1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,760 Speaker 1: Membership, peace, apply after free trial, cancel anytime. Can I 2 00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:04,920 Speaker 1: be real with you for a second. That goal you 3 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:08,280 Speaker 1: have to exercise and eat better? You really can do it, 4 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: but nobody is going to do it for you. Nobody 5 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: is going to push you out of bed to work out, 6 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:16,239 Speaker 1: nobody is going to make you eat better. But here's 7 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:19,800 Speaker 1: the thing. Nobody has to because you can do it 8 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:22,440 Speaker 1: if you have the right tools and a community that 9 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:26,120 Speaker 1: cares about helping you get results. 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Here's al Go to beachbody 20 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: dot com to claim your free membership and start feeling 21 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:03,280 Speaker 1: great on a stormy night on the small island of Guernsey, 22 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 1: a young paranormal expert joins a skeptical history teacher to 23 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: record the first in a series of podcasts based on 24 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:16,039 Speaker 1: the island's incredible folklore and paranormal history. As the expert 25 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:20,399 Speaker 1: regales his horrifying stories, the teacher learns that we all 26 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:24,959 Speaker 1: have our own truth, our own story ghosts that haunt us. 27 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: Starring Olivier nominated actor and former Blue Peter legend Peter Duncan, 28 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: When Darkness Falls is a spine chilling ghost story that 29 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: delivers a twisted, terrifying and thrilling tale that The Guardian 30 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: said will leave you cowering in your seat. Catch the 31 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: brand new UK tour of When Darkness Falls from September 32 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 1: fifteenth in a town near you. Select nights will also 33 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: feature myself delivering a live episode of Unexplained. For more 34 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: details or to book tickets, visit When Darkness Falls dot 35 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: co dot uk if you dare. Back when I was 36 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 1: about ten years old, some friends and I had a 37 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 1: sleepover in the weeks leading up to Christmas. That night, 38 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:25,720 Speaker 1: as we stayed up late watching television, we chanced upon 39 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:31,119 Speaker 1: a curious BBC drama that immediately caught our attention. It 40 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: wasn't loud or violent, or a wash with vibrant colors 41 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:38,640 Speaker 1: like much of the children's television we were used to. 42 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 1: It was washed out, quiet and subtle, the TV equivalent 43 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 1: of mist, and we were riveted. Without knowing anything about it, 44 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 1: and despite having little understanding of the genre, it was 45 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:57,320 Speaker 1: clear from the moment we saw it that we were 46 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: watching a ghost story set in Victorian times. From what 47 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 1: we could tell, it seemed to be about a man 48 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:10,960 Speaker 1: named Arthur Kipps who'd been dispatched to the country to 49 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 1: put someone's affairs in order, a woman whose recent death 50 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: had cast a troubling spell over the local community. But 51 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: before long we were introduced to the true star of 52 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 1: the show, a woman attired in black morning dress, first 53 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: seen attending the funeral of Kipps's recently deceased client, her 54 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 1: face fixed with a cold, unyielding, malignant stare. She was, 55 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: of course, the Woman in Black, which, as we later 56 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: found out, was the name of the film, and she 57 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: was just about the most chilling thing I'd ever seen. 58 00:03:56,040 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 1: Based on Susan Hill's uponymous nineteen eighty three novel, the 59 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: BBC's nineteen eighty nine adaptation remains one of my favorite 60 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: films of all time. When asked once what inspired the story, 61 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 1: Hill replied that her chief ingredient was atmosphere, which I 62 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: think sums it up perfectly. Some have suggested she might 63 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:26,719 Speaker 1: also have found inspiration from a little known haunting said 64 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:30,799 Speaker 1: to have taken place in Cheltenham back in the eighteen eighties. 