"Paranormal Witness: The Tenants" Season Finale Recap Pt. 2

Edwin decides to talk to his neighbor Walter to see if he can find any information about the Verdere family. Walker remembers the family as acting “very strange” and that they never smiled or spoke to Walter.  The family had built the complex in the 1900s and was strictly family owned. The Verdere family had 3 sons and a daughter. Walter recalls the one son was named Ben and the daughter was Myra. Walter mentioned the youngest son had died. Ben was a dominant man in the house and controlled the house and everybody in it. He also mentioned that Ben Verdere passed out dead in the bathtub due to a massive coronary. That’s the only information that was given to Edwin at the time.

A distraught Edwin trying to hold on and solve the problem

One night, Marsha and Edwin lean up against the wall and hear thumps plus a woman’s chilling scream. She thought it was Dan and Diane downstairs but felt it was getting too violent. “I couldn’t understand it because they were a very loving couple,” Marsha said. It began to happen night after night; they thought it was occurring down the base of the stairs. But then Diane and Dan began to hear it as well and thought it was Marsha and Edwin. “We heard arguing, moaning and crying,” Dan said; “it sounded terrible”. Edwin stuck his head out around the staircase and it stopped. There was nothing to be seen. 

Edwin went back to Walter for more information and he told Edwin about Ben and his wife, whose marriage was in turmoil full of turmoil, fighting and hateful screaming. Walter said she should’ve never moved into that house. The wife felt she couldn’t escape the abuse until she took her own life so she went down to the basement, wrapped a noose around her neck and hung herself. When Edwin relayed this story to Marsha, Marsha felt it all come together. “I realized the ghost of this family, the Vedere family, was occupying our house. It was built by them and someone died there,” Marsha explained. Myra’s words and profanities at Edwin to get out of the house suddenly began to haunt him. 

While Edwin was at work, Marsha would be home but she was losing sleep, her mood was changing and he felt she went through a spell of depression. It all affected Diane as well. Diane had always been bubbly and laughing and now she looked troubled. Dan would see her just sit there and cry. Marsha was constantly on the move, wondering if things in the house were still in place and the fear almost became too much for her to bear. Both Marsha and Diane fell into deep states of depression, which was probably caused by the suicidal woman’s energy imprint that she left when she took her life. Diane decided to leave with the baby and left Dan. “When Diane left, I was devastated.” Marsha remembers. “I felt alone. During dinnertime one night, Edwin noticed Marsha was very quiet. He then noticed the door opening up. He goes up to close it. The door opens up again. Edwin got angry, got up and got a piece of heavy string and tied it around the doorknob and said “now open the door you pervert!” Edwin sat back down. The door kept opening and got more manic and worse. Edwin lost his temper and was tormenting Ben “I had no respect for him,” Edwin explained. “I fell in despair because there was nothing I can do. I cursed ben and the whole Vedere family. I felt they were ruining our life.” Marsha held out a glimmer of hope so she tried to find someone in the psychic research field. She contacted a psychic who then got in touch with NBC. NBC called back and wanted to perform an exorcist on TV. Edwin didn’t know what to do but they decided to do it because they were at their last rope.

A warm, inviting house....

The production team on NBC came and created chaos in the house. Among the NBC team was a priest and a psychic. “There were people all over the place, sound people, camera people and I lost track who everyone was,” Marsha said of the experience. Edwin helped the sound team close all the windows. Reverend Dale Davis tells the couple and the rest that they must hold a crucifix. Reverend Davis then tells the psychic would go in a “trance” and communicate with whatever spirit is present. The whole room fell quiet. As the priest prayed, they saw the psychic move. The sound man who was hooked up on electronics and headsets were getting very nervous since he could hear things that the others couldn’t. The priest had a crucifix with a mirror on his right hand. A gust of wind just blew through and the venetian blinds rattled. “Be gone, evil spirit in the name of Jesus Christ! Send your holy angels to watch over and protect us!” the priest prayed. All the sudden, they could hear screaming and gusts of wind. Thousands of birds flew around the house and the noise became louder and louder. The psychic began shaking. The birds caused more racket. Something banged the window and the birds flew away. The psychic opened his eyes and the priest claimed the house to be “pure”. Edwin and Marsha were dumbfounded and not sure what to do next. “I knew that they honestly tried their best. They really believed that they were doing what needed to be done,” Marsha concluded. Edwin said if the activity continued, they would leave for good. “This whole experience was tormenting my life. I had to get out of there. So I took off and never came back.” Dan said, disgruntled at how the residence tore his life apart. 

Meanwhile, Edwin’s sister April came over. She saw the footage and wanted to live on the 1^st floor but he didn’t think it was a good idea; she insisted that she had to live there. She insisted that she had to live there. April moved in and brought in an old piano of hers. She went in a room and saw the chandelier move on its own. She told Dan and Marsha that the chandelier moves frequently and a lot. She asked if it was the ghost. “She was too excited about it and to her, it was a ghost party,” Marsha said. And a ghost party it was when April and her friends decided to come up with a genius idea and use an Ouija board. Marsha spied in on them; 

April: “We want to know if there’s anyone here with us”

The planchette began moving.

