1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,600 Speaker 1: Hey, they're constant listener. Before we dig into another curious 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: tour through the Cabinet today, I wanted to let you 3 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:08,280 Speaker 1: know about a brand new podcast we've put together called 4 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:11,719 Speaker 1: Strange Arrivals. It's a ten part journey into the weird 5 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: and unusual experiences that happened to Betty and Barney Hill 6 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:19,319 Speaker 1: back in nine, experiences that have given us just about 7 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 1: every bit of alien abduction folklore we have today, lost time, 8 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:28,320 Speaker 1: stopped watches, brightly lits exam rooms. Strange Arrivals is written 9 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,120 Speaker 1: and hosted by author Toby Ball and produced by me 10 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:33,879 Speaker 1: and the team at My Heart. The first weekly episode 11 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 1: landed on March thirty one, but it's such a fascinating 12 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:38,839 Speaker 1: ride that I wanted to make sure you didn't miss 13 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: a moment of it. Stick around after today's episode for 14 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: the Strange Arrivals trailer. You're going to love it. And 15 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:53,400 Speaker 1: now let the show begin. Our world is full of 16 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 17 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 18 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Island, 19 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:20,760 Speaker 1: living palm trees, blue waters, and coconut drinks with those 20 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:24,640 Speaker 1: little paper umbrellas in them. It all means rest and relaxation, 21 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: doesn't it. But not all islands are a sandy slice 22 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: of heaven. Most don't even exist in tropical climates. Their 23 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: environments can be too harsh for humans to live there, 24 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: or they may just be too small. That's not the 25 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:40,959 Speaker 1: case with the principality of Sea Land, though, residing off 26 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 1: the coast of Suffolk, England. Seland was founded in nineteen 27 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:47,199 Speaker 1: forty three. During World War Two, the British military used 28 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: it as the location for the first of four planned 29 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: naval forts. They called the fourth their HM Fort Roughs 30 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: or Roughs Tower. It was meant to provide defense against 31 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: Nazi aircraft that were dropping mines in local estuaries you 32 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:03,880 Speaker 1: used by supply ships at the time. Up the three 33 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: hundred Royal Navy personnel lived on the island. After the war, 34 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: they returned to their homes and Sea Land was left 35 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:14,640 Speaker 1: practically deserted, but Rough's Tower still remained. The funny thing 36 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:17,000 Speaker 1: about the island was that it was only seven nautical 37 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: miles off the coast of Suffolk, placing it just outside 38 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: United Kingdom territory. Sea Land existed in international waters. Once 39 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 1: the British Royal Navy had left Roughs Tower and the 40 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 1: island on which it stood were up for grabs. It 41 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: remained abandoned until the mid nineteen sixties, when Jack Moore 42 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: and his daughter Jane took control of the tower. They 43 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:40,960 Speaker 1: planned to use it as a new broadcast location for 44 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: a London based pirate radio station. Two years after their takeover, 45 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,640 Speaker 1: a rival pirates station owner named Roy Bates came ashore 46 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:51,799 Speaker 1: and claimed the island for his own station, Radio Essex. 47 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 1: He had been thwarted by the British government once already 48 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,600 Speaker 1: after attempting to take over another abandoned naval fort. Rather 49 00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: than get into a long drawn out fight, Jack and 50 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:04,320 Speaker 1: Jane left. Bates brought in all the equipment he needed 51 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 1: to get a station off the ground, but never used 52 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:10,799 Speaker 1: any of it. Radio Essex stalled because Bates saw an alternative. 53 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 1: He was now the de facto king of an empty island. 54 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:17,360 Speaker 1: He used his power to declare Seeland's independence from England 55 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:21,960 Speaker 1: and to start his own nation. Bates was left alone 56 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: for the most part. In nineteen sixty seven, he brought 57 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 1: along his wife Joan, his daughter Penelope, and his son 58 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 1: Michael and a few of their friends to live peacefully 59 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: on the island. However, the British government got worried to 60 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: them Sea Land was a ticking time bomb, even though 61 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:39,440 Speaker 1: Bates and his family had no intention of going to 62 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: war with the entire British military, so England deployed helicopters 63 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: to drop bombs on nearby structures as a warning. A 64 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 1: tug about carrying a crew of Navy workmen drove by 65 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: the island as well, taunting the family. Roy's son Prince Michael, 66 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:58,560 Speaker 1: fired a few warning shots in their direction. The men 67 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 1: retreated A short time later. Bates, who was still a 68 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 1: British citizen by the way, received a summons to appear 69 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: in