1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 3 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 4 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 2: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 6 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. For the past two years, 7 00:00:37,479 --> 00:00:40,600 Speaker 2: on the second Wednesday of every month, a plate of 8 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:44,239 Speaker 2: fifteen to twenty half peeled bananas has appeared on the 9 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:47,720 Speaker 2: corner of Abbey Road and Wendsor Avenue in Beeston, a 10 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:51,279 Speaker 2: small town in the Midlands of England. Residents have been 11 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 2: baffled as to the reason they keep appearing, and to 12 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 2: many the mystery is less important than the mess the 13 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 2: bananas leave in the street. One such resident, clear Short, 14 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 2: decided to try to reason with the mysterious gifter in 15 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 2: a note left in the banana's usual location, reading please respectfully, 16 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 2: no more bananas. The notes had no effect. The next month, 17 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 2: the bananas were there again, and it brings to mind 18 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:18,959 Speaker 2: another such mystery concerning the final resting place of one 19 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:23,040 Speaker 2: of America's most beloved authors. On October third of eighteen 20 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,960 Speaker 2: forty nine, A man in crisis appeared outside of Gunner's Hall, 21 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:30,080 Speaker 2: a busy tavern in Baltimore, Maryland. It was a dreary 22 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 2: day and the place was packed to the gills. At 23 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:35,960 Speaker 2: first glance, the patrons took the man as another drunkard 24 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:39,120 Speaker 2: due to his rumpled appearance and his day's demeanor. He 25 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,200 Speaker 2: was clearly unwell and was brought to the hospital, where 26 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 2: he died four days later. He was buried in an 27 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 2: unmarked grave at Westminster Presbyterian Church. After a modest funeral. 28 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 1: In eighteen seventy five, his grave was moved and the 29 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: citizens of Baltimore gathered funds for a headstone. After all, 30 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: he was one of Baltimore's favorite sons, One Edgar Allen Poe. 31 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:04,280 Speaker 1: One hundred years later, in nineteen forty nine, a shadowy 32 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 1: figure was noticed entering the graveyard. He was dressed in 33 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 1: black with a white scarf, his visage hidden by a 34 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:13,800 Speaker 1: wide brimmed black hat. It was late on the nineteenth 35 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,160 Speaker 1: of January, which happened to be Poe's birthday. The figure 36 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: was seen to kneel and place three roses on the grave, 37 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: after which he poured himself a glass of cognac to 38 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 1: toast the dead author. Once he had drained it, he 39 00:02:26,639 --> 00:02:30,000 Speaker 1: left the open bottle beside the flowers and disappeared into 40 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: the night. When a balto Our Sun reporter came inquiring, 41 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:36,400 Speaker 1: the Reverend, Bruce McDonald suggested that the visits had been 42 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: occurring for years. The reporter noted, the anonymous citizen who 43 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: creeps in annually to place an empty bottle of excellent 44 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:46,960 Speaker 1: label against the tomb of Poe on the anniversary of 45 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 1: his death is a jokester, mister McDonald figures, and so 46 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: the Poe toaster made his way into the public consciousness. 47 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,919 Speaker 1: He returned each year, and each year performed the same ritual, 48 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: three roses the grave, a kgnak toast the remainder of 49 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: the bottle left for Poe. As the tradition continued, small 50 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,919 Speaker 1: crowds began to gather to catch sight of the mysterious toaster. 51 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 1: The man never gave up his identity, and though there 52 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: has been much speculation, there has never been an explanation 53 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: for the yearly pilgrimage. But he remained faithful to Edgar 54 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: for decades, and then in nineteen ninety three he left 55 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 1: a note, perhaps as much for onlookers as for the author. 