1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:03,559 Speaker 1: Good evening, Europe. This is the North American continent live 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:07,600 Speaker 1: via a T and T Telstar July twenty third, nineteen 3 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:11,720 Speaker 1: sixty two, three pm Eastern Daylights. Are convinced that the 4 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 1: ability to portray immediacy, to realize what's new, what's going on, 5 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:20,279 Speaker 1: is the true significance of this new communications bridge. These 6 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,079 Speaker 1: first eighteen minutes will attempt to show you a few 7 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: of the things that are going on right now on 8 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:29,639 Speaker 1: the North American cope. We have just been informed that 9 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:34,159 Speaker 1: this baseball game is being seen in Europe right now 10 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:39,960 Speaker 1: over the Telstar satellite. Let's give all the baseball friends 11 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:53,560 Speaker 1: in Europe a big hello from Chicago. And so began 12 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: on July twenty third, nineteen sixty two, the first live 13 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: transatlantic broadcast beamed courtesy of the newly launched Tellstar's satellite 14 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:08,320 Speaker 1: into millions of homes across the United States and Europe. 15 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: For those able to tune in and watch the momentous occasion, 16 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 1: it was impossible to escape the giddy's sensation that they 17 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:20,560 Speaker 1: were witnessing something of the world changing forever right in 18 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: front of their eyes. As tellst our engineer James Early 19 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 1: later remarked, the moment revealed unmistakably that all of humanity 20 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: were members of a single global community. Of course, not 21 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 1: all of humanity would necessarily have felt themselves reflected in 22 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 1: those first few images, let alone all of those who 23 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 1: made up the respective populations of the nations receiving them. 24 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: But certainly never before could an awareness of the simultaneous 25 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: existence of distant others with which we share the planet 26 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: being so profoundly felt. It was an ironic turn of 27 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: events in some ways, since both the United States and 28 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 1: the Soviet Union's space programs, which led directly to the 29 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:12,800 Speaker 1: development of satellite technology, had been initiated by those in 30 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:17,799 Speaker 1: power not for a collective benefit, but rather to foster 31 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 1: a respective sense of superiority over the other. And yet 32 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:27,960 Speaker 1: here embodied in the revolutionary Tellstar satellite was not a 33 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: tool of division, but one of unity. Almost inadvertently, we 34 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: had been given what remains today one of our greatest 35 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: mechanisms for communication, and one that ultimately enabled us, for 36 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:53,919 Speaker 1: the first time, to really see each other. The Telstar 37 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,080 Speaker 1: satellite was very much a tool worthy of the spirit 38 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: of the age, and one that perhaps could have come 39 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:05,400 Speaker 1: soon enough. Barely four months after its launch, the Soviet 40 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:08,960 Speaker 1: Union and United States governments brought the world to the 41 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: brink of nuclear war. For this was the nineteen sixties, 42 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: a wildly turbulent decade characterized by complex and often violent 43 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 1: social upheaval on a global scale, of multiple nations forging 44 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: new identities from the ashes of the Second World War, 45 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 1: with many having only recently been unshackled superficially at least 46 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: from the bonds of colonialism. Its strange mix of animus 47 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 1: and optimism being no less than the reflections of an 48 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 1: entire planet grappling with its future, and everything was up 49 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: for grabs. It was also a decade when younger generations 50 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 1: felt more empowered than ever before to genuinely challenge the 51 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: status quos of old, whether it be through the music 52 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:07,120 Speaker 1: of the day, the proliferation of recreational drugs, or ordinary 53 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: