All language subtitles for The.Proof.Is.Out.There.S05E12.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

- Tonight on "The
Proof Is Out There,"

a family terrified by a
creature chasing their car.

[Passenger screaming]

- [Tony] Could this be a Yeti?

- I mean, these are the
things nightmares are made of.

- [Tony] What nearly
hit a passenger jet

flying over New York City?

- These things can
and absolutely will be

an air safety issue.

- [Tony] A famous
mass UFO sighting.

Was it fact or faked?

- I think the fact that
hundreds of people

reported seeing something
means that something

means that something
was actually there.

- [Tony] And could
this be the ghost of a

deceased high school student

trying to get back
into the game?

- Is that horrific
tragedy actually connected

to the ghost that we
see in this video?

[intense music]

- [Tony] Around the
globe are videos.

[passengers scream]

Photos.

And sounds that
defy explanation.

[high pitch squealing]

[intense music]

- [Reporter] We don't
know where they come from,

who made them, or
how they operate.

- [Tony] What are they?

- [Expert] Some sort
of bizarre mutation.

- [Analyst] What's exciting
is nobody really knows.

- Extraordinary claims
need extraordinary proof.

[intense music]

- I'm Tony Harris
and as a journalist

for more than 30 years,

I've followed the facts
where they take me.

Now I'm bringing that
spirit of investigation

to the world's strangest
sounds and images.

- [Camerawoman] It's
coming towards us!

- [Tony] We'll analyze
each one with top experts.

[metal clashes]

- It's a credible case.

It's a credible video.

- [Tony] And pass a
verdict on what it is.

- This video was clearly faked.

- The proof starts now.

[intense music]

Good evening everyone
and welcome to

"The Proof Is Out There."

Let's talk about air travel.

The procedure typically
involves baggage check,

security, boarding, take off,

and UFO sighting?

March 25, 2024.

It's a beautiful day
above New York City.

Michelle Reyes is on
a commercial airline

preparing for landing
at Laguardia Airport.

Michelle pulls out her
phone to record the skyline

out her window, but
Michelle's shot is interrupted

by something speeding by.

[intense music]

Let's play that
back in slow motion.

[disc reeling]

A black, oblong object
enters frame right,

just above the horizon.

The object appears to be
tilted slightly forward.

In less than a second,
it exits frame left,

leaving Michelle unsure
if she saw anything at all

until she watches
that video back.

- When I looked back, there
was something in there,

so I was like, all right,
I'm not going crazy.

I definitely did see something.

I posted it online just
to see if someone can say,

like hey, this is not
out of the ordinary

and we see this all the time.

I was just really curious.

- [Tony] Many online share
Michelle's curiosity,

so much so that her

video is picked up

by multiple national
news outlets.

Across the country,
people are perplexed

by Michelle's sighting and
it's not hard to see why.

- There's been a lot of
reports of these larger,

cylinder-shaped or
cigar-shaped craft.

So, people looking at
this and saying they see

a cylindrical UFO, I
can certainly understand

why they would see that.

- [Tony] In fact,

these cylindrical UFOs
have crossed paths

with commercial aircraft
in recent years.

- There was an incident in 2021

with an American Airlines pilot
flying to Phoenix, Arizona

reported over New Mexico seeing
a large cylindrical object

fly directly over
his own aircraft.

- [Tony] But these near
misses didn't just start

in the last few years.

They actually go
back almost as far

as the modern UFO
age, as we know it.

In 1948, two commercial pilots
were flying over Alabama

in the early morning hours

when they saw a wingless,
cylindrical craft

speeding toward their plane.

The pilots veered to the side,

dodging a near collision.

What's worrisome is
that these near misses

seam to be getting more
frequent as the years go on.

Long Island-based researchers,
Gerry and John Tedesco

have seen it themselves

not far from where Michelle
Reyes recorded her sighting.

- It was October of
'23, early morning,

and I was just
videotaping flight traffic

in and out of the airport

and on the extreme
zoom, I saw an airliner

making its rotation
to come into JFK

and I saw this object passing
the path of the airliner.

- These cylinder-shaped
objects seem to be showing up

quite often in these reports.

So it's consistent, it's
a persistent pattern.

It's something that's gotta
be taken seriously.

