1
00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:13,520
Speaker 1: Mister Kenyon was waiting by the barn as the family

2
00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:17,120
Speaker 1: drove up in their large Bonneville, with Caroline and Roger

3
00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:22,720
Speaker 1: in the front and their five young girls, Andrea, Nancy, Christine,

4
00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:28,640
Speaker 1: Cynthia and April squeezed into the back. As they drew closer,

5
00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:32,280
Speaker 1: the girl's eyes widened with excitement at the sheer size

6
00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:37,360
Speaker 1: of the place and its illustrious grounds. Parking up a

7
00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:41,000
Speaker 1: moment later, the elderly mister Kenyon helped the young ones

8
00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:44,280
Speaker 1: from the back before inviting them to head off and play.

9
00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,400
Speaker 1: Laughing as one after the other, they bolted gleefully out

10
00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:52,600
Speaker 1: of the car. Caroline then got out and greeted the

11
00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:58,440
Speaker 1: owner warmly before introducing him to her husband, Roger. Ah,

12
00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:01,480
Speaker 1: so this is the one we have to press, is it? Well,

13
00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:07,920
Speaker 1: let's get to it, said Kenyon. The Grand Farmhouse, one

14
00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:11,120
Speaker 1: of the original Providence plantations, had been built in the

15
00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:15,920
Speaker 1: seventeen thirties, with nine rooms, a barn, and over two

16
00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,920
Speaker 1: hundred acres of land, including a creek running through it.

17
00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:23,039
Speaker 1: It was some advance on the Peron's current home in

18
00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:27,920
Speaker 1: the suburbs of Cumberland, Rhode Island. The family had been

19
00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:31,360
Speaker 1: happy there until a series of troubling events had left

20
00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:35,120
Speaker 1: the thirty one year old Caroline concerned for her children's welfare.

21
00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:40,280
Speaker 1: Not long before, the family returned from a short break

22
00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:43,480
Speaker 1: to find their house had been ransacked and one of

23
00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:48,480
Speaker 1: their cats brutally killed. Though it was never proven, there

24
00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:50,720
Speaker 1: was good reason to believe the twelve year old son

25
00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,760
Speaker 1: of a next door neighbor had been responsible. When a

26
00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:58,120
Speaker 1: few months later, a driver suffering from a heart attack

27
00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:02,520
Speaker 1: totalled his truck on the Emily's lawn, Caroline couldn't shake

28
00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,080
Speaker 1: the distinct feeling that someone was trying to tell them something,

29
00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:10,440
Speaker 1: though she knew in truth there was virtually no chance

30
00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:13,440
Speaker 1: they could ever afford this place. From the moment she

31
00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:16,160
Speaker 1: had first seen it, having decided to view it on

32
00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:19,520
Speaker 1: a whim a few weeks previously, she hadn't been able

33
00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:24,239
Speaker 1: to forget about it. For thirty five year old Roger,

34
00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:27,079
Speaker 1: there'd been no question of whether they could buy it,

35
00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:30,800
Speaker 1: But happy to indulge his wife's fantasy, he agreed to

36
00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,480
Speaker 1: at least take a look at it for himself. Now

37
00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:38,080
Speaker 1: finally standing before it, he took a moment to admire

38
00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:42,040
Speaker 1: the garden, the way the tall pines and maple trees

39
00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:46,160
Speaker 1: shrouded the house and the expansive lawn stretching out in

40
00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:49,040
Speaker 1: front of it, running all the way down to the creek.

41
00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:52,519
Speaker 1: He had to give his wife one thing at least,

42
00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:57,360
Speaker 1: he thought it certainly was impressive. By the end of

43
00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:00,360
Speaker 1: the day, after viewing the inside of the house and

44
00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:04,320
Speaker 1: imagining their lives spent together there inside its four walls,

45
00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:07,440
Speaker 1: the kids were in no doubt about what they wanted,

46
00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:13,079
Speaker 1: and even Roger had come round the idea. Looking back

47
00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:15,840
Speaker 1: on it many years later, you could say it felt

48
00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:18,720
Speaker 1: that day to the family as if the very house

49
00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:25,519
Speaker 1: itself had called them. There you're listening to unexplained, and

