1 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday, everybody. Since today is the last Saturday before Halloween, 2 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:11,360 Speaker 1: we have a particularly HALLOWEENI episode for Today's Saturday Classic. 3 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: It is our episode on Esther Cox and the Great 4 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:20,599 Speaker 1: Amherst Mystery, which originally came out October. So early on 5 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: in this episode, I say that Esther's mother died just 6 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:29,040 Speaker 1: a few weeks before she was born. And no, that 7 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 1: was not a bizarre medical or maybe supernatural occurrence that 8 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:35,559 Speaker 1: we just dropped into the show and then offered no 9 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:39,200 Speaker 1: further comment on, instead going on to talk at length 10 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,240 Speaker 1: about how much premature baby's way when they're nine months old. 11 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: I just misspoke. And even though three people listen to 12 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:49,879 Speaker 1: this episode before it published, none of us noticed it 13 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: focused it afterwards, though, uh Esser's mother died a few 14 00:00:54,680 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 1: weeks after she was born. So enjoy. Welcome to Stuff 15 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: you missed in History Class, A production of I Heart Radio. Hello, 16 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frying and I'm 17 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: Tracy V. Wilson. It's still October, which means this is 18 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:24,399 Speaker 1: a perfect time for what is a haunting episode or 19 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: is it? And I feel like that could be all 20 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: of our haunting episodes, and yes, for sure, This episode 21 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: is all about an alleged haunting that took place in 22 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: Amherst Nova, Scotia in the eighteen seventies, so Canadian haunting 23 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: h And as we've done in haunting stories in the past, 24 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: we're first going to tell it more or less as 25 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 1: it is relayed from a believer's point of view, and 26 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:48,040 Speaker 1: then we're going to discuss it from a more skeptical side. 27 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 1: So I witnessed to this haunting, Walter Hubble, and we're 28 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: going to get into his involvement in the story later 29 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 1: because it's pretty important. Wrote a book detailing a six 30 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: week period in which he lived in the house with Esther, 31 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 1: who is the young woman who allegedly all of this 32 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,120 Speaker 1: this haunting activity took place around and the introduction to 33 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 1: Hubble's book reads, quote, the manifestations described in this story 34 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: commenced one year ago. No person has yet been able 35 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:19,960 Speaker 1: to ascertain their cause. Scientific men from all parts of 36 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: Canada and the United States have investigated them in vain. 37 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:29,079 Speaker 1: Some people think that electricity is the principal agent, others mesmerism, 38 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:32,239 Speaker 1: while others again are sure they are produced by the devil. 39 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,640 Speaker 1: Of the three supposed causes, the latter is certainly the 40 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:40,639 Speaker 1: most plausible theory, for some of the manifestations are remarkably 41 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:44,240 Speaker 1: devilish in their appearance and effect. So that's what we're 42 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:46,640 Speaker 1: in for here. Uh, And just a quick heads up 43 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:48,959 Speaker 1: before we get into this story. There is a very 44 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:53,079 Speaker 1: brief discussion of attempted sexual assault in this episode. There's 45 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 1: not a lot of detail about it. It comes up 46 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: two times and they're both quite quick. But if that 47 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:00,280 Speaker 1: is something that is potentially troubling for you, you might 48 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:02,240 Speaker 1: want to skip this one. But we're going to get 49 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: into Esther Cox in the Great Amherst Mystery. Esther Cox 50 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: was born on March eighteen sixty in Nova Scotia. Her 51 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 1: parents were Archibald T and Esther Cox, and the family 52 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: had a farm. She was really, really tiny when she 53 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 1: was born. According to Hubble's recounting of Esther's childhood, she 54 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: only weighed five pounds by the time she was nine 55 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: months old. Her grandmother had to keep her on a 56 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: pillow to wash and dress her because she was just 57 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 1: so delicate. Esther's mother also died just a few weeks 58 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 1: before Esther was born. I immediately was incredulous when reading 59 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:41,880 Speaker 1: that account. I'm like a nine month old that weighs 60 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 1: five pounds seems very weird to me. I'm sure we 61 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 1: will get a flood of people who say no, no, 62 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: I have evidence, um, just having known a number of 63 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: very early premise I think most of them had passed 64 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: five pounds by the time they were nine months But 65 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: that immediately kind of red flag to me. Just f 66 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: y I in case you heard that went what. Esther 67 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 1: was described by Hubble as a young woman as short, 68 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: quote inclined to be stout, earnest, and honest. She was 69 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: also strong willed, and she would sometimes sulk, but the 70 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 1: writer assures the reader of her goodness. By the time 71 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: she was a young woman. Esther, her sister Jane, and 72 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 1: their brother William all lived with their older sister, Olive 73 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 1: and her family. Daniel and Olive Teed had two sons 74 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: named William George. Willie was five when Esther moved in 75 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: with the family, and George had just passed his first birthday. 76 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:37,400 Speaker 1: Daniel's brother John lived with the family as well. Hubble 77 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: described the Teed cottage as pleasant, with its interior adornments 78 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 1: quote so tastefully arranged, so scrupulously clean, and so comfortable 79 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:49,320 Speaker 1: that the visitor feels at home in a moment, being 80 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,720 Speaker 1: confident that everything is looked after by a thrifty housewife. 