1 00:00:02,878 --> 00:00:07,258 WILLIAM SHATNER: Vast landscapes poisoned by radiation. 2 00:00:07,382 --> 00:00:11,592 An English colony that vanished without a trace. 3 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:16,060 And cities that have been forsaken by the gods. 4 00:00:17,935 --> 00:00:20,605 All over the world, there are locations that were 5 00:00:20,729 --> 00:00:23,399 once thriving and full of activity 6 00:00:23,482 --> 00:00:28,782 that are now abandoned, empty, devoid of human life. 7 00:00:28,904 --> 00:00:31,164 Why do people desert these places? 8 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:32,910 Did they become too dangerous? 9 00:00:33,033 --> 00:00:37,163 Did the area become incapable of sustaining life? 10 00:00:37,246 --> 00:00:40,036 Or is it possible that some places 11 00:00:40,123 --> 00:00:43,423 are actually destined to be abandoned? 12 00:00:43,502 --> 00:00:46,132 Well, that is what we’ll try and find out. 13 00:00:46,255 --> 00:00:48,265 ♪ ♪ 14 00:01:04,773 --> 00:01:07,653 In northern Ukraine stand the remains 15 00:01:07,776 --> 00:01:11,776 of an abandoned city known as Pripyat. 16 00:01:14,283 --> 00:01:18,703 Pripyat was founded by the Soviet Union in 1970 17 00:01:18,787 --> 00:01:21,867 to serve Chernobyl, the nearby power plant. 18 00:01:23,750 --> 00:01:27,050 At its height, nearly 50,000 people lived here, 19 00:01:27,129 --> 00:01:30,549 but today, Pripyat’s streets are empty. 20 00:01:33,802 --> 00:01:36,432 Its buildings have fallen into disrepair. 21 00:01:38,515 --> 00:01:41,765 Nature has reclaimed large portions of the city. 22 00:01:41,852 --> 00:01:44,652 And it’s all because of a tragic event 23 00:01:44,730 --> 00:01:49,940 that took place on April 26, 1986. 24 00:01:50,027 --> 00:01:54,607 An event known as the Chernobyl disaster. 25 00:02:02,914 --> 00:02:05,794 In 1986, we were horrified 26 00:02:05,876 --> 00:02:09,496 to see the greatest nuclear accident of all time 27 00:02:09,588 --> 00:02:13,258 emerge at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. 28 00:02:14,676 --> 00:02:16,716 The reactor went out of control, 29 00:02:16,845 --> 00:02:19,595 creating an uncontrolled chain reaction 30 00:02:19,681 --> 00:02:23,481 like a small atomic bomb, 31 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:27,310 blowing the roof right off the reactor. 32 00:02:27,397 --> 00:02:30,357 A huge amount of radioactive material 33 00:02:30,484 --> 00:02:36,074 shot through the roof and then into the atmosphere. 34 00:02:37,741 --> 00:02:40,331 SHATNER: 36 hours after the explosion, 35 00:02:40,410 --> 00:02:43,620 officials finally determined that the residents of Pripyat 36 00:02:43,705 --> 00:02:46,035 needed to be moved to safety. 37 00:02:47,209 --> 00:02:50,299 The city was then evacuated in less than four hours. 38 00:02:52,214 --> 00:02:55,634 They were evacuated very, very quickly at that point. 39 00:02:55,717 --> 00:02:58,047 And when they’re evacuated, they can only take 40 00:02:58,136 --> 00:03:01,006 certain things with them-- small things. 41 00:03:01,098 --> 00:03:03,848 And the government put guards 42 00:03:03,934 --> 00:03:05,984 outside some of these apartments, 43 00:03:06,061 --> 00:03:07,941 basically saying, "We’ll protect your material," 44 00:03:08,063 --> 00:03:10,323 suggesting the residents 45 00:03:10,399 --> 00:03:13,819 would actually go back to Pripyat, which they never did. 46 00:03:15,570 --> 00:03:18,450 Pripyat was built to be a self-contained town 47 00:03:18,573 --> 00:03:20,703 which had everything for the workers 48 00:03:20,784 --> 00:03:23,204 of the Chernobyl power plant. 49 00:03:23,286 --> 00:03:26,746 So that meant kindergartens to send their kids to, 50 00:03:26,873 --> 00:03:29,213 all this leisure activity. 51 00:03:29,292 --> 00:03:31,792 So the Soviets, in that respect, were getting better 52 00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:34,010 at providing their workers with facilities. 53 00:03:34,089 --> 00:03:36,759 Working at Pripyat would be a much better gig 54 00:03:36,842 --> 00:03:39,432 than different towns in the Soviet Union. 55 00:03:39,511 --> 00:03:43,351 Before the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, 56 00:03:43,432 --> 00:03:45,142 Pripyat was a city of dreams 57 00:03:45,267 --> 00:03:47,187 for the residents and the people that lived around. 58 00:03:47,269 --> 00:03:49,479 It offered amenities and resources 59 00:03:49,604 --> 00:03:52,194 that would not be found in nearby cities and villages. 60 00:03:53,900 --> 00:03:56,780 After the accident, people were evacuated, 61 00:03:56,862 --> 00:03:58,822 and they were forced to leave their hopes and plans 62 00:03:58,947 --> 00:04:00,527 for the future behind them. 63 00:04:00,615 --> 00:04:03,325 And that’s really what we see in Pripyat today 64 00:04:03,452 --> 00:04:05,412 is what was left behind. 65 00:04:05,495 --> 00:04:07,575 It is a ghost town. 66 00:04:08,623 --> 00:04:12,543 Pripyat is an example of an abandoned place 67 00:04:12,627 --> 00:04:16,167 that was vacated in a great hurry. 68 00:04:16,298 --> 00:04:19,428 And so, of course, you have vehicles 69 00:04:19,509 --> 00:04:23,139 that are just left abandoned. 70 00:04:24,306 --> 00:04:27,136 You have household objects, 71 00:04:27,267 --> 00:04:29,767 children’s toys, 72 00:04:29,853 --> 00:04:33,563 kitchen utensils that were just dropped 73 00:04:33,648 --> 00:04:35,978 in the middle of meal preparation. 74 00:04:37,319 --> 00:04:39,319 There are a lot of hopeful murals 75 00:04:39,404 --> 00:04:42,994 about science leading you into a proud future. 76 00:04:43,074 --> 00:04:45,544 And they’re in buildings that have been abandoned 77 00:04:45,660 --> 00:04:47,700 for over 30 years. 78 00:04:47,829 --> 00:04:50,289 That’s something that is sort of impossible 79 00:04:50,373 --> 00:04:53,673 not to feel the weight of. 80 00:04:55,003 --> 00:04:56,923 SHATNER: While the nuclear meltdown was caused 81 00:04:57,005 --> 00:04:59,795 by both human error and technical failures, 82 00:04:59,883 --> 00:05:03,393 there are some former residents of Pripyat who claim 83 00:05:03,512 --> 00:05:09,182 that the Chernobyl disaster was actually destined to happen. 84 00:05:12,020 --> 00:05:14,480 Some of the workers at Chernobyl, 85 00:05:14,564 --> 00:05:18,364 in the days immediately preceding the explosion 86 00:05:18,485 --> 00:05:20,535 and following, 87 00:05:20,612 --> 00:05:25,332 reported seeing this mysterious winged creature 88 00:05:25,408 --> 00:05:28,618 with blazing red eyes. 89 00:05:28,703 --> 00:05:30,753 This creature, which is referred to 90 00:05:30,872 --> 00:05:33,542 as the Black Bird of Chernobyl today, 91 00:05:33,667 --> 00:05:35,837 was thought to be some sort of a warning 92 00:05:35,919 --> 00:05:39,459 or a kind of crisis apparition. 93 00:05:40,715 --> 00:05:42,625 The concept of a harbinger of doom 94 00:05:42,717 --> 00:05:45,297 is incredibly common and incredibly long-standing. 95 00:05:45,387 --> 00:05:47,967 Probably the most famous example is 96 00:05:48,056 --> 00:05:51,726 the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the Four Horsemen 97 00:05:51,810 --> 00:05:55,270 who are said to foretell the ending of the world. 