All language subtitles for Expedition.X.S06E05.Ghost.Town.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-SLAG_track3_[eng]

[eerie music playing]

[Jessica] Is anybody
missing their miner's tag?

Could you please
give me a sign?

[clanking]

Did you hear that?

[music increases in tempo]

[Josh] On this episode
ofExpedition X...

my team visits
an Old West ghost town...

[Phil] Look at the condition
of this place.

[Josh] ...where spirits
of the gold rush

are reportedly staking
a hostile claim,

making the present
just as dangerous

as the town's
Wild West past.

[man] A lot of people
see the woman
in the black dress.

We really want to get
into some of the mines.

[man] I'd recommend
not going into the mines.

They're very dangerous.

Water'll shut off.
The power'll shut off.

Something is messing
with me.

[clicking tongue repeatedly]

Here, kitty, kitty,
kitty, kitty, kitty.

[clicks tongue]

-[cat meowing]
-[both shriek]

[exhilarating instrumental
music playing]

So I received a phone call
from a guy named
Brent Underwood.

and he would very much
like for the two of you

to come investigate
his town called
Cerro Gordo.

So this guy wants us
to come investigate
his home town.

No, no. When I say his town,
I mean the town that he owns.

Wait, he owns
his own town?

Yes, he owns his own town
but here's the thing.

Uh, it is a very remote,
mountainous, 150-year-old

former Gold Rush era
mining town

that is now a ghost town.

And Brent is very worried
that his ghost town

may be a literal
town of ghosts.

[Josh] 1848, the California
gold and silver rush begins.

In the ensuing years,
over 250,000 people

head west from
all over America

and around the world,

hoping to get rich.

A few lucky prospectors do.
Most don't.

And many die
along the way.

Often in "anything goes"
mining towns

where money is plentiful
but lives are cheap.

Cerro Gordo
is one of those towns,

built high
in the Inyo Mountains

to take advantage
of its rich seams of minerals.

The prospectors there
first mine silver,

then move on to zinc,

with Cerro Gordo becoming
the largest producer
of zinc carbonate in America.

All in all, they mine
precious metals

worth an astounding
$17 million dollars
at the time.

Or around $300 million today.

It's a "work hard,
play harder" town.

At its peak,
the population
is over 4,000,

with seven saloons
and three brothels.

But no law enforcement.

It also boasts
a shocking amount
of bloodshed,

averaging a murder
per week,

with residents reportedly
sleeping surrounded
by sand bags

to protect themselves
from stray bullets.

And if the other inhabitants
don't kill you,

the mining just might,

with hundreds of miners
just buried alive from
cave-ins and gas explosions.

[explosion]

In 1957, the veins
finally run dry.

And when the mining dies,
so does the town.

Cerro Gordo and its mines
lay dormant for almost
70 years

until it's sold
for $1.4 million in 2018.

The lucky buyer
is Brent Underwood.

But as soon
as Brent arrives,

he and his visitors
begin to experience
frightening activity

all around the town
and its mines.

Inexplicable feelings
of dread,

hearing terrifying sounds,

seeing full-bodied
apparitions,

including repeated sightings
of a mysterious woman
in black.

[eerie music playing]

The disturbing activity
seems to only be
getting worse.

Cerro Gordo recently saw
an unexplainable fire

burn down three buildings.

On the night of the fire,

a ghostly figure
is reportedly seen

impossibly appearing
and disappearing.

Brent has his life savings,
and perhaps his life,
on the line.

If he loses the town,
he truly loses everything.

He needs urgent help.

Is Cerro Gordo's violent past
pushing into the present?

Is Brent's ghost town haunted?

What do you think?

I mean, it doesn't surprise me
at all to hear that this place
is haunted.

I mean, it is
the Wild Wild West, right?

And mining towns were known
for their robberies,
their murders, their violence.

In particular,
I want to check out
these mines.

If that many people
died in there,

and their bodies
were left unrecovered,

I mean, that's Haunting 101
right there.

What about you?

Growing up in Colorado,
I've visited my fair share
of these ghost towns.

And they're spooky places.

You said this one's
pretty remote.

This place is very
remote, high altitude.
It's up at like 9,000 feet.

I guess my big hold-up
here is that it's
in the name, Josh.

-It is a ghost town.
-[Josh] Right.

So when people go there
and experience things,

they're gonna try
to interpret it through
a paranormal lens.

