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On October twelfth, seventeen seventy three, the first insane asylum
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in the United States opened its doors. Located in Williamsburg, Virginia,
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the public hospital, by its own admission, was established for
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the support and maintenance of idiots, lunatics, and other persons
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of unsound minds who threatened society. Realistically, there was little
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support for these unfortunates before the establishment of the hospital.
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Insane individuals were actually judged by a jury, not a doctor,
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and classified as a criminal, a lunatic, or an idiot.
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They were regarded as collateral damage in the quest for
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colonial normalcy. Almost two and a half centuries later, their
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anguish can still be felt in the walls of the
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later named Eastern State Hospital. On Darren Marler and This
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is Weird Darkness. Welcome Weirdos. This is Weird Darkness. Here
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you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre,
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unsolved and unexplained. Coming up. In this episode of Weird Darkness,
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Weirdo family member Christa Lee shares a personal encounter with
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a spirit in her bathroom. Belief in witches, hexes, and
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powerful spirits was prevalent in the nineteenth century and into
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the twentieth century. In fact, in rural areas of Pennsylvania,
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it might still be practiced today. So it's the perfect
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setting for a murder involving curses and a local witch.
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Parking tickets, floppy discs, and escaped victims, these helped catch
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a handful of serial murderers who would likely have never
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been caught otherwise. It's been called a freak of nature,
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as weird as it is beautiful. Seen here are terrifying
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flying entities, giant skeletons, and even the legendary Bigfoot. We'll
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look at the mysterious, strange and dangerous Okefinoki Swamp in Georgia.
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But First Eastern State Hospital was originally known as the
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Public Hospital for Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds. Built
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in seventeen seventy three, it was America's first mental asylum,
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and the horrors in the
Load full transcript
minds of its patients couldn't
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compare to the horrors of the asylum itself. Now bult
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your doors, lock your windows, turn off your lights, and
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come with me into the weird darkness. Abandoned asylums, haunted hospitals,
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and ghost infested sanatoriums are some of the spookiest places
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to get your urban exploring fix. A plethora of haunted
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places are open for visitation all over the world, including
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the very first insane asylum in the United States, Eastern
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State Hospital, located in Williamsburg, Virginia. First built in seventeen
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seventy three, the hospital was originally known as the Public
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Hospital for Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds. It only
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featured twenty four rooms total, many of which remained unfilled
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for a number of years. The facility also suffered numerous
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fires and was even occupied for a time during the
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Civil War. Unfortunately, as is the case with many centuries
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old institututions, this hospital wasn't entirely concerned with healing its patients. Instead,
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it focused on keeping them jailed and sequestering them from
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normal members of society. The history of Eastern State Hospital,
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while conducive to spooky tales and ghost stories, is also
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a blot on the nation's record of mental health treatment,
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rife with human rights violations and tragic testimonials of mistreatment.
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Perhaps unsurprisingly, the hospital was created not necessarily to help
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the unstable, but rather to protect everyone else from those
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whom doctors considered mentally deranged. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,
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sanity was determined through legal trials rather than professional medical observation.
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In the mid seventeen hundreds, Francis Foulkir, the governor of Virginia,
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proposed a hospital meant to house a poor, unhappy set
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of people who are deprived of their senses and wander
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about the country, terrifying the rest of their fellow creatures.
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Seventeen seventy three, the same year as the Boston Tea Party,
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the Public Hospital for Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds
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first opened its doors, admitting America's first mental patient. The
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hospital was hardly comparable to the clinical centers of today,
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and was more akin to a prison. The facility contained
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twenty four cells, each with barred windows and reinforced doors.
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Inside these cells were straw filled mattresses, chamber pots, and
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iron shackles attached to the walls. Among the many morbid
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devices on display at the museum, which now stands in
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the hospital's former facility, no are quite as gruesome as
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the tranquilizer chair. Doctor Benjamin Rush, who incorrectly believed mental
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imbalances were caused by brain inflammation. Created the chair under
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the notion that fear was the best means to induce slanity.
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According to doctor Rush, terror acts powerfully upon the body
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through the medium of the mind and should be employed
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in the cure of madness. Rush designed the chair to
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not only retain the patient, but to deprive them of
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sight and slow the blood flow to their brains. A
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bucket was also placed beneath the seat. Subjects were injected
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with laxatives believed to release any bodily impurities. Hospital patients
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were forced to wear stray jackets, remain chained and confined
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in solitude, and even lay in coffin like utica cribs
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stacked on top of one another. In seventeen ninety nine,
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two dungeon like cells were constructed beneath the first floor
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of the hospital for those prone to raving frenzy. Prevailing
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eighteenth century beliefs claimed that mental instability was a chosen state. Restraints,
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electric shocks or bleedings were perceived cures for us sound mines.
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Not only were straight jackets and manacles employed to keep
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patients in order, but iron chains attached near their bedsides
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were frequently used. As well. Substances were also administered to
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evacuate patients. Digestive tracts and devices such as lancers and
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scarificators were used to bleed out harmful fluids. Patients were
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plunged into ice cold water in an attempt to jar
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them from their mental states. Many medical professionals believed fear
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was the key element in these cures, leading inhumane doctors
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to torment their own patients for decades. When the institution
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was first built, its grounds featured a large yard where
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patients could enjoy the sun and fresh air, but this
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yard was torn down shortly after for these staff's convenience,
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not until seventeen ninety or two new yards made, one
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on each side to the hospital. These new significquly smaller
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areas featured enormous fences that were ten feet high and
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eighty feet long. No furniture or other such perceived luxuries
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were provided for the patients. Restriction was still the primary
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method of care. These outdoor areas were dubbed the mad
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Yards and are heavily reminiscent of modern day prison yards.
