WEBVTT - S04 Episode 14: Negative Space

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<v Speaker 1>Mister Kenyon was waiting by the barn as the family

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<v Speaker 1>drove up in their large Bonneville, with Caroline and Roger

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<v Speaker 1>in the front and their five young girls, Andrea, Nancy, Christine,

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<v Speaker 1>Cynthia and April squeezed into the back. As they drew closer,

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<v Speaker 1>the girl's eyes widened with excitement at the sheer size

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<v Speaker 1>of the place and its illustrious grounds. Parking up a

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<v Speaker 1>moment later, the elderly mister Kenyon helped the young ones

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<v Speaker 1>from the back before inviting them to head off and play.

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<v Speaker 1>Laughing as one after the other, they bolted gleefully out

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<v Speaker 1>of the car. Caroline then got out and greeted the

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<v Speaker 1>owner warmly before introducing him to her husband, Roger. Ah,

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<v Speaker 1>so this is the one we have to press, is it? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>let's get to it, said Kenyon. The Grand Farmhouse, one

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<v Speaker 1>of the original Providence plantations, had been built in the

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<v Speaker 1>seventeen thirties, with nine rooms, a barn, and over two

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<v Speaker 1>hundred acres of land, including a creek running through it.

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<v Speaker 1>It was some advance on the Peron's current home in

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<v Speaker 1>the suburbs of Cumberland, Rhode Island. The family had been

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<v Speaker 1>happy there until a series of troubling events had left

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<v Speaker 1>the thirty one year old Caroline concerned for her children's welfare.

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<v Speaker 1>Not long before, the family returned from a short break

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<v Speaker 1>to find their house had been ransacked and one of

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<v Speaker 1>their cats brutally killed. Though it was never proven, there

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<v Speaker 1>was good reason to believe the twelve year old son

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<v Speaker 1>of a next door neighbor had been responsible. When a

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<v Speaker 1>few months later, a driver suffering from a heart attack

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<v Speaker 1>totalled his truck on the Emily's lawn, Caroline couldn't shake

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<v Speaker 1>the distinct feeling that someone was trying to tell them something,

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<v Speaker 1>though she knew in truth there was virtually no chance

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<v Speaker 1>they could ever afford this place. From the moment she

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<v Speaker 1>had first seen it, having decided to view it on

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<v Speaker 1>a whim a few weeks previously, she hadn't been able

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<v Speaker 1>to forget about it. For thirty five year old Roger,

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<v Speaker 1>there'd been no question of whether they could buy it,

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<v Speaker 1>But happy to indulge his wife's fantasy, he agreed to

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<v Speaker 1>at least take a look at it for himself. Now

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<v Speaker 1>finally standing before it, he took a moment to admire

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<v Speaker 1>the garden, the way the tall pines and maple trees

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<v Speaker 1>shrouded the house and the expansive lawn stretching out in

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<v Speaker 1>front of it, running all the way down to the creek.

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<v Speaker 1>He had to give his wife one thing at least,

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<v Speaker 1>he thought it certainly was impressive. By the end of

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<v Speaker 1>the day, after viewing the inside of the house and

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<v Speaker 1>imagining their lives spent together there inside its four walls,

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<v Speaker 1>the kids were in no doubt about what they wanted,

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<v Speaker 1>and even Roger had come round the idea. Looking back

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<v Speaker 1>on it many years later, you could say it felt

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<v Speaker 1>that day to the family as if the very house

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<v Speaker 1>itself had called them. There you're listening to unexplained, and

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Richard mc lean smith. It would take some serious

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<v Speaker 1>scrimping on the family's part, but encouraged by mister Kenyon,

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<v Speaker 1>who agreed to hold out for them, Slowly but surely,

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<v Speaker 1>they found the money. Finally, in mid December nineteen seventy,

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<v Speaker 1>Caroline and Roger closed on the house. Shortly after the

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<v Speaker 1>new year, the family of seven made the two hour

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<v Speaker 1>drive west to Harrisville, accompanied by a removals truck, to

