Original subtitles

[Phil] Erasmus, if you do still live here,

you can try and prove it to me.

-[heavy thud] -[Heather screams]

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

-Oh, my gosh, look. -[Heather] Wow!

I see why they call it a cave castle.

[Josh] My team travels to Predjama Castle in Slovenia,

once home to one of the most evil men of the Middle Ages.

He was robbing people from this area.

He took people to slavery and burned houses down.

[Josh] The blood-soaked building connects with a secret network

of sinister caves...

[Karin] I saw a shadowy figure.

I know it wasn't human by how it was moving.

[Phil] Oh, [bleep]!

[Josh] ...where dark rituals were once held to appease violent gods.

What did you hope to gain?

Power.

-[Phil grunts] -[Heather] Phil!

[Josh] Will Heather and Phil survive their journey to the black

heart of the cursed castle?

Are those rapids?

Oh, my God, they are.

Watch it, watch it, watch it!

[ominous music plays]

All right, well, you two are getting a bit of a reputation.

Like, in a good way because we're getting so much evidence

of the paranormal? -No, it's got to be in a bad way

because we're scaring everyone from going anywhere.

Honestly, it's kind of both.

You're getting a reputation at being very good at dealing

with the bad, particularly when it comes

to horribly haunted castles.

Ah, like Chillingham Castle in England.

Or like Chateau De Veauce in France.

Or Houska in the Czech Republic, et cetera, et cetera.

You guys have investigated so many castles that a place

called Predjama Castle all the way over in Slovenia,

reached out saying they are inundated with paranormal

activity and they want your help.

Ooh, maybe we'll get to meet another nobleman like the guy

that owns Chillingham Castle, Sir Humphrey.

Well, that's where you'd be wrong, Heather.

Dead wrong.

For the past 500 years, there has been nothing noble

about Predjama.

This is not a castle of courageous knights

or gracious kings.

This place was home to violent bandits, greedy lords,

and a whole lot of death.

[camera clicks]

Built into the mouth of a cave atop a 400-foot cliff,

Predjama Castle is the largest cave castle in the world.

Designed in the 12th century to be impregnable, Predjama is

strategically located to control a South European

trade route vital to the Holy Roman Empire.

In 1274, the powerful Lueg family takes control of

the castle and quickly gives it a terrifying reputation.

It becomes a base for thieves and mercenaries who kidnap

local villagers and hold them for ransom.

Countless souls suffer and die in its lightless dungeons

when the ransoms don't get paid.

The most notorious of Predjama's robber barons

is the cruel Erasmus Lueg.

Inheriting the castle in the 1480s, he makes it

his mission to rob the region blind, killing or enslaving

anyone who gets in his way.

But in 1483, he makes a critical mistake,

killing a marshal who happens to be the cousin

of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III.

Outraged, Frederick sends troops to Predjama

to capture Erasmus.

Unable to breach the cave castle's defenses,

they try to starve him out.

The plan doesn't work.

Erasmus lives a life of luxury while under siege.

It turns out the castle hides a network of secret tunnels

that allow Erasmus to smuggle in the finest supplies.

But the good times don't last forever.

After holding out for nearly a year, Erasmus is killed

in his castle by a well-aimed catapult shot.

His death ends the Lueg family reign of terror in the region,

but their violent legacy remains.

Today, Predjama Castle is widely regarded as one

of the most haunted places in all of Europe.

Visitors and guides regularly report being followed

by phantom footsteps, having doors impossibly slammed shut,

and being pushed by unseen hands.

Most disturbing of all, a looming shadow figure

shaped like a knight is often seen stalking the castle.

Could this be the restless spirit

of evil Lord Erasmus himself?

Predjama Castle witnessed centuries

of villainy and misery.

If these walls could talk, they'd probably scream.

So what does everybody think?

Well, that Erasmus guy sounds like a real piece of work.

Oh, he's not making your Christmas card list?

Definitely not.

And I'm not yet ready to call this all paranormal.

Because think about this place.

It is a centuries-old castle built into a cave.

It is an objectively spooky place, and that's gonna make

people's imaginations run wild.

And like all old castles, there's gonna be creaks

and groans and shadows,

and that's what people are reporting.

OK, so Phil's chalking it up to a creepy old building.

