1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: Hello, it's Richard mclin smith here, not the impostor you've 2 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:09,400 Speaker 1: been listening to on the podcasts, the real one. Join 3 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: me for Unexplained TV at YouTube dot com forward Slash 4 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: Unexplained pod. The Somerset town of Shepton Mallet is one 5 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:34,080 Speaker 1: of the oldest in the southwest of England. Today it 6 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:37,960 Speaker 1: remains a quaint, attractive market town with a well preserved 7 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:43,200 Speaker 1: heritage and architecture, but the listed buildings and cobbled streets 8 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: are only a fraction of its story. The town's history, 9 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: like the soil it's built upon, is rich, deep and 10 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: lay it. It's a living museum embedded in the landscape. 11 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: Pottery and flint shards dono to one time Neolithic population. 12 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: A pair of barrows prehistoric burial mounds to the north 13 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: of the town contained the cremated remains of Bronze Age peoples, 14 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: whilst cave dwellings and ancient roundhouses point to the presence 15 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: of what was once an Iron Age farming community. There 16 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: is also evidence of a Roman settlement lasting into the 17 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: fifth century CE. The Foss Way, an old Roman road, 18 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 1: still cuts through the town, as mentioned in the Domesday Book. 19 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:38,400 Speaker 1: By the eleventh century, a small hamlet known as Shepton 20 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 1: had developed on the site. The town's current name, honoring 21 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 1: the local Mallet family, has been in use since at 22 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:50,600 Speaker 1: least the late fourteen hundreds. Pull up a shovel full 23 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: of earth anywhere in the town and there's a good 24 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: chance something historically significant might come up with it, just 25 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 1: like it did in nineteen ninety when a small Roman 26 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 1: cemetery was excavated on the outskirts of the town to 27 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 1: clear ground for a new warehouse development. It was late 28 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 1: one Sunday in July, as the excavations were nearing an end, 29 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:17,920 Speaker 1: that workers turned their attention to the last of the 30 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: sixteen graves. They had to unearth. The grave, that angled 31 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:25,720 Speaker 1: east to west and had been carved out of the 32 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: earth by rock, contained a single wooden coffin. Inside lay 33 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: the well preserved remains of an adult male from the 34 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,960 Speaker 1: fourth century CE, thought to have been somewhere between thirty 35 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 1: to fifty years old at the time of their death. Then, 36 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: as they cleared the dirt away from the bones, they 37 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:51,800 Speaker 1: discovered something else, a strange amulet. It appeared to be 38 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,880 Speaker 1: made of silver and had been fashioned into the shape 39 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: of a cross with a disk at the center of it. 40 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 1: It would have been notable for its aid and beauty alone, 41 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: but what really excited the archaeologists who found it was 42 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: the marking that had been crudely pressed into the metal. 43 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:14,079 Speaker 1: It was a symbol known as a cairo, derived from 44 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:17,639 Speaker 1: the first two letters of Christ's name in the Greek 45 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:22,519 Speaker 1: alphabet Chai and Roe. An artifact from a time when 46 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: Christianity had only just been adopted as the official religion 47 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,600 Speaker 1: of the Roman Empire, was quite simply one of the 48 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: most important Christian artifacts ever found in Britain. The Shepton 49 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 1: Mallet Amulet was swiftly despatched to the British Museum in 50 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: London for safe keeping. The ensuing excitement was so much 51 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,720 Speaker 1: that George Carey, soon to be Archbishop of Canterbury, the 52 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: highest ranking cleric in the Church of England, had a 53 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:03,840 Speaker 1: copy of it for him to wear proudly around his neck. Meanwhile, 54 