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WILLIAM SHATNER:
A lake where a shockingly

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high number of people
have drowned.

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An ancient tomb

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that is guarded by the soul
of an evil warlord.

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And objects with the power
to harm anyone

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who touches them.

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All over the world,
there are places and objects

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that are thought to be cursed.

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But are curses simply
the product of our need to find

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reasons for tragedies
that we can't explain?

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Or could they actually be real?

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Well, that is what
we'll try and find out.

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♪ ♪

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SHATNER:
Deep within this mountain
range lies Lake Lanier.

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Millions of people venture
to this popular vacation spot

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to relax and unwind

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despite the fact that every year

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a shocking number
of people drown

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within its placid waters...

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...and many of their bodies
are never seen again.

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LISA RUSSELL:
If you live anywhere

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near Lake Lanier
in North Georgia,

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you're gonna hear,
every summer, all of the deaths.

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There are bad boating accidents.

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And when somebody
goes overboard,

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it's almost impossible to
find them before they drown.

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BUCK BUCHANAN:
Lake Lanier, from the surface,
looks clear.

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But we hear time and time again

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when we respond to
these drownings,

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people would say that,
"He didn't go into the water,

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"come up, struggle, and drown.

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He went in
and never came back up."

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And this happens
time and time again.

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This lake seems to take people

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in one gulp.

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MITCH HOROWITZ:
Lake Lanier is 26 miles long,

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it has 700 miles of shorefront.

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And it's tempting to
attribute the inordinate

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number of fatalities
to the size of the lake.

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The fact is,

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there are lakes of commensurate
size in Northern Georgia...

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...that don't have
half that number

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of fatalities or accidents.

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So, clearly, there is
something about Lake Lanier

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that is cause for alarm.

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SHATNER:
Since the 1950s,

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it is estimated that
more than 600 people

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have lost their lives
in Lake Lanier.

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It is such a staggering
number of fatalities that,

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for decades, many
have come to believe

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that these waters may be cursed.

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RUSSELL:
Even though there's
a lot of people around,

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there's just some
strange vibe about the lake.

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I feel it's a majestic
body of water,

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but you can't deny that there's
something odd about Lake Lanier.

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BUCHANAN:
When you actually
get into Lanier...

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...you get a feeling
that you're not alone,

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when you should be alone.

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I don't feel like someone's
reaching out to grab me,

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but the water feels
thicker than it should.

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And what I mean by that is,

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a lady fell out of a boat,
and we actually witnessed it.

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And we ran over there
and pulled her out of the water

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and she was very upset,
and she said,

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"I'm so embarrassed,"
and I said,

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"Don't worry, we see people
do this all the time."

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And she said,
"No, you don't understand.

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I'm a lifeguard."

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And she said just when she
found herself in that water,

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it was just like molasses.

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So all the things
that we see in this lake,

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it finally got so bad and
scared the locals so much,

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that we think

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maybe we're just stuck with
a curse we have to live with.

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SHATNER:
Could the numerous fatalities

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that have taken place
at Lake Lanier

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be the result of a curse?

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It may sound
far-fetched to some.

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But for decades,
researchers have been examining

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the possibility that Lake Lanier

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could be harboring
the power to inflict harm.

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And according to
their investigations,

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it may have something to do
with the history of Lake Lanier.

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JASON OCKER:
Lake Lanier is the largest
lake in Georgia.

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It's a man-made lake

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meant to provide water and power
to the surrounding communities.

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They actually made it
by flooding a valley

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that had a town in it,
Oscarville.

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So, they had to relocate
the people that lived there

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and then they just drowned
the entire town under water.

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SHATNER:
Oscarville wasn't the only town

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that was affected by
the building of Lake Lanier.

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In the 1940s and 50s,
the U.S. government acquired

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the rights to more than 56,000
acres of land in Forsyth,

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Hall and Dawson counties

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to make room for
the 38,000-acre lake

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and more than
700 miles of shoreline.

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This included several
small towns,

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and the remains
of these communities

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are still submerged beneath
the surface of Lake Lanier.

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BUCHANAN:
When they built the lake,

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they left tons of
structure in the water.

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We've got concrete,
roads, bridges.

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We've got
a racetrack under there.

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We've got standing timber

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that stands as high as 40,
60, 70 feet from the bottom.

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HOROWITZ:
There seems to be a great
deal of debris in the water,

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so it's not
an ideal place for people

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to be swimming or boating,
or jet skiing, or partying.

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The fact is,
it's a dangerous place.

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SHATNER:
Authorities claim that many
people drown in Lake Lanier

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because they get
caught in the debris

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lurking beneath its surface.

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But researchers
studying the lake

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believe this is only
part of the story.

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And that the source
of the dark force

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drawing people down
into its murky depths

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is a Native American
burial ground

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that was submerged
by the lake's construction.

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Back in 2007 there was a drought
and the water went way low.

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And because of that,
they found an area

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called the Summerour Mound,
Indian Mounds.

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It's considered a sacred area

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that belonged
to the Native Americans,

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the Creeks and the Cherokees.

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Lake Lanier was built
by the Army Corps of Engineers,

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and according to
the Army Corps of Engineers,

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they removed all the bodies

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while they were
creating Lake Lanier.

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But back when they were
building these lakes,

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they didn't have
ground-penetrating equipment.

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So there's a great likelihood
that there are bodies

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of the Native Americans
under the waters of Lake Lanier.

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SHATNER:
Could the presence of
Native American remains

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beneath Lake Lanier
have a connection

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to the unusual number
of accidental deaths there?

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Has the Native American
belief in the power

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of ancestral spirits
cursed Lake Lanier?

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TOK THOMPSON:
Certainly among Native American

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traditions, we have a widespread

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belief in curses,
particularly land-based curses.

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And this connects to an overall
sort of belief in animism,

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that the material world is
infused with spiritual aspects.

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Now, many Native American
traditions have long-standing,

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very deep beliefs about
how to treat dead bodies

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and how not to disturb them and
how not to disturb burial sites.

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The desecration of those
is held in Native communities

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to bring on a lot
of bad spiritual energy.

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SHATNER:
Is it possible that Lake Lanier

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is home to
dark spiritual energy?

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Perhaps.

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But what's most surprising

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is that even though
this lake may be cursed,

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people continue to enter
its waters every day.

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BUCHANAN:
There's world-class divers
that will not dive Lake Lanier.

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We have 11 to 14 million
people a year

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that are coming here
and taking their chances

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in spite of the fact that
there has been somewhere

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between 600 and 700
drownings on this lake.

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I'm not saying
that there's a curse,

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but I'm saying there's
definitely some bad energy.

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And if it's not cursed,
maybe it should be.

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Can disturbing the sanctity
of human remains

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actually unleash a deadly curse?

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Well, there are those
who believe that

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when archaeologists tampered

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with the tomb of
an ancient warlord,

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they triggered one
that was so strong,

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it changed the course
of human history.

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SHATNER: Near the center of this
ancient city in Central Asia,

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is a mausoleum known
as Gur-e Amir.

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It is also known as
the Tomb of the King...

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...because inside
its magnificent dome

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lie the remains
of one of the most feared

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rulers in history.

