SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome back to Terrible To Some Tuesday, where two sisters tell you a haunted story and every tale comes with a side of family drama. I'm Ashley, I'm Simone, and today's episode is Heal the Dog.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Oh, that's quite the name. Yes, it is. Does it translate into anything?

SPEAKER_02 0:32

Uh yes. We'll talk about it. I need to give a warning here that I am a Hick from Idaho, and I don't know how to pronounce a lot of this.

SPEAKER_01 0:43

Oh good, this will be fun.

SPEAKER_02 0:45

I try I looked it up before, but that was a long time ago, so I don't really my notes don't really make a lot of sense.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Oh, why don't you like in your notes put like the phonetic spelling of it? Bitch, I did.

SPEAKER_02 0:57

But some of them don't have a phonetic spelling, so now I'm trying to figure out if I forgot that or if it just is how it sounds.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:04

Got it. One quick thing today. I did my tarot reading yesterday. Uh-huh. And it said a new project that we were that I was pursuing would be successful. Oh, that's good. So now you all have to listen because the tarot cards told me you would. Well, hopefully it's this project that they were referring to. I don't have any other projects, I can assure you. So this story is about a haunted cottage out across the pond in Great Britain. Uh Wales. That's the country I was looking for. And uh it has the most I wouldn't say exorcisms, but like house cleansings of any house in Great Britain. That's interesting. Aren't there a lot of witches in Wales? I don't think I've ever heard that, but I could assume that. Everything over there is so old that I would assume it has witches everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

I could just totally be making that up, but I feel like I've heard that somewhere.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

Huh. We'll have to look that up. Why don't you look that up? Oh, okay. Okay. Here we go. Bill Rich was an aspiring artist and attended college at Ruskin College of Fine Arts at just 16 until he was expelled for sleeping with the headmaster's daughter. Naughty, naughty boy. And his misadventures just get more interesting after this. Um after being kicked out of school, he joined the Royal Navy, but realized he fucked up. Uh so he just went AWOL into the jungle of Borneo. Okay. Um he was 16.

SPEAKER_01 2:34

So the jungle of Borneo was better than the Royal Navy. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:39

Sixteen-year-old boys have absolutely no impulse control. And I'm not man-hating, but teenage boys are absolutely insane, and they just make the worst fucking decisions. They have no survival instinct whatsoever. Right. He somehow ended up living with a tribe in Sarawak where he just started living as a tribesman, wearing the loincloth uniform, doing the damn thing.

SPEAKER_01 3:01

They just accepted him like that.

SPEAKER_02 3:02

Yes, he said, Thank you for the shelter. I am one of you now, and they said, No problem. Wow. Very chill of them.

SPEAKER_01 3:09

I would totally be like, You are absolutely not one of us. I would also be like, please don't eat me. I mean, hashtag no new friends. Yes, that's true.

SPEAKER_02 3:19

Eventually the Navy caught up to him and he was court-martialed for abandoning his post. This is just like an artist. He eventually spent some time with the I I don't have anything against artists. That was a joke because Ashley's an artist.

SPEAKER_01 3:34

And I abandoned my my work quite often.

SPEAKER_02 3:38

He eventually spent some time with the Aborigines in Australia. Where he did some soul searching and realized his true passion was art. And he wouldn't be truly happy until he was an artist full time. I get that. Sure. This was before social media though, so I that has it has to be like a lot harder.

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Fuck with social media, I would get like one like. It wasn't even from you.

SPEAKER_02 4:03

I always liked it though, so you got to. You always had to. Thanks. Yeah. His first paintings were inspired by his time with the Aborigines and were good enough to be featured in the Alliance Francois, which is a non-profit organization that promotes learning the French language. Okay. I feel like maybe there's better reasons to have nonprofits, but I do think whatever. Yeah. But resources could be better allocated. Yes. Once he met his first wife and had his son, Art had to take a back seat for family life. Bill and his first wife, Denise, were married for 16 years before she left him for another man. Denise. He said, quote, My prime concern was not my work, it was Lawrence's little mind and his life and how we were going to cope. Oh, that's so sad. Yeah, he was really worried about his divorce and how it affected little Lawrence. He even talks about how after he met Liz, his the wife that's in this story, and fell in love, he loved his son more. And if Lawrence didn't want her in their lives, he would have moved on, which is just a good dad.

SPEAKER_01 5:15

I feel like dad did that for us for with quite a few women after he started dating again. Um no, I don't think he I think he realized they were batshit crazy.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

Well, no, and he showed up to our house at like 11 p.m.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

I know, but one of them talked shit about us, and dad was like, that's enough, I'm done.

SPEAKER_02 5:33

Yeah, that's true. He is a ride or die. Yeah. Bill had met Liz after he was seeking help with his depression when his friend offered that he go see an herbalist who just happened to be Liz. Liz grew up in Cowbridge Glamorgan, which is in Wales, where she spent basically her entire life, which is a pretty opposite of Bill, who was like, I'm gonna go live in the fucking jungle. He was living fancy free. Yeah. Her parents sent her to a convent after she failed her 11 plus, which for us Americans is an exam that kids take after the sixth grade to see what school you'll be accepted into. But like, holy shit, overreact much. Like, girl, just try again. It's not that bad. You don't have you don't have to go to a convent. Like they didn't they sent her to a convent because she failed it.

SPEAKER_01 6:23

After like sixth grade? Yeah, Jesus, I would have been in a convent before then. Yeah, you definitely would have.

SPEAKER_02 6:31

Uh also I read that the test is controversial because it doesn't really actually train 10-year-olds in the subjects it tests them on. It basically just turned into cramming information into the little 10-year-old brains so that they knew the information on the test, but didn't actually understand like the concepts or how to apply the information. So that's kind of on her parents, honestly. Like you should have been training her. Why weren't you like helping her? Right. Liz was a free spirit though, and those nuns were not going to tie her down. By the time she was 14, she was a hippie in the making and running with crowds that influenced her to drink and do drugs. Oh, good for you. 14's a little young, but I get it. After basically failing out of another school, she turned to nursery nurse training, which is a childcare professional, like a daycare teacher. But the drinking had started to turn into a a habit and she started to gain weight, which caused her to become anorexic.

SPEAKER_01 7:29

Oh, geez. She's just all over the map here.

SPEAKER_02 7:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:32

Well, we've all been a little anorexic. That's true. You wouldn't know it by looking at me now, but well, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:39

I don't I honestly don't know a woman who has not had an eating problem at some point. Oh, absolutely. Unfortunately, her anorexia became so bad that even after she stopped drinking, she became addicted to laxatives. Sadly, because her addiction was so bad and her health was deteriorating so quickly, she was fired from the nursery and ran away to the Greek islands. When she came back from Greece, she had ringworm and cytokosis, which is also called parrot fever, which is an infectious bacterial disease caused by inhaling dust from dried poop from infected birds. Yeah. She was really going through it. She tried numerous treatments for her anorexia, but nothing really worked. She eventually saw a gypsy herbalist, and her treatment inspired her to open her own herbalist business where she eventually met Bill. Liz claims that her anorexia was cured the day she met Bill after he invited her to lunch. She explains that her anorexia was very much her trying to find unconditional love, and when she went with Bill, she found it and never thought about her sickness ever again. Okay. Liz said there wasn't judgment, it was just here's Liz. I love her, she loves me, and I was so needed, and it went. That's what she said. It went where? Send it. Um I'm thanks, Kyle. I'm glad she found Bill, but like, damn girl, get you some night nights. Right. Like I don't yeah, I don't think it's cured, but Bill and Liz were not married at the same at the time, and Liz was three months pregnant with their first kid, but the landlady was nosy as fuck, which is fine, but don't be a dick about it. Wait, was the first kid Bill's?

SPEAKER_01 9:27

Yes. From his first wife, remember? He was like upset that Well, yeah, but no, I'm saying Liz, the kid that she's pregnant with. Oh, yeah, yeah, is Bill's Bill's. Okay. Be nosy.

SPEAKER_02 9:38

It's okay. It helps pass the time of life. What is she being nosy about? The landlady was like, I don't want people who aren't married living in my place and pregnant. Uh but Bill didn't really want to live in the same house that his ex-wife inhabited with his new girlfriend, so they start looking for a new place to live. In May 1989, they found Hail Vinog, which means road to the peaks in Welsh. The peaks or peace. Peaks. Okay. Uh Hale Vinog was located in Brecon Beacons, Wales, and was originally a barn converted into a house in the 1950s. The barn originated from the medieval times, and when they converted the barn into a house, they used the original stone since it was the only thing the of like sound structure left. That would be rad as fuck. Yeah, this left large stone pillars in a field behind the house with a cellar underneath them. Yeah, cellars are just I they I don't feel like that's ever a good thing. Also, just just note this these stones go back to the 1800s.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

I thought they went back to the medieval times.

SPEAKER_02 10:45

When were the medieval times? 1500s?

