WEBVTT - S04 Episode 8: Death's Pale Flag (Pt.2 of 2)

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Unexplained Season four, episode eight, Death's Pale Flag,

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<v Speaker 1>Part two. Stepping off the plane, Davis was hit instantly

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<v Speaker 1>by the humidity and thick, warm air, a startling contrast

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<v Speaker 1>to the dry coolness of Boston. With only a few

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<v Speaker 1>weeks to get to the bottom of the zombie phenomenon,

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<v Speaker 1>he swiftly made his way to the hotel in Porto

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<v Speaker 1>Prance before making a phone call to the residence of

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<v Speaker 1>his first contact, Max Beauvoir. The forty five year old

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<v Speaker 1>Beauvoir was born in Haiti and later educated in the

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<v Speaker 1>United States and France, where he studied chemistry, eventually settling

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<v Speaker 1>in Massachusetts to work as a chemical engineer. The death

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<v Speaker 1>of his father, however, led him back to his home land,

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<v Speaker 1>where in nineteen seventy three he trained to become a

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<v Speaker 1>voodoo priest, also known as a houngen. The next year,

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<v Speaker 1>Bauvois established a temple in his home, which had since

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<v Speaker 1>become known for the elaborate foodoo ceremonies he conducted there.

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<v Speaker 1>Pulling up to Bouvoir's home, Davis was greeted by the

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<v Speaker 1>man himself, dressed sharply in a white linen shirt, having

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<v Speaker 1>been expecting the young ethnobotanist, Bauvois showed Davis around his

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<v Speaker 1>house before offering him a seat in the garden to

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<v Speaker 1>discuss the matter at hand. Beauvois was entreged by Davis

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<v Speaker 1>in Kline's assumption that it was some kind of potion

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<v Speaker 1>or poison that enabled the zombie state of which they

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<v Speaker 1>had heard so much. You don't agree, asked Davis. Bauvois

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<v Speaker 1>smiled to himself in response and looked off into the

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<v Speaker 1>palm trees that surrounded his garden. If you're trying to

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<v Speaker 1>find a poison, mister Davis, you will be a long

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<v Speaker 1>time looking for it. As Bouvois went on to explain,

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<v Speaker 1>it wasn't a poison that created the zombie state, it

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<v Speaker 1>was the magic of the bocor the voodoo sorcerer that

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<v Speaker 1>created it. Bauvois laughed at the look of surprise on

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<v Speaker 1>Davis's face and invited him to a ceremony he was

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<v Speaker 1>conducting in his home that night. Perhaps then he thought

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<v Speaker 1>Davis might get a better idea of just what exactly

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<v Speaker 1>he was dealing with. Later that night, after arriving at

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<v Speaker 1>Bouvoir's home, Davis was whizzed through to a dark, tortulit

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<v Speaker 1>courtyard crammed full of people from every corner of the earth,

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<v Speaker 1>from simple tourists to academics, and even some French sailors

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<v Speaker 1>who had newly arrived at the local port. All had

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<v Speaker 1>come to the ceremony for which beau Noir had become

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<v Speaker 1>increasingly infamous. Davis was led toward a table at the

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<v Speaker 1>back at which Boboir was sitting, nodding to his guest

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<v Speaker 1>to take a seat. Davis was just about to speak

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<v Speaker 1>when the frantic shaking of a rattle was heard from

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<v Speaker 1>the other side of the courtyard. Moments later, a hounds

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<v Speaker 1>dis appeared a female initiate of the temple, followed by

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<v Speaker 1>a mambo, a voodoo and priestess, and together they began

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<v Speaker 1>an elaborate ritual to invoke the voodoo spirits. Moments later,

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<v Speaker 1>Bauoir himself got up to join them, holding his own

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<v Speaker 1>rattle aloft. He proceeded to deliver a prayer, shaking the

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<v Speaker 1>rattle as he read. An ominous dumping of drums soon

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<v Speaker 1>followed as more initiates joined the throng, who seemed to

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<v Speaker 1>quickly become taken over by the rhythm. Until finally one

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<v Speaker 1>of them appeared to become possessed by a spirit. Davis

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<v Speaker 1>watched an astonishment as she tore across the courtyard, lifting

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<v Speaker 1>men into the air, chewing down on glass tumblers, and

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<v Speaker 1>at one point tearing the head off a live dove

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<v Speaker 1>with her bare teeth. The ceremony continued throughout the night,

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<v Speaker 1>becoming increasingly chaotic, before finally ending with one supposedly possessed

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<v Speaker 1>an isship taking a hot coal from an open fire

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<v Speaker 1>and keeping it in her mouth for over three minutes.

