41: The Fisherman's Ghost and the Homunculus

The mysterious disappearance of ten souls would not be the last of the misfortune to befall the ill-fated Mary Celeste. Insurance fraud, lost revenue, madness, and suicide would all become dreadful notches in the gunwale of her sad history, along with the premature deaths of three of her captains. Whether you believe in curses or not, often the best insurance is to leave fate untempted. Tonight’s Quote: “The sea has never been friendly to man. At most, it has been the accomplice of human restlessness.” — Joseph Conrad, novelist Show Links: We’ve found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Ancestry of Captain Benjamin Spooner Briggs http://bit.ly/2aXR1tx Giant Squid (Architeuthis) footage, January 27, 2013 http://bit.ly/1UdNQgH Guy Fieri’s recipe for Rhode Island Calamari http://bit.ly/2aU7MZg The ARC’s Chris Cogswell’s favorite ship graveyard http://bit.ly/1jPSTr9 Mary Celeste: The Greatest Mystery of the Sea – http://bit.do/MaryCelesteBook The World’s Greatest Unsolved Mysteries (Mysteries and Secrets) – http://bit.do/worldsgreatestmysteries Capt Kirk and the Zumwalt – http://bit.do/captainkirk The Smithsonian’s Take on the Mary Celeste – http://bit.do/smithsonianCeleste HMS Friday – http://bit.do/hmsFriday Maritime Superstitions – http://bit.do/maritimesuperstition The Captain of the Polestar by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – http://bit.ly/2avJYrN The Ship’s Cat – http://bit.do/shipscat Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: Casper Mattresses – Go to CasperMattresses.com/AL and use the PROMO CODE AL to get $50 towards any mattress purchase. Terms and Conditions Apply Stamps.com – Get a $110 Bonus Offer with postage and a digital scale! Click on the microphone at the TOP of the homepage and type in LEGENDS The Great Courses Plus – Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to hundreds of courses on a wide range of subjects Mack Weldon – Go to MackWeldon.com and use the PROMO CODE LEGENDS for 20% off of your order! For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 043 – “The Mary Celeste – Ghost Ship (Part 2)” Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or “A.R.C.” for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved.

11 Elo 20161h 8min

The Mary Celeste is perhaps the most famous case of a "ghost ship." However, when it was discovered adrift on December 5, 1872, no ghosts were found nor any human form for that matter, not Captain Briggs, his wife, his two-year-old daughter, nor the seven crew members. They remain forever missing. But what caused them to vanish? Theories range from seaquakes to hazardous cargo, to a giant squid attack, and even aliens... yes, aliens. We're not saying it was aliens because we'd rather believe it was a giant squid. No matter what it was, the ship may have been doomed from the start, when seafaring superstitions were broken. Tonight's Quote: “The craft seemed possessed of the Devil to begin with, but where she got it I don’t know. I am sure it couldn’t have been from any of our good people.”  — Dr. John W. Dewis, son of Joshua Dewis, the builder of the Mary Celeste, from The Story of the Mary Celeste by Charles Edey Fay Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Mary Celeste: The Greatest Mystery of the Sea - http://bit.do/MaryCelesteBook The World’s Greatest Unsolved Mysteries (Mysteries and Secrets) - http://bit.do/worldsgreatestmysteries Capt Kirk and the Zumwalt - http://bit.do/captainkirk The Smithsonian’s Take on the Mary Celeste - http://bit.do/smithsonianCeleste HMS Friday - http://bit.do/hmsFriday Maritime Superstitions - http://bit.do/maritimesuperstition The Captain of the Polestar by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - http://bit.ly/2avJYrN The Ship’s Cat - http://bit.do/shipscat Dogs know when the shakin's about to go down! - http://bit.ly/2aYEaIu Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: Harry's shaving essentials. Go to harrys.com and enter the promo code: LEGENDS at checkout to receive $5.00 off your order The Great Courses Plus TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends - One-month free, unlimited access to hundreds of courses on a wide range of subjects Stamps.com - Get a $110 Bonus Offer with postage and a digital scale! Click on the microphone at the TOP of the homepage and type in LEGENDS Blue Apron - go to blueapron.com/astonishing to get 3 meals free on your 1st order, with free shipping For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 042 - "The Mary Celeste - Ghost Ship (Part 1)" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved.