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<v Speaker 1>take possession of the farm. It was a little colder

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<v Speaker 1>arriving that January morning compared to the last time they

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<v Speaker 1>had visited. A recent storm had carpeted the ground with snow,

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<v Speaker 1>whilst all around many of the trees had been reduced

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<v Speaker 1>to sparse, skeletal branches. The main house itself, however, was

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<v Speaker 1>as grand as it had ever been. Mister Kenyon was

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<v Speaker 1>waiting for them again when they pulled up to it,

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<v Speaker 1>glad to have caught the family before he left. Having

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<v Speaker 1>greeted them, Kenyon nodded toward Roger and suggested the two

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<v Speaker 1>of them take a quick walk. Sensing he wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>talk to Roger alone. Caroline told the girls to run

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<v Speaker 1>ahead and pick their rooms as she set about unloading

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<v Speaker 1>the truck. Roger sensed a little hesitancy in Kenyon as

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<v Speaker 1>they headed out into the snow. In the end, the

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<v Speaker 1>conversation was brief, little more than a quick offering of

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<v Speaker 1>luck for the future, telling Roger again how glad he

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<v Speaker 1>was that it was his family that got the house.

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<v Speaker 1>Then the man went quiet for a moment and looked

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<v Speaker 1>back toward it. There's just one thing, he said, for

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<v Speaker 1>the sake of your family, you must leave the lights

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<v Speaker 1>on at night, And with that Kenyon wished him luck again,

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<v Speaker 1>then headed off toward his car. The first six weeks

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<v Speaker 1>were a steep learning curve, getting used to being so

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<v Speaker 1>far out in the country, but also learning just how

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<v Speaker 1>hard it can be to keep such a large building warm.

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<v Speaker 1>Things had not been made easier by the severe snowstorm

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<v Speaker 1>that had blown in shortly after they arrived, nor that,

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<v Speaker 1>for some unknown reason, all the fireplaces had been carefully

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<v Speaker 1>blocked up. It was especially taxing for Carolyn, since, with

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<v Speaker 1>Roger spending most of the week away for work, it

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<v Speaker 1>had fallen mostly on her to get the family settled

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<v Speaker 1>in before long. However, with the young girls reveling in

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<v Speaker 1>their new bedrooms and endless garden, the families soon began

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<v Speaker 1>to make the house their home, as the oldest, twelve

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<v Speaker 1>year old Andrea, had been granted a room of her own,

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<v Speaker 1>with the other four ten year old Nancy, nine year

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<v Speaker 1>old Christine, seven year old Cynthia, and five year old

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<v Speaker 1>April sharing two bedrooms between them. Carolyn had been amazed

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<v Speaker 1>at how quickly they adjusted to their new surroundings, grateful

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<v Speaker 1>for the ease in which she had been able to

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<v Speaker 1>enroll them in the local school, as she watched them

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<v Speaker 1>playing about the house on weekends, laughing as they sledged

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<v Speaker 1>down the front lawn and fantasizing about the animals they

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<v Speaker 1>might bring to live with. It was clear they'd made

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<v Speaker 1>the right decision, but all that was about to change.

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<v Speaker 1>During the week, with four of the girls at school,

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<v Speaker 1>April and Caroline were often the only people in the house,

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<v Speaker 1>so when Caroline was chopping vegetables one afternoon, it was

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<v Speaker 1>natural to assume the noise of something moving around upstairs

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<v Speaker 1>was just her five year old daughter. Smiling at the

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<v Speaker 1>thought of her daughter playing with her toys, Caroline had

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<v Speaker 1>just heard another loud creak from the floorboards above when

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<v Speaker 1>she turned in shock to see April standing in the

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<v Speaker 1>kitchen doorway that very same moment, Mummy, she said, are

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<v Speaker 1>you okay? Caroline looked at her daughter in disbelief, then

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<v Speaker 1>back at the spot above her where those creaks had

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<v Speaker 1>come from. Stay close to me, o kay. April was confused,

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<v Speaker 1>but did as her mother asked, staying right behind her

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<v Speaker 1>as she headed upstairs and proceeded to check inside every

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<v Speaker 1>room to make sure there wasn't an intruder in the house.