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<v Speaker 1>Davis left soon after, utterly perplexed by what he had seen.

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<v Speaker 1>Though he had little doubt that Bovoirs shows were greatly

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<v Speaker 1>hammed up for the tourists who paid good money to

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<v Speaker 1>see them, what he couldn't deny was that he had

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<v Speaker 1>just seen a woman holding a burning piece of coal

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<v Speaker 1>in her mouth for three minutes without injury. The following morning,

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<v Speaker 1>Davis rose early, his thoughts still consumed by the events

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<v Speaker 1>of the previous night, having spoken to Bovoir, only to

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<v Speaker 1>be left with more questions than he had before. It

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<v Speaker 1>was time to pay a visit to the Bocor Marcel Pierre.

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<v Speaker 1>Back in the early fifties, the BBC had been making

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<v Speaker 1>a documentary about Haitian culture and had managed to convince

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<v Speaker 1>Pierre to provide them with some voodoo poison. It was

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<v Speaker 1>this poison that doctor Klein had tested on rhesus monkeys,

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<v Speaker 1>finding it to have severe paralyzing properties, which he also

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<v Speaker 1>believed to be the most likely source of the zombie myth.

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<v Speaker 1>Traveling with Bouvoir's daughter Rachel as an interpreter, Davis made

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<v Speaker 1>his way out of the docks at porto' prance and

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<v Speaker 1>headed north into the countryside. After two hours, traveling through

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<v Speaker 1>thick green cane fields and scrub lands, they arrived at

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<v Speaker 1>the small coastal town of Saint Mark. As a local bacorp,

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<v Speaker 1>Marcel Pierre was well known for offering a range of

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<v Speaker 1>different services provided the price was right, though it wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>one he was especially open about. It was believed that

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<v Speaker 1>creating zombies was just one such service. Arriving at his

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<v Speaker 1>house just after midday, Rachel explained to Pierre that Davis

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<v Speaker 1>was a very discreet and influential man from New York

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<v Speaker 1>who was hoping to procure his services. Having convinced Pierre

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<v Speaker 1>that he was legitimate and that he was willing to

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<v Speaker 1>pay any price, The bocorp eventually agreed to let the

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<v Speaker 1>pair into his home. As Davis explained, he was interested

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<v Speaker 1>specifically in the potion used to make a zombie and

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<v Speaker 1>wondered if it might be possible to see an example

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<v Speaker 1>of it. Pierre paused for a moment, then beckoned for

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<v Speaker 1>the pair to follow him, leading them through his house

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<v Speaker 1>and into his makeshift temple come apothecary at the back

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<v Speaker 1>of it. The room was small and almost completely unlit,

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<v Speaker 1>at the center of which stood an altar covered in

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<v Speaker 1>lots of different artifacts. Strange things were littered about the place,

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<v Speaker 1>including bright colored powders in jars, an abundance of feathers,

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<v Speaker 1>and a variety of doll's heads, as well as three skulls,

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<v Speaker 1>one being a dog and the other two human. Picking

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<v Speaker 1>up a small bottle containing some kind of oil, he

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<v Speaker 1>poured it onto his hands and other exposed body parts,

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<v Speaker 1>asking the others to do the same. Then he plucked

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<v Speaker 1>a small white bottle from a shelf, wrapped a cloth

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<v Speaker 1>around his mouth and nose, then showed them the light

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<v Speaker 1>brown powder inside it. Returning to the front of the house,

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<v Speaker 1>Pierre gave his price for the full service, as well

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<v Speaker 1>as making the potion and then the zombie. Davis agreed

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<v Speaker 1>to the price on one condition that he be allowed

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<v Speaker 1>to watch Pierre putting the potion together. Though reluctant at first,

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<v Speaker 1>Pierre nodded back in agreement. Having arrived early at Pierre's

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<v Speaker 1>home the next day, Davis and Rachel Beauvoir were taken

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<v Speaker 1>to a local cemetery. However, since Davis had no formal

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<v Speaker 1>permission to be there, two local military guards prevented the

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<v Speaker 1>group from entering. Unsure what they were doing there in

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<v Speaker 1>the first place, Pierre explained that the first ingredient they

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<v Speaker 1>needed was a sample of human bone. It wouldn't be

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<v Speaker 1>a problem, however, since he had plenty to go around

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<v Speaker 1>back at his home. For the rest of the day,