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: in Shepton Mallet itself, the object quickly became something of 55 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: a local emblem. The town's theatre renamed itself the Amulet, 56 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: while roads on a new housing estate were christened Amulet 57 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:21,679 Speaker 1: Way and Chiro Close. An image of the silver disc 58 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 1: was even added to the town's welcome site, and local 59 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 1: businesses rushed to incorporate it into their branding. The people 60 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:35,080 Speaker 1: of Shepton Mallet were proud of their new symbol. Experts, however, 61 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:41,240 Speaker 1: were soon expressing their suspicions. Academics pointed to its similarity 62 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 1: to the existing Sussex Broach on display in the British Museum. 63 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:50,719 Speaker 1: Peter Leech, an expert on the foss Way, pointed out 64 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 1: that the amulet was discovered on an easily accessible, low 65 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:58,360 Speaker 1: security site, in a grave that, it turned out, had 66 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:02,880 Speaker 1: already been opened once before, and whose disturbance could have 67 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:07,520 Speaker 1: easily been disguised. It would be a whole eighteen years 68 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: before another round of tests were taken to determine the 69 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 1: artifact's true composition. In two thousand and eight, analysis proved 70 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:21,040 Speaker 1: that the silver was not of Roman origin after all, 71 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:24,839 Speaker 1: but was most likely smithed in the late nineteenth century. 72 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:29,960 Speaker 1: For almost two decades, the people of Shepton Mallet had 73 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 1: been celebrating a hoax. The real mystery then, was how 74 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 1: and why it was placed in the grave. To this day, 75 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 1: the perpetrator has never been revealed. On discovering the truth, 76 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:49,480 Speaker 1: Like many of the townspeople, Jeannette Marsh the deputy leader 77 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:52,960 Speaker 1: of the local parish council, felt, as she put it, 78 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:58,040 Speaker 1: that the magic had been removed from Shepton Mallet. In truth, 79 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:02,600 Speaker 1: magic is too deep embedded in this corner of Somerset 80 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: to be stripped away by a single hoax. In fact, 81 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:11,680 Speaker 1: with its many layers of history, Shepton Mallet has always 82 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:17,600 Speaker 1: been a place blessed or plagued by legend. The local 83 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 1: prison boasts a reputation as supposedly the most haunted building 84 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:26,200 Speaker 1: of its type in Britain. It's also said that the 85 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: Market Cross, a hexagonal stone monument that stands fifty feet 86 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: tall in the town centre, acts as a nucleus for 87 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:40,359 Speaker 1: the town's apparent supernatural eccentricities. Passes by claim to have 88 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:46,479 Speaker 1: experienced cold spots, heard inexplicable sounds, more seen flitting shadowy 89 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:51,560 Speaker 1: figures in its vicinity. The legend of the Dinderworm tells 90 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:55,159 Speaker 1: of a terrifying dragon that once haunted the banks of 91 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:59,040 Speaker 1: the river Shepey, which cuts through the town, and there 92 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:02,799 Speaker 1: is also the tail of Owen Parfitt, an elderly man 93 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,560 Speaker 1: who was said to have disappeared from his front porch 94 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:09,960 Speaker 1: one day in seventeen sixty eight. In the few moments 95 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 1: that his sister was elsewhere in the house. This frail, 96 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:19,520 Speaker 1: partially paralyzed man somehow left the property without being witnessed 97 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 1: by any of his neighbors, and was never seen again. 98 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:28,200 Speaker 1: Some in Shepton Mallet suggested that he had been taken 99 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:32,080 Speaker 1: by the devil. They certainly had good reason to think so. 100 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 1: At the time, you're listening to Unexplained and I'm Richard 101 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 1: McLean Smith. On the fifteenth of November sixteen fifty seven, 102 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:57,160 Speaker 1: a farmer named Henry Jones returned to his Shepton Mallet 103 00:07:57,160 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 1: home alarmed to find his twelve year old son, Richard, 104 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:06,520 Speaker 1: lying on the floor in paroxysms of pain. Unable to speak, 105 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:11,360 Speaker 1: the boy simply writhed in agony, his hand clenched to 106 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 1: the right side of his body as he gasped for air. 107 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 1: In panic. Henry rushed to his son's aid, demanding to 108 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:22,160 Speaker 1: know what had happened, but as he stared into his 109 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:26,920 Speaker 1: son's terrified eyes, he realized he was unable to speak. 