1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,040 Speaker 1: The following episode involves scenes of sexual abuse that some 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:17,759 Speaker 1: may find disturbing. Parental discretion is advised. There was once 3 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:21,239 Speaker 1: a place deep in the rural hinterland of Bavaria in 4 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: southern Germany, Positioned half a kilometer to the west of 5 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:30,080 Speaker 1: the village of Grubon. It sat quiet and still alone 6 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 1: in the fields, surrounded by thick pine forest. A farmhouse 7 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:40,000 Speaker 1: made of stone and painted white. The farm, known as 8 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:43,600 Speaker 1: hinter Kaifek, had passed through many hands over the years, 9 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 1: all of which had, at one time or another worked 10 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:52,480 Speaker 1: the rich, dark earth that surrounded it, sewing it, tilling it, 11 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: and pulling from it. Fingers plunged deep into the black 12 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: of it, and all had, in one way or another, 13 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: left a piece of themselves in it too. By eighteen 14 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: eighty six, the property had been passed to Cecilia Assam 15 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: and Andreas Gruber, the pair having taken ownership of it 16 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 1: shortly after the death of Cecilia's first husband, Joseph, for 17 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 1: Cecilia left to run the farm and raise two young 18 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: children alone. Andreas was an apt partner, a farm laborer 19 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: with an intense and quiet disposition. His hands were strong 20 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: and his shoulders broad enough for them all, not that 21 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: Cecilia's weren't also, and so in April eighteen eighty six, 22 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:44,600 Speaker 1: Cecilia Assam became Cecilia Gruber, and together she and Andreas 23 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:48,639 Speaker 1: worked the farm and the surrounding fields, maintaining a fine 24 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: and stable business. In eighteen eighty seven, new life arrives 25 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 1: in the form of a baby girl named Victoria. She 26 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: is joined by Sophie two years later, and for those 27 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: first few years joy threatens to reign a hint kaifek, 28 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 1: But the joy is short lived. Like almost twenty percent 29 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:13,919 Speaker 1: of children in the local district at the time, Sophie 30 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,839 Speaker 1: does not live to see her second birthday. And now 31 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:22,919 Speaker 1: a cloud is descending over this stark white property, cast 32 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 1: a drift from the nearby town and seeming to move 33 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: further away with each passing day, the forests surrounding it 34 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 1: seeming to grow ever denser, and the trees looming ever taller. 35 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:40,080 Speaker 1: It is a natural habit of humans to project onto 36 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 1: all that we see, and no more so than with 37 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:47,639 Speaker 1: our interpretations of the forest. For some, the forest is 38 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 1: foreboding a locusts for unknown dangers that lurk deep within. 39 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: But the forest does not think itself foreboding the forest 40 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:02,240 Speaker 1: just is, And yet for hinter Kaifek, it is hard 41 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:06,079 Speaker 1: not to read those tall, thick pines that surrounded the farm, 42 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,239 Speaker 1: and the gloom of the forest beyond, as some kind 43 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 1: of psychic projection emanating from the darkness festering inside that 44 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:18,919 Speaker 1: white stone building, a darkness that would one day come 45 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:23,679 Speaker 1: to define that land in more ways than one. How 46 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,800 Speaker 1: fitting too that the patch of woodland closest to the 47 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: farm should be called hex and Holtz, or the Witch's forest, 48 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 1: the notion of the witch often being just a projection 49 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 1: of our own innate fears of the other, but also two, 50 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: as woman's suffragist Matilda Josly Engage once noted, the fear 51 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: of women. But perhaps it isn't just fear that manifests 52 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: this patriarchal image of the malevolent witch, but guilt too. 53 00:03:56,320 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 1: You're listening to Unexplained, and I'm Richard McClean smith. The 54 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:12,040 Speaker 1: couple looked happy enough as they stood reciting their vows 55 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: under the watchful eyes of the priest. As they stepped 56 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 1: out of the church arm in arm. Some say, for 57 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: a brief moment, the clouds