Original subtitles

"Beyond Belief--

Fact or Fiction," hosted by Jonathan Frakes.

Tonight, your challenge is to separate what

is true from what is false.

Five stories, some real, some fake,

can you judge which are facts and which are fiction?

To find out, you must enter a world

of both truth and deception, a world that is beyond belief.

An interesting lesson in perspective--

take a look at the normal looking man

in the background and the miniature childlike

figure in the foreground.

Is it possible they're really the same size?

It's not only possible, it's an absolute fact.

But sometimes, facts can appear to be

falsehoods, and vice versa.

So will you be able to determine which of our stories are true

and which are false?

We'll tell you which are which at the end of the show.

And remember, it's not an easy challenge.

But then again, that's where we separate the men from the boys.

There are few things as beautiful

as the glow of a candle, the warm glimmer of light.

It's come to symbolize everything

from religion to romance.

The late mother of Caitlin Woods designed this particular piece

of sculpture.

She was a talented woman who passed

on to her daughter an artistic soul

and a house full of problems.

But the candle that lights Caitlin's spirit

refuses to go out.

I was away at college

studying criminology when my father was a victim

of a home invasion robbery.

When he tried to stop the thief, he suffered a massive stroke.

How are you doing, Daddy?

You want some more?

No, it's, uh, it's enough.

OK.

Many months passed, and my father's

speech returned.

But the left side of his body remained paralyzed.

My mom had passed away years earlier,

so I moved back to help with my dad.

It's not right.

You shouldn't be my nurse.

You have a life.

You should be living it.

Daddy, we've been over this again and again.

Would you just stop it?

This is where I supposed to be right now.

My father had no insurance

and no money in the bank.

There was no way he could afford the care he needed.

I was all he had in the world, and I was

determined not to let him down.

My mom was a wonderful artist.

She always made beautiful gifts for me when I was growing up.

Our home was filled with her creations,

especially the beautiful things she did with candles.

There was one that had an inscription on the holder.

"When you need to light your way, remember my love,

and let it sparkle for you that day."

That was my favorite, but it was gone.

The thief had stolen it the night of the robbery.

Caitlin?

I'll be right there, Daddy.

I took my dad out for a walk

almost everyday after lunch.

It made him feel less like a prisoner,

and it took my mind off our financial situation.

Our funds were running low, and I

didn't know how much longer I could take care of my father

without getting a job.

Remember this place, Daddy?

The first time your mom and I took in you in there,

you were two years old.

Look at that.

It hasn't changed one bit.

Best mile-high cake I ever had.

You want some?

Hey!

Are you OK?

Please watch my father.

Caitlin, what are you doing? Caitlin!

CAITLIN WOODS Something

strange came over me, something that made me

throw all caution to the wind.

An invisible power seemed to be forcing me to follow him.

I don't know how the fire started,

but it made the thief run away.

I was too weak to get up.

I thought I would die.

But then the fire went out all by itself.

And then I saw it.

It was the candle that had been stolen from our home the night

my father had the stroke.

Thank god you're all right.

I'm so sorry, Dad.

Don't ever do that again, Caitlin.

Look what I found.

It's the candle your mother made you.

Yeah, the junkie who stole my purse

must have been the same guy who robbed the house.

Ah, Caitlin, I'm so sorry.

I-- - Daddy, it's OK.

I couldn't hold it.

It's OK.

What's this? - I don't know.

Daddy, it's a diamond necklace.

So that's where she put it.

What?

This necklace belonged to your grandmother.

Your mother was going to surprise

you with it on your birthday.

She-- she never did tell me where she hid it.

That sounds just like Mom.

I searched everywhere for this necklace.

I never did find it.

Now I understand what Mom's words meant.

"When you need to light your way, remember my love,

and let it sparkle for you that day."

I had the necklace appraised,

and we were shocked to find out it was worth almost $100,000.

The necklace made it possible to hire qualified help

to look after my father.

He continued to recover, and with his therapy,

he's now almost back to normal.

And I was able to go back to school

and finish my law enforcement degree.

My mother's candle did light the way.

What's at play here?

It's, of course, possible that the same person

who robbed Caitlin's father also stole the candle.

But who lit the candle during the struggle?

And why did the fire that saved Caitlin's life

go out so quickly?

