A deep dive into the darker side of The Exorcist‘s production, with scary facts from The Exorcist’s production, from the director’s tendency to shot blanks from a gun at random on set to scare people, to evil deeds that two actors with bit parts went on to do after being in The Exorcist.
Highlights include: • The erratic behavior of The Exorcist’s director • A urban legend about lightning striking a tombstone during the filming of The Exorcist • A mysterious black dog • The extra in The Exorcist who became a killer
Note: This episode contains discussion of abuse within the Catholic church.
A look at the Catholic rite of exorcism and the connections that the 1973 film The Exorcist has to New York City, in particular to Fordham University.
New York City’s Fordham University wasn’t just a filming location for The Exorcist; it also was the home of two real priests who appeared in the film. One of those priests was the former teacher and friend of the William Peter Blatty, author of the novel The Exorcist, and this priest encouraged Blatty to research and write about exorcism.
This episode draws a lot from interviews with Fordham-affiliated Jesuits back in the 1970s, who, like many members of the Catholic clergy, found themselves barraged with questions from the general public about exorcisms. With the increased popularity of exorcisms, the Catholic church–which still performs exorcisms to this day, but doesn’t want to talk about it–found itself scrambling to respond.
In the next episode, the story will continue, with a look at the many dark true stories and urban legends that are tied to The Exorcist’s production.
Highlights include: • A rumor about a place in NYC where exhausted exorcists might go to recover • The story behind why the Catholic church doesn’t like to talk about exorcisms • The priest who inspired The Exorcist
In the 1690s, a Transylvania-born mystic, occultist, musician, and writer named Johannes Kelpius led a group of 40 Rosicrucian monks to colonial Philadelphia to wait for the end of the world.
Though Kelpius and his group of highly-educated mystics were disappointed when the day of revelation didn’t come, they made the best of their new home, building an observatory, a botanical garden, and an orchard. They also wrote poetry, composed music, and studied alchemy, divination, and conjuring.
Records show that they experienced a number of paranormal events, including the sighting or a ghostly figure at the edge of the woods during a celebration around a bonfire, blue flames emerging from a fresh grave, and more. There are also stories of Kelpius’ followers performing astral projection, and Kelpius himself possessed a magical stone that he guarded fiercely, but which has since vanished.
Highlights include: • A ghost who appeared at a bonfire-lit celebration • Blue flames emerging from a fresh grave • A cave full of serpents • Astral projection into a London coffeehouse • The philosopher’s stone?
Cave of Kelpius. Image credit: Steven L. Johnson – Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenljohnson/7996580601/
Painting of Johannes Kelpius by Christopher Witt – The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, http://www.hsp.org
Sources consulted RE: Johannes Kelpius
Articles
“Prophesies and Revelations”: German Cabbalists in Early Pennsylvania Author(s): Elizabeth W. Fisher Source: The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography , Jul., 1985, Vol. 109, No. 3 (Jul., 1985), pp. 299-333 Published by: University of Pennsylvania Press Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20091938
It only took 15 minutes for the New York Crystal Palace, a beautiful building made of iron and glass, to be destroyed.
Financially insolvent and falling apart, the building had seen better days. New management attempted to save the beautiful edifice, but its ruin was too far gone. What had once been a glamorous tourist attraction became a decrepit mess.
New York City considered selling it for scraps, or moving the building to Philadelphia, but the screws that kept it together had rusted, making the Crystal Palace too expensive to even take apart. It was almost a blessing when a fire–which was blamed on arson but was more likely the rest of some cost-saving compromises on the gas lines–burned the building to the ground.
But, as the New York Tribune said: “We shall never have another Crystal palace. Its glorious dome . . . is no more; its galleries, its treasures, its magnificent expanses indispensable to the mass-gatherings of this great metropolis–its superb memories are all gone, and gone forever.”
Highlights include: • PT Barnum’s attempts to save the Crystal Palace • An elevator safety demonstration that involved repeatedly cutting the cord • An exclusive gala organized by conmen and ending in a brawl between ultra-wealthy guests • How a sensation like the Crystal Palace could have been forgotten
The New York Crystal Palace: A look at New York City’s ill-fated Crystal Palace, a beautiful structure built on an abandoned cemetery on the outskirts of town.