98 00:05:56,439 --> 00:06:01,109 So, when Chernobyl explodes, the Black Bird of Chernobyl 99 00:06:01,236 --> 00:06:04,156 was not just a strange sighting in the sky. 100 00:06:04,239 --> 00:06:07,699 People start to think that maybe this wasn’t 101 00:06:07,784 --> 00:06:13,374 so much an accident as it was something predestined. 102 00:06:15,417 --> 00:06:18,707 SHATNER: Is it possible that Pripyat was destined to be abandoned? 103 00:06:18,795 --> 00:06:20,545 As far-fetched as it may sound, 104 00:06:20,630 --> 00:06:23,010 many locals believe the answer is yes. 105 00:06:23,091 --> 00:06:25,841 And for further evidence, they point to a prophecy 106 00:06:25,927 --> 00:06:28,427 of death and destruction that is written 107 00:06:28,555 --> 00:06:31,725 in the Book of Revelation in the Holy Bible. 108 00:06:34,936 --> 00:06:38,396 McNEILL: It’s interesting because the word "Chernobyl" 109 00:06:38,481 --> 00:06:41,731 is the Ukrainian word for wormwood. 110 00:06:41,818 --> 00:06:44,148 And wormwood has a lot of historical 111 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:46,909 and cultural affiliations with poison, 112 00:06:46,990 --> 00:06:50,830 with bitterness, with darkness. 113 00:06:50,952 --> 00:06:53,792 And we see that most poignantly, perhaps, 114 00:06:53,914 --> 00:06:55,674 prophesied in the Bible 115 00:06:55,790 --> 00:07:00,840 that there will be seven angels blowing seven trumpets. 116 00:07:00,962 --> 00:07:04,552 And trumpet number three is the trumpet 117 00:07:04,633 --> 00:07:07,393 that causes the star called Wormwood 118 00:07:07,469 --> 00:07:09,509 to fall from the sky 119 00:07:09,638 --> 00:07:13,058 and poison the land and the waters 120 00:07:13,141 --> 00:07:16,141 so that people who drink the waters will die. 121 00:07:17,228 --> 00:07:21,108 The story could be an amazing symbolic description 122 00:07:21,191 --> 00:07:23,861 of a nuclear power plant 123 00:07:23,985 --> 00:07:26,855 exploding and irradiating the landscape 124 00:07:26,988 --> 00:07:29,368 so that people who live in that space, 125 00:07:29,491 --> 00:07:33,701 who touch those objects, who drink that water will die. 126 00:07:34,829 --> 00:07:38,669 It’s really compelling to see that connection, 127 00:07:38,750 --> 00:07:43,550 and it is hard to simply write it off as a coincidence. 128 00:07:44,881 --> 00:07:46,591 HIXSON: You can imagine the way 129 00:07:46,675 --> 00:07:48,725 that people reacted to this story 130 00:07:48,843 --> 00:07:50,893 after the disaster in 1986. 131 00:07:51,012 --> 00:07:52,682 The people that lived in this region 132 00:07:52,764 --> 00:07:56,314 were highly dependent on water for their way of life, 133 00:07:56,393 --> 00:07:58,193 and their lives were forever disrupted 134 00:07:58,269 --> 00:08:00,149 by the radioactive materials that were thrown 135 00:08:00,230 --> 00:08:02,400 out of the reactor on the night of the disaster 136 00:08:02,524 --> 00:08:04,194 and left in the environment. 137 00:08:05,694 --> 00:08:08,454 HOROWITZ: When you add up these different elements-- 138 00:08:08,530 --> 00:08:11,070 the spotting of a winged creature 139 00:08:11,199 --> 00:08:14,579 or some sort of a harbinger of doom 140 00:08:14,703 --> 00:08:18,503 and the fact that a falling star in the Book of Revelation 141 00:08:18,581 --> 00:08:22,251 has the same name as the nuclear power plant itself-- 142 00:08:22,377 --> 00:08:24,747 you can understand how some people read meaning 143 00:08:24,879 --> 00:08:26,879 into the Chernobyl disaster. 144 00:08:29,217 --> 00:08:31,337 SHATNER: Whether the fate of Pripyat was predestined 145 00:08:31,428 --> 00:08:35,518 or simply the result of modern technology gone terribly wrong, 146 00:08:35,598 --> 00:08:39,018 this abandoned city continues to spark 147 00:08:39,102 --> 00:08:42,152 both fascination and fear. 148 00:08:44,107 --> 00:08:48,737 We are endlessly fascinated with abandoned places, 149 00:08:48,820 --> 00:08:52,490 whether they were abandoned gradually or suddenly, 150 00:08:52,574 --> 00:08:55,454 because buildings are supposed to be filled with people. 151 00:08:55,577 --> 00:08:58,907 They’re supposed to be used for commerce or habitation. 152 00:08:58,997 --> 00:09:03,537 And when they’re empty, it seems ghostly. 153 00:09:05,628 --> 00:09:08,548 The Chernobyl disaster is a cautionary tale 154 00:09:08,631 --> 00:09:11,681 that reminds us that our cities can become dangerous 155 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:13,550 without any warning. 156 00:09:13,636 --> 00:09:17,636 But not all abandoned places are deserted so quickly. 157 00:09:17,766 --> 00:09:21,636 Sometimes it happens over a much longer period of time. 158 00:09:21,770 --> 00:09:24,900 Like in the case of an ancient temple complex 159 00:09:24,981 --> 00:09:30,441 located in Cambodia that is known as Angkor Wat. 160 00:09:38,828 --> 00:09:41,868 SHATNER: Deep in the northwestern jungles of this small nation 161 00:09:41,956 --> 00:09:44,536 tucked between Vietnam and Thailand 162 00:09:44,626 --> 00:09:49,046 sits the abandoned ruins of Angkor Wat, 163 00:09:49,130 --> 00:09:52,510 a massive, ancient complex of temples. 164 00:09:54,010 --> 00:09:56,720 Experts believe that Angkor Wat is the largest 165 00:09:56,805 --> 00:09:59,725 religious structure ever built. 166 00:10:01,309 --> 00:10:04,729 STEAVU: It’s just a massive, impressive sight 167 00:10:04,813 --> 00:10:07,063 swallowed up by the jungle. 168 00:10:07,148 --> 00:10:09,108 Trees are wrapping around 169 00:10:09,192 --> 00:10:11,742 some of the stones and sculptures that-that remain, 170 00:10:11,820 --> 00:10:15,030 yet you can still make out some of the exquisite sculptures 171 00:10:15,156 --> 00:10:17,326 between leaves and branches. 172 00:10:17,408 --> 00:10:21,288 And you can see something really majestic underneath. 173 00:10:22,330 --> 00:10:25,580 EDWIN BARNHART: Angkor Wat is huge. 174 00:10:25,667 --> 00:10:28,127 When you walk up to its front entrance, 175 00:10:28,211 --> 00:10:30,381 it’s a bridge going across the moat 176 00:10:30,505 --> 00:10:34,135 and then a causeway going to the temples themselves. 177 00:10:34,217 --> 00:10:36,387 And they’re so far off in the distance, 178 00:10:36,511 --> 00:10:39,061 you walk across that bridge for ten minutes, 179 00:10:39,180 --> 00:10:42,060 and you’re still not at the temple. 180 00:10:43,685 --> 00:10:46,275 SHATNER: All told, Angkor Wat encompasses 181 00:10:46,354 --> 00:10:51,694 more than 401 acres of buildings, temples and gardens, 182 00:10:51,818 --> 00:10:58,158 and a 700-foot-tall spire sits at the center of the complex. 183 00:10:59,242 --> 00:11:02,292 Angkor Wat was built in the 12 century A.D. 184 00:11:02,370 --> 00:11:04,120 by the Khmer people, 185 00:11:04,205 --> 00:11:08,415 and it was the spiritual center of their empire. 186 00:11:10,670 --> 00:11:12,590 DOUGHERTY: It’s difficult to explain 187 00:11:12,714 --> 00:11:14,844 just how important this place was. 188 00:11:14,924 --> 00:11:17,934 In fact, "Angkor Wat" means capital city or capital temple 189 00:11:18,052 --> 00:11:20,552 or city temple, depending how you translate it. 190 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:24,060 So this was not only a religious center. 