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  • 2 days ago
Strange But True S04E09
Transcript
00:00Good evening, Ireland is a mystical land,
00:28famous for its ghosts, legends and leprechauns.
00:32And because the Irish have a love of a good yarn,
00:34you don't have to stray too far, the nearest pub will do,
00:37to hear tales of spooks and hauntings.
00:40But tonight's story is different.
00:43An entire family claim they were terrorised by a poltergeist.
00:47Now, can their accounts be dismissed as hysteria, or if it's a hoax,
00:51how does one explain the testimony of the independent witnesses,
00:54their neighbours and two investigative reporters from national newspapers?
01:24Come on, sister, hurry!
01:32I'm coming!
01:37I'll take her for you now.
01:38How much further?
01:52We're already there.
01:53Come on, sister, hurry!
01:54We have to do it.
02:10God, what are we doing?
02:34Give her hair now, sister.
02:35No!
02:36No!
02:37It has to be done.
02:46May the Lord forgive us.
03:07I know exactly what I had in this house, and to me it was pure terror.
03:21And all I wanted to do was leave this house and never come back to it.
03:24We were all scared.
03:28You know, I didn't even want to go to work.
03:31I said, well, my home is not the same.
03:35I mean, I know what happened.
03:37People can say it's a load of rubbish, a load of whatever,
03:39and I'd say to them, you didn't live through it.
03:42You'd never experienced anything like this, nor have I, but I did.
03:44What has gone on in this house has just been unimaginable.
03:48The sheer terror that we have gone through, the things that we've seen,
03:51you see them on films, you see them in poltergeists,
03:53they do not come to your door.
03:54Life is very frightening for all of us.
03:57Like, we never experienced a man like this in all the years I'm in this house.
04:01Well, it started about eight months ago,
04:03with a terrible smell in the house.
04:04It was making us sick.
04:05It was the smell of urine.
04:06The plong from that kitchen is something frightful.
04:08What's the bathroom? It's all over the place.
04:11It used to come right down the stairs.
04:14Even in the kitchen, the smell was there.
04:17I tried dropping this in it anyway.
04:19Well, maybe I should get the council out to see if somebody can come out.
04:22Oh, that's a good idea, Michael.
04:25So I went to the Galway Corporation here.
04:27They came up and they checked the sewers out the back.
04:29Went through the motions of putting stuff around the pipes and everything,
04:33but the smell was still there.
04:34But after about a month, the mysterious smell began to fade.
04:45What was that?
04:47God, I don't know.
04:49I'd go and have a look.
04:53Well, I were awoken one night.
04:54Missy and Esther were just an unmerciful thump.
04:59So I jumped up by the bed.
05:00I checked the baby's room.
05:01The first place I went was the baby's room.
05:03She was fast asleep.
05:04I came downstairs and checked the front room and the kitchen.
05:13And there was nothing.
05:14So I just shoved it off and went back to bed.
05:17I told you not to buy that cheap stuff.
05:27What are you talking about?
05:28For goodness sake.
05:30That's ceiling paint in Michael's room.
05:32It's flaking off all over the place.
05:34She called me.
05:34She said, Jackie, there's flakes that have fallen off the ceiling from the paint.
05:38So I went down to have a look at them and I picked up some of my hand and they were eggshells.
05:43This isn't paint.
05:44I said, well, Michael doesn't eat eggs.
05:46Doesn't like eggs.
05:47I don't know.
05:47It looks like eggshells or something.
05:51The Fahis shrugged off the strange happenings.
05:54I was about 3.30am.
06:01I, myself and Michael, were sleeping in bed when this light entered the room.
06:08Michael.
06:09Michael, for God's sake, wake up.
06:11What?
06:11What?
06:11It just lit up the whole room.
06:13You could see everything very, very clearly.
06:15I always thought, this is it.
06:16This is something as terrible as going to happen to me now.
06:19It was like a constant pulse of light.
06:22Something like 5,000 candle power.
06:24Really, really bright.
06:25Brighter than daylight.
06:26What is it?
06:28I don't know.
06:29And I was absolutely terrified.
06:31I was under the covers, frightened for my life.
06:35I was absolutely petrified.
06:37News of the events of the house spread quickly,
06:43prompting a visit from a complete stranger.
06:45He'd come to tell the family a story about the land
06:48on which their house had been built.
06:50We invited him to tell his story to our camera.
