1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,401 [MUSIC PLAYING] 2 00:00:05,401 --> 00:00:18,167 3 00:00:18,167 --> 00:00:20,420 NARRATOR: Did this woman really see a burning 4 00:00:20,420 --> 00:00:22,800 house in this empty field? 5 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:26,120 Was she witness to a tragedy yet to happen? 6 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:29,828 Well, there's no doubt in my mind whatsoever 7 00:00:29,828 --> 00:00:32,320 as to what we saw. 8 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:34,730 NARRATOR: And did this man see back in time to glimpse 9 00:00:34,730 --> 00:00:36,453 a vision of the past? 10 00:00:36,453 --> 00:00:39,230 11 00:00:39,230 --> 00:00:43,380 And why did this arctic explorer map a land that never was? 12 00:00:43,380 --> 00:00:45,960 13 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:49,080 Mysteries from the files of Arthur C. Clarke, 14 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:53,660 author of "2001" and inventor of the communications satellite. 15 00:00:53,660 --> 00:00:56,850 Now in retreat in Sri Lanka, he ponders the riddles 16 00:00:56,850 --> 00:01:00,840 of this and other worlds. 17 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:05,790 [MUSIC PLAYING] 18 00:01:05,790 --> 00:01:28,560 19 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:30,860 This is the oldest government department 20 00:01:30,860 --> 00:01:36,360 in Sri Lanka, the survey set up by the British in 1800. 21 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:39,310 It still keeps some of the empire's traditions. 22 00:01:39,310 --> 00:01:43,020 For example, the boss is called the Surveyor General. 23 00:01:43,020 --> 00:01:47,040 But otherwise, it's a fairly modern place, using satellite 24 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,680 imagery to make maps of every feature in this island 25 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,850 of 65,000 square kilometers. 26 00:01:53,850 --> 00:01:57,160 Thanks to survey departments like this one, 27 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:01,730 we should now have an accurate picture of the entire planet. 28 00:02:01,730 --> 00:02:02,840 But do we? 29 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:06,160 Because travelers are reporting on eerie phenomenon. 30 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:08,530 They say that buildings they spot from a distance 31 00:02:08,530 --> 00:02:10,720 turn out not to be there. 32 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:12,600 Sometimes they discover that the building 33 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:14,690 was demolished years before. 34 00:02:14,690 --> 00:02:17,780 Sometimes it never existed at all. 35 00:02:17,780 --> 00:02:20,490 Such tales seem weird, even preposterous, 36 00:02:20,490 --> 00:02:22,720 but I take them seriously when they 37 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:24,330 come from reputable observers. 38 00:02:24,330 --> 00:02:29,006 [MUSIC PLAYING] 39 00:02:29,006 --> 00:02:29,960 40 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:32,060 NARRATOR: This wild and uninhabited glen 41 00:02:32,060 --> 00:02:34,150 in the highlands of Scotland is one 42 00:02:34,150 --> 00:02:36,040 of Europe's loneliest places. 43 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:40,540 It's accessible only by boat, helicopter, or the most 44 00:02:40,540 --> 00:02:41,890 determined of hill walkers. 45 00:02:41,890 --> 00:02:46,390 46 00:02:46,390 --> 00:02:48,750 George Bruce and Donald Watt are both members 47 00:02:48,750 --> 00:02:50,560 of mountain rescue teams. 48 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:52,640 They are intrepid climbers and know 49 00:02:52,640 --> 00:02:53,925 the moods of the mountains. 50 00:02:53,925 --> 00:02:57,800 51 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:00,210 I've been working for 40 years in the Scottish Highlands. 52 00:03:00,210 --> 00:03:03,540 With George here, we've been doing 30 years together, 53 00:03:03,540 --> 00:03:05,985 in all kinds of conditions, day and night, 54 00:03:05,985 --> 00:03:08,320 and winter and summer, all year round. 55 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:09,920 We don't imagine we're seeing things. 56 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:12,270 What we see we know we're seeing. 57 00:03:12,270 --> 00:03:14,400 NARRATOR: The last time they came down the slopes of Beinn 58 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,520 Fhionnlaidh, the friends were on the first stage of a weekend 59 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:18,660 hike. 60 00:03:18,660 --> 00:03:20,150 The day, it was beautiful. 61 00:03:20,150 --> 00:03:22,810 It was the third of May, all peak type conditions. 62 00:03:22,810 --> 00:03:25,870 The sky was pure blue, a bit of snow on the ground. 63 00:03:25,870 --> 00:03:28,730 Visibility was absolutely fantastic. 64 00:03:28,730 --> 00:03:30,900 NARRATOR: The two planned to shelter in the ruined house 65 00:03:30,900 --> 00:03:32,320 further up the valley. 66 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:35,770 But to their surprise, they spotted another building first. 