In the mid-19th century, a castle of glass stood in the wilds of what is now a bustling part of New York City. It was an answer to a similar Crystal Palace in London, which had hosted an exhibition a couple years before.
The Crystal Palace and the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations was meant to represent American industry and ingenuity, but ended its days as a decrepit symbol of excess and mismanagement before going up in flames. Here’s part 1 of its story.
Highlights include: • The story behind how NYC became a tourist destination • Weird inventions like the “mechanical leech” and the “typeographer” • The gardener-architect who built the world’s tallest fountain • A sort of mini Eiffel Tower that sprouted up next to the Crystal Palace
Birds Eye View of the New York Crystal Palace and Environs 1853 (from http://crystalpalace.visualizingnyc.org/)
Latting Observatory broadside ca. 1853 (from http://crystalpalace.visualizingnyc.org/)
Latting Observatory from Valentine’s manual of old New York
August Petermann and Karl Gildemeister, designers; August Petermann, lithographer. New York Exhibition Building, 1852. Lithograph. Museum of the City of New York
New York Crystal Palace Illustrated Description of the Building (from http://crystalpalace.visualizingnyc.org/)
The Crystal Palace Dome (from http://crystalpalace.visualizingnyc.org/)
New York, 1855. From the Latting Observatory. (from http://crystalpalace.visualizingnyc.org/)
From New-York in a nutshell by Frederick Saunders
The Crystal Palace Exterior View. Victor Prevost, photographer, New York. 1853–54. Salted paper photograph (from http://crystalpalace.visualizingnyc.org/)
The New York Crystal Palace and Latting Observatory 1853 (from http://crystalpalace.visualizingnyc.org/)
Present Appearance of the Crystal Palace (from http://crystalpalace.visualizingnyc.org/)
From Old New York yesterday & today by Henry Collins Brown, 1922
Birds Eye View of the New York Crystal Palace and Environs 1853 (from http://crystalpalace.visualizingnyc.org/)
Sources consulted
Books
The Finest Building in America: The New York Crystal Palace 1853-1858 by Edwin G. Burrows (2015)
The Graveyard Shift: A Family Historian’s Guide to New York City Cemeteries by Carolee Inskeep (2000)
A look at haunted St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery, the second-oldest church still standing in Manhattan, which is full of hauntings both legendary and questionable.
Highlights include: • A wealthy man’s remains being stolen and held for ransom • A very grumpy ghost • An heir who convened with his ancestor’s ghost instead of marrying • A mysteriously ringing church bell
Information about Little Africa and the history of Black people in Greenwich Village: https://greenwichvillage.nyc/blog/2020/02/10/look-black-history-village/
A look at two of NYC’s oldest and most haunted churches: Trinity Church and St. Paul’s Chapel, two famous houses of worship in Manhattan’s Financial District with cemeteries tucked into their churchyards.
Highlights include: • Disinterring corpses to free up space in the cemetery • A body (and ghost?) with a missing head • Edgar Allen Poe’s possible cemetery cottage • 2:30 am church services • A child’s Egyptian-style sarcophagus found during a playground’s construction • A look at some of the forgotten evils that happened in Manhattan
Pictures of Haunted Trinity Church and St. Paul’s Chapel
Ruins of Trinity Church from Etchings of Old New York, Illustrations from “Old New York: from the Battery to Bloomingdale” by Eliza Greatorex and M. Despard (1875)
Trinity Church from Walks in Our Churchyards: Old New York, Trinity Parish By John Flavel Mines · 1896
St. John’s burying ground, from the New York Public Library’s collections
St. John’s burial ground from the New York Public Library’s collections
View of the churchyard of St. Paul’s Chapel from Etchings of Old New York, Illustrations from “Old New York: from the Battery to Bloomingdale” by Eliza Greatorex and M. Despard (1875)
St. Paul’s Chapel from Etchings of Old New York, Illustrations from “Old New York: from the Battery to Bloomingdale” by Eliza Greatorex and M. Despard (1875)
St. Paul’s seen from the south side; from Etchings of Old New York, Illustrations from “Old New York: from the Battery to Bloomingdale” by Eliza Greatorex and M. Despard (1875)
Information about Little Africa and the history of Black people in Greenwich Village: https://greenwichvillage.nyc/blog/2020/02/10/look-black-history-village/
Paranormal stories about New York City’s Hell Gate abound, from stories about a serial killer living inside the Hell Gate Bridge, to a tale of an encounter with the devil and a possible EVP that Chris just found in a recording from April.
