All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S10E10.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264-AJP69_track3_[eng]

ANNOUNCER: Tonight, on
"Unsolved Mysteries."

ROBERT STACK: They call
it the Chair of Death.

More than 300 years
ago, a condemned killer

pronounced a curse on the seat
as he was led to the gallows.

Legend has it that ever since,
those who ignored the warnings

were doomed to an
untimely death.

For 11 years, Audrey Santo
has been in a coma-like state,

yet her bedroom has
become a religious shrine.

A constant stream
of visitors believes

that somehow in this
mysterious sleep state,

Audrey can perform miracles.

A dog rescues a total
stranger from drowning.

A pet pig saves the
life of its owner.

What turns animals into heroes?

Is it instinct, a sixth
sense, or something more?

It may look like nothing more
than a worn and weather-beaten

scrap of olive wood.

Many believe it holds
extraordinary power--

the power to heal.

Is it possible this
is an actual remnant

of the legendary Holy Grail?

Can the power of
love transcend death?

Consider the purity and
simplicity of a single red

rose.

This woman says it was a gift
sent from beyond the grave

by her father, television
star Michael Landon.

Join me for these
fascinating stories.

Perhaps someone somewhere
has that one vital clue

that can solve a mystery.

Perhaps that
someone is watching.

Perhaps it's you.

[theme music]

The English village
of Thirsk has

all the quirky charms and quaint
customs a visitor might expect.

It also has one attraction
you might not expect.

As you wander through the
clutter of the village's

tiny museum, you
might find yourself

drawn to a remote alcove and
a valuable antique chair.

But it's not on
display for its rarity.

According to the
locals, this chair

is cursed with an
astonishing and lethal power.

It all started way back in 1669.

Thomas Busby, a
convicted murderer

on his way to the gallows,
was granted a last wish--

a final pint of ale
on his favorite chair

at his favorite pub.

When he finished,
the condemned man

gathered himself for the
hangman, pointed to the chair,

and let his voice ring out--

may sudden death come to anyone
who dares sit in my chair.

Thomas Busby's curse
echoed down the centuries,

proving his potency
over and over again.

At least that's
how it's told here

with typical British reserve.

PETER HATCH: After
he was hanged,

this chair remained
in the pub and people

were dared to sit in it.

But gradually, it
became noticed that they

were coming to a sticky end
afterwards or very shortly

afterwards.

ROBERT STACK: No one knows
exactly how many victims

the curse has claimed since
Thomas Busby met his maker,

but the legend gained a
great deal of notoriety

during World War II.

Airmen at a nearby base
made the pub a hot spot

and the chair a hot seat.

People started noticing--
those who sat didn't come back.

[gunfire] [explosions]

ROLY BARNES: Well,
until I came here,

I didn't believe in curses.

But now I have mixed
feelings after hearing some

of the things about the chair.

The only way I would
sit in the chair,

if my doctor told me I've
only got 12 hours to live.

A great many people
take it very seriously.

I'm not a superstitious man,
but I wouldn't sit in it.

Maybe a little ride in Busby's
chair, what do you think?

The chair?

ROBERT STACK: 1967, 300
years after Busby drank

his last pint, a pair of
Royal Air Force pilots

downed a few too
many of their own.

How's that feel, sir?

Very nice.

It's still hot, it's
still ticking a bit.

You all right?

I feel pretty damn
good, I tell you.

How bout a-- a go for it?

A go?

A little spin, how bout it?

I'm good for a
go, I'm not afraid.

Sit right down in there.

Oh, it's not bad at all,
it's not bad at all.

- It's a bit tingly.
- It is tingly.

It's good, though.

ROBERT STACK: The
tingle didn't last long.

The pilots were about
to be grounded for good.

[tires squealing]

[crash]

The chair was no longer known
merely as Busby's Chair.

Now it was the Chair of Death.

A few years later, two
bricklayers working nearby

took a lunch break at the pub.

You feeling lucky today?

ROBERT STACK: Despite the
chair's sinister reputation,

they couldn't resist
daring its power.

You've got to be kidding.

Hm.

Ah.

There have been a lot of
people to tell you it's true.

Want to give it a try?

What, you think
I'm scared, then?

Don't know if you are or not.

Curious to know, though.

You do it.

Not me, ey, fellas?

Go on.

All right, then.

Yes, all right, now.
[applause]

All right.

ROBERT STACK: That afternoon,
Busby's curse struck again.

Oh!

Ahhh!

[thud]

Here we go.

You guys ready?

ROBERT STACK: Legend has it
the chair never had an off day.

Anyone who warmed its
wooden bottom died swiftly.