110 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: Utterly helpless, Henry could do little but stay by his 111 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 1: son's side and pray for an end to the strange affliction. 112 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:38,760 Speaker 1: It would be a good few hours later when the 113 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: boy's condition finally began to improve. The spasms of pain withdrew, 114 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 1: and his breathing returned to normal. As a greatly relieved 115 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 1: Henry lovingly stroked his son's hair, the boy began to 116 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:58,319 Speaker 1: speak again. It had all started earlier that day, he said, 117 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:03,199 Speaker 1: while his father was out working the fields. Richard claimed 118 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:05,839 Speaker 1: he was playing alone in the house when he looked 119 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:09,480 Speaker 1: up at one point, startled to see a figure watching 120 00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:13,720 Speaker 1: him through the window. The swift movement of the figure 121 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:17,960 Speaker 1: away from the glass was followed soon after by a short, 122 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 1: sharp knock at the door. Nervous Richard opened it to 123 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:26,840 Speaker 1: reveal an elderly woman standing on the doorstep who he 124 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:31,680 Speaker 1: didn't recognize. The woman smiled warmly and gently asked the 125 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:34,880 Speaker 1: boy for a morsel of bread if he could spare it. 126 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 1: Richard happily obliged, surprised when the old lady handed him 127 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:44,800 Speaker 1: an apple in return. When Richard took it, the woman 128 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: stroked a single finger down the right side of his body, 129 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:53,240 Speaker 1: and then left. There are two versions of what happened next. 130 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:57,680 Speaker 1: In most accounts retold through his street, Richard bit into 131 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:00,880 Speaker 1: the apple immediately and chewed it down to its core. 132 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:05,240 Speaker 1: No sooner had he finished, he felt a pain building 133 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 1: in his right side, precisely where the woman had touched him. 134 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:13,520 Speaker 1: Barely able to drag himself into the house, he fell 135 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:17,280 Speaker 1: into the state of agony that his father, Henry, discovered 136 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:21,440 Speaker 1: him in an hour later. According to this common version 137 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:25,680 Speaker 1: of the story, after hearing the boy's tale, Henry quickly 138 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:29,040 Speaker 1: searched the house for the apple. He soon found it 139 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:31,640 Speaker 1: in the garden, where it was said to have given 140 00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:36,760 Speaker 1: off an unusually sour and pungent scent. In another more 141 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 1: contemporaneous telling of the tale, recorded in Joseph Glanville's Seminole 142 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:47,280 Speaker 1: sixteen eighty one, Survey of Full and Plain Evidence concerning 143 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: Witches and Apparitions, Henry found the apple whole and uneaten, 144 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:56,640 Speaker 1: and brought it back in side, at which point richard 145 00:10:56,720 --> 00:11:09,320 Speaker 1: suffering resumed immediately. In Joseph Clanville's version, when Richard's suffering 146 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:13,120 Speaker 1: continued or night and throughout the next day, in an 147 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:17,000 Speaker 1: act of desperation, Henry is then said to have roasted 148 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:20,400 Speaker 1: the apple, then fed it to his son. Why he 149 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:24,079 Speaker 1: thought this would help, no one can say. Either way. 150 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:27,720 Speaker 1: It seemed to do the trick, though the boy became 151 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:32,200 Speaker 1: convulsively sick at first, he rapidly began to recover and 152 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:36,920 Speaker 1: was soon speaking again. The following day, Henry approached the 153 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 1: local constabulary to report what had happened. It was agreed 154 