All language subtitles for Weird.Or.What.S03E06.WEBRip.x264-ION10

and may contain
mature subject matter.

Viewer discretion
is advised.

William Shatner: You know,
I've been around for a while.

Met some interesting people,
done some crazy things.

So you just might think
that there's not much that

can take me by surprise.

You'd be wrong.

The world is full of
stories and science and

things that amaze and
confound me every single

day, incredible mysteries
that keep me awake at night.

Some I can answer.

Others just defy logic.

Shatner: Do the dead
haunt everyday objects?

In Atlanta, the pilots of
a crashed airliner return

from the grave.

ENID GRIGGS: I know
what I saw was real.

Shatner: Can an
airplane be possessed?

In Britain, a near fatal
attack on a boy

is blamed - on a painting.

SEAN ROBINSON: He felt
this force in his back

something had pushed
him down the stairs.

Shatner: Can a work
of art harbour demons?

And after an earthquake
in New Zealand, a man is

attacked - by a ghost.

ALLAN BENNETTS: All I could
feel I was getting strangled.

Shatner: Do natural disasters
release spectral energy?

WILLIAM SHATNER: Yeah,
it's a weird world.

And I love it.

WILLIAM SHATNER: Have you
ever seen a ghost - or

something that you
think is a ghost?

Well let me tell you - my
house is full of them...

Haaya!

Oh, that was a big one.

Yup they're everywhere.

Make my day spirit boy!

Yeah, they're in the
walls, in the floors.

Haaya!

You never know where
they're going to turn up -

so you need to
be prepared.

Right?

But not all ghosts are
products of Hollywood -

millions of us claim we've
not only encountered them

in our homes, but almost
anywhere and in anything.

Can bricks and mortar or
other inanimate objects be

havens for the spirits?

Are they contained in
everything around us?

I don't know.

But I do know this.

The one place you don't want
to find them - is on a airplane.

Shatner: Summer 1973.

Eastern Airlines flight
attendant Enid Grigg is

working a busy shift.

ENID GRIGG: We flew
Portland, Seattle,

Seattle, Omaha, and then
Omaha St. Louis,

and then St Louis, Atlanta.

Shatner: Although Grigg
loves her job, tonight

she's feeling
under the weather.

ENID GRIGG: I had stomach
flu or something.

So I asked the senior
flight attendant if

I could go down in the
galley and just get away.

And she says, well the
flight is really light so

why don't you go down
there and, you know,

hang out for a bit.

So I went downstairs
and I just laid down.

I was laying
there for a while.

I don't know whether I'd
fallen off to sleep or not.

Shatner: Suddenly, Enid is aware

that something isn't right.

Although she came down
alone, she senses another

presence in the galley.

Someone is watching her.

ENID GRIGG: All of a
sudden, I see a pilot

standing down at my feet.

And I'm like, oh my
god, I'm embarrassed.

You know I'm down
here sleeping.

I'm not supposed
to be doing this.

Shatner: Not only has she
been napping on the job -

she's been caught
by the captain.

Enid is mortified.

ENID GRIGG: There was just
no communication between

the two of us.

It was just him standing there
kind of like watching me...

and then he
just moved off.

Shatner: Desperate to make
amends, Enid consults a

fellow attendant.

ENID GRIGG: I went over
and I said Linda, I said,

did you see that
pilot down here.

She says, there wasn't
any pilot down here.

I said, yes there
was I saw him.

Shatner: Frustrated and
confused, Enid decides to

apologize to the Captain.

ENID GRIGG: I went
straight in to the cockpit

and asked them, did you
guys, were you downstairs?

And they said no.

And I knew the guys, I knew
they wouldn't lie to me.

Shatner: So who did
Enid see in the galley?

Had she imagined the
entire incident?

ENID GRIGG: There weren't
any other pilots on the plane.

The uniform looked
like it was brand new.

The stripes were bright
yellow, it was very real.

I wasn't asleep
when I saw him.

I don't believe in ghosts.

But I know what
I saw was real.

Shatner: So, it seems,
did many others.

Around the same time as
Enid's encounter, reports

come in of strange
apparitions on other

Eastern airplanes.

Neal Holland is a former
Eastern Airlines pilot.

NEAL HOLLAND: There were
some people that reported

unusual events on that
airplane not only in the

galley but in the
aisles of the airplane.

Shatner: The reports have
one thing in common.

Witnesses say they
recognize the ghostly pilots.

They are Captain Bob Loft
and Flight Engineer Don Repo.