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The hospital frequently used unmarked graves to dispose of patients
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when they passed a common practice among many hospitals at
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the time. The Eastern State Hospital does, however, maintain a
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reminder of the patients and their struggles. Four granite slabs
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have patients' names etched into them, while a fifth simply
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holds a memorial reading. We erect this monument in memory
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of those persons whom we have known, loved, and served
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through the years. While living, they knew the suffering of
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inner pain, confusion, and despair. Now they are at peace
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in the hands of God, where no torment will ever
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touch them again. The hospital's conditions and treatments were undoubtedly atrocious,
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but they were not always so. In eighteen forty one,
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doctor John Minson Galt was elected superintendent, and he believed
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in far more humane treatments. Over the course of twenty
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one years, Galt took steps to reduce the appalling treatments
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employed by the hospital and replace them with a method
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he called moral management therapy. This method was very successful,
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so much so that restraints were barely used and the
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patients were much happier and granted much more freedom. They
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were even able to visit the nearby town on field
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trips and outings. His methods were unpopular with the hospital's directors, however,
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and they fought him at every turn. In eighteen sixty two,
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the Civil War swept through Williamsburg and Union soldiers took
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control of the hospital. With Galt unable to help any
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of his patients, he fell into a deep depression and
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eventually took his own life. Some claim as ghost still
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walks the halls of the reconstructed hospital, seeking out the
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patients formerly under his care. In the institution's early days,
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a patient escaped the hospital and fled to the nearby
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palace of Virginia's governor. He apparently intended to slay the
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governor in the palace's hedge maze, but was foiled before
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he could carry out the deed. Those who visit the
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palace grounds claimed the patient still roams in search of targets.
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In two thousand and three, a group of students from
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the College of William and Mary fulfilled an infamous school
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tradition when they climbed over the palace wall and ventured
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into the hedge maze. Inside, the group witnessed a pair
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of ghostly white feet that crept closer when illuminated with
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their flashlight beam. The students soon fled in terror. The
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hospital's first fire occurred in eighteen seventy six and taped
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out the chapel, kitchen, and storage areas, among other rooms.
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In eighteen eighty five, two patients may have perished in
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the hospital's largest fire. Tragically, the closest volunteer fire department
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at the time was fifty miles away, so there was
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nothing to do but watch the building crumble. By the
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time the fire was extinguished, it had taken down five
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more buildings. The last fire occurred in nineteen oh two
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and rapped out a single building that was originally erected
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in eighteen forty four. All of the buildings were eventually replaced,
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although with much more space between them, likely to prevent
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future fires from spreading. When
the hospital first opened in
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seventeen seventy three, it was called the Public Hospital for
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Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds. In the eighteen forties,
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under the guidance of doctor Galt, it was renamed the
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Eastern Lunatic Asylum. Although a significant portion of the grounds
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burned in eighteen eighty five, they were soon rebuilt and
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continued to operate for several more decades. Following this reconstruction,
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the facility was given its current title, the Eastern State Hospital,
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not to be confused with the dozen other hospitals of
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the same name across the US. In the nineteen thirties,
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the hospital moved to a new location, though the original
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buildings were preserved for historical reasons. The old grounds were
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reopened as a museum featuring numerous exhibits of the hospital's
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old devices and treatments. Even the cells were recreated in
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the most minute detail. Up next, Weirdo Family member Christa
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Lee shares a personal encounter with a spirit in her
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bathroom and will look at how five different serial killers
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were finally caught through unexpected means. These stories and more
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when Weird Darkness Returns. I was in my freshman year
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of high school when I had my first official encounter
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with a ghost. My dad called me into the kitchen
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to talk to me, and when he was done, he
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flipped a spoonful of whipped cream in my face. He'd
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been using the cream for a pie and thought it'd
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be funny to throw some at one of us kids.
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I went to the bathroom to clean up. I was
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bent over the sink when I felt a cool hand
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on my shoulder, thinking it was my mom. I glanced
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in the mirror only to see the face of my
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recently deceased great grandmother. She smiled at me and said,
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I love you, baby girl. Then she vanished. I've always
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believed in the supernatural and paranormal, but this visit helped
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to confirm their existence for me. Serial killers often pride
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themselves on being
untouchable. That confidence can sometimes help them
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charm their way into their victims' lives or allow them
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to lead double lives, tricking their families into believing they
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are someone else, but it also leads to their downfall.
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Here are five stories of serial killers who, along with
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a little luck, were the cause of their capture. Jeffrey Dahmer,
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known as the Milwaukee Cannibal, got away with molesting, murdering, dismembering,
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and eating seventeen victims between nineteen seventy eight and nineteen
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ninety one. By nineteen eighty eight, he'd already spent ten
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months in jail for fondling a thirteen teen year old
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boy and then offering him fifty dollars to pose four
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pictures in the nude. He was let out early and
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put on probation, but his caseworker never made the required
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stops by his apartment. At one point during his thirteen
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year murdersprey, Dahmer was also approached by police over a
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young Asian teen who was found on a curb naked
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and bloody. Dahmer told the police that the boy was
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his partner, and so three officers who were eventually investigated,
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turned their heads and declined to investigate further, leading to
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the young boy's death. All of that makes how Dahmer
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got caught so darkly ironic. When Dahmer was arrested, it
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was thanks to someone he had caught. Dahmer drugged and
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attempted to murder thirty two year old Tracy Edwards in
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July of nineteen ninety one. Edwards got out and, after
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running away, was found by two officers in Dahmer's neighborhood,
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almost completely naked, with a pair of handcuffs dangling from
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one of his wrists. When officers questioned him, Edwards told
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them that a freak had drugged and handcuffed him. The
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police brought Edwards back to Dahmer's apartment to investigate. Upon
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their arrival, Dahmer offered police the keys to the handcuffs
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when Edwards told them that Dahmer attempted to use a
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knife on him in his bedroom. An officer entered the
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room to corroborate his account. There he found photographs of
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the bodies Dahmer had dismembered. Dahmer was arrested by the police,
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and further searching of his apartment revealed body parts, skulls,
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and jars of dismembered genitalia stored in a fridge, freezer,
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a filing cabinet, and a kettle. A parking ticket helped
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put the son of Sam behind bars. This infamous killer
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was arrested in Manhattan right before he planned to go
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down in a blaze of glory. Known for shooting fourteen people,
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six of whom were killed in New York City between
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nineteen seventy six and nineteen seventy seven. David Berkowitz was
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a member of the U. S Army who served in
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South Korea as an excellent marksman. After returning to his
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hometown in nineteen seventy four. Following his service term, he
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took a position as a US postal worker before turning
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his combat skills into a method of terror. After attacking
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and murdering his victims, he'd leave a note near the
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crime scene, taunting authorities. Ironically, it would be a different
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kind of crime scene notes that took down the man
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who called himself the Son of Sam. The first step
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towards arresting Berkowitz was a result of him regularly harassing
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his neighbors. Several of the other residents in his Yonker's
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apartment building claimed that they were left anonymous, sometimes antagonistic notes.
