WEBVTT - S04 Episode 21: The Under Weight (Pt.1 of 2) 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:03.000 There's nothing better than feeling comfortable in your own shoes, 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:05.240 and that doesn't mean flopping down on the couch with 0:00:05.280 --> 0:00:08.640 bunny slippers. Maybe you're a parent raising a little rock star, 0:00:09.119 --> 0:00:11.959 or a tech nomad working from anywhere and jumping from 0:00:11.960 --> 0:00:14.920 one thing to the next. Whoever you are, all Birds 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:17.360 wants you to be comfortable in your actual shoes too. 0:00:17.720 --> 0:00:21.279 They're wool runners, pipers, and loungers are designed for a 0:00:21.400 --> 0:00:23.480 level of coziness that makes you feel like you can 0:00:23.520 --> 0:00:26.479 do anything. You might even forget you're wearing them, and 0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:29.720 their shoes are so stylish they go perfectly without wear 0:00:29.800 --> 0:00:32.960 whatever I want attitude. 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The Newport Subdivision a suburban housing development in 0:01:13.920 --> 0:01:17.960 the southeast of Texas in the southern United States, first 0:01:18.000 --> 0:01:22.840 took route in the late nineteen seventies, extending outwards from 0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:26.280 the town of Crosby and tucked in behind dense forest 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:29.880 on the edge of Lake Houston. By nineteen eighty, its 0:01:29.920 --> 0:01:34.920 concrete tendrils twisting and curling ever deeper into the surrounding wilds, 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:40.080 had grown steadily to comprise one thousand homes. For many, 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:44.440 the green and leafy neighborhood, with its private security guards 0:01:44.680 --> 0:01:48.440 and manicured lawns hidden under the canopy of hundred year 0:01:48.480 --> 0:01:53.160 old trees, provided the perfect mix of suburban decorum and 0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:58.400 rugged country. For those unfamiliar with the term, a subdivision 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:01.520 in this sense is a housing development that begins as 0:02:01.560 --> 0:02:04.960 little more than individual plots of land serviced by a 0:02:05.040 --> 0:02:08.959 system of roads that have been provided with plumbing and electricity. 0:02:10.320 --> 0:02:12.960 Having purchased one of the plots, it would then be 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:15.560 down to the buyer to decide what house they would 0:02:15.560 --> 0:02:19.920 like to have shipped in and assembled onto it. For 0:02:20.040 --> 0:02:23.320 Jean and Ben Williams, it was a subtle, tan brick 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:29.040 Mediterranean style home that had taken their fancy, having been 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:32.280 encouraged to move to the new development by their eldest daughter, 0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:36.280 Marcia Anne, who also lived in the neighborhood. The couple 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:39.720 finally took the plunge and relocated in the fall of 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:42.760 nineteen eighty, picking a plot at the far end of 0:02:42.800 --> 0:02:47.600 the brand new Section eight on Poppet's Way. The couple, 0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:50.480 who were both in their fifties, elected to have their 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:54.040 home built back to front, a special request of Genes, 0:02:54.360 --> 0:02:56.640 so that their living room would look out over the 0:02:56.680 --> 0:03:00.639 spacious garden toward the small patch of woodland stretched out 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:03.960 behind it. But there was one tree in particular that 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:08.639 Jean had fallen for, a sturdy oak, by then resplendent 0:03:08.720 --> 0:03:12.600 in fiery autumnal color, that the developers at one stage 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:15.200 had suggested they cut down to make room for the 0:03:15.200 --> 0:03:19.919 Williams's new home. Jean was adamant, however, that it should stay, 0:03:20.400 --> 0:03:24.120 so rather than remove it, the aged oak instead was 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:28.040 incorporated into the design of the build, so much so 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:31.200 that it appeared almost to be holding up an entire 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:35.560 corner of the house. It was somewhere within the surrounding 0:03:35.600 --> 