Every Eastern employee
knows who they are -

because Bob and
Don are dead.

They were killed when
Eastern Flight 401 crashed

into the Florida
Everglades in 1972.

NEAL HOLLAND: Even a
vice-president of Eastern

Airlines saw what they
said was a ghost of

captain Loft and also, uh,
second officer Don Repo.

Shatner: Throughout the
summer of '73, more

Eastern employees report
ghostly appearances.

NEAL HOLLAND: There was a pilot
next to the passenger.

And all of a sudden,
the pilot disappeared.

And that pilot was
reported to have been

Captain Bob Loft.

Shatner: Some of the
sightings are so

terrifying they disrupt
airline operations.

NEAL HOLLAND: They
canceled one flight

because of the appearance,
uh, it shook up, uh, a

flight attendant
and the crew...

whether it was Don Repo,
or Captain Loft,

I'm not certain of that.

Shatner: As the ghost
stories spread, Eastern

Airlines tries to
limit the damage.

But then, the airline
makes a stunning admission.

It salvaged undamaged
equipment from the

wreckage of Flight 401 and
had it installed in other

aircraft in the fleet.

NEAL HOLLAND: A lot of the
galley parts were put in

other airplanes, and some
of the electronics was put

in the other airplanes.

Shatner: Then, an even
more disturbing fact emerges.

Most of the ghost
sightings are taking place

in and around the recycled
parts - especially in the

aircraft galleys.

NEAL HOLLAND: One of the
flight attendants actually

saw one of the appearances
of, uh, Don Repo, he

appeared in one of the
ovens, looking out and

that pretty much
shook her up.

Shatner: The outcry over
the ghost sightings forces

Eastern to remove the reclaimed
components from its fleet.

The reports of apparitions
plummet, but not entirely.

NEAL HOLLAND: The stories
continued until the demise

of Eastern
airlines in 1991.

And I have heard that some
of the other carriers that

actually received some of
our equipment were also

seeing sightings.

William Shatner: What
a fascinating story.

This is weird - or what.

Can mechanical parts be
haunted by souls involved

in accidents?

And if it can happen in
planes can it happen in

other vehicles?

Just last week I was
driving through

the canyon and "boom"!

Out of nowhere I felt
something go under the wheels.

And I never found it.

Shatner: Did ghosts from
a crashed plane haunt

Eastern Airline's flights?

Paranormal researcher
Theresa Bane is the author

of "The Encyclopedia
of Demons."

THERESA BANE: I believe
that there are things that

happen that we can't
rationally explain just

because as human beings we
don't have the biology to

fully understand
everything that's

happening in our world.

Shatner: Bane is in no
doubt about the origins of

the ghosts of Flight 401.

She thinks they're a
paranormal phenomenon that

attached itself to parts
salvaged from the crash.

It's called a
multi-dimensional hologram.

THERESA BANE:
Multi-dimensional

holograms are what some
people call ghosts.

It's when a human's
energy is transferred and

imprinted upon a place or
an object and is able to

penetrate the veil
between dimensions.

Shatner: Bane says that
unlike a ghost, these

types of apparition cannot
actually speak

or react to human beings.

That would explain why the
ghostly captain didn't say

a word to Enid
in the galley.

THERESA BANE: I don't
believe that any of the

ghosts could have
interacted freely with any

of the witnesses at any
point,

because it's like a recording.

You can listen to your
favourite records, and you

know where all the pops
and cracks are but you

can't interact with them.

Shatner: But how did
the aircraft parts get

imprinted with these
phantom recordings?

Bane thinks it happened
during the final moments

of Flight 401,
as Captain Bob Loft

struggled to save his plane.

THERESA BANE: Captain
Bob's final moments had to

be absolutely terrifying
and horrific.

He had these lives of
these people at stake.

He had to do everything he
could to save them and he

knew he was not
going to be able to.

Shatner: Bane theorizes
the dying captain's

psychic energy was so
strong it had the power to

defy the laws of physics.

THERESA BANE: In his final
moments when he did expire

and that energy was
released, it had to be a

tremendous explosion.

And with such energy and
force that it must have

been released in, I have
no doubt whatsoever that

it embedded in
those objects.

Shatner: Could the ghosts
of Flight 401 be a

residual haunting?

Can tragedies imprint
images of the dead onto

inanimate objects?

Or does the answer to this
mystery lie elsewhere?

CHARLES SAMUELS: We have
patients who are actually

referred because they
believe they're seeing ghosts.