above parted and a ray 58 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 1: of sunshine slipped through. Perhaps the bride are now twenty 59 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 1: six year old Victoria saw it too, and perhaps for 60 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 1: a moment there was even the hint of a smile 61 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: as she looked into the eyes of her new husband, 62 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 1: Carl Gabriel, and saw there the hope of a better future, 63 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:45,719 Speaker 1: a future safe from harm and full of warmth for 64 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:49,960 Speaker 1: the child that would surely come. But such thoughts were 65 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 1: never kept long in her mind before the sight of 66 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:59,840 Speaker 1: her father, Andreas Gruber dissolved them instantly, that unmoving, impassive face, 67 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 1: ever present, always watching the sight of him, never failing 68 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:10,159 Speaker 1: to catch in her throat, congealing like thick black tar. 69 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: There had long been rumors about the man, about how 70 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: he regularly beat his wife, Cecilia, now sixty four years 71 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:23,719 Speaker 1: old and nine years his senior, but that wasn't all. 72 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 1: It was said to be common knowledge amongst the local 73 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:31,960 Speaker 1: farming community and in the village of Grubon de Tandreas 74 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:36,960 Speaker 1: regularly raped his daughter, although it wasn't called rape at 75 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:42,279 Speaker 1: the time. Perhaps Carl knew this too when he married Victoria, 76 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: and perhaps there was a hope that their marriage might 77 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:48,520 Speaker 1: put an end to the abuse. Or perhaps, as some 78 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:52,719 Speaker 1: have suggested the union was more pragmatic than that that 79 00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 1: it merely offered a buffer for Victoria and an opportunity 80 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:00,599 Speaker 1: for Karl and indeed the wider Gabriel family to gain 81 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:05,840 Speaker 1: access to a successful, if modest business. Only a month 82 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:09,359 Speaker 1: before their wedding, Andreas transferred all the rights to the 83 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:12,719 Speaker 1: farm to his daughter, making her the sole heir to 84 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 1: the property. By marrying Victoria, Carl had guaranteed that any 85 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:24,240 Speaker 1: children of theirs would inherit the land. But for some possessions, 86 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: or at least what they consider to be their possessions, 87 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: are not so easy to let go of, and no 88 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,600 Speaker 1: matter where they turned nor what time of day, there 89 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:38,320 Speaker 1: would be Andreas, who, along with Cecilia, remained living at 90 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:50,920 Speaker 1: the property, standing watch stone, faced deep in thought. Barely 91 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: weeks after the wedding, Carl moved back home to his parents, 92 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:58,160 Speaker 1: complaining that he was being bullied and that the fierce 93 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: and uncompromising Andreas had even taken to starving him. But 94 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 1: just as Andreas cast his shadow over hinter kaifek So 95 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:11,679 Speaker 1: two were other larger shadows being steadily drawn across the land. 96 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: In late June of nineteen fourteen comes the news that 97 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria Hungary, 98 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 1: has been shot dead. The rickety, stumbling wheel of human 99 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:30,520 Speaker 1: civilization takes another lurch from the path and wobbles inexorably 100 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:35,000 Speaker 1: toward war, and so the men are summoned by appeals 101 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:39,240 Speaker 1: to duty and valor. Perhaps it is with trepidation that 102 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:42,800 Speaker 1: Carl packs up the few belongings he'll need and marches 103 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:46,320 Speaker 1: out of the farm toward Munich to sign up, leaving 104 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 1: behind and now four months pregnant, Victoria. Or perhaps at 105 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:54,840 Speaker 1: the sight of the stone faced Andreas, pausing briefly from 106 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:57,640 Speaker 1: his work in the field to nod goodbye to his 107 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:03,440 Speaker 1: son in law, it is with relief before long. It 108 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:08,360 Speaker 1: is December twelfth, nineteen fourteen, eight hundred kilometers to the 109 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:12,320 Speaker 1: northwest of hint Kaifek. A crow swoops down above a 110 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:16,280 Speaker 1: field just north of the town of Arras, coming to rest, 111 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,840 Speaker 1: and what remains of an old beech tree in the 112 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: field below, freshly scarred and pockmarked by shelling, there lies 113 