We found that certain personality traits
play an important role
in heightened extrasensory perception,
This list of characteristics
seems to increase the success rate
in an experiment of this nature,
And what are the characteristics?
Positive believe in ESP,
practicing a mental discipline
such as meditation and artistic ability,
And what's the average success rate
for Ganzfeld experiments?
We have a hit rate of just over 32%,
The participants have always been varied in ability,
As Annie said, "Those who have the compatible
"characteristics always perform better
"than those who don't,"
Dean Michaels, an unexpected pleasure,
Geez, it's like some kind
of surrealist nightmare in there,
Poor saps,
They're being paid for the study,
Oh well, that means you can torture them
as much as you like,
I'd like to see you and Dr, Barron
in my office when you're done,
Fine,
What's that?
That has teeth,
The kind of bite I need to bring more funding in,
Are we struggling?
Let's cut to the chase,
your department budget is going to be slashed
unless we have more exciting research
to present to investors,
Is that really true, Dean?
I mean what kind of scientific research
is exciting to a layman?
The kind that brings publicity and glamor,
Most of your findings are derivative research
done in the 70s and 80s,
and that's not in enticing to people with deep pockets,
This is the sort of thing
your department should be focused on,
Margam Castle?
Yeah, it's a place in Wales,
You ever heard of Wales before?
Yeah,
Good, because I want you both to go there,
conduct some experiments, collect data,
all the stuff you guys live for,
And then what?
We're going to present your findings to the media,
generate a bit of publicity for this institution,
It'll be a lot easier to attract funding
when we have a cause celebre
with the university's name attached to it,
Are you serious?
Would you rather have your budget slashed?
Are those the only options?
Look, federal and state funding is pitiful
for a university of our size, you know that,
We rely on those extra dollars from wealthy donors,
Media coverage for something we're involved in
will pique their interest,
So,,,
what are we supposed to say
to the media when we get back?
Oh, talk about the ghosts you've seen,
Of course, it'd be even better
if you captured one on camera,
What if we don't see anything,
are we supposed to lie?
Lying is such a strong word,
Let's call it embellishment,
So even if we don't encounter
anything of a supernatural nature
you still want us to come back here
and tell the press we did?
Do you like your job, Holzer?
Yes,
This is a good way to make sure
you still have one next semester,
Do we understand each other?
I guess,
You know all that stuff
that Michaels fed us back there is bull, right?
You think?
Yeah, there's always some ulterior motive
with that guy,
He's probably the one who wants the publicity,
he loves the limelight,
You've never seen eye to eye,
I bet he's getting a kick out of
giving me such a shitty assignment,
It may not be so bad,
Staying in some dank old castle
in the middle of nowhere? Please,
I'm all for it,
I got thermal imaging cameras
and electronic voice recorders
I'd love to use in a place with that much history,
Probably a lot of residual energy in there,
I think we could get some interesting readings,
If nothing else it'll be fun to take the team overseas,
You guys ever been to the UK?
- No, - Nope,
Do you want to?
- Yeah, - Why not?
See Annie,
Look if you're not gonna do it for me
at least do it for the kids,
Michaels didn't give me much of a choice, did he?
Do they have Wi-Fi in Wales?
You know, Brent, I think you should be focused
on more important things,
Like what?
You need to look the part of parapsychologist
when we go over there,
Maybe, get a haircut,
Actually what you need is a big coat,
Castles are freezing,
Yeah, that's for sure,
Holy crap, this place is a shit hole,
It's no worse than some places back home,
Well, I've been to the UK a few times
and there's one thing you guys gotta know
about the Brits it's,,,
They have fucked up teeth?
Nice,
Well, some do but no,
It's that they are absolutely obsessed with the weather,
Anytime you talk with a Brit they'll bring it up,
The sky could be a light gray or a dark gray
or any sort of gray in between
and they will speculate about when it's gonna change
like, well like they're meteorologists,
And then, when the sun does come out,
it's like it's the second coming,
We should grab a bite to eat
before we go to the castle,
Yeah, good idea, I'm starving,
Let's order,
All right love, what you after?
Some menus would be great,
There you go,
What's Welsh Rarebit?
Oh well, that's a classic dish around these parts,
It dates back to the late 18th century,
And it was originally called Welsh Rabbit,
So it's rabbit then?
