All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S07E04.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BTW_track3_[eng]

ANNOUNCER: This program is
about unsolved mysteries.

Whenever possible, the
actual family members

and police officials
have participated

in recreating the events.

What you are about to see
is not a news broadcast.

NARRATOR: Tonight, a special
unsolved mysteries report,

Mysteries of the Afterlife.

It is perhaps a fundamental
question of the ages,

the ultimate mystery.

What happens when we die?

Physical death does not exist.

The body dies, but there is
a new body waiting for you

and you simply step into
that and there you are.

I know what it's like to die.

I know what it was like
to see the other side,

and I know what it's
like to come back.

NARRATOR: In recent years,
thousands of credible people

have come forward with
remarkable accounts

of a transcendent journey
to the brink of death,

until they have
returned, transformed

by what they believed
was a glimpse

into a life after this life.

The explosion of interest in
such near-death experiences

has generated a lively
and controversial debate.

Many people are now convinced
traditional views of heaven

and hell may soon give
way to a new concept

of what lies beyond the grave.

In the next hour, three
dramatic stories about life,

death, and the hereafter.

In 1975, Dannion Brinkley was
struck down by a powerful bolt

of lightning.

His miraculous near-death
experience very literally

changed his life.

When Karen Walker
died of cancer at 21,

her grief stricken parents
embarked on a spiritual journey

that they say enabled
them to communicate

with Karen's spirit.

To all appearances,
Heidi Wyrick seems

like any other 8-year-old,
but Heidi has consistently

described strange visions of
people no one else can see,

real people who passed away
long before Heidi was even born.

Is it simply her
imagination, or does

Heidi have a special
gift that enables

her to move among the dead?

Join us for this special
report as we explore

the mysteries of the afterlife.

You're about to meet a psychic
named Dannion Brinkley.

He is perhaps best known for
his book "Saved by the Light,"

a dramatic account of his
brush with the afterlife.

Dannion's is a remarkable
story, made more remarkable

by the manner in
which he apparently

acquired his psychic powers.

[thunder]

It was on a blustery
night some 20 years ago,

September 17, 1975.

Severe thunderstorms were
sweeping through the Southeast.

(ON TV): --37 miles per hour.

NARRATOR: Dannion, then
25, I was at home in Aiken,

South Carolina with
his wife Sandy.

I'm going to check on dinner.

All right.

Hey Tommy.

NARRATOR: Dannion was on the
phone with his best friend

Tom when the storm
passed directly overhead.

[thunder]

--lightning flashing.

[sizzle]

NARRATOR: At least 180,000
volts of electricity

shot through Dannion's body.

A jolt so powerful it left
his shoes welded to the floor.

Oh my god!

Dannion!

I couldn't move.
I couldn't scream.

I couldn't talk.

I didn't know what had happened.

I was on fire and burning.

And then all of a sudden,
I'm out of my body.

I saw Sandy checking me
to see if I was breathing

and start to work on me
and pushing on my chest

and clearing my airway.

Tommy heard the explosion
and he was on his way over.

He got there, he was a
corpsman in the Navy.

He wrapped me.

He went to work on me.

He's trying to get
my heart started.

He's pushing, he's
breathing in my mouth.

He's talking to me.

Come on!

I look over his
shoulder, and in my mind,

the first thing I thought is
I always thought I was a much

better looking guy than that.

But I never got a chance
to think any more about it.

NARRATOR: For all
intents and purposes,

Dannion Brinkley
was clinically dead.

He claims that he
then embarked on what

has come to be recognized as a
classic near-death experience.

[thunder]

I start down
this tunnel, I see

what appears to be
a form coming out

of this beautiful misty blue.

Then all of a sudden, I saw
a panoramic life of view.

I not only felt
everything I had ever done

and saw everything
I'd ever done,

I became every person that
I had ever encountered.

NARRATOR: In his
youth, Dannion was,

by his own admission,
self-centered and mean,

nothing short of a bully.

The pattern continued during a
tour of duty in Southeast Asia.

Dannion says he was now forced
to confront those he had

victimized through the years.

I felt the pain and anguish
and anger and frustration

that I had caused these people.

And people don't
realize that you judge

yourself when this happens.

You just judge yourself.

And that's what I did.

NARRATOR: Dannion was
rushed to the hospital.

In the emergency
room, his breathing

faltered then stopped.

