1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,000 The End 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:08,000 Tonight on Unsolved Mysteries 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 They call it the chair of death. 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:16,000 More than 300 years ago, a condemned killer 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:19,000 pronounced a curse on the seat as he was led to the gallows. 6 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:21,000 Legend has it that ever since, 7 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:25,000 those who ignored the warnings were doomed to an untimely death. 8 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:30,000 For 11 years, Audrey Santo has been in a coma-like state. 9 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,000 Yet her bedroom has become a religious shrine. 10 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,000 A constant stream of visitors believes that somehow, 11 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:41,000 in this mysterious sleep state, Audrey can perform miracles. 12 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,000 A dog rescues a total stranger from drowning. 13 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:48,000 A pet pig saves the life of its owner. 14 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,000 What turns animals into heroes? 15 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:54,000 Is it instinct, a sixth sense, or something more? 16 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,000 It may look like nothing more than a worn and weather-beaten 17 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,000 scrap of olive wood. 18 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:04,000 Many believe it holds extraordinary power. 19 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,000 The power to heal. 20 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,000 Is it possible that this is an actual remnant 21 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:11,000 of the legendary holy grail? 22 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,000 Can the power of love transcend death? 23 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:20,000 Consider the purity and simplicity of a single red rose. 24 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,000 This woman says it was a gift 25 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:27,000 sent from beyond the grave by her fun television star Michael Lannick. 26 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,000 Join me for these fascinating stories. 27 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:34,000 Perhaps someone somewhere has at one vital clue 28 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:36,000 that can solve a mystery. 29 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,000 Perhaps that someone is watching. 30 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,000 Perhaps it's you. 31 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:27,000 The English village of Thursk 32 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:32,000 has all the quirky charms and quaint customs a visitor might expect. 33 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,000 It also has one attraction you might not expect. 34 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:39,000 As you wander through the clutter of the village's tiny museum, 35 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,000 you might find yourself drawn to a remote alcove 36 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,000 and a valuable antique chair. 37 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,000 But it's not on display for its rarity. 38 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,000 According to the locals, this chair is cursed with a curse 39 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:55,000 and this chair is cursed with an astonishing and lethal power. 40 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:00,000 It all started way back in 1669. 41 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:04,000 Thomas Busby, a convicted murderer on his way to the gallows, 42 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,000 was granted a last wish. 43 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:10,000 A final pint of ale on his favorite chair at his favorite pub. 44 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:14,000 When he finished, the condemned man gathered himself for the hangman. 45 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,000 Pointed to the chair and let his voice ring out, 46 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:21,000 may sudden death come to anyone who dares sit in my chair. 47 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:29,000 Thomas Busby's curse echoed down the centuries, 48 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,000 proving his potency over and over again. 49 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:36,000 At least that's how it's told here with typical British reserve. 50 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:40,000 After he was hanged, this chair remained in the pub 51 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:44,000 and people were dared to sit in it. 52 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:49,000 But gradually it became notice that they were coming to a sticky end 53 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:52,000 afterwards or very shortly afterwards. 54 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,000 No one knows exactly how many victims of curse's claims 55 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,000 as Thomas Busby met his maker. 56 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:02,000 But the legend gained a great deal of notoriety during World War II. 57 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:07,000 Airmen at a nearby base made the pub a hotspot and the chair a hot seat. 58 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,000 People started noticing. 59 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,000 Those who sat didn't come back. 60 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:20,000 Well, until I came here, I didn't believe in curses. 61 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:24,000 But now I have mixed feelings after hearing certain things about this chair. 62 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:29,000 The only way I would sit in the chair if a doctor told me I've only got 12 hours to live. 63 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,000 A great many people take it very seriously. 64 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:36,000 I'm not a superstitious man, but I wouldn't sit in it. 65 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:39,000 Maybe a little ride in Busby's chair, what do you think? 66 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:44,000 1967, 300 years after Busby drank his last pint, 67 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:48,000 a pair of Royal Air Force pilots downed a few too many of their own. 68 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:50,000 How's that feel, sir? 69 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:52,000 It's still hot, it's still ticking a bit. 70 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:53,000 You feel all right? 71 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,000 I feel pretty damn good, I tell you. How about a go for it? 72 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:57,000 A go? 73 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,000 A little spin, how about it? 74 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:00,000 A go for a go? 75 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:01,000 I'm not afraid. 76 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:03,000 I'll sit right down in here. 77 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,000 Oh, it's not bad at all. 78 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:06,000 It's a bit tingly. 79 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:07,000 It is tingly. 80 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:08,000 It's good though. 81 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,000 The tingle didn't last long. 82 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,000 The pitas were about to be grounded for good. 83 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:25,000 The chair was no longer known merely as Busby's chair. 84 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:27,000 Now it was the chair of death. 85 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,000 A few years later, two bricklayers working nearby 86 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,000 took a lunch break at the pub. 87 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:36,000 You feeling lucky today? 88 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:39,000 Despite the chair's sinister reputation, 89 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,000 they couldn't resist daring its power. 90 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:45,000 You've got to be kidding. 