Shatner: Crews report
mysterious apparitions on

Eastern Airlines flights.

Were the aircraft haunted
by souls of dead pilots?

Sleep specialist
Dr. Charles Samuels

doesn't think so.

CHARLES SAMUELS:
Personally I do not

believe in ghosts.

But he does believe flight
crews were having visions.

CHARLES SAMUELS: These
people could ah perceive

that they saw ghosts where
in fact it really was more

a hallucination.

Shatner: But what
could have caused the

hallucinations?

It could be something
flight crews suffer from

more than almost any other
profession: sleep disruption.

CHARLES SAMUELS: People
in the airline industry

clearly are exposed to
situations where they

don't get enough sleep,
but they're also sleeping

at a different time.

Or awake at a
different time.

Shatner: This leads to the
disruption of one of the

body's most delicate
mechanisms: the biological

clock, or the
circadian rhythm.

CHARLES SAMUELS: The
circadian rhythm is our

daily biological rhythm
which is um, controlled by

a specific part of the
brain and it's that place

in the brain that sets
our clock every day.

And human beings have to
have their clock set every day.

Shatner: Circadian rhythm
is controlled by a part of

the brain called the
suprachiasmatic
nucleus, or SCN.

CHARLES SAMUELS: Sunlight
comes through the eye to

the retina, it send a
signal back to the SCN.

And that's what sets up
the clock every day.

Shatner: But when humans
are sleep deprived and

their biological clock
isn't reset, Dr. Samuels

thinks the brain goes
haywire leading to a state

where people experience
hallucinations.

CHARLES SAMUELS: These
boundaries don't exist

between wake and sleep as
concrete as we think they do.

They do overlap, and this
is an example of one,

where people would
say 'I saw a ghost.'

where in fact it was the
brain having the dream

part of sleep during wake.

Shatner: Could sleep
deprivation account for

the sightings of Flight
401's dead pilots?

And if so, why did they
stop after the airline

removed the
salvaged parts?

Ophthalmologist Dr.
Andrew Dahl agrees that

hallucinations are behind
the Flight 401 ghost sightings.

ANDREW DAHL: When I first
heard the story about the

ghosts I immediately felt
that these people were not

lying to them it was
a very real event.

Shatner: But he thinks
they're caused by

high-energy radiation
from outer space,

known as cosmic rays.

ANDREW DAHL: Cosmic
radiation is radiation

that's released by the
sun through sun spots and

solar activity, and also
by other areas in our

galaxy where
supernovas explode.

Shatner: Dr. Dahl is
convinced this high-energy

radiation is especially
hazardous for pilots and

flight attendants.

ANDREW DAHL: The higher
you are above the plain of

the Earth the more cosmic
rays that there are.

Flight crews fly at high
altitudes therefore they

are subject to higher
levels of cosmic radiation

than the normal person.

Shatner: Dr. Dahl is
certain the radiation has

a devastating impact
on the eyes...

causing cataracts, where the
lens of the eye clouds over.

ANDREW DAHL: Flight crews
are 3 times more likely to

develop cataracts than
the normal population.

Shatner: But how
do cataracts cause

hallucinations?

The answer could be a rare
condition known as

Charles Bonnet syndrome, where
the brain compensates for

vision loss by creating
its own images.

ANDREW DAHL: A flight
attendant that's waking

up, vision's a little
blurry, darkened area will

see something and their
brain will fill in the

difference and come up
with a ghostly image which

their brain is
manufacturing which will

seem perfectly
real to them.

Shatner: Were the ghosts
of Flight 401 only dancing

across the air
crews' retinas?

Or were the plane's
spare parts haunted?

And who - or what - did
Enid Grigg see in the galley?

We may never know.

Weird...or what?

Shatner: In Britain, a
near fatal attack on a

ten-year-old boy is
blamed - on a painting.

SEAN ROBINSON: Something
had pushed him down the stairs.

William Shatner: You know
as I get older I look for

new ways to relax - and
I've recently

discovered painting.

And you take this piece
for example - we have a

contrast of light and dark
colours and textures, I've

created space by having
the characters retreat in

to the back of the canvas
- and it has no real lines

due to it's
pointillist styling.

Can you see it?

Work like this takes a lot
of time and emotion - one

gives one's heart and soul
to achieve this

level of creativity.

That's just what it
takes to make great art.

Our next story features
another equally brilliant

artiste - he too gave
himself to his work - but

all he saw was - darkness.