And that 9,000 feet
that you talked about,

that's pretty high elevation.

And humans at that elevation
are essentially deprived
of oxygen.

And they can go through
a form of psychosis

where they see things
that aren't there or feel
like they're being chased.

You think the altitude
of this town could be causing
people to see ghosts?

Sure, and maybe the mines
themselves too,

because mines are known
to give off certain gases

that can also cause
people to hallucinate.

[Josh] So, obviously,
a lot to investigate here.

The mission is to go
and meet Brent and help him
solve the mysteries

of his Wild West town.

Wagons ho to Cerro Gordo.

-All right, let's go!
-Yee-haw.

[Josh] It's a six-hour flight
from the Big Apple
to the City of Angels.

And then,
a three-and-a-half hour
drive from LA

to the Inyo Mountains
to reach Cerro Gordo.

The dirt road here
is only eight miles

but it can take over an hour
to ascend

its precarious
4,600-foot climb.

This is a rugged road
but look at this view.

[Jessica] It's gorgeous.
Oh, God. Go slow.

[Phil] That view
is so spectacular

-[Jessica] It's beautiful--
-but I promise
I will watch the road...

-Just look at the road.
-...at least 90%
of the time.

-[Phil] The peak of Cerro
Gordo is at 9,000 feet.
-[Jessica] Yeah.

[Phil] Really steep incline
and that's gonna mess
with your brain.

Am I gonna barf everywhere
on camera?

-[Phil] Nausea for sure.
-Uh-huh?

Dizziness. People can burst
capillaries in the brain.

-Oh, my God!
-They can hallucinate
and you can even die.

[Jessica] So you think
all these ghost sightings
are people hallucinating?

[Phil] I think
it could be a factor.

[Jessica] It looks like
we're gonna drive off
the edge of the world.

[gasps] [bleep]

-[Phil] Oh, there it is!
-Oh, that looks cool!

[Phil] Wow. Okay.

We pull into Cerro Gordo
and it looks
just as advertised.

Desolate, forgotten,
population 1.

-[Phil] Hey, Brent!
-[Jessica] Hey, there!

-[Brent] Hey, guys!
Nice to meet you.
-[Jessica] Nice to meet you.

-Welcome to Cerro Gordo.
-Thank you!

-[Brent] Yeah!
-[Phil] So this is your mine?

[Brent] This is my mine.

[Jessica] How does
one buy a town?

Uh... a lot of promises

and a lot of friends
that believe in you,
I guess.

-That's good.
-Hey, there you go.

[Brent] I've always
been in love with history.

So I used to love
everything about the West.

You know, I think the West
is a very romantic part
of American culture.

-[Jessica] Mm-hmm.
-And so the idea that
there was gunfights here,

-there was shoot-outs,
there was a murder a week.
-[horse whinnies]

Guys are just
striking it rich.

A lot of dreams
came here to die.

and a few came to prosper,
I guess.

Nice. A lot of emotions
in one relatively small area.

Yes, yes.

[Phil] How many buildings
are around here?

So there's about
a dozen buildings left.

-Behind me
is the general store.
-[Jessica] Mm-hmm.

This is where they were
selling all the supplies
back in the day.

-[Jessica] Do you mind
if we take a peek inside?
-Yeah, check it out.

-[door slams]
-[Phil] Wow.

[Jessica] This place
is awesome.

[Phil] Were all these things
found around here?

[Brent] A lot of it
was here before we got it.

But I've added things to it
as I go down in the mines.

-Stuff like dynamite boxes
and other things.
-[Jessican and Phil exclaim]

[Jessica] What are more
of the supernatural stories

that you've heard
come out of this place?

I myself have been living here
for the last few years.

-[Jessica] Mm-hmm.
-I have one kind
of, like, main story.

And that relates
to the bunkhouse.

Which is a place
where miners used to come,

-spend time before
they permanently lived here.
-[Jessica] Mm-hmm.

[baby cooing]

[Brent] It's just a long
hallway with three rooms
off it either side.

[eerie music playing]

I walked to see
a sunset spot.

As I was walking by,
somebody kind of looked
out the curtain.

[captivating instrumental
music playing]

The light was on
in the kitchen.

At first, I didn't think
much of it, you know?

I thought it was
the contractors.

You know, the contractors
had been here before.

Then I found Robert
the caretaker. I was like,

"Hey, Robert.
How long are the contractors
staying in the bunkhouse?"