91 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,000 There have been a lot of people who tell you it's true. 92 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,000 I'll take it a try. 93 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:53,000 You think I'm scared then? 94 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:55,000 I don't know if you are or you aren't. 95 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:57,000 Curious to know that. 96 00:05:58,000 --> 00:05:59,000 You do it. 97 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,000 Not me, eh fellas? 98 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:03,000 Go on. 99 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:06,000 All right then. 100 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,000 Yeah, it's all right then. 101 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:14,000 That afternoon, Busby's curse struck again. 102 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:15,000 Oh! 103 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:16,000 Hey! 104 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:21,000 Here we go. You guys ready? 105 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:24,000 Legend has it the chair never had an off day. 106 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:27,000 Anyone who warmed his wooden bottom died swiftly. 107 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:30,000 A roofer who tempted the chair fell to his death 108 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:32,000 when the roof he was working on collapsed. 109 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:35,000 A cleaning woman stumbled into the chair while mopping. 110 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,000 Soon after, a brain tumor killed her. 111 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:41,000 No one escaped the chair of death. 112 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,000 Well, with all this rain we've been having, 113 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,000 I haven't been in much need of new supplies. 114 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:50,000 For safety's sake, the pub owner finally moved the chair 115 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:52,000 into the basement, out of harm's way. 116 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:54,000 Or so he thought. 117 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:56,000 You actually believe in the curse now? 118 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:58,000 Well, don't sit in it. 119 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,000 I can tell you more than one or two stories 120 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:03,000 about people who've met a premature death. 121 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:05,000 People even that sort of thing. 122 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:09,000 Within the hour, the delivery man's delivery days were over. 123 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,000 It was the last straw. 124 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,000 There was only one safe place for the chair, 125 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:22,000 the local museum. 126 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:26,000 The curators made sure no one would sit in Busby's chair again. 127 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:29,000 They hung it on the wall five feet off the ground. 128 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:32,000 People come in, they're horrified. 129 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:36,000 Oh, they sort of register horror 130 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:39,000 when they come in and see this chair and hear the story. 131 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:44,000 Though its killing days are presumed to be over, 132 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:48,000 people continue to come forward with more tales of the chair of death. 133 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,000 The strangest one, it was just a couple of months ago 134 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:54,000 a fellow rang me, a retired man from Derby 135 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:57,000 who'd been stationed on the air force base during the war. 136 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:00,000 And he was a member of the RAF band. 137 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:04,000 And they used to play functions in Thursk and travel there by truck. 138 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,000 On the way back one night, they picked up two airmen 139 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,000 who were walking home from a night out in town. 140 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:12,000 And one of these airmen wanted to use a toilet, 141 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,000 so they stopped here at the Busby stoop. 142 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:18,000 While waiting for the airman, the driver of the truck, 143 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:21,000 all unknowing, sat in Busby's chair. 144 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:25,000 When the airman didn't return, the driver left the pub without him. 145 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:31,000 The abandoned and furious airman had to make his own way back to the base. 146 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,000 When he got there, he got a building brick 147 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:36,000 and smashed the head of this driver and killed him. 148 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:42,000 These days the chair isn't taken down even for cleaning, 149 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:45,000 just in case anyone is foolhardy enough 150 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:48,000 to test Busby's curse once more. 151 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:53,000 The power of the chair has been hung up with it, 152 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:59,000 and I wouldn't advise anybody to take it down and sit on it now. 153 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:04,000 Because it does seem that those who challenge the power of the chair 154 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:07,000 are being the quickest to succumb to it. 155 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,000 Next, the unique and strange story of a girl 156 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,000 who many believe is somehow healing the sick, 157 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:29,000 even though she has been in a near coma for 11 years. 158 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:39,000 As you can see, this is Audrey's room, 159 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:43,000 and the person sitting down on her left is her grandmother. 160 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:47,000 And the person standing on your right is Audrey's grandmother. 161 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:51,000 Meet Audrey Santel. This is not a reenactment. 162 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:56,000 Audrey has been in a coma-like state called akinetic mutism for 11 years. 163 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:00,000 Every week people line up at this window to get a glimpse of her. 164 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,000 Not because they are morbid, 165 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:06,000 but because they believe she's a miracle maker. 166 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:13,000 Her astonishing story begins when Audrey played by her family's swimming pool 167 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:15,000 in Worcester, Massachusetts. 168 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:18,000 She was only three years old when tragedy struck. 169 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:28,000 Audrey was under water for several minutes before she was rescued by her brother. 170 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:33,000 On the way to the emergency room, she went into cardiac arrest. 171 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:36,000 It was a parents' worst nightmare. 172 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:40,000 Audrey's initial diagnosis after the near drowning 173 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:44,000 was that she had massive brain damage from the drowning. 174 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:49,000 And very poor prognosis, they didn't think she was going to live very long. 175 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:53,000 We just started praying. 176 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:55,000 That's all. Just prayed. 177 00:10:55,000 --> 00:11:00,000 Because when things are totally out of your control, what else can you do? 178 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,000 It's God's control. 179 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:05,000 Then you've got to give him the ball and let him run with it. 180 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:10,000 Audrey lived, but she has remained bedridden for 11 years. 