1 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:15,240 Speaker 1: One chilly morning in February nineteen twenty five, eleven year 2 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:19,320 Speaker 1: old Eleonora Zugan and her eighteen year old cousin left 3 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:23,600 Speaker 1: their rural farming village of Talba in Romania to visit 4 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:29,680 Speaker 1: their sick and elderly grandmother in the neighboring village of Boohi. Eleonora, 5 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 1: who never owned a pair of shoes, did well to 6 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:35,839 Speaker 1: keep pace with her cousin as they skipped over the 7 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: frosty ground and made their way into a thick forest. 8 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: As they moved deeper into the trees, ear Leonora caught 9 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:48,159 Speaker 1: sight of something shining on the ground among the ferns 10 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: and rusty dead pine leaves. It was a coin, partially 11 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 1: wrapped in a handkerchief. Someone must have dropped it, she thought, 12 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 1: as she bent down to pick it up. Don't, said 13 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:06,520 Speaker 1: her cousin. Suddenly, it's the devil's money. Eleanora stared at 14 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: her cousin for a moment, then looked back at the coin. 15 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: It was more money than she ever had in her 16 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 1: possession before. Don't do it, he said, but Eleanora ignored him. 17 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: He was only jealous that she'd found it first, she thought, 18 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:28,480 Speaker 1: then bent down again. And picked it up. The cousin 19 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:32,800 Speaker 1: strode off her head as Eleanora rubbed the coin against 20 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:36,560 Speaker 1: her coat and held it up to the light, admiring 21 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 1: how it gleamed in the morning sun. When they arrived 22 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 1: in Boohai, Eleonora stopped at a little confectionery shop, where 23 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:49,480 Speaker 1: she spent all the money on some pastries and candy. 24 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: More of Eleanora's cousins greeted her on her arrival at 25 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 1: her grandmother's house, including one who gave her a pretty 26 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:01,640 Speaker 1: coral change she'd made as a welcome present, But when 27 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: they asked if Eleanora would share her treats with them, 28 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:10,519 Speaker 1: she refused to do so. The cousins crowded eagerly around her, 29 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:13,960 Speaker 1: but she pushed them away, crabbing the sweets into her 30 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 1: mouth as fast as she could. She almost made herself 31 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:20,680 Speaker 1: sick just to avoid having to share any of it. 32 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:26,520 Speaker 1: Eleonora's blind, one hundred and five year old grandmother was 33 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:30,920 Speaker 1: horrified by her granddaughter's behavior. It was bad enough that 34 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: she'd taken the coin in the first place, she said, 35 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: but the fact that she'd hoarded all of that food 36 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,080 Speaker 1: for herself confirmed that it was already having a malign 37 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 1: influence on her. Despite being tired and sick, she couldn't 38 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:51,080 Speaker 1: help but scold her granddaughter. You have swallowed Dracool, she hissed, 39 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 1: and now you'll never be free of him. Dracool Romanian 40 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: for the devil, had never seen her grandmother so animated before. 41 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,680 Speaker 1: It was enough to make her question what she'd done, 42 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:11,079 Speaker 1: and in the days to come, those words would echo 43 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 1: again and again in her mind. You'll never be free 44 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:22,920 Speaker 1: of him. You're listening to Unexplained and I'm Richard McLean Smith. 45 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,160 Speaker 1: It began the very next day, as Eleanora and her 46 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 1: cousins were eating breakfast in their grandmother's kitchen, a barrage 47 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: of noise suddenly enveloped the house like gunfire. The children 48 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: dropped to the floor in terror as windows shattered all 49 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 1: around their heads. Eleonora peeked out from behind her fingers 50 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: to see a flurry of stones flying against the house, 51 00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: seemingly out of nowhere, as if they'd been thrown by 52 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 1: an invisible, malignant force. Over the following days, it was 53 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:11,320 Speaker 1: said that