Strange Evidence (2017–…): Season 2, Episode 9 - Wrath of Thor - full transcript
When a ghostly figure is caught on tape stalking people in Japan, some fear it's hard evidence of a horrifying local legend. A mysterious flame appears in the Norwegian wilderness with the fury of the Viking god Thor, and it could...
Narrator: WORLDWIDE, 300
MILLION SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS
ARE WATCHING US ON OUR
STREETS, AT WORK, AND IN OUR HOMES.
THEY CAPTURE THINGS THAT SEEM IMPOSSIBLE.
IT DEFIES THE LAWS OF PHYSICS.
Man: OH, THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE, MAN.
Narrator: EXPERTS CARRY
OUT FORENSIC ANALYSIS
OF THESE UNUSUAL EVENTS.
THERE'S GOT TO BE SOME
EXPLANATION FOR WHAT'S GOING ON.
[ SCREAMING ]
[ HORN HONKS ]
Narrator: COMING UP...
THE INDESTRUCTIBLE BOY.
SCIENTISTS LOOK FOR A GENETIC MUTATION.
Price: IT MAKES THE BONES VERY STRONG.
YOU MIGHT EVEN SAY KIND OF
INDESTRUCTIBLE, UNBREAKABLE.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO JAPANESE LEGEND,
JUST LOOKING AT THIS FOOTAGE
COULD LEAD TO YOUR DEATH...
SOMETHING VERY CREEPY IS GOING ON HERE.
Narrator: ...AND THE ALIEN
BEING LIVING INSIDE A SMALL BOY.
WHEN YOU SEE A CAMERA LIKE THIS,
YOU DON'T EXPECT TO SEE A CREATURE
AT THE OTHER END OF IT.
Narrator: BIZARRE PHENOMENA,
MYSTERIES CAUGHT ON SURVEILLANCE...
WHAT'S THE TRUTH BEHIND
THIS "STRANGE EVIDENCE"?
[ TIRES SCREECH ]
Narrator: A FATAL ACCIDENT
WITH A DIFFERENCE...
[ WOMAN SCREAMS ]
THIS IS TERRIBLE FOOTAGE.
YOU SEE THIS CAR
BASICALLY RUN OVER THIS KID,
RUN RIGHT OVER HIS HEAD. [ WOMAN SCREAMS ]
Narrator: THE BOY'S HEAD AND
NECK ARE TWISTED AND CRUSHED.
HE MUST BE DEAD, BUT HE'S NOT.
Wolshon: HOW DOES A LITTLE BOY
WHOSE HEAD IS LITERALLY RUN OVER
BY A CAR SURVIVE WITH NEXT TO NO INJURY?
Narrator: EXPERTS WONDER IF
THEY'VE FOUND A REAL-LIFE X-MAN.
Price: IN TERMS OF MUTATIONS, IT
MAKES THE BONES VERY STRONG.
YOU MIGHT EVEN SAY KIND OF
INDESTRUCTIBLE, UNBREAKABLE.
MAYBE THIS KID IS SOME KIND OF SUPERHERO.
♪♪
Narrator: ANáPOLIS IN CENTRAL BRAZIL,
FAMOUS FOR ITS LEGENDARY
STATUE OF SAINT ANNE.
THIS IS A CITY OF FAITH AND OF MIRACLES.
JANUARY 21st, 2014...
ON A BUSY MORNING, A WOMAN
AND HER 5-YEAR-OLD GRANDSON
ARE CROSSING THE STREET.
A CCTV CAMERA CAPTURES WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
[ TIRES SCREECH ]
ALL OF A SUDDEN, BOOM.
Narrator: A VEHICLE OUT OF CONTROL
CRASHES INTO A PARKED CAR.
[ WOMAN SCREAMS ]
Wolshon: THIS IS THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES.
I WOULD JUST ASSUME THAT
THERE WOULD BE TWO FATALITIES.
Narrator: THE DISTURBING
FOOTAGE COMES TO THE ATTENTION
OF FORENSIC VIDEO ANALYST CONOR McCOURT.
IF WE GO IMAGE BY IMAGE, FRAME BY FRAME,
WE SEE THE BACK OF THE CAR
STRIKE THE TWO INDIVIDUALS IN QUESTION.
IT'S TERRIBLE. IT'S DRAGGING THEM BACK.
THEY'RE STARTING TO SLIDE UNDER THE CAR,
AND THEY MOVE OVER TO THE RIGHT,
AND THEY GET CAUGHT BY THE REAR WHEEL.
IT'S A REALLY BAD SITUATION
FOR THE BOTH OF THEM.
THE BACK WHEEL IS GOING OVER
THE LEG AREA OF THE OLDER WOMAN.
WHAT WE DO SEE IS THAT
FRONT WHEEL APPROACHING.
HIS HEAD IS ACTUALLY CAUGHT
UNDERNEATH THAT FRONT WHEEL
AND APPEARS TO BE RUN COMPLETELY OVER.
McCourt: WE'RE HORRIFIED AT THIS POINT.
WE'RE SURE HE'S DEAD.
THERE CAN BE NO OTHER ANSWER.
AND THEN, LO AND BEHOLD,
AS WE GO FORWARD, THE LITTLE BOY GETS UP,
AND NOT ONLY DOES HE STAND UP, HE GOES,
AND HE LOOKS AT HIS
GRANDMOTHER LYING ON THE GROUND.
Narrator: THE GRANDMOTHER IS BADLY INJURED.
THE BOY IS KILLED FOR CERTAIN.
HIS SKULL IS CRUSHED, HIS NECK BROKEN.
BUT THEN HE STANDS UP
LIKE NOTHING HAS HAPPENED.
HOW DOES A LITTLE BOY WHOSE
HEAD IS LITERALLY RUN OVER
BY A CAR SURVIVE WITH NEXT TO NO INJURY?
THE KID BOUNCES UP, AND YOU'RE
LIKE, "HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?"
♪♪
Price: THIS FOOTAGE RAISES THE QUESTION,
"IS THERE SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT THE BOY?"
[ WOMAN SCREAMS ]
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
♪♪
Narrator: BIOLOGIST
ROLAND KAYS IS AN EXPERT
IN EVOLUTIONARY ADAPTATIONS.
HE DISCOVERS THAT,
INCREDIBLE AS IT MAY SEEM,
THERE ARE CERTAIN PHYSICAL CONDITIONS
WHICH CAN GIVE HUMANS
REAL-LIFE SUPERPOWERS.
THERE'S A GENE THAT HUMANS HAVE CALLED LRP5
THAT REGULATES BONE DENSITY.
AND SOME MUTATIONS,
SOME VARIATIONS ON THIS
GENE ACTUALLY RESULT IN PEOPLE
HAVING EXTRA THICK, EXTRA DENSE BONES.
Price: IT MAKES THE BONES VERY STRONG.
YOU MIGHT EVEN SAY KIND OF
INDESTRUCTIBLE, UNBREAKABLE.
THIS MIGHT HAVE HELPED
THIS KID SURVIVE THE CRASH.
Narrator: IF THIS BOY HAS BONES
AS STRONG AS WOLVERINE'S,
HE IS NOT ALONE.
ROLAND KAYS DISCOVERS THAT IN 1994,
A CASE OF SUPER BONES FROM GENE
LRP5 WAS MEDICALLY DOCUMENTED.
THERE WAS A GUY WHO WAS
IN A HORRIBLE CAR ACCIDENT,
WAS RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL,
AND DOCTORS WERE AMAZED TO
FIND HE HAD NO BROKEN BONES.
Narrator: THE PATIENT IS REFERRED
TO THE YALE BONE CENTER,
WHERE DOCTORS MAKE
AN ASTONISHING DISCOVERY.
HE HAS THE BONE DENSITY OF A GRIZZLY BEAR,
EIGHT TIMES HIGHER THAN AN AVERAGE HUMAN.
UPON TESTING, THEY DISCOVERED
THAT HE HAD THIS MUTATION,
UPREGULATION OF LRP5.
♪♪
Narrator: KAYS LEARNS THAT
LRP5 IS NOT THE ONLY GENE
IN WHICH A RARE MUTATION
CAN LEAD TO APPARENTLY SUPERHUMAN POWERS.
THERE'S A KID IN MICHIGAN WHO
HAS ABNORMAL SUPER STRENGTH
BECAUSE OF A MUTATION ASSOCIATED
WITH THE MYOSTATIN PROTEIN,
AND AS A RESULT OF THIS, HE HAS
ABNORMALLY LARGE MUSCLE GROWTH.
Narrator: LIAM HOEKSTRA OF GRAND RAPIDS
ASTOUNDS HIS FAMILY
WITH FEATS OF SUPER
STRENGTH AT JUST 5 MONTHS OLD,
PERFORMING GYMNASTIC MOVES,
INCLUDING THE IRON CROSS.
BY 3, HE HAS 40 PERCENT BODY
MUSCLE AND MINIMAL BODY FAT.
BY THE TIME HE IS THE AGE
OF THE BOY IN THE FOOTAGE,
HE BECOMES STRONG ENOUGH
TO LIFT HEAVY DUMBBELLS
WITHOUT BREAKING A SWEAT.
♪♪
JOURNALIST JEFF WISE LEARNS THERE HAVE BEEN
ATTEMPTS TO BREED SUPERHUMANS.
IT'S A PERVERTED SCIENCE KNOWN AS EUGENICS.
Wise: IN NAZI GERMANY, THEY HAD
A PROGRAM CALLED LEBENSBORN,
WHICH WAS AN ATTEMPT TO BREED
A GENETICALLY SUPERIOR RACE
OF HUMANS FOR THE GLORY OF THE NAZI REICH.
[ CHANTING IN GERMAN ]
Narrator: WISE DISCOVERS
THAT THE NAZIS WOULD FORCE
SO-CALLED PHYSICALLY PERFECT WOMEN
TO BEAR CHILDREN FOR THE PROGRAM.
HITLER HOPED TO CREATE A
LEGION OF ARYAN SUPER SOLDIERS
WHO WOULD BRING THE
TERROR OF NAZISM TO THE WORLD.
[ SCREAMING ]
AFTER THE WAR,
THE MOST NOTORIOUS
NAZI EUGENICIST ESCAPED...
THE DEMON, DR. JOSEF MENGELE,
A.K.A. THE ANGEL OF DEATH.
MENGELE ACTUALLY SURVIVED THE WAR,
ESCAPED TO SOUTH AMERICA,
AND THERE WAS RUMORS THAT
HE HAD MAYBE CONTINUED TO WORK
ON THIS KIND OF EUGENICS EXPERIMENT
TRYING TO PRODUCE HIS NAZI SUPER RACE.
Narrator: THIS BOY IS NOT THE
PRODUCT OF A NAZI EUGENICS PROGRAM,
BUT WHETHER NATURAL OR INDUCED,
COULD THIS INDESTRUCTIBLE
BOY REALLY HAVE SUPERPOWERS?
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
COMING UP, A KILLER GHOST
STALKS HER VICTIM INTO HIS TAXI.
THIS CAB IS NOW OFFICIALLY HAUNTED.
Narrator: OVER THE OCEAN,
A BLOOD-RED TSUNAMI
CAUGHT ON CAMERA...
HOLY MOLY. GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE.
Narrator: ...AND IN THE CITY OF MIRACLES,
THE BOY WHO REFUSES TO DIE.
Price: MY GUT FEELING WHEN I FIRST SAW THIS
IS THAT I HAD JUST WITNESSED A MIRACLE.
[ STATIC BLIPS, CAMERA WHIRS ]
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS CAN'T EXPLAIN
HOW A BOY ESCAPES UNINJURED
WHEN A CAR RUNS RIGHT OVER HIS HEAD.
BUT PHYSICIST JOHN DI BARTOLO RESEARCHES
THE BOY'S MEDICAL HISTORY
AND FINDS NO TELLTALE CLUES
OF PREVIOUS PRODIGIOUS PHYSICAL ABILITIES,
RULING OUT THE POSSIBILITY THAT
HE'S HAD SUPERPOWERS FROM BIRTH.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING
SUPERHUMAN ABOUT THIS CHILD.
I THINK HE'S EXTREMELY FORTUNATE,
BUT THIS IS JUST A NORMAL YOUNG BOY.
Wolshon: SO THE MYSTERY IS,
WHAT HAPPENED HERE EXACTLY
THAT WOULD'VE SPARED THE LIFE OF THAT BOY?
♪♪
Narrator: CIVIL ENGINEER BRIAN WOLSHON
IS AN EXPERT IN CRASH FORENSICS.
HE NOTICES THAT AT THE VITAL MOMENT,
THE REAR OF THE CAR IS FALLING
OFF THE CURB AND INTO THE ROAD.
SO AT THE EXACT MOMENT,
JUST AS THAT BOY'S HEAD
WAS ABOUT TO BE RUN
OVER BY THAT FRONT TIRE,
THAT VEHICLE WAS ROTATING
AND WAS TILTING BACK,
LIFTING THAT TIRE JUST ENOUGH
TO CLEAR OVER HIS HEAD.
THERE'S A LOT OF PIVOTS
AND A LOT OF CIRCUMSTANCES
THAT ARE CAUSING THIS BOY TO SURVIVE.
IT'S GOING THROUGH A SERIES OF BUMPS.
THE SHOCK ABSORBERS
ARE JUMPING UP AND DOWN.
IT'S LIKE A CHOREOGRAPHED BALLET OF PIVOTS.
SO EVEN THOUGH HIS HEAD
APPEARS TO BE UNDER THAT WHEEL,
JUST FOR A SPLIT SECOND,
THE FORCES OF THAT VEHICLE,
IN PARTICULAR THAT FRONT TIRE,
WERE NOT GOING IN A DOWNWARD DIRECTION,
BUT MOVING SLIGHTLY UPWARD.
Wise: I MEAN, WHAT
WE'RE SEEING IS A SORT OF
ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME TURN OF EVENTS.
Narrator: WHILE SOME INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE
THAT THE REMARKABLE COINCIDENCE
OF THE LIFTING TIRE SAVES THE BOY'S LIFE,
OTHERS BELIEVE THERE
ARE HIGHER FORCES IN PLAY.
EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, THINGS
WILL JUST MAGICALLY WORK OUT
THAT MAKES IT ALMOST SEEM
LIKE THERE'S A DIVINE INTERVENTION
THAT'S PROTECTING THESE PEOPLE.
MY GUT FEELING WHEN I FIRST SAW THIS
IS THAT I HAD JUST WITNESSED A MIRACLE.
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
Narrator: NOW, IN THE LAND OF THE VIKINGS,
A PHANTASMAL BURST OF FIERY FURY.
IT'S LIKE A BOLT OF
LIGHTNING HANGING IN THE AIR.
Wise: THERE'S THIS LEAPING, DANCING FIRE
THAT'S SEEMINGLY DEMONIC.
Narrator: DID MODERN BLACK METAL PAGANS
CONJURE AN ACT OF AGGRESSION
FROM ANOTHER WORLD?
IT'S REALLY IMPOSSIBLE
NOT TO THINK OF THOR,
THE GOD OF THUNDER.
[ STATIC BLIPS ]
Narrator: NORWAY... LAND OF THE VIKINGS...
[ THUNDER CRASHES ] ...HOME OF THOR,
THE GOD OF THUNDER.
MID-WINTER AND THROUGH A BLANKET OF SNOW,
A CAMERA CAPTURES THIS.
♪♪
Pappalardo: IT'S NOT
BEHAVING LIKE LIGHTNING.
IT'S NOT BEHAVING LIKE FIRE.
IT'S BENDING. IT'S PLAYING AROUND THE TREE.
Wise: I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS IS.
IT DOES NOT LOOK OF THIS WORLD. [ CAWS ]
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS STRUGGLE
TO ACCOUNT FOR THE STRANGE,
OTHERWORLDLY LIGHTNING BOLT.
WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS A
MYSTERY. IT SEEMS TO DEFY PHYSICS.
Wallace: IS THIS SOMETHING
NATURAL, OR IS THIS SOMETHING
UNEARTHLY HAPPENING UNTO
THESE FORESTS AND THESE TREES?
Narrator: SCIENCE JOURNALIST
JEFF WISE WONDERS
IF THE UNEARTHLY INCANDESCENCE
IS CONNECTED WITH SOME
KIND OF VIKING RITUAL.
Wise: IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE
IT'S CONSUMING ANYTHING.
IT LOOKS VERY SUPERNATURAL.
IT LOOKS VERY WEIRD.
[ HEAVY METAL PLAYS ]
Narrator: HE LEARNS THAT IN THE '90s,
NORWEGIAN BLACK METAL SATANISTS
BURNED 28 CHURCHES
IN A STRING OF
ANTI-CHRISTIAN ARSON ATTACKS.
SOME OF THE MOST
NOTORIOUS OF THESE SATANISTS
HAVE TURNED TO ODALISM,
A PAGAN RELIGION BASED IN NORSE MYTHOLOGY.
COULD THIS ARCTIC SWORD OF FLAME
BE EVIDENCE OF CULTISTS
TRYING TO OPEN THE BIFROST,
THE FIERY PATHWAY FROM ASGARD TO EARTH?
Pappalardo: LOOKING AT THE
IMAGE, IT'S REALLY IMPOSSIBLE
NOT TO THINK OF THOR, THE GOD OF THUNDER.
[ THUNDER CRASHES ]
Narrator: THOR, LORD OF LIGHTNING,
REMAINS ONE OF THE MOST
VENERATED OF THE VIKING GODS.
TO THIS DAY, HE'S WORSHIPPED BY
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE.
[ THUNDER CRASHES ] [ WHIRRING ]
IT LEADS SOME EXPERTS TO WONDER
IF THIS SWORD OF FLAME MIGHT BE
AN UNKNOWN NATURAL PHENOMENON
INSPIRED BY THE ORIGINAL
VIKING LEGENDS OF THOR
AND HIS LIGHTNING HAMMER.
SO YOU IMAGINE YOURSELF,
YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE
OF A NICE DARK FOREST,
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, OUT OF THE BLUE, VOOM,
YOU'VE GOT THIS BRIGHT LIGHT, THIS FIRE.
YOU WONDER TO YOURSELF,
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?"
[ CAMERA WHIRS ]
Narrator: AVIATION
JOURNALIST JOE PAPPALARDO
CONSIDERS THE POSSIBILITY
THAT THIS IS MAN-MADE.
IT OCCURS AT THE BORDER OF NATO TERRITORY.
NORWAY IS DEFINITELY ON THE FRONTLINES
OF ANY KIND OF CONFLICT
BETWEEN RUSSIA AND NATO.
IT GUARDS THE ENTIRE APPROACH
TO THE NORTHERN ATLANTIC,
AND AS SUCH, IT'S STRATEGICALLY VITAL.
[ GUNFIRE ]
Narrator: WITH THE THREAT
FROM RUSSIA INCREASING,
PAPPALARDO WONDERS IF THE WEIRD FOOTAGE
MIGHT REVEAL A CLASSIFIED
TEST OF A PROTOTYPE
AMERICAN LIGHTNING WEAPON,
THE LASER-INDUCED PLASMA CHANNEL, OR LIPC.
Pappalardo: SO THE SYSTEM
SHOOTS A LASER TO THE TARGET.
ALONG THAT PATH OF THE LASER,
IT STRIPS ALL THE ELECTRONS
FROM AIR MOLECULES
AND CREATES A PLASMA CHANNEL,
AND WHEN THEY PULSE
ELECTRICITY DOWN THAT CHANNEL,
IT'LL STICK RIGHT TO IT,
CREATING A BOLT OF LIGHTNING
THAT REACHES OUT AND HITS THE TARGET.
[ THUNDER CRASHES ]
Narrator: ONE BOLT OF LIGHTNING
CAN CARRY AS MUCH AS 500 TRILLION WATTS
OF POWER AT 30,000 AMPS,
ENOUGH TO KILL 3,000 PEOPLE.
Pappalardo: IF MILITARY SCIENTISTS COULD
HARNESS THE POWER OF LIGHTNING,
IT WOULD MAKE A GOOD WEAPON.
IT'S A VERY POWERFUL NATURAL FORCE.
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
Narrator: COMING UP... DON'T LOOK NOW.
THE FOOTAGE THAT CARRIES A CURSE.
Lovell: THE IDEA OF A GHOST
COMING IN BEHIND YOU
WITHOUT YOU REALIZING
AND GETTING IN THE CAR...
HOW CREEPY?
Narrator: THE TOWERING RED
TSUNAMI THREATENING AUSTRALIA...
TALK ABOUT THE APOCALYPSE COME TRUE.
GETTING HIT BY THAT IS
REALLY GOING TO RUIN YOUR DAY.
Narrator: AND THE LIGHTNING
THAT APPEARS TO DEFY SCIENCE
IN THE LAND OF THOR.
[ STATIC BLIPS ]
Narrator: IN THE LAND OF THOR,
A PHANTASMAL, HOVERING BOLT OF LIGHTNING.
EXPERTS EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE.
IS THIS FOOTAGE OF A LASER WEAPON TEST,
A LASER-INDUCED PLASMA CHANNEL?
[ EXPLOSION ]
Narrator: PHYSICIST STEVEN SCHOWALTER
IS NOT CONVINCED SUCH A
WEAPON IS YET READY FOR TESTING.
THE PHYSICS THAT UNDERPIN
THIS TECHNOLOGY ARE SOUND,
BUT THERE'S STILL A LOT
OF TECHNICAL CHALLENGES
THAT NEED TO BE WORKED
OUT BEFORE THIS IS DEPLOYED
IN THE REAL WORLD.
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
Narrator: FORENSIC IMAGE
ANALYST CONOR McCOURT
IS A FORMER NEW YORK CITY COP.
HE ENHANCES AND MANIPULATES THE FOOTAGE
AND SEES SOMETHING TOWARDS
THE TOP OF THE PICTURE.
I CAN SEE THAT THERE'S SOME KIND OF LINE
COMING THROUGH THE
VIDEO, AND IT WOULD INDICATE
THAT THERE'S SOME KIND OF ELECTRICAL WIRE.
Narrator: THERE ARE ELECTRICAL
WIRES ALL OVER THE WORLD,
BUT ELECTRICITY DOES NOT
FLY FROM THEM TO THIS EXTENT
OR IN THIS MANNER. [
ELECTRICITY CRACKLING ]
YET McCOURT CAN SEE NO
OTHER LOGICAL EXPLANATION
FOR WHAT HE'S SEEING.
WE'RE DEFINITELY SEEING
SOME KIND OF ELECTRICAL BOLT
COMING OUT OF THIS WIRE.
Narrator: THE ELECTRIC CHAIR
USES 2,000 VOLTS TO KILL.
EDISON ELECTROCUTED AN
ELEPHANT USING 6,600 VOLTS.
A TYPICAL ELECTRICITY CABLE
MIGHT CARRY A MASSIVE 132,000 VOLTS,
ENOUGH ENERGY TO KILL 66 PEOPLE.
♪♪
ANALYZING THE ELEMENTS IN THE FOOTAGE,
McCOURT ATTEMPTS TO DETERMINE THE DISTANCE
THE ARCING ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE IS JUMPING.
McCourt: IT'S REALLY HARD TO JUDGE,
BUT IF THEY'RE AVERAGE-SIZED TREES,
SAY THEY'RE 20, 30 FEET,
WE'RE LOOKING AT AN ARC
THAT'S ABOUT MAYBE 10 FEET LONG.
Narrator: IS IT REALLY POSSIBLE
FOR A 10-FOOT-LONG ARC
OF DANCING ELECTRICITY
TO LEAP FROM A CABLE TO
THE BRANCHES OF A TREE?
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER DAVID WALLACE PUTS THIS
TO THE TEST IN HIS LIGHTNING LAB.
HE WILL RUN 137 KILOVOLTS
THROUGH AN EXPOSED CABLE
AND TRY TO RECREATE SUCH AN ARC.
Wallace: ARE WE READY?
-Man: READY. -WE'RE READY.
I LOVE THIS.
Narrator: AT 10 FEET FROM THE
CABLE, THERE IS NO ARCING.
Wallace: BRINGING THE TREE IN SLOWLY.
ALL RIGHT. START TO PULL.
Narrator: 9, 8, 7 FEET... NO ARCING.
THE TREE IS NOW FAR CLOSER THAN
THE 10-FOOT GAP IN THE FOOTAGE,
AND STILL THIS VOLTAGE IS NOT
ENOUGH TO CREATE AN ARC TO IT.
BRING IT.
Narrator: FINALLY... [ CRACKLING ]
ALL RIGHT. NOW THAT IS A BEAUTIFUL ARC.
WE'VE GOT A GOOD JUMP FROM
THE POWER LINE TO THE TREE.
THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL DESIGN.
THAT'S WHAT YOU EXPECT TO SEE.
I LIKE THIS. VERY BEAUTIFUL.
[ CRACKLING ]
KILL IT.
GROUND IT.
SO HERE IN OUR EXPERIMENT,
WE HAVE THE 2-1/2-TO-3-FOOT
ARC GAP, BUT IN THE VIDEO AT 137 KV,
IT REALLY LOOKS A LOT FURTHER
THAN WHAT WE SEE HERE IN THE LAB,
SO SOMETHING ELSE MAY BE GOING ON
THAT WE REALLY DON'T KNOW ABOUT.
AS THE NAME IMPLIES, A HIGH-VOLTAGE LINE
CARRIES A LOT OF POWER INSIDE IT.
HOWEVER, IT'S NOT GOING TO PRODUCE
THE KIND OF ARCING OVER 10 FEET
THAT WE'RE APPARENTLY SEEING IN THIS VIDEO.
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
Narrator: SO WHILE INVESTIGATORS
CONCLUDE THESE UNEARTHLY PYROTECHNICS
MAY BE CAUSED BY A CABLE,
THE SHEER AMOUNT OF POWER
UNLEASHED HERE REMAINS A MYSTERY.
SOMETHING IS GOING SERIOUSLY
WRONG IN ARCTIC NORWAY.
IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE
FILLED WITH ICE AND SNOW.
IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE FILLED
WITH FIRE AND DANCING FLAMES.
Narrator: IN THE LAND OF THOR,
IT SEEMS THAT ELECTRICAL
LIGHTNING DOES STRANGE THINGS.
Pappalardo: IT'S A VERY STRANGE IMAGE.
IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY
CLEAR ANSWER OF WHAT IT IS.
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
♪♪
Narrator: NOW, CAMERAS CAPTURE
WHAT LOOKS LIKE A FEMALE
DEMON WITH A DEADLY REPUTATION.
[ LOW GROWL ] Hyde: SHE'S VERY TRANSLUCENT.
I MEAN, SHE DOES LOOK LIKE A GHOST.
Narrator: SHE SEEMS TO
FOLLOW A MAN INTO A CAB.
Lovell: IT DEFINITELY LOOKS
LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF
A JAPANESE HORROR MOVIE.
WATCHING THIS FOOTAGE
GIVES YOU KIND OF CHILLS.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO JAPANESE LEGEND,
EVEN WATCHING THIS VIDEO MIGHT PROVE FATAL.
THIS CAB IS NOW OFFICIALLY HAUNTED.
♪♪
[ STATIC BLIPS ]
[ BIRDS SQUAWKING ]
Narrator: ISHINOMAKI, JAPAN...
SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS AT A TAXI STAND
CAPTURE A TERRIFYING 20 SECONDS OF FOOTAGE.
Wise: WE'RE IN A PARKING GARAGE.
WE'RE LOOKING AT A SECURITY
CAM, AND A GUY HAILS A TAXI.
THE TAXI PULLS UP, WHICH IS ALL NORMAL.
Narrator: BUT WHAT FOLLOWS
IS FAR FROM NORMAL.
A SPECTRAL FIGURE APPEARS,
MATCHING THE LOOK OF A JAPANESE GHOST.
[ THUNDER CRASHES ] [ LOW GROWL ]
Hyde: THIS FIGURE IS PRETTY
CREEPY WITH THE LONG, DANGLY HAIR,
DEFINITELY SEEMS TO BE FEMALE.
