1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:11,000 Speaker 1: Greetings everyone, Hello, welcome back to the final episode this 2 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:18,840 Speaker 1: year of recrupulous Romance. Halloween is upon us, and that 3 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: means we're done with these spooky stories for now. True. 4 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:23,760 Speaker 1: I mean, although I'm sure they'll come up again. How 5 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:27,920 Speaker 1: many stories are just spooky on their own merits, you know? True? 6 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:32,519 Speaker 1: So true love is scary, isn't that in the vows? 7 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: Love is scary, love is kind, love is spooky, love 8 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:38,880 Speaker 1: is blind. I think that's what it was, right, Yeah, 9 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,920 Speaker 1: I think that's what it was. I don't remember. I'm Eli, 10 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:45,680 Speaker 1: I'm Diana, and we're so excited to have you back 11 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 1: with this. Yes, the last Recryptulous romance of the year. 12 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 1: We saved the best for last in terms of just 13 00:00:53,320 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: all out spooktacular horror show nightmares, and this episode was 14 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: something we already had on our list, but then Lauren 15 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,840 Speaker 1: Rockburn at Rockburn reached out to us on Instagram and 16 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:09,480 Speaker 1: suggested it as well. So shout out to Lauren for 17 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: having this uh ready for us, because uh yeah, we 18 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:18,119 Speaker 1: could not do this story at some point. Lord yeah, 19 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:21,040 Speaker 1: this one and Halloween weekend feels like the perfect time. 20 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:25,319 Speaker 1: Of course, very much in the Halloween spirit as well, 21 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: because we watched hocus Pocus last night, which is my 22 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:32,759 Speaker 1: Halloween tradition classic, and no one is having more fun 23 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:37,080 Speaker 1: we decided than Bette Midler, Kathy Nagamie, and Sarah Jessica Parker. 24 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: It's true. They are having a blast. They are having 25 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:45,240 Speaker 1: such a good time. They're the movements they all put together, 26 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 1: the choreography, even their facial expressions. I mean, like, just yeah, 27 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:51,919 Speaker 1: that's a whole lot of fun. And they're like sisterhood 28 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: they created with their little like spats and when they 29 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:57,440 Speaker 1: when they would come together, when they would fight, it 30 00:01:57,560 --> 00:01:59,640 Speaker 1: was just so well done. I just love it. That's 31 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: such a one. Anyway, really put me in the mood. 32 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: And then you made it all creepy with this story. 33 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:11,560 Speaker 1: This is probably the polar opposite mood of hocus Pocus. 34 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I think we have to get right into 35 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: this one because you're ready for spooky season. You guys 36 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:20,919 Speaker 1: are ready for a creepy story to get you through 37 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: this weekend, and this one's really going to set the mood. 38 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 1: This is the story of Carl Tonsler, also known as 39 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:34,239 Speaker 1: Count Carl van Kozel, and he was a German scientist 40 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:38,959 Speaker 1: question mark Um who fell in love with a young 41 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,640 Speaker 1: Cuban girl and um, and I'm not even gonna spoil 42 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 1: for you that it just got really bad from there. 43 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:53,079 Speaker 1: Get right into it. Let's do it. Hate it, friend, 44 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 1: You're welcome to hell. There's no man making romantic tips. 45 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: He's just a out crops you were lying in chrissy 46 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 1: type of demonico. But if there's a spirit with a 47 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: second chance, we'll put it off. Show Recruitulous a production 48 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Carl Tonsler and we learned it 49 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: is pronounced Tonsler, not Tansler. Carl Tonsler was born in 50 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: Germany in February of eighteen seventy seven, and he grew 51 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: up in Dresden. He was a bright kid and very 52 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: curious about the world around him. A lot of the 53 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: fine details of his story here are going to be 54 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:51,840 Speaker 1: pulled from Ben Harrison's book Undying Love, So I want 55 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:53,680 Speaker 1: to give a big shout out to Ben Harrison for 56 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:55,120 Speaker 1: the work he did to kind of dig all these 57 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: details up and put him together. He pulls a lot 58 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 1: from Carl's own writings, his autobiography, and those describe his childhood, 59 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: although Ben does say that the veracity of these autobiographies 60 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 1: is quote simply not to be trusted, and you won't 61 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 1: anyway by the time this story is over, so no worries. 62 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:19,560 Speaker 1: Carl grew up mostly in the countryside on a family 63 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 1: estate called Villa Kozl. Now this was a large, drafty 64 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: old castle and it was known to be haunted by 65 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: a spirit called the White Woman. Not a white woman, 66 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:38,200 Speaker 1: Karen's hunting my castle. So Carl's mother had told him 67 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:41,040 Speaker 1: that this ghost, the White Woman, had appeared many times 68 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:43,479 Speaker 1: over the last hundred years or so. She was said 69 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:47,160 Speaker 1: to be the Countess Anna Constantia von Bruckdorf, who was 70 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:50,279 Speaker 1: an ancestor of the Tonsler family who died in seventeen sixty. 71 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:54,400 Speaker 1: Now this was a real person, a real historical figure. Anna, 72 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 1: the Countess of Kozel, had worked to become the official 73 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:01,120 Speaker 1: mistress of King Augustus the Strong of Poland in the 74 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:05,040 Speaker 1: early seventeen hundreds. But there's a whole other story about 75 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:08,359 Speaker 1: her here, and the Polish court basically hated her for 76 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: her very heavy involvement in politics. As we've seen on 77 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 1: this very show many times for royal mistresses, sounds quite familiar. 78 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 1: They they'll they'll dig in, they'll stry to start manipulating 79 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 1: the politics. Sometimes in their favor, sometimes just they genuinely 80 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:25,880 Speaker 1: think they can help the country. But either way, the 81 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 1: other people in the court don't take too kindly to it, 82 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:31,200 Speaker 1: and they usually start scheming against her. Right. It's all 83 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 1: just a big tug of war and you keep changing 84 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:38,400 Speaker 1: sides of the rope. But and that's what happened here. 85 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:41,440 Speaker 1: Rumors broke out that the king had made a secret 86 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:45,279 Speaker 1: promise to marry this woman, and the court got to work, 87 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 1: and they really worked hard to try and replace her 88 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:52,279 Speaker 1: with a Catholic mistress. And it worked, and in seventeen 89 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:56,359 Speaker 1: thirteen Anna was banished to a castle in Dresden, and 90 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:59,480 Speaker 1: she remained there for the next sixty years until her death. 91 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 1: But now her ghost haunted the walls of the Villa 92 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:07,480 Speaker 1: Coastal and made visits to family members. And when Carl 93 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: was twelve years old he met her for the first time. 94 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:15,159 Speaker 1: A vision of a very beautiful girl in a white 95 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:19,040 Speaker 1: dress came to him. She was reclining on a rococo 96 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:24,479 Speaker 1: settee and didn't speak, but just watched him. He painted 97 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:27,720 Speaker 1: the image, but beyond that it didn't really hold his attention. 98 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:31,120 Speaker 1: He was more focused on his interests like electricity and 99 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:35,680 Speaker 1: chemistry and astronomy and especially the new interests in flying 100 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:42,240 Speaker 1: machines that was sweeping across Germany. So by the time 101 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: I went to college, he was experimenting with electricity and 102 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:48,560 Speaker 1: high voltage laboratories, and he was building hot air balloons 103 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:52,840 Speaker 1: and gliders. It's like big, just a big science engineering 104 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 1: kind of guy. Music and art were of no interest 105 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:59,719 Speaker 1: to him, and he says, quote, girls did not exist 106 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: from except formally, and I did neither smoke nor drink. 107 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 1: So he was really like focus, It's just very one 108 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 1: chap kind of dude. It's all about the science. And 109 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:17,160 Speaker 1: he claimed that when he finished school he had nine degrees, 110 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 1: which would be quite an accomplishment, but basically nobody believes 111 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:26,440 Speaker 1: that have been true. But Harrison writes that whether or 112 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 1: not he genuinely had those degrees, he was clearly very brilliant. 113 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:35,200 Speaker 1: Carl has a tendency towards exaggeration and colorful storytelling, as 114 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:40,760 Speaker 1: we definitely see, but he was fluent in many languages, 115 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 1: and he clearly had a brilliant mind for science. So 116 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 1: he's he's got some smarts. But one night in while 117 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:52,960 Speaker 1: Carl was deep in his studies, he had a visit 118 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: that would change his life forever. It was near eleven PM, 119 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 1: and he sat at his desk, surrounded by acts of 120 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: books and laboratory instruments. Not wishing to be disturbed. He 121 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:06,960 Speaker 1: had locked all the doors to his study and he 122 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,160 Speaker 1: had planned to be working long into the night. Out 123 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:13,240 Speaker 1: of the corner of his eye, he saw a pencil 124 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:16,720 Speaker 1: on the table start to roll towards him. He tried 125 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: to ignore it, but suddenly it lifted off the table 126 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:23,200 Speaker 1: and it flipped around in the air and then clattered 127 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:27,640 Speaker 1: to the floor. Then a match box floated off his 128 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 1: desk as well, and then his books. He was amazed 129 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:35,200 Speaker 1: as eventually the desk itself lifted off the floor and 130 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:38,600 Speaker 1: carried itself up into the air. The chairs and the 131 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 1: room started dancing around him, and he said he wasn't frightened. 