Latest / Mystery Archives Episodes / The Demonic Poltergeist Of 30 East Drive | The Untold Story Of The Black Monk Of Pontefract

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The Demonic Poltergeist Of 30 East Drive | The Untold Story Of The Black Monk Of Pontefract · Mystery Archives Episodes

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Searching for the ideal place to settle, a young family moves
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into a new home, believing their prayers have been answered.
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However, just a year later, they find themselves gone, never to
0:16
return. They're left questioning just
0:19
who truly answered those prayers and what exactly invaded their
0:23
lives. An enigmatic entity that
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perpetrated violence and terror upon them.
0:30
The untold story of the Black monk of Pontefract.
0:56
In September 1954, Bill Farah and his wife Barbara moved into
1:02
a new home in the historic market town of Pontefract,
1:07
England. They were a young family with a
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2 year old daughter named Jane. At 30 E Drive with its three
1:16
bedrooms, this should have been their ideal home.
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Yet less than a year later they moved out.
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The fairs quickly had grown terrified of their new home.
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Their dream had seemingly become a nightmare.
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Objects moved on their own, voices echoed in empty rooms and
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halls, and large rips and tears appeared on their furniture out
1:44
of nowhere, forming an ominous atmosphere that began to smother
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them. All these events would culminate
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one night when Bill and Barbara found their daughter crying, her
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small face inexplicably covered in scratches, small trickles of
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blood dripping from each slash with no rational cause.
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The family had no pets to blame for their daughter Jane's
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injuries, and even after they placed cotton mitts on her
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hands, the wounds continued to appear.
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The poor child cried every night, leaving her parents
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scared and confused about what to do and just what could be
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happening. One day, Barbara frantically
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rushed upstairs at the piercing sound of her child's cries.
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What she discovered would shake her to her core.
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She would find a pillow placed over Jane's face as if someone
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or something was attempting to extinguish her young life.
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At that moment, the answer became clear.
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The family had to leave and leave immediately.
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So they did. They would leave the house and
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its dark forces, friends and neighbors of the Pharaohs.
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The Pritchard family be convinced by the Pharaoh family
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to switch homes with them, ultimately leaving them at the
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mercy of whatever malevolent forces that dwelt within the
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walls. August of 1966, the Pritchards
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would move into the old Pharaoh residence.
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Their new home was quite a bit larger than their last and
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seemed to be the answer to their prayers.
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The Pritchard family consisted of father Joe, mother Jean, and
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their small children, daughter Diane and son Philip.
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Shortly after moving in, however, the same strange
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occurrences began to manifest. Strange sounds such as banging
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and knocking began to be heard reverberating throughout the
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house with no rational origin. Horrid smells began to waft
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throughout the house as well, again with no explanation as to
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what could be causing them. The children 1st and then the
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parents began to be terrified by a shadowy dark figure that began
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to make its presence known at various hours of the day and
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night, seemingly watching their every move.
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Gene Pritchard ended up giving the creepy figure several
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nicknames. She called it Fred and Mr.
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Nobody but history would come to know the entity by a very
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different and certainly a scarier name by most standards.
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The black Monk of Pomtefract. The Pritchards, noticing that
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these happenings were far from normal, approached their former
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neighbors, the Pharaohs, and asked them if they had ever
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experienced anything weird when they had lived there.
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The Pharaohs would say no. In August of 1980.
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The Prichard family had long been suffering from the
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haunting. Colin Wilson, a well known
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writer on subjects including the paranormal and mysticism,
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visited the family after being tipped off by a local historian,
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a man named Tom Conniff. Conniff had stumbled across
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newspaper clippings from the late 1960s alleging that a
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Pontefract family had experienced poltergeist
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phenomena. As he dug deeper into the
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history of the area, he discovered a rather disturbing
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story, one that he believed could be connected to the
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haunting itself. In the 16th century, a monk was
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executed for the brutal assault and murders of several young
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victims. Upon reading that the family was
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being stalked by a shadowy roped figure, he put two and two
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together during his research. Upon discovering that the family
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still lived in the same house, couldn't have contacted Wilson,
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prompting Wilson to journey to Yorkshire to interview them to
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see if perhaps they could get to the bottom of things.
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With the information provided by Wilson's records, a more
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detailed version of the haunting chronologically begins to
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emerge. According to Wilson's records,
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in August 1966, on that Thursday most of the family Joe
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Pritchard, his wife Jean and their 12 year old daughter Diane
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were on holiday in Devon, leaving their 15 year old son
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Philip and Jean's mother Sarah Scholes and her sister Marie at
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home. Philip had reached the age when
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family holidays had lost their appeal, so as most adolescents
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do, he spent much time to himself reading in the family
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garden. That Thursday, while outside,
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Philip returned indoors to get himself a drink.