2 Elo 20161h 25min

Is it just a quirky rock sculpture garden, or a megalithic mystery that baffles engineers and scientists to this day? It seems to be both. How was a diminutive man in ill health able to accomplish such a monumental feat all by himself? Ed Leedskalnin, builder of the Coral Castle in Homestead, Florida would never say and he took the answer with him. We know of a few reasons why he made The Coral Castle his life's work, but as for how he made it, we may never know. Tonight's Quote: “I know how the Pyramids were built.” — Ed Leedskalnin, Builder of the Coral Castle Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Coral Castle's own website http://coralcastle.com/ Kristaps Andrejson's The Eastern Border podcast http://theeasternborder.lv/ Edward Leedskalnin and his Coral Castle in Florida from latvianhistory.com http://bit.ly/2a65Qyx Peter the Painter - Latvian gangster, revolutionary and purported comrade of Ed Leedskalnin http://bit.ly/2a8MTuP The 1905 Revolution in Latvia http://bit.ly/2alNXaZ The Incredible Mystery of Coral Castle by By Christopher Dunn From Atlantis Rising http://bit.ly/18uEvA3 Billy Idol's Sweet Sixteen http://bit.ly/18uEvA3 "Eds Coral Castle Quarry and Flywheel, Engineering Mystery Solved," by Scott Russell http://bit.ly/29OkvMt Episode of In Search Of - The Castle of Secrets http://bit.ly/29TmOhI Coral Castle: The Mystery of Ed Leedskalnin and his American Stonehenge https://amzn.com/098421321X David Carr's Take on The Castle at Graham Hancock's Site http://bit.ly/2a6kxlp Coral Castle Busted - Interesting, But Not Magic by Sterling D. Allan http://bit.ly/2alLj5l Mapping The World Grid by David Hatcher Childress http://bit.ly/2a17xKR The Bimini Road http://bit.ly/29N8iUM Earth's Grid Systems - Science and Pseudoscience http://bit.ly/2alNRQC Metaphysics and Grids http://bit.ly/2a0kG8e Vile Vortex http://bit.ly/2alNXaZ Cymatics http://bit.ly/2a6CJYx Coral Castle's 9-ton revolving gate in action http://bit.ly/29Fsqx3 Secret of the Sumerian Tablet, Part 1 http://bit.ly/29GVfW2 Lost Stone Cutting Technologies of Ancient Egypt - The Granite Box http://bit.ly/29Nb8tb Levitating Stones! http://bit.ly/29OvHZt Coral Castle Mystery 100% Solved with 1930's Film Footage! http://bit.ly/29GWHrJ Tom Waits - What's He Building? http://bit.ly/29OmPTC Pixies - Levitate Me http://bit.ly/29PxJVT Prof. Michio Kaku - "The Universe is a Symphony of Vibrating Strings" http://bit.ly/1GTWo4a Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: The Great Courses Plus TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends - One-month free, unlimited access to hundreds of courses on a wide range of subjects Harry's shaving essentials. Go to harrys.com and enter the promo code: ALP at checkout to receive $5.00 off your order Blue Apron - go to blueapron.com/astonishing to get 3 meals free on your 1st order, with free shipping Casper mattresses & bedding - go to casper.com/AL and enter promo code AL at checkout to receive $50 towards your mattress Mack Weldon - Men's undergarments and more. Go to mackweldon.com and enter promo code LEGENDS to receive 20% off your order Parachute bedding & bath. Go to parachutehome.com/alp and enter promo code ASTONISHING at checkout to receive $25 off your first purchase The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 041 - "The Coral Castle" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved.

19 Heinä 20161h 46min

There's no greater fear for a parent than their child being harmed and when that child faces a threat, they'll do whatever they have to to protect them, from this world into the next. Whatever that threat is, it had better beware. Tonight's Quote: “We had been through this step before. We know what it’s like to get into that fight or flight mechanism and when it comes to your children, you fight. — "John" the father of "Jack" from The Sludge Entity, Part 1 Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! The original interview with John and Deborah on HGR's Higher Consciousness Radio http://bit.ly/2a2Zv2R Who ya gonna call? James Sangster's team at Houston Ghost Research! http://bit.ly/2a34sJb Spirit Remediation Consultants - Training & Certification for dealing with Spiritual Crisis in Paranormal Investigation http://bit.ly/29DPOts Help! I'm Haunted!: Dealing with Ghosts: Ghost Hunter Edition by James Sangster http://bit.ly/29e3isC Lori Lee Nelson, Spiritual Medium, Paranormal Investigator and member of the HGR team http://bit.ly/29tqJ26 Debi Chestnut, the Paranormal Researcher and author whom John first contacted http://bit.ly/2a3wYdv John's Favorite Book from their Recommended Reading. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book) http://bit.do/JohnReco Other recommended reading and viewing by Houston Ghost Research, the team that worked to help Jack. http://bit.do/HGR_RecoReading Pixies - Monkey Gone to Heaven https://youtu.be/XycBLF6kWuY "My name is Legion, for we are many." http://bit.ly/29J0BVz For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 040 - "The Sludge Entity, Part 2" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Original artwork by Chad Lewis; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved.

