All language subtitles for Beyond.the.Unknown.S03E04.Roswell.and.Poltergeist.WEB.h264-ROBOTS_English [English] (SUBRIP)

Wildman: A family home
with a ghostly guest.

Munson: Books would fly
off the bookcases.

Handprints on the windows.

Everybody's scared.

Wildman: A natural wonder
stumps the world.

Falber:
This was an unusual thing.

This tree
was floating vertically.

Wildman: And a gigantic beast
on the loose in michigan.

It seemed like something
out of a nightmare.

[ creature roars, man screams ]

wildman: But first,

one of the most
horrifying hauntings

in american history.

This is the chilling tale
of a poltergeist

that tore apart a family's home.

[ screams ]

[ silverware clatters ]

wildman: Amazing mysteries,

bizarre phenomena,

and chilling secrets.

I'm don wildman.

Join me on a journey
beyond the unknown.

From the exorcism of roland doe
in late 1940s washington, d.C.

To the 1975 amityville
haunting on long island,

the nation's history
is riddled with tales

of haunted houses
and evil spirits.

But perhaps the most terrifying
ghost story of them all

comes from the frontier days
of oakland, california.

The tale begins
on April 24, 1874,

in the home of government
worker thomas clarke.

Evanosky: Mr. Clarke worked for
the u.S. Treasury department

in san francisco,

and he had a wife
and he had two children --

his daughter, nellie, and his
8-year old son, harry,

wildman: Around midnight,

clarke is awoken
by an alarming sound --

the incessant jangling
of the front doorbell.

Evanosky: Who could be at the
door at that time of the night?

It was so late, and he wasn't
expecting anybody to come.

Wildman: Wary of bandits,

clarke grabs his gun
and heads downstairs.

But when he opens the door,
no one is there.

He can't find anybody
or anything.

He was puzzled.

Wildman: Suddenly, clarke hears
a tremendous crash

coming from the living room.

[ loud crash ]

he rushes in to find a large
heater lying on its side.

The heater was likely
about 40 or 50 pounds.

Mr. Clarke knew there was no way

that that heater could have
fallen there of itself.

Wildman: By now, the rest
of the family has been roused

by the disturbance

and is making their way
down the stairs.

Just as daughter nellie descends
to the bottom landing,

a basket filled
with silverware

flies through the air

and nearly strikes her
in the head.

♪♪

this was very, very dangerous.

This must have terrified
nellie.

How could that have happened?
Who did this?

♪♪

wildman: As the family
huddles together in fear,

the furniture around them
suddenly takes flight.

Evanosky: All of a sudden, a
huge trunk, 80 pounds in weight,

came flying down the stairs.

Chairs move around
without anybody touching them.

Wildman: Then an eerie shriek
splits the night

and the entire house
is illuminated

by a mysterious light.

Lights seemingly from nowhere
began to shine inside the house.

♪♪

the family cannot explain this,
and they're terrified.

Wildman: But it's only the
beginning of their troubles.

For the next three nights,

the clarkes continue
to be plagued

by similar strange events.

Then just as swiftly
as they began,

the horrific happenings stop.

The family is left
with one burning question.

Is their house haunted
by a malevolent spirit?

♪♪

convinced that a poltergeist
is stalking his family,

clarke turns to a spiritualist
for help.

The medium holds a séance
to communicate with the ghost.

It's then that the supposed
ghost whisperer

makes a startling claim.

She was sure that someone
had been murdered in the house.

♪♪

wildman:
Determined to find out more,

clarke teams up with one of
the most prominent academics

of the day, dr. Joseph leconte.

Dr. Leconte was
a world-famous professor.

He was the first president
of the university of california.

Wildman: Hoping to turn up
some evidence of foul play,

leconte digs through local
archives, but he comes up empty.

There had never been a murder
in the house.

♪♪

wildman:
Next, the two men wonder

if the home
could have been built

on top of an ancient
burial ground.

But that's also dismissed.

Evanosky: There are no records

that show there was
ever a cemetery at that site.

Wildman: So what could explain
the spooky events

witnessed by clarke
and his family?

Without any supporting evidence,

leconte eventually comes
to a less-spirited conclusion.

The clarke family
may have been the victims

of a well-orchestrated prank.

Evanosky: He decided
it had to have been

someone in that house
that night --

one of the members
of the family.

