1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 1: Mythology is full of tricksters. The Norse have Loki, the 7 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 1: shape shifter god. In West African folklore, there is a Nansi, 8 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: the god of stories, knowledge and trickery. And let's not 9 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:50,200 Speaker 1: forget the Greek Prometheus who stole fire from the Olympians 10 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: to give to humanity. But of all these trickster myths, 11 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: there's one that stands out the most during the Halloween season, 12 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:59,959 Speaker 1: the Irish legend of Stingy Jack. As his name suggests, 13 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: Stingy Jack was a bit of a selfish guy. He 14 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:06,520 Speaker 1: was known for lying, stealing, and drinking. Rumors about his 15 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: vile behavior made it all the way down to the underworld, 16 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:11,960 Speaker 1: and the devil himself became fascinated by his most evil 17 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 1: of mortals. One night, Stingy Jack was taking a drunken 18 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:18,880 Speaker 1: strolled on a dark cobblestone path, and he stumbled upon 19 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:21,560 Speaker 1: what appeared to be a dead body. But Jack, a 20 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: born trickster, could not be tricked. He immediately realized that 21 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: the body was actually the Devil in disguise. Still, meeting 22 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: Satan on a deserted street was never a good thing. 23 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 1: Jack assumed the devil was there to collect his sinful 24 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 1: soul and take it down to hell. Desperate to make 25 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:40,120 Speaker 1: it out alive, Jack decided to try one final trick. 26 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:43,400 Speaker 1: He asked Lucifer for a little favor, just one last 27 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: pint of beer. Amused by Jack's insistance, Satan said sure, 28 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 1: and the pair took off toward the nearest pub. After 29 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: downing way more than a single pint, Jack revealed his secret. 30 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: He didn't have a cent on him. He needed the 31 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: devil to pay the tab. Now, being the ruler of 32 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: the under the world, Lucifer didn't find it necessary to 33 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: carry cash, but he agreed to transform himself into a 34 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:08,360 Speaker 1: coin only so Jack could pay the bill and then leave. 35 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: As soon as Satan turned into a silver medallion, Jack 36 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: grabbed the coin and stuck it in his pocket, where 37 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 1: he also happened to be carrying a crucifix and that 38 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:20,880 Speaker 1: crucifix kept Satan trapped. In order to escape, he had 39 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 1: to make a deal. In exchange for his freedom, Satan 40 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:27,079 Speaker 1: promised to spare Jack's soul for ten years. It was 41 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:29,240 Speaker 1: a good enough deal for Jack, so he pulled the 42 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: silver coin out of his pocket and he and Lucifer 43 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:35,959 Speaker 1: went their separate ways. However, Jack had learned exactly zero 44 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: lessons from his near death experience. Ten years later, he 45 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,639 Speaker 1: once again was out walking, drunk, stumbling down a cobblestone 46 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,639 Speaker 1: path when he happened upon Satan. The devil was there 47 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 1: right on time, ready to cash in on their deal. 48 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: Of course, stingy Jack had something of a contingency plan. 49 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 1: He told Lucifer that he was just so hungry, couldn't 50 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: Satan climb an apple tree and grab him a snack 51 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: before carding him off to the under world, and the 52 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 1: devil made the mistake of saying yes. He climbed in 53 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 1: nearby tree, and as he plucked an apple from its branches, 54 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: Jack placed a circle of crucifixes around the bottom. Again 55 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 1: Satan was trapped, and this time Jack made an even 56 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: bigger demand. If the devil wanted to get down, he 57 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:19,959 Speaker 1: had to promise he would never bring jack soul to Hell. 58 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 1: Lucifer really didn't have a choice, he said fine. Jack 59 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 1: moved the crucifixes and Satan he tailed it out of there, 60 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:29,600 Speaker 1: not wanting to get caught in any more bad deals 61 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: with clever mortals. Some years later, Stingy Jack, who had 62 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: lived a full life of thievery, cons and a whole 63 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 1: lot of beer, finally died. When he knocked on the 64 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 1: door of heaven, God refused to let him in. This 65 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: must have been a shock to Jack, who thought that 66 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: he had this whole afterlife thing planned out. With nowhere 67 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: else to go, he trecked down to Hell and asked 68 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 1: his old friend Lucifer to let him in, but Satan 69 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 1: said no. They had a deal. After all, Stingy Jack's 70 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:58,360 Speaker 1: soul could not enter the underworld. All the devil could 71 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 1: offer him was an ember, a tiny little piece of light. 