-[Jessica] Yeah.
-And he kinda turned
and he said, uh,

"Oh, they left
two weeks ago."

I know I saw somebody.

I know the light was on.

What are some of the other
stories that people have had?

The woman in the black dress
is very common.

A lot of people
see a woman
in the various buildings,

always just wearing
the same type of dress.

[Phil] Based on your knowledge
of the history here...

-[Brent] Yeah.
-...do you have any suspicions
on who that might be?

[Brent] There was a woman
named Lola Travis.

And Lola owned
a brothel up here.

Named Lola's
Palace of Pleasure.

She was known
as a very blunt woman.

There's a story in where
there's an argument about
the fee that was being charged

and she shot the guy
dead in the street.

And was never charged
just because she
was kind of respected

in the community
to that level.

-So don't mess with Lola.
-Don't mess with Lola.

[Phil] Jess and I
are really interested
in what's happening

underground here, too.

We really want to get
into some of the mines.

Uh, I'd recommend
not going to the mines.

They're very dangerous.

Because the mines
are actually collapsing.

You know,
they're collapsing everyday.

And so, in another
decade, two decades,
they may not all be here.

So my blanket statement
would be stay alive
and stay out.

-You gotta find an expert
to go down there with you.
-Yeah.

[Jessica] I'll just call Josh
and I'll see

who he can reach out to
that can come out here
and help us out.

-[cat meows]
-[Phil] There's a cat.

We have a cat.
That's Radio.

Cats are actually
one of the incidents here

that I've heard about,
prior to my time.

The story was that
husband and wife
were sleeping.

The husband awoke
to just hear the wife saying,

"Oh, hey, kitty, kitty,"
just kind of doing this
on her chest.

They both saw a cat leave,

and, uh, there was
no cat to be found.

I love the idea
of a ghost cat.

[meows]

-Well, thank you
for all this information.
-Of course.

Have fun. Enjoy it.

[Jessica] Brent gives us
unprecedented access

to investigate the entire
ghost town of Cerro Gordo.

And after I make
a quick call to Josh

about potentially getting
access to the mines,

Phil and I start prepping
our night investigation.

Where do you want
to set these cameras up?

-I think, obviously,
one towards the bunkhouse.
-Yeah.

And then, we can't ignore
the Palace of Pleasure.

Because we know
there was a lot of people
that went there.

[Jessica] We set up
surveillance throughout
the town.

The plan tonight is to hit
all the reputed
paranormal hotspots

including Lola's
Palace of Pleasure,

where the apparition
of a woman in a black dress
is often reported.

But we're going
to start at the bunkhouse.

It's believed to be the oldest
structure at Cerro Gordo,

and I'm curious
if that means
it might harbor

the most residual
paranormal energy.

[eerie music playing]

Hello, we're coming in.

Test, test.
Okay, we're good.

-[Phil] Okay.
-We're recording.

-I'm gonna record on this,
just in case.
-Yeah.

[suspenseful music playing]

My name's Jess.
I'm with Phil.

If you're here, do you mind
turning on the lights?

-[distant creaking]
-[Jessica] Did you hear that?

I heard something
move down there.

[Phil] Let's go down there.

[Jessica] Was this your room?

Was that why
you were looking
out of the window?

I hope it's okay
if we stay here.

[creaking]

[whispering] What is creaking?

[whispers] It sounds like
it's on the outside
of that wall.

[Phil whispers] It does.

Go and see
if you can see anything
hitting the back of the wall.

[ominous music playing]

Was this your room?

[wood slams]

[eerie music playing]

There's a lot of creaking
activity happening here.

-[Jessica] No, did you just
slam a door?
-No.

[dramatic music playing]

[Jessica in normal voice]
I just heard
the door slam.

Maybe when I opened this,
it created a cross-breeze?

But... did we
leave it open?

-[whispering] I think
we left it open.
-Okay.

What were you saying?
There was some stuff
that was hitting the wall?

No, there was just
a lot of creaking happening
up in the corner.

But it is also
incredibly windy out.

[Jessica] Let's check out
the front door.

[Phil in normal voice]
That was closed.
That slammed shut.

[Jessica] Oh, my God!

[door closes]

How could the breeze
have closed that?

I don't know.

[whispers] Dude.

Is there anyone
in this room with us?

Were you a miner?

Let's check out that bedroom
where that ghost cat
was reported.

[Phil] So, lying on the bed.

And...

Okay Phil. Now what?

