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The Proof Is Out There S06E09
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00:00Tonight on The Proof is Out There, we investigate a classic case from the 1960s.
00:06Is this a UFO flying next to an airplane?
00:09It's got fins on both sides, and then the fins kind of retract into the body and it disappears.
00:16A terror beneath the waves. What are these grinning beasts in Brazil?
00:21If there are undiscovered creatures anywhere on the planet, Brazil is where we would find them.
00:26How did this ancient Roman artifact wind up in Mexico before the conquistadors?
00:32There are many people who believe that it may have been possible for Romans to have made that transatlantic voyage.
00:38A real-life haunted mansion. Could this be the ghost of a 19th century aristocrat?
00:44The figure's legs are missing, and as it happened, Lord Cumbermere suffered a severe carriage accident.
00:51And a Bigfoot in Alabama? These guys say they got close.
00:56Too close.
01:00Made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
01:07Around the globe are videos.
01:11Photos.
01:13And sounds that defy explanation.
01:21We don't know where they come from, who made them, or how they operate.
01:24What are they?
01:25Some sort of bizarre mutation.
01:28What's exciting is nobody really knows.
01:30Extraordinary claims need extraordinary proof.
01:34I'm Tony Harris, and as a journalist for more than 30 years, I've followed the facts where they take me.
01:40Now I'm bringing that spirit of investigation to the world's strangest sounds and images.
01:45It's coming towards us.
01:47We'll analyze each one with top experts.
01:50It's a credible case. It's a credible video.
01:53And pass a verdict on what it is.
01:55This video was clearly fake.
01:57The Proof starts now.
02:08Good evening, everyone, and welcome to The Proof is Out There.
02:12You know, some of the best UFO footage comes from airline passengers.
02:16A recent in-flight sighting near New York's LaGuardia Airport made headlines.
02:21But one of the most famous clips from Coach Klass comes from way back in 1966.
02:27Take a look.
02:28April 2nd, 1966.
02:319,000 feet above Staffordshire County, England.
02:34It's Joan and Tom Oldfield's first time on an airplane.
02:39In this case, a British Dart Herald turboprop.
02:42The couple captures the moment with their home movie camera by filming out of the plane's window
02:47when they catch a glimpse of something otherworldly.
02:52The original 8mm film has been digitized and marked with a logo.
02:57But the anomaly it shows remains clear.
02:59Slowing down the footage, we see a long, sausage-shaped UFO on the right side of the screen.
03:06It appears to have two prominent fins when it's left and right sides.
03:10After a brief moment, the object seems to rotate on its vertical axis
03:14before zipping away from the plane in the blink of an eye.
03:18This film became known as the Oldfield film
03:21and was sent to the British Air Ministry for investigation.
03:24It became very popular with British UFO enthusiasts.
03:27It even made news headlines in the United States.
03:30The Palm Beach Post published an article saying that it might be a return of a mysterious craft
03:36that had terrorized a small English town in an incident called the Warminster Thing.
03:41The Warminster Thing refers to a swath of UFO sightings in Warminster, England in the summer of 1965.
03:49There were a number of witnesses who saw different types of shapes.
03:52Some saw a cigar-shaped alien craft like the one in the Oldfield film,
03:57and others saw what they described as twin red-hot pokers hanging down, one on top of the other.
04:03It was a mass sighting.
04:05More than 400 people claimed to have seen and heard what appeared to be a flying saucer,
04:09but officials remained up in the air about the object in the sky.
04:14There are a number of military installations around Warminster.
04:17The government said they weren't doing any experiments at the time
04:20that could explain what the eyewitnesses saw.
04:22To this day, all of those Warminster sightings are unexplained.
04:29What's fascinating to me about the Oldfield film
04:31is the way the object spins and disappears in the blink of an eye.
04:36See how it just vanishes there.
04:38Could the Oldfields have seen the same craft that appeared during the Warminster thing
04:44and not known it?
04:45Or was their UFO another kind of aerial vehicle?
04:53Since this footage was shot in 1966,
04:56staging an event like this would have been extremely tricky
05:00because all effects would have to have been done in camera.
05:04Now, it doesn't appear to be something that's affixed to the window
05:07because we see the edge of the window here,
05:09and we see the object itself changes shape.
05:12So I don't think there's any way that you could actually fake this video.
05:16So if it's outside the plane, and real, what could it be?
05:21We wonder whether the Oldfields could have captured a dirigible flying alongside their plane.
05:27The problem with dirigibles is that they would not keep up with the speed of the Dart Herald aircraft.
05:33They would have been actually outpaced very quickly,
05:37and here it's moving at exactly the same speed as the plane.
05:42Given that they were filming through a window,
05:44what's the possibility they accidentally filmed a reflection?
05:48Window reflections often cause UFOs,
05:50but the only things that reflect in windows are lights.
05:53Here we're seeing something that's dark.
05:56It looks like it's moving right along with the plane,
05:59and I think that's because it's on the plane, part of the plane.
06:03It looks like they were looking at something attached to the plane itself.
