The Sauchie Poltergeist aka Wee Hughie | Morbid | Podcast | Forensic Files

Hey weirdos, I'm Elena. I'm Ash. And well, that threw out and this is Morbid. I just felt sing-songy about her name.
went for a run at the end there. I said, "I'm Ash." She's a runner. She's a runner. She's a track star. Even though
your children quite literally go to whenever they want me to play tag or something. I'm like, "Remember?" And
they all say it together. TT doesn't run. Running is bad. Running is great if you're running away
from something you should be running from. Yeah, that's always good. Yeah. It makes
um my mouth taste like blood when I run, so. I've talked about it. It's a thing.
I like found it on TikTok. I think it's like I they don't really know why it happens, but many theories are that
there's like little like little vessels in your lungs are bursting. So, that's like I don't think I'm meant
to run. Yeah, I don't think so either. meant to be thickums McGee, baby. quite honest, that sounds terrifying. I
mean I walk, so that's good. That's always good to walk, too. Yeah, move. Don't Yeah, don't be
stagnant. groove it, baby. Um I have a poltergeist story tonight. Yeah, we're getting creepy with it.
Getting creepy up in here. It's almost Halloween. Spooky season. Remember, we're doing all
kinds of you know, spooky stuff. Yeah, also I we haven't even talked about like what we're going to be for
Halloween. Like what are you being? Cuz we are we we're doing the thing, right? Yeah.
This is just like a family party. This is us just making plans on the side. right?
Yes, what it's like are we doing the thing? Oh, you're like we're doing that thing. I was trying to distract We're
doing that black mass in the woods, correct? Yeah, no. Sorry, I'm letting it all out.
God, Elena. Um I had an idea. Can you tell me? For us. Oh, for me and you together?
And we should Yeah, and maybe we can like put a beep over this part of the episode so that it could be a surprise
for later. What are you going to do a couple's costume with John for the thing or me
and you just doing with Arby a couple this year? That's wrong, but like are are we a
couple of Halloween girls? A couple of gals? I don't know. Cuz I have an idea for me and Drew.
Oh. Did I tell you what we were doing? Yeah, maybe for the cuz I don't think that that idea I just
gave you is great for the family event because I think Yeah, no. It's super bloody. Yeah, I
think the the gals would not appreciate that. Maybe they would have to I was going to say they probably would,
but maybe the fam bam on a whole level wouldn't appreciate that. going to. Um But yeah, so
So, yeah. I think maybe we can do that for something else. But do you have any couple costume idea?
Cuz usually you have such a good couple's costume. honestly have not even had time to think
about it, so I'm going to sit down and brainstorm. We can beep this, too, but I think me and Drew are going to be
That's [ __ ] amazing. incredible? Don't say I think we're going to be that. No, I'm pretty like when I say I think
like we decided that. don't you dare ponder over that. Like do that. I'm pretty stoked. That's phenomenal.
Right. But beep that out. Don't tell the masses. Don't tell the masses. I'll just say it
on my Insta, but it's an exciting Such a trendsetter. Spooky time surprise. There's a lot of fun things happening
I love Halloween. Hell House LLC, there's another movie coming out. I think it might be Oh, a prequel. Prequel.
love that you were about to say a prelude cuz that's a prelude to the trial is what I always think of.
prelude? Is that wrong? I mean it's No, not really. Yeah, I don't So, I I it's still I
always think of Mickey from Scream 2 saying, "A prelude to the trial." And you do love Mickey. Oh, love Mickey.
You and John should be Mickey and Sidney for Halloween. Oh my god. I mean it's wrong, but Very wrong, but
very right Yeah. as well. Also, your dog should be Sidney Sidney. The dog should be Sidney
should be Sidney Prescott. But aren't they being like a hot dog and a and a um Oh, you should make one a hot dog and
one a trench coat. That would be hilarious, but one of them is being a hot dog and the other one is being
a pumpkin. A pumpkin, yeah. Uh but yeah, I think the I was going to say where did we just go?
Hell House LLC prelude prequel. Yeah, it had it has a prequel coming out I think near Halloween, which I'm very
excited about for all you that are listening that haven't watched Hell House LLC. Don't listen anybody who says
it's you know, found footage is is crap because this is a great one. And we were talking to John about it the
other day and it's not like found footage that will give you vertigo. So, anybody that has that and is worried
about like found footage, I feel like you'll be fine. And I mean like I'm not a doctor, so but like they don't take
that for Yeah, I mean if you get vertigo from it, that's your own problem. Not my
chair, not my problem. If you get vertigo from it, [ __ ] you. That's your own problem.
Um but then there's the Saw prelude prequel. Yeah, there's a lot of fun stuff happening I feel like.
Just fun things to do. I think there's just fun things, so I think we're we're getting back into the
swing of the spooky season and that's exciting. And what's really spooky about the spooky season is poltergeists. That
is one of the most spooky things about any season, I would say. Yeah, so I have a poltergeist today that it's a really
interesting story, but I am going to let you know from the the jump that it's not
really like solved Huh? at all, which is interesting cuz you're like how do you even solve that in the first place? But
it's all it hasn't really been debunked either. Ooh. So, that's fun to me. That is fun. We love when it hasn't been
debunked. I don't love a debunked. Yeah. I've been doing a couple debunks lately
and they make me feel a little upset in my stomach Yeah. cuz I'm like not fun. Not fun.
This moderately fun. Okay. You know? So, this is the I believe it's the you say it's Saughy and Elena can
tell you I looked at like a bunch of pronunciations. did. Um it's in Scotland, but it's the
Saughy poltergeist. Oh, Scottish. Yeah. Let's go. We have Ireland and Scotland up in here. And this
poltergeist became known as Wee Hughie. That makes this perfect. Like exponentially better.
Wee Hughie. Wee Hughie, which I'm I'm like is that just like Lil Hughie? Lil Hughie.
Lil Hugh Hugh. Yeah, that's exactly what it is. Also, I like the name Hugh. Just wanted to say that. So anyways, in
the fall of 1960, Annie and James Campbell, a couple in their mid-50s living in Donegal, Ireland and I looked
that up, too, so please don't yell at me. did. But they had grown really tired of
the economic struggle that they were having. You know, their rural life made it hard for them on the farm. Like it
would things weren't really going well. Yeah. So, they made the decision to sell
this family farm in Ireland and relocate to Scotland. Now, at the time their youngest son
Thomas and his wife Isabella Campbell were living in a house in Saughy, Scotland. Ah.
So, uh Saughy is like a small coal mining town in central Scotland and it's really
well known for its association with regional football, which I believe it's not like American football, but like
Yeah, I think we're the actually makes sense. Football that actually uses your foot
with a ball. Yeah, the United States is embarrassing when they say football because of like because you're not
really using your foot that much, so Yeah, my 7-year-olds were very confused about that cuz they learned that
football is soccer in other countries and they were like they were both like that makes more sense.
Right. And I was like I know. There's a lot of things that don't make sense here
and I'm sorry, you're going to have to learn that. Yeah, it really like unlocks like this
weird feeling inside of yourself where you're just like, "Huh? That doesn't makes no sense whatsoever. Yeah, piss
off. They kick it like once a game, maybe. I think I don't even know when they like
Oh my god, I was like do they kick it? But you're right, there's like a kicker, yeah. Um anyway, that's all I have to
say about football. For this couple, it was a new start and one that honestly wouldn't really
require much of a financial investment on their part cuz they were moving in with their son. So, they started making
plans to move themselves and their youngest daughter, 11-year-old Virginia, to Saughy.
