Season 6 Episode 4: The Widening Gyre (Pt.1 of 3)

with such things. It is a unique sense of optimism and perhaps even faith we feel for the day ahead as we step from our various abodes into cool summer mornings, already laced with the exhilarating promise of heat mantled by the hazy blue sky above, as we head out to the park, or the river, or, in the case of Maurice and Peggy growth on that balmy August fourth morning

in nineteen seventy six, to the beach so jarring. It was then for Peggy's day to be punctured by that sudden sense of unease and queasiness that came over her in the early afternoon. Looking back on it in the weeks that followed, the couple from North London, who were visiting relatives on the Island of Jersey at the time, couldn't help but read more into it. Perhaps it was

nothing perhaps it was everything. The following morning, as they prepared to set out for yet another blissful day on the sand in what was the hottest British summer on record, they received the news that their twenty two year old daughter, Janet had been involved in a motorbike accident. Janet and her friend Adam were riding through the city of Cardiff

in Wales when they crashed. Adam, who was driving at the time, was killed instantly, while Janet had been left seriously injured, having been thrown from the back of the bike, dropping everything. Maurice and Peggy raced immediately to the University of Cardiff Hospital, where their daughter was being treated. Janet was unconscious when her parents arrived to take their place at her bedside, where they stayed until at four twenty

pm that afternoon. Having never regained consciousness, Janet died three days later. Maurice awoke just after eight am with no recollection of how and when he'd finally dozed off to sleep, and for the briefest of moments in that space between the dream and the waking, became that same tingle of summer optimism again, only for reality to come quickly rushing in with the four of a thousand tsunamis, and with them came that one single word to take his breath away, Janet,

Their Janet. Morris dragged himself to the bathroom and peered out of the window at the yellow lawn, bleached dry from weeks of drought, then looked across to his daughter's old bedroom window. The tears came fast, welling up in his eyes. He let them fall to the ground, when suddenly,

with a jolt, something caught his attention. Just the night before, Morris had whispered secretly into the air for Janet to give them a sign, if by some miracle she was still with them, somehow, perhaps make it rain, he asked if she could. Maurice stared in complete disbelief at the small section of roof below Janet's old bedroom window and the unmistakable layer of moisture on it, now glistening in the soft morning sun, while everywhere else was dry as bone.

The strange incident of the wet roof was one of eight unusual coincidences Marris noticed in the immediate aftermath of his daughter's death, including the inexplicable stopping of his sister in law's clock at four twenty pm, the precise time that Janet had died. Believing that it had to mean something, Morris compiled a list of all the coincidences and sent them off to the UK's Society of Psychical Research, along

with the request for an expert of valuation. Though Marris never received a definitive answer from the Society, a few months later he joined the organization himself, keen to take part in any potential haunting investigations that might crop up, anything that might reveal the possibility of life surviving death. In September the following year, Maurice was contacted by the SPR with exactly what he'd been looking for, an invitation to investigate reports of unusual disturbances taking place at a

modest suburban house in Enfield, North London. To day, this case is widely considered to be the most documented, compelling and terrifying supposed poltergeist haunting the UK has ever known. You're listening to Unexplained and I'm Richard McClane Smith. I won't tell you again, said Peggy as she pushed open the door. Get back to bed. But we're not doing anything,

came a soft voice from out of the dark. Peggy switched on the light and stared at her daughter, eleven year old Janet, tucked up in bed in the far corner of the room, then threw a stern look to her brother John in the opposite bed. We didn't, he insisted. It was the chair, said Janet. It's making a funny noise.

