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 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: dot com to claim your free membership and start feeling great. 21 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: We humans can often take for granted that we are 22 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: ultimately responsible for our actions, that the choices we make 23 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:23,120 Speaker 1: are governed by nothing but our own free will. And 24 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 1: yet studies have shown that the brain can enact certain 25 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:29,399 Speaker 1: decisions up to seven seconds before we have even become 26 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: aware that we are making them. The notion of free 27 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: will is explored by the philosopher John Gray in his 28 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: groundbreaking book straw Dogs, a work of startling insight, deposits, 29 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: amongst many other profound notions, that the fallacy of free 30 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 1: will is merely a concept that helps us make sense 31 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 1: of the world, that all our acts are in fact, 32 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 1: nothing but the endpoint in a series of long sequences 33 00:01:56,760 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 1: of unconscious responses. To accept that free will is little 34 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: more than an illusion is a little unnerving, to say 35 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:09,760 Speaker 1: the least. For some, it could be seen as merely 36 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: a fascinating quirk of life, perhaps the existence of the 37 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: seven second delay, merely the consequence of a quantum process 38 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: we are yet to fully understand. But for others, a 39 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 1: lack of free will might speak of something else, entirely, 40 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: something far more sinister. For after all, if we aren't 41 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: in control of our minds, than just who or what 42 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:43,239 Speaker 1: is you're listening to unexplained, and I'm Richard McClain smith. 43 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 1: The following story took place in England in nineteen seventy four, 44 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:53,680 Speaker 1: and I must warn the listener that it will contain 45 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:57,400 Speaker 1: some horrific and graphic details. Believed by some to be 46 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: the most shocking account of demonic possession ever to have 47 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: occurred in the UK. The events that took place one 48 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 1: quiet Sunday morning in a small Yorkshire town have never 49 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: been fully accounted for. It is a chilling mystery that 50 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 1: remains to this day unexplained. For Britain, the nineteen seventies 51 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 1: was a time of extraordinary uncertainty as the government lurched 52 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:28,679 Speaker 1: from right to left. The country found itself struggling to 53 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:32,840 Speaker 1: adapt to a post industrial age. For some, especially those 54 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 1: in power, it seemed that nothing less than the country's 55 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: entire social fabric was at stake. For the residents of 56 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 1: the West Yorkshire market town of Ossit, the landscape had 57 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 1: been shifting for some time. The town, situated in border 58 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: country where the northwest of the coal fields merged with 59 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: the southeast of the woolen mills, had once been a 60 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 1: thriving pocket of industry, but, like many northern towns in 61 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:01,080 Speaker 1: the early seventies, it was facing an uncertain future. For 62 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: one couple in particular, that future was beginning to look 63 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: increasingly bleak. Thirty one year old Michael Taylor and his 64 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: twenty nine year old wife, Christine were described by friends 65 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:14,200 Speaker 1: as a kind and loving couple and doating parents to 66 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 1: five young boys who were well liked by the local community. 67 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:21,840 Speaker 1: After an accident at work, Michael had been forced to 68 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:25,320 Speaker 1: leave his job after seriously injuring his back, and as 69 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: the country slipped into a full blown recession, opportunities for 70 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:32,040 Speaker 1: jobs had all but dried up. For a proud young 71 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 1: father of the seventies, his sense of inadequacy and low 72 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:38,480 Speaker 1: self esteem was profound, and with the pressure to provide 73 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: for his family starting to mount, Michael began to suffer 74 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:46,479 Speaker 1: from intermittent bouts of depression. At some point, a local 75 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,240 Speaker 1: friend called Barbara Wardman, called to see how the family 76 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:53,080 Speaker 1: were holding up. Concerned that the couple's recent struggles had 77 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: left them socially isolated, Barbara suggested their accompany her to 78 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:00,839 Speaker 1: an upcoming social event that she had organized. Barbara, it 79 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: turned out, had recently become involved with a local group 80 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:08,280 Speaker 1: calling themselves the Christian Fellowship of Osit. The group were 81 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:12,280 Speaker 1: part of a growing movement known collectively as charismatic Christianity. 