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 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:39,959 Speaker 1: One twelve Ocean Avenue in Long Island, New York. Five 7 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:44,480 Speaker 1: twenty five South Winchester Boulevard in San Jose, California. Two 8 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:48,159 Speaker 1: thirty Second Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. What do these 9 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: addresses have in common? There are some of the most 10 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 1: famous haunted houses in America. You probably know them better 11 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: by different names. They're the locations of the Amityville Horror, 12 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 1: the Winchester Mystery House, and the home of Lizzie Borden. 13 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 1: These days, all three are popular tourist destinations, and the 14 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:09,600 Speaker 1: last two are fully functional museums. But there's another locale 15 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:13,200 Speaker 1: you might not know about which has a similarly spooky background. 16 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 1: It sits at five twenty nine North Charles Street in Baltimore, Maryland, 17 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: and it flies under the radar because well, it's a 18 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 1: seven to eleven. Now I know what you're thinking fluorescent lights, 19 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: slurpy machines and cheap lighters are not spooky. But I 20 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:32,039 Speaker 1: beg to differ. There's simply a facade over the building's 21 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,320 Speaker 1: dark history. You see five twenty nine North Charles Street. 22 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:38,400 Speaker 1: Wasn't always a convenience store. It used to be a 23 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,759 Speaker 1: boarding house, and way back in eighteen ninety, the owner 24 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:46,640 Speaker 1: welcomed in three guests, Charles Kinnard, Elijah Bond, and Helen Peters. 25 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: Now Charles was a businessman and he had a new 26 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: product in the works. He invited Elijah, a local investor, 27 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 1: to check out the prototype, mostly because he wanted Elijah's 28 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: sister in law, Helen, to come along too. She had 29 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 1: a special Helen that Charles could make use of. When 30 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: Elijah and Helen arrived at the boarding house, Charles led 31 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 1: them into his room. Inside, the curtains were drawn, the 32 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 1: space was dimly lit by candles. There was a table 33 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:14,920 Speaker 1: in the center of the room, surrounded by three chairs, 34 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,239 Speaker 1: and on the table sat aboard which was inscribed with 35 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:21,360 Speaker 1: the letters of the alphabet and numbers zero through nine 36 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:24,359 Speaker 1: and the words yes and no. Besides that was a 37 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: heart shaped plank called a planchette. The trio sat down. 38 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 1: They each lightly rested two fingers on the planchet, and 39 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: Helen closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She 40 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 1: said she could feel power emanating from the board. The 41 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: men believed her, after all, she was a self proclaimed 42 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: psychic medium. That's why Charles wanted her to begin with. 43 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: And then Helen opened her eyes and looked at the 44 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: business man. She wanted to know if there were any 45 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 1: particular questions that they should ask the board, and Charles 46 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:55,680 Speaker 1: said yes, he needed to know what the product wanted 47 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: to be called. That way he could brand it and 48 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: advertise it. Helen spoke this request out loud, and as 49 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 1: if by magic, the planchet slowly began to move across 50 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,080 Speaker 1: the board. It paused on five different letters, spelling out 51 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: a word that none of them had ever heard before, 52 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:14,960 Speaker 1: o U I JA. Baffled, the group asked what the 53 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:18,119 Speaker 1: word meant. The planchet began to move again, this time 54 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 1: spelling a more familiar phrase, goodbye. It seemed that the 55 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: board was done talking. Charles stood up, flipped on the lights, 56 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 1: and blew out the candles. He had gotten exactly what 57 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:31,840 Speaker 1: he wanted, another worldly name for his spooky product. But 58 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 1: before this board could hit the shelves, he needed to 59 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: get a patent. Luckily, Elijah and Helen agreed to help. 60 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: All three of them brought the invention the Ouija or 61 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:43,880 Speaker 1: Ouiji Board, depending on who you ask, to the US 62 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: Patent Office in Washington, d C. The following year. Government 63 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 1: officials were not entirely convinced of the board's power until 64 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 1: they placed their fingers on the planchet. That is, as 65 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: the legend goes, Helen also rested her hand on the 66 00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: wooden plank and encouraged the patent officers to ask the 67 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:04,920 Speaker 1: board questions. Somehow, be it ghostly intervention or Helen's own hand, 68 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:09,280 Speaker 1: the Ouiji Board answered every question correctly. Charles left that 69 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: day with his patent. The Ouiji board was an instant hit. 70 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 1: First marketed as a legitimate tool for contact the the dead, 71 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: it soon became a favorite children's toy too. Towing the 72 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:23,479 Speaker 1: line between being a harmless game and a demonic portal, 73 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:26,800 Speaker 1: the Ouiji board has provided generations of players with both 74 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 1: fun and fright, and it all began inside a modern 75 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: day convenience store. So if you ever happen to stop 76 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,280 Speaker 1: by that Baltimore seven to eleven look for a silver 77 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: plaque on the wall that details the building's history. Unlike 78 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: most gas stations, this one's a one stop shop for 79 00:04:42,600 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: fountain drinks, candy bars, and scary stories. Do me a 80 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:04,159 Speaker 1: favor and imagine that you're twelve years old, your parents 81 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:07,040 Speaker 1: are asleep, and you creep into the living room, switch 82 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: on the TV, and are confronted by the most unsettling 83 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:13,039 Speaker 1: thing you have ever seen. There's a floating head on 84 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:16,280 Speaker 1: the television screen. It shrouded in shadows, but you can 85 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: tell its expression is contorted into a scream. The head 86 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: shakes left to right, as if saying no, over and 87 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:26,919 Speaker 1: over again. Meanwhile, a high pitched ringing sound plays in 88 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 1: the background. Suddenly, the head multiplies and a grid of 89 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:34,680 Speaker 1: terrified expressions fill the screen. It's soon replaced by a 90 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 1: close up of a fly which seems to be biting 91 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:40,680 Speaker 1: someone's hand. The head appears again, and the hand rips 92 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 1: the screaming face right off, leaving behind an open mouthed skull. 