-What about you? -I mean, I'm going Erasmus.

This guy seems like one evil dude.

He was trapped in a castle for a year while it was

under siege, and then he died there.

You couldn't get a better setup for a malevolent haunting.

All right, well, prove it.

Head to Slovenia and find out if Predjama Castle really is

under siege from the paranormal.

-You got it, boss. -We're on it.

[Josh] It's a 12-hour flight from New York to Ljubljana,

Slovenia, a country nestled between Austria and Croatia

in Eastern Europe.

Then it's a scenic 45-minute drive

to the town of Postojna,

where a winding mountain road leads to the towering cliffside

of Predjama Castle.

Wow. Welcome to Slovenia.

Gosh, it is stunning, isn't it?

[Phil] So beautiful out here.

You want to know what's super cool about Slovenia?

There's a salamander here. It's called the olm.

-Say it. -Olm.

[Phil] It's kind of fun to say.

And they live deep in the caves here.

They're blind, they can live 100 years,

and they sense electricity.

They're one of the most incredible creatures

on the planet.

That's what you're most excited about in Slovenia?

[Phil] Yes!

[Heather] All right, Salamander Boy, let's just go

find our witnesses. -Fine.

Let's make our way to the castle.

-Oh, my gosh, look. -Wow.

-[Phil] Unreal. -[Heather] It's incredible.

I see why they call it a cave castle.

Yeah.

Huge.

[Phil] Those are our witnesses.

[Heather] Yeah, I think you're right.

[mysterious music plays]

-[Phil] Hi. -[Heather] Nice to meet you.

-[Phil] Nice to meet you guys. -[Anja] Hi!

[Phil] We're meeting with castle guides

Anja Skarabot and Mateja Margon,

who have firsthand stories of the strange activity

reported within Predjama's looming walls.

-Welcome to Predjama. -This is amazing.

-[Heather] Incredible. -[Mateja] Yeah.

And it's the biggest cave castle in the world.

[Phil] So what era of history do you think stands out

the most to you?

[Mateja] Probably that was the 15th century,

when Erasmus lived here.

He burned houses down, took people to slavery,

and so on, and he was killed during a siege here.

We've heard some stories about how the siege ended,

but what's the real story?

Well, the real story is his servant betrayed him.

The servant, he gave a signal with a small candle

to the soldiers in front of the castle when Erasmus

was using the toilet.

They catapulted a big stone ball to that part of the castle

of the castle, which collapsed and killed Erasmus.

[Phil] Wow. That's how he went.

-Pants down. -[both laugh]

So, we understand people have some pretty intense,

unexplainable experiences here. -[Anja] Yeah.

Local people believe this place is haunted, and in general,

they are afraid of being alone here,

especially when it's dark.

[Mateja] Up there, somebody saw the small candlelight moving

from window to window. The castle was empty.

Nobody was there.

And he saw lights moving

through the main part of the castle.

[Heather] Huh.

Didn't you say that Erasmus was killed because a servant

put a light in the window?

Yes.

[Heather] And have y'all ever seen anything?

We have some stories to tell, yes.

-Let's hear them. -It was the evening.

I have to close the castle all alone inside.

So, I lock the door.

I'm 100% sure that nobody's there.

-But... -[door creaks]

[Mateja] I saw a shadow of a person going down the stairs

on the second floor.

I thought that it was a visitor, you know?

He will be waiting for me at the exit.

But when I came down, nobody was there.

The whole castle was empty.

And I had an experience in the exact same place.

And what was that?

When I was closing the castle one evening...

And when I was at the central part of the castle,

I heard children voices...

[children chattering faintly]

[Anja] ...talking with each other.

They were coming from downstairs.

When I reached the exit,

I saw that no one was there.

So those voices happened in the exact same spot that

you saw that shadow figure? -Yes.

All right, we're about to head inside.

-Any last minute advice? -[Mateja] Just be careful.

There's a reason

why nobody wants to be here alone, so good luck.

[Phil] We get to work setting up security cameras

in the castle's most active locations,

starting with the cave entrances, where I think

bat activity may help explain the strange noises people hear.

We also place the camera in evil Lord Erasmus' bedroom,

where a worker saw a light moving through the windows

after closing.

-Look good in here? -[Heather] Perfect.