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As he did this, he noticed something bizarre.
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His grandmother, sitting in the living room heavily focused on
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her knitting, was completely oblivious to a Gray hued cloud
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floating around her. Philip would later say that it
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was a chalk like powdery substance and from this cloud it
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appeared to be falling from, not from the ceiling.
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The top half of the room was perfectly clear, and yet curious
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dust seemed to materialize from nowhere.
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Weirded out, Philip returned to the kitchen only to find several
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large pools of water covering the floor with no apparent
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origin. Then heading back to the living
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room, he saw the dust or a cloud had continued to fall like a
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miniature snowstorm, forming a fine white layer on the
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furniture and even on top of his grandmother.
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Rushing to another room to get his aunt's attention, he would
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bring her out into the living room where she would notice the
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very same thing. Unsure of just what it could be,
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she called to her mother to gain her attention and get her out of
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whatever the cloud or strange powder seemed to be.
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Heading towards the kitchen to get her cleaned up, she too
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would notice the puddles of water everywhere.
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As Marie tried to mop up in the kitchen, new puddles supposedly
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manifested. She would pull up the linoleum
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to reveal no leak underneath, and the water wasn't falling
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from above them either. So just like the dust in the
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other room, the puddles seem to have come from nowhere.
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The odd drama intensified when, after the water supply to the
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house was turned off by a helpful neighbor, the water
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company was called to the property.
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Pipes were checked, the linoleum lifted once again and drains
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examined, but nothing was found to be broken or blocked.
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The water companies suggested that some strange condensation
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caused by the summer weather might be responsible.
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After about an hour, they left and the mysterious puddles
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stopped appearing. However, before the day ended,
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more odd happenings were reported.
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Sugar and tea leaves were emptied from their dispensers in
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the kitchen and sprinkled all across the countertops.
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Cupboards vibrated and shook, and loud bangs were heard from
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upstairs. A plant which was usually
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located at the foot of the staircase was also mysteriously
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transported halfway up it's pot, found separately on the landing
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above. Unable to tolerate the house any
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longer, Phillip and his grandmother left with and would
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spend the night with Aunt Marie Vick Kelly.
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Marie's husband, unhappy with the strange situation,
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reportedly phoned the police to check on the House with Victoria
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present. Upon law enforcement's arrival,
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everything seemed normal, with no intruder being found.
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Nothing else seemed out of place either, until they found a glass
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shattered on the floor and one of Joe and Gene Pritchard's
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wedding photos. The photo itself slashed from
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side to side as if with a sharp knife, Chilled to his core,
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Victoria simply followed the officers back outside of the
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home and then closed the front door of 30 E Drive and returned
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to his home. When Jean, Joe and Diane
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returned from their holiday, Sarah relayed the unsettling
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events to them. There was a disbelief at first,
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but as she spoke, everyone would hear three loud and distinct
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bangs reverberate throughout the home.
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Then a cold wind blew through the house, almost as if the
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entity had perhaps left. But that was far from what would
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happen. It was merely seemingly taking a
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break. According to testimonies
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recorded by Colin Wilson, the haunting truly resumed for the
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Pritchards in 1968 when Jean decided to redecorate Diane's
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bedroom. As I've noticed while studying
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numerous other hauntings, construction or redecoration or
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essentially changing what once was, seems to be a way to
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disturb or wake up whatever forces, good or bad, that could
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be dwelling within a space. Following this, mysterious
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temperature changes began to be experienced.
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Inexplicable bangs and knocks once again plagued the family
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and daily household. Items such as in one instance, a
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paintbrush began to be flung across the room by unseen hands.
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One just so happened to barely miss Jean's face by mere inches
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during the remodel itself. It's even been claimed that
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Missus Pritchard witnessed in the dim moonlight one night as
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she went to the bathroom, a long strip of wallpaper standing on
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end and swaying like a cobra. When she attempted to grab it,
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the strip simply fell to the floor, causing a feeling of fear
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to grip her that one would seldomly experience otherwise
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horrifically within the same room that was being remodeled.
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Not too long after this occurred, the family vacuum flew
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into the air, swinging around as if wielded by giant invisible
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hands. Screaming, Jean dropped onto all
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fours and rushed back to her daughter as wallpaper and
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various objects continued to be thrown towards her.