81 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:58,720 Speaker 1: On August Sight, Esther, he was eighteen, started her day 82 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:01,479 Speaker 1: as normal with breakfast with the family and then she 83 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: did her chores around the house. That evening, her boyfriend 84 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 1: Bob McNeil came to call and asked her to go 85 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:10,320 Speaker 1: for a ride with him. He had missed a date 86 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,159 Speaker 1: to visit her the night before, and he promised to 87 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:17,920 Speaker 1: explain what had happened during their ride. Allegedly, as the 88 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:22,520 Speaker 1: pair were riding through a wooded area, Bob's demeanor changed abruptly. 89 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,039 Speaker 1: He jumped down from the buggy, pulled a gun and 90 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:28,599 Speaker 1: ordered Esther to do the same that his exit the 91 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: buggy or he would kill her. She did not do 92 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 1: as he ordered, and instead told him to stop acting 93 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:37,000 Speaker 1: like a crazy man and drive her home, and this 94 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:40,279 Speaker 1: incensed Bob, and he was allegedly about to shoot Esther 95 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 1: point blank when they heard another buggy approaching, and at 96 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:46,400 Speaker 1: that point, Bob jumped back into the driver's seat and 97 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:49,480 Speaker 1: raced back to the teed home. As Esther ran into 98 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: the house, Bob and the buggy raced away. This incident 99 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:57,599 Speaker 1: as it's relayed in the Walter Hubble account, is like 100 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 1: it's described above, although there's all so the mention that 101 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:05,680 Speaker 1: Bob quote uttered several terrible oaths. Often, though, this incident 102 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:08,720 Speaker 1: is characterized as an attempted sexual assault, and it's not 103 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: clear due to the possibility that it was sanitized and 104 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 1: publication for the sake of propriety. But as we're about 105 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:19,719 Speaker 1: to discuss, whatever took place on that ride was very 106 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:23,920 Speaker 1: traumatic for ester This incident really did take a severe 107 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:26,920 Speaker 1: toll on her and Esther's family. None of him who 108 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:30,800 Speaker 1: had ever really particularly approved of Bob McLean, presumed that 109 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 1: the pair had gotten into an argument and broken up. 110 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 1: Esther did not reveal to them what had happened in 111 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:39,360 Speaker 1: terms of him threatening her, and they didn't pry into 112 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 1: what they thought was a basic lover's quarrel. But not 113 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 1: long after McNeil's attack, a series of unusual things began happening. 114 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:51,680 Speaker 1: For the next week, Esther was quite understandably distraught. She 115 00:06:51,839 --> 00:06:54,920 Speaker 1: cried a lot. She had trouble sleeping on the night 116 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,719 Speaker 1: of September four, as their believed that there was a 117 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:01,040 Speaker 1: mouse in her bed. She felt some thing rustling under 118 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 1: the sheet. Her sister Jane, who slept in the same 119 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 1: room with her, assured her that even if it was 120 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:08,360 Speaker 1: a mouse, it wouldn't hurt them, that they should just 121 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:12,120 Speaker 1: try to get some rest. The following night, what they 122 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: believed was a mouse once again disrupted their sleep. This 123 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:18,640 Speaker 1: time they heard what they thought were mouse noises from 124 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:22,280 Speaker 1: within a box of patchwork. Esther resolved that they were 125 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 1: going to kill the mouse so that they would not 126 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: have the same problem of poor sleep night after night 127 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: after night. So the two young women removed the box 128 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: from its place under the bed and they put it 129 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 1: in the center of the floor, preparing to deal with 130 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 1: this mouse. While they were watching, the box rose up 131 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 1: into the air, roughly a foot off the floor, and 132 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:43,360 Speaker 1: then it tipped onto its side. As it fell back down, 133 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:46,240 Speaker 1: Jane put the box in the center of the room, 134 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:52,320 Speaker 1: and the same thing happened again. They started screaming, not surprisingly, 135 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 1: and their screams drew their brother in law Daniel, into 136 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:57,360 Speaker 1: the room, but he laughed off the account of the 137 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:02,160 Speaker 1: levitating box, insisting it they had just dreamed it or 138 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: they had shared some moment of delusion. The next day, 139 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: everyone went about their usual routine, but that evening, Esther 140 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:13,240 Speaker 1: felt ill, and she went to bed early. Jane went 141 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 1: to bed later, but she was awakened in the night 142 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 1: by Esther, who had jumped out of bed and exclaimed 143 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 1: that she was dying. Jane little lamp, and she saw 144 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 1: that Esther's appearance was changed in really upsetting ways. Esther's 145 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:29,160 Speaker 1: face was bright red, her hair was standing on end, 146 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:32,920 Speaker 1: and she was shaking and gripping a chair so tightly 147 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 1: that her fingernails had sunk down into the woods. So 148 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: Jane called for help. After the adult members of the 149 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: household rushed into the room, Esther's color went pale and 150 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:46,960 Speaker 1: she became very, very weak. She was assisted to her bed, 151 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 1: where she sat for a moment before jumping up and 152 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:52,960 Speaker 1: yelling that she thought she was going to burst. Jane 153 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: soothed her. She got into her bed, but Esther kept 154 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: saying that she was going to burst and that she 155 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:01,640 Speaker 1: was swelling. Her family looked at her, and she was 156 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:04,720 Speaker 1: swelling and turning red once again. She was also hot 157 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:07,080 Speaker 1: to the touch, and then they all heard a loud 158 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:11,320 Speaker 1: sound that Olive initially thought was lightning striking the house. 