Well, my theory
is this.

If you're at high altitude,
it's hard to catch
your breath.

You're gonna feel like
there's a weight
on your chest.

I mean, you know
I gotta do it.

Oh, my gosh.
Are you gonna do a...

like a meow and response?

I'm gonna do
a meow and response.

Here, kitty, kitty,
kitty, kitty, kitty!

[clicking tongue repeatedly]

Here, kitty, kitty,
kitty, kitty, kitty!
[clicks tongue]

-[cat meowing]
-[both shriek and laugh]

-[both continue laughing]
-Holy [bleep].

I didn't know the cat
was in here.

Where is it?
Where is it?

-[laughing] Is it still here?
[bleep]
-[Jessica laughing] Oh, God.

Oh... my God.

-Oh, I've never hugged you
so fast in my life.
-Oh, my God.

[dramatic music playing]

[Phil] To see if there could
be any truth to the legend
of the phantom cat,

we leave our cameras rolling
and borrow a toy from Radio,

the real cat who nearly
gave us a heart attack,
and place it on the bed.

Okay, let's close this door
so the real cat doesn't
come in here.

[Jessica] Yeah, I agree.

[Phil] If any ghostly
paw prints show up
on the sheets,

our surveillance camera
will capture it.

[Jessica] After the bunkhouse,
we set our sights
on the infamous brothel,

Lola's Palace of Pleasure.

I have a theory
I wanna put to the test.

By isolating myself
for a different kind

of call and response
technique,

I might be better able
to connect with female spirits

from the brothel's
sordid past.

[Phil] Wow.
Look at the condition
of this place.

[Jessica] Whoa.

[Jessica] I'm going to use
the spirit box

and conduct a special,
uncontaminated call
and response session.

To eliminate any bias,
I'll be wearing a blindfold

and special
noise-cancelling headphones.

I won't be able
to see or hear
Phil's call-outs

and Phil won't know
any spirit box hits
that I'm getting.

[both exhale sharply]

So where do you
wanna post up?

Maybe I'll post up over here,
kind of by the door,

where we walked in.

You want me to sit over here,
maybe in the middle?

-Yeah.
-Okay.

[Jessica] The spirit box scans
the white noise and static
of radio frequencies.

[captivating instrumental
music playing]

If it lines up
with Phil's questioning,

then we'll know
we might be dealing

with some sort
of intelligent presence here.

Record.

Okay, recording.

[ominous music playing]

Jess, can you hear me?

Jessica?

All right,
she's not hearing me.

Okay, here we go.

Terrifying.

Wow. She started
apparently I'm "terrifying."

Um, hello?
Is anyone in here?

My name is Phil.
What's your name?

There's like so many voices.

Can you tell me
the name of this place?

[Jessica] No.

[whispering] Okay,
I'm going to sit here.

[ominous music continues]

[in normal voice]
Who usually visits you here?

[Jessica] Bill?

[Phil] Bill?

How long have you
worked here?

What is your name?

[Jessica] Maggie.

Maggie, it's nice to meet you.
My name is Phil.

Do you... need help?

Scared.

[suspenseful music playing]

Is there someone else
in here or something else
in here?

[Jessica] Please.

[Phil] If your name is Maggie,

can you tell me
something about yourself?

Dirty.

Hold on.
Everything just stopped.

-What do you mean?
-Everything just went dead.

Everything just went dead.

Like, the whole thing.

[heart thumping]

-[Phil] So that
was interesting.
-[Jessica] Yeah.

So what was happening
when I called out those hits?

When I asked names,
Maggie came up immediately.

And then I asked
who regularly visited here.

And right away,
you said Bill.

The response
was direct.

If it's, like,
that immediate response

and, like, the fact that

-it's in context to what
you were saying and asking...
-Yeah.

I need to research
those names.

Some very interesting hits.

[dramatic music playing]

[Jessica] The next day,
we get an early start
and try to make some sense

of our active night
investigation.

While Phil checks
our surveillance footage
for any anomalies

and paranormal activity,

I dig deeper
into Cerro Gordo's
sordid history.

-Check this out.
-What do you have?

When you did
the call and response?

-Up at the, uh...
up at the brothel?
-Mm-hmm?

You know that Maggie?

Is there anybody here.
What's your name?
And you're like, Maggie?

Look at this.

There's a lady
named Maggie Moore.

She lived on the mountain.

She ran the old Waterfall,

which was a saloon,
dance hall and brothel.