72 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 1: So Jack had made his bed, and now he had 73 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 1: to lie in it. He took the ember and placed 74 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: it inside a hollowed out turnip, which he carried with 75 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: him as a lantern. It lit his way as his 76 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 1: soul aimlessly wandered the earth, and this was what got 77 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:19,080 Speaker 1: him the new nickname Jack of the Lantern. Now, in 78 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:22,799 Speaker 1: eighteen hundreds, Ireland people carved faces into hollowed out turnips, 79 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 1: Rudebega's beets and potatoes, and then they put candles inside. 80 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:29,240 Speaker 1: Around All Hallows Eve, when the veil between the living 81 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:31,919 Speaker 1: and the dead was thinnest, they placed the lanterns on 82 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: their porches, hoping to scare away Jack of the Lantern's 83 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 1: wayward soul. As people immigrated from Ireland to America, All 84 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:43,120 Speaker 1: Hallows Eve became Halloween, and they found a plant that 85 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,440 Speaker 1: was larger, easier to carve, and made a much better 86 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:50,280 Speaker 1: lantern pumpkins, And just like that, the Jack O' lantern 87 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,400 Speaker 1: as we know it was born. So if you're carving 88 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:56,360 Speaker 1: pumpkins this year, take a moment to remember the curious 89 00:04:56,400 --> 00:05:00,600 Speaker 1: tale of Stingy Jack and keep your candles lit just 90 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: in case his spirit comes knocking. If someone asked you 91 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 1: to draw a ghost right now, you would probably sketch 92 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: what's known as a bedsheet ghost, You know, the one, 93 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:26,520 Speaker 1: the round top, squiggly bottom, couple of dots for eyes. 94 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 1: The image is frightfully ubiquitous. It appears in everything from 95 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:34,000 Speaker 1: movies to art. In the Halloween decor isle at targets. 96 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: That's even a bedsheet ghost emoji, which got me wondering 97 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:41,160 Speaker 1: where did the idea that ghosts wear sheets even come from. Well, 98 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 1: it turns out the image can be traced back at 99 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:47,000 Speaker 1: least seven centuries. In the thirteen hundreds, ghosts were often 100 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:50,800 Speaker 1: depicted in art as skeletons wrapped in burial shrouds. For 101 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: most of human history, people weren't buried in caskets or coffins. 102 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: They were simply wrapped in sheets. If the dearly departed 103 00:05:57,200 --> 00:05:59,719 Speaker 1: came from an upper class family, they might be buried 104 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: in in that was made and decorated specifically for the funeral, 105 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: and if they were from a lower class background, they'd 106 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:08,719 Speaker 1: likely be buried in sheets pulled right off their deathbed. Still, 107 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:11,480 Speaker 1: it took a while for the shrouded skeleton to evolve 108 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:14,279 Speaker 1: into the bedsheet ghost we know and love today, and 109 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:17,120 Speaker 1: there were other versions in between. For example, in the 110 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:21,160 Speaker 1: fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, ghosts were frequently featured as characters 111 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 1: in plays. In the original production of Hamlet, the ghost 112 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:28,160 Speaker 1: of Hamlet's father wore metal armor. This created a trend 113 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 1: in armor clad specters in the theater, but a few 114 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 1: centuries later a haunting in London seemed to cement the 115 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,880 Speaker 1: bedsheet ghost as the most accurate portrayal. In November of 116 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 1: eighteen oh three, people in the western London neighborhood of 117 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:45,240 Speaker 1: Hammersmith reported seeing a ghostly figure prowling around town. The 118 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:49,080 Speaker 1: figure was tall, slender, and clad in a white sheet. 