Minutes later, Dannion's
best friend Tom Hall was

told that he was dead.

And I just had a hard
time dealing with this.

So they wheeled
Danny into this--

a little dark room.

I have no idea what made
me go back in there.

I just had to see for myself.

And I just felt like
that he wasn't gone.

And I saw the sheet moving.

I all of a sudden went from
a spiritual place in world

back into this place
where I'm in a hospital.

I'm under the sheet and
I'm looking up at it.

I can't move.

I can't talk.

I'm on fire again.

Doctor.

Nurse!
Doctor!

Nurse!

He-- he-- he's breathing!

NARRATOR: Miraculously,
Dannion Brinkley

returned to life nearly
28 minutes after he

says he had been declared dead.

Dr. William said he's
in pretty bad shape.

The way it looks that the
lightning went down his back.

And I think he just
shattered his nerve system.

The doctors never did say
he'll die, or he'll live.

He never did.

He just said, well,
take it one minute

at a time or one hour at a
time, or one day at a time.

NARRATOR: After a week in the
hospital Dannion was released.

He was hardly able
to walk or talk.

His eyes were so light
sensitive that he

had to wear dark welder's
glasses at all times.

I was partially
paralyzed for seven months.

And it took two years to
learn to walk and feed myself.

And I had a lot of time to
lie my back hurting so bad,

falling down and blacking
out and breaking my nose,

and not knowing where I was.

But the visions and the things
that had happened in this, now

what we call the
near-death experience,

have stayed with me longer and
more coherently than virtually

anything that ever happened.

NARRATOR: Dannion remembered
being led into what looked

like a magnificent glowing
cathedral, which he recognized

as a place of learning.

Before him were 13 figures,
which he calls beings.

Dannion says the
beings approached

him one at a time, each
thrusting a box towards him.

Inside of each box were
tiny images of an event

yet to happen.

Dannion claims that
all together he

witnessed 117 future
occurrences, including

the election of Ronald Reagan,
the collapse of the Soviet

Union, and the Gulf War in 1991.

Dannion later shared his visions
with several of his friends,

who are now willing to verify
that Dannion did indeed predict

events before they happened.

Dannion first made his--
start making his predictions

as he was convalescing.

He was talking about Warren
Wood, which became Chernobyl.

He was talking about the
food lines in Russia,

about them starving.

And there was just a lot of
predictions that you know,

that I didn't pay that much
attention to them at the time.

He always talked
about the Gulf

War, and the collapse
of communism,

and things like that.

But at the time, you didn't
think that much about it.

But then when it came
about is when you

really start thinking about it.

What's the matter
with you today?

I just got a lot
on my mind Tommy.

NARRATOR: Dannion know believes
that his near-death experience

marked the birth of
his psychic abilities.

But in the months just
after the accident,

he admits he was simply
a dazed and bewildered

young man who had undergone
a dramatic transformation.

--about crazy, you
being dead and all.

That's just it Tommy.

I wasn't dead.

I was really confused.

I'd never heard of a
near-death experience,

and I literally was driving
people nuts because I wanted

somebody to tell me
either it didn't happen,

which I knew it did, and--

or please explain it.

I've been astounded
at the number of people

I've met who have had
such an experience.

NARRATOR: Almost a year after
the accident to the spring

of 1976, Dannion attended a
lecture given by Doctor Raymond

Moody, one of the country's
earliest authorities

on near-death experiences.

--are very notions of death.

DANNION BRINKLEY: That
day changed my life

forever because that's when I
knew I wasn't completely crazy.

--or perhaps someone here
has had a similar experience.

Dr. Moody, I've heard
one of them experiences.

He gave me a way for
someone who was kind

and understanding
to explain to me

what might have happened to me.

When I heard his
account, it seemed

very consistent with what I had
heard from many other people.

I saw this light and I
started going towards it.

RAYMOND MOODY: It's something
that happens to quite a number

of patients who get resuscitated
following cardiac arrest,

and therefore for
that reason, doctors

need to know about this so that
they can reassure the patient

that they're not
alone, that in fact,

that this occurs
fairly frequently.

--these beams were
like full of life.

NARRATOR: Dr. Moody is also
able to verify at least one

of Dannion's predictions.

--and-- and things
about the future.

Things that were going to
happen to our country--

In April of 1976, he
told me that in 1990 there

was going to be a breakdown
of the Soviet Union,

and that there would be
food disturbances and riots

in connection with it.