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Tamerlane the Great.

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RICHARD SPENCE:
Tamerlane was often credited
as being the last of the great

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Asiatic conquerors
in the mold of Genghis Khan.

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He started off basically
as a minor tribal leader

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and then he embarked
upon a 35-year career

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of constant war and conquest...

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-(clamoring)
-...during which

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he's often credited with
exterminating five percent

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of the world's population.

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Tamerlane was very adept at
psychological warfare

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and putting his adversary
on the wrong foot.

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His most chilling battlefield
signature was the erection of

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large numbers of towers around
the city he'd just conquered.

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And these towers were made up
from the decapitated heads...

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...of the victims
of the latest conquest.

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A really awful warning

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to anyone else who might
think about rebelling.

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"This is the fate
that awaits you

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"if you even think about
any opposition.

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I will destroy you
and destroy your city."

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SHATNER:
In 1405, Tamerlane died
of a fever at the age of 69.

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By that time, his empire
stretched from Siberia

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to the Mediterranean Sea.

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But some claim
that even in death,

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Tamerlane wasn't finished
exerting his power on the world

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because his tomb
is believed to be protected

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by a deadly curse.

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Certain people attain
that level of, you know,

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absolutely terrifying,
vicious person.

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Something is evil in them,
so when they die,

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whatever it is
that makes them evil,

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a lot of people think
it still exists.

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And where would it be?

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It would be
wherever the body is,

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so in the tomb of Tamerlane...

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...would be this evil presence

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that's now still
terrifying in his death.

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SHATNER:
For centuries,
Tamerlane's tomb was untouched

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by archaeologists,
for fear of unleashing

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the dark forces inside.

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But 80 years ago, his tomb
was finally disturbed,

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and there are those
who believe that it set off

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00:11:37,292 --> 00:11:41,792
a chain of events that changed
the course of history.

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00:11:50,208 --> 00:11:52,792
Under the orders of
Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin,

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00:11:52,875 --> 00:11:57,500
Russian archaeologists enter
Tamerlane's mausoleum

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00:11:57,583 --> 00:11:59,958
and open his tomb.

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MAROZZI:
Stalin was interested
in the clues

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00:12:03,167 --> 00:12:04,958
behind Tamerlane's greatness.

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00:12:05,042 --> 00:12:08,958
Tamerlane was such
an incredibly powerful man...

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00:12:10,167 --> 00:12:12,750
...whose career had been
one of bloodshed and savagery.

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00:12:12,875 --> 00:12:15,083
And Stalin wanted to
send a very strong message

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that he was
a 20th-century equivalent.

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STEAVU:
When the expedition

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arrived on-site, they were told,

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"Tamerlane's tomb has remained
undisturbed for centuries."

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00:12:27,667 --> 00:12:29,167
And not to open the tomb,

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that if they did, something
terrible would happen.

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Of course, the expedition
proceeded to open the tomb...

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...and this very powerful
smell of frankincense,

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of rose oil and camphor suddenly

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00:12:47,875 --> 00:12:50,333
burst forth
and envelops the expedition.

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Some of the members of the
expedition believe that it was

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the smell of a curse.

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MAROZZI:
There are, supposedly,

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two inscriptions
on the tomb of Tamerlane.

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00:13:01,625 --> 00:13:03,750
The first inscription reads:

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The second inscription read:

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And that's an indication

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this is a sacred resting place.

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This is not somewhere
to be trifled with.

246
00:13:24,292 --> 00:13:26,917
It was not something that-that
should even be entertained.

247
00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:29,583
SPENCE:
The body was removed

248
00:13:29,708 --> 00:13:32,000
and it was taken back
to Leningrad

249
00:13:32,125 --> 00:13:33,833
where the remains were
being studied

250
00:13:33,958 --> 00:13:35,292
at that point in time.

251
00:13:35,375 --> 00:13:36,917
One of the things
that was in the paper

252
00:13:37,042 --> 00:13:40,000
was a picture of
a Soviet archaeologist

253
00:13:40,125 --> 00:13:42,333
holding the skull of Tamerlane.

254
00:13:43,333 --> 00:13:45,875
And in the article
accompanying this,

255
00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:48,125
there is a reference that

256
00:13:48,208 --> 00:13:52,042
there were locals who were
disturbed about this.

257
00:13:54,875 --> 00:13:56,792
SHATNER:
On June 22, 1941,

258
00:13:56,875 --> 00:14:00,292
two days after Tamerlane's
tomb was opened,

259
00:14:00,417 --> 00:14:02,667
Russia was hit
with a surprise attack

260
00:14:02,833 --> 00:14:04,792
by Germany, its supposed ally.

261
00:14:04,875 --> 00:14:09,875
Over three million Nazi troops
marched into Russia

262
00:14:10,042 --> 00:14:13,292
in the most massive
invasion in history.

263
00:14:13,417 --> 00:14:15,292
Nazi Germany invaded
the Soviet Union

264
00:14:15,417 --> 00:14:16,833
without any warning.

265
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:21,125
Up until then, there had been
a pact of nonaggression,

266
00:14:21,208 --> 00:14:24,500
so this came as quite
a surprise to the Soviet Union.

267
00:14:24,625 --> 00:14:28,458
The Nazis called this surprise
attack Operation Barbarossa.

268
00:14:28,542 --> 00:14:32,292
And they were very swift and
overwhelming in their attacks,

269
00:14:32,375 --> 00:14:37,375
and they managed to get
very far into the Soviet Union,

270
00:14:37,500 --> 00:14:40,583
rather quickly,
causing great devastation

271
00:14:40,708 --> 00:14:43,083
and loss of life to the Soviets.

272
00:14:44,292 --> 00:14:48,375
Tamerlane's body is removed
from its tomb on the 20th,

273
00:14:48,542 --> 00:14:53,500
and the Eastern Front
erupts in flames two days later.

274
00:14:56,292 --> 00:14:59,000
Remember, there was a curse.

275
00:14:59,083 --> 00:15:03,667
"Whosoever will disturb
my tomb will unleash

276
00:15:03,750 --> 00:15:07,042
an invader worse than I."

277
00:15:08,208 --> 00:15:11,167
So a lot of people would say
the synchronicity

278
00:15:11,292 --> 00:15:15,375
between the removal of
Tamerlane's body from his tomb

279
00:15:15,542 --> 00:15:20,333
and the launching
of Operation Barbarossa

280
00:15:20,458 --> 00:15:21,667
isn't an accident.

281
00:15:24,292 --> 00:15:27,167
SHATNER:
As German troops continued
to overpower Russian forces,

282
00:15:27,250 --> 00:15:30,000
Stalin's advisors
began to question

283
00:15:30,125 --> 00:15:34,583
if the curse of Tamerlane's tomb
had been unleashed.

284
00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:38,000
They urged him to return
Tamerlane's remains

285
00:15:38,125 --> 00:15:40,708
to Uzbekistan
in the desperate hope

286
00:15:40,833 --> 00:15:43,583
that it would turn
the tide of battle.

287
00:15:44,792 --> 00:15:47,833
And to their astonishment...

288
00:15:47,958 --> 00:15:49,833
it worked.

