1 00:00:02,042 --> 00:00:03,042 WILLIAM SHATNER: An abandoned seaside villa 2 00:00:03,208 --> 00:00:04,833 with a deadly reputation. 3 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:07,458 A nuclear wasteland 4 00:00:07,625 --> 00:00:10,167 unfit for human life. 5 00:00:10,333 --> 00:00:12,333 And a tropical retreat 6 00:00:12,500 --> 00:00:17,042 that was once home to a witches' coven. 7 00:00:19,083 --> 00:00:22,625 Our planet is covered with islands of all shapes and sizes. 8 00:00:22,792 --> 00:00:26,125 But all across the globe, there are ominous islands 9 00:00:26,333 --> 00:00:29,583 that are tainted with dark histories, 10 00:00:29,750 --> 00:00:31,542 mysterious curses... 11 00:00:32,750 --> 00:00:34,750 ...and unspeakable tragedies. 12 00:00:35,917 --> 00:00:38,292 While their stories may vary, 13 00:00:38,417 --> 00:00:42,667 these places all conjure a similar sense of dread. 14 00:00:43,708 --> 00:00:47,500 Could it be that evil forces or even unholy entities 15 00:00:47,708 --> 00:00:49,833 are what create these... 16 00:00:49,958 --> 00:00:51,792 islands of the damned? 17 00:00:51,958 --> 00:00:55,292 Well, that is what we'll try and find out. 18 00:00:55,458 --> 00:00:57,375 ♪ ♪ 19 00:01:12,958 --> 00:01:15,792 This residential quarter in South Naples 20 00:01:15,958 --> 00:01:18,458 dates back to ancient Greece and Rome. 21 00:01:18,625 --> 00:01:21,583 2,000 years ago, this hillside district 22 00:01:21,750 --> 00:01:25,833 was once a vacation destination for wealthy Roman nobles. 23 00:01:26,042 --> 00:01:29,250 And today, it's just as prestigious. 24 00:01:29,375 --> 00:01:33,292 It's home to some of the city's wealthiest residents 25 00:01:33,458 --> 00:01:35,625 and its most opulent villas. 26 00:01:35,792 --> 00:01:39,667 But among them is a desolate, abandoned mansion 27 00:01:39,833 --> 00:01:42,417 that sits just off the coastline, 28 00:01:42,583 --> 00:01:48,417 on a jagged outcropping called Gaiola Island. 29 00:01:49,458 --> 00:01:52,458 J.W. OCKER: Gaiola Island is unlike most areas. 30 00:01:52,583 --> 00:01:54,667 It sticks out as a strange island, 31 00:01:54,792 --> 00:01:55,583 right off the coast of Naples. 32 00:01:55,750 --> 00:01:57,167 (gulls calling) 33 00:01:57,333 --> 00:01:59,125 It's basically the size of a small estate. 34 00:01:59,292 --> 00:02:01,208 Just a house and yard, really. 35 00:02:01,375 --> 00:02:05,500 And it's just contained on these two outcroppings of rock. 36 00:02:05,708 --> 00:02:08,667 You can see it right from the beach. 37 00:02:08,792 --> 00:02:10,417 So you can get close to this, 38 00:02:10,542 --> 00:02:12,083 but it's been abandoned for decades. 39 00:02:13,125 --> 00:02:16,000 SHATNER: Located just a short 100-foot swim from shore, 40 00:02:16,167 --> 00:02:19,125 Gaiola Island's a tempting location 41 00:02:19,208 --> 00:02:22,333 for curious beachgoers to explore. 42 00:02:24,792 --> 00:02:26,667 But don't be fooled. 43 00:02:26,875 --> 00:02:28,667 According to local legend, 44 00:02:28,792 --> 00:02:32,667 it's best to stay well away, 45 00:02:32,792 --> 00:02:36,000 because many believe this long-abandoned island 46 00:02:36,208 --> 00:02:38,583 has been damned 47 00:02:38,708 --> 00:02:40,375 by a deadly curse. 48 00:02:41,333 --> 00:02:44,208 Locals are terrified of this island. 49 00:02:44,375 --> 00:02:46,000 Everyone who's owned this property, 50 00:02:46,208 --> 00:02:48,333 whether they were on the island or not, 51 00:02:48,500 --> 00:02:51,917 some type of tragedy occurred in their lives. 52 00:02:52,958 --> 00:02:56,667 Whether it was losing a fortune or losing a family member 53 00:02:56,875 --> 00:02:58,542 or going insane. 54 00:02:58,750 --> 00:03:00,167 Whoever owned this island, 55 00:03:00,333 --> 00:03:02,958 nothing but tragedy followed. 56 00:03:04,083 --> 00:03:06,375 SHATNER: Gaiola Island's forbidding reputation began 57 00:03:06,542 --> 00:03:09,083 in the late 19th century, 58 00:03:09,250 --> 00:03:12,208 when a successful local businessman 59 00:03:12,375 --> 00:03:14,875 decided to build there. 60 00:03:15,042 --> 00:03:18,000 OCKER: The first owner of the island was Luigi Negri. 61 00:03:18,167 --> 00:03:19,667 He's the one that built the villa on the island 62 00:03:19,833 --> 00:03:22,250 that is still there today but is abandoned. 63 00:03:23,250 --> 00:03:25,500 He built it and then immediately went bankrupt. 64 00:03:25,708 --> 00:03:27,917 It's not strange for a businessman to go bankrupt. 65 00:03:28,125 --> 00:03:30,292 But in this case, it was a precursor 66 00:03:30,458 --> 00:03:33,000 to a series of misfortunes that got worse and worse 67 00:03:33,167 --> 00:03:35,042 over the course of the 20th century. 68 00:03:35,583 --> 00:03:38,333 SHATNER: While Gaiola Island may or may not be responsible 69 00:03:38,500 --> 00:03:41,750 for Luigi Negri's financial collapse, 70 00:03:41,917 --> 00:03:45,083 others who dared to make the isolated property their home 71 00:03:45,250 --> 00:03:49,458 would suffer far worse consequences. 72 00:03:50,708 --> 00:03:52,167 GENTILE: Another owner of the island 73 00:03:52,375 --> 00:03:54,042 is Hans Braun, a businessman. 74 00:03:54,208 --> 00:03:56,167 As soon as he takes up residence on the island, 75 00:03:56,333 --> 00:03:57,583 his luck turns. 76 00:03:59,042 --> 00:04:01,500 His body's found wrapped in a rug. 77 00:04:01,625 --> 00:04:05,042 He's died under mysterious circumstances. 78 00:04:06,083 --> 00:04:10,333 Soon after that, his wife falls off the island and drowns. 79 00:04:11,375 --> 00:04:13,333 It was at this point where people started thinking 80 00:04:13,458 --> 00:04:16,042 there's something more going on here. 81 00:04:16,208 --> 00:04:18,167 Something supernatural. 82 00:04:19,167 --> 00:04:22,333 SHATNER: A string of tragedies would continue to unravel 83 00:04:22,500 --> 00:04:24,417 on Gaiola Island. 84 00:04:24,625 --> 00:04:27,167 German perfume dealer Otto Grunback 85 00:04:27,333 --> 00:04:28,583 suffered a fatal heart attack 86 00:04:28,708 --> 00:04:31,167 shortly after purchasing the property. 87 00:04:31,333 --> 00:04:34,458 And madness and suicide put an end 88 00:04:34,625 --> 00:04:37,167 to owner Maurice-Yves Sandoz, 89 00:04:37,375 --> 00:04:39,875 a Swiss pharmaceutical industrialist. 90 00:04:41,042 --> 00:04:43,625 Even Gaiola's most famous proprietor, 91 00:04:43,792 --> 00:04:47,125 American oil tycoon Jean Paul Getty, 92 00:04:47,292 --> 00:04:49,375 could not escape speculation 93 00:04:49,542 --> 00:04:52,875 that the cursed island played a hand 94 00:04:53,042 --> 00:04:56,875 in troubling events that surrounded his family. 95 00:04:57,875 --> 00:05:00,375 OCKER: Jean Paul Getty owned this island. 96 00:05:00,542 --> 00:05:02,958 And of course, his fortunes are legendary, 97 00:05:03,125 --> 00:05:05,375 but so are his misfortunes. 98 00:05:05,542 --> 00:05:08,542 Jean Paul Getty's son commits suicide. 99 00:05:08,708 --> 00:05:10,292 He has a younger son, at 12, 100 00:05:10,500 --> 00:05:13,583 that contracts a fatal brain tumor. 101 00:05:13,708 --> 00:05:15,958 And then, of course, there's the infamous case of his grandson, 102 00:05:16,083 --> 00:05:17,542 John Paul Getty III. 103 00:05:18,583 --> 00:05:21,583 John Paul Getty III was kidnapped by the Italian Mafia 104 00:05:21,708 --> 00:05:26,333 and then, over the course of the negotiations for his freedom, 105 00:05:26,500 --> 00:05:28,750 had his ear cut off. 106 00:05:28,917 --> 00:05:31,750 Eventually, he was freed for a little over $2 million. 