In the 19 years since his
near-death experience,

Dannion has honed his
psychic abilities.

Recently, those
abilities were put

to the test when Dannion
was asked to consult

on a brutal murder case.

On August 12, 1993, John
and Nancy Bosco of Big Fork,

Montana had been shot to death,
execution style as they slept.

The police investigation
turned up absolutely no leads.

Two months later, John's mother
Toni met with Dannion Brinkley.

He immediately began
to describe a suspect.

This is a kid.

This is a slight build
kid with black hair.

This is someone who knows John.

He knew the layout
of this house.

He's away at college.

In the very early
part of December,

this little kid will be
caught and he's in a college

somewhere out west.

I have to say that
I just shook my head

and I thought to myself, I
made a mistake in coming down.

Dannion doesn't-- this isn't
going to get me anywhere.

I couldn't begin to make sense
out of what he was saying.

NARRATOR: But amazingly.

Dannion Brinkley was
correct on all counts.

Just as he predicted, a suspect,
18-year-old Shadow Clark

was arrested in December
and later convicted.

Incredibly, Clark had
lived in the murder house,

did know the Boscos, and he was
attending college in the west.

Dannion had apparently
solved the case

through the power of his mind.

This is new to me,
and sometimes it's

troublesome because I
pick up things that I

don't want to know about.

And if someone's intense
around me I'm perceiving it.

But-- and I try to--

I'm still trying to figure
out ways to turn it off, OK?

And at the same time,
ways to perfect it.

Enjoy the experiments.

I want you to only
respond with--

NARRATOR: In an attempt
to verify Dannion's

purported powers,
noted parapsychologist

Dr. William Roll observed
Dannion in a series of tests.

OK, Dannion.

You mind if I just
see your hand?

OK.

NARRATOR: Dannion gave
readings for eight

people he had never met before.

In several instances,
he picked out

details about the lives
of these individuals.

There were facts that
he could not have known.

It was like you
knew when to pull out.

And that's recognized
by your family.

WILLIAM ROLL: From the brief
experiments we did this time,

I would say he is one of
the more remarkable psychics

that I have worked
with for sure,

and perhaps in the country.

Hey lady, how are you doing?

[kiss]

We're fine today.

Looking pretty today.

Hi young lady.

NARRATOR: Today,
Dannion Brinkley

devotes much of his
time to volunteering

at hospices and nursing
homes throughout the country.

Jim, how are things going?

NARRATOR: Dannion believes that
his own profound experience

has left him uniquely
qualified to counsel others.

Hi, Ellen.

How are you do?

Hi.

[kiss] Good to see you again.

DANNION BRINKLEY: They say
you never can know what it's

like until you've been there.

I know what it's
like to be afraid.

I know what it's
like to face death.

I know what happens when the
doctors and the religious world

loses its credibility to
you at certain stages.

Hi Kerry.

[inaudible].

How you feel?

Doing fine.

You have the flowers looking
really great this morning.

Thank you so much.

NARRATOR: Perhaps the
most remarkable aspect

of Dannion's story
is his transformation

from a self-centered
bully of his youth

to The Good Samaritan of today.

DANNION BRINKLEY: I have found a
way to receive love from people

in hospices in nursing homes.

And I don't know if that's
balance in the books,

but I don't care whether that is
or not, for I've dealt with it.

And have dealt with
all that I've been

and all that's happened to me.

And I dealt with it and
then I went to work.

NARRATOR: If Dannion Brinkley's
was an isolated case,

it might be easy to explain
away or perhaps even dismiss.

But incredibly, some
researchers estimate

that more than 8
million Americans have

had a near-death experience.

But few claim to
become psychics.

Many of them describe
a journey fantastically

similar to Dannion Brinkley's.

TOM SAWYER: As I went
unconscious, all I saw

was darkness.

That darkness gradually
took the shape of a tunnel.

And way off, absolutely
positively to infinity,

appeared this little
speck of white light.

This was the most
beautiful thing that I'd

ever experienced in my life.

It was just extraordinary.

I then experienced a
complete total life review.

I was then given a choice
to return to normal life

or stay and become
part of this light.

Prior to this experience,
what I had figured out

was that when you die, you die.

The show is over.

Everything goes
black and that's it.

I had thought about such
things as religion and so on.