67 00:03:35,770 --> 00:03:38,640 I was about 100 yards behind George up the hill. 68 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:41,200 And I saw this cottage before George stopped. 69 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:42,730 And then he stopped ahead of me. 70 00:03:42,730 --> 00:03:44,540 And I got down to him. 71 00:03:44,540 --> 00:03:46,570 He turned to me and said, there's a cottage there. 72 00:03:46,570 --> 00:03:47,840 And I said, yeah, I see it. 73 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:49,500 So I mean, we both saw the same thing. 74 00:03:49,500 --> 00:03:51,780 And we saw it clear over the path. 75 00:03:51,780 --> 00:03:55,000 NARRATOR: The cottage was in clear view at the water's edge, 76 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:57,060 but it was not on the map. 77 00:03:57,060 --> 00:03:58,270 The thing that stopped me was there 78 00:03:58,270 --> 00:04:00,100 was no moss overhanging the roof. 79 00:04:00,100 --> 00:04:01,920 Normally in these cottages, the slates 80 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:03,110 would have dropped some moisture, 81 00:04:03,110 --> 00:04:04,180 there'd be a bit of moss. 82 00:04:04,180 --> 00:04:05,960 And it would look worn at bit. 83 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:07,380 This thing was not worn. 84 00:04:07,380 --> 00:04:09,830 The sun was reflecting off the slates, 85 00:04:09,830 --> 00:04:11,010 and it was almost as though it had 86 00:04:11,010 --> 00:04:13,910 been-- either had a good scrub to clean 87 00:04:13,910 --> 00:04:18,890 it up or freshly built. 88 00:04:18,890 --> 00:04:21,160 So we just kept going down. 89 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:23,942 And we had taken a little gully system and lost sight of it. 90 00:04:23,942 --> 00:04:27,530 And right down to the loch site, walked around the path, 91 00:04:27,530 --> 00:04:31,240 anticipating this cottage, and there was nothing there. 92 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:32,880 NARRATOR: The house had vanished. 93 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:35,220 George and Donald were mystified. 94 00:04:35,220 --> 00:04:37,600 Both were completely certain that they had seen 95 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:40,170 a real building from above. 96 00:04:40,170 --> 00:04:41,520 GEORGE BRUCE: I knew exactly what I saw. 97 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:47,090 It was solid, set in on the side of the loch on solid ground 98 00:04:47,090 --> 00:04:50,790 with solid ground behind it and all around about it. 99 00:04:50,790 --> 00:04:53,150 Two windows in the bottom, two dormer windows at the top, 100 00:04:53,150 --> 00:04:57,270 two chimneys, no smoke, I'm afraid, but very new looking. 101 00:04:57,270 --> 00:05:00,860 102 00:05:00,860 --> 00:05:06,087 Where we're standing now here is where we think we saw it. 103 00:05:06,087 --> 00:05:07,020 And it's very strange again. 104 00:05:07,020 --> 00:05:09,535 I remember vividly years ago doing exactly what we're doing. 105 00:05:09,535 --> 00:05:10,460 I'm standing here. 106 00:05:10,460 --> 00:05:12,990 We walked about here, totally puzzled, 107 00:05:12,990 --> 00:05:16,290 walked right on to the end so we could see right down the loch-- 108 00:05:16,290 --> 00:05:17,260 no cottage. 109 00:05:17,260 --> 00:05:19,850 And I feel somewhat similar just now. 110 00:05:19,850 --> 00:05:22,420 It's no surprise it's not sitting here 111 00:05:22,420 --> 00:05:23,890 like it should be sitting here. 112 00:05:23,890 --> 00:05:25,740 And maybe someday I'll come back in the distant future 113 00:05:25,740 --> 00:05:27,390 and it will be sitting here, I hope. 114 00:05:27,390 --> 00:05:29,370 Yeah, it's such a strange feeling. 115 00:05:29,370 --> 00:05:33,825 [MUSIC PLAYING] 116 00:05:33,825 --> 00:05:46,230 117 00:05:46,230 --> 00:05:48,700 NARRATOR: Only 60 miles north, Susannah Stone 118 00:05:48,700 --> 00:05:51,301 believes she, too, may have had a brief glimpse of the future. 119 00:05:51,301 --> 00:05:53,400 Come on. Come on. 120 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:55,140 NARRATOR: It happened one evening as she drove 121 00:05:55,140 --> 00:05:56,765 a friend home after dinner. 122 00:05:56,765 --> 00:06:03,290 123 00:06:03,290 --> 00:06:06,500 We drove along this April evening, peacefully, 124 00:06:06,500 --> 00:06:07,850 lovely evening, a light evening. 125 00:06:07,850 --> 00:06:10,090 And we came round the church. 126 00:06:10,090 --> 00:06:16,610 And to our horror, we saw a largish house, high house, 127 00:06:16,610 --> 00:06:18,550 blazing, flaming. 128 00:06:18,550 --> 00:06:20,710 I mean, the flames were coming out 129 00:06:20,710 --> 00:06:24,220 of all the windows, the upstairs and the downstairs, 130 00:06:24,220 --> 00:06:25,240 and curling up the lintels. 131 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:28,820 132 00:06:28,820 --> 00:06:31,550 NARRATOR: Suzannah knew the road like the back of her hand. 133 00:06:31,550 --> 00:06:34,095 She had driven up and down it every week for years. 