289
00:15:49,917 --> 00:15:51,500
Tamerlane's remains
are put back in,

290
00:15:51,583 --> 00:15:53,083
in December of 1942.

291
00:15:54,292 --> 00:15:55,708
But the whole course of the war

292
00:15:55,833 --> 00:15:59,000
at the Eastern Front changes

293
00:15:59,125 --> 00:16:02,583
and from that point on,
it's just one long

294
00:16:02,708 --> 00:16:04,833
nightmare retreat
for the Germans

295
00:16:04,917 --> 00:16:09,208
back to Berlin in April 1945.

296
00:16:10,708 --> 00:16:13,708
SHATNER:
Is it possible that returning
Tamerlane's remains to his tomb

297
00:16:13,875 --> 00:16:15,375
broke the curse that triggered

298
00:16:15,500 --> 00:16:17,917
Hitler's invasion
of the Soviet Union?

299
00:16:18,042 --> 00:16:22,625
For many, the evidence
is hard to ignore.

300
00:16:24,333 --> 00:16:25,958
MAROZZI:
I think for those who subscribe

301
00:16:26,042 --> 00:16:28,083
to what we call
the Curse of Tamerlane,

302
00:16:28,208 --> 00:16:30,292
there are these
two great coincidences.

303
00:16:30,417 --> 00:16:32,125
Coincidence one,

304
00:16:32,250 --> 00:16:34,292
the tomb is opened against all
the objections of the Uzbeks,

305
00:16:34,417 --> 00:16:37,250
Hitler invades the Soviet Union.

306
00:16:38,250 --> 00:16:39,667
Coincidence number two,

307
00:16:39,792 --> 00:16:43,000
Tamerlane is reinterred
with full burial rights,

308
00:16:43,125 --> 00:16:44,417
Hitler is defeated.

309
00:16:44,542 --> 00:16:46,083
So it comes full circle.

310
00:16:46,208 --> 00:16:49,083
Two coincidences, or two proofs

311
00:16:49,208 --> 00:16:51,792
that the curse
was absolutely for real.

312
00:16:51,875 --> 00:16:53,000
Take your pick.

313
00:16:54,083 --> 00:16:56,625
The idea that the curse
of Tamerlane's tomb

314
00:16:56,750 --> 00:17:00,333
somehow brought about
the Nazi invasion of Russia

315
00:17:00,458 --> 00:17:03,542
is unsettling, to say the least.

316
00:17:03,708 --> 00:17:07,542
But curses that don't have
such far-reaching implications

317
00:17:07,667 --> 00:17:09,000
are no less alarming.

318
00:17:09,083 --> 00:17:12,333
Consider the case
of a hotel in Los Angeles

319
00:17:12,458 --> 00:17:15,833
where, for decades, there were
dozens of guests who checked in,

320
00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,167
but never checked out.

321
00:17:26,250 --> 00:17:29,333
SHATNER: Numerous guests
staying at the Cecil Hotel

322
00:17:29,500 --> 00:17:33,042
file complaints
about low water pressure.

323
00:17:33,958 --> 00:17:35,208
A maintenance worker

324
00:17:35,375 --> 00:17:36,833
is dispatched to check
the water tanks

325
00:17:36,917 --> 00:17:39,000
located on the hotel's roof

326
00:17:39,125 --> 00:17:41,833
where he makes
a shocking discovery.

327
00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:46,750
Floating facedown
in one of the water tanks

328
00:17:46,875 --> 00:17:48,917
is the decomposing body

329
00:17:49,042 --> 00:17:53,208
of 21-year-old
hotel guest, Elisa Lam.

330
00:17:55,708 --> 00:17:57,083
On the last day of 2012,

331
00:17:57,208 --> 00:17:58,458
New Year's Eve,

332
00:17:58,542 --> 00:18:00,083
was the last time
she was seen alive.

333
00:18:01,583 --> 00:18:04,458
Elisa Lam was caught by
the camera in the elevator.

334
00:18:05,667 --> 00:18:07,667
And then she disappears.

335
00:18:07,833 --> 00:18:09,167
The LAPD, they released

336
00:18:09,292 --> 00:18:11,583
a video of Elisa Lam

337
00:18:11,708 --> 00:18:15,750
and it's a really bizarre,
bizarre video.

338
00:18:17,083 --> 00:18:22,000
She's seen going in
and out of an elevator,

339
00:18:22,125 --> 00:18:24,875
she seems to be interacting

340
00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:28,083
or playing hide-and-seek
with someone.

341
00:18:28,208 --> 00:18:31,000
She's frantically, erratically,

342
00:18:31,083 --> 00:18:33,792
pushing all the buttons
in the elevator.

343
00:18:35,125 --> 00:18:38,875
And then,
she was found facedown...

344
00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:43,208
...inside a sealed water tank

345
00:18:43,333 --> 00:18:45,375
at the roof of the hotel.

346
00:18:46,708 --> 00:18:49,250
SHATNER:
After conducting
an investigation,

347
00:18:49,375 --> 00:18:52,000
the Los Angeles County
Coroner ruled

348
00:18:52,125 --> 00:18:55,625
that Elisa Lam's
death was an accident.

349
00:18:56,583 --> 00:18:59,667
But the bizarre circumstances

350
00:18:59,792 --> 00:19:02,667
surrounding her case led
some researchers to believe

351
00:19:02,792 --> 00:19:05,083
that something more
insidious had taken place.

352
00:19:05,208 --> 00:19:07,083
And that Elisa Lam was actually

353
00:19:07,208 --> 00:19:09,875
the latest victim
of a deadly curse

354
00:19:10,042 --> 00:19:13,250
that plagues the Cecil Hotel.

355
00:19:15,917 --> 00:19:18,875
Since it first opened in 1924,

356
00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:21,500
an alarming number of people
have taken their lives

357
00:19:21,625 --> 00:19:24,875
while staying there,
earning it the nickname

358
00:19:25,042 --> 00:19:26,833
"the Suicide Hotel."

359
00:19:28,542 --> 00:19:29,750
HOROWITZ:
The Cecil Hotel

360
00:19:29,875 --> 00:19:31,458
is a Beaux Arts structure.

361
00:19:31,542 --> 00:19:35,583
It was built in the style
of grand American hotels.

362
00:19:36,667 --> 00:19:38,667
Back in its day,
it was quite beautiful,

363
00:19:38,792 --> 00:19:42,375
with columns, marble floors,
an expansive lobby,

364
00:19:42,542 --> 00:19:45,583
and it was intended to be
a very high-class hotel

365
00:19:45,708 --> 00:19:48,167
for an upwardly
mobile clientele.

366
00:19:49,875 --> 00:19:52,125
BARTLETT: All hotels
have deaths in them,

367
00:19:52,250 --> 00:19:54,750
but for some reason,
the Cecil Hotel

368
00:19:54,875 --> 00:19:57,542
seems to have far much
more than the average number.

369
00:19:57,708 --> 00:20:01,333
When I was doing my research,
I found 17 suicides

370
00:20:01,458 --> 00:20:05,000
within the newspaper archives
that linked to the hotel.