0:03:39.520 woodland that remnants of the old McKinney plantation could still 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:44.360 be found. Either Ruth McKinney, the family's last living descendant, 0:03:44.720 --> 0:03:47.200 was said to still be living in a property somewhere 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:52.040 behind it. Mercer McKinney, along with his wife Mary, and 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:56.120 their six children, moved to Harris County in eighteen fifty seven, 0:03:56.520 --> 0:03:59.880 shortly before the outbreak of the American Civil War, bring 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:03.160 five slaves with them, who were immediately put to forced 0:04:03.200 --> 0:04:08.000 labor on the McKinney's plantation. By all accounts to the 0:04:08.040 --> 0:04:11.520 local white community, at least, the Mercers were a highly 0:04:11.560 --> 0:04:15.040 respected and well liked addition to the local area, to 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:19.240 whom the somewhat oxymoronic description of being masters that were 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:25.240 kind to their slaves was often applied. For those with 0:04:25.320 --> 0:04:28.440 the luxury of choice when looking at a new property 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:31.680 to rent or buy, it is often the way that 0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:33.880 so much of it speaks to you the first time 0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:36.839 you see it. It is easy to miss some of 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:41.200 the finer details. In many cases, it isn't even until 0:04:41.240 --> 0:04:44.400 the deal is done that you suddenly notice the way 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:48.480 a worktop doesn't quite run straight, or that small patch 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:51.680 of damp just peeking up over the skirting in the 0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:56.240 master bedroom. For Jean and Ben, it was the peculiar 0:04:56.560 --> 0:05:00.400 short rectangular depressions that pockmarked the grounds of around their 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:04.800 property that they had failed to notice those, and the 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:09.320 strange markings carved onto that large oak tree that Jeanne 0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:18.599 had grown so fond of. Even from the first day, 0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:22.000 it hadn't been a great fit. Perhaps it was down 0:05:22.040 --> 0:05:24.560 to the fact that the builders hadn't quite finished up 0:05:24.600 --> 0:05:28.040 before jean and Ben moved in, or perhaps because of 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:30.440 the lateness of the year. It was the fact that 0:05:30.520 --> 0:05:32.800 Jeanne would have to wait a while before she could 0:05:32.839 --> 0:05:35.760 really get a handle on the garden that made those 0:05:35.800 --> 0:05:41.240 first few weeks a little strained and disjointed. Regardless, it 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:43.919 wasn't unusual for a couple moving in to a brand 0:05:43.920 --> 0:05:48.040 new home and neighborhood to experience a few teething problems 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:53.000 as they adjusted to their new surroundings. Though their previous neighborhood, 0:05:53.320 --> 0:05:56.880 Deer Park on the eastern fringes of Houston, had been 0:05:56.920 --> 0:06:01.120 fairly quiet, it was clear that the almost complete stillness 0:06:01.120 --> 0:06:04.880 of Newport would take a little getting used to. But 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:09.000 there was something else too, something a little different they 0:06:09.040 --> 0:06:12.960 couldn't quite put their finger on, but could somehow sense, Nonetheless, 0:06:14.200 --> 0:06:18.159 like a distant, silent alarm leaking out at a pitch, 0:06:18.560 --> 0:06:22.360 at first too high to be audible, but was slowly 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:28.960 steadily dropping into range. Having finally settled in. One night 0:06:29.080 --> 0:06:32.240 early in the new year, with Jeanne asleep in bed, 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:35.800 Ben returned home from a late shift at work to 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:41.599 find the house unusually cold. Conscious about waking jean, he 0:06:41.720 --> 0:06:44.760 moved silently between the rooms and the dark as he 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:48.440 made his way to the bedroom when something outside drew 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:53.479 his attention. Standing in the dark, staring out the back window, 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:58.000 he was convinced for a moment that something or somebody 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:00.800 was approaching the house from the back of the garden. 