wherever Eleonora went, small objects shifted and flew 54 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: through the air towards her, without any obvious cause. Growing 55 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: Tired of the mayhem, Eleonora's grandmother sent her back home, 56 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:25,600 Speaker 1: hoping what appeared to be some kind of curse would 57 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:31,360 Speaker 1: leave with her. Sure Enough, the strange phenomena followed Eleonora 58 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: back to Talpa. After a few days of objects flying 59 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: around their house at will, Eleonora's parents became desperate, believing 60 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 1: she was being haunted by the devil. They took Eleonora 61 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 1: to a monastery in the mountains. There, an exorcism was 62 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:56,279 Speaker 1: performed on her, but the exorcism did nothing as the 63 00:04:56,320 --> 00:05:00,880 Speaker 1: disturbances carried on. It was with great regret said one 64 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:04,840 Speaker 1: priest that he had to inform her family that Eleonora 65 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:10,600 Speaker 1: was now beyond help. This strange story of an eleven 66 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 1: year old girl seemingly possessed by demonic forces soon caught 67 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:18,119 Speaker 1: the attention of the local press, who ran a front 68 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: page story about Eleonora. In April of nineteen twenty five, 69 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: in Germany, an article written by Romanian journalist Kobi Klein 70 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:32,359 Speaker 1: caught the attention of the Ravallo Bund, a spiritualist and 71 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:39,080 Speaker 1: parapsychological organization devoted to investigating the potential of the paranormal. 72 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:44,480 Speaker 1: So intrigued were the group by Eleonora's story, they offered 73 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 1: to pay Fritz Grunewauldt, a German engineer who also moonlighted 74 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: as a parapsychologist, to go and investigate her. Grunwaldt was 75 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:58,599 Speaker 1: a key player in the German parapsychology movement at the 76 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:03,320 Speaker 1: time and had several pieces of equipment for testing and 77 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: measuring supposed psychic abilities. He gladly accepted the offer. When 78 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 1: grunewald arrived in Romania, he was disappointed to find that 79 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:18,919 Speaker 1: Eleonora had since been removed from the monastery and placed 80 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:22,599 Speaker 1: in a psychiatric asylum, where she'd been left to languish 81 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:27,320 Speaker 1: ever since. With the help of Kubi Klein, grunwald had 82 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,359 Speaker 1: her removed from the asylum and returned her to the 83 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: monastery in order to study her without any interference from doctors, 84 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: and there for the next six weeks he observed the 85 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: young girl, writing extensive notes about the many bizarre events 86 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 1: he supposedly witnessed. One Sunday morning, as Grunewald later wrote, 87 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:03,560 Speaker 1: he was sitting quietly outside on a verandah with Eleanora, 88 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:08,679 Speaker 1: when out of nowhere, a small, gleaming object appeared behind 89 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:12,960 Speaker 1: Eleonora's head, It hovered in mid air for a moment, 90 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:17,240 Speaker 1: and then dropped onto the floor beside her. It was 91 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 1: a silver chain which Eleonora had given as a present 92 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:26,120 Speaker 1: to the monastery's cook some days earlier. According to Grunivult, 93 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: the incident had happened in broad daylight, and neither he 94 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:35,200 Speaker 1: or Eleanora had moved an inch. The chain had moved 95 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 1: all by itself. Another time, Grunivald decided to see if 96 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:44,600 Speaker 1: he could have some influence on what was happening when 97 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:48,320 Speaker 1: in the company of Eleanora, he decided to fixate on 98 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:52,320 Speaker 1: a water jug that was placed on a stool. After 99 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 1: five minutes of staring at it, the jug, which was 100 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 1: full of water, apparently began to rise a good half 101 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 1: a mint in the air before returning to the stool 102 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:08,680 Speaker 1: without a drop of water being spilt. Having felt he'd 103 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: seen enough, Grunivald published a short statement confirming that, in 104 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:20,080 Speaker 1: his professional opinion, the phenomena occurring around Eleonora were genuinely paranormal. 