06:08What we're seeing could be a plane appendage
06:11that's warped by the convex edge of the window
06:13to look like a free-floating object.
06:16We're talking about the Dart Herald aircraft.
06:19I think it's probably the horizontal stabilizer in the back of the plane.
06:27Our verdict?
06:28This is a part of an airplane that was distorted by the window
06:31and misinterpreted by the witnesses.
06:34In fact, one television crew even recreated the journey
06:38in the exact same seat on the exact same aircraft.
06:41And what do you know?
06:42They saw the exact same UFO,
06:45or rather, the same horizontal stabilizer.
06:50Now, I am going to show you
06:52some of the freakiest video I've seen in a while.
06:55A smile can convey warmth, humor, and happiness.
06:59But in a sinister setting, it can have the opposite effect.
07:03From the Joker to jack-o'-lanterns
07:05to the pirate flag known as Jolly Roger,
07:08menacing grins can induce fear.
07:11Just look at the mysterious, smirking creatures
07:14in our next story.
07:17May 2024, Matto Grosso, Brazil.
07:20A fisherman is on a quiet, late-night trip in his canoe
07:24when he feels eyes watching him.
07:26He looks over the side of his boat and sees this.
07:30The video captures glowing red eyes
07:34peering out from grinning faces
07:36lurking just below the surface of the water.
07:38Take a closer look.
07:40Those eyes seem to hover in place,
07:43smiling eerily at the fisherman
07:45as he tries to placate the creatures
07:47with some snackable fish.
07:49It's a spooky sight,
07:51taken in one of the world's most exotic locations.
07:54The Matto Grosso is an extremely dense
07:57and unexplored region of the southern Amazon River basin.
08:00And really, if there are undiscovered creatures
08:03anywhere on the planet,
08:05the Matto Grosso is where we would find them.
08:07Looking at this video,
08:09I'm immediately reminded of a legendary Brazilian creature
08:12known as the Boiuna,
08:14typically depicted as an immense serpent
08:16that's very dangerous, able to topple boats.
08:19It's also a shapeshifter
08:21and a protector of the Amazon rainforest,
08:24capable of taking the form of a human.
08:26And when we look at the human-like grin
08:28on these two creatures,
08:30one can wonder,
08:31are these Boiunas attempting to lure this fisherman
08:34beneath the waves?
08:36Besides the Boiuna,
08:37a menagerie of real-life monstrous serpents
08:40is well-documented within the area.
08:42There are many accounts of gigantic snakes
08:45from the Amazon River basin.
08:47And perhaps the most celebrated
08:49involves the famous explorer,
08:51Colonel Percy Fawcett.
08:53Now, back in the year 1907,
08:55he was at a place called the Rio Negro
08:56when he encountered this gigantic triangular head
09:00in the water
09:01and quickly realized that it was an anaconda.
09:04He fired one shot into its spine,
09:06which killed it instantly.
09:07And when he and his companions
09:09were able to drag most of its body onto shore,
09:11they measured it
09:12and determined that it had a total length of 62 feet.
09:16So we're talking about the mother of all anacondas.
09:20Could these actually be giant anacondas
09:23here in the water?
09:27In a popular story
09:28from one of the Batman comic books,
09:30the Joker poisons all the fish in Gotham Harbor,
09:33leaving them with a menacing grin,
09:36not unlike what we see in this footage.
09:38And while I doubt any Smilex gas
09:41was used to create these critters,
09:43let's see what our experts have to say.
09:50Some have speculated that this is nothing more
09:53than some creepy-looking catfish.
09:55But think again.
09:56Whatever this is, is very, very large,
09:59and there's no known catfish species here
10:01that would make sense for that size range.
10:04A catfish mouth is actually downturned,
10:07and that's because they scoot along the bottom
10:10and scavenge a lot of food.
10:12The mouth on this fish
10:13looks like it's maybe an ambush predator.
10:16Could these be predators protecting the rainforest,
10:19like the legendary boyuna?
10:21The boyuna is actually known
10:23to hypnotize its victims
10:25using its red glowing eyes
10:27and then drag them underwater.
10:30Instead, the person seems to be
10:32bringing these creatures to him
10:34by feeding them.
10:35And you're not actually supposed to see
10:38anything of the boyuna
10:40except for its eyes.
10:41And we can tell this is some kind of an animal.
10:44If it's some type of animal,
10:46could this be one of the area's infamous anacondas?
10:49If I was looking for a very large snake
10:51underwater like this,
10:53you would probably see something called periscoping.
10:55You would probably see the neck
10:56coming out of the water.
10:57And in addition,
10:59the head of this thing is massive.
11:00If I was to see an anaconda
11:03with a head that big,
11:04the anaconda would have to be 80-plus feet.
11:07While this may not be an anaconda
11:10or other kind of monster,
11:12what this is is maybe equally terrifying.
11:16I think this is most likely an arapaima.
11:19Arapaimas are massive fish
11:20found all throughout the Amazon,
11:22and these things get over 400 pounds.
11:25They can, in fact, cause injury
11:27and have been noted to cause injury
11:28in humans all the time.
