1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 4 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Some guys just feel 5 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:31,400 Speaker 1: like they have something to prove. How else would you 6 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 1: explain someone like Jeffrey Hudson Born in England in sixteen nineteen. 7 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:40,240 Speaker 1: Jeffreys family worked under British Royalty as keepers of their livestock. 8 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,959 Speaker 1: The Duchess of Buckingham took particular interest in Jeffrey when 9 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:46,639 Speaker 1: he was very young, and invited him to become part 10 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:50,600 Speaker 1: of the family. They were so infatuated with him, in fact, 11 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: that they thought it would be selfish to keep him 12 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 1: to themselves. Months after Jeffrey joined the Duchess's household, he 13 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 1: was presented to King Charles the First and his wife, 14 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 1: Queen Henrietta Maria at a grand feast in their honor. 15 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 1: As the dinner came to a close and dessert was 16 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,000 Speaker 1: being served, the young Jeffrey popped out of a pie 17 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:12,399 Speaker 1: before the Queen, clad in a suit of armor. The 18 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: site was terribly amusing, and the Duke and Duchess gifted 19 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 1: Jeffrey to the King and Queen. Jeffrey moved in with 20 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 1: his new royal parents, so to speak, and got along 21 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 1: quite well with the rest of the household. His cuteness, however, 22 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: began to fade as he grew up, and so to 23 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:32,560 Speaker 1: maintain favor with the royal family, he started wearing elaborate 24 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:36,040 Speaker 1: costumes and telling jokes to entertain them. He became known 25 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: as quite the wit among the nobles who visited the 26 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:42,679 Speaker 1: King and Queen. His talents once took him all the 27 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 1: way to the French court, but upon his return to England, 28 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 1: his ship was besieged by a band of pirates. He 29 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 1: escaped unharmed and resumed his life among his royal family. 30 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 1: Though they saw him as nothing more than a clown, 31 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:58,200 Speaker 1: they nevertheless educated him in all the various customs of 32 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 1: the court, including horseback and shooting. He was also raised 33 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: in the Roman Catholic Church. He was never a royal himself, 34 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 1: but he was cared for as if he had been 35 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:12,959 Speaker 1: born one. In the sixteen forties, as tension between King 36 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 1: Charles and Parliament rose over a coming Irish insurrection, Queen 37 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: Henrietta fled to the Netherlands with several members of her house, 38 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: including Jeffrey. He tried to use his unique skills to 39 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:27,080 Speaker 1: help drum up support and funds for the King's crusade, 40 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: but proved unsuccessful with the Protestant Dutch government. With no 41 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 1: other way out of the coming war, the queen returned 42 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:36,640 Speaker 1: to her husband, who had already begun to fight. The 43 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,480 Speaker 1: war grew more violent in the subsequent months, and the 44 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:41,519 Speaker 1: Queen knew that she had to get out if she 45 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: hoped to survive. Just as she had done before, she 46 00:02:44,639 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: gathered her courtiers and Jeffrey, and this time escaped to France, 47 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 1: where he eventually grew tired of being her court jester. 48 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 1: He stopped performing and started standing up for himself. It's 49 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,920 Speaker 1: unknown exactly what transpired between Jeffrey and the brother of 50 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 1: English Baron William Croft when he was there in France, 51 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:05,839 Speaker 1: but it had been offensive enough for the young Mr 52 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 1: Hudson to challenge the man to a duel. The craft brother, 53 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:12,679 Speaker 1: thinking the whole affair nothing but a joke, arrived with 54 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: a kind of seventeenth century squirt gun an insult to Jeffrey. 55 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:19,640 Speaker 1: When the time came for them to draw their weapons, 56 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: Jeffrey aimed his pistol and fired at the arrogant Mr. Croft. 57 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: A bullet hit him square between the eyes and killed him. 58 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:32,920 Speaker 1: Unbeknownst to Jeffrey, dueling was considered illegal, and seeing as 59 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 1: how he had murdered a man from a very powerful family, 60 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,960 Speaker 1: he was quickly sentenced to death. Thankfully, at the last minute, 61 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,480 Speaker 1: Queen Henrietta managed to step in and get his sentence commuted. 62 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: Rather than hang for his crime, her surrogate son was 63 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: exiled back to England. Jeffrey led a fairly charmed life, 64 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: especially compared to others in the royal court. The Queen 65 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: often looked after him as though he were her own child, 66 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 1: and in a way he was. At least that's how 67 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: she saw him. Jeffrey, however, didn't see it that way. 68 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 1: To him, he was no more than a pet, a novelty, 69 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: something to amuse the rich elites. You see, Sir Jeffrey 70 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:18,240 Speaker 1: Hudson was only eighteen inches tall. What happened to him 71 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: in the months following his exile is largely unknown to us. However, 72 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:25,160 Speaker 1: it's been noted that he was captured by Barbary pilots 73 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:27,720 Speaker 1: and shipped in North Africa, where he was entered into 74 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:31,280 Speaker 1: slavery for twenty five years. During his time there, he 75 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 1: was said to have grown to forty five inches tall, 76 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: putting him at a final height of three feet nine inches. Eventually, 77 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:42,240 Speaker 1: Jeffrey returned to England, but not to the Queen's court. 78 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: He soon found himself imprisoned once again, during a time 79 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 1: when Catholics were under persecution by the English crown. He 80 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 1: died in sixteen eighty two, penniless and buried in an 81 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:58,119 Speaker 1: unmarked grave. It seems that in both life and death, 82 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: Sir Jeffrey Hudson came up short. George and Sylvia Stickney 83 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:20,160 Speaker 1: didn't have it easy living in eighteen thirties Illinois. They 84 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:23,320 Speaker 1: were considered a bit odd, though they could hardly be blamed. 