Morbid - Episode 504: The Sauchie Poltergeist aka Wee Hughie

Episode Date: October 19, 2023

When Annie Campbell uprooted her daughter from their home in Donegal, Ireland and relocated to Sauchie, Scotland in 1960, the move resulted in consequences far beyond what anyone could have expected. Removed from the only home she’d ever known, eleven-year-old Virginia Campbell did her best to acclimate to the foreign environment as she and her mother settled into the home of Virginia’s aunt, but within just a few weeks of their arrival the family was under siege from an invisible entity Virginia would later name “Wee Hughie.”One of the most notorious cases of poltergeist activity in Scottish history, the case of the Sauchie poltergeist involved the usual trappings of poltergeist phenomenon—slamming doors, moving objects, and disruptive noises. Yet what set the phenomenon apart from myriad other cases of poltergeist phenomenon was that the supposedly supernatural phenomenon was witnessed by many bystanders, including Virginia’s teachers and classmates.Was the Sauchie poltergeist a genuine example of paranormal activity, or was “Wee Hughie” nothing more than an elaborate hoax perpetrated by a creative girl seeking attention in the wake of major disruption in her life and environment?Thank you to the lovely David White, of Bring Me the Axe podcast, for research assistance :)ReferencesAssociated Press. 1960. "Haunted Irish girl gtets aid." Windsor Star, December 3: C-8.Owen, A.R.G. 1964. Can We Explain the Poltergeist? New York, NY: Garrett Publications.Robinson, Malcom. 2020. The Sauchie Poltergeist. Scotland: Independent.Sims, Victor. 1965. "Poltergeist Terror." Sunday Mirror, June 13: 8.—. 1965. "Virginia was possessed by a wild and unknown force." Sunday Mirror, June 27: 13.United Press International. 1960. "Girl's ghost upsets school." Pittsburgh Press, December 2: 17.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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where you can listen to even the royals exclusively and add free right now. Hey, weirdos! I'm Elena. I'm Ash. And what a dream out, and this is morbid. I just felt singing. I just felt singing. I just felt sing saw me have a bunch of money. When for a run at the end there is an Ina.

She's a runner. She's not runna, she's a trackstall. Even though your children quite literally go whenever they want me to play tag or something I'm like, remember, and they say say it together. TT doesn't run. Running is bad. Running is great. If you're running away from something, you should be running from.

Yeah, that's always good. But it makes my mouth taste like blood when I do. So I've talked about it. It's a thing I've found it on TikTok. Yeah. I think it's like, they don't really know why it happens, but many theories are that there's like little vessels in your lungs are bursting.

So that's like, I don't think I meant to run. I don't think so. I'm just meant to be thickens my knee, baby. Should be a whole-hate honest. That sounds terrifying. I walk, so let's talk. Walked over. It's so good to walk.

Yeah, don't be stagnant. Move it, groove it, baby. I have a Poltergeist story today. Yeah, getting creepy with it. Getting creepy up in here. It's almost Halloween. Spooky season. Remember, we're doing all kinds of, you know, spooky stuff.

Yeah, also, we haven't even talked about like what we're gonna be for Halloween. Like what are you doing? Because we're doing the kinds of spooky stuff. Yeah, also, we haven't even talked about what we're gonna be for Halloween. Like what are you doing? Because we're doing the thing, right? Yeah. This is just like a family party. Yeah. We're doing plans on the side.

We're doing a good thing, right? So, are we doing a ritual? Are we doing that thing? We're doing that thing. I was trying to distract them. We're doing that black mass in the woods, correct? Yeah, I know, sorry, I'm letting it all out. Caution.

I had an idea. Can you tell me for us, and for me and you together, and we should, yeah, and maybe we can like put a beep over this part of the episode so that it could be a surprise for me. Is it a beep? What are you gonna do a couple's costume with John for the thing, or me and you're just doing

with Arby a couple this year? That's wrong. But, like, are we a couple Halloween girls? A couple of gals? I don't know. Because I have an idea for me and Drew. Oh, did I tell you what we were doing? Yeah, maybe for them.

Because I don't think that idea I just gave you is great for the family event because I think. Yeah, no, it's super bloody. Yeah, I think the gals would not appreciate that. I was gonna say they probably would, but maybe the fam bam on a whole level would appreciate not gonna. But yeah, so.

So yeah, I think maybe we can do that for something else. But do you have any couple costume idea because usually you have such a good couple costume? No, I honestly have not even had time to think about it. So I'm gonna sit down and brainstorm. We can beep this too, but I think me and Drew are gonna be f***ing. That's f***ing amazing.

Isn't that incredible? Don't say I think we're gonna be that. No, I'm pretty like, when I say I think like we just say that. I was like, don't you dare ponder over that. Like, do that. I'm pretty stoked. That's phenomenal. Right.

But beep that out, don't tell the muscles. Don't tell the muscles. I'll just say it on my insta. But it's an exciting and just front-sutter. Spooky times of pride. Oh! Oh! There's a lot of fun things happening.

I know, I love Hocktober. I think Hell House LLC, there's another movie coming out, I think, um, I like a prequel. Oh, a prequel. A prequel. I love that you were about to say prelude. I know that's a prelude to the trial.

Is what I always think of. I always say prelude. Is that wrong? I mean, it's, no, not really. Yeah, so I, it's still, I always think of Mickey from scream two saying a prelude to the trial. And you do love Mickey. Oh, I love Mickey.

You and John should be Mickey and Sydney for Halloween. Oh my God. I mean, it's wrong, but very wrong, but very right as well. Also, your dog should be Sydney. Sydney, the dog should be for Halloween. Sydney Prescott. But are they being like a hot dog in a, in a, um, you should think one a hot dog and one a trench coat.

That would be hilarious, but one of them is being a hot dog. And the other one is being a pumpkin? A pumpkin, yeah. The kids decided. But yeah, I think we'll have a chance. I was gonna say, where did we just go? Hells LLC prelude prequel. Yeah, it has a prequel coming out.

I think near Halloween, which I'm very excited about, for all you that are listening that haven't watched Hell House LLC. Don't listen, anybody says, you know, found footage is crap. Because this is a great one. And we were talking to John about it the other day and it's not like found footage

that will give you vertigo. So anybody that has that is worried about like found footage. Yeah, I feel like you'll be fine. And I mean, like I'm not a doctor, so, but like don't take that for. Yeah, I mean, if you get vertigo from it, it's not my problem problem. it, that's not my problem. Not my chair, not my problem.

Fuck you. If you get Vertigo from it, fuck you. That's your own problem. Fuck you way in your Vertigo. But then there's the saw, prelude prequel. Yeah, there's a lot of fun stuff happening, I feel. I know. And just fun things too.

I think there's just fun things. So I think we're getting back into the swing of the spooky season and that's exciting. And what's really spooky about the spooky season is poltergeists. That is one of the most spooky things about any season, I would say. Yeah, so I have a poltergeist today

that it's a really interesting story, but I am gonna let you know from the jump that it's not really like solved at all, which is interesting because you're like, how do you even solve that in the first place? Yeah. But it hasn't really been debunked either. So that's fun to me.

That is fun. We love when it hasn't been debunked. I don't love a debunked. Yeah. I've been doing a couple debunked lately and they make me feel a little upset in my stomach. Yeah. Because I'm like, not fun.

Not fun. This. Marley fun. Yeah. Because I'm like, not fun. Not fun. This. Marley fun. Okay. You know? So this is the, I believe it's the, you say it's so key. And Alina can tell you I looked at like a bunch of pronunciations.