132 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:45,600 Speaker 1: He still thought this could be some kind of prank, 133 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 1: and actually he found the whole scene kind of funny. 134 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: But then he heard a large craft and he found 135 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:56,839 Speaker 1: that one of his mercury pumps had shattered. Fifty pounds 136 00:08:56,880 --> 00:09:00,559 Speaker 1: of mercury poured out across the floor, and it hundreds 137 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: of dollars worth of equipment. This made him furious. He 138 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:08,440 Speaker 1: screamed and the floating books and furniture fell to the 139 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:16,240 Speaker 1: down silent. I'm gonna speculation station here. If he's working 140 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:19,839 Speaker 1: around that much mercury, as I understand it, that can 141 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: make you a little crazy. We may have identified the 142 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:26,920 Speaker 1: problem with Carl right off. He's got too much mercury 143 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:29,600 Speaker 1: in his brain. I mean it was contained in glass, 144 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:31,240 Speaker 1: so he may never have you know, it might have 145 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 1: been safe. But he's a chemist, you know, so any 146 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:38,120 Speaker 1: number of things could have gotten into that brain of his. 147 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:41,280 Speaker 1: Mercury is a medicine for a while too, So who 148 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:44,760 Speaker 1: knows um. I want to know who he's got around 149 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:47,560 Speaker 1: him that can pull that prank off, because he's like, 150 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:51,320 Speaker 1: desk is raising up in the air and he's like, oh, Frank, 151 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: you're such a frankster, how would you do this one? 152 00:09:55,240 --> 00:10:00,280 Speaker 1: Frank the prankster, always coming in with those pranks. The 153 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:04,040 Speaker 1: next night, Carl tried to go to sleep earlier and 154 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 1: drifted off around midnight. At two a m. He found 155 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:12,840 Speaker 1: himself mysteriously awakened to the sight of two women in 156 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:17,720 Speaker 1: his bedroom. One was a tall woman with snow white hair, 157 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:22,280 Speaker 1: and she leaned over his bed, staring straight into his eyes. 158 00:10:22,679 --> 00:10:26,840 Speaker 1: Her cold and weightless hand clutching his arm. It was 159 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:31,600 Speaker 1: the ghost of Countess Anna of Coastal. The other woman 160 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:35,200 Speaker 1: hovered behind the countess as if she were trying to hide, 161 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:38,320 Speaker 1: but the Countess held her hand and kept her close. 162 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:43,680 Speaker 1: She wore a long, dark veil. The countess bent lower 163 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:47,160 Speaker 1: and closer to Carl and said to him, I've been 164 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:50,199 Speaker 1: trying to get your attention for some time, my boy, 165 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:53,520 Speaker 1: but you wouldn't take a note. You were too much 166 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 1: engrossed in your experiments. That's why I had to use 167 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 1: some violences. Care Carl, I have brought you the bride. 168 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:07,480 Speaker 1: On some day you will meet. Carl tried to respond 169 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: but couldn't speak. The Countess stepped aside and pulled the 170 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:15,320 Speaker 1: young girl closer to him. The veil parted and he 171 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:20,600 Speaker 1: saw a young girl's face. Quote so beautiful, I can't 172 00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:25,000 Speaker 1: attempt to describe it. She smiled at him for just 173 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:28,200 Speaker 1: a brief second before the Countess took her hand off 174 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:35,720 Speaker 1: his arm and they both vanished. Spooky ghosts, spooky ladies 175 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:38,080 Speaker 1: in his bedroom. I was going to say, I bet 176 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:39,480 Speaker 1: a lot of guys have a dream where they wake 177 00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:44,000 Speaker 1: up and there's two ladies in their bedroom. Yeah, but 178 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:46,440 Speaker 1: one of them doesn't usually lean in and say, hey, 179 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:49,720 Speaker 1: this is your future wife. Hey, I thought we were 180 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:52,319 Speaker 1: here for some fun. Wait a minute, now a dream 181 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:59,640 Speaker 1: we just met. I'm mad because this sounds like Lovecraft, 182 00:11:59,679 --> 00:12:02,480 Speaker 1: where he is like so beautiful. I couldn't describe it, 183 00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:05,760 Speaker 1: And I'm like, you're the author. That's your job. You 184 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:10,839 Speaker 1: have to describe it. Find some words. Tell me. It's 185 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:15,640 Speaker 1: not enough, but you give me something terror so horrifying. 186 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 1: Words cannot even come close. Well, guess what, buddy, that's 187 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:23,560 Speaker 1: kind of your job. It's your job. I wonder if 188 00:12:23,559 --> 00:12:26,000 Speaker 1: the editors ever said that, like, come on, Lovecraft, that's 189 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:29,720 Speaker 1: what we're paying something, give me something. I gave you 190 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:34,480 Speaker 1: a whole advance for this now. Carl took a very 191 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 1: scientific approach to this whole interaction. He couldn't deny what 192 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:41,760 Speaker 1: had happened because he saw it, he experienced it, but 193 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:45,760 Speaker 1: he also had no rational explanation, so as a scientist, 194 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:49,480 Speaker 1: he was determined to find one. He started studying metaphysics, 195 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:52,000 Speaker 1: which he had never really touched before, but soon he 196 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:54,840 Speaker 1: realized that there really wasn't enough literature available to him 197 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:56,800 Speaker 1: where he was that was going to help him find 198 00:12:56,800 --> 00:12:59,600 Speaker 1: the answers that he was looking for. So he decided 199 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 1: he was going to set out on his own expedition 200 00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 1: and travel the world to try and find the answers 201 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:09,160 Speaker 1: that he saw it. This brought him to Genoa, Italy, 202 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 1: and into the Campo Santos Cemetery. He wandered amongst the 203 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:17,440 Speaker 1: tombs and gravestones, unsure exactly what it was that he 204 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:21,280 Speaker 1: was looking for. Then he passed by a marble statue. 205 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:24,400 Speaker 1: He found himself drawn to it as if he were 206 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:27,960 Speaker 1: under a spell, and when he saw her face, he 207 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 1: noticed the face and the statue was the exact same 208 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:35,760 Speaker 1: girl that he had seen in the apparition in his bedroom. 209 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:40,160 Speaker 1: There was a name carved into the stone, Elena. She 210 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:43,800 Speaker 1: had died at twenty two years old. He was compelled 211 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:51,040 Speaker 1: to say the name, and he repeated it again and again, Elena, Elena, Elena. 212 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:56,640 Speaker 1: Then suddenly, the figure of a live girl seemed to 213 00:13:56,679 --> 00:14:01,240 Speaker 1: detach itself from the statue and walked slow lea past him, 214 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:09,719 Speaker 1: looking straight at him as she moved by, before vanishing. Well, 215 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 1: now we had a name, and he continued to search 216 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:16,680 Speaker 1: for answers and for the girl herself. His travels took 217 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:19,480 Speaker 1: him halfway around the world, and according to his book, 218 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: he eventually settled down in Sydney, Australia in nineteen o one. 219 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:27,520 Speaker 1: There he became a British citizen and was employed by 220 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:31,600 Speaker 1: the Australian government as an electrical engineer an X ray expert, 221 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:36,440 Speaker 1: and after almost two years he was visited again. He 222 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:39,440 Speaker 1: was eating dinner when he saw her, the same girl 223 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:41,960 Speaker 1: from his vision in his study those few years ago, 224 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: the girl from the cemetery statue, Elena. She had rich 225 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:51,000 Speaker 1: black hair so long it reached her knees. He wasn't 226 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:55,240 Speaker 1: sure what to say, so he addressed her formally, what 227 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:59,280 Speaker 1: can I do for you, my lady? She had no answer, 228 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 1: but gave from a smile which he described as quote 229 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:08,160 Speaker 1: the most heavenly I had ever seen. She stretched out 230 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 1: her arms to him, and he felt his hair raising 231 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:16,240 Speaker 1: as he slowly approached her. Her arms closed around him, 232 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:20,160 Speaker 1: and he felt a divine happiness like he'd never experienced. 233 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:24,240 Speaker 1: The chills turned to warmth, and he felt them both 234 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:30,040 Speaker 1: float off the ground. But then she vanished, dissolving into 235 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:32,720 Speaker 1: the air, and he was terrified that he had lost her, 236 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 1: or that maybe she had sacrificed the last of her 237 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:42,120 Speaker 1: substance for that one embrace. But she reappeared the next 238 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:46,120 Speaker 1: night and stayed with him for a full seven days, 239 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:50,800 Speaker 1: never speaking, just present. She stood by his bed as 240 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:57,240 Speaker 1: he fell asleep, until one night she vanished. Rude man 241 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:00,440 Speaker 1: also when they floated up, and then she sepear, do 242 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:07,240 Speaker 1: you like fall to the count h in the comedy version, Yes, 243 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:10,440 Speaker 1: in the comedy version, yeah, yeah, which is of course 244 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:15,840 Speaker 1: my favorite version. Yes, I went the Marks Marks Brothers 245 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:22,680 Speaker 1: version Carl be very different. So years went by and 246 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:25,960 Speaker 1: Carl hadn't seen her. He was kind of depressed, and 247 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,280 Speaker 1: he also spent some time in the hospital with typhoid 248 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:31,800 Speaker 1: and malaria. But that would be the least of his 249 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:36,960 Speaker 1: worries because in nineteen fourteen, as we all know, as 250 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:39,920 Speaker 1: we always say, a little kerfuffle broke out between the 251 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:44,280 Speaker 1: British and the Germans the Great War. Yeah, and of 252 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:48,280 Speaker 1: course Carl was a German living in Australia, which was 253 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:52,200 Speaker 1: a dominion of the British Empire, and despite his alleged 254 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:55,280 Speaker 1: close relations with the Australian government and as many friends there, 255 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,600 