Beyond Belief - Season 4, Episode 12 - Full Episode | Forensic Files

beyond belief fact or fiction posted by jonathan franks tonight your challenge is to separate what is
true from what is false five stories some real some fake can you judge which are fact and which
are fiction to find out you must enter a world of both truth and deception a world that is beyond
[Music] belief you're about to witness an illusion known as the impossible fork observe this illustration at the top we
see the start of a fork with the tines directed downward certainly possible now focus on the
bottom half of the illustration here we see the tines of the fork also definitely possible
but viewed together at the same time we see two tines that begin at the top become three times at the bottom
an impossible situation so observe our stories tonight carefully we'll tell you which are true and which
are false at the end of the show but right now keep an open mind for just when you think you're traveling
down the clear pathway of truth you may encounter an impossible fork in the road
in these days of handheld video and digital photography there's still a richness and fascination
to the art of good old film recording in fact under certain conditions film may still be the most reliable recording
method of all for one thing you can't erase it by mistake with the push of a button
and for another it's not altered by various atmospheric conditions which can make videotape inoperable
albert wainwright believes in film and its ability to capture things even the eye can't see
then again you must take into account his profession you see albert wainwright is not a
filmmaker he's a ghost hunter i had been working with ghost hunter dr albert wainwright since i graduated from
cal berkeley three years before he scanned again scanning again [Music] scanning finished anything
nothing oh they're here i know they're here i can feel them opinions were divided on dr wainwright
some thought i'm crazy others a genius he was determined to capture the image of a ghost on film and once and for all
prove that they do exist appearing am i doing wrong no one had ever done it before i
believed in him and so did ron nothing doc just more rats there'd be hundreds of
them in the walls we'd been working at the old malone estate for the past three weeks
in this house 40 years ago stephen malone strangled his wife marsha to death and then hanged himself
from the second floor banister through the years people swore they saw the ghosts of stephen and marcia
still at war as they roamed through the house [Music] show yourself malone dr wainwright was
becoming more and more obsessed i know you're here but he was running out of time and money
i can feel you he knew he had to find something he sent for roslyn sarno a renowned
psychic despite her young age she had a reputation for being able to raise the dead
dr wainwright had used psychics on other cases with mixed results but he believed that rosalind truly had
the gift what is it i sense a really strong presence here do you feel it the electromagnetic
readings are very high all around the house they would be this house is a powerpoint
[Music] camera's down get this 16 millimeter what's wrong i just saw a man with a
rope where where do you see it i hear a woman's high-heeled shoes running across the floor i hear it too
okay they've come forward what's a young woman she's afraid are you saying that through the lens are
you getting it all time audio's down keep shooting jar get it off oh he's strangling her
stick with us tara get it all [Music] he's angry rude is angry he does not want you to be filming him
keep shooting tara stop it okay we had all seen the same thing and i was positive that i got it on film
i gave the reel to dr wainwright he was going to take it to an all-night lab in town and have it developed immediately
there we go [Music] we all made history tonight you know [Music] thank you thank you thank you
[Music] okay can we get this to the lab and then we shall eat okay fantastic thank you we'll meet up with
you in a bit dr congratulations dr wainwright took off on his own we packed up the equipment and we were
going to meet him the next morning at a press conference he was going to announce our findings to
the world i'd never seen him so excited dr weymore's car is still here why would he still be here
dr wayne right [Music] at first i couldn't tell what was wrapped so tightly around his neck
by the time ron looked inside i knew it was the exposed film he's dead i think about dr wainwright all the time
his death remains a mystery to this day the police said that somebody probably tried to rob him when he entered his car
but why would they strangle him with the film why would anyone do that i don't know
i think it was the ghost of stephen malone everyone present swore they saw two ghosts that night
but without the film there was no proof further investigation revealed that psychic
rosalind sarno was an accomplished hypnotist think back was this a case of group
hypnosis was everyone seeing only what rosalind told them to see but then who murdered professor wainwright and
why was it a jealous colleague or perhaps an angry ghost have we presented you with a documentary of fact