She sure did. It's in Scotland, but it's the so key poltergeist. Oh, Scottish. Yeah. Let's go. We have Ireland and Scotland up in here. And this poltergeist became known as we Huey. That makes this perfect.

Like exponentially better. We Huey. We Huey, which I'm like, is that just like low Huey? Low Huey? Low Hue Hue. That's exactly what it is. Also, I like the name Hue. Just wanted to say that.

So anyways, in the fall of 1960, Annie and James Campbell, a couple in their mid-50s living in Dunnigall, Ireland, and I looked that up too, so please don't yell at me. Sure did. But they had grown really tired of the economic struggle that they were having. You know, their rural life made it hard for them on the farm. Like things weren't really going well. Yeah.

So they made the decision to sell this family farm in Ireland and relocate to Scotland. Now, at the time, their youngest son, Thomas, and his wife Isabella Campbell, were living in a house in Soki, Scotland. Ah. So Soki is like a small coal mining town in central Scotland, and it's really well known for its association

with regional football, which I believe is not like American football, but like. Yeah, I think we're at the football that actually makes sense. Football that actually uses your foot with a ball. Yeah, the United States is embarrassing when they say football because of like, because you're not, because that's hand your foot that much. So yeah, my seven year olds were very confused about that

because they learned that football is soccer in other countries. And they were both like, that makes more sense. And I was like, I know there's a lot of things that don't make sense here. And I'm sorry, you're gonna have to learn that. Yeah, it really unlocks this weird feeling inside of yourself, or you're just like, huh. That doesn't make sense.

I don't like it. I don't like it. Yeah, they can't. They can't once a game. Maybe. I think I don't even know when they're like. Oh my god, I was like, do they kick it, but you're right. There's a kicker.

Yeah. Anyway, that's all I have to say about football. But for this couple, it was a new start. And one that honestly wouldn't really require much of a financial investment on their part because they were moving on with their son. So they started making plans to move themselves and their youngest daughter, 11-year-old Virginia to Soky. Now, the economy and Soky at the time wasn't really more promising than where they were

at now, but I don't think it was really about like the financials. I think it was more about like missing family kind of thing, you know. So in October of 1960, Annie, the mother, and Virginia moved in with Annie's son and Virginia's brother Thomas and his wife Isabella, and James, the father, stayed behind to sell the family farm. Okay. Now, also, when you read about this, it says that a lot of, like a lot of sources say that,

the family moved in with an aunt, but that's not true. It was the brother and sister-in-law of Virginia. Oh, that's good to know. So at the time of the aunt, but that's not true. It was the brother and sister in law of Virginia. Oh, that's good to know. So at the time of the move, Virginia Campbell's life had been pretty lonely and isolating. She was the youngest of the Campbell children. So all of her siblings had moved out of the house,

had moved away from their tiny village. And as George Owen wrote, quote, the only real companions that Virginia had were her pet dog, Toby, and one friend. Oh. And it was like her very best friend. Oh my God. So even though she was already lonely at home, the move to Soki was still a lot on Virginia

because she might not have had a lot, but she was leaving all of it behind. Yeah. And she was being uprooted from the only world that she knew. So she definitely struggled to acclimate to her new life after the move. Her teacher, Margaret Davidson, recalled, Virginia was was a shy withdrawn girl, but very pleasant. She was in every other way quite normal. So the fact that she was quieter withdrawn is pretty understandable. She had, like I said, just been uprooted from the family home.

And now she was thrown into this new living situation where she was sharing a bed and a bedroom with her niece Margaret. On top of that, her father still hadn't been able to join them. The dog hadn't come yet. I don't actually know if the dog ever ended up coming back. I think I like a little tube. I don't know if it was like a farm dog.

Oh, it's sad. So that was a lot of upheaval for an 11 year old. Remember, she's 11. And there was about to be more, because just a few weeks after arriving in Soky, Virginia's mother got a job at the dollar academy. It was only five miles away from their new house, but the job required her mom to work evening hours,

and a lot of time she had to stay overnight at the academy. Oh, okay. And I forgot to mention that Virginia also lost connection with her best friend, like completely. Oh, okay. And I forgot to mention that Virginia also lost connection with her best friend, like completely. So she was going through it. Now eventually she would shed a lot of her sh- Sh- why?

Sh- why? For her sh- why ways. I think I was about to combine shy and quiet and make it sh- why it. Sh- why it. She would shed a lot of her shy and quiet tendencies as she settled into her new life. And she eventually she did start making friends.

But to school administrators, I can't talk, the initial apprehension and awkwardness of the Campbell family as a whole, like not even just Virginia was obvious. According to Mr. Hill, who was the headmaster at the primary school where Virginia was now going, Annie, Virginia's new mom, initially, quote, offered no more information than was necessary,

and her voice seemed to come unwillingly from behind the mask on her face. They gave the impression of people who lived for a long time in a remote and isolated place. So basically they were just private. Yeah, interesting. You're moving to an entirely new place, like for sure.

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shipstation. And 98% of companies that stick with shipstation for a year More bid tells the kind of spooky and macabre stories that send chills down your spine, but few stories are creepier than the one at the center of my new podcast, Ghost Story. Ghosts aren't real. At least that's what I've always believed. Sure, odd things happen in my childhood bedroom, but ultimately I shrugged it all off. That is, until a couple of years ago, when I discovered that every subsequent occupant of that house is convinced they've experienced something inexplicable too, including the most recent inhabitant who says she was visited at night by the ghost of a faceless woman. It just so happens that the alleged ghost haunted my childhood room might just be my wife's great grandmother. He was murdered in the house next door by

two gunshots to the face. Ghost Story, a podcast about family secrets, overwhelming coincidence and the things that come back to haunt us. Follow Ghost Story wherever you get your podcasts. Listen everywhere on October 23rd or you can binge early and at free on Wondery Plus the same day. So, since she was older than her niece Margaret, Virginia was placed in a higher grade, where obviously she didn't know anybody. And on top of everything else that she was going through, she struggled with the language

difference between the rural Duna Gaul and Soki. George Owen author of Can We Explain the poltergeist wrote, at first she was extremely shy and her teacher found it difficult to establish real connection with her. But it was clear to everybody that she was very intelligent and she was kind,

even if she seemed very emotional and under distress. Okay. Now, are we looking out over there? Oh, nothing. Oh, you looked like you were looking at something. Oh no. What do you look at? I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something.

I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something.

I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something.

I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm looking at something. I'm anything for yourself. I'm not going to say anything. So the picture of Virginia Campbell that comes from most accounts at this time is that of a fairly normal 11 year old reacting pretty appropriately to a pretty disruptive life event and struggling, but refusing or failing to, not refusing or failing to adapt to her new life. Yeah. She was open to getting access. Yeah.

She wanted to adapt. She was just having trouble. Yeah. And like I said, by all accounts behind the quiet shy exterior, there was a perfectly lovely intelligent girl who seemed eager to engage with the world around her. And in time, like I said, a minute ago, she did make a lot of new friends. But that being said, George Owen, who was actually involved with the family

at the time of the supposed Pulitzer Geist activity, is quick to point out, quote, it may be of significance that at present she is going through a period of extremely rapid physical development and mature, matureation. Puberty in the full sense has not arrived, but she is going through a very rapid pubescence. It may also be of significance that on occasion, she did give some indication of mental and emotional turmoil. At times, she talked in her sleep,

showing signs of both upset and aggressiveness. Talking in her sleep? She was upset and aggressiveness? According to him, and that might, because when I read that at first, I was like, I talked in my sleep. Yeah, I talked in my aggressiveness. But when you hear about the kind of talking in her sleep

that was happening, it wasn't your normal like having a weird dream like she would go into transes and like sit up, but they were like she was still asleep. That's also a night terror. It seems like she may have been having some night terrors, but then when you put it hand in hand with everything else that was going on, it's maybe the night terrors were caused by the whole thing else. Because the girls have had night terrors for small spins of time before and they are terrifying. One of them in particular, like, the girls sleep.