105 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: He promised to publish a full report in due course. However, 106 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: not long after his encounter with Eleonora, Grunivald died suddenly 107 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:35,720 Speaker 1: from a heart attack in the end. His report was 108 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 1: published posthumously and caught the attention of Austrian Countess Soy 109 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:46,960 Speaker 1: Vasilko SERETCHKEI. In addition to being a wealthy and influential aristocrat, 110 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: Countess Vasilko Seretchke was also a parapsychologist who'd long admired 111 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:57,720 Speaker 1: Fritz Grunivold's work. She was determined to continue what he'd started, 112 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:02,880 Speaker 1: and so in January nineteen twenty six, she brought Eleonora 113 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 1: to live in Vienna under her protection. Despite her belief 114 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:11,160 Speaker 1: in the paranormal, the Countess was in the main a 115 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:15,560 Speaker 1: grounded and sensible individual with many years of experience in 116 00:09:15,559 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 1: her field. In fact, she had recently drawn the ire 117 00:09:19,679 --> 00:09:23,960 Speaker 1: of some of her contemporaries after publicly exposing one so 118 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:28,240 Speaker 1: called psychic as a fraud. But within a few days 119 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 1: of meeting the girl, Basilico Seretchki had no doubt she 120 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: was in the presence of something truly paranormal. Over the 121 00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:42,040 Speaker 1: next eight months, the Countess brought in a variety of 122 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:47,079 Speaker 1: experts to observe Eleonora. The first was a medical doctor 123 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:52,560 Speaker 1: who conducted a thorough physical and mental examination. He concluded 124 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:57,199 Speaker 1: she was in good health aside from an extreme skin sensitivity, 125 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 1: and highly intelligent for her own. The assessment was backed 126 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 1: up by famed British paranormal investigator Harry Price, who traveled 127 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:13,440 Speaker 1: to Vienna in April to also study Eleonora. His first 128 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:19,080 Speaker 1: impression was that Eleonora was stubborn, sometimes sulky, and highly 129 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:23,080 Speaker 1: suspicious of new people, but had grown very attached to 130 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:29,600 Speaker 1: the Countess. Pryce also noted that Eleonora was strangely immature 131 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: in some ways, later writing that although thirteen years old, 132 00:10:34,559 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 1: Eleonora is like a child of eight in many ways. 133 00:10:38,559 --> 00:10:42,200 Speaker 1: She is incessantly playing with toys more suitable to a 134 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:45,880 Speaker 1: child half her years, and will spend the day amusing 135 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:58,600 Speaker 1: herself with squeaking animals, rubber balls, and furry rabbits. Between 136 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:02,920 Speaker 1: January and August of five, nineteen twenty six, Countess Vasilko 137 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:08,080 Speaker 1: Seretchki recorded more than three thousand separate incidents that she 138 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:11,959 Speaker 1: believed to be paranormal, more than eight hundred of which 139 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:17,760 Speaker 1: were corroborated by other people. One such individual was Johannes 140 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:23,760 Speaker 1: Maria Vervaian, a German philosophy professor. Throughout the day, as 141 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:27,640 Speaker 1: he kept watch on Eleonora, he noticed that the books 142 00:11:27,679 --> 00:11:31,720 Speaker 1: on a shelf behind her head were slowly moving forward, 143 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: as if being pushed by an invisible hand. He took 144 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:39,199 Speaker 1: note of which books had been moved, trying to find 145 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:43,319 Speaker 1: some pattern or message in their titles, but no pattern 146 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:48,720 Speaker 1: could be found. Objects also appeared and disappeared at will, 147 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:53,400 Speaker 1: often seeming to travel through walls or locked doors and 148 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:57,840 Speaker 1: dropping into the middle of a room. They were generally small, 149 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 1: every day things, hair brush or a set of dominoes, 150 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:07,240 Speaker 1: for example, seeming, as Harry Price noted, to briefly exist 151 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:11,600 Speaker 1: outside of the dominion of the physical laws of our world. 152 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:17,080 Speaker 1: At other times, mysterious rapping noises were heard on the 153 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:23,040 Speaker 1: furniture surrounding Eleonora, as though some invisible presence was knocking 154 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:29,000 Speaker 1: on them. One evening, Harry Price was watching Eleonora closely. 