Speaker 1: he like all other German citizens at the time, were 256 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: forced into an intern camp. Okay, it's important to note 257 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:06,639 Speaker 1: here that again this this is Carl's version of the 258 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:11,439 Speaker 1: story in terms of his travels. Whether he sailed away 259 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:15,800 Speaker 1: in search of this mysterious ghost love uh, to Australia, 260 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:18,960 Speaker 1: living there working for the Australian government. That's all from 261 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:23,160 Speaker 1: his memoirs, and historians are pretty dubious of a lot 262 00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 1: of that. Some suggest that he never lived in Australia 263 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 1: and he was actually part of the German army and 264 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:32,200 Speaker 1: he ended up being captured and sent to a prison 265 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:36,919 Speaker 1: camp in Australia. Um, but whatever happened, he was imprisoned 266 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:41,879 Speaker 1: in Australia, and he describes it as a fairly nightmarish 267 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:47,280 Speaker 1: and isolated situation, obviously because internment camps are never fun 268 00:17:48,119 --> 00:17:51,679 Speaker 1: and these people are rarely treated well because they're treated 269 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:57,120 Speaker 1: as enemies, he said. And I'm thinking speculation station that 270 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:01,359 Speaker 1: this experience in and of its health could have really 271 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:06,919 Speaker 1: mentally damaged this guy and given him who knows what 272 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:09,240 Speaker 1: kind of stories his mind might have come up with 273 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:12,080 Speaker 1: to sort of cope with it. Uh, not just in 274 00:18:12,119 --> 00:18:14,480 Speaker 1: the present, but in his own past. He might have 275 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:17,960 Speaker 1: created memories you know that put him on this journey. Oh, 276 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:20,800 Speaker 1: I you know, he's captured and thrown in prison in Australia. 277 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:23,399 Speaker 1: But maybe he's thinking, no, I I was on a 278 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:28,480 Speaker 1: journey to find my mystical promised love and and that's 279 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:33,680 Speaker 1: how I ended up here. You know, it all seems possible. Wow, 280 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:38,040 Speaker 1: that's so it's just interesting what your mind can come 281 00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:42,560 Speaker 1: up with times to protect you. So yeah, I mean, 282 00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:46,199 Speaker 1: you're probably right. Well, Harrison says in his book in 283 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:50,040 Speaker 1: fact quote is if these traumatic memories are all accurate, 284 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:53,240 Speaker 1: one may theorize that this interval of imprisonment may have 285 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:57,280 Speaker 1: been the triggering mechanism for PTSD, causing his later agitated 286 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:01,000 Speaker 1: mental states and altering his sense of reality. So all 287 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:04,919 Speaker 1: all under that same umbrella, they're just like, whatever he 288 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,240 Speaker 1: went through here might have made him a little crazy. 289 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:11,320 Speaker 1: So he was in this camp in Australia until the 290 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:16,439 Speaker 1: armistice was signed in ending World War One. Carl at 291 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:20,680 Speaker 1: that point left Australia and headed back to Germany. And 292 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:23,960 Speaker 1: we are going to head back to a commercial break. 293 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:36,360 Speaker 1: Who will be right back? Welcome back to Recrupulous Romance 294 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:41,399 Speaker 1: and the story of Carl Tansler and Elena Milagroos. Carl 295 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:44,399 Speaker 1: was back home in Germany now and had just turned 296 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:47,880 Speaker 1: forty years old. He hadn't seen the ghost of Elena 297 00:19:48,119 --> 00:19:50,720 Speaker 1: in well over a decade, and he was ready to 298 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:53,320 Speaker 1: move on with his life. Sure makes sense, I mean sure, 299 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:56,040 Speaker 1: that's a long time to dedicate to a ghost woman. 300 00:19:56,119 --> 00:19:58,680 Speaker 1: It just appears as a statue. Sometimes I can't remember 301 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:03,800 Speaker 1: what happened to me ten years about, you know, seriously, 302 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:08,000 Speaker 1: So he's like, let me just do something normal. He 303 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:11,840 Speaker 1: met and married a woman named Doris Schaeffer around and 304 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:16,119 Speaker 1: together they had two daughters, and then in nine six 305 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:19,280 Speaker 1: he looked around and realized that he lived in Germany. 306 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:26,399 Speaker 1: In ninety six, I was like, let me do something 307 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:31,320 Speaker 1: about this situation. You need to change this situation because 308 00:20:31,359 --> 00:20:37,199 Speaker 1: things are looking pretty grand. Uh. And his sister already 309 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 1: lived in Florida, and he had heard such great things 310 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:45,520 Speaker 1: about Florida, as you do worldwide, probably a very different 311 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:48,040 Speaker 1: Florida than than it is today is today, I don't know, 312 00:20:48,119 --> 00:20:51,200 Speaker 1: maybe it was just as crazy. So anyway, he was like, oh, 313 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:54,320 Speaker 1: Florida seems nice, and so he decided to move to 314 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:58,160 Speaker 1: Zephyr Hills and he arrived ahead of his family. They 315 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:04,040 Speaker 1: were following behind him in nine but their reunion was brief. 316 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:09,040 Speaker 1: So Doris was half Carl's age. She's much younger than him, 317 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:13,760 Speaker 1: and she's a healthy, determined, practical woman. So that contrasts 318 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:18,960 Speaker 1: a lot with this very fantastical, imaginative guy um and 319 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:22,000 Speaker 1: his first memoirs, which he had written in the time 320 00:21:22,119 --> 00:21:25,600 Speaker 1: between when he arrived to Florida and when his family 321 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:30,359 Speaker 1: joined him, he was already mixing fantasy and reality. He 322 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:33,760 Speaker 1: made no mention of his family. He described himself as 323 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:38,879 Speaker 1: quote Ulysses in Search of Elena. Shortly after his family 324 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:42,280 Speaker 1: arrived in Florida, Carl was short on money, so he 325 00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 1: took a job down in Key West at a marine 326 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:47,680 Speaker 1: hospital and moved down there alone, leaving his family and 327 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:50,800 Speaker 1: Zephyr Hills. And he wrote that he was employed as 328 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: a pathologist and ex ray specialist, but a woman who 329 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:57,879 Speaker 1: worked with him says he showed up destitute, like willing 330 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:00,320 Speaker 1: to take any job, and ended up working as an 331 00:22:00,359 --> 00:22:03,399 Speaker 1: attendant who cleaned up after procedures. It was like a 332 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:07,119 Speaker 1: janitor basically, yeah, pretty much a janitor in the operating rooms. 333 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:11,840 Speaker 1: It's like specifically blood half an intestine on the ground. 334 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:18,680 Speaker 1: He's like sweeping up gloves. But Carl kind of a charmer, right, 335 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:23,240 Speaker 1: He's smooth talking. He did have existing knowledge about X 336 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:25,560 Speaker 1: rays and stuff like that, so it did allow him 337 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 1: to kind of talk his way up to being a 338 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:31,720 Speaker 1: technician who worked with the X ray machines. Yeah. They 339 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:35,399 Speaker 1: they do say that he was probably self taught in 340 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:38,080 Speaker 1: science and that he even if he didn't have these 341 00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:41,679 Speaker 1: nine degrees, he did teach himself a lot about it 342 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,640 Speaker 1: and could carry a conversation and sound very smart. Yeah. 343 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:47,880 Speaker 1: So so he's doing okay. But he was working at 344 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:51,320 Speaker 1: this hospital with the X ray machines when he met 345 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:56,800 Speaker 1: Elena da Hoyos. Maria Elena Milagrod Hoyos was the daughter 346 00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:59,479 Speaker 1: of a cigar maker whose family had been quite wealthy 347 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:02,439 Speaker 1: in Cuba, but they moved to Key West after falling 348 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:05,880 Speaker 1: on hard times. She had two sisters and a very 349 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:09,479 Speaker 1: large extended family who all visited regularly. It was always 350 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:13,440 Speaker 1: loud and boisterous conversation and laughter and just a strong 351 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:15,760 Speaker 1: sense of community, a lot of people coming in and 352 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:18,359 Speaker 1: out of their house all the time. She was born 353 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:21,760 Speaker 1: in nineteen o nine and she was the middle child 354 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:24,800 Speaker 1: with her two other sisters. She was a great singer 355 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:27,280 Speaker 1: and a dancer, and she loved going to the local 356 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:30,560 Speaker 1: movie theater. She'd pay a nickel to watch Charlie Chaplin 357 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:36,080 Speaker 1: or Rudolph Valentino movies. Rudolf Valentino got a Rudolph Valentino 358 00:23:36,119 --> 00:23:37,800 Speaker 1: fan in the house here. Well I saw the Chic. 359 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:41,439 Speaker 1: For all the movies you haven't seen, You've seen the 360 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:44,439 Speaker 1: Chic with Rudolph Valentino. Well, it's all thanks to this 361 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:46,920 Speaker 1: great girl that I went to high school with named Megan. 362 00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:50,040 Speaker 1: She loved old films because she started a film club 363 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:54,399 Speaker 1: at the Horizons, and I just stay late anyway, So 364 00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:56,560 Speaker 1: I was like, I'll join the film club and lots 365 00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:58,520 Speaker 1: of great She she really knew what she was talking about. 366 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:01,000 Speaker 1: So we watched The Chic and that's when I watched 367 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:04,000 Speaker 1: all this Jimmy Cagney movie. Yeah. Yeah, we watched a 368 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,359 Speaker 1: lot of goods. Okay, Well that's school. That explains it. 369 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:11,200 Speaker 1: In her mid teens, Elena loved dressing as a flapper. 370 00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:13,600 Speaker 1: It was it was the nineteen twenties then, and she 371 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:16,879 Speaker 1: would go to dances. When she was eighteen years old, 372 00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:19,680 Speaker 1: she married a man who was just about her same 373 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:24,560 Speaker 1: age named Luis Mesa. She was beautiful and with her 374 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:27,639 Speaker 1: amazing singing voice, she was a popular performer at special 375 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:31,960 Speaker 1: events around town. It's just super cool girl. Oh yeah, yeah, 376 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:36,240 Speaker 1: everybody's favorite. Everybody loves Elena. Yeah, you know. And Louisa 377 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:39,960 Speaker 1: and Elena's early marriage was pure bliss. They had been 378 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,919 Speaker 1: together just a few months before deciding to marry. They 379 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:45,840 Speaker 1: were just like, let's do this. What are we waiting for? 380 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:49,679 Speaker 1: And when the day finally came, she looked stunning in 381 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 1: a beautiful fringed white dress and a red rose and 382 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:57,480 Speaker 1: her long, thick black hair. And the wedding took place 383 00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:02,320 Speaker 1: on February eight, the six, which was the same month 384 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:05,480 Speaker 1: and year that Carl Tonsler first came out to Florida. 