NARRATOR:
America's top ghost hunters
relive their most extreme
assignments.
Something was hunting me
this whole time.
NARRATOR: Hardened veterans
of the paranormal,
these are the cases
that truly tested them.
I don't think
I was ready for this.
NARRATOR:
In New York, a vengeful spirit
wreaks havoc on a small family.
[ Woman screams ]
KENNA: Both her and her son
in the home
were experiencing all kinds
of terrible, terrifying things.
NARRATOR: In Indiana,
a remote farmhouse
hides a terrible secret.
What probably
frightened me the most
was the eyes peering in at us.
They were evil, as if this thing
had never experienced
kindness before.
NARRATOR:
And in Yorkshire, England,
a residential haunting turns
personal for one investigator.
ESTEP: "Richard Estep."
That has never happened
to me before
in over years
of investigation.
♪♪
NARRATOR: In New York,
a woman is being terrorized
by an aggressive spirit.
♪♪
[ Woman sobbing, man laughing ]
[ Crash ]
Day and night, she's troubled
by sudden violent noises,
and it's not long before her
teenage son is also targeted.
♪♪
Night after night,
he's disturbed
by the sense of a spirit,
waking to find himself
completely alone.
♪♪
His mother
is similarly disturbed,
sleep-deprived and frightened.
♪♪
[ Screaming ]
NARRATOR:
But there is worse to come.
The most terrifying thing for
Rachel was this sexual as*ault
that she was experiencing
at night in her own bed,
and even, she said, during
the day, it would happen.
By no one.
I mean, no one there.
But she would feel as if
she was being sexually abused
and assaulted.
♪♪
NARRATOR:
Jack Kenna is a ghost hunter
and founding member of the
paranormal investigation group
SPIRITS of New England.
♪♪
The three best attributes
for a paranormal investigator
is patience, a clear head,
and the will to keep going
even in the face of adversity.
NARRATOR:
A firm believer in helping
families in spiritual need,
Jack is intrigued when
Rachel reaches out to him.
He thinks the timing of Rachel's
call for help is significant.
Her ex-boyfriend, Matthew,
has recently passed away.
The activity began
shortly after that.
Both her and her son in the home
were experiencing all kinds
of terrible, terrifying things.
NARRATOR: Just how terrifying
Rachel's experiences are
quickly becomes apparent.
Rachel believed she was
being att*cked by Matthew.
He had been abusive
most of his life.
He also had a drinking problem,
so pretty much the whole time,
he was abusive to her.
NARRATOR:
Rachel's obvious torment
prompts Jack to act quickly.
KENNA: These people need help,
and they needed help right away.
You can't wait on this,
so we actually made it
to the client within two weeks.
NARRATOR:
He arrives at the family home
along with his wife and
co-investigator, Eileen Kenna,
and team member Ellen MacNeil.
Amen.
Ellen is immediately fascinated
by the alleged haunting.
What was intriguing
about this investigation
was someone coming back
and continuing
their abusive behavior
towards someone in the house.
NARRATOR:
And sensing Rachel's fear,
Ellen is empathetic.
MacNEIL:
She was terrified.
She did not know
what was going on.
She couldn't explain it.
In her heart, she felt
that Matthew had come back
to continue to dominate her
and to control her
and manipulate her.
NARRATOR:
Jack begins the investigation
by trying to contact the spirit
of Rachel's late boyfriend.
Matthew, are you here?
♪♪
KENNA: We just started asking
some basic questions.
"Is Matthew here?
Why are you here?
Are you trying
to bother Rachel?
Are you the one
that's doing these things?"
And we start getting some
knock responses in the kitchen.
Matthew?
[ Thud ]
We looked around. We couldn't
find any cause for them.
But every time
we brought that up,
we get a couple knocks --
knock, knock --
every time you'd say his name.
Am I communicating
with Matthew?
[ Thud ]
Those knock responses
in response to that question
tell us that it is very likely
Matthew that is there.
Are you the one
doing these things?
[ Thud ]
NARRATOR:
The knocks are quickly followed
by some significant
EMF activity,
which indicate
some strong spirit presence.
We asked, you know,
"Are you here, Matthew?"
And it lit up.
And we said, "Are you
trying to scare Rachel?"
And it lit right up again.