50
00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:35,840
Speaker 1: I'm Richard mc lean smith. It would take some serious

51
00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:40,040
Speaker 1: scrimping on the family's part, but encouraged by mister Kenyon,

52
00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:43,200
Speaker 1: who agreed to hold out for them, Slowly but surely,

53
00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:48,440
Speaker 1: they found the money. Finally, in mid December nineteen seventy,

54
00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:53,840
Speaker 1: Caroline and Roger closed on the house. Shortly after the

55
00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:57,040
Speaker 1: new year, the family of seven made the two hour

56
00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:01,400
Speaker 1: drive west to Harrisville, accompanied by a removals truck, to

57
00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,920
Speaker 1: take possession of the farm. It was a little colder

58
00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:09,600
Speaker 1: arriving that January morning compared to the last time they

59
00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:14,400
Speaker 1: had visited. A recent storm had carpeted the ground with snow,

60
00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,479
Speaker 1: whilst all around many of the trees had been reduced

61
00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:23,599
Speaker 1: to sparse, skeletal branches. The main house itself, however, was

62
00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:28,080
Speaker 1: as grand as it had ever been. Mister Kenyon was

63
00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:30,320
Speaker 1: waiting for them again when they pulled up to it,

64
00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:35,599
Speaker 1: glad to have caught the family before he left. Having

65
00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:39,560
Speaker 1: greeted them, Kenyon nodded toward Roger and suggested the two

66
00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:43,279
Speaker 1: of them take a quick walk. Sensing he wanted to

67
00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:46,760
Speaker 1: talk to Roger alone. Caroline told the girls to run

68
00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:50,240
Speaker 1: ahead and pick their rooms as she set about unloading

69
00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:55,280
Speaker 1: the truck. Roger sensed a little hesitancy in Kenyon as

70
00:04:55,279 --> 00:04:58,680
Speaker 1: they headed out into the snow. In the end, the

71
00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:02,320
Speaker 1: conversation was brief, little more than a quick offering of

72
00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:05,480
Speaker 1: luck for the future, telling Roger again how glad he

73
00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:07,920
Speaker 1: was that it was his family that got the house.

74
00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:12,760
Speaker 1: Then the man went quiet for a moment and looked

75
00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:18,680
Speaker 1: back toward it. There's just one thing, he said, for

76
00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:22,080
Speaker 1: the sake of your family, you must leave the lights

77
00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:27,440
Speaker 1: on at night, And with that Kenyon wished him luck again,

78
00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:38,560
Speaker 1: then headed off toward his car. The first six weeks

79
00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:41,680
Speaker 1: were a steep learning curve, getting used to being so

80
00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:44,719
Speaker 1: far out in the country, but also learning just how

81
00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:48,599
Speaker 1: hard it can be to keep such a large building warm.

82
00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:51,600
Speaker 1: Things had not been made easier by the severe snowstorm

83
00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:55,359
Speaker 1: that had blown in shortly after they arrived, nor that,

84
00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:59,640
Speaker 1: for some unknown reason, all the fireplaces had been carefully

85
00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:04,479
Speaker 1: blocked up. It was especially taxing for Carolyn, since, with

86
00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,800
Speaker 1: Roger spending most of the week away for work, it

87
00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:10,720
Speaker 1: had fallen mostly on her to get the family settled

88
00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:15,640
Speaker 1: in before long. However, with the young girls reveling in

89
00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:19,560
Speaker 1: their new bedrooms and endless garden, the families soon began

90
00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:24,159
Speaker 1: to make the house their home, as the oldest, twelve

91
00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:27,000
Speaker 1: year old Andrea, had been granted a room of her own,

92
00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:31,400
Speaker 1: with the other four ten year old Nancy, nine year

93
00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:35,360
Speaker 1: old Christine, seven year old Cynthia, and five year old

94
00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:41,400
Speaker 1: April sharing two bedrooms between them. Carolyn had been amazed

95
00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:45,279
Speaker 1: at how quickly they adjusted to their new surroundings, grateful

96
00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:47,080
Speaker 1: for the ease in which she had been able to

97
00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:51,240
Speaker 1: enroll them in the local school, as she watched them

98
00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:55,039
Speaker 1: playing about the house on weekends, laughing as they sledged

99
00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,920
Speaker 1: down the front lawn and fantasizing about the animals they

100
00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:01,960
Speaker 1: might bring to live with. It was clear they'd made

101
00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:07,440
Speaker 1: the right decision, but all that was about to change.