181 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,000 She shows an awareness of what's going on around her, 182 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:16,000 but she is unable to move or talk. 183 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:20,000 She's not fully conscious by any stretch of the imagination, 184 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:22,000 and yet she's not unconscious. 185 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:26,000 A year after Audrey's accident, 186 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:30,000 her mother took her to the famous miracle site of Medjugorje, hoping for a cure. 187 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,000 The trip nearly killed Audrey, 188 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:38,000 but from that time on, a gradual progression of unexplained phenomena took place. 189 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:42,000 One of the most remarkable occurred in the Santos living room. 190 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:49,000 October 1993. 191 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:51,000 Audrey was nine. 192 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,000 A picture of the Virgin Mary appeared to be crying, 193 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:57,000 not tears, but drops of oil. 194 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:00,000 We're all looking at this image, 195 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:03,000 and I said, please, you know, if this is for Audrey, 196 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:08,000 let us know this, because all of a sudden it occurred just to the kids and I that 197 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,000 maybe this would be worse for Audrey's healing. 198 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:16,000 There are many meanings of oil, for example, healing and so on, 199 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:22,000 and I conclude quickly then that God is saying this is a holy place, 200 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:25,000 and this little girl is mine. 201 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:29,000 It started with one weeping picture. 202 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:31,000 Then as the days went on, 203 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:36,000 almost every religious icon in Audrey's room began to cry tears of oil. 204 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:39,000 Another image started weeping, 205 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:41,000 and then another image started weeping. 206 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:44,000 We started thinking, well, is there a rhyme or reason to this? 207 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:47,000 Or could it be a hoax? 208 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:51,000 One person who thought it was a sham was a newly hired nurse. 209 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:54,000 When I started piecing everything together, 210 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:56,000 at first I'm saying, I gotta get out of here. 211 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:58,000 These guys are nuts. 212 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:01,000 I really tried to call their bluff on this, 213 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,000 but as I stayed there, I just, I believed it. 214 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:08,000 I couldn't, I can't find any reason why these things are happening, 215 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:09,000 and I have checked. 216 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,000 Did I check the statues? 217 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:14,000 Did I check the cups? 218 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:19,000 I mean, I'm looking for wires and anything that would stop an oil reaction. 219 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,000 And there was absolutely nothing, 220 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,000 nothing there that I can explain why it's happening. 221 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,000 News began to spread within the Catholic community. 222 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:30,000 Fervent believers began to request samples of the oil. 223 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:33,000 Some even anointed their sick loved ones with it. 224 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:38,000 The mysterious events began to take on a new dimension. 225 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:41,000 Caitlin McQuade was thought to have cerebral palsy. 226 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,000 She no longer has braces on her legs. 227 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,000 Victor Fanucci recovered from crippling neck pain. 228 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:52,000 A motorcycle accident had left Joey Paralisi with severely injured legs. 229 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:55,000 He can now walk without crutches. 230 00:13:55,000 --> 00:14:03,000 Lord Jesus Christ, you gave us the Eucharist as the memorial of your suffering and death. 231 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,000 In a remarkable departure from tradition, 232 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:09,000 the local Catholic diocese approved the weekly performance of mass 233 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,000 in a makeshift sanctuary in the family's backyard. 234 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:16,000 Pilgrims came to the Santo Home to ask Audrey to pray for them 235 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,000 and to receive samples of the oil. 236 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:22,000 At first they came by the dozens, then by the hundreds, 237 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,000 until the numbers reached the thousands. 238 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:32,000 Joanne and Stanley Pirog were given a sample of oil by a friend 239 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:37,000 when their 17-year-old son Jim lapsed into a coma after a car crash. 240 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:40,000 A serious student he intended to go to college. 241 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:44,000 That was before a pickup hit the driver's side of his car. 242 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:49,000 They told us that Jim's condition was very, very grave 243 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:53,000 and it would be a miracle if he survived the night. 244 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:58,000 We're concerned that Jim was not going to make it. 245 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:05,000 Jim was still comatose seven days later when they placed the oil on his forehead. 246 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:07,000 No Mary, follow grace. 247 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:09,000 And then... 248 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,000 Bless us now, bless us if they're there forever, Lord Jesus. 249 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:15,000 The monitor showed that Jim was responding. 250 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:21,000 I can still remember the feeling of, 251 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:26,000 because I didn't expect that particular effect. 252 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:37,000 And it was just a few hours later that he did come out of his coma. 253 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:41,000 And the nurses used to call him Miracle Kid. 254 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:48,000 It took Jim a year to improve enough from his injuries 255 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:50,000 to return to high school and graduate. 256 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:57,000 Audrey's astonishing abilities took a new twist in June of 1994. 257 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:01,000 Without warning, a mysterious rash appeared on her legs. 258 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:05,000 Was Audrey taking on the painful side effects of sick people? 259 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:08,000 Dr. Harding had no explanation for it, 260 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:12,000 so a laboratory examined the biopsy of Audrey's skin. 261 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:16,000 And they sent back a report that said it's the rash 262 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:20,000 that you might see with a patient on chemotherapy. 263 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:22,000 And she wasn't on chemotherapy. 