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 --> 00:00:18,440 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 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,240 Speaker 1: It's not easy finding someone who shares our passions. One 7 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:43,520 Speaker 1: person might love playing video games or building model airplanes, 8 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: while their partner would rather watch a movie or go 9 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,400 Speaker 1: out dancing. But sometimes we get lucky and the people 10 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:51,479 Speaker 1: we spend our lives with become a part of our 11 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 1: passions as well, and in doing so, we get closer 12 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 1: to them and the hobbies that bring us so much joy, 13 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 1: Like Victor Martin. Victor lived in a farmhouse on the 14 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:04,759 Speaker 1: Isle of Shepey, off the northern coast of Kent, England. 15 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:07,479 Speaker 1: He loved trains so much so that in nineteen twenty 16 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:10,840 Speaker 1: three he got a job running Warden Central Station in London. 17 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: The station was part of the Midland main Line, which 18 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:16,959 Speaker 1: he also helped build. He would work on it a 19 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:19,600 Speaker 1: little each day with the help of his first wife. 20 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:22,480 Speaker 1: She saw his love for trains and joined him to 21 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: construct this pre war line with their own hands. It's 22 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:28,600 Speaker 1: unclear how long it took to complete, since at some 23 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:32,320 Speaker 1: point during the construction their marriage ended. Sometime later, Victor 24 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:35,399 Speaker 1: got remarried to a woman named Louise. Her father had 25 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: been a railroad station master at Saint Pancras, so she 26 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: was quite familiar with the concept of running a train line, 27 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:45,920 Speaker 1: but building one that was new and still. Together, they 28 00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: completed their project and pretty soon engines were traveling between 29 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: the two stations throughout the day. During the holiday season, 30 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 1: they would even add extra cars to carry the additional 31 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: Christmas cards and letters to Santa that filled the mailbags 32 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: each year. The line ran between Saint Pancras and Saint Albans, 33 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,640 Speaker 1: a distance of about twenty four miles. This was a 34 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,520 Speaker 1: pretty difficult stretch of terrain for two people to build 35 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: by themselves, but they didn't mind. They only needed about 36 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:15,520 Speaker 1: a miles worth of track anyway. Plus it helped that 37 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:18,919 Speaker 1: all of the people, trees, livestock, and even the sky 38 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:22,120 Speaker 1: were fake because this train line, with its five hundred 39 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: engines and cars, was only a scale model. 40 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:27,880 Speaker 2: You see, Victor and his first wife had started building 41 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 2: it in the shed behind his house in the early 42 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 2: nineteen twenties. It was an exact replica of the Midland 43 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,519 Speaker 2: main Line between Saint Pancras and Saint Alban stations as 44 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,680 Speaker 2: it existed back in the nineteen thirties. But they didn't 45 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 2: stop at constructing a lifelike facsimile. They also treated it 46 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:47,120 Speaker 2: like a real train station. On the property was a signal, 47 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:50,080 Speaker 2: a crossing gates, and even a platform, all of which 48 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 2: were full sized. Inside this shed was an elaborate control room, 49 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,560 Speaker 2: like one that you might see managing the actual train lines. 50 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 2: Both Louise and Victor had their own signal boxes, complete 51 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:05,080 Speaker 2: with dials, switches and light up boards to indicate where 52 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:08,080 Speaker 2: on the tracks the trains were at all times. This 53 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:12,359 Speaker 2: was necessary because eventually the model outgrew the shed. Victor 54 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 2: and Louise were only able to see the trains when 55 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 2: they passed by their signal boxes in the tiny building. 56 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 2: Outside were yards of track and tunnels that stretched across 57 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:24,639 Speaker 2: their half acre of land. To the couple, though these 58 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 2: trains weren't heading through grass and past the trees in 59 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:31,120 Speaker 2: their garden. They were zooming through Leicester and Manchester, collecting 60 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 2: passengers and hauling freight to complete the effect of running 61 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 2: an actual train line. Victor and Louise would wake up 62 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 2: every morning, don their uniforms and tend to their duties 63 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 2: as station masters of their model system for hours at 64 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:48,119 Speaker 2: a time. Their schedule adhere to the same timetable used 65 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:51,160 Speaker 2: by the Saint Pancras station before World War Two. They 66 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 2: also made sure to keep up to date with current events. 