107 00:05:32,792 --> 00:05:35,333 But he would go on to suffer the effects of that kidnapping 108 00:05:35,417 --> 00:05:38,000 for the rest of his life until a string of addictions 109 00:05:38,167 --> 00:05:40,500 caused him to become a quadriplegic. 110 00:05:41,125 --> 00:05:44,458 SHATNER: Could Gaiola Island really have the power 111 00:05:44,583 --> 00:05:47,042 to doom the lives of those who call it home? 112 00:05:47,625 --> 00:05:49,917 And if there is an evil energy 113 00:05:50,083 --> 00:05:52,458 imbued in the exclusive property, 114 00:05:52,625 --> 00:05:54,708 just where did it come from? 115 00:05:54,875 --> 00:05:57,792 While it's impossible to say for sure, 116 00:05:57,958 --> 00:06:02,333 some attribute it to an old hermit called "the Wizard" 117 00:06:02,458 --> 00:06:05,542 who was rumored to once reside there. 118 00:06:06,458 --> 00:06:08,542 But others believe 119 00:06:08,708 --> 00:06:12,500 the curse began more than 2,000 years ago, 120 00:06:12,667 --> 00:06:14,958 in the first century BC, 121 00:06:15,125 --> 00:06:18,333 when Gaiola Island was attached to the mainland 122 00:06:18,542 --> 00:06:20,667 and part of a magnificent estate 123 00:06:20,875 --> 00:06:23,583 that belonged to a cruel Roman politician 124 00:06:23,792 --> 00:06:28,500 named Publius Vedius Pollio. 125 00:06:29,542 --> 00:06:31,500 Publius Vedius Pollio was 126 00:06:31,708 --> 00:06:33,875 a member of the cavalry and the Roman army. 127 00:06:35,083 --> 00:06:36,792 And he adopted this area, 128 00:06:36,958 --> 00:06:40,375 this gorgeous Posillipo area, for his own. 129 00:06:40,542 --> 00:06:43,417 He had a 2,000-seat theater 130 00:06:43,583 --> 00:06:46,542 and constructed an incredible villa 131 00:06:46,708 --> 00:06:50,000 with gardens, fountains, sculptures, 132 00:06:50,208 --> 00:06:52,292 and a spa complex. 133 00:06:52,458 --> 00:06:54,583 Now, interestingly, 134 00:06:54,750 --> 00:06:57,333 Pollio came from modest roots. 135 00:06:57,458 --> 00:07:00,250 He was of slave stock himself. 136 00:07:00,417 --> 00:07:03,417 And one would think this might make him 137 00:07:03,583 --> 00:07:06,750 rather generously disposed to his own slaves. 138 00:07:06,875 --> 00:07:10,000 But by all accounts, that was not the case. 139 00:07:11,042 --> 00:07:14,667 He owned many slaves, and he treated them very poorly. 140 00:07:14,875 --> 00:07:18,125 And in fact, whenever a slave displeased him, 141 00:07:18,292 --> 00:07:20,833 the story goes that he fed them 142 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:25,208 -to a pool of moray eels that he kept on the property. -(shouting) 143 00:07:25,375 --> 00:07:27,417 (splashing) 144 00:07:27,583 --> 00:07:29,000 GENTILE: Pollio was 145 00:07:29,125 --> 00:07:31,083 a friend of Emperor Augustus, 146 00:07:31,208 --> 00:07:34,708 which certainly helped his rise through the ranks. 147 00:07:34,875 --> 00:07:36,500 -(indistinct chatter) -Well, one day, 148 00:07:36,667 --> 00:07:38,833 Augustus is visiting Pollio at one of his villas, 149 00:07:39,042 --> 00:07:43,333 and a slave is pouring wine in these crystal goblets. 150 00:07:43,458 --> 00:07:45,875 The slave spills the wine. 151 00:07:46,042 --> 00:07:49,083 The goblet crashes to the ground and breaks. 152 00:07:50,250 --> 00:07:52,500 Pollio grabs the slave 153 00:07:52,625 --> 00:07:55,292 and goes to drag him to this pit of moray eels, 154 00:07:55,458 --> 00:07:57,000 where he's to be devoured alive. 155 00:07:57,167 --> 00:07:58,583 (man shrieks) 156 00:07:58,708 --> 00:08:01,333 The slave scrambles away, 157 00:08:01,542 --> 00:08:03,458 throws himself at the feet of the emperor 158 00:08:03,625 --> 00:08:05,500 and is begging. And Pollio says, 159 00:08:05,708 --> 00:08:08,292 "You can't beg for your life from the emperor. You're mine." 160 00:08:08,458 --> 00:08:11,042 Augustus does not like this. 161 00:08:11,208 --> 00:08:14,417 He breaks every crystal goblet in the entire house. 162 00:08:14,542 --> 00:08:16,542 Soon after that, 163 00:08:16,708 --> 00:08:20,167 Augustus took the villa and razed it to the ground. 164 00:08:20,375 --> 00:08:23,167 And local legend has it that he cursed it. 165 00:08:23,250 --> 00:08:27,250 And ever since then, there is a negative energy 166 00:08:27,375 --> 00:08:29,500 that has certainly permeated the culture 167 00:08:29,625 --> 00:08:31,583 and the minds of the people that lived there. 168 00:08:33,042 --> 00:08:36,458 SHATNER: A century after Augustus destroyed Pollio's estate, 169 00:08:36,667 --> 00:08:41,625 a massive earthquake leveled a large section of the property, 170 00:08:41,750 --> 00:08:44,708 causing it to collapse into the sea, 171 00:08:44,875 --> 00:08:49,708 forever separating Gaiola Island from the mainland. 172 00:08:50,917 --> 00:08:52,833 Are the traumatic events experienced 173 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:55,500 by the former landowners of Gaiola Island 174 00:08:55,667 --> 00:08:57,583 merely coincidence? 175 00:08:58,875 --> 00:09:02,500 Or is the rocky outcropping actually cursed? 176 00:09:02,667 --> 00:09:04,292 It's hard to say. 177 00:09:04,417 --> 00:09:07,167 And with its history of epic misfortune, 178 00:09:07,292 --> 00:09:12,375 it may be a very long time before someone is brave enough 179 00:09:12,542 --> 00:09:17,042 to tempt fate and live there once again. 180 00:09:18,208 --> 00:09:19,042 OCKER: Once a place 181 00:09:19,208 --> 00:09:20,750 is deemed cursed or... 182 00:09:20,875 --> 00:09:22,708 has some aura of dread about it, 183 00:09:22,875 --> 00:09:24,542 it's really hard to get rid of that. 184 00:09:25,542 --> 00:09:27,000 Even if you move the people away 185 00:09:27,167 --> 00:09:29,625 or you chase away the source of the rumors 186 00:09:29,792 --> 00:09:32,333 or you tear down the buildings that were supposed to house 187 00:09:32,458 --> 00:09:34,500 the tragedies that happened, 188 00:09:34,708 --> 00:09:36,250 evil still remains. 189 00:09:37,208 --> 00:09:40,542 SHATNER: About 500 miles south of Gaiola Island 190 00:09:40,667 --> 00:09:44,417 is another, very different island of the damned, 191 00:09:44,583 --> 00:09:47,375 an ancient place where some believe 192 00:09:47,500 --> 00:09:50,458 giants once walked the earth, 193 00:09:50,625 --> 00:09:52,833 ready to grab anyone 194 00:09:53,042 --> 00:09:57,208 who ventured into their cursed underground lair. 195 00:10:01,958 --> 00:10:04,750 SHATNER: Just south of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea 196 00:10:04,917 --> 00:10:08,000 is the island nation of Malta. 197 00:10:08,208 --> 00:10:11,292 It's famous for its dazzling coastline, 198 00:10:11,500 --> 00:10:13,333 stunning architecture, 199 00:10:13,542 --> 00:10:15,958 and fascinating history. 200 00:10:16,125 --> 00:10:21,000 But perhaps most remarkable are the massive prehistoric 201 00:10:21,208 --> 00:10:24,000 stone structures that can be found all around the islands. 202 00:10:24,167 --> 00:10:27,167 These Megalithic Temples of Malta are some 203 00:10:27,375 --> 00:10:30,833 of the oldest freestanding structures on Earth, 204 00:10:31,042 --> 00:10:32,583 and legend is... 205 00:10:32,750 --> 00:10:35,792 they were built by giants. 