Shatner: Maryport,
England, 1999.

Sean Robinson returns home
from his grandmother's

wake with a peculiar
inheritance...

... a mysterious painting
she owned for decades -

but inexplicably kept
hidden from all but her

closest relatives.

It's called The
Anguished Man.

SEAN ROBINSON: It was me
grandmothers painting.

And she kept it in her
house, but locked away.

She didn't like it so she
kept it out of sight.

But she used to show me it
and I absolutely

loved the painting.

And of course when me
grandmother passed away,

she wanted me to
have the painting.

Shatner: The picture's origins
are shrouded in mystery.

SEAN ROBINSON: She got
it off a family friend.

She did not know the
artist's name, where the

painting came from, where
it originated or anything.

Shatner: But what Sean
does know sends

chills up his spine.

According to the legend,
the Anguished Man is a

self-portrait of a man so
tormented - he mutilated

himself while creating it.

SEAN ROBINSON: The
painting was painted using

oils mixed in with the
artist's own blood.

Shatner: Even more macabre
is what happened

once it was completed.

SEAN ROBINSON: When he
finished the painting he

committed suicide.

Shatner: But, instead of
being sickened - Sean is

excited about owning
the Anguished Man.

SEAN ROBINSON: Being
brought up watching horror

films I knew
it wasn't real.

So I didn't believe in
the supernatural at all.

Shatner: His wife
Dawn is horrified.

She refuses to have
it in the house.

SEAN ROBINSON: So we
came to a compromise.

I could keep the painting,
but I could keep it locked away.

So we kept it
in the cellar.

Shatner: And there it
would stay for over a

decade, virtually
forgotten.

Fast forward to 2010.

Sean rediscovers the
Anguished Man and decides

it's high time the
painting takes its

rightful place in
the family home.

SEAN ROBINSON: I finally
persuaded my wife to have

the painting in the house
and we put

it in the spare bedroom.

Shatner: But Sean's
joy is short lived.

An ominous gloom begins to
infiltrate their house.

SEAN ROBINSON: There's
just a general feeling of

unease whenever the
painting's in the house.

I started having really
bad nightmares and they

were all about
this painting.

Shatner: In the days that
follow, it becomes clear

that bad dreams are the
least of Sean's problems.

Although they've lived in
the house for years, Sean

and Dawn suddenly begin to
hear sounds they've never

noticed before.

SEAN ROBINSON: We heard
like a sobbing sound, like

somebody crying.

And then we heard loud
bangs in the middle of the

night and the sound
of like footsteps and

creaking, but this only
happened when the painting

was in the house.

Shatner: But what really
frightens Sean

occurs when he goes to bed.

Shatner: His nightmares
become alarmingly real.

SEAN ROBINSON: I kept
seeing this figure at the

bottom of the bed, that
happened nearly every night.

Shatner: Not only do
the strange apparitions

continue - they start
to target his wife.

SEAN ROBINSON: She woke
up one morning and she

thought I was getting
into bed beside her.

She turned round to speak
to me and it wasn't me it

was somebody else.

[screaming]

I ran upstairs and she was
in a real state,

shaking and crying.

Shatner: As paranormal
activity in his house

increases, Sean is
convinced he knows its source.

SEAN ROBINSON: We put
two and two together and

thought these things
started happening when we

brought the painting
into the house.

Shatner: Despite this
conclusion, Sean insists

on keeping the painting...

... that is, until it
attacks his child.

KENAN ROBINSON: I'd just
got out the shower and

I was walking downstairs...

SEAN ROBINSON: He felt
this force in his back as

if something
had pushed him.

KENAN ROBINSON: I could just
feel two hands on my back...

and I fell down
the stairs.

Shatner: For Sean
it's the last straw.

He decides to lock the
Anguished Man away - for good.

SEAN ROBINSON: The
painting was back in the

cellar again, I couldn't
take the chance.

If anybody was
in any danger.

Shatner: With the painting
in the basement, the

hauntings stop.

But Sean's obsession with
the Anguished Man doesn't.

Shatner: He brings it out
again - this time he hopes

to capture whatever is
tormenting his family on video.

SEAN ROBINSON: I set me
video camera up overnight

and left it running
for about 8 hours.

Shatner: Over the
following three nights,

Sean's camera captures
remarkable events: First a

series of unexplained
sounds, then a door seems

to close on its own,
followed by the appearance

of a ghostly figure...

Finally, Sean captures
something he is sure is

the evidence he needs.

