Narrator: The world is full of urban legends,
remarkable stories that spread like viruses around the planet,
mutating and evolving until no one can remember which ones
are true and which ones are urban legends.
== sync, corrected by elderman ==
In this episode called Love and War, you'll see three
stories where happiness turns into hatred
in the blink of an eye.
First up, a family man has a change of heart that threatens
everything he holds dear.
Then, at a Russian circus no one's laughing when
a well-loved performer becomes the butt of his own joke.
And finally, newfound wealth has a bizarre effect on
a couple and leads them to an end even
the police can't comprehend.
Original Air Date on May 20, 2011
Watch all three stories and decide which urban legends are
true and which ones are false.
Find out if you guessed right at the end of the show.
First, it's a story we like to call A Shadow of Himself.
Professor Gary Schwartz studies topics
that scare off other scientists.
Gary Schwartz: Issues of spirituality, issues of energy,
even life after death.
Narrator: But for Gary, one story stands out:
the tale of Sonny Graham,
an ordinary man who became possessed.
Gary Schwartz: It's a scary kind of thing to have a change
of personality.
It's typically not talked about.
Narrator: It would terrify family and friends and by the
time the ghost in Sonny's body was done,
no one would ever be the same.
It all began in 1995 in a South Carolina town where
everyone knows the name Sonny Graham.
Renee Dudley: Sonny Graham was a real man about town.
Narrator: His life seems perfect.
Gary Schwartz: He really loved his wife and his family.
Narrator: But it's about to take a terrible turn.
Sonny is diagnosed with a serious heart condition.
Renee Dudley: His doctors told him that he would die
if he didn't receive a heart transplant.
Narrator: Miraculously, a matching heart
is found almost immediately.
Even his wife can't believe how fast he
gets back on his feet.
Little do they know, this miracle will soon take
a terrifying turn.
Renee Dudley: Friends did notice changes after he came
back from the surgery.
Gary Schwartz: He then experienced some changes
in food preferences.
Narrator: Sonny wonders if it's because of his new heart.
He discovers his heart was donated
by a man named Terry Cottle.
Terry's widow Cheryl gets Sonny's letter.
She writes back with information about
her dead husband.
Renee Dudley: Terry liked fast food.
He liked beer and after the transplant Sonny acquired some
of those tastes also.
Narrator: But that's not all the letter tells him.
Gary Schwartz: Then the story becomes tragic.
Narrator: Sonny learns how Terry's heart became his.
Renee Dudley: Cheryl was eating oatmeal and they heard
a gunshot and the next thing they knew Terry was on the
bathroom floor with a gunshot wound to the head.
Narrator: Deeply depressed, Terry had taken his own life.
His heart was put up for donation just in time
to save Sonny's life.
But Terry isn't as dead as he seems.
Gary Schwartz: The heart has, so to speak,
a mind of its own.
Renee Dudley: About two months after Sonny and Cheryl first
started exchanging letters they decided to meet.
Sonny said that he instantly felt a connection.
Gary Schwartz: Inside him is this very loving heart that
may have really cared for this woman.
He was smitten with her.
Narrator: As Sonny and Cheryl spend more time together,
friends and family start to wonder who's really in charge:
Sonny or Terry's heart.
Before long, the answer is obvious.
Renee Dudley: It became pretty clear that Sonny was running
around with Cheryl.
Mrs. Graham: I have had enough!
Sonny's wife can no longer ignore
the heartbreaking truth.
Mrs. Graham: I want a divorce!
Narrator: Sonny's wife leaves him.
A short while later, Sonny shacks up with Cheryl.
Gary Schwartz: He fell in love with her.
You know, follow your heart.
Renee Dudley: He was happy as could be at first.
Narrator: But the happiness doesn't last.
Renee Dudley: He started to complain to his family.
Narrator: In a few short years, it becomes clear
Terry's heart has led Sonny terribly astray.
Renee Dudley: He didn't want to have to pay to support
Cheryl's lifestyle.
She was going through all of his money and he was tired of
being the babysitter for Cheryl's son.
Narrator: It's been a bizarre journey for Sonny,
but incredibly it's far from over.
Renee Dudley: April Fool Day 2008 started like
any other day.
Sonny is taking care of some chores in his shed.
Renee Dudley: So the phone rang and
the stepson takes the call.
It's for Sonny.
He goes out to the utility shed.
Narrator: What he sees is horrific.
Sonny is dead.
Weird as it seems, it appears Terry's heart wanted Sonny to
relive every aspect of his life,
including his horrible end.