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:45,280 Speaker 1: that whoever the mysterious woman was, she was most likely 155 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:49,760 Speaker 1: guilty of poisoning his son, but since Richard had never 156 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:53,000 Speaker 1: seen her before, it was arranged for all the older 157 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:57,200 Speaker 1: women of Shepton Mallet to attend the Joneses farmhouse the 158 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 1: following afternoon for an identity parade. Eight. One by one, 159 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:05,520 Speaker 1: the women of the town were brought to the Joneses 160 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:09,120 Speaker 1: house and presented to the still stricken and bed ridden 161 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:14,040 Speaker 1: boy before forming a line along the wall. Things seemed 162 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:17,840 Speaker 1: to be going smoothly until late in the proceedings when 163 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:22,400 Speaker 1: a trio of women stepped into the bedroom together. First 164 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:27,360 Speaker 1: to enter was Jane Brooks, who neither Henry or Richard recognized, 165 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:32,320 Speaker 1: and behind her were her two sisters, Alice Coward and 166 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:37,240 Speaker 1: another whose name has since been lost to history. As 167 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:41,160 Speaker 1: they step into the room, an expression of abject terror 168 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:46,600 Speaker 1: cloud's young Richard's face, his muscles appeared at tents, and 169 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:51,560 Speaker 1: his throat clams up. In a strangled voice, he cries 170 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:55,920 Speaker 1: out that he has been struck blind. Others present in 171 00:12:55,960 --> 00:12:59,120 Speaker 1: the room can only look on with concern as he 172 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:04,880 Speaker 1: struggles to get his words out, but the inference is clear. Eventually, 173 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:08,400 Speaker 1: when Richard has calmed down, Henry lifts him from the 174 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,400 Speaker 1: bed and leads him by the hand around the room, 175 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:16,280 Speaker 1: pausing for a moment in front of each of the women. Finally, 176 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:19,520 Speaker 1: they come to the three sisters, who has stood in 177 00:13:19,559 --> 00:13:23,600 Speaker 1: a row with Jane behind the others. For a moment, 178 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:28,400 Speaker 1: the sightless Richard just stands regarding the air around him, 179 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:33,000 Speaker 1: when suddenly he reaches out a hand and grabs Jane 180 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:38,120 Speaker 1: by the arm, like a snake grabbing its prey in 181 00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:42,320 Speaker 1: a violent blur of motion. Richard's father, Henry, is then 182 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:45,800 Speaker 1: said to have grabbed the hapless Jane, pulling her into 183 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:49,640 Speaker 1: the center of the room, whereupon he immediately began to 184 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:54,160 Speaker 1: beat her. Blows rained down on her head from his fists. 185 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:58,280 Speaker 1: He scratched at her face with his fingers, drawing blood. 186 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:02,800 Speaker 1: Jane's sisters did their best to hold Henriette bay to 187 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:08,240 Speaker 1: no avail. Finally, the local constable stepped in and pulled 188 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:18,440 Speaker 1: the enraged man away. It was said that as soon 189 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:21,600 Speaker 1: as Jane and her sisters were removed from the bedroom, 190 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:26,280 Speaker 1: Richard made an immediate and sharp recovery. Reports from the 191 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 1: time state that he cried out he was well and 192 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:34,320 Speaker 1: continued to be so after for seven or eight days. 193 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:39,400 Speaker 1: A week later, the young Richard Jones was walking around 194 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:43,200 Speaker 1: the town when he came face to face with Alice Coward, 195 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:49,560 Speaker 1: Jane's sister. A short time later, he returned home shrieking 196 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:54,880 Speaker 1: in agony, his illness having seemingly returned in full. As 197 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: he would later claim, it was the exact same pain 198 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:01,600 Speaker 1: down his right side and the same inability to speak, 199 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:05,880 Speaker 1: and as before, the symptoms seemed to wash over him 200 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:10,560 Speaker 1: in waves followed by bouts of incoherence. He claimed Alice 201 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:13,320 Speaker 1: had stopped him in the street, then looked him up 202 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:17,600 Speaker 1: and down before saying softly, how are you, my honey. 