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<v Speaker 1>the three traveled about the local countryside, procuring the various

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<v Speaker 1>items needed to make the zombie potion. Having bought various

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<v Speaker 1>multicolored talks from a local chemist and gathered some leaves

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<v Speaker 1>from a vacant field, the three of them eventually returned

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<v Speaker 1>to Pierre's temple. There, Davis watched carefully as Pierre measured

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<v Speaker 1>out the ingredients, grinding them down in a pestle and

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<v Speaker 1>mortar before topping it all off with some shavings of

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<v Speaker 1>human skull. A short time later, he handed the ethnobotanist

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<v Speaker 1>a small jar of dark green powder. Returning to Max

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<v Speaker 1>Bovoir's house later that day, the houndund confirmed what Davis

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<v Speaker 1>already knew. The powder was completely useless. It was a

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<v Speaker 1>scam concocted by Pierre for gullible Westerners looking for the

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<v Speaker 1>apparent zombie potion. Having thought a little more on doctor

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<v Speaker 1>Klein's theory that some kind of natural, possibly plant based

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<v Speaker 1>substance was responsible for the zombie effect, Davis wondered if

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<v Speaker 1>it had something to do with the datura plant, a

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<v Speaker 1>plant well known to be psychoactive that was commonly used

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<v Speaker 1>in West Africa as a stupefying poison. Davis also knew

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<v Speaker 1>that the effects of datura could be neutralized by the calabarbane,

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<v Speaker 1>which might explain how the apparent zombies were first created

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<v Speaker 1>and then supposedly resurrected. Despite spending the next few days

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<v Speaker 1>searching high and low for any sign of those plants,

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<v Speaker 1>Davis found little evidence for them. Having spent almost a

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<v Speaker 1>week by now in Haiti, Davis felt no closer to

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<v Speaker 1>finding what he came for it was time to get

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<v Speaker 1>in touch with the last of doctor Clent's contacts, the

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<v Speaker 1>psychiatrist and his former student, Lamarque dor June. Since studying undeclined,

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<v Speaker 1>Doyjune had risen to become Haiti's leading psychiatrist and often

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<v Speaker 1>found his Western medical training clashing with Haitian culture, and

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<v Speaker 1>rarely more so than on the topic of zombies. Like

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<v Speaker 1>most Haitians, as a child, doy June had been equally

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<v Speaker 1>terrified and fascinated by the stories of the brain dead

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<v Speaker 1>creatures stalking the land. However, he had never once believed

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<v Speaker 1>it to be anything other than just old folk tales.

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<v Speaker 1>All that changed when he enrolled at McGill University. It

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<v Speaker 1>was at McGill, under the guidance of controversial psychiatrist Professor

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<v Speaker 1>Ewan Cameron, that many of the CIA's mk Ultra trials

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<v Speaker 1>were conducted. Project mk Ultra was the code name given

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<v Speaker 1>to a program of experiments undertaken by the United States

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<v Speaker 1>highly secretive Central Intelligence Agency. Though the CIA have now

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<v Speaker 1>admitted to the existence of the program, there is doubtless

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<v Speaker 1>much about it that we will never know. What is known, however,

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<v Speaker 1>was that the project was a mind control program. Utilizing

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<v Speaker 1>the use of psychotropic drugs, often using large quantities of

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<v Speaker 1>LSD to conduct brainwashing experiments. These experiments were conducted largely

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<v Speaker 1>on human test subjects, and Doyoune is thought to be

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<v Speaker 1>one of the many researchers who participated in the program.

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<v Speaker 1>What Doyoune observed during these experiments reminded him precisely of

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<v Speaker 1>the accounts he had heard of zombies since he was

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<v Speaker 1>a child. It was only then that he realized the

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<v Speaker 1>stories might not be completely bogars after all. Though he

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<v Speaker 1>had little time for the supernatural. Like client, Doyjune believed

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<v Speaker 1>it could well be possible that some kind of agent

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<v Speaker 1>was being used to dramatically slow a victim's metabolism to

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<v Speaker 1>make them appear dead. The victim could then even be

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<v Speaker 1>buried for a few hours before somehow being reawakened later on.

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<v Speaker 1>Doyune's best guess was that it had something to do

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<v Speaker 1>with what locals referred to as the zombie cucumber. Davis

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<v Speaker 1>recognized this immediately as another term for the datura plant.

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<v Speaker 1>Despite Doyune and Kline's theory, Davis was beginning to wonder

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<v Speaker 1>if the whole zombie phenomena wasn't just a myth after all.

