1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Hidden Gin, a production of I Heart 2 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:30,520 Speaker 1: Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Minky. When I 3 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:32,959 Speaker 1: was a kid, there was this family that we were 4 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:35,320 Speaker 1: pretty close with and kind of grew up with. In fact, 5 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:38,559 Speaker 1: they had four boys, all my age or older, and 6 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: they reveled in telling us jin stories every time they 7 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: could get me and my younger siblings alone. They told 8 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 1: us about a time when they were traveling in rural 9 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: South Asia on the way to their ancestral village, bouncing 10 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: along in a rickety train. It was a hot night, 11 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: and the train windows were pushed down, so the dust 12 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: that rose from the tracks created to haze both inside 13 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: and outside the string of cabins. Things had quieted down, 14 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 1: suppers had been unwrapped and eaten. The last of the 15 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 1: young boys who were hawking boiled eggs, fried lentils, and 16 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:16,199 Speaker 1: thick sweet hot tea had passed through the train one 17 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:20,400 Speaker 1: final time. Most of the other passengers were asleep, either 18 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 1: slumped over a loved one next to them, or with 19 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:25,920 Speaker 1: their heads thrown back over a seat, their bodies steadily 20 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:28,400 Speaker 1: rocking back and forth with the movement of the train. 21 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:32,559 Speaker 1: The younger two brothers were likewise asleep, curled up against 22 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: their mother, who had pulled a cotton shawl partially over 23 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 1: her face to filter out the dust, or maybe it 24 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:40,480 Speaker 1: was so no one could see her mouth slack and 25 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:44,039 Speaker 1: open as she snored. It wasn't unusual to see other 26 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:48,240 Speaker 1: passengers with their faces covered by different means, with shawls, blankets, 27 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 1: even the occasional broka. In the cramped quarters. It was 28 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 1: one way to have some limited privacy and make sleeping 29 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: in public a little bit more comfortable. Now, there is 30 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 1: one woman in the cabin who was covered entirely in 31 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: black from head to toe, sitting on the berth across 32 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 1: the aisle from the two older brothers who were still 33 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 1: wide awake. They were still pretty young, barely in the 34 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 1: double digits and only a year apart, which meant they 35 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:15,280 Speaker 1: spent most of their waking moments trying to find ways 36 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:18,520 Speaker 1: to mess with each other. On that particular night, as 37 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: the boredom got to them, they traded kicks and pinches 38 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 1: and elbows, testing each other. Their goal was to keep 39 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: from yelping and waking up their mom, who would likely 40 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 1: take a slipper to them if they did. They giggled 41 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: under their breath, still jabbing one another, and then they 42 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: noticed the woman in black turned her head towards them. 43 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: The bottom half of her face was covered in the 44 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:43,240 Speaker 1: black veil of a borka, but the top half was exposed. 45 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: Her large black eyes were wide open, lined with coal, 46 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 1: staring at them intently. The boys froze under her unblinking gaze. 47 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,919 Speaker 1: Whether a few moments passed or entire minutes, it's hard 48 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 1: to say, but to the brothers it felt like in 49 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 1: an eternity. And then still silent, the woman turned her 50 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:06,640 Speaker 1: head the other way to look out the window, and 51 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: as she did so, she stretched her legs in front 52 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:13,800 Speaker 1: of her. Her black gown rose to reveal her feet, which, 53 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 1: to the shock and horror of these brothers, were bent 54 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:22,960 Speaker 1: completely backwards. I'm Rabbia Chadar, and I'll be your guide 55 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: into the ancient world of the hidden gin. Welcome. I 56 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: heard that story, or some variation of it, countless times 57 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: from those brothers who swore that they witnessed a woman 58 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: whose feet were on backwards in the dead of the 59 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 1: night on a train to their village. When they told others, 60 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 1: elder relatives what they had seen, they were casually informed 61 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: that that woman was definitely a gin. It was a 62 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: sure sign of a gin trying to pass as human. 63 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,240 Speaker 1: They could transform to a certain extent, but their eat, 64 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: for some reason, still ended up backwards, or maybe they 65 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:06,120 Speaker 1: wanted to keep it that way so they could frighten 66 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: the unsuspecting with a flash of their feet. Essentially, and oftentimes, 67 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: the gin manifest themselves to us as they please, shifting 68 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:18,400 Speaker 1: into human or animal shapes to enter our dimension, but 69 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,840 Speaker 1: never revealing what they really look like to us, which 70 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:25,960 Speaker 1: is understandable because apparently their original forms are so fierce 71 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: and terrifying we wouldn't be able to handle it. One 72 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:32,120 Speaker 1: legend tells of a gin that revealed itself to none 73 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:36,280 Speaker 1: other than Alexander the Great. It was huge, as large 74 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,600 Speaker 1: as a building, with seven heads, and every head had 75 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:44,159 Speaker 1: two faces, four blazing eyes, a monstrous mouth full of 76 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:49,360 Speaker 1: flaming teeth, and the massive nose of a bull. Strangely, though, 77 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 1: it had the feet of a duck, a massive duck, 78 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 1: but duck feet. Nonetheless, it's not likely you'll see a 79 00:04:55,839 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: gin in its original form, though that would just give 80 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: it away, and they usually don't want that. But there 81 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:03,840 Speaker 1: are some manifestations that seem to be most common when 82 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:06,919 Speaker 1: it comes to gin encounters, which will help us recognize 83 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 1: a gin when we see one. But remember, we only 84 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 1: see a gin when it wants us to. And it's 85 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,040 Speaker 1: also said that they only appear to those who believe 86 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 1: in them. Otherwise our senses are closed to their realm. 