SPEAKER_01 10:48

1600s? Okay. We're history majors. But I mean, those are that's that's old. The medieval times were the Renaissance era, correct?

SPEAKER_02 10:58

Yeah. So yeah, like 1600s. Okay, well, I'm saying that like I would not want my house made of stone from the 1600s.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

I mean, I would I feel like it would be really cool. I would bless the shit out of it probably every day, but you're gonna have to.

SPEAKER_02 11:12

The house itself was isolated with three acres of land, and the closest house was a half mile away. Bill was attracted to the house because of a giant room above the garage that he could use as his uh art studio. Bill and Liz fell in love with Hale Vinog the instant they saw it, and when they moved in, they felt a world of possibilities opened by the home. They literally looked at this house and thought, it's so peaceful, it's so beautiful, we're gonna just we're gonna die in this house. It would not be long before their new life in their dream home turned into a lifelong trauma that none of them would be able to forget.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

Well, obviously, you can't just be happy because you're on this show.

SPEAKER_02 11:54

One of the first things Bill did after moving in was buy a pig that he named Lucinda Ragwart Rigland.

SPEAKER_01 12:01

Okay, a pig named Lucinda, which is close to Lucifer.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:05

This is just not going anywhere good.

SPEAKER_02 12:07

If Bill thought he was buying a farm animal so he could feel a part of farm life, he was mistaken because Lucinda had a different idea. She lived in the house, and her favorite place to lay was in front of the stove to keep warm. Okay, that's kind of cute. I know.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

Was it like a potbelly pig or like a cute little pig? It did not specify. I think it was like a big fat hog. Okay, so uh that's fun. I have a friend who had, or she may still have this big fat hog.

SPEAKER_02 12:36

Well, she has a farm that saves farm animals or any animals, which is really cool.

SPEAKER_01 12:41

Um, but she had this big, huge fat pig who could live in the house and got regular baths, but the cats had to stay outside in the barn. Also, that pig was ugly. No, come on.

SPEAKER_02 12:58

He was so ugly and his hair was all wiring. Trouble was huge. Ugh, no, he was not. Yes. Anyway. They next bought two sheep to keep the grass short, but the sheep ran away. So they got goats instead. The goats turned out to be totally useless because goats don't eat grass.

SPEAKER_01 13:18

Well, they take gr goats up to Tubbs Hill to like clear pathways.

SPEAKER_02 13:24

Well, they don't eat grass. Oh, so they I didn't know that. They're probably eating like weed. Like Tubbs Hill is like weeds as well. Yes, I guess. So now with their three useless farm animals, they were off to a good start. Right. In September of 89, Bill and Liz were married. In October of 89, uh Lisa gave Liz, I wrote Liza, and I was like, what is her name? Liz gave birth to their son Ben. But the pregnancy and birth were not without its trials. Ben was diagnosed with gastroscis in utero, which is when your vital organs are outside of your body. Oh, I thought that's what it was. The doctor suggested that Liz have an abortion, but Liz couldn't bring herself to do it. She wanted to give Ben the best chance at life, which is great that she had a choice. Yeah. That's what matters, is that she had a choice. Yeah. And when was this? This was in 89. Okay. She also blamed the disease that the baby had on herself, saying that she thought the 12 years she had anorexia, she could have caused it. And I just need a second here.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

I feel you, girl. Yeah, I feel like mothers blame themselves for everything that may have gone wrong.

SPEAKER_02 14:38

Yeah, but when my second baby had cranial sinestosis, I convinced myself that it was something I did wrong, even when all the doctors were like, we literally have no idea what causes this if it's not genetic. So don't if you're a mom and you do that, don't do that. Stop it. Being a parent is hard enough. Anyway, when Ben was born, he had to have an eight-hour surgery and was put in the NICU. A nurse came in after the surgery and told Liz that they had to amputate his foot because he had a hematoma on his toe that was spreading. Liz declined the amputation and cured his foot homeopathically. What's a hematoma? A hematoma is like where you hit something really hard and then it like it's like blood bubbling up under the skin. Okay. I think. I'm not.

SPEAKER_01 15:21

And they would amputate a foot over that? Why like I thought you could just drain those. Well, it was spreading.

SPEAKER_02 15:25

Yeah, I don't and I thought they were I don't I'm not a nurse or a doctor. He did have a little bit of a bent toe, uh, but that beats an amputated foot, so go Liz. Celebrating didn't last long because babies tend to stress you the fuck out, and their house turns out to be haunted as fuck. Bill started to become stressed because between his business and the baby, he was not able to paint.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

What was his business again?

SPEAKER_02 15:54

Um, I haven't told you yet. Oh, okay. Uh, but I'll tell you now. Bill made this is gonna piss you off.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 16:00

Bill makes little boxes and he paints them and he sells them for like a thousand dollars.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

That does piss me off.

SPEAKER_02 16:10

Yeah, it should. He was making Buku Dolores, as Spicoli would say. That does piss me off. Off these little boxes because all of his clients were like New York LA, like what like Oh my god. Yeah. What an artist. Bill was so Bill was upset. Liz was newly postpartum and was taking care of a newborn.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

Well, I'm upset with Bill. I mean, okay, but you're still getting to have some kind of creativity through the m through the work that's bringing you money, and you're upset. Listen, I started a sticker shop where I designed all these stickers, and I loved it at first because I was being creative, and then it slowly turned into something that was soul sucking, and having to like deal with like mailing things was really overwhelming for a person with my brain type. So yes, I really am just very annoyed that he still gets to like I'm so annoyed that he still gets to be creative and make money and is still like, but I don't have time for my art.

SPEAKER_02 17:13

Okay, Antibi, I think being an artist now is much more difficult because of social media because your competition is much stiffer. Like you now have a platform to put art like throughout the world, and back then it was like hearsay, right? Hearsay. Yeah, like not hearsay. It was like you like word of mouth. Word of mouth, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

Yeah. Well, I'm a word. I will tell you, I actually did better with my little art career before social media.

SPEAKER_02 17:44

Um you were selling paintings.

SPEAKER_01 17:46

I was selling, I was giving commissions all the time. And I've had one commission in the last five years. Yeah. So social media really, I don't know, it's just, it's you're just bombarded with other people's art all the time, especially if you're an artist and that's what you see. And then of course you're like, wow, they're so much better than me. And imposter syndrome sets in, and you're like, Jesus, I'm really bad. So you stop painting for eight months, and then you start again and you think you're gonna be just as good as you were eight months ago, and then you're like, wow, I really fucking suck again. And it's just starts all over again.

SPEAKER_02 18:19

And then you do a painting next to me and you're like, yeah, all right.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

And then the worst is when you see people who are selling paintings and they're like, there's no actual talent, they're just like dripping paint and blow drying it and putting resin in it, and it's like, that's not even I mean, the the blow dryer did most of the work.

SPEAKER_02 18:39

Right. Um, so Liz was newly postpartum taking care of a baby. Lawrence liked Liz, but if he had his way, it would have just been him and Bill again. Um, but he never like he didn't ever come out and say, like, fuck this bitch. Well, how old is Lawrence at this time? Uh he's like 11 or 12. Okay. He might be 14.

SPEAKER_01 18:57

I was thinking like a four-year-old, and I was like, Jesus. No, he was like a teenager.

SPEAKER_02 19:01

Okay. Uh Ben has a fucked up toe. No one's happy. Oh, okay. But really, the stress was real. The family dynamics had just changed dramatically and everyone was learning how to deal. This is when the house started to change overnight. Suddenly, their majestic perfect home started to take on a dark overtone, and this dark overtone would be a theme throughout this entire story. The first clue that something wasn't right was when Bill had gone downstairs in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and he heard loud footsteps as if um heavy boots were stomping across the landing above him. It was so loud he was sure it was Lawrence being mad because he could hear them doing the deed a few minutes before. Oh. Um poor Lawrence. But when Bill went upstairs, Lawrence was in a deep sleep and Liz didn't hear the noise at all. The next morning the mysterious noise was all but forgotten when Bill went to get the mail. One of the pieces of mail was from the electricity company with a bill for 750 pounds, which is um roughly like 2,700 pounds today and $3,600 for us Americans who can't do math.

SPEAKER_01 20:07

Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_02 20:07

Okay, so I want you to imagine dad getting a $3,500 electric bill.

SPEAKER_01 20:12

I didn't think about like warming a medieval barn.

SPEAKER_02 20:17

You didn't think about what?

SPEAKER_01 20:18

Like warming, like heating.

SPEAKER_02 20:20

Well, no, this is still a lot. Um, I just want you to imagine dad getting a $3,500 electric bill. Your fault. I can't even kids won't turn off the lights trying to burn the house down. Bill was obviously pissed, but he thought it was just a mistake, so he called them. But the electricity people were like, yeah, we'll send someone out, but like, that's what it's that we already did that they read your thing. That's what it says. Liz had her own paranormal experience that day. She was in their bedroom feeding Ben when she suddenly heard the door down the hall slam shut. It slammed so hard she thought that the door had certainly like come off the hinges. Then Lawrence's bedroom door slammed shut with the same velocity. So suddenly she became irritated because Lawrence had given Bill a little bit of an attitude earlier in the day, so she thought he was throwing a little teenage temper tantrum. As she was about to get out of bed to go tell him to shut the fuck up, she heard it again, but this time it was her door, but the bedroom door didn't move.