So he was letting us know
that he was still in charge
in the house.
NARRATOR: The volume and
intensity of the EMF readings
make Jack reevaluate the case.
And it's all in this one area
in a very kind of circular
pattern between these two rooms.
The best we could figure out
was going on
is we had a spirit portal
in this area,
that things were coming
and going through it.
NARRATOR:
A portal acts as a doorway
between the human world
and the spirit world.
MacNEIL: As Jack went around
with his divining rods,
he found a very high
energy concentration,
and we felt that
we were dealing with a portal.
I got a hot spot here.
Ellen, get me my medal.
NARRATOR:
Jack uses a Saint Benedict medal
to determine
the portal's location.
And it began swinging,
and that's telling you
that there's energy right there
and there's something
coming out of this.
It can come and go freely,
whatever it wants.
NARRATOR: But although
the Saint Benedict's medal
can tell them there's
a strong spirit presence,
Jack needs more.
KENNA: We decided we need
to try to figure out
what's really happening here.
We can't connect it
to any wiring.
We can't connect it
to any appliances.
It's just in midair and in
a circular pattern on the floor,
about a -foot
circular pattern.
NARRATOR:
The team decides to conduct
an EVP session in the son's room
to find out how many spirits may
have entered through the portal.
MacNEIL: Her son's room
was very uncomfortable,
and we were getting very
different readings in his room,
and I did not like
being in his room.
It was myself,
Eileen, and Ellen,
and we did capture
a couple EVPs down there.
Is there anybody here?
So, the first EVP we got was
the voice of a child saying,
"Please go home now."
You heard that, right?
There was another male voice
that came through saying,
"Threw the X,"
or, "Throw the a*,"
something like that,
but these are all
kind of negative EVPs,
stuff that was
basically telling us
it didn't want us there.
You heard that, right?
You hear Jack's name
mentioned by a male voice.
When you hear something that
doesn't exist say your name,
it freaks you out.
NARRATOR:
In New York, a vengeful spirit
is terrorizing a family.
[ Man laughing evilly ]
KENNA:
Both her and her son in the home
were experiencing all kinds
of terrible, terrifying things.
NARRATOR: But for paranormal
investigator Jack Kenna,
things just got personal.
It's doing something deliberate
to the client.
And it's freaky. It scares you.
You're hearing your voice
on a recorder.
None of us.
It's whoever is or whatever is
targeting our client.
NARRATOR:
The att*ck has turned personal,
and the team is worried.
Deciding to split up
to cover more ground,
Jack heads to Rachel's bedroom.
KENNA:
When I entered Rachel's bedroom,
where most of her
sexual att*cks had happened,
it did have a very dark
kind of atmosphere to it.
It felt heavy, oppressive.
A lot of anxiety. That's what
I felt when I walked in.
And while I'm in there,
I see this dark figure,
looked like a man, move
behind me, in the mirror.
So I turn around, I look,
and there's nobody back there.
None of my investigators
are back there.
I'm the only guy
that's there anyway.
So, I did see this dark shadow
figure move behind me,
which kind of freaked me out
a little bit.
[ Man laughing evilly ]
♪♪
NARRATOR:
It's clear to Jack
that the paranormal activity
is amplifying.
KENNA: You could feel
a change in the home.
You could feel
a shift in the home.
The atmosphere got --
It was heavier.
You felt a lot more anxiety
in the building.
That tells me there's
something starting to happen now
that's more on
a paranormal level.
NARRATOR: Energized
by the spirit's hostility,
Jack and his team
decide to take action.
The investigators need to
cleanse the home of spirits...
Saint Michael
the Archangel!
...and, crucially,
close the portal
to prevent further spirits
from entering.
I did blessing through the home.
I used white sage to sage
the energy out of the home.
Defend us in our battle against
principalities and powers!
I call on the Archangel Michael
and Archangel Azrael
to take these spirits
that are in this home,
move them out,
take Matthew away
because he doesn't need
to be there anymore.
You don't belong here
anymore, Matthew!
You don't belong here!
NARRATOR:
Once the blessing is complete,
Jack sets about
closing the spirit door.
In order to close a portal,
it's just a visual process
of me envisioning, like,
a torn piece of fabric,
and I sew that fabric shut
and close that portal.
You don't belong!