65 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:37,799 Speaker 1: This is that story you're listening to, Unexplained, and I'm 66 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 1: Richard mc lean smith. In December eighteen eighty four, a 67 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:55,000 Speaker 1: then forty one year old Frederick Myers, founding member of 68 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: the famed Society of Psychical Research, which had been established 69 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:03,720 Speaker 1: only the year before, received a letter from his friend 70 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:08,160 Speaker 1: John Graham regarding a possible haunting that he might want 71 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 1: to look into. As Graham explained, a friend of his, 72 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:18,040 Speaker 1: Captain Frederick Despard, had for the past two years been 73 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:21,560 Speaker 1: renting a large townhouse in Cheltenham, where he lived with 74 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:27,120 Speaker 1: his wife and their eight children. In recent weeks, they'd 75 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:33,160 Speaker 1: come to believe that their house was haunted. Myers is 76 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:37,119 Speaker 1: thought to have first become interested in psychical research after 77 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:41,480 Speaker 1: being unsettled by the publication of Charles Darwin's On the 78 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:47,000 Speaker 1: Origin of the Species, which for many scientifically minded Christians 79 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 1: like Myers, had seriously disrupted the notion that a God 80 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:56,920 Speaker 1: had created human beings, and with no God there could 81 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: be no heaven or any other after life to speak of. 82 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 1: Desperate to find evidence to the contrary, Myers contacted Captain 83 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:12,359 Speaker 1: Despard requesting permission to visit his home to conduct his 84 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: own investigation into the matter. At first, Despard was reluctant 85 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: to speak publicly about it out of concern on his 86 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:26,279 Speaker 1: landlord's behalf for the value of the property, which he 87 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 1: feared could decrease if it developed a reputation for being haunted. 88 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:36,800 Speaker 1: Over the next year or so, Myers persevered until Despard 89 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 1: finally agreed to his request, and so it was in 90 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 1: May eighteen eighty six that Myers arrived at the gates 91 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:51,120 Speaker 1: of Garden Reach, the grand double fronted, four story Victorian 92 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 1: residence as it has been described, on the corner of 93 00:06:55,160 --> 00:07:00,719 Speaker 1: Pitfill Circus Road and All Saints Road in Cheltenham. The 94 00:07:00,839 --> 00:07:05,920 Speaker 1: house derived its name from the property's extensive garden and orchard, 95 00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:10,080 Speaker 1: which Myers could see tacked alongside the house on its 96 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:16,320 Speaker 1: left side, before disappearing somewhere behind it. A short time later, 97 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:20,240 Speaker 1: he was led into the drawing room, where the apparent 98 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:24,640 Speaker 1: ghost had most often been seen, and where the sixty 99 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:28,240 Speaker 1: three year old Captain Desbarred and his twenty three year 100 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 1: old daughter Rosina were waiting to tell him all about it. 101 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 1: Back in eighteen fifty eight, Frederick Desbarred was living in 102 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:48,760 Speaker 1: Rome with his wife Rosina and their two year old 103 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:54,640 Speaker 1: daughter Frederica, when Rosina died unexpectedly at the age of 104 00:07:54,680 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 1: twenty four Later that year, Frederick remarried, and by eighteen 105 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:05,400 Speaker 1: eighty two, along with his second wife, Harriot, had had 106 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:11,360 Speaker 1: another eight children, nineteen year old Rosina, seventeen year old Edith, 107 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: sixteen year old Florence, fifteen year old Henry, thirteen year 108 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: old Lilian, twelve year old Mabel, ten year old Frederick, 109 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 1: and lastly the six year old Wilfrid. Having traveled the 110 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:30,280 Speaker 1: world extensively due to Frederick's job as a captain in 111 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:34,840 Speaker 1: the British Army, and with Harriot becoming increasingly poorly in 112 00:08:34,920 --> 00:08:39,800 Speaker 1: her later life, the Despards decided to settle in Cheltenham, 113 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: and in April eighteen eighty two they moved into Garden Reach, 114 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:51,080 Speaker 1: with three floors and eight bedrooms for the family. It 115 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 1: also comprised a basement floor with live in quarters for 116 00:08:55,120 --> 00:09:01,040 Speaker 1: their servants. As Rosina explained to Myers, the family knew 117 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:05,280 Speaker 1: nothing about the house's history before they moved in, and 118 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:10,560 Speaker 1: had heard nothing about it potentially being haunted, but in hindsight, 119 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:16,480 Speaker 1: the signs had always been there. One afternoon, for example, 120 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:21,400 Speaker 1: not long after they'd moved in, Rosina was taking a 121 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 1: pleasant stroll through the orchard when one of the family dogs, 122 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 