102
00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:17,200
Speaker 1: During the week, with four of the girls at school,

103
00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,679
Speaker 1: April and Caroline were often the only people in the house,

104
00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:25,520
Speaker 1: so when Caroline was chopping vegetables one afternoon, it was

105
00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:29,080
Speaker 1: natural to assume the noise of something moving around upstairs

106
00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:34,080
Speaker 1: was just her five year old daughter. Smiling at the

107
00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:37,680
Speaker 1: thought of her daughter playing with her toys, Caroline had

108
00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:41,920
Speaker 1: just heard another loud creak from the floorboards above when

109
00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:44,920
Speaker 1: she turned in shock to see April standing in the

110
00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:50,880
Speaker 1: kitchen doorway that very same moment, Mummy, she said, are

111
00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:56,440
Speaker 1: you okay? Caroline looked at her daughter in disbelief, then

112
00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:59,280
Speaker 1: back at the spot above her where those creaks had

113
00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:05,760
Speaker 1: come from. Stay close to me, o kay. April was confused,

114
00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:09,040
Speaker 1: but did as her mother asked, staying right behind her

115
00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:12,480
Speaker 1: as she headed upstairs and proceeded to check inside every

116
00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:15,560
Speaker 1: room to make sure there wasn't an intruder in the house.

117
00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:20,960
Speaker 1: Finding no one there, Caroline laughed to herself at how

118
00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:26,640
Speaker 1: silly she was being. What is it, asked April, don't worry,

119
00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:32,040
Speaker 1: said her mother. I'm just hearing things. That's okay, I

120
00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:37,800
Speaker 1: hear things all the time, said April casually. Caroline looked

121
00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:41,679
Speaker 1: at her daughter for a moment. What kind of things,

122
00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:55,479
Speaker 1: she asked, Nothing, really, just people walking about. Later that afternoon,

123
00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:58,840
Speaker 1: in the parlor, as April slept beside her on the sofa,

124
00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:02,319
Speaker 1: Caroline certain she felt a sudden chill in the room,

125
00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:07,080
Speaker 1: followed by the sensation of something moving past her. When

126
00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:09,440
Speaker 1: she took a sip of her coffee a second later,

127
00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:14,880
Speaker 1: she was surprised to find it completely cold. When Roger

128
00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,400
Speaker 1: returned from a work trip that evening, he found Caroline

129
00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:23,240
Speaker 1: oddly despondent. After tucking the children into bed, the couple

130
00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:26,480
Speaker 1: retired to the parlor as a heavy storm batted the

131
00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:32,359
Speaker 1: house from outside. Sensing Roger's growing frustration with her, Caroline

132
00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:34,680
Speaker 1: finally plucked up the courage to say what was on

133
00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:38,800
Speaker 1: her mind, telling him that something didn't feel quite right

134
00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:42,800
Speaker 1: in the house. As she went on to detail a

135
00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:46,760
Speaker 1: number of peculiar events from the last few days, Roger

136
00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:51,679
Speaker 1: sat in stunned silence. Surely she couldn't think the house

137
00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:57,120
Speaker 1: was genuinely haunted, he thought, trying his best to comfort Caroline,

138
00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:00,280
Speaker 1: Roger suggested that perhaps it was nothing more than the

139
00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:02,920
Speaker 1: effects of being in such an old and large building.

140
00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:09,760
Speaker 1: Caroline nodded in agreement, hoping he was right. But there

141
00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:13,880
Speaker 1: was one other story that she hadn't told him. It

142
00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:17,240
Speaker 1: happened a few weeks after moving in, when Caroline had

143
00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:21,760
Speaker 1: gone out to inspect the barn, Finding it emptied of

144
00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:25,040
Speaker 1: all mister Kenyon's things, it had seemed a much more

145
00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:29,360
Speaker 1: expansive and eerie place than she'd remembered. Just as she

146
00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:31,720
Speaker 1: was about to head back to the house, she heard

147
00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:34,840
Speaker 1: a rustling above her head, which was followed by the

148
00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:38,120
Speaker 1: appearance of an old scythe flying down from out of

149
00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:43,160
Speaker 1: the rafters. Ducking away at the last minute, the blade

150
00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:45,920
Speaker 1: struck her on the shoulder before clattering to the ground.