And I thought that it was
just a bunch of foolishness.

KRISTLE MERZLOCK: I didn't
really know where I was.

It's just that I looked up
and I saw this bright light

at the end of the tunnel.

And there were colored bricks
on the walls of a tunnel.

And then I saw this lady.
She took my hand.

She said I'm Elizabeth
and I will help you.

She just led me into the
light and through the light

and into heaven.

I just felt that this was
the place I wanted to be.

I was still alive there
was still a part of me,

like my soul my spirit
was still alive.

I wasn't dead at all.

NARRATOR: The
near-death experience

is not a recent phenomenon.

Reports of people coming
back from the dead date

to the Middle Ages.

However, over the
last two decades,

advances in modern medicine
have made dramatic resuscitation

much more frequent.

RAYMOND MOODY: There's
no question in my mind

that near-death experiences
are real to the people

to whom they happen.

That is then it's
interpreted as a real event.

It makes enormous change
in their life and so on.

And so it's in that sense,
it's a part of their reality.

But for the rest
of us who haven't

had that kind of experience,
we just can't know.

We can't know based on what
someone else says or reports.

NARRATOR: Is the
near-death experience truly

a peek into the afterlife?

Or is it the physical
manifestation of a human body

breaking down as it dies?

Dr. Susan Blackmore,
a psychologist,

believes all the
major components

of the near-death
experience can be explained.

There are two main things that
we need to understand that are

happening in the brain either
when it comes close to death,

or it's under severe stress.

One of these is the lack
of oxygen. The tunnel is

a good example of
something I think

we can explain in terms of
what's happening in the brain.

In the visual cortex, where
all visual information

is processed, we know that
the way the cells are laid out

is so that there are
lots and lots of cells

towards the middle of what
you're looking at, fading out

towards lots of the outside.

Now when you come close to
death or under severe stress,

what happens is that all these
cells start randomly firing.

Well, what's that
going to look like?

It's going to look like a
bright light in the middle,

fading off towards
dark on the outside.

Then you'll find
that lack of oxygen

will produce visions,
hallucinations, flashbacks

to one's past life, and even
feelings of floating, flying,

and out-of-body experiences.

Endorphins also can do that.

They act to make you feel
relaxed, floating, pleasant.

It's a very, very nice feeling.

Terrible things
might be happening.

Your body might be down there,
blood all over the place,

you know.

But it feels OK.

And I think candidates
best lead to a kind

of mystical acceptance,
which can be quite profound.

I would have to say that some
of the things they're saying

is true.

That that may be
happening to some.

It may be hallucinations
to others.

But then there were those of
us that moved a step past that,

and we have a soul where
powerful spiritual beings--

I'm starting where
their definitions

and explanations leave off.

Many people argue that
if you can understand

all these experiences
in terms of brain

chemicals, that somehow
makes them an important,

but not so at all.

The fact that you can see your
life in a different context,

feel different about yourself
and about other people, see

what's important and
what isn't important,

that's what changes lives.

I don't mind if that's
created by brain chemicals

or going to heaven.

The important fact is that it
can make you a better person.

The explanations that I have
heard proposed of near-death

experiences are interesting.

And of course, you know,
we should encourage

physiological studies
of everything, all kinds

of mental states and so on.

But my assessment is
that we just don't

know the answer to this yet.

And that I don't feel
myself in any great hurry

to come to the answer yet.

I mean, it's a mystery.

NARRATOR: If we are to
believe, even for an instant,

that the living can go to the
brink of death and return,

then we must consider another
incredible possibility.

Can the dead themselves come
back from the other side,

perhaps to take care
of unfinished business?

The death of a family
member is perhaps

one of the most difficult
experiences any of us

will ever endure.

Who among us has
not longed for just

one final opportunity to speak
with a departed loved one?

Incredibly, woman in
Southern California

believes she got that
chance after the death

of her daughter.

Karen Walker was the only
child of Jean and Tom Walker.

Born in 1949, Karen had what
would be considered a perfectly

ordinary upbringing.

Karen was a very imaginative
child, a very affectionate

person, very bright, read
extensively from the time

she was about three.

I know Lori had to read to her.

She would read the stories to
me instead, which was wonderful.

NARRATOR: One
story in particular

would come to symbolize
the closeness Karen

and her parents felt for each
other, "The Three Musketeers."

The familiar phrase, "all
for one, one for all"

became the Walker family motto.