56 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:30,799 Speaker 1: It read, the torch will be passed. A few short 57 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:33,720 Speaker 1: years later, in nineteen ninety nine, another note was left 58 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 1: to confirm this. The original toaster had died the previous year, 59 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:40,760 Speaker 1: but his successor continued the tradition for many years in 60 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: his stead, with modest crowds standing by to bear witness, 61 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: and then as inexplicably as it began, it ended Onlookers 62 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 1: in twenty ten found themselves quite disappointed when, for the 63 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: first time in over sixty years, the mysterious man failed 64 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 1: to appear. When he didn't show up the following year, 65 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: it became clear that the toaster would visit the grave 66 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 1: side nevermore. Although there has been a lot of speculation 67 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: around the identity of the original toaster, it remains uncertain 68 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:13,840 Speaker 1: to this day who really was visiting Poe's grave, and 69 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:16,440 Speaker 1: while there were other visitors who left tokens on the 70 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:19,839 Speaker 1: grave as well, these were not seen as serious successors. 71 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: In twenty fifteen, the Maryland Historical Society declared that it 72 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: was searching for a new toaster. The following January, a 73 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 1: large crowd once again gathered outside the Westminster Graveyard for 74 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: a ceremony with food insider provided the audience was treated 75 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:38,479 Speaker 1: to a reading of pose the cask of Amontiado. And then, 76 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: for the first time in half a decade, it happened 77 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 1: Poe's toaster entered the burial ground. He placed the three 78 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: roses on the grave and poured himself a glass of cognac. 79 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:51,480 Speaker 1: And when he'd finished the tipple, he placed the bottle 80 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:55,039 Speaker 1: beside the flowers, and then, to the delight of everyone there, 81 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:59,479 Speaker 1: pulled out a violin and played Camille Sainssan's dance macab 82 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:03,799 Speaker 1: And then he took his leave, identity still a secret, 83 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:08,799 Speaker 1: and thus the tradition continues onward, bolstered by the passion 84 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 1: of its fans, who are bound together by the shared 85 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 1: love of a good old fashioned mystery. The abbey was 86 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: a peaceful place, nestled in the remote French countryside, many 87 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:35,280 Speaker 1: miles from the east of Paris. There was a small 88 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:38,599 Speaker 1: village nearby, but the monks largely kept to themselves. But 89 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:41,680 Speaker 1: on this day they had a visitor. He was one 90 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: of the most famous philosophers of the Enlightenment, come to 91 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:48,039 Speaker 1: stay in their village. He was eager to peruse the 92 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:51,479 Speaker 1: extensive library kept within their walls. The priest came out 93 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: to greet him and welcome him. The visitor's name was Voltaire, 94 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 1: but this story isn't about him. It's about the priest 95 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:01,600 Speaker 1: who welcomed him to Sunna be in seventeen fifty four. 96 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 1: His name was dom Augustine Calmet, and for someone who 97 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,719 Speaker 1: lived a life as a monk, he left an indelible 98 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: mark on history. He was born in sixteen seventy two, 99 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,040 Speaker 1: the son of a blacksmith. Without much in the way 100 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:17,880 Speaker 1: of prospects for life, he began studying to become a 101 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:22,480 Speaker 1: Benedictine monk at the age of fifteen. A student of rhetoric, philosophy, 102 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:26,479 Speaker 1: and theology, he was an intelligent and capable learner. Even 103 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:29,720 Speaker 1: as a priest, he was frequently engaged in scholarly work. 104 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:33,719 Speaker 1: Dom Calmet's first published work was printed in seventeen oh seven, 105 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: and it was called a Literal Commentary on All the 106 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:40,040 Speaker 1: Books of the Old and New Testaments. An extremely popular 107 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: work among Catholic thinkers, it would be printed and reprinted 108 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: several times over the following decades, during which Calmet also 109 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 1: worked on several other works of Christian and popular histories. 110 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:54,359 Speaker 1: He wrote one called a Dissertation on the Highways of Lorraine, 111 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 1: and another called History of the Famous Men of Lorraine, 112 00:06:57,839 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: as well as a Tome of Universal History published beginning 113 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:04,800 Speaker 1: in seventeen thirty five. As varied and specific as these 114 00:07:04,839 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 1: topics are, they would not be the topic that would 115 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:10,000 Speaker 1: make him famous. That would be a little niche topic 116 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 1: that he turned his attention to. In the seventeen thirties, Europe, 117 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 1: you see, was in the middle of a strange period. 