119 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:52,160 Speaker 1: It was ostensibly the spirit of a man who had 120 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: died in Hammersmith the previous year, and locals kept seeing 121 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:58,039 Speaker 1: him around town for months and it was starting to 122 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: freak them out. So they did what seemed most logical. 123 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 1: They organized a ghost hunting team. In January of eighteen 124 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:06,800 Speaker 1: oh four. The group set off into the night, intending 125 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:09,279 Speaker 1: to take care of the haunting once and for all. 126 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:12,000 Speaker 1: One of these ghost hunters was a twenty nine year 127 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:14,760 Speaker 1: old man named Francis Smith. As he and the rest 128 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 1: of the group searched for the spirit, Francis saw someone 129 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: round the street corner in front of them. It was 130 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 1: a tall, thin man dressed all in white. Certain he 131 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 1: had found the phantom, Francis raised his gun and fired, 132 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: and the specter crumpled to the ground. Because it wasn't 133 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 1: a ghost at all. It was Thomas Millwood, a bricklayer 134 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 1: who had been walking home from his work in his 135 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:40,400 Speaker 1: all white uniform, and sadly he died from that gunshot. 136 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 1: It later came out that the entire Hammersmith hunting had 137 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,240 Speaker 1: just been a hoax, but since Thomas Millwood really had 138 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:50,720 Speaker 1: lost his life, a new legend emerged. It was said 139 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 1: that Thomas's spirit then stalked Hammersmith, and soon after this, 140 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: an image of Thomas's ghost clad in billowing white sheets 141 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: was installed in a local museum. This helped popularize the 142 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:04,800 Speaker 1: image of the bedsheet ghost in the English speaking world. 143 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: A few decades later, over in the United States, a 144 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:11,440 Speaker 1: Missouri newspaper conducted a poll asking readers if they believed 145 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:15,320 Speaker 1: in ghosts. One respondent wrote in, and I quote, ghosts 146 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 1: are nearly always white, although some of the authorities admit 147 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: there are dark ones. I should say, however, that the 148 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 1: genuine ghost is always white, that always makes its first 149 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:27,680 Speaker 1: appearance at the haunted spot at precisely twelve o'clock midnight. 150 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 1: Based on this quote, it seems that there were still 151 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: some dissenting opinions on what spirits looked like, but white 152 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 1: was a safe bet, and maybe that's why. In nineteen 153 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:39,480 Speaker 1: thirty nine, animators chosen all white designed for one of 154 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:43,080 Speaker 1: the most famous phantoms in history, Casper, the friendly Ghost. 155 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:46,400 Speaker 1: It was really Hollywood and the budding film industry that 156 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:49,600 Speaker 1: turned the once terrifying image of the bedsheet ghost into 157 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:52,960 Speaker 1: something we now consider cute and fun. Throughout the fifties 158 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 1: and sixties, animated bedsheet ghosts appeared in cartoons like Popeye 159 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:00,079 Speaker 1: and Scooby Doo. Thus it became the go to design 160 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:03,720 Speaker 1: for goules than pop culture, but some people thought it 161 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 1: was just a fad. In nineteen sixty four, a North 162 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 1: Carolina newspaper reported, and I quote styles in ghosting are changing, 163 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:15,120 Speaker 1: dwindling in obscurity are the old fashioned groaning, flapping bedsheets 164 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 1: and the simple white objects which jump out of dark 165 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:21,480 Speaker 1: places and say boo. And to that, I have one 166 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:29,440 Speaker 1: thing to say, the ghost emoji begs to differ. I 167 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,959 Speaker 1: hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 168 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 169 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 170 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:44,440 Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how 171 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:48,160 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore 172 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:52,000 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show and 173 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:54,640 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the worldoflore 174 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:59,319 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.