Now, the economy in Saughy at the time wasn't really more promising than where they were at now, but I don't think it
was really about like the financials. I think it was more about like missing family kind of thing, you know?
Um So, in October of 1960, Annie, the mother, and Virginia moved in with Annie's son and Virginia's brother
Thomas and his wife Isabella and James, the father, stayed behind to sell the family farm. Okay. Now, also when you
read about this, it says that a lot of like a lot of sources say that uh the family moved in with an aunt, but that's
not true. It was the brother and sister-in-law of Virginia. Oh, that's good to know. So, at the time
of the move, Virginia Campbell's life had been pretty lonely and isolating. She was the youngest of the Campbell
children, so all of her siblings had moved out of the house, had moved away from their tiny village. And as George
Owen wrote, quote, "The only real companions that Virginia had were her pet dog Toby and one friend." Aw.
was like her very best friend. Oh my god. So, even though she was already lonely at home, the move to Saughy was
still a lot on Virginia because she might not have had a lot, but she was leaving all of it behind.
Yeah. And she was being uprooted from the only world that she knew. So, she definitely
struggled to acclimate to her new life after the move. Her teacher Margaret Davidson recalled, "Virginia was a shy,
withdrawn girl, but very pleasant. She was in every other way quite normal." Hm. So, the fact that she was quiet or
withdrawn is uh pretty understandable. She had, like I said, just been uprooted from the family home. And now she was
thrown into this new living situation where she was sharing a bed and a bedroom with her niece Margaret. On top
of that, her father still hadn't been able to join them. The dog hadn't come yet. I don't
actually know if the dog ever ended up coming back. I think they like left it at I don't know if it was like a farm
dog. Aw. It's sad. So, that was a lot of upheaval for an 11-year-old. Remember, she's 11.
And there was about to be more because just a few weeks after arriving in Soky, Virginia's mother got a job at the
Dollar Academy. Um it was only 5 miles away from their new house, but the job required her mom to work evening hours,
and a lot of times she had to stay overnight at the academy. Oh, okay. And I forgot to mention
that Virginia also lost connection with her best friend, like completely. So, she was going through it.
Now, eventually she would shed a lot of her shwy shwy shwy all her shwy ways. I think I was about to combine shy and
quiet and make it shwyet. Like that. shwyet She would shed a lot of her shy and quiet tendencies as she settled into
her new life, and she eventually she did start making friends. But to school adminish administrators, I can't talk,
the initial apprehension and awkwardness of the Campbell family as a whole, like
not even just Virginia, was obvious. According to Mr. Hill, who was the headmaster at the primary school where
Virginia was now going, Annie, Virginia's new mom, initially, quote, offered no more information than was
necessary, and her voice seemed to come unwillingly from behind the mask on her face. They gave the impression of people
who lived for a long time in a remote and isolated place. Huh. So, basically they were just
private. Yeah. Interesting. You're moving to an entirely new place, like you might be a little apprehensive.
So, since she was older than her niece Margaret, Virginia was placed in a higher grade where obviously she didn't
know anybody. And on top of everything else that she was going through, she struggled with the language difference
between the rural Donegal and Soky. George Owen, author of Can We Explain the Poltergeist, wrote, "At first she
was extremely shy, and her teacher found it difficult to establish real connection with her. But it was clear to
everybody that she was very intelligent and she was kind, even if she seemed very emotional and under distress."
Okay. Now, I what are you looking at over there? Um, nothing. Oh, you looked like you
were looking at something. Oh, no. You always think I'm looking at something. I think whenever you're
reading something, you get this face where you look you look like very like invested.
Yeah, cuz I think I focus when I'm reading something. Yeah, and then I'm like, "What is she
reading?" I was looking up things about that Like I was looking at this little girl and like the things she adorable.
Don't spoil anything for yourself. So, the picture of Virginia Campbell that comes from most accounts at this
time is that of a fairly normal 11-year-old reacting pretty appropriately to a pretty disruptive
life event and struggling, but refusing or failing to not refusing or failing to
adapt to her new life. Yeah. She was open to getting to know Yeah, she wanted to adapt. She was just
having trouble. Yeah. And like I said, by all accounts behind the quiet shy exterior, there was a perfectly lovely
intelligent girl who seemed eager to engage with the world around her. And in time, like I said a minute ago, she did
make a lot of new friends. Yeah. But that being said, George Owen, who was actually involved with the
family at the time of the supposed poltergeist activity, is quick to point out, quote, "It may be of significance
that at present she is going through a period of extremely rapid physical development and mature maturation.
Puberty in the full sense has not arrived, but she is going through a very rapid pubescence. It may also be of
significance that on occasion she did give some indication of mental and emotional turmoil. At times she talked
in her sleep showing signs of both upset and aggressiveness." Talking in her sleep? She was upset and
aggressiveness? According to him, and that might cuz when I read that at first I was like, "I talk in my sleep. I talk
in my sleep." But when you hear about the kind of talking in her sleep that was happening,
it wasn't your normal like Having a weird dream like Like she would go into trances and like
sit up, but they were like she was still asleep. That's also a night terror. It seems like she may have been having some
night terrors, but then when you put it hand in hand with everything else that was going on,
Well, maybe the night terrors were caused by something else. Because the girls have had night terrors
for small spans of time before, and they are terrifying. One of them in particular, one of the girls
Yeah. Yeah. Freaky. They are scary. I Kids are [ __ ] terrifying. If your kid is scary, I'm
sorry, Gary. And a night terror is the thing like you can't really do anything about it. You just have to like comfort
them through it. Cuz it's Isn't it like hard to wake them up? And technically you're not really
supposed to. They're asleep, but they're acting awake. And they're just kind of like
They're not focusing their eyes on you or anything. Like it's very strange, and it's a very strange moment. So, you just
kind of have to like if you can rub their back and the stuff, just kind of be like, "I'm here. Like I'm here." Like
let them know that you're here and And then hopefully it kind of like It Yeah. goes into their dreams.
Like subconscious somewhere. I think it's like if you show comfort and like, "I'm here" kind of thing, then slowly
they they can come out of it. That was scary. And it's like how like when your alarm will ring in real life,
but it manifests as something else in your dream. it's just this loud noise in your dream
that you can't get away from. So, maybe like some big random thing is comforting you and not your mama. Not
your mama. Not your mama, so big random thing is comforting I just pictured like
a cloud comforting me, like a giant cloud with legs. I honestly pictured cloud guy, but like
big. Oh. From Trolls. Oh, yeah. Cloud guy would comfort me. Cloud guy does comfort
me. And so does um [ __ ] what's his name? The the giraffe. love the giraffe. the giraffe. Cooper. I [ __ ] love
Cooper. I'm excited for the new Trolls movie, and this is not a paid campaign. I'm
just genuinely pretty excited. I love that. Anyway, that's all to say, while Virginia
Campbell may have been a normal, healthy, fully functional 11-year-old, her behavior did indicate a certain
amount of frustration related to her circumstances that maybe was seeking some kind of outlet subconsciously or
consciously. Okay. [ __ ] was going down. Truly. Or or not. No, it was. It was going down,
Charlie Brown. So, as far as anybody could tell, the poltergeist activity began on November
22nd, 1960. Not long after Virginia and her niece Margaret had gone to bed that night, the
two girls began hearing what they later described as a thunking noise. They said
it was almost like someone was throwing a rubber ball against the wall. Okay. can kind of picture that.