191 00:11:25,393 --> 00:11:28,603 It was also a political center. It was a military center. 192 00:11:28,730 --> 00:11:31,610 There was absolutely no separation 193 00:11:31,733 --> 00:11:33,903 between religion and daily life. 194 00:11:33,985 --> 00:11:36,155 The temple served all of these purposes. 195 00:11:36,237 --> 00:11:38,947 And it was home to tens of thousands 196 00:11:39,073 --> 00:11:41,783 of ordinary people who were farmers, merchants 197 00:11:41,910 --> 00:11:44,950 living in this tremendously important religious center. 198 00:11:46,748 --> 00:11:49,578 STEAVU: It was a massive, vibrant city. 199 00:11:49,667 --> 00:11:53,167 The urban landscape extended 200 00:11:53,254 --> 00:11:56,764 far beyond Angkor Wat itself, in every direction, 201 00:11:56,841 --> 00:11:58,971 for, uh, miles. 202 00:11:59,093 --> 00:12:02,473 So there were anywhere between about 750,000 203 00:12:02,597 --> 00:12:07,017 to a million people living, uh, around the city of Angkor. 204 00:12:08,478 --> 00:12:10,898 SHATNER: In the year 1431 A.D., 205 00:12:10,980 --> 00:12:15,190 the Khmer people abandoned Angkor Wat. 206 00:12:16,236 --> 00:12:19,316 For decades, archaeologists have speculated 207 00:12:19,447 --> 00:12:22,907 as to what caused the demise of the city. 208 00:12:24,285 --> 00:12:26,615 Numerous theories, blaming everything 209 00:12:26,704 --> 00:12:28,714 from climate change to invading armies, 210 00:12:28,790 --> 00:12:30,670 have been proposed. 211 00:12:30,792 --> 00:12:32,962 And yet, no one knows for certain 212 00:12:33,044 --> 00:12:36,924 why nearly a million people chose to abandon 213 00:12:37,006 --> 00:12:39,426 these magnificent temples. 214 00:12:41,261 --> 00:12:43,011 DOUGHERTY: The abandonment of Angkor Wat 215 00:12:43,137 --> 00:12:45,217 illustrates to us that something catastrophic 216 00:12:45,306 --> 00:12:47,926 had occurred within Khmer society. 217 00:12:48,017 --> 00:12:52,517 This incredible place was still capable 218 00:12:52,647 --> 00:12:54,317 of supporting large numbers of people. 219 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:56,280 It was still an important temple, 220 00:12:56,359 --> 00:12:58,279 but it was almost completely abandoned. 221 00:12:58,361 --> 00:12:59,901 It was just left. 222 00:13:00,989 --> 00:13:03,409 And what that suggests is that 223 00:13:03,491 --> 00:13:07,751 something changed in the Khmer people. 224 00:13:09,330 --> 00:13:11,750 SHATNER: Some experts have proposed that because Angkor Wat 225 00:13:11,833 --> 00:13:13,793 was such an important religious site, 226 00:13:13,876 --> 00:13:18,006 it may have been abandoned for spiritual reasons. 227 00:13:20,174 --> 00:13:25,934 Angkor Wat was the link between mortal people and the gods. 228 00:13:26,014 --> 00:13:29,644 And it was built by Suryavarman II... 229 00:13:31,853 --> 00:13:33,653 ...who fought a series of military campaigns 230 00:13:33,730 --> 00:13:35,940 to unify his people, 231 00:13:36,024 --> 00:13:38,284 brought stability, prosperity. 232 00:13:38,359 --> 00:13:43,699 And Suryavarman II intended Angkor Wat to be his mausoleum. 233 00:13:46,034 --> 00:13:48,744 STEAVU: The tomb of Suryavarman II 234 00:13:48,870 --> 00:13:54,630 was intended to be located underneath the central tower. 235 00:13:54,709 --> 00:13:58,799 And there’s a hole at the top of the central tower 236 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:01,510 that lets in a beam of light. 237 00:14:01,591 --> 00:14:03,551 And that beam of light would have shown 238 00:14:03,676 --> 00:14:05,676 directly onto the tomb, 239 00:14:05,762 --> 00:14:08,262 demonstrating in a way that Suryavarman 240 00:14:08,389 --> 00:14:11,429 was directly linked to the divine. 241 00:14:13,394 --> 00:14:18,274 Suryavarman II clearly intended to be buried at Angkor Wat. 242 00:14:18,399 --> 00:14:20,899 He would be interred in the central temple. 243 00:14:22,111 --> 00:14:25,911 But he died on a military campaign in what is now Vietnam, 244 00:14:25,990 --> 00:14:28,830 and nobody knows what happened to the body. 245 00:14:30,661 --> 00:14:33,661 SHATNER: Curiously, after King Suryavarman died 246 00:14:33,748 --> 00:14:37,838 and his body was not placed in its intended tomb, 247 00:14:37,919 --> 00:14:39,749 the living conditions at Angkor Wat 248 00:14:39,837 --> 00:14:41,587 took a turn for the worse. 249 00:14:41,672 --> 00:14:44,012 There were repeated droughts in the region, 250 00:14:44,092 --> 00:14:45,892 which led to famine 251 00:14:45,968 --> 00:14:48,258 because there was not enough water for crops. 252 00:14:48,388 --> 00:14:51,388 But on the other hand, there were also huge monsoons 253 00:14:51,474 --> 00:14:55,444 that at times would cause major flooding. 254 00:14:56,604 --> 00:14:59,904 Some scholars believe that these calamities 255 00:14:59,982 --> 00:15:03,652 may have been seen by the Khmer people as a sign 256 00:15:03,778 --> 00:15:06,068 that their connection to the gods had been lost 257 00:15:06,155 --> 00:15:11,235 and that it was time for them to abandon Angkor Wat. 258 00:15:12,662 --> 00:15:14,622 The Khmer people would have remembered 259 00:15:14,705 --> 00:15:17,115 the time of Suryavarman II, 260 00:15:17,208 --> 00:15:20,168 of this golden age that had existed. 261 00:15:20,294 --> 00:15:22,964 But later, things weren’t as good. 262 00:15:23,089 --> 00:15:24,759 Could it be that the link 263 00:15:24,841 --> 00:15:28,301 between mortals and their god had been broken? 264 00:15:29,804 --> 00:15:31,474 STEAVU: If what made Angkor City great 265 00:15:31,597 --> 00:15:34,847 was the blessings that were sent down from the gods, 266 00:15:34,976 --> 00:15:38,226 then when things started going more badly for the city, 267 00:15:38,312 --> 00:15:40,402 people would naturally interpret that 268 00:15:40,481 --> 00:15:42,901 the gods again are taking away their blessings. 269 00:15:44,318 --> 00:15:47,318 And then that, in turn, would serve as a cue 270 00:15:47,405 --> 00:15:51,085 for the Khmer people to also leave behind the city. 271 00:15:52,201 --> 00:15:54,161 BARNHART: All civilizations on the planet, 272 00:15:54,245 --> 00:15:57,675 no matter how big they are, they eventually fall, 273 00:15:57,748 --> 00:15:59,668 and Angkor was no different. 274 00:15:59,750 --> 00:16:03,170 And the factors were not just as simple as one thing. 275 00:16:03,296 --> 00:16:06,046 There were a number of things happening. 276 00:16:06,174 --> 00:16:09,764 In many regards, the abandonment of Angkor 277 00:16:09,844 --> 00:16:12,474 was just an acknowledgement that, 278 00:16:12,555 --> 00:16:16,815 however large and grand their life was there, 279 00:16:16,893 --> 00:16:20,523 that the gods didn’t favor it and it was time to end it. 280 00:16:21,481 --> 00:16:23,901 Did the Khmer people abandon Angkor Wat 281 00:16:24,025 --> 00:16:25,655 because they believed 282 00:16:25,735 --> 00:16:27,955 that they had fallen out of favor with the gods? 283 00:16:28,029 --> 00:16:31,239 Seems possible, especially when you consider 284 00:16:31,365 --> 00:16:35,365 that the entire complex was built to honor the divine. 