159 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:14,400 Speaker 1: It scared all of so much that she actually went 160 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:16,439 Speaker 1: to check on her two little boys. She was worried 161 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 1: that something might have happened to them, but they were 162 00:09:18,679 --> 00:09:21,360 Speaker 1: both fast asleep peacefully, and they appeared to have not 163 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:24,240 Speaker 1: heard this sound that everyone in Esther's room had heard. 164 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:29,000 Speaker 1: There was absolutely no storm outside. There were three more 165 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:31,800 Speaker 1: loud noises, which all seemed to come from under the bed, 166 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:35,960 Speaker 1: and then Esther's swelling vanished, her temperature returned to normal. 167 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,400 Speaker 1: She fell deeply asleep until nine o'clock the next morning. 168 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:43,280 Speaker 1: The family discussed the oddness of the previous night, but 169 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:47,200 Speaker 1: because there was no discernible cause and Esther seemed to 170 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:50,679 Speaker 1: be okay other than having a slightly reduced appetite, they 171 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:53,640 Speaker 1: let the matter drop. We're going to talk about the 172 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:57,560 Speaker 1: odd happenings around Esther intensifying after this, but before we do, 173 00:09:57,600 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 1: we're gonna take a little break and pause for a 174 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:11,319 Speaker 1: word from one of our sponsors. Things at the Teed 175 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:14,720 Speaker 1: house were normal for four nights, and then another swelling 176 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:18,360 Speaker 1: incident happened. This time Esther was just getting into bed 177 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:20,840 Speaker 1: when it started, and Jane advised her to just lie 178 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:23,880 Speaker 1: still and be quiet and hope that the attack would 179 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:26,719 Speaker 1: just pass. But as they waited for the swelling and 180 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:29,600 Speaker 1: the fever to subside, all of the bedclothes flew off 181 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:33,840 Speaker 1: the bed and landed in a corner. Jane, terrified, screamed 182 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:36,760 Speaker 1: and fainted. When the rest of the family rested into 183 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:39,400 Speaker 1: the room, having heard all the screaming, at first they 184 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:43,240 Speaker 1: were afraid that Jane was dead. Olive quickly gathered up 185 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:45,680 Speaker 1: the bed coverings and put them back on our sisters, 186 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:49,040 Speaker 1: but once again they flew into the corner and a ball. 187 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:55,000 Speaker 1: The bed covers were replaced once more, and this time Olive, Daniel, William, 188 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 1: and John sat on the edges of the bed to 189 00:10:57,480 --> 00:11:01,360 Speaker 1: keep the covers in place as Ster's pillow shot out 190 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:03,720 Speaker 1: from under her head and it hit John in the face, 191 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:07,160 Speaker 1: which frightened him out of the room. As Esther's brother, 192 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:09,960 Speaker 1: William brought a bucket of cold water to try to 193 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:13,599 Speaker 1: soothe her aching and feverish head, there were, as in 194 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:17,600 Speaker 1: the first swelling incident, several loud noises from under the bed, 195 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:23,240 Speaker 1: after which Esther's swelling vanished and she once again slept peacefully. 196 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:26,200 Speaker 1: But the next day, as the family conferred on what 197 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:29,080 Speaker 1: had happened, it was decided that they absolutely needed a 198 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:32,760 Speaker 1: doctor to check on Esther. Daniel visited the family doctor, 199 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:36,560 Speaker 1: doctor Curit, and he described to him all that had happened, 200 00:11:36,679 --> 00:11:39,439 Speaker 1: and while the doctor thought it sounded like utter nonsense, 201 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:41,040 Speaker 1: he did agree that he would go to the house 202 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,480 Speaker 1: in the evening and that he would stay until one 203 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:48,160 Speaker 1: am and observe. He initially examined Esther and said that 204 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:50,560 Speaker 1: she appeared to have had a shock and she was 205 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:55,440 Speaker 1: experiencing nervous excitement. Then he saw the pillow under her 206 00:11:55,480 --> 00:12:00,319 Speaker 1: head move on its own as before. The pillow shot 207 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:03,760 Speaker 1: out then from under Esther's head, and this time John 208 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:05,880 Speaker 1: tried to grab it, but it felt as though some 209 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 1: other force was pulling in in opposition. Loud sounds once 210 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 1: again came, initially from under the bed, but then as 211 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:16,280 Speaker 1: the doctor, who seemed to keep a pretty cool head 212 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:19,080 Speaker 1: through all of this, started walking around the room, those 213 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:23,720 Speaker 1: noises seemed to follow him under the floorboards. Then words 214 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:26,680 Speaker 1: appeared to be etched into the wall over the bed 215 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:32,160 Speaker 1: that said Esther Cox, you are mine to kill. Next, 216 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:34,600 Speaker 1: a piece of plaster came loose from the wall and 217 00:12:34,679 --> 00:12:38,960 Speaker 1: flew across the room. Then the banging sounds again, and 218 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:42,960 Speaker 1: the noise continued for two full hours and then stopped abruptly, 219 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:46,440 Speaker 1: the doctor left, promising that he would visit again in 220 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:50,720 Speaker 1: the morning to check on Esther. When doctor Kat was 221 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:53,160 Speaker 1: in the house the next day, Esther was up. She 222 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:56,480 Speaker 1: was feeling fairly normal and going about her chores. She 223 00:12:56,559 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 1: went into the cellar, but soon she ran back upstairs, 224 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:03,320 Speaker 1: vinced that someone was hiding there and had thrown a 225 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:08,240 Speaker 1: piece of wood planking at her. The doctor investigated, but 226 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 1: he found nothing. He asked Esther to come down into 227 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:14,320 Speaker 1: the cellar with him, and