Yeah, yeah. Freaky. They are scary. I kids are fucking terrifying. Yeah. If your kid is scary, I'm sorry, Gary. And the night terror, the thing, like, you can't really do anything about it. You just have to, like, comfort them through it. Because it's, isn't it, like, hard to wake them up?

Yeah. Technically, you're not really supposed to. They're asleep, but they're acting awake. And they're just kind of, like, they're not focusing their eyes on you or anything. Like, it's very strange. It's a very strange moment. So you just kind of have to, like, if you can rub their back and stuff, just kind of be like, I'm here, like I'm here, like I know that you're here. And then hopefully it kind of like, like it goes into their dream.

Like subconscious. I think it's like if you show comfort and like, I'm here kind of thing, then slowly they can come out of it. It's scary. And it's like how like when you're alarm will ring in real life, but it manifests as something else in your dream. Yes, and just this loud noise in your dream

that you can't get away from. So maybe like some big random thing is comforting you and not your mama. Not your mama. Not your mama. Some big random thing is comforting. I just pictured like a cloud comforting me. Like a giant cloud with legs.

I honestly pictured cloud guy but like big. Oh, from trolls. Hell yeah. Like I would comfort me. Cloud guy does comfort me too. And so it is, um, fuck what's his name? The giraffe. Oh, you love the giraffe.

Cooper. I fucking love Cooper from trolls. I'm excited for the New Trolls movie, and this is not a paid campaign. I'm just genuinely pretty excited. I love that anyway. That's all to say. While Virginia Campbell may have been a normal, healthy,

fully functional, 11-year-old, her behavior did indicate a certain amount of frustration related to her circumstances that maybe was seeking some kind of outlet subconsciously or consciously. Okay. She was going down. Truly. Or not.

No, it was. It was going down Charlie Brown. So as far as anybody could tell, the poltergeist activity began on November 22, 1960. Not long after Virginia and her niece Margaret had gone to bed that night, the two girls began hearing what they later described as a thunking noise. They said it was almost like someone was throwing a rubber ball against the wall. Okay. If you can kind of picture it. Yeah. Now, they couldn't fall asleep because it was so loud. So they went downstairs, but the sound actually ended up following them as they were walking

down the stairs. Like the ball was hitting each step just behind them. Oh. Now in the living room, the girls reported the noise to Thomas and Isabella, which would be Margaret's parents and Virginia's brother and her sister-in-law. But the older, like the couple, Thomas and Isabella were like, okay, you guys need to go to bed, like clearly this is some kind of tactic to stay awake. And they didn't hear anything. So they just escorted them back up to bed. But as soon as Thomas and Isabella closed the door to the bedroom

after getting the girl settled, they heard the sound from outside of the room. And they were like, okay. Now Tom was just figured it was the girl's pulling some kind of prank. Like once he closed the door, he's like, oh, they're trying to make me think that I hear those. Yeah. So he opened the door to tell him to cut it out,

but he was surprised to find both of them under the blankets, their hands completely covered, and the sound emanating from the headboard of the bed they shared. Damn. Now confused and somewhat concerned, they moved Virginia and Margaret to a different bedroom to fall asleep. But the noises continued and they only stopped after Virginia had fallen asleep. Just random. That's interesting. Weird. It was inexplicable. So that night was not restful at all for Virginia. She had a very fit full sleep so they decided to let her stay home from school the next day

because they were like, first of all, we have no fucking idea what's going on. And you also didn't sleep last night, so it's not going to be a good day for you. Yeah. Now that afternoon, when Thomas, Isabella and Virginia sat down in the living room together, all three of them watched in shock as the sideboard next to Virginia, quote, moved out five inches from the wall, then slid right back into place. Oh, yeah, okay. So at the time, Virginia was seated less than a foot away from this sideboard,

but both Thomas and Isabella swore that she never touched that sideboard. Like, it moved very much on its own. And they were like, what are we dealing with here? What is going on? If I, like, well, I do have a little sister, and if she moved in with me, and this shit started happening, I'd be like, listen, I love you so much,

but you gotta go. Yeah. Because, like, my house is chill, and you're like, you're chilling it. Yeah, they don't, you know, don't be all uncool. Yeah I mean cool don't be all uncool. Count to sluiting. I have wine glasses. That's a lot. They're a pair Just in case you were wondering. Yeah, I think I got them on Etsy. So try to find those But that evening after Virginia and Margaret had gone to bed the family started hearing the knocking again

But this time it was all over the house and there was no obvious point of origin. They're all like hunting around to see like, is this like a pipe? Is this a, that is a stuff, whatever, they can't narrow it down. And eventually the knocks became so loud that even the neighbors could hear the noise.

And we're like, what's going on over there? Like, please quiet down and they were like, yeah, we can't control this at all. Like, we don't know what's happening. We're not doing it. So we are not well-ditched. Nobody of the living is doing it. So we see you finally after enduring the noise for hours

and being just really unsure of what to do. The couple, Thomas and Isabella there, ended up calling their priest, Reverend T. W. Lund. And they were like, can you come out here and just help? Help. So Reverend Lund arrived at the were like, can you come out here and just help? Help. So Reverend Lund arrived at the Campbell House just after midnight that very night. And he was briefed on the activity

that had been occurring throughout the last 24 hours. He could also hear the knocking sounds, and he eventually traced them to that headboard on the bed where Virginia and Margaret were sleeping. They were still asleep. So he actually actually the Reverend suspected that Virginia was causing these noises somehow. He said maybe she was like putting her head up

against the headboard and kind of like thudding it against the wall. Yeah. So he asked her to slide down away from the headboard. Like they woke the kids up obviously. Yeah. And he assumed that the noises would stop. But after she did, they continued. And he also noticed that the headboard

hadn't actually even been touching the wall at all, so there wasn't even the possibility that it was being vibrated in like hitting the wall. Debunking. Debunking happening. No. So when the reverent pressed his hand against the headboard, he could feel a vibration with every knock,

which convinced him that no matter how impossible, this knocking was coming from inside the headboard itself. Oh, damn. And he could not figure out how. What? So during his visit to the House Reverend Lund also noticed a large linen chest, like pretty big. It was 27 inches long, 17 inches high, and 14 inches wide. He saw it rocking back and forth for no obvious reason. And then the sideboard slid more than a foot across

the linoleum tile and then just slid back into place. What? Yeah. He could not explain the movement of the chest, especially because it was full of linen and not likely to move from a kind of vibrations. Like, it's a big, heavy chest. So he shifted his attention back to Virginia, and he was like, I think you guys just need to go back to bed. Like, Virginia and Margaret try to go back to sleep after when it's not. No big deal.

It's fine. And when he made that suggestion, the knocking from the headboard became violent and rapid. Like, no, no, no, nobody's going to sleep tonight. What the fuck? Right. Oh, I don't like this at all. No, it's weird.

No. It doesn't, it gets weirder, and it's scary in and of itself, but this particular poltergeist doesn't seem violent, but he seems like aggressive. Yeah, which I don't like. Like, knowing that it's wee-huey, it does sound like just like a little kid polter, like this little boy-huey just make act in a fool, you know?