A roofer who tempted the chair
fell to his death when the roof

he was working on collapsed.

A cleaning woman stumbled
into the chair while mopping.

Soon after, a brain
tumor killed her.

No one escaped the
Chair of Death.

Aye, well, with
all this rain we've

been having, I haven't been
in much need of new supplies.

ROBERT STACK: For safety's sake,
the pub owner finally moved

the chair into the basement.

Out of harm's way.

Or so he thought.

You actually believe
in the curse now.

Well, don't sit in it!

I can tell you more than one
or two stories about people

who've met a premature death.

Do you believe in
that sort of thing?

ROBERT STACK: Within
the hour, the delivery

man's delivery days were over.

[tires squealing] [crash]

It was the last straw.

There was only one safe
place for the chair--

the local museum.

The curators made sure no one
would sit in Busby's chair

again.

They hung it on the wall,
five feet off the ground.

PETER WYON: People come
in, they're horrified.

Oooh-- they-- they
sort of register horror

when they come in and see this
chair and-- and hear the story.

ROBERT STACK: Though its killing
days are presumed to be over,

people continue to
come forward with more

tales of the Chair of Death.

ROLY BARNES: The
strangest one that was

just a couple of months ago.

A fellow rang me, a
retired man from Darby

who'd been stationed on the
air force base during the war.

And he was a member
of the RAF band,

and they used to play
at functions in Thirsk

and traveled there by truck.

On the way back one
night, they picked up

two airmen who were walking home
from a night out in the town.

And one of these airmen
wanted to use a toilet,

so they stopped here
at the Busby Stoop.

ROBERT STACK: While
waiting for the airman,

the driver of the
truck, all unknowing,

sat in Busby's chair.

When the airman didn't
return, the driver

left the pub without him.

The abandoned and furious
airman had to make

his own way back to the base.

ROLY BARNES: When he got
there, he got a building brick

and smashed the head of
this driver and killed him.

ROBERT STACK: These
days, the chair

isn't taken down
even for cleaning,

just in case anyone is
foolhardy enough to test

Busby's curse once more.

PETER HATCH: The power of the
chair has been hung up with it,

and I wouldn't advise anybody to
take it down and sit on it now.

Because it does
seem that those who

challenge the power
of the chair have been

the quickest to succumb to it.

ROBERT STACK: Next, the
unique and strange story

of a girl who many believe
is somehow healing the sick,

even though she has been in
a near-coma for 11 years.

TOUR GUIDE: As you can
see, this is Audrey's room.

And the person sitting down on
her left is her grandmother.

And the person standing on your
right is one of the nurses--

ROBERT STACK: Meet Audrey Santo.

This is not a re-enactment.

Audrey has been in a
coma-like state called

akinetic mutism for 11 years.

Every week, people
line up at this window

to get a glimpse of her.

Not because they are morbid,
but because they believe

she's a miracle maker.

Her astonishing story
begins when Audrey

played by her
family's swimming pool

in Worcester, Massachusetts.

She was only three years
old when tragedy struck.

AUDREY SANTO: [shrieks]

ROBERT STACK: Audrey was
underwater for several minutes

before she was rescued
by her brother.

On the way to the
emergency room,

she went into cardiac arrest.

It was a parent's
worst nightmare.

Audrey's initial diagnosis
after the near-drowning was--

that she had massive brain
damage from the drowning

and a very poor prognosis,
they didn't think she

was going to live very long.

LINDA SANTO: We just
started praying.

That's all.

Just prayed.

Because when things are
totally out of your control,

what else can you do?

It's God's control, and you've
got to give Him the ball

and let Him run with it.

ROBERT STACK: Audrey
lived, but she has remained

bedridden for 11 years.

She shows an awareness of
what's going on around her,

but she is unable
to move or talk.

She's not fully conscious by
any stretch of the imagination,

yet she's not unconscious.

ROBERT STACK: A year
after Audrey's accident,

her mother took her
to the famous miracle

site of Medjugorje,
hoping for a cure.

The trip nearly killed
Audrey, but from that time

on, a gradual progression
of unexplained phenomena

took place.

One of the most
remarkable occurred

in the Santos' living room.

October 1993.

Audrey was nine.

A picture of the Virgin
Mary appeared to be crying.

Not tears, but drops of oil.

LINDA SANTO: We're all
looking at this image.

And-- and I said, please, you
know, if this is for Audrey,

let us know this,
because all of a sudden

it occurred just to
the-- to the kids and I

that maybe this weeping
was for Audrey's healing.

There are many
meanings of oil.

For example, healing, and so on.

And I conclude quickly
then that God is saying,

this is a holy place, and
this little girl is mine.