1: a large black Retriever, came bounding up to her in 123 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:35,960 Speaker 1: a strangely agitated state. The dog simply wouldn't stop barking 124 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 1: as it kept its eyes firmly fixed on something in 125 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: the middle distance. Rosina tried her best to calm it 126 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:47,520 Speaker 1: down as she scanned the garden for any sign of 127 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:57,520 Speaker 1: any one else, but there was nobody there. Now a 128 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:00,840 Speaker 1: word from our sponsor, Better help. It can be tough 129 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 1: to train your brain to stay in problem solving mode 130 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 1: when faced with a challenge in life, but when you 131 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 1: learn how to find your own solutions, there's no better feeling. 132 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:12,559 Speaker 1: A therapist can help you become a better problem solver, 133 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 1: making it easy to accomplish your goals, no matter how 134 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:20,080 Speaker 1: big or small. Better help is committed to facilitating great 135 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 1: therapeutic matches, so they make it easy and free to 136 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:27,559 Speaker 1: change therapists if need it. It's more affordable than traditional 137 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:32,680 Speaker 1: offline therapy, and financial aid is available. Better Help wants 138 00:10:32,679 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 1: you to start living a happier life to day. Just 139 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:38,600 Speaker 1: fill out a brief survey and get matched with a 140 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:42,040 Speaker 1: therapist to day and you can switch therapists any time 141 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:44,360 Speaker 1: if you so wish. When you want to be a 142 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:48,160 Speaker 1: better problem solver, therapy can get you there, visit better 143 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: help dot com. Slash unexplained one zero to day to 144 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 1: get ten percent off your first month. That's better h 145 00:10:56,280 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 1: e lp dot com. Slash unexplained one zero. A few 146 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:09,760 Speaker 1: months after moving into their new home, Rosina was in 147 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:13,800 Speaker 1: her room on the second floor, lying in bed as 148 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:17,600 Speaker 1: one of the family's dogs, a small sky terrier, was 149 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:21,840 Speaker 1: sleeping quietly at the end of it. Just as Rosina 150 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 1: was about to blow out the candle, the dog's ears 151 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:30,640 Speaker 1: pricked up, suddenly, seeming to hear something from outside. It 152 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: leaped off the bed and raced over to the door, 153 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,439 Speaker 1: where it proceeded to yelp and scratch at the gap 154 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:42,760 Speaker 1: underneath it. Rosina got up and wandered over to the door, 155 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:47,559 Speaker 1: but when she opened it, the hallway was completely empty. 156 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 1: She looked at the frightened dog with confusion, then picked 157 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:57,320 Speaker 1: her up and took her back to bed. A few 158 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:01,640 Speaker 1: nights later, Rosina was prepared hearing for bed on her 159 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:06,000 Speaker 1: own this time, when she heard what sounded like footsteps 160 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:10,680 Speaker 1: coming up the hallway toward her room. Believing her mother 161 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:13,800 Speaker 1: might be coming to say good night, she took the 162 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 1: candle from her bedside table and went to greet her 163 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:21,400 Speaker 1: mother at the door, but when she opened it there 164 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:28,040 Speaker 1: was nobody there. Just then, she heard more footsteps coming 165 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:30,600 Speaker 1: from the darkness at the far end of the hall. 166 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:36,160 Speaker 1: Holding the candle out before her, she was surprised to 167 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 1: see a figure standing turned away from her at the 168 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:44,079 Speaker 1: top of the stairs. From what she could make out, 169 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:48,720 Speaker 1: it was a rather tall woman wearing a black dress. 170 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:52,600 Speaker 1: Thinking it might be one of the servants who she 171 00:12:52,679 --> 00:12:56,880 Speaker 1: hadn't yet met, Rosina called out to her, but the 172 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:04,080 Speaker 1: figure ignored her and remained completely still. I say hello, 173 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:10,440 Speaker 1: said Rosina again, but the figure gave no reply and 174 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:17,040 Speaker 1: showed no sign of movement. A strange cold feeling came 175 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:21,080 Speaker 1: over Rosina, but before she had time to process it, 176 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:25,560 Speaker 1: the figure suddenly took off down the stairs into the 177 00:13:25,679 --> 00:13:32,280 Speaker 1: darkness below. Wait, cried Rosina after her as she swiftly 178 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:36,760 Speaker 1: gave chase, cupping the flickering candle with her hand as 179 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:40,320 Speaker 1: she went. She was just in time to see the 180 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:45,240 Speaker 1: figure's head disappeared down the second flight of stairs when 181 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:51,000 Speaker 1: the candle suddenly blew out, plunging Rosina into total darkness. 