WEBVTT - S04 Episode 13 Extra: Fade to White 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:14.640 Welcome to Unexplained Extra with me Richard McClane Smith, where 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:17.200 for the weeks in between episodes, we look at stories 0:00:17.239 --> 0:00:19.800 and ideas that, for one reason or other, didn't make 0:00:19.840 --> 0:00:23.760 it into the previous show. In our last episode, Lost 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:27.080 in Stormy Visions, we cast our eye over the epic 0:00:27.160 --> 0:00:31.880 tale of the lost Colony of Roanoke. Having only had 0:00:31.880 --> 0:00:35.479 a loose understanding of the story before researching it, I 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:38.360 was staggered by its sheer scale and how wide and 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:41.720 deep the connections were with many major events of the age. 0:00:42.760 --> 0:00:45.720 It is unfortunate too that so little was known about 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:49.839 the lives of the undeniably brave individuals, regardless of how 0:00:49.880 --> 0:00:53.040 we might measure the consequences of their actions, who made 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:56.760 the journey in the first place. It's worth noting too 0:00:56.840 --> 0:01:00.680 that though this is often referred to as America's Mystery, 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:04.679 from the perspective of the people and communities already existing there, 0:01:05.200 --> 0:01:09.680 it was anything but. I find the notion of entire 0:01:09.800 --> 0:01:14.480 vanishing communities or mass events such as this endlessly compelling. 0:01:16.160 --> 0:01:19.520 One such story that's always fascinated me is the mystery 0:01:19.520 --> 0:01:24.240 of Scara Bray in Orkney, Scotland. It was during the 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:27.920 winter of eighteen fifty that a severe storm ripped into 0:01:27.920 --> 0:01:30.240 the Bay of Skylee on the west coast of the 0:01:30.280 --> 0:01:34.280 island's mainland, tearing at a large and unusual grassy knoll 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:39.880 known locally as Scara Bra, which overlooked the coast. When 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:43.440 the storm finally cleared one morning, the local villagers woke 0:01:43.560 --> 0:01:46.800 up to discover the knoll had been completely removed, and 0:01:46.920 --> 0:01:49.960 in its place, the outline of an ancient village was 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:55.640 discovered buried in the earth when the site was eventually excavated. 0:01:56.000 --> 0:01:58.960 The settlement, which dated to around three thousand to five 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:03.559 hundred BC, was unusually modern and well preserved for its time, 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:08.320 with the site being littered with various enigmatic ornaments and 0:02:08.440 --> 0:02:12.400 decorative features, as well as ancient pottery. It was as 0:02:12.400 --> 0:02:15.919 if its inhabitants were not only strangely advanced for the time, 0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:19.720 but had just decided one day to up and leave. 0:02:21.520 --> 0:02:24.160 That much of the island is home to ancient mystical 0:02:24.280 --> 0:02:30.400 architecture only added further to the mystery. More often than not, 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:33.720 if we dig deep enough, we tend to find, if 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:36.520 not the answer, then at the very least a number 0:02:36.560 --> 0:02:42.640 of credible possibilities to explain such disappearances. There is one story, however, 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:52.600 that has so far proved a little harder to fathom. 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:56.240 In nineteen thirty, Joe la Belle was an experienced fur 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:59.000 trapper who worked in what was then known by some 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:02.760 as the more than Territories of Canada, in a region 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:07.640 often referred to as the barren Lands. In winter, these 0:03:07.680 --> 0:03:10.720 barren lands would be little but snow and ice for 0:03:10.840 --> 0:03:15.120 hundreds of miles, with occasional tufts of barren rock peppering 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:21.280 the crisp white landscape. During the trapping season, LaBelle could 0:03:21.280 --> 0:03:24.120 often go for weeks at a time, dragging himself and 0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:28.120 his wares across the barren lands without ever seeing another person. 0:03:29.720 --> 0:03:33.560 In the more sparsely populated regions, LaBelle was grateful for 0:03:33.600 --> 0:03:37.720 the hospitality of a number of local Inuit communities which 0:03:37.720 --> 0:03:42.480 he had befriended over the years. One such community had, 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:45.600 for a significant time been camped on the shores of 0:03:45.680 --> 0:03:49.760 Lake and Jucuni, located about five hundred miles north of 0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:54.120 the Port of Churchill in Hudson Bay. It was one 0:03:54.160 --> 0:03:59.480 afternoon in November nineteen thirty LaBelle, having been paddling across 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:02.520 the lake for some time, decided to make his way 0:04:02.560 --> 0:04:05.400 toward the settlement to check in with the people there. 0:04:07.360 --> 0:04:11.720 From a distance, things already seemed a little odd. There 0:04:11.800 --> 0:04:14.880 was no sign of campfire or any movement from the 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:18.680 twenty strong community, nor the animals which they kept there. 