134 00:06:34,095 --> 00:06:36,610 135 00:06:36,610 --> 00:06:40,370 So we stopped the van, and we turned off the engine, 136 00:06:40,370 --> 00:06:41,810 and we watched it. 137 00:06:41,810 --> 00:06:45,100 It had long, narrow, Georgian windows, 138 00:06:45,100 --> 00:06:47,150 which are quite different to any of the other houses 139 00:06:47,150 --> 00:06:48,360 around here. 140 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:50,630 And it, um, had a long, narrow door 141 00:06:50,630 --> 00:06:53,300 in the middle that was shut. 142 00:06:53,300 --> 00:06:56,080 NARRATOR: The building Susannah saw was on the grass field 143 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:58,610 beyond where the new road now runs. 144 00:06:58,610 --> 00:07:01,640 It stood just where the football goal posts are. 145 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:07,660 The blazing house that we saw was just exactly there. 146 00:07:07,660 --> 00:07:11,590 And it was very obvious, very clear. 147 00:07:11,590 --> 00:07:12,860 It was by itself. 148 00:07:12,860 --> 00:07:16,000 Those wooden houses weren't there. 149 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:20,160 NARRATOR: Eerily, they heard no noise and saw no people. 150 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:22,920 They wanted a closer look. 151 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:26,620 So we set off, and we got nearer to it. 152 00:07:26,620 --> 00:07:28,340 And we were quite a distance down. 153 00:07:28,340 --> 00:07:29,440 I was driving. 154 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:30,880 She was watching. 155 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:35,946 And when we got quite near, it vanished-- completely 156 00:07:35,946 --> 00:07:38,590 disappeared. It just simply wasn't there. 157 00:07:38,590 --> 00:07:43,490 So I said, well, perhaps the levels had changed. 158 00:07:43,490 --> 00:07:46,910 We may be lower down, and perhaps I'd got my angles wrong 159 00:07:46,910 --> 00:07:48,687 and we couldn't see it. 160 00:07:48,687 --> 00:07:49,920 NARRATOR: Suzannah dropped her friend 161 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:52,580 off and began the journey home. 162 00:07:52,580 --> 00:07:56,272 But close to the field where the two had seen the blazing house, 163 00:07:56,272 --> 00:07:57,660 she had a puncture. 164 00:07:57,660 --> 00:08:00,866 She had to walk to a telephone to call for help. 165 00:08:00,866 --> 00:08:03,975 As I walked on up the hill, I realized that there 166 00:08:03,975 --> 00:08:06,670 was something terribly wrong. 167 00:08:06,670 --> 00:08:08,070 There was something very strange. 168 00:08:08,070 --> 00:08:10,270 There was nothing in the field that I just walked past. 169 00:08:10,270 --> 00:08:12,041 And I'd looked into the field. 170 00:08:12,041 --> 00:08:15,610 I had a few humps and bumps in it and some stones, 171 00:08:15,610 --> 00:08:17,690 but no house, no ashes, nothing. 172 00:08:17,690 --> 00:08:20,850 So I thought, that's most extraordinary. 173 00:08:20,850 --> 00:08:24,290 I really felt quite frightened. 174 00:08:24,290 --> 00:08:28,280 I've often thought about this since, and it worried me, 175 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:33,820 as I walked up the dark road, as to what on Earth we had seen, 176 00:08:33,820 --> 00:08:39,460 the two of us, and, um, I really don't know. 177 00:08:39,460 --> 00:08:45,360 Except that I have a feeling that perhaps it's the future. 178 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:46,750 I-- I just wonder. 179 00:08:46,750 --> 00:08:51,320 And if anyone ever builds a light-colored house 180 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:56,998 in that position, I'm not a bit sure what I'd do about it. 181 00:08:56,998 --> 00:09:00,902 I think I might have to go knock on the door and warn them. 182 00:09:00,902 --> 00:09:07,750 183 00:09:07,750 --> 00:09:11,280 NARRATOR: Mountain Lowe rises above the city of Los Angeles. 184 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:13,650 It's a wilderness haven above the smog. 185 00:09:13,650 --> 00:09:17,520 186 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:19,580 At the turn of the century, the mountain was 187 00:09:19,580 --> 00:09:21,720 a popular tourist attraction. 188 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:24,170 A railway took day trippers up for a breath 189 00:09:24,170 --> 00:09:27,530 of fresh air and lunch in the Alpine Tavern Hotel. 190 00:09:27,530 --> 00:09:32,920 [MUSIC PLAYING] 191 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:46,180 192 00:09:46,180 --> 00:09:48,760 The more adventurous could ascend to the very top 193 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:52,489 and enjoy the panoramic views, thanks to Herbert the mule. 194 00:09:52,489 --> 00:09:55,660 195 00:09:55,660 --> 00:09:57,810 But even Los Angeles' favorite day out 196 00:09:57,810 --> 00:10:02,020 could not survive the economic depression of the 1930s. 197 00:10:02,020 --> 00:10:05,630 The resort closed, and now all that remains of the railway 198 00:10:05,630 --> 00:10:08,950 is a track for hikers. 199 00:10:08,950 --> 00:10:10,820 Bo Orsjo is a keen walker. 200 00:10:10,820 --> 00:10:14,170 201 00:10:14,170 --> 00:10:19,660 The first time I hiked to Mount Lowe was in the 1970s. 202 00:10:19,660 --> 00:10:22,650 And I hiked from the bottom of the mountain, which is about 203 00:10:22,650 --> 00:10:25,040 four miles up here, I think. 204 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:30,160 And I saw a huge building up here that looked like a hotel, 205 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:31,740 green in color. 