67 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 2: When the docks would strike, they would add more freight 68 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,520 Speaker 2: cars to haul the additional loads, just as the real 69 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 2: line had done, and they modified it again in nineteen 70 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 2: fifty six. That year, the Egyptian government nationalized the Suez Canal, 71 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 2: ripping it from the grasp of the British and French 72 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 2: company in charge of it. Victor and Louise stayed up 73 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:17,280 Speaker 2: all night running secret troop trains to transport military personnel 74 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 2: as part of the Suez Crisis. If it was happening 75 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:24,359 Speaker 2: in real life, it was happening in victor shed Sadly, 76 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:27,359 Speaker 2: Victor eventually had to reduce his schedule to once a 77 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:31,039 Speaker 2: week after Louise died in nineteen eighty six. With both 78 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 2: of them gone, today, we're unsure of what happened to 79 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 2: the model, but hopefully someone has kept it intact and 80 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 2: is running the trains with the same passion and enthusiasm 81 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:56,480 Speaker 2: as Victor and Louise had done for all those years. 82 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 2: Depending on how old you are, you might or might 83 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:03,280 Speaker 2: not remember the days of the early Internet. I'm talking 84 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,479 Speaker 2: twenty years ago, when MySpace was all the rage, Amazon 85 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,279 Speaker 2: was just a bookstore, and eBay was the prime destination 86 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:13,480 Speaker 2: for online shopping. Today's story starts on that bidding website. 87 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:16,360 Speaker 2: In two thousand and three, a man named Jason Haxton 88 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:19,600 Speaker 2: hunched over his computer, placing bids on an item he 89 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 2: desperately wanted to win. The price kept climbing, though, and 90 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:26,480 Speaker 2: Jason kept offering more money. He put up two hundred 91 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 2: and eighty dollars and he finally won. A few days later, 92 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 2: a box arrived on Jason's porch. Inside was an antique 93 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:36,880 Speaker 2: Spanish wine cabinet. It was made out of dark wood 94 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:39,160 Speaker 2: and was big enough to fit maybe two or three 95 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 2: bottles of wine. The front had two doors with images 96 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:46,240 Speaker 2: of grapes on them. Below that was a small drawer. Now, 97 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:49,120 Speaker 2: if you're wondering why Jason was so set on buying 98 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:52,880 Speaker 2: this curious cabinet, it's because it came with a mystery attached. 99 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:56,440 Speaker 2: You see, the eBay listing gave clear instructions to whoever 100 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 2: won the auction. It said, in so many words, do 101 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 2: not ever opened this cabinet, And well, curiosity killed the 102 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:07,360 Speaker 2: cat right. The first thing Jason did was open it up. 103 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:11,360 Speaker 2: What he found inside was confusing. There was a goblet, 104 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:14,760 Speaker 2: a few pennies from the nineteen twenties, a dried up rose, 105 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:18,719 Speaker 2: a candlestick holder, a granite statue engraved with letters written 106 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:22,799 Speaker 2: in Hebrew, and last, but certainly not least, two locks 107 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,600 Speaker 2: of hair tied together with a string, Which would have 108 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,200 Speaker 2: been strange enough, But what happened next is way weirder. 109 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 2: According to Jason, anytime he touched the box, he was 110 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 2: struck with this terrible pain, like a knife going into 111 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:40,239 Speaker 2: his stomach. He began having nightmares about an old woman 112 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:43,839 Speaker 2: trying to hurt him. His eyes became bloodshot, he broke 113 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,159 Speaker 2: out in hives. But as scary as those symptoms sound, 114 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:52,039 Speaker 2: Jason wasn't entirely surprised. It turns out something similar had 115 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 2: happened to the person that he bought the wine cabinet from. 116 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 2: The cellar had been very forthright about the box's history. 