87 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:25,120 Speaker 1: They can hide from us, and they do, but it's 88 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:29,360 Speaker 1: said that they cannot hide from certain animals. Now, there 89 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:32,480 Speaker 1: are many cultures that believe animals can see or sense 90 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,279 Speaker 1: the unseen storms on the horizon, for example, or even 91 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:41,039 Speaker 1: natural disasters. It's well known and well documented that days 92 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 1: before the horrific two thousand and four tsunami that brutalized 93 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:48,880 Speaker 1: South Asian coastlines, local animals were acting out of sorts 94 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:53,279 Speaker 1: from India to Sri Lanka to Indonesia. There were dozens 95 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: of reports well before the massive waves hit of dogs 96 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: that refuse to go outside, elephants that led to higher ground, 97 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:05,479 Speaker 1: and zoo animals coward in their shelters. There is nothing 98 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:09,200 Speaker 1: necessarily supernatural about any of it. After all, many animals 99 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:12,440 Speaker 1: have vastly different ranges of sound and sight that human 100 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:16,840 Speaker 1: beings do, and according to indigenous cultures, they're just simply 101 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:20,520 Speaker 1: more connected to the natural phenomena around them, which explains 102 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: why animals may be also more likely to feel or 103 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 1: sense gin or other creatures we can't see and probably 104 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,839 Speaker 1: don't want to see. They say to beware when a 105 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:34,680 Speaker 1: donkey brace, because it's surely seeing a devil. But you 106 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:36,960 Speaker 1: don't have to own a donkey to witness the sixth 107 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:40,480 Speaker 1: sense animals have for the unseen. Every dog and cat 108 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: owner has seen at some point their furry companion stare 109 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:47,080 Speaker 1: with alarm at a point in a room where apparently 110 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:51,760 Speaker 1: there's nothing to see, or they'll growl, flatten their ears, 111 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: crouch at some invisible threat. And then there are the 112 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 1: three am crazy's, when cats suddenly began tearing around the halls, 113 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:03,320 Speaker 1: slamming into walls, bursting with a manic energy that doesn't 114 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:06,920 Speaker 1: exist at any other part of the day. No one 115 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,240 Speaker 1: is exactly sure what causes this middle of the night 116 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: feline mania, and there are some theories about it, but 117 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:14,840 Speaker 1: none of them account for why this happens at a 118 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 1: time otherwise known as the witching hour, that time of 119 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:22,200 Speaker 1: night when black magic is strongest, when the cover of 120 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:25,080 Speaker 1: darkness is deepest, and when those of us with a 121 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 1: touch of insomnia often spring awake in bed only to 122 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: see a negon glow from a bedside clock telling us 123 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 1: it's three am. Whether or not animals see gin, we 124 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 1: do know this. Sometimes the animals around us are in 125 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: fact jin themselves. While shape shifting gin have the ability 126 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 1: to transform into pretty much any kind of animal, dogs, cats, scorpions, camels, lions, 127 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 1: and even insects like beetles. It seems the most common 128 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:53,679 Speaker 1: creature you may come across that could be a hidden 129 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: gin is a snake. And it's no coincidence that Adam 130 00:07:57,480 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: and Eve were tricked by a serpent in the garden. 131 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 1: The serpent was the devil himself disguised, and the devil 132 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 1: in some traditions, is in fact a gin. There's a 133 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,680 Speaker 1: story from seventeenth century Egypt in which a famous holy 134 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:15,960 Speaker 1: man named Alhredi had died, but people believed that he 135 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: had returned, reincarnated as a large snake. The snake had 136 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: made the holy man's shrine on the Nile River its home, 137 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:25,960 Speaker 1: staying curled up at all times in the crevice of 138 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:29,800 Speaker 1: some rocks near the grave. In his lifetime, Alhredi was 139 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:32,959 Speaker 1: known to be a healer, a pious man with miraculous 140 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:36,679 Speaker 1: powers to cure the sick, but after his death, those 141 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:39,680 Speaker 1: powers seemed to have become vested in the great serpent 142 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:42,679 Speaker 1: that guarded his shrine, and as long as that snake 143 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 1: was there, the miracles continued. The locals had different theories 144 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:49,679 Speaker 1: about Alhredi and a snake. It could have been that 145 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:52,200 Speaker 1: he was never a human being to begin with, but 146 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:55,800 Speaker 1: instead that he was a benevolent gin who transformed himself 147 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:59,400 Speaker 1: into a human so he could help heal people. Then, 148 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:02,000 Speaker 1: after living the human life and dying a human death, 149 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:05,280 Speaker 1: he turned into the giant snake to continue to bless 150 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:09,720 Speaker 1: those that came to the shrine for help. Interestingly, Coptic 151 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,600 Speaker 1: Christians in the region had a different take on Alhredi. 152 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:15,679 Speaker 1: They were well aware of his miracles, but they didn't 153 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:19,679 Speaker 1: think he was a kindly jin. Instead, they believed that 154 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:23,800 Speaker 1: he was the incarnation of the demon king Ashmadi, the 155 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:27,280 Speaker 1: same Ashmani that King Solomon enslaved to build his temple 156 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:32,160 Speaker 1: along with legions of other gin. Regardless, it seems everyone 157 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 1: on all sides did agree to one thing. That snake 158 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:44,479 Speaker 1: was definitely Alhredi. The animal manifestations aren't always perfect. Sometimes 159 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:48,280 Speaker 1: the shape shifting will result in beastly hybrids, serpents with 160 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:51,600 Speaker 1: dozens of arms and legs, or creatures with canine teeth, 161 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:55,760 Speaker 1: heads like birds, and horse like hose. Then there are 162 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:59,600 Speaker 1: those jin who don't quite come together at all, the nestnas. 