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 1: a body, its forehead split open and the lower jaw obliterated, 114 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 1: its pale vacant eyes staring up toward a slowly darkening sky. 115 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: The crow cause and swoops down for closer inspection, but 116 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:47,000 Speaker 1: a hand quickly shoes it away. Joseph Bickler, a farmer 117 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 1: from vadeh Hoffen, a town close to Gruben, stands over 118 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:54,360 Speaker 1: the body, recognizing it instantly as that of his old 119 00:08:54,440 --> 00:09:00,520 Speaker 1: school friend Carl Gabriel. The following week, back at hinter Kaifek, 120 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:04,920 Speaker 1: a now heavily pregnant, Victoria watches from the window as 121 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:10,440 Speaker 1: postal worker Joseph Meyer draws near to the house. With him, 122 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:13,800 Speaker 1: he carries a copy of Andreas's regular paper and a 123 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 1: letter addressed to Victoria written by Joseph Bickler, informing her 124 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:23,200 Speaker 1: of her husband's death. But Victoria has little time to 125 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:26,240 Speaker 1: grieve when three weeks later she gives birth to her 126 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 1: first child, whom she names Cecilia after her mother. But 127 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:34,720 Speaker 1: still the rumors refuse to go away, as many in 128 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 1: the village are left wandering is the child karls or 129 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:49,040 Speaker 1: is it her father's. At some point in early nineteen fifteen, 130 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 1: a complaint is brought to the local police that Andreas 131 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:57,520 Speaker 1: was committing incest with his daughter. After a formal investigation, 132 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:01,640 Speaker 1: rumor becomes fact when on May twenty eighth, Andreas is 133 00:10:01,679 --> 00:10:05,400 Speaker 1: convicted for the offense, with the court deciding to limit 134 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 1: the period of the crime to the year's nineteen oh 135 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 1: seven to nineteen ten, when Victoria was aged twenty to 136 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 1: twenty three. This was most likely an arbitrary decision to 137 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:19,440 Speaker 1: avoid looking into accusations that it had in fact been 138 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 1: going on much longer than that, and thereby allowing Andreas 139 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:27,720 Speaker 1: the opportunity to escape the accusation of child abuse. He 140 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:31,600 Speaker 1: is sentenced to one year in prison. Such was the 141 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:34,880 Speaker 1: attitude of the day. Victoria was considered to be a 142 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 1: willing participant in the abuse, and as such was also 143 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:44,160 Speaker 1: convicted for the crime. On January tenth, nineteen sixteen, a 144 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 1: day after her daughter's first birthday, Victoria was taken to 145 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: Neuburg Prison to spend the first of thirty days behind 146 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:58,280 Speaker 1: bars for one relatively blissful year. Victoria and her mother 147 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:03,960 Speaker 1: Cecilia run the farm with help from their maid kretchens Raiger. Together, 148 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:08,959 Speaker 1: they manage all the livestock and harvest the fields. On Sundays, 149 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:12,440 Speaker 1: Victoria makes the short journey to the village of Vaidhoffen 150 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:16,240 Speaker 1: to attend the trade fair, and on occasion joins the 151 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:20,440 Speaker 1: church choir to sing. She is praised widely for her 152 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:23,840 Speaker 1: voice and is known by the nickname the Lark of 153 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:30,120 Speaker 1: hinter Kaifek. But in February nineteen seventeen, Andreas returns, and 154 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:34,600 Speaker 1: though Victoria continues to sing, something of her voice has changed. 155 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:41,040 Speaker 1: In nineteen eighteen, Victoria begins a relationship with Lorenz Schlittenbauer, 156 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:44,360 Speaker 1: her neighbor from the next farm over who is only 157 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:48,760 Speaker 1: recently widowed. The affair is brief, with some blaming the 158 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:54,640 Speaker 1: presence of Andreas for Lorenz's reluctance to pursue the relationship. However, 159 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:59,040 Speaker 1: by the end of December, Victoria discovers she is pregnant again, 160 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:03,959 Speaker 1: and Lie nineteen nineteen, gives birth to a son, whom 161 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:09,040 Speaker 1: she names Joseph. Now a single mother with two young children, 162 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:13,040 Speaker 1: Victoria is convinced that Lorenz is the father and approaches 163 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:18,400 Speaker 1: him for financial support. In response, Lorenz, who suspects the 164 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:22,480 Speaker 1: child might instead be Andrea's, reports her and her father 165 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:27,400 Speaker 1: again to the police. With Andreas Julia