385 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:09,800 Speaker 1: Within months of their wedding, Elena was pregnant, and she 386 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:12,480 Speaker 1: and Louise felt like they had nothing but a perfect 387 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:17,240 Speaker 1: life ahead of them. Nothing could possibly go wrong, my dear. 388 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:19,000 Speaker 1: So this is about the part of the horror movie 389 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:24,480 Speaker 1: where the car breaks down the weird creepy castle. Sadly, 390 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:29,240 Speaker 1: in November, Elena suffered a miscarriage. In the coming weeks, 391 00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:32,800 Speaker 1: she became thin and ill, and her family thought that 392 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:36,680 Speaker 1: it was grief over the baby, but before long they 393 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:39,520 Speaker 1: started to suspect that it was actually the other way. Around. 394 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:42,879 Speaker 1: She wasn't ill because of her miscarriage, but rather some 395 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:47,960 Speaker 1: existing illness had caused her miscarriage, and she developed a 396 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:52,000 Speaker 1: recurring cough just as rumors were spreading that the local 397 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:59,760 Speaker 1: hospital had diagnosed several cases of tuberculosis recently. Yeah, tuberculosis 398 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:03,320 Speaker 1: in that era was just death sentence basically, and not 399 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:07,560 Speaker 1: a pretty one. Um there was virtually no treatment and 400 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:11,359 Speaker 1: in Key West during the nineteen thirties, according to Harrison's book, 401 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:15,760 Speaker 1: TV was the number one cause of death, and he 402 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:19,879 Speaker 1: says especially in the cigar factories um, which was a 403 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:21,960 Speaker 1: very popular place to work in Key West the time 404 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:26,560 Speaker 1: for Cuban immigrants. It was the very close quarters and 405 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:30,760 Speaker 1: long hours just really spread through and killed a lot 406 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:36,560 Speaker 1: of people. So together Elena and Louise traveled by trolley 407 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:39,199 Speaker 1: to the Marine Hospital for a blood test and an 408 00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:42,280 Speaker 1: X ray, and Louise waited. As she went into the 409 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:46,440 Speaker 1: exam room, they're a technician greeted her, who was going 410 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:50,159 Speaker 1: by the name Count Carl von Kozel, which was the 411 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:53,200 Speaker 1: name that he had taken when he came to the US. 412 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:57,439 Speaker 1: Elena was nervous and she had had a hand over 413 00:26:57,440 --> 00:26:59,960 Speaker 1: her face most of the time, just out of pure shy, 414 00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:03,040 Speaker 1: this mostly, and he calmed her, and he bent down 415 00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:05,920 Speaker 1: to take a drop of blood from her fingertip as 416 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,880 Speaker 1: she twitched from the prick of the needle. He apologized 417 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:11,639 Speaker 1: to her, and he looked up. She pulled her hand 418 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:17,320 Speaker 1: away from her face, and Carl was speechless. He described 419 00:27:17,359 --> 00:27:22,160 Speaker 1: it as quote a face of unearthly beauty, the face 420 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:25,800 Speaker 1: of my dreams and my visions, the face of the 421 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:28,960 Speaker 1: bride which had been promised to me by my ancestor 422 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:34,359 Speaker 1: forty years before. He was dumb struck and shaky. He 423 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:37,320 Speaker 1: didn't know what to say, so he stood and he 424 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,400 Speaker 1: bowed out of the room, unsure if he was awake 425 00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:45,480 Speaker 1: or dreaming. Wow, super spooky. I mean to see this 426 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:48,639 Speaker 1: face that had been haunting you for so many years, 427 00:27:49,359 --> 00:27:52,960 Speaker 1: just sitting on your table, that is. And it must 428 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:57,080 Speaker 1: be said that the first time Carl saw this goes 429 00:27:57,200 --> 00:28:00,680 Speaker 1: the first time that the Countess on his ghosts showed 430 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:03,359 Speaker 1: up with the girl in hand and said this is 431 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:06,960 Speaker 1: your bride in the future. That was ten years before 432 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:13,320 Speaker 1: Elena was born. So how this vision worked is just 433 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:18,040 Speaker 1: as mysterious as as anything. Very weirds like a doctor 434 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:20,000 Speaker 1: who thing and keep popping in and out at a 435 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:24,919 Speaker 1: different time. So Carl sat in his lab, examining the 436 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:28,680 Speaker 1: blood he'd collected and trying to reconcile what he'd just seen. 437 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:32,760 Speaker 1: The same woman from his visions, the same ghost who 438 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:35,439 Speaker 1: had appeared to him, the same girl from the marble 439 00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:39,840 Speaker 1: statue in the Italian Cemetery. I mean. Then a nurse 440 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:43,040 Speaker 1: brought him her record sheet for him to log her information, 441 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:49,600 Speaker 1: and there was her name, Mrs Lena Hoyos. He saw 442 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:52,640 Speaker 1: that she was married, and it did phase him for 443 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:57,120 Speaker 1: a moment. He wrote in his memoirs quote, was there 444 00:28:57,160 --> 00:29:00,600 Speaker 1: a curse upon me? Set after this search of decades 445 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:03,040 Speaker 1: has come to an end, I should lose her again 446 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:06,200 Speaker 1: at the very moment I had finally discovered her my 447 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:11,200 Speaker 1: promised bride. But then he continued, what did it matter? 448 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:15,400 Speaker 1: She belonged to another? Hadn't I also belonged to another 449 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:18,840 Speaker 1: years ago? I was just about to say, do you 450 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:21,719 Speaker 1: not recall that you were married sir to Mrs Doris 451 00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:27,640 Speaker 1: Shaeffer tons Lair. Yeah. And this is the only reference 452 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:30,280 Speaker 1: he makes in his memoirs to the woman to whom 453 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:35,760 Speaker 1: he is currently married. So he's running like, oh long 454 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:39,920 Speaker 1: since past I was married to all those many many 455 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:42,640 Speaker 1: eons ago, and she's sitting there somewhere going like, oh 456 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:44,480 Speaker 1: my my husband hasn't called me in a few months. 457 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:48,440 Speaker 1: I wonder where he's at. I've been waiting around for 458 00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:53,160 Speaker 1: that deadbeat. Come on, man. He was like, I was married, 459 00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:56,440 Speaker 1: but then I left and that's all it takes. It's 460 00:29:56,440 --> 00:30:00,640 Speaker 1: over now, so they forget all about me. But he 461 00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:06,080 Speaker 1: had completely changed in this moment, right um, As it's 462 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:11,720 Speaker 1: probably come clear to you, Harrison writes, after this, von 463 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:15,880 Speaker 1: Kostle mentally turned his responsibilities off as one might turn 464 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:19,240 Speaker 1: off a water faucet, and he barely ever thought of 465 00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:22,720 Speaker 1: his wife and children again. So it's as if a 466 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:25,720 Speaker 1: whole like he stepped into a whole new life and 467 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:28,480 Speaker 1: old the old life was dead. It was like a 468 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:31,880 Speaker 1: dead Carl in a new carl. Right. And and what 469 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:37,240 Speaker 1: sort of PTSD or existing mental illness or anything might 470 00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:41,040 Speaker 1: have caused this is anybody's guests. They they talk a 471 00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:43,560 Speaker 1: little bit in this book, which came out in I 472 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:47,320 Speaker 1: don't know the whole psychiatric field of study may have 473 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:51,000 Speaker 1: changed since then, but they discuss this sort of idea 474 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:54,920 Speaker 1: of snapping, that his personality really just in a moment, 475 00:30:55,080 --> 00:31:00,720 Speaker 1: just broke and became something completely different, and his past 476 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:05,480 Speaker 1: memories may have vanished or altered. Um, but whatever it was, 477 00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:08,880 Speaker 1: he's just like you said, Yeah, just this totally new Carl, 478 00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:11,840 Speaker 1: who isn't even aware of old Carl. Like you asked 479 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:13,680 Speaker 1: him about wife and daughter, he'd be like, what wife 480 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:16,720 Speaker 1: and daughter? Right? It's almost as if the real life 481 00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:21,080 Speaker 1: is the ghost story, and the ghost story is the 482 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:26,760 Speaker 1: real line he It's making me wonder, like, first of all, 483 00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:29,800 Speaker 1: I have to question how much alike all of these 484 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:33,360 Speaker 1: women really looked. Surely he's super imposing a lot of 485 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:38,000 Speaker 1: similarity that isn't necessarily there. I mean, that's definitely a possibility. 