The Hodgsons lived at two hundred and eighty four Green Street in Enfield, in a typical nineteen twenties three beds of urban house, part red brick and pebbledash, with a small patch of garden out front and a long narrow strip of garden out the back. Though the house was located on a fairly busy road, being opposite the local

school made for a relatively quiet neighborhood. That night of August thirty first, nineteen seventy seven, forty three year old Peggy Hodgson had been getting ready for bed in her own bedroom that she shared with her two other children, thirteen year old Margaret and seven year old Billy, when she heard a strange shuffling noise coming from Janet and John's room. Peggy rolled her eyes, fine, she said, as she grabbed the chair and switched off the light, now

get to sleep. After taking the chair downstairs, Peggy returned moments later, only to hear that same sound again coming from the second bedroom, like some one was dragging their feet across the floor. Heading back into the room, Peggy switched on the light again to find Janet and John still tucked up under their duvets. Then the noise came again. See it isn't us, said Janet. Just then a soft knocking came from what seemed like the other side of

the party wall. Peggy stepped in for a closer listen than heard something scrape behind her. Spinning round, she was surprised to find the children's heavy chest of drawers had somehow moved eighteen inches away from the wall, as Janet and John watched on with confusion. As somewhat perturbed, Peggy gently eased the chest of drawers back into place. When she turned back round, she heard that scraping sound again.

Turning round once more, Peggy was horrified to see the chest of drawers had moved again, this time about a foot toward the door. With her heart now pounding in her chest, Peggy went again to ease the drawers back into place, only this time no matter how hard she tried, they wouldn't budge it felt, she later said, as though someone or something was pushing back from the other side.

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day trial. Go to triscribt dot com, slash Unexplained for your free trial. That's t r y scr ibd dot com slash Unexplained to get sixty days of script for free. Next Door, at the home of Peggy and Vic Nottingham, the couple were watching TV with their twenty year old son Gary when they heard an urgent knocking at the front door. Peggy opened it to find the terrified Hodgson's

huddled together on the doorstep, dressed in their nightclothes. Moments later, the two family were sat in the Nottingham's living room as Peggy Hodgson did her best to explain what had just taken place, believing that someone must have broken into their home and was playing a trick on them. Seeing that Peggy and her kids were clearly too scared to go back, the Nottinghams offered to go with them and

check the house for any intruders. Returning next door, the Hodgson's and Peggy Nottingham waited in the living room as Vic and Garry made a quick sweep of the house and gardens. Much to everyone's relief, The pair returned moments later having found nothing untoward. Feeling suddenly embarrassed by the whole saga, Peggy thanked them for their help and apologized

for wasting their time. But just as the Nottinghams were about to leave, Vic heard a knocking on the wall by the stairs that seemed to be coming from outside. Vic rushed out the door and stood for a moment in the dark, peering down the alleyway that ran down the side of the house, but no one was there. Back inside, a palpable sense of fear was beginning to spread as the knocking continued. Make it stop, yelled Margaret.

It's okay, It's just the pipes, said Vic as he attempted to locate the source of the noise, only as he soon realized the knocking seemed to be following him wherever he went. Garry put his hand to the wall as the knocks rang out. That's strange, he said, I could feel the wall vibrating. Then Peggy Nottingham joined them at the bottom of the stairs. It's almost like someone

wants to get in, she said. Police Constable Caroline Heaps and her partner PC Hyams were conducting a routine patrol of the local area when a call came through sometime around ten thirty pm to attend a possible break in at two hundred and eighty four Green Street. Having been given no other information, The officers arrived at the house moments later, surprised to find the two families waiting for

them with quite a different story to tell. We think the house might be haunted, said Peggy, sheepishly, well aware of how preposterous it sounded. Before PC's Heaps and Hyams had time to react, Vic suggested they wait a moment to experience it for themselves, then promptly switched out the light, leaving all nine of them waiting together silently in the dark. As the minutes of complete silence ticked by Hyams was just about to switch the light on when the sound

of four knocks sent the children into hysterics. As Peggy did her best to calm them down, another four knocks rang out. The children screamed once again. Suspecting also that it was probably nothing but the pipes. Piecy Hyams quickly switched on the light and raced into the kitchen to examine the plumbing. Piecy Heaps, not quite sure what to do herself, began by asking the family to tell her again what had been happening. As she took down notes, Then ten year old John suddenly froze. What is it,