206 00:10:31,740 --> 00:10:35,240 And I saw a maid was sweeping a big staircase. 207 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:38,280 She was using an old-fashioned hand broom. 208 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:39,610 And nobody does that today. 209 00:10:39,610 --> 00:10:43,130 They use vacuum cleaners or other tools. 210 00:10:43,130 --> 00:10:46,630 And so it looked kind of old-fashioned. 211 00:10:46,630 --> 00:10:48,740 NARRATOR: Puzzled, Bo went down the mountain 212 00:10:48,740 --> 00:10:52,060 and described the hotel to a friend, Vaughan Thompson. 213 00:10:52,060 --> 00:10:53,980 An argument began. 214 00:10:53,980 --> 00:10:56,310 I told him, I said there hadn't been any buildings 215 00:10:56,310 --> 00:10:57,670 up there in years. 216 00:10:57,670 --> 00:11:02,910 I knew there had been a long time ago, but they burned down, 217 00:11:02,910 --> 00:11:05,500 and they were just gone. 218 00:11:05,500 --> 00:11:10,920 I said to him, this hotel is still standing on Mount Lowe. 219 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:12,060 And he said, no way. 220 00:11:12,060 --> 00:11:13,930 There are no buildings on Mount Lowe. 221 00:11:13,930 --> 00:11:16,250 There haven't been in our lifetimes. 222 00:11:16,250 --> 00:11:19,450 And I said, yes, there is, because I've seen it. 223 00:11:19,450 --> 00:11:20,890 I certainly wasn't dreaming. 224 00:11:20,890 --> 00:11:22,440 This was reality. 225 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:26,200 It was as real as anything can be. 226 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:28,180 NARRATOR: Although no one will believe him, 227 00:11:28,180 --> 00:11:30,830 Bo refused to budge from his story. 228 00:11:30,830 --> 00:11:31,940 He climbed the mountain again. 229 00:11:31,940 --> 00:11:34,710 230 00:11:34,710 --> 00:11:37,050 This time, he went to the exact spot 231 00:11:37,050 --> 00:11:39,510 where he had seen the hotel standing. 232 00:11:39,510 --> 00:11:41,470 He found his friends had been right. 233 00:11:41,470 --> 00:11:43,052 There was only rubble. 234 00:11:43,052 --> 00:11:47,504 235 00:11:47,504 --> 00:11:48,970 BO ORSJO (VOICEOVER): There was no building. 236 00:11:48,970 --> 00:11:53,660 There was just this empty structure with high trees. 237 00:11:53,660 --> 00:11:55,990 And it was a very surprising situation. 238 00:11:55,990 --> 00:11:58,632 I am 100% sure the hotel was there. 239 00:11:58,632 --> 00:12:01,524 240 00:12:01,524 --> 00:12:07,320 The cars came up, right up to the front of the hotel. 241 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:09,760 NARRATOR: Ron Marcroft, a Mount Lowe ranger, 242 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:13,300 keeps a collection of old photographs. 243 00:12:13,300 --> 00:12:18,590 Amongst them, Bo recognizes his phantom hotel. 244 00:12:18,590 --> 00:12:19,880 There is one. 245 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:21,345 That looks exactly like it. 246 00:12:21,345 --> 00:12:23,270 Gee, that's fascinating, because you 247 00:12:23,270 --> 00:12:28,030 know, it burned in '36, a shell of it sat here for years, 248 00:12:28,030 --> 00:12:29,018 abandoned. 249 00:12:29,018 --> 00:12:31,488 And then in 1959, what was standing 250 00:12:31,488 --> 00:12:33,687 was dynamited to the ground. 251 00:12:33,687 --> 00:12:35,120 BO ORSJO: But that is the hotel, all right. 252 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:38,550 253 00:12:38,550 --> 00:12:42,230 NARRATOR: Bo is certain he saw this hotel building almost 40 254 00:12:42,230 --> 00:12:45,660 years after it was destroyed. 255 00:12:45,660 --> 00:12:48,300 That was a very scary experience. 256 00:12:48,300 --> 00:12:50,650 Because I question myself. 257 00:12:50,650 --> 00:12:53,620 What else have I seen that is not there? 258 00:12:53,620 --> 00:12:55,400 And it was with me for a long time 259 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:56,580 when I was out hiking alone. 260 00:12:56,580 --> 00:12:58,260 I always question myself. 261 00:12:58,260 --> 00:13:00,375 Is that for real or is it not? 262 00:13:00,375 --> 00:13:03,410 263 00:13:03,410 --> 00:13:07,540 The people who report sightings of apparently phantom buildings 264 00:13:07,540 --> 00:13:10,990 are usually condemned to years of frustration 265 00:13:10,990 --> 00:13:13,750 without ever discovering what they really saw. 266 00:13:13,750 --> 00:13:16,720 Yet sometimes a bit of persistence, 267 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:21,600 a fresh look, and a bit of luck finally solve these mysteries. 268 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:23,210 Here's one such case. 269 00:13:23,210 --> 00:13:25,870 Ironically, it comes from the city 270 00:13:25,870 --> 00:13:28,540 that thrives on confusing reality 271 00:13:28,540 --> 00:13:31,100 with illusion, a place where nothing is 272 00:13:31,100 --> 00:13:34,197 what it seems-- Hollywood, USA. 273 00:13:34,197 --> 00:13:37,680 [MUSIC PLAYING] 274 00:13:37,680 --> 00:13:39,700 NARRATOR: This woman is on her way to a meeting 275 00:13:39,700 --> 00:13:42,410 that she hopes will solve the mystery that's 276 00:13:42,410 --> 00:13:44,930 been bothering her for years. 277 00:13:44,930 --> 00:13:47,110 Her date is with Larry Gelbmann. 278 00:13:47,110 --> 00:13:52,010 He is a movie actor with an interest in the paranormal. 