When Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed into the Florida Everglades in December 1972, 101 people died, including Captain Bob Loft and Flight Engineer Don Repo. Within months, crew members and passengers on other Eastern flights began reporting something that couldn't be explained: the dead men, back in uniform, giving warnings that saved lives.

EPISODE NOTES

● Key named witnesses and incidents documented: the stewardess confrontation, the canceled flight, the phantom repairman in the galley, Dick Manning's holy water account, and passengers who identified Repo from photographs.

● Eastern Airlines' corporate response, quietly removing salvaged parts from service, is part of the documented record.

SOURCES

● John G. Fuller, The Ghost of Flight 401 (1976)

● National Transportation Safety Board accident report, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 (December 29, 1972)

● Eastern Airlines internal incident reports (1973-1974)

● Flight crew accounts documented in Fuller's research

In 1762 London, a scratching sound in the walls of a Smithfield house drew crowds of thousands and launched one of the most famous ghost investigations in history. Mary Ann Poll tells the story of Fanny Kent, whose death may have been murder, and the ghost that accused the man she once loved.

EPISODE NOTES

● Chosen deliberately to vary the episode rhythm: a pre-modern case with a very different resolution than most haunting stories.

● The Cock Lane Ghost case involved some of the most prominent figures in 18th-century London, including Samuel Johnson, who participated in the investigation.

● Explores the tension between mass public belief and official skepticism, a theme as relevant today as in 1762.

SOURCES

● Contemporary 1762 London pamphlets and newspaper accounts

● Samuel Johnson's account of the investigation committee

● Historical records of William Kent and Elizabeth (Fanny) Lynes

● Douglas Grant, The Cock Lane Ghost (1965)

In 1977, a murdered Chicago woman named Teresita Basa appeared to speak through a coworker, naming her killer, describing the crime, and leading detectives to evidence that broke the case open. Mary Ann Poll tells the true story, verified by court records and police files, of the haunting that solved its own murder.

EPISODE NOTES

● One of the most legally documented paranormal cases in American history: the killer's conviction and the testimony of Remibias Chua are part of the public record.

● The episode honors Teresita Basa as a real woman and a real victim, not a plot device.

● The faith angle: the episode raises the question of whether God might use even the most unexpected means to bring justice to bear.

SOURCES

● Chicago Police Department records (1977)

● Cook County court records, People v. Jose Chua

● Chicago Tribune contemporaneous coverage, 1977-1978

● Remibias Chua's sworn testimony

Called the most haunted house in England, Borley Rectory became the site of decades of documented phenomena under three different families, from footsteps and phantom coaches to a séance that named a 17th-century nun and asked for prayers. Mary Ann Poll traces the full history and asks whether the presence at Borley was malevolent, or simply lost.

EPISODE NOTES

● Covered the Bull, Smith, and Foyster family periods, plus Harry Price's landmark investigations.

● Key documented details include the bricked-up dining room window, Foyster's two failed exorcism attempts (including being struck by a stone), and the January 1932 seance.

● Canon Phythian-Adams reviewed the seance transcripts and named entities Marie Lairre and Sunex Amures.

● Scripture chosen: Psalm 34:18, reflecting the episode's conclusion that the presence at Borley appeared to be grief seeking intercession rather than malevolence.

SOURCES

● Harry Price, The Most Haunted House in England (1940)

● Harry Price, The End of Borley Rectory (1946)

● Contemporary newspaper accounts of Borley Rectory phenomena, 1929-1939

● Church records and Canon Phythian-Adams' correspondence

● Post-demolition sighting accounts, 1944 onward

For more than two centuries, a gray figure has been seen walking the beach at Pawleys Island, South Carolina, always before a major hurricane, always warning residents to leave. Mary Ann Poll traces the consistent, multi-generational accounts of a phantom whose appearances have preceded some of the most devastating storms in the region's history.

EPISODE NOTES

● One of the most consistently documented regional apparitions in American history, with accounts spanning more than 200 years.