political protest. A decade when swathes of teenagers and young adults, 54 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: using whatever tools they could, took one collective look at 55 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: the world they had inherited and said no, thank you. 56 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 1: Perhaps it was fitting then that the person who would 57 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 1: deliver the first official address on live satellite TV during 58 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:35,159 Speaker 1: that July twenty third broadcast would be President John F. Kennedy, 59 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:40,719 Speaker 1: the youngest ever American president elected to office. His message 60 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 1: to the world that day was very much in keeping 61 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: with the spirit of communication epitomized by Telstar, as he 62 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:51,680 Speaker 1: celebrated the power of this new technology to potentially bring 63 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: us closer together. Sadly, in a turn of events that 64 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:01,720 Speaker 1: couldn't better encapsulate the tragedy of the human experience, Barely 65 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 1: eight months after Telstar's launch, this mighty symbol of unity 66 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 1: was destroyed by the radioactive fallout from a high altitude 67 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:18,080 Speaker 1: nuclear weapons test. But it was ever Thus we rise, 68 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: we fall, we rise again, and so too did the 69 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: Telstar when in May nineteen sixty three, its second incarnation, 70 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: Telstar two, was launched into orbit. By the autumn of 71 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: sixty three, a total of thirteen satellites had been successfully 72 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:43,720 Speaker 1: placed in orbit around the globe, though small in comparison 73 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: to today's models, if you happened to be gazing up 74 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 1: at the right time on a clear enough evening, you 75 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:53,800 Speaker 1: might just have caught the odd sight of one drifting 76 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: strangely in the sky, like a star suddenly loosened from 77 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 1: its moorings. Such a sighting at the time would none 78 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:06,240 Speaker 1: the less have been a rare occurrence, and one that 79 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:09,279 Speaker 1: no doubt had many of those who might have glimpsed one, 80 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:12,919 Speaker 1: perhaps believing it wasn't a satellite they had just witnessed, 81 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 1: but something a little more other worldly instead. At least 82 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:21,760 Speaker 1: that was one of the many suggestions put forward to 83 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: explain a sighting of an apparent UFO made by four 84 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 1: British teenagers on their way home from a dance one 85 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 1: November evening and sixty three. Such a suggestion, however, barely 86 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: scratches the surface of just what exactly happened. Next, you're 87 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:54,800 Speaker 1: listening to Unexplained, and I'm Richard McClane Smith. The village 88 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,440 Speaker 1: of Saltwood, in the southeast of England, located less than 89 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:02,160 Speaker 1: a kilometer north of the Kent Coast, is perhaps best 90 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 1: known for its eponymous castle, built some time in the 91 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: eleventh century CE. It was insult with castle on one 92 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: cold night in December eleven hundred and seventy that four 93 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:19,000 Speaker 1: knights of the Realm, Sir Hugh de Morville, Reginald Fitzurs, 94 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: William de Tracy and Richard le Breton, took lodgings on 95 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 1: the eve of committing the most infamous assassination in British history. 96 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,720 Speaker 1: The following day, the four Knights made their way to 97 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 1: Canterbury Cathedral under orders from King Henry the Second to 98 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 1: apprehend then Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Beckett, who was accused 99 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 1: of undermining the King's recent efforts to limit the powers 100 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 1: of the church. When Beckett refused to accept the Knight's 101 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 1: authority to arrest him, they responded by slicing off the 102 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: top of his head and dashing its contents across the 103 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:06,000 Speaker 1: cathedral floor. Understandably, such history as a knack of lingering 104 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: in places like Saltwood, much like the talk of ancient 105 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:12,840 Speaker 1: bloody battles that are thought to have occurred on the 106 