[Phil] And the second floor stairwell, where Anja and Mateja

reported a shadowy presence

and the sound of unseen children.

We decide to begin our investigation there.

[ominous tone plays]

OK, I want to get out the parabolic mic so I can

record all the audio happening around here and figure out

what direction it's coming from. -OK.

[Phil] OK.

This is where Anja said she heard children laughing.

It's possible the noises she heard could be caused

by bats flying around in here.

What else do you want to do to investigate this area?

[Heather] Mateja said that she saw that shadow figure going

down the stairs, right?

I've got a footstep tracker.

It works on vibrations.

If anything takes a step near it, it's gonna go off

and let us know something's around.

-OK, let's check it. -[knocking]

OK, so we're gonna leave this here all night.

We've got our IR camera on it, so it will track and record

if that thing goes off. -[Phil] OK.

[Heather] All right, let me grab my XLS.

OK...

[Phil] All right, Heather. I'm recording.

[Heather] Are you hearing anything?

Nothing. Just a lot of dripping water.

[Heather] Is there anyone here with us?

Can you make a noise?

[rumbling faintly]

I'm picking up some low rumblings from up there.

-[Heather] Yeah. -You hear that, too?

[Heather] Yeah.

[Phil] That's the direction of the caves, yeah?

[Heather] Why don't you walk up and down this stairwell to see if that

can trigger some activity? -[Phil] OK.

[device beeping]

[Phil] Erasmus...

Erasmus, if you do still live here,

you can try and prove it to me.

[device beeping]

-[heavy thud] -[Heather screams]

[Phil] Oh, my God!

[Heather] What the hell is that?

It sounded like a door.

Is it this?

[high-pitched slam]

[Phil] No, it's too much metal. Is it this door?

Let's see.

[muffled thuds]

-It's latched. -[Phil] It's latched.

[clicks open] [creaks]

All right.

-[heavy thud] -That was it.

[Heather] That was it. That was it.

[Phil grunts]

[Phil] This is not easy to open and close.

Let's see if it could have been a draft or anything.

[Phil] This window's open.

This is the only open window I've seen in the entire castle.

Maybe a draft, but it is a pretty open area.

That door's heavy. I don't know what caused that.

[Heather] Whatever it was, it happened right after

you were taunting Erasmus.

And that was a pretty violent answer.

So you think something knows we're here?

Oh, yeah.

Well, if you think the energy led you here,

how about you stay in here?

I'm gonna wander around the rest of the castle,

because I still think I can find some explanation for some

of the audio anomalies that are happening here.

-OK, stay on walkie. -[Phil] OK.

[eerie music plays]

[soft footsteps]

You wanted me in here?

I'm in here.

I'm gonna use the Ovilus to try and communicate.

Is there anyone here with me?

I heard you just slam the door.

Can you tell me your name?

[entity speaking]

[Heather] Sin?

You committed sins?

[entity speaking]

[Heather] Lord?

What did you do here?

[entity speaking]

[Heather] You were a raider.

Did you used to raid the villages?

I mean, I'm beginning to think it really could be

Erasmus here with us.

[Phil] With strange noises reported throughout the castle,

I'm heading into the cave section to look

for signs of life.

Bats, birds, even wolves could potentially be behind

the disembodied voices and footsteps

people are hearing.

Look how much this place opens up back here.

This is an area of the castle that is not open to the public.

You know what? I'm gonna get the Flir out.

[beeping]

OK.

Everything right now is showing up very blue because

it's cold in here.

Anything alive will pop.

But so far, I'm not seeing anything.

[Heather] The Ovilus hits for, "Lord" and, "raid" seem to point to Erasmus,

so I went to investigate what was once his bedroom,

the same room where a worker saw a light

moving past the windows.

Inspired by this, I decided to use a candle

as a trigger object in a call-and-response session.

[beeping]

Is there anyone here with us?

You can make a noise.

You can use this REM pod.

All you have to do to answer for "Yes..."

-[device beeping] -...touch the antenna.

Are you the servant that betrayed Erasmus?

Is Erasmus in the room with us right now?

Earlier, I got, "raid" on the Ovilus.

Did you raid the caravans?

[beeping]

OK.

Did you murder a lot of people?