486 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:41,560 Speaker 1: But I think even that presumes that these things actually 487 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:45,600 Speaker 1: happened in the chronological order that he experienced, instead of 488 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:50,720 Speaker 1: him retroactively making up these memories, you know. I mean, 489 00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:53,200 Speaker 1: it wasn't until he wrote his books that anybody knew 490 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:55,480 Speaker 1: anything about this ghost he saw when he was a kid. 491 00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:58,640 Speaker 1: So maybe that didn't happen back then, and he just 492 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:02,040 Speaker 1: thinks it did. He's sort of fabricad memories, very untrustworthy 493 00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:06,360 Speaker 1: of course, so who knows. But but but if he did, 494 00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:12,000 Speaker 1: I wonder I also wonder if He was like questioning 495 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:16,680 Speaker 1: it up until he saw Elena's person and then he 496 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:18,440 Speaker 1: was like it must all be real. And it was 497 00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:21,120 Speaker 1: like a cementing and it was like boom, now now 498 00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:23,720 Speaker 1: all that ship has gone is over. This is everything now, 499 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:26,240 Speaker 1: and he sort of rewrote the experience to be something 500 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:30,840 Speaker 1: that he believed all along. Yeah, maybe instead of some 501 00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:35,560 Speaker 1: weird experiences. I don't know. His brains are crazy. I mean, 502 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:38,640 Speaker 1: brains are just even normal brains are crazy. Yeah, they're 503 00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:41,960 Speaker 1: all crazy. It's meat with electricity in it. Oh yeah, 504 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,360 Speaker 1: and it does some weird ships. Like a computer. It's 505 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:48,280 Speaker 1: gonna glitch, it's going to have errors, it's going to crash. Yes, 506 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:54,080 Speaker 1: it's wild. Well his his crashing, I think. Well, the 507 00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:58,440 Speaker 1: diagnosis came back for Elena, and she did indeed have tuberculosis, 508 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:02,240 Speaker 1: and in fact, she had a articularly nasty strain, which 509 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:06,360 Speaker 1: at the time they were calling hasty consumption. They called 510 00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:09,400 Speaker 1: it that because it's spread and killed so quickly. I 511 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:13,000 Speaker 1: was going to say, that's not a soft punch of 512 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:15,040 Speaker 1: a name. They wanted to give it to you with 513 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:20,160 Speaker 1: that name. Shortly after this, Louise left Elena for another 514 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:24,560 Speaker 1: woman and moved to Miami to become a restaurant server. Louise, 515 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:29,040 Speaker 1: I know, now this sounds terrible. This is terrible, right, 516 00:33:29,080 --> 00:33:31,240 Speaker 1: it doesn't just sound terrible, it is, but it's a 517 00:33:31,280 --> 00:33:34,360 Speaker 1: little heartless. He says that her illness had nothing to 518 00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:40,160 Speaker 1: do with it, and Harrison writes that realistically, Louise had 519 00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:43,080 Speaker 1: a very difficult choice to make. He could either stay 520 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:48,040 Speaker 1: here and quite possibly die of the same, very contagious 521 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:51,600 Speaker 1: strain of tuberculosis. And I'll note here that much of 522 00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:56,160 Speaker 1: the rest of Elena's family also died from tuberculosis. So 523 00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:58,680 Speaker 1: he had to decide whether he was going to stay 524 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:03,120 Speaker 1: with that or kind of abandon her and go somewhere 525 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:06,240 Speaker 1: else and try to live his life out. So you know, 526 00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:09,279 Speaker 1: I'm not here to judge whether he's a good or 527 00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:12,000 Speaker 1: bad person based on this choice, only that it was 528 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:16,840 Speaker 1: definitely I feel like sure a speculation station that it 529 00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:20,080 Speaker 1: was a very difficult choice for him, um, and that 530 00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:23,080 Speaker 1: you know, he might not have been super happy either way, 531 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:29,240 Speaker 1: but um, but certainly from a Lana's standpoint, that sucks. Yeah, 532 00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:32,640 Speaker 1: that's pretty cold. Yeah, I mean, Doc holiday at TV 533 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:37,200 Speaker 1: and Kate's Kate still sat in his lap. But in 534 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:43,360 Speaker 1: either case, it broke e Lana's heart, but not Carl's. Nope, 535 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:45,480 Speaker 1: he was just about the only person who was happy 536 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:48,759 Speaker 1: about this breakup. The next time she saw him, he 537 00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:52,840 Speaker 1: told her, don't worry about anything anymore. From now on, 538 00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:56,360 Speaker 1: I am going to take care of you. And he 539 00:34:56,640 --> 00:35:01,000 Speaker 1: just threw himself into studying tuberculosis and he devoted himself 540 00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:03,840 Speaker 1: entirely to her treatment. Do you do you think She 541 00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:06,080 Speaker 1: was like, well, I thought you would because you're my doctor. 542 00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:08,040 Speaker 1: Who I mean, you know, I supposed to take care. 543 00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:15,080 Speaker 1: But this is where his expertise kind of came into question. 544 00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:20,480 Speaker 1: Harrison writes that Carl quote walked a tightrope between genius 545 00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:24,960 Speaker 1: and mad scientist without a net. He was very intelligent, 546 00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:27,840 Speaker 1: and everyone around him thought of him as a genius. 547 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:30,959 Speaker 1: But even for his best theories, which he had many 548 00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:37,279 Speaker 1: about medical treatments and uh innovative machines, flying machines, and 549 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:41,640 Speaker 1: and watercraft and electrical machines. He had all these ideas, 550 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:46,200 Speaker 1: but he lacked the skill to actually bring them into reality. Like, 551 00:35:46,280 --> 00:35:50,320 Speaker 1: for example, he was building this ridiculous plane out behind 552 00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:53,960 Speaker 1: the hospital. It's big and clunky, and the wheels are 553 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:56,719 Speaker 1: like as tall as a person, and it's this big 554 00:35:56,719 --> 00:36:00,800 Speaker 1: fat metal machine. Uh, I would never getting into this plane, 555 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:04,120 Speaker 1: and there's pictures of it and no thank you. And 556 00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:07,640 Speaker 1: he told Elena that he would use it to fly 557 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:10,080 Speaker 1: her out of here to an island in the South 558 00:36:10,120 --> 00:36:12,759 Speaker 1: Seas after he cured her, and they would live this 559 00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:15,640 Speaker 1: life together, you know, in this tropical paradise that they 560 00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:19,080 Speaker 1: would find. And every time she came over for treatment, 561 00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:21,120 Speaker 1: he would take her out of the plane and show 562 00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:23,160 Speaker 1: it to her. They'd sit down next to each other 563 00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:27,120 Speaker 1: in the cockpit and pretend they were flying. And he 564 00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:30,080 Speaker 1: wrote in his memoirs that one time, when they were 565 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:33,239 Speaker 1: looking at the plane, he asked her could I name 566 00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:38,160 Speaker 1: the plane La Contessa di Kozo, the Countess of Cozel, 567 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:41,480 Speaker 1: And it was suggesting to her, like you're gonna marry 568 00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:43,279 Speaker 1: me and be the Countess of Cozel, and I'm going 569 00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:46,520 Speaker 1: to name the plane after you. And she was like, 570 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:49,040 Speaker 1: oh that's sweet. Sure, yeah, you can name it the 571 00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:55,239 Speaker 1: Contessa and very much Indeed, he painted Contessa Elena van 572 00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:58,200 Speaker 1: Kozo on the side of the plane the next day. 573 00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:00,520 Speaker 1: I have to wonder if he was like, can I 574 00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:03,920 Speaker 1: do can I write the contest of Kosal And She's like, yeah, 575 00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:07,160 Speaker 1: I meant you're playing, I mean, go for it. And 576 00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:09,400 Speaker 1: then the next day she comes out and sees Elena 577 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:18,759 Speaker 1: Countess contests of like ohn't yeah, oh wow, I better 578 00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:23,640 Speaker 1: go now. He had been sending payments back to Zephyr 579 00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:26,759 Speaker 1: Hills for Doris and his daughters, but now with his 580 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:30,720 Speaker 1: focus on Elena, all of that stopped. He was not again. 581 00:37:30,760 --> 00:37:32,799 Speaker 1: They were they were gone for him. It was like 582 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:36,040 Speaker 1: they had never existed. And he was showering Elena with 583 00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:40,080 Speaker 1: gifts and jewelry and making constant promises that he could 584 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:46,399 Speaker 1: cure her tuberculosis. He tried several experimental treatments, even concocted 585 00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:54,000 Speaker 1: some homemade elixers, which sounds terrifying. Outside of his memoirs, 586 00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:59,440 Speaker 1: there's no historical evidence that any of his feelings for 587 00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:03,400 Speaker 1: Elena were reciprocated. Right, So we don't know how she 588 00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:06,760 Speaker 1: felt about Carl. I'll say that even in the quotes 589 00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:10,040 Speaker 1: from the memoirs that Harrison puts in his book, even 590 00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:13,960 Speaker 1: though he sounds delusional, like he never really writes her 591 00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:15,799 Speaker 1: as sounding like she's in love with him, but it 592 00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:18,920 Speaker 1: sounds like he thinks she is. But even in his 593 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:21,960 Speaker 1: own writings, I'm like, dude, she's not into you know, 594 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:25,680 Speaker 1: but he's still responding as though she is. It's very strange. 595 00:38:26,200 --> 00:38:31,560 Speaker 1: That is so creepy, so so creepy. You know. She's like, oh, 596 00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:33,520 Speaker 1: you're so nice to know, you're so kind. Oh you 597 00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:36,600 Speaker 1: give me a diamond ring. Oh that's so sweet, thank you, 598 00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:42,080 Speaker 1: uh thanks by Okayssie tomorrow. You know, I do think 599 00:38:42,080 --> 00:38:44,560 Speaker 1: it's weird that she would accept jewelry from him, but 600 00:38:44,640 --> 00:38:48,360 Speaker 1: maybe she just didn't know how to say no. He 601 00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:52,120 Speaker 1: just refused to take it. Something like that ship can 602 00:38:52,120 --> 00:38:54,760 Speaker 1: be so awkward. And I'll say side note too that 603 00:38:55,719 --> 00:38:59,799 Speaker 1: years later many of Helena's friends said that ship wasn't 604 00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:06,040 Speaker 1: ex pensive. So Carl and this, uh that he did 605 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:09,680 Speaker 1: right that he gave her a diamond ring at some point. Uh, 606 00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:11,880 Speaker 1: nobody else ever saw that ring. He was like a 607 00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:14,759 Speaker 1: ring pop when that be He's like, I gave her 608 00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:20,160 Speaker 1: this beautiful stone and Elena is like, oh, thank you 609 00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:22,400 Speaker 1: so much for the lollipop that would cheer me up 610 00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:29,800 Speaker 1: on the way home from my horrible tuberculosis experimental tuberculosis street. Well, anyway, 611 00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:32,240 Speaker 1: all that speculations case, and I don't think ring pops 612 00:39:32,280 --> 00:39:37,080 Speaker 1: existed yet, but it was probably something like yeah and 613 00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:41,880 Speaker 1: Harrison also wrote that when Carl confessed his love for 614 00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:46,920 Speaker 1: Elena to her, she insisted that even though she was 615 00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:49,719 Speaker 1: aware that she probably would never see Louise again, she 616 00:39:50,080 --> 00:39:52,400 Speaker 1: still felt that she was married in the eyes of God, 617 00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:56,160 Speaker 1: she could not be with Carl. So anyway, it doesn't 618 00:39:56,160 --> 00:39:59,560 Speaker 1: seem like probably she was being very encouraging to him, 619 00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:04,840 Speaker 1: but he certainly was building a whole fantasy whatever she 620 00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:09,200 Speaker 1: was in. He treated her with radiation therapy, and when 621 00:40:09,239 --> 00:40:12,000 Speaker 1: she was too sick to go to the hospital, he'd 622 00:40:12,040 --> 00:40:17,720 Speaker 1: go to her and bring this homemade high power medical 623 00:40:17,840 --> 00:40:21,920 Speaker 1: units with Tesla coils that he would use to zap 624 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:26,720 Speaker 1: the back of her throat and tonsils. And he claimed 625 00:40:26,840 --> 00:40:30,880 Speaker 1: her condition improved for a time from