203 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:22,280 Speaker 1: Within seconds of their interaction, he said he was in 204 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:27,480 Speaker 1: pain once more. Richard was apparently so distressed that friends 205 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:31,240 Speaker 1: and family often sat with him during his rest. These 206 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:35,440 Speaker 1: included the local constable, who'd taken a personal interest in 207 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 1: the case under mister Gibson, a cousin of the family. 208 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:43,920 Speaker 1: It was soon after this, according to Richard, that the 209 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:47,640 Speaker 1: visions began, he said. The women came to him at 210 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:52,280 Speaker 1: night in the guise of vengeful spirits, all staring eyes, 211 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:58,280 Speaker 1: pale cheeks and lips. Sometimes they grabbed at him, he said, 212 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 1: with their cold hands. One day, Henry and mister Gibson 213 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:07,360 Speaker 1: entered the bedroom to find Richard lying completely still on 214 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:11,920 Speaker 1: the floor. Fearing his son had died, Henry was relieved 215 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:16,560 Speaker 1: to find he was still breathing, though seemingly unconscious. When 216 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:20,280 Speaker 1: he came round moments later, he described a vision he'd 217 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:24,400 Speaker 1: just had. Jane and Alice had come to him again, 218 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: he said, telling him that what they had begun could 219 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:31,440 Speaker 1: not easily be rectified, but if he were to say 220 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:35,280 Speaker 1: no more of it, they would give him money. Then, 221 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:38,720 Speaker 1: according to the boy, they lifted him from his bed 222 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:41,560 Speaker 1: and laid him out on the floor, just as he 223 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:46,680 Speaker 1: had been found. Henry and Gibson looked on with astonishment 224 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:50,120 Speaker 1: as the young boy then reached into his pocket and 225 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:55,360 Speaker 1: pulled a shiny twopence piece from it. The mysterious coin 226 00:16:55,640 --> 00:17:00,360 Speaker 1: appeared to exhibit strange properties. As an experiment, it was 227 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:04,479 Speaker 1: placed in the fire. As the flames licked greedily at 228 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:08,119 Speaker 1: the metal, the boy began to scream and writhe in pain. 229 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 1: Then as soon as the coin was extracted, the pain 230 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:17,560 Speaker 1: seemed to stop immediately. One morning, Richard apparently woke up 231 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:22,400 Speaker 1: in an agitated state. He'd had another unsettling visitation from 232 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:27,960 Speaker 1: the sisters. After describing precisely what they'd supposedly been wearing 233 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:32,600 Speaker 1: when they confronted him, the Constable dashed immediately across town 234 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:37,040 Speaker 1: to the sisters home. There he is said to have found, 235 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:41,320 Speaker 1: much to his horror, the sisters dressed exactly as the 236 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:56,400 Speaker 1: boy depict it. The strange unrest of Richard Jones continued 237 00:17:56,440 --> 00:18:01,159 Speaker 1: into the cold month of December with seemingly no real improvement. 238 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:05,639 Speaker 1: Late at night on the first Sunday of December, cousin 239 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:09,880 Speaker 1: Gibson was sitting at Richard's bedside, watching over him as 240 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:14,040 Speaker 1: he tried to sleep. All of a sudden, Richard stiffened 241 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:17,000 Speaker 1: and pointed in horror to the corner of his room. 242 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:22,880 Speaker 1: She's on the wall, he cried out, Jane Brooks. Gibson 243 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:26,320 Speaker 1: leapt up in terror, straining to see anything in the 244 00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:30,639 Speaker 1: dim shadow at the edge of the room. Without hesitation, 245 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:34,520 Speaker 1: he snatched up a knife from Richard's bedside table and 246 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:38,800 Speaker 1: rushed to where the boy was pointing. Gibson slashed furiously 247 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:43,680 Speaker 1: at the empty air. Woken by the commotion, Henry then 248 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:48,520 Speaker 1: rushed into the room. Cousin Gibson has cut Jane Brooks's hand, 249 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:54,520 Speaker 1: shouted and excited Richard. When matters finally calmed down, Henry 250 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:58,040 Speaker 1: and mister Gibson paid yet another visit to the Constable. 