And she had ties
to Lola specifically.

They got dragged
in front of a judge

for both of them
selling alcohol.

So they actually were
in court at the same time.

Look at this news article.

[Phil] Lola Travis...

[together] ...and Mrs. Moore.

[Jessica] For violating
the Sunday law
of selling liquor.

[Phil] Wow.

Remember that other name
you picked up?

-Bill.
-Bill.

There was a William Crapo

who was wanted
for shooting the postmaster.

-Whoa.
-[dramatic music playing]

And everybody was so pissed,
they had a reward for $900.

-Which was huge money
back then.
-That's a lot of money.

Apparently, he took off.

Went into the mines,
never to be seen again.

Interesting.
So he disappeared
into the mines.

Disappeared into the mines.
Nobody ever found him.

[Phil] Well...

[Jessica] It's possible
that I made contact

with Maggie Moore
and Bill Crapo last night.

Which makes me wonder
if they're two of the souls

who may be trapped here.

I wanna follow
these leads further

and see if I can entice
them to communicate
some more.

-Wait, wait, wait.
Look at this, look at this.
-So what have you got?

So this is the bunkhouse then?

This is the bunkhouse. Watch.

Right there, right there.

-You see the movement?
-No, I did--

I kind of thought
I saw something?
Wait! You see that?

Here, uh...

-[Phil] Oh, yeah,
look at that, look at that.
-What is this?

[suspenseful music playing]

[Jessica] That's weird.
Could that have been
a flashlight?

All of us were gone.
I literally saw
the headlights leave.

I can't tell
if that's eyeshine?

-[Jessica] Why's it
moving so fast?
-'Cause there's two of 'em.

[Jessica] Yeah, but one's
up here and the other one's
down here.

So it can't be
eyeshine, right?

Unless it's two
potential animals.

-But then--
-Yeah, or if it's
looking sideways.

I don't know.
I wanna head out there

and see if there's
footprints back there.

After watching that
surveillance footage
of the light anomaly,

I'm not quite sure
what to make of it.

This area is home
to several agile species

that could be responsible
for that eyeshine

but I need to look
for more clues.

So it's right in this area
where we saw

something last night.

It almost looked like
it had two eyes of eyeshine
but they were sideways.

I don't think it was
reflection off this 'cause
it was actively moving.

So right now,
I'm checking for any
tracks in the snow

that are non-human.

My first guess
was that it was either

house cats or bobcats,

some kind of nocturnal
animal with its eyeshine
glowing back.

But I'm not seeing
any tracks in the snow

that would indicate
some kind of wildlife

so, honestly, not sure
what we're dealing with.

[Jessica] While Phil
checks out the bunkhouse,

I decide to do a little
recon of my own
up the mountain.

I think we might have made
contact with Bill Crapo
last night.

And our research shows
that in 1892,

he mysteriously disappeared
into the mine,

never to be seen again.

So I'm heading to the old
tramway which would've been
the main mine entrance

that he would've used,
and possibly, his last
known whereabouts.

I'm on the lookout
for any old artefacts

that we can use as possible
trigger objects to connect
with Crapo

or any other souls
who may still be
trapped in the mine.

So this right here
is the tram.

This is where the ore
would be shipped back
down to the valley.

This is also where
they would pick miners up
to come up here to work,

and send them back down.

So, stuff has fallen
out of their pockets.

There's probably ore
all over the place,
who knows what.

But, uh,
let's get searching.

[beeping]

Nail.

Because of the frozen terrain,
digging is quite difficult.

To help out my search,
I'm using a metal detector

which tells me
the type of metal
and the depth of the object.

There's nails
all over the place

so I'm trying to find
something a little bit
more significant.

But at least
we know it's working.

[dramatic music playing]

[beeping]

Something here.

-[beeping]
-Ooh!

Right here.

I might have
something over here.

[grunting]

What is this?

Oh! I got something!

[dramatic music playing]

[Jessica] Here we go! Nice!

Some sort of tag or something.
You see there's just
a little hole

at the top.

I don't know if this
would be a necklace
or pin to something.

And then you got
the numbers 403

and then a number 3
at the bottom.

This is what we need
for when we try to contact
some of the miners.

It's something
they would be
familiar with.

Something they would
be associated with.

After catching a break
and finding a possible
trigger item

as a needle
in a frozen haystack...

Phil and I meet back
up in the command center

where we get
an update from Josh.

