1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:18,159 Speaker 1: a show that proves there's more than one way to 4 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:22,880 Speaker 1: make history. I'm Gay Bluesier, and today we're looking at 5 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:26,599 Speaker 1: the story of an enigmatic wild boy who captured the 6 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:31,240 Speaker 1: imagination of early nineteenth century Europe. Was he a victim, 7 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: a con man, or something in between. We'll hear his 8 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 1: story in then you can judge for yourself. The day 9 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: was May eighteen twenty eight. A teenage boy with a 10 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:52,879 Speaker 1: mysterious past appeared alone in the public square of what 11 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: is now Nuremberg, Germany. He stuck out like a sore 12 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:00,920 Speaker 1: thumb in the town, dressed in tattered clothing and ill 13 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:06,200 Speaker 1: fitting boots and mumbling to himself about horses. Police approached 14 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: the boy, who was believed to be about sixteen or 15 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:12,040 Speaker 1: seventeen years old, but they couldn't get a straight answer 16 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 1: out of him about who he was or where he'd 17 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 1: come from. The only clues came from a pair of 18 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:23,120 Speaker 1: cryptic letters the boy was carrying. The first letter was unattributed, 19 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:25,600 Speaker 1: but it was addressed to the captain of the local 20 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: cavalry and requested that the boy be allowed to join 21 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:32,480 Speaker 1: his regiment. The second letter was allegedly written by the 22 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: boy's widowed mother, and it too asked that he'd be 23 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: given a post in the military. With little else to 24 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 1: go on, the police decided to house the boy in 25 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:45,240 Speaker 1: the town jail until authorities could figure out what to 26 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: do with him. The boy spoke little at first, only 27 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: reiterating that he wished to be a cavalry officer or 28 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: horseman like his father. He seemed unable to read or write, 29 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: with the exception of two words, his own name, Casper Houser, 30 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: which he scrawled on a piece of paper over and 31 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: over again. The officers charged with his care were disturbed 32 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:13,239 Speaker 1: by some of the boy's behavior. For example, he refused 33 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 1: to eat any meats or vegetables, preferring nothing but bread 34 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: and water at meal times. He didn't seem to sleep 35 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 1: much either, and according to some accounts, he didn't sleep 36 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:26,919 Speaker 1: at all. Over the course of his two months stay 37 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:30,640 Speaker 1: at the prison, Houser gradually began to open up about 38 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 1: his past. He claimed to have been held in captivity 39 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:37,919 Speaker 1: for most of his life, confined to a small basement 40 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:42,600 Speaker 1: cell by an unknown jailer. Each day, the mysterious man 41 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: would bring him bread and water, but aside from those 42 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 1: brief visits, Houser never saw or heard another living person. 43 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: His only companions during that time were a few small 44 00:02:54,919 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: wooden toys, including a pair of horses. Once word of 45 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 1: this bizar backstory began to spread, Houser became something of 46 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: a local celebrity. Crowds began gathering outside the window of 47 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:10,359 Speaker 1: his cell, hoping to get a look at the so 48 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: called child of Nuremberg. Eventually, Houser became such a fixture 49 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: of the town that he was made a ward of 50 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: the city. He was placed in the custody of a 51 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:24,639 Speaker 1: British nobleman and began receiving lessons from the local schoolmaster, 52 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:30,519 Speaker 1: George Domer. Much to Domer's surprise, Houser was an exceptionally 53 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:34,520 Speaker 1: fast learner. Within a matter of weeks, he apparently learned 54 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: how to read and write just as well as someone 55 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: who had been taught from a young age. It was 56 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: a far cry from the starkly limited vocabulary he'd shown 57 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: up with, and the speed with which he seemed to 58 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: learn made some residents suspicious that Houser may not have 59 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:53,520 Speaker 1: been as feral as he led on. They kind of 60 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 1: had a point to. Just one year after learning how 61 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 1: to read and write, Casper Houser published an auto biography 62 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: recounting his painful past and triumphant rebirth and Nuremberg. The 63 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 1: book was a hit and quickly made Houser a household 64 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: name throughout Europe. But not everyone bought the sob story 65 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: he was selling. Some skeptics began to poke