264 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:26,000 Knowing the supernatural stuff going around her, 265 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,000 perhaps somebody had come in, 266 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,000 maybe their wife dying of cancer, 267 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:31,000 or their husband or their child, 268 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:33,000 and on chemotherapy, 269 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:38,000 and had asked her if she would ask God for healing for their loved one. 270 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:42,000 And that, you know, perhaps she took that on, 271 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,000 that suffering on behalf of a patient. 272 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:49,000 But one of the most incredible aspects of Audrey's story 273 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,000 is Audrey herself. 274 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,000 After 11 years of being bedridden, 275 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:55,000 she is surprisingly healthy. 276 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:59,000 You just wouldn't expect her to be so well-nourished looking, 277 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:01,000 her skin to be in such perfect condition. 278 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:06,000 She really just looks like this maybe happened a few weeks ago, 279 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,000 or a month ago or not, like it happened 11 years ago. 280 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:13,000 The girls never had a bed sore, you know, 281 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:16,000 and for someone who doesn't move around and have a trach and stuff, 282 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:19,000 she really has not had any kind of pneumonia or cold or anything 283 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:25,000 in three years, which is really in itself a remarkable thing. 284 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:27,000 It's got to be God. 285 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:29,000 I mean, it's supernatural. 286 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:31,000 It comes from two sources in my book, 287 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:33,000 the devil or God. 288 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,000 And since this is all good, 289 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:37,000 and people are coming back to God, 290 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:39,000 and they're being healed, 291 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,000 this must be of God. 292 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:48,000 © BF-WATCH TV 2021 293 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:26,000 They say that inside even the smallest dog lives a heart and mind of a wolf. 294 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:29,560 So what strange force makes these animals our best friends? 295 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:35,540 Even more puzzling, what inexplicable instinct persuades them to risk their lives for ours? 296 00:18:35,540 --> 00:18:39,600 What is the potent and mysterious bond between us and them? 297 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:41,160 Go get it! 298 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:42,160 Go get it! 299 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:43,160 Go get it! 300 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:47,720 A female and her dog, Norman, often walk along the shore of a tidal estuary in seaside 301 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:48,720 Oregon. 302 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:54,000 Norman is a yellow lab, a kind of dog often used to guide the blind. 303 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,880 In this case, however, the roles are reversed. 304 00:18:56,880 --> 00:19:00,240 Norman is blind, and that guides him. 305 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:05,560 When Norman's going to bump into something, I just say, easy, easy. 306 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:11,720 If I throw all this stick and he doesn't hear where it lands and he goes the wrong direction, 307 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:13,760 I tell him to go the other way. 308 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:19,520 I just say, other way, other way, and he'll usually turn around and go the right way. 309 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:25,600 On August 5th, 1997, Annette was guiding Norman through the usual game, but Norman suddenly 310 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:28,000 reacted to a different sound. 311 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:29,000 Norman! 312 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:30,000 Norman! 313 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:36,200 He just took off like a bullet. 314 00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:39,240 I was surprised that he could even run that fast. 315 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:40,560 I tried to call him back. 316 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:46,480 He'll read he would hurt himself, but he ignored her completely. 317 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:48,000 Help! 318 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:49,400 Help! 319 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:56,440 15-year-old Lisa Nibley was caught in the dangerous undertow of the incoming tide. 320 00:19:56,440 --> 00:20:00,040 I was having a hard time getting enough air in, you know. 321 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:04,760 My lungs were just burning because it was just so hard for me to breathe, and my face was 322 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:11,120 just on fire because I was screaming so loud for someone to help me. 323 00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:15,440 Amazingly, Norman started swimming straight toward her. 324 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:21,520 I couldn't believe that he knew what to do, that he knew somebody needed him, and he went 325 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:22,520 and did it. 326 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:24,680 It was just, it was incredible. 327 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:28,560 When Lisa saw Norman heading toward her, she stopped screaming. 328 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:33,480 Norman became instantly disoriented, and it suddenly realized Norman had been following 329 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:34,480 Lisa's voice. 330 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:35,480 Call him! 331 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:36,480 Call him! 332 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:37,480 His name is Norman! 333 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:38,480 His name is Norman! 334 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:39,480 Call him! 335 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:40,480 He'll come to you! 336 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:41,480 Norman! 337 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:42,480 Norman! 338 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:53,480 The moment Lisa called him, Norman got his bearings and swam straight toward her. 339 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:54,480 Come on, Norman! 340 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:57,680 It was the most helpless moment in my life. 341 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:01,880 I felt like everything was depending on Norman to get out there and get her because there's 342 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:03,320 no way I could. 343 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:06,000 I'm not a swimmer and I wouldn't have been able to save her. 344 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:08,200 It was all depending on him. 345 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:13,520 When he swam out to me, he kind of looked at me and my face and kind of like he was 346 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:16,160 saying, grab ahold of me, I'm going to help you. 347 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:18,400 Lisa grabbed Norman, then lost her grip. 348 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:20,880 Her arms were shaking with fatigue. 349 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:25,280 Incredibly, Norman came back for another try. 350 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:31,440 Service! 351 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:35,520 He turned around and swung himself around so I could grab the back of him so he could 352 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:38,120 swim and I could hold on to him. 353 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:41,640 I think he knew that he had to help me. 354 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:43,760 He knew what he was doing. 355 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:48,040 To Lisa's astonishment, Norman told her towards shore as though he'd been trained for it all 356 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:50,080 his life. 357 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:57,080 Moments later they were back in the shallows, safe. 358 00:21:57,080 --> 00:22:05,840 He's like already an angel and I was so happy that he saved me and it was amazing. 