-Hey, Josh.
-Hi, Josh.

Howdy, partners.
How are things
in Cerro Gordo?

Well, we're taking it
one very thin high altitude
breath at a time.

But this ghost town
definitely is eerie.

-Especially at night.
-Mm.

With these beat-up old
Wild West buildings.

You feel really isolated
atop this barren mountain.

And the altitude
definitely hits you.

So safe to say
you guys aren't looking
to move in?

And become
Brent's new neighbors?

And you haven't been
underground yet.

Have you had any luck
finding somebody who can
get us access to the mine?

Don't let us down, Gates.

Yeah, I got your text
and I found a local guide
named Craig Leck

who has explored
the Cerro Gordo
mines extensively.

He's gonna come meet you
at the Safeguard entrance
of the mine.

Well, perfect. I mean,
that must mean it's safe.

-I-- I doubt it.
-Hopefully, it safe
all the way through.

Yeah.

Phil's definitely right.
It's dangerous in there.

But Craig is a seasoned pro.
He's gonna take
good care of you.

He will meet you tomorrow
morning at the entrance

and I'm sure
Brent knows where that is.

Sounds good,
we'll meet him there.

-Bye, Josh.
-See you.

Good luck, greenhorns.

[dramatic music playing]

[Jessica] The next day,
we brave the elements

to meet Josh's contact
at the mine entrance.

I can't wait to use
that trigger object

and attempt to make contact
with any spirits.

-[Jessica sighs in exhaustion]
-[Craig] Hey, you guys
finally made it.

-[Phil] Hey.
-[Jessica] Hey!

Come on in here,
let's get out of the cold.

-Come on in, guys.
-[Jessica] Thanks!

[Jessica grunts]

[Phil] Craig Leck has been
working in the Cerro Gordo
mines for decades.

When he's not in here
pumping water from
an underground spring,

he's rehabbing the mine
to make sure it's safe
to navigate.

All right, come on in, guys.

[Jessica] Look at this.

-[Phil] Oh, my goodness.
-[sighs]

So welcome
to the Safeguard mine.

This was one of the many,
many, many

miles of mines that
are here at Cerro Gordo.

The amount of silver
that came out of this mine
built Los Angeles.

[Jessica and Phil] Whoa.

How many miners
do you think have
worked in this place?

-Have been in and out
of these very--
-Thousands.

-Thousands?
-Thousands and thousands.

It was a complete
city up here.

How many miners do you think
have died in this mine?

Untold.

In the mines,
I've encountered
very odd stuff.

-Um...
-You have? Personally?

I personally have.

[suspenseful music playing]

I maintain the water system
down at the 700-foot level.

So... seven stories
underground.

I encounter when
I'm coming back
on the elevator,

water'll shut off.
The power'll shut off.

So I turn back around,
I start going back down.

It'll turn back on.

Um, I've heard footsteps.

Something is messing
with me.

You don't seem like
the type of person

-that gets scared of very
many things.
-I--

You seem a little
uncomfortable talking
about this.

I, I am.
It's a little weird for me.

Turn your lights off,
it's total dark in here.

Yeah, so the dark
does mess with people.
It can mess with you.

-Oh, it will.
-Yeah.

And especially down here.

-I carry three flashlights
with me at all times.
-[Jessica] Mm-hmm.

'Cause if one goes out...

-[Jessica] Mm-hmm.
-...you're not coming up.

So I found this out by
where the tramway
would've been.

Do you know
what that is?

That is a miner's tag.

[Jessica] So what
would that be for?

So basically, there was
a board at the top of the mine
shaft before you went in.

There was a board
with little hooks.

-And you'd have your name
and your number.
-[Jessica] Mm-hmm.

So this was number 403.

Probably the third shift.

-So you'd put your tag
on there.
-[Jessica] Mm-hmm.

And that means
you're in the mine.

So if everybody clears out
and your tag is still there,

they know
you're stuck somewhere.

-Oh, whoa.
-You're down. They go...
send a search party for you.

-[Phil] That's a pretty
important lifeline.
-It is.

-[Jessica] That's-- Yeah.
-That's... that is
very important.

So whoever this tag
belonged to maybe
never went home.

[Craig] Exactly.

Jess, good find!

-[Jessica] Yeah. All right.
-[Phil exhales]

-[Phil] I say we go in.
-Go deeper in?

Uh, we got one last test here.
Should just have
the air monitor.