11:30There have actually been circumstances
11:32of people being knocked out
11:34by these fish jumping out of the water.
11:36The natural shape of the arapaima's mouth
11:39makes it appear to have a smile.
11:41And as for those glowing eyes...
11:43They have a tissue on the covering of their eyes
11:46known as tapetum lucidum.
11:48And what that tissue does
11:50is actually reflect more light
11:52into the eye itself
11:54to pick up more visual imagery.
11:56On top of that,
11:58these aggressive fish can even survive
12:00outside the water
12:01for as long as 24 hours.
12:03And they can also bite.
12:05They've been known to grab things
12:07like bats straight out of the air
12:09or eat small mammals
12:11that are on the banks of the river.
12:13So I would say
12:14it's best to steer clear of these animals.
12:21Our verdict?
12:22These grinning jokers are arapaimas.
12:25As our experts explain,
12:27they can be quite dangerous
12:28and don't think you're safe
12:30just because you're not in Brazil.
12:32In 2021,
12:33the carcass of an arapaima
12:35was spotted in Florida's waters,
12:38leaving some to wonder
12:39if this non-native species
12:40has found a new home in the U.S.
12:46Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
12:48is best known for creating
12:49the iconic character of Sherlock Holmes.
12:52And like his fictional detective,
12:54the writer was a bit of a sleuth.
12:56Tonight, we're looking at a paranormal photograph.
12:58So compelling, Conan Doyle himself
13:01considered it a true mystery.
13:04It's 1891 in Cheshire, England.
13:07At St. Margaret's Church,
13:09a funeral service is underway
13:11for the Second Lord Cumbermere.
13:13Meanwhile, back at the late Lord's estate,
13:16a guest takes a photograph
13:17of his empty grand library.
13:20When the picture is developed,
13:21it reveals something unseen
13:23to the naked eye.
13:24At first, it seems there's nothing
13:27out of the ordinary,
13:28just a richly furnished room
13:29with an impossibly large bookshelf.
13:32But take a closer look to the left,
13:34and you'll notice what appears
13:36to be a ghostly figure
13:37seated on an ornate chair.
13:39It is the unmistakable outline of a man.
13:43Note the suited upper body
13:44and the curve of a bald head.
13:47However, the legs on the specter
13:49seem to be completely missing.
13:51The current owner of the estate,
13:53Sarah Callender Beckett,
13:55believes it's clear
13:56who we're seeing in this photograph,
13:58a man who was supposedly dead and buried.
14:01When the photograph was developed,
14:04there was Lord Cumbermere
14:06sitting in his chair.
14:08And it is really remarkable,
14:10and if you see prints of him,
14:13it absolutely is him.
14:14I think the spirit was coming home
14:16to sit in a place
14:18where he would have always sat.
14:21One detail that makes the story
14:23more compelling
14:25is that the figure's legs are missing,
14:28and as it happened,
14:30Lord Cumbermere suffered
14:31a severe carriage accident
14:33in which his legs were run over
14:35by a horse-drawn carriage.
14:37He was rendered partly paralytic,
14:39and the trauma contributed to his death
14:42at the time this photo was taken.
14:44The photo became an object
14:46of public fascination
14:48when it was released
14:49in a newspaper article in 1926
14:51by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
14:54The subject of that piece?
14:55Something known as spirit photography.
14:58At the time,
14:59Americans and Europeans
15:01were obsessed with talking to the dead,
15:04holding seances,
15:06capturing evidence of the unseen world,
15:09and one of the efforts
15:11was called spirit photography.
15:14In spirit photography,
15:16the photograph was taken,
15:17but upon development,
15:18a ghostly apparition appears.
15:22So-called spirit photographs
15:24were a thing back then,
15:25and so were spirit frauds.
15:28One of the most famous
15:29was the Englishman William Hope.
15:31He was once caught tampering
15:33with photographic plates
15:34in order to manufacture
15:36a ghostly effect.
15:37Could our Cumbermere ghosts
15:39be another such forgery,
15:41or could we be looking
15:43at the real deal?
15:44Let's ask our experts.
15:49One of the more common processes
15:52that photographers
15:53and other professionals
15:54began to utilize
15:57to fake situations
15:58in the 19th century
16:00was called a double exposure.
16:02Double exposure
16:03is when you take two photographs
16:05and overlay them
16:06to create one image,
16:08like this photo of Harry Houdini
16:09sitting across
16:10from the ghost
16:11of Abraham Lincoln.
16:12Houdini took an existing plate
16:14with the image
16:15of Abraham Lincoln,
16:16and using that same plate,
16:17he photographed himself
16:19positioned as though
16:20he were right next
16:21to the late president.
16:23Is that what's happening here?
16:25Well, maybe,
16:26or maybe not.
16:27I didn't detect
16:28any artifacts
16:29of that double exposure
16:31in and around
16:31some of the details
16:32like the books,
16:33but it doesn't necessarily mean
16:35that it didn't happen
16:36that way,
16:37especially because
16:38this particular subject
16:39appears to have
16:41a different visibility
16:43than the rest of the image.