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: land surrounding the village from as far back as the 107 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:20,080 Speaker 1: Bronze Age. That and the existence of numerous Roman and 108 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 1: Anglo Saxon burial sites nearby, only served to intensify the 109 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:28,400 Speaker 1: belief among some local residents that there were more than 110 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: just a few ghosts that haunted this quiet corner of 111 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:36,440 Speaker 1: the British Isles. It is little surprised, then, that such 112 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: things might have wormed their way into the minds of 113 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:44,240 Speaker 1: sixteen year old Jenny Holloway, her boyfriend John Flaxton and 114 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:47,679 Speaker 1: their two friends Tony and Mervyn as they made their 115 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 1: way home on that chilly evening of Saturday, November sixteenth. 116 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:57,320 Speaker 1: But all those familiar old tails they knew of ghostly 117 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 1: legionnaires and ladies in white so passe. This was the sixties, 118 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:07,720 Speaker 1: after all. It was time for something a little different. 119 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:13,760 Speaker 1: Here they come now on their way to nearby Sandling Station, 120 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: approaching the last street light on the edge of the village. 121 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 1: Let's join them as they step beyond the reaches of 122 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:25,240 Speaker 1: its soft sodium glow and into the dark of the 123 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 1: Kent countryside. It is nearly nine pm when the four 124 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 1: friends draw up alongside the playing fields of Saltwood's Brockhill 125 00:09:39,679 --> 00:09:44,480 Speaker 1: Park School, trying their best to ignore the ominous silhouette 126 00:09:44,559 --> 00:09:46,680 Speaker 1: of the gloomy old manor house at the back of 127 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:51,440 Speaker 1: the premises. The house, along with the rest of the site, 128 00:09:51,679 --> 00:09:55,080 Speaker 1: had once been part of a vast private estate belonging 129 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:59,720 Speaker 1: to the Tawney family after inheriting it in the eighteen eighties. 130 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:04,920 Speaker 1: The estate's last owner, William Towney, considered by some to 131 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:08,080 Speaker 1: have been somewhat of an eccentric, was said to have 132 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: been a recluse rarely seen by any one other than 133 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 1: the property's caretakers. Even as far back as the late 134 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:20,079 Speaker 1: nineteenth century, Brochial Manor was known to the locals as 135 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:24,960 Speaker 1: the Haunted House. In days gone by, those who dared 136 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:28,199 Speaker 1: to get close enough to look inside would be treated 137 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:31,880 Speaker 1: to the intimidating sight of a huge polar bear raised 138 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:35,160 Speaker 1: up on hind legs, with its teeth and claws, beard, 139 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:39,400 Speaker 1: and all manner of other animal skins dotted about the place. 140 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 1: But it was for the small patch of woodland located 141 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:47,319 Speaker 1: just behind the house that the most elaborate tales were preserved. 142 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:51,480 Speaker 1: For it was there, at the foot of Chesterfield Wood, 143 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:54,880 Speaker 1: on a small island in the middle of a private lake, 144 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 1: that the enigmatic Towney was laid to rest in the 145 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:03,680 Speaker 1: autumn of ninety three, along with his dark Daisy, who 146 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:08,079 Speaker 1: was killed and buried with him as per his final request. 147 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:14,240 Speaker 1: Tawney's ghost was said to haunt the island and surrounding woods, 148 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:19,760 Speaker 1: the same woods, incidentally, towards which something peculiar was now 149 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:30,439 Speaker 1: falling from out of the sky. John is the first 150 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:34,119 Speaker 1: to notice it, alerting the others to the bright, reddish 151 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:37,200 Speaker 1: yellow light that he assumes to be some kind of 152 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:40,880 Speaker 1: shooting star, but just as it looks as though it 153 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:44,840 Speaker 1: might smash into the ground, the group watch with amazement 154 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:50,080 Speaker 1: as the peculiar light appears to slow down, suddenly, then 155 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 1: hover for a moment before disappearing behind the trees. Growing 156 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:59,439 Speaker 1: a little unnerved, the group hurry on toward the station 157 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:03,960 Speaker 1: until