Original subtitles

[Phil, whispering] Wait, wait, wait, shh, shh, do you hear that?

[Heather] Whoa, holy [bleep]!

[Josh] On this episode of "Expedition X."

[Phil] Oh, my God.

[Josh] My team investigates the terrifying truth

behind the legend of Spanish zombies

known as the Santa Compaña.

Do you lead souls? Yes, yes, big yes, big yes.

[Josh] A horde of undead, said to be seeking new souls

for their unholy army.

- [screaming] - [Phil] Hello?

[Josh] Heather and Phil follow

in the Santa Compaña's dreaded footsteps.

[Josh] But will they lose their minds,

or worse, their brains?

- Ooh! - What?

What the [bleep]? [whispering] What the [bleep]?

[eerie music playing]

Alright, favorite zombie movie, go.

Uh, "Shaun of the Dead." Anagram of meat is team!

- Amazing movie. - "Evil Dead."

Who wouldn't want a chainsaw as a hand?

[Josh] Also great.

I'm gonna go with the one that started it all.

George Romero's 1968 classic, "Night of the Living Dead."

Ah, "They're coming to get you, Barbara."

[Josh] Absolutely, and in fact, "Night of the Living Dead"

was based on real stories.

George Romero's family comes from the Galicia region

of Spain, where there have actually been sightings

of zombies for centuries.

Wait, there are zombies walking around Spain?

More lurching around.

But yes, this is something that people have talked about

for a really long time.

It all stems from this really eerie legend known

as Santa Compaña, or the March of the Undead.

Tucked away in the northwest corner of Spain is Galicia.

The region is famous

for its ruggedly beautiful coastline,

and its unique culture, and ancient beliefs.

In some remote villages, you can still find

practicing meigas or witches.

And all around Galicia, prehistoric structures sanctify

their Celtic Pagan roots.

But one ancient belief casts a shadow over all others.

Stay clear of forests in the dead of night,

or else you might cross paths with the Santa Compaña...

[person screams]

[Josh] ...a horrifying procession of zombies.

The earliest written description of the Santa Compaña

appears in the 13th century Spanish poem,

"The Miracle of Theophilus."

It mentions the hueste antigua, or ancient host,

a group of demonic figures carrying candles.

Then, in 1885, Galician author Xesús Rodríguez López...

documents the most commonly described version of the legend.

He describes a march of tormented zombies

wrapped in hooded robes, each holding a candle.

The undead are led by a living person in a trance.

This mortal grows sicker each night until they die

and join the march forever, unless, that is, they can find

a hapless traveler to take their place.

The story goes that, if you're unlucky enough

to witness this late-night death march,

you may be next to join it.

Today, reports of this army of walking dead

are still common,

often around ancient roadways and ruins deep

in the Galician wilderness.

Witnesses describe mysterious lights,

the smell of burning candle wax, floating robed figures,

and most of all,

feeling overcome with bone-shaking terror.

Recently, reports have actually been increasing,

leaving many in the region to worry that this zombie army

is on the move once again,

eager for more souls to join its unholy undead.

Alright, so what do you think?

Well, look, I've done a lot of unique investigations

in my time, but I've never searched for a zombie army.

It's definitely out there, but I gotta say,

it's gonna be fun to investigate.

Alright, Heather Amaro, ladies and gentlemen,

the first person to ever describe

the soul-sucking army of the undead as fun.

- [Heather chuckles] - And what about you, Phil?

My mind first goes to what could people be misidentifying

as a group of zombies or whatever

in the middle of the night?

For example, I know the region is famed for its wild horses.

Wait a second, you think people are mistaking

horses for zombies?

You're talking about zombie horses right now, Phil?

Listen, I just think there's probably a lot of things

running around the Galician wilderness at night,

and people's minds under pressure may make a leap

to identify it as a zombie.

Alright, so zombies coming from your brains

instead of for your brains. - Yeah.

Well, your mission is to see if there's any life to this

undead legend, so get to Galicia and see

if you yourselves can encounter the dreaded Santa Compaña.

- Hail to the king, baby. - Say what now?

That's an "Evil Dead" reference.

- Yeah. - Well, who died and made you

[bleep]ing King of the Zombies, Phil Torres?