[beeping]

[Phil] Gotta be bats flying around here.

[crashing]

Up there, up there!

[soft footsteps]

Something is moving up here.

[ominous tone plays]

Oh, it goes way back there.

Whoa! Oh, [bleep]!

Huge heat signature.

Right back there, right back there.

What the hell is that?

Heather, Heather, you there?

Yeah, I copy. What's up?

[Phil] I just got a major heat signature in the cave.

There's something big moving around up here.

-Get up here now! -[Heather] Copy that, yeah.

On my way.

-Phil? -[Phil] Up here, up here.

Check this out.

It's right around this corner. Look at those stairs

going up.

These look much older than the other infraestructure

in this cave.

That's it on the thermal right now.

So, based on where I was down there, whatever I saw was going

up here

to the left, that way.

OK, here we go.

Oh, wow!

It either goes that way...

or it goes up.

Wow, it really goes up!

[distant thud]

-Did you hear that? -Ooh, OK, yeah.

[Heather] It makes sense that activity would draw us up here.

This has got to be a passage that Erasmus took

out of the castle. -[Phil] It's got to be.

If we get to the top of this passage, I think we're going

to find some answers.

OK, let's follow his path to survival.

See what we find up there.

All right.

Ooh!

This is one hell of a passage.

[Heather] What's it look like up there?

There's another chamber up here.

And it keeps going up.

Do you see any evidence of what we heard?

[Phil] Nothing yet.

[Heather] All right, here I come.

[Phil grunts]

-[Phil] You good? -[Heather] Yeah.

-Oh, that is a tiny passage. -[Phil] Yeah.

Starting to see leaves, which tells me

we might be close.

[Philip grunts] [crashes]

[Heather] Phil!

[mysterious music plays]

[Heather] Phil!

-Are you OK? -[Phil] Oh, yeah.

I'm good. I'm good.

[Heather sighs]

[Phil] A lot of leaves. They're really slippery.

Watch your step.

OK.

What do you see?

-I think I see the sky. -[Heather] Thank God.

[Phil grunts]

[Phil] Whoo!

-Oh, my God. -[Heather] You clear?

Clear.

This last part's pretty tricky.

-[Heather] Yeah. -[Phil] Grab my wrist.

Oh, God.

Anything waiting for us up here?

I'm not seeing any movement.

No, I don't hear anything either.

The activities seem to draw us out of the castle

and into those caves.

I think if we want to understand Predjama Castle,

we have to learn more about those caves.

-[Phil] OK, it is getting late. -Let's head back.

[Heather] Hoping to learn more about the cave system attached

to Predjama, I set out the next morning to meet

with an old friend.

Marco, so good to see you again.

Yes, indeed.

Marco Visconti, is an occult expert who helped us

investigate France's Beast of Gévaudan.

Help me understand what caves represented in traditional

Slavic culture.

In Slavic folklore, caves are connected with a fundamental

figure, the god Veles.

He wasn't just like the god of the underworld.

He was seen as the underworld itself.

[Heather] How would that manifest?

Veles was represented as a dragon.

In the caves, especially here in Predjama, we find

this strange creature, the olm salamander.

They exist only here.

They don't exist anywhere else in the world.

And the olm salamanders were seen as

baby dragons, the offsprings, the physical manifestation

of the dragon god Veles.

If we find these olm salamanders, then we're

literally finding evidence of the god Veles?

Old Slavic people would say yes.

Remember, the dragons are seen across cultures as hoarders

of wealth, the hoarders of secrets.

And so, Veles wasn't just the god of the underworld.

It was also the god of wealth.

Do you think that someone that lived in the castle,

say, Erasmus, would have tried to harness this power?

I think the chances are pretty high.

He would have used a magician, a shaman, to appease Veles

and to build a relationship with him.

Do you think that that would affect the activity

that's happening today?

[Marco] I have no doubts about it.

Every time you conduct a magical ritual somewhere,

you will leave an imprint.

I think there's no doubt that there is a connection

between the two.

[Phil] While Heather delves deeper into Slovenia's legends

and lore, I head a few miles east to the entrance

of Pivka Cave.

Connected to Predjama's catacombs, I'm meeting

a witness who said she had a very strange experience here.

Karin Kapelj is a local student who grew up exploring

the caves, but a recent experience left her terrified

to return until today.