SHE'S STOOPED OVER WITH A HUNCHED BACK,
AND YOU CAN'T REALLY VERY
DISTINCTLY SEE HER FEET.
THE APPARITION CLEARLY
FOLLOWS THE MAN INTO THE VEHICLE,
BUT IF WE BACK UP A LITTLE BIT,
THERE IS NO SIGN OF A PERSON BEHIND HIM.
Narrator: THE PASSENGER
SEEMS COMPLETELY UNAWARE
OF HIS UNEARTHLY RIDE SHARER.
THE IDEA OF A GHOST COMING IN BEHIND YOU
WITHOUT YOU REALIZING
AND GETTING IN THE CAR...
HOW CREEPY.
IT'S REALLY HARD TO COME
UP WITH A GOOD EXPLANATION.
♪♪
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS WONDER IF
THIS COULD BE SOME KIND OF GLITCH
OR GHOSTING EFFECT CAUSED
BY THE VIDEO RECORDER,
BUT NEUROSCIENTIST
JAYDE LOVELL IS SKEPTICAL
THAT THE SPECTRAL WOMAN
CAN BE THE RESULT OF
SIMPLE VIDEO ARTIFACTS.
IT'S PROBABLY NOT AN ERROR
BASED ON THE VIDEO QUALITY.
IT SEEMS FINE EVERYWHERE
ELSE BUT THIS ONE IMAGE.
IT'S A VERY CLEAR FIGURE.
IT KIND OF MAKES YOU WONDER,
WHAT IS THE REAL REASON FOR THIS?
♪♪
Narrator: SCIENCE WRITER JEFF WISE
HAS STUDIED THE MYTHOLOGY OF JAPAN.
HE NOTICES THE STRANGE APPARITION BEARS
A STRIKING SIMILARITY
TO CREATURES THAT STALK
JAPANESE NIGHTMARES.
[ LOW GROWL ]
IN JAPAN, THEY HAVE A TRADITIONAL
IN THEIR CULTURE OF THE YUREI,
WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO OUR GHOST.
IT'S A SPIRIT OF A PERSON
WHO HAS TO, YOU KNOW,
ROAM THE TERRESTRIAL PLAIN.
♪♪
THE GHOSTS ARE MAINLY TO
DO WITH UNFINISHED BUSINESS,
SO IT'S THESE SORT OF
UNREQUITED EMOTIONS AND DESIRES
THAT ARE LEFT OVER WHEN
SOMEBODY DIES TOO SOON
OR THEY DIE TOO VIOLENTLY.
♪♪
Narrator: YUREI ARE SAID TO RETURN
TO TAKE BRUTAL VENGEANCE ON THE LIVING...
♪♪
...KILLING THEM WITH FEAR
AND DRAGGING THEIR SPIRITS
DOWN TO DEMONIC REALMS.
♪♪
COULD THE MAN IN THE
VIDEO BE IN TERRIBLE DANGER?
Hyde: SHE'S FOLLOWING
VERY CLOSELY BEHIND HIM.
I MEAN, IT LOOKS LIKE HE
PERSONALLY IS BEING HAUNTED.
IF THERE'S A GHOST FOLLOWING
HIM, IT MAKES YOU WONDER,
"WHAT'S THAT GUY DONE IN HIS PAST?"
♪♪
Narrator: ACCORDING TO JAPANESE LEGEND,
SEEING A YUREI, EVEN ON VIDEO,
PUTS THE VIEWER IN MORTAL DANGER
AND COULD BRING HORRIFIC
DEATH WITHIN SEVEN DAYS.
♪♪
Wise: SO THIS MATCHES
WHAT THE JAPANESE BELIEVE
ABOUT THE AFTERWORLD,
THE POWER OF THE SPIRITS OF
THE DEAD WHO HAVEN'T LEFT US YET.
Narrator: COULD EVEN WATCHING
THIS CLIP BE A DEADLY MISTAKE?
♪♪
[ BEEPING ]
COMING UP... SURFERS SURRENDER
TO THE FACE OF THIS MONSTER.
THIS LOOKS LIKE SOME KIND OF WALL OF DEATH.
[ THUMPING ] Narrator: A
PULSATING ALIEN MASS
INSIDE A YOUNG BOY THREATENS TO KILL...
IF YOU DON'T GET IT OUT,
HE MAY NOT EVEN SURVIVE.
Narrator: AND IS THIS A REAL PHANTOM,
OR IS SOMEONE TAKING US FOR A RIDE?
♪♪
[ STATIC BLIPS ]
♪♪
Narrator: EXPERTS FEAR CCTV
IMAGES SHOW A KILLER GHOST
KNOWN AS A YUREI GETTING INTO A TAXI
WITH AN UNSUSPECTING VICTIM.
JAPAN IN PARTICULAR
HAS A CULTURE OF GHOSTS.
THERE'S LOTS OF GHOST STORIES.
AND A LOT OF JAPANESE
PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE IN GHOSTS.
♪♪
Narrator: FEMALE YUREI OFTEN
APPEAR WITH LONG, DARK HAIR,
NOT PINNED UP AS IN NORMAL-DAY LIFE,
BUT LEFT TO HANG FREELY
AS IT WOULD BE FOR BURIAL
AND RAGGED AS IT WOULD BECOME IN THE GRAVE.
TRADITIONALLY, THEY APPEAR TO BE LEVITATING
WITH NO VISIBLE LEGS OR FEET.
THE INTERESTING THING
ABOUT THIS FIGURE AS WE SEE IT
IS THAT SHE HAS THE LONG,
MATTED HAIR OVER HER FACE,
AND WE CAN'T QUITE SEE HER FEET.
NOW, THIS IS AN EXACT DESCRIPTION
OF A RESTLESS SPIRIT IN JAPANESE FOLKLORE.
♪♪
Narrator: DEBORAH HYDE BELIEVES
THE TRADITIONAL APPEARANCE
OF THE GHOST IN THE FOOTAGE
OFFERS A CLUE ABOUT ITS TRUE NATURE.
♪♪
I'M INTERESTED IN JUST HOW
PERFECT THIS PARTICULAR GHOST
IS IN JAPAN.
IF YOU WERE TO INVENT A SCENARIO IN JAPAN,
YOU WOULDN'T HAVE A FAIRY.
YOU WOULDN'T HAVE A DJINN.
YOU WOULDN'T HAVE A DEMON.
YOU'D HAVE THIS.
SO THE THING TO ASK IS WHETHER OR NOT
THIS COULD BE SOME KIND
OF DELIBERATE EFFECT.
[ LOW GROWL ]
♪♪
Narrator: THERE IS A LONG
TRADITION OF HOAX IMAGES
OF GHOSTS AND THE SUPERNATURAL,
GOING BACK TO THE DAWN OF PHOTOGRAPHY.
Hyde: GHOST PHOTOGRAPHY BECAME POPULAR
IN THE 19th CENTURY, AND
THE WAY THEY ACHIEVED THIS,
BECAUSE EACH OF THE PLATES
WOULD TAKE SO LONG TO EXPOSE,
WAS THAT YOU COULD EXPOSE THEM TWICE...
ONCE WITH THEIR FLESH-AND-BLOOD
SOLID KIND OF APPEARANCE
AND THEN ONCE AGAIN
WITH SOMEBODY WHO DIDN'T REALLY DEVELOP,
LOOKED A BIT TRANSPARENT,
LOOKED A BIT GHOSTLY.
Narrator: LOOKING CLOSELY AT THE FOOTAGE,
DEBORAH HYDE SPOTS MORE
CLUES WHICH MAKE HER BELIEVE
THE FOOTAGE MAY HAVE BEEN
DELIBERATELY MANIPULATED.
Hyde: WE ALL KNOW WHAT JAPANESE
GHOSTS LOOK LIKE BECAUSE OF FILMS,
AND SHE CONFORMS EXACTLY TO THE STEREOTYPE.
HER FEET ARE SUPPOSED TO
BE INDISTINCT IN THE FOLKLORE,
AND IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEBODY'S
PUT A DIGITAL EFFECT ON IT.
I THINK IT'S INTERESTING
THAT SHE JUST EMERGES
FROM THIS LAMPPOST.
IT COULD BE THAT SHE HAS JUST
LITERALLY COME FROM NOWHERE
OR THAT SOMEBODY WHO
HAS DONE A DIGITAL EFFECT
HAS USED THIS VERY CONVENIENT VERTICAL LINE
WITHIN THE FRAME TO INTRODUCE THEIR GHOST.
♪♪
[ BEEPING ]
♪♪
Lovell: GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF INTEREST
THERE IS OUT THERE ON THE INTERNET,
AND PARTICULARLY AROUND GHOSTS IN JAPAN,
ANYONE THAT CREATED A HOAX LIKE THIS
KNOWS THAT IT'S GOING
TO GET A LOT OF ATTENTION,
SO THERE'S A LOT OF INCENTIVE
TO PERHAPS CREATE A HOAX.
♪♪
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
MAY HAVE THEIR SUSPICIONS,
BUT WITHOUT MORE PROOF, THEY CANNOT BE SURE
IF THIS TERRIFYING TAXI CUSTOMER
IS TAKING US ALL FOR A RIDE.
FOR NOW, THE VIDEO OF THE GHOSTLY YUREI
REMAINS SHROUDED IN MYSTERY.
IF THE FIGURE BEHIND THAT MAN IS REAL,
SOMETHING VERY CREEPY IS GOING ON HERE.
[ LOW GROWL ]
IT'S NOT A TAXI RIDE I'D WANT TO TAKE.
♪♪
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
Narrator: NOW, INSIDE A YOUNG BOY...
[ THUMPING ] DOCTORS
FIND AN ALIEN CREATURE.
McCourt: WHEN YOU SEE A CAMERA LIKE THIS,
YOU DON'T EXPECT TO SEE A CREATURE
AT THE OTHER END OF IT.
THIS LOOKS LIKE A SCENE
FROM A SCI-FI HORROR MOVIE.
♪♪
UGH, THAT'S DISGUSTING.
Narrator: THE ALIEN ORGANISM
INSIDE THE BOY IS ALIVE.
[ THUMPING ]
WHAT IS IT, AND HOW DID IT GET THERE?
[ STATIC BLIPS, CAMERA WHIRS ]
Narrator: AUGUST 2014...
A BUSY CITY HOSPITAL.
MEDICAL STAFF RACE TO GET
A 12-YEAR-OLD BOY TO THE E.R.
HE'S HAVING TROUBLE BREATHING,
BUT THEY DON'T KNOW WHY.
DOCTORS RUN A CAMERA
DOWN INTO THE BOY'S LUNGS.
WHEN THEY DO, THIS IS WHAT THEY SEE...
[ THUMPING ]
A PALPITATING, WRIGGLING OBJECT
APPARENTLY GROWING INSIDE
THE LEFT LOBE OF HIS LUNG
IS CHOKING THE BOY TO DEATH FROM WITHIN.
[ THUMPING ]
Prabhu: SO WE SEE THIS SLIMY,
BROWN, SPECKLED OBJECT,
AND IT SEEMS TO BE ALIVE AND MOVING.
[ THUMPING ]
MY FIRST REACTION IS,
"THAT SHOULD NOT BE THERE."
Prabhu: IS THIS SOMETHING
THAT CAME FROM WITHIN,
OR IS THIS SOMETHING
THAT HAS INVADED HIS BODY
FROM THE OUTSIDE?
Narrator: IF THERE IS ANYTHING
REMOTELY RIDLEY SCOTT
ABOUT THIS ALIEN ORGANISM,
THEN EVERYONE IN THE HOSPITAL
COULD BE IN TERRIBLE DANGER.
[ HEAVY EXHALE ]
[ CAMERAS WHIR ]
COMING UP... A TOWER OF TERROR,
BUT NOWHERE TO RUN.
WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN THAT ADVANCES
OVER THE TOP OF THE
PEOPLE HOLDING THE CAMERA?
Narrator: AND INVESTIGATORS RACE DISCOVER
THE IDENTITY OF THE LURKER IN THE LUNG.
UGH, THAT'S DISGUSTING.
[ STATIC BLIPS ]
[ SIREN WAILING ] Narrator: IN INDIA,
A 12-YEAR-OLD BOY IS CHOKING TO DEATH
BECAUSE OF A WEIRD,
PULSATING MASS INSIDE HIS LUNG.
BIOMEDICAL ENGINEER
RAJ PRABHU FIRST SUSPECTS
THE ALIEN OBJECT MIGHT BE
SOME KIND OF MALIGNANT GROWTH.
Prabhu: WHEN WE SEE AN OBJECT LIKE
THIS IN A PLACE THAT IT SHOULDN'T BE,
OUR IMMEDIATE THOUGHT IS
THAT THIS MIGHT BE A TUMOR.
Narrator: PRABHU KNOWS THAT
THERE IS A HORRIFIC KIND OF GROWTH
WHICH COULD RESEMBLE THIS
STRANGE FORM IN THE FOOTAGE...
[ THUMPING ]
...AN EXTREMELY RARE PHENOMENON
WHICH CAN ACTUALLY DEVELOP HAIR,
TEETH, HANDS OR FEET, EVEN EYEBALLS.
IN 2007, A WOMAN HAD ONE
REMOVED FROM HER TORSO.
THE LUMP CONTAINED A
NUMBER OF INTERNAL ORGANS,
IN THE MIDDLE OF WHICH
WAS ONE FULLY FORMED EYE.
♪♪
IN FEBRUARY 2014, DOCTORS IN MARYLAND
REMOVED ANOTHER FROM A
YOUNG BOY'S SWOLLEN HEAD.
IT HAD FULLY GROWN TEETH.
THE NAME OF THESE TUMORS
IS DERIVED FROM THE GREEK FOR MONSTER,
THE HORRIFIC TERATOMA.
Prabhu: WE DON'T KNOW HOW
DANGEROUS THIS OBJECT IS.
IF I WERE THE DOCTOR FOR THIS PATIENT,
I WOULD BE VERY CONCERNED.
♪♪
Narrator: BUT BIOLOGIST
KELLY PRICE DISCOUNTS
PRABHU'S TERATOMA THEORY.
THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT A TUMOR
BECAUSE IT'S CLEARLY ALIVE,
AND TUMORS DON'T MOVE.
[ THUMPING ]
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
Narrator: MARINE BIOLOGIST ERIK CORDES
HAS EXPERIENCE IN TROPICAL CLIMATES.
HE FEARS THAT THE MONSTROUS MASS
MAY BE A PARASITE FEEDING
OFF THE YOUNG BOY'S BODY.
MY FIRST GUESS WAS SOME KIND OF,
LIKE, A FLATWORM, LIKE A TAPEWORM.
THEY'RE USUALLY IN THE
DIGESTIVE TRACT, IN THE INTESTINES.
Narrator: SOME TAPEWORMS CAN BE
FOUND ALL OVER THE HUMAN BODY.
[ MONITOR BEEPING ]
ROSEMARY ALVAREZ OF PHOENIX, ARIZONA,
IS OPERATED ON FOR A SUSPECTED BRAIN TUMOR
WHEN SURGEONS DISCOVER
THAT THE LUMP IS ALIVE.
A SPECIES OF TAPEWORM
BURROWED THROUGH HER BRAIN
AND IS HEADING FOR HER BRAIN STEM.
♪♪
DIGGING DEEPER, CORDES IDENTIFIES
ONE HIDEOUS MONSTER PARASITE
WHICH CAN INFEST THE LUNG,
A TERRIFYING CREATURE KNOWN AS A ROUNDWORM.
[ THUMPING ]
[ WHOOSHING ]
ROUNDWORMS ARE WORMS
THAT ARE ACTUALLY INGESTED,
AND THE EGGS GO INTO YOUR DIGESTIVE SYSTEM,
AND WHEN THEY HATCH, THE
LARVAE ACTUALLY FIND THEIR WAY
TO YOUR LUNGS THROUGH YOUR BLOODSTREAM.
ROUNDWORMS GROW TO BE ABOUT 14 INCHES,
AND WHEN THEY MATURE,
THERE'S TWO SCENARIOS.
EITHER THE VICTIM COUGHS THEM UP...
OR THEY SWALLOW THEM,
AND THE ROUNDWORM GOES
BACK DOWN TO THE INTESTINES
TO BEGIN THE CYCLE AGAIN.
AS A BIOLOGIST, I'D SAY THAT'S
THE CONSUMMATE PARASITE.
[ MONITOR BEEPING, FAINT CHATTER ]
Narrator: ERIK CORDES
FEARS THE WRIGGLING MASS
CHOKING THE BOY FROM INSIDE HIS LUNG
MIGHT BE A MATURE ROUNDWORM
WHICH JUST DOESN'T WANT TO LEAVE.
[ GURGLING ]
BUT BIOLOGIST KELLY PRICE IS NOT CONVINCED
THAT ANY WORM MATCHES THE BIZARRE CREATURE
SEEN IN THE VIDEO.
[ THUMPING ]
Price: IT'S UNLIKELY THAT THIS WAS A WORM
SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE SHAPE OF IT.
WHILE THEY DO WIGGLE AROUND,
LIKE WHAT WE SAW IN THE VIDEO,
THE CRITTER IN THE VIDEO IS MUCH SHORTER.
[ CAMERA WHIRS ]
Narrator: THE MYSTERY
COMES TO THE ATTENTION
OF FORENSIC IMAGE ANALYST CONOR McCOURT.
HE SCANS THE FOOTAGE FOR CLUES
TO DETERMINE WHAT THE
BIZARRE LUNG MONSTER MIGHT BE.
LOOK. THIS THING IS MOVING.
IT'S FLIPPING AROUND.
I LOOKED AT THIS VIDEO SEQUENCE,
AND I SLOWED IT DOWN,
AND THEN I PICKED THIS SPECIFIC IMAGE.
[ WHIRRING ]
I'M SEEING WHAT LOOKS LIKE A TAIL
WITH A COUPLE OF PIGMENTS
OR DOTS ON THE SKIN,
A RIBBED KIND OF FIN, MAYBE,
AND THEN SOME KIND OF
DORSAL FIN ON THE TOP.
THERE'S A PLAUSIBLE
EXPLANATION. IT'S A FISH.
[ THUMPING ]
Narrator: IT'S A BREATHTAKING DISCOVERY.
HOW DID THIS CHILD GET
THIS FISH IN HIS LUNGS?
WHERE DID IT COME FROM?
[ CAMERA WHIRS ]
♪♪
Narrator: THERE IS A
TERRIFYING PARASITIC FISH
WHICH IS REPUTED TO BE
ABLE TO GET INTO HUMAN BODIES
BY WRIGGLING THROUGH THE GENITALS...
THE CANDIRU.
THE CANDIRU ARE
ATTRACTED TO UREA, TO URINE,
AND THEY WILL FOLLOW THE SCENT
AND WILL SWIM RIGHT INTO THE URINARY TRACT.
UGH, THAT'S DISGUSTING.
Narrator: BUT KELLY PRICE
DOUBTS THIS FISH CAN BE A CANDIRU.
IT SWIMS INTO PEOPLE'S BODIES
THROUGH THEIR URETHRAS
AND MATURES IN THE BLADDER,
BUT THERE'S JUST NO WAY
THAT A FISH COULD GET FROM
THE BLADDER TO THE LUNG.
BUT I THINK IT'S MUCH MORE LIKELY
THAT THE BOY HIMSELF ACTUALLY SWALLOWED IT
AND THE FISH JUST TOOK A
WRONG TURN ON THE WAY DOWN.
[ THUMPING ]
[ MONITOR BEEPING ]
Narrator: DOCTORS EVENTUALLY
MANAGE TO EXTRACT THE FISH
FROM THE BOY'S LUNG, AND
HE MAKES A FULL RECOVERY.
THE EXACT SPECIES OF
FISH IS NEVER DETERMINED.
THIS LUNG-DWELLER REMAINS A MYSTERY.
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
NOW, A FISHING BOAT FACES BLOOD-RED DOOM.
IT'S TOTALLY APOCALYPTIC-LOOKING.
THIS LOOKS LIKE SOME KIND OF WALL OF DEATH.
Lovell: YOU'RE IN DANGER.
YOU DON'T HAVE VERY LONG
TO GET OUT OF THE WAY.
Narrator: BUT EXPERTS
FEAR THERE'S NO ESCAPE.
THE WAY IT'S MOVING FORWARD, YOU KNOW THAT
THERE'S JUST NOWHERE YOU CAN GO TO HIDE.
I WOULD BE TERRIFIED.
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?
[ STATIC BLIPS ]
Narrator: THE INDIAN OCEAN, JANUARY 2013...
OFF THE COAST OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA,
A FISHING BOAT IS HEADING BACK TO HARBOR
WHEN SUDDENLY A TOWERING BLOOD-RED SURGE
BLOCKS OUT THE HORIZON.
TERRIFIED CREW SNATCH THIS PHOTO,
WHICH INVESTIGATORS DETERMINE
IS NOT MANIPULATED IN ANY WAY.
WHEN I FIRST SEE THIS, I THINK, "HOLY MOLY.
SOMETHING HUGE IS HAPPENING HERE."
THE FIRST THING YOU SEE
IS THIS MASSIVE WALL OF RED.
Kays: IT'S REALLY BIG. IT'S
THOUSANDS OF FEET HIGH.
WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN THAT ADVANCES
OVER THE TOP OF THE
PEOPLE HOLDING THE CAMERA?
TALK ABOUT THE APOCALYPSE COME TRUE.
♪♪
SO THE QUESTION IS, WHAT THE HELL IS IT?
[ STATIC BLIPS ]
Narrator: EXPERTS ARE
BAFFLED BY A PHOTOGRAPH
SNAPPED FROM A FISHING BOAT
OF A TOWERING BLOOD-RED WALL
ADVANCING ACROSS THE OCEAN.
GEOLOGIST SIAN PROCTOR CHECKS LOCATION DATA
AND DISCOVERS THAT THE
BOAT IS 25 MILES OFF THE COAST.
Proctor: WHEN I LOOK AT THE IMAGE,
IT CLEARLY LOOKS LIKE THIS HUGE WAVE
MAY BE COMING TOWARDS
THE PEOPLE THAT ARE THERE.
I IMMEDIATELY THINK TSUNAMI.
[ PEOPLE SCREAMING ]
Narrator: IN 2004, THE
INFAMOUS BOXING DAY TSUNAMI
WROUGHT HAVOC ACROSS THE INDIAN OCEAN.
Proctor: IT AFFECTED 14 COUNTRIES,
AND OVER 200,000 PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES.
♪♪
Narrator: IF THIS IS A
TOWERING MASS OF SEA WATER,
BIOLOGIST ROLAND KAYS SUSPECTS
THAT A RED TIDE ALGAL BLOOM
MIGHT EXPLAIN THE COLOR.
IN THESE RED TIDE EVENTS,
THE ALGAE REALLY DOES TURN THE WATER RED,
SO IF THERE WAS A MASSIVE WAVE,
THAT WAVE WOULD ALSO LOOK RED.
♪♪
Narrator: BUT EARTH
SCIENTIST ALESSANDRO GRIPPO
DISCOUNTS THE TSUNAMI THEORY.
IF A TSUNAMI HAD HIT ALONG THE COASTLINE,
WE WOULD SEE CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE.
THERE WOULD BE A LOT OF DESTRUCTION.
WE DON'T SEE ANY OF THAT.
I WOULD ABSOLUTELY
SAY THIS IS NOT A TSUNAMI.
[ RUMBLING ]
[ CAMERA WHIRS ]
Narrator: ATMOSPHERIC
SCIENTIST ANGELA FRITZ
SEARCHES THE RECORDS FOR OTHER EVIDENCE
OF THE WEIRD RED MENACE.
SHE UNEARTHS REVELATORY NEW VIDEO FOOTAGE,
THIS TIME TAKEN ON LAND,
WHICH TURNS THE
INVESTIGATION IN A NEW DIRECTION.
THE FIRST THING YOU SEE
LOOKS LIKE A GIANT RED CLOUD,
YOU KNOW?
IF YOU'VE EVER WATCHED THE SHOW "LOST,"
IT KIND OF LOOKS LIKE THE
SMOKE MONSTER, ONLY RED.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S KIND OF
WHAT IT BRINGS TO MIND FOR ME.
THE WEIRD THING ABOUT THIS CLOUD FORMATION
IS HOW TIGHTLY PACKED IT IS.
IT REALLY LOOKS LIKE AN ADVANCING WALL.
Narrator: FRITZ RECALLS THAT JANUARY
IS THE HEIGHT OF SUMMER IN AUSTRALIA.
SHE WONDERS IF THE INCREDIBLE PHENOMENON
MIGHT BE SMOKE FROM A MASSIVE WILDFIRE.
AUSTRALIA IS KNOWN FOR ITS WILDFIRES.
IT'S A VERY DRY REGION.
MAYBE THIS COULD BE WILDFIRE SMOKE.
IT'S A LITTLE RED.
IT DEPENDS ON WHAT THAT
WILDFIRE WAS BURNING.
Narrator: FRITZ LEARNS
THAT IN JANUARY 2013,
AUSTRALIA RECORDS ITS HOTTEST DAY EVER,
WITH THE NATIONWIDE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
HITTING A BLISTERING 104 DEGREES.
BUSHFIRES RAGE ACROSS ALMOST
300,000 ACRES OF THE COUNTRY
AND CAN BE SEEN FROM SPACE.
Fritz: KNOWING THAT IT'S THE
PEAK OF WILDFIRE SEASON,
THIS MUST BE AN EFFECT OF WILDFIRE
BECAUSE IT SURE DOES
LOOK LIKE SMOKE, DOESN'T IT?
Narrator: BUT OUT HERE IN
THE BARREN WESTERN DESERT,
JAYDE LOVELL DOESN'T
BUY THE BUSHFIRE THEORY.
THE FIRES THAT WERE
HAPPENING WERE HAPPENING
ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE COUNTRY.
THIS WAS FILMED ON THE WEST.
SO IT'S NOT AN AREA THAT'S
OFTEN HIT BY BUSHFIRES,
SO IT'S LIKELY TO BE SOMETHING ELSE.
[ CAMERA WHIRS ]
♪♪
Narrator: FOCUSING IN ON
THE SWIRLING MOVEMENT
WITHIN THE ADVANCING WALL,
LOVELL NOTICES THAT IT
LOOKS MORE DUSTY THAN SMOKY.
SHE WONDERS IF THIS WALL
MIGHT BE A TERRIFYING SANDSTORM,
A POTENTIALLY DEADLY HABOOB.
♪♪
A HABOOB IS WHEN A HUGE
STORM CREATES THIS MASSIVE WIND.
IN AN AREA WITH LOTS OF DUST OR SAND,
IT CAN WHIP UP A HUGE SANDSTORM
THAT MOVES INCREDIBLY QUICKLY.
IT'S THE IRON IN THE DIRT,
IN THAT AREA OF AUSTRALIA,
IS WHAT MAKES IT SO RED.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE WINDS WERE WHIPPING UP,
PULLING THAT IRON-RICH RED DIRT
AND SENDING IT INTO THE
AIR IN A HUGE WALL OF DUST.
A HABOOB, I LOVE SAYING
THAT WORD, "HABOOB."
THEY HAPPEN WHERE I
LIVE, IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA.
WE TEND TO GET A COUPLE OF THESE HABOOBS
ROLL THROUGH DURING THE MONSOON SEASON.
WHEN THEY DO IMPACT, YOU KNOW,
CITIES LIKE PHOENIX AND TUCSON,
THEY CAN BE A BIG DISASTER.
[ WIND WHOOSHING ]
IF YOU'VE NEVER BEEN IN A
SANDSTORM, THEY CAN KILL YOU.
♪♪
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS FEAR
THAT AS THIS AWESOME HABOOB ADVANCES,
WITNESSES ON THE BEACH
COULD BE IN TERRIBLE DANGER.
Proctor: WHEN YOU SEE A HABOOB COMING,
THE BEST THING TO DO IS GO COVER UP.
Grippo: YOU MIGHT CHOKE.