Yeah, it's true, like wee-huey really does take the terror down and off. It does. Yeah. And it just seems like a little boy being rambunctious as a ghost. I also described as a possible leprechaun. Are you serious?

Yeah. But they never found the leprechaun. I'm just saying. I love that, right? Maybe we Huey is a little leprechaun. You never know. I don't know who's to say. Not I.

Yeah, they called it, and actually they called him a vengeful leprechaun. So. But I don't really know how vengeful he was. Like he didn't do anything bad. I, yeah, I don't know know how vengeful he was. He didn't do anything bad. Yeah, I don't know. I'm just saying he has had that reputation. He has a bad reputation, I think is what Taylor says. So the noises and the disruptions continued the next day with knocking coming from the walls. The sewing machine was turning on and off by itself. Objects were moving on their own.

Virginia's father by that point, James, he had sold the farm and moved to where they were now in Scotland. He claimed that he witnessed an apple rise out of a fruit bowl, hover in the air for a second or two, and then drop back down into the fruit bowl. What? And he, like, this man is like a farmer. Like, he's not, he's like a noble shit kind of guy.

Yeah, he's just like that. And he's like, I saw what I saw. And I don't know why I saw that. I saw the sauna, I don't know why I saw it. It's weird. Like that is it. And I just love that it's like we Huey like picked up an apple was looking at it

and I was like, nah, this apple. Like health, no. Health, well this fiber, not for me. I just picture like an apple floating on itself. And I look at me like, can you take the skin off this? And nobody answers. I'm like, fuck it. Just put it in.

That means no one heard him. But imagine if you did it. That would be actually terrifying. And not, and also not to know the context here, can you take the skin off this? I don't know. I can't. And Apple's just floating in the air.

Skid belong on people. Oh, yeah. Because it's like, it's an Apple. I just don't want the Apple skin. I'd be like, I can't. No, no, thank you. So later, I'm just tasting Reverend Lundman back to the Campbell home.

And this time, he brought a local physician, WH Nezbit with him. Once Virginia and Margaret had gone to bed, they both went into the room, the Reverend and the Doctor. And once they walked into the room, they looked on in utter shock as Virginia's pillow rotated about 60 degrees while her head was still resting on it.

Okay, that's interesting. That's weird. That's weird. That's weird. That's suspicious. So neither of them had really any time to process what they'd seen before the knocking started up again. First at the headboard and then in the walls. And the knockings were followed by the lifting and slamming of the lid on the linen chest. Which again, moved out from the wall on its own before sliding back into place against the wall. Okay. But all the while the lid is being lifted and slammed back down,

lifted, slammed back down. So disruptive. It is. So these phenomena were shocking, but the final event witnessed that evening was the most inexplicable to them. As Virginia and Margaret lay in bed with the covers pulled up to their chests,

both men witnessed what they later described as a strange rippling movement move up and down the bed covers as the two girls lay beneath. Almost like the cover was due in the wave. Yeah, obviously. What? No. I hate it.

No. And I'm also like, damn, y'all are just sleeping through this. I know, that's the thing every while. It's like going about their business after this. It's like kids. Like kids can sleep through anything. They truly can, apparently. But then they have like, they need like one glass of water

and it's over for e-bitches. Oh, it's, I mean, going to sleep, forget about it. Forget about it. Forget about it. Now, since the activity started a few days earlier, Virginia had been staying home from school because they were like, do we send her to school? Yeah. This is happening.

But by Friday, November 25th, the Campbell's decided there was really no point in keeping her at home any longer, especially because- The home isn't safe, it seems. Yeah. And they weren't even any closer to understanding what the hell was going on. So after being home all morning, Virginia was probably like, ticking them off a little bit. Like, they were like, go find something to do, which was like, I can't. So after being home all morning, and Virginia was probably like and ticking them off a little bit, you know, like, they were like, go find something to do

which was like, I can't. So they were like, you know what, go to school. Forget it. So they sent her to school for the remainder of the afternoon. Now that afternoon, as she was sitting in class, her teacher, Margaret Stewart, noticed that she seemed to be struggling with something on her desk.

From Mrs. Stewart's vantage point at the front of the class, it seemed like Virginia was fidgeting with her desk lid in an unusual manner. She's like, what the fuck is she doing? She didn't say that though. She said, what the fuck is that little girl doing? Virginia, what the fuck are you doing? What are you doing, Virginia?

She didn't say that though. I would've been so rude. I would've been really rude. She would have had a problem with Annie Campbell if she said that. And James, I'm sure. And me. And me. Come on that, Mr. Stewart. To that kid that way? Never. No any Campbell. If she said that. And James, I'm sure. And me. And me.

Come on that, Mr. up to that kid that way. Never. No, Mr. it's a sweetie. So she assumed that Virginia was just fooling around. So she called out and was like Virginia, what are you doing? And Virginia said nothing, Miss Honest.

Like she was like, I'm really not doing anything. So when the teacher told Virginia to stop distracting the class, she did as she was told and just lifted her arms off the desk. And at that point, the wooden lid of the desk began rising and falling on its own, as the other students just watched and complete shock and horror. So it seems like she might have been like, because she said the teacher was like, it looked like she was fidgeting with her desk.

It sounds to me like she was trying to stop that from happening. Yeah, I was trying to figure out why it was happening, like just being like what is going on here, like trying to see if it could stop it. And then she takes her hands off and it starts just going for it. And all the kids in class are like, what the fuck? That's why. We got a matilda up in here. We got a matilda. So later that afternoon during a period of silent reading, the classroom was again disrupted when the empty desk behind Virginia slowly rose about an in-chop of the floor and just gently settled down again on its own. What do you even say as a kid in that class?

You're like, what's happening? I don't know. When she was interviewed about the incidence a short time later, Mrs. Stewart told George Owen that during the first interruption, Virginia was in her line of sight, so she could tell that Virginia was not lifting the lid of the desk. And again, her hands were in the air. And after the second incident, Mrs. Stewart went back over to the desk behind Virginia and examined the whole entirety of it and said she quote, found no strings, levers, or anything else that had been in operation to make the desk rise and fall seemingly of its own volition. So this wasn't a prank.

Yeah, like they checked it out, it seems. Yeah, they tried to debunk everything and they literally couldn't. See, these are the ones that it's like when they're going and checking it out and actual adults are looking and being like, I can't explain this, that's's when those scary, scary ones. They are.

And they're scared. For some reason, I just find this one fun. Yeah. I mean, it's Scottish. Who doesn't love a Scottish tale? I love a Scottish tale. I love a Scottish tale. And it's an Irish girly.

Yeah. One of our little bits. Later that evening, Reverend Lund and Dr. Nesbitt returned again to the Campbell House to check up on Virginia. And when Reverend Lund and Dr. Nesbitt returned again to the Campbell House to check up on Virginia. And when Reverend Lund asked her how school had been, Virginia said, all right, but something funny happened when I was there. When my teacher was standing near my desk, the lid of another desk went up all by itself.

You know, funny. Reverend Lund was like, okay, I'm going to talk to your family. So give me a minute. Wow. No, while he sat and talked with the family in the living room, Dr. Nezbit spent the evening sitting in the girls bedroom watching for any unusual behavior. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪

Now while he was alone in the room, Dr. Nezbit witnessed similar, but less intense activity than had been reported days earlier, including the light knocking sounds, the lid of the linen chests lifting and lowering, and still multiple rotations of Virginia's pillow as it just sat on the bed. Yeah, that's wild. So it's not even like, cause I guess you're kind of thinking, or at least I was, when they first saw that pillow rotation,

I'm like, maybe there's something that like she can pull. Yeah. I mean, that's like you just, you're trying to do anything. But now she's sitting alone in there. That's the thing. Like she's not there to do anything.

