- 2 days ago
The episode studies specters as troubled souls, exploring if spirits remain on Earth, and examines cases of Washington Irving and a haunting in Port Clyde,
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00a sudden draft from a window that was supposed to have been closed a chill at the back of the
00:12neck groans creaks and bumps in the night man has always been frightened by the dark
00:21troubled by noises just beyond the reach of lights occurrences just beyond the reach of
00:29understanding a very dark hooded evil present came from the hall I didn't even have to see her distinctly
00:40I just knew this is trouble you know and I'm gonna do something about it a ghostly apparition
00:46in the dark of night what was it and why did it come
00:59an astonishing event occurred on a still summer night in a Maine fishing village an event witnessed
01:25by the latest occupants of a house with a long history an event which prompts tonight's search
01:31this series presents information based in part on theory and conjecture the producer's purpose is
01:39to suggest some possible explanation but not necessarily the only ones to the mysteries we
01:45will examine there are stories of ghosts and of hauntings to suit every taste from the playful to
01:55the macabre but those who have studied ghosts claim to have discerned patterns in their behavior what
02:01might be set down as rules of the haunt for example a ghost might be thought of as the spirit of someone
02:07who died in emotional turmoil further it seems the spirit remains close to the place associated with
02:13the turmoil finally it appears that the ghost wanders in its restless limbo until relieved of whatever its
02:19burden is the best way to learn more about ghosts is to consult a ghost hunter Hans Holzer understands the
02:31rules of ghostly behavior perhaps better than anyone else it is his business to investigate hauntings
02:38Holzer is a doctor of parapsychology and has written dozens of books on ghosts over the years I've developed
02:47some pretty foolproof methods to explore the phenomena scientifically I've used highly sensitive cameras and
02:55even more sensitive people psychics to get information which will lead to the discovery of a ghost but in
03:03all my years of ghost hunting I have never been afraid after all a ghost is only a fellow human being in trouble
03:10Holzer may not be frightened by ghosts but most of the people who call on him for help are perhaps this is
03:20because it is all so strange because people instinctively fear what they do not understand
03:26ghosts are the surviving emotional memories of people who've died tragically and cannot leave the spot of
03:34their passing they keep reliving the final moments over and over again like a phonograph needle stuck in the
03:41final groove you see ghosts are not aware that they are dead
03:45Ichabod Crane and the headless horseman came to life in the home and the work of Washington Irving
03:55some who care for the author's retreat think Irving may still be around himself
04:03Holzer was asked to find out
04:08it looked a part of a haunted house all right but the more I looked for hard evidence of a ghost
04:15the more doubtful I became Holzer had to pin down what had actually occurred in the old house
04:22well I thought it was rather unusual one day our former librarian was reading Irving's will in the
04:29basement and all the interpreters were down there and we suddenly heard a crash upstairs we ran up it
04:38sounded like someone had fallen down the steps and when we got upstairs there was an iron sitting in the
04:44middle of the laundry
04:46fallen from the table
04:48ghosts have been known to do such things
04:51but Holzer feels there must be a suitable motive
04:54he talked to Joseph Butler curator of the Irving Museum and Library
05:00during your years here have you ever heard of any legends
05:06alleging that ghosts or uncanny happenings abound here
05:10well of course Irving himself said that
05:13when he died he was sure that he would return to haunt Sunnyside as a friendly ghost
05:27Irving's whimsical warning that he might return as a playful ghost didn't square with Holzer's experience
05:33his knowledge of ghost behavior
05:38the ghost at Washington Irving's cottage had no substance after all
05:43but in the little fishing village of Port Clyde
05:46I found a different kind of story
05:49Port Clyde is a fishing village wedged in a rocky enclave of the main coast