371
00:20:05,125 --> 00:20:06,458
And those are just
reported ones.

372
00:20:06,542 --> 00:20:08,000
Now, it doesn't
sound like a lot,

373
00:20:08,125 --> 00:20:09,833
but compared to
all the other hotels,

374
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:14,167
I would find maybe one or two,
almost without exception.

375
00:20:14,292 --> 00:20:17,000
So it makes this
particular hotel stand out.

376
00:20:18,167 --> 00:20:21,458
EBNER:
The Cecil Hotel had only
been open a few short years...

377
00:20:22,542 --> 00:20:25,917
...and the sheer
number of suicides

378
00:20:26,042 --> 00:20:27,792
was already coming to a peak.

379
00:20:27,875 --> 00:20:32,583
W.K. Norton, he poisoned
himself in his room.

380
00:20:34,292 --> 00:20:38,542
And Army medic
Sergeant Louis D. Borden,

381
00:20:38,667 --> 00:20:42,833
he surgically slit his own
throat in the hotel room.

382
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,875
The list of unexplained deaths

383
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:49,167
goes on and on and on.

384
00:20:49,292 --> 00:20:51,500
And people were like,
thinking, "Wow,

385
00:20:51,625 --> 00:20:55,042
"could it be something
about the Cecil Hotel

386
00:20:55,208 --> 00:20:59,333
that triggered this kind
of insane behavior?"

387
00:21:00,417 --> 00:21:03,500
There are certain
places that seem to attract

388
00:21:03,583 --> 00:21:06,542
an inordinate amount
of violent activity.

389
00:21:07,792 --> 00:21:10,167
It's very easy for us to talk
in terms of coincidence

390
00:21:10,250 --> 00:21:13,000
when we're discussing curses.

391
00:21:13,083 --> 00:21:17,167
But if people hear that there
was an act of violence,

392
00:21:17,250 --> 00:21:21,042
suicide at a certain place,

393
00:21:21,167 --> 00:21:24,333
that seems to spark something
in the human imagination

394
00:21:24,458 --> 00:21:26,542
including in the most
negative sense.

395
00:21:26,708 --> 00:21:29,208
Hence, we have the phenomena of

396
00:21:29,375 --> 00:21:32,833
people being attracted
to certain spots.

397
00:21:34,583 --> 00:21:36,333
You might use the expression,
"I don't like the energy

398
00:21:36,417 --> 00:21:37,875
coming off of that place."

399
00:21:38,042 --> 00:21:39,500
We use it metaphorically,

400
00:21:39,583 --> 00:21:41,958
although there may be
something actual to it.

401
00:21:43,750 --> 00:21:47,500
SHATNER:
What is it about certain
places such as the Cecil Hotel

402
00:21:47,667 --> 00:21:50,833
that causes people to
harm themselves or others?

403
00:21:52,250 --> 00:21:54,708
Could they really be cursed?

404
00:21:55,958 --> 00:21:58,833
Some researchers claim that
if there is a dark energy

405
00:21:58,958 --> 00:22:00,625
at the Cecil Hotel,

406
00:22:00,750 --> 00:22:04,333
it may have already
existed at this site

407
00:22:04,500 --> 00:22:06,708
long before the hotel was built.

408
00:22:08,500 --> 00:22:10,833
Another interesting aspect
of curses and cursed places

409
00:22:10,958 --> 00:22:13,417
particularly is that
there's always a reason

410
00:22:13,542 --> 00:22:16,083
of why this became cursed.

411
00:22:17,542 --> 00:22:19,708
So for example, in L.A.,

412
00:22:19,833 --> 00:22:21,708
this has been
a very contentious area

413
00:22:21,833 --> 00:22:24,458
for a long time, ever since
the initial colonization.

414
00:22:25,750 --> 00:22:29,792
So the local tribe, the Tongva
tribe, suffered greatly.

415
00:22:29,917 --> 00:22:31,333
(shouting)

416
00:22:31,458 --> 00:22:34,750
They were pretty much
massacred at the hands

417
00:22:34,875 --> 00:22:37,500
of the Spanish colonists
who arrived in this area.

418
00:22:38,708 --> 00:22:42,750
Or later, in 1871, where
they have the Chinatown massacre

419
00:22:42,875 --> 00:22:45,458
where this was
an ethnic-driven violence

420
00:22:45,583 --> 00:22:48,792
perpetrated against
the Chinese community in L.A.

421
00:22:48,875 --> 00:22:51,875
that had been established here,
and it was horrific.

422
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,417
The idea is that there's
a curse on this area

423
00:22:56,542 --> 00:22:58,667
that reflects these
atrocities and that

424
00:22:58,792 --> 00:23:00,833
the curse is not gonna be lifted

425
00:23:00,917 --> 00:23:03,917
as long as those atrocities
are not accounted for.

426
00:23:05,167 --> 00:23:08,667
SHATNER:
Is it possible that the dark
history of the Cecil Hotel

427
00:23:08,750 --> 00:23:12,500
was caused by a violent
energy permeating the area?

428
00:23:13,458 --> 00:23:15,500
True or not,

429
00:23:15,625 --> 00:23:20,792
the Cecil Hotel nevertheless
closed its doors in 2017

430
00:23:20,875 --> 00:23:25,542
as a result of
its sinister reputation.

431
00:23:25,667 --> 00:23:27,250
A lot of people, of course,

432
00:23:27,375 --> 00:23:29,750
roll their eyes
at the idea of a curse.

433
00:23:31,458 --> 00:23:34,167
But if you gave a person
the option of spending

434
00:23:34,250 --> 00:23:37,250
a night alone in a place
that was rumored to be cursed,

435
00:23:37,375 --> 00:23:38,958
like the Cecil,

436
00:23:39,083 --> 00:23:42,167
most of the people who roll
their eyes would probably pause,

437
00:23:42,250 --> 00:23:45,667
given such a macabre history.

438
00:23:47,083 --> 00:23:51,208
Is it possible for a place
to be imbued with dark energy?

439
00:23:52,375 --> 00:23:55,292
In the case of the Cecil Hotel,
it certainly seems possible.

440
00:23:55,375 --> 00:23:58,250
But there are also
many who believe

441
00:23:58,375 --> 00:24:01,917
that objects
can carry curses, too.

442
00:24:02,042 --> 00:24:03,833
For instance,
there's a sports car

443
00:24:03,917 --> 00:24:06,583
that has a reputation
for killing its drivers,

444
00:24:06,708 --> 00:24:10,958
including one of the most
iconic movie stars of all time.

445
00:24:18,375 --> 00:24:20,333
SHATNER:
At 5:45 in the afternoon,

446
00:24:20,417 --> 00:24:24,875
a brand-new
1955 Porsche 550 Spyder

447
00:24:25,042 --> 00:24:27,833
traveling west on US 466

448
00:24:27,917 --> 00:24:31,000
collides with an oncoming sedan.

449
00:24:33,042 --> 00:24:36,667
The impact instantly
kills the driver of the Porsche.

450
00:24:36,792 --> 00:24:38,458
News of the ill-fated accident

451
00:24:38,583 --> 00:24:42,125
sends shockwaves
around the world because...

