WEBVTT - Season 06 Episode 24 Extra: Digging the Foundations

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<v Speaker 1>On a stormy night on the small island of Guernsey,

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<v Speaker 1>a young paranormal expert joins a skeptical history teacher to

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<v Speaker 1>record the first in a series of podcasts based on

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<v Speaker 1>the island's incredible folklore and paranormal history. As the expert

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<v Speaker 1>regales his horrifying stories, the teacher learns that we all

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<v Speaker 1>have our own truth, our own story ghosts that haunt us.

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<v Speaker 1>Starring Olivier nominated actor and former Blue Peter legend Peter Duncan,

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<v Speaker 1>When Darkness Falls is a spine chilling ghost story that

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<v Speaker 1>delivers a twisted, terrifying and thrilling tale that the Guardian

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<v Speaker 1>said will leave you cowering in your seat. Catch the

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<v Speaker 1>brand new UK tour of When Darkness Falls from September

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<v Speaker 1>fifteenth in a town near you. Select nights will also

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<v Speaker 1>feature myself delivering a live episode of Unexplained. For more

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<v Speaker 1>details or to book tickets, visit When Darkness Falls dot

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<v Speaker 1>co dot uk. If you dare welcome to Unexplained Extra

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<v Speaker 1>with me Richard McClane Smith where for the weeks in

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<v Speaker 1>between episodes, we look at stories and ideas that, for

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<v Speaker 1>one reason or other, didn't make it into the previous show.

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<v Speaker 1>In last week's episode This Woman's Work, we heard the

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<v Speaker 1>story of the Cheltenham ghost, of female apparition dressed in

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<v Speaker 1>morning clothes that is said to haunt a property formerly

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<v Speaker 1>known as Garden Reach in Cheltenham, in the southwest of England.

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<v Speaker 1>It is thought that this woman in Black may have

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<v Speaker 1>inspired Susan Hill's own Woman in Black from her nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>eighty three novel of that name, and it's easy to

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<v Speaker 1>see why. Much like hills terrifying antagonist, the supposed Cheltenham

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<v Speaker 1>ghost is similarly believed by some to be stuck forever

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<v Speaker 1>mourning the death of her child, with some believing it

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<v Speaker 1>might be the ghost of former resident Elizabeth Swinhoe, the

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<v Speaker 1>wife of Henry Swinhoe, who died in the property while

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<v Speaker 1>giving birth to her stillborn son. Others, however, have suggested

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<v Speaker 1>it might be the ghost of Henry's troubled second wife, Imogen.

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<v Speaker 1>Despite a bitter and acrimonious separation from Henry and moving

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<v Speaker 1>back to Bristol, where she later died, Imogen's body was

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<v Speaker 1>brought to Cheltenham to be buried near the home she

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<v Speaker 1>shared with her former husband. Reason enough, you'd imagine for

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<v Speaker 1>any ghost to feel a little restless. It's a common

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<v Speaker 1>feature of ghost stories that the supposed ghosts seemed somehow

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<v Speaker 1>tied to one particular location, remaining stuck there through time

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<v Speaker 1>as the living come and go around them. All well

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<v Speaker 1>and good, you might say, if that place is a

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<v Speaker 1>ruined castle, for example, not so simple as the desparred

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<v Speaker 1>family from last week's episode discovered if a supposed ghost

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<v Speaker 1>found itself attached to a residential property on Unexplained. We've

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<v Speaker 1>covered many a haunted house story. However, few have been

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<v Speaker 1>as terrifying as the subject of this week's extra. It

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<v Speaker 1>had just gone one thirty a m. One early morning

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<v Speaker 1>in August nineteen forty two when the call came in

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<v Speaker 1>to her wise Honolulu Police Department down on Bethel and

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<v Speaker 1>Merchant Street. It was hard to make out what the

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<v Speaker 1>caller was saying exactly, as she screamed hysterically that some

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<v Speaker 1>one was trying to kill her children at her home

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<v Speaker 1>in Kaimuki, a quiet residential neighborhood in the east of

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<v Speaker 1>the city. Two officers, Moseley Cummins and Robert AND's Death

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<v Speaker 1>were dispatched immediately to investigate what they found at the

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<v Speaker 1>caller's home. Has been the subject of much conjecture ever since.

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<v Speaker 1>In some reports, the officers arrived to find the woman's

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<v Speaker 1>ten year old son and her two daughters eighteen and twenty,

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<v Speaker 1>being seemingly strangled and thrown across the room by an

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<v Speaker 1>invisible force or the while the mother frantically circled the room,

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<v Speaker 1>shrieking at whatever it was to leave them alone, as

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<v Speaker 1>she waved tea leaves and sprinkled Harwiian salt all around them.

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<v Speaker 1>Salt and tea leaves are traditionally used by practitioners of

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<v Speaker 1>Hawaiian magic, known as cahuna to ward off malevolent spirits.