206 00:10:35,958 --> 00:10:39,500 BELLINGER: Maltese temple culture, as it's known-- 207 00:10:39,708 --> 00:10:42,250 you legitimately could call their creations 208 00:10:42,417 --> 00:10:45,625 the greatest engineering feats of the Neolithic world. 209 00:10:45,792 --> 00:10:49,667 They are put together painstakingly. 210 00:10:49,792 --> 00:10:52,708 And what remains of the ruins above ground today 211 00:10:52,875 --> 00:10:56,667 still towers 20 feet up. 212 00:10:56,792 --> 00:11:00,792 And this was done 6,000 years ago 213 00:11:00,958 --> 00:11:05,083 without the benefit of the wheel or metal tools. 214 00:11:05,250 --> 00:11:09,500 It predates Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids 215 00:11:09,583 --> 00:11:12,333 by close to a thousand years. 216 00:11:12,458 --> 00:11:15,458 And according to Maltese legend, 217 00:11:15,625 --> 00:11:17,917 a giantess called Sansuna 218 00:11:18,083 --> 00:11:21,000 constructed these monumental temples 219 00:11:21,125 --> 00:11:23,292 so that the local people could worship. 220 00:11:24,500 --> 00:11:25,750 NEWMAN: So when it comes 221 00:11:25,917 --> 00:11:27,833 to understanding the Maltese temples, 222 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:31,167 there are traditions of giants constructing them. 223 00:11:32,125 --> 00:11:36,208 These were 40 to 50 to 60-ton blocks 224 00:11:36,417 --> 00:11:39,667 put together like jigsaw pieces in a profound manner. 225 00:11:39,750 --> 00:11:41,333 This is why many people believe 226 00:11:41,500 --> 00:11:43,750 and say they were built by giants. 227 00:11:43,875 --> 00:11:46,167 SHATNER: It's intriguing to think 228 00:11:46,375 --> 00:11:50,083 that giants may have inhabited Malta thousands of years ago, 229 00:11:50,250 --> 00:11:52,667 leaving behind enormous stone structures 230 00:11:52,875 --> 00:11:57,500 that still mystify archaeologists and engineers. 231 00:11:57,667 --> 00:12:00,000 But if the legends are correct, 232 00:12:00,125 --> 00:12:02,667 these megalithic builders were menacing creatures 233 00:12:02,833 --> 00:12:04,458 of great strength, 234 00:12:04,667 --> 00:12:06,667 who lived underground, 235 00:12:06,792 --> 00:12:09,208 in a dark and dangerous world. 236 00:12:11,042 --> 00:12:14,083 These were very strange, kind of mythical beings. 237 00:12:14,208 --> 00:12:17,625 They even lived all across the island 238 00:12:17,792 --> 00:12:20,125 where there were caves and underground areas. 239 00:12:20,333 --> 00:12:22,458 It was said to be a place of darkness, 240 00:12:22,583 --> 00:12:24,917 a place of death. 241 00:12:26,125 --> 00:12:27,875 SHATNER: Could the islands of Malta be the home 242 00:12:28,042 --> 00:12:31,042 of an ancient race of treacherous prehistoric giants? 243 00:12:31,208 --> 00:12:34,917 Some experts believe a chilling clue may lie 244 00:12:35,083 --> 00:12:37,333 within one of Malta's stone structures... 245 00:12:37,500 --> 00:12:39,458 deep underground. 246 00:12:46,542 --> 00:12:48,542 In the small town of Paola, 247 00:12:48,750 --> 00:12:50,167 workers digging the foundation 248 00:12:50,375 --> 00:12:53,250 for a new home make a remarkable discovery. 249 00:12:53,417 --> 00:12:57,958 They uncover the entrance to an ancient underground temple 250 00:12:58,125 --> 00:13:01,292 extending deep beneath the surface. 251 00:13:01,500 --> 00:13:04,917 It's called... The Hypogeum. 252 00:13:05,042 --> 00:13:06,625 BELLINGER: "Hypogeum" means 253 00:13:06,708 --> 00:13:09,333 literally "underground" in Greek. 254 00:13:10,375 --> 00:13:14,208 It's an astonishing underground complex of halls, 255 00:13:14,375 --> 00:13:16,042 corridors and passageways 256 00:13:16,208 --> 00:13:20,042 hollowed out from limestone rock, 257 00:13:20,208 --> 00:13:23,167 seemingly built beginning with natural caves. 258 00:13:23,375 --> 00:13:26,667 And what archaeologists discovered there 259 00:13:26,875 --> 00:13:28,875 astonished them. 260 00:13:29,042 --> 00:13:31,583 It consisted of a number of burial chambers. 261 00:13:31,750 --> 00:13:35,708 About 6,000 people are thought to have been buried there. 262 00:13:35,875 --> 00:13:37,583 There's really nothing else like it 263 00:13:37,750 --> 00:13:39,375 in the world that we know about. 264 00:13:40,417 --> 00:13:42,292 NEWMAN: People have suggested it may have been a tomb, 265 00:13:42,500 --> 00:13:44,250 but no one really knows. 266 00:13:44,417 --> 00:13:47,875 The Hypogeum's got this weird energy about it. 267 00:13:48,042 --> 00:13:50,750 And this could be why we hear all these very strange stories 268 00:13:50,917 --> 00:13:53,208 associated with this place. 269 00:13:55,125 --> 00:13:56,708 SHATNER: While some believe 270 00:13:56,875 --> 00:13:59,458 The Hypogeum is simply an underground cemetery, 271 00:13:59,583 --> 00:14:03,583 a number of disturbing incidents have been reported here. 272 00:14:04,875 --> 00:14:08,333 And perhaps the most shocking is a firsthand account 273 00:14:08,500 --> 00:14:12,125 published in The Journal of Borderland Research. 274 00:14:12,250 --> 00:14:17,000 In it, thrill-seeker Lois Jessop recounts a disturbing encounter 275 00:14:17,208 --> 00:14:20,000 she had while exploring the dark depths 276 00:14:20,208 --> 00:14:23,208 of The Hypogeum in the 1930s. 277 00:14:25,375 --> 00:14:27,833 NEWMAN: Very strange story is that 278 00:14:28,042 --> 00:14:30,042 of a British woman called Lois Jessop 279 00:14:30,250 --> 00:14:31,875 who actually worked for the British Consulate. 280 00:14:32,042 --> 00:14:34,583 And she went down there with a private guide. 281 00:14:35,625 --> 00:14:39,292 She wanted to go further than you were allowed to go. 282 00:14:41,083 --> 00:14:43,500 GENTILE: Lois wants to go down so far 283 00:14:43,667 --> 00:14:45,125 and so dark and so deep 284 00:14:45,292 --> 00:14:47,250 that her tour guide won't go with her. 285 00:14:47,417 --> 00:14:50,958 So what he does is he ties a rope around her waist, 286 00:14:51,083 --> 00:14:54,125 and she dangles down to a ledge. 287 00:14:55,417 --> 00:14:59,000 All she has to light her way is a candle. 288 00:15:00,250 --> 00:15:02,167 According to Jessop's eyewitness account, 289 00:15:02,375 --> 00:15:05,167 she found herself overlooking a wide chasm. 290 00:15:05,333 --> 00:15:06,875 And suddenly, 291 00:15:07,042 --> 00:15:09,958 a group of "20 persons of giant stature" 292 00:15:10,125 --> 00:15:13,417 emerged from a cave across the abyss. 293 00:15:14,542 --> 00:15:15,708 GENTILE: She sees men 294 00:15:15,875 --> 00:15:17,208 that she describes 295 00:15:17,375 --> 00:15:19,417 as three times the size of normal men. 296 00:15:19,542 --> 00:15:22,208 The candle's blown out. 297 00:15:22,375 --> 00:15:24,417 She tugs the rope, 298 00:15:24,542 --> 00:15:27,500 and they pull her back to the surface. 299 00:15:27,667 --> 00:15:31,458 But what Lois saw could be evidence of the people, 300 00:15:31,583 --> 00:15:34,958 the creatures that created those structures on that island. 301 00:15:36,083 --> 00:15:38,917 SHATNER: Did Lois Jessop encounter 302 00:15:39,042 --> 00:15:41,625 the lost giants of Malta somewhere deep 303 00:15:41,792 --> 00:15:43,833 within the island's Hypogeum, 304 00:15:43,917 --> 00:15:47,000 or was it something else? 305 00:15:47,208 --> 00:15:49,208 While it's hard to say, perhaps a clue can be found 306 00:15:49,417 --> 00:15:52,750 by examining the story of another chilling encounter 307 00:15:52,917 --> 00:15:55,083 in The Hypogeum's depths. 