No, no there's no rabbit in it,
No,
So why was it called Welsh Rabbit?
Oh, I don't know,
You know what these chefs are like,
they give all sorts of fancy names and stuff, don't they?
What's in it then?
Well, so you got lump of cheese,
You got eggs, milk, pinch of salt, pinch of pepper,
you blend it all together, chuck it on some bread,
stick it in the oven, bake it, cheese is melted
and you can do a variety of things with it too,
Put a fried egg on it
and then it becomes a buck rabbit,
Or, better still, you can stick a tomato with it
and it becomes a Blushing Bunny,
It's funny name, isn't it,
But I'll level with you here love,
it's really posh cheese on toast, all right?
I'm sold, I'll have one of those,
That is the only thing I understand on the menu,
so me too,
Why not, I'll have one of those too,
Another one here,
Well, looks like Welsh Rarebit for all of us,
Good choice, Hey!
Idris, make that five Welsh Rarebits!
No need to shout,
I'll do it now in a minute,
So where you lot from then?
New York,
America, eh?
I never been there myself
but I've heard it's all right,
Yeah, we like it,
So what do you do?
What are you doing here?
We're parapsychologists,
Headshrinkers, is it?
No, we study paranormal phenomenon,
We're spending the night at Margam Castle,
Oh no,
No, you don't wanna go up there,
Really, why?
Many say it's cursed,
Well, a lot of places have a legend,
Oh no,
No,
This is more than a legend,
If you had any sense you'd turn back,
Stay away from the castle,
Oh Jesus, you too,
They've laid dormant for many years
but now they are awakening,
Yeah, okay, thanks a lot,
Who are "they"?
They're waiting for you,
They've always been waiting,
Which one of you is in charge?
I am,
Right,
My name is Enos, I'm the caretaker,
I'm Annie Holzer,
Good to meet you,
Hi, Dr, Daniel Barron,
Doctor?
What's a doctor want to spend the night here for?
Oh no, I'm not a medical doctor,
I got a minor in parapsychology
while earning a bachelor's degree
in psychology at Franklin Pierce,
We're just here to do some research,
What are you researching?
We're investigating claims
of paranormal sightings in the building,
There's been plenty of those down the years,
Hey, do you get any phone signal around here?
No,
No Wi-Fi either, I guess,
Nothing like that,
How come?
Well, there are no phone masts for miles,
Locals don't like to get too close,
Yeah, we met a few of them earlier,
They were bit twitchy about this place,
With good reason,
I'll be back in the morning,
All the best to you,
You're not gonna give us the tour?
Oh, I'm sure you can find your own way around,
He didn't wanna stay too long,
Yeah, this place sure does spook everyone,
Holy shit,
It's like something out of Dracula movie,
Pretty creepy, right?
Speaking of which what's with the new fatigues?
Oh, Annie said, "I should look the part,"
Yeah, but the waistcoat?
Dude, she wanted you to look like a parapsychologist
not fuckin' Aladdin,
Too much?
Just a little,
But the haircut's good though, right?
Sure, if you came here to sell insurance,
You know, you're mean when you're sober,
Well, speaking of which,
Is that weed?
Keep your voice down,
Where'd you get it?
I have my sources,
How the hell did you get it on the plane?
You really don't wanna know that,
- Oh, sorry, - Kirk, yeah,
Yeah,
Kirk, sorry forgot about you dude,
Hello,
Mr, Morgan?
Yes, no please, come on, call me Hugh, please,
Yeah, we spoke on the phone,
Dr, Daniel Barron,
It's great to put a face to the name,
This is my colleague
and leader of our research team, Annie Holzer,
- Annie, how nice to see, - Good to meet you,
As you can see I brought somebody with me
I'd like to introduce you to, Edith Withers,
She's a very well-know psychic medium,
Fabulous to meet you,
Likewise,
Hi,
So, what do you feel you can contribute to our research?
Well, I understand your studies
are of the paranormal variety,
That's right,
Perhaps someone who communicates
with the world of the spirit
could be a worthwhile resource,
That's not usually how we collect our data,
I understand that,
But a different perspective could be useful,
Okay, let's give it a try,
Oh, thank you,
I've always been fascinated by this castle,
I hear it has remarkable residual energy,
What is your objective here,
I mean if you don't mind me asking you?