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<v Speaker 1>Finding no one there, Caroline laughed to herself at how

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<v Speaker 1>silly she was being. What is it, asked April, don't worry,

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<v Speaker 1>said her mother. I'm just hearing things. That's okay, I

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<v Speaker 1>hear things all the time, said April casually. Caroline looked

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<v Speaker 1>at her daughter for a moment. What kind of things,

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<v Speaker 1>she asked, Nothing, really, just people walking about. Later that afternoon,

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<v Speaker 1>in the parlor, as April slept beside her on the sofa,

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<v Speaker 1>Caroline certain she felt a sudden chill in the room,

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<v Speaker 1>followed by the sensation of something moving past her. When

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<v Speaker 1>she took a sip of her coffee a second later,

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<v Speaker 1>she was surprised to find it completely cold. When Roger

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<v Speaker 1>returned from a work trip that evening, he found Caroline

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<v Speaker 1>oddly despondent. After tucking the children into bed, the couple

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<v Speaker 1>retired to the parlor as a heavy storm batted the

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<v Speaker 1>house from outside. Sensing Roger's growing frustration with her, Caroline

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<v Speaker 1>finally plucked up the courage to say what was on

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<v Speaker 1>her mind, telling him that something didn't feel quite right

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<v Speaker 1>in the house. As she went on to detail a

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<v Speaker 1>number of peculiar events from the last few days, Roger

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<v Speaker 1>sat in stunned silence. Surely she couldn't think the house

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<v Speaker 1>was genuinely haunted, he thought, trying his best to comfort Caroline,

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<v Speaker 1>Roger suggested that perhaps it was nothing more than the

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<v Speaker 1>effects of being in such an old and large building.

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<v Speaker 1>Caroline nodded in agreement, hoping he was right. But there

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<v Speaker 1>was one other story that she hadn't told him. It

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<v Speaker 1>happened a few weeks after moving in, when Caroline had

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<v Speaker 1>gone out to inspect the barn, Finding it emptied of

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<v Speaker 1>all mister Kenyon's things, it had seemed a much more

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<v Speaker 1>expansive and eerie place than she'd remembered. Just as she

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<v Speaker 1>was about to head back to the house, she heard

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<v Speaker 1>a rustling above her head, which was followed by the

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<v Speaker 1>appearance of an old scythe flying down from out of

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<v Speaker 1>the rafters. Ducking away at the last minute, the blade

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<v Speaker 1>struck her on the shoulder before clattering to the ground.

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<v Speaker 1>Looking at her jacket in utter disbelief, she found it

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<v Speaker 1>had been partially sliced open by bray. The cold snap

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<v Speaker 1>had passed and the snow and ice was finally beginning

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<v Speaker 1>to recede. However, for Caroline, the incessant cold was beginning

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<v Speaker 1>to wear her down. One bright morning that month, mister

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<v Speaker 1>Kenyon returned to check in on the family as he

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<v Speaker 1>and Caroline caught up over coffee. Caroline steered the conversation

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<v Speaker 1>toward the issue of the fireplaces, wondering whether it would

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<v Speaker 1>be okay to unblock some of them to help warm

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<v Speaker 1>up the house. Mister Kenyon paused for a moment, seeming

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<v Speaker 1>unsure about what to say exactly, before quickly changing the subject,

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<v Speaker 1>going on to tell a story about two unfortunate men

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<v Speaker 1>from the early eighteen hundreds. The men had set out

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<v Speaker 1>from nearby Webster, a town located fifteen miles away, hoping

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<v Speaker 1>to walk to Harrisville, when a violent blizzard had whipped

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<v Speaker 1>up unexpectedly around them. Realizing they were in trouble, the

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<v Speaker 1>men were said to have sought shelter underneath a blacksmith's

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<v Speaker 1>shop that had once stood on the grounds of the

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<v Speaker 1>Peron's house. They had both frozen to death that night.