this. Yeah, she 626 00:40:30,920 --> 00:40:33,680 Speaker 1: seemed to get her voice back and and uh and 627 00:40:33,840 --> 00:40:37,600 Speaker 1: was more active and feeling better. He says. Okay, he 628 00:40:37,640 --> 00:40:42,480 Speaker 1: fought with her parents because they brought her company, like 629 00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:44,920 Speaker 1: they'd bring her friends to see and stuff like that. 630 00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:47,960 Speaker 1: They would take her on car rides and just kind 631 00:40:47,960 --> 00:40:51,440 Speaker 1: of do stuff with her. Activities that Carl insisted was 632 00:40:51,520 --> 00:40:56,759 Speaker 1: deteriorating her health further. But honestly, they just knew that 633 00:40:56,840 --> 00:41:01,160 Speaker 1: she wasn't going to live much longer, and they wanted 634 00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:03,480 Speaker 1: to give her as much enjoyment as they could and 635 00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:06,280 Speaker 1: probably spend as much time with her as they could 636 00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:13,919 Speaker 1: until it was over. And then on October, despite all 637 00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:18,920 Speaker 1: of Carl's efforts, Elena died. Carl was brought to the 638 00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:21,279 Speaker 1: house shortly after she died, and he made a last 639 00:41:21,320 --> 00:41:24,279 Speaker 1: minute attempt to revive her with his electric machines, but 640 00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:28,239 Speaker 1: she was gone. In his grief, he was angry at 641 00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:31,240 Speaker 1: her family for this paltry funeral service they had planned, 642 00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:34,680 Speaker 1: and he insisted that he paid for a better service 643 00:41:35,520 --> 00:41:37,520 Speaker 1: is in. Her parents were like, Okay, yeah, if that's 644 00:41:37,520 --> 00:41:39,960 Speaker 1: what you want to do, you know, sure, I don't 645 00:41:39,960 --> 00:41:43,120 Speaker 1: think they cared much but um, but they were willing 646 00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:45,880 Speaker 1: to let him do it. On his way to the service, 647 00:41:46,360 --> 00:41:48,840 Speaker 1: he said that in his head he was hearing beethoven 648 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:52,200 Speaker 1: seventh Symphony like to him, he thought people would say 649 00:41:52,200 --> 00:41:54,600 Speaker 1: that was weird, but he felt like it was very 650 00:41:54,719 --> 00:42:00,520 Speaker 1: powerful and almost wedding like experience. He called it um. 651 00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:03,560 Speaker 1: He just didn't have the same feelings that other people 652 00:42:03,600 --> 00:42:08,480 Speaker 1: did about this funeral. After she was buried, Carl offered 653 00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:12,239 Speaker 1: her parents five dollars a month to rent her room 654 00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:16,000 Speaker 1: and stay there. Now, this was a considerable amount of 655 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:20,880 Speaker 1: money back then in in Key West, and strangely they agreed, 656 00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:23,719 Speaker 1: probably just because they needed the money and also in 657 00:42:23,760 --> 00:42:25,720 Speaker 1: their grief. You know, who knows what they were thinking. 658 00:42:27,600 --> 00:42:32,920 Speaker 1: And then he made them a strange promise. He said, quote, 659 00:42:33,360 --> 00:42:36,839 Speaker 1: I'll take good care of her. I'll not permit her 660 00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:40,560 Speaker 1: body to decay. And if in the grave Elena should 661 00:42:40,560 --> 00:42:44,279 Speaker 1: lose her hair, I'll buy new hair and put it 662 00:42:44,320 --> 00:42:48,399 Speaker 1: back on her head. He writes then that her mother 663 00:42:48,520 --> 00:42:53,440 Speaker 1: responded by saying, quote, don't use other people's hair. I 664 00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:56,360 Speaker 1: have some which she cut off a year ago, and 665 00:42:56,440 --> 00:43:01,360 Speaker 1: she gave him long tresses of Elena's black hair. Now, 666 00:43:01,880 --> 00:43:03,919 Speaker 1: he went back up to her room and lay down 667 00:43:03,920 --> 00:43:06,280 Speaker 1: in her bed, where he would sleep many of his nights. 668 00:43:07,520 --> 00:43:10,480 Speaker 1: And he wasn't really sure how he could live up 669 00:43:10,480 --> 00:43:13,840 Speaker 1: to this promise of keep taking care of her body 670 00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:19,319 Speaker 1: while Elena was buried underground. So he decided that it 671 00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:24,319 Speaker 1: was his responsibility to have a mausoleum built and to 672 00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:30,080 Speaker 1: have her body interred inside. And I'm telling y'all, from 673 00:43:30,120 --> 00:43:35,719 Speaker 1: this point on, his behavior got more and more bizarre 674 00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:41,800 Speaker 1: and horrifying and strange and nightmarish and we're going to 675 00:43:41,880 --> 00:43:45,160 Speaker 1: see it right after this commercial break. Use that to tea, 676 00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:56,640 Speaker 1: and we're back with the horrifying conclusion. To Carl Tansler 677 00:43:56,719 --> 00:44:01,160 Speaker 1: and Lena the Hoyos. Carl had the crypt built and 678 00:44:01,280 --> 00:44:05,000 Speaker 1: paid to have Elena's body dug up and moved there. 679 00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:09,920 Speaker 1: The construction took three full months, and moving her was 680 00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:14,440 Speaker 1: highly unorthodox. When they dug up her coffin, they saw 681 00:44:14,560 --> 00:44:18,080 Speaker 1: that the reins had already steeped through, as the wood 682 00:44:18,120 --> 00:44:21,040 Speaker 1: had been cracked when the grave diggers packed the earth 683 00:44:21,080 --> 00:44:25,120 Speaker 1: above it too tightly. He paid the undertaker to allow 684 00:44:25,280 --> 00:44:30,840 Speaker 1: him in to redress Elena for her new tomb, and 685 00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:34,040 Speaker 1: when they lifted the boards of the broken coffin from 686 00:44:34,120 --> 00:44:39,120 Speaker 1: her body, the lining from inside had become stuck to 687 00:44:39,200 --> 00:44:43,280 Speaker 1: her face. Carl had to spray her with a formula 688 00:44:43,440 --> 00:44:47,840 Speaker 1: to disinfect the corpse and harden its tissues so she 689 00:44:47,920 --> 00:44:51,960 Speaker 1: didn't fall apart when they tried to move her. It 690 00:44:52,040 --> 00:44:56,000 Speaker 1: took them hours to clean her and finally transfer her 691 00:44:56,080 --> 00:44:59,560 Speaker 1: into a new coffin, so he came a second night 692 00:45:00,040 --> 00:45:03,600 Speaker 1: and placed her into a specially made incubator tank that 693 00:45:03,719 --> 00:45:08,840 Speaker 1: he built specifically to preserve her. From there, she was 694 00:45:08,880 --> 00:45:13,680 Speaker 1: sealed in an airtight double casket with fifty locks on 695 00:45:13,719 --> 00:45:16,920 Speaker 1: it that required a special key to open, and then 696 00:45:16,960 --> 00:45:20,520 Speaker 1: the crypt itself was closed with three more locks on 697 00:45:20,560 --> 00:45:26,360 Speaker 1: the outside, and for eighteen months, Carl came to visit 698 00:45:26,360 --> 00:45:31,200 Speaker 1: the tomb and sat inside by her coffin. One night, 699 00:45:31,719 --> 00:45:34,400 Speaker 1: he dozed off as he sat in the dank crypt, 700 00:45:34,960 --> 00:45:38,720 Speaker 1: only to be awoken by a sudden, loud, blasting noise. 701 00:45:40,239 --> 00:45:42,840 Speaker 1: He looked around, but no one was there. He thought 702 00:45:42,840 --> 00:45:45,480 Speaker 1: maybe someone was playing a prank on him. A neighborhood 703 00:45:45,640 --> 00:45:48,520 Speaker 1: kid came and shot a cap gun while he was 704 00:45:48,560 --> 00:45:51,520 Speaker 1: sleeping to startle him, but there was no one around. 705 00:45:52,760 --> 00:45:56,719 Speaker 1: He looked back to Elena's casket and he saw that 706 00:45:56,920 --> 00:46:03,640 Speaker 1: all fifty locks had sprung open at once. Then he 707 00:46:03,800 --> 00:46:09,240 Speaker 1: heard a light tapping sound from inside, like fingers gently 708 00:46:09,360 --> 00:46:13,759 Speaker 1: scraping at a metal surface. He flung open the outer 709 00:46:13,880 --> 00:46:17,120 Speaker 1: casket and put his ear down to the wood, but 710 00:46:17,200 --> 00:46:21,440 Speaker 1: he heard nothing. Then he opened the rest of the 711 00:46:21,520 --> 00:46:28,080 Speaker 1: coffin and the incubator and revealed Elena. The smell, he said, 712 00:46:29,160 --> 00:46:34,239 Speaker 1: was quote exactly like the healthy and agreeable odor of 713 00:46:34,280 --> 00:46:39,120 Speaker 1: a young woman's skin on a warm day, which is 714 00:46:39,400 --> 00:46:42,719 Speaker 1: so much scarier to me than if it had been 715 00:46:43,480 --> 00:46:49,239 Speaker 1: brank and disgusting. And from then on he started having 716 00:46:49,320 --> 00:46:53,800 Speaker 1: conversations with Elena on his visits. He said he thought 717 00:46:53,840 --> 00:46:57,480 Speaker 1: that her blowing all the locks open was just a fun, 718 00:46:57,560 --> 00:47:00,280 Speaker 1: practical joke, like the kind that she used to play 719 00:47:00,280 --> 00:47:03,920 Speaker 1: and loved so much. He chucks everything up to a 720 00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:07,839 Speaker 1: practical Joe doesn't like people were pranking car a lot. 721 00:47:07,920 --> 00:47:09,840 Speaker 1: I guess he really had a high opinion of what 722 00:47:09,880 --> 00:47:15,080 Speaker 1: a prankster could accomplish, right like, man, you were the 723 00:47:15,120 --> 00:47:19,080 Speaker 1: subject of some elaborate shit. I guess. She started to 724 00:47:19,239 --> 00:47:22,719 Speaker 1: sing to him from the crypt, and one night he 725 00:47:22,800 --> 00:47:25,719 Speaker 1: saw a vision of a white haired woman waiting outside 726 00:47:25,760 --> 00:47:31,640 Speaker 1: the tune Oh count as count Asama's back. Huh. And 727 00:47:31,680 --> 00:47:35,600 Speaker 1: eventually Elena's spirit called to him, begging for him to 728 00:47:35,680 --> 00:47:39,000 Speaker 1: release her from the mausoleum. She gave him the very 729 00:47:39,040 --> 00:47:42,320 Speaker 1: instructions he would need to do so. Bring a large 730 00:47:42,360 --> 00:47:45,960 Speaker 1: blanket to cover the fence and hide from neighboring houses. 731 00:47:46,520 --> 00:47:49,319 Speaker 1: Bring a wagon to carry her away. Come when the 732 00:47:49,360 --> 00:47:53,839 Speaker 1: moon is new, under cover of darkness. It's a real 733 00:47:53,920 --> 00:47:57,279 Speaker 1: heist planner, Elena. She also told him that the dead 734 00:47:57,320 --> 00:48:00,279 Speaker 1: woman in her neighboring plot was her friend, then that 735 00:48:00,320 --> 00:48:04,880 Speaker 1: she would help him keep a lookout. Wow, Elena is 736 00:48:04,920 --> 00:48:07,440 Speaker 1: like a Danny Ocean. She's getting a whole crew together, 737 00:48:09,880 --> 00:48:12,640 Speaker 1: corpse crew of the corpse crew together to hoist her 738 00:48:12,680 --> 00:48:18,239 Speaker 1: own body. Where is that Halloween movie? And on the 739 00:48:18,360 --> 00:48:23,320 Speaker 1: darkest night in April of n Carl came to the tune. 740 00:48:24,520 --> 00:48:27,560 Speaker 1: He opened the locks and took the inner casket with 741 00:48:27,640 --> 00:48:30,520 Speaker 1: him in the wagon, bringing her back to his own house. 742 00:48:31,800 --> 00:48:36,800 Speaker 1: He removed her body. Her hair was thick and matted, 743 00:48:37,400 --> 00:48:41,680 Speaker 1: stuck to her scalp. There were maggots around her head 744 00:48:41,840 --> 00:48:47,560 Speaker 1: and ears, and her eyes were empty black holes. The 745 00:48:47,680 --> 00:48:50,799 Speaker 1: spirit told him he must not love her like this, 746 00:48:51,800 --> 00:48:54,959 Speaker 1: but he told her she was as beautiful as ever, 747 00:48:55,920 --> 00:49:00,480 Speaker 1: and he kissed her dry lips and breathed her into 748 00:49:00,560 --> 00:49:05,200 Speaker 1: her lungs until her chest rose. Then he laid down 749 00:49:05,280 --> 00:49:08,200 Speaker 1: next to her on the table, holding her for the 750 00:49:08,280 --> 00:49:12,839 Speaker 1: rest of the night. He believed he could resurrect her, 751 00:49:13,440 --> 00:49:15,799 Speaker 1: but that he couldn't do it with her body in 752 00:49:15,840 --> 00:49:22,360 Speaker 1: this state. The state of being dead and rotten was 753 00:49:22,400 --> 00:49:26,600 Speaker 1: the state to Yeah, it was, He basically said, like 754 00:49:26,719 --> 00:49:28,440 Speaker 1: that would be That would be rude of me to 755 00:49:28,480 --> 00:49:32,200 Speaker 1: resurrect her like this, it's everything you've done so far. 756 00:49:32,280 --> 00:49:37,120 Speaker 1: It's pretty eff and rude. It is. I'm so disturbed. 757 00:49:37,280 --> 00:49:40,359 Speaker 1: That's so fucking gross. He was like, no, you're as 758 00:49:40,360 --> 00:49:45,040 Speaker 1: beautiful as ever, and then he kisses this corpse. There's 759 00:49:45,120 --> 00:49:49,040 Speaker 1: maggots and there's my well. Anyway, hopefully no one's eating 760 00:49:49,120 --> 00:49:53,439 Speaker 1: lunch right now something, but if you are, just save 761 00:49:53,520 --> 00:49:58,560 Speaker 1: it for later. So he couldn't do anything for her 762 00:49:58,600 --> 00:50:01,400 Speaker 1: with her body in the state, so he decided what 763 00:50:01,640 --> 00:50:06,840 Speaker 1: of course, he had to rebuild it. He used wire 764 00:50:07,160 --> 00:50:11,799 Speaker 1: and broken coat hangers to keep her skeleton intact. He 765 00:50:12,000 --> 00:50:16,799 Speaker 1: mail ordered glass orbs to replace her eyes. When her 766 00:50:16,880 --> 00:50:20,799 Speaker 1: hair began to come loose, he took the hair that 767 00:50:20,920 --> 00:50:24,400 Speaker 1: her mother had given him and fashioned her a short 768 00:50:24,520 --> 00:50:29,920 Speaker 1: wig out of her own former hair. When her body 769 00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:34,200 Speaker 1: cavity started to collapse in on itself, he stuffed her 770 00:50:34,239 --> 00:50:39,000 Speaker 1: full of old rags. He used plaster casting to try 771 00:50:39,040 --> 00:50:43,040 Speaker 1: and create the perfect mask of her face, and he 772 00:50:43,120 --> 00:50:47,840 Speaker 1: made several copies of it. But in creating the masks, 773 00:50:48,280 --> 00:50:51,720 Speaker 1: he discovered that he could use a mixture of bees 774 00:50:51,800 --> 00:50:55,640 Speaker 1: wax and balsam to set a new form of skin 775 00:50:55,960 --> 00:50:59,000 Speaker 1: over her. The oiled silk that he had used to 776 00:50:59,040 --> 00:51:02,200 Speaker 1: protect her face while he was making the mask hardened 777 00:51:02,280 --> 00:51:06,520 Speaker 1: to her and fastened tightly to her skin. He thought 778 00:51:06,640 --> 00:51:10,719 Speaker 1: it looked just as beautiful as ever, and ended up 779 00:51:10,800 --> 00:51:14,960 Speaker 1: painting her whole body in this solution, replacing her skin 780 00:51:15,520 --> 00:51:20,000 Speaker 1: with a waxy plaster like coating. He sprayed her with 781 00:51:20,040 --> 00:51:24,240 Speaker 1: perfumes and preservatives to keep the stench of death at bay. 782 00:51:25,480 --> 00:51:28,600 Speaker 1: All the while he's out there working on his airplane, 783 00:51:28,920 --> 00:51:33,040 Speaker 1: which he believed he could use to fly her into 784 00:51:33,040 --> 00:51:38,680 Speaker 1: the stratosphere and resurrect her with radiation from outer space. 