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One reported that their dog had been shot with the
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same gun used by the Son of Sam, while another
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alleged a fire was started near his apartment. This put
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the police onto Berkowitz's behavior and kept him under their
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watchful What ultimately nailed the Son of Sam, though, was
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a tip from a forty nine year old woman who
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had a brief but unnerving encounter with Berkowitz right before
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he murdered two people. While walking her dog at two
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thirty am, Cecilia Davis passed a man who looked her
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right in the face but held his right arm down stiffly.
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Minutes later, she heard shots and a car horn.
She
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also happened to see an officer ticketing a cream colored
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van a block from the site. Of Berkowitz's latest and
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final murder. After Davis came forward with her details, police
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checked their tickets for that night and were able to
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find a citation for Berkowitz's car, which he used for
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getaways from each murder, but didn't bother to change his
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plates for The authorities caught Burkowitz leaving his apartment. As
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they caught up to him, Berkowitz turned to an inspector
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and said, I guess this is the end of the
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trailed Bundy, known for raping and murdering thirty six women
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in three states, was captured twice while driving. The first
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instance was for a traffic violation in which he took
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a Utah Highway Patrol officer on a chase after he
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was caught driving his Volkswagon in a West Valley neighborhood
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without his headlights on. As officer Bob Hayward questioned Bundy,
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he noticed weird things. The man was wearing all black,
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a collection of gas receipts, a missing passenger seat, and
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a pair of shiny shoes that escaped kidnapping victim Carol
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dur Ranch had reported were worn by her captor. When
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the officer asked Bundy where he'd been the killer, told
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him at a local drive in watching towering inferno. Unfortunately
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for Bundy, Hayward knew that was a lie. He had
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been at the drive in all night. Hayward called for backup,
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and he and two other officers searched the car, uncovering
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a collection of obscure items like rope, handcuffs, pennyhose, and
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a crowbar before bringing him in booked for avoiding arrest,
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Bundy was identified in a line up by d Ranch,
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arrested for her kidnapping, and sentenced to fifteen years of
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jail time. Heyward had also reached out to out of
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state police departments aware of their own missing Team cases.
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Two years into a sentence, Bundy was linked to the
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murder of a Colorado woman. After requesting to act as
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his own representation, he escaped from a prison's library window
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while preparing for his case. He was captured eight days later,
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but would escape again through a hole he dug in
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the ceiling of his cell. Due to the reduced staff
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during holiday time, correctional officers didn't notice he was gone
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for well over twelve hours, letting him get a significant lead.
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With the help of his eventual wife, kirol Ann Boone,
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Bundy was able to travel to Florida, where he attacked
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the cay Omega sorority house at Florida State University, killing
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two college women and beating two others. Days later, he
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would kidnap and murder a twelve year old Florida girl
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in a stolen FSU van, and only four days later
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after that, stole a VW bug. Fearing that authorities were
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closing in, Bundy traveled all the way to the Alabama
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state line before getting pulled over for driving in a
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stolen vehicle. That would be the end of Bundy's run.
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He was arrested, charged, and sentenced to death for the
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murders of the FSU students. Then there's the case of
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Dennis Raider, and he can blame poor file security for
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his eventual takedown. After years of going uncaught following the
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murder of ten Kansas locals, including four out of five
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members of the Ottero family, the Kansas serial killer, whose
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modus operandi was bind torture, kill, entered into a game
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of cat and mouse with authorities. After seemingly killing his
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last victim in nineteen ninety one, the murderer fell off
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the radar until two thousand four or when an article
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in the Wichita Eagles suggested that the infamous killer may
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either be dead or in prison. That spurred Dennis Rader,
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the BTK Killer, to send a letter to the newspaper
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claiming he was responsible for a nineteen eighty six unsolved murder.
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Over the next twelve months, he would send more letters
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and puzzles to local media outlets. In two thousand and five,
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Rader took the first steps to sealing his demise. As
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00:22:30.920
he had for the past year, Rader sent a local
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Wichita TV station a message in the form of a
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package placed in the back of a truck. An employee
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found it and ended up tossing it, but after an response,
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Rader reached out to the station to see if they'd
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gotten it. The station notified the police, who searched the
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area and found the serial box Raider left filled with documents,
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many of which revealed planned murders. There was also a
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piece of paper addressed directly to authorities. Can I communicate
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with Floppy and be traced to a computer? Raider asked,
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if the police were honest, they should tell him through
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a classified ad in the paper. So that's exactly what
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authorities less than honestly did. Two weeks later, a local
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Kansas broadcast station was sent a package containing a floppy disc.
