All language subtitles for Expedition.X.S11E06.Terrors.of.Trinidad.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-RAWR_track3_[eng]

That was under the house.

On this episode
of "Expedition X"...

Oh, there it is!

...my team heads to the
Caribbean island of Trinidad,

a beautiful place
with a painful past...

...and a haunting present.

Bro!

Phil and Heather investigate

shocking reports
of demonic encounters.

Can they survive
the terrors of Trinidad?

- I can't breathe.
- Phil.

All right guys,
for this next case,

you're gonna need
some sunscreen.

- Tell me it's the beach.
- And some machetes.

- Tell me it's the jungle.
- You're both right.

But don't celebrate just yet,
because there is some

disturbing activity
at play here.

I want you to watch this video.

Focus on the trees.

- Hey.
- Let's see-- Oh!

Whoa!

Is that a shadow figure?

That is some
fascinating evidence.

And what's even more
disturbing, this was filmed

at the site
of a former plantation,

and slaves were hanged
near this spot 200 years ago.

That's absolutely horrific.

And this video
is just one of dozens

of escalating paranormal claims,
not just at the plantation,

but all over this
Caribbean island.

We're talking
terrifying encounters,

violent paranormal attacks,

even reports
of demonic possession.

And what do the people
there think?

Well, they think
it may be tied

to this local religion
called "Obeah."

Think of it as like
Voodoo, right?

This is something that was once
illegal in Trinidad,

but is now practiced
out in the open,

and some say
with terrifying consequences.

July 31st, 1498.

Christopher Columbus sights
a Caribbean island

so breathtaking,
he names it "Trinidad,"

in honor of the Holy Trinity.

He claims the island for Spain,

and with that,
centuries of conflict begin.

Spain, France, Great Britain,
and the Netherlands

all brutally battle
over Trinidad

and its sister island, Tobago.

They fight to control
its lucrative sugar

and cocoa plantations,
causing centuries of suffering.

Indigenous peoples are enslaved,
then ravaged by disease.

Meanwhile, Africans are dragged
to the island in chains,

condemned to work
under horrific conditions.

Though slavery is abolished
in the British Empire in 1833,

the suffering on the island
is far from over.

Indentured laborers from India
and China are brought

to the island to toil
in their place.

In this crucible of cruelty,
the spiritual beliefs of all

those cultures collide,
fused into a unique form

of magic, its name often
whispered with dread.

"Obeah."

While some use Obeah for good,
to heal and cleanse,

others are said
to use it for evil,

to sicken, dominate,
even kill.

In 1780, an enslaved Obeah
practitioner is said to be

burned at the stake
in nearby Jamaica,

but not before
cursing his killers.

Days later, the island is
devastated by a deadly

earthquake and tsunami.

By 1868, the leadership
of Trinidad is so terrified

of Obeah that the practice
is outlawed.

Those who dare to defy
the edict are

flogged and imprisoned.

Obeah is forced
into the shadows.

When the ban is officially
lifted in the year 2000,

many swear there's an immediate
uptick in frightening

paranormal activity,
with reports of mass demonic

possessions alongside physical
attacks by malevolent spirits.

Even more disturbing,
at the plantation where this

video was taken, several people
report horrific encounters

with demons unique to Trinidad.

The douen, faceless child
spirits that mimic voices

to lure their victims
into danger.

And the soucouyant,
a vampire witch

who attacks her prey
as a ball of fire.

Are evil curses and ancient
monsters really plaguing

this tropical paradise?

What's really
behind the terror?

So if these reports are real,
then this could be

an extremely dangerous mission.
- Absolutely.

A place swarming with spirits,
possible demonic possessions,

and the living are caught
in the middle of it all.

It could be some
spiritual turf war.

Or it could all just
come down to belief.

I mean, think about it.

We have multiple cultures
swirled together,

a brutal history,

all under the shadow of
a once-outlawed local religion.

I mean, maybe it is just fear
spinning out of control.

Maybe.
Maybe not.

And that's what the two
of you need to find out.

Get to Trinidad and investigate
these claims and determine

if fear is driving these
encounters or if there are

sinister forces at work.

Good luck.

It's a five-hour flight from
New York City to Port of Spain,

the capital of
Trinidad and Tobago.

Phil and Heather land at night
but find that this vibrant city

is far from asleep.

Oh-ho-ho!

What?