163 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:04,360 Speaker 1: The nestnas appear as half formed human beings, with half 164 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:07,840 Speaker 1: a head, one arm, one leg, half a torso, and 165 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 1: half a face which may be positioned anywhere on its body. 166 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: Some say these malformed creatures only inhabit the wilderness of Yemen, 167 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,120 Speaker 1: and others say they can be found on desolate islands 168 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:23,200 Speaker 1: in the South China Sea. They can't speak, having only 169 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:26,800 Speaker 1: half the vocal cords necessary, but they can make strange, 170 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:31,400 Speaker 1: sad guttural sounds, rather fitting for their disposition. That's because 171 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:35,280 Speaker 1: the nestnas are weak gin. They're terrified of human beings 172 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 1: instead of the other way around. They flee when people 173 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:41,960 Speaker 1: get too close, hopping away with a quickness on one leg, 174 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:46,400 Speaker 1: escaping as fast as possible lest they get captured. And 175 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:48,959 Speaker 1: they better get away because in some parts they're hunted 176 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: by locals, not just to kill them, but to devour them, 177 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:56,760 Speaker 1: because apparently the flesh of the nestnas is reportedly delicious 178 00:10:56,800 --> 00:11:01,000 Speaker 1: and sweet. If nestnas are the weaklings in the gin realm. 179 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:03,440 Speaker 1: Towards the other end of the spectrum, there is a 180 00:11:03,559 --> 00:11:06,800 Speaker 1: dangerous shape shifting gin that you want to avoid at 181 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:10,720 Speaker 1: all costs. This gin has the ability to constantly and 182 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 1: terrifyingly keep transforming in order to confuse and days its victims. 183 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 1: And that gin is called the ghoul. That's right, Google, 184 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:23,640 Speaker 1: The word we've all used at some point to describe 185 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:27,440 Speaker 1: someone unpleasant is actually the Arabic word for a very 186 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:31,240 Speaker 1: specific kind of gin, sometimes taking the shape of several 187 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:34,240 Speaker 1: animals at once, reported at times to have the head 188 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:36,600 Speaker 1: of a cat and the tongue of a dog, other 189 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:41,160 Speaker 1: times appearing in their monstrous forms hunched and hairless, razor 190 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:46,439 Speaker 1: sharp teeth and snakelike tongues, model skin, and cavernous dead eyes. 191 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:50,719 Speaker 1: Ghouls in habit the most desolate places, keeping as far 192 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:55,640 Speaker 1: as possible from human civilization. They lurk in deserts and cemeteries, 193 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 1: where they hide among ruins, biding their time for people 194 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 1: passing by, people who are likely to disappear forever if 195 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:07,440 Speaker 1: they make that unfortunate encounter. What a hapless soul does 196 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:11,200 Speaker 1: stumble across their path. Goals will entrance them all the 197 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:14,680 Speaker 1: weight of their debts by repeatedly transforming from one thing 198 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:19,160 Speaker 1: to another shape, shifting with speed from one hideous creature 199 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:23,680 Speaker 1: to another, confounding their victims. This way, the goal drives 200 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:27,160 Speaker 1: their victim mad before making their kill to satisfy their 201 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:31,200 Speaker 1: hunger for human flesh. Gules are said to be among 202 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:35,040 Speaker 1: some of the oldest jin, ancient and evil. They are 203 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:38,200 Speaker 1: so powerful that other jins serve them, and sometimes human 204 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:51,200 Speaker 1: beings also become their slaves, both willingly and unwillingly. A 205 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:54,640 Speaker 1: medieval Egyptian folk tale relates that the ghouls came into 206 00:12:54,679 --> 00:12:58,280 Speaker 1: existence in the land of Yemen through the unholy union 207 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:01,480 Speaker 1: of the smoke from a fire, the seed of a wolf, 208 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:05,440 Speaker 1: and human seed inside a woman's body. How all of 209 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:07,920 Speaker 1: these things found their way to the womb, I'm not sure, 210 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:10,839 Speaker 1: and I'm also not sure I want to know. Nonetheless, 211 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:14,120 Speaker 1: the ghouls that were birth haunted the legendary Valley of 212 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:18,680 Speaker 1: the Ghouls in Yemen. In actual place, these beastly siblings 213 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 1: were eventually slaid by a king, but there are of 214 00:13:21,559 --> 00:13:25,640 Speaker 1: course legions more. Some of those legions reside in the 215 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:30,360 Speaker 1: Cave of Ghouls located in Egypt in Mount Burka. A 216 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:32,640 Speaker 1: story from the late eighteen hundreds tells the tale of 217 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:35,760 Speaker 1: a man traveling with a group of people past this cave. 218 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 1: He fell behind his party, and as he wandered along 219 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 1: looking for them, a woman mysteriously appeared out of nowhere 220 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:45,480 Speaker 1: on the mountain side. She was beautiful, as women often 221 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:48,320 Speaker 1: are in such stories, and she stood in the man's path, 222 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:51,439 Speaker 1: giving him two choices. He could either sleep with her 223 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:55,240 Speaker 1: or she would kill him. She was, as you may 224 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:58,679 Speaker 1: have realized, a ghoul. Now you can easily guess which 225 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 1: choice the man took, and after their liaison, he was 226 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:04,560 Speaker 1: allowed to go his way. But a year later, the 227 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:07,319 Speaker 1: same woman appeared before the man, this time with a 228 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:10,839 Speaker 1: baby girl, his daughter. She left the child with him 229 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:14,679 Speaker 1: and disappeared. The man raised a little girl, and eventually 230 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:16,960 Speaker 1: she married a man from his tribe and went on 231 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:20,200 Speaker 1: to have children. Now, before we go on with the story, 232 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:22,760 Speaker 1: let's pause here to talk about the particular kind of 233 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:26,000 Speaker 1: gin that gave birth to this little girl. That beautiful 234 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:29,680 Speaker 1: woman outside the cave of ghouls was a particularly dangerous 235 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:33,880 Speaker 1: type of ghoul, called a