0:07:02.120 --> 0:07:05.279 As he narrowed his eyes to focus, he caught it again, 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:11.120 only now there were two strange, wispy patches of darkness, 0:07:11.680 --> 0:07:14.720 at once a morpheus, but yet oddly reminiscent of the 0:07:14.800 --> 0:07:21.040 human form, moving slowly side by side toward him. Gripped 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:24.760 by a sudden fear, Ben felt his chest tighten as 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:28.720 he stumbled back into the kitchen, struggling to breathe. When 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:33.760 he looked up again, the shapes had gone. Still struggling 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:36.840 for breath, Ben made his way to the bedroom, and, 0:07:37.000 --> 0:07:39.720 being careful not to wait, jean was soon able to 0:07:39.760 --> 0:07:44.920 breathe again. After explaining the episode to Jean, the following morning, 0:07:45.560 --> 0:07:48.920 at his wife's insistence, Ben paid a visit to the doctor, 0:07:49.280 --> 0:07:54.000 who diagnosed an asthma attack, something Ben had never experienced before. 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:58.920 It wasn't long after that the Jean was finally able 0:07:58.960 --> 0:08:01.920 to put a finger on that strange sensation she'd been 0:08:01.960 --> 0:08:06.000 feeling ever since they'd moved. It was the feeling that 0:08:06.160 --> 0:08:10.320 she was being watched. Over the next six months or so, 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:13.360 a number of relatives came by to visit the couple, 0:08:13.760 --> 0:08:18.520 from the daughters Marcia Anne, Jennifer, and youngest Tina, to 0:08:18.640 --> 0:08:22.600 Jean's parents and her brother, all of whom couldn't help 0:08:22.640 --> 0:08:26.200 but feel the same that there was something wrong with 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:37.959 that house. Not long after Ben's peculiar experience, the couple's oldest, 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:42.240 Marcia Anne, announced that she was leaving her husband. This 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:45.080 was followed a few weeks later by the shocking news 0:08:45.480 --> 0:08:49.480 that Jean's mother had cancer. It was a few nights 0:08:49.559 --> 0:08:52.640 later that Ben returned home again from a late shift. 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:58.240 As Jean slept soundly in the bedroom, resisting the urge 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:00.480 to turn on the lights so as not to wake her. 0:09:01.040 --> 0:09:05.720 Ben headed to the kitchen, feeling hungry, he pulled open 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:08.840 the fridge door and stood for a moment bathed in 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:11.880 its soft yellow light as he scoured the shelves for 0:09:11.960 --> 0:09:16.440 something to eat. Seeing nothing he wanted, he closed the door, 0:09:16.760 --> 0:09:19.880 then turned toward the living room and froze in shock. 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:24.719 Those odd, whispy shapes that he'd seen before were now 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:28.840 hovering right in front of him. Rooted to the spot, 0:09:29.200 --> 0:09:32.319 Ben could only look on in confusion as they drifted 0:09:32.360 --> 0:09:36.880 out into the hallway, suddenly snapping out of it. Ben 0:09:36.920 --> 0:09:40.080 gave chase as they moved down the corridor and seemed 0:09:40.120 --> 0:09:43.000 to turn into the bedroom, where he then found them 0:09:43.040 --> 0:09:46.040 hovering at the end of the bed as Jean slept 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:51.960 soundly under the covers. Without thinking, Ben ran straight for them, 0:09:52.080 --> 0:09:55.200 only to pass right through and fall on top of Jean. 0:09:57.040 --> 0:10:01.160 She woke in alarm to find a terrified looking coughing 0:10:01.200 --> 0:10:04.720 and sputtering beside her as he looked frantically about the room, 0:10:05.520 --> 0:10:11.480 but the shapes had gone. Having eventually calmed down, Ben 0:10:11.600 --> 0:10:14.760 proceeded to explain what he'd seen and how he'd seen 0:10:14.840 --> 0:10:19.000 something similar in the garden a few weeks before. He 0:10:19.080 --> 0:10:21.679 could have sworn that the shapes were moving with the agency, 0:10:22.240 --> 0:10:25.520 and yet saying it all out loud. He realized then 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:29.640 just how ridiculous it sounded. As a plant worker for 