SPEAKER_01 21:24

So it's just the sound?

SPEAKER_02 21:26

It's just the sound of the door slamming shut. Okay. Bill comes up rushing into the room and asks, like, what the fuck is going on? Because obviously it sounded like someone was like busting down all the doors. Yeah. Liz told him what happened and he tried to keep his composure, but Bill saw that or Liz saw that Bill was scared. I've never really seen my husband scared. No. Um, like when, you know, when our baby had to have surgery. Like he was he was I could tell he was scared, but like he was keeping it like, you know, inside. Yeah. But I can imagine that it feels like Ground is crumbling underneath you to see your husband like genuinely fearful.

SPEAKER_01 22:05

I have never seen Phil like that. I've never seen dad like that, except when mom was dying, but that was like a different type of fear. Right.

SPEAKER_02 22:13

It's like if I see a man cry, I'm instantly gonna cry. Um not me, but well, a man I care about. A man I don't give a fuck about. Like I just think it's fucked up that we put so much on men's shoulders to carry the scary shit happening. Yeah. Um, I talk a lot of shit on men, but I d like men's mental health matters too. Okay?

SPEAKER_01 22:35

But if me and Phil were going through this, I would definitely be like, you have to be the strong one because I'm not gonna be able to do it. You're the one that has experience in it. I know, but like I definitely would be like, Phil, you can't be scared.

SPEAKER_02 22:49

Later in the night, Bill and Liz were talking about what they assumed is a ghost in the house, when as if the ghost had been eavesdropping and wanted to say, There's no birthday party in here, they started to hear footsteps upstairs. But this time the steps were softer, as if someone was wearing slippers and dragging them across the floor. The steps made their way to the top of the stairs, and Bill and Liz were frozen listening to them come very slowly down one step at a time. When the steps had reached the last stair, they turned and looked. Like Liz Bill and Liz turned and looked, but saw nothing. At this point, it was very clear to them that their house was haunted, and whatever was wanting them there wanted or whatever was there wanted them to know. Like I'm here. The next day, Bill called the power company to say that there was obviously some kind of mistake because the bill was so high. Dad would have lost his fucking mind. No way, Dan Sasser's paying electricity for a goddamn ghost. No. But the power company was like, yeah, it's correct. They read the meter. They agreed to send a technician out to check that everything was good, but and that bill made made Bill feel like a little more in control. Later in the day, Bill was frustrated because he had no time to paint. You have a teenage son and a baby. I don't know why you think you get to have a hobby. The rest of us don't have a fucking hobby.

SPEAKER_01 24:12

I have to take time off work to do this shit. I mean, if his little stupid boxes were so spectacular that he could sell them for thousands of dollars, why couldn't he sell his paintings for thousands of dollars? We're like the absolute shit. I love that you hate Bill. I hate him for I'm very jealous of Bill about this.

SPEAKER_02 24:32

Don't worry, he gets his. Anyway, he went downstairs to the kitchen and smelled the strong odor of sulfur. Uh, it was so strong he was gagging and coughing. He checked all the appliances and found nothing that could be the source of the smell. He called the business to come out and check the cess pit that was used as a sewer system. And when he went back in the kitchen, the smell was gone. Later in the evening, Liz came to Bill to tell him that there was another smell. They went to the kitchen, smelled the strong odor of incense. At this point, they're still trying to be like, okay, so there's some smells, there's some sound, it's not a big deal. We can manage incense.

SPEAKER_01 25:08

I would have definitely been like, oh, it's Lawrence.

SPEAKER_02 25:10

Yeah. But they finally confessed to each other that wasn't the only thing bothering them. Both of them constantly felt as if they were being watched. Oh. I hate that feeling. Yeah. Adding to that feeling because Hale Vinog was so isolated, it made them feel even more helpless and scared, thinking that if something happened, no one's around to go to.

SPEAKER_01 25:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:33

The footsteps and the smells continued, and they noticed that the smells were correlated with temperature changes in the house, like it would be super hot, but the heater wasn't on, or they would like feel cold spots in the hallway. This made them feel that bit by bit the spirit was opening the door to something they weren't ready for. One morning Bill was walking the dog and on the way back he noticed a neighbor leaning on one of the fences. Bill had seen the man before, but they never spoke. They struck up a conversation and the man asked Bill how the move was going and how they were settling into the house. Bill obviously didn't bring up any of the paranormal things, uh, but the man seemed oddly interested in the house. So Bill finally told the man about the footsteps and the smells, and the man was not surprised or shaken at all. He the man told Bill, There's no good luck there. Oh my god. Sir, please elaborate.

SPEAKER_01 26:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:20

Don't get mysterious on me. Just fuck and tell me what you know.

SPEAKER_01 26:23

Like finally Why are you not surprised by this at all?

SPEAKER_02 26:28

Finally, he told Bill that one of their other neighbors used some of the stone from the barn that was renovated in their house, and they found gravestones among the rubb when it was delivered. He told Bill that it was probably people who used to live in the house since families would have their own private burial plots back in the day. He asked Bill if he knew if any gravestones had been used to renovate his house, and Bill said he didn't know. And the man just smiled and walked away. Was the man real or was he a ghost? Get this man the I literally wrote that. Get this man the fuck out of here. Like he knows more. I know he does. Is he even real? Is this the ghost? That's creepy. Like a serial killer who calls the police to be like, hey, I did it and I want attention, but you can't know who I am. Right. Is that what you're doing? Bill had given Lawrence money to get paint so he could decorate and paint his room any way he wanted. He was trying really hard to make peace with Lawrence because he felt guilty about his relationship with Liz and felt like Lawrence was pulling away from him. He was moody and wouldn't talk to him. He was a teenager, but Bill said he hardly ever went through this long of brooding over anything. When Lawrence came back from the town with paint, Bill asked if he needed help and Lawrence said no. Bill could hear Lawrence painting well after midnight, but he was like, fuck it, let him get after it. Dad told me one time that as a parent of a teenager, sometimes you have to say, What the hell, go for it? I do that as a parent of small children. So it must be a dad thing. Cause I am exactly like that. Yeah. The next day Lawrence refused to let Bill and Liz see his room. So after he went to school, they went upstairs to check it out. Oh yeah. When they opened the door, they saw that Lawrence had painted his room a deep, darkened red, like the color of blood. Ash, you're into the colors of rooms and moods. Tell me what this would do to someone to sleep in a room the color of dark blood.

SPEAKER_01 28:21

I mean, I actually don't know the psychology of red in a room. I know the psychology of purple in a room, but why purple? I used to be really interested in the psychology of colors in a room, and purple is the only one that ever stuck with me. But dark red is gonna have undertones of purple, and I know for sure that's not good for relationships in within a confined space. But any dark color for a teenager who is brooding is not the best choice. I love the word brooding because it's like a chicken ventilating.

SPEAKER_02 29:00

Uh teenagers in haunted houses are always the problem. Always. After this, Bill's business started taking a hit.

SPEAKER_01 29:07

Okay. I'm satisfied with that. You know, actually, I feel bad. I shouldn't be satisfied at someone's downfall. I'm just jealous that he can paint some fucking stupid boxes and make a living.

SPEAKER_02 29:19

He sold little pieces of art like wood boxes that were painted, and he had made them really successful. So much that his income was their only income and they were comfortable. But two orders that were rather big and money that Bill and Liz were counting on canceled their orders for no reason.

SPEAKER_01 29:35

Oh, see, that's why um I have a contract when I do a commission that says you still pay me. That's because I have a quick story to tell you.

SPEAKER_02 29:44

One time I lost, not you, the listeners, one time I lost uh molar. I was like, you know, seven or eight. And Ashley said, I'll help you write a letter to the tooth fairy. I don't know about you guys, but I didn't usually write letters to the tooth fairy. I usually just put the tooth under my pillow. Um and Ashley wrote the tooth fairy and was very cordial and said that um Simone should get more than a dollar because this is a big tooth.

SPEAKER_01 30:13

It was it was definitely worth four dollars.

SPEAKER_02 30:17

Um I would really like to know if mom and dad had like given me more money if you would have taken a commission. Because I want to say she was looking out for me, but in reality she would have been like 50% of that is mine.

SPEAKER_01 30:31

Yeah. I don't know if they gave you more money, but they kept the note.

SPEAKER_02 30:35

Yeah, well, I would have too, because I've been like, this bitch.

SPEAKER_01 30:38

That's been the first time I tried to hustle the speech.

SPEAKER_02 30:40

She also charged a neighbor interest 100% interest every day an ice cream cone.

