323 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:32,159 Speaker 1: after returning home, Audrey leads everyone on a tour of 324 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:36,000 Speaker 1: the house, first to the large washroom at the north end, 325 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:39,760 Speaker 1: then back to the living room. She points out the 326 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:43,360 Speaker 1: pantry and the kitchen as they go, before taking them 327 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:46,480 Speaker 1: through to an impressive dining room at the back of 328 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:50,320 Speaker 1: the southern end, and on into the equally impressive lounge 329 00:25:50,359 --> 00:25:54,960 Speaker 1: at the front. They continue up the red carpeted stairs 330 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:59,680 Speaker 1: and onto the landing. It was on these stairs Audrey 331 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:04,000 Speaker 1: explanes that she'd heard the sound of footsteps not long 332 00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:08,600 Speaker 1: after they moved in. The landing is illuminated with a 333 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:13,080 Speaker 1: single bulb, which flickers weakly as it struggles to keep 334 00:26:13,119 --> 00:26:17,359 Speaker 1: the shadows at bay. Along the walls are a number 335 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:21,520 Speaker 1: of antique military artifacts that have belonged to the Williams 336 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:27,240 Speaker 1: family for generations. Continuing the tour, Audrey points out her 337 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:30,640 Speaker 1: mother's bedroom at the back, followed by the present day 338 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:36,560 Speaker 1: master bedroom where she and Derek sleep directly opposite. Moving 339 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:41,280 Speaker 1: quietly over the thickly carpeted hall, past the antique swords 340 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:45,480 Speaker 1: and flint locks, Audrey stops the men outside the children's 341 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:50,560 Speaker 1: room and gives the door a gentle push. Inside are 342 00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:53,280 Speaker 1: the two small bodies of her three year old son 343 00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 1: and five year old daughter, lying sound asleep in their beds. 344 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: Moving on again, then just past the children's room to 345 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:07,320 Speaker 1: the right is the spare bedroom where Derek's mother experienced 346 00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:12,240 Speaker 1: her unsettling dreams. And then finally they come to the 347 00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:17,560 Speaker 1: large disused room at the northern end, the haunted bedroom, 348 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:22,159 Speaker 1: says Wilmot from the back. Let's call this bedroom a 349 00:27:22,359 --> 00:27:28,000 Speaker 1: shall we? Says Alan? Eager to keep things professional, may 350 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:33,760 Speaker 1: I asks Tony, looking to Audrey, Please, but remember there's 351 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,520 Speaker 1: no light, so you'll need to switch on your torches. 352 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:42,320 Speaker 1: Tony eases the door open, and, assisted by Alan and 353 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:48,280 Speaker 1: Michael's torchlight, leads the group inside. Moving the beams of 354 00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:52,160 Speaker 1: light around, they spot a number of packing cases stacked 355 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:56,320 Speaker 1: up against the inside left corner, with further piles of 356 00:27:56,359 --> 00:28:00,200 Speaker 1: books and chairs placed up on top of them. Three 357 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:03,639 Speaker 1: chairs and a dressing table are lined up against the back, 358 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:07,560 Speaker 1: and in the far left corner, pieces of a dismantled 359 00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:12,000 Speaker 1: brass bed lean against the wall. A few other bits 360 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:15,959 Speaker 1: and pieces are dotted about, including two mattresses on the 361 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:21,000 Speaker 1: floor lying end to end under the front window. As 362 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:24,520 Speaker 1: Anthony Wilmot explains, they were placed there on his last 363 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:27,240 Speaker 1: visit to the house, when he and his friends had 364 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:31,679 Speaker 1: kept their late night vigil. Alan and Tony agree it 365 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,199 Speaker 1: will be useful to keep them as they are for 366 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:40,200 Speaker 1: sitting on later. Next Derek leads the group outside to 367 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:43,640 Speaker 1: make a quick inspection of the exterior, but they find 368 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:49,320 Speaker 1: nothing of note. Once back inside, the group synchronized their 369 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:54,280 Speaker 1: watches then while Alan makes his way upstairs to keep 370 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:58,959 Speaker 1: an eye out for any strange happenings above, Tony, David, 371 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:02,760 Speaker 1: and Michael gather everyone else into the living room to 372 00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:07,120 Speaker 1: begin the next stage of their investigation of good old 373 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:19,200 Speaker 1: fashioned seance. You've been listening to Unexplained Season seven, episode twenty, 374 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:23,320 Speaker 1: The Haunting of Hannath Hall, Part one, The second and 375 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:28,800 Speaker 1: final part, will be released next Friday, May third. This 376 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:33,200 Speaker 1: episode was written by Richard McLain smith Unexplained as an 377 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:38,360 Speaker 1: Avy Club Productions podcast created by Richard McClain Smith. All 378 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:41,760 Speaker 1: other elements of the podcast, including the music, are also 379 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:46,920 Speaker 1: produced by me Richard McLain Smith. Unexplained. The book and audiobook, 380 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:50,280 Speaker 1: with stories never before featured on the show, is now 381 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:54,719 Speaker 1: available to buy worldwide. You can purchase from Amazon, Barnes 382 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:59,400 Speaker 1: and Noble, Waterstones, and other bookstores. Please subscribe to and 383 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:02,440 Speaker 1: rate the show oh wherever you get your podcasts, and 384 00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:04,840 Speaker 1: feel free to get in touch with any thoughts or 385 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:08,600 Speaker 1: ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps 386 00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:11,160 Speaker 1: you have an explanation of your own you'd like to share. 387 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:15,280 Speaker 1: You can find out more at Unexplained podcast dot com 388 00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:19,040 Speaker 1: and reach us online through Twitter at Unexplained Pod and 389 00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:23,920 Speaker 1: Facebook at Facebook dot com Forward Slash Unexplained Podcast