ROBERT STACK: It started
with one weeping picture.

Then, as the days
went on, almost

every religious icon in Audrey's
room began to cry tears of oil.

LINDA SANTO: Another
image started weeping,

and then another
image started weeping.

We started thinking,
well, is there

a rhyme or reason to this?

ROBERT STACK: Or
could it be a hoax?

One person who thought it was
a sham was a newly-hired nurse.

Warm enough?

When I started
piecing everything

together, at first I'm saying,
I gotta get out of here.

These guys are nuts!

I really tried to call
their bluff on this.

But as I stayed there, I just--

I believed it.

I couldn't-- I can't find any
reason why these things are

happening, and I have checked.

I checked the-- the
statues, I checked the cups.

I mean, I'm looking for
wires and anything that

would start an oil reaction.

And there was-- there
was absolutely nothing.

Nothing there that I can
explain why it's happening.

ROBERT STACK: News
began to spread

within the Catholic community.

Fervent believers began to
request samples of the oil.

Some even anointed their
sick loved ones with it.

The mysterious events began
to take on a new dimension.

Caitlin McQuade was thought
to have cerebral palsy.

She no longer has
braces on her legs.

Victor Fanucchi recovered
from crippling neck pain.

A motorcycle accident
had left Joey Parolisi

with severely injured legs.

He can now walk
without crutches.

Lord Jesus Christ, you gave
us the Eucharist as the memorial

of your suffering again--

ROBERT STACK: In a remarkable
departure from tradition,

the local Catholic
diocese approved

the weekly performance of
mass in a makeshift sanctuary

in the family's backyard.

Pilgrims came to the Santo home
to ask Audrey to pray for them

and to receive
samples of the oil.

At first, they came by the
dozens, then by the hundreds,

until the numbers
reached the thousands.

Joanna Stanley Pirog were given
a sample of oil by a friend

when their 17-year-old
son Jim lapsed

into a coma after a car crash.

A serious student, he
intended to go to college.

That was before a pickup hit
the driver's side of his car.

They told us then that Jim's
condition was very, very grave.

And it would be a miracle
if he survived the night.

We're concerned that Jim
was not going to make it.

ROBERT STACK: Jim
was still comatose

seven days later when they
placed the oil on his forehead.

[praying]

ROBERT STACK: And then,

[praying]

ROBERT STACK: The monitors
showed that Jim was responding.

I can still remember
the feeling of awe.

Because I didn't expect
that particular effect.

And it was just a few
hours later that he

did come out of his coma.

And the nurses used to
call him Miracle Kid.

ROBERT STACK: It took
Jim a year to improve

enough from his
injuries to return

to high school and graduate.

Audrey's astonishing
abilities took

a new twist in June of 1994.

Without warning, a mysterious
rash appeared on her legs.

Was Audrey taking on the painful
side effects of sick people?

Dr. Harding had no
explanation for it.

So a laboratory examined
the biopsy of Audrey's skin.

JOHN HARDING: And they sent
back a report that said it's--

the rash that you might see
with a patient on chemotherapy.

And she wasn't on chemotherapy.

Knowing the supernatural
stuff flying around her,

perhaps somebody had come
in, maybe their wife dying

of cancer or their husband or
their child and on chemotherapy

and had asked her if she
would ask God for healing

for their loved one.

And it, uh, you know,
perhaps she took that on,

that suffering and--

on behalf of a patient.

ROBERT STACK: But
one of the most

incredible aspects of Audrey's
story is Audrey herself.

After 11 years of
being bedridden,

she is surprisingly healthy.

JOHN HARDING: You
just wouldn't expect

her to be so
well-nourished looking,

her skin to be in such
perfect condition.

She really just looks like
this maybe happened a--

a few weeks ago or
a month ago, not

like it happened 11 years ago.

The girl's never had
a bedsore, you know?

And for someone who doesn't
move around and have a trach

and stuff, she really has
not had any kind of pneumonia

or cold or anything in
three years, which is really

in itself a remarkable thing.

It's got to be God.

I mean, supernatural comes
from two sources in my book--

the Devil or God, and
since this is all good

and people are coming back to
God and they're being healed,

this must be of God.

ROBERT STACK: Next, heartwarming
stories about a blind dog

and an overweight pig.

Can you guess what qualities
make them an unsolved mystery?

They say that inside even
the smallest dog lives

a heart and mind of a wolf.

So what's strange force makes
these animals our best friends?

Even more puzzling, what
inexplicable instinct

persuades them to risk
their lives for ours?

What is a potent and mysterious
bond between us and them?