0:04:20.720 --> 0:04:24.200 Nearing the shores of the camp, LaBelle cried out at greeting, 0:04:24.800 --> 0:04:29.479 only to be met with a deathly silence. Paddling all 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:32.680 the way to the shore, LaBelle hauled his canoe onto 0:04:32.720 --> 0:04:37.520 the ice. Hearing something padding toward him, he turned sharply 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:42.520 to see two lethargic and emaciated husky dogs slowly making 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:46.760 their way toward him. Clearly they hadn't eaten in days. 0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:52.880 Calling out again, the concerned LaBelle wandered into the camp, 0:04:53.200 --> 0:04:56.400 finding the dead bodies of the seven other dogs, barely 0:04:56.400 --> 0:05:01.280 more than bones, lying frozen in the snow. There were 0:05:01.360 --> 0:05:05.040 six tents in total, all made of caribou skin and 0:05:05.200 --> 0:05:10.640 perfectly preserved with no signs of damage. Standing for a 0:05:10.720 --> 0:05:15.000 moment to try and comprehend the scene, LaBelle moved nervously 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:19.240 toward one of the tents, after calling out one more time, 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:24.279 still to no reply. He braced himself before pulling back 0:05:24.320 --> 0:05:29.000 the flap and ducking inside, Having been half expecting to 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:32.800 find a rotting corpse or perhaps something even worse. He 0:05:32.920 --> 0:05:38.120 was somewhat relieved to find the home completely vacant. His discovery, however, 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:45.320 only added more fuel to the mystery. Are you always 0:05:45.360 --> 0:05:48.000 taking care of your family? Do you often take care 0:05:48.040 --> 0:05:51.000 of others and not yourself? Now it's time to take 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:54.680 care of yourself. To make time for you. You deserve it. 0:05:55.200 --> 0:05:58.200 Tele Adoc gives you access to a licensed therapist to 0:05:58.279 --> 0:06:01.000 help you get back to feeling your best to feeling 0:06:01.040 --> 0:06:04.640 like yourself again. With teledoc, you can speak to a 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:08.920 licensed therapist by phone or video. Therapy appointments are available 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:11.840 seven days a week from seven am to nine pm 0:06:11.839 --> 0:06:16.080 local time. If you feel overwhelmed sometimes maybe you feel 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:20.120 stressed or anxious, depressed or lonely, or you might be 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:23.880 struggling with a personal or family issue, teledoc can help. 0:06:24.440 --> 0:06:28.680 Teledoc is committed to facilitating great therapeutic matches, so they 0:06:28.720 --> 0:06:31.640 make it easy to change counselors if needed. For free. 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:37.240 Teledoc therapy is available through most insurance or employers. Download 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:40.960 the app or visit teledoc dot com. Forward Slash Unexplained 0:06:41.000 --> 0:06:47.360 Podcast Today to get started that's teladoc dot com slash 0:06:47.440 --> 0:06:56.320 Unexplained podcast. Parker coats made from deer hides were piled 0:06:56.400 --> 0:06:58.560 up on the floor next to a number of pairs 0:06:58.560 --> 0:07:03.080 of boots. A black iron pot, still a little greasy 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:05.960 from the last time it had been used, was positioned 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:10.920 to the side, surrounded by fish and deer bones. It 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:13.040 was as if the owners had merely gone out to 0:07:13.120 --> 0:07:18.280 run an errand but never come back. Pulling up the jackets, 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:24.560 LaBelle also found a badly rusted rifle underneath. Considering this 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:28.160 and the starving dogs outside, it was clear the occupants 0:07:28.160 --> 0:07:33.080 had been gone for some time. Moving from one tent 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:36.480 to the next as the two skeletal dogs shadowed his 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:40.240 every move, LaBelle found them all to be in exactly 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:44.600 the same state, each full of bedding, skins and furs 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:50.440 and cooking utensils. As he went, LaBelle pondered on what 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:54.320 could possibly have happened. Perhaps they had all ventured out 0:07:54.360 --> 0:07:57.360 on a hunting trip, he thought, but had been unexpectedly 0:07:57.400 --> 0:08:01.120 caught up in a lethal shift in the weather. It 0:08:01.200 --> 0:08:05.600 wasn't unheard of, but certainly unlikely considering the Inuit's experience 0:08:05.680 --> 0:08:08.720 with such matters and how unlikely it would be for 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:12.640 the entire village to have gone out together, nor were 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:16.360 they likely to have simply moved camp or joined another settlement, 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:19.000 since there was simply no way they would have left 0:08:19.000 --> 0:08:23.240 all their possessions behind in the process. Then, in the 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:28.800 final tent, Lebelle found something else, an Inuit charm placed 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:32.680 just inside it, a device to ward off evil spirits, 0:08:33.320 --> 0:08:36.320 and one in particular that the Inuit were most wary of, 0:08:37.440 --> 0:08:40.720 an entity known as a torn rack, who was often 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:46.120 blamed for causing terrible events. Le Belle knew this spirit 0:08:46.280 --> 0:08:50.360 to be something monstrous, with a grotesque face and two 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:55.000 long tusks sticking up from its nose, though he wasn't 0:08:55.040 --> 0:08:59.839 the superstitious kind. As he stood outside moments later, surrounded 0:08:59.840 --> 0:09:03.280 by the stillness of the tundra, as a quiet breeze 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:06.480 slipped through the village, it was hard to resist the 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:13.000 sense of unease steadily intensifying inside him. LaBelle wandered down 0:09:13.040 --> 0:09:15.679 to the edge of the lake and gazed over its 0:09:15.720 --> 0:09:20.679 mirrored surface. Could they have drowned? He thought? It seemed 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:23.960 ludicrous to think so, considering their skill on the water. 