once she was there, the 228 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 1: pair were pelted with potatoes, uh and they both immediately 229 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:21,720 Speaker 1: ran back upstairs. That evening, the doctor gave Esther several 230 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 1: sedatives at bedtime and the hopes that she would be 231 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:27,440 Speaker 1: able to rest, but the pounding took place once again, 232 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:32,240 Speaker 1: this time louder and faster than on previous occasions. Eventually 233 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:34,600 Speaker 1: it shifted so that it sounded like it was coming 234 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:38,600 Speaker 1: from the roof. And up to this point, the family 235 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:41,280 Speaker 1: had kept all of these strange events from their neighbors, 236 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:44,480 Speaker 1: but words soon began to spread this something very unusual 237 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:47,240 Speaker 1: was happening, and this was due in part to the 238 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:50,160 Speaker 1: fact that the pounding sounds started going on all throughout 239 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:52,000 Speaker 1: the day. And night, and they were so loud that 240 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:55,320 Speaker 1: people simply heard them. A few weeks after the doctor's 241 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:58,760 Speaker 1: first visit, Esther had a spasm or a seizure while 242 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:01,960 Speaker 1: he was there. One night, she went quite still and 243 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:06,400 Speaker 1: then relayed what had taken place between her and Bob McNeil. Yeah, 244 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:08,440 Speaker 1: there are a few instances where she sort of goes 245 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:14,840 Speaker 1: into this almost trance like state and has discussions that 246 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,920 Speaker 1: she doesn't really recall. It comes up again later. And 247 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:21,000 Speaker 1: it was at this same time that esther sister Jane 248 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,560 Speaker 1: put forth the idea that whatever the entity was that 249 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:28,240 Speaker 1: was making these noises could also, she thought, here and 250 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:31,400 Speaker 1: understand the family, And so they decided to test this idea. 251 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:34,760 Speaker 1: So they started to ask questions of whatever it was, 252 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:38,720 Speaker 1: things like can you hear us? Three knocks in response, 253 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:41,520 Speaker 1: And then they asked how many people are in this room? 254 00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:44,280 Speaker 1: And five knocks came in response, which was a correct answer. 255 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:48,040 Speaker 1: The family also started to realize that what was happening 256 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:51,400 Speaker 1: was centered around Esther. None of these things were happening 257 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:54,800 Speaker 1: whenever she was out of the house. A well known 258 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:58,520 Speaker 1: Baptist minister named Dr Edwin Clay had heard stories of 259 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,960 Speaker 1: the happenings at the Teed house, and he came to investigate, 260 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:05,000 Speaker 1: and after spending a brief time there and hearing the 261 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 1: knocking in response to questions and seeing the writing appearing 262 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:10,640 Speaker 1: on the walls, he was convinced that it was not 263 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:13,760 Speaker 1: a hoax. But he thought that the shock of being 264 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:16,760 Speaker 1: held at gunpoint by her boyfriend had actually caused Esther 265 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:20,000 Speaker 1: to manifest a sort of electrical charge. If you remember, 266 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:22,600 Speaker 1: the intro at the top of the episode said that 267 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,000 Speaker 1: electricity might have been the cause, and Clay was really 268 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:27,840 Speaker 1: the proponent of this, and he actually toured and gave 269 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:31,560 Speaker 1: lectures on this theory, and in the process of those lectures, 270 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:34,920 Speaker 1: he defended Esther against those who believed she was perpetrating 271 00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:38,440 Speaker 1: a hoax. As the story ballooned and more and more 272 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:43,080 Speaker 1: respected members of the community attested to seeing strange things 273 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:46,720 Speaker 1: like water boiling in a bucket on its own, the 274 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:51,240 Speaker 1: Ted's home became overrun with curious onlookers. There was a 275 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:55,320 Speaker 1: constant stream of visitors and a steady throng of people outside. 276 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:59,640 Speaker 1: There was ongoing debate about whether this was really happening, 277 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:02,920 Speaker 1: or whether it was an elaborate theatricality, or even if 278 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:08,160 Speaker 1: Esther was somehow exerting mind control over people. Yeah. One 279 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:11,200 Speaker 1: of the theories was that she was planting these ideas 280 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:14,040 Speaker 1: in people's heads, that they weren't actually seeing any of 281 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 1: these things, but they believed that they had. In December 282 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:20,560 Speaker 1: of eighteen seventy eight, all of the poltergeist, which is 283 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:23,280 Speaker 1: what it was being called at this point, activity stopped 284 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:26,280 Speaker 1: when Esther was ill with dip syria. She was on 285 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:28,800 Speaker 1: bed rest for two weeks, and when she had recovered, 286 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:31,920 Speaker 1: she went to visit another sister of theirs in Sackville, 287 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:35,040 Speaker 1: New Brunswick for another two weeks, and no events happened 288 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:38,400 Speaker 1: while she was in Sackville. Well Esther was away, the 289 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:42,440 Speaker 1: family shuffled rooms. They moved Esther in Jane's room to 290 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:44,280 Speaker 1: a different part of the house to see if it 291 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:47,960 Speaker 1: would stop all these weird problems. On our first night back, 292 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:50,600 Speaker 1: Esther told Jane that a voice had told her it 293 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:54,200 Speaker 1: was someone who had once been alive, but he had 294 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:56,600 Speaker 1: been dead for some time, and that was going to 295 00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:00,560 Speaker 1: set the house on fire. Jane called everyone in and 296 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:03,320 Speaker 1: relayed this odd conversation that Esther said she had had 297 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:06,760 Speaker 1: with a ghost, presumably, and while they were discussing all 298 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:10,120 Speaker 1: of this, a lighted