308 00:15:55,250 --> 00:15:56,750 One that appears to indicate 309 00:15:56,917 --> 00:15:59,125 that whatever is lurking down there 310 00:15:59,292 --> 00:16:02,917 does not take kindly to strangers. 311 00:16:04,208 --> 00:16:08,708 Another incredible story was published most notably 312 00:16:08,917 --> 00:16:11,500 in the National Geographic in 1940. 313 00:16:11,625 --> 00:16:14,250 And it recounts a story 314 00:16:14,417 --> 00:16:18,875 of about 30 school children going out on a school trip, 315 00:16:19,042 --> 00:16:22,292 going into The Hypogeum, but then getting lost 316 00:16:22,500 --> 00:16:25,958 in some of the tunnels there, never to be seen again. 317 00:16:26,125 --> 00:16:28,042 (children laughing) 318 00:16:28,208 --> 00:16:31,750 And it gets weirder because none of the children were ever found. 319 00:16:31,875 --> 00:16:34,500 But people claimed they heard the screams 320 00:16:34,625 --> 00:16:37,625 and yells of children all across the island 321 00:16:37,750 --> 00:16:40,750 where there were known caves and underground areas. 322 00:16:40,917 --> 00:16:43,042 So this suggests 323 00:16:43,208 --> 00:16:45,167 that The Hypogeum may have been an entrance 324 00:16:45,333 --> 00:16:47,375 to an underground network of tunnels, 325 00:16:47,542 --> 00:16:51,375 that stretches all the way underneath Malta itself. 326 00:16:52,542 --> 00:16:54,000 GENTILE: And to this day, 327 00:16:54,208 --> 00:16:57,167 we don't know what happened to those kids. 328 00:16:57,333 --> 00:16:59,917 But these stories could suggest 329 00:17:00,083 --> 00:17:02,875 that there is maybe something more down there, 330 00:17:03,042 --> 00:17:05,833 something that we don't understand. 331 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,042 Maybe something hiding in the darkness. 332 00:17:09,208 --> 00:17:12,000 And whether something is supernatural or not happening 333 00:17:12,167 --> 00:17:14,833 in The Hypogeum, you just get a feeling 334 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,375 there's something bad happening there. 335 00:17:20,208 --> 00:17:22,250 Could the legends of giants 336 00:17:22,375 --> 00:17:25,583 that dwell below the island of Malta really be true? 337 00:17:25,750 --> 00:17:27,583 Whatever the case may be, 338 00:17:27,750 --> 00:17:30,458 these massive creatures loom large 339 00:17:30,625 --> 00:17:32,750 in local folklore. 340 00:17:32,958 --> 00:17:35,375 But off the coast of Venice, Italy, 341 00:17:35,542 --> 00:17:37,250 there are two islands 342 00:17:37,417 --> 00:17:39,708 with very different stories to tell, 343 00:17:39,875 --> 00:17:42,208 tales of plagues, madness 344 00:17:42,375 --> 00:17:46,167 and even... vampires. 345 00:17:51,833 --> 00:17:54,958 SHATNER: Founded in 421 AD, 346 00:17:55,083 --> 00:18:00,208 this ancient port on the Adriatic Sea is renowned 347 00:18:00,375 --> 00:18:02,583 for its Renaissance architecture, 348 00:18:02,708 --> 00:18:05,042 cobblestone alleyways, 349 00:18:05,250 --> 00:18:08,083 and of course, its world-famous canals. 350 00:18:08,250 --> 00:18:11,167 But among the 118 small islands 351 00:18:11,292 --> 00:18:14,083 that make up this iconic city, 352 00:18:14,208 --> 00:18:18,792 there are a few that have a much darker mystique. 353 00:18:18,958 --> 00:18:20,875 Because many centuries ago, 354 00:18:21,042 --> 00:18:23,500 several of these Venetian islands 355 00:18:23,708 --> 00:18:27,375 would be the grim home to thousands of people suffering 356 00:18:27,583 --> 00:18:29,833 from the terrifying disease known 357 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:32,625 as the Black Death. 358 00:18:32,750 --> 00:18:34,083 BELLINGER: Venice is one 359 00:18:34,250 --> 00:18:35,958 of the major trading ports 360 00:18:36,125 --> 00:18:37,708 in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. 361 00:18:37,833 --> 00:18:39,792 And it was 362 00:18:39,958 --> 00:18:42,000 disproportionately affected 363 00:18:42,167 --> 00:18:45,000 when Black Plague rolled through Europe, 364 00:18:45,208 --> 00:18:47,083 initially in 1348, 365 00:18:47,250 --> 00:18:50,417 killing 50% of the population of Venice. 366 00:18:52,500 --> 00:18:55,375 They had to quickly get control of this situation 367 00:18:55,542 --> 00:19:00,333 because diseases were spreading like wildfire. 368 00:19:00,542 --> 00:19:03,333 Venice was particularly susceptible to the Black Death. 369 00:19:03,458 --> 00:19:05,625 They always had ships coming in 370 00:19:05,750 --> 00:19:09,167 laden with strangers and people coming to their islands. 371 00:19:09,375 --> 00:19:11,833 They were on islands, so once infection happened, 372 00:19:11,958 --> 00:19:14,000 it was hard to get away from it. 373 00:19:14,083 --> 00:19:16,083 And of course, they were built on the water 374 00:19:16,208 --> 00:19:18,375 so it was hard to bury the bodies. 375 00:19:24,083 --> 00:19:25,625 SHATNER: In an attempt to contain the plague, 376 00:19:25,792 --> 00:19:28,167 the government of Venice directed all incoming ships 377 00:19:28,333 --> 00:19:31,000 to dock on a number of its more remote islands, 378 00:19:31,208 --> 00:19:35,333 where infected passengers could be isolated. 379 00:19:35,500 --> 00:19:39,667 One of these was known as Poveglia. 380 00:19:39,833 --> 00:19:41,250 GENTILE: Poveglia was used 381 00:19:41,375 --> 00:19:44,292 as quarantine island during the black plagues 382 00:19:44,458 --> 00:19:46,792 that affected Venice at various times throughout history. 383 00:19:48,208 --> 00:19:51,500 So, what happened was, if you showed signs of sickness, 384 00:19:51,708 --> 00:19:54,750 you would be taken to Poveglia and given 40 days. 385 00:19:54,875 --> 00:19:58,000 And you had two choices-- get better or get dead. 386 00:19:58,208 --> 00:20:00,167 And most people died on Poveglia. 387 00:20:00,375 --> 00:20:03,042 BELLINGER: Poveglia was one 388 00:20:03,208 --> 00:20:06,708 of the most notorious islands in Venice. 389 00:20:07,875 --> 00:20:10,125 And unlike other islands, 390 00:20:10,250 --> 00:20:12,792 where they buried the dead in mass graves, 391 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:17,375 on Poveglia, they appeared to have cremated human remains, 392 00:20:17,542 --> 00:20:21,333 and just let the ashes lie where they fell. 393 00:20:21,500 --> 00:20:24,208 To the extent that even today, 394 00:20:24,333 --> 00:20:29,167 it is thought that half the topsoil is comprised 395 00:20:29,292 --> 00:20:31,667 of human ashes from plague victims. 396 00:20:33,375 --> 00:20:35,625 SHATNER: Historians estimate 397 00:20:35,792 --> 00:20:38,958 that approximately 160,000 people died 398 00:20:39,125 --> 00:20:41,000 on Poveglia from the plague. 399 00:20:41,208 --> 00:20:43,125 But the history 400 00:20:43,292 --> 00:20:46,042 of this small island would only get darker 401 00:20:46,208 --> 00:20:48,292 in the centuries to follow. 402 00:20:48,458 --> 00:20:50,500 OCKER: The cursed history 403 00:20:50,625 --> 00:20:52,792 of Poveglia Island doesn't just stop at the plague. 404 00:20:54,167 --> 00:20:56,375 In the late 19th century, 405 00:20:56,500 --> 00:20:59,333 they built a mental asylum on the island. 406 00:21:00,292 --> 00:21:02,208 The purpose of the mental asylum were various-- 407 00:21:02,333 --> 00:21:04,167 to care for the elderly, the indigent, 408 00:21:04,292 --> 00:21:05,833 those who needed help, 409 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:07,583 but according to the legends, 410 00:21:07,792 --> 00:21:12,000 the asylum was run by a doctor who was sadistic. 