06:53Saying that he feared there was a curse on the house, he declined.
06:57But he agreed for his account to be recorded on tape.
07:0130 years ago, Corra Park wasn't here at all.
07:04It was an old farmhouse out the country.
07:07With fields around it, for miles.
07:10I was fairly friendly with the people that stayed in the old house.
07:14I got very friendly with them.
07:17They told me that they heard strange noises in the house.
07:22They told me that the clothes were pulled clean off the bed.
07:27And left them in the middle of the floor.
07:29The Lord is for thee, blessed art thou am all.
07:32And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
07:35Only Mary, Mother of God, would give up the sinners now.
07:44You've got the number if you need us.
07:46Yeah, yeah.
07:46Take care.
07:47God bless now.
07:47Bye.
07:54Coming.
08:01Sarah Louise!
08:02I just went up to check and all of a sudden the door came out in my face.
08:07So I came downstairs and I ran out to the neighbours crying and I told her what was happening.
08:12Martha was terrified. She was bawling crying. She was very bad, you know.
08:16And she asked me would I go out and check on the baby.
08:22And the door was closed.
08:23Please let it be alright, Brid.
08:27I went in and checked on the baby. She was fine, you know.
08:30Thanks be to God.
08:32When Michael and Mary came home that night, Martha told them what had happened.
08:40I was terrified.
08:41Wasn't I, Sarah Louise?
08:43Martha refused to come into the house. She was adamant. No way. She was too scared.
08:46But you're alright now.
08:47Yeah. But I need some things for Sarah Louise. There's a bag near the banister.
08:51I'll go and get them.
08:53Better go with her.
08:56There was no way she was entering back in that house.
08:58So myself and Mike braved it and I went in. But no way would Martha.
09:01We came back into the house and we were very, very frightened going in because we had to grab the baby's clothes.
09:06That's when all hell broke loose.
09:14That's when all hell broke loose.
09:15And then we heard a big thump. And we both ran in. The coffee table was upturned. So we said, that's it. We have to get out of here. We can't sit here.
09:40We can't stay here. Let's get out.
09:50Oh, Michael, the lights!
09:51It was just pure terror. I mean, I've never been so afraid in my whole life. This was probably the worst thing that ever happened.
10:01Driving away and we looked back and we looked back and there was this big black shadow on the house. It didn't look like our house.
10:07So my father gave me the food and I hopped over the back wall and I fed the dog. And when I was feeding the dog, the light just started flicking on and off.
10:17I thought it was a lamp at first, but it was too bright to be a lamp because it lit up the whole kitchen. And I was so scared when I seen it. I kind of stood back. I just got so scared. I nearly wet myself. I said, I'm getting out of here quick.
10:33I taught my parents then what I'd seen. The light was flicking on and off. And they couldn't believe it.
10:47Blinking away, he said they were.
10:48I tried them off. I know I did.
10:50Two days later, the Fahy family returned to Korrib Park to find their home of 25 years in a state of devastation.
10:57Oh, Jackie, I'm not going to spend another night here.
11:01Ah, come on, Gertley. Be all right. Do you want me to call in the church?
11:05No, no. We don't want to go bothering the priest.
11:08Well, things got so bad, we didn't actually sleep here any night. We went to Breach Lees next door. We slept on the floor. We huddled together. We were more comfortable out there than we were in here.
11:21No longer able to sleep in their own home, the Fahys decided it was time to seek help.
11:25I don't think this is a good idea at all. It'll drive the thing more wild, I'm telling you.
11:29Oh, okay, I'll do that. What did he say?
11:33Well, the man says I need more proof before they put it in the paper.
11:37One night, my dad and I decided to tape the noises, just get some proof that we weren't actually hearing this in our minds.
11:43There's no tape on the machine. She told us not to mess with it. It's started again.
11:57Well, I felt like the thing that didn't want us to record it, and we panicked, so we all read downstairs.
12:02We got to the bottom of the stairs, and next time we heard this baby cry.
12:07I was the only one who actually couldn't hear anything.
12:10I didn't hear it.
12:12I wanted to hear this for myself.
12:17I actually realised it was a porcelain jug. It crashed past me and hit Sarah Louise's room.
12:21I was terrified. I was scared. I was crying. It was total panic.
12:25Determined to return to their home, the Fahy family decided it's time to seek help from the church.