or has the truth been left somewhere on the cutting room floor we'll find out if this story is true or
false at the end of our show next a compulsive gambler suddenly finds he can't lose
on beyond belief fact or fiction the seduction of gambling bright colors constant action
the surge of adrenaline as you put your stakes in the line most gamblers know that they're
prisoners to the whims of fortune the best you can do is know the odds and take a chance
but what if you could beat the odds what if you could eliminate chance jimmy welsh has an unfortunate name for
a gambler and the bad luck to go with it he's hoping all that's about to change but what are
the odds on that i was a regular at the royale casino reno nevada it was one of the older
joints and i like gambling there no more bets please hey i got to get lucky one of these days right
sure jimmy come on baby do it for me just this one time number 30 rad i always said i should
have just signed over my paycheck to the royal because that's where it all went anyway
that's it for me what'd he drop 400. he does that every week he's a born loser i fit the pattern of the addicted
gambler i'd lose most of my paycheck swear to quit forever and then come back as soon as i got paid
but my routine was about to change whoa just my luck i'll be electrocuted today want me to warm that up for you jimmy no
i'm going home nina oh tough night huh yeah murder hey can i flip you for the check sure
why not college heads heads it is maybe your luck's changing right tails heads tails the most amazing thing was
happening i flipped that coin 26 times in a row and 26 times i called it right it was like i could will it to come up
the way i wanted it to tails for the first time in my life i was in control no more bets please i wanted to see if
my new power worked on the roulette wheel 22 22 number 22 wins i always kept the 10 bill in my shoe in
case of an emergency place your bets please money place i never once used it to gamble
until that day seven number seven wins thank god finally number 33 when drinks for everyone
i just couldn't lose every number i called came up i suddenly heard a word that was never
connected to me before i wasn't sure why this was happening but i wasn't about to quit
it didn't take long and i was almost a hundred thousand dollars ahead this is beginning to seem like a dream
i've been playing for two hours and i was up almost a half million dollars hold on to those for just a minute
i'll be right back yes sir i could have cashed in my chips right then and there but hey
i'm a gambler i kept thinking about all the money i lost to that casino throughout the years and how i was going
to get it all back with interest you're not getting me this time i'm gonna have to talk to somebody about
that place your bets please let's make this interesting 100 grand 26. no more bets please
26 26 26 26 6 26 that ball was taking its sweet time falling in 26 but i wasn't worried he said i could
wait a few more seconds for my adults number 18 red what that can't be my number was 26. yeah
and you lost i thought maybe i didn't concentrate enough that time but i still had plenty of money left so
i figured i'd give it another shot place your bets please from then on i was going to forget about
the blonde next to me forget about my bankroll and just wheel that ball into the slot
are you in i had gone through almost 500 000 in 20 minutes whatever was happening before wasn't
happening anymore but guess what i'm hanging in there till it comes back jimmy welsh never again experienced the
amazing power he had that day what caused it to happen did the electric shock he received from the
dryer give him some kind of psychokinetic energy and then take it away again was it just a once in a million lucky
streak or did lady luck who had always given jimmy the cold shoulder decided to smile on him for a while is
there really a way to determine whether this story is fact or fiction or is it simply a roll of the dice
we'll find out if this story is true or false at the end of our show next a doctor encounters the paranormal
on beyond belief fact or fiction the practice of phrenology basically the reading of bumps on the head
has long been replaced by high-tech brain scanning procedures which can pinpoint the smallest problem
still models and charts like these provide a layman's point of view of the brain and its areas
in much the same way astrology gives us a layman's look at the heavens dr dale cullen is an expert on problems
of the brain he's always looked at phrenology as a frivolous activity but what he's about
to experience will make his own brain spin i've been a successful neurologist for
the past 12 years i loved my work and there was nothing more gratifying than to use my skills to
help save a life but the one thing i had never gotten used to was giving a patient bad news i'm sorry
martha but there's definitely a tumor oh no what does this mean dr cullen i'm afraid
it's quite serious in a very dangerous spot it's deep inside the left lobe it's very hard to get to what do we do
i suggest we operate as soon as possible and if we don't it's hard to know what we have until we
get in there but uh from the looks of this these types of tumors are usually fatal
i thought i was just having migraines it's a very technical operation and because of the location of the tumor