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<v Speaker 1>At that Doyjune left the room, reappearing moments later with

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<v Speaker 1>two of his current patients suggesting that they might be

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<v Speaker 1>the best people to talk about it. One was a

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<v Speaker 1>middle aged woman whom Doyune introduced as Femt. The other

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<v Speaker 1>Davis recognized instantly from the polaroid he had been given

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<v Speaker 1>back in doctor Kleine's apartment. It was none other than

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<v Speaker 1>Clervius nar Cease. That afternoon, Davis sat quietly as Clervius

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<v Speaker 1>tried his best to explain just what exactly had happened

0:14:21.480 --> 0:14:27.800
<v Speaker 1>to him. Are you always taking care of your family?

0:14:28.120 --> 0:14:30.480
<v Speaker 1>Do you often take care of others and not yourself?

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<v Speaker 1>Now it's time to take care of yourself, to make

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<v Speaker 1>time for you. You deserve it. TELEDOC gives you access

0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:40.320
<v Speaker 1>to a licensed therapist to help you get back to

0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:44.720
<v Speaker 1>feeling your best, to feeling like yourself again. With TELEDOC,

0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:47.920
<v Speaker 1>you can speak to a licensed therapist by phone or video.

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<v Speaker 1>Therapy appointments are available seven days a week from seven

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<v Speaker 1>am to nine pm local time. If you feel overwhelmed

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes maybe you feel stressed or anxious, depressed or lonely,

0:15:00.680 --> 0:15:03.640
<v Speaker 1>or you might be struggling with a personal or family issue,

0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:09.200
<v Speaker 1>teledoc can help. Teledoc is committed to facilitating great therapeutic matches,

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<v Speaker 1>so they make it easy to change counselors if needed.

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<v Speaker 1>For free teledoc therapy is available through most insurance or employers.

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<v Speaker 1>Download the app or visit teledoc dot com forward slash

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<v Speaker 1>Unexplained podcast today to get started. That's teladoc dot com

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<v Speaker 1>slash Unexplained podcast. Back in April nineteen sixty two, Clavius

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<v Speaker 1>had rarely been sick in all his life when one

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<v Speaker 1>morning he felt suddenly weak and nauseous, and by the

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<v Speaker 1>afternoon he was struggling to breathe. Realizing he was in

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<v Speaker 1>serious trouble, he arranged a lift to the nearest hospital.

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<v Speaker 1>On arrival, by which time he was now coughing up blood.

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<v Speaker 1>He was rushed through to a bed and immediately examined

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<v Speaker 1>by the doctors. Despite being unable to diagnose his symptoms,

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<v Speaker 1>Clavius was admitted straight away and treated for a pulmonary

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<v Speaker 1>edema and hypertension. As his condition got worse over the

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<v Speaker 1>next few days, Clavius began to feel as if he

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<v Speaker 1>were drifting continually in and out of a dream, until

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<v Speaker 1>finally he found that he could no longer move at all.

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<v Speaker 1>At some point, though he couldn't see or feel anything,

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<v Speaker 1>he was able to hear the doctors rushing about his

0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:40.160
<v Speaker 1>bed before coming to a stop. Suddenly. Then he heard

0:16:40.160 --> 0:16:44.800
<v Speaker 1>a voice pronouncing him dead. Next he heard the sound

0:16:44.800 --> 0:16:48.800
<v Speaker 1>of someone weeping, recognizing it as his youngest sister, who

0:16:48.840 --> 0:16:53.119
<v Speaker 1>had been sat at his bedside the whole time. Clavius

0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:56.800
<v Speaker 1>had vague recollections of being lifted and placed into a box,

0:16:57.480 --> 0:17:01.560
<v Speaker 1>then feeling something tugging at his face. He later discovered

0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:04.159
<v Speaker 1>this to have been a nail driven into the coffin

0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:09.320
<v Speaker 1>lid and all the way through his cheek. Soon after

0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:13.880
<v Speaker 1>that was a peculiar sensation of floating down, followed by

0:17:13.880 --> 0:17:17.119
<v Speaker 1>hearing the clattering of what he later realized with shovel

0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:22.360
<v Speaker 1>loads of dirt raining down on top of him. At

0:17:22.400 --> 0:17:26.480
<v Speaker 1>some point, Clervius became aware that he was no longer underground.