279 00:13:52,010 --> 00:13:55,460 Shirley Lawrence used to be part of the Hollywood dream machine. 280 00:13:55,460 --> 00:13:57,620 One day near Paramount Studios, she 281 00:13:57,620 --> 00:14:00,300 found a little basement shop. 282 00:14:00,300 --> 00:14:03,110 For the first time I saw a sign on one of the doors 283 00:14:03,110 --> 00:14:06,000 that said Bookstore, Step Down. 284 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:07,040 And I kind of-- 285 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:10,090 NARRATOR: After browsing for a while, Shirley turned to go 286 00:14:10,090 --> 00:14:11,776 but was stopped by the shop owner. 287 00:14:11,776 --> 00:14:13,640 And she said, wait. 288 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:14,590 I have something for you. 289 00:14:14,590 --> 00:14:15,290 Don't leave. 290 00:14:15,290 --> 00:14:17,795 And she disappeared through a door behind her desk. 291 00:14:17,795 --> 00:14:20,255 And she came back carrying this. 292 00:14:20,255 --> 00:14:24,100 And she handed it to me, this old tome called "Ardath" 293 00:14:24,100 --> 00:14:25,250 by Marie Corelli. 294 00:14:25,250 --> 00:14:27,020 I've never read this one. 295 00:14:27,020 --> 00:14:30,360 Well, I took the book, and I said, why, thank you. 296 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:31,390 What do I owe you for this? 297 00:14:31,390 --> 00:14:34,060 And she said, absolutely nothing because, she said, 298 00:14:34,060 --> 00:14:37,560 I think you're going to appreciate this book. 299 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:39,210 NARRATOR: Shirley loved the book. 300 00:14:39,210 --> 00:14:42,160 She looked forward to returning to the shop next time 301 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:44,840 Paramount employed her talents. 302 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:47,550 I wanted to thank this lady, because I loved the book. 303 00:14:47,550 --> 00:14:49,670 So the next time I worked at Paramount, 304 00:14:49,670 --> 00:14:52,000 I went back to that bookstore. 305 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:53,560 But it wasn't there. 306 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:55,510 It was gone. 307 00:14:55,510 --> 00:14:56,970 NARRATOR: A paranormal publication 308 00:14:56,970 --> 00:14:58,710 picked up Shirley's story. 309 00:14:58,710 --> 00:15:01,490 She believed the bookshop had been a phantom. 310 00:15:01,490 --> 00:15:03,370 But one reader knew better. 311 00:15:03,370 --> 00:15:05,980 From his own days at Paramount, Larry remembered 312 00:15:05,980 --> 00:15:08,340 exactly where it was. 313 00:15:08,340 --> 00:15:11,200 I was really amazed, because I'd been to that bookshop 314 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:12,127 numerous times. 315 00:15:12,127 --> 00:15:12,960 So I couldn't believe it. 316 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:16,311 So I did go over, and I prowled around, you know, 317 00:15:16,311 --> 00:15:17,530 like a good detective. 318 00:15:17,530 --> 00:15:20,930 And I found out that the signs hanging in front were gone, 319 00:15:20,930 --> 00:15:24,350 the window markings were gone, and a new man was downstairs, 320 00:15:24,350 --> 00:15:26,040 three, four steps down. 321 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:27,820 So I went in and talked to him, and I said, 322 00:15:27,820 --> 00:15:29,080 are you running the bookshop? 323 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:29,810 And I looked around. 324 00:15:29,810 --> 00:15:30,970 There weren't any books. 325 00:15:30,970 --> 00:15:33,980 He says, no, I'm an engineer. 326 00:15:33,980 --> 00:15:36,230 The bookshop had indeed vanished. 327 00:15:36,230 --> 00:15:39,980 But its disappearance was not paranormal. 328 00:15:39,980 --> 00:15:42,845 The building still stood, but an engineer's office 329 00:15:42,845 --> 00:15:44,070 had taken it over. 330 00:15:44,070 --> 00:15:46,640 331 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:48,770 If Shirley had looked harder, she would 332 00:15:48,770 --> 00:15:50,570 have discovered the truth. 333 00:15:50,570 --> 00:15:53,511 But now, it's too late. 334 00:15:53,511 --> 00:15:54,910 LARRY GELBMANN: You recognize any of that? 335 00:15:54,910 --> 00:15:56,200 Oh, how it has changed. 336 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:58,018 But that's the same old gate, Paramount Pictures gate. 337 00:15:58,018 --> 00:15:58,718 Yes. 338 00:15:58,718 --> 00:16:01,740 And the bookstore was just down, but there's nothing there. 339 00:16:01,740 --> 00:16:03,240 NARRATOR: Paramount's expanding empire 340 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:04,525 has engulfed the whole street. 341 00:16:04,525 --> 00:16:12,540 342 00:16:12,540 --> 00:16:16,190 Benfleet Downs in Essex is the unlikely location for one 343 00:16:16,190 --> 00:16:19,530 of the most famous reports of phantom buildings in the annals 344 00:16:19,530 --> 00:16:21,770 of psychical research. 345 00:16:21,770 --> 00:16:23,850 This is the story of how investigator 346 00:16:23,850 --> 00:16:26,075 Melvin Harris believes he has cracked 347 00:16:26,075 --> 00:16:28,540 this longstanding puzzle. 