there's about a 50 chance of success i want the operation i want to see my babies grow up
i couldn't get martha blaine out of my mind she was a young wife and mother with
everything to live for why did it happen to her usually those types of tumors show up in people a lot
older i knew you'd still be here annette i'm sorry i was supposed to meet you oh
that's okay it's all part of being a doctor's wife i'm sorry it's okay hey i got your present
what oh dale you are not gonna believe what i found you know that little antique shop in the
village well i was just passing by when i saw this in the window oh heavy a phrenologist's head don't you love it
oh i thought it would just look so perfect right here in your office oh and look it's all divided into
numbers and sections and this guide that explains what all the numbers mean i love it oh and i haven't even told you
the best part yet okay just guess who this once belonged to i don't know who sigmund freud really
sigmund freud it came with documentation i believe you oh what is that it's a smudge right over the left ear
there oh god you know that might have been dr freud's fingerprint you just wiped off
no oh you no so you need to be at the hospital by let's see three o'clock for prep
all right now look i know you're worried martha but you gotta have faith okay all right
i'll see you there bye [Music] i performed this type of surgery several times with mixed results
i was very concerned i really wanted it to work out for martha blaine i was always tense before surgery but i
was feeling more stressed than usual then i happened to look over at the head the spot annette grubbed off was back in
the exact same place that's odd i was about to leave to prep for martha's surgery when i noticed the spot
was back again it was in the exact same place section 11 above the left ear why did it keep
reappearing and what was section 11. then i remembered the map that came with it
i couldn't understand why i was taking this head so seriously but that spot was too strange to ignore
the map had nothing to do with science it was based on old beliefs and superstitions
every human emotion with corresponding numbers to the numbers on the head was written on the map
i looked at number 11. written next to it was the word cautiousness [Music] i had no explanation but there it was
back again i didn't want to accept what was happening but it was the spot was in the exact same place as
the tumor in martha's brain as a precaution i decided to check the records in radiology
and that's when i got the shock of my life wait stop martha there was a mix-up in radiology the mri
wasn't yours what are you saying i'm saying you're fine you can go home the mri actually belonged to an 88 year
old man named martin blaine not martha bling it was a simple filing error but how it was discovered there was no
simple answer to that the phrenologist's head still sits on my desk and the spot never came back again
the switching and confusing of patients records is certainly not unheard of is that all that actually happened here
but then how do you explain the smudge on the phrenologist's head that kept coming back
and why did it turn up in the exact spot as the tumor in the mri and is it just coincident that the
section where the smudge showed up is marked cautiousness on the model is this story of the mysterious head
based on fact or are we up to more skullduggery we'll find out if this story is true or
false at the end of our show next a nature hike becomes a matter of life and death
on beyond belief fact or fiction do you love to go a wandering beneath a clear blue sky
hiking is no longer just the pursuit of boy scouts or hardy mountain men types it's now a huge industry geared to both
men and women with entire stores devoted to its pursuit of course it's always safer to hike in
groups but sometimes a solitary walk in the woods is just what the soul needs tricia coburn is about to go for a hike
her goal is to get in touch with nature however she's about to get in touch with
much much more [Music] i was a grad student at washington state university when the incident that changed my life
forever occurred every chance i'd get i'd grab my backpack and take off for a while into
the wilderness nothing was unusual about the way this hike started it's just me wanting to be alone with nature i
thought it'd be pretty uneventful stuff boy was i wrong [Music] my parents loved the outdoors they
taught me everything i knew about surviving in the wild i even climbed mount rainier with them
when i was only 12 years old but nothing prepared me for what i was about to face
[Music] like always i checked the weather report which called for fair skies but the barometer was falling i was
taught to always respect mother nature dad liked to say that she had a pretty face but her mood could change in a
split second i could feel a slight change in the air as i approached the trail to sykes
bridge i'd heard a lot about the bridge but i had never crossed it before i knew that it was built right at the
start of world war ii so i felt a sense of history as i got closer the bridge looked a little sketchy but
there was no other way to the other side felt pretty solid so i decided to go for