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<v Speaker 1>After struggling with the apparent entity for over an hour

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<v Speaker 1>and a half, the police eventually managed to pull the

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<v Speaker 1>family out of the property and escorted them to her relatives,

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<v Speaker 1>where they stayed for the rest of the night. As

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<v Speaker 1>the woman later explained, it had all started about ten

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<v Speaker 1>p m. When her son had apparently detected an unusual

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<v Speaker 1>atmosphere in the air and began screaming that a spirit

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<v Speaker 1>was beginning to materialize in their property. Thirty years after

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<v Speaker 1>the terrifying events of nineteen forty two, in the evening

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<v Speaker 1>of October thirty first, nineteen seventy two, another bizarre car

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<v Speaker 1>apparently came into the Honolulu Police Department, once again involving

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<v Speaker 1>strange and terrifying happenings at a house in Kaimuki. This time,

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<v Speaker 1>three young women who had been renting a house together

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<v Speaker 1>for a few weeks reported hearing an intruder in their home,

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<v Speaker 1>moving about, making peculiar noises and talking out loud to them,

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<v Speaker 1>only they couldn't see who it was. When an officer

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<v Speaker 1>arrived at the house, he found the terrified women waiting

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<v Speaker 1>for him outside the property. Too afraid to go back inside.

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<v Speaker 1>Without explaining any more, the women begged the officer to

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<v Speaker 1>drive with them back to one of their mother's homes,

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<v Speaker 1>where they were planning to spend the rest of the night.

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<v Speaker 1>After agreeing to escort them, the officer waited until the

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<v Speaker 1>women got into their truck and drove off, before following

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<v Speaker 1>them close behind. As they drove out onto Wiley Avenue,

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<v Speaker 1>the officer watched with confusion as the truck suddenly darted

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<v Speaker 1>into the Oasis Cafe parking lot just beyond the intersection

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<v Speaker 1>with Harding Avenue. While inside it, the women appeared to

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<v Speaker 1>be fighting with each other in the front seat. The

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<v Speaker 1>officer parked up and jumped out of his vehicle, only

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<v Speaker 1>to then realize it was only one of the women

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<v Speaker 1>who appeared to be fighting off something while her two

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<v Speaker 1>friends were trying to help. Not quite knowing what to do,

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<v Speaker 1>the officer reached into the truck to try and help

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<v Speaker 1>two only to suddenly feel a strong, calloused hand rapids

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<v Speaker 1>fingers around his arm and twist it up behind his back. Terrified,

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<v Speaker 1>the officer ran to his car to radio for help.

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<v Speaker 1>Things had calmed down somewhat when the backup officer arrived

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<v Speaker 1>at the scene to find his colleague as white as

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<v Speaker 1>a sheet, claiming that he had just been attacked by

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<v Speaker 1>some kind of invisible entity inside the women's truck. The

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<v Speaker 1>woman who seemed to be at the center of the

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<v Speaker 1>attacks was then invited to ride with the officers while

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<v Speaker 1>her two friends continued on their way to the relatives home. However,

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<v Speaker 1>as soon as she got in to the patrol car,

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<v Speaker 1>the engine suddenly switched itself off. No matter how many

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<v Speaker 1>times they tried to restart it, a just wouldn't catch.

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<v Speaker 1>With no other options, the woman returned to her friend's truck, and,

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<v Speaker 1>once again with the police following close behind, they attempted

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<v Speaker 1>to drive off. The two officers could only watch on

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<v Speaker 1>in horror as moments later, the truck's front door flew open,

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<v Speaker 1>and the embattled woman rolled out into the middle of

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<v Speaker 1>the road, clawing at her throat as though someone were

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<v Speaker 1>trying to strangle her. As one of the officers tried

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<v Speaker 1>to free her from whatever had her in its grip,

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<v Speaker 1>the other dashed into the oasis cafe and returned moments

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<v Speaker 1>later holding some salt and water. The officer threw them

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<v Speaker 1>over the woman, and moments later she was freed. It

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<v Speaker 1>isn't known for sure whether the two Kaimuki based stories

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<v Speaker 1>originated from but many familiar with the region and its

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<v Speaker 1>history are in no doubt that both of them concern

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<v Speaker 1>the exact same house, a property that once stood at

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<v Speaker 1>the corner of eighth and Harding Avenue, although some belief

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<v Speaker 1>the property was actually located on the left of second

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<v Speaker 1>and Harding Avenue. Either way, it is said that not

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<v Speaker 1>long after it was first built, the father of the

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<v Speaker 1>family who lived there went to berserk and killed his

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<v Speaker 1>wife and children before burying them in the back yard.

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<v Speaker 1>Another story has it that it was actually the mother

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<v Speaker 1>in law of the woman whose children were allegedly attacked

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<v Speaker 1>there in nineteen forty two, who was buried there, and

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<v Speaker 1>it is her ghost that so maliciously attacked its residence.