-[Jessica] Okay.
-[Craig] Uh...

I'm gonna keep this on me.

-[Phil] Okay.
-You hear me yell, scream,

if you hear this thing beep,
get out.

-We're leaving?
-Yeah.

-[Jessica] Okay.
-So I'll keep this on me
and we can cruise on in.

-[Jessica] All right!
-All right.

-Okay?
-[Jessica] Sweet, let's go.

[suspenseful instrumental
music playing]

[Jessica] It's hard to fathom
how many souls might actually
be entombed here

from all of the accidents
over the years.

We're currently
at the 200 level

but there's six additional
levels of tunnels below us,

going all the way down
to nearly 1,100 feet
beneath the earth.

Whoa, check this out.

[Phil] Wow.

[Jessica] There's
no getting through that.

That is all blocked up.
Wonder why that's blocked off.

-Hey, Craig!
-Yo?

This area's all packed in
over here. Do you know why?

They probably had
a severe collapse.

Um, it's hard to say.
But that's definitely
a no-pass zone

where they wanted
to keep people out.

So there could be
a collapse behind this?

-Exactly.
-Okay.

Well, then, let's, uh,
avoid the left.

[Phil] The Spanish name
Cerro Gordo translates
to "Fat Hill."

So it's an appropriate name
for a mine with over 30 miles
of underground tunnel.

[suspenseful music playing]

Something over here.

[Phil] Okay.
What is this?

Another four-way?

[Jessica sighs] Straight.

Looks like it goes
deeper this way.

[Phil] Do not
touch these boards.

-They seem to be keeping
things stable in here.
-Yeah.

-[Jessica] Those seem like
important pieces of wood.
-Yeah.

[Jessica] There's more
up here so be careful.

Oh, man. Yeah, that's,
that's a no-go zone.

[Phil] I got something
I kind of want to try in here.

[Jessica] What
do you want to try?

[Phil] As we run
into another dead-end,

I convince Jess to try
a little experiment with me.

I can only imagine
the terror miners faced

with only flame
as a light source

and the constant risk
of their oil wick lamps
burning out.

Craig mentioned earlier
that the darkness in here

can really mess
with your mind.

I want to put that
to the test.

So you just want to sit here
in the dark for a little bit?

-I kind of want to see
what it would be like.
-See if we hear anything?

'Cause, yeah, it's that
sensory deprivation.
We could use our ears.

See how we feel
in that darkness.

I think that's an absolutely
excellent idea.

Crew, everybody,
let's kill cameras,
kill monitors.

-Let's get it as dark
as possible.
-Yeah.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Phil] Even though
our IR cameras
are still rolling,

for the two of us,
it's complete
and total darkness.

[Jessica] Okay!
I feel weird

because I feel like
I can't see light.

But I can.

-Right? Are your eyes
doing that too?
-They are.

Where it's like your brain
wants to see shapes,

-wants to see lights.
-Oh, this is weird.

You just know that
your hand is there.

[Jessica] I keep seeing,
like, reflections.

-Like little pinpoints
of, like, sparkle.
-[Phil] Yes!

[Phil] That is literally
happening to me
right now, too.

-[Jessica] Like if there was
glitter on the walls.
-Yep. Yep, yep!

[Phil] Or like
little fireflies on the wall.

-[Jessica] Yeah.
-It keeps changing shape.

Are we going crazy right now?
This has never happened
to me before.

-Me neither.
-Whoa.

So sitting here
in this dark,

this is the conditions
that some miner

would have met their demise
if there had been a cave-in
at the far end.

They're just stuck in this
absolute blackness.

And silence.

Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, this would be
the last thing you'd see.

You'd essentially
be buried alive.

[Phil] Okay.

[Jessica] Is anybody
missing their miner's tag?

I found one
with the number 403-3.

If this is your tag,

could you please give me
a sign that this is yours

and that you're here?

[clanking in distance]

What the [bleep]?

Did you hear that?

[dramatic music playing]

Cerro Gordo's greatest
calamity came in the 1870s

when over 30 Chinese miners
died in a cave-in.

It was tragic
but it was also unsurprising.

As tough as it was
for American miners,

the Chinese had it worse.

In the early 1850s,
24,000 Chinese,

a quarter of the total
miners in California,

arrived in the state
chasing Gum San,
or Gold Mountain.

But instead of finding gold,

they found rampant racism
and xenophobia.

Chinese miners were given
the most deadly and least
valuable claims.