SPEAKER_01 30:46

Yeah. So you'd think that I would have been the next wolf of Wall Street, but I'm too lazy. It's that damn ADHD.

SPEAKER_02 30:55

They started to feel like this wasn't just bad luck, if not terribly inconvenient stuff to happen, but it felt like something was causing this on purpose. And it just got worse when Bill's company was basically going under due to cancelled orders or lost interest from big buyers in big cities. However, the biggest problem with this is that because this was the family's income, they had no choice but to stay in the house. They had no money to buy a property, and anything they could rent was in such high demand, they would have to be put on a wait list and hope that something opens up. So they were essentially trapped. I think it's important to point out that a lot of people will say, why didn't you just move when when it's wanted?

SPEAKER_01 31:33

A lot of people say that. And I don't understand because it cost thousands of dollars to move.

SPEAKER_02 31:38

It's expensive as fuck to move. Not to mention, I read somewhere that in Wales at this time in the late 80s, early 90s, they were going through a huge political and economic transformation. They had just gone through a massive recession and the coal and steel workers went on strike, so it wasn't like the country itself was equipped with resources to help people. So for all intents and purposes, the riches were stuck and there was no end in sight. One day Bill and Liz were downstairs and they heard someone or something playing the piano in Bill's studio. They said it was not as if a kid was playing on it, like smashing all the keys at the same time, but if someone was intentionally picking out particular keys to push one at a time. They went to the studio and the music stopped, and the only living creature was a cat asleep on the chair. Huh. Like all delusional people in a haunted house, they were like, it's just the cat. I definitely would have said that, but they knew it wasn't the damn cat. Meanwhile, some shit was going down with old Larry. Uh he totally withdrew from the family, spending all of his time in his room, even taking meals in there with the blood walls. He could stay up late watching horror films, and his face began to change from a normal kid's features to someone who never saw the sun and had a mean disposition. Bill was basically too scared to think about it, let alone say it out loud, but the house was starting to fuck Lawrence up, and when Bill's mom came to visit, feigning ignorance was not an option anymore. Lawrence had avoided his grandmother the whole time she was there until finally she said, Fuck this, I'm gonna go approach him. When she went up to him, she said he said, get away from me. But the sound that came out of his scary looking face was not his. Bill said it was guttural and deep like an old angry man. When Bill's mom tried to talk to him again, he told her to fuck off and spit in her face.

SPEAKER_01 33:20

Oh my god, our five foot grandma would have kicked our ass.

SPEAKER_02 33:23

The way grandma would have slapped that demon out of my body, you would not need a priest. No. Thinking about telling grandma to fuck off. I can I feel in the afterlife kicking my ass.

SPEAKER_01 33:35

Yes. She would be like, She's up there listening, and right now she's going damn straight. Yeah. Get your fucking boss up here. I'm gonna talk to him.

SPEAKER_02 33:44

But Lawrence's grandma is not our grandma because she started to cry. Oh god, grandma would not have cried. I don't think I ever saw grandma cry. I don't think so either. Um, so Lawrence started going back upstairs. Bill told him to come down and apologize when Lawrence told Bill to also kindly fuck off. Oh and when Lawrence turned around, Bill didn't see Lawrence's face, but the face of an old evil man with spit foaming at the mouth. I can't deal with spit. I know. That night when they were trying to sleep, they heard howling coming from Lawrence's bedroom. Oh my god, he's turning into a werewolf. I mean, maybe he was watching thriller. Bill tried to go in, but the door was locked and he didn't want to break it down, thinking that it could make it worse. After the howling stopped, it was followed by a sad whimpering. What Bill saw and heard had terrified him, and he knew he finally had to admit that something was deathly wrong with his son. For sure. Liz told Bill that they needed outside help. I agree because howling is not a sign of puberty. No. I d I wasn't a boy, but never saw him do that. No. Liz called a priest from the neighboring town and she was comforted by the fact that the priest took her seriously. He questioned her about the phenomena and told her he would come see the house to see if he could do anything. The activity in the house was rampant before the priest came, as if it knew someone was coming to throw hands. The priest did what priests do and spread some holy water around and said some prayers. At first the energy was darker and more intense, but by the time the priest was done, the house did feel lighter. This lasted a whole four days. Oh wow. Liz had taken Ben on a walk waiting for Bill to get back from town so they could have lunch. When she walked through the gate to go prepare their meals, she looked in the nursery window and saw the face of an old woman with black eyes. Oh my god, not in my nursery. Yeah. She only saw it for a moment, but she knew what she saw, and that they made eye contact. It scared the fuck out of her, but she knew that like whatever the priest did didn't work. Yeah. The real problem though is that before the priest performed his blessing, Bill and Liz agreed that what they felt in the house felt evil and malicious, like it wanted to hurt them. But the old woman Liz saw looked incredibly sad, and when Bil when Liz went into the nursery, she said the room felt overwhelm el overwhelmingly despondent. So now they had to ask themselves, were they dealing with more than one ghost? Yeah, for sure. Bill and Liz started doing research on the house, asking a local historian to see if she could try to find anything, but would that would point them in the right direction to figure out who was in their house and why. Bill did an interview with the local press to try to get somebody to come and say they had experienced the same things there. One day when they found the toilet had started coming loose from the floor as if something was trying to break through the tile. Oh my god. Hell of a way to come through. Yeah. He called the plumber. When the plumber got there, the floor was normal again. So he just put the toilet back in its place and left. As soon as the plumber left, it moved again. When Bill called them to ask him to come back, the plumber said, I'm not gonna come back to that house again and again like last time. Like last time? Yes. Bill said, Explain, please. The plumber went on to say that he had worked in the house in the 60s installing the HVAC system. His assistant hated the house and said it felt creepy and weird. They had finished installing the heating system when the owner had called them back in a fit of anger. When the plumber got there, all the radiators had come off the wall. He knew it wasn't his fault. There was no way he fucked it up so bad that they fell off. Regardless, he put them back up, double checked them, and left. It happened several more times. Every single time he would put them back up, they would come off the wall again. After going back too many times to count, he finally used what is called a cruciform screw to hold them in place. It's like the screw that has a cut in the end that looks like a cross. Okay. After all the screws were replaced, it never happened again. The plumber wasn't the only contractor that had issues. After Bill's interview came out in the paper, a local construction worker who had helped with the renovation called Bill to tell him that he never let felt anything about the house itself, but the barn was a different story. He said it felt odd, but what had really bothered him were the gravestones they found. He told Bill the gravestones would be in what was now the garden out back. Bill suddenly remembered his neighbor who referred to the gravestones in their conversation, and he was suddenly now thinking that these gravestones had something to do with the strange things happening in their house. Yeah, I think I would think that too. Yeah, no shit, Bill. But regardless, the mystery was not even close to being solved, and the haunting continued. One day Liz was downstairs while Ben was sleeping upstairs. They recently moved him to his own room, so Liz wanted to check on him. When she opened the door, she saw the old lady from the window sitting in the chair next to Ben's cribs with her hands in her lap, staring at the baby as if she was guarding him. I know I would not react calmly if that were me, but I mean it sounds like she was benevolent. Or at least just observing and not messing with anything. Right. The woman disappeared as soon as Liz blinked, but she knew she had seen her again. She told Bill that it felt like the lady was sad that they were there. But who would be I who would be sad watching a little sleeping baby? That's my kids are so cute when they sleep. They really are. Sometimes they're cute at other times. I I talk a lot of shit on my kids. They are they're the best human beings on the planet. I just being a mom is hard. After this little visit, they went to the council for housing to try to get to the top of the list to be re-homed, but they couldn't exactly say shit's haunted and be taken seriously, so they were put on a very long list of tenants waiting for housing. They had no money, no friends or family around. Lawrence was getting worse by the day, and now they were terrified in the house that they thought was their dream home. And what happened next didn't do anything to improve Bill's mental state. He woke up the next day and realized his hands hurt. Still dazed from an awful night's sleep, he looked down at his fingers and saw blood. He realized his fingertips were cracked and bleeding. He had no idea what had caused this. He thought maybe he was allergic to the paint he was using, but he had never had a reaction before. So now he couldn't even paint to keep his mind off the situation. You shouldn't be painting, you should be parenting. Especially if your child is like locked in his room. You have one haunted child and a newborn baby. My guy, you are busy.

SPEAKER_01 40:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:05

If you're not doing something, you're doing it wrong. You that Lawrence needs to be tended too. Yes. So that day Liz called a medium she knew who told her a man named Ray Williams, who was the head of the Christian spiritualist church in the area. Ray listened intently and was very worried for Lawrence because the kid was really going through it. So Ray told Liz that he would be there as soon as he could to see what he could do to help, but in the meantime, they needed to get Lawrence out of the house. He was convinced it was a poltergeist and that Lawrence was causing the issues, which is a good theory. Most poltergeist are attracted by like kids going through puberty. Like think horses, not zebras. But Bill was feeling really guilty for thinking about sending Lawrence away, but like he he was at a loss at what to do. He didn't want Lawrence to resent him, but he also knew that him being in the house was not good for him. Right. He knew that whatever was acting this way was not his son, and he felt responsible since the divorce, but he couldn't bear something else terrible happening to him. Before Bill could even answer his own question, Liz told him some news that was no doubt about to make things even more complicated. She was pregnant. Oh God. In this economy?