asked Heaps. The chair, he said, pointing to the armchair nearest the door that was now quite clearly wobbling, when all of a sudden it slid across the room. Hearing the screams from the kitchen, PC Hyams raced back to the living room. The chair just moved, said Heaps, in total, bewilderment estimating that it moved a good three feet in total. Then, seeing a marble on the TV stand, Heaps placed it on the spot where the chair had been, expecting it to reveal a clear slant in the ground, but the

marble remained completely still. Despite the family's obvious distress at whatever it was that was going on, With nothing tangible to act on, all the officers could do under the circumstances was offered to return in a few days time to check up on the moor. That night, with the police and the Nottinghams having departed, the Hodgsons were once again left alone in their home. Too scared to sleep upstairs, they bedded down together in the living room and nervously

awaited the next strange occurrence. A few days later, on the evening of Sunday, September fourth, an operator on the news desk of the Daily Mirror newspaper received a call from a woman in Enfield claiming that her neighbor's house was haunted. The operator rolled his eyes as the woman proceeded to outline all the peculiar things that had apparently been happening over the last few days, from banging on the walls, to moving furniture and now even objects being

thrown about the house. The operator was just about to put the phone down when the woman quickly cut in and the police have seen it too. With that, Daily Mirror photographer Graham Morris and journalist Douglas Spence were swiftly dispatched to Green Street in Enfield to investigate, arriving at the Nottingham's home a short time later to find the Hodgson children fast asleep and are deeply distressed Peggy Hodgson

waiting for them. It was Peggy Nottingham's idea to call the press after yet another night of activity had driven the Hodgson's back to her home, feeling increasingly helpless about the whole situation, with the journalists keen to witness the strange activity. They promptly headed next door and let themselves into the property. Though neither believed the story one bit, it was hard to shake the pervasive air of weirdness as they stepped into the silence of the Hodgson's home.

The pair smirked nervously as they passed first into the living room and then on into the kitchen, with Graham holding his camera in front of him, ready to capture any signs of a ghost. Things only got weirder when one by one the children were brought back into the house, fast asleep in the arms of Peggy and the Nottingham's After more than two hours of waiting in the house, however, the journalists saw nothing untoward, and by two thirty am, the pair of them decided to call it a night.

But just as they were walking back to the car, Peggy Nottingham's father, who'd been staying with them that weekend, raced out of the house and shouted after them. It's happening, he said, breathlessly. It took me a long time to realize that it isn't the bed or even the mattress necessarily that makes for the perfect sleeping experience. It's the sheets now I might not be sure of much in life, but this I can guarantee you that feeling when you get home from a stay at your parents house or

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That's boll And Branch b O l l And Branch dot Com promo code unexplained, Graham and Douglas could hear the screams before they reached the front door, emanating from out of the kitchen at the back of the house. Hurrying through, Graham burst into the kitchen and froze. Amid the screaming of the children. The clattering of objects could be heard as one after another, pieces of lego and

marbles were sent whizzing around the room. Remembering suddenly why he was there, Graham grabbed at the wide angle lens and ducked into a far corner to see if he could capture all the chaos swirling above his head. As he reeled off a series of shots, he had just enough time to catch a sudden movement out at the corner of his eye when something hit him in the middle of his forehead, causing him to yell out in pain.

Graham rubbed at the now tender spot on his head that was already becoming raised, then looked down at the small piece of lego now lying at his feet on the floor, and then back up to all the people in the room and tried to figure out where on earth it could have come from. Later that day, shrouded in the dark red light of the processing room. Graham stood over the developing tray, watching as the photochemical swished about,

while underneath a ghostly picture began to emerge. It was a shot of the Hodgson's kitchen, taken just at the moment that the lego brick had struck him on the head, showing the only two people in the room who had a clear angle to throw it at him. One was his colleague, Douglas Pence, stood with both hands in his pockets, while the other was Peggy Nottingham, stood with her arms

clearly folded across her chest. It was Monday, September fifth, when Maurice, working in his office in Holloway, received the corps from the Secretary of the Society of Psychical Research, Eleanor O'Keefe that would change his life or ever. Maurice could feel the hairs stand up on the back of his neck as he listened to Eleanor detailed the phone call she'd just taken from a journalist in any field.