Wildman: But clarke is convinced
this was no man-made stunt.

This conclusion
didn't make sense.

They knew it couldn't have been
anyone living at the house

that could have done this

because they'd
all huddled together

and none of them had left.

Wildman: In 1877,

clarke publishes a book
detailing the chilling account.

Terrified the specter
may return,

the family moves
out of the house.

The structure remains abandoned
until it's torn down

in the 1970s.

But to this day, local residents

still report odd
occurrences at the site.

People in that very neighborhood
claim

that that spirit still exists.

Wildman: Scrawled on the pages
of this tattered notebook

is the tale
of a mysterious phenomenon

that has baffled the world.

This object represents
a puzzle of nature

that has stumped onlookers
for over a century.

♪♪

wildman:
It's 1896 in oregon.

46-year-old joseph diller
is a scientist

working for the u.S.
Geological survey.

Falmer: Joseph diller had
a unique curiosity

for science in the field.

Wildman: Diller has just been
given the task of mapping

a remote body of water
known as crater lake.

Crater lake is a beautiful,
stunning, clear-blue lake

on the top
of a 7,000-foot volcano.

Wildman: But shortly after he
arrives at the site,

diller notices
something strange.

He was looking out on the lake

and saw this sun-bleached
piece of wood

sticking about 4 feet
above the lake surface.

This was an unusual thing.

Wildman: Fascinated, diller rows
out to get a closer look.

Initially, he wonders if the
tree must date back to a time

when crater lake
held far less water.

That would have indicated
that over time,

the water level in crater lake

had risen
and overtaken the tree.

Wildman: But when he approaches
the tree,

he realizes the water
is far too deep

for the trunk
to reach the bottom of the lake.

Indeed, in places, crater lake
measures 2,000 feet deep.

This tree was going straight
down vertically,

and he couldn't see where
the tree ended

and the floor
of the lake began.

It certainly caught him
off guard a little bit.

Wildman: So diller connects it
to his boat.

Falmer: When he moved the boat,
the tree moved along with it,

which was not what he was
expecting to happen.

As a scientist, this really
captured his imagination.

This tree
was floating vertically.

Wildman: This puzzling trait
flies in the face of physics.

A log of this size should float
horizontally, not vertically.

Diller records his observations
in his field notebook,

now in the collection
of the u.S. Geological

survey library
in denver, colorado.

And although he is captivated
by the mystifying piece of wood,

he doesn't get the opportunity
to investigate further.

Diller had to leave crater lake
without really figuring out

why this tree
was the way that it was.

Wildman:
In the years that follow,

the vertical log continues
to bob around the lake,

baffling all who see it.

One curious visitor measures it

and finds that it stands
nearly 30 feet tall.

And while most logs would have
disintegrated or sunk

after only a few years,

this one is found to be
more than 450 years old.

And because of its age,
it's given a nickname.

It was called
the old man of the lake.

Wildman: Over the years, people
develop many theories to explain

why the old man
floats vertically

and how it has managed

to survive for so long
without rotting away.

Some people believe
it floats upright

because it must have
fallen into the lake

with heavy rocks
tangled in its roots.

The theory was that those rocks
could have acted as an anchor.

Wildman: But divers swim
to the bottom of the tree

and find no rocks
holding it in place.

In fact,
it isn't connected to anything.

Others believe
in a more outlandish theory

that the log is infused
with supernatural properties.

Falmer:
There's a lot of superstition.

The old man of the lake has some
sort of mystical powers.

Wildman: In 1988, those powers
seemed to become evident.

That year, a team of scientists
attempts to keep

the log stationary
while surveying the lake.

So they tied it up.

And as soon
as they put the lasso around,

a storm descended
onto the lake.

And it wasn't until
they actually untethered the log

and let it move of its own
accord, the storm went away.

Wildman: The incident
leads some to conclude

that the old man of the lake

can actually control
the weather.

♪♪

today, it's believed
that the old man's ability

to float vertically is the
result of a scientific fluke.

At some point in the past,
the lower half of the log

was submerged to the point

that it became
saturated with water.

Scientists pretty much come
to the conclusion

that this log
is the way that it is

because the base
has become waterlogged

and has become heavier
than the top,

which has dried out by the sun.

Wildman:
Being heavier on the bottom

than on the top is what makes
the log float vertically.

But what of the trunk's
extraordinary age?