251 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:02,320 Speaker 1: The Constable Julie paid his own visit to Jane Brooks 252 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:07,359 Speaker 1: and Alice Coward. According to writer Joseph Glanville, when the 253 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:11,119 Speaker 1: constable arrived at the sister's home, he was invited to 254 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:14,600 Speaker 1: take a seat in the sitting room. There, he found 255 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:18,640 Speaker 1: Jane sitting on a stool with one hand clasped inside 256 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:23,119 Speaker 1: the other. He asked her how she was. Though she 257 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,880 Speaker 1: replied that she was well, the constable couldn't help noticing 258 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:30,159 Speaker 1: that she looked pained. When he asked her why she 259 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:34,159 Speaker 1: was covering her hand, Jane responded coolly that it was 260 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:40,040 Speaker 1: simply her wont to do. Unconvinced, the constable is said 261 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:43,760 Speaker 1: to have then stood up and gently drawn the woman's 262 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:49,240 Speaker 1: hidden hand out. It was swathed in bloodied cloth. When 263 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:52,200 Speaker 1: he inquired how she'd come to hurt herself, in such 264 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:57,919 Speaker 1: a way. Jane apparently responded nervously that she'd scratched herself 265 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:02,160 Speaker 1: with a large pin. Jane and her sister Alice were 266 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:06,560 Speaker 1: arrested there and then on charges of witchcraft and sorcery 267 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:18,000 Speaker 1: against a child. After Jane Brooks and Alice Coward's arrest, 268 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:22,959 Speaker 1: things moved quickly. Their trial began just days later on 269 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:27,400 Speaker 1: December eighth, in the nearby town of Castle Carey, presided 270 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:33,160 Speaker 1: over by two magistrates, a mister Hunt and mister Carey. First, 271 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:37,720 Speaker 1: Richard Jones was asked for his testimony, as the court 272 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:42,040 Speaker 1: register recorded, as Richard began to speak, the two accused 273 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:46,080 Speaker 1: women entered the room, at which point he was supposedly 274 00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:51,040 Speaker 1: rendered completely speechless. Only when Jane and Alice were then 275 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:54,879 Speaker 1: removed from the courtroom did he seemingly regain his voice. 276 00:20:56,119 --> 00:20:59,480 Speaker 1: After Richard gave his testimony, among with a few other 277 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:03,600 Speaker 1: witnesses accounts, the case seems to have become clocked up 278 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:08,320 Speaker 1: in the court system. Then, on January the eleventh, sixteen 279 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:13,520 Speaker 1: fifty eight, Richard was brought back to court After once 280 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:17,119 Speaker 1: again sharing his version of events, he suddenly lost the 281 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 1: power of speech as soon as Jane brook entered the room. However, 282 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:25,479 Speaker 1: this time Alice Coward seemed to no longer have the 283 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:30,359 Speaker 1: same effect on him. The trial continued on into February, 284 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:34,040 Speaker 1: by which point it was drawing large crowds of distinguished 285 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:38,240 Speaker 1: local people, attracted by the growing notoriety of the case. 286 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:43,119 Speaker 1: On the seventeenth, Richard Jones was once more on the 287 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:48,000 Speaker 1: stand when Jane was led into the room. Richard began 288 00:21:48,119 --> 00:21:52,959 Speaker 1: again to suddenly convulse and wail in agony, before falling 289 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,240 Speaker 1: into the arms of his cousin and hung slack as 290 00:21:56,240 --> 00:22:00,280 Speaker 1: though he were dead. At this one of the judges 291 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:05,000 Speaker 1: ordered Jane to place her hand on the boy. Reluctantly, 292 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:08,840 Speaker 1: she did as she was asked. No sooner had she 293 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:13,440 Speaker 1: touched him, he immediately began to convulse once more, casting 294 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:18,639 Speaker 1: his arms and legs around violently. However, Justice Hunt was 295 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:23,320 Speaker 1: not entirely convinced by the display. Having waved Gibson and 296 00:22:23,359 --> 00:22:26,359 Speaker 1: the rest of the Jones family away, he took the 297 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:31,600 Speaker 1: seemingly insensible boy in his own arms. Once Richard had calmed, 298 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 1: Hunt instructed a court employee to tie a blindfold tightly 299 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:40,280 Speaker 1: around his eyes. The Justice then winked at the crowd 300 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:44,080 Speaker 1: and called out loudly for Jane to be brought forward, 301 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:49,000 Speaker 1: while simultaneously