Was it a sudden gust of wind or the spirit

of Caitlin's mother watching over her?

Does this story seem to be the result of calm, reasoned,

factual research, or is it the product of devious writers

who are burning the candle at both ends?

We'll find out if this story is true or false

at the end of our show.

Next, a detective encounters the strangest witness of his life

on "Beyond Belief--

Fact or Fiction."

Nature has provided

flowers with many attributes, their beautiful appearance,

their fragrant smell, their delicate feel, and nothing

adds to our sense of well-being more than a perfectly

placed flower arrangement.

Detective Russ Parker is not a man who fusses over petunias.

He's a hardened veteran of the force

whose only use for a flower is to hide a wiretap inside.

But he's just been called to investigate

a death at a flower shop, and there's a familiar fragrance

in the air--

the scent of murder.

RUSS PARKER I had been

working the murder beat in Tacoma for the past 15 years.

Step back, folks. Watch the tape.

RUSS PARKER I thought

I'd seen just about everything.

But the homicide at Saito's Garden Works

turned out to be the strangest one yet.

What do we got?

Male, Asian, about 60 years old, he owns the shop.

And we got no witnesses.

My partner, Dean Santoni,

came over to Homicide after only a couple of years

with the department.

He had a college degree, something I didn't have.

He also had wild ideas, but I liked him.

Oh, man, I just remembered.

What's that?

Well, I've got to get my wife some flowers.

It's our anniversary tomorrow.

Huh, congratulations.

There he is.

His nephew found him like this this morning

when he came in for work.

Any calling cards here, Bernie?

Hm, the hose is clean.

In fact, the whole scene is clean.

Yeah, the killer was probably wearing gloves.

No kidding.

You learn that in college?

The guy put up quite a struggle.

Whoever did it finally finished him with a garden

hose, crushed his windpipe.

The cash register was open, and all the money was gone.

So we got a robbery that got out of hand.

I'm not surprised.

This whole neighborhood has gone down hill.

A lot of transients, it's a shame.

It used to be a decent place to live, but not anymore.

Who did you say found him?

Ah, his nephew.

Yeah, he's-- he's pretty shook up.

It's so horrible.

I loved my uncle.

He was like a second father to me.

He took me in, and he taught me the business.

Did he have any enemies?

Everyone loved him.

Everybody except the killer.

Listen, if you can think of anything that might help,

give us a call.

Thanks.

We're, uh, we're sorry for your loss.

I'm done here.

You can take him whenever you're ready.

No suspects, no witnesses, no prints.

All right, let's round up some of the transients.

We'll see if any of them have upped their standard of living.

I have a better idea.

Why don't we put together a lineup?

A lineup?

How do we have a lineup if we don't have any witnesses?

The plants were here.

The plants?

Yeah.

When I was in college, I took a biology class with a professor

named Comstock.

Now, he was-- well, he was a little out there.

But he had this theory that plants have the same emotions

and reactions that we do.

Where are you going with this?

I know it sounds crazy.

But Comstock hooked up a plant to a polygraph machine

and exposed it to all kinds of different violent acts

like boiling a lobster alive. The needles went nuts.

I saw it myself.

The plant felt the lobsters pain.

You're kidding me, right?

You're telling me these plants know we're

talking about them right now?

All I know is what I saw.

And the experiments worked.

Look, we got nothing to lose, Russ.

With no witnesses at all,

I agreed to the crazy plan.

Besides, sometimes you do something,

anything, and the guilty start betraying themselves.

I made him do it after hours, though.

I didn't dare use any of the regular polygraph guys.

They would have laughed me right out of the station house.

So Santoni got his old professor to come

in and set the whole thing up.

As we got closer to actually doing this crazy thing,

I started getting an ache in my gut.

I didn't like feeling stupid.

Are you ready, Professor?

You can call in your first suspect.

I can't believe we're doing this.

First man, step up.

State your name.

My rights are being violated, and I want to see a lawyer.

Shut up and say your name.

It's Ray Deets, and I didn't do nothing.

Have him approach the plant.

Walk up to the table and give us two profiles.

All right, get back in line.

Next man, same routine.

It was no surprise to me

that the professor's theory was coming up empty.

As I figured, there was no unusual movement

on the polygraph machine.