117 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 2: He'd said that he had originally perched at an estate 118 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 2: sale for a Jewish woman who lived to be one 119 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:06,040 Speaker 2: hundred and three years old. The woman's granddaughter sold him 120 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:08,840 Speaker 2: the box but told him to never ever open it. 121 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 2: But just like Jason, he couldn't help but look inside. 122 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:16,000 Speaker 2: Shortly after opening the box, his hair started falling out, 123 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,600 Speaker 2: his home became filled with a terrible odor, insects started 124 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:22,680 Speaker 2: crawling all over his walls. To this guy, only one 125 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:26,200 Speaker 2: explanation made sense. The cabinet was haunted by an evil 126 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 2: spirit and it was wreaking havoc on his life. Naturally, 127 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:33,600 Speaker 2: he didn't want the cabinet in his house anymore, so 128 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:37,200 Speaker 2: he listed it on eBay under the title Diebook Haunted 129 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 2: Jewish wine cabinet box. Now in Jewish folklore, adebook is 130 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 2: a malicious spirit. So the eBay listing literally said that 131 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 2: this item was evil, and Jason bought it anyway. Apparently, 132 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:52,119 Speaker 2: he wanted to see if this supposed haunting was real, 133 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:55,320 Speaker 2: and after suffering his own spate of odd symptoms, he 134 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 2: was very much convinced that it was. He didn't want 135 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:00,720 Speaker 2: to keep the cabinet, but he also so didn't want 136 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:04,120 Speaker 2: to unleash its power on anybody else. So he consulted 137 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:07,080 Speaker 2: with scientists and rabbis, who told him that he should 138 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:10,080 Speaker 2: lock the cabinet in a box lined with gold to 139 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:13,640 Speaker 2: neutralize its effects. Now I know all of this is 140 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:16,600 Speaker 2: beginning to seem pretty far fetched, but Jason claims the 141 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:20,360 Speaker 2: golden box worked. He stopped having nightmares and his hives 142 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:25,600 Speaker 2: went away. Case closed, right well, No, Jason started doing 143 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:29,119 Speaker 2: interviews about his ghostly experience, and next thing he knew, 144 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:32,400 Speaker 2: Hollywood producers were offering to buy the rights to his story. 145 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:36,000 Speaker 2: He agreed, and the Die Book Box saga was adapted 146 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:39,679 Speaker 2: into a twenty twelve horror film called Possession, which is 147 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 2: about a young girl who buys an antique box at 148 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 2: a yard sale then becomes possessed by the evil spirit inside. 149 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 2: At some point, the star of the Ghosted Ventures TV show, 150 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 2: Zach Baggins, caught wind of the creepy cabinet and he 151 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:56,560 Speaker 2: managed to convince Jason to give it to him. Baggins 152 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 2: put the Die Book Box on display at his Haunted 153 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:03,640 Speaker 2: Museum in Las Vegas in twenty eighteen. He took his friend, 154 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:07,200 Speaker 2: musician Post Malone to the museum to check out the box, 155 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:10,240 Speaker 2: maybe to try to freak him out. Baggins touched the 156 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:13,560 Speaker 2: box and then touched post malone, and you know what 157 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 2: after that, Post became plagued by bad luck. Two tires 158 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:21,480 Speaker 2: on his private jet blew out during takeoff, armed intruders 159 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:24,040 Speaker 2: broke into his house, and he got into a car 160 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:27,680 Speaker 2: crash in his rolls Royce And I know, maybe it's 161 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:30,760 Speaker 2: all a coincidence, or some story drummed up for fame 162 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 2: and fortune, or perhaps that weird wine cabinet really does 163 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:38,600 Speaker 2: have some kind of supernatural power. Either way, if you 164 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 2: happen to find yourself in its presence, I would suggest 165 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:44,920 Speaker 2: you avoid opening it and trying to find out for yourself. 166 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:52,400 Speaker 2: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 167 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:56,320 Speaker 2: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 168 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:59,959 Speaker 2: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 169 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:04,520 Speaker 2: The show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership 170 00:10:04,559 --> 00:10:07,840 Speaker 2: with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show 171 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 2: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, 172 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:15,120 Speaker 2: and you can learn all about it over at Theworldoflore 173 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:19,040 Speaker 2: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.