“y-e-s”

“Whose here with us?” April asked.

“H-E-N-R-Y”

The planchette then moved on its own

“Whose Henry, what are you doing here?” April asked.

Marsha had seen enough and interrupted the ghost party. She told Edwin, who was less-than-pleased. “I was in a blind rage that I started ripping it, folding it and tearing it into pieces,” Edwin said. Edwin warned April never to bring a board or any other voodoo items in the house or she’d be kicked out. So Edwin went back to Walter to ask about Henry. Walter told him that Henry was the youngest son and that the family was ashamed of him because “he was evil”. His own family restricted his travel and kept him in the house. Walter saw him looking out the window of the second floor but that’s all he saw of him.One night, April was in her room when her piano began playing. There was no explanation for why it was playing by itself. She confided in this to Marsha. Marsha said she was worried about April because April felt she has established this connection with Henry and was excited about it. She began hearing voices from the basement. Edwin went to the basement and experienced feelings of “being watched”. Edwin worried about April because he saw a huge change come over her. All the sudden, the piano was becoming more of a torment…ding, ding, ding…like a cadence…notice me, I’m here….

April began telling Marsha that she felt she was being touched inappropriately. She also began hearing voices saying “kill yourself”. Edwin was in despair and having really terrible thoughts. So Edwin would go down in the basement to investigate. He discovered a hidden door in the back wall of the basement. He discovered a small room that was completely empty. It had a mattress, a water pan, plates and bottles. It looked like someone was locked in the room. It became a revelation that Henry was locked inside this room. “What happened to him?” Edwin thought. But then he thought back to the time he found bullets in the basement too and so Edwin couldn’t help but wonder if Henry was killed by his own family. 

A couple holding onto hope...

Horrified at this revelation, Edwin put the house up for sale. The family sold the building and property for a measly $10. Edwin and Marsha took off for good. Three weeks later, the police found April. The family lost all contact with April. “I should’ve never let her move into the apartment….” Edwin concluded, shadowing the words of his neighbor Walton when he told Edwin that Ben Verdere’s wife shouldn’t have moved in…..

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Jane's Notes: What a great episode to end a fantastic season of Paranormal Witness full of ghosts, ghouls, a UFO and alien abduction…and an evil Jewish wine box (I still get comments for that one!). Now let’s get to business here….first off….the video! No shocker, the first televised exorcism is on Youtube. Some made comments on the production but keep in mind, this was the 70s, a time where the likes of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were probably building computers in their garages. Speaking of Youtube, I can't help but post this comment that made me laugh for 5 minutes straight;

I do believe that this case was sincere and genuine....as far as demonic activity goes, I am not too sure about that as I don't know quite enough about the subject of demonology to know. However, let's look at the house...full of violence, abuse, rage, suicide...and a possible murder...there is no doubt the energy imprints at the location were toxic and draining.

I also came across Edwin’s website and after looking over it, he has a book that he published about the haunting and went on to publish more ghost books and articles. He even took the time to answer some FAQ’s, which I liked. I also like that it included his biography and not only that but he also blogs about some thoughts concerning the field of society, culture and healthcare. He takes pride in his daughters and grandchildren, with a son-in-law serving in the law enforcement field. Personally, Edwin seems like the kind of man you can sit with at Starbucks over a good cup of coffee and talk to for hours.  Check out his site and see if there's anything there that sparks your interest...make sure to sign his guestbook too! 

Picture Credit: Syfy

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"Paranormal Witness: The Tenants" Season Finale Recap Pt. 1

 The dark spirits of a family won't let go of their house

It was the year 1970 when Edwin and Marsha Becker, a couple that have been married for 3 years, were waiting for the arrival of their first baby. The couple lived just outside of Chicago and were over-the-moon at how happy their life was together as a little family. “Life was exactly as it should be!” Marsha exclaimed. One day, when Edwin went to pay the rent for the landlady, he told her about Marsha’s pregnancy. However, rather than a “congratulations”, the landlady told them to leave because she allowed no children and pets in the apartment complex they stayed in. Marsha was 7 months pregnant so the couple were desperate to find any suitable place to call home before the baby’s arrival. Edwin took off into the inner-city and found a 2-story apartment building within the city. He was interested in it so he met with his realtor about it. The realtor took him inside the place when the two men came across an old woman named Myra that screamed obscenities at them and told them to get out. “This house is not yours, it will never be yours!” she screamed. The realtor saw how startled Edwin was so he assured her that she was going to be taken to a care home and was just upset because she was the last remaining member of the family that owned the living space. 

