1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,440 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales right 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:16,640 Speaker 1: there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome 4 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Sometime around nineteen fourteen, Walter 5 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 1: traveled across the Atlantic with thousands of other brave Canadians 6 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:35,200 Speaker 1: to join the fight at the start of World War One. 7 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:38,000 Speaker 1: For many, it would be a one way trip, but 8 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:41,560 Speaker 1: Walter managed to stay alive for four straight years. In fact, 9 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:45,240 Speaker 1: no bullet or landmine would send him home. In nineteen eighteen, No, 10 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:49,400 Speaker 1: that would be blamed on something far more strange. He 11 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 1: was on patrol in the area of Belgium known as 12 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: Flanders Fields when a bolt of lightning flashed out of 13 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: the sky and struck him off his horse. When his 14 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: fellow soldiers found him, he was laying in the mud 15 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: beside his dead horse, and half his body had been paralyzed. 16 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 1: As a result. He was put on the next ship 17 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: back to Canada to begin his recovery process. It would 18 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: take Major Walter Somerford many years to become self sufficient, 19 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: eventually learning to walk with the help of a cane. 20 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:21,560 Speaker 1: But he was still young, still drawn to adventure and 21 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:24,280 Speaker 1: still full of life. So when a group of his 22 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: friends decided in nineteen twenty four to hike into the 23 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: mountains to fish in a nearby lake, Walter happily joined them. 24 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 1: I imagine the steep hike was grueling for him, but 25 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: he kept up. Walter was a fighter, after all, But 26 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 1: when they arrived at the lake, he decided to take 27 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: a seat while his friends unloaded their gear and set 28 00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:46,880 Speaker 1: up camp. Right near the water's edge was a tall tree, 29 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:49,919 Speaker 1: so he sat himself down against it under the shade 30 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: of the branches, But the sun quickly faded away as 31 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 1: a storm rolled in. When Walter his friends found him, 32 00:01:57,640 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: he was laying on his side at the base of 33 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: the tree, trembling and in pain. The tree itself told 34 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: them everything they needed to know. A dark, smoldering streak 35 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 1: ran down the bark from high above all the way 36 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 1: to the ground. It had been a lightning strike, and Walter, 37 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: against all odds, had been struck again, just like the 38 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 1: first time. Walter seemed to have been paralyzed by it, 39 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: and as a result spent a long while in the 40 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:27,400 Speaker 1: hospital doing his best to recover. It took him two 41 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: years before he could walk again. But he did it. 42 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 1: Like I said, he was a fighter and giving up 43 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:38,839 Speaker 1: wasn't an option, so he pressed onward in life. As 44 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: the story goes, Walter took a trip to a park 45 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: in Vancouver in the summer of nineteen thirty. He was 46 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: probably there with family or maybe those same fishing buddies. 47 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 1: We don't really know, but I have a feeling you 48 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 1: could guess what happened next. Right against all the laws 49 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: of probability, Walter Somerford was struck by lightning for the 50 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:01,680 Speaker 1: third time in his life. They say this one was 51 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 1: the worst, or perhaps it was just so devastating because 52 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:06,920 Speaker 1: it was the third time in twelve years that it 53 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 1: had happened. Whatever the reason, Walter never walked again and 54 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: spent the last two years of his life in a wheelchair. 55 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:17,679 Speaker 1: When he passed away in nineteen thirty two, still very 56 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:20,240 Speaker 1: much a young man, he went to the grave as 57 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: a member of a very special club. Lightning rarely strikes twice, 58 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: but for Walter Somerford, it did that and more. You 59 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 1: would expect the story to end there, wouldn't you No more? Walter? 60 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 1: No more lightning? Right? Well, not exactly, because in nineteen 61 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 1: thirty four, Just two years after he passed away, lightning 62 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: did strike again in his hometown. Now, I know what 63 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:52,839 Speaker 1: you're thinking, without Walter, where could it possibly strike? The answer, though, 64 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: might be more obvious than you were expecting. It struck 65 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: his gravestone naturally. When the trap door of the gallows 66 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 1: was opened, the entire crowd held their breath. They were 67 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 1: about to watch an innocent man die, and there was 68 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: nothing they could do to stop it. It was February 69 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:27,480 Speaker 1: of The person on the platform was a young man 70 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:30,280 Speaker 1: named will Purvis, who had been sentenced to death by 71 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:33,359 Speaker 1: hanging for the murder of a local farmer named William Buckley. 