approaching a bend in the road known as Slighbrook Corner, 158 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:08,560 Speaker 1: John notices a strange, hazy glow coming from the direction 159 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:13,120 Speaker 1: of the woods. Turning the corner, they catch sight of 160 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:17,520 Speaker 1: something resting on top of the hill. At roughly twenty 161 00:12:17,559 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 1: feet wide in diameter and oval in shape, it appears 162 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:26,880 Speaker 1: to be lit up from the inside. As the friends 163 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:30,319 Speaker 1: continue on, all the while keeping their eyes fixed on 164 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:34,280 Speaker 1: the object, they struggle to shake the distinct feeling that 165 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:40,080 Speaker 1: whatever it is is watching them. A short time later, 166 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:42,839 Speaker 1: with the group having come to a dip in the road, 167 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: they have just lost sight of the strange object when 168 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:51,200 Speaker 1: a figure suddenly emerges stumbling into the road thirty yards 169 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:55,360 Speaker 1: ahead of them. The group freeze as they watched the 170 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:58,640 Speaker 1: silhouetted outline of what seems to be a man in 171 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:03,560 Speaker 1: a cloak carrying an old fashioned hurricane lamp. The light 172 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 1: of which flashes intermittently as the figure shuffles slowly forwards. 173 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 1: When they strain for a closer look. However, they soon 174 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:18,520 Speaker 1: realize their mistake. It isn't a cloak that the man 175 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:22,960 Speaker 1: has on his back, it's a pair of wings. And 176 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:25,839 Speaker 1: where at first they had assumed the man's head to 177 00:13:25,960 --> 00:13:29,640 Speaker 1: have been rendered invisible by the lack of light, the 178 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:32,320 Speaker 1: more they look at it, the more it begins to 179 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:37,480 Speaker 1: seem as though there isn't a head at all. Too 180 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:41,440 Speaker 1: afraid to move, the friends watch and stun silence as 181 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:45,240 Speaker 1: the figure disappears over the rail track, before running to 182 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 1: the safety of the station. After seeing Jenny on to 183 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 1: her train, the boys make their way back to Saltwood Village, 184 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:57,520 Speaker 1: but see nothing again of the strange figure or glowing 185 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:04,160 Speaker 1: light in the trees. Are you always taking care of 186 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:06,680 Speaker 1: your family? Do you often take care of others and 187 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:09,960 Speaker 1: not yourself? Now it's time to take care of yourself, 188 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 1: to make time for you you deserve it. Teledoc gives 189 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:16,920 Speaker 1: you access to a licensed therapist to help you get 190 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:20,160 Speaker 1: back to feeling your best to feeling like yourself again. 191 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:24,400 Speaker 1: With teledoc, you can speak to a licensed therapist by phone, 192 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:28,000 Speaker 1: or video therapy. Appointments are available seven days a week 193 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:31,440 Speaker 1: from seven am to nine pm local time. If you 194 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 1: feel overwhelmed sometimes maybe you feel stressed or anxious, depressed 195 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:39,480 Speaker 1: or lonely, or you might be struggling with a personal 196 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:43,840 Speaker 1: or family issue, teledoc can help. Teledoc is committed to 197 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 1: facilitating great therapeutic matches, so they make it easy to 198 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:52,440 Speaker 1: change counselors if needed. For free. Teledoc therapy is available 199 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 1: through most insurance or employers. Download the app or visit 200 00:14:56,520 --> 00:15:00,480 Speaker 1: teledoc dot com Forward Slash Unexplained podcast to day to 201 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:06,800 Speaker 1: get started. That's t e ladoc dot com Slash Unexplained podcast. 202 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 1: When John Flaxton first recounts the story to his other friends, 203 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:20,360 Speaker 1: he has convinced that he saw a ghost, and before 204 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:24,360 Speaker 1: long news of the peculiar sighting begins to spread amongst 205 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:28,760 Speaker 1: the kids of the local area. However, the following Friday, 206 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:32,040 Speaker 1: news of a very different kind was beginning to filter 207 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:36,320 Speaker 1: through to Saltwood Village and indeed the rest of the world. 