182 00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:55,960 Speaker 1: By the time she'd lit the candle again and returned 183 00:13:56,080 --> 00:14:06,439 Speaker 1: to the stairwell, the figure was long gone. Rosina had 184 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:10,199 Speaker 1: all but forgotten about the incident when in the autumn 185 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:16,000 Speaker 1: of the following year, eighteen eighty three, her older sister, Frederica, 186 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:19,840 Speaker 1: from Captain Despard's first marriage, came to stay with the 187 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:24,960 Speaker 1: family for a few months. One evening, as Frederica entered 188 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:28,120 Speaker 1: the dining room to join the others at dinner, she 189 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:31,560 Speaker 1: asked who the Sister of Mercy was that she'd just 190 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:36,720 Speaker 1: seen walking through the main hall. The Sisters of Mercy 191 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,960 Speaker 1: are a community of Roman Catholic women who dress in 192 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:46,520 Speaker 1: distinctively black, flowing habits, but as her father explained, there 193 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:51,960 Speaker 1: was no such person in the house. Frederica insisted, however, 194 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:55,200 Speaker 1: that she had just seen the woman walk across the 195 00:14:55,280 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 1: hall and enter the drawing room. Captain Desparsed ordered a 196 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:05,320 Speaker 1: servant to carry out an immediate inspection of the property, 197 00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:08,840 Speaker 1: but when they returned a short time later, they found 198 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:15,240 Speaker 1: no one matching Frederica's description. A few weeks later, six 199 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:19,280 Speaker 1: year old Wilfrid Despart, who'd spent the morning playing with 200 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:23,560 Speaker 1: a friend of his, burst suddenly into his mother's bedroom 201 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:29,840 Speaker 1: with a look of abject terror on his face. Wilfrid's mother, Harriet, 202 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:33,360 Speaker 1: who was only forty nine at the time, was largely 203 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:38,800 Speaker 1: bedbount and was being tended to by Rosina. After waiting 204 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:43,440 Speaker 1: to catch his breath, Wilfrid finally explained what had happened. 205 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:47,600 Speaker 1: He and his friend had been playing on the path 206 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:51,160 Speaker 1: outside the drawing room when they looked in through the 207 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:54,560 Speaker 1: window to see what he took to be a woman 208 00:15:55,120 --> 00:16:00,320 Speaker 1: dressed all in black seated at the writing table. Fred 209 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:03,600 Speaker 1: couldn't see the figure's face because she was holding a 210 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 1: handkerchief in front of it. Curious to know who it was, 211 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 1: the boys rushed inside and into the drawing room, but 212 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:16,600 Speaker 1: by the time they got there, the woman had gone. 213 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:21,800 Speaker 1: It was only then that Rosina remembered the mysterious woman 214 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:26,040 Speaker 1: she'd seen at the end of the hallway outside her bedroom. 215 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:31,080 Speaker 1: Could it also be the woman whom Frederica had mistaken 216 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: for a sister of Mercy too, she thought. A few 217 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:40,440 Speaker 1: nights later, Rosina was once again disturbed by what she 218 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:44,960 Speaker 1: took to be the sound of footsteps moving about outside 219 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:49,680 Speaker 1: her bedroom door. Taking the candle in her hand once more, 220 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:54,520 Speaker 1: she quietly opened the door and gasped at the sight 221 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:58,520 Speaker 1: of the mysterious woman standing again at the top of 222 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:02,040 Speaker 1: the stairs in the shadows at the far end of 223 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:06,639 Speaker 1: the hall. The woman seemed to be facing her, but 224 00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:11,040 Speaker 1: just like when Wilfrid saw her, her presence was made 225 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:13,800 Speaker 1: all the more eerie by the way in which she 226 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 1: held a white handkerchief in front of her face. Seeing 227 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:22,600 Speaker 1: her more clearly now, Rosina could see that she was 228 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:26,359 Speaker 1: in fact dressed in morning clothes, with what appeared to 229 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:30,760 Speaker 1: be some kind of black bonnet and fail just visible 230 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:35,680 Speaker 1: above the handkerchief. Then the figure turned and dashed down 231 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:40,840 Speaker 1: the stairs again. This time, Rosina was ready for her 232 