- Wow. - I think she needs a snack.

- [Josh] Yeah. - I do.

[Josh] Good luck.

And, uh, don't get your brains eaten.

Deal.

[Josh] It's a seven-hour flight from New York to Madrid.

From there, it's a six-hour drive

to A Coruña in northern Galicia, a coastal region of Spain

with its own unique identity, right down to its pronunciation.

So you know, when we're in the US, you can get away

with saying "Galicia."

But when you're here, you've gotta say it right.

- You've gotta say Gal-ee-thee-ah. - Gal-ee-see-ah.

- Galicia. - Galicia.

- [Phil] Heather? - Yeah?

- "Galicia." - "Galicia."

Are you-- ? Are you just messing-- ?

Galicia!

I am just messing with you, "Galicia."

There you go. I was getting nervous.

How are you gonna survive the zombie apocalypse?

[Heather] I'm gonna blend in.

I'm gonna pull from the "Shaun of the Dead"

playbook and just copy the zombie.

You're gonna act like a zombie?

- Yeah. - Let's see it.

Phil, I'm driving. I can't do it now.

At least to the voice.

[Heather growls]

Sorry, what was that?

[growls]

- You're saying "brains?" - I am saying "brains."

Would you eat brains just to blend in?

Absolutely not. That's where I draw the line.

I'm gonna tell Josh you are not committing

to this investigation.

You're gonna run to dad and tell on me?

- [Phil] Just say you're open to it. - [Heather] Unbelievable.

- [Phil] So this is A Coruña. - [Heather] It's beautiful.

[Phil] Yeah.

[Phil] We make our way to a local taverna where we meet

our Santa Compaña contact.

Hola, Manel.

- [Manel] Hey, how are you? - [Phil] So good to meet you.

Manel Loureiro is a Spanish journalist and author

who has written so many books on zombie folklore

that he's been called "the Spanish Stephen King."

Is it brains? Do they try to eat your brains?

Mm.

[Manel speaking]

So this is like purgatory.

[Heather] So if someone runs into the Santa Compaña,

what do they do afterwards?

[Manel speaking]

Witch?

[Manel speaking]

Oh, that's great.

And she said she's actually seen the Santa Compaña?

[Phil] Wow.

- I think I know our next stop. - Agreed.

We say goodbye to A Coruña and head

to the Galician countryside to meet with Manel's contact.

She's one of the few people

that's not only seen the Santa Compaña,

but she's also willing to talk about it.

[greetings in Spanish]

[Phil] Nerea Mosquera has lived in this farmhouse all her life.

Her family has owned the property

for over 100 years.

So we hear you may have had a run in with the Santa Compaña.

[speaking Spanish]

[translator] Yes, I encountered the Santa Compaña last year.

My father and I enjoy going out for walks in the woods

with our dogs.

One night, we were walking down the trail,

and we both hear a faint murmuring sound.

We couldn't make out any words, though, but it was really weird,

because nobody is ever up here.

Suddenly, the air became extremely cold,

and there was a strange smell of burning wax.

When we turned around, we saw a group of beings,

and they all appeared to be carrying a light.

The figures were moving very quickly.

The whole thing lasted about a minute before we eventually

all ran back here to the house.

So can you describe what these beings looked like?

[speaking Spanish]

[translator] They were moving very fast, so it was hard

to get much detail. - Corriendo? Running?

No corriendo.

[translator] Not running, but faster than a walk.

It was like they were floating.

And it appeared as if they were wearing robes,

but they were definitely holding a light of some sort,

maybe a candle because of the wax smell.

[Phil] So where exactly did you see this?

How-- how far away from it were you?

[speaking Spanish]

[translator] Like 100 meters away from us, but it was deep in the forest

on this old trail.

[dog barking]

My father and I were completely terrified.

So there is no doubt in your mind that you encountered

the Santa Compaña?

[speaking Spanish]

[translator] Absolutely.

This was 100% the Santa Compaña.

[Heather] What do you know about these woods?

What's the history of this area?

[speaking Spanish]

[translator] It's a very old forest.

If you go deep enough, you will find

old ruins and monasteries, because the forest is home

to the Holy Santiago Trail,

which was a pilgrimage trail

that many people would use back in the medieval times.