- [Tony] That's because
if objects like these

are sharing the skies
with civilian aircraft,

it's a problem.

- The greatest concern here
is that air traffic control

did see this and
didn't report it.

That is proof positive
that these things

can and absolutely will
be an air safety issue

if we don't do
something about it.

[suspenseful music]
[air whooshing]

- In 2023, a New York Times
investigation found that

near misses involving
commercial aircraft

were happening multiple
times a week, nationwide.

Will our investigation
reveal another kind

of safety threat in our skies?

[mysterious music]
[keys clicking]

Could this indeed
be a cylindrical UFO

crossing paths with
this commercial plane?

Well, while from the side, it
might look like a cylinder,

it might be something
else entirely.

- When you do closer
analysis, you can actually see

that there's something
kinda spinning.

So, it could be
just a large disc.

- [Tony] Still
sound like aliens?

Not so fast.

In 2019, Romanian
engineers successful built

their own flying saucer,

called the All Directional
Flying Object, or ADIFO,

in other words, a
disc-shaped drone.

But, wouldn't something
like that have been noticed?

- The pilots would've been
able to see it coming by

and explain it.

Air traffic control
would've picked it up.

This was not picked up
by any radar system.

- [Tony] So, is this
just something ordinary

captured in a way that
makes it look extraordinary?

- You've got the
aircraft going north,

the wind coming from
the opposite direction,

which is really meaning that
this is going maybe wind speed.

So you have the aircraft
and then the wind speed

carrying it aloft
creates this effect

where it's zooming by.

I think that it's more
like a party balloon.

- [Tony] Specifically,
we're thinking of those

number-shaped balloons
that people usually get

to denote their age.

The theory is one of
those numeric balloons

may have gone astray.

- I think it's a zero.

The beginning of the clip,
top right-hand corner,

there is the aircraft wing.

So, what you're able to
see is that this object

is just beyond and
so, the size matches.

The winds were moving
along in such a way

that it's potentially
coming from Staten Island.

Everything matches up
in terms of it being

a zero balloon and
she happened to see it

as they were going by.

[suspenseful music]
[keys clicking]

- Our verdict, party balloon.

See how this zero-
shaped balloon looks

turned on its side?

That's what we
think Michelle saw

when she looked out
her plane window.

It's amazing what a change
of perspective can do.

[intense music]

Now, we're going to bounce
from New York to Russia.

Zdorovat'sya is the
proper way to greet

a stranger over there

unless that stranger is some
sort of strange creature.

Then, you may wanna get
the heck out of there.

2016, the Russian
Republic of Bashkortostan.

The sun is setting
as a family of three

documents their drive down
a desolate stretch of road.

Suddenly, one of them
spots something strange

in the distance.

The driver reverses for a
better look and sees this.

[passenger screaming]

[ominous music]

A mysterious hunched
figure is peeking out

from the tall greenery.

The figure suddenly
lunges forward,

arms flailing in the air.

The car tries to stay
ahead at a safe distance,

but the dark silhouette
remains in hot pursuit.

Upon first glance, the figure
appears to be human in shape,

but it moves at an
incredible speed

and its appearance has this
family extremely frightened.

- It's running
after the vehicle,

despite the fact that the
vehicle is going really fast.

It seems that they are
legitimately terrified

in this video.

[passenger screaming]

- [Tony] Many internet sleuths
believe that this figure

was more beast than man

and Igor Burtsev,
Director of Russia's

International Center
of Hominology, agrees.

Burtsev things this
video might show proof

of the infamous beast
known as the Yeti.

- [Tony] In Russia, the
Yeti is no laughing matter.

- Scientists in Russia have
taken this subject seriously

all the way back
until the 1960s.

- [Tony] And that fear
may have been justified.

Viewers might remember
our previous investigation

of a potential Yeti massacre

during a 1959 expedition
through Russia's Dyatlov Pass.

- The people on the
expedition were found dead

with obvious blunt force
trauma all over their bodies.

And their tongues seemingly
ripped out of their skull,

a very, very
traumatic and unusual

circumstance of death,
to say the least.

- [Tony] A photo was left
behind that some thought

revealed a Yeti
responsible for the attack.

And while our analysis
determined it to be

a photo of one of the hikers,

many still believe
in the Yeti theory.