arrested and awaiting 166 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:31,040 Speaker 1: a second trial, Victoria pleads with Lorenz to drop the 167 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:34,680 Speaker 1: charge and claim paternity of the child to help put 168 00:12:34,679 --> 00:12:39,480 Speaker 1: an end toward the salacious rumors. Lorenz later said that 169 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:46,040 Speaker 1: despite agreeing to the claim, Victoria paid him to say it. Meanwhile, Cretans, 170 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:51,600 Speaker 1: the family's maid, is growing increasingly anxious. At night, she 171 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:55,120 Speaker 1: hears unusual sounds in the house and what seemed like 172 00:12:55,160 --> 00:13:00,320 Speaker 1: footsteps moving about the place. Sometimes her door even seems 173 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:04,600 Speaker 1: to open on its own accord. One morning in the 174 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:08,040 Speaker 1: summer of nineteen twenty one, after pulling up water from 175 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:11,640 Speaker 1: the well, Kretchians is walking across the courtyard when she 176 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:15,120 Speaker 1: hears a strange noise coming from the barn, unlike any 177 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:19,199 Speaker 1: of the usual animal cries. Moving slowly into the barn, 178 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 1: she catches sight of something in the corner and recoils 179 00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:27,880 Speaker 1: in horror. It is Andreas raping his daughter, who lies 180 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:33,240 Speaker 1: motionless underneath him. Kretchians leaves the farm the following week. 181 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,720 Speaker 1: The winter of nineteen twenty one is especially cruel, with 182 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:48,360 Speaker 1: freezing temperatures lasting well into the following year. By mid March, 183 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 1: there is still no end in sight, with frost and 184 00:13:51,559 --> 00:13:57,200 Speaker 1: snow a frequent occurrence. One gray afternoon, Victoria is walking 185 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:00,520 Speaker 1: across the courtyard when she is distracted by a movement 186 00:14:00,559 --> 00:14:04,240 Speaker 1: to the south. Looking up, she can just make out 187 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:07,439 Speaker 1: a lone figure standing at the edge of which is wood, 188 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:11,600 Speaker 1: that appears to be watching her. Looking away for a moment, 189 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,120 Speaker 1: she turns back to find that the figure has gone. 190 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:20,240 Speaker 1: A few days later, when postal worker Joseph Meyer arrives 191 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:23,560 Speaker 1: at the property, he has met by Andreas waving a 192 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:28,080 Speaker 1: paper around a damp and muddy copy of the munich Zeitung. 193 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:31,280 Speaker 1: He'd found it while out in the field, close to 194 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:34,520 Speaker 1: which is wood. He wants to know if Joseph has 195 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:38,040 Speaker 1: dropped it, perhaps, but Joseph has never seen it before, 196 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 1: and neither has he ever delivered one like it. Whosevers 197 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:45,600 Speaker 1: it was, he suggests, was not local to the area. 198 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:49,720 Speaker 1: It is early in the morning of March twenty ninth 199 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:53,520 Speaker 1: when Andreas is disturbed from bed by what sounds like 200 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:58,600 Speaker 1: footsteps shuffling about in the attic above. Grabbing his rifle 201 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:01,840 Speaker 1: and a flashlight, he makes his way through the darkness 202 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:06,360 Speaker 1: toward the attic stairs and climbs up into the opening above, 203 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:11,840 Speaker 1: each step creaking as he goes. Pointing the light into 204 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:15,160 Speaker 1: the roof, he could see the whole attic stretched out 205 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:19,400 Speaker 1: in both directions, empty save for some old patches of 206 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:22,640 Speaker 1: straw that were scattered about, and the pieces of meat 207 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:27,000 Speaker 1: hanging in the smoke house above the kitchen. On the 208 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:31,920 Speaker 1: morning of Thursday, March thirtieth, Andreas heads toward the engine room, 209 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:35,880 Speaker 1: where much of the farmer's heavy equipment is kept. The 210 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:39,000 Speaker 1: room is located at the southwest tip of the L 211 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:41,960 Speaker 1: shaped farm, tacked on to the end of the barn. 212 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:47,160 Speaker 1: The snow is still thick on the ground as Andreas approaches, 213 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:49,960 Speaker 1: to find that the padlock on the door is missing. 