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 1: and followed close behind, going a little slower this time 233 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:49,120 Speaker 1: so as not to lose the candle light. She managed 234 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:51,800 Speaker 1: to track her all the way to the ground floor, 235 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:55,120 Speaker 1: when she then seemed to float out into the main 236 00:17:55,200 --> 00:18:00,440 Speaker 1: hall and drift across it to the drawing rooms. Heart 237 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:05,320 Speaker 1: thumped in her chest, Rosina followed her into the room, 238 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:08,200 Speaker 1: where she watched her take a seat at the writing desk, 239 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:12,720 Speaker 1: then stood up again and moved back out into the hall. 240 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:17,520 Speaker 1: Rosina then watched the figure head toward the back door 241 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:21,160 Speaker 1: to the garden before it vanished right in front of her. 242 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:32,920 Speaker 1: A few days later, Rosina received an odd letter from 243 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:37,960 Speaker 1: her close friend, Katherine Campbell. Katherine was the first person 244 00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:42,240 Speaker 1: that Rosina had spoken to outside of the family about 245 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:45,199 Speaker 1: the strange events that had been going on at Garden 246 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:49,960 Speaker 1: Reach on the night Rosina had followed the apparition into 247 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:54,000 Speaker 1: the drawing room. Katherine, who lived a hundred miles away 248 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:57,120 Speaker 1: in the north of England and couldn't possibly have known 249 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:00,760 Speaker 1: anything about that night, claimed she was in her bedroom 250 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:05,120 Speaker 1: some point between twelve and twelve thirty at night when 251 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:08,040 Speaker 1: she had a sudden vision of a flight of stairs. 252 00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:14,560 Speaker 1: Moments later, a woman in black came running down the steps, 253 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:18,760 Speaker 1: followed close behind by Rosina, who was wearing a loosely 254 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:22,720 Speaker 1: tied dressing gown and holding a candle out before her. 255 00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:27,280 Speaker 1: As she went, a loud noise from another room in 256 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:32,520 Speaker 1: her house punctured the vision, and Catherine found herself once 257 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:38,679 Speaker 1: more back in her own room. Over the next few months, 258 00:19:39,119 --> 00:19:42,119 Speaker 1: Rosina claimed to have seen the woman on a number 259 00:19:42,119 --> 00:19:48,680 Speaker 1: of different occasions, though each time making the exact same movements. Then, 260 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:53,760 Speaker 1: in late January eighteen eighty four, Rosina followed the apparition 261 00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:57,679 Speaker 1: into the drawing room, where this time it just stood 262 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:02,040 Speaker 1: still next to the sofa, still keeping its face obscured 263 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:07,919 Speaker 1: in that same unsettling way with the handkerchief. Seeing an 264 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:12,439 Speaker 1: opportunity to engage with it, Rosina then took a step 265 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:18,400 Speaker 1: forward and was relieved when the figure didn't move. Are 266 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:23,600 Speaker 1: you lost? She said, the words almost catching in her throat. 267 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:28,679 Speaker 1: Is there anything I can do to help you? The 268 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:36,560 Speaker 1: apparition seemed almost imperceptibly to flinch, but remained silent. When 269 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:40,920 Speaker 1: Rosina tried to get closer, it suddenly burst into life 270 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:45,240 Speaker 1: once more, scooted out at the drawing room, and disappeared 271 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:48,240 Speaker 1: once again by the door that led to the garden. 272 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:59,520 Speaker 1: At the time at the apparent haunting, Rosina had ambitions 273 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:04,879 Speaker 1: to arm a doctor of medicine, as such, being academically minded, 274 00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 1: She claimed to have attempted a number of experiments to 275 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:13,040 Speaker 1: try and learn more about what exactly the apparition was. 276 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 1: She placed straying across the stairs at various heights to 277 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:21,399 Speaker 1: test if there was any material substance to it, but 278 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:25,919 Speaker 1: said the ghost simply passed through it. She attempted to 279 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:28,920 Speaker 1: talk to it a few more times, but it seemed 280 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:33,200 Speaker 1: not to register her at all. She also made efforts 281 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:36,280 Speaker 1: to touch the ghost, but no matter how quickly she 282 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:39,960 Speaker 1: followed behind it, it seemed always to be a good 283 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:44,800 Speaker 1: few steps ahead. Up to this point, it was only 284 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:48,679 Speaker 1: Rosina who'd seen the figure, with the exception of Wilfrid 285 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:52,960 Speaker 1: and Frederica, who were not