- There is a definite history
of Yetis being aggressive.

Seven, eight feet
tall, 1,000 pounds,

four-foot shoulders,
completely covered in hair.

I mean, these are the things
nightmares are made of.

[passengers screaming]
[intense music]

- It turns out this isn't
the first Yeti sighting

within the Republic
of Bashkortostan.

In an earlier season, we
covered another 2016 sighting

that took place on the
snow-capped Ural Mountains

and while we determined
that one to be a hoax,

does this incident
prove that the creature

actually does exist?

Let's check in with our experts.

[suspenseful music]
[keys clicking]

It is well known that brown
bears live in this area.

Could that simply be
what we have here?

- It seems to be running
too well to be a bear.

The way that it's
carrying its arms

are not how a bear would.

You can make out the
head at certain points

and we don't see the snout
or the ears of a bear.

So, we can definitely
rule out a bear.

- [Tony] And while we've
seen animals charge

vehicles before, they generally
don't do it without cause.

[elephant trumpets]

- There are some animals
during mating season,

they can have really
high testosterone

and they can be angry
and easily triggered.

But, I don't think any
type of screaming or noise

that the people were making
would've set this creature off.

- [Tony] But so many Yeti
signings have been hoaxed.

So we need to ask, could
this just be a guy in a suit?

- This is a difficult one.

It seems very spontaneous

and the figure
portrays something that

is conceivably non-human form

with a considerable arm span.

- [Tony] However, when
incorporating other elements

of the footage, the true
scale of the humanoid

begins to reveal itself.

- There's one shot
where it's running up

alongside the road.

With that road as more
of a scale of size,

it doesn't look that big.

It looks almost man size to me.

- I don't think that
this seems to be

such a big, gigantic figure that

it's impossible
that it's a person.

- A big person running
looks very different

than a little person running

just because of the inertia
of the mass of their limbs.

It just strikes me as
more moderate in height.

- [Tony] Due to the poor
quality of the footage,

our experts can't say
whether or not this is proof

of an actual Russian Yeti.

- Ultimately, you have
to just rely on what

evidence is there.

In the end, I'd have
to say that I don't

have an explanation.

[passengers screaming]

[suspenseful music]
[keys clicking]

- Our verdict,
indeterminate biped.

While there are Yeti
hoaxes coming out

of Russia all the time,

there is a possibility
that this is the real deal.

But without further evidence,
we just can't confirm

whether this two-legged figure

is man or beast.

- You know, often when we
hear about a UFO sighting,

it involves a lone eyewitness.

So, it's easy to be skeptical.

But our next encounter
has reportedly been seen

by hundreds of people.

No wonder the
story is considered

one of the biggest mass
sightings in UFO history.

April 1966, it's
midday in Westall,

a suburb of
Melbourne, Australia.

- Students and teachers
from the Westall High School

and the Westall State
School went outside

to enjoy a lovely
day and they all saw

something strange in the sky.

[intense music]

- [Tony] This black
and white photo,

allegedly taken by one of
several hundred eyewitnesses,

depicts a crystal
clear flying saucer

hanging in the sky
over the trees.

It has a domed top, a large
spotlight on the bottom,

and a rim of lights
wrapping around it.

Some eyewitnesses recall
multiple UFOs that day.

Others, just one.

Eyewitness, Phyll Tierney,
who was 15 at the time,

recalls three in total.

But this photo matches
her recollection

of them almost exactly.

- They were very
streamlined, just silver

with a rounded bottom,
a middle flat form,

and then, rounded
area on the top.

I was just mesmerized with
what I was looking at.

- [Tony] Remember,
those claims come from

hundreds of people,
students and teachers alike.

Joy Clarke, who
was 12 at the time,

recounts what happened next.

- They went up in the
sky and they disappeared

down over to the back of

an area called The Grange.

Now, The Grange was
bush land, pine trees.

They disappeared down
there for quite a while

and some of the kids had
actually jumped the fence

and taken off through The Grange

to catch up with them.

- [Tony] One of the students
who follows the UFOs

down to The Grange is
11 year old, Terry Peck.

- I ran through The Grange
and I just stood and stared

because it was really
only four or five meters

in front of me.