Yeah. Now, they couldn't fall asleep because it was so loud. So, they went downstairs, but the sound actually ended
up following them as they were walking down the stairs, like the ball was hitting each step just behind them. Ooh.
Now, in the living room, the girls reported the noise to Thomas and Isabella, which would be Margaret's
parents and Virginia's brother and her sister-in-law. But the older, like the couple, Thomas
and Isabella, were like, "Okay, you guys need to go to bed. Like clearly this is
some kind of tactic to stay awake." And they didn't hear anything. So, they just escorted them back up to bed. But
as soon as Thomas and Isabella closed the door to the bedroom after getting the girls settled, they heard the sound
from outside of the room, and they were like, "Okay." Now, Thomas just figured it was the girls pulling some kind of
prank. Like once he closed the door, he's like, "Oh, they're trying to make me think that I hear this." So, he
opened the door to tell them to cut it out, but he was surprised to find both of them under the blankets, their hands
completely covered, and the sound emanating from the headboard of the bed they shared. Damn. Now, confused and
somewhat concerned, they moved Virginia and Margaret to a different bedroom to fall asleep, but the noises continued,
and they only stopped after Virginia had fallen asleep. Ooh. Just random. That's
interesting. Like it was inexplicable. So, that night was uh not restful at all for Virginia. She had a very fitful
sleep, so that they decided to let her stay home from school the next day cuz they were like, "First of all, we have
no [ __ ] idea what's going on, and you also didn't sleep last night, so it's not going to be a good day for you."
Now, that afternoon, when Thomas, Isabella, and Virginia sat down in the living room together, all three of them
watched in shock as the sideboard next to Virginia, quote, "moved out 5 inches from the wall, then slid right back into
place." Oh. Yeah. Okay. So, at the time Virginia was seated less than a foot away from the sideboard, but
both Thomas and Isabella swore that she never touched that sideboard. Like it moved very much on its own. And they
were like, "What are we dealing with here?" What is going on? If my little If I like
Well, I do have a little sister, and if she moved in with me and this [ __ ] started happening, I'd be like, "Listen,
I love you so much, but you got to go." Yeah. Cuz like my house is chill, and you're unchilling it.
Yeah, the you know, don't be all uncool. Yeah, be cool. Don't be all uncool. I have wine glasses that say that.
They're a pair. Just in case you were wondering. Yeah, I think I got them on Etsy, so try
to find those. But that evening, after Virginia and Margaret had gone to bed, the family started hearing the knocking
again, but this time it was all over the house, and there was no obvious point of
origin. They're all like hunting around to see like is this like a pipe? Is this
a that? Is this a whatever? They can't narrow it down. And eventually the knocks became so loud
that even the neighbors could hear the noise and were like, uh what's going on over there? Like please quiet down. And
they were like, "Yeah, we can't control this at all. Like we don't know what's happening."
not doing it. We are not well, [ __ ] Nobody of the living is doing it, so sue. Finally, after enduring the noise for
hours and being just really unsure of what to do, the couple, Thomas and Isabella there, ended up calling their
priest, Reverend T.W. Lund. And they were like, "Can you come out here and just help?"
So, Reverend Lund arrived at the Campbell house just after midnight that very night, and he was briefed on the
activity that had been occurring throughout the last 24 hours. He could also hear the knocking sounds, and he
eventually traced them to that headboard on the bed where Virginia and Margaret were sleeping. They were still asleep.
So, he actually, the Reverend, suspected that Virginia was causing these noises somehow. He said maybe she was like like
uh putting her head up against the headboard and kind of like thudding it against the wall.
So, he asked her to slide down away from the headboard. Like, they woke the kids
up, obviously. And he assumed that the noises would stop, but after she did, they continued.
And he also noticed that the headboard hadn't actually even been touching the wall at all, so there wasn't even the
possibility that it was being vibrated and like hitting the wall. Debunking. It's not happening. No.
So, when the when the Reverend pressed his hand against the headboard, he could feel a vibration with every knock, which
convinced him that no matter how impossible, this knocking was coming from inside the headboard itself. Oh,
damn. And he could not figure out how. So, during his visit to the house, Reverend Lund also noticed a large linen
chest, like pretty big. It was 27 in long, 17 in high, and 14 in wide. He saw it rocking back and forth for no obvious
reason. And then, the sideboard slid more than a foot across the linoleum tile and then just slid back into place.
Yeah. He could not explain the movement of the chest, especially because it was full of
linen and not likely to move from any kind of vibrations. Like, it's a big heavy chest. So, he shifted his
attention back to Virginia, and he was like, "I think you guys just need to go back to bed." Like, Virginia and
Margaret, try to go back to sleep after witnessing that. It's fine. And when he made that suggestion, the knocking from
the headboard became violent and rapid. Like, no, no, no, nobody's going to sleep tonight.
Right. Oh, I don't like this at all. No, it's weird. It doesn't get weirder, but and it and
it's scary in and of itself, but this particular poltergeist doesn't seem violent.
But he seems like aggressive. Yeah. Which I don't like. Like, knowing that it's Wee Hughie, it's it does sound like
just like a little kid poltergeist. Like, this little boy Hughie just make acting a fool, you know? Yeah, it's
true. Like, Wee Hughie really does take the terror down a notch. It does. And it
just seems like a little boy being rambunctious as a ghost. I also saw it described as a
possible leprechaun. Are you serious? Yeah. But they never found the leprechaun. I'm
just saying. I love that. Maybe maybe Wee Hughie is a little leprechaun. know. I don't know. Who's to say? Not I. Yeah,
they called it and actually they called him a vengeful leprechaun, so. But I don't really know how vengeful he was.
Like, he didn't do anything bad. I yeah, I don't know. I'm just saying he has had
that reputation. He has the bad reputation, I think is what Taylor Swift says. So, the noises and the disruptions
continued the next day with knocking coming from the walls, the sewing machine was turning on and off by
itself, objects were moving on their own. Virginia's father by that point, James, he had sold the farm and moved to
where they were now in Scotland. He claimed that he witnessed an apple rise out of a fruit bowl, hover in the
air for a second or two, and then drop back down into the fruit bowl. And he like this man is like a farmer.
Like, he's not he's like a no [ __ ] kind of guy. Yeah, he's just like that. I saw what I saw, and I don't know
why I saw that. I saw what I saw, and I don't know why I saw it. It's weird. Like, that is it. And I just love that
it's like Wee Hughie like picked up an apple, was looking at it, and then was like, "Nah." And just put it like,
"Health, no." Health, wellness, fiber, absolutely not for me. I just picture like a an apple floating on itself and
it would be like, "Can you take the skin off this?" And nobody answers, so he's like, "Fuck
it." Just put it For some reason, no one heard him. But imagine if you did. That would be
actually terrifying. Not and also not to know the context here. Can you take the
skin off this? I'd be like, "No, I can't." An apple's just floating IN THE AIR. BECAUSE LIKE, IT'S AN APPLE.