match was said to fall from 299 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:13,840 Speaker 1: the ceiling onto the bed. Jane quickly put this match out, 300 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:16,159 Speaker 1: but it was followed by eight to ten more that 301 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:18,880 Speaker 1: the rest of the family also put out, and then 302 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:23,080 Speaker 1: one of Esther's dresses caught fire. The family was again 303 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 1: able to extinguish it quickly. Up to this point, the 304 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:29,600 Speaker 1: family had been pretty keen on Dr Clay's theory that 305 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:33,920 Speaker 1: Esther was somehow hyper electrical, but this fire event made 306 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:37,960 Speaker 1: them question whether something of a darker spirit nature was 307 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:41,520 Speaker 1: going on. According to Hubble's account, Daniel said of the 308 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:45,880 Speaker 1: phenomenon quote, lightning often sets fire to houses and barns, 309 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:48,639 Speaker 1: but it has never yet been known to roam about 310 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:54,080 Speaker 1: a man's house as this strange power does. Several days later, 311 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:56,960 Speaker 1: a fire started in the cellar when only Esther and 312 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:59,320 Speaker 1: Olive were home. The two young boys were home, but 313 00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:02,439 Speaker 1: they were outside playing. The women tried to put it 314 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:05,800 Speaker 1: out this cellar fire with the water bucket from the kitchen, 315 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:08,720 Speaker 1: but they were unsuccessful, and so they ran out into 316 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:12,400 Speaker 1: the street and yelled for help. People began rushing to them, 317 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 1: but it was apparently and this all stood out as 318 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:17,199 Speaker 1: very odd to me. A stranger who just showed up 319 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:19,399 Speaker 1: out of nowhere off the street and put out the 320 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 1: blaze and then left the house without speaking to anyone. 321 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,120 Speaker 1: He does not appear again in any of the Esther stories. 322 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:28,720 Speaker 1: We'll talk about how the village reacted to the fires 323 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: in a moment, but we're going to take a quick 324 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:42,879 Speaker 1: break first for a word from a sponsor. So the 325 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:47,280 Speaker 1: family attributed these fires to a ghost. The fire marshals 326 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:49,320 Speaker 1: of Amherst, on the other hand, thought it was Esther 327 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:53,199 Speaker 1: starting the fires. But regardless, the whole thing made everyone 328 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:56,439 Speaker 1: in the village nervous because no matter what the cause, 329 00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:59,480 Speaker 1: if the teed house were to catch fire, it could spread, 330 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:02,520 Speaker 1: and so everyone in the area had a keen awareness 331 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:05,960 Speaker 1: of the danger that this situation posed. One evening in 332 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:11,200 Speaker 1: January seventy nine, the ghost appeared in the family's parlor 333 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:14,640 Speaker 1: and it told Esther that if she didn't leave, would 334 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:18,600 Speaker 1: burn the house down. Daniels, he was desperate, told Esther 335 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:20,359 Speaker 1: she would have to go, and then it was the 336 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 1: ghost's fault and not his. But the problem was that 337 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:26,680 Speaker 1: no one wanted to take in a young woman who 338 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:30,000 Speaker 1: either set fires herself or had a ghost that did, 339 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:33,280 Speaker 1: so that was chasing her UH. There was one neighbor, 340 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:37,280 Speaker 1: John White, who had been both fascinated by and sympathetic 341 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:40,240 Speaker 1: to Esther's plate, and so Daniel went to White and 342 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:42,680 Speaker 1: he asked if Esther could stay in the White home, 343 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:45,960 Speaker 1: and John and his wife agreed. For the next two weeks, 344 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:48,320 Speaker 1: Esther actually seemed a lot better. There had been no 345 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:51,439 Speaker 1: incidents while she stayed with the Whites. The couple treated 346 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:53,879 Speaker 1: her as one of their own children. But in the 347 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:57,720 Speaker 1: third week, a scrub brush banished out of Esther's hand 348 00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:00,040 Speaker 1: as she was cleaning, and then it fell from the 349 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:04,520 Speaker 1: ceiling onto her head. For the next few weeks, odd 350 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:08,080 Speaker 1: things continued to happen, and Esther could once again communicate 351 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:11,440 Speaker 1: with this entity call and response style and it would 352 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:14,680 Speaker 1: respond with pounding. But all of the various things that 353 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:18,920 Speaker 1: were happening there at the White House UH seemed fairly harmless, really, 354 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:24,240 Speaker 1: But after six weeks fires began at the White household. 355 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:27,040 Speaker 1: John White was afraid to leave Esther at the house 356 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:29,120 Speaker 1: when he wasn't there, so we started to take her 357 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:32,200 Speaker 1: to his dining saloon during the day. She worked in 358 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:35,119 Speaker 1: the kitchen and behind the counter, and it seemed like 359 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:40,080 Speaker 1: the Poulter geist followed her there, Esther's ghost opened up 360 00:20:40,119 --> 00:20:43,000 Speaker 1: the large stove in the saloon's kitchen and through an 361 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,720 Speaker 1: axe handle that had been used to prop the stove closed. 362 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:49,400 Speaker 1: It was allegedly quite heavy, and then the spirit snatched 363 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:51,880 Speaker 1: a pocket knife from the hand of Mr White's sun 364 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:57,040 Speaker 1: and drove the blade into Esther's back furniture and boxes. 365 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:00,920 Speaker 1: One box weighing a reported fifty pounds began to move 366 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:03,760 Speaker 1: about the saloon without any obvious source for the motion. 