WEBVTT - Dead Reckoning

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of

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<v Speaker 1>iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of

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<v Speaker 1>the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all

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<v Speaker 1>of these amazing tales are right there on display, just

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<v Speaker 1>waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.

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<v Speaker 1>One of the most famous locations in all of video

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<v Speaker 1>games is Rapture, an underwater city built by a libertarian

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<v Speaker 1>named Andrew Ryan from the video game BioShock. The idea

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<v Speaker 1>that anyone would go to such lengths just to be

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<v Speaker 1>free of government regulation seems like the stuff of fiction,

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<v Speaker 1>but there is one similar case from actual history that

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<v Speaker 1>shows us some people will do anything to avoid pain taxes.

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<v Speaker 1>Georgio Rosa was an engineer living in northern Italy in

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<v Speaker 1>the nineteen fifties. By nineteen fifty seven, he had decided

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<v Speaker 1>to build his own island in the Adriatic Sea east

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<v Speaker 1>of Bologna. The law said that Italy's sovereignty ended about

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<v Speaker 1>seven miles off the coast, and he wanted to be

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<v Speaker 1>free of the uptight rules and regulations of post war society.

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<v Speaker 1>Since he was an engineer, he actually had the ability

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<v Speaker 1>to accomplish his goal. Working with his team of friends,

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<v Speaker 1>he invented a system that would allow for easy construction

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<v Speaker 1>of the island. They took long, strong pipes and secured

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<v Speaker 1>them to the ocean floor. After that, they filled them

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<v Speaker 1>with cement, providing a strong foundation for the island. But

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<v Speaker 1>of course, the Italian government immediately began to get in

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<v Speaker 1>their way, forcing them to stop until they placed signs

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<v Speaker 1>warning boats of their construction. They continued to build after that,

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<v Speaker 1>although they were briefly stopped once again when the harbormaster

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<v Speaker 1>tried to claim that a utility company actually owned the

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<v Speaker 1>land that they were working on. But Georgio was able

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<v Speaker 1>to pre that this wasn't the case. He persevered through

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<v Speaker 1>all this, finishing the concrete foundation before installing a dock

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<v Speaker 1>and stairs leading up to a metal platform. The structure

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<v Speaker 1>was four hundred square meters. This is maybe about the

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<v Speaker 1>size of a basketball court, but Georgia was able to

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<v Speaker 1>fit a lot within this space. The island contained a dock,

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<v Speaker 1>a bar and restaurant, living quarters, and a post office.

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<v Speaker 1>It was completed in nineteen sixty seven after nearly ten

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<v Speaker 1>years of planning and construction. Georgia would invite partiers from

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<v Speaker 1>the mainland to hang out with them on the island,

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<v Speaker 1>which he named Rose Island as a play on his

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<v Speaker 1>last name and because he saw it as a rose

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<v Speaker 1>on the sea. But he got more ambitious the following year,

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<v Speaker 1>declaring that Rose Island was its own nation, exempt from

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<v Speaker 1>Italian law. He started to issue his own stamps and

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<v Speaker 1>even made plans to print his own currency. Naturally, tourists

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<v Speaker 1>began to flock to Rose Island, and he started to

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<v Speaker 1>rake in a profit, profits that he believed he didn't

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<v Speaker 1>owe any tax on. Needless to say, the Italian government

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<v Speaker 1>didn't like this one bit. Now it's hard to say

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<v Speaker 1>exactly what their true concern was. They were missing out

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<v Speaker 1>on some tax revenue, yes, and maybe some political figures

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<v Speaker 1>in the country were simply jealous that they hadn't thought

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<v Speaker 1>of this before. But they claimed that the real issue

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<v Speaker 1>was that the island was in the Adriatic between Italy,

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<v Speaker 1>a member of NATO, and Croatia, which was a communist country,

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<v Speaker 1>and so Italy saw Rose Island as a security risk,

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<v Speaker 1>even claiming that they thought that there might be a

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<v Speaker 1>Russian submarine hidden below the island, so they accused Georgio

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<v Speaker 1>of using the island to smuggle drugs or conduct other

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<v Speaker 1>illegal activity. Again, it's hard to know what the real

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<v Speaker 1>issue was, but clearly they were incensed by the challenge

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<v Speaker 1>to their authority. In June of nineteen sixty eight, just

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<v Speaker 1>a few months after Georgio declared independence, the Italian Navy

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<v Speaker 1>blockaded Rose Island. They demanded that all of its inhabitants leave.