Walk me through it.

What happened to you back there?

Me and my friends were just scoping out the place.

I wandered off and I was lost all of a sudden

and I was alone.

I didn't know where I was at that point.

[Phil] Please tell me you had a light at least.

I did have a very small light.

OK.

As I was looking around, I saw a shadowy figure.

I know it wasn't human by how it was moving, floating around.

First I saw just one,

and then there was multiple of them.

And I didn't just see them, I actually heard them.

-What did you hear? -[Karin] Footsteps.

They were like this.

Not like a normal boot or a sneaker.

It was somebody

stomping.

First it was one here and there, but then it was like

multiple of them, and they were going faster.

[Phil] Were they interacting with you?

Do you think they were getting closer to you?

It looked like they were taunting me.

I was ignoring it. I was closing my eyes.

And the more I was ignoring them, the more they wanted me

to see them, to hear them. I was truly terrified.

But your friends were in the cave,

potentially not too far away.

Could it have been their footsteps that you were

hearing just bouncing around the cave walls?

When they found me, they told me they were

searching for me for two hours.

They were calling me the whole time.

These shadows didn't make any sounds except these steps.

When I finally heard my friends calling out my name,

I was

so grateful.

[Phil] What did you tell them?

I didn't tell them anything.

Why didn't you tell anyone?

I didn't want them to think that I'm crazy or something.

Hm.

[Karin] I hope maybe...

if somebody sees this and has a similar experience,

because people don't talk about this here, I hope that somebody

else can tell me that that happened to them, too.

[Heather] Phil's meeting with a witness that had an experience

inside Pivka Cave.

Do you think that would be a good spot to get

some answers? -Absolutely.

The cave system is really, in my opinion, the nexus

of power for all the paranormal activity in the area.

Whatever you were experiencing in the castle, it finds

its source in the cave.

There's a series of rituals that you can use to open

yourself to communication with Veles.

Once you've found the correct spot, there is this place

inside Pivka Cave called "the Black Cave."

-[Heather] Black Cave? -Yes.

That area was used as a ritual site.

So what's the most effective way to communicate with Veles?

I would conduct a little ritual of appeasement.

When you go there, you will see two places pillars that create

what seems like an entrance.

That would be the place where I would conduct this ritual

and try to connect with them.

Marco, thank you so much for meeting with me again.

Thank you. It's been a pleasure.

[Heather] The Black Cave lies four miles east of Predjama,

and according to Marco, it could be what's channeling

Veles' energy to the castle through its connected

subterranean caverns.

To find out, Phil and I will follow the underground

Pivka River until the walls turn black, coated in soot

from the fires of ancient rituals.

Unfortunately for Phil, that means he's gonna be

lugging our inflatable raft until we find the river.

[Phil] And the boat! All right, let's go.

[ominous tone plays]

[Heather] Stunning!

Wow!

[Phil] These must have taken millions of years to form.

Wow!

[Heather] Oh, my God!

[Phil] Look at the size of this cavern!

And we have stalagmites right overhead.

[Heather] Yeah, major formations.

[Phil] And you hear what I'm hearing?

[Heather] River!

[Phil] So this is the river that carved out

this entire cave system.

But, hey, we got to make sure we're in the right spot.

We have to find those olms.

Yeah, find the baby dragons,

and we're hot on the trail of Veles.

[Phil] All right, let's do this.

So, look for something white about a foot long.

[Heather] OK.

[Phil] Wait, right there. Look!

-There it is! -[Heather] Oh, wow!

[Phil] We found one!

That is my first baby dragon I've ever seen.

-[Heather] Mine too. -[Phil] Absolutely incredible!

I love how the geology and the biology has shaped

the culture of this entire country.

[Heather] Yeah, it's all tied together.

Baby dragon marks the spot.

That means Black Cave must be this way.

OK, let's put that boat together.

OK.

[pump blowing]

[ominous music plays]

[Phil] Here we go.

[Heather] Next stop, Black Cave.

[water sloshing softly]

[Phil] Wow!

[gushing rises]

You hearing that?

It sounds loud.

[Phil] It is getting louder.

Are those rapids.

Oh my god, they are.

-We gotta go for it. -OK, let's go for it.