208 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:41,000 Speaker 1: For viewers of BBC one, the announcement came through at 209 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:45,680 Speaker 1: shortly after seven pm UK time that President John F. 210 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:49,600 Speaker 1: Kennedy of the United States had been shot while on 211 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:55,000 Speaker 1: a presidential visit to Dallas in Texas. A second news 212 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:59,040 Speaker 1: flash thirty minutes later confirmed that the president of the 213 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:04,960 Speaker 1: United States was dead, Thanks in part to the Telstar 214 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:09,680 Speaker 1: to satellite news and images of the assassination quickly filtered 215 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:14,040 Speaker 1: through to the rest of the world. Though some, including 216 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:17,720 Speaker 1: far right elements within the United States angered by his 217 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:23,160 Speaker 1: position on civil rights, celebrated Kennedy's death, a great many 218 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:30,920 Speaker 1: more around the world were united in shock. Later that night, 219 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:35,200 Speaker 1: in Saltwood, another group of friends, this time driving towards 220 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:39,360 Speaker 1: Sandling Station, also witness what they at first take to 221 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:43,520 Speaker 1: be a shooting star, but then on their way back, 222 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 1: they spot a light behind Chesterfield Wood, just as the 223 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:51,880 Speaker 1: others had seen the week before, only this time they 224 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:54,680 Speaker 1: see it rise into the air and land in a 225 00:16:54,800 --> 00:17:01,000 Speaker 1: field a hundred yards away in utter amusement. After pulling 226 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:04,640 Speaker 1: over the car, one of the group, sixteen year old 227 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:10,199 Speaker 1: Annette Baxter, volunteers to take a closer look. Speaking to 228 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:14,840 Speaker 1: reporters a few days later, Baxter described how surely, after 229 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:18,040 Speaker 1: making her way toward the light, she saw what she 230 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:21,440 Speaker 1: took to be some kind of a figure emerge from 231 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:25,399 Speaker 1: out of it. The last thing she remembered was turning 232 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:32,680 Speaker 1: to run before apparently blacking out. That same night, at 233 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:36,360 Speaker 1: a quarry located about half a mile outside the village, 234 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:40,359 Speaker 1: the appearance of soft glowing lights in the distance is 235 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:45,120 Speaker 1: followed by the sound of engines and music growing in intensity, 236 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:49,720 Speaker 1: until finally two cars of teenagers burst forth from the 237 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:54,479 Speaker 1: surrounding trees. The head lamps illuminate the cavern as space 238 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:58,119 Speaker 1: for the briefest of moments as the cars spin round, 239 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:01,199 Speaker 1: then come to rest at the quarry's air and the 240 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:08,080 Speaker 1: lights are switched off. Inside the vehicles, cigarettes are passed 241 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:11,720 Speaker 1: around as the music shifts and the reedy wobble of 242 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:16,360 Speaker 1: a harmonica is followed by two liver Puddlian voices singing 243 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:22,160 Speaker 1: in perfect harmony. The kids sing along and turn their 244 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:26,400 Speaker 1: heads to enjoy the uninterrupted view of a vast, starlit 245 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:32,040 Speaker 1: sky above, too busy to notice the strange figure lurking 246 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:36,320 Speaker 1: in the shadows until one of them spots it standing 247 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:40,080 Speaker 1: a short distance away from the cars. In a panic, 248 00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:43,439 Speaker 1: the kids fumbled for the lights and switch off the radio, 249 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:55,720 Speaker 1: but when they look again, the figure has gone. The 250 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:59,879 Speaker 1: following day, as the news and implications of President Kennedy's 251 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:04,720 Speaker 1: as assination dominate headlines across the globe. For the teenages 252 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:07,840 Speaker 1: of Saltwood in Kent, there is only one thing on 253 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:12,760 Speaker 1: their mind. With rumors of the recent peculiar sightings beginning 254 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:17,000 Speaker 1: to escalate, one resident takes it upon himself to try 255 00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:20,240 Speaker 1: and get to the bottom of it all. On the 256 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:24,720 Speaker 1: morning of Saturday, November twenty third, sixteen year old John 257 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:29,720 Speaker 1: McGoldrick ventures up into the woods behind Brockhill Park, where 258 