05:55Indians fished these waters long before the Europeans came
06:02then for a time
06:04the Yankee whalers held sway here
06:07they were strong practical men
06:10men steeled for long voyages in search of whale
06:14they were replaced in time by fleets of cod fishermen
06:18the same practical Yankee breed
06:23now it's lobster that lures the men of Port Clyde
06:27but little else has changed
06:29making a living from the sea still demands courage and skill
06:33and there's little time for frivolous pursuits and wild imaginings
06:38Carl Schwab has fished Port Clyde's waters for years
06:45a spiritual descendant of the Yankee whalers
06:48he and his family once lived in a house that some in Port Clyde say is haunted
06:56but had Schwab ever seen or heard anything unusual at the old house
07:01not unusual not for winds here in the wintertime
07:06but I don't know much history of the house
07:08other than what this has come up
07:11this is the ghost Carl Schwab was talking about
07:18I first heard about it from brother and sister
07:21Carol Schulter and Bob Olivieri
07:24Carol and Bob had spent lazy summers with their parents
07:28in the Port Clyde house Carl Schwab once lived in
07:32it was a fine retreat for the young people
07:35a wonderful old house full of nooks and crannies and creaking wood
07:40it was weather-worn but comfortable
07:43there was a night in the summer of 1972 however
07:46which was not comfortable at all
07:49it was the night Bob Olivieri became aware of a presence in his bedroom
07:55one night I was awakened by a noise in the hallway
07:59like a pacing of footsteps
08:02I had no idea what it was
08:04I got up and the sound stopped
08:07and as soon as I got back in bed
08:10I heard the noise again these footsteps
08:12I got up again
08:14I came to the same spot and it stopped
08:17and so then I checked my parents room
08:20and they were sound asleep
08:23I thought maybe it was my three year old nephew
08:26I went down the hallway
08:28and I checked in his room
08:30and he was sound asleep in a crib
08:32and my sister was sound asleep
08:34so then I came back in bed again
08:38and while I was in bed
08:41I got in bed I heard the footsteps again
08:44and they were coming up the hall
08:48and they stopped
08:49it seemed like it was at the edge of the hallway
08:52and a few minutes later
08:53I could feel something on my sheets
08:55like a pressing
08:56like someone pressing down
08:58and there was nothing near
08:59but I could see the sheets being indented
09:03and it kept on coming up my body
09:05until finally at the end something pulled my hair
09:08and I was just scared for the rest of the night
09:11I couldn't get to sleep
09:13Carol, what exactly happened to you in this house
09:18when you slept here one night?
09:20Okay, first of all
09:21I was sleeping in this bedroom in here
09:23which is generally my mother's and father's bedroom
09:26but I just happened to be sleeping here that night
09:28and I was in a deep sleep
09:30and my girlfriend was sleeping in that room with her animals
09:34now one of her animals, a Siamese cat, came in and woke me up
09:38or tried to wake me up several times
09:40and I finally did wake up
09:41I lied there and I thought, well, it'll go away, you know
09:44and then it just kept rubbing against like my face and everything
09:47so I was like this
09:49and I sat up to turn this light on
09:52I said this is the only way I'm going to get rid of this cat
09:54by turning the light on
09:55and I sat up to do that
09:57and I never got the light turned on because I sat up
09:59I realized that there was a light there
10:02and the cat who is still here was also looking at, you know, this light
10:06which was right at this window
10:08at first I saw a little figure, it was female
10:12and she had her hands up to her mouth
10:14and so she wasn't quite sure whether or not she wanted to do this
10:16she was very shy, you know, going like this
10:19and of course all this happened in a matter of split seconds
10:22she got larger and I realized that definitely it was a female figure
10:27with a white, very, the brightest white I'd ever seen nightgown on
10:33and very small shoulders, you know, slender
10:36and I said, Marian, Marian
10:39Carol awakened me in the middle of the night
10:41by calling out my name quite urgently
10:43and I woke up and the first time I heard my name
10:45I didn't want to respond to it because it brightened me
10:48and then she screamed out my name louder again, so...