16:44However,
16:45there's another
16:46key photographic detail
16:48that could account
16:48for what we're seeing.
16:50This camera required
16:52a very long exposure time,
16:54and that's because
16:55of earlier cameras
16:56having less sensitivity
16:58to light.
16:59Long exposures
17:01open up the possibility
17:02of people, objects,
17:06and things crossing
17:07the field of view
17:08of the camera
17:09and showing up
17:11as ghostly figures
17:12through a partial exposure.
17:15But also,
17:16these older cameras
17:16were not going to pick up
17:18every single motion
17:19during that hour
17:21or whatever length of time
17:23the exposure was.
17:24And that inability
17:25to pick up on motion
17:27might also explain
17:28the missing legs.
17:30In 2018,
17:31French photographer
17:32Mathieu Stern
17:33recreated the
17:35Cumbermere photo
17:36using long exposure
17:37and some simple,
17:38if silly,
17:39leg kicks.
17:40And here's
17:41the resulting photo.
17:42On long exposure,
17:43the camera can't pick up
17:45the constant movement
17:46of the subject's legs.
17:48It's possible
17:49that you actually
17:50have intentional fakery
17:51where you create
17:52a ghost-like image
17:53on purpose.
17:54So I'm not convinced here
17:56that we're seeing a ghost
17:57or anything paranormal.
18:03Our verdict?
18:04Camera trick.
18:05We think someone
18:06sat in the chair
18:07and moved their legs
18:08back and forth
18:09really fast
18:10just long enough
18:11to create that image.
18:12But the owner
18:14of Cumbermere Abbey
18:15tells us there are
18:16other ghosts
18:17roaming its halls.
18:19Let's just hope
18:20they're not camera shy.
18:23The National UFO
18:24Reporting Center
18:25has catalogued
18:26more than 13,000
18:28sightings of
18:29triangle-shaped UFOs,
18:30many going back decades.
18:32These alleged craft
18:34have been spotted
18:34all over the world.
18:36But the best evidence
18:37ever may have come
18:38from the great
18:39state of Kansas.
18:41April 16, 2014,
18:44Wichita, Kansas.
18:45Amateur photographer
18:47Jeff Templin
18:48is in his lakeside
18:49community
18:49testing out
18:50a new camera lens
18:51when he notices
18:52something strange
18:53flying overhead.
18:55A crisp-edged
18:56triangular craft
18:58soars across the sky
18:59with a two-pronged
19:01smoke trail
19:01stretching out
19:02behind it.
19:03As we increase
19:05the photo's contrast,
19:06we can see
19:06that the craft
19:07is light gray
19:08with the front edge
19:10making a stark V
19:11and the darker body
19:12almost blending
19:14with the blue sky
19:14behind it.
19:16This triangular object
19:18falls into a new
19:19UFO classification system
19:21established by the UFO
19:22investigative group
19:23Skywatcher.
19:24Out of the nine UFO types,
19:26this would be a Tetra.
19:28But it turns out
19:29Jeff's photo
19:30is only the beginning.
19:31A second photo
19:33surfaced online
19:34depicting the exact
19:35same object.
19:36And after this image
19:37surfaced,
19:38a lot of people
19:39began making inquiries
19:40to the military
19:41to ascertain
19:42whether this was
19:43a military craft.
19:44But they've not
19:44responded to requests
19:46for comment.
19:47With no word
19:48from government officials,
19:49the rumors
19:50begin to fly.
19:52Netizens began
19:53to speculate
19:53as to what we could
19:55be looking at here.
19:55One of the
19:56speculative theories
19:58out there
19:58is that this
19:59is actually
20:00a B-2 stealth bomber.
20:02The B-2
20:03is a unique platform
20:05in the American arsenal
20:06which played
20:07a central role
20:08in the 2025
20:09American airstrikes
20:10on Iran.
20:11Blending stealth
20:12and aerodynamics
20:13like never before,
20:14it's considered
20:15one of the most feared
20:16aircraft in the world.
20:18The B-2 bomber
20:18is essentially
20:19designed to travel
20:20over an adversary
20:21country
20:22and deliver a payload
20:23without ever being seen
20:25or heard
20:26or tracked.
20:27It's essentially invisible.
20:28But when it flies
20:29close to the ground,
20:30it's very obvious
20:31as a very large
20:33sort of black
20:33triangular shaped object.
20:35But what if it's
20:36something even more
20:37secretive?
20:38Some suspect
20:39this object
20:39is actually
20:40an infamous
20:41triangular spacecraft
20:42only alleged to exist.
20:45It's known
20:45as the TR-3B.
20:47The TR-3B's story
20:49begins at Roswell
20:50when the U.S. military
20:52allegedly recovered
20:53the debris
20:54of a crashed
20:55flying disc.
20:55The project
20:56ever since
20:57was to essentially
20:58reverse engineer it
20:59into something
21:00that a human can fly.
21:02Rumor has it
21:03the engineers
21:04who unlocked
21:05that alien tech
21:06were Nazi rocket scientists
21:08sheltered by the United States
21:10after the war
21:10in exchange for research.