OK, that's good.

That was the last one.

You sure your machine is hooked up properly, Doc?

Yeah, it's hooked up right.

Well, maybe one of your leaves was

having a hard time remembering.

Hey, what's going on?

I saw the lights.

Um, nothing, just a little experiment.

Russ.

So, um, you guys get any leads yet on who murdered my uncle?

Yeah, actually, we did.

A real good one, see, a witness just turned up.

Really?

Mhm.

Well, I-- yeah, I didn't know there were any witnesses.

Yeah, there was a witness.

And he just identified you as the killer.

That-- That's crazy.

Why did you do it, Steve?

Whoa.

Where are you going, Steve?

I-- I didn't kill my uncle.

See, I think you did.

After two hours of questioning,

Steve Saito finally broke down and confessed

to the murder of his uncle.

His motive, an inheritance he didn't want to wait for.

After he confessed, he asked me who the witness was.

I told him I was sure he knew.

In fact, he probably even watered him a few times.

Could this story be true?

Could a plant really identify a murderer?

Actual studies have shown that plants and flowers

respond to outside stimuli.

They even grow faster when they're

talked to, treated with love.

Does this story of the flower jury

carry the bouquet of truth, or is

it just another blooming lie?

We'll find out if this story is true or false

at the end of our show.

Next, an escape artist is trapped in an icy tomb

on "Beyond Belief--

Fact or Fiction."

Nobody has ever captured the imagination

of the American public like Harry Houdini.

Even with the modern spectacular heirs to the throne,

many still consider Houdini the greatest

escape artist of all time.

Of course, in his own day, Houdini had his imitators

and competitors, but the only ones who came close

were Leonard and Phillip Kirby.

As we join their story, they're so sure of themselves,

they claim they can escape from anything, including their fate.

JONATHAN FRAKES The first time

Frederick Rain saw the Kirby Brothers

perform, he knew they had something

only the great ones possess.

The fact was Frederick had always dreamed of discovering

an act that could achieve the same greatness

as his idol, master of escape, Harry Houdini.

But he never expected it to be two Houdinis.

Frederick took the Kirby Brothers under his wing,

becoming both their mentor and manager.

Unfortunately, he was only able to get the brothers

sporadic bookings.

All the public wanted was to see Houdini, who in 1925, was

at the pinnacle of his success.

In spite of all that, word was getting out that the Kirby

Brothers could escape from anything,

and no one could figure out the secrets

of their death-defying stunts.

Where's my brother?

Right here, Leonard.

While the brothers'

abilities were truly amazing, there was

a dark room surrounding them.

It was said that they had a curse

on their heads put there by a gypsy

from a little known town in East Europe.

As punishment for stealing the gypsy's secrets

one of the brothers would die while performing an escape.

Houdini this, Houdini that, I'm

so sick of the great Houdini.

Calm down, Leonard.

I won't calm down.

But he's holding us back.

He's a great artist, Leonard.

He's earned his acclaim.

What are you saying, that we're not as good?

Of course not.

Would I be here if I believed that?

Buried alive, I mean, we can do this trick.

We could do it faster and better.

Leonard, what's the point?

If we just keep duplicating Houdini's tricks,

we'll never get out of his shadow.

Phillip's right.

We have to come up with something

different, something more dazzling

than being buried alive.

Then that's what we'll do.

We'll show everyone, including Harry

Houdini, that we're the greatest escape artists in the world.

It took the Kirby Brothers

less than a week to come up with a trick that would

surpass Houdini's buried alive.

Philip was to be entombed in a coffin of ice for 24 hours.

Leonard, I thought I was fine with this,

but now that I see the ice, I don't know.

Frederick, it's all been worked through.

It just seems so dangerous.

That's the point, Frederick.

It has to seem dangerous or it won't entertain the audience.

Well-- well, what if something goes wrong?

It won't.

Look, I'll be standing vigil for the entire 24 hours.

If I see even the slightest problem,

I'll release Phillip immediately.

I don't know.

It's that ridiculous curse, isn't it, that one of us

will die during an escape?

I'm just--

You don't believe in that, do you?

I'm just worried about you boys.

I won't die in there, Frederick.

I promise you.

Ladies and gentlemen, you are witnessing something that has

never been attempted before.