- [Tony] After briefly
hovering in The Grange,

eyewitnesses say the UFOs
shot off into the sky,

leaving hundreds of eyewitnesses
on the ground perplexed.

As the story spreads,
more eyewitnesses emerge.

- This wasn't the only
sighting in the area.

A second photo emerged in
the wake of this incident

that was allegedly
taken just days earlier,

showing a very similar silver
disc object flying in the sky.

- [Tony] Look odd?

We turn the photo on
its side and yet again,

we have a flying, metallic,
dome-shaped object.

But despite the avalanche
of eyewitness accounts,

some are quick to
dismiss these sightings.

- The principal told us
it was a weather balloon

and if we spoke to the
media or anybody else,

we would get into big trouble.

- [Tony] It's been
speculated that the alleged

balloon in question was part
of the secretive Project Hibal.

- The Hibal Program was a

joint US-Australian program

to test atmospheric radiation
levels in the 1960s.

So, the object might have
been a high altitude balloon,

but the Hibal explanation
doesn't totally fit

what the witnesses
said they saw.

- No way in hell do I think
that was a Hibal balloon.

- How could a balloon
take off that fast

and turn on its side
and go like that,

straight up in the air?

- We know what we saw.

They were some sort of
aircraft, but in saucer shape.

I would lay my life down.

Wasn't a balloon.

[intense music]
[air whooshing]

- Take a look at these sketches.

This is what Phyll remembers

and this is what
Terry remembers.

See the dome tops?

This one even has those
lights around the rim.

They definitely look a lot
more like flying saucers

than deflated balloons to me.

So, let's give these
eyewitnesses the investigation

this case deserves.

[suspenseful music]
[keys clicking]

Hundreds of witnesses
and two photos

that might prove it all.

Does that mean something
really did happen in Westall?

- I think the fact that
hundreds of people reported

seeing something means that
something was actually there.

It doesn't meant that it
was an alien spaceship,

but it means that there
was something in the air.

- [Tony] So, we don't think
the sighting itself is a hoax.

However, the same
can't be said for that

black-and-white photo.

- The lighting itself
seems weirdly inconsistent.

We've got these very, very
dark trees in the foreground.

We have some light
on the grass here,

but that would be
coming from above.

This looks like it's
kind of lit from below.

It doesn't seem like something
that's actually there

in this scene.

- [Tony] And that could
be an important clue.

- In the days of film and
even with cameras today,

you could take a single
photo of a terrain like this

and then take a second
photo and overlay it on top

and that appears to be
what's happened here.

It seems like a photo
was taken of this.

Maybe it was a model.

Maybe it was a lamp.

And overlaid into a
photo of the ground.

- [Tony] Chances are
whoever made this photo

heard the Westall
eyewitness accounts

and simply matched
their descriptions.

As for that other photo
from four days earlier?

- I think what we're
actually looking at here

is probably
something like a bowl

being tossed up in the sky
in front of this building

and you can get very
similar looking effects.

I've done essentially
the same, ya know,

replicated it and I just
went and I took the bowl,

tossed it up in the air
and if we were to take

this shot here and just crop out

the bottom half of
this, we'd get a UFO.

[tense music]

[suspenseful music]
[keys clicking]

- Our verdict, these two
photos are likely hoaxes,

but the Westall incident itself,

with hundreds of
credible witnesses,

that still remains unexplained.

We may never know with certainty
what happened in Westall,

but we're pretty sure
it wasn't a balloon.

[swatter slapping]

And if you, if you suffer
from this condition,

you may wanna cover your eyes
during this next segment.

July 27th, 2024.

It's a warm summer weekend
in the town of Westerly

at one of Rhode Island's
most popular state beaches.

Vacationers have packed
the sandy shores,

but a peaceful day
quickly turns into

the stuff of nightmares.

- [Beachgoer] Wow.
- [Woman] Oh my God.

[beachgoers scream]

- [Tony] People scream as a
dark swarm of flying insects

invade the shore.

- [Camerawoman] This is insane!

- [Tony] Watch as these
unwanted guests multiply

until thousands of them
are blotting out the sky

and sending the crowd
into a total panic.

- [Camerawoman] I've
never seen anything

like this in my life.

- [Tony] By zooming in closer,

we can see what appears to be

an airborne armada
of dragonflies.