sila, and unlike the beastly 236 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:37,160 Speaker 1: forms that other gals take. The Sila often takes the 237 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:41,440 Speaker 1: form of a seductive woman. The Sila stalksman and often 238 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:43,840 Speaker 1: not only eats her victims, but she toys with them, 239 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:47,280 Speaker 1: first making them dance and scamper around full of terror, 240 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:51,280 Speaker 1: before finally putting them out of their misery. In order 241 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:54,120 Speaker 1: to trap her prey, the Sila often pretends to be 242 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:58,040 Speaker 1: a woman traveling alone and seduces lone male travelers until 243 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 1: they're so far off the beaten path us they have 244 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:04,320 Speaker 1: no hope of escaping, just like what happened in our 245 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:08,040 Speaker 1: Cave of Ghoul story, and killing aecila is no easy 246 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:11,200 Speaker 1: task for a number of reasons, but if there's any 247 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:14,360 Speaker 1: creature capable of it, it's the one that ghouls are 248 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:21,600 Speaker 1: unable to transform into. The wolf. Wolves hold a special 249 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:25,280 Speaker 1: place in old Arab customs as symbols of protection. It 250 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:28,200 Speaker 1: said that the wolf is so powerful against malevolent gin 251 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:31,880 Speaker 1: that wolf teeth or even a wolf's eye are used 252 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:35,120 Speaker 1: as charms to ward off evil and mothers have long 253 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:37,920 Speaker 1: sung lullabies invoking the name of the wolf to scare 254 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,280 Speaker 1: off evil spirits from children. You see, the wolf is 255 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:44,560 Speaker 1: the only animal that ghouls are actually scared of, and 256 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:48,280 Speaker 1: they have reason to be scared, because wolves actively hunt 257 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:52,160 Speaker 1: the most dangerous goal, the sila, that temptress that lures 258 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:57,080 Speaker 1: unassuming men to their deaths. A thirteenth century polymath by 259 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:01,120 Speaker 1: the name of Zecharia al Kaswini described at hunt like this. 260 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:05,040 Speaker 1: The wolf sometimes hunts her at night and then eats her. 261 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:08,160 Speaker 1: As he tears into her, she raises her voice, saying, 262 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 1: save me. The wolf is eating me. But once a 263 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: wolf has a hold of his prey, no one will 264 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:18,160 Speaker 1: rescue her, and ultimately Ceila is devoured by the beast. 265 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:21,800 Speaker 1: Now no wolf appears in the Cave of Ghoul story. However, 266 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:24,800 Speaker 1: and unfortunately, the daughter of the Ceila had to be 267 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 1: disposed of in another way, because, according to the tale, 268 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,560 Speaker 1: after the daughter of the Ceila was raised, married off, 269 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:34,440 Speaker 1: and had her own children, her father made a discovery 270 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:38,080 Speaker 1: that worried him deeply. One night, he came across a 271 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:42,440 Speaker 1: grave that had been violated, dug up, it's deceased inhabitant 272 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:46,480 Speaker 1: unearthed and parts of the body eaten. The father worried 273 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 1: that maybe his daughter had something to do with it, 274 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 1: given her origins, and because he knew that gals primarily 275 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:55,960 Speaker 1: feasted on human flesh. Dead or alive. He hurried to 276 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,600 Speaker 1: his son in law and told him his fears. So 277 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:00,840 Speaker 1: the young man began keeping an eye on his wife 278 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:05,000 Speaker 1: and discovered that she was indeed making nightly outings. He 279 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:06,960 Speaker 1: followed her one night as she crept out of the 280 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:10,119 Speaker 1: house to the local cemetery, dug up a grave and 281 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:13,480 Speaker 1: began to feast on the body. He was horrified, and 282 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:16,159 Speaker 1: that night, when she returned to their bed, he killed her, 283 00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:20,879 Speaker 1: crushing her to death. But their children lived on, married 284 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 1: and multiplied, and to this day, in the area close 285 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:27,439 Speaker 1: to the Cave of Ghouls, the descendants of that couple 286 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:31,120 Speaker 1: still survive, and they are known as the al Guila. 287 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:38,440 Speaker 1: Tales of Ghouls are spread far and wide, not just geographically, 288 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:42,160 Speaker 1: but also throughout time. Long before the Cave of Ghoul story. 289 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:46,280 Speaker 1: Nearly six centuries prior. In fact, an epic travel log 290 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:49,600 Speaker 1: was written by a contemporary romance author by the name 291 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:53,720 Speaker 1: of Rustiquelo da Pizza. He had had the fortune of 292 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:56,120 Speaker 1: being detained for two years in a prison with an 293 00:17:56,119 --> 00:17:59,840 Speaker 1: explorer who regaled him with fantastic stories of his travels 294 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:03,480 Speaker 1: and a ventures. Da Pisa compiled the stories together in 295 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:06,560 Speaker 1: a volume called Quote The Book of the marvels of 296 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:11,040 Speaker 1: the world, each yarn more amazing than the last. You see. 297 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:14,440 Speaker 1: This explorer that Da Pisa had been detained with described 298 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:19,240 Speaker 1: crossing entire continents from Constantinople to bot that through the 299 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:23,920 Speaker 1: magnificent Karo Kora Mountain range onto Beijing, and circling through 300 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:27,000 Speaker 1: the South China Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and up 301 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 1: the coast of the Arabian Sea off the eastern shore 302 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 1: of Africa. And this explorer spent nearly two decades in 303 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:37,280 Speaker 1: the court of Kubla Khan, the grandson of the great 304 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:41,399 Speaker 1: genghis Han, serving the Mongol Emperor, and he had seen 305 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 1: and heard it all. This explorer, well, it was none 306 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:49,160 Speaker 1: other than Marco Polo. And that book, well, it's better 307 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:51,760 Speaker 1: known in our part of the world as the travels 308 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:56,240 Speaker 1: of Marco Polo. Polos travels along the Silk Road took 309 00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:59,119 Speaker 1: him at one point to a vast desert at the 310 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:04,119 Speaker 1: center of trade routes between China, Tibet and Turkestan. The 311 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:07,280 Speaker 1: desert was so vast that some said it took a 312 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:10,280 Speaker 1: month to cross it at its narrowest point, and it 313 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:12,760 Speaker 1: took a year to cross it at its most wide 314 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:16,720 Speaker 1: And while their watering holes dotted throughout the desert was 315 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:21,080 Speaker 1: otherwise devoid of life, no animals, no people, nothing that 316 00:19:21,119 --> 00:19:25,359 Speaker 1: could be hunted and eaten. And yet it wasn't completely empty. 