21:12The resultant
21:13TR-3B
21:14is said to use
21:16nuclear accelerated
21:17mercury
21:17to generate plasma
21:19that creates
21:19an anti-gravity field
21:21around the craft.
21:22The TR-3B
21:23exists in this
21:24mythical land
21:26of perhaps
21:26the government
21:27has secret planes
21:28that we don't know about
21:29and they've been
21:30quietly building them
21:30without public awareness.
21:34It's not publicly
21:36known exactly
21:36how much money
21:37the government
21:38sets aside
21:39in what is known
21:40as the black budget
21:41for its secret
21:42military programs.
21:43But some estimate
21:45that it could be
21:46around $100 billion.
21:48Did Jeff photograph proof
21:49of your tax dollars
21:50at work
21:51or something else?
21:57Given that Kansas
21:58is home to three
21:59military installations,
22:01could we be seeing
22:02a known
22:02Delta Wing stealth bomber
22:04like the B-2?
22:05The B-2 aircraft
22:06looks like a flying wing
22:08and it is designed
22:10to blend in
22:11especially at night time
22:13but for training exercises
22:14in the daytime.
22:15Usually they would fly
22:16at an altitude
22:17where they wouldn't
22:18leave a contrail
22:19so that people
22:20wouldn't see it.
22:20And the fact that
22:22they have not come out
22:23and said anything
22:24would leave me
22:25to believe that
22:25this is some kind
22:26of aircraft
22:27that somebody
22:28was experimenting
22:28with other than
22:29a B-2.
22:30If it's not the B-2,
22:32could this whole thing
22:33be a hoax?
22:34Well, maybe in part.
22:36Remember that second photo
22:37that mysteriously
22:38emerged online?
22:40This one is just
22:41a perfect triangle.
22:42When I looked
22:43at this one before,
22:44I thought,
22:45how is he getting
22:46such a deprojected shot
22:48on this?
22:49Was that maybe
22:50a hoaxed image?
22:51Since the person
22:52who shot that photo
22:53never identified themselves,
22:55we're leaning that way.
22:56But Jeff's photo
22:57doesn't show
22:58any indication of fakery.
23:00Then are we looking
23:01at proof
23:01the legendary TR-3B
23:03really exists?
23:04Not so fast.
23:05Remember,
23:06that craft
23:07was allegedly
23:07reverse engineered
23:08from a UFO.
23:10UFOs don't typically
23:11have engines
23:12like we've created
23:14here on the Earth
23:14that would produce
23:15a contrail like this.
23:17It looks to me like
23:18these are twin contrails
23:19from very real
23:21human engineering.
23:22We can't see
23:23all the details on this,
23:24but I think
23:25at the very least,
23:26it's a new kind
23:27of aircraft
23:28being tested.
23:29But we can't tell
23:30what it is.
23:35our verdict,
23:36unidentified test craft.
23:38Without clear
23:39confirmation
23:40from the U.S. military
23:41or some private entity,
23:43it's really
23:44up in the air
23:45as to what
23:46Jeff photographed.
23:50Famous sounds
23:51from the state
23:52of Alabama
23:53include everything
23:54from the roar
23:55of the Talladega
23:56Super Speedway
23:56to the southern fried rock
23:59of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
24:00But now,
24:01we may be able
24:02to add Bigfoot's growl
24:03to the state's greatest hits.
24:06August 2024,
24:08Talladega National Forest,
24:10Alabama.
24:10With two individual cameras rolling,
24:13YouTubers Matt Graham
24:14and Daryl Smith
24:15head deep into
24:16the dense forest,
24:17a spot they've explored
24:19countless times
24:20for their channel.
24:21The night has been uneventful
24:23when suddenly...
24:25Whoa, Scott.
24:26What was that?
24:26What was that?
24:28A rumble can be heard
24:29coming from deep
24:30within the woods.
24:31They try to locate
24:33whatever it is
24:33with their flashlights
24:34and hear it again,
24:36louder now.
24:43That is a ground.
24:45That is a ground.
24:45Let's hear that
24:46one more time
24:47and we'll turn it up.
24:54I'm not going to lie.
24:55It caught me off guard
24:57and we were hurrying back
24:58to the vehicle.
25:00So we don't know
25:01what it is,
25:02but I need to get
25:04video proof
25:05and actually see it
25:06and know it's real
25:08before I'm going to say
25:09that was Bigfoot.
25:10And it turns out
25:11Alabama Bigfoot sightings
25:13actually go back centuries.
25:15The Alabama Cushada people
25:17describe a wild man
25:18called the Iachuba.
25:20The way they describe it,
25:21it comes out at night,
25:22it's hair covered,
25:23it follows hunters
25:25when they're carrying
25:25small prey.
25:28Like we hear in this video,
25:30many believe
25:31that these creatures
25:32will ferociously roar
25:33to mark their territory
25:35and to freeze potential threats
25:37in their tracks.
25:38They will bang on the ground,
25:40roar, scream,
25:41just to get you out of an area.
