Episode 9: Doubt and Wonder
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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I'm back in the shed. So I took some time away to do some normal things like eating and sleeping and actually talking to my family. But this is a story that it's really hard to switch off from. I think about it every single day and I know that a lot of you have been thinking about it too. So this bonus episode is a chance for us to dig a little deeper. We'll explore some more of your theories. We'll re-examine some of the stranger parts of the case. I'll be putting your questions to Shirley and I can promise you some big new revelations. But I want to start by talking about the noisers. I've probably received more emails on the noises than anything else. Eddie Houchins emailed me from LA to ask if there could have been seismic activity.
Now, before we dismiss this as a very Californian theory, it's worth noting that the following year, 1957, saw one of the largest earthquakes in the UK of the 20th century, albeit in Derbyshire, 150 miles away from Wycliffe Road. This might be a more promising lead, though. Several of you have written to tell me about the Heathwall River. So apparently the word Battersea has its roots in Anglo-Saxon words, meaning the island of Badrick. It was an island sandwiched between the Thames, London's main river, and another river, the Heathwall. Most people now don't even know the Heathwall exists because in 1866 it was encased and converted into a sewer. So one listener, Keith Moore, has been doing quite a bit of research on this, and his study of old maps puts the Heathwall sewer right under number 63.
Could the noises... have been coming from inside the sewer, Keith wonders. Another listener, Viv Brown, runs with this. She remembers how we discussed in our last case update about January 1956 having freakishly cold weather. Remember the pigeons in Trafalgar Square actually froze. Viv wonders if the noises could have been locks of ice falling off inside the sewer. And Keith leaves us with one other creepy thought. He's learned that the land boundary along this stretch of the river by Wycliffe Road was known back in the 10th century as Grendel's Mare. So if you read the medieval poem Beowulf, you'll know about Grendel, the monster that Beowulf must face. Keith asks if Donald could have been a modern-day Grendel.
To quote the poem, A Creature of Darkness... exiled from happiness and accursed of God, the destroyer and devourer of our humankind. I love all this stuff that you've been digging up. Nancy sent me an old newspaper article and the first line stopped me in my tracks. It describes the tragic death of a mother and son at 63 Wycliffe Road in 1920. The son's name is Donald. The only problem is this 63 Wycliffe Road is not in Battersea, but Northampton, 75 miles north. Coincidences, they pepper this case like candles in the labyrinth. But do they lead us to answers or dead ends? Another subject absolutely loads of you have asked about is the key. Catherine Georgiou asks if anyone ever found what the key opened.
The answer is no, it disappeared. And I've had a few messages wondering if that was part of a pattern. Did any other objects appear or disappear? And the answer is yes. Various strange items did appear in number 63 over the years. And I want to tell you now about one of the oddest. This is a Saturday in 1958. Shirley is 17.
I'd been let out with my friend Marjorie and we walked along Lavender Hill looking in the jewellers like all giggly little girls and we're saying, oh, one day, you know, perhaps we'll have a necklace like that. It was a diamond choker. Oh, and it was beautiful and it all sparkled in the window. I said, oh, I'd love that. And then we moved on and went to look in another shop. When I got back near lunchtime, dad was waiting for me and he said, what's this?
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–9:56
2
What theories are explored about the noises at 63 Wycliffe Road?
9:56–16:35
3
How do historical events relate to the haunting at Wycliffe Road?
16:35–26:44
4
What mysterious objects have appeared or disappeared in the case?
26:44–41:23
5
How did Shirley's family cope with the poltergeist's activities?
41:23–54:26
6
What new revelations did Shirley share about her experiences?
54:26–59:11