- There were thousands of 'em,

thousands upon
thousands of them.

We went from a beautiful
day to almost darkness

with all of these
dragonflies everywhere.

People were screaming
and taking cover.

[beachgoers screaming]

It was really, really,
really bizarre.

- [Camerawoman] Holy!

- The story exploded.

The news picked it up.

There were viral clips.

It went wild.

- [Tony] Many online
interpreted the event

as a biblical sign

and not a good one.

- In the bible, Moses
warns that God will send

10 plagues to Egypt

and a cloud of locusts

will cover every tree
and eat every crop

so that there's nothing left,

which led some to
speculate that maybe

this swarm of
dragonflies could portend

the end of the world.

- [Tony] And while some thought
these bugs were an omen,

what if they escaped from a lab?

Or were even part of a test?

- In 2017, researchers at the

Howard Hughes Medical
Institute announced a project

called DragonFlEye that
would create cyborg insects.

The idea was to genetically
modify the insects

by implanting light-
sensitive steering neurons

in their spinal cords.

The dragonflies will
also be equipped with

a tiny backpack that
has solar panels.

In theory, the researchers
will be able to

steer the dragonflies to
whatever location they want

and collect data.

- [Tony] The hope is that
these tiny cyborg insects

could be used to infiltrate
areas too small for humans

to conduct surveillance and
carry miniature payloads.

They could even influence
honeybee flight patterns

to assist with pollination.

- It's also possible
that the researchers

will take what they've
learned from this project

and use it in biomedical uses.

The researchers foresee a ton
of uses for these dragonflies.

[beachgoers screaming]

[intense music]
[air whooshing]

- Did you know that an
ancestral form of the dragonfly

was one of the first
winged insects to evolve

almost 300 million years ago?

These massive forefathers,
known as griffin flies,

filled the skies with wingspans
more than two feet long.

As for what their modern
day counterparts are up to

in Rhode Island, we
turn to our experts.

[suspenseful music]
[keys clicking]

First, we nix the
idea that dragonflies

are a form of divine punishment.

- Dragonflies are
actually good for crops.

In fact, they can be
thought of as crop guardians

because they can eat pests.

They also rely on wetlands,
so they indicate clean water.

For these reasons,

dragonflies actually
benefit the ecosystem.

They do have serrated mandibles

that can crush their
prey, but they will only

bite a human being when provoked

and it would just be a pinch.

- [Tony] But could
this be a swarm of

mechanically-enhanced
cyborg dragonflies,

like the ones seen here from

Draper Labs'
DragonFlEye project?

- A main advantage for
using cyborg dragonflies

would be to be undetected,

not to cause an absolute uproar.

I also think these guys
move very erratically,

not something that
was programmed

to move through the air.

They don't seem to have any
sort of set flight plan.

- [Tony] There also doesn't
appear to be any tech

that would suggest
an enhanced organism.

- When we get our
first upclose look,

I don't see any sort of
sensors on these guys

or anything that would indicate

any sort of robotic material.

This appears like it might
be a type of blue dasher,

which is a dragonfly
that naturally occurs

in North America.

- [Tony] Okay, so the
creatures might be natural,

but their behavior is not.

So what really happened here?

- Dragonflies can't
live in saltwater

and sandy environments.

What likely happened
is it was a mild winter

and there was a higher
mosquito population.

This allowed blue dashers
to grow in population

and there was an abundance
of them, but then,

as summer came along,
their wetland habitats

started drying up.

- [Tony] It's not clear
from what wetland habitat

in the area these insects came,

but one thing is for sure.

They were likely awfully hungry.

- The disturbance
has caused them to

travel very far
in search of food.

These guys are gonna have to
keep continuing their search

either north or south
until they find a habitat

that's able to support them.

[suspenseful music]
[keys clicking]

- Our verdict, blue
dasher dragonflies

in search of habitat.

It seems humans aren't the only
ones having a rough go of it

in this real estate market.

We hope our dragonflies
find a nice new home

and while the
beaches aren't ideal,

they have plenty of
options since dragonflies

can be found on every
continent except Antarctica.

- I'm sure most of us
have heard strange sounds

in our house at one
time or another.

As scary as that may be,

imagine if your house was
250 miles above the earth

connected to the
International Space Station.