Someone - or something -
tips over the painting.

SEAN ROBINSON: No
explanation for that at all.

The painting was at such
an angle it shouldn't have fell.

A lot of people are
skeptical and I can

understand that because I
was a skeptic myself and I

still am but the footage
is there for you to see.

It wasn't faked, it could
be a perfectly reasonable

explanation but I
haven't found one yet.

Shatner: Despite
everything that happened,

Sean still owns
the Anguished Man.

SEAN ROBINSON: I
want to keep it.

I'd love to
have it hung up.

I think now since the
incident with my son,

I don't really want it in
the house just in case.

I don't want to put
anybody in any danger.

Shatner: Is the ghost of a
tortured soul living in a

painting in Sean
Robinson's cellar?

Shatner: Barri Ghai is a
paranormal investigator.

He thinks the Robinson
family is the victim of a

rare and dangerous type
of ghostly visitation:

an intelligent haunting.

BARRI GHAI: Intelligent
hauntings are whereby

spirits can interact
with the living.

They can make themselves
known,

we can communicate with them.

They can move
objects on command.

They're even able to
manifest themselves, so

you can see them,
communicate with them.

Ghai claims he knows how
The Anguished Man acquired

its supernatural power.

BARRI GHAI: I think the
painting might have

absorbed some kind of
energy, the artist's energy.

It might well be the case
that this painting itself

has somehow transferred
the soul of the artist who

was in torment and its
now affected the family.

Shatner: Can a painting be
haunted by its creator?

BARRI GHAI: The ghost of
this man can actually be

living in the painting and
being released

from the painting.

Shatner: Ghai is certain
the attack on Sean's son

won't be the last - and
the next one could be fatal.

The solution? Simple.

BARRI GHAI: He could
destroy the painting and

that could be one.

He could actually just
take the painting outside

of the home, remove it
from the place that he

lives in, put it somewhere
else, see whether that

tries to stop.

It would probably make
life a lot easier for him.

William Shatner:
Yes yes yes yes!

So why doesn't he do it?

Why don't you listen
to the experts, Sean? Huh?

First this thing attacks
you - then it attacks your

wife, then it almost kills
you son - and what do you do?

Nothing?

Why do people
behave like this?

Ok Sean - if you're watching
here's how easy it is - right?

See? How hard can this be? Yeah?

Oh, wrong painting...

Shatner: Did a tormented
soul lay trapped inside a

canvas until
Sean released it?

Or does this mystery have
a different explanation?

TRACY LATZ: There are
portals that open up into

evil spaces.

Shatner: A family is
tormented by apparitions

after a man brings home
a mysterious painting.

Is the Anguished
Man haunted?

Psychiatrist Dr. Tracy
Latz thinks the real story

is even more out there:
the Anguished Man is a

portal to another world.

TRACY LATZ: A portal is a
two-way opening or doorway

that allows us to enter
into or connect to another

dimension be that
spiritual,

astral or out in space.

Shatner: This startling
claim defies all known

laws of space and time.

So how could it happen?

Easy.

Dr. Latz believes
the artist did it

unintentionally, by simply
focusing emotions as he

painted the canvas.

TRACY LATZ: Portals are
actually much more common

than people know or think
because we can open a

temporary portal just by
saying a prayer which may

actually open up, if we're
in our heart, to the

spiritual realm.

Shatner: Did an artist
allow an inter-dimensional

traveller to enter
the Robinson's home?

TRACY LATZ: I feel that
there is a being, uh, or

entity coming out of the
painting that is curious

and trying to connect or
influence or check out

people that it is around.

Shatner: But why would
this entity viciously

attack Sean's son?

TRACY LATZ: There are
portals that open up into

darker or what some people
would call evil spaces

that may connect with that
very low consciousness

like what you would see
with serial killers and

that can feel very scary.

Shatner: Did the painter
of the Anguished Man make

contact with beings
from another dimension?

And did one of them
cross into our world?

Not everyone is so sure.

Paranormal investigator
Mike St. Clair specializes

in debunking fake haunting
videos -

and he's seen hundreds.

MIKE ST. CLAIR: When I
look at most of these

videos, they're jokes to
me, I mean they're so

easily debunkable, they're
easy to pick apart because

people are doing the same
things,

the're not doing anything new.

Shatner: St Clair says
there are a number of

gimmicks that amateur
filmmakers use to create

ghostly effects.

MIKE ST. CLAIR: You can
use strings and pull

objects, you can hide
them with editing.