They were also
uniquely taxed
$20 a month

or around $800 today
just to try to mine.

Worst of all,
the California
Supreme Court ruled

they couldn't testify
against Americans,

making it impossible
to legally defend themselves

if they were robbed
or assaulted.

In 2009, California
formally apologized
to Chinese Americans

for its racist laws
during the Gold Rush.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Jessica] Was that
you saying hi?

If this is your tag,

do you want to tell me
your name so I can give
this back to you?

Bill Crapo,
are you here with us?

Did you know Maggie?

How about Lola?

Is there anyone else
who's here?

How many miners
are still in the mine?

I'm feeling a breeze
on my hand.

-Really?
-My hand, yeah.

[ominous music playing]

Is that you trying
to get your miner's tag?

Is that you reaching out
to my hand?

Oh, my God.

There's like a distinct breeze

running across
my palm right now.

[whispering] It feels
like 10 degrees colder.

Yeah, there's this cold spot
cycling around...

It's right here.

-Right here.
Same spot again.
-Yeah.

That's bizarre.

[stone echoing]

That sounded like
the earth shifting.

Yeah, it sounded
like a rumble.

Is there anyone
behind me right now?

I swear I'm hearing wind.

Like a high-pitched...
[imitates wind blowing]
coming in and out.

Almost like
it's coming through
the mountain.

[sighs] All right.

All right, we've gotta
start moving, Jess.

-It is getting... cold.
-Yeah.

-Super cold.
-Yeah. Should we throw
the lights back on?

Yeah, go ahead.
Lights on.

[switches clicking]

[suspenseful music playing]

[Phil] After our sensory
deprivation experiment,

we change course
and trek deeper
into the mine.

And down another level
in one of the tighter shafts,

we eventually find out
the hard way that we,
in fact, are not alone.

Oh! Look at the bat!

-[Jessica] Oh, Jesus!
-Oh, my gosh. That almost hit
me in the head.

[Jessica] Did it almost get
the-- [exclaims]

It's like right there. Okay.

Well, it's probably
trying to get past us
and can't.

-[Phil] Yeah.
-[bats screeching]

-[Jessica] Whoa!
-Whoa! Another bat.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Phil speaking]

Craig, one question.

Do you think
these are chisel marks here?

[Jessica] For sure they are.
Or pickaxe.

-[Craig] Yeah,
there you go, pickaxe.
-Pickaxe right there.

[Phil] Pickaxe marks.

-So these are from
the miners back then?
-[Craig] Yep.

[Phil] Wow. Okay.

So those are marks
from the miners
back in the 1870s.

[Jessica] Wow,
look at that, good line.

[Phil] All that rock
coming up.

-[Craig] Hey, guys!
-[Phil] Yeah!

-Gas meter is kind of
flipping out right now.
-[gas meter beeping]

-[Jessica] Okay!
-[Phil] Bad air?

-[Craig] Bad air.
-[Jessica] Bad air?

-[Phil] All right, everybody,
let's get out, let's go!
-[Jessica] Let's go.

[dramatic music playing]

[Josh] In my team's quest
to investigate

the reportedly haunted
mining town of Cerro Gordo,

they uncovered a rich vein
of shocking evidence.

[Jessica] [bleep]
Everything just went dead.

[Josh] The strange
flashes of light

captured on our
surveillance camera
by the bunkhouse...

Wait, did you see that?

...did not correspond
with any animal tracks...

Not sure what
we're dealing with.

...ruling out Phil's
wildlife theory.

As for the disturbing noises
heard inside the mine

that sounded like tapping...

-[distant clanking]
-[Jessica] Did you hear that?

[Josh] ...there is
no easy explanation.

Phil thinks it could
have been bats

but admits the patten
did have an unsettling
regularity.

[Phil whispers]
Look at that guy.

[Josh] Jess is certain
there were entities
present in the mines,

made even more so
by a bone-chilling EVP,

an electronic
voice phenomenon,

that she discovered
while processing
the evidence.

[Jessica] Bill Crapo,

are you here with us?

-[static noise]
-[faint voice speaking]

[dramatic music playing]

[Josh] Brent Underwood
remains confident

he can breathe life
back into his ghost town.

But my team left Cerro Gordo
feeling much more cautious

because any life
that returns

does seem certain
to be confronted

with the powerful energy
of the dead.

For more information
on Expedition X,

head to Discovery
dot com/ExpeditionX.