courts. If convicted, he faced to have the penalty 70 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 1: under the British Firearms Act, but Bates no longer resided 71 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: in England. By living on an island in international waters, 72 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:18,719 Speaker 1: he'd committed no crime that could be prosecuted by English 73 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:22,719 Speaker 1: courts and was released. He and his family continued to 74 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:25,600 Speaker 1: live on Sea Land well into the nineteen seventies, when 75 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: he drafted a constitution, created a national flag, and even 76 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 1: developed Sealand's own currency. Unfortunately, someone was lying in wait 77 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: to knock him off his perch. Alexander Achenbach had worked 78 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:41,360 Speaker 1: alongside Bates early on. He was a lawyer from Germany 79 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: as well as the Prime Minister of Sealand. He'd wanted 80 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: to convert the island into a luxury resort, complete with 81 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: hotel and casino, even trying to convince Bates to join him, 82 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: but the former pirate radio DJ had no interest in 83 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 1: things like that. Achenbach took matters into his own hands. 84 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: He hired German mercenaries to infiltrate the island and captured 85 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:05,479 Speaker 1: Joan and Michael. Bates, however, had been prepared. He had 86 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: been stockpiling weapons in case of another attack, which he 87 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:11,920 Speaker 1: used against Achenbach and his men. He charged his former 88 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: friend and business partner with treason against the country, demanding 89 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 1: thirty five thousand dollars in restitution. A German diplomat traveled 90 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: to Sealand and negotiated Achenbach's return. Bates let him go 91 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:27,240 Speaker 1: and revoked his passport. Twenty years later, when it came 92 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: to light that fake Sealand passports were being issued to 93 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 1: help traffic drugs and launder money from Russia and Iraq, 94 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: the family revoked all remaining passports in circulation, but that 95 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:41,360 Speaker 1: didn't stop people from applying for passports anyway. Despite Roy's 96 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:43,839 Speaker 1: death in two thousand twelve and his wife's death in 97 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:47,560 Speaker 1: two thousand sixteen, the Principality of Seland continues to receive 98 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:51,239 Speaker 1: thousands of passport requests each year, which is pretty strange 99 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:54,640 Speaker 1: for an island that isn't even a real island. You see, 100 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:59,479 Speaker 1: Sealand wasn't discovered in ninety it was built. It was 101 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 1: actually forty ton offshore platform constructed by the British military. 102 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,920 Speaker 1: The platform itself is one sixty eight feet long by 103 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,359 Speaker 1: eight feet wide, and it sits upon two sixty ft 104 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: tall concrete columns, and those columns are hollow inside. Each 105 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 1: one is subdivided into seven floors, with each floor providing 106 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:22,719 Speaker 1: living quarters, a dining hall, and storage space for fresh 107 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 1: water and of course weapons. Sea Land may not have 108 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:30,200 Speaker 1: been a tropical haven like other islands, but two soldiers 109 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:33,159 Speaker 1: in World War Two, and of course, to the Bates family, 110 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 1: it was certainly home sweet home. In the Superman film, 111 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:54,160 Speaker 1: Lex Luthor played by Gene Hackman, tells his assistant that 112 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 1: stocks may rise and fall, Utilities and transportation systems may collapse. 113 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:02,839 Speaker 1: People are no good, but they'll always need land, and 114 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:06,599 Speaker 1: they'll pay through the nose to get it. Gregor McGregor 115 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:09,479 Speaker 1: was no lex Luthor, but he did have what everyone 116 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:13,960 Speaker 1: wanted land. He was born in Glengal, Scotland, on Christmas Eve, 117 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 1: seventeen eighties six. His father was a respected sea captain 118 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: for the East India Company, and Gregor himself was the 119 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:24,400 Speaker 1: great great nephew of Scottish folk hero Rob Roy. When 120 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: he turned sixteen, he joined the British Army, just as 121 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 1: the Napoleonic Wars were getting under way. He spent an 122 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:33,200 Speaker 1: entire year defending the town of Kent from a French invasion, 123 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,480 Speaker 1: a feat which earned him a promotion to lieutenant. It 124 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:39,560 Speaker 1: was also during this time when Gregor met Maria Bowder. 125 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 1: Her father was an admiral with the Royal Navy and 126 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 1: she came from a wealthy family. The two were married 127 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:47,680 Speaker 1: in June of eighteen o five, and Gregor returned to 128 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: the Fray. He purchased the rank of captain, a common 129 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: practice between the seventeenth and nineteen centuries, and then continued 130 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 1: to fight. Unfortunately, the fighting followed him off the battlefield. 