155 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:33,840 Speaker 1: His gaze occasionally shifted down to his notebook as he 156 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:39,240 Speaker 1: recorded her movements. Then suddenly something whizzed past him, so 157 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 1: close he felt the air shift against his cheek as 158 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:47,240 Speaker 1: it clattered to the ground. Price saw it was a 159 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:51,840 Speaker 1: ten inch steel letter opener. If he'd been standing just 160 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:55,120 Speaker 1: a hair further to the right, its blade would have 161 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:59,640 Speaker 1: sliced right into his skin. Though he was no stranger 162 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:05,400 Speaker 1: to ominous events. Price was deeply unnerved at the time. 163 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:10,240 Speaker 1: There was nobody in the house besides him, Eleonora and 164 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 1: the Countess. As he later claimed, he was watching both 165 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:18,800 Speaker 1: of them when the blade launched itself at him. There 166 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:22,360 Speaker 1: was simply no way that either of them could be responsible, 167 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:26,720 Speaker 1: he believed. But more than that, he couldn't help thinking 168 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:30,320 Speaker 1: that the violence of this gesture was some kind of 169 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 1: warning sign if Eleanora had indeed been possessed by something. 170 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:40,520 Speaker 1: Whatever it was, he felt was getting angry. A few 171 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:44,520 Speaker 1: days later, Price was back at the Countess's house to 172 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:50,800 Speaker 1: observe Eleonora again. Vasilko Seretchki asked the young girl to 173 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,800 Speaker 1: move a table. As she was in the middle of 174 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 1: doing so, the trio heard a deafening crash from the 175 00:13:57,679 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 1: other side of the room. We all span round just 176 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:06,480 Speaker 1: in time to see a bizarre sight. A large black 177 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:09,480 Speaker 1: toy dog, which had been left on a chair in 178 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:12,760 Speaker 1: the far corner of the room, had fallen onto the floor, 179 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:16,880 Speaker 1: knocking into a metal coal scuttle that had clattered loudly 180 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:22,120 Speaker 1: onto its side. Just a toy, and yet the sight 181 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:26,080 Speaker 1: of it lying there on the ground was unmistakably ominous. 182 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:31,000 Speaker 1: Throughout European history, the black dog had long been a 183 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:38,480 Speaker 1: symbol of foreboding, misfortune and death. In folklore, ghostly black 184 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:43,240 Speaker 1: devil hounds often appear to wayward travelers as a harbinger 185 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:55,040 Speaker 1: of imminent doom. Having gathered several months worth of observations, 186 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:58,520 Speaker 1: the Countess and Harry Price had plenty of data to 187 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:01,480 Speaker 1: work with, so they set out to try and find 188 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:06,320 Speaker 1: patterns in the psychic phenomena. There was one consistent thing. 189 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:11,320 Speaker 1: Whenever these events happened, Eleonora was always either in the 190 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:15,240 Speaker 1: same room or an adjoining one. As they pored over 191 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:20,040 Speaker 1: their findings, they soon found some other correlations. The phenomena 192 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:24,840 Speaker 1: often happened shortly before meal times, when Eleonora was hungry. 193 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:28,360 Speaker 1: They also seemed to be stronger whenever she was in 194 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 1: an irritable mood, and they never happened when Eleonora was sleeping. 195 00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:38,800 Speaker 1: It suggested to the Countess and Price that the supposedly 196 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:44,040 Speaker 1: psychic events were strongly tied to Eleonora's moods and therefore 197 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:48,840 Speaker 1: to her consciousness. Even still, she seemed to have no 198 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,240 Speaker 1: control over them at all, with Price noting that she 199 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:56,000 Speaker 1: seemed as startled as anyone when objects flew across the 200 00:15:56,080 --> 00:16:02,200 Speaker 1: room or appeared and disappeared at will. As a parapsychologist, 201 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:06,520 Speaker 1: more than anything, the Countess was fascinated by the possibility 202 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:12,040 Speaker 1: that the key to this bizarre situation lay within Eleonora's mind. 203 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:17,120 Speaker 1: Perhaps she wasn't being possessed by an external paranormal force 204 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:22,880 Speaker 1: at all, she thought, but instead she was the paranormal force. 