All right. Here we go!

[Heather] Easy.

Easy.

-[Phil] Go, go, go, push. -[Heather grunts]

[Phil] Push, push!

[Heather] Left, left. Rock ahead.

-[Phil] Go, go, go, go! -[Heather] Push, push, push!

Left, left, left!

Watch it! Watch it! Watch it!

[mysterious music plays]

[Heather] Left, left, left!

[Heather and Phil groaning]

[Phil] You good?

[Heather] Let's take a break.

[Phil] See a sport for us to land?

[Heather] I think right here, up on the right.

[Heather and Phil grunting]

[Phil] OK. We're good!

[Heather sighs]

-You see what I'm seeing? -Ha! Black rock.

[Phil] Yes. This must be it.

-Let's go. -[Heather] All right.

-Thanks. -[Phil] All right, let's do this.

[Phil] Jeez, look at these formations.

Incredible!

[Heather] Oh, look!

Marco said there'd be two columns.

-[Phil] There's got to be them. -[Heather] Let's get up there.

[Phil] Yeah, let's do it.

Wow.

I can't even begin to guess how old these columns must be.

Unbelievable.

Wow!

Heather, get over here. Look at this.

-Is that what I think it is? -[Heather] Oh, wow.

-That's charred wood. -Yes!

[Phil] Unreal.

I mean, think of how far back we are in this game.

No one would come back here just to light a little

campfire, like the only reason why we would find charred wood

here is because this is the place where people

did rituals.

Yeah, if people were coming here for hundreds of years

and doing rituals, that will leave an imprint on this space.

Well, it certainly left a visual imprint.

-We'll see about the other. -[Heather] I've got an idea.

If this chamber really is where shamans of the past

communicated with Veles, we could be standing

in the source of all the paranormal activity

affecting Predjama Castle.

Whether or not Veles exists, they clearly summoned

some kind of energy here.

So I want to try to do the same with the ritual Marco gave me.

[Phil] OK, so I see lights.

Right, because it's incredibly important to bring light back

into the cave for Veles. -The dragon?

-[Heather] Focus object. -[Phil] And what's in that?

[Heather] Coins. It's an offering.

Not only is Veles the god of the underworld, but he's also

the god of wealth.

And we all know that Erasmus was greedy, so this could

trigger him as well. -[Phil] OK.

[Heather] To try to open communication with Veles, I read an old

Slavic incantation.

Phil arranges four lights in the cardinal directions

and will turn on each one as I call out to the ancient god.

-You ready? -Ready.

[Heather] OK.

"I seek the one who dwells below.

"Veles,

"great serpent of the deep, guardian of the dead,

"come forth from the deep root, uncoil your wisdom.

"Let your breath pass through me.

I offer wealth that you may grant your presence here."

[clinking]

Hopefully, now the communication is open.

We're going to do the Estes Method.

I'm going to put myself in a state of sensory deprivation

to see if Veles can use me as an instrument

for communication.

So, any word that pops into my head, any image, I'm just gonna

speak it out loud and see if it connects with your questions.

I'm gonna set this recorder down just in case we get

any EVPs.

[suspenseful music builds]

OK.

These are noise-canceling and we'll play white noise,

so I'll be able to hear absolutely nothing.

[Phil] OK.

[suspenseful music plays]

[exhales]

[Phil] Hello.

Heather.

She can't hear anything. She can't see anything.

I'm going to begin.

Is Veles here right now?

How is the activity at Predjama Castle connected

to the activity done here?

Money.

Money.

Offering.

So it was money that they offered Veles.

-Fire. -[Phil] Money and fire.

What happened in Predjama Castle?

-Pain. -Pain.

War.

[Phil] So there was war.

Are you the one that slammed the door last night?

-Me. -You scared us pretty good.

Did you like that?

[Heather] Yes.

So you like scaring people.

Why?

-Anger. -[Phil] Anger.

OK.

What are you angry about?

[Heather] Dead.

Someone is angry that they are dead?

Yes.

[Phil] That is crazy.

500 years after evil Lord Erasmus used the Postojna Caves

to resist the siege, the caves would be weaponized

once more, this time against the Nazis.

April 24, 1944, the occupying German forces

have concealed a vital fuel depot deep within the caves,

protecting it from Allied bombers, but not from brave

resistance fighters.

