1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 3 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales right 5 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 2: there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome 6 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 2: to the Cabinet of Curiosities. If you talk to the 7 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 2: residents of Pontianac, Indonesia, many of them will tell you 8 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 2: that their city is haunted, and it has been for 9 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:46,479 Speaker 2: over two hundred and fifty years. Situated near the western 10 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 2: coast of Indonesian Borneo, in between Singapore and the Philippines, 11 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 2: Pontianac used to be a vast expanse of forest. It 12 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 2: wasn't until seventeen seventy one that the contemporary Indonesian leader 13 00:00:57,320 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 2: or Sultan, led a group of explorers to the area. 14 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:03,040 Speaker 2: He instructed them to start chopping down trees so that 15 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:05,400 Speaker 2: they would have a place to build his palace. And 16 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,400 Speaker 2: the Sultan, well, he didn't exactly believe in the eight 17 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 2: hour workday. He made his employees work around the clock. 18 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:14,039 Speaker 2: The men chop trees at all hours of the night, 19 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 2: making their way through the dense forest by the light 20 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 2: of the moon. And then one night, when the moon 21 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:23,039 Speaker 2: was full, they heard something strange. It sounded like a 22 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 2: baby crying, but it was so quiet that they couldn't 23 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 2: be sure. A sour, putrid scent wafted on the breeze. 24 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:32,559 Speaker 2: Suddenly they heard a woman laughing, and then they saw 25 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 2: a figure clad in a long white dress darting between 26 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 2: the trees. They knew exactly what it was too. The 27 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 2: Kuntilanak one of the most famous and fearsome creatures in 28 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 2: Indonesian folklore. The Kuntilanak is said to have pale skin, 29 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 2: black hair, and blood red eyes. Her fingernails are as 30 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,800 Speaker 2: long and sharp as knives, her canine teeth looked like 31 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 2: fangs of a lion. Now, depending on the version of 32 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 2: the myth, the Kuntilanach either died in childbirth or suffered 33 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 2: a miscarriage. The loss transformed her into a vengeful, vampiric 34 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 2: spirit known to hunt and eat men, and as her 35 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 2: eerie laughter reverberated through the forest, the men ran to 36 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 2: the Sultan and told him that there was a ghost 37 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 2: in the woods. Now, I don't know about you, but 38 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 2: if I was being hunted by a bloodthirsty spirit, I'd 39 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 2: get a one way ticket out of town, but not 40 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 2: the Sultan. He was determined to build his palace, so 41 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 2: he took two anti ghost measures. First, he fired a 42 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,239 Speaker 2: few canons to scare the Kuntilanak away. Second, in case 43 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 2: she ever came back, he named the settlement after her 44 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:35,640 Speaker 2: in the hopes of appeasing her anger, and that's where 45 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 2: Pontianac came from. It's another name for the spirit. Whether 46 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,400 Speaker 2: or not the Sultan's methods worked is still up for debate. 47 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 2: Some people think that Kuntilanak is just a story, but 48 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:49,359 Speaker 2: others believe the vampire spirit continues to haunt the city. 49 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:52,680 Speaker 2: Either way, the legend is an important part of local culture. 50 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:55,520 Speaker 2: A festival is held each year to commemorate the end 51 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 2: of Ramadan and also to set off cannons then make 52 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 2: sure the Kuntilanaks far away. Now, while most people would 53 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 2: like the malevolent spirit to keep her distance, one man 54 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 2: suggested that they embrace her. In twenty seventeen, the head 55 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,040 Speaker 2: of the city's tourism agency pitched an idea for how 56 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 2: to bring more visitors to the area. Why not build 57 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:19,520 Speaker 2: a statue of the Kuntilanak right outside the local recreation center. Oh, 58 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:22,119 Speaker 2: and to make things even better, how about the terrifying, 59 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 2: bloodthirsty ghost be three hundred feet tall. As you might imagine, 60 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 2: people were not enthused about the prospect of seeing their 61 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 2: nightmares brought to life. 62 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 1: In fact, as news about the statue spread, locals were pulled, 63 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: and ninety eight percent said that they were opposed to 64 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: having a murderous spirit literally looming over their city. Within days, 65 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,440 Speaker 1: a group of citizens organized and gathered outside the city's 66 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: parliament building, holding a banner that read community movement to 67 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 1: reject ghost statue. Before long, the demonstrators were invited inside. 