You can use poor quality
video, low lighting, jumpy

quick moving video.

You can even use actors
running past the camera quickly.

Shatner: Were tricks like these
used by Sean Robinson?

MIKE ST. CLAIR: Everything
in these videos are easily

re-creatable and there's
no reason that anyone in

their right mind should
believe that there's

paranormal activity going
on behind this painting.

Shatner: Is the Anguished
Man video a hoax?

And if so, how
did Sean do it?

St. Clair and colleague
Jason Lundy are going to

replicate an incident from
the video: the ghostly door.

MIKE ST. CLAIR: With just
a couple of dollars worth

of fishing line and some
duct tape you can pull off

just about anything.

Shatner: It takes just
minutes to set up.

MIKE ST. CLAIR: This is
the tricky part getting it

up underneath the door.

Oh, we're looking good.

We've got our bracket on
the wall so not only can I

pull the door shut from
here, but I can also use

the other string and
pull it open as well.

Let's do some magic.

Shatner: The results
are convincing.

MIKE ST. CLAIR: Look
at that, it's a ghost!

JASON LUNDY: We did a
better job than he did.

Shatner: St. Clair still
believes in ghosts.

But he thinks fake
hauntings give paranormal

sightings a bad name.

MIKE ST. CLAIR: It's
important to expose the

frauds and hoaxers because
we put our heart and soul

into what we do and we
take this field very seriously.

Shatner: Did Sean Robinson
fake The Anguished Man videos?

Or was he visited by a
demonic entity that used a

painting as a doorway
from a parallel world?

Weird or what?

Shatner: After a
devastating earthquake,

a New Zealand man is
savagely beaten - by a phantom.

Did a natural disaster
release an evil spirit?

ALLAN BENNETTS: All I
could feel was I was

getting strangled.

Shatner: Coming through!

You know when it comes to
home renovations I love to

get down and dirty.

Who needs master tradesmen
when you can do it

yourself huh?

There - a new doorway.

It may not be perfect,
but who cares?

But what if I told you
that all this hard work

could open other doors -
doors to things you would

never - ever want
in your home?

Shatner:
September 1, 2010.

Allan Bennetts and his
wife Sandra put the

finishing touches on their
new home in Christchurch,

New Zealand.

Allan, a successful
building contractor, has

renovated the two-story
house from the ground up.

ALLAN BENNETTS: It was
quite a smart looking

little cottage.

I'd knock walls
out, put walls back.

The only thing that stayed
the same really is the

four walls and
this room here.

The Bennetts' are still
moving in when Allan has a

surprise visit from a man
he doesn't recognize.

ALLAN BENNETTS: He said he
is the son

of the original owner.

Shatner: But the man
doesn't come in.

He simply hands
Allan a picture.

ALLAN BENNETTS: And he
gave me this wee tiny

black and white
photo of the house.

Right back in the 1930s.

It was a bit of a
weird sort of a photo.

Shatner: Allan
accepts the picture.

But the gift leaves him
with an uneasy feeling.

ALLAN BENNETTS: There's
just something about that

photo that wasn't
quite right.

And the more I looked at
it the more annoyed I got.

Shatner: Allan's
uneasiness turns - to rage.

Finally he snaps.

ALLAN BENNETTS: I
just took it off.

Ripped it in half.

Threw it in the
rubbish can.

It just didn't make
me feel good at all.

Shatner: Allan tries to
put the incident behind him.

Shatner: The very next
day, all hell breaks loose.

Christchurch is shattered
by a 7.1 magnitude

earthquake - the first
major quake to hit the

city in almost a century.

ALLAN BENNETTS:
Oh, it was huge.

If you tried to get out
of bed it would knock you over.

There was broken tiles all
over the floor, and broken

glasses, and it went
for a lot longer and the

intensity was sort of a
lot harder than anything

we'd ever felt before.

Shatner: The city suffers
widespread destruction and

almost $4 billion in
damage including

Allan's new house.

ALLAN BENNETTS: Well the
house has sunk nearly a foot.

We haven't got a window or
a door in the house that

opens and shuts properly.

Now they're all
jamming, sticking.

Shatner: The building
survives, but inside -

Allan senses an
eerie change.

There's something in the
air - and it feels like evil.

ALLAN BENNETTS: You'd be
walking down the hallway,

or in your bedroom, or
having a shower, and you'd

get this cold, just
whoofed straight up to you

and run up your legs, out
your head and your hair

would stand out.