Annette McDonald
and her dog Norman

often walk along the
shore of a tidal estuary

in Seaside, Oregon.

Norman is a yellow
lab, a kind of dog

often used to guide the blind.

In this case, however,
the roles are reversed.

Norman is blind.

Annette guides him.

[barks]

ANNETTE MCDONALD: When Norman's
going to bump into something,

I just say, easy, easy.

If I throw the stick and he
doesn't hear where it lands

and he goes the wrong direction,
I tell him to go the other way.

I just say, other
way, other way,

and he'll usually turn
around and go the right way.

ROBERT STACK: On
August 5th, 1997,

Annette was guiding Norman
through their usual game,

when Norman suddenly reacted
to a different sound.

[barks]

Norman!

Norman!

He just took off like a bullet.

I was surprised that he
could even run that fast.

ROBERT STACK: Annette
tried to call him back,

worried he would hurt himself,
but he ignored her completely.

Help!

Help!

Help!

ROBERT STACK:
15-year-old Lisa Nibley

was caught in a dangerous
undertow of the incoming tide.

LISA NIBLEY: I was having a
hard time getting enough air in,

you know.

My lungs were just burning
because it was just

so hard for me to breathe and--

and my face was just on
fire because I was screaming

so loud for someone to help me.

Help!

ROBERT STACK: Amazingly,
Norman started

swimming straight toward her.

ANNETTE MCDONALD: I couldn't
believe that he knew

what to do, but he
knew somebody needed

him and he went and did it.

It was just-- it was incredible.

ROBERT STACK: When Lisa saw
Norman heading toward her,

she stopped screaming.

Norman became
instantly disoriented.

[whimpers]

ROBERT STACK: Annette
suddenly realized Norman had

been following Lisa's voice.

Call him!

Call him, his name is Norman!

His name is Norman, call him!

He'll come to you!

Norman!

Norman!

ROBERT STACK: The
moment Lisa called him,

Norman got his bearings and
swam straight toward her.

Come on, Norman!

It was the most hopeless
moment in my life.

I felt like everything
was depending

on Norman to get out there
and get her because there

was no way I could.

I'm not a swimmer and I wouldn't
have been able to save her,

it was all depending on him.

When he swam out to me,
he kind of looked at me,

at my face, and kind of like he
was saying, grab a hold of me,

I'm going to help you.

ROBERT STACK: Lisa grabbed
Norman then lost her grip.

Her arms were
shaking with fatigue.

Incredibly, Norman came
back for another try.

Norman!

LISA NIBLEY: He turned around
and, like, swung himself around

so I could grab the back
of him so he could swim

and I could hold onto him.

I think he-- he knew
that he had to help me.

He knew what he was doing.

ROBERT STACK: To
Lisa's astonishment,

Norman towed her toward
shore as though he'd

been trained for all his life.

Moments later, they were
back in the shallows, safe.

We did it, come on!

LISA NIBLEY: He's my
guardian angel and I--

I was, you know, so happy
that-- that happened

and he saved me
and it was amazing.

ROBERT STACK: Neither Annette
nor Lisa understand what

mysterious instinct
inspired a blind dog to risk

his life for a stranger,
but Lisa will be

forever grateful to her hero--

Norman.

When you look into a
dog's soft brown eyes,

it's not hard to see
the heart of a hero.

But what about other animals?

August 4th, 1998.

Jo Altsman was vacationing
at a campground on Lake Erie.

While her husband
was out fishing,

she was relaxing
in their trailer.

Suddenly, she felt a pain in
her chest and her left arm

went numb.

Help!

Help!

Help me!

No No one in the
campground heard her cries.

No one except Lulu, her
pet pot-bellied pig.

[squeals]

ROBERT STACK: Jo's heart attack
continued, the pain increasing.

Is anybody there?

ROBERT STACK: She became
terrified that she would die,

no one close enough to help.

Seconds passed.

Minutes.

She was getting weaker.

YOUNG MAN: Hello?

Is anybody home?

JO ALTSMAN: Help me!

I'm having a heart
attack, call 911!

The phone is in the center.

All right, I--

I'll get some help, I'll get
an ambulance, just hold on,

I'll be right back!

ROBERT STACK: Within
minutes, paramedics were

rushing Jo to the hospital.

JO ALTMAN: They took me to the
emergency room and admitted me.

And they said that
even 15 minutes, I

would have no quality of
life or I would have died.

ROBERT STACK: But how did the
young man happen to arrive

just in the nick of time?

What guardian angel
guided him to her door?

To Jo's amazement, it turned
out to be Lulu the pig.

From the moment Jo
fell to the floor,

Lulu seemed to know
something was very wrong.