285 00:16:35,453 --> 00:16:40,423 And devotion to God also played a role in the construction 286 00:16:40,541 --> 00:16:44,291 of an abandoned place located in Portugal. 287 00:16:44,378 --> 00:16:49,168 A structure that may have once been home to the Holy Grail. 288 00:16:54,639 --> 00:16:56,809 SHATNER: This popular tourist destination 289 00:16:56,891 --> 00:16:58,851 is known for its pristine beaches, 290 00:16:58,935 --> 00:17:02,905 historic gardens and numerous palatial estates. 291 00:17:04,065 --> 00:17:08,195 One of those estates is named Quinta da Regaleira. 292 00:17:08,277 --> 00:17:11,857 This gothic palace has been unoccupied 293 00:17:11,948 --> 00:17:14,738 for more than 30 years, and it has a reputation 294 00:17:14,825 --> 00:17:19,325 for being a mysterious, eerie place. 295 00:17:19,413 --> 00:17:23,423 Regaleira is really the... it’s the spooky mansion on the hill. 296 00:17:24,669 --> 00:17:27,299 But when you get up closer, it immediately 297 00:17:27,421 --> 00:17:30,591 seizes your imagination and draws you in, 298 00:17:30,716 --> 00:17:35,046 and you begin to appreciate the secrets that it holds, 299 00:17:35,137 --> 00:17:38,767 compared to the other more glitzy palaces nearby. 300 00:17:38,849 --> 00:17:41,139 SHATNER: According to historical records, 301 00:17:41,269 --> 00:17:43,849 Quinta da Regaleira is an ancient estate 302 00:17:43,938 --> 00:17:46,268 that dates back nearly a thousand years. 303 00:17:46,357 --> 00:17:49,027 And it was bought in the late 19th century 304 00:17:49,110 --> 00:17:51,360 by an eccentric Portuguese businessman 305 00:17:51,445 --> 00:17:53,355 named Carvalho Monteiro, 306 00:17:53,447 --> 00:17:57,827 who reportedly had a fascination with the occult. 307 00:17:57,952 --> 00:18:00,122 LYNN PICKNETT: Monteiro was a multimillionaire, 308 00:18:00,246 --> 00:18:03,576 and he embraced all manner of mystical, um, 309 00:18:03,666 --> 00:18:05,706 philosophies and traditions. 310 00:18:05,793 --> 00:18:11,473 And so he invested an awful lot of his wealth at Quinta. 311 00:18:11,549 --> 00:18:16,639 He enhanced the property to add symbolism. 312 00:18:16,762 --> 00:18:18,972 There are statues 313 00:18:19,056 --> 00:18:22,726 and inscriptions and carvings 314 00:18:22,810 --> 00:18:25,940 that are connected with Freemasonry, 315 00:18:26,022 --> 00:18:27,562 the Knights Templar 316 00:18:27,648 --> 00:18:30,148 and occultists of various descriptions. 317 00:18:31,193 --> 00:18:34,743 Monteiro basically adapted the property 318 00:18:34,822 --> 00:18:38,372 into this extraordinary sort of theme park to the occult. 319 00:18:38,492 --> 00:18:41,042 People thought it was odd, 320 00:18:41,162 --> 00:18:45,082 but to a serious occultist, if you’ve got the money, 321 00:18:45,166 --> 00:18:47,746 you’re gonna go for it, and that’s exactly what he did. 322 00:18:49,170 --> 00:18:52,670 SHATNER: Each year, thousands of tourists visit Quinta da Regaleira 323 00:18:52,798 --> 00:18:55,798 to walk through the palace and gardens. 324 00:18:55,885 --> 00:18:58,605 But what attracts the most attention 325 00:18:58,679 --> 00:19:01,349 is a curious underground structure 326 00:19:01,432 --> 00:19:04,522 known as the Initiation Well. 327 00:19:06,020 --> 00:19:10,940 The Initiation Well is like some kind of Gothic fantasy. 328 00:19:12,109 --> 00:19:15,819 It’s called the Initiation Well, but it’s not a well. 329 00:19:15,905 --> 00:19:19,035 It’s like an inverted tower 330 00:19:19,116 --> 00:19:21,906 that’s going 90 foot deep into the ground, 331 00:19:22,036 --> 00:19:27,076 and your senses are completely confused by the sight of this. 332 00:19:27,208 --> 00:19:29,168 SILVA: When you enter, 333 00:19:29,251 --> 00:19:31,301 you’re looking down at this shaft 334 00:19:31,379 --> 00:19:35,509 with the spiral staircase full of niches 335 00:19:35,591 --> 00:19:37,221 going, uh, clockwise 336 00:19:37,301 --> 00:19:39,141 down this corkscrew, deep into the earth, 337 00:19:39,220 --> 00:19:41,720 and you become very aware that you’re passing through 338 00:19:41,847 --> 00:19:43,847 into a completely new level of reality. 339 00:19:43,933 --> 00:19:46,813 You almost have a spiritual, uh, moment, 340 00:19:46,894 --> 00:19:48,904 like a revelation. 341 00:19:51,190 --> 00:19:53,730 SHATNER: The Initiation Well is the most elaborate creation 342 00:19:53,818 --> 00:19:56,568 in Monteiro’s sprawling monument to the occult. 343 00:19:56,696 --> 00:19:59,986 However, some historians believe that Monteiro was not 344 00:20:00,074 --> 00:20:02,034 the original architect of the well. 345 00:20:02,118 --> 00:20:04,868 They claim that he merely refurbished it 346 00:20:04,954 --> 00:20:08,044 and that this structure was first built in the Middle Ages 347 00:20:08,124 --> 00:20:10,884 by the Knights Templar, who were a secretive group 348 00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:13,090 of Christian warrior monks. 349 00:20:13,212 --> 00:20:15,092 SILVA: It’s highly likely 350 00:20:15,172 --> 00:20:18,722 that the Templars were responsible for the well. 351 00:20:18,801 --> 00:20:21,261 The Templars were the first deed holders 352 00:20:21,345 --> 00:20:24,675 of the property that became Regaleira many centuries later, 353 00:20:24,765 --> 00:20:26,725 and they were definitely working on this property 354 00:20:26,809 --> 00:20:28,099 in the 12th century. 355 00:20:29,228 --> 00:20:31,018 SHATNER: Another piece of evidence which suggests 356 00:20:31,105 --> 00:20:33,695 that the Knights Templar built the Initiation Well 357 00:20:33,774 --> 00:20:37,444 is the fact that there is a network of underground tunnels 358 00:20:37,528 --> 00:20:39,988 that extend out from it. 359 00:20:40,114 --> 00:20:42,744 SILVA: At the bottom of the well, you suddenly find yourself 360 00:20:42,825 --> 00:20:46,045 in this labyrinth of tunnels which go every single direction. 361 00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:49,370 Some of the tunnels extend deep into the mountain 362 00:20:49,457 --> 00:20:51,457 to the point where you can come up underneath 363 00:20:51,542 --> 00:20:55,252 a chapel or a convent in a hilltop five miles away. 364 00:20:55,337 --> 00:20:57,457 McMAHON: The whole place is honeycombed with tunnels. 365 00:20:57,548 --> 00:21:00,878 So there’s plenty of evidence for the Templars being there. 366 00:21:00,968 --> 00:21:04,548 Monteiro was effectively buying a chunk of real estate 367 00:21:04,638 --> 00:21:06,768 right on top of where the Templars had been. 368 00:21:06,849 --> 00:21:08,389 There’s no accident in this. 369 00:21:08,476 --> 00:21:10,976 He’s then recreating 370 00:21:11,061 --> 00:21:13,361 what he thinks the Templars stood for. 371 00:21:13,481 --> 00:21:16,071 It’s believed that Monteiro may have been 372 00:21:16,150 --> 00:21:18,320 looking for something the Knights Templar 373 00:21:18,402 --> 00:21:20,822 have left behind in those many tunnels 374 00:21:20,905 --> 00:21:22,455 that were underneath, 375 00:21:22,531 --> 00:21:24,781 which may have included the Holy Grail. 