When Karen was 17,
the family circle

expanded to include her new
boyfriend, Jim Alvarado.

Karen and Jim seemed
an unlikely match.

Jim came from a large
working class family.

He was a poor
student who had been

told he'd never amount to much.

Karen knew better.

She saw something in me
in terms of a potential,

as far as my intellect was
concerned, you're right.

And even though at that time
she didn't know you know,

what I lacked necessarily
an academic skills,

although over that period
of time in study hall

she began to learn.

And she began to
help me even then.

--the clause may be
renaming the subject.

NARRATOR: But still
there were times

when Jim's mind would wander.

Karen had her own special way
of getting him back on track.

--the clause may be
renaming the subject.

Remember to-- [thunk]
Pay attention.

Ow.

What was that for?

You're not going to get
into college this way.

JIM ALVARADO: And she
would get my attention,

and I would straighten
up and get back to work

and do what I had to do.

She was my tutor.

She was my helper.

She was my friend, and somebody
who I loved very, very much.

NARRATOR: In December of
1969 when Karen was 20,

tragedy struck.

The cause of a lingering
pain in her right leg

was finally diagnosed.

Karen had Ewing's Sarcoma,
a rare, usually fatal

form of cancer.

We react it with horror
but with determination.

We were going to see to
it that she got well.

The Three Musketeers were
going to stay together.

And how are you feeling?

Uh, better.

NARRATOR: Karen began an
exhaustive regimen of radiation

and chemotherapy treatments.

Then on February 20, 1970, Karen
suffered an agonizing set back.

Ooh!

Ah!

JEAN WALKER: Karen woke up
about 5 o'clock in the morning--

Mom!

JEAN WALKER: --pain in
her leg for the first time

in a long time.

She had been going
through cobalt therapy

and the pain had disappeared.

And suddenly the pain
was excruciating.

My leg.

It hurts.

It hurts.

Oh.

I can't move it.

JEAN WALKER: The
cancer had eaten

the bone completely through.

[scream]

JEAN WALKER: The bone
was no longer there.

NARRATOR: Through it all,
Karen's spirit was indomitable.

Jim proposed in March,
and a wedding date

was set, December 19, 1970.

But on December 7th,
Karen lapsed into a coma.

Though devastated, Tom and
Jean accepted the inevitable.

JEAN WALKER: From the time
Karen was in the hospital,

Tom would bring her every
day, a single red rose.

And that was just kind
of a symbol between them.

You know, that was their little
affectionate thing they did.

She looks so beautiful.

I want you to know that
if you have to leave us,

me and your mom, we understand.

And remember what--
whatever happens, what--

we'll always be together.

Remember what we used to say
about the Three Musketeers,

how we'd always stick together?

Huh?

One for all and all for one?

When I learned that the
tumor had gone into the brain,

I knew we had
reached to the end.

She woke up in the middle of
the night, and I held her hand

and asked her how she was,
because that was first time she

had talked to me in nine days.

How are you feeling honey?

Mom, it's time.

I can't go on like this anymore.

I can't think anymore.

I understand.

Is it OK?

Of course.

Please tell Dad and tell
Jim that it was my decision,

that I was ready to go.

I will, I promise.

[catches breath] You rest now.

(WHISPERS) I love you, Mom.

[catches breath]
(WHISPERS) I love you too.

And as I was watching,
something went

out of the top of her head.

It just lifted.

And it was like a wisp of
smoke or fog or something.

And as I saw that happen,
I said goodbye Karen.

Karen died on December
17, two days before she

would have been married.

JIM ALVARADO: I was devastated.

I was you know, not really
feeling any physical pain,

but emotionally, I
was feeling terrible.

And I guess at that time I was
searching for the answers why

and you know, angered.

NARRATOR: The night after
Karen passed away, Jim

stayed at Jean and Tom's home.

He sat up late in the
hope that studying would

take his mind off the loss.

Incredibly, Jim was about to
get the first hint that Karen's

spirit had survived.

JIM ALVARADO: It was
more than a kick.

It was really an awakening on
my part that got my attention.

And I realized
that at that point,

that Karen was with
me at that time.

NARRATOR: Jim's brief
encounter helped

him cope with Karen's death.

But it was only an inkling
of what was to come.

When we return, Jean
and Tom Walker journey

into a world of mediums and
psychics, and Karen's spirit

breaks through.