As she explained, it sounded like they had a potential poltergeist case on their hands that would need immediate investigating. It was everything Morris had been looking for Morris had barely finished the call before he was out the door and hopping into his car. An hour later, he arrived at number two hundred and eighty four Green Street. The street was quiet when Morris arrived, parking up just outside the house, as thoughts of his daughter Janet rushed inevitably

to the front of his mind. Maurice took a moment to compose himself, then stepped from the vehicle and made his way to the front door. Maurris was welcomed in by George Fallows, senior reporter of the Daily Mirror, who'd also rushed at the house after hearing about Graham Morris and Douglas Beence's experiences. Fallows ushered Morris through to the living room to meet the family, with ten year old John having left that morning to go back to the

boarding school he attended for children with learning differences. Maris was introduced first to Peggy, then Margaret and little Billy, and lastly Janet. Morris couldn't help but flinch a little at the name. Hello Janet, I'm Morris. It's very nice to meet you, he said. Janet just about managed to shy smile in return, but it was clear the atmosphere

in the home was far from a happy one. Sensing the family's fear, Maurice sought first to reassure them that what they were experiencing was not something to be afraid of, and that, like all things, it would soon pass. Peggy wondered if it might be the ghost of a child, a four year old girl from the local area who only a few years before had been murdered by her father, who then went on to kill himself. Peggy had bought some furniture from the man once and wondered if perhaps

she had somehow brought the spirit. If that was what it was, into her home, she'd thrown the pieces out just in case. Though Maurice couldn't confirm exactly what it was. The one thing he did know, as he told Peggy, was that the family shouldn't blame themselves for anything that was taking place. Though it was painful to see the Hodgsons in such distress, Maurris couldn't resist the tremble of excitement he felt as he entered their home and its

strangely charged atmosphere. There was something there, he thought of that there was no doubt. Over the next few days, However, Morris saw nothing strange himself, as it appeared the apparent haunting had come to an end. But then everything changed. First came the familiar banging in the walls, followed by more items whizzing through the air, as photographer Graham Morris back for more, worked in vain to capture it all.

At one fifteen a m. In the early morning of September the eighth, Morris joined the men from the Daily Mirror upstairs on the landing outside the family's three bedrooms, With one full of disused items, The family shared the other two between them. As the men waited expectantly in the dark, a loud crash was heard coming from the second bedroom. When the men rushed in, they found Janet and Margaret seemingly asleep in the two beds and their bedroom chair flung four feet from where it had been

only moments ago. Janet stirred then began to cry. Seeing her distress, Maurice was quick to reassure her that there was nothing to worry about and that they were there the whole time keeping watch. After coaxing her back to sleep, Maurris righted the chair and the men once again left the room. A short time after returning to the landing, another crash was heard. Once again. The men rushed into the room to find the chair tossed to the side,

far away from where they'd left it. Morris and Fallows looked immediately to the two children, apparently still fast asleep in their beds, then stepped toward Janet's bed and stared down at the girl's closed eyelids. With his fingers, Morris lifted one of them, revealing the white of her eyeball rolled back underneath. Then Fallows picked up her arm and let it flop down onto the covers. Satisfied she was completely asleep, the men left the room again at three

thirty am. After compiling his notes, Morris returned home. Is there something interfering with your happiness or preventing you from achieving your goals? Better help will assess your needs and match you with your own licensed professional therapist. Sign up today and start communicating in less than forty eight hours. You'll get timely and thoughtful responses. Plus, you can schedule weekly video or phone sessions so you won't ever have