0:17:27.400 --> 0:17:31.280
<v Speaker 1>Pulled up into fresh air, he was beaten and bundled

0:17:31.280 --> 0:17:34.879
<v Speaker 1>into a vehicle, then driven to a plantation thirty miles

0:17:34.920 --> 0:17:38.719
<v Speaker 1>to the north of where he had been buried. Clervius

0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:41.600
<v Speaker 1>then claimed he toiled away for years as a slave

0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:46.119
<v Speaker 1>on the plantation from sunset to sunrise, surviving only on

0:17:46.200 --> 0:17:49.400
<v Speaker 1>just one meal a day alongside a host of other

0:17:49.480 --> 0:17:54.240
<v Speaker 1>zombies just like himself. Though he missed his home and

0:17:54.359 --> 0:17:58.880
<v Speaker 1>family desperately, he seemed incapable of making any decisions for himself.

0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:02.880
<v Speaker 1>It was like he had been suspended in a permanent nightmare.

0:18:04.240 --> 0:18:07.520
<v Speaker 1>It wouldn't be until ten years later that Clervius finally

0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:10.840
<v Speaker 1>managed to escape after one of the captives killed the

0:18:10.920 --> 0:18:15.439
<v Speaker 1>bacor who was running the plantation. With their master gone,

0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:20.840
<v Speaker 1>the captives and their various lethargic states slowly dispersed and

0:18:20.960 --> 0:18:25.520
<v Speaker 1>eventually found their ways home. As his senses slowly came

0:18:25.560 --> 0:18:28.760
<v Speaker 1>back to him, Clervius realized that it was most likely

0:18:28.800 --> 0:18:31.200
<v Speaker 1>his brother, who he had fallen out with over a

0:18:31.320 --> 0:18:34.360
<v Speaker 1>land dispute, that had been responsible for turning him into

0:18:34.400 --> 0:18:38.080
<v Speaker 1>a zombie. It wasn't until he found out his brother

0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:41.640
<v Speaker 1>had died that Clavius was finally able to return home.

0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:52.040
<v Speaker 1>It was clear to Davis that Clervius and fem T,

0:18:52.720 --> 0:18:56.160
<v Speaker 1>whose own story was equally harrowing, were not making any

0:18:56.200 --> 0:18:59.800
<v Speaker 1>of it up. Having relayed his findings to Max Bove,

0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:03.919
<v Speaker 1>only to again be frustrated by the Houngund's unwillingness to

0:19:04.000 --> 0:19:09.800
<v Speaker 1>divulge more information, Davis decided to pay Marcel Pierre another visit.

0:19:11.640 --> 0:19:13.960
<v Speaker 1>Finding Pierre at a local bar that he owned in

0:19:14.000 --> 0:19:17.480
<v Speaker 1>Saint Mark, Davis accused him of making a bogus potion

0:19:17.560 --> 0:19:20.720
<v Speaker 1>for him and questioned whether he was a real boucour

0:19:21.000 --> 0:19:26.240
<v Speaker 1>at all. Angered by the slight, Pierre offered Davis another

0:19:26.320 --> 0:19:29.679
<v Speaker 1>vial of the apparent potion, challenging him to apply it

0:19:29.720 --> 0:19:32.520
<v Speaker 1>to himself if he really thought he was a charlatan.

0:19:33.960 --> 0:19:38.520
<v Speaker 1>Davis Duie obliged, pouring the powder onto his arm, only

0:19:38.560 --> 0:19:41.440
<v Speaker 1>to pull it away at the last minute without Pierre noticing.

0:19:42.880 --> 0:19:47.440
<v Speaker 1>Impressed by Davis's show of courage, Pierre relented and agreed

0:19:47.480 --> 0:19:52.760
<v Speaker 1>to show him how it was really made. Shortly after midnight,

0:19:53.240 --> 0:19:56.119
<v Speaker 1>just to the north of Saint Mark, with the rumble

0:19:56.119 --> 0:20:01.840
<v Speaker 1>of thunder coming from somewhere within the dark, thick clouds above, Davis, Pierre,

0:20:02.119 --> 0:20:04.679
<v Speaker 1>and three of his helpers made their way to a

0:20:04.760 --> 0:20:09.679
<v Speaker 1>nearby cemetery as lightning flashed intermittently in the sky above.