● The Gray Man is notable for the protective nature of his appearances: witnesses who heed his warning and evacuate consistently report their homes are spared.

● Multiple named witnesses across separate hurricane events, with no prior connection to one another.

SOURCES

● Historical accounts of Gray Man sightings from Pawleys Island, South Carolina, 1800s to present

● Regional newspaper archives covering pre-hurricane sightings

● Documented witness accounts from Hurricane Hazel (1954), Hurricane Hugo (1989), and subsequent storms

In 1716, the Wesley family home in Epworth, England became the site of nearly two months of unexplained knocking, footsteps, and moving objects, all meticulously recorded by the family, including young John Wesley, who would go on to found the Methodist movement. Mary Ann Poll traces the documented history and asks what it meant for a devout family to face something they couldn't explain.

EPISODE NOTES

● One of the most historically documented poltergeist cases in English history, with primary sources from the Wesley family's own letters and journals.

● Thematically strong for a faith-forward show: a devout Christian family, not a secular household, at the center of the haunting.

● The case is notable for its witnesses: Samuel Wesley Sr., his wife Susannah, and their children, including the future founder of Methodism.

● Susannah Wesley's last words were a charge to her children: 'As soon as I am released, sing a psalm of praise to God.' They did.

SOURCES

● Samuel Wesley Sr.'s letters documenting the disturbances (1716-1717)

● Susannah Wesley's firsthand account

● John Wesley's journal references to the 'Old Jeffrey' haunting

● Historical records of the Epworth Rectory case

In the 1790s, a West Virginia farming family was tormented by an unseen presence that cut cloth into mysterious shapes, set fires, and brought a stream of uninvited guests, until a Catholic priest intervened and the activity ceased. Mary Ann Poll tells the story of the Livingston family and the documented intervention that ended their ordeal.

EPISODE NOTES

● One of the earliest documented cases in American history of what investigators would later classify as poltergeist activity.

● Uniquely, this case has a resolution: Father Cahill's intervention and the subsequent cessation of all activity are part of the documented historical record.

● The site, now called Priest Field Pastoral Center, is a real location in West Virginia.

● The closing of this episode reflects the ambiguity of the case: 'Some people might call what happened to him haunting. Some might call it grace.'

SOURCES

● Raphael Brown, The Mystery of the Wizard Clip, Richmond Catholic Historical Society (1949)

● Professor P.J. Mahon, Trials and Triumphs of the Catholic Church in America, Chicago (1907)

● A.L. Marshall, Adam Livingston, The Wizard Clip, The Voice, Kearneysville WV (1978)

● Middleway Conservancy Association (middlewayconservancy.org)

● Our Lady of the Rosary Library (olrl.org)

Mary Ann Poll explores documented accounts of angelic intervention, real people, real moments, and the question of what it means when the unseen world steps into the visible one. This episode set the emotional and spiritual tone for the entire Real Ghost Chatter series.

EPISODE NOTES

● Listener feedback has consistently cited this episode as the one that captures theshow's voice most fully.

●  Format: personal welcome, narrative testimony, reflection, closing blessing.

SOURCES

●  Documented firsthand angel encounter accounts and Mary Ann Poll's own research intoreported angelic visitation.

A Texas legend with roots in real tragedy: a woman horribly disfigured in a fire, her grief turned to something darker. Mary Ann Poll separates documented local history from folklore and explores what drives a story to persist for generations.

EPISODE NOTES

● A regional legend with genuine historical roots in the San Antonio area.

● Approached with care for the real human tragedy at the center of the story.

● Explores the nature of legend-making and how real grief can become folklore over time.

SOURCES

● San Antonio regional folklore archives

● Local historical accounts and newspaper records

● Contemporary documentation of the Donkey Lady Bridge legend

In 1875, a Catholic priest living in a Norman castle became the target of something that knew exactly who he was. The Catholic Church investigated. Their verdict: diabolically supernatural. This is the Haunting of Calvados Castle.

To find out more about your host, Mary Ann Poll, or to sign up for her monthly newsletter, visit www.maryannpoll.com