376 00:21:26,035 --> 00:21:28,125 SHATNER: According to Christian tradition, 377 00:21:28,204 --> 00:21:30,374 the Holy Grail was the chalice 378 00:21:30,498 --> 00:21:32,958 that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. 379 00:21:33,042 --> 00:21:35,632 The Knights Templar were known to have searched 380 00:21:35,711 --> 00:21:37,501 for important religious artifacts 381 00:21:37,588 --> 00:21:39,628 while in the Holy Land during the Crusades. 382 00:21:39,715 --> 00:21:41,795 And there is evidence to suggest 383 00:21:41,884 --> 00:21:44,854 that if they did find the Holy Grail 384 00:21:44,970 --> 00:21:47,640 they may have brought it to Portugal. 385 00:21:48,682 --> 00:21:50,352 SILVA: One of the big clues that we know 386 00:21:50,434 --> 00:21:53,194 that the Templars left something of incredible importance there 387 00:21:53,270 --> 00:21:55,360 lies in the seal that was printed 388 00:21:55,439 --> 00:21:57,359 by the first king of Portugal 389 00:21:57,441 --> 00:22:00,031 in a deed that he gave to the Templars. 390 00:22:00,110 --> 00:22:01,820 And if you look very carefully at the seal 391 00:22:01,904 --> 00:22:03,664 that the king put on there, 392 00:22:03,739 --> 00:22:07,869 it has the word "Portugal" written as an anagram. 393 00:22:07,952 --> 00:22:11,202 It reads "por tu o gral," 394 00:22:11,330 --> 00:22:13,870 which means "through you the Grail." 395 00:22:13,958 --> 00:22:15,878 What the king of Portugal is insinuating 396 00:22:16,001 --> 00:22:19,711 is that the Templars brought the Grail to Portugal. 397 00:22:20,881 --> 00:22:22,631 McMAHON: So, when the Templars 398 00:22:22,716 --> 00:22:24,546 are bringing their treasure out of Jerusalem, 399 00:22:24,635 --> 00:22:27,895 they could have brought the Grail to Regaleira. 400 00:22:27,972 --> 00:22:32,062 They had fortresses, and they had secret tunnels. 401 00:22:32,142 --> 00:22:33,812 They could get their treasure there, 402 00:22:33,894 --> 00:22:35,694 and it would be protected. 403 00:22:35,771 --> 00:22:37,651 If you look around Regaleira, 404 00:22:37,731 --> 00:22:40,901 you’ll see evidence for the Grail. 405 00:22:41,944 --> 00:22:43,654 We have, rather intriguingly, 406 00:22:43,737 --> 00:22:47,657 a bench referred to as Bench 515. 407 00:22:48,701 --> 00:22:52,081 At the center of it is a female character, 408 00:22:52,162 --> 00:22:55,422 and she’s holding out a chalice, 409 00:22:55,499 --> 00:22:59,039 and that’s believed to represent the Holy Grail. 410 00:23:01,672 --> 00:23:03,262 SHATNER: Was the Holy Grail hidden 411 00:23:03,382 --> 00:23:06,342 somewhere in the Initiation Well? 412 00:23:06,427 --> 00:23:09,547 And if so, did Monteiro find it there? 413 00:23:09,638 --> 00:23:13,598 We’ll never know for sure, because Monteiro died in 1920 414 00:23:13,684 --> 00:23:18,404 and took the secrets of the Initiation Well to the grave. 415 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:21,020 You come away from Regaleira, there’s no doubt 416 00:23:21,108 --> 00:23:23,898 it’s the Initiation Well that plays on your mind. 417 00:23:25,112 --> 00:23:28,742 It’s so odd that so much effort went into creating this, 418 00:23:28,824 --> 00:23:31,284 and yet, what does it all mean? 419 00:23:31,368 --> 00:23:34,698 And that’s what is the big unanswered question. 420 00:23:36,165 --> 00:23:39,755 Did the Knights Templar hide the Holy Grail 421 00:23:39,835 --> 00:23:41,745 in the Initiation Well? 422 00:23:41,837 --> 00:23:46,297 Or perhaps in the underground tunnels that it’s connected to? 423 00:23:46,425 --> 00:23:48,795 It’s a fascinating notion, and the truth is 424 00:23:48,886 --> 00:23:54,426 that abandoned places often raise intriguing questions. 425 00:23:54,516 --> 00:23:56,266 For instance, there’s an island 426 00:23:56,352 --> 00:23:58,482 just off the coast of North Carolina 427 00:23:58,604 --> 00:24:01,024 where, over 400 years ago, 428 00:24:01,148 --> 00:24:04,228 115 people mysteriously vanished. 429 00:24:12,159 --> 00:24:13,989 SHATNER: More than 400 years ago, 430 00:24:14,078 --> 00:24:16,828 this was the site of a colony called Roanoke, 431 00:24:16,914 --> 00:24:21,294 the first English settlement in North America. 432 00:24:21,377 --> 00:24:24,627 Roanoke is known as the Lost Colony 433 00:24:24,713 --> 00:24:29,343 because it was mysteriously abandoned in 1590 434 00:24:29,426 --> 00:24:33,806 and the colonists vanished without a trace. 435 00:24:34,765 --> 00:24:37,025 The Lost Colony remains this mystery 436 00:24:37,101 --> 00:24:39,691 that’s at the very heart of the origin of our nation. 437 00:24:39,770 --> 00:24:42,520 People remain fascinated by Roanoke because 438 00:24:42,606 --> 00:24:44,766 we know so little about the place. 439 00:24:45,776 --> 00:24:47,776 We know what happened in Jamestown. 440 00:24:47,861 --> 00:24:50,111 We know what happened at Plymouth. 441 00:24:50,197 --> 00:24:52,157 But Roanoke is this mystery 442 00:24:52,241 --> 00:24:54,411 because we don’t know what happened. 443 00:24:54,535 --> 00:24:58,005 When we think about the founding of the United States of America, 444 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:00,500 we think of it in this fairly linear way 445 00:25:00,582 --> 00:25:03,082 that colonists showed up, they settled, 446 00:25:03,210 --> 00:25:05,130 they move west-- America. 447 00:25:05,212 --> 00:25:07,342 And really, it turns out 448 00:25:07,423 --> 00:25:09,973 that there were a number of false starts 449 00:25:10,050 --> 00:25:13,050 in how this country got started. 450 00:25:13,178 --> 00:25:15,888 And one of those was the colony at Roanoke. 451 00:25:16,015 --> 00:25:18,185 This was a group of people 452 00:25:18,267 --> 00:25:21,017 who showed up and were ready to settle, 453 00:25:21,103 --> 00:25:24,403 but what happened to that colony 454 00:25:24,481 --> 00:25:28,321 is one of the big unanswered questions of American history. 455 00:25:29,611 --> 00:25:33,201 SHATNER: What happened to the Roanoke colonists? 456 00:25:34,408 --> 00:25:37,078 Perhaps the answer can be found by examining the events 457 00:25:37,161 --> 00:25:39,451 in the late 16th century 458 00:25:39,580 --> 00:25:42,580 that led to their fateful disappearance. 459 00:25:43,834 --> 00:25:45,504 LAWLER: In the 1580s, England was 460 00:25:45,586 --> 00:25:48,586 a very small, poor, struggling island 461 00:25:48,714 --> 00:25:50,384 that really wanted to get in 462 00:25:50,466 --> 00:25:53,006 on the game of colonizing the Americas, 463 00:25:53,093 --> 00:25:54,933 because that’s where the money was. 464 00:25:55,012 --> 00:25:57,262 GABRIEL-POWELL: The English were looking at the Spanish ships 465 00:25:57,347 --> 00:25:59,557 coming back laden with gold and various commodities 466 00:25:59,641 --> 00:26:01,521 from their empire, if you like, 467 00:26:01,602 --> 00:26:03,902 in Mexico, South America, Florida, 468 00:26:03,979 --> 00:26:07,019 and of course, that was making the Spanish very powerful. 469 00:26:07,107 --> 00:26:10,607 Essentially, it was a case of, if we don’t find 470 00:26:10,694 --> 00:26:13,074 our own source of wealth in this New World, 471 00:26:13,155 --> 00:26:16,455 we could be sort of overrun by our enemies. 