151
00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:50,880
Speaker 1: Looking at her jacket in utter disbelief, she found it

152
00:10:50,920 --> 00:11:01,560
Speaker 1: had been partially sliced open by bray. The cold snap

153
00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:04,840
Speaker 1: had passed and the snow and ice was finally beginning

154
00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:09,840
Speaker 1: to recede. However, for Caroline, the incessant cold was beginning

155
00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:14,480
Speaker 1: to wear her down. One bright morning that month, mister

156
00:11:14,559 --> 00:11:18,400
Speaker 1: Kenyon returned to check in on the family as he

157
00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:22,280
Speaker 1: and Caroline caught up over coffee. Caroline steered the conversation

158
00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:26,240
Speaker 1: toward the issue of the fireplaces, wondering whether it would

159
00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:29,080
Speaker 1: be okay to unblock some of them to help warm

160
00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:34,080
Speaker 1: up the house. Mister Kenyon paused for a moment, seeming

161
00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:38,720
Speaker 1: unsure about what to say exactly, before quickly changing the subject,

162
00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:42,960
Speaker 1: going on to tell a story about two unfortunate men

163
00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:47,040
Speaker 1: from the early eighteen hundreds. The men had set out

164
00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:51,920
Speaker 1: from nearby Webster, a town located fifteen miles away, hoping

165
00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:55,160
Speaker 1: to walk to Harrisville, when a violent blizzard had whipped

166
00:11:55,200 --> 00:12:00,200
Speaker 1: up unexpectedly around them. Realizing they were in trouble, the

167
00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:03,439
Speaker 1: men were said to have sought shelter underneath a blacksmith's

168
00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:06,040
Speaker 1: shop that had once stood on the grounds of the

169
00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:10,920
Speaker 1: Peron's house. They had both frozen to death that night.

170
00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:16,360
Speaker 1: It wouldn't be until long after mister Kenyon had passed

171
00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:21,079
Speaker 1: away himself that Caroline considered the fact that perhaps, in

172
00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:27,120
Speaker 1: some way he hadn't changed the subject at all. One morning,

173
00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:30,680
Speaker 1: soon after Kenyon's visit, Caroline took a crow bar to

174
00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:34,439
Speaker 1: the paneling over the fireplace in the parlor and wrenched

175
00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:38,880
Speaker 1: it free. From the wall. As she pulled, a sudden

176
00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:42,520
Speaker 1: gust of wind was unleased from beyond, as if something

177
00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:45,960
Speaker 1: vast had just exhaled from the depths of its lungs.

178
00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:50,720
Speaker 1: Moments later, she was stood in front of a crumbling

179
00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:57,199
Speaker 1: but beautiful ornate fireplace. Finding the chimney stuffed with bricks, plaster,

180
00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:00,880
Speaker 1: and newspaper, Caroline and April sent the best part of

181
00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:05,160
Speaker 1: the afternoon clearing it out until finally they had a

182
00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:15,360
Speaker 1: working fire. Later that day, with the rest of the

183
00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:19,480
Speaker 1: children having returned from school, Caroline was taking a shower

184
00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:24,680
Speaker 1: when the doorbell rang. It was their neighbor, Missus Pettigrew,

185
00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:28,040
Speaker 1: with a freshly baked cake, to welcome the family into

186
00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:33,160
Speaker 1: their new home. After inviting her in, oldest daughter Andrea,

187
00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:36,439
Speaker 1: headed upstairs to let her mum know that Missus Pettigrew

188
00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:40,480
Speaker 1: was waiting for her. When she opened the bathroom door,

189
00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:44,800
Speaker 1: Caroline let out a scream as a coat hanger appeared

190
00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:47,920
Speaker 1: to leap unaided from the wall and hit her in

191
00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:51,480
Speaker 1: the head. When the rest of the girls arrived to

192
00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:55,480
Speaker 1: check everything was okay, Caroline insisted that all was well