205 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:28,760 Speaker 1: The Countess began to suspect that the psychokinetic events were 206 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:33,480 Speaker 1: rooted in Eleonora's repressed feelings of guilt and shame caused 207 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:37,240 Speaker 1: by her grandmother telling her that she had swallowed the devil. 208 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:44,040 Speaker 1: Countess Basilko Seretchkei began to carry out psychoanalysis on Eleonora 209 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:48,320 Speaker 1: in the hope of releasing any unconscious emotions that might 210 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:52,240 Speaker 1: be tormenting her, But she was not a trained psychoanalyst, 211 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:57,720 Speaker 1: and the sessions only seemed to make things worse. One 212 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:02,400 Speaker 1: afternoon in the summer of nineteen twenty six, Eleanora cried 213 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:07,359 Speaker 1: out in pain, clutching her arm. The Countess hurriedly pulled 214 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:10,600 Speaker 1: back her sleeve to find a bite mark on the 215 00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:15,199 Speaker 1: girl's pale skin, deep enough that it had drawn blood. 216 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:20,359 Speaker 1: At first, the Countess in Price suspected she'd done it 217 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 1: to herself. They hadn't been watching her at the time, 218 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 1: But over the next few weeks, more and more fresh 219 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:32,879 Speaker 1: punctures and cuts appeared all over Eleanora's skin, many of 220 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:37,160 Speaker 1: them in places they felt she simply couldn't have reached herself. 221 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:42,679 Speaker 1: One other afternoon, the Countess was making another set of 222 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 1: notes when a piercing scream rang out. The Countess looked 223 00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 1: up in horror to see Eleanora staring wide eyed at 224 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:58,359 Speaker 1: her Her face twisted into a haunting look of abject terror. 225 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:03,560 Speaker 1: She held up her hands, both of them had countless 226 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:07,720 Speaker 1: needles sticking out of her skin. It was only when 227 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:10,719 Speaker 1: the small beads of red began to appear on the 228 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:15,600 Speaker 1: girl's face that the Countess realized it was also covered 229 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:21,159 Speaker 1: in needles buried deep into her flesh. The Countess and 230 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:25,639 Speaker 1: Price did their best to calm the screaming girl. The 231 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:28,919 Speaker 1: event left her with a pox like scars that didn't 232 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:43,360 Speaker 1: fade for weeks. Worried that her own methods of psychoanalysis 233 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:50,200 Speaker 1: had intensified whatever was affecting Eleonora, the Countess immediately discontinued 234 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:55,679 Speaker 1: the sessions, she decided to try something new instead. The 235 00:18:55,760 --> 00:19:00,520 Speaker 1: practice of automatic writing as its roots in spiritualism, which 236 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 1: is the belief that it's possible for living people to 237 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:08,320 Speaker 1: communicate with the spirits of the dead. In the spiritualist version, 238 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:12,480 Speaker 1: a seance is conducted in which the subject is asked 239 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:15,280 Speaker 1: to hold a pen against a piece of paper, but 240 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:20,440 Speaker 1: not consciously attempt to write anything. Then, after a period 241 00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:24,879 Speaker 1: of calling forth any supposed spirits that might be in attendance, 242 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:28,399 Speaker 1: it is hoped that the subject's hand might then be 243 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:33,840 Speaker 1: manipulated by a spirit. Any writing that emerges is thought 244 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:38,640 Speaker 1: to be a message sent directly from the other side. However, 245 00:19:39,119 --> 00:19:42,439 Speaker 1: in the early twentieth century, a new school of thought 246 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:48,000 Speaker 1: merged around automatic writing, attributing the process not to external 247 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:55,199 Speaker 1: supernatural forces but to an internal psychological process. Being a parapsychologist, 248 00:19:55,520 --> 00:20:00,439 Speaker 1: the countess was open to either possibility. One morning, she 249 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:03,600 Speaker 1: set Eleanora up in the parlor of her house with 250 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:06,920 Speaker 1: a pen and a large sheet of paper, and then 251 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:11,440 Speaker 1: waited for a long time. Nothing appeared to be happening. 252 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:18,200 Speaker 1: Eleonora was mostly just bored and restless. Suddenly her expression changed. 