So an ancient religious trail runs through this forest?

- Si. - [Heather] Let's check it out.

- Thank you so much, Nerea. - [speaking Spanish]

- Appreciate it. - Thank you.

[Phil] Nerea shares the coordinates of her mysterious sighting,

and we make our way to the Holy Santiago Trailhead,

at the edge of a forest roughly a quarter mile from her farm.

[adventurous music playing]

Bring on the march of the zombies.

[mysterious music playing]

OK, and we are...

right at our coordinates, so right around here.

OK, well, this looks like a great spot to set up a trap.

I mean, we've got a straight line of sight.

[Phil] Yeah, and it also seems like a great spot to be trapped.

Look at the height of these walls

on either side of the trail.

There's no getting out of here very easily.

- That's kinda the point. - What?

We're bait.

Great, so that's-- that's your plan,

just us being bait? - Yeah, I mean,

there has to be a living person to actually attract

the Santa Compaña, right?

That's how the story goes.

Alright, let's set up tripwire.

OK, let's do it.

[Heather] As we set up to try and intercept

the march of the Santa Compaña,

we roll out 200 feet of our EMF tripwire

in opposite directions along the trail where Nerea

had her supposed encounter.

At each end, we also place a motion detector.

[Phil] Alright, now I just gotta set this other one over here.

To investigate her claim of a sudden cold spike,

I'll be monitoring the temperature,

while I also use a parabolic mic

to listen for any source of the murmuring she reported.

Alright, trap is set.

[Heather] Time to ambush the Santa Compaña.

[Phil] OK, I'm registering our starting temperature.

We're at 63.5.

[Heather] OK, 63.5.

[whispering] It's really quiet.

Nothing is moving in this forest.

[whispering] So far, I can hear some dogs in the distance.

A little bit of rustling here and there,

but nothing that sounds like murmuring.

Wait, wait, wait, shh, shh.

- Do you hear that? - Whoa!

Holy [bleep]!

[Phil] Everything in front of us.

[Heather] Like something came towards us.

The temperatures already dropped to 60.7.

- Did you see that? - [Heather] No, no, no.

It looked like something just moved down there.

Right across, at the end of the line.

[Heather] You're joking.

[Phil] Looked like something moved.

[Heather] It's still blinking.

[bleep]

Your sensor!

Motion detector went off. Something's down there.

- Let's go. - [Heather] OK.

OK.

Somewhere right over here.

[Heather] I'm not seeing anything.

- Oh, my God, look. - [Heather gasps] What?

- [Phil] There's a light. - [Heather] Oh, my God!

[Phil] Right there, right there!

It's right over here.

The light was right here.

- You see it, see anything? - [Heather] I see nothing.

Wait, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh.

Sounds like running water.

- [Heather] It does. - [Phil] What the hell?

Was that-- I don't think it was eye shine,

'cause it-- it lit up before my flashlight hit it.

Phil, you know what they say. Santa Compaña has lights.

[Phil] Yeah, lights, plural, not just one.

Maybe it was someone messing with us.

Either way, we're on another ancient trail,

and the light led us in this direction.

I think we ought to keep pushing on.

- [Phil] OK, let's keep moving. - [Heather] Alright.

[tense music playing]

[Phil] Well, we found the river,

but it looks like we lost the trail.

No, we didn't, look at this.

[Phil] Holy [bleep], old ruins!

Just like Nerea said would be out here.

[Heather] Yes!

[Phil] Open doorway.

Wait, wait...

you smell that? - Yeah.

[Phil] Smells like smoke.

- It does smell like smoke. - Am I crazy?

It smells waxy. That's what Nerea said.

Or maybe there's someone out here.

Maybe they have a campfire going.

Follow our noses? - [Heather] Yeah.

[Phil] OK.

[whispering] Wow, look how old this is. Oh, my God, look!

OK.

Wow, that tower up there.

[Heather] This must be one of the monasteries

Nerea was talking about. - [Phil] Yeah.

[normally] Hello?

- [whispering] I still smell that smoke. - [Heather] Yeah.

[Phil] This is so incredible.