SPEAKER_01 41:15

Right. How are you guys doing it with the ghost all up in your business? I mean, it I feel like if I'm living in this situation, I'm gonna be like, we are doubling down on condoms and birth control. Yeah. If you're getting any at all.

SPEAKER_02 41:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:29

Because I'm not bringing another baby into this hellhole.

SPEAKER_02 41:32

Yeah. So when Ray Williams came to visit the house, he didn't think there was anything he could do with Lawrence still in the house. He came with two other men who all performed an aura cleanse on Bill and Liz, told them to leave the house for a time, and they would be back um once some time had passed without Lawrence around. The riches went to Bill's mom's house for reprieve where they waited out their time until the two men would return and tell them what the fuck was happening. When the day arrived, Bill said the men seemed nervous. They started walking around the property and one of the priests was struck in the middle of the back outside the bathroom window. They went into the hallway of the house and started to go into a trance. When they came out, they told Bill that there were four spirits in the house. One was an old lady who had been stuck there, and two were the spirits of younger boys. All were gone after the meditation session, but one spirit refused to leave. The men told Bill that the spirit was an alchemist from the 16th century, that Bill had wronged in another life, and this sort of witch, they called it, had been with Bill for 18 to 22 years. Jesus. Bill felt terribly guilty that this could somehow be his fault, and it made sense to him that this was true because he had been feeling guilty for some time and had no explanation for it. But Liz wasn't convinced, and she said there had to be another explanation. There is, we'll get to it. Fucking Bill. One day Bill and Liz were leaving to go into town when a car pulled up to the house. A man and two women got out of the car and asked Bill and Liz were if Bill and Liz were home. Bill told the man that they had just missed them, which is totally what I was like, I don't Simone's not here.

unknown 43:06

Oh, a quick story.

SPEAKER_02 43:08

So Bill told the man, just missed Bill and Liz. And the man told them that they were exorcists. He said he had a dream about the house and that he had to come right away to investigate. Bill let them in and they searched the house and property, said something about a pagan burial ground, pulled out a compass halfway through, uh, and left. Like, that's it. I thought you wanted to help. Right. They were from France, so they were speaking French, like amongst each other. So Bill couldn't gather a lot of information. I wish I could say this is rare, but the house seemed to attract all sorts of people trying to investigate the paranormal. My husband would lose his shit. Oh my god, can you imagine? Not only does he have to deal with a witch who's pissed at him from something a million years ago, but now people are showing up unannounced. Yeah, no, that's not gonna work for me. He would not be pleased. Get this shit. One day, one of the men who came and figured out it was a witch. His name was Mr. Harry. He came again with two mediums. The mediums also said something about a pagan burial ground and also said that it was a witch. They tell Bill that his family is cursed and they ask him if he seems to have bad luck, thinking about his failing business and the fact that he moved into a haunted house, he's like, I'd say so. And they ask if there's something in the past that would be coming back to haunt him. It isn't until after he thinks about it that he says that he had started the initiation to become a witch. When? We'll get there. But how the fuck did this not come up sooner? The first time someone tells you a witch is following you, I think the other connection you should make in your brain is like, oh, that time I was like trying to become a witch. Oh, I have like half-assed it and totally forgot to close any portals and fucking can't. Oh my god. He said one of his landlords some time ago was considering it considered king of the witches, which is not a thing, only women are allowed to be witches, fuck you, and offered to make Bill a witch so he could be a successful painter. After starting the initiation, he changed his mind and stopped it. Also, something interesting to consider when he lived in Borneo with the tribe of headhunters, it can be assumed that he probably took part in some kind of rituals. Yeah, more than likely. Between those two things, it could be surmised, Bill, that you probably have something following you.

SPEAKER_01 45:25

Yeah, and uh you probably owe your success in your box painting business to your first attempt at being a witch. He sold his soul. That's why those stupid fucking boxes sold. Yep. And everybody in Hollywood has also sold their soul. So there we go. I've said it. You're all nobody everybody knows your fucking secret, okay?

SPEAKER_02 45:50

Yeah, Bill. Before leaving, the medium said they needed to cleanse the house by drawing a pentacle on the floor. I am no expert, but I don't think that's how you do it. I don't think so either. They told Bill anytime they felt threatened that they could draw a pentacle on the stone floor and get inside it. I don't feel like you should do that. No. For a few weeks after this, though, the house seemed better, seemed lighter and happier, and no sounds or apparitions were happening. Bill even commissioned a painting of a horse for the neighbor. So things were looking up. Okay. Bill's happiness faded, however, when Lawrence's mother agreed that he needed to be away from the house and sent him to a boarding house. It was only ten minutes away, but Bill felt really guilty. I don't blame him. This would like eat me alive. For sure. Um Liz reminded Bill that this was the best option for Lawrence. The house was not good for him, and if Bill ever wanted his son to live a normal life, he couldn't live at the house.

SPEAKER_01 46:46

I feel like Liz might have some ulterior motives. I feel like she might be like, yeah, get that kid out of here.

SPEAKER_02 46:52

He doesn't like me. Fucking demon kid out of here. To deal with the pain and the heartache, Bill painted the fuck out of that neighbor's horse. The house seemed better, but one odd thing Bill couldn't get over is that one of the legs of the horse would not come out as it should at all. Oh, that always happens. He said it was like his hand just like wouldn't let him paint the leg correctly. He finally said fuck it and got as close as possible. Uh that's why I'm not a good artist because a ghost won't let my hand do what it needs to. The neighbors loved the painting and said they were glad Bill was feeling better because he was looking foul, they said. Oh. That's funny. I love a good backdoor compliment. But not long after this, Bill got a phone call from the neighbor that the horse he had painted for them, their favorite horse, had died. Oh. They said it broke its leg. The same leg that Bill was having issues painting. And not only that, but Bill had used landscape from the area as the background, and the horse died in the exact same spot Bill painted it. Okay, I would never paint another living creature ever again. I know. This isn't even the worst of it. The poor neighbors told Bill that everything he told them about Hale of Vinog had started happening to them. He felt super guilty. He knew he didn't kill their horse, but like he did feel bad that they seemed to drive the spirit out of their house and into the neighbors. It was to him, it was the entity tent entity telling him that it was powerful enough to toy with him, and he wasn't feeling great about it, and he shouldn't have because it it came back home. Oh, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_01 48:33

Said I enjoyed my vacation, but I must be back. I just wanted a sleepover at the neighbor's I'm home now. I just wanted to go kill their horse and torment bed.

SPEAKER_02 48:43

As soon as it became apparent that the thing came back from its little ghost's holiday, Bill and Liz reached out to the local vicar, Reverend Brynn Jones. He came as soon as he could with two men, one being another Reverend named Roy Matthews. Reverend Matthews had barely walked around the house when he ran from the living room to the stairs and yelled at something that it couldn't hide from him and that he could see it. Oh. He ran upstairs and yelled, I can see you, you're hiding behind the easel. He came back downstairs.

SPEAKER_01 49:10

How can he hide behind an easel?

SPEAKER_02 49:11

Unless there's a painting on it. I don't know. Either way. Well, he's a ghost, so he's invisible. He came back downstairs and was all casually like, let's pray. He told the spirits he was going to close the doors that have been opened to this world and told them that they needed to go through before he closed them. He started counting the spirits, he got to three, and then said, What about you? You're not escaping. Later he told Bill that the fourth spirit was a demon, but assured him that he got it to leave. He didn't. Again, all the activity stopped after the priest's visit, but they weren't counting on it lasting, which is good because it didn't.

SPEAKER_01 49:45

Bill called Reverend. At this point I feel like I would have been like, nothing's gonna help, just to let save your energy.

SPEAKER_02 49:51

Fucking burn it to the ground, let him walk the earth. Bill called Reverend Matthews, he came out a second time, banished the demon, and left. Okay. Again. Like it's that easy. Didn't work. Bill called him again, who said there was nothing he could do. Which is unfortunate. Because soon after this, Liz gave birth to their daughter. Dot Daughter Donna. Gave birth to their daughter, Rebecca. One day after Rebecca was born, Bill was rearranging furniture in his studio and found a picture that was stashed in stuff that was the old owner's. He showed it to Liz and she said, That's her. It was the old lady she kept seeing inside the house. Okay. She was the owner's mother, Marion Holborn. Okay. Who is said to have loved the house, so it would make sense that she's still there, and she's sad that someone else is in the house, probably feeling like violated. Right. The riches were seeing more and more apparitions, but besides Marion, they were all outside. Liz frequently saw an apparition outside under the tree watching the house earnestly.