82 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: For Michael and Christine, who had never shown an interest 83 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:18,719 Speaker 1: in the church, or any religion for that matter, the 84 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: invitation to join Barbara's group seemed a little daunting. Nonetheless, 85 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: later that week, the Tailors attended their first fellowship meeting 86 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: and were surprised by what they found. Rather than the 87 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:34,479 Speaker 1: stuck up, prickly group of religious eccentrics that they had expected, instead, 88 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:39,080 Speaker 1: they found a group of friendly, ordinary people just like themselves. 89 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:44,039 Speaker 1: Leading the congregation was a twenty two year old lay 90 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: preacher named Marie Robinson. The young, charismatic in every sense 91 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:50,920 Speaker 1: of the word, made a deep impression on the couple. 92 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: That night, under Marie's magnetic tutelage. Lifted by the joyous 93 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:59,840 Speaker 1: spirit of the group, Michael and Christine converted to Christianity. 94 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:12,719 Speaker 1: Eager to learn more about their new religion, Michael and 95 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:15,840 Speaker 1: Christine attended a service conducted by Marie in the town 96 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:20,160 Speaker 1: of Harbury. During the service, Marie seemed to become suddenly distressed. 97 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: Shaking wildly, she started speaking in a strange language, claiming 98 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:28,479 Speaker 1: she was possessed by the Holy Spirit, unbeknownst to the 99 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:32,320 Speaker 1: Tailor's speaking in tongues, also known as glossalalia, was a 100 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:37,200 Speaker 1: prominent feature of the charismatic movement. Later that night, the 101 00:06:37,279 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 1: Christian Fellowship, led by Marie Robinson convened for a meeting 102 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,719 Speaker 1: at the tailor's house. At some point during the service, 103 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 1: many in the congregation noticed Michael becoming strangely animated, seeming 104 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:51,239 Speaker 1: to be in the grip of an unknown force. Michael 105 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: started shaking violently before shouting a stream of strange, garbled words. Ordinarily, 106 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 1: such an outburst might cause sell bration amongst the group, 107 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:05,880 Speaker 1: but this was something different. The group were greatly disturbed. 108 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:10,960 Speaker 1: One member, Mavis's smith, sank into an instant depression and 109 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:18,040 Speaker 1: started to cry uncontrollably. Instinctively, Marie elt in front of Mavis, calmly, 110 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: placed her hands on her head, and proceeded to perform 111 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:26,120 Speaker 1: what Christine and Michael later discovered was an exorcism. As 112 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:30,600 Speaker 1: Marie's voice grew louder, Mavis began to writhe uncontrollably, becoming 113 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:33,760 Speaker 1: more and more animated and swearing at Marie, telling her 114 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: she hated her and to leave her alone. When it 115 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: was finally over, The scared and confused members slowly left 116 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:47,680 Speaker 1: and agreed to reconvene later in the week. The following day, 117 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: a concerned Marie returned to the tailor's home to check 118 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: on Michael's welfare. Christine, who had sensed that Michael was 119 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:58,400 Speaker 1: developing an attraction to Marie, suggested the pair be left 120 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 1: alone to discuss their feelings. When Christine exited the room, 121 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:07,680 Speaker 1: Michael kissed Marie, who immediately pushed him away. Marie pleaded 122 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: with Michael to think of his love for Christine. When 123 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 1: Christine re entered, Michael declared that they had won a 124 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:17,400 Speaker 1: great victory for the Lord. A miracle has happened, he said. 125 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: We have both overcome our passions. But then something strange occurred. 