No, and this is the 1960s, so it's not like she has like some remote control. That's like, I've got to adopt anything. If it was now, I'd be like, all right, maybe it's like a drone or some shit. Right, but like back then, it's like, no. So the family hoped the arrival of the weekend maybe could bring some kind of,

just chill to the situation. Yeah, like it's been really chaotic up in here with the paranormal activity. Maybe we can have a calm weekend, please. But unfortunately, it didn't take long for those hopes to be dashed. Saturday the 27th did pass with minimal activity. The most really anyone witnessed

was more pillow rotations and that rippling of the bed covers. I love that more pillow rotation. More pillow rotations. It's like more bumped in. I love this. Now Sunday on the other hand, found the family experiencing entirely new phenomenon when Virginia appeared to go into a kind of trance. This is kind of what I touched on

earlier. Okay. That afternoon, Dr. Nesbitt returned with his colleague, Dr. William Logan. Oh, I know somebody with that same name, but they brought along his dog, Dr. William Logan. Oh, I know somebody with that same name, but they brought along his dog, Dr. Logan's dog. And Virginia took an immediate liking to this dog, telling the doctors that he reminded her so much of her own dog, Toby, who she really missed. Oh, I really don't understand why they couldn't

bring Toby with them. Justice for Toby. Justice for Toby. Truly. Poor one out. I will. Now, the day passed without incident, the children played with the dog. They seemed generally happy. But that evening, after the girls had gone to bed, Virginia appeared to slip into this kind of

tranche, tranche, excuse me. And she started speaking almost like she was talking in her sleep, calling out for Toby and her best friend Anna, who she'd left behind in Ireland. her sleep, calling out for Toby and her best friend Anna, who she'd left behind in Ireland. Now, Virginia's parents did what you would do. They tried to comfort her while she's like seemingly having some kind of night terror or distress. They gave her a teddy bear, but she ended up violently throwing the teddy bear

across the room and started thrashing and striking out in all directions. Oh, damn. And they were like, I don't know what to do. So they left the room. I don't really know what else they could have done. I guess. Yeah. And she just fell asleep normally after that.

Oh, wow. Yeah. Huh. Have your kids ever had a night terror till like that extent? No, they've never like thrashed around and like become like scary like that. And like potentially violent.

Yeah, they've never become violent or like even aggressive. They more, I don't always kills me because like they would, they don't have them anymore, really knock on wood. And they didn't get them a ton. They would just every once in a while. And I got them when I was little so I knew what they were.

What to do. But I, they basically like, they get very like, they cry. They cry. And they get very like, incons very insolable for a moment. And then finally, they'll fall into it and be calm down. But even so, you feel bad leaving them because you feel like you haven't quite got them

to a comforted place yet. Because they'll lay down and go back to sleep. And you can still see the stress on their face. So it always used to kill me. And then I'd go in an hour later and they were peacefully asleep. So I was like, okay, we're good. But yeah, it's always one of those things

where you're like, oh, but they never got aggressive. I know. Well, I don't know if that's just different strokes for different folks. Yeah, that's the thing, because in my mind, I'm like, maybe, what George Owens had earlier about how she was clearly dealing with something,

whether she would or not. I don't know if maybe she was the kind of person with the temperament of not allowing things to get the best of her while she was awake. But then at night, she was angry about the fact that she had to move, in her subconscious. Yeah, no matter what she's young

and she's going through an upheaval. Yeah. So it's like, I feel like that's always going to put a kid in a different mindset when it's not quite settled or, you know, when things are settled, it's easier to be in a good mindset. But for a kid unsettling and movement can really throw them off. Yeah. Like way more than we think it does. It's interesting.

Yeah. I think a lot of things with kids happen subconsciously. Yeah. Oh, yeah, for sure. Because it's just like they can't necessarily make sense of a lot. Exactly. There's so much going on.

Well, anyways, the next day Virginia did return to school. And it was almost immediately apparent that whatever had been affecting her arrived with her at school that day. As the students were sitting quietly working on a world word problem, Virginia approached Mrs. Stewart's desk to ask for a little help with whatever they were doing. So she got up to sketch out the problem on the blackboard for her, the teacher. But the teacher looked as the chalkboard pointer on her desk, started to vibrate, because she was about to like grab for it, but it started vibrating on her desk

and eventually fell off of the edge of her desk. And then when she reached down to touch the desk, she was surprised to find that it too was vibrating slightly. What the fuck? And then without any kind of warning, and I wanna say that this is probably the most quote-un unquote violent thing to happen. The right end of her desk lifted off the floor slightly

and swung in her direction. Like it got like pushed towards her. Oh damn. And I am pretty sure that's one of them, like the more violent things that happen. Luckily, I don't believe she was hurt. But weird. Yeah.

We Huey does not like Mrs. Stewart. No, it's weird that it's following her to school. I know. That's the thing. Yeah. We Huey does not like Mrs. Stewart. No, it's weird that it's following her to school. I know. You know, that's the thing. Wow. Now, when Virginia arrived home from school that afternoon, the family made the decision to send her actually to stay with relatives in nearby dollar, where they hoped she would get a break from the paranormal activity, because they're like, she's really not sleeping,

she's going to school, like this is a lot on her as a 11 year old. So hopefully if we send her over here, she can maybe the activities like linked to the house somehow. Yeah, I don't know. But when Dr. Nezbit visited the dollar house later that night, he found that the knocking noises continued in the new location in a series of knocks

that range from gentle tapping to loud wraps always in the vicinity of Virginia. Ooh spooky. So it followed her to an entirely different town. Exactly, that's wild. Now the next day, Dr. Logan arrived in dollar in the company of his wife, also a doctor, Dr. Sheila Logan, and they wanted to visit Virginia

to get a load of this. Yeah. Now when Sheila first heard the stories about the activity from her husband that seemed to be following Virginia, she was like, OK, sure. And she seriously actually doubted what was going on. She talked the quote unquote activity up

to just a childish prank. But as soon as she got to the house where Virginia was staying, Sheila experienced the knocking's first hand and walked away, quote, satisfied that the noises from within the room were not caused by the activity of anyone in it. Huh. Which is such a haunting statement. Yeah. Whatever she was hearing in that room was not caused by anyone in it. Hate. Don't like that. Hate, hate, loath, entirely. I have no idea.

The knocking thing would annoy the shit out of me. I hate repetitive noises more than anything. That would piss me off. And I think I would literally go insane. Yeah. So later that night, the logons were called back to the house and dollar by the family, who were concerned because Virginia had fallen into another trance. And they were like, yeah, we haven't experienced this before.

So we're not really sure what to do. Not sure. So when they got to the home, Dr. Logan discovered that Virginia was sitting up in bed, quote, talking and allowed a natural voice, calling for Toby and Anna and throwing herself about the bed. According to Logan, even though Virginia's eyes were closed, she heard and responded to questions normally.

But she did note that her responses and indicated a lack of shyness that was typically present in Virginia's personality. Like usually, usually she was like a pretty soft spoken shy child. But when she was answering these questions, it was very like confident. Yeah, just like outside of her natural kind of. Just for a chance.