452
00:24:43,333 --> 00:24:44,750
...the driver was none other

453
00:24:44,875 --> 00:24:49,167
than the iconic American
actor James Dean.

454
00:24:50,750 --> 00:24:52,542
At the time of his death,

455
00:24:52,708 --> 00:24:55,625
James Dean was definitely
the one to watch.

456
00:24:56,750 --> 00:25:00,208
He had his debut
movie star performance

457
00:25:00,375 --> 00:25:02,500
in East of Eden,

458
00:25:02,583 --> 00:25:05,458
and he had two
other movies in the can,

459
00:25:05,542 --> 00:25:10,042
and he was launched
into becoming the face

460
00:25:10,208 --> 00:25:13,333
of rebellious Hollywood.

461
00:25:13,417 --> 00:25:15,958
But all that came
to a crashing end

462
00:25:16,042 --> 00:25:19,750
on September 30, 1955.

463
00:25:21,250 --> 00:25:23,875
SHATNER: James Dean's
death behind the wheel

464
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,042
shocked friends and fans alike.

465
00:25:27,250 --> 00:25:28,458
Not only because the actor

466
00:25:28,583 --> 00:25:30,042
was such a rising star
at the time...

467
00:25:31,292 --> 00:25:33,958
...but also because even
at his relatively young age,

468
00:25:34,042 --> 00:25:38,333
24-year-old Dean had already
proven himself to be

469
00:25:38,458 --> 00:25:40,667
an accomplished race car driver.

470
00:25:42,417 --> 00:25:46,458
When James Dean came to
Southern California in 1954,

471
00:25:46,542 --> 00:25:48,708
he entered
the Palm Springs Road Races

472
00:25:48,833 --> 00:25:50,792
as a novice driver.

473
00:25:53,625 --> 00:25:56,167
He won his race

474
00:25:56,292 --> 00:26:00,083
as a novice and qualified
for the Sunday main event

475
00:26:00,208 --> 00:26:02,042
against veteran drivers.

476
00:26:02,167 --> 00:26:05,875
He was a very serious
and aggressive competitor

477
00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,708
with a lot of skill
as a novice driver.

478
00:26:09,917 --> 00:26:12,542
SHATNER: James Dean's reputation
as a competent driver

479
00:26:12,667 --> 00:26:14,208
was so well known,

480
00:26:14,333 --> 00:26:15,917
that many found it difficult
to believe his death

481
00:26:16,042 --> 00:26:19,000
could have been the result
of poor driving.

482
00:26:19,167 --> 00:26:21,250
Over the years,
some people have claimed

483
00:26:21,375 --> 00:26:24,917
that there is only one possible
explanation for the crash.

484
00:26:25,042 --> 00:26:28,583
They believe
that James Dean's car

485
00:26:28,708 --> 00:26:30,708
was cursed.

486
00:26:32,917 --> 00:26:34,958
And as evidence of the curse,

487
00:26:35,042 --> 00:26:37,833
they point to a fateful
encounter that Dean had

488
00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:42,000
with a fellow actor shortly
before his untimely death.

489
00:26:43,333 --> 00:26:47,833
Two days after James Dean
purchased his Porsche Spyder,

490
00:26:47,917 --> 00:26:50,250
he was having dinner
with Alec Guinness.

491
00:26:51,542 --> 00:26:54,500
During the course of the dinner,
James Dean told Alec Guinness

492
00:26:54,583 --> 00:26:56,833
he had just purchased
a new Porsche Spyder.

493
00:26:56,917 --> 00:26:59,375
It was outside
in the parking lot

494
00:26:59,500 --> 00:27:02,708
and he wanted to show him
the new car.

495
00:27:02,875 --> 00:27:06,875
Alec Guinness, upon setting
eyes on that vehicle,

496
00:27:07,042 --> 00:27:09,667
he had a very strange reaction.

497
00:27:10,875 --> 00:27:15,625
Some strange thing came over me,
some almost different voice.

498
00:27:15,708 --> 00:27:17,292
And I said,
"If you get into that car,

499
00:27:17,417 --> 00:27:20,625
by 10:00 at night
next Thursday, you'll be dead."

500
00:27:22,583 --> 00:27:27,417
EBNER:
Five days after Alec gave
that warning to James Dean,

501
00:27:27,542 --> 00:27:31,625
James Dean died
in a head-on collision

502
00:27:31,708 --> 00:27:34,042
with the only
other vehicle on the road.

503
00:27:35,417 --> 00:27:37,708
Sir Alec Guinness recounted

504
00:27:37,875 --> 00:27:40,833
that as soon as he laid
eyes on the car,

505
00:27:40,917 --> 00:27:43,833
he felt a sense of evil

506
00:27:43,917 --> 00:27:46,750
emanating out of
the vehicle itself.

507
00:27:48,208 --> 00:27:52,708
SHATNER:
Is it possible that James Dean's
car was possessed by evil?

508
00:27:52,875 --> 00:27:56,250
Well, if that's true,
the curse was apparently

509
00:27:56,375 --> 00:28:00,208
strong enough to survive
even after his tragic death.

510
00:28:01,375 --> 00:28:05,167
Because in the years
following James Dean's accident,

511
00:28:05,333 --> 00:28:10,333
several strange incidents
involving his car took place.

512
00:28:11,625 --> 00:28:15,833
The exterior of the car was
pretty much obliterated...

513
00:28:17,083 --> 00:28:21,333
...but the chassis and the
engine block remained intact.

514
00:28:21,417 --> 00:28:23,875
Another race car enthusiast

515
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:27,667
by the name of
Dr. William Eschrich

516
00:28:27,750 --> 00:28:31,000
took the engine block
from James Dean's car

517
00:28:31,125 --> 00:28:33,833
and put it into his own car.

518
00:28:33,958 --> 00:28:36,833
And then he parceled out
some of the parts

519
00:28:36,958 --> 00:28:39,417
to a good friend of his
and colleague,

520
00:28:39,542 --> 00:28:41,250
Dr. Troy McHenry.

521
00:28:42,417 --> 00:28:44,917
So Eschrich and McHenry

522
00:28:45,042 --> 00:28:47,875
are now driving their Porsches

523
00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:51,833
with James Dean parts
in the same race.

524
00:28:51,958 --> 00:28:53,958
Guess what happens next?

525
00:28:55,083 --> 00:28:58,333
McHenry loses control
of his Porsche

526
00:28:58,417 --> 00:29:02,958
and drives head-on into
a tree and dies at the scene.

527
00:29:03,875 --> 00:29:05,333
And Eschrich,

528
00:29:05,417 --> 00:29:10,500
he flips his car and winds up
severely injured

529
00:29:10,583 --> 00:29:12,417
in the same race.

530
00:29:14,708 --> 00:29:17,375
RASKIN: George Barris
was a legendary

531
00:29:17,542 --> 00:29:19,875
car customizer in California.

532
00:29:20,042 --> 00:29:24,667
He got hold of the carcass

533
00:29:24,792 --> 00:29:27,583
of James Dean's Porsche Spyder

534
00:29:27,708 --> 00:29:30,333
and put it on display,

535
00:29:30,458 --> 00:29:34,083
and loaned it to
the Los Angeles Safety Council

536
00:29:34,208 --> 00:29:39,042
with the theme that
"Speed kills, drive safely."