785 00:51:41,560 --> 00:51:47,400 Speaker 1: This man is not well. He is not okay. And 786 00:51:47,520 --> 00:51:50,279 Speaker 1: I gotta tell you. I mean, there are pictures and 787 00:51:50,360 --> 00:51:55,800 Speaker 1: this is a nightmare looking thing. I mean, this idea 788 00:51:55,880 --> 00:51:59,120 Speaker 1: that he created this perfect, beautiful plaster mask of her 789 00:51:59,160 --> 00:52:05,120 Speaker 1: face that he did not not it's really really terrifying. 790 00:52:05,680 --> 00:52:10,440 Speaker 1: I've seen I've seen them. Yeah, and this went on 791 00:52:10,560 --> 00:52:16,200 Speaker 1: for seven years. God, he believed he was returning her 792 00:52:16,320 --> 00:52:21,480 Speaker 1: to life. But there was no muscle, no blood, no 793 00:52:21,680 --> 00:52:26,719 Speaker 1: functional organs anywhere in her body. It was effectively a twisted, 794 00:52:27,520 --> 00:52:31,799 Speaker 1: waxy modern mummy that he was creating. I mean, she 795 00:52:31,960 --> 00:52:36,040 Speaker 1: was like a scarecrow. And yeah, he had completely abandoned 796 00:52:36,120 --> 00:52:43,200 Speaker 1: his family in His younger daughter died suddenly of diphtheria, 797 00:52:43,400 --> 00:52:46,120 Speaker 1: and his wife assumed that he would come home to 798 00:52:46,520 --> 00:52:51,200 Speaker 1: bury his child, but he completely ignored her letters. He 799 00:52:51,280 --> 00:52:54,680 Speaker 1: did not attend the funeral, and he sent no money. 800 00:52:54,960 --> 00:52:57,279 Speaker 1: And some believe he was just so far gone that 801 00:52:57,320 --> 00:53:00,480 Speaker 1: he had completely replaced his entire life in his head. 802 00:53:00,920 --> 00:53:03,480 Speaker 1: As we kind of spoke about earlier, he just had 803 00:53:03,520 --> 00:53:07,520 Speaker 1: no practical memory of even having had a wife and daughters, 804 00:53:07,600 --> 00:53:09,719 Speaker 1: like that was like a past life, for like a 805 00:53:09,840 --> 00:53:15,640 Speaker 1: dream he had or something. Meanwhile, rumors started to spread 806 00:53:16,000 --> 00:53:20,000 Speaker 1: of Carl Tonsler dancing with a wax doll in his 807 00:53:20,160 --> 00:53:24,280 Speaker 1: house at night. People are like that creepy German guys 808 00:53:24,440 --> 00:53:29,560 Speaker 1: here has got a weird doll mannequin or something, and 809 00:53:29,600 --> 00:53:34,400 Speaker 1: he's dancing with it, like past the window. Mm hmmm. 810 00:53:35,280 --> 00:53:42,480 Speaker 1: And finally, in those rumors spread to Elena's older sister, Florinda, 811 00:53:42,640 --> 00:53:46,720 Speaker 1: and Florenda's lying, Okay, we need to investigate this rumor 812 00:53:47,080 --> 00:53:51,240 Speaker 1: because I remember that crazy old dude. And in September, 813 00:53:51,320 --> 00:53:56,800 Speaker 1: Carl heard Elena tell him hide me, hide me somewhere. 814 00:53:57,840 --> 00:54:00,360 Speaker 1: But Carl felt like he couldn't the only place he 815 00:54:00,360 --> 00:54:04,880 Speaker 1: could keep her with her coffin. But in there, he said, quote, 816 00:54:05,480 --> 00:54:09,360 Speaker 1: she would be deprived of the air, which she needed. 817 00:54:11,320 --> 00:54:15,319 Speaker 1: Oh man, so he thinks she needs air. I mean, 818 00:54:15,320 --> 00:54:17,960 Speaker 1: this just shows you how far gone. And again this 819 00:54:18,080 --> 00:54:21,600 Speaker 1: is not He didn't hear Elena's spirit. He didn't hear 820 00:54:21,640 --> 00:54:25,880 Speaker 1: a voice from somewhere. He heard her tell him, hide me, 821 00:54:26,000 --> 00:54:29,800 Speaker 1: hide me the thing he made. Yeah, he's having a 822 00:54:29,920 --> 00:54:33,520 Speaker 1: full on conversations. This is a conscious person who needs 823 00:54:33,560 --> 00:54:38,680 Speaker 1: his help in his mind. It's wild to me. On 824 00:54:38,760 --> 00:54:46,080 Speaker 1: septem Florinda and her husband Mario, demanded that Carl come 825 00:54:46,120 --> 00:54:50,759 Speaker 1: to the mausoleum and open Elena's tomb. And you know, 826 00:54:50,920 --> 00:54:53,239 Speaker 1: he told her, I don't have to do that, there's 827 00:54:53,280 --> 00:54:55,879 Speaker 1: no reason to do that. She actually gathered a bunch 828 00:54:55,880 --> 00:54:58,160 Speaker 1: of people from around town to go down to that 829 00:54:58,200 --> 00:55:00,480 Speaker 1: tomb and said get down here, now, want to see 830 00:55:00,480 --> 00:55:03,400 Speaker 1: you open it. And he said, look, this is a 831 00:55:03,480 --> 00:55:07,359 Speaker 1: family affair, so let's talk about this in private, and 832 00:55:07,480 --> 00:55:12,799 Speaker 1: I will show you Elena's body. So he brought them 833 00:55:12,800 --> 00:55:17,759 Speaker 1: back to his place. He walked them up to his room, 834 00:55:17,800 --> 00:55:23,120 Speaker 1: and he pulled back the covers on Elena's bed. Florinda, 835 00:55:23,320 --> 00:55:28,160 Speaker 1: of course, could not believe what she was seeing, and 836 00:55:28,800 --> 00:55:33,920 Speaker 1: at first she refused to accept that this bizarre wax 837 00:55:34,280 --> 00:55:40,360 Speaker 1: reconstruction was her sister. She asked him how long he 838 00:55:40,440 --> 00:55:44,160 Speaker 1: had kept her body, and he told her seven years. 839 00:55:46,160 --> 00:55:53,440 Speaker 1: She was absolutely horrified. She demanded that he returned Elena's 840 00:55:53,480 --> 00:55:58,680 Speaker 1: body to her crypt, but Carl fought back. He insisted 841 00:55:58,719 --> 00:56:02,320 Speaker 1: to her that the crypt and everything inside it belonged 842 00:56:02,360 --> 00:56:06,000 Speaker 1: to him. He'd paid for it all, after all, and 843 00:56:06,160 --> 00:56:09,359 Speaker 1: he also said it was better for Elena for him 844 00:56:09,440 --> 00:56:11,640 Speaker 1: to have her out here than for her to go 845 00:56:11,680 --> 00:56:14,320 Speaker 1: back into the mausoleum. To him, that's made perfect sense, 846 00:56:15,000 --> 00:56:17,319 Speaker 1: Like why don't you see that I'm I'm doing what's 847 00:56:17,360 --> 00:56:20,319 Speaker 1: best for her here. Well, and he's talking about a 848 00:56:20,360 --> 00:56:24,040 Speaker 1: conscious person like he He really is seeing somebody who 849 00:56:24,280 --> 00:56:27,040 Speaker 1: needs air to breathe, who can dance with him and 850 00:56:27,080 --> 00:56:30,480 Speaker 1: talk to him and knows what she needs and wants. 851 00:56:32,200 --> 00:56:36,279 Speaker 1: And that's not what Florinda is seeing. So they're just 852 00:56:36,320 --> 00:56:40,600 Speaker 1: not even on the same planet right now, exactly exactly, Well, 853 00:56:40,680 --> 00:56:43,640 Speaker 1: the next day the sheriff showed up, maybe no surprise 854 00:56:43,680 --> 00:56:48,720 Speaker 1: that Florinda was like, I mean somebody to come over here. 855 00:56:48,880 --> 00:56:52,600 Speaker 1: This is some some ship I need some help, and 856 00:56:52,640 --> 00:56:56,920 Speaker 1: they arrested Carl for grave desecration and removed the body 857 00:56:57,000 --> 00:57:01,040 Speaker 1: and took it in for inspection. And Carl insists in 858 00:57:01,120 --> 00:57:04,880 Speaker 1: his memoirs that the sheriff was very kind and understanding 859 00:57:04,960 --> 00:57:08,400 Speaker 1: and felt like Carl was being wrong. But that sounds 860 00:57:08,440 --> 00:57:11,319 Speaker 1: like a manager to me. Or He's like, listen, man, 861 00:57:11,400 --> 00:57:14,040 Speaker 1: you know, I don't want to be down here. I'm 862 00:57:14,120 --> 00:57:17,439 Speaker 1: with you, really, I'm just trying to get my job done. 863 00:57:17,480 --> 00:57:19,920 Speaker 1: They asked me that I got it, you know. You 864 00:57:19,960 --> 00:57:24,280 Speaker 1: know how it is with them. They're taking your wife 865 00:57:24,280 --> 00:57:27,120 Speaker 1: away on that's that's wild. You know. I'm sure it'll 866 00:57:27,160 --> 00:57:28,960 Speaker 1: all work out for you in the long run. Yeah, 867 00:57:29,000 --> 00:57:31,360 Speaker 1: I'll take good care of her while she's in custody. 868 00:57:31,440 --> 00:57:34,760 Speaker 1: Don't worry, you know. So that Carl was like, all right, 869 00:57:34,920 --> 00:57:37,720 Speaker 1: you're a nice guy, come on and do what you 870 00:57:37,800 --> 00:57:42,120 Speaker 1: gotta do. I think Carl just believe this whole time, like, man, 871 00:57:42,160 --> 00:57:44,720 Speaker 1: I have to go through this so that Jerry can 872 00:57:44,720 --> 00:57:49,280 Speaker 1: tell them that I'm right for what I'm doing. You know, well, 873 00:57:51,040 --> 00:57:53,040 Speaker 1: it would not be long before he went to trial. 874 00:57:53,880 --> 00:57:56,880 Speaker 1: And if none of this is crazy enough, here's a 875 00:57:56,920 --> 00:57:59,800 Speaker 1: bad ship, insane little fact toy that might ruin what 876 00:58:00,040 --> 00:58:04,480 Speaker 1: will hope you had left for humanity. The trial was 877 00:58:04,480 --> 00:58:07,080 Speaker 1: obviously a media sensation. This is a guy who lived 878 00:58:07,080 --> 00:58:09,640 Speaker 1: for seven years with a corpse turned into a more 879 00:58:09,680 --> 00:58:12,400 Speaker 1: and more horrifying doll, and he was talking to it. 880 00:58:12,480 --> 00:58:17,440 Speaker 1: I mean, you know, this is prime stuff. But the 881 00:58:17,440 --> 00:58:22,680 Speaker 1: majority of public opinion was on his side. What women 882 00:58:22,760 --> 00:58:27,480 Speaker 1: called him an eccentric, romantic, just a man who felt 883 00:58:27,560 --> 00:58:33,040 Speaker 1: passionate about the love of his life. He'd go to 884 00:58:33,240 --> 00:58:39,280 Speaker 1: any lengths to help U. That's so beautiful. God, get 885 00:58:39,320 --> 00:58:43,200 Speaker 1: you a man who will dig up your body, put 886 00:58:43,240 --> 00:58:47,480 Speaker 1: it in an incubator, make a waxy skin version of 887 00:58:47,560 --> 00:58:50,680 Speaker 1: your skin, put your own hair on your head, and 888 00:58:50,720 --> 00:58:53,080 Speaker 1: then dance around past a window with you. Oh yeah, 889 00:58:53,120 --> 00:58:58,720 Speaker 1: just a regular casanova. That's what we're going for. My 890 00:58:58,840 --> 00:59:01,760 Speaker 1: heart is breaking for women of this era if this 891 00:59:01,840 --> 00:59:03,480 Speaker 1: is what they're like. You know, I would love a 892 00:59:03,520 --> 00:59:09,120 Speaker 1: guy who was that dedicated. They were like, you know, 893 00:59:09,200 --> 00:59:10,880 Speaker 1: I don't know why, but that looks good to me 894 00:59:10,960 --> 00:59:17,640 Speaker 1: for some reason, My god, my god. Meanwhile, the trial 895 00:59:18,000 --> 00:59:21,720 Speaker 1: went very quickly, as you'd expect, right cut and dry, 896 00:59:21,880 --> 00:59:27,840 Speaker 1: right obviously, but as you might not expect, Carl got 897 00:59:27,880 --> 00:59:33,840 Speaker 1: off Scott free. And why because our good old friend 898 00:59:34,240 --> 00:59:39,959 Speaker 1: the statute of limitations. If you just wait your crimes out, 899 00:59:40,920 --> 00:59:43,440 Speaker 1: just wait out the clock, you can get away with anything. 900 00:59:43,520 --> 00:59:46,880 Speaker 1: Oh my god. They were like, hey, so, I mean, 901 00:59:47,920 --> 00:59:51,280 Speaker 1: nobody's really mad at you anyway, except you know, everyone 902 00:59:51,320 --> 00:59:54,200 Speaker 1: who was related to this woman. Yeah, her entire family, 903 00:59:54,360 --> 00:59:56,760 Speaker 1: and anyone would have a brain, which is apparently not 904 00:59:56,840 --> 01:00:00,760 Speaker 1: most people. I don't. It's funny because I don't, you know, 905 01:00:00,960 --> 01:00:04,360 Speaker 1: I'm not sure that once you're dead, your body doesn't 906 01:00:04,400 --> 01:00:07,160 Speaker 1: matter to you anymore. I just feel bad for her 907 01:00:07,200 --> 01:00:11,320 Speaker 1: family because there's something so gross about knowing your family 908 01:00:11,360 --> 01:00:16,000 Speaker 1: member's body is being disrespected this way. And yeah, I 909 01:00:16,000 --> 01:00:18,960 Speaker 1: don't know. It just feels like such a like injustice 910 01:00:19,000 --> 01:00:22,800 Speaker 1: to them and to her. I need to mention that 911 01:00:23,000 --> 01:00:25,880 Speaker 1: she's dead, but still, but not to mention the deception 912 01:00:25,960 --> 01:00:27,960 Speaker 1: that went along with it too, you know, like, oh, 913 01:00:28,040 --> 01:00:31,720 Speaker 1: let me build her this mausoleum. She'll be safe there. Yeah. Well, 914 01:00:32,400 --> 01:00:35,240 Speaker 1: let's let's go over the fine details of this and 915 01:00:35,280 --> 01:00:38,000 Speaker 1: see what your definition of safe is. Yeah, because I 916 01:00:38,000 --> 01:00:40,840 Speaker 1: feel like it's different than mine. Plus, if anywhere in 917 01:00:40,880 --> 01:00:43,920 Speaker 1: this story, people what should have said, Man, you're not 918 01:00:44,040 --> 01:00:48,400 Speaker 1: doing well. Someone should maybe be talking to you or something, 919 01:00:48,480 --> 01:00:51,880 Speaker 1: or you should be sitting down somewhere safe, like it 920 01:00:51,960 --> 01:00:54,320 Speaker 1: should be here. When they found out that he was 921 01:00:54,560 --> 01:00:57,560 Speaker 1: literally talking to a course like, why didn't anyone go 922 01:00:57,760 --> 01:00:59,760 Speaker 1: maybe this person is not okay and they need to 923 01:00:59,760 --> 01:01:04,439 Speaker 1: go somewhere. Sorry, statuted limitations, Free to go. I guess 924 01:01:04,440 --> 01:01:06,600 Speaker 1: he was crazy then, but he's not crazy now. He 925 01:01:06,880 --> 01:01:12,439 Speaker 1: still got the body okay anyway, So he moved back 926 01:01:12,440 --> 01:01:17,120 Speaker 1: to Zephyr Hills. No mention if he found his wife 927 01:01:17,120 --> 01:01:21,120 Speaker 1: and daughter, probably not, assume that they probably didn't want 928 01:01:21,120 --> 01:01:25,560 Speaker 1: to see him anyway, and he sat down and wrote 929 01:01:25,560 --> 01:01:27,960 Speaker 1: his autobiography there. He published it in the pulp fiction 930 01:01:28,000 --> 01:01:32,040 Speaker 1: magazine and got his story out. I'm sure people were 931 01:01:32,080 --> 01:01:35,160 Speaker 1: more than happy to pay for it. Absolutely, that's worth in. 932 01:01:35,240 --> 01:01:40,320 Speaker 1: Nicol Elena's body, meanwhile, was put on display in a 933 01:01:40,320 --> 01:01:44,480 Speaker 1: local funeral home and tourists could come see it for 934 01:01:44,520 --> 01:01:51,520 Speaker 1: a dollar, and nearly seven thousand people came and paid 935 01:01:51,760 --> 01:01:59,240 Speaker 1: to see this mutilated corpse before finally her family members 936 01:01:59,320 --> 01:02:02,800 Speaker 1: got her back and they buried her in an unmarked 937 01:02:02,840 --> 01:02:08,960 Speaker 1: grave in Key West Cemetery to prevent further desecration. Carl 938 01:02:09,200 --> 01:02:12,840 Speaker 1: lived out his life in relative obscurity and became a U. 939 01:02:12,920 --> 01:02:16,400 Speaker 1: S citizen in nineteen fifty. Then two years later he 940 01:02:16,600 --> 01:02:20,800 Speaker 1: died at the age of seventy five. He was found 941 01:02:20,920 --> 01:02:25,360 Speaker 1: on his bedroom floor three days after his death, and 942 01:02:25,440 --> 01:02:29,800 Speaker 1: in his room was a life size doll with one 943 01:02:29,840 --> 01:02:33,520 Speaker 1: of the wax and plaster masks of Elana's face that 944 01:02:33,640 --> 01:02:42,960 Speaker 1: he made attached to it. What. Oh my god, so horrific. 