193
00:13:56,080 --> 00:14:02,520
Speaker 1: and ushered them back downstairs. Later, having thanked Missus pettigrew

194
00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,199
Speaker 1: for the cake. Caroline was just seeing her at the

195
00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:09,640
Speaker 1: door when the neighbor mentioned something a little peculiar. It

196
00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:12,520
Speaker 1: was strange, she said, to see so few lights on

197
00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:15,040
Speaker 1: in the house when she drove up to it. Earlier,

198
00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:19,280
Speaker 1: back when mister Kenyon owned it, she would often see

199
00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:22,440
Speaker 1: the whole place lit up at night, even from the

200
00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:26,760
Speaker 1: distance of the main road. Not knowing quite what to

201
00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:30,040
Speaker 1: make of that, Caroline thanked her neighbor again for the

202
00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:37,440
Speaker 1: cake and quietly closed the door behind her. Are you

203
00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:40,400
Speaker 1: always taking care of your family? Do you often take

204
00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,400
Speaker 1: care of others and not yourself? Now it's time to

205
00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:46,560
Speaker 1: take care of yourself, to make time for you. You

206
00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:49,400
Speaker 1: deserve it. Tele a doc gives you access to a

207
00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:52,800
Speaker 1: licensed therapist to help you get back to feeling your best,

208
00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:56,720
Speaker 1: to feeling like yourself again. With tele adoc, you can

209
00:14:56,760 --> 00:15:00,280
Speaker 1: speak to a licensed therapist by phone or video. Therapy

210
00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:03,560
Speaker 1: appointments are available seven days a week from seven am

211
00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:07,600
Speaker 1: to nine pm local time. If you feel overwhelmed sometimes

212
00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:12,240
Speaker 1: maybe you feel stressed or anxious, depressed or lonely, or

213
00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:14,920
Speaker 1: you might be struggling with a personal or family issue,

214
00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:20,680
Speaker 1: teledoc can help. TELEDOC is committed to facilitating great therapeutic matches,

215
00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:23,480
Speaker 1: so they make it easy to change counselors if needed.

216
00:15:23,720 --> 00:15:28,600
Speaker 1: For free teledoc therapy is available through most insurance or employers.

217
00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:32,880
Speaker 1: Download the app or visit teledoc dot com Forward slash

218
00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:39,600
Speaker 1: Unexplained podcast today to get started. That's teladoc dot com

219
00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:48,080
Speaker 1: slash Unexplained podcast. Returning from another work trip a few

220
00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:51,440
Speaker 1: weeks later, Roger was overjoyed by the sight of the

221
00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:55,600
Speaker 1: old fireplace that Carolyn had worked hard to recover, so

222
00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:58,440
Speaker 1: much so that he took the following week off to

223
00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:01,960
Speaker 1: help her restore it. It was on the last day,

224
00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:05,280
Speaker 1: as they were just applying the final touches, that they

225
00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:10,160
Speaker 1: heard a clicking sound behind them. Turning around, they both

226
00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,560
Speaker 1: watched with confusion as the door for the pantry, which

227
00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:17,520
Speaker 1: lay just off the parlor, swung open on its own accord.

228
00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:21,800
Speaker 1: Assuming it to be little more than a change in

229
00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:25,760
Speaker 1: the air pressure, Roger moved toward the door, only to

230
00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:29,160
Speaker 1: be struck by the stench of something rotting coming from

231
00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:34,480
Speaker 1: behind it. Finding nothing untoward, however, he quietly pushed the

232
00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:39,960
Speaker 1: door back and lashed it shut. Over the next few days,

233
00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:43,800
Speaker 1: Caroline delighted in finally having a working fire, keeping it

234
00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:48,480
Speaker 1: lit most of the day. Oddly, however, the pantry door

235
00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:53,720
Speaker 1: continued to open up on its own volition. Roger became

236
00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:57,200
Speaker 1: so irritated he eventually wasted it shut with a dressing

237
00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:01,080
Speaker 1: table and tied the latch with twine. When he came

238
00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:05,159
Speaker 1: down the following morning, however, the door was open again.