According to scientists,

this is the result of
a unique condition of the water.

Falber: It's still there because
the water is very cold

and that cool, clean water
in the lake

would have been a great place
to preserve that wood.

Wildman:
More than 500,000 tourists

visit crater lake national park
each year.

And the old man of the lake

has become an attraction
in and of itself.

The old man of the lake has gone
from becoming

sort of this scientific oddity

to also this beloved character
of the area.

Wildman: Top-secret
government documents

that detailed ufo sightings,

radios that supposedly received
otherworldly transmissions,

and debris said to be
from a crashed alien spaceship

can all be found
at the international ufo museum

and research center
in roswell, new mexico.

But hidden in the vault

is the most mystifying object
of them all.

The artifact is about
4 feet long by 2 feet wide,

thin, long and beige,
with a large head,

small nose, slit for a mouth

and really no ears.

Wildman: This eerie effigy is
linked to a bizarre event

that had the entire nation
looking at the stars.

Flammer: This artifact recalls
a surprising find that may have

once and for all
answered the question --

do aliens exist?

♪♪

wildman: Of all the alleged
ufo encounters in history,

perhaps the most famous
occurred in 1947

just outside
roswell, new mexico.

On June 14th, a rancher
named mack brazel

walking his property,
stumbled upon an impact crater

strewn with strange
metallic debris.

But before he could make heads
or tails of it,

the army swooped in
and recovered the wreckage.

Shortly after, the military made
an announcement in the press.

Flammer: The united states army,
air force

said they collected
the remains of a crashed ufo.

♪♪

wildman:
Then the very next day,

government officials
retracted the statement

and said the wreckage came
from a downed weather balloon.

♪♪

the sudden reversal
sparked conspiracy theories

that have endured
to this very day.

Flammer: Many people believed

that this was the biggest
government cover-up

that ever took place
in the united states.

♪♪

wildman:
In the following years,

the rumors about a crashed
spaceship in roswell persisted.

But no definitive proof
ever emerged.

Then nearly 70 years later,
everything changed.

The truth was coming out
once and for all.

Wildman: It's 2015.

A set of mysterious photos
has gone viral online.

They depict what looks like
the mummified body

of an alien being.

Flammer: The body was
about 2 feet long.

It had withered legs and arms.

It had a large triangular head

with black, bulbous eyes
bugging out.

Wildman:
So do these images prove

that the greatest
extraterrestrial sighting

in history is true?

Wildman: It's 2015,

a mysterious photo taken
in the 1940s has gone viral.

It shows what appears to be
a corpse of an alien being.

The owner of the images
is a documentary filmmaker

from chicago named adam dew.

He says that after finding
the slides

hidden in an old box of photos,

he had the snapshots examined
by a local archeologist.

♪♪

the archeologist told him
that it couldn't be a human.

There was no pelvis.

There were the arms attached
directly to the rib cage.

There were 4 sets of ribs,
not 10, like a human has.

♪♪

wildman: Then dew says he took
the slides to experts at kodak.

What they told him
only added to the mystery.

The experts could date these
slides between 1945 and 1950.

Wildman:
It's the exact date range

in which the infamous
roswell incident occurred.

It was at this point that dew
felt maybe this was an alien.

♪♪

wildman: Wondering if he had
finally uncovered some proof

of the roswell aliens,
dew releases the photos online.

Flammer: This was of great
consequence to anybody who is

in the ufo community
and especially with roswell.

♪♪

wildman: Just days after
the release of the photos,

a group of skeptics
banned together online

to scrutinize the images.

Flammer: They didn't believe

that roswell
or the slides were real

because they wanted
to know for sure.

♪♪

wildman:
During their examination,

they noticed something curious.

On the right side
of the display case

said to hold the alien,

there's a small,
blurry rectangle.

Intrigued,
they run the slide

through a digital
enhancement program.

Slowly but surely, the strange
object comes into focus.

It appears to be a plaque.

The placard said,
"mummified body

of 2-year-old boy."

from that, the online sleuths
tracked the mummy

to the chapin mesa
archeological museum

in colorado.

♪♪

the institution confirms
that the body is that

of a native american boy
unearthed in arizona in 1896.

They also reveal that the child
suffered from possible

genetic anomalies,
which left him deformed.

The remains were returned to
the tribe for reburial in 1998.