YOU MIGHT BE BURIED IN THE SAND.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF POSSIBLE DANGERS.
I HOPE THE GUYS WITH THE CAMERA GOT INSIDE.
MILLION SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS
ARE WATCHING US ON OUR
STREETS, AT WORK, AND IN OUR HOMES.
THEY CAPTURE THINGS THAT SEEM IMPOSSIBLE.
IT DEFIES THE LAWS OF PHYSICS.
Man: OH, THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE, MAN.
Narrator: EXPERTS CARRY
OUT FORENSIC ANALYSIS
OF THESE UNUSUAL EVENTS.
THERE'S GOT TO BE SOME
EXPLANATION FOR WHAT'S GOING ON.
[ SCREAMING ]
[ HORN HONKS ]
Narrator: COMING UP...
THE INDESTRUCTIBLE BOY.
SCIENTISTS LOOK FOR A GENETIC MUTATION.
Price: IT MAKES THE BONES VERY STRONG.
YOU MIGHT EVEN SAY KIND OF
INDESTRUCTIBLE, UNBREAKABLE.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO JAPANESE LEGEND,
JUST LOOKING AT THIS FOOTAGE
COULD LEAD TO YOUR DEATH...
SOMETHING VERY CREEPY IS GOING ON HERE.
Narrator: ...AND THE ALIEN
BEING LIVING INSIDE A SMALL BOY.
WHEN YOU SEE A CAMERA LIKE THIS,
YOU DON'T EXPECT TO SEE A CREATURE
AT THE OTHER END OF IT.
Narrator: BIZARRE PHENOMENA,
MYSTERIES CAUGHT ON SURVEILLANCE...
WHAT'S THE TRUTH BEHIND
THIS "STRANGE EVIDENCE"?
[ TIRES SCREECH ]
Narrator: A FATAL ACCIDENT
WITH A DIFFERENCE...
[ WOMAN SCREAMS ]
THIS IS TERRIBLE FOOTAGE.
YOU SEE THIS CAR
BASICALLY RUN OVER THIS KID,
RUN RIGHT OVER HIS HEAD. [ WOMAN SCREAMS ]
Narrator: THE BOY'S HEAD AND
NECK ARE TWISTED AND CRUSHED.
HE MUST BE DEAD, BUT HE'S NOT.
Wolshon: HOW DOES A LITTLE BOY
WHOSE HEAD IS LITERALLY RUN OVER
BY A CAR SURVIVE WITH NEXT TO NO INJURY?
Narrator: EXPERTS WONDER IF
THEY'VE FOUND A REAL-LIFE X-MAN.
Price: IN TERMS OF MUTATIONS, IT
MAKES THE BONES VERY STRONG.
YOU MIGHT EVEN SAY KIND OF
INDESTRUCTIBLE, UNBREAKABLE.
MAYBE THIS KID IS SOME KIND OF SUPERHERO.
♪♪
Narrator: ANáPOLIS IN CENTRAL BRAZIL,
FAMOUS FOR ITS LEGENDARY
STATUE OF SAINT ANNE.
THIS IS A CITY OF FAITH AND OF MIRACLES.
JANUARY 21st, 2014...
ON A BUSY MORNING, A WOMAN
AND HER 5-YEAR-OLD GRANDSON
ARE CROSSING THE STREET.
A CCTV CAMERA CAPTURES WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
[ TIRES SCREECH ]
ALL OF A SUDDEN, BOOM.
Narrator: A VEHICLE OUT OF CONTROL
CRASHES INTO A PARKED CAR.
[ WOMAN SCREAMS ]
Wolshon: THIS IS THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES.
I WOULD JUST ASSUME THAT
THERE WOULD BE TWO FATALITIES.
Narrator: THE DISTURBING
FOOTAGE COMES TO THE ATTENTION
OF FORENSIC VIDEO ANALYST CONOR McCOURT.
IF WE GO IMAGE BY IMAGE, FRAME BY FRAME,
WE SEE THE BACK OF THE CAR
STRIKE THE TWO INDIVIDUALS IN QUESTION.
IT'S TERRIBLE. IT'S DRAGGING THEM BACK.
THEY'RE STARTING TO SLIDE UNDER THE CAR,
AND THEY MOVE OVER TO THE RIGHT,
AND THEY GET CAUGHT BY THE REAR WHEEL.
IT'S A REALLY BAD SITUATION
FOR THE BOTH OF THEM.
THE BACK WHEEL IS GOING OVER
THE LEG AREA OF THE OLDER WOMAN.
WHAT WE DO SEE IS THAT
FRONT WHEEL APPROACHING.
HIS HEAD IS ACTUALLY CAUGHT
UNDERNEATH THAT FRONT WHEEL
AND APPEARS TO BE RUN COMPLETELY OVER.
McCourt: WE'RE HORRIFIED AT THIS POINT.
WE'RE SURE HE'S DEAD.
THERE CAN BE NO OTHER ANSWER.
AND THEN, LO AND BEHOLD,
AS WE GO FORWARD, THE LITTLE BOY GETS UP,
AND NOT ONLY DOES HE STAND UP, HE GOES,
AND HE LOOKS AT HIS
GRANDMOTHER LYING ON THE GROUND.
Narrator: THE GRANDMOTHER IS BADLY INJURED.
THE BOY IS KILLED FOR CERTAIN.
HIS SKULL IS CRUSHED, HIS NECK BROKEN.
BUT THEN HE STANDS UP
LIKE NOTHING HAS HAPPENED.
HOW DOES A LITTLE BOY WHOSE
HEAD IS LITERALLY RUN OVER
BY A CAR SURVIVE WITH NEXT TO NO INJURY?
THE KID BOUNCES UP, AND YOU'RE
LIKE, "HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?"
♪♪
Price: THIS FOOTAGE RAISES THE QUESTION,
"IS THERE SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT THE BOY?"
[ WOMAN SCREAMS ]
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
♪♪
Narrator: BIOLOGIST
ROLAND KAYS IS AN EXPERT
IN EVOLUTIONARY ADAPTATIONS.
HE DISCOVERS THAT,
INCREDIBLE AS IT MAY SEEM,
THERE ARE CERTAIN PHYSICAL CONDITIONS
WHICH CAN GIVE HUMANS
REAL-LIFE SUPERPOWERS.
THERE'S A GENE THAT HUMANS HAVE CALLED LRP5
THAT REGULATES BONE DENSITY.
AND SOME MUTATIONS,
SOME VARIATIONS ON THIS
GENE ACTUALLY RESULT IN PEOPLE
HAVING EXTRA THICK, EXTRA DENSE BONES.
Price: IT MAKES THE BONES VERY STRONG.
YOU MIGHT EVEN SAY KIND OF
INDESTRUCTIBLE, UNBREAKABLE.
THIS MIGHT HAVE HELPED
THIS KID SURVIVE THE CRASH.
Narrator: IF THIS BOY HAS BONES
AS STRONG AS WOLVERINE'S,
HE IS NOT ALONE.
ROLAND KAYS DISCOVERS THAT IN 1994,
A CASE OF SUPER BONES FROM GENE
LRP5 WAS MEDICALLY DOCUMENTED.
THERE WAS A GUY WHO WAS
IN A HORRIBLE CAR ACCIDENT,
WAS RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL,
AND DOCTORS WERE AMAZED TO
FIND HE HAD NO BROKEN BONES.
Narrator: THE PATIENT IS REFERRED
TO THE YALE BONE CENTER,
WHERE DOCTORS MAKE
AN ASTONISHING DISCOVERY.
HE HAS THE BONE DENSITY OF A GRIZZLY BEAR,
EIGHT TIMES HIGHER THAN AN AVERAGE HUMAN.
UPON TESTING, THEY DISCOVERED
THAT HE HAD THIS MUTATION,
UPREGULATION OF LRP5.
♪♪
Narrator: KAYS LEARNS THAT
LRP5 IS NOT THE ONLY GENE
IN WHICH A RARE MUTATION
CAN LEAD TO APPARENTLY SUPERHUMAN POWERS.
THERE'S A KID IN MICHIGAN WHO
HAS ABNORMAL SUPER STRENGTH
BECAUSE OF A MUTATION ASSOCIATED
WITH THE MYOSTATIN PROTEIN,
AND AS A RESULT OF THIS, HE HAS
ABNORMALLY LARGE MUSCLE GROWTH.
Narrator: LIAM HOEKSTRA OF GRAND RAPIDS
ASTOUNDS HIS FAMILY
WITH FEATS OF SUPER
STRENGTH AT JUST 5 MONTHS OLD,
PERFORMING GYMNASTIC MOVES,
INCLUDING THE IRON CROSS.
BY 3, HE HAS 40 PERCENT BODY
MUSCLE AND MINIMAL BODY FAT.
BY THE TIME HE IS THE AGE
OF THE BOY IN THE FOOTAGE,
HE BECOMES STRONG ENOUGH
TO LIFT HEAVY DUMBBELLS
WITHOUT BREAKING A SWEAT.
♪♪
JOURNALIST JEFF WISE LEARNS THERE HAVE BEEN
ATTEMPTS TO BREED SUPERHUMANS.
IT'S A PERVERTED SCIENCE KNOWN AS EUGENICS.
Wise: IN NAZI GERMANY, THEY HAD
A PROGRAM CALLED LEBENSBORN,
WHICH WAS AN ATTEMPT TO BREED
A GENETICALLY SUPERIOR RACE
OF HUMANS FOR THE GLORY OF THE NAZI REICH.
[ CHANTING IN GERMAN ]
Narrator: WISE DISCOVERS
THAT THE NAZIS WOULD FORCE
SO-CALLED PHYSICALLY PERFECT WOMEN
TO BEAR CHILDREN FOR THE PROGRAM.
HITLER HOPED TO CREATE A
LEGION OF ARYAN SUPER SOLDIERS
WHO WOULD BRING THE
TERROR OF NAZISM TO THE WORLD.
[ SCREAMING ]
AFTER THE WAR,
THE MOST NOTORIOUS
NAZI EUGENICIST ESCAPED...
THE DEMON, DR. JOSEF MENGELE,
A.K.A. THE ANGEL OF DEATH.
MENGELE ACTUALLY SURVIVED THE WAR,
ESCAPED TO SOUTH AMERICA,
AND THERE WAS RUMORS THAT
HE HAD MAYBE CONTINUED TO WORK
ON THIS KIND OF EUGENICS EXPERIMENT
TRYING TO PRODUCE HIS NAZI SUPER RACE.
Narrator: THIS BOY IS NOT THE
PRODUCT OF A NAZI EUGENICS PROGRAM,
BUT WHETHER NATURAL OR INDUCED,
COULD THIS INDESTRUCTIBLE
BOY REALLY HAVE SUPERPOWERS?
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
COMING UP, A KILLER GHOST
STALKS HER VICTIM INTO HIS TAXI.
THIS CAB IS NOW OFFICIALLY HAUNTED.
Narrator: OVER THE OCEAN,
A BLOOD-RED TSUNAMI
CAUGHT ON CAMERA...
HOLY MOLY. GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE.
Narrator: ...AND IN THE CITY OF MIRACLES,
THE BOY WHO REFUSES TO DIE.
Price: MY GUT FEELING WHEN I FIRST SAW THIS
IS THAT I HAD JUST WITNESSED A MIRACLE.
[ STATIC BLIPS, CAMERA WHIRS ]
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS CAN'T EXPLAIN
HOW A BOY ESCAPES UNINJURED
WHEN A CAR RUNS RIGHT OVER HIS HEAD.
BUT PHYSICIST JOHN DI BARTOLO RESEARCHES
THE BOY'S MEDICAL HISTORY
AND FINDS NO TELLTALE CLUES
OF PREVIOUS PRODIGIOUS PHYSICAL ABILITIES,
RULING OUT THE POSSIBILITY THAT
HE'S HAD SUPERPOWERS FROM BIRTH.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING
SUPERHUMAN ABOUT THIS CHILD.
I THINK HE'S EXTREMELY FORTUNATE,
BUT THIS IS JUST A NORMAL YOUNG BOY.
Wolshon: SO THE MYSTERY IS,
WHAT HAPPENED HERE EXACTLY
THAT WOULD'VE SPARED THE LIFE OF THAT BOY?
♪♪
Narrator: CIVIL ENGINEER BRIAN WOLSHON
IS AN EXPERT IN CRASH FORENSICS.
HE NOTICES THAT AT THE VITAL MOMENT,
THE REAR OF THE CAR IS FALLING
OFF THE CURB AND INTO THE ROAD.
SO AT THE EXACT MOMENT,
JUST AS THAT BOY'S HEAD
WAS ABOUT TO BE RUN
OVER BY THAT FRONT TIRE,
THAT VEHICLE WAS ROTATING
AND WAS TILTING BACK,
LIFTING THAT TIRE JUST ENOUGH
TO CLEAR OVER HIS HEAD.
THERE'S A LOT OF PIVOTS
AND A LOT OF CIRCUMSTANCES
THAT ARE CAUSING THIS BOY TO SURVIVE.
IT'S GOING THROUGH A SERIES OF BUMPS.
THE SHOCK ABSORBERS
ARE JUMPING UP AND DOWN.
IT'S LIKE A CHOREOGRAPHED BALLET OF PIVOTS.
SO EVEN THOUGH HIS HEAD
APPEARS TO BE UNDER THAT WHEEL,
JUST FOR A SPLIT SECOND,
THE FORCES OF THAT VEHICLE,
IN PARTICULAR THAT FRONT TIRE,
WERE NOT GOING IN A DOWNWARD DIRECTION,
BUT MOVING SLIGHTLY UPWARD.
Wise: I MEAN, WHAT
WE'RE SEEING IS A SORT OF
ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME TURN OF EVENTS.
Narrator: WHILE SOME INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE
THAT THE REMARKABLE COINCIDENCE
OF THE LIFTING TIRE SAVES THE BOY'S LIFE,
OTHERS BELIEVE THERE
ARE HIGHER FORCES IN PLAY.
EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, THINGS
WILL JUST MAGICALLY WORK OUT
THAT MAKES IT ALMOST SEEM
LIKE THERE'S A DIVINE INTERVENTION
THAT'S PROTECTING THESE PEOPLE.