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<v Speaker 1>It wouldn't be until long after mister Kenyon had passed

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<v Speaker 1>away himself that Caroline considered the fact that perhaps, in

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<v Speaker 1>some way he hadn't changed the subject at all. One morning,

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<v Speaker 1>soon after Kenyon's visit, Caroline took a crow bar to

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<v Speaker 1>the paneling over the fireplace in the parlor and wrenched

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<v Speaker 1>it free. From the wall. As she pulled, a sudden

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<v Speaker 1>gust of wind was unleased from beyond, as if something

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<v Speaker 1>vast had just exhaled from the depths of its lungs.

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<v Speaker 1>Moments later, she was stood in front of a crumbling

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<v Speaker 1>but beautiful ornate fireplace. Finding the chimney stuffed with bricks, plaster,

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<v Speaker 1>and newspaper, Caroline and April sent the best part of

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<v Speaker 1>the afternoon clearing it out until finally they had a

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<v Speaker 1>working fire. Later that day, with the rest of the

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<v Speaker 1>children having returned from school, Caroline was taking a shower

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<v Speaker 1>when the doorbell rang. It was their neighbor, Missus Pettigrew,

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<v Speaker 1>with a freshly baked cake, to welcome the family into

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<v Speaker 1>their new home. After inviting her in, oldest daughter Andrea,

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<v Speaker 1>headed upstairs to let her mum know that Missus Pettigrew

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<v Speaker 1>was waiting for her. When she opened the bathroom door,

0:13:41.280 --> 0:13:44.800
<v Speaker 1>Caroline let out a scream as a coat hanger appeared

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<v Speaker 1>to leap unaided from the wall and hit her in

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<v Speaker 1>the head. When the rest of the girls arrived to

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<v Speaker 1>check everything was okay, Caroline insisted that all was well

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<v Speaker 1>and ushered them back downstairs. Later, having thanked Missus pettigrew

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<v Speaker 1>for the cake. Caroline was just seeing her at the

0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:09.640
<v Speaker 1>door when the neighbor mentioned something a little peculiar. It

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<v Speaker 1>was strange, she said, to see so few lights on

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<v Speaker 1>in the house when she drove up to it. Earlier,

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<v Speaker 1>back when mister Kenyon owned it, she would often see

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<v Speaker 1>the whole place lit up at night, even from the

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<v Speaker 1>distance of the main road. Not knowing quite what to

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<v Speaker 1>make of that, Caroline thanked her neighbor again for the

0:14:30.080 --> 0:14:37.440
<v Speaker 1>cake and quietly closed the door behind her. Are you

0:14:37.520 --> 0:14:40.400
<v Speaker 1>always taking care of your family? Do you often take

0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:43.400
<v Speaker 1>care of others and not yourself? Now it's time to

0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:46.560
<v Speaker 1>take care of yourself, to make time for you. You

0:14:46.680 --> 0:14:49.400
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<v Speaker 1>Unexplained podcast today to get started. That's teladoc dot com

0:15:39.600 --> 0:15:48.080
<v Speaker 1>slash Unexplained podcast. Returning from another work trip a few

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<v Speaker 1>weeks later, Roger was overjoyed by the sight of the

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<v Speaker 1>old fireplace that Carolyn had worked hard to recover, so

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<v Speaker 1>much so that he took the following week off to

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<v Speaker 1>help her restore it. It was on the last day,

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<v Speaker 1>as they were just applying the final touches, that they

0:16:05.320 --> 0:16:10.160
<v Speaker 1>heard a clicking sound behind them. Turning around, they both

0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:13.560
<v Speaker 1>watched with confusion as the door for the pantry, which

0:16:13.640 --> 0:16:17.520
<v Speaker 1>lay just off the parlor, swung open on its own accord.