entirely sure what they had seen. 286 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:59,080 Speaker 1: Frederica was especially unnerved by Rosina's insistence that there was 287 00:21:59,119 --> 00:22:02,560 Speaker 1: a ghost in the house. One morning, when she and 288 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:07,400 Speaker 1: Rosina were in the drawing room, Rosina became suddenly animated, 289 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:11,320 Speaker 1: insisting that the woman in black had just walked into 290 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 1: the room and were standing right next to Frederica. Frederica 291 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:20,639 Speaker 1: was pregnant at the time, but sadly lost her baby 292 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:26,080 Speaker 1: a few weeks later. Not long after, Frederica was in 293 00:22:26,119 --> 00:22:29,080 Speaker 1: her bedroom when she was woken by the sound of 294 00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:33,920 Speaker 1: footsteps coming from above, followed by the sound of something 295 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:38,919 Speaker 1: heavy being dragged across the floor. The room above was 296 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:45,240 Speaker 1: vacant at the time. The terrifying sounds continued until one 297 00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:49,880 Speaker 1: night Frederica steeled herself enough to head into the hallway, 298 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:55,159 Speaker 1: having heard again the passing sound of footsteps, when she 299 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:59,400 Speaker 1: too finally saw the woman that Rosina had been talking 300 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:03,840 Speaker 1: so much about, and soon they were all seeing her. 301 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:10,600 Speaker 1: On the night of August second, Rosina's sisters Edith, Florence, 302 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:14,119 Speaker 1: and Lillian, who were all sleeping together on the top 303 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:19,200 Speaker 1: floor of the house, were also woken by ghostly footsteps outside, 304 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:25,000 Speaker 1: but were too terrified to leave their room. The following morning, 305 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:29,680 Speaker 1: the family's cook recounted to the horrified girls her own 306 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:33,159 Speaker 1: story of the night before, in which she'd been heading 307 00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:37,680 Speaker 1: downstairs to fetch some hot water when she also saw 308 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:48,000 Speaker 1: the woman in black. Having been nervous about how he 309 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:52,960 Speaker 1: might react, Rosina and her sisters eventually decided to tell 310 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:57,760 Speaker 1: their father about what was going on, much to their amazement. 311 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:02,480 Speaker 1: The man who'd heard a light time of stories regarding strange, 312 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:06,320 Speaker 1: ghostly happenings from his time in the Army did not 313 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:12,159 Speaker 1: dismiss the possibility completely. On August sixth, the family were 314 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:15,600 Speaker 1: visited by the son of the man who lived opposite, 315 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:20,720 Speaker 1: a recently retired general of the British Army. The young 316 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:23,879 Speaker 1: man explained that his father had been looking out of 317 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:27,840 Speaker 1: his bedroom window when he spotted a lady dressed all 318 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:31,439 Speaker 1: in black, standing in the orchard who appeared to be 319 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:36,919 Speaker 1: crying into a handkerchief. The general, who knew Frederica to 320 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,719 Speaker 1: be mourning the recent death of her baby, assumed it 321 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:43,920 Speaker 1: to be her and had sent his son around to 322 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:47,800 Speaker 1: see if she was okay, but Frederica had not been 323 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:52,479 Speaker 1: in the orchard that day. After hearing of this last 324 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:57,320 Speaker 1: sighting from a retired general, no less, Captain Despard was 325 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:02,080 Speaker 1: left in no doubt that something explicable was taking place 326 00:25:02,119 --> 00:25:06,640 Speaker 1: in his home. He and Rosina began to dig into 327 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:09,439 Speaker 1: the history of the house in the hope that it 328 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:13,280 Speaker 1: might shed some light on all that had apparently been 329 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:18,399 Speaker 1: going on. As it transpired. The house was built only 330 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:22,360 Speaker 1: twenty years before the Desbards moved in, and were sold 331 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:26,800 Speaker 1: to A Henry Swinhoe, a solicitor who arrived there in 332 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:31,880 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty from Calcutta. With his wife, Elizabeth and their 333 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:38,640 Speaker 1: two children. Another two children followed before Elizabeth became pregnant 334 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:45,040 Speaker 1: again in eighteen sixty five. The following year, Henry, who 335 00:25:45,119 --> 00:25:48,840 Speaker 1: was known to absolutely adore his wife, was hit by 336 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:55,800 Speaker 1: a double tragedy. On August eighteenth, eighteen sixty six, it 337 00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:59,560 Speaker 1: was announced in the birth register of the Gloucestershire Chronicle 338 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:04,960 Speaker 1: that on August eleventh in Cheltenham, a stillborn son had 339 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 1: been born to the wife of Henry Swinhoe. A few 340 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:13,760 Speaker 1: inches below in the deaths register, it read that Elizabeth 341 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:18,680 Speaker 1: Francis had also died in Cheltenham on August the eleventh. 