Could E.T. be phoning your home?

August 31st, 2024.

We're onboard the Starliner,

a NASA spacecraft
designed to taxi crew

to and from the
International Space Station.

After this dropoff,
the Starliner is docked

when Mission Commander
Butch Wilmore reports

down to Johnson Space Center

that he hears something strange

coming out of a speaker.

[vibration noises echoing]

- [Tony] A steady beat pulsates
in a constant interval.

The sound is uncanny.

Some might say, otherworldly.

Mission Control down
in Houston confirms

they could hear the sound.

They just have no
idea what it is.

But it is similar
to a strange sound

captured from deep
space back in the 1960s.

- This is reminding
a lot of people

of what happened on Apollo 10.

When the astronauts were on
the far side of the moon,

they heard a strange
sound coming through

on their communications,
almost like an

otherworldly music.

[staticky noises]

People immediately
jumped to the idea

that it was some
alien communication

that they were
finally free to hear.

- [Tony] In fact, the United
States has been trying

to capture extraterrestrial
communications

for more than half a
century using massive

radio telescopes, but modern
advancements in astronomy

and technology have
scientists using

new methods to try
and eavesdrop on our

interstellar neighbors.

- In 2007, astronomers started
looking for technosignatures

amid all of the audio sounds
that they listened for.

This is any kind of
signal that could

only have been
made by technology.

- [Tony] Most of the sounds
we've captured from space

are natural, like these
eerie sounds of a black hole,

created by the pressure
waves moving through

the cosmic cluster's hot gas.

[eerie whooshing]

Therefore, many
scientists believe

the artificial sounds produced
by these technosignatures

could help pinpoint
the possible locations

of advanced extraterrestrial
civilizations.

- When looking at the data
from over 820 nearby stars,

in 2023, astronomers
found eight signals

between 30 and 90
light years from Earth

that could be technosignatures.

[intense music]
[air whooshing]

- Some think that our
first communications

with aliens may actually
happen through the internet.

The theory is that an
exploratory race of aliens

would first inspect one of
our communication satellites

and patch into our
network before attempting

any type of physical contact.

Think about that the next
time you're on Tinder.

But as far as what
the Starliner heard,

let's see what
our experts think.

[suspenseful music]
[keys clicking]

First, we consider
whether this sound

could be connected to
the so-called music

heard on the Apollo
mission back in 1969.

- The Apollo 10 crew
happened to be hearing

something that they are
interpreting as music.

[static pulsing]

But they realized
it wasn't music.

It was interference
that's actually happening.

- [Tony] Specifically,

interference between
the mission's

two-manned spacecrafts,
the lunar module,

and the command service module,

which both used VHF radios.

And as far as the Starliner
sound being the

technosignature of some
advanced faraway society,

[pulsating static]

well, there is a clue.

In fact, it's something
very familiar.

- The Starliner recording
had this peculiar sequence

of audible pulses that have
a repetitive quality to them.

This is an example
of a cell phone

exhibiting different
kinds of acoustic feedback

and although this
example has a very

wide variety of sounds present,

we can see intervals
in the recording here

where we also see this
repetitive impulse sound.

[squealing feedback]

[pulsating static]

- [Tony] The Starliner
wasn't picking up

cell tower feedback, but
is actually exhibiting

its own communications
feedback issue.

- When the spacecraft is docked,

it has a kind of
complicated interconnection

between the microphones
in the various spacecraft

and that led to a feedback
situation in which

sounds came out of
the Starliner speaker

that were not intended.

- [Tony] In fact, the
Starliner was plagued

by a string of
malfunctions and leaks,

which forced the spaceship
to return to Earth

without the astronauts.

They were stuck on the ISS
for more than nine months

before returning to
Earth in March 2025.

[suspenseful music]
[keys clicking]

Our verdict, audio
system feedback,

and while that explanation

may seem a bit underwhelming,

we're glad the brave
astronauts aboard the ISS

didn't experience any
extraterrestrial threats

during this historic mission.

- In the 1989 film,
"Field of Dreams,"

a team of ghosts is conjured up

to play on a baseball field.

In our next story,
we could be seeing

a similar phenomenon in a
high school football game.

Let's take a look.

October 4th, 2013, Los
Angeles, California.