[ Man screaming ]
You don't belong!
[ Man screaming ]
Begone!
[ Man screaming ]
It took a lot of energy
to do it.
You're extremely drained
when that happens,
so that was
physically challenging.
NARRATOR:
Not wanting to take any chances,
Jack also leaves
some spiritual protection
for Rachel and her son.
I also did bring some
Saint Benedict medals with me.
Saint Benedict is an exorcist,
and he has big connections
upstairs.
[ Chuckles ]
Let's put it that way.
NARRATOR: With protection
firmly established,
the investigators head into the
house to check in with Rachel.
You know, we just asked her
how she was feeling,
if she felt better
in the house,
and she said
that it felt lighter.
I haven't felt this good
in a long, long time.
I'm pleased to hear it.
KENNA: We feel great
about helping people.
I mean, this is what
we kind of do it for.
This is our thing.
We learn a lot for ourselves
about the paranormal
in the process,
but we also get the satisfaction
of seeing people's lives
turn around
and go in a positive direction.
Knowing that
you've helped a family
and taken care of what
has been tormenting them,
that's the best feeling
in the world.
NARRATOR: Still to come,
a haunted house in England
has a violent surprise
for one ghost hunter.
I can guarantee you that no
human being broke that mirror.
NARRATOR: But first, a farmhouse
haunting leaves its mark
on a father-daughter
investigative team.
ALAN: The face that she saw,
the figure that she saw,
will impact her
the rest of her life.
♪♪
NARRATOR: Revenant Acres Farm
in Charlottesville, Indiana.
This th-century farmhouse
is set on acres of land,
and its newest owners
have plans to renovate.
[ Screeching, low growl ]
-What was that?
-I don't know.
♪♪
NARRATOR:
As construction gets under way,
workers report strange growls,
doors opening on their own,
and, most disturbingly,
there's evidence
of poltergeist activity...
♪♪
Did you open that?
No.
♪♪
Rick?!
NARRATOR:
...and then possession.
Something just touched me.
Rick? Rick!
Rick! Rick!
Hey, hey, hey! Rick!
What the hell
just happened?
I don't know, man.
Let's just go.
♪♪
NARRATOR:
The reports pique the interest
of paranormal investigator
Anna Tolf.
Anna's education gives her
the edge in ghost hunting.
♪♪
ANNA: I have a degree
in behavior-analysis psychology,
and I really think
those skills transfer
over into
paranormal investigations
because you start tuning
into things they're saying,
things they were feeling,
why were they doing this.
And just the concept
of studying the mind,
I think, goes beyond just life.
NARRATOR: Anna's partner in the
paranormal is her father, Alan.
A former
law-enforcement officer,
he, too, brings a unique
perspective to ghost hunting.
ALAN: I think being
a law-enforcement officer,
in an investigative capacity,
was very beneficial.
Basically, you utilize the same
things I would at a crime scene.
Just translate them to work
in the paranormal
investigation setting.
NARRATOR: Alan and Anna have
a significant operation planned.
For this particular
investigation,
Anna and I made arrangements
with the owner
to spend the night at the farm.
When we first arrived,
it looked like an old farmhouse
that needed a good painting,
and everything changed
once we entered the residence.
And the feeling the minute
you walk through that door
is just an electric charge.
A static charge is, I guess,
the best way to describe it.
There absolutely was
something there with us.
I mean, it was very prevalent.
Chills, goose bumps.
I mean, it's a physical feeling.
%, you know, I mean,
there's something
out of the ordinary there.
NARRATOR:
In Charlottesville, Indiana,
ghost hunters Alan and Anna Tolf
have been called out
to investigate
a possible poltergeist,
but nothing
could have prepared them
for what was to come.
ANNA: We knew going in
that we were going to be
up against something
very evil and malevolent.
NARRATOR:
Anticipating an active evening,
Alan and Anna take steps
to protect themselves.
Our faith plays a large role
in our investigating.
You know, we say a prayer
prior to investigating.
This time, I was worried
that our precautions
wouldn't be enough with
the severity of the activity
going on in the home.
-Are you okay?
-Yeah. Yeah.
NARRATOR:
It quickly becomes clear
that Anna is right
to be worried.
ANNA: We immediately started
experiencing activity,
and it was
an indescribable experience.