126 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:35,600 Speaker 1: Michael found himself standing naked, as if in a dream, 127 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 1: in a place that was not of this world. In 128 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:41,840 Speaker 1: front of him, with her face turned away, was Marie, 129 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 1: who was also naked. As she slowly turned her head 130 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:48,559 Speaker 1: to face him, Michael was horrified to see that her 131 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: eyes had been replaced by two snakelike slits. At once, 132 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 1: he felt a tremendous evil rise up inside of him. 133 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:02,360 Speaker 1: For Marie. On at Michael in the room, she recounted 134 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:06,200 Speaker 1: seeing a strange look come over him, a look that 135 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:08,920 Speaker 1: she would later claim was nothing less than the face 136 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:14,280 Speaker 1: of the devil. Suddenly, Michael began shouting in tongues and 137 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 1: slapped at Marie's head. Christine tried her best to get 138 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:20,040 Speaker 1: between them, but was pushed out of the way by 139 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:23,680 Speaker 1: her husband. Michael grabbed Marie by the hair and threw 140 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 1: her across the room, knocking her out cold. When she 141 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:31,040 Speaker 1: came two moments later, the usually timid and gentle Michael 142 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 1: was crouched over her with a look of murder in 143 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:38,120 Speaker 1: his eyes. Seconds later, having completely snapped out of whatever 144 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:46,560 Speaker 1: had come over him, Michael collapsed exhausted. Afterwards, Christine ordered 145 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:48,599 Speaker 1: Marie to stay away from their home, and in the 146 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:53,480 Speaker 1: days that followed, noticed Michael's behavior becoming increasingly erratic. He 147 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:57,720 Speaker 1: muttered strange things to himself and became angered by religious iconography. 148 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:03,480 Speaker 1: Neighbor spotted Michael wandering the local streets in a bizarre state. 149 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 1: He spat on the ground and told her to look 150 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:08,680 Speaker 1: on it as milk, telling her to drink it, for 151 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:13,000 Speaker 1: it was the milk of human kindness. As Christine became 152 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:16,560 Speaker 1: increasingly concerned for Michael, they turned again to the fellowship 153 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:22,400 Speaker 1: for guidance. On the evening of October third, they attended 154 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:24,920 Speaker 1: a meeting led by the Reverend Peter Vincent of the 155 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:29,040 Speaker 1: Church of Saint Thomas at Gorba in Barnsley. Vincent was 156 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:32,400 Speaker 1: a well respected figure in the local charismatic movement, having 157 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:35,240 Speaker 1: introduced it to his own congregation earlier in the year. 158 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:39,160 Speaker 1: Within minutes of meeting Michael, it was clear to Reverend 159 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:44,040 Speaker 1: Vincent that something was profoundly wrong. After inviting Michael to 160 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:47,280 Speaker 1: make confession, he performed a minor exorcism before sending the 161 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 1: emotionally drained tailors back home. Once they had returned, Michael, 162 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:55,640 Speaker 1: fearful of what exactly was happening to him, was too 163 00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:58,679 Speaker 1: afraid to sleep, pleading with his wife to stay by 164 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:02,160 Speaker 1: his side. 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That's teladoc dot com slash Unexplained podcast. Two 183 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:25,280 Speaker 1: days later, on October fifth, Michael returned for another fellowship meeting. 184 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:29,760 Speaker 1: Alarmed by his behavior, the group suggested he'd be taken 185 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 1: immediately to see the Reverend Vincent. After being driven to 186 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:37,480 Speaker 1: the vicar's house, the vicar's wife, Sally, welcomed the couple 187 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:39,800 Speaker 1: into her home and settled them down in the kitchen. 188 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:44,520 Speaker 1: A local Methodist minister from Barnsley called Raymond Smith was 189 00:12:44,559 --> 00:12:47,720 Speaker 1: called to provide a second opinion. A short time later, 190 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 1: Smith Julie arrived at the vicarage with his wife Margaret. 191 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:55,920 Speaker 1: As they sat down to eat dinner, Michael immediately smashed 192 00:12:55,920 --> 00:12:58,400 Speaker 1: his plate to the floor. When the vicar's cat entered 193 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:02,120 Speaker 1: the room, screamed at it, pulling fur from its back, 194 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 1: and throwing it out of the house before he could 195 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:09,360 Speaker 1: be restrained. Reverend Vincent was utterly shocked. To him, it 196 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:15,040 Speaker 1: was clear Michael was possessed by something deeply evil. There 197 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:20,280 Speaker 1: was no other option but to perform a complete exorcism. 