25:43And when you leave,
25:44they will make sure you leave
25:46by escorting you out,
25:47even if that means
25:48chasing you out.
25:50I've spoken to several witnesses
25:52that claim that,
25:54oh, that thing
25:54was going to kill me.
25:57One story from the 1800s
25:59claimed that early Alabama
26:01settlers encountered
26:02a giant, hairy,
26:03bipedal creature
26:04about eight feet tall.
26:06Someone allegedly shot the beast
26:08and a posse followed
26:09the blood trail,
26:10which eventually disappeared
26:12at the edge of a cliff.
26:13It's quite a tale.
26:14Could a descendant
26:16of that creature
26:17be what made this sound?
26:19Let's see what our experts think.
26:24Could this ferocious growl
26:27come from an Alabama Bigfoot?
26:29There's quite a variety
26:30of sounds that have been
26:32attributed to Sasquatch,
26:33which range from grunts
26:35and hoots
26:36to screams
26:37and roars
26:39and growls.
26:40The sound has a guttural,
26:42roaring aspect,
26:43similar to a black bear.
26:44But while this forest
26:46is home to some black bears,
26:48there are only about 200
26:49in the entire state.
26:51200 is a very modest number.
26:54You talk to people
26:55who are avid outdoorsmen
26:56in Alabama,
26:57and they rarely encounter
26:59black bear.
27:00So let's do some comparison
27:02testing, shall we?
27:03First, we match
27:05our Alabama growl
27:06with what many believe
27:08is the closest thing
27:09to a legitimate
27:10Sasquatch recording,
27:11the infamous Ohio howls
27:14recorded in Columbiana County,
27:15Ohio,
27:16in the fall of 1994.
27:19So when I compare
27:21the characteristics
27:21of the Ohio Bigfoot howls,
27:25they have more frequency variation.
27:40The growl sound to me
27:41does sound kind of like
27:42it might be a bear,
27:43but there are a few features
27:45that seem a little
27:46unnatural to me.
27:47An animal making a growl
27:49ordinarily would be moving
27:50or having some variation
27:52throughout the sound.
28:01This particular growl recording
28:03stays at one pitch
28:04and one frequency range
28:06throughout the sound.
28:12My subjective impression
28:14would be that the growl
28:16was produced by playback
28:18through a loudspeaker
28:19at the scene.
28:20That might help explain
28:22the mild behavior
28:23of our eyewitnesses.
28:25Their reaction was
28:26rather minimalist,
28:28so maybe this experience
28:30was a contrived one.
28:35Our verdict?
28:37We're calling this one
28:38a well-executed host,
28:40one that fooled
28:41thousands online.
28:42Don't blame yourselves.
28:44Not everyone can have
28:46a forensic audio analyst
28:47at their fingertips.
28:49That's what we are here for.
28:53It is widely accepted
28:55that the first European
28:56to land in modern-day Mexico
28:58was the explorer
29:00Francisco Hernandez de CĂłrdoba,
29:02who arrived in early 1517.
29:05But our next story features
29:07an artifact that casts doubt
29:08on that fact
29:09and the entire history
29:11of exploration in the Americas.
29:13Take a look.
29:151933, Toluca, Mexico.
29:17A group of archaeologists
29:20is excavating
29:21Calixluwaka,
29:22a 16th century
29:24Aztec city.
29:25Digging in a grave site
29:26that dates between
29:271476 and 1510 A.D.,
29:31they come across
29:32several Aztec relics
29:33from the era.
29:34And then this.
29:36It's a small,
29:37terracotta head
29:38that stands out
29:40because it looks
29:40nothing like the other
29:42Mesoamerican artifacts
29:43found here.
29:44The man has
29:45an expressively stern look,
29:47sporting a beard
29:48in what appears
29:49to be some kind
29:50of head covering.
29:51Geologist Peter Schaaf
29:53says the head
29:54left experts befuddled
29:55because it seemed
29:57like something
29:58from ancient Rome.
29:59This kind of cap
30:01and the beard
30:03and so on,
30:05there were not features
30:07which you would have expected
30:09from a colonial ceramic.
30:11So I was also convinced
30:12that this is some kind
30:13of Roman thing.
30:14But what's a Roman sculpture
30:16doing at an Aztec
30:18archaeological site?
30:19There are many people
30:20who believe that this
30:21is a genuine Roman artifact
30:23and that Romans
30:24actually made their way
30:25to the so-called New World
30:26more than 2,000 years ago.
30:29Norwegian adventurer
30:30Thor Heyerdahl
30:31took a transatlantic voyage
30:32in 1970
30:33in a boat built
30:34according to ancient
30:35Egyptian boat-building techniques.
30:38His boat was called
30:39the Ratu and it sailed
30:40from Morocco
30:41to the West Indies
30:43showing that it may
30:44have been possible
30:44for Romans to have made
30:46that transatlantic voyage.
30:47What's even more shocking?
30:49This head may not be
30:51the only Roman artifact
30:52to have made an epic journey
30:54across the Atlantic.