68 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 1: Members of parliament said that they didn't understand why the 69 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 1: protest was even happening. The city's head of tourism was 70 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 1: known to have a sense of humor. It turned out 71 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: the media had taken his joke about building a three 72 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: hundred foot tall ghost statue and spun it into a 73 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:10,800 Speaker 1: story that ignited national outrage. The following month, the mayor 74 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:14,240 Speaker 1: of Pontianac issued a statement to put people's minds at ease. 75 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: There would be no statue of Kuntilanak gracing their city. 76 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 1: As for her spirit, though, well, that was something he 77 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:39,039 Speaker 1: couldn't guarantee. When you hear the word dinosaur, an image 78 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:41,720 Speaker 1: of a t rex probably springs to mind. In this 79 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:44,919 Speaker 1: post Jurassic Park era, where kids grow up playing with 80 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: miniature versions of prehistoric beasts. Dinosaurs are well known, but 81 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:52,400 Speaker 1: if you lived in eighteen forty and someone said dinosaur, 82 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: you would have absolutely no idea what they were talking about. 83 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: The word didn't even exist yet. Although the first dinosaur 84 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:01,920 Speaker 1: bone was discovered in the seventeenth century, it wasn't until 85 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:05,479 Speaker 1: eighteen forty two that English biologist Richard Owen coined the 86 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:10,239 Speaker 1: term dinosauria, which means terrible lizard. Owen was a leading 87 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: paleontologist during his time, and he aimed to educate the 88 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:16,839 Speaker 1: public about these so called terrible lizards. That's why in 89 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,240 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty one, Owen teamed up with famous sculptor and 90 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:24,360 Speaker 1: natural history artist Benjamin Hawkins. The pair hatched a plan 91 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:29,320 Speaker 1: to bring lifelike dinosaurs to London. Using Owen's scientific background 92 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 1: and hawkins artistic skill, the men created dozens of life 93 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:36,279 Speaker 1: sized dino sculptures, which were put on display at Crystal 94 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:39,240 Speaker 1: Palace Park in South London on the day the dinosaurs 95 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 1: were unveiled in eighteen fifty four, Over forty thousand people 96 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: crowded into the park to get a look. The display 97 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 1: was so groundbreaking that one modern paleontologist credits Owen and 98 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 1: Hawkins with making dinosaur's mainstream. Fast forward to eighteen sixty eight. 99 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:58,960 Speaker 1: While Owen continued his work in England, Hawkins moved to America. 100 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 1: He worked on a few different projects, like a series 101 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,720 Speaker 1: of lectures on paleontological art. During one of these talks, 102 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:08,160 Speaker 1: he mentioned how much he'd liked to create more dino 103 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: sculptures like those in London. The next thing he knew, 104 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 1: he was contracted by the Administrative Board of New York 105 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 1: City's Central Park. It seems that they had a project 106 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:20,279 Speaker 1: that was right up Hawkins Alley, an American equivalent of 107 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:24,279 Speaker 1: London's Crystal Palace Dinosaurs in true American fashion. The board 108 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:27,479 Speaker 1: wanted Central Parks display to be bigger and better. With 109 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: a budget of seven point five million in modern day dollars, 110 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: they dreamed of an exhibition chronicling life in North America, 111 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:37,880 Speaker 1: including sculptures of the dinosaurs that once lived in the region. 112 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 1: Then it would be called the Paleozoic Museum. For Hawkins, 113 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:44,719 Speaker 1: the commission was a dream come true. He spent the 114 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: next two years hold up inside his studio. He made 115 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:51,560 Speaker 1: the Hadrosaurus, a long tailed bipedal dinosaur with a beak 116 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:54,720 Speaker 1: like nose, and the Dryptosaurus, which looked kind of like 117 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:57,800 Speaker 1: a mini t rex, but many is a relative term. 118 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,360 Speaker 1: The Dryptosaurus was still twenty five five feet long. When 119 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:03,839 Speaker 1: you consider the scale of these sculptures, you realize that 120 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:06,280 Speaker 1: Hawkins really had his work cut out for him, and 121 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 1: the process wasn't all smooth sailing. He got kicked out 122 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:11,640 Speaker 1: of his original studio and had to move all of 123 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:14,880 Speaker 1: his work into a temporary shed. Just imagine a middle 124 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: aged guy trying to get his twenty five foot dinosaur 125 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: statue into a U haul. And then there was the 126 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:24,239 Speaker 1: issue of Central Park's administrative board, which was full of drama. 