93 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: The image slowly fades, making room for the name of 94 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:52,239 Speaker 1: the TV show written in neon yellow block letters, Late 95 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:56,719 Speaker 1: Night Horror. On April eleventh of nineteen sixty eight, this 96 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: opening sequence was viewed by about one point eight million 97 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,160 Speaker 1: million people in the United Kingdom. Late Night Horror was 98 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: a new BBC anthology series. Episodes featured everything from haunted houses, 99 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,039 Speaker 1: to vampires to a brain kept alive in a jar. 100 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:13,480 Speaker 1: It was the first horror show to ever be shot 101 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: in color, and it marked the first time that blood 102 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 1: ran red on television. Perhaps because of this, it was 103 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:25,279 Speaker 1: also highly controversial. Naturally, the BBC received letters from viewers 104 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:28,279 Speaker 1: complaining that the show had traumatized their children. They said 105 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 1: it was too terrifying to be shown on television. Now 106 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 1: to mention that the BBC is and was publicly funded, 107 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:38,719 Speaker 1: British morality advocates were furious that their tax dollars were 108 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:43,360 Speaker 1: being spent on such depraved entertainment. After just six episodes, 109 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: Late Night Horror came to an end, and the show 110 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:49,200 Speaker 1: wasn't just canceled, the very tapes got destroyed. Late Night 111 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:51,680 Speaker 1: Horror became one of the most well known examples of 112 00:06:51,839 --> 00:06:55,279 Speaker 1: lost media. Now. Rumor had it that the program was 113 00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:57,680 Speaker 1: wiped because it was too scary, But the truth is 114 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: more complicated than that. You see, it's estimated that as 115 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 1: much as seventy percent of television made between the nineteen 116 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:07,000 Speaker 1: fifties and seventies is now lost. Over two hundred and 117 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: fifty episodes of Doctor Who are Gone, as are some 118 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: of the earliest appearances of The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. 119 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: And I know what you're wondering, Why on earth would 120 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 1: this stuff get destroyed? Well, it comes down to how 121 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 1: people used to view television. In the mid twentieth century. 122 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: TV was considered low brow. Broadcasts were meant to be 123 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: watched once and then forgotten. Maybe more importantly, though, the 124 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 1: tapes that TV programs were recorded on were really expensive. 125 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 1: The BBC couldn't afford an unlimited amount of tapes, so 126 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 1: when they wanted to make something new, they often had 127 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:43,280 Speaker 1: to record over something else. That's likely what happened to 128 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:46,040 Speaker 1: Late Night Horror. It was sacrificed to make space for 129 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: a different program. But to paraphrase HP. Lovecraft, there's nothing 130 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:53,280 Speaker 1: humans fear more than the unknown. The fact that Late 131 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:56,600 Speaker 1: Night Horror is impossible to watch only made it scarier. 132 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 1: But then something changed. In the nineteen eighties, a media 133 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 1: collector named Chris Perry was combing through catalogs for rare 134 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:06,920 Speaker 1: tapes and a listing caught his eye. Someone claimed to 135 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: have a reel of a single episode of Late Night 136 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 1: Horror titled The Corpse Can't Play. It's believe the copy 137 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:16,560 Speaker 1: was sent abroad for foreign viewing before the BBC's own 138 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 1: tapes were destroyed, and Chris, as you might imagine, was 139 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 1: a static. He called the seller, only to discover that 140 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:25,720 Speaker 1: the tape had been purchased five minutes earlier. The worst 141 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 1: part the buyer was anonymous. The episode had slipped right 142 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:32,960 Speaker 1: through his fingers. He didn't hear a word about it 143 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: for the next thirty years, and then in twenty sixteen 144 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 1: he found the exact same copy of The Corpse Can't 145 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:42,120 Speaker 1: Play listed on eBay. It seemed like the current owner 146 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:45,200 Speaker 1: didn't understand its weight because they were selling it for 147 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 1: a mere eighty five pounds. Chris immediately bought the reel 148 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:52,320 Speaker 1: and handed it over to the British Film Institute. After that, 149 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: experts restored the tape, and in twenty seventeen, The Corpse 150 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:58,600 Speaker 1: Can't Play was screened for a live audience. For the 151 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:01,719 Speaker 1: first time in nearly fifty years, people watched a television 152 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:04,480 Speaker 1: program that was once believed to be lost, and you 153 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 1: can even check it out for yourself now. Too. DVD 154 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:10,560 Speaker 1: copies can be ordered online, and there are still five 155 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 1: other episodes of Late Night Horror that have never been recovered, 156 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 1: but the fact that one has been found gives me hope. 157 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:20,400 Speaker 1: Maybe history scariest TV show is still out there somewhere, 158 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 1: just waiting to terrify a new generation of viewers. I 159 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:33,280 Speaker 1: hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 160 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:36,720 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 161 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:41,319 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 162 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:44,760 Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how 163 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:48,440 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, 164 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:52,320 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and 165 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:54,959 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the Worldolore 166 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:59,400 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.