359 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:10,680 Neither Annette nor Lisa understand what mysterious instinct inspired a blind dog to risk his 360 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:12,240 life for a stranger. 361 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:19,120 But Lisa will be forever grateful to her hero, Norman. 362 00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:23,880 When you look into a dog's soft brown eyes, it's not hard to see the heart of a hero. 363 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:28,240 But what about other animals? 364 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:31,080 August 4th, 1998. 365 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:35,000 Joe Aldsman was vacationing at a campground on Lake Erie. 366 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:40,360 While her husband was out fishing, she was relaxing in their trailer. 367 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:47,480 Suddenly, she felt a pain in her chest and her left arm went numb. 368 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:49,160 Help! 369 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:51,160 Help! 370 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:53,160 Help! 371 00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:56,600 No one in the campground heard her cries. 372 00:22:56,600 --> 00:23:03,680 No one except Lulu, her pet pot-bellied pig. 373 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:07,000 Joe's heart attack continued, her pain increasing. 374 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:09,280 She became terrified that she would die. 375 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:11,640 No one close enough to help. 376 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:13,320 Seconds passed, minutes. 377 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:16,320 She was getting weaker. 378 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:18,320 Hello? 379 00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:22,320 Is anybody home? 380 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:24,480 Help me! 381 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:27,480 I'm having a heart attack. 382 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:28,480 Hold 911. 383 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:29,480 The phone is in the center. 384 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:31,480 All right, I'll get some help. 385 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:32,480 I'll get an ambulance. 386 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:33,480 Just hold on. 387 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:35,480 I'll be right back. 388 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:39,280 Within minutes, paramedics were rushing Joe to the hospital. 389 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:42,640 They took me to the emergency room and admitted me. 390 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:51,000 And they said in even 15 minutes I would have no quality of life or I would have died. 391 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:54,720 But how did the young man happen to arrive just in the nick of time? 392 00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:57,720 What guardian angel guided him to her door? 393 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:04,880 To Joe's amazement, it turned out to be Lulu the pig. 394 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:12,440 From the moment Joe fell to the floor, Lulu seemed to know something was very wrong. 395 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:16,840 She ran to the kitchen and squeezed herself through the dog door, scraping her belly 396 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:21,280 off. 397 00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:28,000 Outside, Lulu threw herself against the gate, battering it until it broke. 398 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,280 Her cries kept getting fainter. 399 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:32,360 That's because she was going farther away from me. 400 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:36,080 But I didn't register that at the time. 401 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:41,440 Lulu went to the campground's main crossroads. 402 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:45,880 Incredibly, she parked herself in the middle of the road, forcing drivers to back up or 403 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:51,560 swerve around her. 404 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:57,760 Even more amazing, Lulu repeatedly retraced her steps, returning constantly to Joe. 405 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:02,120 She'd come back in through all the doggy door and scrape her belly and check on me and put 406 00:25:02,120 --> 00:25:04,760 that big mug of hers over my face. 407 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:08,720 And she'd go out back out through everything and do everything again. 408 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:15,600 It just seemed like I'd haulered forever and Lulu had run back and forth forever. 409 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:21,960 But Lulu apparently wasn't willing to give up. 410 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:26,840 Finally, someone stopped. 411 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:35,800 Lulu's behavior defies explanation. 412 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:39,720 Did she actually conceive and execute a plan to save Joe's life? 413 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:41,520 How could a pig do that? 414 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:45,200 And why would she? 415 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:50,680 Her behaviorist might credit Pac Instant for genetically programmed responses to fear pheromones, 416 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:53,240 but Joe has a simpler answer. 417 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:55,760 Lulu loved her. 418 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:58,440 Every morning I thank God that she was there. 419 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:01,480 And every morning I thank her. 420 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:05,240 Lulu literally saved my life. 421 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:13,880 Next, some say that water from a chalice called the Lantius Cup has the power to heal. 422 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:23,880 Could it be the Holy Grail? 423 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:29,040 It was the most sacred object of the Middle Ages, a great elusive prize coveted by King 424 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:32,560 Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. 425 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:37,960 Centuries ago, wandering mistresses popularized the image of a bejeweled golden chalice, the 426 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:39,840 Holy Grail. 427 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:41,960 But that is a romantic ideal. 428 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:46,920 The reality may be quite different. 429 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:51,480 Thousands of people believe this well-worn palm-sized bit of olive wood, kept under lock 430 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:57,760 and key in West Wales, is the true Grail, all that is left of a simple workman's cup, 431 00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:04,720 the cup from which Jesus Christ himself drank at the Last Supper. 432 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:11,640 The cup is a unique symbol which brings God and man together. 433 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:19,760 And of course, for the Catholic, at least, Christ is present in the cup. 434 00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:29,640 Many people regard the Holy Grail and Jesus Christ as one and the same. 435 00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:34,440 It is a powerful notion that the lips of Christ actually touch an object that still exists 436 00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:36,120 today. 437 00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:37,880 But is it truly the Grail? 438 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:39,880 Where is the proof? 439 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:43,640 Believers say it lies in the miraculous power to heal. 440 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:48,360 Hundreds testify they have been cured of the worst afflictions, arthritis, heart disease, 441 00:27:48,360 --> 00:27:52,160 blindness, leprosy, even deadly cancers. 442 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:56,840 The legend of the Grail begins with this wondrous journey from biblical Palestine to a modest 443 00:27:56,840 --> 00:28:01,240 cottage in England. 444 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:06,680 For more than 2,000 years, every object associated with the Last Supper and the crucifixion 445 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:14,160 has taken on a mystical significance, none more so than the Holy Grail. 