NO. NO, thank you. So, later that evening, Reverend Lund went back to the Campbell home, and this time he brought
a local physician, W.H. Nesbitt, with him. Once Virginia and Margaret had gone to
bed, they both went into the room, the Reverend and the doctor. And once they walked into the room, they looked on in
utter shock as Virginia's pillow rotated about 60° while her head was still resting on it.
Okay. That's interesting. That's weird. That's weird. Suspicious. That's suspicious.
So, neither of them had really any time to process what they'd seen before the knocking started up again. First at the
headboard and then in the walls. And the knockings were followed by the lifting and slamming of the lid on the linen
chest, which again moved out from the wall on its own before sliding back into place against the wall. Okay. But all
the while the lid is being like lifted and slammed back down, lifted and slammed back down.
That's disruptive. It is. So, these phenomena were shocking, but the final event witnessed that evening was the
most inexplicable to them. As Virginia and Margaret lay in bed with the covers pulled up to their chests,
both men witnessed what they later described as a strange rippling movement move up and down the bed covers as the
two girls lay beneath. Almost like the cover was doing the wave. Yeah, obviously.
What? No. I hate it. Nope. And I'm also like, "Damn, y'all are just sleeping through this?" I know, that's the thing.
Everybody's just like going about their business after this. Like, kids can sleep through anything.
They truly can, apparently. But then they have like they need like one glass of water and it's over for you [ __ ]
I mean, going to sleep, forget about it. Forget about it. Now, since the activity started a few
days earlier, Virginia had been staying home from school cuz they were like, "Do
we send her to school while this is happening?" But by Friday, November 25th, the Campbells decided there was
really no point in keeping her at home any longer, especially because Yeah. And they weren't even any closer
to understanding what the hell was going on. So, after being home all morning, and you know, Virginia was probably like
ticking them off a little bit. Like, you know, like they were like, "Go find something to do." And she was like, "I
can't." So, they were like, "You know what? Go to school." So, they sent her to school for the remainder of the
afternoon. Now, that afternoon, as she was sitting in class, her teacher, Margaret Stewart,
noticed that she seemed to be struggling with something at her desk. From Mrs. Stewart's vantage point at the front of
the class, it seemed like Virginia was fidgeting with her desk lid in like an unusual manner. She's like, "What the
[ __ ] is she doing?" She didn't say that, though. She said, "What the [ __ ] is that
little girl doing?" Virginia, what the [ __ ] are you doing? She didn't say that. That would have
been so rude. She would have had a problem with Annie Campbell if she said that.
And James, I'm sure. And me. And me. How about that, Miss Stewart? Never. No, Miss Stewart's a sweetie. So,
she assumed that Virginia was just fooling around. So, she called out and was like, "Virginia, what are you
doing?" And Virginia said, "Nothing, Miss Honest." Like, she was like, "I'm really not doing anything."
So, when the teacher told Virginia to stop distracting the class, she did as she was told and just lifted her arms
off the desk. And at that point, the wooden lid of the desk began rising and falling on its own as the other students
just watched in complete shock and horror. No. That's not great. She might have been like because she
said the teacher was like she looked like she was fidgeting with her desk. It sounds to me like she was trying to stop
that from happening. Yeah, like I was trying to figure out why it was happening. Like, just being like, "What
is going on here?" Like, trying to see if it could stop it. And then she takes her hands off, and it starts just going
for it. And all the kids in class are like, "What the [ __ ] We got a Matilda up in here." We got a Matilda? So, later
that afternoon during a period of silent reading, the classroom was again disrupted when the empty desk behind
Virginia slowly rose about an inch off of the floor and just gently settled down again on its own.
What do you even say as a kid in that class? You're like, "What's happening?" What is going on? When she was
interviewed about the incident a short time later, Mrs. Stewart told George Owen that during the first interruption,
Virginia was in her line of sight, so she could tell that Virginia was not lifting the lid of the desk. And again,
her hands were in the air. And after the second incident, Mrs. Stewart went back over to the desk
behind Virginia and examined like the whole entirety of it and said she quote found no strings, levers, or anything
else that had been in operation to make the desk rise and fall seemingly of its own volition. So, this wasn't a prank.
Yeah, like they checked it out, it seems. Yeah, they tried to debunk everything, and they literally couldn't.
See, these are the ones that it's like when they're going and checking it out and actual adults are looking and being
like, "I yeah, I can't explain this." That's when those are the scary scary ones. They are. And they're they're
scary This For some reason, I just find this one fun. Yeah. I mean, it's Scottish. Who doesn't love a Scottish
tale? I love a Scottish tale, by the I love a Scottish tale. And it's an Irish girly. Yeah, you know we love it.
Later that evening, Reverend Lund and Dr. Nesbitt returned again to the Campbell house to check up on Virginia.
And when Reverend Lund asked her how school had been, Virginia said, "All right, but something funny happened when
I was there. When my teacher was standing near my desk, the lid of another desk went up all by itself."
You know, funny. Reverend Lund was like, "Okay, I'm going to talk to your family,
so give me a minute." Wild. Now, while he sat and talked with the family in the living room, Dr.
Nesbitt spent the evening sitting in the girls' bedroom watching for any unusual
behavior. Now, while he was alone in the room, Dr. Nesbitt witnessed similar but less
intense activity than had been reported days earlier, including the light knocking sounds, the lid of the linen
chest lifting and lowering, and still multiple rotations of Virginia's pillow as it just sat on the bed. Yeah, that's
wild. So, it's not even like cuz I I guess you're kind of thinking or at least I was when they first saw that
pillow rotation, I'm like, maybe there's something that like she can pull that like makes it happen. I mean, that's
like you just You're trying to think of anything But now he's sitting alone in there.
That's the thing. Like she's not there to do anything. No, and this is the 1960s, so it's not
like she has like some remote control that's like hooked up to anything, you know?
I'd be like, all right, maybe it's like a drone or some [ __ ] Right, but now like back then, it's like
no. No. So, the family hoped the arrival of the weekend maybe could bring some kind of just chill to the situation.
They're like, it's been really chaotic up in here with the paranormal activity. Maybe we can have a calm weekend,
please. But unfortunately, uh it didn't take long for those hopes to be dashed. Saturday the 27th did pass with minimal
activity. The most really anyone witnessed was more pillow rotations and that rippling of the bed covers. I love
that. More pillow rotations. More pillow rotations! It's like more bumpteenies! Now, Sunday on the other hand found the
family experiencing an entirely new phenomenon when Virginia appeared to go into a kind of trance. Ooh.
This is kind of what I touched on earlier. Okay. That afternoon, Dr. Nesbitt returned with his colleague, Dr.
William Logan. Oh. I know somebody with that same name. But they brought along his dog, Dr. Logan's dog. And Virginia
took an immediate liking to this dog, telling the doctors that he reminded her so much of her own dog, Toby, who she
like really missed. I really don't understand why they couldn't bring Toby with them, but
Justice for Toby. Justice for Toby. Truly. Pour one out. I I will. Now, the day passed without incident. The children
played with the dog. They seemed generally happy. But that evening, after the girls had gone to bed, Virginia
appeared to slip into this kind of trance trance, excuse me, and she started speaking almost like she was
talking in her sleep, calling out for Toby and her best friend, Anna, who she'd left behind in Ireland.