Things started to get fuzzy.
Things looked different.
Started perceiving things
differently,
and I know that was,
without a doubt,
the spirits or entities
projecting those things onto us.
NARRATOR:
Nonetheless, the Tolfs begin
setting up their equipment.
ANNA: We put the Mel meter
on the piano bench
because that was where
there had been
previous poltergeist activity.
A Mel meter measures temperature
and EMF frequencies,
and it's thought that,
when a spirit is present,
there can be fluctuations
in the temperature
and a decrease, typically,
as well as an
electromagnetic field.
[ Piano note plays ]
When we first started
the investigation,
we actually heard
a piano key hit.
NARRATOR: Impressed by the early
activity, the Tolfs press on.
♪♪
So we utilized an Andy's Box
for a spirit-box session
and began investigating
in that parlor area.
An Andy's Box is a variation
of a spirit box.
It's more controlled. You can
utilize more tools with it.
And it sweeps through
different frequencies.
I was filming Anna, and she
was holding a K-II Meter.
She was asking questions.
Is there anybody here?
Male voice: Hello.
Anna was asking questions,
"Who are you?"
You would get a "hello,"
a voice come through.
Male voice: Hello.
Ohh. What's your name?
[ Male voice
speaking indistinctly ]
[Bleep]
It turned extremely dark
very quickly.
Very unwelcoming,
very threatening,
vulgar responses like the,
"Get out. Leave.
Get the [bleep] out."
Actually even said our names.
At one point
directly said, "Anna."
And so it became dark
really quick.
NARRATOR:
The sinister communication
starts to take its toll
on the investigators.
ALAN: I start to feel like
I'm sucking into myself,
like, moving away.
I guess it felt like I wasn't
absolutely % comprehending
what was taking place
like I should be,
and I recognized that,
and it was very odd.
And I'd not felt
like that before.
I didn't say anything to Anna.
I continued filming.
And as I looked through
the viewfinder,
at times,
Anna didn't look like Anna,
which was disturbing, as well.
During the session
in the parlor area,
Anna's K-II
was in her right hand,
and it would
spike up to the red.
NARRATOR: Anna, too, is feeling
the effects of the activity.
ANNA: And it was at that time
that I started to feel sick,
got really sharp pains,
like a bad headache,
started to feel dizzy.
Felt like you were
somebody else for a moment.
ALAN: And I had said,
finally, to Anna,
"Look, I'm feeling sick.
We need to step out."
And she's like,
"I feel sick, Dad.
I didn't want to say anything."
So she was trying to gut it out
at that same time.
ANNA: I was getting dizzy.
Things were getting fuzzy.
I did become very frightened
because I could tell
I was starting
to perceive things
differently
than I would naturally,
and that was probably
when I knew, like,
I need to put my guard up.
We need to just take a break
before this goes too far.
[ Gasping ]
Right as it was happening,
I don't even think I realized
how influenced I was.
NARRATOR:
Fearing for their safety,
the investigators decide
to take a break.
We went outside, and everything
just immediately alleviated.
The headache was gone.
I wasn't nauseated anymore.
The pains, the dizziness,
that was gone.
So I felt like
somebody was using me
to communicate in a way
I wasn't familiar with
and in a way
that I'm not used to
in all the other investigations.
NARRATOR: While Anna and Alan
take some time out,
a camera is discreetly
picking up the ongoing activity
back inside the farmhouse.
While we were outside,
the boom mic
captured footsteps
shuffling around, knocks.
NARRATOR:
Once recovered, Alan and Anna
return indoors
to continue their investigation.
At this point
in our investigation,
we relocated to the large
bedroom on the second floor
which basically encompasses the
entire second floor of the home.
NARRATOR: But nothing
could have prepared them
for what happens next.
We went in, and we had
set up a command post
where we were utilizing
a computer to capture the audio
and conducted
a real-time EVP session.
I asked, "Who are you?"
And received the response,
"Reverend. The reverend."
I do not think
it was really a reverend.
I feel it was something
very malevolent
and very dark that was trying
to open us up
and trying to
take advantage of us.
ALAN:
It did, to me, substantiate
there's something --
It's not just residual
or potentially
poltergeist-type activity.
I mean, this is
an intelligent haunting.
♪♪
Who is with us?