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:34.160 the Ethel Corporation, a chemical manufacturing company based out of Houston, 0:10:34.600 --> 0:10:38.800 Ben was no stranger to toxic gas. Was it possible, 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:42.440 he thought, considering the recent asthma attack and coughing fit, 0:10:43.000 --> 0:10:46.360 that the strange clouds was some kind of poisonous gas 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:49.440 that had seeped out of the ground. But nothing of 0:10:49.520 --> 0:10:59.880 that nature was ever found. Though Jean and Ben continued 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:03.840 to sense something unusual about the place, they resolved to 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:07.240 ignore it as best they could and concentrate on enjoying 0:11:07.280 --> 0:11:10.880 their new home. But as the green leaves of summer 0:11:11.200 --> 0:11:14.840 began to turn a golden brown, the family were beset 0:11:14.960 --> 0:11:17.920 by a series of terrible events that would test even 0:11:17.960 --> 0:11:23.479 the strongest of resolves. Most pressing was their daughter, Jennifer's 0:11:23.480 --> 0:11:27.760 ongoing domestic problems, which resulted eventually in Jean and Ben 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:31.320 offering to take in her daughter Carly to give Jennifer 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:36.440 some space. Not long after Carly moved in, Jean's brother Glenn, 0:11:36.840 --> 0:11:40.600 was diagnosed with inoperable cancer and given no more than 0:11:40.640 --> 0:11:46.880 twelve months to live. Mere days later, Glenn's granddaughter was 0:11:46.960 --> 0:11:51.360 diagnosed with leukemia, all of which was then topped off 0:11:51.559 --> 0:11:54.920 by the catastrophic news that Jean and Ben's twenty four 0:11:54.960 --> 0:12:00.439 year old daughter, Tina had Hodgkins lymphoma. The next months 0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:04.320 would prove uniquely testing for the family, as Jean devoted 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:07.880 what time she could between looking after Carly and ferrying 0:12:07.920 --> 0:12:11.240 Tina back and forth from hospital as she underwent a 0:12:11.320 --> 0:12:15.480 spleen removal and a heavy and debilitating course of chemotherapy 0:12:16.600 --> 0:12:20.200 or the while Jean continued to supervise her mother's cancer 0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:25.800 treatment too. That Christmas of nineteen eighty one, the family 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:29.960 rallied together as best they could under the circumstances, but 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:33.960 by then Jean was fairly convinced that something of the 0:12:34.000 --> 0:12:40.720 house had cursed them. Are you always taking care of 0:12:40.760 --> 0:12:43.240 your family? Do you often take care of others and 0:12:43.320 --> 0:12:46.520 not yourself? Now it's time to take care of yourself, 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:50.680 to make time for you you deserve it. Teledoc gives 0:12:50.679 --> 0:12:53.480 you access to a licensed therapist to help you get 0:12:53.480 --> 0:12:56.720 back to feeling your best to feeling like yourself again. 0:12:57.400 --> 0:13:00.359 With tele adoc, you can speak to a licensed therapist 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:04.200 by phone or video therapy Appointments are available seven days 0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:07.160 a week from seven am to nine pm local time. 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:12.199 If you feel overwhelmed sometimes maybe you feel stressed or anxious, 0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:15.520 depressed or lonely, or you might be struggling with a 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:20.280 personal or family issue, teledoc can help. Teledoc is committed 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:24.000 to facilitating great therapeutic matches, so they make it easy 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:28.400 to change counselors if needed. For free. Teledoc therapy is 0:13:28.440 --> 0:13:32.599 available through most insurance or employers. Download the app or 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:37.040 visit teledoc dot com Forward slash Unexplained podcast today to 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:48.720 get started. That's teladoc dot com slash Unexplained podcast. In 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:53.200 March the following year, Jean's brother Glenn died at the 0:13:53.240 --> 0:13:57.000 age of fifty two. The family had been preparing for 0:13:57.080 --> 0:14:00.760 it since his diagnosis, but nothing truly prepares you for 0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:05.160 