SPEAKER_01 50:55

I feel like it's almost creepier that there that there are so many apparitions like outside of the house just watching that than inside the house. Like I I feel like that is worse.

SPEAKER_02 51:07

Watching the house earnestly? Like excitedly. Yeah. Uh until one day Liz was coming in from outside with Ben and Rebecca and saw a seven-foot shadow figure in the doorway. She only saw it for a moment, but knew exactly what it was. She calmly went into the kitchen, put away whatever she was holding, picked up the kids, and went to the barn until Bill got home. Whatever happened that day changed everything because now the apparitions were appearing inside the house. It was if the spirits saw this shadow figure go inside, and they all were like, Uh oh. Yeah. We can go in there too. Yeah. Liz found another religious man to help them, a minister named David Holmwood. Holmwood said he needed to fast in order to prepare himself for whatever he needed to do with the house, but when he was ready, he would let them know. Bill called Lawrence. They had spoken since he left, but nothing had changed. But this day, Lawrence was his old self. He was laughing and joking, having a normal conversation. He told Bill he couldn't talk about it, but that he did the right thing by getting him out of the house. Bill was really excited that his son was feeling better and some of his guilt eased. Holmwood finally reached out to let them know he was ready to come see them, and him and a woman named Anita Dick met Bill in the ferry in town.

SPEAKER_01 52:25

Her name is not Anita Dick. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 52:28

Anita Dick. That is not her name. So this is from a book that someone wrote, and so maybe he changed the name for a little trickster. They followed Bill to his house and he was intently watching the rear room year to make sure they were still following him at every turn. This this is some shit. When he pulled up to the house, they were nowhere to be found. Bill was like, for fuck's sake. But a few minutes later, they showed up saying that they had a fight with the quote enemy, wherein their car was thwarted off the road. But don't worry, they said, they won, and it won't return. But to be sure, they needed to go inside the house. Bill asked how they knew it wouldn't be back, and they said that they heard God in the car tell them, quote, it is finished.

SPEAKER_01 53:16

Which could mean a lot of things. I don't know. I think that was your enemy tricking you. Maybe do something to the house just to be sure. I don't think I'm gonna let people in the house that just went through a little battle in a car.

SPEAKER_02 53:30

Yeah. You know, I try to remain positive in life, and as someone who tries to see the best in everyone, Holmwood and I need a dick were not great. They basically went through their house and told Bill all the things he needed to get rid of that could be helping the spirit stay there. This included one of Bill's paintings, all of his books, some brass incense holder from Burma, and a few other things. They put all the stuff in a basket and then put the basket in their car and told Bill they were gonna burn them. They just stole from you, Bill. Yeah, they just robbed you.

SPEAKER_01 54:10

You fucking idiot.

SPEAKER_02 54:12

Like all those things have been with them for like a long time before they ever moved in this house, and nothing has ever been called into another house, but suddenly these antiques and books are evil. Like, you're gonna burn them on my property.

SPEAKER_01 54:23

I'm gonna watch you burn them.

SPEAKER_02 54:25

Yeah, and that's all they did. They fucking they fought the devil in the car, won, by the way, um, got, you know, conclusion from God, and then went and robbed Bill and Liz. Yeah. For whatever reason, Bill and Liz were convinced that whatever he did had weakened it and made life bearable. So this Holmwood guy remained in their lives as a constant source of religious comfort, and they were eventually baptized as Baptists because of this guy. So this guy has a stronghold over them. He is he's a snake oil salesman. Of course he is. Before we go on with the story, a little geography and history lesson. According to Google, ley lines are theoretical invisible alignments of historical structures, prehistoric sites, and landmarks. Have you ever heard of ley lines? Yes. Oh, I never before this. They were first proposed in 1921 as practical prehistoric trade routes, but have evolved into a new age esoteric term for a global grid of mysti mystical earth energies. The idea is that if you go out far enough, all the weird shit that happens is connected geographically. Statistically speaking, this is probably true, but not based on paranormal or magic, but just based on the amount of weird shit that happens in a limited space on a map. I bring this up because many of the mediums that visited the cottage said the land was a ley line, and that is what attracted many tribes of people to bury their dead there. Ley lines can become negative when the lines cause the earth to be unbalanced and cause black streams. People who study ley lines who are called dousers say that black streams can cause mental illness and cancer. But honestly, since the same people say that they can cure black streams, it's hard for me to buy into that. But it should be said that black streams occur when radiation from the earth crosses water and hail of a Nog just happens to have a stream running through the property. Of course it does. I know. And right under the riches electricity meter were two black streams crossing each other, apparently. Okay. The reason this is important is because Bill and Liz were trying to gather as much information as possible to push the puzzle pieces together, and this is one theory as to why their house was such a playground for all these ghosts. Also, this could be the reason as to why their electricity bill was as high as I was in 2006. Bill and Liz lived in this house for six years, and between the summer of 1991 and spring of 93, the house was quiet. So they have two years of like reprieve.

SPEAKER_01 57:09

Okay, and by that time I'm thinking we're in the clear, nothing's coming back. Right.

SPEAKER_02 57:14

During this time, Liz became pregnant. Again. Jesus, Liz. Get on birth control, girl. No one, I just I only say that I listen, have as many kids as you want. I don't care. But no one in their right mind is having more than two kids. Not in a haunted house. And that includes people I love. You've lost your damn mind.

SPEAKER_01 57:34

I go to your house and the two kids, I'm like, oh my god, this is so much.

SPEAKER_02 57:38

After two, you are outnumbered if you are married. Yeah, you have a partner. You're outnumbered. That's true. Uh Lawrence was thriving, living his best life during this time. Bill had finished his masterpiece painting. He'd been talking about this goddamn masterpiece painting for fucking years. It was actually really annoying. Do you ever see the painting? Is there I wonder if we can Google that. We should try. The background was splashed with dark browns, purples, greens, and black, as if it were swallowing the canvas. But in the center of this darkness was a huge white cross. Bill said he felt called to it. He painted it as if it wasn't even in the as if he wasn't even in the room, just a man holding a brush being told what to paint by instinct or intuition. Bill stood back and stared at the painting. He instantly knew what to call this painting. Feeling as though everything they had gone through and all the turmoil they were living was expressed in this painting, he named his masterpiece testimony. This is important to remember. That's why I'm being so snooty about that. Okay. As if the house could sense that Bill and Liz were moving on and had let their guards down, the activity started up again after two years of peace. Bill was in the kitchen peeling a carrot for dinner and saw something out of the corner of his eye. His heart sank. He knew this was how it started. Movement out of the corner of his eye, a quick glance at the motion, a terrible, ghostly, shadowy figure that scared the fuck out of him, and then gone. Bill turned his head toward the movement and saw a beautiful woman in his hallway. Quote breathtaking. You gotta see the baby. Bill felt tempted to follow her. He couldn't help but feel like she wanted his D. Oh wow, Bill. Even ghosts aren't safe. Wow. I'm just kidding. She was a siren. So but for real, like she doesn't, Bill. Bill threw off the temptation. Good for you. And told Liz what he saw. Liz called Holmwood, the snake oil salesman. Oh my god. Who told her that she was, quote, a spirit of seduction, and that it was good Bill didn't follow her. But this added to Bill and Liz's list of fears. They always felt the spirit was trying to force them apart, making them easier targets. But Bill and Liz knew the only way they were gonna make this out make it out of this alive and sane was to remain a team. The couple started having recurring and identical nightmares that were getting worse as the spring turned into summer.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:10

Okay, if I started having like identical dreams to someone, that would freak me the fuck out. Like how you're in my head, how?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:18

One nightmare starred an Egyptian half man, half bird that was still like a statue but felt ominous. One morning Bill was taking in the fresh air coming in from the kitchen window and closed his eyes. The picture of Man Bird, a cousin to Manbear Pig, came into his mind and he felt his chest tighten and he felt like he couldn't breathe. When he opened his eyes out of panic, he saw it in his kitchen. Man Bird from his nightmare. Oh, that's creepy. He sprinted upstairs to tell Liz and took her into the other room so the children wouldn't hear them. He told her to start praying, but the instant he started, Birdman was in the room, and Liz could see him too. Liz started crying, and as soon as Bill said, Please go in the name of Jesus, it disappeared. Bill called Homewood later to ask him to pray with him, and when he was describing it on the phone, Man Bird was back. Yeah. When he tried to tell Homewood that he could see it, Holmwood said, Let me stop you right there. Because Man Bird was with Homewood too. Oh my god, no, he wasn't. I know. Bill suddenly saw Man Bird was sweating. But Homewood confirmed he put the blood of Christ on it and it had started to shrink. But when they stopped praying, it came back to life with its arms folded as if to say, I'm here for a good time and a long time. Ooh. And then Holmwood lit Man Bird on fire and it disappeared. And then Holmwood stole Bill's car. No shit.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:54