348 00:16:28,540 --> 00:16:31,380 Earlier investigators Bob and June Andrews 349 00:16:31,380 --> 00:16:33,320 were told that two people had spotted 350 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:37,300 an old house deep in these woods by the railway tracks. 351 00:16:37,300 --> 00:16:39,930 But it had never been seen again. 352 00:16:39,930 --> 00:16:45,090 One Sunday afternoon, they were going along to their friends 353 00:16:45,090 --> 00:16:48,370 and they saw what they thought was 354 00:16:48,370 --> 00:16:51,500 a large, imposing Georgian house, 355 00:16:51,500 --> 00:16:54,980 from which ran a girl and a dog. 356 00:16:54,980 --> 00:16:56,310 They looked at this, and they saw 357 00:16:56,310 --> 00:16:59,720 what they later described as a gravel drive 358 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:01,910 leading to the Georgian house. 359 00:17:01,910 --> 00:17:04,000 Then they went to their friends and said, 360 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:07,329 we've just noticed this Georgian house on the way to see you, 361 00:17:07,329 --> 00:17:09,020 which we've never seen before. 362 00:17:09,020 --> 00:17:10,390 And their friends said, well, of course 363 00:17:10,390 --> 00:17:14,040 there isn't one there at all. 364 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:16,359 NARRATOR: The couple lived locally and were asked 365 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:18,819 by the Society for Psychical Research 366 00:17:18,819 --> 00:17:23,839 to look into the mystery and see if they could resolve it. 367 00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:28,680 We spent two evenings walking along together, along the path, 368 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:32,030 looking in all directions, and there was just literally 369 00:17:32,030 --> 00:17:33,790 nothing at all to be found. 370 00:17:33,790 --> 00:17:34,920 We went to the library. 371 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:36,950 We asked relevant questions. 372 00:17:36,950 --> 00:17:40,350 We looked at maps that they had, such as they had. 373 00:17:40,350 --> 00:17:42,190 We then looked at these ordinance survey 374 00:17:42,190 --> 00:17:43,860 maps and the borough engineers. 375 00:17:43,860 --> 00:17:44,960 There was nothing there that they 376 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:47,030 could have claimed to have been in remotely 377 00:17:47,030 --> 00:17:48,250 like a Georgian house. 378 00:17:48,250 --> 00:17:53,350 379 00:17:53,350 --> 00:17:55,920 NARRATOR: The case was reported in the prestigious "Journal 380 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,230 of the Society of Psychical Research." 381 00:17:59,230 --> 00:18:03,160 Bruce and Grace MacMahon described the house they saw. 382 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:05,200 They said they had searched the wood 383 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:06,980 and had never found it again. 384 00:18:06,980 --> 00:18:09,490 385 00:18:09,490 --> 00:18:12,230 Melvin Harris thinks the key to the mystery 386 00:18:12,230 --> 00:18:15,050 probably lies close to the scene of the sighting 387 00:18:15,050 --> 00:18:18,790 in the little local library at Hadley. 388 00:18:18,790 --> 00:18:22,160 It was a story that was cobbled together by two children. 389 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:24,370 They talked about an imposing Georgian house. 390 00:18:24,370 --> 00:18:27,240 Well, the first thing I thought, well, most children don't 391 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:29,690 know much about architecture. 392 00:18:29,690 --> 00:18:33,100 A Georgian house is maybe just a rough guess. 393 00:18:33,100 --> 00:18:35,760 So I'm not looking for an imposing Georgian house. 394 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:39,940 I'm looking for a large house in the forest. 395 00:18:39,940 --> 00:18:42,620 NARRATOR: Harris knew the Andrews had studied ordinance 396 00:18:42,620 --> 00:18:46,010 survey maps, but he thinks they had been given the wrong map 397 00:18:46,010 --> 00:18:48,290 by the wrong library. 398 00:18:48,290 --> 00:18:50,480 If you go to South End and ask for large-scale version 399 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:53,180 of the survey maps, you'll see this map, 400 00:18:53,180 --> 00:18:55,530 and that map doesn't show the Ben Fleet Downs in full. 401 00:18:55,530 --> 00:18:59,080 They really need to go on much further. 402 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:02,280 And as you see on this map, the downs start there. 403 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:05,110 They go right across [INAUDIBLE]. 404 00:19:05,110 --> 00:19:08,320 And in the middle of that wooded area, 405 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:10,630 the path walked by the children and the Andrews 406 00:19:10,630 --> 00:19:14,070 in the center of the wood is a small rectangle, 407 00:19:14,070 --> 00:19:16,404 which was a house. 408 00:19:16,404 --> 00:19:17,570 NARRATOR: The map in Hadley Library 409 00:19:17,570 --> 00:19:19,890 showed a house called Rayview. 410 00:19:19,890 --> 00:19:22,460 The Andrews had missed it for two reasons. 411 00:19:22,460 --> 00:19:25,320 They had not been shown the full map of the downs. 412 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:28,490 Secondly, they had not been told that the original report 413 00:19:28,490 --> 00:19:30,044 had come from children. 