♪♪
NARRATOR: And as Anna
starts asking questions,
the responses
become even darker.
I asked who was present with us,
and immediately
"Demon" came through.
NARRATOR:
In Charlottesville, Indiana,
paranormal investigators
Alan and Anna Tolf
are communicating with a spirit,
but they may not like
what the spirit has to say.
ANNA:
Hearing the word "demon"
makes me feel
extremely threatened.
I think it's something
to be taken very seriously.
As we were conducting
the spirit-box session
in this bedroom, you could feel
the energy building.
It was kind of like
before a thunderstorm
right to where you're gonna
get struck by lightning.
I mean, you know
something's coming.
I believe we felt that way
because there was something
on the landing that
didn't want us in that room.
-Why are you here?
-What do you want?
ALAN:
Anna was having the sensation
of her hair being tugged,
poked, touched.
ANNA:
I actually had my hair tugged.
A couple times were poked.
Felt like something
had scratched over my leg.
I know whatever was there
wanted me to know it was there,
and it did so physically.
NARRATOR:
Terrified, the investigators
turn towards the stairway.
I started to see something
come up the stairs,
and it actually happened
really fast,
but it felt like forever,
but I see a figure
outside of the doorway.
I mean, it'll be
in my brain forever,
but the only way
to really describe it in words
was a very tall, hooded figure.
It had glowing eyes.
Its face was extremely dark.
And it was looking
in the doorway at us.
I was extremely panicked.
I had never seen something
so vividly and so clear
and staring at me
with glowing eyes.
I had never seen such a thing.
ALAN: Anna described
that there was this
hooded figure hunched over.
It was an -foot doorway
that it's hunched over,
kind of looking in at us.
Anna, you know,
was very descriptive
as to what she had saw,
very, very adamant.
Very upset, very frightened.
What probably
frightened me the most
was the eyes peering in at us.
They were evil, as if this thing
had never experienced
kindness before.
ALAN:
The DVR footage % aligns
with Anna's response
at the time or reaction
to what she had saw
in the doorway,
and I believe that to be
what Anna saw.
NARRATOR: Based on the evidence
collected that night,
Alan has a theory.
ALAN:
What Anna had observed
and what we captured
with the DVR
is what I believe to be a demon
that resides in that location.
No nice spirit
would present itself
in the fashion that this thing
presented itself.
I feel like it was allowing me
to see it as a warning,
and I feel like it was
warning me to tread lightly,
to be cautious, and that
he didn't want us there.
♪♪
So it took quite some time
for Dad to calm me down.
I was worked up, overwhelmed,
and emotions that you don't
even know how to describe.
I felt emotions
I'd never felt before.
Just in awe, scared,
frightened, panicked.
It still makes me afraid
to think of it today.
[ Gasping ]
NARRATOR: Alan decides
it's time to call it a night.
ALAN: Anna was shook.
We were both mentally exhausted
and physically worn out.
I feel that if we stayed,
something terrible
could have happened.
We could have experienced
a possession
or some type of harm to us.
NARRATOR:
The investigation is closed,
and the demon, for now,
remains dormant,
but for Anna, the memory
of that night is still vivid.
To this day --
and, again, after hundreds
of investigations --
for Anna, this is still
the most frightening thing
she's ever seen,
and to this day,
it impacts her, absolutely.
The face that she saw,
the figure that she saw
will impact her
the rest of her life.
♪♪
NARRATOR:
Ghost hunting is a test
of both strength and spirit,
pushing investigators
to their very limits,
but sometimes
the promise of a haunting
is too intriguing to turn down.
The Black Monk case
is probably the world's
most violent poltergeist case
on record,
and it was an offer
I couldn't refuse.
♪♪
NARRATOR:
Pontefract, Yorkshire.
A quiet market town
in the rural north of England.
Here, in a peaceful
residential neighborhood,
stands a house that is said
to be among the most haunted
in Britain.
The home first begins
exhibiting signs
of the paranormal
in the late s.
♪♪
Taps excrete
mysterious green slime.
Cupboard doors
open and close themselves.
Then the activity escalates.
♪♪
The family's young daughter,
returning home from school
one day,
is violently att*cked
by a shadowy, hooded figure...
[ Screams ]
...and is dragged
up the stairs.