342 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:23,879 Speaker 1: Over the next few years, a darkness seemed to descend 343 00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:28,280 Speaker 1: on the property, that some worried might consume Henry completely. 344 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:32,680 Speaker 1: It is said that the man turned increasingly to alcohol 345 00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:38,280 Speaker 1: to manage his pain. Four years after Elizabeth's death, he 346 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:43,000 Speaker 1: was married again to an Imogen Hutchins from Clifton in Bristol. 347 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:48,280 Speaker 1: From the moment they met, however, Henry and Imogen's relationship 348 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:52,200 Speaker 1: was said to be a tumultuous one. Both were prone 349 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:56,199 Speaker 1: to heavy bouts of drinking and frequently quarreled viciously with 350 00:26:56,320 --> 00:27:01,600 Speaker 1: each other. By eighteen seventy five, the relationship at all 351 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:07,359 Speaker 1: but disintegrated, with Henry becoming so convinced that Imogen wanted 352 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:11,280 Speaker 1: to steal his late wife's jewelry, he instructed a carpenter 353 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:15,400 Speaker 1: to build a secret compartment under some floor boards where 354 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:24,560 Speaker 1: he could hide it. 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That's Friends without the Art Best Fiends. 373 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:36,440 Speaker 1: In eighteen seventy six, Imogen and Henry finally decided to separate, 374 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:41,600 Speaker 1: with Imogen heading back to Bristol and Henry continuing to 375 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:45,760 Speaker 1: live at Garden Reach when a few months later, on 376 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:50,000 Speaker 1: July fourteenth, he died from what many said was a 377 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:55,720 Speaker 1: broken heart. Imogen died two years later in Clifton on 378 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:59,920 Speaker 1: the twenty third of September eighteen seventy eight, from the 379 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:05,600 Speaker 1: effects of alcohol abuse, such was the custom, despite her 380 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:10,400 Speaker 1: and Henry's clear antipathy toward each other. Imogen's body, none 381 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:13,800 Speaker 1: the less was brought to Cheltenham and buried in the 382 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:18,160 Speaker 1: grounds of the Holy Trinity Church in Portland Street, not 383 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:24,000 Speaker 1: far from Garden Reach. In the years following Henry's death, 384 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:29,200 Speaker 1: Garden Reach fell into some disrepair and was eventually sold 385 00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:33,920 Speaker 1: to Benjamin Littlewood, an elderly man from Sherdington in eighteen 386 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:38,480 Speaker 1: seventy nine. Little Word had extensive work done on the 387 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:45,440 Speaker 1: property and renamed it Pitfield House. A month later, Benjamin died, 388 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:50,800 Speaker 1: after which the house was once again vacant. It is 389 00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:55,280 Speaker 1: said that both Benjamin Littlewood and Henry Swinhoe died in 390 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:59,800 Speaker 1: the exact same room, a small sitting room where Henry 391 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:05,400 Speaker 1: thought to have had his wife's jewelry hidden. After Littlewood's death, 392 00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:09,720 Speaker 1: the house was renamed again the following year, becoming known 393 00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:14,240 Speaker 1: then as the Nor House, which, for reasons the dispards 394 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:18,080 Speaker 1: were never quite able to ascertain, was offered for rent 395 00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:22,680 Speaker 1: at a price considerably cheaper than what they eventually ended 396 00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:26,600 Speaker 1: up paying for it. Perhaps it was merely the recent 397 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:29,760 Speaker 1: deaths in the property that seemed to have been putting 398 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:34,760 Speaker 1: the renters off, Or perhaps, as Rosina wandered, could it 399 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:38,120 Speaker 1: be that she and her family weren't the first people 400 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:44,320 Speaker 1: to encounter the mournful woman in black. A short time later, 401 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:48,640 Speaker 1: Rosina was shown a photo album by some people local 402 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:52,080 Speaker 1: to the area and asked to pick out anyone that 403 00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:58,040 Speaker 1: looked like the apparition she'd apparently been seeing. Without hesitating, 404 00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:01,520 Speaker 1: Rosina is said to have picked out the image of 405 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:05,080 Speaker 1: a woman who just so happened to be the sister 406 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:09,520 Speaker 1: of the deceased image, and Swinhoe, with the two being 407 00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:14,800 Speaker 1: said to look incredibly similar. Over the next few years, 408 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:18,840 Speaker 1: the family continued to be haunted by the appearance of 409 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:26,240 Speaker 1: the variously terrifying, unsettling, or simply melancholic woman in black, 410 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:30,440 Speaker 1: with sightings said to be more frequent in the months 411 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:36,400 Speaker 1: of July, August and September, the months in which Henry Swinhoe, 412 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:43,000 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Swinhoe, and Benjamin Littlewood respectively, died at the property. 