30:55In 1982,
30:56underwater archaeologist
30:58Robert Marx
30:59made an intriguing discovery
31:01off the coast of Brazil.
31:03Marx discovered
31:04barnacle-covered amphorae
31:06which are large jars
31:08that the Greeks and Romans
31:09used to transport things
31:10like wine, oil, water,
31:12and grain on long voyages.
31:14His theory is that
31:15there was a Roman ship
31:16that was blown off course
31:18and was wrecked
31:18on shoals or coral reefs
31:20during a severe storm.
31:22And if that's true,
31:23that completely upends
31:24what we know
31:25about the history
31:26of exploration
31:27in this area.
31:31In 2016,
31:32an archaeologist discovered
31:34a handful of ancient
31:35Roman coins
31:37within the ruins
31:38of a 12th century
31:39Japanese castle.
31:41There was no known trade
31:42between these two civilizations.
31:44No one knows for sure
31:45how this currency got there.
31:47But can our experts
31:49figure out
31:49how this ancient Roman relic
31:51crossed an ocean?
31:53Let's find out.
31:58There's debate
31:59over exactly
32:00when the head was carved,
32:01with one source suggesting
32:03it dates to the 2nd century AD.
32:05But the experts agree
32:07on one point.
32:07This artifact
32:09was not made locally.
32:10Because of how
32:11it's constructed,
32:13its size,
32:14this cannot be made
32:15in Mesoamerica.
32:17We have not found
32:17any other example like it.
32:20This is not
32:21pre-Hispanic
32:22type of pottery.
32:24Then how did it
32:25get across the Atlantic?
32:26The burial site
32:28dates to before
32:28the Spanish conquest
32:30of Mexico.
32:31And our artifact
32:32might predate
32:33all of this
32:33by centuries.
32:35Did the Romans
32:35make the trip after all?
32:37We know that the Romans
32:38were seafaring
32:40and that they were able
32:41to sail all the way
32:42to what's now
32:43Great Britain and Ireland.
32:45But it's always about
32:47show me the artifacts.
32:49And really,
32:50if they made it
32:51across the Atlantic
32:53in any substantial way,
32:55we would expect
32:56Roman artifacts.
32:57And
32:59we don't have that.
33:00But what about
33:01the jars
33:02found off the coast
33:03of Brazil?
33:04In the end,
33:06those supposed
33:07Roman ceramics
33:09turned out
33:10to be planted there
33:11by a man
33:12who claimed
33:13he intentionally
33:14submerged them
33:15to allow them
33:16to collect barnacles
33:18and look old.
33:20So,
33:21questions of
33:22authenticity
33:22came up.
33:24Those jars
33:25may be an
33:25archaeological scam,
33:27but our ancient head
33:28was confirmed
33:29by multiple studies
33:30as a genuine artifact
33:31from antiquity.
33:33So then,
33:33what explains
33:34its presence
33:35in Kalixlawaka?
33:37Could the dating
33:38of the burial site
33:39be off by a few years?
33:41The excavation
33:42evidence said
33:44that the objects
33:45around this little bust
33:47were somewhere
33:48in the late 1400s
33:50or early 1500s,
33:52which is not
33:52very far off
33:54at all
33:54from contacts period,
33:57which would mean
33:58that it's a more
33:58likely case
33:59that this was
34:01deposited
34:01during the Spanish
34:03Entrada
34:04and not much,
34:06much earlier
34:06in the Roman period.
34:08Or in the end,
34:09could this all
34:10have been
34:10just an elaborate joke?
34:12There are stories
34:13among the archaeologists
34:15of the time
34:16that one archaeologist
34:18was playing
34:19a trick on another,
34:21putting something
34:22in the excavation
34:23to make him think
34:24he had found
34:25something amazing
34:27when in fact
34:28it was just a plant.
34:29That, of course,
34:30is a story.
34:31And all the folks
34:32that were involved
34:33in the excavation
34:34in the 1930s
34:35have passed away
34:36years ago,
34:37so we really can't
34:38verify that story.
34:44Our verdict?
34:45Looks like
34:45we have a split
34:46decision here.
34:47Our experts
34:48can verify
34:49that this is
34:50an ancient artifact,
34:51very likely
34:52of Roman origin.
34:53But exactly
34:54how it ended up
34:55at a Mesoamerican
34:56gravesite,
34:57for us,
34:58that remains
34:59unexplained.
35:03Bloodsucking vampires
35:04are a staple
35:05of horror movies
35:06and Halloween.
35:08But centuries ago,
35:09people thought vampires
35:10were very real,
35:11and some believed
35:12strongly enough
35:13to commit
35:14monstrous acts
35:15of their own.
35:17September 2024,
35:21workers are removing
35:22tree roots
35:23for a garden
35:24renovation
35:24of a cathedral
35:25when they unearth
35:27something grisly.
35:28Two children's skeletons,
35:31dating to the 13th century,
35:33are found
35:33in a shallow burial pit
35:35where no grave sites
35:36are marked.
35:37But what's truly shocking
35:38is that one of the children
35:40was decapitated
35:41after they died.