317 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:30,359 Speaker 1: There is a marvelous thing related of this desert, which 318 00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:32,400 Speaker 1: is that when travelers are on the move by night, 319 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:34,840 Speaker 1: and one of the chances to lag behind, or to 320 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,440 Speaker 1: fall asleep, or the light, when he tries to gain 321 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:41,120 Speaker 1: his company again, he will hear spirits talking and will 322 00:19:41,119 --> 00:19:44,680 Speaker 1: suppose them to be his comrades. Sometimes the spirits will 323 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,760 Speaker 1: call him by name, and thus shall a traveler. Oft 324 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:51,560 Speaker 1: times we led astray, so that he never finds his party, 325 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:55,639 Speaker 1: and in this way many have perished. Sometimes the stray 326 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:58,200 Speaker 1: travelers will hear, as it were, the tramp and hume 327 00:19:58,359 --> 00:20:01,359 Speaker 1: of a great cavalcade of people away from the real 328 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:04,159 Speaker 1: line of road, and taking this to be their own company, 329 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:07,080 Speaker 1: they will follow the sound, and when day breaks they 330 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 1: will find that a cheat has been put on them, 331 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:13,119 Speaker 1: and that they are in an ill plight. Even the 332 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:16,920 Speaker 1: daytime when hears those spirits talking, and sometimes you shall 333 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,240 Speaker 1: hear the sound of a variety of musical instruments, and 334 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:25,119 Speaker 1: still more commonly the sound of drums, Paulo had also 335 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:27,760 Speaker 1: heard of a terrifying monster found in the wilderness of 336 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:33,000 Speaker 1: Iranistan and Iran, the famed and feared role Bibon, meaning 337 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:37,359 Speaker 1: the ghoul of the waste. The ghoul was huge, dreadful 338 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: to behold, and lurked in the waste lands of Central Asia, 339 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:44,880 Speaker 1: gobbling up travelers right off of their horses. Now, Marco 340 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:47,840 Speaker 1: Polo had not confessed to seeing this ghoul himself, but 341 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,520 Speaker 1: he had heard it referred to many times by locals 342 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:53,320 Speaker 1: he met in his travels, and while he seemed to 343 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:57,120 Speaker 1: believe in the desert spirits that lured travelers astray, Paulo 344 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:00,439 Speaker 1: didn't put much stock in the role Baban stories. It 345 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 1: could be that he thought, as others did, that the 346 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:05,560 Speaker 1: ghouls of the desert waste lands were simply a projection 347 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:09,240 Speaker 1: of the fear even the bravest soul feels when facing 348 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:14,520 Speaker 1: the desolation of a vast, deserted place. The isolation, the silence, 349 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:18,240 Speaker 1: the nothingness for miles in every direction could be enough 350 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:21,959 Speaker 1: to disorient the most level headed among us, and in 351 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,479 Speaker 1: that condition, howling dust storms could both look and sound 352 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:29,440 Speaker 1: like a beast rising into the sky. For the travelers 353 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:32,800 Speaker 1: that survived those journeys fantastic tales to tell would certainly 354 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:36,240 Speaker 1: be a badge of honor, and for those that didn't well, 355 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:38,680 Speaker 1: it might be kinder to think they were just snatched 356 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:41,800 Speaker 1: up by a ghoul than the alternative that they just 357 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:45,720 Speaker 1: couldn't cut it, or the tales could be precautionary, a 358 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:48,639 Speaker 1: warning to those seeking to set off into the wilderness, 359 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:51,760 Speaker 1: a threat of imminent danger to those who didn't stick 360 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:54,359 Speaker 1: close to the tribe, which is just with the lesson 361 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:57,159 Speaker 1: from another ghoul story, this one from the fifteenth century 362 00:21:57,160 --> 00:22:02,520 Speaker 1: in Valdad, also just might be. In this story, the 363 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:04,720 Speaker 1: son of a wealthy merchant falls in love with the 364 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:08,440 Speaker 1: daughter of a poor old wise man against his father's wishes, 365 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:12,679 Speaker 1: and that, dear listeners, is the disobedience and rebelliousness that 366 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:16,399 Speaker 1: this story may have been crafted to prevent. Nonetheless, the 367 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 1: story goes on that the father eventually relented and allowed 368 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:22,160 Speaker 1: his son to marry the beautiful young girl, and their 369 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:24,919 Speaker 1: marriage was celebrated with all the ceremony in bling that 370 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:28,560 Speaker 1: was expected of the wealthy family. The sun was elated 371 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:30,880 Speaker 1: with his new bride, but was disturbed that she would 372 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:33,359 Speaker 1: never eat. She would just leave her food untouched. At 373 00:22:33,359 --> 00:22:36,480 Speaker 1: every meal, he shrugged it off. Maybe she was just 374 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:38,840 Speaker 1: shy in her new home with his new family and 375 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:42,200 Speaker 1: didn't feel comfortable eating in front of them. But one night, 376 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:45,120 Speaker 1: the new groom awakened to find himself alone in bed. 377 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:48,920 Speaker 1: His beautiful wife was nowhere to be found. He stayed 378 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:51,840 Speaker 1: awake waiting for her, and she didn't return till an 379 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:55,440 Speaker 1: hour before the sun rose, Creeping quietly back into their bed. 380 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:58,800 Speaker 1: The next night, he decided he would only pretend to 381 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:01,679 Speaker 1: sleep to see if she again left their bed, and 382 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:04,639 Speaker 1: she did. He followed her at a distance out of 383 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:06,960 Speaker 1: the house and all the way to a cemetery, where 384 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:09,520 Speaker 1: he saw her step into a large tomb with an 385 00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:13,840 Speaker 1: open door. He cautiously entered after her, only to behold 386 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:18,680 Speaker 1: a ghastly sight. A circle of ghoules feasted on bloody, 387 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:23,000 Speaker 1: decomposing corpses, and among them was his lovely young bride, 