Now, Virginia's parents did what you would do. They tried to comfort her as she's like seemingly having some kind of
night terror distress. They gave her a teddy bear, but she ended up violently throwing the teddy bear across the room
and started thrashing and striking out in all directions. Oh, damn. And they were like, I don't know what to do. So,
they left the room. I don't really know what else they could have done, I guess.
Yeah. And she just fell asleep normally after that. Oh, wow. Yeah. Huh. Have you Have your kids ever had a
night terror to like that extent? No, they've never like thrashed around and like become like scary like that.
potentially violent. Yeah, they've never become violent or like even aggressive. They more It
always kills me because like they would They don't have them anymore really, knock on wood.
And they didn't get them a ton. They would just every once in a while. And I got them when I was little, so I knew
what they were. What to do. But I They basically like it They get very like They cry.
And they get very like inconsolable like for a moment, and then finally they'll they'll fall into it and be like
and calm down. But even like even so, you feel bad leaving them because you feel like quite got them to a comforted
place yet cuz they Right. they'll lay down and like go to go back to sleep, and it you can still
see like the stress on their face, so it always used to kill me. Aw. And then I go in like an hour later, and they were
like peacefully asleep, so I was like, okay. Okay, we're good. But yeah, and it's always one of those
things where you're like, but I've They never got aggressive. I know. I don't Well, I don't know if that's just
different strokes for different folks. Yeah, that's the thing cuz in my mind, I'm like, maybe
beca- What George Owen said earlier about how like she was clearly dealing with something whether she knew it or not. I
don't know if maybe she was the kind of person with the temperament of like not allowing things to get the best of her
while she was awake, but then at night she was like angry about the fact that she had to move like in her
subconscious. Yeah, no matter what, she's young and she's going through a an upheaval. So,
it's like I feel like that's always going to put a kid in a different mindset when it's the when it's not
quite settled or, you know, when things are settled, it's easier to be in a good mindset, but for a kid,
unsettling and movement can really throw them off. Yeah. Like way more than we think it
does. It's And it's interesting. Like And I think a lot of it I think a lot of things with kids happen subconsciously,
you know? yeah, for sure. Be- because it's just like they can't necessarily make sense
of a lot of it. Exactly. There's so much going on. Well, anyways, the next day Virginia did
return to school, and it was almost immediately apparent that whatever had been affecting
I think I would literally go insane. Yeah. So, later that night, the Logans were
called back to the house in Dollar by the family, who were concerned because Virginia had fallen into another trance.
And they were like, yeah, we haven't experienced this before, so we're not really sure what to do. Not sure. So,
when they got to the home, Dr. Lo- Logan discovered that Virginia was sitting up
in bed quote talking in a loud unnatural voice, calling for Toby and Anna, and throwing herself about the bed.
According to Logan, even though Virginia's eyes were closed, she heard and responded to questions normally, but
she did note that her responses indicated a lack of shyness that was typically present in Virginia's
personality. Like usually usually she was like a pretty soft-spoken shy child, but when she was answering these
questions, it was very like confident. Yeah, just like outside of her natural kind of disposition.
an interesting like little side effect. Yeah. So, the doctors stayed with her for 10
or 15 minutes until she did eventually emerge from the trance, and she did eventually fall asleep. But they were
like, what the [ __ ] They just had never seen anything like this before. it adds up. No, and it's not And none of
it is like of typical poltergeist activity. Yeah. Like the obviously the moving of
the furniture and that kind of the tapping noises, but just I don't know. It's not your typical
poltergeist story. very strange. So, Virginia returned home the next day, November 30th, and the
family actually reported no unusual activity. But that break did prove to be short-lived because the noises returned
the following night just around the time, and it always seems to be around the time that the girls are getting
ready for bed. Of course. Which makes you think that it's a prank, but then they try to figure it out, and
there's no way that the girls are causing this. Yeah, it's like what the [ __ ] So just before 9:00 p.m., Dr. Nisbet and
Dr. Logan set up a camera in the girls' bedroom hoping to capture any of this activity on film. Now the camera
captured long periods of continual noise, quote, "ranging from barely perceptible tappings to agitated knocks,
more rippling of the bed cover, and quote, a considerable a considerable amount of hysterical talking by Virginia
in which she showed the same lack of inhibition she had previously in her trances."
Huh. So she's she's this very like confident outspoken girl in her trances. And then when she's awake and out and
about, she's very shy and reserved. Yeah. Hm. It's just interesting. So that same night, Reverend Lund
arrived at the Campbell house in the company of three other local ministers to conduct a service of intercession, I
believe is what it's called. It's not an exorcism. Those would become more popular in the
media in the following decade, but what they were doing now, a service of intercession, is basically just a prayer
session where a group prays to their God on behalf of another person. Okay. In this case, Virginia. Okay. So
throughout the 15-minute prayer session, these men who were praying over her reported hearing considerable loud
banging, quote, "a harsh rasping sawing noise, Ooh. and screams and bouts of hysterical
talking from Virginia, which they described as babbling." What the [ __ ] So this was clearly agitating
Yeah. the entity. Ew. Now the activity, which had begun about a week earlier, had not
only been disruptive to everybody involved, but also to the large number of witnesses to the phenomenon. It
wasn't just Virginia that was going through it, it was everybody. Yeah. Now usually in paranormal cases
similar to this one, first-hand experiences are limited. Yeah. But Virginia's poltergeist had
never really been shy about demonstrating its abilities, and it was only a matter of time, of course, before
the press got onto the story. Hm, of course. You knew it was coming. Of course. So the intercessional prayer session
coincided with an article that was published on The Wire by United Press International.
The article it kind of annoys me when they do things like this because it it was poking fun at this. Aw. It had and
it's like this is an 11-year-old girl. Like you don't It's like, come on. It's one thing if
this is adults and even that's like pretty rude, but Yeah. you don't need to make fun of
people. don't need to make fun of an 11-year-old. No. So but it was it had an unserious tone, but at the same time it
did lay out some of the facts that had occurred, and for sa it emphasized the ways in which Virginia's quote-unquote
ghost was disrupting the class. And Virginia's teacher, Margaret, was interviewed for it, and she told
reporters, "I don't believe in the supernatural, but I was mesmerized by what I saw." And she was referring to
that movement of the desk. She said, "It looked like an elaborate practical joke,
but there was no string and no one touched the desk when it moved." Wow. was like, "I don't believe in the
supernatural and even I can't explain this." to say, but she's like, "I don't believe
in the supernatural, but I have no idea how they did that." It's like, I think I believe in the
supernatural now. Now in addition to the description of paranormal activity occurring at school, the UPI article
noted the rumors. I just said that like Meredith Markle marks a little bit. There's this new
clip on Housewives where one of the housewife goes, "The rumors." The way she says it is
wild. I need I'm going to play it for you later. Please do. But the UPI article noted the
rumors the rumors that had been making their way around town. And quote, "Villagers said that they understood
church authorities would be consulted to determine if this case was warranting of
an exorcism." Ooh, here we go. Now you can assume the writer was referring to Reverend Lund. Like they were like, "Is
this [ __ ] going to start an exorcism?" Because he had been involved with the case from the very beginning, Yeah. and
up to this point had never made any ention uh mention, excuse me, of an exorcism.