Renee Dudley: According to the coroner's reports, Sonny died
the same way that Terry did, a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Narrator: A family man gets a heart transplant that should
have saved his life but instead ends
it in the most horrific way.
But did it really happen?
You'll have to wait to the end of the show to find out.
But before then, take a look at this mini myth.
Narrator: Mini myth number 98: To The Rescue.
In Sydney, Australia, a gang of thugs attacked
a medical student.
Just when it looks like they'll get away with the
crime, fully armed ninjas appeared out of nowhere,
terrifying the attackers and saving the student.
But did nunchucks really scare off these numskulls,
or is it a well-timed lie?
Find out after the break.
Narrator: Welcome back to Urban Legends.
Before the break, you saw the mini myth of the ninjas who
foiled a mugging in Australia.
Was it true or false?
It was ... true.
A martial arts school had its entrance in an alley and the
ninja class was just getting out when
the muggers committed their crime.
On Urban Legends, we show you three incredible stories.
You must decide which ones are god's honest truth
and which are devilish lies.
So far, you've seen the story of the tainted heart that
takes over and leads a man to his death.
But is it real or fake?
We'll let you know at the end of the show.
Now it's time for our next story.
It's called Hippo Slippo.
Rene Markovy looks relaxed but he's had some tense moments
working as a trapeze artist.
But nothing as intense as the night a clown named
Christo bit off more than he could chew.
Narrator: Back in 2005, the Stromboli circus is a local
family favourite, but the biggest crowd pleaser
of all are the clowns.
Christo Martinov is the wildest of the clowns
and a hit with the fans.
Narrator: Convinced that it makes for a better show,
Christo likes to drink vodka before each performance,
and the crowd loves it.
As Christo's drinking becomes more extreme,
so do his practical jokes.
One afternoon he lets a tiger loose in the cafeteria.
Narrator: It's inevitable that Christo's dangerous behaviour
would lose him friends.
Narrator: But one night, things reach a boiling point.
At a critical moment, Christo fires blanks
from a starter's pistol.
The crowd thinks it's hilarious but not Rene.
Narrator: Christo is setting himself up for his own
downfall but no one can imagine just how
tragic it will be.
The twenty-eighth of July is a night like any other.
The clowns are about to do their big finale,
where Christo takes a flying leap right over
a live hippopotamus.
Christo: Show time!
But Christo is confident.
This act is second nature to him.
Narrator: But how could this happen?
Everyone suspects someone tampered with Christo's
trampoline, but police find no evidence.
Narrator: Did karma play its fateful hand on this
mischievous drunken clown, or is it all an illusion?
You'll have to wait to the end of the show to find out.
But before then, check out this mini myth.
Narrator: Mini myth number 8,543:
The Subway Stiff Mystery.
In 2005, Berlin police were called to investigate some
trouble in the subway.
The body baffled everyone until one
sleuth figured it out.
A troublesome teen was trying to vandalize the subway car
late one night.
Little did he know, the fast moving train generated more
than enough suction to pull him out of the broken window,
flinging him to his death.
Did it happen, or has the truth gone off the rails?
We'll let you know after the break.
Narrator: Welcome back to Urban Legends.
Before the break, we showed you the mini myth about the
unscheduled subway stop that turned deadly.
Was it true or false?
It was ... false.
Unlike high flying planes, underground trains don't
create suction that could pull you out of a window.
On Urban Legends, we show you three incredible stories.
You must decide which ones ring true
and which sound false.
So far, you've seen the story of the dead man's heart that
takes control after a transplant.
And the story of the hippo slippo that ended the life of
a high-flying circus performer.
But which of these stories are the real thing?
All will be revealed at the end of the show.
Now it's time for our final story.
It's called Nothing Personal.
Deborah Hunt loves to run, but no matter how fast she goes
she'll never escape one specific memory.
Deborah Hunt: I was beside myself.
Theresa was one of my best friends.
Narrator: Deborah's best friend Theresa was murdered,
but it was no ordinary crime.
Norman Caraway: This was a unique case in my career.
Narrator: It's a tale of money and betrayal with an end so
horrific some still refuse to believe it today.
Norman Caraway: It's a story that I tell often
and it usually blows people away.
Narrator: It all began in 2002 in the wealthy Phoenix suburb
of Fountain Hills.
A 911 call leads police to a baffling murder scene.
Theresa Cole and her husband Clark are dead.
Norman Caraway: There was no signs of forced entry.
There was no signs of struggle.