12:30The Fahy family had been forced to leave their Galway home, believing it was possessed by a poltergeist,
12:45which had upturned furniture, thrown objects around, and made pictures fly off the walls.
12:51Desperate for help, Jackie Fahy confided in a priest.
12:55Would the family's faith in the church bring peace back into their lives?
12:59Get yourself, Father. Come in, come in.
13:05Thanks for coming, Father.
13:06If you get the family together, we'll see what we can do.
13:08Michael, Esther, come on, lads.
13:11We knew that the priest was going to come to say Mass in the house.
13:15We felt hopeful that everything would be better.
13:18Now, if we all stay calm and pray to God.
13:24Our Father, who art in heaven.
13:27We had a private Mass here for the family only.
13:29Here in this room, the front room.
13:31Hallowed be thy name.
13:33Thy kingdom come.
13:35But in the middle of the Mass, I could hear a baby crying.
13:37As it is in heaven.
13:39Lord, bless us in heaven.
13:41The priest was literally getting louder.
13:45He was saying the prayers louder.
13:47And I think myself, he heard a child crying,
13:49but he didn't want to say he did.
13:51And forgive us our trespasses,
13:53as we forgive those who trespass against us.
13:56And lead us not into temptation,
13:58but deliver us from evil.
14:01From evil.
14:03Amen.
14:05After the Mass was said,
14:06the Fahey family believed their nightmare would at last be over.
14:11By now, news of the poltergeist activity had reached reporters in Dublin.
14:16I was working on another story that day,
14:18but just about three o'clock in the afternoon,
14:20my editor said to me,
14:22Aideen, can you get down to Galway immediately, basically,
14:24and stayed the night in a haunted house.
14:26Oh, hello. Aideen Sheen from the Evening Herald.
14:30Oh, they're expecting you.
14:31Thanks a lot.
14:32They said, see if anything happens there.
14:34And I said, I can't imagine that anything will.
14:37This is probably a stunt to try and get a better council house
14:41or something like that.
14:42I mean, we were all very sceptical.
14:44Mr. and Mrs. Fahey said that they didn't want to sleep in the house.
14:48I said, I'll stay in the house with Michael and his girlfriend.
14:52I thought that they seemed a genuinely pleasant family.
14:58They were very happy to have me there.
15:00They said, we'd like someone to be here
15:02so that it's not just us saying this has happened.
15:05Do you mind if I sit up here?
15:07No, go ahead.
15:11It's a bit cold, isn't it?
15:13They kept feeling these weird chills,
15:15but I was certain that it was just the night getting cold.
15:20So I was sitting in the kitchen just typing up a story
15:23that was fairly sceptical about anything happening.
15:26I'll just knock up something for the editor and see what happens.
15:30Well, we'll wait a bit to keep you company.
15:32So do you think we'll get in the papers?
15:34It's up to the editor.
15:36It's up to the editor.
15:37Oh.
15:43Did you hear that?
15:45It's coming from the living room.
15:58Michael, come back!
15:59Well, I'd just heard this massive crash, and I just leapt to my feet,
16:03and Michael and myself and his girlfriend, we raced back into the room
16:07because I just couldn't imagine what had happened. It sounded as if the roof had fallen in or something.
16:26And we raced in, and it just was unbelievable.
16:31Now do you believe us?
16:34What we saw was a huge china dog which you couldn't help but noticing before that had been sitting on the hearth
16:41It had smashed into smithereens, it was just all over the place
16:45And the television had been, which was beside where the dog had been sitting, was pushed backwards on its table
16:52And there were pictures that had been upended on top of it
16:55There was a kind of layer of sut on top of the television
16:59And there was a picture above the television that was now crooked and it had been straight before
17:05So at this stage I was getting kind of spooked
17:09And I mean I'd hasten to add I'm completely atheistic
17:13And I've never had any sort of fear of paranormal things or any belief in them whatsoever
17:20I went in and I was astounded by it
17:22And I was just desperately looking to try and find some kind of physical explanation
17:27And I couldn't
17:32After Aideen Sheehan's story appeared, investigative journalist Declan White
17:37Joined high profile psychic Sandra Ramdani at the Fahis home
17:41Would Sandra's renowned psychic skills finally rid them of their persistent and unwelcome visitor?