214 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:53,960 Speaker 1: What's more, there are two sets of footprints in the 215 00:15:54,040 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 1: snow leading inside the building, but none coming out. A 216 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:04,880 Speaker 1: confused Andreas stares down at the tracks and then up 217 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:08,960 Speaker 1: toward which is wood where they seem to have come from. 218 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:12,480 Speaker 1: Andrea shouts for whoever is inside to come out, but 219 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:17,160 Speaker 1: there is no reply. Pulling the door open, he's relieved 220 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:20,840 Speaker 1: to find the place completely deserted and everything as he'd 221 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:24,680 Speaker 1: left it. Later, however, he will find one of his 222 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:32,440 Speaker 1: two house keys has gone missing. Do you ever have 223 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:37,120 Speaker 1: trouble sleeping, one especially spooky podcast keeping you up all night? Perhaps? 224 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:38,960 Speaker 1: Do you ever worry that you aren't getting all the 225 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:42,400 Speaker 1: nutrients you need for your body to thrive? 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Later that night, after 248 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:04,960 Speaker 1: a violent altercation with her husband, Cecilia Gruber is found 249 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:08,360 Speaker 1: to be missing, prompting the rest of the family, including 250 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:11,680 Speaker 1: seven year old Cecilia, to search or knight for her. 251 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:16,280 Speaker 1: Concern that she may have drowned herself, leads the family 252 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:19,240 Speaker 1: to the banks of the river par a kilometer to 253 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 1: the south of the farm, but there is no sign 254 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:26,120 Speaker 1: of her in the dark, icy water. The seventy two 255 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:29,919 Speaker 1: year old Cecilia is finally found sitting silently on a 256 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:33,440 Speaker 1: tree stump in the forest and is eventually coaxed back 257 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:38,199 Speaker 1: to the farm. The following day, with things appearing to 258 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:41,439 Speaker 1: have abated, the family are joined by forty five year 259 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:46,560 Speaker 1: old Maria Baumgartner, who arrives accompanied by her sister Francisca, 260 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:51,480 Speaker 1: to take on the roll of a living housemaid. Francisca 261 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,280 Speaker 1: had helped secure the job for her sister, who, due 262 00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:57,720 Speaker 1: to her learning difficulties and the slight physical disability of 263 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:01,160 Speaker 1: having one leg shorter than the other had often struggled 264 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:04,840 Speaker 1: for work, her most recent job in the nearby town 265 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:09,880 Speaker 1: of Unterwittelsbach having been terminated simply because the town's mayor 266 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:14,600 Speaker 1: deemed her too unsightly for the local community. And though 267 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:18,320 Speaker 1: Franciska had heard much about the Gruber family and what 268 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 1: was rumored to take place at hint Kaifek, it was 269 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:26,199 Speaker 1: an opportunity too good to refuse for Maria. Even still, 270 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:29,560 Speaker 1: it was hard not to feel a little trepidation when, 271 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:33,159 Speaker 1: after helping her sister settle in, she made her goodbyes 272 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:37,600 Speaker 1: and headed out of the property. With the wind picking 273 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:41,000 Speaker 1: up and thick storm clouds beginning to gather in the 274 00:19:41,119 --> 00:19:45,320 Speaker 1: sky above, Franciska was approaching the main road when she 275 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:48,520 Speaker 1: heard the voice of her sister calling out from behind her. 276 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:53,600 Speaker 1: Turning round, she saw Maria racing toward her for one 277 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:58,080 Speaker 1: final good bye before they parted. After a brief hug, 278 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:02,600 Speaker 1: Maria asked her sister to visit again soon, then turned 279 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:11,919 Speaker 1: and headed back to the farm. It is late the 280 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:16,280 Speaker 1: following night when local carpenter Michael Plockell trudges past the 281 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:19,520 Speaker 1: property and spots a fire burning in the outdoor oven 282 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:24,520 Speaker 1: and smoke billowing out of its chimney. Perhaps it was 283 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:29,440 Speaker 1: the nauseating smell like burnt rags that caused him to stop, 284 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:31,919 Speaker 1: or perhaps it was just something in the quiet of 285 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:35,840 Speaker 1: the night. But as he stares, he is taken aback 286 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:39,399 Speaker 1: by the sudden movement of a figure stepping into the courtyard. 