But this news report raised concern among the Reverend and the doctors and Virginia's family that any additional
attention was going to make things harder for Virginia. Oh, damn. They were like, we like all these articles are
going to [ __ ] [ __ ] up. Like it's we don't need this. Which I mean, yeah. She's 11. Yeah. So after discussing it
with the family, the men decided that the best course of action would be to report to the news service that, with
help from her doctors and the Reverend, the problem had been solved. They were like, "We just need them to believe that
this is over and we can do this privately." They're going to be like a dog with a bone. Yeah.
Now in their joint statement, the three men, which is the doctors and the Reverend, they provided some small
details about the activity saying, "We concluded that the happenings could not be accounted for in the normal sense of
cause and effect." And writing on behalf of the church, the statement went on, "When the observances did not quickly
disappear, we attempted to help the child by changing her environment and to deal by means of sedatives with her
hysteria, which we all agreed was a secondary emotional effect. We realized the need not only for medical care for
the child, but also spiritual help for the whole family, and we can consulted certain ministers who have had the
experience of abnormal phenomena of a similar nature. All along we have recognized the possible importance of
restoring the child to her previous environment in Ireland. In our opinion, the phenomena are rapidly diminishing,
and it is it is our belief that they may soon disappear altogether." So they were
like, "Things are really chilling out over here. Nothing to see." Yeah, don't worry about it. We fixed it. Now the
statement Good, good, good. Cool, cool, cool. Awesome. So the statement actually
seemed to satisfy a lot of inquiring minds about town, but some local news outlets still wanted more information.
Of course. And when none of the three men would provide any additional details, they looked elsewhere.
So in an article from December 2nd, 1960, the paper quotes secretary of the Alloa Spiritualist Church, James
Henderson, saying, "In my opinion, this little girl has certain unusual psychic qualities, and I am convinced that some
person who has passed on is trying to communicate through her. I believe that a responsible medium should be taken to
see the little girl, for such a person could certainly help her." Huh. Which okay, I get it.
Interesting. Now that same article goes on to quote a spokesperson for the spirit or the the spokesperson for the
Spiritualist National Church. That's a mouthful. It is. James McNeish. He said, "Happenings such
as such as are taking place with this little girl are not nearly so unusual as many people think, and contrary to
popular opinion, they are not necessarily evil in nature. Children are much more alive physically than adults
are, and often, although unconscious, real mediums. If much of what is called their blethers was seriously examined,
they would be discovered to contain communication from people who have passed on." Okay.
So basically he's saying what I think a lot of people believe is that kids are more susceptible to like seeing spirits,
making friends with spirits, being visited by spirits. Being open to spirits. Being open to it because they they're
not as scared of it yet because they haven't had the experience yet. And their mind is more open.
And their mind is more open. older, we close our mind a ton. Exactly, which sucks cuz like
up [ __ ] boundaries in our own minds. I want to see a ghost. I mean, I've already seen a few, but I
want to see some more. But yeah. So despite that statement though, or the statement that Lund,
Nesbet, and Logan had made, the press, like I said, maintained an interest in Virginia's story that went on for weeks,
capitalizing on quotes from teachers, classmates, and then finally it did die out a few weeks later.
Yeah. Now although the the statement put out by Lund, Nesbet, and Logan had kind
of been intended to convince the press and neighbors that the problem had been resolved and there was nothing more to
see, the fact was actually following the intercession service performed on the evening of December 1st, the activity
had seemed to come to an end. Huh. So they were like manifesting kings and queens.
going to say, there you go. Now aside from one more incident at school in late January where a bowl of bulbs moved
across Miss Stewart's desk, there were no additional reports of disturbances from the Campbells or their neighbors.
Now I don't know if that's just because they were worried about the press continuing to Yeah. bother them or if
genuinely the the [ __ ] just stopped. Yeah. Now the story did end up getting new
life in the summer of 1965 when George Owen released his book, Can We Explain the Poltergeist? Can we? Can we? I like
that title. I always love when a book title is a question. I do, too. It's fun. Can we? Can we?
Let's find out. Read this book. So in his book, Owen, who is a Trinity College mathematics professor, he explores the
potential realities of poltergeist phenomena uh phenomena, excuse me, paying particular attention to
Virginia's experience. The book isn't exclusively about Virginia's case, but it did revive interest in that case in
the UK, especially with the tabloid newspapers. In a 1965 article in the Sunday Mirror,
5 years after this had originally happened, the paper played up the family's rural origins and supposedly
superstitious nature of Irish people, describing Donegal as a quaint isolated part of I think it's Eire is how you say
it. It's e i r e. I Eire. Eire. You're supposed to say it with like an accent, but I'm not going to do that cuz
it's not my accent. Yeah. I don't I I I have no idea. But it says where banshees are said to
wail before death and tiny leprechauns prance at the bottom of the gardens. So basically they were like kind of poking
fun at their Irish roots, which is were being like, "They're Irish, so they're probably dumb and think stupid
things." And it's like, "Wow." Yeah, okay. Like they're like, "Oh, they're just superstitious because folklore."
Yeah, [ __ ] off. Like cool. Thanks. Like I just did a a big old bird. she just flipped me off in case anyone
was wondering. was the Sunday Mirror. It wasn't you. I know. So like, [ __ ] you, Alaina.
for no good reason. Just for the hell of it. good reason. Just in the middle of this
episode. [ __ ] you. I really like [ __ ] you for no good reason. It's a good reason. No good
reason. Like that. The articles that followed the release of Owen's book told this the story of
Virginia's experience with the poltergeist that she and her friends had come to refer to as Wee Huey. That's
where Wee Huey comes in. Eventually Virginia named her poltergeist Wee Little Huey. I love that she was like,
you know what? He needs a name. Hell yeah. But eventually they got around to the question every reader wanted
answered answered. What caused the poltergeist? Now most people simply believed it was a
matter of what Owen called, I hate the name of this theory. It's called the naughty little girl theory.
But he I yeah, I don't love it. It's just you know. Yeah. But he basically was saying that
or the this theory was saying that the activity was nothing more than a prank caused by Virginia herself.
After all she had been through a serious disruption in her life, maybe you know,
feeling anxious or unstable with both parents absent. So she created the Wee Huey scenario in order to get attention.
That was one theory. I personally don't buy that one because we've looked at all the ways in which
she couldn't have caused what was going on. Well, that's the thing. It's like that
would be a that would be a very good theory. And it makes sense in times when even adults were like I don't know how
she could have done that. Exactly. And then like the the thought process behind the theory makes
sense when you look at the disruption in her life and everything. And it wasn't but then like you said even the adults
were like no That's where it's confusing cuz it's like how did she pull that [ __ ]
off? So that's where you kind of have to axe that theory and it's great that you have
to anyway. Now Owen acknowledged the possibility that some of the activity actually could have been caused by
Virginia or her niece Margaret, but he rejected the belief that the entire thing was a hoax. He told a reporter,
"It is possible to suppose one could be the victim of illusion or hallucination.