♪♪

it seems that dew's photos

didn't contain an alien
after all.

Flammer: Many people
had their hopes up

that this was the alien
smoking gun from roswell.

But he had to admit
that it was not an alien.

♪♪

wildman: Today, this mannequin
of an alleged alien

rests at the international
ufo museum

and research center in roswell,
new mexico.

It's an out-of-this-world
reminder

that looks
can be very deceiving.

♪♪

this wooden device is connected

to one of the most controversial
psychic experiments of all time.

This artifact is a reminder
of an event

that sent scientists
into a frenzy.

Wildman: It's 1960.

The united states
and the soviet union

are locked in a battle
for global supremacy,

and the most important weapon
in this cold war

is information.

In the ussr,

the soviet authorities
focused their efforts

on intercepting american
military communications.

At that time
in the soviet union,

the russians had ways
to intercept radio signals

that had american
military secrets on them.

♪♪

wildman: But one day,

the russians
receive a tip that threatens

to undermine
their entire operation.

In February,
soviet officials read an article

from a french magazine

that describes
an unusual research study.

According to the report,

the americans have developed
an unorthodox way

to send covert messages...

Using the power of the mind.

The article was about
an esp experiment

that was done
for military purposes.

Wildman: Extrasensory
perception, or esp,

is the ability
to communicate telepathically.

For decades, humans have tried
to find a way

to harness this psychic power.

Now, according to the report,

it seems the united states
has finally cracked it.

According to the report,
a researcher in maryland used

esp to transmit mental images
to a scientist

in a submarine
under the arctic circle.

The experiment used
an automatic card shuffler,

just like this one on display
at the rhine research center

for parapsychology
in north carolina.

The card shuffler
randomly ejected the card

printed with a unique symbol,
then using esp,

the researcher in maryland

attempted to communicate
the image

to the scientist
on the submarine.

The report declares
the results astounding.

Kruth: They found that there was
a 70% accuracy

in the guesses of the cards.

This is higher than anything

that had ever been determined
in any experiment before.

Wildman: The russians fear
that the americans

could send telepathic messages
to u.S. Naval commanders

and launch
a surprise nuclear attack.

And the soviets
would have no way to know it

before it was too late.

Kruth:
The russians at that time

had ways to intercept
radio signals.

But they had no way to intercept
mind-to-mind communication.

This meant the americans
could send signals

that could not be intercepted
by the russians.

This is frightening.

♪♪

wildman: The soviets believe

they are lagging far behind
their rivals

in this psychic cold war.

So they swiftly pour
millions of rubles

into an ambitious parapsychology
research program,

devoting countless man-hours

in an attempt to catch up
to the united states.

Now that the americans
have proven their abilities

in this area, the race was on.

Wildman: As soviet scientists
throw everything they have

into developing esp,

what they don't realize
is there's much more

to the american experiment
than meets the mind.

They didn't realize what
the united states was doing.

Wildman: It's 1963.

Soviet officials
receive intelligence

on what they think

is a top-secret
u.S. Military project.

It seems the americans
have found a way

to transmit messages
using esp.

Desperate to catch up,
the russians invest millions

into their own
telepathic program.

For years, the russians
tried to replicate

the impressive results

that the americans seem
to have achieved.

But all their efforts
are for naught.

Kruth: When soviets saw
the results of the experiments

that they were doing,
they found no evidence of esp.

Wildman: The soviets' esp
program is a failure.

Adding insult to injury,
they've devoted millions

and have now fallen
behind the u.S.

In the development of other more
traditional military systems.

It caused a great deal
of concern.

There was a feeling of crisis.

Wildman: So did the u.S.
Really develop

an esp messaging system?

♪♪

20 years later, a theory
emerges that explains it all.

In 1983,
an author named martin ebon

is doing some research into
the field of parapsychology

when he comes across a report

that flips
this bizarre tale on its head.

An american magazine called
"this week" published an article

saying that the french article
was a fraud

and there was no experiment done
with a submarine using esp.

Wildman: It seems the american
esp program was a huge hoax.

But why would anyone perpetrate
such an elaborate

and seemingly
far-fetched scheme?

Many suspect it was all part
of the cold war spy games.

Some people have speculated
that the cia was attempting

to send the soviet union
on a wild goose chase

and have them spend
a lot of resources on a goal

they could never achieve.