411 00:21:13,500 --> 00:21:15,833 He would torture the patients, he would experiment on them. 412 00:21:17,583 --> 00:21:20,250 He would do these crude lobotomies with drills, 413 00:21:20,458 --> 00:21:22,708 just to see what would happen. 414 00:21:22,875 --> 00:21:25,833 Some say the inmates, fed up with all the pain 415 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:27,917 that they had gone through as a result of him, 416 00:21:28,083 --> 00:21:30,250 pushed him off the bell tower. 417 00:21:31,875 --> 00:21:36,125 So the island itself is a place of not being wanted, of rumors 418 00:21:36,292 --> 00:21:38,542 and stories that scare you away from visiting it. 419 00:21:40,375 --> 00:21:43,000 SHATNER: Today, Poveglia is abandoned, 420 00:21:43,208 --> 00:21:46,500 and locals claim it's still haunted 421 00:21:46,708 --> 00:21:51,167 by the lingering spirits of those who suffered there. 422 00:21:51,250 --> 00:21:54,458 Yet, Poveglia isn't the only island 423 00:21:54,667 --> 00:21:57,750 in the Venice lagoon with a dark past. 424 00:21:58,917 --> 00:22:03,833 During the plague outbreaks of 1573 and 1630, 425 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,583 two islands north of Poveglia-- 426 00:22:06,750 --> 00:22:09,958 Lazzaretto Vecchio and Lazzaretto Nuovo-- 427 00:22:10,125 --> 00:22:14,417 also served as quarantine stations for the afflicted. 428 00:22:15,417 --> 00:22:19,333 Since 2004, archaeologists have uncovered 429 00:22:19,500 --> 00:22:22,667 thousands of skeletons on these islands, 430 00:22:22,875 --> 00:22:26,125 including one especially disturbing discovery 431 00:22:26,292 --> 00:22:28,417 on Lazzaretto Nuovo-- 432 00:22:28,583 --> 00:22:32,458 the skull of a 16th-century woman, 433 00:22:32,667 --> 00:22:35,000 whose jaws had been forced open 434 00:22:35,167 --> 00:22:38,333 by a brick jammed in her mouth. 435 00:22:39,417 --> 00:22:41,667 This particular skull was really interesting 436 00:22:41,875 --> 00:22:44,917 because the brick inside its mouth is actually 437 00:22:45,083 --> 00:22:47,000 from a Germanic tradition 438 00:22:47,167 --> 00:22:51,625 that is called "shroud-eaters." 439 00:22:51,708 --> 00:22:55,500 And these are like vampires in a way, 440 00:22:55,625 --> 00:22:58,375 and they spread pestilence and disease. 441 00:22:58,542 --> 00:23:02,667 ANDREW COLLINS: And the way, the prescribed manner 442 00:23:02,875 --> 00:23:06,458 that you keep this particular type of vampire down, 443 00:23:06,625 --> 00:23:11,167 is to shove a brick in their mouth, 444 00:23:11,333 --> 00:23:13,875 and that will stop it. 445 00:23:14,875 --> 00:23:17,833 SHATNER: Is it possible that 16th-century Venice 446 00:23:18,042 --> 00:23:21,750 was not only being terrorized by fears of the Black Death, 447 00:23:21,917 --> 00:23:25,917 but the spread of vampirism, as well? 448 00:23:26,042 --> 00:23:28,458 It's a disturbing notion. 449 00:23:29,792 --> 00:23:32,583 And even today, the legacy of darkness 450 00:23:32,750 --> 00:23:35,167 associated with these islands of the damned 451 00:23:35,333 --> 00:23:37,833 is so deeply rooted 452 00:23:37,958 --> 00:23:40,333 that people continue to avoid them... 453 00:23:40,542 --> 00:23:42,833 like the plague. 454 00:23:43,042 --> 00:23:45,542 BELLINGER: The fate of the islands today 455 00:23:45,708 --> 00:23:47,667 is kind of astonishing, 456 00:23:47,875 --> 00:23:51,333 given the congestion in Venice overall. 457 00:23:51,500 --> 00:23:53,667 They are just completely abandoned, 458 00:23:53,875 --> 00:23:56,792 and people are forbidden from even setting foot on them. 459 00:23:56,958 --> 00:24:00,167 And looking at it throughout history, 460 00:24:00,333 --> 00:24:03,167 anyone who comes to these islands 461 00:24:03,292 --> 00:24:06,667 is looking at a pretty grim outcome. 462 00:24:06,833 --> 00:24:09,417 While the plague islands of Venice have been vacant 463 00:24:09,583 --> 00:24:11,833 for decades, many believe 464 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:14,708 that their disturbing history makes them some 465 00:24:14,875 --> 00:24:18,500 of the most haunted places in the world. 466 00:24:18,667 --> 00:24:23,000 And paranormal powers are also present in South America, 467 00:24:23,167 --> 00:24:26,667 on another island where evil sorcerers are said 468 00:24:26,833 --> 00:24:29,292 to inflict harm and misfortune 469 00:24:29,417 --> 00:24:31,333 on anyone 470 00:24:31,500 --> 00:24:35,000 who dares to cross their path. 471 00:24:38,750 --> 00:24:41,000 SHATNER: Off the coast of Chile in the Pacific Ocean 472 00:24:41,125 --> 00:24:45,625 is an archipelago made up of about 40 islands. 473 00:24:45,792 --> 00:24:48,625 And among them, there is one large island 474 00:24:48,792 --> 00:24:50,667 that is brimming with frightening tales 475 00:24:50,833 --> 00:24:53,833 of monsters and dark sorcery. 476 00:24:54,792 --> 00:24:57,500 The locals call it "La Isla Magica," 477 00:24:57,667 --> 00:24:59,667 the Magic Island. 478 00:24:59,750 --> 00:25:03,167 The world knows it as Chiloé. 479 00:25:04,208 --> 00:25:06,125 OCKER: Chiloé Island is this beautiful island, 480 00:25:06,250 --> 00:25:07,792 as far away as you can get 481 00:25:07,917 --> 00:25:09,417 and still be habitable as an island. 482 00:25:09,583 --> 00:25:11,542 So it's no surprise 483 00:25:11,708 --> 00:25:14,292 that a place like Chiloé Island would gather all these stories 484 00:25:14,417 --> 00:25:16,625 of magic and the supernatural. 485 00:25:17,667 --> 00:25:19,958 SHATNER: Despite its breathtaking scenery, 486 00:25:20,125 --> 00:25:24,208 legends have persisted that Chiloé is overflowing 487 00:25:24,375 --> 00:25:26,958 with dark and dangerous magic. 488 00:25:27,042 --> 00:25:30,000 So much so, that even the ancient Inca-- 489 00:25:30,208 --> 00:25:33,292 the mighty civilization that once had the largest empire 490 00:25:33,500 --> 00:25:35,542 to ever exist in the Americas, 491 00:25:35,542 --> 00:25:38,792 stretching from Colombia to southern Chile-- 492 00:25:38,792 --> 00:25:38,875 stretching from Colombia to southern Chile-- 493 00:25:39,708 --> 00:25:42,708 avoided this island at all costs. 494 00:25:42,708 --> 00:25:42,792 avoided this island at all costs. 495 00:25:44,167 --> 00:25:44,917 The Inca were great conquerors and great empire builders, 496 00:25:45,750 --> 00:25:45,850 The Inca were great conquerors and great empire builders, 497 00:25:46,542 --> 00:25:48,000 but they viewed this island 498 00:25:48,167 --> 00:25:51,167 as a place where their own empire ended, 499 00:25:51,333 --> 00:25:53,667 and a strange new world began. 500 00:25:54,708 --> 00:25:59,292 Chiloé Island was occupied from about 600 BCE 501 00:25:59,417 --> 00:26:02,042 by a people called the Mapuche. 502 00:26:02,208 --> 00:26:07,750 Mapuche beliefs were very much tied into the natural world. 503 00:26:07,875 --> 00:26:11,250 That inanimate objects possessed spiritual powers 504 00:26:11,417 --> 00:26:13,500 for good or for bad. 505 00:26:13,708 --> 00:26:17,417 They believed in shape-shifting, magical creatures 506 00:26:17,583 --> 00:26:19,917 who could be helpful to them, 507 00:26:20,083 --> 00:26:22,250 but could just as easily turn on them 508 00:26:22,458 --> 00:26:25,875 and cast spells, even curses. 