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When they opened it, it merely included the message this
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is a test. After checking the properties section of the file,
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authorities discovered that the last person to save the file
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was a man named Dennis. They also uncovered that it
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had been used at the Christ Lutheran Church and the
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Park City Library. Despite the efforts Raider took to delete
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identifying information from the disc, his choice to use a
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library printer whose own was broken did him in. The
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police googled the name and locations attached to the file,
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used DNA evidence from the Otero crime scene and one
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of Raider's relatives, and finally pinned Rader for some of
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the most infants murders in America, and sometimes serial killers
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are caught because they break their own rules, like the
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son of Sam Israel. Keys was a former soldier raised
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a name Mormon family who reveled in his fascination and
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obsession with serial murder. With an extensive knowledge of his predecessors,
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Keys aimed to be unique and uncatchable, but eventually fell
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victim to what he thought separated him from the rest
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a lack of control. Identified as a serial killer,
rapist, arsonist, burglar,
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and bank robber, Keyes had a girlfriend and daughter. Despite
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having spent more than a decade raping, robbing, and killing
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victims around the country, three deaths were tied directly to him,
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but anywhere between eight and twelve are alleged. Keyes's success
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was due in part to his extensive planning, which includes
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burying murder kits, weapons and tools to clean up crime scenes,
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and an unwritten rule based on his research and knowledge
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of other captured serial killers. He would travel outside and
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go to great lengths to distance himself from any of
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his victims. Anchorage homicide detective Monique Dahl told ABC News
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that was primarily derived from his obsession with not being
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like the other serial killers. He had researched and read
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other serial killers. Doll told ABC he knew a lot
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about Ted Bundy. He was very careful to say that
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he had not patterned himself after any other serial killers,
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that his ideas were his own. That necessity for distinction
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and control all signatures of serial killers got the best
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of him during his last burder, which was only supposed
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to be a robbery with plans to take the register
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at the coffee shop. Keys confessed that he thought about
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not killing his victim, a young female employee working alone,
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if she didn't have a car, but upon seeing his victim,
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he was overcome, wrestling her to his vehicle before raping
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and strangling her there. It broke both parts of his
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proximity rule, as he murdered in his car and in
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his hometown. He then did something even more sloppy. He
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used his victim's credit card at several ATMs in another
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state to take out money, allowing police to track him
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down when we'd darkness returns. Belief in witches, hexes, and
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powerful spirits was prevalent in the nineteenth century and into
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the twentieth century. In fact, in rural areas of Pennsylvania,
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it might still be practiced today. So it's the perfect
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setting for a murder involving curses and a local witch.
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Anyone who believes that we live in an age dominated
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by science and skepticism needs to study the history of Pennsylvania.
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In the rural areas of the state, a belief in witches, hexes,
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powerful spirits, and the like was common until well into
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the twentieth century. For all I know, it still quietly
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exists today. Remote farm communities saw superstition and folklore not
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as quaint relics of a medieval past, but as all
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two real presences in their lives. Sometimes these beliefs took
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the benign forms of good luck, charms, folk medicine, and
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positive spirituality. At other times, however, believers found themselves haunted
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by sincerely held fears of curses and ghostly persecution. On occasion,
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these fears led these tormented souls to defend themselves through
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acts of violence, even murder. Probably the most famous example
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is the case of Nelson Raymyer. In nineteen twenty eight,
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a central Pennsylvania which named Nellie Nol convinced a young
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man named John Blymere that ray Meyer had put a
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curse on him. Blmere and two friends, John Curry and
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Wilbert Hess broke into Raymyer's home in order to steal
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a spell book they believed he owned. They were unable
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00:28:34.319 --> 00:28:37.400
to find this book, but when Raemeyer accosted them, the
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trio gruesomely killed him in the hope of lifting this curse.
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The three youths were eventually convicted of the murder. One
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of the many oddities of the case is that the
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killers had never before committed any criminal offense, and after
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their release from prison, went on to lead thoroughly normal,
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law abiding lives. Although the following experter is now largely forgotten,
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it was very similar to the Raymier case, and in
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some respects even more bizarre. Our story opens in nineteen
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thirty four in Pennsylvania farming village of Ringtown. Life there
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had only a speaking acquaintance with the twentieth century. Scarcely
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any residence had
electricity or modern plumbing, and telephones were
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non existent. Among its residents was a sixty three year
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old widow named Susannah Susan Mummy. She lived in a
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primitive farmhouse in the hills just outside of town with
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her adopted daughter Tavilia. Back in nineteen ten, Susan had
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had a premonition. A vision or dream told her that
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if on July fifth of that year, her husband Henry
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went to his job at a local powder mill, he
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would die. Although she begged him to stay home on
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that day, he laughingly dismissed her fears and went to
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work as usual. You guessed it on that very day
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Henry was killed when a workplace accident caused a violent explosion.
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The tragic event earned Susan Mummy not sympathy but fear.
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The deadly accuracy of her premonition caused her neighbors to
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think of her as a witch, and, considering what had
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happened to Henry, possibly a dangerous one. From that time on,
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Ringtown regarded her with a mixture of awe and deep suspicion.
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On the evening of bart seventeen, Susan and Tavilia were
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living with a border named Jacob Rice, and Rice was
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staying there because he had a serious foot injury that
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Mummy was doctoring. Like many so called witches, Mummy had
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some proficiency in the healing arts. Before going to bed,
437
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Mummy went to change Rice's bandage. As she bent over
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his foot, the cottage seemed to suddenly explode. The inhabitants
439
00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:56.839
heard a frightening roar, and the living room window shattered.
440
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The wind coming through the broken glass extinguished their lamps,
441
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leaving the stunned trio in darkness. They heard a second blast,
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which they now recognized as the sound of a gun.
443
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Someone out in that black night was trying to kill them.
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They crouched on the floor, terrified by the thought of
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what might happen next, but there was only silence. After
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a few minutes had passed, Rice finally worked up the
447
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nerve to set up. He could see nothing, and all
448
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he heard was the sound of Tavilia whimpering in fear.