Well, like I said on the phone
we're a parapsychology team
just looking to study and collect data,
I was sort of wondering whether or not
you had some kind of specific hypothesis
that you were going to prove?
Nothing specific,
We're open-minded about the conclusion,
Oh good, I'm so pleased to hear
because you know a lot of people sort of over-sensationalize
about it, all right?
Shall we took a look around?
Yeah, that'd be great,
Camera on the north side corridor is down,
Who hooked that one up?
Aw, shit,
Nice job,
Do you want me to go check it out?
Don't bother, I'll do it,
Just stay here and watch the monitors,
Apple polisher,
What?
Well, you jumped right in there
offering to fix my mistake,
What a kiss ass,
Oh bite me,
Forgive my ignorance, Edith
but what is it exactly you do?
I mean I've seen mediums in movies and things
but I'm guessing there's more to it,
I act as intermediary between the world of the living
and the world of spirit,
Right, but are there different categories of mediumship?
There are usually two types of mediumship,
mental and physical,
So what kind of medium are you?
I specialize in the mental side of mediumship,
I walk through a house
and I tune into the residual energy that's there,
So have you ever been involved
in a investigation like this before?
10 years ago I was invited
to join a team of ghost hunters
who were investigating Pendle Hill,
That's where the famous trials
of the Pendle witches were held in 1612,
Have you ever heard of them?
- No, - No,
They were the most famous witch trials in British history,
10 women were accused and executed
by Matthew Hopkins, the Witchfinder General,
I found being in Pendle Hill a most disturbing experience,
Why's that?
When I connected I realized that the women
weren't practicing dark witchcraft at all,
They were simply women like me
who were practicing their skills,
That's what I found so disturbing,
Had I'd lived in the 1600s,
perhaps I'd have been burned at the stake,
Have you had any prior experience in this castle?
I've never been invited to any events or studies here,
I think the locals would rather leave this place well alone,
When was the castle first built, Hugh?
The Talbot family constructed it
over a 10-year period from 1830 to 1840,
A young man, the Talbot patriarch, Christopher,
he traveled across Europe for years
and he returned to South Wales in 1830,
And he was the one who
redeveloped the whole family estate,
When was the first report of supernatural activity here?
Well the whole Talbot family
they lived here until 1941
and then they sold it to David Evans-Bevan,
good Welsh name,
Anyway he sold it soon afterwards,
He said, that it was, you know, too big for what he wanted,
But his relatives said, that the real reason he sold it
was because he was you know, very, very disturbed
by all the noises he heard every evening,
Like children running up and down the corridors,
And David's son said, he saw a little girl
darting in and out of rooms
and she was always wearing Victorian dress,
So are we to assume
that children died here during that era?
Yes, I think that's safe to assume,
Hey, do you want me to get you an aspirin or something?
Why?
I'm fine,
I can't believe we didn't put a camera in that room,
We have one in there now,
I sense a lot of consternation from a child
who lived in this castle, a little girl,
She lived mainly in one room,
It was a room filled with toys,
But, for her, it was a room filled with loneliness,
What era are we talking about?
18, 1871,
What was her name?
Abigail,
Did she, did she die there?
Yes, in that room,
What?
What happened?
It's over Catherine!
I want you out of here!
Don't say that please!
I mean it I have had enough!
Just get out!
I'm taking Abigail with me,
No you're not,
She's staying here with me,
No!
She's not!
This is your final warning,
If you're still here when I get back
there'll be hell to pay!
Just get out!
The members of the family covered up their deaths,
A murder-suicide would have brought public shame,
The bride and the child are buried on the property,
Their tormented souls trapped within the walls,
I'm going to the bathroom,
Have fun,
- You sure your okay? - I said I'm fine!
All right, just asking,
I'm sorry,
It was just creepy,
That's the first time I've seen an apparition in person,
Really?
We don't do much fieldwork like this,
I mean I've been to haunted sites before but,,,
never one with such tangible supernatural energy,
Well yeah, it's always scary seeing something that's,,,
- Well, it's not just that,,, - ,,,not supposed to be there,
It's said that when the ghost of a deceased person
appears to someone the ghost retains the personality
from when the person was living,
And it's said most of the time that communication
is of a peaceful nature but I didn't feel that,
All I felt was anger,
bitterness,
injustice,
And that's what scared me,
I thought that when we died we'd be at peace
and now I know that if we don't die happy
we're stuck with that anger for eternity,
And that's hell,
Kirk?