509 00:26:27,167 --> 00:26:29,667 SHATNER: These supernatural practices became a subject 510 00:26:29,833 --> 00:26:32,833 of national concern when, in 1880, 511 00:26:33,042 --> 00:26:36,375 a group of Chiloé Island Mapuche were brought to trial 512 00:26:36,542 --> 00:26:38,833 by Chilean officials. 513 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:42,583 Their crime? Murder and kidnapping 514 00:26:42,708 --> 00:26:45,292 by use of poison and magic. 515 00:26:47,500 --> 00:26:49,208 The accused were a group of men who claimed 516 00:26:49,375 --> 00:26:54,000 to be part of a mysterious secret society of brujos, 517 00:26:54,208 --> 00:26:56,583 or male witches, 518 00:26:56,750 --> 00:27:00,708 known as "The Righteous Province." 519 00:27:00,875 --> 00:27:03,250 BELLINGER: So 1880, in Chile, 520 00:27:03,458 --> 00:27:05,958 a group of male witches or warlocks 521 00:27:06,125 --> 00:27:08,500 that they called "The Righteous Province" 522 00:27:08,667 --> 00:27:10,583 constitute what is probably 523 00:27:10,750 --> 00:27:13,500 the last big witch trial in the world. 524 00:27:13,625 --> 00:27:15,250 And it was a weird one. 525 00:27:15,375 --> 00:27:19,667 These people were on trial for black magic, 526 00:27:19,833 --> 00:27:22,625 and for just generally terrorizing 527 00:27:22,792 --> 00:27:25,917 this small island community for generations. 528 00:27:26,083 --> 00:27:27,750 NEWMAN: The Righteous Province 529 00:27:27,917 --> 00:27:29,750 would do lots of different horrible things, 530 00:27:29,917 --> 00:27:34,458 like extortion, murders, kidnappings and everything else, 531 00:27:34,667 --> 00:27:36,500 but also, they would kill people 532 00:27:36,708 --> 00:27:39,792 by inflicting magical wounds upon them. 533 00:27:39,958 --> 00:27:42,833 OCKER: These brujos were responsible for deaths, 534 00:27:42,958 --> 00:27:45,250 for livestock mutilations. 535 00:27:45,375 --> 00:27:48,583 It was rumored that they would take young girls, 536 00:27:48,708 --> 00:27:50,833 feed them certain potions 537 00:27:51,042 --> 00:27:53,583 that would make them turn into large, dark crows. 538 00:27:53,750 --> 00:27:55,750 (cawing) 539 00:27:55,917 --> 00:27:57,583 Those crows would do the deeds of the brujos, 540 00:27:57,750 --> 00:27:59,417 and then come back and turn back into girls. 541 00:27:59,542 --> 00:28:02,292 They were people to be feared. 542 00:28:03,917 --> 00:28:06,500 According to the handwritten trial testimony, 543 00:28:06,708 --> 00:28:09,208 the headquarters of the Righteous Province 544 00:28:09,375 --> 00:28:13,167 was located somewhere near the coastal village of Quicavi, 545 00:28:13,375 --> 00:28:18,000 carefully concealed within a deep, dark cave. 546 00:28:19,042 --> 00:28:21,833 And this cave was guarded by hideous monsters 547 00:28:21,917 --> 00:28:24,000 that protected the brujos 548 00:28:24,208 --> 00:28:27,000 as they engaged in diabolical rituals 549 00:28:27,167 --> 00:28:31,875 and malevolent magic against the people of Chiloé. 550 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:35,667 NEWMAN: One of the beasts that was said 551 00:28:35,833 --> 00:28:37,708 to have protected the cave entrance 552 00:28:37,875 --> 00:28:39,792 was a goat-like being 553 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,167 that had bristles all over its body. 554 00:28:43,375 --> 00:28:46,167 This was said to have been a human baby at birth 555 00:28:46,292 --> 00:28:48,958 that then got transformed and manipulated 556 00:28:49,125 --> 00:28:52,667 by magic, torture and sorcery. 557 00:28:52,875 --> 00:28:55,833 It was also said that the other beast 558 00:28:56,000 --> 00:29:00,833 that protected the cave was this grotesque being, so much so 559 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:04,208 that the only thing they fed it was human flesh. 560 00:29:04,417 --> 00:29:07,042 Whether these were real or not, we really don't know. 561 00:29:07,208 --> 00:29:09,792 But from the accounts that came forth, 562 00:29:09,917 --> 00:29:13,167 it seems like something very strange was going on here. 563 00:29:14,208 --> 00:29:16,000 SHATNER: Is it really possible that an evil coven 564 00:29:16,208 --> 00:29:19,208 of warlocks terrorized the island of Chiloé 565 00:29:19,375 --> 00:29:23,042 from deep inside a cave of dark magic? 566 00:29:23,208 --> 00:29:25,833 The whole truth remains elusive. 567 00:29:27,250 --> 00:29:30,292 Even though we have the trial transcripts from 1880, 568 00:29:30,458 --> 00:29:32,750 it's very difficult to tease apart fact and fiction 569 00:29:32,917 --> 00:29:34,625 in this case. 570 00:29:34,833 --> 00:29:37,500 But something clearly was going on. 571 00:29:37,708 --> 00:29:41,583 This brujo society of men 572 00:29:41,750 --> 00:29:45,083 doing bad things was real. 573 00:29:45,250 --> 00:29:47,333 Were the brujos actually warlocks 574 00:29:47,542 --> 00:29:51,833 who had the powers to change into other animals? 575 00:29:51,958 --> 00:29:54,292 It doesn't really matter, does it? 576 00:29:54,458 --> 00:29:56,083 People believed they did. 577 00:29:56,292 --> 00:30:00,125 And faith is all it takes for people to fall in line. 578 00:30:01,167 --> 00:30:03,333 SHATNER: The trial against the Righteous Province 579 00:30:03,458 --> 00:30:05,500 saw many of their leaders imprisoned. 580 00:30:05,667 --> 00:30:07,500 Some were put to death, 581 00:30:07,667 --> 00:30:09,500 shackled to a rock, 582 00:30:09,708 --> 00:30:12,833 and drowned during high tide. 583 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:16,125 But even today, superstitious locals believe 584 00:30:16,208 --> 00:30:18,792 that the dark magic of these evil sorcerers 585 00:30:18,958 --> 00:30:22,083 is still present on Chiloé Island. 586 00:30:22,250 --> 00:30:24,333 OCKER: The idea was to control the brujos, 587 00:30:24,542 --> 00:30:26,500 to incarcerate them, to get them out of the picture, 588 00:30:26,667 --> 00:30:28,000 which they do. 589 00:30:28,208 --> 00:30:30,583 But one of the byproducts 590 00:30:30,708 --> 00:30:33,625 of that trial was, all these details become part 591 00:30:33,792 --> 00:30:35,667 of the lore of the island. 592 00:30:35,833 --> 00:30:37,667 The legend of the brujos continues. 593 00:30:37,750 --> 00:30:39,000 Whether those brujos are still there, 594 00:30:39,208 --> 00:30:40,667 nobody really knows, 595 00:30:40,750 --> 00:30:42,833 but belief is what makes curses strong 596 00:30:43,042 --> 00:30:45,167 and what keeps them going. 597 00:30:46,042 --> 00:30:47,750 Does a secret sect 598 00:30:47,875 --> 00:30:51,167 of dark wizards still inhabit Chiloé? 599 00:30:51,333 --> 00:30:54,458 Well, the local people certainly believe they do. 600 00:30:54,583 --> 00:30:57,792 But there's another island, 601 00:30:57,958 --> 00:30:59,958 just across the river from New York City, 602 00:31:00,125 --> 00:31:04,917 whose eerie reputation is not due to evil acts, 603 00:31:05,042 --> 00:31:10,167 but rather... the haunting of lost souls. 604 00:31:15,125 --> 00:31:17,083 SHATNER: More than eight million people live, 605 00:31:17,250 --> 00:31:20,375 work and play in this iconic metropolis, 606 00:31:20,542 --> 00:31:24,208 making it the most populous city in the United States. 607 00:31:25,542 --> 00:31:28,000 But just off the coast in Long Island Sound, 608 00:31:28,208 --> 00:31:33,167 there's a tiny, 131-acre outpost known as Hart Island. 