the finality of the moment when it eventually comes. However, 0:14:05.600 --> 0:14:09.600 with Jean's mother, Tina, Jennifer, and Carly to worry about, 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:12.640 Jean and Ben had little choice but to pull themselves 0:14:12.720 --> 0:14:17.960 up and dedicate their energy to the living. In fact, 0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:21.520 with so much else to worry about, Jean and Ben 0:14:21.560 --> 0:14:24.120 had all but forgotten about the peculiar events of the 0:14:24.160 --> 0:14:28.080 previous year when one night they were startled by Carly 0:14:28.520 --> 0:14:32.680 screaming out for jean from her bedroom. Rushing to her aid, 0:14:33.200 --> 0:14:37.240 jean found her granddaughter huddled tightly under her bed covers, 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:41.360 trembling and crying with fright. As jean did her best 0:14:41.360 --> 0:14:45.240 to calm her down, Carly explained that she'd heard footsteps 0:14:45.280 --> 0:14:48.880 outside her door, and, thinking it was Jeanne, had called 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:52.920 out for her but got no reply. When they didn't 0:14:52.920 --> 0:14:58.880 go away, she screamed out for help. But that wasn't all, 0:14:59.280 --> 0:15:03.840 as Carly to explain to her concerned grandmother. Ever since 0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:06.640 she'd moved in, she felt as though she was never 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:11.640 quite alone in her bedroom at times, although she couldn't 0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:15.360 be sure. She thought she'd even seen shapes moving about 0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:19.480 in the dark, and heard the sound of voices submerged 0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:22.480 within the gurgle of water in the pipes whenever the 0:15:22.560 --> 0:15:30.359 cistern flushed. Jeanne looked at her granddaughter in quiet alarm. 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:35.840 A few nights later, the phone rang, Hello, asked Jeanne, 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:40.720 holding the receiver to her ear. For a moment, there 0:15:40.760 --> 0:15:44.360 was nothing but dead air as jean waited expectantly for 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:49.800 a reply, when suddenly a strange guttural noise began to 0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:53.240 worm its way out of the speaker, followed by the 0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:58.240 sound of someone coughing and gasping for air. Jeane slammed 0:15:58.240 --> 0:16:00.760 down the phone and ran straight through to Ben in 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:06.320 the living room, her face completely drained of color. Who 0:16:06.440 --> 0:16:10.800 was it, asked Ben. Only then did Jean realize, with 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:14.760 the sickening horror who it had sounded like. I think 0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:18.920 it was Glenn, she said, her brother that had died 0:16:19.360 --> 0:16:30.440 months before. With Tina's treatments intensifying, Jean and Ben decided 0:16:30.520 --> 0:16:34.360 it was best that she move in with them. One evening, 0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:38.200 while Ben was out at work, a terrific storm began 0:16:38.280 --> 0:16:42.560 to batter the house from outside. Tina, Jean, and Carly 0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:46.600 huddled together in Carly's bedroom as the thunder clattered all 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:51.040 around them. Streaks of lightning flashed and ripped through the sky, 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:57.920 while thick, ominous clouds swelled ever tighter over the house. Smokey, 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:00.840 a cat that had been bought for car shortly after 0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:03.480 she moved in, had joined them on the bed too. 0:17:04.160 --> 0:17:06.840 When the sound of the front door being slammed shut 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:11.600 was heard, followed by what sounded like soft falling footsteps. 