0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:21.800
<v Speaker 1>Assuming it to be little more than a change in

0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:25.760
<v Speaker 1>the air pressure, Roger moved toward the door, only to

0:16:25.800 --> 0:16:29.160
<v Speaker 1>be struck by the stench of something rotting coming from

0:16:29.200 --> 0:16:34.480
<v Speaker 1>behind it. Finding nothing untoward, however, he quietly pushed the

0:16:34.520 --> 0:16:39.960
<v Speaker 1>door back and lashed it shut. Over the next few days,

0:16:40.040 --> 0:16:43.800
<v Speaker 1>Caroline delighted in finally having a working fire, keeping it

0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:48.480
<v Speaker 1>lit most of the day. Oddly, however, the pantry door

0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:53.720
<v Speaker 1>continued to open up on its own volition. Roger became

0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:57.200
<v Speaker 1>so irritated he eventually wasted it shut with a dressing

0:16:57.240 --> 0:17:01.080
<v Speaker 1>table and tied the latch with twine. When he came

0:17:01.080 --> 0:17:05.159
<v Speaker 1>down the following morning, however, the door was open again.

0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:10.520
<v Speaker 1>The dresser had somehow been moved back an inch, while

0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:13.600
<v Speaker 1>the twine was nothing but a pile of ripped shreds

0:17:13.600 --> 0:17:20.520
<v Speaker 1>on the floor. The odious smell had also returned. Determined

0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:23.320
<v Speaker 1>to find the cause of it, Roger emptied out the

0:17:23.480 --> 0:17:29.160
<v Speaker 1>entire pantry, but found nothing to account for it. Though

0:17:29.240 --> 0:17:32.760
<v Speaker 1>Roger decided not to tell Carolin about it, she too

0:17:32.800 --> 0:17:35.720
<v Speaker 1>had noticed the unusual way in which the pantry door

0:17:35.960 --> 0:17:40.520
<v Speaker 1>refused to stay shut, and the cellar door too, which

0:17:40.560 --> 0:17:43.800
<v Speaker 1>took to opening whenever she was alone in the parlor.

0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:50.040
<v Speaker 1>One night, having just got to sleep, Carolin was awoken

0:17:50.119 --> 0:17:53.040
<v Speaker 1>in the dark by the sound of a match being struck.

0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:58.320
<v Speaker 1>Unable to move or make a sound, Caroline had watched

0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:02.000
<v Speaker 1>with horror as sparks and flames began to rise high

0:18:02.000 --> 0:18:07.480
<v Speaker 1>into the air above her dresser, crackling with menace shooting

0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:10.720
<v Speaker 1>up in her bed. Seconds later, Caroline rushed to switch

0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:15.200
<v Speaker 1>on the light, staring in disbelief at the untouched dresser.

0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:18.600
<v Speaker 1>It was only then that she realized it had been

0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:29.240
<v Speaker 1>nothing but a dream. Unable to ignore the signs any longer,

0:18:29.920 --> 0:18:36.080
<v Speaker 1>Caroline had had enough. Samuel oliveson, the Peron's lawyer, had

0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:39.080
<v Speaker 1>barely arrived at his desk when Caroline's call came in

0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:43.560
<v Speaker 1>first thing that morning. Having not felt able to speak

0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:46.160
<v Speaker 1>to Roger about it since he would never believe her,

0:18:46.720 --> 0:18:50.879
<v Speaker 1>Caroline was soon pouring it all out to Sam, detailing

0:18:50.920 --> 0:18:54.479
<v Speaker 1>everything from the near miss with the scythe the strange

0:18:54.480 --> 0:18:57.480
<v Speaker 1>incident with the coat hanger, and about all the cold

0:18:57.520 --> 0:19:02.920
<v Speaker 1>spots and doors opening and closed us on their own past.

0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:06.160
<v Speaker 1>Caring how she might sound, it was with some surprise

0:19:06.480 --> 0:19:10.360
<v Speaker 1>when Sam replied simply that it sounded as though her

0:19:10.359 --> 0:19:16.719
<v Speaker 1>house was haunted. As it turned out, Sam also believed

0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:19.879
<v Speaker 1>his own house to be haunted, and he promised to

0:19:19.920 --> 0:19:25.359
<v Speaker 1>do whatever he could to help. When Roger returned from

0:19:25.400 --> 0:19:28.760
<v Speaker 1>work the next day, Caroline had no choice but to

0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:31.520
<v Speaker 1>tell him she had instructed Sam to see if there

0:19:31.600 --> 0:19:33.720
<v Speaker 1>was a way to back out of the house. Purchase.