However, it is beyond all possibility that everyone could be deceived over such a long period of time."
Yeah, that's the thing. So if it wasn't a hoax, what was it? Was Wee Little Huey? Well, Owen said, "When girls are
approaching puberty, they often seem to attract poltergeist phenomena. There are
many cases which suggest that activity is more likely to arise in that age group."
That's weird as [ __ ] And it's be I guess it's because your body is going through a lot of upheaval.
That's real weird. It is a little weird. Just don't I don't like it. I don't love it.
like connecting it to puberty. I don't know why. It just gives me the It gives you the It feels icky. I get
what he's saying and I I I don't think he's saying it like to in No, no, no, I don't I'm not I'm not like offended by
him or anything. I'm just No, just for some reason that just always makes me think like ooh Yeah, I
know. You know? I totally It has like a Yeah, it well and it's such a shitty time like puberty anyways and it's like
to add that like and you know what? You might unwillingly attract a poltergeist while you're at
it. I come on. I mean that sucks. it kind of makes sense because there are like a lot of entities like poltergeists
and all different kind of entities that will attach to somebody while they're going through serious upheaval in life
like your hormones being all out of whack and like Wow, we should start warning kids about
that. We should start being like here's the ins and outs of puberty and what you
can expect. Here's the poltergeist section. You might also attract a poltergeist. There's really not a lot
you can do. Hate to break it to you, kid. Yeah, that's that's part of the the side
effects of puberty. That might be That might make those classes a little bit more Right. Remember when like they
would separate the girls and the boys in like sixth grade and be like here's what's going to happen to your body and
you're like [ __ ] my whole life. I also love that cuz I'm like yeah, definitely don't teach them what happens
to the other, you know, like set of students. Like No, no, no. None of you should understand each other
in any way. No, we had to sit there and watch all these [ __ ] wild ass videos and the boys were like we just played
like a game. Yeah, they're like our voice might crack. Yeah, and [ __ ] you guys. Okay, or you
might be possessed by a [ __ ] poltergeist. How do you like those apples? So it could be real easy or real
hard for you. Exactly. So Owen theorized that moving from Ireland to a new home where she was
uncomfortable along with those feelings of law from loss from having parted with
her dog and her best friend left Virginia quote in a state of some tension. And he believed the result was quote
"Circumstances may well have triggered off a physical force around her which is not yet known to science."
Now unfortunately while Owen could offer those theories as to what may have triggered the paranormal events around
Virginia, he was at a loss to explain precisely how those phenomena function. But the Sunday Mirror summarized
and I really hate this summarization, but go off Sunday Mirror. They said, "If a girl is emotionally upset during her
28-day cycle, she can acquire an unexplained power strong enough to move things without touching them."
And Owen agreed with that summation adding, "We are ignorant to the nature of this force and have no idea how it is
applied. We cannot even begin to understand its potential, but one thing seems fairly certain. The hidden force
is wild and uncontrollable at the moment." It's probably why we won't let women be
president over here, I guess. Just out here moving things and we don't know why. I had no idea that during that
time yeah, that I was so [ __ ] powerful. I mean I've never Matilda during my cycle, but
go off. Ovaries are scary as [ __ ] Ovaries I mean they are a little scary. Ovaries hurt sometimes. That is
that's hilarious that that's how they summarized this entire thing. They were like welp Yeah. period
periods They are wildly and they can create demonic presence in a home and it's like no, no. I am the
demonic presence in my home. during that time You're like Giorgio and you are confused.
Yeah, I'm like I don't need an outside entity to make that happen. Like don't you worry.
It ain't Wee Huey. It's me. It's not Wee Huey. I am the demonic force. Like he just texted us ovaries are scary as
[ __ ] y'all. We should get a shirt that says that. Ovaries are scary as [ __ ] y'all. And if
it's not the demonic force, it's me. It's me. Yeah, honestly. Wow, this that got hilarious at the end.
I was I was excited to present you that theory. I was writing it and I was like I don't even personally want to look
further into this. I like the go off Sunday Mirror. I'm like go off Sunday Mirror. I'm like
okay. Did the man write that? Probably. That's awesome. Yeah. So the flurry of public interest
around the case and Owen's book did die down after a few weeks and the case of Virginia Campbell went back into the
corners of people's minds. And it wasn't until about 30 years later that Virginia's experience popped up again in
the news in the middle 90s. It was the 90s. It was the 90s, Kevin. Kevin Kevin. But
thank you to the interest of a high-profile paranormal investigator Malcolm Robinson, his mother grew up in
the Sauchie area and he said, "I initially looked into the case in 1987, but I never got anywhere. However, I had
more success in 1994 when I looked at it again." Huh. So initially he was kind of trying
to investigate this like I just said and he was struggling to find anybody related to the case and all his letters
and his phone calls were going unanswered. But then in 1994 he tracked down one Margaret Davidson, formerly
Stewart, Virginia's former teacher. Oh. And as one of the primary witnesses, she was actually an ideal reporter not
only because of the respectability of her position, but also because of her seemingly excellent memory. Huh. She
said, "I had never really heard the word poltergeist before. I thought it was some kind of medicine. That's how naive
I was." poltergeist Do two poltergeists and call me in the morning. Imagine. Now over the course of their
conversation, she was able to verify much of what had been reported on in the press and she also was able to fill in
some gaps for Robinson. For instance, during the peak interest in the story as the press was relentlessly pursuing the
family and actually even waited outside of school, Mrs. Stewart formerly was able to tell
this reporter that one of Virginia's classmates actually ended up donning her coat and backpack in an attempt to lead
the press away from the school so that Virginia could leave without being harassed.
Oh my god. Like that's how bad things got. Oh damn. So you can see why. And I I love that the reverend and like the
doctors were like we need to put a stop to this because she deserves to live a normal life.
Yeah, like we don't want to make this a big a big media circus. Yeah. If they were like all about it, it would be one
thing. Yeah. But the fact that they wanted it to go away. And to protect her. It's so pure. Yeah. And you don't
really hear about a lot when we talk about these stories. Usually it's very like You're like what's happening here?
Yeah. And so Davidson also added some of the less savory details that wouldn't have been published by the press in the
60s including a frightening incident where Virginia was harassed by a woman who believed her to be quote "one of
God's chosen ones" and asked if she could touch her. Oh. Oh. What? Oh. Somebody just what You walk up to a
child and ask if you can touch them because I think you're one of God's chosen ones?
I'd be like you better hope you are cuz I'm about to send you into eternity right now for asking my child if you can
touch them. Like what the [ __ ] Damn. weird That's [ __ ] up. And that's yeah, that's not good.
Ew. So for the most part Robinson's investigation just kind of reiterated what was already reported in Owen's book
30 years earlier. It didn't offer a ton of additional details other than the ones I just mentioned.
Yeah. Or really any new theories that could explain what happened to Virginia, but it did underscore what made this
case so fascinating in the first place because like I said a little bit earlier, unlike the majority of supposed
hauntings and so-called poltergeist activity that had been reported on before and since Virginia's claims had
been made, this poltergeist case does remain one of the few that still defies explanation. Yeah, cuz We still have no
idea what the [ __ ] happened and why it did. They couldn't confirm or debunk it.