Many of the stories of the Hell Gate center around the grand Hell Gate Bridge, so this episode dives into the bridge’s history, as well as accounts of people sneaking up onto the bridge and exploring it. The episode closes out with a recording that Chris did on the shore alongside the Hell Gate back in April 2020, which Chris thought was just a normal recording, but which maybe actually contains a couple somewhat terrifying EVPs? (Listen to the end for that.)
Highlights include: • The best place to hide from zombies in NYC • Other Hell Gates • The Nazi plot to destroy the Hell Gate bridge • A funny flaw in the Hell Gate’s paint job
Note: This episode includes brief mentions of suicide.
The General Slocum Disaster: On a summer afternoon in 1904, the General Slocum, a supposedly unsinkable ship carrying about 1,300 people bound for a picnic, caught fire and sank in New York City’s notorious Hell Gate.
The General Slocum disaster was the second-worst maritime disaster in US history and the greatest loss of life in NYC before 9/11. But it’s been largely forgotten. When a church group and their neighbors went on an ill-fated day trip to Long Island, they encountered a disaster of unfathomable proportions, bolstered by greed, incompetence, and cowardice. And they would pay for other people’s mistakes with their own lives.
Over 1,000 people, mostly women and children, died that day, decimating the population of Manhattan’s Little Germany and devastating family members who’d been left behind. While this is an upsetting story, it’s an important one when looking at the Hell Gate’s history, as well as stories of the paranormal in the area.
Note: This episode contains stories about many people–including children–drowning and dying in a fire.
Highlights include: • Drunk anarchists from Paterson, NJ • What happened to NYC’s lost neighborhood of Little Germany • An unsinkable ship that sank 8 years before the Titanic • Heroic rescue efforts by tugboat captains and hospital employees and patients • Guilty parties getting away with, if not murder, then manslaughter • A possibly cursed ship
TALES OF HORROR TOLD BY SURVIVORS: Eye-Witness Stories of Swift and Awful Panic. FAMILY PARTIES WIPED OUT Mrny Brave Deeds on Board the Doomed Steamboat Amid Scenes of Wild Panic. New York Times (1857-1922); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]16 June 1904: 2.
GRIEF-CRAZED CROWDS VIEW LINES OF DEAD: Scores Prevented from Throwing Themselves Into River. BOAT LOADS OF BODIES Immense Crowds Weeping and Struggling Seek to Identify Them. MANY PATHETIC INCIDENTS Measures Taken by Officials to Safeguard Interest of Relatives — Over $200,000 in Valuables Found on the Victims. New York Times (1857-1922); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]16 June 1904: 1.
1,000 LIVES MAY BE LOST IN BURNING OF THE EXCURSION BOAT GEN. SLOCUM: St. Mark’s Church Excursion Ends in Disaster in East River Close to Land and Safety. 693 BODIES FOUND — HUNDREDS MISSING OR INJURED Flames Following Explosion Drive Scores to Death in the Water. FIERCE STRUGGLES FOR ROTTEN LIFE PRESERVERS The Captain, Instead of Making for the Nearest Landing, Runs the Doomed Vessel Ashore on North Brother Island in Deep Water — Many Thrilling Rescues — Few Men on Board to Stem the Panic of Women and Children. New York Times (1857-1922); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]16 June 1904: 1.
Sunken Treasure at Hell Gate, New York City: Legend has it that beneath the East River lies millions of dollars in gold.