198 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:23,440 Speaker 1: As the others looked around nervously, Reverend Smith was the 199 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:28,320 Speaker 1: first to speak up. Unconvinced by Vincent's diagnosis, Smith thought 200 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:32,199 Speaker 1: it best that they consult a doctor first. However, Christian 201 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:35,080 Speaker 1: was worried that calling the medical services may cause even 202 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:39,160 Speaker 1: more distress to Michael. Sally agreed. It was clear to 203 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 1: her that not only was Michael possessed, but that Marie 204 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,160 Speaker 1: Robinson was the culprit, having pledged Michael's soul to Satan 205 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:57,480 Speaker 1: during one of her unorthodox rituals. The team moved quickly, 206 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:01,000 Speaker 1: calling in Methodist lay preacher Donald j to assist with 207 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:04,960 Speaker 1: the exorcism. At once, Michael was taken to Saint Thomas's 208 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:07,400 Speaker 1: Church and ordered to lie down in the vestry on 209 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:09,600 Speaker 1: a pile of hassecks that had been laid out on 210 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:14,240 Speaker 1: the floor. Candles were lit all around, and the three clergymen, 211 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 1: watched on by their wives, gathered ominously around Michael. A 212 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 1: bright moon hung in the sky, and as the chill 213 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:24,880 Speaker 1: of the night descended, the preachers began casting the demons 214 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:29,440 Speaker 1: from Michael's soul. For over six hours, the priests worked 215 00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 1: casting out demon upon demon as Michael rised and screamed 216 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:36,640 Speaker 1: into the night, at one point shouting out the demon 217 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:40,560 Speaker 1: name of incest in a strange guttural voice. A cross 218 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:43,560 Speaker 1: belonging to Michael was later burned in a cleansing ritual. 219 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,680 Speaker 1: The following morning, as the sun's first rays filtered through 220 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:52,040 Speaker 1: the windows of the church, the preachers collapsed, exhausted to 221 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:57,280 Speaker 1: the ground. By Reverend Vincent's count, it had been an 222 00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:01,640 Speaker 1: unqualified success, having cast out less than fifty demons from 223 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:06,720 Speaker 1: Michael's troubled soul. However, there remained three demons that they 224 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:11,720 Speaker 1: had not successfully exercised, the demon of insanity, violence, and 225 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:17,280 Speaker 1: most worryingly of all, murder too exhausted to continue, it 226 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:19,760 Speaker 1: was agreed that Michael be sent home to rest before 227 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 1: returning at a later date. With the tailor's children spending 228 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:27,800 Speaker 1: the night at their grandparents, Christine and Michael returned to 229 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 1: an empty home shortly after nine am on the morning 230 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:36,800 Speaker 1: of Sunday, October sixth A neighbor of the tailors later 231 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:41,480 Speaker 1: recounted seeing Christine shortly after they arrived back. Christine had 232 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,520 Speaker 1: seemed distressed, telling her neighbor that she was worried that 233 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:48,200 Speaker 1: something might have gotten into her. She had planned to 234 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:51,240 Speaker 1: rest with Michael a short while before calling for a doctor. 235 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:56,240 Speaker 1: Soon after. Christine went back inside the house. It was 236 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:58,680 Speaker 1: the last time she would ever be seen alive again. 237 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:13,000 Speaker 1: Shortly after ten am, a strange call was received at 238 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:17,040 Speaker 1: Ossit Police Station. Pc N Walker, who had just clocked 239 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:20,000 Speaker 1: in for work, assumed it was some kind of practical joke. 240 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,720 Speaker 1: The caller claimed to have seen a naked man walking 241 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:27,760 Speaker 1: through the streets, covered head to foot in paint. Walker 242 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,920 Speaker 1: and his partner promptly got into their regulation patrol vehicle 243 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:34,760 Speaker 1: and headed out in search of the mysterious man. Being 244 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:37,280 Speaker 1: as it was a quiet Sunday morning in a small 245 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:42,880 Speaker 1: market town, it wasn't long before they found him. The 246 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:46,239 Speaker 1: two officers pulled over in the car and carefully approached. 247 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:51,080 Speaker 1: As Walker drew near, his confusion turned to horror. It 248 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:53,560 Speaker 1: wasn't paint that covered the man from head to toe, 249 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:59,400 Speaker 1: it was blood. Walker radioed back to Bath and was 250 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:02,800 Speaker 1: informed that the man he had before him was Michael Taylor. 