10:52So, I blinked my eyes again and I realized that I could see through her
10:57and I realized then that it wasn't Marian
11:01and she right away started communicating to me through her hands
11:06and her hands started to go through washing movements
11:09and she got larger as she came to me
11:12now, as I got scared in direct proportion to her approach
11:18and I knew that she wanted me to do something
11:21she was desperate in a way
11:23and at that point I really was scared
11:25and I ducked under the covers, so to speak
11:29and I just called Marian
11:31and then she screamed out my name louder
11:34and there was quite a note of urgency in her voice
11:36so I got out of bed
11:39and I went running across the hall to the room
11:44in which she was sleeping
11:46and she clutched at me and said
11:49Marian, I have just seen a ghost
11:52and I believed her because it was very real
11:55past my fear, I sensed that there was something evil
11:59there was an evil presence
12:01If Bob, Marian and Carol truly experience the ghostly visit
12:06then Hans Holzer must determine whose ghost was abroad that night
12:11and find a way to put it to rest
12:14Hans Holzer is convinced there is merit to the eyewitness accounts of a haunting at Port Clyde
12:25he has enlisted the help of psychic Ingrid Beckman
12:28for the next phase of his investigation
12:30Ingrid works as a book designer for a New York publisher
12:38she became aware of her psychic abilities
12:41her special sensitivities to emanations five years ago
12:45and has worked with Holzer on a number of similar investigations
12:49she knows nothing about Port Clyde
12:52the former occupants of the old house
12:54or the circumstances of the haunting
12:57Hans, immediately I feel the presence of a woman
13:04what about this room?
13:09well this presence comes from another house that was on this property
13:13so that I don't feel it in any particular room
13:15but I do feel that I should go upstairs
13:18because I think there will be more up there
13:20Hans depends on Ingrid's sensitivity to impressions of the past
13:24that may remain in the structure
13:26and to any non-visible emanations she may detect
13:29as I go through this house
13:31as I go through this house
13:32I can see in my mind's eye
13:34the house that was on the property before
13:36and in my mind I sense a field back in this direction
13:42and there was land that went with this
13:44now we're upstairs
13:49I want you to look at every room
13:51and give me your impressions of it
13:53well the upstairs is the most active
13:56I sense a woman who is waiting
14:00and I have an impression now of a storm
14:04that she is very upset about
14:06a gale of some kind
14:08it seems to be November
14:10I also feel that
14:12that she has looked out
14:14of not this very same window
14:15but windows in this direction of the house
14:17and I just got an impression where she says
14:20she meaning a schooner
14:23was built on the Kennebec
14:25the Kennebec river
14:27it seems to be a
14:29oh I think it's a double mastered
14:32double masted schooner
14:34and it seems to be her husband
14:36who's on this
14:37ship registries of the 19th century
14:40confirmed that a whaler named Catherine
14:42sailed from these waters
14:44records of her crew however
14:46are lost
14:47what does she look like
14:50I see a tall woman
14:52who's rather thin and frail
14:54with dark hair
14:55and it appears to be
14:57a white gown
14:59could be a nightgown
15:00I see her in
15:01looks like a nightgown to me
15:03with a little embroidery on the front
15:06hand done
15:07better see if she cares to make contact with us
15:10alright
15:11we'll go back into that first room then
15:13if the entity is present
15:21and wishes to talk to us
15:23we've come as friends
15:25she's very unhappy here Hans
15:30she says her family hails from England
15:33I get her name is Margaret
15:36Margaret what?
15:38something like H
15:41something of that sort
15:44I'm not getting the whole name
15:45what period are we in now?
15:47this is
15:48now she says 1843
15:51she's very unhappy because she wanted to settle in Kennebunk
15:55she does not like it here
15:57she doesn't like the responsibilities of the house
15:59how did she get here?
16:01her husband liked it in this fishing village
16:08she was very unhappy about his choice
16:10now is she here?
16:12she calls Kennebunk the city
16:14that to her is a center
16:16why is she still here?
16:18she's left with all this responsibility
16:21her husband went on a ship
16:25her husband had a commission
16:27what kind of a commission?
16:28on a whaling ship
16:30what was the name of the ship?
16:32St. Catherine or St. Catharines
16:35the ship didn't come back?
16:36no
16:37where did they get married?
16:39in what church?
16:43Lutheran
16:44does she remember the name of the minister?
16:48Thorpe
16:49Thomas Thorpe
16:51when they were married
16:53was that in this town?
16:54no
16:55what town was it in?
16:56long way away
16:58some kind of a province of a place
17:00and they came right here after that?
17:02went into Sacco
17:04and then what did they move to?
17:07Clive
17:08Clyde
17:09poor Clyde
17:10now she and her husband lived here alone?
17:13two children
17:14what were their names?
17:15Philip
17:17but he went to see
17:19and the other one?