[squeals]

ROBERT STACK: She
ran to the kitchen

and squeezed yourself
through the dog door,

scraping her belly raw.

Outside, Lulu threw
herself against the gate,

battering it until it broke.

JO ALTSMAN: Her cries
kept getting fainter.

That's because she was
going farther away from me,

but I didn't register
that at the time.

[squealing]

ROBERT STACK: Lulu went to the
campground's main crossroads.

Incredibly, she parked herself
in the middle of the road,

forcing drivers to back
up or swerve around her.

Even more amazing, Lulu
repeatedly retraced her steps,

returning constantly to Jo.

JO ALTSMAN: She'd come back
in through the doggy door

and scrape her belly
and check on me

and put that big mug
of hers over my face.

And she'd go out back
out through everything

and do everything again.

It just seemed like
I'd hollered forever

and Lulu had run back and
forth forever, and nobody came.

ROBERT STACK: But
Lulu apparently

wasn't willing to give up.

Finally, someone stopped.

Lulu's behavior
defies explanation.

Did she actually
conceive and execute

a plan to save Jo's life?

How could a pig do that?

And why would she?

Animal behaviorists
might credit pack

instinct, the genetically
programmed responses

to fear pheromones.

But Jo has a simpler answer--

Lulu loved her.

Every morning I thank
God that she was there.

And every morning I thank her.

Lulu literally saved my life.

ROBERT STACK: Next, some say
that water from a chalice

called a Nanteos Cup
has the power to heal.

Could it be the Holy Grail?

It was the most sacred
object of the Middle Ages.

The great elusive prize covered
by King Arthur and his knights

of the Round Table.

Centuries ago, wandering
minstrels popularized the image

of a bejeweled golden chalice--

the Holy Grail.

But that is a romantic ideal.

The reality may be
quite different.

Thousands of people believe
this well-worn palm-sized bit

of olive wood, kept under
lock and key in West Wales,

is the true Grail, all that
is left of a simple workman's

cup, a cup from which
Jesus Christ himself drank

at the Last Supper.

SEAN MACHESTER: The cup
is a unique symbol which

brings God and man together.

And of course, for
the Catholic at least,

Christ is present in the cup.

Many people regard the
Holy Grail and Jesus

Christ as one and the same.

ROBERT STACK: It is a powerful
notion, that the lips of Christ

actually touched an object
that still exists today.

But is it truly the Grail?

Where is the proof?

Believers say it lies in the
cup's miraculous power to heal.

Hundreds testify
they have been cured

of the worst afflictions--

arthritis, heart disease,
blindness, leprosy,

even deadly cancers.

The legend of the Grail begins
with this wondrous journey

from biblical Palestine to
a modest cottage in England.

For more than 2,000
years, every object

associated with the Last
Supper and the Crucifixion

has taken on a
mystical significance,

none more so the Holy Grail.

RONALD HUTTON:
For the historian,

the Grail is legend,
pure and simple,

but legend is an amazing thing.

It can enable people to do
heroic things under the worst

of circumstances.

And that's why
the Grail story is

one of the greatest stories in
the entire history of the world

and always will be.

ROBERT STACK: Though it was
not recorded in the Bible,

the Grail legend holds that
blood spilled from Chirst's

wounds as his body
was being prepared

for burial, Joseph
of Arimathea caught

a few drops in the Grail.

After the Resurrection,
Joseph was accused

of stealing the body of
Christ and was imprisoned

without food or water.

Each day, however, an angel
placed a wafer in the Grail,

keeping Joseph alive
until he managed to escape

with his life and the Grail.

He brought the precious cup to
the Western Isles of Britain.

There he founded the
Church of the Holy Grail

on Glastonbury Tor, a church
whose ruins still stand today,

100 miles west of London.

SEAN MACHESTER: There
is sufficient evidence--

written evidence--
to support the coming

of Joseph and the Holy Grail--

with 11 or so disciples--

to the western
confines of England,

indeed to Glastonbury via the
Bristol Channel from Palestine.

ROBERT STACK: For 1,000
years after Joseph came

to Glastonbury, the
Grail remained hidden

away and all but forgotten.

Then in the 12th century,
poets and troubadours

revived the legend.

The quest for the Grail
captivated all of Europe.

RONALD HUTTON: It's the
spiritual equivalent to, say,

the "Star Wars" trilogy,
the "Superman" movies,

the "Batman" movies
all rolled into one.

Everybody knows the
characters, everybody

has some sense of what's at
stake-- it's the salvation

of the human race.

ROBERT STACK: Three
centuries after the revival

of the Grail legend, Henry
VIII added another chapter.