0:19:35.880 --> 0:19:40.840
<v Speaker 1>Roger was understandably taken aback, but Caroline insisted, not caring

0:19:40.880 --> 0:19:44.040
<v Speaker 1>if he believed her or not, that something bad was

0:19:44.080 --> 0:19:49.440
<v Speaker 1>happening in their home. What's more, their neighbor knew it too,

0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:53.600
<v Speaker 1>said Caroline, going on to explain the peculiar thing that

0:19:53.680 --> 0:19:57.040
<v Speaker 1>missus Pettigrew had said about the way mister Kenyon used

0:19:57.040 --> 0:20:02.879
<v Speaker 1>to keep all the lights on. Roger's eyes widened. What

0:20:03.119 --> 0:20:06.919
<v Speaker 1>is it, asked Caroline. It was just as mister Kenyon

0:20:06.960 --> 0:20:11.560
<v Speaker 1>had said to him, Roger explained, shortly before they moved in,

0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:15.160
<v Speaker 1>that they should keep the lights on for the family's sake.

0:20:17.040 --> 0:20:20.800
<v Speaker 1>Then Roger thought back to the incident with the pantry door,

0:20:21.720 --> 0:20:27.000
<v Speaker 1>the unusual smells and cold spots he'd noticed. Despite all

0:20:27.000 --> 0:20:31.280
<v Speaker 1>his better judgment, he realized then that Caroline might not

0:20:31.560 --> 0:20:36.840
<v Speaker 1>be completely mistaken. Perhaps the house was haunted after all.

0:20:41.119 --> 0:20:44.879
<v Speaker 1>A few nights later, Roger and Caroline returned home after

0:20:44.920 --> 0:20:48.439
<v Speaker 1>a rare night out together, and, after first checking on

0:20:48.480 --> 0:20:53.160
<v Speaker 1>the children, made their way to bed. A few hours later.

0:20:54.000 --> 0:21:02.960
<v Speaker 1>The couple were fast asleep. At some point, Caroline awoke

0:21:03.000 --> 0:21:05.840
<v Speaker 1>in the dark with the sense that some one was

0:21:05.920 --> 0:21:09.919
<v Speaker 1>walking through the bedroom, assuming it to be one of

0:21:09.960 --> 0:21:14.320
<v Speaker 1>her daughters. Caroline, half awake, asked if they were okay,

0:21:15.000 --> 0:21:19.119
<v Speaker 1>but strangely got no reply. It was then that she

0:21:19.200 --> 0:21:22.280
<v Speaker 1>realized it wasn't a child standing in the middle of

0:21:22.280 --> 0:21:27.280
<v Speaker 1>the room, but the figure of a woman. Just like before,

0:21:27.840 --> 0:21:32.560
<v Speaker 1>Caroline found herself suddenly paralyzed, unable to move or scream

0:21:32.640 --> 0:21:36.520
<v Speaker 1>for help. As the figure moved closer and closer to

0:21:36.600 --> 0:21:41.199
<v Speaker 1>the bed, Despite being unable to look directly at it,

0:21:41.960 --> 0:21:45.240
<v Speaker 1>Caroline had the distinct impression that its clothes were old

0:21:45.240 --> 0:21:48.560
<v Speaker 1>fashioned and fastened at the waist with a large belt.

0:21:50.080 --> 0:21:53.720
<v Speaker 1>Having no feet, it seemed to float over the ground.