In 1780, during the Revolutionary War, a British frigate called the HMS Hussar struck a reef and sank to the bottom of the East River. Many people believe that the ship carried an enormous amount of gold as payroll for British soldiers.
Despite its location in the most dangerous waters in the area, treasure hunters have searched for the Hussar in vain for years. One submarine inventor lost his entire fortune in the search for the treasure, while other salvagers have sunk millions into the search. If the treasure is there, it seems that it doesn’t want to be found . . .
Highlights include: • A loaded cannon found in Central Park in 2013 • Shipworms, aka the “Termites of the Sea” • Hidden treasure maps found at the New York Public Library • The inventor of the modern submarine • The largest explosion before the atomic bomb
Pictures of the Hell Gate
Hallet’s Point and the Hell Gate
The Hell Gate, with the RFK and Hell Gate Bridge in the distance
Hell Gate mural beneath the Hell Gate bridge in Astoria Park
The Hell Gate and Hell Gate Bridge seen from Astoria Park
Sources consulted RE: Sunken Treasure at Hell Gate
Articles consulted RE: Sunken Treasure at Hell Gate
“HUSSAR GOLD QUEST RESUMED BY INVENTOR: SIMON LAKE IN ‘BABY’ SUBMARINE TO INVESTIGATE 3 HULKS FOUND SUNK NEAR HELL GATE.” New York Times (1923-Current file), Aug 06 1935, p. 19. ProQuest. Web. 8 Nov. 2020 .
LAKE’S SUBMARINE FAILS OF LAUNCHING: Mother Ship is Unable to Pull It … Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. New York Times (1923-Current file); Oct 7, 1934; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times with Index pg. 27
LACK OF FUNDS HALTS LAKE’S TREASURE HUNT: His Submarine to Be Auctioned if He Fails to Get $394 to Pay Deckhand. New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]21 June 1936: 23.
HUNT PIECES OF EIGHT.: Lake’s Submarine Retrieves Pail and Clam Shell in East River. New York Times (1923-Current file); Sep 27, 1935; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times with Index pg. 23
LAKE THINKS HULK IS TREASURE SHIP: Inventor Believes He Has Found Wreck of Frigate Hussar in East River. CARRIED $1,800,000 GOLD Probing Reveals Hard Timbers in Indicated Position, and Treasury Is Notified. New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]26 Sep 1936: 17.
SIMON LAKE AGAIN SUED: Inventor Seeking $4,000,000 Gold In $1,800 Foreclosure Action. New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]11 Nov 1936: 2.
Simon Lake’s Home Is Foreclosed. New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]06 Mar 1937: 15.
SIMON LAKE GETS RESPITE: Court Grants New Delay in Foreclosure Sale of Milford Home. New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]18 Nov 1937: 18.
LYONS OFFERS GOLD TO BOOM THE BRONX: It’s Not His Gold and He Isn’t Even Sure It’s There, but He Believes in Hunting It AT BOTTOM OF EAST RIVER Book Says Frigate Hussar, With $4,000,000 in Bullion Aboard, Sank There in 1780 New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]12 Feb 1940: 18.
SIMON LAKE DEAD; INVENTOR WAS 78: Father of Modern Submarine Intended Craft Only for Use in Peaceful Pursuits HUNTED SUNKEN TREASURE Lost Fortune Attempting to Salvage Lusitania, Recover Millions in East River Built 100 Craft During the War Experimented in Baltimore Founded Bridgeport Concern Sought Lusitania Treasure Family of Welsh Origin. The New York Times, 1934.New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]24 June 1945: 22.
Ship of Dreams: Ship of Dreams Vanderbilt, Tom.New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]17 Feb 2002: cy1.
Books consulted RE: Sunken Treasure at Hell Gate
Gotham Unbound: The Ecological History of Greater New York by Ted Steinberg
Removal of Hell Gate rocks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_Hell_Gate_rocks
The conquest of Hell Gate: https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Portals/37/docs/history/hellgate.pdf https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/mill-rock-park/history