414 00:19:30,044 --> 00:19:32,190 They must have taken their friends to the wrong place. 415 00:19:32,190 --> 00:19:35,230 Yes, they still went to the same road every time. 416 00:19:35,230 --> 00:19:37,400 Yes, yes, yes. 417 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:40,270 NARRATOR: Harris wants to show the Andrews Rayview 418 00:19:40,270 --> 00:19:43,330 and satisfy them that the story of the phantom house 419 00:19:43,330 --> 00:19:46,520 grew from a series of simple misunderstandings. 420 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:49,650 And you don't associate it-- from the railway track, 421 00:19:49,650 --> 00:19:51,980 it just looks like a house stuck on the edge, 422 00:19:51,980 --> 00:19:55,440 but the children were adamant that there was no house 423 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:56,340 in the forest anywhere. 424 00:19:56,340 --> 00:19:57,070 Yes, yes. 425 00:19:57,070 --> 00:19:57,836 And this is the point. 426 00:19:57,836 --> 00:20:01,030 Didn't say apart from Rayview, which is this house. 427 00:20:01,030 --> 00:20:03,121 JUNE ANDREWS: And yet I always knew this house was here. 428 00:20:03,121 --> 00:20:03,820 That's right. 429 00:20:03,820 --> 00:20:08,240 The people who know this house can't find it at time. 430 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:08,940 They will come here. 431 00:20:08,940 --> 00:20:10,110 They'll come for a visit. 432 00:20:10,110 --> 00:20:12,840 They will to make a second visit, and they would get lost. 433 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:14,835 It's still a very mysterious place for a lot of people. 434 00:20:14,835 --> 00:20:15,534 BOB ANDREWS: Yes. 435 00:20:15,534 --> 00:20:22,190 436 00:20:22,190 --> 00:20:24,130 Sometimes travelers claim they've 437 00:20:24,130 --> 00:20:28,250 seen not just one phantom building, but whole cities. 438 00:20:28,250 --> 00:20:31,550 For example, in 1915, Frank Worsley 439 00:20:31,550 --> 00:20:35,940 was captain of Sir Ernest Shackleton's polar exploration 440 00:20:35,940 --> 00:20:38,240 ship, "Endurance." 441 00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:40,320 As he sailed along the Antarctic coast, 442 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:42,930 he made this note in his log. 443 00:20:42,930 --> 00:20:46,720 "In shore appears a beautiful, dazzling city of cathedral 444 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:49,510 spires, domes, and minarets." 445 00:20:49,510 --> 00:20:52,310 Well, as Worsley knew, the only buildings 446 00:20:52,310 --> 00:20:54,390 in the Antarctic at that time were 447 00:20:54,390 --> 00:20:56,890 a few wooden expedition huts. 448 00:20:56,890 --> 00:21:01,260 So what was this fabulous but illusory city? 449 00:21:01,260 --> 00:21:03,750 I'm glad to say that sightings of this kind 450 00:21:03,750 --> 00:21:07,450 can be explained by science. 451 00:21:07,450 --> 00:21:10,460 NARRATOR: The Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge 452 00:21:10,460 --> 00:21:14,820 houses mementos from polar exploration over centuries. 453 00:21:14,820 --> 00:21:17,390 Besides artifacts of icy adventures, 454 00:21:17,390 --> 00:21:20,570 it preserves travellers' tales of distant lands 455 00:21:20,570 --> 00:21:23,110 reported by explorers. 456 00:21:23,110 --> 00:21:26,600 Dr. Gareth Rees has discovered that not all of the stories 457 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:29,850 have stood the test of time. 458 00:21:29,850 --> 00:21:31,850 I think we can say that if all of these reports 459 00:21:31,850 --> 00:21:34,150 were true, which we now disbelieve, 460 00:21:34,150 --> 00:21:36,190 the maps of the polar regions would be a great deal more 461 00:21:36,190 --> 00:21:38,934 cluttered than they are now. 462 00:21:38,934 --> 00:21:40,100 NARRATOR: Arctic explorer Commander 463 00:21:40,100 --> 00:21:45,470 Robert Peary claimed to be the first to reach the North Pole. 464 00:21:45,470 --> 00:21:48,405 On his journey there in 1906, he thought 465 00:21:48,405 --> 00:21:51,720 he sighted an undiscovered island in the Arctic Ocean. 466 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:56,490 He named it Crocker Land and marked it on his map. 467 00:21:56,490 --> 00:22:01,160 Now, that sighting was subsequently investigated 468 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:03,440 by another American explorer called McMillan, who 469 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:05,150 went to look for it in 1914. 470 00:22:05,150 --> 00:22:07,440 He did not find it, although he could see 471 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:09,760 it when he began his journey. 472 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:12,910 And this book, which is essentially 473 00:22:12,910 --> 00:22:17,160 the reminiscences of McMillan, shows Crocker 474 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:19,000 Land, big question mark on it. 475 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:20,300 It was never found. 