446 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:19,520 For the historian, the Grail is legend, pure and simple, but legend is an amazing thing. 447 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:23,760 It can enable people to do heroic things under the worst of circumstances. 448 00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:27,000 And that's why the Grail story is one of the greatest stories in the entire history of 449 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:30,720 the world and always will be. 450 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:35,000 Though it was not recorded in the Bible, the Grail legend holds that blood spilled from 451 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:38,960 Christ's wounds as his body was being prepared for burial. 452 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:42,760 Joseph of Arimathea caught a few drops in the Grail. 453 00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:47,480 After the resurrection, Joseph was accused of stealing the body of Christ and was imprisoned 454 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:49,720 without food or water. 455 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:54,520 Each day, however, an angel placed a wafer in the Grail, keeping Joseph alive until he 456 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:57,560 managed to escape with his life and the Grail. 457 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:01,680 He brought the precious cup to the Western Isles of Britain. 458 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:06,560 There he founded the Church of the Holy Grail on Glastonbury tour, a church whose ruins 459 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:12,840 still stand today, 100 miles west of London. 460 00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:18,760 There is sufficient evidence, written evidence, to support the coming of Joseph and the Holy 461 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:26,760 Grail with 11 or so disciples to the Western confines of England, indeed to Glastonbury, 462 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:32,960 via the Bristol Channel, from Palestine. 463 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:37,760 For a thousand years after Joseph came to Glastonbury, the Grail remained hidden away, 464 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:40,080 all but forgotten. 465 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:43,960 Then in the 12th century, poets and troubadours revived the legend. 466 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:48,840 The quest for the Grail captivated all of Europe. 467 00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:52,760 It's the spiritual equivalent to, say, the Star Wars trilogy, the Superman movies, the 468 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:55,880 Batman movies all rolled into one. 469 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:59,000 Everybody knows the characters, everybody has some sense of what's at stake. 470 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:03,040 It's the salvation of the human race. 471 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:08,560 Three centuries after the revival of the Grail legend, Henry VIII added another chapter. 472 00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:16,080 He ordered his soldiers to loot the monasteries and destroy the churches, including Glastonbury. 473 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:20,480 Henry VIII's Reformation was one of the great acts of vandalism in the history of the world. 474 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:24,520 To put it bluntly, the king wanted to get rich so he could fight France and Spain. 475 00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:29,240 And he also wanted to remove what he thought were the wrong bits of religion of mis-land. 476 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:34,080 And that's why these great medieval avies had to go. 477 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:38,600 A group of monks fled Glastonbury just ahead of the king's soldiers. 478 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:43,320 Legend has it that they carried with them a secret treasure, the true Grail, for a time 479 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:48,000 they hid in a monastery in Wales called Strada Florida. 480 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:53,840 When Strada Florida suffered the same fate as Glastonbury, the monks fled again. 481 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:59,280 It's time to Nantius House, a mansion owned by a family of aristocrats named Powell. 482 00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:02,280 There the monks found sanctuary. 483 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:07,080 There were seven of them, six monks and the prior. 484 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:14,800 And they remained in Nantius House and to one by one they passed on. 485 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:17,720 The last of the seven to die was the prior. 486 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:25,640 It was the prior who handed this sacred relic over to the Powell family. 487 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:30,320 The Powell's guarded the monks' relic for 400 years, handing it down from one generation 488 00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:31,320 to the next. 489 00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:36,800 It became known as the Nantius Cup. 490 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:42,040 What began to transpire was that the chalice had healing properties. 491 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:47,280 How they discovered this is not known, but at some point in time the healing properties 492 00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:51,080 became more apparent. 493 00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:56,120 For many years Reverend Griffiths knew only the barest facts about the Nantius Cup. 494 00:31:56,120 --> 00:32:03,040 Then one night in 1988 he had his first encounter with the mysterious powers of the Grail. 495 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:09,040 I was on itinerant ministry during those days and this particular day I was travelling to 496 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:12,440 North Wales early in the morning. 497 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:20,760 I said I'd set a time of rising at 6am, but at 4am I was awakened by a voice. 498 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:26,840 The first time it didn't register and I heard a second time the voice say, you will find 499 00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:36,320 the holy chalice. 500 00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:39,040 Before dawn that very morning a friend called. 501 00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:43,280 The friend suggested that the Reverend include the Nantius Cup in a coming exhibition of 502 00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:45,480 Christian artifacts. 503 00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:52,480 He told Griffiths he might learn more about the Cup at the Ruin Abbey of Stratoflora. 504 00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:58,480 When I gave the curator the details I was amazed to find that he was convinced of my 505 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:01,800 experience and he was more than willing to help. 506 00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:06,880 But he made it to understand that he was breaking the rule because he had promised the family 507 00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:11,320 that he would never redirect anyone to their present location. 508 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:17,760 Now the reason for this was because the present Cup owner's mother was sometimes inundated 509 00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:26,720 with as many as a thousand visitors per week and as a result she experienced a breakdown. 510 00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:32,240 The current owner of the Cup, another direct descendant of the Powell family, lives in seclusion, 511 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:37,680 treating her privacy as vigilantly as she guards the Nantius Cup. 512 00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:43,320 As the guardian of the Holy Grail my duty to safeguard the Cup at all times but to allow 513 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:51,480 people to drink from it, to have water from it and to send water to people if they are 514 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:53,120 real. 515 00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:58,880 When I first set eyes on the chalice I was a little disappointed because it was only 516 00:33:58,880 --> 00:33:59,880 fragmentary. 517 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:07,160 Perhaps it was only a third of the original vessel left but when I handled it I had a 518 00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:10,760 total, totally different appreciation of it. 519 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:22,560 I can't describe in human language the effect it had upon me as if I was already in paradise. 