131 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:02,120 Speaker 1: After a particular the nasty spat with a superior officer 132 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:05,400 Speaker 1: in Portugal, he was discharged and retired from the army. 133 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 1: Back at home, he and Maria moved to Edinburgh, where 134 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:12,640 Speaker 1: Gregor underwent some changes. He started calling himself a colonel 135 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: and traveling around in a colorful coach while wearing a 136 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:19,800 Speaker 1: badge associated with a Portuguese military order. When he spoke 137 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 1: to neighbors and rich elites, he referred to himself as 138 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 1: Sir Gregor McGregor, Baronet, and boasted of his relation to 139 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:30,120 Speaker 1: dukes and earls. But his domestic life, as strange as 140 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,000 Speaker 1: it had become, would be short lived. In December of 141 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:36,600 Speaker 1: eighteen eleven, Maria passed away. Along with her, also went 142 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 1: Gregor's wealth and status. For a brief moment, he considered 143 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:43,080 Speaker 1: rejoining the military, but that was made more difficult by 144 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:48,160 Speaker 1: the circumstances surrounding his prior discharge. Instead, Gregor traveled to 145 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:51,720 Speaker 1: South America, where he joined in the Venezuelan War of Independence. 146 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: General Francisco day Miranda immediately took a liking to Gregor, 147 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:58,840 Speaker 1: who had positioned himself as a soldier of fortune, and 148 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,880 Speaker 1: gave him his own allien to command during the war. 149 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 1: He also took a new wife, Josepha, and continued to 150 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,440 Speaker 1: fight on behalf of the Venezuelans during their crusade. By 151 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 1: the end, however, he was forced to retreat and eventually 152 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:14,000 Speaker 1: found his way to the Mosquito Coast in modern day 153 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: Nicaragua and Honduras. There, King George Frederick Augustus gave Gregor 154 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:22,240 Speaker 1: his own country. It was called the Poias, named for 155 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:24,880 Speaker 1: the Poyer people who lived along the nearby Black River, 156 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:29,360 Speaker 1: and then Gregor, newly crowned as Prince of Poias, returned 157 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 1: to London to the upper crust. The Prince was an 158 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:36,040 Speaker 1: exotic conversation starter. He found himself invited to dinner parties 159 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:38,920 Speaker 1: and social events, But he had also come back on 160 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:43,199 Speaker 1: a mission. The Poyers had sent him to recruit investors 161 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:45,959 Speaker 1: on their behalf. Gregor was now in charge of a 162 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,160 Speaker 1: country with its own government and a modest army. His 163 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,400 Speaker 1: hope was to wou colonists back to the Mosquito Coast 164 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:55,599 Speaker 1: and take advantage of the abundance of natural resources that 165 00:09:55,679 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 1: could provide. Gregor had come prepared with paperwork that explained 166 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: everything from the banking system to the designs of the 167 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:07,080 Speaker 1: military uniforms. There was even a coat of arms. To Gregor, 168 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:11,000 Speaker 1: Poias was perfection. It was everything a rich colonist could want, 169 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:13,480 Speaker 1: and he did his best to make them want it. 170 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:18,319 Speaker 1: He provided testimonials and pamphlets to both British and Scottish settlers, 171 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:21,920 Speaker 1: encouraging them to purchase in one hundred acre increments for 172 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:25,680 Speaker 1: eleven pounds each. He also sold commissions to the Pous 173 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:29,000 Speaker 1: Army to his fellow veterans for a sizable amounts. To 174 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 1: help sell his new venture, he hired publicists to write 175 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:36,040 Speaker 1: up ads in popular newspapers and gave interviews to local journalists. 176 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:40,080 Speaker 1: But his land wasn't just open to rich citizens and 177 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:43,520 Speaker 1: military men. He wanted British businesses and banks to set 178 00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:47,080 Speaker 1: up shop and Poias as well. Everyone was welcome and 179 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:49,880 Speaker 1: there was plenty of land to go around. He explained 180 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: it all in his three hundred fifty five page guide 181 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:56,079 Speaker 1: book titled Sketch of the Mosquito Coast, including the Territory 182 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:59,679 Speaker 1: of the Poias. The illustrations within portrayed the land as 183 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:03,200 Speaker 1: bus sailing with tradeships and fishermen. There was an opera 184 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:07,439 Speaker 1: house and even a cathedral. The first group of settlers 185 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:09,679 Speaker 1: arrived in eighteen twenty two on the shores of the 186 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:14,199 Speaker 1: Black River and were shocked, to say the least Poias was. Indeed, 187 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:17,079 Speaker 1: in sight, it just wasn't the site they were expecting. 188 00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:20,640 Speaker 1: There were no banks or opera houses anywhere. In fact, 189 00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:23,960 Speaker 1: there was almost nothing but endless jungle in all directions. 190 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:27,800 Speaker 1: The environment could not sustain livestock, and to colonize the 191 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:30,240 Speaker 1: area to make it livable would have taken much more 192 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:33,880 Speaker 1: money on top of what everyone had already spent. The 193 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:36,840 Speaker 1: Powyers couldn't help them either. They had no idea who 194 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:39,840 Speaker 1: the newcomers were or why they'd come. They hadn't sent 195 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:42,960 Speaker 1: Gregor to negotiate on their behalf. They had no army, 196 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:46,600 Speaker 1: no coat of arms, and no democratic government. As Gregor 197 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:49,840 Speaker 1: had claimed, he did procure the land from King George 198 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:52,920 Speaker 1: Frederick Augustus, as he had told his investors, but for 199 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:56,480 Speaker 1: the paltry sum of rum and jewelry. Everything else he'd 200 00:11:56,480 --> 00:12:01,199 Speaker 1: said about the country had been a lie. Gregor McGregor, 201 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:05,000 Speaker 1: the Prince of Poias, had pocketed two hundred thousand pounds 202 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 1: in one of the most successful confidence schemes ever conducted. 