Written by a model from the transcript; not yet reviewed.
This Earshot episode follows Nell Jones and her daughter Caitlin in Stockton, a suburb of Newcastle on Warrimau country, who experienced years of unexplained phenomena in their house built around 1910. The narrator, producer Greg Appel, brings in a panel to weigh the evidence: professional medium Kerrie Irwin, skeptic Adam Spencer, and ghost clearer Rob Tilly, who has been involved with Parapsychology Australia for 40 years.
Nell's experiences began with a persistent smell near the kitchen stove that reminded her of homeless men she had known as a teenager. Her neighbour across the road independently confirmed seeing a smelly old man with a long beard in her hallway. The activity escalated when Nell's new partner moved in around 2002, with items going missing and shirts found cut up in the rubbish bin. Rob Tilly visited and claimed the house was packed with about 55 spirits, which he cleared using a technique of antagonising the entities before flooding them with positive emotions. Three remained, and Nell now greets them when she comes home.
The episode ends with the narrator's belief dial back in the middle, acknowledging something is happening but the signals are very weak. Adam Spencer argues that family stress and conflict provide a more parsimonious explanation, while Kerrie Irwin points to the lack of regulation in the paranormal industry, citing a family paying $2,000 a month to a spirit remover.
Caitlin's First Awareness at Fourteenstory
Caitlin describes becoming aware of an uneasy energy in her room around age 14, hearing what she thought was her mother's keyboard typing but finding no one there when she checked.
Neighbour Confirms the Smelly Manstory
Nell's next-door neighbour independently confirms seeing a smelly old man with a long beard walking up and down her hallway, and a neighbour across the road had the same experience.
The Ceiling Fan Light Explanationinsight
Adam Spencer recounts a case where unexplained ceiling lights at a school turned out to be an incredibly unlikely reflection of light off multiple surfaces through a window onto the ceiling, triggered by hitting a ceiling fan.
Shirts Found Cut Up in the Binstory
Nell's partner discovered seven or eight shirts missing from his wardrobe, blamed Caitlin, but they were found in the outside rubbish bin all cut up. She swore she hadn't done it.
Rob Tilly describes being told at 14 by 'good spooks' that this was what his life was about, and his initial reaction was to wonder if it meant getting a job in the 'God business.'
Antagonising Ghosts to Clear Themstrategy
Rob Tilly explains his technique of deliberately winding up a belligerent ghost by occupying its personal space, making it angry so the good spooks can flood it with positive emotions and manipulate it into leaving.
Living With the Remaining Spooksinsight
Fifteen years after the clearing, Nell says she no longer worries about the three remaining spirits and now greets them when she comes home, saying 'Hello, I'm home' just for a laugh.
The Industry Lacks Regulationdata
Kerrie Irwin describes finding an Indian family paying $2,000 a month to a spirit remover in Fiji, while she and her partner could have removed the spirits in 10 minutes, and calls for industry regulation.
When Nell and Caitlin moved into a century-old shop in the historic suburb of Stockton in Newcastle unexplainable things started happening; a lady with a bouffant hairdo appeared in their loungeroom, books, clothes and electronic gadgets were disappearing, there was the acrid smell of unwashed old men in the kitchen. This paranormal activity went on for years, until they called in a ghostbuster. Our expert panel - sceptic Adam Spencer, psychic Kerrie Irwin and agnostic producer Greg Appel put their claims to the test.
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