537
00:29:40,708 --> 00:29:46,292
He told stories about how
individuals touched this car

538
00:29:46,375 --> 00:29:49,000
and injured themselves.

539
00:29:50,708 --> 00:29:53,375
JOJI BARRIS-PASTER:
The stories that are from my
father are really interesting.

540
00:29:53,500 --> 00:29:54,917
When the car was dropped off

541
00:29:55,042 --> 00:29:56,375
at the Barris Custom Shop

542
00:29:56,542 --> 00:29:58,167
in North Hollywood and
first came to the shop,

543
00:29:58,292 --> 00:30:00,667
his mechanic came out
to help him,

544
00:30:00,833 --> 00:30:02,000
you know, unload the car.

545
00:30:02,125 --> 00:30:04,125
It rolls and breaks his legs.

546
00:30:04,250 --> 00:30:06,083
Rolls over his legs
and breaks his legs.

547
00:30:07,125 --> 00:30:10,125
Incidents keep happening
and at that time,

548
00:30:10,208 --> 00:30:13,708
these stories that he's
telling us, it's concerning.

549
00:30:13,833 --> 00:30:15,125
And you could tell
he's realizing,

550
00:30:15,208 --> 00:30:18,333
"Hey, there's a curse
tied to this car.

551
00:30:18,458 --> 00:30:20,167
This is serious now."

552
00:30:21,708 --> 00:30:25,833
SHATNER:
Is it possible that the curse
on James Dean's car lived on,

553
00:30:25,917 --> 00:30:29,167
even after it had been
wrecked and salvaged for parts?

554
00:30:30,125 --> 00:30:32,083
It's an unsettling notion.

555
00:30:32,208 --> 00:30:34,958
So disturbing in fact,
that some people believe

556
00:30:35,083 --> 00:30:38,917
George Barris took
matters into his own hands.

557
00:30:41,542 --> 00:30:44,708
RASKIN:
In 1960, George Barris
sent the car

558
00:30:44,875 --> 00:30:47,250
to a safety exhibit
in Miami, Florida.

559
00:30:48,375 --> 00:30:50,583
He said that
when the transporter

560
00:30:50,708 --> 00:30:54,333
came back to L.A.,
the car was missing.

561
00:30:54,458 --> 00:30:56,792
In all my research,

562
00:30:56,917 --> 00:31:00,792
we cannot find any trace
of the missing car.

563
00:31:00,917 --> 00:31:04,875
And looking at
all the speculation...

564
00:31:06,167 --> 00:31:08,417
...revolving around the curse,

565
00:31:08,542 --> 00:31:12,875
I believe that George Barris
disposed of the car

566
00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:16,000
and it disappeared forever.

567
00:31:19,042 --> 00:31:22,042
The question of the curse
and the death of James Dean

568
00:31:22,167 --> 00:31:25,958
has been going on for 65 years.

569
00:31:26,917 --> 00:31:30,167
And looking
at those strange incidents,

570
00:31:30,333 --> 00:31:33,167
they may have been coincidences,

571
00:31:33,333 --> 00:31:37,167
or there may have been
an actual curse.

572
00:31:37,333 --> 00:31:40,417
Unfortunately, we'll never know.

573
00:31:42,708 --> 00:31:45,125
Was it merely a coincidence
that several people

574
00:31:45,208 --> 00:31:48,875
who came into contact
with James Dean's car

575
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:50,833
were harmed, and two even died?

576
00:31:50,958 --> 00:31:53,833
Or is it possible
that this vehicle

577
00:31:53,958 --> 00:31:56,458
was actually a cursed object?

578
00:31:56,542 --> 00:31:59,375
Perhaps the answer
can be found by examining

579
00:31:59,542 --> 00:32:01,833
a collection of artifacts

580
00:32:01,917 --> 00:32:04,792
believed to contain
such dangerous energies

581
00:32:04,875 --> 00:32:08,000
that they are kept
under lock and key.

582
00:32:13,417 --> 00:32:15,333
SHATNER:
Just outside the city,

583
00:32:15,458 --> 00:32:19,292
on a normal suburban street
in an ordinary neighborhood

584
00:32:19,375 --> 00:32:23,208
is the home
of Greg and Dana Newkirk.

585
00:32:23,333 --> 00:32:26,167
From the outside, their home
is not much different

586
00:32:26,250 --> 00:32:27,833
from any other house
on the block.

587
00:32:27,958 --> 00:32:30,792
-Get some fork action going on.
-Yeah.

588
00:32:30,917 --> 00:32:32,333
SHATNER:
But inside,

589
00:32:32,417 --> 00:32:36,375
it contains something
quite extraordinary.

590
00:32:36,500 --> 00:32:40,167
Because there is a room in
the basement that is filled

591
00:32:40,250 --> 00:32:42,458
with a collection
of strange objects

592
00:32:42,542 --> 00:32:45,917
sent by people from
all over the world

593
00:32:46,042 --> 00:32:47,375
that are believed to be...

594
00:32:48,542 --> 00:32:49,625
...cursed.

595
00:32:50,792 --> 00:32:55,125
Greg and I lead normal lives,
and we go about our life

596
00:32:55,208 --> 00:32:57,042
the same way
that everyone else does.

597
00:32:57,167 --> 00:33:01,125
We just happen to be caretakers
for very strange objects.

598
00:33:02,292 --> 00:33:04,250
The way that we got started
collecting cursed objects

599
00:33:04,375 --> 00:33:05,708
was complete accident.

600
00:33:07,042 --> 00:33:09,542
It wasn't something that
we had set out to do.

601
00:33:09,667 --> 00:33:12,667
Never would have imagined
myself doing this.

602
00:33:12,833 --> 00:33:15,667
We were just interested
in-in general weirdness.

603
00:33:17,833 --> 00:33:21,458
My wife and I investigate
all manner of high strangeness.

604
00:33:22,792 --> 00:33:26,917
And we were both very interested
in the idea of cursed objects.

605
00:33:27,042 --> 00:33:29,833
We slowly gained
a reputation as being

606
00:33:29,958 --> 00:33:31,667
particularly
good people for this.

607
00:33:31,750 --> 00:33:35,125
And so anytime anyone had
a problem with an artifact,

608
00:33:35,250 --> 00:33:36,500
they would come to us and say,

609
00:33:36,625 --> 00:33:38,167
"I don't know
what to do with this.

610
00:33:38,250 --> 00:33:39,833
"This thing is
affecting my life.

611
00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:41,417
"Will you just
take it off my hands?

612
00:33:41,542 --> 00:33:43,208
"It'd be easier
to just give it to you

613
00:33:43,375 --> 00:33:44,542
and let you deal with it."

614
00:33:44,667 --> 00:33:46,542
And so we built up
this collection

615
00:33:46,708 --> 00:33:48,208
of very bizarre things.

616
00:33:49,917 --> 00:33:52,958
SHATNER:
Visitors to the Newkirks'
home are given ample warning

617
00:33:53,042 --> 00:33:57,667
that the basement is filled
with objects that are cursed.