Oh, my God.

No!

What!

Ah!

All right, you won.

The next morning,
Heather and I set off

on an hour-long drive
through winding jungle roads

to the Lopinot Plantation.

- Hi.
- Hi.

Welcome to Lopinot.

Donna and her family have been

caretakers of Lopinot
for generations.

Her and her son, Demar,
grew up surrounded

by its disturbing
history and legends.

And what can you tell us about

the history of this plantation?

And there was
big bucks in cocoa.

Yes.

What do we know about Lopinot,
the man who owned this?

It's no doubt due
to the brutal history

of this plantation
that there is unsettled energy.

- Yeah.
- People are experiencing things.

You sent us a video
of something strange moving

in the trees.
- Yeah.

And where was this taken?

- OK.
- And what about you?

- Have you ever
experienced anything?
- Yes.

And all of y'all saw
this ball of fire?

So, like a vampire?

It chased her?

So the whole village is
talking about it?

Yeah.

Why do you think
these creatures are here?

Why now?

So, do you think the slaves
would use Obeah to get revenge?

We'll let you know
what we find.

- Thank you so much.
- Thank you so much.

For tonight's investigation,

Phil is heading to the tree line

where the shadow figure
was caught on camera,

while I start inside
Lopinot's old house,

hoping to learn whether
the cruel plantation master

still haunts his one-time home.

With a village nearby, I begin
by sealing the place off

from any outside noise
that could interfere

with my investigation.

Just want to take some
pictures of this space,

because this is the original
house of Lopinot.

And someone as evil as that,

can't imagine just going easy
into the afterlife.

Is there anyone there?
Can you make a noise?

Whoo-oo-oo.

What was that?

I just heard a knock
on a shutter.

It sounded like
something knocked

or made a noise on this,
like that.

Are you trying to get
my attention?

Bro!

That door just got pulled open.

There's not a lick of breeze
in here, and I just shut that.

There is no one outside.

Did you just open that door?

Can you do it again?

Can you tell me your name?

Can you open a shutter?

Can you open a...

...door?

Oh, my God.

I just asked it to open the door
or open a shutter,

and it just opened the shutter.

So let me just see
from the outside.

I mean, you have to wedge your
fingers under here to get...

each of them.

It feels like something is
trying to get my attention

to draw me outside.

And that makes sense because
a lot of the reports

we've heard, it's been activity
outside on this land.

So I think I got to grab
my gear and look around.

I'm making my way into
the jungle behind the house,

where the plantation's enslaved
people would pick the cocoa.

It's also where the shadow
figure in the tree was recorded.

Wow, so these are the trees
in that video.

I can't identify what was
moving in that video.

I'm honestly a bit stumped.

Now, there are
howler monkeys around here,

so there is life in these trees.

And based on the video,
it seemed

like the movement was
behind these trees.

So I'm gonna head down to
the creek, take a look around.

Whoa!
Light!

I'm actually seeing...

a glowing orange light.

Oh, that...

is a streetlight.

Basically, what I'm seeing
looks exactly like

what Demar described.

He said they saw "a glowing
orange ball of flame

near a river."

But could it have
just been a streetlight?

Let's keep going.

As far as what people could be
seeing that looks like a douen,

to me, it's got
to be an animal.

And actually, this definitely
looks like a game trail to me.

Let's see what we can find.

Oh, look, right here.

Whoa, look at that.

Are you seeing this?

Am I crazy?
One, two, three, four, five.

That looks like
a child's footprint.

It is pretty bizarre because
it has to be fresh.

It rained three hours ago.

So within the last three,
four hours, something

with a small foot
walked through here.

We know there is a town
not too far from here.

Maybe kids like to run around
in the cacao grove.

Let's say this is the footprint
of a douen.

How do they walk?

Reports say
that they're faceless,

but their feet face backwards,

meaning instead
of going that way,

this would be going that way.

Let's see what we find
back there.

With the activity in Lopinot's
home drawing me outside,

I head to the bridge
where Donna's sister claims

she encountered a douen.

If these creatures
really do lure people

into the wilderness,
I want to make contact.

So my thought process is,

if douen are actually children
that passed away,

they might want to play
with a toy.

This is a motion-activated toy
that will only move

if something touches it
or waves their hand

right in front of it, like so.

If you touch right here...

it'll take off.

I set my audio recorder.