[speaking Spanish]

[Heather] Whoa, look at this.

Oh, wow!

- I think this is a chapel. - [Phil] Yeah.

[Heather] Something led us to this chapel.

I think I wanna investigate in here.

- What do you wanna do? - I wanna try to communicate.

[Phil] OK.

While you do that, I just wanna scan the perimeter,

'cause I wanna try to figure out

what that smoke smell is coming from,

if there's a campfire, it will show up on the flare.

OK, split up, but stay on walkie.

[Phil] OK, you got it.

Alright.

[mysterious music playing]

[device chirping]

Is there anyone here with me?

[crickets chirping]

[Phil] Absolutely nothing showing up

on the FLIR, just a bunch of trees.

[Heather] Were you the light that led us here?

Why did you lead us to this chapel?

[device speaking]

Fate.

Are you the Santa Compaña?

[device speaking]

Healer?

[thudding]

[faint brushing sounds]

What is that?

I'm hearing something.

[faint brushing continues]

The hell is that?

Do you hear that?

Hello?

- Phil, do you copy? - Yeah, I copy.

What's going on?

I'm hearing some strange noises in the chapel.

OK, uh, should I come to you?

[Heather over radio] Definitely.

OK, alright, let's move.

- Hey. - [Heather] Hey.

- [Phil] Are you hearing something? - Look-- yeah.

- It was super weird. - OK, wait, wait, wait.

It stopped.

What was it?

It-- it sounded like layers of voices, maybe.

Did you find anything?

Nothing. As far as I could see,

we are alone up here.

But if you did hear that in here,

camera should have it,

your mic should have picked it up,

so hopefully we have a recording of it.

[Heather] OK, yeah.

And you wanna know what's interesting?

- [Phil] Huh? - I heard that right after I got

the word "healer" on the Ovilus. - Oh?

[Heather] Yeah.

So I'm thinking we need to find a witch.

- A meiga, right? - [Heather] Yes.

[Phil] OK.

Well, I think the sun's about to rise.

- We got a long hike back. - [Heather] We gotta get moving.

[Phil] OK.

[Heather] The next day, Phil and I split up

to learn more about the Santa Compaña.

I've contacted a local meiga, Julia de Borja.

I'm hoping her knowledge of Galicia's ancient culture

can help explain what we experienced last night.

[greetings in Spanish]

Really appreciate you meeting with me.

So what is a meiga, and how do you become one?

[speaking Spanish]

[translator] I was born a meiga,

you don't become one.

I was born with a gift, the power to see spirits,

and over time, I have been able to understand

and use that power.

So last night we had some really strange experiences.

We saw a light in the woods and we followed it.

We smelled smoke.

And then all of this seemed to lead us

to an abandoned monastery.

And not only that, I heard something

that sounded like murmuring.

The hell is that?

Do you think that could have been

the Santa Compaña?

[speaking Spanish]

[translator] Yes, the Santa Compaña are almost always seen

in the forest or near holy sites.

There's believed to be greater activity

around monasteries because those sites

typically hosted rituals, invocations, and burials.

Originally, the monasteries around here were used by monks,

but some of the abandoned sites over time have been taken over

by people looking to do dark rituals or black magic.

And the Catholic Church built many of these monasteries

on top of ancient Pagan sites,

where Celtics and Romans ruled thousands of years ago.

So all that energy is still trapped there.

It's in the walls, it's in the ground,

it's in the woods.

[Phil] While Heather is off visiting with the meiga,

I want to learn more about what the historical record says

about the Santa Compaña.

I have traveled to the city of Pontevedra

to meet with one of Galicia's leading anthropologists,

Rafael Quintia.

So how are the Santa Compaña

described in the earliest recorded encounters?

[speaking Spanish]

[translator] If you want to truly understand the Santa Compaña,

think of it as a cake with many layers.

And these layers are all the different cultures

that have lived in Galicia down through the centuries.

And, in their early folklore, there are different

representations of the Santa Compaña.

There's a spiritual representation that says

it's a collection of moving lights,

and each light represents a human soul.

But there's also a more physical representation

that suggests it manifests itself

as a parade of human-like figures,

but they are not human.

So what is the association between...

Santa Compaña and-- and zombies?

