Beam Me Up, But Bring Towels: The Lead Masks of Vintém Hill | 469

Two Brazilian electronics techs take a totally normal work trip… and wind up on a hillside in suits, raincoats, and homemade lead eye masks, clutching a note that reads like the world’s creepiest calendar invite: “16:30 be at the location. 18:30 ingest capsules. Protect metals. Await signal. Mask.” And then—nothing. No clear cause of death. No satisfying answers. Just one of the strangest unsolved cases in modern history, gift-wrapped for conspiracy lovers everywhere.

This week on Hysteria 51, we are joined by actor, comedian, and podcaster Steve Berg. He helps us dig into the “most likely” explanations first: a planned experiment, a DIY occult/science mashup, a bad batch of mystery capsules, and the investigative chaos that left toxicology (and common sense) rotting on the vine. Then we crank the dial to full common sense—UFO encounter theories, blinding beams of light, electromagnetic weirdness, and why “protect metals” sounds less like evidence and more like a command from Space OSHA.

It’s time to grab your raincoat, tape some metal to your face, and for the love of all that’s holy… do not ingest capsules from a guy who says he “knows a shortcut to the mothership.”

Check out of Special Guest Steve Berg:

Steve Berg is an actor and comedian who just finished work on Tim Kasher’s film Who’s Watching. He can also be seen in Olivia Wilde’s new film Don’t Worry Darling, and is currently working on the feature film Snack Shack. He’s also been obsessed with UFOs, the paranormal, the occult and all things weird his entire life, and on his podcast Hi, Strangeness, he passionately discusses all these topics in a light-hearted way. He can also be seen in New Line’s comedy feature Tag starring Jon Hamm and Rashida Jones. His credits also include recurring roles on NBC's The Good Place, ABC's The Goldbergs, Comedy Central's Idiotsitter, and BET's The Comedy Get Down. He has appeared in two features for director Joe Swanberg -- the Netflix Original Win It All and the indie Digging For Fire which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Other credits include Mike White's directorial debut Year of the Dog, Jared Hess’ Gentlemen Broncos, and Joss Whedon's digital series Dr. Horrible's Sing Along-Along Blog. Berg has been a drunk narrator multiple times on Comedy Central's Drunk History and was a series regular in the Fox Television pilot WTF America produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. He is originally from Omaha, Nebraska.

https://www.instagram.com/bergmaster5000/

linktr.ee/steveberg

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/christina-marie-rappel-consent-a-thoughtful/id1690998245?i=1000744278988

Special thanks to this week’s research sources:

CORE / BACKBONE

https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mist%C3%A9rio_das_m%C3%A1scaras_de_chumbo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_masks_case

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/70161/bizarre-lead-mask-deaths-1966

BRAZILIAN TV / CASE MATERIAL

https://redeglobo.globo.com/Linhadireta/0%2C26665%2CVYJ0-5259-215835%2C00.html

https://redeglobo.globo.com/Linhadireta/0%2C26665%2CVYJ0-5259-215832%2C00.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjqCQEjgzk4

LOCAL JOURNALISM / LORE

https://infograficos.oglobo.globo.com/rio/bairros/cinco-lendas-urbanas-de-niteroi.html

https://odia.ig.com.br/colunas/coisas-do-rio/2021/02/6090106-mascaras-de-chumbo-caso-envolve-ovnis-e-mortes-estranhas.html

SKEPTICAL ANALYSIS

https://skeptoid.com/episodes/398

UFO / FRINGE CLAIMS WE REFERENCED

https://noufors.com/Documents/Books%2C%20Manuals%20and%20Published%20Papers/Specialty%20UFO%20Publications/Flying%20Saucer%20Review/FSR%2C1967%2CMar-Apr%2CV%2013%2CN%202.pdf

https://vigilia.com.br/o-caso-das-mascaras-de-chumbo-2/

https://aventurasnahistoria.com.br/noticias/reportagem/o-caso-das-mascaras-de-chumbo.phtml

https://www.ranker.com/list/case-of-the-lead-mask-deaths/patrick-thornton

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