287 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:44,199 Speaker 1: Michael watches as the figure slams the oven door, shut, 288 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:48,360 Speaker 1: points a flashlight in his direction, and then begins steadily 289 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 1: making his way toward him, Frozen with fear at first, 290 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:57,919 Speaker 1: as the figure draws closer and closer, Michael finally pulls 291 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:00,560 Speaker 1: his hands from his pockets and speed off in the 292 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:07,040 Speaker 1: opposite direction. It is two days later when Joseph Mayer 293 00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:11,479 Speaker 1: arrives at the property to deliver Andreas's paper, only to 294 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:15,960 Speaker 1: find the place completely deserted, with no sign of Andreas 295 00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:19,639 Speaker 1: or anyone else for that matter, to be found. The 296 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:23,480 Speaker 1: courtyard unnervingly quiet save for the gentle lowing of the 297 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:28,919 Speaker 1: cattle coming from inside the barn, assuming they're out working 298 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:32,240 Speaker 1: the field somewhere. Joseph leaves the paper on the kitchen 299 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:37,960 Speaker 1: window sill and heads off to continue his round. It 300 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:42,600 Speaker 1: is sometime around midday on Tuesday, April fourth, when machinist 301 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:46,520 Speaker 1: Albert Hoffner arrives at hint Kaifek to make repairs to 302 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:51,800 Speaker 1: the family's threshing machine. A cold wind whips around him 303 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:54,680 Speaker 1: as he pulls up to the courtyard gate on his bicycle, 304 00:21:55,359 --> 00:21:59,879 Speaker 1: Surprised to find that it's still locked. After waiting unsuccessfully 305 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:03,200 Speaker 1: for over an hour for someone to meet him, Albert 306 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:06,760 Speaker 1: makes his way to the engine room. Grateful to find 307 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:10,359 Speaker 1: the lock is broken, he lets himself inside and sets 308 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:14,240 Speaker 1: to work on the machine. Four and a half hours later, 309 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:18,159 Speaker 1: there is still no sign of the family. With the 310 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:22,240 Speaker 1: work completed, Albert heads into the courtyard and notices for 311 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:25,080 Speaker 1: the first time that the barn door is wide open. 312 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 1: I'm sure if it was before. He moves toward it, 313 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:33,600 Speaker 1: calling out for Andreas or Victoria, but has met with 314 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:38,600 Speaker 1: only silence. Peering into the darkness beyond, he sees only 315 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 1: the cattle inside and some hay piled up in the 316 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:47,080 Speaker 1: far corner. Hearing the dog suddenly barking manically, he wanders 317 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:49,600 Speaker 1: round to the front of the house and finds it 318 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:54,760 Speaker 1: tied up by the front door. Ignoring its cries, Albert 319 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:57,960 Speaker 1: cups his hands over the glass and peers inside to 320 00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:03,960 Speaker 1: the kitchen, but sees nothing untoward. Turning back, he takes 321 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:07,119 Speaker 1: one final look at the empty field to the stretch 322 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:11,280 Speaker 1: of forest beyond, then heads off to find his bicycle. 323 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:22,760 Speaker 1: It's just gone five pm when farmer Michael Pearl, another 324 00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:25,640 Speaker 1: neighbor of the Grubers, here's a knock at his door. 325 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:30,080 Speaker 1: He opens it to find a nervous looking Lorenz Schlittenbauer 326 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:35,120 Speaker 1: and their neighbor Jacob Sig waiting for him. After hearing 327 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:39,359 Speaker 1: about Albert Hoffner's strange experience at the farm, Lorenz had 328 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:43,400 Speaker 1: grown increasingly concerned about the Gruber family and his apparent's 329 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:47,680 Speaker 1: son Joseph's whereabouts. With the young Cecilia not having been 330 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:53,280 Speaker 1: seen at school since Saturday, all was eerily quiet as 331 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:57,080 Speaker 1: the three men stepped into hint of Kaife's deserted courtyard, 332 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:01,760 Speaker 1: the silence only becoming more deaf when their desperate cause 333 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:07,200 Speaker 1: for Victoria and Andreas brought no reply. Finding all doors 334 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:10,760 Speaker 1: to the property now completely shut and locked up save 335 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:14,240 Speaker 1: for the engine room, the men made their way inside 336 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:16,920 Speaker 1: from the back, only to find that through door to 337 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:20,200 Speaker 1: the barn had been deliberately blocked from behind with a 338 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:24,800 Speaker 1: beam of wood. After finally managing to dislodge it, and 339 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:28,240 Speaker 1: with the light quickly beginning to fade, the men carried 340 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:32,720 Speaker 1: on into the barn beyond. The sudden appearance of a 341 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:37,920 Speaker 1: cow wandering freely around inside startled them momentarily as they 342 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:42,240 Speaker 1: continued forward into the dark, feeling for obstacles with their feet, 343 00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:49,960 Speaker 1: when suddenly Michael cried out, Hey, there's something here. Michael 344 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:54,480 Speaker 1: pulled back and realized with horror it was a