he gestured to a random stranger to place 302 00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:54,200 Speaker 1: her hands upon Richard instead. The crowd collectively held its 303 00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:57,760 Speaker 1: breath as she reached out and touched the young boy, 304 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:03,359 Speaker 1: and the boy didn't re act. This experiment was repeated 305 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:07,040 Speaker 1: several more times, each with different members of the crowd, 306 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:18,400 Speaker 1: and each time the result was the same. When Richard 307 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:22,840 Speaker 1: seemingly passed Justice Hunt's first test, the judge ordered him 308 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:26,520 Speaker 1: to keep his blindfold on, but this time asked his father, 309 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:31,480 Speaker 1: Henry Jones, to come forward and touch him. Apparently unknown 310 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,720 Speaker 1: to the boy, however, the judge then signored to a 311 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:38,880 Speaker 1: clerk of the court to bring Jane forward instead of Henry. 312 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:43,760 Speaker 1: At the slightest touch of Jane's hand, Richard was suddenly 313 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:49,480 Speaker 1: struck mute, and his apparent convulsions returned. No matter how 314 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:53,040 Speaker 1: many times the justice tried to deceive him, each time 315 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:58,119 Speaker 1: Jane's hand made contact, the result was the same. Having 316 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:03,040 Speaker 1: seemingly been left completely rigid. After the ordeal, Richard had 317 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:05,840 Speaker 1: to be carried home and laid to rest back on 318 00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:10,440 Speaker 1: his bed for the next few days. Crowds of onlookers 319 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:13,960 Speaker 1: gathered outside the house hoping to get a glimpse of 320 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:18,960 Speaker 1: the strangely afflicted boy while in sight, his family tried 321 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: repeatedly to bend his arms and legs into a resting position, 322 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:28,359 Speaker 1: to no avail. On the twenty fifth of February, a 323 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:32,280 Speaker 1: Missus Isles, a neighbor of the Joneses, walked out into 324 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:36,639 Speaker 1: her garden where she apparently found young Richard standing with 325 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:40,639 Speaker 1: an odd look on his face. It soon became clear 326 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:43,480 Speaker 1: to her that he was in some kind of trance. 327 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:48,959 Speaker 1: As she later described it, his body then lifted upwards 328 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:53,320 Speaker 1: off the ground. It rose higher and higher until he'd 329 00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:57,840 Speaker 1: gained enough height to clear the garden wall. The woman 330 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:02,240 Speaker 1: claimed that Richard eventually he levitated so high that he 331 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:06,920 Speaker 1: floated over the wall to appoint thirty yards beyond the property. 332 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:10,399 Speaker 1: The boy was said to have just hung in the 333 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:13,840 Speaker 1: air for a moment until, as if he were a 334 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:18,080 Speaker 1: puppet having his strings cut, he plummeted to the ground. 335 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:23,240 Speaker 1: Missus Isles is said to have rushed immediately to the boy, 336 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:27,119 Speaker 1: fully expecting to find him dead, only for him to 337 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:31,040 Speaker 1: wake groggly and explain that it was Jane Brooks who'd 338 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:34,720 Speaker 1: taken him by the arm and carried him into the air. 339 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:39,280 Speaker 1: A villager spotted Richard in a barn, appearing to be 340 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:44,080 Speaker 1: hanging from the ceiling four feet above the ground. The 341 00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:46,879 Speaker 1: neighbor rushed in to save him, but there was no 342 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:51,240 Speaker 1: rope around the boy's neck. Instead, he is said to 343 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:54,840 Speaker 1: have simply been hanging in the air, with the palms 344 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:58,320 Speaker 1: of his hands pushed up against a beam and nothing 345 00:25:58,359 --> 00:26:03,159 Speaker 1: to support him underneath. It is said that somewhere between 346 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:08,520 Speaker 1: nine to twenty seven people witnessed this bizarre event. It 347 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:12,680 Speaker 1: was also said that he remained in that position, seemingly 348 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:16,280 Speaker 1: in another of his trances, for a good fifteen minutes 349 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:20,920 Speaker 1: before he woke up again and again he said it 350 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:25,840 Speaker 1: was Jane