MY GUT FEELING WHEN I FIRST SAW THIS
IS THAT I HAD JUST WITNESSED A MIRACLE.
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
Narrator: NOW, IN THE LAND OF THE VIKINGS,
A PHANTASMAL BURST OF FIERY FURY.
IT'S LIKE A BOLT OF
LIGHTNING HANGING IN THE AIR.
Wise: THERE'S THIS LEAPING, DANCING FIRE
THAT'S SEEMINGLY DEMONIC.
Narrator: DID MODERN BLACK METAL PAGANS
CONJURE AN ACT OF AGGRESSION
FROM ANOTHER WORLD?
IT'S REALLY IMPOSSIBLE
NOT TO THINK OF THOR,
THE GOD OF THUNDER.
[ STATIC BLIPS ]
Narrator: NORWAY... LAND OF THE VIKINGS...
[ THUNDER CRASHES ] ...HOME OF THOR,
THE GOD OF THUNDER.
MID-WINTER AND THROUGH A BLANKET OF SNOW,
A CAMERA CAPTURES THIS.
♪♪
Pappalardo: IT'S NOT
BEHAVING LIKE LIGHTNING.
IT'S NOT BEHAVING LIKE FIRE.
IT'S BENDING. IT'S PLAYING AROUND THE TREE.
Wise: I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS IS.
IT DOES NOT LOOK OF THIS WORLD. [ CAWS ]
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS STRUGGLE
TO ACCOUNT FOR THE STRANGE,
OTHERWORLDLY LIGHTNING BOLT.
WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS A
MYSTERY. IT SEEMS TO DEFY PHYSICS.
Wallace: IS THIS SOMETHING
NATURAL, OR IS THIS SOMETHING
UNEARTHLY HAPPENING UNTO
THESE FORESTS AND THESE TREES?
Narrator: SCIENCE JOURNALIST
JEFF WISE WONDERS
IF THE UNEARTHLY INCANDESCENCE
IS CONNECTED WITH SOME
KIND OF VIKING RITUAL.
Wise: IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE
IT'S CONSUMING ANYTHING.
IT LOOKS VERY SUPERNATURAL.
IT LOOKS VERY WEIRD.
[ HEAVY METAL PLAYS ]
Narrator: HE LEARNS THAT IN THE '90s,
NORWEGIAN BLACK METAL SATANISTS
BURNED 28 CHURCHES
IN A STRING OF
ANTI-CHRISTIAN ARSON ATTACKS.
SOME OF THE MOST
NOTORIOUS OF THESE SATANISTS
HAVE TURNED TO ODALISM,
A PAGAN RELIGION BASED IN NORSE MYTHOLOGY.
COULD THIS ARCTIC SWORD OF FLAME
BE EVIDENCE OF CULTISTS
TRYING TO OPEN THE BIFROST,
THE FIERY PATHWAY FROM ASGARD TO EARTH?
Pappalardo: LOOKING AT THE
IMAGE, IT'S REALLY IMPOSSIBLE
NOT TO THINK OF THOR, THE GOD OF THUNDER.
[ THUNDER CRASHES ]
Narrator: THOR, LORD OF LIGHTNING,
REMAINS ONE OF THE MOST
VENERATED OF THE VIKING GODS.
TO THIS DAY, HE'S WORSHIPPED BY
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE.
[ THUNDER CRASHES ] [ WHIRRING ]
IT LEADS SOME EXPERTS TO WONDER
IF THIS SWORD OF FLAME MIGHT BE
AN UNKNOWN NATURAL PHENOMENON
INSPIRED BY THE ORIGINAL
VIKING LEGENDS OF THOR
AND HIS LIGHTNING HAMMER.
SO YOU IMAGINE YOURSELF,
YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE
OF A NICE DARK FOREST,
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, OUT OF THE BLUE, VOOM,
YOU'VE GOT THIS BRIGHT LIGHT, THIS FIRE.
YOU WONDER TO YOURSELF,
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?"
[ CAMERA WHIRS ]
Narrator: AVIATION
JOURNALIST JOE PAPPALARDO
CONSIDERS THE POSSIBILITY
THAT THIS IS MAN-MADE.
IT OCCURS AT THE BORDER OF NATO TERRITORY.
NORWAY IS DEFINITELY ON THE FRONTLINES
OF ANY KIND OF CONFLICT
BETWEEN RUSSIA AND NATO.
IT GUARDS THE ENTIRE APPROACH
TO THE NORTHERN ATLANTIC,
AND AS SUCH, IT'S STRATEGICALLY VITAL.
[ GUNFIRE ]
Narrator: WITH THE THREAT
FROM RUSSIA INCREASING,
PAPPALARDO WONDERS IF THE WEIRD FOOTAGE
MIGHT REVEAL A CLASSIFIED
TEST OF A PROTOTYPE
AMERICAN LIGHTNING WEAPON,
THE LASER-INDUCED PLASMA CHANNEL, OR LIPC.
Pappalardo: SO THE SYSTEM
SHOOTS A LASER TO THE TARGET.
ALONG THAT PATH OF THE LASER,
IT STRIPS ALL THE ELECTRONS
FROM AIR MOLECULES
AND CREATES A PLASMA CHANNEL,
AND WHEN THEY PULSE
ELECTRICITY DOWN THAT CHANNEL,
IT'LL STICK RIGHT TO IT,
CREATING A BOLT OF LIGHTNING
THAT REACHES OUT AND HITS THE TARGET.
[ THUNDER CRASHES ]
Narrator: ONE BOLT OF LIGHTNING
CAN CARRY AS MUCH AS 500 TRILLION WATTS
OF POWER AT 30,000 AMPS,
ENOUGH TO KILL 3,000 PEOPLE.
Pappalardo: IF MILITARY SCIENTISTS COULD
HARNESS THE POWER OF LIGHTNING,
IT WOULD MAKE A GOOD WEAPON.
IT'S A VERY POWERFUL NATURAL FORCE.
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
Narrator: COMING UP... DON'T LOOK NOW.
THE FOOTAGE THAT CARRIES A CURSE.
Lovell: THE IDEA OF A GHOST
COMING IN BEHIND YOU
WITHOUT YOU REALIZING
AND GETTING IN THE CAR...
HOW CREEPY?
Narrator: THE TOWERING RED
TSUNAMI THREATENING AUSTRALIA...
TALK ABOUT THE APOCALYPSE COME TRUE.
GETTING HIT BY THAT IS
REALLY GOING TO RUIN YOUR DAY.
Narrator: AND THE LIGHTNING
THAT APPEARS TO DEFY SCIENCE
IN THE LAND OF THOR.
[ STATIC BLIPS ]
Narrator: IN THE LAND OF THOR,
A PHANTASMAL, HOVERING BOLT OF LIGHTNING.
EXPERTS EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE.
IS THIS FOOTAGE OF A LASER WEAPON TEST,
A LASER-INDUCED PLASMA CHANNEL?
[ EXPLOSION ]
Narrator: PHYSICIST STEVEN SCHOWALTER
IS NOT CONVINCED SUCH A
WEAPON IS YET READY FOR TESTING.
THE PHYSICS THAT UNDERPIN
THIS TECHNOLOGY ARE SOUND,
BUT THERE'S STILL A LOT
OF TECHNICAL CHALLENGES
THAT NEED TO BE WORKED
OUT BEFORE THIS IS DEPLOYED
IN THE REAL WORLD.
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
Narrator: FORENSIC IMAGE
ANALYST CONOR McCOURT
IS A FORMER NEW YORK CITY COP.
HE ENHANCES AND MANIPULATES THE FOOTAGE
AND SEES SOMETHING TOWARDS
THE TOP OF THE PICTURE.
I CAN SEE THAT THERE'S SOME KIND OF LINE
COMING THROUGH THE
VIDEO, AND IT WOULD INDICATE
THAT THERE'S SOME KIND OF ELECTRICAL WIRE.
Narrator: THERE ARE ELECTRICAL
WIRES ALL OVER THE WORLD,
BUT ELECTRICITY DOES NOT
FLY FROM THEM TO THIS EXTENT
OR IN THIS MANNER. [
ELECTRICITY CRACKLING ]
YET McCOURT CAN SEE NO
OTHER LOGICAL EXPLANATION
FOR WHAT HE'S SEEING.
WE'RE DEFINITELY SEEING
SOME KIND OF ELECTRICAL BOLT
COMING OUT OF THIS WIRE.
Narrator: THE ELECTRIC CHAIR
USES 2,000 VOLTS TO KILL.
EDISON ELECTROCUTED AN
ELEPHANT USING 6,600 VOLTS.
A TYPICAL ELECTRICITY CABLE
MIGHT CARRY A MASSIVE 132,000 VOLTS,
ENOUGH ENERGY TO KILL 66 PEOPLE.
♪♪
ANALYZING THE ELEMENTS IN THE FOOTAGE,
McCOURT ATTEMPTS TO DETERMINE THE DISTANCE
THE ARCING ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE IS JUMPING.
McCourt: IT'S REALLY HARD TO JUDGE,
BUT IF THEY'RE AVERAGE-SIZED TREES,
SAY THEY'RE 20, 30 FEET,
WE'RE LOOKING AT AN ARC
THAT'S ABOUT MAYBE 10 FEET LONG.
Narrator: IS IT REALLY POSSIBLE
FOR A 10-FOOT-LONG ARC
OF DANCING ELECTRICITY
TO LEAP FROM A CABLE TO
THE BRANCHES OF A TREE?
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER DAVID WALLACE PUTS THIS
TO THE TEST IN HIS LIGHTNING LAB.
HE WILL RUN 137 KILOVOLTS
THROUGH AN EXPOSED CABLE
AND TRY TO RECREATE SUCH AN ARC.
Wallace: ARE WE READY?
-Man: READY. -WE'RE READY.
I LOVE THIS.
Narrator: AT 10 FEET FROM THE
CABLE, THERE IS NO ARCING.
Wallace: BRINGING THE TREE IN SLOWLY.
ALL RIGHT. START TO PULL.
Narrator: 9, 8, 7 FEET... NO ARCING.
THE TREE IS NOW FAR CLOSER THAN
THE 10-FOOT GAP IN THE FOOTAGE,
AND STILL THIS VOLTAGE IS NOT
ENOUGH TO CREATE AN ARC TO IT.
BRING IT.
Narrator: FINALLY... [ CRACKLING ]
ALL RIGHT. NOW THAT IS A BEAUTIFUL ARC.
WE'VE GOT A GOOD JUMP FROM
THE POWER LINE TO THE TREE.
THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL DESIGN.
THAT'S WHAT YOU EXPECT TO SEE.
I LIKE THIS. VERY BEAUTIFUL.
[ CRACKLING ]
KILL IT.
GROUND IT.
SO HERE IN OUR EXPERIMENT,
WE HAVE THE 2-1/2-TO-3-FOOT
ARC GAP, BUT IN THE VIDEO AT 137 KV,
IT REALLY LOOKS A LOT FURTHER
THAN WHAT WE SEE HERE IN THE LAB,
SO SOMETHING ELSE MAY BE GOING ON
THAT WE REALLY DON'T KNOW ABOUT.
AS THE NAME IMPLIES, A HIGH-VOLTAGE LINE
CARRIES A LOT OF POWER INSIDE IT.
HOWEVER, IT'S NOT GOING TO PRODUCE
THE KIND OF ARCING OVER 10 FEET
THAT WE'RE APPARENTLY SEEING IN THIS VIDEO.
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
Narrator: SO WHILE INVESTIGATORS
CONCLUDE THESE UNEARTHLY PYROTECHNICS
MAY BE CAUSED BY A CABLE,
THE SHEER AMOUNT OF POWER
UNLEASHED HERE REMAINS A MYSTERY.
SOMETHING IS GOING SERIOUSLY
WRONG IN ARCTIC NORWAY.
IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE
FILLED WITH ICE AND SNOW.
IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE FILLED
WITH FIRE AND DANCING FLAMES.
Narrator: IN THE LAND OF THOR,
IT SEEMS THAT ELECTRICAL
LIGHTNING DOES STRANGE THINGS.
Pappalardo: IT'S A VERY STRANGE IMAGE.
IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY
CLEAR ANSWER OF WHAT IT IS.
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
♪♪
Narrator: NOW, CAMERAS CAPTURE
WHAT LOOKS LIKE A FEMALE
DEMON WITH A DEADLY REPUTATION.
[ LOW GROWL ] Hyde: SHE'S VERY TRANSLUCENT.
I MEAN, SHE DOES LOOK LIKE A GHOST.
Narrator: SHE SEEMS TO
FOLLOW A MAN INTO A CAB.
Lovell: IT DEFINITELY LOOKS
LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF
A JAPANESE HORROR MOVIE.
WATCHING THIS FOOTAGE
GIVES YOU KIND OF CHILLS.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO JAPANESE LEGEND,
EVEN WATCHING THIS VIDEO MIGHT PROVE FATAL.
THIS CAB IS NOW OFFICIALLY HAUNTED.
♪♪
[ STATIC BLIPS ]
[ BIRDS SQUAWKING ]
Narrator: ISHINOMAKI, JAPAN...
SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS AT A TAXI STAND
CAPTURE A TERRIFYING 20 SECONDS OF FOOTAGE.
Wise: WE'RE IN A PARKING GARAGE.
WE'RE LOOKING AT A SECURITY
CAM, AND A GUY HAILS A TAXI.
THE TAXI PULLS UP, WHICH IS ALL NORMAL.
Narrator: BUT WHAT FOLLOWS
IS FAR FROM NORMAL.
A SPECTRAL FIGURE APPEARS,
MATCHING THE LOOK OF A JAPANESE GHOST.
[ THUNDER CRASHES ] [ LOW GROWL ]
Hyde: THIS FIGURE IS PRETTY
CREEPY WITH THE LONG, DANGLY HAIR,
DEFINITELY SEEMS TO BE FEMALE.
SHE'S STOOPED OVER WITH A HUNCHED BACK,
AND YOU CAN'T REALLY VERY
DISTINCTLY SEE HER FEET.