476 00:22:20,300 --> 00:22:22,560 And indeed, what we can say now from what 477 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:26,360 we know about the geography of the Arctic 478 00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:28,290 is that the nearest land in the direction 479 00:22:28,290 --> 00:22:31,270 in which these chaps were looking is in Siberia, 480 00:22:31,270 --> 00:22:33,287 2,000 kilometers away. 481 00:22:33,287 --> 00:22:34,620 NARRATOR: At the other end of the Earth, 482 00:22:34,620 --> 00:22:38,370 the Antarctic has its own elusive lands. 483 00:22:38,370 --> 00:22:41,370 One of the earliest recorded was Peeps Island, 484 00:22:41,370 --> 00:22:44,730 which was originally recorded in the late 17th century down 485 00:22:44,730 --> 00:22:46,480 here somewhere between the Falkland Islands 486 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:48,180 and the coast of South America. 487 00:22:48,180 --> 00:22:48,920 It's not there at all. 488 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:51,530 It's another of these fictitious islands. 489 00:22:51,530 --> 00:22:54,220 And Sir Joseph Banks, who sailed with Captain Cook 490 00:22:54,220 --> 00:22:57,690 in the endeavor, gives a description in his journal 491 00:22:57,690 --> 00:22:59,130 of their attempts to find it. 492 00:22:59,130 --> 00:23:02,020 They saw it, all right, but when they sailed for it 493 00:23:02,020 --> 00:23:06,050 and tried to locate it properly, it disappeared. 494 00:23:06,050 --> 00:23:08,880 NARRATOR: But Sir Joseph Banks had not been mistaken. 495 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:11,840 The lands he, Peary, and McMillan reported 496 00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:14,390 had a scientific explanation. They were mirages. 497 00:23:14,390 --> 00:23:16,970 498 00:23:16,970 --> 00:23:20,150 This land behind a lighthouse in Finland is not really there. 499 00:23:20,150 --> 00:23:23,740 500 00:23:23,740 --> 00:23:26,680 It's a complicated mirage called a Fata Morgana. 501 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:30,510 502 00:23:30,510 --> 00:23:34,150 A Fata Morgana is a special kind of mirage. 503 00:23:34,150 --> 00:23:38,430 As well as lifting the image up and magnifying it, 504 00:23:38,430 --> 00:23:40,380 it also involves a lot of stretching. 505 00:23:40,380 --> 00:23:41,810 So there's a lot of distortion. 506 00:23:41,810 --> 00:23:43,690 It becomes an unrecognizable shape. 507 00:23:43,690 --> 00:23:46,595 For example, the edge of an ice float will become stretched out 508 00:23:46,595 --> 00:23:49,990 and look like very tall, thin columns of ice, 509 00:23:49,990 --> 00:23:51,770 like a crystal cave. 510 00:23:51,770 --> 00:23:53,690 These don't look like anything every day. 511 00:23:53,690 --> 00:23:56,970 They like something from fairy tales. 512 00:23:56,970 --> 00:23:58,720 NARRATOR: So what the explorers reported 513 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:02,120 was real, but distorted and out of position. 514 00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:05,310 The lands did not exist where they were seen. 515 00:24:05,310 --> 00:24:08,430 We might imagine that as soon as somebody has sailed over 516 00:24:08,430 --> 00:24:12,180 the site of a fictitious island and proved that it isn't there, 517 00:24:12,180 --> 00:24:13,510 it comes off the chart. 518 00:24:13,510 --> 00:24:15,060 This isn't always true. 519 00:24:15,060 --> 00:24:17,650 And I can show you one example of this 520 00:24:17,650 --> 00:24:24,340 in the case of Swain's Island, which is here near Antarctica. 521 00:24:24,340 --> 00:24:27,590 This has been known for decades to be 522 00:24:27,590 --> 00:24:30,550 a bogus island, a fictitious or illusory island. 523 00:24:30,550 --> 00:24:31,680 It's still here on the map. 524 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:34,200 525 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:38,370 Mirages obviously can't account for many of these reports. 526 00:24:38,370 --> 00:24:40,760 Buildings can't appear and disappear. 527 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:43,160 So what's the explanation? 528 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:47,320 I suspect the answer must lie in the observer's mind. 529 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:49,090 It's easy to be fooled, especially 530 00:24:49,090 --> 00:24:52,410 in unfamiliar surroundings, and to misinterpret 531 00:24:52,410 --> 00:24:54,570 what you actually see. 532 00:24:54,570 --> 00:24:57,170 Something similar once happened to me. 533 00:24:57,170 --> 00:25:00,600 I used to commute by train to my home in North London. 534 00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:04,250 One evening when I thought I'd reached my destination, 535 00:25:04,250 --> 00:25:06,600 I suddenly realized that my surroundings 536 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:08,670 were totally unfamiliar. 537 00:25:08,670 --> 00:25:11,360 Even 50 years later, I can still recall 538 00:25:11,360 --> 00:25:14,210 the shock of un-recognition. 539 00:25:14,210 --> 00:25:15,800 Of course in this case, I quickly 540 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:17,810 realized what had happened. 541 00:25:17,810 --> 00:25:20,530 I simply had gotten on to the wrong train. 542 00:25:20,530 --> 00:25:22,980 How much more disorientating it must 543 00:25:22,980 --> 00:25:25,470 be to know you've seen a building 544 00:25:25,470 --> 00:25:27,860 but never to be able to find it? 545 00:25:27,860 --> 00:25:32,110 [MUSIC PLAYING] 546 00:25:32,110 --> 00:26:00,934