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The unseen presence in the house had returned and it seemed more
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aggressive than ever, particularly fixated on Diane's
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bedroom. What followed was described as
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nine months of chaos in which all manner of violent activity
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was reported. Bangs and thumps echoed from
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Diane's bedroom with such physical aggression that she
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occasionally took to sleeping in her parents room.
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Ornaments were thrown and levitated, and lights flickered
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on and off repeatedly. One day, the entire contents of
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the family's China cabinet were reportedly hurled onto the
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floor, with not a single precious item being smashed or
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chipped in the process. One evening, a particularly
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chilling incident marked an escalation in the severity of
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the activity and Diane's room. Yet again, the lights randomly
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went out and a huge shadow appeared on the wall before her
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as she witnessed this first hand in the hallway while her mother
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scrambled with a flashlight to try and turn the lights back on.
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As the teenage girl watched, a heavy Oak Hall stand floated
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into the air and rushed towards her with incredible speed.
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In her attempt to escape, Diane tripped and fell her back up
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against the stairs, with the hall stand being thrown on top
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of her. The weight of the piece of
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furniture pressed down on her small body, pinning her against
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the steps as she struggled to breathe and free herself.
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Another heavy object, a sewing machine that had been on top of
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the stand, was also thrown onto her.
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When the lights finally illuminated the scene, her
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family rushed to help, but the hall stand was too heavy and
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firmly positioned to move. Jean and Joe struggled to free
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their daughter, and yet, strangely, despite the pressure,
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Diane was unharmed. The heavy furniture was merely
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being held in place by some invisible force, enough to keep
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her trapped but not to injure her.
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When instructed to release her, the force seemingly obliged,
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finally allowing the hall stand and sewing machine to be
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removed. The poltergeist then seemed
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particularly fascinated with Diane Pritchard.
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In addition to the hall stand incident, it was reported that
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she was tossed from her bed as many as four times in a night by
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the unseen entity. Her bedroom often turned icy
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cold, and she told her parents it felt as if though someone was
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present with her, always watching her and lurking just
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beyond her sight. On one occasion, while standing
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in the living room combing her hair in front of a mirror, a
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brass crucifix that she found comfort in with her faith was
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thrown from a shelf and struck her in the back, sticking to her
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skin like a magnet. When the crucifix finally fell
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away, her mother inspected her and discovered a cross shaped
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red mark on her skin between her shoulder blades.
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The mark left reportedly lasted for days, showing the strong
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force of which it had been thrown with.
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Before long, the house at 30 E Dr. gained quite the local
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reputation after being featured in two Yorkshire newspapers in
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September of 1968. People either actively avoided
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the house or sought to engage with the alleged haunting.
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Ghost hunters attempted to gain admission into the residence,
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and it was even reported that a group of students who requested
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permission to camp in the garden were forced to settle for the
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large round grass verge in front of the house when Gene Pritchard
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declined their request. However, even from that
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distance, the group claimed to still have heard an assortment
18:19
of bangs and crashes. Along with this new found fame,
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it became commonplace for the Pritchard's family's neighbors
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to experience disturbances within their own homes, as the
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noises were reportedly that loud emanating from the Pritchard
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residence. When all the family's
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possessions upstairs in the bedrooms were allegedly thrown
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out of windows and onto the ground below, it was impossible
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for anyone in the area to deny that something bizarre was
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happening, something that no one could truly comprehend or truly
18:58
understand. Eventually, the family began
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calling their unwanted houseguest Mr. Nobody, later
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nicknaming it Fred. Despite its attempts to force
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them out, however, and Pritchard family remained.
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When a local preacher, a man named Reverend Davy, advised the
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family that something evil lurked in their home and that
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they should move, Gene reportedly scoffed at him,
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asking him. Why should I be driven out of my
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home by a ghost? This was certainly a testament
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to the family's resolve. No doubt.
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As the disturbances worsened and the activity further
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intensified, the family yet continued to persevere.
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Perfectly good and often newly purchased food would spoil
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something strange that became a calling card for the entity, as
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if whatever it was brought death and decay along with it.
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Aside from spoiling food, Mr. Nobody, as they called it.
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But also often smear jam on door handles and would often throw
20:11
toilet paper all over the house. Fine China plates and cups would
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be thrown onto the floor, sometimes shattered and other
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times perfectly fine. But yet, despite being watched
20:25
by the dark, robed figure that had plagued them for years and
20:29
all of its accompanying terror, the family still refused to be
20:35
chased away, even after both Gene and Joe saw the tall,
20:39
shadowy figure with a hood standing in their bedroom
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doorway. They had been in bed when they
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heard the door creak open, and both turned to see the
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terrifying apparition. Others reported seeing the tall
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figure in a long hooded garment as well.