203 00:12:08,679 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 1: He'd sold British and Scottish settlers land in a fake country, 204 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:15,160 Speaker 1: and then disappeared to Paris to try his luck again. 205 00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:19,000 Speaker 1: The French government eventually caught on. They stopped the grift 206 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 1: from going further and caught Gregor hiding out in the 207 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:26,280 Speaker 1: French countryside. He stood trial, but was never convicted, and 208 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 1: he never learned his lesson either. He tried multiple times 209 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:32,880 Speaker 1: to recreate the scheme in different ways, procuring loans and 210 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:36,079 Speaker 1: funds from banks and hapless investors, but none of them 211 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:39,520 Speaker 1: could capture the magic of his first and most successful attempt. 212 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:43,880 Speaker 1: Many years later, Gregor eventually returned to Venezuela and was 213 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:48,120 Speaker 1: made a full citizen there. He died extremely wealthy and 214 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:51,200 Speaker 1: holds an infamous place in history as one of the 215 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 1: most successful conmen to have ever lived. I hope you've 216 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:01,439 Speaker 1: enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe 217 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:04,080 Speaker 1: for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the 218 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 1: show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was 219 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:12,760 Speaker 1: created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. 220 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:16,400 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 221 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:19,840 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 222 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:22,240 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the World of Lore 223 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:30,040 Speaker 1: dot com and until next time, stay curious. Yeah. On 224 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:35,160 Speaker 1: September six, Betty and Barney Hill cut their vacation short 225 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:38,880 Speaker 1: and decided to drive home. They were having difficulty finding 226 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:41,640 Speaker 1: their way around the city, and Barney decided he just 227 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:44,760 Speaker 1: wanted to drive home, Knowing that they would arrive at 228 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:47,760 Speaker 1: their home on New Hampshire Sea Coast at about two 229 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:50,800 Speaker 1: o'clock in the morning. What they saw that night in 230 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:55,240 Speaker 1: the New Hampshire sky would change everything. I begin walking 231 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:59,079 Speaker 1: across the highway, looking up at the object with the binoculars, 232 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:02,439 Speaker 1: putting them down, thinking my aunt's saying, this can't be true. 233 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:05,400 Speaker 1: I don't believe it. A light in the sky. At first, 234 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:07,679 Speaker 1: she thought of a falling star, but she realized that 235 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:10,959 Speaker 1: following stars don't fall upwards, and that's what this one 236 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 1: was doing. Two years later, the Hills would undergo hypnosis. 237 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:18,480 Speaker 1: How about did you regress that? I started telling, well, 238 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 1: I just look back to a starting point of Montreal. 239 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 1: A sinister story would emerge. She's trying to start the 240 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:33,160 Speaker 1: car walked stat because I think, well, I can't get 241 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:35,080 Speaker 1: away for this. I guess if I get the card 242 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:38,280 Speaker 1: or like a brother than Wits of Hide that became 243 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:41,880 Speaker 1: known the world over. Doctor Simond gave me a post 244 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:45,720 Speaker 1: upnotic suggestion. He said, if I wanted to, I could 245 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:48,120 Speaker 1: sketch the star mapp but if I didn't want it, 246 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:50,280 Speaker 1: I didn't have to. So about two weeks later I 247 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:54,800 Speaker 1: sketched it. Their account has been scrutinized under the influence 248 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:59,040 Speaker 1: of hypnosis, especially if you're highly hypnotize herbal you are 249 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:06,880 Speaker 1: even more receptible to contamination and distortion by scientists, skeptics, theorists, 250 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:10,520 Speaker 1: and believers. She wound up building a total of more 251 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:15,360 Speaker 1: than twenty three dimensional models and was able to find 252 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:20,000 Speaker 1: one and only one pattern that matched what Betty had drawn. 253 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:24,360 Speaker 1: What happened on that night journey in? Were the Hills 254 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:26,800 Speaker 1: confused about what they saw? Or did they have an 255 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:30,120 Speaker 1: encounter with beings not of this world? From My Heart 256 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 1: Radio and Aaron Manky's Grimm and Mild, this is Strange Arrivals. 257 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:38,000 Speaker 1: Listen to Strange Arrivals March thirty one on the I 258 00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:42,120 Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.