Led by 22-year-old Tadeusz Sadowski, a band of saboteurs

from the local Vojko Brigade uses their deep knowledge

of the caves to infiltrate the depot undetected.

They then set charges and sneak out just in time to make

1,200 barrels of fuel go boom!

The resulting inferno rages for a week,

crippling the Nazi supply lines.

Today, soot-stained and a commemorative plaque mark

this audacious act of resistance in the caves of Predjama Castle.

[mysterious music plays]

[Phil] So...

acknowledging you're dead,

and that's what you're angry about?

Were you killed at Predjama Castle?

Erasmus?

Let's say this is you.

Could you tell us more?

[Heather] Freedom.

[Phil] You were trapped in that castle,

surrounded for a year. We went through a passage.

Was that your way to freedom?

What did you hope to gain

by sending a shaman here? -Power.

Ooh!

So, there are bats in here.

Gone.

[mysterious exhalation]

[Phil] What the [bleep] was that?

It sounded like a breath.

[Heather exhales]

That is crazy.

It just sounded like there was a breath.

Moments later, she just did a big exhale.

What?

-Did you just tap me? -[Phil] No!

-I didn't tap you. -You didn't just tap me.

[Phil] No.

[Heather] It felt like you were trying to get my attention.

-[Phil] What? -Yes!

I just heard what sounded like a breath coming from the cave,

a second later, you let out a big...

[exhales sharply]

...exhale. -That's weird.

[Phil] Yes!

-So you couldn't hear me at all? -[Heather] No.

[Phil] It was oddly specific.

Literally, you said, "Erasmus sent someone here

for power." -[Heather] No way, really?

[Phil] And I said, "OK, what did you leave here?"

-And then you said, "Fire." -That's so creepy.

It was almost as if I was talking to Erasmus.

That's incredible.

I mean, it was just words popping into my head and

I was just saying them. -[Phil] Wow.

And hey, we've got this recording of everything.

We've already gotten some answers.

I think this will hold more.

[Josh] Were Phil and Heather really in contact with the spirit

of evil Lord Erasmus?

I gave what I can to the dragon of stone water,

and I inscribe that the gates remain open.

May they arise renewed.

[Phil] Done.

[Josh] After Heather closed the ritual, the team left

the confines of the Black Cave behind to begin reviewing

the mountain of evidence they collected at the castle.

While Heather was doing a call-and-response

in the third-floor bedroom...

Did you murder a lot of people?

[Josh] She got a positive REM pod hit

when she mentioned "murder."

[device beeping]

Yeah.

[Josh] But there was something else shocking

she didn't realize.

At that exact moment on the second-floor stairs,

the footstep tracker was going off.

Heather wonders whether she was communicating with Erasmus

or perhaps the servant who betrayed him and then fled

the scene of the crime.

But Phil also heard and saw evidence

that he found very telling.

A bunch of bats.

[Phil] Ooh!

He believes the large amount of bat activity we captured

throughout Predjama can explain the reports of so-called

"children's laughter" and strange ghostly voices

that are regularly reported.

[ghostly child screams]

-[Josh] In reply... -[door slams]

-That was it. -[Heather] That was it.

[Josh]...Heather points out, no bat has the strength

to slam a door.

The most astonishing evidence, though, would come not

from the castle, but from the massive

cave system its connected to.

[Heather] Veles.

[Josh] During Heather's incantation, to Veles, she spoke the phrase,

"Let your breath pass through me."

Let your breath pass through me.

[mysterious exhalation]

[Heather exhales]

[Phil] What the [bleep] was that?

[Josh] Which seemed to then literally happen after Phil heard

a disembodied breath somewhere in the chamber.

With Heather as a conduit, was Phil somehow communicating

with the god Veles, or was it instead with Predjama's

notorious Lord Erasmus?

Heather reviewed the audio recording of her Estes session

and believes she found the answer.

[gnarled mumbling]

[Josh] She identifies the word "izdal..."

[Josh] ...Slovenian for "betrayed."

After the siege and betrayal that led to his violent death,

is Erasmus still unwilling to give up his castle

more than 700 years later?

Heather is convinced the evil Lord still spectrally sits

on the ominous throne of Predjama Castle.