Wildman:
And planting a fake report

of a massively successful
esp program

seems right in line
with the spy agency's strategy

of duping the russians
by any and all means.

Although the cia

has always denied
planting the false esp report,

many continue to believe it was
one of the most successful

counterintelligence operations
of all time.

♪♪

today, this device used
to automatically shuffle

esp cards on display

at the rhine research center
in durham, north carolina,

recalls the telepathic
military experiment

that was ultimately
just a trick of the mind.

♪♪

this figurine depicts
a menacing beast that some say

is still hiding
in the american wilderness,

terrorizing all those unlucky
enough to cross its path.

Young: This is a story
of a scary monster,

a terrified community
and a frantic search.

♪♪

wildman: For decades, the quaint
midwestern city

of dowagiac, michigan,

has been haunted by a series
of frightening accounts.

Many witnesses have reported
seeing a mysterious creature

that lurks in the woods
on the edge of town.

According to one story, in 1962,
two men were camping in an rv

near the shores
of tranquil dewey lake.

♪♪

suddenly, out of nowhere,

their rv started to shake
violently from side to side,

as if rocked by an earthquake.

Young:
They must have thought

that the world
was coming to an end.

They're terrified.

Wildman:
The men ran out of the camper.

And there, they were met
with a horrifying sight.

There they see
a huge creature --

9 or 10 feet tall,

covered in hair,
upright on two legs.

Wildman:
But before they could react,

the creature sprinted
towards the lake

and disappeared
beneath the water.

It must have seemed like
something out of a nightmare.

♪♪

wildman: Other tales describe

similar encounters
with this enormous beast.

Young:
There are multiple reports

of this tall, apelike creature
around town.

Wildman: And not only is this
beast big and hairy,

it's said to possess
extraordinary strength.

Some people say it's so strong
that it can turn over cars

and tear off their bumpers.

[ creature growls,
woman screams ]

wildman: Locals have even given
this colossal creature a name --

the dewey lake monster.

Young: The whole area around
dewey lake was on edge.

The public wanted answers.

Wildman: The less-fearful-minded
people of dowagiac believe

that these sightings are nothing
more than a large black bear.

Like the so-called monster,

black bears are covered
in thick hair,

can weigh up to 500 pounds

and are able to stand
on their hind legs.

A lot of people thought,

"this is just a case
of mistaken identity."

wildman: But eyewitnesses insist
it was no bear.

They say that whatever they saw

was able to run fast
while on two legs.

Black bears can barely walk on
their hind legs, let alone run.

♪♪

wildman: Others speculate
that the alleged attacks

are simply the work
of a prankster intent

on scaring
his fellow townspeople.

Young: People said it could be
a high school student

in an ape costume

having some fun
and playing a prank on everyone.

Wildman: But this explanation
also seems unlikely.

How could a person in a hairy
ape costume turn over a car?

Wildman:
As the mystery deepens,

one final theory emerges,

one that may not only explain
the dewey lake monster,

but also connect it to the most
famous mythical creature

ever to roam the united states.

So what is the truth
behind the dewey lake monster?

Wildman:
In the 1960s, michigan residents

living on dewey lake reported
seeing a bizarre creature.

It's apelike, standing 9 feet
tall and covered in brown hair.

Locals dub it
the dewey lake monster.

[ woman screams ]

as word of a dewey lake
monster spreads,

some people
note the similarities

between descriptions
of the beast

and a giant creature
from a prehistoric time,

a massive ape called
gigantopithecus blacki.

This primitive primate roamed
across southeast asia

100,000 years ago.

Its height, weight and stance

match the reports
of the dewey lake monster.

Gigantopithecus was a real
giant, apelike creature.

It was about 10 feet tall,

weighed half a ton,
stands upright on two legs.

♪♪

wildman:
So could the dewey lake monster

be the descendent
of this ancient ape?

And if so, how did its ancestors
get from asia to michigan?

Some speculate
gigantopithecus blacki

migrated across
the bering land bridge

from russia to north america
during the last ice age.

And some believe that
if these beasts survived,

then they could explain
not just the sightings

of the dewey lake monster,

but another legendary beast
that's covered in hair

and known to walk upright --
bigfoot.

Young: Some people speculated
that gigantopithecus

might have become
the sasquatches

that we hear about today.

Wildman: Despite this theory,

concrete evidence
of gigantopithecus blacki

has never been found
in north america.