0:21:54.200 --> 0:21:59.360
<v Speaker 1>Its face was completely featureless, But what was most terrifying

0:21:59.400 --> 0:22:03.040
<v Speaker 1>for Caroline was the odd position of the head, bent

0:22:03.119 --> 0:22:06.520
<v Speaker 1>sideways at a ninety degree angle, as if it had

0:22:06.520 --> 0:22:12.120
<v Speaker 1>once been badly broken. As it continued getting closer and closer,

0:22:12.720 --> 0:22:16.400
<v Speaker 1>Caroline was sure she could smell something akin to rotting flesh.

0:22:17.280 --> 0:22:23.120
<v Speaker 1>When suddenly it was gone, snapping out from whatever had

0:22:23.119 --> 0:22:26.720
<v Speaker 1>had her in its grip, Caroline tore downstairs to the parlor,

0:22:27.400 --> 0:22:31.160
<v Speaker 1>not even taking the time to wake her husband. Hurriedly

0:22:31.240 --> 0:22:34.760
<v Speaker 1>lighting a fire, she grabbed a notebook and quickly made

0:22:34.760 --> 0:22:38.439
<v Speaker 1>a record of exactly what she'd seen, even including a

0:22:38.480 --> 0:22:48.080
<v Speaker 1>sketch of the apparent figure she had encountered, more convinced

0:22:48.119 --> 0:22:51.920
<v Speaker 1>than ever that she was right to contact Sam. Caroline

0:22:51.960 --> 0:22:55.080
<v Speaker 1>sat in the kitchen the next day, running everything over

0:22:55.240 --> 0:22:59.480
<v Speaker 1>in her mind. With any luck, they could be gone

0:22:59.520 --> 0:23:01.840
<v Speaker 1>before her children had any sense of what had been

0:23:01.880 --> 0:23:05.520
<v Speaker 1>going on. Having to keep it all from them had,

0:23:05.520 --> 0:23:11.320
<v Speaker 1>no doubt, only added to her stress. Just then, Andrea appeared,

0:23:11.840 --> 0:23:17.480
<v Speaker 1>catching Caroline by surprise. She was holding her mother's notebook.

0:23:18.800 --> 0:23:22.240
<v Speaker 1>Caroline snatched it from her, but knew immediately it was

0:23:22.280 --> 0:23:28.040
<v Speaker 1>too late. Mom asked her daughter, is our house haunted?

0:23:29.680 --> 0:23:33.520
<v Speaker 1>Caroline drew a sharp breath, taking a moment to decide

0:23:33.520 --> 0:23:38.160
<v Speaker 1>how best to answer, But before she could, Andrea continued,

0:23:39.359 --> 0:23:45.280
<v Speaker 1>because this woman you describe, I've seen her too. It

0:23:45.359 --> 0:23:48.720
<v Speaker 1>was only then that Andrea proceeded to tell her everything

0:23:49.160 --> 0:23:52.680
<v Speaker 1>about what had apparently been going on since the very

0:23:52.720 --> 0:23:57.480
<v Speaker 1>first day they had moved in. It had started slowly,

0:23:57.640 --> 0:24:01.680
<v Speaker 1>with a few strange sightings the tall figure that Nancy

0:24:01.760 --> 0:24:06.160
<v Speaker 1>and Cynthia had seen standing in the shadows. Each would

0:24:06.160 --> 0:24:08.840
<v Speaker 1>see him out of the corner of their eye, looking

0:24:08.920 --> 0:24:11.960
<v Speaker 1>up just in time to catch him receding back into

0:24:11.960 --> 0:24:17.440
<v Speaker 1>the dark before disappearing altogether. They had even given him

0:24:17.440 --> 0:24:23.160
<v Speaker 1>a name, calling him Mannie. Not long after they'd moved in,

0:24:23.600 --> 0:24:26.720
<v Speaker 1>the girls began playing a game in which they pretended

0:24:26.760 --> 0:24:30.200
<v Speaker 1>to be at school, with Andrea as the teacher, using

0:24:30.200 --> 0:24:34.639
<v Speaker 1>her small chalkboard to give the lessons. By then, the

0:24:34.720 --> 0:24:37.560
<v Speaker 1>girls had grown unsettled by the peculiar things that they'd

0:24:37.560 --> 0:24:40.959
<v Speaker 1>been experiencing, so would only go to the toilet together.