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At night, frightened family members heard loud, labored
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breathing outside of their doors.
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It became clear that Mister Nobody, or as he was
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increasingly known as the Monk, was gaining power.
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It was if the creature fed off of their fear.
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The activity would peak yet again one evening when all of
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the lights went out and Diane, along with her mother and
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brother, would experience something dark that none of them
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would ever forget. As the family huddled together
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in the dark, trying to find their way around the home, Diane
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suddenly, as if she had been grabbed by large, invisible
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hands, was forcibly dragged up the stairs by her throat.
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Colin Wilson, who documented the events in his book, noted that
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Diane's cardigan was stretched out in front of her as if the
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monk was tugging on it with one hand while gripping her neck
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with the other. Roused by her screams and gasps
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for air, Philip and Jean rushed to pull Diane back down the
22:10
stairs, but they were both repelled, thrown back by what
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felt like large, clawed hands. Fighting for her life and on the
22:21
verge of blacking out as she struggled, Diane fortunately
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would ultimately be freed almost as quickly as she had been
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attacked. Philip later explained that it
22:34
was as though his thought of trying to touch the presence had
22:38
caused it to release his sister. When the family inspected the
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profusely shaking and traumatized girl, once the
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lights turned back on, they would see red hand marks around
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her neck. To say they were terrified was
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perhaps an understatement. Although they collectively
22:56
didn't want to leave their home, they desperately wished for the
23:00
entity to depart. The family would contact
23:04
religious figures, they would pray and sprinkle holy water
23:09
throughout the entire property. But despite their best efforts,
23:13
nothing seemed to work. In fact, these actions seem to
23:18
exacerbate the disturbances, almost as if they were angering
23:23
the entity itself with their efforts.
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One of Joe's friends, recently returned from Scotland,
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recounted how people there hung garlic over doors and windows to
23:35
keep out spirits. Fascinatingly, when the
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Pritchards followed suit, the activity diminished, eventually
23:45
disappearing altogether. Thus, what began for the
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Pritchards in August of 1966 ceased after two years by May of
23:57
1969. When Colin met with the family
24:01
in 1980, he reported no ongoing activity, although it's not
24:06
exactly clear when the home would eventually find its way
24:10
into the hands of a man who's all too familiar with the
24:13
paranormal, an investigator named Richard Estep.
24:18
If these accounts are true, the events at 30 E Drive appear to
24:23
be a classic case of poltergeist activity, similar to many other
24:27
documented instances of spirit hauntings like the Enfield
24:32
Poltergeist in 1977. The activity is often centered
24:37
around adolescence, and there were adolescents present in this
24:42
case as well. First a 15 year old Philip in
24:45
1966 and then an aged 15 Diane in 1968.
24:53
Wilson oddly noted that nothing seemed to occur in the house
24:56
while Diane was at school. Objects, even large and heavy
25:01
items like solid oak furniture, were said to move on their own
25:05
accord. Food too appearing irresistible
25:09
to the entity. Food at 30 E Drive, besides
25:12
rotting and being moved and displaced, but also mysteriously
25:17
manifest bite marks. The appearance of puddles of
25:20
water on the kitchen floor at the beginning of the Pontifrag
25:24
case is also a hallmark of other poltergeist occurrences.
25:30
The respected parapsychology researcher Guy Lyon Playfair
25:34
suggested that the neat puddles found in the Prichard home and
25:37
others allegedly haunted by poltergeists might be some form
25:42
of condensation of the energy used by the entities.
25:47
The activity disappearing is the children.
25:49
Transition from adolescence to adulthood is also consistent
25:54
with other poltergeist cases. Yet despite these claims, many
25:58
argue that activity at 30 E Drive never truly ceased,
26:04
asserting that it predates the Pritchards and their teenage
26:07
children by over a decade. At the beginning of this story,
26:12
I referenced a testimony from the Farrah family and their two
26:16
year old daughter Jane, who had lived at the property before the
26:20
Pritchard's. This particular testimony was
26:23
presented in the 2019 book The Black Monk of Pontifract and
26:28
alleges horrific events, including the baby girl covered
26:32
in scratch Marks and told of the attempted suffocation of the
26:36
same child by what is presumed to be the same black monk entity
26:40
that haunted the Pritchards. However, it's peculiar that Jean
26:44
and Joe didn't report similar experiences regarding their
26:48
young children having taken over 30 E Drive from the Pharaohs in
26:52
the mid 1950s. By the time of the alleged onset
26:56
of activity in August of 1966, they'd been in the house for
27:01
several years, Yet as far as we know, it didn't target them in
27:05
the same way. But why would this be the case?