520 00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:27,200 It is precisely that feeling of holiness that has led many to believe the Cup has the power 521 00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:29,640 to heal. 522 00:34:29,640 --> 00:34:34,240 The Cup's guardian gives water that has been poured over the Cup to Reverend Griffiths. 523 00:34:34,240 --> 00:34:38,000 He patched the holy water on small prayer mats and sends them to those who were sick 524 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:39,000 and crippled. 525 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:44,680 The Reverend says some of the results have been nothing short of miraculous. 526 00:34:44,680 --> 00:34:52,520 I have a regular meal with a young man who was once totally blind and today he has perfect 527 00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:53,520 sight. 528 00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:59,880 I cite one case of a young man who was a leper, had a leprous condition for 11 years 529 00:34:59,880 --> 00:35:05,960 but the following day his skin was perfectly clean from every trace of leprosy. 530 00:35:05,960 --> 00:35:13,600 We have many cases of arthritics and rheumatics who have been healed if not in the short term 531 00:35:13,600 --> 00:35:19,080 in the long term for which they were told originally there was no cure. 532 00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:22,920 Marlene Checkley testifies to her own miracle. 533 00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:25,640 Well like I would imagine it was every woman's nightmare. 534 00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:31,440 I was having a shower one morning and I found a lump in my left breast. 535 00:35:31,440 --> 00:35:34,160 Marlene's doctor believed the lump was cancerous. 536 00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:40,640 While waiting for a mammogram Marlene wore one of the prayer claws beneath her clothes. 537 00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:45,120 And then by the time I went for the mammogram everything was clear. 538 00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:48,560 The lump was still there but there was nothing cancerous. 539 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:53,080 The doctors did say that the lump would still stay there but after a week or two the lump 540 00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:58,680 went and I've had no further problems with that. 541 00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:06,920 The results and the testimonies were so amazing that I knew then that behind my whole experience 542 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:13,760 from the time when I heard the voice to this present time that I have no doubts whatsoever 543 00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:23,200 about the authenticity of the chalice being the holy grail that Jesus used at the last supper. 544 00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:26,080 Is the Nantius Cup the holy grail? 545 00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:27,960 We may never know. 546 00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:32,680 The cup has not been carbon dated or scientifically tested in any way. 547 00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:38,960 Its guardian fears such testing might damage it. 548 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:42,520 As it turns out there are at least half a dozen chalices scattered across Europe that 549 00:36:42,560 --> 00:36:47,080 many claim are equally strong contenders of the title of the true grail. 550 00:36:47,080 --> 00:36:50,720 It is interesting to note however that the others are made of more expensive materials 551 00:36:50,720 --> 00:36:54,000 gold, bronze and other metals. 552 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:59,040 The Nantius Cup is simple wood precisely the kind of cup a humble carpenter would drink 553 00:36:59,040 --> 00:37:02,640 from. 554 00:37:02,640 --> 00:37:08,240 Next did television star Michael Landon send a gift to his daughter from beyond the grave 555 00:37:08,240 --> 00:37:20,560 a compelling testament to the power of love the real highway to heaven. 556 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:22,800 What do a Christmas ornament? 557 00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:29,800 $300 in cash and a fragile red rose have in common. 558 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:33,000 Some would say they were all signs from heaven. 559 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:37,800 Tangible gifts sent from beyond the grave by television star Michael Landon, grandfather 560 00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:42,320 Herman Stegos and college student Joe McCarthy. 561 00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:50,320 18 year old Joe McCarthy of Warsaw, Wisconsin was a go getter in every sense. 562 00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:53,480 A top 10 student in his high school class. 563 00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:57,040 When it came time for college he chose Notre Dame. 564 00:37:57,040 --> 00:38:02,760 In June of 1987 Joe had just returned home after his freshman year when he was killed 565 00:38:02,760 --> 00:38:06,640 in a car accident. 566 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:13,800 When Joe died there's number one there's emptiness in your heart and in your mind it's like where 567 00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:15,040 is he? 568 00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:16,040 Is he okay? 569 00:38:16,040 --> 00:38:21,200 I kept thinking at the time if he could only just talk to me. 570 00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:24,360 Just one time. 571 00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:29,200 Everyone's grieving around you and so you're thinking I wish I knew. 572 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:33,640 It's just that thought is he okay? 573 00:38:33,640 --> 00:38:37,040 The McCarthy's didn't actually expect an answer. 574 00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:39,760 Then three days after the funeral. 575 00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:47,760 I was going through the basement out into the garage and I saw the angel that tops our 576 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:54,000 Christmas tree laying there. 577 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:58,520 Since Joe died in June and we had the Christmas ornaments stored in an upstairs closet I thought 578 00:38:58,520 --> 00:39:04,560 it was kind of strange but didn't really think a whole lot of it. 579 00:39:04,560 --> 00:39:07,080 Joe used to kid me about vacuuming. 580 00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:10,880 It was like mom if you ever get to heaven there's going to be a vacuum up there because 581 00:39:10,880 --> 00:39:11,880 you do it so much. 582 00:39:11,880 --> 00:39:15,560 I said well cleanliness is next to godliness right kid? 583 00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:17,280 So I did I vacuumed every day. 584 00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:18,520 I still do. 585 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:24,440 I saw something on the rug and I picked it up and I just thought it was an ornament and 586 00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:27,320 I just looked at it and I thought this is one of the ornaments from the Christmas tree 587 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:28,920 why is it here? 588 00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:29,920 And I just set it aside. 589 00:39:29,920 --> 00:39:35,160 I set it on a shelf we had there and I didn't think much of it at the time. 590 00:39:35,160 --> 00:39:39,640 That evening Dennis told Kathleen about the angel he had discovered. 591 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:41,800 It was right there in the middle of the floor. 592 00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:45,440 I almost stepped out of it. 593 00:39:45,440 --> 00:39:49,000 I found an angel today too. 594 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:54,440 I went and got it and showed it to him and it said it said Joseph on it. 595 00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:57,640 He said it's a sign he's okay. 596 00:39:57,640 --> 00:40:03,080 The McCarthy's had four angel ornaments each in grade with one of their children's names. 597 00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:07,240 This one remarkably had been Joe's. 598 00:40:07,240 --> 00:40:09,840 I looked at it and saw Joe's name on there. 599 00:40:09,840 --> 00:40:12,600 It was really an incredible feeling. 600 00:40:12,600 --> 00:40:18,240 The fact that he gave his mother an angel and I an angel on the same day to me was pretty 601 00:40:18,240 --> 00:40:20,400 powerful. 602 00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:24,680 It may seem amazing but the McCarthy's experience is hardly uncommon. 603 00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:30,800 Dr. Louis LeGrand chronicles more than 50 similar experiences in his book After Death 604 00:40:30,800 --> 00:40:34,000 Communication. 