367 00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:08,360 Speaker 1: Many witnesses were said to have seen these events. At 368 00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:11,720 Speaker 1: the end of March eighteen seventy nine, Esther traveled once again, 369 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:14,639 Speaker 1: this time to St John, New Brunswick. She stayed at 370 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:17,439 Speaker 1: the house of Captain James Beck and his wife for 371 00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:21,520 Speaker 1: three weeks, and her particular problem was observed and examined 372 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:27,000 Speaker 1: by a group of science minded men. Hubble's account reports 373 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 1: that when the men investigating Esther's poltergeist made contact with 374 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:34,120 Speaker 1: it and conversed with it by means of this knocking 375 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:37,880 Speaker 1: and response that had been established by Ester's family, other 376 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:41,680 Speaker 1: ghost entities also came forth, although the others were all 377 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,560 Speaker 1: weaker than Esther's preliminary ghost, who claimed to be someone 378 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:49,840 Speaker 1: named Bob Nichol. Rather than going directly back to amherst 379 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:53,480 Speaker 1: Esther stayed for two months with the Van Amberg's, who 380 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:55,720 Speaker 1: lived in the woods several miles from the village and 381 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:58,520 Speaker 1: had invited her to stay as a guest. Those weeks 382 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:02,320 Speaker 1: passed uneventfully, and Esther was allowed something of arrest from 383 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:05,840 Speaker 1: the tumult of her recent life. When she got back 384 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:08,399 Speaker 1: to Amhurst, she moved back in with her sister and 385 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:11,200 Speaker 1: brother in law, but she continued to work for Mr 386 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:13,400 Speaker 1: White during the day, so someone always had an eye 387 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:19,040 Speaker 1: on her. Almost immediately, unexplainable things began happening again. It 388 00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:22,480 Speaker 1: was actually during this time that Walter Hubbell entered Esther's life. 389 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:25,240 Speaker 1: He was an actor by trade and wanted to travel 390 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:30,360 Speaker 1: to Amhurston determine whether all this news making Poultergeist activity 391 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 1: was real or a hoax. He felt that his experience 392 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:37,920 Speaker 1: in creating stage illusions gave him enough knowledge to expose 393 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 1: a hoax if there was one. He arrived on June 394 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:44,600 Speaker 1: twenty one, eighteen seventy nine. We'll talk about it later, 395 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,159 Speaker 1: but there's an interesting critical essay about all of this. 396 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,200 Speaker 1: It's like, really, that's what an actor thinks he needs 397 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:54,119 Speaker 1: to become like a paranormal investigator. Like I've been in 398 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:56,680 Speaker 1: the theater, I've seen people make things look like they're 399 00:22:56,680 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 1: happening when they're not. I can super figure out if 400 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:02,479 Speaker 1: this is a real deal or not. Um So, this 401 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:06,080 Speaker 1: actor turned paranormal investigator was in the home for roughly 402 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:10,000 Speaker 1: five minutes, according to his account, before he witnessed objects, 403 00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:13,879 Speaker 1: specifically his umbrella and a carving knife, moving through the 404 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:17,600 Speaker 1: air with no explanation. After moving to a different room, 405 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:21,520 Speaker 1: this activity continued, amplifying to the point that a large 406 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:24,800 Speaker 1: chair was hurdled at him. He at that point decided 407 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:27,280 Speaker 1: to leave the house for a brief walk before returning. 408 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:30,520 Speaker 1: I'm out of here just for a bit. I'll be 409 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:33,000 Speaker 1: back and go for a quick stroll. There my head 410 00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:36,760 Speaker 1: of these objects being thrown. So Hubble began to ask 411 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:40,240 Speaker 1: questions of the spirits. That seems the ones who revealed 412 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:43,040 Speaker 1: themselves when Esther was in St. John had stuck with her, 413 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:46,480 Speaker 1: they answered via knocking, as had become a habit for 414 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:50,200 Speaker 1: everybody involved. Yeah, so when she came back from St. John. 415 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:52,600 Speaker 1: Just to be clear, all of those other ones that 416 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:57,240 Speaker 1: suddenly made themselves apparent. In addition to Bob Nichol came 417 00:23:57,359 --> 00:24:00,280 Speaker 1: along with her, um like they were suddenly part of 418 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:04,560 Speaker 1: the story at this point. Later, Hubble spied on Esther 419 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:06,959 Speaker 1: by pretending to be asleep on the sofa in the 420 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:08,960 Speaker 1: parlor while she was doing some other things in the 421 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:12,200 Speaker 1: parlor herself, but he was secretly watching her through one eye, 422 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:15,480 Speaker 1: and he said that he witnessed a paperweight fly through 423 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:19,600 Speaker 1: the air that Esther clearly had not thrown herself. Apparently, 424 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:22,280 Speaker 1: the apparitions were not fond of Hubble, and they were 425 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:26,600 Speaker 1: especially active and belligerent when he was near. He cataloged 426 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:29,119 Speaker 1: dozens of events that seemed to be focused on getting 427 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:33,119 Speaker 1: him to leave and or causing him harm. Hubble wrote 428 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:36,160 Speaker 1: that he quote made the acquaintance of all the ghosts 429 00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:39,960 Speaker 1: in the home. There were six altogether, and he asked 430 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:43,200 Speaker 1: them a series of questions. They answered and the affirmative 431 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:45,399 Speaker 1: when he asked us to whether they were in hell 432 00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:49,760 Speaker 1: and whether they had seen the devil. Apparently they were 433 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:53,480 Speaker 1: very affirmative that they had seen the double devil. In particular, 434 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:57,040 Speaker 1: Hubble describes having to pull pins at one point from 435 00:24:57,160 --> 00:24:59,720 Speaker 1: Esther's body, as the ghost would stick her with them 436 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:02,919 Speaker 1: through out the day, and they also obliged when he 437 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,720 Speaker 1: asked for them to throw him a lighted match, although 438 00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:09,159 Speaker 1: they overdid it by throwing several dozen. It just seems 439 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:15,280 Speaker 1: like a very risky thing a match from a pipe 440 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:19,760 Speaker 1: and specifically throw it to me. After a week in 441 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,240 Speaker 1: the house, Hubble and members of the