That's an interesting, like little side effect. Yeah. So the doctor stayed with her for 10 or 15 minutes until she did eventually emerge from the trance and she did eventually fall asleep. But they were like, what the fuck? They just had never seen anything like this before. Yeah, it's just like none of it adds up.

No, and it's not, and none of it is like of typical poltergeist activity. Yeah. Like obviously the moving of the furniture and that kind of tapping noises, but just, it's not your typical poltergeist. That's very strange. So Virginia returned home the next day, November 30th,

and the family actually reported no unusual activity. But that break did prove to be short lived because the noises returned to the following night just around the time. And it always seems to be around the time that the girls are getting ready for bed. Of course. Which makes you think that it's a prank. But no.

They try to figure it out and there's no way that the girls are causing this. Yeah, it's like, what the fuck? So just before 9 p.m., Dr. Nizbett and Dr. Logan set up a camera in the girls bedroom hoping to capture any of this activity on film. Now, the camera captured long periods of continual noise, quote, ranging from barely perceptible tapings to agitated knocks.

More rippling of the bed cover, and quote, a considerable mount of hysterical talking by Virginia, in which she showed the same lack of inhibition she had previously in her transes. So she's this very confident, outspoken girl in her transes. And then when she's awakened out and about, she's very shy and reserved. Yeah. It's just interesting. So that same night, Reverend Lund arrived at the Campbell House and the company of three other local ministers to conduct a service of intercession, I believe is what it's called.

It's not an exorcism. Those would become more popular in the media in the following decade, but what they were doing now, a service of intercession, is basically just a prayer session where a group prays to their God on behalf of another person in Okay. In this case, Virginia. Okay. So throughout the 15 minute prayer session, these men who were praying over her reported hearing considerable loud banging, quote, a harsh, rasping, sawing noise,

and screams and bouts of hysterical talking from Virginia, which they described as babbling. What the fuck? So this was clearly agitating, yeah. The entity. You. Now, the activity which had begun about a week earlier had not only been disruptive to everybody involved, but also to the large number of witnesses to the phenomenon. It wasn't just Virginia that was going through it. It was everybody. Yeah. Now, usually in paranormal cases similar to this one, first-hand experiences are limited. Yeah. But Virginia's

poltergeist had never really been shy about demonstrating its abilities. And it was only a matter of time, of course, before the press got onto the story. Of course. You knew what was coming. Of course. So the inter-sessional prayer session

coincided with an article that was published on the Wire by United Press International. The article, it kind of annoys me when they do things like this because it was poking fun at this. And it's like, this is an 11 year old girl. Like you don't have things like, it's one thing if this is adults and even that's like pretty rude, but you don't need to make fun of people. You definitely don't need to make fun of an 11 year old. No. So it had an unserious tone, but at the same time, it did lay out some of the facts

that had occurred. And for that, it at the same time, it did lay out some of the facts that had occurred. And for that, it emphasized the ways in which Virginia's quote-unquote ghost was disrupting the class. And Virginia's teacher, Margaret, was interviewed for it, and she told reporters, I don't believe in the supernatural, but I was mesmerized by what I saw. And she was referring to that movement of the desk. She said, it looked like an elaborate practical joke, but there was no string and no one touched the desk when it moved.

Wow. So she was like, I don't believe in the supernatural and even I can't explain this. I was just going to say, but she's like, I don't believe in the supernatural, but I have no idea how they did that. It's like I can't believe in the supernatural now. Now, in addition to the description

of paranormal activity occurring at school, the UPI article noted, the rumors. I just thought that like Meredith Marks little bit. There's this new clip on Housewives where one of the Housewives goes, the rumors, the way she says it is. What? Wild, I'm gonna play it for you later, at least.

But the API article noted the rumors. That had been making their way around town. In quote, villagers said they understood church authorities would be consulted to determine if this case was warranting of an exorcism. Oh, here we go. Now, you can assume the writer was referring to Reverend Lund, like they were like, is this motherfucker going to start an exorcism? Because he had been involved with the case from the very beginning. Yeah. And up to this point had never made any mention, excuse me, of an exorcism.

But this news report raised concern among the reverend and the doctors and Virginia's family that any additional attention was going to make things harder for Virginia. Oh, damn. They were like, we'd, like, all these articles are going to fuck shit up. Like, we don't need this. Which I mean, yeah. She's 11. Yeah.

So after discussing it with the family, the men decided that the best course of action would be to report to the new service that with help from her doctors and the Reverend, the problem had been solved. They were like, we just need them to believe that this was over. And we can do this privately.

They're going to be like a dog with a bone. Yeah. Now, in their joint statement, the three men, which is the doctors and the Reverend, they provided some small details about the activity, saying, we concluded that the happenings could not be accounted for in the normal sense of cause and effect. And writing on behalf of the church, the statement went on, when the observances did not quickly disappear, we attempted to help the child by changing her environment, and to deal by means of sedatives with her hysteria, which we all agreed was a secondary emotional effect.

We realized the need not only for medical care for the child, but also spiritual help for the whole family, and we can consult certain ministers who have had the experience of abnormal phenomena of a similar nature. All along, we have recognized the possible importance of restoring the child to her previous environment in Ireland. In our opinion, the phenomena are rapidly diminishing,

and it is our belief that they may soon disappear altogether. So they're like, things are really chilling out over here and nothing to see. Yeah, don't worry about it, we fix it. Now the statement will, good, good, good, cool. Yeah, cool, cool. So the statement actually seemed to satisfy

a lot of inquiring minds about town, but some local news outlets still wanted more information. Of course. And when none of the three men would provide any additional details, they looked elsewhere. So in an article from December 2, 1960, the paper quotes Secretary of the Alois Spiritualist Church, James Henderson, saying, in my opinion, this little girl has certain unusual psychic qualities, and I am convinced that some person who has passed down is trying to communicate through her.

I believe that a responsible medium should be taken to see the little girl for such a person could certainly help her. Oh, which, okay, I got it. Interesting. Now, that same article goes on to quote a spokesperson for the spiritualist, the spokesperson for the spiritualist, national church, that's mouthful. It is. And that's James McNeigh, he said, happening such as are taking place with this little girl

are not nearly so unusual as many people think. And contrary to popular opinion, they are not necessarily evil in nature. Children are much more alive physically than adults are. And often, although unconscious, real mediums. If much of what is called their bluthers was seriously examined, they would be discovered to contain communication from people who have passed on. So, basically, he's saying what I think a lot of people believe is that kids are more

susceptible to, like, seeing spirits, speaking friends with spirits, being visited by spirits, being open to spirits, being open to it because they're not as scared of it yet because they haven't had the experiences yet. And their mind is more open. And their mind is more open. As we get older, we close our mind to town. Exactly, which sucks.

Because we put up bullshit boundaries in our own mind. I want to see it go. I mean, I've already seen a few, but I want to see some more. But yeah. So despite that statement though, or the statement that lunna's bit in Logan head main, the press, like I said, maintained an interest in Virginia's story that went on for weeks, So, despite that statement though, or the statement that Lone Nesbitt and Logan had made, the press, like I said, maintained an interest in Virginia's story that went on for weeks, capitalizing on quotes from teachers, classmates, and then finally it did die out a few weeks later.

Yeah. Now, although the statement put out by Lone Nesbitt and Logan had kind of been intended to convince the press and neighbors that the problem had been resolved and there was nothing more to see, the fact was actually following the intercession service performed on the evening of December 1st, the activity had seemed to come to an end. So they were like manifesting kings and queens. So I was going to say there you go. Now aside from one more incident at school in late January where a bowl of bulbs moved across Miss Stewart's desk, there were no additional reports of disturbances from the Campbell's or their neighbors.