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<v Speaker 1>With the neighborhood being made up largely of immigrants from Japan,

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<v Speaker 1>it wasn't long before the term yokai was being used

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<v Speaker 1>in connection with the property, a catch all term for

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<v Speaker 1>all manner of monsters and other supernatural entities from Japanese folklore,

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<v Speaker 1>and the yokai most often associated with it was the cashier,

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<v Speaker 1>an especially feared demonic creature that appears in the shape

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<v Speaker 1>of a cat walking on two legs. The coming of

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<v Speaker 1>rain or stormy weather is said to herald the imminent

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<v Speaker 1>arrival of a cashier, which would then appear covered in flames,

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<v Speaker 1>having arrived straight from Hell. The casha were most interested

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<v Speaker 1>in the bodies of the dead, which they are tasked

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<v Speaker 1>with taking back to Hell. If the deceased was considered

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<v Speaker 1>to have lived a sinful life. Other times, rather than

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<v Speaker 1>take them all the way back to Hell, the cashier

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<v Speaker 1>might simply eat the corpse, and according to law, anyone

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<v Speaker 1>trying to stop them might themselves be eaten or ripped

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<v Speaker 1>to pieces for their troubles. In some parts of Japan,

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<v Speaker 1>belief in the cashier is so strong, but mourners have

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<v Speaker 1>even been known to carry out two separate funerals for

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<v Speaker 1>their loved ones. The first funeral would actually be a

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<v Speaker 1>decoy involving a coffin full of rocks in an effort

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<v Speaker 1>to distract any cashier that might have designs on the deceased,

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<v Speaker 1>while a second proper funeral was hurriedly carried out elsewhere.

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<v Speaker 1>At some point, the much feared property in Kaimuki, which

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<v Speaker 1>became known locally as the Cashier House, is said to

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<v Speaker 1>being pulled down to make room for a freeway. Others, however,

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<v Speaker 1>such as writer Keith Man, are convinced that although the

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<v Speaker 1>original house was knocked down, it was replaced by a

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<v Speaker 1>bland looking duplex built on exactly the same spot where

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<v Speaker 1>he himself lived for a short time around twenty sixteen.

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<v Speaker 1>Man claims that he and his flatmates moved into the

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<v Speaker 1>apartment despite multiple warnings from their neighbors, who said that

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<v Speaker 1>no one had lasted more than three months in the

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<v Speaker 1>property before having to vacate it. But since the new

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<v Speaker 1>duplex was so cheap and not being the kind of

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<v Speaker 1>people to worry about, paranormal superstitions. Man and his friends

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<v Speaker 1>chose to ignore the warnings. All was well for the

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<v Speaker 1>first few weeks, until one day, in the early hours

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<v Speaker 1>of the morning, Keith shot up suddenly in his bed

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<v Speaker 1>with an undeniable urge to run as his heart thumped

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<v Speaker 1>in his chest for no apparent reason. He quickly noticed

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<v Speaker 1>the air around him was freezing cold enough to see

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<v Speaker 1>his breath, when ordinarily the temperature rarely dropped below sixty five.

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<v Speaker 1>His chest also felt oddly cold, as if he were

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<v Speaker 1>freezing up from the inside. Just then, all the smoke

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<v Speaker 1>alarms in the house beeped out at the same time,

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<v Speaker 1>despite not being connected in any way. Convinced that some

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<v Speaker 1>one was watching him from out at the corner of

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<v Speaker 1>the room, Keith leaped from his bed and sprinted into

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<v Speaker 1>the living room, where he immediately felt safer. Staring back

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<v Speaker 1>into the darkness of his room through the gap in

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<v Speaker 1>the door, he had the overwhelming sense that something horrifying

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<v Speaker 1>and sinister was lurking there. Though Keith eventually calmed down

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<v Speaker 1>and went back to bed, he claimed this event was

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<v Speaker 1>repeated throughout his time at the property, always occurring precisely

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<v Speaker 1>at the time of four thirty three am. You can

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<v Speaker 1>read more about Keith's experience at the overly opinionated dot

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<v Speaker 1>com in his twenty eighteen article I lived in the

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<v Speaker 1>most Haunted House in Hawaii, where in a recent update,

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<v Speaker 1>he concluded, You'll never be able to truly explain what's

0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:24.359
<v Speaker 1>in there, but it definitely ain't good and you definitely

0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:33.760
<v Speaker 1>don't want to make it angry. If you enjoy Unexplained

0:14:33.760 --> 0:14:35.880
<v Speaker 1>and would like to help support us, you can now

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<v Speaker 1>do so via Patreon. To receive access to add three episodes.

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<v Speaker 1>Just go to patreon dot com forward Slash Unexplained pod

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<v Speaker 1>to sign up. Unexplained. The book and audiobook, featuring ten

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<v Speaker 1>stories that have never before been covered on the show,

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<v Speaker 1>is now available to buy worldwide. You can purchase through Amazon,

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<v Speaker 1>Barnes and Noble, and Waterstones, among other bookstores. All elements

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<v Speaker 1>have Unexplained, including the show's music, are produced by me

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<v Speaker 1>Richard McClain smith. Please subscribe and rate the show wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to podcasts, and feel free to get in

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<v Speaker 1>touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've

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<v Speaker 1>heard on the show. Perhaps you have an explanation of

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<v Speaker 1>your own you'd like to share, you can reach us

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<v Speaker 1>online at Unexplained podcast dot com, or Twitter at Unexplained

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<v Speaker 1>Pod and Facebook at Facebook dot com. Forward Slash Unexplained

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