Extract fromThey Do It With Stringspodcast
‘The Tin House’: Episode Three
Noah:Many have pointed to the existence of telekinesis as part of the body of evidence for the paranormal. In short, it refers to the movement or manipulation of objects and even, on some occasions, their disappearance, without any visible signs of disturbance to the naked eye of the observer. It has become common to associate this phenomenon with poltergeist activity. There are countless recorded statements with witnesses describing furniture and crockery flying across the room – often manifesting in unexplained damage and destruction. Many believe this is evidence of spirits’ attempts to communicate with the physical world and break through invisible barriers.
Chapter37
‘An actual teleportation, right in front of me.’ Despite the reddening bump on his head, Noah looked ecstatic. ‘Can you believe it?’
‘No,’ answered Midge, simply.
‘But you felt it, right?’ he said to Midge. ‘You felt the force of it too... I mean, it was just a pure raw energy.’
Midge had undoubtedly felt something, but wouldn’t go so far as to describe it as raw energy. ‘Perhaps we should check the other rooms,’ she said to Harold, who had come upstairs and was now blocking the doorway. ‘It can’t have just disappeared. If none of you passed whoever was in here, then they must be in one of the rooms.’
‘Let me check on Gloria,’ said Dr Mortimer.
He hurried out of the room, his footsteps echoing along the corridor.
‘What the hell is that?’ Noah shouted, suddenly pointing out of the window into the darkness. Midge turned to look, her eyes widening in surprise.
Thatwas a figure walking along the East lawn, dressed completely head to toe in white.
‘It’s her!’ breathed Noah, standing on Midge’s toes in his haste to get a better look. ‘The White Lady of the Moor!’
He was off already, sprinting out into the corridor with his long limbs a blur beneath his cloak, putting Midge in mind of an animated pipe cleaner. She hurried along behind him, ignoring the painful protestations of her knee as she went. The two of themwere outside, their feet crunching loudly in the snow, within a couple of minutes. But the figure had disappeared.
‘The terrace!’ shouted Noah, pointing to the bricked gateway that led through to it. Slowing down, Midge panted as she trailed Noah, who darted through the arches towards the central laurel bush in the courtyard. The echo of artillery reverberated off the walls above them, amplifying the noise to almost deafening proportions. Noah came to an abrupt halt at the bush, spinning around like a top, desperately searching for a sign. ‘She’s gone,’ he finally said, his voice filled with disappointment.
‘What’s that in your hand?’ asked Midge, rubbing vigorously at the goosebumps on her forearms and wishing she had thought to bring a coat out with her. For some unexplained reason, Noah was holding a small Tupperware pot in one hand and a wooden spatula in the other.
‘For the ectoplasm,’ he said. ‘I always carry one with me. Do you want to borrow my cloak? It’s double lined.’
‘No,’ replied Midge, firmly.
A glance upwards at Noah’s window showed the light from his bedroom lamp was still on. Taking the glass as the line of visibility, Midge worked backwards and trudged across the courtyard and back out to the lawn near the west wing entrance, Noah following along behind.
‘I can still feel her chill,’ he said.
‘It’s one degree and snowing,’ said Midge, pacing across the lawn, never taking her eyes from the ground. ‘Noah?’ she said.
‘Yeah?’
‘Isn’t this where Dr Mortimer said he saw the ghost?’
Noah pulled a face as he thought. ‘Yeah, think so. You were there, though, weren’t you? It was the middle of the night.’
Midge frowned.
He was right: on the first occasion she had heard the grandfather clock chiming midnight. Something caught her eye on the snow.
‘I can’t believe it,’ sighed Noah. ‘Finally, a proper sighting! A real bona fide ghost.’
Midge was bending down, leaning heavily on her cane.
A ghost that had left footprints, it would appear. Midge straightened up and started to follow the inky trail backwards.
‘Where are you going?’ called Noah.