27:09
Perhaps the poltergeist, or whatever it was, maybe a demonic
27:13
entity, was in a state of paranormal hibernation for a
27:17
decade or more and was woken up, so to speak, for one reason or
27:23
another. Yet this inconsistency becomes
27:26
all the more intriguing when one examines the 2019 book The Black
27:31
Monk of Pontifract. Indeed, the authors of the text,
27:35
paranormal researcher Richard Estep and the current owner of
27:39
30 E Drive, film producer Bill Bungie, argue that Bill Farah
27:43
and his family represent a previously unknown origin of the
27:48
Pontefract case in their book. This new starting point is
27:52
ultimately used to support their conclusion that the Black Monk
27:57
of Pontefract is less likely to be a poltergeist and more likely
28:02
to be a demonic entity, one that remains on the property to this
28:07
day. It is indisputable that the
28:09
Farah family not only existed but also lived at the property
28:13
before the Pritchard's, and there's ample record to prove
28:17
this. In fact, the author's claims
28:20
were allegedly presented from Mr. Farah himself, but the
28:24
family moved into 30 E Drive in September of 1954 and would
28:29
leave within a year due to horrific activity.
28:33
In the aforementioned book, the readers treated to tales of the
28:37
dark monk, which are accompanied by many photographs of dark
28:41
demonic entities captured within the walls of the home.
28:46
Does this house still exist? It most certainly does Today.
28:52
The former council house is just as famous as it is creepy.
28:57
Those who visit the site have documented many scratches and
29:01
suffocating sensations as well as capturing numerous
29:05
photographs of the alleged black monk entity itself.
29:10
These alleged pieces of evidence accompanied with the two
29:13
families who lived there and the current owners experiences, we
29:18
are left with more questions than answers.
29:23
A few of my questions are these just who was this black monk?
29:28
If they did exist, what drove them to such madness to abuse
29:33
the young? Are they perhaps a man of God at
29:36
one point and ultimately corrupted by darkness?
29:40
The same darkness that would corrupt them in life and consume
29:44
them in death? Perhaps this is what led to the
29:47
violent manifestations that affected all of those who
29:51
crossed the threshold of 30 E Drive.
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Was the entity a malevolent human spirit?
29:58
A demonic entity or a textbook case of poltergeist activity.
30:04
All questions we truly may never have the answers to.
30:08
But one thing is certain. There was something that called
30:12
the house at 30 E Drive in Pontefract Home.
30:16
Something that was not of this world.
30:19
A dark, robed and lurking presence that stalked those who
30:25
dwelt there in the land of the living.
30:28
Perhaps it still lurks there, stalking, watching, and waiting
30:35
for the right time to awake and wreak havoc upon those of us who
30:41
still breathe and whose hearts still beat.
30:46
Thank you guys so much for watching this special episode of
30:49
Mystery Archives. I truly hope that you enjoyed
30:52
this deep dive. This episode was suggested by
30:55
Oliver Gold who wanted to dedicate this episode to his
30:59
late friend Kieran Lee. He said that they would have
31:02
enjoyed the episode as well that had recently passed away.
31:07
I hope I did the story justice for the both of you my friend.
31:10
Thank you again for suggesting this incredibly interesting and
31:14
spooky tale. Don't forget to like this video,
31:17
subscribe with notifications on, and leave me a comment below of
31:21
what you think the Black Monk was.
31:24
And other than that, last month's limited designs are now
31:28
gone and unfortunately unavailable forever.
31:31
However, I do have some brand new limited merchandise that's
31:35
going up just now that will only be available for the month of
31:39
November. I'm planning on doing two more
31:42
limited launches, this one that I just mentioned now in November
31:46
and another one in December. We're going to do some special
31:49
Christmas merchandise and other than that guys, it's going to be
31:53
few and far between. After these, in total, 3 drops
31:56
are done. So head on over to my official
31:58
store, check them out and support me in the channel and
32:02
get yourself something awesome to wear.
32:05
Other than that guys, now that I'm home, I have a ton of
32:07
content planned. Just going to take a little bit
32:10
to make, so I'd like to thank you in advance for your patience
32:13
with that. Anyways, I truly appreciate you
32:16
guys and I'm already looking forward to answering your
32:19
comments. I'll see you again very soon
32:21
with another brand new video. This has been Cody here at
32:24
Mystery Archives. Remember to please stay safe out
32:27
there and take care. I'll see you next time.