413 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:48,560 Speaker 1: For a while, the ghostly sounds heard round the house 414 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:53,480 Speaker 1: grew in intensity, with one servant said to have been 415 00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:58,720 Speaker 1: so terrified by something unseen rattling her door handle that 416 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:05,240 Speaker 1: she suffered from facial hemiplegia as a result. Gradually, however, 417 00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:10,080 Speaker 1: the hauntings became less frequent, with the woman seldom seen 418 00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:14,960 Speaker 1: between eighteen eighty seven and eighteen eighty nine, and by 419 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:19,040 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety two she was no longer being seen at all. 420 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:31,640 Speaker 1: Rosina Despard, writing under the name R. C. Morton, published 421 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:35,600 Speaker 1: a full account of her and her family's experiences titled 422 00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:40,000 Speaker 1: Record of a Haunted House with a preface from Frederick Myers, 423 00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:44,160 Speaker 1: in the eighteen ninety two Proceedings of the Society for 424 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:49,320 Speaker 1: Psychical Research. It isn't known if Myers himself ever saw 425 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:54,680 Speaker 1: the apparition. The Despards eventually moved out at the property 426 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:58,560 Speaker 1: in eighteen ninety three, after which it was turned into 427 00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:03,280 Speaker 1: a boy's preparatory school before becoming a nunnery and later 428 00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:08,600 Speaker 1: a college for training Nanni's. In nineteen seventy, local resident 429 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:13,720 Speaker 1: Missus Jackson was heading past the building during a driving lesson, when, 430 00:33:13,840 --> 00:33:17,760 Speaker 1: much to her instructor's surprise, she suddenly slammed on the 431 00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:22,840 Speaker 1: brakes to make an emergency stop. When the instructor asked 432 00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:26,560 Speaker 1: her why she'd done it, she said, quite pointedly, so 433 00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:29,520 Speaker 1: that she didn't hit the woman dressed all in black 434 00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:32,840 Speaker 1: who just walked out into the road in front of her. 435 00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:39,240 Speaker 1: Seeing the instructor's bemused look, Missus Jackson turned to point 436 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:42,720 Speaker 1: her out to him, only to find the road was 437 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:50,040 Speaker 1: completely empty. In nineteen seventy three, the building changed hands again, 438 00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:54,160 Speaker 1: this time being bought by a housing association that had 439 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:58,080 Speaker 1: it converted into separate flats, which, if you were to 440 00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:02,560 Speaker 1: go there today is how you would find it. Twelve 441 00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:06,320 Speaker 1: years later, in the middle of summer, two middle aged 442 00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:10,600 Speaker 1: friends were walking along Pittville's Circus Road close to the 443 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:15,000 Speaker 1: property around ten pm at night, when they spotted a 444 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:20,640 Speaker 1: strange looking woman standing on the nearby Saint Anne's Close footpath. 445 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:25,280 Speaker 1: The woman appeared to be dressed in a thick looking 446 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:30,520 Speaker 1: black Victorian dress. The men were so taken aback by 447 00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:33,720 Speaker 1: her appearance they headed back in the hope of seeing 448 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:37,040 Speaker 1: her again, but by the time they made it back 449 00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:47,680 Speaker 1: to the footpath, the woman had gone. If you enjoy 450 00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:50,160 Speaker 1: Unexplained and would like to help support us, you can 451 00:34:50,239 --> 00:34:53,279 Speaker 1: now do so far a Patriot to receive access to 452 00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:56,840 Speaker 1: add three episodes. Just go to patron dot com forward 453 00:34:56,880 --> 00:35:01,239 Speaker 1: slash Unexplained Pod to sign up. Unexplained book and audiobook, 454 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:04,319 Speaker 1: featuring ten stories that have never before been covered on 455 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:07,920 Speaker 1: the show, is now available to buy worldwide. You can 456 00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:12,399 Speaker 1: purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Waterstones, among other bookstores. 457 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:16,480 Speaker 1: All elements of Unexplained, including the show's music, are produced 458 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:19,759 Speaker 1: by me Richard McClain smith. 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