Shatner: Allan hopes that
whatever it is - will

simply go away.

Instead, things get worse.

ALLAN BENNETTS: We were
watching a movie and the

door sort of just moved a
bit and then this thing

just woofed into the
lounge and stood in the

middle of the lounge
looking at us.

It didn't move forward.

It just, poof,
disappeared.

And we just sort of looked
at each other and,

"What was that?"

Shatner: The encounters
become so frightening

Allan and his wife
consider leaving.

But they've invested too
much in the house to

simply abandon it.
So they stay.

It's a decision
they'll regret.

At 3am, Allan is woken
by a terrifying noise.

ALLAN BENNETTS: You know,
just this amazing BANG on

the side of the bed.

The room's dark, the
door's shut, there's no light.

You know, I can't
see anything.

I just froze.

I was thinking, "Oh no. What's
next?"

Shatner: The answer is
difficult to comprehend.

As Allan watches,
something begins walking

across the bed.

ALLAN BENNETTS: You felt
the depression on the

bottom of the mattress as
it stands on the mattress,

you know?

And you're thinking,
"How's it doing this?"

[frightening sounds]

And then all of a sudden
it just pinned me down to

the bed, so I'm trying
to fight it off.

Shatner: As his wife looks
on in horror, Allan is

fighting for his life
- against an invisible attacker.

ALLAN BENNETTS: I was
getting strangled.

I'm trying to fight this
thing strangling me air.

It's like being sucked
into a big plastic bag

with a ton of
bricks put on you.

Shatner: But just when
Allan is about to give up,

the unexpected happens.

The violent presence
disappears.

The attack has left them
so shocked, they wonder if

they imagined it - but
they soon discover the truth.

ALLAN BENNETTS: I had the
fingerprints around the

throat, the bruising.

Shatner: And the injuries
don't stop there.

Soon, Allan finds more
evidence that he was

assaulted by
something - real.

ALLAN BENNETTS: When I
was at work my son said,

"Look, show us your back."

And I said, "Well there's
nothing there to see."

I didn't want there to
be anything, you know?

He said, "Now lift up
your shirt and show us."

So I did.

I had a bruise that's
about so big on my back,

all with these veins.

I went to the doctor and
he said it was an impact bruise.

Shatner: Looking back, he
wonders if the stranger's

visit was a warning.

ALLAN BENNETTS: Whether
the photo's got anything

to do with it,
I don't know.

Like it all happened within
days of me roughing it up.

Shatner: Today, Allan is
yet to come

to terms with the attack.

ALLAN BENNETTS: I mean if
someone had told me two

years ago, "You're gonna
get your bum kicked by a ghost."

, I would have
just laughed.

William Shatner: You know
I've often had close

encounters with spirits
and ended up with a

hangover - but that was
the bad old days - this

is, weird or what.

First some strange guy
knocks on Allan's door -

doesn't even say hello -
then Allan is struck by an

invisible force who runs
riot in his bedroom -

doesn't even knock.

All this after
an earthquake.

No wonder Allan's unhappy
- ghosts are usually

ghostly, this one came
from the school of hard knocks.

Shatner: Was Allan
Bennetts assaulted by a ghost?

And if so, why was he
attacked after an earthquake?

Can spirits actually
cause physical injuries?

ANTON HEYRICK: Allan was
dealing with a demonic entity.

Shatner: A man is savagely
beaten in his own bed by

an invisible assailant.

What attacked him?

Christchurch paranormal
investigator Anton Heyrick

was hired by the Bennetts
family to investigate.

ANTON HEYRICK: I had not
dealt with a case where a

physical attack
had taken place.

And it really stuck out, just
Allan's fear for his safety.

Shatner: Heyrick's
investigation led him to a

compelling theory.

He thinks the Christchurch
earthquake did more than

damage the city.

It released malicious
spirits - evidenced by

increased reports of
paranormal activity.

ANTON HEYRICK: The reports
to our website and to my

emails and even phone
calls just began to

increase massively
after the earthquake.

We couldn't keep up
with what was going on.

Shatner: Heyrick is
convinced one of these

spirits lay dormant in
Allan Bennetts' house -

until it was awakened
by his renovation work.

ANTON HEYRICK: Renovations
is well known to spark all

kinds of, of
paranormal activity.

Allan was dealing
with a demonic entity.

This may have
been his house.

Allan had already
destroyed it and

completely rebuilt it.