He ordered his soldiers
to loot the monasteries

and destroy the churches,
including Glastonbury.

RONALD HUTTON: Henry
VIII's reformation

was among the great
acts of vandalism

in the history of the world.

To put it bluntly, the King
wants to get rich so he

could fight France and Spain.

And he also wanted to
remove what he thought

were the wrong bits of
religion of his land,

and that's why these great
medieval abbeys had to go.

ROBERT STACK: A group of
monks left Glastonbury just

ahead of the King's soldiers.

Legend has it that
they carried with them

a secret treasure,
the true Grail.

For a time, they hid
in a monastery in Wales

called Strata Florida.

When Strata Florida suffered
the same fate as Glastonbury,

the monks fled again.

This time to Nanteos House,
a mansion owned by a family

of aristocrats named Powell.

There the monks found sanctuary.

PETER GRIFFITHS: There
were seven of them.

Six monks and the prior.

And they remained in Nanteos
House until one-by-one,

they passed on.

The last of the seven
to die was the prior,

and it was the prior who
handed this sacred relic over

to the Powell family.

ROBERT STACK: The Powells
guarded the monks' relic

for 400 years, handing
it down from one

generation to the next.

It became known as
the Nanteos Cup.

PETER GRIFFITHS: What
began to transpire

was that the chalice
had healing properties.

How they discovered
this is not known,

but at some point in time,
the healing properties

became more apparent.

ROBERT STACK: For many
years, Reverend Griffiths

knew only the barest facts
about the Nanteos Cup.

Than one night in 1988,
he had his first encounter

with the mysterious
powers of the Grail.

I was on itinerant
ministry during those days,

and this particular day, I
was traveling to North Wales

early in the morning.

So I'd set a time of
rising at 6:00 AM.

But at 4:00 AM, I was
awakened by a voice.

The first time it
didn't register,

and I heard a second
time the voice say,

you will find the holy chalice.

[phone ringing]

ROBERT STACK: Before dawn that
very morning, a friend called.

The friend suggested
that the Reverend

include the Nanteos Cup
in a coming exhibition

of Christian artifacts.

He told Griffiths
he might learn more

about the cup at the ruined
abbey of Strata Florida.

PETER GRIFFITHS: When I gave
the curator the details,

I was amazed to find that he
was convinced of my experience,

and he was more than
willing to help.

But he made it to understand
that it was breaking a rule,

because he had
promised the family

that he would never
redirect anyone

to their present location.

Now the reason for this was
because the present cup owner's

mother was sometimes inundated
with as many as 1,000

visitors per week,
and as a result,

she experienced a breakdown.

ROBERT STACK: The
current owner of the cup,

another direct descendant
of the Powell family,

lives in seclusion, protecting
her privacy as vigilantly

as she guards the Nanteos Cup.

GUARDIAN: As the guardian
of the Holy Grail,

my duty is to safeguard
the cup at all times,

but to allow people to drink
from it, to have water from it,

and to send water to
people if they're ill.

PETER GRIFFITHS: When I first
set eyes on the chalice,

I was a little
disappointed, because it

was only fragmentary.

Perhaps there's only a third
of the original vessel left.

But when I handled
it, I had a total--

totally different
appreciation of it.

I can't describe
in human language

the effect it had upon me--

as if I was already in paradise.

ROBERT STACK: It is
precisely that feeling

of holiness that has led
many to believe the cup

has the power to heal.

The cup's guardian
gives water that

has been poured over the
cup to Reverend Griffiths.

He patched the holy water
on small prayer mats

and sends them to those
who are sick and crippled.

The reverend says
some of the results

have been nothing
short of miraculous.

I have a regular
meal with a young man

who was once totally blind,
and today he has perfect sight.

I cite one case of a
young man who was a leper.

Had a leprous
condition for 11 years.

But the following day, his
skin was perfectly clean

from every trace of leprosy.

We have many cases of
arthritics and rheumatics

who have been healed--

if not in the short-term,
in the long-term,

for which they were told
originally there was no cure.

ROBERT STACK: Marlene Sheckley
testifies to her own miracle.

Well, like I would imagine,
it was everyone's nightmare.

I was having a
shower one morning

and I found a lump
in my left breast.

ROBERT STACK: Marlene's
doctor believed

the lump was cancerous.

While waiting for a mammogram,
Marlene wore one of the prayer

claws beneath her clothes.

And then by the time I
went for the mammogram,

everything was clear.

The lump was still there but
there was nothing cancerous.

The doctors did say that the
lump would still stay there,

but after a week or
two the lump went,

and I've had no further
problems since with that.