618
00:33:57,833 --> 00:34:01,292
We have a lot of
haunted robes...

619
00:34:01,375 --> 00:34:03,208
SHATNER:
But curiously, every day,

620
00:34:03,333 --> 00:34:04,875
the Newkirks receive requests

621
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:09,417
from people who are eager
to view their cursed collection.

622
00:34:09,542 --> 00:34:12,375
OCKER:
You'd think with cursed objects,
you want to avoid them.

623
00:34:12,500 --> 00:34:15,000
But there is a draw to them.

624
00:34:15,125 --> 00:34:17,000
When an object is said
to be cursed,

625
00:34:17,167 --> 00:34:18,583
another word
you can use is "special."

626
00:34:18,708 --> 00:34:20,667
It's special.
If this chair is cursed,

627
00:34:20,792 --> 00:34:23,625
it's different from
every other chair in the world.

628
00:34:23,750 --> 00:34:25,792
And that makes it unique,
that makes it interesting,

629
00:34:25,917 --> 00:34:27,875
and that draws our attention
every single time.

630
00:34:28,042 --> 00:34:29,917
And the fact that
that specialness

631
00:34:30,042 --> 00:34:31,500
is that it hurts people,

632
00:34:31,625 --> 00:34:33,333
that appeals
to a certain macabre,

633
00:34:33,458 --> 00:34:35,250
a streak that we all
have as human beings.

634
00:34:37,375 --> 00:34:41,250
DANA NEWKIRK:
People think of cursed objects
as being kind of fun and spooky.

635
00:34:41,375 --> 00:34:43,083
But working with them,

636
00:34:43,208 --> 00:34:46,250
it feels a lot less about that
and a lot more about

637
00:34:46,375 --> 00:34:48,125
that kind of heavy
responsibility

638
00:34:48,208 --> 00:34:50,583
to keep some of these
objects with us

639
00:34:50,708 --> 00:34:53,500
under lock and key and
maybe out of the wrong hands.

640
00:34:54,458 --> 00:34:56,333
And maybe in a place
that's safer

641
00:34:56,500 --> 00:34:58,708
not only for everyone else
but for them.

642
00:35:00,292 --> 00:35:01,833
SHATNER:
The Newkirks' collection

643
00:35:01,917 --> 00:35:03,750
includes several objects
that are considered to have

644
00:35:03,875 --> 00:35:08,417
the power to inflict harm
on anyone who comes near them.

645
00:35:09,500 --> 00:35:12,792
This is the cursed deer skull.

646
00:35:12,917 --> 00:35:15,500
We drove down to Nashville
to pick up from a woman

647
00:35:15,625 --> 00:35:18,417
who saw this in an antique store

648
00:35:18,542 --> 00:35:20,500
and took it back to her office,

649
00:35:20,625 --> 00:35:22,958
and almost immediately,
her employees

650
00:35:23,042 --> 00:35:24,458
started getting sick.

651
00:35:24,542 --> 00:35:26,292
One of her employees
was hit by a car.

652
00:35:26,375 --> 00:35:30,042
And then, the wall that
this was hanging on,

653
00:35:30,167 --> 00:35:33,208
actually fell down and took
half of the building with it.

654
00:35:34,708 --> 00:35:37,708
DANA NEWKIRK:
There are certain objects
specifically in our museum that,

655
00:35:37,833 --> 00:35:39,000
without people knowing

656
00:35:39,125 --> 00:35:40,875
why they feel
the way that they feel...

657
00:35:42,125 --> 00:35:45,833
...they will definitely have
heart palpitations, anxiety.

658
00:35:45,958 --> 00:35:48,125
We've had people almost faint,

659
00:35:48,208 --> 00:35:49,875
we've had people throw up,

660
00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:51,333
we've had people dry heave.

661
00:35:52,375 --> 00:35:54,333
People have very visceral
physical reactions

662
00:35:54,458 --> 00:35:56,625
to being around
some of the objects.

663
00:35:59,917 --> 00:36:02,583
SHATNER:
Among the cursed objects
in the Newkirks' collection

664
00:36:02,708 --> 00:36:05,292
is a deadly ring that is claimed

665
00:36:05,375 --> 00:36:08,000
to kill anyone who wears it,

666
00:36:08,125 --> 00:36:11,667
a Bible used during
a failed exorcism,

667
00:36:11,792 --> 00:36:17,250
and a doll that is believed to
spread illness wherever it goes.

668
00:36:18,542 --> 00:36:21,375
But of all the cursed objects
the Newkirks have come across,

669
00:36:21,500 --> 00:36:24,667
there is one
that is so harrowing,

670
00:36:24,750 --> 00:36:26,792
they refused to keep it
in their collection.

671
00:36:26,917 --> 00:36:32,375
It is an unsettling wooden
effigy known as the Crone.

672
00:36:32,542 --> 00:36:35,375
DANA NEWKIRK:
The Crone really is
the definition

673
00:36:35,500 --> 00:36:37,667
of kind of a cursed object.

674
00:36:37,750 --> 00:36:40,333
It is a carved
statue of a woman.

675
00:36:40,458 --> 00:36:42,958
Someone at some point in time

676
00:36:43,083 --> 00:36:46,292
took this object and attached
the noose and the nails.

677
00:36:47,458 --> 00:36:50,875
It was given to us
by some hikers who found it

678
00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:54,417
in the Catskills, off
the beaten path in a cave.

679
00:36:55,708 --> 00:36:58,958
They took it home and initially
started to experience

680
00:36:59,042 --> 00:37:00,417
really frightening things.

681
00:37:00,542 --> 00:37:03,500
Their animals were
behaving strangely,

682
00:37:03,583 --> 00:37:05,417
they were finding wet
footprints on the ground,

683
00:37:05,542 --> 00:37:07,625
and they didn't know what to do.

684
00:37:07,750 --> 00:37:10,000
Someone who we had
worked with previously

685
00:37:10,125 --> 00:37:11,792
put them in contact with us,

686
00:37:11,875 --> 00:37:14,667
and after, you know, having
some communication with them,

687
00:37:14,792 --> 00:37:16,875
they-they sent the Crone to us.

688
00:37:18,125 --> 00:37:20,917
GREG NEWKIRK:
People who would
get near the Crone,

689
00:37:21,042 --> 00:37:24,000
they would be just
overwhelmed with anxiety.

690
00:37:25,208 --> 00:37:27,958
This guy came
all the way from Canada

691
00:37:28,042 --> 00:37:29,625
to come and see the Crone.

692
00:37:30,542 --> 00:37:32,875
He begged us
to take it out of the box.

693
00:37:34,125 --> 00:37:35,750
Almost immediately...

694
00:37:36,833 --> 00:37:38,417
...his eyes roll up
in the back of his head

695
00:37:38,542 --> 00:37:41,083
and he starts
to bleed from his mouth.

696
00:37:41,208 --> 00:37:42,792
And he has a violent seizure.

697
00:37:42,875 --> 00:37:45,833
And he has to be taken out
by the paramedics.