On December 17, 1970,
21-year-old Kara Walker

passed away after a
long bout with cancer.

Seeking consolation,
her parents Tom and Jean

went to visit family
near San Francisco.

There over the
next few days, they

sought out psychics and
mediums in the faint hope

that they might
contact Karen's spirit.

Three times they tried,
and three times the Walkers

went away disappointed.

--message is from Abraham.

NARRATOR: They left for
home on Christmas day.

Passing through Santa Barbara,
they decided to call it medium

Jean had once read about.

His name was the
Reverend George Daisley.

Reverend Daisley
answered the phone

and told Tom that
he was very sorry,

but he was six months ahead.

And so Tom said, well,
could we make an appointment

for six months from now.

And Reverend Daisley
said just a minute,

just a minute, the
spirits are telling me

I must see you immediately.

Could you stay overnight?

And Tom of course said,
well, yes, of course.

And so we made the appointment
for the next morning

and went to see him.

NARRATOR: Jean and Tom agreed
to limit the information

they gave Reverend Daisley.

While they did tell him their
daughter had recently died,

they did not give
him Karen's name.

19 hours had passed since
the phone conversation.

The Walkers were
confident Reverend

Daisley could not have learned
anything about them overnight.

I knew they were grieving
parents simply because--

NARRATOR: Today George
Daisley is 83 years old.

He still lives in Santa Barbara.

It is known that I knew
nothing about them whatsoever

otherwise.

Nothing whatsoever.

--many years ago.

And this is where we
do our own sittings.

NARRATOR: The sitting
commenced just after 10 AM.

Some people like to
take notes to our sitting.

NARRATOR: Daisley's first
impressions were astounded.

--daughter's voice.

I will tell you
everything that she says.

Your daughter is here.

She is safe.

She is well.

She says she doesn't
hurt anymore.

She wants me to tell you that
you are the Three Musketeers

and you still are.

She says we are the
Three Musketeers

and we'll always be together.

I was just flabbergasted
that she could come

up with the one
piece of information

that was so specific to us.

I think if she had said
nothing else that day,

I would always, always know
that Karen was still alive.

I'm hearing the name Karen.

Yes, yes, it's Karen.

It's her birthday soon.

I believe yes, January the 12th.

She wants you to
celebrate her birthday.

NARRATOR: The details
literally spilled out

of Reverend Daisley.

The Three Musketeers,
Karen's name,

her birthday, even detailed
descriptions of two photographs

taken when Karen was a child.

We went home
smiling and crying.

And the emotions
were just volatile.

Uh, but there was
always from then on,

there was that underlying
current of I know she's OK.

NARRATOR: According
to Jean, Karen

eventually began to communicate
without the aid of a medium.

Incredibly, Jean says that
Karen's spirit even guided her

to write this book, "Always
Karen," published in 1975,

chronicles Karen Walker's
struggle with cancer,

her death, and her
firsthand views

of a life beyond this one.

JEAN WALKER: When we die,
we go into another dimension

that from this side we can't
see, but is still life.

The body dies, but there's
a new body waiting for you.

And you simply step into
that and there you are.

She said I glow, I'm
filled with light.

NARRATOR: Is it
possible to bridge

the chasm between the
living and the dead?

Between our earthly
life and an afterlife?

In the small town of
Ellerslie, Georgia

we found a little girl named
Heidi Wyrick, who apparently

evinces that astounding ability,
the ability to make contact

with real people who passed over
to the other side decades ago.

Hello, honey.

Hi.

What's your name?

Heidi.

That's a pretty name.

Heidi, you know I
live right next door.

And in my backyard,
I have a swing.

I bet like to swing, don't you?

Yes.

NARRATOR: It all began
in February of 1989,

just after Heidi's family
had moved to Ellerslie.

According to Heidi,
a man named Kahn

appeared at the front door.

--swing.

Would you like that?

He had white hair and he
had a tee shirt on with blood

all over it.

And he had a bandage on
his hand with blood on it.

Why don't you go ask
your mama if it's OK.

OK.

Mama?

What Heidi?

Can I go play
outside with a man?

You mean Uncle Mark?

No.

What man is it?

He has grey hair and he
has blood on his shirt.

Come here.

Are you sure?

Yeah.

I thought someone was
trying to kidnap her.

So I brought Heidi in and
I locked all the doors.