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:26.920 Unless they had been forced to take some kind of 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:33.400 drastic action, but LaBelle dismissed this idea too. Turning back, 0:09:33.800 --> 0:09:37.400 he noticed something he hadn't picked up on before, a 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:42.679 pile of stones scattered about just behind the village. Having 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:45.760 swiftly made his way over to it, LaBelle realized it 0:09:45.840 --> 0:09:48.760 was a cairn of some sort, the remnants of a 0:09:48.760 --> 0:09:53.920 traditional grave site. What didn't make any sense, however, was 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:58.080 that the grave was open and whatever had been buried 0:09:58.120 --> 0:10:02.640 in it was now gone. Hearing the wine of the 0:10:02.679 --> 0:10:05.880 dogs behind him, LaBelle stayed on to catch them a 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:17.080 few fish before eventually deciding to head back out. Throughout 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:20.120 the rest of the trapping season, LaBelle would encounter a 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:23.800 host of other Inuit communities, but none had any idea 0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:26.600 as to what could have happened to the missing villagers. 0:10:27.559 --> 0:10:34.200 All muttered something about the torn rack. Some have speculated 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:38.000 that this event never actually took place, but was instead 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:42.360 concocted from the imagination of writer Frank Edwards, who included 0:10:42.400 --> 0:10:45.040 an account of it in his nineteen fifty nine collection 0:10:45.080 --> 0:10:51.800 of stories Stranger than Science. Recently, however, the truth became 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:54.720 a little less clear when an earlier account of the 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:58.400 story was actually traced back to a November twenty seventh, 0:10:58.520 --> 0:11:02.560 nineteen thirty article that appeared in The Bee, a Virginian 0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:05.880 newspaper from the town of Danville in the United States. 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:10.960 The article, written by one Emmett Kelleher, also goes on 0:11:11.000 --> 0:11:15.360 to mention a few other details. At the first opportunity, 0:11:15.880 --> 0:11:18.920 le Belle is said to have contacted the Royal Northwest 0:11:19.040 --> 0:11:22.520 Mounted Police, who Julie began an investigation of the case. 0:11:24.000 --> 0:11:27.360 A short time later, an unknown ten year old boy 0:11:27.920 --> 0:11:30.400 was said to have arrived out of the blue at 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:33.120 a settlement a hundred and fifty miles to the north 0:11:33.120 --> 0:11:37.120 of the abandoned camp. When quizzed by police, the boy 0:11:37.240 --> 0:11:42.600 was apparently unwilling to say exactly where he'd come from. 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:46.800 Not long after that, a man named Salmec entered a 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:52.080 hospital located somewhere along the Hudson Bay Railway line, suffering 0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:56.240 from severe frostbite on both his legs. Since the man 0:11:56.280 --> 0:11:59.400 didn't speak English, doctors were forced to wait until a 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:02.520 translator it could be found to find out what exactly 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:08.840 had occurred. However, when they finally located one Salmac refused 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:13.720 to talk to them, repeating only that same familiar word 0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:25.080 torn rack. I'd like to thank Scott Bathgate for recommending 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:30.320 this story. If you enjoy listening to Unexplained and would 0:12:30.360 --> 0:12:33.320 like to help supporters, you can now go to Unexplained 0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:38.600 Podcast dot com Forward Slash Support. All donations, no matter 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:43.880 how large or small, are massively appreciated. All elements have 0:12:44.000 --> 0:12:48.800 Unexplained are produced by me Richard McClain smith. Please subscribe 0:12:48.800 --> 0:12:51.560 and rate the show on iTunes, and feel free to 0:12:51.600 --> 0:12:54.160 get in touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the 0:12:54.240 --> 0:12:57.440 stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you have an 0:12:57.480 --> 0:13:01.120 explanation of your own you'd like to share. You can 0:13:01.160 --> 0:13:05.400 reach us online at Unexplained podcast dot com, or Twitter 0:13:05.679 --> 0:13:10.480 at Unexplained Pod and Facebook at Facebook dot com. Forward 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:22.880 Slash Unexplained Now. It's time to take care of yourself. 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:27.040 To make time for you, teledoc gives you access to 0:13:27.080 --> 0:13:30.280 a licensed therapist to help you get back to feeling 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:34.000 your best. Speak to a licensed therapist by phone or 0:13:34.120 --> 0:13:37.960 video anytime between seven am to nine pm local time, 0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:42.320 seven days a week. Teledoc Therapy is available through most 0:13:42.360 --> 0:13:47.040 insurance or employers. Download the app or visit telldoc dot com, 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:51.719 Forward Slash Unexplained Podcast Today to get started. That's t 0:13:51.960 --> 0:13:56.239 e LA d oc dot com Slash Unexplained podcast