[ Screaming ]
It's local legend that a monk
was said to have molested
a young girl, m*rder*d her,
and, when he was caught,
was ex*cuted by the public
and his body thrown down a well.
NARRATOR:
In Yorkshire, England,
folklore tells of a black monk
terrorizing a family home,
and ghost hunters to this day
are captivated by the rumors.
It's local legend that a monk
was said to have molested
a young girl, m*rder*d her,
and, when he was caught,
was ex*cuted by the public,
and his body thrown down a well.
NARRATOR: Richard Estep has been
a paranormal investigator
for over years.
His motives are unambiguous.
The big reward for being
a paranormal investigator
is trying to chase down
that most fascinating
of all questions --
what happens to us
after we die, if anything?
NARRATOR: A native Englander,
Richard has long been fascinated
by the tale
of the so-called Black Monk.
The Black Monk case
is probably the world's
most violent poltergeist case
on record,
and it made international news
back in the 's
when a small family
were terrorized by this entity.
♪♪
NARRATOR: Such is the notoriety
of the case
that a horror film
based on the story is made,
and its producer, Bil Bungay,
buys the infamous home.
ESTEP: Bil had heard that
the house was still haunted
by this entity called Fred, who
had been labeled the Black Monk,
and I think he took it
with a grain of salt at first.
But as he was around the place
and letting friends stay,
he would start to get report
after report after report
of strange occurrences --
footsteps, voices,
bizarre smells.
And then, finally, one night,
Bil was out in the garden.
There are two metal gates
that protect the driveway.
Bil made sure
that he closed the gates
and put a fairly heavy brick
behind them to keep them closed.
NARRATOR: Moments later,
when Bil looks at the gate,
he sees that the heavy brick
has been moved,
and the gate has been opened.
ESTEP:
That's when Bil became convinced
that there was some kind
of paranormal force at work
at the Black Monk house.
NARRATOR: Unnerved by
the unusual activity,
Bil agrees to open up his house
to paranormal investigators,
Richard Estep among them.
So I reached out to Bil,
and I said,
"I would love to visit
the Black Monk house,
but I don't think I could fly
all the way from
the United States
to Britain for just a night,"
and he said,
"Well, I'll give you the keys
for a week. How about that?"
And it was an offer
I couldn't refuse.
NARRATOR: Richard assembles
a team and flies to England
to begin an investigation.
He is accompanied
by fellow ghost hunters
Charlie Stiffler
and Jason Fellon.
FELLON: I felt excited,
going into the house,
because I've heard many stories
about what's going on there,
and it's the first time I'm
actually gonna be investigating
a house and a haunting
outside of the United States.
NARRATOR: The investigators
are immediately struck
by the surprising normality
of the location.
ESTEP: Now, the atmosphere
itself, on my first visit there,
was not particularly
ominous or menacing.
I'm not very sensitive anyway,
but it felt fine to me,
at least that first day.
Didn't feel unusual at all.
NARRATOR: Bil's behavior,
by contrast, is puzzling.
ESTEP: As Bil walked in,
he was extremely wary,
like a cat on a hot tin roof,
and he made a point of saying
hi to Fred, the entity, first.
NARRATOR:
Fred is the nickname
that Bil has given
to the spirit of the Black Monk.
-You fellows must be hungry.
-Sounds great.
NARRATOR: Bil offers to
take the team for lunch,
but ever the
paranormal investigator,
Richard leaves a discreet
piece of equipment behind.
ESTEP: I was really concerned
about missing anything
while we were gone,
so without telling anybody else,
I took out
a digital voice recorder.
I started it running, and that
way, if anything happened
when we were out,
I'd have a record of it.
NARRATOR: And Richard's
precautions seem to pay off.
ESTEP: We came back.
Bil is first inside the house.
I'm the second.
He walked into the main hallway
at the bottom of the staircase
and stopped dead in his tracks.
Looking over his shoulder,
what I could see
was the big mirror
that hung on the wall
at the foot of the stairs
is now laying on the ground,
and it's smashed.
♪♪
The feeling, when we saw
that mirror, was pure amazement.
It was like, "Wow. Something
has already happened.
We haven't even really started
the investigation yet."
I mean, a mirror cracking
is pretty significant
for a paranormal investigator.