And I got the butcher knife out
of the kit-- out of the drawer.

And I called my husband home.

I said Andy, you have
got to come home.

You know, there's somebody
trying to kidnap Heidi.

We got out.

We walked all up
and down the street

you know trying to find somebody
that fit that description,

but we never found nobody.

Soon after she had seen
Kahn, she started seeing

a man she would call Mr. Gordy.

And he was-- he would
come in the yard,

and she would she would
play with him outside.

Hi there Heidi.

That is your name isn't it?

Yes.

I'm Mr. Gordy, and I used
to live in this neighborhood.

In fact, I knew those
people next door real well.

And they used to have a
great swing over there

in the back yard.

Would you like to
go over and swing

with me for a few minutes?

OK.

And I thought that Kahn and
Gordy was the same person.

So I thought his
name was Kahn Gordy.

And that's when I
started asking everybody.

Did they-- have they ever
heard of the name Kahn Gordy.

I didn't know
really who it was,

or you know if it
was a real person.

But then after you know, we
couldn't find nobody, or nobody

to fit the description,
then that's

when I started
thinking, you know,

that was just imaginary
friends, and it didn't

really bother me too bad then.

NARRATOR: It began to
bother Andy Wyrick.

And Lisa as well when
Lisa's sister, who'd

bought the house
next door, showed

them the former owners' papers.

Just read that one through.

What?

Right here.

Look, James S. Gordy.

When I seen Mr.
Gordy's name on the deed,

I mean, I was terrified.

I really was, because I knew
that the previous owners

had-- was there you know,
years and years and years back.

So I knew that Mr. Gordy--

I knew he had to have been dead.

I knew Mr. Gordy who
when I was a small child.

And Mr. Gordy owned a real
estate company in Columbus.

And for many, many years, he was
a Sunday school superintendent

at our church up here.

It was a Methodist Church.

And--

NARRATOR: Catherine
Ledford's family had owned

the house next to the Wyricks.

Catherine verified
that James Gordy,

who was the executor
of her mother's will,

had died in 1974.

Mr. Gordy was a--

well, he was a tall
lean man in stature.

And he was-- had a lot
of dry wit about him,

but he was he was a good
man, and he loved people.

He loved children.

And he was always
willing to help

people and do things for them.

I asked Heidi, at the
time, I asked her did

she think that it was a ghost.

And she was so
little at the time,

she said that she
didn't know because--

I said does he look
like a normal person

or can you see through him?

She said Mr. Gordy looks
just like you mama.

Just like somebody real.

NARRATOR: Catherine
Ledford had no photographs

of Mr Gordy himself,
but she corroborated

Heidi's description.

Mr. Gordy had gray
hair, always wore a suit

and tie and shiny black shoes.

Catherine did bring
over photographs

of her family, many of whom
had once lived right next door.

I was looking
through the pictures,

and I never saw
none of them people.

And when I got to
the bottom, there

was this little bitty picture.

That's the guy with
the bandage on his arm

and the blood on his shirt.

That's Kahn.

Well, you know
who that is, baby?

His name is Lon,
and he's my uncle.

It was Lon that you saw.

Lon live here when
he was a young man.

He died in 1957 of cancer.

And he lost his hand
at a very early age.

I would say before he was
20 years old in a cotton gin

up here in Ellerslie.

When I saw him, he was um,
his was holding his right hand

under his left hand.

And he was doing
that in the picture.

And when I found out that
it was Ms. Kelly's uncle,

and his name really
wasn't Kahn, it

was Lon, it scared me to
death, because I knew Heidi

was really seeing something.

And she was so
small at the time,

and she couldn't
really speak that well.

So I knew right then,
she was mistaken.

It wasn't Khan, it was Lon.

NARRATOR: Had little
Heidi Wyrick somehow

tapped into the afterlife?

Her visions of Lon and Mr. Gordy
remained consistent and benign

for three years.

Then Heidi's mother
Lisa became pregnant.

When we return, a
new unknown entity

manifests itself in an ominous
and threatening fashion.

For more than four
years, young Heidi Wyrick

of Ellerslie, Georgia
continued to encounter

the benevolent spirits of
two men, James Gordy and Lon

Bachelor, both long dead.

But soon after Heidi's mother
became pregnant in 1993,

a sinister Paul fell over
Heidi's house of spirits.

Mama!

Heidi had never been
scared of anything.