THE APPARITION CLEARLY
FOLLOWS THE MAN INTO THE VEHICLE,
BUT IF WE BACK UP A LITTLE BIT,
THERE IS NO SIGN OF A PERSON BEHIND HIM.
Narrator: THE PASSENGER
SEEMS COMPLETELY UNAWARE
OF HIS UNEARTHLY RIDE SHARER.
THE IDEA OF A GHOST COMING IN BEHIND YOU
WITHOUT YOU REALIZING
AND GETTING IN THE CAR...
HOW CREEPY.
IT'S REALLY HARD TO COME
UP WITH A GOOD EXPLANATION.
♪♪
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS WONDER IF
THIS COULD BE SOME KIND OF GLITCH
OR GHOSTING EFFECT CAUSED
BY THE VIDEO RECORDER,
BUT NEUROSCIENTIST
JAYDE LOVELL IS SKEPTICAL
THAT THE SPECTRAL WOMAN
CAN BE THE RESULT OF
SIMPLE VIDEO ARTIFACTS.
IT'S PROBABLY NOT AN ERROR
BASED ON THE VIDEO QUALITY.
IT SEEMS FINE EVERYWHERE
ELSE BUT THIS ONE IMAGE.
IT'S A VERY CLEAR FIGURE.
IT KIND OF MAKES YOU WONDER,
WHAT IS THE REAL REASON FOR THIS?
♪♪
Narrator: SCIENCE WRITER JEFF WISE
HAS STUDIED THE MYTHOLOGY OF JAPAN.
HE NOTICES THE STRANGE APPARITION BEARS
A STRIKING SIMILARITY
TO CREATURES THAT STALK
JAPANESE NIGHTMARES.
[ LOW GROWL ]
IN JAPAN, THEY HAVE A TRADITIONAL
IN THEIR CULTURE OF THE YUREI,
WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO OUR GHOST.
IT'S A SPIRIT OF A PERSON
WHO HAS TO, YOU KNOW,
ROAM THE TERRESTRIAL PLAIN.
♪♪
THE GHOSTS ARE MAINLY TO
DO WITH UNFINISHED BUSINESS,
SO IT'S THESE SORT OF
UNREQUITED EMOTIONS AND DESIRES
THAT ARE LEFT OVER WHEN
SOMEBODY DIES TOO SOON
OR THEY DIE TOO VIOLENTLY.
♪♪
Narrator: YUREI ARE SAID TO RETURN
TO TAKE BRUTAL VENGEANCE ON THE LIVING...
♪♪
...KILLING THEM WITH FEAR
AND DRAGGING THEIR SPIRITS
DOWN TO DEMONIC REALMS.
♪♪
COULD THE MAN IN THE
VIDEO BE IN TERRIBLE DANGER?
Hyde: SHE'S FOLLOWING
VERY CLOSELY BEHIND HIM.
I MEAN, IT LOOKS LIKE HE
PERSONALLY IS BEING HAUNTED.
IF THERE'S A GHOST FOLLOWING
HIM, IT MAKES YOU WONDER,
"WHAT'S THAT GUY DONE IN HIS PAST?"
♪♪
Narrator: ACCORDING TO JAPANESE LEGEND,
SEEING A YUREI, EVEN ON VIDEO,
PUTS THE VIEWER IN MORTAL DANGER
AND COULD BRING HORRIFIC
DEATH WITHIN SEVEN DAYS.
♪♪
Wise: SO THIS MATCHES
WHAT THE JAPANESE BELIEVE
ABOUT THE AFTERWORLD,
THE POWER OF THE SPIRITS OF
THE DEAD WHO HAVEN'T LEFT US YET.
Narrator: COULD EVEN WATCHING
THIS CLIP BE A DEADLY MISTAKE?
♪♪
[ BEEPING ]
COMING UP... SURFERS SURRENDER
TO THE FACE OF THIS MONSTER.
THIS LOOKS LIKE SOME KIND OF WALL OF DEATH.
[ THUMPING ] Narrator: A
PULSATING ALIEN MASS
INSIDE A YOUNG BOY THREATENS TO KILL...
IF YOU DON'T GET IT OUT,
HE MAY NOT EVEN SURVIVE.
Narrator: AND IS THIS A REAL PHANTOM,
OR IS SOMEONE TAKING US FOR A RIDE?
♪♪
[ STATIC BLIPS ]
♪♪
Narrator: EXPERTS FEAR CCTV
IMAGES SHOW A KILLER GHOST
KNOWN AS A YUREI GETTING INTO A TAXI
WITH AN UNSUSPECTING VICTIM.
JAPAN IN PARTICULAR
HAS A CULTURE OF GHOSTS.
THERE'S LOTS OF GHOST STORIES.
AND A LOT OF JAPANESE
PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE IN GHOSTS.
♪♪
Narrator: FEMALE YUREI OFTEN
APPEAR WITH LONG, DARK HAIR,
NOT PINNED UP AS IN NORMAL-DAY LIFE,
BUT LEFT TO HANG FREELY
AS IT WOULD BE FOR BURIAL
AND RAGGED AS IT WOULD BECOME IN THE GRAVE.
TRADITIONALLY, THEY APPEAR TO BE LEVITATING
WITH NO VISIBLE LEGS OR FEET.
THE INTERESTING THING
ABOUT THIS FIGURE AS WE SEE IT
IS THAT SHE HAS THE LONG,
MATTED HAIR OVER HER FACE,
AND WE CAN'T QUITE SEE HER FEET.
NOW, THIS IS AN EXACT DESCRIPTION
OF A RESTLESS SPIRIT IN JAPANESE FOLKLORE.
♪♪
Narrator: DEBORAH HYDE BELIEVES
THE TRADITIONAL APPEARANCE
OF THE GHOST IN THE FOOTAGE
OFFERS A CLUE ABOUT ITS TRUE NATURE.
♪♪
I'M INTERESTED IN JUST HOW
PERFECT THIS PARTICULAR GHOST
IS IN JAPAN.
IF YOU WERE TO INVENT A SCENARIO IN JAPAN,
YOU WOULDN'T HAVE A FAIRY.
YOU WOULDN'T HAVE A DJINN.
YOU WOULDN'T HAVE A DEMON.
YOU'D HAVE THIS.
SO THE THING TO ASK IS WHETHER OR NOT
THIS COULD BE SOME KIND
OF DELIBERATE EFFECT.
[ LOW GROWL ]
♪♪
Narrator: THERE IS A LONG
TRADITION OF HOAX IMAGES
OF GHOSTS AND THE SUPERNATURAL,
GOING BACK TO THE DAWN OF PHOTOGRAPHY.
Hyde: GHOST PHOTOGRAPHY BECAME POPULAR
IN THE 19th CENTURY, AND
THE WAY THEY ACHIEVED THIS,
BECAUSE EACH OF THE PLATES
WOULD TAKE SO LONG TO EXPOSE,
WAS THAT YOU COULD EXPOSE THEM TWICE...
ONCE WITH THEIR FLESH-AND-BLOOD
SOLID KIND OF APPEARANCE
AND THEN ONCE AGAIN
WITH SOMEBODY WHO DIDN'T REALLY DEVELOP,
LOOKED A BIT TRANSPARENT,
LOOKED A BIT GHOSTLY.
Narrator: LOOKING CLOSELY AT THE FOOTAGE,
DEBORAH HYDE SPOTS MORE
CLUES WHICH MAKE HER BELIEVE
THE FOOTAGE MAY HAVE BEEN
DELIBERATELY MANIPULATED.
Hyde: WE ALL KNOW WHAT JAPANESE
GHOSTS LOOK LIKE BECAUSE OF FILMS,
AND SHE CONFORMS EXACTLY TO THE STEREOTYPE.
HER FEET ARE SUPPOSED TO
BE INDISTINCT IN THE FOLKLORE,
AND IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEBODY'S
PUT A DIGITAL EFFECT ON IT.
I THINK IT'S INTERESTING
THAT SHE JUST EMERGES
FROM THIS LAMPPOST.
IT COULD BE THAT SHE HAS JUST
LITERALLY COME FROM NOWHERE
OR THAT SOMEBODY WHO
HAS DONE A DIGITAL EFFECT
HAS USED THIS VERY CONVENIENT VERTICAL LINE
WITHIN THE FRAME TO INTRODUCE THEIR GHOST.
♪♪
[ BEEPING ]
♪♪
Lovell: GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF INTEREST
THERE IS OUT THERE ON THE INTERNET,
AND PARTICULARLY AROUND GHOSTS IN JAPAN,
ANYONE THAT CREATED A HOAX LIKE THIS
KNOWS THAT IT'S GOING
TO GET A LOT OF ATTENTION,
SO THERE'S A LOT OF INCENTIVE
TO PERHAPS CREATE A HOAX.
♪♪
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
MAY HAVE THEIR SUSPICIONS,
BUT WITHOUT MORE PROOF, THEY CANNOT BE SURE
IF THIS TERRIFYING TAXI CUSTOMER
IS TAKING US ALL FOR A RIDE.
FOR NOW, THE VIDEO OF THE GHOSTLY YUREI
REMAINS SHROUDED IN MYSTERY.
IF THE FIGURE BEHIND THAT MAN IS REAL,
SOMETHING VERY CREEPY IS GOING ON HERE.
[ LOW GROWL ]
IT'S NOT A TAXI RIDE I'D WANT TO TAKE.
♪♪
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
Narrator: NOW, INSIDE A YOUNG BOY...
[ THUMPING ] DOCTORS
FIND AN ALIEN CREATURE.
McCourt: WHEN YOU SEE A CAMERA LIKE THIS,
YOU DON'T EXPECT TO SEE A CREATURE
AT THE OTHER END OF IT.
THIS LOOKS LIKE A SCENE
FROM A SCI-FI HORROR MOVIE.
♪♪
UGH, THAT'S DISGUSTING.
Narrator: THE ALIEN ORGANISM
INSIDE THE BOY IS ALIVE.
[ THUMPING ]
WHAT IS IT, AND HOW DID IT GET THERE?
[ STATIC BLIPS, CAMERA WHIRS ]
Narrator: AUGUST 2014...
A BUSY CITY HOSPITAL.
MEDICAL STAFF RACE TO GET
A 12-YEAR-OLD BOY TO THE E.R.
HE'S HAVING TROUBLE BREATHING,
BUT THEY DON'T KNOW WHY.
DOCTORS RUN A CAMERA
DOWN INTO THE BOY'S LUNGS.
WHEN THEY DO, THIS IS WHAT THEY SEE...
[ THUMPING ]
A PALPITATING, WRIGGLING OBJECT
APPARENTLY GROWING INSIDE
THE LEFT LOBE OF HIS LUNG
IS CHOKING THE BOY TO DEATH FROM WITHIN.
[ THUMPING ]
Prabhu: SO WE SEE THIS SLIMY,
BROWN, SPECKLED OBJECT,
AND IT SEEMS TO BE ALIVE AND MOVING.
[ THUMPING ]
MY FIRST REACTION IS,
"THAT SHOULD NOT BE THERE."
Prabhu: IS THIS SOMETHING
THAT CAME FROM WITHIN,
OR IS THIS SOMETHING
THAT HAS INVADED HIS BODY
FROM THE OUTSIDE?
Narrator: IF THERE IS ANYTHING
REMOTELY RIDLEY SCOTT
ABOUT THIS ALIEN ORGANISM,
THEN EVERYONE IN THE HOSPITAL
COULD BE IN TERRIBLE DANGER.
[ HEAVY EXHALE ]
[ CAMERAS WHIR ]
COMING UP... A TOWER OF TERROR,
BUT NOWHERE TO RUN.
WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN THAT ADVANCES
OVER THE TOP OF THE
PEOPLE HOLDING THE CAMERA?
Narrator: AND INVESTIGATORS RACE DISCOVER
THE IDENTITY OF THE LURKER IN THE LUNG.
UGH, THAT'S DISGUSTING.
[ STATIC BLIPS ]
[ SIREN WAILING ] Narrator: IN INDIA,
A 12-YEAR-OLD BOY IS CHOKING TO DEATH
BECAUSE OF A WEIRD,
PULSATING MASS INSIDE HIS LUNG.
BIOMEDICAL ENGINEER
RAJ PRABHU FIRST SUSPECTS
THE ALIEN OBJECT MIGHT BE
SOME KIND OF MALIGNANT GROWTH.
Prabhu: WHEN WE SEE AN OBJECT LIKE
THIS IN A PLACE THAT IT SHOULDN'T BE,
OUR IMMEDIATE THOUGHT IS
THAT THIS MIGHT BE A TUMOR.
Narrator: PRABHU KNOWS THAT
THERE IS A HORRIFIC KIND OF GROWTH
WHICH COULD RESEMBLE THIS
STRANGE FORM IN THE FOOTAGE...
[ THUMPING ]
...AN EXTREMELY RARE PHENOMENON
WHICH CAN ACTUALLY DEVELOP HAIR,
TEETH, HANDS OR FEET, EVEN EYEBALLS.
IN 2007, A WOMAN HAD ONE
REMOVED FROM HER TORSO.
THE LUMP CONTAINED A
NUMBER OF INTERNAL ORGANS,
IN THE MIDDLE OF WHICH
WAS ONE FULLY FORMED EYE.
♪♪
IN FEBRUARY 2014, DOCTORS IN MARYLAND
REMOVED ANOTHER FROM A
YOUNG BOY'S SWOLLEN HEAD.
IT HAD FULLY GROWN TEETH.
THE NAME OF THESE TUMORS
IS DERIVED FROM THE GREEK FOR MONSTER,
THE HORRIFIC TERATOMA.
Prabhu: WE DON'T KNOW HOW
DANGEROUS THIS OBJECT IS.
IF I WERE THE DOCTOR FOR THIS PATIENT,
I WOULD BE VERY CONCERNED.
♪♪
Narrator: BUT BIOLOGIST
KELLY PRICE DISCOUNTS
PRABHU'S TERATOMA THEORY.
THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT A TUMOR
BECAUSE IT'S CLEARLY ALIVE,
AND TUMORS DON'T MOVE.