35:42The severed head
35:43turned to face the ground.
35:45Why would someone
35:46do this to the remains
35:47of a child?
35:48In Poland,
35:49in the medieval era,
35:52people were mortally terrified
35:53that the undead
35:55could feast
35:56on the blood
35:56of the living,
35:57both humans
35:58and livestock.
36:00And measures
36:01were taken,
36:02some of them
36:03really grisly,
36:05to bury the dead
36:06in such a way
36:07that kept them
36:07from rising.
36:09That's right.
36:10In medieval Poland,
36:12fear of vampires
36:13was very real.
36:14And it endured
36:15for centuries.
36:16In one famous tale
36:18in 1674,
36:19a Polish man
36:20rose from the dead
36:21and he was going around
36:22sucking the blood
36:23of his neighbors.
36:24His nocturnal wanderings
36:26only stopped
36:26when the body
36:27was decapitated.
36:29Belief in vampires
36:30ran riot
36:31throughout parts
36:32of Eastern
36:32and Central Europe.
36:35Imagine how terrified
36:36you have to be
36:38to do something
36:39this gruesome
36:40to a child
36:41after death.
36:45This isn't
36:46the first time
36:46we've investigated
36:47supposed vampire
36:49skeletons in Poland
36:50like this woman's
36:52remains found
36:53with a sickle
36:53around her neck.
36:54The question is,
36:56was this practice
36:57really nothing more
36:58than medieval superstition
36:59or did these bodies
37:01pose a real threat?
37:02Let's ask the experts.
37:09Could this be a real
37:10blood-sucking vampire?
37:12There's a reason
37:13the locals
37:13decapitated the dead body.
37:15You're severing
37:16the head from the body
37:17and it's upside down
37:18in the grave
37:19so that he's confused
37:20then if he comes
37:21back alive.
37:22But there's another
37:24theory behind
37:24the widespread belief
37:26in vampires.
37:27It has nothing to do
37:28with the supernatural.
37:29Instead,
37:30it's tied to one
37:31of history's
37:31darkest periods.
37:32In 1348,
37:35the Black Plague
37:36spread across Europe
37:37and wiped out
37:38half the population
37:40and it turns out
37:41dead plague victims
37:42were sometimes
37:43mistaken for the undead.
37:45The Black Plague
37:46really did inspire
37:48a lot of the tales
37:49about vampirism
37:50and it was widespread
37:52in Europe
37:53that something,
37:55you know,
37:55was evil walking
37:56among you
37:56can kill you,
37:57drain you of blood.
37:58And these superstitions,
38:00of course,
38:01arose from a lack
38:02of understanding
38:03of how diseases
38:04are passed
38:05from person to person.
38:06Hang on, though.
38:08The Black Plague
38:09didn't start
38:09until a century
38:10after these children died.
38:12But there were
38:13other diseases
38:14that would have been
38:15just as scary.
38:16We know that
38:17the time period
38:18that this child died
38:20was around the 1200s
38:22and that was a time
38:24where wave after wave
38:26of what we understand
38:27now as pandemic diseases
38:29were sweeping through.
38:31And there was a lot
38:32of fear and superstition
38:34of how people got sick.
38:37It's also possible
38:39these kids were afflicted
38:40with a very specific disease,
38:42one with symptoms
38:43that definitely would make
38:45these children appear vampiric.
38:47It's called porphyria.
38:49Porphyria is a rare
38:51hereditary disorder
38:52where individuals
38:53are unable
38:54to metabolize protein
38:55that comprises
38:56our red blood cells.
38:58Individuals with porphyria
38:59cannot go out
39:00into the sunlight
39:01because their skin
39:02is so sensitive
39:03that it might blister up
39:04and it may scar.
39:06And some individuals
39:07with porphyria
39:08can have receding gum lines,
39:11which can make
39:12your teeth look longer
39:14and maybe pointier
39:15like a thing.
39:17Whatever disease
39:18was responsible,
39:19it's clear it scared
39:21the villagers
39:21to their core.
39:22And at a time
39:23when they couldn't explain
39:24the concept of a virus,
39:26they turned to their legends
39:27for an explanation
39:28and the way
39:29to stop the diseases spread.
39:31These two children
39:32may very well have been,
39:35because of their age,
39:36more susceptible
39:37to diseases
39:38and may have been
39:39the first to get
39:40the disease that spread
39:41into the village.
39:42And so for the village,
39:43the only way to rectify that
39:45and their own superstition
39:46is then to bury them
39:48in this special way
39:49so that they can continue
39:51with their lives.
39:58Our verdict?
40:00Unknown disease.
40:02Even today,
40:03public health concerns
40:04have spawned vampire myths.
40:06Like the wildly inaccurate
40:08online rumor
40:09that the COVID vaccine
40:10will turn you
40:11into a blood-sucking monster.
40:13you just can't
40:14make this stuff up.
40:15And that's our show
40:16for tonight.
40:17Thank you so much
40:17for watching
40:18and keep those cameras rolling.
40:23I know
40:24you
40:35you
40:36you
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