239
00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:10,520
Speaker 1: The dresser had somehow been moved back an inch, while

240
00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:13,600
Speaker 1: the twine was nothing but a pile of ripped shreds

241
00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:20,520
Speaker 1: on the floor. The odious smell had also returned. Determined

242
00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:23,320
Speaker 1: to find the cause of it, Roger emptied out the

243
00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:29,160
Speaker 1: entire pantry, but found nothing to account for it. Though

244
00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:32,760
Speaker 1: Roger decided not to tell Carolin about it, she too

245
00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:35,720
Speaker 1: had noticed the unusual way in which the pantry door

246
00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:40,520
Speaker 1: refused to stay shut, and the cellar door too, which

247
00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:43,800
Speaker 1: took to opening whenever she was alone in the parlor.

248
00:17:46,119 --> 00:17:50,040
Speaker 1: One night, having just got to sleep, Carolin was awoken

249
00:17:50,119 --> 00:17:53,040
Speaker 1: in the dark by the sound of a match being struck.

250
00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:58,320
Speaker 1: Unable to move or make a sound, Caroline had watched

251
00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:02,000
Speaker 1: with horror as sparks and flames began to rise high

252
00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:07,480
Speaker 1: into the air above her dresser, crackling with menace shooting

253
00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:10,720
Speaker 1: up in her bed. Seconds later, Caroline rushed to switch

254
00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:15,200
Speaker 1: on the light, staring in disbelief at the untouched dresser.

255
00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:18,600
Speaker 1: It was only then that she realized it had been

256
00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:29,240
Speaker 1: nothing but a dream. Unable to ignore the signs any longer,

257
00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:36,080
Speaker 1: Caroline had had enough. Samuel oliveson, the Peron's lawyer, had

258
00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:39,080
Speaker 1: barely arrived at his desk when Caroline's call came in

259
00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:43,560
Speaker 1: first thing that morning. Having not felt able to speak

260
00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:46,160
Speaker 1: to Roger about it since he would never believe her,

261
00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:50,879
Speaker 1: Caroline was soon pouring it all out to Sam, detailing

262
00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:54,479
Speaker 1: everything from the near miss with the scythe the strange

263
00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:57,480
Speaker 1: incident with the coat hanger, and about all the cold

264
00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:02,920
Speaker 1: spots and doors opening and closed us on their own past.

265
00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:06,160
Speaker 1: Caring how she might sound, it was with some surprise

266
00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:10,360
Speaker 1: when Sam replied simply that it sounded as though her

267
00:19:10,359 --> 00:19:16,719
Speaker 1: house was haunted. As it turned out, Sam also believed

268
00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:19,879
Speaker 1: his own house to be haunted, and he promised to

269
00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:25,359
Speaker 1: do whatever he could to help. When Roger returned from

270
00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:28,760
Speaker 1: work the next day, Caroline had no choice but to

271
00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:31,520
Speaker 1: tell him she had instructed Sam to see if there

272
00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:33,720
Speaker 1: was a way to back out of the house. Purchase.

273
00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:40,840
Speaker 1: Roger was understandably taken aback, but Caroline insisted, not caring

274
00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:44,040
Speaker 1: if he believed her or not, that something bad was

275
00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:49,440
Speaker 1: happening in their home. What's more, their neighbor knew it too,

276
00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:53,600
Speaker 1: said Caroline, going on to explain the peculiar thing that

277
00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:57,040
Speaker 1: missus Pettigrew had said about the way mister Kenyon used

278
00:19:57,040 --> 00:20:02,879
Speaker 1: to keep all the lights on. Roger's eyes widened. What

279
00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:06,919
Speaker 1: is it, asked Caroline. It was just as mister Kenyon

280
00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:11,560
Speaker 1: had said to him, Roger explained, shortly before they moved in,

281
00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:15,160
Speaker 1: that they should keep the lights on for the family's sake.

282
00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:20,800
Speaker 1: Then Roger thought back to the incident with the pantry door,

283
00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:27,000
Speaker 1: the unusual smells and cold spots he'd noticed. Despite all

284
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:31,280
Speaker 1: his better judgment, he realized then that Caroline might not

285
00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:36,840
Speaker 1: be completely mistaken. Perhaps the house was haunted after all.