[ THUMPING ]
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
Narrator: MARINE BIOLOGIST ERIK CORDES
HAS EXPERIENCE IN TROPICAL CLIMATES.
HE FEARS THAT THE MONSTROUS MASS
MAY BE A PARASITE FEEDING
OFF THE YOUNG BOY'S BODY.
MY FIRST GUESS WAS SOME KIND OF,
LIKE, A FLATWORM, LIKE A TAPEWORM.
THEY'RE USUALLY IN THE
DIGESTIVE TRACT, IN THE INTESTINES.
Narrator: SOME TAPEWORMS CAN BE
FOUND ALL OVER THE HUMAN BODY.
[ MONITOR BEEPING ]
ROSEMARY ALVAREZ OF PHOENIX, ARIZONA,
IS OPERATED ON FOR A SUSPECTED BRAIN TUMOR
WHEN SURGEONS DISCOVER
THAT THE LUMP IS ALIVE.
A SPECIES OF TAPEWORM
BURROWED THROUGH HER BRAIN
AND IS HEADING FOR HER BRAIN STEM.
♪♪
DIGGING DEEPER, CORDES IDENTIFIES
ONE HIDEOUS MONSTER PARASITE
WHICH CAN INFEST THE LUNG,
A TERRIFYING CREATURE KNOWN AS A ROUNDWORM.
[ THUMPING ]
[ WHOOSHING ]
ROUNDWORMS ARE WORMS
THAT ARE ACTUALLY INGESTED,
AND THE EGGS GO INTO YOUR DIGESTIVE SYSTEM,
AND WHEN THEY HATCH, THE
LARVAE ACTUALLY FIND THEIR WAY
TO YOUR LUNGS THROUGH YOUR BLOODSTREAM.
ROUNDWORMS GROW TO BE ABOUT 14 INCHES,
AND WHEN THEY MATURE,
THERE'S TWO SCENARIOS.
EITHER THE VICTIM COUGHS THEM UP...
OR THEY SWALLOW THEM,
AND THE ROUNDWORM GOES
BACK DOWN TO THE INTESTINES
TO BEGIN THE CYCLE AGAIN.
AS A BIOLOGIST, I'D SAY THAT'S
THE CONSUMMATE PARASITE.
[ MONITOR BEEPING, FAINT CHATTER ]
Narrator: ERIK CORDES
FEARS THE WRIGGLING MASS
CHOKING THE BOY FROM INSIDE HIS LUNG
MIGHT BE A MATURE ROUNDWORM
WHICH JUST DOESN'T WANT TO LEAVE.
[ GURGLING ]
BUT BIOLOGIST KELLY PRICE IS NOT CONVINCED
THAT ANY WORM MATCHES THE BIZARRE CREATURE
SEEN IN THE VIDEO.
[ THUMPING ]
Price: IT'S UNLIKELY THAT THIS WAS A WORM
SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE SHAPE OF IT.
WHILE THEY DO WIGGLE AROUND,
LIKE WHAT WE SAW IN THE VIDEO,
THE CRITTER IN THE VIDEO IS MUCH SHORTER.
[ CAMERA WHIRS ]
Narrator: THE MYSTERY
COMES TO THE ATTENTION
OF FORENSIC IMAGE ANALYST CONOR McCOURT.
HE SCANS THE FOOTAGE FOR CLUES
TO DETERMINE WHAT THE
BIZARRE LUNG MONSTER MIGHT BE.
LOOK. THIS THING IS MOVING.
IT'S FLIPPING AROUND.
I LOOKED AT THIS VIDEO SEQUENCE,
AND I SLOWED IT DOWN,
AND THEN I PICKED THIS SPECIFIC IMAGE.
[ WHIRRING ]
I'M SEEING WHAT LOOKS LIKE A TAIL
WITH A COUPLE OF PIGMENTS
OR DOTS ON THE SKIN,
A RIBBED KIND OF FIN, MAYBE,
AND THEN SOME KIND OF
DORSAL FIN ON THE TOP.
THERE'S A PLAUSIBLE
EXPLANATION. IT'S A FISH.
[ THUMPING ]
Narrator: IT'S A BREATHTAKING DISCOVERY.
HOW DID THIS CHILD GET
THIS FISH IN HIS LUNGS?
WHERE DID IT COME FROM?
[ CAMERA WHIRS ]
♪♪
Narrator: THERE IS A
TERRIFYING PARASITIC FISH
WHICH IS REPUTED TO BE
ABLE TO GET INTO HUMAN BODIES
BY WRIGGLING THROUGH THE GENITALS...
THE CANDIRU.
THE CANDIRU ARE
ATTRACTED TO UREA, TO URINE,
AND THEY WILL FOLLOW THE SCENT
AND WILL SWIM RIGHT INTO THE URINARY TRACT.
UGH, THAT'S DISGUSTING.
Narrator: BUT KELLY PRICE
DOUBTS THIS FISH CAN BE A CANDIRU.
IT SWIMS INTO PEOPLE'S BODIES
THROUGH THEIR URETHRAS
AND MATURES IN THE BLADDER,
BUT THERE'S JUST NO WAY
THAT A FISH COULD GET FROM
THE BLADDER TO THE LUNG.
BUT I THINK IT'S MUCH MORE LIKELY
THAT THE BOY HIMSELF ACTUALLY SWALLOWED IT
AND THE FISH JUST TOOK A
WRONG TURN ON THE WAY DOWN.
[ THUMPING ]
[ MONITOR BEEPING ]
Narrator: DOCTORS EVENTUALLY
MANAGE TO EXTRACT THE FISH
FROM THE BOY'S LUNG, AND
HE MAKES A FULL RECOVERY.
THE EXACT SPECIES OF
FISH IS NEVER DETERMINED.
THIS LUNG-DWELLER REMAINS A MYSTERY.
[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]
NOW, A FISHING BOAT FACES BLOOD-RED DOOM.
IT'S TOTALLY APOCALYPTIC-LOOKING.
THIS LOOKS LIKE SOME KIND OF WALL OF DEATH.
Lovell: YOU'RE IN DANGER.
YOU DON'T HAVE VERY LONG
TO GET OUT OF THE WAY.
Narrator: BUT EXPERTS
FEAR THERE'S NO ESCAPE.
THE WAY IT'S MOVING FORWARD, YOU KNOW THAT
THERE'S JUST NOWHERE YOU CAN GO TO HIDE.
I WOULD BE TERRIFIED.
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?
[ STATIC BLIPS ]
Narrator: THE INDIAN OCEAN, JANUARY 2013...
OFF THE COAST OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA,
A FISHING BOAT IS HEADING BACK TO HARBOR
WHEN SUDDENLY A TOWERING BLOOD-RED SURGE
BLOCKS OUT THE HORIZON.
TERRIFIED CREW SNATCH THIS PHOTO,
WHICH INVESTIGATORS DETERMINE
IS NOT MANIPULATED IN ANY WAY.
WHEN I FIRST SEE THIS, I THINK, "HOLY MOLY.
SOMETHING HUGE IS HAPPENING HERE."
THE FIRST THING YOU SEE
IS THIS MASSIVE WALL OF RED.
Kays: IT'S REALLY BIG. IT'S
THOUSANDS OF FEET HIGH.
WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN THAT ADVANCES
OVER THE TOP OF THE
PEOPLE HOLDING THE CAMERA?
TALK ABOUT THE APOCALYPSE COME TRUE.
♪♪
SO THE QUESTION IS, WHAT THE HELL IS IT?
[ STATIC BLIPS ]
Narrator: EXPERTS ARE
BAFFLED BY A PHOTOGRAPH
SNAPPED FROM A FISHING BOAT
OF A TOWERING BLOOD-RED WALL
ADVANCING ACROSS THE OCEAN.
GEOLOGIST SIAN PROCTOR CHECKS LOCATION DATA
AND DISCOVERS THAT THE
BOAT IS 25 MILES OFF THE COAST.
Proctor: WHEN I LOOK AT THE IMAGE,
IT CLEARLY LOOKS LIKE THIS HUGE WAVE
MAY BE COMING TOWARDS
THE PEOPLE THAT ARE THERE.
I IMMEDIATELY THINK TSUNAMI.
[ PEOPLE SCREAMING ]
Narrator: IN 2004, THE
INFAMOUS BOXING DAY TSUNAMI
WROUGHT HAVOC ACROSS THE INDIAN OCEAN.
Proctor: IT AFFECTED 14 COUNTRIES,
AND OVER 200,000 PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES.
♪♪
Narrator: IF THIS IS A
TOWERING MASS OF SEA WATER,
BIOLOGIST ROLAND KAYS SUSPECTS
THAT A RED TIDE ALGAL BLOOM
MIGHT EXPLAIN THE COLOR.
IN THESE RED TIDE EVENTS,
THE ALGAE REALLY DOES TURN THE WATER RED,
SO IF THERE WAS A MASSIVE WAVE,
THAT WAVE WOULD ALSO LOOK RED.
♪♪
Narrator: BUT EARTH
SCIENTIST ALESSANDRO GRIPPO
DISCOUNTS THE TSUNAMI THEORY.
IF A TSUNAMI HAD HIT ALONG THE COASTLINE,
WE WOULD SEE CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE.
THERE WOULD BE A LOT OF DESTRUCTION.
WE DON'T SEE ANY OF THAT.
I WOULD ABSOLUTELY
SAY THIS IS NOT A TSUNAMI.
[ RUMBLING ]
[ CAMERA WHIRS ]
Narrator: ATMOSPHERIC
SCIENTIST ANGELA FRITZ
SEARCHES THE RECORDS FOR OTHER EVIDENCE
OF THE WEIRD RED MENACE.
SHE UNEARTHS REVELATORY NEW VIDEO FOOTAGE,
THIS TIME TAKEN ON LAND,
WHICH TURNS THE
INVESTIGATION IN A NEW DIRECTION.
THE FIRST THING YOU SEE
LOOKS LIKE A GIANT RED CLOUD,
YOU KNOW?
IF YOU'VE EVER WATCHED THE SHOW "LOST,"
IT KIND OF LOOKS LIKE THE
SMOKE MONSTER, ONLY RED.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S KIND OF
WHAT IT BRINGS TO MIND FOR ME.
THE WEIRD THING ABOUT THIS CLOUD FORMATION
IS HOW TIGHTLY PACKED IT IS.
IT REALLY LOOKS LIKE AN ADVANCING WALL.
Narrator: FRITZ RECALLS THAT JANUARY
IS THE HEIGHT OF SUMMER IN AUSTRALIA.
SHE WONDERS IF THE INCREDIBLE PHENOMENON
MIGHT BE SMOKE FROM A MASSIVE WILDFIRE.
AUSTRALIA IS KNOWN FOR ITS WILDFIRES.
IT'S A VERY DRY REGION.
MAYBE THIS COULD BE WILDFIRE SMOKE.
IT'S A LITTLE RED.
IT DEPENDS ON WHAT THAT
WILDFIRE WAS BURNING.
Narrator: FRITZ LEARNS
THAT IN JANUARY 2013,
AUSTRALIA RECORDS ITS HOTTEST DAY EVER,
WITH THE NATIONWIDE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
HITTING A BLISTERING 104 DEGREES.
BUSHFIRES RAGE ACROSS ALMOST
300,000 ACRES OF THE COUNTRY
AND CAN BE SEEN FROM SPACE.
Fritz: KNOWING THAT IT'S THE
PEAK OF WILDFIRE SEASON,
THIS MUST BE AN EFFECT OF WILDFIRE
BECAUSE IT SURE DOES
LOOK LIKE SMOKE, DOESN'T IT?
Narrator: BUT OUT HERE IN
THE BARREN WESTERN DESERT,
JAYDE LOVELL DOESN'T
BUY THE BUSHFIRE THEORY.
THE FIRES THAT WERE
HAPPENING WERE HAPPENING
ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE COUNTRY.
THIS WAS FILMED ON THE WEST.
SO IT'S NOT AN AREA THAT'S
OFTEN HIT BY BUSHFIRES,
SO IT'S LIKELY TO BE SOMETHING ELSE.
[ CAMERA WHIRS ]
♪♪
Narrator: FOCUSING IN ON
THE SWIRLING MOVEMENT
WITHIN THE ADVANCING WALL,
LOVELL NOTICES THAT IT
LOOKS MORE DUSTY THAN SMOKY.
SHE WONDERS IF THIS WALL
MIGHT BE A TERRIFYING SANDSTORM,
A POTENTIALLY DEADLY HABOOB.
♪♪
A HABOOB IS WHEN A HUGE
STORM CREATES THIS MASSIVE WIND.
IN AN AREA WITH LOTS OF DUST OR SAND,
IT CAN WHIP UP A HUGE SANDSTORM
THAT MOVES INCREDIBLY QUICKLY.
IT'S THE IRON IN THE DIRT,
IN THAT AREA OF AUSTRALIA,
IS WHAT MAKES IT SO RED.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE WINDS WERE WHIPPING UP,
PULLING THAT IRON-RICH RED DIRT
AND SENDING IT INTO THE
AIR IN A HUGE WALL OF DUST.
A HABOOB, I LOVE SAYING
THAT WORD, "HABOOB."
THEY HAPPEN WHERE I
LIVE, IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA.
WE TEND TO GET A COUPLE OF THESE HABOOBS
ROLL THROUGH DURING THE MONSOON SEASON.
WHEN THEY DO IMPACT, YOU KNOW,
CITIES LIKE PHOENIX AND TUCSON,
THEY CAN BE A BIG DISASTER.
[ WIND WHOOSHING ]
IF YOU'VE NEVER BEEN IN A
SANDSTORM, THEY CAN KILL YOU.
♪♪
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS FEAR
THAT AS THIS AWESOME HABOOB ADVANCES,
WITNESSES ON THE BEACH
COULD BE IN TERRIBLE DANGER.
Proctor: WHEN YOU SEE A HABOOB COMING,
THE BEST THING TO DO IS GO COVER UP.
Grippo: YOU MIGHT CHOKE.
YOU MIGHT BE BURIED IN THE SAND.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF POSSIBLE DANGERS.
I HOPE THE GUYS WITH THE CAMERA GOT INSIDE.