[translator] Well, Santa Compaña is made up of spirits of the dead

and a procession with an ultimate destination.

Zombies and folklore are just rotting corpses

walking aimlessly. - So these are marching souls.

Where are they going?

[translator] There's an ancient belief that the Santa Compaña souls

are marching west towards the islands.

They go to rest where the sun dies.

That's supposed to be their paradise.

[Phil] So these souls are going to the islands?

Any island in particular stand out to you

as-- as being historically relevant?

[translator] There's an island just off the coast

called Tambo Island.

It's uninhabited today, but we have evidence that

many different cultures have lived on this island,

dating back to very ancient times.

Ruins of a chapel still stand today,

so the island holds a deep mysticism

amongst the locals.

According to Galician folklore, Tambo Island is

one of the places that the Santa Compaña goes

to try and rest in peace.

[Heather] So if we wanna understand the Santa Compaña,

you think we should continue to focus on these

ancient religious sites?

- [speaking Spanish] - [translator] Yes--

it's important to note that not all the souls

in the Santa Compaña procession are bad or evil.

Some of the souls are good, and all they are really seeking

is a final resting place that brings them peace.

[Heather] So it's just like how we are in real life.

There's some good people, there's some bad people,

and it just depends on who you're gonna interact with

in the Santa Compaña.

Exacto.

[translator] Exactly...

I know you're going to go out and look for them again,

but I beg you to be careful.

The Santa Compaña are real.

Thank you.

With Julia's warning ringing in my ears,

I meet up with Phil, who tells me what he learned

about Tambo Island,

the alleged final destination of the Santa Compaña.

We agreed there's no time to lose,

so we charter a boat and set sail to the island

across the Ria de Pontevedra.

[Phil] OK, here we go! Tambo Island!

[Phil] Whoo!

A little bit of rain, just a little bit.

- [Heather] Just a little. - [Juan] Dolphins.

- [Phil] Dolphins! - Aqui.

- [Phil] There! - [Heather] Oh, wow!

[Phil] Dolphins!

[speaking Spanish]

[speaking Spanish]

[translator] It's a very mysterious place

with all the lights in there at night.

[speaking Spanish]

[translator] First time I was ever on the island,

I went to the chapel that's on the far side.

I found a chicken that was cut open,

blood and feathers everywhere.

There was a cross, flowers placed on the ground.

It was a little disturbing.

That sounds like the aftermath of a dark ritual.

[Phil] Why here?

Well, the meiga mentioned that these abandoned monasteries

and chapels were taken back over,

and people were doing dark rituals there.

Do you think what you experienced could be

connected to Santa Compaña?

- [Phil speaking Spanish] - Si, si, si.

I'm telling you this is our spot.

[Phil] That is amazing.

[Heather] It looks completely abandoned.

- [Phil] Here we go, ready? - [Heather] Yeah.

[eerie music playing]

- [Heather] Well... - [Phil] OK, you take right,

I'll take left, meet you at the chapel.

[Heather] Alright.

Phil and I might have better luck encountering

the Santa Compaña if we investigate

different sides of the island.

We'll separate, each going opposite directions

along the island's main circular trail.

We'll aim to meet at the ancient chapel site,

said to be on the north side of the island.

[Phil] You got your radio? Got your walkie?

- Yeah! - [Phil] OK.

[Phil panting]

Rain's picking up.

There's salamanders everywhere.

Try not to step on them.

So check that out.

Down the distance, you could see some of the city lights.

I imagine also the occasional boat light

could come by, so when people talk about

seeing floating lights around here,

I can imagine that if you are up in the thicker part

of the woods here and you look out and you see

just a glimpse of a city light or a glimpse of a boat light...

from that angle, it could look like a floating light, so...

for me, I think that could be one of the explanations

of, uh, people claiming to see Santa Compaña on this island.

I've got my K-II Meter. It is an EMF Meter.

Since I got all those hits on my Tripwire

the other night... - Ooh, holy [bleep]!

...I wanna see if I can get any activity on this as well.

[beeping]

[mysterious music playing]

[Heather] Mm-hmm,

there we go, there we go.

Right there.

Got up to about five.

[gasps] That was about 20.