286
00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:44,879
Speaker 1: A few nights later, Roger and Caroline returned home after

287
00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:48,439
Speaker 1: a rare night out together, and, after first checking on

288
00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:53,160
Speaker 1: the children, made their way to bed. A few hours later.

289
00:20:54,000 --> 00:21:02,960
Speaker 1: The couple were fast asleep. At some point, Caroline awoke

290
00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,840
Speaker 1: in the dark with the sense that some one was

291
00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:09,919
Speaker 1: walking through the bedroom, assuming it to be one of

292
00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:14,320
Speaker 1: her daughters. Caroline, half awake, asked if they were okay,

293
00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:19,119
Speaker 1: but strangely got no reply. It was then that she

294
00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:22,280
Speaker 1: realized it wasn't a child standing in the middle of

295
00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:27,280
Speaker 1: the room, but the figure of a woman. Just like before,

296
00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:32,560
Speaker 1: Caroline found herself suddenly paralyzed, unable to move or scream

297
00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:36,520
Speaker 1: for help. As the figure moved closer and closer to

298
00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:41,199
Speaker 1: the bed, Despite being unable to look directly at it,

299
00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:45,240
Speaker 1: Caroline had the distinct impression that its clothes were old

300
00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:48,560
Speaker 1: fashioned and fastened at the waist with a large belt.

301
00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:53,720
Speaker 1: Having no feet, it seemed to float over the ground.

302
00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:59,360
Speaker 1: Its face was completely featureless, But what was most terrifying

303
00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:03,040
Speaker 1: for Caroline was the odd position of the head, bent

304
00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:06,520
Speaker 1: sideways at a ninety degree angle, as if it had

305
00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:12,120
Speaker 1: once been badly broken. As it continued getting closer and closer,

306
00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:16,400
Speaker 1: Caroline was sure she could smell something akin to rotting flesh.

307
00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:23,120
Speaker 1: When suddenly it was gone, snapping out from whatever had

308
00:22:23,119 --> 00:22:26,720
Speaker 1: had her in its grip, Caroline tore downstairs to the parlor,

309
00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:31,160
Speaker 1: not even taking the time to wake her husband. Hurriedly

310
00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:34,760
Speaker 1: lighting a fire, she grabbed a notebook and quickly made

311
00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:38,439
Speaker 1: a record of exactly what she'd seen, even including a

312
00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:48,080
Speaker 1: sketch of the apparent figure she had encountered, more convinced

313
00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:51,920
Speaker 1: than ever that she was right to contact Sam. Caroline

314
00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:55,080
Speaker 1: sat in the kitchen the next day, running everything over

315
00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:59,480
Speaker 1: in her mind. With any luck, they could be gone

316
00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:01,840
Speaker 1: before her children had any sense of what had been

317
00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,520
Speaker 1: going on. Having to keep it all from them had,

318
00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:11,320
Speaker 1: no doubt, only added to her stress. Just then, Andrea appeared,

319
00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:17,480
Speaker 1: catching Caroline by surprise. She was holding her mother's notebook.

320
00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:22,240
Speaker 1: Caroline snatched it from her, but knew immediately it was

321
00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:28,040
Speaker 1: too late. Mom asked her daughter, is our house haunted?

322
00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:33,520
Speaker 1: Caroline drew a sharp breath, taking a moment to decide

323
00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:38,160
Speaker 1: how best to answer, But before she could, Andrea continued,

324
00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:45,280
Speaker 1: because this woman you describe, I've seen her too. It

325
00:23:45,359 --> 00:23:48,720
Speaker 1: was only then that Andrea proceeded to tell her everything

326
00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:52,680
Speaker 1: about what had apparently been going on since the very

327
00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:57,480
Speaker 1: first day they had moved in. It had started slowly,

328
00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:01,680
Speaker 1: with a few strange sightings the tall figure that Nancy

329
00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:06,160
Speaker 1: and Cynthia had seen standing in the shadows. Each would

330
00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:08,840
Speaker 1: see him out of the corner of their eye, looking

331
00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,960
Speaker 1: up just in time to catch him receding back into

332
00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:17,440
Speaker 1: the dark before disappearing altogether. They had even given him

333
00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:23,160
Speaker 1: a name, calling him Mannie. Not long after they'd moved in,

334
00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:26,720
Speaker 1: the girls began playing a game in which they pretended

335
00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:30,200
Speaker 1: to be at school, with Andrea as the teacher, using

336
00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:34,639
Speaker 1: her small chalkboard to give the lessons. By then, the

337
00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:37,560
Speaker 1: girls had grown unsettled by the peculiar things that they'd

338
00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:40,959
Speaker 1: been experiencing, so would only go to the toilet together.