12 Heinä 20161h 37min

When your loved one is seriously ill, you take them to the doctor. But what do you do when you've taken them to every doctor, specialist and holistic healer you could see, ran every recommended test and all the professionals can tell you is something is definitely quite wrong, but no one can tell you why or what to do about it? This was the case with our guests John and Deborah, whose son Jack was so sick and getting worse that they sought answers where most wouldn't consider looking. Tonight's Quote: “In this generation, like so many others, people have been led to believe that the devil is a myth, a figure, an idea, the idea of evil. But the devil exists and we must fight against him.” — Pope Francis Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! John's Favorite book from their recommended reading, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book). http://bit.do/JohnReco Help! I'm Haunted!: Dealing with Ghosts: Ghost Hunter Edition by James Sangster http://bit.ly/29e3isC Other recommended reading and viewing by Houston Ghost Research, the team that worked to help Jack. http://bit.do/HGR_RecoReading The Dark Myths Collective: For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 039 - "The Sludge Entity, Part 1" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Original artwork by Chad Lewis; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved.

4 Heinä 201646min

What happens when a single event turns out to dominate your life, and for everyone else who isn't a close friend, it's all they want to know about you? Only the Johnson family knows what happened or didn't happen to them, and regardless of what people believe or don't believe, all you can do is to go on living your life as best you can. Except you'll never look at the world the same way again. Tonight's Quote: “Mrs. Johnson noted an immediate numbing at her fingertips. She rubbed her hand against her leg in an attempt to remove the dirt, and that portion of her leg also became numb.” Ted Phillips in his Case Histories report of the Flying Saucer Review, February 1972. Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! The Twitter Account for Odd X, a fun follow! https://twitter.com/OddX 1984 HBO Documentary on UFO’s which discusses the Cash Landrum Incident and more, featuring Dr. Stanton Friedman as well as J. Allen Hynek http://bit.do/HBOUFO_Doc UFO Casebook on the Lonnie Zamora Incident http://bit.do/zamoraufo Spontaneous Shark Pregnancy http://bit.do/pregnantvirginshark The Delphos Wolf Girl http://bit.do/wolfgirl The Dark Myths Collective:  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 038 - "The Delphos Ring, Part 2" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved.

14 Kesä 20161h 25min

When it comes to the paranormal, people always say they want proof. Well, on Friday, November 2nd, 1971, evidence of what many believe to be "proof" of an Unidentified Flying Object touching down on the Johnson family farm in Delphos, Kansas appeared on the ground and would remain for a very long time. A crusty "ring" in the dirt and damage to the adjacent flora was left behind after the Johnsons described seeing a strange, brightly lit and noisy hovering craft of some kind leaving their property and disappearing into the night sky. This ring and the broken branches apparently in the path of this object would exhibit forensic properties that were not entirely explainable. The incident is still considered one of the best instances of a Close Encounter of the 2nd Kind: "A UFO event in which a physical effect is alleged." Whatever it was that left whatever it left, we can be certain of this — Ron Johnson will always remember this 2nd of November. Tonight's Quote: “Ronald Johnson doesn’t know what it was, but it rumbled, whistled like a jet or the high whine of tires on the freeway and shot into the sky and left a glowing ring behind on the ground.” — Page 2 of the Salina Journal, Friday, the 5th of November, 1971 Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! The account from NICAP - the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena http://bit.do/nicapdelphos Journalist Robert Trussell's report of the incident in the Kansas City Star http://bit.do/trussell Excerpt from the book The Utah UFO Display: A Scientist Brings Reason and Logic to Over 400 UFO Cases http://bit.do/UtahUfoDisplay The Delphos case in the Flying Saucer Review - only 20 Pence! - in 1972 http://bit.do/flyingsaucerreview The Delphos landing: new evidence from the laboratory by British chemist Erol A. Faruk, Ph.D. http://bit.do/drfarukarticle The Compelling Scientific Evidence for UFOs by Dr. Erol A. Faruk http://bit.do/drfaruksbook Elvis sighting in Kansas! http://bit.do/elvisinkansas Article on the Delphos Ring from the Salina Journal newspaper, part 1 http://bit.do/delphosarticle1 Salina Journal article, part 2 of 3 http://bit.do/delphosarticle2 Salina Journal article, part 3 of 3 http://bit.do/delphosarticle3 The Delphos incident on the Science Channel http://bit.do/sciencechanneldelphos "Delphos has a wealth of interesting stories" from the Capital-Journal http://bit.do/delphosfacts Article on the Delphos Ring from the ufoevidence.org website http://bit.do/ufoevidenceorg Overview of the Delphos incident from the ufocasebook.com website http://bit.do/ufocasebook The Dark Myths Collective:  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 037 - "The Delphos Ring" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved.