PETER GRIFFITHS: The
results and the testimonies

were so amazing,
that I knew then

that behind my whole experience,
from the time when I heard

the voice to this
present time, that I have

no doubts whatsoever about the
authenticity of the chalice

being the Holy Grail that
Jesus used at the Last Supper.

ROBERT STACK: Is the
Nanteos Cup the Holy Grail?

We may never know.

The cup has not been
carbon-dated or scientifically

tested in any way.

Its guardian fears such
testing might damage it.

As it turns out, there are at
least half a dozen chalices

scattered across
Europe that many claim

are equally strong
contenders for the title

of the true Grail.

It is interesting
to note, however,

that the others are made of
more expensive materials--

gold, bronze, and other metals.

The Nanteos Cup is simple
wood, precisely the kind of cup

a humble carpenter
would drink from.

Next, did television
star Michael Landon

send a gift to his daughter
from beyond the grave?

A compelling testament
to the power of love--

the real Highway to Heaven.

What do a Christmas
ornament, $300 in cash,

and a fragile red
rose have in common?

Some would say they were
all signs from Heaven,

tangible gifts sent
from beyond the grave

by television star
Michael Landon,

grandfather Herman Stegos, and
college student Joe McCarthy.

18-year-old Joe McCarthy
of Wausau, Wisconsin

was a go-getter in every sense.

A top-10 student in
his high school class.

When it came time for
college, he chose Notre Dame.

In June of 1987, Joe
had just returned

home after his
freshman year when he

was killed in a car accident.

When Joe died, there's--

number one, there's emptiness
in your heart and in your mind,

it's like where is he?

Is he OK?

I kept thinking
at the time, if he

could only just talk to me.

Just one time and--

KATHLEEN MCCARTHY-DIXON:
Everyone's grieving around you

and so you're thinking,
I wish I knew.

It's just that thought--

is he OK?

ROBERT STACK: The
McCarthys didn't

actually expect an answer.

Then three days
after the funeral,

DENIS MCCARTHY: I was
going through the--

through the basement out
into the-- into the garage

and I saw the angel
that tops our Christmas

tree laying there.

Since Joe died in June and we
had the Christmas ornaments

stored in an upstairs closet, I
thought it was kind of strange

but didn't really think
a whole lot of it.

KATHLEEN MCCARTHY-DIXON: Joe
used to kid me about vacuuming.

It was like, Mom, if
you ever get to Heaven,

there going to be
a vacuum up there,

because you do it so much.

I said, well, cleanliness is
next to godliness, right, kid?

So I did, I vacuumed every day.

I still do.

And I saw something on the rug.

And I picked it up and I just
thought, it was an ornament.

And I just looked
at it and I thought,

this is one of the ornaments
from the Christmas tree.

Why is it here?

And I just set it aside.

I set it on a
shelf we had there.

And I didn't think
much of it at the time.

ROBERT STACK: That
evening, Dennis

told Kathleen about the
angel he had discovered.

It was right there in
the middle of the floor.

I almost stepped on it.

You know what?

I found an angel today too.

And I went and got it
and showed it to him.

And it said-- it
said Joseph on it.

He said, it's a sign, he's OK.

ROBERT STACK: The McCarthys
had four angel ornaments,

each engraved with one of
their children's names.

This one remarkably
had been Joe's.

DENIS MCCARTHY: I looked
at it and-- and saw

Joe's name on there,
it was-- it was

really an incredible feeling.

The fact that he-- that he
gave his-- his mother an angel

and I an angel on the
same day, to me it was--

was pretty powerful.

ROBERT STACK: It
may seem amazing,

but the McCarthys' experience
was hardly uncommon.

Dr. Louis LaGrand
chronicles more

than 50 similar
experiences in his book,

"After Death Communication."

LOUIS LAGRAND: This happens just
an innumerable amount of times.

And that's why we need to
validate these situations,

that's why we need to get
the general public to be more

accepting and open to this.

We can't explain it.

Science will never be
able to explain it.

It's a gift to the heart,
and that's what explains it.

ROBERT STACK: Indeed,
Heaven-sent signs

seemed to come from
those with big hearts,

people like Herman
Stegos, who was

69 when he died unexpectedly.

He was very close to his
grandchildren, especially

his eldest grandson Anthony.

Herman died just three
weeks before Christmas.

His message arrived
with the holiday mail.

Kids, present from Aunt Teri.

When this package came,
it was kind of like--

it was exciting for the kids,
because it took their mind

off of, you know, the grieving.

They opened up the packages,
the wrapping paper was all over,

the shipping stuff was all over
my mother's living room floor.

So I asked Anthony if he
could clean it up and take

the box out of the garbage.