118 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:20,160 Speaker 1: An epidemic of weird, superstitious stories had started popping up 119 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:24,240 Speaker 1: throughout the countryside. They were mostly focused on Eastern Europe, 120 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:27,600 Speaker 1: but some occurred in various other countries as well as 121 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:30,240 Speaker 1: far south as the coast of Italy. And the stories 122 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 1: were about vampires. No two vampire stories were identical, but 123 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:39,040 Speaker 1: all included elements of resurrection after death. And we know 124 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: that these were caused by a collision between the folk 125 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,920 Speaker 1: beliefs of the people and Christianity as a religion. Peasants 126 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:48,480 Speaker 1: who were used to burning their dead had to adopt 127 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 1: a religion that said that the body was necessary for 128 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 1: resurrection during the end times. It's a paradox that helped 129 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 1: create a monster. Meanwhile, dom Calmet knew none of this. 130 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 1: What he knew was that the people across Europe claimed 131 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 1: to have encountered men who came back from the dead, 132 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:07,680 Speaker 1: a belief that was as heretical as it was impossible. 133 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 1: With the eye of both a historian and a Christian theologian, 134 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:13,600 Speaker 1: he set out to write a study of these various 135 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 1: accounts and see what he could find. The majority of 136 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: vampire accounts at the time were written by Hungarian army 137 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:24,400 Speaker 1: doctors sent to study the vampire panics by Empress Maria Theresa. 138 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:28,960 Speaker 1: Calmet's Studies of Vampires gathered these altogether, as well as 139 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: several other stories from across the continent, to create a 140 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:35,320 Speaker 1: study of what he saw as a modern phenomenon. His 141 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:39,880 Speaker 1: resulting study was published in seventeen forty six as Dissertations 142 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:43,720 Speaker 1: on the Apparitions of Angels, Demons and Spirits and on 143 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:48,720 Speaker 1: the Revenants and Vampires of Hungary, Bohemia, Moravia and Cilicia. 144 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: And I'm sure that you won't be surprised to hear 145 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:54,080 Speaker 1: that it was a best seller. It seems that everyone 146 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: had an opinion on the monk who wrote about the occult, 147 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 1: but much of the popular opinion was not a positive one. 148 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:04,320 Speaker 1: Calmet's peers thought that he had succumbed to superstition writing 149 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 1: about the ravings of peasants far Afield. Even Voltaire, who 150 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 1: had greatly admired Calmet's theological writings, publicly decried this work. 151 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:15,480 Speaker 1: But of course the book was also not without its 152 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:19,200 Speaker 1: many admirers, and the subsequent attention was enough for Calmet 153 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:22,439 Speaker 1: to expand it in seventeen forty eight, and the result 154 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:26,160 Speaker 1: of his genuine curiosity was a much stronger foundation for 155 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:30,120 Speaker 1: what this creature would become. Before his writing, vampire stories 156 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:33,880 Speaker 1: vary greatly from region to region, but Calmet's efforts ensured 157 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:36,840 Speaker 1: that the monster would become a specific thing in the 158 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:40,360 Speaker 1: minds of the public. It's a curious story the few 159 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:44,080 Speaker 1: people today remember. While bram Stoker gets all the credit 160 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:46,800 Speaker 1: for the modern vampire, none of what he did would 161 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:49,320 Speaker 1: have been possible at all without the efforts of a 162 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:53,840 Speaker 1: Benedictine monk who lived a century earlier. Augustine Calmets would 163 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:56,880 Speaker 1: never know it, but through his religious writings he left 164 00:09:56,920 --> 00:10:01,480 Speaker 1: a faint fingerprint on an entire genre of popular which 165 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:04,600 Speaker 1: in a way has helped him live on long after 166 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:11,080 Speaker 1: his death. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of 167 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:15,080 Speaker 1: the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 168 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 169 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:22,680 Speaker 1: dot com. This show was created by me Aaron Mankey 170 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:26,480 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award 171 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:30,080 Speaker 1: winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, 172 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:32,720 Speaker 1: and television show, and you can learn all about it 173 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:37,160 Speaker 1: over at the Worldoflore dot com. And until next time, 174 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:38,760 Speaker 1: stay curious.