Let's see if we get
any activity.

This is Heather.

I'm on the bridge where a douen
has been sighted.

Is there anyone here with me?

I'll take it as a yes
if you touch this car.

Did you open the shutters
in the home?

OK, so that's a yes.

Were you trying to scare me?

That was not me.

What are you trying
to scare me for?

Use my energy...

as power?

Are you a douen?

Are you a soucouyant?

I was looking for a douen,
but this moved

when I asked if it was
a soucouyant.

And that could be
very bad news.

OK.

Whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa.

Footsteps.

There is something running back
there, but it just stopped.

That did not sound
like scurrying.

That sounded like
something big.

Get the FLIR out.

Come on, show yourself.

Whoa, got something.

There's something hovering
right up there.

Not even flying.

Oh, my God, what is it?

I have no idea what that is.

Just disappeared
from the FLIR.

Right up that edge there.

I think I just got to go
for it.

What is back here?

Whoa!

It's possible what I was seeing
wasn't actually floating

in the air,
but maybe it was...

Let's make our way up.

Oh, my God!

I think I just found
a cave entrance.

Must be one of the ones
that Donna told us about,

where slaves used to hide out,

and Obeah rituals would have
taken place.

But maybe that is where
that floating whatever-it-was

that showed up on the FLIR
came from.

Ooh, look at that.

There are bats flying
in and out of this place.

This cave is full of activity,
but nothing that quite explains

that hit I got on the FLIR,
just that floating ball of heat.

I don't think
that could be a bat.

Look at the way these things
are flying.

They do not hover in one place.

Oh, my God.
Look at this.

Wow!

Look at this bottle.

That looks old.

Look at that seam right there.

That tells you that this is
a bottle from the 1800s.

There is a very high chance
that this was left here

by the enslaved people
to perhaps even practice

their Obeah religion.

I think I got to tell Heather.

Heather, you copy?

Yeah, I copy.
What's going on?

I found a cave...

You are gonna want to see
what I found inside.

You should get over here.

I'll send you
the coordinates, OK?

Copy that.
I'll head your way.

- Phil.
- Over here.

All right.
Let me show you what I found.

OK.

- Look at that.
- Wow!

This is a bottle
from the early 1800s,

and it confirms
when this cave was used.

If you were
an enslaved person,

this cave could have
been refuge.

Yeah.

This one you treat
with respect.

OK-- we need to leave it
where we found it,

but this seems
like a good place to do

a call-and-response session

OK.

This is Heather and Phil.

Is there anyone here with us?

You can make a noise.
I'll take it as a yes.

Phil found a bottle that seemed
to match the time period

of when people who were enslaved
could have found refuge

in this cave.

Do you know if any rituals
were done in this cave?

If anyone practiced Obeah
in this cave?

That was pretty loud.
I don't know what that was.

I don't know either.

Do you see anything?

I don't see anything moving,
except all these bats.

Phil and I continue
asking questions,

but experience no new activity.

Still, there's reason
to believe I was communicating

with something earlier tonight.

Are you a soucouyant?

And that Obeah may be
at the heart of it.

The next morning, we split up
to follow new leads.

Phil is meeting a former
Coast Guard officer

who claims a nearby
abandoned island

is the site of intense
paranormal activity.

Meanwhile, I head to Trinidad's
Carnival Museum to learn more

about the many frightening
creatures that are central

to the country's traditions.

Wow, look at all these
carnival costumes!

- Aren't they amazing?
- Yes.

I'm speaking with
Neigeme Glasgow-Maeda,

a local folklorist
who hopefully can shed light

on the strange activity
I experienced last night.

We experienced a lot
of activity last night.

All of that activity seemed
to lead me out onto the land

like a douen.
- Mmm.

But then it seemed
to imply...

that it was a soucouyant.

Ah.

Yes.

- To lure me in?
- Yeah.

While Heather explores
Trinidad's monsters and myths,

I head to the marina to meet
a witness Josh found who claims

some of the country's most
disturbing activity is

happening just offshore,
on Chacachacare Island.

- Hi, are you Ian?
- Hey.

Ian Cross is a former
lieutenant commander

of the Trinidad and Tobago
Coast Guard, who says even

his toughest men were no match
for the island's horrors.

So, I understand you were
in the Coast Guard

and Chacachacare
was under your purview.
- Yeah.

Serious like what?