85 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:27,039 Speaker 1: Their lives together had been defined by tragedy. While they'd 86 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:30,360 Speaker 1: had ten children together, only three had made it to adulthood, 87 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 1: and the deaths of the other seven had affected them 88 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:38,160 Speaker 1: in ways others could just not comprehend. They desperately longed 89 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: to see and talk to their children again, and that 90 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 1: desperation drove them to explore more spiritual avenues of communication. 91 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,159 Speaker 1: Through their extensive research, they believed the dead could speak 92 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:52,560 Speaker 1: to and through the living using others as vessels for 93 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 1: their messages. However, friends and neighbors didn't know what to 94 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: make of the Stickney's new belief. They considered it devil worship. 95 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:03,600 Speaker 1: Others ran from anything having to do with ghosts or spirits. 96 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 1: Rumors started to take on a life of their own, though, 97 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: and the Stickneys knew they needed to go somewhere safe, 98 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:13,839 Speaker 1: a private place where they could conduct seances and talk 99 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:16,680 Speaker 1: with their loved ones without judgment. They sought out a 100 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,160 Speaker 1: plot of land about an hour north of Chicago. It 101 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: was a remote area off the beaten path, far from 102 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:24,280 Speaker 1: the gossip of the suburbs, where they could start their 103 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:28,040 Speaker 1: lives anew. George had a plan for his new home. 104 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 1: It would be two stories tall, with all the living 105 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:34,400 Speaker 1: quarters constructed on the first floor. The second floor would 106 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:37,360 Speaker 1: house a beautiful ball room where the Stickneys could conduct 107 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:40,599 Speaker 1: seances for themselves as well as for people from all 108 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:44,000 Speaker 1: over Illinois looking to reconnect with the dead. There was 109 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:48,960 Speaker 1: just one problem, how to build it. During their investigation 110 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:52,720 Speaker 1: into spiritualism, George and Sylvia learned that spirits often got 111 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:56,280 Speaker 1: trapped in corners, unable to pass through the house. Unhindered 112 00:06:56,680 --> 00:06:59,720 Speaker 1: To mitigate that problem, George came up with a unique 113 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: floor plan, no sharp angles. Every room in the house 114 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:07,000 Speaker 1: was designed without ninety degree angles, thus allowing ghosts to 115 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:10,720 Speaker 1: move about freely along their circular walls. This is clearly 116 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: visible from the outside of the home, which has been 117 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: fashioned out of brick with rounded edges. The Stickney has 118 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:20,400 Speaker 1: lived in near solitude, except for those occasions when they 119 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 1: would assist the grief stricken. After George passed away, Sylvia 120 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:27,000 Speaker 1: continued to live in the house and conduct seances on 121 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 1: her own. She became a bit of a celebrity in 122 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: Illinois and even remained in contact with her late husband 123 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: and their children. Eventually, Mrs Stickney passed away as well, 124 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:40,200 Speaker 1: and the home was sold to new owners. Despite the 125 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:43,960 Speaker 1: house's unique design and the former owner's eccentric work, no 126 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,880 Speaker 1: one ever complained about hauntings or strange happenings, not until 127 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:50,920 Speaker 1: a man named Roderick Smith moved in in the nineteen seventies. 128 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:54,880 Speaker 1: During his stay, he claimed he heard strange noises throughout 129 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 1: the house. His dogs would be found barking at absolutely nothing, 130 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 1: perhaps they what their master could not. Over time, the 131 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 1: Stickney House earned a reputation as a hangout for devil 132 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:10,960 Speaker 1: worshippers who performed black magic rituals to conjure evil spirits. 133 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 1: It didn't help that the local real estate ad for 134 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 1: the house depicted a woman in a white wedding dress 135 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:19,960 Speaker 1: looking out the window. According to the photographer at the time, 136 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: no one had been in the home when he took 137 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 1: the picture. Today, however, the house is occupied by the 138 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 1: Bull Valley Police Department, and they have no problem with 139 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:34,960 Speaker 1: the home's former owners nor the supernatural circumstances surrounding the 140 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 1: building's history. Although people do still have questions about George Stickney, 141 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:43,640 Speaker 1: whose death remains a mystery to this day. Legend has 142 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:46,040 Speaker 1: it that his wife found him dead of heart failure, 143 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:49,440 Speaker 1: with a look of horror stretched across his face. The 144 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 1: reason the architect who designed the house had accidentally overlooked 145 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:57,480 Speaker 1: a single ninety degree corner. When George's heart gave out, 146 00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:00,680 Speaker 1: he apparently saw where he was standing and realized his 147 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:05,319 Speaker 1: soul would be trapped forever. I'm not suggesting the architect 148 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 1: did it on purpose, but it certainly sounds like he 149 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:15,840 Speaker 1: painted George into a corner. I hope you've enjoyed today's 150 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free 151 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:22,240 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by 152 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:27,319 Speaker 1: visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by 153 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:30,960 Speaker 1: me Aaron Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works. I 154 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:34,880 Speaker 1: make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 155 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 156 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:41,480 Speaker 1: about it over at the World of Lore dot com. 157 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:43,920 Speaker 1: And until next time, stay curious.