it once i set foot on that bridge a powerful force took hold of me i didn't feel in danger but i certainly
didn't feel safe either it was like i'd lost my ability to take charge of the situation
that bridge seemed to take on a life of its own i was never afraid of heights before but i suddenly felt dizzy and
weak every time i step down my legs seemed to be made of rubber i could feel my heart beating faster and
my breath was catching in my chest it was like all the warning signals in my body were telling me to run to safety
but i couldn't run the way that bridge was shaking i could barely walk i was doing all i could not to surrender
to my fears i didn't think it was possible that things were getting worse the bridge was
shaking more than ever and i was becoming a victim of my own fear i was now in a state of panic i was sure
i was going to die and that i'd never seen my parents again don't be afraid stay calm i'll help you
where did she come from i know there was no one else on the bridge thank you i saw our name tag it read
margaret lang it's a name i'll never forget you have to get off the bridge right away
[Music] something about her gave me the strength and courage to move again so i was sure that margaret lang went down
with the bridge i owed my life to her oh thank heavens you're all right dad oh we got pretty sick
how are you doing are you okay i'm fine what about the nurse there was no sign of her we'll go out
again first thing in the morning what nurse the nurse on the bridge she saved my
life a nurse i know it sounds crazy but but there was a woman on the bridge in a
nurse's uniform her name tag said margaret lange r.n could you excuse us for a minute please
of course what's wrong there's something i've been wanting to tell you for a long time
i don't know the years just slipped by and we never did guess i was afraid afraid of what
we adopted you when you were six months old your birth parents died in a plane crash
i'm adopted yes darling we love you more than anything in the world i love you too they were always afraid
to reveal i was adopted because they thought it would make me love them less in truth it made me love them more but
after my experience with margaret laying on the bridge this was almost too much for me to
absorb why why are you telling me this now because your birth mother was a registered nurse
her name was margaret lange when we got home my mother showed me a photograph of my birth mother in a
nurse's uniform it was her the same woman who saved my life on the bridge could this have happened was trisha
coburn's life really saved by the ghost of her dead mother could it have been another nurse with
the same name if so why was no trace of the nurse's body ever found detricia imagined the entire encounter
but then how would she know her real mother's name and profession if she was unaware of her existence
have we presented enough facts for you to suspend your disbelief or have we failed to bridge the gap
we'll find out if this story is true or false at the end of our show next a cigar box holds hidden secrets on
beyond belief fact or fiction you never know what items you might find in a garage sale or
a swap meet take this cigar box the cigars that were inside it have long burned into the air
in their place a lifetime of mementos who knows why certain people save certain things
as we know one man's trash can be another man's treasure aggie and heather baker are about to
visit a swap meet it'll turn out to be an experience they won't want to swap for anything
[Music] nobody bought it it was a sunday morning and i was doing one of my favorite
things spending time with my daughter heather she was a terrific kid and as a single
mom she made me proud of her and myself mom i worked as a waitress at a local diner
could be a little stressful at times but i was saving money and i loved the customers
every sunday before work we hit the local swap meets hunting for bargains gretchen where are you hiding all the
good stuff ah there's plenty of good stuff just gotta look it was a close-knit neighborhood
we need just about everybody there uh heather sweetie we gotta get going okay mom
wow what happened that box was vibrating really well there must be something inside
no i don't see anything that would make it vibrate come on i gotta go well it's probably just an old toy
inside that keeps going off okay now i'm officially late heather we gotta go mommy can we buy the box
why it's just a box of old junk please it's magic how much for the cigar box give me a
buck and it's yours let's get a move on hey again the deluxe burger's getting cold i'll be right there gus
mommy the box is vibrating again i can't talk right now honey i'm a little bit busy
then one of our regulars john august came in hi taylor hi mr august how are you on
this fine day good my mom bought me this at a swap meet i know how do you know hi john having the usual
i didn't come in to eat aggie i'm here because a mistake was made what kind of mistake this cigar box you
bought it's actually mine i thought it was gretchen's no she bought it at an auction
i was storing it with some other belongings i fell behind in my rent and they sold
everything off if it's yours you should have it back mr august no i don't need it now
there's just this one thing inside that matters to me may i sure thanks i'll always remember how he searched for