472 00:26:17,659 --> 00:26:21,369 SHATNER: In 1587, an English mapmaker named John White 473 00:26:21,455 --> 00:26:24,585 was commissioned to found a new colony on Roanoke Island, 474 00:26:24,666 --> 00:26:27,036 which had been claimed by a British expedition 475 00:26:27,127 --> 00:26:29,957 to the New World two years earlier. 476 00:26:30,047 --> 00:26:32,507 After an arduous two-month voyage 477 00:26:32,633 --> 00:26:37,803 across the Atlantic Ocean, White and 117 colonists 478 00:26:37,888 --> 00:26:40,428 landed on Roanoke Island. 479 00:26:40,516 --> 00:26:42,926 LAWLER: The people who chose to come along 480 00:26:43,018 --> 00:26:45,148 on this ill-fated expedition 481 00:26:45,229 --> 00:26:47,309 were middle-class people from London. 482 00:26:47,397 --> 00:26:50,897 So, they were eager to find new lands, 483 00:26:50,984 --> 00:26:53,404 because to have land in England meant everything. 484 00:26:53,487 --> 00:26:55,777 That’s what gave you status. 485 00:26:56,990 --> 00:27:00,490 But they knew they needed more supplies and more colonists 486 00:27:00,577 --> 00:27:03,037 in order to succeed, in order to thrive. 487 00:27:03,163 --> 00:27:06,543 So John White decided to return to England 488 00:27:06,667 --> 00:27:09,457 in order to get those needed supplies and colonists. 489 00:27:09,545 --> 00:27:13,475 SHATNER: On August 25, 1587, 490 00:27:13,549 --> 00:27:16,429 only three months after first arriving on Roanoke, 491 00:27:16,510 --> 00:27:19,800 John White set sail for England. 492 00:27:19,888 --> 00:27:24,098 He planned to return with aid in less than six months. 493 00:27:24,184 --> 00:27:27,484 But a series of conflicts with the Spanish navy 494 00:27:27,563 --> 00:27:29,773 would delay White’s return mission 495 00:27:29,857 --> 00:27:32,777 for three long years. 496 00:27:32,860 --> 00:27:37,030 In August of 1590, John White returns to Roanoke Island. 497 00:27:37,114 --> 00:27:38,954 They anchor offshore. 498 00:27:40,117 --> 00:27:41,987 And when they arrive, it’s dark 499 00:27:42,077 --> 00:27:43,907 and it’s too late for them to go ashore, 500 00:27:44,037 --> 00:27:46,207 but John White is happy 501 00:27:46,290 --> 00:27:48,630 because he sees a fire in the distance, 502 00:27:48,709 --> 00:27:51,629 and he assumes that the settlers are there waiting for him, 503 00:27:51,712 --> 00:27:53,632 maybe even have seen his ship 504 00:27:53,714 --> 00:27:56,804 and have lit a bonfire in order to guide him in. 505 00:27:56,884 --> 00:27:59,514 SHATNER: The next morning, White came ashore, 506 00:27:59,595 --> 00:28:03,645 expecting to find the colonists there to welcome him back. 507 00:28:03,724 --> 00:28:06,064 But to his surprise, there was no sign of them. 508 00:28:07,895 --> 00:28:11,565 The entire settlement was completely abandoned. 509 00:28:11,648 --> 00:28:14,938 GABRIEL-POWELL: John White gets back to Roanoke, but there’s no sign of anyone, 510 00:28:15,068 --> 00:28:18,358 and he finds all the houses have been taken down. 511 00:28:18,447 --> 00:28:22,197 And in their place is a very, very well-built defensible fort. 512 00:28:22,284 --> 00:28:24,834 So, little bit of a mystery. 513 00:28:24,912 --> 00:28:28,752 You’ve got this new fort that wasn’t there in 1587 514 00:28:28,832 --> 00:28:32,002 when he last saw them, and the place is deserted. 515 00:28:32,085 --> 00:28:34,085 Where have they gone? 516 00:28:34,213 --> 00:28:37,263 SHATNER: Eventually, John White came across a cryptic clue 517 00:28:37,341 --> 00:28:40,221 as to the whereabouts of the colonists. 518 00:28:40,302 --> 00:28:43,432 He found the word "Croatoan" 519 00:28:43,555 --> 00:28:46,925 mysteriously carved into a wooden post. 520 00:28:47,059 --> 00:28:50,599 John White had told the colonists when he left in 1587 521 00:28:50,687 --> 00:28:52,767 that if they were to abandon the settlement 522 00:28:52,856 --> 00:28:55,436 that they should leave a secret token, as he called it, behind 523 00:28:55,567 --> 00:28:57,437 so that he would know where to find them, 524 00:28:57,527 --> 00:28:59,607 and this seemed to be the answer. 525 00:28:59,738 --> 00:29:01,948 Here was "Croatoan" carved onto the post. 526 00:29:02,074 --> 00:29:05,084 Croatoan was what we call Hatteras today, 527 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:08,040 an island about 50 miles to the south. 528 00:29:08,121 --> 00:29:11,121 It’s also the name of the tribe of Native Americans 529 00:29:11,208 --> 00:29:13,288 who lived on the island. 530 00:29:13,377 --> 00:29:16,047 SHATNER: But when John White prepared to set sail 531 00:29:16,129 --> 00:29:18,089 to search for the colonists, 532 00:29:18,173 --> 00:29:20,973 a storm blew in and damaged his ship, 533 00:29:21,093 --> 00:29:24,303 and he was forced to return to England. 534 00:29:25,722 --> 00:29:28,312 Unfortunately, John White was never able 535 00:29:28,433 --> 00:29:32,733 to return to the New World to search for the lost colonists. 536 00:29:35,357 --> 00:29:38,147 But in recent years, archaeologists have carried out 537 00:29:38,235 --> 00:29:40,405 extensive excavations to try and solve 538 00:29:40,487 --> 00:29:44,237 this 400-year-old mystery. 539 00:29:44,324 --> 00:29:46,034 Archaeologists have been digging on Hatteras-- 540 00:29:46,159 --> 00:29:47,829 what was called Croatoan-- 541 00:29:47,953 --> 00:29:51,463 and they have come up with some remarkable evidence. 542 00:29:51,540 --> 00:29:54,540 The first, most important piece of evidence found 543 00:29:54,668 --> 00:29:58,668 was a gold ring that was made in Elizabethan times. 544 00:29:58,755 --> 00:30:01,005 This was big news because it seemed to indicate 545 00:30:01,133 --> 00:30:03,763 the possibility that at least one of the colonists 546 00:30:03,844 --> 00:30:06,764 had been on Croatan Island. 547 00:30:06,847 --> 00:30:11,517 And then another competing team was digging on Hatteras Island, 548 00:30:11,643 --> 00:30:14,273 and what they found was really intriguing. 549 00:30:14,354 --> 00:30:16,484 They actually discovered the hilt 550 00:30:16,565 --> 00:30:18,865 of an Elizabethan-era sword 551 00:30:18,984 --> 00:30:22,204 that was found in a Native American village. 552 00:30:22,279 --> 00:30:24,949 Now, whether or not this is something 553 00:30:25,032 --> 00:30:27,532 that belonged to a lost colonist remains to be seen. 554 00:30:29,411 --> 00:30:32,541 GABRIEL-POWELL: It’s possible some did survive long enough to have a family 555 00:30:32,622 --> 00:30:36,042 and that there would have been assimilation with the Croatoans. 556 00:30:37,044 --> 00:30:38,924 And yet, considering how much archaeology 557 00:30:39,046 --> 00:30:41,296 that’s been done, we have no skeletons. 558 00:30:41,381 --> 00:30:43,221 Where are they? 559 00:30:43,342 --> 00:30:44,552 That is a mystery. 560 00:30:45,927 --> 00:30:48,007 McNEILL: If we had found dead bodies scattered 561 00:30:48,096 --> 00:30:50,516 or obvious signs of a siege or an attack, 562 00:30:50,599 --> 00:30:52,679 that would be the answer that we need. 563 00:30:52,768 --> 00:30:55,688 We get this word "Croatoan." 564 00:30:55,771 --> 00:30:57,981 But did people actually make it there? 