household started to 442 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:26,040 Speaker 1: hear a trumpet being played loudly all day long. Pubbill 443 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:29,280 Speaker 1: also claimed that the trumpet materialized from the spirit realm 444 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,280 Speaker 1: and fell to the floor, and that then he kept it. Yeah, 445 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:35,399 Speaker 1: he planned to put it in a museum. Walter Hubbell 446 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:37,960 Speaker 1: stayed at the Teed house for six weeks, during which 447 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:41,159 Speaker 1: he watched the ghosts hurt Esther by cutting her with 448 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:44,159 Speaker 1: a bone found in the yard and stab at her 449 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:47,920 Speaker 1: face with a fork. He also witnessed Esther falling into 450 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:51,320 Speaker 1: the trance like states that we mentioned before, in which 451 00:25:51,359 --> 00:25:54,639 Speaker 1: she spoke with the dead Uh. He saw firsthand the 452 00:25:54,760 --> 00:25:59,679 Speaker 1: painful nighttime swelling incidents that had continued since the first manifestation. 453 00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:03,560 Speaker 1: As the summer war on the fire problem became more 454 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:06,639 Speaker 1: intense and Esther once again was moved from the house, 455 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:10,000 Speaker 1: she returned back to the woods to the home of Mr. 456 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:14,760 Speaker 1: And Mrs Van Amberg, where things were relatively quiet once 457 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,480 Speaker 1: Esther left the Teed home. All the comphany there came 458 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:22,159 Speaker 1: to an end as well. But in November of eighteen 459 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:25,560 Speaker 1: seventy nine, Esther was found guilty of arson for the 460 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:27,680 Speaker 1: burning of a barn at another home that she was 461 00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:31,919 Speaker 1: staying at, briefly that of the Davison family, and she 462 00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:34,560 Speaker 1: claimed that the ghost Bob had set the fire, that 463 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:37,760 Speaker 1: the activity had started up once again, but the jury 464 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:41,400 Speaker 1: was not convinced of this whole Poultergeist story, but after 465 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:44,400 Speaker 1: public outcry, she served only one month of her four 466 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:49,480 Speaker 1: months sentence. In nineteen nineteen, forty years after the events 467 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:53,879 Speaker 1: surrounding Esther and her possible Poultergeist, Dr Walter F. Prince 468 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:57,440 Speaker 1: published a critical study of the Great Amherst mystery in 469 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:03,159 Speaker 1: the Proceedings of the American Society for Psychical Research, and 470 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:07,240 Speaker 1: in this paper, Prince makes pretty clear a case that 471 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:12,240 Speaker 1: Hubble exaggerated the details of Esther's case. Hubble, he pointed out, 472 00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:15,320 Speaker 1: first published his notes on the Estercox case in eighteen 473 00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:18,320 Speaker 1: seventy nine, so the year after it began and the 474 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:20,080 Speaker 1: same year that some of this was still going on. 475 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:24,320 Speaker 1: He then published a total of ten editions of these notes, 476 00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:27,720 Speaker 1: augmenting them with each printing and making quite a happy 477 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:30,600 Speaker 1: sum of money in the process. The summer after the 478 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:34,880 Speaker 1: alleged Poulter guy started its disruption of Esther's life, while 479 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:37,640 Speaker 1: the haunting was still happening, she went on a tour 480 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:41,800 Speaker 1: to talk about the phenomena. Walter Hubble and John White 481 00:27:41,960 --> 00:27:44,439 Speaker 1: went with her. But this tour was really a bust. 482 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:47,840 Speaker 1: In the first two stops, the audiences were really belligerent 483 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:51,000 Speaker 1: and heckled them. All of the other dates were canceled 484 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:54,600 Speaker 1: and the tour abruptly ended. So, as you recall, John 485 00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:58,159 Speaker 1: White was the person that her brother in law Daniel 486 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:00,280 Speaker 1: went to desperate and said, will you please take her in? 487 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:03,600 Speaker 1: And this is where we mentioned that that lecture tour 488 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:07,120 Speaker 1: was actually agreed upon as a business venture by those 489 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:11,159 Speaker 1: two men before Hubble had even set foot in Amherst 490 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:13,879 Speaker 1: h It begins to be very obvious that from the 491 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:18,639 Speaker 1: beginning Walter Hubble saw Esther Cox as a money making opportunity. 492 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:22,000 Speaker 1: Prince wrote of Hubble quote, we are disposed to put 493 00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:26,600 Speaker 1: the most favorable construction upon this tendency to dramatize, embellish 494 00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:30,359 Speaker 1: and use paint. It's merely histrionic, a projection of the 495 00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:34,080 Speaker 1: habitudes of the stage. But when the actor becomes investigator 496 00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:37,680 Speaker 1: and recorder, this tendency will trip him up, especially if 497 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:42,840 Speaker 1: it be stimulated by the mercenary lure. One of the 498 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:46,880 Speaker 1: interesting distinctions made by Prince is the difference between witnesses 499 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:50,400 Speaker 1: and spectators. Uh And while many people are said to 500 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:53,160 Speaker 1: have seen the phenomena of the Teed house and other 501 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:57,240 Speaker 1: places that Esther was, in Hubble's first edition of his notes, 502 00:28:57,320 --> 00:28:59,680 Speaker 1: there's merely the assurance that all of these claims have 503 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:04,360 Speaker 1: been robberated, but no actual statements from anyone else. In 504 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:07,440 Speaker 1: a later edition of the book, Hubble added a statement 505 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:11,600 Speaker 1: that was signed by sixteen witnesses, and Hubble himself wrote 506 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:15,400 Speaker 1: this so called testamentary document. But Prince points out that 507 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:18,680 Speaker 1: the wording only says that the signatories believe what Hubble 508 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:23,640 Speaker 1: has written, not that they necessarily saw any of this themselves. 