Shatner: Heyrick thinks
when the earthquake

occurred, it supercharged
the ghost - giving it the

power to
physically attack.

ANTON HEYRICK: Earthquakes
release a lot of energies,

a lot of energies that
people don't think about -

very similar to those that
are released during a

haunting.

Shatner: Did the
Christchurch earthquake

release a ghost that
attacked Allan Bennetts?

Can seismic activity make
the spirit and human

worlds collide?

Psychologist Anna
Baranowsky agrees the

earthquake is to blame
for Allan's bizarre encounters.

But not because it
released ghosts.

Shatner: She thinks the
quake was so traumatic it

caused Allan to suffer
from a condition that

often affects people in
situations of extreme

violence - like
soldiers in combat.

It's called Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder, or PTSD.

ANNA BARANOWSKY: Whenever
we're exposed to any

significant event, it can
absolutely lead to PTSD if

we felt horror and terror
and the worry of losing

our life or being
seriously injured.

Shatner: Known as "shell
shock" during World War I,

PTSD has long been the
most common psychiatric

problem facing soldiers.

But only since the Vietnam
War has the condition been

treated as a serious
health issue - especially

as it can last
for decades.

ANNA BARANOWSKY: I do a
lot of work

with military members.

These individuals might
have experienced something

20 years ago and I'm only
seeing them for the very

first time right now.

Shatner: Dr. Baranowsky
says Allan's ghostly

visions could be explained
by one of PTSD's symptoms:

violent nightmares
and flashbacks.

ANNA BARANOWSKY: Allan has
been flooded with thoughts

and memories, images and
anything that's a reminder

of the trauma creates this
explosion, this kinda

cascade of physiological,
emotional behavioral responses.

Shatner: Did mental trauma
cause Allan to imagine a

brutal encounter
with a ghost?

And if so how does it
explain his physical injuries?

Dr. Joe Fisher is a
professor of physiology at

the University of Toronto.

He too thinks the
earthquake released

something that caused
Allan's visions.

Something deadlier than
any apparition: a poison

so stealthy, you're
unaware it's affecting you

- until it's too late.

JOE FISHER: Carbon
monoxide is a gas.

It's completely
tasteless and odorless.

And you can't see it,
it's colourless, and it's

something that
diffuses into the air.

Shatner: Carbon monoxide
is released when any kind

of fuel burns without
getting enough oxygen.

JOE FISHER: Carbon
monoxide is the commonest

cause of death and
sickness from poisoning in

the world.

Shatner: What makes it so
dangerous is an affinity

for the hemoglobin
molecules in our blood

that carry oxygen to the
body - and the brain.

JOE FISHER: In the
presence of carbon

monoxide, the hemoglobin
takes up the carbon

monoxide rather
than the oxygen.

So it is very toxic.

You need just tiny amounts
of it to poison

all your hemoglobin.

Shatner: But does this explain
Allan's violent haunting?

Dr. Fisher is convinced
carbon monoxide was making

him see and hear things
that simply weren't there.

JOE FISHER: One of the
syndromes that they get

from their carbon monoxide
poisoning is a sort of

neuro-psychiatric
syndrome, where they could

have chronic
hallucinations and other things.

Shatner: Was Allan's
house infiltrated by gas?

Fisher's theory is even
more compelling when you

consider where
it comes from.

JOE FISHER: Earthquakes
actually do release carbon

monoxide, and that's
one of the ways that

satellites pick up where
earthquakes have occurred.

Shatner: Hallucinations
caused by carbon monoxide

- it's a
convincing theory.

But there's just
one problem.

How does it explain
Allan's bruises?

JOE FISHER: He was
confused, hallucinating,

bumped into things or
scared of what was

happening and started
flailing around?

Maybe he hurt
himself in some way.

Shatner: Did carbon
monoxide gas poison

Allan Bennetts' mind?

Could post-traumatic
stress be responsible for

his paranormal attacks?

Or was a demonic
spirit released

by a seismic shockwave?

Weird, or What?

Shatner: So there we have
it - stories of hauntings

of everyday objects from
all over the world.

In Florida, the pilots of
a crashed plane return

from the grave to haunt
Eastern Airlines flights.

In Britain, a mysterious
portrait is haunted by the

soul of its creator.

And in New Zealand, an
earthquake releases a

ghost that attacks
a man in bed.

Are these bizarre stories
evidence that inanimate

objects can harbor the
spirits of the dead?

You decide.

William Shatner: Join me
next time for more stories

that will undoubtedly
be weird or what?