There was no physical injuries so it was all quite peculiar.
Narrator: Who did it, and how?
Norman Caraway: We weren't able to determine
a cause of death.
We had the wait for the results of an autopsy.
Narrator: While investigators wait, Detective Caraway
starts asking questions.
Norman Caraway: We had learned that the Coles had been
married for seven years and they had
started off quite modestly.
They managed to accumulate a significant amount of wealth,
largely based on investments that Mrs. Cole had made.
Narrator: But the money had a surprise effect.
Deborah Hunt: Well he was a bit of a showoff.
He did like to flaunt it around.
I think definitely he was trying to be eccentric.
He just got worse and worse as the money was coming in.
Narrator: And Clark's eccentricities are not
the only thing Deborah reveals.
Deborah Hunt: Clark started having affairs
and they were not secretive.
They were public.
Narrator: It's the final straw for Theresa.
She files for divorce.
Clark stands to lose everything.
Norman Caraway: He felt that he was at particular risk in
the divorce because he had had these very public affairs
which he felt could be used against him.
Narrator: Clark hires the best legal team money can buy.
Before long, Theresa is the one who's afraid.
Norman Caraway: She was very concerned that the strength of
Mr. Cole's legal team and the resources he was putting in to
their divorce that she would lose a lot of what she felt
she was entitled to.
Narrator: Then, days before their court date, Clark calls
with a surprise offer.
He suggests they meet for dinner
and try to work things out.
Deborah Hunt: She talked to me about it and she thought,
you know, it's a good idea to try to work it out.
It was the last time I spoke with Theresa.
Narrator: Dinner goes disastrously wrong.
For police, it's all still a baffling mystery but
it's about to be blown wide open.
Norman Caraway: When we got the autopsy report back,
we found that both Mr. and Mrs. Cole had been poisoned.
Narrator: Did someone poison this couple,
or is there another explanation?
Norman Caraway: In testing the evidence that was collected at
the scene, we learned that the uh mashed potatoes
had been poisoned.
Narrator: Incredibly, it appears Theresa is to blame.
Norman Caraway: We speculate that she had planned to murder
her husband and then dispose of the body and
get away with all the money.
Narrator: Unwilling to lose a cent to Clark's high priced
lawyers, Theresa puts her desperate plan into action.
But how did she end up eating her own poisoned food?
It turns out she didn't.
Theresa: Cheers.
Norman Caraway: The coroner's report concluded that there
were two different poisons used.
Narrator: Equally worried about losing it all, Clark had
come up with the same desperate plan.
Norman Caraway: Mr. Cole had poisoned the red wine.
One could imagine that Mrs. Cole, having thought
she'd got away with her plan, went to toast her success, not
knowing that the wine had in fact been poisoned.
Narrator: Seconds later, her dreams also
come crashing down.
Norman Caraway: I don't think we've ever seen
anything like this before.
Narrator: Instead of either one getting it all, both end
up with nothing and leave Deborah with a wound
that will never heal.
Deborah Hunt: I couldn't get out of bed some days.
It's very hard to not have your best friend anymore.
Narrator: A happy couple learns in the most tragic way
that money really can't buy you love.
But did it happen?
Find out the truth about all three stories after the break.
Narrator: Welcome back to Urban Legends.
It's time to reveal the truth about our
three incredible stories.
First up, it's the tale of the transplanted heart that takes
control of a well respected family man,
but is it fact or fiction?
Gary Schwartz: My name is Professor Gary Schwartz and
this is a true story.
Narrator: Sadly, this story is true.
Transplanted organs have been known to change tastes and
behaviours, but this is the only case of a new organ
actually leading someone to their death.
Narrator: Next, it's the tale of the Russian circus
performer who met his tragic end in the mouth of a hippo.
But is it fact or fiction?
Narrator: Russia is a popular place to set urban legends and
it's true that a lot of strange things happen
there but not this tale.
It's false.
Which leaves the story of the messy divorce that ends with
the ultimate food fight.
Did this one taste right to you?
Deborah Hunt: It's awful to lose a best friend
but I didn't because this story is fake.
Narrator: This couple is no Romeo and Juliet but the myth
of lovers poisoning each other at exact same moment was
as popular in Shakespeare's time as it is today,
but it isn't true.
That's the end of our episode called Love and War.
Were you able to separate the heartfelt truth
from the vicious lies?
Don't worry if you couldn't.
You'll get another chance to separate fact from
fiction in the next installment of Urban Legends.
== sync, corrected by elderman ==