Now, I don't know if that's just because they were worried about the press continuing to bother them or genuinely the shit just stopped. Yeah. Now, the story did end up getting new life in the summer of 1965. When George Owen released his book, can we explain the Polterguest?

Can We? Can We? I like that title. I always love on a book title as a question. I do too. It's fun. Can We? Can We? Let's find out. Read this book. So in his book, Owen, who is a Trinity College mathematics professor, he explores the potential realities of polterguest phenomena, phenomena, excuse me, paying particular attention to Virginia's experience. The book isn't exclusively about Virginia's case, but it did revive interest in that case in the UK, especially with the tabloid newspapers. In a 1965 article in the Sunday Mirror, five years after this had originally happened,

the paper played up the family's rural origins and supposedly superstitious nature of Irish people, describing Dunningall as a quaint isolated part of, I think it's Ira's, how you say it? It's E-I-R-E. I-A-R-A? You're supposed to say it with like an accent, but I'm not gonna do that because it's not my accent. Yeah, I don't think I have no idea.

But it says, where banshees are said to whale before death and tiny leprechauns prance at the bottom of the gardens. So basically, they were kind of poking fun at their Irish roots, which is they were being like their Irish. So they're probably dumb and think stupid things. And it's like, wow. Yeah, okay. They're like, oh, they're just superstitious.

Like shit. Because folklore. Yeah, fuck off. I was like, cool. Thanks. I just stood up a big old bird. I was gonna say she just flipped me off in case anyone was was. But it was the Sunday mirror. It wasn't you. Fuck you. Fuck you. For no good reason. Just for the hell over it.

For no good reason. Just in the middle of this episode. Fuck you. I really like fuck you for no good reason. Right. That's a good. Yeah. for no good reason. Right, that's a good deal. For no good reason. Like that, yeah. For no for the most part. The article is that follow the release of Owen's book told the story of Virginia's experience with the poltergeist that she and her friends had come to refer to as we he we.

That's for we he we comes in eventually Virgin named her poltergeist. We little he we. I love that she was like, you know what? He needs a name. Hell yeah. But eventually they got around to the question every reader wanted answered. What caused the poltergeist?

Now most people simply believed it was a matter of what Owen called, I hate the name of this theory. It's called the naughty little girl theory. But he's upsetting. Yeah, I don't love it. It's just, you know, yeah. But he basically was saying that, or this theory was saying that the activity

was nothing more than a prank caused by Virginia herself. After all, she had been through a serious disruption in her life. Maybe, you know, feeling anxious or unstable with both parents' absence. So she created the Wii Huey scenario in order to get attention. That was one theory. Okay. I personally don't buy that one because we've looked at all the ways both parents absent. So she created the Wii Huey scenario in order to get attention. That was one degree.

I personally don't buy that one because we've looked at all the ways in which she couldn't have caused what was going on. Well, that's a thing. That would be a very good theory. And it makes sense. And it makes sense when even adults

were like, I don't know how she could have done that. Exactly. And the thought process behind the theory makes sense when you look at the disruption in her life and everything. But he will, all the, yeah. But then like you said, even the adults were like, nope, no way. That's where it's confusing because it's like, how did she pull that shit off? And so that's where you kind of have to act. That theory, and it's great that you have to anyway. Yeah. Now, Owen acknowledged the possibility that some of the activity actually could have been

caused by Virginia or her niece Margaret, but he rejected the belief that the entire thing was a hoax. He told a reporter, it is possible to suppose one could be the victim of illusion or hallucination. However, it is beyond all possibility that everyone could be deceived over such a long period of time. Yeah, that's the thing. So, if it wasn't a hoax, what was it? Was we little Huey? Well, Owen said, when girls are approaching puberty,

they often seem to attract poltergeist phenomena. There are many cases which suggests that activity is more likely to arise in that age group. That's weird as fuck. And it's because your body is going through a lot of upheaval. That's real weird. It is a little weird. Just still, I don't like it.

I don't like connecting it to puberty. I don't know why it just gives me the, it gives me the, it feels icky. I get what he's saying and I don't think he's saying it like to, and no, no, no, no, I'm not, I'm not like offended by him or anything. I'm just, for some reason that just always makes me think like, ooh, yeah, I know.

I know. I totally, it has like a, yeah, well's such a shitty time, like puberty anyways. And it's like to add that like, and you know what, you might get a sweet, attractive poltergeist while you're at it. I come on, I mean, that sucks. But then it kind of makes sense because there are like a lot of entities like Poltergeist and all different kind of entities that will attach to somebody while they're going through serious upheaval and like your hormones being all out of whack and like.

Wow, we should start warning kids about that. We should start being like, here's the ins and outs of puberty and what you can expect. Here's the Poltergeist. In rare occasions, you might also attract a Poltergeist. It's really not a lot you can do. You need to break a tee, kid. Yeah, that's part of the side effects of puberty. That might make those classes a little bit more fun.

Right. They'll remember when they would separate their girls and the boys and six cranes. They'd be like, here's what's gonna happen to your body. And you were like, fuck my whole life. I also love that because I'm like, yeah, definitely don't teach them what happens to the other, you know, like set of students.

Like none of you, none of you should understand each other in any way. We had just sit there and watch all these fucking wild ass videos and the boys were like, we just played like a game. Yeah, the like our voice might crack. Yeah, that's like, okay. Or you might be possessed by a fucking polterious. How do you like those apples?

It could be really easy or real hard for you. Exactly. So Owen theorized that moving from Ireland to a new home where she was uncomfortable, along with those feelings of loss from having parted with her dog and her best friend, left Virginia, quote, in a state of some tension. And he believed the result was, quote,

circumstances may well have triggered off a physical force around her, which is not yet known to science. Now, unfortunately, while Owen could offer those theories as to what may have triggered the paranormal events around Virginia, he was at a loss to explain precisely how those phenomena function. But the Sunday mirror summarized, and I really hate the summarization, but go off Sunday mirror. They said, if a girl is emotionally upset during her 28-day cycle, she can acquire an unexplained power, strong enough to move things without touching them.

And Owen agreed with that summation, adding, we are ignorant to the nature of this force and have no idea how it has applied. We cannot even begin to understand its potential. But one thing seems fairly certain, the hidden force is wild and uncontrollable at the moment. It's probably why we won't let women be present over here. I guess out here, just out here moving things and we don't know why. No idea that during that time, yeah, that I was so fucking powerful. I mean, I've never been told that during my cycle, but go on, OVries are scary as fuck.

OVries, maybe they are a little scary. OVries hurt sometimes. That is, that's hilarious, that that's how they summarized this entire thing. They were like, well, yeah, period, period. They are wily. And they can create demonic presence in a home. And it's like, no, no.

I am the demonic presence in my home during that time. You're like, Georgia and you are confused. Yeah, I'm like, I don't need an outside entity to make that happen. Like, don't you worry. Any we Huey. Yeah, me. It's not we Huey.

I, in the demonic force, like he just texted us over these are scariest fuck y'all. We should get a shirt that says that over these are scariest fuck y'all. It is not the demonic force. It's me. It's me. It's me. Yeah, honestly.

Wow. But that got hilarious at the end. I was excited to present you that theory. I was writing it and I was like, I don't even personally want to look further into this. I like the go-off Sunday mirror. Go-off Sunday mirror. I'm like, okay.