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:33,440 Speaker 1: after a short investigation of the area, he comes upon 259 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:38,360 Speaker 1: something unexpected. As he would later recount to the UK's 260 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:43,040 Speaker 1: Flying Saucer Review, he had stumbled upon a vast expanse 261 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:47,440 Speaker 1: of bracken that looked as if it had been completely flattened, 262 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:52,240 Speaker 1: as if a huge, heavy object had rested there. But 263 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:57,840 Speaker 1: that wasn't all. Moving around the space, John came across 264 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 1: a series of odd impressions in the ground that looked 265 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:06,080 Speaker 1: like huge webbed feet over half a meter in length. 266 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:11,080 Speaker 1: Later that afternoon, a strange creature from out of space 267 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:15,760 Speaker 1: most definitely did arrive, if only on British television screens. 268 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,719 Speaker 1: It was shortly after five fifteen PM when thousands of 269 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:24,439 Speaker 1: British viewers were introduced for the first time to an 270 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:31,200 Speaker 1: enigmatic and prickly individual known only as the Doctor, appearing 271 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:36,120 Speaker 1: in the first episode ever of Doctor Who. But if 272 00:20:36,119 --> 00:20:39,440 Speaker 1: the Doctor's arrival had stirred the imaginations of the Saltwood 273 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:43,680 Speaker 1: Village youth, already preoccupied with their own stories of visitors 274 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:47,560 Speaker 1: from space, it would soon be eclipsed by some even 275 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:51,359 Speaker 1: more incredible news beamed in from across the Atlantic. The 276 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:56,160 Speaker 1: following day. It was hard to say how many exactly 277 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:59,720 Speaker 1: tuned in to watch a ghast as Lee Harvey Oswalt, 278 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:04,600 Speaker 1: the man accused of Kennedy's assassination, was shot live on 279 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:10,120 Speaker 1: t V by Dallas night club owner Jack Ruby. Either way, 280 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:13,520 Speaker 1: there were few who didn't hear about it soon after, 281 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 1: and only a day later, to cap off one of 282 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:22,320 Speaker 1: the most extraordinary week ends in world history, many British 283 00:21:22,359 --> 00:21:27,199 Speaker 1: residents watched live again courtesy of the Telstar to satellite, 284 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:32,200 Speaker 1: as President Kennedy was laid to rest, and with him 285 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:38,320 Speaker 1: too went forever a now quaint and distant age. Only 286 00:21:38,359 --> 00:21:42,719 Speaker 1: the year before, President Kennedy's press conference had ushered in 287 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:46,439 Speaker 1: a new era of hyper connectivity in the hope that 288 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:50,800 Speaker 1: it would foster peace. But in his death something a 289 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:55,480 Speaker 1: little darker of this new world was being revealed. A 290 00:21:55,640 --> 00:22:00,800 Speaker 1: new media age had well and truly arrived. Author of 291 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:05,920 Speaker 1: a clockwork Orange and television critic Anthony Burgess would later note, 292 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:11,080 Speaker 1: we have seen everything now that impartial eye has looked 293 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:15,520 Speaker 1: on murder. From now on there will always be the 294 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:27,879 Speaker 1: stain of a corpse on the living room rug. Back 295 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:31,720 Speaker 1: in Saltwood. With all the focus on the extraordinary events 296 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:34,800 Speaker 1: that had been taking place in the States, talk of 297 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:37,840 Speaker 1: the strange goings on of the previous week had been 298 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:43,160 Speaker 1: all but silenced. Sixteen year old John McGoldrick, however, had 299 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:45,840 Speaker 1: yet to give up hope of seeing the supposed visitor 300 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:49,680 Speaker 1: for himself, and it wasn't long before he would get 301 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:54,160 Speaker 1: his wish. It was sometime toward the end of November, 302 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:58,440 Speaker 1: around eight p m. The John and two friends made 303 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:02,320 Speaker 1: their way along the Sandling Road. When, having just passed 304 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,800 Speaker 1: the school playing fields, John caught sight of what he 305 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:09,159 Speaker 1: took to be a tall figure standing still in the 306 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:13,760 Speaker 1: field behind a line of trees. The boys hurried along 307 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:16,439 Speaker 1: the path as they fought to keep it in their sights, 308 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:20,040 Speaker 1: but as they approached the entrance to the school, they 309 00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:23,400 Speaker 1: were disappointed to find that the figure had now disappeared. 