388 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:27,040 Speaker 1: munching away with them. The man hurried home, terrified, but 389 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:29,200 Speaker 1: said nothing to his wife when she returned to their 390 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:32,960 Speaker 1: bed hours later. The next day, when she again refused 391 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,440 Speaker 1: to eat, he finally couldn't take it anymore. He screamed 392 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:39,720 Speaker 1: that he knew her secret, that she fasted all days 393 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:43,119 Speaker 1: so she could feast every night with the ghouls. The 394 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:46,879 Speaker 1: wife silently rose from the table and retreated to their bedroom, 395 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:50,239 Speaker 1: where she waited for her groom. He eventually joined her, 396 00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:53,600 Speaker 1: uneasily getting into bed, neither of them saying a word. 397 00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:58,040 Speaker 1: Both silent and tense, that night, she didn't leave her 398 00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:01,000 Speaker 1: husband's bed at all. Instead of sneaking out for her 399 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:04,520 Speaker 1: midnight meal, she waited patiently for the first signs of 400 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:08,720 Speaker 1: slumber to overtake him. Then she pounced on her hapless groom, 401 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:12,480 Speaker 1: teeth bared towards his neck, attempting to draw and drink 402 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:16,520 Speaker 1: his blood. He awoke immediately and fought back, struggling to subdue. 403 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:20,600 Speaker 1: The fight was vicious. She had a shocking super strength, 404 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:22,960 Speaker 1: but ultimately he was able to kill her with a 405 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,720 Speaker 1: blow to the head. The next day, he buried her, 406 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:29,760 Speaker 1: but she didn't stay buried. Three days later, she arose 407 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 1: from the dead and returned to her formal marital bed 408 00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:36,320 Speaker 1: to once again try and suck her husband's blood. He 409 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:38,960 Speaker 1: fled an escaped her, and the next day returned to 410 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,960 Speaker 1: her tomb, where he found her cold dead body. This time, 411 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 1: he took no chances. He burned her corpse to ashes 412 00:24:46,119 --> 00:24:49,280 Speaker 1: and scattered them in a river, and it worked. She 413 00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:52,919 Speaker 1: never returned. Now, you may have noticed that while this 414 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:56,119 Speaker 1: woman was fond of eating corpses as wouls do, she 415 00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:58,760 Speaker 1: was also pretty focused on sinking her teeth into her 416 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:02,240 Speaker 1: husband's throat. So if this particular goal sounds very much 417 00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:06,919 Speaker 1: like a vampire, there's good reason. The connection here runs 418 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:16,800 Speaker 1: thick as blood. Thou shall not eat the blood of 419 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:19,680 Speaker 1: any flesh at all, because the life of the flesh 420 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:22,280 Speaker 1: is in the blood, and whosoever eat it shall be 421 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:27,440 Speaker 1: cut off. Leviticus spells it out pretty clearly that consuming 422 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:30,480 Speaker 1: blood for God fearing believers is not just a no no. 423 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:33,760 Speaker 1: It means being condemned to exile, to being cut off 424 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:37,639 Speaker 1: from family and community and from God himself, and driven 425 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:40,400 Speaker 1: into darkness because of their blood lust. Well, that's where 426 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:43,879 Speaker 1: we find vampires, hiding, shunned from the rest of the world, 427 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:46,960 Speaker 1: in the world of the Gin, much like the vampires 428 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:50,160 Speaker 1: of our imaginations, there are some who are driven by 429 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:53,719 Speaker 1: pure blood lust. The first of those are the paless. 430 00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:57,880 Speaker 1: The palest are Gin associated with the desert, and they 431 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:01,600 Speaker 1: have a peculiar way of satisfying their cravings. They have 432 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:04,639 Speaker 1: what you could call kind of a foot fetish. The 433 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:07,719 Speaker 1: payless will wait until the intended victim is asleep and 434 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 1: then lick the bottoms of their feet until they bleed. 435 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:13,440 Speaker 1: It said that these gin aren't very bright or even 436 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:16,200 Speaker 1: really too dangerous, but the fact that they can manage 437 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:18,600 Speaker 1: their feet licking without waking anyone up does take a 438 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:21,760 Speaker 1: certain level of skill. Luckily, it's not too hard to 439 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:24,040 Speaker 1: outwit this kind of gin. All you have to do 440 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:27,119 Speaker 1: is sleep feet to feet with another person, so nothing 441 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:30,000 Speaker 1: can get to the bottom of your foot. Apparently, the 442 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:32,520 Speaker 1: payless either don't know or don't care that they could 443 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:35,960 Speaker 1: get blood from other parts of your body. The payless 444 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:38,520 Speaker 1: may give you a good giggle, but there's nothing funny 445 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:42,640 Speaker 1: about another blood sucking creature found in Hindu folklore that's 446 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:44,840 Speaker 1: not only believed to be a gin, but some call 447 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:53,880 Speaker 1: the original vampire. Hundreds of years before Glad the Impaler 448 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:57,919 Speaker 1: came onto the scene in Romania, the vetala already existed 449 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: in Hindu folk core and tradition. A terrifying evil species 450 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:06,240 Speaker 1: of gin, the vetala were thought to inhabit the reanimated 451 00:27:06,280 --> 00:27:10,080 Speaker 1: corpses of the dead. They often haunt ternal grounds, which 452 00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:12,119 Speaker 1: are above ground sites with the dead or left to 453 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:16,679 Speaker 1: either putrefy or be cremated. They are super strong, super smart, 454 00:27:17,119 --> 00:27:20,880 Speaker 1: and super hungry for the blood that sustained them. One 455 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:23,560 Speaker 1: of the most famous stories by the Vitala is found 456 00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:26,880 Speaker 1: in an ancient sanscrit book hailing from the eighth century 457 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:30,920 Speaker 1: called the Vetala Pachisi, which means the twenty five Stories 458 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,920 Speaker 1: of Atala. The story revolves around the famous Indian king 459 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:38,960 Speaker 1: victrum Aditya, who was an actual historical figure from the 460 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:43,960 Speaker 1: first century that reached mythological status over the sentries. There 461 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:47,119 Speaker 1: are different interpretations and versions of the story, but the 462 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:50,719 Speaker 1: basic premise is this the mighty king was asked by 463 