605 00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:40,960 This happens just an innumerable amount of times and that's why we need to validate these 606 00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:42,200 situations. 607 00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:47,360 That's why we need to get the general public to be more accepting and open to this. 608 00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:49,480 We can't explain it. 609 00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:52,360 Parents will never be able to explain it. 610 00:40:52,360 --> 00:40:56,400 It's a gift to the heart and that's what explains it. 611 00:40:56,400 --> 00:41:02,360 Indeed, heaven sent signs seemed to come from those with big hearts. 612 00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:06,800 People like Herman Stegos who was 69 when he died unexpectedly. 613 00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:12,320 He was very close to his grandchildren, especially his eldest grandson Anthony. 614 00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:15,160 Herman died just three weeks before Christmas. 615 00:41:15,160 --> 00:41:17,560 His message arrived with a holiday mail. 616 00:41:18,560 --> 00:41:20,880 Kids, present from Aunt Terry. 617 00:41:20,880 --> 00:41:25,040 When this package came it was kind of like, it was exciting for the kids because it took 618 00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:28,000 their mind off of, you know, the grieving. 619 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:31,440 They opened up the packages, the wrapping paper was all over, the shipping stuff was 620 00:41:31,440 --> 00:41:33,840 all over my mother's living room floor. 621 00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:39,360 So I asked Anthony if he could clean it up and take the box out to the garbage. 622 00:41:39,360 --> 00:41:44,520 Anthony was on his way out when he suddenly stopped in his tracks. 623 00:41:44,520 --> 00:41:47,320 He says his grandfather spoke to him. 624 00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:53,640 When I heard his voice it did freak me out because it was scary. 625 00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:57,600 He said, Mom, Pop just told me I should look under the flap of the box. 626 00:41:57,600 --> 00:42:01,600 She just said quit playing around. 627 00:42:01,600 --> 00:42:04,880 She thought I was playing a game, but I wasn't. 628 00:42:04,880 --> 00:42:06,560 I said, Anthony, throw the box out. 629 00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:08,240 I thought he was playing with me. 630 00:42:08,240 --> 00:42:10,240 He said, no, Mom, you don't understand, I heard him twice. 631 00:42:10,240 --> 00:42:13,840 He said, look under the flap, look under the flap. 632 00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:19,960 After enough, wedged in the bottom flaps of the box was an envelope. 633 00:42:19,960 --> 00:42:27,200 Inside were three crisp $100 bills, one each for Anthony, his brother and sister. 634 00:42:27,200 --> 00:42:31,800 Beth has convinced the money would have been lost if her father had not spoken from beyond 635 00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:34,800 the grave. 636 00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:37,960 I think that was the biggest message in the whole thing, that, you know, grandpa's still 637 00:42:37,960 --> 00:42:42,440 here, grandpa's still watching you and grandpa's spending the holidays with you. 638 00:42:42,440 --> 00:42:45,040 I didn't leave and I didn't abandon you. 639 00:42:45,040 --> 00:42:47,720 This is the way that he could tell them, you know, that I'm still here. 640 00:42:47,720 --> 00:42:51,800 This was a sure way of getting out his message, that you're not alone, that I'm still here 641 00:42:51,800 --> 00:42:56,160 with you and I still love you, each of you. 642 00:42:56,160 --> 00:43:02,720 To have had an experience of this nature, when love is rekindled, the person is able 643 00:43:02,720 --> 00:43:10,800 to reconnect with life again, to get some energy back, to be able to look at themselves 644 00:43:10,800 --> 00:43:18,360 in the mirror and say, maybe there is some meaning to what has happened. 645 00:43:18,360 --> 00:43:26,520 Meaningful yes, but were the experiences of Joe's family and Herman's family mere coincidences? 646 00:43:26,520 --> 00:43:32,360 Not at all, says Michael Landon's daughter Cheryl. 647 00:43:32,360 --> 00:43:36,440 In 1991, Michael Landon was at the top of his career. 648 00:43:36,440 --> 00:43:40,720 He was a highly regarded star of Highway to Heaven, in which he played an angel sent 649 00:43:40,720 --> 00:43:43,480 to earth to help people. 650 00:43:43,480 --> 00:43:48,200 Michael first became well known to us as Little Joe on Bonanza, then he played the lovable 651 00:43:48,200 --> 00:43:51,200 father on Little House and the Prairie. 652 00:43:51,200 --> 00:43:56,600 Cheryl says that Michael Landon was not very different from the characters he portrayed. 653 00:43:56,600 --> 00:43:58,520 There was a warmth about him. 654 00:43:58,520 --> 00:44:04,400 There was this love, the spontaneity, it was like he was my angel from heaven, my father 655 00:44:04,400 --> 00:44:06,000 from heaven. 656 00:44:06,000 --> 00:44:12,640 When Michael Landon died of cancer in 1991 at a youthful 54, Cheryl was devastated. 657 00:44:12,640 --> 00:44:16,960 It was the greatest loss of my life. 658 00:44:16,960 --> 00:44:28,320 My best friend, my mentor, my protector, my guidance, everything, my security, it was 659 00:44:28,320 --> 00:44:30,680 all gone. 660 00:44:30,680 --> 00:44:36,040 And I started hearing my dad's voice. 661 00:44:36,040 --> 00:44:42,280 My father would come to me in dreams and I thought, boy, I must be really grieving because 662 00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:44,320 I'm hearing my dad's voice. 663 00:44:44,320 --> 00:44:47,200 I'm seeing him in my dreams. 664 00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:52,560 Cheryl vowed to carry on Michael's legacy of emphasizing good deeds and good heartedness. 665 00:44:52,560 --> 00:44:56,760 Her first step was writing a book called I Promised My Dad. 666 00:44:56,760 --> 00:45:01,680 As a publishing deadline approached, Cheryl felt more and more uneasy about the prospect 667 00:45:01,680 --> 00:45:05,360 of promoting the book on the talk show circuit. 668 00:45:05,360 --> 00:45:11,240 I remember going through so much of the emotions and I really thought, how could I go on and 669 00:45:11,240 --> 00:45:13,640 do these television shows successfully? 670 00:45:13,640 --> 00:45:20,360 And I very clearly heard my father during the day say, when you go to do your first show, 671 00:45:20,360 --> 00:45:24,000 I'm going to leave you a long stem red rose. 672 00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:28,760 A year later, Cheryl found herself in Manhattan, nervously preparing for her first talk show 673 00:45:28,760 --> 00:45:29,760 appearance. 674 00:45:29,760 --> 00:45:36,720 That's when she says she heard Michael Landon's voice again. 675 00:45:36,720 --> 00:45:37,720 What's wrong? 676 00:45:37,720 --> 00:45:40,480 You've been so quiet since we got here. 677 00:45:40,480 --> 00:45:42,520 Something really amazing happened to me. 678 00:45:42,520 --> 00:45:43,520 What? 679 00:45:43,520 --> 00:45:47,680 Just now when I was standing by the window, I heard his voice again. 680 00:45:47,680 --> 00:45:49,280 He was right there. 681 00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:53,880 And this time he told me to find the fountain in Central Park. 682 00:45:53,880 --> 00:45:59,000 The strange part is that I knew exactly where this fountain was never being there before. 683 00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:03,000 It was like I was guided exactly to this fountain. 684 00:46:03,000 --> 00:46:04,000 Maybe it is. 685 00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:06,000 It's a good fountain. 686 00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:10,880 When I had gone down to the bottom of the stairwell, there at my feet, exactly where 687 00:46:10,880 --> 00:46:13,920 I had stopped was a long stem red rose. 688 00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:17,640 This is just the way my father said it would be. 689 00:46:17,640 --> 00:46:22,760 It was like I had discovered a treasure of gold. 690 00:46:22,760 --> 00:46:26,000 I was so happy. 691 00:46:26,000 --> 00:46:37,920 I was so full of encouragement that it was just like a boost of love, a boost of encouragement. 692 00:46:37,920 --> 00:46:42,960 Cheryl's friend who witnessed the moment snapped this picture to commemorate it. 693 00:46:42,960 --> 00:46:50,000 For Michael Landon's daughter, it is a lasting reminder of his love. 694 00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:56,120 A single red rose, two Christmas ornaments, a trio of $100 bills. 695 00:46:56,120 --> 00:46:59,520 Are the griefs tricking just too willing to clutch at anything that might bring them 696 00:46:59,520 --> 00:47:00,520 comfort? 697 00:47:00,520 --> 00:47:04,600 Or is something else at work, something beyond explanation? 698 00:47:04,600 --> 00:47:11,480 For the families of Joe McCarthy, Herman Stegos and Michael Landon, no explanation is needed. 699 00:47:11,480 --> 00:47:22,440 They held the proof in their hands. 700 00:47:22,440 --> 00:47:26,280 Join me next time for another compelling hour of Unsolved Mysteries.