251 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:08,640 Speaker 1: Walker's first reaction was to search Michael's body for any 252 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:11,480 Speaker 1: sign of a wound, but was horrified to discover that 253 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:16,159 Speaker 1: whoever's blood this was, it wasn't Michael's. Staring out to 254 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:20,399 Speaker 1: an unimaginable distance, Michael spoke in a quiet, detached manner, 255 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 1: it is the blood of Satan, he said, I have 256 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:31,760 Speaker 1: killed my wife. I know I have. With Michael's safe, 257 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:34,840 Speaker 1: you picked up and despatched to hospital. Walker made his 258 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:38,760 Speaker 1: way to the Taylor's house. When he arrived at the property, 259 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:42,720 Speaker 1: a superior officer had already inspected the scene. From the 260 00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:45,160 Speaker 1: look on his face alone, Walker should have known better 261 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:48,240 Speaker 1: than to enter, but despite efforts to prevent him, pc 262 00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:51,879 Speaker 1: Walker's curiosity got the better of him. What he saw 263 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:54,880 Speaker 1: would form the basis for every nightmare he has suffered 264 00:17:54,920 --> 00:18:04,920 Speaker 1: ever since. Tracing back from the front door, a clear 265 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:07,359 Speaker 1: trail of blood could be seen leading out from the 266 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:11,080 Speaker 1: living room. Through the door frame, he could just make 267 00:18:11,119 --> 00:18:15,760 Speaker 1: out Christine Taylor's lifeless body strewn across the floor. All 268 00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:20,840 Speaker 1: around the room was splattered in blood. Her blood. It 269 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,360 Speaker 1: seemed to cover every inch of her face, as if 270 00:18:23,359 --> 00:18:25,840 Speaker 1: she had been smeared in it. But as he drew 271 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:29,679 Speaker 1: near the full horror was revealed to him there was 272 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:35,040 Speaker 1: no face where there should have been eyes. Instead, there 273 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:39,720 Speaker 1: were two seemingly endless cavities. Her eyeballs had been ripped 274 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:43,200 Speaker 1: from the sockets and thrown across the room, the flesh 275 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:45,920 Speaker 1: of her face torn from her skull in a brutal 276 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:49,960 Speaker 1: fit of mania, and perhaps the strangest of all, her 277 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:54,879 Speaker 1: tongue had been pulled clean from her mouth. As the 278 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:57,560 Speaker 1: police searched desperately for a sign of the murder weapon, 279 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 1: something dawned on them with a profound sense of shock. 280 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:05,600 Speaker 1: There was no weapon. Michael Taylor had done it all 281 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:19,160 Speaker 1: with his bare hands. On March twenty fifth, nineteen seventy five, 282 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:22,880 Speaker 1: at Leed's Crown Court, Michael Taylor was found not guilty 283 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:24,920 Speaker 1: of the murder of his wife due to what was 284 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:29,680 Speaker 1: deemed a momentary bout of insanity. Coroner Philip Gill believed 285 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:32,800 Speaker 1: that Michael had no criminal or evil intent, and that 286 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:35,240 Speaker 1: he was merely trying to relieve his wife of the 287 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:41,439 Speaker 1: evil he saw in her. After sentencing, doctor Hugo Mille, 288 00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:45,520 Speaker 1: consultant psychiatrist to the Bradford Group of Hospitals, entered Michael 289 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:48,840 Speaker 1: Taylor's cell in Leeds Prison. He found the defendant to 290 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:52,800 Speaker 1: be completely detached from reality, unaware of his surroundings, and 291 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:57,080 Speaker 1: unfit to remain in prison custody. He was immediately transferred 292 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:01,160 Speaker 1: to Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital, where doctor Miln made an initial 293 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:06,160 Speaker 1: diagnosis of an acute schizophrenic attack, but subsequently reversed his decision. 294 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:09,080 Speaker 1: It was his belief that one way or another, the 295 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:13,119 Speaker 1: Fellowship group had created Michael's insanity, and that Michael's fascination 296 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:15,720 Speaker 1: with Marie Robinson had in some way played a part 297 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 1: in it. Archbishop of Canterbury at the time, Donald Coggan, 298 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:24,480 Speaker 1: strongly condemned the reckless approach of the Fellowship. The Reverend 299 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:29,480 Speaker 1: Peter Vincent, for his part, exhibited no remorse, believing unequivocally 300 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:34,280 Speaker 1: that Michael had been possessed by an evil spirit. The 301 00:20:34,359 --> 00:20:37,720 Speaker 1: Church of England continues the practice of exorcism to this day. 302 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:49,760 Speaker 1: Aside from the senseless and avoidable loss of life, what 303 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:53,040 Speaker 1: strikes me most about this tragic story is the fact that, 304 00:20:53,119 --> 00:20:56,000 Speaker 1: regardless of what you believe, there is no doubt that 305 00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:59,920 Speaker 1: whatever Michael Taylor experienced or witnessed, it all appeared horrifying 306 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:04,760 Speaker 1: real to him. Although we will never know exactly what 307 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:09,119 Speaker 1: happened to Michael, conventional wisdom suggests some form of schizophrenia. 