Brooks that did it. This alleged event would 351 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:29,919 Speaker 1: prove the final nail in the coffin for Jane. With 352 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:34,280 Speaker 1: the local magistrate concerned that Richard's life was now in danger, 353 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:38,800 Speaker 1: there was only one thing left to be done. At 354 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:42,240 Speaker 1: the end of her trial, Jane Brooks was found guilty 355 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:46,919 Speaker 1: of witchcraft and sentenced to death. She was hanged in 356 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:51,600 Speaker 1: the town of Chart, Somerset on March twenty sixth, sixteen 357 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:56,359 Speaker 1: fifty eight. Though Alice Cowart was believed to be less 358 00:26:56,400 --> 00:27:00,200 Speaker 1: culpable than her sister. She was still kept under arrest 359 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:04,960 Speaker 1: with the intention of also charging her with witchcraft. However, 360 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:15,000 Speaker 1: she died in custody before she could take the stand. 361 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:21,640 Speaker 1: Following Jane Brooks and Alice Coward's deaths, Richard Jones reportedly 362 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:26,960 Speaker 1: made of full and fast recovery. As writer Joseph Glanville wrote, 363 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:31,480 Speaker 1: the boy, having no longer any inducement to act possessed, 364 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,040 Speaker 1: consented to remain with his feet on the ground and 365 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:38,520 Speaker 1: his head in the air. According to the laws of nature. 366 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:43,520 Speaker 1: He passes out of the history books and into insignificance, 367 00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:48,480 Speaker 1: as does most everyone else involved in the case. Today, 368 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:53,399 Speaker 1: only Jane Brooks retains a legacy. Her trial is held 369 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:57,600 Speaker 1: up as an example of the misogyny and patriarchal terror 370 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:02,960 Speaker 1: that drove so much of the English wind. However, unlike 371 00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:06,520 Speaker 1: with other more famous cases such as the so called 372 00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:10,800 Speaker 1: Pendle Witches or the burning of Mary Lakeland in sixteen 373 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:15,200 Speaker 1: forty five for supposedly using witchcraft to murder her husband, 374 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:19,320 Speaker 1: there has never been any rationale or reason given for 375 00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:23,560 Speaker 1: what Jane and her sister were reputed to have done. 376 00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:27,200 Speaker 1: At no point did any of the Joneses family ever 377 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:30,800 Speaker 1: admit to any grievance with or even knowledge of Jane 378 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:34,919 Speaker 1: and Alice prior to their first meeting with Richard, and 379 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:40,120 Speaker 1: no link between the two families was ever established. For now, 380 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:51,280 Speaker 1: this strange and unsettling event remains unexplained. This episode was 381 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:56,440 Speaker 1: written by Neil McRobert and produced by me Richard McLain Smith. 382 00:28:57,440 --> 00:28:59,920 Speaker 1: Neil is the creator and host of his own brilliant 383 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:04,640 Speaker 1: podcast called Talking Scared, in which she discusses the craft 384 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:08,720 Speaker 1: of horror writing with everyone from Ta Nanaeve Do to 385 00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:13,000 Speaker 1: the God of horror himself, Stephen King. I can't recommend 386 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:17,720 Speaker 1: it highly enough. Unexplained is an Avy Club Productions podcast 387 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:22,400 Speaker 1: created by Richard McClain Smith. All other elements of the podcast, 388 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:28,360 Speaker 1: including the music, are also produced by me Richard mclin smith. Unexplained. 389 00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:32,040 Speaker 1: The book and audiobook is now available to buy worldwide. 390 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:36,280 Speaker 1: You can purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones and 391 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:40,719 Speaker 1: other bookstores. Please subscribe to and rate the show wherever 392 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:43,360 Speaker 1: you get your podcasts, and feel free to get in 393 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:46,920 Speaker 1: touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've 394 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:49,680 Speaker 1: heard on the show. Perhaps you have an explanation of 395 00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:52,440 Speaker 1: your own you'd like to share. You can find out 396 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:56,520 Speaker 1: more at Unexplained podcast dot com and reaches online through 397 00:29:56,560 --> 00:30:01,760 Speaker 1: Twitter at Unexplained pod and Facebook, Facebook dot com, Forward 398 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:03,760 Speaker 1: Slash Unexplained Podcast