Lydia,
Brent, is that you?
Hey, were you guys watching the corridor on the south side?
No,
Okay, but you're recording though, right?
Yeah,
Good, I need you to wind it back and check something for me,
What happened?
Writing appeared in the bathroom,
Was it your mom's phone number?
- I'm not kidding around, Brent, - Ow!
A message appeared in the mirror,
What did it say?
It said to get out,
We don't have a camera in the bathroom,
I know that but when I came out
into the hallway I saw a figure,
All right, I'll check it out,
Okay, thanks,
It's freaky isn't it?
Seeing something like that,
Yeah,
It makes you think you're going crazy,
Yeah, I guess,
That's strange,
What?
Look at the monitor,
That's playback,
What?
I don't doubt you both saw apparitions,
It's just frustrating
our cameras haven't captured anything,
I checked the heat sensors,
they detected a sudden drop
in temperature during both sightings,
That's something at least,
I get the impression
that won't be our last encounter tonight anyway,
Of course, you know you haven't come across
the most famous ghost in the castle
a man called Robert Scott,
He was a gamekeeper way back in 1898,
Why is he the most famous?
You!
You are not allowed on this land!
Robert Scott was not a forgiving man in life
and nothing has changed in his death,
He's a bitter and vengeful entity
who will punish anyone who invades his territory,
You know the big staircase by the entrance hall?
That's where he's seen,
He's, you know he's carrying the axe
and his face is blah,
Some spirits choose to reveal themselves to the living
in the way they died,
That's why Scott still bears the scars
of that fateful battle,
I'm going for a walk,
I need some fresh air,
I'll go with you,
Edith, there's something I wanted to ask you,
Yes?
I'd always believed that when we passed over
that the pain of life would be washed away,
That we would genuinely rest in peace,
Sounds like that's not the case,
No, not for everyone,
But that's a scary idea isn't it?
That even in death the anger of life may stay with us,
There are many different beliefs out there
but most cultures agree
that the reason that ghosts remain behind
is unfinished business,
Whether it's avenging a murder or some other desire,
You seemed a little agitated back there,
Running around a castle with some psychic chasing ghosts?
Seems like something a reality TV crew would do
more than a team of educated parapsychologists,
You know, I can't help but feeling
that a lot of what we're experiencing
could be power of suggestion,
What about all the monitors cutting out?
That was probably just Brent and Kirk screwing up,
Hey,
What inspired you to become a parapsychologist?
Why are you asking me that now?
I'm nosy,
It was so long ago, I don't remember,
Really?
Well, maybe I don't feel comfortable sharing,
In all our years working together
have I ever given you any reason
to believe that I'm not a good guy?
I guess not but,,,
this is not the happiest story,
I can take it,
I never had a very good relationship with my parents,
It was my brother Kenny who was always there for me,
giving me advice, protecting me,
showing me the love that our parents never did,
One day, when we were teenagers, he was getting ready
to go on road trip to Mexico with his friends,
I had this terrible feeling,
Before he left,,,
,,,he told me, he'd always be there for me,
The next day we got the call,
There had been a car crash,
Kenny and his friends were killed,
I had to go to the coroner's and identify the body,
My parents wouldn't go,
I wish the last memory I had of him
was while he was still alive, but,,,
seeing him at the mortuary,,,
it often, it flashes through my mind a lot,
Cold and lifeless, he looked,
Haunts me,
Jesus,
That's terrible,
I still miss him so much,
He was everything to me,
That's why I took an interest in parapsychology,
I thought that it would make me less scared of dying,
Sounds silly, I know,
No, not at all,
It's hard for me to get close to someone,
Well,,,
if you're meant to get close to someone
the link just kinda happens, organically,
You know the, universe,
has a funny way
of working these things out,
We should get back,
Yeah,
Jesus!
We need to call someone!
There's no signal here,
Someone has to drive into town and get help!
What the fuck?
They won't let us leave,
Where's Lydia?
I haven't seen her,
Is she still outside?