There are no utilities, no electrical wires

on this island-- it is abandoned,

which means that could be evidence

of a paranormal presence around us.

[Phil pants]

[sniffs]

[loud thwack]

[Phil] Oh! Shoot.

That...

was loud.

Wow.

Something just made a noise up here.

We are on the windy side of the island, so--

so there's a chance that

a branch broke up ahead and just fell.

Tambo Island is, uh, definitely keeping me on edge.

This is Heather.

I'm recording on an island where a lot of people say

the Santa Compaña comes for their final destination.

I've been getting these hits on the K-II Meter.

Is there anyone with me?

Yes, OK.

Um, right as I asked that question,

the K-II Meter went off.

I take that as an affirmative.

Are you trapped?

Are you a part of the Santa Compaña?

OK, I'm gonna take that as yes.

Do you lead souls to this island as their final destination?

Yes, yes, OK, yes, yes, big yes, big, yes, OK.

[Phil] Chapel's gotta be somewhere close.

We're on the north side of the island.

Light, there's a light! Right there!

[intense music playing]

[Phil] It was right here, I'm telling you.

Did you get it? You got it on camera?

Did you see it?

OK. What was that?

Light, there's a light! Right there!

Look at this, this is all uphill.

All uphill, meaning...

that's city lights this way...

city lights downhill that way.

But that's where the horizon is.

So that couldn't have been a city light,

couldn't have been a boat.

What was that?

[Heather] OK, another hit.

Holy [bleep], there it is.

Ryder's activity is going crazy.

That is the chapel,

and the K-II Meter is going off the charts.

Look at that activity.

Holy [bleep].

Phil, do you copy?

Yeah, Heather, go ahead.

[Heather] I found the chapel and my K-II Meter

has been going crazy. - [Phil] Found the chapel?

- Meet you there. - [Heather] Copy that.

- Phil, can you hear me? - [Phil] Yeah.

[Heather] Follow my light.

- [Phil] OK, coming. - [Heather] Check it out.

- [Phil] Oh, my gosh. - [Phil] Did you find anything?

- [Phil] I saw a light. - What?

Listen, I'm not saying it was a zombie holding a candle

marching through here, but it was weird.

This has been going off. Like, do you see that?

If you're convinced this is our spot, well, OK.

- We're here. - First things first.

Let's just get our eyes on the space.

OK.

- [Heather] Whoa, whoa, whoa. - [Phil] What?

[Heather] Look at that.

Right as we're about to step in, it's going off.

[Phil] Try taking a step back. Let's test this out.

Now-- now it's dead.

Let's go for it again.

[chuckles excitedly]

You looked around, there's no power lines?

There's no utilities.

[Phil] No part of the old navy base out here?

No, there's nothing that shouldn't be giving us

hits like this.

That is a sign of paranormal presence.

[Phil] OK, you ready to take a step in?

Ready?

[whispering] The air feels really thick in here.

Feels oppressive in here.

[Phil] Whoa, whoa, Heather!

- [Heather] What? - [Phil] Holy [bleep].

George Romero, the horror movie genius behind

"Night of the Living Dead,"

took serious creative inspiration

from his Galician heritage.

The stories of the Santa Compaña

that he was raised on shaped his iconic vision

of zombies as relentless, soulless wanderers

transforming hapless victims into one of them.

[woman screams]

[Josh] But the influence didn't stop there.

Short of the funds he needed for the filming

of "Night of the Living Dead,"

Romero turned his elderly Spanish aunts,

Peri and Nina, to help bankroll the movie's $100,000 budget.

Despite living humble lives in northern Spain,

the two aunts happily forked over the cash

that Romero needed.

[screaming]

"Night of the Living Dead" would go on to become

a genre-defining cult classic and incredibly profitable,

making $30 million, or around 250 times its budget.

Thanks, aunties.

[Phil] Look at this!

Are you kidding me?

Burned candles, bones, feathers,

and a circle of stones.

Even I can tell you this looks like some kind of ritual,

black magic-- people are still coming here.

- [Heather] Look at this. - [Phil] Whoa, whoa, what?

- It's like a cross. - [Heather] Yeah.

[Phil] This is an active spot.