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:16.960 Approaching from down the hallway, with the rain pelting down 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:21.360 against the window. Jean, assuming it was Ben, called out 0:17:21.400 --> 0:17:27.200 to him, but there was no reply. Suddenly panicked, Jean 0:17:27.480 --> 0:17:30.639 instructed the others to stay put, then slowly made her 0:17:30.680 --> 0:17:36.639 way to the bedroom door and into the hallway. Beyond Hello, 0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:41.600 she asked again, but still there was no reply, and 0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:46.159 yet that sound of footsteps just kept on coming, moving 0:17:46.240 --> 0:17:51.920 up the hallway toward her. With amusement, Jean backed into 0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:55.000 the bedroom as the sound continued all the way to 0:17:55.119 --> 0:17:59.879 the bedroom doorway and then into the room. Just then, 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:03.800 with a crack of thunder and flash of lightning, Smoky 0:18:04.080 --> 0:18:07.600 leaped forward with a fierce screech towards something in the 0:18:07.640 --> 0:18:10.960 middle of the room, then bolted into the hall. As 0:18:11.000 --> 0:18:15.480 soon as he touched the ground, the sound of footsteps 0:18:15.720 --> 0:18:21.200 had gone. Later, when Tina and Jean tried to account 0:18:21.200 --> 0:18:24.640 for what had happened, Jean failed to mention the numerous 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:27.560 other events that had been plaguing her and Ben since 0:18:27.560 --> 0:18:31.719 they moved in only eighteen months ago what seemed like 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:37.600 a lifetime. Though the events had been myriad and undoubtedly strange, 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:41.040 Jean and Ben had been loath to attach any potentially 0:18:41.080 --> 0:18:45.760 supernatural explanation to them, preferring instead to seek rational answers. 0:18:46.680 --> 0:18:50.800 By now, however, for Jean, at least, the possibility was 0:18:50.880 --> 0:18:56.240 becoming harder to ignore. The couple had discussed just selling 0:18:56.320 --> 0:18:59.000 up and moving out, but with so much going on 0:18:59.480 --> 0:19:03.040 and all the medical bills stacking up, their only option 0:19:03.520 --> 0:19:13.520 was to stick it out. That summer of nineteen eighty two, 0:19:14.160 --> 0:19:17.960 Jean watched with quiet concern from her back window as 0:19:18.000 --> 0:19:21.840 two more couples moved onto the street. Though it was 0:19:21.960 --> 0:19:25.760 nice to finally have the neighboring plots occupied, she couldn't 0:19:25.760 --> 0:19:28.560 help but wonder just what might be in store for 0:19:28.640 --> 0:19:35.160 the new owners. The Haynes schoolteacher Judith and husband Sam, 0:19:35.400 --> 0:19:38.480 who divided his time between working for an airline company 0:19:38.800 --> 0:19:42.440 and running a small art store in nearby Crosby, had 0:19:42.480 --> 0:19:46.920 been eagerly anticipating their move for months, waiting patiently as 0:19:46.960 --> 0:19:52.200 their house was slowly assembled piece by piece. Having finally 0:19:52.280 --> 0:19:56.240 moved in, Sam presented Judith with an early birthday and 0:19:56.359 --> 0:19:59.800 moving in present plans to add a swimming pool to 0:20:00.160 --> 0:20:05.159 sparkling new property. However, no sooner had Sam found a 0:20:05.240 --> 0:20:08.439 contractor to begin the project. There was a knock at 0:20:08.440 --> 0:20:12.440 the front door. When he opened it, he was greeted 0:20:12.480 --> 0:20:16.520 by fifty seven year old Leicester Resler, a local woodcutter 0:20:16.720 --> 0:20:20.560 who'd lived in the area for many years. Much to 0:20:20.640 --> 0:20:24.760 Sam's surprise, Leicester had somehow gotten wind of the plans 0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:27.479 to build a pool in the back garden and had 0:20:27.560 --> 0:20:30.480 felt obliged to come and speak to the Haynes before 0:20:30.520 --> 0:20:34.679 they went any further. Leicester then asked if Sam wouldn't 0:20:34.720 --> 0:20:37.160 mind letting him through to the garden so he could 0:20:37.200 --> 0:20:41.399 explain it all in better detail. Sensing an urgency in 0:20:41.440 --> 0:20:46.840 the man's voice, Sam agreed to show him round. Moments later, 0:20:46.880 --> 0:20:50.240 in the back garden, as the two men examined the 0:20:50.240 --> 0:20:54.280 plans for the pool, Leicester drew Sam's attention toward a 0:20:54.320 --> 0:20:57.639 small rectangular patch at the edge of the garden that 0:20:57.760 --> 0:21:00.320 seemed to be sunk a little deeper than the rest 0:21:00.320 --> 0:21:06.760 of it. There, said Leicester, that's where they're buried. What 0:21:06.800 --> 0:21:11.600 do you mean, asked Sam, as Lester explained the sunken 0:21:11.680 --> 0:21:17.119 land was a grave. Sam stood speechless for a moment 0:21:17.480 --> 0:21:20.040 as he struggled to comprehend what he was being told. 0:21:21.320 --> 0:21:24.359 Surely the housing company wouldn't have knowingly sold them a 0:21:24.440 --> 0:21:29.240 property built over a grave, he thought. Seeing that Sam 0:21:29.359 --> 0:21:33.040 was a little unconvinced, Leicester apologized for being the bearer 0:21:33.040 --> 0:21:36.399 of such disturbing news and gave him the number of 0:21:36.440 --> 0:21:41.440 another local resident who could verify the claim. As he 0:21:41.480 --> 0:21:44.760 showed himself to the door, he suggested that Sam give 0:21:44.800 --> 0:21:48.600 the number a call. Perhaps then he might find out 0:21:48.640 --> 0:21:52.800 where all the others were buried too. The others, said 0:21:52.880 --> 0:21:59.439 Sam with disbelief. Oh yes, replied Leicester, that whole area 0:21:59.600 --> 0:22:03.719 more or had been built directly on top of a graveyard. 