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He called out Susan's name, but got no response. He
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managed to light a lamp, which illuminated missus Mummy's motionless
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body on the floor. He saw at once that she
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was dead. The two shaken survivors sat huddled together in
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the darkness, waiting for the morning light to come. At dawn,
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Ryce set out to find help. Tavilia was too hysterical
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to make the effort. Despite his injured foot, Rice managed
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to limp to the home of their nearest neighbor where,
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which was over a mile away. This neighbor drove him
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into town so they could summon police. Investigators found that
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Mummy had been shot once through the chest. In one
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of the walls, they found embedded a handmade bullet of
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the sort that was common in the area. Although the
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victim had led a quiet, reclusive life, it soon emerged
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that there was no shortage of people who might have
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wished her dead. Mummy was a quarrelsome sort who had
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feuded with most of her neighbors, something that only exacerbated
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her sinister occult reputation. She was believed to have turned
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an evil eye on one of her enemies, and hext
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several others. A great sigh of relief went out over
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Ringwood when it was learned she was dead. In short,
470
00:32:48.039 --> 00:32:53.559
the police were confronted with a plethora of possible suspects. Soon, however,
471
00:32:53.640 --> 00:32:57.720
their focus was centered on one man. Three days after
472
00:32:57.759 --> 00:33:00.519
the murder, some local boys told the detective in charge
473
00:33:00.559 --> 00:33:02.880
of the case that on the night Mummy was shot,
474
00:33:03.279 --> 00:33:05.680
they had seen a car parked on the road leading
475
00:33:05.720 --> 00:33:08.599
to the victim's home. No one was in the car,
476
00:33:08.640 --> 00:33:11.960
but they immediately recognized it as belonging to a twenty
477
00:33:11.960 --> 00:33:16.559
three year old named Albert Shinsky. Shinsky was a polite,
478
00:33:16.839 --> 00:33:20.359
well behaved, good natured young man with an exemplary reputation.
479
00:33:21.200 --> 00:33:24.799
Everyone who knew him liked him. His family was equally
480
00:33:24.839 --> 00:33:27.599
well respected in the community, and he was fortunate enough
481
00:33:27.839 --> 00:33:32.240
to be engaged to Selena
Bernstell, a pretty charming girl
482
00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:35.119
who adored him. It would be hard to think of
483
00:33:35.160 --> 00:33:40.519
anyone less likely to assassinate a defenseless old woman. Shinsky's
484
00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:44.559
life was happy and uneventful until he reached the age seventeen.
485
00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:51.200
Then he gradually changed. The once energetic boy became increasingly lethargic.
486
00:33:51.920 --> 00:33:54.279
He lost the energy to work or do much of
487
00:33:54.319 --> 00:33:58.799
anything else. He became thin and haggard looking. The young
488
00:33:58.880 --> 00:34:01.279
man became a shell of his former self, and no
489
00:34:01.319 --> 00:34:05.359
one could explain why. Unable to hold down any job
490
00:34:05.440 --> 00:34:09.480
requiring physical or mental exertion, Shinsky earned a meager living
491
00:34:09.639 --> 00:34:13.559
as a taxi driver for the local mine workers. When
492
00:34:13.599 --> 00:34:17.239
questioned by the police, Shinsky acknowledged being near the mummy
493
00:34:17.239 --> 00:34:19.960
house at the time of the murder. When asked why
494
00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.119
he was there, he calmly gave a startling reply, I
495
00:34:24.199 --> 00:34:29.400
went out there to kill missus Mummy. Things only got
496
00:34:29.440 --> 00:34:34.000
weirder from there. Without the slightest hesitation, Shinsky treated the
497
00:34:34.039 --> 00:34:37.639
detectives to the strangest motive for murder any of them
498
00:34:37.719 --> 00:34:40.960
had ever heard. The young man explained that when he
499
00:34:41.039 --> 00:34:44.000
was seventeen, he'd been working for a farmer who had
500
00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:47.719
gotten into a long, extremely bitter fight with Missus Mummy
501
00:34:48.039 --> 00:34:52.360
over property boundaries between their respective lands. One day, as
502
00:34:52.440 --> 00:34:55.840
Shinsky was walking through the disputed land, he saw missus
503
00:34:55.880 --> 00:34:59.880
Mummy standing a short distance away, staring at him. Under
504
00:34:59.880 --> 00:35:02.719
her her hostile gaze, the youth broke out in a
505
00:35:02.800 --> 00:35:06.960
cold sweat. He felt like there were hands gripping his throat.
506
00:35:08.199 --> 00:35:10.760
From that day on, he said, he felt a constant
507
00:35:11.039 --> 00:35:14.719
physical and mental torment that sapped him of all his strength.
508
00:35:15.559 --> 00:35:20.440
Susan Mummy had put a hex on him. Shinsky emotionally
509
00:35:20.480 --> 00:35:23.920
described how he constantly felt invisible hands on his shoulders,
510
00:35:24.599 --> 00:35:27.559
pins were stuck into him. A black cat would come
511
00:35:27.599 --> 00:35:29.840
down from the sky and attack him while he slept.