foot. 345 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:58,439 Speaker 1: Whoever it was, was lying under a large plank of 346 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:02,480 Speaker 1: wood that had been put on top of them. Together, 347 00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:05,640 Speaker 1: the men pulled the wood to the side and revealed 348 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 1: the body of Andreas Gruber underneath, dressed in trousers and undershirt, 349 00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:15,200 Speaker 1: thickly matted with blood and crudely covered over with hay. 350 00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:19,760 Speaker 1: Pulling the body out, the men recoiled at the sight 351 00:25:19,840 --> 00:25:23,119 Speaker 1: of its face. The right side of it was completely 352 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:29,080 Speaker 1: smashed in, its cheek, bones clearly visible. But then Lorenz 353 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:33,920 Speaker 1: saw the other limbs, all packed underneath together. Pulling out 354 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:37,320 Speaker 1: one after the other, the men revealed the bodies of 355 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:41,440 Speaker 1: seven year old Cecilia, dressed in her night skirt, her 356 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:46,480 Speaker 1: mother Victoria, and her mother Cecilia, both fully dressed and 357 00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:54,000 Speaker 1: hideously mutilated, their clothes and faces black with blood. Michael 358 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:57,359 Speaker 1: and Jacob wretched at the sight of them and stumbled 359 00:25:57,359 --> 00:26:03,000 Speaker 1: back into the courtyard, desperate for air. A moment later, 360 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:06,640 Speaker 1: Lorenz appeared in the yard, having opened the front door 361 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:09,800 Speaker 1: to the main house from inside, and beckoned for the 362 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:13,480 Speaker 1: other two to help him search for his son. They 363 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:16,240 Speaker 1: found him in the stroller at the foot of Victoria's bed, 364 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:20,880 Speaker 1: his body partially covered with one of Victoria's jackets. He'd 365 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:25,200 Speaker 1: been killed by a heavy blow to the face. Finally, 366 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:29,280 Speaker 1: after almost missing her at first, Michael noticed a pair 367 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:31,879 Speaker 1: of legs peeking out from under the bed in the 368 00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:37,560 Speaker 1: maid's quarters. It was Maria, her clothes and face also 369 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:43,600 Speaker 1: soaked black with blood. As Michael and Jacob struggled to 370 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:47,800 Speaker 1: make sense of it all, an eerily calm Lawrence returned 371 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:52,200 Speaker 1: to Victoria's bedroom, and, having found a candle, sat down 372 00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:59,400 Speaker 1: quietly on the bed and lit it. Outside. All about 373 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,960 Speaker 1: the and was silent and still, save for the gentle 374 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:06,280 Speaker 1: rustle of wind in the pines and the occasional wail 375 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:10,919 Speaker 1: of cattle coming from that solitary white stone building of 376 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:21,159 Speaker 1: Hinta Kaife. You've been listening to unexplained Season five, Episode nine, Tenebrous, 377 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:25,880 Speaker 1: Part one of two. Part two will be released next Friday, 378 00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:32,359 Speaker 1: January twenty second. If you enjoy Unexplained and would like 379 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:35,280 Speaker 1: to help support us, you can now do so via Patreon. 380 00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:38,800 Speaker 1: To receive access to add three episodes, just go to 381 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:42,440 Speaker 1: patron dot com, forward slash Unexplained Pod to sign up, 382 00:27:43,119 --> 00:27:45,120 Speaker 1: or if you'd like to make a one time donation, 383 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:49,400 Speaker 1: you can go to Unexplained podcast dot com forward Slash Support. 384 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:54,920 Speaker 1: All donations, no matter how large or small, are greatly appreciated. Unexplained. 385 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:58,200 Speaker 1: The book and audiobook, featuring ten stories that have never 386 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:01,040 Speaker 1: before been covered on the show, is now available to 387 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:05,040 Speaker 1: buy worldwide. You can purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, 388 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 1: and Waterstones, among other bookstores. All elements of Unexplained, including 389 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:13,480 Speaker 1: the show's music, are produced by me Richard McClain smith. 390 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:17,000 Speaker 1: Please subscribe and rate the show wherever you listen to podcasts, 391 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:19,480 Speaker 1: and feel free to get in touch with any thoughts 392 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,159 Speaker 1: or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show. 393 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:24,840 Speaker 1: Perhaps you have an explanation of your own you'd like 394 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:28,280 Speaker 1: to share. You can reach us online at Unexplained podcast 395 00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:33,160 Speaker 1: dot com or Twitter at Unexplained pod and Facebook at 396 00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:37,040 Speaker 1: facebook dot com. Forward Slash Unexplained podcast