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:53,760 Speaker 1: a sorcerer to help capture of Atala that could be 464 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:57,080 Speaker 1: found hanging from a tree in a graveyard. An eighteen 465 00:27:57,119 --> 00:28:00,280 Speaker 1: seventy adaptation of the story by the British Oriental list 466 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:04,720 Speaker 1: Sir Richard Francis Burton recounts the encounter of King Victram 467 00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:09,040 Speaker 1: and the vampire like this. Approaching the tree, he sat 468 00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:11,560 Speaker 1: there for a while to observe the body, which hung 469 00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:15,240 Speaker 1: head downwards from a branch a little above him. Its eyes, 470 00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:17,879 Speaker 1: which were wide open, were of a greenish brown, and 471 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:21,720 Speaker 1: never twinkled. Its hair was also brown, and brown was 472 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:24,800 Speaker 1: its face. Its body was thin and ribbed, like a 473 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:28,639 Speaker 1: skeleton or a bamboo framework, and as it held onto 474 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:31,520 Speaker 1: a bow like a flying fox, by the toe tips, 475 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:34,679 Speaker 1: its drawn muscles stood out as if they were ropes 476 00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:39,120 Speaker 1: of coin. Blood it appeared to have none, and as 477 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:42,760 Speaker 1: the raja handled its skin, it felt icy, cold and clammy, 478 00:28:42,960 --> 00:28:46,400 Speaker 1: as might a snake. The only sign of life was 479 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:49,760 Speaker 1: the whisking of a ragged little tail, much resembling a 480 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:54,120 Speaker 1: goat's king Vicram climbed the tree and sliced the branch 481 00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:57,000 Speaker 1: the beast hung from with his sword. He scrambled down 482 00:28:57,040 --> 00:28:58,920 Speaker 1: the tree trunk to get ahold of the creature, but 483 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:01,160 Speaker 1: it slipped out of his grasp like a worm, and 484 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:04,680 Speaker 1: levitated with legs up and once again grabbed a tree 485 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:08,440 Speaker 1: branch with its toes. The Vitala swung back and forth 486 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:11,880 Speaker 1: from the branch, laughing in the king's bewildered face. The 487 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:15,120 Speaker 1: king tried again and again and again to cut down 488 00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:18,160 Speaker 1: the beast and capture him, but each time the Vitala 489 00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:22,760 Speaker 1: rose back up into the tree unbothered. Finally, the Vittala, 490 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:25,880 Speaker 1: growing tired of the game, asked the king, who are 491 00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:29,320 Speaker 1: you and what do you want? His Royal highness responded 492 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:32,520 Speaker 1: that he was Raja Victram, the great King of the land, 493 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:34,840 Speaker 1: and it was his mission to take him back to 494 00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:37,960 Speaker 1: the sorcerer as he had promised to do. Hearing this, 495 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:41,760 Speaker 1: the Vitala suddenly became coi and agreed to accompany the 496 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:44,160 Speaker 1: king if only he was allowed to tell him stories 497 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:47,680 Speaker 1: during the journey, and in those stories pose riddles with 498 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:51,080 Speaker 1: this condition. Every time the king answered one of the 499 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:54,760 Speaker 1: Vitala's riddles, the demon would escape and return to his tree. 500 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:58,600 Speaker 1: But as long as the king remained silent, either out 501 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:02,280 Speaker 1: of humility or because couldn't answer the question, the Vitala 502 00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:05,920 Speaker 1: would remain in his custody. Now this might seem kind 503 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:10,480 Speaker 1: of counterintuitive and contradictory to most such stories that involved 504 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:13,760 Speaker 1: conditions with riddles, but you see, this was a test 505 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:17,760 Speaker 1: of the king's pride, and he accepted the test. And 506 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,760 Speaker 1: so they took off, and the vampire told King Vicram 507 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:25,320 Speaker 1: story after story after story, twenty four in all, and 508 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:28,840 Speaker 1: in each story a riddle, and every time the king, 509 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:32,160 Speaker 1: unable to control his ego and pride, would respond to 510 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:35,480 Speaker 1: the Vitala's riddles with an answer, and every time he did, 511 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:39,200 Speaker 1: the Vattalah would slip away, journeying back to his tree 512 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:41,680 Speaker 1: in the graveyard, and the king would have to start 513 00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:46,480 Speaker 1: all over. Finally, after hearing the twenty five story and riddle, 514 00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:51,920 Speaker 1: King Victram pressed his lips together, refusing to answer. This 515 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:56,160 Speaker 1: overjoyed the Vitala, who then revealed a secret to him. 516 00:30:56,200 --> 00:31:00,000 Speaker 1: The sorcerer, he said, was no friend of the king, indeed, 517 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:03,200 Speaker 1: he was his enemy in disguise, out for the King's blood, 518 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:06,680 Speaker 1: and the Vitala himself was in fact a trap the 519 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:10,520 Speaker 1: sorcerer had placed for the king. Once revealing the secret, 520 00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:15,080 Speaker 1: the Vitala extracted itself from the body it inhabited, letting 521 00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:19,560 Speaker 1: out a slow, low hissing sound as it left. Thanks 522 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:22,520 Speaker 1: to the secret spilled by the Vitala, King Victram was 523 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:26,280 Speaker 1: able to trick and kill the sorcerer, thereby growing in 524 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:29,760 Speaker 1: power himself. And all this because he was able to 525 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:34,800 Speaker 1: just once show a little humility. Now, the Vitala isn't 526 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:38,120 Speaker 1: the only vampiresh creature in Indian folklore. In fact, there 527 00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:41,000 Speaker 1: are lots of them. The stories about the origins and 528 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:43,640 Speaker 1: how they terrorize people vary, and you can hear all 529 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:47,280 Speaker 1: those echoes in European vampire lore, but most of them 530 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:50,440 Speaker 1: have a few things in common. That you'll find vampires 531 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:54,880 Speaker 1: lingering and living among the human dead and graveyards and crematoriums, 532 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:58,240 Speaker 1: that they yearned for human blood, and that, like the 533 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:00,880 Speaker 1: gin woman in the train at the beginning in this episode, 534 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:10,360 Speaker 1: you'll find that their feet are turned backwards. As you 535 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:12,760 Speaker 1: may have guessed it by now, there's no one definitive 536 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:15,479 Speaker 1: way to identify a gin, but you'll probably know one 537 00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:18,760 Speaker 1: when you see it. The only time you might not, however, 538 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:21,240 