565 00:30:58,065 --> 00:30:59,775 Where did they go? 566 00:30:59,900 --> 00:31:03,700 What happened to this group of settlers? 567 00:31:03,779 --> 00:31:07,529 It’s the ambiguity that really keeps this legend alive. 568 00:31:09,534 --> 00:31:12,004 It’s hard to imagine that an entire colony 569 00:31:12,079 --> 00:31:14,539 that was home to over a hundred people 570 00:31:14,623 --> 00:31:17,793 could just vanish into thin air. 571 00:31:17,918 --> 00:31:20,378 Did the colonists at Roanoke simply decide 572 00:31:20,462 --> 00:31:22,212 to move somewhere else? 573 00:31:22,297 --> 00:31:27,587 Or was there a darker reason behind their disappearance, 574 00:31:27,677 --> 00:31:30,927 like in the case of an island near Mexico City 575 00:31:31,014 --> 00:31:34,024 that was abandoned because locals are convinced 576 00:31:34,101 --> 00:31:37,771 that it’s haunted by an evil entity? 577 00:31:44,444 --> 00:31:47,204 SHATNER: Just south of Mexico City. 578 00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:50,620 Dotted amongst the numerous tree-filled canals 579 00:31:50,742 --> 00:31:52,742 that run through this ancient city 580 00:31:52,828 --> 00:31:56,828 are dozens of artificial floating islands 581 00:31:56,957 --> 00:31:59,207 known as chinampas. 582 00:32:00,293 --> 00:32:03,423 But one chinampa stands out 583 00:32:03,505 --> 00:32:06,135 because the branches of its willow and cypress trees 584 00:32:06,216 --> 00:32:10,046 appear to be growing something rather unusual. 585 00:32:12,305 --> 00:32:15,305 The place is called Isla de las Muñecas, 586 00:32:15,392 --> 00:32:18,942 otherwise known as the Island of the Dolls. 587 00:32:22,482 --> 00:32:25,442 HOROWITZ: The island is a forestlike enclave 588 00:32:25,527 --> 00:32:27,397 draped with thousands 589 00:32:27,487 --> 00:32:30,697 and thousands of ordinary dolls. 590 00:32:31,741 --> 00:32:34,741 Childhood playthings hanging from trees, 591 00:32:34,828 --> 00:32:36,828 vines and branches. 592 00:32:36,913 --> 00:32:38,673 It’s very eerie. 593 00:32:39,666 --> 00:32:42,996 These look like suspended living presences 594 00:32:43,128 --> 00:32:45,708 that are believed to ward off evil. 595 00:32:47,674 --> 00:32:49,514 DOMINO PEREZ: It’s a spooky living sculpture 596 00:32:49,593 --> 00:32:53,973 that some people say, um, is cursed. 597 00:32:55,557 --> 00:32:58,227 And according to folklore, 598 00:32:58,351 --> 00:33:00,271 you can hear whispering... 599 00:33:00,353 --> 00:33:01,983 (eerie whispering) 600 00:33:02,063 --> 00:33:05,153 ...and you can hear little girls’ voices. 601 00:33:05,233 --> 00:33:09,323 Uh, you can see the-the dolls’ eyes blinking on their own, 602 00:33:09,404 --> 00:33:10,994 which is just terrifying. 603 00:33:12,782 --> 00:33:15,202 SHATNER: The only permanent residents of the island 604 00:33:15,285 --> 00:33:17,755 are the strange dolls that have given the place 605 00:33:17,871 --> 00:33:19,621 a ghoulish reputation. 606 00:33:19,706 --> 00:33:23,376 But who created this macabre spectacle? 607 00:33:23,502 --> 00:33:25,002 And why? 608 00:33:25,086 --> 00:33:27,256 Well, according to local lore, 609 00:33:27,380 --> 00:33:30,680 the story began in the 1950s when the island was owned 610 00:33:30,759 --> 00:33:35,179 by a man named Julian Santana Barrera. 611 00:33:35,263 --> 00:33:39,983 Julian Santana Barrera came to live on the chinampa. 612 00:33:40,060 --> 00:33:45,650 And according to the stories, he came across, uh, 613 00:33:45,732 --> 00:33:49,192 a little girl floating in one of the canals. 614 00:33:49,277 --> 00:33:52,857 Barrera is devastated that he can’t save the little girl 615 00:33:52,948 --> 00:33:55,198 and pulls her out of the water 616 00:33:55,283 --> 00:33:58,453 and buries her on the island. 617 00:33:59,746 --> 00:34:02,036 Barrera felt eventually 618 00:34:02,123 --> 00:34:04,633 that he was seeing the ghost of this girl 619 00:34:04,751 --> 00:34:07,711 walking around his little chinampa island. 620 00:34:09,256 --> 00:34:14,256 To try to make her happy, he hung some dolls in the trees. 621 00:34:14,344 --> 00:34:16,724 And he hung more and more dolls up 622 00:34:16,805 --> 00:34:20,185 to appease the spirit of this little girl 623 00:34:20,267 --> 00:34:22,637 who died tragically. 624 00:34:22,769 --> 00:34:27,019 We can think about what Barrera did as a talisman 625 00:34:27,107 --> 00:34:32,147 or a symbol, um, that is used to, uh, protect. 626 00:34:32,279 --> 00:34:36,319 All across the globe, you see these totems 627 00:34:36,449 --> 00:34:39,079 being used in this particular way. 628 00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:42,620 There are stones, and there are ornaments 629 00:34:42,706 --> 00:34:47,166 that people hang in their houses, in their cars. 630 00:34:47,294 --> 00:34:50,424 Sometimes people carry them on their physical person. 631 00:34:50,505 --> 00:34:54,675 And the act is done as a kind of protective gesture. 632 00:34:56,845 --> 00:34:59,395 SHATNER: Ultimately, Barrera hung thousands of dolls 633 00:34:59,472 --> 00:35:01,392 all over the island 634 00:35:01,474 --> 00:35:05,144 not only to honor the memory of the young girl 635 00:35:05,228 --> 00:35:07,858 but also to guard against a dark entity 636 00:35:07,981 --> 00:35:10,941 that he believed had caused her death. 637 00:35:11,985 --> 00:35:15,705 An entity known as La Llorona. 638 00:35:18,241 --> 00:35:20,281 La Llorona is a tragic character. 639 00:35:22,662 --> 00:35:26,672 She is the first Native mother 640 00:35:26,750 --> 00:35:32,170 who gave birth to children from a conquistador, a Spaniard. 641 00:35:34,549 --> 00:35:38,389 The story says that her community rejected her 642 00:35:38,511 --> 00:35:41,931 because her children were Spaniard, and so she was shamed. 643 00:35:42,015 --> 00:35:44,895 She was so ashamed of this, in fact, 644 00:35:45,018 --> 00:35:48,808 that she went down to the river and she drowned her children. 645 00:35:50,565 --> 00:35:53,065 She immediately regretted this. 646 00:35:55,028 --> 00:35:59,448 Now she’s this spirit that haunts lakes and rivers. 647 00:36:00,700 --> 00:36:04,330 La Llorona is a well-known myth all around Mexico. 648 00:36:04,412 --> 00:36:07,082 And so, a man like Barrera 649 00:36:07,207 --> 00:36:10,207 who sees a child floating in the water, 650 00:36:10,335 --> 00:36:13,385 he almost certainly, at least for a moment, 651 00:36:13,505 --> 00:36:16,885 thought of La Llorona and that this is her children floating. 652 00:36:18,218 --> 00:36:20,598 SHATNER: Since Barrera’s death in 2001, 653 00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:23,850 the Island of the Dolls has remained abandoned. 654 00:36:25,266 --> 00:36:29,096 But locals continue to tell the story of the drowned girl, 655 00:36:29,229 --> 00:36:31,109 and many are convinced that there’s 656 00:36:31,231 --> 00:36:33,521 an evil presence on this island. 657 00:36:33,608 --> 00:36:37,608 And as evidence, they point to the chilling circumstances 658 00:36:37,737 --> 00:36:40,317 of Julian Barrera’s death. 659 00:36:41,366 --> 00:36:43,486 After suffering from a fatal heart attack, 660 00:36:43,576 --> 00:36:48,366 his body was found in an unsettling location. 