512
00:35:30.519 --> 00:35:33.159
He tried going to doctors and priests, but they were
513
00:35:33.159 --> 00:35:36.320
of no help. What could they or anyone else do
514
00:35:36.519 --> 00:35:40.880
against the power of the devil. In desperation, he consulted
515
00:35:40.880 --> 00:35:44.760
some local witch doctors, who gave him various amulets and spells,
516
00:35:45.360 --> 00:35:51.960
but they provided only temporary relief. The cat always came back. Finally,
517
00:35:52.079 --> 00:35:55.480
a spirit came to him, explaining that the only way
518
00:35:55.519 --> 00:35:57.599
he could be free of the hecks was if he
519
00:35:57.719 --> 00:36:02.599
killed Susan Mummy. So on the night of March seventeenth,
520
00:36:03.079 --> 00:36:06.519
he borrowed a shotgun loaded it with a magic bullet
521
00:36:06.599 --> 00:36:09.559
guaranteed to kill witches, and made his way to the
522
00:36:09.599 --> 00:36:14.519
mummy farm. Shinsky did not enjoy committing murder, but he
523
00:36:14.599 --> 00:36:18.639
cheerfully explained it worked since Mummy's death. He was a
524
00:36:18.760 --> 00:36:22.199
reborn man. He had no regrets whatsoever for what he
525
00:36:22.239 --> 00:36:26.079
had done. Indeed, he radiated a joy and relief that
526
00:36:26.119 --> 00:36:32.239
these hardened investigators found uniquely disturbing. Selena Bernsteal confirmed much
527
00:36:32.280 --> 00:36:35.559
of Shinsky's story. She had no doubt that he had
528
00:36:35.639 --> 00:36:39.159
been bewitched, saying, my cousin used to be visited by
529
00:36:39.159 --> 00:36:41.079
the ghost of an old woman who cast a spell
530
00:36:41.119 --> 00:36:46.199
over her. Her affection for him had a strongly maternal quality.
531
00:36:46.920 --> 00:36:50.639
Selena both loved and pitied this haunted young man, who
532
00:36:50.679 --> 00:36:53.440
would tell her that she was the only friend he had.
533
00:36:54.639 --> 00:36:57.440
She described him as a little puppy dog and a
534
00:36:57.519 --> 00:37:02.159
lost soul. The hecks, she quietly told the police, had
535
00:37:02.199 --> 00:37:06.079
begun to affect her as well. She would periodically wake
536
00:37:06.159 --> 00:37:08.360
up in the morning to see a vision of Shinsky
537
00:37:08.440 --> 00:37:11.400
standing at the foot of her bed, his face grimacing
538
00:37:11.440 --> 00:37:14.800
in pain. Every time this happened, she'd find out that
539
00:37:15.320 --> 00:37:18.320
he'd been visited by the evil cat or the spirit
540
00:37:18.360 --> 00:37:21.840
figure of Susan Mummy herself leering and leering at him.
541
00:37:22.679 --> 00:37:25.880
Selena said that Shinsky had repeatedly begged Mummy to lift
542
00:37:25.920 --> 00:37:29.880
the hecks from him, but she refused. Selena often asked
543
00:37:29.920 --> 00:37:33.599
Shinsky to marry her, but he refused, saying the witch
544
00:37:33.800 --> 00:37:37.599
wouldn't let him. Although Selena had not known he had
545
00:37:37.639 --> 00:37:41.320
committed murder, she admitted that she knew something had happened
546
00:37:41.800 --> 00:37:45.800
because Albert seemed different and more upbeat. He acted as
547
00:37:45.800 --> 00:37:48.760
if something had been
taken off of him. She was
548
00:37:48.800 --> 00:37:53.920
too happy with his transformation to ask any questions. After
549
00:37:53.960 --> 00:37:58.199
his arrest, Shinsky became something of a local hero. Other
550
00:37:58.280 --> 00:38:00.760
men went to the police, alleging that Susan Mummy had
551
00:38:00.760 --> 00:38:04.079
cast spells on them as well Hexa's that were only
552
00:38:04.119 --> 00:38:08.360
broken with her death. Townsfolk raised a defense fund for him.
553
00:38:09.000 --> 00:38:13.800
The murderer himself remained happy and unconcerned. Even the thought
554
00:38:13.840 --> 00:38:17.519
of facing the electric chair didn't phase him. I don't care,
555
00:38:17.559 --> 00:38:22.480
he said, I'm at peace. Selina expressed her willingness to
556
00:38:22.559 --> 00:38:24.880
marry him while he still sat in his prison cell,
557
00:38:25.440 --> 00:38:28.639
but Shinsky refused any thought of such a dismal wedding.
558
00:38:29.440 --> 00:38:32.599
He told reporters he expected to be released soon after
559
00:38:32.679 --> 00:38:37.119
which he looked forward to marrying my girl. The court
560
00:38:37.199 --> 00:38:40.039
hardly knew what to make of this young man. The
561
00:38:40.079 --> 00:38:44.519
story he told was deeply, utterly crazy, but aside from that,
562
00:38:44.800 --> 00:38:50.159
Shinsky appeared calm and rational. He indignantly rejected any suggestion
563
00:38:50.320 --> 00:38:55.079
of any insanity. Defense psychiatrists who interviewed him thought otherwise.