She had never been
scared of Khan.

She had never been
scared of Mr. Gordy.

But when she seen the dark
figure in our hallway,

she was hysterical.

She was frightened.

She was screaming.

She was terrified.

NARRATOR: The new spirit
became a frequent,

but unwelcome guest.

Sometimes visible and
sometimes only sensed.

At first, me and my husband
had talked about moving.

And, but then like I told
him, I said I don't think

it would do any good to move.

Because wherever we
go, she's just got

that gift that she's going to--

going to see people
from the past, or people

that has been dead.

NARRATOR: On February 3rd,
1994, Heidi's baby sister

Jordan was born.

Two weeks later, Heidi's
other worldly visitations

took a horrifying turn.

[crying]

What is it Heidi?

(CRYING) My face hurts.

Oh my God.

Are you OK?

(CRYING) No.

She had just deep
gashes down her face.

And it terrified me.

I didn't know what it was.

I mean, it was so bad that the
blood had come to the surface.

I mean, and I didn't
know what it was.

And I feared well, it's so bad,
it's going to leave a scar.

And I couldn't
imagine what could

have scratched her that bad.

I thought maybe she
has crashed herself

during the night, and I didn't
really think too much about it.

So about two nights
later, I woke up,

my side was just
burning like a fire.

[breathes deeply] Lisa, Lisa.

What is it?

I had three claw marks
going around my side.

And the next night
I went to sleep.

And I woke up and I had three
claw marks down my back.

And then it happened
again the next night,

and I woke up and had three
claw marks down my chest.

Maybe it might be
a rat in the house.

But I know that I
would have woke up

if I'd had the
rat crawling on me

and scratching my face
or side or whatever.

But after it happened
four nights straight--

and it get to a point where
me and Lisa would go to bed.

And then I'd tell her, I said
if I wake up in the morning

and I got scratches
on me, you know,

I don't know what
I'm going to do.

I was worried to death that it
was going to scratch the baby.

And that's when you know, I
was so worried, I thought well,

I've got to do something
before it scratches her.

And that's when I
called Dr. Roll.

NARRATOR: Once again,
parapsychologist Dr. William

Roll was a logical choice to
investigate and perhaps explain

the unusual occurrences.

You were standing here?

And where was Mr. Gordy
standing, you're saying?

NARRATOR: On September
12th of this year,

Dr. Roll visited
the Wyrick's house.

As she came up with physical
description and the names

that she apparently
could not have

obtained in any ordinary way.

So that immediately made
me interested in the case.

A couple of pictures had
been found of Mr. Gordy.

The hope was that Heidi would
be able to identify Mr. Gordy--

Mr. Gordy's picture is they were
presented to her with a number

of other photographs.

In this pile of pictures,
we are looking for somebody

who looks like Mr. Gordy.
All right?

So--

NARRATOR: What you
are watching is real.

Heidi Wyrick is looking
through the photographs

for the first time.

That one looks like him.

That is Mr. Gordy.
You're right.

NARRATOR: Incredibly,
Heidi had chosen

the photograph of James Gordy.

Twice now, a little
girl had correctly

identified her spirits
from a photo lineup.

Having spoken to
Heidi and her parents,

I'm even more convinced
that we are dealing--

that we are dealing
with a genuine

parapsychological experiences.

Then the question comes
up, why are these things

happening to this little girl?

NARRATOR: Why indeed?

Was it all just a coincidence?

Did Heidi simply make
two lucky guesses?

Or was Heidi Wyrick possessed
some mysterious power

to communicate with the dead?

I'm not scared of Khan and Mr.
Gordy because they talk to me

and they don't scare
me, they play with me.

And the reason I'm
scared of the other ones

is because they
don't talk to me.

And I can't see um,
I can't see his face.

If she sees them you know,
and they don't bother her,

and she talks to these
people, then I'm fine with it,

just so long as
I don't see them.

I think Heidi is special.

I do.

She's been seeing
them for so long now.

And it's just something I don't
think she'll ever grow out of.

She's just a special child.

She's gifted so to speak.

NARRATOR: Is there
truly an afterlife?

A Sunday school teacher
named Rossiter Raymond once

wrote death is only a horizon.

And the horizon is nothing
save the limit of our sight

until we each embark on
the final journey, what

lies beyond will remain
a source of wonder,

the most profound
mystery of all.

[theme music]