0:20:10.359 --> 0:20:13.760
<v Speaker 1>One of the helpers, Shone, brought a spade down into

0:20:13.840 --> 0:20:17.920
<v Speaker 1>the earth and proceeded to shovel away at it until Finally,

0:20:18.240 --> 0:20:21.840
<v Speaker 1>a small coffin was revealed, having been buried there only

0:20:21.880 --> 0:20:27.000
<v Speaker 1>a month or so before. Inside it lay the decomposed

0:20:27.040 --> 0:20:30.359
<v Speaker 1>body of a small child, still wearing the bonnet and

0:20:30.440 --> 0:20:36.000
<v Speaker 1>dress she had been buried in three days later. Now

0:20:36.040 --> 0:20:40.600
<v Speaker 1>back in Pierre's temple, Davis watched as Jean crushed the

0:20:40.640 --> 0:20:43.439
<v Speaker 1>skull of the dead infant and placed the pieces in

0:20:43.480 --> 0:20:48.959
<v Speaker 1>a jar. Davis returned again later that night as Pierre

0:20:49.040 --> 0:20:53.679
<v Speaker 1>prepared a grille, which was then lit on fire, pouring

0:20:53.680 --> 0:20:57.160
<v Speaker 1>alcohol over his skin. Pierre then set that alight too,

0:20:57.520 --> 0:21:01.960
<v Speaker 1>and instructed the others to do the same. Johan placed

0:21:02.040 --> 0:21:04.600
<v Speaker 1>the jar of skull pieces on the ground next to

0:21:04.640 --> 0:21:07.879
<v Speaker 1>the grill, while Pierre pulled a sack down from a

0:21:07.920 --> 0:21:12.960
<v Speaker 1>nearby table and removed from it two freshly killed lizards

0:21:12.960 --> 0:21:16.439
<v Speaker 1>and a large dead toad which had been flattened and dried.

0:21:17.520 --> 0:21:20.320
<v Speaker 1>Wrapped around its leg appeared to be some kind of

0:21:20.440 --> 0:21:23.640
<v Speaker 1>dried sea snake, all of which was placed on top

0:21:23.640 --> 0:21:26.840
<v Speaker 1>of the grill. Added to which were two types of fish,

0:21:27.400 --> 0:21:31.879
<v Speaker 1>of which Davis recognized one as a puffer fish. The

0:21:31.920 --> 0:21:34.359
<v Speaker 1>bones of the child's skull were then placed over the

0:21:34.400 --> 0:21:39.560
<v Speaker 1>hot coals and roasted until they turned black as the

0:21:39.640 --> 0:21:43.280
<v Speaker 1>various elements cooked. John took a human tibia from the

0:21:43.320 --> 0:21:46.760
<v Speaker 1>side and grated it into a cup before adding it

0:21:46.840 --> 0:21:49.960
<v Speaker 1>to a large pescelin mortar along with the pieces of

0:21:50.000 --> 0:21:54.119
<v Speaker 1>all the cooked ingredients. Finally, some plants were added to

0:21:54.160 --> 0:21:59.120
<v Speaker 1>the mix, a species of albitsia known as chachar in Haiti,

0:21:59.440 --> 0:22:02.760
<v Speaker 1>and the other being one known locally as the itching

0:22:02.840 --> 0:22:09.040
<v Speaker 1>p As Jeanne pounded at the mixture, Pierre, who never

0:22:09.160 --> 0:22:12.640
<v Speaker 1>once touched it, lay back in the shade and shouted

0:22:12.640 --> 0:22:17.479
<v Speaker 1>out instructions. With the mixture almost ready, he began to

0:22:17.520 --> 0:22:28.920
<v Speaker 1>sing until the process was complete. Having carefully noted down

0:22:29.280 --> 0:22:33.199
<v Speaker 1>everything he'd seen, Davis was satisfied he had everything he

0:22:33.280 --> 0:22:37.480
<v Speaker 1>needed to take back Decline, with the exception of one thing.

0:22:38.880 --> 0:22:41.879
<v Speaker 1>If this was the potion that induced the deathlike state,

0:22:42.480 --> 0:22:45.159
<v Speaker 1>what did Pierre use as the antidote to bring the

0:22:45.240 --> 0:22:49.760
<v Speaker 1>victims out of it and keep them zombified? But Pierre

0:22:49.920 --> 0:22:53.560
<v Speaker 1>was confused. The only antidote he made was to stop

0:22:53.640 --> 0:22:56.679
<v Speaker 1>people falling victim to the poison, such as what they

0:22:56.680 --> 0:22:59.600
<v Speaker 1>had rubbed on themselves before they put the ingredients together.