698
00:37:45,917 --> 00:37:47,583
And that's when Dana and I
looked at each other

699
00:37:47,708 --> 00:37:49,875
and we said, "We have to do
something about this."

700
00:37:58,542 --> 00:38:01,167
SHATNER:
After a string
of frightening incidents,

701
00:38:01,333 --> 00:38:03,000
Greg and Dana Newkirk

702
00:38:03,125 --> 00:38:06,042
are convinced that a strange
object in their possession,

703
00:38:06,208 --> 00:38:10,583
known as the Crone, is cursed.

704
00:38:12,375 --> 00:38:14,333
So they've traveled
to this remote region

705
00:38:14,458 --> 00:38:16,292
of Upstate New York

706
00:38:16,375 --> 00:38:19,667
to free themselves
of the evil object.

707
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:23,625
The Crone is one of
the objects that does fall

708
00:38:23,750 --> 00:38:25,542
into that very small category

709
00:38:25,708 --> 00:38:28,167
of objects that we didn't feel
like we could handle.

710
00:38:29,542 --> 00:38:32,167
It got to a point where
the Crone was just too dangerous

711
00:38:32,292 --> 00:38:33,958
for even us to take care of.

712
00:38:34,042 --> 00:38:38,000
And what we wanted to do
was bring her back

713
00:38:38,125 --> 00:38:41,625
to the Catskills,
which is where she is from.

714
00:38:44,833 --> 00:38:46,667
SHATNER:
To remove the Crone's curse,

715
00:38:46,750 --> 00:38:49,083
the Newkirks' plan
was to return to the area

716
00:38:49,208 --> 00:38:53,625
where it was originally found
by two hikers many years before.

717
00:38:54,708 --> 00:38:57,333
At which point,
they would remove the nails

718
00:38:57,417 --> 00:39:00,792
embedded in the Crone
in a cleansing ritual.

719
00:39:01,792 --> 00:39:04,583
DANA NEWKIRK:
We wanted to bring her back,

720
00:39:04,708 --> 00:39:06,458
and every time a nail
was pulled out,

721
00:39:06,542 --> 00:39:08,375
the intention was

722
00:39:08,542 --> 00:39:10,708
that we were pulling
that curse out of the object.

723
00:39:12,583 --> 00:39:15,833
We hiked into
the woods for miles...

724
00:39:17,042 --> 00:39:19,750
...and I set up a circle.

725
00:39:19,875 --> 00:39:21,708
The idea of setting up a circle

726
00:39:21,875 --> 00:39:24,500
was basically just to create
an energetic space

727
00:39:24,625 --> 00:39:26,458
for containing this ritual.

728
00:39:27,500 --> 00:39:29,167
And the whole time
we were doing this,

729
00:39:29,250 --> 00:39:30,958
we were hearing footsteps...

730
00:39:32,708 --> 00:39:34,375
...and strange sounds

731
00:39:34,500 --> 00:39:36,917
that weren't animals
around our circle,

732
00:39:37,042 --> 00:39:38,500
but...

733
00:39:38,583 --> 00:39:41,083
we couldn't see anything.

734
00:39:42,667 --> 00:39:44,500
GREG NEWKIRK:
We were absolutely terrified,

735
00:39:44,583 --> 00:39:46,583
but we start
performing the ritual.

736
00:39:46,708 --> 00:39:48,417
I pull the nails out.

737
00:39:48,542 --> 00:39:50,708
As soon as that happens,

738
00:39:50,875 --> 00:39:53,750
we feel this almost electric pop

739
00:39:53,875 --> 00:39:55,167
in the air.

740
00:39:56,667 --> 00:39:59,333
When we were done,
every coyote on the mountain

741
00:39:59,458 --> 00:40:00,792
just started howling.

742
00:40:00,875 --> 00:40:03,750
-(howling)
-And the ritual was finished

743
00:40:03,875 --> 00:40:07,333
and what we were looking at
was just a block of wood.

744
00:40:07,500 --> 00:40:08,667
And we just kind of knew

745
00:40:08,833 --> 00:40:11,167
that we had done
what we went there to do.

746
00:40:12,792 --> 00:40:15,042
Scholars of religion
have long known

747
00:40:15,167 --> 00:40:16,625
the power of ritual,

748
00:40:16,708 --> 00:40:18,417
that when a group
of people get together

749
00:40:18,542 --> 00:40:20,667
and engage in
the same set of actions,

750
00:40:20,750 --> 00:40:23,500
believing that there's a
supernatural origin behind them,

751
00:40:23,625 --> 00:40:25,250
that brings people together.

752
00:40:26,458 --> 00:40:29,500
And so, special movements
that you need to go through,

753
00:40:29,625 --> 00:40:32,208
special sayings or songs
that you need to do...

754
00:40:32,333 --> 00:40:33,667
(singing in unison)

755
00:40:33,792 --> 00:40:36,500
...it's incredibly
powerful phenomena

756
00:40:36,667 --> 00:40:39,333
that can help
rid us of the devil...

757
00:40:39,458 --> 00:40:42,542
or whatever other force
has cursed us.

758
00:40:43,708 --> 00:40:46,458
SHATNER:
Is it possible
that ritually cleansing

759
00:40:46,583 --> 00:40:49,125
the Crone removed its curse?

760
00:40:49,208 --> 00:40:51,333
Perhaps.

761
00:40:51,500 --> 00:40:53,667
But of course, it all depends on

762
00:40:53,792 --> 00:40:57,542
whether you believe curses
are real in the first place.

763
00:40:57,667 --> 00:40:59,000
OCKER:
Whether you believe

764
00:40:59,167 --> 00:41:01,833
in cursed objects or
don't believe in cursed objects,

765
00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:04,083
they can still have
a power over you.

766
00:41:05,625 --> 00:41:07,458
What that power is,

767
00:41:07,583 --> 00:41:10,833
to what extent that is,
how it kind of comes out?

768
00:41:12,333 --> 00:41:14,250
Who knows?

769
00:41:14,375 --> 00:41:15,333
But they're still
powerful objects,

770
00:41:15,417 --> 00:41:16,750
no matter how you look at it.

771
00:41:18,167 --> 00:41:20,125
GREG NEWKIRK:
For people who don't
believe in curses,

772
00:41:20,250 --> 00:41:22,375
what I would say is,

773
00:41:22,542 --> 00:41:23,833
keep believing they're not real.

774
00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:27,333
That's the best defense
you have against a curse,

775
00:41:27,458 --> 00:41:29,708
is to not feed it.

776
00:41:30,708 --> 00:41:33,167
So, what's your take on this?

777
00:41:33,250 --> 00:41:34,875
Are curses real?

778
00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:37,000
Or is it simply
human nature to look for

779
00:41:37,083 --> 00:41:40,208
a supernatural explanation
when bad things happen?

780
00:41:40,333 --> 00:41:44,250
Well, until we know for sure,
it might be wise to avoid

781
00:41:44,375 --> 00:41:47,292
those so-called
cursed places and objects.

782
00:41:47,375 --> 00:41:49,125
Let them remain...

783
00:41:50,417 --> 00:41:51,792
...unexplained.

784
00:41:51,917 --> 00:41:53,875
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