308 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:13,840 Speaker 1: As such, I found myself drawn to a fascinating paper 309 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:19,119 Speaker 1: titled Quantum Logic of the Unconscious and Schizophrenia. The paper, 310 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:24,560 Speaker 1: written by theoretical physicists Paola Zizzy and Massimo Pregnolato, explores 311 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:27,439 Speaker 1: the mechanics of schizophrenia through the framework of what is 312 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:31,080 Speaker 1: known as the quantum mind. In a trivial sense. The 313 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:33,639 Speaker 1: notion of the quantum mind derives from the theory that 314 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:36,080 Speaker 1: since all of everything we know can be reduced to 315 00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:39,920 Speaker 1: the quantum level, it follows that consciousness itself must in 316 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:44,359 Speaker 1: some way be linked to quantum mechanical phenomena. It is 317 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:46,960 Speaker 1: a thought that has led some to consider the brain 318 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:51,760 Speaker 1: as a form of quantum computer, drawing on earlier work 319 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:55,760 Speaker 1: by psychiatrist and creator of the term schizophrenia, oigen Boiler 320 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:59,720 Speaker 1: and the work of Sigmund Freud, Zizzi and Pregnolato's paper 321 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:03,480 Speaker 1: posits the idea that, in a computational sense, the logic 322 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:05,840 Speaker 1: of the unconscious may well be the same as the 323 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:10,080 Speaker 1: logic of schizophrenia. While a healthy mind will adopt the 324 00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:13,520 Speaker 1: logic of consciousness as its primary process of thinking, the 325 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:18,119 Speaker 1: schizophrenic mind instead adopts the unconscious mind at its primary mode. 326 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:22,320 Speaker 1: By extension, might it then be that not only do 327 00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:26,439 Speaker 1: we all possess the capacity to experience schizophrenic episodes, but 328 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:29,919 Speaker 1: that such occurrences may be the result of quantum processes 329 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:33,440 Speaker 1: in the brain, processes that, in theory, could at any 330 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:38,120 Speaker 1: time be switched from one state to another. Is it 331 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:42,760 Speaker 1: possible that the extraordinary nature of Michael's experiences, exacerbated by 332 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:47,000 Speaker 1: the intense delirium of his exorcism, created a fundamental change 333 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:51,359 Speaker 1: in Michael's mind, a change that converted his darkest unconscious 334 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:57,800 Speaker 1: nightmares into a physical, conscious reality. It is certainly compelling 335 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:00,600 Speaker 1: to wonder at what could possibly cause such a gentle 336 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:03,840 Speaker 1: and loving husband as Michael Taylor to so brutally and 337 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:06,959 Speaker 1: manically murder his wife in a sudden moment of insanity. 338 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:11,600 Speaker 1: That the mind might be so fragile and susceptible in 339 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:15,800 Speaker 1: such a way is a truly terrifying thought. Might we 340 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:18,840 Speaker 1: too be little more than a quantum leap from madness 341 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:23,720 Speaker 1: if we are not indeed already there? It certainly puts 342 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:28,320 Speaker 1: a new spin on that most familiar Biblical adage, Please 343 00:23:28,359 --> 00:23:36,520 Speaker 1: forgive us, for we know not what we do. All 344 00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:39,760 Speaker 1: elements of Unexplained are produced by me Richard McClain smith. 345 00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:42,560 Speaker 1: Please subscribe and rate the show on iTunes, and feel 346 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:44,760 Speaker 1: free to get in touch with any thoughts or ideas 347 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:47,680 Speaker 1: regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you 348 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:49,680 Speaker 1: have an explanation of your own you'd like to share. 349 00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:53,160 Speaker 1: You can reach us online at Unexplained podcast dot com 350 00:23:53,280 --> 00:24:07,199 Speaker 1: or on Twitter at Unexplained Pod. Now it's time to 351 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:11,520 Speaker 1: take care of yourself. To make time for you. Teledoc 352 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:14,600 Speaker 1: gives you access to a licensed therapist to help you 353 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:18,000 Speaker 1: get back to feeling your best. Speak to a licensed 354 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:22,080 Speaker 1: therapist by phone or video anytime between seven am to 355 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:26,480 Speaker 1: nine pm local time, seven days a week. TELEDOC therapy 356 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:30,680 Speaker 1: is available through most insurance or employers. 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