0:23:00.720 --> 0:23:04.680
<v Speaker 1>There was no antidote, as Pierre went on to explain,

0:23:05.560 --> 0:23:08.760
<v Speaker 1>After the poison was administered and the victim had appeared

0:23:08.800 --> 0:23:13.280
<v Speaker 1>to have died, the bacoorp merely entered the cemetery and

0:23:13.440 --> 0:23:17.040
<v Speaker 1>called out to the victim's name. It was their power

0:23:17.080 --> 0:23:21.560
<v Speaker 1>alone that resurrected the victims and turned them into zombies.

0:23:23.840 --> 0:23:26.280
<v Speaker 1>Realizing he had now got all he could from Pierre,

0:23:26.800 --> 0:23:30.200
<v Speaker 1>Davis thanked him for the potion and returned to his hotel.

0:23:31.640 --> 0:23:34.680
<v Speaker 1>A few days later, he was back at Harvard, clutching

0:23:34.680 --> 0:23:38.120
<v Speaker 1>the violet powder, which he hoped might finally give them

0:23:38.160 --> 0:23:43.040
<v Speaker 1>some answers. After detailing everything he discovered to doctor Kline,

0:23:43.520 --> 0:23:46.920
<v Speaker 1>the pair set about trying to isolate what ingredients might

0:23:46.960 --> 0:23:51.760
<v Speaker 1>be responsible for manifesting the zombie symptoms. The itching pea

0:23:51.800 --> 0:23:55.200
<v Speaker 1>plant was known to have psychoactive seeds, which were also

0:23:55.280 --> 0:23:59.679
<v Speaker 1>used in Columbia to treat cholera and parasites. The other

0:24:00.560 --> 0:24:03.399
<v Speaker 1>Alpitsia lebeck, was known to have been used as a

0:24:03.400 --> 0:24:07.800
<v Speaker 1>fish poison by some tribes in West Africa, but more significantly,

0:24:08.320 --> 0:24:12.800
<v Speaker 1>it could also interfere with respiration. The lizards and the

0:24:12.840 --> 0:24:15.960
<v Speaker 1>sea snake, which turned out to be a worm, had

0:24:16.000 --> 0:24:21.720
<v Speaker 1>no apparent psychoactive properties. The toad, however, which was identified

0:24:21.720 --> 0:24:26.480
<v Speaker 1>as a Buffo Marinus was highly venomous. Its secretions not

0:24:26.600 --> 0:24:30.080
<v Speaker 1>only contained powerful heart stimulants that could have been responsible

0:24:30.119 --> 0:24:36.439
<v Speaker 1>for Clavius's hypertension, but was also potentially hallucinogenic, none of

0:24:36.480 --> 0:24:41.479
<v Speaker 1>which was particularly revelatory to Davis and Kline. Certainly, there

0:24:41.560 --> 0:24:44.880
<v Speaker 1>was nothing there that could account for the extraordinary experience

0:24:44.960 --> 0:24:50.720
<v Speaker 1>detailed by Clavius and other apparent sufferers of zombification. But

0:24:50.880 --> 0:24:56.520
<v Speaker 1>then they discovered something else. It had been almost a

0:24:56.520 --> 0:24:59.520
<v Speaker 1>week since Davis sent the fish off to be analyzed,

0:25:00.119 --> 0:25:03.320
<v Speaker 1>but it was well worth the weight. Though one of

0:25:03.359 --> 0:25:06.960
<v Speaker 1>them was completely irrelevant, the other, which was indeed a

0:25:06.960 --> 0:25:11.200
<v Speaker 1>puffer fish, was found to contain high levels of tetrodotoxin,

0:25:11.960 --> 0:25:16.560
<v Speaker 1>a highly effective nerve toxin. In fact, according to the

0:25:16.560 --> 0:25:19.800
<v Speaker 1>analyst who had picked it up, if you're looking for

0:25:19.840 --> 0:25:24.120
<v Speaker 1>something to induce paralysis in a human, there was nothing stronger.

0:25:31.640 --> 0:25:34.560
<v Speaker 1>Though Davis hadn't thought about it at the time. There

0:25:34.560 --> 0:25:38.000
<v Speaker 1>existed a vast number of accounts of puffer fish poisoning,

0:25:38.480 --> 0:25:42.280
<v Speaker 1>with most coming from Japan, where the fish, known there

0:25:42.320 --> 0:25:47.920
<v Speaker 1>as fugu, is considered a high delicacy. In preparing fugu,

0:25:48.400 --> 0:25:51.240
<v Speaker 1>chefs are supposed to remove most of its poison to

0:25:51.359 --> 0:25:55.040
<v Speaker 1>make it non lethal, while leaving just enough to create