17:47In 90% of the cases I'm called out to, there's absolutely no form of paranormal activity involved
17:54What we have sometimes is overactive imagination, knocking pipes in the house
17:59Or other factors explaining, creaking floorboards maybe, to explain the disturbance that's going on
18:07I really had read quite a lot about the case in all of the newspapers
18:12And it appeared to me that here was a family living in terror
18:15Who'd been put out of their home by a spirit
18:18I thought the least I could do was go and try to help
18:21I'd just like to do a check on the house first
18:25Being a hard-nosed reporter you have to go down, check it all out
18:28Were the people looking for a new council house?
18:31Is there some other story here behind it?
18:33Are they genuine? So we were there for two days
18:36I felt they were genuine, they were scared, they were petrified
18:40They couldn't sleep, you could see it in their eyes
18:42There was a bit of madness going on
18:45This was a great story
18:47This splashed in all the national newspapers
18:50It was the main lead on the TV news
18:53It went round in all the radio programmes
18:57Everybody in Ireland was talking about it
18:59And I wanted to be there for the scoop
19:01When I entered the house I was immediately aware
19:04That there was a spirit presence
19:06I felt that this was a spirit who hadn't moved on properly
19:10And that the spirit and the whole house in fact needed healing
19:14Michael, Mary, Martha and Declan agreed to join Sandra in a seance
19:19And anybody who would like to come in?
19:21You're welcome to come in now
19:22You're welcome to come in now
19:23You're welcome to come in like I'm sure
19:25We will do take care of your family
19:27Thanks
19:29Like Peter Heffernan
19:31She believed the bizarre events in their home
19:33Were related to an old farmhouse
19:35That had once stood on the same land
19:37For over a hundred years
19:50Let's all gather round Martha
19:52Link hands
19:54Concentrate all our healing energies on Martha
19:57And centre warm, positive thoughts
20:00Relax
20:04Breathe in and out
20:07Slowly
20:09I can see a spirit
20:24A tiny newborn baby
20:27Wrapped in a bundle
20:28There are two people with it
20:30Young people
20:32They're wearing black
20:34They're running
20:36Running
20:38They feel shamed
20:40They must hide their terrible secret
20:43Give her hair now, sister
20:45No
20:46He's taking the baby
20:47He's taking his life
20:48May the Lord forgive us
20:52May the Lord forgive us
20:54May the Lord forgive us
20:55May the Lord forgive us
21:00Let us pray
21:01When I tuned into the spirit, the impression I got was this was a very young baby, a newborn
21:15infant maybe, that had been murdered at birth.
21:18I felt the mother was a nun and that the father was a priest.
21:22And this child had been smothered and buried underneath what appeared to be an old farmhouse.
21:28We must focus all our healing energies on that little baby and help to release the spirit
21:36from its eternal pain.
21:52I saw the baby being actually lifted up, it was in white clothing, it was glowing golden
21:57light and it lifted up and went up into the light above my head.
22:01It was like a baby rising with a smile on his face.
22:04I thought, wow.
22:05After that, the vibration in the place seemed to turn to happiness, much, much quieter, much,
22:10much calmer.
22:11At that moment then, I knew it had left our house, it was gone.
22:15I do believe that there was something strange going on in the house.
22:21I can't explain it and I would look for any sort of physical explanation, but I haven't
22:29been able to think of one and I've thought about it quite a lot since.
22:33There was definitely something that was, you know, like nothing I've ever seen before
22:40anyway.
22:41And they genuinely were disturbed by it, I've no doubt about that, that it wasn't a hoax.
22:47The house now is comfortable, it's warm, there's just happy vibes everywhere in the house.
22:54We felt really happy and we knew this thing had gone.
22:58I can sleep in my bed again, I can sit down and watch television.
23:01People are smiling, you can see it in their faces, you can see it in their eyes, the tenseness
23:05has left.
23:06We could leave Sarah Louise and she could have a peaceful sleep.
23:10Being a reporter, I can only report what actually happened, the feelings of what happened
23:15and in that genuinely something paranormal, something beyond their ordinary lives happened
23:22that day and brought happiness into a house that was full of sadness.
23:27Since that day the Fahis have moved back to their home where they now live in peace and
23:31things have returned to normal.
23:33So did Sandra really rid their home of a spirit trapped between two worlds?
23:39The Fahis certainly think so and perhaps in the end that's all that counts.
23:44Goodnight.
23:45Goodnight.
24:14Bye.
24:16Bye.
24:17Bye.
24:19Bye.
24:20Bye.