7 Kesä 20161h 8min

In death, The Somerton Man remains a mystery. But what was he in life? A Russian spy? Was he a black market racketeer, a professional dancer on holiday, an estranged lover saying goodbye one last time, or perhaps a combination of all of the above? Tonight in our final episode on the mystery of The Somerton Man, we look at most of the major theories put forth, and until that day a breakthrough in the case comes to light, we say, Tamám Shud… It is finished. Tonight’s Quote: “Please be advised that a search of these prints through the Identification Division of the FBI has failed to disclose any record. Sincerely Yours, John Edgar Hoover.” — Excerpt from a January 1949 Letter to the Adelaide Police Commissioner obtained by Professor Abbott through the Freedom of Information Act regarding the Somerton Man’s Fingerprints. Show Links: We’ve found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! The Dark Myths Collective: The Dark Myths Collective! http://darkmyths.org SIGN THIS PETITION FOR EXHUMATION OF THE SOMERTON MAN SO HE CAN BE PROPERLY LAID TO REST! http://bit.do/somerton For more information on this episode visit our website! Show Links: The website for the fantastic historical action novels of A. L. Sowards http://bit.ly/1WCcM7k Professor Derek Abbott’s primary source material on the Somerton Man case http://bit.ly/1pOYPVf Malcolm Gladwell’s article in the New Yorker on Kim Philby http://bit.ly/1uf1gAO Kim Philby, British double agent, reveals all in secret video http://bbc.in/1V3bFw7 Thomas Boghardt’s article on the Cambridge 5 on spymuseum.org http://bit.ly/1rQC4Bo The Cambridge 5 end up as “hopeless drunks” http://bbc.in/1Oz4vxS Article on Cold War Australia, The Petrov Commission, and Operation VENONA http://bit.ly/1TmRJCI Description of the roles of the GRU and the KGB as Soviet intelligence agencies http://bit.ly/1TeVnk7 Miliary Tuberculosis on Wiki, which may have caused some of Somerton Man’s symptoms http://bit.ly/1qsKbmu Profits Over Patriotism: Black Market Crime in World War II Sydney by Timothy Blum http://bit.ly/1Xlttm7 The Grave of the Tamám Shud Man on Atlas Obscura http://bit.ly/1YxwQoL The California Sunday Magazine article featuring Professor Abbott http://bit.ly/1JwbxhD The South Australia Police Historical Society’s newsletter Hue and Cry – scroll down to see their blurb on TSM http://bit.ly/1TWKvEd Christopher Andrew and the Strange Case of Roger Hollis on Quadrant Online http://bit.ly/1TWKvEd Gordon Cramer’s Blog on the Tamam Shud Mystery featuring the technique of “Micro Writing” http://bit.ly/1NwhtMK Nick Pelling’s blog on the Somerton Man – Note: his servers are being updated due to high traffic so check back if currently unavailable! http://bit.ly/1TYEh73 Pete Bowes’ blog on The Somerton Man http://bit.ly/1WC6PXw Adelaide’s The Advertiser article examines Micro Writing and the code http://bit.ly/1TjSKvo AV Club’s article on “Tamán Shud” http://avc.lu/22evm4L ABC documentary on the case, Part 1 of 3 (click on other YouTube links to get parts 2 & 3 once finished) http://bit.ly/1Xw5kcR Mike Dash’s article The Body on Somerton Beach on Smithsonian.com http://bit.ly/1xUb8kV The UK’s Daily Mail article with a Somerton’s “Love Child” angle http://dailym.ai/24WjvtQ Huffington Post – On the Trail of the Somerton Man http://huff.to/1ID8nqM A little bit about the code and Abbott on Phys.org http://bit.ly/1KDq8qj The New Yorker article on The Science of Ricin http://bit.ly/1qpOMWo Could You Diagnose Ricin Poisoning? on MedPage Today http://bit.ly/1ThsX3A The Sarin Gas Attack in Japan and the Related Forensic Investigation http://bit.ly/1YxFK5E Acute Liver Failure Caused by Amanita phalloides Poisoning http://bit.ly/200iYDS Australia’s Most Poisonous Plants on Australian Geographic http://bit.ly/1NwlJM8 “Lady Killers” article in The New Yorker by Emily Anthes http://bit.ly/1qpQx6b Credits: Episode 036 – “The Somerton Man, Part 3: The Theories” Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or “A.R.C.” for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved.

18 Touko 20162h 26min