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<v Speaker 1>Georgio and his friends and family had no choice but

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<v Speaker 1>to comply. The Navy then sent divers beneath the waves,

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<v Speaker 1>planting explosives on the foundation that Georgio had worked so

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<v Speaker 1>hard to build. However, when they detonated these, they actually

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<v Speaker 1>failed to destroy the island. This was a testament to

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<v Speaker 1>how well it was constructed. Next, they bombed the platform

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<v Speaker 1>from a distance, but incredibly this still didn't bring the

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<v Speaker 1>island down. However, it was no longer habitable and had

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<v Speaker 1>at the very least been hollowed out. Shortly after, a

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<v Speaker 1>large storm passed through the area, and that finally sunk

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<v Speaker 1>the island into the ocean floor. Georgio tried to appeal

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<v Speaker 1>his case to the European Union, but since he had

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<v Speaker 1>never been recognized by any other nation, he had no

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<v Speaker 1>real legal standing. It has always more or less been

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<v Speaker 1>the case throughout human history that you have to kind

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<v Speaker 1>of force other nations to accept your sovereignty. And if

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<v Speaker 1>you're just one guy with no military or significant resources,

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<v Speaker 1>that's virtually impossible. And so Rose Island faded from memory.

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<v Speaker 1>But while Europe lost track of the curious tale of

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<v Speaker 1>a brief island nation in the Adriatic Sea, history never forgets.

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<v Speaker 1>Hollywood is filled with tragic legends and myths. Take for example,

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<v Speaker 1>the case of one of Hollywood's earliest stars, an actor

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<v Speaker 1>named Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle, who suffered a catastrophic fall from

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<v Speaker 1>grace when a young actress, Virginia Rape died at a

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<v Speaker 1>party that he hosted. There's also the story of Peg

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<v Speaker 1>and Whistle, a British born stage actress who moved an

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<v Speaker 1>ocean and a continent away to pursue a life on film,

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<v Speaker 1>only to despair and jump from the Hollywood sign. One

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<v Speaker 1>of the more modern of these stories concerns Toby Hooper's

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen eighty two paranormal classic Poltergeist and the franchise that

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<v Speaker 1>it sprouted. Some people, it seems, think that this classic

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<v Speaker 1>tale of a family hunted by the supernatural may have

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<v Speaker 1>been victim to a supernatural curse of its own. Although

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<v Speaker 1>many Hollywood legends seem to have murky origins, there's almost

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<v Speaker 1>a universal agreement on this curse's origin story. According to

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<v Speaker 1>numerous accounts, the production team of the original nineteen eighty

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<v Speaker 1>two film, in order to save money, decided to forego

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<v Speaker 1>making what was at the time very expensive plastic bones.

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<v Speaker 1>So to get around the high cost of fake skeletons,

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<v Speaker 1>they simply bought real ones, the kinds that are used

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<v Speaker 1>in medical schools, and you can see them in the

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<v Speaker 1>climax of the film, floating in the pool. But while

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<v Speaker 1>the reasoning was purely economic, it created a fertile soil

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<v Speaker 1>for superstition. The idea that the filmmakers had desecrated the

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<v Speaker 1>dead to save money became the supernatural seed of the curse,

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<v Speaker 1>although it wasn't until after a series of tragic deaths

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<v Speaker 1>of some connected to the franchise that the idea of

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<v Speaker 1>that curse took cold. You see, the Poltergeist trilogy saw

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<v Speaker 1>the early passing of four cast members, statistically an anomaly

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<v Speaker 1>and one that fueled the fire of superstition. The first