253 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:22,760 Speaker 1: Her eyes lost focus and glazed over. Then her hand 254 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:27,960 Speaker 1: began to move against the page. The Countess watched over 255 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 1: Eleanora's shoulder as one letter after another was scratched out 256 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:37,040 Speaker 1: on the page in jagged block capitals. It was a 257 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:41,080 Speaker 1: promise that more strange events would follow. At five pm 258 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:46,720 Speaker 1: the following day, it was signed Drac who the Devil. 259 00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:52,880 Speaker 1: All day, Eleanora and the Countess waited nervously for five 260 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:56,960 Speaker 1: pm to come around, but when it did, nothing happened. 261 00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:02,000 Speaker 1: The investigation had hit yet another dead end. In the 262 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:06,159 Speaker 1: autumn of nineteen twenty six, nine months after she'd first 263 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:10,720 Speaker 1: brought Eleonora to her home, the Countess decided that she'd 264 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:15,200 Speaker 1: done all she could to unravel the mystery. Many people 265 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:19,160 Speaker 1: had been interested in Eleonora's case, but had been unable 266 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:22,679 Speaker 1: to travel to Vienna to study her in person. So 267 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:29,440 Speaker 1: that September, Countess Forasilkosretchke and Eleonora began an ambitious voyage 268 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:34,080 Speaker 1: across the continent. They started in Berlin, where first a 269 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:39,120 Speaker 1: team of doctors studied the girl, then German zoologist Karl Zimmer. 270 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:43,360 Speaker 1: From there they moved on to Munich and then to London. 271 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:49,720 Speaker 1: Thanks to Harry Price's detailed publications about her case, Eleonora 272 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:55,840 Speaker 1: became an international sensation. Publications including The New York Times, 273 00:21:56,119 --> 00:21:59,840 Speaker 1: reported on her arrival in London, and research as clamored 274 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:05,040 Speaker 1: their chance to examine the so called Tupa poltergeist. But 275 00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:08,359 Speaker 1: for all their efforts, nobody could arrive at a solid 276 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:13,000 Speaker 1: explanation for what was happening to Eleonora, and though they 277 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:17,280 Speaker 1: didn't know it yet, their window of opportunity was coming 278 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:27,879 Speaker 1: to a close. In February of nineteen twenty seven, just 279 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:32,240 Speaker 1: over a year after Countess Vasilko Seretski first brought her 280 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:38,240 Speaker 1: to Austria, Eleonora at her first menstrual period. It was 281 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:42,320 Speaker 1: said that from that point onwards, the supposedly psychic phenomena 282 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:48,480 Speaker 1: steadily declined. The final apparent psychokinetic event is said to 283 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:53,200 Speaker 1: have taken place on June seventeenth of that year. Later 284 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:57,919 Speaker 1: that summer, Eleonora returned to Romania, relieved to find that 285 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:02,760 Speaker 1: her so called curse didn't not follow her there by 286 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 1: all accounts, Eleonora went on to live a perfectly ordinary 287 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:11,040 Speaker 1: life out of the public eye. She married and worked 288 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:15,320 Speaker 1: as a hairdresser and manicurist. She also maintained her bond 289 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:18,800 Speaker 1: with the countess, who by then had become like a 290 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:24,240 Speaker 1: mother to her. Eleonora Zugan died in nineteen ninety six 291 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:28,919 Speaker 1: at the age of eighty three. To this day, the 292 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:33,040 Speaker 1: truth about what exactly had occurred in those early years 293 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:40,800 Speaker 1: of her life remains unexplained. This episode, written by Emma 294 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:46,240 Speaker 1: Dibden and produced by me Richard McLean Smith concludes Unexplained. 