0:24:42.400 --> 0:24:44.640
<v Speaker 1>Each time they would go, in the middle of the game,

0:24:45.160 --> 0:24:47.479
<v Speaker 1>they would return to find the writing on the board

0:24:47.800 --> 0:24:53.240
<v Speaker 1>had been mysteriously smudged out. Soon the girls were noticing

0:24:53.320 --> 0:24:56.919
<v Speaker 1>toys going missing or just being moved about when they

0:24:56.960 --> 0:25:02.080
<v Speaker 1>weren't looking. It wasn't long after that that their beds

0:25:02.119 --> 0:25:06.200
<v Speaker 1>had started shaking in the middle of the night, followed

0:25:06.200 --> 0:25:09.439
<v Speaker 1>by the moving about of shadows in their room and

0:25:09.520 --> 0:25:15.680
<v Speaker 1>the hearing of disembodied voices whispering in the dark. Nancy

0:25:15.760 --> 0:25:19.320
<v Speaker 1>had also heard footsteps moving about at night and stopping

0:25:19.359 --> 0:25:23.960
<v Speaker 1>at her door, whilst Cynthia was convinced that something seemed

0:25:23.960 --> 0:25:26.880
<v Speaker 1>to kiss them good night shortly before they went to bed.

0:25:28.400 --> 0:25:30.960
<v Speaker 1>Most of them claimed to have seen a ghostly child

0:25:31.040 --> 0:25:35.439
<v Speaker 1>moving about whenever the twilight hour was upon them, and

0:25:35.560 --> 0:25:38.879
<v Speaker 1>all of them had seen the terrifying figure with the

0:25:38.920 --> 0:25:43.840
<v Speaker 1>bent neck. These encounters would prove to be only the

0:25:43.880 --> 0:25:46.879
<v Speaker 1>beginning of what some members of the Prone family claimed

0:25:46.920 --> 0:25:49.800
<v Speaker 1>to be an extensive haunting of their newly purchased home

0:25:50.320 --> 0:25:54.720
<v Speaker 1>that continued for many years. As some listeners may be aware,

0:25:55.359 --> 0:25:58.920
<v Speaker 1>the porn story would later form the basis for The Conjuring,

0:25:59.440 --> 0:26:03.880
<v Speaker 1>the two thirteen film directed by James One. We will

0:26:03.920 --> 0:26:07.359
<v Speaker 1>explore this and other elements of the story in next

0:26:07.400 --> 0:26:16.800
<v Speaker 1>week's Unexplained Extra. If you enjoy listening to Unexplained and

0:26:16.840 --> 0:26:19.239
<v Speaker 1>would like to help support us, you can now go

0:26:19.320 --> 0:26:24.720
<v Speaker 1>to Unexplained podcast dot com, Forward slash support. All donations,

0:26:24.920 --> 0:26:30.160
<v Speaker 1>no matter how large or small, are massively appreciating. All

0:26:30.160 --> 0:26:33.919
<v Speaker 1>elements of Unexplained are produced by me Richard McClain smith.

0:26:34.720 --> 0:26:37.920
<v Speaker 1>Please subscribe and rate the show on iTunes, and feel

0:26:37.920 --> 0:26:40.360
<v Speaker 1>free to get in touch with any thoughts or ideas

0:26:40.359 --> 0:26:43.919
<v Speaker 1>regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you

0:26:43.960 --> 0:26:46.200
<v Speaker 1>have an explanation of your own you'd like to share.

0:26:47.600 --> 0:26:51.560
<v Speaker 1>You can reach us online at Unexplained podcast dot com,

0:26:51.680 --> 0:26:56.760
<v Speaker 1>or Twitter at Unexplained Pod and Facebook at Facebook dot com.

0:26:56.880 --> 0:27:10.360
<v Speaker 1>Forward slash Unexplained. Now, it's time to take care of yourself,

0:27:10.800 --> 0:27:14.560
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