310 00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:28,040 Speaker 1: Moments later, one of the boys let out a sharp 311 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:33,800 Speaker 1: gasp and pointed toward a corner of the playing field. There, 312 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:37,359 Speaker 1: standing motionless in the middle of it was the tall 313 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:42,840 Speaker 1: figure they had seen earlier. Hoping they hadn't been spotted 314 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:46,320 Speaker 1: by it, the boys quietly made their way to Slaybrook 315 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:50,919 Speaker 1: Corner and into the field beyond. They were hoping to 316 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:53,600 Speaker 1: get a more sheltered view of the figure from up 317 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:57,800 Speaker 1: the hill, but was soon questioning their decision when halfway 318 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:01,680 Speaker 1: up the rise they caught the whip of something putrid. 319 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:06,920 Speaker 1: After taking only a few more steps further, John let 320 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:09,760 Speaker 1: out a cry at the sight of the figure that 321 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:14,960 Speaker 1: was now standing directly in front of them. The boys 322 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:19,280 Speaker 1: immediately fled from the scene in terror, running without once 323 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:25,879 Speaker 1: looking back to the safety of the village. With a 324 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:29,000 Speaker 1: few local journalists starting to pick up on the story, 325 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:32,640 Speaker 1: two reporters accompanied John and his friends to the same 326 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:37,280 Speaker 1: spot a few weeks later, where they reported witnessing a strange, 327 00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:41,760 Speaker 1: pulsating light coming from within the trees that lasted for 328 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:46,280 Speaker 1: almost half an hour. Neither of the group, however, were 329 00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:50,760 Speaker 1: quite willing to get a closer look at it, and 330 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:55,120 Speaker 1: so concluded the last reported sighting that formed just one 331 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:57,840 Speaker 1: of the many strange events that took place in a 332 00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:02,480 Speaker 1: quiet seaside community in the south of England one eventful 333 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:15,520 Speaker 1: month in nineteen sixty three. After eventually being picked up 334 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:19,440 Speaker 1: by the national press, the apparent sightings convinced a number 335 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:22,920 Speaker 1: of UFO enthusiasts to visit the area not long after 336 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:28,040 Speaker 1: the initial reports first came out. Despite collating a host 337 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:32,199 Speaker 1: of eyewitness accounts from local residents, with many reporting the 338 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:37,760 Speaker 1: sighting of a bizarre winged bat like creature, no satisfying 339 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:44,000 Speaker 1: explanation for the events was found, and that it seemed 340 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:50,159 Speaker 1: was that it was three years later, almost to the 341 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:54,280 Speaker 1: day of that first sighting in Saltwood Village, when four 342 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:58,160 Speaker 1: thousand miles away outside the small town of Point Pleasant 343 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:02,840 Speaker 1: in West Virginia, USA, two young couples were cruising in 344 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:05,879 Speaker 1: a car along the back roads of a local farmlands 345 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:11,240 Speaker 1: and wetlands region known as the TNT Area. The place 346 00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:14,280 Speaker 1: was so called due to its former usage as an 347 00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:20,920 Speaker 1: ammunition manufacturing and storage facility for the US military. More recently, however, 348 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:24,200 Speaker 1: it had become a popular spot for kids and young 349 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:27,600 Speaker 1: adults from the local area to hang out and loose 350 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:31,400 Speaker 1: away from the prying eyes of the town's more senior residence, 351 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:37,720 Speaker 1: but that night the area was oddly deserted. The four friends, 352 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:42,160 Speaker 1: Roger and Linda Scarborough and Mary and Steve Mallett, were 353 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:46,400 Speaker 1: just about to head home when Steve spotted something up 354 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,840 Speaker 1: ahead by the side of the road. It was some 355 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:52,320 Speaker 1: kind of animal that appeared to be caught on a 356 00:26:52,359 --> 00:26:56,760 Speaker 1: wire and was trying desperately to free itself, but as 357 00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:00,600 Speaker 1: they drew nearer, they soon discovered it was like no 358 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:06,000 Speaker 1: animal either of them had ever seen before. Roger, who 359 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:09,560 Speaker 1: was driving at the time, slammed on the brakes and 360 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:14,480 Speaker 1: switched off the radio. Then together they sat in stunned 361 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:17,600 Speaker 1: silence as they tried to wrap their minds around what 362 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:22,560 Speaker 1: it was they were looking at. The apparent creature had 363 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:28,040 Speaker 1: two long arms and stood upright on two legs, looking 364 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:32,400 Speaker 1: almost human were it not for its disproportionately large hands. 