ROBERT STACK: Anthony
was on his way

out, when he suddenly
stopped in his tracks.

He says his grandfather
spoke to him.

When I heard his
voice, it did freak

me out, because it was scary.

He said, Mom Pop
just told me I should

look under the flap of the box.

She just said,
quit playing around.

She thought I was
playing a game.

But I wasn't.

I said, Anthony,
throw the box out.

I thought he was
playing with me.

He said, no, Mom, you don't
understand, I heard him twice,

he said look under the
flap, look under the flap.

ROBERT STACK: Sure enough,
wedged in the bottom flaps

of the box was an envelope.

Look, it's-- it's a card!

ROBERT STACK: Inside were three
crisp $100 bills, one each

for Anthony, his
brother, and sister.

Beth is convinced
the money would

have been lost if
her father had not

spoken from beyond the grave.

Yeah!

BETH ALAIMO: I think
that was the biggest

message in the whole
thing, that, you know,

Grandpa is still here and
Grandpa's still watching you

and Grandpa's spending
the holidays with you.

And I didn't leave and
I didn't abandon you,

and this is the way that he
could tell them, you know,

that I'm still here,
and this was a sure way

of getting out his message--

that you're not alone and
I'm still here with you

and I still love you--

each of you.

LOUIS LAGRAND: To have had an
experience of this nature, when

love is rekindled, the person
is able to reconnect with life

again to get some energy back--

to be able to look at themselves
in the mirror and say,

maybe there is some meaning
to what has happened.

ROBERT STACK:
Meaningful yes, but were

the experiences of Jo's
family and Herman's

family mere coincidences?

Not at all says Michael
Landon's daughter Cheryl.

In 1991, Michael Landon was
at the top of his career.

He was a highly-regarded
star of "Highway

to Heaven," in which
he played an angel

sent to Earth to help people.

Michael first became
well-known to us

as Little Joe on "Bonanza."

Then he played the lovable
father on "Little House

on the Prairie."

Cheryl says that
Michael Landon was not

very different from the
characters he portrayed.

CHERYL LANDON: There
was a warmth about him.

There was this love,
the spontaneity.

It was like he was my angel from
Heaven, my father from Heaven.

ROBERT STACK: When Michael
Landon died of cancer in 1991

at a youthful 54,
Cheryl was devastated.

It was the greatest
loss of my life.

My best friend, my
mentor, my protector,

my guidance, everything.

My security-- it was all gone.

And I started hearing
my dad's voice.

My father would come
to me in dreams.

And I thought, boy, I must be
really grieving, because I'm

hearing my dad's voice.

I'm seeing him in my dreams.

ROBERT STACK: Cheryl
vowed to carry

on Michael's legacy of
emphasizing good deeds

and good heartedness.

Her first step
was writing a book

called, "I Promised My Dad."

As a publishing
deadline approached,

Cheryl felt more and more
uneasy about the prospect

of promoting the book on
the talk show circuit.

I remember going through
so much of the emotions

and I really thought,
how could I go on

and do these television
show successfully?

And I very clearly heard my
father during the day say,

when you go to do
your first show,

I'm going to leave you
a long stem red rose.

ROBERT STACK: A year
later, Cheryl found herself

in Manhattan, nervously
preparing for her first talk

show appearance.

--dress.

Think I should
wear this instead?

ROBERT STACK: That's
when she says she heard

Michael Landon's voice again.

What's wrong?

You've been so quiet
since we got here.

Something really
amazing happened to me.

What?

Just now when I was
standing by the window,

I heard his voice again.

I mean, he was right there.

And this time he told me to find
the fountain in Central Park.

The strange part is that I knew
exactly where this fountain was

and never being there before.

It was like I was guided
exactly to this fountain.

When I had gone down to the
bottom of the stairwell,

there at my feet, exactly
where I had stopped,

was a long stem red rose.

This is just the way my
father said it would be.

It was like I had discovered
a treasure of gold.

I was so happy.

I was so full of
encouragement, that it

was just like a boost of love,
a boost of encouragement.

ROBERT STACK: Cheryl's friend,
who witnessed the moment,

snapped this picture
to commemorate it.

For Michael Landon's
daughter, it is

a lasting reminder of his love.

A single red rose, two
Christmas ornaments,

a trio of $100 bills.

Are the grief-stricken just too
willing to clutch at anything

that might bring them comfort?

Or is something else at work?

Something beyond explanation?

For the families
of Joe McCarthy,

Herman Stegos, and
Michael Landon,

no explanation is needed--

They held the proof
in their hands.

Join me next time for
another compelling hour

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

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