661 00:36:49,582 --> 00:36:51,292 PEREZ: Barrera dies. 662 00:36:51,418 --> 00:36:53,668 And not only does he die on the island 663 00:36:53,753 --> 00:36:56,463 but his body is found in the exact canal 664 00:36:56,589 --> 00:36:57,799 where he found the little girl. 665 00:36:59,592 --> 00:37:02,092 Is there correlation? We don’t know. 666 00:37:02,178 --> 00:37:04,968 But many people believe 667 00:37:05,098 --> 00:37:08,268 that if you are out at night by yourself, 668 00:37:08,351 --> 00:37:10,061 playing down by the river, 669 00:37:10,145 --> 00:37:13,695 that La Llorona will "get you." 670 00:37:14,774 --> 00:37:18,114 Is there a dark entity that lurks in the water 671 00:37:18,194 --> 00:37:20,614 surrounding the Island of the Dolls? 672 00:37:20,697 --> 00:37:22,777 Well, if there is, it hasn’t stopped visitors 673 00:37:22,866 --> 00:37:25,736 from wanting to see this bizarre site for themselves. 674 00:37:25,827 --> 00:37:28,117 In fact, there are many abandoned places 675 00:37:28,204 --> 00:37:30,084 around the globe 676 00:37:30,165 --> 00:37:32,255 that have become tourist attractions, 677 00:37:32,333 --> 00:37:36,553 including a city that was once a thriving capital 678 00:37:36,629 --> 00:37:40,009 until it was covered in volcanic ash. 679 00:37:45,013 --> 00:37:47,103 SHATNER: On the rim of the Caribbean Sea 680 00:37:47,182 --> 00:37:49,392 300 miles southeast of Puerto Rico 681 00:37:49,476 --> 00:37:53,556 lies the tiny island nation of Montserrat. 682 00:37:54,647 --> 00:37:56,647 The most popular tourist destination on Montserrat 683 00:37:56,733 --> 00:37:58,733 is not its sandy beaches 684 00:37:58,818 --> 00:38:03,488 but rather the remains of its capital city, Plymouth. 685 00:38:04,574 --> 00:38:07,034 Plymouth was once a bustling town, 686 00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:11,660 but it now lies buried under volcanic ash and mud. 687 00:38:13,708 --> 00:38:16,668 McNEILL: The city of Plymouth on the island of Montserrat 688 00:38:16,795 --> 00:38:19,845 was considered this luscious island resort, 689 00:38:19,923 --> 00:38:21,633 this beautiful city. 690 00:38:22,675 --> 00:38:24,925 There was sort of this whole atmosphere 691 00:38:25,011 --> 00:38:27,471 of people getting together, enjoying themselves, 692 00:38:27,555 --> 00:38:29,675 having a good time. 693 00:38:29,766 --> 00:38:31,516 Plymouth is the capital city there, 694 00:38:31,601 --> 00:38:33,851 and in 1995, 695 00:38:33,937 --> 00:38:36,147 this was a city of 4,000 people. 696 00:38:36,231 --> 00:38:39,651 So it’s not just a tiny little town. 697 00:38:39,734 --> 00:38:43,704 But Plymouth was completely wiped out by the volcano there. 698 00:38:48,701 --> 00:38:53,041 SHATNER: Between July of 1995 and August of 1997, 699 00:38:53,164 --> 00:38:57,294 a series of eruptions of the nearby Soufrière Hills volcano 700 00:38:57,377 --> 00:39:01,877 turned Plymouth into an uninhabitable wasteland. 701 00:39:03,466 --> 00:39:05,836 19 people were killed. 702 00:39:05,927 --> 00:39:09,807 Everyone else was forced to evacuate. 703 00:39:10,890 --> 00:39:12,730 CHRISTOPHER: You have the mudslide 704 00:39:12,809 --> 00:39:15,139 that went through the center of the town, 705 00:39:15,228 --> 00:39:18,228 and then all around that, you have the husks of the homes 706 00:39:18,314 --> 00:39:20,694 and the schools and things like that 707 00:39:20,775 --> 00:39:23,025 that are left there and overgrown. 708 00:39:24,487 --> 00:39:27,317 When you see pictures of this, you’re going to see 709 00:39:27,407 --> 00:39:31,827 rooftops of buildings poking out of ash, basically. 710 00:39:31,911 --> 00:39:34,581 There’s a very famous image of this church 711 00:39:34,706 --> 00:39:37,416 buried up to its roof, essentially. 712 00:39:38,418 --> 00:39:40,248 The whole city is sort of frozen in time. 713 00:39:42,380 --> 00:39:45,090 SHATNER: Plymouth sees thousands of visitors each year 714 00:39:45,216 --> 00:39:48,336 who arrive from all over the world to explore the ruins 715 00:39:48,428 --> 00:39:51,008 and take photographs of the wreckage. 716 00:39:52,140 --> 00:39:54,350 People visit this abandoned city in spite of the fact 717 00:39:54,434 --> 00:39:58,404 that the nearby volcano is still dangerously active. 718 00:39:58,479 --> 00:40:00,939 It’s a strange phenomenon 719 00:40:01,024 --> 00:40:04,074 known as dark tourism. 720 00:40:05,737 --> 00:40:08,487 Plymouth today is like a modern-day Pompeii. 721 00:40:08,615 --> 00:40:11,955 Its buildings, its stores, 722 00:40:12,035 --> 00:40:14,455 its squares, its plazas, its churches 723 00:40:14,579 --> 00:40:18,169 are covered in and buried in volcanic ash. 724 00:40:18,291 --> 00:40:20,581 And people go to view it because they feel like 725 00:40:20,668 --> 00:40:22,798 they’re viewing ancient ruins 726 00:40:22,879 --> 00:40:25,129 but they belong to our own generation. 727 00:40:26,466 --> 00:40:28,466 CHRISTOPHER: The reason people are drawn to places 728 00:40:28,551 --> 00:40:31,931 like Plymouth and Pompeii for dark tourism 729 00:40:32,013 --> 00:40:34,723 is because they give you a chance to see 730 00:40:34,807 --> 00:40:37,637 maybe what our cities are gonna look like. 731 00:40:37,727 --> 00:40:41,357 Is there gonna be a point where coastal cities are underwater 732 00:40:41,481 --> 00:40:44,111 or where the neighborhoods that we live in, 733 00:40:44,192 --> 00:40:47,572 nobody’s in anymore and they’ve turned into a forest? 734 00:40:48,821 --> 00:40:52,281 McNEILL: To go to a place where such terror 735 00:40:52,367 --> 00:40:54,907 and trauma took place 736 00:40:54,994 --> 00:40:57,084 is a way to engage with those things 737 00:40:57,163 --> 00:40:59,213 without having to experience 738 00:40:59,332 --> 00:41:02,842 the actual terror and trauma ourselves. 739 00:41:02,961 --> 00:41:06,421 We are really intrigued by seeing 740 00:41:06,506 --> 00:41:10,336 the finality of a natural disaster 741 00:41:10,426 --> 00:41:12,506 in just the stillness. 742 00:41:14,222 --> 00:41:17,602 CHRISTOPHER: In a lot of ways, places that are abandoned 743 00:41:17,684 --> 00:41:19,814 kind of have that memento mori aspect, 744 00:41:19,894 --> 00:41:23,484 so there’s this element of coping with your own mortality, 745 00:41:23,564 --> 00:41:27,784 and seeing something like that, I think, gives you 746 00:41:27,860 --> 00:41:30,820 the opportunity to come to terms with it. 747 00:41:32,115 --> 00:41:34,125 So, what do you think? 748 00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:37,370 Would you like to visit the site of the Chernobyl disaster 749 00:41:37,453 --> 00:41:40,873 or take a boat ride to the Island of the Dolls? 750 00:41:40,957 --> 00:41:44,537 The truth is that abandoned places fascinate us. 751 00:41:44,669 --> 00:41:48,129 There’s something that draws us to them, 752 00:41:48,214 --> 00:41:50,264 even when they might be dangerous. 753 00:41:50,383 --> 00:41:53,973 Which is why we’ll continue to explore these places 754 00:41:54,053 --> 00:41:56,513 in hopes of unlocking all of their secrets 755 00:41:56,597 --> 00:41:59,727 that, for now, remain unexplained. 756 00:41:59,851 --> 00:42:02,561 CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A+E NETWORKS