0:22:10.440 --> 0:22:13.399 Although sickened by the prospect of living on top of 0:22:13.400 --> 0:22:17.200 a grave site, Judith and Sam couldn't quite bring themselves 0:22:17.200 --> 0:22:21.280 to believe it. After all, what are the chances that 0:22:21.280 --> 0:22:24.040 the developers wouldn't have known of such a thing if 0:22:24.040 --> 0:22:26.960 it was such common knowledge amongst the other local residents. 0:22:28.000 --> 0:22:31.480 But rather than call the number that Leicester had given him, 0:22:31.600 --> 0:22:36.360 Sam decided to investigate for himself. Pulling a spade from 0:22:36.400 --> 0:22:39.040 the garage, he headed out to the spot that Leicester 0:22:39.160 --> 0:22:43.680 had pointed out and rammed it into the earth. An 0:22:43.680 --> 0:22:47.280 hour or so later, however, an exhausted Sam had only 0:22:47.280 --> 0:22:50.200 made it three feet down before the ground had become 0:22:50.240 --> 0:22:55.600 too tough. The following day, after hiring a digger, the 0:22:55.720 --> 0:22:59.639 Hanes watched with concern as the operator steadily ripped the 0:22:59.760 --> 0:23:04.120 large chunks of earth from the ground, until suddenly, at 0:23:04.200 --> 0:23:07.919 roughly six feet deep, Sam yelled for him to stop. 0:23:09.160 --> 0:23:12.600 Leaping into the large hole before him, Sam brushed away 0:23:12.640 --> 0:23:17.520 at the dirt, revealing splinters of dark pine wood. As 0:23:17.520 --> 0:23:20.399 he brushed more of the dirt away, he revealed what 0:23:20.560 --> 0:23:25.200 was quite clearly the lid of a coffin. Prising it open, 0:23:25.640 --> 0:23:30.680 he recoiled at the sight of the bones inside it. Later, 0:23:31.080 --> 0:23:34.679 the stunned couple watch ensombly as a section of the 0:23:34.720 --> 0:23:37.159 coffin and the bones are lifted from out of the 0:23:37.160 --> 0:23:42.199 ground by the local coroner's office. With both the coffin 0:23:42.240 --> 0:23:46.080 and bones being so deteriorated, it was agreed to leave 0:23:46.119 --> 0:23:48.560 most of it in the ground while they waited for 0:23:48.640 --> 0:23:51.240 test results to come back on the pieces they had. 0:23:53.160 --> 0:23:56.960 That afternoon, Jean Williams watched with dread from her back 0:23:57.000 --> 0:24:00.680 window as the long black hearse from the Inner's office 0:24:01.160 --> 0:24:05.760 pulled away from the Haneys home, knowing full well that 0:24:05.880 --> 0:24:13.480 her troubles were far from over. You've been listening to 0:24:13.560 --> 0:24:19.080 part one of Unexplained Season four, episode twenty one. The Underweight. 0:24:20.640 --> 0:24:28.280 Part two will be released next week, Friday, December twenty seventh. Unexplained. 0:24:28.320 --> 0:24:31.600 The book and audiobook, featuring ten stories that have never 0:24:31.640 --> 0:24:34.399 before been covered on the show, is now available to 0:24:34.480 --> 0:24:38.399 buy worldwide. You can purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, 0:24:38.520 --> 0:24:43.720 and Waterstones, among other bookstores. All elements have Unexplained, including 0:24:43.760 --> 0:24:46.879 the show's music, are produced by me Richard McClain smith. 0:24:47.280 --> 0:24:50.400 Please subscribe and rate the show wherever you listen to podcasts, 0:24:50.640 --> 0:24:52.840 and feel free to get in touch with any thoughts 0:24:52.920 --> 0:24:55.520 or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show. 0:24:56.119 --> 0:24:58.240 Perhaps you have an explanation of your own you'd like 0:24:58.280 --> 0:25:01.159 to share. You can reach us on fine at Unexplained 0:25:01.200 --> 0:25:06.119 podcast dot com, or Twitter at Unexplained Pod and Facebook 0:25:06.359 --> 0:25:18.240 at Facebook dot com. Forward slash Unexplained Podcast. Now, it's 0:25:18.280 --> 0:25:21.520 time to take care of yourself. To make time for you, 0:25:22.400 --> 0:25:25.960 teledoc gives you access to a licensed therapist to help 0:25:26.000 --> 0:25:28.879 you get back to feeling your best. Speak to a 0:25:28.920 --> 0:25:33.320 licensed therapist by phone or video anytime between seven am 0:25:33.480 --> 0:25:37.440 to nine pm local time, seven days a week. Teledoc 0:25:37.520 --> 0:25:42.160 therapy is available through most insurance or employers. Download the app, 0:25:42.359 --> 0:25:46.560 or visit telldoc dot com Forward slash Unexplained podcast Today 0:25:46.760 --> 0:25:51.840 to get started. That's T. E. Ladoc dot com slash 0:25:51.960 --> 0:25:53.159 Unexplained Podcast