I've got something I wanna try.

- OK. - OK.

As Phil documents the alarming scene,

I pull out trigger objects for a call-and-response session.

I have two candles, one real and one EMF candle,

which acts like a Rem Pod.

OK.

I let Phil decide where to place the wax candle.

I think, why not right in the middle

of where the ritual was? - OK.

Just gave me chills.

I don't know if it's because I don't like it being there,

or if you're messing with something we don't

wanna mess with. OK.

[Phil] What are you doing?

[Heather] I am drawing a protective circle,

just like the meiga told me to do.

[Phil] So you just do the stick?

- Yeah. - I don't get to make

my own protective circle around myself?

- [Heather gasping] - What?

Oh, what the [bleep]?

How did that just fall over?

Are you kidding me?

[Heather] I think you should make a protective circle

around yourself, 'cause it fell over

literally right when you said,

"I'm not gonna make a protective circle

around myself." - [Phil] What the [bleep]?

That is solid ground.

I'm telling you, we're not alone.

That is insane. That is insane.

- Give me that stick. - [Heather] Alright.

Recording.

This is Heather and Phil. We're in an abandoned chapel.

On an abandoned island.

[Heather] On an abandoned island.

Is there anyone with us?

What?

Are you the sound I heard in the chapel?

Are you the light that Phil saw?

- [Phil] Nothing, quiet. - Did you lead me here?

Are you part of the Santa Compaña?

That's, like, several yeses in a row.

- [Phil] Is that normal? - [Heather] No.

It's like there's multiple spirits right here

with us, communicating.

It's like they're all in line, coming here to say

"Yes, yes, yes, yes," one after another.

[Heather] Yes.

It makes sense. Think about it.

The Santa Compaña is not one spirit.

It's this cacophony of-- of energy, of souls

passing through here over and over.

And-- and that's being reflected in our equipment.

Look, we started this investigation thinking

that the Santa Compaña was evil,

that it trapped living people until they died.

But we now know that the Santa Compaña

actually brings peace in a lot of ways.

These people are guided to the afterlife

by the Santa Compaña.

This is a story that ends in peace.

Are you still with us?

[Josh] The team did not find a horde of hungry zombies

wandering Galicia's woods.

But their night on Tambo Island convinced Heather that

they'd communed with something even more powerful.

Are you a part of the Santa Compaña?

[Josh] A spiritual version of the Santa Compaña.

[Josh] And even more extraordinary, she believes the Santa Compaña

were marching with them from the very start.

Re-examining footage from their first night's investigation

in the forest behind Nerea's farm,

she spotted something that, in the moment,

they both missed.

Ooh!

Holy [bleep]!

[Josh] The Tripwire activates behind them before it goes off

in front of them.

Could that mean a spectral army was marching through them

down the ancient pilgrim's road?

- [Phil] Look. - [Heather gasps]

- [Phil] There's a light! - [Heather] Oh, my God.

[Phil] Right there, right there!

[Josh] Footage of the light Phil saw in the woods was also analyzed.

The light was not a clear match to any electrical source.

It appears closest in color temperature

to a candle.

But there was one thing that the strange light did match.

[Phil] Right there!

[Josh] It was the same as the glimmer Phil saw on Tambo Island,

despite these two locations being 75 miles apart.

Phil still contends this could all be someone

playing tricks on them.

Heather believes that sailing to a remote island,

hiding all night in the forest, just to briefly light a candle,

would be one hell of a trick.

One thing, at least, could be easily explained away.

The hell is that?

[Josh] Audio analysis of the murmurs Heather heard

in the Monastery of San Xoán de Caaveiro

was nothing more than an acoustic echo.

[Heather] Ooh!

What?

Ooh, what the [bleep]?

[Josh] Were Heather and Phil really in lockstep

with the Santa Compaña as they undertook

their undead march ever westward?

Well, we can at least be confident that reports

of zombies hungry for brains are greatly exaggerated.

Now, Phil Torres, hungry for brains, well,

that's another story.

- No. - Yes.

- [Heather] No. - [Phil] Yes.

Alright, moment of truth.

[chuckles uncomfortably]

Mm.

I don't think I'd be very good as a zombie.

Oh, God.