127 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:27,440 Speaker 1: In eighteen seventy, a man named William Tweed was one 128 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: of New York's state senators, but he was also the 129 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:33,000 Speaker 1: de facto leader of New York City. One of the 130 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:36,480 Speaker 1: most corrupt politicians in state history, William Tweed was more 131 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 1: commonly known as Boss Tweed. He ruled the city like 132 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 1: a mafioso, and he placed his cronies in charge of 133 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 1: Central Park administration cronies like Henry Hilton and Tweed and Hilton, well, 134 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:51,280 Speaker 1: they weren't fans of the Paleozoic Museum. Now. The exact 135 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 1: reasons why are still up for debate. Some people think 136 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:57,200 Speaker 1: that Tweed had a religious opposition to science, while others 137 00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 1: believe that he simply thought the project was too expensive. 138 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:04,040 Speaker 1: But perhaps the most interesting theory surrounds another museum entirely. 139 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:07,040 Speaker 1: You see, at the very same time that the Paleozoic 140 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: Museum was in the works, so was the American Museum 141 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,560 Speaker 1: of Natural History, which is obviously still up and running today. 142 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: The Museum of Natural History was to be built right 143 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: next to Central Park, and it also featured dinosaurs, which 144 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 1: wouldn't necessarily be a problem. I mean, the more dinos 145 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:26,720 Speaker 1: the merrier, right, Well not if you were Henry Hilton. 146 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:29,560 Speaker 1: You see, Hilton had been a very vocal proponent of 147 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: the Museum of Natural History, and he didn't want any 148 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:37,880 Speaker 1: competition hindering its success. In December of eighteen seventy, Benjamin Hawkins, 149 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: our dinos sculptor extraordinaire, received a letter from the Administrative 150 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 1: Board letting him know that the entire project had been canceled. 151 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:48,200 Speaker 1: The note wasn't signed by Tweet or Hilton, but it 152 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:51,439 Speaker 1: was pretty clear what had happened. Hawkins, as you might imagine, 153 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:54,839 Speaker 1: was bitterly disappointed and as if things couldn't get worse. 154 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:57,360 Speaker 1: One day in May the following year, he arrived at 155 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: his workshop to find the floor littered with shards of plats, 156 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 1: master and cement. Someone had broken into his shed and 157 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 1: smashed every dinosaur to bits. As for the culprit, while 158 00:09:07,559 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 1: there's no definitive proof, it is believed that Henry Hilton, 159 00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:14,040 Speaker 1: who had a pension for bizarre and violent behavior, committed 160 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:18,240 Speaker 1: the assault himself. Soon after this final blow, Benjamin Hawkins 161 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:20,960 Speaker 1: returned to England, where he lived out his final years 162 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:24,280 Speaker 1: as a recluse. But despite this sad ending, he still 163 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:27,560 Speaker 1: made his mark on New York City. According to one historian, 164 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:31,040 Speaker 1: the broken pieces of hawkins dino sculptures didn't remain in 165 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 1: his warehouse. There's evidence that the material was ground down 166 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:38,680 Speaker 1: and used to pave parts of Central Park. And that's 167 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 1: history for you, right. Even a sidewalk can tell you 168 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:49,959 Speaker 1: a curious tale. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour 169 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:54,160 Speaker 1: of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 170 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:57,719 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 171 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:01,760 Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Mankey 172 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:05,560 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award 173 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:09,160 Speaker 1: winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, 174 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 1: and television show, and you can learn all about it 175 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:17,360 Speaker 1: over at Theworldoflore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.