564
00:38:55.679 --> 00:38:59.679
They came up with the diagnosis of dementia praecox manifesting
565
00:38:59.679 --> 00:39:03.320
itself as paranoid delusions, and recommended that he be sent
566
00:39:03.360 --> 00:39:07.599
to Fairview State Hospital for the criminally insane. The judge
567
00:39:07.599 --> 00:39:13.039
in the case agreed. Unfortunately for Shinsky, Fairview could give
568
00:39:13.079 --> 00:39:16.039
witches and demon cats a run for their money. It
569
00:39:16.119 --> 00:39:21.119
had an evil reputation that sadly was entirely justified. It
570
00:39:21.159 --> 00:39:25.000
was an unsupervised hellhole where even basic medical care was
571
00:39:25.079 --> 00:39:30.360
virtually non existent. Guards and staff routinely abused the patients,
572
00:39:30.400 --> 00:39:33.840
sometimes to the point of killing them. They were sinister
573
00:39:33.960 --> 00:39:37.760
rumors of secret graveyards around the building. It was not
574
00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:41.840
a hospital but an unregulated dumping ground, and would remain
575
00:39:41.920 --> 00:39:45.719
so well into the nineteen seventies. If you were not
576
00:39:45.760 --> 00:39:49.320
insane when you entered fairview. Odds were good that you
577
00:39:49.440 --> 00:39:55.280
soon would be. Shinsky disappeared into this living nightmare. Never
578
00:39:55.440 --> 00:39:58.840
it seemed to be heard from again. The world forgot
579
00:39:58.840 --> 00:40:01.679
about him
until nineteen si sixty eight, when a lawyer
580
00:40:01.800 --> 00:40:05.639
named William J. Krenskowicks learned of the case, which inspired
581
00:40:05.719 --> 00:40:08.360
him to lead an effort to have Shinsky re examined
582
00:40:08.400 --> 00:40:13.119
by psychiatrists. Shinsky himself was eager to have his case reopened,
583
00:40:13.639 --> 00:40:16.159
even if it meant standing trial for the murder if
584
00:40:16.199 --> 00:40:20.079
he was judged to be sane. I was a stupid, foolish,
585
00:40:20.159 --> 00:40:22.960
superstitious young man when I did the murder. But I
586
00:40:23.000 --> 00:40:27.079
do think I've been punished enough. The issue of what
587
00:40:27.239 --> 00:40:30.840
to do with Shinsky dragged through the courts until January
588
00:40:30.920 --> 00:40:34.280
nineteen seventy six, when a judge ruled that he was
589
00:40:34.320 --> 00:40:39.000
competent to stand trial. However, the authorities apparently agreed that
590
00:40:39.039 --> 00:40:43.119
Shinsky was indeed punished enough. As I could not find
591
00:40:43.159 --> 00:40:47.480
any record that his trial ever took place, Shinsky may
592
00:40:47.599 --> 00:40:50.159
very well have been released without ever being tried for
593
00:40:50.239 --> 00:40:53.920
a murder no one doubted he committed. He went back
594
00:40:53.960 --> 00:40:57.239
to Ringtown, where he lived quietly until his death. In
595
00:40:57.360 --> 00:41:08.239
nineteen eighty three. When weird darkness returns, it's called a
596
00:41:08.280 --> 00:41:12.199
freak of nature. As weird as it is beautiful. Seen
597
00:41:12.280 --> 00:41:16.679
here are terrifying flying entities, giant skeletons, and even the
598
00:41:16.800 --> 00:41:21.599
legendary Bigfoot. We'll look at the mysterious, strange and dangerous
599
00:41:21.679 --> 00:41:51.480
ofa Kinoki swamp in Georgia, often called a freak of nature,
600
00:41:53.079 --> 00:41:57.199
is as strange as it is beautiful. Many years ago,
601
00:41:57.320 --> 00:42:00.920
one scientist interested in ok said there is nothing else
602
00:42:01.039 --> 00:42:03.800
like it in the world, and that's a correct assumption
603
00:42:03.960 --> 00:42:09.360
because it's a unique place. The Okafinokee Swamp covers nearly
604
00:42:09.400 --> 00:42:13.559
seven hundred square miles, almost all of which is in Georgia,
605
00:42:14.119 --> 00:42:18.800
and this wonderland is a significant part of North America's heritage.
606
00:42:18.840 --> 00:42:21.639
A visit to Okafenokee Swamp gives the impression you made
607
00:42:21.679 --> 00:42:24.480
a journey back in time to those days when dinosaurs
608
00:42:24.559 --> 00:42:28.760
ruled the world. If you decide to visit the Okafinokee Swamp,
609
00:42:29.280 --> 00:42:32.719
be careful because dangerous animals are lurking behind the bushes.
610
00:42:33.440 --> 00:42:37.840
You can encounter poisonous snakes and alligators. The Okafinoki Swamp
611
00:42:37.920 --> 00:42:41.400
is also home to magnificent and rare bird species, as
612
00:42:41.440 --> 00:42:46.599
well as several unique species of carnivorous plants. Admirers of
613
00:42:46.679 --> 00:42:49.599
nature will find Okafonoki Swamp a great place to visit.
614
00:42:50.400 --> 00:42:52.800
But this place is also interesting to those who are
615
00:42:52.800 --> 00:42:59.760
fascinated with ancient history, myths, legends, and unexplained phenomena. Seminole
616
00:42:59.800 --> 00:43:02.960
in Indians knew this place long before white men who
617
00:43:03.000 --> 00:43:07.760
rediscovered it. The Okafinochie Swamp is a land of rich folklore,
618
00:43:08.239 --> 00:43:14.639
medicinal plants, magic, and some strange events. Many Native American
619
00:43:14.719 --> 00:43:19.079
legends tell Okafanoke was once inhabited by different mysterious beings.
620
00:43:19.119 --> 00:43:23.519
We cannot identify who were the flying creatures Indians feared
621
00:43:23.559 --> 00:43:27.840
so much. Someone once wrote the warlike Indians of the
622
00:43:27.920 --> 00:43:31.239
Crees and Seminoles have a religious veneration for this immense place.
623
00:43:31.639 --> 00:43:34.679
They say it's inhabited by aerial beings. They have a
624
00:43:34.760 --> 00:43:37.559
number of legends connected with its history. But the centers
625
00:43:37.559 --> 00:43:41.039
composed of high land on which are erected their wigwams.
626
00:43:41.480 --> 00:43:44.079
Many after that they have seen those aerial beings on
627
00:43:44.119 --> 00:43:47.440
the confines of their enchanted habitations. Not even one of
628
00:43:47.480 --> 00:43:50.079
their warriors would venture among the gloom of its shade
629
00:43:50.119 --> 00:43:56.039
after sunset for the best American scalp. When early geographers
630
00:43:56.039 --> 00:43:59.440
explored the place, they described the Okafinokee Swamp as a
631
00:43:59.599 --> 00:44:05.320
terrified bog. Explorers reported hearing spooky noises and wondered what
632
00:44:05.440 --> 00:44:09.280
dangerous creatures could be hiding in the marsh. Later, they
633
00:44:09.320 --> 00:44:13.159
realized the sounds were caused by dead trees scraping against
634
00:44:13.199 --> 00:44:17.519
each other when the wind blew. Not everything that happens
635
00:44:17.519 --> 00:44:20.880
in the vicinity of the Okafenokee Swamp can be explained
636
00:44:20.920 --> 00:44:25.840
by modern science. People have witnessed puzzling, unidentified lights that
637
00:44:25.960 --> 00:44:29.440
cannot be tracked to any known object, craft, or place.