it it was so important to him what's that it's called a purple heart i got this fighting nazis in the second
world war i was wounded in germany almost died i'll never forget the ceremony when they
gave it to me my parents were standing there crying they were so proud grateful that i was
alive please take it john you sure you don't want anything else no just this aggie order's up yeah i'm coming gus
thanks heather mr august sometimes the box vibrates really maybe it was the purple heart
hearts do beat you know goodbye mr august why he had been my customer for years but i learned something new about john
august that day so we're gonna do it tonight as we were walking home that night we saw an ambulance outside an apartment
building near the diner i wonder what's going on here uh what's going on ah one of the tenants
died really who his name was august john august john august that's did right know we just saw him at the
diner where i work a couple of hours ago a couple of hours ago no that can't be he's been dead for at least two days
yeah it's a funny thing he uh he had a medal in his hand some old purple heart from world war ii
oh mom there was no earthly explanation for what happened that day but the cigar box never vibrated again
on a whim i took the old baseball cards from the box into a dealer i almost fainted when he told me they
were worth almost 50 000 the first thing i did was set up a college fund for heather
thanks mr august what happened here did the old soldier really return after his death to get his
medal or did the paramedic simply make a mistake about the time of death but maybe it was more than just
happenstance that aggie and heather's lives were enriched by the old soldier's gift
what about our story have we convinced you that this is a box filled with items of truth
or is it a nice try but no cigar next you'll find out which of our stories are facts
and which are fictional when beyond belief returns [Music] now let's look back at tonight's stories
and find out which ones are inspired by actual events and which ones are totally false let's
review the story of the ghost hunters who tried to capture the spirits on film are you seeing that through the lens are
you getting it all dark audio's down stick with us tara get it all he's angry spirit is angry he does not
want you to be filming him can it be that this story is fact yes it is this event was reported as taking place
in england in the years following world war ii let's take another look at the roulette
player who found he could control the wheel with his mind [Applause] seven seven seven seven seven
seven seven number seven wins is it possible that this story is true not this time it's a fraud
about the story of the model of a head that saved a patient from dangerous and needless surgery
the map had nothing to do with science it was based on old beliefs and superstitions
every human emotion with corresponding numbers to the numbers on the head was written on the map
i looked at number 11. written next to it was the word cautiousness was this story based on a real happening
yes it happened in the state of florida in the 90s what was your opinion of the hiker who
was rescued from a collapsing bridge by her mother's ghost don't be afraid stay calm i'll help you
thank you you have to get off the bridge right away was this story inspired by an actual
event yes it was inspired by an incident that took place in texas in the late 60s
the story of the veteran the cigar box and the purple heart medal how did you judge that one thanks
heather mr august sometimes the box vibrates really maybe it was the purple heart
hearts do beat you know goodbye mr august bye is this strange story based on fact yes a similar event took place in
ohio in the early 80s were you able to navigate the waters of deceit to find the islands of truth
tonight is there really a way to set your course and sail for the star of truth or is the voyage itself fraught with
obstacles that are beyond belief i'm jonathan franks phrenologist's head and cigar box are
true based on first-hand research conducted by author robert treylands for beyond belief this is campbell lane
[Music] you

This episode features the following cases: Witness to Murder, Roulette Wheel, The Phrenologist's Head, The Bridge, The Cigar Box.

Brief Summary

Five stories blur the lines between fact and fiction, featuring ghosts, gambling luck, and supernatural encounters.

Key points

The Impossible Fork. A challenge to separate truth from fiction, leading to unexpected twists.
Ghost Hunting Gone Wrong. Dr. Wainwright's obsession leads to a shocking and mysterious death.
A Gambler's Lucky Streak. Jimmy Welsh experiences an unprecedented winning streak at the casino.
A Life Saved on the Bridge. A mysterious nurse saves a hiker from a terrifying situation.
The Truth About Adoption. A mother reveals to her child the truth about her adoption and birth parents.
The Mysterious Cigar Box. A mother and daughter discover a vibrating cigar box that holds secrets.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

You may encounter an impossible fork in the road.

1:18WatchJan 27, 2021

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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