Not even the great Houdini himself could have imagined it.

Welcome--

to Frozen Alive.

My brother will remain entombed inside this frozen casket

for the next 24 hours.

Go about your business, but I guarantee that every time you

return, my brother will still be inside this coffin

of ice, frozen alive.

The first few hours passed quickly,

and Phillip seemed to be doing fine.

There was no evidence of the curse.

With only two hours left, the Kirby brothers

were about to make history.

And then something went terribly wrong.

Help me.

Help me.

Are you all right?

Help me.

What is it?

Help me.

We have to get him out.

What's wrong?

It's the curse.

He's going to die in there. - What?

What did he say?

Is he going to die?

Is he all right?

How did we do?

22 hours.

Are you all right?

I'll be fine.

You see, Frederick, I didn't die.

There's no curse.

Leonard!

To Phillip's shock,

his brother Leonard was dead.

An autopsy was performed, but no absolute cause of death

was found.

Some suspected it was his heart, but Leonard Kirby

was in perfect health and only 23 years old.

After Leonard Kirby's death, his brother Phillip retired.

Houdini himself died a year later from a burst appendix.

But were the Kirby Brothers really cursed,

or was the threat of the curse enough

to make Leonard's heart stop from fear,

causing a tragic self-fulfilling prophecy?

Do you believe this story really happened,

or is it just an escape from reality?

We'll find out if this story is true or false

at the end of our show.

Next, an ex-con's life is changed by an old

bicycle on "Beyond Belief--

Fact or Fiction."

Bicycles, like everything else,

they don't make them the way they used to.

This one, made years ago, was built to last.

A new seat, some fresh paint, a few new parts,

it will be ready again--

maybe not for the Tour de France,

but certainly for a local paper route.

Nick and Kenny Morgan are about to come across this bike,

and they're going to make some changes to it.

But what they're really about to change is their future.

NICK MORGAN I had just

picked up my younger brother Kenny

at the county prison farm.

He needed some clothes, so we stopped at a thrift shop

on the way home.

Kenny had just done six months for a drunken brawl in a bar.

But really, he wasn't a bad kid.

He started getting into trouble after our parents died in a car

accident 10 years earlier.

It was real hard on both of us, but Kenny had a temper.

We had no other families, so we just bounced around from one

foster home to another.

Hey, what do you think?

It's you.

I'll take it.

Kenny drove me crazy,

but he reminded me of our dad.

And I was glad he was out of jail,

but the bad news was I just lost my job,

and I was going through my savings real fast.

Hey, Nick.

Uh, just a sec.

Come here.

Look at this.

What did you find?

What is this thing?

It's a classic.

It's got to be at least 50 years old,

and they will want 5 bucks for it.

It's because it's falling apart.

Look at all the rust.

Yeah, it's a piece of junk.

OK, so it needs a little work.

We can-- we can fix it up. It'll be a blast.

We can do it together.

I don't know.

Come on, Nick.

It's only 5 bucks.

I'll pay you back.

I liked seeing Kenny give a damn

about something, and there was something about that old bike

that was important to him.

And he was right, you know?

It was fun working on it together.

It was like we were kids again.

For a while, everything was OK.

We were going out every day looking for work.

It was pretty discouraging, but I knew I'd get something.

Kenny was another story.

Whoa, just take it easy.

I'm never going to get a job, Nick.

No one's going to hire me.

Well, give it a chance.

It's only been a week.

I've been in jail, Nick.

Nobody wants me.

Stop feeling so sorry for yourself.

Hey, don't tell me how to feel, OK?

Fine.

I won't tell you anything.

Yeah, that's right.

NICK MORGAN That night,

Kenny started drinking again.

And with Kenny, one beer was one too many.

Kenny, I--

You can't drink here.

It's just I know--

I know what you're like when you start drinking.

Ah, would you just leave me alone, man?

You're not my dad.

Do you want to go to jail again?

Is that what you want?

You know, it ain't going to be six months this time.

It's going to be a lot more.

Who cares?

I'll get out of here.

No, no.

Get off my back.

Where are you going to go, huh?

Get out of my way.

You're not leaving like this.

Sorry, man.

Yeah, me too.

I thought it was broken.

It was.

That was weird.