609 00:31:33,333 --> 00:31:36,333 With its pockets of trees and grassy fields, 610 00:31:36,542 --> 00:31:39,000 Hart Island would seem to be free 611 00:31:39,167 --> 00:31:42,458 of the hustle and bustle of the nearby city. 612 00:31:42,625 --> 00:31:45,458 However, appearances can be deceiving. 613 00:31:46,458 --> 00:31:48,583 Because this unassuming strip of land 614 00:31:48,750 --> 00:31:53,333 actually has a larger population than most small cities. 615 00:31:53,542 --> 00:31:54,958 The only difference is, 616 00:31:55,125 --> 00:31:57,208 the residents of Hart Island 617 00:31:57,375 --> 00:31:59,875 -are all dead. -(birds chirping) 618 00:32:00,042 --> 00:32:01,000 GENTILE: New York City 619 00:32:01,167 --> 00:32:02,333 is divided into five boroughs. 620 00:32:02,542 --> 00:32:03,917 Only one of those is on the mainland-- 621 00:32:04,083 --> 00:32:05,542 that's the Bronx. 622 00:32:05,708 --> 00:32:07,042 Now, from the Bronx, 623 00:32:07,250 --> 00:32:09,458 -you can see a small island. -(gulls calling) 624 00:32:09,625 --> 00:32:11,333 That is Hart Island. 625 00:32:11,542 --> 00:32:14,542 If you're a Jane Doe or John Doe dying in New York City, 626 00:32:14,708 --> 00:32:16,125 you get buried on Hart Island. 627 00:32:17,542 --> 00:32:20,458 OCKER: Hart Island is the country's largest potter's field. 628 00:32:20,583 --> 00:32:24,625 Potter's fields are mass graves that are anonymous people, 629 00:32:24,833 --> 00:32:26,292 people who were forgotten about, 630 00:32:26,417 --> 00:32:28,833 people who didn't have family members to bury them. 631 00:32:29,875 --> 00:32:33,958 ANDREW KINKELLA: There are over a million dead bodies on Hart Island. 632 00:32:34,125 --> 00:32:36,708 These burials are often unmarked 633 00:32:36,875 --> 00:32:40,167 or they're in just mass burials. 634 00:32:40,333 --> 00:32:44,583 But that's how this "island of the dead" was created. 635 00:32:45,958 --> 00:32:49,875 SHATNER: Before Hart Island became New York City's Island of the Dead, 636 00:32:50,042 --> 00:32:52,625 it was originally used in the mid-1800s 637 00:32:52,792 --> 00:32:54,833 as a quarantine station, 638 00:32:55,042 --> 00:32:57,417 a military base, 639 00:32:57,542 --> 00:32:59,500 and even a jail. 640 00:32:59,667 --> 00:33:04,042 So how did it become a massive graveyard 641 00:33:04,208 --> 00:33:06,292 for over a million people? 642 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:09,667 KINKELLA: In the late 1860s, 643 00:33:09,875 --> 00:33:13,292 there are lots of immigrants in New York City and around there. 644 00:33:14,292 --> 00:33:17,083 And many of these people of course died. 645 00:33:17,250 --> 00:33:19,458 Many of 'em were penniless. 646 00:33:19,625 --> 00:33:22,167 And you have to bury people somewhere. 647 00:33:22,375 --> 00:33:24,625 OCKER: Hart Island became 648 00:33:24,792 --> 00:33:25,875 the city's potter field 649 00:33:26,042 --> 00:33:27,833 because the city was just growing. 650 00:33:28,042 --> 00:33:29,208 And they just didn't have places to put 651 00:33:29,375 --> 00:33:30,958 all the bodies in the city. 652 00:33:31,958 --> 00:33:34,708 Most of the parks in New York are all ex-cemeteries-- 653 00:33:34,875 --> 00:33:36,333 Bryant Park, Washington Square Park. 654 00:33:36,458 --> 00:33:39,625 So they started using Hart Island. 655 00:33:43,500 --> 00:33:45,667 SHATNER: New York City's Department of Charities and Correction 656 00:33:45,875 --> 00:33:49,333 purchased Hart Island from a private owner in 1868 657 00:33:49,500 --> 00:33:53,208 as a location for an industrial school for destitute boys. 658 00:33:55,292 --> 00:33:59,292 Within a year, the first unclaimed body 659 00:33:59,500 --> 00:34:02,250 was brought to the island and buried there. 660 00:34:02,417 --> 00:34:05,667 Since then, Hart Island has become the city's cemetery 661 00:34:05,750 --> 00:34:08,250 for everyone from unidentified Union soldiers 662 00:34:08,417 --> 00:34:10,417 killed during the Civil War 663 00:34:10,583 --> 00:34:14,167 to the victims of the Spanish flu in 1918, 664 00:34:14,333 --> 00:34:17,500 the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, 665 00:34:17,708 --> 00:34:18,875 and, most recently, 666 00:34:19,042 --> 00:34:22,500 the COVID-19 pandemic. 667 00:34:23,542 --> 00:34:26,667 More than one-third of the people buried there 668 00:34:26,833 --> 00:34:29,750 have never been identified. 669 00:34:30,708 --> 00:34:32,958 Hart Island in the past has sometimes been thought of 670 00:34:33,083 --> 00:34:36,292 as a bit of a cursed place or a place with some foreboding. 671 00:34:36,458 --> 00:34:39,208 Mostly just because it was kind of kept secret by the city. 672 00:34:39,375 --> 00:34:43,083 They stopped all ferry service in the 1970s. 673 00:34:43,250 --> 00:34:45,708 Rikers Island inmates were burying the bodies, 674 00:34:45,833 --> 00:34:48,833 and nobody could actually go to Hart's Island. 675 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:52,667 So it started gathering this forbidden aura around it. 676 00:34:53,875 --> 00:34:55,833 SHATNER: For decades, the cemetery was strictly off-limits 677 00:34:56,042 --> 00:34:56,833 to the public. 678 00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:58,583 But in 2023, 679 00:34:58,708 --> 00:35:01,208 the city's Department of Parks and Recreation 680 00:35:01,375 --> 00:35:04,333 was given permission to lift restrictions 681 00:35:04,417 --> 00:35:06,250 and open Hart Island 682 00:35:06,417 --> 00:35:09,875 to tours and gravesite visits. 683 00:35:10,042 --> 00:35:11,500 OCKER: Today, 684 00:35:11,708 --> 00:35:14,208 Hart Island is at the beginning of a new chapter. 685 00:35:15,375 --> 00:35:16,833 People are allowed to go there now. 686 00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:20,000 People who just want to see this place of history. 687 00:35:20,167 --> 00:35:22,500 It's becoming less secretive, more open. 688 00:35:22,708 --> 00:35:24,125 The Parks Department now runs it, 689 00:35:24,292 --> 00:35:26,875 just like any park in the city. 690 00:35:27,042 --> 00:35:28,500 These days, Hart Island is becoming 691 00:35:28,625 --> 00:35:31,375 a place for the living as much as it is for the dead. 692 00:35:32,917 --> 00:35:35,333 SHATNER: The transformation of Hart Island from city cemetery 693 00:35:35,500 --> 00:35:39,167 to public park is indeed remarkable. 694 00:35:39,375 --> 00:35:42,333 Nevertheless, the fact that there are still hundreds 695 00:35:42,458 --> 00:35:44,667 of thousands of unidentified bodies 696 00:35:44,875 --> 00:35:48,417 resting beneath the surface is unsettling. 697 00:35:48,583 --> 00:35:52,333 And it raises a fascinating question. 698 00:35:53,375 --> 00:35:58,417 Can an island of the dead be brought back to life? 699 00:35:59,458 --> 00:36:02,833 Perhaps the answer can be found by examining another island 700 00:36:03,042 --> 00:36:05,792 7,000 miles from New York City 701 00:36:05,875 --> 00:36:10,167 that has become one of the most toxic places on Earth. 702 00:36:10,375 --> 00:36:12,375 ♪ ♪ 703 00:36:18,208 --> 00:36:19,500 SHATNER: In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 704 00:36:19,667 --> 00:36:22,542 thousands of miles away from solid land, 705 00:36:22,708 --> 00:36:27,667 is a ring of 23 small islands known as Bikini Atoll. 706 00:36:28,375 --> 00:36:31,375 It's a geological formation of coral reefs 707 00:36:31,542 --> 00:36:35,500 that grew along the rim of an ancient volcano. 