Holwood would later say that obviously this was no rookie demon. My god, I'm just gonna start setting things on fire when I think it's a ghost.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:03

That it must be pretty old to be this strong and that had caused the death of Jesus. Oh wow. That's a pretty big accusation. Man bird, ask for an attorney. Yeah. Don't talk to the cops without asking for that's just good advice for anybody. Obviously, this is getting pretty serious. When giant half man, half bird goes up and fire in your kitchen, you should probably rethink your life. I'm interested, like what half is which? Like it was the head of a bird. Oh, you said that, didn't you? Uh, I don't know. But it was the head of a bird and the body of a man. Just the head of a bird. Yes, like neck up bird. Oh my god. Okay. I imagine the bald eagle from the front in its feathers, like me too. Yeah. Um Liz called the Christian world revival. Wait, what if it was like a parakeet and it was a tiny head?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:05

It was a tiny head on a real man's body. Little baby bird head.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:09

Um not long after the entity came back in full force, they were put in contact with a man named Robert McDonald. Robert told Bill about a man named Eddie Burks. Eddie had a little claim to fame from a successful exorcism he performed at a haunted bank. And interestingly enough, Eddie wasn't a religious man. Bill and Liz were hesitant about a secular exorcism, but what the fuck else are you gonna do? I mean, yeah. Like, I don't you can't be give it a shot at this point. Beggars can't be choosers. Robert's wife was the owner of a production company, and Robert asked if they could film the occasion for a documentary. Again, they were reluctant, but they finally agreed. I believe this is what people call the fuck it phase of a haunting. Like at this point, just do like who like whoever wants to come and do anything, go ahead. Yeah. They had a little dog named Bo, and he was having panic attacks every day. Oh, poor Bo. Yeah, so they were like, Someone come help my dog. In January 1994, Liz had their third child. Oh, Jesus. And that helped take their mind off the nightmare they were living. They finally agreed that that March they would go forward with the recorded exorcism with Eddie Burks, and as if the house was listening, that activity ramped up to the point that the attacks were sinister. Eddie Burks was an interesting character. He developed medium abilities throughout his life, but he was also a scientist. Being pulled in two different directions, he decided to make it work for him. It turns out what happened at the bank wasn't really an exorcism, but more of a spiritual leading like lead crossing over. Well, he got to the bank, he went into a trance and quickly saw the spirit of a tall man in old-fashioned clothes. The spirit told him his name was Thomas Howard IV, Duke of Nor Norfolk, and he was beheaded by Elizabeth I. Okay. I love this part. Thomas's spirit said he was confined to this earthly plane and needed help moving on. He told Eddie, quote, If you can get me from this place, I shall be much obliged. Thomas just sounds like a doll. Does Thomas have a head? He carries it. He literally carries it. So there were reports of people in the bank seeing a beheaded ghost. And when he saw, when Eddie saw Thomas, uh he was he was carrying his head. Like Billy from Hocus Pocus.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:45

Oh my god, okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:47

Regardless, I'm not sure this really makes Eddie prepared for what's happening at Hill Venog.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:53

No, because Thomas sounded like a nice ghost who was just like, Oh, you're here to help me. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:58

Yeah, just because your friend's disgruntled. Cat likes you doesn't mean you can tame tigers.

unknown 1:06:02

Right.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:04

But do you remember the Society for Cyclical Research from the Enfield story? Of course. Eddie's success stories were known throughout SPR. Oh, okay. And he had the people that didn't want to actually help anybody. Yes. And he had many encounters that would lead to his clients being ghost free. When Eddie was discussing being part of the McDonald's documentary, he was visited by what I would call his spirit guides, who told him that there was a lot of confusion around the property and they would provide him protection while he investigated, but he must save all his judgments until he got there. They told him to start in the garden and they would guide him from there. Eddie then started getting messages from a spirit that said it was from the property, a young man. He explained to Eddie that in the last century he had been murdered for having information he should not have had. When he died, he tried to pass on, but instantly felt trapped to the property as if something or someone was holding him there. He begged Eddie to help him. He went on to tell Eddie that the information he possessed was that of satanic rituals he had watched and he had not kept to himself.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:17

Don't be talking.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:19

No.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:20

To be wrong, rituals are supposed to be secret. Without even being on the property, Eddie helped the spirit move on with the help of the spirit's younger sister. I doubted Daddy Daddy. I doubted Eddie at first, but he sounds like a catch.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:37

Okay. Now was the younger sister dead? Yes. What was keeping her there? She wasn't there.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:44

She like came back and was like, please help my brother. And he did. With the help of a man named Captain Ferguson Cunningham and an indigenous spirit guide, Eddie made his way to the riches to see what he could do. He went to the garden like his guides had told him to, and then went into the kitchen. That's when Eddie said that he kept seeing a giant white cross that was, quote, radiating great power and protection. He was told that whatever this was, it would be the riches' protection. Bill took Eddie into the living room and showed him the painting hanging on the wall. It was testimony. The painting Bill barely remembered creating. Eddie confirmed that was exactly what he saw. Bill always thought the painting represented turmoil and suffering because of all the emotions he was feeling right before he painted it. But he soon realized that this paint on the canvas was something much deeper. Splashed across the cotton and linen was the hope and love that was buried inside of him, rooted so deep that whatever was in the house couldn't corrupt it. They went back into the kitchen and Eddie told Bill and Liz that he went around the property and drew two barriers of light surrounding the house. These perimeters turned into rivers of light. He basically bombarded the entity with light until it was forced to leave. He then said that the cross will be their protection from now on and that they need to put all the evil behind him. Eddie said that he had never worked like this in the past. He never even came into contact with the spirit when he was there, but instead worked in an energy above it. What I got from this is that if he didn't make contact with it beforehand, he had no idea what he was walking into. Yeah. The spirit couldn't anticipate what he was going to do. Yeah. So Eddie would have the advantage. So now the question is, did it work? Did Eddie really get rid of whatever was haunting the riches? And would it last? The variable that the riches used to measure Eddie's success was the electricity bill. Okay. For the first time, yeah. For the first time in six years, the bill was reasonable. It went from seven pounds a day to two, which is still high for a normal house. But any change How the fuck did they afford it all this time? Uh it was hard. They were like really struggling. They had to like sell their car and like they they like went, they like it was rough. Unfortunately, that variable was not as reliable as they thought, because within days they both felt it come back. But it was different this time. There were no apparitions or footsteps, just a looming dark feeling as if it was just watching them from the corner of the room. Bill called Eddie to let him know. Um at first Eddie was like, give it a few days. There was there's some time where like energy needs to settle. But before they got off the phone, Eddie felt it. A leftover presence in the kitchen next to Bill. It was the man who committed the murder of the young man that Eddie helped cross over before his visit. So the the guy who told people about the rituals. Yeah. The guy who murdered him was in the kitchen. The man said that whoever put him up to the murder told him that they would ship him off somewhere after he did it, but instead he was arrested and hanged for his crime. The spirit was now in their kitchen pleading for someone to listen to him. Bill said of the event, Eddie did this his thing to free the spirit, and eventually he said it was gone. The house was clear. But Betty also told Bill that the house would be like a beacon to spirits, especially the garden, where they could go to crossover. So it isn't unreasonable to think that they would see more apparitions. Yeah. He told them not to be scared, just let them pass and don't give them too much attention. Weeks passed and the activity had ceased for the most part, but they could still feel a persistent dark energy. Um, it was like very much in the background. They had always it was the same energy they had been feeling this whole time. Yeah. They were exhausted, they lasted six years, and they were stressed and fearful the whole time. They were looking forward to living a somewhat normal life together, but one day Bill heard Liz scream from the kitchen. When he saw her, she was shaken, and she told him she saw a spirit that looked like it had been in a car accident, like a mangled bloody face. She said it just walked right past her into the garden and disappeared. Okay, but that's like what they expect. So the spirits were coming there to cross over. Yeah. And while they were happy that lost souls were finding their way home, uh, they were like, Can you just not do it here? Like, you don't have to like make your presence. You can just come just go. Yeah. You don't have to, like, there's no attendance. And it's important to note, it wasn't like a ghost here, a spirit there. It was like a long line. Just like a streaming just coming into the house and disappearing into the garden. Okay. Uh that's yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:22

No wonder there's a dark looming feeling in the house.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:24

Like they never felt menacing or evil. Uh, I just think it was probably a lot to cope with. Yeah. It also, like, my home is my sanctuary, so if I had like dead strangers tromping through my living room every day, I'd probably be like, I don't know. Can you use the back gate? Yeah. The electricity bill started going up again. Bill is Bill's business started to fail again, and the air in the house started to emit that familiar thickness. Bill immediately called Eddie and was like, You best come out here and get rid of this goddamn thing for good. And Eddie said, like Michael Jackson said, I'll be there.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:03

Oh god. Don't you know, baby? Yeah, yeah. I'll be there.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:10

Three members of the SPR came out with Eddie this time because they are OGs. And who else would you bring? But apparently this was a good enough reason. A member of the SPR pulled out a recording device and started it up. Eddie started to walk around the room, periodically sitting down and then getting back up. Uh eventually he felt what Liz had been talking about, a shadowy figure that he said he had that had no personality. Eddie sat for a while trying to get an idea about who or what this was. After some time, Bill felt the air in the room shift, feeling heavy and making it difficult to breathe. He knew that whatever it was had finally joined them in the room. They impatiently waited for Eddie to say something. Finally, he said that the figure was, quote, very primitive and sacrificial. He said it predated anything they knew about the property and even predated Christianity. Oh my god. Which would make sense why it wasn't responding to anything that they had tried like religiously. He went on to say that it was an animalistic and Celtic and was called on to cause mischief against against someone's enemies. Eddie needed something that the creature would relate to so he could dispel it. He chose the only weapon that has ever worked in any movie. What was it?