509 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:28,280 Speaker 1: As for Olive Teed, she apparently said some contradictory things 510 00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:31,800 Speaker 1: during Hubble's account. While she is a signer of the 511 00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:35,400 Speaker 1: testamentary document. She is said to have told an investigator 512 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:38,520 Speaker 1: later that Hubble had not given an accurate account. But 513 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:40,640 Speaker 1: then some years later, wrote that everything in the book 514 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:46,120 Speaker 1: was true. Also, she inadvertently contradicted the Hubble account on 515 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:49,400 Speaker 1: a number of different occasions while relaying her own version 516 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:52,200 Speaker 1: of events. The details and a lot of instances just 517 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:55,280 Speaker 1: don't match up, including the fact that she later told 518 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:58,440 Speaker 1: an investigator that she had never actually seen anything fly 519 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:02,720 Speaker 1: through the air. Prince also points out that a lot 520 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:06,680 Speaker 1: of the stories running in newspapers about Esther's paranormal situation 521 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:11,880 Speaker 1: cited a common source, and that source is Walter Hubble. Hubble, 522 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:14,800 Speaker 1: in his writing mentioned stories in the paper from before 523 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:17,920 Speaker 1: he became involved, but there's no actual citations for any 524 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:20,880 Speaker 1: of those once he became part of the story, though 525 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:25,840 Speaker 1: there's an abundance of citable newspaper articles. Prince's writing also 526 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:29,640 Speaker 1: addresses the possible completely mundane cause if many of the 527 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:33,840 Speaker 1: phenomena that we're reported around Esther matches, he points out, 528 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:37,440 Speaker 1: can be easily hidden on somebody's person. There's never any 529 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:40,760 Speaker 1: mention of Esther being searched during any of these accounts. 530 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,880 Speaker 1: He also pokes holes and Hubble's account based on its 531 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:47,160 Speaker 1: lack of detail, and points out that often no specifics 532 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:49,960 Speaker 1: are offered as to the position of Esther during various 533 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:55,080 Speaker 1: moments of this seeming paranormal phenomena. Yeah, there's not really 534 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:58,200 Speaker 1: a breakdown of like Esther couldn't have done it. Here's why. 535 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:02,240 Speaker 1: There just aren't hard details about where she was and 536 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:03,800 Speaker 1: how things were playing out. It's kind of like the 537 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:06,800 Speaker 1: thing I brought up earlier about this mysterious stranger that 538 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:08,960 Speaker 1: shows up and puts out a fire and then vanishes 539 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:11,360 Speaker 1: and no one knows who it was, so we can't 540 00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:14,360 Speaker 1: question him. Uh, there's a lot of that that goes 541 00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:17,320 Speaker 1: on in the book and the next part. Keep in 542 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:20,320 Speaker 1: mind this was written in ninete, so really at a 543 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:24,320 Speaker 1: time when psychiatry and psychology was still in its infancy 544 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:27,280 Speaker 1: compared to what we know today. But Prince makes a 545 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:29,760 Speaker 1: case that Esther was probably a young woman in a 546 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:32,560 Speaker 1: great deal of shock after that incident with Bob McClean, 547 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:36,520 Speaker 1: which he felt was almost certainly an instance of attempted 548 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:40,640 Speaker 1: sexual assault, and in that state where her mental health 549 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:44,600 Speaker 1: may have been compromised, she embarked, likely subconsciously, upon the 550 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:47,840 Speaker 1: strange behavior that came to be known as the Amherst Poltergeist. 551 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:53,520 Speaker 1: After Esther's brief incarceration for arson, the poltergeist Bob seems 552 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:57,240 Speaker 1: to have disappeared. Esther went on to Mary twice, first 553 00:31:57,240 --> 00:32:01,400 Speaker 1: to Adam Porter on March third, eight two in spring Hill, Nova, Scotia, 554 00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:07,240 Speaker 1: and then again to Peter Shanahan on July in Amherst. 555 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:12,760 Speaker 1: Esther died in Brockton, Massachusetts, on November eighth, at the 556 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:15,400 Speaker 1: age of fifty two. This is still one of those 557 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:19,600 Speaker 1: cases that people um like to point to and talk about, 558 00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:23,880 Speaker 1: you know how, how very uh realistic. It all seems 559 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:26,920 Speaker 1: that clearly this is a real haunting. Um. And of 560 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:30,200 Speaker 1: course there are plenty of skeptics as well. I don't 561 00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:31,760 Speaker 1: think it's a secret that I tend to fall on 562 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:37,400 Speaker 1: the skeptic side of things. Well, especially this is this 563 00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:40,760 Speaker 1: is not the first haunting story we've had on the 564 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:47,160 Speaker 1: show where haunting was purportedly happening and mostly the family 565 00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:49,520 Speaker 1: where the people who know about it and then another 566 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:54,560 Speaker 1: person arrives on the scene and later writes a book. Yeah, 567 00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:59,880 Speaker 1: that's definitely a pattern. Uh. And as the Prince s 568 00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:03,640 Speaker 1: a an examination points out like that there were business 569 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:07,360 Speaker 1: dealings going on around this that clearly we're intended to 570 00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:11,160 Speaker 1: make money off of the situation, which automatically throws any 571 00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:15,320 Speaker 1: accounts relaid by those people into some serious doubt. So, 572 00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:20,880 Speaker 1: uh that is a scoop. Don't be scared of hauntings. Uh. 573 00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:30,640 Speaker 1: Probably it's just somebody wanting to make a dollar. Hey, 574 00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:33,440 Speaker 1: so much for joining us on this Saturday. Since this 575 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:35,520 Speaker 1: episode is out of the archive, if you heard an 576 00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:37,760 Speaker 1: email address or a Facebook U r L or something 577 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:41,120 Speaker 1: similar over the course of the show, that could be obsolete. Now. 578 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:45,800 Speaker 1: Our current email address is History Podcast at i heart 579 00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:49,520 Speaker 1: radio dot com. Our old health stuff works email address 580 00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:52,120 Speaker 1: no longer works, and you can find us all over 581 00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:55,840 Speaker 1: social media at missed in History. 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