365 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:37,600 Speaker 1: It was almost seven feet tall, with a lithe and 366 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:40,800 Speaker 1: muscular body, and from what they could make out and 367 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:44,399 Speaker 1: the glare of the headlights, a sort of pale beige 368 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:49,959 Speaker 1: in color from afar, It had first appeared as if 369 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:53,919 Speaker 1: the creature's hand was trapped in the wire. It was 370 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:57,640 Speaker 1: only when they moved in closer that they realized it 371 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:02,960 Speaker 1: wasn't a hand. It was then they noticed the pair 372 00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:08,399 Speaker 1: of them sticking up behind its shoulders, having eventually freed 373 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:13,200 Speaker 1: itself and then stumbled away. The apparent creature was alleged 374 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:16,640 Speaker 1: to have appeared in the sky moments later and chased 375 00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:20,360 Speaker 1: the four friends all the way back to Point Pleasant. 376 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:26,240 Speaker 1: This creature that became known as the Mothman, was considered 377 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:30,520 Speaker 1: by some, such as famed uthologist John Keel, to be 378 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:37,280 Speaker 1: an almost mythological being of indeterminate galactic origin. Keel's best 379 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:41,400 Speaker 1: known book on the subject, The Mothman Prophecies, although dealing 380 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:44,760 Speaker 1: mainly with the sightings and subsequent events that took place 381 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:50,600 Speaker 1: around Point Pleasant, also speculated that the bizarre sightings in Saltwood, England, 382 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:54,440 Speaker 1: three years previously might have been of the same creature. 383 00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:58,560 Speaker 1: That the Mothman was possibly a portent of tragedy and 384 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:04,080 Speaker 1: death was perhaps one of his more outlandish theories. Either way, 385 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:08,479 Speaker 1: one thing we can be sure of, whatever it was 386 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:11,680 Speaker 1: that took place exactly in that quiet Kent village in 387 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:22,840 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty three, remains to this day unexplained. If you 388 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,040 Speaker 1: enjoy listening to Unexplained and would like to help supporters, 389 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:29,680 Speaker 1: You can now go to Unexplained podcast dot com Forward 390 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:34,280 Speaker 1: slash support. All donations, no matter how large or small, 391 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:42,040 Speaker 1: are massively appreciating. All elements of Unexplained are produced by me, 392 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:45,720 Speaker 1: Richard mcclained smith. Please subscribe and rate the show on iTunes. 393 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:47,880 Speaker 1: Feel free to get in touch with any thoughts or 394 00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:51,400 Speaker 1: ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps 395 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:53,520 Speaker 1: you have an explanation of your own you'd like to share. 396 00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:57,000 Speaker 1: You can reach us online at Unexplained podcast dot com 397 00:29:57,120 --> 00:30:12,760 Speaker 1: or on Twitter at Unexplained pod. Now. It's time to 398 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:17,080 Speaker 1: take care of yourself. To make time for you, teledoc 399 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:20,160 Speaker 1: gives you access to a licensed therapist to help you 400 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:23,560 Speaker 1: get back to feeling your best. Speak to a licensed 401 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:27,680 Speaker 1: therapist by phone or video anytime between seven am to 402 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:32,040 Speaker 1: nine pm local time, seven days a week. Teledoc Therapy 403 00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:36,240 Speaker 1: is available through most insurance or employers. Download the app 404 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:40,680 Speaker 1: or visit teledoc dot com, Forward slash Unexplained Podcast Today 405 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:44,440 Speaker 1: to get started. That's t e l a d oc 406 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:47,280 Speaker 1: dot com Slash Unexplained Podcast