72 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,680 Speaker 1: The trouble was Purvos claimed he was innocent. He swore 73 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:42,000 Speaker 1: to it thanks to a bit of circumstantial evidence, though 74 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 1: the jury ruled unanimously against him. Purvis was stunned. He 75 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: hadn't committed the crime, and yet no one believed him. 76 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,679 Speaker 1: Angry and bitter, he lashed out in the courtroom. I'll 77 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: live longer than a lot of you, he shouted, regardless. 78 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:01,080 Speaker 1: On a cold February day in mississip Be, Will Purvis 79 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:04,640 Speaker 1: was escorted to the gallows for his execution. He was 80 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,240 Speaker 1: led up the stairs where a noose was lowered over 81 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 1: his neck and then tightened, and then a black sack 82 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:13,080 Speaker 1: was slipped over his face. Finally, the trap door was 83 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:17,800 Speaker 1: triggered and will Purvis dropped to his death. Well sort of. 84 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:20,839 Speaker 1: He actually fell a few feet and landed on the 85 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:24,480 Speaker 1: soft grass below the platform. The crowd glanced back up 86 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:27,600 Speaker 1: at the rope and immediately spotted the reason why the 87 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:31,599 Speaker 1: noose had come untied. Sure, Purvis had a bit of 88 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:34,359 Speaker 1: rope burn around his throat, but he was alive and breathing, 89 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:39,479 Speaker 1: so the crowd went wild. The executioners tried to rebound 90 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 1: from their failed attempt. They rushed down and scooped Purvis up, 91 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:45,279 Speaker 1: and then hauled him back up to the platform, where 92 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:48,680 Speaker 1: they reset the trap door. After a moment, though, they 93 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:52,279 Speaker 1: gave up. Maybe it was the nervousness of retying a 94 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:55,520 Speaker 1: noose in front of thousands of angry onlookers. Perhaps it 95 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 1: was a desire to do things on their own terms, 96 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,480 Speaker 1: at their own pace. Maybe they could hear his words 97 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:05,160 Speaker 1: to the jury echoing in the back of their minds. Somehow, 98 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:11,039 Speaker 1: despite the odds, he had survived. So they tossed Will 99 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:14,039 Speaker 1: Purvis back in jail. He had already spent two years 100 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:16,880 Speaker 1: in prison waiting for his trial, and now he was back. 101 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:19,840 Speaker 1: He made an appeal for a new trial, but they 102 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:24,039 Speaker 1: denied him. He made another appeal and received yet another denial. 103 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:28,520 Speaker 1: This went on for two long years. All Walpurvis had 104 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:32,719 Speaker 1: to endure hard labor alongside the other prisoners. But finally, 105 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:38,599 Speaker 1: in January of eight something changed. Actually it was someone. 106 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:41,960 Speaker 1: Mississippi had elected a new governor, and when the new 107 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:46,160 Speaker 1: man and slum McLaurin took office, he changed Purvis's sentence. 108 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:50,600 Speaker 1: The executioner's noose no longer loomed in his future. Two 109 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:54,240 Speaker 1: years after that, enough evidence and public outcry had flowed 110 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: in that he was actually pardoned. Roughly six years after 111 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 1: his life fell apart, Will pervos Us was a freeman. 112 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 1: Two decades later, the true killer of William Buckley came 113 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 1: forward and confessed, closing the case for good. Purvis went 114 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:13,360 Speaker 1: on to live in another four decades. He never found 115 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:16,160 Speaker 1: himself back inside the courthouse or at the center of 116 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:19,600 Speaker 1: another murder trial. He eventually received a large payment from 117 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 1: the state as restitution for his time in prison, and 118 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 1: lived a full normal life. Will Purvis passed away in 119 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 1: nineteen forty four years after his failed execution and just 120 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 1: three days after the death of the final member of 121 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 1: his jury, Will Purvis It turns out was a man 122 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:48,920 Speaker 1: of his word. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour 123 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:53,120 Speaker 1: of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 124 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:56,760 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 125 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:01,040 Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Mankey 126 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:04,560 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award 127 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 1: winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, 128 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: and television show, and you can learn all about it 129 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,440 Speaker 1: over at the World of Lore dot com. And until 130 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.