SPEAKER_01 1:14:30

The only weapon that uh the annoying the ultimate weapon is love. Oh, for fuck's sake.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:40

Didn't she ever watch Harry Potter? Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:42

Oh, like I fucking remember those movies are so long. That's why you read the book.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:47

As Eddie went on to try to get rid of it, the tape recorder suddenly gave off a sound as if lightning had hit it. Eddie went on and said, The Christ that was invoked on an earlier occasion last year, as well as here on an earlier occasion, is still here and was responding to a request for help in the cleansing of this area. And the Christ presence is making itself felt. Uh I thought you weren't gonna use Jesus, but whatever. Uh Eddie came out of his trance and explained that because the entity was b before Christianity, it didn't understand that it was supposed to leave. Eddie had to use something that was in accordance to its origin. He told Bill that the black shadow figure had finally went back to where it came from. After the most exorcisms ever performed in one place in Britain, countless mediums, a shit ton of priests, and two burglars. Bill was very hopeful that this time was finally it. And guess what? It was it worked. It worked. The electricity bill was actually less than the normal household. They never experienced anything in the house again. Eddie, I'm sorry, I doubted you. Wow. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:55

So Eddie knows what he's doing.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:56

Yeah, but the riches also were like, yeah, we're moving out. I feel like I would stay at that point.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:02

No, you were not about to jeopardize that shit. I mean, you went through all that shit just to stay there for the bad shit and not stay for now that it's good. I mean, I don't know. I would that fucking thing's poly coming back.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:15

Bill and Liz contend today that the only reason they made it out of there intact was because of their support of one another, and it always felt that they couldn't beat whatever was torturing them if they were apart. Okay. So next time that you're tormented by a creature from the Celtic era, call your significant other and tell them to bring you home a little treat to keep the ghosts away.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:38

So what do you think about this?

SPEAKER_01 1:16:41

Well, I feel like that was definitely a a turn for me. Like I didn't anticipate a spirit from before religion, even I've never even heard of that, I guess. I mean, I obviously they're out there.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:56

Well, and this is Europe, right? So it's fucking really old. Yeah. Um, so that like I think it's practical where they are that something would predate religion and wreak havoc.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:07

Yeah. Like why? Why was it called there? And by who?

SPEAKER_02 1:17:10

Whom? Whom um so the book did talk about how there were like different tribes that lived on the land.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:17

Um okay, so it's like it could have been anything and anyone.

unknown 1:17:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:22

Okay. So that's hail of an og I'm I've never heard of this haunting before. So um thank you for informing me of everything that happened there. Sure. I am honestly kind of shocked that I've never heard of it before, but I don't know. Maybe I maybe I just don't normally look at hauntings from like outside of the US. I I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:45

Yeah, I found this the same way I find all stories, which is on Reddit. Oh, and uh I don't know. You gotta be careful of Reddit. There's some like there's some weird people on there.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:59

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:00

So I have a really good one for the first thing I do when I die.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:04

Okay, can I just point out that um two of yours have been about ice cream?

SPEAKER_02 1:18:10

Yeah. Um I this one's not about ice cream. But now that you mention it, I'm just kidding. So where we grew up, like three blocks from where we grew up, was this house. It was really, really big. We called it a mansion. Um, it's not a mansion, but it's just like it's like I mean, it's not even actually really big.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:35

But it was quite a bit bigger than all of the houses on the block. All of the houses in this subdivision were like a hundred years old, they were fairly small, and this one was enormous in comparison.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:45

It was like three times the size. Since I can remember seeing that house for the first time, I have wanted to go into it so badly. Like I just I want to go in so bad. So when I die, I'm gonna be like, let me in your house. Uh, because I need to see what it looks like. I need to feel what it feels like. I need to also I have a really have you ever had a um lucid dream?

SPEAKER_01 1:19:12

Um, I think I have once. I'm not positive it was a lucid dream, but that's like when I woke up, that's what it felt like.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:19

So I had a lucid dream for the first time ever, like a couple weeks ago. Um, I had never had a lucid dream before. It was the weirdest shit I've ever experienced in my life. It felt like it lasted hours. But in my dream, I realized I was like, oh, I'm dreaming right now. Like I can do anything. And I was like, I'm going to the Sixth Street mansion. And I went in and I was like, you gotta show me everything. I don't think that's what what was in my dream is like in real life because it was kind of like run down and shitty, and I don't that house like looks pretty nice. So um, but I was even in my lucid dream, I was like, take me there.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:54

That's so funny that you're still like obsessed about that house.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:58

I am. There's something about that house that has always like drawn me to it.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:02

So the first thing that I will do when I die, since we're on the subject of houses, I think I would just go hang out in a in our childhood home and see like what that family's doing and what they've done that makes it look different.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:16

You spent 40 fucking years there. 40 years, my ass.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:19

40 years, my ass.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:20

I did not spend that long in the I don't I didn't mean to be like you'll you left home at 40.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:24

I just mean like it was in your life for 40 years, like you would It was 30 years. You were not 30 when dad sold that house. But I was also not born in that house. Oh, okay. It's good, dummy. Um, so yeah, I think I would probably do that. I know that that's not like your like you want to go to another house, I want to go to this house.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:49

Well, I mean, before that, I'm gonna eat a bunch of ice cream, so I guess I can.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:54

Yeah, so we're not very creative with these. I also never remember to think of one until I'm on the spot to think of one, and then I almost just like play off of yours. Copycat. Actually, I think I might go to the haunted mansion at Disneyland and like be a real ghost in there and like You've already said that. Oh.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:14

So the world is at your fingertips, at your ghost fingertips, and you're like, I'm going to the haunted mansion. There's no other option.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:26

I think I would go to I just forgot the name of it, where the queen lived.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:32

Buckingham palace.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:32

Buckingham Palace. I think that's a good one. Go there and like actually I would go like back in time. Oh. To like a medieval castle.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:43

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:44

Uh, it's gonna stink. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:46

But you can't smell you're a ghost. And it's cold. But I hear I'm already cold. Yeah. You know what my five-year-old told me? What? That so he said, um, this is his segment of what he'll do w when he dies. Okay. Uh he has become obsessed with Michael Jackson. Um, he watches thriller over and over again. He was singing Billy Jean yesterday. He didn't know any of the fucking words. It was so cute. It was annoying. I was like, in the round. He's saying in the round. Um so uh he said, Where is Michael Jackson now? And I said, Michael Jackson died. And he said, After you die, do you stay in heaven? And I said, Oh no, like you can come down and like visit your loved ones and whatever, you know, be like be around people. And he said, like a ghost. And I said, Yeah. And he said, When I die, I want to come back as Michael Jackson. And I said, That's not how that works. Um, but you don't get to pick another ghost to be, right? You can pick us yourself, right? And if you were to come back as like a re a reincarnated Michael Jackson, right? Like it, but that time has passed, you're five, and I don't you cannot dance like you're not a good dancer. Oh, he's trying so hard though. He is trying, um, bless his heart. He's so cute. I love him so much. He's very artistic, he's super smart, he's so sweet, he's so empathetic. Not he gets his dance moves from me. Um, so I wouldn't I don't think he's reincarnated Michael Jackson. Uh he also doesn't know any of the words, so yeah. But he's still cute when he does it though. Yeah, that's his segment. When he dies, he's gonna come back as Michael Jackson's ghost.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:30

So that wraps up this week's episode. Thanks for hanging out with us, and we hope you were just as stressed out as we were. If you survived tonight's episode, make sure to follow, rate, and share the podcast with your haunted BFFs.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:41

If you have a paranormal story that you think others need to hear, let us know at terrible toosome tuesday at gmail.com. Make sure to title that subject line as my terrible Tuesday story, and please don't leave out any terrible details. Also check out our Instagram at TerribleTosome Tuesday and give that page a follow if you want to be terrible too. That's all for this Tuesday. Don't miss out next week where we tell you the true haunted story of the Lizzie Borden House. Have a good week and see you next Tuesday.