Exactly. always the ones you want to you want to pay attention to. Mhm. Now, as Owen
pointed out in 1965, obviously it's possible to trick someone like one person or even a handful of people into
believing something is real, but to trick multiple professionals with no connection to this home and an entire
classroom full of students and a teacher and like a myriad of other people into seeing and hearing things that weren't
there, no way. No. So, this really happened. Meaning it's entirely possible that there is some
truth to Owen's conclusion. The poltergeist phenomena were real and not due to trickery, ground tremors, or
induced weightlessness. That was a quote. Induced weightlessness. I like that. Yeah. So, Virginia Campbell's
experience with Wee Hughie the poltergeist is in a lot of ways similar to so many other stories except for the
fact that people believed her. And that's really the only difference at all. That from the moment everything
began, she was taken seriously. Yeah. So, but maybe that is why this particular case lacked the level of
aggression and violence that we see in so many other cases. And maybe that's also why it was kind of resolved in a
relatively short matter of time cuz everybody gave it the attention it deserved and believed her. Exactly. Like
this thing didn't feel like it needed to get bigger and bigger to prove that it existed.
Yeah. Yeah. So, in the weeks and months after the intercessional prayer, the Campbells said they experienced only
occasional activity in the form of knocking noises and a slight a slight movement of objects, but nothing at all
like they had experienced in late November of 1960. Damn. And a few months after the press coverage ended, James,
Annie, and Virginia did move out of Thomas and Isabella Campbell's house and into their own home in the Scottish
Midlands, seeming to leave little Wee Hughie behind in Saughall. See you, Wee Hughie. Bye. Now, a few years later
after she finally settled into her new life in Scotland, Virginia got a job working in a factory and she was free of
disruptive forces, so she was able to enjoy the things that girls like to enjoy. Good for her, man. And people
like to enjoy. Now, in a final note closing out the series of articles in 1965, Virginia
said of the poltergeist, "It never really worried me, but for the sake of others, I hope it never returns."
Ooh. And that is the end of Wee Hughie the Saughall poltergeist. to that. I hope it never returns. See,
this has like it's poltergeist-y, but it's also like a little like fae realm Yeah.
to me. I could see that. Totally. It feels very like, you know, like [ __ ] around.
or something. Like one of those little like [ __ ] around [ __ ] around, find out, fae.
Yeah. I feel like it's and maybe it's because I'm reading the girls and I are reading
the Spiderwick Chronicles at night now. Like we're going through the whole series and it's all about like fae and
[ __ ] but it it reminds me. It's weird that you did this one while we're reading. It that always works. I That
always happens to us. up cuz we're reading those and it just it kept making me think about it all the
like mischief and [ __ ] Yeah, I meant to say your case that you did earlier, I'm not going to say the
the the the Torshocker Torshocker witch trials. I did say it, yeah. Um There was like a date that you had
mentioned in the whole case and I think it's releasing around the same time like
now. is weird. Yeah, isn't that weird? That is very strange. have things like that happen.
Yeah. Oh, yeah, cuz I think the actual trials were October. Yeah, they were. October
10th or something like that? I think you're right and I think it's I think you said like the 12th or the
15th. Yeah, it probably. I think that's just off the top of my head. But it was I
think it's releasing around that same time. So, it's just weird. Very weird. We don't claim these things. No, I wish
I could say we do. That would make us a lot more, you know, with it, but I think this is
just the universe guiding us here. I was going to say maybe we are super with it and we just don't even know how
with it we are. most with it. Yeah, kids. What is that gift for the guy doing the kid like
like with the kids? Oh, hello youths. Hello youths. Hello youths. Hello universe. Hello kids. I
don't know. I don't know. You know, that was a crazy story. It was. that it wasn't debunked or confirmed. I
know. I I wish it had been confirmed somehow. Like I wish they did get to the bottom of it and like what really
happened. I know. But it is kind of cool that they didn't and it is kind of cool
that Virginia was like, "Listen, I don't know what happened, but I hope it never
Just saying. I don't know. That was that was that, but like let's hope it doesn't
come back for everyone else's sake." And it's like, Oh, okay. Drop that mic, Virginia.
Okay, Virginia A. Way to leave us. I know. With a gasp. With ooh. I know. Crazy story. I had fun doing this one and Dave
helped me a lot and it was really a fun to do together, so David. Yay, David and yay, you guys and we hope
you keep listening. And we hope you keep it weird, but not so weird that you blame a 28-day cycle for a poltergeist
activity because we're the demons. That's hilarious. Bye.

When Annie Campbell uprooted her daughter from their home in Donegal, Ireland and relocated to Sauchie, Scotland in 1960, the move resulted in consequences far beyond what anyone could have expected. Removed from the only home she’d ever known, eleven-year-old Virginia Campbell did her best to acclimate to the foreign environment as she and her mother settled into the home of Virginia’s aunt, but within just a few weeks of their arrival the family was under siege from an invisible entity Virginia would later name “Wee Hughie.”

One of the most notorious cases of poltergeist activity in Scottish history, the case of the Sauchie poltergeist involved the usual trappings of poltergeist phenomenon—slamming doors, moving objects, and disruptive noises. Yet what set the phenomenon apart from myriad other cases of poltergeist phenomenon was that the supposedly supernatural phenomenon was witnessed by many bystanders, including Virginia’s teachers and classmates.

Was the Sauchie poltergeist a genuine example of paranormal activity, or was “Wee Hughie” nothing more than an elaborate hoax perpetrated by a creative girl seeking attention in the wake of major disruption in her life and environment?

Thank you to the lovely David White, of Bring Me the Axe podcast, for research assistance :)

References

Associated Press. 1960. "Haunted Irish girl gtets aid." Windsor Star, December 3: C-8. Owen, A.R.G. 1964. Can We Explain the Poltergeist? New York, NY: Garrett Publications. Robinson, Malcom. 2020. The Sauchie Poltergeist. Scotland: Independent. Sims, Victor. 1965. "Poltergeist Terror." Sunday Mirror, June 13: 8. —. 1965. "Virginia was possessed by a wild and unknown force." Sunday Mirror, June 27: 13. United Press International. 1960. "Girl's ghost upsets school." Pittsburgh Press, December 2: 17.

Connect with Wondery http://wondery.com/shows http://facebook.com/WonderyMedia http://twitter.com/WonderyMedia http://instagram.com/WonderyMedia

Brief Summary

Virginia Campbell experiences unexplained poltergeist activity in Saughy, Scotland, raising questions about emotional turmoil and supernatural phenomena.

Key points

Halloween Plans. The hosts discuss their Halloween costumes and plans, adding a personal touch to the episode.
Virginia's Struggles. Virginia Campbell faces emotional turmoil after moving to a new place, setting the stage for poltergeist activity.
The Beginning of the Poltergeist Activity. The poltergeist activity reportedly begins with strange noises in the Campbell household.
The Mysterious Knocking. The family hears loud knocking sounds throughout the house, alarming the neighbors.
Reverend Lund's Investigation. Reverend Lund arrives to investigate the strange occurrences and witnesses inexplicable phenomena.
Virginia's Desk Incident. In class, Virginia's desk lid rises and falls on its own, shocking her classmates.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I don't love a debunked. Yeah.

5:59WatchOct 20, 2023

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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