339
00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:44,640
Speaker 1: Each time they would go, in the middle of the game,

340
00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:47,479
Speaker 1: they would return to find the writing on the board

341
00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:53,240
Speaker 1: had been mysteriously smudged out. Soon the girls were noticing

342
00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:56,919
Speaker 1: toys going missing or just being moved about when they

343
00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:02,080
Speaker 1: weren't looking. It wasn't long after that that their beds

344
00:25:02,119 --> 00:25:06,200
Speaker 1: had started shaking in the middle of the night, followed

345
00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,439
Speaker 1: by the moving about of shadows in their room and

346
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:15,680
Speaker 1: the hearing of disembodied voices whispering in the dark. Nancy

347
00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:19,320
Speaker 1: had also heard footsteps moving about at night and stopping

348
00:25:19,359 --> 00:25:23,960
Speaker 1: at her door, whilst Cynthia was convinced that something seemed

349
00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:26,880
Speaker 1: to kiss them good night shortly before they went to bed.

350
00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:30,960
Speaker 1: Most of them claimed to have seen a ghostly child

351
00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:35,439
Speaker 1: moving about whenever the twilight hour was upon them, and

352
00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:38,879
Speaker 1: all of them had seen the terrifying figure with the

353
00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:43,840
Speaker 1: bent neck. These encounters would prove to be only the

354
00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:46,879
Speaker 1: beginning of what some members of the Prone family claimed

355
00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:49,800
Speaker 1: to be an extensive haunting of their newly purchased home

356
00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:54,720
Speaker 1: that continued for many years. As some listeners may be aware,

357
00:25:55,359 --> 00:25:58,920
Speaker 1: the porn story would later form the basis for The Conjuring,

358
00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:03,880
Speaker 1: the two thirteen film directed by James One. We will

359
00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:07,359
Speaker 1: explore this and other elements of the story in next

360
00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:16,800
Speaker 1: week's Unexplained Extra. If you enjoy listening to Unexplained and

361
00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:19,239
Speaker 1: would like to help support us, you can now go

362
00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:24,720
Speaker 1: to Unexplained podcast dot com, Forward slash support. All donations,

363
00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:30,160
Speaker 1: no matter how large or small, are massively appreciating. All

364
00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:33,919
Speaker 1: elements of Unexplained are produced by me Richard McClain smith.

365
00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:37,920
Speaker 1: Please subscribe and rate the show on iTunes, and feel

366
00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:40,360
Speaker 1: free to get in touch with any thoughts or ideas

367
00:26:40,359 --> 00:26:43,919
Speaker 1: regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you

368
00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:46,200
Speaker 1: have an explanation of your own you'd like to share.

369
00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:51,560
Speaker 1: You can reach us online at Unexplained podcast dot com,

370
00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:56,760
Speaker 1: or Twitter at Unexplained Pod and Facebook at Facebook dot com.

371
00:26:56,880 --> 00:27:10,360
Speaker 1: Forward slash Unexplained. Now, it's time to take care of yourself,

372
00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:14,560
Speaker 1: to make time for you. Teledoc gives you access to

373
00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:17,760
Speaker 1: a licensed therapist to help you get back to feeling

374
00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:21,520
Speaker 1: your best. Speak to a licensed therapist by phone or

375
00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:25,480
Speaker 1: video anytime between seven am to nine pm local time,

376
00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:29,840
Speaker 1: seven days a week. Teledoc Therapy is available through most

377
00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:34,200
Speaker 1: insurance or employers. Download the app, or visit teledoc dot

378
00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:38,960
Speaker 1: com Forward slash Unexplained podcast Today to get started. That's

379
00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:43,119
Speaker 1: t e l a d oc dot com slash Unexplained

380
00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:43,720
Speaker 1: podcast