Young: If a monster like this
really existed,

there should be some evidence
of it in bones or fossils,

something in the record.

Wildman: Some remain convinced
that this ancient animal

is still out there
waiting to be found.

Young:
The u.S. Is a huge country.

There's so much land there

where a creature
could conceivably stay hidden.

♪♪

wildman: Meanwhile,
this clay figurine

of the dewey lake monster
is on display

at the dowagiac area
history museum in michigan.

It's a reminder
of a savage beast

that may just be bigfoot's
long-lost cousin.

♪♪

this object tells
of a loyal soldier

who carried on his fight
from beyond the grave.

This uniform
recalls a ghostly guest

that terrorized a family.

♪♪

wildman: It all begins
in the fall of 1986

in the seemingly tranquil town
of spotsylvania, virginia.

Sheilajean and richard colosimo
have just moved

into their dream home.

It's a large house
some 50 miles north of richmond.

One afternoon,
sheila is unpacking boxes

when she feels the room
suddenly grow unnaturally cold.

Munson:
It was 90 degrees outside,

but you can see your breath
in this room.

It was that cold.

♪♪

wildman: Sheila is so unnerved
that she calls a neighbor

and asks them to come over.

Munson: She looked to her
neighbor and she said,

"do you feel what I feel?"

wildman: The neighbor agrees
there is a sinister chill

about the place.

What's more, she has her
own explanation for the cause.

The house is haunted.

For her part,
sheilajean is doubtful.

Sheilajean was
a devout catholic.

As a catholic,
you believe in the holy spirit.

You don't believe in ghosts.

♪♪

wildman:
But the neighbor is adamant.

And to prove it,
she takes out a rosary.

Munson: She wrapped it
around her hand,

and she starts shaking it.

And said, "begone, begone."

♪♪

wildman:
According to the story,

at the sound of these words,
the room warms.

What was ever
in that room was gone.

Wildman: Sheilajean
and her husband, richard,

hope that this is
the end of the matter.

But later that day, when they
try to reenter the room,

the door seems to be locked
from the inside.

They didn't lock the door.

They're jimmying the door.

They're twisting the doorknob.
They're trying to get it open.

Wildman: Eventually,
the door swings open,

and the couple is greeted
by a horrifying sight.

They look around, and the room
was in total disarray.

The rosary that was on one wall
is now embedded into it.

Wildman: It's 1986
in spotsylvania, virginia.

A young family named
the colosimos

have just moved
into a new house,

and it seems they're not
the only residents.

They claim the rooms
have gone frigid without cause.

Doors have locked on their own

and furniture
has been tossed around.

For the next several weeks,

they are terrorized
by an unseen, malevolent force.

Munson: At this point,
things went from bad to worse.

They said books would fly
off the bookcases.

Handprints on the windows.

Everybody's scared.

Wildman: So what demented demon

has moved in
with the colosimos?

By late fall, the colosimos
are so desperate

that they call
in a paranormal investigator

named carolyn taylor.

She convinces the family
that the best way to exorcise

the spirit is
to make contact with it.

So she's gonna try to figure out
what is the problem,

what is causing this phenomena
here that happened?

Wildman: In the living room,
taylor lays out a spirit board.

The medium directs
sheilajean and richard

to put their hands
on the pointer.

Then she asks the ghost
to reveal its identity.

Suddenly, the pointer
begins to move.

And slowly, it spells out
response after response.

Munson: Miss taylor
start getting a clear picture

of what was happening.

Wildman:
According to the board,

the spirit is that of a
16-year-old confederate soldier.

♪♪

in 1864, he was killed during
the battle of the wilderness

near where the colosimos' house
presently stands.

For more than 100 years,
he's been wandering the area.

What's more, he thinks
sheilajean and richard

are union soldiers
bent on his capture.

And that's why he's been
tormenting them.

He was more frightened
of sheilajean's family

than they were of him.

Wildman: Taylor tells the
puzzled poltergeist the truth.

Munson: Miss taylor assured our
young child that the war's over.

It's time to go home.

Then all of a sudden,

a calm comes over the room.

Wildman: It seems the ghost
has finally been dispelled.

Munson: There was never another
incident in that house.

Everything went to normal.

♪♪

wildman: Today, this confederate
uniform is on display

at the civil war museum
of the western theater

in bardstown, kentucky.