Being, like, thrown to the floor
and breaking into pieces
is even better.
So what we ended up doing
is trying to figure out
how this happened.
ESTEP: I pulled my voice
recorder and threw on
a set of headphones,
and I started listening
to the audio feed,
and I'm waiting to hear
the sound of stealthy footsteps
making their way towards
the bottom of the staircase,
where they would
break the mirror,
and there was nothing on
that audio recording at all.
I can hear the mirror
smashing.
With the audio soundtrack
that I have,
I can guarantee you that no
human being broke that mirror.
My suspicion
is that that was a,
"Welcome to the
Black Monk house.
Get ready for a wild ride."
NARRATOR: In light
of the heightened activity,
the team decides to conduct
an electronic voice phenomena,
or EVP, session
to try to collect
audio evidence of the spirit.
We start asking some
of the more generic
and basic questions.
"Are there any entities here
that would like to communicate
with us,
and, if so, what's your name?
What can you tell us
about yourself?"
Are there any entities
in this house?
I was a little taken aback
when I heard my name
come through that device.
"Richard Estep."
That has never happened
to me before
in over years
of investigation.
NARRATOR: In Yorkshire, England,
ghost hunter Richard Estep
is in pursuit
of an infamous spirit
known only as the Black Monk,
but as the investigation
gets heated,
it's unclear
who is hunting whom.
ESTEP:
Could you repeat that please?
FELLON: Richard was amazed when
he heard his name on the box.
He said,
"Did that just say my name?"
We rewound the recording,
and there it was again,
in the recording --
"Richard Estep."
NARRATOR:
A self-professed skeptic,
Richard replays the audio
again and again,
but there is no mistake.
We're all wired to want
to see patterns in things
that are otherwise meaningless,
so I played this back
over and over again.
Did this box really say
"Richard Estep"?
I believe that it did.
The entire experience,
from beginning to end,
was a constant awareness
that this house made me uneasy.
NARRATOR: With communication
firmly established,
Richard decides to invite
a local paranormal enthusiast
to help with the investigation.
This is the infamous
Black Monk house.
ESTEP:
We are joined by Leslie,
who's a relatively new
paranormal investigator.
We decide we'll conduct
a few EVP sessions,
but as we come in
through the front door,
there's something different
about the atmosphere
at the Black Monk house.
Even I can sense it.
ESTEP: The heavy atmosphere
begins to have
an adverse effect
on the investigators.
ESTEP:
Leslie says, "I'm sorry. I've
got to run to the bathroom."
She feels nauseous,
and she runs to the bathroom,
having been in the house for
no more than or minutes,
and throws up in the toilet.
FELLON: Ghosts can make you sick
in numerous ways.
They can affect
your psychological being
and your physical being.
You can get upset stomach
from high EMF fields.
You can get headaches
from high EMF fields.
NARRATOR: The spirit's ability
to appear and disappear
seemingly at will leaves Richard
to come up with a theory
that he may not be dealing with
just one spirit, but several.
I've had a number
of people claim
that there is a portal
in the house
and that the place is
a kind of psychic way station
where entities can come and go
as they please.
NARRATOR:
If the house is indeed a portal,
this would mean
that all kinds of spirits
could enter,
both good and bad.
ESTEP:
Some entities are very friendly.
Others are downright vicious.
You have a whole host
of spirits,
and I think,
on this particular night,
whoever was with us
or whatever was with us
was not one of
the friendlier variety.
NARRATOR:
Richard decides, once again,
to test the level of spirit
activity of the house.
Leslie and I were
sitting on the stairs,
conducting an EVP session,
and heard a small clattering
noise from downstairs.
When we walked
into the living room,
we discovered that my cellphone,
which I had left on top
of a small table,
had slid a good foot
across the table.
It had been physically pushed
across the surface of the table.
There was no way
that could have happened.
These things don't just slide
across flat surfaces.
NARRATOR: Then the activity
starts to heighten.
What is that?
We keep seeing flashes of light
coming through those doors,
and they seem to be coming
from a very similar location,
and they're fairly low down,
close to the floor.
FELLON: They started seeing
little pulses of light
coming from the kitchen
and the dining-room area.
These were quick little pulses,
like a half-second in length.