Speaker 1: is when a gin takes what I think is the 539 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:25,959 Speaker 1: most dangerous and sinister form, transforming into someone you know, 540 00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:29,640 Speaker 1: which has been known to happen. Jin can and will 541 00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:32,400 Speaker 1: take on the appearance of not just any human, but 542 00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:35,400 Speaker 1: an actual human who's already living, or sometimes a human 543 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:38,360 Speaker 1: who's very much dead. They can then play tricks on 544 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:41,760 Speaker 1: the friends and loved ones of that person, lying to them, 545 00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:44,800 Speaker 1: persuading them to do things or believe things they shouldn't. 546 00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:48,640 Speaker 1: Imagine how easy it could be to mislead someone that way, 547 00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:51,200 Speaker 1: and how much trouble it could get an innocent party in. 548 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:53,600 Speaker 1: But then there is that one way to make sure 549 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:55,800 Speaker 1: the person you're dealing with is really who they say 550 00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:58,800 Speaker 1: they are, because for some reason, the gin can shape 551 00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:01,160 Speaker 1: shift to trick you. But the one thing they can't 552 00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:04,680 Speaker 1: change is their feet. Their feet will either be backwards 553 00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:07,920 Speaker 1: or they'll be cloven hose, like in the story of 554 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:11,200 Speaker 1: the beautiful Queen of Sheba, who was reportedly born of 555 00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:14,280 Speaker 1: a gin mother and a human father. But even she 556 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:17,600 Speaker 1: couldn't shake the gin jeans, and in some accounts, while 557 00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:20,880 Speaker 1: she was stunningly beautiful, she did in fact have hairy 558 00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:24,440 Speaker 1: goat legs, hoves and all. Now we'll close out with 559 00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:26,920 Speaker 1: the story closer to home and closer in time to 560 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:31,080 Speaker 1: us from New Mexico. According to the book The Vengeful 561 00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:35,120 Speaker 1: Gin in Ninete, the uncle of the questa New Mexico 562 00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:37,720 Speaker 1: police chief, was driving home late one night on a 563 00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:41,400 Speaker 1: lonely highway. A woman appeared out of the darkness, walking 564 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:44,480 Speaker 1: on the side of the road by herself, dressed strangely 565 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:47,720 Speaker 1: enough in a red evening gown. There was no telling 566 00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:50,040 Speaker 1: where she had come from. The highway was empty, and 567 00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:53,440 Speaker 1: he hadn't passed any abandoned cars. He pulled over and 568 00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:56,080 Speaker 1: offered her a ride, and she hopped into his pickup 569 00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:59,959 Speaker 1: truck quietly, not saying a word. After a few silent men, 570 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:02,320 Speaker 1: it's the man turned to his passenger to ask her 571 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:04,240 Speaker 1: what she was doing in the middle of nowhere that 572 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:07,760 Speaker 1: late at night, and was horrified to find her dress 573 00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:12,000 Speaker 1: had fallen open, revealing legs like a goat and cloven hooves. 574 00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:16,000 Speaker 1: But before he could react or even scream, she poof 575 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:19,879 Speaker 1: vanished into thin air. I guess the lesson to all 576 00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:23,000 Speaker 1: of us is, then, when in doubt, check the feet. 577 00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:26,960 Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us this week. Next week we'll be 578 00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:29,080 Speaker 1: back to take you another step into the world of 579 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:33,400 Speaker 1: the Hidden Gin. Until then, remember we are not alone. 580 00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:42,320 Speaker 1: If you loved today's episode, I'm going to ask you 581 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:45,120 Speaker 1: a big favor. Please stop my iTunes and leave me 582 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:47,920 Speaker 1: a rating and a review, even if it's just one 583 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:51,280 Speaker 1: short sentence. Not only is that how other listeners discover 584 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:54,439 Speaker 1: the podcast, but it's also what keeps the podcast going. 585 00:34:55,040 --> 00:34:58,120 Speaker 1: And for every thousand reviews that I get on iTunes, 586 00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:02,719 Speaker 1: I'll release another Patreon episode absolutely free. That's right, We're 587 00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:05,719 Speaker 1: on Patreon, so if you're a Gin enthusiast, check out 588 00:35:05,719 --> 00:35:10,080 Speaker 1: the Companion Patreon series at patreon dot com slash Hidden 589 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:13,640 Speaker 1: Jin again. That's Patreon dot com slash Hidden Gin and 590 00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:16,960 Speaker 1: remember Jin is spelled d j I n N. That's 591 00:35:16,960 --> 00:35:23,000 Speaker 1: where you're gonna find an amazing series of interviews between me, scholars, experts, artist, historians, 592 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:27,680 Speaker 1: and everyday lay people who have had extraordinary experiences with 593 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:31,160 Speaker 1: Jin and everybody can check out the first episode absolutely free. 594 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:34,080 Speaker 1: It's me and my husband sharing our gen stories and 595 00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:36,480 Speaker 1: it was a lot of fun. And if you have 596 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:38,799 Speaker 1: any Gin stories, well, I'd love to hear from you. 597 00:35:39,239 --> 00:35:42,680 Speaker 1: Email me at the Hidden Gin at gmail dot com. 598 00:35:42,719 --> 00:35:45,560 Speaker 1: Once again, it's the Hidden Gin Gin with a D 599 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:48,680 Speaker 1: at gmail dot com and you might just hear back 600 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:51,560 Speaker 1: from me, or you might hear your story on the show. 601 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:54,480 Speaker 1: And finally, don't forget to follow us on social media. 602 00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:58,160 Speaker 1: We're on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with the handle the 603 00:35:58,239 --> 00:36:02,680 Speaker 1: Hidden Gin. There you can wheat, post, insta, dm me. 604 00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:05,080 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from all of you, and believe me, 605 00:36:05,120 --> 00:36:11,600 Speaker 1: I read every single message. The Hidden Gin is a 606 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:14,560 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio and Grimm and Mild from 607 00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:18,400 Speaker 1: Aaron Mankey. The podcast is written and hosted by Robbia 608 00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:22,600 Speaker 1: Chaudry and produced by Miranda Hawkins and Trevor Young, with 609 00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:28,200 Speaker 1: executive producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. Music 610 00:36:28,239 --> 00:36:31,879 Speaker 1: for the show was provided by smith Sony and Folkways Recordings. 611 00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:36,200 Speaker 1: Our theme song was created by Patrick Cortez. For more 612 00:36:36,239 --> 00:36:39,759 Speaker 1: podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, 613 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:43,319 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.