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<v Speaker 1>of these tragedies would strike shortly after the film was

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<v Speaker 1>released in theaters. Actor Dominique Dunn, who played the eldest

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<v Speaker 1>daughter of the beleaguered Freeling family, was murdered by her

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<v Speaker 1>ex boyfriend. The sudden, violent death cut short a rising

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<v Speaker 1>talent and was plastered across the headlines for weeks following

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<v Speaker 1>the release of the second film. Actor Julian Beck, who

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<v Speaker 1>portrayed the terrifying villain Reverend Henry Kane, passed from stomach

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<v Speaker 1>cancer in nineteen eighty five, and Will Sampson, the actor

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<v Speaker 1>who played the shaman Taylor, passed from kidney failure and

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<v Speaker 1>post operative complications two years after that. But perhaps the

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<v Speaker 1>most heartbreaking and widely known event occurred in nineteen eighty eight,

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<v Speaker 1>when Heather O'Rourke, the child actress who played the iconic

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<v Speaker 1>Carol Anne Freeling, died at the age of twelve, the

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<v Speaker 1>result of septic shock caused by an undiagnosed intestine stenosis.

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<v Speaker 1>O'Rourke had been filming Poltergeist three at the time, and

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<v Speaker 1>her death occurred mere weeks before the film's release. Despite

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<v Speaker 1>the emotional power of these tragedies, skeptics and historians have

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<v Speaker 1>urged caution in attributing them to these supernatural The curse

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<v Speaker 1>is often viewed through the lens of confirmation bias. In

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<v Speaker 1>any large ensemble cast spanning three films over six years,

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<v Speaker 1>the probability of illness and accident increases, and the trouble

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<v Speaker 1>with something like a curse is that it romanticizes tragedy

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<v Speaker 1>and ignores the mundane realities of mortality and misfortune. It

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<v Speaker 1>flattens lives down to their most macabre details. The same

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<v Speaker 1>was true for Fatty Arbuckle, once one of comedy's great

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<v Speaker 1>lights and mentor to the legendary Buster Keaton. He was

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<v Speaker 1>largely known before the death of Virginia Rape as a kind,

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<v Speaker 1>friendly individual and was found innocent by a court of law,

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<v Speaker 1>but the damage was done. He was purged from the industry,

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<v Speaker 1>spending the rest of his life as a pariah, then

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<v Speaker 1>a cautionary tale. Ultimately, though, these tragedies serve as fascinating

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<v Speaker 1>case studies in how folklore evolves in the modern age.

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<v Speaker 1>It transforms a series of unfortunate events into a cohesive mythos,

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<v Speaker 1>a shadow cast by the movie industry. The curse persists

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<v Speaker 1>because it adds a layer of meta reality to the fiction.

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<v Speaker 1>The fear of the movie bleeding into life is perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>the ultimate horror. While the deaths of Dunn, Beck, Sampson,

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<v Speaker 1>and O'Rourke remain profound tragedies that deserve to be remembered

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<v Speaker 1>with dignity rather than sensationalism, the Curse remains a powerful

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<v Speaker 1>piece of cinematic mythology. It's a story born from a

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<v Speaker 1>mix of cheap production decisions, the randomness of fate, and

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<v Speaker 1>the enduring desire to believe that the stories we tell

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<v Speaker 1>have the power to shape reality. I hope you enjoyed

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<v Speaker 1>today's guided tour through the Cabinet of Curiosities. This show

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<v Speaker 1>was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with iHeart Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>researched and written by the Grim and Mild team, and

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<v Speaker 1>produced by Jesse Funk. Learn more about the show and

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<v Speaker 1>the people who make it over at Grimandmild dot com

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<v Speaker 1>slash Curiosities. You'll also find a link to the official

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<v Speaker 1>Cabinet of Curiosity's hardcover book, available in bookstores and online,

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<v Speaker 1>as well as ebook and audiobook, and if you're looking

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<v Speaker 1>patreon dot com. Slash Grimandmild, and until next time, stay curious,