295 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:50,000 Speaker 1: Season seven will be taking a short break now until 296 00:23:50,119 --> 00:23:55,000 Speaker 1: season eight, which will begin on Friday, September sixth. For 297 00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:57,760 Speaker 1: the weeks in between, I'll be sharing some more of 298 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:01,440 Speaker 1: my favorite episodes from season's part and maybe a few 299 00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:05,080 Speaker 1: other things, so listen out for that. If I may 300 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:07,919 Speaker 1: have your attention for a moment, Before I go, I 301 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:10,040 Speaker 1: want to leave you with a personal message from me. 302 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:14,160 Speaker 1: But first I want to thank all the fantastic writers 303 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:17,320 Speaker 1: that have contributed to the show this season. Thank you 304 00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:21,159 Speaker 1: so much. Firstly to Emma Dibden. Emma is a fantastic 305 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:24,680 Speaker 1: freelance journalist and writer and author of two books to date, 306 00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:28,000 Speaker 1: Through His Eyes and The Room by the Lake, which 307 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:31,159 Speaker 1: you should go and check out. Secondly, thank you so 308 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:35,080 Speaker 1: much to Ella McLoud. Ella is another brilliant author who 309 00:24:35,119 --> 00:24:39,040 Speaker 1: also has two books out currently rapun Zella or Don't 310 00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:42,040 Speaker 1: Touch My Hair and the map that led to You, 311 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:45,639 Speaker 1: which I highly recommend and which you can purchase at 312 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:49,600 Speaker 1: all good bookstores. And last, but not least, thank you 313 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:53,399 Speaker 1: so much to doctor Diane Hope. Diane is a fantastic 314 00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:57,000 Speaker 1: audio producer and sound recordeded in her own right. You 315 00:24:57,040 --> 00:24:59,560 Speaker 1: can find out more about her work and her personal 316 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:04,000 Speaker 1: coach in field recording, sound design and podcast production at 317 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:08,800 Speaker 1: Dianehope dot com and on Instagram at in the Sound Field. 318 00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:12,639 Speaker 1: And lastly, but very much not least, I want to 319 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:15,240 Speaker 1: thank you all for being the most amazing audience of 320 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:17,480 Speaker 1: all time. I know some of you have been listening 321 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:19,720 Speaker 1: to the show since day one and I can't tell 322 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:22,439 Speaker 1: you how much that means to me. And for anyone 323 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:25,960 Speaker 1: who's new to the show, welcome and thank you too 324 00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:30,640 Speaker 1: for giving us your time. So yes, finally, I want 325 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:32,840 Speaker 1: to say a few words in a way I don't 326 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,440 Speaker 1: really tend to do one Unexplained about the world as 327 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:39,840 Speaker 1: it is today. There are many reasons that I don't 328 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:43,760 Speaker 1: share my own thoughts and feelings in Unexplained episodes or 329 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:47,760 Speaker 1: on social media. Mainly it's because that's not what Unexplained 330 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:50,160 Speaker 1: it's about, and it's certainly not what any of you 331 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:53,320 Speaker 1: come here for. Who needs to hear my take on anything? 332 00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:56,600 Speaker 1: But it's also because if I took the time to 333 00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:01,280 Speaker 1: comment on whatever terrible, atrocity or tragic thing happens to 334 00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:04,320 Speaker 1: be occurring in the world at any given time, I'd 335 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:08,000 Speaker 1: barely have time to breathe. And for the most part, 336 00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:11,000 Speaker 1: I don't think one tragedy is more deserving of attention 337 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:14,359 Speaker 1: over another. So please don't take this as a dismissal 338 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:16,760 Speaker 1: of everything else going on in the world right now, 339 00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:20,840 Speaker 1: because I haven't mentioned something specific, But today I do 340 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:24,560 Speaker 1: want to say something specific to all my amazing American 341 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:28,320 Speaker 1: listeners out there. There's a big election coming up in November, 342 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,200 Speaker 1: and you may be nervous about which way it's going 343 00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:34,480 Speaker 1: to go, So I just want to say this. I 344 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:37,720 Speaker 1: firmly believe that just because someone doesn't see the world 345 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:40,280 Speaker 1: in the same way that you do, or want for 346 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:43,480 Speaker 1: the same things, that doesn't make them a bad person. 347 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:47,359 Speaker 1: It is, of course possible to live side by side 348 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:50,679 Speaker 1: with people who don't have the same political leanings as you. 349 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:54,960 Speaker 1: I grant you It's not always easy, but it is possible. 350 00:26:55,880 --> 00:26:58,240 Speaker 1: I also think there is a huge difference between the 351 00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:01,240 Speaker 1: level of hostility that's seems to be festering in the 352 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:04,159 Speaker 1: country as it may feel online or in the media, 353 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:07,240 Speaker 1: with how it actually is out in the real world. 