Choking them?

I mean, that sounds exactly

like what the Coast Guard men
were reporting.

So completely independently,
she had the exact same

experience at night.

I mean, at that point,
you got to start thinking maybe

there's something to this.

We're heading out
to Chacachacare Island.

What can you tell me about
what we might encounter

on the island?

If jumbees can't cross water,
then potentially all

of the spirits on that island
are trapped.

Do you think this could
be dangerous?

With that
stern warning from Neigeme,

I meet back up with Phil,

and we set sail
towards the sinister shores

of Chacachacare Island.

My expert said that jumbees
are trapped by water.

And if you live such a horrific
and painful existence

as the lepers did,
and then you die on that island,

who's to say you don't
become a jumbee yourself

and you're trapped?

That is what we have
to find out.

Is it a creature like the douen,
or is it a jumbee?

But if they're getting
physically attacked,

it could be a soucouyant,
especially if they feel

like it's a female entity.

OK, so this should
be interesting.

You thought this was your dream
haunted island?

Yeah.

Well, turns out there's also
an unusual concentration

of poisonous, deadly trees
and venomous scorpions.

We both have something
to look forward to.

Oh, there it is!

Wow, look at this place.

That's not creepy at all.

Oh, my gosh.

What secrets are hidden
out here?

Wow, look at this place.

I think the term "hauntingly
beautiful" was defined by this.

Think you're right.

Wait, wait.

This is the manchineel tree.

The death tree.

- This is the death tree?
- Yes.

Everything about this thing
is toxic.

If you eat that fruit, you die.

If you burn its wood,
the smoke will blind you.

Even if it rains tonight
and water hits those leaves,

then hits your skin,

you get agonizing blisters.
- Great.

And here it is to welcome us
to the island.

- What a welcome.
- Yeah.

Let's stay low.
Don't even step on the fruit.

You don't want that
on your boots.

OK.

I've never been afraid
of a tree before, but here I am.

Along with the natural threats,
there are also

the supposed
"supernatural" ones.

Soucouyants, douen,
and especially jumbees,

restless spirits rumored
to hitch rides on passing boats.

Set it up maybe
from the window in here?

- Yeah, right here.
- Perfect.

We set up an IR camera pointed
at the jetty, ready to catch

any strange activity--

boat-rocking
jumbee spirits included.

It should pick up
any movement.

OK, and if that movement
coincides with any activity

we get, we know we're gonna
be on to something.

Great.

Then we set out
for the dormitory,

where the Coast Guard men
reported feeling choked

while they slept.

- Look! Bunk bed frames.
- Yeah.

This has got to be the convent

that was used as a dormitory
when the Coast Guard was here.

Let's get in there
and see what we can find.

OK.

Wow, these stairs have
totally collapsed.

Oh, thanks.

Oh, my God.

- I do not like this, Heather.
- I don't either.

Is that another level?

There's stairs.

Very broken stairs.

- Whoa.
- What?

There's something up there.

OK, so far so good.

Whoa!
Shh-shh.

- Is there movement up there?
- Yeah.

- You heard that?
- Yeah.

Isn't that weird that that's
cut out like a human figure?

Yeah, like a small
human figure.

Some would even
say douen-sized.

- Oh, that is weird.
- Yeah.

There's one here, one there.

Every single one
of these rooms.

Good Lord.

I do not like it here.

I'm telling you, there was
something moving up here.

I heard it clear as day.

Shh, shh.

Something just wrestled
down there.

There's definitely
something back there.

What--

When famed British explorer
Sir Walter Raleigh hacked

his way through
Trinidad's jungle in 1595,

his guides warned him of
a frightening, inky black lake

said to be punishment
from the gods.

The guide spoke of an ancient
people who killed and ate

hummingbirds, sacred creatures
believed to carry

the souls of ancestors.

Angered, their deities
opened the earth,

swallowing their village whole
and spitting it out

as a black lake.

Despite the ominous story,
Raleigh forged ahead

and found it.

Known as the La Brea Lake,
it's actually the world's

largest natural deposit
of asphalt.

10 million tons of it.

Higher quality than anything
humans can make.

The asphalt has since spread
across the globe, literally.

It's used on airport runways,
the Lincoln Tunnel,

even in front
of Buckingham Palace.

You could say all roads
lead to Trinidad.

What was that?

- Oh, you know what that is?
- What?