There's something inside the handlebar.

I-- I don't believe this.

It says, "property of Johnny Morgan."

Dad.

Well, that can't be.

It's got to be another Johnny Morgan.

It says, "if found, please return to 1267 Maple

Drive in Hackensack, New Jersey."

That's where Dad was born, Hackensack, New Jersey.

This was Dad's bike.

We knew it was a long shot,

but Kenny and I called New Jersey information

and gave them the name Morgan and the address on the note.

And we got the surprise of our lives

when the person who answered the phone

said he was our father's brother, Glenn.

And we never even knew we had an uncle,

and our father never mentioned him.

And well, Glenn didn't know about us either.

Hi, you must be, uh, Nick.

- Nick, right. - Hi.

I'm Kenny.

Kenny, hi, pleased to meet you.

It's your dad's bike all right.

Our mom took this when John first got it.

He was just 16 years old.

Wow.

Look at Dad.

I can't believe you found this thing way out here.

It was stolen in Hackensack 40 years ago.

How come he never, uh--

well, he really never told us about you?

Pretty stupid, really.

Your dad and I started this construction company when

we were both in our early 20s.

Then we had this bad falling out, and he moved away.

And we just lost touch.

I never even knew he died.

Or that he was ever married.

You never tried to find each other?

Ha, we were both real stubborn,

and the years just passed.

Look, I'd like to, um--

I still have the company that your dad and I started.

Not the biggest in the world, but I

really could use some help.

You want us to work for you?

No, with me.

What do you think?

That'd be great.

Looks like I got a job, Nick.

Kenny and I moved to Hackensack

and joined Uncle Glenn in the family business.

And we didn't take a whole lot with us,

but we made sure we took our dad's old bike.

A bike that had been lost for 40 years

is suddenly found by the owner's son thousands of miles away.

Just a coincidence?

If so, how do you explain the bike's

broken horn starting to beep just

as the brothers began to fight--

another coincidence?

Was the father's spirit residing somewhere

in this old Schwinn bike?

Is this story coasting in on the truth?

Are we trying to peddle a lie?

We'll find out if this story is true or false

at the end of our show.

Next, a teacher attempts to lift a curse off his star pupil

on "Beyond Belief--

Fact or Fiction."

Who can explain the mystery of music?

How can a genius like Beethoven create

masterpieces though deaf?

And how could Mozart create full classical compositions

at the age of five?

What about today's child prodigies, children who

can sit down at the piano for the first time

and play perfectly?

Nathaniel Borne is a musical genius.

Since he was a child, he could captivate audiences

with his musical gift.

But can the gift be taken back?

Nathaniel Borne is starting to think so,

and the thought is striking a desperate chord.

I was one of the most successful

concert pianists in the world.

Everyone knew the name Nathaniel Borne.

I made my debut when I was only 11 at Carnegie Hall

was the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein.

I played Chopin's "Piano Concerto No.

1" in E minor.

It brought tears to Bernstein's eyes.

The next 22 years of my life were like a dream.

I sold millions of records and played

in all the great concert halls.

And then, something terrible happened.

While playing my signature Chopin "Concerto,"

I became frozen.

It was an artist's greatest nightmare.

Somehow I had developed a creative block

and could not play.

You shouldn't be sitting outside in the rain

like this, Nathaniel.

You'll get sick.

It doesn't matter.

Don't be like that.

Let's go inside where it's warm.

I built a fire.

NATHANIEL BORNE I tried

psychiatrists, hypnotists, everything I could think of.

Nothing worked.

Then my wife, Helena, brought us back to Boston where I grew up.

She hoped this might touch things that would unblock me,

but it just got worse.

Gregory canceled two more months of concert dates.

I'm not scheduled to play again for the rest of the year.

I might as well tell them to cancel next year too.

Why don't you call Martin Cheller?

Martin Cheller, why?

He was your first teacher, and you

always spoke so fondly of him.

Perhaps he could help.

Martin, hmph, Martin was quite a character.

I haven't seen him in years.

I think the last time was at, uh, Lincoln Center.

Yes, I remember.

He wore a red bow tie with a tuxedo.

Yes.

You know, Martin first started teaching

me when I was five years old.

Martin always came exactly at five o'clock on Saturday.