more holes 66 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 1: in Houser's account. For instance, for someone claiming to have 67 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,919 Speaker 1: spent a decade and a half in perpetual darkness, his 68 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: complexion was oddly healthy. Likewise, he was described as stout 69 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:32,919 Speaker 1: and broad shouldered, not at all emaciated, like you'd expect 70 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: from someone who lived on bread and water alone for 71 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:39,359 Speaker 1: most of his life. Adding to this growing sense of 72 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:43,600 Speaker 1: uncertainty was a series of alleged attacks, which Houser claimed 73 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:47,719 Speaker 1: were attempts on his life. Many suspected the attacks were fake, 74 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:51,080 Speaker 1: and that Houser had actually injured himself in order to 75 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:55,040 Speaker 1: garner sympathy from the public. The last of these attempted 76 00:04:55,080 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: assassinations occurred five years after Houser's initial appearance, on evening 77 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:05,480 Speaker 1: of December eighteen thirty three. According to him, he had 78 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,599 Speaker 1: gone to meet an anonymous contact who claimed to have 79 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: information about the truth of Houser's earlier incarceration. However, when 80 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,600 Speaker 1: Houser arrived at the meeting spot, he claimed the stranger 81 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,360 Speaker 1: handed him a bag, then stabbed him in the chest 82 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 1: and fled into the night. Houser staggered home with a 83 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: bag in hand and explained to his caretaker what had happened. 84 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: Inside the bag was a note from the attacker, written 85 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:38,040 Speaker 1: backwards in mirror writing. Roughly translated, it said, quote, Howser 86 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 1: will be able to tell you quite precisely how I 87 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: look and from where I am. To save Houser the effort, 88 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: I want to tell you myself from where I come. 89 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:51,919 Speaker 1: I come from the Bavarian border on the river. I 90 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 1: will even tell you the name m l Oh. The 91 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:01,360 Speaker 1: note raised more questions than answers, but it sadly Houser 92 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: was unable to shed any more light on the subject. 93 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:08,200 Speaker 1: He died from his wound just three days later. Just 94 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:12,159 Speaker 1: like with the earlier attacks, many people believed Houser's stab 95 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,679 Speaker 1: wound was self inflicted, and that he had accidentally driven 96 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 1: the blade deeper than intended. Lending credence to this theory 97 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 1: was the confusing note he claimed to have been given. 98 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:27,600 Speaker 1: The text contained several tell tale spelling and grammatical errors, 99 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: which Houser was known to make himself. Plus, the paper 100 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:35,800 Speaker 1: had been folded into a distinctive triangular shape, one that 101 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:40,640 Speaker 1: Houser was known to use in his own correspondence. Immediately 102 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: after his unexpected death, all kinds of theories began to 103 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:49,120 Speaker 1: circulate about who Casper Houser really was. Some believed he 104 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:51,840 Speaker 1: was a royal heir who had been hidden away as 105 00:06:51,839 --> 00:06:54,200 Speaker 1: a child in order to keep him off the throne. 106 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:58,520 Speaker 1: Others believed his story about being neglected and abused in 107 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: his youth, but thought ordeal may have driven him mad. 108 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:06,240 Speaker 1: Another theory proposed that Houser was nothing more than a 109 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: talented con man, a grifter who endeared himself to a 110 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 1: town with his intriguing story and then capitalized on that 111 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 1: newfound fame through his writing. To this day, no one 112 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:21,120 Speaker 1: knows how much of Houser's story was the truth, which 113 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:24,560 Speaker 1: parts were exaggerated, or whether he made the whole thing up. 114 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 1: This ambiguity is perfectly reflected in the epitaph on his 115 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: tombstone in the city of Ansbach, Germany. It reads, here 116 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 1: lies Casper Hauser, the riddle of his time. His birth 117 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 1: was unknown, his death mysterious. I'm Gabe Luzier and hopefully 118 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:50,840 Speaker 1: you now know a little more about history today than 119 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. If you enjoy today's show, consider following 120 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:58,880 Speaker 1: us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t D i 121 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:03,320 Speaker 1: HC Show, and if you have any comments or suggestions, 122 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:06,240 Speaker 1: you can send them my way at this Day at 123 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: I heart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for 124 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:12,840 Speaker 1: producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll see 125 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: you back here again tomorrow for another day in History class.