It's football night
at a high school

in the suburb of Sylmar.

A proud mom is in the
stands as her daughter

begins her cheerleading routine.

But as mom captures
the moment on video,

the camera also captures this.

[intense music]

As the cheerleaders complete
an impressive maneuver,

a gray silhouette appears from
the right side of the video.

It races across the
track, arms raised,

only to seemingly disappear
into thin air seconds later.

Let's watch that again.

Amazingly, none of
those cheerleaders

seem to notice the apparition.

How is this possible?

- I said, "Oh my
God, what is that?"

And I ran to my friends and,

"Can you believe that?

Can you see that?"

- [Tony] Local news
media pick up the story,

kicking up a raft of
questions and theories.

Some wonder if this
sighting could be the spirit

of a deceased student
tragically lost

in a car accident years earlier.

But there's an even
quirkier theory

related to a local spot with
a supernatural backstory.

- A few minutes down the
road from this high school

is Sylmar's Gravity Hill.

The story of the
Sylmar Gravity Hill

is that a group of
children got into

some kind of school
bus accident.

[tires squeal]

And they died.

[intense crash]

- [Tony] In the wake
of this tragedy,

people have wondered
if these deaths

are connected to a strange
phenomenon at Gravity Hill.

- The story is that you go
to the bottom of the hill

and you put your car in neutral

and it will start
rolling up the hill

and it freaks people out.

- [Tony] As you can
see in this footage,

some inexplicable force
seems to be at work here.

And there are some who
say that it's the spirits

of the children tragically
killed in Sylmar

pushing cars up Gravity Hill.

Might they also be haunting
the local high school?

- Is that horrific
tragedy actually connected

to the ghost that we
see in this video?

[ominous music]
[air whooshing]

- When it comes to
gridiron ghosts,

the the Gipper of Notre
Dame may be the most iconic.

Star player, George Gipp,
died of complications

from pneumonia in 1920.

Since then, there have
been sightings of his ghost

all over campus.

Is it possible that
Sylmar High School

has a ghost athlete of its own?

[suspenseful music]
[keys clicking]

First, we wonder
if it's possible

that the video capturing our
ghost has been manipulated.

- The objects within the
scene appear to be genuine.

That individual was
running on the sidelines.

Now, do I know that for a fact?

Unfortunately, I do not
because it's been recompressed.

- [Tony] What we're
seeing here might not be

an intentional trick, but
perception plays a big role

in some of these ghost stories,

like the legend of Gravity Hill.

It's not just in Sylmar.

Gravity Hills have been
reported worldwide.

Check out this footage
from Altadena, California

where we see another car
inexplicably moving uphill.

- There's a place
called Gravity Hill

where cars seem to go
uphill all by themselves.

The reason is the
human brain understands

where it's located
in three dimensions

and if what's around
you is tilted,

because you're
sitting on a hill,

and the hill is tilted,
that means your whole

frame of reference
is also tilted.

And that things that are
at rest can start to move.

It's an optical illusion.

- [Tony] Unlike
Gravity Hill's ghosts,

the so-called apparition
on this football field

was caught on camera.

Could it be the real deal?

- The things I notice
about the video

is that it's shot at night,

which means that everything's
a little bit blurry.

I think what we're
actually seeing here

is actually just a person
running through the shot.

When things move
in a low frame rate

and long exposure
video like this,

they're all going to be
blurred if they're moving fast.

We see the motion
in the cheerleaders

and we see it in
this figure here.

- [Tony] A closer
examination of the video

also reveals that it's
not just the camera

who caught this runner.

- People thought
that nobody noticed

this person running through,

but if you notice these
two security guards.

This person turns
around as if they're

following the person
that just ran past them.

They're like, "What
was that kid doing?"

Also, they're wearing
very similar colors

to other people in the shot.

If we go back to them
running through here,

looks like they're wearing
some kind of purple sweatshirt.

That's probably just
the team colors.

So, it's probably just
a kid from the school.

[suspenseful music]
[keys clicking]

- Our verdict, we believe
this is an example

of a motion-blurred
person, not a ghost.

And judging from his speed,

he could go pro.

- All over the world, we
find legends of creatures

that look like us, only smaller.

Gnomes, elves, pixies, goblins,
Mannegishi, Pukwudgies.