- I think that was a chachalaca.
- A chaca-what?

It's kind of like
a jungle turkey.

They must be roosting
in the trees over here.

Yeah.

What is weird is
I hear it move,

I cannot see it.

- Oh, Phil.
- What?

Look at the ground.

I do not trust
these floorboards.

My witness said
we have to pay attention

to everything on this island.

Whatever that noise is
literally took you

to very dangerous ground.

Seriously.

Yeah.
All right, let me move quick.

- Ready?
- Yeah.

That is my weakness.

When I'm in the jungle
and I hear something,

I got to figure out what it is.

I know, but we can't trust
anything out here.

Even the animals could be
another way for these folklore

creatures to manifest.

What, you think it's trying
to get me?

Look at where it led you.

Yeah, I shouldn't have
walked over there.

No.

Look, I don't trust whatever
it is that's out there.

Let's go back downstairs.

OK, yeah, I think
you're right.

Oh, look at that, Coast Guard,
gotta be in the right place.

Yeah, and look
at the bunk beds.

This would have been
the dormitory.

They would have been
sleeping at night.

Probably the beds lined up
against the wall.

And right here in the middle,

is where my witness said
he found them

sitting back to back,
guns in hand.

I mean, can you imagine that?
These are trained soldiers.

Yeah, I can't imagine
being so terrified

that you're back to back.

- Something must
have gotten to them.
- Yeah.

But I'm still not convinced
that there is an entity.

I think it was fear built

on this crazy environment
out here.

They would be sleeping
on the bunks, and they would

wake up feeling choked.

So, I'd be happy
to tempt fate.

What if I lay down?

- Yeah.
- Try to go to sleep?

Let me just get
an audio recorder.

But I got my UV light.

Before I lay down in this place,

I'm checking for scorpions.

Because there are a lot of them
here, and I do not want

to lay down on one.

This is Heather.

Phil has offered
to use himself as bait.

By all means, if anyone's here,

turn Phil into a believer.

OK.

You lay down, and I'm gonna
take some pictures.

See if something's
staring over you.

Try to put yourself
in a relaxed state.

Even if you don't go to sleep,

any images that pop up
in your head,

any thoughts that seem
relevant to this space,

those can all be clues
to what was actually here.

There's a spirit in here,

a douen,

a jumbee,

a soucouyant.

Make a noise...

...show up in these pictures...

send Phil an image.

It's...

It's random, but I keep
getting this image of a square

hole in the wall.
- A wall?

Yeah, a wall, a hole.

I don't know why that keeps
popping in my head.

I'm hearing footsteps.
Can you hear that?

I'm hearing footsteps.

- I don't know.
- I'm not moving.

Crew's not moving.

I've got to say, it doesn't
sound like an animal scurrying.

It definitely sounds
like footsteps.

That-- that was not an animal.

Is there anyone here with us?

That was under the house.
That was underneath me.

- You felt that?
- Yes!

What the hell was that?

Shh, listen, listen.

There's something moving
right underneath me

in the floorboards.
We gotta get down there.

Where would I have been?

- Right under this.
- Yeah.

- You see anything?
- Nothing yet.

There are literally cracks
in every single piece

of foundation in here.

But I just feel like I have
to see if there's some kind

of explanation
for what I just felt.

OK.

No footprints.

This dust...

leaves marks pretty easily.

I'm not seeing anything fresh.

Jeez.
Look at this foundation.

- See this?
- Yeah.

Oh, my God.
It's literally crumbling.

Yeah.

- Phil?
- What?

Again, a noise
drew you somewhere.

You know where you're at?

How dangerous that is?

What, do you think something's
trying to, what, kill me here?

You are literally underneath
a crumbling building.

I mean, you're not wrong.

- I think you need to get out.
- All right, I'm moving.

You good?
You need some water?

Here.
You OK?

- I can't breathe.
- Oh, my God.

Next time on "Expedition X,"

my team continues
their shocking investigation,

exploring the light
and dark sides

of Trinidad's secretive Obeah.

In seconds?

Reports of a mass
demonic possession

at a high school
in a remote village...

...leads Phil and Heather
to the abandoned home of one

of Obeah's most
infamous figures.

Multiple people have died
on her property?

Yeah.

As they come face to face

with the terrors of Trinidad.

Shh-- whoa!

- What is that?
- Oh, my God!