0:25:55.080 --> 0:25:59.000
<v Speaker 1>a mild sense of euphoria when eating it, It doesn't

0:25:59.040 --> 0:26:04.119
<v Speaker 1>always go to Tetrodotoxin is thought to be one hundred

0:26:04.200 --> 0:26:08.800
<v Speaker 1>and sixty thousand times stronger than cocaine, while a single

0:26:09.000 --> 0:26:12.720
<v Speaker 1>pinhead sized dose of it is five hundred times stronger

0:26:12.840 --> 0:26:18.400
<v Speaker 1>than cyanide. Victims of FuGO poisoning, at least those who

0:26:18.400 --> 0:26:22.480
<v Speaker 1>are fortunate enough to survive it, will remain completely paralyzed

0:26:22.520 --> 0:26:26.880
<v Speaker 1>for hours, unable to speak or move, despite being conscious

0:26:26.960 --> 0:26:32.359
<v Speaker 1>the entire time. Furthermore, some individuals having entered such a

0:26:32.400 --> 0:26:35.800
<v Speaker 1>state are known to have been certified dead, even being

0:26:35.880 --> 0:26:43.200
<v Speaker 1>nailed into coffins, before suddenly seeming to miraculously revive. Davis

0:26:43.400 --> 0:26:47.600
<v Speaker 1>was ecstatic. It seemed finally they had solved the mystery

0:26:47.920 --> 0:26:51.880
<v Speaker 1>of how someone might appear dead only to be later resurrected.

0:26:53.359 --> 0:26:56.520
<v Speaker 1>Davis speculated that the poison could be easily rubbed onto

0:26:56.560 --> 0:27:00.520
<v Speaker 1>a victim's skin, leading to feelings of nausea and difficulty

0:27:00.520 --> 0:27:05.400
<v Speaker 1>in breathing within hours. Within six hours, a victim's metabolism

0:27:05.440 --> 0:27:09.280
<v Speaker 1>could be so significantly lowered that their vital signs become

0:27:09.359 --> 0:27:16.119
<v Speaker 1>indistinguishable from death. There was only one problem. None of

0:27:16.119 --> 0:27:20.360
<v Speaker 1>this explained how an individual, having been poisoned was then

0:27:20.440 --> 0:27:24.640
<v Speaker 1>turned into an apparent zombie. Though Davis had his theories,

0:27:25.000 --> 0:27:29.760
<v Speaker 1>he would ultimately never discover the answer. Despite having countless

0:27:29.800 --> 0:27:34.439
<v Speaker 1>opportunities to witness the apparent resurrection ceremony, there was always

0:27:34.440 --> 0:27:37.960
<v Speaker 1>the possibility he would merely have been witnessing an expensive

0:27:38.000 --> 0:27:42.520
<v Speaker 1>contric or worse, that by requesting to see it, he

0:27:42.560 --> 0:27:46.000
<v Speaker 1>would then be responsible for turning someone into a zombie.

0:27:47.800 --> 0:27:50.719
<v Speaker 1>A few years after returning from his first trip to Haiti,

0:27:51.280 --> 0:27:54.600
<v Speaker 1>Wade Davis detailed the full account of his experiences there

0:27:54.920 --> 0:27:58.480
<v Speaker 1>in his book The Serpent and the Rainbow, which was

0:27:58.520 --> 0:28:02.040
<v Speaker 1>also used as the basis Wes Craven's fictional horror film

0:28:02.080 --> 0:28:11.159
<v Speaker 1>of the same name. If you enjoy listening to Unexplained

0:28:11.400 --> 0:28:13.800
<v Speaker 1>and would like to help support us, you can now

0:28:13.880 --> 0:28:19.480
<v Speaker 1>go to Unexplained podcast dot com forward slash support. All donations,

0:28:19.640 --> 0:28:24.880
<v Speaker 1>no matter how large or small, are massively appreciated. All

0:28:24.920 --> 0:28:28.679
<v Speaker 1>elements of Unexplained are produced by me, Richard McClain Smith.

0:28:29.480 --> 0:28:32.680
<v Speaker 1>Please subscribe and rate the show on iTunes, and feel

0:28:32.680 --> 0:28:35.080
<v Speaker 1>free to get in touch with any thoughts or ideas

0:28:35.119 --> 0:28:38.680
<v Speaker 1>regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you

0:28:38.720 --> 0:28:40.960
<v Speaker 1>have an explanation of your own you'd like to share.

0:28:42.360 --> 0:28:46.280
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