A young couple's big steps

The men went upstairs into a scattered, cluttered, room. “Paper, clothes, scattered all over the floor!” Edwin recalls. “I thought someone vandalized it!” The realtor affirmed him that it had great potential for his wife and baby. Desperate to shelter his wife and unborn baby, Edwin took it. Meanwhile, Myra kept on giving him the “evil eye”. But Edwin swore he would make a home for his family.When they settled in, Marsha just had her baby and the couple were ecstatic at their new life. “In the first few days, I was so busy that there wasn’t time to think,” Marsha said. Marsha’s prized possession was a very beautiful candy dish that was a wedding present; despite being so busy she made it a habit to leave the candy dish in the middle of the table. When she went to get a tablecloth, she noticed the candy dish was on the other side of the table. During dinnertime, the couple are home at night when the dining room light began flickering but it did it in a way that made Marsha feel uncomfortable; “it was almost in rhythm, like moarse code…fast flashes then one flash,” Marsha recalls of the strange flashing light. Edwin tried convincing her it was just a circuit. Then it stopped. A month later, Edwin woke up at 5am to work. Once he got into work, he called Marsha and heard the phone was busy He figured Marsha was calling family and friends. Few hours later, he calls again…phone is busy again. “I didn’t know who she could talk to all day long!” he said and began to get bothered at how busy the phone was. Edwin came home and was frustrated that he couldn’t reach her all day. Marsha swore she wasn’t on the phone, which made him even more upset.  She saw the phone was on the table but that the cord and receiver earpiece was on the floor. “I didn’t understand why he was upset with me, he should’ve known me better than that,” Marsha exclaimed. One day, Marsha was tending to the baby when the phone receiver dropped again and she couldn’t understand what was wrong but knew it wasn’t good

Every morning, Marsha would wash the dishes from breakfast when she turned around and saw the cabinet door open. All the sudden, the dishes were flying out of the cabinet, all flying in one motion and then slam down to the floor. “That scared me to death and it felt dangerous, very very dangerous!” Afraid to have the place by themselves, the couple decided to rent out the first floor to potential tenants. Dan and Diane White were interested in living downstairs; they responded to an add to rent the place. They were about their age with a brand new baby as well. “I was very excited about the apartment and I saw that Diane could see it as a home,” Dan recalls. Marsha was even more ecstatic to have someone like her in the place. “She was sweet and smiling and had a kind look to her eyes. All I could think about is I was not going to be alone.” Edwin called the next day and told them to move in whenever they wanted.

Wondering what help would be out there for the couple's unusual problem...

Dan would come home from work, Diane would be out and Dan would see chandeliers swinging back and forth. Dan thought it was the couple upstairs walking around that was causing it. But then it would begin to swing on its own again. One afternoon, Diane put her baby in a walker while the women visited. There was no way the baby could touch the floor and move because the baby was so tiny so there were no concerned of the baby moving about. But out of the corner of the eye, Marsha sees something moving. Her mind didn’t accept that the baby was doing that. The baby’s stroller was moving towards the staircase and the baby started wailing and screaming. A panicked  Diane rushes to save her baby in the nick of time, while Marsha felt an overwhelming sensation of guilt because she should’ve told the new tenants the house was haunted. Marsha and Edwin had a talk where she told him there was something in the basement that wasn’t right. Edwin didn’t believe her fully but also wanted his wife to fill at ease. Edwin went down the basement one night and “it was s a cave filled with junk”. He was examining everything in the room. He noticed a particular jar. He opened it up and noticed it had old Monopoly pieces and then noticed that there was a live bullet round in it. He noticed there was a door in the back of the basement and opened it. One side of the house was shoe boxes, the other side was magazines dated from the 1930s. The name “Ben Verdere” was written on every magazine. He began opening up shoe boxes “it was the most amazing things I’d ever seen,” Edwin describes at his discovery. “There were clippings of paper of women. Maybe a tight sweater, a skirt up in the air…” Edwin figured out that Mr Verdere must’ve beenquite disturbed and perverted. Edwin didn’t want to tell Marsha because she didn’t want to add fuel to Marsha’s fear.

One morning, Marsha would take a bath once she put the baby down and Edwin went to work All the sudden, Marsha felt uncomfortable. “I just felt like I wasn’t alone.” She then felt a hand touch her shoulder and she lost it. When she went to reach the phone, the phone fell down. She felt someone was attacking her and threatening her life. Marsha didn’t belong to the church but wondered if a kindly, old priest would come fix the house “to take the evil out”. After contacting a priest, he agrees to come out to help the couple. Edwin thought it was “a bunch of crap” but insisted to help Marsha. The priest comes over and pulls out a goblet, holy water and bible.He reached in his robe and pulled out a holy water dispenser. Marsha was frightened that something was going to happen. Then, the holy water dispenser (which was made of brass) shattered. Even the priest was frightened and packed up to leave.

At this point, even Edwin begins to believe that someone disturbing is haunting the house and his family….

TO BE CONTINUED