Wow. To the man right there. That's awesome. That's awesome. Probably. That's awesome. Yeah. So the Flurry of Public Interest around the case in Owens Book did die down after a few weeks and the case of Virginia Campbell went back into the corners of people's minds. And it wasn't until about 30 years later

that Virginia's experience popped up again in the news in the mid 90s. It was the 90s. It was the 90s. It was the 90s, Kevin. But thank you to the interest of a high-profile paranormal investigator, Malcolm Robinson, his mother grew up in the Sochi area. And he said, I initially looked into the case in 1987, but I never got anywhere. However, I had more success in 1994 when I looked at it again. So initially, he was trying to investigate this, like I just said, and he was struggling to find anybody related to the case and all his letters and his phone calls were going

on answered. But then in 1994, he tracked down one Margaret Davidson, formerly Stewart, Virginia's former teacher. And as one of the primary witnesses, she was actually an ideal reporter, not only because of the respectability of her position, but also because of her seemingly excellent memory. She said, I had never really heard the word poltergeist before. I thought it was some kind of medicine. That's how naive I was. Poltergeist. But two poltergeists in call me in the morning.

Imagine. Now over the course of their conversation, she was able to verify much of what had been reported on in the press and she also was able to fill in some gaps for Robinson. For instance, during the peak interest in the story, as the press was relentlessly pursuing the family and actually even waited outside of school, Mrs. Stewart formally was able to tell this reporter that one of Virginia's classmates actually ended up donning her coat and backpack in an attempt to lead the press away from the school so that Virginia could leave without being harassed. Oh my god. Like that's how bad things go. Oh damn. So you can see why. And I love that the Reverend and like the doctors were like we

need to put a stop to this because she deserves to live a normal life. Yeah, like we don't want to make this a big, a big media circle. All of blue. Yeah. But they were like all about it. It would be one thing. Yeah. But the fact that they wanted it to go away.

And to protect it. Yeah. It's so pure. Yeah. And you don't really hear that a lot when we talk about these stories. Usually it's very like, you're like, what's happening? Yeah. So Davidson also added some of the less savory details

that wouldn't have been published by the press in the 60s, including a frightening incident where Virginia was harassed by a woman who believed her to be, quote, one of God's chosen ones and asked if she could touch her. Oh, oh, what? and asked if she could touch her. Oh. Oh. What? Oh. Oh.

Somebody just walked. You walk up to a child and ask if you can touch them because I think you're one of God's chosen ones. I'd be like, you better hope you are because I'm about to send you into eternity right now for asking my child if you can touch them. Like, what the fuck? Damn.

Weird. That's fucked up. And that's, yeah, that's not good. Ew. So for the most part, Robinson's investigation just kind of reiterated what was already reported in Owen's book 30 years earlier. It didn't offer a ton of additional details

other than the ones I just mentioned. Yeah. Or really any new theories that could explain what happened to Virginia. But it did underscore what made this case so fascinating in the first place. Because, like I said a little bit earlier, unlike the majority of supposed hauntings and so-called poltergeist activity that had been reported on before and since Virginia's claims had been made, this poltergeist case does remain one of the few that still defies explanation.

Yeah, because we still have no idea what the fuck happened and why it did. They couldn't confirm or debunk it. Exactly. Which is always the ones you wanna pay attention to. Mm-hmm. Now, as Owen pointed out in 1965, obviously it's possible to trick someone,

like one person, or even a handful of people into believing something is real. But to trick multiple professionals with no connection to this home and an entire classroom full of students and a teacher and like a myriad of other people into seeing and hearing things that weren't there, no way. So this really happened.

Meaning it's entirely possible that there is some truth to Owen's conclusion. The poltergeist phenomena were real and not due to trickery, ground tremors or induced weightlessness. That was a quote. Induced weightlessness. I like that.

So Virginia Campbell's experience with we, Huey, the poltergeist, is that a lot of ways similar to so many other stories, except for the fact that people believed her. And that's really the only difference at all that from the moment everything began, she was taken seriously. But maybe that is why this particular case lacked the level of aggression and violence that

we see in so many other cases. And maybe that's also why it was kind of resolved in a relatively short matter of time. Because everybody gave it the attention it deserved and believed her. Exactly. Like this thing didn't feel like it needed to get bigger and bigger to prove that it existed. Yeah. Yeah. So in the weeks and months after the inter-sessional prayer, the Campbell said they experienced only occasional activity in the form of knocking noises and a slight slight movement of objects, but nothing at all like they had experienced in late November of 1960. Damn. And a few months after the press coverage ended, James, Annie, and Virginia did move out of Thomas and Isabella Campbell's house and into their own home in the Scottish Midlands,

seeming to leave little wee Huey behind and soky. See you, wee Huey. Bye. Now, a few years later, after she finally settled into her new life in Scotland, Virginia got a job working in a factory, and she was free of disruptive forces, so she was able to enjoy the things that girls like to enjoy. Good for her, man. And people like to enjoy. Now in a final note closing out the series of articles in 1965, Virginia said of the poltergeist, it never really worried me, but for the sake of others, I hope it never returns. Ooh.

And that is the end of Wee Huey, the so-key plotter. What a end to that. I hope it never returns. See, this has like, it's poltergeisty, but it's also like a little like, fey room to me. I could see that. Totally. It feels very like, you know, like a fan's fucking around

or something like one of those little like, fuck around, fuck around, find out. I feel like it's, and maybe it's because I'm reading the girls and I are reading the spiderwick chronicles at night now. Like we're going through the whole series and it's all about like, fainch it. But it reminds me, it's weird that you did this one

while we're even, that always works. That always happens to us. It always winds up. Because we're reading those and it just, it kept making me think about it all to like, mischief and shit. Yeah, I meant to say your case that you did earlier, I'm not going to say the, the, the, the, the,

the tour, tour, tour, tour, tour, tour, tour, which trials, I did say it, yeah. There was like a date that you would mention in the whole case, and I think it's releasing around the same time. Like, no, that is weird. Yeah, it's not weird.

That is very strange. We always have things like that happen. Yeah. Oh yeah, because I think the actual trials were October. Yeah, they were. October 10th or something like that. I think you're right. And I think it's up,

I think you said like the 12th or the 15th. Yeah, it probably. I think that's just a bad, but it was I don't really sing around that same time. So it's just weird. Very weird. We don't claim these things. I wish I could say we do that would make us a lot more, you know, with it. But I think this is just the universe guiding us here. I was going to say, maybe we are super with it. Yeah. And we just don't even know how with it we are. We're the most with it, yeah kids. What does that get for the guy doing the kid? Like with the kids?

Oh, hello youths. Hello youths. Hello youths. Hello universe. Hello kids. I don't know. I don't know. You know, that was a crazy story.

It was, I'm like that it wasn't a bunked or confirmed. I know. I wish it had been confirmed somehow. I wish they did get to the bottom of it and what really happened. I know. But it is kind of cool that they didn't. And it is kind of cool that Virginia was like, listen, I don't know what happened. I love it. And she was just like, I don't know.

That was that, but let's hope it doesn't come back for everyone else to say. And it's like, okay. Drop that mic for Jinya. Okay, we're Jinya. We're going to leave us. I know. With a gasp. With, ooh.

I know. Crazy story. I had fun doing this one and Dave helped me a lot. And it was really fun to do together. So, I'm having yay, David. And yay, you guys.

And we hope you keep listening. And we hope you keep it weird. But not so weird that you blame a 28-day cycle for a poltergeist activity because we're the demons that's hilarious I'm sorry. Hey, Prime Members! You can listen to Morvid, Early, and Add Free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen Add Free with Wondery Plus and Apple podcasts. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey.

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