Okay, I'll stop.

Could these legends
be so widespread

because there's a
kernel of truth to them?

And was one of these
little creatures filmed,

of all places, inside
a fast food joint?

October 8th, 2020.

Atchison, Kansas.

Savannah Stubbs is going through
memories on her camera roll

and stumbles upon an
old video she says

she took while
she and her cousin

were at a fast food restaurant,

but it isn't until now
that she says she notices

something truly shocking
in the background.

Did you catch it?

Take a closer look.

Nothing seems out of
the ordinary at first,

but when we zoom in
behind Savannah's cousin,

there's something
visible through the slit

of the garbage
receptacle and it blinks.

[intense music]

It looks like the
pale eyes of someone

or something hiding
in the trash.

Look again as we clearly
see those eyes move.

- My initial reaction
upon seeing this

was actually laughter,

that this sort of stuff

makes me giggle quite a bit.

The internet is abuzz with
what this could possibly be.

And it's kind of led
some people to theorize

that there is a dwarf-like
animal that inhabits such areas,

perhaps foraging off of
the food that's thrown away

or God knows what.

- [Tony] One possible suspect,

a legendary figure
from Germanic folklore.

- In German mythology,
there is an epic

called the Nibelungenlied
and in that epic,

there is a dwarf, Alberich.

Alberich guards treasure,
is always after more gold

and that sort of stuff.

Some people wonder
if this could be

some sort of mythological
dwarf, like Alberich,

in which case, one man's trash
is another man's treasure.

- [Tony] Or is the culprit
something less fantastic

and frankly, more sympathetic?

- A more unusual theory is
that this might be people

who are living underground.

We know that
colonies of people

sometimes happen
underground in places

that are safe, out
of the weather,

and people band together
to share resources.

- [Tony] New York
City was once famous

for its mole people, a
term used to describe

the unhoused who found sanctuary

in abandoned tunnels
beneath the city's streets.

They often found sustenance
by scavenging food

from restaurant
dumpsters and trash bins.

- Unfortunately, these
people sometimes gather

their food from the refuse.

Then, they maybe find
some things to sell.

Maybe this guy here is heading
off the trash at the pass.

[intense music]
[air whooshing]

- This wouldn't be the first
time we've investigated

strange subterranean dwellers.

Remember these creepy
eyes discovered

peering from the darkness of
a West Virginia sewer tunnel?

Yes, we concluded those
peepers were a hoax.

But can the same be said
about this trash man?

[suspenseful music]
[keys clicking]

What do we have here?

Are we looking deep
into the eyes of some

mythically small,
human-like being?

- Well, of course,
there will be those who

trend towards the more
sensational explanation

that I don't think we have
to invoke a little person

or a leprechaun
explanation to accommodate

the size of this cabinet.

It's, ya know, three
and a half, four feet up

and it's got, looks
like at least a foot,

foot-and-a-half
depth away from the

side of the counter there.

There's plenty of
room for someone to be

kneeling or sitting
and have their face

show up at that slit.

- [Tony] Even though those
eyes are certainly creepy,

there's nothing out of the
ordinary about their appearance.

- Well, we get a pretty good
view of the eye line here

and it just looks
like a typical face.

I don't see anything as
an anatomist that would

pique my curiosity about
this being unconventional

in any way.

- [Tony] The average human face
has a space between the eyes

that's actually the
width of one eye

and the entire head
itself is five eyes wide.

That matches what we see here.

So, could this be a
modern-day mole person?

Well, hang on.

Because the camera
work itself indicates

the proper response here is
not compassion, but amusement.

- It just seems too
convenient that the

mysterious eyes
appear center frame

as the presumed
subject of the video

actually is walking
through the frame.

That suggests that there
was some specific attention

directed at that trash can.

It was a contrived circumstance.

So it was a good prank.

[suspenseful music]
[keys clicking]

- Our verdict, hoax.

Even though we have
no idea who is hiding

inside that trash bin,

we agree with Professor Meldrum
that the camera position

makes it pretty clear that
all three participants

were in on the stunt.

But hey, it was a good one.

And I'll be looking twice
next time I throw something

into a public waste bin.

That's our show for tonight.

Thank you so much for watching.

And remember to keep
those cameras rolling.

[intense music]