17:21Francis
17:23Francis
17:25did he go to see too?
17:27no
17:28what happened to him?
17:29I think Francis died
17:31what did he die?
17:32I get cholera
17:34what?
17:35cholera
17:36cholera
17:37cholera
17:41and?
17:42he was seventeen
17:43the other one?
17:44the other one?
17:45the other one?
17:46Ingrid has come up with some hard information about the ghost
17:49the family name Hatton
17:51the time they lived in Port Clyde
17:53and a ship named Catherine
18:03Holzer would eventually seek out the town historian Colonel Albert Smaley for corroboration
18:08now to the best of your knowledge
18:12does the name Samuel and Hatton mean anything in connection with this area?
18:18yes Samuel Hatton
18:20lived at Port Clyde
18:23prior to 1850
18:25that I'm sure about
18:26what profession did he have?
18:28sailor
18:29was there a ship called the Saint Catherine in this part?
18:32yes there was
18:33there was
18:35and would it have been built at the Kennebec River?
18:39or connected with it in some way?
18:40as I recall it was
18:42and I believe it was built in the Sewell Yard
18:46in the Kennebec River
18:48do you know the area of Port Clyde where the Leo Davis house now stands?
18:54prior to this house
18:56were there any houses in the immediate area?
18:59I've always been told that there was a house there
19:03the Davis that owned it told me that he built on an old cellar
19:08and how far back would that go?
19:10the new house was built around 1870
19:12and there was one before that?
19:14and there was one before that
19:16a sailor's wife living alone for months at a time
19:22in a town she didn't like
19:24with the burden of her duties weighing heavily on her
19:28heavily enough holds her things to have kept her long past her time
19:32the problem is clear
19:34freer if he can
19:37and she's alone now?
19:38yes she is
19:40is she aware of her passing?
19:42no she's very concerned over the flocks
19:45she says it's now come April
19:47and it's time for shearing
19:49is she aware of the people in the house now?
19:52she wants to communicate
19:56what does she want them to do for her?
19:58she wants for them to help her with the farm
20:01she says it's too much
20:03and she
20:04the soil is all rocky
20:06and she can't get labor from the town
20:09she's having a terrible time
20:11can you see her?
20:13yes I do see her
20:15yes I do see her
20:16can she see you?
20:17yes
20:18tell her that this is 1976
20:22and that much time has passed
20:24does she understand this?
20:27she just keeps complaining
20:29she has no one to write letters to
20:32does she understand that her husband has passed on?
20:36that she herself is a spirit?
20:38she's free to go
20:41does she understand?
20:42she said to Kennybunk?
20:43any place she wishes
20:44to the city?
20:45or better to join her husband
20:48than the other side of life?
20:49she said oh what I would do for a townhouse
20:52ask her to call out to her husband
20:54to take her away
20:55he's waiting for her
20:56she's wanting to turn on the lights
20:59she's talking about the oil lamps
21:01she wants them all lit
21:03tell her the people here will take good care of the house
21:07of the lamps and of the land
21:09and she's saying no tallow for the kitchen
21:12not to worry
21:13and the root cellar is empty
21:16does she see him?
21:17yes
21:20are they going off together?
21:27only time will tell if Hans Holzer was successful
21:33we've learned some things from Hans Holzer's ghost hunt at Port Clyde
21:40learned for example that if we accept the possibility that ghosts exist
21:45we can begin to study their behavior in a systematic way
21:48the study of ghosts is more than just a fascinating mental exercise however
21:53if Professor Holzer is right about ghosts being nothing more than people in trouble
21:58it is our responsibility to help them
22:00it would be nice to think that help would be available to us
22:05if our lives went awry
22:07if our spirits were to move restlessly in the night
22:17lost civilizations
22:19extraterrestrials
22:21myths and monsters
22:23missing persons
22:25magic and witchcraft
22:27unexplained phenomena
22:29in search of cameras are traveling the world
22:31seeking out these great mysteries
22:33this program was the result of the work of scientists
22:36researchers
22:38and a group of highly skilled technicians
22:39a group of highly skilled technicians
22:41and a group of highly skilled technicians
22:43and a group of highly skilled technicians
Be the first to comment