638
00:44:30.480 --> 00:44:34.119
Native Americans tell the Okafinokee Swamp was and still is
639
00:44:34.239 --> 00:44:38.280
home to an immortal race. In ancient times, the Spaniard
640
00:44:38.320 --> 00:44:42.280
and Indians encountered these mysterious beings in battles, but they
641
00:44:42.320 --> 00:44:47.119
could never defeat the immortals. In North American folklore, Bigfoot
642
00:44:47.280 --> 00:44:50.760
is described as
a hairy, upright walking, apelike creature that
643
00:44:50.880 --> 00:44:55.079
dwells in the wilderness. According to the Millageville, Georgia newspaper
644
00:44:55.119 --> 00:44:58.039
in eighteen twenty nine, two men and a young boy
645
00:44:58.199 --> 00:45:01.719
decided to visit the Okefinokei Swamp because they had heard
646
00:45:01.800 --> 00:45:04.559
legends about a race of giants who lived in the swamp.
647
00:45:05.320 --> 00:45:08.079
They journeyed into the deep interior of the swamp, where
648
00:45:08.079 --> 00:45:12.119
they discovered giant tracks. Later, when they returned home, they
649
00:45:12.119 --> 00:45:14.559
told locals what they had found, and a group of
650
00:45:14.599 --> 00:45:18.199
hunters went to the place to investigate. There, they encountered
651
00:45:18.199 --> 00:45:22.199
a giant beast that decapitated five of the hunters. After
652
00:45:22.239 --> 00:45:24.760
a hard struggle, it was killed by the surviving men
653
00:45:24.840 --> 00:45:29.440
of the hunting expedition. Another intriguing story emerged in more
654
00:45:29.480 --> 00:45:34.440
recent years. Jim Miles, in his book Weird Georgia, reports
655
00:45:34.440 --> 00:45:37.719
that in nineteen sixty nine, Tom Chesser told the Atlanta
656
00:45:37.760 --> 00:45:41.559
Journal Constitution Sunday Magazine that in the nineteen twenties he
657
00:45:41.719 --> 00:45:45.960
unearthed thirteen skeletons for a university professor who had hired
658
00:45:46.039 --> 00:45:49.559
him to excavate the mounds. According to Chesser, some of
659
00:45:49.599 --> 00:45:52.880
the skeletons were crossed one on top of the other,
660
00:45:53.440 --> 00:45:56.519
some were faced down. All of them were perfect when
661
00:45:56.559 --> 00:45:59.960
they were first discovered. Teeth even still had some glades
662
00:46:00.199 --> 00:46:04.199
on them, but when air struck it crumbled them. They
663
00:46:04.199 --> 00:46:07.880
were giants. Those jawbones would go over my whole face,
664
00:46:08.199 --> 00:46:13.519
Chesser said. Many captivating and unexplained modern sightings of elusive
665
00:46:13.599 --> 00:46:17.920
creatures and puzzling lights are still reported. These stories are,
666
00:46:17.960 --> 00:46:22.079
of course fascinating, but without proper investigations, it's difficult to
667
00:46:22.119 --> 00:46:26.679
determine why people had strange encounters and sightings while visiting
668
00:46:26.760 --> 00:46:30.880
Okafanoki Swamp. It's fair to say that the Okafinok Swamp
669
00:46:30.920 --> 00:46:36.039
remains until this day, shrouded in a veil of mystery, charm,
670
00:46:36.079 --> 00:46:51.559
and fear. Thanks for listening. If you liked the podcast,
671
00:46:51.639 --> 00:46:54.599
please share a link to this episode and recommend Weird
672
00:46:54.639 --> 00:46:57.599
Darkness to your friends, family, and co workers who love
673
00:46:57.679 --> 00:47:01.719
the paranormal horror stories or true like you do. All
674
00:47:01.760 --> 00:47:04.519
stories in Weird Darkness aren't purported to be true unless
675
00:47:04.559 --> 00:47:07.199
stated otherwise, and you can find source links or links
676
00:47:07.199 --> 00:47:09.920
to the authors in the show notes. The Hauntings of
677
00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:13.840
Eastern State Mental Asylum is by Anigo Gonzales for Ranker.
678
00:47:14.679 --> 00:47:17.639
Cool Hand on My Shoulder is from Weirdo family member
679
00:47:17.719 --> 00:47:22.519
Krista Lee. The Witch of Ringtown was posted at Strange Company.
680
00:47:23.480 --> 00:47:27.239
When Killers Capture Themselves was written by Abby White for
681
00:47:27.360 --> 00:47:32.480
the lineup and Bigfoot, Giant Skeletons and Okafinoki Swamp is
682
00:47:32.480 --> 00:47:36.960
by Ellen Lloyd for Ancient pages. Weird Darkness theme by
683
00:47:36.960 --> 00:47:41.960
Alibi Music. Weird Darkness is a registered trademark. And now
684
00:47:41.960 --> 00:47:44.320
that we're coming out of the dark, I'll leave you
685
00:47:44.400 --> 00:47:48.440
with a little light Luke chapter six, verse thirty five A.
686
00:47:49.280 --> 00:47:52.199
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend
687
00:47:52.199 --> 00:47:55.599
to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your
688
00:47:55.639 --> 00:47:59.960
reward will be great. And a final thought, God doesn't
689
00:48:00.119 --> 00:48:03.400
give you the people you want, It gives you the
690
00:48:03.440 --> 00:48:08.519
people you need. I'm Daryn Marler. Thanks for joining me
691
00:48:09.039 --> 00:48:10.239
in the Weird Darkness.