My first thought is, "Well,
this is probably car headlights
coming through
the kitchen windows,"
except, when I go outside
to look, I see the flashes,
and there are no cars
on the road outside.
The phenomena was intermittent.
Just as we would get up
to go investigate,
we'd see the flash
always in the same spot,
and it's only when I started
combing through the reports
of the hundreds
and hundreds of visitors
to the Black Monk house
that I discover
we're not the only ones
to have seen flashes of light
coming from the kitchen.
To this day, their source
remains unidentified.
NARRATOR: Encouraged by
the continuing activity,
the team decides to keep
investigating through the night.
This is very strange.
STIFFLER: No!
Someone's grabbing me!
NARRATOR:
But this might prove to be
a grave error of judgment.
We heard Charlie say,
"Somebody's grabbing my legs.
I can't move. Somebody is
grabbing the back of my legs."
He was standing
right at the sink,
where a number of visitors
to the house
have reported odd experiences.
He said he felt as if
somebody were very plainly
holding his ankles
and trying to trip him up,
as though a pair of hands
were holding him at the back.
[ Screams, groans ]
And then Charlie said
that his back was burning up.
My back, it --
it's burning up.
Well, what we did is,
we lifted up his shirt,
and there they were.
There was three scratches
on his back.
They were very intense,
well-defined,
and, to me,
pretty intimidating.
Oh, my God.
My back, it's burning up.
I said, "Charlie, man,
you've been scratched."
He said,
"My back is burning up."
And so we broke out
the thermal camera,
could see these very hot,
angry-looking red scratches
getting more and more inflamed
in front of our eyes.
There they were,
three scratches on his back.
They were very defined, and you
could see them from a distance.
It was nothing
you had to search for.
They were right there
in your face when you
lifted up his shirt.
It's getting worse.
I reached back as far
as I could with my hand,
as high as I could, to try to
get into the general vicinity
of where his scratches were,
and I couldn't come close,
so that made me believe
that they were really something
that formed paranormally.
It was almost
as though the scratches
were raised
from the inside out.
It happened in real time,
and we all encountered this.
He said he felt as though
his back were burning,
and this is something
that I've seen commonly
with paranormal scratches.
You don't feel the sharp pain,
let's say, that an animal
scratched you with claws.
You would tend to feel a sharp
pain moving across your back.
NARRATOR:
Unnerved by the aggressive twist
the investigation has taken,
Richard decides it's time to get
the team out of the house.
No, I'm good.
No, no. I'm calling it off.
Come on. We're out.
♪♪
ESTEP: Well, now things
are turning violent,
and this is a location
which has a reputation
as a violent haunting.
Charlie was actually
fairly shaken up about it.
Being in the situation
after the scratching occurred,
it seemed like
maybe the monk or Fred
wanted us to vacate
the premises.
He was trying to show us
that this was his turf
and we weren't welcome there.
We have to walk a very fine line
between being cautious,
between trying to be safe,
and yet also being willing
to push the envelope
a little bit in order
to get some results.
We got on something's nerves
in that house,
and Charlie paid the price.
NARRATOR:
As the team pack up their gear
and prepare to head back
to the US,
Jason is pragmatic about the
events that occurred in England.
FELLON: One of the key findings
we have from the investigation
is, "Be careful
what you're asking for
when you go into the house
there in Pontefract
because you might just get it."
NARRATOR: But for Richard,
the Pontefract investigation
has been a much more
personal experience.
ESTEP: This was one of my
bucket-list locations.
I've wanted to investigate the
Black Monk of Pontefract case
since I was a young boy,
and I feel that my visit there
was just a small part
in a much larger story
that's unfolding to this day
as we speak.
There is a long stream
of paranormal investigators
who are coming in and out
of the Black Monk house,
and each one is adding
their own experience,
their own chapter, to this tale,
and the end of that story
has not been written yet.
When that door closed behind me,
I turned back
to look at the house,
and I thought to myself,
"We're not done yet.
I'll see you again."
Fred and I have
unfinished business.
02x09 - The Black Monk
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"Haunted Case Files" features three different stories per episode from different paranormal investigators and recounts their most terrifying encounters with spirits, demons and unexplained entities.
"Haunted Case Files" features three different stories per episode from different paranormal investigators and recounts their most terrifying encounters with spirits, demons and unexplained entities.