354 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:10,919 Speaker 1: I don't believe that, for the most part, if you 355 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:13,320 Speaker 1: were to look to that neighbor of yours who might 356 00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:16,560 Speaker 1: not vote like you in real life, that you will 357 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:19,639 Speaker 1: feel anywhere near the animosity you think you feel for 358 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:22,360 Speaker 1: them if you regard them simply as part of an 359 00:27:22,359 --> 00:27:26,560 Speaker 1: amorphous group of people who don't share your political views. 360 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 1: I believe for the most part that we're all ultimately 361 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:33,520 Speaker 1: striving for the same thing, we just disagree on how 362 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:37,080 Speaker 1: to get there. I think you're still a long way 363 00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:41,000 Speaker 1: from descending into a genuine, all out civil war. But 364 00:27:41,119 --> 00:27:44,280 Speaker 1: the fact that it isn't wholly inconceivable that you can 365 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:48,320 Speaker 1: watch a film like Alex Garland's Civil War without requiring 366 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:54,080 Speaker 1: any suspension of disbelief is frankly horrifying. Equally, that I 367 00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:57,560 Speaker 1: can wake up to the news that the Republican candidate 368 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:01,800 Speaker 1: for the presidency only narrowly escape being assassinated on live 369 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:07,800 Speaker 1: TV without being entirely surprised is astonishing. This will, no 370 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:10,879 Speaker 1: doubt have haunted many of you. But when you think 371 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:14,840 Speaker 1: back to that moment in the days, weeks, months, and 372 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:19,280 Speaker 1: years to come, perhaps think not about the shooter or 373 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:24,080 Speaker 1: the intended target, but think instead about the innocent people 374 00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:27,600 Speaker 1: in the audience who are not so fortunate. Think of 375 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:32,560 Speaker 1: Corey Comparator, who, in the moment of deadly chaos, did 376 00:28:32,560 --> 00:28:36,080 Speaker 1: the only thing he could reasonably think of. He put 377 00:28:36,119 --> 00:28:39,560 Speaker 1: his arms around his family to save them at the 378 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:44,640 Speaker 1: cost of his own life. Regardless of your politics, this 379 00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:49,760 Speaker 1: deeply human and crucially relatable act is the defining moment 380 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:54,960 Speaker 1: of that horrific event. For me. Empathy, as ever, is 381 00:28:55,000 --> 00:29:00,880 Speaker 1: always the key experience art, watch movies, read books, read 382 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 1: novels especially, and not just stories that you will personally 383 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:09,400 Speaker 1: relate to. Watch, read and listen to stories about how 384 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:13,800 Speaker 1: other people feel and experience the world. No doubt you 385 00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:16,719 Speaker 1: all already do, but if not, I can promise you 386 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:19,720 Speaker 1: it will open up gateways in your mind that you 387 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:25,600 Speaker 1: didn't know existed. And above all, listen to music. It's 388 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:30,000 Speaker 1: the closest thing we have to the truth. Until next time, 389 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:39,960 Speaker 1: I wish you all the best. Unexplained as an Avy 390 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:45,000 Speaker 1: Club Productions podcast created by Richard McClain smith. All other 391 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:48,680 Speaker 1: elements of the podcast, including the music, are also produced 392 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:53,360 Speaker 1: by me Richard McClain smith. Unexplained. The book and audiobook, 393 00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:56,680 Speaker 1: with stories never before featured on the show, is now 394 00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:01,120 Speaker 1: available to buy worldwide. You can purchase from Amazon, Barnes 395 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:05,840 Speaker 1: and Noble, Waterstones, and other bookstores. Please subscribe to and 396 00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:09,240 Speaker 1: rate the show wherever you get your podcasts, and feel 397 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:11,840 Speaker 1: free to get in touch with any thoughts or ideas 398 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:15,160 Speaker 1: regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you 399 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 1: have an explanation of your own you'd like to share. 400 00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:21,719 Speaker 1: You can find out more at Unexplained podcast dot com 401 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:25,440 Speaker 1: and reach us online through Twitter at Unexplained Pod and 402 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:30,360 Speaker 1: Facebook at Facebook dot com, Forward slash Unexplained Podcast