It recalls the loyal soldier
who stayed in the service

more than 100 years
after his death.

♪♪

the woman behind this letter
is known

as one of the most famous spies
of all time.

But what few realize is that
there's more to her tragic tale

than meets the eye.

Ohlke: Her seductive powers
had helped her rise to stardom

but also led to her downfall.

♪♪

wildman: 1917, France.

World war I is raging
across northern europe,

pitting the austro-hungarian
and german armies

against the french,
russian and british.

And as the conflict rolls on,

the casualties on the french
side grow higher and higher.

World war I was horrific
for France.

It is just bleeding out and
public morale is at such a low.

♪♪

wildman: In the spring,

the french military
makes an announcement.

Their campaign has been
undermined by a spy.

The military says this informer

was passing french secrets
to the germans

but has finally
been apprehended.

And to everyone's amazement,

the suspect is one of the most
well-known people in France --

an exotic dancer named
margaretha zelle macleod,

better known as mata hari.

♪♪

mata hari is one of the most
famous women in europe.

People found her captivating.

They could not take
their eyes off of her.

Wildman: The entertainer has
fascinated the public for years

with her seductive routines,

flamboyant lifestyle
and whirlwind affairs.

She is traveling back and forth
throughout europe.

She enjoys having a good time

and she very much
enjoys powerful men

and officers having
a rather cosmopolitan life.

Wildman: But according
to the french police,

mata hari's many liaisons
had nothing to do with romance.

They say that she seduced
military officials

and tricked them into revealing
top-secret information --

everything from combat
strategies to troop movements.

She would then pass the
intelligence on to the germans,

who would use it to launch
devastating attacks

against the french,

resulting in the deaths
of thousands of soldiers.

It was said the evil that this
woman has done is unimaginable.

Wildman:
The public is stunned.

In July, mata hari is made
to face a military tribunal.

The dancer vehemently proclaims
her innocence,

but the evidence
appears damning.

Ohlke: The authorities
have telegrams

that discuss the movements of
a german spy code-named h21,

and they seem to parallel
mata hari's movements perfectly.

Wildman: It takes just
45 minutes to find her guilty

and sentence her to death.

Wildman:
It's 1917 in France.

Exotic dancer mata hari
has been charged with espionage.

Authorities claim she used
her powers of seduction

to persuade french officers

into giving up
top-secret information,

which she then passed
onto the germans.

At trial, she is found guilty
and sentenced to death.

On October 17th,

mata hari is put before
a firing squad.

A seductress to the end,

she blows a kiss to the soldiers
as they aim and fire.

[ gunfire ]

she was a performer
to the last.

Wildman: Mata hari goes down

as one of history's
most notorious secret agents.

Ohlke:
It was said that she was perhaps

the greatest woman spy
of the century.

Wildman: But it seems
that's not the end

of the infamous siren's tale.

In 2001,
the french government

declassified a series
of documents

from mata hari's case.

The papers reveal that
the evidence used to convict her

is not as clear cut
as it seemed in the trial.

♪♪

in fact, the telegrams,

the very proof
that sealed mata hari's fate,

don't show what the french
government claimed at all.

Although they seem to accurately
track her travels

throughout europe,

none of them contain even
a single french military secret.

There's no evidence that she
passed any secrets to germany.

Wildman: Not only that,

a closer look
at the documents suggests

that mata hari was,
in fact, a spy for France.

The only evidence of her passing
intelligence is information

she got from germany
and that she gave to France.

So she was really spying
for the french.

Wildman: The suspicious
telegrams lead historians

to a remarkable conclusion.

Mata hari was framed.

But why would french officials

have set up
the celebrated dancer?

Some believe that
the french government

needed to blame someone

for their poor performance
during world war I.

And mata hari was
the perfect scapegoat.

Ohlke: She's exotic.
She's a foreigner.

She sleeps
with whoever she pleases.

It's easy for people to think
that she would be a spy.

♪♪

wildman: Whatever the truth,
the siren's legacy endures.

Ohlke: Mata hari really becomes
the symbol for the femme fatale,

the seductive female spy that
can get information from anyone

by using her charms.

Wildman: Today, this letter
that mata hari wrote

to one of her many paramours
is on display

at the international spy museum
in washington, d.C.

It recalls the enigmatic beauty
whose seductive powers

may have led to her own demise.