708 00:36:36,542 --> 00:36:39,625 Once part of the U.S. territory known as the Marshall Islands, 709 00:36:39,833 --> 00:36:43,958 this atoll surrounds a vast, 230-square-mile lagoon 710 00:36:44,125 --> 00:36:47,667 famous for its deep blue waters. 711 00:36:47,833 --> 00:36:52,417 From afar, it would appear to be a tropical oasis. 712 00:36:53,375 --> 00:36:55,417 But almost 70 years ago, 713 00:36:55,542 --> 00:36:58,667 a devastating event took place here. 714 00:36:58,833 --> 00:37:00,708 MAN: Five, four, 715 00:37:00,875 --> 00:37:02,833 three, two, one. 716 00:37:04,375 --> 00:37:07,500 SHATNER: On March 1, 1954, 717 00:37:07,583 --> 00:37:11,000 the U.S. military detonated an explosion here 718 00:37:11,208 --> 00:37:13,167 1,000 times more powerful 719 00:37:13,333 --> 00:37:16,042 than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. 720 00:37:16,208 --> 00:37:22,000 It was a nuclear weapons test code-named Castle Bravo. 721 00:37:23,083 --> 00:37:26,542 KINKELLA: The Castle Bravo test was the largest thermonuclear test 722 00:37:26,708 --> 00:37:28,875 that the United States ever did. 723 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:31,500 The scientists at the time thought it was gonna be 724 00:37:31,667 --> 00:37:35,167 about a five to six-megaton explosion. 725 00:37:36,208 --> 00:37:40,500 But when it went off, it was actually a 15-megaton explosion. 726 00:37:40,667 --> 00:37:43,500 So it was much bigger than they thought it was gonna be. 727 00:37:44,708 --> 00:37:46,583 SHATNER: Over the next decade, 728 00:37:46,708 --> 00:37:50,167 Bikini Atoll would serve as the U.S. military's testing ground 729 00:37:50,333 --> 00:37:51,750 for nuclear warheads. 730 00:37:53,542 --> 00:37:57,042 In fact, from 1946 to 1958, 731 00:37:57,208 --> 00:38:02,042 23 nuclear devices were detonated in the area... 732 00:38:03,250 --> 00:38:04,833 ...generating enough fallout to cover 733 00:38:05,042 --> 00:38:09,875 more than 7,000 square miles in deadly radiation, 734 00:38:10,042 --> 00:38:14,000 transforming this tropical paradise... 735 00:38:14,958 --> 00:38:18,875 ...into one of the most toxic places on Earth. 736 00:38:20,208 --> 00:38:24,667 KINKELLA: The entire area basically became uninhabitable. 737 00:38:24,833 --> 00:38:29,000 Bikini Island itself was obviously just wasted. 738 00:38:30,167 --> 00:38:31,667 But some of these other islands 739 00:38:31,833 --> 00:38:35,042 had really, really bad nuclear fallout. 740 00:38:35,208 --> 00:38:36,375 It started to "snow." 741 00:38:36,542 --> 00:38:38,292 Of course, this wasn't snowflakes-- 742 00:38:38,417 --> 00:38:39,875 this was nuclear fallout. 743 00:38:40,917 --> 00:38:44,833 BELLINGER: The water was full of radiation that people were drinking. 744 00:38:44,958 --> 00:38:47,167 And they couldn't raise crops in the soils, 745 00:38:47,375 --> 00:38:49,333 'cause those were still contaminated. 746 00:38:49,542 --> 00:38:54,083 They were far too irradiated for human consumption. 747 00:38:55,125 --> 00:38:58,083 It was all just the stuff of nightmares. 748 00:38:59,542 --> 00:39:03,542 SHATNER: 70 years after the United States completed its nuclear tests, 749 00:39:03,708 --> 00:39:09,500 Bikini Atoll remains one of the most irradiated places on Earth. 750 00:39:09,667 --> 00:39:13,833 Many experts believed it would never be habitable again. 751 00:39:14,750 --> 00:39:17,542 But recently, a team of scientists 752 00:39:17,708 --> 00:39:19,458 from Stanford University 753 00:39:19,625 --> 00:39:23,000 discovered something astonishing. 754 00:39:24,208 --> 00:39:27,000 Life has apparently returned. 755 00:39:28,292 --> 00:39:29,667 ADAM RUBEN: In 2017, 756 00:39:29,833 --> 00:39:31,250 scientists returned to the Bikini Atoll 757 00:39:31,417 --> 00:39:33,708 and found that it's thriving. 758 00:39:33,875 --> 00:39:35,792 It's teeming with life, with marine life. 759 00:39:36,792 --> 00:39:39,667 There are coral reefs the size of cars. 760 00:39:39,875 --> 00:39:43,208 Somehow life has found a way to keep building itself 761 00:39:43,417 --> 00:39:45,625 in a radiation-rich environment. 762 00:39:45,708 --> 00:39:47,375 BELLINGER: You've got to think 763 00:39:47,542 --> 00:39:49,833 that all of this nuclear testing in the Pacific 764 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:53,750 is about the worst things humans have thrown 765 00:39:53,917 --> 00:39:57,500 at an isolated island community. 766 00:39:57,708 --> 00:39:59,708 And yet Bikini Atoll 767 00:39:59,875 --> 00:40:04,875 showed just a crazy variety of marine life thriving. 768 00:40:05,042 --> 00:40:08,208 We're talking schools of thousands of fish, 769 00:40:08,375 --> 00:40:11,708 sharks and snappers, tuna. 770 00:40:11,875 --> 00:40:14,542 The Earth found a way to adapt, 771 00:40:14,708 --> 00:40:16,958 to regenerate, to come back. 772 00:40:18,292 --> 00:40:21,792 SHATNER: Is it possible that the return of life to Bikini Atoll 773 00:40:21,917 --> 00:40:25,625 is an indication that the Earth is reclaiming these islands 774 00:40:25,750 --> 00:40:27,667 from human abuse? 775 00:40:28,125 --> 00:40:29,500 And if so, 776 00:40:29,625 --> 00:40:31,083 could there also be hope 777 00:40:31,250 --> 00:40:33,625 that the many other islands of the damned 778 00:40:33,750 --> 00:40:38,000 will one day become healed as well? 779 00:40:39,042 --> 00:40:42,417 COLLINS: Every island has its own spirit. 780 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:44,333 And with human interaction across the centuries, 781 00:40:44,333 --> 00:40:47,625 And with human interaction across the centuries, 782 00:40:47,750 --> 00:40:52,042 negative energy can be embedded within an environment, 783 00:40:52,208 --> 00:40:54,375 within a landscape. 784 00:40:54,542 --> 00:40:57,500 It's almost like an invisible bloodstain. 785 00:40:57,708 --> 00:41:00,917 So go there at your own peril. 786 00:41:01,875 --> 00:41:04,208 Once one bad thing happens in a place, 787 00:41:04,375 --> 00:41:06,083 bad things start to just happen 788 00:41:06,208 --> 00:41:08,250 and kind of stack up there. 789 00:41:08,458 --> 00:41:09,625 And then the superstition, I think, 790 00:41:09,750 --> 00:41:12,167 embeds itself into the local culture. 791 00:41:12,375 --> 00:41:15,000 But as we see in Bikini Atoll, 792 00:41:15,167 --> 00:41:17,958 nature always finds a way to survive. 793 00:41:20,458 --> 00:41:25,000 It's encouraging to think that life can return and flourish 794 00:41:25,208 --> 00:41:28,125 in a place as damned as the Bikini Atoll. 795 00:41:29,167 --> 00:41:32,333 And might that be the case for other islands that suffer 796 00:41:32,500 --> 00:41:34,583 from dark forces, 797 00:41:34,750 --> 00:41:36,833 terrifying monsters, 798 00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:40,250 or unimaginable misfortune? 799 00:41:40,417 --> 00:41:42,583 It's certainly worth hoping for. 800 00:41:43,500 --> 00:41:45,083 But for now, 801 00:41:45,250 --> 00:41:49,750 if you ever decide to visit one of these sinister sites, 802 00:41:49,875 --> 00:41:52,750 pay close attention to what the locals are saying. 803 00:41:52,917 --> 00:41:57,083 Because the true dangers of these islands of the damned 804 00:41:57,250 --> 00:41:59,375 remain... 805 00:41:59,542 --> 00:42:01,333 unexplained. 806 00:42:01,458 --> 00:42:03,625 CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A+E NETWORKS