Maybe she'll go back to town
when she realizes we're locked in,
These big places always
have hidden compartments and passages,
Maybe they'll lead us to a secret exit,
Have you ever heard of anything
like that in this place, Hugh?
Yeah, well actually there was an employee
who worked here for many, many years,
now he claimed that there was a secret vault
down in the grounds there
and it contains some of the castles historic artifacts,
And he also said, that from the vault
there was another tunnel leading to the outside,
It was constructed in case the Talbot's
ever had to you know get out of the castle undetected,
I don't see anything like that on the blueprints,
Yeah, I know it was supposed to be secret, wasn't it?
Well, if it's such a secret
how come that employee knew about it?
Sound very logical to me when he told me any way,
All right, our only option is search this castle,
Find out if there really is a secret door
that leads to a vault,
We have no proof there's even a vault
let alone an escape route inside it,
It's not in the blueprints it's just hearsay,
What other choice do we have?
All we've got up here
are bars on the windows and locked doors,
We tried to break them down they won't budge,
I believe there is a vault,
But I must warn you that the spirits
will do everything they can to stop us finding it,
Shit!
Is it just this room or the whole building?
All the lights are off out here too,
I think the whole building's down,
Did you pack the flashlights?
Yeah, they're in a bag over there,
- Hugh, - Thank you,
We'll search the rooms,
find this secret passage if we can,
You stay here, keep an eye on the equipment,
I haven't heard Lydia knocking,
Do you think she still outside?
I don't know,
Maybe she went back to town to get help,
That's what we're hoping for,
Okay, let's search,
Daniel and I will take that room,
Hugh and Edith, you take the one opposite,
Anyone finds anything,
come back to the corridor and call out,
- All right, fine, - And leave the doors open
so we can hear each other, okay,
- Yeah, okay fine, - Yes, yes, yes,
I didn't see this room earlier,
Yeah, me neither,
There's something really familiar about this place,
I feel like I've been here before,
Wait,
Where on earth are we?
Pendle Hill,
It's the castle toying with us,
Playing on our fears,
Bringing the past into the present,
Edith Withers,
Yes,
The mark of Satan is upon you,
You
must
burn,
Who is that?
It's my brother,
Your Satanic ways are an affront to common decency
and it is just that you suffer for them,
Stern,
Do your duty,
What the hell happened?
Psychological warfare,
The castle using our fears against us,
Was that Kirk?
Shh,
No!
She's gone, Hugh!
Come on, come on!
Look!
Help me!
Come on!
Annie,
- Okay, - Go,
Okay,
This could be it,
Do you know how to pick a lock?
No, do you?
No,
But I don't see any keys around here so we have to try,
Look at this place, this most be worth a fortune,
Hugh, this isn't the fucking "Antiques Roadshow"!
What are you doing?
It's got a key,
If it's got a key there's something valuable inside,
We're not here to loot the fucking place, Hugh!
We need to get the hell out of here!
Help us get this door open!
Oh my God,
What!
Necronomicon,
Is that supposed to mean something to us?
This is one of the most famous occult books
in the whole world,
It's got enormous powers,
Earlier Edith said, she sensed something
of significance was in the vault,
Something the spirits didn't want us to find,
Could this be it?
Yeah, it could be,
I mean I heard that they collected historical artifacts,
I never thought they had this,
Could we potentially use it to ward of the spirits?
I think we could,
Maybe we shouldn't be messing around
with something like that,
But we gotta try something, haven't we?
Maybe we can use this book to lift the spirits
and make our escape,
If spirits threaten us in this place,
fight water by water and fire by fire,
Banish those souls into nothingness
and remove their powers until the last trace,
Let these evil beings flee through time and space,
By earth, by wind, by water and by fire
banish the darkness and bring forth the light,
Oh evil spirit in the name of the Holy One
I cast thee to hell!
Come on, Hugh!
What, what the hell happened?
I thought the secret exit led into the grounds?
That's what they told me,
Oh Enos, thank God you're here,
Listen, it's been a total disaster
we need to get the police out here right now!
Why is he ignoring us?
I don't know,
Enos, are you listening?
We had no phone reception,
We couldn't call anyone,
We've been stuck in here all night,
Enos, this isn't funny!
Answer us for Christ's sake!
We encountered a lot of poltergeist phenomenon,
Enos, this is getting ridiculous!
Speak to us!
Oh my god!