945 01:02:44,320 --> 01:02:48,040 Speaker 1: So clearly, I mean, this obsession just never ended for 946 01:02:48,160 --> 01:02:53,160 Speaker 1: him and his sense of reality. Obviously it was completely distorted. Yeah, 947 01:02:53,200 --> 01:02:55,280 Speaker 1: I mean, I'm wonder if he was still talking to her, 948 01:02:55,360 --> 01:02:57,640 Speaker 1: if he knew that it was a doll replacement for 949 01:02:57,680 --> 01:02:59,720 Speaker 1: what he had already lost. God, who knows, you know 950 01:02:59,800 --> 01:03:03,560 Speaker 1: what point he could have believed anything. He might have 951 01:03:03,600 --> 01:03:07,080 Speaker 1: thought so gross that somebody was able to just display 952 01:03:07,120 --> 01:03:10,320 Speaker 1: her body until the family could work out some details 953 01:03:10,400 --> 01:03:14,760 Speaker 1: or whatever. What is that and makes seven grand off 954 01:03:14,760 --> 01:03:17,360 Speaker 1: of it? Because the trial was such a media senstation, 955 01:03:17,360 --> 01:03:19,280 Speaker 1: everybody wanted to come see and I'm like, first of all, 956 01:03:19,560 --> 01:03:21,240 Speaker 1: I didn't want to see the two pictures of it 957 01:03:21,280 --> 01:03:25,680 Speaker 1: that I saw. First people were real starred for entertainment. Yeah, oh, 958 01:03:25,680 --> 01:03:29,840 Speaker 1: and this is prime like sideshow era. This is what's 959 01:03:29,880 --> 01:03:34,680 Speaker 1: so horrific about the whole thing is his very matter 960 01:03:34,720 --> 01:03:38,200 Speaker 1: of fact, practical approach to it all. It's like when 961 01:03:38,240 --> 01:03:43,960 Speaker 1: he when he opened the tomb and smelled this, you know, 962 01:03:44,240 --> 01:03:47,520 Speaker 1: the skin of a young woman, as fresh as the day, 963 01:03:48,040 --> 01:03:51,240 Speaker 1: like like a woman's skin on a warm, sunny day. 964 01:03:51,360 --> 01:03:55,480 Speaker 1: And I'm like, that's more scary to me that he 965 01:03:55,600 --> 01:03:59,720 Speaker 1: cracked that tomb open and was like, ah, when if 966 01:03:59,760 --> 01:04:03,720 Speaker 1: you were in there with him, uh, you probably would 967 01:04:03,720 --> 01:04:08,240 Speaker 1: have thrown up from the smell. Absolutely absolutely. I think 968 01:04:08,280 --> 01:04:10,760 Speaker 1: we talked about this on another episode, but that about 969 01:04:10,800 --> 01:04:14,400 Speaker 1: that movie with Bryan Reynolds called The Voices, Yes, which 970 01:04:14,480 --> 01:04:19,200 Speaker 1: where he is serial killer but he doesn't he His 971 01:04:19,320 --> 01:04:21,320 Speaker 1: point of view in the movie is all sunshine and 972 01:04:21,400 --> 01:04:24,960 Speaker 1: rainbows and happiness and everything's bright colored and yeah everything, 973 01:04:26,480 --> 01:04:29,280 Speaker 1: and then you cut to another perspective and it's and 974 01:04:29,320 --> 01:04:34,480 Speaker 1: it's disgusting, hard, warped and horrific. And that's kind of 975 01:04:34,480 --> 01:04:36,640 Speaker 1: what I feel like it is with Toddler, right. Yes, 976 01:04:36,840 --> 01:04:39,560 Speaker 1: I was definitely thinking about that movie the whole time 977 01:04:39,600 --> 01:04:44,320 Speaker 1: because it was exactly like that. It's it's completely separate 978 01:04:44,400 --> 01:04:50,560 Speaker 1: from reality and it's all clean and sweet, smelling and innocent. 979 01:04:51,360 --> 01:04:53,960 Speaker 1: That was the other thing about Bryan Reynolds characters, he's 980 01:04:53,960 --> 01:04:59,120 Speaker 1: actually very innocent, sweet and dopey and whatever, and you 981 01:04:59,200 --> 01:05:01,120 Speaker 1: just they're like, oh, don't you know, you know what 982 01:05:01,200 --> 01:05:03,840 Speaker 1: he's up to, But like, you just can't believe this 983 01:05:03,920 --> 01:05:07,320 Speaker 1: guy that he thinks of himself as doing that, because 984 01:05:07,320 --> 01:05:09,919 Speaker 1: that's not really who he is. And then you see 985 01:05:09,960 --> 01:05:13,400 Speaker 1: the real world and it's a fucking nightmare, but he 986 01:05:13,440 --> 01:05:16,560 Speaker 1: doesn't see he really doesn't see it at all. So yeah, 987 01:05:16,600 --> 01:05:19,440 Speaker 1: I mean that's exactly like Carl kind of being like 988 01:05:20,120 --> 01:05:24,720 Speaker 1: not only smelling, not smelling her rotting body, which he's 989 01:05:24,760 --> 01:05:29,160 Speaker 1: like a very overwhelming gross smell, not only replacing that 990 01:05:29,200 --> 01:05:33,840 Speaker 1: with a pleasant smell, but then also like thinking that 991 01:05:34,000 --> 01:05:38,880 Speaker 1: breathing air into her mouth was going to do something, 992 01:05:39,560 --> 01:05:43,040 Speaker 1: that that rebuilding her body was going to do something. 993 01:05:43,080 --> 01:05:46,520 Speaker 1: What was you know how, I don't know. And then 994 01:05:46,520 --> 01:05:48,680 Speaker 1: this weird rocket ship he was going to send her on. 995 01:05:48,720 --> 01:05:51,560 Speaker 1: I mean, he just had a whole, like the whole 996 01:05:51,560 --> 01:05:54,840 Speaker 1: world going on that does not match this one, but 997 01:05:54,920 --> 01:05:57,640 Speaker 1: it was so real to him. Clearly, this idea that 998 01:05:57,680 --> 01:06:00,840 Speaker 1: he had reconstructed this perfect man ask of her face. 999 01:06:01,360 --> 01:06:05,600 Speaker 1: And imagine him seeing that and then go look at 1000 01:06:05,640 --> 01:06:08,880 Speaker 1: a picture of this face, because it is the furthest 1001 01:06:08,920 --> 01:06:12,320 Speaker 1: thing from a from a realistic portrayal of a human face. 1002 01:06:12,440 --> 01:06:17,720 Speaker 1: It is a pure nightmare. It's remarkable. This whole story 1003 01:06:17,760 --> 01:06:22,919 Speaker 1: is remarkable and certainly one of the creepiest stories I've 1004 01:06:23,000 --> 01:06:26,400 Speaker 1: ever heard, for so many reasons. Oh my god, the 1005 01:06:27,200 --> 01:06:30,520 Speaker 1: when he showed her body to her sister. When he 1006 01:06:30,880 --> 01:06:33,360 Speaker 1: leads her upstairs and he's like, I'm gonna show you. 1007 01:06:33,360 --> 01:06:35,959 Speaker 1: You're gonna meet your sister, aren't you glad to see 1008 01:06:35,960 --> 01:06:38,800 Speaker 1: her again? And then pulls back the covers and there's 1009 01:06:38,840 --> 01:06:46,720 Speaker 1: this wretched, twist, twisted, waxy doll of a corpse. Oh. 1010 01:06:46,320 --> 01:06:52,160 Speaker 1: I can't imagine a more nightmarish experience for anyone than 1011 01:06:52,240 --> 01:06:53,680 Speaker 1: something like I mean, that is straight out of a 1012 01:06:53,680 --> 01:06:58,240 Speaker 1: horror movie. Oh yeah, straight. Florinda was never the same, 1013 01:06:58,600 --> 01:07:01,320 Speaker 1: But you know what she didn't do. She didn't have 1014 01:07:01,360 --> 01:07:08,280 Speaker 1: her mind snap and go and fallow ghosts. Most of 1015 01:07:08,320 --> 01:07:13,600 Speaker 1: her immediate family died within the same time period of tuberculosis. 1016 01:07:13,960 --> 01:07:18,560 Speaker 1: Parents and eventually even Florinda herself died shortly after. Um. 1017 01:07:18,600 --> 01:07:21,800 Speaker 1: You know, but she had a very large family extended 1018 01:07:21,960 --> 01:07:24,000 Speaker 1: down there, and I think most of them dealt with 1019 01:07:24,080 --> 01:07:27,800 Speaker 1: this funeral home displaying the body and everything afterwards. But 1020 01:07:27,880 --> 01:07:30,720 Speaker 1: even still, I mean, they all knew and loved this girl, 1021 01:07:31,600 --> 01:07:34,720 Speaker 1: and just an absolutely terrifying experience and and and a 1022 01:07:34,840 --> 01:07:39,240 Speaker 1: really extra horrible considering their family was also like being 1023 01:07:39,240 --> 01:07:42,080 Speaker 1: wiped out by tuberculosis, like they weren't going through enough. 1024 01:07:42,760 --> 01:07:46,240 Speaker 1: And then this this this fake doctor comes in and 1025 01:07:46,400 --> 01:07:49,320 Speaker 1: is like gaslighting them, like I can cure your daughter. 1026 01:07:49,480 --> 01:07:51,960 Speaker 1: You've got to let me do whatever I want, and 1027 01:07:52,000 --> 01:07:54,560 Speaker 1: just totally made up this story that everyone else just 1028 01:07:54,640 --> 01:07:57,439 Speaker 1: got sucked into. I mean, that's when it turns from 1029 01:07:57,480 --> 01:08:01,480 Speaker 1: like creepy ghostie horror story to just like the story 1030 01:08:01,640 --> 01:08:06,160 Speaker 1: of a delusional asshole taking advantage of people. Um, whether 1031 01:08:06,200 --> 01:08:10,080 Speaker 1: he knew he was or not. Um, pretty pretty twisted. Yeah. 1032 01:08:10,120 --> 01:08:14,800 Speaker 1: The impact, yeah, you know, greater than the intent. Just 1033 01:08:14,840 --> 01:08:19,400 Speaker 1: to recap again, like the story of him and Elena 1034 01:08:19,520 --> 01:08:21,880 Speaker 1: and what he did with her body, all of that 1035 01:08:22,040 --> 01:08:27,080 Speaker 1: as true, but who he was before this, his life 1036 01:08:27,160 --> 01:08:31,000 Speaker 1: leading up to it, his air quotes, adventures across the world, 1037 01:08:32,240 --> 01:08:36,920 Speaker 1: the spirits, the statue, everything, all like we said, like 1038 01:08:37,000 --> 01:08:40,559 Speaker 1: could be very like fabricated after the fact. He may 1039 01:08:40,600 --> 01:08:45,640 Speaker 1: have believed it intently, um, but but something happened to 1040 01:08:45,680 --> 01:08:50,400 Speaker 1: this guy at some point. Definitely that really cost a 1041 01:08:50,400 --> 01:08:52,439 Speaker 1: lot of trauma that I think he dealt with in 1042 01:08:52,439 --> 01:08:54,240 Speaker 1: a way that really affected a lot of other people. 1043 01:08:54,880 --> 01:08:57,560 Speaker 1: It's reminded me a little bit too of Raymond Fernandez 1044 01:08:58,560 --> 01:09:01,880 Speaker 1: from our Lonely Hearts Killer episode, because remember he got 1045 01:09:01,920 --> 01:09:05,120 Speaker 1: hit by that door and it cracked his skull and 1046 01:09:05,200 --> 01:09:08,720 Speaker 1: his personality completely changed, and after that he became really 1047 01:09:08,840 --> 01:09:12,560 Speaker 1: violent and stuff and like grumpy and just like unhappy 1048 01:09:12,920 --> 01:09:14,800 Speaker 1: it could happen and that, you know, it was kind 1049 01:09:14,800 --> 01:09:17,320 Speaker 1: of like, well, if that door had not fallen on him, 1050 01:09:17,439 --> 01:09:19,840 Speaker 1: would he have ever been a killer? You know, would 1051 01:09:19,880 --> 01:09:25,200 Speaker 1: he have ever done any of that stuff? Maybe speculation station. 1052 01:09:25,640 --> 01:09:30,080 Speaker 1: Maybe back in his lab that night, Um Carl's pencil 1053 01:09:30,200 --> 01:09:33,080 Speaker 1: rolled off his desk. He went down to get it, 1054 01:09:33,439 --> 01:09:35,960 Speaker 1: and he like got back up and banged his head 1055 01:09:36,000 --> 01:09:38,920 Speaker 1: real hard on the desk and it was just like 1056 01:09:39,000 --> 01:09:41,680 Speaker 1: started hallucinating and just from then on he just had 1057 01:09:41,720 --> 01:09:46,960 Speaker 1: this like ghost experience. Maybe that's maybe that was the 1058 01:09:47,040 --> 01:09:48,679 Speaker 1: root cause of it. It's just a just a knock, 1059 01:09:49,040 --> 01:09:52,840 Speaker 1: knock on the noggin for that hit your head in 1060 01:09:52,880 --> 01:09:55,360 Speaker 1: the wrong place, You never know what could happen. It's 1061 01:09:56,560 --> 01:10:01,439 Speaker 1: not unheard of. So more all the story everyone tonight, 1062 01:10:01,479 --> 01:10:04,040 Speaker 1: I think is be careful when you're getting back up 1063 01:10:04,080 --> 01:10:06,920 Speaker 1: after you drop your pencil. Maybe that's why they started 1064 01:10:06,960 --> 01:10:11,679 Speaker 1: making pencils like hexagonal. They were like, we gotta stop. 1065 01:10:12,200 --> 01:10:16,080 Speaker 1: Yeah they ca Yeah, we caused a lot of problems, 1066 01:10:17,080 --> 01:10:20,800 Speaker 1: making a lot of killers with our round pencil. We 1067 01:10:20,880 --> 01:10:26,840 Speaker 1: finally solved the mystery of both round pencils and you're 1068 01:10:26,960 --> 01:10:32,080 Speaker 1: welcome history. Well, I hope you all enjoyed this truly 1069 01:10:32,240 --> 01:10:36,479 Speaker 1: terrifying tale. Yeah, and this whole series of recryptulous romance 1070 01:10:36,520 --> 01:10:38,719 Speaker 1: that we've had so much fun bringing you this month. 1071 01:10:38,880 --> 01:10:43,000 Speaker 1: I know this has been really fun to tell. Spooky story, Yeah, 1072 01:10:43,240 --> 01:10:46,360 Speaker 1: find all these weirdos. I want to get into more. 1073 01:10:46,400 --> 01:10:47,880 Speaker 1: But I also you know, we've got to save something 1074 01:10:47,880 --> 01:10:51,680 Speaker 1: for next year, right, Hey Christmas has ghost ease in it? 1075 01:10:51,840 --> 01:10:57,720 Speaker 1: Oh sure, Yeah, maybe we can find a nice story. Hey, 1076 01:10:57,720 --> 01:11:00,360 Speaker 1: if you all have any suggestions for stories like these, 1077 01:11:00,479 --> 01:11:04,280 Speaker 1: or any ridiculous romances that you've come across, please send 1078 01:11:04,320 --> 01:11:06,320 Speaker 1: them our away. I'd love to hear from you like 1079 01:11:06,439 --> 01:11:08,760 Speaker 1: Lauren did with this one. Thanks again, Lauren, Thank you 1080 01:11:08,800 --> 01:11:11,840 Speaker 1: so much Lauren for sending us one you can reach 1081 01:11:11,840 --> 01:11:14,360 Speaker 1: out to us at Romance at iHeart media dot com, 1082 01:11:14,520 --> 01:11:19,200 Speaker 1: right on social media, Twitter and Instagram. I'm at Danamite Boom, 1083 01:11:19,240 --> 01:11:21,599 Speaker 1: and I'm at Oh Great, It's Eli and the show 1084 01:11:21,680 --> 01:11:25,000 Speaker 1: is at Ridict Romance and we would just love to 1085 01:11:25,040 --> 01:11:27,280 Speaker 1: hear from you. Check out our YouTube page where we're 1086 01:11:27,280 --> 01:11:30,120 Speaker 1: gonna be having more episodes uploaded all the time with 1087 01:11:30,160 --> 01:11:32,479 Speaker 1: the close captions available so you can read along with 1088 01:11:32,560 --> 01:11:35,920 Speaker 1: us and also you know, send drop us a review. 1089 01:11:37,120 --> 01:11:39,080 Speaker 1: We'd love to hear from you there. Thank you so 1090 01:11:39,160 --> 01:11:40,800 Speaker 1: much for staying in touch with us, Thank you so 1091 01:11:40,880 --> 01:11:48,080 Speaker 1: much for listening. Happy Halloween, Happy hallo Ween, Stay safe, 1092 01:11:48,479 --> 01:11:50,840 Speaker 1: stay spooky, and we will see you all in the 1093 01:11:50,880 --> 01:12:04,160 Speaker 1: next one and we'll rise again. All aloisive, put your 1094 01:12:04,320 --> 01:12:08,639 Speaker 1: friends in at and preachments and play within a show. 1095 01:12:08,920 --> 01:12:14,000 Speaker 1: We Contalus romes Ha