He'd bring a piece of chocolate, and he'd

tell me, as soon as the lesson is over,

you may have the chocolate.

I honestly believe I used to play

better just knowing that piece of chocolate

was waiting for me.

He must have been a wonderful teacher.

He was.

I took Helena's advice

and called Martin Cheller.

I set our visit for five o'clock on Saturday.

I suddenly wanted very much to see him again.

Nathaniel.

Martin.

Do come in.

Right on time.

Of course, a punctual man is a respectful man.

Martin.

Ah.

It's good to see you.

How have you been?

I could complain, but what would be the point?

People hate complainers.

You haven't changed a bit.

Ah, let's get to work.

Oh, this piano is a far cry from the upright

I used to teach you on.

As soon as our lesson is finished,

you may have this chocolate.

I, uh, told you about my problem.

Sit.

Do you remember how we used to play together?

I do.

Play.

NATHANIEL BORNE Even though it

was just simple scales, something inside

me was making it impossible.

I'm sorry, Martin.

I can't.

Nonsense.

The chocolate is waiting for you.

Give me your hands.

There was an energy

coming from Martin's hands that I

felt throughout my entire body.

Now.

NATHANIEL BORNE I felt

like his hands were still there guiding me,

but I was on my own.

Yes.

NATHANIEL BORNE It was

impossible to measure the sense of gratitude

I was feeling for Martin.

What happened next was totally unexpected.

Hello.

Hello, Mr. Borne?

Yes.

We've never met.

I'm Martin Cheller's son, Stefan.

Ah, you just missed your father.

He left moments ago.

That's impossible.

I came over to tell you why you missed

his appointment with you.

My father passed away in his sleep last night.

What?

From that day forward, Nathaniel Borne

resumed his stature as one of the world's great pianists.

But was it really the spirit of Martin Cheller that visited

Nathaniel that day, or did the entire incident

exist only in Nathaniel's mind?

But then, how do you explain the chocolate?

Wasn't that proof of Martin Cheller's visit?

Does this story play out as a composition

of harmonious truth, or have we hit a false note?

Next, you'll find out which of our stories are fact

and which are fiction when "Beyond Belief" returns.

Now let's look back at tonight's stories

and find out which ones are inspired by actual events

and which ones are totally false.

What about the woman whose family and very life

were saved by a special candle?

I was too weak to get up.

I thought I would die.

But then the fire went out all by itself.

If you thought this story was based on a real life

occurrence, you're right.

A similar story happened to a woman in the east

in the early '80s.

How about the flower that caught a murderer?

Hey, what's, uh, going on?

I saw the lights.

Um, nothing, just a little experiment.

Russ.

Russ.

So, um, did you guys get any leads

yet on who murdered my uncle?

This one has to be false, right?

Wrong.

Our research shows a similar incident happened in the New

York area in the late '70s.

What about the escape artists who couldn't

escape their terrible curse?

I'll be standing vigil for the entire 24 hours.

If I see even the slightest problem,

I'll release Phillip immediately.

I don't know.

It's that ridiculous curse, isn't it, that one of us

will die during an escape?

You don't believe in that, do you?

I'm just worried about you boys.

I won't die in there, Frederick.

I promise you.

If you thought this one was phony, you're right.

It never happened.

How about the old bike that brought good fortune

to a family torn apart for years?

That was weird.

There's something inside the handlebar.

I-- I don't believe this.

It says, "property of Johnny Morgan."

Dad.

Have you heard a story like this before?

You may have.

A similar event happened in New England in the '90s.

Let's have one more look at the story of the music teacher

who returned from beyond to inspire his prized pupil.

Give me your hands.

There was an energy

coming from Martin's hands that I

felt throughout my entire body.

Now.

NATHANIEL BORNE I felt

like his hands were still there guiding me,

but I was on my own.

Did a similar story to this one take place?

Perhaps, but this one has been made up.

Truth and fiction, they often seem to be

two sides of the same coin.

And when that coin is spun, is the result fate, luck,

or a combination of the two?

Is it possible to determine the fake from the real,

or are we dealing in a realm that is truly beyond belief?

I'm Jonathan Frakes.

The true stories on tonight's show

were based upon firsthand research

by author Robert Tralins.

This is Campbell Lane.