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start living a happier life today. In the evening of September eighth, Morris attended a Society of Psychical Research lecture at Kensington Public Library about the nature of poltergeist activity. Nodding along as he took notes, illistened attentively as the speaker outlined what he believed to be the two most

likely explanations for such activity. The first was that all the noises and moving about of items was in fact caused by pubescent children, who were often found to be at the center of such activity, unwittingly wielding psychic powers brought on by the intense hormonal transition of puberty. The second possibility was that the often terrifying, supposedly paranormal events were caused by spirits of disgruntled individuals feeding off the

energy of the living. Also in the audience that night was forty two year old Guy Lion Playfair, very much the antithesis of the self made Morris. Guy was brought up in British colonial India, the son of a British Army major, and studied modern languages at Cambridge University at some point, having moved to Brazil in the nineteen sixties, where he worked as a freelance journalist. After a strange experience with an apparently psychic healer, Guy developed an interest

in the paranormal. At the end of the talk, he watched as Morris addressed the audience asking for volunteers to help him with his investigation at Green Street. Though Guy was interested, having just spent the last fifteen months writing his own account of as opposed poltergeist haunting in Rio to Jennero, he'd been looking forward to taking some time off. Nonetheless, Guy introduced himself to Morris after the talk, and suggested he get in touch if things start to go out

of control. Back at the Hodgson's home later that night, with Marris having returned to check in on the family, he sat patiently sipping tea with Janet, Margaret, and Billy as they went through all the events of that day, from all the marbles being flung around to how the drawer under the TV had slid out on its own, when all of a sudden, a marble flew through the air,

narrowly missing Morris by inches. While up on the wall, a set of hanging chimes had begun shaking from side to side, as if a light breeze had just blown through the room. Then a scream came from the kitchen. Marris and the kids hurried through to find Peggy staring strangely at the bathroom door. There's something in there, she said, her voice trembling. Morris asked for silence as they all stood together, eyes fixed on the bathroom door, when suddenly,

in one movement, it swung open and closed. The family gasped in horror as Maurris tried his best to calm the situation, telling them again there was nothing to be frightened of, while watching incredulously as the door continued to swing open and shut a further three times, and in that moment, Maurice could have sworn he felt a cold

wind wrap around his legs. Though Marris was at a loss to explain exactly what he'd seen so far, when a box was flung from a table while eleven year old Janet was close by, he realized that Janet was almost always around when the strange events occurred. After speaking to Peggy Nottingham's father following day, it was clear that others were beginning to suspect that she might be responsible. Finding a quiet moment with Peggy, Marris advised her to keep an eye on her daughter, just to be sure

she wasn't playing games with the more. He knew all too well how difficult children could be at that age, he said fondly. And as rumors of the peculiar activity began to spread throughout the neighborhood, many began to question the minds of the family, while others made a point of crossing the road as they approached the house, terrified at what might happen should they get too near. The local gossip would only intensify when, on September tenth, the

Hodgson story finally hit the news. In a front page article in The Daily Mirror, written by George Fallows under the title House of Strange Happenings, it went on to say, with the motional atmosphere at the house and the neighborhood ranging from hysteria through terror, to excitement and tension, it has been difficult to record satisfactory data. Nevertheless, I am satisfied the overall impression of our investigation is reasonably accurate. To the best of our ability, we have eliminated the

possibility of total trickery. Later that night, Peggy Hodgson and her neighbor Peggy Nottingham were joined by Maurice Gross on London's LBC Radio to discuss the bizarre events. When they returned to Green Street at two am, they found another reporter waiting for them outside. Rosalind Morris was a producer from BBC Radio four who had been sent to report

on the story. With nothing much else to report on that day, Rosalind proceeded to spend the night in the house, where she witnessed beds being shaken and to flung across the room, stating later that whatever had happened that night, she could not explain it. The following day, at his home in London, Guy Playfair was listening to the radio when he heard Roslyn Morris's report of what had taken

place the night before. Hearing the tiredness in Maurice Gross's voice, he realized immediately that he and the family were in desperate need of help. You've been listening to Unexplained Series six, Episode four, The Widening Gyre, Part one of three, Part two will be released next week Friday, November fifth. If you enjoy Unexplained and would like to help support us, you can now do so via Patreon. To receive access to add three episodes, just go to patriot dot com

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